The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 23 Sep

Heads up folks, this news rolls downhill.

• The East Valley Tribune reports inscriptions etched into Arizona’s Sept. 11 monument -- meant to inspire and capture the horror of the terrorist attacks -- sparked the beginnings of a political blog battle this week. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said he was stunned to learn of the inscriptions. “To politicize it to me is absolutely outrageous, instead of a memorial to remember those who have sacrificed their lives,” he said. Tempe resident Donna Bird, whose husband Gary was killed in the attack, was among the 30-member Arizona 9/11 Memorial Commission created by former Gov. Jane Hull in 2002. She said all the inscriptions were found factual by an Arizona State University history professor. She added that she wouldn’t have helped design the memorial, which names her husband, if it were political. The three images below are from the memorial:
  
  

• Once again, the prior employer of Jayson Blair runs a story based on information gleaned from government security leaks. In, Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat, the Times repeats their standard template: a story based on a confidential report leaked to the press by anonymous sources who put their Clinton/Democrat loyalty above their loyalty to their country. The public has no access to an actual document. Any notion of truth is pushed to the limits of credibility. The sensational news trumpeted in the first paragraph:

  [T]he American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.

  The titillation, however, is abruptly terminated seven paragraphs into the story when the Times reveals:

  Officials with knowledge of the intelligence estimate said it avoided specific judgments about the likelihood that terrorists would once again strike on United States soil.

  The Washington Post shamelessly echos the Times story in a headline . . . unable to do the hard reporting on their own.

• Reuters and the Washington Post report former President Bill Clinton, angrily defending his efforts to capture Osama bin Laden, accused the Bush administration of doing far less to stop the al Qaeda leader before the September 11 attacks. A video preview of the interview containing Clinton's statements has been circulating on the Internet. In the interview, Clinton rants, "[The Bush administration] had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed." Yeah, Clinton had eight years and Bush had eight months. Angry delusions of truth do not obfuscate reality. Observers should note that President Bush has not once made such an embarrassing, childish display, even when called Hitler and Satan. However, it's shameful to see a former U.S. president so totally stripped of his self respect. Well, I guess there is Jimmy Carter, too.

• Last but not least, World leaders reacted cautiously to a French newspaper report that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has died, while the French government probed the leak of an intelligence brief cited by the daily, according to AFP. AP notes, A leaked French intelligence document raises the possibility Osama bin Laden died of typhoid, but President Jacques Chirac said Saturday the report was "in no way whatsoever confirmed" and officials from Kabul to Washington expressed skepticism about its accuracy. Echoing AP, Reuters reports France and the United States said on Saturday they could not confirm a report that Osama bin Laden had died and France launched a probe into how a secret document containing the claim was leaked. The Washington Post also chimes in, French and U.S. officials discounted a report Saturday in a French newspaper indicating that Osama bin Laden had died of typhoid last month in a remote area of Pakistan.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
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Combat Camera: Fri 22 Sep. 2006

Persian Gulf (Sept. 21, 2006) - A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) leaves the well deck aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7). Iwo Jima recently deployed from her homeport of Norfolk, Va., and began a regularly scheduled six-month deployment to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) areas of responsibility to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Christopher L. Clark (RELEASED)

A landing craft, air cushion assigned to Naval Beach Group Two launches from the well deck of amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Sept. 17, 2006. Iwo Jima is on a six-month deployment in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command areas of responsibility in support of maritime security operations. DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John Skrzyniarz, U.S. Navy. (Released)

Arabian Sea (Sept. 19, 2006) - An F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to the "Sidewinders" of Strike Fighter Squadron Eight Six (VFA-86), makes an arrested landing on the flight deck aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise and embarked Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) are currently on a scheduled six-month deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations and the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Rob Gaston (RELEASED)

Marinette, Wis. (Sept. 8, 2006) - The first Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom (LCS 1) is shown under construction in Marinette, Wis. LCS is a new class of ship designed to be a fast, agile and networked warship able to execute focused missions to defeat shallow water threats such as mines, diesel-electric submarines and fast surface crafts. Freedom is scheduled to be christened on Sept. 23, 2006. Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin Corporation (RELEASED)

(NOTE: Images lost by ImageShack, reposted Feb. 3, 2008.)

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 22 Sep

Heads up folks, this news rolls downhill.

• President Bush said Friday that if a U.S. official tried to strong-arm Pakistan into fighting the war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks, he didn't know about it, reports AP. Here is the text of the President Bush and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf news conference on Friday also from AP.

• AFP reports the Space Shuttle Atlantis's return flight prompted panic in a Mayan village in Mexico, with local residents inundating police with phone calls about a "ball of fire" in the sky and the "sound of an explosion," authorities said. In related news, AP reports that an astronaut from the space shuttle Atlantis collapsed twice Friday during a welcome home ceremony, a wobbly return that officials attributed to the adjustment from 12 days at zero gravity.

• Two more deaths were under investigation Friday for possible links to tainted spinach, one in Maryland and one in Idaho, according to AP and the Washington Post. Federal health officials have reported 157 cases of E-coli in 23 states and one death. No cases have been confirmed in Maryland. I'm surprised conspiracy theorists have yet to attribute the the whole mess to terrorists, Bush, illegal immigrant farm workers or all three working together.

• AP also reports California produce growers and processors hope to salvage what's left of the spinach season and stop millions of dollars in losses by drafting new food-safety measures. Where is Popeye when you need him?

• AP reporter Calvin Woodward writes, "Now the death toll is 9/11 times two. U.S. military deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan now match those of the most devastating terrorist attack in America's history, the trigger for what came next. Add casualties from chasing terrorists elsewhere in the world, and the total has passed the Sept. 11 figure." I guess it wouldn't help to add that in the five years since terrorists attacked on 9/11, there remains but a hole in ground where the World Trade Center once stood. Five years after Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. fielded armies on two fronts, defeated tyrannical regimes whose goals were global domination, invented the atomic bomb, and built the nation into a superpower. The combined toll in U.S. lives lost for WWII was 418,500. If FDR had to put up with the same divisive partisan politics and egotistical media which have currently disabled the country's will, the probable end result would have been the creation of a no-fly zone over Hawaii.

• Senate Democrats on Friday said legislation that would require voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections was little more than a poll tax, compared the bill to segregation-era measures aimed at disenfranchising Southern blacks, and urged Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to stop the bill, according to Reuters. It's interesting to note that segregation is not an issue when a valid photo ID is required for other things including check cashing, the operation of a motor vehicle, and to buy beer and smokes.

• A scorching internal review of the Bush administration's billion-dollar-a-year reading program says the Education Department ignored the law and ethical standards to steer money how it wanted, reports AP. The news seems to prove the notion that a Republican administration will have problems corralling a mostly Democratic controlled segment such as public education. It would seem the main problem with the program has been in it's execution.

• Last and least, ROO TV presents News for Blondes video.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
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Howard Dean's 'Democrats Offer a New Direction'

Opening the Wall Street Journal today, I was met by Howard Dean's article, 'Democrats Offer a New Direction.'

After the reading through the first 11 paragraphs of anti-Bush, anti-GOP ranting, I finally arrived at the meat of the thing; Dean offers a slogan in lieu of a plan:

We believe that America should work for everyone.

What follows is the Democrat's platform that includes: raising taxes (pay-as-you-go discipline in Congress), derailing Social Security reform, raising the minimum wage for illegal aliens, and inviting the humiliation of Islamo-fascist's claims of victory by implementing a cut and run policy for Iraq.

In the article, Dean writes:

We will restore honesty in government, starting with the pay-as-you-go discipline in Congress that served Mr. Clinton so well. Balancing the Federal budget will be a high priority with concurrent limitation of spending. We will ease the burdens on middle class Americans and reverse Republican cuts in college tuition aid and health care. We will ensure that a retirement with dignity is the right and expectation of every single American, including pension reform, and preventing the privatization of social security.

We will dramatically expand support of energy independence in order to generate large numbers of new American jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We will have a jobs agenda that includes good jobs that stay in America, a higher minimum wage and trade policies that benefit the global labor force, not just multinational corporations.

We will have a defense policy that is tough and smart, starting with phased redeployment of our troops in Iraq, and shore up our efforts to attack al Qaeda and fight the war on terror. We also will close the gaps in our security here at home by implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations.

When pondering the Democrat's strictly theoretical concepts Dean offers in place of a step-by-step procedure for change, it would be wise to ask yourself the following questions:

Exactly how am I less safe?

What things have changed in my life that makes me feel less free?

NEWSBYTES
'Democrats Offer a New Direction'
By Howard Dean
(WSJ) -- We need a Democratic Congress to fight the war on terror -- and to end the war on America's families. Republican policies of the last five years have damaged our economy and failed Americans. Democrats believe strengthening the middle class is essential for a thriving economy that rewards work, provides economic opportunity to all and makes it easier for parents to devote time to their families. An economy that favors the top 1% at the expense of everyone else might be good for President Bush's politics, but a shrinking middle class is bad for capitalism, democracy and America. We need a new direction.

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 21 Sep

Heads up diablos, this news burns as it goes down.

• Reuters reports that Iran's president Ahmadinejad, responding to Western criticism of his questioning of the Holocaust and a call for Israel to be "wiped off the map," says his issue is with the fact Israel has a state and homeland, and not with the Jews as a people. I guess that means Ahmadinejad would rather see Jews locked up in concentration camps (that he has yet to acknowledge) over Jews living in Israel. The Washington Post carries the full rambling transcript. It is also of some interest to note that Ahmadinejad broke bread with the lib-folks over at the New Republic last night.

• Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, probably taking his cue from liberal blogs and Western self-hating media, launched a new personal attack on President George W. Bush, using a visit to a church to call the US leader an "alcoholic" and a "sick man," reports AFP.

• Democrats, seemingly annoyed that Chavez echoed netroot talking points, mounted a tepid response. Charles Rangel backhanded Bush saying, "[Chavez] has to understand that while we have problems politically sometimes with President Bush, that we -- he is still our president," and, "Even though I'm fully aware that [Chavez] and President Bush enjoy these personal attacks on each other, they can do politically what they see fit to do, but you don't come into my country, you don't come into my congressional district, and you don't condemn my president. If there's any criticism of President Bush, it should be restricted to Americans whether he voted for him or not." Rangel issued a formal statement with somewhat watered down anti-Bush sentiments. In an attempt to further distance Chavez from the DNC party line, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi simply called Chavez a "thug." Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, however, couldn't contain his glee and defended Chavez's United Nations rant. Major news outfits downplayed both of Chavez's rants.

• And as if adding insult to injury, the brief media spotlight on Ahmadinejad and Chavez seem to be part of some post-Labor Day alignment of planets that includes falling gas prices and a series of strong Bush domestic and national security responses, all conspiring to help Republicans in important pre-election polls. The LA Times reports President Bush's approval rating has reached its highest level since January, helping to boost the Republican Party's image across a range of domestic and national security issues just seven weeks before this year's midterm election, a new Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

• President George W. Bush charged on Thursday that Democrats would raise taxes if put in control of the U.S. Congress, turning to a familiar campaign theme as he seeks to stave off Republican losses in November, according to Reuters.

• Time Warner Chief Dick Parsons says Facebook and YouTube are overvalued, according to MSNBC. Keep in mind that the Parsons idea of corporate value is to make AOL a free service, simply throwing away a cash flow from the 20 million or so credit card accounts on-file that AOL bills $22 a month. The AOL-Time Warner debacle lives on as the ghost of a golden-egg-laying goose named America Online.

• The average American home now has more television sets than people, reports AP.

• Despote the fact that HIV is pretty much isolated within certian risk groups, AP reports all Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 should be routinely tested for HIV to help catch infections earlier and stop the spread of the deadly virus, federal health recommendations announced Thursday say.

• U.K. TV Channel 4 is to broadcast a documentary showing a human corpse being hung on a cross to depict Christ's suffering, according to the Daily Mail.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
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Dispatches From the Front, Thu 21 Sep. 2006

U.S. Army Sgt. Chris Walsh and Spc. Ishmael Campbell take up security positions on the roof of a police station in Sinyia, Iraq, Sept. 16, 2006. The Soldiers are from 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery Regiment, Wyoming Army National Guard. DoD photo by Spc. Billy Brothers, U.S. Army. (Released)

NEWSBYTES
Iraq takes charge of Dhi Qar province
By Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq , and Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Commanding
21 September 2006
BAGHDAD (CENTCOM) -- “Today’s transfer of security responsibility in Dhi Qar province from the Multi-National Force – Iraq to the Government of Iraq and civilian controlled Iraqi Security Forces is another sign of progress toward a stable and secure Iraq. Dhi Qar is the second of 18 Provinces to be transitioned. This is an important milestone along the successful path toward Iraq ’s capability to govern and protect itself as a sovereign nation.

Gen. Abizaid interview w/ Jim Lehrer of PBS's Newshour
U.S. General Says Iraq Will Move Toward Stability
(PBS) -- Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, expressed optimism about the situation in Iraq, saying the country is moving toward stability despite reports of growing sectarian violence.

Video: Camp Fallujah 2-Minute Report
This edition features stories on a Marine Military Transition Team training and mentoring an Iraqi Army Brigade. Hosted by Spc. Kirk Bell.

Video: OIF Today 481
This edition features headlines on Generals visiting Baghdad, terrorists being captured, and a weapons cache discovered in a Mosque. Hosted by Pfc. John Sheldon.

Audio: C-130 Carries the Load for NAVCENT
Audio file about how a single C-130 moves 40 percent of NAVCENT's air cargo

Audio: Boots on the Ground 79
Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Beam travels throughout the country to assess the situation in Iraq. Produced by Sgt. Tom Conning.

What Extremists are Saying
Translation: Al-Zawahiri Calls on Muslims to Wage 'War of Jihad', Reject UN Resolutions
On 11 September 2006, a jihadist website attributed to the Islamic Renewal Organization posted several links to Al-Sahab Media Production's 76-minute interview with Ayman al-Zawahiri, second-in-command in Al-Qa'ida.

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Thursday Morning News Open Thread

Koom by ya y'all, today, 21 Sep, is The International Day of Peace.

• According to Matt Drudge, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez will wrap up his NYC visit early this morning to high-tail it back to Caracas. I guess the diablo is in the details.

• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been invited to speak at Columbia University this Friday, University officials confirmed Wednesday night.

• Over objections of Democrats who compared the bill to segregation-era measures aimed at disenfranchising Southern blacks, the House yesterday passed legislation that would require voters to show a valid photo identification in federal elections, reports the Washington Times. It's interesting to note that segregation is not an issue when a valid photo ID is required for other things including check cashing, the operation of a motor vehicle, and to buy beer and smokes.

• Bob Novak writes Republicans have closed large gaps on the national generic ballot in two polls now. Typically, Republicans gain seats when they trail by less than five percentage points on the generic. Obviously, that won't happen this year. Republicans have maxed out the current gerrymander, and they don't have enough truly competitive races on the table right now. Democrats will gain seats, either way -- but recent developments add credibility to Republican hopes of keeping the House.

• Speaking of winners and losers, AFP reports Hezbollah supporters have headed towards the Lebanese capital for a massive "victory" rally after the devastating war with Israel amid suspense over whether the group's chief Hassan Nasrallah will emerge from hiding.

• Iran nuke deadlines slip to October. With Iran still resisting a freeze on its nuclear activities, the United States and five partners have decided to set yet another deadline in hopes that Iran will finally agree to terms paving the way for substantive talks on its nuclear program, according to the Washington Post.

• Reuters reports Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday said it would slash prices on nearly 300 generic prescription drugs to $4 starting in the Tampa, Florida, area and plans to expand the plan to all of Florida in January. Keep in mind many Democrat's scathing attacks on Wal-Mart while complaining that the Bush administration tax cuts hurt the middle class.

Tags: Open Thread, Wire, Headlines
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24:Season 5 Pre-Order $39 Amazon.com

Nominated for 12 and winner of 5 Emmy Awards

24: Season 5 (7pc)
The fifth season (2006) is set 18 months after the fourth season, and most likely takes place in September 2009.

After the events in the fourth season, Jack Bauer is now working as a day-to-day laborer at an oil refinery under the alias Frank Flynn. Jack is renting a room north of Los Angeles from Diane Huxley, a single mother, and her 15-year-old son Derek.

Day 5 is supposed to be a monumental day in the Logan presidency. He is scheduled to sign an anti-terrorism alliance treaty with Russian President Yuri Suvarov. This is believed the motive behind most of the day's events, as the Russian terrorists (presumably Chechen, although this is never stated for sure), led by Vladimir Bierko, that carry out the attacks of the day believe that the treaty will increase the suffering of their people.

Later, it is found out that the day’s events are part of a massive government conspiracy. President Charles Logan, Chief of Staff Walt Cummings, former CTU head Christopher Henderson, and a group of mysterious men, led by a man called Graham, are all involved. Their initial plan was to release nerve gas on Russian terrorists and to use that as an excuse to invoke the military terms of the treaty that was signed early in the day, allowing Logan to secure his oil interests in Central Asia. Former President David Palmer finds out and tries to stop them, so he is killed and Jack Bauer is framed for the crime, thus setting up the day's chain of events. (From Wikipedia)

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Combat Camera: Joint Effort in Baqubah, Iraq

A U.S. Army soldier, from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, offloads wire in preparation for setting up a fire line for marksmanship training with Iraqi army soldiers in Baqubah, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jackey Bratt

Iraqi army soldiers, from 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, load their weapons and practice their marksmanship skills during a live-fire exercise near Baqubah, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jackey Bratt

U.S. Army soldiers, with 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and Iraqi army soldiers practice their marksmanship skills during a live-fire exercise near Baqubah, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jackey Bratt

U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Wallis, with 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, searches a man near Baqubah, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jackey Bratt

U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Wallis, with 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, inspects the owner's card of a gun found during a routine search near Baqubah, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jackey Bratt

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 20 Sep

Heads up diablos, this news burns as it goes down.

• AP and the Washington Post report Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appeared to have taken a cue from liberal blogs and Democrat talking points and called President Bush "the devil" in a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday, making the sign of the cross in a dramatic gesture and accusing him of "talking as if he owned the world." John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, summed up the US position by asking if folks in Venezuela would have the same rights to express themselves as Chavez had in New York, adding, "We're not going to address that kind of comic strip approach to international affairs." According to the Post and AP reports:
  
  

  "Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world," Chavez told the General Assembly. "I think we could call a psychiatrist to analyze yesterday's statement made by the president of the United States," Chavez said, referring to Bush's address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. "Right here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of."

• Video: Venezuela Leader Calls Bush 'The Devil'

• California sues six carmakers in global warming suit. California filed a global warming lawsuit on Wednesday against Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and three other automakers, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have cost the state millions of dollars, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. I have to ask what type of car California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer drives to work or if anyone clued him into the notion that it has yet to be proven that global warming is actually caused by humans? The suit couldn't come at a worse time for automakers and the move appears to be nothing more than a money grab. It scares me to think that San-Fran-Nan (Nancy Pelosi) may soon be the House Majority Leader. Folks east of the Rockies should consider the ramifications of this kind of foolishness imported on a national level.

• Playing election season politics to avoid presenting an Iraq plan they clearly do not have, Senate Democrats on Wednesday announced their own series of hearings into what they called a failed Iraq policy, reports Reuters.

• The Hill reports Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has told business associates and Democratic donors that he will chair Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign next year, according to several Democratic sources.

• The Israeli foreign minister on Wednesday warned that Iranian leaders pose the biggest threat to international values as they "speak proudly" of their wish to destroy Israel and pursue weapons to achieve that objective, according to AP.

• ABC News reports Bill O'Reilly says his outspoken broadcast style has led to death threats on a daily basis. He says the FBI has even warned him and a few other people at Fox News that al Qaeda has them on a death list.

• In the Tin-Foil-Hat segment, Fox News reports brain stimulation triggers paranoia and a sense of alien presence. Geeze, all this time I thought those were side effects of hallucinogenics.

• In last-ditch efforts to slow the fall of Western Civilization, the House voted Wednesday to require Americans to show proof of citizenship in order to vote, and the Senate moved to build a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border as Republicans sharpened attacks on illegal immigration before the midterm elections, according to AP.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
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Dispatches From the Front, Wed 20 Sep. 2006

U.S. Army soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, scan an open field before crossing it during a cordon and search mission in Ur, Iraq. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin.

NEWSBYTES
AFGHAN, COALITION DOCTORS TREAT ANDAR PATIENTS
ANDAR DISTRICT, Afghanistan (CENTCOM) -- A team of Army and Navy doctors, nurses and medics treated more than 850 Afghans on Sept. 20 at the clinic here.

ALLIES RESTORE GOVERNMENT, HOPE IN ANDAR
FORWARD OPERATING BASE GHAZNI, Afghanistan (CENTCOM) -- Allied forces delivered a forceful blow to extremists operating in southeastern Afghanistan with the establishment of a district center Sept. 17 in the Andar District of Ghazni Province.

4TH IRAQI ARMY ASSUMES SECURITY RESPONSIBILITY FOR SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE
Baghdad, Iraq (CENTCOM) -- On September 18th, the 4th Iraqi Army Division became the second Iraqi Army division to fall under operational control of the Iraqi Ground Force Command (IGFC). In doing so, the 4th Iraqi Army Division assumed responsibility for security of the Salah ad Din province from the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division.

IRAQI ARMY AND COALITION SOLDIERS DISCOVER WEAPONS CACHE
9/19/2006
TIKRIT, Iraq (CENTCOM) -- Soldiers and Paratroopers from the 1st Company, 4th Iraqi Army Division and Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, discovered a weapons cache during Operation Delta Snag on Sept. 14 in Salah ad Din province, northwest of Samarra.

Dhi Qar: Rich past, hopeful future
By Staff Sgt. James Sherrill
Monday, 18 September 2006
BAGHDAD (CENTCOM) -- With all its history in tow, Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq is looking toward the future. It’s scheduled later this month to become the second of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be transferred to provincial Iraqi control.

CNN Transcript - The Situation Room
Wolf Blitzer interviews Gen. John Abizaid, US CENTCOM Commander, on operations in the Middle East
Monday, 18 September 2006

Operation Together Forward Brings Life to Ameriyah
Spc. Joshua Ramey
Monday, 18 September 2006
BAGHDAD, (CENTCOM) -- Since the beginning of Operation Together Forward, Baghdad’s Ameriyah neighborhood has seen several social and economic improvements as the Iraqi army and Multi-National Division – Baghdad (MND-B) forces work to rid the area of terrorist violence.

Passing the baton to support the Iraqi security forces
Sunday, 17 September 2006
By Gen. George W. Casey, Jr.
(CENTCOM) -- On September 13, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Task Force Band of Brothers, transferred responsibility to the 25th Infantry Division, Task Force Lightning. The 101st Airborne Division’s list of accomplishments during its tour in Iraq is remarkable and representative of what other Coalition units are achieving alongside their Iraqi partners. Moving forward together, Task Force Band of Brothers and the Iraqi security forces made tremendous strides in securing an area the size of the state of Pennsylvania, transitioning security responsibility to Iraqi control and establishing conditions for Iraqi security self-reliance in the near future.

Video: Freedom Watch Afghanistan Sept 19
This edition features a story on Airmen performing routine Phase inspections on A-10 aircraft. Hosted by Senior Airman Joel Fry.

Video: OIF Today 480
This edition features headlines on Operation Together Forward and terrorists suspects being detained. Hosted by Senior Airman Richard Gonzales.

Video: Humvee Prep.wmv

Video: Operation Together Forward.wmv

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Enemies: How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets and How We Let It Happen by Bill Gertz

BOOKS IN THE NEWS

Enemies: How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets--and How We Let It Happen by Bill Gertz
(From the Publisher) -- It’s the great untold story of the war on terror.

Taking advantage of gaping holes in America’s defenses, terrorist organizations and enemy nations like Communist China, North Korea, Russia, and Cuba—not to mention some so-called friends—are infiltrating the U.S. government to steal our most vital secrets and use them against us. And most astonishing of all, our leaders are letting it happen.

In the explosive new book Enemies, acclaimed investigative reporter Bill Gertz uncovers the truth about this grave threat to our national security and America’s harrowing failures to address the danger. Gertz’s unrivaled access to the U.S. intelligence and defense communities allows him to tell the whole shocking story, based on previously unpublished classified documents and dozens of exclusive interviews with senior government and intelligence officials. He takes us deep inside the dark world of intelligence and counterintelligence—a world filled with lies and betrayal, spies sleeping with enemy spies, and moles burrowing within the FBI, the CIA, the Pentagon, and even the White House.

Enemies stunningly reveals:

• The untold story of one of the most damaging enemy spy penetrations in U.S. history—and how the FBI bungled the investigation

• How Communist China’s intelligence and influence operations may have reached the highest levels of the U.S. government

• Why Russia has as many spies in America today as it did at the height of the Cold War

• How al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups use official identification, uniforms, and vehicles to infiltrate secure areas and carry out attacks

• How some thirty-five terrorist groups are targeting the United States through espionage

• A startling account of the many enemy spies the U.S. has let get away

• How a Cuban mole operated high up in the Pentagon for sixteen years

• The gross ineptness that led U.S. officials to hound an innocent man while the real mole operated right under their noses

• Why aggressive counterintelligence represents the only real defense against terrorists and enemy spies—and why the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy resists it

Delivering the kind of shocking new information that led Washington Monthly magazine to declare him “legendary among national security reporters,” Bill Gertz opens our eyes as never before to deadly threats and counterintelligence failures that place every American at risk.

America’s enemies, including terrorist organizations, are stealing our most vital secrets to use against us—and the U.S. government makes it shockingly easy for them to do so. Filled with headline-making revelations from acclaimed reporter Bill Gertz, Enemies reveals the frightening untold story of the War on Terror.

REVIEWS
Praise for Bill Gertz and his explosive New York Times bestsellers

“A blockbuster book . . . Just astounding.” —Rush Limbaugh

“Gertz is legendary among national security reporters for the quality of his sources. . . . He is the envy of his competitors.” —Washington Monthly

“The hottest reporter in town . . . [Gertz] breaks dozens of stories every year, and he’s read carefully by people who follow national security issues, not to mention the military attachés around town.” —Washington Post

“If you’re a fan of horror stories, read this. It will scare the hell out of you.” —G. Gordon Liddy

“Bill Gertz remains a national asset.” —Weekly Standard

“Explosive . . . A methodical, well-thought-out, easy-to-read book . . . that will shock the average American.” —Sean Hannity

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Enemies: How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets--and How We Let It Happen by Bill Gertz $16.17 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

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Enemies: How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets $16.00 FREE SHIPPING on orders over $25

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Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 19 Sep

Heads up, this news rolls downhill.

"An extremist with a microphone can be dangerous enough; an extremist with nuclear weapons poses a danger to the entire world." --David Saperstein

"There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad." --Salvador Dali

• President Bush pressed Iran Tuesday to immediately begin negotiations on its nuclear program and warned Tehran that delay would bring consequences, according to AP.

• AP reports that Iran's nuclear activities are "transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eye" of United Nations inspectors, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. Ahmadinejad rips the US:
  
  

  "The question needs to be asked: if the governments of the United States or the United Kingdom, who are permanent members of the Security Council, commit aggression, occupation and violation of international law, which of the U.N. organs can take them into account," he said.
  
  "If they have differences with a nation or state, they drag it to the Security Council and as claimants, arrogate to themselves simultaneously the roes of prosecutor, judge and executioner," he added said. "Is this a just order?"

• MSNBC reports Ahmadinejad said, “the world has changed." and "Nations are awakened now. They want their rights — equal rights, and fair ones. The time for world empires has ended.”

• NASA searched for the source of multiple unidentified objects spotted close to the shuttle Atlantis today and to see whether they were linked to an indication from an impact sensor in the right wing that recorded several small jolts overnight, reports chron.com.

• Ted Turner, showing us the mindset that put CNN squarely behind Fox News hopes, "Al Gore might be persuaded to run for U.S. President in 2008." Turner also displays his unique grasp of history that prompted him to make Jane Fonda his wife, "[The decision to invade Iraq] will go down in history -- it already is going down in history -- as one of the dumbest moves that was ever made by anybody," Turner said, citing the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Russia during the Second World War as other "dumb" moves," according to E&P.

• However, AP reports Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, CNN creator Ted Turner and former Sen. Sam Nunn pledged $50 million to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency Tuesday to create a uranium stockpile. From the article:

  The aim is to discourage countries from developing their own nuclear programs. The reserve would ensure supplies of low-grade fuel for nuclear power plants around the world. One example of a program they hope to discourage is in Iran, which critics fear is ultimately aimed at developing weapons.

• Sirius Satellite Radio said on Tuesday that reports suggesting that shock jock Howard Stern was planning a return to mainstream radio was "wrong," reports Reuters.

• Gas prices continue to fall, upsetting both liberals and OPEC members alike. AFP reports OPEC ministers could hold an emergency meeting ahead of the next regular conference in December as the oil market is clearly "out of balance" and prices are falling, a senior OPEC official has said.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension