Target Centermass

Category: General

  • Britain Extends Citizenship to Gurkhas

    In a move in the well-earned right direction, the Brits have offered serious hope and recognition to some of the globe’s truest warriors:

    Britain has extended full citizenship rights to Gurkha soldiers from Nepal who serve in the British armed forces, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

    “The Gurkhas have served this country with great skill, courage and dignity during some of the most testing times in our history,” Blair said.

    “They have made an enormous contribution not just to our armed forces but to the life of this country, and it is important their commitment and sacrifice is recognised,” he said Thursday.

    Gurkhas and their supporters have been trying for three years to publicly shame the British government with the charge it treats these soldiers as good enough to die for Britain, but not good enough to become citizens.

    The announcement that most Gurkha soldiers have won the right to become British citizens follows an 18-month review by Britain’s Home Office and the Foreign Office.

    Gurkhas said they could not wholeheartedly welcome the move because the new provision will apply only to those who were discharged from the forces after July 1, 1997, meaning that around 100 of the estimated 400 Gurkhas currently resident in Britain will not be eligible.

    The Gurkhas have been stout, gallant combatants for the Crown for a long, long time. This is a huge step, but more is needed for these proud warriors and their amazing history.

  • First Debate Analysis

    As I had hoped, Vodkapundit live-blogged the debate. As expected, he made several points with which I agree, and I’ll quote generously from him later.

    First, I didn’t actually live blog, but I did type up ongoing notes, punctuated with an occasional timestamp and comment. I’ve stripped out those portions from my notes to present my personal first debate skeleton.

    8:04 — Initial thought: Kerry doesn’t look orange.

    8:07 — Bush dodges a softball question, one where he had a golden opportunity to correct the misconception about Cheney’s statement.
    On the other hand, Kerry misses a chance to take advantage of this in his rebuttal. [Left this in just because missed opportunities seemed a prolonged theme of the evening]

    8:10 — Kerry states goal is Osama bin Laden. Wrong. It’s more than one man.

    8:24 — So far no discernable important moments.

    8:47 — So far Kerry’s performing better. But a performer ain’t necessarily a leader.

    8:51 — Man, November 3 can’t get here fast enough.

    9:02 — Just cracked my first beer. Went to the fridge, grabbed a Miller Lite, opened it and drank. Practically all during one of Bush’s pauses.

    9:10 — Well, only twenty more minutes, and then the spin can really begin.

    9:20 — All right! Last question.

    9:30 — Initial final impression, no clear winner without the effect of spin applied afterward. Which means a win for Bush.

    Now, to lift some greatness from the VodkaDude, all of which tie to some of my notes:

    “Osama bin Laden doesn’t determine American policy,” or words to that effect. Not well delivered, but the words themselves were perfect.

    ….

    7:45pm. Here’s what we have so far. Kerry is an impressive attack machine. Bush impressively refuses to budge. If I had to guess, the question most viewers will ask is, “In time of war, do I want the debate team captain, or the guy he can’t move?”

    7:48pm. “I will hunt and kill the terrorists wherever they are.” That’s the second (third?) time Kerry has used that line, and it’s a loser. For Kerry, it’s a promise. For Bush, it’s a perceived fact.

    7:50pm. Kerry is hedging, in a nuanced fashion, his promise to withdraw troops. It’s a MEGO moment, and even a junky like me is getting lost in his answer. On the other hand, I’m drinking.

    ….

    7:57pm. We’re almost to the two-thirds mark now, and it looks like a draw. A draw is a loss for Kerry, for reasons I’ll get into around midnight or so Eastern Time.

    ….

    I’m bored with both of these guys, and have been almost from the start. But Kerry just annoys me. And he thinks he’s going to win me over by complaining we aren’t TALKING to North Korea? What’s there to talk about? Clinton exhausted talk with them ten years ago. And what did it get us?

    ….

    8:17pm. Methinks he doth protest too much. Kerry, for the umpteenth time tonight, has said he’s never wavered on Iraq. The record says different and, even if it didn’t, that windsurfing TV ad makes it the public perception.

    ….

    Last question, and neither guy has flubbed anything.

    Some other thoughts from my own hastily-typed notes:

    • I’ll have to check a transcript but I transcribed that Kerry said, “We’ve got weapons of mass destruction crossing the border every day.” If so, where does that leave his no-wmd-wrong-war stance?
    • Bush had an excellent line about knowing when to bring home the troops: “I don’t want to do so for the sake of bringing them home; I want to do so because they’ve achieved their objective. … Artificial deadlines won’t work.”
    • Kerry repeatedly stated the war was wrong. However, when confronted with his “last man to die for a mistake” quote, he acted as if it wasn’t a mistake and we had to stay there. Well, which is it?
    • Kerry is certainly a fan of summits. My impression is that Bush will have them as needed, but Kerry will apparently wallow in them.
    • Kerry should not bring up his protesting of Viet Nam, especially not in a positive light. He is only opening himself up to the Swifties’ POW attacks.
    • Another great Bush line (possibly paraphrased): “That’s totally absurd. You can’t expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the allies standing side by side with our troops in Iraq.’
    • A third great Bush quote: “Every life is precious. That’s what distinguishes us from the enemy.”
    • Another thing I need to check the transcript on: I typed that, as a means of bringing in more allies to the coalition, Kerry said he would’ve taken time to ask other nations what it would take, what he could offer or give to get them on board. And he condemned our current allies as the “coerced and bribed?!!”
    • Fourth great Bush line (again, possibly paraphrased): “Trying to be popular in the global sense, when it’s not in our best interest, makes no sense.”
    • On the question of greatest danger facing the U.S., Bush repeatedly tied WMD-proliferation to terrorists, Kerry merely repeatedly cited nuclear proliferation. A bit of the old unilateral-freeze peacenik shining through? The Bush campaign could exploit this, though it should be done delicately.
    • Thank you, Mr. President, for publicly tying the Beslan massacre to the global war on terror.
    • Kerry actually had the balls to say, “We always have to stand up for democracy.” Ask the victims of the fall of South Veit Nam about that. Ask the Nicaraquans, whose fight for democracy Kerry tried to impair. Ask the Iraqis to match that quote with Kerry’s wrong-war crap.

    In summation, Kerry looked, acted and debated better. Bush was right. Style vs. substance, historical mistakes and newfound stances vs. established views and a track record of decisive leadership.

    The American public has been fooled before, but I hope not this time. The stakes are too high.

  • Initial First Debate Thoughts

    Kerry performed better, but no knockout blows. Kerry had to win the debate and not just the show, though. There were no major gaffes by either Kerry or Bush, and that still leaves Bush in the lead.

    Bush most assuredly had more of the message I wanted to hear. By a long shot.

    More analysis to follow.

  • Welcome to DFW, Hugh

    Just back from a day spent away from reality, gorging myself on junkfood at the State Fair of Texas.

    Before I go surfing around for news, I wanted to point out that I’ve found a new talk radio station has launched in the Dallas area, KSKY 660 AM. To my surprise, the station is carrying the Hugh Hewitt show. Not the greatest time slot (8-11 p.m.), but a big plus for the DFW airwaves.

  • Female Italian Captives Freed, Possibly Ransomed

    It seems the story of the deaths of two Simonas was greatly exaggerated. The pair of Italian women, held hostage since Sept. 7, are now home free.

    Two Italian women aid workers held hostage in Iraq for three weeks have returned home to cheers and tears, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leading the welcome party at Rome’s Ciampino airport.

    Simona Pari and Simona Torretta were freed by their Iraqi captors earlier on Tuesday and were immediately whisked by plane back to Italy, where they have unwittingly become national heroines thanks to their ordeal.

    News of their release sparked scenes of joy across the country, while Italian and world leaders breathed a sigh of relief that the crisis had ended without bloodshed.

    When the women were first seized, I posted a handful of possible outcomes, including the following:

    The Italian government may have to make some hard choices – bail out of the war, deal with the scumbags, or stand firm and risk the lives of women, possibly leading to an upheaval on the home front….

    I then concluded that there may end up being no winners and a “quick release is the only way to prevent losses for all involved.”

    Well, it seems that the Italian government did end up having to face those hard choices and, according to the Reuters article, apparently decided on dealing with the Islamist bastards.

    A Kuwaiti daily said earlier on Tuesday the women’s captors had agreed to free them for a $1 million (550,000 pounds) ransom.

    An Italian political source told Reuters a ransom was paid but it was less than $1 million. Berlusconi himself made no mention of a ransom when he announced the release of the two women to parliament.

    He said the secret services had located their whereabouts earlier this week, but rather than risk using violence to secure their release, the Italian government had preferred to negotiate.

    Italy bought temporary peace at home and secured a far better deal than the Philippines managed in their $6 million wimp-out. One has to ask, though, at what future price? How many deaths can be financed with this ransom?

    Italy is still in the game, but they just handed a lot of chips to the bad guys playing by a different, ruthless set of rules.

  • Abducted CNN Producer Released

    Let me take a moment to pat my own back. Last night, after CNN producer Riad Ali was kidnapped by Palestinian bandits, I posted the following:

    First, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have to disavow involvement and, if it turns out they have any influence on these bandits, will work to ensure a safe and quick release. They have to avoid biting the hand that feeds them which, in this case, is a friendly international media.

    Today, CNN is reporting that Ali has been set free by his captors.

    CNN producer Riad Ali was released Tuesday, almost 24 hours after he was abducted by armed gunmen, and is now in the custody of Palestinian police.

    ….

    Shortly before his release, a videotape surfaced in which Ali explained he was being held by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Arafat’s Fatah movement.

    I called it, but it seemed pretty obvious, to be honest.

  • A Worthy Request of Bloggers

    Greyhawk has gone to war. Now, Mrs. Greyhawk has asked a favor

    I call to my fellow bloggers to do what the mainstream media refuse to do, and that is to report the truth about the success of rebuiling Iraq.

    ….

    You know, my husband is over there and seeing that he may be limited to what he can read, I sure don’t want him to read something that makes him feel his efforts are in vain.

    And what of the Iraqi People? If all they see and read focuses almost exclusively on the violence without reports of the monumental progresses being made, what will they think? How will they have the courage to fight the insurgents (terrorist) if they have no hope. If you watch the satellite channels from Arab countries you would imagine there’s no rebuilding going on at all. This is encouraging terrorists and demoralizing those who supported democracy.

    Where does the Blogshere come in? A place to start would be this blog “Chrenkoff“, a Polish Australian blogger who compiles a periodic roundup of “good news from Iraq.”
    Link him, better yet post good news you find on your blog as often as possible, photos a plus. Our soldiers lives and the state of Iraq could depend on it.

    Target Centermass is young and barely visited, but I will do what I can for this good cause. At least I’ll try, which is what our country has asked of Greyhawk (on a vastly different scale, of course). I plan on revising my blogroll in the next day or two, and Chrenkoff is among those to be added.

  • CNN Producer Abducted in Gaza

    CNN is reporting that one of its Gaza Strip contingent was brazenly kidnapped today.

    A group of armed men abducted a CNN producer [Riad Ali] in Gaza City on Monday.

    ….

    CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman said he, Ali and CNN photographer Mary Rogers had left their Gaza office in a taxi when a white Peugeot pulled in front of them, blocking their way, around 6:35 p.m. (11:35 a.m. ET).

    Wedeman said a man in his early 20s and dressed in civilian clothes emerged from the car, stuck a revolver through the taxi window and “said to me in Arabic, ‘Which one of you is Riad?’ ”

    “We were dumbstruck at first, but Riad then said, ‘I am Riad.’ And then other men got out of the car that had pulled in front of us, and they were carrying AK-47 assault rifles, and they said to Riad, ‘Get out of the car,’ ” Wedeman said.

    He said Ali was forced into the back of the Peugeot, which then drove away. No one was injured.

    Wedeman said the kidnappers made no attempt to cover their faces.

    Wedeman said CNN has contacted Palestinian security authorities in Gaza, but there was no new information on Ali’s status.

    Ali, who is an Arab, has worked for the network for about two years, traveling extensively in Gaza and the West Bank as part of his assignments.

    The article states that no claims of responsibility have been made. Hamas has condemned the act, stating “this ugly incident is a violation of the sanctity of journalism and contradicts the morals of the Palestinian people.”

    I have little faith in Hamas’ concern with contradicting morals. However, I do have a couple of thoughts on this, which should be pretty obvious or I wouldn’t have blogged it.

    First, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have to disavow involvement and, if it turns out they have any influence on these bandits, will work to ensure a safe and quick release. They have to avoid biting the hand that feeds them which, in this case, is a friendly international media.

    Unless, of course, I’m right about my second thought. Noting that Ali was specifically targeted, he may be suspected of collaborating with the Israelis. If this is the case, and it should be noted I base this possibility on little but suspicion, Riad Ali is a dead man.

  • France Wants U.S. Pullout on Agenda

    France is placing restrictions on its participation in a possible international conference on Iraq. The unusual thing is that I have no problems with the French demands, as they are stated in this article.

    France said Monday that it would take part in a proposed international conference on Iraq only if the agenda included a possible U.S. troop withdrawal, thus complicating the planning for a meeting that has drawn mixed reactions.

    Fine, a possible U.S. withdrawal can be discussed. Our representatives, however, are allowed to smirk and chuckle at will. During this portion of the conference, speaking with a mockingly silly French accent is encouraged.

    Paris also wants representatives of Iraq’s insurgent groups to be invited to a conference in October or November, a call that would seem difficult for the Bush administration to accept.

    Fine, we’ll invite the terrorists. There will be no promises of safe passage, or even survival. Body cavity searches to be expected prior to each session.

    Otherwise, I couldn’t care less if France participates. They bring no value to the table unless they are bearing croissants.

    France needs to realize that, short of a Kerry victory in November, they could be whining and cringing their way into international obsolescence. I, personally, do not think of them as an ally. Instead, they are an obstruction, freely selling arms to any country, be that customer friend or foe to the U.S., and occasionally asking us to rescue them or take over their messes.

  • U.S. to Enter Iraq No-go Zones

    Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the U.S. will soon move to put an end to the “no-go” zones that currently dot several areas in Iraq.

    The U.S. military in Iraq will move into insurgent-filled “no-go zones” to stabilize them in advance of elections in January, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.

    The Bush administration is hoping free elections will help stabilize the country and build a sense of legitimacy for the new government.

    Administration officials have acknowledged that violence in many parts of the country could make voting dangerous or perhaps even impossible in some places.

    This move, while needed for the long-term success of the Iraqi venture, will most assuredly be bloody and may have an impact on the November U.S. elections. That said, it needs to be done despite this danger for the Bush administration.

    “The major thrust of our political and military and diplomatic efforts over the next several months will be to make sure there are no ‘no-go zones,’” [Powell] added.

    U.S.-led forces have been avoiding those areas of Iraq.

    Powell said the military is putting together plans to “return these zones to government control.”

    The man in charge of winning the war in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid of U.S. Central Command, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we will have to fight our way all the way through elections.”

    He would not say where U.S. forces would go on the offensive.

    “We never want to tip off our hands about what we want to do,” he said. “It’s clear, however, that, through a combination of political and military action, we will do whatever is necessary to bring areas of Iraq under the control of the Iraqi government … by the January elections.”

    Best wishes to those men in uniform, be they American, Iraqi, or some of our other allies, in this endeavor. On a personal note, this is the kind of steadfastness I honestly don’t expect to see from a possible Kerry administration but it is exactly the kind needed in the long term for our nation’s security.