• Iran,  Iran Nuclear Watch,  Iraq,  Iraq War,  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

    John Hinderaker: Mr. President, If I May Be So Bold…

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    John Hinderaker of Power Line listening to author and radio host Tammy Bruce,
    December 2005, Beverly Hills, California. Photo by Flap

    Power Line: Mr. President, If I May Be So Bold…

    Most of our readers know the story of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg. Ordered to hold Little Round Top at all costs, Chamberlain’s 20th Maine fended off one attack after another. Finally, Chamberlain’s men were nearly out of ammunition and it was clear they would not be able to withstand another assault. Prudence counseled retreat, but Chamberlain’s orders forbade it. The Maine regiment could neither fall back nor stay where it was, so Chamberlain took the only course open to him: he told his men to fix bayonets and prepare to charge.

    It strikes me that you, President Bush, are in a similar situation in Iraq. You know (if many liberals do not) that retreat is out of the question. Yet the status quo is untenable. Support for your administration’s policy is evaporating. Iraq is being pacified too slowly if at all, and minor tinkering around the edges–a few more men, some more training of Iraqis–won’t make much difference. You need a decisive stroke. You need to tip the table over. You need to attack.

    Here is how you can do it. In late November, U.S. military sources revealed that they had found irrefutable evidence that Iran is arming the militias who are killing American soldiers:

    U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories. According to a senior defense official, coalition forces have recently seized Iranian-made weapons and munitions that bear manufacturing dates in 2006.

    Iranian-made munitions found in Iraq include advanced IEDs designed to pierce armor and anti-tank weapons. U.S. intelligence believes the weapons have been supplied to Iraq’s growing Shia militias from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is also believed to be training Iraqi militia fighters in Iran.

    So here is what you, President Bush, should do: take as a model the Cuban Missile Crisis. First John Kennedy, then Adlai Stevenson, laid before the world the evidence, in the form of aerial photographs, that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear arms in Cuba. The proof was taken as conclusive, and, consequently, the Kennedy administration’s actions enjoyed universal support at home, and widespread support abroad.

    Do something similar here. Commandeer a half hour in prime time to tell the American people, and the world, that we have clear evidence of Iran’s involvement in killing American servicemen. Show the captured munitions. Explain exactly how they have contributed to American casualties. Display aerial photos of the training camps. No doubt there is much more evidence that can be presented or described.

    Read it all……

    Flap agrees with you, John, but some logistics first. Iran is not going to sit idly by as America deploys more troops into Iraq or Kuwait.

    Does the reader not think that any increased troop deployment or naval presence by the United States might be viewed as as a precursor to a preemptive strike?

    The President will announce additional troops be deployed in Iraq to pacify Baghdad. But, the strike will be to seize Iranian oil fields and will be coordinated with Israeli special forces.

    The Hinderaker rationale is correct. Flap worries about the military operation sequencing and Iran’s WMDS atop their Shahab-3 missiles aimed at Tel Aviv.

    Stay tuned…….


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  • Cox & Forkum,  Islam

    Cox & Forkum: Flying While Islamist

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    Cox & Forkum: Flying While Islamist

    The Washington Times, Muslim pilgrims urged to complain by Audrey Hudson. (via Iran Press News)

    CAIR is representing the six imams removed from a US Airways flight last month and has asked for a meeting with the airline to seek an out-of-court settlement. It maintains that police and witness reports detailing the imams unusual behavior before their removal last month were ethnically and/or religiously motivated.The imams say they were praying and did not, as the reports say, change seats and make remarks critical of President Bush and the Iraq war.

    Pilots and air marshals called the incident a “PC probe” to intimidate passengers and crew from reporting suspicious behavior by Muslim passengers and are fearful the incident will set off a domino effect of lawsuits.

    Little Green Footballs has the FOX News video of Debra Burlingame discussing the non-flying imams. Debra’s Wall Street Journal editorial, which we linked to previously, can be read here.

    Tim Sumner at 9/11 Families for America provides contact information to support U.S. Air and push back at CAIR.

    Pajamas Media has a the police report on the Faking Imams.


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  • Democrats,  GOP,  Joe Lieberman,  Politics,  Tim Johnson

    Senator Tim Johnson Watch: Senate Back to 50-50 Split?

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    AP: Senate Back to 50-50 With Johnson Out

    The last time the Senate convened with a perfect balance of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, the two parties struck a power-sharing agreement.

    Republicans got control of the Senate, but gave Democrats equal representation on the committees that drive the legislative machinery.

    Six years later, with Democrats poised to take power with a 51-49 edge in the incoming Senate, the possibility of another evenly divided chamber hovered over the Capitol Thursday as Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota recovered from brain surgery.

    If Johnson is unable to serve, South Dakota Gov. Michael Rounds, a Republican, would appoint someone to fill his vacated seat. A Republican appointment would split the Senate anew, giving Vice President Dick Cheney the tie-breaking role and handing control of the chamber to Republicans.

    Will the pressure be placed on Lieberman to swtich over like Jeffords in 2001?

    You betcha

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    Does it look like Johnson will be able to resume a normal political career?

    No

    He probably will defer and resign even if he makes a complete comeback/recovery. Why endure the stress at his age? For Harry Reid and the Democrat caucus?

    Please

    Harry Reid may be the Senate Majority leader in January 2007 but will he be able to hold it and a Democrat majority?

    Doubtful……..

    Stay tuned……

    Previous:

    Senator Tim Johnson Watch: Johnson in Critical Condition After Late Night Brain Surgery

    Senator Tim Johnson Watch: Senator Undergoes Surgery

    Senator Tim Johnson Watch: Democrat Spokesman Says Johnson Did Not Suffer Stroke

    Senator Tim Johnson Watch: Johnson Hospitalized with Apparent Stroke


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  • Tim Johnson

    Senator Tim Johnson Watch: Johnson in Critical Condition After Late Night Brain Surgery

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    Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., is shown in a file photo from Jan. 7, 2006, in Sioux Falls, S.D. Johnson suffered a possible stroke Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, and was taken to a Washington hospital, his office said.

    AP: S.D. Sen. Johnson in critical condition

    Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson (news, bio, voting record) was in critical condition early Thursday, a hospital official said, after late-night brain surgery that followed hospitalization for stroke-like symptoms.

    Johnson was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, just weeks after his party gained a one-seat Senate majority in midterm elections, effective Jan. 4, 2007.

    A person in George Washington University Hospital’s media relations office said the hospital was preparing to announce that Johnson’s condition was critical. The employee, who declined to be identified because a formal statement was pending, would not describe the surgery.

    The surgery lasted past midnight Wednesday, and was disclosed by another official who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitive nature of the subject.

    Apart from the risk to his health, Johnson’s illness carried political ramifications. Democrats emerged from last month’s elections with a 51-49 Senate majority. If he were forced to relinquish his seat, a replacement would be named by South Dakota’s GOP Gov. Mike Rounds.

    A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie, and allow the GOP to retain Senate control.

    Stay tuned for a news conference later in the morning .

    Say a prayer for the Senator and his family……

    Update (6:19 AM PST):

    Fox News is reporting Senator John is recovering from successful brain surgery. His stroke like symptoms are a result of arteriovenous malformations.

    As Flap surmised last night. Johnson was either bleeding in his brain or it was imminent for a bleed – aneurism.

    Update (6:37 PST):

    Fox News is reporting that surgery successfully removed a blood clot and bleeding is stopped in Senator Johnson’s brain.  But, it is uncertain whether more arteriovenous malformation remains and what area of the brain has been affected.  And if effects of the previous bleed will permanently impair the Senator or whether he will make a complete recovery.


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