Coming as no surprise to those who follow the events taking place in the Middle East, Iran has dismissed the August 31^st deadline for stopping the enrichment of uranium out of hand. The Iranian President did not even dignify the UN with a direct response or even a reference to the deadline in a speech yesterday. President Ahmadinejad has maintained his stance that Iran can and will pursue nuclear development and will neither be pressured by the UN nor anyone else.

"The Iranian nation will not succumb to bullying, invasion and the violation of its rights," Ahmadinejad said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi shrugged off the possibility of sanctions, telling state-run television that Iran "will find a way to avoid pressure eventually," Story

Now that the United Nations has been exposed, once again, as a toothless tiger, attention turns again to the United States and its allies. The diplomatic process has run its course and has reached a dead end. Perhaps its time to look at history and see what lessons can be learned from Allied leaders in WWII.

A close examination of the events taking place in the Middle East today paints a clear picture of what is taking place. The world is standing by watching diplomats bloviating endlessly on what pressure they believe they can bring to bear in Iran to get them to stop their nuclear development. Meanwhile, the Iranian President says time and again that he IS NOT GOING TO STOP AND WILL NOT BE PRESURED BY ANYONE.

It seems crystal clear that to rational people that Iran is singular in focus. They have all the oil they need to buy anything they want. They also know that with nuclear technology they will have leverage to use to get anything that they may want in the future. In short, there is nothing they want that the West can offer. They are willing to die in the quest to convert the world to Islam. What is it about this that does not register with the diplomats?

This brings the comparison to the world pre-WWII into perspective. Hitler was singular in focus and went about the process of attaining his goal. The world stood idly by as the German Nazi movement developed and built its strength in the 1930s. It wasn’t until Hitler had invaded his neighbors and slaughtered Jews across Europe that the Allies acted. Toward the end of the WWII it took a Special Forces team to take out the German heavy water development facility to enable the United States to beat the Germans in the race to develop the first nuclear weapon.

Predictably, the United Nations has begun its appeasement of Hezbollah by asking Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanese sea and Air ports. This is an affront to the Israelis as the United Nations has not implemented all the elements of the cease fire agreement and no attempts have been made to disarm Hezbollah. If the United Nations had its way, Israel would open the door to a flood of weapons to rearm Hezbollah terrorists and seal their own fate in the process.

This is a classic example of the diplomacy that has characterized the United Nations and demonstrates why it is not a viable world body. Along with having state supporters of terrorism on its Security and Human Rights councils, they have a long history of anti-Israeli inclinations in their policy making. Kofi Annan was in all his glory, as was Secretary Rice as they brokered a cease fire under UN resolution 1701. This, like all UN resolutions is not as good as the paper it is written on. Within weeks, the UN is attempting to change the terms of its own resolution.

Fortunately for Israel, their leadership has seen through this ploy to shift the terms of resolution to make it more favorable to Hezbollah. Despite having come under strong criticism from his own people for not being more heavy handed in the conflict with Hezbollah, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is demonstrating the resolve that Israel needs in this matter:

At a news conference after their meeting, Olmert rebuffed Annan, saying any relaxation of pressure on Lebanon's ports and airspace depended on the full implementation of U.N. resolution 1701, which governs the ceasefire with Hizbollah.

"The (resolution) is a fixed buffet and everything will be implemented, including the lifting of the blockade, as part of the entire implementation of the different articles," he said.

Olmert was equally firm when it came to suggestions from Annan that Israel should withdraw all its troops from southern Lebanon within "days or weeks," once up to 5,000 U.N.-backed peacekeepers are on the ground.  MyWay

Islamo-fascist terrorists have become masters of public relations in recent years. Their ability to manipulate the media and the United Nations has led to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas gaining an unbelievable level of credibility. They are reaching levels of government never attained by terrorist groups before and given new meaning to “State Sponsors” of terrorism. Soon they will not only be the sponsors, they will be the states themselves.

For those of you old enough to remember, this sounds like a broken record; in the parlance of today I suppose it would be a skipping CD. Iran says, yet again, that it will not suspend uranium enrichment. This time he added that he wouldn’t even do it if UN Secretary General Kofi Annan asked him to on his upcoming visit. Apparently the United Nations has not gotten the message and is sending the venerable Secretary General to negotiate in person.

"The U.S. and Britain are the source of many tensions," Ahmadinejad said at a news conference. "At the Security Council, where they have to protect security, they enjoy the veto right. If anybody confronts them, there is no place to take complaints to.

"This (veto right) is the source of problems of the world. ... It is an insult to the dignity, independence, freedom and sovereignty of nations," he said.

Ahmadinejad rejected any suspension of enrichment, even if U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked for it during an upcoming visit to Iran. Story

The thought of Kofi Anan going to Iran to try to negotiate with the Iranian President brings back memories of controversy surrounding under the table deals with former Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein. What could Kofi Anan possibly offer a man who embraces death in the name of Islam as an honor? There are no concessions that could possibly appeal to this lunatic. Iranian President Ahmadinejad has his hand on the faucet of one of the world’s largest oil supplies and can afford anything he wants, including buying time to build his nuclear arsenal.

We are two days away from the latest United Nations deadline of August 31^st. The Iranian President knows from watching the UN over the years that there is no substantial penalty for ignoring their resolutions. The United Nations will come back next month with yet another resolution with a meaningless deadline that will be dismissed out of hand. This insane puppet show will continue until Iran has the nuclear weapons they seek and not before unless someone other than the UN steps in and stops them.

Kofi Anan’s trip to Iran will doubtlessly draw massive media attention showing that he is “doing everything possible” to work with Ahmadinejad. It would not surprise me to see Chiraq and Putin join him on this trip since they are all working in their own self interest. The amazing element here is that the UN, France, and Russia do not realize that once Iran goes nuclear, ALL non Islamic nations will be considered infidels and under the table deals will mean nothing as they work to convert the world by coercion.

Today is the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The media is in all its glory as it rehashes what they perceive as the failure of the Bush administration. In the majority of the coverage there is one element lacking; it is the responsibility of State and local government to be the first responders and it falls to them to call for federal help. The contrast between Mississippi (the state that took the direct hit of Katrina) and Louisiana (whose complete failure of preparation and response has been blamed on Bush) can be measured in terms of progress a year later.

As we mark the anniversary of the devastation reeked by hurricane Katrina we can witness the way Florida is handling hurricane Ernesto. Governor Bush has issued a state of emergency and instituted mandatory evacuations days in advance; that’s right, days in advance. He has followed the National Hurricane Center projections and is well on his way to have the projected path clear of potential victims. As a matter of fact, each year Florida gets hit with anywhere from 1-4 hurricanes and State and Local government are well prepared before the storms hit.

If we look back at Katrina, a year ago, it is a tale of two states; we see how Governor Blanco(D) and Mayor Nagin(D) dropped the ball of preparedness and Mississippi Governor Barber(R) was a pillar of strength. Although barely reported by the media at the time, President Bush was urging Governor Blanco to evacuate New Orleans in the 48 hours prior (this should have already been done). Part of the New Orleans emergency evacuation plan was to use public school buses to get people with mobility issues out ahead of the storm (apparently Mayor Nagin never read this section of the emergency action plan as he left the buses parked under water) 

The state of Mississippi is light years ahead of New Orleans in repairing a mere 90,000 square miles of devastation. When Mayor Nagin cried about keeping New Orleans a chocolate city he took a swipe at the people who were willing to come and work to rebuild his city and make it home. During the same period of time, Mississippi has been cleaning up and rebuilding; making tremendous progress without blaming President Bush and FEMA. While New Orleans continues to founder under inept leadership, Mississippi has issued the following progress report:

In August 2005, the unprecedented devastation wrought by

Hurricane Katrina dealt Mississippi a terrible blow. Affecting over

90,000 square miles of the Gulf Coast region, the storm

destroyed communities, left thousands homeless, and wiped

away infrastructure, businesses, and schools. In response to this

disaster, Governor Barbour set in motion a massive recovery and

rebuilding effort, involving thousands of citizens and individuals

from the public and private sectors. Biloxi One Year Later

How Mayor Nagin got reelected escapes reason. His biggest contribution (negative of course) to New Orleans came as he criticized New York for still having a hole in the ground where the World Trade Center once stood. This man’s incompetence shows no bounds; perhaps he should consider a career at the United Nations.

Iran has ramped up its arsenal and demonstrated it during war games in the Persian Gulf this weekend. On Sunday, the Iranians successfully tested a missile fired form a submarine to surface target. This is clearly an indication that they are very serious about getting and keeping nuclear power; it is also an ominous sign for Israel as they witness further escalation of Iran’s military prowess.

Iran test fired a new submarine-to-surface missile during war games in the Persian Gulf on Sunday, a show of military might amid a standoff with the West over its nuclear activities. A brief video clip showed the long-range missile, called Thaqeb, or Saturn, exiting the water and hitting a target on the water's surface within less than a mile. The test came as part of large-scale military exercises that began Aug. 19.

"The army successfully test fired a top speed long-range sub-to-surface missile off the Persian Gulf," the navy commander, Gen. Sajjad Kouchaki, said on state-run television. Story

This test should send a clear message to the bumbling fools at the United Nations that Iran is paying lip service and is doing exactly what they want and on their own schedule. It escapes me how high ranking members of the global diplomatic community can blindly move forward with any attempts at negotiating with Iran. Their President is a loose cannon, and there is no indication that there is anyone in Iran with the ability to rein him in.

Let’s take stock of what we have seen from Iran in recent months:

· Military show of strength through open war games over the past week.

· Submarine to surface missile launch - successful

· Shab-3 solid fuel test - successful

· Development of multiple missiles for their arsenal

· Missile range expanded to 1200 miles – can reach Israel

· Nuclear development progressing – how far non one knows

These are but a few of the recent developments on upgrading their military. It is also becoming apparent that their meteoric increase in strength is not the result of internal development. They appear to be getting assistance from outside sources, possibly China and Russia. Interestingly, Russia (along with France) was opposed to economic sanctions against Iran. Direct correlation is not yet available, but clearly someone is acting out their own agenda in helping Iran and manipulation of the United Nations is one of their greatest tools.

The UN apparently does not seem to be able to put Iran’s exponential increase in military power into perspective. They seem content in taking the bait each time it is offered and dragging out negotiations that do nothing more than buy Iran time until they are ready to make their power play against the infidels. How many times will Iran taunt the world before the world responds with other than appeasement?

I want to start about by thanking God for the safe return of the Fox journalists kidnapped in Gaza. They have undergone the ultimate ordeal for a journalist and survived to talk about it. The story they tell is very revealing about the enemy we face in islamo-fascism.

It has been widely discussed that the driving force of islamo-fascist terror is to convert the world to Islam and create a world wide caliphate. The objective of this mass conversion is to prepare for the coming of the 12^th Imam and convert all the people of the world. This was made crystal clear when the Fox journalists told the story of their capture and subsequent release:

Both of the men were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, Centanni said.

"We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint," Centanni told FOX News. "Don't get me wrong here. I have the highest respect for Islam, and I learned a lot of good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on."

Centanni's brother, Ken, spoke to FOX News directly after the news was released. Fox

It would be beyond the pale to question the actions of the captured reporters being forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint. What we can glean from their experience is an understanding of the motivation of their captors. By forcing them to convert to Islam, they appeared to fulfill what they believe to be a higher calling.

This is what we can expect in the future. The forces of islamo-fascist terror are focused on the forced conversion of all “infidels” to Islam. Only compliance with this demand will appease them. No negotiations, or economic sanctions will satisfy these terrorists, only compliance with their corrupted interpretation of the Islamic religion.

With the August 31^st deadline for Iran to cease its nuclear development activities a mere 6 days away, the United Nations has been scrambling to come up with leverage to influence the rogue nation. In addition to the Iranian response of thumbing its nose at the UN and its latest resolution, the world body now has predictably encountered obstacles within its own ranks. As if acting on cue, Russia has come out and rejected any talk of UN sanctions against Iran. This was predictable as was the French response of warning against any conflict with Iran. Both reactions were the basis for the entry on this blog titled Iranian Response No Surprise in which I discussed Russia and France’s penchant for circumventing the UN in their own self interest. Their actions today further prove the point that the United Nations is a toothless tiger and has no muscle left. MyWay is reporting:

Russia on Friday rejected any talk for now of sanctions against Iran and France warned against conflict with Tehran, raising doubt whether it will face swift penalties for not halting nuclear work by an August 31 deadline. MyWay

In all fairness to the French, their fearless leader President Jacques Chirac did pledge 2000 troops to the peace keeping effort. Please note that the UN force that did such a spectacularly inept job of policing southern Lebanon since Israel’s withdrawal in 2000 had a French general in command. Having witnessed the UN’s military prowess under French leadership, the Israelis must surely be questioning the logic behind putting more Frenchmen on their border. Chiraq is not putting troops in southern Lebanon to keep the peace; they are doing it to keep an eye on Israel and to protect their interests in Iran.

Sure, this story is an overt conspiracy theory; but read on. In addition to putting 2000 of his own troops on the border to watch Israel, French President Chiraq has told the United Nations that its proposal to put a force of 15,000 troops on the border is excessive:

After pledging 2,000 troops to a peacekeeping force for southern Lebanon, French President Jacques Chirac said Friday he thought 15,000 more than the territory requires.

"My feeling is that the figure that was put forward at the beginning of discussions — 15,000 for a reinforced UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) — was a figure that was quite excessive," he said in Paris. Story

Naturally anyone with a calculator can see that if the total number of UN troops goes down while the number of French troops remains the same, the percentage of French control over southern Lebanon increases. Throw in the story mentioned above that France has warned against conflict with Iran and the puzzle pieces start falling into place. France is clearly positioning itself to protect Iran by keeping an eye on Israel and becoming an obstacle to UN sanctions. Is it a conspiracy theory? Yes it is, but these are the French; who reaped the benefits of the Iraq Oil for Food scandal.

As this story continues to develop, we have been notified that UN Secretary General Kofi Anan has officially asked France to lead the UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon. It would not be a surprise to find out that this fit perfectly into Frances template for the Middle East. Kofi Anan has obviously cast aside the failure of the French General who headed up the UNIFIL forces from 2000 – 2006 to keep Hezbollah from arming itself in preparation for its latest confrontation with Israel. He has decided that France is the best choice to lead the new UNIFIL force that will have the same responsibility. He has, once again demonstrated that his lack of judgment plays into the hands of the French at the expense of Israel:

"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," Annan said, adding that he hoped the force would be able to deploy in days, not weeks.

He said he asked France — which dramatically increased its pledged contribution to 2,000 troops late Thursday — to lead the force until February 2007.

The peacekeeping force will be "strong, credible and robust," Annan said. Story

As the collective brain trust at the United Nations continues to run in place as Iran moves ahead, there is one Nation that sees diplomatic efforts for the window dressing that they are. Iran built up the world’s expectations as it prepared its response to the latest toothless resolution handed down by the UN; their response was to thumb their nose at the world and continue doing what they wish.

Immediately there was an onslaught of political bloviating about economic sanctions and how the community of nations would pressure Iran to bend to its will. I pointed out yesterday in Iranian Response No Surprise the following:

Naturally the response of the United Nations will be economic sanctions. We all saw how well those worked on Saddam Hussein; his people suffered and he prospered. Economic sanctions against Iran could have the result of driving Ahmadinejad to close the Straits of Hormuz; cutting off access to one of the largest oil supplies in the world. Who would suffer the most from economic sanctions, Iran or the members of the United Nations? Iranian Response No Surprise

Already there is a softening of the rhetoric surrounding the proposed economic sanctions. The deal makers are working behind the scenes to strike a compromise; they don’t realize that Iran is singular in its focus on this issue. There is nothing the world can give them that has the bargaining power of a nuclear arsenal. Nations dependent on oil don’t have the leverage to impose economic sanctions against one of the world’s leading oil producing nations. Nobody has stepped up to grab the bull by the horns, and it may fall to the little nation in the Holy Land to take matters into her own hands.

No nation stands to loose as much as Israel from Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. They are well within range of their missiles and the raving lunatic that acts as the president of Iran openly tells the world he will wipe Israel out the first chance he gets. Are the Israelis to be expected to sit and wait for the shell game at the UN to play out; knowing only too well that the UN has shown an anti-Semitic tilt in its policies? It appears that they may not be content to sit and wait for their own destruction:

"The Iranians know the world will do nothing," he said. "This is similar to the world's attempts to appease Hitler in the 1930s - they are trying to feed the beast."

He said there was a need to understand that "when push comes to shove," Israel would have to be prepared to "slow down" the Iranian nuclear threat by itself. Jerusalem Post

If they decide to take preemptive action, I sincerely pray that the United States will stand by her. A move against Iran is coming; the only question is whether or not Israel will have to go in alone. We are united in the war on Islamo-fascism and must work together to confront the greatest evil of our day.

Surprising no-one, Iran’s response to the United Nations has been regarded as “ambiguous and evasive”. If anyone thought that the rogue Nation would just lie down and comply with UN resolution 1696, they just saw those very hopes dashed. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been very open about his desire to be the next nuclear power and is intent on accomplishing his goal.

Sources in the United Nations later described the Iranian response as "ambiguous and evasive." The sources said the Iranians are seeking to renew negotiations but nevertheless refuse to halt enriching uranium. They also said Iran failed to respond to several aspects of the nuclear package.Story

While president Ahmadinejad is arguably less than rational on many issues, he is very sharp when it comes to media manipulation. He has displayed the ability to defy the world while making the incompetent brain trust of the UN work double time to prepare a resolution that is to his liking! They do not seem to want to accept the fact that he is going to work on his nuclear program until he has the weaponry he desires, and then he will use it as he sees fit.

The threat of mutually assured destruction will not work with a man who believes he has been chosen by divine providence to prepare a global caliphate. To him death while pursuing this goal is an honor that will earn him the highest place in paradise. His cat and mouse game with the United Nations serves his purpose of buying time.

Naturally the response of the United Nations will be economic sanctions. We all saw how well those worked on Saddam Hussein; his people suffered and he prospered. Economic sanctions against Iran could have the result of driving Ahmadinejad to close the Straits of Hormuz; cutting off access to one of the largest oil supplies in the world. Who would suffer the most from economic sanctions, Iran or the members of the United Nations?

The answer to this question is quite simple; it will be the members of the United Nations. The exceptions, of course, would be France, Russia, and China. They all circumvented the UN sanctions against Iraq and can be expected to do the same again. All three nations have shown that they have their own agenda and do not discriminate when it comes to buying their oil. In the end, the Straits of Hormuz may become a battle ground for the flow of oil; the liberals will finally be correct in saying we went to war for oil.

This ultimate conflict could also include and Iran with nuclear weapons and willing to use them. Perhaps preemptive action is the best course of action. The United States and Israel could stop Iranian nuclear development dead in its tracks. It would have to be done decisively and with full force; no politically correct “tactical” war. They could stop worrying about the press and break out the Bunker Busters and Daisy Cutters; hit them with everything in the arsenal. Or, they can continue to craft resolutions and impose toothless sanctions until Iran closes the Straits of Hormuz.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had to feel a little let down as the “prophecies” did not come to pass. There was no end of days and, more importantly, no end of Israel. Perhaps this will give some of the lemmings following this lunatic a measure of skepticism about his credibility as the “chosen one” to prepare the way for the coming of the 12^th Imam.

The highlight of August 22^nd was that Iran actually did, finally, give their response to the United Nations as pertains to its nuclear program. If you recall, the much vaunted Security Council had set a deadline of August 31^st for Iran to stop its nuclear development program. The Iranian President told the UN that they would receive his answer on August 22^nd sparking widespread speculation as to the significance of this date. In the end it was only the date he gave his response to the UN.

Now, in its bumbling fashion, the impotent United Nations is going over the Iranian response so that it can prepare its own response. This will undoubtedly result in another resolution that will be dismissed out of hand by Iran and the chess game will proceed; all while Iran continues to develop nuclear technology. The United Nations is being played as the foolish world body that it is and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is pulling the strings. It is pitiful.

At a time when the Islamic world is pining for the return of the 12th Imam and the end of days, Christianity may have a sacred piece of history at hand. Pope Benedict XVI is going to the Abruzzo region of Italy where the locals believe they have the veil that Veronica used to wipe the face of Jesus during his Passion. The British paper The Daily Mail has the following story:

A small piece of cloth bearing an eerily detailed image of a bearded man with a bruised face is to be the subject of a papal pilgrimage next week.

Pope Benedict XVI will journey to a remote monastery in the Abruzzo region east of Rome next Friday to visit the mysterious icon, said to show the face of Christ. Story

It is an interesting contrast in religion as Islam practices acts of barbarism in the name of God while Christians take hope from a piece of cloth that could have actually touched the face of Jesus. Note that no Christians are killing each other over this, no riots are taking place in the streets, and no machine guns are being fired into the air. The Pope is simply making a pilgrimage to view the veil. It is a contrast of a religion of death and a religion of everlasting life through Jesus Christ.

This certainly looks familiar; Iran has turned UN inspectors away from one of its underground nuclear sites today. As we saw during Saddam Hussein’s tenure in Iraq, the United Nations is impotent and its inspectors pawns in an elaborate chess game. Iran has made it clear that they are moving forward with their nuclear program and have openly stated that they will not bow to the UN.

Iran has turned away U.N. inspectors wanting to examine its underground nuclear site in an apparent violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty, diplomats and U.N. officials said Monday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the information, told The Associated Press that Iran's unprecedented refusal to allow access to the facility at Natanz could seriously hamper international efforts to ensure that Tehran is not trying to make nuclear weapons. Story

Apparently the only ones who believe that the machinations of the UN and Secretary of State Rice are going to accomplish anything are the nations of the West. How many times did Iraq turn away UN inspectors while brokering an under the table oil for food deal? Perhaps Iran is hoping to work out a similar arrangement; but the real motivation for their actions is far more frightening.

Iran wants to become the nuclear power in the Middle East and no amount of negotiating or UN inspectors is about to deter them. They hold the leverage of oil; with the tree hugging liberal establishment preventing the United States from harvesting its own oil resources, Iran knows that threatened sanctions mean little to them. They can easily sell their oil to China, France and Russia, and, just as easily, find back alley ways to sell it to the United States. Kofi Anan is merely going through the motions as he sends his inspectors to knock on the door, be told to go away, and then leave.

For almost two decades the world has seen the familiar game played out. The mighty UN sends its inspectors in to check a rogue nation’s activities only to be turned away. What leverage do the inspectors have? Sanctions are meaningless in a world full of profiteers willing to sell their soul to make a buck. There is no end to the willingness of nations to circumvent, or in some cases work through, the UN to achieve their financial dreams at the expense of the free world. The days of the United Nations as a viable world body have come and gone. They are ready to be filed away next to the League of Nations as another relic that has outlived its usefulness. The UN quite possibly does more harm than good by generating false hopes among the lemmings of the Left and never backing up its resolutions.

If there has been one person in the United States who has shown that he understands that Iraq is but one front in the war on Islamo-fascist terrorists, it is President Bush. It is for this reason that I implore the President to abandon the politically correct prosecution of the fighting in Iraq and send more troops. The time has come to implement the use of superior force in Iraq and put an end to the “sectarian violence” that is growing daily.

It is clear to everyone that Iraqis are not ready to take care of their own affairs. Divisive leaders like Muqtada al-Sadr have fueled the violence in Iraq as have foreign fighters streaming over the borders in their quest to outlast the United States. Anyone watching the left wing media spin machine on satellite, can see the propoganda that is playing on American televisions, and it conveys the message that the United States does not have the stomach for a protracted battle. In short, they believe that they can out last our will.

President Bush should send in a dominating force and do it immediately. The insurgency should be crushed quickly and decisively and leaders of the conflict such as Muqtada al-Sadr dealt with expeditiously. Once this battle is won, their will be no doubt about American resolve and give us a powerful position on the Iranian border. Strategically it is the right move. “Waiting for the generals to ask for more troops” is not getting us anywhere. They probably are reluctant to ask because they know how it will play in the media.

It is time for the Commander in Chief to step up and Command! Send in a dominating force, not 3,000 troops moved from another part of Iraq; unleash the full power of the American military, and stop walking on egg shells in fear of the media. If there is one constant in the media these days is that the media will attack every move the Bush Administration makes; they can do no right. As that is the case Mr. President, do the right thing and Win Iraq and forget about the media; the American people see their bias more than you know.

When you see polls that Americans are not satisfied with the handling of Iraq, you must understand that the question is vague. Many Americans are not satisfied because we have not fought this war with the proper amount of force. Look at the panels being convened in Israel for example. Their people are angry that they did not fight Lebanon with enough force, and handed Hezbollah a moral victory. They fought Lebanon in a similar way to how we have handled Iraq. They did not fight in typical Israeli fashion, but looked as if they were following the American template.

When you are facing an enemy who celebrates death as the islamo-fascists do, you can not win by fighting delicately. Look at history, the Japanese were willing to fight to the death until Truman struck the decisive blow. How many lives did he save by hitting Hiroshima and Nagasaki? There were many civilian casualties, but hundreds of thousands of lives were saved.

You do not win by tiptoeing through the political minefield or pandering to the media. You strike hard and fast and without hesitation. Let superior force win over the forces of islamo-fascist terror or their confidence will continue to build. They do not fear death, they embrace it. If you negotiate with them or turn to the UN they se the United States as weak. Take the gloves off and fight this war as a war!

OK, admittedly, the concern over August 22^nd is a paranoid response to fear mongering on the part of Iran. In true American fashion we should all be saying that if we fear that date the “terrorists win”. During the Cold War the threat of mutually assured destruction kept the opposing, yet rational, forces of the USSR and the USA from engaging in nuclear war. Times have changed and the islamo-fascist forces of Iran and its satellites believe that death in conquest of the world in the name of Islam is the pinnacle of their spiritual fulfillment. In other words, they can not be expected to behave rationally.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has openly declared that it intends to wipe Israel off the face of the earth in preparation of the coming of the 12^th Imam; it has also openly deified the world’s demands that it cease developing nuclear technology:

Iran said on Sunday it would not suspend uranium enrichment, ruling out the main demand in a nuclear package backed by six world powers that aims to allay Western fears Tehran is seeking to build atomic bombs.

Iran says it will formally respond by Tuesday to proposals made by the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. The six have offered incentives for Iran to suspend enrichment, a process that has both military and civilian uses. Story

For those of you keeping score, Tuesday just happens to be August 22^nd. In my entry titled Iran & August 22^nd, I spotlighted an OpEd by renowned Islamic Scholar Bernard Lewis (professor emeritus at Princeton) in which he detailed the significance of this date for radical Islamic forces who believe that Armageddon is at hand.

What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). August 22

The thought of nuclear technology in the hands of a mad man like the Iranian President should give the world pause, but it does not. They scramble in vain because they believe that they will succeed in Negotiating with Terrorists. Meanwhile, Iran continues to move forward with its plans to fulfill their misguided interpretation of end f time prophecies:

Iran test-fired 10 surface-to-surface short-range missiles on Sunday, a day after it launched a series of large-scale military exercises throughout the country, state-run television reported. The Saegheh missile had a range of between 50 and 150 miles, the report said. It did not specify whether the missile was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but it was not believed to be.

State-run television said the missile was built based on domestic know-how, although outside experts say much of the country's missile technology originated from other countries.

Iran said it launched the new military exercises Saturday to introduce a new defensive doctrine. Story

Now, enter the United Nations, the impotent world body who has embroiled in scandal and has included questionable nations to its security council. They are so in bed with the nations that sponsor the islamo-fascist forces that they can hardly be objective in their actions. Their fearlessly inept leader Kofi Annan is always good for a sound bite or photo op to show his good intentions, but there is never any effort made to back up the rhetoric. Take for example the UN peace keepers that blindly sat on the Lebanese border, keeping the peace, while Hezbollah built up for the past six years preparing for its most reason strike on Israel. Now Secretary General Kofi Annan has come out with a rousing display of diplomatic rhetoric to show that he wishes that Iran would please comply with its resolution:

In a "communication" to the Iranian government released by Annan's office Sunday, the secretary-general says:

"I appeal to the government of Iran to seize this historic opportunity ... Iran's reply, I trust will be positive."

Annan was referring to a council resolution granting Iran an August 31 deadline to halt any uranium reprocessing activities. Story

Again, remember that Iran has said that it sill give its answer to the UN on Tuesday, August 22^nd. No need for Kofi Annan to hold his breath for the meaningless deadline of August 31^st, Iran will let the world know a full 9 days before facing the “wrath” of the blue helmets.

This could prove to be an interesting week. One of a handful of people who has shown the resolve to confront islamo-fascist terror, President Bush will be fighting the liberal judge, appointed in 1979 by Jimmy Carter, who has declared the NSA domestic surveillance program unconstitutional. The House and the Senate are on break until after Labor Day, and the clock is ticking in the mind of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The British stalwart ally, Tony Blair (if only we had liberals like him in this country) has been working tirelessly to disrupt terrorist plots aimed at American airline companies. Will their efforts have been enough as Tuesday looms? Hopefully the Bush administration is not letting the partisan efforts of a liberal judge in Detroit to neuter this Nations ability to defend itself. I suppose our duty as Americans is to blindly go about our business because if we take any steps to protect ourselves against lunatic terrorists we are, in effect, “letting the terrorists win”. Yeah, right.

Once again liberals show that they are weak on defense. A federal judge, appointed by Jimmy Carter in 1979 has ruled that the NSA surveillance program is unconstitutional; thereby potentially opening the door for terrorists abroad to communicate freely with their sleepers in the United States. This reinforces the need for reigning in the runaway activist judiciary in this country before it begins to cost us American lives at home.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. NewsMax

It is clear that the fact that this is an election year has not impacted the thinking of the liberal establishment in this country. This judge has attempted to neuter on of our Nation’s most effective tools for stopping terrorism here in the United States. Prominent politicians joined hands with the ACLU to cheer at the weakening of our National defense:

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and other leading Democrats hailed the ruling as a welcome check on the Bush administration. The decision shows that "no one is above the law," Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero called the decision "another nail in the coffin" of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism strategies. "The judge very clearly points out that this, at its core, is about presidential powers," he said. Washington Post

Voters this November have a very serious decision to make as they go to the polls; vote R- resolute defense of this Nation, or vote D-for defenseless. National defense is at the forefront of this year’s mid-term election. The radical peaceniks of the Left have taken control of the Democrat Party and traditional, rational Democrats like Joe Liberman have been cast aside. There is no room in the party they now control for any candidate that is strong on National Defense! All Americans should take note of the terrorists that have been stopped in recent days and think about what other plans may be in the works and how they can be stopped with our President and our security services being tied down by liberal judges. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had the following to say:

"I wake up every morning, I look at the threat assessment, and we are on it, on those threats against the United States," he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Now at the end of the day, many of those threats have washed out. Many of them are nothing, but you see from the plots that we have an enemy that is very smart, very persistent and they are very determined.". . .

"We are constantly looking to see if our tools are efficient involving a major threat . . . We have a Constitution that we have to honor. We will continue to talk to our friends and allies . . . NewsMax

The people who are in charge of this Nations defense and our internal security are working tirelessly to keep us safe from islamo-fascist terror. They need every tool that they can come up with to stop radicals from killing Americans here in the United States. Where is the logic in tying their hands and making us vulnerable to terrorists? Does the Left not realize the impact their myopic attack on the Bush administration can have on this Nation as a whole? Do they ever care? The election in November is of paramount importance to National Security. Congress may need to declare war on islamo-fascist terrorists to make the President’s war powers valid to activist judges. This can only be accomplished before the election or with a continuing Republican majority after the election. Vote R- resolute defense of this Nation, or vote D-for defenseless.