(TIME Magazine) -- Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was freed by the Taliban over the weekend after they held him for nearly five years, in exchange for five Taliban leaders, who will spend a year cooling their heels in Qatar. You might have heard about it on the news. Chances are you haven’t heard of the six soldiers who died hunting for him after he went missing, according to military officials. Now that Bergdahl has been sprung—in exchange for five senior Taliban officials, who had been imprisoned at Guantanamo—soldiers who served with Bergdahl are grumbling that he deserted and shouldn’t be hailed as a hero, especially given the resulting cost in American lives.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Obama Gives Muslim Nation $195,000,000 For Muslim Holiday
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President Obama has decided to give $195M of taxpayer money to the Islamic nation of Syria to mark the occasion.
In an official White House release, President Obama said: “Michelle and I send our warmest greetings to Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr here in the United States and around the world. During the past month, Muslims have honored their faith through prayer and service, fasting and time spent with loved ones.”Then, he gets to the best part of any holiday celebration…the gifts!
“To help the many Syrians in need this Eid al-Fitr, the United States is providing an additional $195 million in food aid and other humanitarian aid, bringing our humanitarian contribution to the Syrian people to over $1 billion since the crisis began.”
Meanwhile, the sequester continues, the White House is not conducting educational tours, and our military don’t have the necessary equipment to protect themselves.
Is this a time to celebrate with a war-torn Muslim country, or a time to be fiscally responsible?
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Hmm: Did the US Also Pay a Ransom As Part of the Bergdahl Deal?
This is a theory first floated (to my knowledge) by bestselling author Brad Thor, whose piece I linked last week. Now the Washington Free Beacon has tracked down a senior US intelligence official who effectively endorses the idea as not just plausible, but likely -- a conclusion buttressed by his extensive experience dealing with the Haqqani network. Some context: Prior to his release, Bowe Bergdahl was being held by members of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terrorist organization. Haqqani and the Taliban are not one in the same, with the former group acting as a crime syndicate with a radical Islamist agenda. They're "80 percent Tony Soprano and 20 percent Al Qaeda," is how Thor put it in a telephone conversation last week. According to this official, Haqqani would be more interested in being compensated monetarily than in a prisoner/hostage trade, especially one in which they were not the primary beneficiary. Recall that of the five jihadi commanders freed in the deal, four were Taliban, and only one was (arguably) primarily Haqqani. Fox News also reported that the US paying a cash ransom for Bergdahl was under discussion as recently as December, so this isn't purely or baselessly speculative:
[Keep Reading]
THIS IS THE ONLY PICTURE I HAVE SEEN OF ANY STUDENTS LEAVING SANDY HOOK SCHOOL.REPORTEDLY THERE WERE 500+ STUDENTS IN SCHOOL AT THE TIME OF THE "SHOOTING"....WHERE DID THEY GO ??
BELOW ARE VIDEOS OF REYNOLDS HIGH SCHOOLAREA. ONE, OF SUDENTS LEAVING SCHOOL AND ONE OF BEING REUNITED WITH PARENTS. THEY DON'T SHOW ALL THE KIDS LEAVING SCHOOL, BUT QUTE DIFFERENT COVERAGE FROM "SANDY HOOK"
1-Gunman, student dead at Reynolds HIgh, some reports of more gunmen
2-Video: Reynolds High School students evacuated
5-Emotions are high as parents reunite with students
When do I hear "IMPEACHMENT" ?
We've all heard that the law requires the administration to give Congress 30 days notice before releasing prisoners from the U.S. terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- a provision the White House willfully ignored in the recent release of five Taliban commandos in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
But the law -- specifically the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 -- requires much more than that. Congress did not intend for the president to give lawmakers a simple heads-up. Instead, the House and Senate ordered that any such 30-day notification must include:
1) A detailed statement of the basis for the transfer or release.
2) An explanation of why the transfer or release is in the national security interests of the United States.
3) A description of any actions taken to mitigate the risks of re-engagement by the individual to be transferred or released ...
4) A copy of any (review board) findings relating to the individual.
5) A description of the evaluation (of conditions in the country to which the individual would be transferred).
Of course, the Obama administration did none of that in the Bergdahl/Taliban case. And the specificity of the law -- it is certainly not a casual requirement -- makes that decision more consequential. View Full Article
But the law -- specifically the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 -- requires much more than that. Congress did not intend for the president to give lawmakers a simple heads-up. Instead, the House and Senate ordered that any such 30-day notification must include:
1) A detailed statement of the basis for the transfer or release.
2) An explanation of why the transfer or release is in the national security interests of the United States.
3) A description of any actions taken to mitigate the risks of re-engagement by the individual to be transferred or released ...
4) A copy of any (review board) findings relating to the individual.
5) A description of the evaluation (of conditions in the country to which the individual would be transferred).
Of course, the Obama administration did none of that in the Bergdahl/Taliban case. And the specificity of the law -- it is certainly not a casual requirement -- makes that decision more consequential. View Full Article
obamas prisoner exchange
http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2014/06/10/the-prisoner-swap-deal-n1849497
http://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2014/06/10/what-if-obama-disobeys-the-law-on-another-gitmo-release-n1849502
http://townhall.com/columnists/ronpaul/2014/06/10/obamas-foreign-policy-n1849402
http://townhall.com/columnists/chucknorris/2014/06/10/president-obama-vs-george-washington-on-prisoner-exchange-part-1-n1849376
http://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2014/06/10/what-if-obama-disobeys-the-law-on-another-gitmo-release-n1849502
http://townhall.com/columnists/ronpaul/2014/06/10/obamas-foreign-policy-n1849402
http://townhall.com/columnists/chucknorris/2014/06/10/president-obama-vs-george-washington-on-prisoner-exchange-part-1-n1849376
BREAKING: Targeted Killing at Oregon High School
Reynolds High School, the only high school in Troutdale, Oregon, is the scene of the nation’s most recent school shooting. The situation is now believed to be stable.
Here is what we do know.
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that this was an attempted mass murder or spree killing. It appears to have been a targeted killing. That the attacker’s body was found in a bathroom suggests that this was a murder/suicide (for reasons that psychiatrists or psychologists would likely better explain, public murderers seem to prefer some privacy for their own suicides) .
Perhaps the attacker left behind something explaining the decision to target this one student. If so, we should know in the days ahead.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the situation is now stabilized at Reynolds High School in Troutdale.It will be some time, of course, before the details of this incident are known, and we can expect for their to be copious amounts of misinformation and spin dished out as fact.
Scott Anderson, the chief of the Troutdale Police Department, confirmed the deaths and called the events a “tragic day” for the community.
Troutdale Sgt. Carey Kaer told Fox News that the victim was a male student and the shooter was a teenage male, but it is not known whether the gunman was a student at the school.
Kaer said the victim was shot inside the school’s gymnasium and the shooter’s body was located by a police robot in a bathroom. He added that there are no other victims or current threats to the public.
Here is what we do know.
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that this was an attempted mass murder or spree killing. It appears to have been a targeted killing. That the attacker’s body was found in a bathroom suggests that this was a murder/suicide (for reasons that psychiatrists or psychologists would likely better explain, public murderers seem to prefer some privacy for their own suicides) .
Perhaps the attacker left behind something explaining the decision to target this one student. If so, we should know in the days ahead.
Principal Bans Patriotic Song From Preschool Celebration
New York’s Public School 90 principal Greta Hawkins doesn’t seem to be able to help herself. She has again banned patriotic singing from a preschool celebration to usher the youngsters into kindergarten. The students were going to march into the auditorium carrying American flags and singing the song “Stand Up for the Red, White and Blue,” teachers said.
This Girl Gets Told After Saying Disney Makes All Princesses White On Purpose..
WELL, I'M SORRY GIRLY, I GUESS THERE JUST WEREN'T TOO MANY "BLACK "PRINCESSES
Check out this guy's epic response
sfglobe.com
Monday, June 9, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Does it really matter what was done to Bergdahl while with the Taliban?, I thought U. S. policy was " no negotiating with kidnappers or terrorists" ??
Bowe Bergdahl was held in solitary confinement [HE SAYS]
VIDEO
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has told military officials he spent some time in solitary confinement as his captors punished him for two failed escape attempts
Know what is offensive...JOHN KERRY
Related: Bowe Bergdahl and Taliban prisoner exchange
TWO SUSPECTS ALLEGEDLY KILL 3 THEN COMMIT SUICIDE
Police Killed in Las Vegas Ambush » VIDEO
Two police officers were gunned down by a man and a woman today as they were eating lunch in a Las Vegas pizza restaurant, officials said.
Two police officers were gunned down by a man and a woman today as they were eating lunch in a Las Vegas pizza restaurant, officials said.
"They were ambushed," Sheriff Doug Gillespie of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said at a news conference this afternoon, though he said it was not yet known why the two were targeted.
Witnesses said the two yelled "This is a revolution" during the attack, but officials said they had not yet identified a motive for the shooting.
"We don't know anything about the suspects yet," Las Vegas police spokesman Larry Hadfield told The Associated Press.
The couple were later found dead, after they had shot and killed another person at a Walmart store nearby, the sheriff said.
The two cops were identified as Officer Alyn Beck, 42, who had been with the department since 2001 and leaves behind a wife and three children, and Officer Igor Soldo, 32, who joined the force in 2006 and is survived by a wife and baby.
"It's a tragic day, it's a very, very difficult day," Gillespie said. "We still have a community to protect. But we will do it with our heads held high. It is truly a tragic day."
The two police officers were sitting in a CiCi's Pizza restaurant eating lunch late this morning when the man and woman walked in and opened fire on them.
"What precipitated this event we do not know," Gillespie said. "My officers were simply having lunch when the shooting started."
Both of the officers were hit, but one was able to return fire, he said.
The suspects then fled to the Walmart across the street, where they fatally shot a person inside and then killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact, the sheriff said.
The female suspect shot the male and then shot herself, Gillespie said.
The identities of the two shooters and of the third victim had not been released this evening.
O'Reilly: 'Not Fair to Bergdahl' to Say He Was a Taliban Collaborator
Bill O'Reilly joined Fox and Friends this morning to give us his take on the latest developments in the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap controversy. A report by Fox News' James Rosen Thursday stated that Bergdahl converted to Islam at one point during his captivity and declared himself a "mujahid."
"Our sources cannot confirm that at all. It wouldn't be fair to the sergeant to make those charges," said O'Reilly, adding that "we do know he was a deserter." Tune in tonight at 8/11p ET as Rosen joins O'Reilly to discuss his reporting. O'Reilly believes people don't fully understand how bad the five Taliban leaders who were released from Guantanamo Bay really are. "You don't exchange war criminals for a suspected deserter. That is not a good deal for this country on any level," said O'Reilly, noting that the former detainees should be tried in The Hague for war crimes committed while the Taliban was in power prior to 9/11. O'Reilly likened the Taliban leaders to Nazis, recalling that they were responsible for beheadings of women for going to a dance, among many other crimes. The Factor host believes President Obama "doesn't understand the groundswell against him" for making the deal, calling it a "victory" for the Taliban. He said he has sympathy for the Bergdahl family and understands the concept of "leave no one behind," but reiterated that he still would not have made the deal. "This is war. And people die. And more people will die from this exchange." |
Hundreds of paratroops re-create Normandy airborne assault Published: June 8, 201
CAUQUIGNY, France — More than 600 American and allied paratroops jumped onto a field outside this tiny farming town in rural Normandy Sunday, re-creating a daylight version of the airborne invasion here 70 years ago.
German forces kept the Americans who jumped into this drop zone from achieving some of their objectives. But the battle was also marked by bravery. A memorial to Charles Deglopper, an 82nd Airborne Division soldier whose actions earned him the Medal of Honor, stands alongside the road near where the paratroops landed Sunday.
The airborne assault by more than 13,000 soldiers of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions on June 6, 1944, enabled the success of the beach invasion by thousands of Allied ships and entire armies of troops hours later.
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