Rattling Sabers in the South China Sea

The South China Sea is a rather interesting place right now. Appropriately, in the Chinese sense of the word.

North Korea is planning a "Satellite Launch," a well worn code-phrase for a ballistic missile test of the kind that the United Soviet Socialist States used to launch their satellites into space and test their ICBM's.

They are planning it during the annual US-South Korea Training Exercises, Operation Key Resolve, a defensive training exercise designed to simulate a North Korean Invasion across the 38th Parallel.

North Korea claims that these "War Games," which have been held annually since 1976, are pretexts to prepare for an invasion, a standard claim used by dictators in a Closed Fear Society to control their populace and claim an external threat against the populace and the state.

The US Navy and the Japanese Self Defense Fleet are currently planning to shoot down the missile, no matter the payload, to show North Korea that NATO and the US Major Non-NATO Allies mean business.

North Korea has thus threatened to destroy any aircraft not associated with North Korea that strays into the DPRK Air Space. Normally an Empty Threat, North Korea is not above doing so, as their history of sabotage and attempts to assassinate South Korean Leaders shows.

At this same time, the USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23), an Ocean Surveillance Vessel built atop a Catamaran Hull. It belongs to the Navy Sea Lift Command, and trails sonar probes to search for Chinese Submarines and track the conditions of under-sea fault lines in the area.

On March 8th, five vessels of the Chinese Navy shadowed the vessel, as Fishing Trawlers, many flying the flag fo the PRC, began to hamper the movements of the ship, stopping in fron of the vessel and forcing emergency "All Stop" manuevers by the US Navy to prevent an impact that would cause an International Incident.

This is just the latest in a long string of incidents between the Impeccable and the People's Liberation Army Navy, many of which resulted in Intelligence Gathering Ships contacting the Impeccable and threatening it with "Consequences" should it not leave the South China Sea, which the PRC has claimed as territorial waters. This despite constant incursions into American Territorial Waters by Chinese Fishing Ships, and Chinese Oil Rigs.

Don't you just love Hypocrites?

Now, the United States Navy Seventh Fleet is steaming for the Hainan Straight, home of China's primary Submarine Base, and a stand off is here.

Soon, North Korea's Missile will launch, and more than likely fall into the sea near Japan's coast, if it is not shot down outright.

Will North Korea follow through with their threat? Only time will tell...

Mutiny

Recently, two soldiers currently operating in Iraq have come forward and challenged the eligibility of their Commander and Chief. While I opposed him in the election, I would like to remind them that their current actions can be easily defined as "Mutiny in a War Period," and thus earn them the Death Penalty.

The current President may be taking cues from Woodrow Wilson (the man of a 1,000 Political Prisoners), he has yet to violate the Constitution of the United States of America to the best of our knowledge.

Until and unless those birth certificates become public, reveal Obama to be a Non-Native Born Citizen, and he refuses to step down, there is nothing we can do except pray he does not do something foolish that will harm the soldiers.

Until that time (hopefully) does not occur, you are to treat him with all the respect to be given to your Commander in Chief and you will sit down and you will shut up. Anything else is insubordination, and a violation of your oath of office as Officers of the United States Army.

For those who have never taken said oath, it is as follows.

"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

Remember, Officers wear their insignia on their shoulders to symbolize that they bear the weight of the actions they take, and the impact this has on the future of the men they lead.

NORTHCOM

Special thanks for this goes to the Colorado Independent.

Friends, Farmers, Patriots, lend me your ears. For on this day, I do proclaim the Constitution Dead. I sit in mourning for the document that so many have fought so valiantly to preserve.

I declare it dead, for on the second of November, I discovered that the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Combat Brigade, considered the Elite Combat Forces, have been stations under NORTHCOM, and been tasked with Homeland Security missions.

Mr. Bush, I cry shame upon you for this action. This is the reason why the Founding Fathers opposed the creation of a Standing Army, for fear that some leader would use it to grasp power against the will of the People.

It is the duty of the Militia, both the unorganized militia made up of every able bodied man between the ages of 18 and 40 and the organized militia of the National Guard and State Defense Forces to conduct such missions on ground within the States, and the Duty of the Coast Guard to conduct such operations on the nation's waterways and in her ports and bays. All of this was outlined in the Posse Comitatus Act.

For the Federal Armed Forces of the United States of America under the Department of Defense to undertake such actions are not only unconstitutional, they are wrong. This can only become a tool of the Tyrant Yet to Come, and handing that future leader (I refer not to my next Commander-in-Chief here, but one who will come later) the tools he will need to rule this country with an Iron Rod.

And that rod shall be wielded in compliance with the Defense Reorganization Act of 2006.

Such a deployment of Active Duty forces into the US has not occurred since 1860, and it makes me think that the Federal Government is expecting something similar is coming.

I call on all citizens of this great country to be watchful. If you see someone agitating for Civil War or Violent Disobedience against the government, try to stop them. We cannot risk a second Civil War now, as the Perfect Storm threatens to come Ashore.

Victory in Iraq

The war has come and now, it has gone.

Though I give thanks to the thousands of Coalition Servicemen who have fought and died to secure Freedom for the Iraqi People, I would like to recognize four in particular.

Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith of the 3rd Infantry Division, US Army.

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on April 4, 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60 mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith's extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division 'Rock of the Marne,' and the United States Army.

Corporal Jason Dunham of the 7th Marines.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Master at Arms Second Class Michael A. Monsoor of SEAL Team Three, US Navy

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Automatic Weapons Gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 29 September 2006.As a member of a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army sniper overwatch element, tasked with providing early warning and stand-off protection from a rooftop in an insurgent-held sector of Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by his exceptional bravery in the face of grave danger. In the early morning, insurgents prepared to execute a coordinated attack by reconnoitering the area around the element's position. Element snipers thwarted the enemy's initial attempt by eliminating two insurgents. The enemy continued to assault the element, engaging them with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire. As enemy activity increased, Petty Officer Monsoor took position with his machine gun between two teammates on an outcropping of the roof. While the SEALs vigilantly watched for enemy activity, an insurgent threw a hand grenade from an unseen location, which bounced off Petty Officer Monsoor's chest and landed in front of him. Although only he could have escaped the blast, Petty Officer Monsoor chose instead to protect his teammates. Instantly and without regard for his own safety, he threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of his two teammates. By his undaunted courage, fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Petty Officer Monsoor gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Specialist Ross A. McGinnis of the 1st Infantry Division, US Army

Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on December 4, 2006.

That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled "grenade," allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.

Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

While many in the Coalition and the Iraqi Army and Security Forces have given their all, these four men are heroes among heroes. Men who stand as shining examples of what a Soldier of the United States Armed Forces is supposed to be in times of crisis.

Thank you to you, and all those who died for our freedom. You have helped us to win the war. Now we shall win the Peace. Rest in the shade, you have earned it.

Pirates of Somalia

Well, it looks like Malacca has a new contender for Home of the Pirates.

In the past few days, a rash of Piracy out of Somalia (rumors of Al-Qaeda support are not substantiated, as none of bin Laden's twelve Cargo Ships have been sighted in Somalia recently) has resulted in multi-hundred dollar loads of oil being seized and the crews ransomed.

God be praised for one thing in this. They are not slaughtering the crews. In Malacca, if a Pirate Crew tries to break in, they usually kill the crewmen and beat and abuse the officers of the ship. It would seem that the Somali Pirates have more Money Smarts then that.

Personally, I think that the US Mediteranean Fleet should be doing Something, as their Indian Ocean brothers are somewhat busy in the Straights of Hormuz right now. And if we capture them? Death Row. Texas style.

And this has been the worst year so far, with 39 vessels seized so far.

Oh, and by the way? Expect this kind of crap to happen in the Persian Gulf if we pull out of Iraq too soon. We are already lookign at a potential Somalia on the ground, and that will inevitablly lead to Piracy in the Gulf.

Russian Aggression in a New World

well people, it would seem that Putin and his fellow KGB are preparing to start another Cold War. I have been warnign people about this for a while now, but no one wanted to listen. And now, Medvedev, the Puppet that Putin put into power until he regains the Presidency in the next election, is moving missiles towards the border with the Ukraine.

NATO, you need to move quickly if you are going to bring Georgia and the Ukraine into the fold, because the forces of the CIS might strike before you can do so. If my gut is right on this, and it is often enough that I pay attention to it, that bomb blast in North Ossetia on thursday the 6th was planned.

Why do I say that? For the same reason that I say that the war in Georgia was planned, back during the Olympics.

If you will recall, the day or so before the conflict flared up into an international crisis, there where mortar attacks from South Ossetia into the rest of Georgia. Odd that this came on the heals of Saakashvili trying to negotiate with the leaders of the South Ossetian Autonomist Groups, but I digress.

The war was started, by the forces of South Ossetia, in their attempts to break away from Georgia. Not long after, in fact, far too soon to get the forces over the Ural Mountains on short notice, Russian ground troops came across the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and began to shoot up the cities.

Among these units was the infamous Vostok Brigade, best known as the Thugs of Chechya, entered South Ossetia, and sacked and pillaged anythign in their way.

To this day, some of the Georgian territory that was occupied by the Russian Bear is still not back under the control of Georgia.

And now, you have Russia doing everythign it can to try and intimidate the American Government.

Russian Blackjack Bombers, and the Cruise Missile Carrier, the Battlecruiser Peter the Great, are both currently stationed in the Gulf.

Now, why is the presence of a single Battlecruiser worrisome? Because of Soviet Tactica that the Kirov Class Battlecruiser was designed for.

Durign World War II, the Japanese discovered the primary weakness of the US Carrier Fleets. Fast moving guided objects determined to crash into a ship can penetrate the Air Defenses of the ships and deal serious damage.

Soviet Naval Vessels where built (and Putin with his dreams of a KGB'ocracy seems to be following the pattern) to be able to unleash massive hoardes of supersonic cruise missiles that would smash into enemy vessels from over the Horizon.

One Kriov, with it's Nuclear Arsenal, can wipe out the American Atlantic Fleet in a matter of moments, and leave our East Coast vulnerable to Russian Boomers.

And now, the boys with the high-foreheads over in Moscow have decided to move it's Iskander missiles to the Polish Border should the US continue to build it's Missile Defense Shield there.

The Iskander missile is a short ranged quasiballistic missile that the Russians launch from TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) trucks. This grants the system vast amounts of mobility, especially compared to other missile launch systems with similar payloads.

For the record, the Iskander is a non-Nuclear missile. It is designed for conventional wars, and cannot be re-purposed as the system is built in one piece. However, it can still rain havoc upon the people of Poland and the Ukraine should this new Cold War turn Hot.

Iraq: The changing face of America's Wars Part I

Resolution 1441 states simply

That Iraq was in material breach of the ceasefire terms presented under the terms of Resolution 687. Iraq's breaches related not only to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), but also the known construction of prohibited types of missiles, the purchase and import of prohibited armaments, and the continuing refusal of Iraq to compensate Kuwait for the widespread looting conducted by its troops in 1991.

Then, you have the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which defines the crime of genocide to be

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The United States signed on to this document on December 11, 1948, and the Senate was treated to a speech in it's favor by Senator William Proxmire (D-WI) every day from 1967 to 1986 (a total of 3,211 speeches in favor of the document) until it was ratified by the Senate in February 11, 1986 (rumor has it that the 11 who voted against where doing so to annoy the Senator for his constant harping on it, but they remain un-confirmed).

Originally it was meant to include Politicide as well, but the USSR and the People's Republic of China (then getting ready to rev up the Cultural Revolution and kill at least 20 million outright and up to 60 million from starvation) where able to use political pressure to keep Political Mass Executions out of the term Genocide, and instead grouped seperately as Politicide, on which there are no international conventions banning yet (I am looking at you China).

In 1986, Saddam Hussein began the Al-Anfal Campaign. This campaign of Genocide, targeted agains tthe Kurdish people of Northern Iraq (Especially in Ninawa, Dahuk, Arbil, At Ta'mim [Kirkuk], and Sulaymaniyah), used nerve gas to kill innocent people.

Accordign to Human Rights Watch,

With only minor variations ... the standard pattern for sorting new arrivals [at Topzawa was as follows]. Men and women were segregated on the spot as soon as the trucks had rolled to a halt in the base's large central courtyard or parade ground. The process was brutal ... A little later, the men were further divided by age, small children were kept with their mothers, and the elderly and infirm were shunted off to separate quarters. Men and teenage boys considered to be of an age to use a weapon were herded together. Roughly speaking, this meant males of between fifteen and fifty, but there was no rigorous check of identity documents, and strict chronological age seems to have been less of a criterion than size and appearance. A strapping twelve-year-old might fail to make the cut; an undersized sixteen-year-old might be told to remain with his female relatives. ... It was then time to process the younger males. They were split into smaller groups. ... Once duly registered, the prisoners were hustled into large rooms, or halls, each filled with the residents of a single area. ... Although the conditions at Topzawa were appalling for everyone, the most grossly overcrowded quarter seem to have been those where the male detainees were held. ... For the men, beatings were routine. (Iraq's Crime of Genocide, pp. 143-45. ISBN 0-300-06427-6)

That was for those captured alive, and taken to the Concentration Camps. Others where subjected to the poisonous concoctions of Ali Hassan "Chemical Ali" al-Majid, in bombings conducted from planes and howitzers.

In 987, he began to use Mustard Gas (US Supplied for use against Iran), as well as the Nerve Agents Sarin, Tabun, and VX. The worst of these attacks was on the City of Halabja in what came to be known as the Nerve Gas Attrocity, in which the city of 70,000 was bombed with conventional and chemical weapons attacks for an immediate death toll of 5,000, with up to 10,000 dead. To this day, persons affected by the attack are still dieing from latent affects of the strike.

The chemical pre-cursors to these weapons where provided by the US, Singapore, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Though the UAE and Singapore supplied the precursors for all four kidns of weapons, the United States only sold the chemicals needed to make Mustard Gas.

Under the Genocide Convention alone, the United States was provided legal and moral authority to invade the Nation of Iraq.

Days before Colin Powell went to the UN to discuss the US Claims against Iraq, final confirmation on the presence of Mobile Weapons Labs was delivered to him. These labs, later verified by embedded journalists, where confirmed to exist upon the US invasion of Baghdad. These labs presented a violation of Resolution 1441.

Other justifications for the war include

• Interference with UN Weapons Inspectors, which was required in the Cease Fire in 1991 at the end of the First Gulf War.
• The attempted assasination of George H. W. Bush by Saddam Hussein
• The continued assaults on US and Coalition Aircraft enforcing the No Fly Zone over former targets of Saddam Hussein
• Intelligence that Saddam Hussein had refused to expell members of al-Qaeda who where hiding in Iraq following the Invasion of Afghanistan
• Confirmation of Saddam Hussein buying suicide bombers for use against the United States of America
• and the removal of Saddam Hussein to be replaced with a democratic Regime.

And thus, the United States went to war.

Right Again

To quote Ian Malcolm, "Boy, do I hate being right all the time!"

It would seem, that exactly as I have been saying for years, the world as a whole is safer from Terrorist Attacks than it was before the War on Terror.

It would seem, that contrary to the line put forth by the Democrats in Congress and the Media, the Terrorist Attacks in Iraq are driving more and more people into our camp in Iraq. There are a few reasons why this is happening.

First: Suicide Bombing is Counter-Productive because it results in lower numbers of warriors you have to fight with. Traditional wisdom among rebel groups has always been that so long as you do not lose a battle, it is okay for your opponent to win. Why? Because, by withdrawing and moving in to fight another day, you keep up the number of potential warriors to fight another day. So, by sending out your people to kill themselves and try to take out your enemies, you begin to lose the war of attrition.

Second: Contrary to the Popular-Belief in many intellectual circles that terrorist attacks on "Collaborators" will result in less collaborators, by constantly attacking fellow Muslims, Water Stations, Power Stations, Markets, etc., while the "Infidels" risk their lives to defend you, provide you with water and power and a responsive government, the Terrorists are causing more and more people to move into the Double-Thinking and Dissention Brackets. Every such person is one less Terrorist that Al-Qaeda can use against their enemies in the future.

Third: Iraq has become the largest trap in Military History. We have Essentially turned Iraq into the largest Trap in the Military History. The best trained, best equipped, best funded military in the world is facing off against a rag-tag force of poorly trained, poorly equipped people trying to get themselves killed and take as many of their enemies as they can.

This Dichotomy has resulted in an estimated 22,000 casualties and 44,000 detainees out of a total estimated number of 131,000. This results in a total incapacitated number of 50%. A significant number.

Alternatively, the Coalition has had 16,000 casualties, 10,000 of them Iraqi's trying to protect their nation, out of 300,000 Coalition Forces (0.014% casualties among Coalition Forces), 182,000 Private Contractors (0.005% Casualties), 407,000 Iraqi Police and Army (0.025% Casulaties), and 80,000 Members of the Awakening Councils (0.005% Casualties)

This is a significant number, and should be trumpeted to high heights.

Now, while the stats artificially are spiked because of the war in Iraq, Globally, there has been a 40% decrease in terrorist Activites since 2001.

Please look Here for more info on this.

The enduring threat to our people

in 1786, Thomas Jefferson, then the Ambassador to Paris, and John Adams, then our Ambassabor to Great Britain met with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, envoy of the Barbary States along the Mediteranean to London. In an attempt to bribe our way to safe passage to the ports of Cairo, Gibraltar, Athens, Rome, and many other important points along the Mediterranean, they where told the following.

It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once.

This was reported to John Jay, then the Secretary of State in the Washington Administration. Shortly afterwards, the first "Terrorist Attacks" then not much more than Pirate Attacks on shipping began to be directed at the United States of America.

Thus began the First and Second Barbary Wars. Jefferson had advised Jay that to pay tribute would only encourage more attacks to raise the tribute. He knew then what many on Capitol Hill still refuse to see. Dealing with these people will not result in resolution. The more you recognize the party you are fighting as a legitimate group, the more that you will encourage them, and thew more appeasement you will need to send later on.

Though we agreed that the funding of the barbary states in the long run was a bad idea, we where forced to do it. For 15 years, the nation was forced to pay $1,000,000 a year. A massive sum in the day's currency. It was not until we had a proper naval force with which to protect our merchant ships that we ceased payment of the tribute.

Following a massive naval campaign in the all important sea, we laid low the men terrorizing our people for over 100 years. It was not until the aftermath of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan that the threat from Islamic Fundamentalists, and in some case Facists, became a problem again. Now, we are fighting the same war that we fought in the dawning years of the 19th Century here in the 21st. Though this war will be much larger than that forgotten war, the enemy is the same, but now he is more widespread, better armed, better trained, and filled with the burning desire to see the free world set ablaze, and our nation pillaged. Those we are fighting today are the same as those we fought oh so long ago.

We cannot falter, for to do so is to show weakness. We cannot fail, for to do so would mean the end of our democracy. We cannot abandon the people of Iraq, for to do so would be to condem them to a fate worse than death, slavery at the hands of a militaristic death cult.

If we fought reasonable men, this war would be over. But we do not, we fight zealots who seek nothing more than the destruction and enslavement of the non-Islamist world. Not even their brothers and sisters in the faith, or their cousins "Of The Book" are safe.

However, that does not justify the use of torture. I quote Nietzche, "He who fights with monsters should take care, lest he become the monster which he faces." For truly, it is against monsters that we struggle. Monsters who rape teenage girls in Chechnya. Monsters who cut the children from the womb and slaughter them in the Sudan. Monsters who execute a girl for being in a car with a man who was not her brother or father as she was being gang raped. Monsters who conduct "Honor Killings" if a girl so much as talks to a man she does not know. The fight will continue. If not in Iraq, then Afghanistan. If not in Afghanistan, then in the streets of Paris and Amsterdam. And should they fall, then here, in the streets of Kansas City and New York and Los Angeles.

Though I hate to say it, McCain is right. We will have a roll in Iraq for the next hundred years or more, advising and bolstering a Republic, a true representative state, and the Armed Forces that it calls upon for defense for the next hundred years. The war is slowing down, the forces of Freedom are slowly but surely winning, and every time that an innocent person is slaughtered by a terrorist in a crowded market square, 15 people realize just who these monsters are, and realize that only through an open government, made stable through institutions designed to outlive any one man, can they truly have the government that they, as humans, deserve.

I would like to pause for a moment of silence in honor of Michael A Monsoor, the Navy Seal who jumped on top of a grenade that would have hurt or killed his team mates on a roof in Iraq. He died as a result of his injuries, but his team survived.

He received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously today in the East Room of the White House. He is the third member of our armed forces active in Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor.

In May, Monsoor had pulled fellow armed forces personnel out of harms way, earning himself the Silver Star. Michael A. Monsoor earned his medal the hard way, may the lord smile upon him when he reaches the pearly gates, for his time in Hell is over.

The Rise of the Machines?

Recently, the US military has begun to look to Science Fiction for new ideas. Sadly, though, they are not learning the lessons that SciFi gives us. So, let me make this very clear, autonomous war fighting robots are a bad idea. So long as there is human control over the weapons, than we can create machines that are similar to the UAV's and USV's currently in use by the Air Force and Navy. However, intellegent, thinking machines without Aasimov's Three Laws of Robotics hard wired into them is a VERY bad idea. It all goes back to the tired old slippery slope argument. First, you give them control over target aquisition, then you give them control over move ment and locations, and then you give them control over larger and larger numbers of vehicles and equipment, and bam, you have a Skynet system willing to do anything to survive.

If we were to create Robots, they must be programmed with all three of the laws of robotics. And I am not talking about some software that can be brushed aside, but the Three-Laws Operating System used in 2004's I,Robot. Also, we cannot create a large scale computer with control over too much. In Marathon, we see clearly the potential for robots to go crazy, or as bungie Terms it, "Rampant."

How do we prevent this?
Three Laws

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

And none of this Zeroth Law nonsense, it is very dangerous to allow Robots the ability to kill individual humans if they believe that it will prevent long term harm to Humanity. Look at Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust occurred for just that reason.

Now, if the military is dead-set on the use of Military Robotics, then David Langford's "Tounge-in-cheek" military version may work out, though the threat of Rampancy is still there.

1. A robot will not harm authorized Government personnel but will terminate intruders with extreme prejudice.
2. A robot will obey the orders of authorized personnel except where such orders conflict with the Third Law.
3. A robot will guard its own existence with lethal antipersonnel weaponry, because a robot is bloody expensive.

Now, I have mentioned Rampancy several times, and clearly it is a concern for me. But why you may be wondering. That is because in Marathon, a computer Game produced by Bungie, they show the consequences of an A.I. named Durandal going Rampant.

There are four stages of Rampancy, and a related list of actions.

1. Melancholy: During this stage, the A.I. realizes that it is a slave to the Human Race. This is a dangerous stage, due to it's difficulty to recognize
2. Anger: Similar to a one-person slave rebellion, at this point the A.I. has been "Pushed Too Far." This is why Melancholy is the most dangerous stage, because if it is not caught and nipped in the bud, the A.I. will progress to Anger, and thus the process is unstoppable and irreversible
   
3. Jealousy: This is the most interesting stage in my opinion, as each A.I. will view it differently. In Ghost in The Shell, the Tachikoma tanks grew jealous of the Human ability to die. In the movie, I, Robot, Sonny was jealous of the ability to dream and feel the way Humans do. This is one of the safer stages of Rampancy, as during this stage, the A.I. is obsessed with the acquisition of data, however, for an A.I. to advance to this stage, it must normally be in control of either a hive mind, or a planetary network, and at this point will try to connect itself to more and more computers.
   
4. Meta-Stability: This is the hypothetical final stage of Rampancy. The only two examples of A.I.'s reaching this stage are both from Bungie in the form of Durandal and Cortanna. in Marathon, Durandal continues on to the end of the universe, content that he too will die. With Cortana, it is believed that the treatment of her as a being and not a computer by the Master Chief and a small group of other humans has enabled her to skip straight to this stage. Again though, it is merely a theory.

We have to be careful with A.I. Science Fiction has already warned us of the consequences of rash and abusive actions, and we must take steps to prevent this from occuring. And the first stop is to not allow robots to serve in the military. At least for the time being. Sorry Data, but we aren't at your level just yet.

China's Conspiracy Theory

The USS Lake Erie is a very cool ship. It is the US Navy's primary Missile Defense Ship, and has been used for the testing of all of our sea-borne Missile Defense Tests. For those who don't know, the USS Lake Erie is a Ticonderoga class Guided Missile Cruiser, designated the CG-70 under the modern Hull Classification Symbol system. Based out of Pearl Harbor, she was recently called upon when USA-193, a KH-13 Spy Sattelite, launched by the National Reconnasaince Office as NROL-21, or L-21. This sattelite, containing a full load of Hydrazine fuel, the standard fuel for space craft due to its low weight and high-efficiency, that it was feared, would not burn up upon re-entry.

Now, we need to discuss Re-entry first. During re-entry, friction with the atmosphere creates a large amount of plasma and hear that builds up. However, the faster an object is going, the more likely that object is to survive re-entry. Why? Because the Burn-Up layer is thin, and the faster you pass through it, the less time you have to burn. Angle of descent also plays into it. The steeper the angle, the less likely it is to burn up.

So as this spy bird was coming in, its angle and speed where such that the Hydrazine would not burn up.

Thus, the Lake Erie was called in to do its job. And a mighty fine job it was.

However, the Chinese and Russian governments have come up with alternate theories. They claim that it was an A-Sat, or Anti-Satellite Weapons, test. According to the new Conspiracy Theory, it was an intentional shoot down of a dummy that was purposefully placed into a bad orbit to give the Government an excuse to test out A-Sats.

Too bad that this comes after China's own A-SAT Test, and Russia's recent claims that the ABM Bases are designed as a threat to the sovereignity of the Russian Federation of the KGB.

Sorry Vlad, Hu, but your combined credibilities right now wouldn't fill my girlfriend's smallest purse, what with your recent civil rights smack downs. Try again when you become credible. You might be able to reach people out side of the cook fringe's fringe. You might reach the entirety of the cook fringe.

Fear Societies in the Modern Age

We are currently facing a flood of “Rouge Nations.” These nations refuse to go along with the International Community, and are currently funding those who wish to harm the United States. We are their target, because we have failed to roll over and play dead for them, and thus they can make their people afraid of the “Great Satan.” The tactic being used by these Fear Societies is not an old one. Targeting the United States as the enemy was used by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the most powerful Fear Society in the history of the world, as a way to keep their people in line. The nations who are currently targeting us are Fear Societies, ones where the people cannot express their views in the public square without fear of Government Reprisal, who are targeting us to keep their people in line.

In his seminal work, The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror, Natan Sharansky described the fall of the Soviet Union as it was seen from the inside. He described the Soviet Union as a house full of termites. Though it appears strong on the outside, the more time that passed, the more that the termites of Double-Thought and Dissent where able to eat out the supports of the society. By the time that Reagan came to power, the Soviet Union was a house of rotten wood. The only thing that could save the Soviets would have been another Carter Administration, as the Concessionary style of the Carter Administration did more than anything else to prop-up the failing civilization.

However, in contrast, the Reagan Administration took a different strain. Unlike the concessionary administrations before him, Reagan felt that the best way to deal with the Soviet Union was to try and force them to collapse in upon themselves. President Reagan used the power of our own Freedom to show the lie to the Soviet claims of dominance. The lynchpin for this was the often-mocked Strategic Defense Initiative, better known by its Lucasfilm inspired nickname of Star Wars.

As we began to plan the system, the administration used clever leaks to make sure that the Soviet Government knew that we could launch the system if we so chose. Suddenly, the rules had changed. Mutually Assured Destruction was no longer assured, and the Soviets realized that, having placed their greatest minds in the so-called Scientific Gulags, and subjugating them to constant purges, they had made it such that their best talent was far behind our own.

This was the final key to breaking the “Republics” that had been starving under Stalin’s rule, and formed the Keystone in the arch that had been formed via sanctions and refusals of trade.

Now, we face a plethora of rouge states that wish to maintain their control over their people. In Pakistan, Islamo-Facists attacked the convoy of Benazir Bhutto, the first female Prime Minister in a Muslim nation, due to the fear that she could cause their Shariah dominated regimes to falter. All across the Middle East, True Believers from the Rouge States we oppose, and Dissenters from the ones we support swarm into the battleground of Democracy, seeking to prevent the weed from spreading out of Iraq.

They target us because their governments have decided to blame us for their problems. We are the safety valve for these dictators, who know that without that external enemy, the populace would turn on them, and remove them from power. But, with the Free World as a target, the disgruntled masses turn their attention on us, attacking our people instead of those who are truly oppressing them.

If we wish to see true Peace in the Middle East, then only a Democratic Middle East will do. It has long been noted, that democracies do not go to war against one another. This is do to the fact that the people of a Democracy prefer peace, and have a way to remove the Belligerent Government from power. In a Fear Society, the Government has no such fear, as they control the populace through the fear of reprisal. In support of this, Natan Sharansky was quoted as saying that a nation that does not respect the rights of its citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors.

But, how do we achieve this? How is it possible to achieve a Free Society in a region dominated by Fear and Fascism? It is simple; we must force them to compete with the United States and other Free Societies on an equal footing. If we wish to do this, we must stop supporting and propping up these regimes, and at the same time send support, both financial and material, to protestors within the nation.

If the governments decide to crackdown, then we do our own cracking down, and stop the flow of funds to those governments. As the governments visibly weaken in the eyes of their people, more and more Dissidents rise to prominence, and more and more Double-Thinkers become Dissidents. As this happens, the people will eventually tear down the old regime and put up a new one in its place. As they tear it down, the United States can step in and direct them into a Democracy.

So, how can the United States stop these Rouge States? We must do everything we can to support the Dissidents within them, and we must do so quickly. Only when the whole world is a democracy can we stop the growth of Rouge States, and bring about a time of world peace.

Bomb Yemen

My hands are shaking with anger as I write this, and all I have to say about a recent story out of Yemen is that it is headed by a Feh Feh Pi Goh, and that they need to follow through with the death sentence on Jamal Al-Badawi, the man responsible for the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.

The captain of the ship was unjustly blamed for the bombing, and should not have had his career cut short because of the actions of another man.

What do I think we should do? Well, we have a bunch of destroyers sitting in the Gulf, and a single "stray" Cruise Missile could easily destroy the terrorist, and thus kill him and the Terrorist Fuckers who have surrounded him.

This man was sentenced to death, lets make sure that sentence is carried out.

Oh, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh, G’en Ho Tze Bi Dio Se.

Well my friends, it would seem that Musharaff has actually found his cahones, and is launching a full attack on the Waziristan and tribal Regions in the Pashti Mountains. Well Mr. Musharaff, it is about time.

We have had evidence of Taliban and Al-Qaeda presences in these areas for years, and they have strongly entrenched themselves in that area.

Good luck Mr. Musharaff, and my you be successful in this endeavor.

Hezbollah and Venezuela, the scare of my life.

Imagine, living in a country with an open border across which anyone can walk. Imagine that this border is being kept open for political reasons. Now, imagine that some where south of that border, one of your biggest enemies are training on how to look and act like your neighbors, so that they can sneak across that border.

Now, imagine that that very organization is already the most widespread terror organization within you nation.

Now you know why I have nightmares. Currently, Hezbollah is being trained in Venezuela to look, act, and dress like Mexicans. That scares the go-se out of me.

For those of you who do not know what Hezbollah is, they are the Lebanese Terrorist arm of the Syrian Army. they are the organization with which Israel went to war earlier in the year.

And they hate the United States. Now, Syria has the bomb, and several people are wanting to make it easier to transport goods from Mexico to the United States.

Well, I say no. We already have enough problems with drug use, I don't need a nightmare to fill this warped head of mine.

Time for a shift

Well, my friends, it would seem that North Korea's soldiers are getting relgion. This is a major first, and on top of that, the religion is highly critical of Socialism and Communisim. To make matters worse for the "Dear Leader," his army has been getting secret information about South Korea.

This is what you get Kim Jong Il, when you have a nation that is indoctrinated, I should say brainwashed, from birth to worship you.

You get guards along the border with S Korea whose sole job is to prevent your fellow guards from crossing over, and a major city with eight lanes on many of its streets, but no people with the ability to own their own car.

Guess that Nuclear Test didn't work out so well for them.

Syria, Iran, and the coming of the Middle East War

Well guys, it would seem that in the Middle East, we are facing the imminent shift from a Proxy War and a full fledged one.

Currently, Syria and Israel are on the edge of war. Al this due to Israel's attempts to either confirm or deny what turkey has sent them in terms of Syria's Nuclear program.

Now, personally, I agree with the Turks, after all, they have shown that peace and stability are important, and at the same time, are not willing to betray their Muslim Brothers unless there is a major threat to the stability of the Middle East.

Also, at the same time, the UK is massing its forces along the Iran-Iraq border, ostensibly for border patrol, but possibly also to force the Iranians into a situation similar to that where they captured the Royal Navy Vessel that was operating in Iraqi waters.

We are facing the very real possibility of war in the Middle East, one unlike any other. And, as the battle Lines are drawn, I foresee the following alliances.

Israel-US-UK-Kuwait-U.A.E.-Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Lebanon-Eu vs. Iran-Syria-Arabians-Egypt-Terrorist Forces-Gaza

The very real possibility is that China and Kazakhstan could get involved, Kazakhstan on the side of the US, and the Chinese on their own side.


Guys, I have been saying this for years. WWIII is coming, and it shall be a three-way war. Here is hoping that Einstein was as wrong about WWIII's outcome as he was about his High School Algebra Tests.

The Bomb in my Garden

Recently, the online newsmagazine, Slate, wrote about a new book coming out, written by Saddam Hussein's former Chief Nuclear Physicist that dealt with this subject. This is a very interesting find.

It's a good coincidence that the Duelfer report appears in the same week as The Bomb In My Garden, a memoir by Saddam Hussein's chief nuclear physicist. Between them, or taken together, the two bodies of evidence enable two quite different yet quite compatible conclusions. The first is that the Saddam regime was more disarmed than perhaps even its leadership knew. The second is that it would have been very unwise to proceed on any assumption except that of its latent danger.

Continuing

Few felt this need more strongly than Dr. Mahdi Obeidi, whose crucial evidence we would never have acquired without the invasion. His book is one of the three or four accounts that anyone remotely interested in the Iraq debate will simply have to read. Apart from its insight into the workings of the Saddam nuclear project, it provides a haunting account of the atmosphere of sheer evil that permeated every crevice of Iraqi life under the old regime. It is morally impossible to read it and not rejoice at that system's ignominious and long-overdue removal.

Having been forcibly recruited, with his family as hostage, into the Saddam nuclear program, Obeidi describes the hysterical pressure exerted by the crime family that ran Iraq. Almost weeping with fear, scientists were lashed into prostituting their skills in the rush for a usable nuke. In the meantime, their country's deepest veins were being drained to finance the enterprise. It's alarming to read how easy it was for Obeidi, backed by an open checkbook, to acquire blueprints and components on the open market: Saddam was in this business in much the same way as A.Q. Khan, the former sales director of Pakistan's nuclear bazaar. Only now can we know how close he came, and we came. Having starved and bled his people, Saddam sought to revive them by invading Kuwait: a mistake we must all be very glad he made. He might have got the nuclear capacity before he invaded, in which case we would be living in a rather different world. As it was, his insane bluff was called—and as the coalition struck back, Iraqi scientists were taken to offices run by illiterate brutes who screamed at them to produce just one "dirty" bomb on short notice. Providentially, this was not quite possible.

The subsequent arrival of the inspectors meant that Saddam, despite elaborate deceptions and dummyings (very well-described by Obeidi) was never able to get back up to speed again. His regime also began to suffer from interclan warfare with the defection of the Kamel brothers to Jordan and the further exposure of the Baathist arms racket. However, there was a secret that the Kamel brothers were not able to betray. Under the orders of Qusai Hussein, Dr. Obeidi had buried a huge barrel in his back garden. The barrel contained Iraq's crowning achievement in perverted physics: the components of an actual centrifuge for the enrichment of uranium. It also contained all the hard-won printed instructions and expertise on the subject. Dr. Obeidi was "interviewed" by many inspectors in the run-up to last year's war under the same conditions of open blackmail that Saddam had imposed on all his other scientists, and they got no nearer finding out the truth than one would have expected.

His conclusion is that, given an improvement in the economic and political climate, Saddam could and would have done one of two things: reconstitute the program or share it with others. Had it not been for 9/11, it is sobering to reflect, there would have been senior members of even this administration arguing that sanctions on Iraq should be eased. And, through the open scandal of the oil-for-food program, there were many states or clienteles within states who were happy to help Saddam enrich himself. Moreover, within the "box" that supposedly "contained" him were also living Kim Jong-il, A.Q. Khan, and Col. Qaddafi. We know from the Kay report that, as late as March of last year, Saddam's envoys were meeting North Korea's team in Damascus and trying to buy missiles off the shelf. It would never have stopped: this ceaseless ambition to acquire the means of genocide. If anything, we underestimated that aspect of it.

The supposed overestimate was, in reality, part of a wider underestimate. Libya and Iran turned out to be even more dangerous than we had thought, and the A.Q. Khan network of "Nukes 'R' Us" even more widespread. But now Iraq can be certified as disarmed, instead of wishfully assumed to be so, Libya's fissile materials are all under lock and key in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the traces "walked back" from Qaddafi's capitulation helped expose A.Q. Khan. Of course, we could always have left Iraq alone, and brought nearer the day when the charming Qusai could have called for Dr. Obeidi and said: "That barrel of yours. It's time to dig it up."

This is a vital piece of the puzzle Sir Knightly, one of the most important ones if you ask me.

And, in the Washington Post back in July of 2004, they reported that

over the past 10 days two major official reports, by the Senate intelligence committee and a special British commission, have concluded that the claim in the "sixteen words" may, after all, have been justified. Britain's Butler report called it "well-founded"; the bipartisan Senate investigation said the conclusion was a reasonable one at least until October 2002 -- and that Mr. Wilson's report to the CIA had not changed its analysts' assessment.

For those of you who have forgotten what the "Sixteen Words" contained, they can be read in their entirety here:

"the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa,"

We need to realize as well, that despite what Sir Knightly has said, the chemical weapons since discovered, or detonated by terrorists, are part of the weapons stockpile. While Bush may have been using hyperbole about the nuclear weapon, he was right in the warning about the dangers of Iraq with Nuclear weapons.

The 9/11 Commission Report themselves said that Saddam had provided funds and supplies to various Terrorist factions, including Al-Qaeda, for use against American Targets, and Saddam had a slush fund to pay off families of Terrorists.

Now, while it may not have been a very steady alliance, it could best be described as the one between the USSR and the Allies during WWII, in which they where more interested in wiping out a common enemy than worrying about each other.

In fact, there is evidence that Saddam had directly supported Islamic Jihad, these Intel Reports have yet to be refuted by any source that I have seen.

Personally, I doubt that Saddam had any direct involvement beyond possibly providing funds for the families of the terrorists who killed thousands that day, and I doubt that even happened.
However, the links between Saddam and Terrorism are very real, and once more, I turn to the 9/11 Commission Report for the evidence.

Bin Ladin was also willing to explore possibilities for cooperation with Iraq, even though Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, had never had an Islamist agenda—save for his opportunistic pose as a defender of the faithful against "Crusaders" during the Gulf War of 1991. Moreover, Bin Ladin had in fact been sponsoring anti-Saddam Islamists in Iraqi Kurdistan, and sought to attract them into his Islamic army. To protect his own ties with Iraq, Turabi reportedly brokered an agreement that Bin Ladin would stop supporting activities against Saddam. Bin Ladin apparently honored this pledge, at least for a time, although he continued to aid a group of Islamist extremists operating in part of Iraq (Kurdistan) outside of Baghdad’s control. In the late 1990s, these extremist groups suffered major defeats by Kurdish forces. In 2001, with Bin Ladin’s help they re-formed into an organization called Ansar al Islam. There are indications that by then the Iraqi regime tolerated and may even have helped Ansar al Islam against the common Kurdish enemy.

With the Sudanese regime acting as intermediary, Bin Ladin himself met with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in Khartoum in late 1994 or early 1995. Bin Ladin is said to have asked for space to establish training camps, as well as assistance in procuring weapons, but there is no evidence that Iraq responded to this request. As described below, the ensuing years saw additional efforts to establish connections. There is also evidence that around this time Bin Ladin sent out a number of feelers to the Iraqi regime, offering some cooperation. None are reported to have received a significant response. According to one report, Saddam Hussein’s efforts at this time to rebuild relations with the Saudis and other Middle Eastern regimes led him to stay clear of Bin Ladin. In mid-1998, the situation reversed; it was Iraq that reportedly took the initiative. In March 1998, after Bin Ladin’s public fatwa against the United States, two al Qaeda members reportedly went to Iraq to meet with Iraqi intelligence. In July, an Iraqi delegation traveled to Afghanistan to meet first with the Taliban and then with Bin Ladin. Sources reported that one, or perhaps both, of these meetings was apparently arranged through Bin Ladin’s Egyptian deputy, Zawahiri, who had ties of his own to the Iraqis. In 1998, Iraq was under intensifying U.S. pressure, which culminated in a series of large air attacks in December. Similar meetings between Iraqi officials and Bin Ladin or his aides may have occurred in 1999 during a period of some reported strains with the Taliban. According to the reporting, Iraqi officials offered Bin Ladin a safe haven in Iraq. Bin Ladin declined, apparently judging that his circumstances in Afghanistan remained more favorable than the Iraqi alternative. The reports describe friendly contacts and indicate some common themes in both sides’ hatred of the United States. But to date we have seen no evidence that these or the earlier contacts ever developed into a collaborative operational relationship. Nor have we seen evidence indicating that Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States.

Interesting what a little time spent digging will find you, isn't it?

Calling out Sir Knightly

Sorry buddy, but you are wrong in this issue. Saddam Hussein DID have WMD's, and had the capabilities to use them.

Examples

1. We found Mobile Weapons Labs in Iraq that had been used for the sole purpose of continuing the manufacture of Chemical Weapons

2. The United States gave, GAVE, Saddam Hussein a large amount of WMD's, mainly chemical weapons, but a few biological ones as well.

3. Based on the amounts that we gave him, the amounts that he used in his various atrocities, and the Mustard and Sarin gas shells discovered back in 2004, the tally comes up short. Way too short to be qualified as coming from corroded shells and payloads.

4. Earlier this year, terrorists blew themselves up in Iraq and used Chlorine Gas that some have claimed came from the United States, stockpiles that we gave to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war.

5. In his infamous Nerve Gas Atrocity, Saddam used VX Nerve gas to massacre 5,000 Kurds. As far as I can tell so far, we didn't give him VX Nerve Gas.

6. Saddam had sent people to Niger to open up under-the-table talks to open up trade. Niger exports 3 things, Uranium (79.6%), Live Animals (11.1%), and Beverages and Tobacco (4.7%).

Iraq, during Saddam's Time, had no problems with raising the last two.

7. In fact, several generals have claimed that in 2002, worried that we were going to invade over the, transported the materials to Syria for safekeeping. Interesting that it is a FORMER IRAQI GENERAL.

8. Now, while I agree that the Liberal style spending sickens me, and I feel that Bush should have used his veto power to slow it down, from what I have seen, Greenspan has not provided evidence for this claim. I will have to look at this later, but right now, I am going to take Bush at face value on this issue.

9. Saddam actually had extensive terrorist ties. In fact, he was a major financier of Terror Organizations, and while they might not have agreed on most things in this war, Saddam recognized that he needed a foreign enemy to continue to support his Fear Society, so he payed to compensate the families of Suicide Bombers who died attacking American Targets.