Saturday, June 24, 2006

Synergy in June: Will This be the Turning Point?

It’s been well over two weeks since Zarqawi met his maker. By now, he is surely not much more than a burnt offering being presented to the Devil, who himself is probably turning up his nose. Despite the stench from Hell, those left among the living in Iraq have likely found the aftermath highly encouraging.

As we watched this story unfold, many will remember that in addition to the house where Zarqawi was holed up, 17 other locations were also being watched and the Zarqawi bust was only one of several successful raids that took place on the same day or shortly following. That in itself was a story, illustrating as it does, that some very good cooperation and skillful management of intelligence and police action is taking place in Iraq and the credit can go, partly at least, to the training Iraqi enforcement agencies have received from Americans.

Shortly after the day this sweep took place, news came of documents and a laptop being found in the house where Zarqawi was killed yielding a wealth of information. Whether true or not (how could a laptop survive the bombing, some have asked), there have been numerous further raids and arrests since that most auspicious event. Obviously some excellent information had been scooped from somewhere, as several key Al Qaeda figures have been captured or killed. One senses from the pro-democracy Iraqi bloggers and their allies in the West, as well as from the news itself, that a critical turning point was achieved on that day.

This was also, of course, the day Maliki announced the completion of his cabinet. Prime Minister Maliki appears to be "The Man". Within a few short days, very decisive and effective action has been taken. A massive search and arrest sweep of Baghdad has begun, featuring long awaited security measures for the beleaguered capital. A door to door census is underway. Iraq the Model has kept its readers up to date on these developments, posting six times since June 14th on the new government’s initiative. A drop in terror attacks, in Baghdad at least, has been notable

Could this be the beginning of the end for terrorism in Iraq as a whole? One can only hope so. A number of Iraqi bloggers have suggested in their blogs more than once that securing Baghdad is the key to securing the country.

Iraq has so much to show to the world. I have no doubt that once peace is established the Cradle of Civilization will rise to greatness once again, as it has so many times throughout its ancient history. We can only wait and see, but no war lasts forever and there are so many good things happening that the main stream news does not cover, I am very confident that a strong and vibrant model of democracy in the Middle East is about to have its debut.

Oh. And in other news. Saddam Hussein narrowly escapes death. After missing one meal, he declares his hunger strike over. What a relief!! What a lion of a man!! What a joke!!!

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Sunday, June 18, 2006

Go Arabian Knight!!!!!

This one is too good to pass up. Go read the attack on catty catnip's dipstick ideology on her blog by none other than the Knight in Shining Armour himself. He's got her squirming. It's in the comments thread following this post. She's threatened to ban him. Quelle surprise!!!!

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Thursday, June 15, 2006

Translation Please!!

Okay. What is this woman trying to say?????

She seems to be saying the document is bogus because the translation of it uses English words rather than the original Arabic.

Duh!!

Or maybe she's just mimicking the take posited by the author of last link she provides, which pretty much suggests the same thing. This is truly a sorry state of affairs when individuals on the left can no longer even think, let alone think for themselves. Maybe it's just as well. They get to spread around disinformation ad nauseam, which wouldn't be so easy if they actually had to think through their arguments beforehand. After all, we shouldn't make it too difficult for them.

Do you know, dear catty catnip, that the English word "God" in Arabic is "Allah"? Did you know that Mohammed, the founder of the Muslim faith, was an Arab, and according to Arab tradition, is therefore a descendant of Abraham (Ibraham, in Arabic). Arabs trace their ancestry though the servant girl, Hagar. (Actually Abraham's wife, Sarah's, servant girl. Yes, the old patriarch had his way with the servant girls, but that was then and this is now and I'm told the Bible is full of stuff like that.)

This is the very same Abraham who figures prominently in Jewish and Christian tradition and the God of Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch, is the very same God to which both Jesus and Mohammed refer in their teachings? So just why do you presume the word "Allah" should have been used rather than the English word "God", which means and refers to EXACTLY THE SAME DEITY, just in a different language?????? After all, it is a translation, catty catnip, and I must presume you know what the word "translation" means. At least I hope you do.

Did you know, also, catty catnip, that English is spoken as a first or second language, and is being taught and learned by more people on the planet than any other language? Did you know that the use of the English language in Iraq by Iraqis goes back a very long way? Hell, my late father-in-law, a Baghdadi Arab who passed away a couple of years ago at the age of ninety-two, had a long career in the foreign exchange department of the Rafidain Bank in Baghdad and was familiar with seven languages, English being one of his strongest (all of which kind of helps when you deal with foreign currencies every day).

Did you think there would be no native Arabic speaker in Iraq who could instantly translate this document within minutes of it being found? Did you not know that the coalition forces in Iraq have Iraqi translators with them almost all the time? You seem to be disputing its authenticity in total ignorance of these facts? (Well I forgive you if you didn't know about my father-in-law.)

If you are not ignorant of these things, then WHAT IS THE RATIONALE FOR YOUR SKEPTICISM????

So you want to dispute the document's authenticity? Fine. But you sure haven't made your case. Why not use a real argument using real evidence? All you've done is confirm your status as a dingbat. Near as I can figure, what you are really saying is you don't want it to be true, and therefore it isn't.

I await your next catty, airheaded remark. Better luck next time. I'm not holding my breath for anything of substance, though.

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Sunday, June 11, 2006

Catty Catnip Weighs in on Zarqawi Bust

UPDATE: Catnip misses the point, as usual. Now she's going on and on about Michael Berg, father of Nick Berg, beheading victim of Abu Musab Zarqawi. She blathers on about the evils of revenge, blah, blah, blah.

Look, dingbat. Revenge has nothing to do with it. Zarqawi was a rampaging murderer. You would rather have him continue than be stopped??? Why don't you spend a few moments and listen to what Iraqis have to say about his death. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here.


Original Post:

Well. Sort of. Her first crack at it, on June 8th, amounts to Rumsfeld bashing. On June 9th, she then gives passing mention to him in a story about ABC television outing a Zarqawi informant. And then.....and then..... Well, sorry folks. That's all she wrote....literally. She's probably right to call ABC to account for doing this, but where is her relief and jubulation about the scumbag? She doesn't even come close to commenting on the biggest story since Saddam Hussein was pulled out of the hole, let alone expressing anything positive. Of course, there's the usual verbal diarrhea lambasting America, and the Bush administration in particular. This woman is a complete airhead. I'll bet she is one of the three people who vote for the Marxist Leninist Party every time there is a federal election.

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Saturday, June 10, 2006

Some Post-Zarqawi Reflections on the War on Terror

UPDATED: Mister Ghost has done an excellent round-up of the opinions of various Iraqi bloggers on the death of Zarqawi at Iraqi Bloggers Central. Read that and weep, lefties.


Blogosphere was intensely alive following the news of Zarqawi’s appointment with the devil this past week. On the blogs where I post comments, populated as they are by supporters of the War on Terror, everyone was ecstatic with the news. Yet none of the long-time posters, most of whom, I am sure, understand the relationship between Iraq’s former regime and terror, believed the death of Zarqawi, would bring about an immediate end to the violence in that country. I guess you could say, we neo-cons have a deeper understanding of things like this than do the folks on the left.

I normally like to make up my own mind, but in this instance, I cannot bear to read any blog that does little more than bash the countries that toppled the Ba’athist regime in Baghdad. I deliberately stay away from the extreme leftist blog sites, because the strident bigotry against all things American to the exclusion of everything else disturbs my soul at its very depths. This is not because I worship at the feet of our southern neighbour, as obviously there are a few little irritants between our two countries that need to be cleaned up. Rather, it is because I care deeply about Iraq and its future, and about the Middle East as a whole, and the left would rather fixate on hating Bush and the Republicans, even if it means Muslims continue to rot in hell while they do it.

So I will admit, I have formed my opinion of blogs like the Daily Kos, and others, by reading those of my fellow neo-con posters, who do, and only God knows how they do, manage to read them quite regularly. I was not surprised, then, to read comments describing the reaction on left-wing sites to the news of Zarqawi’s demise. The lefties’ opinions, apparently, ranged from outright denial that the monster ever existed, to conspiracy theories about how America was using him, to hyped-up and totally ludicrous claims that we neo-cons believed this would bring about an immediate end to the violence.

This region of the world is one of the most brutally oppressed and heavily indoctrinated by a poisonous ideology of any place on the planet. The conditions within many Islamic and Arab countries is deplorable and, contrary to what the left would have us all believe, it is the dictators at the helm, and only they, who must accept the blame for that. It has been festering for more than sixty years and parts of it, most notably the brutal Wahabi brand of Isalm, for much, much longer than that.

One should not be surprised that among my favorite blogs are those maintained by Arabs and Muslims themselves, who, of course, have similar views to mine. One, an Arab-American woman calling herself Nadz, had this to say about Zarqawi’s demise:

It's a great day on a personal level for me, one that I've been looking forward to for a while. When I first saw a video of Zarqawi beheading Eugene Armstrong, it not only made me sick to the core, it altered the way I thought about, well, the world. About terrorist fanatics and the lengths of their savagery. There was something extremely personal about my anger towards the monster. Then there was the Jordanian bombing, which hit friends of a relative of mine. So I feel nothing but sheer joy that the bastard is gone. Makes me wish I believed in Hell.”

Another, by a fellow Canadian calling himself Arabian Knight, had this to say:

The best way to wipe out the threat of terrorists from Muslim Extremists is to change the very conditions in the Middle East that help breed their kind of philosophy. And there's no other way of achieving that other than a radical overhaul in the status-quo in the Middle East.”

This is exactly what the War on Terror is all about and it will be a long struggle. The death of one depraved monster is only a small step in a very long road which lies ahead. The War on Terror will be fought in many ways. Some of it will be outright “hot” warfare, as it is now in Iraq, and some of it will be similar to the Cold War, but the vision in sight at the end of the row, is democracy. And a great many Muslims the world over are yearning to realize this vision.

I'll quote some more of Nadz, the American woman's, remarks:

Yes! Zarqawi is dead, courtesy of our troops, Iraqis and some Jordanian assistance on the side. It's a wonderful day for all. Congratulations to Iraqis today on getting rid of a scumbag who brought them a world of misery. Woohooo!

Good riddance to pure evil - Osama, there's another missile with your name on it
.”

Yes, Osama. And let me say, I would be very proud if it turns out to be one of my fellow Canucks who finally nabs you. We have a place at the North Pole for you and the Polar Bears are hungry.

(This entry is cross-posted with modifications at Research for Arts for Democracy)

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Thursday, June 08, 2006

Zarqawi is Toast!!!!

Only two days after we older types commemorate D-Day in Europe, we get news from Iraq. Poetic justice, I say. Definitely a significant turning point in Iraq.

Some absolutely superb comments at ITM about this, too.

Like this:

"A famous person once said "Every man's death diminishes me". Or something like that.
I checked very carefully and found two molecules misssing from a pimple on my left buttocks. Not sure that was a fair trade, but wot da 'ell, it's war and we all all have to make scrifices. Sucker better stay dead."
stehpinkeln

...and this..

"Na-na na-na-na na na na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye
Hey hey-hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye"

Peter - Australia

... and another ..

"It may be even better than we had hoped...


According to Reuters, "Zarqawi was apparently injured at first... The Americans found him. They handed him over to the Iraqis and he later died of his injuries," ABC said.

WOW! So his last moments on earth were spent injured and in the hands of some very angry Iraqis.


I hope they let him know what Iraqis thought of him.


Fantastic."
Tom W.

...and one more...

"Bury him upside down with a porkchop in his face. "Here lies Zarqawi: Murderer of the innocent""

Aaron

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Sunday, June 04, 2006

More Lunacy from the Catty Liberal - er - liberal catnip

Or

The Catty Catnip Weighs in on the Terrorist Bust in Toronto.

The Catty Catnip: "Earlier today, on CTV's Question Period, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day repeated the old, tired and just plain wrong line that because Canadian troops are in Afghanistan, the risk of terrorist attacks in Canada is 'diminished'.

I have never understood that logic and it certainly flies in the face of what's gone on this weekend with multiple arrests of alleged homegrown terrorists. Now tell me, Mr Day, why didn't the fact that our soldiers are in Afghanistan protect us from these people?"

Well, catnip, my little one, consider this. Perhaps there isn't a direct line between Afghanistan and the sweep in Toronto this past weekend, but I can tell you this. The arrests of these suspects happened on Stephen Harper's watch, not on Jean Chretien's watch, nor Martin's, and most of "these people" arrived in Canada during the era of capital "L" Liberalism. (Or should that be capital "L" Liberal-dumb?)

The Catty Catnip further asks: Why werent (sic) mps warned of terrorism?

Well, if you believe what this Liberal MP has to say, I think this arrest may have saved us from "these people" far more than anything the Liberals did. I believe they were warned, darlin' - by one of yours. In 2004.

So you see, catnip, perhaps the question you should be asking is: Why weren't Liberals listening, even when one of their own issued the warning?

And what was that again about Canadians being aware that this could happen here?

(Question to self: Why does this woman remind me of the stereotypical meanest-bully-in-the-teenage-snob-girl-clique in one of those grade B teen movies? All gossip and backstabbing and no substance. No analysis. Nothing but pure unadulterated bloviation.)

Liberals. Is catnip your creation? Please tell me she's not, 'cause boy, if she is, do you have some work to do!

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