What finally will rouse Westerners
from their stupor, to name the enemy and fight the war to victory? Only
one thing seems likely: massive deaths, say 100,000 casualties in a
single WMD attack. Short of that, it appears, much of the West,
contently deploying defensive measures against fancifully-described
"activists," will gently slumber on. -- Daniel Pipes, Family Security Matters
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told US troops in Iraq that their mission there is in its "endgame" and the US military presence would undergo a "significant change of mission" next June when troops are due to withdraw from Iraq's urban areas. (BBC) The recently agreed upon SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) between the US and Iraq calls for US troops to leave Iraq by 2011. Gate said "the process of reducing troop numbers has already begun.
He said the US had suggested the June date because commanders believed they would have turned over all 18 provinces to provincial Iraqi control by then.
Also at the air base, General Ray Odierno, the US military commander in Iraq, said some troops would remain in Iraqi cities to advise and train Iraqi forces, rather than take part in combat.
As training at local security stations is part of the deal, Gen Odierno said: "We believe we should still be inside those after the summer."
He did not specify how many of the current 150,000 US military personnel deployed in Iraq would remain.
Five years ago we said good-bye to Saddam Hussein. Fears his death would cause more violence were baseless. While the situation in Iraq since the surge has improved to the point that we can actually see a democratic state in the Middle East next door to Iran, the United States cannot let her guard down here at home. Iran is still intent on going nuclear and Israel is the target.
It is widely assumed that as soon as he comes into office, US President-elect Barack Obama will move quickly to place massive pressure on the next Israeli government to withdraw from Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the interests of advancing a "peace process" with the Palestinians and the Syrians. -- Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week said that "Israel has come to the end of the road" as Iranians changed "death to israel" and "death to America". Ahmad Khatami, conducting the Friday prayers, slammed the "United Nations, Organization of Islamic Conference, Egypt, the Europeans and United States" for their inaction on Gaza.(Jerusalem Post)
Israel has dealt with suicide bombers, kidnappings, hostage situations her entire existence. The West needs to take heed and understand that it is only a matter of time before we will experience these forms of terror here on American soil.
The nations of the Middle East are by no means friendly, working on the same page, or with the same goals for their future:
Iran Calls for Toppling Regimes in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
(Tehran, Iran) The Iranians are becoming even more belligerent by encouraging supporters and operatives in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to take action.
Iran's attacks and accusations against Egypt and Saudi Arabia have recently intensified. In early December, Iran's leading conservative government dailies Kayhan and Jomhouri-ye Eslami accused the Egyptian and Saudi regimes of treason, and called on their peoples to topple their regimes. (continue)
Daniel Pipes says the West, specifically the United States, is still asleep after the Mumbai India attacks:
Victims caught in terrorist atrocities perpetrated for Islam typically experience fear, torture, horror, and murder, with sirens screaming, snipers positioning, and carnage in the streets. That was the case recently in Bombay (now called Mumbai), where some 195 people were murdered and 300 injured. But for the real target of Islamist terror, the world at large, the experience has become numbed, with apologetics and justification muting repulsion and shock.
If
terrorism ranks among the cruelest and most inhumane forms of warfare,
excruciating in its small-bore viciousness and intentional pain,
Islamist terrorism has also become well-rehearsed political theater.
Actors fulfill their scripted roles, then shuffle, soon forgotten, off
the stage. (continue reading)
The confessions of the Mumbai terrorist are chilling. Security personnel around the country are intensively reviewing what happened to Mumbai, U.S. cities are racing to fix security vulnerabilities revealed by the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai, and many hotels remain “sitting ducks,” experts tell Newsmax.
Somalia and specifically Somali pirates, a/k/a Islamic terrorists on the oceans, will continue to be a threat to not only the west, but to all nations. The United States could stop these pirates if they put their efforts toward that end.
In Afghanistan our special forces are continuing to go after the the Taliban with successes that rarely get the news they deserve.
Some Eye Candy from Murdock Online:
Lance Cpl. Jed Bolyard, 22, an infantryman from College Point, N.Y., fires the Javelin missile during an exercise near Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Dec. 8. Bolyard is with Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5. The Javelin shoot was one small part of a larger combined-arms exercise, which integrated traditional infantry elements with aviation, mortars and several anti-armor systems. ID: 135403 Date Taken: December 8th, 2008 Location: AL ASAD AIR BASE, IQ Photographer: Capt. Paul Greenberg
Other Reading:
Rendezvous with Destiny
Middle East: It is widely assumed that the biggest victim of a nuclear Iran would be Israel. In fact, freedom-loving Muslims in neighboring countries know they have at least as much to fear.
He Was Praying To Allah, So I Thought He Would Commit Murder
Emanuel Won’t Go To Work Due To Threats,Saudi plan for you, me, and everyone else: '100 years of dhimmitude'
New Danish Book Draws Jihadist Ire
An Israeli security center is sounding the alarm about calls for a violent backlash against a new book published in Denmark after noticing a series of incendiary posts on jihadist web sites. The book contains essays critical of Islam and illustrations of the Prophet Mohammed. In response, some are calling for blood.
Check out the Compassion & Choices blog: Working to improve care and expand choice at the end of life.
"The West needs to take heed and understand that it is only a matter of time before we will experience these forms of terror here on American soil."
That is what it'll take for us to wake up, i just hope it doesn't come to that.
Posted by: MK | December 15, 2008 at 05:55 AM