Sharp Knife

HE

said.

Tony Blankley:

[...]"It is certainly bracing to be living and working in the capital of the world's richest and most powerful nation during wartime, and to hear so little wisdom or courage emanating from either the government or opposition benches. Even the capitals of backwater third-rate powers usually have a better grip on reality and their own national interest than we do here at Colossus-opolis.

It seems that our vast current prosperity and the still mentally reassuring great oceans that appear to guard us from the outer world's madness create the illusion in the minds of far too many that we are -- as a nation -- immune from the consequences of our foolishness and slackness. [...]

Now is a good time for clear thinking and speaking. If we intend to succeed (and it is vital that we do), then we must persist. If the "surge" doesn't work, then more troops and different strategies should be employed.

If we are going to throw in the towel, then we should bring the troops home promptly, lick our wounds and prepare for the inevitable Third Gulf War, which we will have to fight under far worse conditions than currently. Either of those options are at least honest (although the latter is dangerously foolish).

But the current mentality in Washington -- to pretend that there is a third way between victory and defeat -- is morally despicable. Washington politicians of both parties are trying to salve their consciences for the ignominy of accepting defeat by fooling either themselves or the public into believing they are doing otherwise.

Perhaps they can fool their own flaccid minds, but history grades hard and true. And history may enter its ledger with shocking promptness."

Every word.

STOP THE PRESSES!

Hillary Makes Joke!

"Breakthrough!" Say Mental Health Professionals: "This is progress!" "Baby steps!"

Clearly, Hillary has been observing the humans, who often use "humor" to make "jokes":

"The question is, we face a lot of dangers in the world and, in the gentleman's words, we face a lot of evil men and what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?"

But does the joke hold up? How did she "stand up" to the "bad man", the lout of her life, Bill Clinton?

Well, she threw an ashtray at him, angry not that he did it, but that he got caught. Then she went out and knowingly lied for him, claiming he was just "mentoring". Then she smeared his critics as a "vast right-wing conspiracy". Then she sicced private eyes on Bill's girlfriends, coercing them into signing perjurious legal documents stating that they'd never had sex with him. These are kept in the False Affadavit Wing of the Clinton President-Like Library.

That's "standing up" to 'bad men'?

And what is the Clintons' record of standing up to evil men such as Saddam? Or Muhammed Farah Aidid? Or bin Laden? Or Castro? Or Arafat? Or the ChiComs? Or Kim Jung Il?

Hillary isn't tough--she's a bully--and only with the force of government behind her. She's only tough on her political opponents, innocent bystanders and anybody who stands in the way of her ambition. Like Billy Dale, who she tried to railroad into prison because she wanted to give his job to her Hollywood pals. Or the Republicans whose FBI files she pawed through. Or Elian Gonzales' harmless uncle who got a M-16 stuck in his face. Or the White House archivists, whose furniture she stole.

As for her demand that Bush end the war on her 23-month timetable, that's just a way of saying her needs come before America's national security needs.

And one more thing:

"If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have voted for the war."

Yeah? And if I had known last week's lottery numbers, I would have picked different ones--so what?

This is what passes for mature, nuanced, sadder-but-wiser statesmanship these days. It is nothing but a child's temper tantrum:

"How was I supposed to know? Don't blame me! It's not my fault! He cheated! It's not fair! Do-Overs! Do-Overs!"

It is unfit for a child's game of Monopoly Jr,. let alone the affairs of a great nation.

"What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?"

Not a damn thing, lady.

ONCE UPON A TIME,

when discussing Serial Traitors, Jim Webb sounded like this:

"Jane Fonda can kiss my ass. I wouldn't go across the street to watch her slit her wrist."

Webb has since crossed the street.

'MacArthur Park' was way over-rated, anyway. heh.

ON CLONING:

"We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our national prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren sceptre in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence they had for the things that are holy." --President Calvin Coolidge, July 4, 1926

"Good morning.

I know that all in the area are awaking today to a bit of winter weather. I hope that it is as beautiful as I remember and that each of you takes a few moments to savor that beauty before your journey began today.

I have been out of communications for a few days as some of you know. The SOP for us in the event of a loss is to institute a communications blackout. This is to avoid improper information from leaking outside to the world before soldiers' loved ones are notified. That has now occurred and our blackout has been lifted.

We lost an aircraft on Saturday and more importantly, we lost four soldiers (2 pilots and 2 crew). It was shot out of the sky and though I cannot share much detail with you, I can tell you that the crew aboard and those in their sister ships are true heroes. They fought for control and for their very lives until the last moment when the enemy took all of it away from them, their families and us.

I can also tell you that those responsible for this act no longer walk the earth.

How am I? I am ok. "I am fine." I am humbled and I am honored. I was in the Ops center in the battle to save our soldiers, and later in the battle to recover their remains. The enemy struck those responding with multiple IEDs and attempted to take our comrades away from us--I am sure for PR purposes. Obviously, as you have not seen something obscene in the news, they did not succeed.

There are many details that I cannot share, someday when I get home we can talk about if you wish, but I ask you accept what I can tell you for now. One of the men killed worked closely with me here, his love was for family and for flying. He was an exceptional soldier, father and human being. They all were. I was able to personally ensure that our men and women from this crash were taken care of. I escorted them onto the C-17 transport, their caskets draped in the flag of the country we love so much for the long trip home to their families. They left with honor and dignity as they should.

Today the mission continues; it never stops. We have service scheduled in about an hour which I know will be very difficult to attend, but necessary so that we can honor them and begin to heal. The mission is first, for the defense of our country, for you and for ourselves we will persevere.

Know this, our soldiers will not quit. We win every battle, we hold any piece of ground that we want to take. Do not listen to those in Washington who influence events by dishonesty, manipulation and greed. Listen to your hearts and know that America is a winner. We will not accept defeat. Don't be fooled by the news media who so dishonorably portrays one side of the story for gain and sensationalism. We are not losing, we are not running, the enemy is reeling and is scared.

I thank you for your support. Hold those who are dear to you closely, and live your lives today. I ask that you all look out for my family. It's easy for folks who are busy to forget, but this family is not whole and will not be for several more months. I know that they wonder every day what is happening here and fear for the worst. [...]

I tell you, we are kicking ass here. It's good to be on the offensive."......................................

(This is a letter to home, written by an American soldier in Iraq. It was broadcast by Jim Vicevich on his radio show and published with his and the author's permission by LauraW. at Ace of Spades. I hope all will forgive me for taking the liberty of reprinting this message--it needs to be heard by as many Americans as possible)

The Left has stepped up its activism precisely BECAUSE they sense the possibility of an American victory. And Democrats have put themselves in a political position in which our success would be a political disaster for them. Ergo, many will actively seek our defeat.

They are betting that they have Americans in their psychic grip, like a boa constrictor who gradually squeezes both the breath of life and will to fight from its victim, until the victim finally resigns itself to defeat . I'm betting on this soldier and his fellows instead.

Judging from news reports, the increased lobbying by the Liberal/Left for our Unconditional Defeat, and from this soldier's letter, I draw this conclusion:

We're winning.

THE WAR ON GEORGE W. BUSH, OF COURSE!

Rep. Jerry Nadler weighs in:

"The villains are no longer the terrorists. The villains live in the White House and in Gracie Mansion, or at least lived in Gracie Mansion in the last administration, and in the governor’s office."

Go, Nadler, Go!

Actually, the villains live here.

ALL WE ARE SAYING

is give Victory a chance.

President Bush:

“Whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure.”

Quite right. The Votes for Failure in Iraq are scheduled for later this week.

Meanwhile, the President's initiative is already working:

Via The Corner, the BBC:

"About 600 fighters and 16 leaders of the radical Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, have been captured by security forces in Iraq, the US military says.

The statement said 52 operations had been conducted in 45 days targeting the militia, which is loyal to Najaf-based cleric Moqtada Sadr. Sunni extremists were also the focus of the crackdown, the US military said."................

Via Captain's Quarters, US News & World Report:

"The U.S. military has launched a special operations task force to break up Iranian influence in Iraq, according to U.S. News sources. The special operations mission, known as Task Force 16, was created late last year to target Iranians trafficking arms and training Shiite militia forces. The operation is modeled on Task Force 15, a clandestine cadre of Navy SEALs, Army Delta Force soldiers, and CIA operatives with a mission to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives and Baathist insurgents in Iraq.

Task Force 15 killed al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, last June.

The new classified directive is part of an escalation of military countermeasures against Iran, authorized by President Bush, to strike back at what military officials describe as a widespread web of Iranian influence in Iraq that includes providing weapons, training, and money to Shiite militias." .............

Also via Captain's Quarters, the AP:

"Mahdi Army fighters said Thursday they were under siege in their Sadr City stronghold as U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or seized key commanders in pinpoint nighttime raids. Two commanders of the Shiite militia said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has stopped protecting the group under pressure from Washington and threats from Sunni Muslim Arab governments.

The two commanders' account of a growing siege mentality inside the organization could represent a tactical and propaganda feint, but there was mounting evidence the militia was increasingly off balance and had ordered its gunmen to melt back into the population. To avoid capture, commanders report no longer using cell phones and fighters are removing their black uniforms and hiding their weapons during the day. ...

The midlevel Mahdi Army commanders, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the group operates in secret, said at least five top commanders of similar standing were captured or killed in recent months, including one snatched in a night raid from his Sadr City hide-out on Tuesday. They refused to name him.

Two other key officials at the top of the organization were killed in raids last month..." .................

Jack Kelly at Real Clear Politics:

"Three interesting things have happened since President Bush announced plans to "surge" U.S. troops.

First, al Qaida appears to be retreating from Baghdad. A military intelligence officer has confirmed to Richard Miniter, editor of Pajamas Media, a report in the Iraqi newspaper al Sabah that Abu Ayyub al Masri, the head of al Qaida in Iraq, has ordered a withdrawal to Diyala province, north and east of Baghdad.

Mr. al Masri's evacuation order said that remaining in Baghdad is a no-win situation for al Qaida, because the Fallujah campaign demonstrating the Americans have learned how to prevail in house to house fighting, Mr. Miniter said.

"In more than 10 years of reading al Qaida intercepts, I've never seen (pessimistic) language like this," he quoted his intelligence officer source as saying. [...]

Though they may turn out to be fleeting, the troop surge, though barely begun, already is producing beneficial results. Efforts to write it off in advance as a "failure" are, at best, premature." ...........................

President Bush:

"This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory."

UPDATE: Via Confederate Yankee, centcom.mil:

"U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 100 terrorists, detained 50, and dismantled a large terrorist group in January during Operation Turki Bowl, the senior U.S. Army officer in Iraq’s Diyala province said yesterday.

The operation, conducted from Jan. 4 to 13, occurred south of Balad Ruz in the Turki Village, Tuwilla and 30 Tamuz areas of the province. During the operation, U.S. Army and Iraqi soldiers isolated and defeated a terrorist group known as “The Council,” Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, told reporters via satellite connection from a news conference in Iraq. “The group, made up of former Baath Regime members, al Qaeda and Sunni extremists, refused to participate in any political dialogue and preferred attacking innocent civilians in the Diyala province,” Sutherland said.

The council killed as many as 39 civilians in one kidnapping and mass murder in November, he added." ...................

Via Ace of Spades, Bill Roggio goes Patrolling With the Snake Eaters:

"The lieutenant led the patrol as if it was a speed-march at times, but the Iraqi soldiers maintained security throughout. Lt. Mohammed and his soldiers searched several homes, and asked the owners information about insurgent activity. It was an uneventful three hours [also good news-Ed.], with then ever-present baying dogs seeming like the greatest threat.

The following morning, the Snake Eaters, along with the MTTs conducted a cordon on a mosque in Sadaqiya. The mosque is well known for spewing hatred against the American and Iraqi forces, and the Iraqi Army had good intelligence several terrorists would be present in the mosque for Friday sermon. The Iraqi Army conceived, planned and executed the operation from beginning to end. They surrounded the mosque just before the sermon ended. As the men and women exited the mosque the Iraqis lined up the military age males.

The local informants who provided the intelligence for the raid were present, and donned masks to keep their identity secret. They picked the terrorists out from the lineup. Fourteen were arrested and sent up from the battalion to the brigade detention facility for further investigation. Three of those captured are believed to be very senior local al-Qaeda leaders. No shots were fired during the entire operation, which lasted less than 2 hours."...................

Via Fourth Rail, the Kuwait News Agency:

"US forces arrested four insurgents for suspected involvement in a recent attack on a local joint coordination center in Karbala, that left five US soldiers dead, the US army said here Wednesday.

The four insurgents were hunted in a joint crackdown by Iraqi and US forces in north Al-Hilla in south Baghdad on Monday, for attacking the Joint Local Coordination Center in Karbala, the US army said in a release.

The arrest took place at a house near the area where vehicles used in the attack on the center were left, it said, noting that the arrested suspects were now under investigation.". ......................

This is the resolution our servicemen in Iraq are demonstrating for us, for the Iraqis, for civilization and for each other...as our senators pass gutless, ass-covering, self-serving, symbolic resolutions in Washington, D.C.

When we needed patriots, we got these wonderful soldiers. But now that we need statesmen more than ever, we get symbolic senators and cardboard congressmen issuing non-binding bloviations instead. Feh.

Victory Forever!

Rich Lowry:

"But no one likes naked calculation, and [Hillary] Clinton worries Democrats traumatized by the experience of their last few presidential candidates. Because liberalism typically doesn’t sell in American presidential politics, liberal candidates tend to run as culturally conservative centrists — i.e., phonies. It sank both John Kerry, who couldn’t even order a Philly cheesesteak properly, and Al Gore, who adopted three such utterly different personas in three national presidential debates that his performances could be a case study in abnormal-psychology classes.

The two tried, ineffectually, to duplicate the success of Bill Clinton. He was a liberal who could appeal — prior to Monica-gate — to conservative-leaning “Bubba” voters. He was a southerner who had no problem negotiating fried food, and he governed as a centrist from 1994 to 1998. Just as importantly, his fakery was so deft and deeply ingrained that it was impossible to tell where it ended and the real Bill Clinton began. This constituted a kind of political genius, and it won’t soon be repeated, certainly not by his wife.

If Bill was all id, Hillary is all superego. Comedians still make fun of Bill’s out-of-control appetites, but with Hillary, the mockery is about how she lets nothing be out of control (except perhaps her husband). Last weekend, Saturday Night Live portrayed her explaining her position on the war thusly: “I think most Democrats know me. They understand that my support for the war was always insincere. Of course, knowing what we know now, that you could vote against the war and still be elected president, I would never have pretended to support it.”"

LITTLE MOSQUE AND THE DREARY

These Examiner reporters take a shot at Mark Steyn:

"Columnist Mark Steyn might be a good writer — conservatives are raving about his new book, “America Alone” — but what does he know about television? [Steyn isn't a good writer, he's a truly great writer-- if you like trenchant political analysis, rollicking social satire, great horrible puns and the occasional show-tune reference--you know, just like those frothy columnists in the Egyptian newspapers. And he knows more about popular entertainment than any ten people, as a quick scan of his website would have revealed to these intrepid investigative reporters--but that's not the point.]

At The Heritage Foundation last week, Steyn criticized a new sitcom — “Little Mosque on the Prairie” — which premiered last week on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

"And what is the core joke of the show?” Steyn asked. “It’s that the white folks in that town are just dumb, ignorant rednecks who are stupid enough to think that every Muslim is an extremist and a terrorist. And the Muslims function like gay characters do on American sitcoms.”

As the crowd laughed, Steyn smiled and said, “That’s off the record.” But, at a public event being streamed live over the Internet and later captured unedited in MP3 format on Heritage’s Web site, off-the-record requests don’t cut it.

Steyn elaborated: “Muslim is the new gay in the sense that, the gays, if you watch a sitcom here ... the principles are neurotic ... and the witty, brittle, gay guy says all the charming, amusing, sophisticated things.”

Hady Amr, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who focuses on U.S. relations with the Islamic world, called Steyn’s comments “inappropriate.”

“American Muslims are taking their rightful place at the political table,” Amr said, “and America needs to come to terms with that in terms of its rhetoric.”" .....................................

First, that "fellow" Hady Amr's name sounds suspiciously like "Hedy Lamar". Just sayin'.

Secondly, what's so "inappropriate" about Steyn's remarks? We're talking about a sit-com, for cryin' out loud. Steyn didn't say Muslims were teh gay; he merely said the Brookings Institution was gay. I kid. Sort of. No, he simply said the entertainment industry will give Muslims the Magic Negro treatment. Better now?

And now, a musical interlude (with apologies to Nat "King" Hussein Cole):

Inappropriate
In every way
Inappropriate
Mark Steyn said 'gay'
That's why, Amr
It's indefensible
that you find it
Reprehensible
I think you
are Inappropriate, too.

Amr: "American Muslims are taking their rightful place at the political table,"--Yes, and in America, all groups at that political table are subject to analysis, scrutiny and, yes--even criticism! All groups--including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Scientologists, Raeliens and the Raelettes.

Groups, to parphrase Orwell, of nudists, sex-maniacs, 'Nature Cure' quacks, youthful snob-Bolsheviks, secret teetotallers with vegetarian leanings, food-cranks, pistachio shirt-wearers, professional Communists, astute young social-literary climbers, dock labourers, street hawkers, derelict people, beggars, criminals, tramps, prostitutes, Nonconformists, complete asses, literary intelligentsia, social outcasts, pickpockets, the croyant et pratiquant Socialist, fallen women, fallen animals, the thin-skinned, tear-in-the-eye, pre-war humanitarians, typical left-winger anti-imperialists, drunken fish-porters, the life and soul of cocktail parties, kissing the bums of verminous little lions, card-cheats, Beaujolais-sippers, hygiene-obsessed Utopians, Men-Like-Gods, Etruscan, Pelasgian, Aztec &, Sumerian-romancers, Marxist prigs, vegetarians with wilting beards, Bolshevik commissars (half gangster, half bullhorn), earnest ladies in sandals, shock-headed Marxists chewing polysyllables, escaped Quakers, birth-control freaks, Democrat Party backstairs-crawlers, half-baked antinomians, Pacifist Internationalists, feminist fem-phibians, free-love lizards, divorce-reformers, atheists, overweight hunger-marchers, Daily Worker-readers, high-minded Socialist slum-visitors, bare-bodied pornographers, the foaming denouncers of the bourgeoisie, reformers and 'all that dreary tribe of high-minded women and sandal-wearers and bearded fruit-juice drinkers who come flocking towards the smell of 'progress' like blueflies to a dead cat'.

Also Republicans.

And groups, per O'Rourke, such as the Students' Organizing Committee For Solidarity With the People of Anywhere but America, fuzzy-minded One World-ers, pasty-faced peace-creeps, bleeding-heart bed-wetters, redski actresses, pinko professors, Beardo the Weirdo Bolshies, Woodstock Nationalists, Fidel-snugglers, Foggy-Bottomed fellow-travellers, Comsymps, Terrorsymps, the Silly, the Very Silly and the Shirley MacLaine Silly. And soy-based Green-Weenies.

And let's not forget other groups of Americans.

Both large:

People Who Have Personally Seen Both Paris Hilton's and Madonna's Naughty Bits, the Future Ex-Wives of Alec Baldwin and Lonely Widows Bilked by People With the Initial "D".

pak Chopra.

...and small:

The Future Ex-Wives of Bonnie Fwank, The Future Ex-Wives of Alec Baldwin Who Were Not Beaten by A Greasy, Dissecated Has-Been...and Democrats For American Victory.

Welcome to the "political table", Mr. Amr...pork rind?

By the way, "political" comes from "polis", the city-state. City implies "citizenship", and citizens have not just rights, but duties. The duty to help authorities thwart terrorism, for example, regardless of CAIR's instructions to remain silent. Also a duty not terrorize their fellow citizens, as in that stunt just pulled by the Flying Imams in concert with CAIR and Rep. Keith Ellison. That was not just "inappropriate", but criminal. Is that any way to come to "the political table"?

Mark Steyn responds here:

"I don’t know what’s more disheartening – the fact that the reporter didn’t get that my "That’s off-the-record" was parodic and immediately followed by "because I want a sporting chance of getting home alive"; or that the dreary grandee at the Brookings Institution issued the predictable denunciation that my remarks were "inappropriate". "Muslim is the new gay" is a compliment: it means they get the best lines. [...] That it’s increasingly difficult to tell the difference between a compliment and a beheading offence does not, I fear, bode well for our multiculti utopia."

M.C. Amr: “...and America needs to come to terms with [Muslim political participation] in terms of its rhetoric.”--Leaving aside that Mr. Steyn is a Canadian commenting on a Canadian sit-com, consider this possibility:

Maybe it's Muslim rhetoric that needs to come to terms with America.

Just an inappropriate thought.

IS JUST A SHOW

but this is life itself:

"Hour 2 [of "24"] is dedicated at its end to the Aircrew of Gunshot 66 -- Maj. Gerald "Beav" Bloomfield and Capt. Michael "Martini" Martino. Their Marine Corps helicopter was shot down over Western Iraq on Nov. 2, 2005.

Here is an excerpt from a news article written at the time:

"BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Thursday it shot down a U.S. attack helicopter that crashed, killing two Marines, and a U.S. general said witnesses saw the aircraft take ground fire and break up in the air.

The AH-1W Super Cobra crashed Wednesday near Ramadi during daylong fighting in the insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad. In addition to the two crewmen, an American lieutenant died when a bomb exploded as he was rushing to the crash site.

Another U.S. soldier died Thursday in a roadside bombing northeast of Baghdad, the military said.

In its statement, al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said that its military wing "downed a Super Cobra attack helicopter in Ramadi with a Strella rocket, thanks be to God."

The authenticity of the statement could not be determined. It appeared on an Islamic Web site and bore the nickname of the group's spokesman, Abu Maysara al-Iraqi. The U.S. military said the cause of the crash had not been determined.

However, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters Thursday that witnesses "believe they saw a munition fired at the helicopter and saw the helicopter break in pieces in midair and then crash." [...]

From Maj. Bloomfeild's Memorial Guestbook, one of his soldiers--excuse me--Marines, writes:

"From the first meal we ate together at Ali Al Salem, I have considered you a great friend. Throughout OIF and Okinawa 2004, your positive attitude made my problems feel insignificant. When things went bad, it was always you who would say "Hey, Trash, I've survived cancer, I'm married to the best woman in the world who loves me for some strange reason, I've got my coolest little dude Ryan at home, and I'm flying. What can they possibly do to me?""

From Capt. Martino's Fallen Heroes page:

"I knew Michael, which is to say I was touched by him. He was, and still is one of the finest Marine Officers that I have ever had the privilege to work with. I say privilege because that is what I believe it was. We would often argue during his time in Okinawa, him being a Cobra pilot and myself a CH-46 pilot, and I would always lose our parry of words to his eloquence and style. He was a phenomenal person and a Marine's Marine. I write this with tears streaming down my cheek. You did a fantastic job raising a stellar young man. He will be sorely missed."

"My heart overflows with sadness. Captain Michael Martino and my nephew Major Gerald Bloomfield II died together on November 2. They served our country proudly and honorably. They died doing what they loved and for what they believed to be right. I know Mike and Jer will continue to fly high. May God bless them, bless our families and bless the United States of America."

Yet there are a lot of people who are absolutely convinced that there are no heroes and that freedom is, in fact, free.

I have no words.

WAS TAKEN AS A SLAVE

at Lepanto, it was not an act of literary criticism, some particularly harsh review of 'Don Quixote'..

Dinesh D'Souza:

"In this book I make a claim that will seem startling at the outset. The cultural left in this country is responsible for causing 9/11. ... In faulting the cultural left, I am not making the absurd accusation that this group blew up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I am saying that the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector, and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world. The Muslims who carried out the 9/11 attacks were the product of this visceral rage--some of it based on legitimate concerns, some of it based on wrongful prejudice, but all of it fueled and encouraged by the cultural left. Thus without the cultural left, 9/11 would not have happened."

G.K. Chesterton:

"Now a man preaching what he thinks is a platitude is far more intolerant than a man preaching what he admits is a paradox. It was exactly because it seemed self-evident, to Moslems as to Bolshevists, that their simple creed was suited to everybody, that they wished in that particular sweeping fashion to impose it on everybody. It was because Islam was broad that Moslems were narrow. And because it was not a hard religion it was a heavy rule. Because it was without a self-correcting complexity, it allowed of those simple and masculine but mostly rather dangerous appetites that show themselves in a chieftain or a lord. As it had the simplest sort of religion, monotheism, so it had the simplest sort of government, monarchy. There was exactly the same direct spirit in its despotism as in its deism. The Code, the Common Law, the give and take of charters and chivalric vows, did not grow in that golden desert. The great sun was in the sky and the great Saladin was in his tent, and he must be obeyed unless he were assassinated. Those who complain of our creeds as elaborate often forget that the elaborate Western creeds have produced the elaborate Western constitutions; and that they are elaborate because they are emancipated." ("The Fall of Chivalry", The New Jerusalem)

"There is in Islam a paradox which is perhaps a permanent menace. The great creed born in the desert creates a kind of ecstasy out of the very emptiness of its own land, and even, one may say, out of the emptiness of its own theology. It affirms, with no little sublimity, something that is not merely the singleness but rather the solitude of God. There is the same extreme simplification in the solitary figure of the Prophet; and yet this isolation perpetually reacts into its own opposite. A void is made in the heart of Islam which has to be filled up again and again by a mere repetition of the revolution that founded it. There are no sacraments; the only thing that can happen is a sort of apocalypse, as unique as the end of the world; so the apocalypse can only be repeated and the world end again and again. There are no priests; and yet this equality can only breed a multitude of lawless prophets almost as numerous as priests. The very dogma that there is only one Mahomet produces an endless procession of Mahomets. Of these the mightiest in modern times were the man whose name was Ahmed, and whose more famous title was the Mahdi; and his more ferocious successor Abdullahi, who was generally known as the Khalifa. These great fanatics, or great creators of fanaticism, succeeded in making a militarism almost as famous and formidable as that of the Turkish Empire on whose frontiers it hovered, and in spreading a reign of terror such as can seldom be organised except by civilisation…" (Lord Kitchener)

"…but out of the desert, from the dry places and the dreadful suns, come the cruel children of the lonely God; the real Unitarians who with scimitar in hand have laid waste the world. For it is not well for God to be alone." ("The Romance of Orthodoxy", Orthodoxy) ...........................

That poor baby Muhammed Atta may have been scarred for life from running out of dollar bills at the Harem Haram Titty-Bar and bin Laden may do a killer--KILLER!--Michael Moore impression, but it is Chesterton, not D'Souza, who locates the primary cause of Pathological Jihadism.

AND TALKING TURKEYS

Benjamin Franklin:

"Tuna fish and House Speakers begin to smell after 100 non-legislative hours." I quote from memory.

Congratulations, American Samoans--you're just the latest LittleBrownPeople(tm) to be sold out by Democrats! Sorry, Charlie.

Franklin of course also wanted the wild turkey for our National Bird.

Whereas Ted Kennedy simply wanted Wild Turkey, Truthers invented the Plastic Turkey...and John Conyers savors the Free Turkeys, taken from the the needy.

Nancy "The Fish-Monger" Pelosi: "The Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."

"...in history"? Even more ethical than those guys who pledged 'their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor'? Wow!

I await Congressman Jefferson's expulsion hearings. With baited breath. heh.

In the meantime, I defer to the dolphin-safe Continental Congressman from Pennsylvannia:

"A good conscience is a continual Christmas."

He said "a good conscience"...not a good fish story.

THE PRESIDENT:

Good evening. Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror -- and our safety here at home. The new strategy I outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help us succeed in the fight against terror.

When I addressed you just over a year ago, nearly 12 million Iraqis had cast their ballots for a unified and democratic nation. The elections of 2005 were a stunning achievement. We thought that these elections would bring the Iraqis together, and that as we trained Iraqi security forces we could accomplish our mission with fewer American troops.

But in 2006, the opposite happened. The violence in Iraq -- particularly in Baghdad -- overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made. Al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq's elections posed for their cause, and they responded with outrageous acts of murder aimed at innocent Iraqis. They blew up one of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam -- the Golden Mosque of Samarra -- in a calculated effort to provoke Iraq's Shia population to retaliate. Their strategy worked. Radical Shia elements, some supported by Iran, formed death squads. And the result was a vicious cycle of sectarian violence that continues today.

The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people -- and it is unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.

It is clear that we need to change our strategy in Iraq. So my national security team, military commanders, and diplomats conducted a comprehensive review. We consulted members of Congress from both parties, our allies abroad, and distinguished outside experts. We benefitted from the thoughtful recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel led by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. In our discussions, we all agreed that there is no magic formula for success in Iraq. And one message came through loud and clear: Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States.

The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people. On September the 11th, 2001, we saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring to the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America must succeed in Iraq.

The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially in Baghdad. Eighty percent of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles of the capital. This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves, and shaking the confidence of all Iraqis. Only Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an aggressive plan to do it.

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work.

Now let me explain the main elements of this effort: The Iraqi government will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police brigades across Baghdad's nine districts. When these forces are fully deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades committed to this effort, along with local police. These Iraqi forces will operate from local police stations -- conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints, and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents.

This is a strong commitment. But for it to succeed, our commanders say the Iraqis will need our help. So America will change our strategy to help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American force levels. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. The vast majority of them -- five brigades -- will be deployed to Baghdad. These troops will work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs.

Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences: In earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of terrorists and insurgents, but when our forces moved on to other targets, the killers returned. This time, we'll have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter those neighborhoods -- and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.

I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."

This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings, assassinations, or IED attacks. Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and suffering. Yet over time, we can expect to see Iraqi troops chasing down murderers, fewer brazen acts of terror, and growing trust and cooperation from Baghdad's residents. When this happens, daily life will improve, Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Most of Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace -- and reducing the violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible.

A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.

To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November.

To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution.

America will change our approach to help the Iraqi government as it works to meet these benchmarks. In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi Army units, and partner a coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped army, and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential U.S. security mission in Iraq. We will give our commanders and civilians greater flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance. We will double the number of provincial reconstruction teams. These teams bring together military and civilian experts to help local Iraqi communities pursue reconciliation, strengthen the moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi self-reliance. And Secretary Rice will soon appoint a reconstruction coordinator in Baghdad to ensure better results for economic assistance being spent in Iraq.

As we make these changes, we will continue to pursue al Qaeda and foreign fighters. Al Qaeda is still active in Iraq. Its home base is Anbar Province. Al Qaeda has helped make Anbar the most violent area of Iraq outside the capital. A captured al Qaeda document describes the terrorists' plan to infiltrate and seize control of the province. This would bring al Qaeda closer to its goals of taking down Iraq's democracy, building a radical Islamic empire, and launching new attacks on the United States at home and abroad.

Our military forces in Anbar are killing and capturing al Qaeda leaders, and they are protecting the local population. Recently, local tribal leaders have begun to show their willingness to take on al Qaeda. And as a result, our commanders believe we have an opportunity to deal a serious blow to the terrorists. So I have given orders to increase American forces in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops. These troops will work with Iraqi and tribal forces to keep up the pressure on the terrorists. America's men and women in uniform took away al Qaeda's safe haven in Afghanistan -- and we will not allow them to re-establish it in Iraq.

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

We're also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand intelligence-sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region.

We will use America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq from nations throughout the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf States need to understand that an American defeat in Iraq would create a new sanctuary for extremists and a strategic threat to their survival. These nations have a stake in a successful Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors, and they must step up their support for Iraq's unity government. We endorse the Iraqi government's call to finalize an International Compact that will bring new economic assistance in exchange for greater economic reform. And on Friday, Secretary Rice will leave for the region, to build support for Iraq and continue the urgent diplomacy required to help bring peace to the Middle East.

The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to destroy our way of life. In the long run, the most realistic way to protect the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative to the hateful ideology of the enemy, by advancing liberty across a troubled region. It is in the interests of the United States to stand with the brave men and women who are risking their lives to claim their freedom, and to help them as they work to raise up just and hopeful societies across the Middle East.

From Afghanistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian Territories, millions of ordinary people are sick of the violence, and want a future of peace and opportunity for their children. And they are looking at Iraq. They want to know: Will America withdraw and yield the future of that country to the extremists, or will we stand with the Iraqis who have made the choice for freedom?

The changes I have outlined tonight are aimed at ensuring the survival of a young democracy that is fighting for its life in a part of the world of enormous importance to American security. Let me be clear: The terrorists and insurgents in Iraq are without conscience, and they will make the year ahead bloody and violent. Even if our new strategy works exactly as planned, deadly acts of violence will continue -- and we must expect more Iraqi and American casualties. The question is whether our new strategy will bring us closer to success. I believe that it will.

Victory will not look like the ones our fathers and grandfathers achieved. There will be no surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship. But victory in Iraq will bring something new in the Arab world -- a functioning democracy that polices its territory, upholds the rule of law, respects fundamental human liberties, and answers to its people. A democratic Iraq will not be perfect. But it will be a country that fights terrorists instead of harboring them -- and it will help bring a future of peace and security for our children and our grandchildren.

This new approach comes after consultations with Congress about the different courses we could take in Iraq. Many are concerned that the Iraqis are becoming too dependent on the United States, and therefore, our policy should focus on protecting Iraq's borders and hunting down al Qaeda. Their solution is to scale back America's efforts in Baghdad -- or announce the phased withdrawal of our combat forces. We carefully considered these proposals. And we concluded that to step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government, tear the country apart, and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale. Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more lethal. If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home.

In the days ahead, my national security team will fully brief Congress on our new strategy. If members have improvements that can be made, we will make them. If circumstances change, we will adjust. Honorable people have different views, and they will voice their criticisms. It is fair to hold our views up to scrutiny. And all involved have a responsibility to explain how the path they propose would be more likely to succeed.

Acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of Congress, we will form a new, bipartisan working group that will help us come together across party lines to win the war on terror. This group will meet regularly with me and my administration; it will help strengthen our relationship with Congress. We can begin by working together to increase the size of the active Army and Marine Corps, so that America has the Armed Forces we need for the 21st century. We also need to examine ways to mobilize talented American civilians to deploy overseas, where they can help build democratic institutions in communities and nations recovering from war and tyranny.

In these dangerous times, the United States is blessed to have extraordinary and selfless men and women willing to step forward and defend us. These young Americans understand that our cause in Iraq is noble and necessary -- and that the advance of freedom is the calling of our time. They serve far from their families, who make the quiet sacrifices of lonely holidays and empty chairs at the dinner table. They have watched their comrades give their lives to ensure our liberty. We mourn the loss of every fallen American -- and we owe it to them to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.

Fellow citizens: The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice, and resolve. It can be tempting to think that America can put aside the burdens of freedom. Yet times of testing reveal the character of a nation. And throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists and seen our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new struggle that will set the course for a new century. We can, and we will, prevail.

We go forward with trust that the Author of Liberty will guide us through these trying hours.

Thank you and good night.

"DADDY, WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR FOR AMERICA"S FUTURE?"

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."--Ronald Reagan

"“I understand where you’re coming from” is the real legacy of the 60s generation. Every single message aimed at kids today says that individuality is the highest virtue; personally defined morality is not only chic, it is required. Much of this comes from the over-sexed Left. If they had their way, government officials would pull babies out of their hospital cribs in order to shake them while saying “it’s okay to be gay, it’s okay to enjoy your body, don’t judge people.”

But there’s a huge problem with all of this. Hannah Arendt once said that with every generation Western civilization is invaded by hordes of barbarians; we call them “children.” Tell a barbarian that “you shouldn’t change for anybody” and guess what? He’s stays a barbarian. If you tell a barbarian that his gripes are legitimate and his outrage is deserved, you’d better make sure that you fix whatever it is that’s pissing him off. That can be tough, considering what pisses him off is usually the entire universe."--Jonah Goldberg

"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."--transcript of the recently discovered 'Dead Kennedy Scrolls'. Archaeologists speculate that there was once a president named "John F. Kennedy" who was a member of the Democrat tribe. Democrat tribal leaders have sought to suppress publication of the scrolls, claiming they contain "heresies" and "forbidden knowledge" which could "break the spell".

"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again."--Ronald Reagan

Charles R. Kesler:

"It's time for conservatives to admit the need to rethink and clarify their own precepts. To be sure, there are verities to which the wise and good may always repair, and conservatism is distinguished by its reverence for them. But these must be relearned in every generation, restated in the idiom of life, and applied to new circumstances. The challenge is as exhilarating as it is serious. Far from being a cause for despair, conservatism's perplexities may contribute to making this the most illuminating political season in 30 years."


Wilfred M. McClay:

The fissures and conflicts within conservatism are getting so much attention now because conservatism is still, intellectually speaking, where the principal action remains. So long as the Democratic party continues down the road it has been following, led by its aging left-wing lions and lionesses, funded and directed by the most extreme and irresponsible elements in its ranks, and finding clarity only in discrediting George W. Bush and regaining office, conservatives will always have plenty to unify around. For their own part, so long as conservatives are able to remember Ronald Reagan as a leader who not only embodied the distinctive characteristics of American conservatism but who finessed its antinomies and persevered against the contempt and condescension of his own era—including among some of his allies—they can yet regain their bearings and prevail."...........

Ronald Reagan:

"Finally, there is a great tradition of warnings in presidential farewells, and I've got one that's been on my mind for some time. But oddly enough it starts with one of the things I'm proudest of in the past eight years: the resurgence of national pride that I called the new patriotism. This national feeling is good, but it won't count for much, and it won't last unless it's grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge.

An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over thirty-five or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions. If you didn't get these things from your family, you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea of the family who lost someone at Anzio. Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school. And if all else failed, you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture. The movies celebrated democratic values and implicitly reinforced the idea that America was special. TV was like that, too, through the midsixties.

But now, we're about to enter the nineties, and some things have changed. Younger parents aren't sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style. Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rate. It's fragile; it needs protection.

So, we've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion but what's important: Why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those thirty seconds over Tokyo meant. You know, four years ago on the fortieth anniversary of D day, I read a letter from a young woman writing of her late father, who'd fought on Omaha Beach. Her name was Lisa Zanatta Henn, and she said, "we will always remember, we will never forget what the boys of Normandy did." Well, let's help her keep her word. If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. Let's start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual. And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know and nail 'em on it. That would be a very American thing to do."

Very.

MY BABIES, THEY WROTE ME A LETTER

Democrat leaders and Federal Real Estate Agents Harry Reid and Nambla Pelosi have written President Bush a letter.

(Why 'Federal Real Estate Agents'? Because they both have a way of making Federal property end up with their family-owned development businesses. That may be unfair, though--after all, real estate agents have a code of ethics.)

January 5, 2007

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The start of the new Congress brings us opportunities to work together on the critical issues confronting our country. No issue is more important than finding an end to the war in Iraq. December was the deadliest month of the war in over two years, pushing U.S. fatality figures over the 3,000 mark.--"finding an end to the war"? South Vietnam found an "end to the war". Germany and Japan did, too. Is that what you mean? And why reward terrorists for successfully reaching a round number of murders? You've just told every thug and dictator in the world how many deaths it takes to make Democrats stop fighting.

[...] Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed. Like many current and former military leaders, we believe that trying again would be a serious mistake. They, like us, believe there is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution.--There is no purely political solution, either. And what's all this 'solution' stuff, anyway? Ah--"In war, there is no substitute for solution."--Gen. MacArthur Foundation

[...] Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror. A renewed diplomatic strategy, both within the region and beyond, is also required to help the Iraqis agree to a sustainable political settlement. In short, it is time to begin to move our forces out of Iraq...--A phased retreat in six months?

Let's see--six months from now...Hey; Democrats have scheduled our surrender to the terrorists...on the 4th of July!

Perfect.

UPDATE: Reid contradicts himself from only three weeks earlier:

"If it’s for a surge, that is for two or three months, and it’s part of a program to get us out of there as indicated by this time next year, then sure I’ll go along with it." --And a month before that, during the election, Reid was against it. And previous to that, Reid supported going to Iraq.

When it comes to sending troops, he has Kerry beat by a French kilometer; Reid was for it before he was against it before he was for it before he was against it.

And what's this business about a " two-month" deployment? Does Reid know anything about the military? You don't train 20 or 30 thousand soldiers, then uproot them and send them halfway around the world with their equipment and support personnel for a deployment shorter than your average Congressional vacation.

Hairy Weed continues:

"We’ll give the military anything they want. We’re going to make sure that they get every dollar they need. But, what we’re not going to go along with, and we’ll take a close look at this huge supplemental we’re going to get. We’re going to take a close look at all these corporations that are over there. All these contractors. It’s estimated that there’s 100,000 of them now. 100,000 of them. And we’re going to take a close look at that. I think Halliburton’s made enough money in Iraq."--And I think Harry Reid's made enough money in secret Nevada land deals--so what?

This may be more than a sop to the Halliburton Helicopter-crowd. It sounds like a way to blunt any surge and undermine the mission by forcing the military to assume the duties now performed by contractors--and without any fingerprints on it.

Democrats have decided that we must lose in Iraq--and it must be lost by a Republican president and, above all, lost in time for the next election. The hell with our long-term national security interests. The hell with the bloodbath that would follow. The hell with the empowerment of our enemies. The hell with our reputation and the morale of our servicemen and women. To hell with the spread of democracy. To hell with the lives of those Iraqis who trusted us and the fate of those American troops who would still be in Afghanistan. To hell with all of that. There's an election to win, don't you know?

America Must be Humbled! Bush Must be Disgraced! The Debacle of Vietnam Must be Replicated! Republicans--and Wal-Mart!--Must Be Crushed! Terrorists--Not So Much!

And more than any of these, Democrats Must Be Returned To Their Rightful Place of Power At Any and All Costs!

Behold my disdain.

It is a thing of wonder.

THE WEARINESS

in Betty Ford's face as she participated in ceremony after ceremony.

She did that not just for herself, her husband and her family, but for us, her countrymen as an act of national unity. One more act of service in a lifetime of it.

The Fords brought back both political sobriety to the nation and the message of personal sobriety to countless of her citizens.

That is worthy of our gratitude and respect.

Q: How does Moneypenny address her love letters?
A: 2007

But for a look back at 2006, Dave Barry:

"As the campaign lumbers to the finish line, the Republicans desperately hope that the voters will not notice that they -- once the party of small government -- have turned into the party of war-bungling, corruption-tolerating, pork-spewing power-lusting toads, while the Democrats desperately hope that the voters will not notice that they are still, basically, the Democrats. The actual voters, of course, are paying no attention, having given up on politics months ago because every time they turn on the TV all they see are political ads accusing pretty much every candidate on either side of being, at minimum, a child molester.

Thus nobody really knows what will happen as the voters go to the polls. In Florida, nobody knows anything even after the voting is over, because -- prepare to be shocked -- many electronic balloting machines malfunction. Voters in one district report that their machines, instead of displaying the candidates for Congress, showed "Star Wars: Episode IV." (By an overwhelming margin, this district elects Jabba the Hutt.) Nationwide, however, it eventually becomes clear that the Democrats have gained control of both houses of Congress. President Bush handles the defeat with surprisingly good humor, possibly because his staff has not told him about it. For their part, future House and Senate majority leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid issue a joint statement promising to "make every effort to find common ground with the president," adding, "We are clearly lying." Pelosi sets about the difficult task of trying to fill leadership posts with Democrats who have not been videotaped discussing bribes with federal undercover agents."

Hmm--maybe Congressman Hutt. And with premature nostalgia, James Lileks looks back on 2007:

"The new Democratic Congress repealed the Patriot Act, banned racial profiling at airport checkpoints, required the executive branch to inform terrorists by certified mail that their phones were tapped, and began efforts to revive the draft. As Speaker Pelosi put it, "This is not about this war. This is about setting the stage for the racial and class-based rhetoric that will automatically undermine the attempts to fight the next war. Wait a minute, is this mike on? Oh, crap.""

FOR A CHANGE

"We are the most successful, the wealthiest, and the most powerful nation in history because for generations, our parents and grandparents have worked and fought to develop the county we inherited. And the reason I entitle my book “Winning the Future” is I want to send a single message, which is we can win the future; we will not inherit it. We’re going to compete with China and India economically. We’re going to have to absorb an enormous explosion of scientific knowledge. We have to meet the challenge of the Baby Boomers living longer than any generation in history. We have to understand the challenge of a government which is increasingly obsolete and increasingly ineffective. And we have to understand the genuine threats to our survival internationally from terrorist groups and we have to beat back the secular academic legal challenge to the very core of American values.

Now all of those things have to be done simultaneously. We’re not given the privilege of ordering our history to appear seriatim because we’d like to deal with one at a time. We have to deal with all of them. I believe we will be, in the next 20 years, more challenged than any generation since Abraham Lincoln in 1861. Now if you have to go look back to the scale of the Civil War and the degree to which required fundamental change in order for the union to survive to have any sense of what’s coming at the U.S. in the next 20 years. And I don’t think we’re ready for it. We don’t have a political structure that can describe it, a new media that can cover it, a leadership that can offer the solutions, or a government that can implement it. And this will be a very, very significant period of change. And I think the challenge to the Republicans is to be the party that has the courage to confront that reality and to deal with that reality."--Newt Gingrich

DON'T HAVE TO

Cliff May:

"Imagine that Saddam had not been executed. Imagine that he had been sentenced to life in prison.

Now imagine that a group of pro-Saddam terrorists seizes an elementary school. They say they will kill all the students and teachers if Saddam is not released within 24 hours.

Should Saddam then be released? Or should several dozen innocent children and their teachers be killed?

Is it not better that we have guaranteed that it will never be necessary to make such a choice?"

No need for a thought experiment.

Imagine that an assassin killed the leading presidential candidate. Imagine that he was caught, not executed but sentenced to life in prison.

Now imagine that a group of terrorists seizes an embassy. They say they will kill the diplomats if the assassin is not released in 72 hours.

Should the assassin then be released? Or should several diplomats be killed?

Well, they were killed.

That is in fact the story of Sirhan Sirhan, Bobby Kennedy, Yasser Arafat and Black September, Ambassador Cleo Noel and Charge d' Affairs George Moore.

But it doesn't end there.

Imagine, if you can, that our government not only fails to hunt down the terrorist in charge and put a bullet between his beady little eyes, but grants him in effect a full pardon, allows him to speak at the UN, intervenes and rescues him when he's on his last legs, sends him billions of dollars and even arms, invites him to the White House and tries to give him his own country, all the while he continues his terrorism, turning his own people into a toxic pathetic wreck of a society while stealing them blind and teaching the whole world that America can be punked and that, indeed, terrorism works?

No--that's simply too fantastic to be believed.

And you wonder why we're in Iraq?