Uh-Oh: Turkey is getting involved in the Syrian conflict

This is not good, not matter how you slice it.

Via NYT:

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Turkish prime minister announced on Wednesday night that Turkey had fired artillery at targets in Syria, in retaliation for Syrian mortar fire that fell in a Turkish border town and killed five Turkish civilians. It was the first instance of significant fighting across the Turkish-Syrian border since the Syrian uprising began last year, and raised the prospect of greater involvement by the NATO alliance, to which Turkey belongs.

“This atrocious attack was immediately responded to adequately by our armed forces in the border region, in accordance with rules of engagement,” said a written statement from the office of the prime minister, carried by the semiofficial Anatolian News Agency. “Targets were shelled in locations identified by radar.”

“Turkey, in accordance with the rules of engagement and international law, will never leave such provocations by the Syrian regime against our national security unrequited,” the statement added.

NATO said it would convene an urgent meeting on the issue Wednesday. Before firing into Syria, Turkey contacted the United Nations and NATO to protest the killings and express its “deepest concern.” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was “outraged” by the mortar attack in Turkey.

There is no two ways of looking at it; whomever wins this election, is really going to have their hands full come the day they start work. I would not want to be in their shoes for no amount of money.

If I were some sort of partisan hack, I would be blaming Obama for this; but I am not. Obama has zero to do with this at all. He did not order these people to go to war with their own Government. Also too, he cannot really takes sides either. So, on this one, he is doing the right thing and letting the UN handle it.

I just have a sinking feeling about it; I mean, Turkey just got finished with its own little problem and now, they have this, plus Iraq is still an issue, plus Iran. It is all a huge mess and I would not want to be in Romney’s or Obama’s shoes either one. Sometimes the World around us, is just one big huge mess. Some would blame Bush and the Iraq war for destabilizing the region. There is some merit to that; but to be quite honest, I believe these uprisings would have happened no what who was in power or what the status was in the region.

Related:

BBC:  Turkey hits targets inside Syria after border deaths

Roundup:

The AgonistRace 4 2012The PJ Tatler and Taylor Marsh

A very good read: The World Order And Its Enemies

Someone needs to show this to President Obama; it is a very good read:

Diplomacy is a pillar of global security and peace. The Islamists act to topple it.

The Third World is a beneficiary of the system of diplomacy that has evolved through the centuries. It is a fundament of an orderly world and fanatics are now undermining it.

International relations are as problem-laden as are personal relationships. All associations produce conflict. To promise the key to a “perfect” marriage in total harmony exploits the gullible. Promises to unite mankind in a conflict-free order of love are soothing intellectual exercises. Their practical value, however, equals a biology that claims to convert kissed frogs into princes

via The World Order And Its Enemies | The Brussels Journal.

I highly recommend that you read the rest of that, it is a very good read.

 

Videos: Liberal rag Mother Jones delivers another nothing-burger on Mitt Romney, this time, on Israel and the middle east

Here we go again, a follow-up to the earlier nothing-burger that the liberals seem to believe will destroy Mitt Romney. Here comes another nothing-burger.

Via liberal rag Mother Jones:

On the Middle East Conflict:

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Quote:

I’m torn by two perspectives in this regard. One is the one which I’ve had for some time, which is that the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish. Now why do I say that? Some might say, well, let’s let the Palestinians have the West Bank, and have security, and set up a separate nation for the Palestinians. And then come a couple of thorny questions. And I don’t have a map here to look at the geography, but the border between Israel and the West Bank is obviously right there, right next to Tel Aviv, which is the financial capital, the industrial capital of Israel, the center of Israel. It’s—what the border would be? Maybe seven miles from Tel Aviv to what would be the West Bank…The other side of the West Bank, the other side of what would be this new Palestinian state would either be Syria at one point, or Jordan. And of course the Iranians would want to do through the West Bank exactly what they did through Lebanon, what they did near Gaza. Which is that the Iranians would want to bring missiles and armament into the West Bank and potentially threaten Israel. So Israel of course would have to say, “That can’t happen. We’ve got to keep the Iranians from bringing weaponry into the West Bank.” Well, that means that—who? The Israelis are going to patrol the border between Jordan, Syria, and this new Palestinian nation? Well, the Palestinians would say, “Uh, no way! We’re an independent country. You can’t, you know, guard our border with other Arab nations.” And now how about the airport? How about flying into this Palestinian nation? Are we gonna allow military aircraft to come in and weaponry to come in? And if not, who’s going to keep it from coming in? Well, the Israelis. Well, the Palestinians are gonna say, “We’re not an independent nation if Israel is able to come in and tell us what can land in our airport.” These are problems—these are very hard to solve, all right? And I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, “There’s just no way.” And so what you do is you say, “You move things along the best way you can.” You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem. We live with that in China and Taiwan. All right, we have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it. We don’t go to war to try and resolve it imminently. On the other hand, I got a call from a former secretary of state. I won’t mention which one it was, but this individual said to me, you know, I think there’s a prospect for a settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis after the Palestinian elections. I said, “Really?” And, you know, his answer was, “Yes, I think there’s some prospect.” And I didn’t delve into it.

He is speaking the truth here. The Palestinians do NOT want a two-State solution. They want Israel pushed into the sea. They have said this a thousand times. Besides that, that land is Israel’s land, it says that in the Bible and that should be the end of the discussion; as for as this writer is concerned.

On Iraq and Nukes:

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Quote:

If I were Iran, if I were Iran—a crazed fanatic, I’d say let’s get a little fissile material to Hezbollah, have them carry it to Chicago or some other place, and then if anything goes wrong, or America starts acting up, we’ll just say, “Guess what? Unless you stand down, why, we’re going to let off a dirty bomb.” I mean this is where we have—where America could be held up and blackmailed by Iran, by the mullahs, by crazy people. So we really don’t have any option but to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon.

This is a classic foreign policy position that President himself also supports. In the case of Iran, it is totally warranted.

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The president’s foreign policy, in my opinion, is formed in part by a perception he has that his magnetism, and his charm, and his persuasiveness is so compelling that he can sit down with people like Putin and Chávez and Ahmadinejad, and that they’ll find that we’re such wonderful people that they’ll go on with us, and they’ll stop doing bad things. And it’s an extraordinarily naive perception.

Again, this is true; the recent events have proven that many times over.

Once again, Mother Jones has proven itself incapable of bringing any sort of “real” dirt out on Governor Romney. The only thing that they have; is the Governor speaking honestly about President Obama, his foreign policy and Israel. Now it seems that Mother Jones is now focusing on the private life of the person that hosted the fundraiser. This very thing, ought to show you what it is, that we are dealing with here.

It is called desperation.

Video: Michelle Malkin to White House: These optics suck White House!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y35S4Oua8vI&hd=1

A few questions from a Non-Wilsonian Conservative:

  1. Where was all this outrage when it was discovered that President George W. Bush invaded Iraq based upon bad information from Germany?
  2. Does Malkin realize that the entire “Arab Spring” was started, when Bush invaded Iraq? Best thing that people like her can say in response is, “Blame Bush, Blame Bush….” Well, in this case, his blame is due.

Now, do not misunderstand me here. This is a huge blunder by the White House, and the fallout is getting worse by the minute. I mean, now several Christian Colleges are now being threatened.  However, I believe to pin the blame entirely on the Obama Administration is cheap political theater really.

As for Romney, I believe the media is making hay over that issue, a bit too much. But, he did jump the gun too quickly, I believe.

Furthermore, as a Non-Wilsonian Conservative, I say the following:

  1. This is nothing more than living proof, that the United States of America needs to get the hell out of United Nations and order them out of this Country.
  2. This is living proof that the United States needs to close these idiotic embassies in these Countries that are not necessarily friendly to the United States, and stop having American forces, of any sort, in those Countries.
  3. This is proof that Islam is not a peaceful Religion or political philosophy, and as I wrote before, should be banned in the United States and those that practice it, should be given two choices; convert or leave.
  4. This, if anything, should be proof that, as noted for a long time, by Anti-Jihadi bloggers for years; that the attacks on 9/11 were a declaration of a Religious War between the Judeo-Christian values of the west and of the United States and the backward Islāmic values of the middle east. These attacks this week are a continuation of that War.  Now, if we do pull out, will that war stop? Most likely not. But, I believe that they will subside and the parties will begin fighting one another. Furthermore, if they attack the US on our soil, then we will have a legit excuse for War. Right now, we do not. We are in their lands.

In closing: I want it to be clear, this is not just a posting to knee-cap Michelle Malkin. But it is rather my personal take on what some on the right are saying about this whole thing. I realize it is an election year and all. But, we should not allow ourselves to be duped into blaming one person or President Administration for the events of the past week.

The truth is that what is happening now in the middle east is a result of many years of Wilsonian stupidity from many Presidential Administrations and an utter failure by many in Government that Islam is just incompatible with western values, constitutional freedoms and general social decency.

This is a very important lesson, and the quicker that those in our Government and Governments to come figure this out, the better things will be for this Country.

(via Urban Grounds)

The fallout continues

The fallout from the embassy attacks is continuing.

Some on the left now are even upset about it.

Video via Gateway Pundit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOnQJehP_is

Now there comes word, via one of the most liberal papers in the U.K., that the State Department actually knew that these attacks were coming, and did absolutely nothing:

The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.

American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.

The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the “safe house” in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed “safe”.

Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.

According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and “lockdown”, under which movement is severely restricted.

 — Read the rest at the U.K. Independent

Of course, the Obama Administration is in denial mode, via The Politico:

The Obama administration is flatly denying a blaring British newspaper report that the U.S. diplomats in Libya were killed as a result of a “continuing security breach,” and that “credible information” about possible attacks had been ignored.

A U.S. official told POLITICO: “There’s no intelligence indicating that the attack in Benghazi was premeditated.”

[…]

Shawn Turner, spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, emailed: “This is absolutely wrong. We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent.”

The guys over at Powerline are not buying it at all:

Of course, the Independent story didn’t say that the Obama administration had “actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent.” It said that “the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted,” but did nothing to step up security. The administration’s denial does not contradict the Independent’s statement, and the fact that the denial is phrased so narrowly suggests that the Independent’s report is, in fact, accurate.

[…]

So the Obama administration is already in cover-up mode. Note how willing administration spokesmen are to take absurd positions, secure in the knowledge that reporters will help them with their cover-up.

I can tell you this; the fallout from this is going to be great. I believe this little incident right here and the fact that embassy works were unguarded like this will be amplified during this election cycle and it might just cost Barack Obama the election. I realize Romney might not have handled the situation the greatest. But this here is nothing more than a dereliction of duty.

Sarah Palin over on Hannity weighed in as well:

For once, I actually agree with Sarah Palin. I also agree with the fact that this bogus movie was not the cause of these attacks. These attacks were pre-planned and this movie just happened to be out there and it was used, by these terrorists, as a cover for their actions. The sad fact folks is this, the United States of America and more broadly; The West is involved in a Religious War, between Christianity and Islam. The people over at Gates of Vienna, Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch, and Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs, and others have been covering this for a very long time. The sad truth is that those who point to these sites and just dismiss them as hatemongers are just willfully blind to the danger that Islam is for this Country. The Nation should have realized this after 9/11, but because we had a President who wanted to remain Islam-friendly; the truth was ignored.

Furthermore, as a Christian, allow me to say this; Islam is an intolerant Religion and should be totally outlawed in America. There are extremist Christians in America, there is no denying that. But the last time, I checked, they were not as well funded as these people are. (and before anybody mentions him, Timothy McVeigh was not a Christian! Nor was he well-funded…) This is not a Religion anyways, it is a political philosophy, intermingled with a fascist religion and should be eliminated from this Country. If you are offended at this, tough crap; because the facts are that there is no such thing as peaceful Muslim. There are Muslims who choose to fight Jihad, and there are those who refrain from it. Because of this, America will never be safe at all. Call me a bigot, call me a hater, call me an A-hole; I really do not care. But America is going to learn this lesson of what Islam really is, one way or another. It really is too bad that more people are going to have to die, before the United States Government gets a clue and finally wakes up to this threat.

As a compassionate human being, I hate to think that people would actually be so ate up with their religion that they would act in this manner. However, as a realist; I have to go with my gut feelings and with what I see and all I see is this that is happening.

The sick part is, the way this Nation is headed at the moment, we will most like be too darned broke to even deal with the situation much less even fight it. It is a depressing state of affairs, which is why I try to avoid writing about it, because it just makes me sad and depressed to watch it all happen.

There is my statement, quote me, if you wish. Please, just be aware of this here. Thanks.

My Thoughts on the situation in Egypt and Libya

I remember seeing this news breaking early this morning, before I finally drifted off to sleep. I remember thinking to myself, “oh crap…” and thinking, here we go again, another situation in the middle east.

At first, I heard it was over a lamely produced Movie trailer, which was produced by someone claiming to be a Israeli Jew — who might not even be a Jew after all; then I hear it might be a coordinated attack in retaliation over the number 2 of Al-Qaeda’s being killed.

Meanwhile, an couple of Americans are dead today. Their bodies being drug through the streets in some God-forsaken Country. What does our President do? Act like some aloof jackass, who cannot be bothered with the situation.  As for Romney, he takes advantage of the Situation and points out that this President’s foreign policy has been a utter failure. In response, the media tries to portray Mitt Romney as not ready for Prime time. A typical tactic that was used on John McCain as well.  Not to mention the fact that the media is coordinating to try to tear down Romney in this election.

I could sit here and yowl on about this shows that America and Judeo-Christian Values are under attack by Islam and Muslims.  However, I believe most of you, that read this blog already know this. Whatever the cause of these American Embassies being attacked, it is a tragic thing.

However, as a Non-Wilsonian Conservative, allow me to float this idea. Could this be a piece of living, in color, proof that the United States of America ought to just withdraw from these Countries and not have American Embassies in those Country? Perhaps that this is one of the signs that America needs to stop kowtowing down to the United Nations and stop trying to be the world’s policeman. Perhaps we should stop getting involved in the affairs of other Nations. Perhaps we should being to restrict our immigration polices more and stop allowing a free flow of Muslims into this Country.

Perhaps we as a Nation need to take a second look at the practice of Islam and how it is intolerant to other Religion and to criticism; and possibly pass laws banning the Religion in this Country, on grounds it is threat to Nation security.  After all, this attack happened one day after the 11 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in NYC and at the Pentagon, and Shakesville, Pa.

Again, is it wrong to ask such questions? I am not hating on any religion of any sort. I am looking at the protection of our Republic and all I really know, is that foreign citizens have killed Americans working abroad; this is unacceptable and something needs to be done. However, with the current leadership in the White House, nothing will be done, at all. Yes, I know, Military has been dispatched;  at this point, that is nothing more than window dressing and buttocks covering by the White House. The truth is, that once again, leadership in the White House has failed us.

This is why we must vote differently, come November.

Videos: Obama in his own words

I saw this over at HotAir.com and I thought I would share it here:

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Not that this is anything new really. I have been writing about this crap sack’s lies since 2007 on my old blog.

Here are some more of Obama’s lies:

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and they wonder why Joe Wilson said this:

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Welcome to reality Democrats! This is what you elected and what you are about to be stuck with, when he LOSES!

Vote for Mitt Romney, he might not be perfect; However he will tell us the truth — whether we like it or not. 

Mitt Romney pushes back against critics who say he is ignoring the war

This is another one of those stupid liberal and somewhat neoconservative attacks.

Via Fox News:

Mitt Romney continued to take flak from Democrats over the weekend for not mentioning war in his nomination acceptance speech.

But the Republican campaign was quick to point out what critics seemed to be ignoring – Romney spent the day before his convention speech visiting the American Legion conference in Indianapolis, where he talked exclusively about national security and America’s veterans. President Obama, by contrast, addressed that conference in the form of a three-minute video aired at the conference site.

“Now that was an invitation that President Obama declined,” Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said in an interview Sunday. “Governor Romney thought it was a privilege to be speaking to people who had served so nobly.”

Though Romney did not mention the war in Afghanistan on Thursday night, he focused on that issue, as well as the veterans who are returning home, in his American Legion speech.

Hmmmmm… Perhaps it is the fact that Mitt Romney is mindful of stuff like this here?

Via Reuters:

(Reuters) – U.S. Forces in Afghanistan said on Sunday they have suspended training new recruits to the Afghan Local Police (ALP) amid a spike in the number of insider attacks which are damaging trust between Afghans and their allies.

The ALP is a militia, set up two years ago by U.S. Forces, in villages where the national police force — a separate body trained by NATO — is weak. The ALP has been beset by allegations of abuse and widespread corruption.

Rogue shootings have killed 45 NATO-led troops so far this year, 15 last month alone, despite the coalition taking steps to try prevent them, such as requiring foreign soldiers to carry loaded weapons at all times.

In a statement, U.S. Forces said they will temporarily suspend training of about 1,000 new ALP recruits while they re-vet members currently belonging to the 16,000-strong force.

“We believe this is a necessary step to validate our vetting process and ensure the quality indicative of Afghan Local Police,” it said.

Perhaps Mitt Romney is not wanting to be a President who continues to fight a war that simply cannot be won? Maybe Romney will call it a victory in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We shall see on that, I hoping for the best on that subject. But I am preparing for the worst.

 

Iraq and Afghanistan: wars fought wrong

This is what happens when you piece-meal a war, this is what happens; when you leave a war to fester, while you invade another Country, based on bad information. More importantly, this is what happens when you elect warmongering Neoconservatives into power. This is what happens, when you fight “armchair general’s” wars.

You end up with dead people, who should not have to die to protect an empire; and you get religious strife within a Country.

In Afghanistan:

Via Detroit News:

Kabul, Afghanistan — A man in an Afghan police uniform shot and killed an international service member on Sunday, NATO said, raising the death toll to 10 in such attacks in the space of just two weeks.

The surge in violence by Afghan allies against their international partners has raised doubts about the ability of the two forces to work together at a key transition time. Afghan forces are expected to take over security for the country by the end of 2014, when the majority of international combat forces are scheduled to leave.

On the other side, a coalition airstrike killed dozens of Taliban militants, including one of their leaders, officials said.

Few details were immediately available about Sunday’s killing of a coalition member in southern Afghanistan. NATO said only that they and Afghan authorities were investigating. Afghan officials could not be reached for comment.

The Taliban have been actively recruiting members of the Afghan security forces, saying in a statement last week that they considered these turncoat attacks a major part of their strategy against international forces.

In Iraq:

Via The Detroit News:

Baghdad — A bomb struck the convoy of a senior Sunni cleric in western Baghdad on Sunday, killing four and critically wounding the anti-extremist Muslim leader, police said.

The attack highlights the threats faced by relatively moderate Sunni clerics whom the Shiite-led government needs to help rebuild the country and establish security. It follows a series of assaults in what is becoming an increasingly bloody month.

The blast in the capital’s Yarmouk neighborhood left Sheik Mahdi al-Sumaidaie badly hurt, a Sunni religious official said. The cleric had just finished leading prayers at a nearby mosque to mark the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which follows the holy month of Ramadan.

Al-Sumaidaie has sided with the government against Sunni extremists. Earlier this year, he called for a unified religious authority to bridge the gap between Iraq’s Sunnis and Shiites. Insurgents often target Sunni clerics seen as working closely with the Shiite-led government.

Two police officers and a hospital official confirmed the attack. They said four of the cleric’s bodyguards were killed and three others were wounded.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the attack. In a statement posted on his website, the Shiite leader said the attack was aimed at “spreading sedition and silencing any patriotic moderate voice.”

“Even as we condemn this ugly crime, we are confident that our people are aware of the evil goals of such schemes,” he said.

The invasion of the Sovereign Nation of Iraq was supposedly to bring peace and stability to that region. So much for that eh? The only thing that the invasion of Iraq did was destabilize and inspire more Muslims to become radicalized, and try to attack America and our allies.  As for Afghanistan, that war could have been fought quickly and efficiently; however, because the American people were looking for a scalp, after the events on 9/11 and Osama was well protected within Afghanistan and Pakistani ranks — President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq.

This left the Afghanistan War to fester and turn into what it is today —- a huge cluster fark.  This was a huge error on our part and one that will be stain on the United States of America for a very long time. This War was about as bad as Vietnam, if not worse. What made this worse than Vietnam,  is the fact that Vietnam was requested by the United Nations at the time.  The Military action in Iraq was requested by no one at all, and was based upon false premises and horrifically bad information by a dissident who defected to Germany.

Least anyone think that I have become anti-military or something silly like that; none of the above was the fault of the United States Military. The United States Military did their jobs most excellent, some of them giving their lives in service to their Country. For that they should be commended. However, the leadership, at the time; was the problem. That leadership started in the White House, and for that we, the American people — will be paying, for a very long time —- fiscally, spiritually, and the eyes of the World.  The United States of America, in the span of about eight years —went from being the World’s leader to the World’s bully in the eyes of the rest of the World.  The Neoconservative reaction to this, is “Who cares?”   But anyone who truly loves this Country, ought be very worried about that little problem.

The best thing we, as Americans can do, is hope and pray that none of the radical Muslims can get enough money and support to try and attack this Country again.  It is, truly — all we can do.

I will say this, the American people are about to make the same mistake again. Putting Mitt Romney, as the Republican for President of the United States; is about the stupidest thing that the Republican Party could have ever done. In light of the Bush era, that is. We are about to make the same mistakes again —- In Iran.  You watch and see.