IDF looks to buy US surplus weapons in Iraq

When the US withdraws from Iraq, shipping all the army's equipment back to the US would probably make no economic sense. So Israel has made a proposal: It will buy much of the equipment that the US has in Iraq. The Defense Ministry is in talks with the Pentagon about the possibility of buying American military equipment that will be retired following the US withdrawal from Iraq.

The advantage

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

It is unquestionable that Bush has made this country safe by keeping Islamic lunatics pinned down fighting our troops in Iraq. In the past few years, our brave troops have killed more than 20,000 al-Qaida and other Islamic militants in Iraq alone. That's 20,000 terrorists who will never board a plane headed for JFK -- or a landmark building, for that matter.

We are, in fact, fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them at, say, the corner of 72nd and Columbus in Manhattan -- the mere mention of which never fails to enrage liberals, which is why you should say it as often as possible.

Ann Coulter - June 11, 2008

Quote of the day - Los Angeles Times

It has taken nine bloody and difficult months, but the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops appears at last to have brought not just a lull in the sectarian fighting in Iraq, but the first tangible steps toward genuine political reconciliation.

Los Angeles Times - 2-18-08

Quote of the day - Hillary Clinton [Iraq]

Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations.

Hillary Clinton - February 5, 2003

Quote of the day - USA Today

Iraq remains a violent place, but the trends are encouraging.

U.S. and Iraqi casualties are down sharply. Fewer of the most lethal Iranian-made explosive devices are being used as roadside bombs. In community after community, Sunni groups who were once in league with al-Qaeda have switched sides and are working with the U.S. forces.

On the Shiite side of Iraq's sectarian chasm, something similar is happening. About 70,000 local, pro-government groups, a bit like neighborhood watch groups, have formed to expose extremist militias, according to Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations.


USA Today - December 13, 2007

Quote of the day - Ricardo Sanchez

“As I understand it, your measure of worth is how many front page stories you have written and unfortunately some of you will compromise your integrity and display questionable ethics as you seek to keep America informed.”

General Ricardo Sanchez

General Sanchez

Quote of the day - General Ricardo Sanchez

“Almost invariably, my perception is that the sensationalistic value of these assessments is what provided the edge that you [MSM] seek for self aggrandizement or to advance your individual quest for getting on the front page with your stories.”

General Sanchez

General Sanchez with Albanian troops

Quote of the day - General Sanchez

“Unfortunately, I have issued ultimatums to some of you for unscrupulous reporting that was solely focused on supporting your agenda and preconceived notions of what our military had done.”

General Ricardo Sanchez

General Sanchez

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

At least in Indochina, those who got it so horribly wrong – the Kerrys and Fondas and all the rest – could claim they had no idea of what would follow.

To do it all over again in the full knowledge of what followed would turn an aberration into a pattern of behavior. And as the Sirik Mataks of Baghdad face the choice between staying and dying or exile and embittered evenings in the new Iraqi émigré restaurants of London and Los Angeles, who will be America's allies in the years ahead?

Marl Steyn - August 25, 2007

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell

It is not just in Iraq that the political left has an investment in failure. Domestically as well as internationally, the left has long had a vested interest in poverty and social malaise.

Thomas Sowell

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

In their latest demonstration of how much they love the troops, liberals have produced yet another anti-war hoax.

Ann Coulter - August 8, 2007 - commenting on the New Republic's Baghdad Diarist hoax.

Quote of the day - Daily Herald (Illinois)

"The Democrats, however, mostly ducked the hypothetical question of what they'd do as president if they pulled the U.S. out of Iraq and al-Qaida took over. . . "

Daily Herald - reporting on Democrat "debate" at Soldier Field in Chicago - 8-8-07

U.S. forces killing Al Qaeda in Baghdad; Abu Kaldoun; Doura

The Times Online (UK) reports additional success for American forces in isolating Al Qaeda forces in Baghdad:

The ground-breaking move in Doura is part of a wider trend that has started in other al-Qaeda hotspots across the country and in which Sunni insurgent groups and tribal sheikhs have stood together with the coalition against the extremist movement.

“They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in Iraq and want to reconcile and have peace,” said Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which oversees the area.

The sewage-filled streets of Doura, a Sunni Arab enclave in south Baghdad, provide an ugly setting for what US commanders say is al-Qaeda’s last stronghold in the city. The secretive group, however, appears to be losing its grip as a “surge” of US troops in the neighbourhood – part of the latest effort by President Bush to end the chaos in Iraq – has resulted in scores of fighters being killed, captured or forced to flee.

The left hopes that they can cut off funding for the war before we route Al Qaeda from Baghdad or kill any more operatives that will be needed in the next terror attack against New York or other American cities.

Regardless of the pros and cons of Saddam Hussein, the opportunity to kill Al Qaeda justifies continued American presence in Iraq.

Doura power plant H/T Global Security.org






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previous Al Qaeda leaders captured in Iraq.

Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a/k/a Abu Shahid; another Al Qaeda leader captured in Iraq

American forces have captured another Al Qaeda leader in Iraq. [Leftists stopped reading this post as soon as they saw the name "Al Qaeda."] That makes one more Al Qaeda leader that would still be fighting and plotting terror against the U.S. if we had pulled out of Iraq a few months ago (or never invaded in the first place).

The article from AP contained few details:

Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4, said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a military spokesman.

"Al-Mashhadani is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the al-Qaida in Iraq network," Bergner said. He said al-Mashhadani was a close associate of Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani served as an intermediary between al-Masri and Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

"In fact, communication between the senior al-Qaida leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani," Bergner said.

"Along with al-Masri, al-Mashhadani co-founded a virtual organization in cyberspace called the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006," Bergner said. "The Islamic State of Iraq is the latest efforts by al-Qaida to market itself and its goal of imposing a Taliban-like state on the Iraqi people."

previous - Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi,
Al Zarqawi

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

In anticipation of their surrender strategy becoming substantially less popular in the wake of another terrorist attack, the Democrats are all claiming that the threat of terrorism was nonexistent — notwithstanding 9/11, the Cole bombing, the bombing of our embassies, the bombing of the World Trade Center, the Achille Lauro, etc. etc. — until George Bush invaded Iraq.

Ann Coulter - 7-18-07

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

And look at it this way: if the "occupation" is so unpopular in Iraq, where are the mass demonstrations against that? I'm not talking 200,000, or even 100 or 50,000. But, if there were just 1,500 folks shouting "Great Satan, go home!" in Baghdad or Mosul, it would be large enough for the media to do that little trick where they film the demo close up so it looks like the place is packed. Yet no such demonstrations take place.

Mark Steyn

Quote of the day - Associated Press - Sadr City

‘The capital’s [Baghdad's] Sadr City section was once a hotbed of Shiite Muslim unrest, but it has become one of the brightest successes for the US security effort. So far this year, there has been only one car bombing in the neighborhood, and only one American soldier has been killed.’

Associated Press - August 2005 - (as quoted by Mark Steyn)

Sadr City