Agribusiness Teams Plant Seeds For Economic Growth In Afghanistan

by Sgt. Robert G. Cooper III
American Forces Press Service

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. (Feb. 12, 2009) – Civilian experts in economic growth who serve in the National Guard now can bring their select skills from America's heartland to the front lines. National Guardsmen from seven states have volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan as specialized units with the singular purpose of jump-starting the country’s agricultural economy.

The units, called agribusiness development teams, are a new breed of Army operations. Rather than focusing on combating terrorism with weapons, they focus on rebuilding Afghan trust in both their economy and in their government through agriculture, the country’s chief industry. Army Maj. Shawn Gardner, operations and training officer for Indiana’s 1-19th Agribusiness Development Team, stressed the importance of agriculture when it comes to successful operations in Afghanistan.

“Agriculture sustains about 60 to 70 percent of the population of the country, so we won’t have true security until the economic state is better repaired,” Gardner said. “We’ll start at the grassroots level, helping them maintain their agricultural baselines, and grow from there.”

While the mission may sound simple, the concept of soldiers putting down weapons to pick up a plow is much deeper. “The tactical mission is to help the local farmers learn to establish some farming techniques that have been lost through several generations of war, and with that, the strategic mission is to help them have a better understanding and appreciation of their provincial government,” Gardner said.

To stimulate the Afghan economy through agricultural initiatives, the teams will have to start at the provincial level, Gardner said. The mission of the Indiana National Guard’s 1-19th ADT focuses on Khowst province, historically an agricultural hub for fruit and nuts prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979.

Coupled with years of civil war and tribal fighting, the current state of agriculture exists only through one- to two-acre subsistence farms. Kevin McNamara, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said the farms, offering barely enough for local communities to get by, are a stark contrast to what Americans consider farming to be.

“Afghan agriculture is completely different from Indiana, but the strong agricultural backgrounds of the individuals deploying is significant,” McNamara said. “This mission speaks highly of [the soldiers who] volunteer to improve the lives of those in dire straits. Without this mission, we wouldn’t be able to stabilize Afghanistan.”

McNamara, a former Peace Corps member who has been to Afghanistan many times to assist in agricultural education, has been working with the 1-19th to provide training on some of the team’s short- and long-term goals.

“Agriculture is the industry there,” he said. “There isn’t much else. Most people are poor there, so this agribusiness team approach will have a definite impact on improving and stabilizing their incomes.” The training was an outgrowth of a June meeting McNamara had with 1-19th ADT leaders.

“They were certainly excited about the opportunity of the deployment, but realized the challenges it presented,” he said. “After speaking about challenges they would face, both cultural and technological, we developed training based on baseline information of current agriculture statistics in Afghanistan.”

The statistics centered the training on small-enterprise farming and addressed soil fertility, wheat production, fruit production, forestry, animal husbandry and horticulture. The knowledge provided by Purdue’s Department of International Agriculture focused on facets that McNamara said will have a direct impact on increasing not only production, but also the incomes of local farmers.

“We’re hitting the issue of farming income, which is exciting,” McNamara said. “That means more wheat to eat and more milk to drink. The more we increase their production, the more we increase their wealth and pull them from poverty.”

The training also focused on Afghanistan’s arid environment, which limits rainfall to mere inches per year.

“We had a session on pest management, where we looked to see how weeds and diseases are affecting crops, and we discussed what pests or diseases to look for and how to treat them,” McNamara said. “Irrigation is also very important, but hard to work with, since the people don’t have the education or financing to afford it. Our training gave a thorough overview on irrigation techniques that are relevant.”

Purdue will continue to provide expert oversight during the deployment, McNamara said. “We will have video teleconferencing capabilities and a reach-back system where we will have a full-time desk position that can provide answers in a quick fashion,” he said.

Army Col. Brian Copes, 1-19th ADT commander, said the deployment will feature many initiatives designed both to educate Afghan farmers and to sustain the instruction his team will provide. In addition to joining forces with other U.S. departments such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the team also will conduct agriculture education and information operations through print and broadcast media.

Using a phrase he borrowed from Purdue, Copes calls the focus of the agriculture missions “post-production, post-harvest, value-added processing.”

“It’s a big, sexy term, but once you understand how to turn grapes to raisins, it becomes clear,” he said. Copes related the phrase to teaching Afghan farmers how to trellis grapes, which are currently grown on the ground on most farms. Upon showing farmers how to increase grape production, the 1-19th soldiers then can show them how to streamline their storage capabilities, thus increasing the production of raisins.

Copes said he also plans to use programs from American youth education groups, such as 4-H and Future Farmers of America, to reach out to the Afghan’s next generations of agriculturalists. The soldiers also will use high school agriculture courses taught by one of the team’s leaders, who teaches the same curriculum at Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis. “We’ve got a curriculum already, but we need to begin adapting it to their cultural needs,” Copes said.

According to the World Fact Book, nearly one in three Afghans can’t read, so Copes said the team also has made plans for radio public service announcements on food safety and nutrition.

The ADT will work with Khowst University, one of Afghanistan’s 15 universities. Copes said he and his deputy commander, Army Col. Cindra Chastain, met with the university’s chancellor and vice chancellor last year.

“We had an early dialogue, and they warmly embraced the idea of a partnership with us. Our plans are to further develop three large greenhouses that have not been put into use there. We hope to figure out how to use them as a research facility. We will also utilize [about 200 acres] of university property to establish a demonstration farm.”

Many challenges, most of them cultural, will be waiting for the team upon arrival, McNamara said. “We’ve armed these soldiers with a good understanding on how to improve the situation there,” he said. “But it won’t be easy, and it won’t be quick. There’s a lot of potential, but this will probably be the hardest jobs these folks have ever had.

“The Afghan people will be reluctant to adopt changes they can’t understand, because it puts family at risk,” he continued. “There aren’t banks or institutions that can support them. Understanding the production systems there and improving them will be their biggest challenge.”

The mission’s focus isn’t on immediate gratification, Copes said. “The reality is, I’m only going to be there for 10 months, but we don’t know how long the U.S. will be there,” he said. “We are planning for up to five rotations through Indiana, but that’s up to the current administration. The knowledge and expertise we leave behind will be there long after our money and tractors go away.”

Army Col. Brian Copes, far right, congratulates a role player representing an Afghan leader during a mock groundbreaking ceremony on a snowy day at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

New Clinic Provides Care For Six Villages

by Heidi Davis
Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula

KURDISTAN — Named in honor of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Tovo’s service in Iraq, the Tovo Medical Clinic opened its doors in the Kani Karweshkan foothills here, Feb. 12. The facility will help significantly improve the region’s medical care and provide essential services throughout the Kurdish autonomous region, said a Coalition forces adviser.

The clinic provides nearly 500 residents from six surrounding villages access to a medical facility and services with a staff of three full-time doctors.

The location of the clinic also increases the chances of survivability by providing people in a community, where vehicular transportation is scarce, access because of the clinic’s central location. Access results in more immediate care, so patients can be stabilized before they are moved to another medical facility, if more specialized care is necessary.

“Most of the trauma cases we see are due to snake and scorpion bites to farmers working the fields,” said the regional tribal leader. “These patients can receive care immediately, lowering their chances of death.”

Potential long-term projects include paving the clinic route to make it more accessible, drilling wells to provide water to the clinic, establishing nearby electrical lines for communication, and expanding clinic services.

“The opening of this clinic is just one of several planned to promote local participation and demonstrate the government’s commitment to maintaining security while encouraging social and capital development,” said Col. Bill Buckner, spokesman for Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “Projects like this one create short-term benefits and long-term potential consistent with the intended goals of the Iraqi and CF partnership. Short-term, the clinic makes medical care for potentially fatal illnesses and injuries more accessible.”

A local representative reiterated that commitment, saying, “Give me a list of everything the staff needs, whether it is equipment, medications or supplies, and I will take care of it,” he told the head tribal leader. “Coalition forces helped build the clinic, but it is our job to sustain it.”

Dr. Ako, Halabja, director of health, talks with local media representatives at the opening of the Tovo Medical Clinic, Feb. 12, in the foothills of Kani Karweshkan.

Source: CENTCOM.

Pending AQ Attack In Turkey?

Below you will find an e-mail from The Jamestown Foundation. This is "an independent, non-partisan research institution dedicated to providing timely information concerning critical political and strategic developments in China, Russia, Eurasia and the Greater Middle East. Jamestown produces five periodic publications: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Terrorism Monitor, Terrorism Focus, Chechnya Weekly and China Brief. Jamestown research and analysis is available to the public free-of-charge via Jamestown's website, www.jamestown.org."

WASHINGTON, DC — In the February 6, 2009, issue of Eurasia Daily Monitor, Jamestown Visiting Fellow Emrullah Uslu discusses a trend that is both troubling and as of yet undetected in Western media — the growing threat of an al-Qaeda attack in Turkey. From jewelry heists to post office robberies to car thefts, there has been a wave of crimes in Turkey thought to have been perpetrated by members of al-Qaeda. As Emrullah Uslu argues, these crimes may be intended to compensate for a lack of funding from the central al-Qaeda organization and "a possible sign of a major operation in the making." Since this article first appeared in EDM, there has already been a similar robbery of a post office in Ankara. Are these robberies a precursor to an al-Qaeda attack in Turkey? Read the original article below:

Al-Qaeda Robbers Target Jewelry Stores.

By Emrullah Uslu. (This analyst can be contacted by email at: usluturkey@jamestown.org.)

The recent crisis with Israel not only diverted international attention away from the looming danger of al-Qaeda attacks in Turkey but the growing sensitivity toward Israel may actually be motivating groups associated with al-Qaeda to attack Jewish targets in Turkey. In fact, because of the possibility of an al-Qaeda attack, Israel's El-Al airline recently terminated its flights to Antalya. Zaman reported that the CIA had notified Israeli and Turkish authorities that al-Qaeda operatives had entered Turkey to target Israeli tourists. According to the report, al-Qaeda may be seeking to attack airports in Istanbul, Izmir, or Antalya (Zaman, February 6).

It was said initially that El-Al had cancelled its Tel Aviv-Antalya flights because Turkey did not allow armed Israeli security forces on airplanes coming into Antalya and Israel insisted on having armed security personnel on board (IHA, February 4). Another Israeli airline, Sun D'Or, has also announced that it will cease its flights until March 1 for "commercial reasons" (CNNTurk, February 4). It seems that neither argument reflects the real reason why Israeli airlines have stopped flying to Antalya. The danger of an al-Qaeda attack on an Israeli target could perhaps be the best explanation behind the cancellation of these flights.

The Turkish National Police (TNP) has recently been conducting operations against al-Qaeda members. In December police arrested 38 al-Qaeda members, 22 of whom were jailed. That operation revealed that the organization was planning to hit the Israeli, U.S., and British consulates in Istanbul (Sabah, December 20, 2008). On January 29 four al-Qaeda members tried to rob a post office in the Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul, but undercover police officers who were following the suspects intervened, and a gunfight ensued. One al-Qaeda member was killed and another wounded. Two others escaped (Sabah, January 29). In following days the police arrested 11 suspected al-Qaeda members. After the arrest it was revealed that al-Qaeda militants were organizing an attack on a rabbi in Bursa (Milliyet, February 3).

Al-Qaeda has recently taken to robbing and stealing gold, money, and cars. A recent police action revealed that al-Qaeda members had stolen three cars and robbed a jewelry store and two trucks loaded with cables (Milliyet, February 3). It comes as no surprise that al-Qaeda members would steal cars or trucks for use in their attacks, but robbing jewelry stores and post offices is a new tactic in Turkey.

On July 21, 2008, a jewelry store was robbed by three people carrying Kalashnikovs; police later detected that the robbers may have been members of al-Qaeda (Sabah, December 20, 2008). On January 27 another jewelry store was robbed in Kocaeli Province by four masked men. The police think that those who attempted to rob the post office in Istanbul also might have been involved in the Kocaeli robbery (Hurriyet, January 29). On February 5 in Istanbul's Maltepe district another post office was robbed (Yeni Safak, February 5). Although it is still unknown whether al-Qaeda was involved, this robbery bares similarities to those committed by al-Qaeda.

The TNP has been closely monitoring the al-Qaeda network since the synagogue bombings in Istanbul in 2003 and have conducted a series of operations against al-Qaeda. The recent upsurge in jewelry store and post office robberies, however, is a new trend. Al-Qaeda spends thousands of dollars for each attack. The recent spate of robberies may indicate that the police have successfully isolated the individual al-Qaeda cells so that they cannot obtain cash from the central body or that the main organization has stopped financing local operations.

If al Qaeda cuts off funding for its local branches so that each group has to find its own means of financing for the attacks, then the recent series of robberies could be a possible sign of a major operation in the making. Although the TNP works hard and prevents most of the attacks in the planning stage, the recent upsurge in anti-Israel sentiment in Turkey may result in al-Qaeda members obtaining more informational assistance about potential Israeli targets from the local population.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

UK vs Geert Wilders' 'Fitna'

Many of my readers are aware of my wrath toward cowards who quiver in the face of threats made to people who choose to retain their free speech in the face of Islamism arrogance. Geert Wilders is a hero in this department, the UK gov't is full of cowards.

Geert has made a documentary named, 'Fitna', which uses the parts of the Koran which the jihadis exploit for political manipulation to warn the west about what is vital to our survival. For this, he is being prosecuted by the Dutch government, thanks to the Muslims who've invaded their country and silenced the good Muslim population.

The UK invited Geert to speak at their showing of this documentay, but a couple of ministries (how ironic, stop using the name 'Ministry'. You are not ministers!) disinvited him because HE is considered a bigger threat to their peace than the jihadis!

So. What to do? I have the documentary for you to watch here. Let them come after me, too. I am not afraid. Ya see, we have this little thing called the 2nd Amendment in America, and I know how to use it to my benefit and protection. I consider a threat from any jihadi to my person and livelihood to be a reasonable enough threat to do my duty for my country. Don't be afraid. Tell me your name and address. Unless, of course, you are cowards like the rest of the jihadis and the UK government...

You may also read The speech Geert Wilders would have given had the UK not been filled with cowards and dhimmis.

BTW, jihadis are those who give Muslims a bad name and make life harder for them. This in no way has anything to do with the good Muslims I know and the good Muslims I do not know. Let's just make this perfectly clear. After 9/11/01, my door and heart was open to any Muslim woman who felt they needed refuge. So don't even go down that road. Jihadis are the racists here, not the American people. It sure would be nice, however, if more American Muslims would stand up against the jihadis.

There are a few that I know of who do a great job of standing up and against the jihadis. Here are their links: The Spirit Of Man, Muslims Against Sharia and American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Check them out and decide for yourself if they are speaking out loudly enough for you. Frankly, I don't believe they are receiving the attention they deserve. There are also many more, but I do not have their links. Thank you, and have a nice day.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

What better way spread some love than with a St. Valentine's Day Open Trackback? Just add my post's URL to your post, and ping me back. What? You don't have trackbacks available? Why not use Wizbang Stand Alone Trackback? Happy St. Valentine's Day!

A few friends I've shared this post with: Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker: Credibility, Planck's Constant: Geert Wilders` speech in House of Lords, The Pink Flamingo: Obama, Soros, The Economy, Elections and the Fairness Doctrine and Woman Honor Thyself: Geert Wilders: Banned from the U.K., thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Here are some fine posts from my friends at Linkfest who've opened their post to you for your reading pleasure:
1. Plank's Constant: Geert Wilders speech in Once-Brave Britain.
2. Woman Honor Thyself: Muslims Beating and Killing Women.
3. The World According To Carl: Uncle Jay Explains The News — February 16, 2009.
4. Woman Honor Thyself: Shahar Peer Visa Denial: Women’s Tennis Association does NOTHING.
5. Right Voices: No Need For The Automakers And UAW To Meet Today’s Deadline, You Are Handing Them $7 Billion Today, No Questions Asked.
6. The World According To Carl: Ephesians 4:29 and Blogging.
7. The Virtuous Republic: Hell’s Government Officials of the Day: Luzerne County Judges.

Cross-posted @ Talon, The Conservative Underground, SmartGirlPolitics, Muslims Against Sharia and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Mullen: Afghanistan Surge Unlikely To Top 30,000

by Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Feb. 9, 2009) – The top U.S. military officer said Monday he doesn't expect the United States to deploy more than about 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, emphasizing the need for the State Department and other U.S. agencies to do their part as well.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told junior soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division that 2009 will be a pivotal year for Afghanistan that will require more than just military might. "It has gotten worse in Afghanistan," he told the soldiers, some recently returned from Iraq and others expecting to deploy to Afghanistan next year. "Violence is up, [and] the Taliban is back." In addition, he said, governance at the local, district, provincial and national levels "is not going well” and "has to be improved."

"Getting that governance piece right as fast as we can is absolutely vital," Mullen said, particularly with elections scheduled this summer. He noted that although the military inevitably will be involved, it's not the agency best suited to assist with governance. The same, he said, holds true with helping Afghanistan improve economic development. "It is not possible to win this or succeed in Afghanistan militarily alone," Mullen told the group.

So as the military expands the force in Afghanistan probably not much beyond the 20,000 to 30,000 numbers being discussed, Mullen said more nonmilitary enablers will be needed, too. "It has to be met with a commensurate surge from other agencies, particularly the State Department, in order for us to start generating success in 2009, which is a critical year," he said.

Mullen praised the soldiers for the successes they helped to bring about in Iraq. "You have made a difference. You have turned it around in Iraq," he said. Success wasn't in sight 12 to 18 months ago, he said, but now it is.

In a separate session with family readiness group volunteers, he tied the success of the surge directly to the men and women on the ground. "It could not have been done without the 10th Mountain Division" and the rest of the U.S. military engaged there, he said. "I've been there a lot and seen the difference," he told the spouses. "It gets a little bit better day by day, and we are very hopeful that we can continue to draw forces down in Iraq and that Iraqi people [will] continue to assume responsibility for their own country."

But Mullen reminded the soldiers, "We are not done in Iraq." Al-Qaida remains a problem, but is "greatly diminished," he said. Governance is improving, as demonstrated by the successful late-January elections. Iraqi security forces are improving.

The 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team was rerouted from Iraq to Afghanistan last fall. Its soldiers in Task Force Spartan are now deployed to eastern Afghanistan, taking up positions that until now had little coalition presence. "I expect there will be more of that over the next several months, although I don't have the details of that," Mullen told the troops. "That's something the president decides."

PHOTO: U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addresses soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, N.Y., Feb. 9.

Source: CENTCOM.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ TCU, SGP and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 13 Feb 09

"This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither have they fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still."

--Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

Yes. They now reside as the majority in the Capitol and the White House and nearly the Supreme Court...God help us!

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

New Clinic Provides Care For Six Villages

by Heidi Davis
Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula

KURDISTAN — Named in honor of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Tovo’s service in Iraq, the Tovo Medical Clinic opened its doors in the Kani Karweshkan foothills here, Feb. 12. The facility will help significantly improve the region’s medical care and provide essential services throughout the Kurdish autonomous region, said a Coalition forces adviser.

The clinic provides nearly 500 residents from six surrounding villages access to a medical facility and services with a staff of three full-time doctors.

The location of the clinic also increases the chances of survivability by providing people in a community, where vehicular transportation is scarce, access because of the clinic’s central location. Access results in more immediate care, so patients can be stabilized before they are moved to another medical facility, if more specialized care is necessary.

“Most of the trauma cases we see are due to snake and scorpion bites to farmers working the fields,” said the regional tribal leader. “These patients can receive care immediately, lowering their chances of death.”

Potential long-term projects include paving the clinic route to make it more accessible, drilling wells to provide water to the clinic, establishing nearby electrical lines for communication, and expanding clinic services.

“The opening of this clinic is just one of several planned to promote local participation and demonstrate the government’s commitment to maintaining security while encouraging social and capital development,” said Col. Bill Buckner, spokesman for Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “Projects like this one create short-term benefits and long-term potential consistent with the intended goals of the Iraqi and CF partnership. Short-term, the clinic makes medical care for potentially fatal illnesses and injuries more accessible.”

A local representative reiterated that commitment, saying, “Give me a list of everything the staff needs, whether it is equipment, medications or supplies, and I will take care of it,” he told the head tribal leader. “Coalition forces helped build the clinic, but it is our job to sustain it.”

Dr. Ako, Halabja, director of health, talks with local media representatives at the opening of the Tovo Medical Clinic, Feb. 12, in the foothills of Kani Karweshkan.

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Iranian People: Give Us Liberty!

I have had a heart for the Persian people for quite a while now. It started when I found out about how the students were being dragged out of their houses, beaten, and thrown in prison. Evin prison is nothing like Gitmo. They really do torture you there. Several times a week, if not several times a day.

I find this appalling. This happens because these people commit the most terrible crime of actually desiring liberty and freedom and a republican form of government--frequently misquoted as democracy. Imagine that? No, I guess you cannot, because you want to free the jihadis in Gitmo. You are not the people I am writing to. Go away.

These people are not jihadis. They don't want to harm anyone, and they desire to have human rights such as women's' rights (to live, to not be stoned to death because of someone else's crime against them, etc), free and fair elections, and good riddance to the evil regime that stole control of their country. These are good people. Even if they do not want to live as we do, so what? I don't like the way most of you live either! lol.

While this is one letter from one person, I can assure you there are many more voices in Iran that agree with him. Here is the letter the former political prisoner has written to President Barack Obama:

******************************
A Letter from former Iranian imprisoned student activist to President Barack Hussein Obama.

Dear President Barack Hussein Obama,

We congratulate you and the American people on your election as the 44Th president of the United States. Your historic victory is cause for celebration for those who seek freedom and equality around the world. It is a triumph of democratic values and equal rights, a vindication for those around the world at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights.

The democratic institutions that enabled you, an African American, to become the highest ranking official in your country has awed people around the world. As you noted in your inauguration speech, the fact that the child of a man who, 60 years ago, may not have been permitted to enter a restaurant because of the color of his skin is now serving as leader of the nation, is testimony to the sacrifices of so many others during the painstaking historic progress of your land.

Mr. President, you ran your campaign on a promise of change, for both American domestic and foreign policies. Regarding your administration's policy to Iran, you stressed the need for open and direct dialogue. As you know, Iranians are in the midst of a courageous fight for their most basic freedoms. The democratic movement in Iran, led by students, women's rights activists, workers and human rights defenders, is violently repressed by the regime. The Iranian people, a majority of whom live in poverty despite their country's natural resources, seek to determine their own destiny. They form a resilient base of support for the civic groups calling for a democratic Iran, respectful of the human rights of all Iranians.

The political structure of the Islamic Republic monopolizes power in the hands of one almighty Supreme Leader, a cleric appointed to lead for life. The system does not allow for peaceful change through legal means. The function of the president is reserved for Muslim Shi'a men, and only those among them who believe in the theocracy are elected through a process marred with fraud.. The president, whose function is merely administrative, implements the leader's decisions and is unaccountable to the Iranian people.

We former student activists wish to address you as a progressive social reformer. In your policy making regarding Iran, you will contend with the whole gamut of ways Iran is a problem for the US: from the regime's nuclear ambitions to its regional influence and support for terrorism around the world.

We call on you to pay special attention to the repressive, unaccountable nature of the regime that creates these problems and to keep focus on the Iranian people's demands for democracy and human rights.

As the president of the United States of America, you must defend the interests of your country. We are certain you know that in this increasingly interconnected world, the long-term interests of your country can never be fully secured when others in foreign lands do not enjoy freedom.

Mr. President, you marked your first day in the White House by ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison. But in our country, many Guantanamo exist, only our Guantanamo are home to students, women's rights activists, labor organizers, political activists, and journalists. We, as former student activists who spent time in Iranian prisons under inhumane conditions, call on you and all those who defend human rights, freedom and equality to express solidarity to the people of Iran as they wage their struggle for freedom.

- Akbar Atri, BA in Political Science from Alameh Tabataba'i University and MA in Political Theory from Mofid University in Qom University; member of the executive committee of Daftar Tahkim-e Vahdat, the umbrella group for Islamic student associations in Iran. He was tried and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court for his pro-democracy activities.

-Ahmad Batebi, BA in Social Sciences from Payam Noor University and former member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo'I (a secular student group). He was arrested during the July 1999 students protest and sentenced to death. His sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison.

- Farzad Hamidi, MD from Oroumieh University. Former student activist member of the Iran Demorcratic Front, he was arrested several times and spent three years in prison.

- Hamid Alizadeh, MD from Tehran University and former member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo'I (a secular student group). He was arrested during the July 1999 student protests and spent one year in prison.

- Kianoosh Sanjari, student of Art in Sama University of Sari and member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo'I (a secular student group). He was banned from university because of his pro-democracy activities. He was arrested 9 times and spent two years in prison.

- Koorosh Sehati, student of Agricultural Engineering and member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo'I (a secular student group). He was a student activist during the July 9, 1999 student demonstrations. He was banned from university and spent two years in prison for his pro-democracy activities.

-Manouchehr Mohammadi, student of Economy in Tehran University and Head of Ettehadieh Melli Daneshjooyan va Faregh ol Tahsilan (a secular student association). He was expelled from the university for his pro-democratic activities and arrested during the 1999 student protest and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He fled from prison after 8 years of incarceration.

******************************

As for you, President Obama, do not meet with Ahmadinejad. Stop apologizing to foreigners for America. Take a moment to ponder this question: "What would the world look like if America had never existed?"

You have an opportunity here to do something great, help the people of Iran. President Bush had Congress pass the Iranian Accountability Act. There is money in that account that was never spent, because it went to the State Dept. This is one more reason I hate the State Dept. It is NOT for the spread of condoms, it is for the spread of a repuclican form of government and freedom. They get to determine the final say as to how the government is run. The government is supposed to be by the people, for the people and responsive to the people. This is what we should be promoting.

Use this money in a way that these human rights groups and activists in Iran can unite against their evil regime. They will make sure there is no nuclear weapon, and they will become free, maybe even an ally. They hate those mullahs, the same ones you are going to try to appease. Please don't do a Jimmy Carter. You are making us appear weak. They cannot afford America's shame by us jimming up their evil dictator. Our country cannot afford it either! Thank you.

For my readers: I remember writing many letters and signing several more petitions to see these people released. Batebi is also an escaped prisoner. He managed to escape a few years ago.

I'm not asking you to sign any petitions. I'm not asking you to write any letters. I am asking you to open your eyes to understand that we could face an Iran with nuclear weapons or we could face an Iran that is peaceful. Probably even our ally. Yes, they do like America. That's the dirty little secret the press does not want you to know.

These people do not want us to invade their country. No. They just want the assistance so they may do this on their own in their own way. They want the life that you and I share. We are that shining light upon the hill. I'm asking you to care, pay attention, get educated. If you have any questions, e-mail me. I do what I can to help you. Thank you for your time.

Source: This letter was sent to me through a mutual friend, Winston.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Today I am having open trackbacks. This means you can post whatever you like (tasteful and edifying) here. Remember to link me back to your article so I can read it. If you fail to do this, I will delete your post. You don't have trackbacks available? Why not use Wizbang Stand Alone Trackback? Everyone have a nice day.

Friends I've shared this post with: The Pink Flamingo: Last Night It Snowed In Tombstone, Cao's Blog: Mid-Week Open Track Back Party, Democrat=Socialist: Job Creation Initiatives From Chairman Obama Administration, Woman Honor Thyself: Geert Wilders: Banned from the U.K., The World According to Carl: Godly Wisdom — February 11, 2009, Shadowscope: Where Is Haleigh Cummings?, Walls of the City: sensor ping LVII, and Stageleft: They Don’t Think, Really, They Don’t thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

These are posts written by some friends for you to enjoy.
1. Adam's Blog: Gregg Out over Faux Stimulus and Census.
2. Walls of the City: fire with fire.
3. The World According To Carl: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY.
4. Wingless: Octuplet Cases Raises Moral, Ethical Questions.
5. Walls of the City: another attack on privacy.

Cross-posted @ Talon, The Conservative Underground, SmartGirlPolitics and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 12 Feb 09

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Stephens Smith, 13 November 1787

Alas, I fear we have but a few good men left, and they are not in the government. They are either in our Military or have been and those of us who have read the Constitution and try to live by it. After all, it was patterned after the Bible. Now sip on that for a while!

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Baghdad Fish Market Reopens, Reviving Ancient Industry

by Maj. Dave Olson
MND-B PAO

FOBFALCON, Iraq (Feb. 11, 2009) – For thousands of years, fishermen near Ma Baynaa al-Nahreen, or “the Land Between the Two Rivers,” sold their catch to others to sustain their existence. Today, the Saydiyah Fish Market stands as a classic example of where Iraqi fishermen sell their wares to their neighbors from across Iraq.

Senior Multi-National Division - Baghdad leaders from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 9 with their Iraqi security forces partners to mark the re-opening of the market, which fell to disrepair during the war.

Muzhir Ali Salman, General Cooperative Union chairman, welcomed the attendees to the market’s compound along Cherry Street in southern Baghdad’s Saydiyah community. He thanked coalition forces for starting the project to rejuvenate the fish market and the commanders who worked on the project.

“This is the main fish market in all of Iraq, not just Baghdad,” he added.

The fishermen sell their fish wholesale to merchants from other Iraqi provinces as well as retail to the citizens of Baghdad.

“We thank coalition forces for their contribution to this project,” Brig. Gen. Faiswl Malikmhsen al-Talall, commander of the 2nd National Police Division’s 5th Brigade, said. “I appreciate the readiness of the people and their ideas to embrace progress.”

The fish market is important not only to Saydiyah, but also to the rest of the Iraqi capital, Sheik Abdulnazzaq, the Saydiyah Tribal Support Council chairman, said.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team’s embedded provincial reconstruction team displayed a tremendous effort in using the co-ops in Baghdad and the neighborhood councils to come up with this fantastic opportunity, Army Col. Ted Martin, the brigade’s commander, said.

“We are priming the pump to bring a better life back to the Cherry Street Market,” he said. “The only reason we can do a project like this is because of the increase in security in Saydiyah. It was a hot spot for insurgent activity, but now all the sects get along to live together peacefully.”

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq -- Muzhir Ali Salman, the General Cooperative Union chairman, presents a souvenir to Col. Ted Martin, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, during the Saydiyah Fish Market's ribbon-cutting ceremony, Feb. 9. "We are priming the pump to bring a better life back to the Cherry Street Market," said Martin, who hails from Jacksonville Beach, Fla. "The only reason we can do a project like this is because of the increase in security in Saydiyah. It was a hot spot for insurgent activity, but now all the sects get along to live together peacefully." (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Dave Olson, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B).

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Gov't Health 'Care' In Porkulus

I have been hearing about this, but I could not find the verification. Okay. I didn't look. Now someone has e-mailed it to me, and I would like to share it with you. Maybe this will motivatve you to call again and again until we get satisfaction and stop this drive-by bill.

******************************
Senate "Stimulus" Vote Slammed

Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie Suggests Lawmakers Remove Radical Aspects from Final Package

Washington, D.C. - Mychal Massie, chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network, is condemning the 61-36 vote to pass the so-called "stimulus" spending bill in the U.S. Senate.

With the bill now proceeding to a conference committee with a radically-different version already passed in the House of Representatives in January, Massie is suggesting the most controversial aspects should be removed before it is returned for final approval by both chambers.

"I submit that the urgency articulated by the Senate leadership and the Obama Administration is simply an attempt to have this egregious bill passed before its contents can be fully unearthed," said Project 21's Massie. "Despite the claim there are no earmarks in the bill, there are certainly enough pet projects that have been inserted into it by other means that many lawmakers are celebrating Christmas in February."

"As lawmakers convene to hammer out a final spending package," Massie suggested, "now is the time for cooler heads to prevail and for some of the more wasteful spending and partisan policies to be removed."

The Senate bill is estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to cost around $838 billion. The House version has an estimated cost of about $819 billion.

There are also new questions about language in the Senate bill that would require the medical records of all Americans to be centralized in a federal database. This database, defended as a means of streamlining treatment, would create a federal bureaucracy that might monitor and advise doctors on how they can treat individual patients.

In a commentary distributed by Bloomberg.com on February 9, former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey suggests the language comes from a plan outlined in a book written by disgraced former Health and Humans Service Secretary-designate Tom Daschle. Daschle wrote favorably about formulaic European health boards that ration health care. In his book, Daschle suggested slipping such a proposal into must-pass legislation because "[t]he issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol."

There is also concern that over $5 billion in Community Development Block Grants, the Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program and Neighborhood Stabilization Program in the Senate bill could eventually be funneled to questionable special interest groups such as ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) - a group implicated in voter fraud and the creation of the conditions that precipitated the mortgage crisis.

"There is every reason to believe this so-called stimulus is nothing more than thinly-veiled attempt to nationalize healthcare, fund special interest allies such as ACORN and shovel pork back to lawmakers home states," said Massie.

"It's surreal that this bill passed the same day Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner presented muddled, undefined plans for spending the rest of the bailout funds approved last year" Massie added. "The first stimulus bill did not work, and it is understood that another 'stimulus' will likely be needed after this one. How many more of these salacious abominations will it take before it's considered to be enough? How much more debt will we be saddled with in this vain attempt to make these unworkable solutions work?"

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or e-mail Project 21, or visit Project 21's website at www.project21.org.

******************************

Does this sound like something you want? Do you realize that other countries ration their health care? Do you know that when you get older, they deny you health care because you are going to die anyway and they don't want to foot the bill? Think about this. Very seriously, because it could happen to you...

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ The Conservative Underground, SmartGirlPolitics and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 11 Feb 09

"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."

--George Washington, The Rules of Civility, Circa 1748

You find any of that in Congress...

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

MachoSauceProductions And TheFairReporter's Videos

Today I have two great videos. The one I have by MachoSauce Productions is for us Right Wingin' Women, and the second one, by The Fair Reporter, is about the porkulus bill before the Senate closed down all debate. Women who already know of Zo (MachoSauce) and like him, this will be a treat. Men and women alike will enjoy the Fair Reporter. So go ahead, watch them and enjoy!

4:57 minutes

6:36 minutes

You may subscribe to these guys which will allow you to receive any new videos through your e-mail once a week. Here are their links: MachoSause Productions and The Fair Reporter. Thanks for watching.


May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Today I am having open trackbacks. This means you can post whatever you like (tasteful and edifying) here. Remember to link me back to your article so I can read it. If you fail to do this, I will delete your post. You don't have trackbacks available? Why not use Wizbang Stand Alone Trackback? Everyone have a nice day.

Friends I have shared this post with: DragonLady's World, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Wingless - American Teen Killed By Released Guantanamo Detainees, Political Byline, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, The Pink Flamingo, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Friends who've joined in this open trackback for your reading pleasure:
1. The World According Carl: 100,000 HITS!!!
2. The World According To Carl: Godly Wisdom — February 11, 2009.
3. Conservative Cat: Mark Kirk and the Magic Money.
4. Woman Honor Thyself: Valentines DaY Desserts..Yumma.
5. Stageleft:. Life on the left side: They Don’t Think, Really, They Don’t.

Cross-posted @ The Conservative Underground and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 10 Feb 09

"This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a ban of brethren, united to each other by the strongest of ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties."

--John Jay, Federalist No. 2

Precisely. There should not be any nationality-Americans, class warfare, or illegal aliens. Would someone please inform those idiots on Capitol Hill?

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Founders' Daily Quote: 9 Feb 09

"It is of great importance to set a resolution, not to be shaken, never to tell an untruth. There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible; and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good disposition."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, 19 August 1785

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

VFF Reports: Israel/Iraq/Afghanistan

The Vets For Freedom (VFF) have been quite busy, and they have released some news about their observations and activities. It is always informative when I hear from them, and I am only grateful that I have the ability to share this news with you.

VFF Senior Fellow Gabe Ledeen has just returned back from Israel and provided two dispatches from the Israel-Hamas conflict (war). The first article is from the New Majority (1/27/09): Sderot, Israel is Iraq Without the Body Armor and the second is in National Review Online (1/30/09): Be Not Afraid.

This next set of articles covers the successful elections in Iraq, quite a change, eh?! This article is in the National Review Online (2/3/09): Sunnis I-Rock the Vote. This next article is not so much an article as it is VFF's Chairman Pete Hegseth appearance on the Fox News Channel discussing the coverage of this news:

[If there is a problem, you may find this video at Capt. Pete Hegseth on Fox News.]

With Afghanistan now back in the news, VFF is planning to take a trip over there to get some 'on the ground' reporting. In the meantime, there are two news pieces that should be brought to your attention. The first one about Sen. Joe Lieberman: Turning the Tide in Afghanistan, Brookings Institute. The second article can be found in the Washington Post, 1/29/2009: The Afghan Challenge. It is a pretty good article, for a change. I guess it's no longer President George W. Bush' war? *heh*

You may have noticed that I'm writing this post a might late. This last bit of information has already passed by now, but it is still pertinent. The date of this e-mail is February 5th.

Lastly, this weekend I [Pete Hegseth] will have the honor of accompanying Senator John McCain, Senator Joe Lieberman, and other Congressional/DOD leaders on a trip to Munich, Germany for the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy.

Vice-President Joe Biden will also be there, along with National Security Advisor James Jones. The future of U.S. and NATO policy in Afghanistan will be tops on the agenda, and I look forward to getting a first-hand look at our new administration’s approach on the world stage.

Move out and draw fire!

Keep turned for more information that the media thinks is too complicated for your little minds or they just have no desire to cover. (Who's mind is little now? lol) If you would like, you may read their updates at Vets For Freedom anytime you like. They accept donations. I donate monthly, and I'm poor. Do you think you may be able to spare a couple of dollars? All the work they do is only because they have the backing and support of people such as you and me. Thank you, and God bless your families and you.

Last, but certainly not least, please pray for our Armed Forces and Coalition Forces. Also, pray for their families. They are the ones usually hit the hardest, and the rest of the world seems to forget about them.

The wives, the Mothers, the children, the husbands. Pray for them to have the strength to stay together, to endure, to hold their heads up high. Pray for our men and women in the services to be strong, protected from harm, and to have wisdom when it is necessary. Sometimes I even pray that they're bullet-proof. It works!

Use your own heart-felt words, just don't forget to include them in your prayers. I know it's been a while and you may be tired, but they cannot go to sleep whilst protecting our Liberty. It is the very minimal we can, should, do. God bless!

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Today I am having open trackbacks. This means you can post whatever you like (tasteful and edifying) here. Remember to link me back to your article so I can read it. If you fail to do this, I will delete your post. You don't have trackbacks available? Why not use Wizbang Stand Alone Trackback? Everyone have a nice day.

Friends who've shared their posts with you for your reading pleasure:
1. The World According To Carl: Uncle Jay Explains The News — February 9, 2009.
2. third world county: Innumeracy.
3. Adam's Blog: Slouching Towards Serfdom.

Cross-posted @ Talon TCU Nation, SmartGirlsPolitics and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Remember The USS Cole; Remember My Son

I have been writing about the Islam fascists for many years now, but I believe this Mother carries a message better than I am able. Listen to her words, try to understand the betrayal she is enduring, and then decide which side of the issue (as if there is a side) you belong.

Cavuto - Cole Victim's Mother Declines Obama Invitation.

God bless you, Diane, for your sacrifice to our country. I pray this embarrassing decision is corrected pronto. Be strong, you are not alone.

Hat tip: Nuke's.

Seventeen US Sailors were murdered in that bombing.
Picture courtesy of Little Green Footballs.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Talon, TCU Nation, SmartGirlPolitics and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

My God Is Not Shy

My God is not shy
He calls me by name
He calls me to do His Good will.

My God is not shy
He removes my great shame
And He causes my heart to be still.

Long enough for His teachings
Of His Son our great Saviour
Then commands to go spread His Good Word.

He's Alive! And He's not shy
He'll fill your heart and make it pure
Hallelujah my Savior, my God is not shy.
******************************
He lived and He loved
He taught of His Father above
When cruxified He arose from the grave
On day 3 as the Scriptures revealed.

I shall boldly proclaim
To all who'll give ear
That Jesus Christ is Lord over all!

Come judgement day
When Jesus appears
He'll gathers His sheep by name.

They'll know His voice
Ready they'll be
To join Him in Peace for Eternity

Until that day
I shall shall boldly proclaim
That Jesus Christ is Lord over all.

Hallelujah my Savior, my God is not shy!

"Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord." ;)

PS. If this seems like a discombobulated poem, that is because it is. I am cleaning up my paperwork, and I found this. I did not want to throw it away, so I put it here. Apparently when I first began writing it, I decided I wanted to go in a different direction. It is written on an envelope, and I found the other half on the other side of the envelope. You know us writers. When it comes to us, we just have to write it down right then or we lose it. This is one that got away from but tried to reclaim. Ho hum. I still believe every word. ;)

Have a great weekend!

PSS. It is a song. If anyone wants to put it to music, go ahead. Just please send me a copy. ;)

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

I am sharing this post with Tidbits and Treasures: Dementia In Washington DC, Political Byline: India Warns That Obama Is Barking Up The Wrong Tree When It Comes To Kashmir, third world county: Here’s the Attitude We Need in Our Politicians, Nuke Gingrich: Remember The Cole, Woman Honor Thyself: England is a Muslim Country: Get Used to it BritS, The World According To Carl: Open Trackback Friday — February 6, 2009, DragonLady's World:
An All-American Southern Geek’s View, The Pink Flamingo: Kilmer Candidacy Hits AP Going Viral, Democrat=Socialist: Obama Just Told On Himself, and Conservative Cat, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Cross-posted @ TCU Nation, SmartGirlPolitics, Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Afghanistan Troop Buildup A 'Delicate Endeavor'

by Gerry Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (Jan. 29, 2009) – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to present the Pentagon’s proposal for a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan to President Barack Obama in the near future, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday. “I think everybody’s committed to doing this as quickly and responsibly as possible,” Morrell told Pentagon reporters. “In the coming days, the secretary hopes to present the president with his recommendation.”

Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, who commands U.S. forces in Afghanistan as well as NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, has asked his bosses for a 30,000-troop increase, which effectively would double the U.S. military contingent in Afghanistan.

Gates and other senior civilian and military officials at the Pentagon have said they believe it is necessary to send more troops to Afghanistan to suppress resurgent Taliban fighters and al-Qaida terrorists.

The White House is reviewing U.S. strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Morrell said. Any U.S. troop increase for Afghanistan, he said, needs the approval of the new commander in chief.

Increased violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan threatens global security and constitutes “the central front in our enduring struggle against terrorism,” Obama said during a Jan. 22 visit to the State Department. Obama also is studying several options presented to him by Pentagon officials for a drawdown of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

During his Jan. 27 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates said if Obama approves the Afghanistan troop increase, that most of those extra forces could be provided to McKiernan by midsummer.

Gates is mindful of the balancing of risk regarding U.S. troop strength in Iraq and Afghanistan, Morrell said, noting that the Iraq drawdown affects the numbers of additional troops available for deployment to Afghanistan. Additionally, any increase of combat troops for Afghanistan, Morrell said, would require additional support forces as well. “It’s a delicate plus-up, because you’ve got to do it commensurate to the infrastructure that exists” in austere Afghanistan, Morrell said.

Sgt. Brian Morris, a mortarman with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment (Reinforced), shovels dirt into dirt-filled protective barriers on a combat outpost during Operation Gateway III in the Farah province of Afghanistan Jan. 6, 2009. 3/8 is the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Afghanistan.

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ NCU Nation, and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 6 Feb 09

"Strive to be the greatest man in your country, and you may be disappointed. Strive to be the best and you may succeed: he may well win the race that runs by himself."

--Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1746

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Leaders Congratulate Iraqi People After Safe Elections

by John Valceanu
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (Feb. 1, 2009) – Senior military officials congratulated the Iraqi people for holding provincial elections yesterday, praising the Iraqi and U.S. forces that helped make the elections safe.

More than 14,400 candidates competed for 440 seats in 14 of 18 Iraqi provinces. Though five candidates were reported killed in the campaign leading up to the polls, there were no reports of deaths or major violence on the day of the elections.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, issued a statement yesterday in which he applauded the work of everyone involved in the effort to have a successful election. “Congratulations to the Iraqi Government, the Iraqi Security Forces, the Iraqi people, the United Nations, the international observers, and Coalition elements for their concerted efforts in making today’s provincial elections an event of which all Iraqis should be proud and an effort the world should applaud,” Petraeus said.

The “elections are a cause for celebration as we salute the millions of Iraqi citizens who took to the streets to exercise their fundamental right to self-determination, said Petraeus, who commanded Multinational Force Iraq before assuming his current position.

“As we honor the courage and resolve of the Iraqi people who walked miles to a polling station and braved long lines and security concerns, I know that I can speak for all those who have been privileged to work with our Iraqi partners in the ‘Land of the Two Rivers’ in saying to the people of Iraq: ‘Mabruk,’” Petraeus said, using the Iraqi word for congratulations.

Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, current Multinational Force Iraq commander, also congratulated the Iraqis in a joint statement he issued with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. “The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the Multi-National Force – Iraq congratulate the Iraqi people on holding provincial elections today,” Odierno and Crocker said. “Voter turnout was large. Iraqi security forces successfully protected millions of Iraqis and enabled them to express their opinions freely in fourteen of Iraq’s governorates.”

Odierno and Crocker lauded the Iraqi government for their handling of the elections. “We congratulate the Iraqi authorities, their security forces and the Iraqi election commission for their careful preparation and administration of these elections,” Odierno and Crocker said.

The general and the ambassador also recognized the historic nature of this election. “These elections mark a significant milestone for the people of Iraq, and are a major step forward in Iraq’s democratic development,” they said.

Two Iraqi Police officers display purple-stained fingers, signifying that they participated in Saturday's provincial elections.

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ TCU Nation, SmartGirlPolitics and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 5 Feb 09

"Wish not so much to live long as to live well."

--Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1746

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

ROLL CALL: Veterans/Active Duty Forces

Today a friend of mine has started an Roll Call for all Veterans and Active Duty Service members so that we can honor them on her site. I think this is a tremendous idea! The site is The US Honorable Troops and the link to the Roll Call is Roll Call for Veterans and/or Members of Our Armed Forces.

Please come over and give thanks to those who have sacrificed so much so that we may remain free. All service members, please add your name, rank, and anything else you want. We are very gratiful to you, and we are also very proud of you. You are the best of America! (That does not mean that others cannot be great, don't get me started, okay?)

This group is one that I am a member of, and it is part of TCU Nation, otherwise known as The Conservative Underground. We are trying to build our numbers so as to overcome moveon.org and elect the people we feel would do a much better job than the squishy RINO's that are in the senate and the house right now. These sites somehow are the same one, they just have different names. How did that happen? I cannot explain it, I just know it works. lol.

Another site which I am a member of which is more for activists is Top Conservatives On Twitter. This one is more for our activists. If you are on Twitter, please come over and register free. There are many things we can do to keep this country from going totally nuts, and this must be done. You can help, and now is the time.

You've asked if there were anything you could do to help our Vets? This. We owe it to them to keep our country free on the homefront while they are fighting for our freedom doing the heavy lifting. Don't ya think doing whatever we can is worth it? Thought so. ;)

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Talon TCU Nation SGP Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote: 4 Feb 09

The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE. The streams of national power ought to flow from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority."

--Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 22, 14 December 1787

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Founders' Daily Quote: 3 Feb 09

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Kercheval, 12 July 1816

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

'Nuf said. Now let's do. There is a site called Congress Whip where we can find out which senators are leaning toward voting for/against this monstrous 'non-stimulus' bill that President Obama and the house are trying to pass. Now that it has gone to the Senate, it is getting worse with MORE pork! Go to this site, call these senators, find out POLITELY which way they plan on voting, and report back for the rest of to know. It would be much appreciated. Have a great day.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

Founders' Daily Quote: 2 Feb 09

"All Men being naturally equal, as descended from a common Parent, enbued with like Faculties and Propensities, having originally equal Rights and Properties, the Earth being given to the Children of Men in general, without any difference, distinction, natural Preheminence, or Dominion of one over another, yet Men not being equally industrious and frugal, their Properties and Enjoyments would be unequal."

--Abraham Williams An Election Sermon, 1762

Source: PatriotPost.us - Subscribe here.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary's News and Ideas.

FBI Cuts Ties With CAIR

There is some rather disturbing news breaking about the organization 'CAIR' (that is, if you haven't been following their attempts to put a stranglehold on our legal system and our Republic), and the FBI has determined to cut their ties with them. The national organization must explain some of their disturbing ties with the organization of Ham-ass and the Muslim Brotherhood - both terrorists groups as listed with our State Dept.

Who are the Muslim Brotherhood? These are the jihadis from which all terrorists stem. You will also find that Ham-ass is also tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Ham-ass also has ties to CAIR.

This is the most important thing you need to know. They are setting up shop in America, and they want to destroy us from within. Oh, you've known this for a long time? Well, many of us have, but some people do not. It is to them I would like to share this evidence. You may use it also.

Here is what was found in the transcripts of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial concerning the Muslim Brotherhood:

"In order for Islam and its Movement to become 'a part of the homeland' in which it lives, 'stable' in its land, 'rooted' in the spirits and minds of its people, 'enabled' in the lives of its society and has firmly established 'organizations' on which the Islamic structure is built and with which the testimony of civilization is achieved, the Movement must plan and struggle to obtain 'the keys' and the tools of this process in carry out this grand mission as a 'Civilization Jihadist' responsibility which lies on the shoulders of Muslims and - on top of them - the Muslim Brotherhood in this country..."

I want you to pay close attention to the term, 'Civilization Jihad'. Also note, they are in this country as I write this. This next quote is the meat of the issue (emphasis mine):

"The process of settlement is a 'Civilization-Jihadist Process' with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in elimiating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is elimated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who chose to slack. But, would the slackers and the Mujahedeen be equal."

"As for the role of the Ikhwan, it is the initiative, pioneering, leadership, raising the banner and pushing people in that direction. They are then to work to employ, direct and unify Muslims’ efforts and powers for this process. In order to do that, we must possess a mastery of the art of 'coalitions', the art of 'absorption' and the principles of 'cooperation'."

The FBI would still like to have a relationship with local Muslims, but they need to clear up things with the unindicted-coconspiritors to the HLF, CAIR. We must stop them. I see no way for them to ever come to any understanding about the overthrow of our government. I really do not.

You may read better and more detailed information about this at FBI Cuts Off CAIR Over Hamas Questions by Mary Jacoby and The Importance of the FBI's CAIR Cut Off by Douglas Farah.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

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Here are some interesting posts for your reading pleasure:
1. Rosemary's News and Ideas: FBI Cuts Ties With CAIR.
2. Adam's Blog: Man of Steele Shows Some Spine.
3. Third World County: Hoist Him by His Own Petard.
4. Woman Honor Thyself: Barak Obama Mania: Is there a CurE?
5. Woman Honor Thyself: Salsa at 80!
6. Wingless: American Teen Killed By Released Guantanamo Detainees.

Cross-posted @ Talon, TCU Nation, SGP and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg!