Kristol / Washington Post Bush Will Win

Why Bush Will Be A Winner
By William KristolSunday, July 15, 2007

I suppose I'll merely expose myself to harmless ridicule if I make the following assertion: George W. Bush's presidency will probably be a successful one.
Let's step back from the unnecessary mistakes and the self-inflicted wounds that have characterized the Bush administration. Let's look at the broad forest rather than the often unlovely trees. What do we see? First, no second terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- not something we could have taken for granted. Second, a strong economy -- also something that wasn't inevitable.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301709.html

NY Post: Left Media Catastrophe Almost Here!

The dominoes continue to fall as self-preservation dominates the game. The joke is going to see how revisionist history unfolds as the Far Left, having achieved it's goal of castration of a president and the collapse of America in Iraq, tries to blame the massacres and danger that will follow all on George Bush. We are on the verge of entering one of the bleakest points in American history as we hand the terrorists receive the biggest boost we could ever give them.

This is not Viet Nam. This is a war we have little choice in ending and it is going to be playing at a theater near us very soon.

PANICKY POLITICS
POPULISM PUSHING U.S. POLITICIANS INTO PATHETIC POLICIES

By GERARD BAKER

July 15, 2007 -- DEMOCRACY, Winston Churchill famously observed, is the worst form of government ever devised - except for all the others. Well, he was right about the first part.

In America these days, democracy is living down to its reputation - producing sticking-plaster solutions to epochal challenges, indulging the worst populist instincts of its voters, throwing up demagogic leaders unworthy of the job and rejecting those of true courage.


http://www.nypost.com/seven/07152007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/panicky_politics_opedcolumnists_gerard_baker.htm

Washington Times: Democrats for Defeatism !

McCain rips Democrats for 'defeatism'
By Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times

John McCain, fresh off a trip to Iraq, attacked Democrats yesterday for a "choose to lose" approach to the war, as the Arizona senator tries to find common ground with the Republican primary voters who have deserted him in recent months.

"Defeatism will not buy peace in our time," Mr. McCain said in a speech in New Hampshire. It was his first major campaign event since he announced dismal second-quarter fund-raising efforts and his two top national-campaign operatives resigned and took other staffers with them out the door.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070714/NATION/107140029/1001

Weekly Standard: Congress Doing It's Best to Insure Defeat

Keep on Surgin' Bush is beating them back.
by William Kristol, The Weekly Standard

I don't think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops.
--George W. Bush, press conference, July 12, 2007

President Bush is absolutely right. But in a way his admonition to Congress at his press conference last week was unfair. He's correct that Congress can't run a war. But this Congress doesn't want to run a war. It wants to lose a war. Congress can, in principle, achieve this, and the Democrats who control this Congress are doing their best to bring it about.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/877zcqqk.asp

Krauthammer on Deserting Pertaues ..

July 13, 2007
Deserting Petraeus
By Charles Krauthammer

"The key to turning [Anbar] around was the shift in allegiance by tribal sheiks. But the sheiks turned only after a prolonged offensive by American and Iraqi forces, starting in November, that put al-Qaeda groups on the run."

-- The New York Times, July 8

Finally, after four terribly long years, we know what works. Or what can work. A year ago, a confidential Marine intelligence report declared Anbar province (which comprises about a third of Iraq's territory) lost to al-Qaeda. Now, in what the Times's John Burns calls an " astonishing success," the tribal sheiks have joined our side and committed large numbers of fighters that, in concert with American and Iraqi forces, have largely driven out al-Qaeda and turned its former stronghold of Ramadi into one of most secure cities in Iraq.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/deserting_petraeus.html

TCS Daily on Responsibiliy for the Mess ...

Who Is Responsible for the Mess in Mesopotamia?

Thomas Donnelly has pointed out one of many dissonant elements in mainstream media (MSM) coverage of the Iraq war. On Sunday, July 8, The New York Times editorial page stridently called for the U.S. to "leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit."

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=071307A

Al Jazeera Speaks: Readers on Lebanon ...

Lebanon: One year on. Your Views.

I find it both fascinating and important to read what others feel about key issues of our day. This column is taken from a "your opinions" section from Al Jazeera where readers write in expressing their thoughts .... you learn a lot about perspectives from around the globe ... often quite scary and sobering ...

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9A36960-AB5A-43E7-A637-4628328249EB.htm?&choice=3&dgDiscID=172&dgPoolID=c9283284-9360-48e4-b0c9-fa1986735c15

Newsweek, NBC and MSNBS: Far Left at Work

The article below is typical of the far left media that has been working it's hardest to insure we fail as a nation in Iraq. I post it because I want it memorialized for future reference. Everyone from the Europeans to the Iranians are the wise good guys and the faults of the world are all George Bush. What I find most distrubing is the distortion of facts, the revisionist history and the myopic glee over their distruction o George Bush. There is a smug, giddy glee to their coverage but they remain completely unaware that the problem they have created will not leave once Hillary and Bubba return to office. My question becomes what then?

Moving Right Along

While Republicans abandon him at home, the rest of the world is preparing for the era beyond Bush. What the next president should do to repair the breach between Washington and the world.

Newsweek, July 12, 2007 - While the White House desperately tries to save George W. Bush’s “legacy,” the rest of the world is putting it behind them. In capitals around the globe, Bush is already a lame, indeed mortally wounded, duck. And in government offices where U.S. policy can still tilt the fate of nations—that’s most places—the 2008 presidential race is being watched like the World Cup. In Tehran, where I visited in late June, senior officials admit they are closely following the debate. Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran’s powerful Expediency Council, told me in an interview that despite Bush’s baby steps toward engagement with a regime he has disdained talking to for six years, “Mr. Bush’s government is stuck at a crossroads and it can’t make a decision. Mr. Bush is not a patient person. We hope … we can pursue a better path with the next American government. The candidates for next American election are saying [more] logical and rational things about Iran." Another top Iranian official, chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, also said he liked what he was hearing, especially about moves to end the Iraq War. “The Democrats are now coming out with good statements, but we don’t know how once in power they would behave.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19731336/site/newsweek/

N.Y. Post: The Surrender Lobby

In democracy at it's ulgyiest, all the rats are leaving what may be a sinking ship thinking they can save their own asses by pointing fingers against the administration at the 11th hour .... what no one is dealing with is the reality of how massive and distrubing an xit will be , televised worldwide, maximized by the terrorists ...

THE SURRENDER LOBBY

July 13, 2007 -- A new intelligence report prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center apparently concludes that al Qaeda is re-energized, and growing increasingly confident that it can stage successful terrorist attacks against the West.

And Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says al Qaeda's "level of intent remains high."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07132007/postopinion/editorials/the_surrender_lobby_editorials_.htm

London Times: The Worst are Deciding America's Policy's

From The Times
July 13, 2007

How paranoid little Napoleons took over America
Iraq and immigration have shown US politics at its worst

Democracy, Winston Churchill famously observed, is the worst form of government ever devised – except for all the others. Well, he was right about the first part.

In America these days democracy is living down to its reputation, producing sticking-plaster solutions to epochal challenges, indulging the worst populist instincts of its voters, throwing up demagogic leaders unworthy of the job and rejecting those of true courage. The most depressing spectacle is unfolding over Iraq. Washington has reached the stage where vital national interests – and the security of much of the world – are being determined almost entirely by immediate, panicky political considerations. Americans want their troops home.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article2067022.ece

Victor Davis Hanson Replies to the New York Times

Victor Davis Hanson
The New York Times Surrenders
A monument to defeatism on the editorial page
12 July 2007

On July 8, the New York Times ran an historic editorial entitled “The Road Home,” demanding an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq. It is rare that an editorial gets almost everything wrong, but “The Road Home” pulls it off. Consider, point by point, its confused—and immoral—defeatism.

1. “It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.”

Rarely in military history has an “orderly” withdrawal followed a theater-sized defeat and the flight of several divisions. Abruptly leaving Iraq would be a logistical and humanitarian catastrophe. And when scenes of carnage begin appearing on TV screens here about latte time, will the Times then call for “humanitarian” action?

http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon2007-07-12vdh.html

Pelosi and Reid Massacre !

THE 'QUIT IRAQ' CAUCUS:
RECIPE FOR MASSACRE

July 11, 2007 -- EVEN as our troops make serious progress against al-Qaeda-in-Iraq and other extremists, Congress - including Republican members - is sending the terrorists a message: "Don't lose heart, we'll save you!"

Iraq's a mess. Got it. The Bush administration has made so many mistakes I stopped counting a year ago. But we've finally got a general in Baghdad - Dave Petraeus - who's doing things right. Iraqi politicians are still disgracing themselves, but our troops are killing America's enemies - with the help of our former enemies.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07112007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_quit_iraq_caucus__opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm?page=1

Wall Street Journal: Our Own Worst Enemy !!!

Our Own Worst Enemy

By ALEXANDER M. HAIG, JR.July 10, 2007; Page A21
Let us not delude ourselves. The recent Hamas conquest of Gaza is a signal defeat for the United States that goes well beyond the particulars of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We have sought to deny the Islamic terrorists a territorial base in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and elsewhere. Now they have won one on the Mediterranean. Gaza is partly a consequence of three bad habits bedeviling the war on terror:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118403572723161796.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

U.K. Telegraph Readers speak out on terrorism

Muslims have to join this battle
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 08/07/2007

Admiral Sir Alan West, the man appointed to the Lords by Gordon Brown to oversee security in Britain, has made a comprehensive assessment of the terrorist threat currently facing us.
In the interview we publish today, he says the situation is worse than it was when Eliza Manningham Buller, who retired earlier this year as head of MI5, warned that there were at least 30 plots involving more than 100 dedicated terrorists.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=PCO5IURPEUO5RQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/opinion/2007/07/08/dl0801.xml

The New York Times: Forever Out of the Closet !

Today The New York Times lead editorial calls for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Newspapers around the world are reporting on this as some sort of historic occasion and I simply don't get it.

The New York Times has staged a continuous campaign to discredit this president and guarantee our failure in Iraq since the war began. The New York Times has day in, day out taken every negative spin possible and used it to castrate the Bush Administration. Now, today, without any details on how to handle the chaos such a departure would cause or what we face as a nation by leaving, The Times positions itself as having made some bold statement. Bullsh-t.

The New York Times has become a local, agenda driven tabloid, it's once well respected name now irreparably tarnished. It is nothing new and that is why this article will come and go and very few will care.

Editorial
The Road Home
Published: July 8, 2007
It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/opinion/08sun1.html
•

Earth Day Farce: Even Thomas Friedman Agrees

I found it amusing to see all the recent "hype" as Hollywood and the music industry geared up for it's tribute to bring much needed attention to our environmental difficulties, the highly publicized and extremely well marketed "Earth Day." No one could hope to possibly miss the massive promotions geared up by the entertainment industry as it promoted it's "stars" scripted contributions to our troubles facing our planet. All I can say is what a bunch of bullsh-t.

99% of the "stars" taking place in this series of performances don't have the slightest clue as to the cause and effect of what they performing about. The vast majority came in their high powered jets and gas guzzling hummers, transported them from their gluttonist 20,000 sq. ft. homes from around the globe to share time with the rest of us. Who do they think they are fooling?

More than anything else it was yet another self-serving marketing campaign to continue momentum for professional careers. Their commitment to "green" is as serious as Julia Roberts, on stage at the Hurricane Katrina benefit in jeans and a work shirt, staring at the camera as if she just arrived from digging out bodies while asking for your money before flying off in her private jet. Pure showbiz. Yea for us.

I speak because I am familiar with Hollywood's commitment to 'green". I am a green builder and for the past year I have been speaking with architects and interior designers all over the greater Los Angeles area, trying to sell green building products and have them incorporated into the homes of the powerful and rich elite of L.A. that can have influence. I am told almost always to get real, that the showbiz world is non-acting when it comes to any form of personal involvement. So far it has been fascinating to see the near universal disdain when it comes to personal participation. It really says "let the average schmuck do it, not me. Call me at showtime. Yesterday we did.

Below you will find an article from former Middle East consultant for the New York Times Thomas Friedman who we can all still read for profit when he keeps his juvenile personal politics mostly removed from an article.

Op-Ed Columnist

Live Bad, Go Green
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, Published: July 8, 2007

Over dinner with friends in London the other night, the conversation drifted to global warming and whether anything was really being done to reverse it. One guest, Sameh El-Shahat, a furniture designer, heaped particular scorn on programs that enable people to offset their excessive carbon emissions by funding green projects elsewhere. “Who really checks that it’s being done?” he asked. And how much difference does it really make?

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/opinion/08friedman.html

New York Times Despicable in their Bias, All Credibility Lost...

The New York Times chooses to lead off page one of Sunday's edition with an article blasting the U.S. Military and the Pentagon without naming one credible source to substantiate it's claims. The former great paper has become a farce. It is completely agenda motivated and a slave to the far left. If they had any decency whatsoever, they would apologize to their readers for this self-motivated, transparent agenda.

It is pathetic. Despicable.

U.S. Aborted Raid on Qaeda Chiefs in Pakistan in ’05

By MARK MAZZETTI
Published: July 8, 2007
WASHINGTON, July 7 — A secret military operation in early 2005 to capture senior members of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas was aborted at the last minute after top Bush administration officials decided it was too risky and could jeopardize relations with Pakistan, according to intelligence and military officials.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/washington/08intel.html?hp

Earthday 07: Bonfire of the Hypocrites

(Article to come ...)

Al Jazerra Readers Sound off on the Pakistani Standoff

Pakistan mosque stand-off.
Your views.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9A36960-AB5A-43E7-A637-4628328249EB.htm?&choice=3&dgDiscID=170&dgPoolID=8432a635-adae-4243-b93a-34ae0365dd5d

Victor Davis Hanson : Animal Farm !

July 6, 2007
Virtual War
We are in a collective Animal Farm
by Victor Davis Hanson , National Review Online

In the last two months, lunatic Islamic radicals have failed at weird mass murder plots at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and JFK Airport in New York. And now in Great Britain, more incompetent jihadists were foiled again — thanks to their inability to ignite flammable gas canisters.

http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson070607.html

Bravo L.A. Times ....Calling Hillary Out ....

EDITORIAL
A two-edged sword
Clinton's remarks on clemency for Libby show the dilemma her candidacy faces.
July 6, 2007

IN THIS WEEK'S torrent of well-deserved criticism aimed at President Bush for sparing I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby a prison sentence, one attack stood out. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D.-N.Y.) denounced the administration for considering itself above the law, and said the commutation "sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice." She happens to be right. A defining feature of this administration has been its arrogant refusal to submit to the most basic public inquiry, a hubris that extends to its rejection of the rule of law.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-clinton06jul06,0,4965898.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail

Investor's Business Daily On Handling Terrorism...

Pussyfooting Around The Terrorists
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Thursday, July 05, 2007 4:20 PM PT
War On Terror: Judging from the political correctness coming from British leaders, one wonders if the threat facing the West is terrorism or racism. You can't win a war if you don't know you're in one or who the enemy is.

Failure to recognize the nature of the war we're in and who the enemy is seems to be a theme of the government of newly instated British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In words reminiscent of Bill Clinton's treatment of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, 10 Downing Street seems to think the latest terrorist plot is strictly a law enforcement matter.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=268528361773780

Kristol in Time Magazine: Pessimism is the Poison ..

Why Americans Should Feel Happy
By WILLIAM KRISTOL, Time Magazine

About three-quarters of Americans, according to surveys, think the country is on the wrong track. About two-thirds of the public disapprove of the job performance of President Bush, and an even higher number disdain Congress. The media are excited about the prospect of a wealthy businessman running for President as an independent who could tap into broad public disgruntlement with the partisan politicians in Washington.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640412,00.html

Sacramento Bee: Common Sense and the Ultimate the Cost of the Left's Hatchet Job ..

July 06, 2007
The Cost of Failure
By Cal Thomas

If you believe the Bush presidency is a failure, what then? Do you delight in whacking him like a piñata for the next 18 months with your only objective a Democratic blowout victory in the 2008 election? If that is your strategy, do you ask yourself what kind of country a Democratic president will inherit and whether he (or she) will have the ability to quickly turn things around after months of pummeling a weakened president?

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/the_cost_of_failure.html

Wall Street Journal: Iran's Proxy War

ON THE FRONT
Iran's Proxy War
Tehran is on the offensive against us throughout the Middle East. Will Congress respond?
BY JOSEPH LIEBERMAN Friday, July 6, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

Earlier this week, the U.S. military made public new and disturbing information about the proxy war that Iran is waging against American soldiers and our allies in Iraq. According to Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, the Iranian government has been using the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah to train and organize Iraqi extremists, who are responsible in turn for the murder of American service members.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010302

Wall Street Journal: Terror Remains Number 1 Issue ...

July 05, 2007
Terror Remains the No. 1. Issue
By Daniel Henninger

and chiseling a path to the White House, the task at hand is figuring out what ails the collective mind of the American electorate, this week and when the 300th week of the campaign lumbers into view next year. Yesterday found candidates Biden, Dodd, Clinton, Obama, Brownback and Romney floating like tireless balloons through Fourth of July parades all over Iowa. After that, our 20 or so presidential diviners and their retinues will continue to belly-flop into towns across America, trying to connect, trying to discover the one thing that will still animate voters when the final bell rings Nov. 4, 2008.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/terror_remains_the_no_1_issue.html

RealClearPolitics: After the Next Attack...

July 05, 2007
After The Next Atttack
By David Ignatius

How would America react to a future terrorist attack? Would the country come together to combat its adversaries, or would it pull further apart?

Perhaps we will never have to confront the question, you say. Perhaps our good luck will hold, or our intelligence will detect all the plots and plotters, or the terrorists will conclude that America is so divided anyway, why do anything that might unite the country. Maybe things will turn out that way, but a prudent person wouldn't bet on it.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/after_the_next_atttack.html

Betta Watch Bubba ... We Might Remember What a Liar He was ...

White House: Clinton shameless in Libby comments

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House spokesman Tony Snow fired back at former President Bill Clinton after Clinton charged that the Bush administration believes the law is a "minor obstacle" in the "Scooter" Libby case.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/05/clinton.libby/index.html

Watch Bubba Explode ... Clinton B.S. at it's Best

Here we go ... Bubba's on the trail for Hillary and it just might erupt in their faces ... today we have former President Clinton blasting Bush about the Libby pardons ... the same former president that disgusted both parties with his anything goes pardon fire sale in his last days in office ... a few more like this and maybe the country will wake up and remember Clinton 1 for what it was instead of some 1990's form of Camelot ...

Bill Clinton blasts commutation of Libby's prison sentence

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton blasted his successor's decision to spare former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby from prison, telling Iowa radio listeners that Libby's case differed from his own administration's pardon controversy.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/04/clinton.libby/index.html

Dershowitz: Politics with Libby

This matter of fact breakdown of the Libby case makes the witch hunt, drum beating of the Keith "Fat Boy" Olbermann's of this world and their motives pathetically transparent. Their consistent slamming of everything ever done by the Bush Administration is deeply hurting America in the arena of world opinion and aiding our enemies. The Far Left is the greatest danger this country has ever faced and we are close to having Hillary, it's poster creature, as our president.

Alan Dershowitz
Playing Politics with Libby
Posted July 3, 2007 10:09 AM (EST)

The outcry against President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence is misplaced. President Bush acted hours after the U.S. Court of Appeals denied Libby bail pending appeal. That judicial decision was entirely political. The appellate judges had to see that Libby's arguments on appeal were sound and strong -- that under existing law he was entitled to bail pending appeal. (That is why I joined several other law professors in filing an amicus brief on this limited issue.) After all, if he were to be sent to jail for a year and then if his conviction were to be reversed on appeal, he could not get the year back. But if he remained out on bail and then lost the appeal, the government would get its year. In non-political cases, bail should have and probably would have been granted on issues of the kind raised by Libby.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/playing-politics-with-lib_b_54772.html

Victor Davis Hanson on Reality in Iraq

Professor Hanson offers a clear and lucid accounting of where we are, what has been accomplished and what yet is within our reach.

July 4, 2007
Our Enemy’s Attrition
Reasons to reexamine the Middle East’s negative prognosis.
by Victor Davis Hanson , National Review Online

The majority opinion is that the occupation in Iraq has been so bungled that the blowback has ruined American efforts at promoting positive change throughout the Middle East.

Perhaps. But for all the justifiable criticism of the Iraqi reconstruction, two truths still remain — the United States is taking an enormous toll on jihadists, and despite the terrible cost in blood and treasure, has not given up on a constitutional government in Iraq.

http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson070407.html

The Guardian's Siddiqui: Not in our name ...

Even the far left Guardian is now openly criticizing the Islamic fanatics who appear to attack all without any true rhyme or reason. It is becoming clear that this is not about George Bush or the State of Israel but the disease in Islam itself.

Not in our name
Blaming UK foreign policy is not the answer. Where are the Muslim marches in revulsion against acts of terror in Islam's name?
July 3, 2007 , The Guardian, by Asim Siddiqui

The events of the last few days have been sobering for us all. The response from some UK Muslim groups (influenced by Islamist thinking) is still largely to blame foreign policy (undoubtedly an exacerbating influence but not the cause), rather than marching "not in my name" in revulsion against terrorist acts committed in Islam's name. By blaming foreign policy they try to divert pressure off themselves from the real need to tackle extremism being peddled within. Diverting attention away from the problems within Muslim communities and blaming others - especially the west - is always more popular than the difficult task of self-scrutiny. And what part of foreign policy do the Islamists want us to change to tackle terrorism? Withdrawal from Iraq?

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/asim_siddiqui/2007/07/not_in_our_name.html

Al Jazeera Opinion Poll on Libby ...

Do you support the commuting of Libby's prison sentence?

An opinion poll of Al Jazerra readers worldwide shows just how deep the impact of the far left witch hunt has helped again to under mind the U.S.'s prestige around the globe. It is fascinating to actually the thoughts and perspectives of people worldwide.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9A36960-AB5A-43E7-A637-4628328249EB.htm?&choice=3&dgDiscID=169&dgPoolID=8f915eff-4327-437a-bb68-cc3b9fbae458

Incredible but the heavy odds on Favorite, President Hillary

Talk about scary .... President Hillary is on the way ...

Romney and Giuliani Trail Democrats in Fund-Raising

By ADAM NAGOURNEY , Published: July 4, 2007
DES MOINES, July 3 — Two more Republican presidential candidates disclosed new fund-raising totals on Tuesday that underscored the tough political environment for their party and the big money advantage that the Democrats have built.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/us/politics/04repubs.html?hp

Thomas Friedman: At a Theater Near You ...

A tough day for Thomas Friedman...he realizes he cannot blame the Islamic extremest phenomena and all it's ramifications on George Bush. What now Tom ?

At a Theater Near You ...
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: July 4, 2007
London

I knew something was up when I couldn’t get a cab. Then there were sirens and helicopters whirring overhead. I stopped a passerby to ask what was going on. He said something about a car bomb outside a disco six blocks from my hotel. A few hours later, I finally found a taxi. The driver warned me that it was nearly impossible to get across town. Another bomb had been uncovered in a car park. Next day, more news: a suicide bomber had driven his Jeep into an airport and jumped out, his body on fire, screaming “Allah! Allah!”

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/opinion/04friedman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fThomas%20L%20Friedman

National Review: America for Granted

Taking America for Granted
This country’s survival is not automatic. What we do will determine that.

By Thomas Sowell, National Review

When my research assistant and her husband took my wife and me to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, I was impressed when I heard her for the first time speak Chinese as she ordered food. My assistant was born and raised in China, so I should have been impressed that she spoke English. But I took that for granted because she always spoke English to me.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzYyNjcxNjU0NDY1OTI2Y2M1MzExMDE3MjA3Nzc0MmQ=

The London Times: Cult of Contempt

From The Times, July 3, 2007
Cult of Contempt

The Left must condemn a fanaticism that is misogynist and homophobic. The arrest of two more terrorist suspects in Scotland underlines the speed of the investigation into the atrocities planned for London and Glasgow. The police and security services apparently had no prior intelligence on a campaign of terror inspired by al-Qaeda; but they have reacted with speed and efficiency in uncovering the terrorist network and following up the very many leads left by the bungled operations.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article2017440.ece

John Bolton: Pyongyang Pussyfooting !

Pyongyang Pussyfooting
By John R. Bolton, Posted: Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Wall Street Journal

In the musical "Camelot," King Arthur tells Guinevere that "July and August cannot be too hot" in his domain. In the U.S. State Department's Camelot, avoiding a hot summer of bad news is also a high priority. This explains its euphoric reaction to North Korea's first partial moves to comply--three months late--with its February 13 promise to "shut down and seal for the purpose of eventual abandonment" the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

http://aei.org/publications/pubID.26441,filter.all/pub_detail.asp

New York Post's Ralph Peters: No Strategy Here !

TWO WARS - AND NO LEADERSHIP
TERROR'S TWO FACES & OUR FAILURES
By Ralph Peters, The New York Post

July 3, 2007 -- WE'RE not fighting a single war against terrorists. We're stuck in two. The past few days saw both conflicts hit the headlines. And we're still not serious about either one.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07032007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/two_wars___and_no_leadership_opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm

Watch Pudgy Olbermann Smirk over Libby Tonight ...

Count on the fact that while the rest of the world contemplates the horrors attempted in London and almost completed in Glasgow, pudgeball Keith Olbermann and his far left goons at MSNBC will spend tonight and the next month's coverage of their thankfully last place show blasting President Bush for sparing Scotter Libby a jail sentence ... count on this as we are less than an hour from air time ...

Foreign Affairs: Still Bet on Musharraf

July 02, 2007
Musharraf is Still the Best Bet--for Now
By Daniel Markey

A DANGEROUS BACKLASH
Even before the dust had settled on 9/11, U.S. policymakers were well aware that Pakistan was at the center of the world's worst Islamist terrorist networks. The Bush administration quickly moved to persuade once-sanctioned Islamabad to become an essential partner in the "global war on terror." But today, nearly six years after Secretary of State Colin Powell first announced that Washington and Islamabad stood "at the beginning of a strengthened relationship," the Taliban are still entrenched in the Afghan-Pakistani border region, al Qaeda's top leaders have found a secure hideout in Pakistan, and terrorist attacks within and beyond Pakistan's borders persist with deadly regularity.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/musharraf_is_still_washingtons.html

Wall Street Journal: Jihad in Britan

Jihad in Britain
The terrorists don't seem to care that Tony Blair is gone.
Monday, July 2, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

Barely 48 hours on the job, Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown got a lesson in the realities of the post-9/11 world.

Terrorist plots in London and Glasgow pushed the U.K.'s security alert up to the highest level--"critical"--for the first time in a year. In fortunate contrast to the London subway bombings two years ago this July 7, neither attack came off as planned. Two cars packed with gasoline, gas cylinders and nails were discovered early Friday in the British capital and defused. At Glasgow airport, a similarly rigged SUV crashed into security barriers, barely failing to get inside the departure hall. Except for an attacker who set himself ablaze yelling "Allah, Allah," no one was seriously hurt. Police arrested five suspects.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010285

National Review: "Stupid Terrorists"

“Stupid Terrorist”, Is it any surprise?
By Michael Ledeen

Many commentators have unburdened themselves of the observation that the British terrorists don’t seem very smart. Or technologically ept. They failed to blow themselves up in London, despite having lots of martyrdom gear. They failed to crash through barricades at Glasgow Airport, and you’d think they might have noticed the obstacles. Beloved Allahpundit remarks, in response to stories suggesting that the failed terrorists came from al Qaeda and received guidance from Iran, that “a joint AQ-Iran operation would have run a lot more smoothly and packed a considerably bigger wallop that these attacks did.”

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzAyZjVmNTQ1NmY2ZGNlMjRkZDZlZWRiMjdjMjczYWE=

Don't Mince Words - Slate

Don't Mince Words
The London car-bomb plot was designed to kill women.
By Christopher HitchensPosted Monday, July 2, 2007, at 1:11 PM ET

Why on earth do people keep saying, "There but for the grace of God …"? If matters had been very slightly different over the past weekend, the streets of London and the airport check-in area in Glasgow, Scotland, would have been strewn with charred body parts. And this would have been, according to the would-be perpetrators, because of the grace of God. Whatever our own private theology or theodicy, we might at least agree to take this vile belief seriously.

http://www.slate.com/id/2169592/

Hassan Butt of The Guardian Cries Out to Fellow Muslims

My plea to fellow Muslims: you must renounce terror

As the bombers return to Britain, Hassan Butt, who was once a member of radical group Al-Muhajiroun, raising funds for extremists and calling for attacks on British citizens, explains why he was wrong

Sunday July 1, 2007 The Observer

When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network, a series of semi-autonomous British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology, I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy. By blaming the government for our actions, those who pushed the 'Blair's bombs' line did our propaganda work for us. More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2115832,00.html

Washington Post: Democrats Press on Iraq as all else fails

Democrats Plan to Press GOP on Iraq
Majority Party Frustrated on Hill
By Elizabeth Williamson and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff WritersSaturday, June 30, 2007; Page A02

With the immigration bill dead, troop-withdrawal deadlines vetoed and other high-profile initiatives stalled, Democratic leaders closed six months in control of Congress mired in low approval ratings and plotting a legislative blitz on an issue they once tried to escape: Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062902444.html?hpid=topnews

Boston Globe on Iran's Domestic Troubles

GLOBE EDITORIAL
Iran regime drowning in oil
June 30, 2007

THE HARD-LINE regime of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been frightening neighbors with its meddling-by-proxy in Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza. The regime's apparent pursuit of nuclear weapons has also prompted unusual solidarity among the United States, Europe, and Russia; together they have been ratcheting up United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, demanding that it suspend uranium enrichment and comply with its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency. But the most telling signs of trouble for the theocratic regime in Tehran are currently on display not in its external relations but in domestic turmoil.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/06/30/iran_regime_drowning_in_oil/

Wall Street Journal: Giuliani, Left's Biggest Fear

THE WEEKEND INTERVIEW
Of Tax Cuts and Terror
New York's former mayor makes his case to be Reagan's heir.
BY BRIAN M. CARNEY Saturday, June 30, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

"I think the American people in November 2008 are going to select the person they think is strongest to defend America against Islamic terrorism. And it is not going to focus on--as some of the media wants it--just Iraq. I think Americans are smarter than that."
Thus did Rudy Giuliani summarize the rationale for his presidential campaign at a meeting this week with the editorial board of the Journal. Next year's election will be about national security, not about Iraq narrowly defined.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010277