Articles
May 31, 2004
Dog Seven
Douglas Hanson
As the USS Thomas Jefferson and USS Bayfield pulled into Inchon harbor, the young Marine Fire Team Leader peered toward the dock area and the city beyond. What had been a bustling seaport and center of commerce with 250,000 residents... More
May 31, 2004
D-Day Plus 60
John B. Dwyer
This June 6th we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the allied landings on France's Normandy coast, the largest amphibious assault in history. It was the supreme effort of World War Two, the forces of freedom and democracy launching themselves at... More
May 30, 2004
Saudis overwhelm Khobar terrorists
Dan Berard
The small town of al—Khobar, Saudi Arabia became the focus of a seemingly amateur terrorist attack on an expatriate compound. Khobar is a small town that borders the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, a city called Dhahran. The small town of... More
May 29, 2004
Battle Blog 23 - 29 May 2004
Douglas Hanson
This Memorial Weekend edition of the Battle Blog provides the opportunity to focus on the heroic actions of our service men and women fighting in the War on Terror. As President Bush has said several times, their operations may not... More
May 28, 2004
The Governator rides high
Thomas Lifson
A recent poll reveals that Californians support Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance in office by almost a 2—to—1 margin. Startling as this enthusiasm in a dispirited state may be, it is only part of the story of his extraordinary success in office,... More
May 28, 2004
Will al Qaeda re-elect the President?
Richard Baehr
The Baehr Essentials Howard Fineman reported that the Kerry campaign is leaning strongly towards John Edwards for his VP pick. Edwards was a favorite of the media during the primary season —— he is a fresh face, a smooth speaker... More
May 27, 2004
Playing Bush league politics
Dennis Sevakis
"May I please have some more arsenic in my water, Mommy?", asks a darling little blonde girl in a blue shirt, who's holding a glass up to the camera as she awaits its filling with poison by the monstrous, killer—of—children... More
May 27, 2004
Stay of execution
Bob Weir
There's an air of contentment surrounding me. I feel warm, well fed, and comfortable in a sea of fluid. The light thumping inside my form is the only perceptible sound in my tiny universe. I don't know how I got... More
May 26, 2004
The low-down on Zinni
Douglas Hanson
The latest retired general to voice his concerns over the strategy to topple Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq has been Anthony Zinni. Naturally, the good general has co—authored a book with (surprise!) Tom Clancy, criticizing the war with Iraq. The... More
May 25, 2004
Iraq War refresher course
John B. Dwyer
Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please, especially you BCCs — belief—challenged conservatives. I beg your indulgence and your patience while we run through a brief refresher course on the war in Iraq, on why we are fighting... More
May 25, 2004
The Protocols of the Elders of Zinni
Richard Baehr
A few months back, leftist Jewish critics, such as Frank Rich, Abraham Foxman and Leon Wieseltier, trashed Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, for what they called its blatant anti—Semitism, warning of the danger the movie could create... More
May 24, 2004
Lost posterity
Thomas Lifson
Posterity was once a central concept of American Civilization. We sacrificed our welfare, even our lives, for the sake of future generations, especially for our descendants More
May 24, 2004
Cold-blooded murder
Bob Weir
On a bitter cold December night in 2000, five people were brought to a deserted soccer field where they were forced to kneel down in the snow as their abductors shot them in the back of the head, execution style.... More
May 24, 2004
Doomsday machine
Dennis Sevakis
'We are rapidly approaching a moment of truth for ourselves as human beings and for the life of our nation. Now, truth is not always a pleasant thing, but it is necessary now to make a choice. To choose between... More
May 22, 2004
Has Bush Bottomed?
Richard Baehr
The Baehr Essentials We are over five months away from the Presidential election, and supporters of both candidates continue to behave in a manic—depressive fashion, as their candidate first pulls away and then falls behind. For several weeks, the story... More
May 21, 2004
The Other Coming Out Party
Richard Baehr
On Monday, the first legal gay marriages took place in Massachusetts. Tuesday was another 'coming out' day — for Jewish Republicans. I attended the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, as I have for the last 14 years. Israeli Prime Ministers ... More
May 21, 2004
Image of a promise not kept
Dennis Sevakis
The mind will seize an image, often powerless to shed it. Music, poetry, a scent, a taste or a feeling will all linger. But an image can be unsurpassed in its power to freeze and distill an experience, an event... More
May 21, 2004
Why capital punishment doesn't work
Bob Weir
Whenever we hear about the futility of the death penalty from the liberal oracles of neo—modernism, they always conclude by saying that capital punishment has been around for a long time but has not stopped people from committing murder. A... More
May 20, 2004
The Steeple at Vierville
John B. Dwyer
[Memorial Day approaches, soon followed by the sixtieth anniversary of the D—Day invasion of Normandy. Military historian John B. Dwyer, author of last week's article on John Kerry's Swift boat service in Vietnam, presents an inspiring story of military intelligence and heroism... More
May 20, 2004
Pesticides, Precursors, and Petulance Revisited
Douglas Hanson
The recent find in Iraq of a binary Sarin projectile that was rigged as an improvised explosive device (IED), has produced a large amount of press on the nature of this WMD, and even bizarre attempts to define this weapon... More
May 20, 2004
Kerry and energy policy
Dan Berard
John Kerry has finally started to unveil his views on energy. He just yesterday pronounced that we should stop filling up our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), and instead feed crude oil into the market so gasoline prices would moderate. Since... More
May 19, 2004
America is a racist country
Bob Weir
Twenty—three years ago, a police officer was brutally murdered on the cold, dark streets of Philadelphia. Patrolman Daniel Faulkner, making a routine traffic stop at about three o'clock on the morning of December 9, 1981, was knocked to the ground... More
May 19, 2004
Rumsfeld and the Civil War
Lona Manning
As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld looked at the faces of the young soldiers before him, you could see him hesitate for an instant. Should he mention the Civil War? Should he draw the comparisons which seemed to obvious to... More
May 18, 2004
Don't call it marriage
Bob Weir
'Do you, George, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?' Does that sound right to you? How about: 'Do you, Alice, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?' Something about those questions appears to be out... More
May 18, 2004
The Oil-for Food scandal
Thomas Lifson
Is the investigation into the United Nations Oil—for—Food Program degenerating into chaos? Disconcerting news reveals that Coalition Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer has appointed a second auditing firm, Ernst & Young, to begin auditing Iraqi documents, some of them already... More
May 16, 2004
Saving Lt. Sevakis
Dennis Sevakis
Unbelievable nonsense has been uttered about what took place at the Abu Ghraib prison. I say nonsense, because my sense of those activities is that they were more like fraternity hazing pranks than abuse, humiliation, torture, and, least likely, atrocities. All... More
May 15, 2004
Propagandists protecting their own
Thomas Lifson
What do you do if you're a left wing newspaper, and you have hyped—to—the—limit a leftist propaganda venture, which goes on to become a disaster? Admit that you were wrong? Not if you are the Minneapolis Star—Tribune, perennial contender for... More
May 15, 2004
Torture may save lives
Bob Weir
As American troops continue the battle against terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and neighboring countries, how do they protect themselves (and us) from homicidal fanatics who are willing to sacrifice their lives, in order to take large numbers of their enemies... More
May 14, 2004
Not from MEMRI
Steven Zak
Even before the savage display by Arab terrorists of body parts of six Israeli soldiers —— including a severed head —— Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made clear that he may have plans to consign terror leader Yasser Arafat to... More
May 14, 2004
Drawing Blood
Richard Baehr
The Baehr Essentials A new Ohio Poll by ARG, released Thursday, gives Senator Kerry a 7 point lead over President Bush in a three way race, with Ralph Nader at 2%. The President is highly vulnerable in Ohio, a state... More
May 14, 2004
Information Warfare 101
Douglas Hanson
Disinformation is information disseminated primarily by intelligence organizations or other covert agencies designed to distort information, or deceive or influence United States decisionmakers, United States forces, coalition allies, key actors, or individuals by indirect or unconventional means. It is a... More
May 13, 2004
The games people play
Richard Baehr
Senator Ted Kennedy bellowed this week that Saddam's torture chambers never closed; they are just under new American management. The comment was so outrageous that John Kerry tried to create some distance from Kennedy, saying he understood the sentiment but... More
May 13, 2004
Don't just sit there -- do something
Bob Weir
Is there anyone out there who still thinks we should play nice with the terrorists? Does anyone feel that taking photos of naked prisoners is on the same level as cutting off a prisoner's head? I suppose if you're Ted... More
May 13, 2004
Call sign: Boston strangler
John B. Dwyer
Thomas Wright was one of John F. Kerry's fellow Swift boat officers in Vietnam. Since Wright outranked Kerry, he was Kerry's sometime boat group Officer—in—Charge, so Wright had occasion to observe Kerry's behavior and attitudes, and the circumstances surrounding his... More
May 12, 2004
The media are unwittingly helping Bush
Thomas Lifson
How do we account for the continued strength of President Bush in the polls, relative to his presumptive Democratic opponent, despite the stream of bad news from Iraq? Much of the journalistic and intellectual establishment is plainly baffled ...and dismayed.... More
May 11, 2004
The U.N. is a Failed Organization
Rachel Neuwirth
The U.N. recently passed another blatantly anti—Israel resolution in support of extremist Arab Palestinian claims. There is no longer any point in entering into any serious dialogue with this organization. In countless ways, over many years, the U.N. has proven... More
May 10, 2004
Their own worst enemy
Thomas Lifson
Fanatic opponents of George W. Bush and the war in Iraq are running headlong into a cul—de—sac. The prisoner abuse pictures at Abu Ghraib have given them a tool with which to attack, and they are intoxicated with the potential... More
May 10, 2004
War is hell
Bob Weir
While watching the House and Senate Armed Services Committee hearings regarding the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, I was filled with admiration for the greatness of our country. Here we are, fighting a war against terrorists who have no regard... More
May 07, 2004
Friedman's folly
Ed Lasky
The pathological distaste that New York Times columnist Tom Friedman has shown for President Bush is well—known. He is just one of the many columnists at the Times who feel obligated to disparage George Bush at every turn (think Paul... More
May 07, 2004
Hillary's path to the White House
Thomas Lifson
Hillary Clinton is ambitious, audacious, and fully capable of creating devious, multi—step strategies. Blindsiding her fervent opponents, she may yet shock the world and realize her longstanding ambition to win election as President —— in the year 2004. Doing so... More
May 07, 2004
Deutschland Unter Alles
Douglas Hanson
Thirty years of socialist policies have finally taken their toll. In an attempt to reverse the inevitable slide into economic disaster, Germany is adopting massive cost—cutting reforms. Of course, under left—wing Chancellor Herr Schroeder's (Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD)... More
May 06, 2004
The UN bribery scandal cover-up
Thomas Lifson
While the American and world press obsess about photographs of abusive behavior by soldiers assigned to be prison guards, Kofi Annan and his minions at the United Nations are covering up the paper trail of what appears to be the... More
May 06, 2004
A Bad Week for the President is a Mixed Week in the Polls
Richard Baehr
The Baehr Essentials There are very mixed messages in the most recent polling for the Presidential election. Several surveys, particularly those that include Ralph Nader, continue to show a Bush lead of from 2 to 6 points. These include NBC... More
May 05, 2004
The college tuition scam
Thomas Lifson
The higher education industry has ruthlessly exploited its privileged role as the assigner of prestige to young adults beginning their professional lives, in order to grab a larger share of national income. Tuition has increased substantially faster than inflation for... More
May 05, 2004
Here's Johnny
Bob Weir
I've been watching the late night talk shows since Johnny Carson began in the early sixties, after Jack Paar left the Tonight Show and was replaced by the man that would rule the night for thirty years. Carson was an... More
May 04, 2004
Prestige and the left
Thomas Lifson
During the past century, the left managed to seize the commanding heights of those institutions which generate and grant prestige in American society. Control over higher education, arts organizations, charities, publications and broadcasters, as well as most major foundations and... More
May 04, 2004
The Gaza Retreat
Richard Baehr
Israel's Likud party members voted overwhelmingly Sunday to reject Prime Minister Sharon's plan to evacuate 21 settlements in Gaza and 4 in the West Bank. Generally, a high percentage of voters turn out in Israeli elections, but the day before... More
May 03, 2004
Happy Birthday, Godzilla
Thomas Lifson
Marking the fiftieth anniversary of its debut in Japan, a crisp clean print of the original uncut Japanese version of the first Godzilla movie is being released in the United States. What a long strange journey it has been for... More
May 03, 2004
Danger: Tariq Ramadan is coming to the US
Olivier Guitta
The University of Notre Dame, the elite university founded by the Holy Cross Order, (thanks to numerous readers for the correction of the founding order) in South Bend, Indiana, has offered a three—year professorship to the 'moderate' Muslim scholar Tariq... More
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