Gotham's Hawks

2003-04-24T20:57:00.000-04:00

Howdy! I finally caved in and decided to join bloggerdom. I will endeavour to be as prolific and insightful a poster as the current 'hawk line-up has proved to be. Thank-you gentlemen, and David in particular, for inviting me.

2003-04-24T15:13:00.000-04:00

Pyongyang is getting in over its head The recent statement by North Korean officials that they do indeed have nuclear weapons comes as no shock to anybody, merely confirms US intelligence. While there is indeed a large US force in South Korea which would serve as proxy soil for an attack by the North (I don't put much creadance in North Korean ICBMs), the North Koreans have to realize that any form of Nuclear excahnge would result in their total destruction. The medium range wareheads pionted at them from Japan, not to mention any sub based missles, strategic bomber fleets or ICBMs that could all be hurled agianst them at a moments notice are nothing to be scoffed at by Pyongyang . So the notion that North Korea thinks that they can black mail the US with a few weapons is absurd.

The real threat is the possibility that they sell nukes to some sort of terrorist body. That is a concern, however I don't think after we have now invaded Iraq they can any longer count on the peace camp in the US to create a Vietnam-era domestic conflagration. In the end we should engage the North Koreans, but only on our terms, and only multilaterally. Further Pyongyang has to realize that they have wittingly or unwittingly entered into a conversation over the very validity of that government's existence. Their nuclear weapon should and do scare us, but our nuclear weapons should scare them more. Did that sound mad???? wow that was a bad pun........

2003-04-24T11:43:00.000-04:00

Even Weasels can have a change of heart I found this off the WSJ's best of the web.......apparently some Frenchmen have some second thoughts about supporting a Fascist Totalitarian Dictator....go figure. This statitstic makes me smirk:

"Until three weeks ago, 84 percent of the French were opposed to the war. Last week only 55 percent were still of the same opinion, according to a poll in the French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche."

2003-04-24T11:18:00.000-04:00

Dixie Pricks whine some more:Check out this article in which the Dixie chicks are upset that people are still angry that they insulted a standing President on forieghn soil in a time of war........excuse me Ms. Maines but who the hell do you think listens to country music...yeah thats right.....

2003-04-24T11:13:00.000-04:00

Capt. Michael Scott Speicher: initials carved in wall of an Iraqi jail: CNN.com reports that the initials of Downed Gulf War I pilot Capt. Michael Scott Speicher were found in a prison in Baghdad. One can only pray that he is still alive.

2003-04-22T17:13:00.000-04:00

The Gaul of Galloway! Andrew Sullivan and Glenn Reynolds have been blogging about this all day, I waited a bit, but I couldn't fight the urge to chime in. For those of you who don't know the British Daily Telegraph broke a story this morning in London, claiming that George Galloway, the Labour backbencher (in the British Parliment) apparently was being paid by Saddam to further Galloway's anti-war agenda. And to add sleazyness to sleaze the money came out of the oil-for food program (read: leftist scum sells out his nation to get rich off of the money that should be used to feed starving babies).

Of course Galloway Denies the Charges and call the Arabic documents found in Iraq that said essentially "lets pay this guy because he supports us" a fruad. Yeah and I am the tooth fairy...

2003-04-22T16:49:00.000-04:00

Senator Santorum should resign his leadership post over his anti-homosexual remarks Apparently Santorum in an interview with the AP said the following:

"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to do anything,"

This is over the top and it is blatant bigotry. He can now proudly join Lott and Moran in the "how could you be so stupid as to say that in front of reporters?" club. I give him two weeks tops.

2003-04-21T22:54:00.000-04:00

NOW Nonsense This story from the Morris County, NJ Daily Record really pissed me off. The president of the Morris County chapter of the National Organization for Women, one Mavra Stark, "is opposing a double-murder charge in the Laci Peterson case, saying it could provide ammunition to the pro-life lobby." The body of Peterson, who was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve, was recently found when it washed up on a California beach. Police plan on charging Peterson's husband, Scott, with the murder of both his wife and his unborn son. According to Ms. Stark, "if this is murder, well, then any time a late-term fetus is aborted, they could call it murder." No, Ms. Stark, the fetus in this case wasn't aborted. He was killed when his mother was murdered. Now, we don't know exactly when the unborn child died, but an eight month-old fetus is capable of surviving outside the mother's womb. Therefore, it is highly possible that the fetus was still alive after the mother died, but expired shortly thereafter because he was not given the appropriate neonatal care. I'm no lawyer, but I do know that in some states there are so-called fetal homicide statutes on the books which say that once a fetus reaches a certain age it can be considered a person in the eyes of the law (I think in NY it's 24 weeks). Being such, if the fetus dies due to the reckless actions of another person, pre-meditated or not, that person can be charged with murder, depending on the circumstances. Obviously, abortion is not one of those circumstances because the Supreme Court said so. However, as I said before, the unborn little boy in the Laci Peterson case was NOT aborted; therefore, the statutes covering abortion do not apply. I'm sure if Scott Peterson is charged with double homicide it will be in concordance with California law. Does Ms. Stark really think that siding with a man who most probably killed his pregnant wife will bolster her cause and that of her organization, especially when the woman in this case, Laci Peterson, had no choice in whether her baby (not to mention herself) lived or died? I don't think so.

2003-04-21T21:41:00.000-04:00

Clueless Arabs Check out this story from Islam Online about the plight of some non-Iraqi Arab jihadi who went to Iraq to fight the "Great Satan," but were instead "betrayed" by their Iraqi brethren. I found this excerpt especially entertaining:

'"The battle was so ferocious and we lost 26 martyrs, all Arab volunteers," asserted Othman.

He said that the Iraqi regular forces pulled out of the area in large and organized numbers and donned civilian clothes.

"This left the situation on the ground as intense," he bitterly remembered.

Talk about betrayal by some Iraqi army members were also rumored among the thick palls of smoke that turned reality of the situation there as blurry.

"Arab volunteers were put in the frontlines while the Republican Guard units were in the back in the battle around Baghdad's Saddam International airport," said Al-Assad Jirad in disgruntle, adding 400 Arab volunteers breathed their last during the fighting.

We were stun-founded when a Yemeni was about to "fire on a U.S. Apache helicopter gunship only to be ordered by an Iraqi officer 'Do not shoot . . . it is an Iraqi aircraft,' " he recalled.

To add up to the plight of people leaving their country for the defense of another, the inhabitants of southern town of Nassiriyah welcomed Arab volunteers with nothing but gunfire.

"We were fired at by the town residents, who killed three of us. They just shouted asking us 'why you are here? Did you came to defend Saddam?' " Emad, another volunteer, asserted.'

"Stun-founded" indeed.

2003-04-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

Arab news outlets:paranoid, dellusional and hate-ridden While I have often times blogged about progressive writers in the Middle-Eastern press, such as Amir Taheri, and Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid the Arab press as a whole has become a tool for nationalistic oppertunism and the propegation of global myths. Glenn Reynolds posted a piece in arabnew.com by Dr. Abdulhamid Al-Ansary entitled Arab Media’s Conduct During War Indicative of a Deeper Malaise which was very poignant and really forced its readership to ask some very tough questions. While I applaud Al-Ansary, the same publication today published another article entitled: Israel’s Role in the Invasion of Iraq, by Hassan Tahsin. Tahsin is the prime example of the type of secterian fabrications that Al-Ansary rails against. The following is the ruminations of a paranoid ill-informed deceptionist:

"...a new US-made Iraq could be a friend to Israel and present the opportunity for an axis, with Iraq, Jordan and Israel becoming a natural geographic unit. This would in turn cause the Arab union to fall apart and could pave the way for a Greater Israel from the Euphrates to the Nile."

A "greater Israel".......? Is this man insane? Does he really believe that Isreal, a tiny nation occupying one tenth of one percent of the entire Middle-East has desighns on it all? And it is exactly this type of sentiment--rooted in hatred and self-deception--that prolongs a meaningful peace process by lying to the Arab world and denying Israel's true yearning for peace.Tahsin then makes the following ridiculous statement:

"It became apparent that the war project was put into place by three extremist Jewish Americans, and they are Richard Perle, the defense ministry advisor who lately resigned for a conflict of interests, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. The three jointly drafted the aims of the war and pushed President Bush to choose war over any alternative."

Not only is this blaringly ant-semetic, reaking of the insidious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Russian Czarist forgery that spawned waves of anti-semitism in Europe, but it is compelty factually incorrect. We went to War because Saddam posed a threat to us, and was oppressing his people in a brutal fudalistic manner, not because the "Jews" told Bush to do it. This type of extremist thought, full of conspiratorial nonsense is perhaps one of the greatest impedments for Arab nations to Join the first world. Perhaps Tahsin should adress the lack of democracy, human rights, civil liberties, equality of the sexes and persecution of religious minorities and homosexuals in his own society. Then perhaps he could garner a better understanding of the world around him.

2003-04-21T13:31:00.000-04:00

Liberalism of convenience: Clifford D. May writes very cogently in todays NRO. May points out the hypocrisy of the anti-war cult and their relativistic stance vis-a-vis the lotting of Baghadad's musuems. He knocks off a real zinger with the following:

"American and European intellectual elites were not moved to action when 182,000 Kurds — a people who trace their history back more than 3,000 years — were slaughtered by Saddam Hussien. The chattering classes hardly flinched when Saddam drained the wetlands of southern Iraq, destroying the environment of the Marsh Arabs and, with it, a 5,000-year-old way of life. But now they’ve got their dander up: Iraq’s antiquities have been vandalized."

Perhaps we should put the Baathist back in power, then we can reinstall the torture chambers, the kinder-prisons, the rape rooms...and oh yeah maybe that will make the musuems safe again.....not all the musuems in Iraq are worth the suffering of a single Iraqi. I cannot understand people who think we should kill looters who have emerged truamatized from 24 years of dictatorial tyranny because some pretentious liberals are upset that the illegal spoils of Saddam's regime will no longer be avialable for them to write papers about, and discuss at dinner parties.

2003-04-21T11:34:00.000-04:00

Saddam: Practical Fisherman This is insane...apparently Saddam used to use grenades to go fishing with. At least the guy had class........

2003-04-21T10:38:00.000-04:00

Tariq A-Sleaze Tariq Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minster of Saddam's regime is apparently not too loved by his family. The Times ran a rather interesting story today about his aunt and her not so kind words for him. The highlights were when asked if he had done anything to help her or their Christian community (Aziz was part of the Christian minority) she replied: "Zero. Zero. He's very, very bad." I suppose family diners musn't have been too pleasant.......

2003-04-21T09:38:00.000-04:00

Arms Scientist Says Iraq Destroyed Chemical and Biological Weapons Just Before the Attack and Reports Iraqi Links to Al Qaeda Let's assume that this newest report is true and as of five days before the U.S. attack on Iraq, Iraq was free of illegal weapons. I think it would be truly laughable if people then say this shows the war was unneccessary. In fact, if this latest report is true, it only underscores just how dangerous this regime was and how dangerous it would have been in 5-10 years.

2003-04-20T17:54:00.000-04:00

Blair's Popularity on the Rise. Good to see some our British friends coming to their senses. Although by no means an excuse for their previous level of opposition, I will say better late than never, something that can't be said for the French. More importantly, it's good to see Blair on stronger footing again. He is a truly principled leader and a great friend of the U.S.

2003-04-19T23:01:00.000-04:00

Academics against Bush Almost every academic I speak to has a rather vociferous hatred of Bush and his policies. This weekend I ate lunch at the house of a prominent Dean of an elite graduate school here in Manhattan. I deeply repsect this man and he is extrodinarily intelligent. Not so shockingly, he was agianst the war. What I found interesting was that he firmly believed that Bush instigated this war solely to get oil and to out-do his father. What suprised me about this argument was the furvor with which it was made; however no real evidence or facts were given to support this assertion. It is true that historically leaders have destroyed nations over personal issues and for petty reasons.... but this in and of itself, is not a valid reason to assume that is what is occuring with our President and Iraq. I tried to articulate to him (as well several other academics present who shared his beliefs) that if we wanted oil why not invade Venezuala, or do what the French and Russians did by obtiaining lucarative oil contracts with Saddam?

To spend 80 billion plus to invade a country for its natural resources, to me, seems counter-intuitive. In the end I found that as many valid points as I made, these academics could not escape contextualizing the war within the bounds of their own ill feelings towards Bush. Specifically the idea that he was an illegitimate president (which completely obscures and misgauges the very fabric of represenative democracy) was justification for being against his policies. In any case it was nice to debate someone on the left who was articulate and cogent .....alright time to go endulge in the hedonism that is Saturday night in manhattan.....

2003-04-18T14:45:00.000-04:00

Amir Tehari: Published in Saudi's Arabnews.com and NRO on the same day. Iranian author Amir Taheri published two cloumns today. One entitled The Iraq War: Winners and Losers which appeared in Arabnews.com, a Saudi based, English Daily that is moderate for the Middle East (as opposed to the Teheran Times which has run editorials claiming that the US, UK, and Russia are colluding with the Baathists), but still rather anti-West. The second article, Iran&Syria@Work A campaign against democracy appeared in America's flagship conservative publication: the National Review online. It is fascinating that two such diverse publications could publish the same author's commentary on the same day. While the NRO piece was a scathing rebuke of the Iranian and Syrian axis of anti-democracy; the Arabnews.com piece was notably less inflamatory but still resonated with a pro-Western slant; detailing the positive aspects for the Arab World at the ending of the Baathist regime. Both are interesting articles and I appluad Taheri's daftness in being able to bring such a cogent argument to the Arab press, while at the same time contextualizing it positivley.

2003-04-18T13:54:00.000-04:00

What the hell are these people thinking? North Korea, on the virtual eve of multilateral talks with the US and China, announced that it will be using spent fuel rods to make nuclear weapons. This is of course spitting in the face of the US. The North Koreans are playing a very dangerous game, and they should be very careful as to test our good will. It is not resonable for a militaristic dictatorial state to posses nuclear weapons, especially a nation that has an unfortunate propensity for invading its neighbors. I understand the North Korean's need to regain face after agreeing to multilateral talks in the wake of the fall of Iraq, however they should tread softly because such antics make a diplomatic solution less and less likely.

2003-04-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

Is it Saddam? The new Saddam tape has everyone up in a roar....So what? You can't be positive when it was filmed nor by who, nor when. The only question that matters in the long run is who is running Iraq. That being said it would be nice to capture him and allow a new free Iraq to put him on trial.

2003-04-15T21:09:00.000-04:00

Muslim groups angered over Rev. Graham's planned appearance at the Pentagon I think its a bit ridiculous that the Pentagon is inviting a man to speak at a prayer service who has called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion." I mean lets get serious here, this isn't what Americans are about.

2003-04-15T18:15:00.000-04:00

Master Terrorist Abbu Abbas, perpetrator of the Achille Lauro massacare, captured in Iraq I just saw this on msnbc.com. And of course Iraq doesn't harbor or sponsor terrorists......I wonder what else we are going to find, oh and they caught him on his way to the Syrian border...shocking.

2003-04-15T17:45:00.000-04:00

Columbia University:Bastion of anti-Israel hatred and propoganda I know this phenomenon all too well. As an undergrad at Cornell University studying the Near East I was constantly confronted by professors and students who would openly endorsed Palestinian terror tactics. Inherent to this mentality is a dehuminization of the "Zionists" (read Jews) and a romaticizing of barbaric terrorists and the atrocities they commit. In today's NRO Jonathan Calt Harris, managing editor of Campus Watch exposes the immense institutilization of anti-Israel hatered at Columbia University. How the Left, which espouses to idealistic humanitarianism, allows itslef to be a vessel for hatred, racism and disinformation is beyond me. There is legitimate criticism of Israel--as there is with any democracy--calling for its destruction and liquidation of its Jewish population is not one of them. Stupidity.

2003-04-15T16:10:00.000-04:00

Loopy Frenchmen I found this synopsis of a recent poll in the French newspaper Le Monde (via blogger Iberian notes). It goes as follows:

"Anyway, out of these folks, 47% said they thought the Iraqis saw the Americans as an army of occupation, not liberation; 57% think humanitarian goals are not of concern to the Coalition forces; 56% say the Coalition should not have intervened militarily in Iraq; 64% say Chirac did not err in his diplomatic efforts; 43% of them say they totally disapprove of the intervention and another 19% somewhat disapprove; and, get this one, 52% see the United States as a danger to the world, as against 29% who see the US as protection against dangerous countries and 18% more who say the US is neither one nor the other. Fifty-two percent of any survey, even a self-selected one like this, is pretty significant, I submit."

I am glad to see that the French are particularly adroit at gauging the geopolitical landscape. Perhaps intervention is only good when you are liberating them from the Nazis they collaborated with? Wow that was harsh.

2003-04-15T16:02:00.000-04:00

French President Jacques Chirac loves Dictators! I found this via instapundit on the Travelling Shoes blog. It just goes to show you that the French love not only Woody Allen and Jerry Lewis but Fascist Dictators as well! Freedom fries anybody?

2003-04-15T11:07:00.000-04:00

This gives one hope In Baghdad, there is a very small Jewish Population that was apparently defended and saved from the looting of the past few days by their Muslim and Christian countrymen. This gives one immense hope as to what the true nature of a free and democratic Iraq will be like.

2003-04-15T10:54:00.000-04:00

Syria is playing a very dangerous game Bashar Assad, the Syrian dictator is playing a very dangerous game. It seems as if the US and the UK are playing a form of good cop, bad cop with his regime. Bashar went to school in the UK and has close ties to the Bristish government. This will not result in War (unless he is harboring the big S himself, which is doubtful) but Syria is suspected of Harboring many Baath party members (which Debka has been reporting for weeks). In any case what can you expect from a man whos only previous political experience was running the national internet program, in Syria no less! There was his computer, the one at the palace and the one at the summer home......

2003-04-14T16:39:00.000-04:00

CNN: Collaboration News Network In an op-ed piece last Friday in the New York Times, Eason Jordan, CNN's news chief, admitted that his network had learned some "awful things" about Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, but failed to report them because it "would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff." It also would have jeopardized CNN's precious access to the heinous Hussein regime if they let the world know about the rapes, murders, tortures, and assassination plots perpetrated by the Baathist party in Iraq. But what good is access if you're not going to report the truth? In the end, CNN functioned as nothing more than a propaganda outfit for Uncle Saddam and his eternally optimistic information minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (aka, "Baghdad Bob"). In order to keep it's reporters in Iraq, CNN had to toe the regime's line or get out. They decided to stay. If that's not collaboration, then I don't know what is.

2003-04-14T12:32:00.000-04:00

The self-serving charlatans of peace I am perplexed. The anti-war movement is still at it, it is unbelievable. The World Peace Council on its website (found via NRO). It wants: "the war be stopped immediately, the invaders pull out of Iraq, governments stop all support to the U.S. and British murderers." So we should leave, re-open the torture chambers, re-insitute Baathist policy of rapping women, and continue allowing the Iraqis to ethnically cleanse the Kurds. What type of peace is that?

2003-04-13T20:01:00.000-04:00

We Love the Iraqi Information Minister This site is hillarious. It is an ode to Muhammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (M.S.S.) the Iraqi information minister who had such colorful quotes over the past few weeks as: "There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!", the ever confident "My feelings - as usual - we will slaughter them all"and "Our initial assessment is that they will all die" And my personal favorite: "God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of Iraqis". Check out the site... mad cool.

2003-04-13T16:52:00.000-04:00

Who We Are The war is by no means over but it has passed a critical juncture. The phychological lynchpin of the Baathist regime has been removed and its crumbling reverberates worldwide; having particularly upsetting ramifications for those in the Arab World. In Manhattan this weekend the mood was light and relieved. the sun was out and the young urban class was out in force soaking up the weather.
It seems as if this war--while not only freeing an oppressed people from the yolk of tyranny and making the world a safer place for democracy-- has helped to further refine the definition of what it is to be an American. This war has made many Americans question the fundamental principles upon which they subsist. The national soul searching that resulted in a commitment to liberate Iraq--the idealogical decision to not appease those who seek to destroy our way of life out of fear--eminates from this very same self-realization. In the end, the war in Iraq was crucial, but perhaps slighltly less crucial was the fact that we as Americans let the world know that we will not scoff from evil as our European "allies" have, we will not keep quite in hopes of mullifying the much famed "Arab street," rather we will stand up for what we believe in.
Perhaps Paris and Berlin tremble at Al-Jezeera's reports of discontent, but today Damascus, Teharan and P'yongyang should tremble at a coalition of the willing; a coalition unwilling to live in fear of the horrors of humanity that these very reigmes have wrought upon their own people, and now threaten to wreap upon us.

2003-04-13T16:27:00.000-04:00

7 American POWs rescued ! Seven U.S. prisoners were rescued today after the Iraqi officers in charge of the prisoners fled. Great news indeed!!

2003-04-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

Saddam the "Amelda Marcos of grenades" Col. Oliver North, a correspondent with Fox News embedded with the Marines described the massive amounts of weapons caches that the Marines were discovering in Iraq. He commented that Saddam had so much weaponry that he could arm every "man woman and child in Iraq." However his money line was: "Saddam is the Amelda Marcos of grenades." Amazing.

2003-04-11T17:53:00.000-04:00

How can the anti-war left live with itslef after hearing of this? I just found this article from April 8th when Baghdad was in the process of falling. Apparently Saddam and his Baathist henchman had imprisoned 150 children for refusing to join the Baathist youth movement. SImply horrendous. I wonder how our Weekend Warriors for Saddam (WW4S) who will be descending on the White House tommorrow feel about this one? While these charlatans marched on New York and flooded London, children languished in a dungeon, where is the "peace and justice" in that? Then again isn't their imprisonment a small price to pay for the left to make its point? Disgusting.

2003-04-11T15:39:00.000-04:00

How our Army got so Damn Good In Slate Fred Kaplan discusses how our forces became so phenomenal and formidable. he attributes it to a combination of a culture of integrated command, increased technological reliance and utilization of non-conventional special forces. A bit heavy in military jargon and strategy but a great piece for those of us often mystified by the uber-success of our Armed Forces.

2003-04-11T14:53:00.000-04:00

Eloquent and brilliant: Victor Davis Hanson writes stirringly in todays NRO. Hanson elucidates that what has transpired in the last three weeks is unprecedented in the anals of military history. Hanson also picks up on the double standard that the world often applies when it comes to Americans. He writes:

"Saddam’s Iraqis slammed rockets into American installations, blew up two journalists, and the world was silent. In contrast, our troops on the ground fired back at shooters in a hotel where Baathist functionaries were embedded among reporters, tragically killed three journalists, and the globe was afire in indignation. American teenagers inside tanks (no doubt glued to CNN video consuls) who were targets were apparently supposed to die rather than dare to endanger a crowd of elite journalists at Ground Zero of a war, with full knowledge that they were being housed and used by fascists — as if Patton’s tankers would have not fired back at shooters in a hotel in Vichy France because Nazis had allowed a UPI or AP correspondent on the verandah"

In a world of moral laxity and perverse relativism we must be constantly vigillant to point out the gross hypocrisy of those who seek to use universalists ideals to hide thier very partisan agendas. And Hanson does this better than anyone, a must read.

2003-04-10T17:32:00.000-04:00

Maureen Dowd is an Idiot I have long despised Maureen Dowd, that symbol of fatuity, shallowness, and self-absorbtion characteristic of the parasitic left-wing intelligentsia. Her bi-weekly opinion column in the New York Times is, in my opinion, the biggest pile of garbage in print journalism. In contrast, I have long admired Victor Davis Hanson, whose column in NRO is consistently excellent, and who I consider to be one of the 2 or 3 best military historians living today. So, you can imagine my glee upon reading his excoriation of Ms. Dowd's recent "critique" of the Bush Administration. I especially enjoyed this passage:

"It might be neat between cappuccinos to write about leaders getting "giddy" about winning a terrible war, or thinking up cool nicknames like "Rummy," "Wolfie," and titles like "Dances with Wolfowitz," but meanwhile out in the desert stink thousands of young Americans, a world away from the cynical Letterman world of Maureen Dowd, risk their lives to ensure that there are no more craters in her environs — and as a dividend give 26 million a shot at the freedom that she so breezily enjoys."

Indeed.

2003-04-10T10:46:00.000-04:00

Myths of the Arabic world crushed by liberation Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid who is the Editor in Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, wrote an amazing piece for Saudi Arabia's Arabnews.com. Al-Rashid details how the Arab world, via its biased media was in shock yeasterday at the pictures of Iraqis dancing in the street after thier liberation. He wrote:

"This is where the people had not been sleeping because of the demonstrations that were taking place continuously, led by people thinking that they were defending the Iraqi people whereas in fact they were defending Saddam himself.....That’s why yesterdays’ images, in which the people of Baghdad tore down their dictator’s pictures and pissed on them, overthrew the biggest lie in the contemporary history of the Arabic world."

Al-Rashid hits the nail on the head with this one, the sentiment must be very strong to make it into Arabnew.com, a vehemently anti-Western site.

2003-04-10T01:02:00.000-04:00

For months now, the Left has been warning those that support the war, "consider the consequences," "think about what you're supporting." They've drawn comparisons to the Bush administration and Hitler regime, saying the similarities should give those of us that support military action pause and reason to question ourselves. One could certainly oppose the war based on legitimate, respectable grounds. But for those who have preached about the 'evil' of what we're doing, it's now time for them to pause. Pick up the newspaper, look at the sights of Iraqis dancing in the street, kissing American soldiers, and pulling down statues of Saddam. Don't preach anymore.

2003-04-09T22:06:00.000-04:00

What Iraqis think of the UN According to a Reuters' dispatch from Baghdad, "cheering crowds earlier sacked U.N. headquarters in the Canal Hotel and drive (sic) off in U.N. cars. The building had housed U.N. aid workers as well as arms inspectors, who were withdrawn shortly before the war began on March 20." I can't blame them.

2003-04-09T21:02:00.000-04:00

138 Years Ago Today On April 9, 1865 Robet E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively bringing to an end the Confederacy. On April 9, 2003 Baghdad fell to coalition forces, effectively bringing to an end the Baath party of Iraq. Coincidence? Perhaps. However, as John J. Reilly notes in his blog, the collapse of Saddam's regime "may look more like the end of the Confederacy than of the Third Reich. Robert E. Lee surrendered, but the Confederate government never did. Indeed, after it fled Richmond, it planned to try to contact a surviving southern army and continue the struggle. For the Iraqi government to do something similar, however, it would first have to admit it has lost control of Baghdad." Whatever ends up happening, let's hope reconstruction in Iraq fares better than reconstruction in the south.

2003-04-09T20:03:00.000-04:00

Freedom's Promise So long as I live I will remember this day. In terms of world history, I predict, it will stand out among the the most famous: the day America brought freedom to the Arab world. The scenes in the streets of Baghdad were awe inspiring. So were the rallies of Iraqi exiles in Michigan. So were the celebrations by the Kurds in nothern Iraq. Where are the violent clashes in the streets of Baghdad, that Chris Matthews predicted on his show night after night, month after month? Where are the so-called moderate Arab regimes in collapse? Where are the bodybags of our young boys that naysayers promised for long?

The anti-War activists felt confident that history would prove them right. Today, they were proven wrong.

To be sure, their are great challenges ahead. But we can worry about those tomorrow. Today is a day of celebration. I believe, along with the fabled "neocons", that the only way to stop terrorism is to bring freedom to the people of the middle east. That way they won't feel as though they need to lash out through terrorism. No play by Tony Kushner can bring that freedom. No polemic in The Nation about some idiotic international criminal court can do it either. Jimmy Carter can "wage peace" all he wants, but it was American soldiers who brought that freedom today. Jerry Kerry can talk about "regime change" in the US if wants. Charlies Rangel can accuse US troops of bombing women and children. Dennis Kucinich can propose a cabinet level office for peace. And they can all teeter off into oblivion. Stupidity doesn't bring freedom; action does.

Fox News featured a clip of the Democratic presidential candidates speaking to a labor group. They said almost nothing about the scenes of joy in the Iraqi capital. Frankly, I'm not surprised. When, in recent months, have the Democrats said anything relevant? It is infuriating. The American people will not forget their silence on this day of joy. The Democrats may soon go the way of the UN: irrelevancy. Actually, that might not be such a bad thing.

Freedom is such an inspiring thing, isn't it? YEE-HA!!!!!!

2003-04-09T14:55:00.000-04:00

Inspiring Words In today's Wall Street Journal Editorial Page, there's a very moving open letter to America's soldiers by one Barbara J. Makuch, who received the FBI's Lewis E. Peters Memorial Award in 1992 for her two decades as a double agent spying on the Soviet Union. I especially liked this paragraph:

'I asked my mother what she thought of war. "It is a terrible thing, but if it means freedom to those who have none, if it means safety for the world, then there is no question what has to be done," She said. "Those who have not suffered under the terror of oppression, those whose lives have been privileged and free, will never understand the sacrifices of those who died for liberty and freedom. It is easy to criticize our leaders from the safety, warmth and comfort of their homes and mansions. While they eat the bread of America, and benefit from the democracy and freedom of speech afforded us by this great nation, they show the ultimate disrespect toward our President and our troops."'

Read the whole thing.

2003-04-09T14:50:00.000-04:00

"It was a place of evil" Journalists discovered Iraqi torture chambers in Basra. As one Iraqi described:

"They did unthinkable things -- electrocution, immersion in a bath of chemicals and ripping off people's finger and toenails."

Mr. Chirac: did your weapon inspectors go here?

2003-04-09T13:38:00.000-04:00

Baghdad Falls I watched the historic tearing down of the Saddam Statue in central Baghdad this morning. While many in the Arab world do not believe that coalition forces are in Baghdad, buying into Baghdad Bob's notion that it is all a Hollywood hoax. Perhaps the pictures of Iraqi's cheering while ridding on American tanks will change some minds? We, now have to find Saddam, and I am confident that we will, some think to think he is hidding out in the Russian embassy, which the Russians deny.....

2003-04-09T02:47:00.000-04:00

Ed Koch, Neo-Con Check out this snippet from an interview with Ed Koch published in Monday's New York Sun:

Q: "How's the war in Iraq going?"
A: "I think it's gone exceedingly well. I think that the media in substantial numbers are fools and are just simply showing their left-wing bias against Bush and those Republicans and Democrats who support the war against Iraq for all the reasons set forth in U.N. Resolution 1441. I think the president did the right thing, is doing the right thing, and I think the war is going quite well. . . .
Q: "What is next after Iraq?"
A: "I believe the president announced the policy of the country in a succinct way when he said that we will go after the terrorists and the countries that harbor them. I've got great confidence in what I think is the finest cabinet on security and defense matters ever assembled in Washington."
Q: "You've crossed party lines in the past. Will you do it again?"
A: "Yes. I'm probably going to vote for George Bush next time. All things being equal, even though I disagree with President Bush on a whole host of domestic matters, from taxes and Social Security and prescription drugs . . . Nevertheless, the single most important matter to me, and one that should be to the whole United States, is terrorism, security of the country, security of the homeland, standing up to those who want to destroy us, and he's doing that better than Gore would have, and I don't know anyone who would do it as well at this moment in the Democratic party."

This coming from the former democratic mayor of New York City.

2003-04-08T01:38:00.000-04:00

"A Collapse, Not a War" With apologies to Victor Davis Hanson and Bevin Alexander, John Keegan is, in my opinion, the best military historian living today. If you only read one book about war, let it be his A History of Warfare. Also, if you're interested in World War II, his The Second World War is excellent. In addition to being a prolific writer of books on military history, Keegan is also a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, and today he has a very insightful article on the military campaign that is fast coming to an end in Iraq. After reading this article, you get a sense of the outstanding incompetence of Hussein and his "generals" in conducting military operations. Keegan also chastises the western media's coverage of the military unfolding of this war, and rightly so, saying "checks have been described as defeats, minor firefights as major battles. In truth, there has been almost no check to the unimpeded onrush of the coalition, particularly the dramatic American advance to Baghdad; nor have there been any major battles. This has been a collapse, not a war."

2003-04-07T15:09:00.000-04:00

WMDs FOUND Debka reports that "20 medium-range BM-21 rockets equipped with sarin and mustard gas found near Baghdad. Top official with 1st Marine Division quoted as saying rockets were ready to fire." Perhaps those on the Left should do some soul searching.

2003-04-07T13:53:00.000-04:00

Time for a Massive Switch. For some time, I've been predicting that eventually Jews would become constituents of the Republican party. Although traditionally a Democratic stronghold, recent events only highlight what is becoming abundantly clear: this switch in party affiliation is in the midst of happening and it should happen. Go to an anti-war rally. It's no coincidence that you'll see tons of Palestinian flags and hear chants against Israel, the occupation, George Bush, America, and Republicans all in one gathering. Go to a pro-disarmament or support the troops rally and you'll hear chants about ending terrorism in Israel. It is all too clear now that members of the Left claim a Jewish conspiracy in this country. It is members of the Left that want Israel hamstrung in fighting terrorism. It is members of the Left that consistently lump Israel and the U.S. together as the two most evil and murderous regimes. It is the Right that says we will defeat terrorism along with Israel. It is the Right that says some things are worth fighting for in this world. It is the Right that says some things are not negotiable, and leaving Israel to fend for its own is one of them. In a society in which there are two parties, one right of center and the other left of it, hopefully it is much clearer now which one has the interests of Jews in mind.

2003-04-07T12:50:00.000-04:00

Global Warming? I Wish! Daylight savings time began yesterday. This is supposed to ensure us human beings an extra hour of sunlight each day to enjoy the balmy weather of Spring and Summer. It's a great idea, but only if the weather cooperates. Right now in New York City it's 31 degrees F, and snowing like crazy. According to the calendar it's April 7th (Happy Birthday Mom!), but it might as well be February 7th. Whatever happened to global warming? Well, according to an article in today's Daily Telegraph the whole concept has been undermined by a recent comprehensive study on climate data from the past 1,000 years. Apparently the period between the 9th and 14th centuries was the warmest ever known, much warmer than what we are experiencing today. I guess it must have been all those fire-breathing dragons that ran rampant back then. Remember this study the next time you hear some nut-job environmentalist like Leonardo DiCaprio fulminate about the evils of the internal combustion engine.

2003-04-07T00:04:00.000-04:00

Daniel Pipes nominated by President Bush to the board of directors of USIP USIP is a nonpartisan, federal think tank established by Congress to promote"the prevention, management and resolution of international conflicts." I applaud the President's nomination of such a clear thinking patriotic intellectual, in fact I have met Pipes on numerous occasions and the USIP would be lucky to have him. Daniel Pipes is a prolific writer and Prof. For those of you unfamiliar with Pipes you can check out his website. Many Muslim groups, who do not like Pipes are opposing his nomination. Groups like CAIR (Council on America-Islamic relations) have for years waged a character assasination comapaighn against Pipes (perhaps it was his exposing of CAIR's ties to radical Middle-Eastern terrorist groups that rubbed them the wrong way...not to presume anything of course). Once after a presentation Pipes gave at Cornell University, I was sitting with him over dinner discussing the event. I recalled to him that as I sat in the back of the auditorium during his talk I overheard a very pious Muslim student comment to his friend : "I thought this guy was a racist, he isn't so bad." Upon telling Pipes of this story he simply commented "see."

2003-04-06T22:58:00.000-04:00

Africa is dying from within and we need to intervene Amidst reports of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Central African Republic, the Sudan and now Uganda, the time for politicing is over. There must be some sort of peace-keeping force sent to stop the Carnage. This morning 996 people from the Roman Catholic parish of Drodro and 14 surrounding villages in Ituri province were massacared by Ugandan troops with the aid of allied Congolese tribal fighters. The world once again is watching while innocents are slaughtered. If the UN wants to be a real international player, now is thier oppertunity for redemption.

2003-04-06T22:49:00.000-04:00

As the world turns Today on the 141st anniversary of the start of the Battle of Shiloh our troops have surrounded Baghdad. The flurry of criticism from places like the New York Times and the BBC of a stalled war have proven inncorrect. The issue becomes what next? Do we storm the city, or do we surround it and wait for the Baathists to give up? While I am not a military historian (nor am I John) I think the coalition is playing it just right. The lightning raids into the city and then back out agian will serve not only to soften the Republican and Special Republican guard but will also phychologically cripple Saddam's crumbling regime.

2003-04-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

Intellectual Gestapo In the New York Times today there is a great article about how the gross majority of adademics are against the war, yet students are more divided. What is interesting is how the article describes profs activley protesting and encouraging the student population to as well. As one student commented : "There comes a point when you wonder are you fostering a discussion or are you promoting an opinion you want students to embrace or even parrot?" it is this very atmopshere that detracts from the Univerity's role of being an open sphere for debate and discourse. Such intellectual censorship has unfortunatley become a hallmark of modern academia. As an undergrad sudying Saddam's WMD program I recieved my lowest grade ever on a paper detailing Saddam's quest for such weaponry because, as the prof. remarked: "you have too much of a hatred for Saddam Hussien." As opposed to the admiration she must of have felt for such a lovely anti-Western tyrannt.

2003-04-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

Chris Rock's Money quote: I just got this quote from my good friend Josh, its by Chris Rock entitled: WHAT A WORLD!!!

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon'"

- Chris Rock

2003-04-04T15:12:00.000-05:00

Youth Culture and the Marines If you're like me, and disgusted with the shallow, self-absorbed world of "youth culture," epitomized by that garbage-spewing fluff-factory MTV (where the "M" no longer stands for "Music", but instead stands for "Me"), then you'll enjoy Dan Henninger's column in today's Wall Street Journal, where he contrasts this world of sophomoric fatuity with that of the marines, where self-sacrifice, discipline, honor, and courage are the dominant values. Check it out.

2003-04-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

Captain America goes Pinko? In today's NRO Michael Medved discusses the recent anti-American spin that Captain America has taken in his recent comic books. Medved writes:

"In 2002, Marvel responded to the horrors of 9/11 with Captain America: The New Deal, a series featuring a terrorist named Al-Tariq who’s determined to punish the U.S. for its reckless misdeeds. After taking hostages in a small town with a defense plant, the militant addresses Captain America through loudspeakers, demanding: Tell our children then, American, Who sowed death in their field, and left it for the innocent to harvest? Who took their hands, their feet? (my emphasis) A horrified hostage mother turns with fury on her own husband and shrills: “This is how you feed our baby? With bombs? You make bombs?' "

Never trust a man who wears bright spandex (unless he is Superman, which is then of course totally reasonable)

2003-04-04T01:38:00.000-05:00

Democracy and Iraq With coalition forces closing in on Bahgdad, and the extinction of Saadam Hussein's regime a soon-to-be reality, much talk is now focusing on what the government of a post-war Iraq should be. The word that most frequently comes out of the mouths of commentators in reference to the future government of Iraq is "democracy." Every time I hear such talk I can't help but think of the words F. A. von Hayek wrote in his brilliant book The Road to Serfdom regarding the function of democracy:

'It may well be true that our generation talks and thinks too much of democracy and too little of the values which it serves. It cannot be said of democracy, as Lord Acton truly said of liberty, that it "is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. It is not for the sake of a good public administration that it is required, but for the security in the pursuit of the highest objects of civil society, and of private life." Democracy is essentially a means, a utilitarian device for safeguarding internal peace and individual freedom. As such it is by no means infallible or certain.'

I think we should keep these words in mind when thinking about the future government of Iraq. I'm all for democracy, but only if it serves a government whose chief aim is the preservation of personal liberty. For such a government to come about, the proper checks and balances will need to exist in order to limit the power government officials can wield, for, as von Hayek says:

'There is no justification for the belief that, so long as power is conferred by democratic procedure, it cannot be arbitrary; the contrast suggested by this statement is altogether false: it is not the source but the limitation of power which prevents it from being arbitrary. Democratic control may prevent power from becoming arbitrary, but it does not so by its mere existence. If democracy resolves on a task which necessarily involves the use of power which cannot be guided by fixed rules, it must become arbitrary power.'

Remember that Saddam Hussein's Iraq, just like the former East Germany, which was actually called the German Democratic Republic, held "elections," and were therefore nominally democratic; however, the governments of these places were totalitarian in nature and they wielded arbitrary power. Democracy, in and of itself, is not the answer for the future government of Iraq; it is part of the answer, but only in the context of a government that nurtures indivdual freedom and has limits to its power.

2003-04-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

"Where do they get young men like this?" I read this stirring story on a post by blogger Lt. Smash. The post which I copied below truly reinforces who we, as Americans, are. It is because of men like this that we will always be victorious.

Martin Savidge of CNN, embedded with the 1st Marine battalion, was talking with 4 young Marines near his foxhole this morning live on CNN. He had been telling the story of how well the Marines had been looking out for and taking care of him since the war started. He went on to tell about the many hardships the Marines had endured since the war began and how they all look after one another.
He turned to the four and said he had cleared it with their commanders and they could use his video phone to call home.
The 19 year old Marine next to him asked Martin if he would allow his platoon sergeant to use his call to call his pregnant wife back home whom he had not been able to talk to in three months. A stunned Savidge who was visibly moved by the request shook his head and the young Marine ran off to get the sergeant.
Savidge recovered after a few seconds and turned back to the three young Marines still sitting with him and asked which one of them would like to call home first, the Marine closest to him responded with out a moments hesitation “ Sir, if is all the same to you we would like to call the parents of a buddy of ours, Lance Cpl Brian Buesing of Cedar Key, Florida who was killed on 3-23-03 near Nasiriya to see how they are doing”.
At that Martin Savidge totally broke down and was unable to speak. All he could get out before signing off was “Where do they get young men like this?”.

Simply put: amazing.

2003-04-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

Lessons from the West Bank In todays New York Times Yagil Henkin a military historian who is a reservist in the IDF writes very lucidly about urban warfare. In his piece Henkin details the numerous lessons that coalition forces could learn from the IDF's engaments with Palestinian terrorists. In particular he cites the tactics used in Israel's Operation Defensive Shield to route out terrorists in the West Bank. A very good read.

2003-04-03T12:48:00.000-05:00

Ah, at long last...sorry it took me so long to join you guys. And who says the anti-war movement doesn't have alternatives? I was talking to a good friend of mine who is active in the anti-war movement and I asked him to please provide me with an alternative to military action. He explained how the U.S. military should go into Iraq without guns and hand out food. Wow! That is a really brilliant idea. When asked how that would remove Saddam Hussein, eliminate weapons of mass destruction, or provide long term peace or democracy in Iraq, his response was, we can't solve other people's problems when we have our own domestic problems. Oh yeah, who the hell says?

2003-04-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

Weasel Whining Denis Boyles has an insightful article in today's NRO about the self-righteous indignation of the western European press regarding U.S. troops in Iraq. Apparently, the recent deaths of 7 Iraqi civilians at a U.S. military checkpoint near Najaf (the same checkpoint where a suicide bomber killed 4 GIs last week) is proof to the western European media that U.S. troops are bloodthirsty barbarians intent on killing as many innocent Iraqis as possible. I would suggest that these numbskulls check out Kate Sheehy's article in the NY Post's online edition, which quotes Sahid Mohammed Bakir Almohari, "a prominent Muslim cleric from the town near where the shooting and an earlier homicide bombing occurred," as saying:

"These people, children and women, those were put in the bus by Saddam Hussein's forces, their husbands or fathers were taken hostages and the driver was ordered to speed up to the checkpoint and not stop so that they would be shot at."

It's symptomatic of the blinkered outlook prominent in western Europe today that the media over there assumes U.S. troops are a greater evil than Saddam Hussein's thugs. I find it ironic that it's been these same troops which have guaranteed the peace in that (now irrelevant) region of the world for the past 58 years.

2003-04-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

America doesn't create terrorists, fundamentalist lawless societies do One of my biggest gripes is when I hear people say we should not do anything to inflame the so -called "Arab-street" because it will only create more terrorists. While the logic of this statement is baltantly flawed, seeing as that no moral democratic society should ever have a forieghn policy that is amiacable to religious fundamentalists, it still seems to make sense to some. In today's editorial for ArabNews.com out of Saudi Arabia the following point is made in regard to the wave of idealistic young men (read: criminal medevil barbarians) who have decided to go to Baghdad to act as suicide bombers for Saddam (perhaps they got a good rate on the hotel the human shields are staying at?), it reads as follows:

"The most astounding aspect of this bitterness toward the US and UK, and the willingness of young Arabs to die fighting them, is that most of them probably never gave Iraq a second thought a few weeks ago. They were anything but militant; they have been turned into militants by events."

Bullshit. I do not believe that these would-be suicide bombers were pacifistic Western intellectuals, until they saw some news clips on Al-Jezeera and decided to up and go to Iraq to wage war on American and British infidels. The reason is perhaps that these misguided young men are a product of a deeply troubled societies in which monarchies or absolute dictatorships have robbed them of any hope of a political voice. Perhaps their militancy is a result of decades of state-run propoganda, demonizing the US and Israel, calling Jews satanic and Americans gutless. Healthy societies do not give rise to men who want to blow themselves up, and saying that other countires are to blame for this---not only compleltely exhonerates the corrupt leadership of the countries they come from ---but totally robs these societies of any agency that they might have to put forth meaningful change.

2003-04-02T17:42:00.000-05:00

Geraldo "Hey Saddam our troops are over here" Rivera kicked out of Iraq It is indeed true, ABC news reports that Geraldo and his crew have been escorted off the front lines, leaving the 101st airborne division that he was embedded in. Geraldo vows however to return in a week or so after spending time in Kuwait. Personally I think that he could of ended up getting alot of soldiers killed, it is eerily reminiscent of Gulf War I in which reporters in Israel served as de facto on the ground intelligence helping Saddam aim his scuds..... idiocy.

2003-04-02T17:27:00.000-05:00

Star and Stripes absent in NYC I came to the realization this afternoon that Manhattan is shockingly absent of American flags. After 9/11 the city was covered from head to toe, and during the first Gulf War there was a yellow ribbon on almost every tree. It is a bit upsetting to see that although the support for liberating Iraq is so high, many New Yorkers choose not to openly display support for our troops. One could easily contrast this to what I read from fellow blogger sgt.stryker about the level of patriotism in other parts of the country.

2003-04-02T12:35:00.000-05:00

The European press can sometimes be like an addict on speed Michael Novak has a brilliant piece in today's NRO. Novak published his correspondence with a European journalist contrasting the diffrent views that the American and European press have on the war. Novak puts the smack down with this comment: "In your last e-mail, you say that the Coalition has been "surprised" by great difficulties and fierce fighting, and has taken "heavy" casualties. Well, last night I heard a discussion on TV pointing out that, if you set aside those killed in helicopter or traffic accidents (such as happen even in peace time), the exact number of Americans killed by enemy fire in the first eleven days was 34. The total number of American dead was 52."

2003-04-02T10:47:00.000-05:00

Amazing Rescue The Daring rescue by NAVY Seals and Army Rangers last night of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital was tremendous. It really goes to show how our troops truly do not leave anyone behind. Her family is obviously estatic at the good news.

2003-03-31T22:37:00.000-05:00

Saddam Must Be Pleased I can only imagine that Saddam is pleased now that Richard Perle has resigned from his post as chairman of the Defense Policy Advisory Board. But all Americans should be pleased that he remains a member.

2003-03-31T13:05:00.000-05:00

Media Meatheads Check out this article by Karl Zinsmeister from Friday's NRO. It's a scathing critique of his fellow reporters covering the war in Iraq. It brings to light the condescension, self-absorbtion, and overall fatuity exhibited by many members of the embedded press corps, and examines how these attitudes impact on the public's understanding (or misunderstanding) of what's going on in the war. A prime example of such media flimflam is Peter Arnett, who thankfully NBC just fired for his perfidious comments during an interview with Iraqi TV. For more insight on the cynical motivations of media war reporting, check out Stephen Glover's article in The Spectator, which maintains that many members of the media want coalition forces to fare badly because it will vindicate their predictions of a disastrous campaign for the allies. Like I said before, take all media accounts of the war in Iraq with a gigantic grain of salt.

2003-03-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

The Iraqi Strategy I have recently discovered the blog of one John J. Reilly, which I highly recommend you check out. He makes some interesting points today regarding Iraq's strategy in the current war with the U.S.-led coalition. To quote Andrew Sullivan, here's the money paragraph:

"What we have here is a regime engineering the motions of a guerrilla war, but without the popular base necessary to conduct one. The Baathist Party is conducting a police war. The key elements are the sort of special political units that Stalin used to ginger up the Red Army during World War II. The Iraqi problem is that the bulk of the fighting is being done by the special units. The result is lost engagements that can be turned into the legends of martyrdom. That's not merely a consolation to the Baathists; it's the strategy. It's different, but it's still lunacy."

The comparison with Stalin is particularly appropriate considering Uncle Joe is Saddam Hussein's hero and role-model. In addition, the current Iraqi tactic of forcing soldiers and civilians to fight at gunpoint is reminiscent of the Soviet practice of shooting soldiers who tried to retreat during WWII. I have no doubt that the longer this war lasts, the more depraved the tactics of the Iraqis will be. We're already seeing evidence of this with today's suicide attack near Najaf. Despite this barbarity, we must persevere until Hussein and his henchmen are gone. For anyone who still fails to see the just rationale for this war, consider the actions of the Iraqi regime, and ask yourself if these people should continue to live.

2003-03-29T15:39:00.000-05:00

Left Wing Revisionists I had a rather upsetting discussion with an anti-war undergrad this morning. The student was friendly and very good natured, however what was coming out of his mouth was pure dribble. He said the follwoing: "The FBI obviously knew about Spetember 11th before it happened, and Bush let it occur, like Roosevelt let Pearl Harbor occur, in order to impose his Imperial will on the world." Then when asked about Saddam and his history of barbarism he replied:"How do we know he is so bad? Why should I believe Fox news that he killed so many people, if all these people are dead where are their death certificates?" While this type of mindless anti-Bush hatred is not all that new, the fact that he actually believes all this stuff is, simply put, shocking (the argument that tyrannts don't usually issue death certificates for the people in mass graves didn't seem to persuade him). He of course could offer no evidence of Bush's invovlvement in the September 11th attacks, nor would he budge from his position that Saddam was perhaps "misunderstood" by our clearly racist, relativistic Western mindsets. It is precisly this type of conspiracy minded revisionist history that is so disturbing......Yes my dear friend, and the Jews weren't almost obliterated by Hitler, who I suppose we just simply "misunderstood." Horrific.

2003-03-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

Send Back Liberty This is amazing, no its brilliant. Check out this site send back Liberty. This hillarious site wants to send the Statue of Liberty back to the French. I never liked it anyway......freakin French.

2003-03-28T22:55:00.000-05:00

Columbia Proffessor Nicholas De Genova is a disgrace: At an anti-war teach-in at Columbia University Assistant Proffessor Nicholas De Genova made the following comment: "The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military...I personally would like to see a million Mogadishus." This is obscene and De Genova should resign immediately. Such hateful vitriol has become the calling card of the reactionary left. To call for massive American casualties is utterly repugnant. This man is a disgrace and Columbia cannot pruport to be a true member of the ranks of open enlightened academia with such a hateful man in its ranks. For a good synopsis of the "teach-in" check out Columbia Student Matthew Continetti's piece in the NRO.

2003-03-28T18:09:00.000-05:00

Mayor Mike: Big Brother Yes, folks it's actually happening. In the middle of New York's biggest crisis since the 1970's, come Sunday, Big Brother Mayor Mike is sending out "inspectors" to make sure no one is smoking anywhere in the many bars, cafes, nightclubs, and other city hotspots. This is after he imposed ridiculous driving laws aimed preventing people from making turns on streets that he feels no one should make turns on. They made traffic worse, not better. It is also after his property tax hike, a tax that will squeeze New Yorkers during very difficult economic times. He also raised the bridge fare to $6, encouraging fewer people to come into the city. It seems that Bloomberg is hellbent on stripping away as many individual liberties as possible. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life and I'm not all that fond of the smell either. But this is insane. Fewer people will go out to bars, so less money will be spent at bars, so people who work at bars might loose their jobs, becuase people who own the bar will make less money. Also, I thought this was a free country. I thought that store owners where in control of their own stores. Mayor Mike doesn't think so. My advice to Mayor Mike...Forget about your inspectors. Worry about preventing another terrorist attack, and getting more New Yorkers back to work. Your plate is not so clean and polished that you should be worrying about this nonsense.

2003-03-28T16:53:00.000-05:00

Syria aids Iraq Donald Rumsfeld today disclosed that Syria has been shipping sophisticated military equipment, including night vision goggles, across the border to Iraqi units fighting coalition forces, an action he viewed as a "hostile act." I can't say I'm surprised. Syria has long been on the State Department list of terrorist-supporting countries, and they have been implicated in shipping weapons parts to Iraq in violation of sacrosanct UN resolutions. One can only hope that the ouster of the current Iraqi regime will result in the ouster of the Syrian regime as well.

2003-03-28T15:53:00.000-05:00

Looming defeat inspires Iraqi depravity Iraqi irregulars in Basra fired on 1,000 civilians, primarily women and children, trying to flee the city. They attacked the civilians with heavy machine gun fire and Mortars as cnn reports. It is clear that the Feyadeen Saddam have no regard for the conventions of war nor for morality, and the world still questions if Saddam is a threat......has everyone gone mad?

2003-03-28T10:20:00.000-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson tells it like it is The clarity and lucidity of Hanson's writting is amazing. This war is an "instant War," we have unprecedented access to everything from live battlefield feeds to realtime weather reports. The notion that we have reporters in the same fighting vehicles as our soldiers is unbelievable. Hansons takes to task the irresponsibility of the way in which many of the Wars events are publicized by the media. In particular it is Hanson's ability to historically contextualize events that makes his writting so powerful. Hanson put the smack down with this line : "Our talking heads remind me of the volatility of the Athenian assembly, ready to laud or execute at a moment's notice." No one purporting to be educated can afford not to read this piece, it is simply brilliant.

2003-03-27T20:19:00.000-05:00

Tiger Woods, American Check out this quote from Tiger Woods via his personal web site. It's refreshing to see such good sense coming from the too-often inane world of celebrity. Kudos to you Tiger for knowing what's what, and good luck at the Player's Championship.

2003-03-27T18:15:00.000-05:00

Superhawk Down Fox News is reporting on TV that Richard Perle has resigned as Chairman of the Defense Policy Advisory Board. Perle is one of the most hawkish voices on Iraq, in-or-outside the government.

2003-03-27T17:26:00.000-05:00

Anti-American Conservatives Yes, they do exist, shameful but true. The great David Frum has written an article explaining who they are, and what they are after. It seems that they are united by two underlying ideas: antagonism towards Jews and Israel, and an unwillingness to stand up to America's enemies. This article has been published in National Review, America's leading conservative publication. That is good news because it means the conservative intellectual establishment won't stand for them anymore. Just for the record, Frum's article labels these "conservatives" unpatriotic, not anti-American. But after reading his article, and, more importantly, some of their articles, I think anti-American is not too strong a term. Just look at the vitriol and hatred a man like Pat Buchannan has for America's leaders. This could have been written by Naom Chomsky, or Gore Vidal, or, if he'd had more time, Michael Moore could have given it as his speech at the oscars.

2003-03-27T17:12:00.000-05:00

Defintley wrong, but still very funny Hackers apparently infiltrated the Al-Jezeera website and put up an image of the U.S. Flag with the quote "Let Freedom Ring." Mad funny.

2003-03-27T16:31:00.000-05:00

How long will this campaign last? Much ado has been made about an article in today's Washington Post concerning the prognostications of "senior military officers" regarding the length of the current Iraqi campaign. It seems that some officers (unnamed, of course) believe the campaign may take "months" to finish, and might require considerably more combat power than previously believed. Fair enough, but why is this on the front page? Of course this war might take months to complete. I don't recall President Bush, or Tony Blair, or Donald Rumsfeld, or anyone else in a position of responsibility saying this war would be a weeklong cakewalk. In addition, it might also turn out that we need more men and material to get the job done, but that is by no means certain, and if it comes to pass we are certainly able to meet any future need. I suspect the reason this article appeared on the front page is because so many journalists assumed the U.S.-led coalition would be able to do as they please in Iraq, and the fighting would be over by now. However, since they've been proven wrong, they are now hedging their bets, and assuming the war will be much longer and more difficult than it probably will be (here's hoping). In essence, their premature optimism has been replaced by a premature pessimism. My advice would be to treat all the news reports dealing with the war with a healthy dose of skepsis (especially those relying on unnamed sources), and keep faith that our military will get the job done.

2003-03-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

Dimwits in midtown II Why my neighborhood has become the hotbed of anti-war protest is unknown to me.....I thought that was what the village was for. Apparently 60 anti-war protestors were arrested in midtown for having a "die-in" to protest the war in Iraq. These people are just asking for it.....of course these protestors have been holding similar events for the past 30 years in opposition to the brutal Baathist rule of Iraq...hypocrisy!

2003-03-27T13:09:00.000-05:00

Guardian Declares US democracy a "casualty of war." I suppose this might have something to do with the approval ratings for Blair steadily climbing. In any case Gary Younge of the Guardian writes of the United States: "The result is a symbiotic relationship between the mob and the legislature, whereby official repression provides the framework for public scapegoating with each gaining momentum from the other." Oh please, the notion that dissent is muffled in the US is absurd. Perhaps Younge missed the self-serving rally in Manhattan last weekend, in which 20,000 like-minded folks apparently were able to through off the yolk of the oppressive US fascista and express thier opposition ot the War. Nonsense.

2003-03-27T00:34:00.000-05:00

British Fayadeen? In an incident shockingly similar to American John Walker Lindh's joining of the Taliban, the Daily Telegraph reports that British Coalition forces have captured a prisoner fighting with Iraqi forces who is from Manchester. This is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard anyone do.... "hey mom I am going to go join an army defending a fascist tyrannt who has murdered scores of innocents from the most powerful coalition in the history of war." As the British say what a "daft prick."

2003-03-27T00:15:00.000-05:00

Iraqi Barbarism As the coalition gears up to take on the Republican Guard, what disturbs me the most is the reports of Iraqis executing coalition POWs. It is truly sickening, and goes to show the depravity of the enemy we are fighting.......Mr. Huntington you were correct, civilizations are indeed clashing.

2003-03-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

Greetings For my introductory post I would like to quote the great Athenian historian Thucydides, whose History of the Peloponnesian War, though written 2400 years ago, still imparts many elemental truths regarding the affairs of men, including this one: War is an evil thing; but to submit to the dictation of other states is worse . . . Freedom, if we hold fast to it, will ultimately restore our losses, but submission will mean permanent loss of all that we value . . . To you who call yourself men of peace, I say: You are not safe unless you have men of action on your side. Amen. This pretty much sums up my feelings on all that is happening with the current Iraqi campaign of the War on Terror. In paricular, it informs my visceral distaste for the so-called "peace" movement, whose members refuse to see the just rationale for this war, and whose well-being and survival depend on the brave men and women of action currently risking their lives in an effort to change the world for the benefit of all, an effort, by the way, that will succeed.

2003-03-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

Iraqi Madness 1,000 armoured Republican Guard vehicles are moving South, out of Baghdad according to IC Wales. They also report that coalition fighters are decimanting the column, which it is speculated, believed it could evade air attacks due to the terrible sandstorm in the region. I guess they were wrong. This makes me wonder if indeed the resistance our forces have been encountering is a result of actual organized command and control? Or is it just contingency plans put in place beforhand under 'what to do if the boss gets blown up by a bunker buster?' It did appear that the decapitation attacks in the opening days of the war had failed and that the resistance by the Fedayeen and Iraqi irregulars was somewhat coordinated. However, this is a blatant tactitcal mistake. The Iraqi's are leaving the cover of their civilian shileds and are setting out to attack the lead elements of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. They are going to get the hell beat out of them, that is if any of them make it that far without getting blown up by coalition air strikes. If someone is actually directing this madness the Pentagon should give him a medal. This reminds me of the words of the great General Patton upon seeing Romel's Panzer division obliterated in Northern Africa: "What a damned waste of good infantry."

2003-03-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

Wise words from GB Shaw I believe that the great Playwright George Bernard Shaw once commented that the rational man expects to find his place in the world, and the irrational man expects the world to bend for him. That is why the irrational man will always be successful. As my introductory blog, I would like to inform you, my devoted readers, that I intend to be irrational.

2003-03-26T19:01:00.000-05:00

Dimwits in midtown Of course this stupidity had to take place in my neighborhood, protestors apparently laid down in traffic in order to show their anger over the Israel's treatment of Palestinians and the War in Iraq. This is not legitimate protest, it is public disturbance. My favorite part of the article was the guy who told them all: "to go to the West Bank." Mad cool. Its times like this I wish I had a car....

2003-03-26T17:44:00.000-05:00

The Hawks have risen! Gotham's Hawks is a group of young men who are very disturbed by the hypocrisy of the reactionary left. We come from varied political backgrounds and perspectives. The Hawks are united in their strong moral belief that we must activley seek to make the world a more democratic and sane place. We intend this to be a forum to have a meaningful political discourse on the very interesting and crucial events of our time.