The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 11/26/2006 - 12/03/2006

Friday, December 01, 2006

Marines Rescue Hostage, Uncover Weapons Caches

Marines assigned to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, rescued one hostage and uncovered two partially buried caches yesterday while conducting search-and-knock operations here, military officials reported.

"By rescuing this gentleman and capturing the kidnappers, it shows the Iraqi people we do care for them, their safety and their future," said Marine Lt. Col. William Seely, the battalion commander. "I am extremely proud of those Marines. The Marines saved a life and reunited a family. It just doesn't get any better."


After receiving intelligence from reliable sources, the Marines raided a house and launched an extensive search of the premises. Soon after gaining entry into the facility, the Marines discovered three suspected insurgents in beds and a local national hostage, whose body bore marks of torture, huddled on the floor.

"It looked like they had beaten him pretty bad with a cane," said Cpl. Eric Maxwell, who participated in the operation. "He couldn't stand on his own; we had to pick him up. Our corpsman provided medical attention to the guy."

The three insurgents were detained. The situation continued to develop, though, and culminated in the elimination of two arms caches.

"Another platoon had a (person) get away, so my vehicle and Corporal Maxwell's vehicle moved from the house; the rest of the element moved in on the guy on foot," said Sgt. David Evans, an assistant team leader.

After pursuing the fleeing insurgent through fields, the Marines chanced upon "a dug-up cache in a reed line," he said. The find led them to another cache 50 meters to the west on the other side of a canal.

In sum, the stockpiles yielded one 155 mm artillery round and 15 130 mm artillery rounds. Both caches were destroyed by combat engineers attached to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. The Marines also uncovered several identification badges, insurgent propaganda, one Italian 8 mm pistol with magazine, one AK 47 assault rifle with a chest rig and six magazines, and one M14 with 10 rounds.

"You might see a decrease in IED activity in that area," Evans said. "It makes them think, 'When is the next one going to come?'"

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Dems Reject Key 9/11 Panel Suggestion

It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement all of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But with control of Congress now secured, Democratic leaders have decided for now against implementing the one measure that would affect them most directly: a wholesale reorganization of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. Instead, Democratic leaders may create a panel to look at the issue and produce recommendations, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.

Because plans for implementing the commission's recommendations are still fluid, Democratic officials would not speak for the record. But aides on the House and Senate appropriations, armed services and intelligence committees confirmed this week that a reorganization of Congress would not be part of the package of homeland-security changes up for passage in the "first 100 hours" of the Democratic Congress.

"I don't think that suggestion is going anywhere," said Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee and a close ally of the incoming subcommittee chairman, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.). "That is not going to be their party position."

It may seem like a minor matter, but members of the commission say Congress's failure to change itself is anything but inconsequential. In 2004, the commission urged Congress to grant the House and Senate intelligence committees the power not only to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies but also to fund them and shape intelligence policy. The intelligence committees' gains would come at the expense of the armed services committees and the appropriations panels' defense subcommittees. Powerful lawmakers on those panels would have to give up prized legislative turf.

But the commission was unequivocal about the need.

"Of all our recommendations, strengthening congressional oversight may be among the most difficult and important," the panel wrote. "So long as oversight is governed by current congressional rules and resolutions, we believe the American people will not get the security they want and need."

Now Democrats are balking, just as Republicans did before them.

The decision will almost certainly anger commission members, as well as families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, many of whom have pressed hard for implementation of the recommendations.

"The Democrats pledged to implement all the remaining 9/11 reforms, not some of them," said former representative Timothy J. Roemer (D-Ind.), who served on the commission.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Main Stream News Media Reports False Iraq Story

Recently the main stream news media reported that six Sunni civilians were burned alive as they left Friday mosque services, over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The front cover of the Philadelphia Daily News blasted:

"WORSHIPPERS BURNED ALIVE: Capping deadliest week of war, 6 Sunnis doused with kerosene, set afire as Iraqi soldiers reportedly stand idle." The Chicago Sun-Times blared: "Sunnis burned alive in revenge." The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia headlined: "Shi'ite militia burn Sunnis alive in revenge attacks." The Calcutta Telegraph in India echoed: "Shias burn Sunnis alive."

The Washington Post announced: "New savage twist to violence in Baghdad." The lead paragraph reported: "Revenge-seeking Shiite militiamen seized six Sunnis as they left Friday prayers, drenched them with kerosene and burned them alive, and Iraqi soldiers did nothing to stop the attack, police and witnesses said."

The story continued: "Police Capt. Jamil Hussein said Iraqi soldiers at a nearby army post failed to intervene in the burnings of Sunnis carried out by suspected members of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia, or in subsequent attacks that torched four Sunni mosques and killed at least 19 other Sunnis, including women and children, in the same northwest Baghdad area."

The problem with this story ? It's false, and the MSNM hasn't made any corrections or even reported that it is not true.

This so called Police Captain is not a Baghdad police officer, and the Associated Press has been advised that several other of it's sources are not who they say they are either. This was confirmed by CENTCOM, which requested a retraction from the Associated Press. Public Affairs Officer Lt. Michael Dean of the MNC-I Joint Operations Center wrote:

We can tell you definitively that the primary source of this story, police Capt. Jamil Hussein, is not a Baghdad police officer or an MOI employee. We verified this fact with the MOI through the Coalition Police Assistance Training Team . . .

. . . Also, we definitely know, as we told you several weeks ago through the MNC-I Media Relations cell, that another AP-popular IP spokesman, Lt. Maithem Abdul Razzaq, supposedly of the city's Yarmouk police station, does not work at that police station and is also not authorized to speak on behalf of the IP. The MOI has supposedly issued a warrant for his questioning. . . . Unless you have a credible source to corroborate the story of the people being burned alive, we respectfully request that AP issue a retraction, or a correction at a minimum, acknowledging that the source named in the story is not who he claimed he was. MNC-I and MNF-I are always available and willing to verify events and provide as much information as possible when asked.

Some other questionable sources include many of whom have appeared in countless AP stories:

Police Lt. Ali Abbas; police Capt. Mohammed Abdel-Ghani; police Brigadier Sarhat Abdul-Qadir; Mosul police Director Gen. Wathiq al-Hamdani; police Lt. Bilal Ali; Ali al-Obaidi, a medic at Ramadi Hospital; police Maj. Firas Gaiti; police Captain Mohammed Ismail; Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman (a.k.a. Police Brigadier Abd al-Karim Khalaf, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, Brig. Abdel-Karim Khalaf); Mohammed Khayon, a Baghdad police lieutenant; police spokesman Mohammed Kheyoun (a.k.a. Police Lieutenant Mohammed Khayoun); Lt. Thaer Mahmoud, head of a police section responsible for releasing daily death tolls; police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid; police Lt. Ali Muhsin; police 1st Lt. Mutaz Salahhidine (a.k.a. Lieutenant Mutaz Salaheddin); Col. Abbas Mohammed Salman; and policeman Haider Satar.
As of Tuesday there was no retraction or correction to the story from the AP, but is anyone really surprised here. It's the Main Stream News Media in their business as usual mode.

HatTip to Michelle Malkin & Flopping Aces Blog

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Conservatives Launch Anti-Hillary Site

A coalition of conservatives Monday launched a Web site aimed at derailing the presidential ambitions of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., even though the former first lady has yet to formally announce her intention to run in 2008.


Calling itself "an organization of concerned citizens that is dedicated to spreading the truth about Hillary Clinton and her dangerous ideas," the group Stop Her Now has set its sights on minimizing her chances of winning the Democratic nomination.

"We're out to expose her as a confirmed left-wing radical and life-long liberal who long ago sold her soul to the divisive, radical and ultra-liberal special interest groups who see everyone as 'victims' and want to use your tax dollars and the power of the state to make things right," the group says on its website.

Stop Her Now warns supporters that Clinton "is already beginning a massive makeover campaign where she will try to make her look 'mainstream' while hiding her extreme left-leaning agenda of government-run health insurance, sky high taxes, and giving felons the right to vote."

The Web site will be a "clearinghouse" of anti-Hillary material, from news stories to editorials. Animators also are developing a once-weekly cartoon of "The Hillary Show," a fake talk show in which "Hillary Clinton" interviews other liberals.

Dick Collins, the longtime Republican activist behind Stop Her Now, told Cybercast News Service that the site is a new twist on negative advertising.


"When you're trying to run a negative campaign you can do it in a lot of different ways, through paid electronic media - TV or radio - and you can run negatives spots," he said. "We choose not to do that."


"We try to criticize Hillary Clinton's record and her character and what she stands for in a way that might be different from conventional negative advertising and we want to do it with humor."

Collins said the group's goal was "to deny Hillary Clinton election to the presidency."

He said the group would begin by reaching out to traditional conservatives and eventually hoped to reach out to independent voters and conservative Democrats.

Collins also sees his group as a potential target for Clinton to attack.

"She's got to win the Democratic primary - beating up on the vast right wing conspiracy probably is good for her," he said.

American Legion: Demands Rangel Apology

The National Commander of The American Legion called on Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to apologize for suggesting that American troops would not choose to fight in Iraq if they had other employment options.

"Our military is the most skilled, best-trained all-volunteer force on the planet," said National Commander Paul A. Morin. "Like that recently espoused by Sen. John Kerry, Congressman Rangel's view of our troops couldn't be further from the truth and is possibly skewed by his political opposition to the war in Iraq."

According to Rangel, "If a young fellow has an option of having a decent career, or joining the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq. If there's anyone who believes these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No bright young individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of some educational benefits," Rangel said.

Rangel was responding to a question during an interview yesterday on Fox News Sunday about a recent study by the Heritage Foundation which found that those enlisting in the military tend to be better educated than the general public and that military recruiting seems to be more successful in middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods than in poor ones.

According to the study, 97 percent of military enlistees were high school graduates versus 80 percent of Americans in general. The study also concludes that the average reading level of military personnel is a full grade level higher than that of the general population.

"I'm not sure I understand what is unfair about letting adults make their own career choices," Morin said as he visited troops in Korea this week. "Troops serving today have a higher education level than the overall population. Why another member of Congress is insulting our troops' commitment and education level is beyond me."

Morin said the American Legion applauds and appreciates the great sacrifices of those who serve -- many of whom have put civilian careers aside, college on hold or given up high paying jobs to enlist.

More and more troops say it's duty and honor before college fund that motivated them to join. Recruiting numbers have been met this year, but more importantly, servicemembers are reenlisting so retention within the armed forces is great, Morin explained. Not everyone holds the view that we should wait to be attacked again as a nation.

"These brave men and women lay it on the line every day for each and every one of us, for which I am very grateful," Morin said. "Their selfless commitment for the betterment of our world from radical extremists is beyond commendable. It's time for members of Congress to stop insulting our troops.

"While the American Legion shares the congressman's appreciation for education, the troops in Iraq represent the most sophisticated, technologically superior military that the world has ever seen," Morin said. "I call on Congressman Rangel to not only apologize to our troops but to also fight for pay increases and make significant improvements to the current GI Bill -- reserves and guard included, as he prepares for a party chairmanship in the 110th Congress."

Kerry: Dead Last in 2008 Voter Poll

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry ranked last in a poll released Monday that scores the popularity of national leaders.

Americans have the warmest feelings about former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, the poll by Quinnipiac University showed.

The university's "thermometer reading," taken the week after the Nov. 7 election, asked voters to rate their feelings for 20 leaders on a scale of 0 to 100.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee who was roundly criticized before the election for suggesting that students who don't study could end up stuck in Iraq, came in last at 39.6.

Kerry later apologized for what he said was a botched joke.

Giuliani, a Republican weighing a presidential bid in 2008, scored the highest at 64.2. Obama and McCain, who are also considering a 2008 campaign, finished next at 58.8 and 57.7.

President Bush was 15th out of 20 while his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, was fourth and former President Clinton fifth.

Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary before winning re-election as an independent, ranked sixth with a score of 52.7.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton scored ninth of the 20 leaders with a score of 49.

Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, in line to become the next House Speaker, improved her standing, moving from last to 12th in a few weeks. The next Senate Majority leader, Democrat Harry Reid, was 19th.

"As we enter the presidential campaign of 2008, Giuliani and McCain are in enviable positions," said Peter Brown, assistant poll director. "They are well-regarded and most Americans are quite familiar with them. Obama's showing is impressive, but four in 10 Americans still don't know enough about him to have an opinion."


Read More Here: Americans Don't Like John Kerry: Poll