A repository of truth like that is one of the only ways we'll have, soon for getting the truth out of our own history.

Thanks for telling us about them!

-T

Maybe they should name it the "Winston Smith" ministry, just to remind them of the importance of their continued efforts!?

-T

Mr. David Corn,

Good post!

Nothing wrong with pointing out something right.

Three cheers for the National Security Archive!

Kirk

"... The log book of a US Navy destroyer that revealed that on October 27, 1962--in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis--this ship dropped depth charges off the Cuban coast and almost hit the hull of a Soviet submarine carrying a nuclear warhead. The crew of the sub, believing war was at hand, considered firing the nuclear weapon but did not..."
_________________

I get the same feeling reading THAT as I do when some astronomer declares that meteor the size of the Superdome just crossed Earth's orbit four days ago, missing us by about a week...

-T

Why did one of the heads of the National Security Archive quit some years ago (in the 90's?). I remember hearing a report on NPR about manipulation of documents within the archives?

One of Fitzgerald's recommendations to the public during his press conference some time ago was "to take a step back, take a deep breath, and allow the process to take place." He also said that "truth is the engine of our judicial system." I sure hope so.

Am I reading that Rove and Cheney could be gone by mid Jan.? I can really IMAGINE...

DAVID.....PHASE II IS OFF THE RADAR AGAIN...WILL THE DEMOCRATS HAVE TO PULL ANOTHER MEDIA STUNT FOR JOURNALIST TO STICK THEIR COLLECTIVE NOSES INTO THIS ISSUE AGAIN........PHASE II..PHASE II.. FOR MORE JUSTICE....

As I read this post I could imagine the research you and others have done. It is very boring at times but very thrilling at the same time. Thank you National Security Archives, you keepers of the truth.

#303 James Ha..that is what I keep saying to Corn, Huffington, Diane Rehm etc.etc. "what is going on with Phase II of the SSCI"?

Is it any wonder why the Democrats finally had to pull "a stunt" over a month ago to get the Republican controlled Senaot into that unusual session demanding answers about why Phase II was not moving forward. Remember this is the investigation that hopefully will hold someone or group ACCOUNTABLE for the pre-war intelligence.

The only words that I have read about this slow moving (maybe dead) investigation recently is that Senator Pat Roberts move to have the Inspector General of the Pentagon to investigate Doug Feiths Office of Special plans may be a way to 'DELAY" Phase II for another year.

Maybe just enought time for these right wing radicals to implement the rest of the "A clean Break A new strategy for SEcuring the REalm" agenda.

We should all be asking this question WHY HAS PHASE II FALLEN OFF OF THE MSM'S RADAR ONCE AGAIN?

I guess I may have to accept that it is more important to the american public
AND TO OUR REPRESENTATIVES TO INVESTIGATE LIES ABOUT A BLOW JOB .... THAN INVESTIGATING THE LIES ABOUT THE WMD INTELLIGENCE SNOWJOB.

O'Reilly's at it again.
O'Reilly: Far Left Zealots are Nazis

Let the Nazi wars begin. O'Reilly is outraged that a woman like Ann Coulter, who calls Bill Clinton a rapist and a murderer, is vilified at her speaking engagements.

O'Reilly talked Ellis Henican of Newsday, and likened the left winger protesters of Coulter as:

O'Reilly: The far left in this country, the zealots, these are zealots-are Nazis...and this is exactly what the Nazis did.

Bill should watch the movie, "This Divided State," and witness the right wing zealots try to stop Michael Moore from speaking at a college. Kay Anderson actually sued the college and tried to get the student president fired.
----------------------
Of course there's a video.

Put me on your list Bill.

Ex-neocon hawk Paul Wolfowitz now touts peace
World Bank chief tries to distance himself from Bush
- Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Thursday, December 8, 2005

Washington -- On another day when the Iraq war was tearing Washington apart, a leading architect of that war, Paul Wolfowitz, was donning sheep's clothing over at the National Press Club.

The former deputy defense secretary, now president of the World Bank, gave a 30-minute speech Wednesday about the virtues of peace, the ills of poverty and the benefits of multilateralism -- without a mention of Iraq.

"One of the things that's fun about this job is (that) development is a unifying mission and you can get a lot of people together across a table to put their political differences aside," said the man President Bush calls "Wolfie."

Only when questioners pressed him about Iraq would Wolfowitz address the subject. "How do you account for the intelligence failures regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?" he was asked.

"Well," he said after a long pause, "I don't have to."

Being Wolfie means not having to say you're sorry. Nearly three years ago, he offered some of the most memorable forecasts about Iraq: that it was "wildly off the mark" to think hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to pacify a postwar Iraq; that the Iraqis "are going to welcome us as liberators"; and that "it is just wrong" to assume that the United States would have to fund the Iraq war.

Wolfowitz was 0-for-3 on those, but since taking the World Bank job six months ago he has found a second act. He has toured sub-Saharan Africa, danced with the natives in a poor Indian village, badgered the United States to make firmer foreign aid commitments and cuddled up to the likes of Bono and George Clooney.

But Iraq haunts him still. Outside the National Press Building Wednesday, a half-dozen demonstrators greeted Wolfowitz with a sign saying, "Wolfowitz Is a Weapon of Mass Destruction." Upstairs, Wolfowitz entered the ballroom to scattered applause from a respectable, but not capacity, crowd. Wolfowitz lunched on filet mignon -- and Press Club president Richard Dunham of Business Week tried to goad him into a red-meat speech.

"His admirers have called him the intellectual high priest of the neoconservatives," Dunham said in his introduction. "I can't repeat some of the things his critics have called him."

Wolfowitz pursed his lips and sipped his coffee as Dunham recalled how Wolfowitz "drew fire from Democrats for predicting that U.S. forces would be welcomed as liberators." By the time Dunham got to Wolfowitz's student deferment during Vietnam, Wolfowitz was shaking his head.

Wolfowitz, hoarse with a case of laryngitis, said he had received some lavish introductions before, and "this isn't that kind of introduction." He then read a prepared text that sounded more Mother Teresa than Vice President Dick Cheney.

He noted that there are "as many orphans from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa as there are children east of the Mississippi." He recalled his visit to "a poor village just outside of Ouagadougou." He lamented the "1.2 billion people worldwide living on less than a dollar a day." And he urged people to remember the World Bank's lofty mission, "helping free the world of poverty."

The crowd was silent through this talk, except for the occasional clink of teaspoon in coffee cup. Dunham, reading questions submitted by the audience, softened up Wolfowitz with some queries allowing him to establish his independence.

"I work for 184 countries; I don't work for the Bush administration," Wolfowitz said. He even asserted that Bush's foreign aid spending is not "adequate."

With 10 minutes to go, Dunham started the Iraq questions. Wolfowitz insisted that, "believe it or not," his Iraq role has not interfered with his work at the World Bank.

Asked about the weapons in Iraq, Wolfowitz explained that this wasn't his problem. "And it's not just because I don't work for the U.S. government any more," he said. "In my old job I didn't have to. I was like everyone else outside the intelligence community. ... We relied on the intelligence community for those judgments, so the question is, in a way, how do they account for it."

It was an unexpected response from a man who, as the Pentagon's No. 2, sat atop 80 percent of the nation's intelligence budget and an intelligence agency that made particularly aggressive claims about Iraq's weapons. But Wolfowitz said the military shared his fear that weapons of mass destruction could be used against U.S. troops.

Wolfowitz was asked about the common criticism that more troops should have been used to pacify Iraq. "Um," he said after a long pause, then paused again before concluding, "I personally don't think more troops would have answered the problem."

Dunham took the precaution of presenting Wolfowitz with the customary Press Club mug and certificate "before we ask the final question," and for good reason: It tied the Nuremburg war trials to Wolfowitz and the Iraq war.

Wolfowitz was unbowed. "I still think that what has been done for the United States and the world is something important," he said. Praising the sacrifices of U.S. and allied troops, he added that Iraq will become a place of "tolerance and freedom" in the Muslim world. "I think the whole world, frankly, should be enormously grateful."

Page A - 9
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/12/08/MNG75G4IM51.DTL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
©2005 San Francisco Chronicle

Wolfowitz is a rat trying to jump ship

David

This seems like an interesting story relating to the archives, and a lot fresher than the Cuba/CIA stories. Must have slipped your mind in the process of being "all fair and shit."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States told Saudi Arabia more than three years before the September 11 attacks that Osama bin Laden might be targeting civilian airplanes, according to a newly declassified State Department cable.

The June 1998 cable, obtained by George Washington University's National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act, said the United States had no specific information that al Qaeda was planning such an attack, and did not say it might fly planes into buildings.

A copy of the cable, first reported by The New York Times on Friday, was obtained by Reuters. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on September 11, 2001, were Saudi nationals.

The cable, from the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh to U.S. government officials, said concerns were based on threats bin Laden had recently made against military aircraft in an interview with U.S. network ABC.

"We could not rule out that a terrorist might take the course of least resistance and turn to a civilian target," the cable said, noting bin Laden had said his group did not differentiate between civilians and the military.

The cable said three U.S. officials had met with Saudi officials at Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport on June 16, 1998, "to discuss the Osama bin Laden threat, and press for enhanced vigilance by Saudi security screeners and police patrols around the airport."

"We noted that while we have no specific information that indicates bin Laden is targeting civilian aircraft, he made a threat during the June 11 ABC News interview against 'military passenger aircraft' in the next 'few weeks,'" the cable said.

The cable is the latest of several signs made public that U.S. officials had concerns, long before the 2001 hijacked airplane attacks on New York and Washington, that al Qaeda might be targeting aircraft.

Others include a highly classified President's Daily Brief report to former President Bill Clinton dated December 4, 1998, which was titled "Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks."

The CIA has also said it had told the Federal Aviation Administration in 1999 that "Osama bin Laden remains interested in targeting U.S. interests including on U.S. territory. He is well prepared to consider kidnappings and hijackings as well as bombings."

On August 6, 2001, President George W. Bush's daily intelligence brief said the FBI had detected "patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."

It did not warn of an airplane attack on buildings, but said the FBI was conducting about 70 investigations throughout the United States that it considered were related to bin Laden.

Bill was mad because everybody shouted down Ann Coulter. She ignites the student populations with her absolutely racist, cruel remarks and then she and Bill feel bad when they shout her down.
Please Bill, devote an entire show to the right wing nazis who shout down Michael Moore. I want to hear how terrible they are.

I had no idea about the National Security Archive till David mentioned it today. I'll spend some time on thier site.

Some of those released documents really are wierd......I mean, the Cat spies. But then again, maybe it's not so far fetched after all...aren't they trying flies now?

Bush on the Constitution: 'It's just a goddamned piece of paper'
By DOUG THOMPSON
Dec 9, 2005, 07:53

Last month, Republican Congressional leaders filed into the Oval Office to meet with President George W. Bush and talk about renewing the controversial USA Patriot Act.

Several provisions of the act, passed in the shell shocked period immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, caused enough anger that liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union had joined forces with prominent conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly and Bob Barr to oppose renewal.

GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

"I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way."
Mr. President, one aide in the meeting said. There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.
"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"
I've talked to three people present for the meeting that day and they all confirm that the President of the United States called the Constitution a goddamned piece of paper.
And, to the Bush Administration, the Constitution of the United States is little more than toilet paper stained from all the shit that this group of power-mad despots have dumped on the freedoms that goddamned piece of paper used to guarantee.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, while still White House counsel, wrote that the Constitution is an outdated document.
------------
I remember the arguments that these neo-cons were considered "strict constructionists," whatever that means. It always made me laugh too. They aren't constructionists, strict or otherwise.

I've never taken Bill O'Reilly seriously. It's like watching someone parody himself.

He and Coulter are so extreme and outrageous I would be hard-pressed to believe less than half their audience knows the show is theatre. The other half however, may take it seriously. What can you do?

Check out Media Matters. They average a post per day calling O'Reilly on false statements, and name calling.

Time Reporter Testifies in Leak Case

Rove Lawyer Was Deposed Last Week by Special Prosecutor

By Carol D. Leonnig and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 9, 2005; Page A08

A special prosecutor questioned Time magazine reporter Viveca Novak under oath yesterday about a conversation she had with the attorney for presidential adviser Karl Rove that has become part of the CIA leak investigation, according to a top editor at the magazine.

In another twist, the lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, was deposed on the same issue last Friday, a source close to the case said.

Novak was deposed a day after Fitzgerald spent three hours meeting with a new grand jury in the leak inquiry. A previous grand jury investigating the case indicted Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on Oct. 28 and then disbanded. At the time, Fitzgerald warned Luskin that Rove remained under investigation, and he said in public filings that he would probably present information to a new grand jury.

Sources familiar with their conversations say Novak's and Luskin's accounts to Fitzgerald appear to conflict on when they spoke.

But one person close to the case said the conversation took place before Rove's first grand jury appearance in February. This person said the conversation was not the event that led Rove to change his testimony.

Time's managing editor, Jim Kelly, said yesterday that the magazine will publish Novak's account of her testimony in its Monday edition, and it will be available in an online edition Sunday. Kelly said he did not yet know and could not comment on the full details of Novak's testimony or Fitzgerald's questions because he had not spoken with the reporter.

*****end of clip*****

Interesting.

capt

RE: O'Reilly

Has anybody else been watching "The Colbert Report" it is an ongoing parody and is pretty funny.

capt

David, thank you for this "upbeat" story. It gives me hope!

I wish National Security Archive much success in one of their endeavors, which is mentioned on their website: "The Archive is currently working with non governmental institutions in more than a dozen countries to expand open government laws and practices both here and abroad."

I had to laugh at the "wired cat" -- it gave a whole new dimension to Molly Ivins' mollyism about the media and the Congress during the Clinton years: "the pussy patrol."

Thanks again!

Back in '03, the Building Industries Association, in connection with "The Affordable Housing Council" brought Ann Coulter to our college town for a FAT CAT speaking engagement -- you had to be a high roller to spring for the pricey ticket.

Turnout was dismal, BIA took a bath, and the affordable housing council (which is really a front for developers) got outed big time.

It was hilarious to see that my community essentially told Ann to get lost!

#17 Capt

I don't have cable but I used to. From the clips I've seen Colbert is as funny as Jon Stewart.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/10/18.html#a5439
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/11/15.html#a5873

In Memoriam

Our dear friend and adversary Baf died last night when the bullet in his head was dislodged as he took off his hat. The stroke was immediate and his death was painless. His last words were a testament to friends here on www.davidcorn.com, Those f^(%!^& corn-nut, ass-licken, wack-jobs, and then he slumped over, never to take another breath. May he rest in peace.

He was a self-made man. He didn't let his compulsory education get in the way of a successful business career. He cared for the world around him and participated in political discourse. He was a man of few words and few thoughts. Some of the words were ass-licker, wack job, corn nut, dumbass, and idiot. His thoughts were not as memorable. He had a strange and adversary relationship with his peers. It was as if all political opinions in opposition to his own deserved derision rather than a thoughtful response. If Baf taught us one thing, it is seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Send contributions in lieu of flowers to the Committee to Re-Elect Rick Santorum.

May he rot in hell, good riddance.

a touching eulogy for a touchy individual. he has touched all of our lives.

May he rest in pieces.

haha micki!

#20,

He does the anti-O'Reilly thing so well it is almost creepy! But very funny.

capt

NO THANK YOU Members Of Congress

Here is what I'd say if I could speak face to face with my Colorado Senator Allard or Salazar and Representative Mark Udall. You can fill in the names of your senators and representative:

No thank you, for so many unanswered questions and so little practical action after 9/11. I would have closed the borders with Mexico the next day with troops and airplane surveillance. I would have tightened up the borders with Canada. We've got 37,000 troops guarding South Korea's border. That begs an answer as to why our troops aren't guarding our borders. It begs a further answer as to why you allow this president to pretend that we're safer today than before 9/11. The fact is-we are in greater danger. A December 5, 2005 NBC Brian Williams report from the 9/11 Commission said "The U.S. is in imminent danger of another attack."

^^^^^^^^^^6

hmm, assuming for a minute that bushco/PNAC actually wasn't behind 911, (and believe you me I find that difficult to do), there would still remain the questions:: "WHY are our borders even more porous today than they were before 911, and WHY are our shipping ports still not being properly protected?" ::

there can only be one answer, and it's a simple one:: "because bushco DOESN'T WANT THEM TO BE"
all phony bushco explanations for this (if we ever even hear one) would just be dissembling and political nonsense. it boils down to THEY DON'T WANT US TO BE PROTECTED - and that's assuming that they DIDN'T perpetrate the crime of the century 911.

click my name and order the FREE DVD:
'CONFRONTING THE EVIDENCE:Reopen 911'
free shipping/handling

Here also is important info. finally released. It is old, from 1967, but justice has yet to be done.

War Crimes Committed Against U.S. Military Personnel, June 8, 1967

Submitted to the Secretary of the Army in his capacity as Executive Agent for the Secretary of Defense, June 8, 2005.

On June 8, 1967 while patrolling in international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was savagely attacked without warning or justification by air and naval forces of the state of Israel.

Of a crew of 294 officers and men, (including three civilians), the ship suffered thirty four (34) killed in action and one hundred seventy three (173) wounded in action. The ship itself, a Forty Million ($40,000,000) Dollar state of the art signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform, was so badly damaged that it never sailed on an operational mission again and was sold in 1970 for $101,666.66 as scrap.

The "Moorer Commission" (Chaired by Adm. Moorer) investigated the attack and made the following findings:

1. That on June 8, 1967, after eight hours of aerial surveillance, Israel launched a two-hour air and naval attack against USS Liberty, the world's most sophisticated intelligence ship, inflicting 34 dead and 173 wounded American servicemen (a casualty rate of seventy percent, in a crew of 294);

2. That the Israeli air attack lasted approximately 25 minutes, during which time unmarked Israeli aircraft dropped napalm canisters on USS Liberty's bridge, and fired 30mm cannons and rockets into our ship, causing 821 holes, more than 100 of which were rocket-size; survivors estimate 30 or more sorties were flown over the ship by a minimum of 12 attacking Israeli planes which were jamming all five American emergency radio channels;

3. That the torpedo boat attack involved not only the firing of torpedoes, but the machine-gunning of Liberty's firefighters and stretcher-bearers as they struggled to save their ship and crew; the Israeli torpedo boats later returned to machine-gun at close range three of the Liberty's life rafts that had been lowered into the water by survivors to rescue the most seriously wounded;

4. That there is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire crew; evidence of such intent is supported by statements from Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Undersecretary of State George Ball, former CIA director Richard Helms, former NSA directors Lieutenant General William Odom, USA (Ret.), Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, USN (Ret.), and Marshal Carter; former NSA deputy directors Oliver Kirby and Major General John Morrison, USAF (Ret.); and former Ambassador Dwight Porter, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon in 1967;

5. That in attacking USS Liberty, Israel committed acts of murder against American servicemen and an act of war against the United States;

6. That fearing conflict with Israel, the White House deliberately prevented the U.S. Navy from coming to the defense of USS Liberty by recalling Sixth Fleet military rescue support while the ship was under attack; evidence of the recall of rescue aircraft is supported by statements of Captain Joe Tully, Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, and Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis, the Sixth Fleet carrier division commander, at the time of the attack; never before in American naval history has a rescue mission been cancelled when an American ship was under attack;

7. That although Liberty was saved from almost certain destruction through the heroic efforts of the ship's Captain, William L. McGonagle (MOH), and his brave crew, surviving crewmembers were later threatened with "court-martial, imprisonment or worse" if they exposed the truth; and were abandoned by their own government;

8. That due to the influence of Israel's powerful supporters in the United States, the White House deliberately covered up the facts of this attack from the American people;

9. That due to continuing pressure by the pro-Israel lobby in the United States, this attack remains the only serious naval incident that has never been thoroughly investigated by Congress; to this day, no surviving crewmember has been permitted to officially and publicly testify about the attack;

10. That there has been an official cover-up without precedent in American naval history; the existence of such a cover-up is now supported by statements of Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, USN (Ret.), former Judge Advocate General of the Navy; and Captain Ward Boston, USN, (Ret.), the chief counsel to the Navy's 1967 Court of Inquiry of Liberty attack;

11. That the truth about Israel's attack and subsequent White House cover-up continues to be officially concealed from the American people to the present day and is a national disgrace;

12. That a danger to our national security exists whenever our elected officials are willing to subordinate American interests to those of any foreign nation, and specifically are unwilling to challenge Israel's interests when they conflict with American interests; this policy, evidenced by the failure to defend USS Liberty and the subsequent official cover-up of the Israeli attack, endangers the safety of Americans and the security of the United States.
-------------
Don't hold your breath waiting for justice. The survivors of the USS Liberty attack have lived with this injustice for almost 40 years, and they will continue to wait.

absolut corruption

hahaha

darn...try this:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/
856/1675/1600/absolut_corruption
%5B1%5D.0.jpg

#26
Capt,
Is he on bill's list?

INTERNET CENSORSHIP

News reports on CIA prisoner flights and secret prisons are disappearing from Google and other search engines like Alltheweb as fast as they appear. Here now, gone tomorrow is the name of the game.

Google is systematically failing to list and link to articles that contain explosive information about the Bush administration, the war in Iraq, Al Qaeda, and U.S. political scandals. But Google is not alone in working closely to stifle Internet discourse. America On Line, Microsoft, Yahoo and others are slowly turning the Internet into an information superhighway dominated by barricades, toll booths, off-ramps that lead to dead ends, choke points, and security checks.

There are also many cases of Google's search engine failing to list and link to certain information. According to a number of web site administrators who carry anti-Bush political content, this situation has become more pronounced in the last month. In addition, many web site administrators are reporting a dramatic drop-off in hits to their sites, according to their web statistic analyzers. Adding to their woes is the frequency at which spam viruses are being spoofed as coming from their web site addresses.

Internet Censorship in the US: No Longer a Prediction

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Cisco Systems have honed their skills at Internet censorship for years in places like China, Jordan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and other countries. They have learned well. They will be the last to admit they have imported their censorship skills into the United States at the behest of the Bush regime. Last year, the Bush-Cheney campaign blocked international access to its web site -- www.georgewbush.com -- for unspecified "security reasons."
^^^^^^^^^^6
it just keeps putting the lotion on it's skin

read all of these:: whatreallyhappened.com

http://www.archive.org/

If you know the actual URL, you can find some stuff that is missing from the 'net.

Bookmark it!

capt

Meanwhile, back to Fitzgerald DEPOSING LUSKIN?...in this CNN piece, it says Fitzgerald deposed Luskin last Friday

What's up with that? David, do you know if that's accurate? Isn't it sort of "out of pattern" for a lawyer to be deposed by an opposing lawyer? (Well, maybe more accurately *future* opposing lawyer.)

This looks curiouser and curiouser all the time, with more questions but fewer answers.

Maybe we'll find out the answers in 2075 in the National Security Archive.

Infamous Comparisons: December 7, 1945 Vs. September 11, 2005

On May 1, 2003, Bush declared: "major combat operations in Iraq have ended …†[T]he United States and our allies have prevailed." Since then, 1,900-plus U.S. forces perished in Iraq; most of them after Bush’≥ July 2, 2003, "Bring them on" taunt. Since Vice President Cheney’≥ May 30, 2005, pronouncement that the insurgency was in its "last throes," 462 Americans died in Iraq (as of December 5, 2005). Hawkish Democratic Congressman John Murtha stunned Capitol Hill on November 17, 2005, by calling for a pullout of U.S. troops. On November 30, 2005, Bush made yet another one of his endless speeches on Iraq, trying to enunciate a victory strategy.

In less than four years after entering WWII, America and its allies defeated the greatest military threat ever assembled in world history –†the fascist Axis powers of Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo. But four years after 9/11, Bush remains unable to defeat a ragtag group of insurgents and terrorists, with no end in sight to the Iraqi insurgency and "War on Terrorism."

*****end of clip*****

Commander Codpiece - War planner!

capt

Neil

There you go again, thinking you can open your mouth and take me on.

Just like a cowardly troll, stab a man in the back when he's not looking. Shame on you Neil, such hate from a educated progressive troll like yourself.

I guess you must be paying back those student loans if you can't afford cable. Or maybe your just a low level IT tech.

I was trying to save you some dignity and give you morons a break. I waited for you to say something more intelligent than your counter part "What the Fuck". Just could do it, could you!

Also, ass-licker was your word not mine. I used ass-kissin which you changed to ass-licker. I guess thinking about David's ass just got you a little to excited.

I use simple words and thoughts because that is all it takes to get trolls like you and your lefties buddies all worked up into a blather. If I were to try any harder you trolls start friggin crying like little girly men.

You trolls are on this site 24hrs a day. Don't you have any family or friends? No wonder there is so much ass-lickin (your word not mine)How else would you get any attention?

You trolls are such a waste of time, but amusing! It's almost as good as the Simpsons until you realize that you freaks are serious!!

Neil

I'm affraid you really don't have anything to debate.

No idictment of Rove, Libby's charges will be dropped.

We are winning the war, elections will be held and we will draw down troops starting next year.

The ecomony is growing faster under Bush than under Clinton.

The Dems are rebuking the surrender stance by Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi.

New tax cuts just approved.

No leadership in Dem party, Hillary sinking like quicksand.

Bush's poll nubers going up-up-up.

Gay marrige defeated (this one must have really hit you hard)

I mean really, what's left for you sorry ass trolls? Anything?

Neil

Don't worry, I will give you the rest of the day to sqeeze a response out that over educated brain of yours!!

BAF you are a funny man. However your wit is lost on the cornholers. You are not welcome here. This is not a place for debate it is an echo chamber. You belittle yourself by attempting to engage in a debate or even attempting to see if their heads explode with some of your comments. It is fun but, alas, as we grow older we realize that fun is not all there is to life. Move on; your point has been made. Go to a right wing blog , hone your skills, and find a more productive use of your time. Who knows one day you may start your own blog and then you can see just how welcome witty left wingers are at your party.

Helen Thomas: Journalists are Now Soul Searching After Playing Dead Since 9/11

Helen Thomas, arguably the nation's best known print journalist and dean of the White House press corps, told a Falls Church audience last week that "there is a lot of soul searching going on now" among news professionals about uncritical coverage since 9/11 of the Bush administration and its policies.

"The press has rolled over and played dead," Thomas said of its behavior in recent years. "Our main weapon is skepticism. It is our indispensable role to protect the people's right to know," she said. But it failed to live up to that role in recent years.

Thomas, speaking to the monthly breakfast of the Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia, said that in the wake of 9/11 "reporters pulled in their horns. It was felt that tough questions of the president were un-American, and this continued as the administration segued from 9/11 into Iraq."

She noted that when the faux journalist on a pro-Republican payroll, Jeff Guckert (aka Jeff Gannon) was attending press briefings, McClellan would offer him the opportunity to ask a question whenever he felt the need to duck pressure from another journalist.

This behavior marked a significant departure from earlier administrations that Thomas has covered, every one dating back to John F. Kennedy, Jr.

It gets even worse with rare formal presidential press conferences, she added. President Bush carefully selects the journalists he will allow to ask questions and then does not allow for follow-ups.

She characterized Bush as "a momma's boy without rapport with his dad who feels comfortable around strong women. He's fond of using the words freedom and liberty, but he doesn't know what they are, because he's sure clamped down on ours."

*****end of clip*****

Helen RAWKS!

capt

All Responsible Corn Bloggers are occupied for the remainder of the day. CLOSED.

baf will have to play with itself.

Coup brewing in Iraq?

By Hassan Hanizadeh

Former Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi is a dangerous, mysterious figure who is currently trying to play a significant role in the Iraqi political scene, which seriously threatens the future of the country.

The fact that Allawi was the only Iraqi official to attend a recent military parade inspection ceremony indicates that he intends to play an ambiguous military role in Iraq.

After the collapse of Saddam Hussein’≥ dictatorship, Allawi, who was once an Iraqi officer close to Saddam and a prominent member of the now disbanded Baath Party, tried to isolate all of the popular Iraqi political figures, with the help of the United States and certain regional Arab countries.

And now, regional Arab countries’†satellite networks are trying to portray Allawi as a national hero and savior.

*****end of clip*****

This does not sound much like democracy.

capt

baf HAS been playing with itself as far as I am concerned!

You freaks have no response, because you know the truth can't be debated!!!

Wombat, I didn't know that David had given you the rights to this site. When I came here I didn't see any disclaimer that this was for Corndicks only. How boring would that be?

Britain 'trying to stall $1.3bn theft inquiry that could hurt Allawi's election chances'

By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
Published: 09 December 2005

The British government is trying to stall an investigation into the theft of more than $1.3bn (?740m) from the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, senior Iraqi officials say.

The government wants to postpone the investigation to help its favoured candidate Iyad Allawi, the former prime minister, in the election on 15 December. The money disappeared during his administration.

The UK's enthusiasm for Mr Allawi may have led it into promoting a cover-up of how the money was siphoned off and sent abroad. One Iraqi minister believes the investigation will be dropped when the next government is formed.

The scandal is expected to explode with renewed force in the next few weeks. The Independent has learnt of secret tape recordings of a wide-ranging conversation between a Ministry of Defence official and a businessman, naming politicians and officials involved.

"It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history," Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister, said. "Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal." Most of the military purchases were made in Poland and Pakistan. They included obsolete helicopters, armoured vehicles unable to stop a bullet and grossly over-priced machine guns and bullets. Payments were made in advance. Often the Ministry of Defence did not even have a copy of contracts under which it was paying hundreds of millions of dollars.

*****end of clip*****

I get the feeling that Allawi is our guy and by hook or by crook he will be our dictator in Iraq.

Chalabi and Allawi, what a pair. I cannot believe they are the best Iraq has to offer.

capt

BAF

It's just advice man just advice.....

'Never Before!' Our Amnesiac Torture Debate

Naomi Klein

[from the December 26, 2005 issue]

It was the "Mission Accomplished" of George W. Bush's second term, and an announcement of that magnitude called for a suitably dramatic location. But what was the right backdrop for the infamous "We do not torture" declaration? With characteristic audacity, the Bush team settled on downtown Panama City.

*****end of clip*****

As always Naomi has insightful perspective.

capt

Alan and capt say:

Murtha rocks, the neocons have already started the slime machine. I do not think it will sell. I hope not.

YOU boys MEAN LIKE THIS SLIME MACHINE?

Alan,
Lieberman is an idiot.
He was for criticizing the prez before he was

President Bush has a plan for victory in Iraq that begins with training Iraqi forces so they can defend their country and fight the terrorists. The plan has changed many times over the last 3 and one-half years but this time he thinks he has it right. We have trained 1, or is it 200, or maybe 20 Iraqi battalions... no matter what, this the way to go.

We will be greeted as liberators... probably in January.

Earlier this year, Iraqi forces led the fight in clearing out terrorists during the crucial battle of Tal Afar, with U.S. troops in a supporting role. Every day, Iraqis are taking more control of the situation on the ground. But let's face it. It'll be ten years before they'll be ready. In January, Bush will ask Congress for another $100,000,000,000 for Iraq operations in 2006, which brings the total to $371 Billion, that 1/3 of a trillion taxpayer dollars, all financed by debt and justified by illusory WMD's and smoking guns in the form of mushroom clouds. The American people don't have an open pocketbook for the president and his war strategy in Iraq.

If this money was being spent on fighting Al Quada, it would be justified but it has been used to over through Saddam, nation build, and for oil access. Our President conflated our national economic interests with our national defense interests and led the country to war irresponsibly.

"Danger, danger Will Robinson." We hear pro-war republicans claim "Withdrawing from Iraq, as some Democrats in Washington propose, would send a dangerous signal to our enemies that we cut and run." How so? American revolutionary soldiers fought the British using guerrilla warfare and it worked. There is ample evidence that lowering the US forces profile in Iraqi cities and towns would reduce the bloodshed and focus the conflict between Iraqi nationalists supporting the government and Iraqi nationals fighting to defeat it. The remaining 7% foreign fighters would be rejected as interlopers in a largely Iraqi issue.

Let's get back to fighting terrorists who threaten security throughout the world, not Iraqis who want the occupying super power out of their lives.

*letter from Murtha

Dear Alan,

America wants and deserves real answers on Iraq: What is the clear definition of success? Is there a plan? How much longer and how many more lives? In short, what is the end game?

Because we in Congress are charged with overseeing the safety of our sons and daughters when the president sends them into battle, it is our responsibility, our obligation to speak out for them. This obligation has not been met. That's why I am speaking out now.

I offered a concrete plan to get our troops out of harm's way, where they have become the target. I don't expect every member of Congress to agree with my specific proposal in this debate - but I do expect them to take part in that debate, not to squash it.

I am asking you to join me in demanding a real discussion of the war in Iraq from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate For the Safety of Our Troops.

For too long Congress has counted itself out of any real debate on Iraq policy. We didn't talk about troop levels, even after the White House fired General Shinseki because he complained the levels were too low. One problem we encountered was the lack of proper training for our troops; service members were placed to guard the prisons but weren't trained; consequently we had Abu Ghraib, and no action from Congress. And if you look at the casualties, they have doubled since then. It's time to change our course - we can't just sit back any longer.

I've taken a lot of trips to Iraq. When I came back from my last one, I had become convinced we were making no progress at all. This can't be Republican and Democrat. It can't be recrimination one way or the other. We have to work this thing out, and we can't let a real solution get caught in the crossfire of an understandably heated political fight.

It's time for a serious conversation, not more rhetoric.

Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate For the Safety of Our Troops.

The past few weeks have had a lot of firsts for me. I have never sought out the spotlight, or even taken the lead in a House floor debate the way I did a few weeks ago. And I've never signed an email like this before. But I see the beginning of a debate that is long overdue, and we can't afford to let it get overtaken by talking points or the news cycle.

I'm offering this petition, which will be delivered to Speaker of the House in order to keep our Congress focused where it should have been all along. I hope you'll sign if you agree.

Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate For the Safety of Our Troops.

Sincerely,

John Murtha
Pennsylvania's 12th District

I say we start with the terrorists that attacked our ship the USS Liberty with the intent to sink it and murder everyone onboard, then blame it on Egypt. That would be a very good start indeed. That whole thing just makes my blood boil, and they got away with it. If that wasn't terrorism I don't know what is.

Hajji #1

You said "repository." Heh, Heh, cool! Isn't that what you medical Ffolks give to people to sorta clean them out? I didn't think David allowed stuff like that on his site. Still cool, though.

msnbc clip-warning memo

he mentions other documents dating back to '95

#45 Capt says Iraq "does not sound much like democracy."

Maybe it shouldn't be a democracy. Maybe it should be a hippocracy. Bring in a bunch of hippos and put them in charge.

Hear me out here. The Sunnis and the Kurds and the Shiites all hate each other, and they hate Westerners even more, and they hate Jews most of all. But nobody has any particular grudge against hippos. Hippos, while they're dangerous when approached, are not known to seek WMDs or gas their own people. I mean, would you rather see Zarqawi in charge? I don't think so.

Right now I'd say Iraq and America are becoming hippocracies at about the same pace. Maybe if we elect the hippos over there, we won't have to elect them here.

#45 Capt says Iraq "does not sound much like democracy."

Maybe it shouldn't be a democracy. Maybe it should be a hippocracy. Bring in a bunch of hippos and put them in charge.

Hear me out here. The Sunnis and the Kurds and the Shiites all hate each other, and they hate Westerners even more, and they hate Jews most of all. But nobody has any particular grudge against hippos. Hippos, while they're dangerous when approached, are not known to seek WMDs or gas their own people. I mean, would you rather see Zarqawi in charge? I don't think so.

Right now I'd say Iraq and America are becoming hippocracies at about the same pace. Maybe if we elect the hippos over there, we won't have to elect them here.

damn! double post!

Just a little trivia

Name for me the singer and who is the singer singing about?

We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you'll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you

But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
Cause if you really want to hear our views
You haven't done nothing!

It's not cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else

And we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
Cause if you really want to hear our views
You haven't done nothing!

We would not care to wake up to the nightmare
That's becoming real life
But when mislead who knows a person's mind
Can turn as cold as ice

Why do you keep on making us hear your song
Telling us how you are changing right from wrong
Cause if you really want to hear our views
You haven't done nothing!

Hint: The Jackson 5 sing background on the chorus.

Grapevine Whine - The Murtha Plan

On Wednesday night (12/7), Brit Hume used the second "picking" on his Grapevine segment in an absolutely brilliant display of some of the most devious tactics Fox typically uses to convince viewers that "up" is "down." In this instance, the target was the so-called "plan" suggested last month by Rep John Murtha (D-PA) for redeployment of US troops currently in Iraq.

Here's how Hume read item #2:

Even before today, Democrats were complaining that Rep. John Murtha's plan to remove troops from Iraq has been mischaracterized for political reasons, saying the Pennsylvania Democrat never proposed an immediate withdrawal. In fact, in announcing his plan last month, Murtha said his plan would immediately redeploy US troops, adding, "It is time to bring them home." He said some troops should be rebased in the region with a Marine force over the horizon. A few days later, he made clear that by that, he meant outside Iraq.

Comments: This is so good it deserves a detailed analysis, so let's put on our fancy thinkin' caps & tease out all the not-so-subtle implications.

*****end of clip*****

Complete with a point by point analysis exposing the despicable liars on FOX news. Smear a decorated veteran, that is how dishonorable these slugs are.

capt

ACLU says next deadline in Abu Ghraib photo case is Dec. 15

A judge could rule on whether to order the release of new photographs from the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison anytime after Dec. 15, an ACLU spokesperson told RAW STORY.

The 144 photographs and four videos, which have been seen by New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh, are alleged to contain photographs of U.S. servicemembers involved in raping detainees, possibly underage. The photos and videos are in addition to an earlier set of photographs already released. ...

... Judge Alvin Hellerstein in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the Defense Department must release the images and videos, saying that suppressing them would only create more intrigue about their contents. The Department then appealed, and was granted an extension through Dec. 15. If their appeal is rejected, the Bush Administration could take the case to the Supreme Court.

"Suppression of information is the surest way to cause its significance to grow and persist," Judge Alvin wrote. "Our struggle to prevail must be without sacrificing the transparency and accountability of government and military officials. These are the values [the Freedom of Information Act] was intended to advance, and they are at the very heart of the values for which we fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is a risk that the enemy will seize upon the publicity of the photographs and seek to use such publicity as a pretext for enlistments and violent acts. But the education and debate that such publicity will foster will strengthen our purpose and, by enabling such deficiencies as may be perceived to be debated and corrected, show our strength as a vibrant and functioning democracy to be emulated."

..."The government has taken the position in this case that the more outrageously the behavior exhibited by American troops, the less the public has a right to know about it," said Reporters Committee Executive Director Lucy Dalglish. "Such a stance turns the Freedom of Information Act inside out."
-----------------------
We are sending detainees (prisoners) to other countries to be tortured in the policy of rendition. We have secret prisons. We, as Americans, can turn a blind eye because it doesn't affect us personally.
Publish the photos.

damn! double post!

but it was a good one, so nobody minded.

Eggman, I thought about you 'n Hajji posting lyrics of Beatles songs when I replied to a post last night... but I fk'd up the words. In response to somebody named "WHY", I used the words to "Tell Me Why", but since it wasn't the correct words, nobody 'caught' it.
It shoulda been...
*singing*
Tell me WHYYYYYY she cried, and why she lieeeeeed to me.

It fit because "WHY" was backin' up Danielle's post with more b/s. I smacked 'im around a little. haha

Alan,

Danielle really thought she had you with that "fingers in your ears" repeating "na na na"
bit. All I could picture was Eddie Murphy doing it in one of his movies. I told her it didn't fit you.

Hundreds of photos of flag-draped coffins containing the remains of US troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, which the Pentagon fought to keep secret.

thought it was thememoryhole.org who first busted this door open.

Posted by: Jeanne at December 9, 2005 08:10

thanks for the update.

"...thememoryhole.org..."

Looks like some interesting stuff there. Have you watched the film on "CORONA"? I'm thinking about watching it now... but I'm watching something on TV about a Texas bankrobber. haha

ok, "Cowboy Bob" the Texas bankrobber turned out to really be "Cowboy Bobbette"! (he was a she) LOL A good disguise for sure.

eggman @ 57

goo goo ga joob

Love your post.

Meant to post this yesterday:

Empty Garden Lyrics
by Elton John
[ Download Elton John Ringtones ] [ Send to a friend ]

What happened here,
As the New York sunset disappeared?
I found an empty garden among the flagstones there.
Who lived here?
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot,
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop.
And now it all looks strange.
It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain.

And what's it for,
This little empty garden by the brownstone door?
And in the cracks along the sidewalk nothing grows no more.
Who lived here?
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot,
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop.
And we are so amazed! We're crippled and we're dazed....
A gardener like that one, no one can replace.

And I've been knocking, but no one answers.
And I've been knocking, most all the day.
Oh and I've been calling,oh hey, hey, Johnny!
Can't you come out to play?

And through their tears,
Some say he farmed his best in younger years.
But he'd have said that roots grow stronger, if only he could hear.
Who lived there?
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot,
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop.
Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls.....
We hear, we hear your name.....

And I've been knocking, but no one answers.
And I've been knocking, most all the day.
Oh and I've been calling,oh hey, hey, Johnny!
Can't you come out to play,
In your empty garden?
Johnny?
Can't you come out to play, in your empty garden?

good one Brent!

======================

Cowboy Bob's last ride

Man, I gotta life-long friend that looks just like her disguise!

Good old Mike Wallace. He interviews people even when they won't talk to him.

At 87, Wallace still tells it like it is

Q. President George W. Bush has declined to be interviewed by you. What would you ask him if you had the chance?

A. What in the world prepared you to be the commander in chief of the largest superpower in the world? In your background, Mr. President, you apparently were incurious. You didn't want to travel. You knew very little about the military. . . . The governor of Texas doesn't have the kind of power that some governors have. . . . Why do you think they nominated you? . . . Do you think that has anything to do with the fact that the country is so [expletive] up?

Tales of the Freewayblogger-This Just In From Boston

Jeanne, the Mike Wallace interview was a good find! We need more people of stature to spit out the truth like that. I sent the interview to quite a few people.

Jeanne,

I liked the "Will work for armor" sign.

Halliburton (KBR) workers in Iraq paid 50 cents an hour

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- While the United States spends billions on troop support in Iraq, the people serving the meals, scooping the ice cream, and washing the dishes make as little as 50 cents an hour.

The U.S. military has paid Halliburton subsidiary KBR about $12 billion so far for so-called logistics support to U.S. military personnel in Iraq, the largest contract of its kind ever. Around 80,000 troops are served meals at dining facilities every day under the contract -- the other 60,000 or so fend for themselves in field kitchens or by eating military issue "Meals Ready to Eat."

KBR in turn hires that work out entirely to subcontractors whose job it is to recruit, transport, house, feed and pay "third-country" nationals to stock, prepare, serve and clean up at the dining facilities at 43 bases across Iraq.

Those workers are recruited from countries with already low wages, where jobs are scarce. And as pressure to keep the logistics contract cost down has increased, subcontractors have moved from country to country in search of cheaper labor markets...

...There is no provision for sick leave. Any employee who threatens a strike or attempts to organize is subject to immediate dismissal and the employee required to pay for his return plane ticket.

For this they are paid $150 a month, roughly 45 cents an hour.
--------------------
Yep, this ought to do wonders for our reputation around the world.

#74
So did I.

Working Class Hero

As soon as you’≤e born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you’≤e clever and they despise a fool
Till you’≤e so fucking crazy you can’¥ follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they're tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can’¥ really function you’≤e so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you’≤e so clever and class less and free
But you’≤e still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

By John Lennon.

Jeanne,

I've got the original "Imagine" album by John Lennon. Everytime I think about getting rid of it or putting it on E-Bay, I think better. There is a song called "oh my love" on it that I like just as much as "imagine."

Oh my love for the first time in my life
My eyes are wide open
Oh my lover for the first time in my life
My eyes can see

I see the wind, oh I see the trees
Everything is clear in my heart
I see the clouds, oh I see the sky
Everything is clear in our world

Oh my love for the first time in my life
My mind is wide open
Oh my lover for the first time in my life
My mind can feel

I feel the sorrow, oh I feel the dreams
Everything is clear in my heart
I feel life, oh I feel love
Everything is clear in our world

A lot of people blamed Yoko for breaking up the Beatles. I think John just grew beyond the Beatles before the others were wiling to let go. Love had a lot to do with it, and I think this song proves it.

Jeanne,

Actually, John put exactly as I said in #78 in the lyrics to "God"

God is a concept
By which we measure
Our pain
I'll say it again
God is a concept
By which we measure
Our pain

I don't believe in magic
I don't believe in I-ching
I don't believe in Bible
I don't believe in tarot
I don't believe in Hitler
I don't believe in Jesus
I don't believe in Kennedy
I don't believe in Buddha
I don't believe in Mantra
I don't believe in Gita
I don't believe in Yoga
I don't believe in kings
I don't believe in Elvis
I don't believe in Zimmerman
I don't believe in Beatles
I just believe in me
Yoko and me
And that's reality

The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the Dreamweaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
And so dear friends
You'll just have to carry on
The dream is over

After I posted that, I just realized John wrote his own epitaph.

Before 9/11, Warnings on bin Laden

By SCOTT SHANE

12/09/05 "New York Times" -- -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 - More than three years before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, American diplomats warned Saudi officials that Osama bin Laden might target civilian aircraft, according to a newly declassified State Department cable.

The cable was one of two documents released Thursday by the National Security Archive, a research organization at George Washington University that obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act. The other was a memorandum written five days after the 2001 attacks by George J. Tenet, then director of central intelligence, to his top deputies, titled "We're at War."

The June 1998 cable reported to Washington that three American officials, the State Department's regional security officer, an economics officer and an aviation specialist had met Saudi officials at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh to pass along a warning based on an interview Mr. bin Laden, the Saudi-born leader of Al Qaeda, had just given to ABC News.

They said he had threatened in the interview to strike in the next "few weeks" against "military passenger aircraft," mentioning surface-to-air missiles. The cable said there was "no specific information that indicates bin Laden is targeting civilian aircraft," but added, "We could not rule out that a terrorist might take the course of least resistance and turn to a civilian target."

#75 Jeanne, if we were concerned about spreading our democracy, we would not treat the Iraqis like slaves. They will never forget our treatment of them. Their hatred for us will last for many generations.

The Party of Defeat
By Staff Sergeant David Bellavia
December 9, 2005
As an infantryman whose boots are still caked with blood and dust from Iraq, I am at a loss to understand what Representative John Murtha (D-PA) was thinking when he recently delivered his defeatist comments about our military efforts.
Murtha’s outrage, like that of many Democrats, is completely directed at the war in Iraq and the large number of American youth far from home and serving in harm’s way. Curiously, no comparable anger is triggered by the 1,700 American troops patrolling Kosovo’s tranquil streets. No complaints issue from the anti-war crowd regarding the 3,000-troop strong presence in Bosnia. And what of the 1,754 troops stationed in Iceland? One seeks in vain for anti-war crowds chanting, “Mr. President, bring home our boys from Iceland!”
Iraq, of course, is a different story. John Murtha, offering his Bronze Star with Valor (BSV) as a badge of his authority, demands a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq. On behalf of every veteran of Iraqi Freedom who has exchanged hot lead with the enemy, allow me to observe that Congressman Murtha does not understand the situation in Iraq. Murtha quotes an unscientific poll that asserts that “80 percent of Iraqi’s want us out.” I am no John Zogby but I conclude that 100 percent of Iraqis want us out—eventually. At the moment, however, they very much want us there while Islamofascists continue to blow them up. And they want us to continue training them to defend themselves in the cause of freedom.
Rather than acknowledging the vital mission being carried out by the troops, the Democratic leadership prefers to disparage our efforts. My fellow soldiers are not appreciative of Senators Kennedy and Kerry’s daily attempts to uncover mistakes made by this administration as we come under fire thousands of miles from our homes. In the era of the digital satellite, these senators never consider the bigger picture, and have put us on trial for executing a war as it unfolds.
Former administrations ignored the present danger in this region for years before 9/11, and today we in the trenches pay the price for our past inability to confront our enemies. Each day, the enemy hopes that one more ten-plus death toll inflicted against coalition forces will be the last straw of the American collective will. The actions of Kerry, Kennedy, Dean, et al.—voting against the immediate pullout of the troops and then supporting Murtha’s ignorant remarks on every television program that offers an invitation—constitute a political attack on the troops, an attack that is aiding our enemy.
Though soldiers bleed for the right to dissent, we must remember that at times dissent will embolden our desperate Islamofascist enemy, especially when they read accounts of the growing fecklessness of the American people and her policy makers. Each day, legislators like Murtha move us closer to losing a winnable war and abandoning a worthy ally. Instead of supporting our cause, they stoke the fires of the Islamist faithful, those who would see a pullout in Iraq as a greater victory than the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan.
Despite the steady drumbeat of negativity, the troops remain undaunted. This is a middle to lower class war fought by volunteers of the greatest generation of American warriors ever born. I have written over 47 Bronze Stars with Valor (BSV) awards for the members of my 34-man infantry platoon. The BSV is growing more and more common during this fight, yet my peers cannot use their awards as a platform to defend their noble struggle because they are still deep in the fight.
Our critics in Congress are burdened by no such constraints. Neither Rep. Murtha nor any other Congressional representative has held a position in a skirmish line under fire in Iraq. Nonetheless, they pontificate to the masses about “their” war experience. Not one has borne witness to the extreme close-quarter nature of this fight or commented on the tearful thanks from a deserving and proud Iraqi people who need us to stay the course.
Instead, Rep. Murtha has the audacity to call my fellow soldiers “broken.” But despite such pessimism, amplified by a cynical media, we are not “broken,” On the contrary, we are winning. Hundreds of thousands of Iranian-trained Hezbollah terrorists, as well as Chechnyan, Wahabbi, and local mujahadeen militants have been pacified by our young patriots. It is regrettable that a man like Murtha, who made his career detailing his undisputed heroism under fire, is the first to chip away at my generation’s valor. Nor have we, as Senator Kerry recently claimed, “terrorized Iraqis in their homes.” And while many anti-war Democrats would have you believe otherwise, we are most certainly not “living hand to mouth.”
 
These and similar attacks have succeeded only in tarnishing the reputation of the American soldier. Each day, the Iraq War veteran grows closer to the embarrassing disrespect once heaped on the Vietnam warrior. Not only does the Democratic leadership deny the transparent fact that Iraq is indeed the front line in the War on Terror, but it feels the need to apologize for our nation’s ability to deliver unrelenting, but prudent lethality onto our deserving enemies. Thus, their warped template for fighting a war: pull out when the blood starts to flow.
Against this strategy of defeat, the president has called for staying the course. Staying the course isn’t a campaign slogan; it is a life support message for those of us in the midst of battle. Congressman Murtha above all others should know the perils inherent in dictating military policy from across the Potomac. I imagine he can still taste the spittle of anti-war protestors from 30 years ago. As was the case in Vietnam, the American soldier cannot be defeated on the field of battle. It is only the failure of the political class to stomach the hardships of combat that stands in the way of our victory.

David Bellavia is a former Army Staff Sergeant who served in the First Infantry Division for six years. He has been recommended for the Medal of Honor by his leadership, and has been nominated for the Distinguished Service Cross. He has received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Conspicuous Service Cross (New York states highest combat valor award) and was recently inducted into the New York State Veteran’s Hall of Fame. His Task Force 2-2 Infantry has fought on such battlefields as Al Muqdadiyah, An Najaf, Al Fallujah, Mosul, and Baqubah. His actions in Fallujah, Iraq were documented in the November 22, 2004 cover story “Into the Hot Zone” by award winning journalist Michael Ware. He is 30 years old.

American Soldiers

American soldiers are being killed like flies for Bush's lies. To date 2,382 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

OF COURSE, NONE OF THEM WAS GOING TO GET SHOT AT. NONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE TO ANSWER TO THE MOTHERS AND FATHERS OF DEAD SOLDIERS AND MARINES. GENERAL SCHWARZKOPF

DON'T PATRONIZE ME WITH TALK ABOUT HUMAN LIVES. COLIN LAPDOG POWELL

It sounds like human lives are not important to Lapdog.

Wolfowitz + World Bank = War + Poverty

As Diebold goes, so goes the election!

So Tenet knew in 1998 Bin Ladin was going to attack civilian targets and the Clinton Administration refuses to disintegrate Bin Ladin when he was caught in the cross hairs of a drone in 1999? God, that Clinton just salivated over getting Bin Ladin but didn't do it on the numerous occasions he had the chance.

Gerald,

Will you read post 82?
Would you like to know facts.
article written By Staff Sergeant David Bellavia

Just read what one of the guys who actually KNOWS what is going on over there, instead of just blabbing your traitorous mouth all the time.

#82
Actually, the workers are from countries outside of Iraq. The companies just keep finding the workers from poorer and poorer countries. Smaller and smaller wages. And at the same time the Iraqi unemployment is at 80?%. No logic just power and greed.

Tim,
Thanks for the posts on John Lennen.

Jesus Bans "Christian" Group

Shocking announcement sends militant Focus on the Family organization into crazed tailspin

- By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, December 9, 2005

In an astonishing but not completely unexpected announcement, Jesus H. Christ, vice president and CFO of All That Is Inc., appeared today on a large tortilla at a roadside taco stand in Zacatecas, Mexico, to announce that, effective immediately, the pseudo-Christian group Focus on the Family, led by Dr. James Dobson and best known for its blazing hatred of gays and its fear of glimpsing the human female nipple during nationally televised sporting events, is effectively banned from His Divine Beneficence.

"What happened was, the heavens and all spirits of goodness, along with Buddha and Shiva and Allah and Kali and a few others, well, we were having some margaritas and playing poker and tossing around recent headlines, when Allah chimed in that this Focus on the Family group -- a real scab on my big toe for years, I gotta tell you -- well, they just decided to yank all their accounts from a bank over the bank's support of gay rights," said Jesus, dressed in black Diesel jeans, Hugo Boss motorcycle boots and a snug tank top featuring a large OM symbol across the chest.

"J-Dog," as he is known to his friends, was referring, of course, to the recent story about how the militant, Colorado-based "Christian" group has just pulled all its accounts from Wells Fargo Bank after learning that the bank had donated a small sum of money to gay rights causes, including GLAAD, a sum totaling about $50,000, or about one-tenth of what Wells Fargo gave to the GOP last year.

The Christ, apparently, had had enough.

"This is what I realized: Rampant homophobia, ignorance of sex, derision of women's rights, a decided love of tepid dogmatic sameness at the expense of the luminosity and uniqueness of the individual human soul -- it was all just too much," Jesus said, this time appearing as a curiously shaped oil stain on a freeway underpass in Saragossa, Spain. "Then the bank thing happened and it was the straw that broke the Mary's back."

*****end of clip*****

It gets better.

capt

Song sites face legal crackdown

The music industry is to extend its copyright war by taking legal action against websites offering unlicensed song scores and lyrics.

The Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents US sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006.

MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed.

He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal".

Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective".

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If they take away the lyrics we will all lose. I do not know why I am of the opinion that the words are so different from the music but nearly every song I have ever liked I liked more when I read the lyrics.

capt

#86
ramsey needs to link that because I'm not finding the story. If you are going to insult Gerald at least give him the link. Give me a website address. Give me a place where I can find it.
If Gerald has something to say he backs it up with "footnotes". He also does not hide behind a madeup name.

Gerald,
It is you who is helping kill American soldiers.

The way you attack our solders, you might just as well have a bomb belt and a gun. You seem determined to aid al Qaeda in their propagnda war.

You are not saving anyone, you are a terrorist killer here in America.

Sleep well tonight, with the blood of American soldiers all over your hands.

Jeanne #88

You are welcome.

Capt #90

I second that emotion. I value the writer of the song more so than the singer of the song. And when they do both, it is even more valuable.

for Jeanne and Gerals

http://tinyurl.com/dejs3

The Eleven Foxes

What is great about the computer, I can log onto different websites and focus on some people and their articles. The eleven foxes for me are Arianna Huffington, Maureen Dowd, Teresa Whitehurst, Karen Kwiatkowski, Eleanor Clift, Molly Ivins, Cindy Sheehan, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, Naomi Klein, and Devvy Kidd. Not only are these eleven women pleasant to look at, but they also write exceptional articles.

Here is a brief overview of why these writers are foxes for me.

1. Cindy Sheehan is a mother of a soldier that was killed in Iraq. She wants to know what noble cause killed her son. The chickenhawk, Bush, refuses to answer the question.
2. Eleanor Clift may not write articles like the rest of the women but I enjoy her intelligence in standing up to the bushcos when she appears as a guest on the various talk shows.
3. Molly Ivins is from Texas and she, too, will not take any crap from Bush or his family. Plus, any woman who drinks beer from the bottle is my kind of woman.
4. Arianna Huffington is a Republican but she is an objective person in assessing America’≥ problems. She chooses her country over her party.
5. Karen Kwiatkowski is a retired military general with a Ph.D. Her articles are well written and her love for the military is noted but she will not go along with stinking military thinking from the other generals and from that chickenhawk, Bush.
6. Teresa Whitehurst is a Ph.D. clinical psychologist who writes great Christian articles that reveal her discipleship in following Jesus.
7. Maureen Dowd is a columnist with the NYTimes. She, too, writes very good articles that reveal her innate nurturing and sensitivity as a true female. Why this gorgeous woman is not married I do not know.
8. Katrina Vanden Heuvel is new the list of foxes but she is a valuable member. Katrina writes articles for The Nation magazine.
9. Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, can be read on NCRonline.org. Sister Joan is a bit of a maverick for a Catholic nun but she does convey some interesting thoughts.
10. Naomi Klein writes for The Nation and her writings are also published on the Guardian.
11. Devvy Kidd writes for News with Views website. She has several interesting articles to read. You can also type in her name and you can check the articles.

There will probably be other names of foxes that will be added to my list but these eleven names are a good start.

Gerald,
Cindy Sheehan is a mother of a soldier that was killed in Iraq. She wants to know what noble cause killed her son. The chickenhawk, Bush, refuses to answer the question.
JUST MORE LIES FROM GERALD

FACT:
Cindy Sheehan met with the President, and was satisfied, BEFORE the communist organization Code Pink, got a hold of her.

Let us not forget that Bush started a wrong and an immoral war. Iraq was not an imminent threat to the USA. Bush is a murderer and a war criminal.

The Formula

I am giving you a formula that I believe will bring about justice and peace. Actually, God has given me these ideas directly for a better world. You can accept what I say through Divine Providence or reject what I say. We are all given a free choice. The decision is yours alone.

1. Shalom translated means peace but it is more than peace. Shalom is God's vision of the world. It is God's dream that Shalom comes only to the inclusive embracing community that excludes no one.
2. In each of us there is a Jesus and a Hitler. We should always strive to bring out the Jesus in us.
3. Love is wanting the best for another person or persons.
4. Try to emulate Mother Teresa who saw in each human being the face of Jesus.
5. War is outmoded; no normal person chooses war over peace.
6. From James in the New Testament –†Faith without deeds is worth nothing.
7. Practice your faith that believes in the true God. God wants us to love one another.
8. Read the Bible because it is God's love letter to us.
9. Read Mattie Stepanek's books on Heartsongs.
10. John Kerry says that it is not important for God to be on our side, what is important are we on God's side?
11. Read Matthew 25:31-46! When you do it to the least of my brethren, you do it for me.
12. Read Matthew 5:1-12! The beatitudes!
13. Read Luke 10:25-37! Who is my neighbor?
14. Read Luke 12:13-21! These verses warn us against greed.
15. Be aware of the Just War Theory! Are we in imminent danger?
16. Practice being a Conscientious Objector!
17. St. Ambrose says, I shall pass this way but once, any good that I can do let me do it now, because I shall not pass this way again.
18. Totus Tuus means all yours. We are all God's children.
19. Paul Wellstone says that politics is not about power. Politics is not only about money. Politics is not about winning for th