COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Friday, June 15, 2007

They All Have One Thing in Common. Lovely Islam.


Al-Qa'eda terror cell jailed for 136 years

The Telegraph

Nadeem Tarmohamed, 29, from Harrow:

He traveled to America with Barot on both his trips, replacing Shaffi on the second when he fell ill.

His close relationship with Barot was revealed by a dedication in his book which thanked him for being "simply invaluable."

Tarmohamed had apparently bought books for the research of the project in 2002 and 2003 and he had read the plans for the American attack on his computer. When Barot was arrested he had a set of keys to Tarmohamed’s address.


Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, 27, from Harrow:

His father is a mechanic at a Jaguar showroom, and Bhatti, who has a degree in engineering, was studying for a postgraduate qualification at Brunel University. Two members of the fertilizer gang also studied at Brunel and Bhatti had a forged library card for the university with Barot’s photograph on it.

Bhatti allowed Barot the use of his parents’ garage where much of the research material for the plot was recovered as well as an encrypted DVD of the American plans. Barot was also given the use of Bhatti’s computer where a deleted draft of the Gas Limos project was found.

Bhatti acted as a chauffeur for Barot and an advertisement for a job as a petrol tanker driver was found at his house – an essential part of one of the gang’s co-ordinated attacks.


Abdul Aziz Jalil, 34:

He rented a safe-house for Barot in London where false identities, money and material from the American trips were stored. He also helped in the research for the project and read the plans for both the American and British attacks on his laptop.

Jalil drove Barot around and appeared to act as his minder during meetings with others. He is thought to have attended a training camp in Pakistan and had applied for an HGV licence, suggesting he planned to drive a lorry as part of the gang’s plot.


Zia ul-Haq, 28, from Wembley:

He had a degree in architecture, planning, building and environmental studies and worked for a firm of chartered surveyors in London. Ul-Haq acted as a kind of consultant for Barot and helped him gain access to specialist libraries.

Barot visited him on several occasions, on one of those traveling to Brent Reservoir where they talked for two hours in the rain.


Qaisar Shaffi, 28, Harlesden:

He traveled to America with Barot on the second reconnaissance trip but fell ill with tuberculosis and had to be taken to hospital and then flown home.

When he was arrested police found printed pages from the Terrorists Handbook which referred to chemicals, explosives and the production of explosives., which had been downloaded from the internet in September 2000.

At Paddington Green police station he made a tearful phone call to his father in which he told him: "I won’t be out soon, I might not be out in five years, ten years, 15 years, 20 years, ever, I don’t know.

"They know I went to America, they know who I met, they know names and say I know people. I haven’t told them anything though.

"Dad pray for me, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. Look after things. Go and pray for me."


Omar Abdur Rehman, 23, from Watford:

He was studying for a degree in graphic information design and had found work at the Ramada Hotel in Watford over the summer – hotels being one of the gang’s targets.

Material on his computer suggested he had been tasked to conduct research into disabling security and fire detection systems.


Junade Feroze, 31, from Lancashire:

His family ran a garage in Blackburn, which could have been used to source cars and gas canisters for the plot.

Feroz sent a number of coded messages from internet cafes, drove frequently to London and acted as a chauffeur and look out for Barot.


61 comments:

  1. It's all about poverty. The lack of educational opportunites just one of the root causes of the alienation of and the on going discrimination against mussulmen, as well as a lack of understanding of the disadvantages of those born being "brown".

    It's not about Religion.

    Not at all.

    Celebrate diversity, NOW!

    ReplyDelete
  2. General Pace speaks, he was "forced out"

    WASHINGTON (Associated Press) -- In his first public comments on the Bush administration's surprise decision to replace him as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace disclosed that he had turned down an offer to voluntarily retire rather than be forced out.

    To quit in wartime, he said, would be letting down the troops.

    Pace, responding to a question from the audience after he spoke at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., on Thursday evening, said he first heard that his expected nomination for a second two-year term was in jeopardy in mid-May. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on June 8 announced Pace was being replaced.

    "One thing that was discussed was whether or not I should just voluntarily retire and take the issue off the table," Pace said, according to a transcript released Friday by his office at the Pentagon.

    "I said I could not do that for one very fundamental reason," which is that no soldier or Marine in Iraq should "think _ ever _ that his chairman, whoever that person is, could have stayed in the battle and voluntarily walked off the battlefield.

    "That is unacceptable as a leadership thing, in my mind," he added.
    ...
    "The other piece for me personally was that some 40 years ago I left some guys on the battlefield in Vietnam who lost their lives following 2nd Lt. Pace," he said. "And I promised myself then that I will serve this country until I was no longer needed _ that it's not my decision. I need to be told that I'm done.

    "I've been told I'm done.

    "I will run through the finish line on 1 October, and when I run through the finish line I will have met the mission I set for myself,"
    ...
    The decision to sideline Pace came as a surprise, since Gates had previously indicated privately that he intended to recommend that the president re-nominate him. In his remarks in Norfolk, Pace confirmed that Gates had told him he preferred to keep him as chairman but in mid-May began to see signs of opposition on Capitol Hill.

    When he announced the decision last Friday, Gates said that after consulting with members of the Senate he concluded that sticking with Pace would risk a Senate confirmation struggle focusing on the Iraq War.


    No discussion, no blame, no lessons to be learned by the people of the United States of America or their elected representitives.

    The Bush Adninistration is afraid of the truth, afraid of its' history of performance.

    Afraid of its' own shadow.

    It fears for its' very soul

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  3. Agree with him or not, he was willing to continue the fight and defend himself; his civilian masters were not - gutless bastards.

    ReplyDelete
  4. More Bush Shit

    "Each day our nation fails to act, the problem only grows worse," the president said at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. "I will continue to work closely with members of both parties, to get past our differences, and pass a bill I can sign this year."
    ...
    Bush, at the prayer breakfast, said, "We must meet our moral obligation to treat newcomers with decency and show compassion to the vulnerable and exploited, because we're called to answer both the demands of justice and the call for mercy.

    "Most Americans agree on these principles," the president said. "And now it's time for our elected leaders in Congress to act."


    Newcomers, brothers, newcomers.
    Let US welcome these newcomers into our homes, open our hearts and save Mr Bush's soul.

    It's the least we can do, to ease his time in his own personal Purgatory

    ReplyDelete
  5. Exactly right, allen. General Pace was a leading architect of the War in Iraq, we should hear from him, under oath.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bush dropped Dan Coats for the nomination to SecDef when he said he wanted to reverse "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and go back to the outright ban. Peter Pace is not being "renewed" for chairman of the joint chiefs as a result of his calling homosexuality immoral. The result of this, of course, is a de facto "don't ask don't tell" policy on any future nominee's views on don't ask don't tell.

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  7. re: Don't ask, don't tell

    General Pace simply used the explanatory language of the UCMJ. If General Pace's assessment is in error, then, so is the UCMJ.

    DR,

    General Pace is always under oath, as is any commissioned officer of the United States. Unlike the civilian world, in the military, BS can get you both sacked and canned. There is no immunity from prosecution based exclusively upon receipt and/or rendering of an oath.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is, like, totally off topic, but in looking at those pictures, Jeez, no wonder Arabs have forced marriage. What woman would touch any of those ugly MF's, other than their mothers, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  9. He may be under oath, allen, but he is not being questioned, so the subjects of his statements are, or could be, selfserving. While not violating any oath, but still not answering the pertinent questions,

    ReplyDelete
  10. News From the California GOP

    The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions — state deputy political director — and has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers.

    Christopher Matthews, 35, a Canadian citizen, has worked for the state GOP as a campaign consultant since 2004. But he recently was hired as full-time deputy political director, with responsibility for handling campaign operations and information technology for the country’s largest state Republican Party operation, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring confirmed in a telephone interview this week.

    In the nation’s most populous state — which has produced a roster of nationally known veteran political consultants — “it’s insulting but also embarrassing … to bring people from the outside who don’t know the difference between Lodi and Lancaster … and who can’t even vote,” said Karen Hanretty, a political commentator and former state GOP party spokeswoman.

    Wait, it gets funnier. Matthews was hired by Michael Kamburowski, the state GOP’s chief operations officer, who is … wait for it … an Australian citizen.

    “There are talented Republicans in California, and the message that (party chair) Ron Nehring is sending is that there’s no talent pool here,” Hanretty said.


    Only in the Americas would a Canuck run the California GOP, for an Austrailian.

    One Land
    One People
    From the Artic to the Isthmus.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bing West, on one reason the Surge is failing, on the ground.

    Part of the problem was that when the military surge was announced, it became commonplace for officials to assert that political compromise, not military force, would determine the outcome of the war. This vacuous idea would startle George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh, to mention only a few unlikely bedfellows who forged success during an insurgency.

    Buying time with American lives is not a military mission. No platoon commander tells his soldiers to go out and tread water so the politicians can talk. The goal of American soldiers is to identify and kill or capture the Shiite death squads and Sunni insurgents.

    What is keeping them from doing so? The war in Iraq would be over in a week if the insurgents wore uniforms. Instead, they hide in plain sight, and Iraqi and American soldiers have no means of checking the true identity and history of anyone they stop.

    This is inexcusable. In Vietnam, the mobility of the Vietcong guerrilla forces was eventually crippled by a laborious hamlet-level census completed by hand in 1968. Biometric tracking and databases have since made extraordinary advances, yet our vaunted technical experts have failed at this elementary task in Iraq.


    Our bestest General said his Army could not win this war in Iraq, it does not get more "official" than that.

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  12. Don't worry.

    The system is functioning, as it was designed.

    More or less.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mr West explains why yhere is not an Insurgency, in Texas.

    The other major defect we’ve seen in our military strategy is the consistent release of captured insurgents. Imprisonment is the dominant military weapon for quelling this insurgency. Vietnam was a shooting war; Iraq is a police arrest war. The insurgents learned years ago not to engage in firefights with American troops. American troops in Vietnam in 1968, for example, found that they killed 13 enemies for every one captured; in Iraq, one enemy is killed for every 10 captured.

    Yet, according to Pentagon records, more than 85 percent of the suspected Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen detained are soon set free. The troops call it “catch and release.” The American and Iraqi jails now hold about 40,000 prisoners — by some estimates just half the number Saddam Hussein released from prison in the mass exodus of 2002. Texas, with a smaller population, has more than 170,000 in jail.


    No jails, no tents, hope for success.

    Same problems we encountered 3 years ago, then the challenges were dismissed, as symptoms of Bush Derangement Syndrome.
    Today the US Government cowers at the idea that the Chief of the JCS would have to testify before Congress, about that War.
    So much so, the Sec of Def forced him to resign, rather than testify.

    High ranking staffer from the Justice Dept announce she'll take the Fifth, rather than testify before Congress.

    Fancy that.

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  14. It is indeed.

    Limping along.

    All to be fixed in '09 with a new President and a workable majority in Congress.

    Then there will be new spins on the old problems.

    We'll continue limping along.

    Towards an illuminated future, best we can.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Twenty or twentyfour years of Bush/Clinton Administrations in the White House.

    What a comforting thought.
    For the "Boners".

    The entertainment value alone, that has been priceless.

    Watching the unification of the Americas, now that is real news, under the radar. Ask yourself why it is so ignored? That perspective of the issue.

    That if the 50 northern States do not provide for a population and economic pressure release capacity for the lower 31, the resulting explosion would derail all 81.

    Not even discussed.
    It's all about US, but only the surface of that still water is discussed, not the depths.

    ReplyDelete
  16. An urban myth, the truth of which is unknown to me, is that the World Cup soccer match drew a larger combined North American viewership than did the Super Bowl.

    Truth is it must have been close, one way or the other.
    Univison is one of the highest rated networks in the USA.

    We have five or six spanish language channels carried on Cox cable, here in Phoenix. Two over the air, I think.

    The US is being culturally modified, just as the culture of old Mexico is with post PRI consumerism.

    Fabulous theater, world shaping, actually. One brick upon the other.

    ReplyDelete
  17. If you all think that the War in Iraq is/ was about the "Oil", look at where the US gets its' actual supplies.

    Consistently in the number one or two position, month after month,
    the United Mexican States is the supplier.

    Immigration, amigos, it's all about a stable Mexico. It's all about OIL.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The other supplier, consistently, Canada.

    Fortress America cannot stand alone, but Fortress Americas, a power for the millennium.

    Open your minds
    Let the light shine in.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ten percent of the US's history, Bush/Clinton.

    If Ms Clinton were to gain the White House, after the Bush statergery divides the GOP, that be a solid 24 years, reelection would make it 28 years, out of 240.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mr West: Catch and Release continues, in fact it accelerated with the Surge. More are captured, more are released.
    It is a zero sum game.

    Say the Curse!

    In our experience, it has worked this way: After an arrest, two soldiers must file affidavits, together with physical evidence and digital pictures, and then an American lawyer decides if the package is strong enough to withstand further review. About half of all detainees are released within 18 hours; the others are sent from battalion level to brigade level, where the evidence is re-examined, resulting in more releases.

    Those detainees remaining are sent to a detention center where a combined board reviews the evidence again, and releases still more. After that, every six months a United States board must re-review the evidence in each case. Lastly, the detainee appears before an Iraqi judge, who in turn dismisses about half of the cases.

    As for follow-up, before a detainee walks free, the American command sends notification to the battalion in the area where he was apprehended. But because many of the battalions have rotated back to the United States by this time, a new unit has to deal with the detainee.

    Worse, there remains steady clamoring from both high-level Iraqi and American officials for yet another mass release (there have been several since 2003). To his credit, General David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, has resisted, and the result is prison overcrowding since the surge began. Yet neither the American government, mindful of the criticism of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, nor the Iraqi government wants to take the political heat of building more prisons.


    Yeah
    Say the Curse!

    ReplyDelete
  21. From RCP, Biden and Boxer:

    "It is long past time to dramatically limit the mission of our troops and focus on a much narrower, achievable mission of conducting counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda, training Iraqi security forcesand protecting U.S. personnel."

    Looooooong past time.

    Is it simply Bush's execrable political judgment that has kept this from happening? Does he have any idea the long-term harm being done (to HIS military) absent such a dramatic limiting of the mission? Does he in any way recognize the great, gob-smacking boon to the Party that such a move would be?

    Planners in Baghdad, apparently, are being told that they have until 09 to make reductions, leaving a year and a half more of ruinous surge and bilious happy talk.

    Un.Fucking.Believable.

    ReplyDelete
  22. 28 years of Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton

    What else did Pops and Bill have to talk about on all those trips?

    ReplyDelete
  23. wellll, Mr. Bush is nothing, if not consistent!

    ReplyDelete
  24. DR: If Ms Clinton were to gain the White House, after the Bush statergery divides the GOP, that be a solid 24 years, reelection would make it 28 years, out of 240.

    The war and amnesty for illegals are like gravity sucking the GOP down into a black hole with Bush, but maybe the party can latch onto a different topic, like gay marriage, and dig themselves out. SNERK.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Like it was part of a "Master Plan"

    ReplyDelete
  26. Every ounce of optimism vanishes, ash. Vanishes reliably.

    As if THIS were the Master Plan.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The real, double secret Master Plan, of course, is to drive Doug to an early grave in a fit of apoplexy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. teresita,

    re: maybe the party can latch onto a different

    Teresita, I am hoping that my party will eventually stumble onto the idea of impeachment to rid themselves of this troublesome priest.

    ReplyDelete
  29. This whole situation - Globalism, Boners, Iraq, Invasion - is turning me into Colonel Kurtz...

    "I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream, it's my nightmare. Crawling, slipping along the edge of a straight razor and surviving....

    "But we must kill them, we must incinerate them, pig after pig, cow after cow, village after village, army after army, and they call me an assassin. What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin?

    "They lie. They lie and we have to be merciful for those who lie, for those nabobs. I hate them. I do hate them."

    ReplyDelete
  30. Apropos my post earlier in the week addressing the lack of crucial gear for the troops:

    Guard running low on equipment

    The US government only spent something in excess of $600,000,000,000.00 last fiscal year on national defense. How much will it take to make things right? And could these dumb fucks make things right, even with an infinite amount of money?

    Sorry, Trish, for the expletives; I do know how much they offend your delicate sensibilities. ;-D

    ReplyDelete
  31. The admin drives me to it, allen.


    Lack of crucial gear? I got that beat. PERSCOM confirms there's a company and field grade Army hemmorhage underway. That's what ya call votin' with yer feet.

    ReplyDelete
  32. That's why, trish, the Government is goin Navy, folks that can be depended upon when the goin' gets tough, to get the toughs goin'.

    Because when the Commanding General says you can't win, why stay for the fight?

    To get the Iraqis more breathing room?

    Goin Navy, goin' containment.

    Rather than fight wars we cannot win, militarily.

    ReplyDelete
  33. "Goin Navy, goin' containment."

    Yep.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Interseting piece by Mr Kaplan, aye?

    ReplyDelete
  35. "Because when the Commanding General says you can't win, why stay for the fight?"

    It's the worst possible combination of not winning and having to do so through numerous tours. Treading water, as Bing said. Again. And again. And again.

    Waiting for the 18-month deployment to materialize for the at-bats after Xmas.

    ReplyDelete
  36. trish,

    So the Devil and the Adminstration are one? I'm being rhetorical and redundent. Sorry.

    The Bush administration theme song:

    I’ll Never Grow Up

    ***

    ReplyDelete
  37. This one is for you, allen.

    As Jr's buddies were being called back to the Corps, after their 12 months out, he decided to act premptively, he joined the Guard.

    After his third trip to the NG base in Mesa, AZ he got his basic set of uniforms and equipment.

    Excepting head gear. No hats, caps or berets were in stock.

    His first weekend meeting was coming up, still no hat. What should I do, he asked?
    Go in uniform, without the hat?

    And be out of uniform, says I. An ex-Marine Corporal running around the place with no head gear? Unacceptable, go in civvies, then they'll find you a hat. So better take your uniform, says I.

    By the end of the day, they had found him a hat, to late in the day to change clothes.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Check your e-mail duece & whit, if you would.

    ReplyDelete
  39. “Congress has responded to the Hamas victory with a threat to cut off all U.S. aid to the PA. A bill formulated in the House, led by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican and chair of the House subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, would place the PA on the State Department’s list of terrorist sponsors.

    But the administration plans to oppose the bill. Officials said President Bush has quietly decided to continue aid to the PA to prevent an Arab backlash as well as Iranian efforts to take over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

    "The president will tell Congress that helping the PA is an integral part of the U.S. withdrawal strategy from Iraq," an official said.” – News World Communications, Insight on the News, 6 Feb ‘06

    If the Administration does continue to fund the PA (Hamas) by either the front door or back, can a Jewish service member continue to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States?

    Recall that Hamas has institutionalized three precepts within its Constitution (now the de facto constitution of the PA):
    ___the destruction of the state of Israel
    ___the conversion, enslavement or extermination of the Jewish people, worldwide
    ___the destruction of our Torah

    Moreover, if the Administration’s alleged concern about continued Iranian aggression is sincere, is not the purported action of Iran another act or declaration of war, much like its attack on our embassy and the hostage taking of our diplomats in 1979 or the murder of 241 service members in Beirut in 1983? Iran and Hamas are staunch allies. Therefore, rather than seeking funding for Hamas from Congress, should not the Administration seek of Congress a Declaration of War?

    With respect, if Administration spokesmen do come to claim that Hamas was brought to power because of its obvious social outreach and that said outreach is sufficient justification for continued financial support of the PA, this would be as disingenuous, irrelevant and immoral as arguing for the support of Adolph XXXXXX and the Nazi regime because they put millions of restive, bellicose, unemployed Germans back to work. Indeed, they did, among other things building concentration camps and factories for the murder and wartime enslavement of European Jewry; not to mention, of course, the deaths of 40 – 60 million other souls, including nearly a quarter million American service personnel.

    Additionally, the Administration supports democracy in the Middle East, i.e. by definition – “rule by the people.” Well, the folk of the PA have spoken, among other things, electing a member of parliament self-named “Hitler”. The election was no squeaker; Hamas won handily and garnered so many seats that it may rule arbitrarily, needing no coalition partner. So, the people of the PA are the government and the government (Hamas) is the people - following the lead of Lincoln, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people. This outcome should come as no surprise, given that every poll done for years has shown that the citizens of the PA overwhelming support Hamas’ three precepts above.

    If a service member continues to serve in the military under such a circumstance, is this not the same thing as countenancing, supporting and protecting Hamas? Would this be not both suicidal and an act of the utmost apostasy? In the event, would not the United States, through the action of the Administration, have abandoned to their fate its Jewish service members (and all Jewish Americans for that matter) to perverse, cynical and homicidal expediency?

    Finally, if my government does in fact give aid and comfort to a regime whose sole purpose for existence is the annihilation of me, my family, my people, my religion and my safe haven, have not, in fact, the terrorists won?

    Just asking, respectfully.

    Be well,




    “Congress has responded to the Hamas victory with a threat to cut off all U.S. aid to the PA. A bill formulated in the House, led by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican and chair of the House subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, would place the PA on the State Department’s list of terrorist sponsors.

    But the administration plans to oppose the bill. Officials said President Bush has quietly decided to continue aid to the PA to prevent an Arab backlash as well as Iranian efforts to take over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

    "The president will tell Congress that helping the PA is an integral part of the U.S. withdrawal strategy from Iraq," an official said.” – News World Communications, Insight on the News, 6 Feb ‘06

    If the Administration does continue to fund the PA (Hamas) by either the front door or (surreptitiously) through the back, can a Jewish service member continue to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States?

    Recall that Hamas has institutionalized three unalterable precepts within its Constitution (now the de facto constitution of the PA):
    ___the destruction of the state of Israel
    ___the conversion, enslavement or extermination of the Jewish people, worldwide
    ___the destruction of our Torah

    Moreover, if the Administration’s alleged concern about continued Iranian militancy in the West Bank and Gaza is sincere, is not the purported action of Iran another act of war, much like its attack on our embassy and the hostage taking of our diplomats in 1979 or the murder of 241 service members in Beirut in 1983? Iran and Hamas are staunch allies. Therefore, rather than seeking funding for Hamas from Congress, should not the Administration seek of Congress a Declaration of War?

    With respect, if Administration spokesmen do come to claim that Hamas was brought to power because of its obvious social outreach and that said outreach is sufficient justification for continued financial support of the PA, would this not be as disingenuous, irrelevant and immoral as arguing for the support of Adolph XXXXXX and the Nazi regime because they put millions of restive, bellicose, genocidal, unemployed Germans back to work? Indeed, they did, among other things building concentration camps and factories for the murder and wartime enslavement of European Jewry; not to mention, of course, the deaths of 40 – 60 million other souls, including nearly a quarter-million American service personnel.

    Additionally, the Administration supports democracy in the Middle East, i.e. (by definition) “rule by the people.” Well, the folk of the PA have spoken, among other things, electing a member to parliament with the nom de guerre “Hitler” (the highest vote getter besides the Hamas elite). The election was no squeaker; Hamas won handily and garnered so many seats that it may rule arbitrarily, needing no coalition partner. So, the people of the PA are the government and the government (Hamas) is the people - following the sacrosanct tenet of Lincoln, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” This outcome should come as no surprise, given that every poll done for years has shown that the citizens of the PA overwhelming support Hamas’ three genocidal precepts above.

    If a Jew continues to serve in the military under such a circumstance, is this not the same thing as countenancing, supporting and protecting Hamas? (A certified terrorist mafia) Would this be not suicidal, patricidal and an act of the utmost apostasy? In the event, would not the United States, through the action of the Administration, have abandoned to their mortal fate its Jewish service members (and all Jewish Americans for that matter) to perverse, cynical and homicidal expediency?

    If my government does in fact give aid and comfort to a regime (Hamas), whose sole purpose for existence is the annihilation of me, my family, my people, my religion and my safe haven, have not, in fact, the terrorists won? And, what, then, exactly is the Global War on Terrorism?

    Finally, to honorable men everywhere, for myself only, I may have to say, “J’accuse!” and I will say, “Never again!”

    Just asking, respectfully.

    Long live the United States! Long live Israel! Long live our Torah!

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  40. Tribute, we've been payin' it for years, called by different names, but it amounts to the same thing each time.

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  41. If you have grave and irreconcilable objections to policy, it's time to consider another line of work.

    Everyone's got their limit.

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  42. Elijah,

    Neat link.

    I think Fatah will get its ass handed to it in the West Bank soon.

    Its leaders are the Collaborators in the eyes of Palis everywhere.

    The US, Israel and EU are all behind Abbas, the carrier of the flame of Arafat the Corrupt.

    Hamas and Hizb'allah. THEY are believers. They are righteous, everyone else is scrambling to save his own skin.

    Under Olmert, the Israelis are not motivated. They don't believe. They are compromising themselves into cattle cars.

    The responses from DC, Tel Aviv and Brussels might as well be the Little Dutch Boy discussing Comprehensive Dam Repair.

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  43. Wretchard, at the BC has just realized that it is not Iran that is flanked by the US, but the US and Israel that are both flankedby the mussulmen.

    He's come to realize that the US is not fighting a War. After all this time, an ephinay.

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  44. trish,

    re: it's time to consider another line of work.

    It's way, way past time for that. I will walk out carrying my shield or I will be carried out on it.

    Oh, what is my line of work?

    ReplyDelete
  45. desert rat said...

    Wretchard, at the BC has just realized that it is not Iran that is flanked by the US, but the US and Israel that are both flankedby the mussulmen.


    When a country on "War Footing" is instructed to Go Shopping by the Boner-in-Charge to support the War Effort, you got some issues.

    It'll be interesting to see if Wretch comes to the Dark Side.

    In the meantime, let's just Get real

    ReplyDelete
  46. The Bush Team, promises to not enforce the current Law.

    Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday said Republican conservatives working to block an immigration bill risk endorsing a "silent amnesty" by insisting on deportations that are "not going to happen."

    Enough said.

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  47. Barkeep another Makers with a splash of ginger

    oh, woe the anglos and hewbrews

    dr and wretchard - kaplan is a good read

    dr - droid swarm...

    The main emphasis of the article seems to be electronic warfare and SEAD with regards to Iran.

    sam & panama ed, continuing the discussion from feb.28th and related to the above

    continuing the aesa discussion, see the links in the article

    allen -

    seems to me that anyone in Gaza with a rifle is a target

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  48. sorry, meant to say brother d-day instead of wretchard

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  49. The tigerhawk story just confirms the trends, first to drones, then the flyboys pulling out all the stops to save both their new toys from cancellation creep.

    Read that there'd be as many F22s as infantry rifle squads or some such crazy sounding comparison.

    More to indicate the Armys' dysfuntion, more than the F22s, but I'm an old ground pounding, helo riding combat engineer. Still see those fighters as weapons without opponents.

    Who has an opfor airforce, that's capable, today, anyway?

    We need more A10s, not mega million dollar missle platforms.

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  50. "It's way, way past time for that."

    Then you've stayed way, way too long.

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  51. This is what happens when fast movers are used, as they propose for the F22, in close air support roles.

    According to the NYTimes
    A United States Air Force F-16 crashed early Friday morning while flying a close air support mission. No information was available on whether the pilot, who was the only crew member, survived. It was one of several recent signs of an intensification in the use of air power to monitor insurgent activities and search for cars rigged as suicide bombs.

    Lose a couple of F22s like that, it'd bust a budget. Then there'll be no close air support, for the ground pounder.

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  52. allen's been institutionalized.

    Thought he'd already retired, waiting on momma to finish up her career.

    Who really knows, or cares, though.
    He always thought his "true identity" worth hiding, due to security concerns.

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  53. "We need more A10s, not mega million dollar missle platforms."

    Ran the pilots into the ground in the 90's. Didn't know whether they were coming or going.

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  54. "Who has an opfor airforce, that's capable, today, anyway?"

    That's exactly the point.

    How would Iran, Syria, or Hezbollah counter U.S./Israeli air superiority?

    It is a matter of willingness to employ violence.

    Russian technology is impressive, but still lacking overall

    Indian Air Force, in war games, gives US a run

    The Warthogs, the flying crosses (one of my favorites), are currently undergoing upgrades....

    Air Force Reserve A-10s get 'smart' systems

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  55. For clarification, from the CSM article...

    "But there are some signs that America's premier fighter jet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon"

    is incorrect, although the F-16 is a fantastic machine, it is not America's premier fighter

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  56. "He always thought his 'true identity' worth hiding, due to security concerns."

    It was the wife's identity.

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  57. trish,

    re: It was the wife's identity

    Thanks.

    Obviously, hurriedly reading others posts while antiicpating pithy, clever retorts, can cause serious errors - say confusing the motives of one with another. Clearly, that is not the case with you in the instance.

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  58. allen,
    While pithy remarks come and go, I meant to cast no aspersions upon your anonimity.

    Nor would I suggest that we do a Plame job on your wife, or that you're to be compared to Mr Wilson in doing so.

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  59. DR,

    re: Wilson & Plame

    I hadn't even thought of that. Hmmm... My wife is better looking.

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