The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 09/03/2006 - 09/10/2006

Friday, September 08, 2006

Mom fights use of son's name by anti-war effort

The mother of Air Force captain killed in Iraq is battling the use of her son's name in "Arlington West," a protest-exhibit of crosses on a California beach on Sundays by the Veterans for Peace chapter in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Debbie Argel Bastian, mother of slain Capt. Derek Argel, told WND, "I have repeatedly asked the Veterans for Peace to quit using the name of my son in their protests, but I am getting nowhere."

"The Veterans for Peace won't listen to me, and they have no right to dishonor my son's service to the United States of America by using his name in their anti-war protests," she said.

WND contacted VFP President David Cline by telephone, who said his group's policy is not to use a name if the family objects.

Bastian disagrees.

"What groups like Veterans for Peace do is they make it hard to get your son's name removed," she said. "Parents get letters that explain why the protest group has the right to use their son's name and then the family has to go through a fight. In the end, the group has another chapter who puts up another cross display and uses their son's name anyway."

Bastian told WND that Gold Star mothers have a hard time getting the news media to pay attention.

"I was on a CNN morning show, and that was it, no other television news show wanted me," she said. "But if I was Cindy Sheehan, I wouldn't have any trouble getting heard. It's heartbreaking."

Bastian pointed out Sheehan, who has become an icon of anti-war activism since her son was killed in Iraq, attended the most recent State of the Union address with a shirt bearing the number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq and asking, "Who's Next?"

"I don't want my son's name used like that," Bastian said. "My son was a loyal and dedicated leader and officer, and he was proud of his military service. From the fifth grade on, Derek determined that he wanted to go to a service academy. The media don't want to hear Derek's story, that he was a man of character who was dedicated to the U.S.A. and proud of his military service.

Bastian said she has a "stack of letters from the families of fallen military heroes who area as upset as I am to see their names used for anti-war purposes and disgraced."

In the year since her son's death, Bastian has received hundreds of letters from other family members who have lost loved ones fighting in the Middle East.

"These letters express the same pain I am feeling," she said.

"These anti-war protesters are like vultures," Bastian continued. "They wait for any death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan, and they can't wait to add the name to their protests."

Bastian said most Americans are "not aware of the pain these anti-war protestors are causing us."

"There is only one Arlington, and my son is represented honorably there," she said. "I do not give my permission to use my son's name in any 'Arlington West' protest."

Bastian is urging her congressman to support a House bill, the "Military Fallen Heroes Protection Act of 2006," introduced in July by Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., to "direct the Secretary of Defense to prohibit the unauthorized use of names, images and likenesses of members of the Armed Forces."

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Number of jobless claims drops by 9,000

The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped by a bigger-than-expected amount last week, signaling continuing labor market strength despite a general economic slowdown.

The government reported that applications for jobless benefits totaled 310,000, down 9,000 from the previous week. It was the biggest decline in seven weeks and was a larger improvement than analysts had been expecting.

Many businesses, faced with a slowing economy, have reduced their plans to hire new workers but so far have not resorted to large-scale reductions in existing payrolls.

The total number of jobless claims was the lowest since 299,000 people showed up at unemployment offices the week of July 22.

The government reported last week that the unemployment rate dipped to 4.7 percent in August, after having risen to a five-month high of 4.8 percent in July. Job creation picked up in August but still remained below the sizable gains recorded earlier in the year when the economy was growing more strongly.

Vegetative patients may have awareness

Advanced brain scanning uncovered startling signs of awareness in a woman in a vegetative state, British scientists reported Thursday � a finding that complicates one of medicine's ethical minefields.

The work is sure to elicit pleas from families desperate to know if loved ones deemed beyond medical help have brain activity that doctors don't suspect. "Can he or she hear and understand me?" is a universal question.

It's far too soon to raise hopes, the British researchers and U.S. brain specialists stress. There's no way to know if this 23-year-old woman, brain-damaged over a year ago, will recover, and therefore if her brain activity meant anything medically. Her brain injury may not be typical of patients in a vegetative state.

Scientists don't even agree on whether the woman had some real awareness � she seemed to follow, mentally, certain commands � or if her brain was responding more automatically to speech.

"This is just one patient. The result in one patient does not tell us whether any other patient will show similar results, nor whether this result will have any bearing on her," cautioned neuroscientist Adrian Owen of Britain's Medical Research Council. He led the novel brain-scanning experiment, reported in the journal Science.

The work does raise calls for more research in this difficult-to-study population � because of the tantalizing prospect of one day learning how to predict whose brain is more likely to recover, and maybe even tailoring rehabilitation.

"It raises the questions of ethics and experience of these patients, I think, to a new level," said neuroscientist Joy Hirsch of New York's Columbia University Medical Center. "It raises the tension about how we treat these patients."

But, "making medical decisions based on this information at this point in time we say is not appropriate," warned Hirsch, who is conducting similar research and already receives "just heartwrenching" requests for help.

The woman was injured in a car crash. By the time Owen scanned her brain five months later, she had been pronounced in a vegetative state � physically unresponsive to a battery of tests. A small percentage of people make some recovery after spending a short period in a vegetative state.

Those who don't improve after a longer period are classified as in a "persistent vegetative state," such as the late Terry Schiavo, who became a subject of political controversy over the question of taking such patients off life support. An autopsy showed she had irreversible brain damage.

Doctors use MRI machines and other scanners to examine structural brain injuries. To see how the brain actually fires � what areas are activated during different processes � requires more advanced imaging called functional MRI, or fMRI.

Owen and colleagues contend their fMRI experiment showed the car-crash victim had some preserved conscious awareness despite her vegetative state.

How could they tell? First, they checked that she could process speech. Upon being told "there was milk and sugar in the coffee," the fMRI showed brain regions reacting the same in the woman and in healthy volunteers.

Then came the big test. Owen told the woman to perform a mental task � to imagine herself playing tennis and walking through her house. Motor-control regions of her brain lit up like they did in the healthy people he compared with her.

"There is no other explanation for this than that she has intentionally decided to involve herself

Columbia's Hirsch said the woman is not conscious. But, "it tells me that this patient's brain is operating the essential elements for consciousness. The machinery is there and operating," she said.

Owen refused to disclose the woman's current condition. But asked if the brain activity suggests she could recover, he said, "We just don't know."

Hirsch said there is little funding for research on the vegetative state, and legal hurdles to working with those patients, but the new report demands that more be done.

Iran test-fires 2,000-pound guided bomb

Iran on Thursday ended its large-scale military exercises by test-firing a 2,000-pound guided bomb, state-run television reported.

"It is a flying bomb and can be used as a guided long-range air-to-surface missile," Gen. Amir Amini, deputy commander of Iran's air force, told state TV.

Amini added that the bomb was a special weapon developed for penetrating military, economic and strategic targets located deep underground on the soil of the enemy.

He said the bomb has an "exceptional" explosive power against its targets either on the ground or in the sea.

The bomb, named Qassed or Herald, was shown in a televised picture in white, yellow, red and green colors.

A flying bomb is an unmanned aerial vehicle or small aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead. In contrast to a bomber aircraft, which is intended to release bombs and then return to its base, a flying bomb crashes into its target and is therefore itself destroyed in its attack.

ABC changes 9/11 show under Democrat pressure

ABC has changed its "The Path to 9/11" television special, set for a commercial-free broadcast Sunday and Monday, because of pressure over the message it carries, according to a report on a television blog site.

The network heard from a number of leading political figures, many of them Democrats, who complained of alleged inaccuracies and bias in the production, according to the report in the Los Angeles Times' CalendarLive.com website.

The report said the five-hour docudrama also is in the middle of an information war between a left-wing organization that wants changes made in the film and conservative blogs defending the portrayal.

An advocacy group called The Center for American Progress Action Fund is leading an effort to have ABC cancel or change the show further.

In a statement the group said the production "presents an agenda that blames the Clinton administration" but ignores the many failures of the Bush administration.

The movie takes what its makers have judged as intelligence and operational failures of the administrations of both Bill Clinton and President Bush and turns them into a drama portraying the prelude to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

Fox News reported former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey have written to Walt Disney Co., ABC's parent, making editing demands.

The CalendarLive report said public records were used in the preparation, but Clinton supporters still were upset.

A Times' source told the newspaper ABC executives and producers have toned down a scene that was generating much of the criticism.

"That sequence has been the focus of attention," the source, who told the newspaper he didn't want to be identified, said. "These are very slight alterations."

"The events that lead to 9/11 originally sparked great debate, so it's not surprising that a movie surrounding those events has revived the debate," ABC said.

ABC said in a statement today the final version hasn't been viewed yet, editing still is going on and criticisms are "premature and irresponsible."

"For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue and time compression," the network said. "We hope viewers will watch the entire broadcast of the finished film before forming an opinion about it."

Program executive producer Marc Platt reportedly told the Washington Post he worked to be "fair."

"If individuals feel they're wrongly portrayed, that's obviously a concern. We've portrayed the essence of the truth of these events. Our intention was not in any way to be political or present a point of view," he said.

al-Qaida in Iraq Releases Audiotape

Al-Qaida in Iraq released on Thursday what was purported to be the first audiotape by its new leader, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, in which he vowed victory was coming and condemned Sunni Muslims cooperating with the Iraqi government.

Muhajer was named leader of Iraq's most feared terror group after his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a June 7 airstrike north of Baghdad. The U.S. military has put a $5 million bounty on al-Muhajer's head.

Until now, al-Muhajer has kept a low profile, issuing no statements in his name since a written message released soon after he became al-Qaida in Iraq's leader.

His silence has been in sharp contrast with al-Zarqawi, who put himself forward as a hero of the mujahedeen, or holy warriors, frequently issuing audiotapes - and even a videotape that showed his face a few weeks before he was killed.

The authenticity of Thursday's 20-minute tape, posted on an Islamic militant Web forum, could not be independently confirmed.

In the tape, al-Muhajer appeared to be adopting a similar style, speaking in the same fiery tones as his predecessor, with the sounds of lions roaring and thunderclaps mixed into the audio.

Al-Muhajer - a nom de guerre - also apparently revealed his real name. He ended the tape by saying, "servant of the mujahedeen, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, Abdul-Menem al-Badawi."

The name was not immediately recognizable as a known militant. U.S. officials have said al-Muhajer is an Egyptian known under another pseudonym as Abu Ayyoub al-Masri, an explosives expert who trained with al-Zarqawi in Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan.

Al-Muhajer threatened new attacks against U.S. forces and their Iraqi allies and addressed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, saying, "We are still sticking to our obligation."

"The fire in our blood will never cool, and the swords that have been colored with your blood are still thirsty for more of your rotten heads," he said, addressing the Americans and their allies.

He urged his followers "not to rest until each one of you kill at least one American within the next 15 days, by a sniper bullet, spear, explosive or martyrdom car."

He also addressed two Sunni political parties that are participating in the Iraqi government - the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Accordance Front - saying they "lied ... and have betrayed your nation."

Al-Jazeera Airs Pre-9/11 Bin Laden Tape

Al-Jazeera broadcast Thursday a previously unshown video of the preparations for the Sept. 11 attacks, in which al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is seen meeting with some of the planners in an Afghan mountain camp.

The station said that bin Laden also is shown greeting some of the hijackers, although their faces were not clear and it was not immediately known which are purportedly shown.

The video included the last wills and testaments of hijackers Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi.

In the latest video, bin Laden is shown sitting outside with his former lieutenant Mohammed Atef and Ramzi Binalshibh, another suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001. Binalshibh was captured four years ago in Pakistan and is in U.S. custody. President Bush announced plans to put him on military trial.

The video shows bin Laden in a dark robe and white headgear, strolling through the camp and greeting dozens of followers, some masked, and many carrying automatic weapons. A voice-over narration praises the fighters and refers to the camp being "on the soil of Kandahar" - a city in southern Afghanistan.

The footage shows scenes of training at the camp. Masked militants perform martial-arts kicks or learn how to break the hold of someone who grabs them from behind. Several militants are shown practicing with fold-out knives.

Experts Say Al-Qaida has been significantly weakened

American Enterprise Institute terrorism expert Danielle Pletka says al-Qaida has been significantly weakened since the beginning of the Bush administration's "war on terror."

"They are constantly under assault. Their financial lifelines have dried up. Their weaponry has dried up. Anytime your leader is hiding in a cave, it is hard to say that you are in the same strong position you were in when you were living in a mansion," noted Pletka.

Many experts agree that the "war on terror" has been successful in degrading al-Qaida's operational capabilities.


One of those is Brian Jenkins, a leading authority on terrorism working for the RAND Corporation. But he says the U.S. and its allies have not been successful in denting al-Qaida's determination to continue its "jihad," or holy war, against the West.

Given the international scope of the terrorist threat, Jenkins and others believe the "war on terror" will go on for a long time. Experts say a successful outcome will involve a combination of vigilance at home and increased international cooperation.

ACLU Accuses Bush Of Gutting Geneva Conventions and Due Process For Terror Detainees

It isn�t suprising that the ACLU were quick to react to Bush�s jaw dropping speech admitting to secret CIA prisons and pushing Congress to pass legislation that would put captured terror suspects under the rule of a military tribunal.

Via ACLU:

America is a nation dedicated to upholding the rule of law. However, President Bush�s draft proposal for military commissions fails to meet the standards recognized by the Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The court held the President�s initial military commission scheme was illegal because it violated Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the most basic standards regarding treatment of detainees. The new proposal has nearly all of the same problems, and will eventually be found to be illegal. For example, it would allow a person to be convicted based on secret evidence and would allow the use of evidence obtained as the result of horrific abuse.

Of course the ACLU automatically accuse the U.S. of using horrific abuse to obtain our evidence without any evidence whatsoever to back that claim up. You can also bet that if one of their terrorist plaintiffs were to go before our court system they would make the claim that any evidence we have against them was obtained through such procedures and argue it was inadmissible. This is only one of hundreds of reasons that Congress needs to pass the legislation the President is requesting so these terrorist creeps, several of which are in the top Al Qaeda chain of command, need to go before a military tribunal. They are not American citizens and we can not afford the dangers involved in allowing them to be represented before the U.S. courts, in all probability represented by the ACLU.

�The president should have listened to the current Judge Advocates General for the four military services, all of whom have urged close adherence to the court-martial procedures, and all of whom oppose the use of secret evidence and coerced evidence. By contrast, Senators John Warner (R-VA), John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are reportedly following the advice of these top generals and admirals and supporting due process protections that are more in line with the time-tested courts-martial procedures.

�The president also proposes to gut enforceability of the Geneva Conventions by amending the War Crimes Act to completely immunize from prosecution civilians who subjected persons to horrific abuse that may have fallen short of the definition of �torture.� As a result, government officials and civilian contractors who authorized or carried out waterboarding, threats of death, and other abuse would get a �get out of jail free� card under the president�s bill. The nation�s soldiers and sailors would remain liable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but civilians would be immune from prosecution under the only statute that applies to many of these acts. That is simply wrong.


No, what is �simply wrong� is that cowards committed to terrorism and jihad against America that do are not signatories of nor abide by the Geneva Conventions should be afforded the protections of it. The sickening fact that the ACLU would steep low enough to represent an enemy of our nation to sue a military member for doing their job in capturing and interrogating these killers. This is exactly what the President is asking Congress to keep from happening. The President is asking Congress to make it clear what our protectors can and can not do and to protect them from prosecution of being sued by the very scumbuckets they protect us from.

�The new Army Field Manual avoids some of the worst problems with earlier drafts and clarifies that those held by the military or at military facilities must be afforded the protections of the Geneva Conventions. However, it then creates loopholes for so-called �unlawful combatants� by depriving them of the same protections�and specifically authorizes holding persons in isolation. And, the new manual does not apply to those held by the CIA. The Bush proposal is lip service unless the executive branch actually holds people accountable for violating it.


�So called� unlawful combatants? If you are not abiding by the rules of being a lawful combatant then you aren�t one. It is that simple. The ACLU are the ones looking for loop holes in the system, and the very reason they are so up and arms on this is that it closes them up. What the President is asking is for Congress to make the definitions clear. In the Hamdan case, which the ACLU played a major part in, the door was left wide open for Congress to clarify and create legislation making military tribunals the main process for due process dealing with terrorists caught on the battle field. What does the ACLU have against bringing these murderers to justice?

The ACLU Defend the enemy. They have a long history of this one. They defended the P.L.O. in 1985. They defended Quadafi in the 1980�s. And they continue today. They have told Gitmo detainees they have the right to remain silent, as in not talking to interrogators. One issue that really disturbs me is their refusal of funds from organizations such as the United Way that were concerned the money would be used to support terrorism.

In October of 2004, the ACLU turned down $1.15 million in funding from two of it�s most generous and loyal contributors, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, saying new anti-terrorism restrictions demanded by the institutions make it unable to accept their funds.

�The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that �promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state.�

The Rockefeller Foundation�s provisions state that recipients of its funds may not �directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity.�

They have since then demanded that the government release and make public top secret security information regarding not only the activities of our military, but also that of our intelligence forces. They have also initiated one lawsuit after another against the government to stop the searching of individuals for security purposes in mass transit situations, to stop what they call profiling (we will never see a Protestant white middle-aged woman as a terrorist working with an extremist Islamic organization) by race, sex and religion, and to stop the government from detaining and questioning or interrogating individuals who have ties or contact with known terrorist individuals and organizations.

They tried to kill the Patriot Act because they see the rights of an individual who may or may not be an American citizen as more important than the safety of the nation at large. They want the borders open because they see that as an infringement of the rights of non-Americans to become Americans however they can manage it. They want to have military and intelligence sources, activities, and planning revealed to the public so they can �watch dog� and ensure freedoms of individuals and/or groups are not being compromised, but in doing so will enable those very individuals and/or groups under surveillance the ability to avoid surveillance and possible capture before they do something destructive to American citizens.

When it comes to America�s enemies you can count on the ACLU to be there to defend them.

President Moves 14 Held in Secret to Guant�namo

President Bush said Wednesday that 14 high-profile terror suspects held secretly until now by the Central Intelligence Agency � including the man accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks � had been transferred to the detention center at Guant�namo Bay, Cuba, to face military tribunals if Congress approves.

The suspects include Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, thought to be the Sept. 11 mastermind, and other close associates of Osama bin Laden. Mr. Bush said he had decided to �bring them into the open� after years in which the C.I.A. held them without charges in undisclosed sites abroad, in a program the White House had not previously acknowledged.

The announcement, in the East Room of the White House, was the first time the president had discussed the secret C.I.A. program, and he made clear that he had fully authorized it. Mr. Bush defended the treatment the suspects had received but would not say where the so-called �high-value terrorist detainees� had been held or what techniques had been used to extract information from them.

The transfer of the high-level suspects to Guant�namo Bay effectively suspended the extraordinary program, in which the intelligence agency became the jailer and interrogator of suspects counterterrorism officials considered the world�s most wanted Islamic extremists.

The government says the 14 terror suspects include some of the most senior members of Al Qaeda captured by the United States since 2001, including those responsible for the bombing of the destroyer Cole in 2000 in Yemen and the 1998 attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Most of the detainees have been interviewed extensively and are believed to have little remaining intelligence value.

With the transfer of the suspects to Guant�namo, which is run by the Defense Department, the International Committee of the Red Cross will monitor their treatment, Mr. Bush said. He used the East Room appearance to urge Congress to authorize new military commissions to put terror suspects on trial, replacing rules established by the administration but struck down in June by the Supreme Court.

Mitt vs. the Mullahs

NEXT WEEK, MITT ROMNEY WILL DO WHAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT should have done months ago: declare former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami persona non grata on American soil.

Romney has stated he will not expend Bay State resources to safeguard the pseudo-�reformer� as he addresses Harvard on September 10th�and 11th.�State taxpayers should not be providing special treatment to an individual who supports violent jihad and the destruction of Israel,� Romney affirms. He calls the speech �a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists, especially on the eve of the five-year anniversary of 9/11,� noting it will consist of �propaganda, pure and simple.�

The speech certainly has an element of the fantastic about it. The former president of a repressive Islamic theocracy will address the John F. Kennedy School of Government on the Orwellian theme, the �Ethics of Tolerance in the Age of Violence.�

That Khatami will speak at Harvard is nearly as predictable as his earlier public speaking engagement � the Islamic Society of North America�s 43rd annual convention in Chicago, at which he accused the United States of implementing �policies that cause the intensification of terrorism and institutionalized violence.� Some have found parallels between Khatami�s fevered anti-Semitic ramblings and the conclusions of JFK School Dean Stephen Walt, who co-wrote the quasi-conspiratoria l article, �The Israel Lobby.� The glowing biography on the Harvard website refers to the education of �His Excellence Mr. Khatami� in the �holy city of Qom� and his governmental service during the �Iraqi imposed war.� It must only sting Harvard�s ego that a Taliban representative had already been taken.

The intolerance and violence Khatami personally enacted should have deprived him of a visa to enter this country. The mullahs� frontman from August 1997-August 2005, Khatami presided over the world�s number one state sponsor of terrorism. As Ken Timmerman noted last week, he played a role in �the creation of Hezbollah.� Financing the terrorist organization through his presidency, he renewed his praise as recently as July, during the Hezbollah-Israeli war, at which time he gushed, �Hezbollah is like a shining sun that illuminates and warms the hearts of all Muslims and supporters of freedom in the world.� As president, he also refused to turn over the agents responsible for the Khobar Towers bombing and accelerated Tehran�s covert nuclear program.

Bush: Successful Programs Prevented Further Attacks

Nearly five years after America "awoke to a
nightmare attack" on Sept. 11, 2001, the nation is thankful that
terrorists haven't succeeded in launching another attack on U.S. soil, but
recognizes that it's not for the terrorists' lack of trying, President
Bush said at the White House today.

"Nineteen men, armed with box cutters, took control of airplanes and
turned them into missiles," Bush said of the Sept. 11 attacks. "They used
them to kill nearly 3,000 innocent people. We watched the Twin Towers
collapse before our eyes -- and it became instantly clear that we'd
entered a new world and a dangerous new war."


After seeing the destruction in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania,
Americans wondered if a second wave of attacks was still to come, he
said.

Five years later, Bush said, the enemy's failure to launch that second
wave hasn't been for lack of desire or determination. "As the recently
foiled plot in London shows, the terrorists are still active, and
they're still trying to strike America, and they're still trying to kill our
people," he said.

One reason the terrorists haven't succeeded in launching another Sept.
11 is "the hard work of thousands of dedicated men and women in our
government, who have toiled day and night, along with our allies, to stop
the enemy from carrying out their plans," the president said. "And we
are grateful for these hardworking citizens of ours."

The Sept. 11 attacks posed new challenges to the United States and its
government, he said.

"With the Twin Towers and the Pentagon still smoldering, our country on
edge, and a stream of intelligence coming in about potential new
attacks, my administration faced immediate challenges: We had to respond to
the attack on our country. We had to wage an unprecedented war against
an enemy unlike any we had fought before. We had to find the terrorists
hiding in America and across the world, before they were able to strike
our country again," he said. "So in the early days and weeks after
9/11, I directed our government's senior national security officials to do
everything in their power, within our laws, to prevent another attack."


Bush cited the success of new government policies in helping protect
the nation.

"Another reason the terrorists have not succeeded is because
our government has changed its policies -- and given our military,
intelligence, and law enforcement personnel the tools they need to fight
this enemy and protect our people and preserve our freedoms," he said.


In countering the threat posed by terrorists -- enemies who "represent
no nation ... defend no territory and ... wear no uniform" as they
quietly conspire before striking without warning, the best source of
information about that has proven to be the terrorists themselves, Bush said.

"Captured terrorists have unique knowledge about how terrorist networks
operate. They have knowledge of where their operatives are deployed and
knowledge about what plots are under way," he said.


Bush said the intelligence captured terrorists provide can't be found
anywhere else and has become so critical to U.S. security that the
United States must ensure they have the means at their disposal to get
information from these detainees.

"To win the war on terror, we must be able to detain, question, and,
when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America, and on
the battlefields around the world," he said.

U.S. military forces have worked with allies and launched operations
across the globe, including Afghanistan and Iraq, to remove terrorist
safe havens, and to capture or kill terror leaders and operatives, Bush
said.

The captured terrorists are enemy combatants who've waged war on the
United States, the president said. And, the United States has the right
under the laws of war, he said, "to detain these enemies and stop them
from rejoining the battle."


The detainees are dangerous men, Bush said, with unique knowledge about
terrorist networks and their plans of potential new attacks.

"The security of our nation and the lives of our citizens depend on our
ability to learn what these terrorists know," Bush pointed out.


However, the United States draws the line against abusing detainees,
the president stated.

"I want to be absolutely clear with our people and the world. The
United States does not torture," Bush said. "It's against our laws, and it's
against our values.

"I have not authorized it, and I will not authorize it," he said.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Historic Transfer of Military Authority to Take Place in Iraq

For the first time since the fall of Saddam
Hussein's regime, the Iraqi prime minister, through the Iraqi minister
of defense, will take operational control of the Iraqi ground forces
command structure and the country's air forces and navy tomorrow, a U.S.
military spokesman in Iraq said today.

"This is such a huge, significant event that's about to occur
tomorrow," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a Multinational Force Iraq
spokesman. "It's the one event that puts the prime minister directly in
the operational control of his military forces as his role as the
commander in chief."


Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will take control of the air
force, navy and one army division -- the 8th Iraqi Army Division, Caldwell
said. It is then Maliki's decision how quickly to take over more
divisions, but he will probably assume control of about two divisions a month,
Caldwell said.

The chain of command will now run from Maliki, through the minister of
defense and the joint force headquarters, to the Iraqi ground forces
command headquarters, down to the division and the individual soldier,
Caldwell said.

"This event, again, continues to show the progress as we move forward
with the Iraqi army's capabilities," he said.


Throughout Iraq, coalition forces are transferring operational control
to Iraqis as the security environment and their capabilities improve,
Caldwell said. Currently, six of 10 Iraqi army divisions are in the lead
in their areas of operations, and underneath the divisions are 26
brigades and 88 battalions in the lead, he said.

"They're maintaining the lead in coordinating, planning and conducting
security operations in the area in which they're operating," he said.
"With more and more Iraqi security forces in the lead, the number of
counterinsurgency operations being conducted by Iraqi security forces,
with coalition forces in support, continues to increase steadily."


As Iraqi security forces assume the lead, they're also setting the
conditions to allow for provincial Iraqi control, Caldwell said. Provincial
Iraqi control refers to civil authorities in a province assuming
independent governance and civil security duties, he said.

"Whether it's Iraqi security forces taking the lead or handover of
governance and security responsibilities to Iraqi civil leadership in the
province, we continue to see Iraqi forces, Iraqi security forces and
Iraqi governance moving forward here," he said.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Interview with MA Congressional Candidate Rick Barton

by Sher Zieve


The following is an email interview, which I conducted with
conservative Massachusetts 6th Congressional District Candidate Rick Barton.
Barton is running against incumbent Rep. John Tierney and the powerful
Massachusetts liberal Democrat machine. However, Barton�s credentials are
solid.


Included in his Bio is service to the US as a Navy pilot, which
included Mission Commander, Patrol Plane Commander, Instructor Pilot and
NATOPS Pilot. Barton also grew up in Massachusetts, graduated from Needham
Senior High School in June 1971 and from Boston University in January
1980. He is a member of multiple Massachusetts� civic, political and
service organizations, including Manchester Republican Town Committee, Life
Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association, the Club for
Growth,
National Federation of Independent Business, American Legion Post 113
Manchester, MA, Naval Aviation Foundation and the Military Officers
Association of America. Barton is also a proponent of strong Border
Security.


Sher: �How would you characterize your opponent�s views, in comparison
to yours?�


Rick: �I would characterize my opponent�s view as virtually opposite of
mine. He is a member of the Congressional progressive Caucus and as
such, stands to the extreme left of his own party. I believe that the
responsibilities and duties of the federal government lie in the following
six principles:


�Is it the governments business?


�Washington should only concern itself with those things that cannot be
handled at the state, community, or individual level. Federal action
must remain within the limits of constitutional authority.


�Does this measure promote self-reliance?


�Programs should help individuals stand on their own. The objective of
any government program should be equality of opportunity. Too many
government programs punish individual initiative and condemn their clients
to permanent dependence.


�Is it responsible?


�Programs must be able to stand on their own and withstand the scrutiny
of citizens and legislators. Our federal government has become so
bloated from pork and wasteful spending it has trouble getting off the couch
to act in times of genuine need.


�Does it make us more prosperous?


�Excessive government regulation, high taxes, and trade barriers all
stifle our economic freedom and national prosperity.


�Does it make us safer?


�Government policy should protect our country and make for a better
future. Washington must take seriously the perils we face at home and
abroad. They must commit to the kind of strength, courage, and resolution
demonstrated by President Ronald Reagan in leading us to victory in the
Cold War.


�Does it unify us?


�The government should serve to bind us together with our shared
national values, not exaggerate our differences and undermine our national
identity, principles and purpose. Government policies and programs must
encourage patriotism, American values, a common language, a unified
national identity, and a level playing field, without fear or favor.�


Sher: �Which of the issues do you view as differing the most, between
you and your opponent?�


Rick: �Border security and immigration reform. I favor the House
version which places border security as the immediate necessity, enforces our
existing immigration laws, and looks at immigration reform as a
long-term goal after the borders are secure. My opponent favors the Senate
version which includes the amnesty provisions, which according to the
Heritage Foundation, increases the number of immigrants from south of the
border by an estimated 120 million over the next 20 years.


�National defense. My opponent believes that the United Nations should
be the body that determines how we react to threats to our national
security. He believes that more public disclosure of intelligence
operation is required for oversight purposes. Prior to September 11, 2001 he
routinely voted to cut the defense and intelligence budgets. Since
September 11, 2001, he has routinely voted against defense, intelligence and
homeland security appropriations. As a former Naval Aviator, I support
maintaining an adequately funded military, intelligence community, and
homeland security department at all times. Having entered military
service at the end of the Carter administration, I have seen firsthand the
foolhardy mindset of under funding our military and intelligence
communities when we are enjoying times of relative peace.


�Taxes. He is a big government tax and spend liberal who has never
embraced a tax cut, and refuses to acknowledge the demonstrated economic
benefits of lower taxes. I feel that there is room for a great deal more
tax reform and back scrapping the IRS and implementing a national sales
tax as proposed by H.R. 25 The Fair Tax. I also believe that my own
party must return to the Ronald Reagan fiscal discipline necessary to
ensure a sound economic future.


�Social Security. He says there is no crisis, I believe we must make
the reforms that are required if Social Security is to remain viable. I
strongly favor the reforms that have been put forth by the Cato
Institute.�


Sher: �Do you consider yourself a moderate or a conservative
Republican?�


Rick: �I consider myself a conservative on nearly all issues. The one
issue that some may say that I lean towards a moderate position is the
pro-life issue. When addressing this I try to address all of the
pro-life issues from abortion to euthanasia. The following may be helpful for
you to understand my position:


�I am providing you with background information about me that I hope
will let you understand my position on abortion. My mother was a first
generation Italian-American who became pregnant with me while in her
junior year of high school. She had a compassionate family that gave her
the support she needed to deal with the situation. Had she not been
provided with this support and had abortion on demand been available then,
perhaps I would not be corresponding with you now. I am pro life, but I
realize that there may be situations such as rape, incest, or the
physical condition of the mother that may lead some to consider abortion. In
dealing with rape or incest, I would hope that adoption would be the
first option chosen by the mother. I also believe that throughout history
it has been shown that you cannot legislate morality or common sense;
parents and families must nurture those qualities. Any legislation that
would expand access further, provide for late term abortions, or remove
parental notification for minors seeking an abortion, would not receive
my support. As parents, we have the duty of teaching personal
responsibility and accountability to our children. Too often today this duty is
passed to some form of government entity that seeks to impose its
philosophy on these parental duties.


�The following questions were put to me by an individual who had asked
me to be more specific about my position on abortion and other related
issues. My answer follows each question. The notes with the questions
were those of the person posing the question.


1) �Would you vote for a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v.
Wade allowing the states to prohibit abortions? Would you allow them to
do so as they see fit or would you insist on some exemptions?


Note: before Roe v Wade abortion was legal in many states for many
reasons. In all states that I am aware of, abortion was legal if necessary
to save the life of the mother. With current technology, an abortion is
not necessary to save the life of the mother. However, there are
medical procedures -- not abortion � that have a side effect of threatening
the life of the mother, such as some chemotherapy. In such cases it is
not necessary to perform an abortion to save the mother�s life but an
abortion would occur as a secondary, unintended result of medical
treatment. This is not surgical abortion.


�No. I believe that an exemption for rape, incest, or a physical
condition that may cause the death of the mother should be included.


2) �When you say that you will allow abortions depending upon "the
medical condition of the mother", what do you mean? Do you support Doe v.
Bolton's definition of "health" which is expansive and includes
"familial" and "financial" health? Who should determine that the health is
under threat, the abortionist or a neutral third party?


�Conditions that presents a life-threatening situation to the mother if
continuing the pregnancy. I do not support the Doe v. Bolton
definition. The attending physician and patient should make the determination.


3) �Regarding rape and incest, who would determine that rape and incest
occurred? Would you require, as some laws have, that the rape and
incest be reported to the authorities?


�Note: Medicaid pays for abortions in the cases of rape and incest. The
Clinton administration struck down any requirement that those crimes be
reported to the police before the procedure is paid for.


�I can accept the legal definitions, however I feel that victims of
rape and incest, especially involving young victims, may not always
immediately report these incidents because of social stigma.


4) �Do you support the Hyde Amendment, restricting federal funding of
abortions?


�Yes.


5) �Do you support the Mexico City Policy of Ronald Reagan, which
prohibits funding of overseas and international organizations that advocate
for legal abortion?


�Yes.


6) Do you oppose cloning in all its forms, as Pres. Bush did in his
recent State of the Union? Do you oppose so-called "Clone and kill bills",
which would allow cloning but only if the embryos are destroyed before
growing into a fetus or an infant? This is often done to harvest the
stem cells.


Note: Adult stem cells are the only stem cells demonstrated to cure any
disease. Despite much talk, embryonic stem cells have not done so.


Yes. Yes. I am not opposed to harvesting stem cells from embryos that
may be discarded by fertility clinics after invitro fertilization
procedures, if offered by the donors.


7) When does life begin? What is your definition of a human being?
Does that include all stages of human life including embryonic?


I believe it begins at conception.


8) Do you think that doctors should kill their patients if the patients
request it? Do you think that they should just help their patients, for
instance by subscribing legal drugs, but let the patients kill
themselves? What about patients too incompetent to kill themselves?


I do not support assisted suicide in any form


9) Do you think that food and water are "medical treatments" and can
be, and should be, denied to those in a "persistent vegetative state"?


Unless the patient had expressed in a living will that no extraordinary
means should be used to maintain them in a condition from which there
is no chance of recovery, as I have for myself, nutrition and water
should be continued to be provided as they are necessities of life not
medical treatments.


10) Do you support the death penalty?


Yes


Sher: �What do you believe is the most important and salient issue
facing Americans today and how do you plan to assist in solving it?�


Rick: �I believe it is border security and immigration reform. You have
my position in a previous question. I believe this issue has so many
far-reaching implications on the future of our nation that it cannot be
ignored or delayed. National security, the economic future of our
nation, and the very core of our identity as the USA are all at stake.


Sher: �If elected, how do you plan to assist your district in ways your
opponent has not?�


Rick: �I will continue to work on tax reforms and other pro growth
policies that foster the development of small business opportunities. Here,
as in many other parts of our nation health care costs that employers
must bear must be addressed. My opponent has voted against associated
health plans and other measures that lower the cost of health care
coverage for employers. He is an advocate for universal health care, and yet
he stands against measures such as malpractice reform, health savings
accounts, and many other measures that would lower the cost of health
care and transform the health care industry into the 21st century.


�He prefers to attempt to modify a system that is antiquated, grossly
bureaucratic, and is akin to placing a band aid on a hemorrhaging
patient. I will also work towards eliminating wasteful spending and pork
barrel politics that are draining our resources. If we can rid our
government of these wasteful policies, then fully funding proven successful
programs such as No Child Left Behind and reducing the deficit will be
achievable.�


Sher: �Thank you, Rick. I appreciate both your time and your
comprehensive manner in addressing and answering my questions.�


Rick�s website: http://www.rickbarton.us/

Iraqi Police Kill Insurgent Kingpin in Shootout

Iraqi police killed one of the most wanted
insurgent leaders in the Euphrates River Valley during a Sept. 2
counterinsurgency operation in the city of Rawah, U.S. officials reported.

Sadam Shihab Ahmad had played a key role organizing local
anti-coalition operations, officials said. He also was suspected of involvement in
the beheading of a Rawah policeman earlier this year.

When Ahmad, along with an accomplice, saw Iraqi police approaching
their position in Rawah, the two suspects attempted to flee in a vehicle,
but the police blocked their escape route.

A policeman ordered Ahmad and his passenger to exit the vehicle with
their hands up. Refusing the order, Ahmad pointed an assault rifle at the
policeman, who then fired several rounds at Ahmad, killing him.

Immediately after the shooting, Ahmad's passenger exited the vehicle
and threw a hand grenade at the policeman, but it failed to explode. The
policeman then shot and wounded the suspect. The wounded insurgent was
taken to a U.S. military medical facility, where he was reported to be
in stable condition. The police also detained a third suspect.

The Rawah operation illustrates how the Iraqi police are fast-becoming
a viable law enforcement organization, said U.S. Marine Maj. Lowell F.
Rector, officer in charge of the police transition teams in western
Anbar province.

"The Iraqis are gathering their own intelligence, following up on
leads, executing what they've been taught by coalition forces and are
catching the bad guys," said Rector, a 42-year-old reservist who's a police
officer in Columbus, Ohio.

'No Evidence' Ties Dead Soldiers to Mahmudiyah Crimes

Citing media reports suggesting a possible
connection between three U.S. soldiers killed in June and the alleged
rape of an Iraqi girl and murder of the girl and her family in March,
military officials in Iraq today issued a statement saying "no evidence"
connects the dead soldiers to the incident.

"Past articles could be read to imply that the three deceased soldiers
were somehow involved in the alleged crimes," Multinational Corps Iraq
officials said in the statement.

Spc. David Babineau, Pfc. Thomas Tucker and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca -
all assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st
Airborne Division - were manning a checkpoint that came under attack
June 16. Babineau died at the scene, and Tucker and Menchaca went
missing. Their bodies were found three days later.

Six current and former soldiers from the same unit are facing criminal
charges in connection with the alleged March 12 rape and murder
incident in the southern Iraq town of Mahmudiyah.

"The criminal investigation into the crimes committed against the Iraqi
family in Mahmudiyah is still ongoing, and comment on the investigation
would be inappropriate," the MNC-I statement said. "Thus far, however,
no evidence has been discovered implicating Babineau, Tucker or
Menchaca in any criminal involvement with the Mahmudiyah incident."

Iraq Announces Capture of Top al Qaeda Leader

The capture of a top-tier terrorist has left
al Qaeda in Iraq in a "serious leadership crisis," an Iraqi government
official said here yesterday.

Iraqi forces, with coalition support, captured Hamed Jumaa Farid
al-Saeedi, who is thought to be responsible for the Feb. 22 bombing of a
Samarra shrine sacred to Shiia Muslims, said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, national
security adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a
nationally televised address.

The mosque bombing helped fan the flames of sectarian violence in Iraq.
Saeedi - also known as Abu Humam and Abu Rana - was reportedly captured
as he hid in a residential building southwest of Baquba.

"(Saeedi) is the direct supervisor of the criminal Haitham al-Badri,
who planned and executed the bombing of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra,"
Rubaie said.

The Iraqi national security adviser said Saeedi carried out the policy
of the al Qaeda in Iraq organization to ignite sectarian riots.
According to Rubaie, Saeedi also is accused of supervising the creation of
death squads and ordering assassinations, bombings, kidnappings and
attacks on Iraqi police and army checkpoints.

Fallen soldiers' families say Bush is 'genuine'

Robert Lehmiller isn't really the hugging type.
But when President Bush opened his arms to the father of fallen soldier Michael Lehmiller, the Clearfield man didn't feel he had much of a choice.
Lehmiller said the embrace he received from the president was "warm and sincere."
"It was unexpected and it was absolutely wonderful," Lehmiller said. "It felt as if our loss was truly heartfelt to him."
Several "Gold Star" family members who met Bush while the president was in Salt Lake City this week were similarly impressed with the president's compassion. Bush may be a hard-talking Texan when he's playing the role of commander in chief, but in the presence of the families of those who have died in the wars he has directed, the president exudes something altogether different, the families say.
As a rule, the Bush administration doesn't comment on meetings the president has with families of the fallen. And although Bush hasn't attended any funerals for his war dead, he has not been completely successful at hiding his personal grief.
When Bush spoke in Salt Lake City on Thursday, most of those in attendance were veterans and members of the American Legion. But the front row of seats was filled with family members of fallen soldiers and Marines.
Among those in attendance were Amy and Tony Galvez, who the day before had laid their Marine son to rest at the Utah State Veterans Cemetery.
Bush's voice cracked slightly when he spoke about Adam Galvez and he appeared to wipe a tear from his eye as the audience stood to applaud the Galvez parents.
As the president was shaking hands after his speech, the Galvez family was swept away to a backstage room. Minutes later, Bush appeared at the door.
"He walked right in and gave us all a big hug," Amy Galvez said.
The grieving mother said Bush made her feel instantly comfortable.
"Under any other circumstances, I would have been very nervous," she said. "But he seemed so sincere and so genuine. He expressed his sympathy and I really think he felt deep sadness."
Galvez asked the president not to allow her son's death to be for naught. "He assured me that wouldn't happen," she said.
She said Bush also spoke with Adam's siblings, Sarah and Travis, inquiring about their schools and interests. But mostly, Galvez said, Bush tried to let them know he was aware of their sacrifice.
"What I got from him is that the decisions he makes he takes very seriously, knowing how it affects people and knowing that American lives are going to be lost," she said.
Carol Thomas Young, whose son Brandon was killed in Baghdad last year, said her brief encounter with Bush, as the president swept into the audience after his Salt Palace speech on Thursday, was "extremely meaningful."
The president was being pulled in all different directions, she said, "but he stayed there with us for several minutes and didn't walk away until we had been given the time we needed."
In those moments, Colleen Parkin placed her son's dog tags in the president's hand.
"I just want you to know that he served proudly under your command," Parkin told the president of her son, Matthew Smith, who died in a helicopter crash in Iraq last year.
"Of course, he doesn't really know how we feel, he couldn't," Parkin said. "But when you're with him, you feel that he does care."