Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Africa Horn

US fails to compensate victims of drone strikes in Somalia

2024-05-15

[Garowe] The Department of Defence has failed to compensate victims of dronezaps in Somalia since 2022, The Intercept reports, despite evidence of several casualties throughout the said period in a total of 288 attacks within the country.

For 17 years, the US has carried out 288 attacks in the Horn of Africa nation, with the US Africa Command only admitting 5 deaths, including Luul and Mariam, who tragically gave up the ghost following an ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
in southern regions.

But despite the smaller number quoted by US Africa Command, the Airwars, a UK-based group monitoring airstrikes, at least 3,000 people have been killed in Somalia over the last two decades, with their families failing to get justice even with overwhelming evidence.

Not long ago, the Pentagon started giving quarterly reports on casualties, but in the last two years, the US Africa Command has failed to acknowledge several deaths attributed to defence airstrikes within Somalia. US Africa Command offers aerial surveillance during ground operations.

Pentagon directed the armed forces to address people and communities on the receiving end of military operations, including by "expressing condolences" and providing ex gratia payments to next of kin.

Since 2020, Congress appropriate $15 million meant for compensation of victims of airstrikes. The money is sent to families of the victims of the airstrikes; both those killed or injured. The military rarely makes compensation payments, even in cases as clear-cut as the 2018 strike in Somalia.

Last year, various lobby groups in Somalia and their international partners protested to the Pentagon, asking Defence Defence Lloyd Austin to expedite compensation of Luul and Mariam families. This year, Sen. Elizabeth Being Native American has been part of my story since the day I was born Warren
...The Great White Squaw, Lizzie is the Dem Senatrix from Massachussetts. She traces her noble lineage all the way back to Big Chief Spouting Bull. She has high cheekbones that stretch all the way to the top of her head. It has been alleged that she speaks with forked tongue but she denies that. She had a DNA test to prove her lineage and it turns out she's colorless...
, D-Mass., and Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif.; Ilhan Omar
...Somali-American Dem representative from Minnesota. She was apparently married to her brother and may be her own grandmaw on her mother's side. She is a member of The Squad, and would like to make the country look a lot more like Mogadishu...
, D-Minn; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., joined the effort.

The Defense Department missed the May 1, 2024, deadline for releasing its 2023 civilian casualty report.

"The 2022 report was almost a full year late, and the 2023 report is already overdue," said Shiel. "That means we have no public visibility into whether DoD finally began making payments last year as it worked to implement the action plan, which commits the Department to improve how it responds to civilian harm."

The United States withdrew its forces from Somalia in 2021 following a presidential decree, repositioning them to neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti, but the decision would be reversed later after Somalia complained to the Department of Defence.

Since then, at least 500 soldiers have been redeployed to Somalia where they are assisting the Somali National Army (SNA) and the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), who are actively involved in the fight against al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
The US Africa Command is also responsible for training and equipping the elite Danab forces, who are integral units in the fight against al-Shabaab. The US Africa Command carries out air raids based on the request from the Somalia government particularly in self-defence situations.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Democrats Try to Attach Marijuana Reform to Defense Bill, offer ending DOD Covid vax mandate

2022-12-07

The things that go on in our smoke-filled back rooms.

[Breitbart] Democrats are trying to attach marijuana reform, among other things unrelated to the nation’s defense, to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), delaying the bill’s vote.

The House Rules Committee was scheduled to take up the NDAA on Monday. However, chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) announced the “package is not ready yet,” and noted the “committee remains ready to take it up as soon as the text is finalized.”

The NDAA has been must-pass legislation for the past 62 years, as it authorizes Pentagon activities and spending.

While a huge point of contention in the NDAA among Republicans and Democrats is the military’s vaccine mandate, there is an emerging debate in the halls of Congress regarding marijuana reform’s inclusion into the defense spending bill.

Democrat Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pushing to include the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the NDAA. The SAFE Banking Act would make it easier for state-licensed marijuana business owners to access financing from national banks. The bill would also create grants for state expungement of past marijuana convictions.

However, a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) memo issued this year claimed the SAFE Banking Act could “significantly complicate law enforcement investigations and prosecutions” of money laundering stemming from state-legal cannabis businesses.

On Monday, Republican Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) met with the DOJ to discuss concerns about the SAFE Banking Act, Politico reported.

Although the SAFE Banking Act has little to do with the nation’s defense, Democrats are scrambling to include as much unrelated legislation into the NDAA in the last remaining weeks of the year before the GOP takes majority control of the House at the start of the next Congress on January 3.

Military gets shot of vaccine mandate: Congress to scratch Pentagon's COVID measure in major win for Republicans

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]

Congressional Democrats are prepared to include language in the NDAA that would strip the U.S. Military of its vaccine mandate for all service members

The move would be a major defeat for President Joe Biden, who has insisted the Military should still require all service members to be vaccinated against COVID

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is taking credit for spearheading the effort

Said during a White House meeting last month, the top four congressional leaders reached a bipartisan deal to nix the vaccination requirement

Thousands of troops were involuntarily separated from the Military for refusing the vaccinate and thousands of others lost pay or benefits for the same reason

Democrats Jeopardize National Defense by Politicizing Military Authorization Bill with Unrelated Additions
Like pot legalization?
[Breitbart] Democrats are seeking to attach things unrelated to the nation’s defense to an annual defense bill in an attempt to get it passed, jeopardizing the bill’s passage and national security.

The defense bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizes Pentagon activities and spending, making it must-pass legislation for the past 62 years. The bill is usually hundreds of pages long and authorizes hundreds of billions in spending, and is often a vehicle for lawmakers to get non-defense related policies through.

But this year, Democrats are especially relying on it as a vehicle to get major unrelated policies through, in the expected absence of a major omnibus spending bill before the end of the year, and before Republicans take over the House in January — infuriating Republicans and jeopardizing the passage of the bill and necessary authorizations for military spending and activities.

For example, Democrats are trying to include the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which would allow mainstream media outlets to form a cartel to negotiate with Big Tech, to the detriment of independent and conservative media outlets.

Another item is the SAFE Banking Act, pushed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), backed by some Republicans. The bill would let cannabis companies access banking institutions and create grants for state expungement of past marijuana convictions, according to Axios.

Another is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), which seeks to “eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security” for workers limited by “pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; and for other purposes.”

Democrats are also trying to attach a permitting bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) that would change the permitting process for energy infrastructure, and transport natural gas from his home state to Virginia.

Congress has just weeks before recess begins and before the new Congress is slated to be sworn in on January 3, 2023, which would upend Democrats’ plans.

Senate Republicans raised alarm bells as early as October that Democrats were trying to stuff unrelated policies into the defense bill.

A Senate aide told Breitbart News in October that the use of the NDAA to pass unrelated policies “happens every year and it’s getting worse.”

“The NDAA should be about purchasing the right weapons systems and protecting troops,” the aide said. “No Republican should let the bill get hijacked.”

Update from DooDah Man at 5:03 a.m. ET, who headlined his post:

The military COVID vaccine mandate will end! (Next steps: end all COVID vax mandates (healthcare workers and foreign visitors), and reinstate all members of military wrongfully terminated due to vax.)

The military COVID vaccine mandate will end!

Page 407 & 408 of NDAA text just released.

Next steps: end all COVID vax mandates (healthcare workers and foreign visitors), and reinstate all members of military wrongfully terminated due to vax.https://t.co/hRVftUh6yl pic.twitter.com/o8noBxngGe
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 7, 2022

Link

-War on Police-

Family of fallen Massachusetts cop tells activist city councilors not to attend funeral service

2021-06-13

[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] Three city councilors in Worcester, Massachusetts, were requested by the family of fallen police officer Emmanuel "Manny" Familia not to attend the dear departed's funeral service, according to MassLive.

38-year-old Familia died last week after attempting to save a 14-year-old teen from the water at Green Hill Park. The teen also drowned.

Councilors Sean Rose, Khrystian King, and Sarai Rivera received calls from Worchester's city manager Edward Agustus Jr. who relayed the family's requests.

"We have a true hero and a tragedy and a very well-liked Latin man in our community," Rose said. "This is the family's wish. I didn't really get into details why with a grieving family." On Facebook, Rose stated that "I pray the family of Officer Familia, the family of Troy Love and the Worcester Police Department find comfort and peace during this difficult time."

While Rivera did not comment on the incident directly, a news hound for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette tweeted that Rivera confirmed that the family requested she not attend.

On Facebook, King wrote that he met Familia at around 14-years-old while playing in a summer basketball league: "Manny Familia lost his life in the midst of an act of valor while trying to save another. We should only be considering the ultimate sacrifice that Manny and his loved ones have made while honoring and planning for his continual legacy." King wrote that out of the "utmost respect for Manny, his family, his friends, his loved ones, the officers that co-responded and entered the water with him, his Law Enforcement colleagues, Worcester's Dominican and Latino Community, Worcester's Basketball community, and the entire City of Worcester," he declines any further comment. "I continue to have the utmost respect and love for Manny. May he rest in peace," King added.

Many have speculated that requests for those city councilors not to attend stemmed from their alleged anti-police stances.

Both King and Rivera signed a petition last year to discuss the reallocation of a portion of the police department's funding. According to MassLive, councilor-at-large Gary Rosen signed that same petition, but was in attendance at the funeral.

Other attendees, like Congressman Jim McGovern, have urged for reduced funding or police reform as well. McGovern urged in the wake of George Floyd's death for the passing of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Worcester Police Sargent and president of the IBO Local 504 police union Rick Cipro told MassLive that he was not aware of the family's request, but in his eyes as the head of the union, those three councilors have gone after police in the last year.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Steny Hoyer Won’t Commit to Floor Vote on Impeachment Proceedings

2019-10-31

[BREITBART] House Majority Whip the mealy-mouthed Steny StinkyHoyer
...Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi's second banana, or plaintain, or mango, or whatever he is. Number Two, anyway...
(D-MD) has signaled he will not commit to House Democrats voting this week to formalize their secret impeachment inquiry, even after House Speaker Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi
Nancy <q>San Fran Nan</q> Pelosi

Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of professional politicians. On-again-off-again Speaker of the House. It's not her fault when they lose, but it's her accomplishment when they win. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace and occasional senior... uhhh... moments...
(D-CA) said a vote is expected to take place on Thursday.

"We’re going to have to consider whether or not it’s ready to go on Thursday. I hope that’s the case," Hoyer told news hounds on Tuesday when asked about the planned vote.

The House announced Monday that it will move Thursday to determine whether to establish impeachment inquiry procedures into President Trump. The text of the resolution was not immediately released, but House Rule Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) said it would "provide a clear path forward" on the impeachment inquiry.

"This is the right thing to do for the institution and the American people," said McGovern.

Pelosi stated in a letter Monday that the resolution was not legally necessary but the House decided to take the vote "to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas, or continue obstructing the House of Representatives."

Link

Home Front: Politix

Possibly some smoke in the Democratic impeachment teepee

2019-10-30

[Breitbart] Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) said Tuesday that he will likely vote against a resolution by House Democrats to formalize their secret impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, prompting more uncertainly around whether Thursday’s expected vote will go on as planned.

Asked by NBC News reporter Alex Moe if he supports the measure, Van Drew replied: "I would imagine that I’m not voting for it." Van Drew, whose district President Trump won in 2016, is among roughly a dozen House Democrats who oppose the impeachment inquiry. "I have long maintained the position that the impeachment or potential impeachment would not be good for Democrats or Republicans," the lawmaker told Fox News in September.

The House announced Monday that it will move Thursday to determine whether to establish impeachment inquiry procedures into President Trump. The text of the resolution was not immediately released, but House Rule Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) said it would "provide a clear path forward" on the impeachment inquiry.

However, even before Van Drew’s comments, House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) had already poured some cold water on plans to vote for the measure Thursday, telling reporters on Capitol Hill: "We’re going to have to consider whether or not it’s ready to go on Thursday. I hope that’s the case."

Link

-Lurid Crime Tales-

Obama DHS Secretary Johnson: ‘We Are Truly in a Crisis'

2019-03-31

[Free Beacon] President Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson said "we are truly in a crisis" at the border during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Thursday.

"When I was in office in Kirstjen Nielsen's job, at her desk, I'd get to work around 6:30 in the morning and there'd be my intelligence book sitting on my desk, the PDB, and also the apprehension numbers from the day before," Johnson said. "And I'd look at them every morning, it'd be the first thing I'd look at. And I probably got too close to the problem, and my staff will tell you if it was under 1,000 apprehensions the day before that was a relatively good number, and if it was above 1,000 it was a relatively bad number, and I was gonna be in a bad mood the whole day."

"On Tuesday, there were 4,000 apprehensions. I know that a thousand overwhelms the system. I cannot begin to imagine what 4,000 a day looks like, so we are truly in a crisis," Johnson continued.

A number of prominent Democrats have downplayed border security over the past year.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), who is running for president, argued DHS should not oversee immigration because it is "not a security issue." Gillibrand and other Democrats have also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the New York senator calling it a "deportation force."

Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) have echoed Gillibrand's sentiments.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), who is also running for president, has compared ICE to the Ku Klux Klan.

Link

Home Front: Politix

House Debates Recruiting Illegal Aliens Ahead of Americans for Military

2015-05-14

On Tuesday, the Breitbart News team on Capitol Hill brought to light Congress's efforts to allow illegal aliens to enlist in the U.S. military, endangering national security and shoving American citizens to the back of the line for the benefit of invaders. Today, the House Rules Committee will continue to debate this proposition. Live updates are below.

UPDATE, by Edwin Mora, 5:13 PM: Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) says it's "ludicrous we're using AUMF's (Authorization for Use of Military Force) from 2001 to justify" Obama's conflicts on immigration and amnesty.

UPDATE, by Edwin Mora, 4:51 PM: Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL)
asked: "Why are we talking about immigration when we're dealing with a defense bill?"

He went on to echo other GOP lawmakers who commented on the Gallego amendment, saying the it "has nothing to do with defense." The Gallego amendment "will jeopardize the entire bill," he concluded.

UPDATE, by Edwin Mora, 4:42 PM: Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL)
to Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) I disagree with your argument that "we lack enough Americans and lawful immigrants to meet" our military needs, adding that the "we are here to help U.S. citizens and lawful immigrants."

UPDATE, by Alex Swoyer, 4:39 PM: Rep. Polis (D-CO) defended Gallego amendment: "This is really a job creator in the private sector."

Brooks disagreed.

"There's also a distinction about the quality of jobs," he said.

The two Congressmen are arguing about whether the Gallego amendment would open up jobs in the private sector as illegals leave those positions, to join the military for citizenship under the Gallego amendment provision.

UPDATE, by Edwin Mora, 4:37 PM: Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) expressed support for the amendment proposed by his colleague Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) to strike the Gallego amnesty amendment in the 2016 NDAA, saying the "immigration issue doesn't really belong" in the NDAA. The amnesty amendment does not benefit the military, he added.

UPDATE, by Matthew Boyle, 4:36 PM: Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee, said there "is nothing about the Gallego amendment that helps the military" adding that the NDAA is not the "place" for immigration to be debated. "The amendment does not belong in the bill in the first place," Burgess said.

Chairman Sessions added that he's heard views from lots of members on this.

Democratic Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) defended the amnesty amendment contained within NDAA from Gallego, saying it passed through regular order. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) a liberal Democrat from Colorado, is also defending it with the argument of "military readiness" arguing that somehow illegal aliens may be better than Americans serving in the military. "We need to have the very best men and women" serving in the military. He also argued incredulously that this would create jobs in the private sector.

UPDATE, by Alex Swoyer, 4:32 PM: Rep. Sessions says this issue must be debated.

Rep. Burgess said, "There is nothing of the Gallego amendment that helps the military. The amendment does not belong in this bill in the first place."

UPDATE, by Matthew Boyle, 4:27 PM: Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) is now testifying in favor of the Brooks amendment. Brat won his election in 2014 thanks in large part to now former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor backing the exact same policy -- amnesty for DREAMers in the NDAA -- and Brat said that the defense bill should not be the place for immigration matters.

UPDATE, by Alex Swoyer, 3:53 PM: According to Politico Florida Playbook's Marc Caputo on Wednesday morning, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) --a Republican--is pushing harder for even more amnesty in the NDAA than what Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
0% got in there. Curbelo is specifically pushing for an amendment from Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), the so-called ENLIST Act, into the bill.

"Curbelo's one of a handful of Republicans still pushing for immigration reform. He hopes that the House Rules committee, perhaps at its meeting today, greenlights an effort to allow a vote on whether to amend Rep. Jeff Denham's Enlist Act onto the National Defense Authorization Act," Caputo wrote on Wednesday."

Link

Home Front: Politix

House Hearing Room Bursts Out Laughing at Obama's 'Red Line' on CR

2013-09-30

[CNSNEWS] People attending a House Rules Committee hearing on Saturday evening burst into laughter when Rep. Jim McGovern (D.-Mass.) affirmed to House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R.-Ky.) that President Barack Obama
They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them...
, by threatening to veto a continuing resolution to fund the government past Monday if it includes a House amendment to delay Obamacare, has thus "drawn a red line" on the CR.

The committee was meeting to approve the rule by which the House would consider the Senate-passed CR and amendments to it that would repeal a tax on medical devices and delay Obamacare for one year.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D.-N.Y.), the ranking member of the committee, read a position statement she said was from the administration that threatened the veto.

"If the president was presented with H.J.Res. 59 as amended by the amendments, he would veto the bill," said Slaughter, reading from the administration's statement.

A few minutes later, after Rep. McGovern had expressed his opposition to what the Republican majority was planning to do, House Appropriations Chairman Rodgers, who had briefly testified to the committee about the amendments, asked McGovern if he would yield.

The ensuing exchange between Rogers and McGovern on Obama's veto threat caused the committee chamber to burst into laughter.

Rogers: "Would the gentleman yield?

McGovern: "I happily yield."

Rogers: "You say the president has threatened to veto the bill?"

McGovern: "No, he hasn't threatened. He said he absolutely will veto."

Rogers: "He's drawn a red line has he?"

McGovern: "Yep."

At this point, the small hearing room--which was largely filled with committee members, other members of Congress who had come to testify and congressional staff--burst into laughter.

Rep. McGovern then stated his belief that the president was serious about his then-just-issued veto threat.

"And, you know what," said McGovern, "I think he's very serious about this."

Link

Afghanistan

Spotlight, Pressure on Biden as Obama Weighs Afghanistan Advice

2009-10-15

As President Obama deliberates over whether to send tens of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, one name is emerging as the hope of the anti-war left and enjoying somewhat of a public image rehabilitation.

It's all about Joe.

Vice President Joe Biden has been the leading skeptic in the administration toward Gen. Stanley McChrystal's call for escalating the war with 40,000 more troops. While the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan has had the public support of top military voices like Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, Biden has won many officials over with his argument that the strategy should focus more on taking out top Al Qaeda targets in Pakistan with drones and Special Forces and shifting security responsibility to the Afghans.

With his cynicism, Biden is being cast as the wise man of foreign policy -- a far cry from the gaffe-prone uncle image he had, even seemingly within the administration, after Inauguration Day. He has emerged as the anti-Cheney, a highly influential adviser to the president arguing for military restraint rather than military escalation.

"Why Joe Is No Joke," blares the cover of Newsweek. The centerpiece article explains how Biden has firmed up his status in the White House, and how his "once lonesome position now has high-level support" regarding Afghanistan. The article calls Biden a "truth teller" and a "political realist" who is a force to be reckoned with.

A New York Times article Wednesday portrayed Biden the same way, describing him as the "in-house pessimist" who has gradually won backing from within the administration.

But the attention has brought with it added pressure, particularly from the left.

The Huffington Post's Arianna Huffington wrote on her Web site Wednesday that Biden should, in a symbolic stand against the war, resign if President Obama decides to escalate the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

"Though it would be a crowning moment in a distinguished career, such an act of courage would likely be only the beginning. Biden would then become the natural leader of the movement to wind down this disastrous war and focus on the real dangers in Pakistan," Huffington wrote.

Oh sure, Biden's going to resign the highest post he's ever attained in his life just to make Arianna Harpington happy. Yew betcha ...

Biden is speaking for a broad swath of the Democratic Party in expressing to Obama his skepticism toward the war. Polls show public support for the war is at startlingly low levels, and a number of Democrats have voiced support for a more restricted U.S. involvement in the region.

"One of the central problems in Afghanistan right now is you have a government that is corrupt and incompetent," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-~~Surrender~~ Mass., said on ABC's "This Week." If you don't have good governance at the center of all of this, you can put all the troops you want in there, you can invest all the money you want in there, and it won't make any difference."

He said "enlarging our military footprint" would be "counterproductive" and "a mistake."

But Biden may end up facing the scorn of anti-war advocates like Huffington in the end.

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin said an expectation that Obama will approve more troops has triggered discontent on the left. "[Biden] has painted himself as the heroic skeptic on the Afghanistan war, and now it seems that we may be poised for Obama to finally listen to General McChrystal," she told FOX News.

British media reported this week that Obama has already decided to send up to 45,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, though the White House denies it.

Publicly, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama is "several weeks" away from a decision.

"We have finished at the broad landscape level," Gibbs said. "We are in the decision-making phase now," he told FOX News.

Biden's skepticism has its skeptics as well.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said alongside McGovern Sunday that the counterinsurgency strategy pursued by McChrystal is "really critical." She said the American people don't have the stomach to stay in Afghanistan for another 10 years, but that the mission there is in "serious jeopardy" and Obama has an obligation to follow his commander's advice.

"I don't know how you put somebody in who was as crackerjack as General McChrystal, who gives the president very solid recommendations, and not take those recommendations if you're not going to pull out," Feinstein said.

Given that Biden opposed the troop surge in Iraq -- widely credited with creating the stability that is allowing the U.S. to withdraw -- even after voting for the Iraq war in 2003, some question why Biden's advice is given so much weight.

"When was the last time Biden was right about anything?" military reporter Tom Ricks wrote on his blog on the Foreign Policy magazine site last month, a dose of heavy skepticism noted in the Times piece Wednesday.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Five members of Congress arrested over Sudan protest

2006-04-29

Five members of Congress, including Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) were arrested today when they blocked the front entrance at the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, D.C. Their protest and civil disobedience was designed to embarrass the military dictatorship's ongoing genocide of its non-Arab citizens.

Maybe as a side effect. I think it was probably designed more to embarrass the Bush administration. This'd be the demonstration George Clooney was talking about yesterday, another pointless exercise, designed more to achieve TV coverage than to actually do anything.

All told, 11 people were arrested outside the Sudanese embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, including six activists as well as representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston), Jim McGovern (D-Worcester, Mass.), Jim Moran (D-Virginia) and John Olver (D-Massachusetts). They were held in a jail cell for about 45 minutes and then released.

I recognize four of the names off the top of my head without googling them. Lantos is the only one of them I have the least bit of respect for. Jim Moran and Sheila Jackson Lee are disasters.

"If you're looking for lack of international morality, Darfur encompasses all aspects," Lantos said before his arrest. "Here we see the slaughter of innocent black women, children and men by a monstrous regime." Lantos, 78, was first elected to Congress in 1981. Two years later, he founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. As the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress, he has pressed the Bush administration to take steps to deter the state-sanctioned murder and rape of hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan's Darfur region. "We have been calling on the civilized world to stand up and to say, 'Enough,' " Lantos said. "The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end."

Bush has stood up and said "Enough!" The rest of the world as mostly replied "Oh, leave them alone. They're having fun." We belong to the UN so we can get that kind of support against bloodthirsty regimes.

Lantos' arrest comes as a diverse coalition of human rights activists is planning to stage major Sudan-related rallies Sunday in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and other cities here and overseas. In recent months, the deteriorating situation in Sudan has become a dilemma for the Bush administration, which formally declared the killings in Sudan genocide in September 2004.

I'm curious, even though I've been watching since Day 1, how it's become a dilemma for Bush, but not for Bashir or Kofi or Amr Moussa.

Link

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