Inside Abdul Hassan’s home, furnished with colorful rugs and flimsy mattresses, Sakran and his wife hoped for calm after weeks of bombardment and gunbattles, but they feared that the worst is yet to come.

“We just want peace,” Sakran’s wife, Suham Bresam, said, her eyes heavy from sleepless nights. “This agreement happened and I was up all night from the gunshots and strikes.”

Before the battle began in late March, the area was peaceful, save for the sectarian killings that often happened. Bresam could go to the market, and her husband could drive to and from work easily. But they lived in an atmosphere of intimidation. When women were beaten by the al-Mahdi Army in her neighborhood or Sunnis killed, they objected quietly and never challenged the militia.

Just three days earlier, three men were killed, “spy” was written on their foreheads and they were left in the street. “We can’t say anything,” she said. “They’ll accuse us of being with the Americans.”

Emphasis mine. The story goes on to treat Sadrist propaganda as fact, sowing fear among the Sadr City residents that the Maliki government is out to kill Shiites. Of course this is the kind of crap Nazis did to sow fear and mistrust in Nazi Germany so they could cover up their crimes against humanity. When reading ‘news’ like this one just wonders at the naiveté at play in the liberal media to present the brutal oppression under Sadr’s thugs as ‘peaceful’.

The fact is, when Sadr City is liberated and real peace is brought into these Mahdi Army hell holes (as happened in Basra) the reality of the Sadrist oppression is unavoidable - and they become the enemy of the Muslim Street. We have seen this time and time again as Muslims are liberated from Islamo Fascism, yet the liberal SurrenderMedia still doesn’t believe life is better out from under the jackboot.

Representatives of the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and lawmakers from Iraq’s main Shiite political bloc signed a four-day cease-fire Monday in an effort to end seven weeks of fighting in the neighborhood of Sadr City here.

Sadr is thought to have influence over some of the militants in the area, but not all of them. Many of those fighting Iraqi and U.S. forces are thought to have broken away from Sadr’s militia, the Mahdi army, so it was unclear how the truce would unfold.

Rather than expose the fact the Mahdi Army is out of his control (and therefore under the control of those who trained and armed them - namely the Iranians) Sadr has tried a lame band-aid which clearly will not hold. This is actually a really dumb move on his part. Once the truce is violated or over, the bloodshed will start up again. While the liberal western media may play this as the fault of the Maliki government, the Iraqi people will not. They will see a lame attempt by the Sadrists, which will continue to erode their support for the coming elections. The Sadrists are basically screwed, the cannot stem the violence which is having the same effect on the Iraqi Muslim Street as al-Qaeda’s violence did - a rising backlash.

The Sadrists are heading for an electoral bloodbath as they continue to provide cover for Iranian trained and armed thugs who kill and oppress Iraqis by vastly larger numbers than any effect they can inflict on American Forces. Iraqis celebrate the coming of Maliki and the removal of the Sadrist henchmen - a mood that is not going to end through a wimpy 4 day suspension of fighting. In the end the Iranian puppets in Iraq will feel the wrath of the Iraqi people, there seems no way to avoid that now unless the Sadrist fully surrender and bring real peace. Their only way out now is to succumb to the rule of law. - end update

Like everything in life the surrender of the Mahdi Army to the Iraq rule of law, as defined and imposed by the duly elected government under Prime Minister Maliki, is not cut and dry - or instant. It seems the final form of the agreement was just signed by representatives from each Shiite camp - which means any side that violates the agreement will be shown to be inept, at best.

The deal was officially signed Monday between five representatives of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and four member of the main Shiite political bloc.

Khalid al-Attiyah, the deputy parliamentary speaker, says Iraqi government forces will be able to enter Sadr City as early as Wednesday.

I am certain the Iraqi government would have liked to known the ‘truce’ was still actually days away before they sent an army group in, which was attacked with roadside bombs. It also seems some bloodthirsty Islamo Fascists want to get one last lick in on the US Forces, and are dying to do so (literally):

Three people were killed separate incidents as violence flared Sunday night into Monday morning, CNN reported.

U.S. troops were fired upon and in the ensuing fight killed one person, officials said. Later, military officials said a “criminal” attacked U.S. soldiers with a rocket-propelled grenade and was shot and killed. In a third confrontation, soldiers fired upon a band of attackers, killing one.

There will always be dead enders. But I note again that the general public is all for the removal of the Mahdi thugs and the establishment of the rule of law by the elected Iraqi government forces. From a previous post and this article covering the situation in Basra where the last “truce” with the Mahdi and Sadrists led to the Mahdi being dispersed and the government taking over:

In a rare success, forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have largely quieted the city, to the initial surprise and growing delight of many inhabitants who only a month ago shuddered under deadly clashes between Iraqi troops and Shiite militias.

…

But in interviews across Basra, residents overwhelmingly reported a substantial improvement in their everyday lives.

“The circle of fear is broken,” said Shaker, owner of a floating restaurant on Basra’s famed Corniche promenade, who, although optimistic, was still afraid to give his full name, as were many of those interviewed.

…

The principal factor for improvement that people in Basra cite is the deployment of 33,000 members of the Iraqi security forces after the March 24 start of operations, which allowed the government to blanket the city with checkpoints on every major intersection and highway.

Borrowing tactics from the troop increase in Baghdad, the Iraqi forces raided militia strongholds and arrested hundreds of suspects. They also seized weapons including mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and sophisticated roadside bombs that officials say were used by Iranian-backed groups responsible for much of the violence.

Government forces have now taken over Islamic militants’ headquarters and halted the death squads and “vice ‘enforcers’ ” who attacked women, Christians, musicians, alcohol sellers and anyone suspected of collaborating with Westerners.

Shaker’s floating restaurant stands as one emblem of the change since then.

The Sadrists know one thing - they need the votes of the people next fall if they are to hold onto power. But does anyone believe those who back oppressive thugs will get many votes? I know there are still those so naive and biased in the west to think the masses will follow the Islamo Fascists into personal hell, but the reality has been that the Muslim Street wants to raise their families in peace. And they rejoice when the oppression of Islamists is removed. This kind of reputation is not going to win them votes.

I think the Sadrists and their Iranian backers see which way all this is trending, so they are suing for peace under these surrender terms in hope they can undo the damage to their reputations. The Sadrists claim Maliki did this to hurt their chances in the fall elections by taking away their ability to oppress at gunpoint. Well, that may be more Freudian slip than anything else. But I am sure once you take the threat of violence away and give the Shiites the opportunity of a real independent vote the Sadrists are done.

Just like in Iran if real free and open elections were allowed. If the Iranians were given a choice between the Mullahs and real sectarian democracy they would chose the latter, which is why the Iranians restrict the options available to voters. They run a facade of democracy to hide their oppression of their own people. And maybe it was becoming to clear to everyone which form of government was trying to be imposed by the Sadrists and their Iranian backers. I think the enemies of a democrat Iraq miscalculated badly, and sued for peace way too late. The Sadrists will do very poorly in this fall’s elections because the Iraqis have a real choice, one the Iranians wished they had. They will not chose to go back under the jackboot of religious oppression.

Update: Anyone who buys into the other spin on all this that Iran brokered ‘peace’ is also being naive. Iran may have tried to stop the hemorrhaging of support for the Sadrists inside Iraq, but it has not stopped its call for open revolt against Maliiki’s government before he establishes a long term pact with America:

Iran’s hard-line newspapers on Monday called on Iraqis to oppose a strategic framework agreement that is being negotiated between Iraq and the United States and accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of caving in to American demands over the pact.

The Jomhuri-e-Eslami daily said in a front-page editorial that the agreement is a “capitulation the U.S. has imposed on the oppressed Iraqi people,” and urged Iraqis to turn to “a popular revolution” that would bring about the “expulsion of the occupiers” from Iraq.

The papers’ blistering criticism of al-Maliki is the first such public condemnation from Iran, which hosted Maliki during the reign of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

Maybe some people cannot connect dots, but let’s recall that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quuds Force was found to be training Iraqi fighters in Iran, as well as arming them. So now Iran, in a panic, exposes its true fear and nature. Something must be brewing inside Iran if they fear a democracy with strong ties to America in Iraq. Their call for open revolt has exposed the depth of their fear. These hardliners are the voice of control in Iran. They are expressing the essence of Iranian policy. And it is clear from this display the essence of that policy is to stop Iraq from becoming an free democracy with ties to the West. Would they arm and train and support a civil war in Iraq? Clearly the answer is yes.

A column of Iraqi armor set out on Sunday to test a new truce in the Sadr City area of Baghdad between the militias and the Iraqi government by venturing north on a major thoroughfare that borders the Shiite enclave.

But the Iraqi forces had barely started to move when they were struck by three roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.’s, as the military calls them.

As Sadr City and Iraqi government negotiators struggled to complete the cease-fire agreement, the scene was a vivid demonstration that a durable accord in the densely populated neighborhood, where intense fighting has been going on for more than a month, had yet to be achieved.

“They promised that there would not be any explosions, that people would show us where the I.E.D.’s are,” said a combat engineer with the Ninth Iraqi Army Division who identified himself as Colonel Alaa. “In 10 meters three I.E.D.’s exploded on us.”

…

Putting the accord to the test, at least at this early stage, was another matter. In recent weeks, Iraqi and American commanders have said that much of the fighting has been carried out by Iranian-backed “special groups” that appear to have little interest in reconciling with the Iraqi government despite assertions from Iranian officials that they are encouraging a peaceful outcome.

There appeared to be other complications as well. Bassim Sharif, a leader of the Fadhila party, a rival of Mr. Sadr’s party, said he believed that the Sadrists were behind the cancellation of the announcement because some of them were “not happy with some of the items of the agreement, probably the handing over of weapons and wanted men.”

Ali Adeeb, a Parliament member from the Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, said the Sadrist members of Parliament appeared to be having trouble bringing their armed wing on board.

“The Sadrists M.P.’s have a problem persuading their armed people to listen to them,” he said. “However they have four days of calm, and they will use that time to convince them to stop fighting. We believe that some groups will keep fighting and not observe the cease-fire because they are worried about being arrested.”

They lied. That’s what Islamo Fascists do - they lie. It goes with their killing, torturing and raping. They will do anything for power. Anything. As I noted before only three groups now benefit from bloodhsed in Iraq: Islamo Fascists in the Mahdi Army and al-Qaeda, Iran and the western liberal news media looking for another Vietnam to vindicate years of predicting the US was wrong and will go down in defeat in Iraq. Seems pretty clear who is on what side of the issues now. Each will spin the new bloodshed not as a defeat for Sadrist exposed as powerless leaders of thugs and killers, but as a victory for them as they become isolated in Iraq, more enemy than ally.

On the streets of Sadr City on Sunday, there were signs that the accord was not in place.

When Lt. Gen. Abud Qanbar, the commander of forces in the Baghdad area, and Maj. Gen. Mizher al-Azawi, who leads the 11th Iraqi Army Division, toured the southern section of Sadr City early Sunday morning, Iraqi soldiers reported that some of the mosques had been blaring messages assailing the accord and urging residents not to allow Iraqi troops in.

Along Al Quds Street there was no break in the fighting. An Iraqi solder was wounded by a sniper near one forward position. A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a different Iraqi strongpoint that is jointly operated with the Americans. There were loud explosions as American “route clearance” teams found and detonated roadside bombs.

Important questions remained late Sunday about whether the truce would be patched up soon and which groups in Sadr City would honor it if it was. Another problem was how long the Maliki government would wait if a durable truce could not be achieved before sending the Iraqi troops north of Al Quds Street.

At least some residents were not waiting for an answer. On Sunday morning, streams of cars could be seen leaving Sadr City.

With the charade over and the people of Iraq abandoning the fascist Sadr and his thugs had their chance to prove the media right, to demonstrate they were not simply brutal killers but a legitimate counter movement to the US. Clearly the liberal media has made a pact with the devil - and his killers. But the Mahdi Army will go down to defeat, just as it did in Basra.

Three hundred miles south of Baghdad, the oil-saturated city of Basra has been transformed by its own surge, now seven weeks old.

In a rare success, forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have largely quieted the city, to the initial surprise and growing delight of many inhabitants who only a month ago shuddered under deadly clashes between Iraqi troops and Shiite militias.

That is the destiny of the Islamo Fascists, the dustbin of history’s “most foul” collection.

The same thing happened to the GOP as the democrats put out an army of moderate, conservative democrats to take out ‘true conservative’ veterans across the country. Those Republicans who survived were devout centrists, traitors to many on the far right. And recently there have been a string of defeats for incumbents on the right in special elections this year, as once staunchly GOP districts and seats go to centrist democrats:

Republicans face tough odds, yes. But that’s because they’ve yet to prove they’ve learned a lesson, as they demonstrated again with Mr. Jenkins.

By the lazy standards of the GOP, Mr. Jenkins should’ve been a cinch to win a Baton Rouge district in Republican hands for 34 years, and that President Bush won with 59% in 2004. Their candidate was a rock-solid social conservative who, in 28 statehouse years, had never voted for a tax increase, and who wanted to erect a U.S.-Mexico wall.

Yet Mr. Jenkins was also a divisive firebrand. He was infamous for carrying around plastic fetuses, to demonstrate his opposition to abortion. He’d previously landed in a weird entanglement with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. This history made even conservatives fidgety, and crowded out anything Mr. Jenkins had to say on issues.

Another Amnesty Hypochondriac bit the dust - the one issue that lingered in 2006 and the GOP dared America to consider in the voting booth. Legislation was held up by Dennis Hastert and company in the House as they went on a tour to sell America for the 2006 election. Haster lost his job as Speaker of The House and the GOP lost his seat to another Amnesty Hypochondriac far right candidate in another special election.

All those GOP presidential candidates that were tied to the Amnesty Hypochondriac movement, which torpedoed another chance at reform under the current democrat led Congress, failed miserably this year. Is it any surprise that the one man on the GOP side who openly supported the Iraq war and comprehensive immigration reform is the GOP nominee to be President? This is not all coincidence folks.

And now this week has another Amnesty Hypochondriac in danger of losing a solid GOP seat in a special election:

Since 1994, Republican Roger Wicker has been reelected to his House seat with between 63 and 79 percent of the vote.

But with Wicker appointed to the Senate to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott, who retired, Republicans are having difficulty unifying behind Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, a Memphis suburb in the northwest corner of the 1st District.

I went to the Greg Davis campaign website

Taxes and Spending
Make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Bury the death tax. Restrain spending.

National Security
Support our armed forces by insuring they have the manpower and equipment to fight and win.

Illegal Immigration
Protect the border. Enforce our immigration laws. Require proof of U.S. citizenship to obtain taxpayer-funded benefits.

Mississippi Values
Defend our values. Support the Second Amendment. Stand up for the unborn.

Business
Advocating policies that strengthen our economy by focusing on lower taxes, a simpler tax code, fewer regulations, and less government red tape.

Emphasis mine. So how could a candidate that mirrors McCain on just about all the issues except one be in trouble in a GOP district that has voted right by huge margins since 1994? Simple - something stinks and is causing the candidate problems. It is not making the Bush tax cuts permanent, that is for sure. It is not maintaining Mississippi values. Doubt it was because Davis stands for a strong economy and low taxes. Davis and McCain are the same on a strong national defense. There is only one area these two diverge, which has to be the one area that turns voters on in the case of McCain, or turns voters off in the case of Davis.

The WSJ notes today what I said last week, and that is 2008 is the year of the centrists:

In the wake of Tuesday’s primary elections in North Carolina and Indiana, it appears more likely than ever that the two presidential candidates this fall will be Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats and Sen. John McCain for the Republicans. They happen to be the two most surprisingly successful candidates of the year, and both got ahead largely by arguing they have unique abilities to bring people together in Washington.

Change may be stirring in other areas that have contributed to gridlock. Voters are pulling politicians toward the middle of the ideological spectrum by registering as independents and calling for centrist solutions. A new cast of political players — some young, most little-known to the nation — is emerging to show that there are ways to transcend gridlock by reaching across the aisle.

…

Sens. McCain and Obama explicitly base their appeals to voters on the premise that they can reach out both to independent voters who are affiliated with neither party, and to politicians of the opposite party. A precedent for such a governing style recently has been set: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York have led the way, each succeeding largely by detaching themselves from their Republican party and governing as independents.

Voters are pushing the system in precisely this direction: The share of the public registered as neither Democrat nor Republican, but rather as independent, has exploded in recent years. In New Hampshire this year, more than four in 10 registered voters didn’t declare any party affiliation, up from just more than two in 10 in 1992. In California, independent voters are the fastest-growing segment of those who have registered; almost a quarter of the registered voters there now are either independent or affiliated with neither major party.

The article basically notes you can chase the money at the fringes or the votes in the middle, who decide who will win. Lamont and Lieberman will not be the only example of how money will not by votes the center decides to not give. Insult the middle, like the GOP did when it want after “RINOs” and Traitors and the inpure and you end up on the losing side of the aisle. The left is not any better, they just happened to be the only option to the defunct status quo in 2006. They seem hell bent on becoming the next status quo to be removed in 2008, but only if the GOP makes up with the moderates they chased away over illegal immigration. Until the mea culpas start showing up, the voters will stay away.

During Vietnam the US ‘lost’ the war to the liberal movement that actually helped North Vietnam win the war. There were many examples of deluded Americans giving open support to our enemies (e.g., Hanoi Jane). The line was crossed, but since America had inserted itself into someone else’s war those who crossed the line were given a bye - at that time. Now they would not because now we know the horror of their actions - millions killed as the communists ‘cleansed’ that region of the world of the defenders of freedom and democracy.

Now we are in a different war. The United States of America is responding to decades of escalating war with Islamo Fascists, which culminated with 3,000 dead Americans on US soil on 9-11-01. Now the war is between the US and those targeting Americans. This is not a proxy war, this is us against our enemies who have killed our people.

In Iraq we have an opportunity to leave that country free and democratic, and the only thing keeping us there is al-Qaeda and Shiite Islamo Fascists like the Mahdi Army. I have never understood why the Islamo Fascists would not just let Iraq set up their new democracy and then try to win the hearts of the Muslim street through the democratic process - until I realized these fascists were as addicted to killing and oppression as their Nazi counterparts were nearly a century ago. For al-Qaeda and their ilk they are not leading unless they are oppressing, unless their is no chance for the masses under their control to change their minds and take a different direction.

Once that was clearly their MO, it also became clear those opposing these thugs would win in the end, since humanity will always chose freedom over a torture chamber (even if the chamber is their own neighborhoods). Now we can see another truth coming out from the battle between the duly elected government in Iraq and armed thugs trying to destroy it. We see how common cause has been forged between Iran and the Mahdi Army, but clearly another ally has joined forces to try and destroy Iraq on its path to peace and freedom. And that ally is the liberal western media.

The best example of this came out of the Christian Science Monitor today as it reported on the surrender of the Mahdi Army to the demands of the internationally recognized, legitimately elected Iraqi government. Remember the news media selects the scope and focus of its reporting, so when it gives credence to the propaganda spin coming from those who want Iraq to fall apart without any criticism or challenge it exposes its true nature. Check out this reporting slant:

A cease-fire deal to end seven weeks of fighting in Sadr City could provide the clearest test yet of just how much sway the anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has over armed militants operating inside his sprawling bastion of support in Baghdad.

The truce, accepted by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Saturday after being negotiated between the United Iraqi Alliance of ruling Shiite political parties and representatives of the Mr. Sadr’s movement, is supposed to end the daily fighting that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in the vast Shiite slum.

…

It remains to be seen how successful the deal will be at ending the fighting, which assistance organizations warned last week was leading to a humanitarian crisis. Militants in the slum have demonstrated varying degrees of loyalty to Sadr, who is thought to be in Iran. If fighting and mortar-launching continue despite the truce, it could be a sign that Sadr has lost control of large factions within his militia.

In any case, the cease-fire agreement harbors the seeds of a continuing political conflict because it does not address the differences between the government and Sadr supporters over a political movement maintaining a militia.

Members of the Sadrist movement say the government’s campaign against the Mahdi Army is a distraction from Maliki’s true motivations: to stop the Sadrists’ participation in provincial elections set for October, and to weaken Iraq’s “nationalist forces” at a time when the government is negotiating a set of agreements on a long-term US military presence in Iraq.

“We are the last, the only resistance now to the occupation of Iraq,” says Nassar al-Rubaie, leader of the Sadrist bloc in Iraq’s parliament, the largest group in the 270-member body. “We want an Iraq free of all outside control, and an end to Iraqis fighting Iraqis.”

Emphasis mine. With al-Qaeda on its last legs and facing a new concerted action to dislodge what’s left of it from the area around Mosul the statement is quite correct. The Mahdi Army is the last hope for those who want to create a defeat in Iraq for America. That means those who need a defeat in Iraq need the Mahdi to succeed. This includes of course Sadr and the Mahdi who want control of Iraq. And it includes Sadr’s Iranian masters who want control of Iraq through a puppet leader like they have with Syria.

And it includes the liberals in the news media and politics who need America to lose in Iraq so they can be proven right - for once. After years of predicting doom in Iraq, and even going so far out on the credibility limb as to claim The Surge was not working before it was even started, these liberals need Mahdi miracle to save their own credibility (and paychecks of course).

It is now abundantly clear why the media has lied about the battle between the Mahdi forces and the duly elected government of Maliki (many times called the US supported government of Maliki). Even while America is winning the war against al-Qaeda by winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim Street - which has taken up arms and chased al-Qaeda out of Iraq - the liberal SurrenderMedia has had no choice but to fabricate a defeat (as I noted in this previous post). And who does the fabricated defeat help? It doesn’t help America and it doesn’t help Iraq quell the armed resistance to its lawful sovereignty. It does help the enemies of freedom and democracy.

But moreover, it doesn’t help the Iraqis themselves for the liberal news media to keep trying to salvage defeat from victory, by giving the Islamo Fascists hope that maybe this time there will be a defeat for Iraq and America. By encouraging these lame ideas, by giving them credence, they give a reason to the thugs to fight and kill. But what all those involved in finding defeat forget is it is the Iraqis who will decide their path - and it will not be decided to help the Mahdi, Iran or the liberal western media save face. It will be to build a better future:

What really motivates Maliki, say the Sadrists, is his fear that with their anti-American message they will make large gains in the next round of elections.

But that public support may be less overwhelming than they assume if the growing impatience with conditions in Sadr City are any indication. Indeed, Iraqi officials say that it was the ire of Sadr City residents that prompted Sadr representatives to reach the cease-fire agreement.

“We had Mahdi fighters shooting near our house, and then the Americans would come and shoot at them,” says Abbas Alibi, a Sadr City street vendor who took his wife and four children to a camp of tents set up for displaced Sadr City residents at a Baghdad stadium. “We are not involved on either side of this fight, but it made staying in our home impossible.”

Mr. Alibi says he finally decided to make his move when the government began encouraging residents of some parts of Sadr City to evacuate. “We thought surely that meant a big fight was coming.”

The Mahdi Army has no ground swell of public support. The Iranians and Sadr have no ground swell of public support to open up a real civil war. And the liberal media is losing its support as it lies to itself in public, grasping to find another Vietnam in a war that is nothing like Vietnam - starting with an all volunteer force proud of its accomplishments and dedicated to victory. This is not John Kerry’s military, and this is not Jane Fonda’s pet project, and this is not the age of the media monopoly over information to America.

There is common cause lined up on the other side of the equation. Opposing the hopes and desires of the Mahdi thugs, Sadr and Iran, and the liberal media are the Iraqi people, the Iraqi government, the pro-US states in the region, the US military forces, and above all the American people who will take victory over defeat any day of the week. This is the line up folks - who is crazy enough to pick the dark side?

Prior to 9-11 the NSA listened in on our enemies overseas and they detected communications to people in the US. This has been the case for more than 3 decades and nothing as changed since 9-11 in this aspect of the role NSA plays. What did change after 9-11 was the wall that claimed the highest priority risk to Americans was invasion of privacy when it became clear on 9-11 the highest prioriuty risk to Americans was a terrorist attack. Prior to 9-11 when the NSA detected something nefarious in the US while monitoring our enemies overseas, it passed on the contents of the communication. But it also left out critical information that is required to stop an attack. Prior to 9-11 the NSA deleted the information required to track the threat to an individual or individuals inside the US (according to the 1976 committee hearings that created the FISA laws):

4. “Incidental” Intercepts of Americans’ Communications

Although NSA does not now target communications of American citizens, groups, or organizations for interception by placing their names on watch lists, other selection criteria are used which result in NSA’s reviewing many communications to, from, or about an American. The initial interception of a stream of communications is analogous to a vacuum cleaner: NSA picks up all communications carried over a specific link that it is monitoring. The combination of this technology and the use of words to select communications of interest results in NSA analysts reviewing the international messages of American citizens, groups, and organizations for foreign intelligence.

The interception and subsequent processing of communications are conducted in a manner that minimizes the number of unwanted messages. Only after an analyst determines that the content of a message meets a legitimate requirement will it be disseminated to the interested intelligence agencies. In practically all cases, the name of an American citizen, group, or organization is deleted by NSA before a message is disseminated.

Internal NSA guidelines ensure that the decision to disseminate an intercepted communication is now made on the basis of the importance of the foreign intelligence it contains, not because a United States citizen, group, or organization is involved. This procedure is, of course, subject to change by internal NSA directives.

After 9-11 it was realized that the current policy was suicidal, and that the FIS Court should not bar NSA detected leads but deal with them full up. When the NY Times cried that the NSA was ‘bypassing’ FISA when the exposed this critical national defense program they were either 100% wrong or 100% lying in their reporting. The truth of the matter could be found inside that very same NY Times article, were the FIS Court judge (Robertson) who resigned in protest noted that NSA intel was ‘tainting’ the FIS Court process.

Two associates familiar with his decision said yesterday that Robertson privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable and may have tainted the FISA court’s work.

Clearly to ‘taint’ means:

verb [ trans. ] (often be tainted)
contaminate or pollute (something) : the air was tainted by fumes from the cars. See note at pollute.

The fact the NY Times knew the subtlety enough to report it leads me to conclude the essence of the story was based more on lies than ignorance. Prior to 9-11 the FBI could request, under FIS Court order, certain people be monitored for terrorist activities. Only then could the identifying information be passed to the FIS Court for review. If the NSA discovered a connection outside the order of the FIS Court, the high priests and priestesses of this court did not want to be bothered with the discovery. Their priority was not safe guarding Americans, it was safe guarding their own power and their own views of what government should or should not do. It should be noted that the FIS Court challenged the post 9-11 changes, and lost that battle on appeal to the higher FIS Court which had, up until then, never had to be called into session.

General Hayden, now head of the CIA, was the head of the NSA on 9-11 and he has publicly admited that the NSA knew about the 9-11 highjackers prior to 9-11.

On January 23rd, General Michael Hayden spoke to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

…

Hayden informed us that his office has been operating under an executive order (EO#12333 from 1981) that gave the NSA the tools it is currently using — meaning the NSA wasn’t suddenly unleashed to go marauding every American’s privacy by George W. Bush.

…

“I [Hayden] testified in open session to the House Intel Committee in April of the year 2000. At the time, I created some looks of disbelief when I said that if Osama bin Laden crossed the bridge from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York, there were provisions of U.S. law that would kick in, offer him protections and affect how NSA could now cover him.”

…

He admits that we knew that Mohamed Atta and his crew were in the US. But he says that “we did not know anything more” because prior to 9/11 “Mohamed Atta and his fellow 18 hijackers would have been presumed to have been protected persons, U.S. persons, by NSA “.

The NSA had discovered them as the killers of 9-11 communicated with their masters overseas who were under NSA surveillance. But due to the suicidal procedures in place at the time, all information that could lead investigators to the killers was being deleted, with only the content of the communications going out to law enforcement agencies.

Those conspiracy nuts who claim the US knew about 9-11 before it happened are literally correct. The NSA knew who they were and were they were. But it was the Gorelick Wall that stopped critical dots being connected, and it barred the NSA from telling the FBI where to find the killers before 3,000 Americans died horrific deaths. This idiocy was fixed under President Bush and has worked to protect America ever since 9-11, until the current Democrat Congress decided to play games with the lives of Americans and put trial lawyers (their largest contributors) over the rest of America. The Dem Congress let the fixes to FISA lapse, leaving us all vulnerable to new attacks. And since this now all plays out in the public, thanks to the treason of the NY Times, the terrorists also know the rules have changed and there are no openings for attack that did not exist a few months ago.

This week two moderate senators, ironically despised by the partisans in their respected parties, are trying desperately to raise the warning flags that America is under threat again from terrorist attack. The chatter is back, and what it signals is the need for those FISA fixes like never before:

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., warned Thursday that the threat of homegrown terrorism is on the rise, aided by the Internet’s capacity to spread the core recruitment and training message of violent Islamist terrorist groups.

At a morning press conference to release the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee staff report, “Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat,” the Senators said that as the threat of homegrown terrorism evolves, so too should the government’s response, which must include coordinated and comprehensive strategic communications and outreach efforts.

“The long term goal of the strategy must be to isolate and discredit the ideology as a cause worthy of support,” Lieberman and Collins said in a joint statement. “Federal, state and local officials, as well as Muslin American community and religious leaders and other private sector actors must all play a prominent role in discrediting the terrorist message.”

The report found that as the Internet breaks down physical borders and cultural barriers, permitting easy access to violent extremist ideology, the greater the likelihood that more disaffected people will buy into the global violent Islamist movement.

“The growing use of the Internet to identify and connect with networks throughout the world offers opportunities to build relationships and gain expertise that previously were available only in overseas training camps,” Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has testified. “It is likely that such independent groups will use information on destructive tactics available on the Internet to boost their own capabilities.”

The report concluded that the federal government must address key questions such as: what, if any, new laws, resources, and tactics should be implemented to prevent the spread of violent extremist ideology in the United States; how should a counter communications strategy be fashioned and what roles should the government and community and religious leaders play; what is the purpose of current outreach efforts and how can those efforts be improved; and how should local officials and local law enforcement be involved.

Here is a link to the full report. The fact is these homegrown cells can get assistance in the form of money and weapons and training from overseas. And these new connections may not be detected under the current crippled FISA laws, laws which stand in partisan limbo today as the threat grows that al-Qaeda and other Islamo Fascists will want to send a signal to America as part of the presidential election process:

House Democrats continued to block passage of a terrorist surveillance bill today, rejecting a measure by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) to add the Senate-passed FISA bill to the fiscal 2009 Intelligence authorization bill. The amendment was defeated by one vote in the House Intelligence Committee, the latest proof that the Senate bill would pass the House if Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed it to come to the House floor. Congress let emergency surveillance powers lapse more than 80 days ago.

So here we are, with clear evidence that al-Qaeda is trying to recruit and train terrorist cells in the US so as to pull off another 9-11, and yet fixes to FISA that were so glaringly obvious to everyone as the twin towers smoldered for months after 9-11 are being held up by liberals in Congress trying to protect the opportunity for trial lawyers to go after telecoms who followed legal requests of the US government in their efforts to protect American lies. It is such a sick and convoluted reality it is hard to believe this is not some bad made for TV movie by some liberal director from Hollywood.

Here we are again, facing a growing threat and those on the left are obsessed to the point of suicide on the potential for privacy abuses while terrorist use those paranoid fears as cover to execute mass murders on our soil. If I have to fault Bush for one thing in his administration it was for not exposing the truth about FISA and the NSA, and how legal idiocy allowed intel leads that could have saved 3,000 people to be deleted. Once exposed Americans deserved the full story behind the myths and conspiracies. Yes, some in the government knew about the potential for 9-11 well before hand. But they were gagged by antiquated and paranoid liberal legal concepts, which paranoid liberals are trying to have put back in place again. This time in public, through the media, so the terrorist know exactly what is happening and when it is time to act. Want to take back Congress GOP? Here is the one issue that can do it. And as long as the liberal democrats sacrifice our safety to their trial lawyer supporters they deserve to lose congress.

No matter what wild speculation and wrong conclusions emanating from the news media, the facts on the ground will be what they are going to be. This fight is has and will take its own course. So now we have the surprising news that the Mahdi Army has decided to follow the rule of law, and the initial signs from Sadr City is quite promising:

Militants were withdrawing from the streets and shops were reopening in Baghdad’s Sadr City on the first day of a cease-fire between Shiite extremists and U.S.-backed Iraqi forces following two months of intense clashes.

Authorities reported no violence Sunday.

“Today, people are very happy and very optimistic,” said Sadiq Jaafar, a 30-year-old father. “Last night for the first time in more than 40 days we were able to sleep without being woken up by explosions or gunfire.”

There is some debate on some of the details being worked out - as usual. But what is clear is much of this is being worked by the Sadrists political block and al-Sadr himself. One interesting spin being put on all this today is how somehow this was not really an uprising by al-Sadr’s followers:

The U.S. military has repeatedly emphasized that the clashes are being carried out by rogue elements and groups that have splintered from al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.

…

The bulk of al-Sadr’s 60,000-strong Mahdi Army is not believed to have participated in the clashes, instead adhering to a general cease-fire ordered by al-Sadr last August. The violence is blamed on splinter groups believed to be acting on their own. Al-Sadr has directed his supporters to only fight when attacked.

Well, either these are followers of Sadr and the surrender will work out, or their is another group hidden inside the Sadrist/Mahdi Army camp which answer to a different power - and then there may not be peace. And I would speculate we will learn soon enough if Sadr does or does not control the rogue elements of the Mahdi Army. And there are some indications already some will not surrender:

A deal to end fighting between militants and security forces in the Baghdad stronghold of Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was largely holding today, but sporadic clashes between gunmen and US forces continued.

…

But deals to end battles between gunmen loyal to the anti-US cleric and security forces have collapsed in the past. It is also unclear how much control Sadr has over many of the Mehdi Army militiamen who claim allegiance to him.

Officials at the two hospitals in Sadr City said they had received one body and treated five wounded people overnight.

The coming days will tell, but I do note this gruesome report on some disgusting celebrations in the Muslim street over the Mahdi Army’s demise (note: the video does not match the text):

Behind is a second Humvee with another body sprawled over the front, arms and legs outstretched. On his white shirt, a large bloodstain indicates the wound that may have killed him. A soldier sitting on the roof dangles his legs over the windscreen and seems to prod the corpse’s stomach with his boot.

As the vehicles roll slowly forward, the tooting of car horns rises to a crescendo in apparent celebration of victory in battle and the sound of whooping and gunshots can be heard.

A police officer in a blue uniform drives alongside, smiling as the Humvees are waved forward by a pedestrian in civilian clothes and head towards two large arches that span the road. The bodies are being paraded like prize stags after a hunt.

The film, which appears to have been made with a mobile phone, was passed to The Sunday Times by a senior official close to Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shi’ite cleric who leads the Mahdi Army militia.

The Mahdi Army is complaining of human rights violations to their puppet media outlets after they violated numerous war crimes themselves. Here is video the Times/UK has - clearly these two people were really hated by the locals or there would be little reason for the parade or the celebration. What the bottom line is here is there is celebration in the streets when the Mahdi are taken out. Seems Sadr and his jackboot thugs are not as popular in Iraq as they are with western, liberal news media outlets.

Update: The denial inside the liberal media to the Mahdi Army surrender (which is going to be called something else to give the Sadrists some face covering) is truly sad. Some details of surrender are still vague, but some are known. Those not involved in taking up arms against the government will be totally free to continue their lives - duh. Those who took up arms will of course take another path. And there can be no medium or large arms or attacks on Iraqis or US Forces. Those are the terms which require nothing from Maliki or is government:

The agreement will give the government some control over Sadr City, a largely lawless area, and give members of Sadr’s militia who were not actively involved in the fighting a guarantee that they would not be arrested.

Parliament members involved in the deal said the gunmen had four days to withdraw.

The Media somehow cannot see who has one this battle, even while they report the lopsided deal the Mahdi Army is being forced to accept:

The deal, made early Saturday, would allow both sides to stand down from what was becoming a messy and unpopular showdown in the months leading up to crucial provincial elections. It is not clear who won or how long the truce will last, but at least for now it will end the internecine warfare among Shiite factions.

…

The decision to negotiate a cease-fire came as both parties realized that they were losing ground. Civilians in Sadr City blame both sides for their suffering.

The Iraqi government has done little to ease the crisis and allow medical and humanitarian aid to reach people.

This is so lame it is ridiculous. The lack of help was due to the armed Mahdi Forces, which did not allow Iraqi aid and killed people who tried to bring in aid. The media lies surrounding this story are truly stunning, especially when they interlace some obvious facts to pretend they are being neutral:

For the Shiite militias, losses have been rising as well. They are suffering more casualties and are also being blamed for civilian deaths, especially in gun battles where civilians frequently bear the brunt of the bullets. Furthermore, the political establishment appears to have turned against them, at least for now.

“The ground has changed for them,” said Jalaluddin al-Sagheer, a member of Parliament from the Islamic Supreme Iraqi Council, a rival party to the Sadrists. “They are suffering a lot of losses and defeats, and they are politically isolated.”

The liberal SurrenderMedia is just unable to accept that their initial take on this affair was 180% off. Their claim the Sadr would turn Iraq into another Vietnam have been proven to be just wild fantasizing from liberals desperate to find a quagmire somewhere before Bush leaves office. The media myth that a Sadrist/Mahdi Army civil war will implode Iraq’s new government have now been busted.

Update: Someone needs to wake Time magazine up from their liberal delusional state of mind since they are running a headline that claims a surrender by Sadr’s forces is actually a victory. It’s almost as if the liberal news media is trying to tell the Mahdi to not stop fighting by showing them the western media still believes they can destroy Iraq. Almost …. The liberal left have been promoting defeat as victory for so long they have become to believe their own Kool-Aid! Maybe Time should explain how those hundreds of dead Mahdi fighters, how hundreds of dead Iraqis from Mahdi rockets and missiles and how all those confiscated and destroyed weapons of the Mahdi constitute a victory???

Update: Back to the point of this post. More speculation on the elements of the truce, along with doubts Sadr actually controls the Mahdi Army can be found here.

Followers of rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr agreed late Friday to allow Iraqi security forces to enter all of Baghdad’s Sadr City and to arrest anyone found with heavy weapons in a surprising capitulation that seemed likely to be hailed as a major victory for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

In return, Sadr’s Mahdi Army supporters won the Iraqi government’s agreement not to arrest Mahdi Army members without warrants, unless they were in possession of “medium and heavy weaponry.”

The agreement would end six weeks of fighting in the vast Shiite Muslim area that’s home to more than 2 million residents and would mark the first time that the area would be under government control since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003. On Friday, 15 people were killed and 112 were injured in fighting, officials at the neighborhoods two major hospitals said.

It also would be a startling turnaround in fortunes for Maliki, who’d been widely criticized for picking a fight with Sadr’s forces, first in the southern port city of Basra and then in Sadr City.

Members of Maliki’s Dawa Party and the powerful Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq met with Sadr officials on Thursday and Friday to come up with a 14-point agreement to end the weeks of fighting, …

What is interesting is how this sudden capitulation comes one day after aids to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr lashed out at the top Shiite cleric in all of Iraq and basically claimed he shared the guilty for the deaths in Sadr City because he had sided with Maliki and the US forces. This was an astounding and dangerous step for Sadr to take. Was this act of defiance too much for the powers to be, which decided it was time to end the fighting? Was Iran getting nervous about the building fire power the US was gathering in the region with the addition of another Carrier Group?

It was probably a combination of these factors, along with the fact that the Iraqi people were not rising up to side with Sadr and the Mahdi thugs, but instead were relieved when they Mahdi thugs were dispatched and the Iraqi government took control. Sadr was doomed from the beginning - as I predicted. He had no support among the mainstream Shiite leadership. The minute the Grand Ayatollah Sistani distanced himself from Sadr and his Militia and sided with the rule of law Sadr was through. Without Sistani’s blessing there would be no uprising, there would be isolation for Sadr and the Mahdi Army.

So Maliki and the US have taken on and beaten the Mahdi Army which now agrees to disarm as Maliki directed. Will there be cheering in the streets of Sadr City on this finale? You bet there will be, along with a new sense of pride in the Iraqi government. The second biggest losers in all this were the doom&gloom liberal SurrenderMedia and Surrendercrats. The world just won’t produce another Vietnam for them. Their predictions were wrong - again. And their hopes of a US failure in Iraq were wrong - as they have always been. Wrong in a smelly, sick kind of way.

What will be interesting to watch is: (1) the liberal SurrenderMedia eat crow as Iraq passes another milestone towards its bright, free future, (2) seeing the people of Iraq enjoy the new peaceful Iraq that will be arising again soon, and (3) learning exactly what it was that caused the Mahdi to fold like a lawn chair. Someone pulled the plug on this one.

But the top Shiite religious figure in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Sistani, has time and time again sided with the rule of law and distanced himself from Sadr and the Mahdi thugs who hide and launch weapons at the Iraqi government facilities and US Forces from inside Shiite neighborhoods (which is a war crime and a sin in Islam).

Well it seem Sadr is upset that he and his criminal gang have been hung out to dry and has so he has now publicly lashed out at Sistani, basically claiming he is guilty of murdering Shiite Iraqis by standing quietly on the side of Maliki and the government effort to disarm and disband the Mahdi Militia with their Iranian weapons:

An aide to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr lashed out on Friday at Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, for keeping silent over clashes that have killed hundreds in Baghdad.
“We are surprised by the silence in Najaf where the highest Shiite religious authority is based,” Sheikh Sattar Battat said, referring to Sistani.

“For 50 days Sadr City is being bombed … Children, women and old people are being killed by all kinds of US weapons, and Najaf remains silent,” he told the faithful at the weekly Friday prayers in Sadr City, Sadr’s stronghold.

Battat said the Sadr movement has not seen any “reaction or fatwa (religious decree) from Najaf” criticising the government assault on Shiite fighters in Sadr City.

“For us this means that Najaf accepts the massacre in Sadr City,” a sprawling slum district that has been the site of fierce clashes between US forces and Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia since late March.

This is tantamount to calling Sistani a mass murderer. Which means there something is about to explode here because no lowly little cleric is going to away with calling Sistani complicit in the killing of Shiite women and children (which are dying more from Mahdi rockets and missiles than anything else). I mean picture a cardinal calling the pope a murderer and you can get some semblance of what is happening here. Sadr has decided to go to his nuclear option by trying to take on, and take down, Sistani - while he sits in Qom Iran being trained to be an Ayatollah himself. Sadr is acting like a trapped animal, lashing out as he sees his pending doom. Why else take this drastic and irreversible step against Najaf?

Iran wants to feel powerful and is hell bent to gain the power and bring hell to Earth. The problem is they are not mature enough to handle the power they strive for, which is clear in the resistance to all reasonable offers for them to have nuclear power for electricity but to stay out of the business of making nuclear material (which can be for power or destruction depending on how pure the processing of the nuclear material makes the product).

Iran has responded to this pressure by trying to destabilize Iraq. A Pro-Iranian spokesman said as much on Iraqi TV recently. The current excuse for Iran’s arming and training the Mahdi Forces now battling US and Iraqi forces in Iraq is because America threatens Iran and its plans. The entire Mahdi Force is meant to distract the US forces, tying them down in a guerilla urban war. The plan is failing because the Iraqi forces strong enough (and backed by US air power) to do the job mostly themselves. The US is still drawing down its Surge forces as planned despite the effort to take out the Mahdi-Iranian forces in Iraq. This part of the Iranian distraction plan is not working as expected - which is pretty standard for Iranian plans (they’re another sign that Iran is just not ready to be a world power yet).

Now we see another element of the distraction plan playing out in Lebanon as Hezbollah (another Iranian trained, armed and backed illegal militia like the Mahdi Army in Iraq) starts to disrupt that country - clearly in an effort to distract Israel and the US.

Hezbollah is reported to have taken control of large areas of the Lebanese capital from groups loyal to the government following gun battles.

“There are no clashes anymore because no one is standing in the way of the opposition forces,” a Lebanese security official said on Friday.

The street battles, which erupted on Wednesday, have left at least 11 people dead and 20 others wounded.

Lebanese troops began taking up positions in some neighbourhoods in west Beirut abandoned by the pro-government groups.

The army has largely avoided getting involved in the street battles amid fears of being dragged into the conflict.

…

Armed men loyal to Hezbollah also forced Future News, an al-Hariri-owned TV station, off the air in Beirut.
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“Armed gunmen surrounded the building, stormed into the garage and demanded that the army shutdown the station,” a senior official at the station, said.

The security sources said Hezbollah and fighters from the allied Amal movement - both Shia groups - had overrun offices of al-Hariri’s Future group across the predominantly Muslim western half of the Lebanese capital.

The article has lots of interesting details and reactions. But the bigger question is why the flare up now? Things like this are sometimes spontaneous, but many times they are timed for some larger purpose. Is this an attempt to bolster the Democrats in the US election by using the standard Islamo Fascist PR stunt of shedding blood for the western liberal news sources to swoon over with hand-wringing headlines of imminent defeat (or Vietnam)? In Iraq that might be a possible reason, but it doesn’t make sense for Lebanon.

What does make sense for both is Iran attempting to divert attention or pressure from the western powers and pro-western regional powers. Is this the old magician’s sleight of hand, distracting the audience from what is actually happening? If so, what could all these flame ups be covering up?

Let me be clear about my speculation here. It could simple be a violent response by Hezbollah to some recent government actions which constrained Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and the Mahdi Army reflect a common approach used by Tehran to use religious zealots to take control of their Muslim neighboring states. The Nazis used racism, Tehran uses the canard of religious superiority - but both groups strive for violent oppression and raw, brutal power.

And if one speculates on what might proceed a bold Iranian move to break out into the open, like Hitler did with his invasion of Poland, where all the pretenses and charades about how peace could be negotiated through appeasement were finally shredded, one could envision flame ups across the ME as a precursor to Iran starting its own religious Blitzkrieg to free oppressed radical Muslim from western control. What the world needs to keep an eye on is any indication Iran is ready for its martyrdom war to free Islam from the West and take over the world. Because that is, in the end, what the country exists to accomplish, and every action they take is towards that goal.

On the left we see the stronger general election candidate, Hillary Clinton, losing to the more liberal Obama. Clinton is much stronger against McCain, but she keeps losing ground to Obama the more her general election electability shows. The Democrat Party is being taken over by the far left which is itching to come out of the closet. That is why when Wright and Ayers come up it doesn’t hurt Obama in the primaries, just kills him for the general

It is also playing out on the right as the ‘true conservative” far right bemoans McCain’s positions and their 20-25% keep voting against him in GOP primaries. The problem is the GOP is tired of the self destructiveness of the far right who call people who disagree with the Quislings and Traitors (just ask anyone who support Comprehensive Immigration Reform why there will be no alliances with the hyper-right any more).

The most enjoyable example of this was on Sean Hannity’s radio show when he hosted “The Architect” Karl Rove. Hannity made the mistake of trying to paint McCain’s problems with the ‘true conservatives’ as a liability. His two examples were “The Gang of 14″ and Comprehensive Immigration Reform (which I am glad to see McCain is bring back as part of his policy plans when elected), which McCain notes openly with well deserved pride. Hannity was not prepared to be ripped a new one by Rove who just destroyed Hannity’s far right biases against McCain.

On the Gang of 14 Rove noted that the compromise gave Democrats cover to allow numerous conservative federal judges to be seated as well as Roberts and Alito on the US SC. Rove noted that he had his doubts initially, but came to recognize the Gang of 14 was critical to the administration’s efforts to mold the judiciary in line with conservative, constructionist principles.

On immigration reform Rove really nailed Hannity and the “Amnesty Hypochondriacs”. Of course the word “Amnesty” was selected by the opponents of immigration reform because it was the root of their resistance - they did not want the 1 in 5 workers (Rove’s number) here illegally to get off with a fine, paying back taxes and proving they are free of violent crimes. This obsession with desiring much stronger actions than the law or America were prepared to invoke is why I call the “Amnesty Hypochondriacs”.

Besides pointing out to Hannity that 1 in 5 workers here are illegal and we cannot simply have them leave without killing our economy, he noted that Bush ended the 30 year long practice of catch-and-release, where illegals found on the border were given a date to be in court and then released, wherein they never showed up. Rove noted the last catch-and-release was in 2006, after Bush led the way in providing all sorts of resources for personnel and facilities required to end the practice.

Another point Rove hammered home is most people do not know that 1.3 million illegal aliens attempting to cross our borders were sent back home last year - a very, very impressive number which shows our borders ARE being strengthened. Nothing will be foolproof, but that is amazing progress the Amnesty Hypochondriacs dismiss out of fear that the day will come when we do deal with the long term illegals with less than deportation or coerced deportation. Oh well, those far right dreams will never happen.

Which brings me back to why McCain is doing so well right now. Every time Hannity or Ingraham or Malkin go ballistic because McCain is not conservative enough the provide McCain distance from the one association that would give him trouble in the general election. Obama has problems because of his new found ties to the radical left. McCain is gaining credibility with the continued flames from the far right (who are not radical like the left, just way out of the mainstream like the left).

I have seen attempts by the far left to tie McCain to folks on the far right - and it fails because everyone knows the far right is ready to sit out this election, especially if McCain keeps his pledge to implement comprehensive immigration reform. So while Obama can be attacked by his far left political associations (which avoids the backlash of attacking Obama directly), McCain cannot be tied to a group that cannot stop spouting off their dislike of the man.

And this is why I am fairly certain this year America is staying away from the hyper-partisans. All indications are McCain is perfectly set up to take advantage of this, and the far right is doing their part to help him. And all indications are Hillary is losing because of this, and Obama and his far left buddies are doing their part in hurting him more in the general election. Sweet.

BTW - just a reminder McCain was one of my last choices from the beginning and I posted on his weak support for the sanctity of life through his support of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, an issue I care very deeply about. So am by no means a McCainiac, but like most independence more pragmatic than driven to the political extremes on either side.

al-Qaeda’s forces in Iraq have been spending the last year, since President George Bush decided to implement General David Petraeus’ counter insurgency strategy that had by this time last year turned the Sunni Province of Anbar, the center of al-Qaeda’s operations in Iraq at the time, into a model of an al-Qaeda free Iraq. From this time last year until now al-Qaeda has been chased out of all its strongholds leaving it with its last toe-hold in the Northern Provinces of Iraq around Mosul. Today we have excellent news on the war on terror as another al-Qaeda leader has been captured, further decimating al-Qaeda’s ability to operate in Iraq:

The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been arrested, according to media reports quoting the country’s defence ministry.

Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was detained in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the reports said.

The US military in Iraq said it was currently looking into the reports.

The Egyptian-born militant took over the leadership of the group from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shortly after he was killed in a US air strike in June 2006.

Masri is believed to have helped Zarqawi form the first al-Qaeda cell in Baghdad following the US-led invasion in 2003.

After becoming leader, he vowed to “continue what Sheikh Abu Musab began” and avenge his death with attacks that would “turn your children’s hair white”.

al-Masri had promised a return of al-Qaeda this month with renewed attacks which really have not transpired. Why this is such a huge blow to AQ is the man was captured, which means he is going to be interrogated and lots of intelligence will be in his possession for the US to identify and destroy the remnants of al-Qaeda’s dwindling forces in Iraq. I would not be surprised if the coming weeks see large numbers of AQ cells captured or killed. AQ truly is on its last legs in Iraq. While it has taken longer than many of us had hoped, each time one of these top leaders is caught AQ suffers major setbacks. At their current strength this could be a blow they don’t survive. At least we can hope!

Thank God we did not listen to the Surrendercrats and run away from Iraq or al-Masri would be running a major fighting force right now, working hard to inflict attacks on the West comparable or worse than 9-11. Instead he is now sitting in a cell undergoing some aggressive interrogations so Iraq and America can stop his thugs from shedding any more blood.

Al-Ramahi begins by saying that although “intermittent clashes” continue between the Iraqi security forces assisted by US forces and the supporters of Shi’i leader Muqtada al-Sadr, both sides criticize Iran and “hold it responsible for the incidents in Iraq.” She adds that the current Iraqi Government’s position has changed towards Iran, and that it has begun “to directly accuse Iran of fanning violence in Iraq.” She notes that a huge amount of Iranian weapons has been revealed in addition to documents that indict Iran in this regard. Al-Ramahi says that observers were surprised to hear Salih al-Ubaydi, spokesman for the Al-Sadr Trend, strongly criticize Iran. She notes that the recent criticism coincides with former Iranian President Khatami’s criticism of the Iranian regime, in which he stressed that exporting violence to other countries, which he did not name, is “treason against Islam and the Iranian Revolution.”

…

The programme then presents a three-minute report by Najah Muhammad Ali. Ali says that when the United States accused Iran of interfering in Iraq to undermine its stability, Iran’s supporters in the Iraqi Government, including the president and the prime minister, did not hesitate to defend Iran. However, he says that the situation changed following Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra and the international conference that was held recently in Kuwait. He adds that Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki and his supporters have launched an unprecedented campaign against Iran without naming it. Moreover, he says that the Iraqi Government has been declaring on a daily basis the arrest of fighters supported by Iran and the discovery of Iranian weapons. … Ali notes former Iranian President Khatami’s remarks in which he said that “exporting violence to other countries is treason against Islam and the Islamic Revolution.” He concludes by wondering if the Iraqis in the post- Saddam government “have become fed up with remaining under the Iranian cloak,” or if Iran’s intervention in Iraq has crossed all limits.

Clearly the Iraqis are tired of being in the middle of this conflict. What is interesting is this next section where a pro-Iranian guest on the show makes the lame excuse that Iran had to meddle in Iraq because it was being threatened by America - which ends the debate as to why Iran is working to destabilize Iraq by training and arming killers:

Addressing former Iraqi Minister Salam al-Maliki, Al-Ramahi asks him to comment on the change in the Al-Sadr Trend’s position. Al- Maliki says that the issue of Iran’s intervention in Iraq and its support for the Al-Sadr Trend does not exist in reality. He admits that there are accusations, but argues that the Al-Sadr Trend’s positions in the political process are “independent.”

Interrupting, Al-Ramahi says that Salam al-Maliki’s remarks are surprising, because even Iranians talk about Iran’s intervention in Iraq. Al-Maliki says that there is clear intervention, but that he is talking about the Al-Sadr Trend’s position and Iran’s support for the Al-Sadr Trend. He adds that the Iraqi Government must determine whether the Iranian role is positive or negative. He says that the Iraqi Government’s spokesman said that the government needs to verify the situation, but that military officials have openly accused Iran of intervention. Al-Maliki stresses that problems must not be resolved through the media. He says that the problem is that the Iraqi Government “has not yet drawn its foreign policy in a clear manner.” He argues that the United States encouraged Iran to interfere in Iraq in light of its hostile position towards Iran which prompted it to defend itself and its presence.

Is Iraq buying this excuse? I argue it isn’t because the pressure is not being reduced on Sadr and the Mahdi Militia, but is being escalated by Maliki and a large sector of the Shiite block in Iraq:

A senior Iraqi representative of the Shiite parliamentary bloc says a committee is meeting representatives of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to get his fighters in Sadr City to lay down their arms.

Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer of the United Iraqi Alliance, the largest bloc in parliament which includes Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s party, says the committee will tell al-Sadr that wanted militants must surrender and roadside bombs cleared.

Maliki is not going to negotiate at gunpoint. The path to negotiations is simple - lay down the arms and weapons. The fact Mahdi Militia refuses, and most of their arms are now coming from Iran, tells the truth behind the lies coming out of their mouths about peace and dialogue. Again, only the liberal SurrenderMedia would buy into the idea Maliki should surrender in the face of armed aggression backed by Iran and discuss terms of his surrender with these thugs. Iraq is standing up and telling Iran and Sadr that this ends only one way, when the Mahdi surrenders its arms.

raqi soldiers for the first time warned residents in the embattled Sadr City district to leave their houses Thursday, signaling a new push by the U.S.-backed forces against Shiite extremist who have been waging street battles for seven weeks.

Iraqi soldiers, using loudspeakers, told residents in some virtually abandoned areas of southeastern Sadr City to go to nearby soccer stadiums, residents said. UNICEF says about 6,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Sadr City, most of them from the southeastern section.

U.S. forces have increased air power and armored patrols in an attempt to cripple Shiite militia influence in Sadr City, a slum of 2.5 million people that serves as the Baghdad base for the Mahdi Army led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The U.S. military is trying to weaken the militia’s grip in the slum and disrupt rocket and mortar strikes from Sadr City on the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy and key Iraqi government offices.

Like most Islamo Fascist criminals the Mahdi have been using the residents of Sadr City as human shields, setting up command posts next to hospitals and firing rocket and missile launchers in neighborhoods with families. All of these acts are war crimes - but the SurrenderMedia will never remind people of that. Conversely, at least the Iraqi Army is trying to warn innocent citizens to move away from the Islamo Fascists.

Interestingly enough soccer fields don’t strike me as long term housing areas. My guess is this will be quite short. Ed Morrissey has more on the matter at Hot Air.