Children as young as six are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers, says a leading UK charity.

Children in post-conflict areas are being abused by the very people drafted into such zones to help look after them, says Save the Children.

After research in Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity proposed an international watchdog be set up.

Save the Children said it had sacked three workers for breaching its codes, and called on others to do the same.

The three men were all dismissed in the past year for having had sex with girls aged 17 – which the charity said was a sackable offence even though not illegal.

The UN has said it welcomes the charity’s report, which it will study closely.  ~bbc

No less than the Arch-bishop of Canterbury, the modern voice of Christianity, has declared the U.S. to be the worst imperialist of all time!

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the United States wields its power in a way that is worse than Britain during its imperial heyday.

Rowan Williams claimed that America’s attempt to intervene overseas by “clearing the decks” with a “quick burst of violent action” had led to “the worst of all worlds”. ~timesonline.co.uk

Perhaps we are all going to hell over here in the colonies. But then the Arch-Bishop probably doesn’t believe in a literal hell so what does it matter?

He lost immunity from investigation after he left the presidency in May.

…Mr Chirac has now been placed under formal investigation, said his lawyer Jean Veil.

This means judges believe there is enough evidence against a suspect to proceed with a more exhaustive investigation, which may or may not culminate in a trial.

It could be the first time in modern French history that a former president faces criminal charges.  ~news.bbc.co.uk

Oh, the tangled web we weave. Imagine how corrupt you have to be for a French authorities to actually go after a former President. France, as well as most of Europe, has rampant corruption. Especially in the quasi-government owned industries.

This is ancient wisdom that some state department employees don’t understand and would dispute, with tears if they have to. No wonder our government is so disfunctionally lame.

Envoys Resist Forced Iraq Duty
Top State Dept. Officials Face Angry Questions

Some quotes from the WashingtonPost article:

…Service in Iraq is “a potential death sentence,” said one man who identified himself as a 46-year Foreign Service veteran. “Any other embassy in the world would be closed by now,” he said to sustained applause.

…Thomas reminded them, according to an audiotape of the session, that “every member of the Foreign Service, there can be no doubt, has agreed to worldwide availability. Every member . . . has taken an oath to the flag and the country.” If volunteers come forward for the unfilled posts, he said, “we will cease this operation. But if not, we will continue. . . . If we have to, we will redirect assignments.” ~washingtonpost.com

My guess is that the dissenters here are really saying that diplomacy doesn’t and cannot work in Iraq. It apparently only works in peaceful countries where peace already reigns. But then that would make their cushy paper-pushing jobs kind of superfluous, wouldn’t it?

The Vietnam War Template is the left’s political weapon of choice. It is also an utter disgrace. (The word treasonous comes to mind.) HotAir reports that John Kerry has uttered what he dared not utter during his aborted candidacy.

Incredible but unsurprising. He is after all an “internationalist” who cynically used the Vietnam war as a platform and tool to gain power. Have these people no shame at all?!@#$%

At HotAir: Video: Kerry says Iraq is worse than Vietnam

I’ve embedded the YouTube video below as well. Here’s exactly what he says in the video:

“I think Iraq is worse than Vietnam. And the reason it’s worse, is that, it– it– came about as a war of choice not the extension of the major… ah, ideological effort like the cold war. And I think that the deception and– and– the inadequecies of the leadership have been far greater in the long run.”

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OCzvs6RXig]

Coming on the heels of the Reid Sedition it starts to look like a co-ordinated effort. An offensive seemingly co-ordinated with foreign enemies of the United States.

Reid: Baghdad Troops “Out of Touch” with Gritty Reality of War

…It turns out you can learn far more about how the war is going by just picking up an American newspaper than by walking the streets of, say, Baghdad for four months.

Reid seemed most provoked by an article in yesterday’s edition of USA Today, which quoted the general as saying that he sees “astonishing signs of normalcy” in the Iraqi capital. ~villainouscompany.com

Perhaps Ann Coulter had it right after all:

treason, noun

1. Willful violation of allegiance to one’s country: sedition, seditiousness, traitorousness. See trust/distrust.
2. Willful betrayal of fidelity, confidence, or trust: perfidy, treacherousness, treachery. See trust/distrust. ~answers.com

Now we know why the party mascot is an ass.

First he declared defeat. Now we get some additional insight into why he thinks we lost the war.

The generals are incompetent! Stupid soldiers! (If only Harry were in charge. He deserves to be in charge you know. He’s so smart and perfect.)

Not only did Harry Reid say that our generals are incompentent but the lefty bloggers he was reporting to and who now control the Democratic party deny he said anything like that. Well, some admit that he said it now that there is an actual tape of the call available but they are forced to fall back on the classic liberal claim that what he said must be considered, “in context.” You see, “in context,” he didn’t say what he said. “In context,” he said something completely different.

One of the bloggers at DailyKos actually claims that Politico, who broke the story, “made it all up.”

Since its inception a few short months ago, Politico, the online soul-mate to the Drudge Report, has gotten into the habit of creating news stories through innuendo, omission, outright error, and now today, out of thin air.

…Of course the reason this comment was never reported [by the bloggers in the call] is quite simple: the bloggers on the call don’t remember this quote. I, along with mcjoan and Kagro X, participated in that conference call and none of us heard Reid say it. ~barbinmd.dailykos.com

Talk about incompetence. Isn’t this why Scooter Libby is going to jail? Obviously barbinmd is lying or has such a poor memory, or (much more likely) has some really really poor listening skills. Remember, poor memory is more likely to get you thrown in jail than stealing top secret documents.

But why deny it? After insisting that Reid said nothing of the sort and that it’s all conservative lies the DailyKos blogger basically agrees with what Reid did in fact say:

And of course if anyone wants to argue that the two Generals are competent, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. ~barbinmd.dailykos.com

The rabid character of these folks is something to behold.

To me this is more than just an argument over semantics or silly details about what was said, it is an example of what is wrong with the left and their anti-war jihad against Bush, conservatives, and reason itself. They can’t even get it right when they are right there talking to Reid firsthand, so why do they think that their political blinders (assuming that they even acknowledge that they have any) filter only the pure unadulterated truth on other issues where they don’t have firsthand knowledge?

The true incompentence here has been the left’s shortsighted political calculations and resulting complete betrayal of America which started when they voted for the war they so profusely condemn now.

And the enemy is listening. What effect does the propaganda of the left and the Democrats have on the world and in particular the middle east? What kind of effect does it have on the war effort and the ability of this nation to wage war effectively?

It’s called giving aid and comfort to the enemy and writing their propaganda for them. When you can’t distinguish between a speech from Dick Durbin and a radical muslim rant…

How Is Guantanamo Different From Nazi Detention Camps?
Saad Atiah Al-Ghamdi

The current radical administration in the US is being humiliated day after day. It is stubbornly insisting on creating dark pages in history that would need thousands of years to be fixed and overcome. It seems as if America eliminated the old threat from countries like China, under Mao, and the Soviet Union, only to find itself mired in a worse situation than these countries. It has now surpassed them with its detention camps and torture that allow the US to accomplish what it wants by extracting confessions forcefully and brutally. ~arabnews.com

Of course. It’s Bush’s fault.

Secret UN report condemns US for Middle East failures

…The revelations from inside the UN come after another day of escalating violence in Gaza, when at least 26 Palestinians were killed after Hamas fighters launched a major assault. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the rival Fatah group, warned he was facing an attempted coup. ~www.guardian.co.uk

I can’t help but laugh. — L. O. L.

The UN was supposed to be our salvation. But somehow the U.S., meaning the Bush Administration, prevented our all too delicate and mortal saviours from working their diplomatic necromancy (you know, by raising peace from the dead). So that instead of saving us all from the incredibly malevolent cycle-of-violence normally kept in motion by the United States and it’s affiliate fiendish powers (and by that I would never indicate the nation of Israel by any means, though others apparently are doing just that), the UN can only watch as the victims of this violent civil war, i.e. the participant, do Bush’s bidding by committing barbaric acts of war. (But as one possibly descended from some tribe of those proud people once called barbarians I take exception to that obviously racial slur.)

But one cannot help but imagine that if only these brave diplomats had been given more time, been able to engage in more diplomacy, been allowed to practice and employ their powerful art of obfuscation and conflict resolution that is their craft, there would be no civil war tonight in Palestine. No sir. The children of these unwitting participants in Bush’s war would be sleeping safely in their beds as they, their parents (both Hamas and Fatah), worked side-by-side in the balloon, flower, and lollipop factories that the evil zionist-crusader-jews keep bombing in order to oppress the poor and downtrodden, did I mention hardworking, palestinian people just like you and me?

No my friends, nothing except more diplomacy can bring possibly bring peace there. Remember that only diplomacy, and more of it, over a longer period of time, can possibly disarm a dictator bent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction. So too, here, we must pray for the resumption of empty words and carefully articulated doublespeak.

And who is to blame for all this violence? Certainly not the participants. They are merely pawns reacting to the cycle of violence, insults, and disrespect that has been done to them.

Mr de Soto condemns Israel for setting unachievable preconditions for talks and the Palestinians for their violence. Western-led peace negotiations have become largely irrelevant, he says. ~www.guardian.co.uk

Strangely, or not so strangely depending on your perspective, the article does not mention anyone else so, “condemned,” by the UN official except possibly the United States. Then there are those pesky, “unachievable preconditions,” the Israeli’s use to avoid ‘proper’ diplomacy, like recognizing Israel’s right to exist and thereby condemning the wonton murder of Israeli citizens. Spiteful Jews. How dare they demand such a thing.

This AP story leads with it’s normal editorial paragraph:

WASHINGTON – With his go-it-alone approach on Iraq, President Bush is flouting Congress and the public, so angering lawmakers that some consider impeachment an option over his war policy, a senator from Bush’s own party said Sunday.   ~news.yahoo.com

The one thing I take away from this article more than anything else is that Sen. Hagel has utterly destroyed any chance he ever had of getting a nomination for President in the GOP.

GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska, a member of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush’s impeachment. But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.

“Any president who says, I don’t care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don’t care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed — if a president really believes that, then there are — what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that,” said Hagel, who is considering a 2008 presidential run.   ~news.yahoo.com

These are the folks that Democrats insist we surrender to:

“We saw a vehicle with two children in the back seat come up to one of our checkpoints, get stopped by our folks, the children in the back seat lowered suspicion, we let it move through,” he said. “They parked the vehicle, the adults ran out and detonated with the children in the back.” ~voanews.com

These must be the freedom fighters that Michael Moore praises and John Murtha opines has “broken” the back of our Army? Please. There is no excuse for the treason that Democrats have clearly chosen as political strategy.

Even as the surge succeeds Democrats continue to plot and plan for our total defeat and retreat from Iraq. Defeat is their preferred solution– in contrast to victory:

The Iraq Surge: Why it’s working
Iraqi Tribes Battle al-Qaeda. 39 Terrorists Killed
Many of Baghdad’s squares are becoming green and clean

Defeatism is the Democrats stock in trade these days. It’s time to ask all Americans which is more important victory or defeat? If defeat is America’s choice then Democrats are in fact riding a new wave of popularity. If, on the other hand, Americans prefer victory, then they are better off supporting the mission and the troops.

Staying the course means staying determined to win. Something we cannot say is supported by the left or Democrats in congress. One does not win wars by shrinking from danger or dwelling on every pothole and stumble as if it were the entire war. One cannot listen to those who intend your defeat as if they were telling you the truth. Democrats know this and yet they continue to spin lies and lobby for surrender.

Democrats call President Bush a liar, incompetent, and even a rogue commander. They warn that the war in Iraq is immoral, dangerously counterproductive and among the worst foreign policy blunders in history.

Yet as leaders in Congress struggle to find a way to end the war, they remain reluctant to force Bush’s hand by cutting off funds, capping troop levels or requiring explicit congressional approval for an escalation of troops.

At least five bills were introduced last week that would either restrict Bush’s ability to add troops or set a deadline for their withdrawal. No hearings or votes have been scheduled on the legislation. ~sfgate.com

Democrats express policy is to, “slow-bleed,” the troops in Iraq so that Bush is forced to surrender. They have no desire to effect their own policy of appeasement and surrender. It is the defeat of Bush which is paramount. It is the elevation of political victory over domestic enemies which trumps all other priorities. Something unprecedented in the history of our nation.

We, as a people, must choose. When faced with a struggle against perfidious enemies, who use children as cannon fodder, do we fold like a cheap card table when faced with even the lightest resistance (from enemies who cannot even face us equally on a field of battle)? Or do we see the job finished, seeking the establishment of governments that will give the middle east a measure of peace and justice rather than of tyranny and oppression?

I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.’ We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

~Speech in the House of Commons, after taking office as Prime Minister (13 May 1940)

A defiant President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.  ~news.yahoo.com

My political advice would have been to come out swinging this way from the start. But there you have it. Bush and the Republicans are always caught off guard by the Democrats political underhandedness and dirty tricks.

Democrats’ response to his proposal was swift and firm: They said they would start authorizing subpoenas as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides.

“Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That’s the formula for true accountability,” said Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said, “We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. … I have proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse.”

He added that federal prosecutors work for him and it is natural to consider replacing them. “There is no indication that anybody did anything improper,” the president said.   ~news.yahoo.com

Bam! Kick it up a notch!

“If the Democrats truly do want to move forward and find the right information, they ought to accept what I proposed,” Bush said. “If scoring political points is the desire, then the rejection of this reasonable proposal will really be evident for the American people to see.”

The House Judiciary Committee was expected to authorize subpoenas for Rove, Miers and their deputies on Wednesday; the Senate Judiciary Committee was to follow suit a day later.

Bush said he worried that allowing testimony under oath would set a precedent on the separation of powers that would harm the presidency as an institution.

“My choice is to make sure that I safeguard the ability for presidents to get good decisions,” he said. “If the staff of a president operated in constant fear of being hauled before various committees to discuss internal deliberations, the president would not receive candid advice and the American people would be ill-served.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is leading the Senate probe into the firings, spoke dismissively of the deal offered by the White House:

“It’s sort of giving us the opportunity to talk to them, but not giving us the opportunity to get to the bottom of what really happened here.”  ~news.yahoo.com

Of course, this new Imperial Congress feels that they are the constitution.