What a Roadside Bomb Looks Like

My God, this is a frightening and sober reminder of the dangers that our armed forces face each and every day in enemy territory.

H/t to the gentleman formerly known as GipperClone for forwarding the video via e-mail.

Nothing to See Here, Move On...

While the civilized world wallowed in pre-election rhetoric and imagery of Brett Favre's turgid member, noted anti-war Web site Wikileaks actually uncovered the long-missing evidence of Iraq's drive to produce chemical and biological weapons, thereby in one moment justifying the entire last decade of warfare.

The details, as documented by Wired's Danger Room blog, detail copious classified findings of chemical and biological stockpiles, as well as the means and plans for more.

In August 2004, for instance, American forces surreptitiously purchased what they believed to be containers of liquid sulfur mustard, a toxic “blister agent” used as a chemical weapon since World War I. The troops tested the liquid, and “reported two positive results for blister.” The chemical was then “triple-sealed and transported to a secure site” outside their base.

Three months later, in northern Iraq, U.S. scouts went to look in on a “chemical weapons” complex. “One of the bunkers has been tampered with,” they write. “The integrity of the seal [around the complex] appears intact, but it seems someone is interesting in trying to get into the bunkers.”

Meanwhile, the second battle of Fallujah was raging in Anbar province. In the southeastern corner of the city, American forces came across a “house with a chemical lab … substances found are similar to ones (in lesser quantities located a previous chemical lab.” The following day, there’s a call in another part of the city for explosive experts to dispose of a “chemical cache.”

Nearly three years later, American troops were still finding WMD in the region. An armored Buffalo vehicle unearthed a cache of artillery shells “that was covered by sacks and leaves under an Iraqi Community Watch checkpoint. “The 155mm rounds are filled with an unknown liquid, and several of which are leaking a black tar-like substance.” Initial tests were inconclusive. But later, “the rounds tested positive for mustard.”

If you were among those who cried "Bush lied, people died" or voted for Barack Obama, I will allow you the next moment to officially apologize and admit how utterly and completely wrong you were.  You may start now.

All set?  Thanks.

To this humble observer of world affairs, it always felt extremely unlikely that a regime so hell-bent on conquest and the torture of innocent civilians would not also dabble in the acquisition of big-ticket weaponry.  When factoring in the dilly-dallying and hand wringing perpetrated by the United Nations in the months and years leading up to the second Iraq War, Saddam Hussein and his henchmen were given ample opportunity to ship any WMD out to places such as Syria by the truckload, or even merely to just pour the vials of toxins into the desert sand, never to be seen again.  That our nation's brave dissenting party at the time could not wrap themselves in similar logic is a sad tale indeed, but then again, it's also par for the course for an ideology that also believes that rampant taxation and profligate spending are the keys to ending a full-on recession.  That the story is further steeped in the the delicious irony that anti-war Julian Assange provided the details makes it all the more sweet.

Look, war is hell.  No sane or rational human being willfully or enthusiastically takes up the risk of life and liberty that flow from combat or treats the decision lightly.  I regret and abhor the loss of any and all lives that were lost by our troops in the conflict, and will forever remember and honor their sacrifices.  Make no mistake, though: history will show the war was a just one, and I do not regret or reneg upon my support of it -- and President George W. Bush -- throughout the '00s.

Links:
WikiLeaks Show WMD Hunt Continued in Iraq – With Surprising Results (Wired)
Imagine That: Wikileaks Docs Show There Were WMDs in Iraq (Bizzy Blog)
WikiLeaks Reveals Troops Did Find Some WMD In Iraq (Ace of Spades HQ)

Planting the Flag: How One Mosque May Change Life as We Know It

Various aspects of this post have been mulling around in my head for days or even weeks now; in many ways, it will be the perfect encapsulation of the story of the Death of the West, a tale of appeasement and surrender in the disguised name of freedom, both of speech and religion. I can barely even bring myself to write about it, as the emotions brought forth are still so raw and brutal that, ten years later, they still shape my every nightmare and paranoia.

Issue #1 -- War and the Conquering Religion

To borrow one of the president's favorite phrases, let's be clear right off the bat: the Park 51 mosque and community center has absolutely nothing to do with promoting tolerance or taking advantage of underutilized office space in Lower Manhattan. The building is located one block from the site of the most deadly and successful Islamic terror attack in history, one that was responsible for the murder of thousands. It's also scheduled to open on the very tenth anniversary of the attack, to the exact day. If that isn't deliberate provocation and of an incendiary mindset it will be hard to locate any in history.

This building is going up as a landmark, a deliberate sign of a perceived victory, and as another gateway into the eventual conquest of the infidel in the name of jihad.

"Oh, but we've always been just as bad...look at the Crusades!," someone remarked to me just this week. Firstly, the Crusades occurred over 500 years ago, get over it. It's not a Christian cathedral that stands in Jerusalem on the arguably holiest site on earth, it's the Dome of the Rock, a mosque built over the original Temple Mount with the express purpose of celebrating the conquering of the Middle East by Muslim forces. Only one religion still looks to convert the unwashed masses by force or death.

Let's just start calling it for what it is, and not pretend otherwise with some absurd prehistoric moral equivilence mental gymnastics. That mentality is going to only, literally, get us killed.

Issue #2 -- Our Mayor Is Full of Shit

I guess, for writing this post, I should be ashamed of myself.

Opponents of the proposed construction of a controversial mosque just blocks from Ground Zero "ought to be ashamed of themselves" for opposing it, Mayor Bloomberg said this morning.

Bloomberg said he also doesn't care where the people behind the mosque and Islamic cultural center will get the money to build.

"People say, 'Do they have the money? Can they raise the money? Where does it come from?' " Bloomberg said during an appearance on his WOR-AM radio show. "I don't know and government shouldn't. Do you really want every time they pass the basket in your church and you throw a buck in, they run over and say, 'OK, now, you know, where do you come from? Who are your parents? Where'd you get this money?'

Bloomberg then added, "A handful of people ought to be ashamed of themselves."

Earlier this week, with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, Bloomberg gave an impassioned plea in support of the mosque for what he said was trampling on religious freedom. "I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state -- as important a test as we may see in our lifetimes -- and it is critically important that we get it right," the mayor said.

It should come as little surprise that a self-loathing Napoleonic figure such as the current mayor of New York would feel this way. After all, in many aspects Mike Bloomberg's worldview dovetails nicely with the entire scenario. For starters, he is a totalitarian elitist unconcerned with the will of the electorate, having undone the popularly elected mandate for term limits in a naked grab for a third term in office. His administration and cronies are among the most plausibly corrupt since the days of Tammany Hall. His unconditional love for real estate developers and passion for tearing down every classical landmark and one- or two-family home in favor of gaudy monstrosities that overwhelm and destroy what's left the City's neighborhoods will forever serve as his undying legacy. It's no wonder that a mega-million dollar development deal perpetrated by a fascist faux religion would be right up his alley.

How ironic it will be that, when sharia law is imposed in NY, the Jewish Bloomberg will be among the first led off to the concentration/stoning camps.

Issue #3 -- Our President Is Even More Full of Shit

First, it was a local issue, and he was going to stay out of it (a classic example of voting "present" that has always been his hallmark). But not it turns out that President Barack Hussein Obama is actually full-on in favor of the development, and touted once again his absolutely absurd belief that "Islam has always been a part of America."

Obama said that Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America.

"The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Jefferson, who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan — making it the first known iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago."

Well, sure, if by that you mean our way of life has been at war with it since the days of the Barbary Pirates, then sure. Is it lost on the Commander in Chief that there's only one unifying characteristic behind the two wars the United States is currently prosecuting in Iraq and Afghanistan? Much like his obsession with submission and bowing, does he not believe that the entire world is watching every time he speaks?

And what's up with the annual shout-outs to Islam as part of our way of life? I don't recall the President giving similar praise and reminders for all sects of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or even Zoroastrianism. The man doth protest too much, doesn't he?

In coming out so completely and publicly in favor of Park 51, though, the President has actually wound up making what will turn out to be the gravest political mistake of his life. Individuals I never even considered as political are coming out every day on sites such as Facebook and Twitter expressing their disgust with this entire turn of events. In one swift move, Obama has exposed himself and his political party as the enemy of the American Way of Life, more than any bailouts, stimulus packages, or socialized healthcare bills ever could. He has also rekindled every unfair and inaccurate accusation against him -- that he's a closet Muslim, wasn't born in the United States, etc. -- and given all of his most fanatical opponents the causus belli they could only previously dream of.

Obama has inadvertantly cultivated a groundswell of popular revolt and unrest, and in doing so has set himself up for one of the great midterm electoral defeats in American history. So, in this regard, I guess I should offer the President a hearty "thank you" for destroying his own political career and potentially setting up a return to power of the party I nominally support. Provided the Republicans don't fuck it up, of course.

Issue #4 -- Right, So We Can't Do Anything About It, Now What?

It should never have even come to this. Forget talk about freedom, when our leaders first heard about the Park 51 plan -- and believe me, they knew long before we likely did -- it should have immediately been kiboshed by any means necessary. But now that it's here, and will be built, our Constitution and law reign supreme and the Islamic Community Center can and will and should be built.

But that doesn't mean we can't have a lot of fun along the way. That's why Greg Gutfeld, of FOX News' Red Eye, is proving himself to be my total hero. His concepts for the first Muslim Gay Bar, Heaven and Halal, located right next door to Park 51 is a work of sheer genius. If our leaders want to hold up this building as a teaching moment, and a shining example of our committment to tolerance and diversity, let's see how and if they welcome Gutfeld's project with open arms. After all, isn't provocation an important and integral part of free speech?

Greg, I love you in a totally masculine and macho way. Keep up the great work, and thank you.

Let's keep this up. Let's build on Gutfeld's momentum and do everything we can to capitalize on our rights and freedoms. Let's hold routine protests every time a Muslim allegedly murders a daughter in an honor killing. Let's celebrate every Saudi Arabian woman stoned to death for daring to expose an ankle. Let's post videos of every instance of Pakastani goat/human sexual intercourse on YouTube and link them across Facebook, Twitter and the whole world. Let's have weekly contests depicting the human form / portrait of the Prophet Muhammed at his most noble and magnificent.

I mean, we are free to do so, right? It's not like we aren't reminded of every failure of a Roman Catholic Church ultimately run and composed of flawed human beings, right? This is all in the name of education and awareness.

Last Exit Question

Where the hell is Rudy Giuliani throughout this mess?  His silence is positively deafening, and almost worrisome.

Links:

• "Mayor Bloomberg Says Ground Zero Mosque Opponents Should Be 'Ashamed' of Themselves" (New York Post)
• "Expensive People in Unnecessary Jobs" (Queens Crap)
• "Obama Votes Present, Continues Failure as Alleged Leader of America" (Riehl World View)
• "Terror Ties: Ground Zero Imam Attended Hizb-ut Tahrir Conference" (Pajamas Media)
• "The Stunning Decline of Barack Obama" (Big Government)
• "Collapse: The Left Is Unpopular, Undisciplined, and Ill-Tempered" (Weekly Standard)
• "Crist Backs Obama on Controversial Islamic Center" (CNN)
• "Muslim Gay Bar: Why Are the Intolerant Preaching Tolerance?" (Big Hollywood)
• "Obama on Islam in America" (Ace of Spades HQ)