Obama shows commanding presence in press conference
Posted By Uncle Jimbo
Oh my Lawdy Lawd, you have got to be kidding me. The adjunct Obama press team, in this case the WaPo, is spinning at the speed of light trying to pull Obama up from his "leadership" position in the rear.
Using the grand backdrop of an East Room news conference, Obama clearly had a mission Wednesday: to reassert a commanding presence on the economic and foreign policy issues that are defining his presidency — and could determine whether he wins reelection.
Obama may have had a mission, in his and his handler's minds,to reassert a commanding presence but to reassert that you first have to have ever had one. He simply never has, and I can't imagine him ever commanding or leading in any way. He has shown absolutely no inclination or ability to do so. He let Pelosi and Reid do all the heavy lifting on the payout to unions and Democrat constituencies Stimulus and socialized medicine lite ObamaCare. He dithered for 6 months or so before announcing a surgelet of 30k troops far short of the 60-80k the military leadership said was needed, and he immediately hedged his bet buy announcing their cut & run withdrawal in the same speech. I guess you could say he led when he announced his actual withdrawal plan that ignored (again) the advice of the military, but in reality that is just him following the political winds.
So spare me any attempts to brand the Gutsy Call Guy Ditherer in Chief as a commanding leader. That dog won't hunt, matter of fact he is in the rear sniffing butts.
This is the kind of thing that should be happening every day. I would personally prefer if they swapped them out for some ghey pron, but whatever, any hack is a good hack.
"Al-Qaeda's online communications have been temporarily crippled, and it does not have a single trusted distribution channel available on the Internet," Evan Kohlmann, of Flashpoint Global Partners, told NBC. Flashpoint monitors the extremist organization's communications.
I guess I could have finished that headline after the word clueless and been accurate, but I try to stick to each example of the complete ineptitude, incompetence and complete fecklessness of our President and his clown car of advisers. We should perhaps simply be thankful that O is going to stop listening to the muppets running around the West Wing and simply follow his own towering intellect. Somehow the fact that we will be trading incoherent incompetence for coherent, or at least single-minded, incompetence doesn't comfort me much. Woo, it is tough to even get to the lead of this rant on one of the the multiple complete goat screws perpetrated by these guys this guy. Anyhow.
We have no plan for what to do with captured terrorists, so we are simply scarfing them up, sending them to the nearest navy boat, feeding and watering them, asking them to fill out a questionnaire about their terrorist connections, phoning the White House to see if they have found the clue bag yet, trying not to beat our heads against a bulkhead when the reply is "What color is it?", and then letting the rat bastards go.
In response to senators’ questions, McRaven said that “in many cases” suspects captured in secret operations by Navy SEALs or the Army’s Delta Force are taken to a U.S. Navy ship until they can be tried in a U.S. court or transferred to the custody of an allied country. But if neither option turns out to be feasible, the prisoner is ultimately let go, he said.
“If we can’t do either one of those, then we will release that individual,” McRaven said in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). “I mean, that becomes the unenviable option, but it is an option.”
I will spare you the profanity-laced tirade I just treated my computer to after reading that. But FFS, For the Sake of F-ing F! Really? Really? Really?
Anyone wonder whether the number they have to call rings in Eric Holder's office? I mean he is the head of the try-'em-in-federal-court cabal. Plus he seems like the type of loser scared to actually make a decision so he will just "take it under advisement" and then get back to hiding under his desk from questions about how many people have been killed by the Gunwalker debacle.
It is not like we are going to get any definitve answers from his mentor the Ditherer in Chief so that pretty much means our special operators are wasting their damn time and risking their lives for nothing. We cannot interrogate anyone in any serious way, we can't stick them in a dark hole, we can't try them, we can't, we can't, we can't. We should not conduct another raid period, too damn dangerous for the results we are now stuck with. Drones, Hellfires, nobody at risk, air-conditioned, unpersonal, targeted killing. I guess I should be happy that is still an option. Sad comfort though.
On Saturday July 2, Cooking with the Troops will be at the Old Navy store in Tippecanone Mall as part of Old Navy's annual effort for care packages for the troops. There will be others there as well, and if in the area you should drop by between 10 and 4 to have fun, learn, and do. Part of what we will be doing there is promoting what is going to happen on July 4.
On Monday July 4, Standing for the Fallen, supported by the Marine Corps League and Cooking with the Troops, will be doing two Standing events. One, done by Standing with the Fallen founder Mark Dolfini, will be in Washington DC from 10-midnight in the park by the Mall, directly behind the Holocaust Museum. The second, will be from 10-5 at the corner of Creasy Lane and State Route 26 in Lafayette, IN. The money raised goes towards supporting Soldiers' Angels Germany and our wounded troops there, and donations of new clothes and items listed here are most welcome.
And, you may remember the blogger I mentioned who was doing a SEAL-style PT bootcamp to raise funds for Cooking with the Troops. I am pleased to report that Thrifty Vintage Chic not only made it through the course (see above) but she also has raised enough to fund a DC-area barbecue and is now hard at work on raising an additional $15,000.00 to fund a European event. You really do need to read her posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. To answer a likely question: yes, CwtT does have coins, and she was indeed the first civilian and only the second person to be coined. We will be following tradition and have a criteria for who can be coined, and will be keeping a list of those coined and why they were coined. Short version of who can get one: wounded interested in food careers and or demonstrate dedication, and those who donate $1,000 or more and/or provide equivalent service.
May your 4th be fun, safe and good! May we all remember the meaning of the day, and remember those who struggled and died for our independence; and, may we remember those who continue to do so for Liberty and Freedom.
Obama has recently stated that his biggest fault to date is trying to get consensus and listening to other folks. Apparently those days are over and the Afghan withdrawal plan is one of his first times trying out the Barry O gut instinct method. LTG Allen testified to the Senate that his decision was not among any of the plans put forth by the military.
Graham pressed him. “My question is: Was that a option?”
Allen: “It was not.”
Allen's claim, which came under oath, contradicts the line the White House had been providing reporters over the past week—that Obama simply chose one option among several presented by General David Petraeus.
The other thing this completely reinforces is the detachment Obama has from the actual strategic concerns and the fact that his decisions are politically based. That is his right and prerogative, but it also is something that the slopeheads in flyover country can use to evaluate his performance. He is not a leader. He is not concerned with national security. He is a bona fide, political tool. The only job he cares about is getting himself elected, or in this case reelected. How else can he enjoy the trappings of an office he barely attempts to fill.
Anyone Else 2012. (Bachman is kickin' ass though isn't she?)
Matt Labash is an unlikely member of the Weekly Standard writing staff. You would probably be surprised at the number of serious smart asses who work, or have worked for this staid conservative publication, but even among them he stands out, or more properly apart. He may hold a conservative view or two, but he also has a libertarian streak that is impossible to miss. His book "Fly fishing with Darth Vader" showcases his wickedly wry, cynical and even sardonic wit as he takes you along on adventures with the most entertaining characters he can convince Bill Kristol to pay for stories about.
I had a chance to meet him and spend some time shooting the shit with him at Mary Katharine Ham's wedding recently. As usual he was standing on the periphery, actually when I first saw him he was standing at the rear of the hay bale seats hiding his beer behind his back as the ceremony was happening. After that we spent a goodly chunk of time skewering the usual, and even some unusual, suspects. That was quite entertaining and obviously fits my SOP, but he also showed a distinct interest in our military operations and how the folks in the fight actually feel about them. He also let me know he had a trip coming up to indulge his passion for fly fishing in the company of some wounded warriors. That story is now out and you can enjoy his writing as well as the obvious respect he shows to the folks he met. Enjoy Semper Fly.
And so last month, I came here to meet an outfit of hope merchants, led by a retired Marine colonel, Eric Hastings, cofounder and head of Warriors and Quiet Waters. Since 2007, Hastings and his merry band of 276 guides, drivers, cooks, board members, and volunteers—nobody is paid, including him—carry out a mission that is simply stated: “to employ the therapeutic and rehabilitative qualities of fly fishing for trout on Montana’s rivers and streams to help heal traumatically wounded U.S. servicemen and women.” Hastings elaborates: “I know what it’s like to be in combat, and I also know that semper fi—always faithful—is more than just a slick motto. You can’t just walk off into the sunset. This is an honor contract between Americans and the people who were sent to war in their name. It’s about serving your fellow warriors.”
And serve they do. Relying on mostly modest donations from individuals, seven times a year Warriors and Quiet Waters (WQW) fly out a group of a half dozen wounded soldiers, sailors, or Marines from their hospital wards and rehabilitation programs for a weeklong stay (sometimes they hold couples retreats, too, since wives often suffer as much after the injury). These are warriors fresh off the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. They’ve been shot up, blown up, and every other up that man has designed to obliterate his enemy. Some arrive missing limbs and eyes and chunks of skull. All arrive missing other things they can’t quite articulate—the result of either Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), or often both.
As President Obama prepares to meet Monday with Senate leaders to try to restart talks about the swollen national debt, some Republicans see a potential path to compromise: significant cuts in military spending....
“To get anything through the House, you’re going to need some Democratic votes. This isn’t a one-way street here,” said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door sessions. “It’s clear that any package is going to have to have significant spending reductions, including in Pentagon spending.”
And away we go. Has anyone heard a single word about real cuts to any of the gargantuan, massive, bloated, deficit-swelling, government free lunch, entitlement programs? Yeah neither have I. So obviously instead of looking at those with any seriousness, we get the national security brilliance and strategic thinking of a noted gay brothel master.
“Defense spending is damaging spending. Many of us believe it does more harm than good to our people and to our reputation in the world,” said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
Dam u Dum! That might be the most ignorant thing even a professional douchebag like you has ever said. I would explain that your right to say something so incandescently stupid is vouchsafed by the spending but as I previously noted, you are too dumb to understand.
It was inevitable that this process would have some sad, sorry elements, but didn't you hold out just the faintest glimmer of hope that defense and the security of our wouldn't be the first on the chopping block? Yeah no, neither did I. Well at least we can stop buying any of the BS from any of the swine in the Parliament of Hoors.
International Criminal Court issues warrant for Qaddafi
Posted By Uncle Jimbo
Our trans-national organization loving president is about to catch a lesson in why subjugating the US to the wonderful groups of enlightened, progressives he adores is a recipe for failure.
PARIS — The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on Monday for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his chief of intelligence, Abdullah Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution, stemming from the first two weeks of the uprising in Libya that led to a NATO bombing campaign.
This is truly helpful to any efforts trying to get Qaddafi and his malevolent offspring to surrender and go hang out among the kind of Euros who love deposed dictators. He can't leave Libya now without risking getting cuffed and stuffed and spending the rest of his life in complete comfort while on trial for war crimes. Just ask the ghost of Slobodan Milosevic who spent five plus years on trial and never even got close to convicted. He died of natural causes, or perhaps boredom, not any justice from the Hague.
If Qaddafi had a reason to cling to power before, he has no option now. I am not a big fan of letting murderous tyrants skate, but if the alternative is continuing the farce we currently are not in charge of then pack up the tents and the drag queen's wardrobe and park him in one of the Muslim ghettoes in Paris, or Hamburg, or Copenhagen. Sadly that option is now a non-starter, so we are back to.....
The solons of old Europe would love to have the US military volunteered under their care and tutelage as Obama has done for this non-war. They occasionally like to use some force, but cannot be troubled to pay for their own. Plus it would be much easier to keep us from doing any of that cowboy stuff we do. All in all, a goat rodeo of epic proportions.
"Grab it before the Pentagon orders it burned..." - Vanity Fair
"...nonpartisan patriotism is the common thread tying together these reflections, love letters and stories of combat. They make for riveting reading." - The Washington Post
Winner of the 2006 Gold Medal for Anthologies - Military Writer's Society of America
"This collection is an excellent introduction to an emerging form of war reporting." - Booklist
"...there is much to tell, and celebrate, in the tough, day-to-day work that our soldiers are doing in one of the most challenging environments any army has ever faced..." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"...the collection is riveting...a worthy tribute." - The American Prospect
Click here
for more information and list of blogger/authors
Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com
Retired Special Operations Master Sergeant, Jim Hanson ("Uncle Jimbo") is now focused on writing about the military, politics, intelligence operations and foreign policy. Email: jimbo AT unclejimbo DOT com
Writer, photographer, and raconteur C. Blake Powers is the Laughing Wolf. He is independent in politics and covers topics including journalism, military, weapons, preparedness, space, science, cooking, food and wine, product and book reviews, and even spirituality. Email: wolf1 AT laughingwolf DOT net Laughing Wolf's Amazon Wish List
Grim -- an Old Norse name that means 'one who wears a mask' -- blogs on issues of intelligence, information operations, and foreign relations. Email: grimbeornr AT yahoo DOT com
Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net
Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.
In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com
Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.
McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net
Chris Carter is a former USAF firefighter and now civilian firefighter who covers military history, national security, and baseball. Find out more at his website.
Twitter: @CrushingChris EMAIL: crushnik AT yahoo DOT com
Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.
Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.
Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View. Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com
Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.
Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.
COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.
