Why the desire to pull the troops out of Iraq in the first place?

*posted first on Friday Feb. 10, here*

In the Australian today:

NO sooner did President Barack Obama welcome home American troops from Iraq and laud that country’s stability and democracy than an unprecedented wave of violence across Baghdad and elsewhere revealed the severity of Iraq’s political crisis.

Unfortunate, yet hardly surprising, even to the most casual of observers.

And whilst I can understand (yet not agree with) the Left’s position not to send troops into Iraq in the first place – an argument, largely moot, for another day – what I don’t understand is their fervish desire to pull the troops out.

It always smacked of idealism, ideology, rather than hard-nosed practicality.

After all, what was so bad with having a US troop presence there to help maintain Iraq’s fragile democratic stability?

One could argue that I am biased because a) I am centre-right politically and b) because I live in South Korea, a nation that has had a US troop presence – some 37,000  28,000 or so currently – since the armistice between North and South Korea and have seen what a permanent US troop presence looks like.

I am happy to accept those labels and can gladly tell you that such a presence ain’t that bad.

By and large,  US bases in Korea – and Japan for that matter – haven’t been a problem.

Sure, issues pop up from time to time, but if one looks at the big picture, then a strong US presence here can only be seen as a good thing, a safe option, a pretty darn good insurance policy against North Korea trying anything major on.

Almost 60 years we’ve had US troops over here without any major problems. In fact, many major problems (a full-scale Nork attack comes to mind) have arguably been averted thanks to this presence.

So, why the rush to leave Iraq essentially free of any US military  before even a decade is up and before, as is clear now, the job is done?

OK, so perhaps it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. US troops in Korea, aside from those stationed at the DMZ, aren’t on active duty as they were in Iraq.

However, it’s not a completely dissimilar situation. Perhaps a good analogy would be to compare mandarins and oranges.

US troops not only provided safety and stability in the fledgling democracy that is Iraq – a country still steeped with sectarian and tribal rivalries – but surely they also provided a deterrence to anybody or any groups who want to destabilise the nation.

What takes years to build can take mere seconds to destroy, and I fear a lot of hard work is being undone on the whim of a flawed, feel-good, ideology.

So why?

The only practical reason that I can see for Obama pulling his troops out of Iraq is that with an Iranian confrontation looming which includes action needed in Syria, Iraq frankly isn’t important enough any more or at best, an impractical option for a potentially over-stretched military.

Of course, Obama – a man of the progressive Left – can’t actually come out and say that but it is reasonably well-known to those who don’t just get their news from the MSM that Obama is actually more of a war-time president than Bush was, having committed more troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and for a longer period of time.

So whilst the MSM might play along with the “bringing the troops home” narrative, the evidence indicates this simply isn’t the case.

Some 20,000 marines, seamen and air crews from half a dozen countries, a US nuclear aircraft carrier strike group and three US Marine gunship carriers are practicing an attack on a fictitious mechanized enemy division which has invaded its neighbor. It is the largest amphibian exercise seen in the West for a decade, staged to simulate a potential Iranian invasion of an allied Persian Gulf country and a marine landing on the Iranian coast. Based largely on US personnel and hardware, French, British, Italian, Dutch, Australian* and New Zealand military elements are integrated in the drill.
Bold Alligator went into its operational phase Monday, Feb. 6, the same day as a large-scale exercise began in southern Iran opposite the Strait of Hormuz. This simultaneity attests to the preparations for a US-Iranian showdown involving Israel behind the words on Feb. 5 of US President Barack Obama (“I don’t think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran”) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 3 (“The war itself will be ten times as detrimental to the US.”).

(*BTW, I don’t recall Aussie PM Gillard highlighting that one.)

And this:

As the US and Israel carried on bickering over the right time to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, their war preparations continued apace. debkafile’s military sources report that flight after flight of US warplanes and transports were to be seen this week cutting eastward through the skies of Sinai on their way to Gulf destinations, presumably Saudi Arabia, at a frequency not seen in the Middle East for many years.

Add into this mix reports that China will reportedly help Saudi Arabia build a nuclear bomb, and that both China and India have started paying Iran for its oil in gold thus helping thwart current US/UN sanctions (more of which were recently thwarted by Russia and China), then we see a stage set for a showdown and we see the reality that rhetoric aside, Obama won’t be bringing many troops home at all.

To someone who doesn’t know any better, it’s as if Russia, India, and China – all wannabe first chickens to the trough – are ganging up on America.**

PS Who wouldn’t love to be a fly on the wall listening in to what the US is really saying about China? Their ever-expanding use of soft power is in many ways, stuffing it all up for America. China must surely be becoming an ever-increasing pain in the neck.

This leaves Australia in an interesting position. Our main export partner is China. Our main ally is the US. We send China our goodies to help them get rich and rival America. We practice shooting our guns with America to help keep America on top.

And yet China and America are also so deep in each other’s pockets. America buys China’s goods. China buys America’s debt.

Fun times.

** I highly recommend reading The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom. Part of the book talks about the pecking order of nations.

Ahmadinejad, Chaves “together to the end”

One can only hope, when it comes to them, it’s soon.

Stupefying WTF: Ahmadinejad is Jewish!

In what has to be the Mother of All WTF Moments, it has now been revealed that – this really is beyond comprehension – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was Born a Jew!

“A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots.

A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver.

The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth.”

Wow.

UPDATE: My instincts were right, it seems, but I gave in to the sensationalism: It was just too freaky to be true.

That actually makes my frame of reference for reality a more secure thing. LOL!

Iranian Air Force: Epic Fail

I found this story about the crash of Iran’s only AWACS jet at a celebration of Iran’s military might thigh-slappingly funny.

“On Tuesday, I reported that a plane had crashed in Iran and seven people had been killed. Defense News is reporting that the plane that crashed was participating in Tuesday’s military parade in Tehran, and that it was Iran’s one and only AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System)…

The Simorgh collided with one of the Air Force’s Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighters over the area of the Imam Khomeyni Shrine, southern Tehran. According to eyewitnesses, the crash occurred immediately after the parade. Apparently, no mayday call was issued.”

This is the funniest part.

“Eye witnesses reported that the flaming planes landed on the mausoleum burial site of the Islamic revolution’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini, a national shrine.”

D’OH!

Of course, this leaves Iran blind just as the moment of truth approaches for them vis-a-vis a potential attack on their nuclear facilities by Israel.

Let’s add this up: Iranian Air Force is embarrassed when two of their aircraft collide at a military parade, one of those aircraft was the only AWACS airplane that Iran has, and the flaming wreckage landed on the shrine-tomb of Khomeyni. Either Allah hates Ahmadinejad, or the God of Israel is more powerful than Iran’s moon deity. decide for yourselves, but I know where I come down among the various possibilities implied there.

Oh, by the way, Iran flies American-made F4’s – Vietnam era aircraft – which would be a laugh-out-loud joke in the face of current Israeli F-16’s.

The more I think about this, the funnier it gets.

The Incredible Lightness of Being Obama [updated]

Our president is a flyweight boxing with heavyweights. He’s totally outgunned and outclassed.

Not to mention, Obama is a fucking moron with a sub-basement level IQ.

“The Obama administration will scrap the controversial missile defense shield program in Eastern Europe, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.

The comment followed similar statements from officials in Poland and the Czech Republic — where key elements of the system were to be located — but was the first confirmation from an American official.

Vice President Joe Biden earlier refused to confirm to CNN that the George W. Bush-era plan was being shelved.

But he did explain the logic of doing so, saying Iran — a key concern for the United States — was not a threat.”

And as for Biden, my turds have more brains than that pathetic imbecile does.

I’m sorry Poland, I’m sorry Czech Republic, I apologize to all of eastern Europe: I didn’t vote for the guys.

Here’s Obama’s new plan to defend eastern Europe from Russia and Iran.

Awesome display of presidential “gravitas” no? Contrast and compare.

Obama-Biden haven’t got a chance against this guy because they haven’t got a pair of balls between them. Having the greatest military in the history of human civilization means nothing with garbage like these guys in power.

Well, the leftards have a few million south-east asians’ blood on their hands after Vietnam and the ensuing Pol Pot, so what are a couple of million more eastern Europeans?

On, and don’t get me started about how far out in the cold Israel is now.

I would be a better president than Obama, and trust me, that is one shit-suckingly sad state of affairs.

I could fucking vomit.

UPDATE – bing

For in depth analysis of the Obama photo, look no further.

The Sickness of Islam: Virgins Must be Raped Before Execution

But, of course, you can’t have sex without being married, so you have to marry them, rape them, and then you can execute them. The girls – we’re talking about teenagers here – might resist though, so you might have to drug them too.

“He said he had been a highly regarded member of the force, and had so “impressed my superiors” that, at 18, “I was given the ‘honor’ to temporarily marry young girls before they were sentenced to death.”

In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a “wedding” ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard – essentially raped by her “husband.”

“I regret that, even though the marriages were legal,” he said.

Why the regret, if the marriages were “legal?”

“Because,” he went on, “I could tell that the girls were more afraid of their ‘wedding’ night than of the execution that awaited them in the morning. And they would always fight back, so we would have to put sleeping pills in their food. By morning the girls would have an empty expression; it seemed like they were ready or wanted to die.”

I will not be satisfied until Islam is utterly destroyed and removed from the face of the earth forever. It is an intrinsically evil religion.

Via Mark Steyn.

Iranian bastards!

Not the people, the bloody government, if this report is true where does the governments legitimacy come from?

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246296541275&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

As the Iranian authorities warned the opposition on Tuesday that they would tolerate no further protests over the disputed June 12 presidential elections, a report emerged of the hangings of six supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Not one of this six, no this lady was hung for killing a man trying to rape her.

More below the fold.

Hat tip to Atlas Shrugged

“Unimaginable Horror in Tehran”

“Iran has executed its Tiananmen Square. Baharestan Square has become synonymous with barbarity, cruelty, massacre and inhumanity.

An Iranian blogger (whose URL I will not publish) live blogging from Baharestan Square in central Tehran today captures but brief glimpses of the unimaginable horror that took place today. Bus loads of protesters were stopped and unloaded from their buses by “black-clad police” and literally herded. When the massing was sufficient, as the barely controllably distraught Tehran caller to CNN described first hand, hundreds of the regime’s Basij thugs poured out of an adjoining mosque and commenced a massacre with axes, clubs, guns and gas.

From the live blogger’s eyewitness account:

>More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq.
>Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq.
>The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists
>The croud have moved to the south of baharestan, the situation is bad, the shooting has started
>In Baharestan Sq. in the Police shooting, A girl is shot and the police is not allowing to let them help
>In Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping people like meat – blood everywhere – like butcher

This is the Iranian regime, wading into its own unarmed people and axing them to death, bludgeoning women (seen as the greatest threat to the regime) and throwing them to their deaths from pedestrian bridges. The same Iranian regime whose embassy officials are invited to American embassies around the world to celebrate on July 4th, of all things, a successful revolution.”

You should read the whole enchilada, but be warned: There is a particularly gruesome image of a dead man with an ax wound in his chest.

Also, the Iranians have been uninvited from the July 4th celebrations. I’m still pissed that these pieces of shit were invited in the first place.

I posted in a blog comment a few days ago that unless the Iranian protestors overran police and military positions and armed themselves, they would eventually be slaughtered. Sometimes I really hate being right all the time.

So, the masque is off the mosque vis-a-vis the Iranian thugocracy now, so what will happen next? I’m not sure yet, but my outlook is not sanguine. The Mullahs obviously read the Chi-com text book, and what worked for the communist thugs may very well work for the Islamist thugs too.

Unarmed populations seldom succeed at revolution, which is why being armed is a fundamental human right. As Aristotle said, “The true measure of a people’s freedom is whether they are armed or not.”

H/T Glenn Reynolds, who has some PJTV video at the link.

UPDATE: Much more at Gateway Pundit via Jawa Report.

Best Iran Protest Roundup: Tom Gross

I’ve been posting inane, funny stuff, mostly because other blogs are covering Iran so well. I’m just not equipped to do that. One of the best one-stop shopping roundups I’ve come across is at Tom Gross’ Mideast Media Analysis. Lots of video and the best analysis out there, IMO.

You could spend an hour there, and you should.

What the Fuck is Wrong with Ron Paul?

Ron Paul, “libertarian heartthrob,” mister “Re-love-ution” himself, was the only congressman to vote against a resolution supporting the Iranian protestors.

“The House overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday in support of Iranian dissidents as that country’s top cleric warned protesters to end demonstrations.

The resolution was approved in a 405-1 vote, with two members voting present. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) was the only lawmaker opposed to the resolution. Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and David Loebsack (D-Iowa) voted present.”

Of course, Keith Ellison (D-Mecca) voting present is no surprise, as he’s the only (openly) Muslim congressional tool, and I know nothing about David Scrotesack other than that he’s a leftard butt-plug, but Ron Paul? Seriously, what is his major malfunction?

Ahmadinejad Rigs Iranian Election, Iranian Citizens Riot

As if the problems with North Korea weren’t enough, Iranians have taken to the streets” to protest Ahmadinejad’s obvious rigging of the Iranian presidential election.

As I’ve said many times, Iran being an Islamic country is an epic shame, as the real Persian spiritual culture is Zoroastrianism, from which the Judeo-Christian tradition borrowed many features. Perhaps this evil regime will be brought down.

Obama Says Iran has a Right to go Nuclear: Good Luck New York

So, our president – who, as is becoming increasingly clear, lives in a fantasy world – says Iran has a right to have nuclear reactors.

“LONDON — President Barack Obama reiterated that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy _ provided it takes steps to prove its aspirations are peaceful…

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity. But the U.S. and other Western governments accuse Tehran of seeking atomic weapons.

“Without going into specifics, what I do believe is that Iran has legitimate energy concerns, legitimate aspirations. On the other hand, the international community has a very real interest in preventing a nuclear arms race in the region,” Obama said.”

Yo, Obi-One, no nation that has leaders who proclaim that they want to wipe Israel off the map, and that also has ICBM’s that can reach New York City, has any right to anything nuclear. In fact, sanctions forever are all Iran deserves.

Hey New Yorkers, how does this make you feel? If you thought 09/11 was bad, imagine what NYC would look like today if 09/11 had been a nuclear attack instead of just a couple of airliners laden with jet fuel. It’s not hard.

Good night. Sleep tight.

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.

The failure of US-inspired Capitalism

Today, over at Bolt’s, Paul of Hervey Bay finally let the cat out of the bag and proclaimed, “In my opinion the US political system sucks.”

Three posts down (a screenshot may magically appear later).

Rudd hopes for the end of nasty “extreme capitalism”.

Democrats cheer.

Yep it really sucks. Check this:

BTW. Enjoy your holiday, Barack. Perhaps Grandma will finally read to you the story of the Hare and the Tortoise.

Do you really think so?

Dutch Paper: U.S. Will Attack Iran in Weeks

via newsmax

Ahmadinejad blames West for AIDS. Damn, he went to the same church Obama did.

Jerusalem Post

Iran’s president on Tuesday blamed the US and other “big powers” for nuclear proliferation, AIDS and other global ills and accused them of exploiting the UN and other organizations for their own gain – and the developing world’s loss.

“The big powers are going down,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told foreign ministers of the Nonaligned Movement meeting in Tehran. “They have come to the end of their power, and the world is on the verge of entering a new, promising era.”

This guy sounds like a perfect Vice Presidential candidate, for Obama.

The Jeremiah Wright School of Philosophy, Racism, Ethnoism and Life.

Ammie, you left off DRUGS we infected people with, stupid.

ASH UPDATES: Hey Tiz, we have idiots too!