Month: June 2006

Reports are flying fast and furious, and details remain sketchy since Sen. Rick Santorum announced late today that Coalition Forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. (Transcript in MS Word Doc format, courtesy of Captain’s Quarters)

According to The Corner…

* Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent.

* Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.

* Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the black market. Use of these weapons by terrorists or insurgent groups would have implications for Coalition forces in Iraq. The possibility of use outside Iraq cannot be ruled out.

* The most likely munitions remaining are sarin and mustard-filled projectiles.

* The purity of the agent inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives, and environmental storage conditions. While agents degrade over time, chemical warfare agents remain hazardous and potentially lethal.

* It has been reported in open press that insurgents and Iraqi groups desire to acquire and use chemical weapons.

Now, the real question…why now? Why is this story just coming out?

Why?

It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next few days.

Captain’s Quarters is all over the news. Likewise, Hot Air.

Dan Riehl notes that WMD discovery in Iraq hasn’t been a secret, it’s just been under-reported.

I’ve been an AOL user. I’ve been a Real Networks user. Verizon, DISH Network, and Comcast too. I’ve had dozens of cancellation experiences just like this one, and I can completely relate to the insanity. 

George W. Bush, on Iraq and the polls:

“People didn’t agree with my decision on Iraq. And I understand that. For Europe, September the 11th was a moment; for us it was a change of thinking. I vowed to the American people I would do everything I could to defend our people, and will. I fully understood that the longer we got away from September the 11th, more people would forget the lessons of September the 11th. But I’m not going to forget them.”

“And therefore, I will be steadfast and diligent and strong in defending our country.”

“I don’t govern by polls, you know. I just do what I think is right.”

Contrast this statement with the Democratic Party’s “cut and run” position or as I heard Sen. Diane Feinstein call it, “cut and win” strategy for winning in Iraq and fighting the global war on terror.

With Bush, it’s plain, simple and clear. On Iraq, and on Terrorism, I’m proud to stand with my commander-in-chief.

He’s protesting the killing of an attorney on his defense team. I believe this is just another example of the kind of manipulation Saddam and his cohorts practiced so well during his presidency. By staging another protest, the world is supposed to believe Saddam had nothing to do with this murder, that he’s just another victim, the cards are stacked against him, and he has no hope of getting fair treatment. How do we know he didn’t just get tired of the effort being put forth by this attorney and called for his ‘elimination’ in order to send a message to the rest of his defense team? The point is, we don’t know, but given what we do know of Saddam and his tactics, we should at least be suspicious.

I won’t cut this guy any slack, ever. 

Captain’s Quarters has a report from CENTCOM claiming that one of the men who was expected to take the place of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed as a result of the intelligence gained over the last couple of weeks.

Dan has officially left Black Rock.

Amazingly, Truthout.org still believes Rove was indicted.

The facts appear to have been accurate. We reported them, and in so doing, apparently became an instrument. From all indications, our reports, first on May 13 that Rove had been indicted, and then on June 12 when we published case number “06 cr 128,” forced Rove and Luskin back to the table with Fitzgerald, not once but twice. They apparently sought to avoid public disclosure and were prepared to do what they had to do to avoid it.

How’s that for arrogance? Marc Ash and Jason Leopold believe their “reporting” was so effective, so chilling, and so obviously accurate, that Karl Rove and lawyer Robert Luskin had no choice but to capitulate to Fitzgerald’s demands. So, what did Rove have to do?

Wait for it.

He had to ‘out’ Cheney.

BWAAAAHAAAAAAHAAAAA!

Our sources provided us with additional detail, saying that Fitzgerald is apparently examining closely Dick Cheney’s role in the Valerie Plame matter, and apparently sought information and evidence from Karl Rove that would provide documentation of Cheney’s involvement. Rove apparently was reluctant to cooperate and Fitzgerald, it appears, was pressuring him to do so, our sources told us.

Incredible, isn’t it? Apparently, Ash and Leopold aren’t content with merely shooting each other with a bullet to the fleshy part of their respective thighs. No. They empty the freakin’ magazine on themselves.

Brilliant! Bravo! ENCORE!! ENCORE!! I can’t wait for the next episode.

In what looks increasingly like a play for short-term political gain, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong has pushed this case in the media with little credible evidence. In fact, most of what has gone on in this case since March 14th has been a complete joke.

This great article in Newsweek brings us up to date.

Meanwhile, Nifong’s days are numbered, according to the Durham Republican Party.

I heard it a dozen times over the weekend, and now this morning I read it coming from the mouth of DiFi.

“Three years and three months into the war, with all of the losses, the insurgency, the burgeoning civil war that’s taking place, an open-ended time commitment is no longer sustainable,” she said.

“We want to see an end to this thing. We want to transition the mission. That isn’t cutting and running,” Sen. Diane Feinstein said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”

Murtha said it over and over too. The word “Transition” is the new code being used now, mostly because it sounds much more moderate than “withdrawal”. And definitely better than “cut and run”.

Yet, the question not being asked is, transition into what? When you transition from Iraq, what do the Democrats mean? They mean pull out. They mean cut and run. They just don’t want Americans to hear them say that, because polls show it to be an unpopular thought. Not to mention, every time it comes up for a vote in the Congress, cut and run legislation fails miserably.

Democrats – it’s never what they say that matters, it’s what they mean.

Connie Chung, singing.

MORE: The story.