The Radical Left, Flying Shoes, & Hypocrisy

You might recall back on December 14th that an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at then U.S. President George Bush. On February 19th he's going to have his day in court and could face 15 years in prison.

What I find most amazing is the reaction from the Bush-hating Radical Left. The general chant in the Obamabot Conga Line is that the fellow, Muntader al-Zaidi, should be given a medal. Can you just imagine their reaction if someone did that to their Messiah aka Barack Obama?!?

There's only one word for such morons: Hypocrites!!!

Salim Mansur: A Different Take on the Shoe Throwing Incident

Salim Mansur is a professor of political science in London, Ontario and a frequent columnist in several newspapers. He's also a Muslim. He has a very different take on the now infamous incident of the Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at President Bush ... and the subsequent support for this journalist. Definitely worth a read.

Interesting Stats from Iraq

Source

The Obama Doctrine

America should help out all oppressed people in the world . . . except Iraqis.

How peculiar.

Dear Mr. Obama

Personal message from an Iraq Veteran:

Success on Two Battlefields

I've long been a huge fan of John Batchelor, a distinguished author and radio talk show host. His weekly Sunday evening show is what I consider to be the finest program on American radio. The latest version was especially superb. You can listen to it here.

Here's a quick summary of the show:

• 00:18 - The Sarah Palin Phenomenon - Who is She?
• 11:32 - Technological revolutions incl. Twitter
• 19:20 - Sarah Palin at the Republican Convention
• 30:18 - Keith Olbermann Demoted at MSNBC
• 39:48 - Olbermann and the Obama campaign
• 49:20 - Barack Obama's vs. Sarah Palin
• 58:17 - Basra, Iraq
• 1:08:35 - The significant turnaround in the Anbar Province of Iraq
• 1:16:42 - Why the Left are Losing - Brad Miner: Smear Tactics: The Liberal Campaign to Defame America
• 1:26:18 - Democracy in Asia
• 1:36:15 - How America finally turned the tide in Iraq - Bing West: The Strongest Tribe
• 1:51:08 - Closing thoughts

If you have limited time, be sure to catch the items in bold.

Bing West on the Iraq War

Here's an absolutely fascinating video:
I'm particularly struck by similarities between the Iraq War and the U.S. Civil War. In the 19th Century campaign, the Union forces, though greatly outnumbering the Confederate forces of the South, were stuck in a quagmire for several years until Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General in Chief. Something similar seems to have occurred with General David Petraeus' appointment in Iraq.

The NY Times says Forget the People of Iraq

It has long been said that today's views of the New York Times become tomorrow's talking points of the American Democrat party. They're almost always indistinguishable. This recent editorial is no exception. In it they feign concern for the Iraqi people but clearly they're just trying to invent a wedge issue to help their kids, Clinton and Obama.

Let's take a look at where things now stand in Iraq. Nothing is perfect but the very fact that there's so little news out of there these days is a testament to how well things are going. 30,000,000 Muslims have been freed from the clutches of a horrific, murderous tyrant. Democracy now exists in another place in the Middle East besides Israel. This is something we should end?!

I realize that many reading the words above will think I'm off my meds and am some kind of right-wing war monger. If so, they'd be wrong.

Can we all agree that each person's views of the world are shaped by the experiences they've had to that point in their life? Mine involve being born into a family where my father & his siblings were little kids on the German side during WW2. He was vehemently against Hitler but was powerless to do anything about it. After the war he lived in refugee camps and then at a young age had to move far away from the family, picking potatoes 14 hours a day in order to send a little money back to them.

But what emerged from the tragedy that was Nazi Germany was a vibrant country, a true democracy, and big positive to Europe and the world.

So shall the same emerge in Iraq, given enough time and commitment. If many of you get your wish and the Americans pull out, Iran's tentacles will surely reach into Iraq and turn it into a bloodbath for a time and then a satellite state. In case you're not aware, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is directly funded by Iran. They're the ones who send suicide bombers into Israel to kill innocent civilians.

War is messy. The aftermath of war is often worse. But patience is the only course of action if you want a people to have the same liberty and democracy that you've enjoyed since birth; that you were given for doing absolutely nothing in return. And things that we're given with no expectations in return are almost always taken for granted, aren't they?!

The Current Situation in Iraq

Michael Yon is an independent American journalist who has been located in Iraq for several years. He has just published a very profound editorial in the Wall Street Journal.

America Needs To Find Its Common Voice

You might have noticed that I've been a bit down lately, feeling rather depressed at reading/hearing things like this. My feelings of hope hit a new low when I read that Michelle Malkin had received wishes of her death by a deeply disturbed man in Bellingham, Washington. I could have marked it down as yet another low mark on the proverbial Humanity Watch totem pole. And perhaps I should have, but it's not in my DNA to give up. So instead I chose to leave the following comment on the associated blog entry of Bellingham Herald journalist, Sam Taylor:

As a Canadian reader about 50km north of you, believe me when I say that I am deeply saddened to see such inflammatory discourse going on between citizens in your country.

Remember those thousand points of light that George Bush Sr. spoke of? Together they are supposed to form a brilliant beacon of freedom that represents what the United States of America truly represents. Or at least it used to.

I remember my father, who was born in Germany and just a young kid when WW2 ended, telling me the story of what happened when he, his mother, and his 4 younger siblings entered the refugee camp. When the officials came around asking him which of the 4 sectors of the country they wished to go to, his answer was simple: "A-MER-I-CA, We Love AMERICA!!!"

He ended up as a refugee coming to Canada six years later but he never forgot the kindness and incredible generosity that your forefathers gave to his homeland, giving the rest of his family a chance for a future blessed with democracy and prosperity.

Perhaps when freedom unchallenged goes on for too many generations, people take it for granted. No country is perfect but Mr. Knappenberger seems to have lost sight of what a great country America still is.

Michelle Malkin is an honourable person and a superb writer. While people like Knappenberger may not agree with what she says and may dislike her ethnicity, it goes far, far beyond the pale to wish her hurt in any way (let alone murdered!)

Your country seems to be going through an intellectual civil war of sorts. This is terribly unfortunate, not just for all of you, but for the world as well.

After the challenges of the Iraq War, the conviction toward freedom & liberty for all may be muted in the hearts & minds of many Americans but I believe that resolve can be found again. The people of Tibet are crying out for it. So are those in Taiwan and Darfur and the independent countries of Eastern Europe.

No one is saying that Americans have to shed blood in all of these places but a solid resolve, 300 Million strong, that liberty, democracy, & free enterprise are the best way forward for all human beings would be the best gift that Americans could possibly give to the world.

Step #1 in that unity of purpose involves toning down the rhetoric towards anyone who expresses an opinion different from your own.

Sincerely,

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC

A New Definition of Depravity

Islamic Terrorists in Iraq strapped explosives to the bodies of 2 women with Down's Syndrome, set them off into a pet market and then initiated them remotely. Look for many people in the West to find innovative ways not to condemn this horrendous act. After all, they'll say, this is George Bush's fault too! Sad.

Take No Action Protestors

In today's Vancouver Sun there was a guest editorial from the Washington Post entitled, "Western countries must not let up pressure on Sudan". In it, they urged U.S. President Bush to go against current thinking and intervene militarily to put an end to the genocidal devastation that is going on there every day.

Why should he? After all, when he intervened against the murderous cruelty imposed on the people of Iraq by Saddam Hussein, much of the world condemned him. More to the point, exactly the same people who are urging him to intervene in Sudan are the very ones who condemned him for intervening in Iraq.

Whenever I'm walking downtown and see a "Free Tibet" protest, I just shake my head. I very much agree with their stated goal of freeing the Tibetan people from the iron grip of Communist China, but let's face facts: If Canada or the U.S. or any other country were actually to do something to free Tibet, these very same people would be the ones protesting the actions that were required to make it so.

Perhaps one day I should go up to one of them and ask what it feels like to be a hypocrite, to be someone who changes their tune as soon as the going gets tough. Perhaps. For now, I'll just politely smile and walk to the other side of the street like most everyone else does.

I often wonder if those brave Canadian soldiers who fought in World War 2 are turning in their graves over the immense shallowness of thought and conviction of their descendants.

Will Iraq be Vietnam #2 ?

In posing that question as I have, you're almost certainly thinking one thing. Mark Steyn, in a new brilliant piece, has a very different way of looking at it.

Leading Democrats want short term gain at the expense of irreparable long term harm. Of course, in this new world where anyone under 40 seems to have the attention span of a gnat, the Democrat message may be exactly what the electorate wants. That would be tragic.

Some Good News from Iraq

Here's an excellent article from the strongly left leaning New York Times. Do note that the two authors have been extremely critical of the Iraq War in the past. But things are changing for the better.

An historical reminder: The American Civil War lasted between 1861 - 1865. In early and even mid 1864, things looked terrible for Abraham Lincoln and the North. But then they finally got the right generals into place and tide turned - dramatically and quickly.

Only history will tell whether 2007 is compared closely with 1864 but one thing's for sure: In our modern day 24/7 news cycle, one cannot realistically base one's feelings about a long war on any single events that happen every few hours.