Developing…

From FOX News:

DEVELOPING: Authorities are methodically sweeping and clearing cargo flights that were held at U.S. airports in Newark and Philadelphia after foreign law enforcement agencies reported finding suspicious packages from Yemen in London and Dubai.

Law enforcement agencies are investigating whether packages found on UPS planes at Philadelphia International Airport, Newark Liberty Airport, East Midlands airport in central England and a FedEx facility in Dubai were part of a dry run mail bomb plot, an attempt to get explosives into the United States or an attempt to send materials to third parties in the U.S. for another plot.

Officials say Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula may have been involved.

The FBI reported that two of the suspicious packages were addressed to religious institutions in Chicago.

“All churches, synagogues and mosques in the Chicago area should be vigilant for any unsolicited or unexpected packages, especially those originating from overseas locations,” Chicago FBI spokesman Ross Rice said.

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Ruh roh. Another Leftist Hate Rant/Talking point down the drain.

I thought we all “knew” that the cost of the War in Iraq was $874 quadrillion dollars and at the same time caused the The Great Recession, forced people out of their homes, cost 100 trillion jobs, starved puppies and kittens, rose the mean temperature of the Earth by 104 degrees as well as being the main reason that Ellen DeGeneres left “American Idol”.

Apparently, the truth lies a little bit lower. Make that a LOT lower.

From FOX News via ASPF:

As President Obama prepares to tie a bow on U.S. combat operations in Iraq, Congressional Budget Office numbers show that the total cost of the eight-year war was less than the stimulus bill passed by the Democratic-led Congress in 2009.

According to CBO numbers in its Budget and Economic Outlook published this month, the cost of Operation Iraqi Freedom was $709 billion for military and related activities, including training of Iraqi forces and diplomatic operations.

The projected cost of the stimulus, which passed in February 2009, and is expected to have a shelf life of two years, was $862 billion.

The U.S. deficit for fiscal year 2010 is expected to be $1.3 trillion, according to CBO. That compares to a 2007 deficit of $160.7 billion and a 2008 deficit of $458.6 billion, according to data provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

In 2007 and 2008, the deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product was 1.2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.

To put things in perspective, the Iraq War costs cover a period of eight years and the Porkulous bill only two. So, if you prorated the cost of the Porkulous over those eight years, it’s cost would have been $3.4 trillion.

Trillion. Obama’s favorite number.

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Yes, I agree that whomever leaked what is essentially raw intel data to the press, should be hung from the highest flag pole. I just have a hunch that the intel “apple” may not have fallen far from the “administration” tree.

The obama administration has been taking a steady “hit” from their extreme left “flank” for not pulling out all the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, the very minute he took the oath of office. So, what better way to substantiate a full-blown administration-wide and very public questioning of our “mission” in Afghanistan, which may eventually lead to an altogether pull-out?

Leak the intel…That’s how.
One check of this headline should tell the tale:

Link: Leaks create fresh doubt about Afghan war, secrets

Read the story at the link….

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Bloomberg: “Times Square for $200, Alex.”

“The answer is:

Grainy footage of possible man (being NYC, who can tell anymore?) walking 20 yards from a smoking car that was found to be filled with explosives.”

Bloomberg: (Via CBS News)

“There is no credible evidence so far that this attack was more than at least one person, the driver,” said Mayor Mike Bloomberg. “After that there is no evidence that anyone else was involved. It may be, but we can’t say that it is.”…

“If I had to guess, twenty five cents, this would be exactly that,” Bloomberg said. “Homegrown maybe a mentally deranged person or someone with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something. It could be anything.”

Maybe he was driven insane by those lack of foot baths at the local Urgent Care.

From Hot Air via Michelle Malkin:

Could be. Since we’re pulling theories out of our ass, let me try a few. Maaaaybe … it’s a liberal amnesty shill upset at Nazi America’s tolerance of Arizona’s immigration law? Maaaaybe … it’s a gay-rights supporter irate at the slow pace of progress on “don’t ask, don’t tell”? Maaaaybe … it’s a nutritional fanatic angry that the City hasn’t completely banned salt yet? (Actually, that would make Nanny Bloomberg a prime suspect.) Maaaaybe … it’s the president’s old pal Bill Ayers reliving his glory days? Anything’s possible, so why not have the mayor of the country’s largest city speculate idly on the national news about it?

Mark Steyn:

Whenever something goofy happens — bomb in Times Square, mass shootings at a US military base, etc. — there seem to be two kinds of reactions:

a) Some people go, “Hmm. I wonder if this involves some guy with a name like Mohammed who has e-mails from Yemen.”

b) Other people go, “Don’t worry, there’s no connection to terrorism, and anyway, even if there is, it’s all very amateurish, and besides he’s most likely an isolated extremist or lone wolf.”

Unfortunately, everyone in category (b) seems to work for the government.

And even if there is a terrorist connection, the “lone wolf” will be lawyered up, read his rights and given a TiVo box filled to the brim with Obama and Rev. Wright’s speeches. (what, you think only the Queen of England is worthy to receive that?)

Meanwhile, some media skank named Contessa Brewer, who works at the Pasty-White Hate Factory disguising itself as a “news” organization, MSLSD, lifts her skirt to show her political STD’s:

Hat Tip: Hot Air:

BREWER: I mean the thing is is that and I get frustrated and there was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country because there are a lot of people who want to use this terrorist intent to justify writing off people who believe in a certain way or come from certain countries or whose skin color is a certain way. I mean they use it as justification for really outdated bigotry.

And so there was part of me was really hoping this would not be the case that here would be somebody who is not the defined. I mean he’s accused he’s arrested you know I don’t want to convict him before it’s time to do so. He’s the guy authorities say is involved. But that being said I mean we know even in recent history you have the Hutaree militia from Michigan who have plans to let’s face it create terror.

That’s what they were planning to do and they were doing so from far different backgrounds then what this guy is coming from. So, the threat is not just coming from people who decide that America is the place to be and you know come here and want to become citizens. Obviously this guy did.

And you people wonder why your ratings are in Keith Olbermann’s toilet and why ABC News just axed a good 25% of it’s workforce? And most of all, why the media is held in lower regard than a serial puppy killer?

Hypocrite, thy name is Liberal.

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Maybe there is something to those rumors that Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden is laced with all sorts of nasty chemicals.

And if true, then it looks like Plugs Biden must have had one heaping, honking big bowl of veggie soup and probably went back for seconds in order to utter maybe the stupidest thing ever to pass his lips.

Which is truly saying something for the old Senate plagarizer. Just when you think he cannot top himself, he always manages to do so, time and again..

Appearing on the Larry King show, Biden this to say:

From the Larry King Show transcript: (Hat Tips: Sister Toldja and The LA Times Blog)

I am very optimistic about — about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You’re going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You’re going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.

I spent — I’ve been there 17 times now. I go about every two months — three months. I know every one of the major players in all the segments of that society. It’s impressed me. I’ve been impressed how they have been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences.

Pretty amazing stuff. This from the man who wanted to partition Iraq into three separate sections, like a three year old cutting a Christmas pie and who also voted with Obama time after time to oppose the surge, defund the troops and the entire war effort.

Of course, when the surge produced better than expected results, Nostrabiden uttered this gut-buster.

“The fact of the matter is, the only thing succeeding in Iraq right now is the plan that Barack and I talked about that Petraeus is implementing … giving local control in the very areas with a limited central government.”

I am sure that Petraeus bowed to the superior knowledge and military experience of Biden, Obama and all of those 5-star Fantasy Generals that populate the Democratic leadership. Who knew?

Sister Toldja:

I’m clicking my heels together as fast as I can, chanting “there’s no place like home” because right now, the socialistic “leadership” coming out of Washington, DC makes me feel like I’m not living in the country I’ve loved all my life. The lies, the spin, the deception, the phony “outstretched hand” symbolic gestures are getting to be too much to stomach. None of this is more true than on the issue of the Iraq war, where both Obama and Biden’s mutual history of opposition should not be whitewashed, nor should they be allowed to get away with taking the credit for the success of a surge they opposed.

Betsey Newmark nails it:

In the fantasy world in which Joe Biden, and perhaps Barack Obama, are the stars of a saga of heroic battles for peace, justice and some other stuff like that what has happened in Iraq is a credit to “this administration.”

How about the previous administration whose policies in Iraq Biden and Barack Obama had endlessly criticized and voted against. They both opposed the surge that brought about the situation that Biden now wants to take credit for. And Biden’s big proposal was his dopey idea to divide Iraq into three separate territories. And if Obama had had his way, we would have pulled our troops out of there before Bush’s administration was even over. The only credit that “this administration” deserves is for not messing too much with the much improved situation that Bush fought to bring to Iraq.

What will Biden say next? That he was opposed to the stimulus before he voted for it?

Meanwhile, more important events are now unfolding in Iran and you hear nary a peep from the White House, the state-controlled media or Biden himself.

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And keep digging to China…

From Boston.com: (Hat Tip: FC)

On Veterans Day, Christine Devlin stood in the cold in Westwood for the unveiling of a new memorial to local soldiers lost overseas, including her son Michael, one of the 241 servicemen killed in the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983.

Devlin is among 30 Massachusetts relatives of victims of the Beirut attack who have been fighting for more than a decade to get compensation for what many consider the first major terrorist attack against the United States. After a federal judge ruled in 2007 that Iran was liable for $2.65 billion in damages to be shared by 150 families seeking restitution, they believed they were on the cusp of victory.

But now, the Obama administration is going to court to try to block payments from Iranian assets that the families’ lawyers want seized, contending that it would jeopardize sensitive negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and establish a potentially damaging precedent.

In a little-noticed filing in federal court, the Justice Department is arguing that giving the money to the victims “can have significant, detrimental impact on our foreign relations, as well as the reciprocal treatment of the United States and its extensive overseas property holdings.’’

The Obama administration’s position is a blow to those like Devlin, who is still waiting for some measure of justice for her son, who was 21 when Hezbollah terrorists rammed a suicide truck bomb into the peacekeepers’ headquarters.

“It is offensive that our government – the government that [the Marines] were fighting for, who sent them there – are against us collecting from Iran,’’ Devlin said in an interview this week. “I felt justice was going to be served, but so far it hasn’t.’’

“We can’t go on with our lives,’’ said Marlys Lemnah, 62, of St. Albans, Vt., whose husband, Richard, a Marine sergeant nearing his 20-year retirement, was killed in Beirut. “It’s not about the money. We need something tangible: responsibility and accountability. We will fight until we have no more fight left.’’

Maybe it is being held up so that some of these proceeds can be dropped into ACORN’s and SEIU’s coffers first.

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Just when you think this administration could not sink any lower, they grab a shovel and dig to China. Mark Levin just spoke about this a few moments ago on his radio show.

From FOX News:

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

So a loathsome POS terrorist who masterminded the kidnapping, killing, body burning and public hanging of American civilians received an alleged bloody lip and the brave soldiers who captured now face freaking charges for doing so?

Will this POS get a nice, taxpayer-funded trial in Baghdad?

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