Target Centermass

Category: War on Terror

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Good Luck, Greyhawk

    Happy dragon hunting, and best wishes to those you’re leaving.

  • General Announcement on Execution Videos

    Target Centermass will not host any beheading videos or pics.

    Simple as that.

  • NATO to Expand Iraq Training Mission

    After much wrangling, NATO has checked in on the idea of contributing to the now-free nation of Iraq.

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has agreed to create a military training academy in Iraq, expanding the alliance’s small presence in the country after two years of feuding over the US-led war.

    Ambassadors at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels reached the accord after resolving questions raised last week by France and Belgium over the mission’s financing and its relationship to the US-led multinational force.

    “Today NATO ambassadors agreed on the political directions to the military to enhance NATO assistance to the Government of Iraq in the training of its security forces,” NATO spokesman James Appathurai told reporters.

    ….

    France and others that opposed the war fear it could be tantamount to inserting NATO into the Iraqi battlefield through a back door.

    The alliance currently has a 40-strong operation performing training services in Iraq and the new accord is seen as expanding its presence to some 300.

    France, Germany and other opponents of the US-led war have said they will not have a presence in the country themselves.

    Yeah, NATO in da house.

    Except France, Germany, Belgium and Spain. Those four bastard countries are too scared to even involve themselves in freakin’ training a country to support itself.

    I’m tired of the worthlessness that is the UN. I’m quickly growing tired of the anachronism that is NATO (as it is currently structured). Perhaps it’s time we move forward and negotiate a new alliance. I’ll have to give thought to membership and acronym, but it would certainly exclude countries with no sack at all, specifically France. Hell, the cowards militarily withdrew from NATO decades ago, hoping we’d hold back the Red horde while they swept the streets of Paris for Russians on parade.

  • South Korea Moves into Third Place in Iraq

    For at least a few months.

    The much-delayed deployment of South Korea’s brigade to Iraq has gone ahead, the Defense Ministry announced Wednesday in a move that is expected to improve ties with the United States. The unit needs its mandate renewed by the National Assembly, however, to stay beyond December.

    South Korea has deployed 2,800 troops and will add 800 once the brigade has expanded its base in Erbil, in northern Iraq, the ministry said. Battalion-sized South Korean forces previously deployed in southern Iraq were absorbed into the brigade. The unit is the third-largest foreign force in the country, after the contingents from the United States and Britain.

    Look, we stood firm with South Korea for a little while, roughly over half a century and counting. They had better give us a little more of a time commitment. It’s not like we’re asking their troops to wear orange and patrol barefoot in the Sunni Triangle.

  • Website Claims Italian Women Executed in Iraq

    An Islamist website has posted a claim that the two female Italian aid workers kidnapped on Sept. 7 have been executed.

    A group calling itself the Jihad Organization says it has executed two Italian female hostages in Iraq.

    The organisation has reportedly issued a statement on an Islamist website, but the authenticity of the claim can not be confirmed.

    Referring to aid workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, without naming them, it says the pair were executed after the Italian government failed to pull out of Iraq.

    I posted my thoughts on how dangerous this particular kidnapping was to all involved parties. My newest prediction: do not expect videos of this terroristic barbarism to be posted anytime soon, if ever. There is absolutely no benefit to the Islamist bastards in doing so. If a video does surface, it will only confirm that we are not fighting sick, twisted wackos, but rather sick, twisted wacko morons.

    If the story of these murders is true, it will be interesting to watch Italy’s reaction, as well as that of the muslim world.