Libertarian Leanings

Taji Awakening

Portsmouth, New Hampshire native, Nathan Ritzo is on his second tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army.  He writes of the "Taji Awakening" in this Union Leader column.

"The surge has only been really in effect for two months," Bridges says. "It took all that time in the spring to get all the surge troops on the ground. They had to get oriented to the communities and neighborhoods that they were operating in. You have to give them time to affect the surge."

"In that two months that they've been able to operate, the security situation has changed dramatically, the reconciliation (has begun). Well, gee. Wouldn't it be better if they had six months, a year to operate at that level? Think of the difference," says Bridges. "I believe (the Iraqis) mean it. I see it in their eyes, I hear it in their voices, I feel it when I see them when they come and say, 'Thank you. We needed this opportunity.'"

Read the whole thing, and don't miss the comments by one Allen Portman, also of Portsmouth, who so ably represents the Democratic viewpoint.

Via Instapundit.

Are the poor getting poorer?

Although it's an article of faith among liberals and other leftists, Dr. Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, says no.  In America the poor are getting richer, too.

In 1971, only about 32 percent of all Americans enjoyed air conditioning in their homes. By 2001, 76 percent of poor people had air conditioning. In 1971, only 43 percent of Americans owned a color television; in 2001, 97 percent of poor people owned at least one. In 1971, 1 percent of American homes had a microwave oven; in 2001, 73 percent of poor people had one. Forty-six percent of poor households own their homes. Only about 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. The average poor American has more living space than the average non-poor individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other European cities.

Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars. Seventy-eight percent of the poor have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception; and one-third have an automatic dishwasher.

That said, a segment of the American society that remains in long term poverty is distinguished by one particular statistic.

There is far less poverty in married-couple families, where presumably at least one of the spouses is employed. Fully 85 percent of black children living in poverty reside in a female-headed household.

Poverty is not static for people willing to work. A University of Michigan study shows that only 5 percent of those in the bottom fifth of the income distribution in 1975 remained there in 1991. What happened to them? They moved up to the top three-fifths of the income distribution -- middle class or higher. Moreover, three out of 10 of the lowest income earners in 1975 moved all the way into the top fifth of income earners by 1991. Those who were poor in 1975 had an inflation-adjusted average income gain of $27,745 by 1991. Those workers who were in the top fifth of income earners in 1975 were better off in 1991 by an average of only $4,354. The bottom line is, the richer are getting richer and the poor are getting richer.

Poverty in the United States, in an absolute sense, has virtually disappeared.

My emphasis above.

Winning the war on terror

According to the most recent Rasmussen poll, the percentage of Americans who believe we are winning the war on terror has risen to 43%.

The latest Rasmussen Reports tracking poll finds that 43% of Americans now say the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. That’s up from 39% a month ago and is the highest level of optimism registered in nearly a year.

The national telephone survey found that 30% now believe the terrorists are winning. That’s up two points from a month ago but down two from the month before.

While the current readings indicate the highest level of optimism in 2007, some context is required. This year has seen by far the lowest level of optimism concerning the War on Terror yet recorded. An average of all surveys conducted this year found that just 34% believed the U.S. and its allies are winning. That’s down from 40% in 2006 and 45% in 2007. During election 2004, more than 50% routinely believed that the U.S. and its allies were winning.

The same Rasmussen story says that Republicans are trusted on national security by 45% of those polled as opposed to 41% who trust the Democrats. 

Job One

In northern Iraq job one is keeping al Qaeda on the ropes, according to Army Major General Mark P. Hertling, who recently took command of Multinational Division North.

Northern Iraq is a very complex unique and diverse environment, Hertling said, adding that the area is on “the verge of doing some strong things as Iraqis stand up against terrorism.”

Division soldiers discovered a huge explosively formed projectile factory in Diyala province that illustrates progress the area is making. An Iraqi citizen, tired of violence, told an Iraqi policeman of his suspicions about a house in his neighborhood. The policeman, in turn, went to his higher headquarters and the coalition.

Iraqi and coalition soldiers raided the house and found the largest cache of the killer projectiles, which included 130 pre-made weapons and 170 of the copper plates that form the projectiles themselves. The soldiers also found more than 600 pounds of C-4 explosives, rockets, mortar rounds and mortar tubes.

Hertling said cooperation from all strata of the command made the raid possible. The discovery hurt the enemy -- in this case, Shiite extremist groups most likely allied with Iran -- very badly.

This is Hertling’s second tour in Iraq. He was in country in 2004 as the assistant division commander. “Some of the things we’re seeing here -- the awakening, the reconciliation, the concerned local citizens -- all those things are a result of the people beginning to see they are, in fact, getting better security,” he said. “There is the potential for the government to start standing up.”

The Iraqi people appear to have made a decision to support the Iraqi government and the coalition. “This is much different than it was when I was here a couple of years ago, when it seemed the Iraqi people were on the fence and trying to decide which way things were going to go,” he said.

Michael B. Mukasey

The nomination of Michael B. Mukasey has hit a predictable but ludicrous snag -- posturing Democrats.

Mukasey's (and the White House's) problems began during his Oct. 18 Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. At the hearing veteran Illinois Senator Dick Durbin asked Mukasey a deceptively simple question: is waterboarding torture? 

There's a problem with the Illinois Democrat's deceptively simple question.  He and his colleagues had ample opportunity to answer it once and for all legislatively. 

The irony here is that Congress has twice had the chance to ban waterboarding, or simulated drowning, but has twice declined to do so. In both the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Congress only barred "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment. While some Members have said they believe waterboarding is banned by that language, when given the chance to say so specifically in a statute and be accountable for it, they refused.

Business as usual.

US targets al Qaeda's media wing

Bill Roggio reports that U.S. and Iraqi forces continue to target al Qaeda's propaganda capabilities.

Coalition and Iraqi special operations forces continue to target al Qaeda's propaganda capabilities. Over the summer, US forces scored a major victory with the capture of Khalid Abdul Fatah Da’ud Mahmud al Mashadani, also known as Abu Shahed. Mashadani was al Qaeda's minister of information and served as the go between for al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al Masri and Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. The capture of Mashadani has shed light on al Qaeda's media operations, and has allowed Multinational Forces Iraq to roll up al Qaeda's media cells throughout Iraq.

"Since the surge began, we’ve uncovered eight separate al Qaeda media offices and cells, have captured or killed 24 al Qaeda propaganda cell members and have discovered 23 terabytes of information," said Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, the chief Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Forces Iraq in a press briefing. Most recently, four members of al Qaeda's al Furqan media cell in Mosul were captured, "including the media emir of Mosul, the former head of Mosul’s media cell who had established the al Qaeda communications hub in Baghdad, a foreign terrorist from Saudi Arabia who is proficient in video editing and special effects, and a computer graphics specialist," the Armed Forces Press Service reported. Cells have also been broken up in Baghdad, Diyala, Tarmiyah, Samarra and Karma.

So when do they go after the Washington Post?

The next excuse

Frederick W. Kagan writes that America has won an important battle in the war on terror.   At the end of 2006 when al Qaeda's prospects in Iraq were at their highest, Democrats and their media allies declared defeat, and demanded a troop pullout.  General David Petraeus's plan to do just the opposite changed all that.

We turned an imminent victory for Al Qaeda In Iraq into a humiliating defeat for them and thereby created an opportunity for further progress not only in Iraq, but also in the global struggle. In the past five months, terrorist operations in and around Baghdad have dropped by 59 percent. Car bomb deaths are down by 81 percent. Casualties from enemy attacks dropped 77 percent. And violence during the just-completed season of Ramadan--traditionally a peak of terrorist attacks--was the lowest in three years...

...Al Qaeda In Iraq today is broken. Individual al Qaeda cells persist, in steadily shrinking areas of the country, but they can no longer mount the sort of coherent operations across Iraq that had become the norm in 2006. The elimination of key leaders and experts has led to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the al Qaeda bombings that do occur, hence the steady and dramatic declines in overall casualty rates.

All this happened because President Bush did not give in to Democrat demands.  Now that Al Qaeda is going down to defeat in Iraq just as it was defeated in Afghanistan in 2001, expect a change in the Democratic rhetoric.  Where once they demanded the troops be pulled out because the war was lost, expect them now to demand troops be pulled out because the war has been won. 

Al Jazeera the collaborator

Osama bin Laden's plea for reinforcements has had a surprising effect.  Al Jazeera, the network that aired his audio tape, has come under attack for collaborating with "the Crusaders."

"God fight Al-Jazeera," railed one militant Web poster, calling the station a "collaborator with the Crusaders" for suggesting the tape showed weakness in al-Qaida and featuring discussions of how the tape reflected weaknesses and divisions among insurgents in Iraq.

The recording aired Monday contained unusually strong criticism of insurgents in Iraq from bin Laden, who urges them to admit mistakes and unify. Bin Laden even aknowledges that he advises himself not to be "fanatical" in his stances.

"Some of you have been lax in one duty, which is to unite your ranks," bin Laden said. "Beware of division ... Muslims are waiting for you to gather under a single banner to champion righteousness. Be keen to oblige with this duty."

"I advise myself, Muslims in general and brothers in al-Qaida everywhere to avoid extremism among men and groups," he said.

The tape was met with a cautiously positive response from at least one insurgent coalition that has been opposed to al-Qaida.

But the Al-Fajr Media Center, which usually posts al-Qaida video and audio tapes on the Web, accused Al-Jazeera of "counterfeiting the facts" by making the speech appear as exclusively critical of insurgents.

"Al-Jazeera directors have shamefully chosen to back the Crusaders' side, and the defenders of hypocrites and the thugs and traitors of Iraq," Al-Fajr said in a statement posted on several Islamic Web sites.

Another Web contributor even rattled off a five-stanza poem of rhymed couplets, comparing the station to a "miserable fly in the garbage" and concluding, "Your day will come, vile one. As long as we live, you won't be safe, Jazeera."

Wouldn't it be something to see David Horowitz and Al Jazeera wind up in the same camp.  Like minded people are trying to shut both of them up.

Trying to get a word in edgewise...

...and not succeeding is how it went at Emory University when David Horowitz took the podium for his lecture on radical Islam.  Protesters, many who were obviously not part of the student body, became so disruptive that police were called in and Horowitz had to be escorted off stage.

Many in the audience left the event disappointed. After the event, even some students who proclaimed their hatred David Horowitz expressed their disappointment and sadness with what transpired. Other students and professors expressed that this made Emory look bad. “Even the students who did not agree with David Horowitz did not get a chance to speak their minds because of the protesters’ disruptive actions,” said Emory Professor Mark Bauerlein. “No one was able to listen to the lecture or to speak themselves – pro or con – everyone was shut down.”

Although the actions of campus leftists culminated during David Horowitz’s lecture, in reality what transpired is indicative of what has become a toxic environment on today’s university campuses. Conservative viewpoints are repeatedly stifled and censored, and often those who dare to question the left-wing orthodoxy are treated as second-class citizens on campus. Emory University is no exception, and has once again demonstrated the campus community’s utter intolerance and inability to engage in civil debate.

When Horowitz left the stage protesters began to chant, “This is what democracy looks like.”  But reflecting on the incident afterwards Horwitz said, “We’ve already won this debate.” 

Sununu wins one for the net

New Hampshire Republican John Sununu provided the leverage for Senate passage of a seven-year extension of the internet tax moratiorium.

Internet consumers scored a victory in Washington last night, thanks to Senator John Sununu (R., N.H.), with big assists from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden. The Senate passed a seven-year extension of the Internet tax moratorium, with robust language that should stiff-arm even the most voracious state and local governments looking for loopholes to tax your email.

Mr. McConnell created negotiating leverage by forcing on to the Senate schedule a vote on Mr. Sununu's permanent Net tax ban. The last thing moratorium opponents wanted was to face an up-or-down vote on a permanent ban, which is why they recently cancelled a committee vote when it became clear they had underestimated the popularity of the tax moratorium.

The House is expected to pass it next week.