spare_change
12-01-2007, 11:03 PM
Howard loses re-election bid, Bush suffers?
Australia’s prime minister John Howard lost his bid for a fifth term last week to the Labor Party’s Kevin Rudd, and America’s MSM wasted no time in painting his loss as a blow to George Bush. They assume that Rudd’s platform is proof that Australia no longer wants to be America’s ally because Rudd plans to pull Australia’s troops out of Iraq and ratify the Kyoto global-warming treaty.
As usual, it takes some serious reading between the lines printed in the New York Times’ poison ink to get to the real story. In fact, Australia’s involvement in Iraq played almost no role in the election. For starters, Australia has so few combat troops in Iraq that one jumbo jet could fly them all out, so it is unlikely that their withdrawal will have any serious impact on our operations. Second, Australia intends to maintain its 1,000-plus troops in Afghanistan, so it is unlikely Rudd’s new government will completely reject being a partner in the war against Jihadistan.
It’s most likely that Howard lost the election after 12 years in office because the citizenry was simply ready for a change. That happens in democracies—compare the rejections of Churchill and De Gaulle after they won WWII, as well as Thatcher after the Cold War. Furthermore, Rudd made clear that he has no intention of changing the nature of his country’s relationship with the U.S. He even went as far as to recognize “our great friend and ally, the United States,” in his victory speech. We’re sorry to burst the Times’ bubble, but that’s hardly a blow to George W. Bush.
Warfront with Jihadistan: Saudi insurgency
Documents recovered during recent Coalition raids in Iraq have proved what most senior U.S. military leaders have known for four years: Our “ally” Saudi Arabia is providing more foreign suicide bombers, and vastly more money, to the insurgency than anyone else in the region. This is not surprising, as the Saudis are awash in oil money and in brainwashed young men raised in the medieval Wahabbi branch of Sunni Islam. While Iran continues to provide invaluable technical support, intelligence support, and weaponry to various Shi’ite groups in Iraq, al-Qa’ida continues to rely on suicide bombings as its only reliable means of reaching the evening news and depends on foreign Sunni fighters to carry out those suicide attacks.
This isn’t the first time Saudi Arabia has been a source of terrorist mischief. In the past the Saudis have openly provided money for Palestinian attacks on Israel, even holding televised fundraisers to subsidize the families of suicide bombers. The Saudis deliberately impeded the FBI’s investigation of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. And of course, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi subjects. While Shi’ite Iran remains the number-one sponsor of terrorism worldwide, we should not forget that Saudi Arabia’s Wahabbi sect remains the driving force behind al-Qa’ida, the enemy in the global war on terror.
This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award
“Even though I approved of Afghanistan and opposed Iraq from the beginning, I still resent that I was not asked or given the opportunity to support those soldiers.” —Bill Clinton this week in Iowa
“I supported the President when he asked the Congress for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.” —Bill Clinton in May 2003
And just for good measure: “I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it’s in the long-term interests of our national security.” —Hillary Clinton in September 2002
Furthermore, Bill signed the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998, making it the official policy of the United States “to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace the regime.”
Wedding procession hijinks
This week Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint stopped a two-car wedding procession, but this was no ordinary wedding. The soldiers became suspicious when the two-car procession at first refused to stop. On top of that, all the participants were men, except for the bride. Upon further inspection, the bride, dressed in a white gown and carrying a yellow-flower bouquet, appeared to need a shave. In fact, the “bride” and another man were on the wanted-terrorists list and were attempting a getaway. (We in our humble shop are wondering how they decided who would dress in the gown.) The Iraqi soldiers had a good laugh as they insisted the bride undress to prove his femininity. The unhappy couple is currently on their honeymoon under guard at Al Taji military base.
Profiles of valor: Army Staff Sgt. Ketterer
Army Staff Sgt. Clarence Ketterer was serving as a Squad Leader with the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment of the Michigan Army National Guard stationed in Habbaniyah, Iraq. During a patrol, Ketterer’s team came upon Iraqi soldiers whose vehicle had been hit by a suicide bomber and were under fire from insurgents. Ketterer quickly left the shelter of his vehicle to help evacuate the wounded soldiers while coordinating a counter-attack against the enemy. While assisting the wounded soldiers into an ambulance, Ketterer returned fire with his weapon and led the ambulance to safety. For the Iraqi lives that he saved that day, Ketterer was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” for valor. Ketterer is currently a senior at Central Michigan University and is a campus Company Executive Officer for the ROTC.
Australia’s prime minister John Howard lost his bid for a fifth term last week to the Labor Party’s Kevin Rudd, and America’s MSM wasted no time in painting his loss as a blow to George Bush. They assume that Rudd’s platform is proof that Australia no longer wants to be America’s ally because Rudd plans to pull Australia’s troops out of Iraq and ratify the Kyoto global-warming treaty.
As usual, it takes some serious reading between the lines printed in the New York Times’ poison ink to get to the real story. In fact, Australia’s involvement in Iraq played almost no role in the election. For starters, Australia has so few combat troops in Iraq that one jumbo jet could fly them all out, so it is unlikely that their withdrawal will have any serious impact on our operations. Second, Australia intends to maintain its 1,000-plus troops in Afghanistan, so it is unlikely Rudd’s new government will completely reject being a partner in the war against Jihadistan.
It’s most likely that Howard lost the election after 12 years in office because the citizenry was simply ready for a change. That happens in democracies—compare the rejections of Churchill and De Gaulle after they won WWII, as well as Thatcher after the Cold War. Furthermore, Rudd made clear that he has no intention of changing the nature of his country’s relationship with the U.S. He even went as far as to recognize “our great friend and ally, the United States,” in his victory speech. We’re sorry to burst the Times’ bubble, but that’s hardly a blow to George W. Bush.
Warfront with Jihadistan: Saudi insurgency
Documents recovered during recent Coalition raids in Iraq have proved what most senior U.S. military leaders have known for four years: Our “ally” Saudi Arabia is providing more foreign suicide bombers, and vastly more money, to the insurgency than anyone else in the region. This is not surprising, as the Saudis are awash in oil money and in brainwashed young men raised in the medieval Wahabbi branch of Sunni Islam. While Iran continues to provide invaluable technical support, intelligence support, and weaponry to various Shi’ite groups in Iraq, al-Qa’ida continues to rely on suicide bombings as its only reliable means of reaching the evening news and depends on foreign Sunni fighters to carry out those suicide attacks.
This isn’t the first time Saudi Arabia has been a source of terrorist mischief. In the past the Saudis have openly provided money for Palestinian attacks on Israel, even holding televised fundraisers to subsidize the families of suicide bombers. The Saudis deliberately impeded the FBI’s investigation of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. And of course, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi subjects. While Shi’ite Iran remains the number-one sponsor of terrorism worldwide, we should not forget that Saudi Arabia’s Wahabbi sect remains the driving force behind al-Qa’ida, the enemy in the global war on terror.
This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award
“Even though I approved of Afghanistan and opposed Iraq from the beginning, I still resent that I was not asked or given the opportunity to support those soldiers.” —Bill Clinton this week in Iowa
“I supported the President when he asked the Congress for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.” —Bill Clinton in May 2003
And just for good measure: “I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it’s in the long-term interests of our national security.” —Hillary Clinton in September 2002
Furthermore, Bill signed the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998, making it the official policy of the United States “to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace the regime.”
Wedding procession hijinks
This week Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint stopped a two-car wedding procession, but this was no ordinary wedding. The soldiers became suspicious when the two-car procession at first refused to stop. On top of that, all the participants were men, except for the bride. Upon further inspection, the bride, dressed in a white gown and carrying a yellow-flower bouquet, appeared to need a shave. In fact, the “bride” and another man were on the wanted-terrorists list and were attempting a getaway. (We in our humble shop are wondering how they decided who would dress in the gown.) The Iraqi soldiers had a good laugh as they insisted the bride undress to prove his femininity. The unhappy couple is currently on their honeymoon under guard at Al Taji military base.
Profiles of valor: Army Staff Sgt. Ketterer
Army Staff Sgt. Clarence Ketterer was serving as a Squad Leader with the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment of the Michigan Army National Guard stationed in Habbaniyah, Iraq. During a patrol, Ketterer’s team came upon Iraqi soldiers whose vehicle had been hit by a suicide bomber and were under fire from insurgents. Ketterer quickly left the shelter of his vehicle to help evacuate the wounded soldiers while coordinating a counter-attack against the enemy. While assisting the wounded soldiers into an ambulance, Ketterer returned fire with his weapon and led the ambulance to safety. For the Iraqi lives that he saved that day, Ketterer was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” for valor. Ketterer is currently a senior at Central Michigan University and is a campus Company Executive Officer for the ROTC.