Seems details about Iraq’s proposal for keeping U.S. forces here past December have been leaked to the AP.

The Iraqi proposal stipulates that, once Iraqi forces have resumed security responsibility in all 18 of Iraq’s provinces, U.S.-led forces would then withdraw from all cities in the country.

After that, the country’s security situation would be reviewed every six months, for three to five years, to decide when U.S.-led troops would pull out entirely, al-Adeeb said.

They’re halfway there, 9 provinces. Wonder where our troops would go when we withdraw from the cities. The desert? No posts in the Green Zone? A lot can happen in six months time. Dunno about that. Just cause violence is down doesn’t mean it will stay down if we leave. After all, it was the surge that worked to turn the tide.

But there is some face saving and they allow a little leeway here. Not much but a little.

The proposal, as outlined by al-Adeeb, is phrased in a way that would allow Iraqi officials to tell the Iraqi public that it includes a specific timetable and dates for a U.S. withdrawal.

However, it also would provide the United States some flexibility on timing because the dates of the provincial handovers are not set.

We’ll see how it will fly with the Bush administration. McCain too is not that keen on a timetable. I imagine Obama would be overjoyed to get us out of Iraq. Ever the optimist, I expect massive deterioration in conditions once we do.

Well, this just might put the kabosh on any military presence in Iraq. If the Iraqis want us gone, we have to go. Doesn’t look good for us now.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared Friday that talks with the U.S. on a new security agreement were deadlocked, as Sunni and Shiite preachers spoke out against the deal that would enable American troops to remain in Iraq after year’s end.

Al-Maliki said negotiations will continue, but his tough talk reflects Iraqi determination to win greater control of U.S. military operations after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

And we don’t generally like the military hamstrung by politicians, theirs or ours. Politicians screw stuff up. Case in point - PM Olmert was chiefly responsible for losing Israel’s disastrous war with Hezbollah a while back.

It will be interesting to see how and if they solve their differences. This may end up being a nonissue for the election if the Iraqis decide they want us gone. When, whether to withdraw, how many troops, how soon they leave may be decided well in advance of November.

Bin Laden just can’t keep quiet now, sticking his nose in the Palestinian situation. That after commenting on the cartoons and the Pope yesterday. Took him long enough considering how long ago they caused a stir in the Muslim world.

Osama bin Laden lashed out Thursday at Palestinian peace negotiations with Israel and called for a holy war to liberate the Palestinian lands.

A day after a bin Laden audio on a militant Web site threatened Europeans, Al-Jazeera TV broadcast audio excerpts attributed to the al-Qaida leader that urge Palestinians to ignore political parties “mired in trickery of the blasphemous democracy” and to rely on armed might.

“Palestine cannot be retaken by negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron,” he said.

…Bin Laden added that Palestinians who are unable to fight in the “land of Al-Quds” — a Muslim reference to Jerusalem — should join the al-Qaida fight in Iraq.

Just what we don’t need, a holy war. And Hamas has been arming as has Hezbollah were they to join in the fray. Trying to muck up Iraq too. Doesn’t like the surge apparently. Cause it’s working. Course, who pays attention to what bin Laden wants? He releases tapes and nothing happens.

This is definitely good news.

Attacks by insurgents and rival sectarian militias have fallen up to 80 percent in Baghdad and concrete blast walls that divide the capital can soon be removed, a senior Iraqi military official said on Saturday.

Nice number. Didn’t even know about the blast walls. Interesting.

The United States says attacks have fallen across Iraq by 60 percent since June on the back of security clampdowns, 30,000 extra U.S. troops and a ceasefire ordered by Shi’ite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr.

Key to the fall in violence was also a decision by Sunni Arab tribal leaders to turn against al Qaeda in late 2006 and form neighborhood security units, which man checkpoints and provide tips on militant hideouts.

The surge is working, good going. And the Iraqis helping of course, nothing like teamwork.

Looks like Turkey may provide the next bit of fireworks in the Middle East.

Dozens of Turkish military vehicles streamed toward the Iraqi border with heavy artillery and ammunition Monday after Kurdish guerrillas killed a dozen soldiers and claimed to have captured eight in an intensifying crisis threatening to spill into Iraq.

Arab nations joined the U.S. and Europe in urging Turkey’s government not to attack suspected guerrilla bases in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, while Turkish citizens rallied across the country demanding action against the rebels.

This could hurt especially considering Turkey has a sizable contingent at the border.

The Pentagon has said 60,000 Turkish soldiers have deployed along the border. The north is one of the few relatively calm Iraqi regions, and the U.S. fears an incursion by its ally Turkey could worsen the Iraq war.

That’s a lot of troops, imagine the resulting skirmish could hurt. But have no fear, Condi is right on it. She’ll fix everything.

And if in the remote possiblity she doesn’t, so much for the stable part of Iraq, Kurdistan. Big mess and with perfect timing, Bin Laden issued a new tape.

In the brief tape played on Al-Jazeera television, the terrorist leader urged militants to “beware of division … The Muslim world is waiting for you to gather under one banner.”

…”My mujahedeen brothers in Iraq, you are a people worthy of praise and flattery. You’ve done well to carry out a glorious duty by fighting the enemy. But some of you have lagged behind in carrying out another glorious duty, which is to unite as one — as God wants,” bin Laden said.

He warned followers “against hypocritical enemies who are infiltrating your ranks to create sedition among mujahedeen groups.”

Just what we don’t need, al Qaida actually uniting to attack U.S. troops more that they already do now. And lest we forget the Shiites, the Iranian backed Shiite militants that is.

Al-Sadr later issued his own statement urging his Mahdi Army militia not to harm or kill fellow Iraqis. He also appeared to call on members of Iraqi government forces to stop cooperating with the U.S. military.

“You army and police of Iraq, don’t kill an Iraqi in the name of secular laws or in the name of ‘imposing the law,’” he said, using his phrase for the security crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding areas.

They aren’t being very helpful at all. None of them are. The U.S. military and Condi have their work cut out for them. Or not, as Bush is siding with Turkey on this. Might be over quickly, well the fight with the Kurdish rebels anyway if it comes to that.

I’m just not sure which spark will cause the Mideast to implode so I’ll just take a wait and see approach here.

People have been making a lot out of Obama’s remarks about the Middle East, and commentary has been along the lines of we really don’t want to leave Iraq to terrorists. How about not wanting to leave Iraq to the predominantly Shiite government. Soon as we leave, Terhan will take over. Think of this: Iran produces 3.979 million bbl/day of oil and Iraq produces 2.13 million bbl/day. That’s a lot of oil. Not as much as Saudi Arabia which produces 9.475 million bbl/day but enough to have a significant impact were Tehran to wield it as a weapon. I haven’t heard this mentioned but then I haven’t been reading much just watched FoxNews a little.

Iraq has strategic importance too as opposed to Afghanistan. Location, location, location. He failed to see that point.

Then there’s his stance on nuclear weapons, he wouldn’t use them. That’s an open invite for our nuclear armed enemies to bomb the U.S. into oblivion were he to become President.

And our nuclear armed friends were we to be so dumb as to invade their country. Notably Pakistan. Obama is clueless as to the problems that government faces.

Obama is clueless period. How come I, not schooled in politics and foreign relations, can figure this out and he can’t?

I haven’t blogged much about Iraq. I’m waiting for General Petraeus to give his report in Setember when they’ve had time to let the surge actually work. Indications so far are positive. Benchmarks, that’s only something politicians care about. Although it would be nice to see the Iraqi government work. I think a stabilized country from a military standpoint would give them the needed impetus to work together.

I rarely watch the news anymore as it’s all so negative. They have no clue what pulling out too soon will do, no clue at all. Destabilize the whole Middle East, it would.

In the meantime, Sissy has a great post up which sums it up rather well complete with Tiny and Babe. Awesome photos as usual.

Seems Al-Qaida is in the news again. From Katherine Shrader AP via MyWay is this.

Al-Qaida is stepping up its efforts to sneak terror operatives into the United States and has acquired most of the capabilities it needs to strike here, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment, The Associated Press has learned.

The draft National Intelligence Estimate is expected to paint an ever-more-worrisome portrait of al-Qaida’s ability to use its base along the Pakistan-Afghan border to launch and inspire attacks against the United States over the next several years.

Well won’t be hard to sneak them in especially if they come thru Mexico, porous southern border and all. There’s a few other worrisome bits, radical Islam in the U.S.. Bout time somebody noticed.

The estimate echoes the findings of another analysis prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center earlier this year and disclosed publicly on Wednesday. That report - titled “Al-Qaida better positioned to strike the West” - found the terrorist group is “considerably operationally stronger than a year ago” and has “regrouped to an extent not seen since 2001,” a counterterrorism official familiar with the reports findings told the AP.

Very troubling indeed but the worst possibility may be this.

National security officials are frustrated by an agreement last year between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and tribal leaders in western Pakistan, which gave tribes near the Afghan border greater autonomy and has led to increased al-Qaida activity in the region.

Nevertheless, Bush administration officials still view Musharraf as a partner.

Perhaps Musharraf is trying to appease them in an attempt to preserve his hold on power. Cause if Musharraf falls and Pakistan is turned over to the radical Islamists aka Al-Qaida, guess who gets Pakistans’ nukes. That’s the biggest danger I can think of as Ahmadinejad doesn’t yet, we hope, have nukes. The Middle-East could very well implode if these two factions, Sunni and Shia, nuke it out. Unless they join together against a common enemy and there are only two, the U.S., the great Satan, and Israel, the little Satan. That possibility exists too.

Heard about this speech on the news so dug it up. It’s a good one. From the Whitehouse, a few important points. First being we need to support the troops.

The influx of foreign fighters and foreign support makes this job a lot tougher — tougher on the Iraqis, tougher on our troops. We can expect more casualties as our forces enter enemy strongholds and push back against foreign interference. But General Petraeus and our commanders in Iraq have carefully laid out a plan that our forces are executing on the ground. It’s a well conceived plan by smart military people, and we owe them the time and we owe them the support they need to succeed.

And look who he is holding up as a success, Israel. Might not play well in the Muslim world seeing as it is Israel. But one can’t deny Israel is a functioning democracy.

Our success in Iraq must not be measured by the enemy’s ability to get a car bombing into the evening news. No matter how good the security, terrorists will always be able to explode a bomb on a crowded street. In places like Israel, terrorists have taken innocent human life for years in similar attacks. The difference is that Israel is a functioning democracy that is not prevented from carrying out its responsibilities. And that’s a good indicator of success that we’re looking for in Iraq: the rise of a government that can protect its people, deliver basic services for all its citizens, and function as a democracy even amid violence.

He goes on to detail just what would happen if we were to leave Iraq and it’s not pretty.

And so if we withdraw before the Iraqi government can defend itself, we would yield the future of Iraq to terrorists like al Qaeda — and we would give a green light to extremists all throughout a troubled region.

The consequences for America and the Middle East would be disastrous. In Iraq, sectarian violence would multiply on a horrific scale. Fighting could engulf the entire region in chaos. We would soon face a Middle East dominated by Islamic extremists who would pursue nuclear weapons, who would use their control of oil for economic blackmail, and who would be in a position to launch new attacks on the United States of America.

On that, I agree. Speech deserves reading. Bush may have dropped the ball on immigration but he is right on target in the war against Islamic extremists.

What they do with tools of the trade, hammers, blow torches, meat cleavers, screw drivers, electric cables, etc.

Creative carpentry indeed!

Warning: Explicit violent images

And people think our enhanced interrogation techniques (sanctioned by Mitt) are torture. Not even.

Go Mitt!

From MEMRI comes this shocker from a January letter published March 31:

“Secret, Personal and Urgent

“Based on a phone conversation with Sayyid Muqtada Al-Sadr and [after] consulting with [Iraq's National Security Advisor] Dr. Muwafaq Al-Rubai’i, in order to preserve our great achievements and in light of what the present circumstances demand, we ask to temporarily conceal the commanders of the Mahdi Army, who are connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, [and to remove them] from the front line [of battle] in order to protect them from being arrested or killed by the American forces. [The names of the commanders] are listed below. It would be best to send them to Iran for the time being, until the crisis passes.

“In addition, [we ask] to send the commanders from the second line [of battle] to the southern regions, since we know that intensive efforts are underway to persuade the Americans to leave the situation [there] as it is. All administrative and security arrangements for the transportation of these commanders have [already] been made.

“We ask you to implement [these orders] and report to us.

“[Signed,] Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minster [of Iraq]“

Read the rest. Not very encouraging that the Prime Minister wants to protect those who are fighting against us from us. Makes you wonder. Guessing the crisis he was referring to was the American troop surge. Betting they can’t wait til we leave too.

Hattip WND.

Bombs can be very deadly, more deadly than a nutcase with a couple of guns, as FoxNews reports

Suspected Sunni insurgents penetrated the Baghdad security net Wednesday, hitting Shiite targets with four bomb attacks that killed 183 people — the bloodiest day since the U.S. troop surge began nine weeks ago.

Doesn’t look too good for the troop surge what with all the bombings. It is beyond me why they keep killing each other. A lot of innocent people were killed, their families deserve our compassion as much as the families of the victims of mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui.

The Senate went along with the House to support setting a date for withdrawal from Iraq. Nothing like telling the enemy your tactics. These people want to lose. Some quotes from Yahoo.

“This war is not worth the spilling of another drop of American blood,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

“It would be the bugle of retreat. It would be echoed and repeated from every minaret throughout Iraq that coalition forces have decided to take the first step backwards,” said the former Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. John Warner

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd said the U.S. troop presence “is a catalyst for violence in Iraq and in the region.”

Nothing like supporting our troops… not! Wait til they hear this. Arrgh! Thankfully, there are people that actually support the troops and their mission. Some of us realize what it would mean to lose.

The RINO Sightings are up at Classical Values and boy are there ever Rinos. There’s a little there for almost everyone, even art lovers.

Especially art lovers, it’s a must see/read.

This quote from the President sums up why it’s important to win in Iraq.

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.

Bush’s plan is probably the only hope we have to stave off the Middle East erupting in warfare sooner rather than later. B4B has a more eloquent post on this than I am writing. Let’s just say the Dhimmicrits don’t have a plan, retreat is not a plan. Why I say it is the only hope… from our government. I don’t see any other governments stepping up to the plate here. Unless you consider prayer.

Expect Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian terrortories to get extremely bloody at a time of Ahmadinejad’s choosing. Mmm, they’ll nuke Israel at a time of Ahmadinejad’s choosing too. Which is why a troop buildup along with aircraft carriers in the region is a good thing. Anything to make Ahmadinejad think twice before executing any of his plans. I wouldn’t mind a few nuclear submarines in the Persian Gulf either. Knowing we could launch a few nukes at him might slow him down.

I look forward to geting a more accurate picture of what’s going on in Iraq now that Michelle is there. Bout time we knew more of the facts rather than the slanted news we currently get. People just don’t pay attention to the good things the military is doing.

OK, so I saw the video, image quality ranked right down there with my cell phone videos. Just a pixilated red spot in his neck, geesh. Far better to have a video of a cat for Kitty Movie Monday.

it’s 426 kb - click to play

Ritzi’s far prettier than Saddam anyway, pettable too.

Want more pettable movies, check out the Kitty Movie Monday group at YouTube.

Credit for the Saddam video Fox News which didn’t air it. At anything larger than YouTube or Google’s image quality (jerky motion) on a laptop, it would have been too pixilated to watch.

That’s exactly what Bush is going to do. Details Wednesday. Credit Terence Hunt at My Way News

President Bush will address the nation at 9 p.m. EST Wednesday about his new approach for the war in Iraq, the White House said. Bush is expected to announce an increase of up to 20,000 additional U.S. troops.

Like noone saw that coming.

Pelosi on Sunday cautioned Bush to think twice before proposing a troop increase, suggesting the new Democratic-controlled Congress could deny him the funding.

I already blogged about that. Not so fast Pelosi, now this is rich.

But the Senate’s top Republican said he believed that Bush will get the money he needs and cast doubt that Democrats would - or could - block him. “Congress is incapable of micromanaging the tactics in the war,” said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Heh! And from the Presidential contenders.

Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a 2008 presidential candidate, said increasing troops would be a “tragic mistake.” But he contended Congress was constitutionally powerless to second-guess Bush’s military strategy because lawmakers had voted to authorize the commander in chief to wage war.

And our very own Senator.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote in Sunday’s Washington Post that boosting troops for an indefinite time was necessary to secure peace in the Mideast.

“When we authorized this war, we accepted the responsibility to make sure they could prevail,” he wrote. “Even greater than the costs incurred thus far and in the future are the catastrophic consequences that would ensure from our failure in Iraq.”

Named Nancy Pelosi. Looks like I won’t be the only one hurting for money. Bush may have a problem here especially if he decides more troops is the answer in Iraq.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said newly empowered Democrats will not give President Bush a blank check to wage war in Iraq, hinting they could deny funding if he seeks additional troops.

“If the president chooses to escalate the war, in his budget request, we want to see a distinction between what is there to support the troops who are there now,” she said in an interview broadcast Sunday.

“The American people and the Congress support those troops. We will not abandon them. But if the president wants to add to this mission, he is going to have to justify it and this is new for him because up until now the Republican Congress has given him a blank check with no oversight, no standards, no conditions,” said Pelosi, D-Calif.

Justification for increased troops: Iran There’s a big border to patrol, kindof like our southern border, ignored for the most part. Easy for the Iranians to get into Iraq to cause trouble. Iran’s good at that, the trouble making.

The speaker stopped short of stating categorically that Democrats would block money for additional troops in Iraq. But she did say, “The burden is on the president to justify any additional resources. … The president’s going to have to engage with Congress in the justification for any additional troops.”

Think they want to see Bush beg. Their whole philosophy on waging war is diametrically opposed to Bush’s.

A refresher is in order here as people tend to forget or just prefer to ignore the facts. Some of the things Saddam did according to the State Department and reported by WND some time back are:

“Under Saddam Hussein’s orders, the security apparatus in Iraq routinely and systematically tortures its citizens. Beatings, rape, breaking of limbs and denial of food and water are commonplace in Iraqi detention centers. Saddam Hussein’s regime has also invented unique and horrific methods of torture including electric shocks to a male’s genitals, pulling out fingernails, suspending individuals from rotating ceiling fans, dripping acid on a victim’s skin, gouging out eyes, and burning victims with a hot iron or blowtorch.”

There’s more.

The following, according to the State Department report, were routine in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule:

• Medical experimentation
• Beatings
• Crucifixion
• Hammering nails into the fingers and hands
• Amputating sex organs or breasts with an electric carving knife
• Spraying insecticides into a victim’s eyes
• Branding with a hot iron
• Committing rape while the victim’s spouse is forced to watch
• Pouring boiling water into the victim’s rectum
• Nailing the tongue to a wooden board
• Extracting teeth with pliers
• Using bees and scorpions to sting naked children in front of their parents

Saddam also routinely tortured and murdered women. The daily newspaper “Babel,” owned by Uday, Hussein’s eldest son, contained a public admission on Feb. 13, 2001 of beheading women who were suspected of prostitution.

Which cleverly got rid of dissidents. And mustn’t forget, gassing his own people. Yes, little details like that. Still think hanging, the death penalty is too severe for Saddam?

Saddam Hussein. The video.

My thoughts (at least what I’d been singing since I found out):

Ding Dong! The Butcher is dead. Which old Butcher? The Butcher of Baghdad!
Ding Dong! The Butcher of Baghdad is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Butcher of Baghdad is dead. He’s gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let’s open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong’ the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Butcher of Baghdad is dead!

So it doesn’t rhyme perfectly, it’s the sentiment that counts. And speaking of sentiment, hanging was too nice for him considering how he butchered the Kurds and fellow Iraqis (anyone he didn’t like basically). At least it saves them the cost of having all those trials - lots of people executed, lots of trials, lots of money. They’ll save a bundle plus it cuts down on all the spectacle and grandstanding.

He did do that.

My first thought upon hearing the verdict in the Saddam Hussein trial. Imagine there were not a few Iraqis that had similar thoughts.

Hello, boys and girls, this is your old pal Stinky Meowzakitty. This is a song about a verdict-no! This is a song about getting justice. That’s right!
It’s the Happy Happy Joy Joy song!

Happy happy joy joy
Happy happy joy joy
Happy happy joy joy
Happy happy joy joy
Happy happy joy joy
Happy happy joy joy
Happy happy joy joy joy…

Iraqi justice has decreed death and I expect there will be an outcry of protest at how inhuman that death sentence is forgetting the mass graves of all those he had put to death. Even Saddam himself thinks we should just let bygones be bygones cause in his next trial for the massacre of Kurds he said.

“I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands,” Saddam said before resuming his seat.

That’s kindof hard to do at the moment. They aren’t listening, too busy killing each other.

Really, really pissed. This shouldn’t be.

A Jewish man removed by Israeli police from a key section of the Western Wall for blowing the shofar, or ceremonial ram’s horn, during prayer services [in the middle of reciting the Amidah, the central prayer of Jewish liturgy] for last weekend’s Rosh Hashana high holiday has been barred from the holy site for the upcoming Jewish holidays [Yom Kippur, Succot, and Simchat Torah], WND has learned.

The shofar traditionally is blown hundreds of times during Rosh Hashana prayers.

Shmulik Ben Ruby, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Police Authority, told WND the Jewish man, 19-year-old Jerusalem resident Eliyahi Kleiman, was taken forcibly from the Western Wall last weekend for fear the sound of the shofar would offend nearby Muslims congregating on the Temple Mount, which is opposite the wall.

Why does everybody and everything have to change cause it would offend Muslims? Is this what our world is coming to? Note, if you read the rest of the article, the Israelis are silent when the Muslims broadcast their prayers five time a day, starting at 4AM.

I’m still waiting for the Left, equally eager to ban symbols/observance/mention of Christianity (at the present) from the public square/view/schools/government, to discover that their activities also offend Muslims. I can see it now, all those stars arriving to the Academy Awards in burkas cause their revealing gowns offend Muslims. TV shows and movies being family-friendly. Oh wait, that last might be a good thing. But the tradeoff isn’t worth it. Trust me.

This was a better speech, a really fine speech actually and about time, Bush laid things out like they really are. One quote, comments mine.

The Shia and Sunni extremists represent different faces of the same threat. They draw inspiration from different sources [the Koran القرآن and Hadith الحديث‎ ], but both seek to impose a dark vision of violent Islamic radicalism [and this is different from Wahhibism الوهابية how?] across the Middle East. They oppose the advance of freedom, and they want to gain control of weapons of mass destruction [guess who's ahead there]. If they succeed in undermining fragile democracies, like Iraq [think that's a done deal], and drive the forces of freedom out of the region, they will have an open field to pursue their dangerous goals. Each strain of violent Islamic radicalism would be emboldened in their efforts to topple moderate governments and establish terrorist safe havens [that too].

Wonder who will win, al Qaeda or Iran? And saying Islam doesn’t count cause it sure looks like the vast majority of the world will be Islamic in twenty years or so anyway unless people wake up and see the danger.

Of course, Ahmadinejad may just start a nuclear war that might change the equation. Or there’s this possibility…

On those WMD found, though there were only 500 shells found so far, they were only enough to kill some 8.3 million people and not just the Kurds they were used on. This from Sen. Santorum and Kevin McCullough via WND. Degraded, they might kill a few less but still, that’s a lot of people.

I can see the reason to not reveal their existence as we wouldn’t want the insurgents and terrorists to get hold of them.

Betting Syria is well armed. Certain countries who had dealings with Saddam wanted to hide the WMD and what better place than over at the neighbors.

Channeling Obi-Wan, “These aren’t the WMD we’re looking for.”

And that’s why the administration hasn’t released the info on the WMD found in Iraq. Like I didn’t already know about it. I’d read about them months ago or was it years ago.

Hot Air has more and lots of links.

And as pointed out by Hot Air, it’s not the top priority right now as Iran is definitely enriching uranium and we know what that is used for. And Iran’s president has been rather vocal in what he’d do with it.

However, Iraq did have WMD. And that’s something the Dummocrats will have to deal with.

I did note when I checked the news, Yahoo News, there was no mention of the story. Heard it on FoxNews but the site still has nothing, they are slow to update it making it rather useless. CNS News and Hot Air were two of the top hits on Google News.

As I was laying on the hospital bed getting my Solu-Medrol infusion, I turned on the news and what did I behold, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was targeted and killed in proper style by our very fine Military, kudos. A few quotes from Yahoo are in order here.

The targeted airstrike Wednesday evening was the culmination of a two-week-long hunt for al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. Tips from senior militants led U.S. forces to follow al-Zarqawi’s spiritual adviser to the safe house, 30 miles outside Baghdad, for a meeting with the terror leader. The adviser, Sheik Abdul Rahman, was among those killed.

Targeted. Planned. *boom* Dead. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Why, you might ask. Cause he has masterminded or done himself intolerable evil.

As the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Al-Zarqawi oversaw a wave of kidnappings of foreigners and the killings of at least a dozen, including Arab diplomats and three Americans. He personally is believed to have beheaded two Americans - Nicholas Berg of West Chester, Pa., and Eugene Armstrong, formerly of Hillsdale, Mich. - prompting supporters to dub him “the slaughtering sheik.”

Al-Zarqawi also was a master Internet propagandist, spreading the call for Islamic extremists to join the “jihad,” or holy war, in Iraq. His group posted gruesome images of beheadings, speeches by al-Zarqawi and recruitment videos depicting the planning and execution of its most daring attacks.

His followers also frequently targeted Shiite civilians and mosques in an attempt to spark sectarian civil war, and in his statements, al-Zarqawi - a Sunni Arab - often vilified Shiites as infidels.

Unfortunately, as I understand it, Islam is a religion without a central leader like a living Prophet or Pope to guide the faithful. Each Imam is on his own to interpret their writings and laws. As such, each can inspire his flock to moderation or violent jihad. They have been known to preach hate in Arabic and peaceful coexistance in English and no one is the wiser.

I expect our joy may be short lived. He is now a “Martyr.” And that inspires more of them. They’ll go boom too eventually. We are that good.

Just days before his death, Al-Zarqawi issued an audiotape on the Internet, railing against Shiites in Iraq and saying militias were raping women and killing Sunnis. He urged the community to fight back.

He must have been studying the words of John Kerry to come up with that idea. Pay no attention to the Kerry person. Our U.S. Armed Forces rocks.

SCORE!

And strips it’s top man in Iraq of power. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is no longer top dog. Wonder if the $25,000,000 bounty on his head still holds. From the Australian is the scoop.

“The Iraqi resistance high command asked Zarqawi to give up his political role and replaced him with an Iraqi because of several mistakes,” Mr Azzam told an Arab news channel. “Zarqawi’s role has been limited to military action.” The fugitive al-Qa’ida leader, who has a $US25 million ($35 million) bounty on his head, is held responsible for some of the bloodiest episodes in the Iraq war.

More from the TimesOnline:

The first hint that he had become too extreme even for al-Qaeda came in a letter written by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s No 2, which was sent to al-Zarqawi last summer…

…“Among the things which the feelings of the Muslim populace who support you will never find acceptable are the scenes of slaughtering hostages,” the letter said.

Then, in November, al-Zarqawi caused revulsion across the region when he orchestrated triple suicide bomb attacks against hotels in Amman, killing 60 people, including guests attending a Palestinian wedding. Members of his own family, including his brother and cousins, publicly disowned him along with members of influential Arab tribes.

Al-Zarqawi then faced a humiliating climbdown in December when he was forced to drop his opposition to general elections in a clear ideological split with the mainstream Sunni Arab population in Iraq, which participated in the polls.Certainly today al-Zarqawi is no longer regarded by the authorities in Baghdad as the main threat to the country’s stability.

Apparently beheadings, blowing up Arab wedding parties and opposing the will of the opposition (Sunni’s) is not a good thing. He’s still has a use thou, as a Dead Pool pick.

First cartoons generated a rabid response now blowing up a mosque did. Quoting from Yahoo:

Insurgents posing as police destroyed the golden dome of one of Iraq’s holiest Shiite shrines Wednesday, setting off an unprecendented spasm of sectarian violence. Angry crowds thronged the streets, militiamen attacked Sunni mosques, and at least 19 people were killed.

With the gleaming dome of the 1,200-year-old Askariya shrine reduced to rubble, some Shiites lashed out at the United States as partly to blame.

The violence - many of the 90 attacks on Sunni mosques were carried out by Shiite militias - seemed to push Iraq closer to all-out civil war than at any point in the three years since the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Both Shiites and Sunnis are Muslim, same religion (not that members of the same religion ever had problems getting along *cough cough* Ireland). They went around blowing each other up, mosques for mosque. I can actually understand being upset about your holiest shrine being blown up. But retaliation is not the solution. There is the legal system. That’s what we do here. Find those responsible and charge them. Hold a trial and deal with the verdict. That’s the civilized way to do it. However, we’ve seen how they react to cartoons. So it should be no surprise.

image AP via Yahoo

There is a danger, a big one. That civil war thing.

The country’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, sent instructions to his followers forbidding attacks on Sunni mosques, and called for seven days of mourning.

But he hinted, as did Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, that religious militias could be given a bigger security role if the government cannot protecting holy shrines - an ominous sign of the Shiite reaction ahead.

Both Sunnis and the United States fear the rise of such militias, which the disaffected minority views as little more than death squads. American commanders believe they undercut efforts to create a professional Iraqi army and police force - a key step toward the eventual drawdown of U.S. forces.

Think, this could undermine all the U.S. and Coalition partners have tried to do. We’ll have to wait and see. This is more important than the Dubai, UAE government taking over our ports, which as I understand it, doesn’t involve port security. However, it does involve handling containers which leaves an opening for…

Say why is Bush so adamant about that deal? Would it… could it… Yahoo again.

McClellan also denied suggestions of a conflict of interest tied to Bush’s nominee to run the US Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration, David Sanborn, a former executive of Dubai Ports World.

Naw.

Osama bin Laden, with his threat of an attack on the U.S.. Lets see, Osama is a Sunni. And who has been getting all the publicity lately?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Shiite.

Oneupmanship.

Both are jockeying for position to head up the radical Islamic movement. Osama had to say something, do something lest Al Qaida appears weak.

IMHO.

It’s all posturing.

Oh, and the fact that we got four of his top men just not al-Zawahri in that airstrike in Pakistan may have played a factor in the timing of the tape.

Inspired by Don again, I felt to comment on this and it’s a bit long for a Blogger comment. That is something the Palestinians want and Israel doesn’t for the simple reason if Israel is flooded with Palestinians, who are Muslim, they then become the majority and Israel ceases being a Jewish state and becomes a Muslim one, one which will then be ruled by Muslim law, Sharia. Bye, Bye Israel. What does this have to do with terrorism? Point of fact terrorism got them Gaza and soon the West Bank. They have hoped negotiating would get them the right of return. So far that hasn’t happened. So the terrorism continues.

Terrorism also works against wimp countries like Spain. Got them out of Iraq. Didn’t work in Britain, they clamped down. However, good Muslims remained in Britain, lots and lots of them. Eventually Britain will fall too.

The US is not going to let terrorism work, not let it’s people be afraid. Example, that man from my home town who rammed his car into Home Depot. Being Muslim, a good Muslim, he was probably inspired by his imam and/or the web. It was most certainly an act of terrorism but to admit such would instill fear in our community. Instead, it was downplayed as an abberation, he was making a statement.

But this very dismissal of any/all acts of terrorism as something else poses it’s own danger. Ever note the denials, no good Muslim would do such a thing, the constant sucking up to CAIR, the multicultural acceptance of Islam, the PC indoctrination of Islam in our schools while expressions of Christianity are legislated against? They make children roleplay being good Muslims. That lulls us into a sense of complacency letting more Muslims in. EUrope is soon to reach critical mass when the Muslims will be able to demand Sharia either peacefully or by force, bombing subways, railstations and torching France. Stuff like that.

They call it jihad. And jihad is, despite it’s more innocuous meanings, in practice means taking land, expanding Muslim power and territory. As explained by Ibn Khaldun the 15th century Tunisian Historian:

In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force… The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense… Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.

Universal mission… gain power over other nations. Think on that. Being ruled by Muslims is not a good thing as Daniel Pipes relates:

But jihad’s most ghastly present reality is in Sudan, where until recently the ruling party bore the slogan “Jihad, Victory and Martyrdom.” For two decades, under government auspices, jihadists there have physically attacked non-Muslims, looted their belongings and killed their males.

Jihadists then enslaved tens of thousands of females and children, forced them to convert to Islam, sent them on forced marches, beat them and set them to hard labor. The women and older girls also suffered ritual gang-rape, genital mutilation and a life of sexual servitude.

Hardly peaceful, family friendly people, no? In our favor, they are still a minority in the US and, for the moment, we have nukes and they don’t. Bu once they, as in Iran, get nukes, watch out. I fail to see how gang-raping, mutilating, and forcing someone to be a sex slave is of high moral value. Then there is the little detail about forced conversion. Where have I heard that plan before? Hmmmm.

Update: Regarding Britain, from the Sun:

BRITAIN has failed to expel a single Muslim hate cleric since the 7/7 bombings, figures reveal.
The news is a huge embarrassment to PM Tony Blair, who promised a crackdown.

Britain is bottom of a European league for the number of extremist preachers expelled.

Germany is top with more than 20 imams forcibly removed.

Britain is not doing very well against the terrorist enablers. Might behoove them to do more than talk about crackdowns and do something constructive. Hattip Daniel Pipes.