FACTCHECK.ORG ON WMD: What did Congress know and when did they know it?

Here's WHAT FactCheck says about Bush and WMD - and what Congress knew and when they knew it:

The President says Democrats in Congress "had access to the same intelligence" he did before the Iraq war, but some Democrats deny it. ...

The President's main point is correct: the CIA and most other US intelligence agencies believed before the war that Saddam had stocks of biological and chemical weapons, was actively working on nuclear weapons and "probably" would have a nuclear weapon before the end of this decade. That faulty intelligence was shared with Congress – along with multiple mentions of some doubts within the intelligence community – in a formal National Intelligence Estimate just prior to the Senate and House votes to authorize the use of force against Iraq.

No hard evidence has surfaced to support claims that Bush somehow manipulated the findings of intelligence analysts. In fact, two bipartisan investigations probed for such evidence and said they found none. So Dean's claim that intelligence was "corrupted" is unsupported.

IOW: FACTCHECK.ORG CONCLUDES THAT BUSH DID NOT LIE ABOUT WMD, OR DISTORT OR HYPE WMD INTEL, AND THAT CONGRESS HAD THE SAME DATA. So will the Dem/Left PLEASE stop saying we were "misled" into war?! Sheesh! Read the whole thing.

In case you don't know, here's what FactCheck is: "Our Mission

We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation."

VANUNU'S DEFENSE

YNET: Vanunu: 'I went to see Palestinian ghettos'

Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu arrived at the Tel Aviv Magistrates court to have his remand extended after he was arrested for entering territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority. “I want to leave Israel. I went to see the Palestinian ghettos,” he shouted in English as policemen ushered him inside the court.

This strikes me as about as believable as what Lenny Bruce said when he was arrested for possession of hypodermic needles (which he used for heroin), and he was asked what they were for by the cops. BRUCE: "I don't like the taste of aspirin."

I doubt that Vanunu still has any info which could help jihadoterrorists attack Dimona (site of Israel's nuclear reactor, and obviously - for that reason - a likely jihadoterrorist target), but they might not know that. Nevertheless, this demonstrates why this is the kind of person who should be locked up for life. UPDATE: A little more HERE.

ARAB STREET ERUPTS: 200,000 TAKE TO THE STREETS IN AMMAN

Well, it's FINALLY happened folks: The vaunted and much feared (by the Left) "ARAB STREET" has finally ERUPTED - er, um... BUT TO PROTEST THE JIHADOTERRORISTS, NOT THE USA! Via LE SABOT MODERNE's new blog - RELIGION OF PEACE?/"ROP?":

200,000 protest Amman hotel bombings
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES -- Published November 19, 2005

AMMAN, Jordan -- At least 200,000 persons demonstrated yesterday against the recent bombings of three luxury hotels, while a new online statement attributed to terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi defended the attacks and threatened to cut off the head of Jordan's King Abdullah II. An anti-terrorist demonstration of such size is unprecedented in the Arab world, where Zarqawi, his mentor, Osama bin Laden, and their al Qaeda organization have attained folk-hero status among Muslim masses.

I guess that the Jihadoterrorists and the Left miscalulated a little. They always have. [ASIDE: I think we need to encourage and facilitate protests like this in IRAN and SYRIA - as we did in Lebanon and Ukraine! POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Right on!]

[ADDENDUM; File under "IRONIC IDIOCY": while Jordanians stage a massive protest AGAINST the jihadoterrorists - (and as our brave Iraqi allies struggle to form a democracy and, as a result, are murdered DAILY by the them), the Dem/Left wants us to "cut'n run." Sheesh!] MORE HERE AND HERE.

GAZA'S JIHADOTERRORISTS RALLY FOR ASSAD

Just as I predicted on September 25th, Syria is mobilizing its jihadoterrorists comrades in an effort to widen the confict and divert focus from hmself and his murderous regime; KHALEEJ TIMES:

GAZA CITY - Thousands of Palestinians rallied in the centre of Gaza City on Friday to voice solidarity with Syria’s beleaguered government, in a demonstration organised by the radical Islamic Jihad movement. The protestors packed into the streets around the Gaza City seat of the Palestinian parliament following the main weekly Muslim prayers, chanting slogans urging the regime in Damascus to “resist American pressure”. “These protestors have came to show their support for our brothers in Syria and their indignation at the arrogant American policy of blackmail,” Nafez Azzam, one of the main leaders of Jihad, told the crowd. He urged all Arabs and Muslims to “face up to the American offensive against our region as the fall of Damascus will herald the fall of Beirut, Cairo and Riyadh.” Amid cries of “Death to America and “Death to Israel”, the protestors burned the two countries’ flags.

Coordinated with this effort (IMHO), Iran is arming Hiz b'Allah to the teeth. These events soldify my view that Zarqawi, and Iran and Syria and their jihadoterorist comrades in Gaza and the West Bank and in Lebanon - and in the Sunni areas of Iraq - will make every effort to foment an Arab-Israeli War in order to save their own skins. I expect MORE attacks like the ones we saw in Jordan, and rocket and/ormissile launches into israel - to provoke a response, and escalation which can lead to war.

ZARQAWI IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO WIDEN WAR AND DIVERT OUR PRESSURE ON HIM

BREITBART/AP:

... Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, also threatened to kill Jordan's King Abdullah II and bomb more hotels and tourist sites. "Your star is fading. You will not escape your fate, you descendant of traitors. We will be able to reach your head and chop it off," al- Zarqawi said, referring to the king. Al-Zarqawi told Jordanians to stay away from bases used by U.S. forces in Jordan; hotels and tourist sites in Amman, the Dead Sea and the southern resort of Aqaba; and embassies of governments participating in the war in Iraq - saying those areas would be targeted.

I predicted on September 25th that this would happen. There are additional signs that my other predictions in that same post are playing out as I said they would:

Assad is hardening his position - ESPECIALLY with regard to Lebanon, and Hiz b'Allah is getting armed to the teeth.

These three events - along with Amahdi Nejad's blatant war cry against Israel - should convince EVERYONE that the Axis of Evil and their jihadoterrorist comrades are not going to go down without a fight (if they can help it!) and that this fight will be one they will attempt to wage in Israel and the occupied territories, Lebanon, and Jordan.

This is an attempt by them to divert our attention from them, and to stretch our resources and to enable them to recruit more jihadoterrorists. The more heat we apply to them - on all fronts: military and diplomatic - the more desperate they will become and the more terror attacks will be attempted in the areas I mentioned.

Our counter-attack will be multi-faceted: increased pre-emptive attacks by military and police forces arresting and assasinating as many jihadioterrorists as we can BEFORE they strike; and aggressively pushing back the infiltration of jihadoterrorists into Iraq from Iran and Syria; and cranking up the multi-lateral diplomatic pressure on Iran and Syria through the UN.

The most critical dates/mileposts in all this are: the Iraqi election on 12/15; and then the period between Christmas and the SOTU, when the enemy will make EVERY attempt to hit us hard EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE THEY CAN.

LET THE CONGRESS VOTE ON WITHDAWAL FROM IRAQ

Dem/Left doves like Murtha are literally CRYING about how we are losing in Iraq and should withdraw from this pointless quagmire and/or blunder. Their whining and dishonest revisionism is being loudly broadcast and re-broadcast over and over and over again as part of a Dem/Left/MSM propagandistic disinformation campaign which takes it inspiration from those who invented THE BIG LIE; that's the theory which asserts that if you repeat a lie often enough, then people will believe it. Polls shows - with regard to Iraq - it is working as well now as it did in the last century with regard to Vietnam - a war we were actually WINNING, though you'd hardly know that from reading press reports or from reading Dem/Left/dove press releases -- [I KNOW: that's redundant!]).

I agree with Jeff at PW:

So. How do pro-war conservatives proceed? Well, one move would be to call Congress to a vote for immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. If Democrats want to flirt with the idea of cutting and running as a means to stroke their rabid antiwar base, force them to put their votes on record; let history show which lawmakers were willing to surrender to terrorists and to leave to the mercy of murderous fanatics millions of Iraqis who trusted enough in our stated commitment to begin the political transformation into a functioning democracy, complete with provisional constitution. If that doesn’t put an end to this nonsense, nothing will.

YUP: This WILL either put an end to their posturing and pandering or it will finally expose them as the cowards, appeasers and defeatists they truly are.

WE'RE WINNING AND THE IRAQIS ARE BETTER OFF

The MSM and the Dem/Left are trying to convince Americans that we are losing and that the war was a blunder. THEY ARE WRONG. HERE ARE SOME FACTS AND PIC'S.

MORE HERE FROM THE AMEICAN THINKER.

SADDAM, WMD AND AL QAEDA: MIGHT A FULLER PICTURE SOON EMERGE?

GENERATION WHY has a link-filled post about: (1) what-we-know (but the MSM won't publicize); (2) AND WHAT WE MAY SOON KNOW; (hat tip GATEWAY PUNDIT). MORE HERE.

EX-DCI TURNER SLANDERS CHENEY ON TORTURE AND RENDITION

ITV: A former CIA director has claimed that torture is condoned and even approved by the Bush government. The devastating accusations have been made by Admiral Stansfield Turner who labelled Dick Cheney "a vice president for torture". ... he said "I'm embarrassed the United States has a vice president for torture."

I'd be shocked except the traitor who uttered these words - ex-DCI Turner - was the CIA Director under JIMMY CARTER - so it figures. He was DCI when Saddam ascended by coup, Afghanistan was invaded, and Iran fell - all by SURPRISE. "NICE JOB STAN!" NOPE: It's not surpising that the DCI with this abysmal record, who worked for the worst president in US history, would have an IDIOTIC opinion; it's just surprising he wouldn't EVEN BE SMART ENOUGH TO KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT WHEN THAT OPINION AIDA THE ENEMY! Sheesh.

More HERE. (BTW: I never heard him or any other Dem/Leftie complain about rendition during the Clinton Administration - WHEN IT STARTED!)

BIRD FLU IN CHINA: IS IT ALREADY HUMAN-TO-HUMAN?

Possible Human-to-Human transmission of H5N1Wild Bird Flu in China:

"... a 9-year-old boy from ... Hunan ... Was hospitalized with respiratory symptoms on 17 October and has since returned home, fully recovered. ... the boy's 12-year-old sister ... was hospitalized on 16 October and died the following day of severe bilateral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. "

The above description in the latest WHO report on H5N1 raises the possibility of human-to-human transmission in the first reported familial cluster in China.

Although hospital admissions were just one day apart, media reports indicate the brother did nor develop symptoms until the day his sister died. Media reports indicate that family's chickens began to die on 6 October and the sister developed symptoms a few days later.

Thus, the brother did not develop symptoms until 5-10 days after his sister. This gap in disease onset dates is a common feature of human-to-human transmission, and supports boxun reports that indicate human-to-human transmission is widespread in China. ...

The boxun reports do show the highest number of human cases (Qinghai (143 deaths), Liaoning (69 deaths), Inner Mongolia (28 deaths), Hubei (25 deaths), Xinjiang (18 deaths), Hunan (8 deaths)) in the regions reporting wild bird linked poultry outbreaks, supporting the notion that human-to-human transmission of H5N1 in China is significantly more common than has been reported by China or mainstream media.

Well, well, well. If this suspicion is true, it is only a matter of time... Soon China may quarantine itself. And the shock to world economy will be... well severe. And of course, the flu will spread, too. Dear, dear... I fear this WILL be as serious as some have predicted.

UPDATE: SAPA/AP: According to W.H.O., there is no evidence that the bird flu is human-to-human yet - and they site the same case: "it sees no evidence of human-to-human transmission of bird flu in China's newly reported cases in people. "There is not any evidence for human transmission so far," said Henk Bekedam, the WHO representative in China. "If there would be something like that, we would expect more people would be unexpectedly dying of very severe pneumonia." ... Asked whether there was any sign that China might be facing a human pandemic of the virus, Bekedam said: "If there's evidence of human-to-human transmission, there will be small clusters. We are not at that stage."

Here's an article on Dr. Niman - who is making the more dire analysis of what's happening now in China ;(I link to his site above, leading this post). He also has a most dire prediction of what will happen globally - SOON .

Whom should we believe - WHO or Niman? TIME WILL TELL - very soon...

UPDATE #2: Are WHO and CHINA attempting to quarantine and cover-up a Human2human outbreak? (AFP via Breitbart; hat tip Drudge):

Chinese authorities had locked down the village in eastern Anhui province here a 24-year-old pregnant woman died of bird flu last week, becoming the nation's first confirmed human fatality from the virus. Several local officials in red arm bands were posted as sentries at the narrow dirt road entrance to Yantan, a small village of a few thousand residents in Zhoutan township where Zhou Maoya died on November 10.

The officials refused to answer questions, other than admitting that Yantan was where Zhou had died of avian flu and insisting that only local residents were allowed in and out of the village. "Don't come around asking questions about bird flu. If you want to understand the bird situation here you must go to the local government," said an official. Police then followed an AFP journalist several kilometres (miles) out of the area.

Seems like a cover-up to me - to avoid starting a panic - in case this is NOT the beginning of H2H bird flu, probably...

BRIT MP WANTS MUSLIM ENDOGAMOUS MARRIAGE BANNED

UK TELEGRAPH (hat tip LGF):

Marriages between cousins should be banned after research showed alarming rates in defective births among Asian communities in Britain, a Labour MP said last night. The report, commissioned by Ann Cryer, revealed that the Pakistani community accounted for 30 per cent of all births with recessive disorders, despite representing 3.4 per cent of the birth rate nationwide. "We address problems of smoking, drinking, obesity and we say it's a public health issue, therefore we have to get involved with persuading people to adopt a different lifestyle," the MP for Keighley, Bradford, told BBC2's Newsnight programme last night. "I think this should be applied to the Asian community. They must look outside the family for husbands and wives for their young people."

[NOTE: When Brits say "Asian" they mean Pakistani or people who we might refer to as South Asian.]

I posted about Muslim endogamous and polygamous marriage patterns and how they have negative socio-economic and political effects extensively in August, HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. And more recently HERE.

FRENCH CHURCHES BURN AND THE LEFT AND THE MSM IGNORE IT

One dozen Christian churches were defiled, ransacked and/or torched by rioters in France during the intifada. (HAT TIP: NO PASARAN.) That's more than one every other day over the last two and a half weeks. Quite a clip. And during the same period, not a single mosque was torched by the rioters, (whose Muslim-ness has nothing to do with the riots - according to the MSM. And nothing about these targeted attacks against churches has appeared in the MSM, either).

In the old days, when the KKK - (who were like today's islamofascists: a group committed to tyranny and willing to use terror to impose it) - were torching BLACK churches, liberals did not hesitate to join the fight against the KKK. WHY DO THEY STAND AT THE SIDELINES NOW!? WORSE: why do actively work to make it tougher to defeat today's "GLOBAL KKK" the jihadoterrorists!? Sheesh.

ANSWER: Today's Lefties are like yesteryear's reactionaries. Yesteryear's liberals are today's neo-cons. IOW: FDR and JFK would be neo-cons today. And the And the brave volunteers joing the US military to fight islamofascisim in Iraq today, are like the Freedom-riders of the 1960's.

[FRANCOPHONE LINK HERE.]

UPDATE - 11/18: a GOOGLE NEWS search, a NYTIMES search, and a NEWSNOW.CO.UK search turned up one single solitary MSM story by "Reuters" which mentions church arson during the French Intifada in passing. There is more coverage of two church burnings in Pakistan. Also by Muslims. As commenter Gandalin said,

"Just imagine for a minute that instead of crowds of jihadists shouting "Allah Akbar" and burning churches, gangs shouting "Christ is King" had burned 12 mosques. Don't you think that would have been a gigantic day-after-day story for the MSM? The fact that the MSM want to hide or minimize the facts shows that they are already behaving like dhimmis, and that Islam is already favorized in Western intellectual/literati/elite circles as a privileged religion which deserves a respect and deference that these same circles would never accord any other religion. In fact, they are openly hostile to Christianity and Judaism. The intellectual/literati/elite circles in the West have already surrendered to the jihad."

Welcome to readers of THE AMERICAN THINKER, MEMEORANDUM, 4 RIGHT-WING WACKOS, ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL, BANE RANTS, BAD HAIR BLOG, PROFESSOR BUNYIP, THE ANCHORESS, CUANAS, SHRINKWRAPPED, FAITH FREEDOM, DISSECTING LEFTISM, ATLAS SHRUGS, MICHELE MALKIN AND BETSY'S PAGE. Please take a look around; there are some other "hot posts." HEY: if you are NOT reading these other blogs everyday - you should be! Especially if you're interested in this topic; CHECK THEM OUT TODAY!

THE ANTI-WAR CROWD SINGS THE SAME OLD TUNE

Who said this:

"[We are determined] to undertake one last mission, to search out and destroy the last vestige of this barbaric war, to pacify our hearts, to conquer the hate and fear that have driven this country these last ... [few] ... years and more, so that when, thirty years from now, our brothers go down the street without a leg, without an arm, or a face, and small boys ask why, we will be able to say ... [Iraq] ... and not mean a desert, not a filthy obscene memory, but the place where America finally turned and where soldiers like us helped it in the turning."

No; it wasn't said by crybaby John Murtha about Iraq; it was REALLY said about Vietnam by JOHN KERRY. Traitors then, traitors still. I found the real quote by Kerry at NRO, in a speech given by WFB to the grads of West Point in 1971. Here's how WFB - who is celebrating his 80th year, God Bless Him - ended his speech. The words are as fitting now as then:

... what I hope you will consider, during these moments of doubt, is the essential professional point: Without organized force, and the threat of the use of it under certain circumstances, there is no freedom, anywhere. Without freedom, there is no true humanity. If America is the monster of John Kerry, burn your commissions tomorrow morning and take others, which will not bind you in the depraved conspiracy you have heard described. If it is otherwise, remember: the freedom John Kerry enjoys, and the freedom I enjoy, are, quite simply, the result of your dedication. Do you wonder that I accepted the opportunity to salute you?

Let's not buckle under the pressure - as Murtha, Kerry, McGovern and others have over the years. We mustn't hand a victory to our enemies which they could never win.

WILSON WANTS WOODWARD INVESTIGATED

That treasonous liar Joe Wilson wants the WASHPOST to investigate their stellar icon Bob Woodward. I don't think this will go down well in the Blue cities where Woodward is still regarded as a hero for toppling Nixon. And perhaps it will help convince a few more folks that Wilson is a worthless self-aggrandizing blowhard. More HERE.

ISLAMOTERRORISM, SECURITY, IRAQ, THE LEFT AND DOUBLE STANDARDS

UK TIMES (hat tip CLIFF MAY / NRO's THE CORNER):

India fences off Bangladesh to keep out Muslim -- INDIA is accelerating the construction of a 2,500-mile fence to seal its border with Bangladesh amid growing fears that its Muslim neighbour could become “a new Afghanistan”. Indian officials and western diplomats have been alarmed by an increase in terrorist attacks by militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda and by the Dhaka government’s failure to crack down on them.

Cliff points out that the ICC ruled that such passive security measures were illegal – at least when Israeli's build them! And he says: "Should the U.S. be defeated in Iraq, it has to be expected that Bangladesh would give in to the intimidation. It would be clear to them -- and everyone else -- who the real superpower is, and who it is not. India just wants to be prepared." There will be GLOBAL FALLOUT if we fail in Iraq, and the only way we can fail THERE is if the DEM/LEFT wins HERE.

NYTIMES/PEW: ISOLATIONISM RESURGENT

There's apparently a "Revival of Isolationism Among Americans." GEE: I WONDER WHY!? NYTIMES:

Americans are turning inward, according to a Pew survey of United States opinion leaders and the general public.

The survey, conducted this fall and released today, found a revival of isolationist feelings among the public similar to the sentiment that followed the Vietnam War in the 1970's and the end of the Cold War in the 1990's. But at the same time, the survey showed, Americans are feeling less unilateralist than in the past, appearing to indicate a desire for a more modest foreign policy.

Forty-two percent of Americans think that the United States should "mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own," according to the survey, which was conducted by the Pew Research Center in association with the Council on Foreign Relations. That is an increase of 12 percentage points since a poll taken in December 2002, before the American -led invasion of Iraq; at that time only 30 percent of Americans said the country should mind its own business internationally. ...

In its analysis of the results, Pew said the Iraq war and continuing terrorism had "dramatically affected the way opinion leaders and the public look at potential threats from other countries." ... Regarding prospects for Iraq, a majority of opinion leaders believe that the United States will fail to establish a stable democracy, while the general public was more optimistic, with 56 percent expecting success. ... Full poll results and analysis are available at www.people-press.org.

The increase in negative feelings about engaging the world - and leading the world - is a DIRECT RESULT of the attacks made by the DEM/LEFT on Bush and the negative coverage of Iraq by the MSM. If people knew that the war was going better, that opur policies and tactics and strategies were working, and that our alliances are in good order, then they would NOT feel as negatively.

OF COURSE: This was the EXACT goal of the DEM/LEFT and the MSM; it's exactly what they did to get the USG to abandon the SVG in 1975, leading to the Fall of Saigon, the largest airlift in human history, 1.5 MILLION Vietnamese refugees fleeing as Boat People, 3 MILLION Cambodians murdered by Pol Pot, and the fact that 65 MILLION Vietnamese have been forced to live under tyranny and in poverty for the last 30 years.

The Vienamese know they were wrong; they are BEGGING the USA for investment - investment they COULD HAVE HAD 40 YEARS AGO WITHOUT A FIGHT! But the Amercian Left still cannot admit they were wrong about Vietnam and that they are wrong about Iraq for the very same reasons.

If America withdraws into an isolationist shell, then the enemy will win. That's why the enemy is rooting for the Democrats! The DEM/LEFT doesn't care. MORE HERE AND HERE AND HERE AND HERE.

DEM CONGRESSMAN WETS PANTS; CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

CNN/AP: An influential House Democrat who voted for the Iraq war called Thursday for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, another sign of growing unease in Congress about the conflict. "This is the immediate redeployment of American forces because they have become the target," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, one of Congress' most hawkish Democrats. At times during his remarks to reporters, the decorated Vietnam War veteran and former Marine was choking back tears. "It is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering, the future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region," Murtha said.

This is Vietnam War Redux: the Democrats are pleading that we must abandon an ally in a war we are winning! I am sad to say it, but the Democrat Party - which I have belonged to since 1974 - is once again under the thrall of McGovernism.

The change which Clinton promised - when he procliamed himself a "New Democrat," one who "would change welfare as we know it" - has EVAPORATED. What's left? THE LEFT. And based on how they are dealing with Iraq, I feel that they are not to be trusted with our nation's defense. More HERE and HERE and HERE. And HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. Here, too. Take your pick.

UPDATE: WOW! It seems that Murtha's pants have been wet since May 2004! (IN OTHER WORDS: THIS IS NOT NEWS; MURTHA SAID THE SAME THING 18 MONTHS AGO!) HUGE TIP OF THE HAT TO KJ LOPEZ OF NRO.

UPDATE #2: "A decorated Vietnam veteran, he [Murtha] choked back tears during his remarks to reporters." What is it with these crybabies - Murtha, Voinovich, Durbin, and Blanco: are they really lachrymose wimps or were they just crocodile tears?

UPDATE #3: Gateway Pundit has a complete timeline - over the past few years - of Murtha's gyrations on Iraq! (Via Professor Reynolds.)

FRANCE: SITUATION NORMAL, A.F.U.!

YAHOO/"Reuters" (hat tip CUANAS):

PARIS (Reuters) - Urban violence in France fell to normal levels on Thursday after three weeks of rioting in run-down suburbs, allowing the government to begin mapping out plans to tackle the problems that sparked the unrest. Ninety-eight vehicles were set ablaze during the night, a sharp drop from the peak of the violence when 1,400 vehicles were torched in one night on November 6 by youths who say they are excluded from mainstream French society. "The situation has returned to normal because about 100 vehicles are set on fire each night in France," a police spokesman said.

S.N.A.F.U. AND I MEAN: A.F.U.! This tacit acceptance of routine terror, and the laissez faire attitude toward the encroaching conquest by islamomfacsists is why I feel that France is almost certainly through, unless they elect Sarkozy, and unless he manages to do what Merkel appears currently powerless to do in Germany, that is: radically change the French model and transform it by using the Hayekian model which Thatcher and Reagan used to save the UK and the USA.

And even THAT might not be enough: without a resurgence of interest in their own faith - Roman Catholicism, and without an increase in their birth-rates, France might cease to be French anyhow. On this front the role of Pope Benedict can not be over-estimated. And to date, HE HAS DONE BUPKUS! I'm very disappointed in him.

DISPROVING THE LEFT'S BIGGEST "BIG LIES" ABOUT IRAQ

The whole entire gist of the Dem/Left attack on Bush and the Iraq war is that they claim that the war was unnecessary, unconnected to the GWOT - and also - because it is going badly there now - a major strategic blunder.

They argue this because they claim that:

(1) Saddam had not violated any of the UNSCR's WMD provisions;
(2) Saddam was contained by (a) the sanctions and (b) the NO-FLY ZONES;
(3) Saddam had no relationship with al Qaeda or other jihadoterrorists.

ALL THESE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN PROVEN FALSE. THESE CHARGES - BEING REPEATED AND REPEATED IN THE MSM ARE LIES. WHAT IS CALLED "THE BIG LIE."

(1) Saddam was in violation of the WMD provisions of the UNSCR's: he had illegal weapons and missiles and illegal weapons and missile programs. [More HERE and MUCH MORE HERE!] ALSO: Kay and Duelfer each testified that Saddam was in violation of various UNSCR's - which constituted the armistice for the 1991 Gulf War; [KAY: "We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002."

The ISG unequivocably proved that Saddam was in violation of the UNSCR's which constituted the armistice for the 1991 Gulf War. Violating an armistice is de jure cause for war, for re-starting hostilities; WHAT IS MORE, SADDAM ALSO VIOLATED UNSCR#1441 - HIS FINAL CHANCE. Therefore, the WMD case for war was fine. MAJOR POINT: Stockpiles of WMD were not a necessary precondition for war, nor the only precondition for war.

(2a) The sanctions have been proven to have been a horrible failure on all grounds; they did not stop Saddam from getting under-the-table money to spend on himself and his fellow Sunni Baathists, or on illegal weapons, and they did not alleviate the suffering of the captive Iraqi people.

(2b) The US and UK enforced NO-FLY ZONES were the only thing stopping Saddam from committing more genocide against the Shias and the Kurds. US and UK jets enforcing the NO-FLY ZONES were routinely fired upon by Saddam's military forces - in and of itself an act of war.

(3) Saddam had a relationship with al Qaeda - which BOTH the Clinton Administration and the 9/11 Commission acknowledged. IN ADDITION, in 1991 when he was confronted with the possibility of a US military counter-attack to his invasion of Kuwait - Saddam warned our Ambassador to Iraq that while Iraq's military couldn't attack the US, he could send an Arab terrorist to attack us. ALSO: Zarqawi and other jihadoterrorists were in Iraq BEFORE the war. More HERE. The Saddam-Jihadoterrorist connection was real and a real threat, a threat which - in a post-9/11 - world could no longer be ignored.

The Dem/Left is wrong; Bush was right to go to war; Bush had just cause. And - contrary to what the Dem/Left and the MSM want you to believe, it is NOT going badly in Iraq: They have a constitution and soon will have an elected Parliament. SURE: the bloody battle against jihadoterrorism continues in Iraq, but it also continues in Thailand and India and Russia and France and many other places that have NOTHING to do with Iraq, or Bush (or Israel!).

A democratic Iraq will be a good ally in the GWOT and a bulwark of democracy in the region. We mustn't give up the fight! We mustn't lose our reslove or waiver. Only a lack of resolve can defeat us. The truth is on our side, and the cause is just. Our troops are gallant and brave. So when the Left urges appeasement or retreat or revisionism, just say, "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!" And say, God Bless Bush. God Bless Our Troops - and Those of Our Allies. And God Bless America.

THE VIETNAM-IRAQ ANALOGY

Say Anything (hat tip NRO's MEDIA BLOG) has a brilliant list:

Vietnam: The common people expected to be empowered by a Communist victory. Iraq: The Kurds and Shias would have only the boot of the Sunnis to expect. They won’t give up.

Vietnam: The VC weren’t fighting alone. The North Vietnamese Army fielded full-on military divisions. In fact, Saigon fell to 4 corps of NVA regulars. From what I remember, no guerrillas in history have won without the help of a regular army. Iraq: The insurgents rely on homemade IEDs. They have no regular army support.

Vietnam: The media and liberal Democrats undercut the war effort, sapping public morale and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Iraq: Well, maybe the two aren’t entirely dissimilar.

As a former anti-Vietnam war Leftie, I acknowledge the truth of this last shameful point, and I want to urge everyone to do everything they can NOT TO LET THE LEFT DO TO THE IRAQIS AND AFGHANIS WHAT THEY DID TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE AND THE CONTRAS: abandon them to tyranny.

GENERAL ATTACKS DEM TIMETABLE PLAN

WASHPOST:

General Decries Call For Timetable in a 'Disaster,' -- A top American commander in Iraq on Wednesday denounced calls by some U.S. senators and others to set a deadline for a troop withdrawal, calling it "a recipe for disaster" for the 2 1/2 -year-old war. "Setting a date would mean that the 221 soldiers I've lost this year, that their lives will have been lost in vain," said Army Maj. Gen. William Webster, whose 3rd Infantry Division is responsible for security in three-fourths of Iraq's capital. Making up the bulk of Task Force Baghdad, the 3rd Infantry patrols some of the most dangerous turf in Iraq, encountering massive bombs and suicide assaults in attacks that Webster said average 35 a day in the city.

Every MILITARY peson I have ever read or heard has said the same thing. SO WHY DO THE DEMS PERSIST?! Because the Dems have been taken over by the McGovernites, and they would do to Iraq (and Afghanistan) what they did to the South Vietnamese and the Contras: abandon them to tyrants. The Dem/Left has ALWAYS supported tyrants - as long as they "give" their enslaved and impoverished subjects HEALTH CARE!

OSM LAUNCH

I was there and met the WHO'S WHO of the blgosophere! And I was IMPRESSED with everyone. They're smarter, purttier, cooler and more fun in the flesh! YUP: those famous bloggers we all read everyday - they're even better in person than they are on-line! (Maybe I just need a better modem?!?)

Seriously: It was a great day and I expect great things from OSM. CHECK'EM OUT!

MORE ISLAMOTHUGERRY IN DENMARK?

Three cars were torched last night in the Muslim neighborhood in Norrebro, Copenhagen.

Molotov cocktails and islamofascists are a bad mix...

MORE ON DENMARK'S MUSLIM PROBLEM HERE.

MAJOR PUSHBACK: CHENEY RIPS THE LEFT A NEW ONE; FREEH ATTACKS 9/11 COMMISSION ON ABLE DANGER; YORK REDISCOVERS A MUCH OVERLOOKED SADDAM-BINLADEN LINK

CHENEY COUNTER-ATTACKS; BBC:

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has launched a vitriolic attack on politicians accusing the White House of misusing intelligence to invade Iraq. Opposition Democrats were guilty of spreading "cynical and pernicious falsehoods", he said. ... "The president and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory or their backbone - but we're not going to sit by and let them rewrite history," he said. A claim that the administration had misled Americans before the war - was one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in Washington, the vice-president continued.

'Bout time!

FREEH/WSJ:

The Able Danger intelligence, if confirmed, is undoubtedly the most relevant fact of the entire post-9/11 inquiry. Even the most junior investigator would immediately know that the name and photo ID of Atta in 2000 is precisely the kind of tactical intelligence the FBI has many times employed to prevent attacks and arrest terrorists. Yet the 9/11 Commission inexplicably concluded that it "was not historically significant." This astounding conclusion--in combination with the failure to investigate Able Danger and incorporate it into its findings--raises serious challenges to the commission's credibility and, if the facts prove out, might just render the commission historically insignificant itself.

I agree with folks who believe that Jamie Gorelick (and her allies on the Commission staff) may have deliberately quashed any investigation of Able Danger in order to deflect blame from Cliunton and herself. She and her allies had a motive and the opportunity.

BYRON YORK/THE HILL:

“Boogie to Baghdad” is the phrase that Richard Clarke, when he was the top White House counterterrorism official during the Clinton administration, used to express his fear that if American forces pushed Osama bin Laden too hard at his hideout in Afghanistan, bin Laden might move to Iraq, where he could stay in the protection of Saddam Hussein. Clarke’s opinion was based on intelligence indicating a number of contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq, including word that Saddam had offered bin Laden safe haven. It’s all laid out in the Sept. 11 commission report. “Boogie to Baghdad” is on Page 134. Now, given the intensity of the current debate over prewar intelligence and the role of al Qaeda and Iraq, you might think that would have attracted some notice — if only because “Boogie to Baghdad” is a nice, catchy phrase that editors would find irresistible for headlines.

But, no. A search of the LexisNexis database reveals ... the phrase has never appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time or similar publications. It’s as if those words — and the Sept. 11 commission report that revealed them — never existed. ... Clarke believed that if the United States made bin Laden’s situation too hot in Afghanistan, then, in Clarke’s non-famous words, “old wily Osama will likely boogie to Baghdad.” ... Now, that doesn’t at all suggest that Iraq had a role in Sept. 11, but it certainly does suggest a relationship between Saddam and al Qaeda.

That’s important, because these days Democrats are poring through old statements by Bush administration officials, looking for evidence to support their claim that the president “lied” us into war in Iraq. [Like, when Cheney said the following BEFORE THE WAR on MTP :] “I want to separate out 9/11 from the other relationships between Iraq and the al Qaeda organization,” Cheney said. “But there is a pattern of relationships going back many years.”

The Dem/Left has been yapping about how "Bush lied because there was no relationship between al Qaeda and Saddam - and they wouldn't because Saddam was a secularist!" York proves once again that the evidence has been out there FOR YEARS that there WAS a relationship, that the 9/11 Commission knew this and wrote about it! Yet the MSM ignores it EVEN AS THEY BROADCAST THE FALLACIOUS CHARGES OF THE DEM/LEFT!

I think all this shows that the current Dem/Left attempt to make the Iraq War seem like a blunder is false. Along with their repeated attempts to set a timeline for withdrawal it convinces me they are NOT competent enough to take over the defense of the nation, and a Congress or White House under their control would gravely compromise our national security and the the GWOT.

I'M A REGISTERED DEMOCRAT - HAVE BEEN SINCE 1974 - AND I FEEL THAT I CANNOT TRUST ANY NATIONAL DEMOCRAT WITH OUR NATION'S DEFENSE. Shame shame shame - ON THEM!

MORE HERE AND HERE. [OKAY: maybe Joe Lieberman is trustworthy - but that's it!]

IRAN RESUMES URANIUM PROCESSING

THEY'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! (BBC):

Iran has begun to process a new batch of uranium to convert it to a gas that can be enriched into the material for nuclear bombs, diplomats say. "Conversion has resumed," a diplomat close to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said. The move comes despite heavy pressure from the US and Europe for Iran to cease all nuclear activity. ... Diplomats told the BBC that IAEA inspectors had witnessed the new round of uranium conversion at Iran's facility in Isfahan. Another said the move would hamper efforts to restart negotiations between Europe and Iran over its nuclear programme. "It's not good news, no, not at all. Because people were trying to arrange for new talks and now it's more difficult," said a senior European diplomat quoted by the AFP news agency. ... Diplomats told AFP that after this round of conversion Iran might have enough UF6 to make 10 bombs.

We need to get rid of Assad NOW so we can get on with the job of neutralizing these nuclear mullahs! FASTER PLEASE!

THAILAND PROVES ONCE AGAIN: "IT'S THE JIHAD, STUPID!"

BBC:

At least nine villagers have been shot dead and nine others wounded in a raid by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand's troubled south. ... About 1,000 people have died in the Muslim-majority south since early 2004.

Were these villagers Zionists or Republicans? OOOPS: they were Buddhists. I wonder how they came to deserve this treatment? Were they NEO-CON Buddhists? Why had they made their Muslim neighbors so angry? GEEZ: 1,000 dead in Thailand since last year!? That's more than in the Middle East - the well-known center / "Square 1" - of all the trouble? I don't get it?

Sarcasm off. The Left doesn't get it: It ain't about "occupied Iraq" or Israel or the banlieues. It's the Jihad, stupid!

PARIS INTIFADA: FRENCH MINISTER BLAMES ISLAMIC PRACTICE OF POLYGAMY

FT: France’s employment minister on Tuesday fingered polygamy as one reason for the rioting in the country:

Gérard Larcher said multiple marriages among immigrants was one reason for the racial discrimination which ethnic minorities faced in the job market. Overly large polygamous families sometimes led to anti-social behaviour among youths who lacked a father figure, making employers wary of hiring ethnic minorities, he explained. ... Mr Larcher’s comments could further fuel the debate and are likely to outrage Muslim and anti-racism groups in France. They also come as the government considers tightening visa-granting rules and a possible clampdown on polygamous families already living in France. ...

Although polygamy is illegal in France, visas were granted freely to family members of immigrants until 1993, when visas were banned for more than one spouse. Many wives continued to enter illegally, however and a clampdown, if enforced, could affect families that entered the country before 1993. Politicians estimate there are 10,000-20,000 polygamous families in France, most from North and sub-Saharan African countries such as Algeria, Mali and Senegal, where the practice is legal. Polygamy is a taboo subject for most mainstream French politicians. Far-right groups, however, have seized on it to argue that immigrants abuse the French social security system by collecting state benefits for several wives.

This VERY UN-PC issue is nevertheless probably a ROOT CAUSE of many pervasive problems in the Muslim world. CORRECTABLE PROBLEMS. I've written about this HERE and HERE and HERE.

SARKOZY ATTACKS FRENCH SOCIO-ECONOMIC MODEL - AND CHIRAC

UK INDEPENDENT: President Jacques Chirac's response to almost three weeks of urban riots in France was widely criticised yesterday as belated, timid and confused. Even in his own centre-right political "family" the President's 13-minute television and radio address to the nation was damned with faint praise. His Interior Minister, and detested political rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, went even further. In an outspoken speech to the National Assembly, he implicitly blamed M. Chirac, and the whole of the French political system, for allowing economic and social problems to pile up over 30 years, not just in the poor suburbs, but in France as a whole.

Sarkozy isn't an ideologue; he simply KNOWS that the Anlgo-American model WORKS BETTER. If elected he will be to France what Thatcher was to the UK, and what Reagan was to the USA: He will save France from the stagnation, impotence, futility and malaise of socialism and anti-Hayekianism.

PROOF IN BLACK & WHITE: NYTIMES IS LYING SCUM

EUrota has a post which devastates the NYTIMES editorial board:

The lead editorial in today's NYT is of interest. The editorial recounts, as truthful, the big lie of the Left, "Bush Lied, People Died". This of course refers to the sorry claim of manipulated intelligence used in the run-up to the war in Iraq. From the editorial:

The administration had little company in saying that Iraq was actively trying to build a nuclear weapon. The evidence for this claim was a dubious report about an attempt in 1999 to buy uranium from Niger, later shown to be false, and the infamous aluminum tubes story. That was dismissed at the time by analysts with real expertise.

EUrota then lists ONE DOZEN (12) stories FROM THE NYTIMES ITSELF - ALL WRITTEN DURING THE CLINTON ERA - which directly refute their own editorial! Use the link; RTWT!

ALSO: I want to point out that the NYTIMES editorial argues that the BUSH SOTU CLAIM was based on the forged documents - WHICH IS A BLATANT LIE. The famous 16 words were based on British intel, which was reinvestigated by the Lord Butler Commission, and which was determined to be totally accurate. MY POINT: the NYTIMES editorial board is not made up of illiterate, tin-foil hatted morons who don't read their own paper, or who never heard of the Lord Butler Report. They KNOW the truth and therefore, when they critricize Bush on this front, THEY ARE WILLFULLY LYING. It is the most shameless bit of lying since their USSR reporter - Duranty - DELIBERATELY LIED ABOUT STALIN.

The WHITE HOUSE weighs in, proving the NYTIMES IS WRONG, by finding links to A DOZEN AND A HALF (18) stories which show that every other foreign government and most of the Democrat leadership agreed with the Bush Administration's analysis of the Iraq WMD intel. And of course: the NYTIMES editorial board is smart enough to know all this, too.

Why does the NYTIMES do this? What does this prove? The NYTIMES: LYING, LEFTIST SCUM. THEY LIED TO PROTECT STALIN; THEY LIE NOW TO HELP SADDAM AND ZARQAWI. The really sad thing is, MANY people ONLY read the NYTIMES, or use MSM media whose agenda is set by the NYTIMES. These people all hate Bush. NO WONDER: all they read are anti-Bush LIES!

UPDATE: Tom McGuire has more. More at Luskin's place, too.

MORE BAD FALLOUT FROM SECRET CIA PRISON LEAK

BBC: "Spain is launching an investigation into claims that CIA planes carrying terror suspects made secret stopovers on Spanish soil. Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso made the announcement on Spanish television on Tuesday. He said that if proven, such activities could damage relations between the Spanish and US governments. According to Spanish press reports, the CIA is suspected of having used Majorca for such prisoner transfers."

This is another example of how this leak - by the WASHPOST/Dana Priest (seemingly YET ANOTHER CIA LEAK AIMED AT HURTING BUSH) - is more serious than the Plamegate leak. ADDED IRONY: rendition was begun during the Clinton adminstration! And NO ONE complained then! IS THERE A DOUBLE STANDARD! Damn right! The Dem/Left/MSM attacks Bush for doing things that they praised Clinton for doing. LIKE: "preemptive war;" they attack Bush for this, AS IF WE WERE ATTACKED BY MILOSEVIC!?! Sheesh. And Clinton didn't even bother to get Congressional authority before attacking Serbia!

Now, they attack Bush for rendition. SHEESH! BONUS IRONY: arch Bush critic and anti-Semite Michael Scheuer (who was in charge of the Binladen Desk at the CIA before and during 9/11 - (NICE JOB SCHMUCK! You proved you're as worthless as former CIA count-terror chief Larry Johnson, who wrote an OP-ED in July 2001 stating that jihadoterrorism was OVER-RATED!) - well, Scheuer has written that RENDITION IS THE SINGLE BEST, MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL THE CIA HAS TO FIGHT TERROR. Here's what he says about the leak about the prisons:

"The exposure of such, either firms or aircraft, just undoes years of cover building and makes America weaker," said Michael Scheuer, a former CIA officer who once led the agency's hunt for al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

REPEAT: This news about Spain's SOCIALISTS THREATENING/ATTACKING THE USA's POLICY, proves that this leak is being exploited by our enemies: the Left and the jihadoterrorists.

WHY FRIST HAS PROPOSED A STUPID "IRAQ WITHDRAWAL SCHEDULE" BILL: HE IS RUNNING SCARED NOW BECAUSE HE IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2008

The NYTIMES:

"Senate Republicans Pushing for a Plan on Ending the War in Iraq" - excerpt: "The proposal on the Iraq war, from Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, and Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, would require the administration to provide extensive new quarterly reports to Congress on subjects like progress in bringing in other countries to help stabilize Iraq."

This is HORRIFYING STUPID MOVE BY THE GOP LEADERSHIP IN THE SENATE: it plays into the hands of the Dems; it's BAD POLITICS; and a BAD SIGNAL TO SEND THE ENEMY. SO why are they doing it?

Because Frist and McCain are BOTH TRYING to position themselves as MODERATES for a 2008 run - and trying to OUTMANEUVER each other: McCain with his ASSSINE and UNNECESSARY anti-torture amendment and now Frist - by allowing this proposal to go forward. This is EXACTLY why it's a BAD BAD BAD BAD thing for the Majority Leader to be a candidate for the White House: Frist is putting his OWN AMBITION AHEAD OF THE PRESDIENT'S POLICIES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY - THE WAR EFFORT. Frist should take the "SHERMAN STATEMENT" or RESIGN AS LEADER AT ONCE. More HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. And HERE.

UPDATE: Here's an astute observation by a commenter at Polipundit:

The Senate this fall:

Alito hearings: next year

Cutting pork: Hell no

Keep the tax cuts: Do we have to?

Now this.

Is Frist working for the other party?
Comment by Ironman Email

UPDATE #2 - Though THE ANCHORESS has other fascinating thoughts on the matter: that this is a SHREWD STRATEGIC MOVE - PERHAPS COORDINATED WITH THE WHITE HOUSE; A MOVE AIMED AT "HEADING OFF" THE DEM ATTACK. Go there and RWTW! UPDATE #3 - I like what LIEBERMAN said about the LEVIN AMENDMENT/the Dem/Left timetable bill (Lieberman is my favorite liberal hawk. My second favorite is McCain!) -- EXCERPT:

"I like the way in which the Warner amendment recited again the findings that led us to war against Saddam Hussein and, quite explicitly, cited the progress that has been made. I do think Senator Levin's amendment doesn't quite do this part enough, about the progress, particularly among the political leaders of Iraq. They have done something remarkable in a country that lived for 30 years under a dictator who suppressed all political activity, encouraged the increasing division and bitterness among the Shia's, the Sunnis, the Kurds. These people, with our help and encouragement, have begun to negotiate like real political leaders in a democracy. It is not always pretty. What we do here is not always most attractive. That is democracy. Most important of all, 8 million Iraqis came out in the face of terrorist threats in January to vote on that interim legislation. Almost 10 million came out to vote on a constitution, which is a pretty good document, a historically good document in the context of the Arab world. "What happened when the Sunnis felt they were not getting enough of what they wanted in a referendum? They didn't go to the street, most of them, with arms to start a civil war; they registered to vote. That is a miraculous achievement and a change in attitude and action. They came out to vote in great numbers, and they will come out, I predict, again in December in the elections and elect enough Sunnis to have an effect on the Constitution next year. "So I wish that some of that had been stated in Senator Levin's amendment. … "I had other concerns about Senator Levin's amendment, including particularly the last paragraph which I believe creates a timetable for withdrawal, and I think that is a mistake, particularly in the next 3 to 6 months as the Iraqis stand up a new government. It may not be the intention of the sponsors, but it does send a message that I fear will discourage our troops because it seems to be heading for the door. It will encourage the terrorists, and it will confuse the Iraqi people and affect their judgments as they go forward."

HITCHENS TO LEFTISTS REGARDING WMD REVSIONISM: "YOU ARE STUCK ON STUPID!"

Hitch:

We can now certify Iraq as disarmed, even if the materials once declared by the Saddam regime and never accounted for have still not been found. Why does this certified disarmament upset people so much? Would they rather have given Saddam the benefit of the doubt? Much more infuriating about the current anti-Chalabi hysteria is this: He turns up in Washington with a large delegation of Iraqi democrats, including a female Shiite ex-Communist, several Sunni dignitaries from the "hot" provinces, and the legendary Abdul Karim al-Muhammadawi, who led a genuine insurgency among the Marsh Arabs for 18 years. And the American left mounts a gargoyle picket line outside and asks silly and insulting questions inside, about a question that has already been decided. What a travesty this is. Not only do the liberal Democrats apparently want their own congressional votes from 1998 and 2002 back. It sometimes seems that they are actually nostalgic for the same period, when Saddam Hussein was running Iraq, and there were no coalition soldiers to challenge his rule, and when therefore by definition there was peace, and thus things were more or less OK. Their current claim to have been fooled or deceived makes them out, on their own account, to be highly dumb and gullible. But as dumb and gullible as that?

YES: AS DUMB AND GULLIBLE AS THAT. THAT IS TO SAY: THEY ARE STUCK ON STUPID!

ASSAD MEETS WITH IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER IN DAMASCUS

IRNA:

[Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr] Mottaki said that he held fruitful negotiations with Syrian president and foreign minister. "It was a good opportunity to discuss the latest events in the region and focus on bilateral relations." He said that he conveyed brotherly message from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Syrian president and acknowledged national resolve to develop relations with Syria. ... Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here on Monday that Iran and Syria share common views on Iraqi problems. ... "The other subject which was examined was US suspicious provocations in the region. The US is exploiting every event to further its interventionist goals," Mottaki said. Support for the illegitimate and expansionist goals of the Zionist regime has formed the focal point of US diplomacy in the Middle East, he said.

It always comes down to the JEWS for these folks! SHEESH! Seriously, I have a feeling that they were discussing two other things: (a) fleshing out their mutual defense pact; and (b) determining if and when Assad and his murderous regime might leave Syria and flee to Iran. And the impending confrontation between the USA and the UN and the murderous Assad regime could go either way, as of now: a hot war - either begun by Syria to divert the attack on him, or begun by Iraqi soldiers pursuing infiltrating jihaidoterrorists back into Syria; or a war avoided by a voluntary exile by Assad & CO.

ASIDE: France - UP UNTIL NOW - has been a stout ally of the USA, on this front. WILL THE PARIS INTIFADA COOL THEIR EFFORTS? WAS THIS A MOTIVE BEHIND THE RIOTS, TO INTIMIDATE CHIRAC? I predict that if Assad is still in power by Spring - and IF he is still causing trouble for us in Iraq, that we will attempt to bring him down by UNSCR. If we cannot get a really tough UNSCR - because France or Russia threatens a VETO, then the Iraqis will make a defensive incursion into Syria which will lead to a full scale campaign - and forced regime change -- UNLESS Syria's generals stage a successful, last-minute coup, (followed by a promise of election in 2007). STAY TUNED!

CHIRAC MAKES TV SPEECH TO FRENCH NATION: BLAMES VIOLENCE ON "NATIONAL MALAISE" AND "CRISIS OF IDENTITY"

And of course, the solution is wasting more tax dollars by lavishing welfare on the vile perpetrators! BBC:

In his first major speech since rioting began, Mr Chirac spoke of a "crisis of meaning, a crisis of identity". ... Speaking at the Elysee Palace in front of the flags of France and the EU, Mr Chirac said the wave of violence had highlighted a "deep malaise" within French society.

I think Chirac is PROJECTING: HE is having a crisis and HE is suffering from MALAISE. HE should go. NOW. People like Chirac lavish money on problems - even when spending programs are NOT the best solution - because it allows them to escape culpability and makes them feel good about themselves. Instead of spending MORE money of the islamothugs, CHIRAC SHOULD RESIGN. EVERYBODY would feel better. HECK: it'd be the bestest fastest way to END THE MALAISE!

PARIS INTIFADA: FRANCE CHARRED; CHIRAC BURNT

UK INDEPENDENT: "... the great political victim of the riots has been President Jacques Chirac. A weekend poll in the Journal du Dimanche suggested that only 29 per cent of French people thought he had anything to offer to solve the violence. M. Sarkozy and M. de Villepin ­ likely rivals for the presidency in 2007 ­ topped the poll with 53 per cent and 52 per cent."

CHIRAC: RESIGN NOW! (More HERE and HERE.)

MARY MAPES: STUCK ON STUPID!

Mapes - making the MSM rounds hawking her book of LIES - is still saying "FAKE BUT ACCURATE!" So, she's obviously STUCK ON STUPID! More HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

LEFTIST ENVIRONMENTAL HYSTERIA: 30 YEARS AND 180 DEGREES!

JPOST/Jim Lalor (hat tip BRAINSTER):

"The Earth's weather patterns have begun to change dramatically... drastic decline in food production... most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded, 148 twisters... fundamental changes in the world's weather... economic and social adjustments on a worldwide scale... The longer the planners delay, the more difficult will they find it to cope..."

Oh, sorry... I was just reading an article from Newsweek - from 1975. Entitled "The Cooling World," it warned of the dire consequences of "Global Cooling" - unless political action was brought about immediately.

[NEWSEEK ARTICLE FROM APRIL 28, 1975, HERE.]

The environmentalists have been predicting the IMMINENT end of the world for 30 years - originally due to global cooling, now due to global warming. That's a 180 DEGREE turn - in just 30 years - a bigger move than ANY predicted by ANY model of global climate change! Heh!

In the intervening 30 years: (1) there's more energy and more gasoline in the world - and it's cheaper now than it was then; (2) there are more than a billion more people and more of them are eating well and have a higher standard of living - and are living longer - now than then; (3) most commodities are cheaper now than then - (meaning that there is NO SCARCITY); (4) and more people are living in Anglo-American style democracies and economies, WITH MORE TRADE AND MORE INDUSTRIALIZATION.

In fact, the spread of the very things Leftist and environmentalists VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED - industry, capitalism, free trade, liberty and democracy - ARE THE VERY REASONS MORE PEOPLE ARE LIVING BETTER THAN EVER!

ENVIRONMENTALISTS: wrong then, and they are wrong now. Ditto Leftism.