The Gassings Are By No Means The Worst

clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk "Let me tell you," General Count Edwin von Rothkirch und Trach told General Bernhard Ramcke on March 13, 1945, "the gassings are by no means the worst." "What happened?" asked Ramke. "To start with, people dug their own graves, then the firing squad arrived with tommy-guns and shot them down. Many of them weren't dead, and a layer of earth was shovelled in between. They had packers there who packed the bodies in, because they fell in too soon. The SS did that. Josting continued: "The barn was full of women and children. Petrol was poured over them and they were burned alive. You can't imagine what their screams were like." After the publication of this extraordinary, horrific but compelling collection of secretly-recorded conversations, the alibi of the German High Command - that they did not know what the SS were up to, and anyhow they were, as Heim put it, "only carrying out orders" - is shown to be demonstrably false.

I have to stop blogging for a while now. I've become nauseous thinking about the Arab world's denial of the holocaust. Especially after my last post...

Israel Montage

clipped from pajamasmedia.com Look there: this is what they think, this is what they preach, this is what they have become. Look here, this is how we think, this is how we live, this is what we have become. Can you see it? Just remove the seven veils of accusation against the Jews. Just suppose, for a minute, that free human beings must take responsibility for the consequences of their thoughts and acts. Just assume, for the sake of argument, that Israel is what it seems, Palestinian society is what it seems. And look how sweet and beautiful is Israel. Look how it prospers, look at its strong healthy children, listen to the birds, look at the flowers cascading in voluptuous abundance. What is the solution to the Middle East crisis? That’s the solution—that indomitable vitality, pleasure, and resilience embodied in the individuals, one by one, who make up Israeli society.

RTWT. Amazing...

China Can (Tell The Difference)

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com I worry that these same types of reporters also write that we need not be concerned about, say, China because they now spend one tenth of what the U.S. spends on its military. What if it takes our world (government that doesn't work) twenty times as much to match the effort of a world that does? Perhaps China has similar or worse problems in its institutions, but I've not seen it (after 10 years and 20 plus weeks working in that country). I've seen the opposite. One of many examples: In financial, trade, economic development, regulation and educational settings I've seen at least 50 offices (of hundreds) with books by Milton Friedman and Hayek (and even the occasional Ayn Rand). I've spent 20 years of occasional visits to the offices of U.S. government agencies and Congress and seen the same precisely twice.

Telling The Difference

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com The blooper is no big deal in itself. But I suspect it comes from the same circles where all tracked vehicles are known as "tanks", all automatic rifles are described as "machineguns", all aerial ordnance is described as "cluster bombs" and the general idea of warfare is one in which stupid, yelling men advance shooting from the hip at everything that moves. Amazingly enough none of these shortcomings in knowledge are regarded as disqualifying anyone from discoursing on grand strategic concepts -- which is what the Time article is about. It isn't necessary to be able to tell an MI-24 from a UH-60. Yet given that intellectual superiority is never to be taken for granted, it helps, ceteris paribus to know the distinction. It's a safe bet that al-Qaeda can tell the difference.

The Iron Meme And It's Clueless Victim W

clipped from powerlineblog.com The AP will, of course, do whatever it can to make sure that "any attempt to paint a positive picture of the war" fails, whether that positive picture is accurate or not. The AP wants readers to think that the U.S. is approaching Iran because the security situation in Iraq is deteriorating. In fact, it is not the situation on the ground that is worsening, it is the political climate in the U.S. And for that fact, the AP itself bears a great deal of responsibility.

Lawfare Today

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Were it not for the courage and sacrifice of the passengers of United Flight 93 who forced their plane into a Pennsylvania field, many in Congress might not be here today, with a gaping hole where the U.S. Capitol still stands. We wonder if this fact is appreciated by those trying to block final passage of the so-called "John Doe" provision protecting from legal action those who report suspicious behavior on airplanes. Today's passengers have an advantage. They know what can happen. They know what to look for. They will not be taken by surprise, and they are willing to take action. But some in Congress would sacrifice their lives on the altar of political correctness. ...

In America, Clowns Are Chosen By Election

clipped from article.nationalreview.com Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke presented his semi-annual monetary report to Congress this week. Bernanke was disciplined and on message. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Congress. In other words, congressional “leaders” berate the Fed chairman over high energy prices, lampoon him for a focus on core inflation, and then scold him for having raised rates too much! It’s a heady combination of hypocrisy, stupidity, and ignorance that’s otherwise known as Washington D.C. Sadly, the U.S. shift toward economic populism and tax hikes, and away from free trade, is coming at a time when most of the rest of the world is moving down the Laffer curve by cutting tax rates and removing obstacles to commerce. Perhaps it’s time for Congress to end the clown show and become acquainted with the basics of monetary policy and pro-growth economics. American competitiveness and prosperity depends on it.

Worse Than Your Nightmares

clipped from www.rogerlsimon.com Admittedly, there is still dispute about how serious it was. But while Mohammed El Baradei negotiates the "peaceful" use of nuclear energy by the Iranians, he ought - and the world ought - to consider this analysis from the UPI's Claude Salhani: What do Japan and Iran have in common? Japan has nuclear power plants and Iran is on its way to acquiring nuclear technology. Japan is prone to powerful earthquakes, and so is Iran. This is where the similarities end. If a similar earthquake was to hit one of Iran's nuclear facilities, the consequences could be expected to be far worse, affecting oil production in the Gulf region and sending the price of a barrel of oil skyrocketing. And that's the least of it. We can all remember the frightened ineptitude with which primitive Iran has faced earthquakes in recent years, the psychotic ideologues who run the country debating whether to accept aid from the Infidels in the US and Israel. Wait until it hits a reactor.

The Satanic Left Continued

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com One of the most fascinating questions -- one worthy of a book -- must be why Osama Bin Laden chose to order his suicide airplanes into Manhattan rather than say, Beijing or Moscow. Both these nations have been campaigning against Muslims for centuries. And the answer, I suspect, lies in the "excited commands and shouts of glee form the Chinese on the soundtrack". Or the veritable rain of shells that fell on Grozny in the recent past or the vicious campaign that still rages through Chechnya today. Maybe Bin Laden attacked America because he knew how it would fight. In a mode where even prisoners in Guantanamo Bay could insist upon their Korans being handled with white gloves, while a large section of America's own media would condemn this treatment as too harsh. There are times when I am tempted to think that the Western Left is radical Islam's Ring of Power. If a snapping point is reached, even the Left may not forever restrain the West.

Remember that if Hitler hadn't double crossed Stalin invaded the USSR, it's doubtful that the American Left of the time would have supported the American war effort. Plus ca change...

Satan To The Left Of Me, W To My Right

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com The Great Satan (Al-Shaytan Al-Akbar) now has company. No not just the Jews. Nor even the godless Russians. Nor the Indians. Make way for the Chinese. The News reports that the "attack on Chinese nationals in Balochistan is said to be the first reaction to Chinese government’s steps to curb Muslim insurgency in its own territory." This follows on recent attacks by Islamic radicals on Chinese in Islamabad. What's it all about? The Online Times describes the ongoing war between China and Islam on its Western boundaries. The Chinese executioners came for Ismail Semed before 9am. They led him out of his cell as the sun climbed over the Tien Shan mountains in the land he called East Turkestan. ... The end seems to have been quick. The dying embers of their struggle flamed into protests, shootings and bombings in the 1990s, all concealed from the world until September 11, 2001, when China discovered the usefulness of the “war on terror”.

Heh. Wretchard hits another homer with this one. RTWT. More excerpts to follow...

Deja Vu (Part 2,887,635)

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com It’s a weird kind of “peacekeeping” the United Nations is doing in Lebanon—consisting mostly of looking the other way while Hizballah prepares for war right under the UN’s nose: IDF: Hizbullah moving rockets inside S. Lebanese villages. Hizbullah guerrillas have moved most of their rockets in south Lebanon among civilians in villages in an apparent attempt to avoid detection by Israel and UN troops, IDF officials said Sunday. The new moves are part of Hizbullah’s reorganization after the Second Lebanon War, the officials said. During the summer’s war, Hizbullah fired almost 4,000 rockets at Israel. While Lebanon criticized the IDF for targeting civilian areas during the war, Israel said Hizbullah was to blame for operating among civilians and putting them at risk. But the army’s new intelligence indicates that those positions had now largely been abandoned in favor of populated villages, which provide better cover for the group’s activities.

Suicidalists Rescue The Suiciders

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com Someone pinch me. This has to be a bad dream. Israeli Arab schoolbooks cite Palestinian version of war. JERUSALEM (AFP) - History textbooks for Israeli Arab students this year will for the first time present the Palestinian version of Israel’s creation as a “catastrophe,” the education ministry said on Sunday. “For these types of events, both the Israeli and Palestinian versions have to be presented,” Education Minister Yuli Tamir said in a statement. Alongside presenting the Israeli interpretation of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the books will also present the version “that is generally accepted among the Arabs, according to which Israel’s War of Independence is perceived as a catastrophe (Naqba) by the Palestinians,” Tamir said.

Galloway's Chumps

clipped from blogs.dailymail.com Here is why the Brits failed: They were too damned cheap. The MoD only ponied up £1.5 million — $3 million. We spend more than that on toilet paper for our soldiers. Forget millions. That’s chump change. Saddam shelled out £1.4 million for George Galloway alone. The Brits say they bought off 4,000 people with this £1.5 million. That’s $750 a man. And of course, they didn’t stay bought. A decent bribe program should start at £1 billion. Saddam spent £20 billion. But then again, he was buying the UN. The Taliban shouldn’t cost more than a £1 billion. And it would be worth it. Consider this paragraph from the Times story: Britain has 7,100 troops in Afghanistan — more than in Iraq — and officials no longer talk of withdrawal dates. The British ambassador to Kabul said recently that the country may take 30 years to stabilise. Senior military figures have been warning that Afghanistan could end up worse than Iraq. Pay them off. With real money, not chump change.

Shut Your Trap!

clipped from michellemalkin.com It’s an uncanny bit of timing that the NYC MTA has just launched a new campaign to urge citizen vigilance and activism…just as Beltway Dems have sent a message to those tipsters to shut their traps.

Nuclear Survival

clipped from www.davidwarrenonline.com One might almost recommend American occupation to the people of Pakistan, as a way to reduce the casualties from daily suicide and other terrorist bombings to the levels now enjoyed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Also, as an alternative to Indian occupation. Though I doubt the Americans are currently up to the task. Yesterday, the country’s former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudry, removed from office by President Musharraf on fairly specious grounds of corruption, and actually because he was genuinely independent, was reinstated by a 10-3 vote of the remaining high court. Musharraf has had to accept this humiliating moment of sweet victory for Pakistan’s surprisingly ebullient lawyers, and the semi-Westernized urban middle-classes they represent. He must accept it because Pakistan is currently facing a larger challenge from loose confederations of Islamists whose urban bombings and tribal insurrections are taxing the authorities’ will to survive.

They're Expensive You Know...

clipped from instapundit.com Signs that the government may be running out of money have multiplied in recent months. Tens of thousands of civil servants, including school teachers, have not been paid since January. Bills from private contractors working for the government are piling up, threatening the survival of many businesses. . . . All this may seem surprising if only because Iran has earned almost $150 billion from oil exports since Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005. So, were did the money go? Um, centrifuges, maybe?

Maybe I *Will* Vote For Rudy After All...

clipped from talkingpointsmemo.com

Dems OTOS Again

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com Let’s put this in perspective. The alleged conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix was foiled by a Circuit City store clerk who alerted law enforcement after the suspects brought a video to the store for reformatting on DVD. An FBI spokesman called the 23-year-old tipster an “unsung hero” and acknowledged that the plot would have gone undiscovered if he hadn’t stepped forward. The hero clerk later told reporters that after seeing several Middle Eastern-looking men shouting “Allah Akbar” while firing assault rifles and engaging in military-type maneuvers on the video, he discussed overnight with his family whether or not to call authorities. Lucky for us, he made the right decision. But would he have made that call if he thought getting it wrong might require defending himself against a multimillion-dollar lawsuit? Would you?

NYeT MSMemory Hole (Part 52853)

clipped from powerlineblog.com [Last month] the New York Times carried a review of a film called "Hot House" that goes inside Israeli prisons and examines the lives of Palestinian prisoners. We're not recommending the film or the review. But we do want to share our feelings with you about the beaming female face that adorns the article [below]. The film is produced by HBO. So it's presumably HBO's publicity department that was responsible for creating and distributing a glamor-style photograph of a smiling, contented-looking young woman in her twenties to promote the movie. That female is our child's murderer. She was sentenced to sixteen life sentences or 320 years which she is serving in an Israeli jail. Fifteen people were killed and more than a hundred maimed and injured by the actions of this attractive person and her associates. The background is here.

MSMemory Hole Today (Part 92365)

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com So the decline from 10 battalions to six results from the fact that Iraqi units have been fighting, as a result of which they need to be resupplied. This is a "minor variation" that is not "overly of concern." Meanwhile, the number of Iraqi battalions capable of operating in the lead, with American troops in a supporting role, continues to grow steadily, now up to around 100. So the "grim assessment" did not come from General Pace. It came solely from the Associated Press, and the AP made the assessment grim by simply ignoring the explanation and the other numbers that were given by General Pace. This is how news is reported from Iraq: bad news is cherry-picked, deprived of context, and characterized in the most negative way possible for the explicit purpose of providing cover to those in Congress who are trying to bring about our defeat.

The New Boss ...

clipped from instapundit.com Congress now has no base outside of its staff, the reporters who cover it and Mom, and even she is wavering. I am not laughing. I am not gloating. I am troubled. . . . In a democracy, people must have faith in their institutions. In a totalitarian government, fear will do. The problem is that neither party shows leaders in Washington who are in touch with the realities that their constituents face. Congressmen and senators have too much money, too much power and too much tenure.

The Reluctant Beacon

clipped from drsanity.blogspot.com The left and its cadre of neo-marxist fascists harbor the sublime fantasy of imposing their ideological agenda on everyone "for their own good". Make no mistake about it, for all their talk about the Bush Administration's imminent implementation of a theocratic, fascist state; they are the ones who represent the greatest threat to freedom in our society. Psychiatrists refer to the specific tactic of psychological denial used to deflect a hidden agenda by imputing one's own psychological motives to others, as "projection". While they nibble away at freedom from within, the terrorists--who they insist are not a real threat-- carefully plot to destroy it from without. I make no claim that the political right is always and at all times on the side of truth, or reason, or reality. Clearly, they are not any more perfect than anyone else. Nevertheless, today they are a beacon of clarity and a pillar of common sense compared with the idiocies promulgated by political left day in and day out

The Unblinking I

clipped from drsanity.blogspot.com Interesting to note that what "gives the pre-modern fascist killers a pass" is the post-modern rhetoric and dogma of the left. It is precisely this inherently psychologically dysfunctional cognitive strategy that is able to shift, "without a blink" from one subjective conviction to its exact opposite without a shred of self-awareness or mental dissonance. Radical Islam, like Karposi's sarcoma, has manifested itself today and is spreading rapidly for pretty much the same reason, having been given an ideological carte blanche by the political left. The left's postmodern rhetoric with its political correctness and relativistic multiculural fantasies have managed to suppress and otherwise short-circuit the natural defense mechanisms of Western civilization. Without a blink, the left switched from their lipservice championing human life and liberty to championing those whose main desire is to suppress it and bring all of humanity into submission.

Wretchard: "Holy Chihauhau"

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com It is rightly observed that Pakistan is on the brink of precipice. In Pakistan, Chinese nationals, security forces and Musharraf regime, all are in an Islamist terror mess, especially after the fall of Red Mosque early this month. Wave of revenge attacks on Chinese nationals and security personnel have been increasing. Fears for a Pro-Taliban militant backed civil unrest is gaining ground, with the recent spate of violence across the country that has already taken hundreds of lives in the last seven days. Avowed militants continued suicide attacks and intensified their deadly assaults on security forces and Chinese populations. As many as Six suicide attacks have taken place since July 12 Miranshah and Swat incidents including three in one single day.

Welcome To Google "News"

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Bush last underwent colorectal cancer surveillance on June 29, 2002. At the time, the only thing doctors found was an attitude, which medical experts say is not cancerous though his administration has become quite malignant in their support of the President's plan to keep U.S. troops in Iraq.

Bush Butt Probed? Frankly, this is just pitiful garbage. Google should know better than this.

Speaking Of 2 Million ...

clipped from instapundit.com AND TO THINK PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS ACCUSING WAR SUPPORTERS of being indifferent to genocide: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday the United States cannot use its military to solve humanitarian problems and that preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn’t a good enough reason to keep U.S. forces there. So much for the moral high ground.

... or more. We don't need him as president. He's obviously best qualified to be secretary general instead...

The Dems Foul Stench

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com The Washington Times reports that the John Doe law, which would protect tipsters who provide information about potential national-security threats, has run into a buzz saw in Congress. Democrats want the language removed from a Homeland Security bill in the House, and removed quietly. Republicans in the House have called foul. At Heading Right, I question how Democrats can posture as responsible guardians of national security while throwing citizen tipsters to the litigating wolves. Given that the intimidation of torts began here, my interest is somewhat more than academic, especially since I travel more often than before. It’s precisely this kind of disincentive, applied to law enforcement and intelligence, that created the walls that led to the failures resulting in the 9/11 attack.

What "Blitz"?

clipped from article.nationalreview.com It would be nice — or at least more convenient — if America could fight just one enemy at a time. But that’s seldom how it works. World War II was called a world war for a reason: President Roosevelt might have preferred to take on only Imperial Japan, the nation that had attacked us. Instead, he had to lead the country into battle also against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. He had to fight not only in the Pacific but in North Africa and Europe as well. Can you imagine, President Roosevelt being asked: But, sir … what evidence can you present to the American people that the people who attacked the United States on December 7th are, in fact, the same people who are responsible for the so-called “blitz” bombings now taking place in London? What evidence can you present? And also, are you saying, sir, that those attacking London belong to the same organization as do those Japanese who are allegedly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor?

Rational Comment #2

clipped from www.michaeltotten.com Regarding the war effort, when any part of our intelligence apparatus produces a report that reflects negatively on the Bush administration or any part of the war effort, it is quickly cited by those on the left as proof of Bush's incompetence, dishonesty and/or failure of the war effort. The veracity of this intelligence is taken as unassailable -- its accuracy beyond dispute. For instance, recent intelligence reports from the CIA stated that Al Qaeda had rebuilt its capabilities to pre-9/11 levels and that it is concentrated in tribal areas of Pakistan. These reports were pounced upon as proof that the war against terror was a failure -- because we haven't destroyed Al Qaeda and bin Laden -- and as proof that we are wasting our time fighting in Iraq because Al Qaeda is actually elsewhere. However, when an intelligence report from the administration reflects positively on any of Bush’s claims or the war effort, the left immediately dismisses it as a fabrication

Rational Comments Today

clipped from www.michaeltotten.com This is one of those arguments that is more informative about the person making it than about the subject being argued. Someone who believes in identity politics will find it perfectly natural to think Sunni and Shia could never cooperate on anything. Nevermind that in the real world Baathism is literally the Arab branch of (atheist) Nazism, (sunni) Palestinian terrorists happily accepted sponsorship from the (atheist) Soviet Union, the USSR was succeeded in that role by (shiite) Iran, and extremists today are funded by Iran, (sunni) Saudi Arabia, and others with plenty of distinct ideologies, including a large if unintentional contribution from (atheist) Europe. The 9/11 bombers were mostly Saudi and Egyptian as well. The irony is we devote all our attention to attacking the hostile regimes in Iraq, Syria and Iran - but the real terrorist threat comes from Islamists from our "allies" - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan.

In A Rational World...

clipped from www.michaeltotten.com An intelligence official sympathetic to the view that it is a matter of Iranian policy to cooperate with Al Qaeda disputed the CIA and State Department view that the Quds Force is operating as a rogue force. "It is just impossible to believe that what the Quds Force does with Al Qaeda does not represent a decision of the government," the official, who asked not to be identified, said. "It's a bit like saying the directorate of operations for the CIA is not really carrying out U.S. policy."

...the analogy with the CIA directorate of operations would be iron clad. In today's Plame-o-rama world, one realizes it needs second thought...

The Low Bar Too High

clipped from www.michaeltotten.com President Bush's speech Monday about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reminded me of an old joke: A physicist, a chemist, and an economist are stranded on an island with nothing to eat, and a can of soup washes ashore. The physicist says, "Let’s smash the can open with a rock." The chemist says, "Let’s build a fire and heat the can first." And the economist says, "Assume a can opener." The Bush administration, along with most of those who have been involved in promoting Palestinian statehood, have been assuming a peace process since Israel won the Intifada, Yasser Arafat died, and Mahmoud Abbas became the PA president. But the fundamental characteristic of the post-Intifada era is the peace process’s otherworldliness, its detachment from facts on the ground, its salience among internationalists, journalists, and diplomats, but not among the people of Gaza or the West Bank. Palestinian territories are joining many other areas of the Middle East in being weak states, tribal regions

Today's Flying Pig -- A Level-Headed Case For Withdrawal

clipped from www.boston.com Ben-Gurion had predicted it all in 1919. "Everyone sees the problem in relations between the Jews and the Arabs," he said. "But not everyone sees that there's no solution to it . . . The conflict between the interests of the Jews and the interests of the Arabs in Palestine cannot be resolved by sophisms . . . I don't know of any Arabs who would agree to Palestine being ours . . . We want the country to be ours. The Arabs want the country to be theirs." In the end, Ben-Gurion was willing to divide the land. The Arabs were not. There may be little comparison between the two national movements who fought the British and each other over Palestine and the contentious groups struggling for power in Iraq today. But the danger of a foreign power fighting a long war to force compromise on combatants who have no interest in compromise is hauntingly similar.

A liberal anti-war piece not filled with invective!

Of course it avoids pointing out that there's a strong case to be made that they'll be killing us here if we're not able to kill them there. It's not the same as the historical examples like Israel that he cites. Remember 9/11? And no, we weren't in EITHER Afghanistan or Iraq then...

And 2 Million In Cambodia

clipped from blogs.dailymail.com Breitbart TV has video of Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts telling a whopper on C-Span. Sen. John Kerry said during a C-Span appearance that fears of a bloodbath after the US withdrawal from Vietnam never materialized. He says he’s met survivors of the “reeducation camps” who are thriving in modern Vietnam. An award-winning investigation by the Orange County Register concludes that at least 165,000 people perished in the camps. And 2 million in Cambodia. You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in the Senate.

A Novel Idea

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com It's a terrific idea! Why didn't we think of this before? Let's coordinate with Pervez Musharraf to invade North Waziristan, which will enrage the moderate Pakistanis and likely push al-Qaeda farther into Pakistan's interior. At that point, we can overrun all of Pakistan and occupy it. Sounds splendid. Hamilton doesn't address a "no" from Musharraf, so let's actually do the analysis that Hamilton avoids. If Musharraf refuses and we invade anyway, we've just committed an act of war against Pakistan. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and probably an inclination to use them in case of an invasion, certainly one by India and probably one by the West. They also have a large, professional, well-equipped army, which we know because we equipped it to keep the Islamists at bay. Instead of using them against the Islamists, they would likely join the Islamists in fighting us. how long do you suppose it will take for Hamilton's friends in Congress to file articles of impeachment against Bush?

The Mickey Mouse Meme

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com Bergner's remarks about the fraudulence of the "Islamic State of Iraq" -- that it it is simply an al-Qaeda front -- and about the fictive nature of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi are the first direct indication that MNF is not only learning how to play the meme game but that their operations are already having a powerful effect. Zawahiri's worry about the Islamic State of Iraq's legitimacy may be the effect of MNF counternarrative operations or perhaps reason they are harping on it. Bergner's revelations hammer directly upon the weakest point of al-Qaeda's narrative: it's legitimacy and standing not only in political, but religious terms. Bergner is simply -- and very effectively -- paying them back in their own coin. Now the "Idolatrous Guard" is having a chuckle over the "fake" Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, as AQI's feared leader turns out to be no more genuine than Mickey Mouse.

The Masters Of The Media Have Masters

clipped from billroggio.com During interrogations, Mashadani admitted that the Islamic State of Iraq was merely a puppet front group established by al Qaeda in order to put an Iraqi face on the insurgency. Mashadani cofounded the Islamic State of Iraq with al-Masri in 2006. “The Islamic State of Iraq is a ‘front’ organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within AQI in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of AQI,” said Brig. Gen Bergner. But not only is the Islamic State of Iraq a contrived entity, its leader, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is as well. “To further this myth [of the Islamic State of Iraq], al Masri created a fictional political head of ISI known as Omar al-Baghdadi,” said Brig. Gen Bergner. Al-Baghdadi is actually played by an actor named Abu Abdullah al Naima, and al Masri “maintains exclusive control over al Naima as he acts the part of the fictitious al-Baghdadi character.”

Poor Pooty Poot

clipped from www.timesonline.co.uk Reports last night claimed that an assassin was captured at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, West London, moments before he planned to kill Mr Berezovsky, whose offices are a short distance away. Scotland Yard said last night that it was not prepared to discuss the matter. The revelation could help to explain why the new Government of Gordon Brown decided to take such tough action against the Kremlin this week. On Monday David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, ordered four Russian diplomats, believed to be members of the Russian security services, to leave Britain within ten days. He also announced measures to tighten visas for Russian officials visiting Britain. The reason given for the action was Russia’s failure to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, a former Russian intelligence officer, who has been named as the prime suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

Pinpricks. That Worked Well For Bill Didn't It...

clipped from www.nytimes.com In identifying the main reasons for Al Qaeda’s resurgence, intelligence officials and White House aides pointed the finger squarely at a hands-off approach toward the tribal areas by Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who last year brokered a cease-fire with tribal leaders in an attempt to drain support for Islamic extremism in the region. “It hasn’t worked for Pakistan,” said Frances Fragos Townsend, who heads the Homeland Security Council at the White House. “It hasn’t worked for the United States.” While Bush administration officials had reluctantly endorsed the cease-fire as part of their effort to prop up the Pakistani leader, they expressed relief today that General Musharraf may have to abandon that approach as the accord now appears to have unraveled. They said that there was growing concern that pinprick attacks against Al Qaeda targets are not enough, but that some new American measures might have to remain secret to avoid embarrassing General Musharraf.