The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 04/01/2007 - 04/08/2007

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Teheran Warns Of Further Kidnappings

Accorrding to a Report in The Telegraph:

Hardliners in the Iranian regime have warned that the seizure of British naval personnel demonstrates that they can make trouble for the West whenever they want to and do so with impunity.

The bullish reaction from Teheran will reinforce the fears of western diplomats and military officials that more kidnap attempts may be planned.

The British handling of the crisis has been regarded with some concern in Washington, and a Pentagon defence official told The Sunday Telegraph: "The fear now is that this could be the first of many. If the Brits don't change their rules of engagement, the Iranians could take more hostages almost at will.

"Iran has come out of this looking reasonable. If I were the Iranians, I would keep playing the same game. They have very successfully muddied the waters and bought themselves some more time. And in parts of the Middle East they will be seen as the good guys. They could do it time and again if they wanted to."


Americans also expressed dismay that the British had suspended boarding operations in the Gulf while its tactics are reassessed.

"Iran has got what it wants. They have secured free passage for smuggling weapons into Iraq without a fight,"
one US defence department official said.

It is also clear that the Iranian government believes that the outcome has strengthened its position over such contentious issues as its nuclear programme. Hardliners within the regime have been lining up to crow about Britain's humiliation, and indicated that the operation was planned.

Conservative parliamentarian Amir Hassankhani, a former member of the country's Revolutionary Guard and supporter of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told the country's semi-official Fars news agency:

"The arrest and release of the British sailors proved that if Iran's issues and demands are overlooked at the international level, the Islamic republic can create different challenges for the other side."

U.S. Offered to Take Military Action on Behalf of British Hostages

The Guardian is reporting that:

The US offered to take military action on behalf of the 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran, including buzzing Iranian Revolutionary Guard positions with warplanes, the Guardian has learned. In the first few days after the captives were seized and British diplomats were getting no news from Tehran on their whereabouts, Pentagon officials asked their British counterparts: what do you want us to do?

They offered a series of military options, a list which remains top secret given the mounting risk of war between the US and Iran. But one of the options was for US combat aircraft to mount aggressive patrols over Iranian Revolutionary Guard bases in Iran, to underline the seriousness of the situation.

The British declined the offer and said the US could calm the situation by staying out of it. London also asked the US to tone down military exercises that were already under way in the Gulf.

Three days before the capture of the 15 Britons , a second carrier group arrived having been ordered there by president George Bush in January. The aim was to add to pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme and alleged operations inside Iraq against coalition forces.

At the request of the British, the two US carrier groups, totalling 40 ships plus aircraft, modified their exercises to make them less confrontational.

The British government also asked the US administration from Mr Bush down to be cautious in its use of rhetoric, which was relatively restrained throughout.

Iraqi/U.S. Forces Fight Militia in Diwaniyah

U.S. warplanes blasted a militia team firing rocket-propelled grenades Saturday, the second day of heavy fighting in a major offensive to drive Shiite Mahdi Army militiamen out of Diwaniyah, a farm-belt city south of Baghdad.

Maj. Gen. Othman Farhood al-Ghanemi, commander of the Iraqi army's 8th Division, said the U.S.-Iraqi operation to retake Diwaniyah took shape after a three-month crescendo of violence in which at least 58 people were killed or kidnapped.

In violence leading up to the offensive, many women reportedly were killed after the hard-line fundamentalist militiamen accused them of violating their strict interpretation of Islamic morality.

Al-Ghanemi told The Associated Press that militants were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, Katyusha rockets, Strela anti-aircraft rockets and AK-47 assault rifles. Before the offensive, militants attacked Iraqi and U.S. led coalition forces 17 times with roadside bombs, some of them armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles.

The U.S. military accuses Iran of providing militants with the deadly EFPs.

"Although the army now is in the city, gunmen still have an armed presence. This will take time to finish. We are backed by friendly multinational forces and had it not been for them we would not have been able to detect and dismantle so many roadside bombs today," the general said.

Al-Ghanemi said the tipping point in Diwaniyah was March 20, when militiamen attacked and set fire to police roadblocks in 15 southeast neighborhoods and turned them into no go zones for the authorities.

Much of the Diwaniyah police force is said to be controlled by the Badr Brigade, a rival militia of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the country's most powerful Shiite political party. SCIRI, as it is known, controls the Qadisiyah provincial council.

Police were ordered off the streets Saturday and some residents said the Iraqi military did not trust them. But Brig. Sadiq Jaafar, the city police chief, said his men were sent indoors because they were too poorly equipped to be of use in the fighting.

An Iraqi army official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to release the figures, said three civilians and three Mahdi Army fighters died in the Saturday battle. At least 29 people were wounded, 21 civilians, six Iraqi soldiers and two American soldiers.

The official said U.S. and Iraqi forces captured 36 militiamen.

In its account of the second day of fighting, the U.S. military reported only one Iraqi death, that of the militiaman hit in the airstrike. It said three U.S. soldiers received minor cuts in a roadside bombing that destroyed their Humvee.

"Fighting was less steady than yesterday's actions. Our assessment is that our operations are being effective," said Maj. Eric Verzola, spokesman for the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.

The U.S. Iraqi drive into Diwaniyah named, "Operation Black Eagle", began before dawn Friday.

Nancy Pelosi Should Resign

Nancy Pelosi has persistently violated her duty to exercise her speaker powers in accordance with the Constitution and the current "106th Congress House Rules Manual" (House Document 106-320).

In short, she has fostered what is known as "tyranny by the majority" and violated House Rules that give her the duty to maintain order, civility, and decorum, and to foster "comity" (a word rarely used these days, meaning "mutual respect").

She also denied a request by President Bush (who has primary constitutional authority over the conduct of foreign policy) that as the third-highest official of the United State she not make an official visit to Syria, which our government has officially declared to be a "terrorist state."

On a high profile televised visit to Syria, she conferred with President Bashar al-Hassad.

The prior history of Democratic Speaker Jim Wright is now being repeated by Nancy Pelosi which forced Wright to resign.

Anti-Sandinistas and Contra hardliners became incensed when they learned that Speaker Wright had secretly sat in on a meeting between Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo the Catholic leader being asked to mediate the peace. The Washington Post wrote "[Wright's] approach marks a dramatic shift in the running of the House and in the role of the House speaker as Washington's No. 1 Democrat."

In the end Jim Wright resigned.

In my view, the longer Nancy Pelosi remains our party's leading spokesperson the more her penchant for political warfare and non-compliance with Jefferson's "Manual" will enhance the chances of Republican control of Congress and/or the White House in 2008.

She will serve our party and the nation best by resigning.

Troops Finding Fewer Roadside Bombs

Thanks to the Baghdad security plan, U.S. troops working in the city's vast northern sector are dealing with 40 percent fewer roadside bombs these days, their commander, Army Col. Paul Funk, said Friday.

"I used to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 [improvised explosives] a month," he said. "Now I'm down to less than 65 to 70."

Funk, who leads the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, spoke with Pentagon reporters in a remote briefing from his headquarters at Camp Taji, Iraq.

He said that the drop has occurred since the 3,800 soldiers of the "Iron Horse" Brigade Combat Team deployed to Taji from Fort Food, Texas, in November 2006.

To date, the brigade has found a total of 330 roadside bombs since formally taking over the sector in the early part of December, Funk said.

Funk said that he believes the reason that his troops are encountering fewer bombs is because
"the enemy doesn't have time to do as thorough a reconnaissance as they used to when they put them in."


Overall, Funk said, "security in our operating environment is assessed as moderate to holding steady."

"We are seeing that the enemy, based on [Baghdad security plan] operations in the city, has to start moving around," Funk said. "And as they move around, we're being much more successful in capturing or killing them,"
but that there are still "continuing issues" with insurgents moving weapons and personnel through his sector.

The area the Iron Horse Brigade is responsible for patrolling in northern Baghdad is 900 square miles and has a population of nearly 2 million, the majority of whom are Sunni, according to Funk.

In addition to a decrease in roadside bombs against coalition troops, Iraqi civilian murders have also dropped, he said.

"I probably averaged, when we first got here, as many as eight extrajudicial killings a month," Funk said. "Now we're down to one or two a month."

Funk said that he thinks the reason murders are down
"is directly related to getting out with the population, living with them, and communicating with them every day."

Friday, April 06, 2007

Two Terrorists Die in Failed Car Bomb Attempt

Iraqi Army troops foiled a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack on a checkpoint south of Baghdad April 4.

The 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division reported that when a vehicle approached an Iraqi Army checkpoint, the passenger of the vehicle got out and attempted to move surrounding concertina wire. He was shot and killed by checkpoint guards near Al Haswah, Iraq. The driver of the vehicle then detonated the car bomb.

No one else was killed or wounded by the blast.

Suicide Chlorine Bomb kills 27 in Iraq

The AP Reports:

A suspected al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bomber smashed a truck loaded with TNT and toxic chlorine gas into a police checkpoint in Ramadi on Friday, killing at least 27 people, the ninth such attack since the group's first known use of a chemical weapon in January.

Al-Qaida in Iraq, which asserts fealty to Osama bin Laden, was believed to be hitting back at Sunni tribesmen who are banding together to expel foreign fighters from their territory.

The bombing in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province and an insurgent stronghold, left many people nearby with breathing difficulties and some needed hospitalization, according to police Maj. Jubair Rashid al-Nayef. Most were released in about 30 minutes. Thirty other victims were hospitalized with wounds from the explosion.

Police opened fire as the suicide bomber sped toward a checkpoint three miles west of the city, police Col. Tariq al-Dulaimi said. Nearby buildings were heavily damaged, and police were searching the rubble for more victims.

The first known chlorine attack took place Jan. 28, also in Ramadi. Pentagon officials first disclosed the attack, which killed at least 16 people.

In low exposures, chlorine irritates the respiratory system, eyes and skin. Higher levels can lead to accumulation of fluid in the lungs and other symptoms. Death is possible with heavy exposure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


As I have pointed out on my show on many occasions, chlorine is an ineffective weapon. With all due repsect to those who were killed in this attack, 27 people probably would have died in this explosion without the chlorine element. For one, it took place at a police check point, that means there were probably many cars lined up in the checkpoint. The truck exploding while colliding with vehicles or buildings probably set off other explosions of gas tanks, etc., people trapped inside burning cars,etc..

With a large explosion such as this one much of the chlorine vapor is incinerated by the heat of the explosion, thus rendering the chlorine element of the weapon virtually ineffective except for the terror aspect of it.
...J.R.

Fred Thompson to Announce Candidacy in May ?

According to The Politico:

Fred Thompson, the "Law & Order" actor and former senator from Tennessee, has moved beyond pondering a bid for the White House and begun assembling the nucleus of a campaign should he decide to run, according to people involved in the effort.

Thompson has not yet decided to seek the Republican presidential nomination. But "he is getting more serious every day," said an adviser familiar with Thompson's plans.

Thompson's coming-out as a candidate-in-waiting will be a May 4 appearance at the 45th annual dinner of the Lincoln Club of Orange County in the heart of Ronald Reagan country in Southern California. The invitation was widely sought by aspiring Republicans, and his advisers expect considerable media attention around the visit. But there are no plans now for an announcement then.

Thompson will also stoke speculation with a meeting of House Republicans April 18 at the Capitol Hill Club, organized by Rep Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), the most vocal promoter of a Thompson candidacy. More than 60 House Republicans have indicated they want to come to hear the former senator, according to organizers.

Thompson will not make a final decision until at least May and may delay any announcement until even later because he recognizes the benefits of being "a non-candidate candidate," according to advisers.

Haditha Marine Awaits Hearing


"They know they did nothing wrong that day"....Darryl Sharratt

A recent article in The South Bend Tribune pointed out what we have forgotten about lately, the defense of the Haditah Marines against those bogus charges:

"I am so sorry. None of you deserve this."


These and thousands of other words flood a Web site set up three months ago in support of Justin Sharratt -- a former Granger resident charged last December with murder in connection with the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in November 2005.

Since then, father Darryl Sharratt hasn't stopped defending the 22-year-old Marine lance corporal. He faces three counts of unpremeditated murder stemming from the controversial 2005 Haditha, Iraq, incident and remains at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Three other Marines also were charged with murder, while four Marine officers were charged with dereliction of duty for not accurately reporting the events.

But, from chats with the Washington Observer-Reporter and NewsMax to efforts to join popular radio talk show host Michael Savage on the air, Darryl Sharratt is determined to see his son exonerated.The Sharratt family has collected at least $500 through a defense fund established for Justin Sharratt, but his father two weeks ago felt the campaign had been relatively unsuccessful.

"Our Haditha Marines are left to defend for themselves,"
Darryl Sharratt said, emphasizing that all of the Marines involved in the alleged 2005 murders are innocent.

When his son returned from Haditha in early 2006, Darryl Sharratt hired Gary Myers, a civilian attorney with extensive military experience ranging from the My Lai prosecutions of the 1970s to the more recent Abu Ghraib prison abuse trials. Myers did not return repeated calls from The Tribune.

Justin Sharratt has been discouraged from speaking with the media by his attorney, mother Theresa Sharratt said. The Marine now awaits an Article 32 hearing scheduled for April 17 at Camp Pendleton, the first of the Marines' hearings, sister Jaclyn Sharratt, 25, said.The hearing is similar to a probable cause hearing in civilian court. If the case does proceed to a court martial, that hearing could take place in September, Jaclyn Sharratt said.

"He's innocent, and when we talk to him, you can feel this," Darryl Sharratt said of his son. "He's strong, upbeat, not worried again because they know they did nothing wrong that day."

Jaclyn Sharratt and her boyfriend, Matt Smith, who live in Chicago, set up the Web site for her brother during his visit to the East Coast around New Year's. Their parents moved to Pennsylvania in 2004 after living in Granger for almost eight years, she said.

"My dad now has gray hair, my mom's eyes look sad all the time, Justin has lost weight and I sometimes don't even recognize myself in the mirror," Jaclyn Sharratt wrote in a February blog.

Not much has changed since then, she told The Tribune this week, recalling how her father has relinquished much of his recreational golfing to focus on researching and developing contacts."Normally, this is the guy who'd be putting in the backyard," she said.

Darryl Sharratt argues that his son, along with the other Marines, "did not fire under revenge" that day in Haditha after a roadside improvised explosive device went off, killing Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, of El Paso, Texas.

The Marines concurred they were soon under fire from all sides in a complex insurgent attack that lasted much of the day, and they were simply following the proper rules of engagement as they were trained to do, Justin Sharratt has told his parents.

"This is not a massacre," Darryl Sharratt said.

Darryl Sharratt also argues that Time magazine misreported the Haditha events in its coverage based on the accounts of survivors and a videotape.Justin Sharratt, who still can have visitors and leave the camp on days off, last traveled home to Pennsylvania in early February. Since then his mother has spoken with him via telephone each day, his father, almost every day, he said.

Now, the nondeployable Marine is working at Camp Pendleton in facilities maintenance, where he seems to be happy doing lawn care, his father said. He previously worked as a paper shuffler and a gym manager, he said.

Justin Sharratt's contract originally ended July 28, after which he had planned to re-enlist for another four years and probably would have been deployed to Iraq once more, Jaclyn Sharratt said.

If the Article 32 hearing this month goes in his favor, he will likely move back to Pennsylvania and pursue an associate degree, she said.

"Things change."

LCpl. Sharratt's hearing on April 17th will be the first Article 32 for a Haditha Marine. He is charged with killing three military age males who were shooting at him.
I believe this is the first time in the history of the U.S. military that a serviceman is charged with murder for killing combatants.


To make a donation or leave a comment for the Sharratt family, please visit:

http://justinsharratt.com/

If you would like to help with the civilian lawyer's legal fees for the
Haditha Marines you can do so by going to these sites.

Defend Our Marines

Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt

SSgt. Frank Wuterich

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani

Marine Defense Fund


British Hostages: Blindfolded,Bound,Harshly Interrogated,and Kept in Stone Cells

According to an Associated Press report:

The British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks in Iran were blindfolded, bound and faced constant psychological pressure, a Royal Navy lieutenant said Friday.

Lt. Felix Carman said the crew faced harsh interrogation by their Iranian captors and slept in stone cells on piles of blankets.

"All of us were kept in isolation. We were interrogated most nights and presented with two options. If we admitted that we'd strayed, we'd be on a plane to (Britain) pretty soon," Carman said. "If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison."


Royal Marine Capt. Chris Air said the crew of 15, which was out on a routine operation on March 23, was confronted by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

"They rammed our boats, and trained their heavy machine guns, RPGs, and weapons on us. Another six boats were closing in on us," Air said. "We realized that had we resisted there would have been a major fight, one we could not have won, with consequences that would have major strategic impacts. We made a conscious decision not to engage the Iranians."


Carman had been pictured on Iranian television apologizing for straying into Iranian waters. At Friday's news conference, he retracted that apology.

"Let me make this clear, irrespective of what was said in the past, we were inside Iraqi waters," he said.

The most visible of the seized sailors and marines was Leading Seaman Faye Turney, a 26-year-old mother of one. Her letters home received widespread publicity in Britain, particularly one in which she requested the British government withdraw from Iraq.

Air said she was singled out for propaganda purposes, held in solitary confinement and told the others had gone home.

"She was under the impression for about four days that she was the only one there," Air said. "She coped admirably and has maintained a lot of dignity."

Band told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that the crew had "acted with considerable dignity and a lot of courage."

Fear of U.S. Attack Forced Hostage Release

According to an article by Kenneth R.Timmerman in NewsMax:

The announcement Wednesday by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that his government would release the 15 captured British sailors and marines came after an intense and often bitter internal debate, sources in Tehran told NewsMax.

The capture of the British naval inspection team was clearly a coordinated effort by the Iranian government aimed at demonstrating Iran's ability to confront the U.S. led multinational forces in Iraq and to divert international attention from the nuclear showdown. The decision to release the hostages showed the limits of Iran's power and the fears of some leaders that too much provocation could backfire.

Within four days of their capture on March 23, the 15 Britons were split up into smaller groups and held in different areas, Iranian sources told NewsMax. This was a lesson learned from the 1979-1981 hostage crisis, when all 55 U.S. hostages were initially kept in one place.

At one point during the current hostage crisis, the British team was split up into five groups of three, with each group kept at a different military base. The Iranians would then bring several groups together and film them, to give the impression they were being held together.

The order to capture the British sailors and marines was given by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself, NewsMax sources believe.

Khamenei's top advisers argued that by striking out against a U.S. ally in Iraq, they would be sending a message to other European nations to step back from supporting the U.S. strategy of increasing pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. They saw the move as a clear test of Western resolve.

But as Britain refused to apologize for the behavior of its boarding party, continuing to insist that they were operating in Iraqi waters, not inside Iran's territorial waters, as Tehran alleged – some of Khamenei's advisers began to have second thoughts.

Adding to those doubts were reports that the USS Nimitz was steaming toward the Persian Gulf, making it the third Carrier Strike Group in the area.

The Nimitz is expected to join the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS John C. Stennis, both currently in the Persian Gulf, in the coming weeks.

On Friday, March 30, Khamenei's top advisers met in an emergency session of the Supreme Council on National Security, chaired by Ali Larijani. Larijani is the regime's top nuclear negotiator, and is a confidant of the Supreme Leader, while maintaining close ties to President Ahmadinejad.

At that meeting, Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Rahim Safavi reported that the deployment of the Nimitz suggested that a U.S. military invasion of Iran was being prepared for early May. He urged the Council to order the release of the British hostages as a gesture to defuse the tension in the region.

While this internal dispute raged, Revolutionary Guards intelligence officers in charge of guarding the hostages continued intense debriefings, aimed at eliciting "confessions" from the British captives that were aired on Iranian television.

The intention was to build a legal "case" against the captives and haul them before a Revolutionary court. During the trial, the regime intended to use forced "confessions" from some of the hostages who alleged they had personal knowledge of British government support for Iranian separatist groups operating in Arab-dominated Khuzestan along the Iraqi border and in Sistan-Balouchestan province, next to Pakistan.

The first inkling that the faction urging release of the hostages was winning appeared on Tuesday evening, when the influential Baztab Web site, run by former Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Mohsen Rezai, reported that the British captives would soon be released.

"It can now be said that the politicians who are for continuing relations with London have got the upper hand," Baztab reported. Fars News Agency also reported on Tuesday that a prominent cleric, Hojatt-ol eslam Ghorbanali Najafabadi, was urging the public prosecutor not to pursue a legal case against the British sailors, but to solve the hostage crisis "through international diplomatic channels."

For now, Tehran's leaders have backed down. Why? My bets are on the Nimitz.

Unless Iran already has nuclear warheads, a direct military confrontation with the United States would most likely provoke a popular uprising against the regime. And retaining power is the one thing that Ayatollah Khamenei and his clerical cohorts actually care about.

Unemployment Drops to 4.4%

All we keep hearing from the Dems and the main stream news media is how terrioble the economy is, yet all the data we keep reading and hearing is to the contrary, as evidenced by this from The Street.com:

A higher-than-expected 180,000 nonfarm jobs were added in March while payrolls for the prior two months were revised higher, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a five-year low of 4.4% in March from 4.5% in February.

The consensus expectation was for nonfarm payroll growth of 135,000 (down from 150,000 a week ago) and for the unemployment rate to tick up to 4.6%. February payrolls were revised up to 113,000 from 97,000 while January payrolls were revised up to 162,000 from 146,000.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% last month, in line with expectations. Average hours worked rose to 33.9 from 33.8, matching expectations.

February's payroll gains and the upward revision to the prior two months "suggest forward momentum for the economy with better gains in consumer incomes and spending."

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Iraqi Forces' Efforts Improve Security in Baghdad

Tangible gains in Baghdad's security situation have been made possible in part by the cooperation of vastly improved Iraqi security forces, a coalition spokesman said yesterday.

Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said that with 50 out of 75 planned U.S.-Iraqi joint security stations and combat outposts already in place throughout the Iraqi capital, the sustained, neighborhood-level presence is leading to an "effect that we can actually see."

Speaking from Baghdad to a group of online journalists, Caldwell pointed to a decrease in the number of sectarian murders and assassinations, a reduction in the number of car bombs, and a diminished capability for insurgent elements to move within the city.

The effect of Operation "Fardh al-Qanoon" -- "Enforcing the Law" in English - on sectarian militia activity has been equally apparent, Caldwell said.

Discussing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, Caldwell said, "Its ability to act in a coherent, organized manner has been degraded. We could see some fracturing that's occurred for various reasons.

"That's maybe part of the reason why we're seeing much greater cooperation occurring within Sadr City as we continue operations there now, having actually done clearing of about 40 percent of that city,"
he said.

But despite progress on many fronts, terrorist activity remains a significant threat, Caldwell noted.

Al Qaeda in Iraq "is going to continue to attempt high casualty, headline-grabbing attacks both in their target areas" in Baghdad and increasingly in less intensely-manned areas outside of the city, the general said.

He described the terrorists' goal as
"fomenting chaos while trying to discredit, one, the government of Iraq and its ability to provide security for the people, and two, to discredit the Iraqi security forces themselves."

The Iraqi police and armed forces, however, have benefited from coalition training programs to the point they are making a credible and necessary contribution to the fight in Baghdad, Caldwell said.

They have
"become more capable literally almost every week as they continue their operations," he noted. "We count on them very much."

Caldwell reflected on failed past attempts to use the Iraqi force, and drew a sharp contrast between their past and current performance.

"As part of this Fardh al-Qanoon, they brought into the city about 4,500 extra troops, nine battalions with some headquarters," he said. "They're already starting to work the plans on how they would do the rotation out of those nine and bring nine more in. I mean, that is just an incredible step forward to have developed that capability over the last year."

Caldwell took a long view toward fully developing the Iraqi military.
"From better equipment, more capable leadership, and the quality of their young soldiers, they developed a professionalism inside their force," he said. "It's going to still take time, but it's beginning to take hold."

Signals on the ground suggest the surge is working, Caldwell said, but he emphasized it is premature to draw conclusions until the full force is in place.

"There are a lot of other positive indicators that tell us this could be moving in the right direction, but again, it's going to take some time before anybody would ever make that type of assertion," he said.

Responding to reports that Iraqi public opinion has turned against the U.S. presence, Caldwell admitted many Iraqis want foreign troops to leave, but not until the security situation improves.
"Atmospherics," he said, suggest "the number of people that want us to remain right now has continued to rise" over the past eight months.

As an example of Iraqi sentiment, Caldwell quoted the Sunni police chief of Fallujah on his feelings toward the U.S. mission:
"General, it is true, we don't want you here, and I want you to leave, but not right yet, not until we gain greater security here."

U.S. commanders recognize that sentiment and point to it as justification for a continued presence, Caldwell explained.

"I found that very illuminating," he said. "They're recognizing that the teamwork there is actually helping bring down the levels of violence."

Forces Discover Weapons Caches in Afghanistan

Acting on reports from Afghan civilians, coalition forces and Afghan National Army discovered several weapons caches in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province April 3.

Three weapons caches, consisting of 30 82 mm recoilless rounds, were found hidden along a ridgeline near the Pakistani border, military officials report. The recoilless rounds, commonly used to create improvised explosive devices, were destroyed in place.

Over the past week, coalition forces in the province have discovered 60 82 mm recoilless rifle rounds, 28 85 mm rocket propelled grenade rounds, 17 rocket-propelled grenade boosters, six 107 mm rockets, three 75 mm RPG rounds and an RPG launcher in the Bati Kot, Shinwar, Achin and Khogyani districts.

"The weapons recovered will no longer be available for use by Taliban fighters and other militant forces," said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. "Afghans are taking responsibility for their safety and security by reporting the locations of weapons caches."

Forces Capture 39 Suspected Terrorists in Iraq

Coalition forces captured 39 suspected terrorists during operations over the past two days throughout Iraq, officials report.

During an operation in Southwest Baghdad, coalition forces captured a suspected vehicle-bomb cell leader and supplier of roadside bomb components. Officials said the suspect is believed to have been recently involved in attacks against coalition forces.

Forces discovered a weapons cache while searching the suspect's vehicle. The vehicle and weapons caches were destroyed on site to prevent further use by terrorists.

Elsewhere in Iraq today, six suspects were captured with alleged ties to al Qaeda in Iraq and the facilitation of foreign fighters. Another seven were captured, including a suspected weapons dealer reportedly involved in the sale and purchase of sniper rifles, automatic weapons, ammunition and bomb casings.

In operations yesterday, forces raided two known foreign fighter safe houses and captured four suspects with ties to foreign fighter facilitation and the movement of weapons into Iraq during operations north of Mosul.

Coalition forces also detained three more suspected foreign fighter facilitators in Habbaniyah, while two suspected terrorists with alleged ties to al Qaeda were captured southwest of Karmah.

"Foreign fighters and the facilitators that bring them in are a detriment to the stability of a peaceful Iraq," Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a spokesperson for Multinational Force Iraq, said. "Coalition forces will continue to target them and the networks that illegally bring them in to Iraq."

Washington Post Slams Pelosi on Syrian Visit

HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.

Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message.
"What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel,"
said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office. In fact, Mr. Olmert told Ms. Pelosi that
"a number of Senate and House members who recently visited Damascus received the impression that despite the declarations of Bashar Assad, there is no change in the position of his country regarding a possible peace process with Israel."
In other words, Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel's position but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr. Assad's words were mere propaganda.

As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.

Freed British Hostages Were Taunted by Captors

THE 15 Navy hostages held by Iran were made to grovel before being given their freedom last night.

Conniving President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bragged to the world that he ordered their release as an Easter gift to the British people.

Then he insisted on taunting the group one by one in a sickening line up at his palace in Tehran, for which they were kitted out in brand new suits with no ties.

With a creepy smile, the president asked captive Leading Seaman Chris Coe, 31: "Have you enjoyed your mandatory vacation?"

Speaking to the president through a translator, each of the Brits was ushered up to him by flunkies and encouraged to flatter him.

Gathered together in a line, the Brits were then all asked to wave and smile at a bank of cameras.

But three Royal Marine Air, 25, and Marine colleagues Mark Banks, 24 and Danny Masterton, 26 refused, keeping their hands defiantly in their pockets.

Brave hostage Lieutenant Felix Carman, 26, later refused to admit British ships were in Iranian waters when captured. He was being quizzed on local TV for a propaganda piece late last night and was asked if he had a message for the Iranian people. He said: "I can understand why you were insulted by our APPARENT intrusion into your waters."

Kuwaiti media: U.S. to attack Iran by end of April

The United States is planning to attack Iran's nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities by the end of this month, Kuwait-based daily Arab Times reported Wednesday.

Citing anonymous sources in Washington, the Times said that various White House departments have already started preparing the political speech, which will be delivered by the U.S. president later this month, announcing the military attack on Iran.

The speech will provide the "evidence" and the "justification" for the United States to resort to the military option after failing to persuade Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions, said the report.

According to the Times, one of the justifications expected to be provided in the speech is Iran's alleged role in the killing of American soldiers in Iraq by supporting various militias with both money and arms.

The American president's speech will also point to Iran's political interference in the internal affairs of Iraq, obviously in cooperation with Syria, said the report.

The sources were quoted as saying that U.S. will not resort to a ground attack in order to avoid human losses under a plan to achieve their aims by air attacks.

New Bin Laden Video Release Expected


Al-Sahab Reportedly To Release New Bin Ladin Video Message

On 4 April, a jihadist website carried the following posting:

"After a long absence by the shaykh of mujahidin, whom we have missed as well as his speeches, some news is being leaked indicating that Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, God protect and preserve him and make him a thorn in the throat of the enemies, will make an appearance. The news indicates that Al-Sahab Media Establishment, which specializes in publishing Al-Qa'ida leaders' speeches, has recently finished producing a video featuring Bin Ladin's speech to the entire Islamic nation. "

Furthermore, the poster of this note maintains that the speech includes several messages to the "mujahidin" in Iraq, the Palestinian People on
" the capitulation choice which HAMAS gave in to," the Riyadh Arab summit, the "fears" of America and its allies of the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate state in Iraq, and the "good tidings of victory in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Talk Show America 4/5/2007 (Podcast)

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Talk Show America 4/5/2007

Iran Frees British Hostages

Iran on Wednesday freed the 15 detained British sailors and marines in what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called an Easter gift to the British people. Prime Minister Tony Blair said he bore "no ill will" toward the Iranian people. Iranian state television said the 14 men and one woman, who were seized while on patrol in the northern Persian gulf on March 23, would leave Iran on Thursday. An Iranian official in London said they would be handed over to British diplomats in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad's surprise announcement came at a news conference shortly after he pinned a medal on the chest of the Iranian coast guard commander who intercepted the sailors and marines.

"I'm glad that our 15 service personnel have been released and I know their release will come as a relief not just to them but to their families," Blair said outside his No. 10 Downing St. office. "Throughout, we have taken a measured approach, firm but calm, not negotiating but not confronting, either."

Blair added,
"To the Iranian people I would simply say this: We bear you no ill will."


Listen to this story and more on:

Talk Show America 4/5/2007

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Talk Show America 4/4/2007

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Iran: British Hostages Being Released "As Gift" , Poll Shows Fred Thompson Running Third, Hostage Drill at N.J. School Depicts "Christian Terrorist", Ethonal Emissions No Cleaner Than Gasoline According to Study, Iraq: The Surge is Working.

Talk Show America 4/3/2007

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Talk Show America 4/3/2007



Britian and Iran in Talks Over Hostages, Progress Report on Security Operations in Baghdad, Troops: "Why We Serve" Outreach Program, Obama: Congress Will Fund War, 91 % of Americans Believe in God, Muslims Offer to HelpPassangers Being Sued by Imans.

New Program Connects Iraq-Deployed Troops to U.S. Public

American military members serving in Iraq have an additional opportunity to share their experiences with the U.S. public, thanks to a new public outreach initiative, a senior U.S. military officer said today in Baghdad.

"The 'Share the Story' initiative is a new program that's designed to connect U.S. military personnel with organizations and groups like yours," Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told stateside-based representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Reserve Officers' Association and others during a telephone conference call.

Military members of all ranks and service branches serving in Iraq who are slated to return stateside for leave or duty rotation "will have an excellent opportunity to share their story with the folks who want to hear it," Fox said.

The Multinational Force Iraq Web site, www.mnf-iraq.com, provides a "Share the Story" link where interested Iraq-deployed servicemembers register to participate in the program, Fox said. Servicemembers can choose to discuss their Iraq experiences with interested groups while on leave in their hometowns, he said, or with organizations situated near upcoming stateside assignments.

"Share the Story" is managed by Multinational Force Iraq, Fox said, noting the new initiative supplements the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program that was introduced last fall.

Fox likened the "Share the Story" Web link to "a virtual tool" that connects veterans groups and other interested organizations to servicemembers who can provide their unique, individual perspectives on military service in Iraq.

The admiral said he's excited about the new program's potential to tell interested groups about servicemembers' experiences in Iraq, Fox said.

"We understand the nature of the (public) curiosity and desire to know about what we're about and our mission," the admiral said.

Oil Down As Iran Releases British Sailors

Just as news of Iran's detention of 15 British sailors and Marines nearly two weeks ago in waters separating Iran and Iraq pushed oil prices to a six-month high of over $66 a barrel and London Brent crude to a seven-month high near $70, news today of the military personnel's imminent release pushed oil prices down as concern of a conflict in the Persian Gulf eased.

U.S. crude for May delivery fell 46 cents to $64.18 a barrel, having fallen as low as $63.56 after Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced his decision to release the 15 detainees as a "gift" to Britain.

And there may be more room for crude oil to fall in the coming weeks.

"There was at least $3 to $4 added to the price of oil as a result of the seizure," Rick Mueller, an analyst with Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Tilburg, the Netherlands, tells Bloomberg. "This won't suddenly lead to a recovery of Iraqi production or OPEC increasing its output but it does reduce a lot of concern about the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz."

Ahmadinejad also reportedly said Iran would reconsider its relations with the U.S. if President Bush and his administration changed its behavior.

Iran sits on the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping route for about a quarter of the world's globally traded oil, and oil investors were well aware of the possible implications on oil exports from the Middle East if tensions had heightened. Iran exports about 2.5 million barrels per day of oil.

The decrease in oil prices though were tempered by a tightening U.S. inventory report. Gasoline inventories reportedly fell 5 million barrels to 205.2 million barrels, a greater decline than the market had expected, news sources stated.

The Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories are now in the lower half of the average range.

Inventories of distillates, which include heating oil, were unchanged at 118 million barrels. Refineries operated at 87 percent of capacity for the second consecutive week.

Iraqis Show Confidence in Security Forces

The Iraqi people are starting to show more confidence in their security forces, and this is paying off with better security in Baghdad, coalition officials said today.

The largest indicator is that sectarian killings have dropped 27 percent in March from February, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, coalition spokesman, said during a Baghdad news conference.

With the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, in place, three of the five U.S. brigade combat teams slated for deployment as part of the surge are in place. Two more coalition brigades will move into Baghdad in the late May, early June time frame.

Iraqi security forces are holding up their end of the deal, Caldwell said. All nine Iraqi battalions that are part of the surge are in place and contributing to security in all neighborhoods of the capital.

"The progress of the Iraqi forces is good and will get better," said Iraqi government spokesman Dr. Ali Aldabbagh."Despite all the challenges of the terrorist groups against the Iraqi people, and despite all the terrorist operations carried out in March ... the Iraqi people now have more trust in their Iraqi security forces. This will lead to more cooperation between the Iraqi people and the security forces."

Caldwell said security is the key to change in Baghdad.

"When the people feel more secure, everything else is possible," he said. "That's why we are working diligently with our Iraqi partners to secure progress and provide hope."

Iraqi and coalition efforts are centered in Operation Fahrd al-Qanoon, and Arabic phrase that means "enforcing the law."

"The effects of our commitment will be felt over many months," Caldwell said. "We know our increased presence among the people is having an effect."

The Iraqi people are seeing more Iraqi army and police personnel patrolling the streets and manning checkpoints in the neighborhoods. This higher level of contact is building increased confidence, which in turn is leading to greater cooperation, Aldabbagh said.

The cooperation between the Iraqi people and their security forces is at an all-time high, Caldwell said. While Iraqis can still use a national tip line to turn in terrorists, insurgents and criminals, more in the Baghdad area are taking advantage of the fact that security forces are in the neighborhoods.

"It is a true community police effort," he said. "Police and soldiers live among the people and share their knowledge and concerns. Now, the people can report criminal activity directly to the stations."

As Iraqi and coalition forces patrol and as the security situation improves, Baghdadis are engaging the forces more and providing them far more information than in the past, the general said.

"This cooperation is helping to bring down the levels of sectarian violence," he added. "Results produce more results. As the people feel more confidence in their protectors, they are less likely to take the law into their own hands. There are encouraging signs that more people are buying into restraint rather than retribution."

Al Qaeda in Iraq continues its high-profile car bomb attacks to massacre innocent civilians, Caldwell said. Even with Iraqi security forces foiling more attacks at checkpoints, "too many still occur," Caldwell said.

The general said al Qaeda in Iraq is trying to ignite a cycle of tit-for-tat violence, but the downward trend in sectarian attacks may mean the Iraqi people increasingly aren't letting themselves be drawn in by al Qaeda's tactics.

"The decline in sectarian murders may be a sign that the people of Iraq are rejecting this cycle of violence,"
he said.

Iran: We Will Release Sailors 'As Gift To Britain'

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this afternoon that the 15 British sailors seized by Iran two weeks ago are to be freed, as a "gift" to Britain.

At a speech in Teheran the Iranian president said the party would be "pardoned", despite Britain's refusal to admit that they had entered Iranian waters.

He gave no further details of their release and - unlike in previous statements - did not attach any conditions.

A recent flurry of diplomatic activity between London and Teheran had raised hopes that progress was being made towards a solution, but today's sudden announcement still came as a shock.

During his speech Mr Ahmadinejad also praised the Revolutionary Guards who had captured the sailors in the Persian Gulf, and attacked the British government for failing to have the courage to admit it had been wrong about the location of the British party.

Hostage Drill at NJ School Features Mock 'Christian terrorists'

The head of a national, Texas-based pro-family group says a recent hostage drill at a New Jersey high school, which portrayed conservative Christians as terrorists, is reflective of a dangerous philosophy that has become prevalent in many parts of America, where it is having negative effects on education.

A local paper reports that a drill at Burlington Township High School in New Jersey involved police portraying mock gunmen, described as "members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the 'New Crusaders' who don't believe in the separation of church and state." The fake gunmen were said to have been "seeking justice because the daughter of one [member] had been expelled for praying before class."

Historian and constitutional expert David Barton is president of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that distributes historical, legal, and statistical information and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities. He says the stereotyping used in the high school's drill is an accurate indicator of what is being taught in public schools in the Northeast region of the country.

"It's been interesting to see the indoctrination that goes on," Barton notes, "where we've had in the same region, even federal courts up in that same area, say it's okay to start teaching second graders about homosexuality and homosexual 'marriage.'"

Also, the author and historian observes, the common thinking prevalent in this region is "that, by the way, we do not have to notify parents that we're going to indoctrinate kids because this is such an important societal value that all citizens need it." But in fact, he asserts, such liberal indoctrination of students in religious and moral areas of thought has been shown to lead to some undesirable outcomes.

"There is now a study that has been done by the University of Connecticut that shows that kids who have gone through that type of education actually know less academically than when they enter [school], and they're calling that phenomenon 'negative learning,'" Barton points out. "So that kind of indoctrination or philosophy is having an adverse effect academically," he says.

Nevertheless, the WallBuilders founder observes, liberal attitudes like the one that informs the Burlington Township High School drill are "fairly reflective of the philosophy that has really inculcated that part of the country. He says many schools, local officials, and members of Congress from the Northeast share a strong hostility toward traditional values.

The "separation of church and state" phrase invoked in the school hostage drill, Barton asserts, was rarely used by America's founding fathers and is currently construed by many liberals to mean almost exactly the opposite of what it originally meant, protecting churches from the government.


Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Another Poll Shows Fred Thompson Running Third

According to Rasmuusen Reports:

The addition of former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) to the list of candidates shakes up the race for the GOP Presidential nomination.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) remains on top, but his support dips below the 30% mark for the first time in seven weeks. With Thompson in the mix, Giuliani's support tumbles to 26%, down nine points from a week ago. That's the lowest level of support measured for Giuliani in any Rasmussen Reports poll this year.

Support for Arizona Senator John McCain remains steady at 16%, but McCain's hold on second place is threatened by Thompson. The movie star turned Senator turned TV star weighs in with 14% support among those likely to vote in a GOP primary. Among Very Conservative voters, Giuliani attracts 20% support followed closely by Thompson at 19%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 18% and McCain at 14%.

Ethanol Emissions No Cleaner Than Gasoline

According to a report in NewsBusters:

An as yet unpublished report from Ottawa, Canada, suggests that there is absolutely no ecological advantage to using ethanol blends in cars versus conventional unleaded gasoline.

Think this will make headlines here in America?

Regardless of the answer, the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported on Friday (video available here, emphasis added throughout):


An unpublished federal report appears to undermine the belief that commercially available ethanol-blended fuel produces cleaner emissions than regular gasoline.

The piece marvelously continued:

Scientists at Environment Canada studied four vehicles of recent makes, testing their emissions in a range for driving conditions and temperatures.

"Looking at tailpipe emissions, from a greenhouse gas perspective, there really isn't much difference between ethanol and gasoline," said Greg Rideout, head of Environment Canada's toxic emissions research.


"Our results seemed to indicate that with today's vehicles, there's not a lot of difference at the tailpipe with greenhouse gas emissions."

The study found no statistical difference between the greenhouse gas emissions of regular unleaded fuel and 10 per cent ethanol blended fuel.

Although the study found a reduction in carbon monoxide, a pollutant that forms smog, emissions of some other gases, such as hydrocarbons, actually increased under certain conditions.

Amazing. Ethanol blends could actually release MORE hydrocarbons into the air? Shocking.

Bill Rees, an ecology professor at the University of British Columbia and longtime opponent of ethanol, has read the report and thinks Canadians need to know its conclusions.

"I must say, I'm a little surprised at that, because it seems to fly in the face of current policy initiatives," he said.

"People are being conned into believing in a product and paying for it through their tax monies when there's no justifiable benefit and indeed many negative costs."

Now, consider just how detrimental to America this is if it turns out to be true. After all, given the federal government's ethanol blend requirements during the summer, gasoline prices are significantly higher than they should be.

Furthermore, as a result of the dramatically increased demand for corn, corn prices have skyrocketed across the world making all foods using this commodity much more expensive.

As such, this con if it indeed is the case that ethanol blends are not any cleaner has done nothing but cost Americans and people across the globe moneys that could have been spent elsewhere.

IRAQ :THE SURGE IS WORKING

While the administration labored to deliver Iraqi democracy, it seemed to believe that security would take care of itself once the purple thumbs were counted.

The Baghdad Security Plan (commonly known as the "surge") is the administration's first serious attempt to grapple with security in Iraq. The results so far are not discouraging.

The Baghdad Security Plan went into effect Feb. 14, as Gen. David Petraeus assumed command over coalition forces in Iraq. The idea was to push five additional U.S. brigades and nine Iraqi battalions into neighborhoods in and around Baghdad, establishing secure points and radiating security outward.

Some results were seen almost immediately. In the first two weeks of the plan, bomb attacks decreased 20 percent and insurgents were being rolled up by the dozen. The number of bodies of apparently murdered people in Baghdad dropped from 1,222 in December to 954 in January and 494 in February. The Iraqi government stepped up its training of troops to the point at which it was minting 7,500 new soldiers every five weeks, most of whom were being used to swell Iraq army units already in Baghdad.

But in the aggregate, signs are encouraging.
On March 4, U.S. and Iraqi forces began cleaning out Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. Sadr has gone into hiding in Iran, and the action was mostly peaceful.

Originally, the Baghdad Security Plan had called for 35 to 40 joint security stations, mini-HQs in Baghdad neighborhoods to be manned by coalition and Iraqi troops. After the first 20 were established, the results were so good that Petraeus increased the ultimate goal to 70 such stations.The impact is striking: According to Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta al-Mussawi, in the first month of the Baghdad Security Plan, while the number of car-bomb incidents was at an all-time high, murders were down 75 percent, the number of terrorists killed was up 80 percent, and the number of terrorists arrested was up 1,000 percent. (U.S. military deaths were down 20 percent.)

It is good news, of a sort, that when al-Qaida staged a symbolic attack on the four-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it did so in Kirkuk, suggesting that Baghdad may be moving out of its reach.

The Baghdad Security Plan is a "rolling" surge, meaning that the deployment of forces comes gradually. So far, only two of the five additional U.S. brigades have been put in play. When the insurgents launch their counterattacks or seek safer havens, Petraeus has three more brigades to bring to bear, continuously increasing the pressure on the enemy.

Talk Show America 4/3/2007






Britian and Iran in Talks Over Hostages, Progress Report on Security Operations in Baghdad, Troops: "Why We Serve" Outreach Program, Obama: Congress Will Fund War, 91 % of Americans Believe in God, Muslims Offer to Help Passangers Being Sued by Imans.

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Monday, April 02, 2007

Talk Show America 4/2/2007


Iran Dissidents: British Capture Ordered, New Hostage Video Released, Power Struggle in Iran Over Hostages, How the British Were Captured by Iranian Gunboats, U.S. To Attack Iran in April ?, McCain: Americans Not Getting Full Picture of Iraq, 21 Members of Al Qaeda in Iraq Killed by Insurgents, A Positive Story From Iraq, Get Tough on Iran (This was in the LA Times !), US Developing Ground Penetrating Bomb(The MOP)

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Troops Embark on 'Why We Serve' Public Outreach Mission

Eight servicemembers with duty experience in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa, who have been selected to tell the military's story to the American public, met with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England here March 30.

"It's important and it's vital, particularly now," England told the group of their mission to relate their experiences to the American public. "This is the time to be out with the message of the importance of what you do every day, and all those who serve."

The eight enlisted and commissioned Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps members are participating in the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program.

The United States has always relied on the courage and selflessness of military members who have fought to preserve America's security, freedoms and way of life since the nation was established, England pointed out.

"What you're doing is hugely important," the deputy defense secretary told the servicemembers as he shook their hands and passed out his personal coins. "And, while you're out there, deliver a great message for America."

The "Why We Serve" program began last fall and was initially the idea of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The program is conducted in quarterly segments and eight military members, two from each service, are selected to participate, said Air Force Maj. Ann N. Biggers, the program's director.

"We're sending the best of the best from each of the services," Biggers said.

Participants are attached to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs for periods of about 90 days. They travel to communities across the nation to tell their personal stories of military service. Speaking engagements range from veterans organizations to grade schools to business groups.

But first, the servicemembers undergo three days of training consisting of standards of conduct, public speaking, policy and ethics, interview skills, speech preparation and more, Biggers said.

"We know that the American public is hungry to hear about what these young men and women have been doing," Biggers said. "It's important for our speakers, as well, because they are out there serving their country, and they want to be able to tell their stories."

This is the third "Why We Serve" group since the program began, Biggers said. The group members are:

Air Force Capt. Michael J. Frasco, 35, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.;

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert P. Jubie, 35, Hill Air Force Base, Utah;

Army Capt. Jessica L. Murphy, 28, Fort Drum, N.Y.;

Army Staff Sgt. Matt Olson, 25, Fort Jackson, S.C.;

Marine 1st Lt. Matthew H. Hilton, 28, Camp Pendleton, Calif.;

Marine Sgt. Paula Payne, 23, Camp Pendleton;

Navy Lt. Junior Grade Katie Hagen, 24, Norfolk, Va.; and

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Virginia Marie Mayo, 29, Camp Pendleton.


The servicemembers have unique experiences they'd like to share with the American public.

Jubie, a military carpenter who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, recalled helping Afghans to rebuild their homes during his stint with a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan. He also cited the death of two of his fellow soldiers in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sept. 8, 2006.

"That really drove home to me to a great desire to continue the mission," Jubie, an Arlington, Wash., native said. "Unfortunately, their lives were ended short, but their legacy lives on through the PRTs."

Frasco, who hails from Albuquerque, N.M., volunteered to be a supply convoy commander during a tour in Afghanistan in 2006, a normally done by an Army officer. He also served as a trainer for the Afghan National Army.

Frasco remembers once working 30 consecutive 16-hour days during his tour in Afghanistan. However, he said, it was worth it to help the Afghans get back onto their feet after enduring years of brutal rule under the Taliban.

However,
"despite all the long hours, despite all the hardships that we'd gone through and despite all the difficult things that we'd faced during our deployment, servicemembers are ready to go back"
to assist the Afghans to make them stronger, Frasco said.

Servicemembers perform dangerous duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other far-flung places to preserve America's security and freedoms and to protect loved ones and other Americans back home, Frasco said.

In Iraq, Mayo organized medical triage and movement of casualties and also participated in more than 15 combat-related missions, including convoys and dismounted patrols. She said she wants the American public to know "there are so many opportunities and positions of leadership" available to women in the military.

"If you can do your job and can hold your own, then, there's nothing that can stop you," Mayo, a New Port Richey, Fla., native, noted.

Murphy, a Milwaukee native and military police officer, said she and her soldiers worked closely with local residents during tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We interacted with the community a lot in both countries. It was very rewarding. I've seen how we can affect what is happening on the ground and help people have a better life,"
Murphy said.

"I know the news kind of portrays the sensational side" of events in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Olson, who hails from Grantsville, Wis. "I'm kind of hoping to get the whole story out there, the good news stuff."
Having served two tours in Iraq, Olson recalled participating in humanitarian missions to provide supplies for Iraqi school children.

"Seeing those children's faces was rewarding," the wheeled-vehicle mechanic and noncommissioned officer said.

Hagen, who calls Slidell, La., home, recalled performing anti-pirate missions off the coast of Somalia while deployed on a Navy destroyer in the Arabian Gulf in 2005-2006.

"It's something that I'd never expected. I didn't even know until I got there that there actually were still pirates out there," Hagen said. "It was a pretty unique experience."

Hilton, an intelligence officer who's slated to be the ceremonial ringmaster for an April 4 evening performance of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in his native Fairfax, Va., said he'd share his positive experiences with the Iraqi people during his two tours in Iraq.

"The Iraqi people are great people," said Hilton, who'd served as an advisor to the 7th Iraqi Army Division. "They're very hospitable people, and I think the American people don't get a chance to see the warm, inviting culture that they have, that I was able to experience."

"I think the American people don't get enough (news) about the good things that are happening in Iraq,"
Payne, a communications noncommissioned officer, said, because of the preponderance of stories that publicize the negative. For example, the Grandville, Mich., native said, it was a routine occurrence to see Iraqi children joyfully accepting educational books and candy from U.S. soldiers and Marines.

"There are wonderful things that are happening over there, and those are the things that need to be covered more,"
said Payne, served two tours in Iraq, in 2005 and 2006.

For general questions about the "Why We Serve" program, call Maj. Ann Biggers at (703) 695-3845.


Admiral Outlines Progress of Security Operation in Baghdad

Over the past month in Baghdad, Iraqi security and coalition forces seized more than 300 weapons caches, detained more than 1,400 suspects, and found and cleared more than 300 improvised explosive devices, a coalition spokesman told reporters in the Iraqi capital yesterday.

"Additionally, the more than 5,000 tips from Iraqi citizens last month contributed to Iraqi security and coalition forces' ability to conduct these operations,"
said Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox, communications division chief for strategic effects, Multinational Force Iraq.

The Baghdad security operation, called Fardh al-Qanoon, an Iraqi phrase that means "Enforcing the Law," was announced Feb. 13 and included initiatives to split Baghdad into 10 districts and create joint security stations in the capital city.

"To protect the Iraqi people, 31 joint security stations and 22 combat outposts, manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week by the Iraqi army, Iraqi police and coalition soldiers in various combinations, are currently open in all 10 districts in Baghdad, and more are being built,"
Fox said.

Updating reporters on the operation's progress, the admiral said the additional coalition forces required to fully implement Fardh al-Qanoon are still being deployed, and will not be in place for several months. The final elements of the third U.S. brigades are in or approaching Kuwait, with lead elements moving into Baghdad, he said.

"About half of the U.S. troops requested are currently in place, with the remainder expected to be in place by early June," he said. "The new division headquarters is on the ground in Baghdad, conducting preliminary reconnaissance and coordination missions."

Fox said posturing troops permanently in Baghdad's district neighborhoods has increased the number of "additional actionable tips."

"They're living there, and they're operating in the neighborhood and getting to know the Iraqi people in those neighborhoods," he said. "Increased contact between security forces and the people in the neighborhood increases the level of confidence that the people have in those neighborhoods in the security forces, which in turn creates an additional level of cooperation."

Despite signs of progress, it's important to keep a realistic view of Baghdad security, Fox said, stating that current violence levels are unacceptable.

"We expect to see a high level of violence over the coming weeks and months," he said. "Al Qeada and other extremists will continue their high-profile attacks in an attempt to cause chaos by sectarian violence."

Though there has been initial progress, combined forces' work will not be accomplished in days or weeks, but will require sustained effort over the course of many months, Fox said. The commitment by coalition forces, in cooperation with Iraqi security forces, to enforce the law and bring security to Baghdad "remains undiminished," he said.

"The Iraqi people deserve to live happy lives, to go to the corner coffee shop (or) walk to work or school without fear," Fox said. "With our Iraqi partners, we are working diligently to make this happen, but it's going to require patience.


Sunday, April 01, 2007

Obama: Congress Will Fund Iraq War

If President Bush vetoes an Iraq war spending bill as promised, Congress quickly will provide the money without the withdrawal timeline the White House objects to because no lawmaker "wants to play chicken with our troops," Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday.

"My expectation is that we will continue to try to ratchet up the pressure on the president to change course," the Democratic presidential candidate said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I don't think that we will see a majority of the Senate vote to cut off funding at this stage."


Given that Bush is determined to veto a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, Congress has little realistic choice but to approve money for the war, Obama said.

"I think that nobody wants to play chicken with our troops on the ground," said Obama. "I do think a majority of the Senate has now expressed the belief that we need to change course in Iraq.

"Obviously we're constrained by the fact that a commander in chief who also has veto power has the option of ignoring that position," Obama said.

McCain:Americans Not Getting "Full Picture" of Iraq

Sen. John McCain criticized reports out of Iraq he said focused unfairly on violence, saying Sunday that Americans were not getting a "full picture" of progress in the security crackdown in the capital.

McCain, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, was combative during a press conference in the military's media center in the heavily guarded Green Zone, and responded testily to a question about remarks he had made in the United States last week that it was safe to walk some Baghdad streets.

"The American people are not getting the full picture of what's happening here. They're not getting the full picture of the drop in murders, the establishment of security outposts throughout the city, the situation in Anbar province, the deployment of additional Iraqi brigades which are performing well, and other signs of progress having been made," said McCain, of Arizona.

He said the Republican congressional delegation he led to Iraq drove from Baghdad's airport to the center of the city, citing that as proof that security was improving in the capital. Prominent visitors normally make the trip by helicopter.

The delegation was accompanied by heavily armed U.S. troops when they were not in the Green Zone, site of the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government. They traveled in armored military vehicles under heavy guard.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, criticized congressional Democrats who passed spending legislation that would set deadlines for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq. He said President Bush would veto the measures and should.

"It will be a huge mistake to set a deadline. It (the U.S. troop surge) is working. We are doing now what we should have done three years ago. The Iraqi people want their own destiny but they don't have the capabilities yet," he said.

The delegation, which also included Rep. Mike Pence, a Republican from Indiana, and Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, spoke glowingly of an hour they spent in the Bab al-Sharqi market which was hit by a suicide bomber on Jan. 22. At least 88 people died in the attack.

The congressmen said they were impressed with the resilience and warmth of the Iraqi people, some of whom they said would not take their money for souvenirs the delegation bought.

New Video of British Hostages Shown




Fresh footage of two of the 15 British Navy personnel being held in Iran has been aired on Iranian television.

Only a few seconds of footage have been made available to Sky News so far, and it is unclear what the service personnel are talking about.

However, they appear to be 'confessing' that they strayed into Iranian waters before being seized and are shown pointing at maps.

It also appears that the footage features two captives who have not appeared in front of Iranian cameras before.

Watch The Video

21 Members of Al Qaeda Killed in Iraq

Iraqi security forces, backed by Sunni tribesmen, clashed Sunday with a united of al-Qaida fighters near the Syrian border, killing at least 21 members of the terrorist organization, police said.

The fighting, near the border town of Qaim in Anbar province began after midnight and lasted several hours, said Col. Tariq Youssef, a police official in the city, 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Baghdad.

The colonel said "a small number of the tribal fighters suffered minor wounds" and all 21 al-Qaida members in the unit were killed.

"The operation was launched by police forces backed by the Abu Faraj and Abu Shaaban tribes against members of al-Qaida," he said. "We believe that they were trying to flee the country because they are surrounded now in Anbar by the growing number of tribes that reject al-Qaida."

An increasing number of Sunni tribes in Anbar province, a stronghold of the insurgency, have joined with the government and U.S. military to expel al-Qaida from the region.

McCain Heckled by CNN Reporter in Iraq

According to The Drudge Report:

During a live press conference in Bagdad, Senators McCain and Graham were heckled by CNN reporter Michael Ware.

An official at the press conference called Ware's conduct "outrageous," saying, "here you have two United States Senators in Bagdad giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments. I've never witnessed such disrespect. This guy is an activist not a reporter."

Senators McCain and Graham flew into Iraq and drove into Bagdad, making stops at an open market and a joint Iraq/American military security outpost before appearing at the press conference.

This is not the first time Michael Ware has taken issue with Senator McCain's comments about early progress in Iraq. Last week, after Senator McCain told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he needed to catch up on the news coming out of Iraq, Michael Ware responded, saying:

"I don't know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad."

Michael Ware has also publicly expressed his views on the war last year in an interview with Bill Maher, saying,
"I've been given a front-row ticket to watch this slow motion train wreck, I try to stay as drunk for as long as possible while I'm here, In fact, I'm drinking now."

Talk about unprofessional and having a total lack of respect...but what else do you expect from some of these left wing, main stream news media reporters. How reliable can Mr. Ware's reporting be when he admits that he is drunk most of the time ?...J.R.

Get tough on Iran (From the LA Times ?)

Tehran broke international law again by abducting British soldiers; it's time for the world to enforce the rules.


Iran is already subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. It also is one of the few modern states that continues to use hostage taking as a tool of statecraft as it once again proved with the March 23 seizure of 15 British sailors in Iraqi waters. Taking hostages is, of course, a serious violation of international law, but the Iranian government is an old hand at it.

No matter where the Iranian capture took place, Tehran's British detainees are entitled to all of the rights and privileges of prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. They are the regular service members of a sovereign state. They were on duty, in uniform and following lawful orders when they were taken captive in an unprovoked act of aggression.

The Geneva Convention, which binds Iran, requires that the captives be treated honorably and humanely. POWs "must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." This includes parading them before television cameras and using them as propaganda tools, as has already been done. They are entitled to contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and they may not be used as hostages.

Moreover, once the armed conflict that brought the Geneva Convention into play, Iran's capture of the British force operating in Iraqi waters, has ended, they must be released at once. Unless Iran now considers itself to be engaged in active hostilities against Britain and potentially, with Britain's allies such as the United States, the sailors must be repatriated. POWs cannot be held beyond the close of active hostilities. That is the law.

It is doubtful whether Iran will comply. It has reneged on its promise to free the one female British POW because of Britain's threatened freeze on bilateral diplomatic relations. This makes clear its intentions to use innocent men and women as bargaining chips to obtain other advantages. We can expect efforts by Tehran to exchange the Brits for the five Iranian infiltrators recently captured in Iraq by U.S. forces, or for the former Iranian deputy defense minister, Ali Reza Asghari, who is believed to have defected to the West in February.

The international community's failure to show immediate outrage at Iran's action is deafening. Ancient legal principles governing how states make war are on the line. Compliance with the laws of war is most important at the time of actual conflict. These principles are already, unfortunately, under assault by terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. Permitting a United Nations member state that is also a regional power like Iran to violate these norms repeatedly and with impunity would have grave humanitarian consequences for the future.

If the Security Council cannot even "deplore" the unlawful detention of prisoners of war, let alone take more forceful action when a sovereign state chooses to act openly and unapologetically like a transnational terrorist organization, then it would better have remained deadlocked and silent. It is worthless as a guarantor of international peace and stability. The Iranian government has chosen to act as an international pariah, and it is time it is treated as such.

US Military Tests Ground Penetrating Bomb

The US military's effort to build what may become the largest conventional bomb ever used is making progress.

Boeing announced on Monday that its Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) demo weapon had successfully completed a "static tunnel lethality test" at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The MOP, which also goes under the names "Big BLU" and "Direct Hard Target Strike Weapon", is a 30,000-pound brute, intended for delivery by B-52 Stratofortresses or B-2 stealth bombers against deeply buried or heavily protected targets.

It's being developed under the auspices of the US military's interestingly-named Threat Reduction Agency, which normally does things like verifying nuke disposals. The MOP is intended to reduce the threats faced by the USA only, of course, by pulverising them. From the viewpoint of other countries the new bomb could be described more as a threat enhancement.

Even so, to some the MOP seems like a relatively delicate tool. The US originally had a plan to deal with enemy bunkers, WMD facilities or whatnot using a special ground-penetrating nuke. The "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator" programme was axed by the Senate in 2005, however, leaving the MOP as America's last best hope for taking out difficult targets.

The US does have some pretty hefty ordnance in current service, most famously the 21,700-lb GBU-43B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) job, perhaps better known under its media nickname "Mother Of All Bombs".

The MOAB isn't any good for knocking out bunkers, however. It's a pure blast weapon, essentially a massive lump of explosive without penetrating abilities. It was developed to replace the old 15,000lb "Daisy Cutters" which US forces used to flatten jungle and create helicopter landing zones in Vietnam.

The MOP, however, should be just the ticket for deep bunkers. Most of its weight is actually in the hardened metal casing, which will strike the earth at several times the speed of sound after falling from high altitude. This should enable the MOP to drill a long way down before exploding.

Iraqi Insurgency to Drop Arms

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani affirmed on Saturday that the leadership was holding continuous contacts with armed groups in a bid to persuade them join the national conciliation political process and renounce usage of arms.

Talabani, speaking at a ceremony marking credentials-delivery of the newly named American Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and the new Japanese ambassador, affirmed that some of the armed groups expressed desire to join the process of normalization in the country.

"Some organizations that consider themselves as part of the national resistance have contacted us and expressed readiness to drop the arms and join the political process and we have welcomed them,"
Talabani said.

He praised resolutions of the recently-held Arab summit concerning Iraq, namely the decisions that denounce terrorism, call for setting debts and backing the national conciliation process.

The Arab summit, concerning Iraq, was successfull and all Iraqi proposals and demands were me unanimously, the president said.

On status of the (Shiite) Mahdi militia, Talabani said that he assured Crocker that the group was no longer significantly effective and that the top leadership has recently received no new complaints about activities of this militia from local Sunni quarters.

The government is bent on clamping down on terrorism and cooperating with the Multi-National Forces, he said.

He praised stand of Sunni tribes, namely Al-Zuwbaa' tribe, in confronting armed terrorists and elements of Al-Qaeda organization, west of the Iraqi capital.
Armed Sunni tribes have engaged in fierce clashes and fighting with Al-Qaeda followers in the region.

A Positive Story From Iraq

Watching media coverage of Iraq did not prepare U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Benny Hubbard for what he'd see on his deployment there last April. As the senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Corps of Engineers for nine of the eighteen provinces in Iraq, Hubbard instead discovered a "positive news story."

In areas from Basrah to the Sunni triangle, the Corps has worked with Iraqis to complete over 1,000 projects in a war zone. These projects include smaller efforts such as schools to the first children's cancer hospital and a $235 million water treatment plant.

Tell us about your assignment? I'm from Mississippi and deployed with the U.S. Corps of Engineers last April. I've been in 23 years as an engineer and through college had a stint in ROTC as an engineer. I had a chance to come over with the Corps of Engineers and I didn't know what the job would be. When I got here I found the mission was wholly different from what I saw on television, though I try not to watch CNN, Fox, and other media outlets. Most everyone you see on television, they're the ones knocking in doors; the Corps' job is to put the door back on the hinges and build infrastructure for Iraqis.

I deal with a lot of civilians, Iraqi associates as well as military. We're in charge of and employ 220 people in Tallil, Iraq. Of those, we employ 120 Iraqis and 100 military and/or civilian. They're the project managers for infrastructure in the Corps, the construction agent for infrastructure in Iraq. We have nine provinces in south.

We have a positive story to tell and sometimes people don't listen to that and want to know the bad things. Over the past three years, we've had 1,400 projects, not including projects on base. We're down to 300 projects in three years. Building 1,400 projects in a war zone is a little different than building on a base. We're providing a lot of good stuff for the Iraqi community, which includes schools, one of my favorites. My wife is a schoolteacher and I have three school-aged children, a son and two daughters. So I like the schools.

What are the top projects on that list of 1,400? The top three in south Iraq include the $235 million Nasiriyah water treatment plant which serves and provides clean drinking water in these communities, the Nasiriyah drainage pump station is another large project, and all the schools together.

Another is Project Hope with Mrs. Bush and the Basrah Children's Hospital, which is an oncology hospital for children with cancer. We get a lot of visitors, a lot of senators there. It's a great project to treat children that normally wouldn't get treatment.

How does the engineering process work? We work side by side with coalition forces. We employ Iraqi engineers from day one, to do quality control, to build to the specifications. It's easier to turn it over. Each government and province provides wish lists of what Iraqis want. We go in and see what kind of things we can do. Preconstruction phase, we charge a contract out. We may use American contractors but most of the workers are Iraqi people in local communities building their roads, their schools. It works, because they're doing it themselves. I see a small minority that doesn't agree, but not the majority. Local sheiks work hand in hand and they want what's best for their people.

How are you received by the Iraqis? I didn't know what to expect. I got to my first meeting and they had open arms, shook hands, hugged, and were excited about helping out as much as possible and providing security as much as they can. There's a small minority out there that don't understand but they're very receptive. They want this quality of life we're trying to provide for them. They want the same thing I want for my children.

What did you learn from this deployment? The biggest thing is there's a positive side that wasn't getting communicated. Certainly I wasn't seeing it. We're doing things over here that need to be done like building infrastructure. We can build it up to speed, like our projects in America. It's been very enlightening, seeing we're making a difference. And, there are people here that really want us here.