Global Warming, Environment, related

Alaska Glaciers grew this year, thanks to colder weather
Claim that sea level is rising is a total fraud
Some things we know, and don't know, about polar bears
Swedish scientist accuses UN's IPCC of falsifying data and destroying evidence
BBC shunned me for denying climate change
Proof we are causing polar warming melts away in the cold light of reality
Dr. Roy Spencer censored by the guardians of politicized "official" science?
Global Warming? What a load of poppycock!
Sunlight has more powerful influence on ocean circulation and climate than North American ice sheets
Truly inconvenient truths about climate change being ignored
Solar Databases for global change models
Things caused by global warming ;)
Two mile deep antarctic ice core reveals stupidity of AGW catastrophism
Evidence of sunspot involvement in climate change compelling
Global Warming predictions are overestimated, suggests study on black carbon
Illusions of Climate Science
Global warming ideas disputed by PU prof
‘Planet Has Cooled Since Bush Took Office’ – Scientists Continue Dissenting – Gore Admits 'I've failed badly' - Global Sea Ice GROWS! part II also
12 facts about global climate change that you won't read in the popular press
A major deception on global warming (IPCC)
Astromomical influences affect climate more than CO2, say experts
Dangerous human caused warming can neither be demostrated nor measured
Latest science debunks hurricanes and global warming link
New report calls into question 'Man made' climate change
EcoAmerica Poll: Climate skeptics are the majority, not the minority
Greenhouse misnomer
Climate case built on thin foundation (IPCC author list)
Monitors report widespread global cooling
MIT scientists baffled by global warming theory, contradicts scientific data
UAF professor emeritus continues to question sources of global warming
Why I recanted
Why I've got a beef with going vegetarian

Oil sands cleanup: The public debate on oil sands fails to recognize that restoration is possible and not that expensive
Windfarms: One of the great deceptions of our time

Adds 1/20/2008

Facts Debunk Global Warming Alarmism
The Killer Frost for Global Warming
The Price of Dissent on Global Warming
Rethinking Observed Warming
Pre-industrial CO2 levels were about the same as today. How and why we are told otherwise?
650 Scientists Dissent
The So Called Consensus on Global Warming is Melting
Prominent Scientist Fired By Gore Says Warming Alarm ‘Mistaken’
VIN SUPRYNOWICZ: Cooling is 'not evidence that global warming is slowing'
Sunspot data vital clue to climate change
2008 The Year Man-made Global Warming was Disproved
Global Warming and malaria: knowing the horse before hitching the cart
Professor denies global warming theory
The Earth's magnetic field impacts climate: Danish study
New Study Doesn’t Support Climate Models (But You’ll Never Hear About It)
No Proof Man is causing Warming Trend

Stanford University Study shows ethanol to be worst form of renewable energy
Myths About Energy Threaten Future of Nation
Politically Inconvenient Truth about Electric Cars
Peak Oil is a Myth

Adds 8/14/2009
Consistent with Chronicles, Antarctic Edition
Despite the hot air, the Antarctic is not warming up
Possible natural explanation found for west Antarctica's Warming
Climate Change's antarctic Ruffle
NOAA Meteorologist Claims 'Gross, Blatant Censorship' for Speaking Out Against Climate Change Alarmism
The Crumbling Case for Global Warming
New Paper Demonstrates Anthropogenic Contribution to Global Warming Overestimated, Solar Contribution Underestimated
Japanese Scientists cool on theories
Nobody listens to the real climate change experts
The real deniers
Melting antarctic ice part of a natural cycle
Receding glacier park ice not due to global warming
El Nino study challenges GW intensity link
Rise of sea level is 'the greatest lie ever told'
Where is science behind climate change claims?
Revealed: Antarctic ice growing, not shrinking
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust: theory that Atlantic Ocean is warming due to climate change laid to rest

Shale Gas: The Black Swan in the Gas Patch
"Chemists poke holes in ozone theory: Reaction data of crucial chloride compounds called into question."
Galactic Cosmic Rays May Be Responsible For The Antarctic Ozone Hole
Why are these vegans sent to plague us?
New Jungles Prompt a Debate on Rain Forests
Dresden
Squeeze that sponge
Unfair Competition From Overseas Deadly For American Car Industry
Bail out Big 3 by cutting red tape
Detroit's Hybrid nightmare
FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate

Quotes

"no one in his right mind would look to France for anything more weighty than a good soufflé recipe." Max Boot

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” Benjamin Franklin

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." 10th ammendment

“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” The Gipper

“If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will Lose its freedom.” William Somerset

MaughamSit Vis Vobiscum

"The researches of so many eminent scientific men have thrown so much darkness upon the subject that if they continue their researches we shall soon know nothing." Artemus Ward

the "amount of oil available to the market over the next 25 to 50 years is for all intents and purposes infinite." Morris Adelman, Professor Emeritus in Economics, Harvard

"the United States today is so far removed from laissez-faire capitalism that it is closer to the system of a police state than to laissez-faire capitalism." George Reisman, Pepperdine University Professor Emeritus of Economics

“For if my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true. They may be sound chemically, but that does not make them sound logically. And hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.” J. B. S. Haldane

"I think that we here in the US, probably to our detriment, live in the least truly violent society of any in history." Michael Gira

“a man would be thought a coward if he had no more courage than a courageous woman.” Aristotle

"Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent." Judge Holden

"They'd rather be alive than free, I guess. Poor dumb bastards." Eightball

"Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head."

"Yeah, I went hunting once. Shot a deer in the leg. Had to kill it with a shovel. Took about an hour. Why do you ask?" Michael Scott

Capt. Thomas Fuller: Sometimes doing the right thing isn't doing the right thing. Sgt. Howard: What the hell is that supposed to mean? "

I REGRET NOTHING." The Dude

“A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” John Stuart Mill

"an habitual disuse of physical force totally destroys the moral; and men lose at once the power of protecting themselves, and of discerning the cause of their oppresion." J. Barlow

"to be disarmed is to be contemptible." Machiavelli

Old and New Links

Here are some older links I've got:

D.C.'s Distinction: $16,344 per student, but only 12% read Proficiently
Scientists say no evidence exists that therapod dinosaurs evolved into birds
Debunking the Israeli Women in Combat Myth
60 Minutes of Distortion: prewar intelligence
IIS Top Secret doc proves intent to hide prohibited items from UN
Where's the dissent about source of quote?:'Dissent is the greatest form of patriotism'
Saddam's Ignored documents of death
Memo reportedly shows location of WMD
WMD'S FOUND IN IRAQ...LOTS OF THEM
Bush didn't lie about WMD
More on the WMD
Was Saddam Regime a Broker for Terror Alliances?
Iraq How-to Manual Directed Arab Military Operatives In Afghanistan
Originally hailed as wonderful, soy can be bad for your health
Identifying Misinformation: 3 conspiracy theories
Carbs and Cancer links
LA Times coverup?: winter soldier war crimes
Al Qaeda in Iraq Under Saddam
Concealed gun permits soar
IRAQ – THE MEXICAN INVASION AND THE ECONOMY: cost of illegals
The fruit and vegetable copout
What to do when compact fluorescents crack
Mercury leaks found as new bulbs break
An Illegal Exodus...Back to Mexico?
Affirming the West
Biofuels deemed a greenhouse threat
Fat Foods You Can Eat: 8 "unhealthy" foods that are actually good for you
You call that health food?
The Wages of HillaryCare
The Lies of Tet
Islam and Fascism
Low-, non-fat milk linked to prostate cancer
Full Fat Dairy, Meat reduces risk of prostate cancer

McCain's True Colors Come Through?

Links II

Who Causes Iraqi Civilian Casaulties?
Death, Canadian Style
The Return of the Thought Police: "Hate Crime" Legislation is an assualt on Civil Liberties.
Comments About Global Warming (By John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel)
The Other Refugees: A newly discovered document explains the Jewish exile from Muslim lands
Moving on Up: A Treasury study refutes populist hokum about "income inequality"
Iran Poised to "Shoot Themselves in Foot" with oil as weapon
Taxes and Income: rich pay more after tax cuts
What if Bad Fat isn't so Bad?
Year of Global Cooling
The High Cost of Higher MPG restrictions
Global Warming Impact May be Overstated

Links

Blogger is not very bright, when I try and add more to Linkfest, it skips two lines instead of one when I press enter. Retarded!

On Comparing the Rubicon to the Resurrection
Studies Say Death Penalty Deters Crime
Stop Being Hung Up on the Term "American"
Cheese Headcases: Wisconsin reveals the cost of "universal" healthcare
Critic Takes Longer View of Warming
Analysis Finds Hundreds of Scientists Have Published Evidence Countering Man-Made Global Warming Fears
Gore Getts Cold Shoulder
GW: Man-made or Natural?
In Defense of Income Inequality
The Soros Threat to Democracy
Dog Breeding: Proof Darwin was Right? Hardly.
First Into Nagasaki: some thoughts on A-bomb
Top Secret: Bush Told Truth About WMDs
Can a High-Fat Diet Beat Cancer?
Media Dishonesty Matters: list of 100 fabricated/false/biased stories
New Assessment of Ape Language Skills is Dramatically Scaled Back
Iraqi Casaulties, Leftist Lies
Things That Offend Muslims
Climate Change: Is CO2 the Cause? : video
The Flaws in the Iran Report
Part of Global Warming Model May Be Wrong

A Military Genius of Our Time

Victory in Iraq

It has become obligatory for both pro- and antiwar commentators to never mention the possibility of victory in Iraq. The most that antiwar people will admit is that the surge has gained a temporary military advantage in a war that cannot be won militarily. The most pro-war commentators will claim is that they see the possibility of "success" perhaps, maybe, someday, somehow.

But as of Veterans Day 2007, I think one can claim a very real expectation that next year the world may see a genuine, old-fashioned victory in the Iraq War. In five years we will have overturned Saddam's government, killed, captured or driven out of country almost all al Qaeda terrorists, suppressed the violent Shi'ite militias and induced the Sunni tribal leaders and their people to shun resistance and send their sons into the army and police and seek peaceful resolution of disputes. And we will have stood up a multisectarian, tribally inclusive army capable of maintaining the peace that our troops established.

MORE

This is most definitely a good thing:

Patraeus Helping Pick New Generals

The Army has summoned the top U.S. commander in Iraq back to Washington to preside over a board that will pick some of the next generation of Army leaders, an unusual decision that officials say represents a vote of confidence in Gen. David H. Petraeus’s conduct of the war, as well as the Army counterinsurgency doctrine he helped rewrite.

The Army has long been criticized for rewarding conventional military thinking and experience in traditional combat operations, and current and former defense officials have pointed to Petraeus’s involvement in the promotion board process this month as a sign of the Army’s commitment to encouraging innovation and rewarding skills beyond the battlefield.

Some junior and midlevel officers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been particularly outspoken in their criticisms, saying the Army’s current leadership lacks a hands-on understanding of today’s conflicts and has not listened to feedback from younger personnel.

“It’s unprecedented for the commander of an active theater to be brought back to head something like a brigadier generals board,” said retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, former head of the Army War College. A senior defense official said Petraeus is “far too high-profile for this to be a subtle thing.”

The board, composed of 15 Army generals, will examine a pool of more than 1,000 colonels to select about 40 brigadier generals, expected to lead the service over the next decade or longer. Although each board member has an equal vote on the candidates, Petraeus will be able to guide the discussion.

Petraeus, a four-star general with a doctorate in political science, has spent three of the past four years in Iraq and has observed firsthand many of the colonels under consideration for promotion. He is well-regarded by military officials for his political skills in Iraq and at home, including winning support from a skeptical Congress for a U.S. troop increase in Iraq.

“Dave Petraeus in many ways is viewed as the archetype of what this new generation of senior leader is all about,” Scales said, “a guy . . . who understands information operations, who can be effective on Capitol Hill, who can communicate with Iraqis, who understands the value of original thought, who has the ability through the power of his intellect to lead people to change.”

MORE

Coulter: Jew hating nazi

I don't understand this. Here is what David Horowitz had to say. (he's jewish, too) It was basically what I thought when I heard it. What's the big deal?

I have received a surprising number of emails from friends basically asking "What are you going to do about Coulter?" This is a reference to her recent comment that she is hoping for the perfection of the Jews. My response is this: what else would a Christian hope for? That's the message of the New Testament: Jesus came to fulfill, complete, perfect the Law. If you're a Christian, that's what you believe. If you don't accompany this belief by burning Jews who refuse to become perfected at the stake why would any Jew have a problem?

Why do some Jews think that Christians should not really believe what they believe while it's okay for Jews to really believe they are God's Chosen People? I don't get it. Whatever happened to the pluralism of ideas? In any case, what I'm going to do about Coulter is finish her latest exhilarating book, If Democrats Had Any Brains They'd Be Republicans, which happens to be a hall of fame of her so-called "over the top" moments that drive leftists crazy. Right on Ann.

Gen Sanchez

I said something similar to this some time ago, and I know somebody didn't like it.

The Washington Post, the AP and others were brutally attacked yesterday by retired General Ricardo Sanchez. He accused them and their political masters of de facto treason, functioning not as journalists, but as lying propagandists bent on advancing Democrat Party power. Desperate to cover up this news before the truth of their conspiracy should be revealed to the American People, they refused to report these charges, and instead rushed to publish and promote his use of the word “nightmare” with regards to Iraq. ( A place the General has not been to in a long time, and a place where he failed to achieve the type of success that General Petraeus is now achieving. )

However, Sanchez did spend a long time watching the press lie about the war in order to support the Dems campaign for Iraq to be perceived by Americans as a defeat. In other words, he watched them do all they could to help the enemy.

The lede of his speech, the main part, was his attack on the MSM’s and Dems’ treason. The MSM hoped to kick up an anti-Bush soundbite sandstorm that would obscure the following words from notice, from ever being covered in the media. The New York Times report makes no mention, no mention whatsoever, of his attacks on them and their ilk.

Read more at PatDollard

Gen. Hagel v. the Upstart Petraeus

I just saw the headline this morning, Hagel puts screws to Petraeus, or some such nonsense. Basically Hagel is saying he doubts the general's testimony, blah blah blah etc etc etc. You know, how he got himself into this position in the first place, essentially becoming a casualty of Petraeus's winning strategy. He set himself up to lose if we win. Way to go Chuck. And he just keeps piling on. Obviously, he knows better than the good general, he is, after all, a US Senator.

I also remember reading some ridiculous story many weeks ago, John Bruning (I think) had returned from Iraq, and basically said 'uh, guys, the country really is not on fire' and of course Chucky slammed him down, saying that, since Gen. Hagel was a soldier, he knows better, and it would be best if John would just be realistic, please. While that is obviously stylized, the point was that Chuck said he knew better because he was once a soldier in a war. ok then.

Petraeus

This is quite remarkable.

Not surprisingly, Petraeus performed smoothly in his testimony to Congress. But an internal Pentagon report is expected to ‘differ substantially’ from his recommendations on withdrawal from Iraq, NEWSWEEK has learned.

( Newsweek is doing some serious sleight of hand by mentioning the “alternate” Pentagon report “differing substantially” from Petreaus’ recommendations of how to win in Iraq. It’s not a plan drawn up out of consideration for victory in Iraq, but one drawn up as a contingency in the event the Pentagon were to decide that it was more important to have a reserve of troops on hand for other possible conflicts. The so-called dispute with Admiral Fallon is not based on Fallon having a differing view of how to achieve success in Iraq, but of Fallon’s desire to have a ready reserve available for surprise conflicts. Newsweek would have you believe that there’s some report being drawn up that will claim that Petraeus’ Iraq assesment is wrong or even untrue. Not the case. )

I'm having a hard time believing what I'm seeing with regard to the general. And it is making me incredibly angry.

Politics, its all the Dems know. Soldiers dying, body armor, all of these issues, it don't matter, except how can we use it to our political advantage. How much do the Dems support the troops?

Zero. One of the most notable things about Petraeus’ testimony today was how often, and uncompromisingly, he indicted Iran for “killing” our troops. Now given this ongoing threat to our troops’ lives, and given the fact that every Dem knows, even in their own delusional fast-pullout scenarios, that many troops will remain in Iraq, it would seem to be one of the most important matters of the day. They should have clearly recognized that this threat needed to be addressed, that it was homicidally negligent for them not to step up to the plate and demand that some form of action be taken to address Iran’s undeclared war and protect our troops. But they didn’t. Because they weren’t there today to address how best our country can conduct a war, let alone to protect, let alone to support, our troops. They were there for politics. They were there to support themselves, and no one else.
Iran gets a pass. Petreaus gets libeled.

Libeled is right. These people are slandering him, calling him a traitor?? What could they possibly be thinking? These people are scum, straight up. This is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen.

Case Against the Babykillers Crumbling

It is now obvious these guys did nothing wrong.

Patdollard

And Newsmax also reports the prosecution’s main witness fell apart:…the prosecution’s star witness all but collapsed on the witness stand after a withering cross-examination.Wrote Helms: “During four hours of cross examination by defense attorney Lt. Col. Colby C. Vokey, Dela Cruz was unable to clearly explain his previous testimony. At one point he simply stopped talking and stared into the distance, seemingly at a loss for words. At other times he simply rambled on until he was ordered to quit talking.”

Richard Thompson is president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, a legal advocacy group that has represented Marine Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, who was charged with failing to fully investigate and report Iraqi civilian deaths in Haditha. Thompson wrote:

Newsmax:

A video taped from a Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle – purported to show the action that took place in Haditha when 24 Iraqi civilians and insurgents were killed – was heavily edited by government investigators, a NewsMax investigation reveals.The reason, according to an inside source: to avoid showing anything that exonerates the Marines who were accused of murdering the victims.

Four Marines originally faced murder charges stemming from the Haditha incident. Charges against three of them have since been dropped, but Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich is still facing a court martial.

NewsMax can reveal that the video – which was broadcast by CNN – was a small, carefully edited part of what the Scan Eagle transmitted during its daylong surveillance flight over the battle scene on Nov. 19, 2005. And shockingly, the approximately one hour of edited footage was the only Scan Eagle footage provided to the Marines’ defense teams by the prosecution. According to CNN, “The video appears to show that, throughout that day, Marines engaged in fierce firefights and called in air strikes to level buildings - often with no definitive idea of who was inside.”

Had the entire video been shown it would have revealed that the Marines knew exactly “who was inside” - insurgents were clearly shown entering the target buildings before the structures were bombed. If CNN had been able “to review the whole video, they would see that we did indeed have a definitive idea of who was inside,’” an intelligence officer told NewsMax.The insurgents’ car parked outside the buildings “was packed to the gills with weapons, and we had just witnessed them complete an ambush on our ambulance,” the officer said. “We saw them enter the house, clapping each other on the back and congratulating themselves.”The deliberate editing of the video to show the defendants in the worst possible light, the Marine intelligence expert told NewsMax, “should have the defense screaming prosecutorial and NCIS misconduct.”

Pat Tillman

Quite frankly, I don't blame the army for covering up the fact that he was killed by FF. Why? Because apparently no-one understands what this even means. Sure, they know what it means, but apparently they think it somehow degrades Tillman's heroism. The dunces in the media are just simply too ignorant to be trusted with some things. Tillman is a hero, and FF does not diminish that. But I have to wonder, would those in high places of influence know this? I'm inclined to think not.

Taliban Admits Defeat

Taliban Admits Defeat

On a side note, strategypage has really had some good articles recently:

Politically Correct Body Armor Sucks
The Big Lies (on rewriting the USSR's history--very interesting info. here)

NYT: Surge Has Failed

They are so eager for defeat, they declare the surge to have failed when its only just begining. Frankly, I don't think they would know victory unless the bad guys held a press conference and declared that they give up and we win. Of course, I don't think they have the faintest idea what the surge actually means. I know when it was first in the news it was being reported as a random troop increase. Believe it or not, there is sound strategy behind the plan--Patraeus is a very sound military mind, he knows exactly what he is doing. And the thing is, it should work. If its allowed to. The enemy is very media savy, its probably the only reason they are even still with any influence. It is mostly illusory, thanks to the good folks at the MSM. As someone said to me just yesterday: 'As my friend who has served two tours in Iraq and I think he is over their for a third. Hardly any of the convoys get hit each day. His example was, "We run a hundred a day but only two get hit. I get home and they make it sound like everyone is getting hit."' We are talking about a media that is not 'balanced', their 'journalistic integrity' or 'impartiality' is just code language for being in the bed with the enemy. Being actively FOR the enemy and AGAINST us, because we are, after all, the greatest evil on the planet. We know how many soldiers die each day, but do we have any idea how many bad guys die? No clue. You have to really dig--I saw just recently that it was on the scale of 10 to 1 them to us. Not that you ever see that anywhere. You'd think the terrorists are just simply not dying.

As Pat Dollard stresses, but as the media seem to have a truly profound ignorance of: context 'What else are they going to do, and what else should we expecct? More crazy violence in Al Qaeda’s last corners. Endgame now?' They are not going to just go quietly, and to expect otherwise is sheer lunacy.

UPDATE: From patdollard.com:
'Only 4 of the 5 Surge brigades are in place - a stunning 69% of all IEDs have been defused since the Surge began, and Al Qaeda has lost control of the Anbar province, isolated in semi-hostile regions around Baghdad. Among many other advances. And what position will we be in regarding the Iran nuke/Afghanistan situations if we cut and run in Iraq?'

Illegal Insanity--Again, Dammit!

I read that only 25% of the American people support this insanity bill, and yet the politicians soldier on. I don't know what the freaking deal is with immigration, but the people are very clear on this one...and consistently. I think Ann Coulter is right:

We're Importing a Slave Class

This is not an exageration. What this amounts to is the creation of a permanent underclass dependent on government. And please, don't tell me we need them, that they do the jobs Americans won't do!!!! This is simply NOT supported by anything except wishful thinking. (see my previous posts for stats) The numbers DO NOT bear out this assertion, and in fact show the exact opposite. There is no such thing as 'jobs Americans won't do' so STOP SAYING THAT! *sigh* see my previous posts for still relevant info. I can't even believe this. Oh, and this is amnesty. Amnesty for criminals. I know, how about we just throw out the rule of law altogether?

The War--What Else?

Some good bits of reading out there, first, a piece by former Senator Bob Kerrey, of my state, Nebraska: The Left's Iraq Muddle

As well, and I find this important, Israelis support the Invasion of Iraq:

Most people in Israel believe the United States made the right decision in choosing to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein, according to a poll by Maagar Mochot, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and the Anti-Defamation League. 59 per cent of respondents believe that, looking back, it was correct for the U.S. to go to war with Iraq. . . . .

As well, this remarkable bit about the concept of Taqiyya in Islam, from a website I certainly did not really expect to see it on.

Poll Numbers

I would just like to point out two things.

1. Harry Truman's approval rating was absolutely abysmal, with only Nixon being worse. Where is he now? On the top of the Presidental stack, ranking very high on the list of greatest presidents.

2. The Congressional approval rating is actually lower than the president's right now.

That is all.

Nothing Happens in a Vacuum

From PatDollard.com:

Diyala Is The New Anbar
Al Qaeda is fighting hard, but caught in it’s last refuge….as long as Al Anbar is held.

This website beat the MSM by many a mile in informing you that a U.S./Sunni military operation had ejected Al Qaeda from its base in Al Anbar Province. In fact, the MSM was almost keeping that fact a secret until they were forced into full disclosure last week by reports that former Sunni insurgents, now working as U.S. allies, had killed two Al Qaeda leaders.

Terrorists are parasites. They rely on a host body to support them. Now they can terrorize a host body into providing them support, but that will only go so far. Ultimately, the host body must be somewhat sympathetic to the terrorists, or else, by sheer dint of numbers, the members of the host body will be able to reject the terrorists. These two principles explain the entire history of Al Qaeda’s reign over Al Anbar. Al Anbar, like Al Qaeda, is a Sunni entity. The people of Al Anbar were sympathetic enough to Al Qaeda that they provided them sanctuary, support and even manpower - which is to say, the very lifeblood that this parasite required. Finally, the Sunnis of Al Anbar had enough of the bleak and empty future, and very bloody present, that comprised the entirety of Al Qaeda’s offerings. And so the host body rejected the parasite. The parasite is now in its last possible refuge, the mixed Sunni/Shiite Triangle of Death & Diyala Province areas, just south and northeast of Baghdad, respectively. My time in Iraq started there, and will likely end there. Along with Al Qaeda’s.

There is a reason neither Al Qaeda or the Iranian Shiite Insurgents have no traction in Kurdistan. There is no sympathetic and compliant host body. There is a reason Al Qaeda has no traction in the southern/eastern Shiite areas of Iraq. There is no compliant, sympathetic (which is to say, Sunni) host body. There is only one place left with enough of a sympathetic, compliant host body for Al Qaeda to keep itself alive in. This is the mixed Sunni/Shiite Triangle of Death. An appropriate appellation for the battlefield of Iraq’s Apocalypse with its Public Enemy #1. Iraqis,Al Qaeda, U.S. forces. A triangle of death,
indeed.

In the short term, Al Qaeda will need to reopen its supply lines from Syria, which flow through through Al Anbar. They would also love nothing more than to reestablish themselves as the masters of Al Anbar. It is critical we keep our alliance with the Al Anbar Sunni tribes intact, and deny Al Qaeda both a home and its critical supply lines. And yes, the elephant in the room cannot be ignored as well: Syria must be forced to stop feeding Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is comprised of Jihadis from around the globe. For example, in Fallujah, I lived in a Chechen barracks. ( Fallujah is not in Russia ). During the battle of Fallujah, the Marines recovered passports from 18 different nations on the Jihadi dead. Most of Al Qaeda’s fighters come through Syria. Syria must be made to heel. Nancy Pelosi wearing scarves and whispering sweetly will not do the trick. In fact, she has only encouraged Syria and Al Qaeda to stick to their ways, to keep up the fight against us. Why should they quit when the Democrats keep promising them victory? When Pelosi lied, our soldiers died. And they still do. If we are allowed by the Leftists, the mainstream ( which is to say Leftisist ) media, and the career-coward Republican lawmakers to get tough with Syria, we can defeat Al Qaeda.

Petraeus has a three pronged agenda, whether he knows it or not, and I’m sure he does. 1. Hold Al Anbar. 2. Defeat Al Qaeda in it’s last possible home in Iraq, the Triangle of Death/Diyala areas, by simultaneously attacking them aggresively and winning over the local Sunni tribes to help us in that effort - - just as we did in Al Anbar. 3. Break the back of the Shiite/Iran Baghdad to Basra insurgency by maintaining a ruthless military campaign; by further marginalizing or killing Al Sadr; by co-opting as many Shiite tribal leaders as possible; and by forcing Maliki to appropriately support us in all this; and lastly by rooting out as much evidence as possible to finalize the case against Iran.

Just like today’s story of the loss of U.S. servicemen, and the spectacular Baghdad/Diyala bombings of the last three weeks, you will continue to see many more Al Qaeda horrors. But these may just be the terrorist organization’s death throes. It is an historical maxim that every empire becomes more violent in it’s final, beleaguered days. We live with the conundrum that there is as much good news as bad in this current carnage. But it will become all bad if we let this opportunity for final conquest slip through our fingers.

As Jim Morrison sang, this is the end. One way or another.

Taliban Leader killed. And what about that spring offensive they've promised?

Everyone is still waiting for the Taliban Spring Offensive to start, but nothing is happening. Well, that's not true, a lot is happening throughout southern Afghanistan. NATO and Afghan troops are all over the place, killing dozens of Taliban at a time and arresting hundreds. The Afghan army believes they have at least two hundred Taliban surrounded in a mountain village, along with a senior Afghan leader (Mullah Dadullah). On the down side, if its only Afghan troops involved, Mullah Abdullah has the financial resources to bribe his way out.

The Taliban insist they are on a roll, and threaten attacks all over Afghanistan. But so far, the Taliban have used mostly terror attacks with suicide bombers and roadside bombs. These are the weapons of someone who is losing. The increased terror attacks on Afghan civilians are another indicator of Taliban distress. More of the rural Afghans have turned against the Taliban. That, coupled with battles between al Qaeda and Taliban forces back in Pakistan, do not translate into good news for the Islamic radicals trying to regain control of Afghanistan.

Being dead, I think he'll have a hard time bribing his way out of that one.

Women in Combat

Does that picture say anything to you?
I think I posted something about this some time ago...
Recently I've been seeing a lot about this issue, in various forms, and it is really pissing me off. In fact, its getting to the point where I have to wonder if having women in the military is a good idea at all, mostly because of the slippery slope it seems to entail. There are reasons, dammit, why women should not serve in combat, and they are not scurilous reasons, they are very real. I think anyone who has read much military history, especially ancient, will know what I mean when I say that unit cohesion is important, and injecting women into that environment radically changes it, even today. Not to mention women are more likely to get injured, not up to the physical challenge, etc. See my linkfest entry for more on that. I would just like to put up a few further things:

No one seems to understand that it is not the primary purpose of our armed forces to provide employment opportunities for women and young men. Our armed forces exist for the single purpose of defending the nation by destroying any enemy that threatens our national security. Clearly, women can contribute to the nation's defense, but not as warriors.

and

Has our nation sunk so low that we are willing to send our daughters and young mothers into battle? Is chivalry completely dead? Breathes there a man with soul so dead that he will not rise up and defend his wife, his sweetheart, his mother and his daughter, against those who want to wound or capture them, whoever they may be?

I get very uneasy whenever I see anything about women in combat, and its starting to make me uneasy about women in the military in general, even though they can surely do somethings.