Saturday, February 01, 2003 Looks like the State of the Union and the push by members of the Administration to sway public opinion has been successful. According to recent polls, 66 percent now support Bush's plan to go to war against Iraq, and just over half support it even without a mandate form the UN. It's good to know that we have a president who can rally the people, because it has been a long time since we've seen that. It's also good to know that Americans are not all peacniks and sissies, like some of our so-called European allies.
# Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the brave astronauts who died today. Without their sacrifices, and he heard work of everyone involved in the space program, we would be a lesser country. These men and women are part of what makes America the land of the free, the leader of the free world and a scientific and economic powerhouse. Unfortunately, the pursuit of knowledge is at times costly. Just as the tree of justice must occasionally be watered with the blood of patriots, so to, apparently, must the tree of knowledge be watered by the blood of explorers seeking to push the boundaries of science.
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( 11:52 PM )
Support for Bush's Iraq Plans Grows
( 11:34 PM )
A Sad Day for America
Thursday, January 30, 2003
( 10:19 PM )
Come on Board
In an op ed piece in today's Wall Street Journal, the major European governments, with the exception of France and Germany, jumped on the George Bush train. In the article, which also ran in several major European dalies, yhey basically agreed with everything Bush has been saying: That Saddam must be disarmed, that the UN must uphold its resolutions and that failure to do so would weaken the UN. They carried on about the value of Europe's relationship with the United States and how we were critical to a strong Europe. To this, Captain Dave says, "Welcome aboard, boys. Glad someone over there woke up and smelled the coffee."
Let's remember that we saved their bacon a few times in Wold Wars and then in the cold war. Now we're the economic engine pulling their train.
As the coalition gathers steam, we're going to see France jump on board. Germany may never do so, but if they do not, it will signal the loss of the leadership role they desire to play in Europe. It will also weaken the European Union. It will prove Rumsfeld's point that Germany is part of the "old Europe." It will also damage their relationship with Washington for at least the next six years, and possibly far longer.
In the end, it will be clear that we can lead the world without France or Germany, but that they cannot even lead Europe without our support.
And keep in mind, the liberals and Democrats want to turn the U.S. into Germany, with social programs for everyone, over-regultion, and excessive taxation to support the 10 percent on unemployment caused by their anti-business policies. There but for the grace of God and the Republicans go us. #
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
( 9:35 PM )
The UN Wallows in Ineffectiveness
If you tell your child "no" and they do something anyhow, there needs to be a negative consequence for their actions or they will learn that your words are meaningless. So if you say "no" 16 times and never enforce your words with discipline, why should they believe you the 17th time?
This is the problem the UN is running into with Iraq. They have shown that their words are meaningless and that violating their resolutions leads to… nothing. Just an exchange of more words, as easily ignored as the first. And so the UN quickly becomes a powerless collection of people who do nothing more than talk.
Saddam needs to wake up and realize that he is no longer dealing with the UN, but with the country that sent his troops running home with their tails between their legs 12 years ago, leaving a trail of rusty burned out tanks behind. We speak softly, but carry a big stick. Unfortunately, Saddam's ego prevents him from believing the whacks he will shrotly receive from this stick will harm him. He will learn the hard way.
Perhaps when we pound Saddam's latest army into the sand, we will teach a valuable lesson to North Korea and other countries who are thinking of developing weapons of mass destruction: Develop WMD, get whacked by the U.S. and other right-minded, free-thinking countries.
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( 9:18 PM )
Way to Go Bush
What more can I say? Awesome speech. Said everything you needed to say. Looking forward to Feb. 5.
The UN Security Council
Who needs this useless bunch of motherless... Let's face it, their minds were made up before Hans Blix reported. Anyone who said the UN was useless now has all the proof they need. #
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
( 9:00 AM )
WSJ Lays Out Case for War in Iraq
As I read the Wall Street Journal today, the one word that floated to the surface of my mind was “Wow.” There it was in black and white, a long list of evidence of biological and chemical weapons known to be in Iraq with a list of Saddam’s lies and attempts to hide the truth. I haven’t seen such a clear, objective review of the evidence, and I can only hope Bush does as good a job in tonight’s State of the Union address.
Get the free online test subscription at http:///www.wsj.com or run down to the news stand and pick on up. It’s well worth the $1 cover price.
Here are a few things the article lists:
From 1991 to 1985, Iraq denied it had biological weapons. Then one of Saddam’s son-in-laws defected and led inspectors to a cache of documents at chicken farm. Inspectors also found warheads with these agents in them. Iraq eventually admitted to producing more than 2,000 gallon of anthrax and almost 5,000 gallons of botulinum toxin. Inspectors say there is “strong evidence” they made even more anthrax. Both anthrax and botulism can be stored for years. So they not only lied repeatedly, they hid documents at a chicken farm(!) and when caught in their lie, they still refused to come completely clean.
After denying they had VX, a powerful nerve agent, but they were caught in this lie and had to admit they made 3.9 tons. When you consider that a single drop on your skin could kill you, tons is an awful lot. They also have precursors to make 200 more tons of VX.
Although Iraq admitted having 3,000 tons of mustard gas, and while they destroyed much of it, they have been unable to account for all of it. They also have “misplaced” artillery shells and 6,500 aerial bombs filled with mustard gas.
Saddam also admitted having 1,800 tons of nerve gases such as sarin, cyclosarin and tabun. They are expected to still have precursors required to make more.
On the nuclear front, Saddam also lied about their program, which was “effectively obliterated” by the war and earlier inspections. The lies continue as sensitive documents are hidden in the homes of Iraqi scientist instead of in offices.
How can inspectors do an adequate job when documents are hidden in homes and chicken coops? How can we trust anything said by a country that has lied time and time again? Iraq is playing a game, and Bush is about to change the rules. #
Monday, January 27, 2003
( 9:41 PM )
Good for Blix
My opinion of Hans Blix, a man accused of being soft on Iraq, has increased slightly, as initial news coverage of his report on Iraq is appearing. According to Reuters, he "harshly criticized" Iraq. Let me quote them:
He has said that documents Iraq submitted in a 12,000-page weapons declaration submitted on Dec. 7 had not answered questions about including the whereabouts of the deadly VX nerve gas, 2 tons of nutrients or growth media for biological agents, such as anthrax, and 550 artillery shells filled with mustard gas and 6,500 chemical bombs.His teams have also found that Iraq, which says all weapons had been accounted for or destroyed since the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites), obtained missile engines as well as raw material for rocket fuel and chemical agents, a violation of an arms embargo that is part of 12-year-old U.N. sanctions.
And despite assurances from Iraq that it would encourage its scientists to submit to private interviews, no such talks have taken place and Baghdad has blocked the use of U-2 surveillance flights over all parts of Iraq.
Let's face it: Iraq is playing three card monte, moving missile parts before inspectors arrive at a site, staging car accidents and other diversions to give them time to cover their tracks. They are bugging inspector's hotel rooms and learning of their plans before they implement them. Yet inspector still managed to find thousands of documents in a scientist's home.
The UN Security Council takes up this issue again on Wednesday, and it looks like they may request an additional report on February 14. In my opinion -- and this entire Blog is just that -- the February 14 deadline works fine for the U.S. All our forces aren't there yet, and it's unlikely we would attack before then. He's ignored 16 resolutions form the UN, including the latest. A few more weeks shouldn't hurt. Bush could look like the big man by agreeing to wait until then, giving the inspectors more time and allowing European allies to save some face. Maybe he cat will catch the mouse by that time, if not, there are plenty of mouse holes we can point to as evidence that the mice exist. #
Sunday, January 26, 2003
( 3:44 PM )
The Nucelar War Threat: Is it Time to Buy Cement Yet?
North Korea continues to rattle its saber, although Iraq has dominated the news this week. But it has said it will test a ballistic missile if the UN considers sanctions, and the UN's nuclear watchdog is already planning to meet on Feb. 3. This will ratchet up concerns in Asia and especially panic the Japanese. There has even been speculation that a Korean missile could reach Hawaii or parts of Alaska. (Makes Bush's plans for a missile defense program seem a bit more reasonable, doesn't it? Remember, he pointed to Korea as one of the reasons we needed a ballistic missile shield.)
But things are also heating up between India and Pakistan, two neighbors that own 20 to 60 nuclear devices each. Earlier this week, they threw out diplomatic officials from each other's country as the spat over Kashmir and incursions across the border heat up again. In fact, on Friday, the U.S. reported that incursions of militants from Pakistan into India-controlled Kashmir are indeed increasing again and U.S. criticism almost lead to Pakistan expelling our ambassador.
The bad news about this conflict is that Pakistan is virtually a lawless country. OK, they have a bit more control than neighboring Afghanistan, but outside the main areas, it's ruled by tribal leaders, not the government. And General Musharraf's hold is tenuous, at best. Even if he wants to stop incursions, he may not be able to. This could exacerbate India's anger and lead to an attack on Pakistan. That's a dangerous step towards nuclear war between the two countries.
Seeing how easy it is to go from a border incursion to an exchange of nuclear weapons illustrates why we do not want an Arab country to have nuclear armaments. Any time the long simmering enmity between India and Pakistan threatens to boil over, we have to worry about nuclear weapons being used. Could you imagine if one of Israel's neighbors had nuclear weapons? The entire region would glow in the dark
The only good news about the India/Pakistan conflict, if the threat of nuclear weapons can be considered good, is that they will be much too busy targeting each other to lob a few our way. Unlike North Korea, Iraq and Al Qaeda, who would be only too glad to drop one on us.
If you've never done so, you might want to check out Captain Dave's section on how to survive a nuclear war. And start pricing cement -- it's not too late to build a fall out shelter. But seriously, plan a head. You can start by reading "What to do if nuclear war breaks out." #
( 3:08 PM )
Saddam Drains Marshes - Let's Attack!
A couple times in the past week, including earlier in the Wall Street Journal and today in the Sunday New York Times (today's opinion pages are an interesting read), I have seen stories of how Saddam has drained the extensive marshes in Southern Iraq, disrupting the lives of the Arabs who live there and destroying their 6,000-years-old culture, but also causing incredible environmental damage.
I don't know whether these stories are the work of a U.S. anti-Iraq PR machine or simply caused by some exiles getting attention. Maybe it is the U.S. PR Machine using the exiles. But I either case, I don't think this is going to sway our European allies one bit. OK, so Germany has a lot of Greens, but they are also peaceniks. For them, it is probably better to tolerate damage already done to marsh than to contemplate new damage done to man and environment by a war.
We'll certainly add environmental damage to the long list of bad things Saddam has done. But if the evil and despotic acts of torture, murder, genocide and other crimes against humanity aren't enough to justify a war, I don't think environmental damage will convince anyone to join our side of this debate. I think its about time that the president rolled out some of his evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction to overwhelmingly convince the country and the world. I'd like it to happen on Tuesday at his State of the Union address, but I am not counting on it. I don't think it will happen until the first bombs start to fall. #
( 12:23 AM )
Spain Arrests 16 Terrorists with Al Qaeda Links
More terrorists planning attacks with chemical weapons and explosives were arrested Friday, this time in Spain. This is more evidence that the increased cooperation and coordination of intelligence and security forces is paying dividends. Since a sweep of arrests in London earlier this month, police have arrested -- and found explosives, bomb-making materials and chemicals - Agerians and other terrorist suspects in several countries.
Of course, you got to wonder how many they aren't catching. Still, a tremendous improvement since 9/11 woke everyone up. #
( 12:17 AM )
Turkey Back on Track with U.S. War on Iraq
Debka Net Weekly reports that the U.S. has secured the use of Turkey as a Northern front on the war with Iraq. Not only can we continue to use their air bases, but they will turn a blind eye at up to 40,000 U.S. troops passing through
These guys at Debka usually have good info, breaking stories before the mainstream media. We'll just have to wait and see if they are right this time. #
( 12:09 AM )
Internet Worm Strikes South Korea hard. Hmm.
Today's Internet worm not only slowed surfers, but reportedly disrupted automatic teller machines in the U.S. and made it difficult to get credit card authorizations. These are good reasons to keep some cash on hand for emergencies. Without cash, you have no purchasing power if the you-know-what hits the fan. You may need to buy gas, food, or water during an evacuation, and if the infrastructure is out of whack, cash will be king.
I know people who leave the house without anything other than whatever coins are in their car, expecting to use a credit or ATM card wherever they go. This is just plan stupid! Be prepared, but a couple $20 bills in your wallet and a few hundred at home, just in case. At the least it will save you some embarrassment. (This is where a gun safe comes in handy - you can lock your cash in the safe with your guns.)
Now it strikes me that there are two strange things about this worm:
First, it did most of its damage in South Korea. Second, it wasn't really designed to be destructive. It caused harm by swamping the Internet with traffic, not by shutting down servers, erasing data, finding credit card numbers, etc.
Based on those two facts, I have to wonder: was this North Korea trying out a worm to see how effective it would be? Will the next one have a more dangerous payload? Better back things up, folks. #
( 12:03 AM )
A simple equation: Saddam Bad -- U.S. Good
I find it amazing that European leaders, especially the Germans who are supposedly our allies, are giving Saddam Hussein so much credit. Here's a dictator who tortures people, will do anything to stay in power, has been at war with two of his neighbors (Iran and Kuwait), has chemical weapons and has used them before. According to Debka.net, he has reportedly hired terrorists to attack U.S. and Israeli targets. Oh yeah, he has refused to obey UN directives, he cheats and lies.
It shouldn't be that hard an equation to get: Saddam is evil -- we're not. If you doesn't act to conquer evil when you have the chance, evil just grows stronger. We want to free his people from the oppressive dictator, stop the atrocities and remove a disruptive force from the area. What's so hard to get?
I never had much use for the UN, but I generally approved of the idea of getting the rubber stamp. I think the idea of approval from a global body would give our allies a tent under which to hide when their. At this point, it's more trouble than its worth. The UN is just proving itself to be a useless, impotent organization of blowhards. #
( 12:00 AM )
Dave's Back
Notes: After being out of town a few days, I'm back on line. Thanks for your patience, but expect this to happen occasionally. For security reasons, I won't be announcing this beforehand.
Also, keep in mind that this is intended to be commentary and opinion, usually on current events, not a best of the Internet page with new links every day or a personal diary. There may from time to time be elements of both, but the majority of posts will be commentary and opinion.
Finally, let me risk being commercial for a moment to let you know that we are now running Pre-Invasion Sale and offering free shipping on all large food units. That means if you order six months of food or more, we'll ship it right to your door. On a 1500 pound order of long-term storage food - enough to feed a family of four for a year - you could save $450 in shipping. #
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