Iraq War Victory News Blackout

Winning Isn’t News

By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY     July 07, 2008

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=300324023809577#

Iraq: What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn’t tell the American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the news that we’ve defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq.

 
London’s Sunday Times called it “the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.” A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul.

The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush’s surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering.

We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was their friend and AQI their enemy.

Al-Qaida’s loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there.

Now, in Operation Lion’s Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended.

Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul, found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization having fled south into the countryside.

Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government has achieved “satisfactory” progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks — a big change for the better from a year ago.

Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad — an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.

But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, “the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday night about the benchmarks” that signaled political progress.

The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don’t seem to consider this historic event a big story.

GREAT WAY TO THANK OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM DON’T YOU THINK?!

 

Emanuel dynamics & Freddie Mac

 11.9.08  UPDATE

Thanks to these sources we also know Rahm Emanuel was on the board of Freddie Mac during a time when there was wrongdoing:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/11/07/truth-leaks-begin-emanuel-was-director-freddie-mac

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Blog/Default.aspx?id=314194

“President-elect Barack Obama’s newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot “red flags,” according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.”

 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6201900&page=1

 

 

Obama Administration Takes Shape

Campaign Finance Investigation Moves Forward

by Allan Erickson

It is not unfair or unkind to assert we have elected the most unqualified and unknown person President of these United States, and now we are finding out just what we purchased.

Though the price tag is yet unknown, we know it will be expensive.

The Obama administration is taking shape rapidly and the real face of the executive branch is now being revealed.  What seems dispiriting, even to some of the Left, is the former rhetoric appears to contradict the present reality.

Obama told us we should vote for him because he will change Washington, he will challenge the old partisan politics as usual, he will confront special interests and turn our bitter adversarial politics into a more mature, inclusive, unifying model.

Then he selected a vice presidential running mate, one of the most vitriolic leftwing, partisan, entrenched Washington insiders ever to clatter down the halls of the Capitol building, a man so full of anger and prone to slander, it is doubtful he can even see the aisle much less reach across it.

Signal one: the gloves come off, it’s war.

Immediately after being elected, President Elect Obama appoints a White House Chief of Staff, naming Rahm Emanuel.   Reportedly, the Chief of Staff for the President needs to be someone who can advise the President on policy, and carry out policy, and that always means getting agreement through building coalitions.  It is said all that requires an effective, diplomatic people person who uses muscle as a last resort.

Writing on Wednesday, Ezra Klein states:

“Emanuel is a brawler. He’s legendarily tough and effective and ruthless. He’s the type of guy who makes enemies, then makes lists of his enemies, then makes lists of his enemies’ friends, then makes lists of how they’ll pay. If you thought the Obama administration would be all about bringing people together and would simply make sad faces when stubborn congressmen refused to come to the table, this is a clear sign otherwise. If good feelings don’t suffice, bareknuckle politics will happily be employed.”

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=11&year=2008&base_name=rahm_emanuel

For more insight, this blog offers stunning evidence the ride ahead will be wild!

The five most infamous Rahm Emanuel moments

“Today, former Clinton advisor and Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel accepted Barack Obama’s offer to be chief of staff for the incoming president. If Emanuel’s appointment is a signal of anything, it is that the genteel, arugula-eating president-elect is coming to play hardball.”

1. Mailing a Dead Fish

2. Fundraising the Bugsy Siegel Way

3. Nearly Losing His Finger

4. Threatening Tony Blair

5. Knifing the Dinner Table

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/10236

Paul Begala, colleague of Rahm (both Bill Clinton servants and faithful partisans) characterizes Emanuel’s style as a “cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache.”   More detail re: Emanuel—six years at Clinton’s side during that presidency, consults with Clinton monthly. 

Excerpt:  When it comes to slicing and dicing his Republican foes, Emanuel applies a Chicago pol’s sensibility that recalls that famous “Untouchables” line: “He pulls a knife, you pull a gun; he sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.”

 http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/02/8387515/index.htm

The NY Times reports further on Rahm Emanuel:

“An investment banker for three years after leaving the White House and before being elected to the House. He banked $16 million while handling mergers and acquisitions with an emphasis on utilities. Mr. Emanuel’s stint in high finance and his experience in the banking world opens him to some criticism of being too allied with Wall Street, not the image Democrats want to cultivate these days. Critics have asserted he was only able to succeed in the banking world because of his political connections. Since he is part of the Daley circle, Mr. Emanuel’s appointment as chief of staff could also create the appearance of a White House that is too Chicago heavy. His manner can also create enemies, and Mr. Emanuel has ruffled the feathers of many on Capitol Hill, particularly black and Hispanic lawmakers.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06emanuel.html

Signal two: fall in line, or pay the price, AND, ignore the fact Mr. Emanuel is a Washington insider who made a fortune in mergers and acquisitions thanks to political connections, that he alienates Blacks and Hispanics, but, believe he will lead the charge to reform the economy, confront cronyism, and unify the country, bridging racial divides.  Yes, he can?!

Get the picture.   It’s already a circus.

Finally, President Elect Obama is putting together an economic advisory panel. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/08transition.html?hp

One of those invited to the meeting today in Chicago, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.

“Ms. Granholm is a strong proponent of a stimulus package in the lame-duck Congressional session. Previewing her advice to Mr. Obama, she sent a letter to Congressional leaders on Thursday urging them to finance public infrastructure projects, extend unemployment and food stamp benefits and provide aid to states and the troubled auto industry.”

Concerning this Stimulus Package:

“When the credit crisis boiled over in September, bringing the financial system to the brink of collapse and leading Congress to pass a $750 billion bailout package, Democrats began to push for a second round of stimulus.

” (the)  new package, which could cost between $150 and $300 billion, called for providing tax relief in some form for families, the goal being to step up their spending, as the rebates were intended to do earlier this year. In addition, unemployment insurance benefits would be extended beyond 39 weeks and the food stamp program would expand. Both would channel money to people who would probably spend every penny to meet their needs. But the biggest chunk, perhaps as much as $150 billion, would go to states and cities to sustain their everyday spending. President Bush and many Republicans opposed the package.”

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/u/united_states_economy/economic_stimulus/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

Signal three:  grab your wallet! (Wait, what happened to my wallet?!)

Speaking of wallets . . .

Obama Fundraising Sealed Election Win

Excerpt:

Frederick W. Rustmann Jr., the former CIA operations officer, told Newsmax: “Hillary and McCain demanded proof of citizenship of all their donors. Obama did not, so he benefitted by receiving an enormous amount of money from foreign donors who wanted to influence the U.S. election process.”

The conservative Heritage Foundation has taken the first step in what could be an in-depth investigation of Obama’s fundraising efforts, demanding that the FEC audit the Obama campaign.

The foundation issued a release on Tuesday declaring: “No doubt there is great ‘cause’ to be concerned about Obama’s fundraising effort.”

The foundation also pointed to a test by the independent National Journal to determine the veracity of allegations that the Democrat’s online fundraising system literally was designed to facilitate fraud.”

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_fundraisng/2008/11/05/148218.html?s=al&promo_code=708C-1