On the Pearl Harbor Anniversary, Oliver North Talks About American Heroes
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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Lt. Col. Oliver North to discuss his time at the Naval Academy, media on the frontline, and stories from his new book, American Heroes in Special Operations.
We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.
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All access pass to the presidency: North Carolina
(CNN)-President Obama traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and then returned to Washington Monday afternoon to finalize tax negotiations with Democratic leaders at the White House. It was a brief trip, just three hours on the ground, thanks to the luxury that presidential travel affords, like Marine One, Air Force One, and a motorcade. Meanwhile, journalists who also made the trip weren’t so lucky, contending with flight delays and long drives back to Washington.
White House producer Erika Dimmler and photojournalists Martin Dougherty and Geoff Parker covered the president’s trip for CNN. Dimmler provides an ALL ACCESS PASS of their trip with these behind-the-scenes photos.
President Obama in North Carolina Pitches Bush Tax Cut Compromise: “Even If It’s Not 100% of What I Want or What the Republicans Want”
In Winston-Salem, NC, today President Obama tried to hoist himself above the fray in the debate over the soon-to-expire lower Bush tax rates.
Political Punch
US Predators kill 5 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan strike
US Predators struck inside Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan after a lull in attacks that lasted for more than a week.
Unmanned Predators or the more heavily armed and deadly Reapers fired four missiles at a vehcile and a compound in the village of Khysore in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
“First the US drone fired two missiles on a militant vehicle and two of the occupants were killed, while three others escaped and hid in a shop adjacent to a house,” AFP reported. “The drone fired two more missiles on the shop and three of them were killed and three others were wounded.”
Five Taliban fighters were reported killed, but no senior al Qaeda or Taliban fighters have been reported killed in the strike.
The Datta Khel area of North Waziristan is under the influence of Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar. Datta Khel serves as a command and control center for al Qaeda’s top leaders. Several of al Qaeda’s top commanders, including Mustafa Abu Yazid, the chief financial official and commander in Afghanistan, and Abdullah Said al Libi, the commander of al Qaeda’s military, have been killed in Predator strikes in Datta Khel in the last year. [For more information on al Qaeda’s presence in Datta Khel, see LWJ report, Latest US Predator strike kills 5 in al Qaeda hub in North Waziristan.]
This year, the US has been pounding targets in the Datta Khel, Miramshah, and Mir Ali areas of North Waziristan in an effort to kill al Qaeda members involved in a plot to carry out Mumbai-styled terror assaults on European soil. Al Qaeda and allied terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and a number of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups host or share camps in the region.
Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign groups in North Waziristan, and requests by the US that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Bahadar or the Haqqani Network. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered “good Taliban” by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The Predator strikes, by the numbers
Today’s strike is the first US attack in Pakistan this month, and the first since the Nov. 28 strike in the Mir Ali area.
The pace of the strikes since the beginning of September is unprecedented since the US began the air campaign in Pakistan in 2004. September’s record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. In the bombing at COP Chapman, seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer were killed.
The US has carried out 106 attacks inside Pakistan this year, doubling last year’s number of strikes. In late August, the US exceeded last year’s strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 – 2010.]
This year the strikes have overwhelmingly been confined to North Waziristan. All but nine of this year’s 106 strikes have taken place in that tribal agency. Of the nine strikes that have occurred outside of North Waziristan, seven took place in South Waziristan, one occurred in Khyber, and one took place in Kurram.
Since Sept. 1, the US has ramped up airstrikes against the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 51 strikes Predator strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct the Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJU commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.
The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda’s external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda’s external operations. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 – 2010.]
10 questions: Does Steelers’ win doom Ravens’ chances in AFC North? – USA Today
USA Today |
10 questions: Does Steelers' win doom Ravens' chances in AFC North?
USA Today Can the Ravens recover from the loss to the Steelers to capture the AFC North? The Ravens dealt a serious blow to their hopes of winning the division when Joe Flacco's fumble bounced away from them in the fourth quarter on Sunday to set up a Steelers … Planting the seeds for reseeding the playoffs Jets-Steelers Week 15 game will not be flexed to Sunday Night Football Chiefs Playoff Scenarios Could Include Home Date With Ravens |
10 questions: Does Steelers’ win doom Ravens’ chances in AFC North? – USA Today
USA Today |
10 questions: Does Steelers' win doom Ravens' chances in AFC North?
USA Today Can the Ravens recover from the loss to the Steelers to capture the AFC North? The Ravens dealt a serious blow to their hopes of winning the division when Joe Flacco's fumble bounced away from them in the fourth quarter on Sunday to set up a Steelers … Planting the seeds for reseeding the playoffs Jets-Steelers Week 15 game will not be flexed to Sunday Night Football Chiefs Playoff Scenarios Could Include Home Date With Ravens |
Skip to main content CNN CNN US * EDITION: U.S. * INTERNATIONAL * MÉXICO Set edition preference * Sign up * Log in * Home * Video * NewsPulse * U.S. * World * Politics * Justice * Entertainment * Tech * Health * Living * Travel * Opinion * iReport * Money * Sports [Feedback] Feedback Share this on: Mixx Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn Holder: ‘Significant’ actions taken in WikiLeaks investigation By the CNN Wire Staff December 6, 2010 11:40 a.m. EST STORY HIGHLIGHTS * U.S. attorney general calls posts of diplomatic cables “arrogant” and misguided” * Swiss bank ends business relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Washington (CNN) – Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that he has authorized “significant” actions related to the criminal investigation of WikiLeaks as the website faces increasing pressure worldwide for publishing sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables. “National security of the United States has been put at risk,” Holder said. “The lives of people who work for the American people have been put at risk. The American people themselves have been put at risk by these actions that I believe are arrogant, misguided and ultimately not helpful in any way. We are doing everything that we can.” Holder, speaking at a news conference on financial fraud, declined to answer questions about the possibility of the U.S. government shutting WikiLeaks down, saying he does not want to talk about capabilities and techniques at the government’s disposal. His comments came as a Swiss bank announced that it had closed the account of Julian Assange, the website’s founder. “The decision comes after it was revealed that Assange provided false information regarding his place of residence when opening the account,” Swiss PostFinance said in a news release. (MORE) Share this on: Mixx Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn We recommend You might like: * And the winner of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is… The Marquee Blog * Obama in Afghanistan Afghanistan Crossroads * House, Senate Democrats: no tax cut extension over $250,000 CNN Politics * Clinton condemns leak as ‘attack on international community’ CNN US * Fighters scrambled as DC airspace rules violated CNN US From around the web Selected for you by our sponsor: * California man goes to court for modifying Xbox 360 Digital Trends * WikiLeaks: Vladimir Putin, He’s Just Like Us New York Magazine * WikiLeaks Worse for SEC Than Bank of America TheStreet * WikiLeaks’ Next Target Could Be U.S. Bank TheStreet * Citizen Journalists Offer Disturbing Video From Inside North Korea New York Magazine [what’s this] Loading comments… Problems loading Disqus? Log in or sign up to comment soundoff (0 Comments) Show: Newest | Oldest | Most liked Post a comment Log in or sign up to comment There are no comments on this story. Be the first! Thanks for posting. Would you like to edit your profile? NewsPulse Most popular stories right now WikiLeaks lists sites key to U.S. security Frum: Why obesity harms national security Officials: Bodies of U.S. balloonists found Mechanic convicted in deadly Concorde crash Australia: Assange allowed to return home Explore the news with NewsPulse » * Healthcare Jobs * Sales and Marketing Jobs * Finance Jobs Quick Job Search more options » 30° HI 38°LO 20° Welcome, NCWeather forecast Home | Video | NewsPulse | U.S. | World | Politics | Justice | Entertainment | Tech | Health | Living | Travel | Opinion | iReport | Money | Sports Tools & widgets | RSS | Podcasts | Blogs | CNN mobile | My profile | E-mail alerts | CNN shop | Site map CNN en ESPAÑOL | CNN Chile | CNN Expansion | | | | CNN TV | HLN | Transcripts © 2010 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of service | Privacy guidelines | Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Contact us | Work for us | Help
Washington (CNN) – Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that he has authorized “significant” actions related to the criminal investigation of WikiLeaks as the website faces increasing pressure worldwide for publishing sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables.
“National security of the United States has been put at risk,” Holder said. “The lives of people who work for the American people have been put at risk. The American people themselves have been put at risk by these actions that I believe are arrogant, misguided and ultimately not helpful in any way. We are doing everything that we can.”
FULL STORY
South Koreans provoke the North- Assange provokes me
I know it is wrong, but I’m having trouble being too worried about the Koreas trying out some of their hardware.
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean troops pushed ahead with naval firing drills Monday, a day after North Korea warned the exercises would aggravate tensions between the rivals following the North’s deadly shelling of a front-line South Korean island.
Regional powers stepped up diplomatic efforts to head off further conflict, with President Barack Obama speaking to China’s Hu Jintao by telephone Monday and top diplomats from the U.S., South Korea and Japan scheduled to hold talks later in Washington.
I look forward to reading about the diplomatic efforts when Assange takes his next public dump. He was whining in an interview and claimed to have received hundreds of death threats, which I believe, but also that their were hundreds of US military militants after him. I don’t recall that MOS, anyone know what militant is. Oh and Ass-Flange, if the US military wanted to hush your cakehole it would just be hushed. The only question would be a nice hole ventiliating your cranium or a larger pile of rubble and your rescrambling into component molecules.
The sad thing is this most recent collection of missives from those we send to do our formalized lying in formal wear shows they were actually doing something beside nibbling petir fours by the pool. Hillary had ‘em spying, good on ‘ya Hills. I think that maybe we should publish all their cables as a regular practice. But aside from the fact that our diplomats may actually be in the game, this collection of tabloid fodder obscures the fact that when Assange released the sitreps from Afghanistan, there were names and villages of Afghans who had worked with us. That was so far over the line, that I think he should have disappeared right then. That is an attack on our war efforts and the lives of anyone who conspires with the evil crusaders as we try to scrabble some sort of peace together.
We have been bitch-slapped around by that pitiful, petty villian for way too long. Either Eric Holder and Obama man up and indict Assange frog marching him in chains to a civilian courthouse in NYC (Ha ha ha ha I know), or we should just make him go away, pour encourager les autres. Stealing from the United States and screwing up our good work around the world should hurt if you do it. Bring the pain!
Obama calls Chinese leader on North Korea tensions
Washington (CNN) – North Korea needs to “halt its provocative behavior” as tensions rise on the Korean peninsula, President Barack Obama said during a phone call with Chinese President Hu Jintao, said the White House said.
Hu called for a “calm and rational response from all sides to prevent the deterioration of the fragile security situation,” according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
FULL STORY
Obama calls Chinese leader on North Korea tensions
Washington (CNN) – North Korea needs to “halt its provocative behavior” as tensions rise on the Korean peninsula, President Barack Obama said during a phone call with Chinese President Hu Jintao, said the White House said.
Hu called for a “calm and rational response from all sides to prevent the deterioration of the fragile security situation,” according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
FULL STORY
Morning Brief: South Korea: We will retaliate if North strikes again
Top news: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s nominee to take over as defense chief said in his parliamentary confirmation hearing that his jets would bomb the North if North Korea forces staged another attack like last week’s deadly shelling.
"In case the enemy attacks our territory and people again, we will
thoroughly retaliate to ensure that the enemy cannot provoke again," said Kim Kwan-jin, a four star general and former infantry commander. The hearing is considered a formality since parliament doesn’t have the power to reject Lee’s choice.
Lee’s government, which came into office promising a tough line against North Korea, has come under intense criticism for its mild response to last week’s attack and the sinking of a South Korean destroyer in March. The South fired only 80 round of artillery last week in response to 170 by the North.
The South Korean government has been reluctant to take major military action against the North as Seoul likes only 30 miles from the North Korean border, well within rocket range.
Japan and the United States began their largest ever joint military drills on Friday. The exercise comes just a few days after similar drills with U.S. and South Korean forces in the Yellow Sea.
World Cup:Russia and Qatar were named by FIFA as the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts.
Europe
- WikiLeaks was forced to switch to a Swiss domain name this morning as a result of repeated hacker attacks on its U.S. domain.
- The Spanish government has approved a new package of austerity measures.
- Police have arrested four men in connection with an attempted car bombing in Northern Ireland.
Asia
- New WikiLeaks cables discuss staggering levels of corruption in the Afghan government.
- The United States has agreed to award some lucrative Afghan war fueling contracts to Kyrgyzstan.
- China says it will tighten its monetary policy in 2011.
- Middle East
- Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will boycott a runoff parliamentary election on Sunday.
- The prime minister of the Hamas government denied Israeli accusations that al Qaeda is operating in Gaza.
- Israel is struggling to contain a lethal forest fire.
Americas
- Health clinics in rural Haiti are being overwhelmed by the ongoing cholera outbreak.
- WikiLeaks cables on Cuba allege links to terrorist groups in Colombia and Spain.
- Brazil has amended its oil-drilling laws to encourage offshore development.
Africa
- A Nigerian military raid in the Niger delta killed as many as 150 people according to human rights groups.
- The Ivory Coast’s electoral commission declined to certify presidential election results.
- Nigeria’s anticorruption police announced plans to file charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
KIM JAE-HWAN/AFP/Getty Images
Steelers win battle with Ravens to take over AFC North – Reuters
 ESPN (blog) |
Steelers win battle with Ravens to take over AFC North
Reuters Pittsburgh Steelers running back Issac Redmond (33) runs past Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson en route to scoring what proved to be the game winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of their NFL football game in Baltimore, Maryland December 5 … What We Learned: Steelers in control of division Steelers score late touchdown, top Ravens Anatomy of RavensÂ' last-minute decision to go for 1st down |
North Korea: Why They Are What They Are
The United States ended WWII by dropping two nuclear weapons upon the Japanese homeland in 1945. The surrender of the Japanese came soon after, catching The Kremlin and The Pentagon off guard. The invasion of Japan was a certainty to War Plans folks in July and August of ‘45 so no plans had been made to “split up the world.” Upon the Japanese surrender, Moe, Larry, Curly, Moeski, Larrychenko, and Curlyscovich began dividing the globe with a pencil.
The Korean Peninsula was divided by an arbitrary, penciled in, International Boundary along the 38th parallel between Communist North Korea and “Democratic” South Korea. (They also split the French Indo-Chinese peninsula along the 17th parallel separating North Vietnam from South Vietnam. This went well, too.) By June of 1950 Kim il Sung, the great Maoist in N. Korea, had decided that it was morally wrong to keep all those poor families separated any longer (NOT) so the North Korean Peoples Army (nKPA) invaded S. Korea on the 25th under the guise of uniting the Korean people. This was to be under Communist rule of course.
As the nKPA streamed down the peninsula, the United States, which had been blissfully sucking-in the sweet victory of WWII and de-militarizing itself, reacted. President Truman called on first Gen. Douglas Macarthur and then the fledgling United Nations to stop the invasion with military might in what was to be called a “Police Action.” That’s important in its ramifications for the next 60 years (Clear and Present Danger Policy) and into perpetuity. The US Army was occupying Japan and loving the spoils while conducting no training with little ammo and used up equipment. After all the US was a strong nuclear power and the vaunted winners of the 2nd War to end all Wars. Therefore, when the nKPA invaded the US reaction was to send one battalion of infantry (TF Smith) to the war in order to show the North Koreans that the WWII winners were now on the battlefield arrayed against them. We just knew they would quit. OOPS!
The nKPA pushed the S.Korean and UN forces as they arrived all the way to the “Pusan Perimeter” forcing Gen MacArthur to conduct an amphibious assault of the peninsula at Inchon thereby cutting off the nKPA. This action allowed the UN allies to successfully counterattack North routing the nKPA and forcing them all the way to the Yalu River, the International Boundary with China. It was now October 1950 and the Chinese attacked in strength pushing UN forces again South of the 38th parallel. The United States had had enough so we began a long road to the current Armistice agreement which was signed in 1953 and has been breached, ignored, violated, spurned as non-existent, et al ad nauseated by North Korea.
And so what have we done in the past, when they axe murdered 2 army officers in Pan mun jom, when they murdered South Korean civilians, fired on us, thumbed their noses at the Armistice agreement, kidnapped the USS Pueblo and MADE US apologize in writing, an apology they read frequently in Armistice meetings????
The exact same thing we will do in the future. Absolutely nothing!! Kelvin= absolute zero. Oh, yeah, we’ll posture and proclaim and say “you better not do that again” and when they bust a nuke on Seoul (because they have no idea what the killing radius of a 20MT warhead is) we’ll whine and cry about the casualties, we’ll be Carteresque and want to buy the bastards a coke, or Obamaesque and have a beer with them.
There has never been a downside for the North Koreans. Never! They do whatever they please and Big Bro’ up North looms over them in protection. Now, Big Bro owns our debt…..uh oh…now we’ll really show them. Perhaps we can loan Kim Jong wrong, or Kim Ding Dong the Lincoln bedroom.
Arab jihad fighters and preachers growing presence in North Caucasus
Waging jihad on behalf of the umma is a supra-national endeavor. “Jihad in the Caucasus?,” by Stephanie Findlay in Macleans, December 2 (thanks to Harold):
An increasing number of recent terrorist attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus have attracted the attention of analysts who point to a growing role of Arab fighters and even preachers in the region. “North Caucasus jihadis’ linkage to the global jihad is now at a level in which clerics have become influential and are sought out for fatwas and advice,” writes Murad Batal al-Shishani, a political analyst at the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based political think tank, noting what appears to be the spreading influence of Arab Salafist ideologues.
Among the recent examples of an Arab presence is the highly publicized but not unique death of 24-year-old Jordanian Anas Khalil Khadir, who was killed in Chechnya in June after joining jihadist groups there. And in August, Jordanian Salafist ideologue Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Syrian cleric Abu Basir al-Tartusi condemned the fracturing of jihadist groups in Chechnya and the North Caucasus, advocating they unite under the militant Chechen Islamic leader Doku Umarov….
Illinois tops North Carolina with balanced attack – ESPN
Kansas City Star |
Illinois tops North Carolina with balanced attack
ESPN Were you at the game? Did you attend another game recently? Check in with ESPN Passport for iPhone, or check in online to archive your memories, photos, and your personal win-loss record. North Carolina forward Tyler Zeller (44) goes up for a dunk in … Illini's balance too much for North Carolina Recap: Illinois vs. North Carolina No. 20 Illinois holds off North Carolina, 79-67 |
