News and Commentary Archive for August, 2006 
Dr. Rice deplanes in Israel at Ben Gurion airport, July 29, 2006. It's a scene that, we're sure, is soon to be repeated.
August 1, 2006: Condi sets the bar high for progress in the Middle East. As Condi returns to Washington, the UN, the European "Axis of Weasels," former officials of past US administrations who failed to achieve a lasting Middle East peace and their mainstream media apologists are all anxious to point the finger of blame at the United States and specifically the Bush Administration. (AP, SF Chronicle, WaPo, Mercury News, Jimmy Carter, Political Gateway) Never mind that the UN (and their UNIFIL observers), the Europeans (with growing Muslim minorities and continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil), and the so-called "moderate" Arab states stood by as Syria, Iran and Hezbollah turned Southern Lebanon into their beach head for terrorist attacks on Israel and intertwined themselves into the local population with a carrot-and-stick approach that was very effective. ("Let me pay to rent your basement and store Katyusha rockets, or I'll kill you and your family.") By the way, for the Left, who always seems to like throwing around accusations of "war crimes," using civilians to shield yourself is a war crime, but there have been virtually no media voices (with the exception of Fox's Fred Barnes) pointing this out. The current conflict did not erupt after just the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. The kidnappings, bombings, murders, and cross-border attacks from South Lebanon have been going on for years. Where were these indignant legions in the past? Where were the calls for an "immediate ceasefire" before this current escalation? (Oh, we forgot, the victims were Jews, so no big deal, right?)
Here's a partial list of Arab-Israeli Peace Agreements. (Have any of them led to a lasting peace?)  Israel has been the victim of false smiles, insincere platitudes and empty promises in the past. How many ceasefires, truces, accords (as in "Oslo," not "Honda"), etc. have to fail before we realize that more talk and photo-ops are just that - more talk and photo ops - unless, as Dr. Rice has insisted it reflects a new reality on the ground. Removing Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon is not an option for Israel. It is a question of survival. Those critical of Israeli and US policy want Israel to "be reasonable" and wait quietly for her own destruction. After all, what was Hezbollah planning to do with all those long-range rockets? They are not defensive weapons. And although they're not very accurate, how long will it be before chemical and biological agents are added to their payloads? The Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS -- hardly a bastion of conservative scholarship) issued a report on this as far back as 1999 with regards to Syrian chemical warfare capabilities. In 2000, the Palestinians in Jenin marched in the streets, shouting for Saddam to attack Israel with chemical weapons (AP Aug 12, 2000), now their cries are going out to Iran, Syria and their Hezbollah proxies. Israel has waited years for the UN, the Lebanese Government (which, by the way, includes several Hezbollah ministers) and the international community to live up to commitments to secure Southern Lebanon after their forces withdrew, but it never happened. Forcing the Israelis into a premature ceasefire and negotiations without some way to prevent Hezbollah from "re-colonizing" Southern Lebanon is like asking somebody to negotiate with cannibals about whether they'll be boiled, broiled, roasted, or fried.
Did this celebrated peace Agreement lead to lasting peace in the Middle East? President Jimmy Carter, famous for his deft handling of the Iran Hostage Crisis, wrote an " advice column" for President Bush and Condi in the August 1, 2006, Washington Post. Islamic radicals, under the direction of a fatwa issued by Omar Abdel-Rahman, assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981. Adbel-Rahman is currently in a US Federal Prison after he was implicated in the 1993 WTC bombings. His liberal cause celbre lawyer Lynne Stewart is awaiting sentencing for her misconduct while representing him. Since her indictment in 2002 and subsequent conviction, she's been "too sick" to check-in to "Club Fed." Clinton Appointee (what a shock!) Federal Judge John Koeltl has allowed her to travel around the country pending her sentencing, advancing her radical politics, Menachem Begin was the Israeli Prime Minister at the time of the Camp David Accords and leader of the conservative Likud Party. He was a Polish Jew whose parents died in Nazi concentration camps. He escaped capture by the the Germans in WWII by fleeing to Russia where he was imprisoned in Siberia -- suspected of being a spy for the British. He arrived in Palestine as a member of the "Army of Anders," made up of Polish exiles at the end of WWII. He was an unapologetic, frequently controversial, Zionist, Jewish nationalist and guerilla leader that fought against the British until Israeli statehood in 1948. He died in 1993.
The Democrats, of course, are trying to turn this tragic situation into a political advantage for 2006 and 2008. The Europeans are using this opportunity to score "We hate America, too." brownie points with the Arab world. They speak of the failure of the administration's foreign policy and diplomacy in the Middle East, but do not recognize that diplomacy has undergone a fundamental change in the post 9-11 world. It is but one element of a nation's military, economic, political, and social policies as it pursues its international interests. In the eighteenth century, diplomacy could fail due to an ambassador's bad table manners. Now, modern day diplomats must, in addition to negotiating with their counterparts in other countries, integrate themselves within their own global bureaucracies (which itself is a part of a larger governmental bureaucracy) and try to manage how their efforts are perceived in the global mass media over which they have little, or no, control and whose members frequently have an agenda of their own -- that doesn't include fair, accurate reporting.
Despite President Clinton's best efforts, It was "close, but no cigar" for a lasting Middle Eastern peace agreement.
For situations that do not have a diplomatic solution, and after reviewing the list of past failed efforts, the Middle East is beginning to look like one of those situations; it is lunacy to say that "diplomacy has failed" when it is simply "not applicable." Facilitating meaningful negotiations, as the United States has attempted for decades, may not be possible when one of the parties to the negotiation does not recognize another's right to exist. That does not mean that diplomacy doesn't have a role to play - it just may be a limited one. As we have written before, diplomacy's goal - when negotiations cannot reach a resolution - is to best position a country strategically for whatever is to follow.
A simple medical analogy illustrates this concept. If a cancer patient is given penicillin, it will not cure the cancer. Is it then correct to say, "penicillin failed to cure the patient?" Of course not. However, that does not mean that penicillin can't help save the life of the patient by preventing an infection during surgery to remove the cancer. (In case you were wondering, Hezbollah is the "cancer.")
A more direct example is Iranian diplomacy (Now, there's an oxymoron for you!). Assuming that their nuclear program's goal is the production of a nuclear weapon, it would be incorrect to say that the Iranian diplomats "failed" because they did not reach an agreement to halt their country's program. In fact, their "success" would be measured not by whether they negotiated an agreement, but rather by how long it took for them to not reach an agreement.
Let's hope that Dr. Rice is successful in her negotiating efforts, but at the same time realize that her success may be in "setting the stage" for what is to follow. Israel is in a battle for her survival, and ultimately so is the United States. The ongoing carnage is horrific, and the Lebanese people are being crucified for the sins of Hezbollah and their Iranian masters. The Lebanese that are unable to leave the South are pawns caught in the crossfire - pawns that Hezbollah is all too willing to sacrifice. (There are reports that Hezbollah has impeded the escape of those fleeing the fighting.) God willing, it will soon stop, and help can reach the displaced and injured soon. In this crucial time, we're behind our Secretary of State 100% when she says that whatever the outcome we cannot return to the status quo of the past. She has "set the bar" very high for herself, and our nation, as she works to achieve what has been impossible in the past -- a lasting Middle East peace. With only a legacy of past failures and false starts to build upon, precious little help from our European "friends," and while enduring constant carping and "Monday morning quarterbacking" from even some Republicans, it will be a daunting task.
 
August 4, 2006: What do these first two images have in common? And how are they both different from the third? The above images are, with all due modesty, a clever visual-verbal analogy of what Secretary Rice said in response to what's become a staple of Sean Hannity's interviews with Condi -- questions about her willingness to be our next president. Read the following quotation from yesterday's interview , or listen to the following audio excerpt, and see if you can figure it out. SEAN: I've got to ask you one fun question because you expect it. I always do every --
SECRETARY RICE: Yes. You always do, Sean. Right.
SEAN: All right. So here's my question. So if you don't get the job as NFL Commissioner and there's a draft effort for you for President, would you accept it if drafted?
SECRETARY RICE: I was lately thinking about president of one of the teams. You know, my -- the beloved 49ers aren't playing so well.
SEAN: Oh, so you're thinking you could take over and fix that problem immediately?
SECRETARY RICE: (Laughter.) I'm sure the president of the 49ers would be delighted to hear that.
SEAN: I just want you to know you effectively dodged and ducked my question again, but of course out of friendship we'll let it pass. Did you see, or hear, the word, "no," in that exchange? Neither did we. So, in case you haven't made the connection to the three photos; last night, Condi's response was a "dodge" and a "duck," but not a "denial."  Up in time for Secretary Rice's visit to Crawford, Texas, is the first Condi 2008 billboard of many to come. This one is on Highway 84 on the way to the "ranch." August 6, 2006: Crawford Billboard Dedication was a big success -- covered by TV and newspaper reporters. In the heat of the Texas summer they came. Yesterday morning, 30-40 dedicated Condi supporters drove from all across Texas to where Wendy Rogers, our state chairperson had arranged to dedicate our "Crawford" billboard (which is actually in McGregor because that's the road en route to the Bush ranch). We didn't expect the response to be so big. After all, for folks to drive hundreds of miles, and stand around in the August heat of Texas, is a lot to ask. Valerie Duty of the Western White House was instrumental in helping to get the word out, as well as make the arrangements with local media. We were also pleased to see that the Waco Tribune-Herald sent reporter Noelene Clark and KWTX, Channel 10, included it during Anita Blanton's newscast which had Wendy explaining why this wasn't just any billboard and why there are Texans so dedicated that they'd risk heat stroke just to see it and show their support for Condi to be our next president.
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Click here to go to our News Archive, or search the website for the specific item you need.  August 12, 2006: Lebanon Ceasefire Passes UN Security Council.
It was smiles and handshakes in New York yesterday as the Security Council finally passed a ceasefire for Southern Lebanon. However, Secretary Rice admonished the world with her statement issued after the vote: "...a durable ceasefire requires a decisive change from the status quo that produced this war. Today’s resolution lays the foundation to achieve that goal. With this resolution, a new - stronger - Lebanon can emerge with the world’s help. Now the hard, urgent work of implementation begins." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that he was "sad" that it had taken so long to reach an agreement. One can only wonder if the current hostilities could have been avoided had the UN had the same sense of urgency during the six years that UNIFIL forces watched the Hezbollah dig in and re-arm for the current conflict. August 27, 2006: Website back up. Today we are happy to be back up and running, at least partially. Many thanks to Wes Fowler and Tony Stone for keeping some fresh content on the blog while this was going on. It must have been frustrating to work with the limited, and frequently changing, website functions.
While the website may not seem noticeably different at first glance, additional security measures have been incorporated. Unfortunately, these changes are incompatible with our current discussion forum. We are working on correcting this and bringing back a "new & improved" forum soon.
Our news feed in the upper left-hand corner of the homepage is going to be linked to our blog and to major news sources around the world. In the next few days, you'll be seeing more, and more, news sources appearing. However, do not be surprised if you see links to news reports that may be derogatory propaganda from news sources with an agenda. It is important that we pay attention to our adversaries, as well as our friends. ("Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.") In fact, if the news feed is popular, as it has been in the past, with thousands of visitors using the links every month; we could establish special interest feeds for Democratic presidential hopefuls, Republican presidential hopefuls, etc. Now that the blog is back up and fully functioning, we again need contributors to add useful content. We also need motivated volunteers to update and manage the "Condi 101" page, the quotations marquee, and to organize a "favorite posts" list. (Too often, great blog posts are "buried" by those that come after it. Most blog visitors do not have the time to wade through the blog postings to find what they want.) Although actual blog traffic has been inconsistent while our website updates were going on, the news feeds that are automatically generated with your blog posts and comments are being read by thousands of readers who use news feed "aggregators." This lets them "cherry pick" targeted news items that interest them. Up until this website update, we could not determine who, or how many, readers were receiving our news feed items. Now we know, and it is impressive. In the next 48 hours, all of our outstanding bumper sticker orders will go out thanks to two Florida International University College Republicans. (They have requested that we not release their names or photos since they both still have family members in Cuba. One was the author of the blog post on the changes occurring in Cuba.) It will be another 3-4 weeks before Condi Gear apparel is available to be ordered online again. Current outstanding orders will be filled from remaining stocks of items. If we run out of your size, color, etc. we'll advise you through the e-mail address on your PayPal account. Please make sure that your e-mail account spam filter does not block e-mail coming from us at 4Condi.com. Unfortunately, lapel pins will be out of stock for another 3 weeks while we await another order. If this is too long, please let us know and we'll refund any payments that you have made. Additionally, as a result of changing our shipping agent (again!), our records of shipped items from some periods this summer are unclear as to whether items shipped, or not. If you are missing items from orders older than 30 days, please e-mail the webmaster, and he'll forward it the appropriate person. Website Update will improve Accessibility for the vision-impaired. We have received a number of requests for improving website accessibility, primarily a way for vision-impaired visitors to determine the size of the text on our web pages. With our recent website update, this will be possible with our homepage and blog. Other pages will be "upgraded" over the next several weeks and we will be adding a "push button" feature that will allow visitors to change text size throughout the website without changing the settings on their Internet browser. 
Is Brittany Spears desecrating the US Flag, or just an attractive, patriotic, All-American girl? Desecration, like pornography, is a subjective standard. However, like pornography, Supreme Court Justice Potter said, "I know it when I see it." When the family receives an American flag from the honor guard at their loved one's military funeral, they should know that it is honored and protected by the law. Seriously, would this significantly limit any American's rights to protest?
August 31, 2006 It's a "Grand Old Flag" for Condi and the "Grand Old Party"*
(* with the possible exceptions of Jack Kemp, Mitch McConnell, Robert Bennet, Linc Chaffee) While in Utah on the 29th, Secretary Rice was honored at this year's American Legion Auxiliary convention as the 2006 Woman of the Year. She spoke at a luncheon in her honor where she stated her support for a constitutional amendment prohibiting "flag desecration," commonly referred to as the "flag burning amendment." (Wikipedia) She also addressed the general convention, too.
(transcript, broadband video, dial-up video, audio) "Desecrating our nation's symbol of freedom and democracy should be against the law." Dr. Rice, 08/29/06 That same morning Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) spoke to the convention about his proposed constitutional amendment that failed in the Senate by only one vote on June 27, 2006. There were only 3 "defectors" among Republican Senators, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Bennett (R-UT), and predictably Chaffee (R-RI). (rumors) (We'll have more on Jack Kemp in an upcoming blog post.) Senator McConnell made a feeble attempt to cover his political "rear end" in a press release explaining his "No" vote. No act of speech is so obnoxious that it merits tampering with our First Amendment. Our Constitution, and our country, is stronger than that. Weakening our First Amendment could also set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the Bill of Rights. If we successfully carve out an exception to one basic freedom, perhaps those who seek to curtail our Second Amendment rights—the right to bear arms—will carve out another. Or the right to own private property, as expressed in the Fifth Amendment, could come under assault. News Flash, Mitch! Our First, Second, and Fifth Amendment rights are "tampered with" (as you put it) every day, rightly or wrongly, which is why judicial appointments are so important -- but that's a topic for another day. You cannot (legally) have sex with your spouse in view of the public to protest a city ordinance against the fence you wanted to put around your Jacuzzi. You cannot saw off the barrel of your shotgun. There are thousands of inmates whose incarceration was made possible by exceptions to their Fifth Amendment rights. These "slippery slope" arguments have been used to impede common sense for decades on this issue. To argue that our First Amendment rights would be irreversibly abrogated by restricting this one form of expression protecting our national banner is ridiculous. Furthermore, this amendment wouldn't be needed if the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, hadn't "tampered with" the federal 1968 Flag Protection Act and 48 similar state laws. Dr. Rice, as Secretary of State and a political scientist, recognizes the importance of national symbols -- both at home and abroad. Some are honored, like the Iwo Jima USMC War Memorial. Others abhorred like the Baghdad statue of Saddam, pulled down and desecrated by angry citizens. The flag is more than just a piece of cloth just ask any of the Islamic radicals that keep burning it. |
