Oh, Isn't this just too rich?

Ban terrorists from Iraq: Iran By Edmund Blair in Tehran July 09, 2006

IRAN, accused by the United States of stirring up an Iraqi insurgency, said overnight that "terrorist" groups should be stopped from entering Iraq because they created an excuse for foreign troops to stay.

and

"It is necessary to stop the crossing of terrorist groups into Iraq who aim at creating insecurity, hatred and differences, and pave the way for the presence of foreign forces in Iraq," Mr Ahmadinejad told the foreign ministers in Tehran.

He did not say from where or how the groups were entering.

Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up...

From The Australian HERE

Broader Plot Found in Gitmo Suicide Investigation

Evidence of Broader Plot Found in Guantanamo Suicide Investigation

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An investigation into three apparent suicides at the Guantanamo Bay prison has found that other detainees may have helped the men hang themselves or were planning to kill themselves too.

The detention center's commander, Navy Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris, said in an affidavit that investigators believe "the suicides may have been part of a larger plan or pact for more suicides that day or in the immediate future."

FOX STORY HERE

Military Science, Gangsta Style

Chuck Z teaches the class on Liberia. All the lessons are beautiful, but especially the one with the feather duster -- and the one with the spring and the blue duct tape.

19 al Queda members acquitted in Yemen

SAN'A, Yemen (AP) -- The trial of 19 alleged al Qaeda members had been designed to showcase how serious Yemen was in the fight against terror. But the Islamic militants, accused of plotting to assassinate Westerners and blow up a hotel frequented by Americans, were all acquitted for lack of proof, the presiding judge ruled Saturday.

Prosecutors had failed to provide "adequate evidence that the defendants were plotting attacks against foreigners or planning to assassinate Americans in Yemen," the verdict said.

Critics say the decision points to the Yemeni president's bid to win the radical Islamic vote ahead of elections in September.

Several of the defendants did confess to having been in Iraq to fight U.S. troops there and had Iraqi stamps on their passport, the court heard. "But this does not violate [Yemeni] law," the judge said.

"Islamic Sharia law permits jihad against occupiers," he said.

Mohammed al-Maqaleh, an expert in Islamist affairs who frequently appears in Yemeni media, described the verdict as a "shock."

"The judiciary is collaborating with the Islamist extremists and this verdict is politicized," al-Maqaleh said on the telephone. He said it was another sign that President Ali Abdullah Saleh was trying to drum up support from Muslim radicals ahead of the coming presidential elections.

Saleh has long-standing ties with Islamic militants, who have stood by the administration since the 1980s. They sided with his northern government in the 1994 civil war and the successful battle against secessionists from the secular south.

CNN HERE and notice al Jazeera considers it an "al Qaeda plot" Does it really need quotes, boys? Not surprisingly, the Reuters story is identical to alJazeera's story... wondering who is parrotting who (or is that whom?)

Hell no! We won't go!

After reading of the gathering of gutless wonders in Canada, I'm suggesting a protest boycott of the event by all Vietnam veterans and those who decided to go to jail for their beliefs.

Others are invited to join in if they desire.

I expect a massive number of boycotters to miss the speeches of the various "luminaries."

Probably won't get much press coverage, though...

Update: Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients listed here (A-L) and here (M-Z). You know, for some stories of real interest.

Update2: Like this citation for SGT Sammy L. Davis:

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Battery C, 2d Battalion, 4th Artillery, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: West of Cai Lay, Republic of Vietnam, 18 November 1967. Entered service at: Indianapolis, Ind. Born: 1 November 1946, Dayton, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Davis (then Pfc.) distinguished himself during the early morning hours while serving as a cannoneer with Battery C, at a remote fire support base. At approximately 0200 hours, the fire support base was under heavy enemy mortar attack. Simultaneously, an estimated reinforced Viet Cong battalion launched a fierce ground assault upon the fire support base. The attacking enemy drove to within 25 meters of the friendly positions. Only a river separated the Viet Cong from the fire support base. Detecting a nearby enemy position, Sgt. Davis seized a machine gun and provided covering fire for his guncrew, as they attempted to bring direct artillery fire on the enemy. Despite his efforts, an enemy recoilless rifle round scored a direct hit upon the artillery piece. The resultant blast hurled the guncrew from their weapon and blew Sgt. Davis into a foxhole. He struggled to his feet and returned to the howitzer, which was burning furiously. Ignoring repeated warnings to seek cover, Sgt. Davis rammed a shell into the gun. Disregarding a withering hail of enemy fire directed against his position, he aimed and fired the howitzer which rolled backward, knocking Sgt. Davis violently to the ground. Undaunted, he returned to the weapon to fire again when an enemy mortar round exploded within 20 meters of his position, injuring him painfully. Nevertheless, Sgt. Davis loaded the artillery piece, aimed and fired. Again he was knocked down by the recoil. In complete disregard for his safety, Sgt. Davis loaded and fired 3 more shells into the enemy. Disregarding his extensive injuries and his inability to swim, Sgt. Davis picked up an air mattress and struck out across the deep river to rescue 3 wounded comrades on the far side. Upon reaching the 3 wounded men, he stood upright and fired into the dense vegetation to prevent the Viet Cong from advancing. While the most seriously wounded soldier was helped across the river, Sgt. Davis protected the 2 remaining casualties until he could pull them across the river to the fire support base. Though suffering from painful wounds, he refused medical attention, joining another howitzer crew which fired at the large Viet Cong force until it broke contact and fled. Sgt. Davis' extraordinary heroism, at the risk of his life, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

And, so far, the boycott is working, as tens of thousands of Vietnam and other veterans have not gone to Canada for the draft dodger reunion.

Re: Got weekend plans?

Greyhawk beat me to this by a few minutes...

I can't believe that these people are actually celebrating shirking their duty... and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes in speaking with the families of those that were called in these guys' places... They're calling it "Our Way Home Peace Event and Reunion."

CASTLEGAR, British Columbia -- For Craig Wiester of Minneapolis, fleeing to Canada to avoid the draft during the Vietnam war meant losing a country, a way of life - and his father.

"He felt it was a man's duty to go when his country called," Wiester said Thursday at the opening of a four-day reunion and peace event to honor U.S. draft resisters who fled to Canada and the Canadians who assisted them.

Wiester, a native of Ohio, said his father, a World War II veteran, despised the Vietnam war but "wouldn't admit to any of his conservative friends ... that he hated it" and was even more upset when his son decided not to report for military service.

Learning that his father had called the FBI and his draft board, he fled north and lived for eight years in Montreal.

This is what he says about attending his first "reunion"

"I decided this was important for me. This was a way of validating that experience," he said. "The question is why are we dishonored still in American society?"

Validate the experience? And you wonder why you are still dishonored in American Society? Well, if he has to ask the question, I figure he wouldn't score high enough on the ASVABs to serve in today's military ...

Speakers and participants include former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, 83, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 who lost to Richard Nixon; former California state Sen. Tom Hayden, an anti-war student activist during the 1960s; and Arun Ghandi, grandson of Mahatma Ghandi.

If you can stomach it, more here, here,

Got Weekend Plans?

If not, it's not too late to head to Castlegar, British Columbia for "a four-day reunion and peace event to honor U.S. draft resisters who fled to Canada and the Canadians who assisted them."

Organizers were expecting hundreds of draft resisters and their Canadian supporters to attend the gathering, which includes workshops and panel discussions at Selkirk College and the nearby Brilliant Cultural Center in this town about 120 miles north of Spokane, Wash.

Speakers and participants include former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, 83, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 who lost to Richard Nixon; former California state Sen. Tom Hayden, an anti-war student activist during the 1960s; and Arun Ghandi, grandson of Mahatma Ghandi.

Have I Tweaked GI In Korea Yet This Week?

What would our puldaeggi-munching army comrade think about the new Bruce Cumings/Meredith Woo article in the NY Times this week? (Early Bird readers: It's on Friday's EB.)

How to Make a Liar Sandwich

William C. Horvath, charged with "being a fugitive in possession of firearms or ammunition", told his probabtion officer he had been a Marine, and found himself facing additional charges.

MISSOULA, Mont. - A man who lied to his probation officer about having served in the military was ordered to stand outside the courthouse wearing a sandwich board that says: "I am a liar. I am not a Marine."

William C. Horvath, 35, of Whitefish, pleaded guilty to making false statements, a felony.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy sentenced him to four months of house arrest and four years of probation. He also ordered him to stand outside the courthouse for 50 hours wearing the sandwich board with the message.

On the back, it must read: "I have never served my country. I have dishonored veterans of all wars."

Molloy, a veteran himself, also ordered Horvath to write letters of apology to newspapers, the U.S. Marine Corps, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion in Kalispell. The judge said Horvath must admit in the letters that he lied repeatedly about serving and being wounded.

And this should sound familiar to milblog readers: after the USMC denied he had ever been a member, Horvath furnished his probation officer with evidence (including photographs and decorations) of his "service". But in those photos he was wearing his uniform improperly.

Election year generalship

While digging around for more background in my attempts to understand John Batiste's latest case of Rummy Derangement Syndrome, I came across this bit by Jed Babbin over at RealClearPolitics. It brought up the question: are the Revolting Generals engaged in healthy questioning of what is going on, Monday AM Qtrbacking, flogging a book, or engaging in election year generalship. Now, Jed isn't a neutral in this battle, but he brings up some ugly things going on in the background.

Washington Post reporter Tom Ricks's new book, "Fiasco: The American Adventure in Iraq" will be released in less than three weeks. From the publicity surrounding it we can conclude that Holbrooke did leak a big Dem political op, and that Blankley may have been prescient in thinking to apply the Uniform Code of Military Justice to any active duty officers involved.

Settlement in Navy sonar vs. whale dispute

Reported as Navy, environmental groups settle on sonar:

The settlement prevents the Navy from using the sonar within 25 miles of the newly established Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument during its Rim of the Pacific 2006 exercises, and also imposes a variety of methods to watch for and report the presence of marine mammals.

HEADS THEY WIN, TAILS WE LOSE

Am I correct to be getting frustrated here, or is my perspective of the current atmosphere back in the States as skewed as most libs are about the war?

Overcoming Postbellum Depression

So let’s take stock of where we find ourselves at this point: Saddam’s regime has been toppled, his prodigal sons killed, himself pulled out of a hole in the ground, a new constitution approved by the people, a consensual government installed, an army and police force reconstituted from scratch that has quietly assumed responsibility for most of the country, a new prime minister who has been all but Churchillian in his tenacity to reclaim the high ground against the insurgents who’ve threatened his homeland with perpetual ruin, a people who’ve courageously refused to be goaded into civil war despite the encouragement of every pundit in the world to just go ahead and do so, U.S. losses after three years still less than were vaporized in three hours on Blackened Tuesday…

I should have known we couldn’t possibly win this fight.