osmoothie
You need to know
Obama’s failed stimulus program cost more than Iraq war
Expect to hear a lot about how much the Iraq war cost in the days ahead from Democrats worried about voter wrath against their unprecedented spending excesses.
The meme is simple: The economy is in a shambles because of Bush’s economic policies and his war in Iraq. As American Thinker’s Randall Hoven points out, that’s the message being peddled by lefties as diverse as former Clinton political strategist James Carville, economist Joseph Stiglitz, and The Nation’s Washington editor, Christopher Hayes.
The key point in the mantra is an alleged $3 trillion cost for the war. Well, it was expensive to be sure, in both blood and treasure, but, as Hoven notes, the CBO puts the total cost at $709 billion. To put that figure in the proper context of overall spending since the war began in 2003, Hoven provides this handy CBO chart showing the portion of the annual deficit attributable to the conflict.
Suicide bomber kills 60+ Iraqi Army recruits
AP,
A suicide bomber sat for hours Tuesday among hundreds of army recruits before detonating nail-packed explosives strapped to his body, killing 61 people and casting new doubt on the ability of Iraqi forces as U.S. troops head home.
Bodies of bloodied young men, some still clutching job applications in their hands, were scattered on the ground outside the military headquarters in central Baghdad. Some of the estimated 1,000 men who had gathered there before dawn for a good spot in line were so desperate for work they returned hours after being treated at hospitals for injuries in the attack.
Though Iraq’s military and police recruiting centers have been attacked repeatedly, there was virtually no security provided for the hundreds of men seeking to hand in applications on the last day they were being accepted at the headquarters for the Iraqi army’s 11th Division.
State Dept. planning to field a small army in Iraq
Can diplomats field their own army? The State Department is laying plans to do precisely that in Iraq, in an unprecedented experiment that U.S. officials and some nervous lawmakers say could be risky.
In little more than a year, State Department contractors in Iraq could be driving armored vehicles, flying aircraft, operating surveillance systems, even retrieving casualties if there are violent incidents and disposing of unexploded ordnance.
Under the terms of a 2008 status of forces agreement, all U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, but they’ll leave behind a sizable American civilian presence, including the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the largest in the world, and five consulate-like “Enduring Presence Posts” in the Iraqi hinterlands.
Iran-backed group eyed attack on US bases in Iraq
AFP,
Iranian-backed militants recently received specialist training inside Iran to help mount an attack on American military bases in Iraq, the top US commander in Baghdad said on Tuesday.
General Ray Odierno detailed a plot in which he said Ketaib Hezbollah, a Tehran-sponsored Shiite insurgent group, had planned an attack in recent weeks, prompting the US army to increase its security measures.
“There has been some intelligence of Iranian surrogates attempting to attack US bases, which we are watching very carefully,” Odierno told reporters at Camp Victory, a giant US base west of the capital.
“In the last couple of weeks there has been an increased threat of a potential Iran attack … so we have increased our security in some of our bases,” said the general, who commands all 74,000 US troops stationed in Iraq.
“This is another attempt by Iran and others to attempt to influence the US role here inside of Iraq,” he added, naming Ketaib Hezbollah as the militant group behind the conspiracy, and describing the threat as “consistent”.
FAA under pressure to open US skies to drones
My Way News (AP), “FAA under pressure to open US skies to drones”
by Joan Lowy
Unmanned aircraft have proved their usefulness and reliability in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now the pressure’s on to allow them in the skies over the United States.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights for a range of pilotless planes to carry out civilian and law-enforcement functions but has been hesitant to act. Officials are worried that they might plow into airliners, cargo planes and corporate jets that zoom around at high altitudes, or helicopters and hot air balloons that fly as low as a few hundred feet off the ground.
On top of that, these pilotless aircraft come in a variety of sizes. Some are as big as a small airliner, others the size of a backpack. The tiniest are small enough to fly through a house window.
My Way News (AP) article continues here.
Last Navy SEAL court martial begins
Human Events, “Last Navy SEAL Court Martial Begins”
by Michelle Oddis
Proceedings began today at Norfolk Naval Base for Petty Officer Matthew McCabe, the last of the three Navy SEALs facing courts martial for allegedly assaulting terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed, mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater security guards in Fallujah in 2004.
Petty Officers Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe were found not guilty last month in Baghdad. Huertas and Keefe were charged with failing to protect Abed from any wrong doing, McCabe is the only SEAL to face charges of an actual assault.
McCabe’s defense attorney Neal Puckett told HUMAN EVENTS that the defense is optimistic that McCabe will also be exonerated of all charges, saying that the government has twice tried to prove that an assault took place and have failed.
Human Events article continues here.
Second Navy SEAL cleared in Iraqi abuse case
Google News (AP), “US clears 2nd Navy SEAL in Iraqi abuse case”
A U.S. military judge has cleared a Navy SEAL of wrongdoing in the alleged beating of a prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors in Iraq.
The military says the judge found insufficient evidence to convict Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe on charges of dereliction of duty.
Keefe — one of three SEALS charged in the case — was not accused of assaulting Ahmed Hashim Abed but of failing to prevent the abuse.
The case has drawn fire from at least 20 members of Congress and other Americans who see it as coddling terrorists to overcompensate for the notorious Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
Google News (AP) article continues here.
Military to replace Gen. Odierno as top Commander in Iraq in September
Fox News, “Military to Replace Gen. Odierno as Top Commander in Iraq in September”
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq for the past three years, plans to rotate out of the country at the end of the summer, when combat troops are due to leave, two military officials at the Pentagon confirmed to Fox News.
Plans for his replacement are not final, but one officials said Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin is considered the front-runner for the job. Austin has previously served under Odierno in Iraq and currently is working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Odierno is not being asked to leave nor is he retiring. The move is considered a normal rotation that was decided on among senior military leadership. The timing of Odierno’s departure coincides with Obama’s plan to have all combat troops out of Iraq at the end of September, leaving 50,000 servicemembers to “advise and assist.” At that point, Odierno will take over Joint Forces Command, which trains forces from all branches of the military to work together.
Fox News article continues here.
Gates defends soldiers in Iraq shooting video
Fox News, “Gates Defends Soldiers in Iraq Shooting Video, Says Footage Lacks Context”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday defended the soldiers shown firing on a group of people near Baghdad in a classified military video released last week, saying the troops were caught in a “split-second” situation and the video doesn’t show the “broader picture.”
Gates acknowledged that the grainy, black-and-white video showing men on the streets running from gunfire while U.S. troops appear to make playful remarks, is a “hard thing to see,” but said he doesn’t anticipate the footage will hurt the U.S. image abroad.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s clearly not helpful, but by the same token I think it should not have any lasting consequences,” Gates told ABC’s “This Week.”
Fox News article continues here.
Questions surround WikiLeak’s “Collateral Murder” video
Warning: Graphic scenes
Fox News, “Military Raises Questions About Credibility of Leaked Iraq Shooting Video”
by Justin Fishel
WikiLeaks, the self-proclaimed “whistle-blowing” investigative Web site, released a classified military video Monday that it says shows the “indiscriminate slaying” of innocent Iraqis. Two days later, questions linger about just how much of the story WikiLeaks decided to tell.
At a press conference in Washington, D.C., WikiLeaks accused U.S. soldiers of killing 25 civilians, including two Reuters journalists, during a July 12, 2007, attack in New Baghdad. The Web site titled the video “Collateral Murder,” and said the killings represented “another day at the office” for the U.S. Army.
The military has always maintained the attacks near Baghdad were justified, saying investigations conducted after the incident showed 11 people were killed during a “continuation of hostile activity.” The military also admits two misidentified Reuters cameramen were among the dead.
Fox News article continues here.
Suicide bombers target embassies in Iraq, kill 42
Yahoo! News (AP), “Suicide bombers target embassies in Iraq, kill 42”
by Elizabeth A. Kennedy and Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs in quick succession near foreign embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing more than 40 people in coordinated strikes that Iraqi officials said were intended to disrupt efforts to form a new government.
The bombings followed the execution-style killings of 24 villagers in a Sunni area two days earlier, a spike in violence that suggests insurgents are seizing on the political uncertainty after the recent election to try to destabilize the country as U.S. troops prepare to leave. No clear winner emerged from the March 7 vote.
Sunday’s explosions went off within minutes of each other, starting shortly after 11 a.m. One struck near the Iranian Embassy and two others hit an area that houses several diplomatic missions, including the Egyptian Consulate and the German and Spanish embassies. It was not immediately known whether diplomatic staff were among the victims.
Yahoo! News (AP) article continues here.
Marine’s dad ordered to pay protesters’ court fees, he refuses
Fox News, “Marine’s Father Will Not Pay Court-Ordered Funeral Protesters’ Fees”
The father of a Marine killed in Iraq whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters told Fox News he will defy a court order and not pay the protesters’ appeal costs.
Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., told Fox News he does not intend to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps, the leader of Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church, which held protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s funeral in 2006.
“I don’t think I’m going to be writing a check until I hear from the Supreme Court,” Snyder told Fox News on Tuesday. “I’m not about to pay them anything.”
The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder on Friday to pay Phelps. A two-page decision supplied by his attorneys offered no details on how the court came to its decision.
Fox News article continues here.