Iran: A Reaganite Solution

Fire of Liberty

Kathryn Jean Lopez has a good article over at National Review Online on the democratic movement in Iran. While watchers of the White House and the Pentagon are abuzz of when the "neo-cons" will unleash the Dogs of War on Iran, the students in Iran are fighting for democracy and their own freedoms. See for yourself:

Iranian youth, who make up 50-70 percent of the Iranian population, are determined to live in a country where they can be Reading Lolita in Tehran and really elect their leaders. Iranian students, leaders and dissidents face imprisonment — like blogger 28-year-old Arash Sigarchi, sentenced earlier this year to 14 years in jail for daring to criticize the government for locking up journalists and bloggers. (Talk about someone who knew what he was in for.) According to Michael Rubin, editor of The Middle East Quarterly, Iranian hardliners approach this inter-generational struggle with a vicious "win-win strategy."

"They beat students, close papers, and imprison bloggers. If they get away with it, they win," explains Rubin. "If they go too far, as they did in the 1999 dormitory attack (which sparked off several street riots), then they have an excuse to really crack down. And if Washington doesn't respond, then they've won."

As Lopez notes, the response from Washington will not come in the form of 100,000 US troops, F-16's or Bunker-Busters but a effort similar to what the US did for the people behind the Iron Curtain. This means the administration should spotlight various Iranian dissidents, criticize the regime and its practices, call for the release of political prisoners. We can also provide a constant stream of info on democracy via TV and Radio. An occasional word of encouragement from the president wouldn't hurt either.

Just imagine how such support would boost the democracy movement especially if the White House provided the movement an ample supply of communication devices. From what I've seen and read, the youth of Iran are great consumers of cellphones, instant/text messaging, blogs, computers and satellite TV. I just hope that the White House motivates its people as Lopez and various others suggest.

Mugabe: Zimbabwe's menace

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This about shows you how "Uncle Bob" Mugabe has turned the African breadbasket into the complete hell that it's today.

Teflon Bolton

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Bill Kristol hits it on the nose in this piece on John Bolton over at The Weekly Standard.

Good news in Lebanon

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Lebanon's PM Omar Karameh has seen the writing on the wall a has resigned once again after failing to form a national unity cabinet. This has got to be a good victory for the democratic movement in Lebanon. The Cedar Revolution rolls on.

Frum on UK Elections

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Take a look at David Frum's insight on the UK election. He lays out a good arguments on why the Tories under Michael Howard should win. While Blair is a good friend to the US he still has a scary gaggle of "socialists" in Labour waiting in the wings to take up the reigns. If Gordon Brown takes over upon Blair's retirement expect some big problems and a souring of UK/American relations.

Democracy Tide

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Here's a piece by Richard Brookhiser in The New York Observer on the tide democracy in the World. As always, Brookhiser knocks it out of the park.

The Road Map

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While the MSM have been harping that President Bush has caused a rift with Israel by telling Israeli PM Sharon to end any settlement expansion in certain areas of the West Bank, they failed to realize that the President and PM are in total agreement that the pull-out is not intended to be a full pull-out due to the fact that the Palestinians also have to fulfill their part of the roadmap. I think this editorial in The New York Post puts it best when they wrote:

That's because Bush's statement, his first verbal acknowledgement of a commitment he made in a letter to Sharon a year ago, constitutes a vindication of the prime minister's settlements policy.

For Sharon, who spearheaded the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, those towns were always meant to be "facts on the ground" — helping ensure Israel's security, yes, but also designed to maximize Israel's leverage whenever the Palestinians finally got serious about negotiating.

For all the talk about Israel's obligations under the U.S.-sponsored road map, the fact remains that as far as Sharon is concerned, that agreement has not yet taken effect. And for the simple reason that its first, and most important, requirement — that the Palestinian Authority confront and disarm terrorist groups — has not yet been met.

Yes, the US and Israel are in full concordance that while the Israelis should abandon various settlements they should also get the Palestinians to put an end to terrorism. If you are giving up your strategic outposts, you should at least get something out of it. Though I doubt the Palestinians will reciprocate, you have to value what Sharon and Bush are trying to do. I can assure you that the parents of the Israeli kids who patron Sbarro, the malls and ride the buses will truly appreciate this effort.

EU is up to No Good

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Here's another reason why the whole concept of the super-national EU is complete nonsense. It seems the MEP's don't seem to have any checks on their power and they seem to care more for their cushy expense accounts than saving money. Do you really think that these people should be in charge of Europe as a whole. I think the voters in France, Holland, Denmark, and the UK are well aware of such "monkey business."

Terror Tactics in Iraq in Flux, Running out of Tactics

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James S. Robbins has an interesting article over at National Review Online on the inefficiency of the various tactics taken by the terrorists in Iraq. While the MSM reports on the various terrorist attacks and present them as an example of the terrorists launching successful attacks on Iraqi & coalition forces, Robinns notes that the terrorists are limited to what kinds of attacks they can mount due to ineffective tactics or because our troops catch on real quick and with thwart any repeat performance. Better yet, just read a sampling of Robinns' work:

Terrorists and guerrillas have a hard time with stand-up fights. The reason they are unconventional warriors in the first place is that their relative weakness prevents them from fighting symmetrical, force-on-force engagements. If they could place effective armies in the field, they would. But for various reasons — small numbers, lack of popular support, no significant heavy weapons, and no possibility of air support to name a few — they lack the capacity to engage in pitched battles. They have to fight hit and run actions, in which running is as important as hitting, if not more so. When insurgents group together, they lose their mobility and present attractive targets. When they attack well-armed troops in strong defensive positions, they risk annihilation. All the guerillas have going for them at that point is the element of surprise, and they can only make these types of attacks a few times before Coalition forces begin searching for signs of preparation and mounting preemptive strikes.

It seems that as long as we keep the terrorists discombobulated (to borrow a favorite word from Jim Donnan (UGA Ex- Football Coach) and repel or stop their flimsy tactics, the US & Iraqi forces will have a more successful future in clearing out the snake-den of terrorism that threatens Iraq and its citizens.

Lebanon's Future

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Here's an interesting column in The New York Post by Ralph Peters on Lebanon's future.

Saudi Arabia: A Weak Link in the War on Islamic Terrorism?

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Amir Taheri has a great column in The New York Post on how various Islamic terrorists have been following the advice of Ayman al-Zawahiri and have began a campaign of attacking Islamic states in the region like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. As Taheri notes in his column, the terrorists are running into severe headaches with the US military and local forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have also failed to make any headway in Pakistan due to the commanding presence of Pervez Musharraf and the outstanding professionalism and steadfastness of the Pakistani Military. With all of these roadblocks before them, Taheri notes that these terrorists have embarked on the easiest target which is Saudi Arabia. Just to understand the magnetic appeal of the Saudi Kingdom, just read the following paragraphs from what Taheri's column:

This is why the terror campaign in the kingdom appears to have moved beyond its initial stage of "propaganda through action" and into a new phase that looks like a military-style effort designed to seize and hold territory which could then be transformed into bases and safe havens.

This was evident in at least three areas (Duwaisar, al-Unaizah and Ras) in the Qassim heartland of Najd, where Saudi forces last week fought regular battles with terrorist forces entrenched in what looked like permanent operational bases. According to Saudi sources, the terror movement had also acquired a number of safe havens in the Jowf province, in northern Saudi Arabia, which also served for the smuggling of fighters and arms into Iraq.

As elsewhere, a majority of the terrorists appear to have spent some time in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. After the liberation of Afghanistan, these individuals poured into the kingdom and went underground until the al-Zawahiri strategy required them to emerge and move onto the offensive. Of the estimated 200 or so terrorists killed or captured by the Saudis since 2002, fewer than a dozen appear to have been new recruits to the cause.

I just hope the Saudi's stand up to these forces. Instead of the much feared Saudi radicals taking control of the Kingdom (excuse the regime uses to prevent the furthering of political freedoms) the Saudi's have to confront the terrorists who enter the Saudi Kingdom from the other nations in the region. Know don't think for a moment that I'm giving the Saudi's a pass because there is also a considerable amount of blame to go towards the Wahabbi/Salafist clerics in Saudi Arabia. Aside from the terrorists, the Saudi's also need to push these Islamic fundamentalists outside of the Mosques and madrassas and end their culture of death teachings. It will take some time but will have to be done to erase such a burgeoning movement. We'll see if they follow through.

UK Elections

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If you want to garner a deeper understanding of the UK general election, I'd suggest you read John O'Sullivan's election diary over at National Review Online. As a former advisor to Margaret Thatcher throughout the eighties and an experienced journalist, O'Sullivan has garnered a wealth of contacts and experiences on the UK's body politic. When he notes something is brewing in the British Isles either political or militarily, most people listen. I for one will definitely read O'Sullivan's insight in the upcoming election. With only a month long campaign, expect some interesting things.

South American Watch

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Paul M. Weyrich has a interesting article over at Enter Stage Right which provides some disturbing news about the emerging leftist tyrannies in Venezuela and Brazil. While most people in the MSM are focused on the Middle East, Weyrich has suggested that the American public only have to look in their own hemisphere to find a snake-den of trouble. While we are fighting the War on Terror in the Middle East, the leadership of Venezuela and Brazil are hobnobbing it with various terror states like Libya, Iran, Sudan, Cuba, and Syria. As most of the readers of Fire of Liberty know, Venezuela has also been amassing a huge arsenal which includes some 100,000 AK-47's, 50 Mig-29's, attack helicopters and Lord knows what else from Russia and Brazil. What's Even more startling about these nations is that their leaders see no problem with dealing and protecting the various terror groups like the FARC.

I know that the Pentagon is up to date on the state of things in these nations but the American public might not be. Luckily we have great people like Paul M. Weyrich, Otto Reich and The Wall Street Journal's Mary Anastasia O'Grady, who keep up with happenings in our backyard. Rest assured, Fire of Liberty will continue to provide timely info on problems arising in the Americas.

The Paradox of GWB

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Victor Davis Hanson has a thought invoking article over at National Review Online which examines the paradox of President Bush, who has overwhelming approval ratings when it come to foreign policy but is sinking in the polls domestically. Hanson argues that the most obvious reason for the president's sinking numbers is due to the fact that he has done such a good job on the War on Terror and the spread of democracy that he has set the American people's expectations for his domestic policies way too high. While many of the talking-heads in the MSM carry on about the president losing numbers on the Terri Schiavo saga or Social Security Reform, Hanson seems to put his finger on the American pulse by pointing out that the President Bush's falling numbers are due to America's financial strength, illegal immigration as well as soaring energy prices.

Just think about it. When you go to your local Wal-Mart, grocery store or favorite store you discover that your dollars don't buy as much stuff as it did six months ago. The simple reason is that we've had too lose of a monetary policy, which is basically a way of saying that the government has put too many dollars into circulation. This has set off a rise in the inflation rate thus causing the price of goods go up. Just look at the price of groceries at this moment. If The Fed would tighten up the monetary belt like Paul Volcker did in the early eighties you'll see prices start going down and an increase in economic grow. This administration is well aware of what inflation did to the US in the 70's, let's hope they remind Mr. Greenspan of this. (He will be concerned about his legacy, especially if he's a devotee of Ayn Rand). I you want to read a purely libertarian view on the inflation problem see here.

Secondly you have a problem with immigration. Just watch Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, listen to AM radio or read a paper out West and you'll understand the concern of the voter. I'll leave that one to the people who know better.

As for gas prices, the best policy is to get our dollar back up to strength and pass an effective energy bill. The President has been calling on the Senate to pass his energy bill for several years now but the wishy washy environmental-sensitive Senators across the isle and in the GOP side have held it up. I think this rise in gas prices might do it. I hope so, we need something. For more on the gas situation see here and here.


If the president heeds VDH's advice, he'll see that he can accomplish feats at the same level domestically that he reached in his foreign policy.

Kerry: Oops did I do that?

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Could John Kerry have blown the cover of an intelligence officer during the Bolton confirmation hearings yesterday. If so, will there be an outcry in the Senate from this revelation or will it be ignored. I can clearly remember Senator Kerry raising Cain prior and during the election about how people in the White House ousted CIA officer Valerie Plame, after Robert Novak reported that she sent her husband Joe Wilson to investigate the reports of Iraq buying uranium in Niger. We'll see if the media picks up on Mr. Kerry like they did with Mr. Novak. (This case would just show the utter hypocrisy of Kerry).

UN: Bolton's Challenge

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Here's a good reason why John Bolton should be confirmed as our next Ambassador to the UN. Boy, that UN really is a madhouse. Thank God they're not running our foreign policy.

Our Man Bolton: Braving the Moon-bats

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Here's a good column by Peter Brookes of The New York Post on John Bolton and his confirmation hearing before the Senate. From the looks of the hearing this morning, expect the loony-bird and moon-bat questions to come out of the woodwork tomorrow. I was surprised at how nice and cordial Senator Obama was to Secretary Bolton. Maybe he can look at the need for a powerful voice but strong Ambassador to the UN. I believe Obama will vote against Bolton but he has given the man time to give his side of the story. (Anything is better than what Sarbanes, Boxer and Dodd did today).

Trouble for Annan's UN Reforms

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According to this article in The Financial Times, some six nations in the UN, which include Italy, South Korea, Pakistan, Argentina, Mexico and China have formed a new coalition known as United for Consensus and have called for the rejection of Model A. For those not up on this model, it was basically a proposal to expand the UN Security Council from a five member permanent council to some eleven permanent seats by adding Japan, India, Brazil, Germany, and two African states. While this grouping of nations can argue that the plans aren't drawn out fairly or needs an overwhelming concensus of the member states, you can also sense an atmosphere of hostility specifically directed at Japan and India. The general ill disposition to Japan is clearly emanating from South Korea and China, who are drudging up the past activities of the military dictatorship of Japan during the 30's and 40's. While it's true that the Japanese put the people of Korea and China through a living hell during these decades, the government of Japan is far removed from this horrible era. They're a pacifistic nation who is one of the biggest donors of UN aid not to mention their decades long contributions to aid and development into China and South Korea. As for India, the chief opponent is generally Pakistan (Been opposed to India since partition in 47) followed by Mexico who is generally fearful of India digging into their job market of manufacturing products like TV's, computers and other products.

I guess that these nations feel that they're comfortable with the status quo arrangement in the Security Council that has been in affect since its inception but its current formulation is behind the ever changing geo-political environment of post September 11th World. It's time for the UN Security Council to get with the times, at least in this instance. The only other reason for such an opposition could be the fact that Japan & India have developed such strong bonds with the US these past four years. It's hell to be so liked in this World.

"No" tide rising in Europe towards EU Constitution

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Well, it seems that some 70% of the UK's finance directors are against the adoption of the EU constitution. One can assume that the Tories and the "No" camp are generally upbeat about this recent vote while Tony Blair and his Labour compatriots have to deal with this depressing news along with a resurgent Tory party. Just take a look at the results of a poll conducted by The Financial Times:

The poll last week shows that 30 per cent of respondents “strongly oppose” Britain adopting the new treaty. A further 38 per cent say they are “generally opposed” to Britain adopting the European constitution “but could be persuaded in favour of it if I thought it would be good for Britain”.

Only 26 per cent say they are generally in favour of the new constitution. But this latter group “could be persuaded against it if they thought it would be bad for Britain”. A minuscule 4 per cent say they “strongly support Britain adopting the new European constitution”.

With the French, The Dutch, Danish and British public in opposition to the whole EU constitution, this most recent poll seems to have poured some cold water on the EU construct. It's about time that the people of Europe stand up for their nation's sovereignty in their respective referendums this summer.

Michael Howard: The Future of the Tory Party

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Well the Tories have started off on a good note with their launch of the election manifesto today. Throughout the weekend, I looked over several polls which point out a strong resurgent of the Conservative party in the UK. After reading the Tory manifesto, I can truly understand how the party of Margaret Thatcher is able to claw back to the top of the UK parliamentary ladder. Just look at these paragraphs on the Tories' plans from a recent article in The Financial Times:

The Tory leader on Monday morning spelled out the eleven words that a government led by him would stand for: more police, cleaner hospitals, lower taxes, school discipline, controlled immigration, and accountability.

The manifesto - the first to be launched by one of the main parties since the start of the May 5 election campaign - relegates policies on housing, transport and the environment to little more than a footnote, in the interests of taking the fight to Labour in the six areas singled out by Mr Howard.

The eleven words on the cover of the manifesto were, Mr Howard told a news conference at his party's campaign headquarters in London this morning, the "simple longings of the British people - people who feel forgotten and ignored".

He added: "I love my country and I know it can be a much, much better place to live than it is today. So I'm going in to battle for Britain."

It finally looks like the Tory party is finally re-gaining its political sea-legs after some eight years of Labour domination. While it's true that the Tories face a Labour's economic juggernaut they are also aware of the concerns that the British people have with excessive increase in immigration, decline in school discipline, increased acts of violence and anti-social behavior among the young hooligans (yobs), and the ever declining conditions of the National Health Service and its partnering hospitals.

As most Tory politicians are aware, you can have all the money and wealth in the World but if you're too scared to venture out of your home due to fear of being hurt by thugs or your health is endangered by visiting unclean hospitals, you can't enjoy any bit of it. By easing these problems the Tories can ensure greater productivity by the British people. By approaching these problems head-on, the Tories are filling in the gaps that Labour has ignored way too long and the poll numbers show that the citizenry has found an alternative with the Tories. This strategy worked for the Thatcher and the Tories in 1979, Reagan in 1980, GOP in 1994 as well as Rudy Giuliani in New York City. I wish Michael Howard and his Tory hopefuls good luck in the following weeks. After watching Howard's performance in the most recent edition of Prime Minister's Questions on C-SPAN last night, I'd say that the Tories and their leader are on the roll.

For more insight, check out this piece by Bruce Walker on Michael Howard over at Enter Stage Right. It'll give you a greater handle on the future Tory PM of the UK.

PJPII: A Towering Legacy

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Paul Jackson of The Calgary Sun has written a wonderful column on Pope John Paul II and his legacy of bringing the Catholic Church and Jews closer together. Jackson notes that JPII would forge these closer ties with the Jewish faith via his life-long friendship with his Jewish friend Jerry Kluger. Through this long friendship, JPII with the help of Kluger was able to eventually to push the recognition of Israel by the Vatican and to finally publicly embrace Judaism as the ancestor and co-religious partner of Christianity. Jackson's account of this extensive friendship between JPII and Kluger also has been memorialized in a terrific book called The Hidden Pope, by Darcy O'Brien. This great book yet again demonstrates the great legacy of the Holy Father and his impact on the World.

John Bolton's Senate Face-Off

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Today is the first round of Under Secretary of State John Bolton's confirmation hearing for the US Ambassador to the UN. As usual, you had all the various Sunday shows and various news stories in the print media trying to paint John Bolton as a "right-wing" fanatic because he has spoken his mind about the UN and its shortcomings. I could have sworn that the gaggle of MSM types wanted our Secretary of State to be an independent thinker from the White House but I guess when the individual is against the much sainted UN, they should toe the administration's line and be a quite diplomat. Expect all of this same hot air this morning on C-SPAN at 9:30. With people like Chris Dodd (Supporter of Castro, Chavez and Ortega), John Kerry (still sore from '04), Barbara Boxer (remember her nuttiness during Secretary Rice's confirmation, SNL does) and Barack Obama, expect some fireworks today.

Anyway, Under-Secretary of State Bolton still has his admirers who feel that the dilapidated UN could use someone who can do some heavy lifting in reforming the World body. One area that should be fixed is the rampant corruption that has infected the UN in the past decade. As the Pittsburgh Tribune Review columnist D.C Dateline notes in his most recent column, Bolton has struck a cord of fear amongst the various talking heads and executives in the UN who have run amok throughout the World ignoring or complying to various scandals without fear of being punished. If Bolton is approved, he will enter this body as a reformer in the same manner that Teddy Roosevelt dealt with the corruption and scandals of his day, which is head on. While various Senators and members of the UN might call Secretary Bolton crass and abrasive in his rhetoric, he still represents the much needed kick in the pants that World body has been lacking for years under the leadership of people like Boutros-Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan. After reading this from D.C. Dateline's column you can understand why the UN needs a hard-nosed reformer like Bolton:

What scares Turtle Bay's denizens most about John Bolton is the fear that -- whether publicly or quietly -- corruption will stop.

On the 30th floor roves Carina Perelli of Uruguay, the boss of the Electoral Assistance Division. She has become the subject of an investigation. The Washington Post, citing a confidential management review by a Swiss consulting firm, says Perelli "presided over a department whose leadership tolerated sexual harassment, misused office funds and engaged in favoritism."

A rising star in the U.N. universe, she has an outspoken manner and offered a typical response: "There's nothing they can do to me. I'm the youngest D2, a woman from a developing country," reported The New York Times, citing the same Swiss review. A "D2" is the highest-ranking director status.

Lord, the US Foreign Relations Committee needs to push the confirmation of Secretary Bolton. With a powerful voice like John Bolton sitting in for the US at the UN, their won't be much problems in getting rid of the various scandal/corruption cobwebs and getting meaningful results from the UN. It's about time that the UN gets serious about itself so they can get back to their mission of feeding starving kids, fighting the spread of malaria/HIV in Africa, ending genocide in Sudan and quelling terrorism (Don't know if UN has fortitude for this one.). That's what the UN was made for and should be their chief goal.

Along with D.C. Dateline's column, I'd like to point you to a good piece on Secretary Bolton by Bill Kristol in The Weekly Standard. In this piece, Kristol demolishes all of the various fanatical myths and accusations that are being floated by George Soros and his friends. You'll hear all of these today but be rest assured that Bill Kristol has adequately defended this great defender of the US. Along with Bill Kristol, I'd like to offer my support for the future US Ambassador to the UN.

Culture of Death: A Slippery Slope

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During the whole Schiavo saga, I reminded you of the ever increasing cases of euthanasia that have occurred throughout the Netherlands. Well, it seems the horror's of euthanasia have jumped across the English Channel and might have occurred in Kingsway hospital in Derby, England. According to this article in The Times, the coroner in Derby is conducting an inquiry into a claim that 11 patients have been starved to death. While I hope that the death of these eleven people is just due to natural causes and not through forced starvation, it wouldn't be a shock to me if they actually were euthanized. After the death of Schiavo and the countless eugenic nightmare stories from Holland, its only logical to expect a percentage of the medical community who see no problem with ending "their patients misery." I guess they've never heard of the Bible or St. Augustine's argument that all life has value (Except for Death Row Inmates - I side with the Catholic League here.) Anyway, if the practice of eugenics and euthanasian catches on, we'll be hurtling even further and further down the road to Huxley's Brave New World. I think anybody interested in this subject needs to heed the words from the 1967 hit song "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield:

I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

If this worked for Vietnan, why not for this dangerous practice. Remember, we'll all get old one day and will be at the mercy of others who might think-via some weird logic- that they need to put an end to our "suffering."

Dodd's Ethical Dilemma

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In a previous post, I speculated that Senator Dodd was probably being a sore loser with his introduction of a bill to stop Lockheed Martin and AugustaWestland from replacing Sikorsky as the new manufacturers of Marine One. Well it seems the Senator has a stronger motivation for this bill and it's not votes. According to this article by Deborah Orin in The New York Post, Dodd has garnered a handsome bit of money from Sikorsky and individuals related to the Connecticut helicopter giant. Check out the great reporting of Orin in the following lines:

Dodd infuriated Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) a few days ago by sneaking through, on voice vote, an amendment to try to kill the contract for an international partnership led by Lockheed Martin which beat out Connecticut-based Sikorsky.

His 2004 re-election campaign records show Dodd got $21,750 in campaign donations from employees of Sikorsky's parent company, United Technologies Corp., as well as $5,000 from the Teamsters Union, which represents the plant's workers.

The UTC donations included $2,000 from CEO George David, and $1,000 each from vice presidents Kent Brittan and William Bucknall.

And the media thinks Tom Delay is bad. I guess you can yuck it up with dictators and Marxists in South America and except money from corporations as long as you have that D after your name. Where's the ethics committee on Senator Dodd?

Bob Dole: An Pillar of Our Greatest Generation

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Here's an excellent review over at The Washington Examiner on former US Senator Bob Dole. It's called One Soldier's Story: A Memoir and covers the Senator's journey from 1930' & 40's as a 19 year old college kid in Kansas reaching for the stars as a medical doctor who was interrupted by WWII. During this time the young Bob Dole would enlist in the Army medical corps hoping for OCS but was shipped to Brooklyn College in NY for more education. As with most soldiers seeking an advancement and a chance to fight the good fight, the future Senator would have an opportunity to enlist for OCS training as a infantry officer, which kept him from the War until the Spring of 1945 when he was assigned the post of platoon leader of the 10th Mountain Division in Italy. As a platoon leader, Dole would sustain horrific injuries to his shoulders and arm during a rescue of a fellow soldier on Hill 913 in the Apennine Mountains.

Along with his honorable service and sacrifice for this nation, Dole shows us his tough but optimistic road to recovery that strengthened his soul and pushed him to study law and serve in the Senate some 27 years. If you want a good read about "Our Greatest Generation" then the memoir of the purple heart awardee Robert Dole is probably a good start.

Hillary talks about Religion

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I guess Hillary is gearing up for 2008, especially after reading this article. Its funny that after the polls revealed that Kerry lost the "religious" vote that individuals like Hillary and Dean started clutching the Bible and giving speeches interspersed with quotes from the Bible. While I'll agree that it's about time the Dems caught onto the fact that their is an enormous amount of people out their who are deeply religious, I believe its worse when it's done by politicians for the mere purpose of winning votes. Fortunately the people who are moved by religion are more smarter than the finger in the wind politicians who immerse themselves in polls.

Taiwan: Will the Holy See Forsake Thee?

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Here's an Op/Ed in The Washington Times by Doug Bandow (Cato Institute), which calls for the Holy See to continue to recognize Taiwan as a state and not to cower to China just to make in-roads for Catholicism. The people of Taiwan need the symbolic backing of the Vatican to ensure that its 23 million inhabitants are denied the freedoms that they currently enjoy. If the Vatican truly believes in the preservation of human freedom and the respect for human rights, they should continue to back Taiwan. The World call ill afford the Holy See making a Faustian deal with the PRC.

Zimbabwe: Mugabe's Tyranny Continues

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Austin Bay has a thought provoking column in today's edition of The Washington Times on the rigged elections in Zimbabwe. It's hard for the opposition to win an election when the government does the following:

Mr. Mugabe and his thugs tried to steal the last one quietly. As elections neared, Mr. Mugabe began denying foreign reporters entry visas. He imposed a law that made "unauthorized demonstrations" a felony punishable by up to 20 years in jail -- a law aimed at his democratic opponents in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). And then there's the food weapon. Mr. Mugabe's government controls Zimbabwe's food supplies. Cooperate, and you get your loaf of bread. Oppose Mr. Mugabe, and you are denied food.

Ah, but those pesky priests who won't shut up. Mr. Mugabe has had to threaten church leaders he deems responsible for "encouraging" street protests. Catholic Bishop Pius Ncube -- a major domestic critic of Mr. Mugabe and his dictatorship -- has been a special target.

With such slanted results and a further cementing of his powers through a 2/3 majority of Zanu-PF (can change constitution), Mugabe has ensured that he will continue his tyranny for many years to come thus increasing the misery of the Zimbabwean people. To make matters worse, the bad behavior of Mugabe will continue as long as the various leaders in South Africa and the region welcome Mugabe with open arms and call for him to be recognized as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. When you give a tyrant like "Uncle Bob" any form of legitimacy you basically condone his acts and encourage the continuation of his bad behavior.

While the President of South Africa might not step on Mugabe's toes, I think that Bay has a better solution which is the nomination of an African pope. In the same manner that JPII confronted Soviet communism, the new pope could do the same in Africa without the worry of being dubbed a "racist" or "colonial stooge." I'm game for the solution but is there someone in Africa willing to stand up to the tugs in Africa?

Gov Haley Barbour: GOP "Dark Horse" in '08?

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James P. Pinkerton has an interesting column in yesterday's edition of Newsday on the possible GOP "dark horse" nominee in 2008. While the MSM carries on about Rudy, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, McCain, Hagel, Pataki and countless others, they tend to forget Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi. It seems the Governor won a final four on the Internet and was presented as a hottie for 2008 by US News & World Report. I haven't thought about '08 but I could see Barbour as a candidate. He's got the Reagan White House credentials, GOP/Money contacts, He's a governor from the South. The most reassuring thing about Barbour is this:

And indeed, others in the limited-government wing of the party are high on Haley. Grover Norquist, the Republican/libertarian strategist, is neutral in the '08 race but nonetheless volunteers, "Haley is a Reagan Republican's dream. He has Friedrich Hayek in his library and Lee Atwater and Karl Rove in his veins." That is, Barbour combines the book smarts of a famed free-market economist with the street smarts of leading political operatives.

Sounds good to me, I'd prefer Dick Cheney to make a go at it in '08. Anything is possible.

Gammarelli: The Pope's Tailor

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Here's a piece in USA Today on Gammarelli-an Italian tailor shop-which has been doing work for the various priests, bishops, cardinals as well as seven Popes since 1846 ,when they made garments for Pope Pius IX. I guess when you do good work and specialize in clothing for the priesthood your brand become a highly desired thing. In fact, Gammarelli is in the process of making a new set of clothes for the future pontiff.

JPII's Critics

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Hugh Hewitt has a interesting piece over at The Weekly Standard on the various critics of PJPII, you might be surprised what you read.

Ahmad Chalabi: An Iraqi Redemption

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Max Boot has an excellent piece today in The Los Angeles Times on the redemption of Chalabi via the recent Robb-Silberman Commission report on intelligence dealing with Iraq. While individuals throughout the MSM hemmed and hawed about Chalabi either duping America into Iraq via faulty intelligence, being a spy for Iran, Boot points out that the report cleared the Iraqi exile of such allegations. Instead of an enemy to America, which the CIA clearly believed, Ahmad Chalabi was actually a great friend to this nation. Boot clearly lays this out in the following paragraphs:

This man risked his life and his fortune to overthrow one of the worst tyrants of the 20th century. He deserves better. More important, the U.S. would have done better in Iraq if it had been listening to Chalabi as much as conspiracy buffs claimed.

In early 2003, the Bush administration ignored Chalabi's warnings that liberation should not be allowed to turn into occupation. Chalabi wanted to set up an interim government right away. The administration refused on the grounds that exiles had no standing in Iraq. So instead that well-known Iraqi, L. Paul Bremer III, was anointed potentate. His mistakes, which Chalabi criticized, resulted in a critical loss of momentum. A year later, the U.S. finally appointed a government headed by Chalabi's cousin and rival, Iyad Allawi. If an exile could be appointed in 2004, why not in 2003?

But don't worry about Chalabi. Unlike Secretary Donovan, he's done just fine. Contrary to CIA reports that he had no constituency, he has positioned himself at the center of Iraqi politics. He was a leading candidate for prime minister and will probably get a Cabinet post.

I wished we had more friends like Ahmad Chalabi rather than our so-called allies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. If we had more brave souls like Chalabi, the Middle East could pull itself out of the problems that currently plague the region. Luckily, people's true colors come out sooner than later.

Iraq names Jaafari PM

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The Iraqi parliament has also appointed Ibrahim Jaafari as its new Prime Minister. It looks like the march to democracy in Iraq is moving forward steadily, next stop is the drafting of an Iraqi constitution. May God endeavor his good graces to the Iraqis on this march to democracy.

Chinese Dragon: Romping in South America

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It seems the China is making strides in South America, which seems to have set off a warning within the State Department and The Pentagon. You have to worry when the Chinese start hobnobbing it up with the likes of Hugo Chavez. This smells too much like the Cold War when the Soviets had a go in the region. I hope someone has dusted of the Monroe Doctrine and read it. China is getting to close with South America for me to be comfortable. Maybe it's just about money and trade but the Chinese are still communists and are busting at the seems to spread their wings militarily. You don't increase you military budget by 12.5% for looks.

Iraq's Democratic Spring

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Tony Blankley has a great column in today's edition of The Washington Times. While most networks and news divisions in the various newspapers have been focusing on the death of JPII, Mr. Blankley has been keeping up with the monumental turn towards democracy in Iraq. As readers of this blog are aware, the Iraqi parliament has selected a broad array of leaders from the various Kurdish, Sunni and Shia that truly demonstrates how powerful the Fire of Liberty is in a nation which has been denied freedom for so long. See for yourself what an awe inspiring event that has conspired in Iraqi history:

This must be an invigorating moment to be a cultural anthropologist. Is it possible that the art of negotiation, evolved to the level of an art-form in the Middle Eastern bazaars over the centuries, is being adapted to substitute for their lack of parliamentary debate experience, much as the cat's predatory skills, formed before there was man, turned out to be perfectly adaptable to survival in the back alleys of human cities?

However they are managing it, the Iraqi politicians are moving deliberately and shrewdly toward the formation of a viable democratic government despite the jeering of the Washington pundits. For almost two years now, I have regularly appeared on television political talk shows with most of the anti-Bush brigade of Washington wise guys and gals. While many of them probably had never even heard of Sunnis, Shias and Kurds until the Iraq war, they all professed to be quite certain that these ancient divisions would surely lead Iraq into civil war after President Bush's blunder of overturning Saddam.

I hope that the opponents of Operation Iraqi Freedom will discover for themselves the miracle of democracy that is emerging in Iraq. Sometimes it takes a while for the ripple of reality to reach the doubting Thomas's in the World. No matter, democracy will march on irrespectively of what the critics might say.

UN Building Project: An expensive Boondoggle

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According to this piece in The New York Sun, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama is proposing legislation which would limit the amount of money that we give the UN to refurbish and build a new swing space. The bill also demands that the World body should submit to a more thorough accounting of such a massive amount of money. I'd have to say that it's about time that someone held the people in Turtle Bay accountable for their actions. With the most recent Oil-for-Food scandal, the UN definitely has no business with billions of US dollars and no one held accountable for wasteful expenditures. Just look at what The New York Sun has written about the whole situation:

As the authorization bill was being debated on the Senate floor yesterday afternoon, the Alabama senator introduced his amendment in a speech that quoted extensively from an article that appeared February 4 in the Sun. In that article, several real-estate developers, including Donald Trump, were quoted as saying the proposed $1.2 billion price tag for the U.N. renovations was exorbitant.

Cautioning his Senate colleagues that the United Nations is "notoriously wasteful," Mr. Sessions said he had spoken with Mr. Trump yesterday morning to learn more about the cost of construction and renovation in Manhattan, with which Mr. Trump has extensive experience, and about the developer's involvement in the U.N. renovation saga.

At the request of a European diplomat to whom the proposed cost of the Capital Master Plan - the U.N. term for the renovation project - seemed excessively high, Mr. Trump apparently met with Mr. Annan to discuss the refurbishment. According to Mr. Sessions, Mr. Trump said that the price tag for the renovation was outrageously high and that the only way it could have reached $1.2 billion was through "incompetence or theft." In his meeting with Mr. Annan, according to Mr. Sessions, Mr. Trump offered to manage the renovation, promising to complete the project for $500 million - less than half of what is currently budgeted. Mr. Sessions said the United Nations never responded to Mr. Trump's offer.

When "the Donald" says he can do the job at half the price, you've got to wonder what in the World are Kofi and his legion of bureaucrats putting in their offices. You'd think that they'd try to fight hunger, AIDS, and help the people in Darfur rather than make such a fuss over carpet samples, color wheels and hardwood flooring. I guess when you not held responsible for your actions by a higher body or voters this what happens. Thank God for Senator Sessions and Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman. I'll be glad when John Bolton gets his turn to straighten this madhouse out.

Saddam's Worst Nightmare

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Here's an interesting article in The Times on the selection of Jalal Talibani as the new president of Iraq. It's awesome to see Talabani, who as a Kurd had to struggled for mere survival in the past thirty years under the tyranny Saddam, to take a seat of power like the presidency of Iraq. I guess when you fight a good fight like Talabani has done for the past three decades, you eventually rise to such heights. Well done President Talabani!!! I also enjoyed the part about Saddam having to watch the whole democratic process that's slowly but surely emerging. I hope he about fell out of his seat when he saw a Kurd being appointed the new president by a duly elected 275 member parliament. This is a definitive example of poetic justice.

Reagan & PJPII: Freedom's Defenders

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Here's a great article by Marc Riebling over at National Review Online of the relationship between the dynamic duo of Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II during their battle with the Soviets. Enjoy.

Border Trouble

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Couldn't have put it better in words. Here's a good cartoon by the LA Times' Michael Ramirez via No Left Turns.

Senator Dodd: Sore Loser?

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It seems that Senator Dodd and his colleagues from Connecticut in the US House of representatives are somewhat miffed that the Pentagon decided to sign a deal with Lockheed Martin and its partner AugustaWestland (England) instead of the Connecticut based Sikorsky which has built Marine One since its inception. In order to punish the Pentagon for this decision, Senator Dodd has added some legislation onto a State Department spending bill that calls for the London based Augusta Wetland to forgo any deals with Iran or other sponsors of terrorism for some five years. While everyone is in agreement that doing business with a company that sells machinery to states who sponsor terror, the Senator seems to have a double standard. Though he voices his concern that this company might sale helicopters and parts to Iran, the same Senator sees no problem in making trips to Venezuela and chumming with notorious dictator like Hugo Chavez who is one of the biggest sponsors of narco-terrorist like the FARC in Colombia. Even worse is the fact that Senator Dodd comes home and asks us to make nice with El Hefe Jr. If he is concerned about dealing with states like Iran shouldn't he be the same towards the enormous terror sponsor in our own back yard. I guess his constituents are more concerned about getting back at the failed Sikorsky deal than terrorists states. While I'm all for the "Made in America" sticker on things like our military aircraft, tanks, guns as well as Marine One (President's helicopter) I have to draw a line with the Senator. While the Senator is fighting against the Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland helicopter deal wouldn't it have been better for the Senator to have promoted Sikorsky and urge them to make a better deal. They must have wanted too much.

PJPII: Defender of God's Dominion over man.

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Jonah Goldberg has written a wonderful piece on the Pope today in his syndicated column. Jonah notes in his column that the critics who try to paint the Pope arguments as either of the "left" or the "right" seem to completely miss the boat on the argument. What the Pope advocates rises not from the politics of the dominion of man but comes from a more higher realm which is the dominion of God. Unlike a politician who can play a pragmatic role on Earth to please a mass audience to get elected, the Pope must defend the doctrine and tenets of the Catholic faith and God. While the politician may bend with the political winds the Pope has to ensure that the rock that St. Peter built God's Church on remains in tact for the flock to cling to. When you back down from the cemented doctrine of the Church for the will of reporters, critics and opinion polls then you lose the authority of the Church and the devotion to God's ideas. I have said a considerable amount on this but feel that Jonah provides a better take, see for yourself.

But what gets less attention is the fact that it was the Catholic Church that launched the very notion of a sphere of liberty and morality not bound to the state. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, Fareed Zakaria recounts in The Future of Freedom, the Catholic Church remained as an imperfect conscience for rulers who would define the rules of kings as synonymous with the whims of kings. When Emperor Theodosius slaughtered the Thessalonians, Ambrose, the archbishop of Milan, was so repulsed he refused to give the emperor Holy Communion. The emperor cried, No fair! He argued that David had done worse in the bible, to which Ambrose replied, “You have imitated David in his crime, then imitate him in his repentance!” Off and on for eight months, the most powerful ruler in the entire world mimicked the biblical David, dressing in rags like a beggar in order to plea for forgiveness outside the Ambrose’s cathedral.

Over time, the papacy’s moral authority increased. Pope Leo III may have been forced to anoint Charlemagne as Roman emperor, but by doing so he also cemented the notion that even kings were answerable to a higher authority. When Emperor Henry IV challenged the pope’s power of investiture he ended up, as legend has it, kneeling in the snows at Canossa to beg for forgiveness. It was only in modern times, best symbolized by Napoleon crowning himself emperor of the French, that this external authority was firmly rejected in favor of his own will-to-power. It is no coincidence that Napoleon is widely considered the first modern dictator.

Good Stuff.

Iraq: The Quest of Democracy

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Iraq's parliament has finally decided on their President and its two Vice-Presidents. According to this article in The Times, the 275 member body selected Jalal Talabani(Kurd) as the President, as for the two Vice-Presidents they selected Adel Abdul Mahdi(Shia- Finance Minister of Alawi Gov't) and Ghazi Yawar (Sunni- former President in provisional gov't). Though The Times makes a big deal out of the parliament taking nine weeks to make these selections, it was still an Iraqi decision that is completely removed from the US's sphere of influence. As with all decisions in a democracy, you will have your disagreements and squabbles that will last countless weeks but in the long run a solution is generated. Iraq might be slow in getting the semantics of democratic government down pat but then again Rome wasn't built in a day. I wish the Iraqis good fortune in their quest for a bright and vibrant democracy.

PJPII: Defender of the Catholic Faith

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Mark Steyn has a wonderful defense of The Holy Father in today's Daily Telegraph after reading what the various MSM types in The Guardian and The New York Times tarnish PJPII and his devotion to Catholic doctrine. While there's countless areas that the Pope seemed to be knocked around a lot in these bastions of liberalism is his devotion to abstinence and his refusal to accept condoms as the best solution to fight the spread of AIDS. While the Pope has advocated such policies, the folks in the MSM look at him as a Victorian prude and don't understand how someone can be such an absolutist. I guess it's hard for these cultural elites to realize that the Catholic Church isn't some social function or club that you can get in because it's "the new thing," it's a religion that lays out certain tenets and doctrine that the flock should follow and abide by. If the head of the Catholic Church starts picking his doctrine based on what the press and the various polls say, you stop being the head of a church and become just another shill politician. I for one want a leader of the Catholic Church to be someone who will go before his 1.2 billion followers and state the doctrine of the Church and stick to it. This idea of a Pope being an absolutist to Church doctrine seems to have worked for nearly 2000 years and I vow that it will be the same well into the future.

Though I can ramble on this point for hours to come, I figured I'd give you a sampling of several paragraphs of Mark Steyn's opinion on the media's complaint:

The question now is whether His Holiness was as right about us as he was about the Communists. The secularists, for example, can't forgive him for his opposition to condoms in the context of Aids in Africa. The Dark Continent gets darker every year: millions are dying, male life expectancy is collapsing and such civil infrastructure as there is seems likely to follow.

But the most effective weapon against the disease has not been the Aids lobby's 20-year promotion of condom culture in Africa, but Uganda's campaign to change behaviour and to emphasise abstinence and fidelity - i.e., the Pope's position. You don't have to be a Catholic or a "homophobe" to think that the spread of Aids is telling us something basic - that nature is not sympathetic to sexual promiscuity. If it weren't Aids, it would be something else, as it has been for most of human history.

What should be the Christian response? To accept that we're merely the captives of our appetites, like a dog in heat? Or to ask us to rise to the rank God gave us - "a little lower than the angels" but above "the beasts of the field"? In Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), the Pope wrote: "Sexuality too is depersonalised and exploited: it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts. Thus the original import of human sexuality is distorted and falsified, and the two meanings, unitive and procreative, inherent in the very nature of the conjugal act, are artificially separated."

While I'm not a Catholic, I at least know that in order for a religion to be believable and needed, it needs to have a set doctrine and individuals like popes and preachers who can defend such doctrine which provides a rock to cleft to when the waters get rough. Or as the Bible says:

"And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter,and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" - Matthew 16: 18

Bolton of Lightning: Putting a US Spark in the UN

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Well it seems that the Democrats and various other groups have gotten delirious at the thought of John Bolton being confirmed as our next Ambassador to the UN. I can assure you the fight will be great but Mr. Bolton also has a giant fan base which adore the fact that the Secretary has a great ability to rattle the cages of those potentates and dictators who traverse the halls of Turtle Bay. If you want a person with the nerve to step in such a madhouse and get some results, then John Bolton is the man.

National Missile Defense system gets boost.

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According to this piece in The Washington Times by Bill Gertz, The Pentagon announced yesterday that they have completed the construction of its X-Band radar. This new radar will provide the much needed track and control element of the ground based NMD system in Alaska, which is being constructed to prevent a ICBM attack from North Korea, Iran or even China. What's even better is that the X-Band Radar is on a converted oil platform which makes it movable to various locations on the West Coast and other areas of operations. I knew if they tried hard enough, The Pentagon and its various contractors would have the system up and running before 2008.

Corner Turning in Iraq

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It seems the British forces in Iraq are seeing a change of tides with the insurgents in Iraq. Bout time the Brits see a change which the various bloggers and analysts have been noticing for many months. Lord, I love it win a plan comes together. Democracy in Iraq is on the march.

Peter Jennings

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According to this article over at ABCNews.com, the veteran anchor of ABC's World News Tonight has begun his battle with Lung Cancer. While I'm not a great fan of Mr. Jennings, I do hope he gets well. As the son of a mother who had breast cancer, I realize the pain and anguish that awaits him in his near future. Let's hope he has a speedy recovery.

Ukraine: Coming in from the Cold

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It seems that Ukrainian PM Victor Yushchenko and President Bush hit it off real well in their meeting yesterday. In fact the newly elected PM has got a promise of support for its entry into NATO and the WTO. This goes to show you that real democratic change pays great dividends in the long run.

UK Election: Polls Show Tory Surge

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According to this article in The Times and this one in The Financial Times, the Tory party under the leadership of MP Michael Howard has seen a resurgence in its poll numbers prior to the May 5th election. Though the poll numbers are relatively fluid at this time and could change tomorrow, it still has to be somewhat of a shock to Tony Blair and his party faithful in Labour. I guess when you've been in power and have ignored the various domestic problems like immigration, crime, massive hooliganism, travelers and the various other declines in the UK countryside and the population in general, you get a voting public who will seek a change and an improvement in their lot.

I hope that the Tories look at these numbers and continue their current campaign on these specific issues. If they look back at the pre-Thatcher years they will recall that crime was on the rise and the Thatcherite Tories made a good showing with two more to boot. The can also look over the pond into the US and see that the same policy garnered Rudy Giuliani great success in his dual bids for mayor of New York City. If the Tories hold firm, they could far surpass their miserable showings in 1997 and 2001. We'll see.

Syria: Door in Syria Democracy Movement

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Here's another good piece in The New York Sun by Claudia Rosett on the emerging democracy movement in Syria. As always, Rosett writes another great polemic on the democracy movement in another corner of the World.

Hugo Chavez: El Hefe's Shadow

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Peter Brookes had an interesting Op/Ed in yesterday's New York Post on the actions of Chavez in Venezuela. It seems El Hefe Jr. is improving his dictator's curriculum vita by amassing enormous tons of weapons for his military and the various narco-terrorists throughout the region. He's also providing aide and comfort for these groups, who are raging a dangerous insurgency in Colombia and countless other nations that border Venezuela. To make matters worse, El Hefe Jr. has an enormous supply of petro-dollars via its massive oil fields which Castro can only dream off. I expect this to become a big problem in the near future. I just hope the White House is watching this and getting prepared to deal with the problem.

Iran: A Hand of Tyranny

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In a previous post, I gave you a little bit of info on the brutality of women in the mullahcracy in Iran. Well, Michael Ledeen has provided an even greater insight into this horrific nature of this extreme regime in his most recent piece over at National Review Online. When a regime can take a female reporter of the streets of Tehran just for taking photos and then locking them in a prison exposing here to countless hours of rape and then severe beatings that result in her death, you realize that this regime is soaked through and through with evil. To fully understand how brutal this regime is to the female population of Iran, just read this little sampling of Ledeen's article:

The brutal treatment of Iranian women by the mullahcracy is a daily occurrence, not an isolated case. As "Iran Focus" reported on March 2, "at least 54 Iranian girls and young women, between the ages of 16 and 25, are sold on the streets of Karachi in Pakistan on a daily basis," according to "a senior women's affairs analyst...speaking to a state-run news agency." The analyst, Mahboubeh Moghadam, added that there are at least 300,000 runaway girls in Iran right now, the result, in Moghadam's words, of "the government policy which has resulted in poverty and the deprival of rights for the majority of people in society."

Professor Donna M. Hughes, at the University of Rhode Island, one of the few Western scholars courageous enough to keep reporting on these horrors, says that the enslaved women are typically sold to people in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, such as Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. But the slave trade is not limited to the Islamic world:

Police have uncovered a number of prostitution and slavery rings operating from Tehran that have sold girls to France, Britain and Turkey as well. One network based in Turkey bought smuggled Iranian women and girls, gave them fake passports, and transported them to European and Persian Gulf countries. In one case, a 16-year-old girl was smuggled to Turkey, and then sold to a 58-year-old European national for $20,000."

Moghadam suggested (and remember that this does not come from a samizdat network, but from a broadcast on national radio) "that such a task was very difficult to carry out without some sort of government green-light."

I truly believe that the US should not continue to sit on its duff while things like this continue to occur in Iran. It's really time for the White House, State Department, Defense Department,Radio Farsi should put their full weight behind the democracy movement in Iran like we did for Poland and various other states during the days of the Evil Empire. If we start supporting these pro-American democrats in Iran, we will find that our venture will be very successful and it wouldn't require the use of our troops or the firing of a gun. If the President felt free to voice his support of the Iranian in his 2nd Inaugural Address and his State of the Union speech, he should also feel free to support this burgeoning democracy movement. All it needs is our support.

John Paul the Great?

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In today's edition of The New York Post, Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor of First Things, has a great commentary on why PJPII should be deemed John Paul the Great. As the good Father Neuhaus points out, John Paul II would be one of only of three to have "the Great" moniker on their name, which include Leo the Great (he persuaded Attila the Hun not to kill innocents in Vienna) and Gregory the Great from the 5th and 6th Century A.D. Neuhaus noted that John Paul II has also demonstrated in through his various writings, works as well as his courage that he is in the same vein as the two other popes who are considered "Greats." While one could spend all day talking and discussing the countless examples of the Holy Father's greatness, I think Father Neuhaus puts his thumb on the best example of John Paul II's greatness in the following paragraphs:

If any phrase encapsulates the message that John Paul declared to the world, it is probably "prophetic humanism." There is nothing more humanistic than the Catholic Christianity that he proclaimed and lived. The message centers in the astounding truth that God became a human being in Jesus Christ. You cannot get more humanistic than that.

It is impossible to understand John Paul without understanding that his entire thought and being was grounded in the incarnation, the teaching, the suffering, death, resurrection and promised return of Jesus Christ. He was, through and through, an intellectual and philosopher. The school of philosophy to which he belonged, and to which he made many contributions through scholarly articles and books, goes by the perhaps obscure names of "phenomenology" and "personalism," but always his thought was Christo-centric, centered in the revelation of God in Christ.

His humanism was thus very different from the kind of vacuously optimistic view often called humanism — for John Paul was not an optimist, and optimism is not a Christian virtue. Optimism, one might say, is simply a matter of optics, of seeing what you want to see and not seeing what you don't want to see. John Paul was, rather, a man of hope — which is a Christian virtue.

I believe if the vote of naming the Pontiff- John Paul the Great- came down to a vote, then this should be the deciding factor. If Father Neuhaus has anything to do with this decision then he's in like Flint. John Paul the Great has a good ring to it. It's already catching on throughout the cable news World.

UK Elections: Getting a pulse.

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If you watched any coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election this year on MSNBC and FOX News, you've probably seen the pollster Frank Luntz give his assessment of the debates and the election. Well, he has an Opinion piece in The Times on the race in the UK between Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Tories. According to Luntz, the people are tired of Blair, un-informed but interested in Lib-Dem Charles Kennedy, and somewhat unenthusiastic about Michael Howards charisma but love his ideas on travelers (Free-rangers) and immigration. It seems the people of the UK are ready for security in their streets and homes and an over-all change in government. Check Luntz's piece out, it's informative.

UN: It's Kofi Time

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While the news cycle has been flooded with coverage of Terri Schiavo(RIP) and The Pope(RIP), there have been several revelations about the UN and that horrific theft known as Oil-for-Food. Let's look at several pieces on the whole Volcker Report on the whole Oil-for-Food debacle. First you have Anne Applebaum's wonderful piece in The Sunday Telegraph (London) on how the revelation of corruption at the UN is nothing new due to the fact that it's a large organization with no checks and balances as well as oversight unlike a democracy like the US. Applebaum notes that such knowledge is probably the number one the reason why President Bush nominated Secretary Bolton as US Ambassador to the UN. If you have someone who is not a bright eyed UN idealist, they won't have blinders on that keeps them from proposing meaningful ideas and reforms from outside the box. He will be a surgeon who will try his best to cut the cancerous tumor that has grown in the UN for way too long in the vaunted World body. Even more interesting is what she wrote at the end of her Sunday Telegraph piece:

Yet - as John Bolton has written - there will always be limits on what the UN can achieve, no matter how well the institution is run. Because it is accountable to no one, such an international organization is never going to be good at managing large, long-term projects involving a lot of money, such as the oil-for-food programme. Because it is not beholden to a democratic government, it will never be the right choice for a major military operation. However comforting, consensual and "international" it may sound, a decision to "send in the United Nations" is never going to be the complete solution to any problem.

Bravo Anne, I couldn't have written any better. I glad we have voices of sanity like Mrs. Applebaum in the media to watch over individuals like Kofi Annan. Along with Applebaum, you have Claudia Rosette, who has used her extensive investigative reporting skills and her mighty pen to open up the doors of Turtle Bay and reveal the abysmal state that the UN has gotten itself in. In fact, here's two articles by the great Claudia Rosette. The first article is from The Weekly Standard, which places a considerable focus on the Volcker Report. While Kofi Annan and his surrogates have repeatedly claimed that the Volcker Report has exonerated the Secretary General, Rosett shows that this is far from the truth. As usual the UN will deflect anything a put it on the shoulders of others like Kojo or anyone else but not King Kofi. I guess when Claudia is on the case, Kofi and his friends should be on the lookout. Along with the Oil-for-Food scandal, Rosett has also written extensively on the reforms that Kofi Annan has introduced in the UN. According to this piece @ Opinion Journal, the reforms of the UN will do one thing and that is run up the bill on its members. Just check out these pieces to get a better understanding of this crazy organization.


Finally, here's two pieces on the future of Kofi Annan. First, here's a piece in The Toronto Sun by Peter Worthington which calls for Kofi Annan to resign from his post. Second, here's a piece by Jack Kelly in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that says Kofi Annan should have the luxury to resign but should twist in the wind until his new term and try to initiate some reform to earn his keep. While Kelly argues that Kofi should stay, he does have a rather interesting parting paragraph on the future UN Secretary General, see if you like it:

Annan's term expires at the end of next year. Bill Clinton would love to replace him. But no citizen of a permanent member of the Security Council should get the job. It should go to a genuine democrat of unquestioned integrity and demonstrable guts, such as former Czech President Vaclav Havel, current Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar or Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

I would say that Jose Maria Aznar of Spain would be a good pick. He would vastly improve the building in New York by just entering the building. Aznar would definitely make Annan look like an tin pot African dictator with his leadership. I doubt such a good steward like Aznar would get the job, it's the UN after all.

Also see this piece in The New York Sun on the Volcker Report.

Iran: Desire for Fire of Liberty present, will US help with kindling?

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According to this article by Eli Lake in The New York Sun, the Iranian Dissident movement led by individuals like Ghassem Sholeh Sadi is seeking the support for the US in their push for a national referendum that asks the people of Iran do they want to continue the mullacracy or seek a freer form of government. Just read some of what Lake wrote:

While a member of parliament, Mr. Sholeh Sadi was critical of policies of unofficial prisons and gave speeches blasting the justice ministry for their arbitrary detentions. In 1999, then a professor of political science at the University of Tehran, he wrote an article for Khordad newspaper broaching the government's policy of disappearing dissidents in what are called "unofficial prisons."

Mr. Sholeh Sadi crossed a line in 2002 when he wrote an open letter to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini publicly refusing to recognize his religious authority. Its opening lines pointedly left out the honorific "Ayatollah." "If you really possess the conditions of religious authority, among which are the conditions of religious scholarship and justice seeking, then I will choose you," Mr. Sholeh Sadi wrote. "But I have my doubts concerning you."

The letter compelled the Islamic Republic to begin pressing a variety of charges against Mr. Sholeh Sadi, who briefly left Iran for Europe after publication of the letter. When he returned to Iran, he was arrested and spent time in the infamous Evin prison, where he said yesterday he was beaten and suffered broken bones near his neck. "Most of my friends told me to pipe down. I am charged with taking actions against the internal security of the country, administering propaganda. Too many charges to name."

I hope the US steps up and support this growing democracy movement. With the recent passing of the Pope, Americans have heard the wonderful talk of how The Vatican and the United States provided enormous support and material to Solidarity in Poland to battle the Soviets during the Cold War. In the same manner as Solidarity, the US has to push the same in Iran. The President and State worked together some 80% during the Cold War and should do the same with Iran. I hope President Bush rereads Sharansky's The Case for Democracy and various biographies on Reagan to refresh his mind on how powerful the president's words and acts of support provide great succor for the dissident and democracy movements in past and present "Outposts of Tyranny."

Reflecting on the Life of John Paul II

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I apologize for my two day absence but I've had family in this weekend and I've been glued to the TV with the death of the Pontiff. I've also been reading the various reminiscing on the Pope and have discovered that the saying "the people's pope," is definitely true when you read these pieces. While there's a bevy of articles on the Holy Father throughout the various publications on the web,I've discovered that National Review Online and The Weekly Standard have the most comprehensive coverage of John Paul II. Here's several articles/flashbacks from The Weekly Standard that I've found very interesting. First, here's several pieces here, here, and here by the Pope's official biographer and author of Witness to Hope, George Weigel. Along with Weigel, you have these pieces by Bill Kristol here and Fred Barnes here on the wonderful life of the Pope and how his tenure shaped the World into a better place.

Another great source on the Pope is over at National Review Online which has about 15 pieces/flashbacks on the Holy Father. While you can read the whole list of articles, I want to direct you to several articles that I truly liked. Here's one by Michael Novak who has written extensively on Catholicism and on the future of the Catholic faith, he has a good way of getting his points out and you get something out of his writing. Here's a more philosophical take on the Pope by Thomas Hibbs. If you want to read something deep on Pope John Paul II then this is one of the best pieces that you can read. Finally, here's two pieces on the relationship between the Pope and Ronald Reagan, who formed two prongs of the Cold War Triad of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. Here's a piece by George Weigel on the great relationship and how it was forged via a common interest, which was the defeat of Soviet Communism throughout the World. A second individual to write on this grand friendship/coalition is Mark Riebling who has a great article here on how this relationship actually help topple the Evil Empire and put the horrors of Stalin, Breshnev and countless other commissars on the ash heap of history. Also, check out this wonderful piece by Paul Kengor, who is a professor of Political Science at Grove City College and author of God and Ronald Reagan. If you have time after reading these, feel free to read these pieces here, here, here, and here as well. Enjoy.

Also take a moment and say a little prayer for Pope John Paul II and take a little time to reflect on life, like the Pontiff always asked people to do.

Taiwan: Standing Athwart China's Rising Tide

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David Warren of The Ottawa Citizen has an interesting piece on the future of Taiwan. It seems that the party of Chang Kai-shek (KMT) is finding a way to undermine Taiwan's democratic status by holding talks and shuttle diplomacy with the Chinese. I guess they don't realize how big a show of weakness they present by visiting China while the Chinese have 700 missiles pointed at Taiwan and have just passed the anti-secession law against the Island nation. Does "losing face" have any effect on the KMT members. Just see what Warren had to say:

The Taiwanese themselves must find the spine to resist mainland pressure, before the eyes of the world. Of course, even if they do, they might still endure the fate of Poland.

Alas, the result of this genteel treason is to cancel the effect of huge democracy rallies. It is to enable an aggressive power, armed with overwhelming force, and having no domestic dissenters to consider, to exploit the greatest weakness of a democracy: fear. The "butchers of Tiananmen" (never forget this) are indeed trying to divide and conquer their tiny, imaginary adversary. It is "state terrorism" in its most comprehensive form.

This, I still think, is the real aim of Chinese Communist policy: not to invade Taiwan but through intimidation to achieve a peaceful capitulation. And they count on the rest of the world to choose peaceful capitulation on Taiwan's behalf. Polls in Australia and elsewhere already show irritation not with Communist tyranny, but with the Bush administration, out of the suspicion that President Bush might stand his ground.

I just hope that the people of Taiwan understand how dangerous these moves are for their tiny island before China makes its move.

Moderating Islam

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Stephen Schwartz has a great article over at Tech Central Station on the creation of a moderate Islamic platform in the United States known as the Center for Islamic Pluralism. After reading countless articles by Schwartz in The Weekly Standard, Tech Central Station along with his bestselling book The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role In Terrorism, I can assure you that he will be a great beacon of moderate Islam to the World and help us move beyond the State Department's accepted voices of Islam. To truly understand what he and the Center for Islamic Pluralism will bring to the table just read a little excerpt from his piece:

Unlike the radical Islamists of the "Wahhabi lobby," represented by such aggressive and militant groups as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada, and others, we do not fantasize an Islamic conquest of America; nor do we preach the supremacy of Islam. We call for nothing more than a place at the big table of American religions. We do not demand control of the whole table, or a table of our own, separate from other Americans. We welcome sincere interfaith cooperation with Jews, Christians, and others, whom we believe share in the grace of almighty Allah. We affirm, in the words of Qur'an 2:62, "Believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabaeans -- whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right -- shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or to regret."

I'd say that the US and the Islamic World will benefit considerably from Mr. Schwartz and his organization. Check it out.

Iran: The Truth Comes Out

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The true nature of the Iranian regime is exposed here.

UN: A Morass of Problems

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Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has a scathing Op/Ed on the Oil-for-Food scandal in yesterday's edition of The New York Post. Have a look:

It certainly looks like nepotism, favoritism and outright willful ignorance of proper management were the rule at the United Nations. Fixing such problems does not happen slowly or easily — and a push for such reform must come from the outside.

This is why the House Committee on International Relations is drafting legislation to help put an end to practices such as this. We will include practical solutions to help achieve better management at the United Nations.

Our effort is only the beginning. The United Nations must get its own arms around its multitude of internal obstacles to accountability and proper management. These problems were always there, I believe — but are only coming to light, under the microscope of Oil-for-Food investigations.

I hope Representative Ros-Lehtinen and her committee can push through these reforms and get the UN to do some internal reforms. We provide to much money to the World and the UN to avoid such scandals. That's the problem with large organizations who don't have any internal policing powers.

Pope John Paul II

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As we contemplate the process of dying with the recent passing of Terri Schiavo and the slow demise of Pope John Paul II, I have been interested in what the various news anchors have been saying about the Pontiff. Take for instance CNN's Miles O'Brien who keeps on talking about how there's no hope for John Paul II. Yes, there's probably no hope for him on this Earthly plane but he has the greatest sense of hope with Christ in his afterlife in Heaven. While its human to grieve for the death of anyone we should remember PJPII's works and celebrate what awaits him. To gain a better understanding of what I'm talking about, check out this essay in First Things by Father Richard John Neuhaus.

Zimbabwe: Five More Years of Mugabe Hell.

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It seems Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party have won the election in Zimbabwe though it seems to have occurred through some dubious methods. Based on this article from The Financial Times, Mugabe is estimated to have won 70 seats of the 150 spots in Parliament and the president gets to select thirty more, which allows Mugabe full control of Parliament and the ability to change the constitution without a national vote. Heaven help the Zimbabwean people who have to live under Mugabe. I don't know if the people in Zimbabwe who oppose the leadership will be able to pull off a People's powered revolt but I could be wrong. We'll see. The people of this once great African nation deserve more than five or more years of Hell that "Uncle Bob" and his flunkies have put them through.

Also see here, here, here, and here on the election and results.

UN Environmental Report: It Might Surprise Ya.

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Jonah Goldberg has a great column over at Townhall.com on the recent UN report on the future of this planet's resources and environment. Golberg notes that while the UN has produced an alarming Chicken Little report that "the sky is falling" when it comes to the planet's survival, the US environment is getting better. I think Jonah puts it best in the following paragraphs:

America's environmental revival is a rich and complicated story with many specific exceptions, caveats and, of course, setbacks. But the overarching theme is pretty simple: The richer you get, the healthier your environment gets. This is because rich societies can afford to indulge their environmental interests and movements. Poor countries cannot.

Unsurprisingly, rich countries tend to have a better grasp of economics and the role of markets, private stewardship and property rights, reasonable regulations, and so forth. With the exception of some oil-rich states, they're also almost always democratic and hence have systems that can successfully assign blame to, and demand restitution from, polluters. In socialized economies, a "tragedy of the commons" almost always arises. As Harvard president Lawrence Summers says, nobody's ever washed a rented car.

The most interesting thing that Jonah points out about the report is the solutions that the UN is pushing. Instead of the usual UN clap-trap about the rich countries causing an environmental scourge in the world, the UN has actually noted how the free market mechanisms offers far better solutions to environmental disasters and decline rather than dictates on high. I'm just amazed that the UN is coming around to this way of thinking, lets hope this lasts in Turtle Bay but I believe the pro-Environmental lobby might ruin the rue like burnt garlic. Also check out this piece that Tim Worstall wrote in Tech Central Station on the UN report and its solutions.

Japan on UN Security Council?

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According to this article in The Financial Times and this article in The International Herald Tribune, Japan is facing opposition from South Korea and China in its bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. While I can understand the anger of South Korea and China at Japan for its past atrocities during the period prior to and during WWII, I don't understand why they can't put this dark history behind them. If the US can cement a relationship with Japan after Pearl Harbor and the four year Pacific Campaign as well as the use of two atomic bombs to end the war, why can't the Koreans and Chinese do the same.

The memory of these atrocities will live on in history amongst the people of South Korea and China but I think that they should also take note of Japan's forty year atonement of such actions. To begin with, Japan has been one of the most generous nations in the World when it comes to foreign aid, humanitarian relief as well international development in South Korea and China. Another way that the Japanese have atoned for their past atrocities is by openly working with these nations in trade, diplomacy and various other activities that involve peaceful negotiations and interactions that has aided in South Korean and Chinese economic growth. Another example of Japan's atonement is its sixty year devotion to democracy and peace in the Far-East. It's amazing that the Chinese are opposing Japan becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council based on atrocities when the PRC is on its hegemonic quest throughout Asia. Just look at the 12.6% increase in China's defense budget, the passage of the anti-secession law against Taiwan, sending submarines to infiltrate Japan's territorial waters, not to mention its questionable human rights record and tell me who's the problem. As for South Korea, I just think the voice of opposition is emanating from the Left-Wing government of roe Moo-hyun. When a government is more friendly to the Stalinist North Korea rather than a peaceful nation like Japan you know something is amiss.

I have to say that the UN Security Council has to change to meet the new dynamic of the World. While the UN Security Council included all the victors of WWII, it has seen a lot of changes. To begin with, your one representative for Asia at the council is a Communist China (which was under a different leadership and more US friendly government.) I just racks my brain that Japan, a nation that is the most enduring example of peace and democracy in the Far East, has been denied a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. You just can't have a hegemonic state like China representing all of Asia and having a veto power over the security of the World. Remember, China has sided with some of the biggest tyrannical states like Sudan and Zimbabwe when the UN Security Council calls for sanctions because they prefer trade and energy deals rather than respecting human rights. Japan also needs a seat at the table due to its overwhelming commitment to peace and democracy not to mention the fact that they are also one of the biggest financial contributors to the UN. Japan also needs a spot on the Security Council to provide a check against the China's aggressive moves in the region.

Along with China, I also support the bids of India and Brazil to the Security Council to provide more balance to the Council. Though these states might vote against us in the Security Council, it still beats the ninnies of France and China. While China and South Korea might hem an haw about Japan entering the UN Security Council, the Japanese deserves to be on the Council. This would be a good coat of silver polish on the tarnished building in Turtle Bay.