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.

The REAL reason the Islamic extremists hate us…

THIS.

And the George Bush, and the Dick Cheney, and the Sarah Palin Climate of Hate™.

But mostly, THIS.

via @TheH2

Finally, Obama addresses the nation about America’s Kinetic Military Action in Libya

And via the magic of Twitter, his entire 7-page single-spaced speech can be distilled down into fewer than 140 characters:

“I authorized this war that is not a war, which is narrowly focused but broad in scope, so we could lead. As helpers.”

And this critique:

“Eerily like a Bush speech, but without the conviction.”

Hey, here’s a word cloud!

If you’d like a little more detail, see PJTV‘s account of the speech.  If you’d like the time-limited, vermouth-limited overserved kinetic martini-action version, see VodkaPundit’s drunkblog account.

And if you’d like to see how this speech SHOULD have been done, see Reagan.

UPDATE: More on Obama’s War from James Board, and a great post at RedState which includes some of the top Twitter reactions.

 

via twitterers @MelissaTweets, @EWErickson, @KamaainaInOC, @GayPatriot, @instapundit, @CalebHowe & @VodkaPundit.

As Obama’s War Begins in Libya, Peace Activists Hold Rally at White House…

…Against the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

.

“You know it makes sense!”

h/t @WeaselZippers

UPDATE:

BUT BUT BUT!!!!! HE’S NOT BUSH!!!!!! heh. #ChimpyMcObamaHitlerHalliburton

Downer calls for Taliban negotiations

At first glance, this is a particularly unpalatable notion, but perhaps the Realpolitik of the situation warrants such a change of strategy.

THE initial objective of the invasion of Afghanistan has been achieved and it’s time for a diplomatic settlement involving the Taliban and their Pakistani creators, says former foreign minister Alexander Downer.

In an article entitled “Our messy war” published in The Spectator ahead of the parliamentary debate on Afghanistan, Mr Downer said the initial military goal was to destroy al-Qaeda’s capacity to use Afghanistan as a base for attacks on the US and other western targets.

“That goal was achieved. Al-Qaeda was destroyed in Afghanistan. As time has passed there has been mission creep,” he said.

Mr Downer said the task now was apparently to improve the quality of democracy and security, but that was proving perilously difficult as Afghanistan had never been competently governed by an administration based in Kabul.

However, on the one hand we see reports of a decimated Taliban having endured a near decade-long “arse-kicking”. Their best commanders are either dead or captured and what’s left is literally a rag tag army.

Thus, why negotiate now? Rather, seizing the jugular (g’day, reader Carpe Jugulum ;-)!) would appear to be the more effective option in the long-run.

But then there are the reports of a wishy-washy US president who even after an Iraqi-style troop surge- which has arguably been a success, just like in Iraq – still appears to not really know what to do.

American Spectator’s Alfred S. Regnery:

Afghanistan is often called the “graveyard of empires.” It is also Barack Obama’s Achilles’ heel. He has nobody to blame but himself.

Afghanistan has little strategic value and the war is one of choice rather than necessity. Now, at the end of a wasteful and frustrating decade, our objective is to end the fighting and leave a measure of stability behind. But clarifying even this simple goal seems more than the Obama administration can handle.

That’s probably why Downer is calling for a deal. Regnery’s piece goes on to remind us that Afghanistan, hardly a nation, is but really a collection of tribes, rooted in the middle ages, and certainly not a prime candidate for nation-building.

Still, something doesn’t sit right. Even with Al-Qaeda taken care of over there, what’s to say they wouldn’t re-emerge – and quickly? A deal and/or pull-out would likely inspire Islamic terrorist forces around the globe. And just how much could you expect a “legitimised” Taliban to keep up their end of any bargain?

The Australian parliament is set to debate the Afghanistan War this Tuesday. Yet with the major government power-broker, Greens’ leader Bob Brown, not even having been there, it seems folly to have this debate just now even if both, generally speaking, the ALP and Liberals are committed to the war.

You’d think the best course of action would be to head the advice of the generals on the ground. Bob Brown flies in the face of this, however.

“We have to take what our army commanders are saying into account here but then I have letters from relatives of troops who are in Afghanistan or going to Afghanistan who do not want their loved ones sent to what they see as a hopeless war,” he told ABC Television.

A US debate over what step to take next is scheduled for December.

Faced with a White House war review due in December and decreasing public support for the war back home, the U.S. military is not in a position to hold back. The current phase of operations is geared to make a statement: drive the fight as aggressively as possible and rout the Taliban in their own backyard. Looking forward, commanders posit that improved civilian freedom of movement and a stronger government presence will be reliable gauges of progress. But it remains to be seen just what metrics will be enough to convince the Obama Administration that serious money and manpower should be poured into a conflict now entering its 10th year.

Whatever the powers-that-be decide, now is a good time for Western forces to strike hard while the iron is hot. One reason is purely military in nature: the Taliban is at its knees. The other reason is purely political in nature: Obama and other Western politicians appear to be at their knees.

A deal with the Taliban?

Picture source: Taliban feud over murder of Polish hostage


cross-posted

The latest terror round-up

Let’s start off with Tony Blair noting that the war on terror has left too many Muslims thinking we’re out to get them. Of course, that’s not the case, but is it really such a surprise the West is taking a closer look at Islam in an effort to understand why so many terrorists are Muslim?

We note that two Israeli soldiers have been convicted of using a Palestinian boy as a human shield. Does the same kind of scrutiny occur in the Palestinian territories when their folk do the same (and on a much larger scale)?

And speaking of pricks who use civilians as human shields, it’s good to hear the Taliban, thanks largely to the surge and all our fine soldiers, is “getting an absolute arse-kicking”. Indeed, they’ve been decimated.

Cheney. I knew it!

Don’t ask me how I know. Probably the same way you do. You can sense it, right? Feel it?

I knew that slimey Cheney SOB was involved in 9/11. How involved is anyone’s guess, but that’s not the point. He was involved.

The troof is out there… well at least if you’re mum turned activist Cindy Sheehan.

Seriously, would it be better to despise or pity her? Flogging her dead son’s memory around like that still, in order to keep pounding out the redundant, irrelevant dribble of far Left groups who so callously took advantage of a once pround but then grieving parent is, either way you look at it, not a good look.

Karl Winn, Uberdouche

Check out the form on this moral midget

A programme which attempts to place ex soldiers in work sent an enquiry to this company, Webeurope net design, received the following dismissal from the walking excrement that is its owner.

I prefer child molesters, or rapists...

Boss Karl Winn would rather hire paedophiles than former soldiers

  

Winn, a former social worker, replied: “Personally, I’d rather recruit ex-drug dealers, convicts and even child molesters rather than consider anybody who has been in the pay of the British Government

“Anybody who has been in the pay of such a military force, and by their silence and complicity has condoned such illegal and immoral actions while accepting a monthly blood-stained pay-packet, certainly will not be considered for employment by us!

“Please remove us from your email list. Regards, Karl.”

After the sentient turd saw how this might blow up he attempted to clarify the matter, by blaming it on someone else,

From the sun newspaper: 

Winn tried to deny he wrote the email when The Sun first challenged him. He blamed a “disgruntled” worker he sacked, who had managed to hack into his personal email.

But confronted by further emails between him and the FRS he caved in and admitted he had written them – but refused to apologise.
So he used the truth as the last resort, how….something of him.

“Ex-pedophiles and drug addicts who have been charged and paid the price for their actions deserve a chance to get on with their lives. In my opinion, military personnel who have got away with murder do not,” he said.

“I will therefore continue with my blanket ban on employing ex-military personnel. I understand this will affect innocent as well as guilty people.”

  

Mind you hes not hiding it anymore, heres from his own business website.

Karl Winn, Webeurope’s founder and principal owner, has for many years supported numerous organisations (NGO’s), such organisations include: –

• The International Human Rights Network – Supporting others in applying Human Rights Based Approaches to UN Agencies, countries, and organisations.
• Film Makers Against War – FAW seeks to educate and raise awareness of UK and international war law
• Art and Sacred Places – Encourages the interaction of art and religion by commissioning artists to make work in sacred places.
• Relatives for Justice – A northern Ireland based organisation that supports and campaigns on behalf of the families of the 367 men, women, and children, who have been killed by members of the British Military and Police services. The campaign seeks to bring the perpetrators of such killings before the courts.

 

Now far from being vindictive Im merely going to post this fellows business details in an attempt to drum up more business for him. Let it not be said Im encouraging anyone to spam his inbox with pictures of white feathers, much like the ones under the fold….

Paying Unassimilated Muslim Immigrants to Leave

The tide has shifted. Even many liberal-left Democrats are beginning to tire of government enforced, “cultural diversity” when the subjects in question are Muslim immigrants who refuse to assimilate, and do nothing but breed on the dole and threaten their hosts with violence… and often enough, act out on those threats.

Sweden, a country I love – OK, I really love the women – and have lived in, is paying the return trip for asylum seekers who have been turned down. Note that the countries listed are all Muslim countries, that a higher percentage are now being refused, and that applications are also dropping as the people back home get word that the public teat is running dry.

Denmark is going that one better, as they are paying unassimilated Muslim residents about $20K US to… ahem… get the fuck out. The something that is rotten in Denmark is the unassimilated Muslims, and the natives want them gone.

Expect this to spread. Peace-loving citizens of western nations – who will readily self-identify as libertarians if the terms are properly defined for them – are fed up with this malignant ideology parading as a religion, and they bloody well want their countries back.

Here in the US, the solo terror attack by Nidal Hasan is being called a terror attack in newspapers that were formerly allergic to the word. Deniers are being shouted down, and even their hearts aren’t into their arguments anymore.

Not only that, but there are now calls for the abjectly ridiculous Clinton-era gun ban for military bases and posts to be rescinded. This is major big progress. I grew up a military brat on Air Force bases in the 60’s and 70’s: My dad carried a .357 revolver around with him whenever he was flying, and nobody ever gave it a second thought. It’s a military base for fuck’s sake! Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are supposed to be fucking goddamned ARMED! Expect this to change, and soon. Even lilly-livered generals don’t like to be caught with their pants around their ankles while their unarmed soldiers are mowed down by lunatics.

There will also be an end to this kind of malfeasant shit. Hasan’s superiors wondered if he was a bleeding psychotic nut-case, but nobody wanted to take the heat for accusing a Muslim of being a danger. A hearty fuck that to that noise. That’s gone soon as well, and three cheers.

Westerners are long-suffering because we’re civilized, and we’d like more of the world to share in our prosperity and standard of living, but if you invite a dog into your house and he refuses to stop shitting on the carpet, well, you’ll rid yourself of the cur sooner or later, no matter how much you wish he’d shape up.

That’s what’s happening now: Muslims have been shitting on the carpets of western countries too long, and the owners of those carpets are tired of cleaning up after them. We’d like to walk on those carpets barefoot without worrying about stepping in a pile of Muslim shit.

Perhaps in another few centuries Muslims will be ready for civilization, but they aren’t now.

Send them back to their bat-shit filled caves and their flea-infested sand dunes. That’s where they belong.

Let the Muslims shit on their own carpets.

Will Israel attack Iran soon?

Well, not so much ‘attack’ as take out their nukes and some other military targets.

Lubos Motl’s post, here, suggests that it’s highly likely (probably shortly after the latest UN junket) and ‘kind of a good idea’…

Agreed. Especially after Ahmadinnerjacket’s disgusting rant at the UN.

H/T Breitbart and TT over at Blair’s.

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.

BingBing, Please Answer the White Courtesy Phone: NorK Attack “Imminent”

Things may have reached a tipping point with North Korea.

“U.N. Security Council resolutions are almost always a waste of time, but not always, and yesterday’s resolution presents North Korea with a major problem, and represents an escalation point in the continuing crisis. Just a few days ago, when the resolution was presented before the Council in draft form, North Korea issued a new threat, using the words “offensive” and “nuclear” in the same sentence maybe for the first time:

“Our nuclear deterrent will be a strong defensive means . . . as well as a merciless offensive means to deal a just retaliatory strike to those who touch the country’s dignity and sovereignty even a bit,” the state-run Minju Joson newspaper said in commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency…

* For these reasons, it is possible that North Korea’s economic situation is now so desperate, that North Korea is willing to go further than ever before in forcing the U.S., China, and others to pay up. Another nuclear test — or perhaps a military strike or other kind of attack against some nation — could be imminent.”

You really need to read the whole enchilada.

It is high time this dastardly regime was toppled, IMO. What’s the mood in the south, Bing?

For the troops

Nilk, Kae and BOAB have started a blog for the Aussie troops. Sending care packages. It’s called Ocean, Sky and Khaki. It’s on our Blairite blogroll under “For the troops”.

H/T Paco

CNN’s NK wrap

It’s actually pretty decent. With more resources and collective time than this blogger has, it’s worth a look.

Still, grain of salt. Air raid sirens still go off here every month or two (usually on the 15th or so) to remind people. Yawn. And we all know how the 24/7 media cycle works. They’ll flog it til something else comes up.

This shit always comes up. Real question is; how will Obama deal with it? This has all been to get Obama’s attention.

Obama’s actually done well getting SK to sign on to the Proliferation Security Initiative… and this has pissed the shit outta NK, hence the latest missile tests and a declaration of war. But as much as I disagree on Obama on most things, he cannot be blamed for this.

Anyway, how serious is this? Some schools and academies have been closed for swine flu (ha!) but all this is not enough to get me outta going to work tomorrow but, d’oh.

Remember, Kim Jong-il is about to cark it and NK still needs to be noticed by Obama and CNN.

Good night, folks.

US Military Burns Bibles to Appease Afghan Muslims

“(CNN) — Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.

Afghan workers enter a walkway on March 3, 2009, at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.

Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.

“The decision was made that it was a ‘force protection’ measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims,” Wright told CNN on Tuesday.”

What a fucking Obamanation. Shame on the US Army for caving to these sub-human muslim barbarians. I say let’s burn a boatload of Korans that have been translated into English in response. Surely – surely – that would be fair. Reciprocity and all that goody good bullshit.

Pardon me while I go out and break things and fuck shit up.

Obama the eco-warrior

No fuel cell, no fuel cell for you!

Hey, let’s let the Left keep loving Obama. Hehe, he’s just upped the Pentagon’s black budget! Ironic.

OK, so his stimulus package sucks, but in some respects he really is carrying on Bush’s work (hint: with Iraq won, the focus was always gonna shift to Afghanistan). Prez Change in many regards ain’t really so different. He’s getting away with what Bush could never have gotten away with, lulz. The Left are hypocrites a funny mob.

Pity about those poor school kids.

Fat chance

“The United States is ready to do its part, and we hope that Europe will join us…”

Yeah, sure. And how much has Europe lifted it’s game since OB got in? European troops are just swarming into Talibandland.

Meanwhile, an earnest “questioner” from the first link hopes the Guantanamo Gang will be accommodated in hotels… Holder joked, probably hoping the stupid leftist funk crew doesn’t realize yet Prez. Change, if he goes ahead with it, will probably have them holed up somewhere like this.

This is where we’re at, folks. Oprah will find a diet that sticks before the MSM scrutinizes the Obama Crew properly… let alone how they “scrutinized” the other guy.

Meanwhile, lest there be any more cause for concern, good ol’ New Socialism is at work!

How times change

He gave assurance that one way or another Pakistan’s nuclear aresanl (sic) would not fall into the hands of Islamic extremists. He said he was confident that Pakistan would handle the issue on its own but he left the door open to the U.S. taking action to secure the weapons if need be.

Now there’s change. Imagine if Bush had proposed that.

Meanwhile, same bloke…

Obama has set Aug. 31, 2010, as the target for ending the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, assigned 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, and called in Prague for steps to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Eliminate them whilst upping your stash? Audacious indeed. S’pose that’s one way to rid the rest of the world of nukes.

Baghdad flower show

What was that about Operation Iraqi Freedom being a failure, doomed from the start, a mistake?

IRAQ is holding its first-ever flower festival…

The Left has to face it. They were dead wrong.

Oh great: North Korean nuclear news

Old news but being reiterated today; North Korea has between five and eight nuclear warheads. This is according to Daniel Pinkston, of the International Crisis Group, who quotes un-named agencies (but probably the US). The missiles can be loaded onto Rodong missiles capable of reaching Japan. If true, Japan may go nuclear, too.

(H/T). US Congressional report here (16-page PDF).

Is this one of the international crises Biden was referring to?

One query: the first link in this post is from 2006, and quotes US sources. The second link quotes un-named sources. Anything to declare, President Obama?

Gerald Celente, Prophet of Doom

World economic collapse? Second American revolution? Tax revolts? WW III (WW IV actually)? All of this we can expect in the next few years according to Gerald Celente of Trends Research.

I’ve been trending (ha ha) this direction in the bleakness of my outlook for several years now, as our dysfunctional political class decides to levy 1900% tax increases on beer, and ponders not giving the citizens tax refunds due to state budget shortfalls, and similar actions that bespeak of an abject level of venal hubris.

So, how to survive the coming societal collapse? My suggestion would be to take some lessons from a Russian who watched the Soviet Union implode.

UPDATE: Australians to be taxed for taking a shit. I shit you not.

UPDATE II: Wow! That was fast! Celente predicts tax revolt b eginning with property taxes, Hoboken, New Jersey residents protest property tax increases! I used to live in Hoboken – it’s right across the river from Manhattan – and it’s a very liberal Democrat town, so I find this just flabbergasting.

UPDATE III: I actually posted another scene from this film months ago, but it’s gaining new currency now.

Space weapons; to ban or not to ban

Thoroughly interesting article by Instapundit having a dive into the future of space weapons.

Critics might argue that a ban on space weaponry would just breed complacency among law-abiding nations, while giving cheaters the advantage of surprise. On the other hand, a crude improvised system probably wouldn’t be that useful, while a more sophisticated space-based weapons program (one that went beyond maneuvering exploding satellites close to their targets) would probably require a fair amount of testing, making cheating difficult.

…

The result of any such attack would make space as unusable for the attacker as for the target. In the next decade or two, the biggest threats are likely to come from rogue nations with some space capability, like Iran (which last week launched a satellite on its own), or North Korea—countries that have the ability to attack spacecraft from the ground, but not a lot of their own satellites at risk. Perhaps Obama thinks that a space-weapon ban among the spacefaring nations will encourage them to close ranks against rogue states that are a threat to everyone. That would certainly be a positive development.

UPDATE (16/01/09)

More on North Korea’s so-called ‘space program’ here. If their new missiles actually worked properly, they could theoretically now reach Alaska.

Hamas update: Now they’re hiding out in hospital basements

Yep.

After a day in which “only” 22 rockets were fired into Israel, the IDF stated that there has been a dramatic reduction in Hamas’ ability to launch rockets, with the launches having dropped by 50% compared to the start of the operation.

What hasn’t reduced is the cowardice of Hamas leaders, and desire to endanger the lives of their citizens, with reports that senior Hamasholes are hiding out in the basements of the Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza.

The UN’s call for a ceasefire is an utter joke. No wonder the US abstained.

Don’t wanna disappoint

In the spirit of living up to our reputation as a hate blog, may I present to you fun little time muncher Raid Gaza.

H/T Margos.

Meanwhile, Hamas continues to spread the love.

H/T Tim Blair who is requesting we spread the love for Zoe Brain.

Meanwhile, CNN reports itself into irrelevance.

UPDATE

Barack still thinks he can talk to these people. I’m happy to be proved wrong but quite frankly, Obama is seeing pixies.