What The Cheney Did He Just Say?

ThinkProgress is reporting that during a speech to Wyoming High School Vice President Dick Cheney "Lies To High Schoolers About Debunked Iraq/al Qaeda Connection" and also claimed that the United States was making significant progress in Iraq.

Yup. You guessed it, the VP is coming to a high school near you soon to lie to your children personally...

Never mind that all indicators show that ground is being lost in Iraq and that according to a new military assessment less than one third of Baghdad neighborhoods are under control three months into the so called "surge".

The Vice President also brings up Abu Musab al- Zarqawi and follows with the baseless claim that during fighting in Afganistan Zarqawi was wounded and fled into Baghdad for medical treatment, no one ever bothered to ask why Zarqawi would travel across borders and miles to seek medical treatment when there were cities much closer.

The Bush Administration has used the "Zarqawi was treated by Saddam" card as one of their lies in attempting to connect Iraq to al-Qaeda, claiming that Zarqawi had lost a leg in Afghanistan and traveled to Baghdad to get medical treatment and a prosthetic leg, possibly a gift from Saddam himself...

But let's examine this debunked claim a moment. Zarqawi would have had to have made it over the Afghanistan border into Iran without being detected, then he would have had to sneak across Iran and make it across the Iraqi border undetected. Seems like quite a feat for a supposedly injured man who should have been bleeding all over the place.

Again, no one asks how a bleeding and injured man, supposedly missing a leg makes it all the way to Baghdad from Afghanistan.

Look at it this way; in miles - (let's not even discuss the difficulties of navigating the harsh mountainous terrain in Afghanistan and Iran and desert conditions in Iran and Iraq)) this would be about the equivalent of going from Kansas to Washington D.C to get medical treatment and going directly over the Appalachians to do it. Do you think you could make it with one missing leg, in which the bleeding must be profuse? Didn't think so.

But what does it matter? We know know Zarqawi never sought medical treatment in Baghdad and it is unlikely he was ever injured in Afghanistan. Why? Because almost a year ago we killed Zarqawi, and the man had both his legs.

Going back even further we see that prior to the Iraq War, Zarqawi and Bin Laden were competitors not allies. This helps prove the United States preemptive war in Iraq has not diminished terrorism, but helped unite some extremist groups who used to be opposed to each other.

But hey, that doesn't stop the Vice President from strolling into a local high school of young, impressionable teens and filling their heads with fairy tales, now does it?

IN FACT

As Think Progress Reports :

"The implication that Zarqawi helped justify the war was thoroughly debunked last year by the Senate Intelligence Committee, then chaired by Bush loyalist Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS.)

It found:

Saddam Hussein attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and…the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi. [p. 109]"

Dick Cheney proves that there are some people who will refuse to deal in the the truth and insist on dolling out lies even when contradictory evidence has been stapled to their foreheads repeatedly.

Sorry Dick, but history will never vindicate your lies, in fact history may be a crueler judge than we.

Abu Ayyub Al Masri Is Dead Again, Or Maybe He's Not

Al Masri is dead, again.

This is the second time that al Masri has died, last time he died it was February. Just like Zarqawi who died one thousand deaths before his true demise, news of Masri seems to materialize just when the Bush Administration needs it the most.

Yesterday was Mission Accomplished Day, the day Bush was set to veto money for his own war and the news that terrorism is up about 30% was traveling fast.

Then the media announced a pipe dream that alleged anti al-Qaeda insurgents may have killed al Masri. Yeah right, and ABC didn't seem to be buying it either when they ran this banner :

"SOURCES TELL ABC NEWS THAT REPORTS OF THE DEATH OF HAMZA AL MASRI, LEADER OF AL QAEDA IN IRAQ, ARE UNCONFIRMED AND PART OF A MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN. DEVELOPING... "

Furthermore, those in the know would remember that shortly before the demise of Zarqawi the son of bin Laden's mentor Abdallah Azzam was claiming Zarqawi had already been replaced by a man they were calling Abdullah bin Rashid al-Baghdadi.

It seemed within hours of Abu Musab al Zarqawi's death the US had already fingered this Masri character as being the new head of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

But there seems to be at least some confusion over who this man really is. BBC reported that "A prominent Cairo lawyer says the Egyptian man identified by the US as the new al-Qaeda leader in Iraq has been in jail in Egypt for seven years."

Psyops

The information coming out of Iraq is becoming increasingly unreliable and I believe this is due to massive disinformation campaigns by both the United States and the insurgents in Iraq.
Remember the Pentagons Information Operations Roadmap?

If not, then maybe you should read it and learn about a wide "range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks"

"Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," the roadmap reads.

"Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public,"

The United States has been using what they call "psychological operations" for quite some time and these operations are not limited to the Middle East and most likely not limited to only the enemy.

One example may have been militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Shorty before Zarqawi's death The Washington Post reported in an article titled "Military Plays Up Role Of Zarqawi" that :

"The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

So what news can you trust that's coming out of Iraq? It seems like every tidbit of information is twisted and squeezed by the Mainstream Media and military in an effort to mislead "the enemy" but in actuality they just mislead the public.

Quick Note : It's easy to claim sectarian violence has been reduced, when your no longer counting suicide and car bombings in the equation. Welcome to Oceania folks.

Dear Jihadist, I Will Not Wet My Bed When I Think About You At Night

Michelle Maglalang Malkin, as usual, is full of "Hot Air", or maybe she's just full of it.

"The John Doe Manifesto" is a creepy proclamation of civil vigilantism. It reads like the author was checking her "Cliffs Notes" on Stalin's Guide To Disseminating Propaganda as she was writing her "Manifesto" to make sure she got the mantra just right .

On the surface "The John Doe Manifesto" appears to be nothing more than the work of fearful and impotent people, trying to make a verbal stand against terrorist.

Closer inspection of the individual orders reveals that the "Manifesto" is asking you to do nothing short of becoming a junior spy to help to create a paranoid and "big brother" like environment in the United States of America.

The use of the term "John Doe" disturbs me in this case because it seems to strip strip the person of it's individuality and insert a rigid and paranoid doctrine of "I Will's" and "I Am's" in it's place.

Just note the frame of the "Manifesto" ;

I am
I am
I am
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I am
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I am
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I will
I am

Now note individual phrases, the following lines smack of Soviet like propaganda.

"I will act when homeland security officials ask me to “report suspicious activity.”

I will embrace my local police department’s admonition: “If you see something, say something.”

I will support law enforcement initiatives to spy" ...

She forgot to write "And I will write with the intent of pleasing the 'propaganda ministry' because that is what a good and fearful American does."

Who need liberty when you have security? That's what Malkin is asking.

Of course, citizens need to be alert for their own security to a logical extent -- but this sickeningly pathetic "Manifesto" reads like it was coauthored by Kim Jong Ill's propaganda team to use on the North Koreans.

Furthermore, I am suspicious of anything with the word "Manifesto" stamped on it. I am sure there are many people on the Grassy Knoll handing out "Manifesto's". Ted Kaczynski had a "Manifesto".

In a sense Malkin's "Manifesto", like most her work, has played right into the terrorist agenda, to cause terror. One look at the "Manifesto" reveals truly how fearful some people in this country are.

The terrorist want Americans afraid, paranoid and spying on their neighbors, it feeds their frenzy, hence the word terror.

People like Michelle Malkin also want Americans afraid, paranoid and spying on their neighbors.

While their agenda's may be different I have to be wary of anyone who wants me to be afraid, paranoid and spying on my neighbors.

Before I scoot off to my Spring Break, I want to break down some of the weaker lines in the "Manifesto"...

"I will raise my voice against your subjugation of women and religious minorities."

While I subject Muslim woman in America to discrimination and show intolerance to religious minorities...

"I will challenge your attempts to indoctrinate my children in our schools."

What a flake! Talk about your conspiracy theories! Last time I checked the Muslims were not trying to indoctrinate our children in our schools. Now she's just making sh*t up to justify her call for a spying jihad against all brown skinned people and their acquaintances.

"I will not be censored in the name of tolerance."

Oh, jeez, she should give it a rest already! It sounds like she's fighting for the right to use the word "sand n*gger" when speaking of Arabs or something.

"I will put my country above multiculturalism."

Uhh, hello! Malkin lady, newsflash!

Multiculturalism is what allowed your Filipino immigrant parents to come to America on a work visa and have an "anchor" baby like you.

Multiculturalism is America, I know it's a concept the Reich Wing fails to grasp, but it's true.

If it were not for multiculturalism Malkin wouldn't even be in America, spewing her "Hot Air".

Malkin should get real, she's a minority in more than one way and should exercise some of the tolerance people gave to her and her foreign family to others. But she doesn't, leading me to believe she is a self hating b*tch and channels that self hatred on other minorities and immigrants.

"I will not submit to your will. I will not be intimidated."

You hear that, you stupid-wupid terrorist? She's not intimidated! Small woman, big stand, she hates terrorist, long time ...

You know what? Malkin's "Manifesto" sounds more like a self help book the more I read it. "I will not eat to much dessert, I will not be afraid of the dark."... Or like something written for victims of domestic abuse "I will not let a man undermine my worth, I will not let people tell me what to do." Blah, Blah, by f*cking BLAH!

Not only is the "Manifesto" creepy it is also pathetic, as the title of this post indicates.

The "Manifesto" really shows the terrorist how fearful they have made some Americans when they are willing to sign on to propaganda that was disseminated by fear-bot Michelle Malkin.

But do these silly little Stalinist spies really think their cute "Manifesto" is going to intimidate the terrorist, if they even see it? I don't think so.



Special thanks to Chris Kelly at Huffington Post for raising the issue to my attention in a blog.