2007.09.21 Politics and National Defense Roundup
Contributed by Bill Faith
Senate bill to cut funds for troops fails
S.A. Miller
The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a bill [yesterday] that would have cut off funds for U.S. combat troops in Iraq, as Democrats said that staging repeated failed votes for a pullout is a worthwhile exercise. ...
The lopsided 70-28 vote was predicted even by backers of the bill by Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, because it risked criticism for not supporting troops at the battlefront. ...
Can we question their patriotism now? Iraq withdrawal proposal fails
By Anne Flaherty
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate rejected legislation today that would have ordered most U.S. troops home from Iraq in nine months, culminating a losing week for Democrats who failed to push through any anti-war proposal.
The vote, 47-47, fell 13 votes short of the 60 needed to pass.
How about now?
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Iranian Qods Force agent captured in northern Iraq
Bill Roggio
Camp Victory, Baghdad Province: The US and Iraqi Army continue to target Iran’s surrogates inside Iraq. Today, US forces captured an officer of Iran’s Qods Force during a raid in the northern Kurdish province of Sulimaniyah. US forces also conducted a series of raids against Mahdi Army and Special Groups cells inside Baghdad and Diwaniyah over the past 24 hours.
The Qods Force officer was identified as an Iranian citizen. “Coalition forces identified the individual on the scene from a photo, so we are confident we have the guy we were looking for,” said Major Winfield Danielson during an inquiry with Multinational Forces Iraq. The Iranian officer’s rank has not been identified at this time, said Danielson.
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Somewhat related:
Diyala Tribes Begin Their Own Awakening
Ed Morrissey
Most of the major tribes in the Iraqi province of Diyala have signed agreements to support US and Iraqi forces against extremists, a development that has already resulted in a sharp improvement in intelligence flowing to security forces in the region. Just as in Anbar, the surge in the key province has resulted in a significant shift in allegiances. Unlike Anbar, however, it doesn't just involve Sunnis: ...
MoveOn.org and Company’s attacks on Rep. Brian Baird intensify
Michelle Malkin
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve blogged about the Left’s smear campaign against Washington state Democrat Rep. Brian Baird, who initially voted against the war in Iraq but now opposes precipitous withdrawal after visiting the troops there in the summer. See here and here. See also this anti-Baird video attack ad from MoveOn.org that aired last month.
The attacks have intensified. And MoveOn.org’s fingerprints are all over the new offensive. Yesterday, a front group called “Win Without War” placed ads in Baird’s local newspapers pressuring him to reverse his position.
Rest in Peace, 1LT Travis Manion
Bill Ardolino
On a Sunday afternoon in late April, 1st Lt. Travis Manion spoke to his father via satellite phone from a dusty Iraqi Army barracks in downtown Fallujah. Manion and his fellow Marines with Military Transition Team (MiTT) 30 - advisors to the 3-2-1 Iraqi Army - had recently watched a DVD of the movie "300," and it made an impression. He told his dad that for the Spartans, there was "no greater honor" than to die fighting for one's country and its freedoms. He expressed frustration that many Americans didn't understand that's what he and his Marines were doing in Iraq. The satellite phone kept cutting out and, unusually, Travis kept calling his father back. He lingered on the phone. He spoke of the importance of honor, strength and courage. He expressed kinship with the Spartans.
A week later, Travis Manion died a Spartan's death. ...
Quick hits:
A Break In the al Dura Case?
John Hinderaker
We wrote here and elsewhere about the case of Mohammed Al Dura, a boy who became a cause celebre in the Arab world after he and his father were apparently caught in a crossfire between Palestinian terrorists and Israeli soldiers, and Mohammed was killed. The claim that he was murdered by Israelis is universally accepted in the Arab world--some Arab governments have gone so far as to issue postage stamps bearing al Dura's iconic image--but the facts are far from clear. ...
Dan Rather’s Conspiracy Theory
The former anchorman alleges CBS shut him up to protect George W. Bush.
Byron York
Dan Rather has been out of the anchor chair at The CBS Evening News for more than two years. There is wide agreement that the story which led to his departure, a report on George W. Bush’s Air National Guard service, was based on fraudulent, or at least unverifiable, documents. CBS commissioned an extensive investigation into the matter, Rather left the network, and the affair seemed over.
Until now. Yesterday Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against his old employers, and it is based on a set of astonishing allegations that are sure to bring what became known as “Rathergate” back into the news. ...
If you missed The Road Less Graveled Wednesday now's an excellent time to read it.
Related:
Middle East Volcano
Charles Krauthammer
On Sept. 6, something important happened in northern Syria. Problem is, no one knows exactly what. Except for those few who were involved, and they're not saying.
We do know that Israel carried out an airstrike. How do we know it was important? Because in Israel, where leaking is an art form, even the best-informed don't have a clue. They tell me they have never seen a better-kept secret.
Which suggests that whatever happened near Dayr az Zawr was no accidental intrusion into Syrian airspace, no dry run for an attack on Iran, no strike on some conventional target such as an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base or a weapons shipment on its way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Circumstantial evidence points to this being an attack on some nuclear facility provided by North Korea. ...
*** Something brewing in Pyongyang
Michelle Malkin
Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble: North Korea and Syria held high-level talks Friday in Pyongyang, the North’s state media reported, amid suspicions that the two countries might be cooperating on a nuclear weapons program.
The talks took place between Choe Tae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, and Saaeed Eleia Dawood, director of the organizational department of Syria’s Baath Arab Socialist Party, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. ...
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