The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Pro-Bush Crowd Tells Peace Mom To 'Go Home!'

Thousands of people descended on President George W. Bush's adopted hometown Saturday to attend rallies either supporting Bush or peace activist Cindy Sheehan.

A pro-Bush rally was the culmination of the "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" tour, which started last week in California in response to Sheehan's protest that started Aug. 6 near Bush's ranch.

Several times the crowd of about 1,500 chanted, "Cindy, go home!"

Meanwhile, busloads of war protesters gathered several miles away at "Camp Casey," named for Sheehan's 24-year-old son who died in Iraq last year. Organizers estimated the crowd at more than 2,000 but it appeared smaller.
__________________________________________

"Camp Casey" organizers estimated their crowd at 2,000 but it appeared smaller." Thats because it is much smaller, the left always either lies, distorts, or exaggerates.

J.R.

White supremacists claim Cindy's cause

"...and the list of loonies just keeps on growing !"...J.R.

Holding rally: 'We don't want leftist Johnny-come-latelys' to hijack issue

The latest entrants in the saga of Cindy Sheehan vs. the White House are white supremacists, as they plan to rally against the Iraq War this weekend in Crawford, Texas.

Members of Stormfront.org are tossing their figurative hoods into the mix, as they invite supporters to come to Camp Casey to "let the world know that white patriots were first and loudest to protest this war for Israel."

"We don't want leftist Johnny-come-latelys who are misleadingly protesting this war � as if the war is about oil (not true), or as if it's right-wing patriots who launched this war (not true) � to hijack the issue from us," writes James Kelso, senior moderator of Stormfront.

Kelso is an assistant to David Duke, the Ku Klux Klansman and activist for European-Americans who was elected to Louisiana's Legislature in 1989, and more recently has served prison time for mail fraud and filing a false tax return.

In an online column, Duke gives a host of reasons why he believes Cindy Sheehan is right to oppose the conflict in Iraq

Duke also claims Sheehan believes her son died for the sake of Israel, though she has repeatedly denied she ever made such a comment.

However, Sheehan did make a connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a verbal tirade against the president this month in Dallas

U.S. hits suspected terror base in Iraq

U.S. warplanes launched multiple airstrikes Friday against a suspected "terrorist safe house" in the western Anbar province, destroying the building where up to 50 militants were believed to be hiding, the U.S. military said.

Coalition ground forces were alerted by local residents that a number of members of the terror group Al-Qaida in Iraq had gathered in an abandoned building northeast of Husaybah, near the Syrian border about 200 miles west of Baghdad.

The group is led by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the second most-wanted terrorist on the U.S. list after al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"Iraqi citizens reported that approximately 50 terrorists were in the building at the time of the airstrike" which occurred at 4:40 p.m., the statement said.


The "known terrorist safe house" was destroyed by Marine F-18D Hornets using a combination of precision-guided bombs and rockets, it said. There were no immediate reports of the number of casualties inflicted by the attack.

AP Poll: Military Kin Likelier to Back War

People with friends or relatives serving in Iraq are more likely than others to have a positive view of a generally unpopular war, an AP-Ipsos poll found.

Some of those surveyed said their relationships with troops helped them learn more about what's going on in Iraq beyond the violence. Others said their opinions of the war were shaped by a sense of loyalty to those in harm's way.

A solid majority of those who did not know anyone in Iraq said they thought the war was a mistake, 61 percent, compared to 36 percent who thought it was the right decision. Those who had a relative or friend there were almost evenly split, 49 percent right decision, 47 percent mistake.

After Ted Chittum of Bourbon, Ind., had a chance to talk at length with his cousin who served in Iraq, he said he got a different picture of what was going on in the country.

``He talked about all the good things that are going on,'' said Chittum, a school superintendent and a political independent who supports the war effort. ``Schools are opening up. The people are friendly, wanting our help. You get a whole different spin from what you get on television.''

Those who know someone serving in Iraq were more likely to approve of the Bush administration's conduct of the war - 44 percent, compared to 37 percent overall.

``From most of the information I get, the people over there fighting basically are proud to be there and feel they're doing something good,'' said Sally Dowling, a bank employee from Mesa, Ariz., who said her boss's son is serving in Iraq. ``That brings it home more than if I didn't know anybody.''

Overall attitudes about the war - while negative - haven't changed dramatically through the summer. A solid majority, 60 percent, want U.S. troops to stick it out until Iraq is stable.

The poll found that 58 percent of people disapprove of the Bush administration's conduct of the war and consider it a mistake. Half believe the war increases the threat of terrorism. Democrats overwhelmingly question the president's policies, while Republicans overwhelmingly support them.

Among the strongest supporters of President Bush's handling of the war were Republicans and evangelicals, men and especially suburban men. Those most likely to feel the Iraq war was the right decision were whites, especially younger whites, those with some college or a college degree, Southerners, suburbanites, Protestants and Republicans.

An overwhelming number of people say critics of the Iraq war should be free to voice their objections. Nearly three weeks after a grieving California mother named Cindy Sheehan started her anti-war protest near Bush's Texas ranch, nine of 10 people surveyed in the AP-Ipsos poll say it's OK for war opponents to share publicly their concerns about the conflict.

The poll found that Republicans are the most likely to disapprove of people voicing opposition to the war.

Retiree Ruth Carver of Sellersburg, Ind., said she disagrees with Sheehan's protest. ``I think her son would be ashamed of her,'' said Carver, a Republican.

The poll of 1,001 adults was conducted Aug. 22-24 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

'Wonderful time to be a soldier'

I'm very proud to be a soldier of the U.S. Army because of the war on terror and our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm not alone either. I'm surrounded by soldiers who are re-enlisting and volunteering to go to units that are deploying. In fact, despite all the negative news and protests, I see everyday that our military is actually doing very well.

This is quite obvious, except for the fact that most of the media seems asphyxiated with defeatism. The message from most journalists would lead you to believe that we soldiers are getting out, that no one is joining anew and that we want to stop fighting. This simply isn't true.

Yes, recruitment is lower, but the caliber of those who are signing up and the rates of re-enlistment are both extremely high. All 10 of our major combat divisions are ahead of expectations for retention of soldiers. In my unit, there are soldiers who specifically went active duty from the reserves because they want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Now, just as we are told to expect when joining, we are going to combat and many soldiers are getting injured and killed. This is our job, and it is what we know can happen. I don't know why the media insists on trumpeting the idea that all of us are tired and worn out and just want to stop fighting. I don't, and I am not alone.

The fact is that we are not experiencing casualty rates anywhere near past conflicts, nor for that matter as bad as during peacetime. There were weeks in Vietnam when 350-400 Americans died, and in other wars thousands would die in single battles. Nothing like that is happening now.

From 1983 to 1996, more than 18,000 soldiers died. That averages to more than 1,300 a year, far more than have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan each year. Yes, that was mostly from accidents, drunk driving and other mishaps. Yet, while protesters in Crawford, Texas and elsewhere would have you think that our military can't survive with the low casualty rates of this war, I wonder why they were willing to accept the much higher peacetime casualty rates of the past? We lost around 3,000 innocent people on September 11, and with four years of war and the toppling of two regimes, we haven't lost that many in combat.
Injuries are high, but they are nothing compared to past conflicts. And most striking is how many are recovering well. I have been to both of the major military hospitals involved in this war, Landstuhl in Germany and Walter Reed in Washington, and I can tell you that there are many soldiers who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan and who want to return to their units and get redeployed.

In fact, re-enlistment is up to 130 percent of expectations in some divisions.

My wife is in the National Guard. Theirs is an interesting experience right now in that there have been more casualties by accidents and reckless behavior off-duty than in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sadly it appears that much of the media are obsessed with defeatism. Even the message of the protesters � contradictory, false and confused as ever � is made front-page headline news every day. The few people they can exploit to push this defeatist agenda are made to appear to speak for all of us. That just isn't true.

Contrary to all the bad news, I see everyday that our soldiers are motivated and eager to contribute and participate in our nation's military missions. This is a very proud and important time to be serving. Considering that out of a population of 285 million, less than one-tenth of one percent are going to war right now, and considering the huge impact we are having on the world, this is a wonderful time to be a soldier in the U.S. Army.

Sgt. Joe Roche is with the 12th Aviation Battalion and stationed at Fort Belvoir.

Diners have sweet surprise for soldier, girlfriend

When Chris Yanez wanted to take his girlfriend out for a special dinner to celebrate their one-year anniversary, he chose the venerable restaurant Canlis, perched high above Lake Union.

Yanez, a soldier returning from Iraq, knew the dinner would be pricey. What he didn't expect is that it would be free. And he also didn't expect that when he walked out, the place would be in tears.

Before going to dinner Wednesday night, Yanez, a reservist who spent a year in Iraq as a machine-gunner, put on his green dress Army uniform, the one he was proud to wear. With his girlfriend, Liz Coleman, on his arm, he walked into Canlis, where owner Mark Canlis found the couple a special table with a panoramic view of the lake and the city.

"I was a captain in the Air Force, so I have a soft spot there," Canlis said.

A few minutes later, a man at a nearby table � who wanted to remain anonymous � walked up to the restaurant owner. "I was noticing the young soldier and saw them looking at the menu," he told Canlis. "I know he was looking at prices and I know this is a special thing, so I would like to take care of part of their bill."

Then another family, the Greenbergs, said they, too, wanted to help pay for the meal. By the end of the night several patrons had, unknown to Yanez, offered to pay for the young couple's meal. With Canlis also sharing the costs, the $150 bill evaporated.

Yanez and Coleman were sharing a peach-cobbler dessert when Canlis walked up with a piece of molten chocolate lava cake.

"There's folks in this restaurant who don't think you should have to share a dessert," Canlis told the couple. "And they don't think you should pay the bill."

Tana Greenberg, whose family helped pay the bill, said she, like several other patrons, was wiping her eyes.

"This brought out the patriotism in all of us," she said. "It was just the right thing to do. We're sending our kids over there and they're dying to uphold our beliefs. We just said this couple should not have to buy their meals. It was showing our belief in the uniform and what it stands for."

Yanez, 20, a student from Renton, said he was stunned by the gesture.

"I knew Canlis was expensive, but this is a one-of-a-kind restaurant and this was a special occasion," he said. "It was the greatest thing ever. It makes me feel like people appreciate the troops and they care about people in the community. I was in shock and my girlfriend started to cry. It was really emotional."

Canlis said his grandfather, who spent 39 years in the Marines, once told him that he should never let a soldier in uniform into his restaurant without being taken care of.

He said it's not the first time in recent months that returning troops have been honored at Canlis. Several months ago a man came in with his wife to treat her to a special dinner to make up for the two years he had spent in Iraq. The entire Canlis crew decided to pay the bill.

Third Source Backs 'Able Danger' Claims About Atta

A third person has now come forward to verify claims made by a military intelligence unit that a year before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it had information showing that lead hijacker Mohamed Atta (search) and other terrorists were identified as being in the United States.

J.D. Smith, a defense contractor who claims he worked on the technical side of the unit, code-named "Able Danger" (search), told reporters Friday that he helped gather open-source information (search), reported on government spending and helped generate charts associated with the unit's work. Able Danger was set up in the 1990s to track Al Qaeda activity worldwide.

"I am absolutely positive that he [Atta] was on our chart among other pictures and ties that we were doing mainly based upon [terror] cells in New York City," Smith said.

Smith said data was gathered from a variety of sources, including about 30 or 40 individuals. He said they all had strong Middle Eastern connections and were paid for their information. Smith said Able Danger's photo of Atta was obtained from overseas.

Rep. Curt Weldon (search), R-Pa., arranged the media roundtable with Smith. Weldon drew attention to Able Danger by speaking about it on the House floor months ago and has publicly called for the Sept. 11 commission to explain why the intelligence information wasn't detailed in its final report.

Besides Smith, Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer (search) and Navy Captain Scott Philpott (search) have also gone on the record, saying they were discouraged from looking further into Atta, and their attempts to share their information with the FBI were thwarted because Atta was a legal foreign visitor at the time.

"This story needs to be told. The American people need to be told what could have been done to prevent 3,000 people from losing their lives," Weldon told FOX News this week.

Shaffer and Philpott claim that in October 2003, they told Sept. 11 commission staffers of the presence of Al Qaeda operatives in the United States in 2000 yet little was included in the panel's final report about those conversations.

During Friday's roundtable with Smith, he was asked by reporters about Atta, who was using another name during 1999-2000. Smith said the charts Able Danger was using had identified him through a number of name variations, one being "Atta."

Friday, August 26, 2005

Father, whose son was killed in Iraq Supports War,Bush

Ted Benson of Sandpoint is among those who will meet with President Bush today in southern Idaho.

His son, Bobby T. Benson, died Nov. 5, 2003, in Iraq from a head wound suffered the day before.

When contacted by phone in Kennewick, Benson said he doesn't have any idea what he'll say to Bush or how much time he'll have with him today.

Benson said the president has the most difficult job.

"I'm hurting because of my son's death," he said. "But I know he's hurting over this. You've got to feel for the guy. He's the keeper of the free world, trying to get democracy started and get rid of the bad guys and stop terrorism."
Army Spc. Bobby Benson, 20, was a tank operator assigned to Company A, First Battalion, 35th Armor.

Ted Benson isn't bitter about the war that took his son.

"Our country is stepping forward. I'm proud of all of our soldiers. My son was a soldier and not all soldiers make it home, no matter what the circumstance."

H.T.: =^.^= Karpet Kitten

Stephanopoulos Urged Foreign Assassination

Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson prompted a firestorm of media outrage on Tuesday after he suggested that the Bush administration should assassinate a foreign leader who posed a threat to the U.S. - in this case, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

But when senior Clinton advisor George Stephanopoulos publicly argued for the same kind of assassination policy in 1997, the press voiced no objection at all.

Fresh from his influential White House post, Stephanopoulos devoted an entire column in Newsweek to the topic of whether the U.S. should take out Saddam Hussein.
His headlined? "Why We Should Kill Saddam."

"Assassination may be Clinton's best option," the future "This Week" host urged. "If we can kill Saddam, we should."

Though Iraq war critics now argue that by 1997, the Iraqi dictator was "in a box" and posed no threat whatsoever to the U.S., Stephanopoulos contended that Saddam deserved swift and lethal justice.

"We've exhausted other efforts to stop him, and killing him certainly seems more proportionate to his crimes and discriminate in its effect than massive bombing raids that will inevitably kill innocent civilians," the diminutive former aide contended.

Stephanopoulos even offered a way to get around the presidential ban on foreign assassinations:

"If Clinton decides we can and should assassinate Saddam, he could call in national-security adviser Sandy Berger and sign a secret National Security Decision Directive authorizing it."

The Stephanopoulos plan: "First, we could offer to provide money and materiel to Iraqi exiles willing to lead an effort to overthrow Saddam. . . . The second option is a targeted airstrike against the homes or bunkers where Saddam is most likely to be hiding."

The one-time top Clinton aide said that, far from violating international principles, assassinating Saddam would be the moral thing to do, arguing, "What's unlawful - and unpopular with the allies - is not necessarily immoral."

Stephanopoulos also noted that killing Saddam could pay big political dividends at home, saying the mission would make Clinton "a huge winner if it succeeded."

American Legion Declares War on Protestors -- Media Next?

The American Legion, which has 2.7 million members, has declared war on antiwar protestors, and the media could be next. Speaking at its national convention in Honolulu, the group's national commander called for an end to all �public protests� and �media events� against the war.

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the group's national convention in Honolulu.

The delegates voted to use whatever means necessary to "ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism."

In his speech, Cadmus declared: "It would be tragic if the freedoms our veterans fought so valiantly to protect would be used against their successors today as they battle terrorists bent on our destruction.�

He explained, "No one respects the right to protest more than one who has fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by our enemies." This might suggest to some, however, that American freedoms are worth dying for but not exercising.

Without mentioning any current protestor, such as Cindy Sheehan, by name, Cadmus recalled: "For many of us, the visions of Jane Fonda glibly spouting anti-American messages with the North Vietnamese and protestors denouncing our own forces four decades ago is forever etched in our memories. We must never let that happen again�.

"We had hoped that the lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to our fellow citizens. Public protests against the war here at home while our young men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the globe only provide aid and comfort to our enemies."

Resolution 3, which was passed unanimously by 4,000 delegates to the annual event, states: "The American Legion fully supports the president of the United States, the United States Congress and the men, women and leadership of our armed forces as they are engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops who are engaged in protecting our values and way of life."

Cadmus advised: "Let's not repeat the mistakes of our past. I urge all Americans to rally around our armed forces and remember our fellow Americans who were viciously murdered on Sept. 11, 2001."

PR machine behind Cindy Sheehan

ABC7 Looks At The Financing Of 'Camp Casey'

With the President back at his Crawford ranch, the anti-war protest right outside his ranch is getting a lot more media attention. ABC7 looks at who is financing the operation and who's providing on-the-ground support.

The camp at Crawford is full of Cindy Sheehan supporters, people from all walks of life. But off to the side are a small group of professionals, skilled in politics and public relations who are marketing her message.

Sheehan's message hasn't changed since she got here but the support staff interested in getting that message out to the world has grown considerably.

Organizers are set up in this house trailer. Their meetings are closed to reporters.

Leading the group is Fenton Communications employee Michele Mulkey, based in San Francisco. Fenton specializes in public relations for liberal non profits.

Their bills are being paid by True Majority, a non-profit set up by Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry's ice cream fame.

Ben Cohen: "People are willing to listen to her and we want to do as much as we can to make her voice heard."

Cohen's liberal group has teamed up with Berkeley-based moveon.org, an anti-Bush group co-founded by Joan Blades.

Earlier this month, MoveOn.org helped organize anti-war vigils in support of Cindy Sheehan. Current Democratic National Party chair Howard Dean's organization, Democracy for America, is also involved. As is the more radical anti-war group Code Pink, organized by San Francisco's Medea Benjamin.

Money donated through these groups and others is helping to pay for Gold Star families whose children have been killed in Iraq to attend anti-Bush protests.


This week, Simi Valley, California Gold Star wife Melanie House flew to Idaho for a protest and then flew to Crawford.

Reporter: "Can you tell us if you're getting help in airfare to come down here?"

Melanie House: "What difference does that make?"


There is real reluctance to talk about whose paying. And the PR machine that's promoting Cindy Sheehan. But not everyone here is completely comfortable with it.

Gold Star mother Karen Meredith went to Crawford from Mt. View. Her son Ken Ballard died last year.

Karen Meredith: "Sometimes things don't feel quite right to me. They don't feel wrong but maybe that's how they do it in the marketing business."

ABC7's Mark Matthew: "You feel you're part of a marketing business?"

Karen Meredith: "Possibly. Yeah I think so."

Real Courage on a Crawford Texas Road

McCain: Bush right to avoid Sheehan

'If I was president of the United States, I probably wouldn't' meet with her, Ariz. senator says.

President Bush is right to avoid a meeting with Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who has become a focal point for opponents of the war in Iraq, U.S. Sen. John McCain said yesterday.
"It's impossible to put yourself in the position of the president of the United States and say what he should or shouldn't do. If I was president of the United States, I probably wouldn't" meet with her, McCain told the Citizen editorial board.

McCain said he's seen Bush after meetings with families who lost loved ones - including Sheehan at an earlier meeting.

"He cares. He grieves. He has the greatest compassion and sympathy for these families and anyone who says he doesn't isn't telling the truth," McCain said. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

But giving in to demands for a face-to-face meeting would set a precedent that would potentially have costly implications for the White House, McCain said.

Rather than giving in to public pressure to bring troops home, the White House should be increasing the military presence in Iraq, he said.

"We cannot afford to fail. We cannot lose. If we lose, you will see Iraq factionalize, maybe be broken up," McCain said. "You will see it as a new center for Muslim extremism - slash - terrorism, and it will be sending a message throughout the world that the United States can be beaten."

Pro-war kin take down crosses at Sheehan site

Military families disturbed by a sea of crosses erected by anti-war protesters near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, have removed crosses bearing the names of their fallen children and transferred them to another site to show support for American troops in Iraq.

Anti-war protesters "never asked for my permission to put up a cross for my son for their cause," said Gary Qualls, whose son was killed in Iraq. "They are not respecting our sons and daughters."

The rival cross camps are evidence of a growing public backlash against the anti-war campaign of California activist Cindy Sheehan, who blames Mr. Bush for son Casey's death in Iraq and has called for immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gregg Garvey's son, Army Sgt. Justin Garvey, 23, was killed in Iraq in July 2003. On Tuesday, Mr. Garvey of Keystone Heights, Fla., removed two crosses bearing the name of his son that were posted at the Sheehan demonstration site -- dubbed "Camp Casey" -- outside the Bush ranch.

"I also picked up crosses of two colleagues [of his son], after their parents gave me permission to remove their crosses as well," Mr. Garvey said yesterday.

The crosses were erected by a group called Veterans for Peace as part of Mrs. Sheehan's protest that began Aug. 6.

"One by one, [Mrs. Sheehan's] crosses are coming down," said Mr. Qualls, whose son, Louis Qualls, 20, was a Marine reservist killed in Fallujah last fall.

Mr. Qualls, an Army veteran from Penwell, Texas, said he has removed three different crosses bearing his son's name from the nearly 600 erected on the narrow road leading to Mr. Bush's ranch. Each time he removed a cross, protesters replaced it, he said.

Last weekend, Mr. Qualls transferred the crosses to a site in downtown Crawford that's been nicknamed "Fort Qualls." Mr. Garvey moved his son's crosses there as well. By yesterday afternoon, friends and relatives of 13 other fallen soldiers had followed suit.

"More are on the way," Mr. Qualls said, based on the number of e-mails, letters and phone calls of support he has received.

Also, starting today, about 500 yard signs that say "Support Our Troops" and "Bush Country" will be placed on property directly across from Camp Casey by a group called GrassFire.org.

"We will also unfurl a huge American flag" to fly at the site, which is being called "Camp Reality," said Steve Elliott, president of GrassFire.org. He said his group has collected 400,000 petitions supporting both Mr. Bush and U.S. troops.

In a telephone interview yesterday from Fort Qualls -- outside the Yellow Rose souvenir shop in Crawford -- Mr. Qualls called Mrs. Sheehan's group "left-wing extremists." Her supporters include filmmaker Michael Moore and "gay rights activists, peace organizations and radical feminists," Mr. Qualls said.

"Everything they want to do is contrary to what I taught my son," he said. "Our fallen heroes deserve nothing but pure honor and respect."

Julie Curtis-Win of Fort Hood, Texas, executive director of the Texas Military Family Foundation, was at Fort Qualls yesterday, having been asked to go there by some of the 500 Fort Hood soldiers deployed to Iraq last week.

"They wanted me to go to say we support our troops and that America is one. So we're up here trying to do the right thing," said Mrs. Curtis-Win.

During the past three years, she said, about 100,000 troops from Fort Hood have been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. On Tuesday, some mothers of Fort Hood soldiers killed in Iraq removed their crosses from Camp Casey and transplanted them at Fort Qualls. Mothers who found duplicate crosses bearing their sons' names at the anti-war site took the extras home, Mrs. Curtis-Win said.

She condemned the placement of the crosses at Camp Casey as "very, very disrespectful."

A pro-troop "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour, organized by a conservative group called MoveForwardAmerica.org, that began in California is due to arrive in Crawford this weekend.

Casey in heaven 'calls Bush idiot'

Cindy Sheehan 'channeling' slain son, says he read her mind at 1-week-old

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan is now purportedly "channeling" her slain son, Casey, from heaven, suggesting he's calling President Bush "an idiot," and she claims to have "tens of thousands of angels" supporting her cause to bring home immediately American troops serving in Iraq.

"When I get up [to heaven], he's gonna say, 'Good job, mom,'" the California woman said in a speech last night upon her return to Crawford, Texas. "He's not going to say, 'Why'd you make me spin in my grave?' you know. And I can just hear him saying, 'George Bush, you are really an idiot. You didn't know what you were doing when you killed me. You didn't know what you were getting into.'"

She publicly thanked her son as well as others who died in the Iraq War, and claimed to have the backing of those who dwell in the afterlife.

"I know that they are in heaven," Sheehan said, "and I know that that's why this movement is growing because we have tens of thousands of angels behind us that are supporting us, that are saying, 'Well, you know we died and that was really crappy, but we hope that our deaths are going to make the world a better place,' and it's up to us to make sure that it does."

The big picture in Iraq tells quite a different story

Since early August, Cindy Sheehan and her band of antiwar activists have seized the spotlight in America's major news outlets. Last week, celebrity protesters in Crawford, Texas, included Minnesota's state Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, and DFL Second District congressional candidate Coleen Rowley.

Lourey used the major media megaphone to broadcast her over-the-top antiwar views far and wide. On her return, she accused America of invading Iraq to grab oil and profits.

The Crawford campout is a quintessential media event. Its purpose is to gain attention for a small group of people, far out of proportion to their numbers or their knowledge of conditions in Iraq. While protesters win headlines, soldiers with on-the-ground experience have no forum to express their strong support for our cause there.

The major media's love affair with the Crawford protest is no surprise. It's consistent with the focus on body counts and funerals we've come to expect: "Troop Carrier Flips; Four Dead,"Roadside Bomb Kills Two." The media rarely give us the context we need to understand the fighting that produces these casualties -- the purpose and outcome of the missions the lost soldiers were engaged in. When that information is given, it's often buried in articles that focus on death.

Without this big picture, any war would appear a meaningless disaster. What if Americans had seen the casualty lists from Omaha Beach or Okinawa -- hills of sand -- without hearing about the objectives for which those bloody battles were fought?

To evaluate the war in Iraq, like any war, we need to understand what our troops are attempting and achieving, as well as how many of them are being killed. Take the 14 Marines who died in Haditha in early August in a much-publicized roadside bombing. Army Lt. Colonel Steve Boylan, a military spokesman I contacted in Baghdad, explained that they were laying the groundwork for Operation Quick Strike: a campaign to destroy the insurgency by depriving it of its bases and shutting down its "rat lines" -- infiltration routes running from the Syrian border to the heart of Iraq.

The Marines' mission was to undercut the insurgents' freedom of movement, and thus -- among other things -- to increase security for the Iraqis' constitutional process.

Perhaps the major media's biggest shortcoming is its apparent lack of interest in the extraordinary rebuilding of Iraq. Last week, the New York Times -- no friend of American policy there -- ran an article titled "Editors Ponder How to Present a Broad Picture of Iraq." The article noted that reporters in Iraq rarely explain the bigger picture beyond the daily death tolls, and it acknowledged the public perception that the media isn't giving us the full story on positive developments there.

Here's a glimpse of that bigger picture: According to government and policy organization sources, Iraq today has a vibrant free press, with roughly 170 independent newspapers and magazines, up from zero under Saddam Hussein. Thousands of schools have been constructed or refurbished, and more than 200 water treatment projects are underway or have been completed.

In Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf, the scene of brutal fighting last year, the American military is building schools and clinics, extending power lines and laying water and sewage pipes.

Thanks to those efforts, the Iraqi people will soon vote in a historic constitutional referendum. Sunni leaders, who boycotted the January 2005 elections, are urging their people to join the electoral process. But even heartening news like this, which does get media attention, is often drowned out in the public mind by reports of periodic American casualties.

The result of a media obsession with body counts can be defeatism. The Vietnam War's 1968 Tet Offensive provides a sobering example.

In Tet, our soldiers inflicted a stinging strategic defeat on the North Vietnamese. American and South Vietnamese losses were a mere fraction of those suffered by Communist forces, which had massive casualties. Nevertheless, the American media -- preoccupied with American body bags -- portrayed Tet as a disastrous defeat for the United States.

Tet was a propaganda victory for the Communists and a turning point in the war. The media's depiction undermined American confidence and contributed to our eventual decision to turn tail and leave. The people of Southeast Asia, including more than 1 million desperate boat people, paid a horrific price.

Every time the terrorists in Iraq go head-to-head with the American military, they lose. But they understand our media's obsession with body counts, and they know their only chance for victory is to wear down our will to persevere. That's the strategy behind the steady drip-drip of roadside explosions and marketplace suicide bombings.

Our major media have a duty to give us the big picture on Iraq. This -- not the tears of Crawford -- is what we owe fallen soldiers and their courageous comrades.

U.S. economy strong

America's economy is in most respects stronger than it has been in years. So why are so many Americans pessimistic about it?

Consider some key indicators: Real disposable personal income has grown by over 12 percent since the end of 2000. The U.S. Department of Labor recently reported that more than 200,000 new jobs were created in July, and two million over the past year. Over the past two decades, we've produced twice as many new jobs as Europe and Japan combined. More Americans have jobs today than at any other time in history, and our unemployment rate of 5 percent is one of the lowest of all developed nations, lower than the averages of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
Over the past 24 months, 3.5 million Americans have found work, which is the equivalent of a new job for every worker in the entire state of Indiana. Demonstrating our national resilience and flexibility in the face of change, we have replaced every single job that was lost in the dot-com bust with a new job, often in a new industry.

Not that this transition has been easy. In the past four years, as President Bush has noted, our economy has been through a lot: a stock market decline, a recession, corporate scandals, an attack on our homeland, and the demands of an ongoing war on terror. Change has come particularly hard for older workers in blue-collar industries facing tough global competition. But those jobs are being replaced by information technology and service positions, which means safer, less strenuous work, and better pay. And that same global competition provides more products, more choices, and better quality to consumers.

Moreover, broad growth in the overall economy has fueled particular gains among disadvantaged minorities. A recent census study found Blacks, Hispanics, and women starting businesses at rates far above the national average. According to preliminary estimates from the most recent "Survey of Business Owners," the number of Black-owned businesses grew by 45 percent between 1997 and 2002. Hispanic-owned businesses jumped 31 percent over the same time frame, and women-owned businesses were up by 20 percent.

The key to economic recovery in the early part of the new century was Congress's passage of President Bush's tax cuts - the largest tax relief in a generation. To keep the expansion rolling, a number of additional public policy reforms are necessary. Continued regulatory reform will free small businesses, the most dynamic engine of the economy, to grow and hire. The Death Tax, perhaps the biggest threat to small companies because it can force liquidation when a founder dies, must be repealed (as has happened in countries like Sweden and Russia) or at least scaled back significantly.

Still, as the Washington Post recently put it, "the latest data... show the economy picking up steam." So why does poll after poll show Americans to be so financially glum? Fear of a collapse in real estate values - the so-called "housing bubble" - has been a mainstay of the business pages for several years now, but the market seems to have stabilized nationally, and as long as the population keeps growing, people will need homes. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates, but mortgages and car loans are still remarkably cheap by historical standards.

Could it be the news media's coverage, which tends to emphasize the negative? Partisan attacks on the President, from those who have a vested interest in talking the economy down? Or perhaps lingering anxiety over the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the ongoing war on terrorism?

US Army re-enlistment 'strong'

HIGH re-enlistment rates in combat units that have served in Iraq shows the army is far from being a broken force despite a likely shortfall in recruiting, the US Army's chief of staff said today.

"I think we're a heck of a long way away from the breaking the army. It is a lot more resilient than people believe," General Peter Schoomaker told reporters in Washington.

General Schoomaker said the army probably will fall short of the active duty forces recruitment goal this year by about 2000, and he acknowledged that the recruiting climate is likely to remain tough next year as well.

But he said re-enlistment rates in the active duty force were exceeding requirements.

The negative drumbeat that we hear is not helpful," General Schoomaker said. "The overemphasis on the negative is not helpful."

"I personally believe this is a very important undertaking," he said.

"It is very important to the security of our nation that we be successful. I think people are being very short-sighted who don't understand that.

"This is a dangerous time. And it is going to get more dangerous as we go forward," he said.

The army's recruitment goal this year is 80,000 new soldiers.

The army has exceeded its monthly recruitment goals for the last two months and was expected to surpass it again in August, but not enough to make up for a yawning shortfall earlier in the year.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Getting High Marks

Elderly patients are warming up to the prescription drug benefit that begins next year for Medicare recipients, a survey shows.

The good news for the Bush administration and other backers of the prescription drug benefit was that for the first time since the foundation began tracking attitudes about the benefit, people were as likely to have a favorable view of it as they were to have an unfavorable view.

"The positive drum beat has caught up with the negative one," said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which specializes in health research.

In the survey, which was conducted earlier this month, the percentages of people who viewed the drug benefit favorably and unfavorably stood at 32 percent each. The remaining 36 percent said they didn't have enough information to give an opinion.

When the foundation began its survey in February 2004, the numbers were 55 percent unfavorable and 17 percent favorable.

"The poll is definitely showing that more knowledge means more favorable views," said Dr. Mark McClellan, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

About 1,200 adults participated in the telephone survey, including 300 respondents age 65 and older. The margin of error for the questions asked only of the elderly was plus or minus 6 percentage points.

The prescription drug benefit kicks in Jan. 1. About 43 million beneficiaries will be able to choose from two or more private plans that offer drug coverage.

Enrollees will pay a monthly premium averaging about $32 a month, but the amount of the premium will vary from region to region, and millions of poor people will pay no premium. Beneficiaries will also have a $250 deductible, meaning they will have to pay that amount for their prescriptions before the drug plan covers expenses. Again, millions of poor beneficiaries will not have any deductible.

On that front, the Kaiser survey shows there is still much work to do. More than two-thirds of respondents described their understanding of the benefit as "not too well" or "not well at all." Meanwhile, only 31 percent said they understood the benefit "very well" or "somewhat well."

On another question, when senior citizens were asked to think ahead about whether they would enroll in a Medicare drug plan, 33 percent said they would not. About 22 percent said they would enroll, and 40 percent said they had not heard enough to decide.

AARP officials said they have seen a shift in attitude similar to what the Kaiser poll indicated.

"I would guess the awareness needle is continuing to climb," said George Keleman of the AARP.

Seattle Police Look For Suspects Who Beat Iraq War Vets...


Two soldiers who just returned from a year in Iraq were badly beaten in an attack outside Pioneer Square. But believe it or not, someone caught the beating on videotape. Now, police are asking for your help identifying the suspects.

The brutality of it all was captured on tape outside of Larry's Nightclub on First and Yesler on July 31.

Police say the victims were with two women who'd been groped by the suspects. One of the women threw a hot dog at the suspects and walked away.

They didn't get very far. The three suspects ran after them and began attacking the two men -- two soldiers who'd come home from the war.

The graphic videotape shows both victims getting beaten over and over again, and then after one of the victims loses consciousness, a suspect starts stomping on his head.

Now police want your help in catching these guys.

"We consider them very dangerous," said Seattle Police Officer Sean Whitcomb.

After not getting any leads, Seattle police have just released this tape to the media even though it happened over three weeks ago.

If you know who these suspects are, or have any information in the case, you're asked to call Seattle Police.

Both victims suffered broken jaws, while one suffered a broken arm and both had other broken bones and several bruises.

Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital

See Marc Morano's Video Report

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House.

Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq.

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

Some conservative supporters of the war call the protests, which have been ignored by the establishment media, "shameless" and have taken to conducting counter-demonstrations at Walter Reed. "[The anti-war protesters] should not be demonstrating at a hospital. A hospital is not a suitable location for an anti-war demonstration," said Bill Floyd of the D.C. chapter of FreeRepublic.com, who stood across the street from the anti-war demonstrators on Aug. 19.

"I believe they are tormenting our wounded soldiers and they should just leave them alone," Floyd added.

One anti-war protester, who would only identify himself as "Luke," told Cybercast News Service that "the price of George Bush's foreign policy can be seen right here at Walter Reed -- young men who returned from Iraq with their bodies shattered after George Bush sent them to war for a lie."

Luke accused President Bush of "exploiting American soldiers" while "oppressing the other nations of earth." The president "has killed far too many people," he added.

On Aug. 19, as the anti-war protesters chanted slogans such as "George Bush kills American soldiers," Cybercast News Service observed several wounded war veterans entering and departing the gates of Walter Reed, some with prosthetic limbs. Most of the demonstrations have been held on Friday evenings, a popular time for the family members of wounded soldiers to visit the hospital.

But the anti-war activists were unapologetic when asked whether they considered such signs as "Maimed for Lies" offensive to wounded war veterans and their families.

Kevin Pannell, who was recently treated at Walter Reed and had both legs amputated after an ambush grenade attack near Baghdad in 2004, considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful."

When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him.

"We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever," Pannell, a member of the Army's First Cavalry Division, told Cybercast News Service.

"You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors' guilt is the worst thing you can deal with," Pannell said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters.

"We don't like them and we don't like the fact that they can hang their signs and stuff on the fence at Walter Reed," he said. "[The wounded veterans] are there to recuperate. Once they get out in the real world, then they can start seeing that stuff (anti-war protests). I mean Walter Reed is a sheltered environment and it needs to stay that way."

McCarron said he dislikes having to resort to such controversial tactics, "but this stuff can't be hidden," he insisted. "The real cost of this war cannot be kept from the American public."

The conservative counter-demonstrators carry signs reading "Troops out when the job's done," "Thank you U.S. Armed Forces" and "Shameless Pinkos go home." Many wear the orange T-shirts reading "Club G'itmo" that are marketed by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

"[The anti-war protesters] have no business here. If they want to protest policy, they should be at the Capitol, they should be at the White House," said Nina Burke. "The only reason for being here is to talk to [the] wounded and [anti-war protests are] just completely inappropriate."

Albion Wilde concurred, arguing that "it's very easy to pick on the families of the wounded. They are very vulnerable ... I feel disgusted.

"[The anti-war protesters] are really showing an enormous lack of respect for just everything that America has always stood for. They lost the election and now they are really, really angry and so they are picking on the wrong people," Wilde added.

At least one anti-war demonstrator conceded that standing out in front of a military hospital where wounded soldiers and their families are entering and exiting, might not be appropriate.

"Maybe there is a better place to have a protest. I am not sure," said a man holding a sign reading "Stop the War," who declined to be identified.

US general sees significant withdrawal in Iraq


The US is expected to pull significant numbers of troops out of Iraq in the next 12 months in spite of the continuing violence, according to the general responsible for near-term planning in the country.


Maj Gen Douglas Lute, director of operations at US Central Command, yesterday said the reductions were part of a push by Gen John Abizaid, commander of all US troops in the region, to put the burden of defending Iraq on Iraqi forces.

He denied the withdrawal was motivated by political pressure from Washington.

He said: �We believe at some point, in order to break this dependence on the . . . coalition, you simply have to back off and let the Iraqis step forward.

�You have to undercut the perception of occupation in Iraq. It's very difficult to do that when you have 150,000-plus, largely western, foreign troops occupying the country.�

While he cautioned that any troop reduction would be conditional on continued political progress and ongoing improvement in Iraqi force training, he said Centcom planners believed �the political process will play out, that we will see a constitution, that we will see, by some political machinations, the Sunnis brought into the process and we will proceed to national elections in December�.

�If we see that and if we see progress on the second front, which is continued progress with the Iraqi security force next year, this time we'll be in the position to make some adjustments in our force structure.�

Last week, Gen Peter Schoomaker, US army chief of staff, said his office was planning for the possibility that troop levels could be maintained until 2009. But Maj Gen Lute said such a worst-case scenario was unlikely.

�I will tell you this, as the operation officer of Centcom, if a year from now I've got to call on all those army troops that Gen Schoomaker is prepared to provide, I won't feel real good about myself,� he said. Gen George Casey, commander of allied forces in Iraq, made similar comments last month on reductions that could come by early next year but they were quickly played down by the White House.

Bush happy to meet this military mom


Tammy Pruett's support for 5 sons, husband in Iraq is how families really feel, president says

President Bush on Wednesday praised an Idaho woman whose husband and five sons were sent to Iraq, saying she's an example of how military families really feel about the war.

Tammy Pruett screamed when Bush mentioned her and her family to a receptive crowd of more than 5,000 � most of them Idaho National Guard personnel and their families.

Pruett's husband, Leon, and sons, Eric, Evan, Greg, Jeff and Eren, have all served in Iraq.

"Tammy says this ... 'I know if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country,' " Bush said. " 'And I guess you couldn't ask for a better way of life than giving it for something that you believe in.' America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts."

After his speech, he met with 19 families who had lost loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush quoted Matt Salisbury, a specialist in Idaho's Army National Guard who talked of helping an Iraqi family to the polls during the nation's first democratic election in January.

" 'How can I possibly describe the return of hope and dignity that I saw in these people's eyes?' " Bush quoted Salisbury as saying. " 'It is worth the sacrifice of leaving families, jobs and a safe life.' "

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Families Angered by Crosses at War Protest

Nearly 600 white wooden crosses in perfectly straight rows stretch down the narrow road leading to President Bush's ranch, a sea of names in the grassy ditch. Lt. Seth Dvorin. Sgt. David W. Johnson. Daniel Torres. Casey Sheehan.

To some relatives of the fallen U.S. soldiers, however, it isn't a tribute to heroes but a political statement by liberal groups with whom they disagree.

Sherry Orlando, a spokeswoman at Fort Campbell, Ky., said she doesn't want her husband, who was killed in Iraq in 2003, to be used "for someone's political agenda."

"Being in the military ... was who he was. It wasn't just a job. He supported what he did and I support that as well," she said.

The crosses were erected two weeks ago by Veterans for Peace as part of the war protest that began Aug. 6 outside Bush's ranch by grieving mother and peace activist Cindy Sheehan. She vows to continue the vigil until Bush talks to her or his monthlong vacation ends.

Last week Gary Qualls, whose Marine son Louis died in Fallujah last fall, went to the Crawford site and yanked up a cross bearing his son's name. He said it was disrespectful because he disagrees with the protesters' views and supports Bush.

But Qualls said the demonstrators keep replacing the crosses. Since then, Qualls said, he has removed two more crosses bearing his son's name. The three crosses are now in front of "Fort Qualls," a pro-Bush camp set up last weekend in downtown Crawford.

Six Taliban killed in raid on Afghan bomb store

U.S. and Afghan government soldiers killed six suspected Taliban militants and seized bombs in a raid on a rebel storehouse, a provincial official said on Wednesday.

"They wanted to carry out terrorist attacks with these remote-control bombs," Gulab Shah Alikhil, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said of the six militants killed and the explosives seized in the Monday raid.

About 1,000 people, most of them Taliban fighters, have been killed in clashes, ambushes and blasts this year.

Troops fly Iraqi boy, 8, to receive heart surgery

�It was a great feeling being able to do this together with so many Iraqi crewmembers on board,�

Although 8-year-old Baher looks happy and healthy, Iraqi and U.S. Air Force C-130 crewmembers knew his true condition when they gave him the ride of his life Aug. 22.

Baher and his mother, Afaf, were headed to New Orleans to repair a hole in his heart via a new program called Operation Mend a Heart. Airmen and Soldiers were glad to get the healing process underway.

�I was very happy to (be a part of the aircrew to) help him,� said Iraqi air force navigator Atiya from Squadron 23 (Transport). His full name is not used because of personal security. Atiya was one of the C-130 crewmembers who flew Baher from Baghdad International Airport to Basra Air Station on the first leg of his journey.

Atiya has reason to sympathize.

�I have three boys myself,� said Atiya, who held Baher on his lap to show him the airplane�s control panel.

From Basra, Soldiers from Humanitarian Operation Center Army Civil Affairs were waiting to whisk the family to Kuwait to obtain the proper visas and paperwork they would need for their ultimate destination -- Tulane University and Hospital Clinic in New Orleans where Baher will receive surgery to correct his congenital heart defect.

The $100,000 surgery, which is donated by Tulane, was facilitated through Operation Mend a Heart -- a joint effort among Tulane, the U.S. military and coalition forces. More than 10 different U.S. and coalition military and civilian agencies are involved in the effort.

�Let�s just say it�s a network of inspired people,� said Army Lt. Col. Mark Matthews Sr., who helped coordinate intra-theater airlift. While deployed to Southwest Asia in January from the 90th Regional Readiness Command at Camp Pike in Little Rock, Ark., he began dreaming of ways to help Iraqi children with heart problems.

Sheehan Calls Son's Killers 'Freedom Fighters'

In an interview earlier this month, Bush-bashing Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan referred to terrorists allied with the Iraqi insurgents who killed her GI son Casey as "freedom fighters."
"Now that we have decimated [Iraq], the borders are open, freedom fighters from other countries are going in, and [U.S. troops] have created more terrorism by going to an Islamic country," Sheehan complained to CBS Newsman Mark Knoller.

Knoller, as well as other reporters who heard Sheehan's remarks, declined to include the outburst in his coverage.But a video unearthed Tuesday by FreeRepublic.com captured Sheehan's comments on tape.

KNOLLER: You know that the president says Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism, don't you believe that?

SHEEHAN: No, because it's not true. You know Iraq was no threat to the United States of America until we invaded. I mean they're not even a threat to the United States of America. Iraq was not involved in 9-11, Iraq was not a terrorist state.
But now that we have decimated the country, the borders are open, freedom fighters from other countries are going in, and [U.S. troops] have created more terrorism by going to an Islamic country, devastating the country and killing innocent people in that country. The terrorism is growing and people who never thought of being car bombers or suicide bombers are now doing it because they want the United States of America out of their country. [END OF EXCERPT]

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

The world of �Cops� according to Iraq

Iraq TV show wins viewers, breaks ground as part of media �sea change�

KIRKUK, Iraq - Shattered glass, body parts, a blood-splattered blue sedan: the grainy video pans over the scene as Iraqi officers comb the site of a drive-by assassination.

It�s �Cops� Iraqi-style, minus the �Bad Boys� soundtrack but otherwise roughly modeled after the American TV show.

Created to make government more transparent, �The Cops Show� featuring Kirkuk officers in action is the first of its kind in the country and is breaking new ground in Iraqi television. A live call-in portion gives the public the chance to praise the security forces or gripe about them.

Screened weekly on Kirkuk Television, which broadcasts in this northern city of nearly 1 million people, �The Cops Show� has opened the floodgates in a community long suppressed.

�During Saddam Hussein�s time, it was very different,� station manager Nasser Hassan Mohammed said. �You were unable to ask questions. You couldn�t say anything bad about police.

�Now people can call in directly. Anyone has the right to do this. This is the difference now. This is freedom.�


The show�s popularity has not gone unnoticed by its enemies, and the studios are heavily guarded. The station�s employees regularly get threats, Mohammed said, adding that he himself was hit by more than two dozen bullets during an assassination attempt in May 2004.

The station remains undeterred, Mohammed said.

�After liberation, many things changed. Many dreams were realized. We use freedom and democracy,� he said. �Our duty is to show people that freedom.�

CENTCOM: Successes in Iraq

U.S. military commanders on the ground in Iraq must be scratching their heads in bewilderment over Sen. Chuck Hagel's recent comments painting their efforts as an abject failure.

A day after Hagel trotted out his message of doom and gloom on ABC's "This Week," CENTCOM officials issued a press release listing some of their recent accomplishments - a list of achievements that has somehow escaped the notice of the establishment press.

Here's a few highlights:

� More reconstruction projects in Sadr City started this week, including the $13 million electrical distribution project for sectors one through eight. When complete, an estimated 128,000 people will have a reliable source of electricity. The project includes installation of power lines, 3,040 power poles, 80 transformers, 2,400 street lights, and power connections to individual homes, complete with meters.

� Construction started on the $3.8 million Al Rayash Electricity Substation project in Al Daur District of Salah Ad Din Province, located between Tikrit and Bayji. The project, which is expected to be completed in early December, will provide reliable service to 50,000 Iraqi homes and small businesses. An electric distribution and street lighting project in Daquq was completed on Aug. 17, providing new overhead distribution lines and street lighting in the community.

� Approximately two million people will benefit from the Baghdad trunk sewer line, which was completed this week. Workers cleaned and repaired the Baghdad trunk sewer line and its associated manholes and pumping stations. The $17.48 million project restored principal sewage collection elements in the Adhamiya, Sadr City and 9-Nissan districts of Baghdad, and will provide for the intended sewer flows to the Rustamiya wastewater treatment plant.

� More than 600 children will return to renovated or rebuilt schools in Maysan Province when school starts this fall. This week, renovation on the Al-Eethnar Mud School was completed, and the Al Eethar Mud School was replaced at a cost of $87,000, benefiting 500 students who attend classes there.

� Children in Dobak Tappak village of Al Tamim Province received much-needed school supplies, clothing and toys from the Nahrain Foundation, a non-governmental organization that focuses on providing proper nutrition, decent clothing and medical supplies to Iraqi women and children. The foundation received its supplies as part of a joint effort between American donations and a Coalition forces-run program known as "Operation Provide School Supplies,� which accepts donations from private citizens and corporations in the U.S.

� In Basrah, construction is complete on phase one of the $865,000 Basrah courthouse project. This five-phase project is expected to be entirely complete in October of 2005. This main courthouse in Basrah, expected to hold a number of high profile trials, continues to operate during construction. Iraqi subcontractors are working on the project, and employing an average of 70 local Iraqi workers daily.

� Iraqi security forces benefited from reconstruction projects this week as well. A patrol station in the Karkh district of Baghdad Province was completed, as was a $390,300 border-post project on the Saudi Arabian border. A division headquarters building for the Iraqi Army in Salah Ad Din Province was also completed this week. The $7 million project includes a single-story building with a concrete roof and interior office space to accommodate the unit. Additionally, a $2 million firing range in Taji was completed this week.

� To accommodate additional detainees, a new prison project was started in Khan Bani Sa�ad, a mountainous municipality in the Ba�quba District of Diyala Province. The $75 million project will house up to 3,600 inmates. The entire site is approximately 550,000 square meters, which includes an educational center, medical facilities and administration buildings. The project will employ approximately 1,000 Iraqi workers during construction.

� In another move that highlights the increasing turnover of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, generals from Iraqi and Coalition forces joined local tribal leaders at a ceremony where Forward Operating Base Dagger in Tikrit, one of Saddam Hussein�s former palaces, was officially handed over to the 4th Iraqi Army Division this week.

� Iraqi Security Forces continued training this week. In Taji, Iraqi soldiers completed a Strategic Infrastructure Battalion Train-the-Trainer course. The 90 graduates will go on to serve as instructors at an Iraqi Army training base. A class of future IA non-commissioned officers graduated from their primary leadership development course on Aug. 15 in Tikrit. Iraqi Army unit training also included combat lifesaving, staff training, computer skills and weapons training.

� This week, the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade succeeded at implementing the first Non-commissioned Officer Academy in the country. Iraqi soldiers from the most recent class were the last group to be instructed by the U.S. Soldiers who had developed the training. During Saddam Hussein�s regime, an NCO corps did not exist in the Iraqi Army. The class will continue after the U.S. instructors leave, and will be taught by NCOs from the 1st IA who assisted earlier courses.

� Baghdad police continued to demonstrate their capabilities this week. Iraqi Police Service officers in the New Baghdad District conducted a variety of operations including raids involving over 450 officers. Police confiscated 30 AK-47 rifles, two hand guns, and one machine gun during the raids.

� They also arrested 30 suspected insurgents, three of whom were targeted in the raids. In addition, police at the Al Khanssa Police Station in Baghdad captured a kidnapper involved in the abduction of a local physician, whose family paid a ransom to have the victim released. Following the arrest, police officers recovered the doctor�s vehicle as well as the ransom money paid by his family.

� Iraqi Army soldiers found a weapons cache under a vehicle in Rawah this week. The cache contained two light machine guns and 3000 rounds of ammunition, nine AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, one NATO machine gun and 200 rounds of ammunition, four concussion grenades, one fragmentary grenade without fuses, and various other ammunition.

� Based on two separate tips from Iraqis, Coalition forces discovered weapons caches that contained rocket-propelled grenades and two launchers, 16 mortar rounds and a launcher, and five boxes of anti-aircraft ammunition hidden in northwest Baghdad.

� Another tip led Coalition forces to a large cache of artillery shells in the early hours of Aug. 16. The shells were apparently intended for use as improvised explosive devices. The 25 to 30 individual rounds, located inside a building within Al Anbar Province, were destroyed after security forces confirmed there was no one in the building.

� After a local Iraqi identified his neighbors as insurgents, Iraqi Army soldiers and Coalition forces conducted a joint cordon and search operation in northwest Fallujah and detained two suspects.

� Iraqi Security Forces killed terrorist Abu Zubair, also known as Mohammed Salah Sultan, in an ambush in the northern city of Mosul this week. Zubair, who was wearing a suicide vest when he was killed, was a known member of Al Qaeda in Iraq and a lieutenant in Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi�s terrorist operations in Mosul. He was being sought for his involvement in a July suicide bombing attack of a police station in Mosul that killed five Iraqi police officers. He was also suspected of resourcing and facilitating suicide bomber attacks against Coalition, Iraqi Security Forces and Iraqi citizens throughout the country.

New fuel economy rules unveiled

The Bush administration announced new fuel economy rules Tuesday that require improved mileage for the sport/utility vehicles and other light trucks that have captured a majority of U.S. auto sales.

Speaking from Atlanta, Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Jeffrey Runge, the current administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said that under the new plan, the light truck segment will be broken into six different categories based on weight and vehicle type, with the smallest vehicles forced to get better mileage than larger ones.

Minivans, which are currently bound by federal standards to get 21 miles per gallon, will be required to have a fuel efficiency of 23.3 miles per gallon by the time the program is fully implemented in 2011.

The fuel economy of small SUVs would improve by as much as nine miles per gallon from their current standard of 19 miles per gallon, Mineta said.

"This plan is good news for American consumers because it will insure that the vehicles that they buy will get more miles to the gallon and ultimately save them money," said Mineta.

The current rules, which were last updated when fuel economy rules were instituted in the late 1970s, consider the fuel economy of the entire fleet of light trucks as a whole.

A final rule must be published by April 1 if it is to apply to the 2008 model year.

Environmentalists already are criticizing the proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Eric Haxthausen, an economist with Environmental Defense, told the newspaper the rules are "woefully inadequate."

U.S.: Look Out for Terrorists Posing as Vagrants

Asking for increased vigilance in the wake of the London bombings, the government is warning that terrorists may pose as vagrants to conduct surveillance of buildings and mass transit stations to plot future attacks.

"In light of the recent bombings in London, it is crucial that police, fire and emergency medical personnel take notice of their surroundings, and be aware of 'vagrants' who seem out of place or unfamiliar," said the message, distributed via e-mail to some federal employees in Washington by the U.S. Attorney's office.

is based on a State Department report that was issued last week. The State Department had no immediate comment Monday.
The warning is similar to one issued by the FBI before July 4, 2004 that said terrorists may attempt surveillance disguised as homeless people, shoe shiners, street vendors or street sweepers.

The e-mail stresses that there is no threat of an attack and that it is intended to be "informative, not alarming."

Homeless people easily blend into urban landscapes, the message said.

"This is particularly true of our mass transit systems, where homeless people tend to loiter unnoticed," the e-mail said.

It referred to a recent incident in Somerville, Mass., in which a police officer became suspicious about someone dressed as a street person. The officer questioned the man, discovered he had a passport from a "country of interest" - typically a Middle Eastern or South Asian nation - and a checkbook with a questionable address, the e-mail said. The investigation is continuing, it said.

Somerville police did not immediate provide comment.

Zarqawi: al-Qaida in Iraq Fired Jordan Rockets

Iraq's al-Qaida wing claimed responsibility Tuesday for a rocket attack that barely missed U.S. warships docked in the Jordanian port of Aqaba.

The Internet statement was signed Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the spokesman for Al-Qaida in Iraq. That group is headed by the Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, blamed for a rash of kidnappings, killings and attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq.

Jordan said Monday it had arrested a Syrian, one of four men allegedly involved in the attack. The captured man's two sons and the Iraqi leader of the group were believed to have escaped to Iraq, officials in the Jordanian capital said.

Al-Zarqawi's terror group was the second to claim responsibility for the rocket attack, but the authenticity of the statement, signed by group spokesman Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, could not be verified.

The first claim was issued by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades shortly after the Katyusha rockets were fired from a hilltop warehouse, overlooking Aqaba and its port.

The al-Zarqawi group explained the delay in issuing its claim by saying it waited five days "so that the brothers could finish retreating."

"God has enabled your brothers in the military wing of the al-Qaida in Iraq to plan for the Aqaba invasion a while ago," said the statement, which appeared on a militant Islamic Web site. "After finishing the preparations and deciding on the targets, your brothers launched the rockets."

Jordanian officials were not immediately available for comment on the claim, but investigators have said the rocket assault carried the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

Fla. Wants Condi Rice in 2008 Race

Strategic Vision, LLC, an Atlanta-based public relations and public affairs agency announced the results of a five-day poll of registered voters in Florida on various political issues.

The results of the poll showed that 47% of those polled approved of President Bush's overall job performance, with 43% disapproving and 10% undecided. When asked to rate the President's handling of the economy, 46% approved; 43% disapproved; and 11% were undecided. On the issue of Iraq, the poll found 47% approved of the President's handling; with 42% disapproving; and 11% undecided.

The poll showed 55% of respondents approving of Governor Jeb Bush's job performance; 34% disapproving; and 11% undecided. When asked if they would like to see Jeb Bush run for President in 2008, 33% said yes; 52% said no; and 15% were undecided. When asked if they would like to see Jeb Bush as a Vice Presidential candidate in 2008, the results were 47% yes; 37% no; and 16% undecided.

When Republicans were asked if they would like to see Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice run in 2006, 48% said yes; 30% said no; and 22% were undecided.

When Secretary Rice was included the poll, the results were, Guliani with 23%; Rice 21%; McCain 11%; Gingrich 6%; Frist 4%; Allen 2%; Pataki 2%; Santorum 2%; Romney 1%; Hagel with 1%; and 27% undecided.

When asked if they approved President Bush's selection of Judge John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, 57% said yes; 33% said no; and 10% were undecided.

When asked if they believed President Bush should have met with Cindy Sheehan at Crawford, Texas, 32% said yes; 55% said no; and 13% were undecided.

When asked if they approved of Cindy Sheehan's protest against the Iraq War at Crawford, Texas, 29% approved; 56% disapproved; and 15% were undecided.

When asked if they would support a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, 61% said yes; 33 % said no; and 6% were undecided.

Pat Robertson Calls for Chavez' Death

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a "terrific danger" to the United States.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said on "The 700 Club" it was the United States' duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a "launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."

Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

Robertson accused the United States of failing to act when Chavez was briefly overthrown in 2002.

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said.

"We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

Second Officer Says 9/11 Leader Was Named Before Attacks

An active-duty Navy captain has become the second military officer to come forward publicly to say that a secret intelligence program tagged the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks as a possible terrorist more than a year before the attacks.

The officer, Scott J. Phillpott, said in a statement on Monday that he could not discuss details of the military program, which was called Able Danger, but confirmed that its analysts had identified the Sept. 11 ringleader, Mohamed Atta, by name by early 2000. "My story is consistent," said Captain Phillpott, who managed the program for the Pentagon's Special Operations Command. "Atta was identified by Able Danger by January-February of 2000."

His comments came on the same day that the Pentagon's chief spokesman, Lawrence Di Rita, told reporters that the Defense Department had been unable to validate the assertions made by an Army intelligence veteran, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, and now backed up by Captain Phillpott, about the early identification of Mr. Atta.

The statement from Captain Phillpott , a 1983 Naval Academy graduate who has served in the Navy for 22 years, was provided to The New York Times and Fox News through the office of Representative Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican who is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a longtime proponent of so-called data-mining programs like Able Danger.

With his comments on Monday, Captain Phillpott acknowledged that he was the officer who had briefed the commission last year. "I will not discuss the issues outside of my chain of command and the Department of Defense," he said. "But my story is consistent. Atta was identified by Able Danger by January-February of 2000. I have nothing else to say."

Bush Backers Amass to Counter 'Peace Mom'



A caravan proclaiming support for U.S. troops began a tour through California on Monday, stopping in the hometown of Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war mother who gained national prominence during a vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch.

Conservative activists and military families embarked on the tour they call "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" They planned rallies in several California cities before heading to Crawford, Texas.

About 30 Bush supporters staged a rally outside the offices of the Vacaville Reporter newspaper.

"It's time to lay down the anger. We need to continue to uphold those people over there, to uphold those men and women with their boots on the ground," said Deborah Johns of the Northern California Marine Moms, who helped organize the caravan, which is sponsored by Move America Forward, a Bay Area-based group.

"You are ruining the morale over there," responded Greg Parkinson, a Bush supporter.

Some caravan members called the anti-war protesters communists and said they were "aiding and abetting the enemy."

In Vacaville, Toni Colip, 50, said her son, David, went to high school with Casey Sheehan and is now in the Marines, although not in Iraq. She said her son opposes Sheehan's activities and has asked her to support his military service even if he is injured or killed.

"He said, 'Don't dishonor me, don't walk on my grave,'" Colip said.

The pro-Bush caravan plans to join fellow supporters who have set up their own camp in downtown Crawford as a reaction to the Sheehan- inspired vigil. Bush was in Salt Lake City on Monday, where he spoke to a national veterans group to rally support for the war.

Several of those in the caravan said they understood Sheehan's anger but disagreed with her protest.

"This is not the way to honor her son," said Lori Judy, 49, of Vacaville, whose son, Tim, served in Iraq.

Monday, August 22, 2005

Bush: US must finish job in Iraq to honor the fallen

President George W. Bush, speaking amid protests and growing public unease over Iraq, said on Monday America owed it to the more than 1,800 U.S. soldiers killed there to complete the mission, which he linked with the campaign against terrorism.

He also voiced confidence in Iraqi efforts to draft a new constitution, saying it would be a landmark event for the country and the region. He was speaking shortly before news emerged that Iraq's parliament had received a draft of the constitution but no vote was expected for a few days.

In a speech to a convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Bush again linked the Iraq war with efforts to protect the United States from another September 11-style attack -- a link critics say is an attempt to shift the justification for war.

"Iraq is a central front in the war on terror," Bush said. "It is a vital part of our mission."

Bush has spent August at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and the standing ovations he received from the veterans group contrasted with anti-war protests outside the ranch begun by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq.

In his speech, Bush, who rarely gives specific numbers for the death toll, said a total of 1,864 U.S. soldiers had been killed in Iraq and 223 in Afghanistan and acknowledged the grief faced by their families.

But he added, "We owe them something. We will finish the task that they gave their lives for. We'll honor their sacrifice by staying on the offensive against the terrorists and building strong allies in Afghanistan and Iraq that will help us win and fight ... the war on terror."

Salt Lake City's Democratic Mayor Rocky Anderson had also called for protests but was booed when he addressed the veterans convention, which was generally supportive of Bush.

Vietnam veteran Gary Knudson, 64, of South Dakota, said he disagreed with the boos but took issue with Sheehan's stance of saying she supports the troops but is against the war.

"You can't have it both ways," he said. "I think she's misguided."

N.H. mom rallies support for troops



PORTSMOUTH - Most of those gathered in the drizzling rain in Market Square on Saturday didn�t know Natalie Healy.
In fact, the majority of the more 20 participants had never met her son, Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Healy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan in June.

Nevertheless, they stood in the rain for nearly two hours to shake Natalie�s hand and tell her they supported her, the troops, the president and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Natalie Healy, of Exeter, said she�s been concerned over a number of peace vigils that have been taking place across the country, particularly the one in Crawford, Texas, where a mother camped out for two weeks near President Bush�s ranch after her son was killed in Iraq.

"I�m down here to support the troops," Natalie said Saturday, waving an American flag and holding a photo of her 36-year-old son in his uniform. "I don�t want the only message to be what they�re hearing from Crawford, Texas. ... Not all Americans feel the same as Cindy Sheehan."


Move America Forward

Her message is meant not just for the troops, she said, but also for al-Qaida.

"We won�t wimp out," Natalie said. "We will finish our mission to help establish an Iraqi democracy."

Natalie said the troops need Americans� support more than ever, and peace vigils are sending the wrong message.

When asked if she believes Americans could both oppose the war and support the troops, Natalie said she didn�t think it was possible.

"It�s nice to say you�re supporting the troops, but when you holler, �Get us out of there,� you�re aiding the enemy," she said.

Nathan Ritzo, of Portsmouth, who served in the Army and was recently deployed to Iraq, said he was pleased to see the rally, explaining that when he first heard about it, he knew he needed to come out and support it.

Ritzo said he was tired of the media constantly showing the negative things happening in Iraq rather than many of the positives he saw each day.

He described the peace rallies he saw on television or read about on the Internet while he was in the Middle East as "disheartening."

Dick Menard, of Portsmouth, a retired Air Force veteran, stood alongside Natalie.

"We need to eliminate them before they attack us again," Menard said when asked about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Asked how he felt about the Sept. 11 Commission findings that Iraq was not connected to the Sept. 11 attacks, Menard replied:

"It�s all one war. We�re at war with a culture. ... It�s irrelevant; it�s not a factor if there is a direct connection or not. It�s the culture."

Elaine Healy, who had never met Natalie, was one of the first who gathered in Market Square for the noontime rally. Elaine said that after reading about her in the paper, she knew she had to come down and show her support because four of her family members who are in the military might be going to war soon.

Defend the WhiteHouse on Sept 24th



The past four years since 9-11 has seen several important and contentious elections. In the West, where the peaceful transfer of power can often be taken for granted, voters returned to power statesmen like Bush, Blair and Howard, who's War Against Terror is being waged also in support of global political liberty. Elsewhere, entire nations selected their own leaders for the first time. In Iraq, where political liberty remains under threat, many died exercising their right to vote while eight million succeeded in spite of the danger posed by terrorists and the disapproval of Western elites.

But in the United States, the Social Justice movement has shown a dismaying lack of faith in Democracy. Because the antiwar proposition lost the election, a mob intends to surround the White House this September 24th to demand President Bush�s removal.

This demonstration, like other large anti-war and anti-Bush demonstrations, is being organized nationally by the usual professional activists from the extremes of the Left. It deserves a national response, both from supporters of President Bush and from people who simply oppose the destructive trend of filibusters, judicial activism, reflexively contested elections and elections disregarded altogether.

We must raise our voices and speak at this crucial time to demonstrate to the nation and the world that we are still a Republic in which the political process is respected and a plurality of views can coexist without hatred.

U.S. Marines and Afghan forces kill 40 Terrorists

.S. Marines and Afghan forces killed more than 40 suspected militants in an operation against insurgents who had inflicted the deadliest blow to American forces since the Taliban's ouster, a military spokesman said Monday.

The weeklong operation, which concluded over the weekend, was aimed at rebels in the eastern Koregnal Valley believed responsible for twin attacks that killed 19 troops in June. Three Navy SEALs were killed in an ambush, and all 16 soldiers on a helicopter sent to rescue them died when it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

"It was successful," Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara told The Associated Press. "We had over 29 separate engagements with enemy forces that resulted in more than 40 enemy killed in action and many others wounded."

O'Hara also announced that a separate three-day battle from Aug. 7-10 in southern Zabul province's Daychopan district left a total of 65 suspected militants dead. The military had previously reported that 16 rebels had been killed.

Withdraw Troops From Iraq? 39% Say Yes ! 46 % Say No !

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans say the U.S. should "withdraw its troops from Iraq at this time." A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 46% disagree and 15% are not sure.

Among those with family members who have served in the military, 34% say it is time to bring home the troops. Most in military families, 56%, disagree.

As with most questions concerning the War, there are huge partisan differences. Democrats, by a 57% to 24% margin, say it is time to bring home the troops.

Republicans, by a 71% to 20% margin, disagree. Those not affiliated with either major party are evenly divided.

An earlier survey, asking a related but distinct question, found that 44% placed a higher priority on getting troops home than "finishing the mission in Iraq." In that survey, 46% said finishing the mission was more important.

Forty-three percent (43%) of women and 34% of men say it is time to bring home the troops. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of women and 54% of men disagree.

Married Americans say now is not the time to withdraw troops from Iraq by a 50% to 37% margin. Among those who are not married, opinion on this question is closely divided.


Move America Forward

Saddam Vows to Martyr Self in Letter

Imprisoned former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein wrote in a letter published Sunday that he is prepared to sacrifice himself for the Arab cause, and called on other Arabs to follow his example.

"In our glorious nation, my soul, and what I have been born on, is to be sacrificed to it," the letter said, in what the context suggested was an apparent reference to all Arabs.

Parts of the letter were published Sunday by two Jordanian newspapers. Saddam sent it to a friend in Jordan, who has asked not to be identified, said the International Committee of the Red Cross, which vouched for its authenticity.

The Red Cross delivered the missive from Saddam, who is awaiting trial on charges connected with a 1982 series of detentions and executions following an assassination attempt against him in Dujayl, north of Baghdad.

"Where is life without faith and love and the harmony which is inherited in our nation?" he wrote in Arabic.

"It is not too much for a man to answer the call of his nation with all that he possesses, and with his soul, yet it is what the nation deserves," the letter said, an apparent call for others to follow his lead.

"My brother, love your people, love Palestine, long live Palestine, love your nation," he wrote.

The single-page letter, undated and written in ink, was delivered August 16, Red Cross spokeswoman Rania Sidani said. The letter was partially blacked out by military censors, and the words "Family News Only" were stamped at the top in English.

But a lawyer representing Saddam, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said he was not aware of any letter.

And Abdul Haq al-Ani, whom Saddam's eldest daughter Raghad has identified as the family's lawyer, told CNN, "I have no idea about this thing. I cannot comment or help you in this matter."

Anti-War Mom Opposition Mounting

A Utah television station is refusing to air an anti-war ad featuring Cindy Sheehan, whose son's death in Iraq prompted a vigil outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch.

Also, a patriotic camp with a "God Bless Our President!" banner sprung up in downtown Crawford, Texas Saturday, countering the anti-war demonstration started by Sheehan. The camp is named "Fort Qualls," in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, who died in Iraq last fall.

Salt Lake City's Mayor Rocky Anderson used e-mail this week to call for "the biggest demonstration this state has ever seen," when President Bush appears at the convention Monday.

Anderson says Bush policies are disastrous for the country and that to stay quiet during the president's visit would be send a message of apathy.

The mayor's e-mail called for a collaboration of health care advocates, seniors, gay and lesbian advocates, anti-Patriot advocates, civil libertarians and anti-war folks to protest outside the VFW convention.

Mike Parkin, senior vice commander of a VFW post in Salt Lake City, says the move makes Anderson look unpatriotic.

The Vietnam vet, who says he voted for Anderson, but won't again, says the protest will offend veterans and embolden enemies of the U.S.


In Crawford, Gary Qualls, the father of a slain soldier, explained his reasons for supporting the pro-war camp. "If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said Qualls, who is friends with the local business owner who started the camp. He said his 16-year-old son now wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.

Qualls' frustration with the anti-war demonstrators erupted last week when he removed a cross bearing his son's name that was among hundreds the group had put up along the road to Bush's ranch.

Qualls called the protesters' views disrespectful to soldiers, and said he had to yank out two more crosses after protesters kept replacing them.


Move America Forward