Long overdue NightTwister update

I've been a little remiss at this, but better late than never.

For you NightTwister fans, he moved his blog and is actually blogging fairly regularly. The new blog is also named Night Twister. I'll update my blog roll with the new site.

Just in case you were wondering...

...of what the state of Al Qaeda worldwide is these days, Peter Wehner of Commentary Magazine has a post up at Iraq Status Report called Al Qaeda and the Turning Tide which fills you in.

• CIA Director Michael Hayden gave a noteworthy interview to the Washington Post this week. According to the Post:

  Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In a strikingly upbeat assessment, the CIA chief cited major gains against al-Qaeda’s allies in the Middle East and an increasingly successful campaign to destabilize the group’s core leadership. While cautioning that al-Qaeda remains a serious threat, Hayden said Osama bin Laden is losing the battle for hearts and minds in the Islamic world and has largely forfeited his ability to exploit the Iraq war to recruit adherents.

If we were a nation united and full of patriots, this story would be front page on every newspaper tomorrow. We're not, so you won't see it unless I point you to it.

A metrosexual President?

Yeah, I'm going on the assumption that we all agree that Obama is a classic metrosexual. He's from the generations of males that the feminists have focused time and energy into demasculizing. The question we need to look at is, will that work for a Commander in Chief or not. The liberal left is sure it's very doable, and it'd make the world safer. I have always held that demasculizing men was a bad idea and therefore wished the males of that generation would have fought it off, somehow. At least some held on and joined the military.

As far as the metrosexual as President question goes though, you need to read Grim's well written post Masculinity and Martial Courage that is up over at Black Five to help you further evaluate what an Obama Presidency would mean.

• Jimbo is right to say that Obama is wrong for a dangerous world. Let's talk about exactly why he is wrong for it. The key clue comes from listening to some of his supporters talk about why they don't want Senator Jim Webb to serve as Obama's Vice President. I supported Webb for the Senate, and would have no problem supporting him for President -- but to them, he is a bad choice.

Well worth the time to read, in my opinion.

Interesting Iraq news

Greyhawk over at The Mudville Gazette has Good News From Iraq

Monty Python and the Holy nomination

From Boo Boo Kitty of Redstate and The Minority Report fame:

For the complete story go to her Attention Holy Grailists post over at The Minority Report.

So, who is this Obama guy, anyway?

I'm actually trying to keep an open mind this election season. None of the prospective Presidential candidates are conservative, so none of them fit the bill all that well for me. With Obama, I try to give him the benefit of the doubt and figure most of what he espouses is pandering to his ultra liberal left supporters where the money is. I'm not all that sold on it though, as he keeps on with the "I'll get us out of Iraq" mantra which is the worst possible move he could make on that front.

Anyway, I've come to the point where I really need to figure out who he is and what is in his core. He's trying to help in that regard, too.

Earlier this year he claimed that the march in Selma, Alabama was a personal connection for him. His claim was that his parents met and were so inspired by all of it that they got married and had a little Obama. Nice connection actually, except for the fact that he was born in 1961 and Selma happened in 1964.

This past weekend he presented his family connection to World War II and the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps by claiming his Great Uncle was attached to Patton's 3rd Army and he was one of the first in to liberate Auschwitz. There were two problems with this one though. One, his Great Uncle enlisted in the Navy and Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army, not Patten's third. So, Patten must have been packing a his own Navy along with him, and then loaned them to the Russians, or it's possibly not true.

There ya have it. Obama is?

Forest Gump....
.

Michael Yon interviewed on Fox and Friends

Hat tip to Steven Foley over at The Minority Report.

Instead of global warming, here's something we should actually worry about

Hadrian over at The Minority Report has a great post up called The Real Link Between Solar Energy, Ocean Cycles And Global Temperature that does a great job of using reasoned thinking to look at the actual facts about climate change. I hope he's wrong in his predictions, but I believe he's more likely correct. His post has tons of great info and links and he lays it all out along with his conclusions for you to agree or disagree with. I'd like to see a legitimate argument from the global warming alarmists as to where his thinking might be wrong. I don't see any of them having it.

• This article shows that they are wrong and that, in fact, solar energy is and always has been the overwhelming primary driver for global temperature with CO2 such a minor component that it should be ignored. Due to the differences in scale between the solar effect and the effect of CO2 the latter is only ever going to have a marginal effect at and around the peak of any natural warming trend and is unlikely to activate any tipping point that would not have been activated by natural cause. Indeed, during natural cooling spells CO2 will be a wholly beneficial mitigating factor.

I can see/hear the global warming alarmist now, fingers in ears, going "lalalalalalalalala"

A couple of videos

Grim over at Black Five has up "Spitballs." you should check out. Especially the second one, but do both to understand.

Michael Yon email

Greetings in the United States and dozens of other countries:

Filmmaker Michael Moore is using my work without my permission. Please click for details.

Very Respectfully,

Michael

And, just a little off color humor...

Operations ongoing in Mosul

Bill Roggio over at The Long War Journal reports that Al Qaeda “Prince” reported captured in Mosul

• Iraqi security forces, backed by US forces, are pressing the offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and allied insurgent groups in Mosul and Ninewa province. The operation, which initially was called Lion’s Roar but has morphed into Operation Mother of Two Springs, has netted more than 1,100 al Qaeda and insurgent operatives. Today, the Iraqi Army reported it captured the “Prince of Ninewa” during a raid. The Iraqi government is planning an amnesty and may be forming an Awakening in Mosul proper, a source told The Long War Journal.

To get an Iraqi perspective on the Mosul operations we have Mohammed over at Iraq The Model with his Iraq Hunts Al-Qaeda in Its Last Urban Stronghold which he has posted in it's entirety over at Pajama's media.

• Operations are now underway in Mosul to rid the city of al-Qaeda. The streets are calm, indicating that the terrorists realize they are too weak to fight.

Another good read from ITM

Omar over at Iraq The Model has Iraq Quietly Confronts Iran With Evidence of Weapons Trafficking which is another good read.

• The Iraqi minister of defense pushed the debate with the Iranians over their provision of weapons to Shia militias one more step on Monday. Minister Abdul Qadir Obeidi indirectly confronted the Iranians, without naming them, with new findings that prove their involvement in the arming of Shia militias.
  On Monday, state-owned al-Sabah published a statement by the minister in which he spoke of the capture of a certain type of rocket that was never found in militia-held caches until now:

In case any of you are still checking in from time to time

I'm going to put up a few posts tonight to try and get back on track with the blogging.

For starters there is Mohammed over at Iraq The Model who posts Do Iraqis Want an Arab Nuclear Bomb? which is a pretty interesting read on some Iraqi viewpoints on Iran wanting to develop a nuclear bomb, not that they'd ever consider doing that...

• The change that took place in Iraq was not only a political one but also, and more importantly, a change in awareness; something that isn't easy to detect.
  This is what I see clear in the nature of Iraqi dialogue among the public, and I'm always pleased by the degree of awareness and open-mindedness that emerged in the years that followed the change. I believe it is an important indication about the future.
  
  Recently I've been reading through one of the BBC forums whose topic is basically "do Arabs have the right to possess nuclear weapons?". I didn't hesitate to read all the contributions, which numbered over 600 from various Arab countries. I wasn't surprised by the nature of Iraqi contributions to the discussion. I had always called these "singing outside the Arab flock".
  This "singing" is almost always faced by attacks from the rest of Arabs who often generously use the word "traitors" when addressing their Iraqi counterparts just because they have different views about one issue or another.

Yon's "Moment of Truth in Iraq"

Yep, I got a review for you. No, not by me, I'm only half way through it and have absolutely no way to tell you if he's right or wrong on his take, but Michael J. Totten does. He has his review of it in his The Real Iraq

• Iraq is where ideologies go to die. Arab nationalism, Baathism, anti-Americanism, al-Qaidism, Donald Rumsfeldism, and Moqtada al-Sadrism have either died there or are dying. Conventional liberal opinion, more or less correct about the foundering American war effort from 2004 to 2006, has been severely bloodied—along with Iraq’s worst insurgent groups and militias—by General David Petraeus’s leadership of the American troop surge. Even post-9/11 fear of Islam has proven unsustainable for those who regularly interact with ordinary Iraqis. Independent journalist Michael Yon, who has spent more time embedded with combat soldiers in Iraq than any other reporter, is a refreshingly unideological analyst of the war. His self-published dispatches have earned him a loyal following around the world, and he has set out to reach even more people with the publication of a terrific new book, Moment of Truth in Iraq.

And, I also recommend the book, even though I haven't finished it yet. It really does look to me like Pulitzer. The cover has his photo of Farah, the Iraqi girl killed by Al Qaeda in, what I still consider to be, the photo and story that captures the Iraq war like nothing else ever could.

Well done Yon and to all of you who contributed to keep him in camera's and equipment.

And he thinks he's ready to be President

President Bush delivered a speech yesterday in Israel to members of the Knesset. This part is from the text of the speech from The Wall Street Journal.

• Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: "Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided." We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Reading that you see a pretty large blanket aimed at Jimmy Carter, Nancy Pelosi, and tons of people that feel we need to sit down with the terrorists and talk. This asinine idea is the last thing any right minded individual would recommend, but the liberals all over the world keep promoting it.

No one said a word about it until Obama decided it must have been aimed at him. Instead of doing the wise choice and just letting it go he responded thusly.

• "It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack," Obama said.

  "George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel,"

What a moron...

White House reaction to Obama.

• The White House said Bush's comment wasn't a reference to Obama.
  "It is not," press secretary Dana Perino told reporters in Israel. "I would think that all of you who cover these issues and have for a long time have known that there are many who have suggested these types of negotiations with people that the president, President Bush, thinks that we should not talk to. I understand when you're running for office you sometimes think the world revolves around you. That is not always true. And it is not true in this case."

Man those hanging curve balls can really get launched, can't they?

The Democrats are all up in a tizzy now, which is even more entertaining since this part of his speech is exactly the same thing he's been saying for years. Obama just went ahead and put the shoes on...

Cool

The Mustang feeds again

Tonight it was a carload of kids in a Crown Victoria ex-cop car. Alaska plates. They had the K&N sticker in the window so you knew they had tinkered it up a little. We left the light and I was just going through first normally, when I looked over and they were racing. Alrightythen..., shifted in to 2nd and left them in the dust. Had them by 10 or so car lengths by the time I shifted to 3rd. Game over...

A meal a day! Ah, life is good for The Mustang.

Mmmmmm.... Camaro

So, there I was driving into work this morning. In front of me is a mid to late eighties Camaro. We are all bottled up in traffic, but he and I had picked the lane that was moving the best. He had a V-8 as I soon found out as he was all about tromping on the gas and closing with the car in front of him, then mellowing out. He'd charge, then dive into the other lane, mellow a little....

If the idiot had just looked in his mirror he'd have seen a very hungry Mustang just tagging along.

Anyway, we came to a right hand turn and he was the first in line and the road was clear. He "ran to daylight" and I had to push the Mustang about 3/4 throttle to keep up (chuckle, chuckle). He ran it about a block and backed off, then looked into his mirror and got that "smile" from the front of my Mustang. I slid around him as if he was slowing me down and just cruised on down the road...

The Mustang has been fed...

So, how's Maliki doing you ask?

Ed Morrissey over at HotAir comments on it, but I'll route you via Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive who says Maliki Roars

• Maliki has been much maligned in the press as unable to create unity or at least put Iraq on the path to reconciliation. Much of that criticism ignored the fact that reconciliation is near impossible during sectarian violence and until the people could feel safe in their homes and markets nothing was going forward. Well, we accomplished that and lo and behold old feckless Maliki turned out to have a whole bunch of feck.

The additional commentary by Uncle Jimbo is your bonus for going this route, but don't forget to read Ed's initial post.

Which one are you voting for?

From an email that went around at work:

That, to me, pretty much covers our three liberal presidential candidates.

Teflon Don

While hitting some of the milblog sites I ran across this from Teflon Don at Acute Politics called Musings and Memories

• Who's up for some war stories? Ok, maybe not *exactly* war stories, but I've been mumbling through old memories of Iraq recently. This post will be pretty much stream-of-consciousness, so continue reading only if you want a look inside.

Not sure what brought this on...

...but Uncle Jimbo over at Black five has up his 30 things I believe today that's typical Uncle Jimbo.

• 7. I believe America is the greatest nation yet to exist on this earth, and anyone who disagrees can kiss my ass.

  8. I believe that bacon is actually a vitamin

You obviously need to read the other 28...

Not the guy

You've probably heard it already, but Al Qaeda's #1 guy in Iraq hasn't been captured. The Iraqi's nabbed someone with a similar name.

Even without that though, The Sadrists are getting beaten badly and Mookie has tried to make peace again. The jury is still out, but it looks as if the ISF and coalition forces are continuing to thin the Mahdi army ranks. Mookie is becoming lesser and lesser as each day goes by.

Al Qaeda in Iraq leader possibly captured

From Bill Roggio over at The Long War Journal is a breaking news story - Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s leader, reported captured in Mosul.

• An unconfirmed report from the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said al Masri has been captured in the northern city and is in Iraqi Army custody. The US military has not confirmed al Masri’s capture.
  

Quick Michael Yon update

Yon has been in the States for awhile promoting his new book called Moment of Truth in Iraq. I purchased a signed copy when he first announced it was going to be available, but unfortunately, haven't got to reading it yet. I'll try and start on it tonight. In the meantime, from email Yon sends along an update I thought I'd share with you:

Some folks have asked if I plan to do book signings in stores. None are planned because I need to take care of business here before heading back to the war, but I have been making dozens of media appearances and many more are scheduled this month. The big issue at hand is the launch of my book Moment of Truth in Iraq. Doesn't do any good to spend all that time on the battlefields if I do not take time to convey the facts to folks at home.

I'll try to sign one more gigantic stack of Moment of Truth before heading back to the war, but for those folks who were buying signed copies for Christmas presents, now is the best time as we still have about a thousand signed copies.

Amazon.com is fully stocked and has the lowest current price--$17.97 as I type this.

Moment of Truth is available at all Barnes & Noble stores and at BN.com at a reduced price. Please click the link and enter your zip code to check availability of Moment of Truth in Iraq at nearby stores. This function maps nearby stores with copies in stock.

Great to be back in America but sure comes with a lot of work before heading back to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Next time you see a service member in an airport, please say "thank you" to him or her. Those simple words go a long, long way. Back in the war, I often have heard combat soldiers saying how good it made them feel when someone in an airport simply said "thank you" and kept on walking. Very powerful words. They hugely appreciate those words.

Your correspondent,

Michael

While it's important to promote his book (even without reading it yet), that last point is a great one for us to pass along to everyone we know.

JBA axle backs installed!

Well, that was a little bit of work. Not too bad, but the exhaust hanging brackets are in some real tight quarters. I see why the need for the ratcheting box end wrenches. A couple of those bolts needed that. Anyway, successful wrenching on the Mustang, with the exception of some alignment issues. I'll have to loosen some clamps and maybe bend some mounting rods to get the pipes centered in the bumper cutouts. I'll fuss with that sometime over the weekend.

The sound? Excellent. Nice deep throaty rumble at idle, and mean and nasty at wide open throttle. Sounds hungry. I took it out for a feeding but didn't run across any "game". I'll park it for the night and feed it another night. I swear I heard it mumbling "Camaro....Camaro..." . Might be my imagination.

Now, for the well deserved beer reward.

Ready? One, two, three....

Ooooooooohhhh..... Ahhhhhhhhhhh......

I left the packing on the chrome tips so I don't ding them up when installing.

Out for delivery!

The JBA axle backs are on a UPS truck somewhere in Northern Colorado. They'll be here when I get home from work. Or, when I get home from the bars, anyway...

So, I'm on track for wrenching on the Mustang this weekend!