Hunters, Killers, and Losers (Not Necessarily in That Order)

Chris Muir, of Day By Day fame, writes of his trip to Iraq (at Bill Roggio’s place):

People here will tell you they are mostly afraid of one thing-that we will leave soon, like we have since Vietnam, Somalia, etc., and that they will then be at the mercy of the terrorists who seep in from Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Saudia Arabia. A self-fulfilling circle, helped out vastly by our 'anti-war' citizens back home, who ironically enable wars as this by forcing constant US retreats through our political process. People here - real people, not 'Jamil Husseins' - want us here to give them time to reform their society.

I speculate this is one of the reasons I observed such high morale in our soldiers here. They are wanted here, unlike, say, in San Francisco. But, I digress.

“…unlike, say, in San Francisco.” Nice snark! The piece is short, but good. (h/t: Chap)

Gerard sez all there is to say about this lil news item:

Headline of the Democrats' hot new press release: SENATE DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCE JOINT RESOLUTION TO TRANSITION THE MISSION IN IRAQ

"Transition the mission." Has a nice lilt to it, doesn't it?

Beats "Let's cruise to lose," or "We'll pout until you pull out," or "Trick or treat... smell my feet... give me something good to eat."

Yes, this is probably number 13, or 14, or 15, or 16 in the Dems attempts to run without running, but at this point who is counting. Their attempts to fully manage failure will continue. As they say in the National Parks, "Once a bear gets hooked on garbage there's no cure."

Actually, this is SenConLosePlan 07-17, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: There's 16 of them. There was the Biden resolution, then there was the Levin resolution, then there was the Reed-Pelosi resolution, the Murtha plan, the Biden-Levin resolution, the Conrad Funding Cut, there was a waiver plan, a Timeline plan, a Feingold resolution, an Obama resolution, a Clinton resolution, a Dodd resolution, a Kennedy resolution, a Feinstein resolution, a Byrd resolution, a Kerry resolution. And today would make No. 17.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

From last evening’s panel discussion on the subject by the Fox All-Stars; transcript here. (via RCP)

My Lord, but Congress seems to have more OpPlan specialists than the Pentagon. And they’re busy as all get-out (ahem), too!

More on that IRGC general who apparently defected to the West:

A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official.

Ali Rez Asgari disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey. Iranian officials suggested yesterday that he may have been kidnapped by Israel or the United States. The U.S. official said Asgari is willingly cooperating. He did not divulge Asgari's whereabouts or specify who is questioning him, but made clear that the information Asgari is offering is fully available to U.S. intelligence.

But then there’s this short blurb from Fox:

TEHRAN, Iran — A former Iranian deputy defense minister who disappeared from Turkey last month is not cooperating with Western intelligence agencies and his whereabouts remain a mystery, a U.S. official told FOX News Thursday.

My money’s on the WaPo’s story. Other sources agree.

NPR has a good interview with Col. Austin Bay: 'Embrace the Suck' and More Military Speak. I learned more than a lil bit from this article. Slang isn’t permanent; it evolves and changes according to time and place. And my “time and place” in the military is in the distant past, so much so that it almost seems pre-historic, at times. I’m a lil bit better after reading Col. Bay’s update.

Good news in today’s Telegraph (UK)…if true:

America is stepping up its hunt for Osama bin Laden by dispatching additional CIA operatives and paramilitary officers to Pakistan to kill or capture the al-Qa'eda leader.

US officials said that the mission is intended to intensify the pressure on the terrorist leader, who turns 50 tomorrow, and perhaps force him into making a mistake. He is widely believed to be hiding in the region bordering Afghanistan.

Satellite photographs and details of communications intercepts were given to President Musharraf of Pakistan last week by Stephen Kappes, deputy director of the CIA, as part of a strategy to persuade him to give US intelligence agencies more assistance.

Now wouldn’t it be neat if uninvited guests showed up at Osama’s birthday party tomorrow and provided free fireworks for the occasion?

“Idiot Liberals:”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) berated a woman who approached him in a Congressional corridor, claiming that “idiot liberals” don’t understand the war supplemental spending bill process.

The altercation was videotaped and posted on www.youtube.com .

“We’re trying to use the supplemental to end the war,” Obey said. “You can’t end the war if you’re going against the supplemental. It’s time these idiot liberals understood that.”

Well, now. That’s just a bit strong, nu? But not, perhaps, as strong as this (a comment to this post, and there’s more in the same incredibly stupid vein):

Stop defending these (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Che's Lounge on Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 10:32:38 AM EST

PRICKS!!!

Don't end this war by a thousand cuts, END THIS WAR NOW!!

Stop enabling the enablers. Obey's logic is as twisted as a strand of DNA.

Stop the war there, so we don't start a war here.

“…start a war here?” WTF does that mean? Or is this comment simply justification for Rep. Obey’s rather pithy observation? You decide…

Today’s Pic: SN3 on the bridge of USS Mason. Alternative title: “Deep in Enemy Territory.” The Boy’s affinity for all things Navy is simply alarming.

Port Canaveral, FL. April, 2003.