Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., laughs after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., happened to get into the same elevator after they both left the Senate after Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline of Iraq troop withdrawal failed on a vote of 50-48 on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 27, 2007.

The Hill: Democrats say McCain nearly abandoned GOP

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.

In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist.

Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s case, they said, it was McCain’s top strategist who came to them.

The sound you hear is Senator McCain’s campaign for the Presidency STARTING TO IMPLODE.

If this is true, put a fork in McCain – HE IS DONE!

Allah and Captain Ed agree.

Previous:

John McCain Watch: Blogger Access

John McCain Watch: McCain Won’t Meet Fundraising Goals

John McCain Watch: The ANSWER ? to McCain Blames Club for Growth for Loss of Senate Majority

John McCain Watch: McCain Blames Club for Growth for Loss of Senate Majority

John McCain Watch: Age and Health Questions Plague McCain

John McCain Watch: I’ll Close GITMO

---

Technorati Tags: JohnMcCain

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki attends the opening ceremony of the Arab summit in Riyadh March 28, 2007.

AP: Iran: Britain Must Admit Navy Trespassed

Iran’s foreign minister said Wednesday that Britain must admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters in order to resolve a standoff over their capture by Iranian authorities.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s announcement came on a day of escalating tensions, highlighted by an Iranian video of the detained Britons that showed the only woman captive saying her group had “trespassed” in Iranian waters. Britain angrily denounced the video as unacceptable and froze most dealings with the mideast nation.

“First they have to admit that they have made a mistake. Admitting the mistake will facilitate a solution to the problem,” Mottaki told The Associated Press in an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “But unfortunately the British have not admitted their mistake.”

And why would Britain admit to something that is not true?

This picture issued by the Britain’s Ministry of Defence illustrates documentary evidence presented by Britain that shows 15 British sailors and marines were inside Iraqi waters when they were captured by Iran.

This picture issued by the Britain’s Ministry of Defence shows the GPS location of the incident, as seen from a Royal Navy helicopter over the merchant vessel, as 15 British sailors and marines were captured by Iran. Britain on Wednesday froze official contacts with Iran in an escalating dispute over 15 detained naval personnel, as Tehran said it would soon release the only woman among the captives.

Mottaki also backed off a prediction that the female sailor, Faye Turney, could be freed Wednesday or Thursday, but said Tehran agreed to allow British officials to meet with service personnel.

His comments were the first confirmation that Iran agreed to a British request for a consular visit with the crew, though he did not specify when. Iran has not said where the 15 are being held.

“We have accepted that (the British request), there is no problem. Measures are underway (to arrange meeting.) They can meet them,” he said.

Ok, here is what the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Tony Blair should do ala Newt Gingrich on today’s Hugh Hewitt Show:

1. Tell Iran they could keep the fifteen hostages all the time they want, even though they are violating the 1949 Third Geneva Convention Article XIII regarding humiliating and degrading prisoners of war and that those responsible in the Iranian government would be charged later with War Crimes.

2. If Iran persisted in holding the prisoners that within one week Iran might discover that their oil refining capability, nuclear facilities, and one gasoline refinery might not work nor exist.

3. If Iran continued to hold the prisoners, that within a week the United Kingdom and the United States would enforce a blockade of all gasoline into Iran.

4. But, of course, if Iran simply admits they made a mistake in their GPS coordinates and expeditiously returns the fifteen prisoners, Iran might return to a mechanized society under United Nations sanctions .

Stay tuned…….

British Sailor POW Faye Turney

Previous:

Iran Watch: Iran Parades Brit Hostages on TV

Iran Watch: Tony Blair Warns Iran

Iran Watch: Captured Brits – Show Trial or Bluff?

Iran Watch: Iran May Charge British Sailors

Iran Watch: Iran to Try Brits for Spying?

Iran Watch: British Troops Transported To Tehran

Iran Watch: Are Seized British Troops Hostages?

Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Cancels United Nations Appearance

Iran Watch: Iran Seizes British Sailors in Iraq Waters

---

Technorati Tags: Iran, Iraq, Britain, UnitedKingdom, YahyaRahimSafavi, TonyBlair, ManouchehrMottaki

Steve Forbes listens as Republican Presidential hopeful and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani speaks in New York March 28, 2007. Fiscal conservative Steve Forbes endorsed former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s bid to become the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 race for the White House.

Rudy Giuliani at Las Vegas Target This Afternoon

You can meet the man known as America’s mayor here in Las Vegas today.

Likely republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani will be at a Las Vegas Target store this afternoon. A spokesperson says Giuliani will talk with shoppers and answer some questions from the media.

The former New York mayor is expected to be at the Target at 8750 W. Charleston at 5:15 p.m.

It was Costco in Reno and now Target in Vegas.

Rudy knows how to stump for votes……big time!

Previous:

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani

Reuters: Iran shows British sailors on television

Iranian television showed on Wednesday British sailors held since last week after Britain turned up the heat by halting official contacts with Iran.

Tehran said earlier it would free a woman among the 15 soon.

Britain said the broadcast, in which the woman was reported to have said they had apparently been in Iranian waters when they were seized, was “completely unacceptable.”

There was no doubt the sailors were in Iraqi waters and entitled to be there when they were seized, Britain said.

AP: Iran Shows Video of British Crew

Iranian state TV showed video Wednesday of 15 British sailors and marines who were seized last week, including a female captive in a white tunic and a black head scarf who said the British boats had “trespassed” in Iranian waters.

Britain called the broadcast “completely unacceptable” and said it was concerned that the statements from sailor Faye Turney were coerced. The British government earlier released what it called proof the boat crews were seized in Iraqi waters, and said it was freezing all contacts with Iran except negotiations to release them.

Iran’s foreign minister said Turney—the only female captive—would be freed on Wednesday or Thursday, but British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office said it had received no confirmation of that.

The British military said its vessels were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when they were taken Friday, and it released what it said were the GPS coordinates that proved that.
Several hours later, Tehran broadcast the video on an Arabic-language satellite channel, along with a letter from Turney saying the sailors and marines were inside Iranian waters when they were captured.
“Obviously we trespassed into their waters,” Turney said, sitting by herself against a floral curtain and smoking a cigarette.

“They were very friendly and very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we’ve been arrested, there was no harm, no aggression,” she said.

Turney, 26, was also shown eating with several fellow sailors and marines.
What appeared to be a handwritten note from Turney to her family said, in part, “I have written a letter to the Iranian people to apologize for us entering their waters.”

The video also showed a brief scene of what appeared to be the British crew sitting in an Iranian boat in open water immediately after their capture.

Before the video was broadcast, a Blair spokesman said any showing of British personnel on TV would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

“It’s completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on television,” the Foreign Office said after the broadcast. “There is no doubt our personnel were seized in Iraqi territorial waters.”

In the meantime, Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush have been in communication while the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS John C. Stennis conduct war games in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran.

The question is:

Isn’t this hostage scenario just like the 1979 attack on the United States Embassy in Iran?

Stay tuned……

Previous:

Iran Watch: Tony Blair Warns Iran

Iran Watch: Captured Brits – Show Trial or Bluff?

Iran Watch: Iran May Charge British Sailors

Iran Watch: Iran to Try Brits for Spying?

Iran Watch: British Troops Transported To Tehran

Iran Watch: Are Seized British Troops Hostages?

Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Cancels United Nations Appearance

Iran Watch: Iran Seizes British Sailors in Iraq Waters

---

Technorati Tags: Iran, Iraq, Britain, UnitedKingdom, YahyaRahimSafavi, TonyBlair

Day By Day by Chris Muir

Previous:

The Day By Day Archive

---

Technorati Tags: DayByDay, ChrisMuir

Senate Backs a Pullout Date in Iraq War Bill

The Senate went on record for the first time on Tuesday in favor of a withdrawal date from Iraq, with Democrats marshaling the votes they needed to deliver a forceful rebuke to President Bush’s war policy.

By a vote of 50 to 48, with a few crucial votes shifting in favor of the Democratic position, the Senate rejected a Republican effort to strip from the military spending bill any mention of a withdrawal date. The legislation will now move forward with a nonbinding goal of beginning a gradual withdrawal of American troops from Iraq within 120 days of the measure’s enactment, with a pullout by March 31, 2008.

“This bill should be named the Date Certain for Surrender Act,” said Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican. “A second-year cadet at West Point could tell you that if you announce when the end will be, it’s a recipe for defeat.”

Mr. McCain, who had planned to be away from the Capitol on Tuesday campaigning for his presidential bid, turned to a large map of Iraq positioned next to him on an easel as he made his argument. He pointed to areas around the country where Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander, has reported some success in his new military plan.
“We cannot give up,” Mr. McCain said, “just as we are starting to turn things around in Iraq.”

This bill will be vetoed.

And Chuck Hagel – kiss your Senate seat and any chance to run for the Presidency good bye.

Previous:

The Michael Ramirez Files

---

Technorati Tags: MichaelRamirez

Rasmussen Reports: 2008 Republican Presidential Primary

It’s Giuliani by twenty points in the race for the GOP nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll finds former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) with support from 35% of those likely to vote in a Republican Primary. That’s up two points from a week ago. Over the past six weeks, Giuliani’s support has ranged from 32% to 37%. Giuliani currently leads all Democrats in General Election match-ups. This includes Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, former Senator John Edwards, Governor Bill Richardson, and Senator Joe Biden.

Rudy has stabilized around 35 %, McCain is still sinking or floating and Romney is dead in the water.

But, what about Fred Thompson?

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) recently indicated his possible interest in the race. Thompson has not been included in the polling to date, but will be included in next week’s update. A poll released last week showed Thompson tied with New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) but trailing Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

Next week’s Rasmussen poll will be interesting to see if McCain or Romney get a bump with Thompson in the sample and where he places in the mix.

Will Thompson erode Rudy’s support?

Previous:

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani