Wonder if this report will change the president’s mind about withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan:

A NATO report leaked to British news outlets found that Taliban leaders are confident they will regain power in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdraws, and said the insurgency has not been seriously eroded by the military efforts of America and its allies.

That report illustrates the hazards of negotiating with the Taliban while preparing to pull out of the country, according to military analysts and Afghan officials.

This is the type of story which should attract more news coverage than the verbal gaffe of a Republican politician.  Or a reality star’s impending endorsement.

From the New York Post: (h/t – Instapundit)

For our part, we’re withholding judgment. There have been too many such seemingly shocking episodes that, upon investigation, turn out to be less than that.

The high-profile case of Marine Lt. Ilario Pantano — accused of murdering Iraqis, but exonerated late last year — certainly illustrates the point. But maybe they did do it. Marine Corps Commandant James Amos says he’ll get to the bottom of it all.

Still, as wartime atrocities go, this is pretty mild stuff. My Lai, for sure, it ain’t.

And, again, the Taliban sure ain’t — excuse the metaphor — choirboys.

Maybe somebody should ask Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl about it.

Oh, wait: The Islamists beheaded him — on videotape.

Perspective, folks. Perspective.

Don’t forget, the American Left thinks feces on the Virgin Mary is a work of art. What hypocrites.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

YAY Arab Spring!!!!

Judges overseeing the vote count in Egypt’s parliamentary elections say Islamist parties have won a majority of the contested seats in the first round. The judges spoke on condition of anonymity because official results are expected to be released later Thursday.

They say the Muslim Brotherhood could take 45 percent of the seats up for grabs. The liberal Egyptian bloc coalition and the ultra-fundamentalist Nour party are competing for second place.

Together, Islamist parties are expected to control a majority of parliamentary seats by March. This week’s vote was the first of six stages of parliamentary elections that will last until then.

Obama = FAIL.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Today, ten years after the terror attacks on America, I once again dedicate this space to my lost friend, James Joe Ferguson, who was killed aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when that plane was used as a weapon and crashed into the Pentagon. This posting goes up at the exact time that plane was flown into the Pentagon ten years ago.

We miss you, Joe.
-Bruce and John

Addendum: Most folks on 9/11 naturally think of the thousands who died in the WTC, or in the Pentagon or on Flight 93. When I reflect on this day, I immediately think of Joe and his fellow passengers on Flight 77. In some ways, they are the forgotten victims. “Truthers” insist no plane hit the Pentagon. The families of those who died on Flight 77 would beg to differ. In any case, Flight 77 illustrates how ruthless Islamic terrorists are. Imagine sitting in your seat as your plane accelerates to 500 mph but you see the ground coming up fast and you know you are going to die. That folks, is the definition of “terror”.

********************

The last time we had dinner, Joe told my partner John and I about how much he was looking forward to being a part of the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Typically, I found myself jealous of him. In his role as Director of Geographic Education at the National Geographic Society, Joe had one of the most unique and rewarding jobs I can ever imagine having.

He traveled around the world, bringing American school children face-to-face with the natural wonders of our Earth. He was not only a teacher but also provided a critical turning point for these kids, many of whom had never before left their own neighborhoods. Joe provided the path for these students to experience things that many of us never will in our entire lives.

In addition, he got to travel to the four corners of the globe. How rewarding that must have been. How do I sign up for that job?

I got an email from Joe on Thursday, September 6, 2001. “Hi cutie” it started — typical opening line for Joe to any of his friends. He had just returned from Alaska and wanted to tell show me all the pictures, but the following week he said he was headed to California for another work trip. I printed out and kept that email for many months in my briefcase as a way to keep Joe alive.

As dawn broke on September 11, 2001, Joe called his Mom in Mississippi to give her a wake up call as he always did when he traveled. He said to her, “I’ll call you when I get to California. Have a good day.” He was that kind of person. The kind of person, who, no matter where he was and how busy he was, dropped a postcard to his friends so we could share a part of his experiences throughout the world.

At Dulles International Airport, Joe stood with his group traveling to California and took some last minute photos. He and another colleague were scheduled passengers on American Airlines Flight 77, accompanying three D.C. public school teachers and three students on a National Geographic-sponsored field trip to the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, Calif. After the photos were taken, they bid farewell to the children’s parents and proceeded to their gate.

At 9:37AM, Joe lost his life at the young age of thirty-nine when terrorists slammed the plane into the side of the Pentagon at 500 mph. A teacher and positive role model to young Americans was taken from the world in an act of sheer violence and viciousness.

As I was dealing with the many emotions of the events of September 11, a thought crossed my mind the next day. Gosh, I thought, Joe had said he was traveling and now he’s stuck somewhere until the airlines are allowed to fly again. So I called his work number in DC and left a message. After I heard his voice for the last time, I said “Give me a call if you are checking messages.” “I hope you make it home soon,” I concluded. When I called that day, I had no idea.

It wasn’t until Friday, September 14 that I found out that one of my dearest friends had become a casualty of the attacks on America. Suddenly, this war was personal — it had hit home. I wasn’t expecting to have to go to two memorial services and walk around in a state of numbness for many weeks.

At Joe’s memorial service, there were lots of tears and lots of laughs as well. One of Joe’s friends told the gathering that Joe had this way of making you feel as if you were his best friend in the world. I knew exactly what he meant. I saw Joe every once in a while. We would have lunch, or more likely trade emails or phone calls. But every time we talked, I felt like Joe’s best friend. Joe still has a lot of best friends all around the world.

Perhaps Joe’s death hit me so hard because it was the first death of someone close to me that I had experienced as an adult. I am still surprised by the impact that his death has had, and in many ways continues to have, on my life.

In fact, I did a lot of personal reflecting in the months following 9/11. I questioned how important my job and even my life were in a time of war where terrorists could invade your workplace or your school and slaughter you with no remorse. I questioned what value and worth my own career had in comparison with a man who had chosen to teach and change the lives of young people. I felt trapped in a good job that was giving me no personal satisfaction.

All I could remember was how happy Joe always was and how that cheer was infectious to all of his friends and colleagues. I would miss that cheerful influence on me. Joe had made the choice to live life to the fullest extent possible. He was the model of the optimistic American who knows no frontiers and no bounds. He was doing more than his fair share of contributing to a better society.

My partner John and I took a trip to the American West in the summer of 2003 and followed some of the Lewis & Clark Trail. I know Joe would have loved the scenery and spirit of America that lives and breathes in the land of Montana and Wyoming. The IMAX film about the “Corps of Discovery” produced by the National Geographic Society — Lewis & Clark: The Great Journey West — was dedicated to the memory of Joe Ferguson. It is available on DVD and I strongly recommend watching it.

One day in early 2002, I heard a song on the radio that I don’t remember hearing before 9/11/2001. I didn’t even know it was LeeAnn Womack’s voice, because the words are the soul and essence of Joe Ferguson. The words are an expression of his personal passion and love of life. And the words are also an inspiration for all of us to get through the many trying days of our post-9/11 world.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder.
Get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger.
May you never take one single breath for granted.
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed.
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens.
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance.
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance.
Never settle for the path of least resistance.
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin.
Lovin’ might be a mistake, but its worth makin.
Don’t let some hell bent heart leave you bitter.
When you come close to sellin’ out, reconsider.
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance.
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I hope you dance.

It appears there were coordinated terrorist attacks on the ruling party and government of Norway:

At least seven people were killed in a pair of explosions apparently targeting Norway’s government buildings in Oslo and at least 10 more killed in a shooting outside the capital, police said today. . . .

Hours after the blasts, a gunman opened fire at a youth meeting on an island outside of Oslo, killing at least 10. One man was arrested in connection to both attacks. Norwegian Minister of Justice Knut Storberget said the man in custody was Norwegian but his motives are unclear at this time.

Jesse Walker at Reason’s Hit and Run links to this “possible explanation for the explosion (via J.M. Berger).”  Glenn Reynolds links this roundup.

Our prayers are with the victims and their families and our hopes are with the police and armed forces of the Scandinavian nation.  May be perpetrators be swiftly captured — and brought to justice.

UPDATE: From Michelle Malkin who also has a good roundup, “Absolute evil…At least 80 youths killed at the camp, according to police.”  She’s right.  That is absolute evil.  Jim Hoft echoes Michelle, calling this “Pure evil.” Those actions define evil.

Alright, so it’s well-known (and almost excusable with today’s short-attention-span public) that sex sells. That explains why the at-first reluctant former mainstream media went wall-to-wall with coverage of soon-to-be (but not soon enough) former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s naughtiness. (Of course, their initial reluctance is no question due to the “D” he wears on the right side of his title.) That Weiner was one of the nastiest, most partisan, and rhetorically ugly members of the once-vaunted assembly was of no interest to the press. That his support for policies that have been an albatross around America’s neck also rose no brows. What they wanted were those pics (once Andrew Breitbart forced their hands with undeniable photographic evidence that they were never going to seek out themselves) and a salacious headline (one preferably that included a grade-school-era pun, if possible, please).

The next thing the press darlings love is a human-interest story. Forget the details of a crime. Forget any sort of ongoing work of the authorities to capture a criminal. Certainly forget any sort of racial description of an alleged perpetrator. But if something’s gone down in the big city, you can count on the locals (and if it’s dramatic enough, the Big Three) to cover the angle of the family that’s been affected or the children left orphaned.

So we were introduced over and over to the dutiful wife, Huma Abedin—currently with child. Naturally the angle of her working for the oft-humiliated wife of the former president and current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was played, often with a sly wink. Much was made about the likelihood of the two conferring over how to best deal with the situation, both in public and in private. In fact, it wasn’t until Mrs. Weiner returned from her overseas trip with the Secretary (on which she’d been when the whole escapade broke) that the Congressman finally decided to fold up his tent and go home. There was even the irony of Bill Clinton having officiated at their wedding. (Is he a rabbi now? Talk about a comeback!)

In all that, though; in all the delving into this couple’s details and discussing ad nauseam about what’s next for them… no interest from those stalwarts for the Public’s Right To Know about this little tidbit:

It turns out that Huma Abedin may have very close links to a little terrorist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Liwa Al-Arabi (translated here) claims to have leaked an extensive list of members of the Brotherhood’s secret women’s division, which is known alternately as the Muslim Sisterhood or the International Women’s Organization (IWO). This detailed list was partially published by Al Jazeera and several other major Arab newspapers. And it included Huma’s mother, Saleha Abedin.

Apparently her brother is also closely tied with the Brotherhood.
(more…)

Despite what some on the left says, the question is not, as Newsweek asked in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, why do they hate us, but why do they hate.  Commenting on a massacre in Pakistan, Barry Rubin offers this telling insight:

If the United States had not killed bin Ladin on that particular day, in that place, or in that way, the Charsadda attack would have happened anyway. Thus, terrorists use specific events as excuses to do what they would have done anyway.

Via Instapundit.  Read the whole thing.

SOMEWHAT RELATED:  In the vein of the Newsweek piece linked above, Dennis Prager wonders about a man who uses the occasion of the “killing of his sister’s murderer to badmouth America and hold it ultimately responsible for her death“:

Asking what America did to elicit the hatred of Muslim terrorists is morally equivalent to asking what Jews did to arouse Nazi hatred, what blacks did to cause whites to lynch them, what Ukrainians did to arouse Stalin’s hatred, or what Tibetans did to incite China’s harshly repressive treatment of them.

In a good piece on the liberal delusion about the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs), Jennifer Rubin gets at the nub of the issue.

She does so by taking issue with the contention Juan Williams made on FoxNews that we could have gotten the information needed to track down Osama bin Laden “in other ways”:

Williams is simply being untruthful when he says EITs didn’t contribute to bin Laden’s death and that we could have gotten the information by other means. The latter is unknowable (although certainly unlikely), and the former is factually incorrect.

Pretty much sums it up.  Read the whole thing.

Even Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledges the information needed to track down Osama came from ”mosaic of sources.”   A number of the “tiles” used to complete that mosaic came from EITs.  Thus, by using the word, “mosaic,” even the man busy prosecuting those who used EITs on a handful of high-value incarcerated terrorists acknowledges that such techniques helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden.

(Via American Spectator.)

A reader sent this to me. Jim Geraghty has a similar one on Campaign Spot.

When the loudest critic of your policies achieves his only success because of them.  Well, I might quibble a bit with the caption.  It’s not his only success, but his greatest one.

Sure seems that way…

Osama Bin Laden spent the last five years living in the room of his mansion where he was shot and killed by U.S. forces, according to Pakistan security officials.

The claims were made by the terrorist leader’s wife, who apparently told interrogators that she and her husband had not left the same room for the past half a decade.

I’m kind of enjoying the image of Bin Laden collecting urine in mason jars and having 6-inch long fingernails.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

UPDATE (from Dan):  But, Bruce, here’s the difference:  Hughes chose to hide out.  Seems Osama lacked that choice.  From everything I’ve read, it seems that he never once emerged from the compound.  The aggressive search that begun in 2001 forced him into hiding.  He must have been quite miserable in his last years, dependent on couriers for contact with the outside world.

It’s already beginning.  Some in the media (as well as their allies in the Democratic Party) are already trying to credit Barack Obama as the man who single-handedly tracked down Osama bin Laden, okayed the risky operation to eliminate him, clandestinely went into Pakistan to face him in his lair where he, while an adoring team of Navy SEALs looked on, strangled him with his bare hands while the terrorist brandished a knife, crossbow and submachine gun.

Heck, Joy Behar thinks we should just cancel the 2012 election.

In article that doesn’t mention the contributions of any other administration official — or any member of our armed forces — the AP anoints Obama the mastermind of the operation:

By secretly sending a team of special operations forces into an enemy fortress in a suburban neighborhood of a sovereign country, President Barack Obama chose the path of greatest risk, but also greatest reward.

There were so many ways it could have gone wrong.

Meanwhile, a dubiously-sourced piece, widely referenced on conservative web-sites, suggests that CIA Director Leon Panetta was the real driving force behind the operation with the president little more than a spectator.  I’m with Glenn on this, “The story might be true, but I’ll need a lot more convincing. This is telling too many people what they want to hear.”   The supposed Washington insider contends that Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, General David Petraeus, and Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper spearheaded the operation.

Now, from everything I’ve read, it appears there is some merit to this argument, as it is clear Clintonistas Panetta and Hillary as well Bush holdovers, Gates and Petraeus, were pushing this type of operation.  But, none of them could give the final go-ahead.

We may never learn the names of many of the others responsible for its success, interrogators at Guantanamo and other U.S. detention facilities, CIA agents who worked with persistence and determination over nine years to pursue countless clues (many leading to dead ends) and, of course, those brave Navy SEALs who carried out their task so professionally. (more…)

Leon Panetta has always conducted himself with dignity on the public stage. And in this exchange with Brian Williams, he comes off as a pretty stand-up guy, not milking the dispatch of Bin Laden to partisan ends and giving credit to the immediate past president and his team for their efforts in tracking down the Saudi-born terrorist.

In this video, he indicates that our intelligence officials gained some information that would later help us track down the hide-out of the Al-Qaeda leader through, um, well, “enhanced interrogation techniques“.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

VIdeo via Gateway Pundit.

When asked, Doug Powers reports, “whether or not advanced interrogation techniques helped get Bin Laden,” Attorney General Eric Holder “said he didn’t know.”  You’d think an official of an administration which has been most critical* of such polices would have given an unequivocal response (in the negative) if they hadn’t helped.

Of all the Democrats the president could have tapped to take over from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Panetta seems the best choice. He acknowledges truths at odds with his party’s anti-Republican talking points and acknowledges the accomplishments of Republicans as well as the merits of their policies.

RELATED:  Ed Driscoll alerts us to this observation in Investor’s Business Daily, “If President Bush had not invaded Iraq, President Obama likely would not have found Osama bin Laden. The al-Qaida operative who fingered bin Laden’s courier was caught in Iraq helping terrorists in 2004″.  Ed’s initial roundup on the death of Mr. Bin Laden also has a plethora of pithy points and interesting links.

ALSO RELATED AND WELL WORTH YOUR TIME:  Michael Barone contends that to get bin Laden, Obama relied on policies he decried.

*UPDATE:  Peter Wehner reports: “After all, Barack Obama was a fierce critic of EITs [Enhanced Interrogation Techniques] during and after the 2008 campaign.“

Even as information comes our showing Obama’s hesitation in the run-up to Sunday’s successful operation to kill Osama bin Laden and as the White House bungles in providing that information, the fact remains that the operation succeeded.  And that President Obama gave it the go-ahead.  While many people contributed to its success, most notably Navy SEALs, the president deserves a great deal of credit.  And I for one am hesitant to criticize him on this — or other matters — at present.

Let this be a moment of national unity when we all rejoice that the man who declared war on the United States first in 1996 and then again in 1998 has, thanks to our men at arms, lost the ability to declare war on anyone.  I agree with Allahpundit that it’s ”fitting” for the president to visit Ground Zero on Thursday to “mark Bin Laden’s demise by paying his respects on the public’s behalf. And if that respect-paying just so happens to produce a 24-karat photo op for his upcoming campaign, well, that’s his reward for icing the man Americans hate most.”

That blogger eminds us that the immediate past president would likely have

. . . have done the same thing and, yes, unquestionably, the left would have screeched about “politicization,” but I would have taken his side then so I’ll take The One’s side now. So much goodwill has he earned in the last 24 hours, in fact, that not only are Republican leaders congratulating him but even — gasp — Donald Trump is patting him on the back.

The President of the United States should be allowed to get some political capital out of his accomplishments.  And yet when a Republican does it, we see the mainstream media castigate him for politicizing national security or whatnot.  Recall how back in 2004, when then-President George W. Bush released his first ad, the media went apoplectic that he used an image from 9/11 — as if it were blasphemy, violating some sacred compact, to show that good man’s determination in the face of attack. (more…)

Earlier today, Glenn Reynolds linked Rand Simberg’s piece asking if the United States was undermining moderate Muslims by burying Osama bin Laden at sea.  This thought-provoking piece raises a lot of good questions about aspects of our strategy in the War on Terror.  In his conclusion, Simberg contends, “It is long past time for us to stop spending so much time worrying about incurring the wrath of those who make war on us. We need to spend a lot more time working on ways to get them to fear our own wrath.”

Read the whole thing.

Among the many reasons, Jim Geraghty offers for releasing the photos of Osama bin Laden’s last moments in his round-up of blogger commentary on the topic is this his own:

They should remember him cowering behind his wife as the foe he was never prepared for — armed American soldier — closed in, and how his much-touted warrior skills failed him when faced with a real opponent, not unsuspecting civilians on planes or in subways or in skyscrapers.

FROM THE COMMENTS:  TnnsNe1 offers that the photos won’t show the terrorist cowering behind a woman:

“Officials also retreated from claims that one of bin Laden’s wives was killed in the raid and that bin Laden was using her as a human shield before she was shot by U.S. forces.”

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/05/03/brennan-and-the-bin-laden-story-bungle/

“Prior to this weekend’s events,” Frank Newport, Editor in Chief of Gallup writes, “Americans had more confidence in the military than any other institution we measure.  The success of the U.S. Navy Seals’ operation in Pakistan Sunday will certainly underscore and perhaps increase that confidence.”  We here at GayPatriot have never hesitated to show our high regard for the men and women in our armed forces.

Today, we are particularly grateful for the Navy SEALs.  And to paraphrase something I wrote in another post, let’s recall that the last human being Osama bin Laden saw before being dispatched to the nether regions was a Navy SEAL.

To honor these braven men, I uploaded this video from Youtube.  Seems a proud mother wanted to honor her son.  And in honoring his service, she honored all those to serve.

The more we learn about the operation that successfully dispatched Osama bin Laden to the nether regions, the more we see just how truly American an operation it was, not just in the determination to see it through, but in the fact that leading figures in both political parties played a key part in carrying it out.  So, as Jim Geraghty puts it, “rejoice. America always gets her man, sooner or later.”

From the White House, we learn that “for years”, the CIA was gathering “leads on individuals in bin Laden’s inner circle, including his personal couriers.”  Detainees had identified a certain man

. . . as one of the few al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin Laden.  They indicated he might be living with and protecting bin Laden.  But for years, we were unable to identify his true name or his location.

Four years ago, we uncovered his identity, and for operational reasons, I can’t go into details about his name or how we identified him, but about two years ago, after months of persistent effort, we identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated.  Still we were unable to pinpoint exactly where they lived, due to extensive operational security on their part.  The fact that they were being so careful reinforced our belief that we were on the right track.

Emphasis added.  Four years ago, George W. Bush was president.  So, this operation began to blossom in the previous Administration.  But, it wasn’t until the incumbent Administration when it bore fruit.  In August, “U.S. teams located” Obama’s residence (well, his residence as until yesterday.  Thanks to the Navy SEALs, he has a new home today!)

But, “the first strands of information that ultimately led to the killing of Osama bin Laden” may have emerged has far back as 2003 with the capture of “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks”.  Even after locating the compound, ”C.I.A. analysts spent the next several weeks examining satellite photos and intelligence reports to determine who might be living”  there.  By March, they were convinced it was the refuge of bin Laden lived.  On the 14th of that month, the president “held the first of what would be five national security meetings in the course of the next six weeks to go over plans for the operation.” (more…)

Gotta love the juxtaposition of this post by Peter Wehner over at Commentary Contentions and the ad that happened to appear when I clicked over to read it: