Tag: Military

A heart warming story and thoughts…

Check this one out, at Fox News:

Quote:

When Capt. Ivan Castro joined the Army, he set goals: to jump out of planes, kick in doors and lead soldiers into combat. He achieved them all. Then the mortar round landed five feet away, blasting away his sight.

“Once you’re blind, you have to set new goals,” Castro said.

He set them higher.

Not content with just staying in the Army, he is the only blind officer serving in the Special Forces — the small, elite units famed for dropping behind enemy lines on combat missions.

As executive officer of the 7th Special Forces Group’s headquarters company in Fort Bragg, Castro’s duties don’t directly involve combat, though they do have him taking part in just about everything that leads up to it.

“I am going to push the limits,” the 40-year-old said. “I don’t want to go to Fort Bragg and show up and sit in an office. I want to work every day and have a mission.”

You know, I hate to make this into a political cheap shot post. However, because I am a Political Blogger, and because it just pisses me off to no end that the idiot commie liberals, like John Aravosis who take it upon themselves to insult and degrade our United States Military officers on a regular basis. People like Keith Olbermann, who while some of his commentaries make good sense, especially those that pertain to George W. Bush, like to lash out in anger and tell those, who work in the pentagon, to ‘Go to Hell” for following orders by the President of the United States. Who is, in case people like Keith have forgotten, IS the commander and chief of our Military, right or wrong, he is still the boss, until his term is up.

I have to wonder aloud, which, if any of these outspoken critics of the war and of Bush, would be willing to strap on a Uniform and serve in our United States Military. I would be willing to be the fortunes of the galaxies abroad, that not one of these people would give their lives for this country. However, they can sit behind a desk, read a teleprompter, and criticize those who CHOOSE to serve their country.

I realize that I have quite a few new visitors to this Blog, and being that is the case, I will repeat something here, that I have been saying, since this Blog first came online. While I am a critic of the President of a myriad of issues, the idea that some blowhard Liberal Blogger or Liberal TV Host can use a medium, such as Television, to smear and slander someone like John McCain, is just very inexcusable. Yes Keith, I am talking about you. You will make sport of John McCain, a man, who has done more to serve his country than you will ever hope to do in a lifetime. John McCain, who spent six long years being tortured by the country of Vietnam, all because he disagrees with your very warped idea, that we can somehow just pacify these terrorists and that somehow or another, we can just wish our threats to national security away. Yet, on an issue like FISA, you will give Barack Obama a free pass and not chastise him with same fire and indignation that you did Hillary for making a stupid reference to Bobby Kennedy.

That is correct my friends, while I might agree with Keith, that the President of the United States has made some serious blunders as President, some that might continue to hurt this country for many years to come. I will never agree with Keith Olbermann’s idea that McCain is open season. John McCain is a Republican, a war hero and at best, he should respectfully disagree with him, but the only thing Keith Olbermann can do is make McCain look like some sort of a stooge. For that, his employment should be terminated.

It is because of this blatant callous disrespect for our Nation’s Military, both present and former, that I left the Liberal side of the Political fence. For the record and in the interest of full disclosure, I was what one would call, a “Conservative Democrat” or “Left of center.” However, after the actions of those who claim to be for Equality and Liberty, I decided I could never align myself with a party who chooses to disrespect, insult, and generally make sport of, our nations military servicemen for the sake of nelson rating.

This sort of Communist treachery is nothing short of the Anti-America treachery exercised against the United States of America by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. This sort of thing I will not support, nor will I allow my Blog to associated with it. This is why I now call myself, what I tend to believe that I am, a Paleo-Conservative and Constitutionalist.

Things are changing in Iraq

I apologize for the stoppage of Blogging. But the Tim Russert story kind of jarred me quite a bit. in fact, I had to turn the TV to CNN, I just couldn’t not bear watching the stuff at MSNBC anymore. (Yeah, I know, I fired up John Cole for what he said, there’s a difference between me saying I had to change the channel, and taking a nasty swipe at a dead man.)

However, the world, the news, and life does go on, while I will miss Tim Russert’s show and his style of punditry, I must move on….

It seems that things are changing in Iraq.

The Report from the Washington Post:

The Bush administration’s Iraq policy suffered two major setbacks Friday when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly rejected key U.S. terms for an ongoing military presence and anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for a new militia offensive against U.S. forces.

During a visit to Jordan, Maliki said negotiations over initial U.S. proposals for bilateral political and military agreements had "reached a dead end." While he said talks would continue, his comments fueled doubts that the pacts could be reached this year, before the Dec. 31 expiration of a United Nations mandate sanctioning the U.S. role in Iraq.

The moves by two of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite leaders underscore how the presence of U.S. troops has become a central issue for Iraqi politicians as they position themselves for provincial elections later this year. Iraqis across the political spectrum have grown intolerant of the U.S. presence, but the dominant Shiite parties — including Maliki’s Dawa party — are especially fearful of an electoral challenge from new, grass-roots groups.

CNN’s Michael Ware, who is in Iraq offers this interesting perspective:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo54NhiyQig&hl=en]

If Ware is even correct and these talks continue to stall, I look for Bush to just pull our troops out and let Iraq go at it alone. I just do not think that Bush is going to dump the Iraq War into the laps of the Democrats. I just do not think that he wants that on his legacy. I could be wrong, but if this is case, I got a sneaking suspicion you will see a unilateral withdrawal of our troops out of Iraq, before Bush leaves office.

More via Memeorandum

Special Comment by Keith Olbermann: McCain should know better

Transcript: (H/T K.O’s NewsHole)

Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on Senator John McCain’s conclusion that it’s "not too important" when American forces come home from Iraq.

Thoughts, offered more in sorrow, than in anger.

For two full days now, the Senator and his supporters have been outraged at what they see as the subtraction of context from this extraordinary remark.

This is, sadly, the excuse of our time, for everything.

Still. If the Senator claims truncation, we will correct that, first.

"A lot of people," Matt Lauer began, "now say the surge is working."

"Anybody who knows the facts on the ground say that," the Senator interjected.

"If it’s now working, Senator," Matt continued, "do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?"

"No," answered McCain. "But that’s not too important. What’s important is the casualties in Iraq. Americans are in South Korea. Americans are in Japan. American troops are in Germany.

"That’s all fine. American casualties and the ability to withdraw. We will be able to withdraw.

"General Petraeus is going to tell us in July when he thinks we are. But the key to it is we don’t want any more Americans in harm’s way. And that way they will be safe, and serve our country, and come home with honor and victory – not in defeat,  which is what Senator Obama’s proposal would have done. And I’m proud of them, and they’re doing a great job. And we are succeeding. And it’s fascinating that Senator Obama still doesn’t realize it."

And there is the context of what Senator McCain said.

Well… not quite, Senator.

The full context, is that the Iraq you see, is a figment of your imagination.

This is not a war about "honor and victory," Sir.

This is a war you, and the President you support and seek to succeed, conned this nation into.

Yes, sir.

You.

Of the prospect of war in Iraq, you said, quote, "I believe that success will be fairly easy."

John McCain… September 24th… 2002.

"I believe that we can win an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time."

John McCain… September 29th… 2002.

Of the ouster of Saddam and the Baathists:

"There’s no doubt in my mind that once these people are gone, that we will be welcomed as liberators."

John McCain… March 24th… 2003.

Asked, about a long-term commitment in Iraq, quote, "are you talking about something in terms of South Korea, for instance, where you would expect U.S. troops to be in Iraq for decades?"

"No," you answered. "I don’t think decades, but I think years. A little straight talk, I think years. And I hope that we can gradually reduce that presence."

John McCain… March 18th… 2004.

You were asked about the troops, and the future.

"I would hope that we could bring them all home. I would hope that we would probably leave some military advisers, as we have in other countries, to help them with

their training and equipment and that kind of stuff."…I think one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence.

And I don’t pretend to know exactly Iraqi public opinion. But as soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible, the better I think it is going to be."

John McCain… January 31st… 2005

When a speaker at your town hall, five months ago, referenced the President’s forecast that we might stay in Iraq for 50 years, you cut him off.

"Make it a hundred! We’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. That’s fine by me…"

John McCain… January 3rd… 2008.

And your forecast of your hypothetical first term.

"By January, 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won."

John McCain… May 15th… 2008.

That, Senator McCain, is context.

You have attested to: a fairly easy success; an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time; in which we would be welcomed as liberators; which you assured us would not require our troops stay for decades but merely for years; from which we could bring them all home, since you noted many Iraqis resent American military presence; in which all those troops coming home will also stay there, not being injured, for a hundred years; but most will be back by 2013; and the timing of their return, is… not… that… important.

That, Senator McCain, is context.

And that, Senator McCain, is madness.

The Government Accountability Office just released a study Tuesday that concludes that one out of every ten soldiers sent to Iraq, takes with them medical problems "severe enough to significantly limit their ability to fight."

In five years, we have now sent 43-thousand of them to war even though… they were already wounded.

And when they come home, is… not… that… important.

—

Jalal al Din al Sagir, a member of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, and Ali al Adeeb, of the rival Dawa Political Party, gave a series of interviews last week about the particulars of this country’s demand for a "Status of Forces" agreement with Iraq — a treaty …which Mr. Bush does not intend to show Congress before he signs it.

The Iraqi politicians say the treaty demands Iraq’s consent to the establishment of nearly double the number of U-S military bases in Iraq — from about 30, to 58, and from temporary, to permanent.

Those will be American men and women who must, of necessity, staff these bases – staff them, in Mr. McCain’s M-C Escher dream world in which our people can all come home while they stay there for a hundred years but they’ll be back by 2013.

And when they come home, is not… that… important.

—

Last year, a 20-year old soldier from the Bronx, on the day of his re-deployment to a second tour in Iraq, said he just couldn’t face the smell of burning flesh again. So, Jonathan Aponte paid a hit man 500 dollars… to shoot him in the knee.

Mount Sinai Hospital in New York reported treating a patient identifying himself as another Iraq-bound soldier, who claimed he had accidentally swallowed a pen at the bus station. No one doubted his story until examinations proved there was a second pen in his stomach bearing the logo of Greyhound Bus Lines.

In 2006, says his sister, a 24-year old Army Specialist from Washington State, on the eve of his second deployment, strapped a pack full of tools to his back, and then jumped off the roof of his house, injuring his spine.

And when they come home — or more correctly all those like them who did not risk death or disability to avoid going back — when they come home, is not… that… important.

You’ve sold them all out, Senator.

You.

You, whose sacrifice for this country was as all-encompassing and as horrible as the rest of us can only imagine in our darkest moments.

You, who survived, so that you could make America a better place where young men did not have to go and die in pointless wars… or be maimed… or be held prisoner… or have to hire hit-men to shoot them in the knee because that couldn’t be worse.

You… who should know better.

—

Where, Senator, is the man who once said "veterans hate war more than anyone else, because veterans know, because veterans know these brave Americans, and others, know, that there is nothing more painful than the loss of a comrade."

Where is he, Sir?

Where is the man who described that ineffable truth?

Oh, so long ago you touched the essence of the reality of Iraq. Your comments about your lost comrades — yesterday.

The men and women in Iraq, today, Senator — they are your comrades, too.

And you are condemning them to die.

To die, for your misdirection, for Mr. Bush’s lies — for whoever makes the money off building 58 permanent American bases and all the weapons and all the bullets and all the wiring so costly and so slip-shod that it electrocutes our comrades as they step, not to fight freedom’s enemies, but into the shower at the base.

That, Senator, that is context.

It is an easy thing to dismiss Senator McCain as a sad and befuddled figure, already challenging for some kind of campaign record for malaprops.

Just yesterday in Philadelphia he answered Senator Obama, not by defending or explaining his own "not that important" remark, but by seizing upon Obama’s "bitter" remark – or trying to.

Obama had foolishly said that some, in despair, in small towns, cling to their religion and their guns.

Senator McCain vowed he’d go to those towns and tell them, "I don’t agree with Senator Obama that they cling to their religion and the Constitution because they’re bitter."

It was hard not to dismiss with a laugh, Senator McCain, or any Republican, for even accidentally implying that he’s clung to the Constitution — not after the last seven years.

It was hard, the day before, not to become almost bemused when the Senator tried to say he would veto every single bill with ear-marks, but wound up, instead, vowing "I will veto every single beer."

It was hard, this week, not to laugh at how Senator McCain could offer any serious defense against the accusation that he is running for President Bush’s third term, when a 2006 interview suddenly surfaced in which McCain said he would consider Dick Cheney for a position in a McCain administration.

"I don’t know if I would want him as Vice President. He and I have the same strengths. But to serve in other capacities? Hell, yeah."

These are all very funny, in a macabre yet unthreatening way.

And then one remembers Senator McCain’s inability to separate Sunni and Shia, or his insistence that Iran is training Al-Qaeda for service in Iraq, and then being corrected about it, and then saying the same thing again anyway.

And then one is, inevitably, drawn back again to the overlooked substance of yesterday’s remark…

"If (the surge) is now working, Senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?"

"No."

No?

The surge is working and even that still tells Senator McCain nothing about when we can ransom our soldiers?

Wasn’t that the ultimate purpose of the surge? To get them out?

If we cannot tell — if McCain cannot even guess — doesn’t that, by definition, mean… the surge isn’t working?

—

And ultimately we are drawn back to the "not… too… important" remark, in its full context:

The context of the kaleidoscope of confused rhetoric, and endless non sequitur, and mutually exclusive conclusions — and what they add up to: a veritable tragedy, a microcosm of the American tragedy that is Iraq, a tragedy of a man who himself will never understand… "the context."

Your tragedy, Senator McCain?

No. I’m sorry.

This tragedy… is of Justin Mixon of Bogalusa, Louisiana.

And it’s of Christopher McCarthy of Virginia Beach.

It’s of Quincy Green of El Paso, and Joshua Waltenbaugh of Ford City, P.A.

The tragedy is of Shane Duffy of Taunton Mass, and Jonathan Emard of Mesquite, Texas.

It’s of Cody Legg of Escondido in California, and David Hurst of Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

The tragedy is of Thomas Duncan the 3rd of Rowlett, Texas, and Tyler Pickett of Saratoga, Wyoming.

And who are they, Senator?

They are ten Americans…. who have died in Iraq… since the first of this month. There are four more. The Defense Department has not yet identified the others.

And while you, Senator, may ask for all the context you can get, those ten men… will never know any of it.

Because the true context here, is that if you could ask those American war heroes, or the family and the friends that loved them, if they have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq…

They could rightly say, "No. But that’s… not… too… important."

Good night, and good luck.

A telling story about this war

You know, I have always been a Independent voice in the Blogging world. I don’t answer to either side. But there is one thing, even as a Conservative/Libertarian/Constitutionalist, or in just plain terms, a center right type of person. I cannot and will not gloss over this kind of a story.

This my friends, is Bush’s true legacy:

Seven months after Sergeant Christopher LeJeune started scouting Baghdad’s dangerous roads — acting as bait to lure insurgents into the open so his Army unit could kill them — he found himself growing increasingly despondent. "We’d been doing some heavy missions, and things were starting to bother me," LeJeune says. His unit had been protecting Iraqi police stations targeted by rocket-propelled grenades, hunting down mortars hidden in dark Baghdad basements and cleaning up its own messes. He recalls the order his unit got after a nighttime firefight to roll back out and collect the enemy dead. When LeJeune and his buddies arrived, they discovered that some of the bodies were still alive. "You don’t always know who the bad guys are," he says. "When you search someone’s house, you have it built up in your mind that these guys are terrorists, but when you go in, there’s little bitty tiny shoes and toys on the floor — things like that started affecting me a lot more than I thought they would." – America’s Medicated Army – (via TIME Magazine)

All that, because Bush acted on some very admittedly now, false intelligence and did not properly prepare for it. Unlike many of the Iraq War’s planning, these guys have to live with the scars, both mental and physical.  

This extremely sad story continues:

"In a Total Daze"
And yet the battlefield seems an imperfect environment for widespread prescription of these medicines. LeJeune, who spent 15 months in Iraq before returning home in May 2004, says many more troops need help — pharmaceutical or otherwise — but don’t get it because of fears that it will hurt their chance for promotion. "They don’t want to destroy their career or make everybody go in a convoy to pick up your prescription," says LeJeune, now 34 and living in Utah. "In the civilian world, when you have a problem, you go to the doctor, and you have therapy followed up by some medication. In Iraq, you see the doctor only once or twice, but you continue to get drugs constantly." LeJeune says the medications — combined with the war’s other stressors — created unfit soldiers. "There were more than a few convoys going out in a total daze."

About a third of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq say they can’t see a mental-health professional when they need to. When the number of troops in Iraq surged by 30,000 last year, the number of Army mental-health workers remained the same — about 200 — making counseling and care even tougher to get.

"Burnout and compassion fatigue" are rising among such personnel, and there have been "recent psychiatric evacuations" of Army mental-health workers from Iraq, the 2007 survey says. Soldiers are often stationed at outposts so isolated that follow-up visits with counselors are difficult. "In a perfect world," admits Nash, who has just retired from the Navy, "you would not want to rely on medications as your first-line treatment, but in deployed settings, that is often all you have."

And just as more troops are taking these drugs, there are new doubts about the drugs’ effectiveness. A pair of recent reports from Rand and the federal Institute of Medicine (iom) raise doubts about just how much the new medicines can do to alleviate PTSD. The Rand study, released in April, says the "overall effects for SSRIs, even in the largest clinical trials, are modest." Last October the iom concluded, "The evidence is inadequate to determine the efficacy of SSRIs in the treatment of PTSD."

Chris LeJeune could have told them that. When he returned home in May 2004, he remained on clonazepam and other drugs. He became one of 300,000 Americans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and suffer from PTSD or depression. "But PTSD isn’t fixed by taking pills — it’s just numbed," he claims now. "And I felt like I was drugged all the time." So a year ago, he simply stopped taking them. "I just started trying to fight my demons myself," he says, with help from VA counseling. He laughs when asked how he’s doing. "I’d like to think," he says, "that I’m really damn close back to normal."

That which I just quoted, is President George W. Bush’s true legacy. How that man sleeps at night, knowing full well, that he has caused this, is beyond me.

I just truly hope, that the Republican Party has learned it’s lesson. I thought that they would have after Nixon. I guess, that I was wrong.

God Bless our suffering troops and those still in actions overseas now.

Others: VetVoice

From the Dept of “Ya Think?”

Senate Panel accuses Bush of Iraq Exaggerations.

Go read the story, and the go read the right wing spin, like from Jack Moss and the rest of Bush Cheerleaders.

The problem all that up there? Bush’s own Administration admitted that there were mistakes made. 

Reality bites, so bad for some, that they would rather live in some altered state of reality. It is truly a sad thing to watch, really. Some people just cannot admit, that their fearless, chickenhawk leader screwed up.

I may not care for President George W. Bush's polices…

But this one makes me smile…  Happy

Pearl Harbor is well known as the site of Imperial Japan’s attack on December 7, 1941. Its historical significance, however, both preceded the Japanese attack and spanned World War II, during which it served as the central base for our Pacific naval forces. While the USS Arizona Memorial serves as the final resting place for many of that battleship’s brave crew members who lost their lives on December 7, 1941, other objects of historic and scientific interest in the area of Pearl Harbor and other sites in the Pacific remain outside this Memorial.

I have been advised that there are objects of historic and scientific interest at Pearl Harbor, including on Ford Island, and at other sites across the Pacific that may be appropriate for recognition and possibly protection through the designation of a National Monument under the Antiquities Act of 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431). These objects of historical and scientific interest may tell the broader story of the war, the sacrifices made by America and its allies, and the heroism and determination that laid the groundwork for victory in the Pacific and triumph in World War II.

Accordingly, please provide to me your assessment, with relevant supporting information, of the advisability of providing additional recognition or protection to historic landmarks, historic sites, or other objects of historic or scientific interest at Pearl Harbor and other sites associated with the war in the Pacific and America’s ultimate victory in the Pacific theater during World War II, through designation and management as part of a National Monument. Because much of the Pearl Harbor area lies within an active military base, and other World War II historic resources lie within areas of the Pacific that are of strategic importance to the United States, please consider in your assessment that any proposed actions should not limit the Department of Defense from carrying out the mission of the various branches of the military stationed or operating anywhere within the Pacific.

GEORGE W. BUSH

I am glad to see that he understands.

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This is another reason, that this war was a mistake….

I am a Christian and this angers me, greatly….  Angry

FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.

Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked.

He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16."

"They are trying to convert us to Christianity," said Anad, a Sunni Muslim like most residents of this city in Anbar province. At home, he told his story, and his relatives echoed their disapproval: They’d been given the coins, too, he said. – Iraqis claim Marines are pushing Christianity in Fallujah (Via McClatchy Washington Bureau)

The reason this angers me, is because when we went to war, one of the main things that George W. Bush said, was that we would not attempt to change the Iraqi people’s culture, religion or lifestyle, and what do we have happening here? Marines trying to proselyte Muslims. As a Libertarian, a believe that using the Government’s military to push a particular Religious belief system is totally wrong, and quite frankly unconstitutional!    

The Article continues:

A spokesman said the U.S. military is investigating.

"Multi-National Force-Iraq is investigating a report that U.S. military personnel in Fallujah handed-out material that is religious and evangelical in nature," the spokesman, Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, said in a statement e-mailed to McClatchy. "Local commanders are investigating since the military prohibits proselytizing any religion, faith or practices."

Yeah, I bet they will investigate it. I almost see it now….:

Investigator: Did you do this?

Marine: Yep! I wanted to spread the love of Jesus Christ to these ragheads.

Investigator: Good job solider.

(writes in report) "No evidence of wrongdoing"

Do you all see why this Nation is headed down the wrong path?

Do I support the troops? Yes. Do I support Conservative Religious Far Right’s mission to turn America into a Theocracy? No.  Not talking

Iraq violence falls to four-year low

This is a good thing….But!

Quote:

The U.S. military said Sunday that the number of attacks by militants in the last week dropped to a level not seen in Iraq since March 2004.

About 300 violent incidents were recorded in the seven-day period that ended Friday, down from a weekly high of nearly 1,600 in mid-June last year, according to a chart provided by the military. – via LA TIMES

This is not a time to gloat, but rather a time to pray for the stability of that country. Because, quite frankly, it could all come ripping apart at any time. Not to sound like a critic or a negative person.  But the security of that country is hanging by a thread.

I have seen the comments on the left, and yes, they have some valid points, but at least give it a chance. It is all those people in Iraq have.

I think everyone that believes in God should utter a prayer this week for the country of Iraq and our Brave men fighting there.

Iraq's The Grand Ayatollah tells the United States, no deal….

This is of interest…’Ayatollah will not allow US-Iraq deal’ (via press TV)

The Grand Ayatollah has reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as long as he was alive, a source close to Ayatollah Sistani said.

The source added the Grand Ayatollah had voiced his strong objection to the deal during a meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday.

The remarks were made amid reports that the Iraqi government might sign a long-term framework agreement with the United States, under which Washington would be allowed to set up permanent military bases in the country and US citizens would be granted immunity from legal prosecution in the country.

While the mainstream media keep mum about the accord, critics say the agreement would virtually put Iraq under the US tutelage and violate the country’s sovereignty.

The source added Ayatollah Sistani, however, backed PM al-Maliki’s government and its efforts and that of the nation to establish security in the country.

The mandate of US troops in Iraq will expire in December 2008 and al-Maliki’s government is under US pressure to sign ‘a mutual security agreement’ which would allow the long-term presence of US troops in Iraq.

Washington’s plan has so far faced fierce protests by religious figures including Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem Haeri, another senior Shia cleric, and it is expected that other religious figures join the efforts to prevent the deal.

The US has signed similar agreements with countries like Japan and South Korea and thousands of US troops are now stationed in the countries.

While he is alive. You know there, Mr. Camel Jockey, that can be arranged. Devil Nothing a hellfire missile and come spy work wouldn’t cure. Of course, the defeatist, Military and America hating Liberals will run with this and try and say, "See they don’t want us there!, We need to pull out tomorrow!" Which is so typical of the bastards. But this is one man, and truth me known, HE is the one that is telling these terrorists in Baghdad to blow themselves up.

This is further reason why I think we should have never went in there in the first darn place, because now, we’ll have to contend with idiots like this. Should be interesting.

Update: Gateway Pundit is reporting that this story was bogus and was generated by Iran PSY-OPS. Only reason I grabbed it, was because it was on Memeorandum. (H/T to reader Ken)