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POPSAt the DNC Convention, Sixties Radicals Are Going to "Save the World", Again! for America will be best achieved through policies of generosity and caring toward the rest of the world.” All America has to do is dedicate “1%-2% of the GDP each year for the next 20 years toward once and for all eliminating domestic and global poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education, inadequate health care, and repairing the environment of the planet.” Once and for all? And to think no one had figured out sooner that we could merely legislate the human condition out of existence. Of course, collecting the money is only half the battle. Once we confiscate the necessary funds, according to the NSP’s helpful 32-page booklet on the Global Marshall Plan, all we have to do is “create an international, unbiased, nongovernmental agency for receiving the funds . . . and distributing them in a way that is environmentally sensitive, respectful of native cultures, safeguarded against corruption
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POPSJoe Biden, Friend of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps And the IRGC and its Quds Force were both designated “supporters of terrorism” in October 2007. Though the latter two designations would not have been so had Biden had his way. And most importantly – for the sake of sanctions and the unequivocal denial of any form of support to terrorists and terrorist supporters – the amendment said, “the United States should designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization … and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The text of the amendment included Congressional testimony from then-commander of Multi-National-Force Iraq Gen. David Petraeus, who said, “Iran, through the use of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps Quds Force, seeks to turn the Shiia militia extremists into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq.”
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POPSReport From a Forgotten War: Second in a Series
Taliban leaders also provided a haven for Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda to launch the 9/11 attack. In November 2001, when they were deposed by the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance, many of the Taliban fled south to Pakistan and east into Iran. This spring, they came back, intent on overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Hamid Karzi. That's when the Marines of TF 2/7 arrived "in country" to train and mentor Afghan Army and police forces. It's been a challenging assignment for the 1300 Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen of TF 2/7. The unit's Area of Operations (A/O) is more than 28,000 square kilometers — roughly the size of Vermont. There is only one paved highway. Overland transport to some of the fifteen forward bases and combat outposts where TF 2/7 operates often takes more than 24 hours of continuous day and night movement. Until this week — when four CH-53 transport helos and four Cobra gunships arrived, the task force had to rely on NATO aircraft...
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POPSGeneral Barry McCaffrey (ret) Says More Troops Aren't The Answer In Afghanistan More ominously, the general says, we can expect a Taliban drive to erase Afghanistan's border with Pakistan in the wild frontier provinces of Pakistan that have provided sanctuary for Taliban and al Qaida leaders and fighters since Osama bin Laden escaped there in 2001. Military means, he writes, won't be enough to counter terror created by resurgent Taliban forces; we can't win with a war of attrition; and the economic and political support from the international community is inadequate. The battle will only be won, McCaffrey says, when there's a real Afghan police presence in all of the country's 34 provinces and 398 districts; when the Afghan National Army is expanded from 80,000 troops today to 200,000 troops; when we deploy five U.S. combat engineer battalions with a brigade of Army Stryker forces for security to begin a five-year road building program that also trains Afghan Army engineer units and employs Afghan contractors and workers.
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POPS The Left vs Free Speech The truly outrageous aspect of such comparisons is that the American left, with its Stalin-redux willingness to rearrange history, neglects to mention that, outside of Japan, all of the 20th century's great totalitarian regimes had roots on the political left. It wasn't just Lenin and Stalin whose propaganda machine prefigured MoveOn. Nazi is an acronym for "National Socialist." Read Mein Kampf. It isn't a tribute to free-market capitalism, folks. Mussolini was a populist. Mao was a leftist, as was Pol Pot. The last century's worst censors and book burners all emerged from leftist ideologies. As this column recently pointed out, Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home! disappeared from the political scene the instant Obama called for sending those troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan, instead of back to Fort Hood. For the hardcore left, the party line always trumps conscience. MoveOn isn't new - it's just Pravda with poor punctuation.
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POPSal-Qaeda Confirms Death Of Arms Expert: report DUBAI (AFP) — Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of a chemical and biological weapons expert whose killing in a suspected US strike was reported by Pakistan, an Islamist militant website said on Sunday. Abu Khabab al-Masri was among a group of "heroes" who joined "the caravans of martyrs," said a statement signed by Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, Al-Qaeda's general commander in Afghanistan. Its authenticity could not be independently confirmed. Pakistani officials had said that a July 28 missile strike in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area killed Abu Khabab al-Masri, an Egyptian militant whose full name was Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar.
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POPSFINALLY! Wartime Opposition To War Is Explained Clearly and was almost key in 2008, but something happened. Success in Iraq. Barry's War Obama supporters and blissed-out Barry-heads everywhere: Are you ready for some righteous war? Are you prepared to step up and get fucking medieval in Afghanistan, and perhaps in Pakistan as well? You’d better be, for the man whose feet you’re currently kissing has big plans to expand the War On Terror, and now is not the time for faint-hearted second-thoughts. Polish those boots, clean your weapons, and get in formation. The moment of truth is arriving soon. Big drop in casualties security success success against the Al Queda in Iraq groups and growing political success It was undeniable, so the left denied it, and ignored it, and now… …now that both the Democrats and Republicans are coming to consensus on how to proceed in Iraq, those who opposed are revealing that their opposition really was just based on partisanship…not patriotic dissent as earlier claimed.
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POPSMy Country, Tis Of Thee, Sweet Land Of Liberty Long before the Hamdan trial, we already knew that we were offered bin Laden in transit from Sudan to Afghanistan. But we did not want him. Our lawyers had no battle, our leaders no mettle. Most of us, though not all, have learned nothing. After thousands smote and seven years of war, we are back to our superior ways, demanding Habeas Corpus and noting in the very first trial that bin Laden’s deputy was read no Miranda rights upon his capture - or was it arrest? They say history repeats itself. Never before has it applied so swiftly, within the same generation and within the same conflict. A selfish society incapable of sacrifice is equally incapable of self-defense. Our greatest concern is not the pursuit of madmen or the states which feed them. It is not even the cost of oil and its affect on our economy and future.
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POPSStrategy Or Magic Numbers And Stump Politics? Yet, unlike the Iraq surge he opposed (and still opposes), where increased numbers were based on a mission transition in 2007 and requirements to fulfill that mission, Senator Obama’s surge plan for Afghanistan appears on its face to have little concrete vision beyond sending in more troops. What’s more telling is that there is little in the way of detailing how that specific number of additional troops was arrived at. The lack of accompanying explanation - suggests it may be just that, a number. This, if so, is not a plan. Perhaps his military advisors may want to sharpen their pencils and share a thought or two. Perhaps we simply missed them amid the frequent criticism. Or perhaps the senator may reverse course and return to his once-stated predisposition to send US troops into Pakistan. Otherwise, it all rings as hollow criticism without serious alternative. That’s not a plan. And it’s not a strategy. That’s simply stump politics.
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POPSCivil War Breaking Out Amongst Pak Taliban Clearly we see the same pattern of violence against fellow Muslims (and fellow Jihadists) at the hands of the uber radical Islamo Fascists creating a backlash. This is very reminiscent of how it began in Iraq. The Pakistan Awakening may be beginning (and it may not ever happen). But one thing is clear in all military situations, a divided enemy is easier to defeat than a united one. So the news civil war is starting to break out amongst the Taliban forces in the Pak Tribal Areas is very good news
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POPSGOP Fights For Expedited Delivery Of Ballots To Military In 2000 military ballots were targeted for challenge in the famous Florida recount , and only 48% of the overseas members of the military who requested absentee ballots for the 2006 election had their ballots counted, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Conservatives believe that members of Congress should fight as hard for the right of our military to vote as our military has fought to allow Iraq to have a constitutional democracy. Sens. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), along with Reps. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are engaging in legislative combat for the rights of our military to vote in the 2008 election.
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POPSAbu Khabab al-Masri, Al Qaeda "Master of Terror," Killed... Maybe Furthermore, as the London Times notes, "The attack came just before Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister, was due to meet President Bush in Washington for talks focusing on co-operation in the War on Terror." That raises the possibility of a politically motivated announcement of the death of a senior AQ leader, and that has happened before also. So let's wait for verifiable physical evidence before celebrating. And don't confuse this terrorist with Abu Ubaida al-Masri, another Al Qaeda senior leader who died a few months ago of natural causes.
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POPS‘Hook’ Imam Denied Extradition Appeal: To Stand Trial In U.S. They also say he assisted extremists who kidnapped 16 foreign tourists in Yemen in 1998. Three British tourists and one Australian visitor were killed in a shootout between Yemeni security forces and the captors. Al-Masri also is accused of facilitating terrorist training in Afghanistan. The former imam at London’s Finsbury Park Mosque, al-Masri is one of Britain’s best-known Islamist radicals. The Egyptian-born preacher is blind in one eye and has hooks in place of the hands he says he lost fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Under his leadership the Finsbury Park mosque became a magnet for extremists. Its worshippers included Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.
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POPSA USAF Captain’s Observation Of Obama’s Visit To Afghanistan So really he was just here to make a showing for the Americans back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you. I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States . I just don’t understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-in-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country. If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake. In service, CPT J Bagram, Afghanistan
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POPSMessiah Lies About His Senate Committee Assignment John explains the rest: But Obama is not a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Obama just made that up so he could count the committee's action as one of "my deeds." If committed by a Republican, this would be a gaffe of historic proportions. Even a Senator as inattentive to his duties as Obama certainly knows what committees he serves on. For him to fabricate the claim, out of whole cloth, that the Senate Banking Committee is " committee," strikes me as another sign of Obama's megalomania. That, plus more evidence that he is totally at sea without a teleprompter. Illinois Senator's Record Of Inaction Leaves Him Discredited WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Republican National Committee: As Chairman Of The Subcommittee With NATO Oversight, Obama Has Failed To Hold Any Hearings On Afghanistan:
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POPSMedia "Obamathon" Couric Showcases Obama Over McCain The Media Is In Love With Barack It's pretty obvious that the media has a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama. Some may even say it's a love affair. Watch the video 2:56 http://www.johnmccain.com/ It has been an Obamathon ever since the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee touched down in Afghanistan. At today's press conference in Amman, a throng of reporters recorded his every move. In total, 200 journalists requested seats on “Air Obama” -- 40 of them were accepted. The bill for the trip? About $20,000 each.
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POPSAfghanistan: Obama Sees Problems; McCain Sees A solution The differences are not small ones, and reflect a distinction between the kind of staff-driven, laundry-list mush that sees the immensity of a problem and a leader-driven set of priorities that sees a solution. It is the distinction between Obama's opposition to the Iraq surge and McCain's support for it: not just the courage to make the tough choice, but the clarity to follow the right course. It's also the distinction between winning the war and simply ending it. Thomas Donnelly is the Resident Fellow in Foreign & Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
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POPSGeneral Obama Calls For Shift Of U.S. Forces To Afghanistan Obama, who has made his opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five years ago a centerpiece of his campaign, was in Baghdad to assess security in Iraq, where violence has fallen to its lowest level since early 2004. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Obama did not mention his pledge to remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months if he takes office in talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But in comments suggesting Iraq and Obama are not far apart on the timeframe, Dabbagh said Baghdad's goal was for foreign combat forces to leave by the end of 2010 if security conditions allowed. Dabbagh has floated a similar timeframe before. "We cannot give any timetables or dates but the Iraqi government believes the end of 2010 is the appropriate time for the withdrawal of the forces," Dabbagh told reporters. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080721/pl_nm/iraq_dc
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POPSMiddle East Minefield For Barack Obama But Israeli officials - with whom he's reportedly meeting on Tuesday - will press him to define his policies about nuclear power and Iran, experts said. "The Israelis are going to have real questions about Iran, and about how he views taking out nuclear facilities there - if they haven't done it already themselves by the time Bush leaves," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "That topic will come up, on both sides. He'll get asked about it," said former State Department Mideast analyst Graeme Bannerman. "He's got to remember he's speaking to Americans - he's in a campaign, after all - even if that means he has to say things that make the locals very nervous."
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POPSMcCain Hits Obama On Iraq, Outlines Afghanistan Plan some of whose members have national restrictions on where their troops can go and what they can do. This is no way to run a war.” The Arizona senator touted the Afghan army as a “great success story” and said it needs to be expanded. He added that the global community should share the cost of doubling the size of the Afghan army. “We must convince Pakistanis that this is their war as much as it is ours. And we must empower the new civilian government of Pakistan to defeat radicalism with greater support for development, health and education,” McCain said. “Sen. Obama has spoken in public about taking unilateral military action in Pakistan. In trying to sound tough, he has made it harder for the people whose support we most need to provide it,” he added. “I will not bluster, and I will not make idle threats. But understand this: When I am commander in chief, there will be nowhere the terrorists can run, and nowhere they can hide.”
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POPSMullen Presents Medals For Valor To 12 Paratroopers In Afghanistan “We spotted an enemy scout and eventually made contact, but he was able to our location to other fighters in the valley,” Ambrosia said. Ambrosia’s element had a translator monitoring the enemy communication with a basic one-way radio. The interpreter continued to monitor the radio, and Ambrosia learned that the scout was coordinating with other enemy fighters in the area to launch an attack. Soon there were at least three enemy elements with three to five fighters each closing in on the platoon. So close, in fact, they were in hand-grenade range of his troops, he said. “At one point, I started calling the vehicles in the valley to start shooting on our position, because the enemy was too close to call in artillery or mortar fire.” Enemy radio traffic intercepted by Ambrosia’s interpreter let the paratroopers know the insurgents planned to overrun their position and take them hostage, but they were able to repel the attack, he said.............
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POPSOsama Bin Laden Suspect 'We Can't Kick Out' Is Freed U was arrested trying to fly out to Saudi Arabia on false passports and was due to be extradited to America before US prosecutors dropped the case. Judges at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission have ruled there were "credible grounds" for believing MI5's claims. The conditions are being kept top secret but MI5 and police successfully argued he should not be allowed to live in London. The town in which he lives and any details which could lead to him being identified are also being kept secret. U will have to wear an electronic tag and is banned from using the internet or a mobile phone after refusing to turn his back on extremism.
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POPSVeterans Hit The Battlegrounds We need to finish the job. . . . No matter who is president." Hegseth says his group is not operating on behalf of McCain and notes that federal law prohibits the organization from coordinating the ad with his campaign. The states were chosen, he said, not because they are crucial swing states for McCain, but rather because the heightened interest in those states will give it a larger audience. "We're going to tap into that heightened awareness," he said, noting that his organization has supported several Democratic candidates in the past year or so. "It's not an attack on anybody. We're not taking on any presidential candidates." He said McCain has been the "strongest advocate" for the veterans of the two wars. "We would hope that success in Iraq could benefit everybody," he said.
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POPSPakistan Strikes At Taliban In Khyber Agency Roadblocks and checkpoints have been established in Peshawar in an effort to halt the movement of Taliban into the provincial capital. Government and security officials, business leaders, and residents have said the Taliban are poised to take Peshawar. The Pakistani government has "given full authority" to General Pervaiz Kayani, the Army Chief of Staff, to conduct operations to secure Peshawar. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani said the federal government fully supports efforts by the provincial government of the Northwest Frontier Province to conduct peace talks with the Taliban. Khyber has seen increased Taliban activity this year. Seventeen me members of the Frontier Corps were captured just days ago after they refused to abandon their checkpoints. In March, the Taliban blew up 42 trucks transporting fuel to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan was kidnapped in Khyber in February.
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POPSIn America's Current Political Climate The Truth Is Heresy - a maternal great-grandparent (Sen. Obama's great-great grandparent, thus the 6.25% ethnic contribution to the senator's ethnic composition.). As you can see for yourself, Sen. Obama's African-American ethnic claim, when properly researched and documented, is a lie. The question no one wants to answer - particularly Mr. Obama and his supporters, is, "Why do you think he has an Arabic name? Why does his father have an Arabic name? Why does every ancestor on his father's side have an Arabic name?" The answer is obvious: They have Arabic names because his father's side of the family tree is Arabic. That means that Mr. Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother's side. He is 43.75% Arabic, and 6.25% African Negro from his father's side. http://conservablogs.com/velvethammer/2008/01/25/obamas-family-tree/ How would the senator convince Americans still reeling from 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq, that now is the time for America's first Arab-American president.
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POPSDespite 2002 Hunting Ban, Snow Leopard Furs Being Sold As Souvenirs In Kabul U.S. soldiers joke with a snow leopard skin sample during an awareness programme at a military base in Kabul May 25, 2008. Afghanistan's snow leopards have barely survived three decades of war. But now the few remaining mountain leopards left in Afghanistan face another threat -- foreigners involved in rebuilding the war-torn country. Despite a complete hunting ban across Afghanistan since 2002, snow leopard furs regularly end up for sale on international military bases and at tourist bazaars in the capital. Foreigners have ready cash to buy the pelts as souvenirs and impoverished Afghans break poaching laws to supply them. Picture taken May 25, 2008. To match feature AFGHAN-SNOWLEOPARDS/ REUTERS/Omar Sobhani (AFGHANISTAN) AFGHAN-SNOWLEOPARDS/ KABUL Afghanistan 6/27/2008
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POPSThanks AP And ABC News For Spinning Liberal Bias My argument is bolstered further by the authors' ridiculous description of the weather as "out-of-control." They would have you believe that until eight years ago, when a certain Republican became President of the United States, the country had never experienced hurricanes, tornadoes, extremely high and low temperatures, and floods. The weather has been calm for the billions of years of the earth's existence and then suddenly, boom! The weather's out of control. AND we can make the weather not be out of control (i.e., if we elect a certain Democrat president .) Really, this article is an absolute embarrassment in every way. A DNC press release couldn't be more biased. There is positively nothing the least bit objective about this article. It's a string of hysterical unsubstantiated Democrat talking points.
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POPSIran Supplying Equipment To Taliban To Fight British Evidence found by UK special forces is understood to concern the supply of the same bomb-making equipment Iran provides to insurgents in Iraq, namely components for explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs. It is not clear whether the bomb that last week killed four British SAS reservists in Helmand province was such a device, although British military commanders fear that increasing Iranian involvement in Afghanistan may render irrelevant attempts to increase the number of armoured vehicles in the conflict. Yesterday four coalition soldiers were killed by a bomb in the province of Kandahar. Meanwhile, as investigations continue into the use of Snatch Land Rovers in southern Afghanistan in which the four UK troops died last week, new figures obtained by The Observer reveal that more than 700 armoured vehicles that could be deployed to protect British personnel in Helmand are out of action.
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POPSText Message To Capture Team, "I am with KSM" His cooperation came in fits and starts, and interrogators said they believed at times that he gave them disinformation. But he talked most freely to Martinez. The intelligence riches ultimately gleaned mount to a detailed history of Mohammed's initiation into terrorism along with his nephew, Yousef; his plotting of mayhem from Bosnia to the Philippines and his alliance with Osama bin Laden. Mohammed also claimed a role in a long list of completed and thwarted attacks, including the beheading of Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter Martinez told colleagues that Mohammed volunteered out of the blue that he was the man who killed Pearl. Intelligence analysts eventually were convinced because Mohammed pointed out to Martinez details of the hand and arm of the masked killer in a videotape of the murder that appeared to show it was him. For now, Deuce Martinez teaches other CIA analysts the arcane art of tracking terrorists.
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POPSTaliban Are Weaker As NATO Attacks Rebels (Update2) Afghan officials said the Taliban have now been cleared from the villages outside the city. Taliban rebels, seeking to overthrow President Hamid Karzai's government, stepped up their insurgency in southern and eastern provinces and increasingly targeted the capital, Kabul, with suicide bombings in recent months. While acknowledging the jail break and fighting posed difficulties, Wood said the international community wouldn't allow the district to fall to the insurgents. Our unified assessment in Kabul is that the Taliban is weaker in 2008 than it was at the beginning of the fighting season in 2007. The Islamist fighters last year lost districts and the U.S. has intelligence of ``some dissatisfaction among the rank and file of the Taliban with their focus on terrorism against innocent civilians. NATO leads a force of more than 53,000 soldiers battling the Taliban.
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POPSAngry Afghan President: Will No Longer Tolerate Cross-Border Attacks. Analysts said they doubt military action by Afghanistan is imminent, but Pakistan's prime minister said the threat "will not be taken well." A Taliban spokesman warned that the Afghan army would be defeated by thousands of armed tribesman. Speaking on the grounds of his fortified presidential palace, Karzai told a news conference that Afghanistan has the right to self defense, and because militants cross over from Pakistan "to come and kill Afghan and kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to do the same." Then, Karzai warned Pakistan-based Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud that Afghan forces would target him on his home turf. Mehsud has been accused in last year's assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. "Baitullah Mehsud should know that we will go after him now and hit him in his house," Karzai said. "And the other fellow, (Taliban leader) Mullah Omar of Pakistan, should know the same," Karzai continued.
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POPSDouglas J. Feith His New Book, War And Decision Former undersecretary of defense talks about his book, the Iraq war, the Bush Administration, the media, and the American political class' approach to national security. Show archives are at GlennandHelenShow.com. Music is by Mobius Dick. Listen to this podcast (27:25) or download (15.7 MB) The The Glenn and Helen Show: Doug Feith on War and Decision (lofi version 4.7 MB). Free show subscription available at iTunes.
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POPSMilitants Attack Afghan Prison With Car Bomb, Free Inmates Lawmaker Habibullah Jan said some of the hunger strikers had been held without trial for more than two years. Others were given lengthy prison sentences after short trials. Jan said 47 of the prisoners had stitched their mouths shut during the hunger strike in May.
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POPSMurtha Blocks Iraq Funding to pass a funding bill, and Democratic leaders refuse to bring for a vote clean legislation that would pass with largely Republican support. Nevertheless, Murtha believes it's appropriate to nickel and dime the Pentagon, while holding up long-term funding. Service members, including those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and essential civilians would serve without pay, while nonessential civilian employees would be furloughed, the department said. But don't worry: Congress supports the troops.
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POPS Cocky Ignorance Thomas Sowell What has not been widely publicized is that this higher suicide rate is still not as high as the suicide rate among demographically comparable civilians. But the media have managed to create the impression that it is military service overseas which is the cause of suicides among American troops, when civilians of the same ages and other demographic characteristics are committing suicide at an even higher rate at home. Moreover, this is not the first time that military service overseas has been portrayed in the media as the cause of problems that are worse in the civilian population at home. The New York Times led the way in making homicides committed by returning military veterans a front-page story, blaming this on “combat trauma and the stress of deployment.” Yet the New York Post showed that the homicide rate among returning veterans is a fraction of the homicide rate among demographically comparable civilians.
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POPSNATO-Led Force 'Underresourced' For The Fight Against The Taliban Marines are now on Day 30-plus of what was initially expected to be a three-to-five-day campaign, as they live without electricity or running water and face Taliban reinforcements who continue to flow into their territory from neighboring Pakistan. But they are making key strides, military officials say, with a recent operation to block escape routes and cut off Taliban supply lines. "Mowing the lawn." They are operating in an area that British forces, hobbled by insufficient troop levels, have tried to clear before. One British commander referred to it as "mowing the lawn," since the insurgency seems to just grow back. Other allies have suggested that Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government will need to hold reconciliation talks with insurgents from the former Taliban regime but not until some level of security is established. This year, the American ambassador sought advice from a former Taliban commander, asking what ISAF could do to reduce popular support for the Taliban.
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POPS D-Day In Context Perhaps that's because it would draw parallels between those who stormed the coast of France in 1944 and those who are fighting now -- and winning -- a war against radical Islam. Unlike those who braved their way into Hitler's Fortress Europe, the young Americans fighting today's battles reap few accolades from the potentates of the press or the liberal "leadership" in Washington. A recent editorial warned about Iraq: "Don't look now, but the U.S.-backed government and army may be winning the war." And it took to task those who comprise "the 'this-war-is-lost' caucus." The victories over al-Qaida and the Shiite militias in Iraq, against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's remnant in Afghanistan, have been won by U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen and Marines -- and the new allies in these countries. Those who landed on the beaches of Normandy 64 years ago were American heroes. So are those who serve today.
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