tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post6533660186250231470..comments2024-03-29T06:35:11.321-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: Move and Counter MoveDeuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-9885455881372402352007-08-12T08:10:00.000-04:002007-08-12T08:10:00.000-04:00Bush rightly should have been impeached for refusi...Bush rightly should have been impeached for refusing to secure our borders and enforce our laws.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-72957147341574237992007-08-12T08:08:00.000-04:002007-08-12T08:08:00.000-04:00Marshall's (and Truman's) legacy:"From 1949 to 195...Marshall's (and Truman's) legacy:<BR/><BR/>"<I>From 1949 to 1954, Mao undertook an aggressive campaign against all his political opponents around the country. <BR/><BR/>Mao claimed to have executed some 800,000 individuals described as "class enemies," but Western historians put the figure at several times that amount. <BR/><BR/>He established forced-labor camps, numerous prisons, and massive "re-education" and "self-criticism" programs in order to weed out counter-revolutionary political ideas.</I>"<BR/><BR/>...and today's Chicom Govt.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63199190848828388972007-08-12T05:57:00.000-04:002007-08-12T05:57:00.000-04:00Habu might have been right about Marshall.Certainl...Habu might have been right about Marshall.<BR/>Certainly a traitor to the Nationalist Chinese.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-42582944971929811502007-08-12T04:14:00.000-04:002007-08-12T04:14:00.000-04:00Optimisum and pessimisum are perspectives, bob.Lik...Optimisum and pessimisum are perspectives, bob.<BR/><BR/>Like revolutionaries and terrorists. Patriots or traitors.<BR/><BR/>Old habu, he thought that George McGovern was worthy of traitor status. JFKerry, too. <BR/>George Marshall, also, if I recall correctly.<BR/><BR/>George Marshall, patriot or traitor, a matter of perspective?<BR/><BR/>Mr Bush, for that matter. Impeach him or support him? Many here have called for his impeachment, I didn't but others have. <BR/><BR/>Is that a pessimistic or optimistic view? Depends upon where one stands, doesn't it?<BR/><BR/>Housing prices falling, interest rates raising, good or bad?<BR/>Depends on if one is buying or selling, has cash or needs subprime credit.<BR/><BR/>Which is the optimistic view?desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-15496394098254969672007-08-12T04:00:00.000-04:002007-08-12T04:00:00.000-04:00Musharraf controls the loyalty of the commanders a...<I>Musharraf controls the loyalty of the commanders and senior officials in charge of the nuclear program, but those loyalties could shift at any point, officials say.<BR/><BR/>The United States is not certain who might start controlling nuclear launch codes and weapons if that shift in power were to happen.<BR/><BR/>There is also a growing understanding according to the U.S. analysis that Musharraf's control over the military remains limited to certain top commanders and units, raising worries about whether he can maintain control over the long term.<BR/><BR/>The U.S. officials also say one of the key problems for the U.S. military is what restrictions on U.S.-Pakistani military cooperation could be imposed if Musharraf were to impose heavy security restrictions in his country.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>rufus will think you're being negative, bob.<BR/>Put on a happy face!<BR/><BR/><I>But the key questions, officials say, are what would happen and who would control the weapons in the hours after any change in government in case Musharraf were killed or overthrown.</I><BR/><BR/>General Gul? He is popular amongst many in the Pakistani Army and Intel circles. Could easily be the next General President, as the current one dismissed him, but left him at large.<BR/><BR/>So much so that he is in the ranks of the anti Musharraf protestors<BR/><BR/><I>On March 12, 2007, Gul marched shoulder-to-shoulder with activists from the liberal democratic parties and retired former senior military officers against General Pervez Musharraf. General Gul faced down riot police when they tried to arrest him at a rally outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad protesting against attempts to dismiss Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry</I><BR/><BR/>Ready to be large and in charge, stands General Gul. His opinions and past staements, like Mr Maliki's were, no secret.<BR/><BR/><I>On America<BR/>"We are not afraid of the Americans; they can't fight on the ground. We are only concerned about their high-altitude bombers." <BR/>"I turned against America because they betrayed the Afghan nation." (rediff.com Feb 2004) <BR/>"God will destroy America." (Daily Times, Pakistan, August 30, 2003) <BR/><BR/>[edit] On Israel and 9/11<BR/>"Mossad and its accomplices [are the 9/11 culprits]. The U.S. spends $40 billion a year on its 11 intelligence agencies. That's $400 billion in 10 years. Yet the Bush Administration says it was taken by surprise. I don't believe it. Within 10 minutes of the second twin tower being hit in the World Trade Center CNN said Osama bin Laden had done it. That was a planned piece of disinformation by the real perpetrators." (UPI United Press International, Sep. 26, 2001). </I>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-51556234892930799002007-08-12T03:57:00.000-04:002007-08-12T03:57:00.000-04:00Maybe we need one day set off each week--optimists...Maybe we need one day set off each week--optimists day--where if you don't have anything upbeat to say, you are not allowed to say anything. Might quiet the place down, or, open up new vistas of creative optimistic thought. Both optimism and pessimism can be contagious I read somewhere.bobalharbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002916750686257873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-67512433330045502582007-08-12T03:52:00.000-04:002007-08-12T03:52:00.000-04:00How a ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Went Bad ---This w...<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?hp=&pagewanted=print" REL="nofollow"> <STRONG>How a ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Went Bad</STRONG> </A><BR/>---<BR/>This would make a good thread, Whit.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-32906397816808940482007-08-12T03:25:00.000-04:002007-08-12T03:25:00.000-04:00Fluid<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/10/pakistan.nuclear/index.html" REL="nofollow">Fluid</A>bobalharbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002916750686257873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-9522725466817505912007-08-12T03:24:00.000-04:002007-08-12T03:24:00.000-04:00To call these situations Fluid is a heck of an und...To call these situations <A HREF="www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/10/pakistan.nuclear/index.html" REL="nofollow">Fluid</A> is a heck of an understatement.bobalharbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002916750686257873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-51116391274732690112007-08-12T01:05:00.000-04:002007-08-12T01:05:00.000-04:00I surely can't understand why anyone in Tillman's ...I surely can't understand why anyone in Tillman's group would want to kill the guy. What's the argument, what's the point?bobalharbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002916750686257873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-15024905634197765162007-08-12T00:04:00.000-04:002007-08-12T00:04:00.000-04:00But the only fellow who was there, who was not a R...But the only fellow who was there, who was not a Ranger, but an Afghani, died too.<BR/><BR/>They would have never trusted him to stick to the story. <BR/>Not a chance of that.<BR/><BR/>A lot of pieces to a story that does not spin well.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-45556650417225212612007-08-12T00:00:00.000-04:002007-08-12T00:00:00.000-04:00Islamic Revolution and terror management, trish.Wh...Islamic Revolution and terror management, trish.<BR/><BR/>Why I never beat a drum about Sp4 Tillman, mat. If it was not a sad and regretable "friendly fire" incident, then it was murder and cover up. Ongoing even now.<BR/><BR/>They "sanction" a retired General. No big deal for him, just another day at the beach. <BR/>Someone in authority forced the first investigator to rewrite his reports, or so I've read. <BR/><BR/>The published reports do not put any enemy near the site of the incident. The idea that he'd stand up and shout "Don't fire, I'm Tillman!" to paraphrase, instead of staying down while the incoming was buzzing overhead, well ...<BR/><BR/>I am far away from Afghanistan and don't really know from nothin', but what I've read in the papers. It is curiously suspicious.<BR/><BR/>Had an E-5 who was sure either I or my friend were going to cap him during a live fire excercise, he just knew it. The smell of fear was in the air, in the truck on the way to the range. Could have, maybe, projected a mental message that we would, but really just thought his fears were funny. Just another example of his incompetent behaviour. <BR/><BR/>One wonders what Tillman's attitude was like, amongst the troops. He was special, after all. Better educated than most of the other EMs, big money in the bank at home. A poster boy to say the least.<BR/><BR/>But, more than just dislike, it'd take a lot of hate to pop him in the head more than once, from 20 or 30 feet. Then have, what, ten or so Rangers involved conspire to tell a tale?<BR/>That's a streach for me to believe, too. <BR/>To many tongues that could wag, way to nervy, to think that none of those there would crack, eventually.<BR/><BR/>If he was done, purposefully, they have gotten away with murder so far, regardless.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-82752221403428159092007-08-11T22:59:00.000-04:002007-08-11T22:59:00.000-04:00dRat,If this is truly a frag, I'm having a hard ti...dRat,<BR/><BR/>If this is truly a frag, I'm having a hard time believing an Army Ranger could be that stupid as to go about it this way. This doesn't make sense.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11132252460964519368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-52135233315451559292007-08-11T22:58:00.000-04:002007-08-11T22:58:00.000-04:00"Maliki and his crew won't collapse, they've been ..."Maliki and his crew won't collapse, they've been at it for twenty maybe thirty years..."<BR/><BR/>Been at what?trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-7661900021478499172007-08-11T22:48:00.000-04:002007-08-11T22:48:00.000-04:00Not long enough.Not the decade or more that'd it t...Not long enough.<BR/>Not the decade or more that'd it take. Two generations, really, to change the mindsets, if we took active control of their society. <BR/><BR/>The people here at home won't go for it. I don't think. It is not 1946 or 1954. The mood is totally different, the people here not going to sacrifice for Iraqis.<BR/><BR/>It won't be a garrison operation, like Germany or Korea, but a ongoing low intensity conflict, war without end. The "Long War"<BR/>We won't go for that.<BR/>Never would. <BR/>Long occupation, that could be sold. But not a long war. As that Barry Rubin fellow said<BR/><I>... part of the Islamist power is that no matter what happens, they keep on fighting, for goals that no adversary can possibly concede. <BR/><BR/>"It makes it very hard to understand this conflict in the West because it's so counter-intuitive," Rubin says. <BR/><BR/>The essence of the strategy is simply to keep imposing costs on the Islamist enemies. War without end. <BR/><BR/>War without end in the Middle East and for much of the globe. That is the Islamist strategy. But there must eventually come an end to the presence of Australian (US) troops in Iraq.</I><BR/><BR/>We will try to maintain a "balance" between all the players, no one wins, no one loses. <BR/><BR/>It won't play in Baghdad or Peoria, for long.<BR/><BR/>Maliki and his crew won't collapse, they've been at it for twenty maybe thirty years, a long road that is, for them, going good.<BR/><BR/>If he takes a hit, his replacement will be more of the same. He does represent the majority's position. That is the crux of the matter. He is not "out of the mainstream", but solidly in the center.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-87750767839162857932007-08-11T22:25:00.003-04:002007-08-11T22:25:00.003-04:00That Pat Tillman story gets curiouser and curiouse...That Pat Tillman story gets curiouser and curiouser.<BR/><BR/>As to al-Maliki's government, let it fall. They're useless anyway. This country if it is to be one will have to be built from the bottom up. Those Iraqi parliamentarians like most Iraqi bureaucrats know little or nothing about running a country and haven't been in any mood for reconciliation. As far as arming the Sunnis, it's having an the desired effect on al-Qaeda and could bring the Shias to the table.<BR/><BR/>In any case, the security situation had gotten so bad that something had to be done. Obviously, the priority (and the low hanging fruit) is al-Qaeda. Forget about the Sunni insurgency and the losses we took, we've got to move ahead and if that means we suck it up and soldier on, that's what we do.<BR/><BR/>Lastly, I heard some interesting news that Ahmadinejad is about as unpopular in Iran as W. is here. His situation is tenuous and the thought is that the succeeding government will be much more reasonable. Also, the chief mullah died recently and it's thought that his replacement is much more moderate. <BR/><BR/>We're just playing for time. Trying to keep a lid on it 'til we can get some cooperation from the UN and Iraq's neighbors.<BR/><BR/>Petraeus is doing a good job and even the Democrats are forced to admit it but the question remains, how long will we stick with it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-89141852633489189482007-08-11T22:25:00.002-04:002007-08-11T22:25:00.002-04:00Allen's ghost lives!Allen's ghost lives!Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-41146004783864900222007-08-11T22:25:00.001-04:002007-08-11T22:25:00.001-04:00Immigrations Human Cost<A HREF="http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/" REL="nofollow"> <STRONG>Immigrations Human Cost</STRONG> </A>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-24465282120895817372007-08-11T22:25:00.000-04:002007-08-11T22:25:00.000-04:00He'll get a fair trial.He'll get a fair trial.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-23061960777179614312007-08-11T22:18:00.000-04:002007-08-11T22:18:00.000-04:00I had originally read that he'd been doubled to th...I had originally read that he'd been doubled to the forehead, some months, maybe a year ago.<BR/><BR/>Supposedly at a couple of hundred yards, uphill, with M16s or M4's, not by a M21, that nomenclature dates my service, but it is still highly unprobable.<BR/><BR/>Then the entire "cover up" ensued.<BR/><BR/>Looks like that friendly fire incident was really murder.<BR/>I've thought so ever since I read the reports of two rounds to the forehead. But those reports, ah well ...<BR/>That and the journal he kept, it went missing. Other evidence destroyed, burnt.<BR/><BR/>It wouldn't be "supporting the troops" to dwell on it. Or so the Army brass decided. <BR/><BR/>If the shooters had been Marines, and Tillman an Afghan, well, the Army would have prosecuted, for sure.<BR/><BR/>Sometimes you win, <BR/>sometimes you lose.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-26295743011876468272007-08-11T22:00:00.000-04:002007-08-11T22:00:00.000-04:00dRat, Triple checked to the head? "What I DO want ...dRat, <BR/><BR/>Triple checked to the head? <BR/><BR/><I>"What I DO want to mention is my highly personal experience of killing 4 men at extremely close range, with an M-16. The Doctors examining Pat Tillman stated there was "an extremely close shot group ".... (and they added "fired from less than 10 yards" away).<BR/>I'm an expert marksman, and I killed 4 men who ran right up on my point position, AFTER an ambush began, them not realizing I was so far removed from the other 28 men in my platoon. <BR/><BR/>These men were about 3 to 4 yards away, and I had excellent cover... I had probably killed all 4 of them with just my first 6 shots from the expended 19 round magazine... and I went through their pockets, afterwards, while they were still warm.<BR/>There was NOTHING CLOSE to a "Shot group" on any of these men. Their wounds reflected their flailing & flying bodies as I blew them away.<BR/><BR/>A "Shot group" on Pat Tillman's forehead indicates ONE shot killed him, and then he was "double checked", then "triple checked" at POINT BLANK range, to make sure he was dead. ( 3 shots = "Shot Group" )<BR/>When the 1st shot hits something like a head or arm, it swings wildly BEFORE the 2nd or 3rd shot can hit it. A "Shot group" indicates the head was up against something ( like the ground ), and the shots were fired on "semi-auto", NOT full automatic.<BR/><BR/>If there were a "fog of war" or an actual ambush, everybody would be on "auto", and you wouldn't EVER find "shot groups." Our After Action Report of our particular firefight indicated 56 KIA, and, believe me, there wasn't a "Shot Group" on any of them."</I>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11132252460964519368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-76696960016488246022007-08-11T21:04:00.000-04:002007-08-11T21:04:00.000-04:00Haven't read it yet, Doug. Thanks for the link.Haven't read it yet, Doug. Thanks for the link.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-45847117677812293442007-08-11T20:53:00.000-04:002007-08-11T20:53:00.000-04:00As 15 year old Dani Countryman struggled beneath G...<STRONG>As 15 year old Dani</STRONG> Countryman struggled beneath Gilberto Arellano Gamboa, pinned to the floor with her pants down, he called on his cousin to help subdue the girl. <BR/>Alejandro Rivera <STRONG><I>Gamboa responded by stepping on Countryman’s throat until she stopped moving</I></STRONG>.<BR/><BR/>That’s how investigators described Countryman’s death in a court document released Tuesday. <BR/><BR/>Evidence outlined in the document included statements by the defendants and <B>a bloody shoe that matched an imprint on Countryman’s chest</B>.<BR/><BR/>Gilberto Javier “Gabe” Arellano Gamboa, 23, who is also known as Rivera Gamboa, and Alejandro Emeterio “Alex” Rivera Gamboa, 24, were arraigned Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court on charges of aggravated murder. Through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, they acknowledged the charges against them and asked for warmer jail clothes. <BR/><BR/>New rule: When importing savages make sure to have plenty of sweaters on hand. The poor dears might catch a chill<BR/>---<BR/>Compassionate George, and his works.<BR/>Ash will call for outlawing hard-soled shoes.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-88934159226548152312007-08-11T20:52:00.000-04:002007-08-11T20:52:00.000-04:00'Rat said,The 15 year old girl, the one that the t...'Rat said,<BR/>The 15 year old girl, the one that the two hard workers at jobs Americans won't do tried to rape and then killed, she was really a looker, a real parental pride and joy, I'm sure. <BR/><BR/>Smiles and happiness just exude from her picture. More than just a pretty face, but she certainly had one. Damned shame.<BR/><BR/>Pitiful job the Federals are doing.<BR/>Worse than bad <BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://freedomfolks.com/blog/2007/08/10/100-preventable-follow-up" REL="nofollow">here, see for yourselves.</A>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-73307661477071595362007-08-11T20:36:00.000-04:002007-08-11T20:36:00.000-04:00Trish,I guess you have read this?---Westhawk's lat...Trish,<BR/>I guess you have read this?<BR/>---<BR/>Westhawk's <A HREF="http://www.tcsdaily.com/Article.aspx?id=080907C" REL="nofollow">latest article at TCS Daily </A> describes the history of America's balance-of-power approach in the Persian Gulf and why future U.S. presidents are compelled to continue it. <BR/>What remains to be seen is whether Iraq is doomed to become a perpetual battleground.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.com