The Cool Blue Blog

Taking resposibility

In his newest plea to get the world to stop beating up on his peps, Osama bin Laden man's up and takes sole responsibly to for the attacks on the World Trade Centers

"I am responsible for 11 September and the Taliban are not involved," said the al-Qaeda leader.

He thinks it's unfair that the US attacked Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power

"...I am the only one responsible for it. The Afghan people and government knew nothing about it. America knows that," the al-Qaida leader said in the five-minute tape.

Um. Fine. So beside deflating Rosie O'Donnell and the 9/11 truthers, why make a tape from his hidey hole to admit this? In fact, why didn't he man up when he had the chance to prevent the invasion? He could have stepped forward then and allowed himself to be extradited to America for trial.

But he didn't.

Bin Laden credited himself and his mujahideen for defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan (forgetting or not knowing about the US role in their victory) and given that he declared war on the US, and did his best to provoke a shooting war, to what extent do you think he believed he could defeat the US in Afghanistan in the same way the Soviet Union was defeated?

He was likely shocked when he, al Qaida, and the Taliban got their asses kicked so thoroughly by a few hundred Special Operators and CIA agents.

Since then, the presence of US fighting forces grew as did the European NATO contingent.

Now that al-Qaeda's ass has also been kicked in Iraq, al Qaeda is refocusing on Afghanistan from their secure base in the Indian Country of Western Pakistan; Waziristan. But in order to win that battle, al Qaida needs to get enemy fighters to go away, or at least be reduced in number so that maybe they have a chance.

And that's what his new video is all about

From the Counterterrorism Blog

The commander of the Jihadi mother ship says the Afghans sustained the Soviet occupation for many years; hence he warns the European governments that their forces deployed in that country will be continuously attacked. That was the first salvo. Then he “informed” them that they’d made a tremendous mistake by deploying along with US troops and dislodging the Taliban in 2001.

Bin Laden likely doesn't like the fact that pro-American leaders have been elected in France and Germany.

"The American tide is ebbing, with God's help, and they will go back to their countries," he said, speaking of Europeans. "It is better for you to stand against your leaders who are dropping in on the White House, and to work seriously to lift the injustice against the believers."

He's thinking that sooner or later Americans will tire of the war in Afghanistan and he doesn't want them to be relieved by Europeans.

Two things come to my mind about this:

One is that al Qaida is barely holding on. His boast that he can hold on longer than we can is telling: I don't think he believes it, but he needs Europe to

Two is that Europe needs to be more vigilant than ever about terrorist attacks. As they get more desperate they are likely to try to repeat their success in Spain.

OBL and the Islamists are on the ropes. And they will fight like junkyard dogs to make a comeback.

Politics by the numbers

One problem with the Presidential political season starting so early, in this case two years before the election, is that the landscape can change dramatically. Democrats who started out with hard anti-war positions when things looked bad in Iraq are now having to deal with a new reality

For the first time in a long time, nearly half of Americans express positive opinions about the situation in Iraq. A growing number says the U.S. war effort is going well, while greater percentages also believe the United States is making progress in reducing the number of Iraqi casualties, defeating the insurgents and preventing a civil war in Iraq.

Roughly half of the public (48%) believes the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going very or fairly well. Judgments about the overall situation in Iraq have been improving steadily since the summer. As recently as June, only about a third of Americans (34%) said things were going well in Iraq.

The landscape at the beginning also had Bush approval ratings low, and the newly elected Democratic Congress high. But the that's changed as well

Gallup's latest poll finds only one in five Americans approving of the job Congress is doing at this time. The public's rating of Congress had shown slight improvements in recent months, but the current rating is down again and is among the lowest that Gallup has ever measured dating back to 1974.

And the support for the anti-American meme most likely to be promoted by the Hard Left Wing of the Democratic Party represented by the "netroots" folks is also very soft from a general election perspective

Why doesn't Hollywood cut to the chase the next time it wants to insult the public with a new war-on-terror film and just call it "Bombs Away"? As movies depicting U.S. troops as bad guys and terrorists as sensitive, misunderstood souls continue to crank out, the industry needs to take its puny box office returns as a wake-up call from the public.

Despite top star billings, big-foot directors, the best publicity money can buy and critical acclaim, the public just isn't biting. The problem is the content.

"Redacted," gave us the Christmasy theme of Iraqi rape starring U.S. troops as rapists. It drew just $10,039 over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo, and $34,000 at its open.

Meanwhile "Rendition," which showed terrorists as pensive souls, bombed too. "A Mighty Heart," depicting terrorists' war on the West as "understandable," was a dud. "Syriana," portraying U.S. intelligence officers as crooks in bed with Big Oil, also fared poorly. "Lions For Lambs," a long anti-war monologue, bored people out of the Cineplex.

Critics say the lousy returns show the public is fatigued with the war. But name one film supportive of the U.S. war in Iraq, making heroes of the war's real heroes, such as our troops or even Iraq's democrats. Name one that portrays al-Qaida terrorists as the cold-blooded Islamofascist killers they really are.

The public isn't sated on good Iraq films; in reality, it's famished.

There is little support for failure in Iraq and there is little support for the Democratic leadership. The issues for the 2008 election will likely be less about Iraq than about Security, Illegal Immigration, and Health Care. And because of this, Democrats are attempting to retool their message

The focus of the presidential campaign, especially on the Democratic side, has broadened as well. Even antiwar groups that once denied that security has gotten better have recalibrated their arguments to focus on the failed efforts to reach political conciliation among Iraqi factions or the risk of war with Iran. The shift has strategists in both parties reevaluating their assumptions about how the final year of the Bush presidency and the election to succeed him will play out.

But the question is, can Democrats make the public forget that they advocated defeat? That they wanted to throw in the hat and leave the battlefield to al Qaida and the inevitable slaughter of the Iraqis who supported us and believed we would help them establish a government responsible to the people?

That they advocated for a Saigon scenario?

What's worse for the Democratic slate is if they retool their message too much, how people be able to to take seriously their new message?

Capt. John F. Vanlandingham

Capt. John F. Vanlandingham, 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery Regiment, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, received the Silver Star in an Aug. 12 ceremony. Capt. Vanlandingham risked his own personal safety to save the lives of several Iraqi National Guard troops.

Photo by First Lt. Chris J. Heathscott

FORT CHAFFEE MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. (Army News Service, Aug. 13, 2007) - Capt. John F. Vanlandingham's mission for Operation Iraqi Freedom was to train Iraqi National Guard troops to defend their country.

When insurgents attacked the convoy he and his comrades were traveling in, Capt. Vanlandingham ignored his own personal safety to save the lives of several ING troops by venturing numerous times into the kill zone to help them escape.

For his "never leave a troop on the battlefield" attitude, the captain received the Silver Star during an Aug. 12 ceremony here.

"The Iraqis, to me, were like American Soldiers," he said. "We put the effort and countless hours into training them. We had the duty to help them as much as we would have a fellow American."

A member of the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery Regiment, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Capt. Vanlandingham was serving as an ING advisor when he led a convoy of about 50 ING troops from an oil refinery back to a U.S. post north of Taji, Iraq, on Nov. 14, 2004.

A delay in the convoy's movement gave insurgents the chance to prepare for an ambush.

"An improvised explosive device went off two vehicles behind me," the captain noted, explaining how the ambush began.

Nearly two-dozen Iraqi troops were in each of the vehicles, which did not have protective armor.

Seconds after the first bomb exploded, another IED detonated near the vehicles, and several insurgents began attacking with small arms.

Capt. Vanlandingham's vehicle, the convoy lead, escaped the ambush and moved to safety, but he and troops with him immediately realized that the Iraqi soldiers were caught in the attack.

"I was the only cadre there who was in charge of the Iraqis, so we turned around and went back," he said of his decision to return to the fight.

The captain directed American forces to suppress the enemy fire as he made his way into a ditch and back toward the Iraqi troops. He retrieved several wounded and at least one dead Iraqi soldier along with several weapons. The Iraqi troops suffered severe injuries, and without quick medical attention, they would likely have died.

After accounting for all troops, Capt. Vanlandingham reorganized the convoy, leading the way back to post to secure medical treatment for the wounded.

At the award ceremony, Brig. Gen. Richard Swan praised the captain's actions.
"Without a doubt you have proven that you are a Soldier and a Warrior. God bless you," he commented.

A letter penned by Maj. Gen. William Wofford, adjutant general of Arkansas, honored the Soldier's "dynamic leadership."

"Your discipline and professionalism serve as an example to your peers and have earned for you the respect of your superiors. You are a fine asset to the Arkansas Army National Guard," the adjutant general wrote.

Despite the kind words, Capt. Vanlandingham downplayed his "hero" status.

"I really appreciate what the people have done to give me this award," he said. "I'm no hero. I just did what I had to do that day to survive and to have my fellow Soldiers survive."

(Sgt. Rick Fahr writes for the 119th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

Pork for Victory

Before the Thanksgiving break, Democrats tried once again to end the march to Victory in the Battle for Iraq.

Appropriators had crafted a $50 billion “bridge fund” for near-term war operations, intending to consider the rest of Bush’s request when Congress returns to work after the holidays. But Bush has refused to consider the package because Democratic leaders have attached language mandating the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Not having the appropriations is making some enumerate dire consequences to the actions of the Democrats

“When we run out of money from the base budget and we do not have a supplemental budget to fund the global war on terror, we have no more means by which to fund the war,” Geoff Morrell, the Defense Department press secretary, said in the latest in a series of warnings to lawmakers about the potential consequences looming for the services.

Operations at all Army and Marine Corps bases would be “all but shut down,” he said, and the Defense Department would able to provide only the most basic safety and security for residents.

The Navy and Air Force would also run out of money for operations and maintenance later in the year, but Morrell could not estimate when that could happen.

The Pentagon also will have to begin notifying about 200,000 civilian and contract workers just before Christmas that without new funding, they will be furloughed “within a matter of weeks,” Morrell said.

To help bridge the gap in war funding, separate from the regular annual defense budget recently enacted, Morrell said Defense Secretary Robert Gates has notified Congress that he proposes to transfer a total of $3.7 billion from Navy and Air Force payroll accounts, a move that would require approval from Congress. Gates also plans to spend $800 million in excess working capital funds.

Of course to my way of thinking, a better idea would be to raid the Democrats defense pork and reallocate that money to something useful; like Victory against the Islamists

Senators McCain, Coburn and DeMint actually got the ball rolling by writing this to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

As you develop contingency plans to keep funding available for the troops in harm's way, we strongly urge you to cut unnecessary Congressional earmarks as your first source of funding.

The Defense Appropriations bill President Bush recently signed contains over 2.000 earmarks accounting for over $5 billion in wasteful spending. These projects divert critical defense resources from our men and women in combat to projects such as studying brown tree snakes and funding youth golf programs.

In fact, let's start with Representative John Murtha, critic of the war, false accuser of Marines, but Defense pork king

If John Murtha were a businessman, he'd be the biggest employer in this town.

The powerful U.S. congressman has used his clout on Capitol Hill to create thousands of jobs and steer billions of dollars in federal spending to help his hometown in western Pennsylvania recover from devastating floods and the flight of its steelmakers.

More is on the way. In the massive 2008 military-spending bill now before Congress -- which could go to a House-Senate conference as soon as Thursday -- Mr. Murtha has steered more taxpayer funds to his congressional district than any other member. The Democratic lawmaker is chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which will oversee more than $459 billion in military spending this year.

Johnstown's good fortune has come at the expense of taxpayers everywhere else. Defense contractors have found that if they open an office here and hire the right lobbyist, they can get lucrative, no-bid contracts. Over the past decade, Concurrent Technologies Corp., a defense-research firm that employs 800 here, got hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to Rep. Murtha despite poor reviews by Pentagon auditors. The National Drug Intelligence Center, with 300 workers, got $509 million, though the White House has tried for years to shut it down as wasteful and unnecessary. Another beneficiary: MTS Technologies, run by a man who got his start some 40 years ago shining shoes at Mr. Murtha's Johnstown Minute Car Wash.

Sounds like a good place to start, eh? But why stop there? How about Senator Feinstein's pork?

As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee.

Each year, MILCON's members decide which military construction projects will be funded from a roster proposed by the Department of Defense. Contracts to build these specific projects are subsequently awarded to such major defense contractors as Halliburton, Fluor, Parsons, Louis Berger, URS Corporation and Perini Corporation. From 1997 through the end of 2005, with Feinstein's knowledge, Blum was a majority owner of both URS Corp. and Perini Corp.

While setting MILCON agendas for many years, Feinstein, 73, supervised her own staff of military construction experts as they carefully examined the details of each proposal. She lobbied Pentagon officials in public hearings to support defense projects that she favored, some of which already were or subsequently became URS or Perini contracts. From 2001 to 2005, URS earned $792 million from military construction and environmental cleanup projects approved by MILCON; Perini earned $759 million from such MILCON projects.

In her annual Public Financial Disclosure Reports, Feinstein records a sizeable family income from large investments in Perini, which is based in Framingham, Mass., and in URS, headquartered in San Francisco. But she has not publicly acknowledged the conflict of interest between her job as a congressional appropriator and her husband's longtime control of Perini and URS--and that omission has called her ethical standards into question, say the experts.

The tale thickens with the appearance of Michael R. Klein, a top legal adviser to Feinstein and a long-time business partner of Blum's. The vice-chairman of Perini's board of directors, Klein was a partner in Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, a powerful law firm with close ties to the Democratic Party, for nearly 30 years. Klein and Blum co-own ASTAR Air Cargo, which has military contracts in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Klein also sits on the board of SRA International, a large defense contractor.

In an interview with this reporter in September, Klein stated that, beginning in 1997, he routinely informed Feinstein about specific federal projects coming before her in which Perini had a stake. The insider information, Klein said, was intended to help the senator avoid conflicts of interest. Although Klein's startling admission was intended to defuse the issue of Feinstein's conflict of interest, it had the effect of exacerbating it.

Of course, this may be closing the barn door well after the horse left for his morning constitutional because Senator Feinstein resigned from MILCON after these revelations. But still, we could check

In fact, there is so much pork in the Defense bill finding pork is easy;

it's a target rich environment.

'Americans are our protectors'

I've related the story of Amiriyah before (here too). But the details of the local uprising that lead to the towns eventual security were vague

A battle raged Thursday in west Baghdad after residents rose up against al-Qaida and called for U.S. military help to end random gunfire that forced people to huddle indoors and threats that kept students from final exams, a member of the district council said....

Members of al-Qaida, who consider the district part of their so-called Islamic State of Iraq, were preventing students from attending final exams, shooting randomly and forcing residents to stay in their homes, the councilman said.

Now, thanks to the reporting of Liz Sly of the Chicago Tribune, we know more. We now know about Abul Abed, a former Sunni insurgent leader who began talks with Americans about taking his city back from al Qaeda.

     One day in late May, he said, he decided it was time to act.

He hailed the car carrying the feared leader of Al Qaeda in the neighborhood, a man known as the White Lion, on one of Amariyah's main streets. "We want you to stop destroying our neighborhood," he told the man.

"Do you know who you are talking to?" said the White Lion, getting out of his car. "I am Al Qaeda. I will destroy even your own houses!"

He pulled out his pistol and shot at Abul Abed. The gun jammed. He reloaded  and fired again. Again, the gun jammed.

By this time, Abul Abed said, he had pulled his own gun. He fired once,  killing the White Lion.

"I walked over to him, stepped on his hand and took his gun," Abul Abed, which is a nom de guerre, said at his new, pink-painted headquarters in a renovated school in Amariyah, as an American Army captain seated in the corner nodded his head in affirmation of the account. "And then the fight started."

It was the beginning of the end for Al Qaeda in Amariyah. The next day, a firefight erupted. Al Qaeda fighters closed in on Abul Abed. Most of the 150 men who had joined him fled. Holed up in a mosque with fewer than a dozen supporters, Abul Abed thought the end was near.

"The blue carpet was soaked red with blood," he recalled. Then the imam of  the mosque called in American help.

A friendship was born....

"Americans are our protectors and saviors," he said.

The real enemy of Iraq, he says, now is Iran. He pulled out his mobile phone to show pictures he has saved of the bodies of his four brothers, who were kidnapped and murdered in 2005 by what he suspects was a Shiite death squad with ties to Iran. One of them had a nail driven into his head. Another was missing a hand.

"Even animals wouldn't do that," he said, his face darkening. "Iran is so deeply infiltrated in Iraq, the problem here still cannot be solved. Iran wants to demolish us. If the Americans leave, then you can count Iraq as a second Tehran."

And that, as they say, is the rest of the story

Air Force Special Agent Gregory Carmack

The Air Force has long been associated with bombing, air superiority, lift, and search and rescue missions. In recent years, the USAF has taken on unconventional missions as well, such as training explosive ordnance specialists, assisting convoys on the ground, and deploying weapons intelligence teams. Still, thwarting a suicide bomber on the ground would appear to be an unlikely task for an airman. But that is precisely what Air Force Special Agent Gregory Carmack did last year in Kirkuk, Iraq. His quick thinking during a surprise suicide attack protected his convoy from harm and saved dozens of lives. Carmack’s heroism earned him the Bronze Star with “V” for valor.                   

Carmack, a 15-year veteran of the Air Force, knew well the terrain of Iraq and the Middle East, having spent six tours in the area. His duties during this tour in Iraq included locating high-value targets, performing counterintelligence missions, and assisting ground combat operations. On June 14, 2006, Carmack’s three-vehicle OSI (Office of Special Investigations) convoy moved to capture a terrorist in Kirkuk. The convoy met a nine-truck Army detachment to discuss operational details. At this time, Carmack heard a shot ring out and saw a small truck ram through an Iraqi police checkpoint and move toward the OSI and Army vehicles. Having broken the perimeter, there was nothing between the truck and the disembarked team of soldiers and special agents.                   

Instinctively, Carmack recognized the imminent threat to the convoy. He began firing at the truck. The other convoy members took cover – only Carmack had a clear shot at the incoming attacker. Carmack hit his target: The mortally wounded driver lost control, and he hit an unoccupied Army Humvee without detonating the explosive-laden truck. An analysis performed after the planned attack found two 130-millimeter cannonshells attached to the passenger side of the vehicle – more than enough ordnance to kill or injure all the servicemembers present. Thirty six seconds elapsed from the time Carmack noticed the bomber until the threat was neutralized. Carmack credits his training for his ability to spontaneously react to such threats. Of note, Carmack completed the mission his OSI convoy originally set out to accomplish: Three days after the failed attack, Carmack captured the high-value target near Kirkuk.                   

Carmack emphatically supports his mission: “I believe in what we are doing. I’ve been there, been on the ground every day for six months. What we do there is making a difference.” On September 13, 2007, Carmack received the Bronze Star with Valor. He currently serves at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

From the Air Force web site

Special Agent Greg Carmack saved the lives of several individuals near Kirkuk, Iraq, June 14, 2006, when he went one-on-one with a suicide bomber, countering the notion that the Air Force isn't 'in the fight' downrange.
 
En route to capture a high-value suspect near Kirkuk, Agent Carmack's OSI convoy stopped to discuss mission details with their Army support team. As three agents gathered outside of their vehicles, a shot rang out. A small white truck plowed over an Iraqi policeman and continued toward the American military vehicles.
 
"When that happened I instinctively knew what it was," said Agent Carmack. "I knew that it was definitely danger to us, that it was most likely a suicide bomber."
 
Almost automatically, Agent Carmack raised his weapon and began firing. Several shots later, the truck smashed into one of the two Army hum-vees in front of the OSI convoy. Its ordnance did not explode. The entire event was over in thirty-six seconds, he said.
 
In those thirty-six seconds, Agent Carmack made a decision and acted in a way that would save his life and those of several others: Explosive ordnance disposal teams found two 130-millimeter shells rigged up on the passenger side of the vehicle. For his decisive actions, Agent Carmack was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor.
 
"If I go downrange and I'm on the front line again, Greg is definitely one of those people I would love to serve with," said Special Agent Forrest Williams, the Office of Special Investigations Det. 601commander at Hickam Air Force Base.

Political paralysis

You know, it's as if the Democratic Leadership has had their irony detector surgically removed. How else do you explain this?

Democratic leaders on Thursday warned the Iraqi government was locked in a stalemate, as they jockeyed for position ahead of another Senate showdown over Iraq war funding.

"Every place you go you hear about no progress being made in Iraq," said Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid.

"The government is stalemated today, as it was six months ago, as it was two years ago," Reid told reporters, warning US soldiers were caught in the middle of a civil war.

"It is not getting better, it is getting worse," he said.

Now this is coming from a Congressional Leadership that can not put aside their partisan differences long enough to pass most of the legislation they have sponsored.

The most recent example is the pork-laden appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). First they tried to bundle this monument to pork with the appropriation for the military. Senate Republicans outmaneuvered the leadership by forcing the Democrats to separate the bills. Both passed but Bush promptly vetoed the HHS appropriation bill and when it got back to the House, Democrats failed to override the veto.

But this comes on the heels of Democrats passing an appropriation for the Battles in Iraq and Afghanistan that has a withdrawal timetable. It passed the House with less Democratic support than ever. What's more, it's not even going to get through the Senate so the President can veto it.

The legislative record of this Congress is simply pathetic.

As reported to Congress in July, the Iraqi Parliament has a much longer list

including enactment of laws creating an electoral commission, military courts, a $41 billion  budget that includes $10 billion for reconstruction and capital investment and laws allowing formation of larger federal regions and easing rules for investment in production of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Given the severe religious and ethnic divides present in Iraq, I'd say they've done quite well and deserve a break.

I reported back in July that this list surpassed the US Congress' list of accomplishments and that's still true today

The 110th Congress has indeed passed 116 pieces of legislation, but it’s mostly a list of resolutions declaring this or that, or designations naming federal buildings here and there.

A person doesn’t have to follow Congress daily to know that it has basically done nothing this year. There’s been a lot of bickering and preening and posturing, but no substantive action on major issues.

The debate over a federal children’s health insurance program has been a trip to nowhere, with Republicans and Democrats unable to compromise so far on how much the program should be expanded, if at all...

Bush and congressional leaders tried to pass so-called comprehensive immigration reform, but were beaten back by a fierce tide of public opinion.

There is an energy bill, but that has yet to advance.

There are multiple budget bills to fund the federal government for 2008, and none have passed so far, at least without a veto.

Unbelievably, the House Democratic leadership recently announced that the House will not be in session five days a week next year. Maybe taking Fridays off is appropriate, considering the current level of accomplishment in the House.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Leadership, at the behest of Moveon.org and Code Pink, are doing everything possible to assure that progress in Iraq gets to be worse than Congress' progress in America.

Given the unwarranted criticism of the Iraqi Parliament by the impotent Senate Majority Leader it would seem that this goes beyond projection and has moved towards wish fulfillment.

Four Silver Stars for the 5th Special Forces Group

Master Sgt. Petter Jacobson, Master Sgt. Sean Kirkwood, Master Sgt. Raymond Lancey and Staff Sgt. Gregory Keller received Silver Stars during a ceremony at the James E. Bruce Convention Center in Hopkinsville, Ky for action in January 28th in Najaf, Iraq. All are members of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) of Fort Campbell, Ky.

From the Associated Press

Detachment 566 received an urgent call from Iraqi army scouts at about 7 a.m. Jan. 28, requesting immediate assistance just north of An Najaf, the Army said. The small group of Iraqi scouts was outnumbered by enemy fighters and engulfed in gunfire, according to the military.

The Special Forces soldiers arrived to find the scouts isolated and suppressed by gunfire and were fired on by enemy small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled-grenade and mortar fire, the Army said in describing the battle. Lancey returned fire from his .50-caliber machine gun before leaving his vehicle. He led a three-man team through a barrage of bullets in order to reach the trapped Iraqi soldiers.

Keller left his vehicle and organized the Iraqi soldiers into defensive positions before moving 50 meters through heavy fire to a position that supported better defense for the trapped scouts.

Keller was wounded but maintained his position, continuing to fire his rifle and grenade launcher.

After noticing the same scouts, Jacobsen left his vehicle and fired at their attackers from inside a shallow ditch.

Kirkwood led an assault after reinforcements arrived.

Follow her instincts

In the runup to her return from self-imposed exile, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was willing to cut a political deal with President Pervez Musharraf. Even after he suspended the Constitution, she refused to make a complete break. But that has changed.

Pakistan's former prime minister and leader of the largest opposition party, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto, said on Monday that she had ended negotiations with President General Pervez Musharraf.

"We are saying no," to more talks, Bhutto told journalists in the Pakistani city of Lahore. "It is a change from my party's past policy."

Bhutto said that the current state of emergency in the country had made it impossible for any talks to take place on a power-sharing agreement between the two leaders.

It is more than likely her instincts are telling her that aligning herself with Musharraf has become politically untenable. President Bush should follow suit and support the Democratic parties opposed to Musharraf.

It is a definite strategic concern this unraveling of Pakistan. Pakistan not only contains, and in some respects nurtures Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and the Taliban, but it also is a nuclear power. Allowing those nuclear weapons to get into the hands of Islamists is the nightmare scenario. Knowing which way to break on the political issues in Pakistan is critical to keeping these out of the hands of terrorists.

Musharraf has been an ally in the War Against Islamists, no question about it. But he's gone wobbly.

He suspended the Constitution ostensibly to thwart the threat of the terrorists and not, he claimed, just to maintain power. But it seems all this new-found power is not being put to good use in this regard.

Across much of Pakistan on Monday, the government was firmly in command -- squelching protests, blacking out television stations and picking up dozens more political prisoners to add to the thousands already in jail.

But in vast stretches of the country's rugged and wild northwest -- heartland of the Islamic extremist insurgency -- President Pervez Musharraf's army did not have any more control than it did when the military-led government imposed emergency rule nine days ago. In some areas, it had less.

It seems the only thing his suspension of the Constitution is buying Pakistan is a squelching of political opposition.

What's more

President Pervez Musharraf's promise to hunt the Taliban as part of its suspension of the constitution and a virtual state of emergency rings hollow as the Taliban's grip on the northwest Frontier Province tightens. Newsweek reported the Pakistani government has released several senior Taliban commanders captured inside Pakistani territory over the past year. The leaders were among 25 Taliban exchanged for over 200 Pakistani soldiers captured by South Waziristan commander Baitullah Mehsud in late August.

Among those freed from Pakistani jails are Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, Amir Khan Haqqani, two brothers of slain Taliban commander Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Usmani, and Baitullah Mehsud's cousin.

Mullah Obaidullah was the Taliban Defense Minister under during the reign of the Taliban from 1996 until the US toppled the government in the fall of 2001. He was the most senior Taliban figure captured to date and "is considered by American intelligence officials to have been one of the Taliban leaders closest to Osama bin Laden," as well as part of the "inner core of the Taliban leadership around the Mullah Muhammad Omar who are believed to operate from the relative safety of Quetta." Obaidullah was a member of the Taliban's Shura Majlis, or executive council, and was thought to be third in command....

Baitlullah Mehsud, the powerful Taliban commander of South Waziristan who recently fought the Pakistani military to a standstill, demanded an end to military operations as well as the release of the 25 senior Taliban commanders as condition to the ceasefire.

The Pakistani government has caved to the demands of Baitullah. The Taliban leaders have been released, while the government reinstated the 2005 Sara Rogha accord, which prevents the government from operating with no restrictions on Taliban activities inside or outside of Pakistan....

Over 29 Taliban and al Qaeda camps are known to be in operation in both North and South Waziristan alone.

And it is from these camps, protected as they are by the soverignty of Pakistan, that attacks are being launched into Afghanistan against American, NATO, and Afgani troops

Bhutto is a staunch anti-Islamist: being as she's a woman seeking high political office this pretty much goes without saying. But she's also tough and has good political instincts.

As a result, she is now ignoring Musharraf and reaching out to other pro-Democracy parties within Pakistan

Ms Bhutto said she was ready for an alliance with another ex-prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, held telephone talks with former cricket star Imran Khan and agreed with a key Islamist to launch a "joint struggle" against General Musharraf.

Coupled with her call earlier in the day for General Musharraf to quit, they were the first signs Ms Bhutto could unite Pakistan's fractious opposition against a state of emergency imposed by General Musharraf on November 3.

"I would like to consult with all of them, including Nawaz Sharif," Ms Bhutto told reporters by telephone, according to a Pakistan People's Party spokesman holed up with her under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore.

"I want to build an alliance, a single point agenda for the restoration of democracy," said Ms Bhutto, who is under detention for seven days to stop her leading a protest march.

Her party also confirmed she had spoken by telephone to Qazi Hussain Ahmad, leader of Pakistan's main coalition of radical Islamist parties, as well as to a senior member of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party.

She also spoke with the head of a small nationalist ethnic Pashtun party.

"We are trying to go to a point where we evolve a joint strategy for the restoration of the constitution, restoration of the judiciary, freedom of media and free and fair elections," key Bhutto aide Safdar Abbasi told AFP.

It seems that America should follow Bhutto's instincts and support this pro-Democracy coalition. Not only will it enhance our stature in this region, but it is likely the best play to keep the nukes out of the hands of the Islamists.

Musharraf is looking more and more like a losing proposition, but politically and as a bulwark against the Islamists. He may very well precipitate the very nightmare scenario he pretends to be preventing.

Given the information I know, this seems like the right play.

What I don't know is what cards Musharraf has left.

The worst of which would be a poison pill the Administration knows about that we do not.

Regardless, Bush's team is putting pressure on Musharraf

US President George W. Bush wants emergency rule lifted in Pakistan ahead of parliamentary elections, as officials Tuesday said a senior State Department official was preparing to visit Islamabad.

"The president thinks that we need to lift the emergency rule in order to have free and fair elections," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters as Bush returned to Washington from his Texas ranch on Monday.

President Pervez Musharraf must also shed his army uniform "since the president (Bush) thinks you can't be both president and the chief of the army," Perino said.

Bush is sending a special envoy to personally tell Musharraf that Washington wants emergency rule lifted ahead of January elections, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Money, drugs and Hezbollah in LA

A seemingly ordinary bust of a gang involved in drugs, money laundering and counterfeit merchandise, turns out to be not so ordinary.

When the Central California District US Attorney's Office announced arrests in Operation Bellbottom, it made no mention of a terrorism connection.

Today’s arrests and two over the weekend are the result of a two-year investigation into criminal conduct in and around clothing stores in the Los Angeles area. The investigation focused on the activities of Ali Khalil Elreda, his siblings and his associates. During the investigation, law enforcement has seized 30 kilograms of cocaine and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit clothing.

Of course, the names of the people arrested might have raised an eyebrow

Ali Khalil Elreda, 32, of Bell;

- Mohamad Elreda (Ali’s brother), 25, of Bell;

- Susanne Elreda (Ali’s sister), 34, of Smyrna, Georgia;

- Hussein Saleh Saleh, 37, of Bell;

- Robert Bell, 36,  of Corona;

- Dalisa Johnson, 37, of Corona;

- Moussa Matar, 48 , of Cudahy;

- Mohamad Matar (Moussa’s son), 28, of Cudahy;

- Ali Matar (Mohamad’s twin brother), 28, of Cudahy:

- Juan Gonzalez, 26,  of Lynwood;

- Frankie Higuera, 24, of Downey; and

- Crystal Hill, 25, of Hawthorne.

The mix of Arab and Mexican names might throw one off. The LA Times makes the connection

The focus of the federal investigation was Ali Khalil Elreda, 32, who was detained at Los Angeles International Airport last year, accused of trying to smuggle $120,000 in money orders and cashier's checks, hidden in a child's toy, to Lebanon, according to an indictment and an affidavit filed in the case.

In 2005, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department official showed a Senate committee a picture of a tattooed shop owner who had been arrested the year before on charges of selling counterfeit high-fashion merchandise. The tattoo was a symbol of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed guerrillas operating in Lebanon.

In his testimony, Lt. John Stedman, a top supervisor in the department's emergency operations bureau, did not identify the shop owner. Stedman was not involved in the most recent investigation.

But two law enforcement sources said Tuesday that the merchant was Elreda.

None have been charged with terrorist activity. But according to James Gordon Meek writing for the Counterterrorism blog

...the affidavits filed in court, which are signed by prosecutors from the Justice Department's National Security Division and by an FBI official assigned to "Counterterrorism Squad 4" in L.A., a task force brimming with agents from the FBI, DEA, IRS, Department of Homeland Security and local cops. CT-4 isn't known for making drug and counterfeiting cases.

And Matthew Levitt gives us more background

In the United States, law enforcement officials are investigating a variety of criminal enterprises suspected of funding Middle Eastern terrorist groups, including the stealing and reselling of baby formula, food stamp fraud, and scams involving grocery coupons, welfare claims, credit cards, and even unlicensed t-shirts sales. U.S. officials believe "a substantial portion" of the estimated millions of dollars raised by Middle Eastern terrorist groups comes from the $20 million to $30 million annually brought in by the illicit scam industry in America. A senior U.S. law enforcement official concluded, "There is a significant amount of money moved out of the United States attributed to fraud that goes to terrorism."

Hezbollah and other terrorist groups also traffic narcotics in North America to fund their activities back in the Middle East. A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation into a pseudoephedrine smuggling scam in the American Midwest led investigators as far as Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries, including bank accounts tied to Hezbollah and Hamas. DEA chief Asa Hutchinson confirmed, "a significant portion of some of the sales are sent to the Middle East to benefit terrorist organizations."