Posted on 10/29/2004 6:29:19 PM PDT by tsmith130
I've never understood the Kerry campaign's decision to make Al Qaqaa--that is, an attack on the competence of the U.S. Army, based on essentially no evidence--the centerpiece of the last week of the campaign. On the merits, the issue has fizzled. We now know (although it has not been widely reported) that around half of the explosives in question were surreptitiously removed from the site by Saddam Hussein prior to January 2003; this is acknowledged in the IAEA report of that date. We also know that American troops secured the area starting on April 3, 2003, and thereafter it is hard to see how 40 truckloads of explosives could have been spirited away, unbeknownst to the soldiers stationed there.
We got an email today from a member of the 101st Airborne who said that he was at Al Qaqaa from April 10 through May 18, living in the bunkers there, and throughout that time, no munitions were driven away by terrorists. "I was there!" he wrote. No doubt there are another 100 or more soldiers who can say the same thing.
The famous video taken by local TV station KSTP is almost laughable. It was filmed on April 18; it shows soldiers inspecting and opening certain containers; but those containers are irrelevant, as they are not the ones suspected of containing the RDX and HMX at issue. The only possibly relevant footage--we still don't have confirmation of where the KSTP film was shot--shows the outside of a building with a seal on the door. Neither the troops nor the reporters broke the seal and entered the building, so we have no idea whatsoever what was inside. It is entirely possible that the RDX and HMX were already gone at that time; it is equally possible--assuming this is the right building--that they were there, but were destroyed by Captain Pearson's unit shortly thereafter. The video, in short, tells us nothing at all.
Despite the complete lack of any evidence to support their position, Kerry and his die-hard backers continue to try to make an issue out of the Al Qaqaa "mystery." Today, a Bush rally in Manchester, N.H. was apparently infiltrated by Kerry supporters with signs that spelled out "386 tons."
I'm not sure where they got that number, but, in any event, is this lame, or what? If you put aside everything we know about Al Qaqaa and pretend that our armed forces inadvertently allowed 377 tons of explosives to be trucked away from that facility, it would represent less than one-tenth of one percent of the munitions that have been secured and destroyed (or are on the way to being destroyed) in Iraq. Who on God's green earth convinced Kerry that it was a good idea to insult our troops over a success rate--at worst--of more than 99.9%?
I don't see how a campaign this mindless can possibly succeed.
Kerry not only rides a slow horse, it's the short one, too (c8
They connected the dots in 1998 but Senator Kerry and MSM can't seem to connect the dots in 2004.
Here is an easy to read chart of what the media was saying pre-911 (and after): Connect the Dots...Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.
Lots of facts and quotes about the president-wannabe at the John F. Kerry Timeline.
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What I love most about FR...
...somebody always gets the joke! (c8
the KSTP guys were also with 5th Batt. Aviation according to what one of the guys said yesterday on local KSTP radio.
Aviation units don't go around doing EOD or infantry stuff like blowing up weapons caches.
Nice try sKerry.
What I don't get is,if these weapons were so dangerous, then doesn't that rule out the whole Democratic party line of "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time"? This is so transparent. Kerry is running around screaming we didn't secure WMD's, even though we shouldn't have gone into Iraq cause there were no WMD"S Help? where is the logic here?
Le Kerri's horse is dead.
I dont understand! How can a JackAss ride a Horse?????
IMHO, it is....
Keeping in mind that we live in a very dangerous world with people who want to kill us simply because we are Americans, and keeping in mind that John Kerry has slammed the United States military, not once, but twice, and keeping in mind that we have an all volunteer military, 78% which loathe Kerry, and will probably exit the military if he is elected, John Kerry will have no choice but to re-implement the draft.
This was definitely a losing issue for the Kerry campaign. I suspect that many voters heard "Al Qaqaa" which is similar to "Al Quaeda" and made the connection that Saddam was in alliance with Osama. Also, with the IAEA (atomic) being mentioned in these stories that leaves the impression with voters not really paying attention that Saddam may have had nuclear weapons. In both cases it can only benefit Bush.
El Kaka has a nice ring to it, too.
you know, kerry and the demon attack iraq " theme" has just been worn out. they got their big bump way too early - they shot their cookies prematurely. now, when people hear the criticism of bush on iraq, they are numb to it. we also can't forget our good friend dan rather, who has helped bush in so many ways. once rather was busted passing the fraudlent scoop, it backlashed. made it look like everytime the media ran any story, they were out to get him. which we all know - they are. then another "huge" scoop gets exposed as pure crap. people are flocking to the internet, away from twisted partisan papers and their brethern in the television and movie industry. as we look back over how bush won this election, we will remember the part freepers played to bring down a corrupt media, long overdue for a real good asswhipping. bush wins this at 55%.
You are so right (correct). I was an early reader of Drudge, which was a good beginning. I caught onto the blogs from FR. Then Rather happened. That was deliriously fun. The men who have served in the military and other mature men despise the mainstream media. The college kids mostly like and respect Bush. I try to introduce people to blogs and FR whenever I can. My favorite blogs are Captain's Quarters and Powerline. Hewitt is great. So is Little Green Footballs. Mainstream newspapers are so dead that people say on talk radio, "You subscribe to that paper?!" That has a good sound to it.
Hats off to all Freepers who paved the way, especially our noble Founder Jim Robinson.
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