Kerfuffles

“Drink lots of tea, eat lots of goat, and get to know the people. That’s why we’re here.“

All during his campaign, Barack Obama, promised to let Iraq go, and to fight in Afghanistan where we could engage the Taliban. Implementing that promise, the Obama administration has ordered 21,000 “additional” troops to Afghanistan, which will bring the total number of American forces to 68,000 by year end.

On Thursday of this week President Obama sent 4,000 Marines into the volatile province of Helmand, not to fight, but to nation-build. This follows the Colin Powell strategy of war: “if you break it you own it.” Yesterday, on Independence Day, two of those young warriors turned nation-builders were killed. Aaron Fairbairn was one of them.

2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan - July 4th, 2009, The New York Times

America’s Commander in Chief personally placed those Marines in southern Afghanistan under the command of Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson’s who, according to Diana West, ordered them to “drink lots of tea, eat lots of goat, and get to know the people. That’s why we’re here.” It’s called nation-building; it is the Colin Powell Strategy of War.

Barack Obama and the American Left want to fight only “Good Wars” and they see the building of Afghanistan into a nation as a way to use America’s military for “good” instead of for defense. Barack Obama and the United States government is staking the lives and limbs of these 68,000 young American warriors and billions of taxpayer dollars on their hope to do good. Unfortunately, there is no indication that the Afghan people will cooperate with Obama’s dream.

Colin Powell’s made-up rule for war, that — if you break it you own it — has already been debunked (both Presidents Bush followed it), so why is Barack Obama giving it another go? We need a new American strategy; possibly: “If you break it, you decide whether or not you want to own it.” What kind of arrogance is it for the West to go into an Islamic land to organize its tribes into one nation? Let them do their own nation-building, not us.

UPDATE: War in Afghanistan Deteriorating

We won. The Iraq War is over. We hereby declare 22 November 2008 to be “Victory in Iraq Day,” or “VI Day.”

By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won.

What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It’s not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That’s really not gonna happen. A declaration of victory by the media? Please. Don’t make me laugh. A concession of surrender by what few remaining insurgents remain in hiding? Forget about it.

The moment has come to acknowledge the obvious. To overtly declare a fact that has already been true for quite some time now. Let us repeat: THE WAR IS OVER - WE WON!

“Ingratitude is monstrous, and for the multitude to be ingrateful were to make a monster of the multitude.” ~~William Shakespeare (1564–1616), 3rd Citizen, in Coriolanus, act 2, sc. 3, l. 9-11. He was arguing that the people should be grateful to Caius Marcius for defeating the Volsces.

The image, Victory in Iraq, is subject to copyright by barneykin. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin.

In the past, Barack Obama tauted his friendship and bragged about being entertained in the home of Palestinian terrorist Rashid Khalidi. Today, he describes his old antisemite pal as just a guy in the neighborhood: “his kids went to the lab school where my kids go as well.” There certainly are a lot of unsavory guys in Obama’s Chicago neighborhood - Rashid Khalidi, William Ayers, Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright. It would make one wonder, if one were concerned about protecting one’s children and grandchildren from future acts of terrorism. However, Americans are no longer concerned with acts of terrorism; they crave only acts of largess from the federal government. It matters not to voters of today if their families get bombed. Late night comics say “VOTE for BHO,” as does the NY Times, so Americans do as they are told. Thanks to America’s teachers, few in today’s American can read well enough to digest the U.S. Constitution nor “Common Sense.”

Besides, when even American Jews overwhelmingly prefer to vote for those who hang about with Jew-haters, why should any of the rest of us be concerned about anti-semitism and the survival of Israel?

Al Obama Celebrates a Radical Jew-basher

It was the “Fear of Freedom” which begot the murder yesterday of a woman freedom fighter, Benazir Bhutto. She was a Muslim woman, a Muslim mother who, because she believed in freedom, was martyred in her own native Muslim land of Pakistan by her fellow Muslim brothers.

Where religions, creeds, nations and lands espouse “Fear of Freedom”, truth becomes an unknown commodity. All truth is from God; freedom is God’s gift to all of mankind. Those who teach “Fear of Freedom” to their people are enemies of the true God. Yesterday’s tragic murder of a woman for her belief in freedom is one more example of the “Fear of Freedom’s” tyranny of the human mind, its debasement of the human soul and its degradation of human life on earth.

Thank God for the man named Jesus who preached freedom. Jesus taught HIS followers to seek freedom, not to fear it, and hence influenced HIS civilized world to carry freedom’s torch: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John Chapter 8).

“I’m standing up for the principle of democracy. I’m standing up for moderation. And I’m standing up for hope for all the people in Pakistan who today are poor and miserable and really quite desperate..” ~~ Benazir Bhutto, CNN Interview of 28 September 2007.

In 1775, Patrick Henry declared “Give me Liberty or Give me Death,” at Saint John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. That declaration set the course for revolution and independence for Americans. It was the cry that has reverberated in the hearts of mankind ever since. Many freedom lovers around the world have met death in their quest for liberty for themselves and others.

Today it was the American educated, woman freedom fighter, Benazir Bhutto, who was martyred in the name of freedom in her own native land of Pakistan. Today, it was a Muslim woman, murdered in a Muslim land, by her fellow male Muslims.

The news story is at BBC News; Christopher Hitchens names her “A Daughter of Destiny

The image, Benazir Bhutto last moments-5, is subject to copyright by PAKlSTAN. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by Kerfuffles.

The English Speaking Al Jazeera Network

Al Jazeera International “The English Version”, of the world renown Arabic television launches today from the networks’ main studios in Doha, Qatar. Keep your eyes peeled on the screens for this earth-shattering happening at 1200 GMT today. This new station promises to be as good as its authentic Arabic sister channel with the same fair editorial policies, unlike Fox News, CNN, and the rest of the beastly American news media. ;) UPDATE: the first few minutes of the broadcast are up on Youtube - Watch above.

Al Jazeera English Launches (translation)

Democrats to Iraq: “We won. You lose!“

Democrats to Terrorists: “We won. You won!“

The Proof:
Here is “Aljazeera” breathlessly quoting Senator Carl Levin as the Democrat solon spoke this morning on ABC’s “This Week” program.

- Democrats push for Iraq withdrawal
Democrats, who won a majority in the US Congress in last week, say they will push for a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq to begin in four to six months.

Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, who is expected to be chairman of the Senate armed services committee in the new Congress, said: “The first order of business is to change the direction of Iraq policy. We need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months,” he said.

More Proof:
From Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “it is the defeat of Bush’s hawkish policies in the world.”

“Halp Us Jon Carry - We R Stuck Hear N Irak”.

(National Guard Troops from Minnesota, now “stuck in Iraq”)

“Halp Us Jon Carry - We Knead To Git Edjukated Sew We Kin Sale, Wind Surf and Ride Polo Ponies, Instead of Bean Stuck N Irak”.

Seems that DoctorZin has not read Kerfuffles’ post about why “Lebanon Is Under Attack”, as he is reporting, 7.13.2006:

Iran behind Hezbollah’s war on Israel .

• Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that President Bush is blaming Iran and Syria for Hezbollah’s killing of eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping of two more.
• Meir Javedanfar, Meepas reported Israel ’s government fears that the kidnapped Israeli soldiers may be on their way to Iran .
• MEMRI.org published excerpts from articles and statements in the Iranian, Syrian, and Lebanese media on the on the emerging conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel is warning Beirut: “Nothing In Lebanon Is Safe … Beirut Could Be Next”

How did this crisis escalate so far so quickly? The Mainstream News Media (aka MSM) is reporting that their Middle East analysts are pointing fingers at George W. Bush, saying that it was probably his administration that convinced Hezbollah to open a second front against Israel. Knowing that the Israeli government would not stand by meekly as their very existence as a nation was being threatened, Mr. Bush decided that the time could not be better than to divert attention from his own war-mongering woes, for Israel to start its own bombing campaign in the region.

The MSM analysts are saying that Israel grossly overreacted to the capture of a few of their soldiers. After all, in such a small country as Israel is, soldiers are going to lose their way from time to time, and stray from the primrose path and find themselves at the gates of Hell, also known as Gaza. With distances deceptively short between Beirut and Tel Aviv (only 130 miles), the MSM analysts are cautioning the Israelis that, in the immortal words of Rodney King, they are just going to have to learn to “all get along.” (MSM )