Archive for April, 2007
Army lieutenant colonel under investigation for giving ‘aid to the enemy’
Lt. Col. William H. Steele was accused of providing –aid to the enemy” by supplying an unmonitored cell phone to detainees, a U.S. statement said.
The other charges included unauthorized possession of classified information, fraternizing with the daughter of a detainee, maintaining an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter, storing classified information in his quarters, as well as possessing pornographic videos, the statement added.
Seems to me that this could be a case of
1. Get book.
2. Throw.
3. Repeat.
Hugh Hewitt has a great interview with Fred Kagan, who is just back from Iraq. He says that Congressional decsions don’t seem to be taking into account much of what’s actually going on in Iraq. You should read the whole thing, but this bit at the end has several layers of meaning:
HH: Last question, Frederick Kagan, we’re almost out of time, thank you for being here. Does the Democratic leadership not know this? Or are they ignoring it for political gain in your estimate?
FK: I don’t know. I’ve been struck by the degree to which the debate in this town, in Washington, seems to be lagging behind reality in Iraq. And one would hope that with the briefings that the Congress is getting from General Petraeus and others, that we would start to catch up and realize that the world is different from the way it was in November, 2006. We’ll see. [emphasis Murdoc's]
One certainly “would hope”, but it sure doesn’t appear to much of a hope to count on. The Surrendacrats are sticking to their guns.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has flat-out said that he won’t believe any good news from General Petraeus “because it’s not happening”. So it seems clear that Reid thinks he knows better than the General. (Well, unless a part of the General’s quote makes a good soundbite and headline, in which case the buck stops with General Petraeus. Even if you have to cherry pick his words to make them sound like they mean what you wish was true.)
Regardless of what Reid’s latest jackassery compels him to say, Congress is just too busy to attend briefings and video conferences anyway.
So Murdoc ain’t holding his breath that briefing Congress will get them caught up.
These are the elected leaders of the Democratic Party folks. This is what we get. Don’t it make us so proud?
UPDATE: Meanwhile, will Joe flip if the Senate passes the bill with the deadline in place? Murdoc thinks not, but he’d like to be surprised.
Be sure to keep an eye on GunPro. Lots of recent links to VT-related news items and editorial, and a good place to watch for gun-related headlines. Particularly when gun-related news isn’t such a hot topic.
Owen at Boots and Sabers writes about Leaving the Party:
Political parties aren’t corrupt. The people in them are corrupt. Which is why his suggestion that the Libertarian Party is somehow immune to this defficiency of human nature is a bit silly.
Political parties also don’t have philosophies. They are politicial organizations designed to gain and retain power. That’s it. The people within the party determine what policies to enact when those people are in power. That’s why it is important to not just disengage, take your toys, and go home whenever the political party of your choice advances the wrong ideas or the people within the party are corrupt.
I’ve changed my tune on this since January. The Republicans aren’t perfect. They aren’t even particularly good. But they’re light years ahead of the competition and splitting from them only helps the competition at this point.
UPI: U.S.: No idea how many contractors in Iraq
Four years and $500 billion into the Iraq war, the U.S. military still has no idea how many U.S. contractors are at work there.
The commander of U.S. Central Command said as much to Congress last week, and a new report from the Government Accountability Office highlighted the problem.
“I couldn’t give you an accurate figure on that, sir,” said. Adm. William Fallon, the new commander of CENTCOM. “I know that we have a lot of people. I’ve seen a lot of Americans. I have no idea how many are actually there.”
A number often tossed around is 100,000. Since the DoD is one of those tossing that particular number around, my guess is that the real total is significantly higher. It’s simply the nature of the business and of government accounting.
We are in the early phases of a return to a world where private armies and private contractors play a major role on and around the battlefield. It’s going to take many years for things to settle down and get sorted out. A bit.
An excellent, excellent read on this is PW Singer’s Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry. Very good stuff.
Around 800 US contractors have been killed so far in Iraq. (via Five for Fighting)
Ashely Gerken is 20 years old and stationed in Kuwait with the 217th TC from San Antonio, TX. So is her sister Tasha. Really.
And Chuck Simmins interviews them both.
Michael Williams (who Murdoc hasn’t linked for far too long): Gun Restrictions Hurt Women
“Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.” – Women Against Gun Control
I seem to remember that Michael had all sorts of trouble getting his CCW in Cali, but now that he’s moved to Missouri he’s going to finally get a chance.
Danger Room posts on An Introduction to Planetary DefenseA Study of Modern Warfare Applied to Extra-Terrestrial Invasion by Travis S. Taylor, Bob Boan, R.C. Anding, and T. Conley Powell.
In short:
Act like Iraqis, and launch “an insurgency, a mujahideen-type resistance,” against an alien invasion.
As Iraqi dead-enders and Afghan mujahideen know, though, it helps tremendously to have someone outside providing you with money, explosively-formed penetrators, and Stinger missiles.
I’ll bet that’s a very interesting book, though. Go read more in the Danger Room.
Mr. Completely has some info for the second annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous which will be held October 11-13 in Reno.
Once again, Brownells is a co-sponsor of the Rendezvous.
Murdoc couldn’t make it last year, and once again schedule conflicts and lack of cash may hold him back. Bummer. But be sure to check it out and head out to Reno if you can.
Dow Jones breaks 13,000.
Rosie leaving The View.
Surrrrre it is.
