Is al-qaeda, in a desperate bid to fill numerous vacancies in the ranks, now hiring stand up comedians? This tape was meant to instill fear, yet I can't help but laugh at this pathetic attempt at playing the bogeyman.
al-queda member warns of attacks
In an apparent Sept. 11 communiqué broadcast on ABC News, an al Qaeda operative threatens new attacks against cities in the US and Australia.
"Yesterday, London and Madrid. Tomorrow, Los Angeles and Melbourne, God willing. At this time, don't count on us demonstrating restraint or compassion," the tape warns. "We are Muslims. We love peace, but peace on our terms, peace as laid down by Islam, not the so-called peace of occupiers and dictators."
Ah yes, the "peace" that comes from decapitating anyone who disagrees with your "peaceful" ideology. Thanks, but no thanks. You can keep the peaceful decapitations amongst your own faithful.
I am shocked and awed that al-queda wants to attack LA? The citizens LOVE al-queda in LA! Given the chance and if Armani would design it, they would all wear suicide vests in solidarity with al-queda. This video sounds more like the venting of a rejected wanna-be actor in tinsletown than a serious al-queda operative.
"The statement broadcast this morning on Good Morning America should come as no surprise to anyone. The statement was meant to instill fear, and fear is the most important weapon the terrorists possess."
Hello! Do they really believe this comedy piece would instill fear instead of laugh induced hiccups? The taped diatribe lasts 11 minutes. Like past tapes, it appears to include the same graphics and production techniques recognized by U.S. officials as part of al Qaeda's standard propaganda production. In this tape, the speaker levels threats against the U.S. and Great Britain.
"Don't believe the lies of the liars at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and 10 Downing Street," Gadahn insists. "They have dispatched your sons and daughters to die lonely deaths in the burning deserts of Iraq and the unforgiving mountains of Afghanistan."
Well, al-queda would know all about this kind defeat. It has been the main story of their pathetic lives for the past three years. Considering the death toll of al-queda terrorists is reaching 50,000 this year alone, it is safe to call Iraq and Afghanistan al-queda's Vietnam.
Only a few years ago, Adam Gadahn was a southern California teenager with interests in the environment and heavy metal music
His family says he converted to Islam at an Orange County mosque. There, officials say Gadahn came under the influence of militants who took him to Pakistan.
He has since emerged as an al Qaeda propaganda tool. His latest message warns Americans an attack is imminent unless the United States stops its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
American intelligence officials believe the man who appears on the tape to be Adam Gadahn of Orange County, Calif. Last year, Gadahn delivered a similar taped communiqué for al Qaeda. That tape was later deemed authentic.
On the new tape, delivered to ABC News, Gadahn's message contains a very pointed al Qaeda threat against Los Angeles and Melbourne.
"We love peace, but when the enemy violates that peace or prevents us from achieving it, then we love nothing better than the heat of battle, the echo of explosion, and the slitting of the throats of the infidels," the tape says. Good for you, adam. (Notice he is far away from the fighting) Bring them on, the US military would be happy to facilitate the meeting between allah and the terrorist faithful. As for the rest of the tape, the young man attempts to dispel any rumors or reports of bin Laden being deceased. He closes his tape by invoking the names of the September 11th hijackers.
"Everyone of us is Mohammed Atta," he says.
I agree with this statement, obviously, Adam did not get the memo that mohammed atta is dead!
Soldiers Angels: Project Valour IT - provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at major military centers. NOTE: The code pinkos at Walter Reed are not collection donations from passerbys for this cause.
Freedom Angels: Sheman Nugent's Freedom's Angels is a non-profit charitable foundation dedicated to enhancing the lives of America's military members and their families through a variety of activities such as building recreational facilities at military hospitals, donating leisure services like health club memberships and massages, and bringing awareness to the positive things our soldiers do for others.
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Donald Rumsfeld commented that there are so many differences between Iraq and Vietnam that it would take too long to list them all. Well, just for the record, assuming that our friends in the "mainstream" media might need some help, I'd like to list a few of the most important. * Iraq, we destroyed a large opposing army in little more than three weeks. * In destroying that army, we liberated 25 million people from one of the most brutal dictatorships in modern history, and freed the world from an unapologetic supporter of terrorism. * In Iraq, we have helped a people to create a new, representative government that may become a model for the region. * The continuing insurgency has little support within Iraq. * Our success in Iraq has convinced other regimes, such as Libya, to abandon their quest to obtain weapons of mass destruction. * And we have done all this, to date, at the cost of the lives of approximately 1,864 American soldiers, sailors, and marines. That comes out to an average of about 750 deaths per year; in Vietnam the average casualty rate was about 5,000 per year. |
Hat tip goes to Bubbasbog for my discovery of Michael Yon Dispatches from Mosul, Iraq.
Mike's latest post summarizes the complexities of reporting during wartime, and the frustrations of seeing relevant stories ignored or misrepresented in the MSM. I had to laugh at his comment regarding CNN's inability to grasp the importance of the terrorist's letter of complaint to zarqawi. Of course CNN did grasp the implications of that letter and its existence did not fit with the CNN party line regarding Bush's foreign policy in the Middle East. This letter became yet another casualty in this war, buried quickly and quietly by CNN and the MSM.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Proximity Delays
Mosul, Iraq
During radio interviews, listeners sometimes call in with questions for me. People who follow the war closely and read my dispatches might ask about events covered by mainstream news but about which I've posted few details, if any. Thousands of emails pour in.
"Did you know about the letter to Zarqawi?" (Yes, I was in the Deuce Four daily briefing when it was first displayed and read, about a week before the media learned about it. The letter was captured minutes down the road from here.)
"Did you know about the Chemical Weapons Plant?" (Yes, and probably more than most readers care to know. Turned out to be nothing of consequence. The "Plant" was minutes down the road from here.)
"Did you know about the 'super secret spy plane' that crashed in Mosul?" (Yes, I was on a mission in Mosul at the time. It was flying over Mosul in support of operations.)
"There was a report that three terrorists were shot down in Mosul the other day. Did you know about that?" (Yes, I was in the TOC when the blood first started pumping through their skulls. Credit was given to the Iraqi police, but American forces actually conducted the ambush minutes down the road from here.)
Then comes the question: "Why didn't you write about that?"
The answer is simple. Often I am asked to withhold information due to the immediate sensitivty. And so, I never release the slightest hint. But then somebody in Baghdad--three steps removed from the action here in Mosul-- releases it to CNN and the rest of the world. What is seen on television and in the papers is practically always inaccurate, or is at least poorly framed. But I rarely waste a breath trying to correct the information. It's too late. Life is busy here.
The greatest paradox I have seen in this war results from "proximity delay." The proximity delay for me is caused by being embedded so closely with Duece Four soldiers that I often see things unfolding before they happen, and then I am in the thick of events as they occur. But then I am asked not to write about events.
Much of the censorship is self-imposed because I will not write anything that jeopardizes US, Iraqi or Coalition forces or civilians. This is not a game of who gets the scoop; I am not per se a journalist. On some missions I've been the first to spot the enemey. On others, I've been so close to the action, my face gets smacked by flying shell casings. I come away with information and details no other writer could possibly have.
I've refused to write about incidents countless times, even when soldiers have asked me to publish the details. My time traveling the world, following scent trails and navigating on snippets of information has taught me that a person with a seasoned imagination can coax a great deal of information from seemingly innocuous tidbits. This enemy is smart and also reads the news.
Just why the military considers some information "classified" while other information gets the "go ahead, write it" shrug, is not based on logic, science, or even one of those absurd but iron clad rules that codify so much of the military. Many explanations for the military's requests not to publish certain information, do not hold up well to scrutiny.
For example, our soldiers capture or kill top terror figures in Mosul routinely. Sometimes in stunning operations that display split-second timing. The "higher ups" often say, almost reflexively, that they don't want the enemy to know about these kills or captures.
Sounds reasonable. But whether soldiers sleek through dark allies with silenced weapons, slipping over walls with padded ladders, snatching sleeping terrorists from their beds before they can fully waken; or, whether they engage in a gunfight at a busy intersection and drag terrorists from behind the wheels of their cars--these are not anonymous men. Families notice when daddy's gone missing.
If we aren't keeping it secret from the enemy--and we can't keep it secret from them--who do we protect by keeping quiet? These are not illegal operations. These are examples of the effectiveness of our forces. In Mosul alone there are daily events where the Coalition gets things right, that I never write about.
The "proximity delay" seems to be bi-directional. The higher-ups also seem to have a disconnect with what the media eventually does with Coalition successes. I kept silent for days on the Zarqawi-letter dispatch, ready to post what was probably the single most important piece of insider information to drop into our hands in quite some time. I requested clearance several times per day, each time being asked to hold back. I complied.
But then, without even giving the leaders at Deuce Four a head's up, a typically entralling military press release went out to major, mainstream, media outlets. We all learned of it on CNN. The Zarqawi-letter story was almost unrecognizable. Because, in the hands of a network that hasn't had a body in the field in Mosul long enough to get their bearings, the best the media could do is paraphrase the military press release. So what should have been a front page banner headline story ended up buried on page 6.
Even CNN couldn't grasp the importance of the letter. They ended up giving more coverage to the impending E-Bay auction of Jennifer Aniston's old love letters than to the missive in which the top Al Queda leader in Mosul writes to the second most wanted man in the world, and describes in amazing detail the weaknesses and impending collapse of the terrorist network in Mosul and surrounds. Only then, did the military ask if wanted to write about the letter.
Every one, even a "higher up" deserves the benefit of the doubt, and should be entitled to one mistake. But how many times, and how many major stories have to be mangled into meaninglessness before someone connects the cables and lets the information flow in a direction other than down the mainstream media drain?
Meanwhile, by the time you read this, the US Army and the ISF will have launched offensive operations in Mosul and I will be in the middle of it. Maybe this time I will be able to write about matters while they still matter.
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Post Script: The operation has begun. The Commander of Deuce Four, LTC Erik Kurilla, was shot three times in combat yesterday in front of my eyes. Despite being seriously wounded, LTC Kurilla immediately rejoined the intense and close-quarter fight that ended in hand-to-hand combat. LTC Kurilla continued to direct his men until a medic gave him morphine and the men took him away. I was right there. When I returned to base, I was actually "ordered" not to write about the fighting until given clearance, and was told that my phones could be confiscated. I will ignore such "orders" at my own discretion. I am preparing a dispatch now.
In other events not covered by CNN:
Mosul, Iraq has recently been partnered with Philadelphia through the State Department's Partners for Peace project. Philadelphia's International Visitors Council (IVC) will administer this program between Mosul and Philadelphia. In a statement on the IVC website:
"The IVC OF Philadelphia is eager to partner with Mosul's leaders and citizens to support their transition to a democratic society" said Nancy Gilboy, President of IVC of Philadelphia. "We've spent 51 years administering democracy-building programs and the past eleven years working with the former Soviet Union. That experience means we can hit the ground running in Mosul."
Philadelphia becomes the fourth U.S. community to join the Partners for Peace project with Iraq. At last year's G8 Summit, First Lady Laura Bush announced the first three pairings: Dallas with Kirkuk; Tucson with Sulaymaniyah; and the Denver Regional Council of Governments with Baghdad.
As a member of IVC, I am looking forward to helping Mosul achieve peace through a democractic process. A worthy goal.
I actually felt myself become a republican today. It was around 10am, when I read the latest update of the Cindy Sheehan saga in CNN then shot over to read some blogs about it, and perused the comments in some of them, which was nothing but a long series of petty (albeit entertaining) partisan bickering. Then it happend. The good little democrat in me tied the little noose around his neck and jumped off the stool. He just couldn’t take it anymore. Read more here: Cindy sealed the Deal |
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I realize how tragic your loss is and I know how much pain there is crushing your heart and I know the darkness that suddenly came to wrap your life and wipe away your dreams and I do feel the heat of your tears that won't dry until you find the answers to your question; why you lost your loved one? I have heard your story and I understand that you have the full right to ask people to stand by your side and support your cause. At the beginning I told myself, this is yet another woman who lost a piece of her heart and the questions of war, peace and why are killing her everyday. To be frank to you the first thing I thought of was like "why should I listen or care to answer when there are thousands of other women in America, Iraq and Afghanistan who lost a son or a husband or a brother…” But today I was looking at your picture and I saw in your eyes a persistence, a great pain and a torturing question; why? I know how you feel Cindy, I lived among the same pains for 35 years but worse than that was the fear from losing our loved ones at any moment. Even while I'm writing these words to you there are feelings of fear, stress, and sadness that interrupt our lives all the time but in spite of all that I'm sticking hard to hope which if I didn't have I would have died years ago. Ma'am, we asked for your nation's help and we asked you to stand with us in our war and your nation's act was (and still is) an act of ultimate courage and unmatched sense of humanity. Our request is justified, death was our daily bread and a million Iraqi mothers were expecting death to knock on their doors at any second to claim someone from their families. Your face doesn't look strange to me at all; I see it everyday on endless numbers of Iraqi women who were struck by losses like yours. Our fellow country men and women were buried alive, cut to pieces and thrown in acid pools and some were fed to the wild dogs while those who were lucky enough ran away to live like strangers and the Iraqi mother was left to grieve one son buried in an unfound grave and another one living far away who she might not get to see again. We did nothing to deserve all that suffering, well except for a dream we had; a dream of living like normal people do. We cried out of joy the day your son and his comrades freed us from the hands of the devil and we went to the streets not believing that the nightmare is over. We practiced our freedom first by kicking and burning the statues and portraits of the hateful idol who stole 35 years from the life of a nation. For the first time air smelled that beautiful, that was the smell of freedom. The mothers went to break the bars of cells looking for the ones they lost 5, 12 or 20 years ago and other women went to dig the land with their bare hand searching for a few bones they can hold in their arms after they couldn't hold them when they belonged to a living person. I recall seeing a woman on TV two years ago, she was digging through the dirt with her hands. There was no definite grave in there as the whole place was one large grave but she seemed willing to dig the whole place looking for her two brothers who disappeared from earth 24 years ago when they were dragged from their colleges to a chamber of hell. Her tears mixed with the dirt of the grave and there were journalists asking her about what her brothers did wrong and she was screaming "I don't know, I don't know. They were only college students. They didn't murder anyone, they didn't steal, and they didn't hurt anyone in their lives. All I want to know is the place of their grave". Why was this woman chosen to lose her dear ones? Why you? Why did a million women have to go through the same pain? We did not choose war for the sake of war itself and we didn't sacrifice a million lives for fun! We could've accepted our jailor and kept living in our chains for the rest of our lives but it's freedom ma'am. Freedom is not an American thing and it's not an Iraqi thing, it's what unites us as human beings. We refuse all kinds of restrictions and that's why we fought and still fighting everyday in spite of the swords in the hands of the cavemen who want us dead or slaves for their evil masters. You are free to go and leave us alone but what am I going to tell your million sisters in Iraq? Should I ask them to leave Iraq too? Should I leave too? And what about the eight millions who walked through bombs to practice their freedom and vote? Should they leave this land too? Is it a cursed land that no one should live in? Why is it that we were chosen to live in all this pain, why me, why my people, why you? But I am not leaving this land because the bad guys are not going to leave us or you to live in peace. They are the same ones who flew the planes to kill your people in New York. I ask you in the name of God or whatever you believe in; do not waste your son's blood. We here have decided to avenge humanity, you and all the women who lost their loved ones. Take a look at our enemy Cindy, look closely at the hooded man holding the sword and if you think he's right then I will back off and support your call. We live in pain and grief everyday, every hour, every minute; all the horrors of the powers of darkness have been directed at us and I don't know exactly when am I going to feel safe again, maybe in a year, maybe two or even ten; I frankly don't know but I don't want to lose hope and faith. We are in need for every hand that can offer some help. Please pray for us, I know that God listens to mothers' prayers and I call all the women on earth to pray with you for peace in this world. Your son sacrificed his life for a very noble cause…No, he sacrificed himself for the most precious value in this existence; that is freedom. His blood didn't go in vain; your son and our brethren are drawing a great example of selflessness. God bless his free soul and God bless the souls of his comrades who are fighting evil. God bless the souls of Iraqis who suffered and died for the sake of freedom. God bless all the freedom lovers on earth. |
While Democrats are busy making Cindy Sheehan their spokesman and avatar of their views, we see her as yet another example of how critics of Israel within the Democratic Party have taken control of the party's agenda.
If Cindy Sheehan’s ideas are what the Democrats have to offer, then more and more American Jews will continue to see that there is no place for them in the Democratic Party.
Move America Forward will be conducting the “You Don’t Speak for Me, Cindy” caravan beginning next week. It will feature military family members who have loved ones serving in the war against terrorism in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The delegation will be led by Deborah Johns of Northern California Marine Moms. She will lead the caravan to Crawford, Texas where she and Move America Forward Chairman, Melanie Morgan, will lead a “WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS & THEIR MISSION” rally in Crawford on Saturday, August 27th, 2005.
"I distrust anyone who claims to speak for the fallen, and I distrust even more the hysterical noncombatants who exploit the grief of those who have to bury them."
Observers will be favored by an absence of bright moonlight during these intervals. At midnorthern latitudes, moonset occurs on the evening of Aug. 11 at around 11-p.m. local daylight time and around 11:20 p.m. the following night. Since dawn doesn’t break until around 4:30 a.m., that means there will be about 5 to 5½ hours of dark, moonless skies for the two best viewing nights for the Perseids.
August is the month of "The Tears of St. Lawrence." Laurentius, a Christian deacon, is said to have been martyred by the Romans in 258 AD on an iron outdoor stove. It was in the midst of this torture that Laurentius cried out: "I am already roasted on one side and, if thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other."
The saint’s death was commemorated on his feast day, Aug. 10. King Phillip II of Spain built his monastery place the "Escorial," on the plan of the holy gridiron. And the abundance of shooting stars seen annually between approximately Aug. 8 and 14 have come to be known as St. Lawrence’s "fiery tears."
My personal favorite story about these meteors is the one my parents told me when I was a little girl: As we sat in the backyard watching for passing meteors in August, I asked where meteors come from and Mom told me the meteor showers were an early birthday gift from the Angels, as my birthday is a week away.
Two news reports in as many days have characterized Judge Roberts previous court decisions as "extreme" or supportive of "fringe" groups. Lawyers for a Gitmo detainee are requesting an overturn of what they characterize as an extreme ruling by John Roberts, and NARAL asserts in a TV ad that John Robert's ruling supports anti abortion fringe groups.
Is the MSN and NARAL attempting to build a case in the public domain of "extraordinary circumstances" in order to invoke the Gang of 14 to filibuster this nomination? Notwithstanding is the public consensus from the "Gang" that there are no "extraordinary circumstances" that would impel them to break the agreement and filibuster this nominee. If this is the case, both cited examples of John Roberts rulings have strengthened my belief that he would make a superior Supreme Court Judge.
NARAL's ad falsely accuses John Roberts of taking a legal position excusing bombing of abortion clinics. However, the court briefs NARAL refers to in this ad were filed 7 years before the clinic bombing discussed by Emily Lyons in this ad. I see shades of Michael Moore style mockumentary in this hit piece. Roberts brief hardly excuses violence as the NARAL ad claims. NARAL's attempt to link Roberts and violence against abortion clinics is based on Roberts ruling that a 19th century decision aimed at punishing those who committed violence against people based on their race or religion did not apply to this case. Apparently, the anti-abortion protestors did not seem to racially discriminate against those getting abortions, just the fact that they supported murdering children.
Article 4
A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.
2. Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:
(a) That of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
(b) That of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
(c) That of carrying arms openly;
(d) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power
A pro-abortion rights group (NARAL) is pulling an ad arguing against the U.S. Supreme Court nomination of John Roberts after complaints about accuracy and fairness.
NARAL told the Times it would replace the ad with a campaign on Roberts' record, including a statement he made, while arguing a case for the government, that abortion-landmark case Roe vs. Wade had been "wrongly decided." That campaign is to begin Monday.
At a time when Philadelphia is reeling from the public humiliation of having Time Magazine label Mayor Street as one the Nation’s worst Mayors. A recently released report names Philadelphia as the worst city for fraud in elections. The report released by The American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund lists Philadelphia as the Number 1 “hot spot” for voter fraud. Philly is not labeled a “blue city” for nothing!
The report concludes that Democratic operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation and voter fraud than their Republican counterparts during the 2004 Presidential election.
Surprisingly this report had practically no air time in the MSM, I’m sure the networks were too busy trying to find legal ways to open Judge Robert’s children’s sealed adoption records.
While the story was front page news to the Evening Bulletin, the Philadelphia Inquirer didn't see fit to inquire about Philly's latest "honor".
Philadelphia is a city of "firsts", the birthplace of this Nation, William Penn's "greene country towne", and now we are a city better known for election fraud.
ACVR Legislative Fund further found that, despite their heated rhetoric, paid Democrat operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation and suppression activities than were their Republican counterparts during the 2004 presidential election. Whether it was slashing tires on GOP get-out-the-vote vans in Milwaukee or court orders stopping the DNC from intimidating Republican volunteers in Florida, the evidence presented in this report shows that paid Democrat operatives were responsible for using the same tactics in 2004 that they routinely accuse Republicans of engaging in.
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Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left
by David Horowitz
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