The Pew Research Center

It is amazing that President Bush’s approval rating was once at 90%.

I believe if the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina was better, President Bush might have had a chance to leave office with a favorable approval rating. However, liberal Blacks (such as Jesse Jackson and the idiots of his ilk) used Hurricane Katrina as a springboard to blame all the ills of the Black community on President Bush. Many Black people in New Orleans do not blame President Bush as much as they blame Governor Katherine Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin, both Democrats, for the slow response and incompetence during Hurricane Katrina. Even Usher Raymond (singer and actor) came out in defense of President Bush during Hurricane Katrina and said that the country needed President Bush during this time. Perhaps Kayne West should have followed Usher’s example.

I believe that Iraq will stabilize completely and President Bush will be remembered fondly for making the right decision to go to war and depose Saddam Hussein. For as much as liberals bitch about freedom, they sure love to deny it to the majority of the good Iraqi people.

I hope and pray that Osama Bin Laden is caught or confirmed dead before President Bush leaves office.

Hat Tip: Hot Air Headlines

breitbart.tv

Reuters.com

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President George W. Bush made a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, flying in secret out of Washington just weeks before he bequeaths the unpopular Iraq war to President-elect Barack Obama.

Bush held talks with President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and was due to address U.S. troops. He made a show of the improved security in Baghdad after five years of sectarian bloodshed by landing in daylight and venturing out beyond the heavily fortified international Green Zone.

Bush’s visit was intended to thank U.S. troops for their efforts and “pat the Iraqis on the back for all they’ve accomplished this last year,” said General Douglas Lute, White House coordinator for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush arrived first by helicopter at the presidential palace for talks with Talabani and his two vice-presidents.

Talabani called Bush a great friend of the Iraqi people “who helped us to liberate our country and to reach this day, which we have democracy, human rights, and prosperity gradually in our country.” He said he hoped that friendship would continue when Bush went back to Texas after leaving the presidency.

Bush’s trip — his fourth to Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion — follows approval of a security pact between Washington and Baghdad last month that paves the way for U.S. forces to withdraw by the end of 2011.

Bush, beaming with obvious delight during the meeting with Talabani, said he had come to herald the passage of the security pact. “And the work hasn’t been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope, and world peace,” he said.

The pact has its critics in Iraq, who doubt the United States will live up to its promise to leave Iraqi cities by the end of June next year and withdraw completely by end-2011.

“We reject this visit, as it occurs at a time when Iraq is still under the U.S. occupation and the U.S. army has the upper hand in controlling the security situation,” said Ahmed al-Massoudi, a spokesman for the parliamentary bloc loyal to anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

“This visit is a show of force.”

SHOWCASE SECURITY GAINS

The brief visit was meant to showcase recent security gains in Iraq but was also a stark reminder of how heavily the war will weigh on the Republican president’s foreign policy legacy.

Though Iraq has slipped down the list of Americans’ concerns as the recession-hit U.S. economy has taken center stage, polls show most people think the war was a mistake.

It will now be left to Obama, a Democrat and early opponent of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, to sort out an exit strategy after he takes office on January 20.

About 140,000 U.S. troops will still be in Iraq nearly six years into a war that has killed more than 4,200 American military personnel and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Bush was greeted on the heavily guarded tarmac in Baghdad by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

The decision to land in broad daylight reflected confidence that Baghdad was more secure this time than in Bush’s last visit to the capital in 2006 when sectarian violence was raging.

Until Air Force One touched down, Bush’s trip was conducted in strictest secrecy. The presidential jet was rolled out of its giant hangar only after everyone was on board. Journalists’ electronic devices, from cellphones to iPods, were confiscated until mid-flight.

Bush, dressed casually and wearing a black baseball cap after his night-time getaway from the White House, made a rare appearance in the press cabin just before takeoff.

“Nobody knew who I was,” he joked when an aide complimented him on his disguise.

Bush was last in Iraq in September 2007, when he flew into a U.S. air base in the restive Anbar province to underscore improved security amid a 30,000-troop build-up and growing support of Sunni tribal chiefs in the fight against al Qaeda.

Since then, there has been further progress in Baghdad and elsewhere, and while suicide and car bombs remain common, violence has fallen to some of the lowest levels in five years.

Iraqi security forces are increasingly taking charge of policing streets and going after militants.

Also, an Iraqi man threw his shoes at President Bush.

Thanks to President Bush for approving the surge and thanks to the troops for victory in Iraq.

ITN

Iraq’s cabinet has approved a pact that will let US forces remain in the country until 2011.

President Talibani and Iraq’s two other Vice Presidents still have to ratify the deal.

At least our military will be able to get a chance to finish the job and come home in complete victory.

Check out the news video on ITN.

UPDATE 1: MSNBC.com

BAGHDAD - Iraq’s Cabinet on Sunday approved a security pact with the United States that will allow American forces to stay in Iraq for three years after their U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

The decision followed months of difficult negotiations and, pending parliamentary approval, will remove a major point of contention between the two allies. Parliament’s deputy speaker, Khalid al-Attiyah, said he expected the 275-member legislature to begin debating the document this week and vote on it by Nov. 24.

“This is an important and positive step,” said U.S. Embassy spokesman Adam Ereli.

Iraq has control over 13 of its 18 provinces, and violence is down dramatically, thanks to the surge.

Jerusalem Post

Iraq’s centuries old black community congratulated Barack Obama on his election victory Wednesday.

A leader of the black community in the southern city of Basra, Jala Dhiyab, says Obama’s win signals the start of a new way of thinking and tears down the psychological and social barriers that prevent people from achieving their goals.

Abdul-Hussein Abdul-Razaq, another community leader, said Obama’s win is a great day for all people.

Abdul-Razaq says some 350,000 black Iraqis live in and around Basra, the country’s second-largest city. In most cases, their ancestors came to Iraq as slaves from east Africa.

Obama beat Republican John McCain to become the Unites States’ first African-American president.

Hopefully, President-elect Obama does not withdraw American troops too quickly, especially when conditions in Iraq are improving.

Speaking of which, I believe history will judge President Bush favorably for disposing Saddam Hussein and liberating Iraq from despotism and tyranny.

Don’t let the liberal media and liberal politicians fool you.

We are winning in Iraq!

These pictures come from my friend, PV2 G. Womack, and are posted exclusively on Scoop This.

Private Womack and his Army squad members are fans of Scoop This.

Private Womack.

Iraqi Army soldiers. Iraq’s true freedom fighters!

Private Womack’s squad and the Iraqi Army soldiers pose in front of the cross sabers.

On November 4th, vote for Victory in Iraq! Vote for Private Womack and his fellow soldiers!

Vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Private Womack will vote for them as well.

McClatchy reports:

WASHINGTON — A CIA-led raid on a compound in eastern Syria killed an al Qaida in Iraq commander who oversaw the smuggling into Iraq of foreign fighters whose attacks claimed thousands of Iraqi and American lives, three U.S. officials said Monday.

The body of Badran Turki Hishan al Mazidih, an Iraqi national who used the nom de guerre Abu Ghadiya, was flown out of Syria on a U.S. helicopter at the end of the operation Sunday by CIA paramilitary officers and special forces, one U.S. official said.

“It was a successful operation,” a second U.S. official told McClatchy. “The bottom line: This was a significant blow to the foreign fighter pipeline between Syria and Iraq.”

A senior U.S. military officer said the raid was launched after human and technical intelligence confirmed that al Mazidih was present at the compound close to Syria’s border with Iraq. “The situation finally presented itself,” he said.

The three U.S. officials, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity because the operation was classified, declined to reveal other details of the raid. A CIA spokesman declined to comment.

Also from the article:

The more that U.S. Intelligence personnel learned about Badran Turki Hishan al Mazidih (also known as Abu Ghadiya), the higher al Mazidih ranked on the U.S. most-wanted list. Mazidih produced the most prolific foreign fighter network, which led to thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths, as well as U.S. military deaths. The U.S. Treasury Department froze all assets belonging to Mazidih earlier this year on the 28th of February. Mazidih took direct orders from al Zarqawi and al Masri, both Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders. Mazidih was a High Value Target, especially since he was appointed by al Zarqawi as the groups Syrian commander.

The Bush Administration has refused to publicly acknowledge the operation. Pentagon officials are also not speaking about the operation, though their actions clearly state that they will go after terrorists inside nations that sponsor terrorism or turn a blind eye to terrorists, such as Syria.

Scoop This first reported about the Syrian raid on Sunday afternoon, just as soon as the story broke.

Hat Tip: Hot Air Headlines

breitbart.com

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - U.S. military helicopters attacked an area along Syria’s border with Iraq Sunday, killing eight people, the Syrian government said.

The Syrian report comes just days after the commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq told reporters that American troops were redoubling efforts to secure the Syrian border, which he said was an “uncontrolled” gateway for fighters entering Iraq.

A government statement carried by the official Syrian Arab News Agency said Sunday’s attack was on the Sukkariyeh Farm near the town of Abu Kamal, five miles inside the Syrian border. Four helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction, firing on the workers inside, shortly before sundown, the statement said.

The U.S. military in Baghdad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The area is near the Iraqi border city of Qaim, which had been a major crossing point for fighters, weapons and money coming into Iraq to fuel the Sunni insurgency.

Iraqi insurgents seized Qaim in April 2005, forcing U.S. Marines to recapture the town the following month in heavy fighting. The area became secure only after Sunni tribes in Anbar turned against al-Qaida in late 2006 and joined forces with the Americans.

On Thursday, U.S. Maj. Gen. John Kelly said Iraq’s western borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan were fairly tight as a result of good policing by security forces in those countries but that Syria was a “different story.”

“The Syrian side is, I guess, uncontrolled by their side,” Kelly said. “We still have a certain level of foreign fighter movement.”

He added that the U.S. was helping construct a sand berm and ditches along the border.

“There hasn’t been much, in the way of a physical barrier, along that border for years,” Kelly said.

Hopefully the U.S. military can seal off the border with Syria and prevent terrorists from slipping into Iraq.

J-Post.com

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama reportedly told the top military commander in Iraq that some US forces should be pulled out of Iraq and deployed to Afghanistan when the two met in July in Baghdad.

At the July meeting, Petraeus did not disclose his opinion on moving troops from one war to the other, according to an article in the Sept. 8 edition of The New Yorker magazine. The Taliban-led insurgency has dramatically increased attacks on US and Afghan forces in recent months.

But Iraq war commander Gen. David Petraeus will soon be in a position to oversee such a move if President Bush decides to shift some forces.

Petraeus takes over US Central Command in September where he will have responsibility for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and the Middle East. In the meantime, he is expected to recommend a modest cut in troop levels in Iraq to the president in the next few weeks, a reflection of the improved security situation.

There are currently 15 combat brigades in Iraq and a total of 146,000 troops, including tens of thousands that perform support, rather than direct combat, functions.

So, a rookie Senator with no military experience feels obligated to give advice to a man that has spent his adult lifetime in the military serving his country and studying war? Obama, this is not a game of . This is real life and death. Obama, try not to make military command decisions in Afghanistan, and instead at least give thanks to troops in Afghanistan. As Scoop This posted last month, Obama snubbed troops in Afghanistan. Obama did not thank them, much less acknowledge them. But, snubbing troops has become the norm for Obama.

And yes, Obama, as a civilian, I know the difference between a brigade and a battalion.

Boston.com has Obama’s speech.

And it’s more of the same liberal crap! Let’s take a look at it:

“You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country. We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage.”

Applying for and receiving a home mortgage is a personal financial choice. Having a mortgage is not a requirement for financial success. In fact, it is a hinderance. A mortgage is a debt that has to be paid back with interest to a bank or financial institution. Having a home mortgage means that a homeowner borrows against his or her home, and if they cannot repay that loan back, they will lose their home. That is why so many people have foreclosed homes. Instead of taking personal responsibility, a conservative ideal, Democrats and pissed-off former homeowners have decided to blame Republicans for the foreclosure mess. It is not my fault if someone has lost their home. If Barack Obama wins the Presidency, and my taxes go up in order to “rescue” someone that has lost their home, I will not pay my taxes for the next 4 years. That is a promise I will keep.

“I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.”

What about the capital gains tax for people that decide to sell their homes? Or sell their businesses? Or sell stocks? Obama, you have said that you will raise the capital gains tax from 15% to 28%. Barack Obama lumps people that have a $250,000 net worth with millionaires. That alone proves Obama’s foolishness and inexperience in economics. If 28% of $250,000 on a home sale is taxed, that’s $70,000. If 28% of $100,000 on a home sale is taxed, that’s $28,000. If 28% of $50,000 on a apartment sale is taxed, that’s $14,000. $14,000! That’s real money no one can afford to lose, but they will, thanks to Obama’s tax plan.

“I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.”

Barack Obama has voted to raise taxes 54 times. And now he wants to cut taxes for people that make $75,000 or less? I don’t believe him. Obama has a 100% rating for progressive taxation “reform”.

“And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.”

How?

“As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves…”

Do you mean, our strategic oil reserve? Because I believe that is what you mean. That reserve is meant for use if there is a true crisis, such as nuclear war. What else, Obama?

“…invest in clean coal technology…”

John McCain is proposing the same. Next.

“…and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.”

Nuclear power is already safe and clean in the United States. It’s Iran nuclear energy “program” we have to worry about.

“I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.”

John McCain is proposing the same. And as a minority voter, since this Presidential race is clearly about race, I trust McCain’s lengthy record in the Senate than Obama’s paltry two years of Presidential campaigning. I trust McCain to implement his proposals. Obama, do you even know how to pass a legislative bill?

“We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans – have built, and we are to restore that legacy.”

The difference is that Roosevelt and Kennedy were National Security hawks. They opposed Nazism, fascism, and communism. Obama is a socialist dove, who, like Joe Biden, fumble’s military terminology. Need proof?

What does Obama know about supporting the troops, much less commanding them? In November 2007, Obama stated, “Surge strategy has made a difference in Iraq but failed.” What has exactly failed, Obama? Five American troops were killed last month. Violence in Iraq is down 90%. The Al-Anbar province in Iraq, once the capital of Al Qaeda, will be turned over to the Iraqi central government next month.

“I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.”

No, you mean you will quit and effectively declare defeat, Senator Obama.

“I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation.”

On this, Senator Obama, I believe you. I believe that you will sacrifice our national security for the sake of nuclear proliferation. In the next 52 seconds, Senator Obama, you will lose the election:

This video has received 3,235,737 views.

“And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.”

America has never lost that distinction, Senator Obama, no matter how much you and your fellow liberals love to proclaim.

Well, that’s not the headline. However, the headline is, “Exiting Iraq, Petraeus Says Gains Are Fragile.” The article, written by Dexter Filkins, is a proclamation that the “surge” of military personnel in early 2007, ordered by President Bush and supported by John McCain, has worked. Even though violence increased when the first phase of the surge was implemented, violent acts have steadily decreased in the past 12 months.

The surge, clearly, has worked, at least for now: violence, measured in the number of attacks against Americans and Iraqis each week, has dropped by 80 percent in the country since early 2007, according to figures the general provided. Civilian deaths, which peaked at more than 100 a day in late 2006, have also plunged. Car and suicide bombings, which stoked sectarian violence, have fallen from a total of 130 in March 2007 to fewer than 40 last month. In July, fewer Americans were killed in Iraq — 13 — than in any month since the war began.

Still, it’s too early to use the “V” word - victory. General Petraeus says the gains made in Iraq are fragile. The majority of the peace is being kept by 100,000 Sunni gunmen, who were former insurgents, on the Iraqi government payroll at a cost of $25 million per month. Also, General Patraeus refuses to discuss how many American troops are needed to make the fragile gains permanent.

On a personal note, my friend Marcus died this past April in Iraq. I have two cousins and nummerous friends fighting in Iraq. I have friends who have fought in Iraq. My friend Womack just arrived with his Army battalion in Iraq. They are the reason why we will soon be able to use the “V” word.

Perhaps one day Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama will admit that the surge has worked. Perhaps one day all three of these politicians will give credit to our troops for their victory in Iraq.

Hat Tip: Hot Air and The Jawa Report