Minihan's World

And in the rest of the World....

16 March 2011 Arlington VA

Pakistan releases the CIA Contractor US had declared a Diplomat to hide his actual status

CNN News reported that "CIA contractor Raymond Davis has been released from jail in Pakistan after the families of two men he killed in January forgave him, a government official said Wednesday. Punjab province law minister Rana Sanaullah first told Pakistani media that the victims' families did not want to press charges and added soon after that Davis was free to go. The statement came just hours after the American was charged with murder in connection with the shootings."

"The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan declined to answer repeated CNN questions about whether Davis had left jail or where he is now. According to Davis, the January 27 shooting occurred after two men attacked him as he drove through a busy Lahore neighborhood, the U.S. Embassy says."

The US State Department had argued for weeks that Davis was a diplomat--implying that he was a Federal employee and entitled to immunity.

The Situation in Bahrain remains grim at best 

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that in Bahrain, "At least five people were killed and hundreds wounded when police cleared demonstrators from Manama's Pearl Square on Wednesday in an attempt to halt weeks of popular unrest. The violence, so soon after the Saudi-led intervention, will further embarrass Washington, which had urged dialogue to tackle Bahrain's problems and says Riyadh did not consult it before moving troops to the island where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based."

"That may be the case, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Bahrain at the weekend. To many Arabs the timing smacks of U.S. complicity in King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa's decision to invite the Saudis in and declare martial law."

"That will create a narrative that does not make the U.S. look good," said Shadi Hamid of the Doha Brookings Center. "It puts the U.S. on one side of the conflict, which is with the status quo and the Bahraini ruling family."

Non-Arab Iran, which has in the past laid claim to Bahrain, has denounced what it sees as U.S.-backed Gulf Arab meddling. "It is not possible to stop a popular uprising by using armed forces of other countries," said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "These are ugly and failing actions."

"The clampdown in Bahrain suggests that a conservative wing of the ruling family, backed by its Saudi counterparts, has won out over reformers led by Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who last month offered dialogue with the Shi'ite opposition and said protesters could stay in Pearl Square."

"A main demand of Bahrain's pro-democracy movement has been the resignation of conservative Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has held his post for 40 years. Bahraini Shi'ites have long complained of discrimination in housing and jobs, charges the government rejects. The protesters had sought to cast their movement as national, not sectarian"

And in Libya...

Voice of America reports that "Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi attacked rebels in the western city of Misrata with heavy artillery Wednesday, killing at least four people. Witnesses say the rebel-held city has come under attack from the east and south.  Government forces have also pounded the eastern city of Ajdabiya, but reports from rebels there say they have repelled pro-Gadhafi advances and are in almost total control of the city. The rebels disputed a Libyan state television report Tuesday that pro-government forces had regained control of Ajdabiya."

"The city is close to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi and would give access to roads leading to the opposition's base if retaken by pro-Gadhafi forces. The lightly armed and poorly organized opposition fighters have not been able to stop the advance of the Libyan army with its aircraft, tanks and heavy weapons. Over the past week, the previous rebel advance to the west has been pushed back nearly 200 kilometers."

Finally, the White House...

In the White House, it was business as usual, with president Obama urging people to stop filling out brackets for march Madness (The NCAA Tournament) to contribute to charities supporting Jpanaese re-construction efforts.  No mention of Libya today.

More on the King Investigation

March 14, 2011 Arlington VA

It is coming up on a week after Rep. Peter King (R-NY), started his investigation on the radicalization of the American Muslim population with the first hearings that made him look completely foolish.  At least Senator Joe McCarthy, in the early 50's, waved a few pieces of paper in the air which he claimed were lists of communists and their sympathizers.  King could not even do that.

 

A New Gallup Poll indicates that 52 percent of Americans say these hearings are appropriate, though support is split along party lines. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans say the hearings are the right thing, while only 40 percent of Democrats say they are appropriate. Independents' views track closely to the national average at 51 percent supporting the hearings. Overall, 49 percent of Democrats polled on Tuesday say the hearings are not appropriate, compared to 42 percent of independents and 23 percent of Republicans.  From that perspective, King has support for his views.

However, what King did not do--favoring a more general, sensationalist view--was to clearly define the purpose of his committee hearings.  Those hearings should be on radicalization of Americans across a number of groups who preach hate and destruction--including those terrorist groups that happen to be Muslim.  Instead he painted the Muslim community separately with a broad brush and that hurts everyone--not those he should have identified and exposed.

Rep. King has a long history of shooting off his mouth--starting hearings, or making claims, and eventually letting them peter out after he gets the publicity he seeks.  That is what these hearing are really all aobut--publicity for mr. King.  if he had the perspective, he could do good things with his hearings--but I will bet he won't, and the results of his efforts will be meaningless--except perhaps to get himself re-elected.

Will the US Do Nothing in Libya?

March 14, 2011 Arlington VA

It is beginning to look like the US has no intention of doing much more than let Secretary Hillary shoot off her mouth but take no real concrete actions.  We did more against Iraq, and are doing against the Mexican durg lords that we have done to provide concrete assistance to the Libyans opposed to Ghaddafi.  This kind of stance (Common to Democrats) is even weaker than the tepid response of Clinton the adulterer while he was President and Iraq and Afghanistan first came across the horizon.

We are quickly looking like fools in the world space and it really needs to stop.

Mark Thompson of TIme Magazine, in the current issue of his blog, reports, "Many of war's most important combat elements -- like time and momentum -- don't show up in order-of-battle calculations. That's why the international dithering over launching a no-fly zone over Libya is now all but OBE -- overcome by events -- even as France and the Arab League call for one. The U.N.  began discussing the topic in earnest on Monday, even as Muammar Gaddafi's warplanes continued to pound rebel positions.

Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/03/14/too-late-for-a-libyan-no-fly-zone/#ixzz1Gb08UWoN

 

Politico is reporting, "Hillary Clinton arrived in Paris on Monday, starting a week of efforts by the secretary of state to demonstrate U.S. support for pro-democracy forces in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia.

While in Paris, Clinton is set to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other European officials to discuss the instability in Libya as leader Muammar Qadhafi’s supporters regain some of their lost territory in the battle there. Sarkozy’s government was the first to recognize an anti-Qadhafi interim governing council as Libya’s legitimate government, a move the United States is considering.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51229.html#ixzz1Gb1KBgDu

 

Now, it is true that Obama has a lot on his plate right now, with the major budget battles looming (with a decidedly unfriendly House, and a mixed-bag Senate where even his own party often leaves him hanging), along with the situations in Libya and Japan, but then, that's what he gets the big bucks to do.  he needs to make decisions that are not slippery and indecisive, but more focused on actual solutions and well-thought out actions.

Michael Falcone, on the ABC News Website, says today, "As the budget deal-making continues in Washington this week, the White House is facing growing pressure on a different front: how tough to get with Libya. Over the weekend, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to the Arab League’s endorsement of a no-fly zone over Libya without specifically addressing whether the Obama administration would support it."

“We welcome this important step by the Arab League, which strengthens the international pressure on Gadhafi and support Libyan people,” Carney said. “The international community is unified in sending a clear message that the violence in Libya must stop and that the Gadhafi regime must be held accountable.”

"But how far will the White House go and when? Libya is fast becoming a situation with profound political consequences here at home, as ABC’s Jonathan Karl noted on “This Week”: “If Gadhafi is still in power next year, if Libya is still a mess, this will be a central issue for Republicans. They will say this is Exhibit A of what happens when you have a foreign policy where America does not show leadership. You're already seeing it with some on the Hill saying, look, the French are leading on this. Where is America?” (More from yesterday’s “This Week” roundtable:"

The more we talk (The administration that is), and the less we do, the more Ghaddafi is reinforced, and the opposition will be crushed over time with that swcar on our collective backs.  The US is already hated by most of the Middle East, and we are adding country after country as we practive 'diplomacy' in that area.

Comments?

 

 

King Hearings on Islamic Terrorism start

March 10, 2011 Arlington VA

Representative Peter King (R-NY) has opened his hearings on what he perceives as growning Islamic Extremism in America.  His initial witnesses, three democratic collegues and the representatives of the Committ on islamic-American Relations (CAIR).  They quickly became reminiscent of the McCarthy hearings of the 1950's.

The New York Daily News, reporting on the opening testimory of Representative Ellis (D-Minn) reacted this way, " The only Muslim member of Congress shed tears as he ripped Long Island Rep. Pete King's controversial hearings into the radicalization of U.S. Muslims as un-American.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) was overcome with emotion Thursday as he invoked a heroic NYPD cadet who was smeared for his religion. Ellison recounted how cadet Mohammed Salman Hamdani, who died trying to rescue people after the Sept. 11 attacks, was accused of being in league with the terrorists because he was a Muslim who vanished on 9/11.

"After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his character" because of his religion, Ellison said of Hamdani, who was posthumously declared a hero. It was only when his remains were identified that these lies were exposed. He gave his life for other Americans."

 
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) with Rep. Denny Johnson (D-MS) at the hearings.       (AP Photo)

Earlier, Ellison had called the hearings "unjust" for singling out an entire community for the evildoing of a few. He said King's hearings "will increase suspicion" about Muslim Americans, "making us all a little less safe." Ellison's unexpectedly emotional testimony silenced the hearing room, but King appeared to be unmoved by his wrenching words.

The Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee opened the hearings with a passionate defense. "Let me be clear today that I remain convinced that these hearings must go forward," he said. King has faced a surge of outrage from critics who say he's mounted a witch hunt against Muslims.

Richard Cohen, in an OpEd piece in the Washington Post, thought differently.  "Unlike Moses Herzog, the eponymous character of the Saul Bellow novel "Herzog," I do not feverishly compose mad letters to public figures and sinister government agencies (the IRS, for instance). But I often yell back at the TV set. This happened Sunday when CNN's Candy Crowley asked Rep. Peter King what his hearings into Muslim radicalism are really about. "Good luck, Candy," I yelled, having asked the same question of King's staff just the day before. Here, I am sure, is the answer: The hearings are about Pete King."  We could not agree more.

Roll Call, the Capital Hill Political rag, calls the hearings a "Witch Hunt", saying "Hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans set to begin today in the House have provoked a volatile national debate that is spilling into the election cycle. Threatening phone calls made this week to Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, were the latest sign that tensions are high as the New York Republican spearheads a probe into the threat of domestic terrorism."

"Battle lines are already being drawn. On one side are Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups that call the investigation a targeted witch hunt and liken it to Joe McCarthy’s anti-communism hearings. On the other are national security and tea party activists who argue that the inquiry is a necessary first step toward protecting Americans."

"King told Roll Call that he initiated the probe to highlight what he says is a rising threat of radicalization in Muslim communities. The hearings could stretch out over the next year, prolonging the topic just long enough to make Islam a wedge issue in the presidential primaries. “We’re starting to see increased anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry that seems timed for the political season,” said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates. “The Republican Party is increasingly painting itself as the party of hate and divisiveness.”

"As candidates travel around the country testing the waters for presidential runs, the hearings could also revive last year’s polarized debate on a proposed Islamic center, which critics dubbed a mosque, near the site of ground zero in New York City. In the midterm elections, some conservative candidates used that issue to generate cash and attention for their campaigns."

These hearings will undoubetdly draw out, much as the mccarthy hearings did to try to rerail the Eisenhower Administration.  However, in this case, it is so patently obvious that this is a circus that even an average person should take what is said with a grain of wild salt.  We should not be painting an entire ethnic group for the sins of a few, or, at least, if he wants to do that the list should be expanded to others who are similarly committing senseless crimes and atrocities--many of which we shower with foriegn aid.

 

Comments?

 

 

More on the Fred Grandy - WMAL (Wash DC) mess

9 March 2011 Arlington VA

The trash continues over the forced resignation of Fred Grandy from the Grandy Group on WMAL, a Washington DC Talk Station.  Atlas Shrugs, a well-known blog, in its latest front page, says,

"WMAL-AM in Washington, DC gave morning talk show host Fred Grandy an “offer he couldn’t accept” – don’t talk about Islam so much and leave your popular wife at home. The Friday discussions between Fred and “Mrs. Fred” about the Shariah threat to American freedoms and institutions were one of the most popular parts of the program."

"Grandy refused to meet those conditions and his show was cancelled. Now WMAL comes out with a different version of the incident everytime they get a call. The bottom line is this WMAL has become the first Shariah-compliant radio station in America. They speak about radical Islam very gingerly and they have no time for opinionated women like Mrs. Fred. Call them today and let them know you support the Constitution and not Shariah."

A number of writers have suggested that they support the station, and they have that right.  Fred did 'resign', but only after an insult to his wife.  How many have that much gumption these days?

Accuracy in Media asked some pointed questions on its blog as well. "Washington, D.C. radio station WMAL is once again being accused of firing a popular talk show host because of his criticism of radical Muslims. The station, a major source of news and information for the nation’s capital, claims that popular morning host Fred Grandy resigned on his own, but Grandy tells AIM that he was essentially forced to leave after his wife, who is also outspoken about radical Islam, was cut from the program."

"The growing controversy over Grandy’s departure has resulted in some Grandy supporters charging the station with being “Sharia-compliant,” a reference to Islamic law, and with bending under pressure from the Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR), a Muslim lobbying organization that combats what it calls “Islamophobia” in the media"

Let's listen to what Catherine Grandy really said.  here's the YouTube broadcast video. Listen to it for yourself .

Here is the statement from WMAL.

Tell us what you think.  is WMAL simply being "Shariah-compliant"?

Is Obama a war criminal yet?

Arlington VA 9 March 2011

The Washington Times, in its editorial pages today, posed the question, and it raises interesting issues.  The Dems were hot to call Goerge W Bush to account, and a number suggested he might be a war criminal for his actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as his continued detentions at Gitmo.  At the time, there were real concerns that he (Bush) might be grabbed in some foreign country, like Spain, that think they can prosecute anyone for anything throughout the world.

Not we have Barack Hussein Obama who has rescinded his previous orders to close Gitmo, decided to return to the flawed commissions, and might even just keep those at the detention facility forever without any formal charges--most of which would be thrown out by the real courts anyway over torture and delays in prosecution.  He calls this protecting us from terrorism. Add to this his order that native-bron American citizens can be killed overseas by the CIA because they are 'suspected' of terror activities, and you have a real mess.  What comes next?

The politics that pervades America today is slowly dragging us down into the sewers that breed contempt and aversion to law.  Obama's Justice Department is, at the least, worse than the Ashcroft regime and can't find good, ethical lawyers to staff its senior positions.  Stay tuned--it is bound to get worse at this administration gets closer to the next election.

Obama's Campaign Promises

Arlington VA 03-09-2011

Keeping Guantanamo open breaks the last (And biggest) of his campaign promises

As he has so often in the past, Obama has taken expediency over truth with the American Public on the Guantanamo issue.

Let's look at his record.

As CNN reported on January 22, 2009, "Promising to return America to the "moral high ground" in the war on terrorism, President Obama issued three executive orders Thursday to demonstrate a clean break from the Bush administration, including one requiring that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed within a year. "

"During a signing ceremony at the White House, Obama reaffirmed his inauguration pledge that the United States does not have "to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals."

"The president said he was issuing the order to close the facility in order to "restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism."

 

The administration put the military trials on hold for two years so that it could review the status of the 170 or so remaining detainees and make changes in the military tribunals, including rules of evidence and a review process for the detainees.  That was after the promise to close Gitmo within a year.

That quickly became a hollow statement as the administration was embarassed several times over trials in Federal Courts--cancelling the show trial that Eric Holder, the Attorney General, devised foir New York City, only to cancel it after a hugh backlash from the City, The State of new York, and the Congress.  Eventually, Obama had to eat crow when the 2010 budget resultion included language to prevent the use of Federal funds to close the facility.

Now come the new executive order, which revereses everything Obama had promised.

As NPR News reports, "The order lends formal permission to the policy by which the U.S. has held detainees at the prison — detainees who, in most cases, have not been charged or convicted but are deemed too dangerous to release. It also ends a two-year ban on the use of military commissions to try suspected terrorists."

"Obama said Monday that his new policies will help "bring terrorists to justice." But the new policy statement wasn't much more than a recognition of fact and frustration. Congress has forbidden the administration to bring terrorism suspects from Guantanamo onto American soil for trial or imprisonment and also has made it harder to send detainees to other countries."

"Obama has said he is still committed to closing the prison and trying terrorists in civilian courts. But Monday's announcement made it clear that he would not be able to fulfill one of his most famous promises: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and will follow through on that," he said on 60 Minutes shortly after he was elected."

"This has turned out very badly for them," says Ben Wittes, an expert on law and terrorism at the Brookings Institution. The executive order "begins a process of breaking the paralysis that has gripped the administration on a subject that was, two years ago, supposed to be one of their early and very vivid accomplishments," Wittes says.

The order also acknowledges that the prison population has probably reached an irreducible minimum, he says. It's "an effort to create a process for long-term detainees at Guantanamo, whom they are not going to be letting go anytime soon and they hope to be eventually moving to the U.S. when they close Guantanamo," he says. "But that doesn't seem to be happening, either."

The administration put the military trials on hold for two years so that it could review the status of the 170 or so remaining detainees and make changes in the military tribunals, including rules of evidence and a review process for the detainees.  Now we go back to th4e commissions where the alleged terrorists can be tried, conviceted and sentenced without any right to even see the evidence against them.

Certainly sounds a lot like George Bush to me.

I have no problem with keeing Gitmo open--it is probably the best place for detainees.  What I do have a problem with is the constant backtracking on virtually every issue Obama raised in his campaign and promised to fix. Politics as usual.

"Gopher" Grandy forced from the airways

Arlington VA March 5, 2011

WMAL Host told to slow down discussions of Terrorism but resigns instead

In what has become a shockwave across the Washington DC area, Fred "Gopher" Grandy, former member of Congress, and host of the Grandy Group on WMAL- Washington, has apparently been forced to resign from his long-time morning talk show.

While Fred himself has said virtually nothing, his wife Catherine Mann-Grandy has been vocal on the subject, speaking with Fox ndews and others about their run-in with the new management at WMAL. The sudden departure immediately triggered rumors that the Council on American Islamic Relations, the country's largest Muslim advocacy group, was somehow involved -- a charge CAIR denied. Mann-Grandy said she thinks that's what happened, though she doesn't have evidence. "You're not allowed to talk about what's happening in your country," she said on FOX News.

According to the FOX News website, " Mann-Grandy, who did a regular segment called "domestic terrorism 101," hit a string of topics on their show last Friday. Though the segment was taken off the radio's site, she described it. She said that, on air, she quoted a rabbi who compared radical Muslims to Nazis, complained that President Obama was not doing enough to help Israel, warned that "Shariah-compliant" individuals work in the government and discussed several other Islam-related topics. "

"Perhaps sensing she might have stepped over a line, she warned on air about the possibility that she might not return the following week.  Sure enough, she didn't.  Mann-Grandy said her husband told her Tuesday that management told him she could no longer be on the show. Further, she said her husband was told to "really tone it down on the Islam stuff." 

Meanwhile, Right Side News suggested a more sinister reason for his departure than a simple tiff with management. In their piece, they quote Grandy and say, " The station (WMAL), a major source of news and information for the nation’s capital, claims that popular morning host Fred Grandy resigned on his own, but Grandy (says) that he was essentially forced to leave after his wife, who is also outspoken about radical Islam, was cut from the program. "

"The growing controversy over Grandy’s departure has resulted in some Grandy supporters charging the station with being “Sharia-compliant,” a reference to Islamic law, and with bending under pressure from the Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR), a Muslim lobbying organization that combats what it calls “Islamophobia” in the media."

"Grandy, a former actor and Republican member of Congress, told AIM, “My wife and I have used our program over the last several months to warn about the spread of radical Islam at home and abroad. Last week, Catherine (known on the show as Mrs. Fred) delivered a very tough indictment against stealth jihad, and for her efforts she was told she was off the show. I then told management without Mrs. Fred at the microphone, I could not remain either and have resigned effective this morning.”

The station General manager also released a statement, which said, " "To be clear, at no time has WMAL told Fred that he was not allowed to discuss his views on Islam over the air," he said in a statement to FoxNews.com. "In fact, he has done so on numerous occasions. Further, WMAL has not been contacted by any organization seeking to restrict his broadcasts."

"WMAL remains committed to its goal of providing a forum for discussing a broad spectrum of issues while delivering compelling programming including Chris Plante, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin," he added.  Grandy does admit that the decision to resign was his, although it appears the principal reason is the insult to his wife, who was known on the show as "Mrs. Frede", and appeared at least twice each week.

Not the first time WMAL has buckled to criticism

Grandy told Accuracy in Media (AIM), : “We cannot affirmatively conclude CAIR or any of the prominent Islamic organizations had anything to do with this. We do know, however, in 2005 representatives of CAIR in D.C. were successful in getting midmorning host Michael Graham fired for anti-Islamic statements he had made on the radio and TV.”  Graham was fired from WMAL after describing Islam as a “terrorist organization” on his program and refusing to apologize or modify the description.

James Lafferty of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force blames the controversy on the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “CAIR frequently criticized Grandy for reading FBI reports and court documents on his radio show which labeled CAIR as ‘an unindicted co-conspirator’ in the federal Holy Land Foundation terror finance trial,” Lafferty said.

 CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper acted surprised by the news of Grandy’s resignation and responded: “What is their evidence for that claim?,” when informed that his group was being blamed for his departure.

Lafferty told AIM: “I heard from two very good sources that CAIR was involved in this and not only targeting Grandy but Sean Hannity.” He said CAIR’s strategy was to knock Grandy off the air and then go after Hannity, a nationally syndicated radio host carried by WMAL in the afternoon. Hannity also hosts a Fox News Channel TV show.

Lafferty has urged supporters of the Grandys to protest on Monday, March 7, and Tuesday, March 8, during “Call Out WMAL Days.”  That seems like a great idea.  A call to the Station General Manager, Jeff Boden -- in fact, many calls to the GM -- might make a defference.

We need to stop with this artificial political correctness and this is as good a place to start as any.