Europe - The New Terror Front? What I said to the BBC.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge On occasion, I am a guest on the BBC program World Have Your Say and yesterday the topic was Michael Chertoff's statements about how Europe was the next platform for terrorists. Chertoff wants the EU to adopt America's Patriot Act and other civil right stripping laws and programs. Suffice it to say, Europe is cheesed-off. The question put to the guests was "Should Americans be afraid of Europe?" My response was "no." I think, and most guests agreed, Europe isn't the problem, the Bush Administration is. Chances are I will go my entire life without ever meeting someone from Al Qaeda, however there is a big chance I will be confronted by someone from MS13 - a street gang primarily populated by Hispanics. During the last month in North Carolina there have been four murders by MS13 members for their ritualized initiations. Their modus operandi is to approach an random bystander and ask them for directions, then shoot them in the face. MS13 is not the only criminal street gang operating in America - we still have the Crips, the Bloods, and the White Aryan Resistance. Scholars have published study after study pointing to crime being an intersection of poverty and lack of education opportunity. You solve these two things with social programs, not with a War on Drugs or a War on Terror. MS13, the KKK and Al Qaeda are all progenies of the same problem. However, that problem is not Europe.

What happened to Al Qaeda in Baghdad?

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeGo read this full bore, 100% Bingo article by Kossack, Brandon Friedman. From the diary... As U.S. casualties have continued to drop, many people on the anti-Bush side of the aisle have begun to quietly panic in recent days over this question: "Could George W. Bush and Frederick Kagan have possibly been right about the surge?" Simply put, the answer is no. The surge is not working and George W. Bush and Frederick Kagan were not right. Despite what right-wing blogs are saying, and despite what conservative observers are noting, the plunge in violence is actually the result of an Iraqi political decision made by and implemented by Iraqis—and the drop has little to do with the "surge"—an infusion of 30,000 troops (which wouldn’t fill a Major League stadium) into Baghdad, a city of six million people. What’s happening is really simple—and it’s happening in plain sight, in the traditional media. But it just so happens that, as far as I can tell, no one is connecting the dots. As Friedman points out, The Madhi Army went into a state of cease fire and the violence greatly retracted. Here is my question, where is Al Qaeda? We have been told for months about Al Qaeda being in Iraq and Bush Administration has been trumpeting Al Qaeda as a reason for extending the war in Iraq. Following that line of questioning, where are the Iranian elements? You know, the Iranians that have flooded Baghdad over the years with the sole purposes to kill Americans? What happened to them? Maybe the Iranians and Al Qaeda weren't there to begin with? Maybe this really was a civil war? It isn't the first time Bush claimed something was in Iraq and it turned out it wasn't there. Anyone remember the weapons of mass destruction?

Neil Diamond is Bad For America!

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane & My Left Wing click to enlarge Not really, but since Hillary has a theme song now, I guess Al Qaeda probably has one also. I wonder if it played for their graduation ceremonies? A video showing about 300 men and boys as young as 12 at an Al Qaeda training camp is creating fears, ABC News says, that suicide missions are being deployed to Canada and other countries. But such fears were met with caution and skepticism yesterday by security officials and analysts. "Of course it's a concern," Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day told reporters of the video aired Monday on ABC News. "We've always said that Canada is not immune to threats of terrorism." The video showed a graduation ceremony for a training camp for Afghanistan's Taliban movement, ABC News said. The recruits were organized in four "teams" to be deployed on supposed suicide missions in Canada, the United States, Germany and Great Britain. "These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places," Taliban military commander Mansoor Dadullah said to the crowd. "Why shouldn't we go after them?" The footage is said to have been shot by a Pakistani journalist invited to the event somewhere in the Afghan-Pakistan border region June 9. ABC’s Brian Ross broke an exclusive story Monday and the rest of the media has paid scant attention. They also don't pay much attention to Neil Diamond. Coincidence? You decide.

The Unholy Triangle: George Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and al Qaeda

The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal as well as crossposted at The Peace Tree and Worldwide Sawdust. Foreign Affairs published a sobering article by Bruce Riedel in their May/June issue entitled, “al Qaeda Strikes Back.” Riedel, a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution retired last year after 29 years with the CIA. Essentially, Riedel outlines al Qaeda’s resurgence while the Bush Administration has undermined our geopolitical position with their foolish war in Iraq. Hardly a dove, Riedel believes it is essential to our national security for al Qaeda to be “decapitated.” I agree with him. al Qaeda is a clear and present danger as a manifestation of radical Islam. Among the failings of the Bush Administration is how their incessant fear mongering has jaded Americans about the very real dangers of terrorism that still exist. What’s required is tough minded, realistic leadership that neither exaggerates dangers for political gain nor ignores threats as President Bush did in August 2001. The last thing this country should do is hand our enemies what they want: war with Iran. Riedel issues the following warning: “The biggest danger is that al Qaeda will deliberately provoke a war with a ‘false-flag’ operation, say, a terrorist attack carried out in a way that would make it appear as though it were Iran's doing. The United States should be extremely wary of such deception. In the event of an attack, accurately assigning blame will require very careful intelligence work. It may require months, or even years, of patient investigating to identify the plotters behind well-planned and well-executed operations, as it did for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1996 attacks on the U.S. barracks at the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were wise to be patient in both those cases; Washington would be well advised to do the same in the event of a similar attack in the future. In the meantime, it should, of course, continue do its utmost to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and from fomenting violence and terrorism in the Middle East by using tough diplomacy and targeted sanctions. And it should not consider a military operation against Iran, as doing so would only strengthen al Qaeda's hand -- much as the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq have.” I have a different take on Riedel’s warning. To be blunt, the Bush Administration will not be “deceived” by a “false flag” from al Qaeda. Rather, Bush and Cheney are hoping for a pretext to avoid a humiliating withdrawal from Iraq. With Republicans ready to jettison the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy in September, a war with Iran would be quite timely and convenient. Another false flag may be weapons smuggling into Iraq through Iran by operatives sympathetic to al Qaeda. Either way it is important to remember the antipathy that exists between Iran and al Qaeda. Iran has sponsored al Qaeda’s rival Hezbollah in Lebanon. After 9/11, Iran cooperated with Washington against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan out of their strategic self-interest. They view al Qaeda as a threat to their hegemony as well potential catalysts to instability on their borders. Tragically, the world is at the mercy of an unholy triangle as the motivations of Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Bush Administration and al Qaeda are converging. Ahmandinejad is besieged with problems. He’s terrified of dissent as domestic dissatisfaction with his regime intensifies. A war with the “Great Satan” would be a welcome distraction, as Iranians will surely rally to him if attacked. al Qaeda of course thrives on instability, chaos and any act that reinforces America’s image as an imperialist at war with the Islamic people. They’re laying in the high weeds to capitalize on instability in Gaza and Lebanon as well as exploit vulnerabilities in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration is sucking wind and hemorrhaging support. The Republican Party is poised to pull the plug on Iraq in September. Bush and Cheney are desperate to avoid withdrawal and defeat in Iraq on their watch. A war with Iran would make extricating ourselves from Iraq nearly impossible. Of course our military, stretched to their limit in Afghanistan and Iraq is in no shape to prosecute any war with Iran. But the Bush Administration may be thinking that a controlled air war can be managed and strengthen their political position. As we’ve also seen, the Bush Administration is not overly concerned with details such as blowback, the fog of war and the heavy lifting of managing the aftermath once hostilities are initiated. Perhaps they’re also hoping war with Iran will distract from the publicity surrounding their scandals. These people are eminently capable of deluding themselves that a controlled air war is viable and just the tonic for their problems. Ultimately what I’m wondering is this: is America stupid enough to allow it? At this point I have little faith in the Democratic Party’s congressional leadership. It also doesn’t appear that the frontrunners for their party’s 2008 presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton nor Barak Obama possess the intestinal fortitude to stand up to aggression against Iran. They’ll sit back and see which the way the wind blows. I don’t like cynicism and believe it’s important to work for a truly progressive majority that is sensible and mature. I will not abandon my efforts as an activist to accomplish the ideals I believe in. However, as much as I prefer optimism, we’re on a collision course with calamity. It’s like watching a pile up happening in slow motion on the freeway while George Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Bin Laden crash their cars after binge drinking at an all night keg party.

So now we fight the terrorists here?

click to enlarge Bush vetoed the military funding bill because he wants free reign to continue the war in Iraq. you know, the one where we fight them there and not here? Guess what? Bush's war has come to New Jersey. From Burlington County Times: Six Islamic radicals, four of them from Cherry Hill, were arrested and charged Monday night with planning a heavily armed attack against soldiers at Fort Dix. The men planned to “kill as many soldiers as possible” in the attack, which was described as part of a religious jihad, or “holy war,” but has not been connected to any international terror organizations such as al-Qaida. The group scouted Fort Dix and other potential targets, watched terrorist training videos and discussed attacking soldiers at Fort Dix with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, prosecutors said. Yeah, it probably was that smart to go up against Fort Dix, but how long will it take for Jihadies to turn towards softer targets in America? Bush promised to keep us safe. Just another broken promise. Is the 28% really surprised?

Paris Hilton Ruins Everything

click to enlarge I think it is becoming harder and harder for Bush to find folks to do his dirty work. I can't keep track of the scandals nor the tangled web of indictments, subpoenas, convictions, appeals, hearings, charges, investigations and trials. With an approval rate of 28%, the Republicans in Congress are starting to see the anchor around their neck from the USS BushCo. Bullies tend not to maintain long-term friendships. I fail to understand why the privileged still believe the law doesn't apply to them. I see Paris Hilton as how Bush probably was in his 20's - a whiny, white, rich brat expecting the rules and the law not to apply to them. Artist Note: Every time I write a series, it tends to morph along the way because I always try to tie today's events into the storyline. I can be difficult at times since I usually will have written the story months before it is published. Today is such a morph. I can't believe Paris Hilton is begging her fans to ask the Governator for a reprieve. Good grief.

Dick Cheney: A series of pulleys, levers and springs.

click to enlarge God help us: The White House says Vice-President Dick Cheney will visit the Middle East next week to meet with Arab leaders and speak with US troops in the Persian Gulf. Scheduled stops include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. President Bush has asked the Vice President to travel to the region for discussions with the leaders of these nations on key issues of mutual interest. Sending Cheney on a diplomatic mission is like sending FEMA to New Orleans, it won't go well. When I first read this, my first thoughts were of Ariel Sharon's day trip to the Temple Mount and how it triggered the Al Aqsa Intifada. Seems like I am not the only one. From HuffPo: Similar to Ariel Sharon's disastrous and oft-discussed visit to Jerusalem's Temple Mount (Sep 28, 2000) -- a symbolic slap in the face that led to an escalation in Middle East tension -- Dick Cheney's upcoming "diplomatic" visit to the Middle East will be nothing more than a provocation resulting in yet another explosion of violence. More Americans and more Iraqis will die as a result of his trip. If the Bush administration was serious about saving lives, building U.S. credibility in the world, involving regional allies, and ending the Iraq occupation -- then they would put Dick Cheney back in his hidden location, lock the door from the outside and throw away the key. Cheney should not be allowed anywhere near Middle East diplomacy. Any diplomatic effort that involves Dick Cheney will result in one thing and one thing only: more violence, more failure, more death. I can't see how this will help in the short or long term, unless you are Al Qaeda. Before 9-11, their military experience was against one another in the mountains of Afghanistan. Now they have years worth of experience against the 82nd Airborne. The more we stay, the more of a problem they become. From Lubbock Online: Al Qaida owes George Bush a debt of gratitude. Mr. Bush provides the terrorist thugs with a fully equipped training camp, complete with realistic situations, live ammunition, a steady supply of authentic Great Satan targets (our daughters, sons, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in uniform), expendable civilians, and true-to-life markets, police stations and roadways where terrorist recruits can practice. Continued operation of Training Camp Iraq gives Al Qaida valuable, open-ended opportunities to learn from mistakes and sharpen skills at blowing things and people up, all at American expense in money and blood. The wounded U.S. warriors who come home struggling with amputations, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and shattered lives are abandoned to the neglect of the military / VA bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the Army rewrites the stories of their sufferings to respond to the presumed expectations of the public for just the right kind of heroes. I am unsure what machinations Cheney is plotting - drilling rights, Blackwater access deals or opening new markets for slave-labor corporations, I will guarantee you it will not make America's standing in the world any better, it will not improve the credibility of the United States in the world, nor will it help Americans in any way, shape or form.

Mainstream media is STILL ignoring positive stories coming from Iraq!!!

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