Olbermann Watch writes:

Now this is the Krazy Keith we know and love. Kick off the opening spiel with a classic Olbyism:

24 Iraqi citizens, including unarmed women and children, shot deliberately by US Marines.

That’s our Keith. None of those silly legalities like “alleged” or “accused”. Just declare guilt and prepare to pass sentence. KO later slips in that it’s a “preliminary conclusion”, which legally doesn’t even rise to the level of an indictment, but such fine points don’t carry much weight on The Hour of Spin.

Keith already convicting soldiers before they even stand trial. This coming from the same Keith Olbermann who claims Bill O’Reilly called US troops murderers. Hypocrite.

VIDEO – .WMV
VIDEO – .MOV

Cross-posted from MsUnderestimated.

In the “Back of the Book” segment on Friday, Laura had Sgt. Michael Sarro on, who is a Purple Heart recipient, former Marine, and now in the Pennsylvania National Guard. He’s back here stateside, injured in battle, but is very proud of his service and shows a deep admiration and respect for his fellow soldiers.

First a clip was played from Thursday’s Factor, and the segment was about whether or not troop morale was low, if they’re frustrated, and all that other nonsense the MSM would like you to believe. Col. Randall Larsen (Ret.) said that the troops understand it’s an important job, and that they understand cutting and running would be a mistake.

Sgt. Sarro served with the Marines in the 1/7, completing his four years in late 2002. He wanted to get back in, and so he joined Pennsylvania National Guard.

Laura wants to know his story, and tell him she knows he’s been injured, has his leg in a stabilization cage, and is in rehab.

Sgt. Sarro: The incident itself occurred on a routine patrol in the city of Beiji, which is just outside the city of Tikrit. We were going down the main road, and about 500 meters into that patrol, two anti-tank mines were remote detonated under my Humvee. This took the front of the vehicle off. We crashed off the road, and that point is when the firefight begun between insurgents from the rooftops of buildings onto our position. It was approximately 25 minutes into this firefight where I was wounded. I was shot with an AK-47 through the leg, and this is pretty much how I ended up to be where I’m at right now.

Laura: And I know you’re recuperating now, and you have been put in for the Bronze Star, and I know that is such an amazing honor. You’re so humble that you didn’t even want to talk about it, but I had to mention that.

But there are a thousand people who have received the Bronze Star with Valor in the last three years, but I just don’t hear about the stories of their bravery, Sergeant, and I was wondering how you felt about that. I mean, isn’t it important for the American people to know these stories?

Sgt. Sarro: This is very important for the American people to know. These are individuals that have put themselves in such inherent danger to reach this level of an award. You have to put yourself in major danger, place your team ahead of your own life. And these are people whose stories that need to be told, because these type of awards just aren’t given out. Their stories are much more important to me than any car bomb or killing that goes on throughout that country. These people are due their right recognition.

Laura: And I know it’s been a tough year for you of rehab and rehabilitation, but would you do it all over again?

Sgt. Sarro: [small laugh] You KNOW I would – Marines would always do it again.

Read the rest and watch the video at Ms.Underestimated.

An oldie, but goodie (via Right Wing News)

“After German SS troops massacred 86 American soldiers at Malmedy in Belgium on Dec. 17, 1944, some units like the U.S. 11th Armored Division took revenge on captured German soldiers. In the Pacific, relatively few Japanese prisoners were taken in the brutal island fights. But the folks back home never heard about those things or what techniques were used to interrogate prisoners who might know where the next ambush would be. The American military did what they had to do in order to win. As General Patton once said to his army: “I do not advocate standing Germans up against the wall and shooting them — so shoot the sons of b——— before you get them to the wall. George Patton would not be allowed to serve in combat today. The New York Times would make sure of that. The International Red Cross would be all over Patton and his aggressive Third Army. Dick Durbin would be appalled. But it is Patton that we need right now to defeat the barbarians who would kill all of us in the name of Allah.”

On a side note, what O’Reilly wrote about is the subject of Keith Olbermann’s latest feud with the FOX News host. Olbermann is accusing O’Reilly of painting US troops as murderers. It’s quite ironic that Olbermann complains about this when he was all over the Iraqi abuse and murder cases.

(h/t Lorie Byrd)

Former ambassador to Iraq Ed Peck appeared on FOX News’ Dayside this afternoon. He refused to condemn Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and instead painted Israel as terrorists. But, it didn’t end there. Peck went on to ponder if US troops dropped into Nazi Germany were also terrorists.

CO-HOST: And Mr. Ambassador, you are a diplomat, what would you say if you were in the Middle East right now to both sides to keep it from escalating, to keep it from turning into WWIII if you don’t think that is where we are.

AMBASSADOR ED PECK, FMR. US AMB. TO IRAQ: Ma’am, that is a good question. I am a diplomat, I believe very sincerely on the basis of my experience and whatever knowledge I have of history that if there is a problem between two groups and they sit down to see if they can eliminate or reduce the problem, they talk about it. There’s a chance that they can achieve that objective, but if they do not talk, there is no chance—
MIKE JERRICK, CO-HOST:—but Mr. Ambassador, Hezbollah is bent on sort of wiping Israel off the map. So, what more is there to say?

PECK: Well then, Israel is bent on destroying everybody in Hezbollah, so what is there to say? I mean, there is a middle ground, almost always. But, you’ve got to talk, just like we did with the Russians all during the Cold War. Although we knew they could blast us off the face of the earth at costs.

JERRICK: But Mr. Ambassador, do you believe Hezbollah is a terrorist organization?

PECK: Well the terrorist organization is in the eye of the beholder—

JERRICK: Well, I’m asking you.

[audience reacts]

PECK: Okay, you have to understand now we parachuted people into Europe in WWII. You’re too young to remember that—

JERRICK: —Thank you Mr. Ambassador, but—

PECK:Their job was to kill Germans. But no offense, I wish I had shared that with you. But their job was to kill Germans, now were they terrorists or heros?

JERRICK: Well let’s go back to Hezbollah; do you think it’s a terrorist organization?

PECK: No, I think it has objectives to which we object very strongly.

VIDEO – .WMV
VIDEO – .MOV

(h/t Stop the ACLU)

Why am I not surprised the ACLU is defending a bunch of anti-troop Democrats:

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—A Kansas church group that protests at military funerals nationwide filed suit in federal court, saying a Missouri law banning such picketing infringes on religious freedom and free speech.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., on behalf of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church, which has outraged mourning communities by picketing service members’ funerals with signs condemning homosexuality.

But don’t question their patriotism.

In the Unresolved Problem segment, Laura talks with Niles Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation about the U.S. taxpayer-paid-for evacutation of Americans and others who CHOSE to go to Beirut and other places in Lebanon despite FOUR warnings from the U.S. State Department due to the level of growing hostility in the area. Granted, a large percentage of the Americans there either lived or worked there, but there were also a great many who chose to go there on vacation. What? Where next? Maybe they can go for winter vacation in Darfur. Spring break in Cuba or Venezuela perhaps? Maybe next summer instead of the Hamptons, how about the Congo or Somalia?

People will say that Laura is being cold-hearted, that the United States should help ALL people in times of need, but damnit, there comes a time when personal responsibility has to kick in. And this time was one of those (as was Katrina). People were complaining about the cramped conditions of the boats and ships that were bringing their pampered, brat asses back home, whining about air conditioning, flies, and other such supercilious nonsense. They believed, and we caved, that it was the duty of the United States (read “taxpayer”) to bring them home for free, and in cushy, comfy conditions.

Read the full story and watch the video at MsUnderestimated.

(Cross-posted from MsUnderestimated)

With all the bad stuff going on in Israel, Lebanon, and Gaza right now, this one seems to have flown right under the radar yesterday. According to reports we all heard, Zarqawi’s replacement, Al Masri, perpetrated this brutality himself. Being the pussy jihadist he was/is, he probably just barked out orders like the dog he is, and had it done by his minions. When we’re told by National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie that someone responsible for the deaths of any of our military men or women over there has been eradicated from the face of this planet, I don’t give a good goddamn if it was Al Masri himself or not (although I’ll take any dead jihadist anyday), but at least we got the bastard(s)!

ZombieTime has some good whackjob photos (& this good one above) from the Pro-Palestinian rallies today.

The absolute barbarity and cruelty visited upon Menchaca and Tucker is unspeakable, and should be condemned by all free nations. However, we know the peace-at-any-price idiots in the U.S., along with the Euroweenies, are too politically-correct to condemn the true vicious bastards inhabiting our planet these days. Besides, they’re too busy blaming the United States for every act of violence around the world.

Here’s the AP story from yesterday:

Man blamed for murdering Oregon, Texas soldiers is killed

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)—A Jordanian who killed two U.S. soldiers last month was fatally wounded in a clash with security forces, a senior Iraqi official said Tuesday.

Diyar Ismail Mahmoud, known as Abu al-Afghani, was identified as the killer of the two soldiers, National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told reporters. The two soldiers’ mutilated bodies were found after they were captured in a clash near Youssifiyah, southwest of Baghdad.

A third American was killed in the clash.

Al-Rubaie did not say when Mahmoud was wounded or died.

The bodies of two soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division were found on June 19 not far from a checkpoint on the Euphrates river south of Baghdad where they were abducted.

The discovery of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Ore.—both of whom were badly mutilated and at least one beheaded—came after exhaustive searches with thousands of soldiers fanning out in an area south of Baghdad known as the “Triangle of Death” because of frequent attacks.

A third soldier, David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was found dead at the checkpoint where the soldiers were killed two days before.

The three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment—the same unit as five soldiers and one former Army private now facing charges in the alleged rape and murder of a teenage girl in Mahmoudiya last March.

The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella of extremist groups, claimed in an Internet statement that the three soldiers were killed last month in retaliation for the rape-murder. U.S. officials say they have no evidence to substantiate the claim.

The killing of the Americans followed the June 7 death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike northeast of Baghdad. Mahmoud was a top al-Zarqawi lieutenant, al-Rubaie said.

During the news conference, al-Rubaie also said security forces detained the leaders of the Omar Brigade group, a wing of al-Qaida in Iraq that had claimed to have carried many deadly attacks throughout the country.

He identified the group’s leader as Jassim Mohammed, known as Abu Othman, his deputy Abu Aisha, who was in charge of financing the group, and Abu Ihab, who was in charge of recruitment. The fourth was Abu Islam, who was in charge of religious affairs, al-Rubaie said.

“The Omar Brigade is one of the death squads,” al-Rubaie said, adding that the group was responsible for the deadly bombing in Baghdad’s eastern neighborhood of Sadr City on July 1 that killed 66 people.

Al-Qaida in Iraq announced last year that it had formed the Omar Brigade to fight the Shiite militias. The group claimed to have killed many Shiite militia leaders since then.

He refused to say where they were detained for security reasons but added that the operation was carried out by Iraqi and multinational troops.

“This is a major blow to al-Qaida itself because this is a division that was trying to drive a wedge between Shiites and Sunnis,” he said.

And yes, we cannot forget about the death of soldier, David J. Babineau, who was shot at the site of the intial abduction, by all accounts.

The one thing I can say is the only good jihadist is a dead jihadist. And yes, not all Muslims are terrorists; however, all terrorists responsible for most of the clashes in the modern ages have been Muslim. These vermin must be exterminated, and I for one am happy that Israel is wiping the mideast floor with Hezbollah’s bloody carcasses.

May God bless our troops, our President, and the United Glorious States of America!

GO ISRAEL! And to Pres. Bush….it’s time to COWBOY UP!

Ted Rall hates our troops:

(Click to enlarge)

(h/t LGF)

Caption:

A sniper loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr fires towards U.S. positions in the cemetery in Najaf, Iraq.

Michele McNally: “Right there with the Mahdi army. Incredible courage.”

Courage, no. Siding with the enemy, being unpatriotic, yes.

Jeff Goldstein writes what would be courageous:

Incredible courage? Well, far be it for me to question such self-congratulatory enthusiasm, but it seems to me that actual “incredible courage” would have entailed, say, Joao Silva getting word to US troops, or his bumrushing the sniper and beating him unconscious with a heavy telephoto lens.

Whereas what we’ve witnessed here is the product of dangerous opportunism in the service of plaudits and cocktail party invites.

John Hinderaker at Power Line:

It would have required courage to hang out with the Mahdi Army, if there were any likelihood that a member of the Iraqi “insurgency” would regard a representative of the New York Times as an enemy.

Don’t question this bloggers’ patriotism:

Michelle Malkin – New York Times photographers should beat terrorists to death with their equipment instead of reporting on the war.

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Democrats pulled an Internet ad that showed flag-draped coffins Friday after Republicans and at least two Democrats demanded it be taken down on grounds the image was insensitive and not fit for a political commercial.

The ad by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called for a “new direction” and displayed a staccato of images, including war scenes, pollution and breached levees as well as a photograph of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay doctored to look like a police mug shot.