Category: Iraq

UPDATED: On Iraq

If you’ve been following the news; Iraq is imploding and I mean badly.

There has been a good deal of ink spilled about Iraq; I’ve done a bit of that myself in the past. However, I feel the need to discuss something here: The Left. The thing the cracks me up about the left and Iraq; is that the left is still, to this day, spouting the same old tired line about Iraq: Blame Bush.  🙄

As much as I hate to admit it; Noah Rothman is absolutely correct. However, I, unlike, Noah, will tell the complete truth about it. (As a former left of center, how could I do any less?) Yes, Bush oversold the war. Yes, Bush was totally incorrect about the reasons for going into Iraq in the first place. Yes, Bush dithered on the execution of the buildup of troops, when the insurgency between Sunni and Shia began; by keeping Rumsfeld in his position for far too long.

However, President Obama has been the President of the United States since January of 2009; that is six whole years. Bush had agreements in place with the Iraqis for a residual forces. When Obama took office, Maliki changed his tune and wanted to be able to prosecute American troops according to Iraqi law; and instead of Obama trying to work with the Iraqis; he simply walked away and began withdrawing ALL forces out of Iraq. This was an epic blunder; and that blunder is all on Obama and the left cannot place that blunder on Bush at all.

The bad part is Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s current President Updated, Please see below! Maliki excluded the Sunni’s out of the Government; this caused major problems. Now, is that, in itself, Obama’s fault? No, it is not. However, President Obama could have handled this situation, a whole bunch better than he did; instead, he was gung-ho about getting out of Iraq, for political reasons and because of that, we have the situation that we do now.  To be clear; this entire thing is Obama’s baby and no amount of historical revisionism is going to change that at all.

Those who try to place the blame of this situation squarely on Bush, including left-wing bloggers; simply have no credible leg to stand on at all.

Update: I guess I should pay better attention, I was under the impression that Maliki was the President of Iraq; I was wrong. Maliki is the prime minister of Iraq and was not voted out of office. This shows you how long its been since I’ve written about Iraq! I’m over here blaming the falling apart on the wrong dude. Oopsie. Sorry about that. I shall pay more attention in the future! 😀

Update #2: A perfect example of what I am referring to is found here. National Review refutes the idiocy right here.

So much for a stable, secure and safe Iraq!

Can someone remind me again, why it is that we even bothered going into this Country?

4000+ of our Nation’s treasure; and this is the result? The neocons will say, “we left too early.” I call B.S. we knew this sort of stuff would start right back up, the minute we left. The truth is, we never should have went in there in the first darned place. As 9/11 had zero to do with Iraq at all. Now, you have chaos in Iraq, thanks to the Americans. 🙄

The Story:

BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of car bombs exploded across Iraq’s capital Saturday night, killing at least 52 people in a day of violence that saw militants storm a university in the country’s restive Anbar province and take dozens hostage, authorities said.

The attacks in Baghdad largely focused on Shiite neighborhoods, underscoring the sectarian violence now striking at Iraq years after a similar wave nearly tore the country apart following the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Now with U.S. troops gone, Iraq founds itself fighting on fronts across the country, as separate clashes in a northern city killed 21 police officers and 38 militants, officials said.

The first Baghdad attack took place Saturday night in the capital’s western Baiyaa district, killing nine people and wounding 22, police said. Later on, seven car bombs in different parts of Baghdad killed at least 41 people and wounded 62, police said. A roadside bomb in western Baghdad also killed two people and wounded six, police said. All the attacks happened in a one-hour period and largely targeted commercial streets in Shiite neighborhoods, authorities said.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to journalists.

The day began with militants killing three police officers on guard at the gates of Anbar University, a police and a military official said. Islamic extremists and other anti-government militias have held parts of Anbar’s nearby provincial capital of Ramadi and the city of Fallujah since December amid rising tensions between Sunni Muslims and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

The gunmen detained dozens of students inside a university dorm during their attack, the officials said. Sabah Karhout, the head of Anbar’s provincial council, told journalists that hundreds of students were inside the university compound when the attack started at the school. Anbar University says it has more than 10,000 students, making it one of the country’s largest.

According to one student, the gunmen identified themselves as belonging to an al-Qaida splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Sunni terror group, fighting in Syria with other rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad, is known for massive, bloody attacks in Iraq as well often targeting Shiites that they view as heretics.

The Islamic State did not immediately claim the attack on the school.

Several hours later, gunmen left the university under unclear circumstances.

Students then boarded buses provided by the local government to flee the school, though gunfire erupted as security forces attacked retreating militants, police said.

via Bombs kill 52 as gunmen storm university in Iraq – Daily Inter Lake: Nation/World.

Oops: Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq gives very a realistic lesson

Maybe a wee bit too realistic…. 😯

This is too good. 😀

Quote:

BAGHDAD — If there were such a thing, it would probably be rule No. 1 in the teaching manual for instructors of aspiring suicide bombers: Don’t give lessons with live explosives.

In what represented a cautionary tale for terrorist teachers, and a cause of dark humor for ordinary Iraqis, a commander at a secluded terrorist training camp north of Baghdad unwittingly used a belt packed with explosives while conducting a demonstration early Monday for a group of militants, killing himself and 21 other members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, army and police officials said.

Iraqi citizens have long been accustomed to daily attacks on public markets, mosques, funerals and even children’s soccer games, so they saw the story of the fumbling militants as a dark — and delicious — kind of poetic justice, especially coming amid a protracted surge of violence led by the terrorist group, including a rise in suicide bombings.

Just last week a suicide bomber struck a popular falafel shop near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, killing several people. On Monday evening Raad Hashim, working the counter at a liquor store near the site of the attack, burst out laughing when he heard the news.

“This is so funny,” Mr. Hashim said. “It shows how stupid they are, those dogs and sons of dogs.”

via Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class – NYTimes.com.

Reminds me of this here:

Oops. 😆

Others, laughing as well: The Moderate Voice, Liberaland, Mashable, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Gawker, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, BizPac Review, Jihad Watch, Sister Toldjah and HotAir.com’s Green Room

John Podhoretz gets exposed for the intolerant Trotskyite that he truly is

This is great;  a Trotskyite Zionist goes for a debate; and the minute he sees that he is losing the debate — he storms off the stage, takes his marbles and goes home.

I am referring to the greatest Trotskyite, Zionist, Neoconservative of them all — John Podhoretz.

See here, here, here and here.

Money quote:

Bottom line: I’d had a long day and I didn’t see the point in spending more of it getting booed and shushed. So I left. So sue me.

If only we could sue you and your family for all the trillions of dollars — and the 4000+ lives that were  wasted in the Iraq War —- which you and your satanic Father were cheerleaders for, after 9/11. Actually, I would very much like to see criminal charges filed against you and few of your Trotskyite friends as well. However, as we realists know; that will never happened to a protected class as yourself.

You want to know what got wrong with Conservatism? You want to know why the GOP is in the shape that it is in? Look no further than this man here and his idiotic Trotskyite magazine that he runs. They are the true enemies of America; they are the ones who put us in the war that almost broke this Nation and ruined its standing in the world.

It is a pity that there is not true justice in this Nation of ours; otherwise, this man and his friends would be sitting in jail cells.

 

Good: U.N. Calls For Release of Report on Bush-Era Torture

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of the United Nations. However, I believe this to be a noble thing to do.

The video:

The transcript: via Via Democracy Now! (H/T to Crooks and Liars)

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Emmerson, finally, you’ve called on Britain and the U.S. to release confidential reports into the countries’ involvement in the kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects, accusing them of years of official denials. Can you expand on that?

BEN EMMERSON: Yes, I presented in my last report to the Human Rights Council a series of principles on accountability for what are described in international law as gross or systemic human rights violations. And I think that there’s no doubt that the conspiracy that involved the commission of acts of secret detention, torture and rendition under the Bush administration constitute gross and systematic human rights violations. And international law is clear on this. There is no superior orders defense. There is no principle that would justify—just as at the Nuremberg trials there was no principle that would allow someone to say, “Well, this is what was ordered by my officials.” There must be—international law requires that there be—a system for achieving accountability.

And we know that the Feinstein Senate committee report into the activities of the CIA is said to be a very thorough and comprehensive analysis and to identify who made the decisions, who committed the acts alleged, and where and how and why. And a crucial part of the duty of accountability under international law is the so-called right to truth. And that’s a right that’s not just belonging to the victims, but to society at large. And, therefore, I mean, the time has come, unequivocally, for the release of the Feinstein report. I mean, if there have to be particular redactions in order to protect the identity of operatives from reprisals, so be it. But the key findings of the Feinstein report and of a parallel report commissioned and prepared and provided to the British prime minister in relation to the United Kingdom’s involvement in these activities must now be made public. And we will not stop calling for the publication of this material until at least a sufficient amount of it has been put into the public domain.

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Emmerson, I want to thank you for being with us, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, has issued an interim report on his investigation into U.S. drone strikes and targeted killings. His findings, along with a report by the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, will be debated today at the U.N. General Assembly. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report.

Again, while U.N. isn’t really something I am too fond off, as a Conservative. I have come to accept it; and think that doing things like the above, is a very good idea. Like it or not; the Bush Administration made some seriously bad mistake during the war, and in the attempt to get information for more terrorist attacks after 9/11, crossed some constitutional lines. Here is hoping that the parties involved are held accountable.

By rights, they SHOULD be held accountable by the United States Government; but we all know that will never happen. The US Democrats do not have the guts to pursue justice. This my friends, is a great American tragedy.

 

More Fruits of Wilsonian Foreign Policy in Iraq

Remember the stupidity of Wilsonian foreign policy that I wrote about in my previous posting?

Well, here you go! The fruits of what happens when the United States of America invades a sovereign Nation based on bad intelligence.

The Story:

Several car bombs have exploded around the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killing at least 38 people, officials say.

The bombs were placed in parked cars and detonated over a 30-minute period in busy streets, mainly in Shia areas.

At least 100 people were injured in the attacks, some of which targeted markets and bus stations.

Hundreds have been killed in Iraq this month, with the often sectarian-fuelled violence reaching its highest level since 2008.

Almost 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 wounded in September alone, according to the UN.

And unofficial counts for October suggest more than 600 have been killed.

Sunni militants, including the local offshoot of al-Qaeda, are often blamed for the attacks, which usually target Shia areas.

The Shia-led government has been accused of failing to address grievances among the Sunni Arab minority, including allegations of abuses by security forces.

via BBC News – Iraq car bombs cause Baghdad carnage.

You’d think that the United States and American Jews would learn from that horrible mistake; but if Sheldon Adelson and his bumbling idiot friends have anything to say about it, we will be making the same mistake again with Iran.

This my friends above, is why you do not allow the Israeli or the Saudi Governments to dictate foreign policy.

So much for a stable and safe Iraq!

Here’s more of that mess left in Iraq by the Neoconservatives and Bush:

BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad and another detonated his explosives inside a cafe north of the capital, the deadliest of several attacks across Iraq on Saturday that killed at least 66 people.

The killings, which also included attacks on journalists and anti-extremist Sunni fighters, are part of the deadliest surge in violence to hit Iraq in five years. The accelerating bloodshed is raising fears that the country is falling back into the spiral of violence that brought it to the edge of civil war in the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The extent of the carnage from the evening attack on the pilgrims became clearer as midnight approached, when officials sharply revised the death toll upward to at least 42. Another 80 were reported injured.

The bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpoint as the pilgrims passed through the largely Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah en route to a prominent Shiite shrine in the nearby neighborhood of Kazimiyah, according to police officials. At least four policemen manning the checkpoint were among the dead, the officials said.

Around the same time, another suicide bomber blew himself up in a cafe in the town of Balad, a largely Shiite town surrounded by Sunni communities about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Balad Mayor Malik Lefta said at least 13 people were killed and 22 were wounded in that attack.

He said the cafe was the same one hit by a deadly suicide bombing in August.

via Associated Press.

This is what happens when you start wars based upon bad intelligence from Germany; and then do not bother to “trust, buy verify.” You get an unstable middle east and a country racked by violence. This is what happens when you allow a group of people, who make up 2% of the population of the United States and even less of the rest of the World; direct your foreign policy. When they are not doing this, they are persecuting Christians.

They, like the Muslims; are truly a menace and should be treated as such.

Video: This is why I do not trust Al-Jazeera TV

American version of it or not. I simply do not trust it and this here is why. This comes via Memri TV:

Some of you might say, “But, aren’t you a Buchananite type?” Yes, indeed I am. Which simply means that I am not a fan of Wilsonian Foreign Policy and that’s all it means. If Al-Jazeera TV is putting this sort of garbage on it’s Arab speaking network, it has zero business being in the United States of America. This is nothing more than Anti-Jewish propaganda and it furthers the blood libels that the terrorists thrive on and use to commit acts of carnage.

If our President were actually worth a tinkers damn, he would tell Al-Jazeera TV, “You either do something about that, or you can pack your little network up and go back to mecca, where you truly belong.” But, because we have a President who kowtows down to Arabs and their religion, instead of defending Jewish Americans, you have this network Al-Jazeera TV here to brainwash Americans into believe that 9/11 was somehow justified.

…and that, my friends, is a great American tragedy.

(H/T to Commentary Magazine)

Bombing victim speaks out about Muslims and Terrorism

Glad to see this. 🙂

The Video is here. I was going to post it here, but it is an auto start embed and those drive people crazy! So, go to the link to view it!

The Story:

A Boston Marathon bombing victim hospitalized for weeks after the blasts lashed out at the mother of the accused bombers, calling Zubeidat Tsarnaeva “vile” for her jihad-laced rants and denials.

Michelle L’Heureux, a 38-year-old John Hancock consultant, told the Herald yesterday it’s time to stop being “politically correct” and speak out — making her one of the first victims to stand up to the terror-talking Chechen family.

“I feel a little bit of hatred towards her. I think she is a vile person,” L’Heureux said of the mom. “If you don’t like our country, get out. It’s as simple as that.”

L’Heureux lost most of her left knee in the blasts, and 30 percent of her hearing in her left ear. Her left arm is riddled with shrapnel scars, and there’s a piece of metal still inside her leg. She was 8 feet away from the first blast on Boylston Street. She came to the city to see her boyfriend cross the finish lin

via Bombing victim calls suspects’ mom ‘vile’ | Boston Herald.

If only more liberal Democrats felt this way, maybe we would have actually won the war on terror. Instead, because of the Democrat’s almost allergic reaction to war and because of the bungled methods of the Bush Administration — we lost it and badly. Oh, and BTW, I have seen where people have blamed this guy here for the loss of the Afghan war.  Sorry, but that is bunch of flipping malarkey and I think the person that wrote that knows it; he is just looking to deflect the fact that Bush’s mishandling of the war in Afghanistan and the overselling of the war in Iraq.

Plus too, I believe we pulled out too early of Iraq and Afghanistan; we could have done it better, but we needed more time. But, when you have a war weary nation, what can you do?

Others: Weekly Standard, The Jawa Report and Instapundit