Pearl Harbor and USS Oklahoma survivor George A, Smith salutes
during the commemoration ceremony for the 66th anniversary
of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii Friday, Dec. 7, 2007.
Posted on 12/07/2007 6:40:49 PM PST by silent_jonny
President Bush met today with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in the Oval Office. (Transcript)
Vice President Cheney spoke to the Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. (Transcript)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attended a meeting of NATO foreign ministers today in Brussels, Belgium.
And Secretary of Defense Robert Gates attended the opening ceremony of the IISS conference in Manama, Bahrain. He is scheduled to speak at the conference on Saturday.
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island 
Quote of the Day:
Vice President Cheney: (speaking to the VFW) I'm pleased to be in your company today, and I bring respect and good wishes from the President of the United States, George W. Bush. (Applause.)… Here at home, there is still debate about our mission in Iraq. Yet if there's one thing that can unite all Americans, it should be this: The people of our military should be given all the support, all the resources, and all the equipment they need to do the job we ask them to do for all of us. (Applause.)
There was a time not long ago when we had that kind of unity. Yet in the year 2007, we've seen something very different. Some members of Congress, in an effort to undermine the mission in Iraq, have decided to stop supporting the soldiers themselves …
I don't believe the people of the nation want Congress to use defense appropriations as a bargaining chip in some kind of political debate. (Applause.) The men and women of the Armed Forces are not serving as Republicans, they're not serving as Democrats. They're serving as Americans who love their country and who have volunteered to defend it. Their care and protection should be a bipartisan national priority, not a means for anyone to score political points.
Photo of the Day:
President Bush makes a statement to reporters during his meeting with Ian Paisley, Ireland's first minister, and Martin McGuinness, Ireland's first deputy minister, Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington
Hi.
How are you doing?
When I think of the oil that still bubbles every few minutes up from the USS Arizona- just like clockwork- I know there is a God and the slain crewmembers are in a better place.
That oil bubble every few minutes for 66 years is no coincidence. imo
Great picture of that survivor.
Vice President Cheney: It's always a pleasure to be in Kansas City, a place I've visited many times over the years. When I come here I always think of one of my predecessors as Vice President, who also served as our 33rd President -- Harry S. Truman. He's credited, of course, for many words of wisdom, including the advice that "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." (Laughter.) Just so you'll know, I've got two of them. (Laughter.) …Like all those who have lived in this area over many decades, Harry Truman was quite familiar with this memorial where we gather today. It's been here since the 1920s, and it's a fine tribute to all the Americans who served in the First World War …
Today, of course, is a special day of remembrance for the United States because it's the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I'm told we have a Pearl Harbor survivor with us this afternoon -- a Navy Veteran, LeMarr Clifton. Welcome, sir. (Applause.)
Good evening!
Thanks for the ping
Re post #9: VP Cheney w/the huge flag backdrop looks like George C. Scott playing General Patton! It was imo Scott’s finest role.
With the news today that the CIA destroyed some interrogation tapes, the Democrats again demonstrated that they will move heaven and earth to protect a terrorist’s “rights”, but when it comes to something important—like say funding our own troops—they seem less than interested. This disparity was reflected in the questions asked at today’s press briefing
Q Was there any White House involvement in approving or commenting upon their destruction?Q There was no step short of destruction of the tape that would address these concerns?
Q And if it's so defensible, then why destroy any part of it?
Q Are you urging the Attorney General to look into it?
Q Can you elaborate on what the role of the White House Counsel's Office is in this?
Q Senator Durbin is calling for Justice to investigate …
Q Dana, is this something that you would characterize the President's feeling about -- is this something that's sort of seen as understandable, or is this something that you're embarrassed about?
Dana: I would say that the President supports General Hayden. General Hayden made a statement yesterday to his employees in which he said that the decision was made by the agency, it was made in consultation with the agency's lawyers. And he said -- and I quote -- that "the tapes posed a serious security risk and were they ever to leak, they would permit identification of your CIA colleagues who had served in the program, exposing them and their families to retaliation from al Qaeda and its sympathizers."
Number of questions about the CIA tapes/fretting about terrorists' rights: 35
Number of questions about Congress continuing to withhold troop funds: 2
With Norwegian Defense Minister Jonas Gahr Store. (Make your own caption for this one, lol)
Passing notes with British Defense Minister David Miliband.
With Spanish Defense Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
With NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer
With Scheffer again.
With Qatar Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jaber Al Thani
With Qatar Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jaber Al Thani
Torpedoed and bombed by the Japanese, the battleship USS West Virginia begins to sink after suffering heavy damage, center, while the USS Maryland, left, is still afloat in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, in a Dec. 7, 1941 file photo. The capsized USS Oklahoma is at right.
The battleship USS Arizona belches smoke as it topples over into the sea during a Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in a Dec. 7, 1941 file photo. The ship sank with more than 80 percent of its 1,500-man crew, including Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd . The attack, which left 2,343 Americans dead and 916 missing, broke the backbone of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and forced America out of a policy of isolationism.
Pearl Harbor and USS Oklahoma survivor George A, Smith, left, salutes during the commemoration ceremony for the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii Friday, Dec. 7, 2007.
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