Web Reconnaissance for 01/03/2007

A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.



In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
In State Funeral, a Farewell to Ford “Gerald Rudolph Ford, the Boy Scout, football star and congressman thrust by history rather than ambition into the presidency at a fateful moment for his nation, was bidden farewell by Washington in a regal state funeral yesterday and taken home to Michigan for burial.” (READ MORE)

Activists on the Left Applying Pressure to Democratic Leaders “Democratic leaders set to take control of Congress tomorrow are facing mounting pressure from liberal activists to chart a more confrontational course on Iraq and the issues of human rights and civil liberties, with some even calling for the impeachment of President Bush.” (READ MORE)

FBI Reports Duct-Taping, 'Baptizing' at Guantanamo “FBI agents witnessed possible mistreatment of the Koran at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including at least one instance in which an interrogator squatted over Islam's holy text in an apparent attempt to offend a captive, according to bureau documents released yesterday.” (READ MORE)

Iraq Probes Disorder At Hussein Execution “BAGHDAD, Jan. 2 -- As thousands of Saddam Hussein's supporters protested in Sunni Arab enclaves across Iraq, the Shiite-led government said it had launched an investigation into the chaotic scene at his execution, captured on video, which has deepened the nation's sectarian rift...” (READ MORE)

Ban Cool on Envoy's Words “New United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday backed away from comments by the world body's top representative in Iraq criticizing the execution of former dictator Saddam Hussein.” (READ MORE)

Same-Sex 'Marriage' Measure Advances “Massachusetts lawmakers yesterday twice passed a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex ‘marriage,’ bending to a recent court ruling that said they had a duty to vote on the measure.” (READ MORE)

'Sincere' Ford Honored “The humble yet extraordinary life of Gerald R. Ford was heralded yesterday in a solemn and sometimes humorous service at the National Cathedral that brought together four presidents, dozens of Cabinet secretaries and lawmakers.” (READ MORE)

Iraq to Review Abusive Acts at Hussein’s Execution “Saddam Hussein was subjected to a battery of taunts by official Shiite witnesses and guards as he awaited his hanging.” (READ MORE)




News From the Front:
Bill Roggio writes Pursuing the Islamic Courts “Islamic Courts leadership unaccounted for; foreign fighters captured fleeing to Kenya. After taking the southern port city of Kismayo, the news has dried up on the pursuit of the remnants of the Islamic Courts and their leaders. The last reports indicated elements of the Islamic Courts were holing up at the island base of Ras Kamboni on the Kenyan border, and Ethiopian forces were headed south to pursue.” (READ MORE)

Mohammed of Iraq the Model writes The United Alliance at a Crossroads. “For some time now we're seeing renewed speculations about the state of unity of the Shia alliance that we can almost see a possible radical change in its structure on the horizon. It looks like the crack that resulted from ousting Jafari and choosing a replacement after the last elections is still haunting the alliance and its future. The question now is, is this likely to happen again and will the crack deepen after the failure of the government-with the UIA being its bigger component-in providing services and containing the political crisis?” (READ MORE)

Mohammed of Iraq the Model writes Celebrating Justice... “Saddam drew his path to hell long time ago…he chose this fate the day he chose cruelty and oppression as a way to deal with his people. He built his reign with blood and terror and vowed to make death the fate of anyone who dared say no to him. Saddam lost his humanity the day he committed his first crime, so the one I saw walking to the rope this morning was no man to me.” (READ MORE)

GWOTdotUS writes The price of Iraq’s freedom-3000 “Although many like to complain about the monetary price of a free Iraq, let’s not forget the human price. Yesterday marked the 3000th U.S. service member death in this war. The cost of freedom has always been high, paid with the blood, sweat and tears of your sons and daughters. Do not let this sobering reminder dissuade your opinion on whether this war is right or wrong, rather, let this number be your strength, determination and resolve.” (READ MORE)

ELF2006 writes New Year's Resolution: cost's for IED's. “The problem of IED's is that it's a free shot for the insurgent's, rendering us target practice. Now under the restrictive ROE (rules of engagement) there are no consequences for killing us in this fashion, except on those very rare occasions when we catch the trigger man in the act.” (READ MORE)

Ben of Mesopotamia writes Graduation Day “Okay, so what I've wanted to post about before getting sidetracked over the past few days was Thursday's graduation ceremony at the Iraqi Military Academy at Rustimiyah.” (READ MORE)



On the Web:
George W. Bush writing at the WSJ Opinion Journal writes What the Congress Can Do for America “Tomorrow, members of the 110th Congress will take their oaths of office here in Washington. I will have the privilege of working with them for the next two years--one quarter of my presidency, plenty of time to accomplish important things for the American people. Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the complex problems that many don't expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in the partisan environment of today's Washington.” (READ MORE)

Austin Bay writing at Townhall.com writes Look on my works, ye might, and despair “The next to last thing Saddam ever expected was a hangman's noose. The last thing he expected? A fair trial based on law and evidence.” (READ MORE)

Walter E. Williams writing at Townhall.com writes Rules more important than personalities “Given the incentives politicians face, why should we expect one politician to differ significantly from another? We should focus less on personalities and more on rules.” (READ MORE)

Brent Bozell III writing at Townhall.com writes Gerald Ford and media historians “It is proper that the press is kind today. It ought to be remembered, however, that the press was not of this opinion when Ford took office.” (READ MORE)

Jay Sekulow writing at Townhall.com writes It’s Time for the Supreme Court to Say ‘No’ “They’re called ‘offended observers.’ These are people who, on the mere sight of a monument of the Ten Commandments or a nativity scene in the town square, decide to file suits because they are taxpayers.” (READ MORE)

Washington Post Editorial A Fairer House - But not quite yet. “The new Democratic House majority has an ambitious plan for its first 100 hours in power, from increasing the minimum wage to strengthening ethics rules to having the federal government negotiate prescription drug prices. Unfortunately, its plans don't include getting those provisions passed in the democratic fashion that the Democrats promised to adhere to once in the majority.” (READ MORE)

Allahpundit writes Jamilgate: Eason Jordan goes nuclear on the AP; Update: AP responds to Eason Jordan “No righty blogger will ever trust him, but give him credit for pushing this knowing that it won’t endear him to his remaining fans. I look forward to Eric Boehlert’s next dopey exercise in What Warbloggers Believe, in which Eric explains how a guy who once accused U.S. troops of trying to murder journalists is actually a neocon Bush-booster busying himself with minutiae to avoid facing the hard facts on the ground.” (READ MORE)

Dean Barnett writing at Hugh Hewitt writes It's Not Exactly Stealing Turkeys From the Needy “The Boston Globe has done it again! Thanks to the efforts of the indefatigable reporters on the boring broadsheet’s staff, the Globe has unearthed yet more dirt on outgoing Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. The Globe’s lede reads breathlessly as one of the great scoops of the still young century:” (READ MORE)

Kim Priestap writing at Wizbang writes Bipartisanship is a Thing of the Past “The Democrats promised to work with the GOP in a show of bipartisanship. Yet they are now backing away from that pledge, just like their pledge to deliver a Congress that's more ethical than it was under the Republicans: ‘But instead…Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories.’” (READ MORE)

Jules Crittenden writes 9/11 Evidence Not Found “MEMRI, which usually brings us unusual insight into faraway people and places, sometimes casts a light closer to home. Here's a Beantown prof, BC and Brandeis, who wonders whether OBL really had anything to do with 9/11.” (READ MORE)

Dan Riehl writes Goode For Him “I'm glad to see that Virgil Goode has the courage of his convictions, continuing to speak to the value, and need for preservation of Judeo-Christian values in the United States. ‘Save Judeo-Christian values’” (READ MORE)

Andi of Andi’s World writes Will a Defeatist Mindset Be Our Downfall? “Kudos to Bruce Thornton for summarizing some of the most important factors that have contributed to the defeatist attitude on the part of most Americans today. If you believe the polls, that is. In this case, I do. Today, a large segment of our society calls for us to tolerate the intolerable, coddle the unthinkable and doubt our greatness. This mindset is dangerous, very dangerous.” (READ MORE)

Greyhawk writes Resolution “Benjamin Cheever is the son of WWII vet and novelist John Cheever. Cheever the younger recently covered military running for Runner's World magazine, an experience that ended a few illusions for the author - illusions shared by many: ‘My first contact with the military was in Germany, where I met with soldiers who had been in Iraq and were heading back. I hope I don't lose you here, but I must say at the outset that to run with soldiers at Camp Ray, in Friedberg, was to take all my assumptions about the U.S. Army and have them turned upside down.’” (READ MORE)

Captain Ed writes The Nature Of Youthful Indiscretions “... is that they should be handled discreetly. However, the tabloidesque nature of national politics over the last generation has eliminated discretion, and it appears the next example of this will be Barack Obama. The Washington Post manages to both raise Obama's youthful choices on drugs and then question their applicability to a man two decades past their use:” (READ MORE)

Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.

The Left Can't Let Go

At 2200 hours last night I heard the news, it was official, Saddam had been executed for his crimes against humanity. There was in fact a sense of relief as the news sunk in, but almost immediately it started, I knew the Left just couldn’t let go. So I bring you a short recon of what the left is saying about Saddam’s execution.

Read 'em and weep my friends.

Robert Scheer writes Silencing Saddam “It is a very frightening precedent that the United States can invade a country on false pretenses, depose its leader and summarily execute him without an international trial or appeals process.” (READ
MORE)

Over at the Huffington Post:Martin Lewis says “[Congats] To George W. Bush. It only cost $354 billion (and counting) and the lives of 3,000 very expendable US military to enable the President to demonstrate to his dad that he has a bigger Dick. Or is one:” (READ MORE) While Tony Hendra gets even cheekier: Former American Puppet Executed By Current American Puppets. And if it isn’t one thing its another as Cenk Uygur asks: Where Were the Mass Graves? Raed Jarrar even goes so far as to say: There Is No Victory in Saddam's Execution

The Daily Kossaks can’t stop crying either as commenter Kdoug laments “Saddam Ex[e]cuted For...the killings of 148 Shi'ite villagers from Dujail. What should be the punishment for Bush? He is responsible for the deaths of 650,000 Iraqis (Lancet); and nearly 3,000 Americans? Those looking for Justice ... what should be the punishment?” Worse still commenter curmudgiana actually calls for the murder of the entire Bush Administration when she writes “Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld - By the neck.”

Over at the Democratic Underground commenter Kentuck still can’t come to grips with reality when he writes Make no mistake - Our grief is not for Saddam - It is for America. “To rationalize Saddam's death as a matter of simple justice is a mistake. It does not legitimize nor lessen the responsibility of an illegal invasion, built on a mountain of lies, and where now there are over 650,000 casualties as a result. Wiser men than we will say that the death of Saddam will lead to many more deaths, not less. The rush to execute, as the rush to invade, will lead to more death and destruction. Just as it was a war of choice, it was an execution of choice” (READ
MORE)

Amnesty International as expected issued a statement of their opposition of the sentence: Iraq: Amnesty International deplores execution of Saddam Hussein “The organization, which totally opposes the use of the death penalty, said it was concerned that the Iraqi Appeals Court had failed to address the major flaws during the former dictator's trial before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT) which had rendered it unfair.” (READ MORE)

Michael Moore can’t stop for a second and blasts not only President George W. Bush bust also goes after George H.W. Bush!

Even Pamela Leavey of The Democratic Daily has to get in a jab when she says The Deed is Done… Saddam’s Been Hung “So the dirty deed has been done, it’s not been done dirt cheap.” (READ MORE)

Human Rights Watch says Hanging After Flawed Trial Undermines Rule of Law “The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein following a deeply flawed trial for crimes against humanity marks a significant step away from respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today.” (READ MORE)

And Ted Kennedy (D- MA) wants us to think about the refugees of Bush’s Illegal Occupation.