If Only He Weren’t Courting the Single-Issue Anti-Iraq Vote

Mon May 26, 2008 10:30 am by McGehee 1 comment [War] [Elections]

In previous posts I speculated on the possible impact of Bob Barr being the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president—but at the time he was about neck-and-neck with Mike Gravel (rhymes with Chanel), and I didn’t realize Barr’s stand on U.S. involvement in Iraq sounds downright Buchanan-esquely isolationist. The Libertarian Party on Sunday picked former Republican Rep. Bob Barr to be its presidential candidate after six rounds of balloting. Barr beat research scientist Mary Ruwart, who also sought the party’s presidential nomination unsuccessfully in 1983, on the final ballot. The vote was 324-276. Barr endorsed Wayne Allyn Root, who was eliminated in the fifth round, to be his vice-presidential nominee. Barr left the GOP in 2006 over what he called bloated spending and civil liberties intrusions by the Bush administration. The former Georgia congressman said he’s not in the race to be a spoiler. » Libertarian Party picks Barr as presidential candidate Given Barr’s views on Iraq, I can’t vote for him either. As for his effect in Georgia, his mainline conservatism might attract some McCain-skeptic Republicans, but I think he’s more likely to take votes from among anti-Iraq single-issue types on the Left and Right who find Obama’s recent waffling (by their standards) on that issue unacceptable. Had Barr not adopted the stance he’s taken on Iraq, he could tilt Georgia to the Democrats. But he would never have been nominated by the Libertarian Party.

Al Qaeda Chief: ‘Not Enough Splodeydopes’

Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:03 pm by McGehee [War]

The trouble with running a war in which you measure success by how many of your own people are killed, is that eventually you run out of your own people. Al-Qaeda number two* Ayman al-Zawahiri criticised Muslims for failing to support Islamist insurgencies in Iraq and elsewhere in a new audiotape posted Tuesday on the Internet. Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant also blasted Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas over their reported readiness to consider a peace deal with Israel. “I call upon the Muslim nation to fear Allah’s question (at judgement day) about its failure to support its brothers of the Mujahedeen (holy Warriors), and (urge it) not to withhold men and money, which is the mainstay of a war,” he said. He also used the two-and-a-half hour message to urge Muslims to join militant groups, mainly in Iraq, where he claimed that the insurgency against the Iraqi government and the US-led coalition forces is bearing fruit. “I urge all Muslims to hurry to the battlefields of Jihad (holy war), especially in Iraq,” Zawahiri said in the message, the second in a two-part series to answer about 100 questions put to him via online militant forums. » Al Qaeda chief slams Muslims for lack of support Does that sound like somebody who’s winning a Clash of Civilizations™? *Huh-huh-huh! He’s number two. Huh-huh-huh-huh-huh!

Good on the UFW—Did I Really Just Say That?

Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:37 am by McGehee [War] [Our Times]

Having grown up in California and had conservative attitudes from a young age, it’s highly unlikely that I would ever praise a radically leftist and actively race-pimping organization like the United Farm Workers. But there it is: The United Farm Workers union has signed an agreement with a Mexican state to help recruit guest workers to labor on U.S. farms legally—and under union contract. “If this is something that’s going to be utilized more in the future, then we’ve got to get in on it,” UFW President Arturo Rodriguez said of the H-2A guest worker program. “We’re looking for enlightened employers who are willing to sit down and do this with us.” The agreement was signed in early April in the western state of Michoacan, which has a long history of migration to California and is governed by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution. » UFW signs pact with Mexican state for guest workers on U.S. farms The “under union contract” part doesn’t even bother me so much, if it means the UFW can be held responsible for how cleanly the program runs. Yeah, not exactly a teeny-tiny “if"…

Sorry, No

Wed Apr 9, 2008 4:11 pm by McGehee [War]

If Christians in America can’t have vouchers to send their kids to schools where Christian values are to be taught, then Muslims can’t have overtly religious schools actively and directly funded with tax dollars. Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion. Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers. TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is “establishing Islam in Minnesota.” The building also houses a mosque. TIZA’s executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief. Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food—permissible under Islamic law—and “Islamic Studies” is offered at the end of the school day. Zaman maintains that TIZA is not a religious school. » Wall of silence broken at Minnesota Muslim public school I’d be okay with a school like this using vouchers if Christian, Jewish and other schools enjoyed the same access—but this, if true, is an outright violation of standing Establishment Clause jurisprudence. Update, Friday: The state is investigating.

Ayman of Constant Sorrow

Thu Apr 3, 2008 10:08 am by McGehee [War] [Humor?]

I’m working on a musical, “Osama, Where Art Thou?” Here are the lyrics to what I think will be the most popular song of the show. I am Ayman al-Zawahiri I have known trouble all my days I have bid farewell to Barmfaq, Egypt The place where I was born and raised (The place where he was born and raised) For many years I’ve been in trouble No pleasure here on earth I’ve found For in this desert I’m bound to ramble I have no friends to help me now (He has no friends to help him now) So it’s fare thee well, my one true camel I don’t expect to lift your tail For I’m bound to wander in these mountains Perhaps I’ll die upon that trail (Perhaps he’ll die upon that trail) You can bury me in Hellfire Valley If there’s enough left of me to find Still I must admit it is more likely The buzzards will have quickly dined (The buzzards will have quickly dined)

Lacking Verisimilitude

Tue Apr 1, 2008 7:41 am by McGehee [War] [Coweta County]

I mean, come on: “without tanks”? Nice try, Alex. There’s a deal to sell the 1,200-acre Moreland megasite to the People’s Republic of China, according to classified government documents discovered by The Times-Herald in a dumpster behind the Coweta County Administration building. [...] One of the documents, entitled “potential zoning concerns” says the Chinese intend to use the property to build a “theme” industrial park that will be a miniature of downtown Beijing. The park will include open air fish and poultry markets, bicycle rentals, smog machines, a Chinese fortune cookie bakery and a half-scale model of Tienanmen Square, but without tanks. » Chinese want Moreland megasite for half-scale model of Tienanmen Square Every year the Times-Herald does at least one* April Fool’s joke on April 1. This one nearly had me, but that bit about no tanks in the square is a dead giveaway.

They Support the Troops…
Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:16 am by McGehee 2 comments [War] [Wackadoodle]	...when they murder their officers. H/t Instapundit.

Make Him Tell Us Where Osama is Buried

Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:29 am by McGehee 3 comments [War]

Obviously he didn’t have much to do at the time of his capture. A senior al Qaeda operative who worked to procure chemicals to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan and helped Osama bin Laden escape from U.S. forces at Tora Bora in 2001 was handed over to Pentagon officials this week by the CIA. U.S. counterterrorism officials categorized the capture of Afghan national Muhammad Rahim as “very significant” in the war on terror and illustrative of significant gains made against terrorist groups in recent months. “Rahim is a tough, seasoned jihadist,” CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said. “His combat experience, which dates back to the 1980s, includes plots against U.S. and Afghan targets. He reportedly sought chemicals for one attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and tried to recruit individuals with access to American military facilities there.” Rahim, who is proficient in several languages and familiar with the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, was a courier for al Qaeda with high-level contacts in many of the terrorist cells throughout the region. » Bin Laden aide in U.S. hands All kidding aside, this could prove significant in closing in on what’s left of al Qaeda.

Har!

Sun Mar 9, 2008 12:27 pm by McGehee 1 comment [War] [Yee-haw!]

This is funny. One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. ‘Ninety knots,’ ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. ‘One-twenty on the ground,’ was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was ‘Dusty 52, we show you at 525 on the ground,’ ATC responded. The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ‘Aspen 20, I show you at 1,742 knots on the ground.’ We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. » Major Brian Shul: “I loved that jet” However, there’s something in this article that doesn’t add up: My first encounter with the SR-71 came when I was 10 years old in the form of molded black plastic in a Revell kit. Cementing together the long fuselage parts proved tricky, and my finished product looked less than menacing. Glue,oozing from the seams, discolored the black plastic. It seemed ungainly alongside the fighter planes in my collection, and I threw it away. Twenty-nine years later, I stood awe-struck in a Beale Air Force Base hangar, staring at the very real SR-71 before me. For you arithmetic junkies out there, name x as n minus 29. I came to the program in 1983 with a sterling record and a recommendation from my commander, completing the week long interview and meeting Walter, my partner for the next four years. This identifies n as 1983. What is x? Having arrived at x, consider this: The SR-71 was the brainchild of Kelly Johnson, the famed Lockheed designer who created the P-38, the F-104 Starfighter, and the U-2. After the Soviets shot down Gary Powers’ U-2 in 1960, Johnson began to develop an aircraft that would fly three miles higher and five times faster than the spy plane-and still be capable of photographing your license plate. ... In 1962, the first Blackbird successfully flew, and in 1966, the same year I graduated from high school, the Air Force began flying operational SR-71 missions. Consider also that even though the SR-71 was flying operationally in the 1960s, its existence was not admitted to the public until much later. So, how did Revell make a plastic model of the SR-71 years before it was even designed? Odds are, Shul is remembering something fanciful and futuristic that might in retrospect have resembled the Blackbird but wasn’t, actually. H/t: Instapundit, who doesn’t appear to have caught the timeline problems.

Things Must Not Be Going Well in ‘el Tercer Imperio’

Sun Mar 2, 2008 10:07 pm by McGehee 1 comment [War] [Wackadoodle]

Sic semper tyrannis. Whenever the homefront gets troublesome, they make threatening noises against a neighbor. Warning that Colombia could spark a war, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent tanks and thousands of troops to the countries’ border Sunday and ordered his government’s embassy in Bogota closed. The leftist leader warned Colombia’s U.S.-allied government that Venezuela will not permit acts like Saturday’s killing of top rebel leader Raul Reyes and 16 other Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas at a camp across the border in Ecuador. “Mr. Defense Minister, move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately—tank battalions, deploy the air force,” Chavez said during his weekly TV and radio program. “We don’t want war, but we aren’t going to permit the U.S. empire, which is the master (of Colombia) ... to come to divide us.” » Chavez Warns of War With Colombia Hugo, por qué no te callas?

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