Blogs of War

When Liberals Attack

The Daily Recycler is a new blog with some interesting video of a Kerry supporter punching a Bush supporter in the face and getting arrested.

Iraqi militants have kidnapped two Frenchmen to protest France’s ban on students wearing Islamic head coverings in public schools, according to a tape aired by Al-Jazeera television.

The Qatar-based satellite news channel said it had received a tape from a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq showing several seconds of video footage with two men talking.
- Boston.com

Related:
Al-Jazeera

Bill Maher urges Anti-RNC protesters to riot. (RealVideo)

I will be updating this post throughout the day with RNC and RNC protest news.

Democrats are terrified of a secretive think tank:

When Steve Baldwin, the executive director of an organization with the stale-as-old-bread name of the Council for National Policy, boasts that “we control everything in the world,” he is only half-kidding.

Half-kidding, because the council doesn’t really control the world. The staff of about eight, working in a modern office building in Fairfax, Va., isn’t even enough for a real full-court basketball game.

But also half-serious because the council has deservedly attained the reputation for conceiving and promoting the ideas of many who in fact do want to control everything in the world.

For many liberals, the 22-year-old council is very dangerous and dangerously secretive, and has fueled conspiratorial antipathy. The group wants to be the conservative version of the Council on Foreign Relations, but to some, CNP members — among the brightest lights of the hard right — are up to no good. The CNP meets this weekend at a Washington location known to fewer insiders than the identity of the vice president’s undisclosed chunk of bedrock.
- ABC News

I’m still checking the mail for my invitation.

Iran is revealing their hand:

Iran is ready to provide “guarantees” it won’t seek nuclear weapons and warned the United States that success in stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan was impossible without Iranian support, the president said Saturday.

“We are ready to do everything necessary to give guarantees that we won’t seek nuclear weapons,” President Mohammad Khatami said at a wide-ranging press conference in Tehran, the capital.
- AP

They want to stay in power, have a hand in the the two bordering countries under U.S. control, and legitimacy within the region. If we know what’s good for us we’ll deny them all three.

This post will be updated throughout the day with RNC and RNC Protest news.

Quicklinks:
NYC Indymedia (Anti)
Portland IndyMedia’s Live NYC Protests Radio
A-Noise NoRNC Streaming Radio (Anti)
Critical Mass (Anti)

Updates:
10:25 PM CST - Industrial Workers of the World is one of the groups taking part in these protests. They’re campaigning for a federally mandated 4 hour work week without pay cuts. There’s an idea that makes sense…if you’re stoned.

10:15 PM CST - “Thousands of republicans are converging on Times Square tomorrow evening to enjoy various Broadway shows. This is a call to all pissed off New Yorkers, radicals of all persuasions, and anyone else who wants to give these right wingers a true New York welcome to meet up at one of the following post march reconvergence points and join in the fun!” via NYC IndyMedia

6:46 PM CST - A revolutionary has some not very suprising thoughts on the media: “Much of the local and world media has NOT been hostile to the protests. In particular, New York Newsday, the Times and the Voice have (basically) supported the protests. Even the Post came out for permits. So know that everyone in the establishment is not our enemy. Treat everyone like a friend, even if they don’t come correct.” via NYC IndyMedia

3:19 PM CST - “To resist is to make the President afraid to leave the White House because he will be spat upon wherever he goes to tell his lies, because his limousine will find the street filled with tacks and thousands of people who will surge around it, smashing the windows and rocking the car until it is turned on its side. Have we forgotten? The man is a murderer. It is us he is killing.” via NYC IndyMedia

2:15 PM CST - A-Noise Radio and Portland IndyMedia Radio are both streaming live audio coverage and propaganda. A-Noise will be taking live callers at 212-233-5767. Portland IndyMedia will accept calls to 800-939-7973.

2:09 PM CST - Profiles in Courage Insanity: “Starhawk is perhaps the best-known pagan priestess in America. She defines pagans as those who understand the earth as a living entity of which all life forms are a part, including human beings. She believes the earth and its inhabitants are under assault largely due to policies being carried out by the U.S. government.” via NYC IndyMedia. She has a website too.

1:28 PM CST - Bill Maher urges protesters to riot. (RealVideo)

4:44 AM CST - “Yesterday, I suggested Republican convention blogging would be more interesting than the Democratic convention bloggery because of the possibility of rioting. Communists, anarchists, naive fellow-travelers and assorted other unhappy people make for colorful coverage (although also occasionally colorless uncoverage), and bloggers can do a good job of reporting the realities the media oft ignore – that most protesters are hard-core anti-American leftists.” - RNC credentialed RedState.org

4:36 AM CST - Rise Up reports from the Critical Mass protest: “We could have reclaimed some of the dignity we’ve lost by our decades-long passivity. In most countries, resistance, solidarity, these actually mean something. Most white North American activists have yet to realize that we are in the middle of a war, and we need to act like it. Revolution isn’t a fashion statement, it’s a necessity. So far in New York, I don’t think I’ve seen any revolutionaries, just spectators. And there’s always the ever-present sophist to say “Now is not the time,” “being aggressive towards the cops will alienate people,” or explaining a long drawn out process of change that by all means never puts privileged white activists at risk. You can’t change an authoritarian system without conflict.”

4:32 AM CST - “Let’s kill all those fucken pigs with apipe bomb” (Posted by MAYDAY) via NYC IndyMedia

4:15AM CST - “Join us in our vigil at the World Trade Center memorial site. Look for the banners that read “Stop the 9/11 Cover-Up” and “Was 9/11 an Inside Job?” via NYC IndyMedia

4:00 AM CST - Photos of arrests of Critical Mass protesters at St. Marks Church.

3:45 AM CST - Protest activity is heating up already with over 200 arrests. Messages like this: “I suggest that now is the time to get “Black Panther” on ANY and ALL NYPD! the police state HAS ARRIVED! Time to fight back! or do some of you still think that “pacifism” will get ya anywhere?” (from Eric Festo, empire_watch@yahoo.com | Empire Watch) are already popping up in Indymedia comments.

3:43 AM CST - “Leftist protestors and Democratic Party supporters have promised to hit New York City in force during next week’s Republican National Convention – and many of them are openly advocating violence. The “RNC Not Welcome” website advises its protestors, “The only time it’s okay to speak about illegal actions is when you are planning them with the small group of trusted people who will be doing the action with you.” - The Left’s Battle for New York (Frontpage Magazine)

2:30 AM CST - ABC News has the details on a disrupted bomb plot: “Two men have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to bomb a subway station in midtown Manhattan, sources said early Saturday.” The station is one block from the RNC but officials said there is no known connection to the RNC. That’s a stretch.

Two men have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to bomb a subway station in midtown Manhattan, sources said early Saturday.

At least one of the men may have an affiliation with a terrorist organization, according to two law enforcement sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The sources said the group in question was not believed to be al-Qaida.
- ABC News

Supporters of the radical Taliban movement in Afghanistan have released a new video recording, depicting combat operations both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in confrontations with U.S., ISAF, Pakistani, and Afghani military forces. The recording includes reconnaissance shots of various anti-Taliban armed convoys, and the sporadic use of roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices against them.
- GlobalTerrorAlert.com

You can watch the video here. (Windows Media Format) For those of you who don’t know two other good sources of these videos are the pro-Chechen Kavkaz Center and the aptly named The Nausea. (warning: both sites contain extremely graphic video)

Tip: Chad Evans of In the Bullpen

60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports the FBI believes it has “solid” evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials that include secret White House policy deliberations on Iran.

At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

The FBI investigation, headed up by Dave Szady, has involved wiretaps, undercover surveillance and photography that CBS News was told document the passing of classified information from the mole, to the men at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis.

CBS sources say that last year the suspected spy, described as a trusted analyst at the Pentagon, turned over a presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran while it was, “in the draft phase when U.S. policy-makers were still debating the policy.”

…With ties to top Pentagon officials Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the analyst was assigned to a unit within the Defense Department tasked with helping develop the Pentagon’s Iraq policy.
- CBS News

Live Updates: (Tips: tips@blogsofwar.com)
7:25 AM CST - Laura Rozen of War and Piece has some information about the investigation: “A source told me that some time in July, Larry Franklin called him and asked him to meet him in a coffee shop in Northern Virginia. Franklin had intelligence on hostile Iranian activities in Iraq and was extremely frustrated that he did not feel this intelligence was getting the attention and response it deserved. The intelligence included information that the Iranians had called all of their intelligence operatives who speak Arabic to southern Iraq, that it had moved their top operative for Afghanistan, a guy named Qudzi, to the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, that its operatives were targeting Iraqi state oil facilities, and that Iranian agents were infiltrating into northern Iraq to target the Israelis written about in a report by Seymour Hersh. According to my source, Franklin passed the information to the individual from AIPAC with the hope it could reach people at higher levels of the US government who would act on it. AIPAC presented the information to Elliot Abrams in the NSC. They also presented the part that involved Israelis who might be targeted to the Israelis, with the motivation to protect Israeli lives.”

5:37 AM CST- The Mercury News identifies Larry Franklin as a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) analyst on loan to Douglas Feith. links and profiles below.

5:19 AM CST - “No name officially released, but Washington Post identifies him as Larry Franklin, a desk officer in the Pentagon’s Near East and South Asia Bureau. Pentagon officials say Franklin was not in position to influence US policy.” via the often unreliable Debka.com (Profile below)

11:45 PM CST - I just received an e-mail from a reader asking if I think that this, if confirmed, will damage the U.S.-Israeli relationship. The short answer is no. There is too much at stake here. There will be official protests and snarky comments and a few folks might even get expelled or recalled but the relationship will go on. However, the individual at the center of the investigation isn’t going to fare so well. You can ask Jonathan Pollard all about that.

11:41 PM CST - My apologies for the image above. This is a serious matter but the news flow slowed to a crawl and you know what they say about idle hands…

11:10 PM CST - A lot of people are speculating about the mole’s identity. I won’t do that here. However, as I identify interesting characters I’ll link them in the “U.S. Government Related” links below.

10:21 PM CST - The Israeli government denies wrongdoing: “We categorically deny these allegations,'’ Israeli embassy spokesman David Siegel said in an interview. “They are completely false and outrageous.'’ - Bloomberg

10:05 PM CST - AIPAC has issued a statement: “We will not let any innuendo or false allegation against AIPAC distract us from our central mission supporting America’s interests in the Middle East and advocating for a strong relationship with Israel.”

7:25 PM CST - MSNBC writes “U.S. officials described the target of the investigation, whom they would not identify, as a “fairly senior Pentagon official.” There are a handful of names on the organization chart I linked on the last update that are worth a Google.

6:05 PM CST - The article states that the analyst/mole has ties to Douglas J. Feith the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and author of Israel’s Legitimacy in Law and History. You can view his organization chart here.

Blogs of War Related:
Blogs of War Intelligence Community links

U.S. Government Related:
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
DefenseLink (DoD)
Department of Defense Leadership (DoD)
Douglas J. Feith Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Profile (DoD)
Near East and South Asian Affairs Bureau - (ISA/NESA DoD)
ISA/NESA Links page - (ISA/NESA DoD)
Center for Cooperative Research - Douglas J. Feith Profile
Center for Cooperative Research - Larry Franklin Profile
Center for Cooperative Research - Harold Rhode Profile
Center for Cooperative Research - David Wurmser Profile
Center for Cooperative Research - F. Michael Maloof Profile
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Israeli Government & Lobby:
Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)

Other Blogs:
Backcountry Conservative - Spy in Rumsfeld’s Office?
In the Bullpen - Pentagon Official Suspected of Spying
Roger L. Simon - My Grandmother Used to Divide Things Between…
Israpundit - FBI Suspects Israel Has Mole in Pentagon
Command Post - FBI Investigating Possible Israeli Spy in Pentagon
Stix - FBI Probes Pentagon Spy Case
Allah Pundit - Allah is in the House

Related Media:
Google News Search on “Pentagon Spy Case“
Associated Press - Recent Major U.S. Spy Cases
The Jerusalem Post - Israel
Ha’aretz - Israel
Israel Insider - Israel

Flashback - Jonathan Pollard:
Wikipedia profile
Court TV - The Jonathan Jay Pollard Spy Case

While my father was serving two tours in Vietnam, John Kerry was comparing him and other veterans to Ghengis Khan. Now that Kerry’s running for president, he want to wrap himself in the cloak of military service, with no repudiation of his former actions. He’s not sorry for his antiwar actions, and he doesn’t understand why people would have a problem with that.

I’m sorry, though. I’m sorry that when my dad came home I asked him if he’d done the things that people like John Kerry had tarred all the troops with doing. He didn’t need that, and didn’t deserve it.
- Florida Cracker

I don’t believe that John Kerry really understands why his Winter Soldier testimony hurt his fellow verterans so deeply. Even now I would bet that he chalks it all up to politics. His inability to appreciate and connect with the values held by the band of brothers he turned his back on is troubling.

The murder of six unarmed American airmen by an angry mob in the last summer of the Second World War was remembered by a German town yesterday, ending more than half a century of secrecy. The men had baled out of a burning aircraft in August 1944. The badly injured radio operator was taken to hospital and the Germans took the eight other airmen by train to a prisoner of war camp north of Frankfurt. The route led through Rüsselsheim.
- Times Online (Registration required)

This story has sparked an interesting debate at the Democratic Underground. Check it out if you think you can stomach it.

Experts are saying that John Kerry’s military records, the few that he has released, contain inaccuracies most commonly seen in fakes:

But the official records on Kerry’s Web site only add to the confusion. The DD214 form, an official Defense Department document summarizing Kerry’s military career posted on johnkerry.com, includes a “Silver Star with combat V.”

But according to a U.S. Navy spokesman, “Kerry’s record is incorrect. The Navy has never issued a ‘combat V’ to anyone for a Silver Star.”

…B.G. Burkett, a Vietnam veteran himself, received the highest award the Army gives to a civilian, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, for his book Stolen Valor. Burkett pored through thousands of military service records, uncovering phony claims of awards and fake claims of military service. “I’ve run across several claims for Silver Stars with combat V’s, but they were all in fake records,” he said.

…Reporting by the Washington Post’s Michael Dobbs points out that although the Kerry campaign insists that it has released Kerry’s full military records, the Post was only able to get six pages of records under its Freedom of Information Act request out of the “at least a hundred pages” a Naval Personnel Office spokesman called the “full file.”

What could that more than 100 pages contain? Questions have been raised about President Bush’s drill attendance in the reserves, but Bush received his honorable discharge on schedule. Kerry, who should have been discharged from the Navy about the same time – July 1, 1972 – wasn’t given the discharge he has on his campaign Web site until July 13, 1978. What delayed the discharge for six years? This raises serious questions about Kerry’s performance while in the reserves that are far more potentially damaging than those raised against Bush.
- Chicago Sun-Times

If you were a “highly decorated war hero” and you were running for President based soley on that accomplishment wouldn’t you want your military records made public?

A fresh heads up from Homeland Security:

Al Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups may be considering attacks against Veterans Affairs hospitals in the United States, U.S. law enforcement officials said.

Citing reports of “suspicious activity” at VA hospitals in Colorado and Bethesda, Maryland, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin on Thursday urging law enforcement agencies around the country to be vigilant.

…"These facilities may be considered attractive targets due to their association with the military and a perception that such an attack may be more successful than an attack against traditional military targets,” the agencies said.
- Reuters

We do have to be vigilant but I suspect VA hospitals are pretty low on the list of desirable targets despite the connection to the military.

WWII Navy Veteran (I think he dabbled in acting as well) Paul Newman’s company, Newman’s Own, is supporting the troops by awarding grants to military oriented volunteer organizations:

“The award is sponsored by Newman’s Own Inc., Fisher House Foundation Inc., and the Military Times Media Group,” said Coker, who served as master of ceremonies for the event in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. “These three organizations issued a challenge to all private organizations serving our military communities: Present an innovative plan to improve the quality of life for your military community and receive funding to carry out that plan.”

The event was hosted by Charles S. Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, who assisted in presenting the $50,000 in grants to the winning organizations.

Abell emphasized that this marks the fifth year the three organizations have partnered to make the Newman’s Own Award possible. “In the five years, they’ve donated $225,000 in grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, and 40 separate organizations have received these grants,” Abell said.

In addition to the 16 award recipients, the ceremony honored all the private organizations that support the quality of life of military communities and military personnel and their families.

“All of our installations are better because these organizations are out there,” Abell said. “This competition recognizes the talent and innovation so many deserving people and organizations bring to our servicemembers.”
- American Forces Information Service

Related:
Newman’s Own
Fisher House Foundation
Military Times Media Group
Cheering Up the Wounded

Scan Eagle

Marines in Iraq have a cool new tool:

Scan Eagle is 4-feet long and has a 10–foot wingspan, and offers a wide variety of design features

It’s small size and quiet operations make it very difficult to detect from the ground.

“Scan Eagle carries either an elctro-optical or infrared camera. The camera allows the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets,” said Sliwa. “It can remain in flight for more than 15 hours.”

It can go up to approximately 10,000-feet with surveillance capabilities, said Freche.

Along with the Scan Eagle the military also employs the Predator UAV, which can launch Hellfire missiles and the Pioneer UAV, said Freche.

“The Marine Corps has been using the Pioneer up until this point,” said Freche. “The Scan Eagle is not here to replace the Pioneer; it’s here to assist in the efforts of troop coverage on the ground.”

The reaction to this aerial phenomenon speaks for itself.

“This is simply an extraordinary piece of equipment. It’s impressive,” said Gen. Nyland.
- USMC.mil

Related:
The Insitu Group - Videos (very cool) | Photos
Boeing - Scan Eagle launch photo | Scan Eagle videos

One of two Russian airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously was brought down by a terrorist act, officials said Friday, after finding traces of explosives in the plane’s wreckage. A Web site connected to Islamic militants claimed the action was connected to Russia’s fight against Chechen separatists.

The planes, with 90 people aboard, went down within 20 minutes of each other Tuesday night.

“According to preliminary information, at least one of the air crashes … has been the result of a terrorist act,” a spokesman for the Federal Security Service, Sergei Ignatchenko, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
- AP via Yahoo! News

Related:
Russian Official Points to Terrorism in Double Plane Crash
Two Russian Airliners Down - Hijack Signal Reported

Tip: R. Wright

A new U.N. report finds that all major al-Qaida-linked terror attacks - except the Sept. 11 hijackings - cost less than $50,000 each. Here is a list of attacks, their estimated cost according to the report, and the number of people killed.
- AP

The story details the costs of several well known attacks.

Continuing an unprecedented effort to reach out to American women, the Kerry- Edwards campaign today launched its national Women for Kerry- Edwards initiative. Today’s announcement features a report entitled, “Just Ask A Woman: A National Report on Women in America.”

The report examines how women have fared during the Bush administration over the past three and a half years and the Kerry- Edwards plan for women in America. Highlights of the report include women outlining their personal story and their support for the Kerry-Edwards ticket.

“As I’ve traveled the country, I’ve listened to women from all walks of life and heard their stories of struggle and triumph,” said Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. “An America stronger at home means respecting and honoring the many roles that women play in our country and as President, I will do just that.”
- U.S. Newswire

Alright, I’ll play this game. Dana Stevens, what did you think about John Kerry’s appearance on the Daily Show?

Kerry’s charisma was less than zero: It was negative. He was a charm vacuum, forced to actually borrow mojo from audience members. He was a dessicated husk, a tin man who really didn’t have a heart. His lack of vibrancy, his utter dearth of sex appeal made Al Gore look like Charo.
- Slate

I’ll give Kerry credit. It’s more fun that I thought it would be.

Because calling him a weasel would be rude.

It sounds like the DNC will have operatives on the ground in New York employing a host of (most likely dirty) tricks:

McAuliffe said the Democrats would have a “very strong organization” in New York over the next week to point out what he said would be Republicans’ sleight of hand.

…Overall, McAuliffe said, the counter-campaign would be “something our party has not done to this extent ever before,” but said Democrats had a few tricks up their sleeves.

“And we’ll need them,” he said. “Because George W. Bush has a trick or two up his.”
- UPI

Related:
Blogs of War RNC 2004 Coverage - Protesters

John Kerry’s 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is on C-SPAN at 8pm & 11:05pm ET. That’s right about now.

You can also read a full transcript.

Tip: Petrified Truth

I think that MilBlogs, specifically those of deployed troops, have offered an insightful and and generally supportive view of the War on Terror. Unfortunately, although understandably, the guys at the top are getting a little concerned:

Military officials are cracking down on blogs written by soldiers and Marines in Iraq, saying some of them reveal sensitive information. Critics say it’s an attempt to suppress unflattering truths about the U.S. occupation. NPR’s Eric Niiler reports.

A blogger with the pen name CBFTW, stationed near Mosul with the First Battallion, 23rd Regiment, says he began his My War Web log to help combat boredom. “I’m just writing about my experiences,” the soldier says. “I’m pretty much putting my diary on the Internet – that’s all it is.”

CBFTW says he has avoided describing sensitive information, such as U.S. weapons capabilities, weaknesses and scheduling. But earlier this month, CBFTW was lectured by commanders about violating operational security. Two other popular blogs run by soldiers have been shut down recently.
- NPR

I knew something was up with CBFTW when he posted this:

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
- CBFTW

I had been thinking about making My War a Blogs of War Site of the Week. We’ll see if he is still around on Monday

“Memories of green beans and beer in Cambodiai are seared-seared in me.”

Watch the video here. Then visit SwiftVets.com if you haven’t already (which is unlikely).

Related:
John Kerry Sold Out His Band of Brothers
Breaking: John Kerry Files FEC Complaint Against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
Swift Boat Veterans and Vietnam POW’s Speak Out Against John Kerry
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
John Kerry: Surviving on War Weariness and Fear
A Veteran’s Letter to John Edwards
Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Unload Both Barrels on John Kerry

Well the idiots are already getting naked (warning - nudity) in NYC. That didn’t take long.

Related:
Blogs of War RNC 2004 Coverage - Protesters
Michelle Malkin - Trashing Central Park

Vladimir Yakovlev, the Russian president’s envoy for the southern region, where one of the planes crashed, said the planes’ extracted data recorders had not provided the hoped for answers.

But the main theory “all the same remains terrorism,” he told Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency.

Today was an official day of mourning for the 89 victims with Russia’s tricolour flag flown at half-mast and entertainment programmes cancelled.

But security experts came no closer to pinpointing what caused the two southbound planes to plummet into empty fields on Tuesday.

Officials had hoped that the so-called “black boxes” would provide the necessary clues, but Yakovlev told state-run First Channel that the recorders “turned off immediately” – an indication that whatever happened “happened very fast”.
- The Scotsman

Related:
Terrorism Confirmed in Downing of Russian Plane
Two Russian Airliners Down - Hijack Signal Reported