Military Roundup
Photo of the Day: Marines in Norway
Military history: ‘Flaming Joe’ returns to Iwo Jima (now called Iwo To).
The House of Representatives has voted to exempt TRICARE from the health reform bill. But if Obamacare is such a great thing, then why keep veterans out?
Haditha: Wuterich seeks to dismiss charges
Hillary Clinton tells audience that the U.S. will not “compromise on its commitment” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. What exactly is our “commitment,” and what will it do to prevent Iran from nuking up? She also stated that U.S. support for Israeli security is “rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever.” Talk about a “willing suspension of disbelief.” Judging by our foreign policy, one would think that Israel is the genocidal country that also happens to be killing our troops in two theaters – not Iran, who we seem to be placating at every opportunity.
In case you missed it, the American Civil Liberties Union (more accurately – the American Communist Lawyers Union) has filed a lawsuit demanding the basis for conducting targeted killings with armed drones.
In: Military Roundup · Tagged with: ACLU, Afghanistan, Foreign Policy, Haditha, healthcare, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Israel, Iwo Jima
Obama’s “Enduring commitment:” until July, 2011
When the Obama administration says that they are in Afghanistan for the long haul, know that that really means until July, 2011. And our enemies know this as well. From Obama’s speech at West Point:
Now, taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011. Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground.
But what he misses is that in the case of Iraq, President Bush would not tell the enemy when we would be leaving. In 1983 Democrats, including then-Senator Joe Biden, established a timeline for withdrawal of the U.S. peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Knowing the American resolve had expired, Lebanese terrorists knew that in order to remove the U.S. peacekeepers, all that was needed was a few more casualties. Terrorists killed 241 Marines, sailors, and soldiers, just as Marine Corps Commandant P.X. Kelley warned.
As history shows, announcing the day you will begin your retreat to your opponents is just asking for defeat and disaster.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement requires a ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ (her words to Gen. Petraeus):’
It should be clear to everyone that — unlike the past — the United States and our allies and partners have an enduring commitment to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the region.
Only with a combination of Hillary Clinton and diplo-speak can “enduring commitment” translate into July, 2011.
You see, all the Taliban and al Qaeda now have to do is keep up appearances – a roadside bomb here, overrun an outpost there – until we retreat. Then Afghanistan is theirs for the taking, albeit with a far better infrastructure – funded by our tax dollars.
In: Politics · Tagged with: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton to deliver keynote address at Muslim Brotherhood-linked organization
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. Other keynote speakers include U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D – Minn.) – who has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood – and John Esposito, who supports the Muslim Brotherhood. Douglas Farah writes that Esposito “has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations.”
Also participating in the conference is Kemal Helbawy, a leader in the global Muslim Brotherhood who has defended the terrorist targeting of Israeli children. Helbawy was banned from entering the U.S. in 2006.
In: Politics, terrorism · Tagged with: Hillary Clinton, Keith Ellison, Muslim Brotherhood
Pot, meet Kettle
This is a transcript of the Unto the Breach program. Click here for the audio.
The U.K. newspaper the Guardian revealed this morning that
One of the chief Iranian concerns revolves around suspicion that the US is engaged in covert action aimed at regime change, including support for separatist groups in areas such as Kurdistan, Sistan-Baluchestan and Khuzestan.
How can Iran say that with a straight face? Iranian-funded, -trained, and -supported terrorists are operating in dozens of countries. Iranian terrorist cells are all over Europe, Latin America, even the United States. Hamas governs the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has 50,000 rockets pointed at Israel and has veto power in the Lebanese government. As we revealed yesterday, we are now fighting Iranian proxies in Iraq rather than al Qaeda.
Remember that until 9/11, Hezbollah was responsible for more U.S. deaths than any other terrorist group. In 2008, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff described Hezbollah as “the A-team of terrorists in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline.” And Iran is concerned that the U.S. may be up to something?
In: Geopolitics · Tagged with: Hamas, Hezbollah, Hillary Clinton, Iran
Hamas’ stance on peace with Israel
This is a transcript of the Unto the Breach program. Click here for the audio.
Hillary Clinton is going through her Senate confirmation hearing today for Secretary of State. If I were there, I would love at some point for someone to make this statement: “the statements you have made today really require the willing suspension of disbelief.”
After Clinton’s confirmation, she will have to face the situation in the Middle East. The world is always calling on the Israelis to stop the violence. But telling Israel to stop shooting back isn’t exactly the best path to peace. Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip four years ago. You would think when that happened, Gaza would have settled down and relaxed, maybe even become a productive member of the world society.
But the terrorist group Hamas staged a coup and swept to power through murder and intimidation. While in charge of Gaza, Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel. In fact, more than Nazi Germany fired into Britain during the Blitz. And those countries were fighting World War 2! Gaza is portrayed as the victim of the Israelis, but the Palestinians have only themselves to blame.
In: terrorism · Tagged with: Barack Obama, Gaza, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Israel, pirates
Who Really Benefits when Government Cuts CEO Pay?
Do you remember when you had the pile of uneaten Brussels sprouts in front of you, and in an attempt to shame you into eating the loathsome vegetables, your mother would use the cheap line of “finish your vegetables, there are starving children in China?” If you choked down all of your Brussels sprouts, would those starving children somehow feel better that some kid in the U.S. cleaned his plate?
Sorry moms, but we cannot solve world hunger by little Jimmy finishing his vegetables. But politicians in Washington are using this same trick to get you to think that cutting CEO pay will somehow help you out.
First a little background. According to the Economic Policy Institute, in 2005, the average CEO earned $10,982,000. Compare that to the average worker salary of $41,861. The CEO earns 262 times that of the average worker, which means they make more in one day than their workers earn in a year. On top of that, CEO’s can cash in on severance packages that can run in the hundreds of millions, regardless of their performance. Add in the bonuses, the retirement packages, and perhaps the personal use of a corporate jet. Are you jealous? Well, that envy is what these politicians are preying on.
But before you hop on the “stick-it-to-the-man” bandwagon, consider this: In 1981, General Electric hired Jack Welch as CEO. Welch inherited a corporation worth $14 billion. He built up the company and today GE is worth around $500 billion. In 2001, Jim Kilts took over as CEO of Gillette. The corporation had been in a nosedive, losing nearly half of its value in the two previous years. Kilts turned the company around, increasing its market value around $17 billion by its acquisition in 2005 by Procter & Gamble.
CEO’s make the decisions that can either make or break a company. While the salary and benefit package a company pays may sound unfair, consider that a squared-away boss like Welch or Kilts may mean the difference between bankruptcy and multi-billion dollar growth. That means a lot to shareholders. The Welches and Kiltses that are out there are very valuable to shareholders, so to bring them (and the profits they create) to their companies, they must pay big. Otherwise, they go to the competition.
So while Washington has you watching one hand, what is the other hand doing? It may seem as if they are watching out for the little guy. If they truly wanted you to keep more of your money, they would cut your taxes. But since a politician’s two priorities are 1) to get reelected and 2) to spend your money, that is next to impossible. Therefore, we can rule that out.
The truth is they want more money. The solution for everything today seems to be “tax the rich – they don’t need the money.” The top 5% of Americans pay over 54% of our taxes, and the top 1% pay over 34%. Sounds like a lot, but that is not enough to satisfy the left’s hunger for more money. They also seek more control. Politicians are trying to take money from Americans who worked hard and rose to the top, and give it to those who did not in the form of entitlements. This enlarges the already massive throng of Americans that are becoming increasingly dependent on the government, and means more votes for the Democrat party.
It is very easy to get caught up in class envy. But when politicians like Hillary Clinton are calling for control over CEO pay and seeking shared prosperity, we better not get caught up in the hype.
In: Economics, Politics · Tagged with: capitalism, Hillary Clinton, income redistribution, taxes
