Here's a question: Barack Obama was instrumental in pushing out Mubarrak and especially Qaddaffy. He did this, presumably, with the belief that the regimes that replaced those would be more agreeable to the American interests than the ones he helped push out. (Again, especially in the case of Qaddaffy, where "help" came in the form of airstrikes.)

Does Obama still have faith he did the right thing, now that the Muslim Brotherhood (aligned with Al Qaeda) controls Egypt, and Al Qaeda (also aligned with Al Qaeda) seems to control Libya?

But rather than discuss the actual events, and the foreign policy decisions (and lack of thinking, as represented by 104 golf rounds) that led to this pass, the press wants to ask Romney if he "JUMPED THE GUN" in his statements.

At 6:24, a caterwaul issues from, I think, Norah O'Donnell, but that's just based on what I think she sounds like. Compare to "What about your gaaaaffes" and "The Palestinians." more...

Posted by: Ace at 08:21 AM | Comments (116)
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Mitt Romney's statement today on the attacks in Libya and Egypt was spot on.

After first express grief at the loss of American life, Romney framed the issue exactly right.

Romney's statement in part .

“America will not tolerate attacks against our citizens and against our embassies. We will defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion. We have confidence in our cause in America. We respect our Constitution. We stand for the principles our Constitution protects. We encourage other nations to understand and respect the principles of our Constitution because we recognize that these principles are the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world.

“I also believe the Administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in Egypt instead of condemning their actions. It's never too early for the United States Government to condemn attacks on Americans, and to defend our values. The White House distanced itself last night from the statement, saying it wasn't ‘cleared by Washington.’ That reflects the mixed signals they’re sending to the world.

“The attacks in Libya and Egypt underscore that the world remains a dangerous place and that American leadership is still sorely needed. In the face of this violence, America cannot shrink from the responsibility to lead. American leadership is necessary to ensure that events in the region don’t spin out of control. We cannot hesitate to use our influence in the region to support those who share our values and our interests. Over the last several years, we have stood witness to an Arab Spring that presents an opportunity for a more peaceful and prosperous region, but also poses the potential for peril, if the forces of extremism and violence are allowed to control the course of events.

“We must strive to ensure that the Arab Spring does not become an Arab Winter.”

Go to the PJ Tatter to see the pitiful questions Romney was asked. Almost all of them were attacks on the timing of his statement last night.

Compare that with Obama who said in part...

Appearing with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the White House Rose Garden, Obama said: “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, but there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal attacks.”

The President of the United States of America should not "reject" a citizens right to speak however he or she wants even (or especially) if it offends someone. A President who prioritizes the feelings of foreigners over a strong, unequivocal defense of an American citizen's exercise of our fundamental freedom is unfit for office.

Of course this is unsurprising coming from a President who made this outrageous claim in his much vaunted speech in Cairo.

"That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," Obama said to applause. He said neither Muslims nor Americans, though, can fit the "crude stereotype" they are sometimes assigned.

Speaking of Cairo, I watched Obama live and I didn't hear him mention the embassy attack at all.

Naturally, the maker of the film that is the supposed flash point of this exercise in outrage is in hiding. Obama had no kind words of support for him.

I'm a "clash of civilizations" guy. The military fight against Islam will flare up and cool down as it has for centuries but we must always be fighting for our view of the world and our rights. I don't care how Muslim societies organize themselves but I'll be damned if I'll give them a veto over how we organize ours.

We need a President who gets this and believe it or not, that's Mitt Romney.

Added: Next time John McCain says we need to intervene in Syria remember this day. Nothing good will come of it. Let's arm both sides and keep them fighting and dying as long as possible. US foreign policy has to be about what's in OUR interests, not what's nice for people who don't know how to live in the civilized world.

*I changed the link for the Romney quote for a cleaner transcript.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:28 AM | Comments (462)
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As the expression goes, you gotta be f'n kiddin me here.

Well, it's from the Navy Times. I presume they would know.

“The ships are definitely Russian,” said noted naval author Norman Polmar after reviewing hi-resolution photos from the event. “There’s no question of that in my mind.”

Naval experts concluded the background was a photo composite of Russian ships that were overflown by what appear to be U.S. trainer jets. It remains unclear how or why the Democratic Party used whatÂ’s believed to be images of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at their convention.

I have no idea. Maybe a photo of a Navy Corpseman would have been a better backdrop.

via the scary brown dude Tushar over at the Splitters.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:06 AM | Comments (193)
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Muslims celebrate 9/11 in their traditional way...killing Americans.

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.

In a statement issued by the White House early Wednesday morning, President Obama said he had directed an increase in security at U.S. diplomatic posts around the world. CNN reported that the Defense Department has dispatched two Marine anti-terrorism security teams to Libya to reinforce security there.

Stevens, 52, and the others were fleeing the consulate when a rocket-propelled grenade struck their vehicle, news reports from Benghazi said.

...

The attack in Benghazi followed protests in neighboring Egypt, where a group of protesters scaled the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday evening and entered its outer grounds, pulled down an American flag, then tried to burn it outside the embassy walls, according to witnesses. On Wednesday morning, a sit-in of several dozen protesters continued outside the Cairo embassy.

So, when do the airstrikes start?

BTW- Here's what the delicate members of the "Religion of Peace" are upset about this time.

US pastor Terry Jones, who had inflamed anger in the Muslim world in 2010 with plans to burn the Koran, said he had promoted "Innocence of Muslims", which US media said was produced by an Israeli-American property developer; but clips of another film called "Mohammad, Prophet of Muslims", had been circulating for weeks before the protest.

That film portrayed Mohammad as a fool, a philanderer and a religious fake. In one clip posted on YouTube Mohammad was shown in a sexual act with a woman.

Jones, a pastor in Florida whose latest stunt fell on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, triggered riots in Afghanistan in 2010 with his threat to burn the Koran.

Great job by these barbarians. No one had a clue what this movie was until now.

Obama's statement contains this outrageous passage.

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.

Stop this crap NOW. The right of people to speak doesn't end at someone elses delicate feelings. The United States needs to be honest with these barbarians and explain the facts of life. We are free people and that's why we have a military, to protect those freedoms.

Oh and dear liberal foreign policy types: Please explain to me how throwing Israel under the bus would prevent this type of reaction from the Religion of the Perpetually Aggrieved?

Reminder: Benghazi was a major supplier of foreign fighters for al Qadea in Iraq. They love killing themselves some Americans.

Posted by: DrewM at 05:03 AM | Comments (726)
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This news is just breaking, so it may change radically and rapidly, but reports are that the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, along with two or three other Americans, has been killed in a rocket attack in Benghazi.

ICYMI, the Obama Administration is throwing its Cairo embassy under the bus for its "hurt Muslim feelings" idiocy.

Both events allegedly stem from Muslim butthurt over some supposedly "blasphemous" movie that I've never heard of.

There's some very sci-fi medicine in the works, if any of this is remotely accurate.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:47 AM | Comments (510)
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Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:07 PM | Comments (634)
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The US Embassy in Cairo tweeted:

"We consistently stand up for Muslims around the world and talk abt how Islam is a wonderful religion."

I can't find that Tweet now. I'm not sure it's been deleted, but I can't find it.

It's been re- tweeted a lot.

Dear Egyptian mob ransacking our embassy: We're sorry we hurt your "religious feelings."

Posted by: Ace at 03:49 PM | Comments (844)
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Remember the Sbarro bombing?

It killed 15, injured 130. The Americans killed were a 15 year old, and a 31 year old woman, pregnant with child.

The Department of Justice is not seeking her for murder.

He's the Foreign Policy President (TM)!

By the way, I'm not even going to say his name any longer. I will just refer to him as "This F***in' Guy."

Posted by: Ace at 02:50 PM | Comments (213)
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“I like being President," our newly-minted President announced extremely early in his first and last term. "And it turns out I’m pretty good at it.”

Even the NYT is noticing that, like many incompetents, Obama thinks he's uncommonly good. At everything.

As Election Day approaches, President Obama is sharing a few important things about himself. He has mentioned more than once in recent weeks that he cooks “a really mean chili.” He has impressive musical pitch, he told an Iowa audience. He is “a surprisingly good pool player,” he informed an interviewer — not to mention (though he does) a doodler of unusual skill.

Even by the standards of the political world, Mr. ObamaÂ’s obsession with virtuosity and proving himself the best are remarkable, those close to him say. (Critics call it arrogance.)

...

But even those loyal to Mr. Obama say that his quest for excellence can bleed into cockiness and that he tends to overestimate his capabilities.

...

For someone dealing with the worldÂ’s weightiest matters, Mr. Obama spends surprising energy perfecting even less consequential pursuits. He has played golf 104 times since becoming president, according to Mark Knoller of CBS News, who monitors his outings, and he asks superior players for tips that have helped lower his scores.

...

Even some Democrats in Washington say they have been irritated by his tips on topics ranging from the best way to shake hands on the trail (really look voters in the eye, he has instructed) to writing well...

The apes cocked their heads. The grotto raised an eyebrow. The figs' ears pricked up.

...

For another, he may not always be as good at everything as he thinks, including politics. While Mr. Obama has given himself high grades for his tenure in the White House — including a “solid B-plus” for his first year — many voters don’t agree, citing everything from his handling of the economy to his unfulfilled pledge that he would be able to unite Washington to his claim that he would achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Those were not the only times Mr. Obama may have overestimated himself: he has also had a habit of warning new hires that he would be able to do their jobs better than they could.

“I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters,” Mr. Obama told Patrick Gaspard, his political director, at the start of the 2008 campaign, according to The New Yorker. “I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m going to think I’m a better political director than my political director.”

Posted by: Ace at 02:05 PM | Comments (278)
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Gripping.

At the fortieth floor, we started coming in contact with firemen. They were saying, "C'mon, down you go! Don't worry, it's safe below." Most of them were stone-faced. Looking back, there were some frightened firemen.

When we got below the thirtieth floor, they started to bring down injured people from flights above. There was a guy with the back of his shirt burned off, a little burn on his shoulder. One woman had severe burns on her face.

We got down to the twentieth floor and a fireman said, "Does anyone know CPR?" I'm no longer certified, but I know it from college. That was ten years ago. You wouldn't want me on an EMT team, but if it comes down to saving somebody, I know how.

So me and this other guy volunteer. We helped this one heavy, older man who came down huffing and puffing, and we kept our eyes out for anyone else. "Do you need help? Do you need help?" Nobody needed help. The stairway became wide-open. It was time to go. The other guy took off in front of me. We were going pretty fast.

Have you ever been to the World Trade Center? There's a mezzanine level, then you go downstairs, which is subterranean, into this big mall. Our stairwell exited out onto that mezzanine level. At that point, I could look out across the plaza at 2 World Trade Center. That's when I realized the gravity of what had happened. I saw dead bodies everywhere, and none that I saw were intact. It was hard to tell how many. Fifty maybe? I scanned for a second and then focused on the head of a young woman with some meat on it. I remember my hand coming up in front of my face to block the sight. Then I took off. As I ran, people were coming out of another stairwell. I stopped and said, "Don't look outside! Don't look outside!" The windows were stained with blood. Someone who'd jumped had fallen very close to the building.

It felt like my head was going to blow up.

To this day people still say "It was like watching a movie."

And it was. For this reason: Because only in the movies do they make villains as psychopathically, nihilistically murderous and barbarous.

Large segments of our society still can't grasp that yes, monsters exist, and not just in the movies.

Posted by: Ace at 01:09 PM | Comments (268)
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