This is infuriating. HotAir, Michelle Malkin, and others have covered this and there's not much to add because I think we're all equally outraged at the "rules of engagement" that led to this Clinton style bungle. Kerry Sanders originally broke this story, and has details on the photo release.

Anyway, here's the deal. We had an undetected drone spot over 100 taliban fighters standing in formation at a funeral in Afghanistan. Excited Army officers quickly had the wind taken out of their sails when folks higher up in the chain of command said a strike was a no go because apparently our self imposed rules of engagement forbid attacking terrorists at a funeral.

To be clear, there is nothing illegal or against Geneva Conventions (not that ununiformed soldiers that don't fight for a particular country are entitled to Geneva Convention rights anyway). Judge Napolitano broke it down on Gibson today, and to sum up this was basically a stupid decision in an effort to appear civil to people that don't car about civility! There was nothing that forced us to pass on this massive target, other than our own "let's play nice" rules. This is crap. I just mentioned the other day that this mentallity is our biggest weakness and we need to cut the crap and get tough.

Remember the fiasco in Iraq when terrorists were hiding in hospitals, mosques, and schools. They fired out but we wouldn't fire back in. Actually this is still going on today. These sorts of rules are our weakness and get our military folks killed. It's the same as this funeral incident. We try to play nice with terrorists... why? I don't think anyone wants to argue that we're trying to show good will to the Taliban, in hopes that they'll "see the light" or something. The argument you'll probably hear is that we're trying to be sensitive to everyone in the region, but come on. If they're going to get made about it, you know who's side they're on anyway. There's comes a time when we need to decide if we are trying to win these wars, and stop all these politically correct tactics. How many people will now die at the hands of these 100+ Taliban fighters?

 

For months and years we've heard the media, the left, and our European "allies" crowing about the outrageous abuses taking place at the enemy combatant detention center, Guantanamo Bay Prison (GITMO) in Cuba. These claims of abuses have almost always turned out to be completely false or totally blown out of proportion. We all remember when Newsweek ran the false story about a Gitmo guard flushing one of the detainee's Korans down the toilet. Newsweek was eventually forced to make a retraction, but not before over a dozen were killed and many more injured in riots in Afghanistan in reaction to the story.

The majority of other cases of "abuse" turned out to be not much more than humiliation, despite attempts by the media and "human rights" insistence that they are tantamount to torture. Things like making a detainee wear a bra, dance with a man, or act like a dog. How could we treat people with such unspeakable cruelty!? (sarcasm)

Of course there were the 5 famous substantiated cases of "mishandling" of the Koran or the time urine came in contact with the Koran. Of course the media ran wild with these stories and other unsubstantiated allegations, while virtually ignoring all the cases of detainees destroying their own Korans and throwing them in the toilets.

All of these horrific abuses, according to top Senate Democrat Dick Durbin, rose the level of what some of the most evil men the planet has ever see did to their victims. Durbin famously said:

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings,"

You can't repeat that quote enough, because it shows exactly what the modern Democratic Party is all about. What's sad is that his Dem pals in the House even had to admit that after personally visiting Gitmo, they saw nothing to support the abuse allegations. Of course they treated is as progress, rather than a continuance of how it always was. Other reports have come back showing the same thing - that Gitmo is nothing like it's portrayed in the media.

I suppose Durbin was on solid ground when comparing our military men and women to Nazis though. He must have just gotten the advanced report that the detainees are tortured daily by being fed gourmet Islam compliant meals, cooled with air conditioning, having their own personal bathrooms, and enduring the pain of tasty treats like ice cream and cookies! Man we Americans are evil!

Screw all this reality though, we should probably take the word of human rights activists who put on a play in the UK's House of Commons to show us all what Gitmo is really like. I guess I must have missed their other performances reliving the abuses of Saddam Hussein.

Now after months of bogus liberal media reports, lies of "human rights" groups about abuse/torture that came only from the mouths of detainees, and a court ruling that forced Bush to cave in and give Geneva Convention rights to these people, which is essentially the treatment they got anyway, we learn that the abuse seems to be coming more from the detainees and not directed at them.

It seems that beyond destroying their own Korans, the detainees have violently and/or disgustingly attacked the guards on hundreds of occassions just between Dec. 2002 and July 2005. And of course we all remember the attempted (and thankfully failed) ambush attempt by detainees when one faked a suicide attempt in May of this year. Just what have the detainees been up to you ask? Well...

WASHINGTON - The prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay during the war on terror have attacked their military guards hundreds of times, turning broken toilet parts, utensils, radios and even a bloody lizard tail into makeshift weapons.

Pentagon incident reports reviewed by The Associated Press show Military Police guards are routinely head-butted, spat upon and doused by "cocktails" of feces, urine, vomit and sperm collected in meal cups by the prisoners.

If the rest of this wasn't so disgusting, the attack with a lizard tail is actually pretty funny. All I can think of is the asian guy in Austin Powers who's weapon of choice is to throw is shoe, and when Austin encounters him and says, "Honestly man, who throws a shoe?". "Honestly Jihadi, who stabs with a lizard tail?"

The detainee "reached under the face mask of an IRF (Initial Reaction Force) team member's helmet and scratched his face, attempting to gouge his eyes," states a May 27, 2005, report on an effort to remove a recalcitrant prisoner from his cell.

"The IRF team member received scratches to his face and eye socket area," the report said.

Of course the AP (always fair and balanced, right?) decided to get the other side of the story, and ask a detainee (you know, because we should trust anything they say).

Moazamm Begg, 38, a prisoner for more than two years at Guantanamo before being released to Great Britain, said he was suspicious of the Pentagon's description of incidents, especially allegations that Muslim men tore their Qurans or used sperm in attacks. The Pentagon continues to publicly question Begg's claim of innocence.

"This just doesn't make sense — especially since for Muslims this would be something that was disgusting, something that just wouldn't be done," he said. He added that some detainees told him they had mixed toothpaste and spit in the cocktails to make it look like semen.

Hold on, hold on... I'm trying to take notes on this, because I'm studying for my Islam admissions test... So that I'm clear - Muslims wouldn't throw man juice at prison guards... But they're not averse to flying planes in to buildings to kill thousands of innocent people, straping bombs on themselves and getting on buses to kill women and children, or hiding in civilian populations, mosques and schools? Allah-hu-Akbar!

The reports detail more than 440 incidents between guards and prisoners from December 2002 through summer 2005 that resulted in recommendations of discipline, an average of about three per week. The names of guards and prisoners as well as the final discipline were blacked out by the Pentagon.

Not enough for ya?

"Detainee stabbed the MP guard ... in the hand with his spork from chow meal," the report said, adding the prisoner later "made a slicing motion across his neck" and vowed to kill the guard.

"They'll take the smallest things, be it a piece of rust," he said. "They told us they are going to take that piece of rust and they are going for the jugular, they are going for the eye. They know what our vulnerabilities are, anatomically speaking."

Meal plates, shower flip-flops, cleaning brushes and other items deemed harmless in civilian life also are commonly turned into weapons, the reports said. For instance:

_"Detainee in cell (redacted) grabbed the radio from an MP and then threw the radio at the MP. The detainee then threw rocks at the MP," a Dec. 23, 2003, incident report stated.

_A detainee "reached out of his bean hole and attacked MP (name redacted) with a piece of metal foot pad from toilet striking him on the left hip area," a July 15, 2005, report said.

_"Detainee broke off the top of his sink, subsequently broke out the window then began throwing the sink and pieces of pipes at the Block Guard," a March 25, 2005, report said.

One of the most unusual incidents detailed in the four-inch stack of incident reports occurred when a detainee in the prison recreation yard assaulted a guard with a bloody tail torn from a lizard.

The detainee "caught the iguana by the tail at which time the tail detached," the May 2005 report described. When the guard turned to talk to a commanding officer, "he felt something strike him in the lower right back" and then "saw the tail on the ground at his feet and blood was in the same area of his uniform." The detainee said he was "just playing."

Nicolucci said one of the most serious incidents occurred this May, too recent to be recorded in the Pentagon's released reports. A prisoner staged an apparent suicide attempt while his inmates slicked the floors with human waste, seeking to overpower guards when they slipped, he said.

Nothing to see here mainstream media!!! Ignore these 440 documented incidents, and just keep reporting the handful of "abuses" based on nothing more than detainee testimony. I mean, reporting on what sick bastards these detainees are doesn't make the United States military look bad, and it doesn't stand to hurt the President politcally, so there's really no need to report the REAL story here.

Michelle Malkin, as digusted as I, adds more to the story with a personal letter from a father of one of the female troops serving at Gitmo. Here's just a paragraph (read on an empty stomach):

I just watched you on FOX. My daughter was in Gitmo for a year as a Master-at- Arms, E4. (10/04-10/05) She was injured several times by the inmates assaulting her physically. In addition, she knew that when she was doing her job by enforcing the rules, she was threatened by the prisoners if she had to touch them. They would get her. They mixed a cocktail of urine, feces, and semen, and let it fester for days until the right moment. They warned her that she was a target and then they got her, she was assaulted several times by loads of crap thrown at her.

BUT BUT... BUT the Americans made a detainee bark like a dog! That's the real crime, cant you see!?

How do we fight a war when we have to worry about so much little BS from the left, the media, and our "allies", essentially fighting against us every chance they get? Malkin sums it up:

Do you find yourself muttering "we're screwed" under your breath 10 times a day, too?

Sadly, yes. Can you guys even imagine what would happen to a prisoner in a civilian prison in the United States if they behaved like this?

More:
Stop the ACLU, Old War Dogs, Blogofascists, Dave Lucas, Kevin Aylward, Wizbang, Webloggin, ThoughtsOnline, Expose the Left, The Uncooperative Blogger, PoliPundit

 

Okay, I'm not a cartoonist, but I do like sketching little toons out on occasion if there is something to inspire it. Not being an "artist" I generally do this on printer paper and with a regular, grocery store bought, black pen and then I later scan the piece of paper. Threw this little sketch together earlier... hope you enjoy.

Anyway, this is how I imagine Bin Laden after his obvious recent extreme makeover, causing him to offer a truce to the United States.

Bongs Not Bombs, Man

 

ABC News is reporting that we may get a second terror tape release, this one by al-Zawahiri.:

Jan. 20, 2006 — Security is being stepped up across the country today after the release of a new audiotape in which Osama bin Laden threatens to attack the U.S. homeland — though the government is not elevating the national alert level.

The new security measures are being taken as ABC News learns that al Qaeda Web sites have posted messages saying yet another tape is about to be released — this one from al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who apparently escaped a missile attack that targeted him in Pakistan a week ago. The Web sites say he will mourn his colleagues who were killed in that attack.

And incase you didn't catch Scott McClellan's reaction to the UBL tape yesterday:

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it was a sign of weakness.

"We do not negotiate with terrorists," McClellan said. "We put them out of business."

That's a classic line. I'd like to hear more statements like this from the White House.

 

hat tip: Michelle Malkin, who hat tips Little Green Footballs for this find... (read the caption)

Yup, you read it right. The AP is calling the world's most notorious terrorist an "exiled Saudi dissident". A couple quick Google and Yahoo! searches revealed that the "exiled Saudi dissident" caption has been a staple in many AP articles for a number of years. Of course when it was used in the late 90s, the AP and other media using the term might be able to play the ignorance card. Heck, they were lucky to have heard of Bin Laden at all, considering Clinton was doing everything in his power to turn down offers to take Bin Laden in to custody.

Anyway, a lot of bloggers are talking about the new video, and many even about this "dissident" thing, but are unaware that this isn't just a one time thing. As I said, I did just a little Googling and Yahooing and found a number of examples bost pre and post 9/11. We shouldn't really cut them that much slack for doing it in the late 90s because they knew (or should have) who this guy was... but it's the more recent examples that are the annoying ones. I'll give you handful of both though.

For the record, Dictionary.com defines "dissident" as:

Disagreeing, as in opinion or belief.

Pre-9/11
MSNBC - August 24, 1998
CBS News - June 25, 2001

Post-9/11
CNN - September 19, 2001
WorldNetDaily.com - September 19, 2001
AP via The Sierra Times - September 24, 2001
CBS News - September 30, 2001
USA Today - September 30, 2001
Chicago Tribune - October 1, 2001
AP via Fox News - October 5, 2001
AP via CBS News - October 11, 2001

AP via CBS News - June 19, 2002
AP via SFGate.com - June 19, 2002

It was weird searching for these. Pre-9/11 there were a lot from 1998 and 1999, but as I said, those aren't quite as annoying as the post 9/11 examples. The abundance of what I was finding was from September and October of 2001, and as you see a couple from 2002. This was just basic Yahoo! and Google searching, so I'm sure I missed dozens (if not hundreds) of other examples out there.

If anyone else out there found other examples I didn't include, email me at randy at rightwinged dot com. I know they're out there, but don't have the time to look for them at the moment, so please send 'em over if you found any.

Blog roundup:
Michelle Malkin, Michelle Malkin again, The Political Teen, Little Green Footballs, Junkyard Blog, The Jawa Report, Captain's Quarters, MacsMind, Iowa Voice, Public Figures.... Beware, Flap's Blog, Texas Fred, Rightwing Nuthouse, The New Editor, Murdoc Online, American Pie Revisted, The Strata-Sphere, The Political Pitbull, Sensible Mom, Stop the ACLU, The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill, Rovian Conspiracy, Suitably Flip, Conservative Outpost, Law Hawk, Politechnical, Super Fun Power Hour, Publius Rendezvous, Conservative Revolution, Protein Wisdom, Low Earth Orbit, Uncooperative Blogger, Martin's Musings, Reverse Vampyr, Busblog, Rant Fever, Decision '08, In The Bullpen, Outside the Beltway, The Counterterrorism Blog 1, The Counterterrorism Blog 2, The Counterterrorism Blog 3, The Counterterrorism Blog 4, Wizbang

 

First off, if you've just woken up, or otherwise hadn't heard.... Bin Laden released an audio tape today. The Political Teen has the video (actually video from CNN, but it is just an audio tape.)

Here's a quick summary... Bin Laden claims that the lack of attacks on U.S. soil aren't the result of security measures, but the fact that attacks are in the planning stages, but that they are coming. Weird thing is, he also offers a truce, which I believe is nothing more than a desperate appeal to the Arab and Muslim world (playing the "peace" seeker) for support because he's clearly not Mr. Popular these days. This wasn't the first time he's done this in more recent years.

I propose a long-term truce with the U.S. military.

Anyway, like his custom in his late 2004 tapes, he goes on to make the same comments that we hear out of the Democrats all day every day here. Fox News has the transcript. A sample:

Iraq has now become a point of attraction to all qualified people the mujahadeen.....

So you see how Bush was misleading people. The opinion polls are for the pull out and it's important that opinion polls say the people didn't want to fight the Muslims in their land and they didn't want the Muslims to fight them in their land.

While I personally have believed he may be dead, even for a couple years (been on the fence for a while), the CIA, as always, confirms that they think it is him. Anyway, I don't think we should view this as anything more than a response to the successful bombing of high level al Qaedas in Pakistan the other day.

Anyway, it's odd enough that Bin Laden is offering a truce... but couple that with the President of France (of all places!), Jacques Chirac, threatening terrorists with Nukes and I about fell out of my chair!

BREST, France (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it would be ready to use nuclear weapons against any state that carried out a terrorist attack against it, reaffirming the need for its nuclear deterrent.

"The leaders of states who would use terrorist means against us, as well as those who would consider using in one way or another weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would lay themselves open to a firm and adapted response on our part," Chirac said during a visit to a nuclear submarine base in northwestern France.

"This response could be a conventional one. It could also be of a different kind."

So suddenly we have Chirac putting down the white flag in favor of nuclear arms, and Bin Laden getting ready to attend a peace rally? This is too much to digest right now...

Blog roundup:
Michelle Malkin, Michelle Malkin again, The Political Teen, Little Green Footballs, Junkyard Blog, The Jawa Report, Captain's Quarters, MacsMind, Iowa Voice, Public Figures.... Beware, Flap's Blog, Texas Fred, Rightwing Nuthouse, The New Editor, Murdoc Online, American Pie Revisted, The Strata-Sphere, The Political Pitbull, Sensible Mom, Stop the ACLU, The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill, Rovian Conspiracy, Suitably Flip, Conservative Outpost, Law Hawk, Politechnical, Super Fun Power Hour, Publius Rendezvous, Conservative Revolution, Protein Wisdom, Low Earth Orbit, Uncooperative Blogger, Martin's Musings, Reverse Vampyr, Busblog, Rant Fever, Decision '08, In The Bullpen, Outside the Beltway, The Counterterrorism Blog 1, The Counterterrorism Blog 2, The Counterterrorism Blog 3, The Counterterrorism Blog 4, Wizbang

 

I credit Fox News in the title because this is where I heard it, and they are still talking about it as we speak... However the source is Reuters, and I found a link here. Just giving credit where it's due.

On to the story... It seems there is a "new" tape out from Bin Laden. I say "new" with quotes, because I don't know the details yet, so we don't know that it's recent, and we really don't know if he's alive... I've always felt it's possible that he's been dead for quite soe time. Either way, they're saying he promises new attacks in the U.S. The United States citizens are doing a sarcastic collective "shaking in our boots." Okay buddy, release your questionably legit tapes from your cave once or twice a year... pretty scary bud.

More (but not much)

UPDATE 9:17: Via AP
Jan 19, 10:13 AM EST

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Al-Jazeera has broadcast an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden, saying al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States (CORRECTS it to audiotape, sted videotape).

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Al-Jazeera has broadcast an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden, saying al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States (CORRECTS it to audiotape, sted videotape).

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

UPDATE 9:22: Fox News now has a link up, but nothing new. Hopefully these pages I've will update as news becomes available, and translations of the tape are confirmed. Fox News is also reporting that Bin Laden may offer a truce on the tapes... that would be weird though, because all the other reports are that he said they're preparing to attack us... but at the same time one of his supposed tapes in 2004 was trying to come from the "fredom fighter" angle, basically saying that Al Qaeda attacks were only the result of continued U.S. agression and presence in the region. If that was him at that time, it was a change of tone obviously used as a desperate attempt to gain support as they continue to lose it.

UPDATE: 9:26 FROM THEMURCHANNEL.COM

Al-Jazeera Airs Purported New Bin Laden Tape

POSTED: 10:08 am EST January 19, 2006
UPDATED: 10:26 am EST January 19, 2006

CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Jazeera aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden on Thursday, saying al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States but offering a truce to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.

The voice on the tape said heightened security measures in the United States are not the reason there have been no attacks there since the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings.

Instead, the reason is "because there are operations that need preparations, and you will see them," he said.

"Based on what I have said, it is better not to fight the Muslims on their land," he said. "We do not mind offering you a truce that is fair and long-term. ... So we can build Iraq and Afghanistan ... there is no shame in this solution because it prevents wasting of billions of dollars ... to merchants of war."

The speaker did not give conditions for a truce in the excerpts aired by the Arab broadcaster.

Refresh this page later for updates.

Same Here

More: My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy