"Planned Mass Murder on an Unimaginable Scale"

Following the story... at BBC Fox and CNN

The plot as we all know by now involved British born Muslims to bring liquid explosives onto planes and detonate the bombs in mid-flight on UK flights bound for the USA... more than 20 arrests made with continuing apprehensions and investigations...

So hundreds of thousands of people are inconvenienced, flights cancelled... and it just makes me want to ask the following:

Instead of grounding flights, why aren't we just grounding young Muslim men (ok, so it's not "PC". and your point is?)

Do you think those that want to "talk" "negotiate" and "reason" with these terrorists GET IT NOW??

Mass murder on an unimaginable scale... indefensible.

Ranting at my place

Failures of Diplomacy

I am frankly surprised and disappointed with some commentary appearing today over at The Corner, courtesy of Andrew Stuttaford.

Stuttaford expresses alarm over the current impasse in Lebanon, describes Belgravia Dispatch as “currently a must read.” If you view Diplomacy as a zero-sum net good and the current Administration’s Counter-terrorism foreign policy a disaster, then yes, BG’s a must read.

If you think the failed policies of the past led us precisely to where we are with Islamic Fascism, its rogue state sponsors, and “moderate Middle East state” Vichy Governments, then you might have a different perspective.

I think it most significant that the deadly, avowed enemies of Israel and the US are the ones screaming most loudly for an unconditional ceasefire, and negotiations for an International Peacekeeping Force to separate Hezbollah from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind such a ceasefire, such an eventually, under any conceivable scenario, timetable, architect or participants, is a perfect return to the status quo in terms of Hezbollah capabilities for terror – and an even degraded potential for the Lebanese to defang or prevent Hezbollah from resuming their proxy terror war.

Those who suggest this is a disaster for US relations in the region are naïve, ignorant, or stupid, or feigning one or more of the above.

Remember 1979 in Iran? Remember the 1993 [corrected] attempt against the doomed World Trade Center? Remember 9/11? I think that’s pretty indicative of (at least a virulent strain) of foaming at the mouth Anti-Americanism in the Muslim world.

Anyone who is at all familiar with the constant and unwavering stream of hate spewing from Madrassas and even “moderate” Islamic scholars for the past 30 years knows how ridiculous it would be to suggest that anything we’ve done in the past 5 years could possibly have worsened our standing in the world. Every time the Muslim world gets offended, that’s one more in an orderly succession of justifications and “causes” of one brutality or crime against humanity after another.

It’s sick, immoral, and pathological in the extreme. It’s the basis of the “blame the victim” mentality that our enemies want so very much for our ruling elites to adopt. After all, such a first step is essential to our eventual submission to Islam as dhimmi.

I don’t know if Stuttaford admires “the most talented foreign policy practitioner currently active in the Democratic party,” Richard Holbrooke, but Gregory Djerejian certainly does.

In today’s today’s Washington Post, Holbrooke conflates Lebanon and Iraq into “a single emergency,” the resultant chaos of which only benefits “Iran, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and the Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr.”

UPDATE: I now note an extended debate over Stuttaford's post, between Stuttaford and Rich Lowry at The Corner, well worth an extended visit, just start at the original post and scroll back up...Thanks too to Smash who points out my slip of the brain in referring to the earlier 1993 attack on WTC as 1983...

(Further commentary on the Holbrooke article over at Dadmanly.)

Chicken, road, crossing, 1 ea.

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE

WHY DID THE IRAQI CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?

MNSTC-I (Multi-Nat'l Security Transition Cmd-Iraq)
The fact that the Iraqi chicken crossed the road affirmatively demonstrates
that decision making authority has been transferred to the chicken well in
advance of the scheduled October constitutional transition of power. From
now on the chicken is responsible for its own decisions.

KBR
We were asked to help the chicken cross the road. Given the inherent risk of
road crossing and the rarity of chickens, this operation will only cost
the US government $326,004.99 (per chicken)

Muqtada al Sadr
The chicken is a tool of the evil coalition and will be killed

US Army Military Police
We were directed to prepare the chicken to cross the road. As part of these
preparations, individual soldiers ran over the chicken repeatedly and then
plucked the chicken. We deeply regret the occurrence of any chicken rights
violations.

Peshmerga (indep Kurdish fighters)
The chicken crossed the road, and will continue to cross the road, to show
its independence and to transport the weapons it needs to defend itself.
However, in future, to avoid problems, the chicken will be called a duck,
and will wear a plastic bill.

3rd ID
The chicken was not authorized to cross the road without two forms of
picture identification. Thus the chicken was appropriately detained and
searched in accordance with SOP's. We apologize for any embarrassment to
the chicken. As a result of this unfortunate incident, the command has
instituted a gender sensitivity training program and all future chicken
searches will be carried out by female soldiers.

Al Jazeera
The chicken was forced to cross the road multiple times at gunpoint by a
large group of coalition soldiers, according to eyewitnesses. The chicken
was then fired upon intentionally, in yet another example of the abuse of
innocent Iraqi chickens.

Blackwater (security contractors)
We cannot confirm any involvement in the chicken road crossing incident.

Iraqi Provincial Police Chief
Chicken she cross street because bad she fried the tangled regulation.
Future chicken table against my request.

U.S Marine Corps
The chicken is dead.

Aussies-
We saw the whole bloody thing and threw the chick on the Barbie then went
to getting on the piss

MNC-I (Multi-Nat'l Corps-Iraq)
The chicken crossing situation is reflected in the TRA as an amber rated
capability within only those regions prioritized to receive road marking
equipment and should not be confused with units non-operationally qualified
to partner, yet, with chicken crossers. This will be briefed in the next
conference.

MNF-I (Multi-Nat'l Force-Iraq)
There are no cross chicken operations in theater but by June 15, 2006 we
will have 24,300 chickens fully prepared to cross.

Welsh (British Army)
Whale Ya' know what its like to be laying out dead chickens when your
dressed like a brownie right? So, thar we were, surrounded by these crazy
foggin chickens...

USAF
In the last seven days the USAF has cargo-lifted 732,361 chickens across
852 roads.

British
In Northern Ireland we used to conduct chicken crossing operations all the
time. If you will *finally* listen to us, we'll show you...here, in fact,
let me show you now...

British (Navy variant)
Fer cripe's sake, what am I doing here dealing with chickens? There isn't
salt water for 400 miles from here! Have I shown you pictures of HMS
Edinborough today?

FA 59s (Strategists)
In 1835, just two years before his untimely death from Cholera, Clauswitz
wrote this about chickens, "blah, blah, blah..."

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

ReL Worse for the Left?

via CNN

Deputies stopped Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, both of Dearborn, Michigan, on a traffic violation Tuesday. They found the flight documents along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones in the car, said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.

Abulhassan and Houssaiky admitted buying about 600 phones in recent months at stores in southeast Ohio, said sheriff's Maj. John Winstanley. The men said they sold the phones to someone in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb.

...also found a map that showed locations of Wal-Mart stores from Ohio through Kentucky, Tennessee and into North and South Carolina, Vessels said.

Re: Worse for the left?

Lex - I think the latter explanation in your post is more correct - they've got their own time schedule and agenda without regard to the timing on US politics.

I don't know if we know yet how imminent the threat was, but 8/11 might add to 9/11 as dates in infamy. Or, I suspect that a 5th Anniversary gift on 9/11 might have been planned. Maybe there is some regression of the moon thing that works and makes 8/11 the same as 9/11...sort of like Ramadan moves around...

Or even, as set out here, that 8/22 is a magic date:

In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time--Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as "by the end of August," but Mr. Ahmadinejad's statement was more precise.
What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.

What's worse for the left?

The fact that the global jihad has an exquisitely bad sense of timing, perpetually injecting themselves into our domestic political cycle, just when things are looking up?

Or the alternative explation: The fact that they just don't care what we think? That they plan to keep on killing us no matter who is in charge?

Much more at my place.

Re: Sailor Spied For Russia

Reports indicate that the submarine Sailor charged with attempting to pass secrets apparently made "first contact" with the foreign power during a port visit to Bahrain in March 2005. I have much more on the story, including links to a couple of interviews with his Dad (who says many interesting things) over at my submarine blog.

If you had $3.1 billion to spend for defending the U.S., where would you put it?

James Forest, an Assistant Professor and Director of Terrorism Studies at the United States Military Academy, West Point, has an answer here: Spend it on the Coast Guard.

I agree.