From the YouTube post:

One final comment. Some have suggested that the McCain Campaign paid for this ad. Nothing could be further from the truth.

McCain would never use soldiers for political gain. He has honored them, but he will not use them.

Unlike the Obama who has used Tammy Duckworth to score political points. McCain has such reverance and respect for our military men and women, he would never use them as political posters.

Nuff said.

Hat tip: Stop The ACLU

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An extraordinary synopsis of Barack’s Flip Flops on Iraq. Watch the whole thing and learn about Obama’s ever changing positions.

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The Democrats are living in a dangerous pre 9-11 world.  No wonder their approval rating is at an all time low (according to Gallup). Will the voters wake up in time and  vote the Dems out of their  leadership positions in Congress?

From Rasmusseen:

Nearly half of Americans (48%) now believe the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, as opposed to 20% who give the nod to the terrorists, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national survey. These figures reflect a dramatic improvement from a year ago—in July 2007, only 36% thought the U.S. and its allies were winning. An equal number thought the terrorists held the advantage.

The 28-point difference is the most favorable margin recorded by Rasmussen Reports since tracking began in January 2004 and seems to reflect a growing confidence among adults that the tide is turning in Iraq and in the war on terror in general. The previous high was established on September 6, 2004 when 52% thought the U.S. and its allies were winning but 26% thought the terrorists were winning at that time for a 26-point favorable margin.

…

Almost half believe we are safer now than we were before 9-11. The Democrats still live in the 9-10-01 world.

45% now believe the United States is safer today than it was before the Sept. 11, 2001

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John Murtha grudgingly admits the surge is working in an interview in Pittsburgh but misrepresents facts about the Iraqi war. What follows is what was left on the cutting room floor.

The worst enemy of the left are their lies exposed on the internet.

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From Barack Obama’s Website as of July 3, 2008 (he might change it to satisfy his present position):

Barack Obama’s Plan
Judgment You Can Trust

As a candidate for the United States Senate in 2002, Obama put his political career on the line to oppose going to war in Iraq, and warned of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” Obama has been a consistent, principled and vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.

* In 2003 and 2004, he spoke out against the war on the campaign trail;
* In 2005, he called for a phased withdrawal of our troops;
* In 2006, he called for a timetable to remove our troops, a political solution within Iraq, and aggressive diplomacy with all of Iraq’s neighbors;
* In January 2007, he introduced legislation in the Senate to remove all of our combat troops from Iraq by March 2008.
* In September 2007, he laid out a detailed plan for how he will end the war as president.

Bringing Our Troops Home

Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
Press Iraq’s Leaders to Reconcile

The best way to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing.
Regional Diplomacy

Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors — including Iran and Syria. This compact will aim to secure Iraq’s borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction.
Humanitarian Initiative

Obama believes that America has a moral and security responsibility to confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis — two million Iraqis are refugees; two million more are displaced inside their own country. Obama will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a safe-haven.

…

Obama has a plan to immediately begin withdrawing our troops engaged in combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year. He would call for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, convened with the United Nations, which would not adjourn until Iraq’s leaders reach a new accord on reconciliation. He would use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all of the nations of the region on behalf of a new regional security compact. And he would take immediate steps to confront the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Iraq.

Barack Obama now.

He might change refine his steadfast position on Iraq.

His most recent remarks July 3, 2008:

“I am going to do a thorough assessment when I’m there,” he told reporters on the airport tarmac here. “I’m sure I’ll have more information and continue to refine my policy.”

…

“I’m going to continue to gather information to see whether those conditions still hold,” he said. “My goal is to end this conflict as soon as possible.”

…

“My 16-month timeline, if you examine everything that I’ve said, was always premised on making sure that our troops were safe…I said that based on the information that we had received from our commanders that one to two brigades a month could be pulled out safely, from a logistical perspective. My guiding approach continues to be that we’ve got to make sure that our troops are safe and that Iraq is stable.”.

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Jack Murtha (democrat-PA) was quick to lay blame on these Marines for the killing of these Iraqis. He should be approached at every availability and confronted about the Haditha boondoggle.

From the AP:

A Marine intelligence officer accused of trying to cover up the killings of 24 Iraqis appeared stunned at first when a jury acquitted him of the charges.

For more than two years, 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson had been under suspicion, accused of ordering the destruction of evidence in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving Iraqi deaths to come out of the war.

“I didn’t really believe it was going to end until they said not guilty,” Grayson said in his first public comments following the verdict. “The case was so volatile, you didn’t know which way it was going to go.”

Grayson had always maintained his innocence. On Wednesday, a military jury agreed with him.

Cheers erupted as the jury found him not guilty of ordering a sergeant to delete photographs of the bodies from a digital camera and laptop computer.

The judge, Maj. Brian E. Kasprzyk, admonished the courtroom, telling them: “There will be no more of that.”

It was a reflection of the contentious nature of a case that saw Grayson painted by prosecutors as a liar who hindered an investigation. His attorneys said he was a fall guy for a botched investigation.

Grayson was the first of three Marines to be court-martialed in connection with killings of men, women and children on Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha.

He was not present at the killings that occurred after a roadside bomb struck a convoy, killing a Marine and wounding two others.

Investigators allege that after the bombing, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a squad member shot five men by a car at the scene. Wuterich then allegedly ordered his men into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing more Iraqis in the process.

Four enlisted Marines initially were charged with murder and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges were dropped against five of the Marines.

Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, was found not guilty of two counts of making false official statements, two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service, and one count of attempt to deceive by making false statements. He would have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Jack Murtha was quick to jump on this Haditha charge and infer that these Marines were guilty before any trial began.

Grayson fought back tears as he described the months leading up the trial.

He said he first found out he was under suspicion when he got a call from his commander months after the killings. A short time later, he was read the charges.

“It was surreal,” he said. “You can’t quite believe you are hearing all this.”

Grayson’s life was thrown into turmoil. He was barred from leaving the Marine Corps until the case was adjudicated. He had been scheduled to get out in June 2007.

Grayson said early on in the case he refused a deal that would have reduced charges and kept him out of prison.

“I was the one that had to look at myself in the mirror. To take the easy way out, you are the one that has to live with that,” he said.

During the darkest moments of the case, he said he leaned on his wife. The couple married in the middle of the investigation and gave up a honeymoon.

His wife, Susan, cried as she said what she had only dared to think about for months: “It’s over.”

Prosecutors did not make themselves available for comment.

Jack Murtha an embarrassment to this country.

t/b: Michelle Malkin

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Nancy Pelosi(D-San Francisco) is the third in line for the Presidency after the Vice President.

How is it that she gets away with such nonsense as crediting the goodwill of the Iranians for the surge in Iraq? This woman is Not too swift, illinformed , dangerous and a very loose unit.

The Next Republican Political campaign ad: Nancy thanks Iran for peace in Iraq.

Nancy Pelosi the gift that keeps on giving… to the Republicans.

By the way: Have you ever noticed that when she raises her eyebrows she can’t close her eyes?

…

Can one overdose on Botox?

Does Botox create stupidity if absorbed in large doses?

t/b: Hot Air, Michelle Malkin

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“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.”

Hillary Clinton & Al-Hanooti

An Iraqi Intelligence agent that was indicted this week has claimed to have met Hillary Clinton in 1997 in an attempt to have sanctions eased in Iraq. He claimed that Hillary was receptive to the idea.

From the NY SUN:

A Michigan man facing federal criminal charges of illegally working for Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Intelligence Service says he met with Hillary Clinton at the White House in May 1996.

In a 1997 interview with this reporter, Muthanna Hanooti said that at the meeting, Mrs. Clinton was “very receptive” to his request for an easing of the American sanctions on Iraq that were in place at the time. He said Mrs. Clinton “passed a message to the State Department” about the need to implement the oil-for-food deal, which was intended to allow Saddam to sell billions of dollars’ worth of oil to pay for food for Iraqi citizens.

…

White House schedules for Mrs. Clinton that were released earlier this month by the National Archives show a May 9, 1996, “Private Meeting w/ Congressman Bonior and Chaldean-Americans” in the Map Room. David Bonior, who was a member of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives until he stepped down in January 2003, backed Mr. Hanooti’s efforts to ease the American blockade of Baathist Iraq. Mr. Bonior has been back in the news this week for having been one of the congressmen on an October 2002 trip to Iraq that Mr. Hanooti organized and that, apparently unbeknownst to the congressmen, was paid for by Saddam’s government. Chaldeans are Iraqi Christians.

For the Clinton campaign, already reeling from Mrs. Clinton’s misstatement on another 1996 episode — a landing at an airport in Bosnia that she claimed took place under sniper fire — the indictment of Mr. Hanooti and the disclosure of his claim to have met with her could not have come at a worse time. Mrs. Clinton has made her foreign policy experience in the White House an important part of her argument to voters that she is the only Democratic presidential candidate who would be ready to serve as president if the red phone rings at 3 a.m.

This has not been a good week for the Clintons. Sniper-Gate now this ‘Oil For Food ‘Travel Agency’ Scandal.’

More Information on Al-Hanooti from Steve Emerson:

Before he was alleged to have become a spy for Saddam Hussein’s regime, Muthanna Al-Hanooti’s charity work and political activism provided him with access to the highest echelons of government.

Newsletters collected by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, some published now for the first time, show Al-Hanooti photographed with dignitaries ranging from First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1996 and Vice President Al Gore along with significant members of Congress.

That may explain why Iraqi intelligence agents had confidence that Al-Hanooti would be able to persuade Congress to lift economic sanctions against Iraq. A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses him of using his work with the Michigan-based Life for Relief and Development (LIFE), formerly known as the International Relief Association, Inc., to become an Iraqi agent.

According to the indictment, Al-Hanooti drafted a plan to undermine the sanctions for the Iraqis, listing members of Congress who would support the move. He then led tours to Iraq, indirectly funded by the Iraqi government, with congressional leaders including Democrats David Bonior of Michigan, Jim McDermott of Washington and Mike Thompson of California.

…

t/b: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air

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~There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. ~
Frank Zappa

The ‘Baghdad Quartet’

Singing the Blues For Saddam

Bonior, Thompson & “Baghdad” Jim McDermott with “Baghdad Bob’

during the Saddam financed trip in 2002

Officials in the State Department revealed Wednesday that Saddam Hussein’s foreign intelligence agency with an Iraqi-American sympathizer organized and paid for a visit to Iraq in 2002 by three House Democrats. The trip was criticized by colleagues upon their return.An indictment of a former Iraqi citizen and employee of a charity group in Detroit was issued Wednesday. He was charged with accepting multi millions of dollars in Iraqi oil contracts for helping the spy agency with projects in the United States.

The three lawmakers Jim McDermott of Washington State, Mike Thompson of California and David E. Bonior of Michigan made the five-day trip to Iraq five months before the American invasion.

Although the trip was financed by Saddam Hussein no one knows for sure there wasn’t any involvement with the Iraqi Intelligence by any of these Representatives. They were not accused of anything illegal as of yet.

The indicted Iraqi-American is Muthanna al-Hanooti was employed by Life for Relief and Development, a Michigan-based charity.

The trip had cost a minimum of $34,000.

al-Hanooti was released on $100,000 bail.

More from The AP via Breitbart:

During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush administration’s claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. Though such weapons ultimately were never found, the lawmakers drew criticism for their trip at the time.

Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, then the second-ranking Senate Republican, said the Democrats “sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi government.” Seattle-area conservatives dubbed McDermott “Baghdad Jim” for the Iraq trip.

Al-Hanooti was arrested Tuesday night while returning to the U.S. from the Middle East, where he was looking for a job, his attorney, James Thomas, said. Al-Hanooti pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, illegally purchasing Iraqi oil and lying to authorities. He was being held on $100,000 bail.

Between 1999 and 2006, he worked on and off as a public relations coordinator for Life for Relief and Development, a charity formed after the first Gulf War to fund humanitarian work in Iraq. FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents raided the charity’s headquarters in 2006 but charged nobody and allowed the agency to continue operating.

McDermott identified that charity as the group financing the Iraq trip. In House disclosure forms, he put the cost at $5,510. Thompson also understood the charity to be financing the trip, spokeswoman Anne Warden said.

Prosecutors said Al-Hanooti was responsible for monitoring Congress for the Iraqi Intelligence Service. From 1999 to 2002, he allegedly provided Saddam’s government with a list of U.S. lawmakers he believed favored lifting economic sanctions against Iraq.

Thomas said Al-Hanooti would “vigorously defend” himself against the charges but he could not discuss the specifics of the case since he had seen none of the evidence.
…

Here is part of an interview broadcast on CNN in October, 2002:

…So how does it feel to be used as a propaganda tool against your own country? McDermott, who was asked that question by CNN’s Jane Arraf when he was still in Baghdad, said it feels fine. “If being used means that we’re highlighting the suffering of Iraqi children, or any children, then, yes, we don’t mind being used.”

These 3 clowns knew what the charity was and where it was located but their staffs did no investigation of this organization? Hard to believe….

So does anyone think that al-Hanooti will show up for trial on these charges? McDermott’s office probably supplied him with a passport back to the middle east.

The probable Democrat response; This is old news let’s just move on…..

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McCain’s Obfuscation Express keeps on rolling along.

John McCain considered Benchmarks in Iraq as early as January of 2007. McCain is becoming the flip flopper that was John Kerry in 2004. Problem is that McCain doesn’t claim to be for them before he was against them. McCain just lies about his previous statements.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the most stalwart supporters of the war in Iraq, said Thursday that he might propose that the Iraqi government meet certain benchmarks for the United States to continue its engagement.

Fellow senators and independent political scientists said McCain’s thinking reflected growing concerns within the Republican Party about the course of the war, and also might mark a turning point for the likely 2008 presidential contender, whose previous unconditional backing of the war may have hurt his prospects.

McCain said Thursday that he hadn’t yet decided on precise benchmarks. “They’d have to be specific, and they (Iraqi government officials) would have to meet them,” he said.
Asked what penalty would be imposed if Iraq failed to meet his benchmarks, he said: “I think everybody knows the consequences. Haven’t met the benchmarks? Obviously, then, we’re not able to complete the mission. Then you have to examine your options.”

…

Even Joe Biden was surprised about McCain’s Statements:

… several Senate Demo-crats who oppose the troop buildup and also may seek the presidency said they were struck by McCain’s comments.

“We Catholics call that an epiphany,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del., who is sponsoring the main Democratic resolution opposing the troop buildup.

John McCain… What will he lie about the next time? Immigration? Oh wait he already has…

McCain on immigration

Voted on Senate floor in favor of guestworker-amnesty bill by voting in favor of cloture motion to end debate and bring bill to a vote in 2007
Sen. McCain voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture and limit debate on S. 1639, thereby preventing it from moving toward a final vote. S. 1639 is the “corrected and updated” version of S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would: grant an amnesty; authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers; and do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis. Two days prior to this vote, the Senate had voted to invoke cloture and move forward with the debate on S. 1639, outside normal channels and bypassing the committee process. Two weeks prior to this vote, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look. Senate Majority Leader Reid chose to bring the proposal back to the Senate as a new bill, S. 1369. This motion to invoke cloture on S. 1639 (the second motion) failed by a vote of 46 to 53.

Voted on Senate floor in favor of guestworker-amnesty bill by voting in favor of a motion to bring bill to the Senate floor for a debate and a vote in 2007
Sen. McCain voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture and bring S. 1639, the “corrected and updated” version of S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would grant an amnesty, would authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers, and would do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis, to the Senate floor. Two weeks prior to this vote, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look and Senate Majority Leader Reid then brought the proposal back to the Senate as a new bill, S. 1369. The motion to invoke cloture passed by a vote of 64 to 35.

Voted on Senate floor in favor of guestworker-amnesty bill by voting in favor of motion to limit debate and move to vote in 2007
Sen. McCain voted in favor of the second cloture motion on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment (SA 1150) to S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would grant an amnesty, would authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers, and would do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis. The motion to invoke cloture would have ended the debate on the “compromise” proposal and limited further discussion of amendments to a previously-agreed upon set of proposals — thus a vote against cloture was effectively a vote in favor of killing the amnesty-guestworker bill. The motion to invoke cloture failed by a vote of 45 to 50.

Voted on Senate floor in favor of amendment to kill border fence in 2006
Sen. McCain voted in favor of the Manager’s Amendment (SA 4188), offered by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Manager’s Amendment made many minor changes to S. 2611, none of have significant numeric impacts on the overall bill. However, the Manager’s Amendment included a provision that requires consultation with the government of Mexico concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the international border between the United States and Mexico. This would virtually guarantee that the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border would never be completed. The Manager’s Amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 41 to 1 (the 1 denotes a “present” vote).

Voted in favor of bill to increase immigration and grant amnesty to illegal aliens in 2006
Sen. McCain voted in favor of final passage of S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. S. 2611 would dramatically change most occupations and communities in America with the largest movement of foreign workers in world history. Specifically, S. 2611 would: reward approximately 10.2 million illegal aliens with an amnesty allowing them to permanently take American jobs and become U.S. citizens; entice millions more foreign workers to illegally enter our communities, crowd the housing and schools, take the jobs and depress the wages because they reasonably can believe they eventually will be given an amnesty, too; double legal immigration from 1 million to 2 million a year; give out permanent green cards to up to 66 million foreign workers and dependents over the next 20 years. The main difference in terms of numbers between the final version of S. 2611 and the version of the bill when the cloture motion was invoked was that the Bingaman Amendment to cap the number of employment-based visas for workers, spouses and children at 650,000 was adopted after cloture but before final passage. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation estimates that the Bingaman Amendment would reduce employment-based visas available under S. 2611 by about 150,000 a year. S. 2611 passed by a vote of 62 to 36.

t/b: Captain’s Quarters, Stop The ACLU, Michelle Malkin

h/t: Hot Air, Ace of Spades

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