Army Funding Running Low, Rumsfeld Warns
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has sent letters to congressional leaders urging them to pass the final 2005 budget supplemental bill before the Army runs out of operating funds.
The Army has slowed its spending, so it can continue operations in Afghanistan and Iraq through early May when the funds are due to run out, Rumsfeld said.
He sent the letters Wednesday, along with handwritten notes that read, “Our folks out there need these funds.”
Rummy goes on to denounce draft ideas and to discuss armored leggings being evaluated.
British Suspect Convicted in Attempted Missile Sale in U.S.
A British businessman has been convicted in the United States of trying to sell anti-aircraft missiles to terrorists.
The verdict against Hemant Lakhani was announced Wednesday in a New Jersey federal court. Lakhani now faces up to 25 years in prison at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for August 8.
Hard to believe the moronic clown defense didn’t work. Lock up, lose key.
Analysis: Victory is up to Iraqis
Is the United States winning in Iraq? Yes, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says.
“I think we’re definitely winning. I think we’ve been winning for some time,” said Gen. Richard Myers.
His civilian boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, took a more circumspect view of the situation. The outcome of the war is up to the Iraqis.
“Winning or losing is not the issue for ‘we,’ in my view, in the traditional conventional context of using the word winning and losing and of war,” Rumsfeld said Tuesday at a news conference. “The people that are going to defeat that insurgency are going to be the Iraqis.”
The story seems to give up hope of Iraq becoming the bright, shining city on the Arab hill that could serve to shake up the Arab world by offering an alternative to the environment that has allowed the radical Islamist view to fester. I still hold out that hope, as it is already starting to bear fruit in the region.
Reagan Presidency Diaries to be Published
“Each day during his eight years in the White House, Ronald Reagan recorded his innermost thoughts and observations in his personal diary,” adds Frederick J. Ryan, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. “Although they were not initially intended for publication, we feel that these volumes offer an unprecedented insight into the Reagan Presidency.”
This will be a must-freakin’-own. And I mean hardback. ‘Tis a shame an copy autographed by the author is out of the question. The world would be a better place were that still possible.
Moussaoui Seeks Muslim Land Grave
Moussaoui said that he wanted assistance in ensuring his burial in a Muslim land, otherwise “I will be buried in Arkansas or they don’t give a damn where”.
Arkansas sounds just fine, pig.
New Lebanese Government Calls Elections from May 29
Lebanon’s new government won a confidence vote in parliament Wednesday and immediately called elections, the first without a Syrian military presence for 33 years, to start on May 29.
The announcement, a day after Syria pulled its last soldiers and spies out of Lebanon after 29 years, means parliamentary polls will be held on time as demanded by the international community and Lebanon’s anti-Syrian opposition.
The new cabinet, led by wealthy businessman Najib Mikati, won a ringing 109-1 endorsement from MPs in the 128-member chamber, with three abstentions.
Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa then signed a decree for elections to begin on May 29, officials said. Parliament also extended by three weeks its own term, which expires on May 31.
Some sources said there would be three rounds of voting — on May 29, June 5 and June 12. Others said there would be a fourth on June 19. Lebanon usually holds parliamentary polls staggered over several weekends as regions vote in turn.
The Cedar Revolution came to a head. Now it’s come to a vote. Also, feel free to check out the Lebanese Freedom Babes, courtesy of Publius Pundit.
Jaafari Includes Shia, Sunni Arabs and Kurds on Iraqi Cabinet List
After weeks of damaging delays and political wrangling, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraqi’s prime minister-designate, yesterday confirmed that he had completed his cabinet list, which includes Shia, Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians.
He declined to give details about who would head the 32 ministries, other than to confirm that a Sunni Arab would get the key post of defence. He said delays were due to efforts to include all parties in the government.
“This government could have been concluded within a week by the two major coalitions [Shia and Kurd] but it is our commitment and desire to see that we have a conclusive government that will reach out to the one main [Sunni Arab] community that was not fairly represented in the elections,” Mr Jaafari said.
Better late than never, especially if there’s any payoff for reaching out to the Sunnis, but better never late. Not when lives may depend on it and delay feeds the hopes of the terrorists.