Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • Aggie Football: Low and Looking Lower

    Well, yesterday’s loss was easily the worst I’ve seen the Aggies play at home in my twenty years of following the team. With hopes high heading into the season after last year’s improvement, it is sad to see a defensive secondary showing such horrid coverage abilities. That’s not to say that the offense has been anything to write home about, but that is somewhat understandable because of injuries.

    With a November slate of road games at pass-happy Texas Tech and rebounding Oklahoma and a home showdown with rival second-ranked Texas, things are not looking pretty for the Ags. As bad as the defense has been, I would expect sites like this and this to only gather more steam.

  • Libby Indicted

    Scooter Libby, chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney — check that, now former chief of staff — will face charges resulting from the investigation into the possible outing of CIA employee Valerie Plame. Note, the charges result from the investigation, not the outing.

    The CIA leak investigation is “not over,” special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said Friday after announcing charges against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff.

    Fitzgerald said he will be keeping the investigation “open to consider other matters.” But, he said, “the substantial bulk of the work in this investigation is concluded.”

    Libby resigned Friday after a federal grand jury indicted him on five charges related to the leak probe: one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements.

    For my favorite blogging on the matter, I’d like to direct you, dear reader, to Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom and his oft-updated effort on the matter.

  • A Focused Look at Utah Guard Re-enlistment

    While this is an interesting examination at life today’s National Guard and retention issues, I encourage the reader to continue to the very end. There is an absolute gem of a quote there by 1LT Bishop, a firefighter in the real world. Here’s a hint: I generally approve of reasonings that take into account “candy-asses” and the world in which we live. Hooah, sir!

  • House Easily Votes to Allow Base Closings

    I personally find today’s base closure vote to be very good news.

    The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow the first round of U.S. military base closures and consolidations in a decade, clearing the way for facilities across the country to start shutting their doors as early as next month.

    In a 324-85 vote, the House refused to veto the final report of the 2005 base-closing commission, meaning the report seems all but certain to become law in mid-November. Targeted facilities then would have six years to close their doors and shift forces as required under the report.

    Both the House and Senate must pass resolutions rejecting the report to stop the Pentagon’s sweeping restructuring of its far-flung domestic base network. But, as expected, the House effort by Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., failed. And there’s no similar attempt under way in the Senate.

    Opposition to closing bases dropped steadily in both chambers as the nine-member commission changed parts of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s original recommendations and issues like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita commanded Congress’ attention.

    The panel sent President Bush its final report in September. He signed off on it and sent it to Congress on Sept. 15. That began a 45-legislative day period for Congress to reject the report.

    I entirely understand the need for legal constraints upon the nation’s military, and that it is best for the republic that our armed forces be answerable to and be held accountable by our civilian political leadership. However, I find it disgusting that this so often leads to local or petty politics coming into play in the administration of our military, all too commonly in a manner that is contrary to what is actually best for the military and our nation’s defenses. This story contains a fine example.

    Congressional critics and many local officials fear the impact of base closures on their area economies – and on their political futures. They argue that the United States should not restructure military bases while the U.S. military is engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    LaHood, whose district includes a base in Springfield, Ill., that is to lose 15 National Guard fighter jets, urged his colleagues to vote to reject the report “in support of those that are citizen soldiers who come from those communities.”

    Closing bases during wartime, he said, “is the wrong message to send.”

    This round of base closures, better described as a DoD restructuring, does not call for a reduction in strength or capability. Instead, it is intended to move us further from a Cold War footing and to reduce unneeded expenditures. Troop levels and lethality are not being cut whatso-freakin’-ever. Does the congressman actually believe that our radical Islamist enemies will take one ounce of encouragement from the removal of 15 jets from Springfield, Land o’ Lincoln version?!!

    Luckily, this kind of tripe was not allowed to stand.

    But Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who supports closing bases, said: “these issues have been thoroughly discussed and debated.”

    The Pentagon, the White House and GOP congressional leaders – and even many Democrats – contend that eliminating extra space will free up money that could be used instead to improve the United States’ fighting capabilities, and help reposition U.S. forces to face current and future threats.

    In a statement, the Bush administration said that halting the round of base closings now “would harm U.S. national security interests by preventing improvements designed to address the new demands of war against extremists and other 21st century needs.”

    Overall, the report calls for closing 22 major military bases and reconfiguring an additional 33. Hundreds of smaller facilities from coast to coast also will close, shrink or grow, under a plan that the commission says will mean annual savings of $4.2 billion.

    Since the post-Cold War “peace dividend,” an idea perhaps too eagerly latched onto and prematurely dismissive of other growing global threats, became a rallying cry in the early ’90s, politics have weighed far too heavily in the base-closure process. The Pentagon did not get its way entirely this round, but it looks like this may be the closest we’ve come to actual defense benefit carrying the day.

  • Out, Out, Brief Series!

    The ChiSox swept my ‘Stros, taking the finale in Houston 1-0.

    As cruel as history can be, the 2005 World Series will be remembered as a four-game conquering by the Sox when instead it could be viewed as a razor’s edge, game-by-game struggle in which only six runs settled four games.

    I’d hoped for more, but I stand by my statement that I’m quite satisfied with the NL pennant.

    Huzzah! for Craig Biggio!

    Huzzah! for Jeff Bagwell!

    Huzzah! for Brad Lidge!

    Huzzah! for Lance Berkman!

    Huzzah! for Roger Clemens!

    Huzzah! for Andy Pettitte!

    Huzzah! for Roy Oswalt!

    Huzzah! for Brandon Backe!

    Huzzah! for Phil Garner!

    Huzzah! for all the Astros, past and present!

    Huzzah! for dear ol’ H-Town!!!

    Now, I’ve still got to score me one of those pennants.

  • Mideast Link Dump, 27 OCT 05

    Here’s a few stories from that ever-cheery eastern edge of the Mediterranean for y’all.

    First, amazingly as if on cue, comes this bloody news.

    Suicide bomber kills five in market attack

    A Palestinian suicide bomber killed five Israelis in a busy coastal market yesterday in retaliation for the army’s killing of Islamic Jihad’s military commander in the West Bank earlier this week.

    The bomb was detonated at a falafel stand in Hadera, scattering metal shrapnel that shattered windows and destroyed cars. The bodies of the victims were sprawled on the ground amid shards of glass and metal. More than 20 people were wounded, some seriously.

    “One minute I was making sandwiches and the next I was lying on the ground,” said Avi Samneh, 17, who was working at the stall when the bomb went off.

    His clothes were covered in dried blood and his arms wrapped in bandages as he spoke from his hospital bed. “Everything was normal and then there was the boom and I can’t remember how it happened. I’m cut everywhere but I’m in a much better position than some of the people I’ve seen,” he said.

    Eidan Akiva told Israeli television he felt the blast in his home. “Body parts reached all the way until my apartment building … It looks like a war was here,” he said.

    As obviously horrific as that sounds, one can easily understand the choice by ABC News to accompany their coverage with a picture of a crying, grieving relative … wait … wait for the obvious … of the freakin’ murderer. What, no photos available of the actual victims or their loved ones? Ran out of 35mm film or digital memory space where the blood was actually shed?!!

    Let’s stroll a bit further up the coast to Lebanon and Syria.

    Syria faces a showdown at UN over Hariri killing

    A diplomatic clash over Syria is looming at the UN as new charges emerged yesterday about possible Syrian meddling in Lebanon.

    Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and other foreign ministers from the 15 Security Council members plan to travel to New York on Monday to urge Syria to co-operate with the UN inquiry into the Valentine’s Day murder of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, or face sanctions.

    But Russia, a veto-holding permanent member of the council, pledged to protect its traditional ally. The Arab League and even Saad Hariri, the murdered politician’s son, are also opposed to sanctions.

    A new UN report published yesterday raised the stakes by charging that arms and personnel were still pouring in from from Syria to Palestinian groups in Lebanon. The report by Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN envoy responsible for monitoring Syria’s UN-mandated troop withdrawal from Lebanon, said: “A variety of recent reports has suggested that there has been an increasing influx of weaponry and personnel from Syria to some of these groups.”

    Raise your hand if you didn’t anticipate this. Anybody? Bueller? I do wonder about Russia’s stance — I would suspect it to be more a concern about further rousing radical Islamist elements on its southern borders rather than support for an old ally.

    Lebanese army surveyor killed by Syrian gunfire

    A Lebanese surveyor was killed on Tuesday by shots fired from across the border in Syria amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours, the army said.

    The incident came just before the UN Security Council discusses a UN report implicating Syria in the February murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.

    The dead man, Mohammed Ismail, was working for the Lebanese army in the western Bekaa valley near the Syrian border, in an area where the border is not demarcated.

    “Ismail was carrying out a routine mission for the army’s geographic affairs division when he was hit by gunfire coming from the other side of the border,” the spokesman said.

    Well, I guess another stick into the hornet’s nest wouldn’t hurt. Oh wait, maybe it would.

    Lebanese troops deploy near Palestinian militant bases

    Lebanese authorities dispatched commandos and tanks Wednesday to a pro-Syrian Palestinian militant base and sent hundreds more soldiers to a second camp in an apparent crackdown on groups accused of smuggling weapons from Syria.

    […]

    Confronted by the arrival of the troops, Palestinian radicals backed by Syria warned the Lebanese government not to increase tension in the volatile border region.

    “The situation seems like a war atmosphere and could lead to an explosion,” warned Anwar Raja, commander in Lebanon of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.

    Dozens of soldiers took up positions around a PFLP-GC base in Sultan Yacoub, a village three miles from the Syrian border, witnesses said. Soldiers using loud speakers demanded the Palestinians leave the base.

    […]

    The troop deployment followed Lebanese accusations that Syria was sending more arms to Palestinian militants, a move that could destabilize the Lebanese government.

    On Tuesday, Palestinians shot and killed a Lebanese contractor working with the military near the Syrian-Lebanese border. The killers, allegedly members of a Palestinian militant group called Fatah Uprising, have not been caught.

    But wait, maybe that didn’t happen.

    Lebanese Army denies encircling Palestinian bases in Bekaa

    The Lebanese Army Command rejected claims that army units have encircled Palestinian bases in the Bekaa towns of Sultan Yacoub and Hilweh Wednesday.Reports had emerged earlier in the day that Lebanese troops and tanks had encircled military bases run by pro-Syrian Palestinian militants near the border, hours ahead of a UN report set to accuse Damascus of arming militias in Lebanon.

    Umm … I’m going to believe the claims. Call it a hunch.

    Such it the fun-loving Club Eastern Med.

  • Iran Leader Calls for Israel’s Destruction

    Ever one to be begging to stay in the crosshairs of the reticle, Iran has issued a clear view of its road map to Mideast peace — the obliteration of Israel.

    President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Wednesday that Israel is a “disgraceful blot” that should be “wiped off the map” – fiery words that Washington said underscores its concern over Iran’s nuclear program.

    Ahmadinejad’s speech to thousands of students at a “World without Zionism” conference set a hard-line foreign policy course sharply at odds with that of his moderate predecessor, echoing the sentiments of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic revolution.

    The United States said Ahmadinejad’s remarks show that Washington’s fears about Iran’s nuclear program are accurate.

    “I think it reconfirms what we have been saying about the regime in Iran,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters in Washington. “It underscores the concerns we have about Iran’s nuclear intentions.”

    Ahmadinejad also condemned Iran’s neighbors which seek to break new ground in their relations with Israel. “Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury,” state-run television quoted him as saying.

    Relations between Israel and several Persian Gulf states have been thawing amid Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September. Bahrain announced in September it was ending a decades-old law banning trade ties with Israel. In October, Qatar said it was donating $6 million to help build a soccer stadium for a mixed Arab-Jewish team, the first such financial assistance by an Arab state for any town inside Israel.

    Israel has been at the forefront of nations calling for an end to Iran’s nuclear program, which the United States and many others in the West say is aimed at acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Iran insists the program is for generating electricity.

    Referring to Palestinian suicide bomb attacks in Israel, Ahmadinejad said: “there is no doubt that the new wave in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot from the face of the Islamic world.”

    Yup. With their continuing nuclear two-step with European powers, the Iranian leaders almost seem to be playing for another Osiraq. Are they that certain of their defenses?

    “Ahmadinejad has clearly declared the doctrine of his government,” said Mohammad Sadeq Hosseini, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. “He is returning Iran to the revolutionary goals it was pursuing in the 1980s.”

    Reacting to the Iranian president’s speech, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Ahmadinejad and Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar “speak openly about destroying the Jewish state … and it appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on their violent declarations with violent actions.”

    Ebrahim Yazdi, a former Iranian foreign minister, said Ahmadinejad’s remarks harmed Iran.

    “Such comments provoke the international community against us. It’s not to Iran’s interests at all. It’s harmful to Iran to make such a statement,” he said.

    Several world governments issued statements criticizing the Iranian’s remarks, including Britain, Canada and Germany.

    In Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest Ahmadinejad’s comments. Moratinos said he rejected the remarks in the strongest possible terms.

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Baptiste Mattei also condemned the remarks “with the utmost firmness.”

    Obviously, if you’ve drawn a scowl from the French and the Spanish, you’ve probably crossed the barrier of international etiquette. That said, what the hell are France and Spain really going to do, scowl more sternly?

    As Iran and Syria both work to further instability in Iraq, it seems the two now hold themselves as rivals over the Israeli issue, each jostling to be the current leading Islamic nation in the ongoing effort to push the Jews into the sea.

  • Carnival of Liberty XVII

    This week’s installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community’s Carnival of Liberty is up over at Eric’s Grumbles Before the Grave. Go read another fine collection of posts from a libertarian slant.

  • Theraflu River Take My Mind

    I don’t know if it’s bird flu and Captain Trips that has been kicking my arse since late last night, but no more blogging tonight. It’s back to Therazombie land.

  • Astros Head Home down 0-2

    The World Series is finally heading to the Lone Star State, but game three in Houston will find my Astros facing an 0-2 series deficit after tonight’s 7-6 loss to the ChiSox.

    Particularly of concern is the mental outlook of closer Brad Lidge, who seems snake-bit after giving up tonight’s ninth-inning game-winning dinger. This on the heels of a similar ninth-inning homer in the NLCS, Lidge’s last time on the mound.