The Cool Blue Blog

Diminishing returns

The destruction and elimination of Iran's proxy force in Iraq continues as US and Iraqi forces systematically disassemble the Mahdi "Army" in the Sadr City section of Baghdad.

Yesterday

A four-hour battle Tuesday between U.S. soldiers and Shiite militiamen left at least 28 Iraqis dead in the capital's Sadr City neighborhood, making it one of the bloodiest days in a month of sustained street fighting...

The battle Tuesday erupted as U.S. forces tried to evacuate a soldier injured by small-arms fire about 9:30 a.m., according to the U.S. military. During the evacuation, the troops were attacked with roadside bombs, as well as rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire from houses, storefronts, alleyways and rooftops, said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a U.S. military spokesman.

...U.S. soldiers responded by firing rockets armed with high-explosive, 200-pound warheads, killing 28 fighters, Stover said. In a separate incident in Sadr City, a fixed-wing aircraft dropped a bomb at 5:15 p.m. that killed two fighters firing mortars at a joint U.S.-Iraqi outpost, the U.S. military said....

U.S. officials emphasized that U.S. troops responded only after they were attacked and that it was the fault of the militiamen if there were civilian casualties. "The sole burden of responsibility lies on the shoulders of the militants who care nothing for the Iraqi people," Stover said in an e-mail.

He said the militiamen purposely attack from buildings and alleyways in densely populated areas, hoping to protect themselves by hiding among civilians. "What does that say about the enemy?" Stover said. "He is heartless and evil."

...U.S. and Iraqi troops are fighting together to clear the southern portion of Sadr City, where militia fighters have launched their rocket and mortar attacks.

Lackeys for the Iranian backed militia of Moqtada al-Sadr complain that US forces are indiscriminately shooting up that place

"Sadr City is under the American hammer and nobody is monitoring it," said Leewa Smeisim, the head of the Sadr movement's political bureau. "Eighty percent of the military operations are targeting innocents, because the Americans want to make people turn against the Mahdi Army so they can enter the city and control it. Nobody is safe in Sadr City, neither women nor children."

True enough; no one is safe because the Mahdi's doesn't care who gets killed so long as it isn't them. They are fighting for their very existence. As Bill Roggio reports, the US Patrol was ambushed and a soldier wounded

During the evacuation, Mahdi Army fighters triggered three roadside bombs and fired rocket propelled grenades and machineguns at the US patrol. Five more soldiers were wounded in the attacks and two vehicles were damaged. None of the soldiers' injuries are reported as life-threatening.

During the battle, US soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division directed "a combination of weapon systems available," including munitions from a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, at Mahdi Army fighters "firing from buildings, alleyways and rooftops" in the dense urban areas of Sadr City. "The enemy continues to show little regard for innocent civilians, as they fire their weapons from within houses, alleyways, and rooftops upon our Soldiers," said Colonel Allen Batschelet, the chief of staff for Multinational Division Baghdad.

The Mahdi Army took heavy casualties during the single engagement. "A total of at least 28 militants were killed in the four-hour engagement," Multinational Forces Baghdad reported.

Stover refuted reports that US forces used aircraft to attack civilians in Sadr City. "Our Soldiers have a right to defend ourselves," Stover said. "This engagement began as we were evacuating a US Soldier shot while on patrol in south Sadr City and continued as militants continued engaging US Soldiers. We are NOT targeting law-abiding civilians. Those targeted were firing weapons at US Soldiers."

Laughingly, Moqtada al-Sadr says that such aggressive action on the part of the Maliki Government, who has ordered the Shi'ite militas disbanded one way or another, threatens the Sadr-ordered "cease-fire".

The Mahdi Army is flush with Iranian Arms, and the Shi'ite militias are the tool of the Iranian Government in Iraq: A tool being used to attempt to undermine the Iraqi Government and the US efforts there.

But with each successful operation, an effort which began a month ago in Basra, with each death of a Mahdi soldier, with each loss of a Mahdi stronghold, Iranian influence is diminishing.

And the influence of the Iraqi people strengthens.

The legitimate issue

On Fox News Sunday, Senator Barak Obama told Chris Wallace that his former pastor of twenty years, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, was not off limits politically as far as he is concerned

The fact that he is my former pastor I think makes it a legitimate political issue.  So I understand that.

Well good, because the Reverend Wright is out there being an Obama-associated nutcase for all to see. This is causing the Senator problems not just on the Right, but among Democrats as well. Ed Morrisey points out the consternation Reverend is causing among Obama supporters. But more importantly Captain Ed notes

All of these commentators came to see Wright as a narcissist, egotist, provocateur, and a shameless self-promoter in the last 48 hours. Why? In reading the pieces, their ire and scorn come exclusively because of the damage he does to Barack Obama, and with the exception of the Post editorial, not because what he says is ridiculous.

Not one of these columnists mentions his defense of Louis Farrakhan as misunderstood and his anti-Semitism as misreported. Not one of them mentions his strange views on neurology and the supposed synaptic differences between white and black brains. None of them offer even a questioning sentence on Wright’s theories on “tonality” or on the purportedly racial differences between marching bands, let alone his silly and offensive demonstrations of them on stage. Only the Post mentions his repeated assertion that the American government created AIDS as a means for genocide against people of color.

Why not? Because to point these out would be to confirm Wright’s status as a racial demagogue and borderline lunatic, which would really damage Obama.

But the damage this is doing to Democrats goes way beyond Obama.

Yes, it is true that Wright could very well cause Obama to lose the Indiana primary as well as most of the other remaining primaries. And if that happens, if it hasn't already happened, it will dawn on the Superdelegates that Obama is unelectable.

But they will be powerless to do anything about it because regardless of what happens between now and June, Obama will likely still lead in the delegate count and the popular vote when the convention rolls around. And for there to be any nominee other than Obama coming out of the convention, the result will be a split among Democrats; possibly an irreparable split in the Party.

But nominating Obama will lead to defeat for Democrats who this time last year, thought there was no way they were going to lose the Presidency this time.

When it all comes crashing down, will the after action report recommend that Howard Dean be shot? and then once the execution occurs will it business as usual?

Or will Democrats take a long , hard look at themselves and instead of executing anyone, they purge the Party.

They purge the Party of the hard Socialists, Communists, and anti-Americans....

They purge the Party of the nutroots....

And most importantly, they purge the Party of Identity Politics.

All of these things are legitimate issues with which the Democratic Party will have to deal with eventually, or risk becoming irrelevant.

Lance Corporal Moses Cardenas

On one hot August morning near Rawah, Iraq, Lance Corporal Moses Cardenas of the Marines 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion found his platoon barraged by an insurgent suicide bomb, numerous rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine gun fire. In the chaotic moments that followed, Cardenas would have to decide between attempting the rescue of his wounded sergeant or remain in his covered position until reinforcements arrived. The choice was simple.                   

Cardenas thought, "He was my sergeant; I had to do something," and with that he courageously charged 50 meters through the kill-zone to his wounded comrade. Running the gauntlet through enemy fire, he was shot in the neck by the spray of weapons’ fire. Undeterred, he arrived at Sgt. Randy Roedema’s exposed position and performed first-aid to stop the flow of blood from Roedema’s severe wounds.                   

With both Marines wounded and under the sights of numerous insurgents, Cardenas knew if he was to save his friend he must evacuate both of them to safety. With his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon charged and a grip on his injured sergeant, Cardenas rotated between firing his machine gun and pulling Roedema across the battlefield. Reaching the relative safety of his platoon’s convoy, Cardenas continued laying down suppressive fire until the situation came under control and medics could tend to the wounded Marines.

Cardenas was awarded the Silver Star, the third highest military award. Roedema would later reflect "I owe him my life." Four days after Cardenas saved his life, Roedema’s wife gave birth to their first child – a child that will have a father because of the selfless act preformed by Cardenas on that summer morning in Iraq.

From The North Shore Journal

Cardenas and Sgt. Randy M. Roedema were on a routine early morning zone reconnaissance patrol with the quick reaction force last year in Western Anbar province in Iraq. They happened upon a vehicle which crossed their sector, so they moved in to check it out, according to Cardenas.

After repeated attempts to get the driver and passengers of the truck to submit to a search, three men burst from the top of the vehicle and opened fire. The Marines quickly attempted to bound back to their vehicles for cover, and to allow their turret gunners an open line-of-fire.

Three Marines were hit. Lance Cpl. Christian Vasquez was killed, and Cardenas was hit in the neck. After he hit the deck, he looked up and saw that Roedema was on the ground.

“I saw my sergeant laying down and I said, ‘Not today,’” Cardenas recounted after the ceremony.

Already injured, Cardenas began dragging Roedema to safety, but they had more than 50 meters to cover, so Cardenas alternated dragging Roedema with applying suppressive fire with his squad automatic weapon.

“’You’re going to see you’re daughter,’ that’s what he said when he was pulling me,” said Roedema, 25, from Denver, Colo. “He saved my life.”

Cardenas was again hit with a round from the insurgent’s weapons, but he continued pulling Roedema until they we both safely behind cover, and only later, after a corpsman arrived, did Cardenas receive attention for his wounds.

Asked why he risked his life for Roedema, Cardenas answers simply, “He’s my sergeant; he’s the chief scout; it really didn’t register how dangerous it was. After sleeping, eating, and laughing with my fire team everyday, you get really close, like brothers.”

Roedema was treated and taken to medical facilities. Even better than the diagnosis that he was going to recover from his wounds was the news that he had just become a father, after his wife, Sharla, gave birth to baby Juliannah.

“Without [Cardenas], I’d never be able to see my daughter,” Roedema said. “Words don’t explain what he means to me and my family.”

Attacking oil

Our enemies know that the life-blood of our economy and our society is oil. And it is no coincidence that as a result, oil prices have now risen to highs that were a short time ago, unimaginable. And there is no doubt that the Islamists have a strategy in place for making this situation as bad as possible.

Back in 2005, Christopher Dickey writing for Newsweek wrote

"They're watching Katrina. They're watching Rita.  They're watching what it's doing to the United States," says former CIA agent Robert Baer, who has written extensively on Saudi Arabia's vulnerabilities.  A few ruptured pipes could be repaired quickly, says Baer, but a concerted attack at several points could bring on the kind of nightmare scenario that U.S. officials have been dreading since the Reagan years, pushing oil prices up from their current prices in the range of $60 to $70 a barrel to well over $100 for weeks or even months.

That same year

Al-Qaida's deputy leader called for attacks against Gulf oil facilities and urged insurgent groups in Iraq to unite to drive out American forces, according to a videotape posted on the Internet Wednesday.

There were attempted attacks on Saudi Oil fields and more recently Nigeria's oil fields are under constant attack.

World oil prices yesterday hit a record of $117.40 a barrel following militants attacks on pipelines in Nigeria...

The militant group behind the attack who claimed that they have launched two more attacks on oil pipelines yesterday says they are doing that to stop injustice to the region but the governor of Rivers State,Rotimi Amaechi, had, at a Niger Delta oil security forum in Abuja, debunked this claim by the militants saying that they are only self seeking criminals who are into purely economic venture for themselves.

The groups perpetrating these attacks are mostly Nationalists, but radical Islamists are looking to support them as a way of furthering their own goals

Although the majority of Muslims live in the northern region of Nigeria, the presence of Islamic extremism in the country presents an unsettling possibility that the extremist movement could reach the Niger Delta. If it does, there’s a strong possibility that the MEND may form a temporary alliance with Islamic radicals, if only to receive logistical support or training. This temporary union would most likely take the form of an objective-oriented alignment between radical Muslims and the MEND.

It has long been a goal of al-Qaeda to damage American economic power by attacking oil facilities and targets. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross notedin his article “Al-Qaeda’s Oil Weapon” that in a December, 2004 audiotape, Osama bin Laden stated that “one of the main causes for our enemies' gaining hegemony over our country is their stealing our oil; therefore, you should make every effort in your power to stop the greatest theft in history of the natural resources of both present and future generations.” Moreover, Ayman al-Zawahiri gave an interview in 2005 where he called for the mujahideen to “focus their attacks on the oil wells stolen from the Muslims, because most of the revenues of this oil go to the enemies of Islam.”

There can be little doubt that recent attacks on oil tankers were perpetrated by Islamic extremists.

March 24th

Suspected militants in Pakistan have blown up 36 oil tankers that supply fuel to U.S.-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials Monday said the attackers set off two bombs near the trucks, triggering fires and explosions Sunday night in the Khyber tribal district. At least 70 people were wounded.

More than 80 oil tankers bound for Afghanistan were parked in the area when the explosion happened.

Three days ago

Heavily armed pirates Monday attacked and damaged a huge oil tanker off the Somali coast using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, a Malaysian-based maritime watchdog said...

"Pirates on five speed boats attacked the tanker, the size of a football field. It was a night raid. A missile-like rocket was launched at the ship. Initial reports said the ship suffered some damage," he said.

"I believe the Somali pirates could have used rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire on the tanker with the aim to board and possibly hijack her," Choong said.

"But the tanker increased speed and managed to prevent the pirates from boarding and taking control of the oil tanker," he added...

The waters off Nigeria and Somalia are the world's most dangerous hotspots for seafarers, with pirate attacks increasing globally in the first quarter of this year, the IMB said Wednesday.

Two days ago

...off the coast of Yemen, a Japanese tanker was hit by a rocket. Meanwhile, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta warned that it would intensify attacks on Shell pipelines.

In fact, the latest ICC Commercial Crime Services Weekly Piracy Report notes in addition to the above incidents

16.04.2008: 0640 UTC: 14:02.0N-050:35.9E: Gulf of Aden.
A tanker underway was approached and trailed by two, 15-meter long boats. One boat had three persons in it and had a yellow hull. The other boat had five persons in it and had a white hull. Crew alerted and all anti piracy, preventive measures enforced.  Ship took evasive manoeuvres.  The two suspicious boats moved away and headed in a southwesterly direction.  Ship reported to a coalition warship in the area.  When warship arrived in the area, the suspicious boats disappeared....

15.04.2008: 0600 UTC: 14:35.8N - 050:55.7E, Gulf of Aden.
Three speedboats approached a LPG tanker underway. The boats crossed the bow of the tanker several times. Master altered course and contacted coalition warship in the vicinity. After five minutes the boats moved away and stopped 2.5nm from the tanker.

14.04.2008: 1622 UTC: 15:17N - 052:23E, Gulf of Aden.
Four speedboats approached a tanker underway. At 3nm master altered course and the boats moved away.

And that's just so far this month.

It is clear that the strategic imperative of the US needs to be less reliance on Foreign Oil. Alternative energy sources and more fuel efficient cars are fine and will eventually help.

But not today.

More nuclear power plants are required and they will help.

But not today.

More drilling in ANWAR and off our coasts could have helped today, but Democrats and other opponents prevented that from happening back in 2005, the same year al Qeda was announcing their anti-oil strategy.

Roger Hedgcock

After the Democrats victory in 2006, the Carter mentality took over. Oil drilling was out, big oil was evil, higher taxes the remedy for greed, and conservation and "alternatives" were in. I paid $4.05 per gallon for my last fill up. Is it too low yet?

...In the Gulf of Mexico, Jack No. 2 well documented massive oil reserves in U.S. waters similar in scope to these Brazilian fields. The U.S. reaction? No more drilling there. Instead, the nearby Cubans (aided by the oil-thirsty Chinese) will drill in international waters in the same field....

Last year, Congress even forbid the purchase by the U.S. Navy of this Canadian oil because of the "damage" the extraction of the oil did to the planet.

When you go to the gas pump and the $4 gas becomes $5 and then $10 per gallon, remember this is a self-inflicted price brought to you by the Carterite Democrats in Congress. The ghost of Reagan pleads with us to drill the oil literally bubbling up under our feet and shatter OPEC once more.

It seems, it's not just Islamic extremists who are attacking our oil supplies

Pants on fire

A new audio tape released by al Qaeda's number 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, denounces all who try to give credit for the destruction of the Twin Towers to anyone but themselves. And Zawahri is particularly upset with suggestions that Israel (or the Joos) perpetrated the crime.

"The purpose of this lie is clear — (to suggest) that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no else did in history. Iranian media snapped up this lie and repeated it," he said.

I find it amusing that Zawahri blames Iran for "disparaging" them is such a way while at the same time accusing the Persian leadership of collaborating with America.

"Iran's aim here is also clear — to cover up its involvement with America in invading the homes of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.

Iran cooperated with the United States in the 2001 U.S. assault on Afghanistan that toppled al-Qaida's allies, the Taliban.

Gee, maybe al Qaida should start an "insurgency" in Iran. That would be fun.

And in a segment to be completely ignored by the Democratic Candidates for President, al Qaida's chief mouthpiece reaffirms that Iraq is the centerpiece of their global struggle for the ascendancy of Radical Islam

"The Islamic State in Iraq ... remains to this day the main force confronting the crusaders and their collaborators and challenging Iranian greed," Zawahri said.

And, like Baghdad Bob before him, he reports that America is being defeated by the glorious fighters in Iraq

"The truth is that if Bush keeps all his forces in Iraq until doomsday and until they enter hell, they will only see crisis and defeat by the will of God," said al-Zawahri, the deputy of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

"If the American forces leave, they will lose everything. And if they stay, they will bleed to death," he said....

"Bush declared that he will grant Petraeus all the time he needs, a ridiculous show to cover up for the failure in Iraq and to allow Bush to evade the decision to withdraw the forces, which is an admission of the failure of the crusader invasion of Iraq, by passing the problem on to the next president," al-Zawahri said.

But such rhetoric is belied by the fact that he continues to call for new recruits

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Muslims to join the insurgency in Iraq in a new audiotape posted today on the internet.

“I urge all Muslims to hurry to the battlefields of Jihad (holy war), especially in Iraq,” Zawahiri said in the message, the second in a two-part series to answer about 100 questions put to him via online militant forums....

“I call upon the Muslim nation to fear Allah’s question (at judgment day) about its failure to support its brothers of the Mujahedeen (holy Warriors), and (urge it) not to withhold men and money, which is the mainstay of a war,” he added.

Well, now we know the truth of the situation: Iran is spreading rumors that it was the Joos, not al Qaida who took down the WTC, Iran is our ally in the War on Terror, and al Qaida is winning in Iraq.

Oh, and you know about the recent trend of al Qaida female suicide bombers?

They don't exist

Asked if there are any women in al-Qaida, the terror leader answered simply: "No."

Well, maybe not anymore....

Corporal Ian Dollard

June 24, 2007 on patrol in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, Corporal Ian Dollard’s team investigated an abandoned dump truck for signs of explosives when insurgents ambushed them. Immediately, one Marine was hit once by a spray of machine gun fire and several Marines rushed to his aid. Dollard provided suppressive fire from behind his up-armored Humvee for the rescuers and wounded Marine. Suddenly, a second position opened fire on the Marines. An enemy round hit his platoon commander, 1st Lt. Paul Brisker, instantly dropping Brisker to the ground and presenting the young corporal with a life threatening decision.

Dollard recalls adrenaline took over, and he rushed towards his wounded comrade – as well as the second enemy machine gun position. The 21-year-old Marine selflessly used his body as a shield to protect Brisker from additional gunfire while he began performing first aid. 

In his exposed position, Dollard was hit not once, but twice by machine gun fire in his armor, causing him only temporary pause. He knew Brisker would die if not pulled to the safety provided by his platoon, so he dragged the injured officer more than 25 meters to a Humvee under constant gunfire. In the final steps of the rescue, Dollard was hit a third time, this round bypassing his armor and hitting him in the leg.

Ignoring his injuries, Dollard continued supporting his platoon as they left the engagement to rush back to their operating base and get Brisker the critical care he needed. Only then did Dollard tell his platoon sergeant, Staff Sgt. Marc Navai, "Oh, by the way, I got shot too."

Without delay, Navai started working on the citation, arguing, "That’s what a Silver Star is all about." Dollard was credited with saving the life of his platoon commander, who eventually made a full recovery. After only six weeks recuperating, Dollard was back on the frontlines, serving his country and the Corps with the same heroism he brought that June day in Anbar province.

Any Marine would brave enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade when you have friends that "got your back."

Cpl. Ian M. Dollard exemplified that sense of brotherhood when he risked his life to save a fellow Marine.

For his actions while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Dollard received the Silver Star — the nation’s third highest award for combat heroism.

His former company commander, Maj. George D. Hasseltine, pinned the award on Dollard during a ceremony on Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field here March 21.

Defensless in Vermont

Vermont has one of the most "liberal" gun policies in the nation: That is you don't need a license to carry a gun, openly or concealed. Chapter 1, Article 16 of the State Constitution is quite clear about this

“That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power.”

No permit is required to purchase a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. In fact, Vermont is unique among States in that you don't have to me a resident to carry a weapon in Vermont, you just have to be here. But apparently this courtesy, this right to defend yourself, does not extend to the campus of the University of Vermont.

The students of UVM are not allowed to carry a taser, or even pepper spray, let alone a gun, for fear of being expelled.

"The university's position is that weapons or likely facsimiles thereof, are not allowed on campus," said UVM Police Chief Gary Margolis.

Margolis says the UVM ban on tasers and mace pepper spray makes sense because the greatest threat comes from the devices themselves-- not attacks by a stranger.

Is that so.

In the early morning hours of October 7 , Gardner-Quinn was walking home to her [UVM] campus dormitory after a night out with friends. She borrowed a cell phone rom a passerby,Brian Rooney , to call an acquaintance. A jewelery store surveillance camera captured Gardner-Quinn walking north with Rooney at approximately 2:34 am. [1]Six days later, her body was found by hikers near Huntington Gorge in Richmond, Vermont. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled. [2]

This particular incident has encouraged many a UVM student, particularly females, to risk expulsion in exchange for personal safety.

"I own a stun gun. It doesn't shoot out, it's direct contact. Not a taser," she explained.

The UVM student spoke with us with her identity concealed because she owns a stun gun that temporarily paralyzes with high voltage and excruciating pain. Carrying a stun gun or other self-defense items like pepper spray on campus could get her expelled because it violates the UVM weapons policy.

But she says she has good reason to own one.

"A good friend of mine got it for me after what happened last year with Michelle Gardner-Quinn."

...Our student stun gun owner doesn't want that to happen to her."I'm using it for my own safety and to me that's more important than anything."

Reporter Brian Joyce asked: "Worth expulsion?"

"Well if it came to my life, I would rather be expelled then to not be here today," she answered.

Other students across the nation are reminded about how vulnerable they as we mark the 1st Anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech

"Would you rather just sit there and cower underneath a desk when someone executes you or would you rather have a chance to defend your life? That's what it really boils down to."

That was said by  Michael Flitcraft, a 23-year-old sophomore at the University of Cincinnati. He's a member of  Students For Concealed Carry on Campus.

Police are great: after the fact. But no one can expect them to be at the scene of a crime while it is happening except by random happenstance. The ability to prevent a crime is reserved for the individuals involved at the time and place of its actual occurrence. And for that, the victim must be armed, trained in the weapons operation, and have the will to defend themselves.

Vermont, with its obvious lack of gun restrictions remains 48th out of 50 States for violent crime. So it is clear that UVM Police Chief Gary Margolis is wrong when he claims that "greatest threat comes from the devices themselves". I mean when was the last case of someone using a stun gun, taser, or mace in anger, or even accidentally on the UVM campus?

It's not like they are not being carried by students, especially female students, in violation of the campus rules. So where is the evidence that the greatest threat comes from the devices themselves?

"I'd go back to the discussion we have to have with men and women about where are violence-against-women crimes most likely to occur and how do we educate our population about those crimes, versus this belief that simply carrying a weapon of some sort is going to be the best defense," said Margolis.

How about you allow theses self-protection devices, and yes even guns, on campus after the student has registered the device, passed a background check, and can demonstrate that they have been trained to use the device? Something like a concealed carry permit?

I've mentioned that Vermont has one of the lowest violent crime rates and it doesn't require a concealed carry permit. Since Texas allowed concealed carry in 1995,

• Per 100,000 population, rates for aggravated assault fell from 429.3 to 370.
• Robberies declined from a rate of 179.8 to 146.8.
• The rape rate was down to 38.1 per 100,000 from 45.5.
• And murders fell from 9 per 100,000 to 6.1.

Since carrying a concealed weapon in the Lone Star State was legalized, overall violent crimes have declined from 644.2 per 100,000 to 561.

What's more, people with concealed carry permits are less likely to commit a crime

One study found that in Florida CCW holders were 300 times less likely than the general population to commit a crime. A Texas study found that CCW holders in that state were "5.7 times less likely to commit a violent crime, and 14 times less likely to commit a non-violent offense." There's a simple reason CCW holders as a group are so law-abiding -- they have to be law-abiding citizens in order to qualify for a permit in the first place.

And they are prepared to be first responders in the case of a violent incident that is either directed at them personally, or as part of a group.

With the one year Anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech upon us, it does us no good to set a policy the ensures a population is unarmed and then advertise the fact in a way that a deranged killer can take advantage of.

Why do you think that is?

Maliki's failure

News that Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki was defeated by the pro-Iranian Mahdi Army is lost on the residents of Basra

Three weeks after Iraqi troops swarmed into the southern city of Basra to take on armed militiamen who had overrun the streets, many residents say they feel safer and that their lives have improved.

The fierce fighting which marked the first week of Operation Sawlat al-Fursan (Charge of the Knights) has given way to slower, more focused house-by-house searches by Iraqi troops, which led on Monday to the freeing of an abducted British journalist.

Residents say the streets have been cleared of gunmen, markets have reopened, basic services have been resumed and a measure of normality has returned to the oil-rich city.

The port of Umm Qasr is in the hands of the Iraqi forces who wrested control of the facility from Shiite militiamen, and according to the British military it is operational once again.

After the gunfight, the militia's leader Muqtada al-Sadr graciously offered conditions for a cease-fire

Just as the new Iraqi forces began to arrive in Basrah and US and British forces were gearing up to augment the Iraqi military, Muqtada al Sadr, under orders from Iran’s Qods Force, called for his fighters to withdraw from the streets. Sadr issued a nine-point list of demands, which included that operations cease.

All nine points were rejected and the Iraqi Army and security forces remain in control of the city

...the city is flooded with troops, innumerable checkpoints constantly snarl the traffic, residents are scared to go out at night despite the curfew being relaxed, and the sound of sporadic gunfire can still be heard.

An AFP correspondent said three northwestern neighbourhoods once under the firm control of the Mahdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- Al-Hayaniyah, Khamsamile and Garma -- are now encircled by Iraqi troops who are carrying out door-to-door searches.

Two other neighbourhoods once dominated by the Mahdi Army, Al-Qiblah in the southwest and Al-Taymiyyah in the centre, have been cleared of weaponry and many people have been arrested, military officials say.

Residents expressed relief at the improved security.

The performance of the Iraqi Army was mixed, and a number of Iraqi soldier and policemen were fired. But that just serves to strengthen, not weaken these organizations. And Maliki isn't stopping there. My favorite crew of soldiers, the 1st Battailion, 14th Infantry Regiment is stryking at the Madhi Army's home base in the Sadr City section of Baghdad. They are working with the Iraqi Army, again, with mixed results.

A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against the Shiite militias.

The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing.

Capt. Logan Veath, the commander of Company B, the U.S. unit on the scene, pleaded with the Iraqi major who was leading his troops away from the Sadr City fight, urging him to return to the front.

"If you turn around and go back up the street those soldiers will follow you," Veath said. "If you tuck tail and cowardly run away they will follow up that way, too."

Veath's pleas failed...

But other, less cowardly elements of the IA filled in

...senior American and Iraqi commanders mounted an urgent effort to regain the lost ground. An elite Iraqi unit was rushed in and with the support of the Americans began to fight its way north...

Senior Iraqi commanders hurried to the scene and a special Iraqi reconnaissance unit was ordered to advance up the road. With the help of an American bomb-clearing unit, Stryker vehicles and attack helicopters, the Iraqis rumbled north, spraying rounds as they went. According to the last reports monitored by Company B, the Iraqis were stopped short by several roadside bombs, and planned to resume the push in daylight.

Regardless, if the defeat of Sadr's Mahdi Army which is seeminly inevitable at this point is Maliki's failure, then what is it for al-Sadr?

And Iran....

 

Too late to stop now

Muqtada al-Sadr, who only weeks ago when the uprising in Bashra began was being painted as the victor in his struggle with the Iraqi Government by the media, not only has had his "peace offering" rejected, but the Iraqi Government is more determined than ever to root out his militia.

Iraqi forces will battle militiamen in Sadr City relentlessly until the sprawling Shiite district of east Baghdad has been cleared of gunmen, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh vowed on Sunday.

"We will continue until we secure Sadr City. We will not come out, we will not give up until the people of Sadr City have a normal life," Dabbagh told AFP.

"(The security forces) will do what they have to do to secure the area. I can't tell you how many days or how many months but they will not come out until they have secured Sadr City."

And the fighting continued in the Sadr City area of Baghdad even while Basra is being put back together

Days after intense fighting, and the call to peace from Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr March 30, Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers patrol the outskirts of Sadr City, a district of Baghdad, ensuring the safety of the city’s residents. 

Sadr City has been the backdrop of many conflicts for Coalition forces since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. The city is the poorest of all the Bagdad districts and has historically been a safe haven for terrorists.

The Soldiers from Company A and a platoon from Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B are tired, dirty, and work 24-hours a day with only cat naps to sustain them, but they relentlessly take to the streets in their mission to drive terrorists out of the area.

What began as a 96-hour tasking on March 26 turned into an open ended mission.

Capt. Scott Bailey, Company A commander, said the mission in support of combat operations was a success.

“We had some significant contact when we first arrived,” said Bailey, a Running Springs, Calif., native, “but we planned good company attacks and now it is pretty quiet here.”

       

Sadr himself, after being snubbed in his efforts to save his "army" is now being belligerent

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says he will  not enter any political process that would allow U.S.  forces to remain in Iraq.

Al-Sadr also denounces U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates  as a terrorist and says he will never work with Iraq's  occupiers.

But Secretary Gates recognizes Sadr's role in Iraq even if Sadr himself won't admit it

On Friday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said al-Sadr was a significant political player due to his large following in Iraq's Shiite community. Gates also called on al-Sadr to take part in the political process.

But when the last of Sadr's militants are disarmed, all that will be left are the politicians and Sadr will have no choice but to become one himself, or leave the stage altogether.

My guess is, he can not resist having an audience.

The Illusion of Desperate Times

Everywhere in the news there are reports of disaster

Americans' confidence in the economy fell to a new low, dragged down by worries about mounting job losses, record-high home foreclosures and zooming energy prices.

According to the RBC Cash Index, confidence dropped to a mark of 29.5 in April, down from 33.1 in March. The new reading was the worst since the index began in 2002. It marked the fourth month in a row where confidence has fallen to an all-time low.

"Consumers are very pessimistic," said Mark Vitner, economist at Wachovia. "There are not a lot of happy campers out there."

And

More than 80 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the highest such number since the early 1990s, according to a new survey.

The CBS News-New York Times poll released Thursday showed 81 percent of respondents said they believed "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." That was up from 69 percent a year ago, and 35 percent in early 2002.         

Oh there's more

A poll released Monday by Rasmussen Reports found that 63% of Americans believe the U.S. government isn't doing enough to help out the economy, while 19% believe the government's response has been adequate this election year.

But, as always, that's not the whole story. Part of America's problem with the Government's response is that many think the Government is doing too much, not too little.

...48% of voters say the best thing the government can do is get out of the way by reducing taxes and regulations.

Speaking of taxes, it is not a given that Americans want the tax cuts to expire as a way of fixing the economy. When asked "Would you favor or oppose making those tax cuts permanent?", 54% favor making them permanent while only 40% want to see them expire.

And all that anxiety about the economy? It's not the respondent's own financial situation that is the concern; the respondent is concerned about everyone else

When looking at the state of their own finances, more than 70% claimed that their personal financial situation was fairly good or excellent.

And that concern about the sub-prime mortgages, not many are interested in bailing out the homeowners who are falling behind. A recent survey showed that 53% do not want the federal government to help homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage.

These results are consistent with earlier surveys showing that most Americans believed individual borrowers were to blame for the mortgage crisis.  

A separate survey found that most believe the troubled homeowners should buy a smaller house.

And yet, the picture that is being painted is that we are living in desperate times and that the Government should do more to fix things.

Yet the unemployment rate is still only 5.1% which is historically quite low and 70% deem their personal financial situation just peachy.

But all of this distress, according to Back Obama, is driving people to love guns and the baby Jesus

``You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them,'' Obama said, according to an audio recording on the Huffington Post Web site.

``And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns, or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,'' Obama said.

Oh, and did I mention that one of the things that people want the government to do is stop illegal immigration?

Fifty-six percent (56%) believe that stopping illegal immigration would help the economy.

Yeah, and 73% of Americans support the right to own and use guns

So it seems pretty clear that desperation is not the cause of these sentiments. People are concerned about gas prices but our efforts to make us more energy independent by drilling in our country have been stymied by disagreements in Congress. And people are confused about what actually causes high gas prices: they believe energy companies are the problem and conservation is the solution.

People are concerned about rising health care costs, but everyone wants to live forever and they think the health care system is broken.

And People are concerned about the cost of education.

But these are not issues that directly relate to the economy and jobs. These are not the kinds of issues that cause desperate people, living in desperate times to run to guns and religion.

The illusion of desperate times serves a political purpose to populists if they can convince you that that a Depression is on its way, if not already here.

Is the fact that the media abets this illusion a political statement?

I'd say it very much is.