Armies of Liberation

An article known as The New American Heros to regular readers is up at Opeds.com

Well this is a real compliment, the freepers really liked it.

Update on A Glaring Double Standard: The article was also published by the Arab Times in Kuwait, although not the internet edition, in adddition to Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

is here. I was spitting mad and could have been a little clearer but its still one for civilians rights, the Iraqis police and civilians, and the US military. Also kudos to the Arab News for publishing it. They are going to get a lot of angry comments for publishing it. A little postive feedback to the paper would be nice too. Hint Hint

Update: Article also published in the Arab Times but the print edition.

This Blog into FRENCH.

The blogroll has been perverted:
(Can you find your favorites?)
(Read on …)

Update: This article was published today on Iraq.net. The editor added a picture of Margaret Hassan and sent regards from Baghdad. Also published by the Arab News.

What a glaring double standard. The Arab world is enraged over the shooting of a wounded, apparently unarmed Iraqi insurgent by a uniformed US soldier.

There is no similar outrage for Margaret Hassan. Is it because she was an Anglo, a woman, or because she was killed by a Muslim?

The video of the soldier shooting is proof, we are told, of America’s evil. And the kidnapping, torture and murder of Mrs. Hassan is then proof of what- that America is evil! Muslims wouldn’t do that unless evil America forced their hand.

Bombing children, defiling mosques, kidnapping civilians, executing poor workers and cleaning women point blank: these are not discussed, broadcast with frequency, or the source of much anger. Videos where a masked man shakes a bloody head while the curtains flutter do not evoke such fury. Why? The identity of the victim or the perpetrator?

All tactics of the insurgents are excused. Hide among civilians. Justified. Wear civilian clothes. Justified. Shoot from the holy mosque. Justified. Feign death to draw soldiers in (the way one marine died the day before the incident). Justified. Wave a white flag as a ploy. Justified. Booby trap dead bodies. Justified. That’s just Fallujah.

Moving outward- Deliberately killing Iraqi civilians daily. Justified. Bombing churches. Justified. Bombing cafes. Justified. Using schools as arsenals. Justified. Attacking the police. Just fine.

The rules of war don’t apply to the insurgents, only the Americans. And if one horrible act occurs at the hands of one American soldier, the world howls.

The insurgents’ constant inhumane tactics are acceptable. The American rules of engagement prohibited shooting unarmed combatants: this prohibition was followed by thousands of soldiers, thousands of times. After the shootout at the mosque in which the man was wounded, a call went to headquarters to send a medical team out to pick him up. Its American policy that wounded fighters are given good medical attention. Many are being treated now. A wounded American soldier found by the enemy fighters would be tortured to death after being paraded on al-Jazeera. And that would be fine.

The last war in which Arab militaries fought was the Iran/Iraq war and executions were systematic. That was fine.

Al-Jazeera, marketing arm for anti-Americanism globally, is showing the shooting nearly non-stop. Yet they refused to show the last tape of Margaret begging for her life because it was too disturbing. How bad of a shape was she in? Is that why her bruised and battered body is still alone and unrecovered? They refused to show her execution: the shooting of this woman in the head is not a “war death,” although carried out by those the US military are fighting. Broadcasting terrorists’ messages to inspire fear in the Iraqi people is thought impartial journalism though. Except in Iraq, where al-Jazeera has been suspended numerous times for acting as a tool of the jihadiis.

Why so little regard for Iraqi civilians when they are killed by Muslims but when a unarmed fighter is killed by an American soldier, the Arabs suddenly love the Iraqis?

The soldier will be tried. The facts will come out. A punishment will be issued because the US has respect for the Iraqis and enforces the rules of engagement. If the soldier was wrong, Americans will say he was wrong, loud and clear. Tomorrow when Iraqi children are again deliberately targeted by these terrorists-not freedom fighters-what will we hear from the Arab countries, not even muted mumblings. Is it a lack of courage or a lack of concern? Why is there more sympathy for the guy in civilian clothes who was shooting from a mosque than for Margaret?

Elections are coming to Iraq. The Iraqis will rule themselves.

Saddam stole 21 billion dollars from the mouths of starving Iraqi children. The UN closed its eyes. He filled mass graves and torture chambers and the world stood silent. Now as the Iraqis struggle for self-determination, for security, and for freedom from both the US and the terrorists, the Arabs back the suicide bombers. Habit perhaps.

For years, some Iraqis may harbor deep resentment toward the US for its mistakes. The successes of the insurgents, all those dead civilians, will be remembered with anger as well. Perhaps the greatest number of Iraqis will recall how they were devalued by their “brothers” and forsaken in the greater cause of anti-Americanism.

Not Even A Little. Ha!

Actually, pissing off Europe was one of the best parts.

Driving the moonbats to the brink of sanity was also fun.

via email: A Sonnet

It never occurred to me, ever before,
That our Navy would win the Vietnam War.
When they took to their boats in this year of elections,
With the mission of making some major corrections

I shared their belief, John should not be elected,
And their view overdue, truth should be resurrected.
Yet I questioned the course they’d set themselves for,
Knowing how John was loved by the media whore.

Ignored and dismissed by the media queens
Being shrewd, savvy sailors they still found the means
To reach out to the people, to open their eyes
To a phony John Kerry and his war story lies.

With their very first ad, they torpedoed his boat,
A Cambodian Christmas would no longer float.
His heroics unraveled, his stories fell flat,
Especially that one ‘bout his magical hat.

John called on his lawyers and media whores,
And threatened the Swiftees with vile legal wars.
But these warriors kept charging back into the fire,
And made the folks wonder, “Is Kerry a Liar?”

Till the question of whether he’s telling the truth
Was still in their minds in the election day booth.
So the brave Swiftees gave us what we’d not had before,
They gave us our victory in the Vietnam War.

Those brave, stalwart sailors, falsely labeled as liars,
Stood firm and stood tall, kept directing their fires,
Steadfast, unrelenting, they served once again,
And defeated John Kerry, these honorable men.

All Vets can take pride, yes all, not just some,
That we won the last battle of Vietnam.
It took far too long to bring an end to our war
But we did, November Second, Two Thousand Four.

To our Brothers, forever on that long black Wall,
You’ve been vindicated now, one and all.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Poor cuddley Dick Cheney has gone to hospital with shortness of breath. If the strain is too much for him, he can step aside for Rudy.

Rudy can then run against Hillary in 2008.

BTW if Cheney does step down, and with Ashcroft gone, who are the crazed liberals going to hate the most? They need a puppetmaster for the conspiracy theories to work.

UPDATE: OK, Dick I’ll be your V.P. Not much arm twisting necessary there, when a guy like this is going to run:

How are we, as mere mortals going to stop this evil power of darkness from ravaging our beautiful planet? Is there a superhero out there that will save us? Someone who wears a mask and tights?

Check out the Cabinet. Think the Eurotrash wannabe’s are whiny now…..just wait till 2008.

We’re not the only ones:

FALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq’s interim defense minister Hazem Sha’alan has lashed out at U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and leaders of other Arab countries during a pep talk for Iraqi troops before an expected assault on the insurgent-held city of Falluja.

Annan warned in a letter dated October 31 to the United States, Britain and Iraq that such an assault would have a “negative impact” on the prospects for elections, now scheduled for January.

“Where was Kofi Annan when Saddam was slaughtering the Iraqis like sheep?” Sha’alan said.

“Where were the calls we hear from Arab and Islamic countries when Saddam was messing up the country?”

Sha’alan told the Iraqi troops set to participate in the offensive that they were “the defenders of democracy” who would rescue a city held hostage.

“Those who call not to fight the criminals, we say to them, ‘You are the criminals.’ They are the criminals,” he said.

“How could you shake hands with Saddam Hussein before? You were a slave to Saddam Hussein, and today you try your best to restore dictatorship and crime, but under a new umbrella — that is the umbrella of Islam.”

The troops crowded in to hear him, raising their rifles into the air and cheering, dancing and singing at the end.

Sha’alan predicted the insurgents, who have been in effective control of Falluja for months, would “run away like rats” when attacked.

“We will chase them from house to house, from room to room,” he said.

Like a breath of fresh air.

from the Editor of the Yemen Times:

The front page story of last edition on the beating up of journalist Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani in the central prison in Sana’a is a sign that his life is in severe danger. I use my column to cry to the world, through honorable ambassadors in Yemen to act, and act quickly! If it is inhuman to treat a criminal who committed murder in such a way, treating a writer in such a manner is even graver and more outrageous!
It is true that a number of international protests by organizations and individuals from the world have poured to the desks of the President and the Foreign Minister. But it seems that this is not enough. Our government needs to be informed that what it is doing is wrong, and needs to be accountable for it!

This is why I call upon every person with influence to act along with us to save the life of Al-Khaiwani and his career. If it is not for his own self, let it be for his children and family! He doesn’t deserve to die in such a horrific way at the central prison in Sana’a. (Read on …)

What a lovely pick me up: better than flowers. A map of the empire of blogs, created by map maker extrodinaire, the Commissar. The nice part is I’m on it. And I’m in great company, check it out and click on a few new links if your in a sightseeing mood.

Update: Hey Wow: This is like chocolates to go with the flowers.

The election is over but the battle rages on. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann still doubts the result and wondered aloud “Did John Kerry concede too soon?” Much of the electorate is suffering from “post election stress disorder.” Pundits and partisans are stepping up to next face-off: Arlen Spector and judicial appointments. In this divided nation though, an important consensus has been reached. The Vietnam Veterans came home to glory, thirty years later. The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth and John F. Kerry deserve the credit.

Ernest Lefever described the American attitude toward Vietnam: “The two diametrically opposed interpretations of Vietnam continue to vie for the American psyche. Until the issue is resolved, we will suffer from a kind of historical schizophrenia.” During the recent campaign, both Democrats and Republicans agreed that Vietnam Veterans served with honor. It was an admission long overdue by the Left.

The parade of Vietnam Veterans across the stage at the Democrats National Convention received a standing ovation, the first of its kind from the protesting class. The Democrats saw John Kerry’s Vietnam service as his most attractive quality. Some Republicans countered that Kerry’s antiwar efforts in the 1970’s maligned two million American service members. The Swift Boat Veterans questioned if John Kerry’s service was as honorable as that of his peers. But all agreed that Vietnam Veterans are national heroes. (Read on …)

reported by our font of all things current and importantThe Jawa Report:

According to NPR, Iraqi forces attached to Bravo Company found a truck that was loaded with weapons. In the truck was a briefcase with four packages containing ten vials each. The packages were labelled “Sarin-VGases” in English.

It’s not confirmed officially yet but would any of us be surprised if there were WMD in Iraq? I know the MSM sees this as a sign of derangement but its awfully hard to believe Saddam unilaterally and secretly destroyed all his WMD.

Update: It was a sarin testing kit.

And other reflections on her trip to China from fellow blogger Helen.

For a visual aid, checkout Ziboy’s photoplog of Beijing.

Here’s an informative article from the Arab News on what’s going on in the Ivory Coast:

This hare-brained scheme, negotiated in 2002 by France’s then Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin was presented as a model of multilateral action under the UN flag as opposed to American “unilateral” action in Iraq. Keen to score an anti-American point, Villepin put France’s soldiers in harm’s way with their hands tied behind their back.

France and the United Nations were supposed to have about 10,000 peacekeepers in Ivory Coast, a former French colony. In reality, however, the UN has not been able to bring in more than 6,000 men, most of them French.

The Ivorian regime’s next move was to dispatch an armored column to attack Bouake on land. When the French stopped that column, the Ivorians sent their Sukhoi bombers to raid the UN positions, killing eight French soldiers and wounding 23 others.

More: CSM “France has declared war on the Ivory Coast, that’s how it looks to us,” says Sery Bahi, a senior adviser to President Laurent Gbagbo, speaking by phone from Abidjan.

Even after Ivory Coast declared its independence in 1960, France maintained a major degree of control over the economy. Some 20,000 expatriates lived in the country until 2002 and owned some 600 businesses, many in key industries such as shipping and cocoa.

Yahoo: Nearly 2,000 foreign nationals were sheltering in French and United Nations bases in Abidjan, many plucked to safety by French helicopters as machete-wielding mobs looted their homes.

Osama Bin Laden’s big brother, Yeslam, is preparing to cash in on 9/11 by selling a line of perfume in the US he thinks people will buy out of curiosity. The Swiss-Saudi born Yeslam Bin Ladin told the New York Daily News the perfume, “Yeslam,” is jasmine-scented.

“I expect people out of curiosity will try it, and they will find the smell out of this world,” he said. Bin Ladin, who deliberately spells the family name differently than Osama, said he expects the family name’s notoriety in the United States since the 9/11 terror attacks will help sales.

He said he was preparing for the launch before the attacks but waited three years, and feels the market timing is now right.

UPI

A stubborn, independent people, half the American electorate ignored the global cacophony and re-elected President Bush. After the election, voices dripping scorn, American talking heads and Europundits discussed how regular church attendance was a strong indicator of a Bush voter as if it was an indicator of mental illness as well.

Apparently while much of the world was chanting Anybody But Bush, a majority of Americans were thinking Anybody But Kerry. These voters withstood a tidal wave of pressure and cast their votes, not to gain international approval, but for the candidate most representative of their stance. (Read on …)

Big Pharoh, Egypt: Al Arabiyah channel ran a poll on its website asking Arab readers to choose between Bush and Kerry. Readers were also allowed to vote via email. The final number was something like 42% for Bush 58% for Kerry. I personally doubt this 42% that Bush got because it is too high! Anyway, the channel then classified the votes based upon countries and guess what was the ONLY Arab country that voted for Bush in a landslide? Iraq. 80% of Iraqi emails went for Bush….I believe the American people made the right choice

Hossein, an Iranian Blogger in Canada: Dear Republican American friends,
Thank you for the sweet middle finger you showed to all of us in the world. Now you can fight your “global war on terror” alone. You’ve caused it, and you’ll have to win it.

David, a German blogger: I watched on WDR – a regional German public TV channel – a discussion about the U.S. elections, and I could hardly believe the animosity of the audience in the studio against the two American participants. Thundering applause for the thesis that Americans are “too dumb for voting”.

Zaydoun, Kuiwait: A newsflash across the TV screens last night said that NASA astronauts voted for their choice of president from outer space! I couldn’t get that image out of my mind, and whether Bush or Kerry wins (and sadly, it’s looking like Bush) you can’t help but admire democracy at its greatest.

Sandra Gidley, Liberal Democrat MP: I still envy the Americans the pride they have in their country and think that we could all learn a lot from them. My puzzlement over the re-election of Bush is actually nothing to do with the war, religion or Republican politics. On a very basic level I just can’t understand the attraction and I know that I am missing something on a very fundamental level. Clearly he has something that appeals to the electorate and something that Kerry must lack – but am I so wrong for admitting that the attraction is completely lost on me?

Kurdo, Kurdistan
come on BOSH (Bush) I know you can do it.BUSH in Kurdistan is the man. Report says it all.
Hope I will wake up tomorrow, turning on Al-Jazeer, seeing Bush smiliing, and Al-Jazeera crying.
Dear Americans, BUSH is the man, if you haven’t voted yet, go to the boxes and Vote Bush !
Reason: If it wasn’t BUSH, Saddam Hussein was may have still been in Baghdad, but not in a prison, but in full power, and Iraqis in full terror.

Daniel Brett, London and Kolkate: The world’s future looks likely to be decided by a few thousand people in Ohio. And it looks as if the people of Ohio are about to give the world a one-fingered salute and back possibly the most unpopular man on the planet – George Bush. Oh well, my prediction was unfortunately correct and the world is now doomed.

Mahmood, Bahrain I’m not an American so I can’t have a say on how the election unfolded, but I cannot but have pity on the Americans at the moment, they have such a fractious country, such a polarized society that it would be difficult for them to realistically agree on anything for the next 4 years…. and that uncertainly will no doubt translate very badly for them as well as the rest of the world. Congratulations Mr. Bush.

Rezwan, Bangladesh I do not want US to increase more enemies in the world. I want peace in this world. Some would say that Bush can prove everybody wrong by doing everything right in the next four years. Well he can start it with annihilating the Al-Qaeda et al. which brought misery to many people in the world and maligned Islam considerably. But I doubt he would ever do it. Because 9/11 shaped the world differently and they are one of the reasons for Bush to succeed.

David, Scotland: But more important than all these things is the great battle against terrorism that has just been resoundingly won. Every Islamist from Arafat to Bin Laden wanted America to reject its president and vote for the relatively antiwar John Kerry. Anti-Americans everywhere were hoping that the U.S. people would either retreat in fear from the Middle East, or pretend that the “nuisance” did not exist. As the anti-Bush candidate, Kerry would have been the anti-American-values president, standing for ambivalence, appeasement and, in the eyes of Islamism, weakness.

W, France: Hatred of all things American (its people, its values) continued today. In today’s Libération PropagandaStaffel, the anti-semite Willem uses racial caricatures (shared by the simple minded French population) to express his hatred of Americans and their electoral process. Americans, you are hated here. More than ever.

Johan, SwedenI had hoped that the majority of Americans voted for Bush because of the war against terrorism and islamo-fascism, or because of tax-cuts, or because they want an ownership society, or because of opposition to economic isolationism – all good reason to prefer him. But I just saw on CNN here in the Turkish hotel room that the exit polls show that those who voted for Bush cared most about social issues and opposition to gay marriage and stem-cell research. In other words, this election was not a victory for Reagan’s individualist free-market conservatism, but for socially intolerant big government conservatism.

The Marmot, Korea: Korea Times: We hope the re-elected Bush will listen carefully to why Europe favored John Kerry and his flexible multilateralism over Bush’s own unilateral and imperialistic foreign policies. The first thing Bush should do in this regard is to engage in closer consultations with international organizations and strengthen cooperation with allies.

Highlander, Libyan So here I am wishing I could vote in the US elections, I would VOTE BUSH, do you know why ? because it will twarth the Zionists a little and because of a proverb which says to the effect that : ‘the enemy that you know is better than the one you still have to learn about …..’

Asad, the Angry Arab, Poli Sci Prof in California How could Bush not win when this American public (as I often make that point on Middle East media) comprises good people who are unfortunately deeply afflicted with deep ignorance of world geography and world affairs, and can thus be easily manipulated by any devious leader (or any ignorant leader) who is bent on staying in office no matter what? How could Bush not win when the scenes of his bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan have galvanized many in the country, and inspired many American males who could identify with a “macho” foreign policy?

Alaa, Iraq All those who have been following my blog from the start should know how I feel towards El Bush, the Avenger, the Lion-Heart and I cannot hide my happiness for this outcome, purely from a personal feeling of gratitude for what he has done for us, despite all the pain and hardships that we suffered and still do. But the objective is so great and so important that all sacrifices and difficulties pale when contemplating the benefits and goals that are hoped for.

Wamy, Bangldesh Everyone in my house is upset about Kerry’s defeat. But I think it doesn’t matter who wins. Kerry is no angel and America’s foreign policy would not change dramatically if he is in the office. His statements and policies are ambiguous enough to defeat him. Rather I think it is better to have someone in the Whitehouse whom we can clearly identify as evil. American people have done a great job. There should be no place for ambiguity.

Cross posted at The Left Right Debate.