Change. Obama Brings Back Military Trials He Opposed

by Gateway Pundit | 9:02 am, May 2, 2009

Candidate Barack Obama promised to shut down the military tribunals of Gitmo detainees.
Obama wanted US trials for the Islamic terrorists.

His first day in office Obama announced that he would close Gitmo and put a halt to the military tribunals:

But after reviewing things President Thin-Skin has decided that tribunals are the way to go.
The New York Times reported:

The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which was a target of critics during the Bush administration, including Mr. Obama himself.

Jules Crittenden gets a good laugh out of this latest flip-flop.

He’s Ba-ack… Mookie Al-Sadr Makes First Appearance In 2 Years

by Gateway Pundit | 10:21 pm, May 1, 2009

Radical Iraqi Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr made his first public appearance in two years today.
He’s kept a low profile since his Mahdi Army got thumped by the Iraqi Army last year.

In this handout picture received from the Prime Minister’s press office, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (right) sits alongside Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr as they pose for a photograph prior to a meeting in Ankara on May 1. Sadr — not seen in public for nearly two years — held face-to-face talks Friday with Turkey’s top two leaders, Anatolia news agency reported. (AFP/Yasin Aras)

The Telegraph reported:

Moqtada al-Sadr, one of the most radical figures in Iraqi politics, made his first public appearance for two years when he paid a surprise visit to Turkey.

Mr Sadr, a Shia extremist who leads the Mahdi Army militia, is believed to have spent the last two years in Iran. In 2004, his gunmen began an uprising against American troops in Baghdad and British forces in the Shia heartland of southern Iraq and Mr Sadr briefly became the leading opponent of the foreign occupation.

But his militia suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Iraq’s new army last year and Mr Sadr’s followers have since turned to mainstream politics.

Maybe Obama will hold talks with this killer, too?

Hateful Feminist Gloria Feldt Savages Miss California (Video)

by Gateway Pundit | 8:08 pm, May 1, 2009

Hateful Leftist and suspect feminist Gloria Feldt came on The O’Reilly Factor tonight to discuss the attacks on Miss California Carrie Prejean.

Feldt opens up by slandering Laura Ingraham saying that Laura had attacked her in the past… This didn’t go over well with Laura who didn’t even know who she was until tonight. Feldt then attacks Miss California’s looks and breast implants.
What a class act.
The “feminist” said attacking Prejean, and evidently her breasts, was “fair game.”

Laura Ingraham let her have it:

Feldt is a liar.
She slandered Laura Ingraham. She then attacked Miss California for her “breast implants paid for by the pageant.”
Feldt said Miss California has “unfortunately become fair game.”
…Including attacks on her breasts?

Nice job Feldt.
You sound as crazy, angry and deranged as Perez Hilton.

Related… The Anchoress- Now there’s a feminist.

Dem Leader Celebrates– Obama Healthcare Plan Will Destroy Insurance Industry (Video)

by Gateway Pundit | 7:09 pm, May 1, 2009

Far Left Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Admits Obama Healthcare Plan Will Destroy Insurance Industry

The Illinois Stalinist celebrated the coming Obama healthcare plan that will destroy private insurance industry:

Via Breitbart

From the video:
“I know many of you here today are single payer advocates and so am I… and those of us who are pushing for a public health insurance don’t disagree with this goal. This is not a principled fight. This is a fight about strategy for getting there and I believe we will,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told a group of government-run health care supporters on April 18.

The liberal Congress passed legislation this week that will allow democrats to use a powerful procedural tool known as reconciliation to advance the Obama’s plan for socialized healthcare without fear of a Republican filibuster.

Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki: Captured Al Qaeda Leader Has Close Ties to Saddam Regime

by Gateway Pundit | 4:39 pm, May 1, 2009

Funny. This wasn’t the headline in The New York Times.
It was buried down in the article.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi has close ties to the Saddam regime.
Hmm. Maybe Iraq wasn’t the wrong war then?

Undated handout released April 28, 2009, shows Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. Iraq has confirmed the identity of a suspect captured last week as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, believed to be head of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda-linked group, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. (REUTERS)

The New York Times published an article this week on the capture of Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. In the report Iraqi Prime Minister told reporters that Al-Baghdadi had close ties with the Saddam Hussein regime.
The New York Times reported:

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recently arrested a leader of the Sunni insurgency who had been in league with members of Saddam Hussein’s ousted Baath Party.

Iraqi officials say the insurgent, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown group that American intelligence officials say is led by foreigners.

The government has not provided proof of his capture since announcing the arrest on Thursday, beyond showing a photograph of a man with a trimmed beard wearing a black T-shirt. In 2007, Iraqi officials announced twice that Mr. Baghdadi had been captured and killed. A spokesman for the United States military, which has suggested that he might not exist, said Tuesday that the military could still not confirm his arrest.

Mr. Maliki, who spoke out Tuesday on the arrest for the first time, has increased his anti-Baathist language in recent weeks and has resisted American pressure to reconcile with more approachable members of the party. Many analysts say they believe that he is under pressure from his Shiite partners in the government, some of them allied with Iran.

“This terrorist had deep ties with the former regime and created with its followers a devil’s pact reflected in bloody scenes of carnage involving innocent children and women and the elderly,” Mr. Maliki said.

His statement coincided with the birthday of Mr. Hussein, who would have turned 72 and was executed in 2006…

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, Mr. Maliki said all of the recent attacks had resulted from coordination between Qaeda militants and elements of Mr. Hussein’s Baathists.

“They agreed that Al Qaeda would carry out the suicide attacks, while the Baathists would do the remote-control bombs,” he said.

This is not the first time that we have heard about Saddam Hussein’s links to Al-Qaeda.
The Iraqi newspaper Kurdistani Nwe published a letter in June 2008 on the front page from Saddam Hussein requesting a meeting with Al-Qaeda second in command Ayman Al-Zawahiri:

The letter was posted today on the MEMRI blog:

MEMRI reported on this letter from 2002:

The Kurdish daily Kurdistani Nwe has published a 2002 letter from the Iraqi presidency that it says proves that there was cooperation between the regime of Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda.

The letter, which appeared on the paper’s front page, was published by the intelligence apparatus of the Iraqi presidency and discussed an intention to meet with Ayman Al-Zawahiri in order to examine a plan drawn up by the Iraqi presidency to carry out a “revenge operation” in Saudi Arabia.

A letter published in the Kurdish news shows that Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein (right) reached out to Al-Qaeda’s number two man Ayman Al-Zawahiri (left). Saddam wanted a meeting to discuss a revenge operation he was planning in Saudi Arabia.

Remember this the next time you see a mainstream media report claiming there was no links between Saddam and Al-Qaeda.

Previously:
Picture Proof: The Saddam-Al Qaeda Connections
NYT: Saddam Was a Year Away from Building A-Bomb!
The Saddam-Al Qaeda Links: In Photos and Video
Bush Did Not Lie!… Saddam Officials Had “Good Relationship” With Zarqawi
Iraqis Publish More Proof Of Saddam Links To Al-Qaeda Leadership

Counterterrorism Expert McCarthy Declines Team Obama Invite

by Gateway Pundit | 4:26 pm, May 1, 2009

This was the right decision.
Counterterrorism expert Andrew C. McCarthy declined a recent invitation by Team Obama to participate in a roundtable meeting with Obama officials to discuss identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants.
National Review Institute reported:

Dear Attorney General Holder:

This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading.

The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants—or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear—most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany—that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.

Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government…

…I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.

Very truly yours,
Andrew C. McCarthy

cc:Sylvia T. Kaser and John DePue
National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section

Obama Relies On Far Left Crank For Churchill Quote… Gets Burned

by Gateway Pundit | 4:22 pm, May 1, 2009

I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the fact that the British during World War II, when London was being bombed to smithereens, had 200 or so detainees. And Churchill said, ‘We don’t torture,’ when the entire British–all of the British people–were being subjected to unimaginable risk and threat….the reason was that Churchill understood — you start taking shortcuts, over time, that corrodes what’s best in a people. It corrodes the character of a country.

President Barack Obama
100 Day Press Conference
LA Times Blogs

At the 100 day press conference, ABC Reporter Jake Tapper asked President Obama tonight if the previous administration used torture:

President Obama was so impressed with Winston Churchill (although he sent his bust back to Britain) that he quoted the great leader as saying, “We don’t torture.”
Wonderful!

As reported earlier, the president must have forgotten about these German prisoners at Bad Nenndorf, near Hanover:

For almost 60 years, the evidence of Britain’s clandestine torture programme in postwar Germany has lain hidden in the government’s files. Harrowing photographs of young men who had survived being systematically starved, as well as beaten, deprived of sleep and exposed to extreme cold, were considered too shocking to be seen.

Today, Power Line has more.
Not only did Barack Obama mess up his World War II history…
He made it up:

While it’s nice to hear the President invoke Sir Winston, the quotation is unattributed and almost certainly incorrect. While Churchill did express such sentiments with regard to prison inmates, he said no such thing about prisoners of war, enemy combatants or terrorists, who were in fact tortured by British interrogators during World War II.

The word “torture” appears 156 times in my digital transcript of Churchill’s 15 million published words (books, articles, speeches, papers) and 35 million words about him–but not once in the subject context. Similarly, key phrases like “character of a country” or “erodes the character” do not track…

Churchill spoke frequently about torture, mostly enemy murders of civilians. His daughter once told me, “He would have done anything to win the war, and I daresay he had to do some pretty rough things–but they didn’t unman him.” But if Churchill is on record about “enhanced interrogation,” his words have yet to surface.

Power Line adds:

Obama apparently relied on left-wing internet crank Andrew Sullivan for the fake Churchill quote, which is a bit worrisome in itself.

Sure enough. Obama got his Churchill talking points from Far Left crank Andrew Sullivan.
Why is this not surprising?

More… Jonah Goldberg offers Obama some advice on his sources.

The Obama Disaster -By The Numbers

by Gateway Pundit | 6:46 am, May 1, 2009

Hope and Change–
The US economy enjoyed 7 straight years of unimpeded economic growth during the Bush years. The Bush tax cuts lifted the country out of its recession until the mortgage bubble erupted and the economy took a sudden nosedive in last half of 2008– something Bush repeatedly warned Congress about.

Unlike Bush, President Obama decided to spend his way out of his recession.
Here’s how it’s worked out:

Economists expected a 5 percent annualized decline in the first quarter but instead saw the economy drop by 6.1%.

Despite the recession he inherited, 9-11, stock market scandals, Hurricane Katrina and two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the unemployment rate during the Bush years averaged out to 5.27%.

(Numbers from the US Misery Index)
The Obama unemployment rate is at 8.07%.

Spending- The federal government spent a record $11.1 trillion during Bush’s last year in office:

(USA Today graph)
Obama will spend $15.3 trillion in 2009.
This is an increase of $4.2 trillion or 37%.

And, then there are the deficit and debt numbers…
President Bush was able to bring the US deficit down 3 of his 8 years in office:

Barack Obama will quadruple the deficit this year.

More… Factory orders tumble.

Michelle “Americans Are Downright Mean” Obama Less Popular Than Laura Bush

by Gateway Pundit | 6:12 am, May 1, 2009

The liberal media remake of Michelle “Americans Are Downright Mean” Obama is doing wonders for her image.
She’s the most beloved figure in her husband’s administration.

But, even with the constant toadying by the media the fist-bumping radical is still less popular than Laura Bush.

Related… It looks like Michelle Obama shot her rebate wad on some shoes:

The kicks, made by high-end French fashion label Lanvin, cost $540.
Actually, the shoes cost more than the Obama taxcut of $400 per person.

Previously on Gloomy Michelle Obama:
** Michelle Obama Decides After 44 Years She Finally Can Stomach the US
** Michelle Obama’s “Proud of My Country” Twofer (Video)
** Michelle Obama: “We’re a Country That’s Downright Mean”
** Oops!… She Did It Again- Michelle Obama Bashes Ignorant America! (Video)
** “You’re alone in your failure.” (Get me more white people!)
** “We’re Guided By Fear… We’re a Nation of Cynics, Sloths and Complacents”
** ” We’re Taught to Keep It All In, Suffer, Just Hold It Down”
** Surprise!… Michelle Obama’s Old Boss Says She Was Non-Stop Complainer
** Tacky Michelle Obama & Liberal Media Diss Laura Bush
** Michelle Obama Surprised to Find Americans Were Not So “Downright Mean” As She Thought

Press the Restart Button: 100 Days of SOS Hillary Clinton

by Gateway Pundit | 5:22 am, May 1, 2009

Today marks the first 100 Days for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
If only we could press the restart button.

After observing the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City Mrs. Clinton asked Msgr. Monroy, “Who painted it?” to which he responded “God!”
…Oh.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R in red) listens to priest Diego Monrroy in front of an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City March 26, 2009. Clinton said on Wednesday the United States and Mexico were making headway on efforts to resolve a dispute over Mexican trucks operating in the United States. (REUTERS/Henry Romero)

With the Pakistani Government near collapse, violence surging in Iraq, flu surging from Mexico across the border, Iran developing nukes, North Korea restarting their nuke program, Syria and Turkey holding joint military maneuvers, China penetrating the US defense systems, Russia threatening Eastern Europe, the Taliban surging in Afghanistan and lurching towards the Pakistani capital of Islamabad…
The State Department website released this glowing 100 Day report:

OVERALL DEPARTMENT POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, REGULATORY INITIATIVES, AND INTERAGENCY EFFORTS

In the first 100 Days of the Obama Administration, Secretary Clinton and the State Department have made significant progress in advancing America’s national security goals and promoting America’s values around the world.

Secretary Clinton is already the most traveled Secretary of State in a new Administration. The Secretary’s trips have included her inaugural trip to Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Mexico and across the border to Texas, the Hague in the Netherlands, Europe with President Obama, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago with President Obama, and to Iraq and Kuwait.

The work undertaken on these trips, the many bilateral and trilateral meetings hosted by Secretary Clinton, and the tireless efforts of others throughout the State Department have contributed to early and significant progress on the following priorities: Afghanistan/Pakistan policy, the Middle East, Iraq, Asia, Russia, North Korea, the Western Hemisphere, the climate crisis, engaging in public diplomacy, and other core issues.

Funny, the State Department didn’t mention the “restart button” incident.
Hillary thought she was giving Russia a “restart” button.
Instead it was an “overcharge” button.”:

Nice work, Hillary.
Hopefully, the next 100 days will go better.

PS: From the above statement does the State Department think Texas is in a different country?

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