Dubya’s War Without End has become more than just a recruiting ground for our enemies. It has become the perfect training ground. Every day, insurgents hone their tactics in urban guerrilla warfare. Tactics which would easily transfer to any city in America. It is beyond ironic that Duhbya brayed about fighting them “over there instead of over here.” Now they are more motivated and experienced than ever and better trained.

Duhbya has sown seeds that will bear fruit for generations. Some of that fruit will fall close to home. And his defenders will never recognize his responsibility in making the world much less safe than five years ago. mjh

Insurgents stage chemical attack, down helicopter, by BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press

BAGHDAD – Insurgents exploded a truck carrying chlorine gas canisters Wednesday – the second such “dirty” chemical attack in two days – while a U.S. official said ground fire apparently forced the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter. All nine aboard the aircraft were rescued.

The attacks offer a sweeping narrative on evolving tactics by Sunni insurgents who have proved remarkably adaptable.

Military officials worry extremists may have recently gained more access to firepower such as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rockets and heavy machine guns – and more expertise to use them. The Black Hawk would be at least the eighth U.S. helicopter to crash or be taken down by hostile fire in the past month.

The gas cloud in Baghdad, meanwhile, suggests possible new and coordinated strategies by bombers trying to unleash toxic – and potentially deadly – materials. “Terrorists are using dirty means,” said Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/world/16752230.htm

I was shocked to hear Newt, er, Nit Romney say Grover Norquist’s name without gagging. You can judge a man by whose ass he kisses. Norquist is a paragon of Republican ideals: inflame the masses while serving the rich. mjh

Romney, Brownback Sign Taxpayer Protection Pledge

“America needs leaders who are committed to protecting taxpayers, and signing our Pledge demonstrates that kind of leadership,” said Grover Norquist, president of ATR. “By signing the Pledge, Sam Brownback and Mitt Romney demonstrate allegiance to hard-working taxpayers nationwide. It is now up to the other candidates in the race to stand up to the challenge.”

Bush tries to regain footing – Los Angeles Times By Janet Hook, Times Staff Writer

“There’s nothing good or useful that can be passed out of this Congress in the next two years,” said Grover Norquist, a Bush ally and president of Americans for Tax Reform.

Bush’s Conservative Base Frets Key Issues Are Losing Focus – WSJ.com By JACKIE CALMES

[T]he early frontrunners among Republicans — Arizona Sen. John McCain, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — all have problems among conservatives. The two Republican aspirants with the most appeal are Kansas’s Republican Sen. Sam Brownback and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Jeb Bush Rallies Conservatives at Summit
Non-Candidate Shows Ability to Excite the Party
By Zachary A. Goldfarb, Special to The Washington Post

At a time when the conservative movement is looking bereft, humbled by midterm-election defeats and hungering for a presidential candidate to rally around, Jeb Bush delivered yesterday in Washington a resounding endorsement of conservative principles, bringing his audience repeatedly to its feet.

In his lunchtime remarks to the Conservative Summit, Bush struck every conservative chord, blaming Republicans’ defeat in November on the party’s abandonment of tenets including limited government and fiscal restraint.

Sticks, Stones and Mr. Obama

Mr. Obama’s slimers seem to think such name-calling and Muslim-baiting can score points with the American people. On the contrary, Mr. Obama’s multicultural background (his father was Kenyan, and he spent several years living in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather) ought to be viewed as a plus. A president with an understanding of Islam and the developing world would be welcomed by those who too often feel misunderstood and slighted by the United States.

Mr. Obama has never tried to hide his past or his family name: He has written about being educated at a predominantly Muslim school. His father, a non-practicing Muslim, was Barack Hussein Obama Sr. His grandmother is Sara Hussein Obama.

The senator, however, does not use his middle name. Those who take pains to insert it when referring to him are trying, none too subtly, to stir up scary images of menacing terrorists and evil dictators. They embarrass only themselves.

The likes of Lush Limbaugh are shameless frat boys stuffing their pockets with the small change their corporate masters toss their way. mjh

Gore Leaves Door Ajar for 2008 By Chris Cillizza And Shailagh Murray

Early last month, Gore addressed more than three dozen labor leaders in Washington, a wide-ranging talk about the Democratic congressional gains and the media, said one attendee, who demanded anonymity. Asked about 2008, Gore said that he has taken a number of calls from people encouraging him to consider running but he “didn’t know whether he was going to or not,” the source said. “Everybody felt he left a small door open.”

NRA Pressured To Resist Bush Energy Policies By Blaine Harden, Washington Post Staff Writer

After years of close association with the Republican Party and hard-nosed opposition to federal land-use regulation, the National Rifle Association is being pressured by its membership to distance itself from President Bush’s energy policies that have opened more public land for oil and gas drilling and limited access to hunters and anglers.

“The Bush administration has placed more emphasis on oil and gas than access rights for hunters,” said Ronald L. Schmeits, second vice president of the NRA, a member of its board of directors and a bank president in Raton, N.M. …

But, during the past six years, an increasing number of the country’s 46 million hunters and anglers, including Republican-leaning shooting organizations such as the Boone and Crockett Club, have been grumbling about the Bush’s administration fast-tracking of oil and gas drilling leases on public lands.