This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Foreign Policy

  • Trouble in my old AO

    I was very saddened to see that a series of bombings in the city of Hit in Iraq killed eight including the family of Lt. Col Suleiman (the BBC says he was a major but he wasn’t), the leader of a counter-terrorism unit in Hit. After my battalion left Ninawa province, my company was assigned an AO that stretched from the western outskirts of Ramadi all the way up to the city of Haditha. In the middle of that AO was the city of Hit, which was about six klicks south of the COP we were posted at. During my time in Hit, there wasn’t a lot of insurgent activity. There were weak attempts at placing IEDs that targeted convoys moving from Al Asad Airbase along MSR Bronze and of course the occasional pot-shot at our posts and helos flying into our COP. RKG-3s, like everywhere else in the country at the time, were also a problem. One of the reasons why Hit, which at one point was literally controlled by insurgents, was so quiet during my time there was because an effective Iraqi police and counter-terrorist force had been trained and deployed in the city, which was led by Lt. Col Suleiman. The Iraqis were able to do most operations on their own and almost never requested our help. Iraqi forces even had an EOD capability in our AO, and on one occasion were able to defuse a complex magnetic IED on their own, without any assistance from our Navy EOD attachment. Of course, it wasn’t perfect in Hit. The mayor was extremely corrupt and used money the Americans gave him to hold parties that resembled something out of Miami Vice at his home along the Euphrates River. Some of the local IPs were related to known insurgents and were helping them elude American and Iraqi forces. But the progress made in just a short time is amazing and shouldn’t be ignored.

    When most media outlets report these incidents, they seem to relish in the carnage they cause. For years most of the chattering class in the media predicted and even cheered on complete failure in Iraq. When the surge worked and violence subsided, many media outlets turned to magnifying isolated attacks or political failures in an attempt to show that Iraq was on the verge of coming apart. I remember when I was in Iraq on several occasions reading New York Times and Washington Post articles about bombings in Baghdad, Mosul or up the road in Ramadi and the writers implying that the whole country was on the verge of coming apart. There were was a lot of this type of hysteria in the lead up to the June 30th deadline to withdraw from the cities, with many predicting that once the Americans left these cities would explode. Of course this never happened, and for the most part, Iraqis were able to fill the void left by departing American forces.

    The bombings in Hit do not mean that the city will come apart and explode into violence, as some people predict and secretly want. The Iraqi Security Forces (most likely with little or no American help) will attempt to track down the savages who committed these acts of violence down and if they catch them, well, lets just say that the Iraqis’ version of GITMO is a hole in the desert. Take that last part however you want…

    090326-M-7997R-027

    Iraqi Army rehearsing for a raid in Hit

  • It’s Saturday Night Links

    Just a few quick links since there is nothing too big for it’s own post. So lets begin;

    To start off, there has been a fourth Church that has been burned down Malaysia that is suspected of being linked to the law that allowed Christians to use Allah to refer to God.

    The violence comes as Muslims protest a recent court ruling that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word “Allah” for God. Muslims believe Allah, an Arabic word, should only be used by Muslims.

    Next is that the suicide bomber that killed at least 6 CIA personal set off his bomb before he was searched.

    Those at the scene on Dec. 30 had been trying to strike a balance between respect for their informant — best demonstrated, in the regional tradition, by direct personal contact — and caution, illustrated by the attentiveness of the security guards, according to CIA officials.

    Also in Dallas a guy eager to see his girlfriend caused the Airport to be shut down for seven hours when he wanted a hug before she left.

    “He just wanted to say goodbye to his girlfriend, I don’t think he realized what he [was] doing,” said another pal, Ning Huang, 33, who plays soccer with Jiang.

    Separately

    TSA guard Ruben Hernandez had temporarily left his post unguarded, highlighting porous security at the airport despite recent terror alerts.

    Lastly seems that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has publicly apologized for his comment back in 2008.

    “I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words,” Reid said in a statement. “I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans, for my improper comments.”

    We shall see what happens with that. Now if he would appoligize about his comment that the Iraq War was Lost. I know, not going to happen.

    To end it off I figured something funny. Remember when Cindy Sheehan made her “Under the Death Star” speech? Well seemed that this cartoon came out tow years before it and looked like it was made for it.

  • Not soft on terror?

    In 1949, Mao Zedung (or however we’re supposed to spell it these days) successfully seized the reigns of the mainland Chinese government and US Republicans charged that the “Democrats lost China”. That’s what was in the back of Lyndon Johnson’s mind when he sent combat troops to Vietnam in reaction to the fuzzy details of the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” that filtered back to the White House – Johnson didn’t want to be known as the guy who lost Indochina.

    A decade later, Jimmy Carter lost Iran, Nicaragua and the Panama Canal and a decade later Bill Clinton lost Somalia – all of those have come back to bite us. Now, Barack Obama is in danger of losing the war against terror. So the Washington Post feels an urgent need to defend the young president;

    Words first. “Evil does exist in the world,” Mr. Obama said in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. “Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms.” In his weekly radio speech Saturday, he disposed of the war-vs.-law-enforcement canard, pointing out that in his inaugural address he made it clear that “0ur nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred and that we will do whatever it takes to defeat them and defend our country, even as we uphold the values that have always distinguished America among nations.” “

    But actions speak louder, and Mr. Obama’s actions — often at the cost of enraging his party’s liberal base — have also demonstrated tenacity and pragmatism blended with a necessary reassessment of the flawed policies of his predecessors and a recommitment to the rule of law. He wants to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, which is all to the good given its stain on the national character, but he has delayed that goal until acceptable alternatives can be found. He has brought criminal charges against some terrorists, but he has also sent others to be tried by military tribunals. He has invoked the authority of the executive to have lawsuits dismissed because they risk exposing state secrets. In addition to the new troop deployments, he has aggressively used predator drones to strike at terrorists, including outside Afghanistan. Even before the failed attack, his administration has been working aggressively with Yemeni authorities to deal with extremists there.

    See how brave he is – he enraged his party’s base. Like they’ll start suicide bombing the White House, or vote Republican in protest. Whew! How courageous. Don’t you wish he’d enrage our enemies instead?

    His administration announced today that they won’t open a new front in Yemen despite the fact that three strikes in our own country have their origins in Yemen;

    The U.S. does not plan to open a new front in Yemen in the global fight against terrorism despite closing its embassy there in the face of Al Qaeda threats, President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser said Sunday.

    “We’re not talking about that at this point at all,” White House aide John Brennan told Fox News when asked whether U.S. troops would be sent to Yemen.

    “The Yemeni government has demonstrated their willingness to take the fight to Al Qaeda,” he said. “They’re willing to accept our support. We’re providing them everything that they’ve asked for.”

    Like they provided McChrystal with everything he asked for?

    See how much “smart power” worked against Iran – they won’t even let John Kerry get a visa;

    On Saturday, Iranian legislators stepped up the rhetoric against the news that Kerry was considering traveling to Tehran with the blessing of the White House.

    “The Islamic Republic of Iran has no plans to negotiate with any American official, unless the country (the U.S.) changes its policies,” member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Zohreh Elahian said, according to Fars News Agency.

    Yeah, the US has to change it’s policies, while Iran murders dissidents and locks up thousands more.

    But don’t let the Washington Post catch you calling him soft on terror.

  • Ahmadinejad not influenced by smart power

    The Associated Press in Fox News reports that all of that smart power just hasn’t influenced Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    Ahmadinejad dismissed the threat of sanctions, saying Iran wants talks “under just conditions where there is mutual respect.”

    “We told you that we are not afraid of sanctions against us and we are not intimidated,” he said, addressing the West. “If Iran wanted to make a bomb, we would be brave enough to tell you.”

    “This nuclear game thing is an old story, it’s history now,” the Iranian leader said, as the crowd cheered: “We love you, Ahmadinejad.” He lashed out at Washington, vowing Iran will stand up against U.S. attempts to “dominate the Middle East.”

    Of course he’s not influenced. No matter what happens he’s a winner. If no one does anything, Iran gets nuclear weapons. If the US or Israel decides to strike at Iran’s nuclear development, he gets to play victim of Zionist ambitions on the world stage. George Bush understood that no matter what we do, we’ll get no respect – so we might as well do what’s best for the country.

    With reams of evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and supplying our opposition in Iraq and Afghanistan, the case for the Obama Administration’s “smart power” is dead now, if it wasn’t already.

  • Who’s in Copenhagen today?

    While all of the third world is in Copenhagen trying to figure a way to fleece the American taxpayers, Hillary Clinton is there to make their job easier;

    “The US is prepared to work with other countries toward a goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020 to address the climate change needs of developing countries,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

    Sweet, huh? We’re dealing with unemployment, health care, tax hikes, cap-and-tax, infrastructure deterioration, foreign oil barons – then on top of all of that, we’re going to start handing money to the corrupt third world to misuse.

    The President spoke this morning, insisting that this, among every other damn thing his administration is dealing with, is important enough to so anything, regardless of how destructive a catalyst it might become;

    “There are those developing countries that want aid with no strings attached, and who think that the most advanced nations should pay a higher price,” Obama said. “And, there are those advanced nations who think that developing countries cannot absorb this assistance, or that the world’s fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden.

    “But here is the bottom line: we can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward, and continue to refine it and build upon its foundation,” he said.

    Republican James Sensenbrenner is there, too, according to Byron York;

    Sensenbrenner’s office says he will “closely follow” several issues at the Copenhagen conference, including “the developing world’s demands for wealth transfers, the levels of commitment from developing countries [and] the feasibility of greenhouse gas reduction targets.” With him are Republican Reps. Joe Barton, Fred Upton, Shelley Moore Capito, John Sullivan, and Marsha Blackburn. Fourteen Democrats are on the trip, including the Speaker.

    According to Andrew Breitbart, more nefarious forces are at work in Copenhagen, too;

    Nothing like few thousand proud communists to draw support to a cause.

  • Ignoring allies and cuddling with tyrants

    In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Con Coughlin tries to explain why the Obama Administration treats our staunch ally, the British so poorly.

    Before he became president it was said that Mr. Obama harbored a deep grudge against Britain for its colonialist past. It is alleged that his paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, was tortured by the British during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya in the 1950s, when it was controlled by Britain. In his autobiographical book “The Audacity of Hope,” Mr. Obama unflatteringly compares the British Empire to South Africa’s apartheid regime and the former Soviet Union.

    Soon after his inauguration, he sent back to the U.K. a bust of Sir Winston Churchill that had been loaned to President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. The sculpture had enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office.

    There is also an important ideological reason that Britain’s leading policy makers find themselves increasingly shunned by the U.S. Key foreign-policy advisers to Mr. Obama are keen advocates of a federal Europe, one in which the European Commission based in Brussels is the main center of power and influence, rather than the individual capitals, such as London, Paris and Berlin. In this context, Britain’s dogged attachment to a “special relationship” with America is regarded as an embarrassing relic of a previous era.

    Yeah, he treats the British poorly because of something may have done before he was born, but he cuddles with the Iranians and Hugo Chavez despite things they’ve done and continue to do during his presidency. That makes sense – especially since he sees history as a record of class struggle.

    Iran tested components that could be used in nuclear weapons just a few years ago. Hugo Chavez calls the US an “overt threat” to Iran and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas (ALBA). Bolivia’s Evo Morales charges his opponent in the last election with corruption to send a message to his opposition. But the Obama Administration sees Hondurans acting within the confines of their constitution as a threat to human rights.

    Something doesn’t smell right here.

  • American locked up for handing out legal items in workers’ paradise

    We all remember how in recent months, the Raoul Castro government in Cuba made a big deal out of legalizing cell phones and laptops for Cuban citizens. Well, the Washington Post reports that an American citizen was arrested for handing out laptops and cellphones, normally priced right out of the budget of an average Cuban family;

    The contractor, who has not been identified, works for Bethesda-based Development Alternatives. The company said in a statement that it was awarded a government contract last year to help USAID “support the rule of law and human rights, political competition and consensus building” in Cuba.

    Consular officers with the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the capital, are seeking access to the contractor, who was arrested Dec. 5. The charges have not been made public. Under Cuban law, however, a Cuban citizen or a foreign visitor can be arrested for nearly anything under the claim of “dangerousness.”

    So much for access to electronics for Cubans. Since the items were free, the Cuban government wasn’t able to make any money on the deal.

    But the really disgusting part of the whole story is in the comments section of the Post. It rivals a Democratic Underground thread in their hypocrisy. With no evidence to support it, the Washington Post’s readership accuses the contract employee of being CIA, they accuse the US of “meddling” in Cuban politics – anything to avoid facing the facts that the guy was handing out legal items to Cuban citizens.

    Speaking of Democratic Underground, they’re absolutely giddy about it. I guess it’s some kind of Hillary plot to make Obama look bad (like he needs help in that regard).

    So I’ve come to the logical conclusion that Liberals call themselves “progressives” these days because there is nothing liberal about them when it comes to human rights.

    Alberto de la Cruz at Babalu Blog (my first stop for Cuban perspective) writes;

    The fact is that the Cuban regime may not have enough hotel rooms to handle all the American tourists if the travel ban were lifted, but they certainly do have enough jail cells to hold any that stray off the Potemkin village.

  • Iran cracks down on it’s citizens abroad

    The Wall Street Journal (link might require subscription) writes that the Islamic Republic’s regime now reaches outside it’s borders to stifle dissent;

    Interviews with roughly 90 ordinary Iranians abroad — college students, housewives, doctors, lawyers, businesspeople — in New York, London, Dubai, Sweden, Los Angeles and other places indicate that people who criticize Iran’s regime online or in public demonstrations are facing threats intended to silence them.

    Although it wasn’t possible to independently verify their claims, interviewees provided consistently similar descriptions of harassment techniques world-wide. Most asked that their full names not be published.

    Before this past summer, “If anyone asked me, ‘Does the government threaten Iranians abroad or their families at home,’ I would say, ‘Not at all,’” says Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent lawyer inside Iran. “But now the cases are too many to count. Every day I get phone calls and visits from people who are being harassed and threatened” because of relatives’ activities abroad.

    But these are the guys we’re supposed to negotiate with. Time and again, they’ve flaunted international law, made threats against their neighbors, been found guilty of aiding terrorists worldwide. They gun down their own citizens on the street and now they spy on them when they’re outside the country.

    But George Bush is evil