Syria Restarts Sending Suicide Bombers Into Iraq

The Syrian suicide bomber pipeline into Iraq had all but dried up under the Bush administration. A few months after Obama is president, they're back:

Last October, as the Bush administration was touting a dramatic drop in the number of suicide bombings in Iraq, four young Tunisian men left their homes for Libya and then headed to Syria. There, they were met at the Damascus airport and taken to a safe house.

Six tedious months passed until their handlers felt that it was safe to move the men again. In April, they were smuggled across the Iraqi border; within days, two were dead, among the suicide bombers who have killed at least 370 Iraqis in a wave of attacks over the past several weeks.

Almost immediately after Obama says he wants to open diplomatic avenues, Syria answers with a wave of new suicide bombers into Iraq:

The revival of a transit route that officials had declared all but closed comes as the Obama administration is exploring a new diplomatic dialogue with Syria. At the same time, Washington remains concerned by Syrian activities -- including ongoing support for the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as activities involving Iraq.

On Wednesday, acting Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey D. Feltman and National Security Council official Daniel Shapiro arrived in Syria for their second visit since Barack Obama's inauguration as president. Two days later, however, Obama renewed U.S. sanctions against Syria, accusing Damascus of supporting terrorism in the Middle East and undermining Iraqi stability.

So much for using diplomacy to talk down despots.

The violence is Iraq is still low. However, if Obama isn't careful, this new wave of violence could get worse and spark new conflicts.

Another Iraqi Election, Another Day Without Terrorism

Polls Close in Iraq Elections, No Major Violence Saturday, January 31, 2009

BAGHDAD —  Iraq's provincial elections have wrapped up without any reports of serious violence.

Polls closed at 6 p.m. (10 a.m. EST) on Saturday — an hour later than planned — after millions of voters cast ballots for influential regional councils around most of Iraq. There were no reports of major violence.

Iraqi authorities imposed a huge security operation around the country that included traffic bans in major cities and extensive checkpoints and surveillance posts. The U.S. military also was out in force but did not take a direct role in the election security.

Results from the elections are not expected before Tuesday.

Iraqis passed through security checkpoints and razor-wire cordons to vote Saturday in provincial elections that are considered a crucial test of the nation's stability as U.S. officials weigh the pace of troop withdrawals.

Polls opened shortly after dawn after a step-by-step security clampdown across the country, including traffic bans in central Baghdad and other major cities and closure of border crossings and airports.

Though there was no major violence during voting, there were some disruptions at the polls.

A Kurdish official said hundreds of Iraqi Kurds stormed an election office in a disputed city after claiming many Kurds were not on voting lists for provincial elections. There were no reports of serious injuries.

The protest in Khanaqin on Saturday is part of lingering disputes over control of the city about 80 miles northeast of Baghdad. In August, Kurdish and Iraqi forces were locked in a tense standoff before the Kurds backed off.

Salahuddin Kekhaa, a Kurdish official in Khanaqin, says Kurds held a rally to claim that thousands of Kurds were left off voting list. Then they tried to break into the local election office but were turned back, he said.

Ghufran al-Saidi, a Shiite lawmaker in the Sadr City district, said a military officer opened fire in Baghdad after voters chanted slogans at a polling station. He said two people were injured, one of them seriously.


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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486164,00.html
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My Thoughts

Thank God there was no violence today. There has been a lot of progress been made over the last couple years after the surge. Let's hope that Obama doesn't change the direction of the change made in Iraq. Love him or hate him, Bush did a lot of good in Iraq.

Bush-"Comforter In Chief"

Report: Bush Spent Hundreds of Hours Comforting Families of Fallen Soldiers
President Bush headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Monday to comfort wounded soldiers, the public part of a private campaign that has included more than 4,000 letters to family members

FOXNews.com

Monday, December 22, 2008

According to The Washington Times, the self-described "comforter in chief" said it's his duty as president to try to help as "best as I humanly can a loved one who is in anguish."

The Times notes that people familiar with Bush's routine say he has written letters personally to every one of the families of the more than 4,000 troops who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. The task has taken a toll, and Bush has relied on his wife, Laura, for emotional support, he said.

"I lean on the Almighty and Laura," the president told the Times. "She has been very reassuring, very calming."

Vice President Cheney has also met with family members of soldiers who have died.

Bush has met with more than 500 families of troops killed in action and with more than 950 wounded veterans, often during private sessions, White House spokesman Carlton Carroll told the newspaper.

The Times said the first lady was in on many of those meetings and also felt the heart-wrenching pain of such moments.
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/22/report-bush-spent-hundreds-hours-comforting-families-fallen-soldiers/
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My Thoughts

Is it that it was really the best kept secret or did the liberal media not care about a story that might put Bush in a good light? Why did this story not come out until after the election?

Bush's Size 10 Attacker

December 15, 2008

Iraqi Journalist Hurls Shoes at Bush and Denounces Him on TV as a 'Dog'

By STEVEN LEE MYERS and ALISSA J. RUBIN

BAGHDAD — President Bush made a valedictory visit on Sunday to Iraq, the country that will largely define his legacy, but the trip will more likely be remembered for the unscripted moment when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at Mr. Bush's head and denounced him on live television as a "dog" who had delivered death and sorrow here from nearly six years of war.
The drama unfolded shortly after Mr. Bush appeared at a news conference in Baghdad with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to highlight the newly adopted security agreement between the United States and Iraq. The agreement includes a commitment to withdraw all American forces by the end of 2011.

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.

As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Mr. Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!" That shoe also narrowly missed Mr. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president's face to help shield him.
Mr. Maliki's security agents jumped on the man, wrestled him to the floor and hustled him out of the room. They kicked him and beat him until "he was crying like a woman," said Mohammed Taher, a reporter for Afaq, a television station owned by the Dawa Party, which is led by Mr. Maliki. Mr. Zaidi was then detained on unspecified charges.

Other Iraqi journalists in the front row apologized to Mr. Bush, who was uninjured and tried to brush off the incident by making a joke. "All I can report is it is a size 10," he said, continuing to take questions and noting the apologies. He also called the incident a sign of democracy, saying, "That's what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves," as the man's screaming could be heard outside.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/middleeast/15prexy.html?_r=1
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My Thoughts

Apparently, the journalist liked it better when Hussein was in power. There was the 8 years of war with Iran and the 1 year with the US and Kuwait. Those wars weren't exactly filled with love and happiness. He didn't gas the Kurds and Iranians with laughing gas. Does he have the same concern for the many widows that Sadaam made during his reign of terror? Let's not forget that many were, also, wrongly imprisoned or executed for speaking out against Sadaam or his party. If the reporter would have thrown a shoe at Hussein, he probably would be missing a limb or in a shallow grave. I hope that he enjoys the freedom of speech and the right of dissent that he has now.