Bush Blast With Both Barrels

President Bush is a master at lower expectations and sandbagging his opponents. Many times persons like me find ourselves criticizing him for not fighting back, only to find out later he was letting his opponents climb further out on the limb before he starts the cutting. Well, he's at it again with this blistering speech at a funder raiser in Alabama yesterday. A little taste:

Some Democrats in Congress say that we should not be fighting the terrorists in Iraq; it was a mistake to go into Iraq in the first place. I believe these Democrats need to answer a simple question: Do they really believe that we would be better off if Saddam Hussein were still in power? In a recent interview, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee was asked this very question. And his answer was, yes, yes, and, yes.

If this is what the Democrats think, they need to make this case to the American people: They need to make the case that the world would be better off it Saddam Hussein were still in power.

[snip]

After the attacks of September the 11th, it became clear that the United States of America must confront threats before they come and hurt us. Saddam Hussein's regime was a serious threat, a risk the world could not afford to take. America, Iraqis, and the world are safer because Saddam Hussein is not in power. (Applause.)

In a recent series of speeches, I made it clear that we're in the early hours of a long struggle for civilization. I have made it clear that we're in the ideological struggle of the 21st century. I've also made it clear that the safety of the American people depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad.

I strongly believe that Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. The Democrats may not think so, but Osama bin Laden does. Here are the words of bin Laden, "I now address... the whole... Islamic nation: Listen and understand... The most... serious issue today for the whole world is this Third World War... [that] is raging in [Iraq]." He calls it "a war of destiny between infidelity and Islam." He says, "The whole world is watching this war," and that it will end in "victory and glory or misery and humiliation."

For al Qaeda, Iraq is not a distraction from their war on America, it is a central battlefield where there's -- outcome of the struggle will be decided.

The NIE I quoted earlier says this about Iraq. It said, "Perceived jihadist success there," in Iraq, "would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere. It also says that "Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight."

Democrats in Washington have been quoting the NIE a lot in recent days, but you don't hear them quoting that part of the document. The Democrats can't have it both ways. Either they believe that Iraq is a distraction from the war on terror or they agree with the intelligence community and the terrorists themselves that the outcome of Iraq is important in the war on terror. Truth is, the Democrats are using the NIE to mislead the American people and justify their policy of withdrawal from Iraq.

[snip]

The stakes in this war are high, and so are the stakes this November. Americans face the choice between two parties with two different attitudes on this war on terror. Five years after 9/11, the worst attack on American homeland in our history, the Democrats offer nothing but criticism and obstruction, and endless second-guessing. The party of FDR and the party of Harry Truman has become the party of cut-and-run. (Applause.)

That last part will have Democrats in full purple-face rage. More Mr. President, please.

Dems, Follow These Men

Senators Leahy, Kerry, Feingold, and Dodd, that is. They're up in arms over the terrorist detainee legislation which passed the House yesterday and is now before the Senate. Nothing would be better for the Republicans than for the Democrats to get behind these Senators in their quest for bestowing the right of habeus corpus upon terrorist being held at Club Gitmo. Liberals cheered when the Supreme Court ruled the military tribunals proposed by the Bush Administration unconstitutional. Now, though, they have to deal with the reality of coming up with a solution themselves. Gee, things get a little harder when you actually have to come up with ideas as opposed to just heaping non-stop criticism.

That's My Niece!

This is an article about my niece, Laura. She helped pass a law in New Jersey that allows students to opt out of dissecting animals, without penalty, as required in some classes. Apparently there are other methods that can be substituted. Good for her. Towards the end of the article you learn she's working to start a Young Republicans Club. Brains, looks, personality, Republican! Oh, sorry, a button just bounced off my screen. And by the way, big brother is a Marine. A big thumbs-up to my sister, Karen.

Ahhh, Is That It?

Now that portions of the NIE have been declassified and we get to see the key conclusions, we can make a few conclusions for ourselves.

First, if this is representative of what the intelligence community is generating, we're in big trouble. There is absolutely nothing of substance in the document. A lot of "if's" and "maybe's" and nothing more. Second, it is clear that the information leaked to the New York Times was cherry picked to put the Administration in the worst possible light and the New Yorks Times ate it up without a single critical thought. The New York Times has abandoned any pretence of objectivity and is nothing more than an extension of the Democrat Party and should be viewed as such. And lastly, the Democrats have once again demonstrated they can not to be taken seriously when it comes to fighting the War on Terror (a phrase which I despise by the way.)

In the end, this is a big todo about nothing. The report is from April, tells us nothing new (other than our intelligence agencies remain inept,) and within a week will be forgotten. Next.

UPDATE: I forgot to add that with the Democrats demanding the President Bush release the NIE in it's entirety, it proves they don't like the results of Bush calling their bluff. They know perfectly well that the President won't declassify the document, so now they can run around blabbing about how the President isn't being honest with the American people. They're not serious about this, they simply want cover for the fecklessness.

Stepping In It

The Democrats are going to regret jumping on the leaked information from the NEI. Now that President Bush has order it's declassification we will get the complete picture. This was nothing more than a political hit job by President Bush's enemies within the intelligence community.

Nancy Pelosi's request for a rare closed-door secret session to discuss the analysis is a sure sign of panic. In their zeal to denounce Bush and the Iraq War they once again put their complete unseriousness and pure partisanship regarding the War on Terrorism on display for everyone to see. They simply are not serious and cannot be trusted with the defense of the this country.

Now, let's get to bottom of who continues to leak classified information to the The New York Times and start prosecuting theses people to the fullest extent of the law.

Fighting Enemies Makes Them Mad

This just in, fighting your enemies makes them mad. Much is being made of the latest National Intelligence Estimate in which it states that our invasion of Iraq has help create more terrorists. Let's put aside the fact that, once again, classified information is being leaked in an effort to undermine the Bush Administration, and look at the logic of the Democrats criticism. I think Neal Bortz has the perfect analogy. He ask us to think about the Civil Rights movement and about how that helped recruitment for the Klan. Does that mean that it was wrong? Of course not, and it doesn't make any more sense in the case of Iraq.

Islamists had been gaining momentum from the time of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Iran through the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole and ultimately 9/11. The latest National Intelligence Estimate appears to view terrorism as a threat that began with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, ignoring the history of the Islamist movement. Judging by the reactions of the Democrats, they want to go back to what we were doing on September 10th, 2001 -- nothing.

The Wagging Finger

When was the last time I saw Bill Clinton wagging his finger in indignation? Hmmm... Oh, yeah, when he was lying through his teeth to the American people about the whole sordid Lewenski affair. Now he's wagging it again complaing about the "right wingers" criticism of his less than agressive approach to capturing or killing Osama.

Look, nobody took terrorism seriously enough from Jimmy Carter through George W. Bush's first eight months in office. Mistakes were made and the threat was underestimated. Frankly, I don't really care much about pointing the finger of blame as much as I care about making sure we don't make those same mistakes again. Clintons outrage, much the same as his protest concerning the ABC miniseries Path to 9/11, does nothing more than draw attention to his abysmal record on fighting terrorism during his eight years in office. By attempting to rewrite history in an effort to salvage his "legacy," he's only undermining himself.

Mr. President, my advice to you concerning this matter is to follow the words of the immortable Sergeant Hulka, "Lighten up Francis."

Osama Dead... Again

Here we go with another report that Osama bin Laden is dead. Of course nobody believes these reports anymore when they come out. I almost convinced myself that he was dead up to the 2004 election, but when he reappeared just before the election I learned my lesson.

It's curious that this news comes out a few weeks before a new rumored video message from Osama is to appear. This has to do with the chatter that another, spectacular, attack is to occur sometime during Ramadan of this year. We shall see within the next few weeks.

Personally I'd like nothing better for this rat bastard to die of typhoid in some dark, damp, cave, in the hills of Pakistan. Nothing would be better than to deny him the supposed glory of having died as a martyr.

Kos Speaks on Chavez

Well, Kos has finally commented on the Chavez kerfuffle (TM James Taranto) and has this to say: Move along, nothing to see here. The Anchoress is not amused and takes the Democrats and their Kos minions to task for enabling such nonsense:

There are some on the left who are suggesting that Hugo Chavez’s remarks are simply an indicator that the world “disrespects” President Bush…well…I wonder who gave them the idea that they could? Was it John Kerry calling him a “fucking liar,” and not having to answer for that rudeness to anyone while the press shrugged it off? Good heavens, Bush calls terrorism “evil” and he was mocked and criticized for using that word, but the press never had a problem with “fucking liar, fucking crooks and thieves” or with adolescent musings about the president’s name and female genitalia. It was alllllll soooooo funnnnneeeeeee, newsreaders could hardly deliver the spite without grinning, themselves.

Please read the whole thing, she's on fire.

Saying Goodbye to the F-14

The F-14 Tomcat is now officially retired. Growing up, I always loved the F-14. It was just a cool looking aircraft: twin engines, swept wings, huge ordnance capability. It was one bad mother. Of course it became immortalized in the movie Topgun, where everybody learned about fighter pilot culture and became familiar with cool call names such as Maverick, Iceman, and Goose.

It was one great plane that served it's country well. Thanks to the F-14 and all of the pilots it's served throughout the years.

(via The Corner)

Cartoon of the Day

I got a kick out of this cartoon (via RealClearPolitics). While I do give credit to Reps Rangel and Pelosi for calling out Chavez, I get the feeling they're doing it more out of political expediency than authentic outrage. It certainly isn't helping them with their Netroots though. They made their bed by cozying up to the fringe, now they have to sleep in it.

Chavez for Prez!

After listening to Hugo Chavez at the UN yesterday, I thought perhaps he was running for the Presidential nomination on the Democrat ticket. I mean, he was feeding them the red meat they so desire. He doesn't mince words, speaks truth to power, hates George W. Bush, and is a socialist - their perfect candidate!

But, now I see the responses coming in and it looks like even the Dems are not that dense. Even Charlie Rangle is defending the Prez for crying out loud! The only bulb dim enough to defend Chavez appears to be Sen. Harkin of Iowa (link down) which really isn't much of a surprise. There aren't many Senators more partisan than Harkin and he doesn't disappoint here.

Hugo Chavez did President Bush and John Bolton a great service yesterday, he exposed the UN as the worthless anti-American organization it is. Thanks Hugo! I'd also like to note that there is nary a word over and DailyKos about this embarassing episode for their beloved UN, there too busy continuing to try and paint Senator George Allen as a racist.

Oh, and by the way, Citgo is owned by Hugo Chavez. You may want to take that into consideration next time you fillup.

P.S. Chavez is the gift that just keeps giving. Here is Chavez this morning while touring Harlem:

Speaking while walking in a Harlem street, Chavez told a group of passers-by: "Bush is an alcoholic, a sick man with a lot of hang-ups."

"He walks like John Wayne," declared the left-wing Venezuelan leader. "He doesn't know anything about politics, he got there because of Daddy."

This is straight out of the Dem talking points. By all means Mr. Chavez, please continue on...

Blogging Continues

OK, it's been way too long since my last entry. With the election rapidly approaching I'm going to make another effort with this thing. Having said that, now that football season has started, isn't it about time you starting blogging as well, Jim?