Democratic Led House Stabs Troops In Back

The House of Representatives, led by Democratic Speaker Pelosi, has passed a war spending bill that has cut-and-run provisions attached to it.

House Democrats pushed through a $50 billion (euro34 billion) Iraq war bill that would require President George W. Bush to start bringing troops home in coming weeks with a goal of ending combat by December 2008.

The legislation, passed 218-203 on Wednesday night, was largely a symbolic jab at Bush, who already has begun reducing force levels but opposes a congressionally mandated timetable on the war. And while the measure was unlikely to pass in the Senate — let alone overcome a presidential veto — Democrats said they wanted voters to know they were not giving up. [...]

Hours before the scheduled vote, the White House dispatched Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on Iraq.

In one closed-door meeting, Gates urged a group of senators not to support the bill. He said the same lawmakers who criticized Pentagon civilians for previously ignoring the advice of its uniformed generals were asking him to ignore them now, according to an official who attended the meeting. The official requested anonymity because the meeting was private. [...]

It is expected that if the measure fails in the Senate, Democrats will not consider Bush's war spending request until next year. Democrats say the military will not need the money until then and the Pentagon can transfer money from less urgent accounts or from spending set aside for the last three months of this year.

The Pentagon says moving money around is a bureaucratic nightmare that costs more in the long run. And if taken to the extreme, the military would eventually have to freeze contracts or lay off civilian workers to ensure troops in combat have what they need.

The Democrats are pandering to the anti-war members of their base at the expense of our Troops who are currently deployed in the field. This isn't just an Iraq spending bill; it's an Afghanistan spending bill as well. Keep that in mind as the Democrats babble on incessantly about Iraq, because this will hurt our Troops outside of Iraq, as well.

The Democrats (with only a few exceptions) don't care, though. Our Troops aren't as important to them as is their perception in the eyes of the anti-war groups. The Troops are succeeding, and the Democrats refuse to see it. They'd rather pull the rug out from under deployed members of the military than to allow any success to continue during the current Bush administration.

I question the love and devotion that the Democrats have for this nation, and I question the support that they claim to have for the military that defends it. And if the Troops don't get another funding bill from the Democratic led Congress until next year, I hope that every issue that arises due to funding problems is itemized and broadcast to the American public as issues created by Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's partisan refusal to support our Troops in the field. And if deaths are tied to those issues, then the blood is on the hands of those who voted for this bill, and of the leadership that refused to offer another funding bill so that they could make a statement to our society's lowest common denominator.

Here's the roll call, in case you would like to give your representative an earful if they voted against the bill, or possibly an atta-boy if they voted against it (keeping in mind, though, that Kucinich and Stark voted against it because they didn't think that it went far enough).

I truly hope that our Troops remain safe and that progress continues, regardless of the efforts of most Democratic politicians to effect change to the contrary.

USMC 9971 OUT

Schoolchildren Murdered By Terrorist / FBI Issues Homeland Soft Target Warning

These are the type of animals that we are fighting.

The 59 schoolchildren had lined up to greet a group of lawmakers visiting a sugar factory in the northern province of Baghlan on Tuesday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives.

And just for increased casualties, the murderous sub-human packed his explosives with ball-bearings.

The attack may have been half-a-world away, but so were many of the major attacks prior to 11 September 2001. The FBI has now issued a Christmas season soft target warning for the U.S., primarily concerning shopping malls.

The FBI is warning al-Qaeda may be planning attacks at shopping centers in Los Angeles and Chicago. [...]

They had no choice, they said, but to discuss it and acknowledge it publicly. Shopping malls are considered to be so-called soft targets. Thousands of them in the U.S. are open to the general public and the parking lots are readily accessible. There is only minimal armed security at many shopping centers.

That's why the FBI warning the local law enforcement is so chilling. Al Qaeda reportedly planned to strike shopping malls in Chicago and L.A. during the 2007 Christmas season, it said. Al Qaeda was reportedly hoping to disrupt the economy and has been planning it for two years.

The November 1995 car bombing in Riyadh, the June 1996 truck bombing of the Khobar Towers, the August 1998 car bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the October 2000 water-craft bombing of the USS Cole were all attacks by terrorists on U.S. targets outside of the U.S., and most Americans ignored them because they weren't in our cities. Several other terrorist attacks were unleashed on the populations of U.S. allies as well.

On September 11th, however, the attacks were in America, and many Americans woke up. Americans were slapped into the reality that, no matter how much we didn't want to be at war with Islamic terrorists, they were very much at war with us.

They are still at war with us, so let's not be lulled into the false impression that we can stop fighting them because there hasn't been a major successful strike in the U.S. in six years. If we don't continue to take the fight to the enemy and remain on a war footing, then it might just be dozens of American kids killed in an American city when the terrorists show once again that they are still very much at war with us.

USMC 9971 OUT

Tillman Controversy A Non-Issue

In my last post, I had noted that Congress may soon be investigating who knew what, and when they knew it, regarding the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman (a former NFL player). This is because it took just over a month after Tillman's death before anyone in the public was notified that Tillman's death may have been a result of friendly fire.

Just seven days after Pat Tillman's death, a top general warned there were strong indications that it was friendly fire and President Bush might embarrass himself if he said the NFL star-turned-soldier died in an ambush, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

It was not until a month afterward that the Pentagon told the public and grieving family members the truth that Tillman was mistakenly killed in Afghanistan by his comrades.

The memo reinforces suspicions that the Pentagon was more concerned with sparing officials from embarrassment than with leveling with Tillman's family.

ABC News

I fail to see the issue here. The government, knowing that it was widely publicized that Pat Tillman left professional football to become an Army Ranger following the September 11th attacks, cautioned the administration not to speak definitively about the circumstances surrounding Tillman's death because it was quite possibly a friendly fire incident. The public and Tillman's family were not told of this, however, until all the facts were in.

The MSM seems to be making a mountain out of a mole-hill yet again. Pat Tillman was killed in action by friendly fire on 22 April 2004. Thirty-seven days later, on 29 May 2004, Tillman's family was given the details. A period of thirty-seven days between the action in which Tillman died and the notification of family regarding the facts of his death indicates some sort of conspiracy or cover-up? This is a big non-story that is being whipped-up into something more than it is.

The Pentagon would have been negligent if they hadn't warned others in the government to watch what they said publicly about the death of a high-profile Ranger in Afghanistan because the circumstances surrounding his death may not be as cut-and-dried as initially reported. The Pentagon would have been just as negligent if they had shouted, "Friendly fire!" from the rooftops as soon as there were indications that that may be the case, even though the all the facts hadn't been sorted out.

This is a non-issue.

USMC 9971 OUT

How The Enemy Seems To Be Reading This

Rachel at Pereiraville posted part of a letter from her husband’s cousin who is serving in Afghanistan. (Hat tip: IMAO) It isn't good news, but be sure to read the whole thing. I am only presenting the first four sentences below.

The election results have caused us a bit of a problem here. The Taliban are telling everyone that they are winning the war and that the Americans are cowards because we voted for the peace party. Since the election the Taliban have stepped up their attacks because they believe victory is near. Usually, in November the fighting stops until April, but not this year.

I really hope that our government maintains the will to continue to fight the terrorists, and that we make sure that it is made abundantly clear to the enemy that our change in Congressional leadership is not a sign of weakness and forthcoming retreat. Only time will tell, but I am feeling like that is not the case at this moment.

USMC 9971 OUT

Weapon Cache And IEDs Found In Afghanistan

A hidden weapons cache of 200 pristine rockets was found by coalition forces in a cave on 08 August 2006. The rockets were in a cave in the Kohi Safi District of Parwan Province, and were destroyed in place.

Also on 08 August 2006, in the Asadabad District of Kunar Province, members of the ANP discovered an IED. A coalition explosive ordnance disposal team was called in and destroyed the IED in place.

"These weapons will no longer be a threat to the lives of Afghan civilians," said Col. Thomas Collins, Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan spokesman. "We will continue working alongside Afghan security forces to remove these types of deadly weapons wherever we find them to ensure a peaceful existence for the Afghan people."

Source: CentCom

Fifteen Terrorists Killed In Afghanistan

Thirty terrorists attacked the Kamdesh Provincial Reconstruction Team base with small arms and rocket fire during the evening of 08 August 2006. Coalition forces repelled the attack with small arms, mortar, and joint fire.

Fifteen terrorists were killed, and two U.S. Soldiers and an Afghan National Policeman were lightly wounded in the firefight. The coalition personnel were treated and returned to duty.

The base, located in the Kamdesh District of Nuristan Province, was not damaged during the attack.

"These extremists will never succeed in overcoming Coalition and Afghan security forces," said Col. Thomas Collins, Coalition spokesman. "We will prevail because the Afghan people have demonstrated that they want a stable and prosperous country. Together with the Afghan National Security forces, our goal is to help the Afghan people achieve their goals."

Source: CentCom