A Little (Sunday) Night Music

This seems appropriate:

With a kicker for the troops. (High Resolution, and safe for work.)

Suspects Captured

Four suspects have been arrested in the attack on an American installation in Iraq in which five Americans were murdered (and yes, it was, by all rules of war, murder).

 Four suspects in the weekend attack in Karbala, Iraq — during which five U.S. troops were killed by gunmen disguised in American uniforms — have been arrested, officials said Wednesday.

According to a U.S. military spokesman, U.S. and Iraqi troops arrested the men in a house near where the suspected attackers abandoned several vehicles after the attack.

Five U.S. soldiers were killed and three wounded.

The suspects were caught by Iraqi troops, a special Iraqi police unit from Hillah and U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, officials said.

“The suspects are being held for further questioning,” a news release read.

I talked to my son last night and he mentioned the briefings he and the rest of the troops have had on this entire incident. There is a lot of speculation in the blogosphere that this was an Iranian operation. If it was, someone needs to pay for it. Severely. I have mentioned, repeatedly, that the troops over in Iraq know very well when an Iranian arms shipment has arrived. It needs to stop. And dumbass remarks by US Senators are not helping curb the ambitions of the mullahs or the seldom-bathed president of Iran.

Oh, and the guys they captured? If they turn out to have been involved: NOT prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Illegal combatants - look it up. Subject to summary execution.

Via Michelle Malkin

I talked to my son last night and he mentioned the briefings he and the rest of the troops have had on this entire incident. There is a lot of speculation in the blogosphere that this was an Iranian operation. If it was, someone needs to pay for it. Severely. I have mentioned, repeatedly, that the troops over in Iraq know very well when an Iranian arms shipment has arrived. It needs to stop. And dumbass remarks by US Senators are not helping curb the ambitions of the mullahs or the seldom-bathed president of Iran.

Oh, and the guys they captured? If they turn out to have been involved: NOT prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Illegal combatants - look it up. Subject to summary execution.

Via Michelle Malkin

The Memory Hole In The World Of YouTube

Oh, crap. We can't get away with it. Charles Johnson catches the folks at Davos trying mightily to expunge John "Hat in Mouth" Kerry's outright anti-American remarks from his video. Only YouTube has the unedited version with the raging, Iran-endorsed®, mullah-approved™ remarks intact. In other words, the memory hole just ain't what it used to be.

Censure this man. He is a disgrace to the Senate and to this country. (Five bucks says Theresa kicks him to the curb inside of two years).

“I Want To Be President…..

….But only if I only have to deal with the things I like, not any of that nasty "world" stuff."

Wow. Hillary Clinton just revealed how unserious a candidate she really is, and I really don't think she understands that. But the electorate will.

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that President Bush should withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office, asserting it would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next commander in chief.

"This was his decision to go to war with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy," the Democratic senator from New York said her in initial presidential campaign swing through Iowa.

"We expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office" in January 2009, the former first lady said.

The White House condemned Clinton's comments as a partisan attack that undermines U.S. soldiers.

Where to begin here. Politicians choose to run for this office. They choose to try to be the most powerful person in the world. They choose to put themselves into the media meat grinder. They choose to work, sacrifice, plan and drive relentlessly to win the office.

But they do not get to choose the world. They do not get to define how every other country acts. They do not get to demand preconditions to taking office. They do not get to dictate what the world will look like the day they take office. They also do not get free license to cause damage to the country while seeking the office. She may have endeared herself to a few party activists with this little line. But she shot herself in the foot with the general population.

Second Childhood, Hell. I’m Still In My First One.

Punchline to an old joke. But this is also a punchline to a new joke. A website that harpoons the weirdly popular "Second Life" web world. Now this virtual world has been the subject of much media love of late, and actually has real money changing hands in it. I have never visited and have no intention of ever doing so. But there are people who take their "Second Lives" very, very seriously. (I read something about Anshe Chung over at HuffPo a short while ago, but it seems to have been disappeared - they're funny like that).

Some folks seem overly interested in the "Second Life" while kind of neglecting the "First Life". This site mentions that there is another life. It may or may not be a real spoof (it's possible it is meant to generate publicity, isn't it?) but it is still funny.

A Disgrace To His Country

Thanks John Carry fur all ur halp in eezing tenshuns in the middul eest.

Censure this man. Or put a muzzle on him, Democrats - or he will single-handedly sink you.

UPDATE: Others: Flap, Don Surber, Ninme, Classical Values, Jules Crittenden, Cadillac Tight, Flopping Aces, RSOMB, Instapundit,

To Touch The Face Of God

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed,
and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,
—and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of—
wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence.
Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along,
and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air….

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor even eagle flew
— And, while with silent lifting mind
I’ve trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
(John Gillespie Magee, Jr., High Flight)

At 11:39 a.m EST on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated. The disaster, which claimed the lives of all seven crew members, occurred 73 seconds after launch. In a speech written by Peggy Noonan, President Ronald Reagan invoked the words of John Gillespie Magee's sonnet, written shortly before Magee died in the Second World War.

Michael J. Smith
Dick Scobee
Ronald McNair
Ellison Onizuka
Christa McAuliffe
Gregory Jarvis
Judith Resnik

Rest in Peace.

Still MORE Evidence

There has been a major battle between Iraqi Government forces and insurgents with heavy casualties among the bad guys. The Washington Post carries the report. It is not all good news again. Two Americans died in the fight when their helicopter went down.

 Iraqi police stormed the Zarqaa area early Sunday morning, but took heavy gunfire from the orchards, where an estimated 350 to 400 fighters were entrenched, according to Col. Majid Rashid of the Iraqi army in Najaf.

The 8th Iraqi Army division along with U.S. helicopters assisted in the operation, said Ahmed Duaibel, spokesman for the Najaf provincial government. In a news conference, Najaf Gov. Asa'ad Abu Gulal said that an American helicopter crashed during the operation and that at least three members of the Iraqi security forces have been killed. There were no initial reports on a death toll of the insurgents.

A special correspondent for The Washington Post in Najaf witnessed a helicopter crash and black smoke billow up from the wreckage.

A spokesman for the U.S. military in Baghdad declined to comment on the report of a helicopter crash as the operation was still ongoing.

"These are very critical days now, because of the ceremonies of Ashura, and of course there are expectations that terrorist groups and criminals will launch attacks against the pilgrims who are trying to reach the city of Karbala. Of course many of them might need to pass through the city of Najaf to get there," said Haithem Hasani, a media adviser for Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of one of the leading Shiite political factions in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Omar at Iraq the Model has even more good news.

We talked earlier about insurgents and terrorists fleeing Baghdad to Diyala, and today there's another report about a similar migration, from al-Sabah:

Eyewitnesses in some volatile areas said that large numbers of militants have fled to Syria to avoid being trapped in the incoming security operations.
According to those witnesses, residents and shopkeepers are no longer concerned about militants whose existence in public used to bring on clashes that put the lives of civilians in danger.
A shopkeeper in al-Karkh [western Baghdad] said that many of them [militants] packed their stuff and headed to Syria to wait and see what the operations are going to be like.
While experts consider this a failure in protecting the plan's secrecy which might lead to the loss of the surprise factor, they also say it indicates the seriousness and resolve in this plan that is already scaring away the militants. PM Maliki pointed out that seeing them run away is a good thing but he returned and said the security forces would chase them down everywhere after Baghdad is clear.

Even bigger news than that, however:

Immediately after president Bush authorized the US military to capture and kill Iran's agents who are involved in the violence in Iraq, the Iranian Khalq opposition group released a list with the names of 31,000 Iraqis the group said are paid agents for Tehran operating in Iraq, story in the same report linked above.
Jawad Dberan the spokesman of the national council of Iranian resistance, the political wing of Khalq duing a press conference in Germany, accused Tehran of sending weapons and millions of dollars in cash to Iraq every month.
According to Azzaman which quoted from Jawad's statement, that list includes only elements who were directly recruited by the Quds force in Iran. The list is said to provide the Arabic and Farsi names of recruits, their monthly payment in Iranian money along with the code name they use during operations.

Our politicians had better start thinking a bit about where they stand. Because if they back a resolution against American troops - and that is what these non-binding resolutions are, no matter how much lipstick they put on them - and the US forces begin winning, the politicians will be in very, very deep trouble with the electorate. Vote to lose a war or vote to win it. The insurgents are running like hell for the borders and we have weak-kneed politicians thinking about ways to hamstring our troops and their new commander. I take that personally. And I will remember and help others to as well.

More Evidence

Even more evidence of Iranian involvement in the situation in Iraq comes from the Australian. They report that many of the Shia "death squad" leaders have rabbited for sanctuary in Iran ahead of the surge. This may not be all good news though, given that there are also reports that Maliki may have colluded with Sadr to let these guys escape. But the US should be able to turn this into a disaster for the insurgents if they exploit the fact that the leaders saved their own butts and left the troops to fend for themselves.

DEATH squad leaders have fled Baghdad for Iran to evade capture or killing by US and Iraqi forces before the start of the troop surge and security crackdown in the strife-torn capital. A former Iraqi minister said most of the leaders loyal to radical anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had gone into hiding in Iran.

Among those said to have fled is Abu Deraa, the Shia militia leader whose appetite for sectarian savagery has been compared to that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, who was killed last year.

The former minister, who did not want to be named for security reasons, backed claims by Sunni MPs that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had colluded with Sadr over their flight. He alleged that weapons belonging to Sadr's Mahdi Army had been hidden in the Iraqi Interior Ministry to prevent confiscation.

Mr Maliki said last week: "I know senior criminals have left Baghdad, others have left the country. This is good — this shows that our message is being taken seriously."

Sadr has been unexpectedly subdued about the coming purge, prompting allegations of a deal between the radical cleric and the Iraqi Prime Minister.

"Sadr has agreed not to make a noise because Maliki gave him enough warning to make the necessary arrangements for his people to escape," the former minister said.

One wonders if Sadr is still in Iraq at this point or if he has followed the other "brave" jihadis in running as fast as they can to escape. This is where the media can stop helping the terrorists by reporting - loudly - how craven the leaders actually are. That's a hint, media folks. This is much the same pattern that recently showed in Somalia. The media pumps these groups up and reports propaganda as straight news. But push against the "invincible" jihadis and they collapse like a house of cards. The media could try reporting this straight for a change. It would take away the jihadi's recruiting tools.

UPDATE: I guess this appeared first in the Times of London, but I missed it when looking there earlier.

UPDATE: Others: Wake up America, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, Bill Hobbs, Ed Driscoll, Tigerhawk,

The 7th Century Comes To Britain

The head of the Islamic Medical Association in Britain is boldly dragging British Muslims into the 7th century with his brilliant advice to parents: Don't vaccinate your kids.

A leading Islamic doctor is urging British Muslims not to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella because they contain substances making them unlawful for Muslims to take.

Dr Abdul Majid Katme, head of the Islamic Medical Association, says almost all vaccines contain un-Islamic "haram" derivatives of animal or human tissue, and that Muslim parents are better off letting childrens' immune systems develop on their own.

Dr Katme, an NHS psychiatrist, said: "If you breastfeed your child for two years - as the Koran says - and you eat Koranic food like olives and black seed, and you do ablution each time you pray, then you will have a strong defence system."

The government and other Muslim associations have sharply criticized the bad doctor Katme. Given that Britain is, at this very moment, experiencing a suspected outbreak of rat-borne disease, the doctor's guidance is even more stupid than it sounds.

A killer disease spread by rats may have struck a worker at a Preston firm.

A man carrying out excavation work at Morrison Utility on the Red Scar industrial estate is being tested for Weil's Disease, a rare but potentially fatal bacterial infection spread by the urine of rats.

The man, who was working on the United Utilities contract at the firm, complained of feeling sick, tired and lethargic – all symptoms of the disease.

Workers at the company have been sent a letter warning them about the possible suspected case and to look for symptoms.

One worker says a further five employees are off sick and suspected to have the disease.

The worker, who did not wish to be named, said: "We got a letter telling us one man was suspected of having Weil's Disease, but the word going round is that there are actually six people affected.

"Weil's Disease is contracted through rats' urine and we see rats on the site all the time.

Tragic Roadkill

 It isn't often you see one of these dead on the side of the road.

It is a real tragedy, what with wild Naugas being so rare these days.

Cracks

Even the Washington Post is noticing that something positive may well be happening as a result of US pressure on Iran. I think this is the first time I have seen the paper publicly state that Iran and its puppet Syria are behind most of the uproar in the region.

All this suggests that the U.S. measures, compounded by a U.N. sanctions resolution, may be having an effect on the mullahs. If so, the impact is sorely needed. During the past year Iran and its ally Syria have behaved as if they can defy the United States and United Nations with impunity. They have pressed a broad and violent offensive against Western interests across the region, from Baghdad to Beirut to the Gaza Strip, even as Iran has rejected Security Council orders to freeze its nuclear program.

It's too early to tell whether Iran will back off from that belligerent agenda: Last week its ally Hezbollah renewed its attempt to stage a coup against Lebanon's pro-Western government. But it's not too soon for the Bush administration to begin working on the next stage of its strategy. That's because the pushback tactics, while necessary to change the atmosphere of hubris in Tehran, aren't likely by themselves to achieve the administration's goals. The pressure needs to be carefully measured, since Iran, too, has the capacity to escalate, both in Iraq and elsewhere. While the threat of military action is useful, this president should not have to resort to that option.

The Post suggests keeping up or even escalating the pressure while also keeping a back door open for moderate diplomacy. I suspect that is exactly what the administration is doing right now. And it may well be bearing fruit already.

Consequences

Robert Kagan, writing in the Washington Post, has a novel suggestion for our politicians: "Forget the political posturing, be responsible, and provide the moral and material support our forces need and expect." He's right, that is what our politicians are supposed to do: lead, not follow opinion polls. But it appears to be an increasingly rare thing these days. This op-ed really needs to be read in its entirety, but this one passage captures something I have been hitting repeatedly:

Other critics claim that these are political cop-outs, which they are. These supposedly braver critics demand a cutoff of funds for the war and the start of a withdrawal within months. But they're not honest either, since they refuse to answer the most obvious and necessary questions: What do they propose the United States do when, as a result of withdrawal, Iraq explodes and ethnic cleansing on a truly horrific scale begins? What do they propose our response should be when the entire region becomes a war zone, when al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations establish bases in Iraq from which to attack neighboring states as well as the United States? Even the Iraq Study Group acknowledged that these are likely consequences of precipitate withdrawal.

Those who call for an "end to the war" don't want to talk about the fact that the war in Iraq and in the region will not end but will only grow more dangerous. Do they recommend that we then do nothing, regardless of the consequences? Or are they willing to say publicly, right now, that they would favor sending U.S. troops back into Iraq to confront those new dangers? Answering those questions really would be honest and brave.

Of course, most of the discussion of Iraq isn't about Iraq at all. The war has become a political abstraction, a means of positioning oneself at home.

There will be a bloodbath if we pull out. The region will be plunged into chaos far exceeding what is happening now. And we will have pushed a much worse war later onto our children and grandchildren. The problem will not be resolved by us just leaving. There will be a price that the "troops home now" folks will exact on this nation and on the world. There are real - and devastating - consequence to the US and the world if we are defeated in Iraq. As Kagan writes: "Forget the political posturing, be responsible, and provide the moral and material support our forces need and expect."

UPDATE: See also The Glittering Eye for a very succinct (and spot on) description of the real problem in Washington. Lifelike Pundits also has a good take.

Update On Senator Johnson

South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson is the subject of a report in today's Washington Post. While reports are that the Senator is getting therapy and appears to be making progress, the article focuses on questions about what his continued absence means in the Senate and to the state he represents.

The news from the hospital has been good, so far.

"In talking to his physicians, we really feel optimistic and confident that he is going to make a full recovery," says Brendan Johnson, 31, one of the senator's three children and a lawyer in Sioux Falls, S.D. "It is something that takes time. Unfortunately we don't have any type of exact timetable. What we do know from the therapists and physicians working with him at GW is that he is making much faster progress than anyone anticipated."

Johnson speaks only a few words at a time. "He's not conversational, in terms of long conversation," Brendan Johnson says. "He's clearly registering when we discuss topics. I think he loves to hear about how his [three] grandkids are doing. I also keep him updated on what certain baseball teams are doing."

Johnson has three hours of therapy every day, working with parallel bars and practicing naming objects, according to statements by his doctors released by his office. An MRI showed that the speech center of his brain is undamaged. And an angiogram showed that the surgery successfully repaired the original problem, called an arteriovenous malformation.

I really hate these kinds of articles, but it does raise points that need to be thought about: what are the long-term implications of an extended absence for his constituents? The article doesn't offer any answers, just asks the questions.

His key constituencies include farmers, ranchers, veterans, seniors, rural communities. Although his profile is low on Capitol Hill, in South Dakota, a state with fewer people than Prince George's County, residents address their senator as "Tim" when they see him in the coffee shop on Main Street.

"He's one who was never real imbued with the power and the glory, he just wanted to do a good job," says Jerry Oster, news director with WNAX-AM radio in Yankton, who has known Johnson since he was a baby-faced lawyer in Vermillion. "It's part of that Norwegian upbringing. Don't care who gets the credit . . . . We always kid him about being Norwegian powered by coffee."

If Johnson's recuperation lasts longer than several months, then his absence will be felt more keenly. That is when the farm bill will be moving through the Senate, and the appropriations process will be underway.

"Senator Johnson's main impact would come this summer," says Troy Larson, executive director of the Lewis & Clark Rural Water System, which is seeking $35 million for pipeline construction. "It would not be possible for senators in other states to make up that clout."

At least the news of his recovery seems hopeful. Keep him in your thoughts, please.

Hotbeds?

Ann Althouse has a video of the protest march in the hotbed of leftism, Madison, Wisconsin. Let's put it this way, it isn't impressive. In the least. I agree with her commenter that it looks like a sham.