Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for September 13, 2012

Your one-stop-shop for political news and opinion. Please forward to friends who need to be informed. This SitRep (Military for “Situation Report”) is created by many readers who send me items for inclusion, which I would have likely missed or skipped. And I can only spend at most three hours a night pulling stuff, plus the healthcare or economic stuff that crosses my desk at work. As always, I—and you—owe them thanks and appreciation. I post articles because I think they are of interest and will stimulate thought and discussion. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article, or that I was able to verify the information presented, which is the responsibility of the author. I try not to post things that are false, or too far a stretch, regardless of the view point, but I don’t always succeed. As always on the Net, or in the legacy media, you must read critically and with skepticism.

Having e-mail issues lately. Some come in and I get a message that asks me if I want to continue running scripts. Clicking either yes or no locks things up. Later messages on the same thread can’t be opened either—sorry if I missed one of yours. Technology—sigh. ~Bob

Important: U.S. ambassador to Libya, 3 other Americans killed in Benghazi

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/news-agencies-us-ambassador-to-libya-killed-in-attack-outside-consulate/2012/09/12/665de5fc-fcc4-11e1-a31e-804fccb658f9_story.html?hpid=z1

Excerpt: U.S. Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed Tuesday in an assault on the American consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the White House said. … Stevens, 52, and the others were fleeing the consulate when a rocket-propelled grenade struck their vehicle, news reports from Benghazi said. (When Obama took us to war on behalf on the Libyan rebels, in violation of the War Powers Act, I predicted that some of these new Libyan friends would soon be killing Americans. I just thought it would take longer. Are the media weenies still swooning over the “democratic Arab Spring”? Predictably, the tendency among the appeasers is to condemn the guy who made the film, rather than the violent Islamists. So should every book, article and film that mentions Islam or Mohammad in any way be submitted to Muslims worldwide to be sure it offends no one before it is allowed to be published? Note to Islamist murderers: You’ve just ensured that this unknown and reportedly poor film will be seen by tens of millions. Congratulations. ~Bob. I just listened to Hillary mourn the death of the ambassador to Libya, and another diplomat who was at the embassy on a temporary assignment. She said she called the families of these two men to offer condolences. Not a mention of the two Marines who were also murdered. Not a word. I guess she couldn't spare five minutes to call their loved ones. Not surprising. They are of no account to this administration. I listened to what Obama had to say, and it was hard for me to do, since I can barely stand the sight or sound of him. I have to admit he did a better job than Hillary did. At least he said the families of all those who were killed were being contacted. It was a pretty good performance. Sincere? Probably not, since I believe the only person Obama really cares about is Obama. –LW. Another writer pointed out they were still notifying the families. ~Bob.)

Assault on U.S. consulate in Benghazi leaves 4 dead, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57511043/assault-on-u.s-consulate-in-benghazi-leaves-4-dead-including-u.s-ambassador-j-christopher-stevens/

Excerpt: Al-Sharef said two U.S. Marines sent to Benghazi when the clash erupted were shot and killed by the well-armed protesters. It was not immediately clear whether the Marines were part of Stevens' security detail. The American whose death was confirmed on Tuesday also died of a gunshot wound. He was identified by the State Department on Wednesday as Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith.

Embassy Security: Where Were The Marines?

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/09/12/Where-Were-the-Marines

Excerpt: CBS News is reporting that Ambassador Stevens suffocated to death while two Marines and an embassy staffer were shot to death. CBS also reported that more Marines were being sent to Libya. But these reports raise more questions than they answer:

House conservatives call for stripping aid to Libya, Egypt from spending bill
http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/249071-house-conservatives-consider-stripping-foreign-aid-to-libya-from-spending-bill

Excerpt: A group of House conservatives is calling for foreign aid to Libya and Egypt to be stripped from a six-month federal funding bill set for a vote on Thursday. A handful of lawmakers voiced outrage Wednesday at the Obama administration’s response to the attacks on the U.S. embassies in those countries and suggested the inclusion of foreign aid could influence their votes.

Barack Obama's re-election campaign engulfed in major foreign policy crisis

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2202082/Barack-Obamas-election-campaign-engulfed-major-foreign-policy-crisis.htm

Excerpt: The Obama administration is engulfed in a full-blown foreign policy crisis just two months before the presidential election after the murder of the US ambassador to Libya and three other officials and amid fierce criticism from his opponent Mitt Romney. Footage of the body of Christopher Stevens, United States ambassador to Libya, slung over the back of a protester, was reminiscent of the 1993 'Black Hawk Down' incident in Somalia in 1993 when militia fighters lynched American aircrew in the streets of Mogadishu.

Obama condemns embassy attackers, critics of Islam in statement. By Neil Munro

http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/12/obama-condemns-embassy-attackers-critics-of-islam/#ixzz26HzWXrIn

Excerpt: President Barack Obama on Wednesday “strongly condemned” the Islamist attack that killed four American diplomats in Libya, but he also used the same statement to condemn Americans’ criticism of Islam. “While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants,” he said in a 7:21 a.m. statement….Obama’s two-sided message came only a few hours after Gov. Mitt Romney accused him of sympathizing with the Islamists who attacked the U.S diplomatic sites on the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2011 attack by other Islamists that killed 3,000 Americans. (Okay to criticize other religions, though. No condemnation for that. ~Bob.)

America's Debt to Its Diplomatic, Military, and Intelligence Personnel

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/09/12/morning-bell-americas-debt-to-its-diplomatic-military-and-intelligence-personnel/?roi=echo3-13092649574-9673046-94ee9117e65696a6b26f2941c4e0621e&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Excerpt: The deaths in Benghazi, Libya, of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and others in the service of the United States provides a tragic reminder of the great sacrifices that U.S. diplomatic, military, and intelligence personnel serving abroad make to defend America and its interests around the globe. In a dangerous world, and especially in the dangerous areas of the Middle East and North Africa, American citizens who volunteer to serve in America's foreign policy agencies and in the U.S. armed forces face risks both from public disorder and intentional attacks by terrorists.

We’re Next: The Hand of the Prophet: A Novel of Islamic America, 2053

http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Prophet-Novel-Islamic-America/dp/1478160535/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341609341&sr=1-1&keywords=Hand+of+the+prophet+R.A.H.

Film Titled “Innocence Of Muslims” Sparks Protests, Violence For Mocking Muhammad - Video

http://news1.ghananation.com/headlines/274523-film-titled-innocence-of-muslims-sparks-protests-violence-for-mocking-muhammad-video.html

Report: Maker of anti-Islamic film 'Innocence of Muslims' goes into hiding

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/12/13824981-report-maker-of-anti-islamic-film-innocence-of-muslims-goes-into-hiding

Excerpt: A California-based property developer who claims to be responsible for “Innocence of Muslims,” a provocative film about the Prophet Muhammad, which sparked Tuesday’s deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Libya and further protests in Egypt, has gone into hiding, The Associated Press reported.

Tweet From @JazzShaw

This morning should be a note for everyone screaming that we should be "helping" more in Syria. They won't thank us.

Report: Riots Actually About Release of Blind Sheik. By Alana Goodman

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/09/12/report-riots-actually-about-release-of-blind-sheik/

Excerpt: USA Today reports that the riot at the U.S. embassy in Cairo appears to have been planned well before the Egyptian media reported on the anti-Islam YouTube film that was blamed for sparking the protest. The protest was reportedly announced on August 30 by Gamaa Islamiyya, an Egyptian terrorist group, to call for the release of its leader, Sheikh Omar abdel Rahman — aka the blind sheik, who is serving a life sentence for the first World Trade Center bombing: (Don’t be silly. Lots of folks carry RPGs around with them in case a “spontaneous” riot breaks out. ~Bob.)

Tears of Joy or Beads of Sweat. By Andy Weddington

http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2012/09/tears-of-joy-or-beads-of-sweat.html

Excerpt: That Americans were murdered, and our colors torn and torched, on our day of reverence is an insult. However diplomatically framed, the Muslim terrorists spitted, urinated, and defecated on Mr. Obama, and us.

Worth Reading: The Party of Big Government? By John Goodman

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/the-party-of-big-government/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-27107

Excerpt: The Democratic Party is supposed to be the party of government. That idea was reinforced at the Democratic convention last week in a video that had this memorable line: “The government is the only thing we all belong to.” But there is another saying worth remembering: “Actions speak louder than words.” With that in mind, here is something that may surprise you: Federal entitlement spending over the past 50 years has grown significantly more under Republican presidents than under Democratic presidents. (As I’ve said, vote-buying by both parties has put us on the road to fiscal collapse. People tend to vote for politicians who say yes, not those who say no. ~Bob.)

Depending on Dependency. By Thomas Sowell

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/14692

Excerpt: All of us should be on guard against beliefs that flatter ourselves. At the very least, we should check such beliefs against facts. Yet the notion that people who prefer economic decisions to be made by individuals in the market are not as compassionate as people who prefer those decisions to be made collectively by politicians is seldom even thought of as a belief that should be checked against facts.

Who May Tax and Spend? By Walter E. Williams

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/14695

Excerpt: There is little intellectually challenging about the fact that the Constitution gave Congress ultimate taxing and spending authority. My question is this: How can academics, politicians, news media people and ordinary citizens continually make and get away with statements such as "Reagan's budget deficits," "Clinton's budget surplus," "Bush's tax cuts" and "Obama's spending binge"? I know that the nation's law schools teach little about Framer intent, but I wonder whether they tell students that it's the executive branch of government that holds taxing and spending authority.

2012 Secrecy Report: Sunlight Overshadowed

http://www.openthegovernment.org/node/3578

Excerpt: Efforts to open the government continue to be frustrated by a governmental predisposition towards secrecy, especially in the national security bureaucracy. Among the troubling trends: the National Declassification Center will not meet its goal for declassifying old records on time; the government continues to use the state secrets privilege in the same way it did prior to release of a new procedural policy; and the volume of documents marked “Classified” continues to grow, with little assurance or reason offered for the decision that the information properly needs such protection.

A Nun at the Nuclear Gates: How an 82-year-old nun upended the lax regulation of the U.S. nuclear weapons establishment. By R. Jeffrey Smith

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/11/a_nun_at_the_nuclear_gates

Excerpt: In theory, the pounding might have been the work of a squad of terrorists preparing to plant a powerful explosive in the wall of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (HEUMF), a half-billion dollar vault that stores the makings of more than 10,000 nuclear bombs. Instead, it was a group of three peace activists, including an 82-year-old nun, armed only with flashlights, binoculars, bolt cutters, bread, flowers, a Bible, and several hammers. (If you think they aren’t reading this in the Muslim world, and planning, you’re dreaming. ~Bob.)

From NRO’s Morning Jolt with Jim Geraghty

Dear Egyptian crowds: You decide to hold large-scale protests, storm our embassy's walls, tear down the American flag and replace it with an Islamic one . . . and you do it on September 11? To hell with you guys. … New rule: You burn our embassy's flag on 9/11, you get jack squat in foreign aid for the next five years.

Egyptian-Iranian intelligence meeting prompts fears of a new Middle East terror axis

http://freebeacon.com/the-cairo-tehran-express/

Excerpt: U.S. intelligence agencies recently monitored a secret meeting between Egypt’s intelligence chief and a senior Iranian spy that is raising new fears the Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo could begin covertly supporting global terrorism. According to U.S. officials, the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Murad Muwafi, met in early August with a senior official of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

Barbarians at the Gate. By Mark Tapson

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/mark-tapson/barbarians-at-the-gate/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=d5853c50a4-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

Excerpt: Yesterday angry protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, tore down the American flag, and held up shredded bits of it to television camera crews. Welcome to the new democratic Egypt, a product of the glorious, Obama-inspired Arab Spring which sent so many thrills up the collective leg of the mainstream media.

American Crossroads: "Words"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyEv6W_jlxI

Share this ad. ~Bob.

Quotes from The Patriot Post

www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/

"[Sandra Fluke] completed her education a few weeks ago -- at the age of 31, or Grade 25. Before going to Georgetown, she warmed up with a little light BS in Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Cornell. She then studied law at one of the most prestigious institutions in the nation, where tuition costs 50 grand a year. ... Sandra Fluke has been blessed with a quarter-million dollars of elite education, and ... is entirely incapable of making a coherent argument. ... Sexual liberty, even as every other liberty withers, is all that matters: A middle-school girl is free to get an abortion without parental consent, but if she puts a lemonade stand on her lawn she'll be fined. What a bleak and reductive concept of 'personal freedom.'" --columnist Mark Steyn

"Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one's government is not necessarily to secure freedom." --economist Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992)

Russian ships displayed at DNC tribute to vets. By Sam Fellman

http://www.navytimes.com/mobile/news/2012/09/navy-russian-warships-displayed-dnc-veterans-tribute-091112

Typical. ~Bob. Excerpt: On the last night of the Democratic National Convention, a retired Navy four-star took the stage to pay tribute to veterans. Behind him, on a giant screen, the image of four hulking warships reinforced his patriotic message. But there was a big mistake in the stirring backdrop: those are Russian warships. (Guess the SEAL in chief wasn't paying attention. MasterGuns)

Agents Arrest Federal Border Officer

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/11/tp-agents-arrest-federal-border-officer/

Excerpt: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer accused of illegally allowing his felon brother-in-law into the country has been arrested, joining about 140 members of border law enforcement agencies who have been charged in corruption cases since 2004.

Thomas Paul Silva, 33, was taken into custody about 8:30 a.m. Friday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry by agents with the Border Corruption Task Force, FBI special Agent Darrell Foxworth said Monday.

You Will Not Believe What Some Democrats Told Us About Socialism

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/socialism-is-the-american-way-you-will-not-believe-what-some-democrats-told-us-about-socialism/

Excerpt: So we asked them one simple, open ended question while at the Democratic National Convention last week: What do you think about socialism? Their answers varied, but one theme can be seen throughout the diverse interviews: more government is good.

'2016: Obama’s America' Movie Is Disturbingly Necessary. By Scott Paulson

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/17/2016-obamas-america-movie-is-disturbingly-necessary/

Excerpt: This past week, “2016: The Movie” about President Barack Obama opened in the Chicago area, and I chose to get more of an education about Obama by seeing the movie. After the inundation of canned hype for the movie on conservative talk shows across the Chicago radio dial that sounded more like commercials than honest endorsements of the movie, I was skeptical of what I was going to see. (Scott Paulson is decidedly not a Conservative columnist, but it seems he's an honest man who will look at new information and then react to it intelligently. This is one heck of a review from a Liberal. I do hope a whole host of Independents go to see this movie. --Del. Good review. Not sure he's a liberal--writes for CBS but also a conservative paper. ~Bob.)

Bill Clinton And The Political Brass Standard. By Thomas Sowell

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/091112-625367-bill-clinton-blames-others-for-economic-trouble-he-started.htm?p=full

Excerpt: Politics takes a lot of brass. ... That is world-class brass. Clinton's own administration, more than any other, promoted an unsustainable housing boom, which eventually and inevitably led to a housing bust that brought down the whole American economy.

Special Operations Speaks Website

http://specialoperationsspeaks.com/

Obama to Israel: You're On Your Own: No 'red lines' for Iran and no time to meet Netanyahu.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444017504577645783452753176.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

Excerpt: It's no secret the Israelis don't want to strike Iran either, provided the U.S. is serious about keeping a bomb out of the mullahs' hands. But Israel's confidence in Mr. Obama's seriousness is fading fast.

Raid Nets Turkish Pedicab Drivers: ICE agents order 24 immigrants working in San Diego to leave the U.S

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/12/tp-raid-nets-turkish-pedicab-drivers/

Excerpt: Federal immigration officials have ordered 24 Turkish nationals to leave the U.S. after they were found operating pedicabs illegally in downtown San Diego. Those affected, students from Turkish colleges, were detained after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed arrest warrants at four San Diego locations late last month.

Katyn massacre: US hushed up Stalin’s slaughter of Polish officers, released memos show: The long-held suspicion is that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn't want to anger Josef Stalin, an ally whom the Americans were counting on to defeat Germany and Japan during World War II.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/katyn-massacre-hushed-stalin-slaughter-polish-officers-released-memos-show-article-1.1156361#ixzz26HYCsJhK

Excerpt: The most dramatic revelation so far is the evidence of the secret codes sent by the two American POWs — something historians were unaware of and which adds to evidence that the Roosevelt administration knew of the Soviet atrocity relatively early on. The declassified documents also show the United States maintaining that it couldn't conclusively determine guilt until a Russian admission in 1990 — a statement that looks improbable given the huge body of evidence of Soviet guilt that had already emerged decades earlier. (The Democrat Governor of Massachusetts, Foster Furcolo, who was on the US team investigating the murders, wrote a novel about it, Rendezvous at Katyn. ~Bob.

http://www.amazon.com/Rendezvous-Katyn-shocking-events-history/dp/B0006W8ZB8)

Top German court paves way for euro zone rescue fund

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/constitutional-court-expected-to-give-ok-for-new-rescue-fund-a-no-could-roil-markets/2012/09/12/558486be-fc97-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html

Excerpt: Germany’s high court on Wednesday rejected calls to block Europe’s permanent rescue fund, paving the way in a much-anticipated ruling for its ratification by the country’s president. The taxpayer-backed fund is crucial to the eurozone’s debt crisis resolution efforts because it can loan money to governments that can’t borrow otherwise, and markets had been nervously awaiting the ruling.

Worth Reading: Three Policy Points for Romney to Raise. By Jim Geraghty

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/316695/three-policy-points-romney-raise

Excerpt: There was nothing inappropriate about Mitt Romney’s statement on the Libyan attacks this morning. If anything, they were strikingly limited in scope. (The inane, narrative-obsessed, and apparently coordinated questions from the press didn’t help generate a substantive discussion.) The events of the past twenty-four hours spotlight at least three major policy decisions by the Obama administration that are deserving of scrutiny in this election season:

The MSM has its own open-mic moment

https://pubsecrets.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/the-msm-has-its-own-open-mic-moment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PublicSecrets+%28Public+Secrets%29

Excerpt: Shades of Journolist. MSM reporters are caught on tape coordinating their questions for Mitt Romney at today’s press availability on the North African crisis:

U.S. Astronaut's Photographs of 9/11 Attacks from Space.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2201939/U-S-astronauts-haunting-images-burning-Twin-Towers-taken-space-9-11.html

Excerpt: Culbertson, 63, an astronaut who was aboard the International Space Station at the time, was the only American who wasn’t on Earth as the country came under attack on September 11, 2001. While 220 miles above the Earth aboard the International Space Station, Culbertson took incredible pictures of the Twin Towers after they were struck by the hijacked jets.