Remembering Their Sacrifice!

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

On other National holidays the nation takes to the streets in joyous celebration.  On Memorial Day we are to take time to remember and mourn those men and women who gave their lives for this country.  So many did over the years.

War	Dead	Wounded
Revolutionary	25,000	25,000
1812	20,000	4,505
Mexican-American	13,283	4,152
Civil	624,511	281,881
Spanish-American	2,446	1,622
Philippine-American	4,196	2,930
World War 1	116,516	204,002
World War 2	405,399	670,846
Korea	36,516	92,134
Vietnam	58,209	153,303
Gulf	258	849
Afghanistan	1,803	31,965
Iraq	4,477	41,936
Totals	1,312,614	1,515,125

We should pause and remember them.  But instead most Americans will go to sales in malls, go to the beach and have cook outs.

The sacrifice these men gave entitles these Americans to do that.  It is our Freedoms and the Freedom of the world that they sacrificed their lives.  The liberation of Europe, not once but twice.  The liberation of Iraq from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and Afghanistan from the Taliban.  The Freedom of Cuba from Spain, the Philippines, the Battle of New Orleans and Brooklyn Heights.  They sacrificed at Shiloh, and Gettysburg.  The Wilderness and Fredricksberg.  And the nation they fought for survived and thrived.

To the families of those who have died:  Thank You.  There is no monetary settlement, no honors we can give you to heal the pain.

He Died From A Broken Heart

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Just a pair of best friends until one was killed by a road side bomb. Yet the love this dog had for his partner was so great that within the day he joined his master/friend.

Liam and Theo were a team, fast friends doing a dangerous job -- searching out roadside bombs laid by insurgents in Afghanistan.

The jovial British soldier and his irrepressible dog worked and played together for months, and died on the same day. On Thursday they came home, flown back to Britain in a somber repatriation ceremony for the soldier remembered for his empathy with animals and the companion he loved.

Lance Cpl. Liam Tasker, a dog handler with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, was killed in a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province on March 1 as he searched for explosives with Theo, a bomb-sniffing springer spaniel mix. The dog suffered a fatal seizure hours later at a British army base, likely brought about by stress.

Military officials won't go so far as to say Theo died of a broken heart -- but that may not be far from the truth.

"I think we often underestimate the grieving process in dogs," said Elaine Pendlebury, a senior veterinarian with animal charity PDSA. "Some dogs react very severely to their partner's loss."

She said it was not uncommon for pets to respond to an owner's death by refusing food and becoming sick -- and the bond between working dogs and their handlers is especially close.

"The bonding that I have seen between soldiers or police and their dogs is fantastic. When you see them working together, it's really one unit."

A military Hercules plane carrying Tasker's body and Theo's ashes touched down Thursday at a Royal Air Force base in southwest England. As the funeral cortege of black vehicles drove slowly away, it was saluted by a long line of military dog handlers, their dogs at their sides. A black Labrador retriever sat quietly beside its handler as the hearse carrying the flag-draped coffin disappeared from view.

At the nearby town of Wootton Bassett, where people line the streets in a mark of respect each time a dead solder is repatriated, dozens stood silently -- some with dogs at their feet -- as Tasker's friends and family laid roses atop the hearse.

The Ministry of Defense said Theo's ashes would be presented to Tasker's family later at a private ceremony.

Tasker, 26, from Kirkcaldy in Scotland, spent six years as an army mechanic before joining the military working dog unit in 2007. He felt he had found his calling.

"I love my job and working together with Theo," Tasker said in a profile of the pair released by the Ministry of Defense before his death. "He has a great character and never tires. He can't wait to get out and do his job and will stop at nothing."

The soldier and the 22-month-old dog had been in Afghanistan for almost six months, uncovering roadside bombs and weapons in a dangerous daily routine.

Theo became a bit of a military celebrity last month after the defense ministry released photos and video of him and Tasker to highlight the lifesaving work of military dogs. The footage, now deeply poignant, shows Theo -- energetic, ears cocked, tail wagging -- alongside Tasker searching a compound for explosives.

The ministry said then that Theo had been so successful -- finding 14 hidden bombs and weapons caches, a record for a team in Afghanistan -- that the dog's tour of duty had been extended by a month.

Tasker was the 358th British soldier to die in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Theo was the sixth British military dog killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001.

There are calls for Theo to receive the Dickin medal, which since 1943 has recognized wartime bravery by animals, from carrier pigeons to a World War II commando collie.

The loyalty of some dogs is legendary, from Greyfriars Bobby, a 19th-century Skye terrier who guarded his master's Edinburgh grave for 14 years, to Hachiko, a Japanese dog who awaited his owner's return at a train station every day for years after the man's death. Both are commemorated with statues.

Tasker's father, Ian, said Theo would have been devastated by Liam's death.

"I truly believe when Theo went back to the kennel, that that would have a big, big impact because Liam wasn't there to comfort him," he told ITV news.

Tasker's mother, Jane Duffy agreed. "I'm not nurse or a vet (but) I would like to believe (Theo) died of a broken heart to be with Liam," she told the broadcaster.

Tasker's colleague's recalled the soldier's bond with his dog and zealous attention to duty in tributes released by the defense ministry.

"A natural with animals, he had an affection for his dog that truly was a window to his soul," said Maj. Alexander Turner, a commander of Tasker's unit.

He "was here to save life, finding explosive devices that kill more farmers than combatants in our area," Turner said. "His fortitude and zeal for that perilous task was humbling; it imbued us all with confidence. He used to joke that Theo was impossible to restrain but I would say the same about Lance Corporal Tasker."

Tasker's uncle, Billy McCord, said the soldier had been due to leave Afghanistan soon and worried about being separated from Theo.

"He actually said at one point that when he finished his tour he was not sure what would happen to his dog and that he could be separated from his dog," McCord told the local Courier newspaper in Scotland. "That was preying on his mind, but they are not separated now."

Full Story

Dogs mourn for the ones they love.  Some deeper than others.  Theo was one of them in which even death could not part him from his beloved master.

I believe both have gone to a better place, a place of beauty, plenty and love. A place where the 2 of them are having the joy of friendship without having to risk their lives on the bombs that took their lives.

War Is Hell

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Israeli commentary from Dry Bones

When I first heard the news of the capture of the Afghan Taliban number 2, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the word capture was used and the captors were NATO forces. Within hours it morphed from a "capture" to an "arrest" ... and instead of NATO it was credited to Pakistan.

Here's an initial report out of China (it uses both "capture" and "arrested") :

How important is Mullah Baradar's capture?

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- "The capture of the top Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan is not only considered as an important breakthrough in connection to the war on terror but also shows development in Pakistan-U.S. relations and regional solution to Afghan problems.

Pakistan army confirmed to Xinhua on Wednesday that Mullah Baradar has been arrested in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, but disclosed no more details due to security reasons. Mullah Baradar was described as ranking the second in influence only to Mullah Muhammad Omar, Taliban's supreme commander in Afghanistan.

Pakistani analysts believed that Mullah Baradar's catch and the information he provides could prove to be a blow to the Taliban in Afghanistan and tribal areas of Pakistan because he was holding important position and knew secrets of Taliban and their strategy." -more

Will somebody please explain to the idiots on the left that an military is NOT a police force.  If they want people to run around giving out tickets and reading the enemy their rights, they should have sent cops to do the job.  They sent the US Marines to do the job.  Yet they cannot return fire unless they see the weapons of the enemy, they have to collect evidence after every battle, and read the enemy captured their rights.

Recently a sound has been heard from the graves of Marines killed in past wars.  It is the sound of spinning.  When it stops, G-d help the traitors who devised this idiotic idea.

Does anyone believe that these men would do what the Marines are ordered to do today?

The Pacific War- Iwo Jima Clip




I don't think so, do you?

Security Advisor John Brennan and Slain CIA in Afghanistan?

 by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

John Brennan is Obama's Deputy Security Advisor. Have you listened to the man "spin" this week? He is dancing as fast as he can around terrorism, and apparently finding favor with President Obama because he is keeping his job. Here's is a story about Brennan and, and perhaps, the slain mother of three who was FOB Chapman CIA chief when she died at the hands the CIA double-agent bomber, as well as some background on the 9-11-01 attacks. It may all be one story, or it may be fragments. It is speculation, but the pieces seem to fit together. The anchor of this tale is a few sentences in a recent New York Times article. Let me know what you think.

The CIA Chief of Forward Operating Base Chapman in Afghanistan's Khost Province was a woman and mother of three. She had a long career in counterterrorism, and specifically in hunting Osama bin Laden. A former CIA agent, Michael Scheuer, interview with CNN's Gloria Borger last week and spoke of a CIA agent who "arranged an operation in 1998 that would have killed or captured Osama bin Laden. That agent may have been the assassinated FOB Chapman Chief. But the kicker is what Scheuer said about Obama's Deputy Security Adviser, John Brennan and how he may have been connected to the CIA Base Chapman Chief.

Osama bin Laden passport photo

 Thank you to larwyn for the Scheuer-Borger tip.

The unnamed Chief Officer was a part of the famous, embattled and now disbanded CIA  Alec Station, which in summer 2001 saw more than a few glimpses of the September 11th attacks of the same year. Michael Scheuer, the head of the CIA's bin Laden hunt group told Gloria Borger that one of their officers (unknown if that office if the Base Chapman Chief) arranged an operational hit on Osama bin Laden in 1998, but John Brennan stopped it.  Speaking of the Christmas Day bombing, Scheuer said:

...it hurts morale even more because one of the officers who got killed had arranged an operation in 1998 that would have killed or captured Osama bin Laden. And Mr. Brennan was instrumental in preventing that operation from occurring. Instead he said the Americans should trust the Saudis to take care of bin Laden.

So it's a painful-- it's a painful death, but more importantly it's a death that didn't need to occur had Mr. Clinton -- Mr. Brennan, George Tenet, and Mr. Berger had the courage to try to defend Americans.

The following details some of the hunt for bin Laden, which the CIA Base Chapman chief was apparently involved in with Alec Station - but in no way is a criticism of her, and I cannot identify her as the agent Scheuer was speaking about. Note that I only assume she was a member of Alec Station, as is reported by the New York Times. I do not know this with any certainty.

Here is a look into this officer's past, (if it is true that she was assigned to Alec Station) - the people she worked with and the intrigue the Alec Station was engaged in:

Working from a small office near C.I.A. headquarters, the group, known inside the agency as Alec Station, became increasingly alarmed in the summer of 2001 that a major strike was coming. One former officer recalls that the woman had a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of Al Qaeda’s top leadership and was so familiar with the different permutations of the leaders’ names that she could take fragments of intelligence and build them into a mosaic of Al Qaeda’s operations

“She was one of the first people in the agency to tackle Al Qaeda in a serious way,” said the former officer, who, like some others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the victims’ identities remain classified.

Source - History Commons: While we do not know when the Chief Officer joined Alec Station, the unit was tailing Osama bin Laden in Sudan by the end of 1991. Alec Station originated in 1995 or 1996. Members of the unit were reassigned within the CIA's Counterterrorist Center. Michael Scheurer, the first head of the unit said bin Laden had been confirmed as a serious threat as early as 1997. But in1996, Alex Station was complaining that the National Security Administration (NSA) gave them only summarized transcripts of intercepted calls between al-Qaeda members. Scheuer wanted verbatim transcripts.

Scheuer later said:

“Over time, if you read enough of these conversations, you first get clued in to the fact that maybe ‘bottle of milk’ doesn’t mean ‘bottle of milk.’ And if you follow it long enough, you develop a sense of what they’re really talking about. But it’s not possible to do unless you have the verbatim transcript.”

He also charged that the summaries they received from NSA were not timely - "they came once a week or something lie that."

Alec Station’s desire for verbatim transcripts will intensify when it discovers the NSA is intercepting calls between bin Laden and his operations center in Yemen:

However, the NSA constantly rejects its requests. Scheuer will later say: “We went to Fort Meade to ask then the NSA’s deputy director for operations [Barbara McNamara] for the transcripts, and she said, ‘We are not going to share that with you.’ And that was the end.” He will add that McNamara “said that the National Security Act of 1947 gave her agency control of ‘raw’ signals intelligence, and that she would not pass such material to CIA.”

In December 1996, the CIA learns from a CIA operative "detailed" to the NSA, that the NSA has discovered an al-Qaeda communications hub in Yemen. The CIA refuses to share and threatens punishment for the CIA officer who alerted Alec Station. The officer continued to funnel info to the team. Alec Station evenutally built its own "listening post."

Scheuer continues to complain, and is upset once more, and after asking for U.S. military special operations officers, he is refused. Late in 1996, Scheurer prepares a 50-paragraph report describing in detail how Osama bin Laden sought to obtain nuclear weapons. Some of the report was developed from info obtained fromal-Qaeda defector Jamal al-Fadl.

However, Scheuer’s superiors refuse to distribute the report, saying it is alarmist. Instead, only two of the paragraphs are circulated, buried in a larger memo.

In 1997, Alec Station notifies CIA Director George Tenet that al-Qaeda intelligence from Saudi Arabia should be considered "hostile service." In the years to come, this claim is validated. When the Alec Station assessment of al-Qaeda as a serious threat was formally known, the assessment was not deemed credible by others in the the intelligence community. Michael Sheuer was said to have an "abrasive style:"

He and counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke do not get along and do not work well together. Scheuer also does not get along with John O’Neill, the FBI’s most knowledgeable agent regarding bin Laden. The FBI and Alec Station rarely share information, and at one point an FBI agent is caught stuffing some of the unit’s files under his shirt to take back to O’Neill.

 The Alec Unit was almost disbanded in April and May 1998:

The CIA’s bin Laden unit, first created in early 1996...is ordered disbanded. It is unclear who gave the order. The unit appears to have been the most vocal section of the US government pushing for action against bin Laden.

Apparently CIA Director George Tenet is unaware of the plans to disband the unit. He intervenes in mid-May and preserves the unit.

Michael Scheuer, the head of the unit, later will comment that by doing so, Tenet “dodged the bullet of having to explain to the American people why the [CIA] thought bin Laden was so little of a threat that it had destroyed the bin Laden unit weeks before two US embassies were demolished.” Scheuer also will comment, “the on-again, off-again signals about the unit’s future status made for confusion, distraction, and much job-hunting in the last few weeks” before the embassy attacks.

Later Scheuer says in a one-year period beginning May 1998, the CIA gave the U.S. "about ten chances to capture bin Laden or kill him...but the decision was made somewhere that "the intelligence was not good enough." Richard Clarke "strongly disagrees with Scheurers account of the events. Both Clarke and Scheuer agree that George Tenet was the only person to kill the attack operations - not the White House.

In late summer 1998, after the African embassy bombings, the CIA asks Alec Station what it needs to get bin Laden. Scheuer again asks for verbatim transcripts of intelligence interceptions, and in particular the intelligence between bin Laden, al-Qaeda, Yemen and Afghanistan, and says the code cannot be cracked without verbatim reports.

Higher officials order the NSA to comply, and they do, but only for less than 12 requests. Then the system returns to the way it was, with NSA only sharing summaries. The reason for the change back is unclear, although bin Laden stops using his satellite phone around this time

And here is a mammoth screw-up:

The CIA seems not to understand permission given by President Bill Clinton to assassinate Osama bin Laden. The instruction was contained in a memorandum of notification signed by Clinton authorizing the agency to use a group of tribal fighters to kill bin Laden. Previously, the tribal leaders had only been authorized to capture bin Laden, and this new memo marks an important shift in policy.

According to author Philip Shenon, the memo is “written in stark language” and it makes it very clear “that the president was telling the tribal leaders they could kill bin Laden.”

However, the actual memo is closely held within the CIA, and the 9/11 Commission will comment, “This intent [to have bin Laden killed] was never well communicated or understood within the agency.”

Apparently, it is never even communicated to Michael Scheuer, head of Alec Station, the CIA’s bin Laden unit. Scheuer will later express his frustration at not being allowed to try to kill bin Laden, “We always talked about how much easier it would have been to kill him.”

In May 1999 George Tenet decides against striking on bin Laden's location three times.

Mike Scheuer, head of the CIA’s Bin Laden Unit, writes to a colleague in the field, “having a chance to get [bin Laden] three times in 36 hours and foregoing the chance each time has made me a bit angry…”

There is one more opportunity to strike bin Laden in July 1999, but after that there is apparently no intelligence good enough to justify considering a strike.

In June 1999, Scheuer loses his job and is reassigned but remains inside the Alec Station:

Deputy Director of Operations Jack Downing tells Scheuer he is being fired...Downing says he will get a medal and a monetary award, but should tell his subordinates he has resigned. Scheuer refuses to lie to his officers, signs a memo saying he will not accept a monetary award, and tells Downing “where he should store the medal.”

Richard Blee takes Scheuer's position at Alec Station. Scheuer stays with the Alec Station until 2004. Relations with John O'Neill at the FBI do not improve.

Six months later on December 29, 999, NSA notifies Alec Station that they have listened in on al-Qaeda phone calls which include contact with Khalid Almihdhar, Nawaf Alhazmi and Salem Alhazmi - all three hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77 on 0-11-01. By the time the three hijack the plane, Almihdhar and Alhazmi are on the FBI's terrorist-alert list. The FBI is also notified. The information overheard reveals that the three will attend a "summit in Malaysia in January 2000."

The CIA and other "friendly" foreign intelligence agencies track Almihdhar, hoping he will lead them to bigger fish. They learn his full name and the find that he has a "mulitple entry visa to the US valid through April 2000. BUT - they DO NOT place him on a terror watch list and they fail to tell the FBI about the visa.

Although Alec Station, the CIA’s bin Laden unit, is coordinating surveillance of al-Qaeda’s Malaysia summit, it fails to draft a full report on it to alert the rest of the intelligence community.

“Despite the importance of the operation, [Alec Station chief Richard Blee] had never bothered to write up and distribute an intelligence report on it

However, Doug Miller an FBI agent assigned to Alec Station drafted is report for FBI superiors and the timing is important - between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m on January 5, 2000, the following happens (there is no, absolutely no, intimation here that "Michelle" is the Base Chapman Chief mentioned at the beginning of this article):

A CIA officer known as “Michelle” accesses Miller’s draft about an hour after he writes it. The cable is then blocked on the orders of the station’s deputy chief, Tom Wilshire, as a few hours after Miller drafts the cable Michelle attaches a message to it saying, “pls hold off on [cable] for now per [Tom Wilshire].” Miller is also told, “This is not a matter for the FBI.”

Author James Bamford will later comment: “A potential terrorist and member of al-Qaeda was heading for the US, the FBI’s jurisdiction—its turf—and he [Miller] was putting the FBI on notice so it could take action. There was no reason to kill the message.”

'Michelle" drafts a cable falsely saying that the information about Almihdhar’s visa has been shared with the FBI and there will be a discussion the next day about whether the cable should be sent.

The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General will later call the failure to pass the information to the FBI a “significant failure”...

The 9/11 Commission will know of the incident, but will relegate it to an endnote in its final report, omitting Wilshire’s role entirely.

Around 7p.m. on January 5, 2000:

A CIA officer known only as “Michelle” sends out a cable saying the information that 9/11 hijacker Khalid Almihdhar has a US visa has been sent to the FBI “for further investigation.”

The cable, which is lengthy and summarizes information about Almihdhar and three other operatives planning an al-Qaeda summit in Malaysia, is sent to some overseas CIA stations, but not the FBI.

...[The CIA] will repeatedly tout this cable as evidence that it had actually informed the FBI of Almihdhar’s visa, or at least thought it had done so.

However, this appears not to be true, as after 9/11 the FBI will be unable to find any record of receiving such information and the CIA will be unable to find any record of having sent it.

Michelle will apparently lie about this cable to the Justice Department’s inspector general and CIA Dirctor George Tenet.

The three hijackers disappear...the story goes on an on and Alec Station is placed with the CIA's Counterterrorist Center between January and July 2000 - which is characterized as "a larger group within the CTC. It appears that Richard Blee heads that group, and that placement is seen as a promotion.

On March 5, 2000 the CIA learns from CIA Bangkok, Thailand that Alhazmi has arrived in the US with an unnamed "companion" from Thailand on January 15, 2000. It is assumed that Almihdhar is the "companion," - although the CIA disputes the identification of Almihdhar. The agency is criticized for not placing the two terrorists on a watchlist until August 2001 - and both are apparently already in the U.S.

The FBI is not informed that the men are in the U.S. although it was widely-spread through the CIA.

In February 2001: CIA Islamabad, Pakistan asks Alec Station to "touch base" with FBI agents investigating the bombing of the USS Cole. That never happens. The CIA has identification of al-Qaeda leader Khallad bin Attash was at the Malaysia summit, doesn't tell the FBI about bin Attash - and later bin Attash is later connected to the 9/11 hijackers Almihdhar and Alhazmi.

The NSA intercepts at least one call from the 9/11 hijackers in the US to an al-Qaeda communications hub in Yemen after this and does not tell the FBI.

Early April 2001 - Richard Blee meets with Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Massoud in Paris. Moussad says a terrorist act, vastly biggers than the bombings of the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania - is imminent. Declassified documents later document that Massoud has "limited knowledge" about such an attack. The warnings were not taken seriously. They later say that Massoud may have been assassinated two days before 9/11 because he trying to alert the U.S.

In late May or early June, FBI agent Margaret Gillespie is detailed to the CIA to investigate the connection between the al-Qaeda Malaysia summit and the USS Cole bombing. Gillespie examines one database, but fails to identify a second database, known as Hercules.

It is unclear why she does not do so and whether, as an FBI agent, she has access to it. If she did access it, she would have a complete picture of the CIA’s knowledge of Almihdhar and Alhazmi and would know Almihdhar had a US visa and Alhazmi had traveled to the US.

By July 2001, the Alec Station is recognizing that Khallad bin Attash is tied to the summit and the bombing of the USS Cole, and possible the African embassy bombings.

Yet Khallad is still not put on a terrorist watch list. Wilshire asks that the FBI be passed this information, but the FBI will not actually be given the information until August 30, a week after it learns future 9/11 hijacker Khalid Almihdhar is in the US.

An FBI analyst assigned to the CTC is given the task of reviewing all other CIA cables about the Malaysian summit. It takes this analyst until August 21—over five weeks later—to put together that Khalid Almihdhar had a US visa and that Nawaf Alhazmi had traveled to the US. Yet other CIA agents are already well aware of these facts but are not sharing the information.

Working with immigration officials, this analyst then learns that Almihdhar entered and left the US in 2000, and entered again on July 4, 2001, and that Alhazmi appears to still be in the US. 

In July 2001 the CIA investigates, but sloppily, 8 Islamist radicals reportedly learning to fly in Phoenix. The investigation goes nowhere that it should have gone.

...in 2000, two friends of the main target of the Phoenix memo were detained and deported after twice attempting to enter a US airplane cockpit in what may have been practice for the 9/11 attacks. That same year it was learned by US intelligence that one of these men had received explosives and car bombing training in Afghanistan.

Other ties between the men in the memo go undiscovered; for instance, another person targeted in the memo had trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and will later be arrested with a top al-Qaeda leader.

The CIA will say they never received the memo, including Alec Station, but this is later fairly solidly refuted.

Between July and September 11, 2001 there is a furor of activity in the FBI and the CIA, none of it yielding anything that will stop the attack. Resources are lacking, as is focus and burn-out is in full-swing.

Within hours of the 9/11 attacks, the CIA’s bin Laden unit is tasked to come up with actions that can be taken immediately to strike back at al-Qaeda.

According to Michael Scheuer, the first head of Alec Station, one of the most promising ideas considered is to ask other countries to raid Islamist charity fronts and seize computers and documents.

Scheuer will later assert that the “suggested raids would have netted far more relevant data on how the [charity front-al-Qaeda link] worked than we ever had before.” However, he claims the White House rejects the idea because of concerns that it would offend Muslim popular opinion.

On September 12, 2001, Michael Scheuer returns to the "larger group" within the CIA Counterterrorism Center to act as an adviser, but is not allowed to debrief detainees.

Other CIA officers seek out his services, but these requests are blocked, apparently by James Pavitt, the Deputy Director of Operations. Scheuer comments: “The CIA knew that Through Our Enemies’ Eyes was respected by Islamists and that, as the author, I would be an effective debriefer. Mr. Pavitt, however, put burying my career above using me to elicit information to defend America.”

So, here we are today, with press conferences explaining how we failed to stop Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from attempting to blow-up Northwest Flt. 253 on Christmas Day, and within days of that terrible even, we lost seven CIA, one the bureau chief who is said to have once been a member of Alec Station. Disclaimer: there are many sides to this story. I cannot vouch for the truth or the lies.

Related and Background:

John Brennan Briefed about Yemem Bombs in Briefs last October

Gloria Borger Grills John Brennan (video)

Days Of Infamy!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

9/11, December 7th.  Days that will foreve live in our hearts and memories.

These were dates in which the United States asked itself Why?  What did we do to Japan to warrant their attacking our military without warning, without provocation, with a declaration of war.  That was the one in which angered the American people the most.  There was no Declaration of War by the Japanese before they attacked Pearl Harbor (their Declaration actually came after the attack had been underway for a while).  The American Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor (with the exception of the Aircraft Carriers) was decimated and very nearly wiped out (as was the Air Group at Wheeler Field).  16 Medal of Honors, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Crosses, 4 Navy and Marine Corps Medals, 1 Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished Service Medal, and 3 Bronze Stars were awarded to the American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat at Pearl Harbor.

The nation was plunged into a war that would engulf the whole world.  A fight for Freedom, Decency, and Democracy.  Fought by the Greatest Generation this nation ever produced.

A war in which the enemy was considered evil (both civilian and military).  There were no outcries from the Press of the "Poor Innocent Civilians".  Of how we shouldn't bomb them.  We as a nation knew there was a job to do, and we did it.

And we won!  We conquered both Japan (who attacked us on Dec. 7th) and Germany who declared war on us.  In doing so we killed thousands (maybe even millions) of civilians.  This is a price civilians pay for being the backers of armies.  This is one of the prices of war.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 9/11/01 we asked ourselves the question again.  Why?  What did we do to warrant this attack?  What type of religion would sanction an attack on innocent civilians and still claim the moral high road?  We are still waiting for the answer to that question.

Unlike Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the attacks on 9/11 by al-Qaeda were not carried out by any one nation or government.  Al-Qaeda is nothing more than a bunch of thugs trying to be self-important, but in reality they scurry from a real fight like cockroaches scurrying from a light.  They mooch off of any quasi-nation (Sudan, Somoza, Afghanistan under the Taliban) as long as they can (or until Civilized nations attack to dislodge them).  Their weapons are fear and intimidation.  The weapons of the bully.

And yet, when the United States went to the UN, and demanded that the Taliban who controlled Afghanistan, surrender Osama bin Laden and the members of al-Qaeda, the US was told no.

Once again the US has sent her sons into battle against evil.

This time evil just might win.  For this time we have a President who will cut and run from a fight rather than commit to finishing the job and bringing Freedom to the people of Afghanistan.

On this anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it is best for not only our leaders to remember the date, but for our enemies to remember it too.  For on December 7th, 1941 the United States awoken into anger.  An anger that couldn't be contained until we had complete victory over our enemies.

Anger that lead to this over 2 Japanese cities:

And resulted in this:

Remember that well supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

You have been warned!

Remembering a Fallen Soldier…

by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


From ACT for America

This moved me so much that I just had to share it with you.

Remembering What We Are Up Against and Why We Must – and Will – Prevail

by Brigitte Gabriel

I don’t believe I’ve ever written a letter quite like this to you before. Indeed, it is difficult to write this without tears welling up in my eyes.

It started as a rainy Friday morning in late August. I was flying from my presentation in Springfield, Missouri, to my next destination connecting through Atlanta. Little did I know that what I was about to experience that day was going to shake me to the depth of my soul, inflame my passion for our country (I didn't think it was possible to be more passionate) and remind me why ACT! for America is so important to our security and the future of America.

I looked out my window at gloomy Atlanta as the plane took off, closed my eyes and pictured home and my loving family meeting me at the airport with open arms, smiles and kisses, waiting to whisk me off to Outback Steak House for dinner as planned.

It was a quiet, uneventful flight. No beverage service. No announcements from the captain — until we landed at our final destination:

"Welcome to "......." . Ladies and Gentleman we have a special request to ask of you. We are carrying on this plane today a fallen soldier brought home from Afghanistan. His body is accompanied by Sgt. "......". Please kindly allow Sgt. "...." to deplane first so he can do his job in escorting the body below. We will leave the seat belt sign on until the body has been taken off the plane. Then when the seat belt sign is turned off, you can deplane."

The plane continued slowly down the runway as the captain’s shocking announcement reverberated among the passengers. As we taxied closer to our gate, tears began to flow as we saw a police car, a military hearse, and a team of Marines standing in formation waiting to carry the body.

And the saddest scene of all — his family, wife and children, all lined up against the wall waiting for him.

Burning tears were flowing down my face as my heart sank into utter pain and agony at such a sight. We always hear about this on the news and feel sad but to experience it in person is completely different.

We pulled up to our gate and Sgt. "...." stood up in all his gloriously decorated uniform, opened up the overhead compartment carrying a folded American flag and a back pack, and started walking out of the plane amid the clapping and tears of all of us on board.

No one in the plane even touched their cell phone. People were transfixed, staring out the window, sharing our respect and sorrow. At that moment we were not Democrats, Republicans or Independents. We were Americans soberly watching one of our own come home in a coffin draped with an American flag.

As they removed the body from the plane, two men holding his wife started walking towards the plane as the wife covered her face and began sobbing. She was followed by her children. The Marines walked in formation and carried his body to the hearse.

We started getting out of our seats and deplaning without a word from anyone except the sounds of crying coming from different people looking out the window as they walked out of the plane.

As I entered the airport, people were standing in lines and rows facing the window watching all this.

Some men were saluting the body. We all stood next to each other, honoring this soldier until his body was finally in the hearse and he was driven off the tarmac.

It was the most sobering, heartbreaking, and patriotic scene. As I cried for the following few hours sitting with my family at home eating Chinese take-out for dinner (I just wasn’t up to going out for dinner), I was reminded of why we need to continually remind Americans that we are at war.

Our men and women are fighting and dying overseas to protect America from an enemy who is not only fighting us across the globe but also advancing here at home.

Just because we have not been successfully attacked at home doesn't mean our enemy has forgotten about us. Their tactics have become more sophisticated. They not only wish to attack us militarily, they are moving at full speed in the advance of their cultural Jihad invading America.

Islamic foot-washing basins in airports; Shariah finance being introduced by American banks; college campuses designating Islamic prayer rooms for Muslims only; Islamic compounds practicing Shariah law springing up across America; public schools using our tax dollars to indoctrinate American students into Islam; demands by Muslim parents that their children be provided private prayer rooms in their public schools; Muslim workers demanding special workplace accommodations no other religious person would ask for; and the list goes on.

As history demonstrates, only organized resistance will stop this. Unopposed by organized resistance, the advance of cultural Jihad in Europe has proceeded to the point that many think a full-blown “Eurabia” is inevitable and irreversible.

And even if we win the war against Islamic terrorism, but lose the struggle against cultural Jihad here at home, we may protect our safety but lose our liberties and our way of life. I just don’t believe this young man who fell on the field of battle would consider that a victory.

“Freedom” is not just freedom from the physical harm our Islamist enemies want to inflict on us. It is freedom from the tyranny and oppression of shariah Islamic law and the supremacist political ideology our enemies are determined to impose upon us.

So, just as that soldier was on the front lines of this war overseas, we are on the “front lines” here at home. That soldier was part of the “organized resistance” in Afghanistan. We are part of the “organized resistance” here in America.

We cannot afford to fail in our military missions overseas. Failure would embolden and empower Islamists throughout the world.

We also cannot afford to fail here at home.

This is why I appeal to you to take heart and help me continue building ACT! for America. We are the only nationwide organized resistance to this threat. As I said, we are the front lines here at home.

Our families, our communities and our nation are depending on us, even though many do not yet realize it.

For instance, two years ago ACT helped pass the bill in Congress that protects every citizen from lawsuits when they report suspicious activity in public places.

How many Americans know this happened? Very few. Yet they are now protected from lawsuits, which means America is safer as a result.

I know there are other issues right now, such as health care and the economy, that are dominating the attention of the American people. And I understand why that is.

But for those of us, you and me, who grasp the seriousness of the threat of radical Islam, we must continue to do everything we can to make sure that the reason 9/11 occurred is not forgotten. That the reason we are fighting in Afghanistan is not forgotten.

We must continue to push forward, to inform, organize, and ring the alarm bells, even when it feels like a lot of people aren’t paying attention right now or don’t seem to “get it.”

Because there are many good Americans out there ready to respond to our message, if we can only get it to them.

Because we are the modern “Paul Revere's,” the messengers who are warning America even when a lot of America is preoccupied with other matters. It is estimated that over 2/3 of the colonists either were loyal to Britain or were indifferent to the political struggles the colonies were experiencing in 1776.

Yet, through the leadership and sacrifice of the remaining colonists, independence was declared and Britain was defeated.

How I wish I could be standing in your presence this very moment, to grasp your hands, look into your eyes, and say “be encouraged!”

We will win this struggle against radical Islam. It won’t be tomorrow, or next year, but we will, in time, prevail — so long as good, patriotic Americans like you do not lose hope and keep taking action.

We are winning victories, and we will continue to win more – and bigger – victories, so long as good, patriotic Americans like you do not lose hope and keep taking action.

Let’s remember how far we have come together. In less than two years we have built the largest grassroots organization in America dedicated to combating the threat of radical Islam, with 62,000 members and 315 local chapters.

Be encouraged!

I want to close with this. Last week, when Guy Rodgers and I were at the EMP conference in Niagara, NY, the president of a national security organization sat down with us and thanked us profusely for what ACT! for America is doing and has already accomplished.

I wish you could have seen his face and heard his words. This is a man who has served at high levels of government and been around Washington politics for decades.

His message to us – and ultimately to you – was that ACT! for America is KEY to all our efforts to defeat radical Islam. He has watched us grow, witnessed our activism, and rejoiced for our victories.

So I’ll say it again. Be encouraged!

Always devoted,

We must remain vigilant against those who would impose their religious laws and customs upon us. The idea of Multiculturalism and Political Correctness must be cut short. No one faith or culture should be given special treatment in this nation. Each faith, each culture must be equally treated, equally accomodated. Thus the statis quo is assured for all.

Let each of us rejoice in the Freedoms this nation has given to us, and continue to fight against the Islamination of America.