Year: 2005

This is good news.

AP – German Chancellor Seeks Closer U.S. Ties

Signaling a change in style, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Wednesday to put aside past differences between Germany and the United States even as she pressed for the Bush administration to take seriously European concerns about alleged CIA prisons in Europe.

“Let the battles of the past lie — those battles have been fought,” Merkel said in her first speech to parliament as chancellor. “As far as the future is concerned, the new government will work with all its strength for a close, honest, open and trusting relationship in the trans-Atlantic partnership.”

Willkommen zurück zu der Falte mein freund.

A comment posted at Lucianne.

“Ask a dem: you want to get out but you think Bush WANTS us to stay, in large numbers, for years? He wants our troops to be on the front line indefinitely, wants our people picked off, wants a good bit of our national treasure spent to maintain a massive force that many Iraqis may come to resent? Is that what he wants?

Only an idiot would say, yes, that’s what Bush wants.

The truth, of course, is that the Iraqis are being weaned and our footprint there will likely diminish over the next year or two. Exactly as planned. And the dems and lib media will take credit for forcing this stubborn president to listen to the ‘people’.

God, I hope many/most Americans see through this pathetic attempt by dems to take credit for something they had nothing to do with.”

Coming soon to a plastic surgery clinic near you. 

She’s wearing her “I’m a Moderate” T-Shirt again today. 

Without a sense of wind direction, Hillary chooses to hold both positions on Iraq, and for now, she’s willing to adopt even more (depending on how the polls read, of course).

In a way, her 1,600 word letter to New Yorkers is simply a long winded version of “I voted for the war before I voted against it”.

Breathtaking!

So, it’s come to this.

Pressured by public opinion, the ankle biters in the Democratic Party, and wimpy, skittish Republicans, President Bush released a 35 page policy on Iraq today that defines victory, identifies the enemy, and cites the political and economic progress being made in the country.

Every step of the way I’ve held strong support for Bush, our troops, and the war on terror. I haven’t forgotten about 9/11. I believe the fight against terrorism is worldwide; the battlefield is global. Yet, I’ve have a long list of “woulda, coulda, shoulda’s” surrounding the way the war has been waged. The bottom line is, I wish that Bush had spelled all of this out earlier. This public report would have been perfect if only it was released on May 2, 2003, just after the president’s speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. While I’m sure the specifics of the plan would have been criticised then just as it is now, the delivery of the work would have been a great example of leadership. Timing is everything. Talk about a missed opportunity…

The publication of this plan is nothing more than a public relations ploy to quell discontent, and although it’s hard to say it, this maneuver seems awkward at best. I’m embarrassed by it and I hate that. 

There’s lots of other folks talking about this today. Here’s just a few:

| Gateway Pundit | Right Wing Nut House | All Things Conservative | GOP Bloggers | Bill Hobbs | QandO | Below the Beltway | The RCP Blog |

According to Al Jazeera, Peace Activists have been taken hostage in Iraq, this time by a previously unknown group of terrorists. Video taken of the Western hostages was broadcast today, confirming the identities of the individuals who are affiliated with Christian Peacemaker Teams.

MORE: Bareknucklepolitics | Protein Wisdom | All Things Beautiful |

Man gets 5,000+ channels on 12 dishes (via Boing Boing)

I’ve got to hand it to Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT). He recently returned from a two-day visit to Iraq, and while nearly every Democrat in Congress has a string attached to their back that, when pulled, delivers the same finite list of criticisms concerning Iraq and the Bush administration’s plan to “stay the course”, Joe bucked the trend and shared the truth about the real progress being made in the country.

“The country is now in reach of going from Saddam Hussein to self-government and, I’d add, self-protection,” the Connecticut Democrat said in a conference call with reporters. “That would be a remarkable transformation … I saw real progress there.”

Lieberman, one of the most hawkish Democrats in the Senate, said the effectiveness of Iraqi security forces and the ability of a new Iraqi government to rule after the Dec. 15 elections are critical factors in determining when U.S. troops could come home. But if all goes well, he forsees a pullout beginning a year from now.

“If Iraqi forces continue to gain the confidence the American military sees there now … We will be able to draw down our forces,” he said.

Ah, just stop a moment and savor the anomaly of a Democrat speaking the truth about Iraq. Go ahead, I’ll give you another minute.

(pause)

Nice, isn’t it? How refreshing it is to know that there are individuals in the Democratic Party like Joe Lieberman who are willing to go public with a positive message about the progress of the war in Iraq. It’s an incredibly rare thing these days, and worth a moment of reflection.

I still think Joe is out of his mind on issues like abortion, school vouchers, his view of Bill Clinton’s impeachment and the outcome of the 2000 election. But for today, I’ll not worry about that and only say, “Thanks!” to the distinguished Senator from Connecticut for telling the truth about the ‘good news’ in Iraq. It’s a real testament to the great job being done every day by our men and women in uniform.

The 38th Parliament died tonight after a no-confidence vote from opposition parties. A federal election will be officially called by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin tomorrow.

The most notable quote came from Conservative Stephen Harper, who didn’t mince words.

“My friends, over the last few days the Liberals have made it clear that their biggest issue is not wanting to face the voters. Given their position, I don’t blame them. Let the Liberals complain about facing the people. We’re interested in facing the future as a party and a country.”

Only four federal governments have ever seen a swifter collapse: in 1926, 1958, 1963 and 1979. Voters will head to the polls on or around January 23rd.

Duke’d out, as a matter of fact.

Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators.

Cunningham, 63, entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004.

And it cost him…

Cunningham agreed to forfeit to the government his Rancho Santa Fe home, more than $1.8 million in cash and antiques and rugs.

In a statement, prosecutors said Cunningham admitted to receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes paid to him by several conspirators through a variety of methods, including checks totalling over $1 million, cash, rugs, antiques, furniture, yacht club fees and vacations.

 And that’s that. Shamed and shunned, and rightly so. Buh-bye Duke.