The President has an opportunity to demonstrate dire consequences for all those who would attack an American flagged vessel.
What’s needed is the use of immediate and decisive force. Any ships responding to the pirates’ calls for assistance should be blown out of the water – once in their life-boats, they must surrender all weapons on be sunk. Round up any survivors.
Siege the ship, or lifeboat, or whatever where they are holding the remaining hostage, the captain. Go in hard, allowing those who immediately surrender to be taken into USS Navy custody, while killing the others for resisting.
Surviving pirates, including those who lost their ships when they came to aid the pirates should be taken ashore and told to identify their homes and families and the homes of their families, friends and loved ones. Commandos should enter each of those buildings, throwing out the occupants without allowing them to take any personal items from the homes. They the commandos should torch, firebomb and flamethrower the residences down to the rubble. Then place small charges and blow up the foundation, damaging it enough that it can’t be reused.
Leave behind leaflets in local dialect bearing the words, “American Flagged vessels should not be attacked”.
Establish a set of repercussions so devastating that pirates avoid US flagged ships.
Hi folks!Cheryl wrote in a note recently: "If Senator Clinton wants scary, I'll be glad to send her my journal page for when we came under RPG attack in the wilds of Iraq..."Cheryl, get me in a situation like that and I promise to immediately have a Bladder Failure Moment. As partial atonement for living my trite civvie ways let me risk saying this too often:Thank You Very Very Much.I have been threatened with a gun once - once - and while I didn't immediately gibber I will never forget (and this was twenty years ago) the cold-water feeling of knowing that my life could end in the next instant. Scared the living bejeez out of me, as I think it would Sen. Clinton. She, also, would to this day be able to recall the details vividly at the drop of a hat.There is some talk of "primary fatigue" and "let's go positive", and I understand. In fact, what we say and do *is* positive, inlcuding this. This battle against those who are (as of yesterday, unapologetically) using Race and Religion as their weapons is the kind of battle that is unethical not to fight.
Senator Clinton has specifically attempted to place herself among Cheryl and her comrades and claim their valor. Thereby diminishing the valor of Cheryl, specifically, and millions of others who have gone into harms way and in many cases not come back.Truth and Troops versus Race and Religion.The Opposition is flying into a spinning rage of filth-flinging because they know that if the air clears long enough for people to pay attention to this story they are doomed. Not only do I encourage you all to keep pushing this story (and all it's components), but every time I read the poignant bits like Cheryl's comments I am inclined to respond with absolutely nothing else, regardless what the initial attack is.In fact, this is exactly what the Clinton machine does."What color does Mrs. Clinton like?""Rev. Wright is such a racist that the Honorable Senator Clinton can't think about her favorite colors anymore."Follow your own inclinations on details, but I strongly suggest that if we can push the Truth and Troops story above all else, this contest may well be over on April 22.-chris> From: Cheryl > If Senator Clinton wants scary, I'll be glad to send her my journal page for when we came under RPG attack in the wilds of Iraq (not the Green Zone or anywhere like that, not even a city, just vast, open desert in all directions) in a 3-vehicle convoy, and not the up-armored stuff they're trying to deploy there now. This was back in 2003, at the beginning. Senator Clinton, if you were scared in Tuzla, you'd have been a blithering mass of hysteria like our translator was that day....> Or maybe the time I was taking my nightly (when I could get the time off) walk around our base perimeter, and mortars started coming in. Should I go straight back to HQ? No, f*** 'em -- if I run, they win. When I finally got back, my team sergeant said, "Where WERE you? We had incoming!" "Oh, sorry," I said. "I was out walking, with my earphones on, and didn't hear it." "Well, next time we get incoming, I want you to come back here!" "Will do, Sergeant -- but just to let you know, the minute I begin, I'm already on the way back." In other words, he never said to take the most DIRECT route back!
> How about standing near the gate of our compound, talking to an Iraqi whose mission that day seemed to be to waste my time with trivialities? I was trying to tell him I only wanted information about the bad guys, when suddenly a mortar fell not very far from where we were standing. Without skipping a beat, I pointed in that direction and yelled at him, "THAT! That's what I want to hear about! If you have any information about who's doing that, come talk to me!"
Hi folks!John Morgan at the Pennsylvannia Progressive did a followup interview with General Stewart in regards to the Stolen Valor letter that Mr.Morgan published and General Stewart commented on. This is yet another note in the battle between the Obama camp's message of "Truth and Troops" and compares dramatically with the Clinton Camp's self-professed message of "Race and Religion.
-cheers!-chrishttp://pennsylvaniaprogressive.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/it-was-the-lie.html"It was the lie heard 'round the world."I sat down with retired Major General Walter L. Stewart Jr. this afternoon to chat about national security matters, his involvement with the Obama campaign and the Tammi Hetherington letter which stirred international interest about Hillary Clinton Bosnia Blunder. I published Tammi's letter last week and prefaced it with comments Gen. Stewart had made about the issue of "valor theft." We discussed that and more today but his most worthy comment was about his Goggle search following the publication of that article.I'll provide a bit more of the back story of the article for reference. Last week I was approached by a friend of Tammi's about publishing her letter about Sen. Clinton's claim to have been under sniper fire when she visited Bosnia in 1996. Of course we all now know it didn't happen but last week this remained a controversy. After reading Tammi's letter I immediately sensed it s importance within the public dialog taking place about the remarks the former First Lady made on St. Patrick's day. I also put it context with statements made that very morning by Major General Stewart. I put them together in an article which had significant impact. So much impact, in fact, that the General found references and links to it all over the world. I'll attest to that from looking at my site traffic. This article had the third biggest impact of anything that's ever been on this blog. Hits came, literally, from everywhere. It was, in his terms, "the lie heard 'round the world."It was a lie heard 'round the world because a young lady came forward with the courage to speak truth to power. A former Army Specialist dared speak out against Hillary Rodham Clinton, candidate for President and former First Lady. It was a brave act. Tammi has probably taken more hits from this than any danger she faced in Bosnia.My primary reason for interviewing Gen. Stewart however was to find out why he, a former military man and Republican, switched Parties to support Barack Obama. He said something I've heard very often from former Republicans: "I didn't leave the Republican party, the Republican party left me." Describing himself as an old fashioned sort of conservative, he believes in a strong military but also in using our power properly, morally and in accordance with our nations' principles.That's why he became a Democrat I suppose. Barack Obama strikes this history student of a General as Jeffersonian while his former GOP leaders impress him as Hamiltonians. You need to be a history buff to comprehend that, but, basically, he see Barack Obama as someone who understands what he doesn't know and smart enough to surround himself with smart people who do. That's always a crucial attribute in a president and something we've lacked under our current Chief Executive.Stewart believes "the beacon of hope has been turned off in this country." Hillary Clinton contributed to this when she voted for the AUMF and ceded Congress' constitutional powers of war and peace to the president. He believes Barack Obama is rekindling that beacon of hope in us all. As a career military man and student of history the Major General discussed the importance of civilian control of the military and that the king, monarch or other executive not have power over the sword: the ability, on their own, to make war or peace. It must be a deliberative process with open debate for an open, democratic society to decide to go to war, to send our young people into harm's way. These are themes we've been addressing here for some time.We also discussed the issue of torture. I asked the General why so many Americans have become so enamored of torture and the inhumane treatment of other people. He's mystified that America so readily and easily abandoned our moral high ground too. He had a great quote about our use of torture: "there are more souls at stake in torture than tortured souls." How true, how very true.Lexington and Concord was "the shot heard 'round the world" and, as the General pointed out, Tammi's letter made Sen. Clinton's Bosnia statements "the lie heard 'round the world." I was honored to publish her letter and to meet Gen. Stewart.
I have grown old enough that hard details don’t stick in my head very well. Rather, I tend to remember impressions of relative value. In so doing, I fall into a bad habit of thinking that the other guy is not justified in pointing out my screw ups because his screw ups are so much worse than mine. This seems to happen when I am defending myself and I forget that the other guy ever did anything good and I forget that I ever did anything bad. When I fall into this posture, I can never agree with the other guy unless he actually admits he has done something bad. Then, I can continue to ignore my own screw ups or I can consider reciprocating and admitting that I have screwed up too.
Now, if I was right about my impression that I am not nearly as bad as the other guy, then it should be relatively easy for me to admit that I am wrong. Sure, I don’t like to admit that I am wrong but, if my error is just a little one, then the pride I have to swallow is relatively easy. If I swallow my pride, I may expect the other guy to swallow his pride as well but, if he has really screwed up big time, then it is really hard for him. I think this is a reality which I am guilty of forgetting again and again.
Last night, I found on the hillaryclinton.com web site, a claim that the Obama campaign lied about the Bosnian sniper story. We are accused of calling the story prepared script but we document this claim by linking a page on the Clinton site which they report to be transcript of actual spoken words and not the script prepared for her to present. They also point out the fruit of our lie; that the media has spread our false identification into the public arena. They document this by a link to a lengthy article which details Hillary’s history of repeating the sniper story, claiming that the author referenced prepared script and not spoken transcript.
Wow! Look at this: Hillary seems to be admitting that she made up a story because she remembered it wrong and she repeated it over and over again although she knew it was false but, we are so arrogant that we cannot admit we lied about identification of prepared script versus spoken transcript. Am I that arrogant? Can I not admit any fault in myself? Is Hillary right on this and I am wrong? … oh, my feeble mind.
The USA Today/Gallup survey clearly explains why Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is losing. Asked whether the candidates were “honest and trustworthy,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won with 67 percent, with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) right behind him at 63. Hillary scored only 44 percent, the lowest rating for any candidate for any attribute in the poll.
Hillary simply cannot tell the truth. Here’s her scorecard:
Admitted Lies
• Chelsea was jogging around the Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. (She was in bed watching it on TV.)• Hillary was named after Sir Edmund Hillary. (She admitted she was wrong. He climbed Mt. Everest five years after her birth.)• She was under sniper fire in Bosnia. (A girl presented her with flowers at the foot of the ramp.)• She learned in The Wall Street Journal how to make a killing in the futures market. (It didn’t cover the market back then.)
Whoppers She Won’t Confess To
• She didn’t know about the FALN pardons.• She didn’t know that her brothers were being paid to get pardons that Clinton granted.• Taking the White House gifts was a clerical error.• She didn’t know that her staff would fire the travel office staff after she told them to do so.• She didn’t know that the Peter Paul fundraiser in Hollywood in 2000 cost $700,000 more than she reported it had.• She opposed NAFTA at the time.• She was instrumental in the Irish peace process.• She urged Bill to intervene in Rwanda.• She played a role in the ’90s economic recovery.• The billing records showed up on their own.• She thought Bill was innocent when the Monica scandal broke.• She was always a Yankees fan.• She had nothing to do with the New Square Hasidic pardons (after they voted for her 1,400-12 and she attended a meeting at the White House about the pardons).• She negotiated for the release of refugees in Macedonia (who were released the day before she got there).
With a record like that, is it any wonder that we suspect her of being less than honest and straightforward?
From what I have gathered, Michigan might hold another primary vote, and that is potentially harmful to Senator Obamas' campaign. So we need to do something. I have been making phone calls to Michiganders/ gals to let them know that Senator Obama may again need their support. I am in Detroit now for work, so I am also talking to as many people as possible. I encourage you to do the same. According to local polls, Senator Obama has done well in the Caucuses while Senator Clinton has done well in Primaries. The talk is that they will hold a primary here to take the place of the caucus that has already occurred.
A topic of enlightenment for myself, what the heck is the deal with Senator Clinton and the Bosnia thing? I don't get a chance to watch too much TV, so I read blogs and everyone says she lied about snipers or something. Either way, If you could enlighten me I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.
Ok! Now I'm really worried. Sen. Hillary Clinton's recent exaggeration of events in 1996 in Bosnia have caused me great concern.
She told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently, and I quote:
"I was sleep deprived, and I misspoke."
This raises a critical question. If Sen. Clinton receives a 3:00 AM call, that would contribute (however minorly) to sleep-deprivation. What happens if she misspeaks at that time? Would it precipitate World War III or something?
Scary.
I've had a long day at work coordinating care for pregnant women who may have medical problems themselves, which puts their pregnancy at risk and/or receiving the news there is something wrong with their baby. Some have financial resources and a supportive network of family, friends and community and others do not. I then come home to less than favorable political news.
Hillary Clinton's revelation is that she can make a mistake in her speech because she's human. Her outright fabrication of what occured when she arrived at Bosnia "under sniper fire" and "had to quickly run to their cars" when she was actually greated very warmly by Bosnian representatives to include an 8 year old girl who admired her. In addition, she has repeatedly claimed she was not supportive of NAFTA; however, it was noted in the thousands of papers released recently by her that she not only supported NAFTA, but helped and lobbied for her husband to get it passed. Bill has brought out the MI and FL issue, eluding that somehow the Obama campaign has "disenfranchised the voters" because he knows "she would win the nomination" if they were included. And, lets bring out the hatchet by Hillary addressing the "Wright" issue at this particular time.
Now, my question is whether Hillary and Bill want the Presidential nomination at all costs or does the Democratic Party actually mean something to them? It is obvious they will do anything to try to discredit Barack Obama to the point of making the Republicans case for them. MI and FL made their own bed by holding their primaries before Super Tuesday...going against the DNC rules.
My next quetion is if HRC was leading in the delegate count, popular vote, had won more states and her opponent had these types of revelations regarding what they had publicly told the American people, would that person still be encouraged to run as a candidate? I would say, NOT! The only reason HRC is still in this race is because she is a "Clinton" and has "old ties" in the political arena.
Last question, how long is the DNC going to let this obvious desperation of a losing candidate continue? At all costs? Or, will the answer be like VP Cheney's remark when questioned about the 4000 lives lost in Iraq, "So!"?
Please put an end to this mentality. Vote for someone with integrity, judgement, the capacity to reach out to all people, the ability to unify our country and someone who cares about you! Please vote for Barack Obama!!
The Page
Politics up to the Minute by Mark Halperin | Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Obama Camp Memo on Clinton Saying She “Misspoke”
”First time in 12 years she misspoke?
TODAY on KDKA Pittsburgh radio: “You know I have written about this and described it in many different settings and I did misspeak the other day. This has been a very long campaign. Occasionally, I am a human being like everybody else. The military took great care of us. They were worried about taking a First Lady to a war zone and took some extra precautions and worried about all sorts of things. I have written about it in my book and talked about it on many other occasions and last week, you know, for the first time in 12 or so years I misspoke.” http://www.kdkaradio.com/pages/22441.php?contentType=34&contentId=592
Really? Below are four instances where Hillary Clinton misremembers sniper fire upon her arrival in Bosnia. (With some video of her reading her remarks.)
MARCH 17: Clinton: “There Was No Greeting Ceremony, And We Basically Were Told To Run To Our Cars. Now, That Is What Happened.” “Everyone else was told to sit on their bulletproof vests,” Clinton said. “And we came in, in an evasive maneuver….There was no greeting ceremony, and we basically were told to run to our cars. Now, that is what happened.” [CNN, 3/1708]
MARCH 17: Clinton, Speaking About Her Trip To Bosnia, Said “I Remember Landing Under Sniper Fire. There Was Supposed To Be Some Kind Of A Greeting Ceremony At The Airport, But Instead We Just Ran With Our Heads Down To Get Into Vehicles To Get To Our Base.” Clinton: “Good morning. I want to thank Secretary West for his years of service, not only as Secretary of the Army, but also to the Veteran’s Administration, to our men and women in uniform, to our country. I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia, and as Togo said, there was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn’t go, so send the First Lady. That’s where we went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base. But it was a moment of great pride for me to visit our troops, not only in our main base as Tuzla, but also at two outposts where they were serving in so many capacities to deactivate and remove landmines, to hunt and seek out those who had not complied with the Dayton Accords and put down their arms, and to build relationships with the people that might lead to a peace for them and their children.” [Clinton speech (remarks as delivered), 3/17/08]
FEBRUARY 29: Clinton Said That The Welcoming Ceremony In Bosnia “Had To Be Moved Inside Because Of Sniper Fire.” “At the rally, she belittled the idea that Mr. Obama’s 2002 speech ‘at an antiwar rally’ prepared him to serve as commander in chief. She said he was ‘missing in action’ on the recent Senate vote on Iran and as chairman of a subcommittee responsible for NATO policy in Afghanistan. Contrasting that with her own experience, she evoked foreign battlefields, recalling a trip to Bosnia as first lady, when the welcoming ceremony ‘had to be moved inside because of sniper fire.’ She said she had traveled to more than 80 countries and was ‘on the front lines’ as the United States made peace in Bosnia and Northern Ireland and helped save refugees from ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.” [NYT, 3/1/08 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/politics/01campaign.html> ] VIDEO
DECEMBER 29: Clinton That When She Went To Bosnia, “We Landed In One Of Those Corkscrew Landings And Ran Out Because They Said There Might Be Sniper Fire.” Clinton, in Dubuque, Iowa on December 29, 2007, said “I was so honored to be able to travel around the world representing our country. You know, going to places that often times were, you know, not necessarily a place that a president could go. We used to say in the White House that if a place was too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the first lady. So, I had the time of my life. I was the first, you know, high- profile American to go into Bosnia after the peace accords were signed because we wanted to show that the United States was 100 percent behind the agreement. We wanted to make it clear to the Bosnians of all backgrounds. Plus we wanted to thank our American military and our allies for a great job. So, we landed in one of those corkscrew landings and ran out because they said there might be sniper fire. I don’t remember anybody offering me tea on the tarmac. We got there and went to the base where our soldiers were and I went out to a lot of the forward operating bases to thank our young men and women in uniform and to thank the Europeans, including the Russians who were part of that effort.” [CNN, 1/1/08]
In response to Hillary's exaggeration about the sniper fire in Bosnia, she explained: "I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."
Twenty-four hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute = 86,400 seconds in a day. The lowest count of "millions" is two million. So, unless she is once again exaggerating, Hillary Clinton speaks, on average, at least 23 words a second.
Or is it just she is a perpetrator of serial misstatements?
LIAR Not-Truth-Teller!
When we think all HOPE is lost ... Hillary to the rescue! I have no words ... just go check out the full LIE ... story at the link!
How are we to trust a woman who cant tell the truth? The following was taken from the DailyKos...
Senator Clinton has made much of her time as First Lady, suggesting that her experience in the White House gives her a foreign policy edge. No matter that her argument makes as much sense, as one Kossack put it, as Yoko Ono claiming she was a Beatle, Clinton has stuck to this argument and for some people, it seems to have worked.
This week, however, Senator Clinton put a pistol to the head of her own campaign and put it out of its mathematical misery. Matthew Yglesias quotes Hillary saying in a speech earlier this week:
I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia, and as Togo said, there was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn't go, so send the First Lady. That’s where we went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.
That sounds terrible. (If you'd like, you can read the original speech at Senator Clinton's campaign site)
But join me as we flashback 1996 and then return to this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOsGo_HWP-c&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/22/161812/428/776/482309
There is really little left to say. For all of Clinton's arguments about Obama's lack of experience, this lie shows her supposed foreign policy advantage for what it is: The misty water-colored memories of an egotist.
