In “Haditha Hoax and Future Knee-Jerk Reactions,” I mentioned two Gaurdsmen who were being considered for charges of manslaughter.  They have been cleared — sort of.  Reuters is reporting:

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has cleared a soldier of unlawfully killing an Iraqi civilian after investigators concluded Specialist Nathan Lynn had reason to believe the man was carrying a gun when he opened fire. 

But there is still something outstanding on this whole issue.

The military spokesman said commanders had yet to decide whether to refer Ortiz to court martial on the conspiracy charge. Ortiz is also charged with a separate offence on March 8 of threatening an Iraqi with a weapon. 

According to the story, Ortiz had reason to believe that an Iraqi individual had intelligence regarding a credible threat to the safety of our troops.  He then took an unloaded weapon and held it to the head of the individual in an attempt to obtain that information.

At the time I said that if U.S. troops believe that an individual has intelligence regarding a credible threat to our troops, and threatens that individual in an attempt to obtain that intelligence, I support it.  Of course I would.

I still do.  Of course I do.  This is war.  What do people think happens in war?  Someone (i.e., the Iraqi individual) was under emotional duress.  So what?  What I want to know is this: did we get the information we wanted?

In “Haditha Hoax and Future Knee-Jerk Reactions,” I mentioned two Gaurdsmen who were being considered for charges of manslaughter.  They have been cleared — sort of.  Reuters is reporting:

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has cleared a soldier of unlawfully killing an Iraqi civilian after investigators concluded Specialist Nathan Lynn had reason to believe the man was carrying a gun when he opened fire. 

But there is still something outstanding on this whole issue.

The military spokesman said commanders had yet to decide whether to refer Ortiz to court martial on the conspiracy charge. Ortiz is also charged with a separate offence on March 8 of threatening an Iraqi with a weapon. 

According to the story, Ortiz had reason to believe that an Iraqi individual had intelligence regarding a credible threat to the safety of our troops.  He then took an unloaded weapon and held it to the head of the individual in an attempt to obtain that information.

At the time I said that if U.S. troops believe that an individual has intelligence regarding a credible threat to our troops, and threatens that individual in an attempt to obtain that intelligence, I support it.  Of course I would.

I still do.  Of course I do.  This is war.  What do people think happens in war?  Someone (i.e., the Iraqi individual) was under emotional duress.  So what?  What I want to know is this: did we get the information we wanted?

From the Jerusalem Post:

Hizbullah “sleeper” terror cells set up outside Lebanon with Iranian assistance have been put on standby The Jerusalem Post learned on Sunday, and are likely planning attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets throughout the world.

We have discussed world-wide Hezbollah before and the necessity to prepare for attacks.  The Post doesn’t specifically mention the U.S.  However, we are fooling ourselves if we think we are immune.  The world knows that we help to arm Israel, and we have made it no secret that the only democracy in the middle east – Israel – is our ally.

Prior at the Captain’s Journal:

• The Department of Homeland Hezbollah
• More on Hezbollah Threat to U.S.
• Hezbollah Reiterates Threat to Attack U.S. Interests Around Globe
• Are we Prepared for Hezbollah Attacks in the U.S.?

From the Multi-National Force Web Site:

RAMADI — Lance Cpl. Brandon R. Musser is just one of many Marines from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment patrolling the streets of one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq while wearing 50 plus pounds of armor under a scorching sun.

And he and his comrades are doing it with no complaints.

On June 20, Musser and other Marines with 3rd Platoon, Company L, conducted snap vehicle check points during a patrol in the capital of Al Anbar province. Marines were on the look out for suspicious activity while disrupting insurgent movement through the city.

“We just went out and did some snap VCPs and patrolled the area to get a feel for the local population,

In the face of all the calls to negotiations over the war in the middle east, just in case anyone was wondering what the position of Iran is, we are reminded again today:

In Teheran, the government has sanctioned billboards showing Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and a message that it is the duty of Muslims to “wipe out” Israel. 

If Hezbollah is the surrogate of Iran, and Iran’s position is that it is the duty of all Muslims to wipe out Israel, then negotiations are nothing more than a temporary truce to allow the Muslim forces to re-group and re-arm.  Israel enters negotiations at its peril.

Michelle Malkin has an interesting piece on the power outage in Queens.  They have been without power for six days and nights, and business is bleeding.  The story on the effects to local economy will be a long time being told.  But there is this little nugget of gold at the end of her post:

I hope DHS is paying attention.

U.S. targets are so soft that it really is worrisome.  Now we can add one more soft target to the list, if Hezbollah is watching and listening.  Any future Hezbollah attack in the U.S. might not just involve contamination of drinking water supplies for large population centers, destruction of infrastructure such as buildings and bridges, disruption of financial centers like New York and Charlotte, or the myriad of other pernicious and dastardly things that they could perpetrate.

What if Hezbollah hits power grid infrastructure for the 25 largest population centers in the U.S.?  Is this an issue not only for DHS but for U.S. utilities as well?  U.S. utilities protect generation assets with security forces commensurate with the investment of resources.  What about the transmission assets?

The U.S. is moving more troops into Baghdad.  This is something we have followed, and it appears that the coming battle for the future of Iraq is being fought (and will be fought in the near future) in Baghdad.  This is a must win battle.  We cannot lose this and still win in Iraq.  Keep our troops in your prayers.

Prior:

• More on the Battle for Baghdad
• Battle for Baghdad Coming

From a Haaretz commentary:

The Pentagon is following the fighting in Lebanon closely. They believe the key is Israel’s ability to strike at the rocket deployment that Hezbollah received from Iran. The Pentagon regards the rocket deployment as strategic for Iran. That is why Israel must destroy it. Washington’s expectations are also reflected in the swift delivery of bombs and munitions from the United States to Israel.

Translation: In any future altercation, Iran holds the power to punish Israel for any action that the U.S. might take (by “pulling the trigger” for Hezbollah to fire off the rockets again).  This would be true in a war with Iran (military altercation) or U.N. sanctions (political altercation).  Unless Israel can destroy the arsenal Hezbollah has built via Iran and Syria, this threat remains into the foreseeable future and could effect U.S. planning and strategy.

Think of this as a smaller version of the Cuban missile crisis.

The NYT is reporting:

WASHINGTON, July 21 — The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday.

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.

What simpletons.  Think about it.  The U.S. = Iran, and Israel = Hezbollah.  This is the equation in their thinking — and in the thinking of much of the U.S. left.

It’s too bizarre to need rebuttal.  It is prima facie absurd.

The NYT is reporting:

WASHINGTON, July 21 — The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday.

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.

What simpletons.  Think about it.  The U.S. = Iran, and Israel = Hezbollah.  This is the equation in their thinking — and in the thinking of much of the U.S. left.

It’s too bizarre to need rebuttal.  It is prima facie absurd.