Infidels Paradise

Archive for the ‘war on terror’ Category

Fellow blogger Zip over at Weasel Zippers is reporting that the George Soros, Obama supporting outfit of MoveOn.org has, for some odd reason, scrubbed their “General Betray Us” page from their web site from his Senate hearings on the Iraq War in 2007 … during that evil Pres. Bush’s administration.

Obama “No Vote” (not even present?)
Clinton “Nay”

Larger image of MoveOn’s ad here.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Petraeus on July 2011 Withdrawal Date from Afghanistan: “It’s important that July 2011 be seen for what it is, the date when a process begins based on conditions, not the date when the U.S. heads for the exits,” said Petraeus. “Moreover, my agreement with the president’s decisions was based on projections of conditions in July 2011. Needless to say, we’ll do all that is humanly possible to achieve those conditions.”  Read more...

It says a lot that a poll being taken on this situation looks to be decidedly on Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s side … and not Obama’s. Curious to see other polls on the issue.

McChrystal Resigns Over Critical Remarks, Obama Names Petraeus as Replacement

WASHINGTON – President Obama announced Wednesday that he has accepted Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s resignation as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan following a scathing article in which McChrystal and his aides were quoted criticizing the administration for its handling of the war.  Read more...

Mort Zuckerman: World Sees Obama as Incompetent and Amateur

The president is well-intentioned but can’t walk the walk on the world stage.

President Obama came into office as the heir to a great foreign policy legacy enjoyed by every recent U.S. president. Why? Because the United States stands on top of the power ladder, not necessarily as the dominant power, but certainly as the leading one. As such we are the sole nation capable of exercising global leadership on a whole range of international issues from security, trade, and climate to counterterrorism. We also benefit from the fact that most countries distrust the United States far less than they distrust one another, so we uniquely have the power to build coalitions. As a result, most of the world still looks to Washington for help in their region and protection against potential regional threats.  Read more...

Alan Caruba @ Facts Not Fantasy Blog writes:

[...]

The Pentagon public relations consultant who arranged for the article, Duncan Boothby, immediately resigned, despite the fact that he was well respected for his work. Boothby served Gen. David Petraeus during the Iraqi surge that ultimately turned the tide of the war there. The writing, however, was on the wall. Boothby made a quick exist.

Just about everyone involved in Afghanistan, the ambassador, et cetera, knows it is a bad assignment. The fact that Gen. McChrystal signed off on the article may be one more way he has tried to convey his frustration. When you have “rules of engagement” that are likely to get soldiers killed, conducting a war is uglier than usual.  Read more...

WASHINGTON – A senior Capitol Hill source tells me that General Stanley McChrystal had tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama and that the White House is actively discussing a replacement who could be quickly confirmed by the Senate.

The source said that among the names being touted as possible successors are General James Mattis, the outgoing head of the US Joint Forces Command and due to retire after being passed over as US Marine Corps commander, and Lieutenant General William Caldwell, commander of Nato’s Training Mission in Afghanistan.  Read more...

I follow independent war correspondent Michael Yon on FaceBook. For months he has been warning about Gen. McChrystal. While I give full weight to Yon’s one-on-one experience with the military and two war theaters over the last ten years, I always feel the inner need to support our military and their leaders. However, in this instance I understand where Yon is coming from. It is crushingly obvious Afghanistan cannot be treated as or fought like the Iraq War. We are talking centuries of distance between the two. And the “new rules of engagement” have done nothing but made the situation even more needlessly dangerous for our men and women fighting in that country. The ROEs give the enemy the full advantage in battle, and they have been using it against us … and the Afghan people they choose to use as ‘human shields’ to keep our troops from fighting back as strongly as they can. The ROEs even hinder or halt air backup when our guys get pinned down by the enemy.  Read more...

Remember how long it took for Obama to meet with the General the first time … then spent like 15 minutes with him?

Guess it takes pricking Obama’s thin-skin to get his attention …

***UPDATE***

WASHINGTON – The top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has been summoned to the White House to explain biting and unflattering remarks he made to a freelance writer about President Barack Obama and others in the Obama administration.

The face to face comes as pundits are already calling for McChrystal to resign for insubordination.

McChrystal has been instructed to fly from Kabul to Washington today to attend Obama’s regular monthly security team meeting tomorrow at the White House.  Read more...

Hizbullah’s Mohammad Ali Hamadeh Killed in U.S. Attack in Pakistan

Naharnet – Lebanese citizen Mohammad Ali Hamadeh has been killed in Saturday’s U.S. drone attack on al-Qaida hideout in Pakistan’s North Waziristan, the German news agency DPA reported.

Citing intelligence sources in Pakistan, DPA said Hamadeh, a Hizbullah member, was killed along with a group of followers.

DPA has it that Hamadeh returned to Lebanon in December 2005 after being secretly released in Germany, where he was serving a life sentence for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA jetliner and killing of a U.S. navy diver.

It had said Hamadeh had been released from a German prison in 2005 on bail after spending nearly 19 years in prison.  Read more...

Faisal Shahzad Pleads Guilty In Times Square Car Bomb Plot, Warns Of More Attacks

NEW YORK – Admits Receiving Terror Training From Pakistani Taliban, Says He Wants to Plead Guilty ‘100 Times More’

Faisal Shahzad pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to trying to explode a car bomb in Times Square on May 1, and to receiving terror training from the Pakistani Taliban, and warned that further attacks on the U.S. were coming.

The 30-year-old naturalized American, who was born in Pakistan and lived in Connecticut, pleaded guilty to ten different terror-related federal charges, two of which carry a mandatory life sentence.  Read more...

It’s been one year since the world watched a young woman die in the streets of Iran …

Large majorities on Hill back Israel’s flotilla raid

WASHINGTON – Even as Israel shows signs of loosening its blockade of Gaze, large majorities in the House and Senate have signed off on letters supporting the blockade and defending Israel’s enforcement of it against a Turkish vessel.

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, along with 83 other senators, have signed the Senate version of the letter, which is backed by AIPAC; 298 members of the House have signed on.

Says the letter:  Read more...