I had saved this as a draft a few months ago.... In hindsight I think this roundup pretty much answers the question, "What's going on Iraq?" I think in short the answer is, "so little, the MSM doesn't cover it anymore". The lack of news from Iraq is good news.

Democrats want failure in Iraq (h/t).

Many Democrats have anticipated that, at best, Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker would present a mixed analysis of the success of the current troop surge strategy, given continued violence in Baghdad. But of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. [House Majority (D) Whip James] Clyburn said that would be "a real big problem for us."

American death toll in Iraq hits 8 month low.

Even the New York Times is now willing to admit the war is winnable, and that the "surge" is working.

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily "victory" but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

American troops have recovered more insurgent weapons in the first six months of this year than all of 2006.

Football victory unites Iraq’s feuding leaders.

Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called the win - shared by a national football squad of Shiite Arab, Sunni Arab, and Kurdish players - "a lesson in how to triumph over the impossible to realise victory." [...]

Iraq’s Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, also praised the team, promising an award of 10,000 US dollars to every player, and 20,000 dollars to Younis Mohammed who scored the winning goal in the 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia. [...]

Tariq al-Hashemi, the country’s Sunni Arab vice president, called on the players to bring their rare show of national unity to the seat of government, where Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni lawmakers have been bickering for weeks.

"There is still hope for a unified, secure and independent Iraq where all live well. There is still an opportunity, thank God," Hashemi said.

"I call on the team and everyone who works with it to come to Baghdad to mount a peaceful demonstration in front of the Green Zone to call on Iraqi politicians to put their differences aside."

Michael Yon reports success in Baqubah, Iraq.

Labels: democracy, Democratic Party, Iraq, Terrorism, Treason

The Telegraph:

A young wife urged her husband to die as a terrorist martyr and promised she would raise their son to follow in his footsteps, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

Bouchra El Hor, 24, allegedly wrote in a letter that she wished she could also die in the same way and looked forward to them being reunited as a family in heaven. (snip)

"His wife was not only aware of his intention, but positively encouraged it, despite the fact that his actions would almost certainly result in his death in some form of combat, and would also result in their son being without a father."

El Hor, who is Dutch, and London-born Nassari were followers of "extreme ideology", said Mr Jafferjee.

The letter continued: "The moment has come that you and I have to separate for the sake of Allah. I am so proud of my husband. I am happy that Allah has granted you the chance to be a martyr.

"Maybe one day I can follow you. If I can't, I will send our son to you so he can follow in his father's footsteps."

Where are the human rights activists and leftist lunatics when this mother was offering her new born son as a sacrifice to Allah?

Labels: Britain, Terrorism, Treason

The Witch is Dead (with a major hat tip to Lisa at Dust My Broom). Okay, Cindy Sheehan didn't actually die.

In my opinion Cindy Sheehan is a victim. Firstly, her son died fighting in war, which would be tough for any parent. But secondly she's a victim of the anti-war faction of the Democratic party. If ever tears and sorrow were exploited, it was done by DailyKos, MoveOn.org and other far left organizations.

It's sad to see Cindy go on such an anti-American tirade on Memorial Day of all days. It's supposed to be a day to celebrate those souls lost fighting for freedom and good, but Sheehan honors Casey's memory by slandering the very thing he died defending. Somehow, I don't think he'd agree with her sentiments.

Cindy's final words:

Good-bye America ...you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.

It’s up to you now.

Labels: Cindy Sheehan, Treason

Saudi Arabia has developed a rehab program for Al-Queda terrorists.

Each of those on the Saudi rehabilitation course once stood accused of involvement in domestic or international terrorism, usually linked to al-Qa'eda. Abu Suleiman's own rehabilitation included talks with religious scholars about Muslim doctrine. The Koran, they pointed out, prohibited the killing of citizens regardless of their religion.

In addition, psychologists helped him overcome the trauma inflicted by his time as a "jihadist" and by his four years in Guantanamo.

Finally, last year, the authorities gave him his freedom, a job and a car. And when he married last month, a representative of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the minister who began the programme, attended the ceremony.

I'd like to think that these guys have been de-radicalized, but part of me suspects they're only in it for the job and the car; one word from Osama bin Laden, and I fear they'd fall off the wagon (or is it on the wagon?).

Labels: etc, Treason

Sigh.

Anticipating the actions of the Conservative government, the Assembly of First Nations overwhelmingly passed a resolution in December calling for a day of action on June 29.

Considering that these guys were planning the protest three months ahead of seeing the budget, I find it hard to believe that any budget would be able to stop them from protesting. And do they really think that preemptive protesting is going to help their cause?

Point-in-case, now that the budget has actually dropped, some natives would like to up the ante, with Terence Nelson chairman of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council Chief saying, "My personal goal is to have the Treaty 1-11 First Nations jointly demand that CN and CP voluntarily cease operations for 24 hours on June 29 or face the threat of a month-long roving blockade across our treaty territories."

I say, bring in the troops.

Radical natives are listed in the Canadian army's counterinsurgency manual as a potential military opponent, lumping aboriginals in with the Tamil Tigers, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad.

The military is putting the finishing touches on the manual, but a draft version of the document obtained by The Globe and Mail outlines a host of measures the military might use to fight insurgents at home and abroad. The measures include ambushes, deception and killing.

Labels: Conservative Party, politics, Treason

Mexico Sunday is a little tradition a few friends and I have. How it goes is, we turn up the heat in the apartment. Way up. The point is to make you sweat, like if you were in Mexico. Then we all dress up in shorts and Hawaiian shirts, and drink the afternoon away while pretending we're on a beach in Mexico. Usually to cap the day off we'll go to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Carlos & Murphy's for chicken wings and more beer.

The tradition is based on temporarily suspending our perception of reality, ie. pretending we're on a Mexican beach, not sitting in a shitty apartment in Winnipeg. Whenever we do this, I always laugh at myself because I'm behaving like a liberal.

Now, am I stating that intentional delusion is a trait that liberals extol? You bet I am!

Recently in the comments, the "Anti-Blogger" challenged me to make a "documentary". I figured the only documentary I could make would be me sitting in front of a white wall bashing liberals.

Fortunately, somebody (actually lots of people) have beat me to it, although the wall behind him isn't white. Not to mention that this guy bashes liberalism better than I would. He goes on for over 40 minutes, and each one is a gem. But it's worth the listen.

Labels: Dirty Liberals, Treason, YouTube

George W. Bush gets it, and apparently so does the Al-Qaeda leadership.

Al-Qaeda has called for terrorist strikes against Canada's oil and natural gas facilities to "choke the U.S. economy."

An online message, posted by The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula, declares "we should strike petroleum interests in all areas which supply the United States ... like Canada," the No. 1 supplier of both fuels to the U.S.

It's the second time since 9/11 that Al-Qaeda has mentioned Canada by name. Interestingly, this comes at the same time that Canada's anti-terror laws are about to expire.

Labels: democracy, politics, Terrorism, Treason

In about two hours time from this writing, Saddam Hussein will be hanged for Crimes Against Humanity.

He will not be alone, he'll be hanged alongside two of his half-brothers for the same crimes. They will have hoods over their heads, and their hands bound behind their backs. If the world were a just place, they'd be able to have the gallows in a very public Baghdad square. Alas, they will surely die in a heavily secured secret location with very few eyes in the room.

To some this may seem to be a horrible, lonely, painful end to a life. However, it should be remembered the evil this particular life perpetrated on humanity.

• The use of poison gas and other war crimes against Iran and the Iranian people during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Iraq summarily executed thousands of Iranian prisoners of war as a matter of policy.
• The "Anfal" campaign in the late 1980's against the Iraqi Kurds, including the use of poison gas on cities. In one of the worst single mass killings in recent history, Iraq dropped chemical weapons on Halabja in 1988, in which as many as 5,000 people -- mostly civilians -- were killed.
• Crimes against humanity and war crimes arising out of Iraq's 1990-91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
• Crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq. This includes the destruction of over 3,000 villages. The Iraqi government's campaign of forced deportations of Kurdish and Turkomen families to southern Iraq has created approximately 900,000 internally displaced citizens throughout the country.
• Crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against Marsh Arabs and Shi'a Arabs in southern Iraq. Entire populations of villages have been forcibly expelled. Government forces have burned their houses and fields, demolished houses with bulldozers, and undertaken a deliberate campaign to drain and poison the marshes. Thousands of civilians have been summarily executed.
• Possible crimes against humanity for killings, ostensibly against political opponents, within Iraq.

These rotten bastards are getting off easy compared to the horrors they brought to the people they were supposed to protect.

Tomorrow morning Iraq will awaken to a better world, with a few found freedom. Will Iraq become a friendly country over night? Highly unlikely. But it will be a better place, and people will be able to feel more secure knowing that The Butcher of Baghdad was bagged and died.

God bless the freedom loving people of Iraq, and God damn anybody who stands in their way. See you in Hell Saddam!

Labels: Dead Dictators, democracy, Treason

I would bet that this guy is a card carrying NDP member. Jack bin Layton would be proud:

Several members of the 1st Battalion The Royal Canadian Regiment's Charles Company told The Globe and Mail they were abandoned while pinned down by heavy Taliban fire on Sept. 3. Four Canadians soldiers died that day in fierce battles with insurgents.

One soldier told the Globe in an interview in southern Afghanistan that his superior left him there to die. The unidentified NCO was later returned home and is now out of the army. There is no information on whether he was investigated or charged.
(snip)
Master Cpl. Ward Engley of Charles's 8 platoon told the Globe that the NCO "left me there to die." He said the officer was "hiding behind a wall" and wouldn't come out long enough to give him the radio when he asked for it.

"Our grenades were duds," Engley explained, "and we were running low on ammo, but he couldn't even hand me the radio."

Thank God that the rest of our boys are made of better stuff.

Labels: Afghanistan, Jack Bin Layton, NDP, Treason

The numbers speak volumes.

Those who think Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a lost cause should think again. So says the evidence from a recent poll of what Afghans think, five years after the fall of the Taliban. "The current Afghan government retains broad support," concludes the survey by Charney Research, with 68 per cent of Afghans approving Karzai’s work.
(snip)
While the Taliban are active throughout south and west Afghanistan, their suicide bombings and attacks on schools and government buildings are not winning them any supporters. Nearly 90 per cent of Afghans have unfavourable views of the Taliban, with 76 per cent saying they have "very unfavourable" views. The only thing with a worse rating: Osama bin Laden.
(snip)
Another indication of the trauma of Taliban rule is that 85 per cent or more Afghans are thankful for the US invasion, grateful for the presence of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops in the country and prefer the Karzai government – despite its inability to provide law and security or stamp out corruption – to the Taliban.

All the while Jack Bin Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion talk about how the mission is a failure. They want to quit now that we're on the verge of victory. The Taliban are hated in Afghanistan, and they need to be exterminated.

Oh, and is this what it looks like to "force our lifestyle" on another culture? Because I think they like it.

Labels: Afghanistan, Bloc Quebecois, Dead Dictators, democracy, Fun With Polls, NDP, politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper, Treason

The treasonous Gilles Duceppe is making wild threats about toppling the government over military operations in Afghanistan. Not surprisingly, he's got support from other opposition parties.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe warned Monday he might table a non-confidence motion if the mandate of Canadian soldiers in the wartorn country doesn't change.

And the other opposition parties suggested they might join a Bloc effort to that effect in the new year.

Duceppe is only making these threats because Quebec is starting to send a lot more troops over. He is not concerned with the well being of Canada's reputation on the International stage. His only concern is not losing more seats in Quebec come next election.

Fortunately for Duceppe, the Liberal Party has just elected another coward in Stephane Dion. Dion has also expressed skepticism about the War in Afghanistan, saying, "We'll wait to see (the motion) before making a choice."

The NDP's position on Afghanistan is quite clear. Jack Bin Layton can't cut-and-run fast enough. His policy is unilateral withdrawal, and possible peace talks with the Taliban.

These are the three parties that are currently screaming bloody murder about a $5M cut to the "Status Of Women". Yet they have no problem sending every woman in Afghanistan back into the stone age. Not to mention all of those schools we've built, they'll all be promptly destroyed.

Either way, I don't think Duceppe, Dion, or Jack Bin Layton have the guts to fight an election over the Afghan War. Since Layton started spouting off about unilateral withdrawal, the NDP's popularity has dropped by six percent. If Canadians do decide that they want out of Afghanistan (and I don't think they do), surely they wouldn't decide to elect the Liberals - who got us into Afghanistan in the first place. Which leaves the Bloc, who only runs candidates in Quebec.

So the only party that would actually gain from making the Afghan War the main election issue, is the Bloc. That being said, neither the Bloc, or Liberals have presented any kind of an alternative strategy in Afghanistan - while the NDPs plan is offensive to most Canadians. Dion will have a tough time articulating any kind of "alternative strategy" in Afghanistan, since he was sitting in Cabinet when the Liberal government committed our troops to the mission.

Duceppe is bluffing, however. And I think Harper should call him on it.

Labels: Afghanistan, Bloc Quebecois, Dirty Liberals, politics, Stephane Dion, Treason