The story of Michael Behenna and Mad Dog 5: “Self-defense” in war : SCOTUSblog

The story of Michael Behenna and Mad Dog 5: “Self-defense” in war : SCOTUSblog

From our Mother in Arms-Bev Perlson

Pray that SCOTUS finds in favor of this young EllTee who did what America asked him to do.

Behenna is in Kansas now, at the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, waiting for the Court to announce whether it will review his case. In his petition for certiorari, Behenna’s lawyers argue that his case sets a dangerous precedent for other soldiers fighting insurgents, and they warn that the categorical curtailment of a right to self-defense in combat zones gives members of the armed forces less protection to respond to deadly threats than civilian police officers.

Our military are not police. They are soldiers. Their job is to protect America from our enemies. Lt Behenna killed an enemy combatant who was trying to kill him. He did his job; the job we asked him to do when he received his commission. If our soldiers cannot perform the duties we expect soldiers to perform without fear of prosecution, how can we expect them to protect us?

Zer0 Caught Backing the Wrong Horse AGAIN!!?

Disturbing, Developing: Obama Caught Arming Al Qaeda,Reason For Libya Cover-Up
 

Oct 24, 2012 84 Comments Pat Dollard

Excerpted from The Washington Times, piece by Frank Gaffney, Reagans’ assistant Secretary of State: President Obama’s once seemingly unstoppable march toward re-election hit what he might call “bumps in the road” in Benghazi, Libya, late on Sept. 11, 2012. It might be more accurate to describe the effect of the well-planned and -executed, military-style attack on a diplomatic facility there as the political equivalent of a devastating improvised explosive device on the myth of the unassailability of the Obama record as commander in chief.

Thanks to intrepid investigative reporting — notably by Bret Baier and Catherine Herridge at Fox News, Aaron Klein at WND.com and Clare Lopez at RadicalIslam.org — and information developed by congressional investigators, the mystery is beginning to unravel with regard to what happened that night and the reason for the subsequent, clumsy official cover-up now known as Benghazigate.

The evidence suggests that the Obama administration has not simply been engaging, legitimating, enriching and emboldening Islamists who have taken over or are ascendant in much of the Middle East. Starting in March 2011, when American diplomat J. Christopher Stevens was designated the liaison to the “opposition” in Libya, the Obama administration has been arming them, including jihadists like Abdelhakim Belhadj, leader of the al Qaeda franchise known as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

Once Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown, Stevens was appointed ambassador to the new Libya run by Mr. Belhadj and his friends. Not surprisingly, one of the most important priorities for someone in that position would be to try to find and secure the immense amount of armaments that had been cached by the dictator around the country and systematically looted during and after the revolution.

One of the places in Libya most awash with such weapons in the most dangerous of hands is Benghazi. It now appears that Stevens was there — on a particularly risky day, with no security to speak of and despite now copiously documented concerns about his own safety and that of his subordinates — for another priority mission: sending arms recovered from the former regime’s stocks to the “opposition” in Syria. As in Libya, the insurgents are known to include al Qaeda and other Shariah-supremacist groups, including none other than Abdelhakim Belhadj.

Fox News has chronicled how the Al Entisar, a Libyan-flagged vessel carrying 400 tons of cargo, docked on Sept. 6 in the Turkish port of Iskenderun. It reportedly supplied both humanitarian assistance and arms — including deadly SA-7 man-portable surface-to-air missiles — apparently destined for Islamists, again including al Qaeda elements, in Syria.

What cries out for further investigation — and debate in the remaining days of this presidential election — is whether this shipment was part of a larger covert Obama effort to transfer weapons to our enemies that could make the Iran-Contra scandal, to say nothing of Operation Fast and Furious, pale by comparison.

Investigative journalist Aaron Klein has reported that the “consulate in Benghazi” actually was no such thing. He observes that although administration officials have done nothing to correct that oft-repeated characterization of the facility where the murderous attack on Stevens and his colleagues was launched, they call it a “mission.” What Mr. Klein describes as a “shabby, nondescript building” that lacked any “major public security presence” was, according to an unnamed Middle Eastern security official, “routinely used by Stevens and others to coordinate with the Turkish, Saudi and Qatari governments on supporting the insurgencies in the Middle East, most prominently the rebels opposing Assad’s regime in Syria.”

We know that Stevens‘ last official act was to hold such a meeting with an unidentified “Turkish diplomat.” Presumably, the conversation involved additional arms shipments to al Qaeda and its allies in Syria. It also may have involved getting more jihadi fighters there. After all, Mr. Klein reported last month that, according to sources in Egyptian security, our ambassador was playing a “central role in recruiting jihadists to fight Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.”

It gets worse. Last week, Center for Security Policy senior fellow and former career CIA officer Clare Lopez observed that there were two large warehouse-type buildings associated with the so-called “consulate” whose purpose has yet to be disclosed. As their contents were raided in the course of the attack, we may never know for sure whether they housed — and were known by the local jihadis to house — arms, perhaps administered by the two former Navy SEALs killed along with Stevens.

What we do know is that the New York Times — one of the most slavishly pro-Obama publications in the country — reported in an Oct. 14 article, “Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster.”

In short, it seems President Obama has been engaged in gun-walking on a massive scale. The effect has been to equip America’s enemies to wage jihad not only against regimes it once claimed were our friends, but inevitably against us and our allies as well. That would explain his administration’s desperate and now failing bid to mislead the voters through the serial deflections of Benghazigate.

--

RICK ROSE

U.S. Soldiers Urged Not to Shoot Taliban at Night so Locals Can Sleep

U.S. Soldiers Urged Not to Shoot Taliban at Night so Locals Can Sleep

The green on blue assassinations; tangos inside the wire with impunity; Marines ordered to unload and stack weapons when civilian authorities are present were reasons enough to pack it in.

This is just screwed up. The civilian authorities want American soldiers killed.

It is now officially time to leave. When this kind of incompetence is in charge, we can't win, we can't tie. We can only lose. Any future loss of American lives is the equivalent of government sanctioned murder of US citizens. The left doesn't care. They hate the military anyway. Its been demonstrated time and time again how the left feels about America's Warrior Class. This will get a lot more American and NATO soldiers and Marines killed or worse.

Reports indicate U.S. soldiers and British Royal Marines have been urged to show "courageous constraint" by not shooting Taliban members spotted planting IEDs. The reason? Shooting them might disturb the locals.

This news comes out on the heels of an investigation into the death of Royal Marine Sergeant Peter Rayner, whom witnesses say watched the Taliban plant IEDs at night but was ordered not to engage them. Families of other soldiers and Royal Marines are telling stories of how their loved ones were not allowed to use mortars or night illumination when they came across Taliban members in an area full of IEDs.  

The reason given was that "the sound of shooting 'might wake up and upset the locals.'"
This is not "courageous restraint" -- this is appeasement.

This is not appeasement; this is the equivalent of surrendering and then joining the other side. Our government, our civilian authority, has just told the enemy it is OK to plant IEDS at night, because we told our soldiers not to shoot you. The Muslim Brotherhood is dictating American military tactics.

They Should Be Enlarged & Posted In Every Madrassa

The 2 year old images from Afghanistan showing US and Afghan soldiers posing with what was left of the stupid tangos who suffered from premature discombobulation should be enlarged to poster size and posted on every street corner in the muslim world.

Counter the recruiting efforts of the cultists who convince these people their only way to heaven is to kill innocents while killing themselves.

A Combat Veteran Has Some Words of Wisdom

Uncle Jimbo put a piece up while I was composing this one and fighting the "blue screen syndrome."

A terrorist network is a hydra. It has many heads. We've managed to cut off four of the hydras' heads, but there are more. They will not stop just because one more of their leaders is now less than room temperature. Were there true justice, UBF would have been tossed overboard with a double rack of ribs hung around his neck still kicking. What I want is UBF's head on a pike stuck in the ground out front of Ground Zero for a week. Then we do the tour. A week in front of the Pentagon; a week at Shanksville. Then we tell KSM and the rest of them that we're gonna do the same thing with them as soon as we find them guilty and kill their sorry asses.

My bud Major Z has a piece up you should read. I have the first three paragraphs here, but you need to make the jump and read the whole thing. Remember, this man has "been there, done that" and has a t-shirt.

Osamathanatopsis: A meditation on the death of the devil

There is one less Saudi-born terrorist multibillionaire in the world today. I met the news of the death of Osama bin Laden (hereafter referred to as UBF, for UglyBeardedFuckstick™) believe it or not, with mixed emotions.
Relief, because I knew that there was one less truly evil sonofabitch roaming the planet, making plans to kill my family. Granted, he wasn’t very likely to specifically target my family, but then again, I am the #1 google result for “new funny pictures” so there is always the possibility.
Gratitude, for the hundreds of thousands of military personnel, and the millions of their family members who have sacrificed so much through all of this, and will continue to sacrifice, as this is not the end, any more than killing Hitler in 1942 would’ve brought an end to WWII. Sure, we stand outside the Whitehouse and in Times square and celebrate and clap and sing and whatever else goes on at these rallies, but it is the families and friends of our fighting men and women who are truly the ones who show support for the troops, far more than a one-off rally or a car magnet. It is to these silent heroes that we, the military, owe our undying love and gratitude.
Apprehension, because our enemy may very well be emboldened to double down, now that UBF has been brought to room temperature. Ask yourself, if AQ were to attack and kill the US President, despite what you may think of his administration, would you want, even more, to hunt down and kill everyone even remotely responsible? What about when you saw pictures of the jubilant celebrations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, etc. on 9/12/01? Do you remember how you felt when you saw that? Do you think our enemy will feel differently? The DoD has raised the force protection level across the board--but a smart enemy (and only fools believe their enemy to be anything else) will bide his time, and wait for us to become complacent.

Where In the World Is Uncle Jimbo

and what is that hat he's wearing?

10 Years Ago Today

Goat humping scumbag terrorists used our trusting nature against us and pulled up beside the USS Cole in a small craft and blew it up, killing 17 seamen, including Mechanicsville, VA native Kenneth Clodfelter.

REMEMBER THE COLE!!!!!!!!!!

Apply the lessons learned to present day. They LIE!!! Radical islamist goat-humping scumbags LIE!!!

Radical Islam

ISLAM=TERRORISTS
RADICAL ISLAM=TERRORISTS
ISLAM=TERRORISTS
RADICAL ISLAM=TERRORISTS
ISLAM=TERRORISTS
RADICAL ISLAM=TERRORISTS
ISLAM=TERRORISTS
RADICAL ISLAM=TERRORISTS
ISLAM=TERRORISTS
RADICAL ISLAM=TERRORISTS
ISLAM=TERRORISTS

There, that should settle it.

Is Holder Ignorant, Stupid, or Something Else?

Holder balks at blaming 'radical Islam' for terror attempts

Despite crediting the Pakistani Taliban with fostering the recent failed car bombing in Times Square, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was reluctant Thursday to say radical Islam was part of the cause of that and other recent attacks.

Mr. Holder, testifying to the House Judiciary Committee, repeatedly balked at a half-dozen questions from Rep. Lamar Smith, the ranking Republican on the committee, about whether "radical Islam" was behind the attempted car bombing, last year's so-called "underpants bomber" or the killings at Fort Hood in Texas.

"There are a variety of reasons why people do these things. Some of them are potentially religious," Mr. Holder told the committee Thursday, though he would not go further than saying people who hold radical views may have "had an ability to have an impact" on Faisal Shahzad, the man the Justice Department says tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square.

Holder hasn't read Arizona law he criticized

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who has been critical of Arizona's new immigration law, said Thursday he hasn't yet read the law and is going by what he's read in newspapers or seen on television.

Mr. Holder is conducting a review of the law, at President Obama's request, to see if the federal government should challenge it in court. He said he expects he will read the law by the time his staff briefs him on their conclusions.

"I've just expressed concerns on the basis of what I've heard about the law. But I'm not in a position to say at this point, not having read the law, not having had the chance to interact with people are doing the review, exactly what my position is," Mr. Holder told the House Judiciary Committee.

This weekend Mr. Holder told NBC's "Meet the Press" program that the Arizona law "has the possibility of leading to racial profiling." He had earlier called the law's passage "unfortunate," and questioned whether the law was unconstitutional because it tried to assume powers that may be reserved for the federal government.

Rep. Ted Poe, who had questioned Mr. Holder about the law, wondered how he could have those opinions if he hadn't yet read the legislation.

Thats what a lot of us would like to know.

We Should All Be Israeli

If they continue to succeed, there just might be peace in the Middle East after all.

Israel is accused of waging covert war across the Middle East

Israel is waging a covert assassination campaign across the Middle East in an effort to stop its key enemies co-ordinating their activities.Israeli agents have been targeting meetings between members of Hamas and the leadership of the militant Hezbollah group, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

They are also suspected of recent killings in Dubai, Damascus and Beirut. While Israel's Mossad spy agency has been suspected of staging assassinations across the world since the 1970s, it does not officially acknowledge or admit its activities.

The current spate of killings began in December when a "tourist bus" carrying Iranian officials and Hamas members exploded outside Damascus. The official report by Syria claimed that a tyre had exploded but photographs surfaced showing the charred remains of the vehicle - prompting speculation that a much larger explosion had taken place.

Several weeks later a meeting between members of Hamas, which controls Gaza, and their counterparts from Hezbollah in its southern Beirut stronghold in Lebanon was also attacked, resulting in several deaths.Hamas had sought to cover up the incidents because it was embarrassed, a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told The Times.

"There has been growing co-operation between Gaza and Iran. Israel can read the writing on the wall and they know that with the help of Iran, the Hamas Government in Gaza will become stronger and will fight better."

When asked about Mossad's involvement in the Dubai slaying, Eli Yishai, the Interior Minister, smiled and said: "All the security services make, thank God, great efforts to safeguard the security of the state of Israel."

The right to self-preservation comes from God. Israel has the right to pro-actively protect herself.

SEAL 3 Update

5 POTENTIAL WITNESSES COULD SUPPORT SEALS ACCUSED OF ABUSE
By Kate Wiltrout The Virginian-Pilot NORFOLK

Five sailors could offer testimony contradicting the government’s main witness in the controversial prosecution of three Navy SEALs accused of mistreating a suspected Iraqi terrorist. But whether they’ll take the stand is in question after the government denied their requests for immunity on Friday.

Attorney Charles Gittins represents the five potential witnesses, including two officers who led the SEAL detachment that captured Ahmed Hashim Abed in Fallujah in September. Abed is the alleged mastermind of the murders of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah in 2004.

Gittins said his clients’ testimony would be inconsistent with some or all of the statements made by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin Demartino, the Navy master-at-arms who claimed to have seen a SEAL hit Abed while he was being held in a U.S. detainee facility after his capture.

“If your intent is to have a fair trial, they are witnesses you’d want to hear from,” Gittins said.

Monica Lombardi, who is defending one of the accused SEALs, said the government’s decision not to grant immunity to key defense witnesses raises questions about the “fundamental fairness” of the process. “They contradict a lot of what the government is alleging as having happened,” Lombardi said. “Where is the government going with this case, and how are they going to ensure the accused’s right to a fair trial?”

The prosecutions of Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas, all assigned to SEAL Team 10 in Virginia Beach, have drawn widespread criticism, political heat and demonstrations outside the Norfolk base.

The cases are being handled locally, but the decision to press charges was made by Maj. Gen. C.T. Cleveland, head of Special Operations Command Central. Cleveland did so after the SEALs declined administrative punishment, which could have compromised their careers in special warfare.

McCabe, a petty officer second class, is charged with assault, making a false statement and dereliction of duty. Lombardi’s client, Petty Officer 1st Class Huertas, is charged with impeding an investigation, making a false statement and dereliction of duty, while Petty Officer 2nd Class Keefe faces charges of dereliction of duty and making a false statement.

Lombardi said she will consider asking the military judge overseeing Huertas’ case to “abate” the proceeding, a ruling that could force the government to either grant immunity or drop the charges.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 8 in Norfolk.

Eugene Fidell, a lawyer and president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said abatements are rare. “Although it can be done, it’s a tall order,” Fidell said.

My only question/concern is why defense witnesses, who would contradict prosecution witnesses statements, would need immunity. Are they afraid of retribution for telling the truth? If so, why?

I Got Yer Fatwad, Right Heah

Exclusive: Will Terrorists Be Allowed to Sidestep Security?
Gadi Adelman

Muslim-American groups are supporting a “fatwa” – a religious ruling – forbidding Muslims from going through body scanners at airports saying that the body scanners violate Islamic law. In a statement on February 9th, the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) asked that scanner software be altered to produce only an outline of the body and urged Muslim travelers to avail themselves of alternative pat-down searches. (The term "fiqh" refers to Islamic jurisprudence.)

In a press release on February 10th, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) supported the statement. In the press release CAIR stated:

“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women. Islam highly emphasizes ‘haya’ (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Qur’an has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts. Human beings are urged to be modest in their dress. See Holy Quran, 7:26-27; 24:30-31; 33:59. Exception to this rule can be made in case of extreme necessity, such as medical treatment, to investigate a crime or in a situation of imminent danger. There must be a compelling case for the necessity and the exemption to this rule must be proportional to the demonstrated need.”

I don't need a book or a pedophile to "command" me to get dressed. I know enough to do that.

A "compelling case for the necessity"...."the exemption"..."must be proportional to the"..."need"

Weeelll alrighty then...I'd say protecting the public makes a "compelling case" and a simple scan certainly is "proportional to the need".

Here's my take on this:
It is a clear violation of international law and common decency for wackjobs, whether they be male or female, moooslim, Christian or Jew, to strap on fanny packs or crotch sacks of PETN and murder innocent civilians. Therefore I am issuing a fat wad to stop it.

Here's some more advice for CAIR...buy your own damn airline or learn to walk faster.

There, that should take care of things.

From the Gitmo...er Get Go

In the Crosshairs- Show Trials? No, Gitmo Trials
Blackfive.net

The Obama administration has been wrong about how to handle trials for captured terrorists from the Gitmo, I mean get go. Civilian trials make no sense and Congress specifically authorized military tribunals so we can try these scum without compromising our intel, or needing to follow CSI evidence protocols.

The current legislation was written in direct response to a Supreme Court ruling and is just as just as a civilian trial. The Obama team has the idea that they need to kow tow to their left wing and the international community to atone for the evil of the Bush crime family.

That is crap, Obama's job is to keep us safe. He needs to keep that in mind.

SEAL 3 Update

Military cancels detainee interview in Navy SEAL case

Originally published at The US Report

The military has canceled the deposition of an alleged terrorist mastermind who claimed that he was assaulted by the military following his capture last year. The law firm Puckett and Faraj, representing Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe, made the announcement on Sunday.

Major General Charles Cleveland, the convening authority for the upcoming special courts-martial for three of the Navy SEALs involved in the operation, has decided to cancel the trip to Iraq to depose Ahmed Hashim Abed. Since the SEALs have a Constitutional right to confront their accuser in court, the alleged terrorist's statements won't be used as evidence for the case. Abed, who is still in U.S. custody, is believed to be the al Qaeda mastermind behind the 2004 Fallujah ambush where four U.S. private security contractors were killed and their bodies mutilated. According to court documents, he claimed that he received what amounted to a punch in the stomach while in U.S. custody.

The prosecution's case against the SEALs appears weak. For instance al Qaeda's training manual states that once captured, members should claim torture and abuse. In addition Abed was initially detained at an Iraqi facility, which presents a chain of custody issue. Complicating matters further, the military has not released any corroborating evidence, such as medical records or photographs, and the sailor who claimed to witness the incident has given five conflicting statements. Also, the SEALs were initially offered an Article 15 hearing, which carries relatively light non-judicial punishment. Instead, the sailors requested trial by courts-martial, which allows all evidence to be considered, but carries much heavier punishment – including incarceration. The SEALs possibly made their decision in an effort to protect their careers. Many believe a non-judicial process would leave the impression of guilt.

The military previously decided not to bring Abed to the U.S. for interview. Commander Tierney Carlos, the military judge for the trials of SO1 Julio Huertas and SO2 Jonathan Keefe, decided in January that since the military ruled that Abed would not be flown from Iraq to the U.S., that the sailors' trials would be held in Iraq.

It is not known whether the military's decision to disallow the detainee interview will affect the cases of Huertas or Keefe. Their trials are set to start in April. McCabe's trial is set for May.

The statement from Puckett and Faraj said, “Since those two military judge’s rulings, Major General Cleveland has canceled the government trip to Iraq to depose the detainee. This leaves the SO2 McCabe defense and government teams without the Iraqi detainee’s presence or sworn statements as evidence in the case.”

[Disclosure: the author has advocated for the charges against the SEALs to be dropped.]

Public Defender Says Government Missed The Signs

Well, they were more like billboards than signs; with neon letters.


Attorney: Soldier’s death might have been stopped

This story is about two brave American recruiters, Pvt. William Long, who was murdered, and Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, who was wounded, last June. The terrorist who murdered them came from, guess where?!
YEMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now the schmucky DUI lawyer, Claiborne Ferguson, who is representing the terrorist in this case, wants the state to pay his attorney fees because the government should have stopped this terrorist before he killed and wounded these two young Brave and Courageous Americans who stepped up to the plate to protect you and I. AND the Judge agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Outside court, Ferguson questioned whether the FBI missed warning signs for the June 1 shooting, in which Pvt. William Andrew Long was killed and Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula was wounded.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Ferguson said Muhammad claimed he had been questioned by the FBI when he was in Yemen in September 2007, after he converted to Islam. Yemeni immigration officials arrested Muhammad in November 2008 after he overstayed his visa and possessed a fake Somali passport.

“I think somebody who recently converts traveling to Yemen, winding up getting arrested and thrown into jail in a foreign country, if it’s not a red flag, it’s certainly a yellow flag that should have gotten somebody’s attention,” Ferguson said.

(this reminds me of Michael Behenna's case, trying to tell his superiors that Ali Mansur had a Syrian passport and what was he up to and why are we releasing him?! God knows how many other American Soldiers Ali Mansur would have killed. Michael Behenna should be given a medal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And since the case will be that the FBI should have prevented the murder and wounding of these two brave young Americans because they knew about his Yemen trip and fake Somali passport, I can only imagine what would have happened to Michael Behenna if Ali Mansur had made it back to his village and blown up a whole convoy of our Soldiers, then Michael would have been held responsible for taking the terrorist back to his village.
What about all the signs that could have prevented Ft. Hood so I suppose this butcher will present the same defense and we're going to pay for this too folks!!!

The butcher terrorists are killing our Soldiers and we are paying to defend them even when they say they are guilty (but oh, wait a minute, the terrorists are justified in murdering us because we are killing their fellow butchers in the Middle East and they don't like it!)

How much more of this insanity are the American people going to stand for before we rise up into the streets and say NO MORE! As far as I'm concerned, the Judge and this DUI lawyer (crazy like a fox) are nutcases and should be locked up in the nuthouse but maybe we taxpayers belong in the nuthouse too.

And George Washington darn near froze on the Delaware River for liberty and justice for all. He warned us how to protect that liberty and justice he fought so hard to attain:

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."

Representative Sue Myrick NC-09

I really do like this lady's attitude.

Report from Scott Brown Rally

H/T to brother Marine RaceBannon who was on the ground yesterday at the Scott Brown Rally, and to FreeRepublic.com.

"WE WILL USE OUR TAX DOLLARS TO PROVIDE WEAPONS TO KILL TERRORISTS AND NOT USE TAX DOLLARS FOR LAWYERS TO DEFEND TERRORISTS!"

Race's report is below:

Wow, what a GREAT day!
I got there about 1300, the sky was overcast, chilly, and saw about 6 supporters with signs in two locations as I drove to the Mechanics Hall in Worcester to see and hear Scott Brown.

I struck up conversations with several former Marines on site early like me along with their wives Most of us early birds were outsiders, not local, while locals drove by waving hands, beeping horns, many many thumbs up and literally only THREE thumbs down! NOT ONE Democrat IQ salute! Not one shouting of obscenities that I heard toward us!

The crowd gathered slowly but enthusiastically, with many Hartford Tea Party people there, like Wayne, Robin and Stan, June, Rusty and Tanya. All were in fine spirits.

I met with Freeper Electric Strawberry by pure chance, he hear me leading chants for Scott Brown from across the street and we had a hearty reunion!

As the crowd grew in size, the enthusiasm grew with it and soon we had over 2000 people on the sidewalks and outer lanes of a 4 lane road in front of Mechanics Hall. This was by 1400. Wow, what a crowd. They all loved cheering, singing, all had homemade signs with plenty of signs provided by the campaign which were waved with enthusiastic vigor.

The bus holding the main part of Scott Brown's campaign arrived about 1530 to much thunderous applause. The cars all had to squeeze by in a single lane, taking
turns in each direction until the police shut down the streets and the people spread out in full in front of Mechanics Hall.

I was stunned, all 4 lanes were filled with people as were the sidewalks, with a clear 2000 to 3000 people standing outside that I could tell for sure, but that assessment changed rapidly.

At 1600 the doors opened and a small throng entered the building where Scott would speak and a tiny handfull of people entered that was apparent. I am unsure of the seating capacity, but the building looked to hold at least 350 to 500 max inside, just a guess from looking, I didn't look it up.

After being told that the building capacity was filled, we heard an announcement from a campaign staffer that two additional locations were available for viewers and
I went to Lexington Hall, one of the banquet rooms at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Main street.

The throng of people that moved down the street, I watch for 1 minute as people moved and then turned to go myself and was stunned. I didn't see many people go by men, only a hundred or so, but in front of me were over 1000 people walking toward the hotel with another 500 to 750 still to leave the front of the Mechanics Hall! I had NO IDEA where the people came from who were walking ahead of me but the number was huge!

Inside the hotel, we were led to a large banquet room where I heard differing amounts on the maximum occupancy, but I would have guessed it was 350 seated at tables maximum, only that room had no tables and everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder with the number estimated over 1000 to 1200 people!

I mean it was like Sardines! It was AWSOME!

They had a 10’ by 10’ screen that projected the speech given by the speakers, which included several local sports talk guys who played for the patriots, George Ratzenberger who played Cliff on Cheers, Doug Flutie from Boston College HAIL MARY days, with Doug Flutie introducing Scott Brown!

Scott gave a professional speech with one line that stuck in my mind most of all:
I hope I have it correctly, but it went like this: WE WILL USE OUR TAX DOLLARS TO PROVIDE WEAPONS TO KILL TERRORISTS AND NOT USE TAX DOLLARS FOR LAWYERS TO DEFEND TERRORISTS!
That line brought down the house!

Scott finished with his family behind him and announced he was coming to the Hotel
where I was to make us know we were not forgotten.

After his quick speech which he had to give through a megaphone due to a technical malfunction from the hotel, I got in line to shake his hand and give him a souvenir from the DUMP DODD Campaign: One of the final DUMP DODD Campaign buttons. I told him what it was and where it came from and told him it is his good luck charm! If the people of Connecticut can get rid of Dodd, we have hope in You, Scott!
He looked at me, looked at the button, looked at me...he absolutely appeared stunned at the support he was getting.

In his speeches he referred to how he knew this was a race of national importance, but I'd bet it was small gestures like that, from someone out of state to wish him well, I'd bet he is thankful for all our efforts and time spent well.

All in all, it was such a positive rally.

Learning that Martha Coakly poo pooed shaking hands at Fenway with the little people, knowing she said there were no terrorists in Afghanistan...my gosh, if she wins, it is proof of voter fraud.

I had a dozen people tell me they were lifelong democrats and were voting for Scott. UNION members telling me they were voting for Scott.

What a great time. By the way, we can all say one great thing: We may not be old enough to know of the Shot heard round the world, but we are all living to know of THE SCOTT heard round the world!

Morning Must Reads from DCExaminer

Boston Herald -- Brown, Coakley will cross paths at event
Democratic chieftains have stopped scrambling for Senate Candidate Martha Coakley and now seem to be managing expectations: trashing her candidacy on background to reporters and even lamenting the low-energy speech President Obama delivered for Coakley Sunday night.
The state of the race right now seems to be Brown in the lead just outside the margin of error. Democrats assume that members of their party will show up stronger than the polls are showing, but a consistent under-sampling of 5 points seems unlikely. As remarkable as it sounds, Brown seems to have the edge going into the home stretch, something reporters and casual observers on the ground confirm.

As Examiner colleague Susan Ferrechio observed, while there was considerable excitement over the president’s visit to Boston on Coakley’s behalf, the bigger crowd and the energy was out at Mechanics Hall in Worcester with Scott Brown.
Writer Hillary Chabot tells us that Brown and Coakley will have their first meeting since their debate last week, when Coakley’s implosion really started picking up speed, today at a Martin Luther King breakfast. After that, Brown is back in his truck.
“Brown will meet up with Bruins fans today outside the TD Garden, then he’ll head to North Andover and Littleton. He’ll cap off the race at Luciano’s restaurant in his hometown of Wrentham for a final rally before voters head to the polls.
Brown was bolstered by former Gov. Paul Cellucci yesterday as he toured Wachusett Mountain ski area.
‘We need to send a message to Washington that we are not going to have business as usual,’ hollered Brown as he stood on a picnic table surrounded by supporters.”

New York Times -- Hoping It Won’t Be Needed, Democrats Ponder a Backup Plan on Health Care Bill

Democrats have hinted that if Scott Brown pulls off the biggest political upset in recent memory, they will still pass the health care plan currently lingering in fake-conference limbo. Letting the bill die would be a crippling blow to the Obamagenda and would mean that the 11th Congress was for naught.
Now Democrats are coalescing around the idea of passing the Senate plan straight through the House to avoid trouble in the Senate.
Both other options in the event of a Brown win – a rush vote before Brown can be seated and attempting passage of the new plan on a 51-vote parliamentary trick are too risky to use: both could fail and the political costs would be enormous.
While Union members might not like losing their $60 billion health insurance tax exemption and anti-abortion members of the House might not like Sen. Ben Nelson’s compromise on elective-abortion subsidies, and no one likes the sweet deals Nelson and a few others got for their votes or the big paydays for insurance companies and drugmakers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi would be empowered with her caucus by a Brown win, arguing that it would be the shoddy Senate bill or nothing.
Writer David Herszenhorn explains:
“A House Democratic aide said the House view of the Senate bill had not changed. ‘We are working toward a compromise bill,’ the aide said.
The Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, appearing on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ warned that health care would be a political weapon under any circumstances.
‘I think the politics are toxic for the Democrats either way,’ Mr. McConnell said.”

Washington Post -- Security fears mount in lawless post-earthquake Haiti
One advantage that the U.S. had in dealing with the 2007 tsunami was that there was little official international presence in the region. Our troops, relief workers, and political leaders could charge in and provide immediate assistance.
Haiti, meanwhile, is the Times Square of international aid and NGOs, with every neighborhood already a pet project for sub UN sub-agency or French aid agency before the earthquake. With a dysfunctional government and a horrible local infrastructure before the quake, U.S. aid has been kept out by aid-group turf battles and literal turf battles between local street mobs.
Writers Manuel Roig-Franzia, Mary Beth Sheridan, and Michael Ruane explain that Haitians are calling for their old friends, the United States Marines, to come bring order so aid can start flowing. (“a typical sign read: ‘Welcome the U.S. Marine. We need some help. Dead bodies inside.’”) But today, 10,000 American troops will still be floating off shore because no one is in charge of the city of Port-Au-Prince and even getting flights to land at the airport requires diplomatic jostling with the U.N. and others.
“Still, some progress is being made. The U.S. 18th Airborne set up a headquarters at the airport, and the 82nd Airborne was establishing small posts around the city to protect food and water drops. The 82nd Airborne had 500 troops here as of Sunday night, and 750 more were expected Monday.”

Wall Street Journal -- Explosions Rock Kabul
Writers Yaroslov Trofimov, Alan Cullison, and Habib Zahori report on the most brazen attacks on the city of Kabul since the American invasion of 2001.
A team of 20 Taliban fighters and jihadi suicide bombers launched a coordinated attack on the capital city’s Justice building and other symbols of the West – a shopping plaza, movie theater, etc.
The attacks coincided with the swearing-in of embattled president Hamid Karzai’s new cabinet, installed after much bickering with the Afghan parliament.
“Militants seized the Aryana cinema, exchanging gunfire with Afghan and international security for hours as U.S. military helicopters hovered overhead. Other explosions, some carried out by suicide bombers and others by car bombs, were heard near the ministry of defense, the ministry of justice and the central bank – all of them located in a heavily guarded zone of Kabul that's lined with blast barriers and protected by military checkpoints.
An hour and a half after the attacks began, and as the firing began to subside, another blast occurred near the ministry of education, setting the nearby Gul Bahar shopping center on fire. According to witnesses, it was carried out by a car bomb hidden in a military ambulance vehicle.”

Los Angeles Times -- Obama speaks from pulpit, noting progress and difficulty in America
In his Martin Luther King Day sermon at a Washington church Sunday, President Obama sounded like a man who needed a refuge from persecution.
Obama lamented how his efforts to remake Washington had been thwarted by a system that resists change and by special interests.
Writer Mark Silva has details:
“‘Folks ask me sometimes why I look so calm,’ Obama said, his voice rising.
‘I have a confession to make here. There are times where I am not so calm. . . . There are times when the words that are spoken about me hurt. There are times when the barbs sting. . . . During those times it is faith that brings me calm.’”

--Chris Stirewalt's column on political technology in the Massachusetts Senate race is here.

Warrior Legacy Institute

The Legal Assault against our Counterterror efforts-
Universal Jurisdiction & Targeted Killing

The Warrior Legacy Institute has released it's latest paper "Universal Jurisdiction & Targeted Killing" which discusses our policy of killing known terrorists and the authorizations for this. One of our most successful tactics against al Qaeda has been the use of armed drone aircraft and if we are to continue this we need to make certain we are on firm legal ground. Congress passed an Authorization to Use Military Force against al Qaeda following 9/11 which gives legal standing within our own judicial system for these strikes.

There are trans-national organizations that believe they have jurisdiction over our operations, such as the International Criminal Court and we need to establish that our inherent right of self defense as a nation gives us the freedom to attack enemies who represent a terrorist threat wherever we may find them. Recently the American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the legal justification of the drone strike program. This will not be the last challenge to this program.

We suggest a treaty that enshrines such a right similar to pacts that recognize piracy as a borderless crime. Failure to do so could leave our forces in danger of actions from organizations that claim a Universal Jurisdiction over what they consider war crimes.

Download pdf here.

SEAL 3 Update

This should provide interesting subject matter on Andrea's blogtalk show with Crush tonight.

Navy SEALs' trials moved to Iraq

NORFOLK, Va. - Two of the three Navy SEALs accused in the mistreatment of an Iraqi detainee will have their military trials take place in Iraq, a military judge ruled Monday.

Both Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan E. Keefe appeared in military court at Naval Station Norfolk in separate hearings. In each case, the presiding judge decided to move the sailor's trial to Camp Victory in Iraq. That decision was made so that the victim could give direct testimony instead of a deposition, enabling Huertas and Keefe to face their accuser.

The charges against the three SEALs involve Ahmed Hashim Abed, who has been linked to the 2004 deaths of four Blackwater contractors who were mutilated before their bodies were hung from a bridge.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe is accused of striking the detainee in the midsection, dereliction of duty for failing to safeguard the detainee, and lying to investigators. He deferred entering a plea until his Jan. 19 trial.

Huertas of Blue Island, Ill., faces charges of dereliction of duty, lying to investigators and impeding an investigation.

Keefe, of Yorktown, faces charges of dereliction of duty and making a false official statement. Huertas and Keefe have pleaded not guilty. Their trials are planned for April.

The SEALs have received an outpouring of public support, including the backing of several members of Congress.