David Bernstein notes over at The Volokh Conspiracy that there is distinct possibility that Israel will strike Iran within the next few months in an effort to disrupt or destroy Iran's nuclear ambitions. As Bernstein himself notes, "this is hardly an original insight."

The Iranians certainly know this, which is why they've entered into a deal to buy 29 TOR-M1 mobile air defense missile systems (another source strongly suggests that the actual number is actually 32 TOR-M1 systems, or the equivalent of two regiments).

Despite the deployment of these new systems however, Israel will not only probably engage Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with the international community falter, they will likely succeed.

Despite the commentary of some "experts," to the contrary, the Israeli Air Force has significant deep strike capability. According to Global Security, the IAF currently has 25 advanced multi-role F-15I "Ra'am" (Thunder) strike fighters, a custom built Israeli variant of the American F-15E Strike Eagle that can carry the 5,000 pound GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" capable of penetrating 20 feet of concrete or more than 100 feet of earth. Congress was alerted to the possible sale of 100 GBU-28s and supporting equipment in in April of 2005, and did not object, making it reasonable to conclude that the IAF probably has both the strike aircraft and the weaponry to take out the most heavily-fortified of Iranian facilities.

IAF F-16I "Soufa" (Storm)

In addition to the deep strike/deep penetration capability of GBU-28-armed F-15Is, the IAF also has "nearly 50" of the highly advanced F16I "Soufa" (Storm) two-seat, long-range interdictors most recognizable for two conformal fuel tanks mounted on the upper fuselage as seen in the image above. These F-16Is are equipped with long-range AMRAAM and short range Python 5 imaging infrared-guided high agility dogfighting missiles in an air-to-air role, or a mix of HARM anti-radiation missiles, Maverick air-to ground missiles, and a large variety of unguided and guided bombs

If Israel opts for a aerial assault, these roughly 75 planes should be more than a match for any air defenses Iran can project. Iranian airpower has suffered significantly since the shah's regime in the 1970s, and land-based radar and SAM capabilities are probably insufficient to the task of defending against modern strike packages.

If Israel opts for an early March strike as some sources suggest, we will know both Israel's and Iran's capabilities in very short order.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:45 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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As the sun comes up over Mesopotamia this morning, an estimated fifteen million Iraqi voters will their select their own government and decide their own futures by ballot for the first time in history.

Pajamas Media, led by Iraq the Model will be providing first-hand, on-the ground coverage from eight Iraqi provinces.

As somebody said in the last couple of years, "Freedom is on the march."

And no, he wasn't a Democrat.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Update: Lieutenant General Ahmed al-Khafaji, the head of the Iraqi border police, denies that trucks carrying ballots were seized, noting that Iraq's borders have been closed in advance of the elections. The single-source NY Times article appears to be false.More here.

A truck carrying forged ballots have been caught trying to sneak across the Iranian border into Iraq on the eve of Iraqi elections.

Via the NY Times:

Less than two days before nationwide elections, the Iraqi border police seized a tanker on Tuesday that had just crossed from Iran filled with thousands of forged ballots, an official at the Interior Ministry said.

The tanker was seized in the evening by agents with the American-trained border protection force at the Iraqi town of Badra, after crossing at Munthirya on the Iraqi border, the official said. According to the Iraqi official, the border police found several thousand partly completed ballots inside.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Iranian truck driver told the police under interrogation that at least three other trucks filled with ballots had crossed from Iran at different spots along the border.

As the Times notes later in the article, the Iranians support two main Shiite political parties in Iraq - the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and the Dawa Party.

An Iraqi soldier gives the 'V' sign before voting in the national election, at Kirkush Military Training Base, northeast of Baghdad, December 12, 2005 Reuters

But it seems highly suspect that these forged ballots were actually intended to influence the outcome of the election. Kurd Sunni, and Shiite alike are very much influenced by clan and community loyalties, and large swings in voting in voting patterns would almost certainly be noted.

It seems for more likely that these ballots were intended to undermine the credibility of the Iraqi election in the eyes of international observers than influence its eventual outcome.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 06:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It is fascinating to sometimes simply watch liberal bloggers in their "reality-based" environment, and how they reflexively strike out against anyone who would change the fragile balance of their self-imposed isolation, even if that change is minimal.

The absolutely incoherent frothing by many in response to this post Sunday by Washington Post Ombudsman Deborah Howell is an excellent case in point.

Howell noted that the Washington Post newspaper and Washington Post.com (Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive, or WPNI) are two separate entities, and that White House reporters from the Washington Post are against WPNI writer Dan Froomkin's column being titled “White House Briefing” when he is not, in fact, a White House Reporter.

Howell writes:

Political reporters at The Post don't like WPNI columnist Dan Froomkin's "White House Briefing," which is highly opinionated and liberal. They're afraid that some readers think that Froomkin is a Post White House reporter.

John Harris, national political editor at the print Post, said, "The title invites confusion. It dilutes our only asset -- our credibility" as objective news reporters. Froomkin writes the kind of column "that we would never allow a White House reporter to write. I wish it could be done with a different title and display."

Harris is right; some readers do think Froomkin is a White House reporter. But Froomkin works only for the Web site and is very popular -- and Brady is not going to fool with that, though he is considering changing the column title and supplementing it with a conservative blogger.

Howell and Harris are of course correct. A columnist should never be confused with a reporter. By blurring that line, Froomkin's opinion column was intruding on the credibility of the Post's print journalists. Changing his column's name and recognizing the fact that his bias is left of center should not even be an issue. Adding a complementary conservative blogger to balance out WPNI's political blog coverage would seem to be an entirely justifiable move.

Yet liberal readers and bloggers created such a tempest in a teacup that Harris felt the need to clarify the Post's position once more:

Â…there is not really a debate: washingtonpost.com should change the name of his column to more accurately present the fact that this is Dan Froomkin's take on the news, not the observations of someone who is assigned by the paper to cover the news.

People in the newsroom want to end this confusionÂ…

In his comments, Dan pleads with reporters to stop complaining about him and start doing more to hold the White House accountable. The reporters on the Post's White House and political teams every day push through many obstacles and frustrations to do precisely this kind of accountability reporting--as I'm sure Dan would agree. But these are the very same reporters who are raising objections to "White House Briefing." The confusion about Dan's column unintentionally creates about the reporter's role has itself become an obstacle to our work.

Reporters should report the facts of the story as best they can, and columnists are free to state their opinion about what those facts mean. It seems to be a simple enough division to separate facts from opinion, but the left-side of the blogosphere is getting riled up all the same, including some people that should know better.

The usually sharp Jeff Jarvis of Buzzmachine completely misses the boat:

What a terrible insult and slap at a colleague who writes a very good, respected, and journalistic column for online. What a slap from a newsroom snot. But that is what newsrooms are like.

Jarvis is wrestling with a strawman, and losing; the argument isn't about whether or not print or online is better, it is about separating reporting from commentary. As off-focus as Jarvis is in this post, his commentary is still far more coherent than most of the liberal blogs.

Lean Left is absolutely hysteric, announcing in its headline "The Defeat of Journalism." For renaming a column? Hyperbole, much? The Huffington Post is no better, with Marty Kaplan trying to justify the blurring of Froomkin's commentary as journalism, and perhaps predictably, blames Fox News (and Karl Rove?) in the process.

Why is the left fighting so hard to keep the title of Froomkin's column as "White House Briefing" if deception isn't their intention?

One might start to think that among the "reality-challenged" community, a little stolen credibility is better than none at all.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 06:41 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Okay, I love the fact that these Iraqi soldiers are so jazzed about voting that they spontaneously break out with a chorus line.

But I've gotta think that the guy spying for Scotland might have blown his cover...

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 06:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems that Mother Sheehan is now the subject of a one-woman play. Via al-Reuters:

U.S. peace activist Cindy Sheehan, who won wide attention with a vigil outside President George W. Bush's ranch in the name of her soldier son killed in Iraq, is the subject of a new play by Nobel laureate Dario Fo.

"Peace Mom" received its world premiere in London on Saturday night, starring British actress Frances de la Tour, with both Sheehan and Italian dramatist Fo in the audience.

The one-woman show is based on extracts from Sheehan's letters to Bush and other writings. De la Tour delivered the monologues beneath large pictures of Sheehan's son Casey and a tank in the Iraqi desert in front of a plume of fire.

"Frances did such an amazing job of conveying my feelings of anger and betrayal," a tearful Sheehan said after the play.

But did they quote you accurately, Cindy?

Are we going to get this gem?

"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism."

Are they going to take the show on the road? This ought to go over great in the USO tour:

"You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East. You tell me that, you don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy."

And I certainly hope that Dario Fo worked in the part where you were an opening act for a convicted terrorist supporter.

Somehow, Cindy, I just don't think they're painting a full, accurate picture of what you really represent.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:42 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I just got this in from Marine Corps Moms:

Please forgive the mass e-mail. I've never done it before but this is for our deployed troops. For the last 3 months, volunteers all over the country are making sure that our Marines receive a touch of home for Christmas. We've sent over 12,000 hand sewn Christmas stockings filled with food, games, socks, handwarmers, and other useful items. In addition, we've sent boxes filled with candy, beefsticks, cheese, DVDs, board games, and other things for the guys to share. For troops stationed on the Syrian border and who have been eating MREs for 7 months, we sent pancake mix, syrup and griddles, so that the Battalion Commanders could throw a pancake feed for their Marines. Little things, compared to what they're doing for us. We have no corporate sponsors and we are funded through the donations of parents and military supporters.

On Friday, I got an emergency request from an Army contact who has been in contact with the 1107th AVCRAD, a company of 250 soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their MWR dollars didn't come through and they are facing a bleak holiday. If I priority mail packages tomorrow, there is a high probability that they will get them by Christmas. I've received $500 in funding from a couple of parents, and that might be enough to mail part of the packages. But, I still need to buy the stuff to put in the packages. While I won't have individual Christmas stockings, I do have holiday decorated Ziploc baggies and am trying to fill 250 today. If you could put out an appeal to your readers to help fund this final request, it would be so appreciated. If folks want a tax deduction, they can hit the Paypal button at the Marine Corps Family Foundation site: http://www.marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org/santa.html

If they don't need a receipt, they can use the Paypal button on my site: Marine Corps Moms. Those funds would be immediately available to me instead of waiting. (Connie holds the checkbook for our foundation and she's out of town until next week.) I've been using my own money, thinking that I can fundraise later, but I think filling this request is going to exceed what I can do personally. Each of you have readerships on your websites that I will never achieve. If you could link to the following post on my site:

http://marinecorpsmoms.com/archives/2005/12/last_minute_ope.html

or just mention it on your site, I would so appreciate it. And, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Deb Conrad
Proud Marine Mom
www.marinecorpsmoms.com

Help Deb out if you can, folks. They're not only taking care of our Marines, their taking care of our soldiers, too.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 07:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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According to Drudge:

Today, Senator Daniel Inouye, the Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II, released the following statement:

"As a Veteran of World War II, I know what it's like to fight a war and put your life on the line every day. I also know what it takes to win a war, and I know that politics and an attack machine like the President's plays no part in it.

"The Republican Party's latest ad is a shameful and disgusting attempt to distract the American people from the problems in Iraq. It may improve the President's political fortunes, but the American people and our troops will pay the price. I hope that President Bush realizes how shameful it is to play politics when what we really need is leadership, and that he will direct his Party to take down this ad immediately."

Senator Inouye was once part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit in United States military history.

According to his Medal Of Honor Citation:

Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 21 April 1945, in the vicinity of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper's bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured. By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, Second Lieutenant Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge. Second Lieutenant Inouye's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

The fearless 20 year-old 2nd Lieutenant Inouye refused to stop, refused to even think about yielding even when under withering fire. Instead he attacked, and even when wounded twice he continued the fight until the day was won.

2nd Lieutenant Inouye knew how to win wars, Senator.

You win wars by killing your enemy or driving the fight out of him, which is something he knew on an Italian ridge 60 years ago when facing the best Hitler had to throw at him. The side that breaks, loses.

Democratic Party courage, by comparison, offers nothing but disgrace and retreat. Your party doesn't know how to win, Senator Inouye. You haven't known how for a long, long time.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:01 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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Howard Dean has just become the new posterboy for the... Republican Party?

Via Drudge:

The DRUDGE REPORT has learned from a top GOP operative that the Republican National Committee will provide state parties with a web video prior to release tomorrow afternoon that shows a white flag waving over images of Democrat leaders making anti-war remarks.

The ad is in response to the controversial comments Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry made earlier in the week.

A Democratic strategist who had the web ad described to her said, "This is way over the top but we have no one to blame but Dean, Kerry and others who continue to pander to the anti-war activists within our party."

I could forgive the Democratic leadership--if you want to call it that--for being anti-war, if being against the war that was truly their case.

But it isn't.

The neo-copperheads do not care about the American military or the 27 million Iraqi people they would abandon with their soft bigotry, and in many cases, they have nothing but disdain for the men and women who guard their freedoms and the freedom of others.

These "neocops" have one over-riding goal: to defeat George Bush and the Republican Party, no matter what it takes, or who has to die. The want badly to lose Iraq in the hopes that they can score political points from the blood of the Iraqi people and the Democrat-driven defeat of American servicemen.

The defeatists deserve defeat, and any hell they have unleashed on their ignoble souls.

Update: The video can be downloaded here (WMV).

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 12:01 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Jean Charles de Menezes ran from London police that suspected he was a suicide bomber and was gunned down on July 22nd. Today in Miami International Airport, Rigoberto Alpizar was shot by a U.S. air marshall after he claimed to have a bomb and then reached into his carry-on bag.

Folks, just a friendly bit of advice... when a cop slips his finger inside the triggerguard, it is a very good time to listen.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:15 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Gang rape in front of your family? Annoying.

Husband fed into woodchipper? Exasperating.

No clean underwear? Terrorism.

Saddam Hussein told the judge overseeing his trial in Iraq to "go to hell" Tuesday and threatened not to return to an "unjust court" when it reconvenes on Wednesday.

After five witnesses gave horrific testimony of torture allegedly overseen by Saddam -- there are two more witnesses to hear from this week before the Dec. 15 election in Iraq -- court was preparing to adjourn for the day when the deposed dictator jumped to his feet and complained that the court was "deliberately hauling defendants before the trial when they are exhausted."

He complained that he had no fresh clothes, and that he had been deprived of shower and exercise facilities.

"This is terrorism," he said.

I'm sure Howard Dean agrees...

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 02:15 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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WOAI (via Drudge):

Saying the "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."

And they're gonna lose in New Hampshire and South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico! They're going to lose in California and Texas and New York! They'll lose in South Dakota and Oregon! They'll lose in Washington and Michigan!

YEEEAARRGGHH!!!

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 06:45 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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al Qaeda #3 (behind al Zawahiri and bin Laden) Hamza Rabia has just experienced Hellfire.

Literally:

The operational commander of al-Qaida and possibly the No. 3 official in the terrorist organization, Hamza Rabia, was killed early Thursday morning by a CIA missile attack on a safehouse in Pakistan, officials told NBC News.

Pakistan's president later confirmed the militant leader's death.

Chalk up another one up for the Predator/Hellfire UAV/missile combination.

If Osama bin Laden is possibly dead as a certain senator opined, then Ayman al Zawahiri is the last man standing in senior al Qaeda leadership from the 9/11 era.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 09:20 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Two very different stories emerged December 2nd from part of the Iraqi military that most Americans don't even know exists -- The Iraqi Air Force.

The Chicago Tribune released a story about an Iraqi Air Force pilot that made history this past August, as Capt. Ali Hussam Abass became the first Iraqi service member honored with a hero's burial at Arlingon National Cemetery.

Abass saved the life of an American pilot after an emergency landing May 10, and was killed 20 days later a crash on May 30. His remains shared a crypt along with four American airmen that died with him.

He is one of only 63 foreign nationals interred In Arlington.

Baghdad International Airport, Iraq -- An Iraqi C-130E arrives here at New Al Muthana. It was the first solo mission flown by an all Iraqi aircrew.
(U.S. Air Force photo)

Back in Iraq, an all-Iraqi nine-man crew from the 23rd Iraqi Squadron flew a solo mission aboard a C-130E from Ali Air Base to New Al Muthana Nov. 28, it was released. It was the first flight of an all-Iraqi crewed plane in the new Iraqi Air Force.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 01:33 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Four "peace activists" got pinched by terrorists, and are now said to be threatened with death. Good thing we've got a Blockbuster nearby, 'cause I already know the script for this one.

The same "peace activists" belong to a group that only became interested in Iraq about the time they discovered America was interested in readjusting the government. Interesting, isn't it?

As Steve H. notes:

Why didn't they protest Hussein's millions of atrocities, which were committed openly and as a matter of policy? Why are minor American sins worth protesting, when huge, egregious, Hitler-scale Iraqi sins don't even justify a press conference?

Answer: because peace isn't what these people are about.

He's right. That is why these "peace activists" are in no danger at all.

They've managed to make themselves public relations bargaining chips as they always intended. Their terrorist captors will make little movie, enjoy their moment in the sun, and make an outrageous demand or two that we will in no way be able to think about honoring, like asking all captured terrorists to be let go.

After a length of time, the activist's terrorist friends will let them go without so much as a scratch, just to show just how compassionate they truly are.

Congratulations, Christian Peacemaker Teams.

You've managed to get the attention you've always wanted.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 07:11 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Dear Congressman Murtha,

I would like to comment upon the horrors inflicted upon our Marines in the field in Iraq. It is just as you said, our military is truly living hand to mouth.

According to one of my readers who has just received email from a cousin in Iraq, just last week at Thanksgiving at Camp Corregidor in Al Anbar province outside of Ramadi, our soldiers were barely getting by with steaks, crab legs, lobster, turkey, pie and ice cream. Horror of all horrors (and this is a direct quote), it was "all frozen stuff that loses something in translation."

Truly, these are deplorable conditions. He literally did have to eat those crab legs "hand to mouth."

Also, soldiers have griped about the low stopping power of some of our weapons, which seem to be stymied by even the simplest concrete block construction, and we're reverting n part to early Vietnam-era and earlier firearms for some missions. Got any idea who on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee could have screwed that up?

Thanks.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 07:24 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I'm trying to formulate a "benefit of the doubt" defense for John Murtha's latest incredible statements that the U.S. military is "Broken, worn out," and "living hand to mouth."

I am failing miserably, as there seems to be only a handful of options to explain his behavior, and few of them are kind.

The first opinion is that Murtha is correct, that the military is falling apart. This statement is very hard to defend, as soldiers are re-enlisting at greater rates than targeted, and are optimistic about chances for success in Iraq.

The second option, highlighted by Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom, is that Murtha is one of a group of Democrats that has fallen prey to a sort of "insane calculus":

—which is the position of the Democratic leadership, at least in the House—argues, in essence, that going to war puts a strain on our troops, and that protecting ourselves is impossible if our troops are stretched thin from protecting us.

In other words, Murtha's unhinged defense is that the Army shouldn't be used to fight, because we might need them for war.

Another option highlighted by lawhawk at A Blog For All, is that of his own incompetence:

unless the Constitution of the US has been changed lately (and it hasn't), it's Congress' job to make sure that the Army is properly funded to provide for the common Defense (Article I, Sec. 8, Clause 1 and Clause 12). So, if there is a problem, it's up to Murtha and his colleagues in Congress to make sure that the military is properly funded so that it has the proper levels of equipment and supplies.

Congressman Murtha, ranking member and former chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is admitting his gross incompetence.

Or perhaps there is another factor in play entirely.

Murtha is emerging as one of several Vallandigham pretenders in the modern Democratic Party, willing to undercut the nation because they lack to fortitude to finish a difficult and necessary task. For them, failure is a constant, a mark on their characters they would sear onto the soul of a nation.

In the 1860s a group of defeatist Democrats were willing to sell the Union and the God-given rights of men away because they felt that the cost of war with the Confederacy was too high, that states rights had been abused, that racial equality was being unfairly forced upon the states of Confederacy. The traitorous Peace Democrats proudly referred to themselves as Copperheads.

Today's neo-Copperhead (NeoCop) Peace Democrats feel another war is not worth the price we've paid to secure basic human rights. Certainly, the ethnicity of the downtrodden has changed--Arab for African--but the message of racial indifference remains shockingly the same.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:35 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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While President Bush made his case from winning the War in Iraq in an Annapolis speech Wednesday, Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi made what some may interpret as a veiled threat by the Iraqi government against a Syrian government tolerant of cross-border terrorism:

"My brothers, this is historic, national and legitimate mission. You are protecting this gate at the western border that used to be a source of evil to Iraq and a source for the entrance of vampires into Iraq," he said during a visit to the western border town of Husaybah.

Dulaimi said: "We tell our neighbors, take care of your own affairs and don't interfere in Iraq's affairs ... Iraqis are heading for the future and they will not be stopped by a car bomb or a filthy body rigged with explosives," he said.

"You should not be a gate of evil to us. I hope you will be a good gate. I also tell them don't let our patience run out."

al-Dulaimi and the top US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, were making a ceremonial visit to the border town of Husaybah, where border guards returned to their posts after the completion of a combined U.S-Iraqi offensive "clear and hold" operation called Steel Curtain last week that killed 139 insurgents and detained 256 suspects.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 12:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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