Sunday - December 07, 2008

This ‘n That

First up, a big Thank You to Christopher for covering Pearl Harbor Day. Never forget. Remember this day not just for the loses we suffered but for the hubris that lead to it. Open your eyes and leave your ego behind: all places are vulnerable to attack, so be vigilant. Always.



Speaking of lack of vigilance, a little update to Peiper’s cover on the truck burning in Pakistan: Yahoo News reports that the count is now over 160 trucks destroyed. I’m thinking some REMFs were really asleep at the wheel for this to happen. Too bad the US can’t have military depots manned by our troops in Pakistan.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Gunmen blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan on Sunday and torched more than 160 vehicles destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, in the biggest assault yet on a vital military supply line, officials said.

The U.S. military said its losses in the raid near the northwestern city of Peshawar would have “minimal” impact on anti-Taliban operations, set to expand with the arrival of thousands more American troops next year.

However, the attack will fuel concern that insurgents are trying to choke the route through the famed Khyber Pass, which carries up to 70 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan, and drive up the cost of the war.

The owner of one of the terminals hit Sunday denied government claims that security was boosted after a raid last month near the pass in which militants made off with one Humvee and later paraded it before journalists.
...
Khan said armed men flattened the gate before dawn with a rocket-propelled grenade, fatally shot a guard and set fire to a total of 106 vehicles, including about 70 Humvees.
...
The attackers fled after a brief exchange of fire with police, who arrived about 40 minutes later, he said.

The nine other guards who were on duty but stood helplessly aside put the number of assailants at 300, Khan said, though police official Kashif Alam said there were only 30.

At the nearby Faisal depot, manager Shah Iran said 60 vehicles destined for Afghanistan as well as three Pakistani trucks were burned in a similar assault.

I don’t know what’s going on with Pakistan. Between this and the Mumbai attack ... they’ve got problems. Sure, they’re our ally, but I think the islamist problem they have is many times greater than what our news media lets on about.



A bit of good news: William “Cold Cash” Jefferson lost his reelection bid down in Loozi-anna. That vote was delayed because of the hurricane. He was defeated 50-47 by Republican Ahn Cao, which gives the GOP another “ethnic first”

NEW ORLEANS – In a year when national Republican fortunes took a turn for the worse, Louisiana delivered the GOP two seats in Congress in elections delayed by Hurricane Gustav.

Indicted Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was ousted Saturday from his New Orleans area district, while Republicans narrowly held on to the seat vacated by a retiring incumbent.

The wins followed Republicans’ reconquest of another House seat earlier this fall that had been lost to Democrats.

In the 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of New Orleans, Republican attorney Anh “Joseph” Cao won 50 percent of the vote to Jefferson’s 47 percent and will become the first Vietnamese-American in Congress.

Did you know that Jefferson still hasn’t come to trial yet? How many years has it been now? They got him on videotape demanding and taking bribes, and the FBI found $90,000 of the marked cash in his freezer. What the hell is going on down there? Throw his ass in jail already.

The national GOP also backed Cao, an immigration lawyer, with a barrage of advertising portraying Jefferson as corrupt.

Prosecutors contend Jefferson used his influence as chairman of the congressional Africa Investment and Trade Caucus to broker deals in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and other African nations on behalf of those who bribed him.  The 2007 indictment claims Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and demanded millions more between 2000 and 2005, including the $90,000 found in the freezer of his Washington home. Jefferson denies wrongdoing. No trial date has been set.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/07/2008 at 12:37 PM   
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