A CHURCH IN BAGHDAD
Thanksgiving was celebrated a week early at the reopening of St. John's Assyrian Catholic Church in the al Doura district of Baghdad. The pews were packed. The church had been shuttered after two nearby churches were bombed in 2004. The al Doura neighborhood had been predominantly Christian until al Qaeda began targeting Christians. Since then, most of the Christians have fled to Syria, Jordan, or northern Iraq. Now they are returning. The reopening of St. John's is a heartwarming story of Iraqis reaching across sectarian divisions for peace, and a powerful indicator of how much the security situation in Baghdad has improved since the troop surge began. On Nov. 7 Michael Yon, a former Special Forces soldier turned freelance journalist, took a photograph of Iraqis, Moslems as well as Christians, placing a cross atop the refurbished church. The photo bears a startling resemblance to that of the Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945. Here it is, truly symbolic of what American victory is achieving in Iraq:
HILLARY’S LAUGHABLE EXPERIENCE
For months, Mrs. Hillary Clinton has hinted that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama, less than three years into his first Senate term, lacks the preparation to deal with U.S. foreign policy challenges. In a speech last Monday (11/19), she suggested the nation's budget deficit, income inequality and lack of comprehensive health coverage also required a more experienced steward. As the Associated Press reported: "The economy needs help and fast, Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Monday, claiming the experience for the job and saying the nation can't afford to break in a newcomer... ‘There is one job we can't afford on-the-job training for - our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history,' Mrs. Clinton said. ‘Every day spent learning the ropes is another day of rising costs, mounting deficits and growing anxiety for our families. And they cannot afford to keep waiting'." Good grief. What plausible claim does Miss Hillary have to experience in managing a national economy, balancing a budget or fixing income inequality? Even on health care, according to her husband, the aspiring "First Louse" (he wants to be called First Laddie, but I think the derivation from First Spouse works better) claims that she didn't have much to do with HillaryCare - it was his fault.
LOSING FAITH IN EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE
When the citizens of Eastern Europe rejected communism 18 years ago they were inspired by dissidents who told them that people have a right to "live in the truth" and that democracy equaled liberty and justice. Now, 18 years later, democracy is in crisis in Eastern Europe, where people have come to realize that they have not gained truth, freedom or justice. Eastern Europe is going through the same crisis of political disillusionment as Western Europe. While in Budapest last week, I read the German-language Budapester Zeitung. It had a front-page article about the adoption of a bill against hate speech. This is the same bill that the European Union is imposing on all its member states. It restricts the freedom of the people, who are no longer allowed to say things that might be deemed offensive by "ethnic, sexual, religious or other minorities." In Western Europe this legislation is not merely used to prosecute genuine racists, but is increasingly abused to clamp down on those who oppose the Islamization of their countries or on those who disapprove of homosexual behavior. Here in Eastern Europe, authorities wish to do the same, putting in place legislation to silence the defenders of Hungary's national identity and traditional morality.
DEMOCRATS AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Most Americans clearly want their government to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws. They understand what many elected officials still don't: rewarding lawbreakers with amnesty only encourages a new flood of illegal immigrants. In September, New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain New York drivers' licenses. The proposal has been sharply criticized across the nation. A recent poll found 77 percent of Americans oppose drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants. The public outcry ultimately forced Mr. Spitzer to withdraw his proposal, but the damage was done. With the 2008 elections less than a year away, senior Democratic leaders and members of Congress are desperately trying to strike the right tone on immigration. But efforts by Democrats to toughen talking points against illegal immigration are disingenuous at best. In fact, Democrats and various interest groups have never been serious about reducing illegal immigration. In the last two years, an overwhelming majority of House Democrats voted against almost every piece of legislation aimed at reducing illegal immigration. For example:
THANKFUL FOR AMERICA WITHOUT GUILT OR FEAR
All my life, I have always thought it was the coolest thing on planet Earth to be an American. I have been to something close to 200 countries and political jurisdictions in the world, and whenever someone asks me, "Where are you from?" it is a special thrill to be able to answer, "America - I'm an American." Thanksgiving is the unique American holiday. We share Christmas and Easter with every other Christian nation. Most every country celebrates its Independence Day, and the birthdays of their founding heroes. Thanksgiving is ours, where we give our deepest thanks to Providence for the extraordinary gift of America to mankind. Other countries have their special times to celebrate their uniqueness, when their citizens take justifiable pride in their country's achievements, and all to the good. Thanksgiving is America's Day, the time when all Americans - all - get to celebrate the achievements of the most successful society in human history. Tragically, however, there are two groups of Americans for whom Thanksgiving will be bleak. Liberals and pessimists. The purpose of Thanksgiving is to be thankful for being American. Thankful with no buts. This is the day to celebrate the goodness of our country - the moral goodness, the moral decency of American institutions, American history, and the character of the American people. No whining and moaning about what happened to the Indians, or about slavery and poverty and racism. No buts. Think that liberals can do this? Let's see.
SOROS REPUBLICANS TO THE RESCUE?
I've heard it from more than one COS (Chief of Staff) of Republican Senators now, and the buzz is growing among Capitol Hill staffers in the House as well. Word is that a number of "Soros Republicans" are about to step up to the plate. Big time. The term is unfortunate, attaching the name of scumbag George Soros to patriotic Americans. What is meant by it is that just as Soros opened up his billion dollar wallet for the Dems, so billionaire Republicans are about to do the same for the GOP. It's about time. The Democrats' 2008 campaign is going to be the most vicious attack on America ever conducted. The recent ad blitz for local and state elections earlier this month was a taste - one over-the-top character-rape of Republican candidates after unending other. The RNC (Republican National Committee) estimates that the Dems will raise and spend - via the Clinton machine, Soros-type donors, the labor unions, the moonbats - two billion dollars to capture the White House and keep control of Congress. Finally, the Pubbies are waking up to the danger.
THE SHIA ANTI-IRAN ALLIANCE
TTPers have known for many moons now that the American military is winning a tremendous victory in Iraq. This week, Tony Blankley and Jack Kelly provide updates in Declaring Victory and Declaring Defeat. The media is finally and begrudgingly acknowledging the reality of victory. So far, however, the focus has been entirely on the defeat of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Yet this has been a two-front war, a war to terrorize and destabilize Iraq waged not just by AQI, but by Iran. Now we learn that not only is terrorist violence vanishing in Sunni regions of AQI focus, but in Shia regions of Iranian focus. AP is reporting that Basra violence is down 90%. America's victory in Iraq means that both Al Qaeda and Iran have been defeated... simultaneously. Now here's a question to consider: Was this George Bush's goal all along? Iraq as a two-fer! Let's not go there, though. Let's focus instead on the consequences of defeat in Iraq for Iran. They are very grave. One of the gravest examples is the emerging Arab Shia Anti-Iran Alliance.
DECLARING DEFEAT
We're floundering in a quagmire in Iraq. Our strategy is flawed, and it's too late to change it. Our material resources have been squandered, our best people killed, and our reputation around the world is circling the drain. We must withdraw immediately. No, I'm not channeling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. I'm channeling Osama bin Laden, for whom the war in Iraq has been a catastrophe. Al Qaeda had little presence in Iraq during the regime of Saddam Hussein. But once he was toppled, Al Qaeda's chieftains decided to make Iraq the central front in the global jihad against the Great Satan. "The most important and serious issue today for the whole world is this third world war, which the Crusader-Zionist coalition began against the Islamic nation," Osama bin Laden said in an audio tape posted on Islamic Web sites in December, 2004. "It is raging in the land of the Two Rivers. The world's millstone and pillar is Baghdad, the capital of the caliphate." Jihadis, money and weapons were poured into Iraq from all over the Moslem world. All for naught. Al Qaeda has been defeated in Iraq.
REAGAN 21: Applying RR’s Principles to the 21st Century
It's been nearly 20 years since Ronald Reagan left the presidency. Yet, even people who don't remember his presidency (or his governorship in California) as I do, have positive views of his legacy. Yes, he lowered taxes and ended the Cold War. But we remember him for even more than that. He stood unwavering by his principles, his personal integrity was never in question and he had that immutable optimism. Today, Congress has a record-low approval rating of 11 percent. Republicans lost the majority in part because they spent too much, had ethical lapses and did not deliver on illegal immigration and other issues. The people put Democrats in charge, but they have disappointed even more than Republicans. Americans are crying out for leadership with principle, integrity and courage. They want to believe again in an optimistic vision for America's future. Reagan 21 is the project of a group of about 20 senators and representatives to provide that fresh, bold leadership.
DECLARING VICTORY
It has become obligatory for both pro- and anti-war commentators to never mention the possibility of victory in Iraq. The most that anti-war people will admit is that the surge has gained a temporary military advantage in a war that cannot be won militarily. The most pro-war commentators will claim is that they see the possibility of "success" perhaps, maybe, someday, somehow. But as of Veterans Day 2007, I think one can claim a very real expectation that next year the world may see a genuine, old-fashioned victory in the Iraq War. In five years we will have overturned Saddam's government, killed, captured or driven out of country almost all Al Qaeda terrorists, suppressed the violent Shi'ite militias and induced the Sunni tribal leaders and their people to shun resistance and send their sons into the army and police and seek peaceful resolution of disputes. And we will have stood up a multisectarian, tribally inclusive army capable of maintaining the peace that our troops established.