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ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, July 29, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he is heartened by his visit to Iraq, and that he urged Arab and Kurd Iraqis to use the good offices of the United States to help solve their problems. Gates said he is so encouraged by the situation in Iraq that American forces may speed up their drawdown, with an additional brigade coming out of the country before the elections in January. He said his view was bolstered by conversations with Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Force Iraq. Gates visited...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – Iraqi and U.S. forces continued to make strides toward meeting the terms of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement in recent days with the transfer of a joint security station to Iraqi control and meetings that offered provincial leaders and female business owners an opportunity to pave the road ahead. Army Col. Butch Kievenaar, commander of the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, talks with a sheik from Iraq’s Basra province about civil action projects in a meeting at the Basra Operations Center, June 16, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Carlos M. Burger II  (Click...

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 – May was a banner recruiting month for every military service, but especially for the Marine Corps, which topped its active-duty goal by 42 percent and its Marine Corps Reserve goal by 12 percent, Defense Department officials announced today. The Marine recruiting successes represent a particularly high point among across-the-board recruiting successes in which every service met or exceeded its May active-duty goal, officials said. The reserve components reported similar progress. The three components that fell short of their projected May goals did so because only because they already have reached 112 percent of their...

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2009 – All 10 active-duty and reserve military components met or exceeded their recruiting goals in March, with the Marine Corps adding the highest percentage of active-duty members, Defense Department officials announced today. The Army Reserve led the reserve components, and all four active departments met or exceeded their March retention goals. “Recruiting continues to be strong in all military departments,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Data published on the Defense Department Web site shows that the Marine Corps goal was to add 1,411 new Marines, which it exceeded by 43 percent, recruiting a total of 2,017....

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2009 – All active duty U.S. military services and reserve components met or exceeded their January recruiting needs, Defense Department officials reported today. The Army signed up 9,658 new active-duty soldiers, 107 percent of its target number of 9,000 enlistees. The Navy signed up 2,948 new active-duty sailors, 100 percent of its target number. The Marine Corps signed up 3,720 new active-duty Marines, 109 percent of its target number of 3,406 enlistees. The Air Force signed up 2,600 new active-duty airmen, 100 percent of its target number. The active Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy also...

WASHINGTON – A classified Pentagon report urges President Barack Obama to shift U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, de-emphasizing democracy-building and concentrating more on targeting Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuaries inside Pakistan with the aid of Pakistani military forces. -- A senior defense official said Tuesday that it will likely take several weeks before the Obama administration rolls out its long-term strategy for Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2009 – As part of the Obama administration’s assessment of the strategy being employed in Afghanistan, the U.S. military will focus its efforts on achieving shorter-term goals there, the Defense Department’s top official said here yesterday. “One of the points where I suspect both administrations come to the same conclusion, is that the goals we did have for Afghanistan are too broad and too far into the future,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters at a Pentagon press conference. President Barack Obama met with Gates and other National Security Council members at the White House on...

I have only one question about Israel’s military operation in Gaza: What is the goal? Is it the education of Hamas or the eradication of Hamas? I hope that it’s the education of Hamas. Let me explain why. I was one of the few people who argued back in 2006 that Israel actually won the war in Lebanon started by Hezbollah. You need to study that war and its aftermath to understand Gaza and how it is part of a new strategic ballgame in the Arab-Israel arena, which will demand of the Obama team a new approach. What Hezbollah did...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2009 – December was a recruiting success for all active-duty and reserve-component U.S. military services, which all met or exceeded their goals, according to a Defense Department news release issued today. -- The Army signed 860 new active-duty soldiers, 115 percent of its target number of 750 enlistees. -- The Navy signed 2,306 new active-duty sailors, meeting its target number of enlistees for the month. -- The Marine Corps signed 2,392 new active-duty Marines, 113 percent of its target number of 2,116 enlistees. -- The Air Force signed 2,967 new active-duty airmen, meeting its target number...

10 Planks of the Communist Manifesto, almost there Someone sent this for discussion. Is it fore real? 1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. SOON 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. DONE 3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. MOSTLY DONE, Obama would retain a reduced version of the estate tax, as it is correctly called, though McCain would reduce it by more. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. SOON, (Property rights?) 5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of...

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 11, 2008 – The Air National Guard has met its fiscal 2008 end-strength goal of 106,700 airmen, the first time it’s met its target end strength since 2003, National Guard Bureau officials announced yesterday. Recruiting and retention combined to produce the achievement. The Air Guard recruited 1,194 airmen in August, 107 percent of its goal of 1,116. To date for fiscal 2008, which ends Sept. 30, the Air Guard has retained 16,518 personnel, 107.3 percent of its goal of 15,390. Air Force Lt. Col. Randy Johnson, chief of Air Guard recruiting and retention, attributed the milestone to...

There was a thread like this on another forum, and it was kinda fun. People were listing the things they would like to have accomplished in their lives, and there were some pretty neat ideas. Try to stay away from thinks like "Having sex with ten Chinese women" (cause after all, who doesn't want to do that).

At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen: [From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen] 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2008 – All military services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for April, with the Marine Corps recruiting 142 percent of its goal, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said here today. The Army reached 101 percent of its goal, and the Navy and Air Force met their goals. In the re-enlistment arena, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps met or exceeded their active-duty retention objectives. “The Air Force still faces challenges, but they still seem able to meet their year-end strength goals,” Whitman said. All the reserve components also met or exceeded their recruiting goals, with the Air...

FORT BELVOIR, Va., April 22, 2008 – The military services continue to make their recruiting numbers despite the most difficult recruiting market in years, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told noncommissioned officers here today. However, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said at a quarterly NCO breakfast, there is concern in some quarters that the Army is letting in too many recruits with physical or criminal waivers. “We’re recruiting at the most difficult time,” he said. Mullen stressed that standards to enlist are high. Out of the total pool of 18- to 24-year-olds, only three out of 10 qualify...

Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) Infiltration and Influence in America  "Allah is our goal; the Messenger is our model; the Koran is our constitution; jihad is our means; and martyrdom in the way of Allah is our aspiration."  "It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet." --Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood What the Muslim Brotherhood means for the US: Memo lays bare group's plans to destroy U.S. from within By Ron Dreher, Dallas Morning News   "Our strategy...

    What more can I say, other than what a wonderful Christmas vacation!  I was surrounded by family, everyone had the Christmas spirit, and other than the fact it went by way too fast it was an exceptional visit.      So now here we are, it’s a new year, 2008.  Many people consider this a magical time of the year.  The time to start over, start fresh, and initiate the goals that we put off all of 2007, you know the ones where you kept saying “I think I’ll _______ (fill in the blank) next year”.  Well as of today, it is...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 – All military components met their recruiting goals in November, Defense Department officials said here yesterday. It was the sixth month in a row that all services made their recruiting goals, officials said. The military is recruiting in a difficult environment, defense officials said. Only three out of every 10 Americans in the targeted age group qualifies for military service. A good American economy and feelings against the Iraq war degrade the propensity of young Americans to enlist, officials said. Still, the military is doing well. On the active-duty side, the Marine Corps made 108 percent...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2007 – U.S. goals for progress in Iraq have not changed, but the timeline has been set back in order to achieve those goals, President Bush said here today. Bush said the original goal of turning security control over to Iraqis in all 18 of the country’s provinces by November has been delayed because progress has been slower than originally estimated. Still, he said, Iraqi control of the country’s provinces is an important step in denying al Qaeda and other extremist groups’ free movement in the region. “I believe it's worth it for the security of...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – All four services reported strong recruiting success in August, with the Army marking its second consecutive month exceeding its monthly goal, Defense Department officials announced today. The Army topped its August goal by 6 percent, bringing 10,126 new soldiers into the force. The Army made 102 percent of its goal in July. Officials expressed confidence that the consecutive successes mark a turnaround from May and June, when the Army fell short in recruiting. Army Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, attributes much of the rebound to the Army’s new...