Via LWJ: The US killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in a drone airstrike in central Yemen yesterday as fighting for control of major towns and cities in the south heats up. The unmanned Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers struck a convoy in the central province of Baydah yesterday afternoon,
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CIA Drone Airstrike Kills 2 Al-Qaeda Fighters In Yemen…
Why Wright Matters: Obama’s on a Mission From God
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Why Wright Matters: Obama’s on a Mission From God
King-Sized No More: Mooch shrunk your snickers
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King-Sized No More: Mooch shrunk your snickers
According to the New York Times, president Obama has “ significantly lowered” the bar on how success in Afghanistan is defined. In four years Obama has gone from ”we must never forget, this is not a war of choice, this is a war of necessity” and “this is a war that we have to win” to “Afghan good enough.” According to the Times, Obama’s new definition of victory in his war of necessity that must be won is Afghan stability and no unimpeded Al Qaeda safe havens: “The goal is to have an Afghanistan again that has a degree of stability such that forces like Al Qaeda and associated groups cannot have safe haven unimpeded, which could threaten the region and threaten U.S. and other interests in the world.” In today’s New York Times, David E. Sanger reports that Obama will announce at the NATO summit that “all combat operations led by American forces will cease in summer 2013, when the United States and other NATO forces move to a ‘support role’ whether the Afghan military can secure the country or not.” Worse, Obama planned this retreat without the benefit of military advice: “When the president and a half-dozen White House aides began to plan for the withdrawal, the generals were cut out entirely. There was no debate, and there were no leaks.” If Obama doesn’t care “whether the Afghan military can secure the country or not,” why wait until 2013? Is it because of the presidential election? Perhaps Obama doesn’t want to run for reelection in the middle of his Afghan retreat. As Obama explained to the Russians at the UN he’ll have more flexibility after the election . Obama’s position on Afghanistan changes, or evolves, even more quickly than his position on gay marriage . In 2008, Presidential candidate Obama said “This is a war that we have to win.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: A New Strategy for a New World , Washington, D.C., 7/15/08). In 2009, President Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention that the Afghan war was a war of necessity : “As I said when I announced this strategy, there will be more difficult days ahead. The insurgency in Afghanistan didn’t just happen overnight, and we won’t defeat it overnight. This will not be quick, nor easy. But we must never forget: This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaida would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting; this is a — this is fundamental to the defense of our people.” And while President Obama ignored military commanders in planning his Afghan retreat, presidential candidate Obama promised to act with “proper regard” to the advice of military commanders . Nevertheless, Obama has decided to declare victory and retreat from Afghanistan regardless of whether the Afghan military can secure the country or not.
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‘Afghan good enough’ Obama lowers the bar for victory in Afghanistan
McCain’s post is here , and it has been linked by Instapundit . Since Instapundit gets literally millions of page views a month, that means Stacy’s post has been seen by a lot of people, including journalists. Here’s an excerpt: Since 2005, Kimberlin’s tax-exempt organization has raked in at least $1.8 million (JTMP’s 2011 IRS forms are not yet publicly available online), a remarkable total for a convicted felon who in 1981 was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for one of the most notorious criminal rampages in Indiana history. The fact that Kimberlin appears to be especially targeting bloggers who have reported on his infamous reputation as a violent and dishonest criminal suggests the possibility that his “progressive activism” is actually an attempt to suppress the truth about his sociopathic tendencies by silencing his critics. Law-enforcement records and extensive reporting by a host of journalists — including Gelarden, Singer, Calabresi, Nagy and Barnes — clearly document Kimberlin’s propensity for criminal acts of deceit and violence. Now, along with his accomplices Brad Friedman and self-described computer “hacker” Neal Rauhauser, the violent terrorist Kimberlin is apparently engaged in what his targets describe as an effort to hijack the court system to destroy his chosen enemies. His critics say they suspect Kimberlin’s attacks are not merely political activism, but an attempt to prevent exposure of his own nefarious conduct through a type of “lawfare,” which is defined as “the illegitimate use of domestic or international law with the intention of damaging an opponent, winning a public relations victory, financially crippling an opponent, or tying up the opponent’s time so that they cannot pursue other ventures such as running for public office.” I was camping yesterday and didn’t get a chance to link that post, so I’m making up for it today. Also, please note that Stacy has followed up with this post today . And Aaron Worthing has rounded up some of the attention Kimberlin’s antics have received in the last 2-3 days alone. You might call it the Streisand effect — rather ironic, given that it has been revealed that Barbra Streisand has contributed thousands to an organization of Kimberlin’s. Finally, I want to note this entry at Popehat : I haven’t experienced anything like what blogger Aaron Worthing has experienced as a consequence of his writing about the astoundingly vile and terrifyingly sociopathic Brett Kimberlin, who for reasons that passeth understanding is still a darling to certain political activists despite the contemptible life he has led and continues to lead. Aaron’s story is quite long. (We had a tiny, tiny piece of it here.) But he supports it with primary documents and video recordings, and ultimately it’s a wrenching depiction of how the system doesn’t prevent crazy and/or evil people from victimizing innocents — a depiction of how the system can be the instrument of such victimization. It’s not a pretty story, but it’s worth reading. Kimberlin’s folks will almost certainly keep up the harassment, which will likely make this a rich vein of material for some time to come. I want to emphasize that this is not a political issue. Certainly, Kimberlin uses a stated affiliation for lefty politics as a way to fool people into supporting him and giving him money. But I firmly believe he has no real politics. He cares about himself, period. It would be a mistake to turn this into a right/left controversy; indeed, that’s just what he wants, I suspect. Kimberlin has gone after people on the left who cross him, and responsible people on the left who support organizations like The Tides Foundation would be appalled if they were to learn the uses that Tides Foundations grants have been put to. Kimberlin’s supporters investigate and “out” bloggers and even blog commenters and their family members. This is not a partisan issue. Everyone should oppose it.
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Robert Stacy McCain on Convicted Bomber and Perjurer Brett Kimberlin
