YOU REALLY THINK WE ARE LOSING?

Iraqi Targeting Success Now Equals Coalition Efforts By Fred W. Baker III American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2007 - Iraqi forces can now gather intelligence and go after targets as successfully as U.S. units there, a senior intelligence advisor in the region said today. Iraqi intelligence gathering and processing has progressed at the tactical level to the point that target information is collected, processed and approved and then sent to Iraqi units, who go after the target. The cycle is successful in yielding results about 30 percent of the time. That is about the same as U.S. efforts, said Daniel M. Maguire, the senior intelligence advisor and director of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior intelligence transition team, speaking via telephone to a group of Internet journalists and "bloggers." "They are right now on par in terms of going after targets and having success ... with the rest of the coalition forces," Maguire said. Maguire's joint team of about 80 military members and civilians work within the ministries of Defense and Interior, advising and mentoring Iraqi officials as they build the capacity of the intelligence efforts. His department falls under Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, which is responsible for training, manning and equipping Iraqi security forces. Maguire said he believes intelligence capabilities within the Iraqi government should be self-sustaining by this time next year. In Baghdad "we have gone from submitting probably less than a dozen targets on a weekly basis, of which none were actionable, to most recently being able to submit between 50 and 60 on a weekly basis, 90 percent which are actionable" or have sufficient details that Iraqi forces can go out and make an arrest, seize a target or pick up the weapons cache, Maguire said. Some targets, though, still are sent to coalition forces, depending on their sensitivity or if they are out of Iraqi forces' technical capabilities. "But the success story is really (that), from the front end to the back end, (the) complete cycle is Iraqi-run and Iraqi-executed, " he said. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, intelligence organizations within Iraqi security divisions were there more often to spy on commands than to collect outside target information. Maguire said his team is working to resolve commanders' suspicions by directly working with commanders and assigning senior intelligence officers at division levels so the commander and the intelligence officers establish working relationships. Iraqi intelligence efforts are limited in some technical capabilities, such as intelligence gathering. Maguire's office is working to get the Iraqis some low-level capabilities that would apply against target sets they are confronting, he said. At a more senior level, the biggest challenge is recruiting trained analysts and supplying them with secure communications devices and analysis computers and software. They have about 80 percent of what they need, Maguire said. But, he added, the Iraqi government is hiring and recruiting mostly by word of mouth at universities and reaching out to former military and intelligence officers. Maguire said he thinks that this time next year they will be "perfectly capable of collecting (intelligence) against a target and executing against a target probably in most of the provinces."

Related Sites: Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq Defense Department Bloggers Roundtable

YOU LIBTARD'S CLAIM IT'S BUSH'S WAR!!!

The Iraq Liberation Act

October 31, 1998 STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release

                              STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

                             

 

Today I am signing into law H.R. 4655, the "Iraq Liberation Act of 1998." This Act makes clear that it is the sense of the Congress that the United States should support those elements of the Iraqi opposition that advocate a very different future for Iraq than the bitter reality of internal repression and external aggression that the current regime in Baghdad now offers.

 

Let me be clear on what the U.S. objectives are: The United States wants Iraq to rejoin the family of nations as a freedom-loving and law-abiding member. This is in our interest and that of our allies within the region.

 

The United States favors an Iraq that offers its people freedom at home. I categorically reject arguments that this is unattainable due to Iraq's history or its ethnic or sectarian make-up. Iraqis deserve and desire freedom like everyone else. The United States looks forward to a democratically supported regime that would permit us to enter into a dialogue leading to the reintegration of Iraq into normal international life.

My Administration has pursued, and will continue to pursue, these objectives through active application of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

The evidence is overwhelming that such changes will not happen under the current Iraq leadership. In the meantime, while the United States continues to look to the Security Council's efforts to keep the current regime's behavior in check, we look forward to new leadership in Iraq that has the support of the Iraqi people. The United States is providing support to opposition groups from all sectors of the Iraqi community that could lead to a popularly supported government.

 

On October 21, 1998, I signed into law the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, which made $8 million available for assistance to the Iraqi democratic opposition. This assistance is intended to help the democratic opposition unify, work together more effectively, and articulate the aspirations of the Iraqi people for a pluralistic, participa--tory political system that will include all of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious groups. As required by the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for FY 1998 (Public Law 105-174), the Department of State submitted a report to the Congress on plans to establish a program to support the democratic opposition. My Administration, as required by that statute, has also begun to implement a program to compile information regarding allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes by Iraq's current leaders as a step towards bringing to justice those directly responsible for such acts.

 

The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 provides additional, discretionary authorities under which my Administration can act to further the objectives I outlined above. There are, of course, other important elements of U.S. policy. These include the maintenance of U.N. Security Council support efforts to eliminate Iraq's weapons and missile programs and economic sanctions that continue to deny the regime the means to reconstitute those threats to international peace and security. United States support for the Iraqi opposition will be carried out consistent with those policy objectives as well. Similarly, U.S. support must be attuned to what the opposition can effectively make use of as it develops over time. With those observations, I sign H.R. 4655 into law.

 

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

 

THE WHITE HOUSE,

October 31, 1998.

 

Click Here for the facts. Thanks Amy Proctor!

 

"The Troops show"

American Truth Warriors:

 

Please don't miss our very special pre-holiday show called "The Troops show" on Blog Talk Radio. The show will be live at 8 PM Eastern/ 5 PM Pacific and the entire hour will be nothing but your phone messages for our troops fighting overseas. This show will be made available to our troops live, in podcast form and in CD-R form so don't miss it and spread the word like wildfire!
The Troops show. Wednesday, December 5th, 2007. 8 PM Eastern/ 5 PM Pacific
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/anewtone 646-652-2670
Permanent link here

Does Anyone CAIR!

CAIR seeks removal of label in terrorism case

Bill Gertz - The Council on American-Islamic Relations is seeking help from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. to pressure the Justice Department to change the group's status as a co-conspirator in a terrorism case.

CAIR officials recently met with Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat, and then wrote a letter asking him to lobby the new attorney general on behalf of the group, and to hold hearings.

CAIR is among several hundred Muslim groups listed as unindicted co-conspirators in a recent federal terrorism trial in Dallas into activities by the Holy Land Foundation Inc., a group linked to funding the Palestinian Hamas terrorist group. The trial recently ended in a mistrial and prosecutors have said they plan to re-try the case.

Despite its uncertain outcome, the trial has produced a large amount of information and evidence identifying U.S. and foreign groups sympathetic to or direct supporters of international Islamist terrorists.

A 1991 internal memorandum from the radical Muslim Brotherhood identified 29 front groups, including the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), that are part of a covert program by the Brotherhood in the United States to subvert American society.

CAIR officials have requested that Mr. Conyers ask the Justice Department to explain why it publicly identified the 306 co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation trial.

"Those on the list suffer negatively as a result of the label 'unindicted co-conspirator' as it impresses upon the typical member of the American public that those listed are involved in criminal activity," the group said in a letter to Mr. Conyers. "In reality, those so named have neither been charged with a crime nor offered any recourse for challenging the allegation."

The group said the conspirator designation is being used by counterterrorism advocates to block government funds from being used to conduct outreach programs to Muslim groups. Pending fiscal 2008 legislation would block the Justice Department from using any funds for participation in conferences sponsored by a group or person identified by the government as a criminal unindicted co-conspirator.

Critics in Congress opposed the Justice Department's involvement in a conference sponsored by ISNA in September because the group was linked to the Holy Land Foundation case.

CAIR's letter to Mr. Conyers said that "you remember many of these abusive practices from the McCarthy era and the civil rights movement."

Melanie Roussell, a spokeswoman for the Judiciary Committee, had no comment.

CAIR recently petitioned U.S. District Court Chief Judge A. Joe Fish in a "friend of the court" motion to remove it from the listing, saying it caused a decline in membership and fundraising. After the mistrial, Judge Fish forwarded CAIR's request to U.S. Judge Jorge A. Solis, who has not yet issued a ruling.

The group stated in its appeal that linkage to the Holy Land Foundation has "impeded its ability to collect donations" because donors fear contributing to a terrorist group.

Steven Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, said the secret collaboration between CAIR and Mr. Conyers raises concerns over the lawmaker's support for "a group unambiguously proven to be part of the Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas infrastructure."

"This combination demonstrates the degree to which radical Islamic groups have insinuated themselves into the highest reaches of the U.S. government by using deceit," he said.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, citing a gag order issued in the case.

• Audrey Hudson contributed to this report.

Artists too frightened to tackle radical Islam

                                    

 

Ben Hoyle, Arts Reporter

Britain's contemporary artists are fêted around the world for their willingness to shock but fear is preventing them from tackling Islamic fundamentalism. Grayson Perry, the cross-dressing potter, Turner Prize winner and former Times columnist, said that he had consciously avoided commenting on radical Islam in his otherwise highly provocative body of work because of the threat of reprisals.

 

Perry also believes that many of his fellow visual artists have also ducked the issue, and one leading British gallery director told The Times that few major venues would be prepared to show potentially inflammatory works. "I've censored myself," Perry said at a discussion on art and politics organised by the Art Fund. "The reason I haven't gone all out attacking Islamism in my art is because I feel real fear that someone will slit my throat."

 

Perry's highly decorated pots can sell for more than £50,000 and often feature sex, violence and childhood motifs. One work depicted a teddy bear being born from a penis as the Virgin Mary. "I'm interested in religion and I've made a lot of pieces about it," he said. "With other targets you've got a better idea of who they are but Islamism is very amorphous. You don't know what the threshold is. Even what seems an innocuous image might trigger off a really violent reaction so I just play safe all the time."

 

The fate of Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film-maker who was murdered by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after he made a film portraying violence against women in Islamic societies, is the most chilling example of what can happen to an artist who is perceived to have offended Islam. Perry said that he had also been scared by the reaction across the Islamic world to Danish cartoons deemed anti-Muslim in 2006 and by the protests against Salman Rushdie's knighthood this year.

 

Across Europe there is growing evidence that freedom of expression has been curtailed by fear of religious fundamentalism. Robert Redeker, a French philosophy teacher, is in hiding after calling the Koran a "book of extraordinary violence" in Le Figaro in 2006; Spanish villages near Valencia have abandoned a centuries-old tradition of burning effigies of Muhammad to mark the reconquest of Spain, against the Moors; and an opera house in Berlin banned a production of Mozart's Idomeneo because it depicted the beheading of Muhammad (as well as Jesus and other spiritual leaders).

 

In Britain the most high-profile examples have also been seen in the theatre, with the campaign by Christian fundamentalists against Jerry Springer: the Opera and the protests in Birmingham that forced the closure of Bezhti, a play about rape and murder in a Sikh temple.

 

Tim Marlow, director of exhibitions at White Cube, the London gallery, welcomed Perry's admission. "It's something that's there but very few people have explicitly admitted. Institutions, museums and galleries are probably doing most of the censorship. I would be lying if I said of course we would show something like the Danish cartoons. I think there are genuine reasons for concern. Fundamentalism is a really complex issue and one of the things artists can do is to help us through that complexity. Whether or not it's their responsibility to do that I'm not sure though."

 

Article linked from TimesOnline.

THE ENEMY WITHIN, NO IT'S NOT THE BOOGER-EATER!

JIHAD JANE'S 'STATE' OF BLISS

NYP-- FBI fraudster Nada Nadim Prouty not only used a sham marriage to get jobs with access to secret terrorist intelligence - her current husband is a State Department employee who has held sensitive posts in Middle Eastern embassies, The Post has learned.

Her third hubby, Gordon Prouty, 40, now works for the State Department in Washington, a spokesman confirmed Friday night. He had been stationed at American embassies in Egypt and Pakistan. A Justice Department spokesman, Dean Boyd, refused to comment on Gordon Prouty's job, or say whether he was under investigation along with his criminal wife.

"He's not charged with any wrongdoing in this case," Boyd said.

But the revelation surprised national security watchdogs. "My God, she's married to one of our people," said Mike Cutler, a former US immigration special agent. Nada Prouty, 37, admitted last week she faked her first marriage to a Michigan man in 1990, enabling her to get US citizenship that helped her secure jobs with the FBI and CIA. Her star as an agent rose, and officials trusted her to grill al Qaeda sympathizers. She also confessed to sneaking into government databases for secret information on her sister and brother-in-law, both linked to the Middle East terror group Hezbollah.

One of the agencies credited with busting Prouty is the State Department's diplomatic security service. Gordon Prouty was a foreign service officer under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In 1999, he transferred from Cairo to Islamabad, Pakistan, a State Department document shows. The duties of a foreign service officer can include investigation of people applying for visas to enter the United States and protection of American citizens abroad.

Prouty returned to the United States in 2001, records show. He currently works in the State Department's office of resource management. Co-workers said he was in the office on Friday, but took a "holiday leave" until after Thanksgiving. He did not return calls. It's unclear how or when Prouty met Nada, who divorced her second husband, Andrew Alley, in 2000. Records show the Proutys shared their current address, a townhouse in Vienna, Va., as far back as September, 2001.

They have a daughter in preschool. "Maybe he didn't know what she was doing behind his back," Cutler said. Harvey Kushner, a criminal-justice professor and terrorism expert at Long Island University, said it's likely authorities are looking at the Prouty marriage. "If they're husband and wife, it would be important to see what involvement he had with records, his travels, his behavior, his contacts," Kushner said.

By SUSAN EDELMAN in New York and JILL CULORA in Vienna, Va.

Additional reporting by Angela Montefinise and Jeane MacIntosh

Iraq attacks down 55 percent

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press

Violence is down 55 percent in Iraq since a U.S.-Iraqi security operation began this summer, U.S. officials said Sunday, even as at least 15 Iraqis were reported killed in bombings and shootings.

The dead included three children who were killed as they gathered around American troops who were handing out toys and sports equipment.

The officials cautioned it was too early to credit Tehran with the recent lull in overall violence, despite recent optimism that Iran was stemming its support for Shiite militia fighters.

"It's unclear to us what role the Iranians might have had in these developments, if any," said Philip Reeker, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, at a news conference in the U.S.-guarded Green Zone.

"It's difficult to read trends in reductions," he said. "To draw direct lines from that data — to say that there are fewer attacks and conclude that there's a particular reason for it. Vis-a-vis Iran's action, that is something we're not yet prepared to do."

Washington has accused Iran of training, arming and funding Shiite extremists inside Iraq. But in recent weeks, U.S. officials have said Tehran appears to have halted the flow of arms across its border into Iraq.

Click Here for full story.

Americans Can Text ‘Thanks’ to Troops

By Samantha L. Quigley American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, – For those seeking a quick way to show appreciation for the troops' service far from home this holiday season, look no further than "Giving Thanks," a new initiative from the Defense Department's America Supports You program. (Video) Americans can send text messages of thanks and get responses from active-duty troops through the "Giving Thanks" initiative of the Defense Department's America Supports You program. (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. America Supports You connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad. "This is a simple way to connect our citizens to our soldiers using modern technology," Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and public liaison, said of the text messaging program. The program, which already has received nearly 4,000 messages, officially kicks off at 6 a.m. EST Nov. 17 and concludes at midnight PST Nov. 22. Between those times, people wishing to express gratitude to the troops for their service can text a brief message to 89279. Each text message sent will receive a response from an active-duty servicemember in return. Major mobile wireless providers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile, will provide access to the Giving Thanks text messaging program. "We know that thousands of families will be sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner and thinking about loved ones who are far away from home serving their country," Barber said. "We are counting on other American families to take a moment during their holiday celebration to think of those families and their family members who are serving and say, 'Thanks.' "The reassurance that others are thinking about them will mean a lot to our troops," Barber added. Those who send a message during the six days of the Giving Thanks program also will be directed to the America Supports You Web site. There, they'll find a sampling of messages from the public and a running tally of how many messages have been received. They'll also be able to read messages from the troops. Some servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan already have sent messages thanking the public for the support. Angie, an airman serving in Iraq, wrote: "Your support means so much, especially during the holidays. God Bless." Troops of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan also wrote to express their appreciation for the continued support they receive: "To all the great Americans who go out of their way to support all the Soldiers of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan -- Thank You." CLICK HERE for full story.

WILL THE REAL JIM PLEASE STAND UP!

I had the misfortune of knowing and working with Jim Stachowiak for 6 months and it was 5 months too long. I founded and co-hosted Freedom Fighter Radio with Jim, up until he continually called for the killing of every Muslim in America on the air. It was racist statements, plagiarism and daily harassing phone calls to BTR staff for which he was thrown off of Blog Talk Radio. In return he verbally assaulted Alan Levy, who happens to be Jewish, calling him and the BTR staff anti-Semitic.

Why would I take the time to let you know what Jim's like? Let me tell you why.

1. Jim is a radical but not in a good sense. When people are sane and radical, it's a whole different thing than being insane and radical. I'm not a psychiatrist but I know this man is the latter.

2. Jim went so far as to say he supports the troops but put out a ton of bulletins on myspace slandering Sgt Chris Killian, an Iraqi War Vet, a personal friend of mine, calling him a "rag head lover" and that wasn't the worse of it..he also put pictures of Chris's fallen comrade who Chris had put on his site as a reminder of lives lost and a dedication to this friend who he watched being killed in battle. Chris himself had to be medically discharged from the Army due to injuries sustained in that same gunfire. Chris cheated death 3 times while he was fighting in Iraq. Do you know what Jim said when I asked him why he would do such a thing to heroes like Chris and his comrade? Get ready for this....his reason was that he heard Chris Killion on Anewtones' radio show, saying that all Muslims aren't bad, that it is the islamo fascists and the extremists who are bad. For that statement Jim exploited and slandered him and his fallen comrade. The dead soldier's parents saw the bulletins and were mortified to say the least. Their son had died a hero in their eyes and a so-called troop supporter like Jim posts that kind of crap all over the Internet.

3. He lies to get people to help him out with his blogs and radio show. Jim resides in Augusta, Ga. not Atlanta. On the air, Jim states that he was a state police officer and taking some time off because the stress was so much for him. Again, another delusion of grander for Jim. He was a city police officer for a couple months and was fired because he gave a minor, 16 year old female, alcohol and let her stay for the night at his house. He was fired from the city police force and was charged, with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and obstruction of justice for lying to the police about it.

4. He gets young women on his web cam and asks them if they want to see him masturbate. He did this to a young girl who was helping us with the freedom fighter show who was 18 years old and in the US army awaiting her deployment.

5. Not only was Jim banned from Blog Talk Radio, he was banned from Operation America Rising, for the statements about killing all the Muslims in America. Jim was also banned from the Gathering of Eagles for starting a fight and nearly a riot at GOE1, for which he was detained by the Capital Police. Jim was also banned from MAF, in return he verbally assaulted a Gold Star Mother that sits on the MAF board. He was also booted from All American Pod-caster. He was also banned from Anewtone.com for stealing audio files and using them on his show without permission. He was also banned from myspace many times for his racist post.

I could go on and on about Jim and I use that term loosely but I won't. Please, please please, don't let Jim pull the wool over your eyes. He's never done anything good for anyone but himself and he changes his mind as often as most of us change our underwear on what his beliefs are. Although I agree 100% with the 'Stop SPP' rallies, I cannot fathom anyone supporting something that Jim is involved with knowing his past actions. I support Jim's freedom of speech, however his speech and actions cross the line. All the info above can be verified with a couple of phone calls.

Sincerely,
O.F.F.