The Patriot Files Forums http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum The Patriot Files :: Dedicated to the preservation of military history en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:16:07 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg The Patriot Files Forums http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum <![CDATA[Google's YouTube Hosts Taliban's Official Channel **Bumped**]]> http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114883&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:18:53 GMT Google's YouTube Hosts Taliban's Official Channel **Bumped**

UPDATE by Rusty: I'm bumping the post. This is too important. This is either the official YouTube account for the Taliban or it's by a fan passing it off as official. Either way, which part of it's illegal to provide business services to the Taliban and their supporters does Google not get?

One is left to wonder whether Google's YouTube is one of the 200 or so Islamist extremist English language websites that the Saudis claim now outnumber similar Arabic websits?

----

Adil Watanmal, the official Taliban webmaster known for such wonderful sites as http://www.alemarah.info, has opened a Youtube channel.


http://www.youtube.com/user/TheIslamicEmirate

Which is from "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" which is the name of the shadow government of the Taliban.

We'd just like to thank Youtube for giving an officially sanctioned terrorist entity with whom we are at war a nice free platform from which to spread its propaganda.
End sarcasm.





http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/199656.php ]]> Enduring Freedom darrels joy http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114883 Afghan police are weak link in security force http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114882&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:13:29 GMT AP


KABUL – Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home.

A strong, unified national police force has long eluded Afghanistan, a country torn by occupation and warfare for hundreds of years. But with the West now attempting to help turn the country from a failed state into at least a functioning one, the police will play a crucial role in making cities safe places to live.

That's needed to win the loyalty of ordinary Afghans, many of whom note that under the repressive rule of the Taliban, at least crime was low.

President Hamid Karzai brought the issue into sharp focus during his inaugural address Thursday, when he said he wanted Afghan security forces to take the lead in securing the nation within five years.

But some analysts estimate it could take a decade before cities can be secured by a police force that is riddled with corruption, unprofessionalism and illiteracy.

"You really do not have anything like the level of support or training for the police you have for the army," said military analyst Anthony Cordesman. "The leadership within the police is much weaker, much less well trained, and far more corrupt." They often have contacts with "power brokers, criminals, drug lords and the Taliban," he said.

If the situation is not remedied, said Cordesman, Afghanistan "risks losing the war."

Police on the street and manning checkpoints often find themselves on the front line of a virulent insurgency, making them three times more likely to be killed than Afghan soldiers. From January 2007 to July this year, 1,973 police were killed, compared with 735 Afghan troops.

"We are expected to fight insurgents, not just criminals," said Khan Mohammed Zazai, police chief in the violent southern province of Kandahar. He said his force faced shortages of assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, ammunition and four-wheel drive vehicles.

"There would be no need for more sophisticated weapons if we did not need to fight an insurgency. But we are fighting an insurgency as well. If we don't get better equipment, we will lose."

It is not just weapons they lack.

Standing in Kabul's chaotic Mandae Market beside banana and sunglasses vendors, Maj. Ahmed Farid Hotak of the 101 Asmey Zone National Police, which is in charge of security in the city center, pointed to one of his young subordinates, the man's shoulders hunched against the chill of a November evening.

"See, it's winter and he still has a spring uniform," Hotak said, adding that he bought himself a warm winter uniform with his own money.

Currently it's just the desperate who sign up for the job — and even then, many leave, often taking their equipment with them. That puts more strain on a recruitment drive that has to sign up thousands just to maintain the current numbers, let alone increase the force to the recommended 160,000 by 2013. In a country where 72 percent of the population is illiterate, those who can read rarely have problems finding better-paid jobs.

Only "illiterate people will accept the salary that we pay the police," said Brig. Gen. Khudadad Agah, who is in charge of training. He said a policeman's starting salary is 6,000 afghani ($120) a month, except in Kandahar where Zazai said it is 9,000 afghani ($184) because that is a hotbed of Taliban attacks.

"An educated person will not work for 6,000 afghanis a month," Agah said.

To make things worse for the beat cop, his superior often skims 30 percent off the top of his meager salary, according to police on the street.

If current rates of attrition continue, a quarter of Afghanistan's police force will have quit by the end of next year. Thousands more will be dead or wounded.

Hotak, who has lost more than half his men, is so desperate to bolster his unit's numbers that he is ready to take anyone who passes a basic background check — even untrained. Of the 642 in his unit, 370 couldn't make ends meet in the capital and returned home to the provinces.

"We told our colleagues `We need recruits. I need people. If they pass a background check, put them into my unit, and afterward send them to training,"' he said.

Another big worry is how many insurgents have infiltrated the police.

Earlier this month, a rogue policeman in Helmand province shot and killed five British soldiers. Although the gunman's motive was unclear, the attack risks damaging the trust between Afghan police who work side-by-side with their foreign mentors.

"It is certainly an indicator that, largely, loyalties are fickle," said Mark Moyar of the Marine Corps University, a counterinsurgency analyst who recently wrote a book on the subject.

Bringing the police up to speed will be a huge challenge even with more international help in training and equipping the national security forces.

"It's not going to be anything that can be solved in a year or two," Moyar said. "To develop the kind of leadership where the Afghans can do it largely on their own is probably 10 years out."

He said success will lie in developing a competent leadership free of corruption and a sense of professionalism throughout the force — from top commanders to beat policemen, many of whom currently shake down street vendors for bribes.

Agah, the police training general, insisted corruption was worst among high-level police authorities. He said low-ranking policemen can't be held responsible for demanding small bribes.

"That is all done on the orders of their commanders," he said. "I cannot blame the policeman over what we should blame their commanders and bosses for."

But it is petty corruption which most affects ordinary Afghans and strengthens the insurgency. The Taliban promise accountability and had a reputation while in power of not tolerating corruption — they would often paint the face of an accused man black to humiliate him before firing him.

Shoe salesman Golam Azat said he and other cart owners pay police a weekly fee to be allowed to sell their goods at Kabul's central market.

"It's illegal to sell on the street," he said. "If I don't pay, then they will kick me out."

The going rate is about 100 afghanis per day, or about $2. That's a princely sum for Azat who makes only 200 afghanis ($4) a day.

"I have no money. How can I feed my children? Business is not good, so how can I pay?" he asked. "In the Taliban times, they didn't do this." ]]> Enduring Freedom David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114882 Clemency denied for Marine convicted of murder in Iraq http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114881&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:10:30 GMT AP


SAN DIEGO — The secretary of the Navy has denied clemency for Pvt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, the Plymouth Marine who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for killing an Iraqi man in 2006.

Three Marines and a Navy man convicted of aiding the kidnapping and murder have been ordered removed from the military, the Navy said Wednesday.

Hutchins was the only defendant convicted of murder and the only one currently in prison.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus issued the ruling more than two years after the accusations were aired in a Camp Pendleton courtroom.

The men had been allowed to stay on active duty after serving short jail terms for charges linked to the death in the village of Hamdania.

“To allow these individuals to remain on active duty after planning and participating in kidnapping and murder sends absolutely the wrong message as to how the nation and Department of the Navy view this incident,” Mabus said in a statement.

“It degrades the actions of thousands of Marines and sailors who, under the stress of combat in Iraq, performed honorably,” he said.

Mabus launched his review at the request of members of Congress, including Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., who were seeking clemency for Hutchins.

Richard Brannon, an attorney for Hutchins, said he will continue to ask members of Congress to pursue clemency. “I haven’t given up,” he said.


Capt. Beci Brenton, a spokeswoman for Mabus, said he was unavailable for further comment.

The secretary found the killing was deliberately planned and not conceived in the heat of battle or the stress of war, Brenton said.

Mabus also ordered the Marines to explain why 1st Lt. Nathan Phan, who oversaw the Camp Pendleton unit, should be allowed to remain in the service. Phan was not charged in the case.

Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in June 2006 with kidnapping and murdering Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, two months earlier. They were accused of taking him from his home, marching him to a ditch and shooting him to death.

Navy corpsman Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos of Franklin, Wis., pleaded guilty to kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap and making false official statements. Marine Lance Cpl. John J. Jodka III, of Encinitas, Calif., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, of Tracy, Calif., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., of Matlock, Wash., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

All will get either an honorable or general discharge, Brenton said. They have no recourse to appeal.

Three other defendants left the military after their prison terms ended.

Attorneys for two of the four men ordered removed from the military said the decision amounted to second-guessing officials who considered the case.

“The political process should play no part in the court-martial system,” said Joseph Casas, who represents Jodka. “The fact that it did weakens the confidence in our military justice system.”

Jeremiah Sullivan, who represents Bacos, said his client was promoted to petty officer 3rd class after pleading guilty and was recently awarded a Good Conduct Medal.

“The secretary of the Navy can legally make this decision, but it’s the wrong moral decision,” Sullivan said. “I’m seething about this.”














Marine Lawrence Hutchins, of Plymouth, in a photo taken in 2006 at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Calif.

]]> General Posts David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114881 Army Announces Independent Body Armor Review http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114880&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:17:57 GMT * ...]]>
Army Announces Independent Body Armor Review

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today that the National Research Council (NRC) will perform an independent assessment of the Army's body armor testing, following last month's recommendation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for an independent review. The NRC functions under the auspices of the National Academies, a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology, and health policy advice to the federal government and the public on critical national issues.

"We are committed to providing our warfighters with world-class equipment, and are confident that our body armor continues to defeat the threat to our soldiers," McHugh said. "The Army welcomes this independent review, and is grateful for the analysis and expertise of the National Research Council."

"I appreciated the opportunity to discuss this initiative with Dr. Gilmore, the Department of Defense's director of operational test and evaluation, prior to its completion," McHugh continued. "As I said at the time, I fully endorse this analysis and pledge the Army will render its total cooperation."

Under an agreement between the National Academies and the director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E), the Department of Defense's final independent authority on survivability testing of body armor, the NRC will perform an independent assessment of ongoing body armor testing. The purpose of the NRC assessment is to ensure that the Army maintains the highest standards for testing processes and protocols, thus addressing concerns raised by the GAO about current testing procedures.

"The continued partnership with DOT&E, the NRC, and the GAO will ensure the complete, accurate, and careful testing of body armor critical to ensuring soldiers' confidence in their equipment," McHugh said. "The Army is constantly refining and improving its testing processes and procedures, and we welcome additional expertise to help ensure that we continue to field the best body armor available."

Within the Army, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the army (acquisition, logistics and technology) has recently assigned a quality, process, and compliance executive who is responsible for oversight of process compliance across the acquisition community, and who is directly accountable to the Army acquisition executive. The highest priority for the compliance executive is the ongoing body armor ballistic testing by being conducted by the Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
]]> Active Duty Concerns darrels joy http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114880 Marines Reflect On Duty, Death In Afghanistan http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114879&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:07:38 GMT NPR The more than 800 Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment are nearing the end of their seven-month deployment to Afghanistan. NPR... NPR


The more than 800 Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment are nearing the end of their seven-month deployment to Afghanistan. NPR reporters have been following the Marines of "America's Battalion" since they left North Carolina's Camp Lejeune in May.


At first, they were eager to get into the fight against the Taliban, chafing at the boredom of camp life in the desert.


Now, after numerous firefights, roadside bombs and the loss of more than a dozen comrades, the Marines of "America's Battalion" see warfare in a different light.


On a July morning, Pfc. Donald Vincent grabbed a pen and picked up his new journal. He opened to the first page and wrote down these words in small, neat script:


I have a patrol in a couple of hours. I still haven't had an opportunity to fire my weapon but I'm sure it's coming. I have to say that it's quite amazing out here. We have pretty much gone from oasis to oasis. Green fields of corn, okra, grapes and even marijuana. And in the distance you can see the desert surrounding us. There's lots of life out here. Some beautiful birds, different lizards, cats, dogs and I've even seen a couple of camels. Well I'm going to go for now. I'll write more after the patrol.


Vincent never wrote another word.


He was shot and killed on that patrol. The 26-year-old was the first Marine from Fox Company to die in Afghanistan.


Lance Cpl. Brad Stys was one of Vincent's friends. Sitting among other Marines from Fox Company in their tent, Stys says he has not forgotten his friend.

"I still look over there and still think I see his rack, you know. He should still be here," Stys says.

In another tent across the patrol base, 1st Sgt. Derrick Mays sits on a cot under some camouflage netting. He is the top enlisted man in Fox Company — and he promised the parents back at Camp Lejeune that he would bring their sons home. Now, Mays grapples with what he'll say to them.


"That's one of the things that will probably forever haunt me," he says, looking away.


"What can you tell a parent of someone that's deceased?" he asks. "What I can do is give them my well wishes, and always be there for them."


Vincent wasn't the first loss for these Marines.


Just days before, one of the Marines' Afghan interpreters — known as "terps" — was killed by a roadside bomb. His nickname was Jason.


He cooked Afghan meals for the Marines. He always ran toward the head of the patrol, ready to help.


Sgt. Richard Lacey was blown forward by the blast that killed Jason. The interpreter had stepped on a pressure plate, a triggering device for a homemade bomb.


"The terp got blown over the compound wall, into a compound. We had to go in and get him. He was basically Jell-O from the waist down," Lacey says.


The interpreter left his parents, a brother and a young sister in Kabul.


Lacey remembers how that night — back at their base — the Marines ate their rations in silence.

"Nobody really talked. It was just quiet," he recalls.


Those first deaths changed everything.


"Once that went off, we were like, yup, this is not going to be all fun and games, how we thought it was going to be at Leatherneck. This is real. People's lives are on the line," Lacey says, referring to the large desert base where the Marines were stationed for two months at the beginning of the summer.

At Camp Leatherneck, the Marines were bored — living inside a large white tent that they called "the circus tent." They talked of "Semper Kill," getting some action.


Back in June, the Marines were just about to mount a massive operation to try to take back the Helmand River valley from the Taliban. They couldn't wait, Lt. James Wende said at the time.


"Marines, they want to go and they want to get into the fight, so everyone was pretty much hoping for Afghanistan. So, we'll see — they say be careful what you wish for," Wende said.


Lt. Sam Oliver wanted to get into the fight, too.


"I don't think you're ever in a hurry to get shot at. But you want to get out and do what you've been trained to do. You want to do your job. It's like the firefighter who waits to get to go to a fire. You don't necessarily want it, but you want to see what all your training is for," Oliver said at Leatherneck.


More than four months later, Wende and Oliver are different men.


Wende is physically changed. He was already tall and slim. Yet he's shed about 30 pounds from the heat and constant foot patrols. And there's almost a wistful smile as he thinks of his old self, just a few months back.


"I think you come into it expecting what you see on TV or in the movies. And then the first time you take a casualty, it really hits home how real this is. You almost feel lost for a few moments until you regain yourself and regain control over what's happening around you," Wende says now.


Then there's Oliver, the Marine who didn't want to get shot at.


Not only did he get shot at — he stepped on a homemade bomb and was blown against a wall and lost consciousness.


"You just kind of realize the whole thing, like wow, probably should've been dead on that one, because the dude buried it 6 inches too deep, because you were one foot in the wrong direction. There's been a lot of guys this deployment that it didn't work out for them," he says.


Now, Oliver is at a small patrol base — a mud compound that looks like a cross between a ruined castle and a giant anthill. He is surrounded by cases of rounds and rockets.


He also remembers the boasting back at Camp Leatherneck in the early summer.


"Some of it was more of the glory of it. … For myself and a majority of the guys in my platoon, it was that naive thin—-- 'This is going to be awesome,' " he says.


It was awesome — but not in the way they expected.


Pvt. Joseph Sileski describes it this way:


"I got the experience, but it's not how I wanted it to be. … [i] didn't want any of us to get hit, and I wanted to actually kill them. But they've been blowing us up. They shot Vincent. In Fox Company, that's the only person that got hurt from a gunshot wound and died from it."

The squad mates of Pfc. Donald Vincent, one of the first of the Marines in America's Battalion to have been killed on this deployment, will give his journal — the one with the single entry — to his parents.


They all plan to write a few lines about him — how Vincent arrived at the base camp a few days before everyone else, got in good with the supply guys and made sure the Marines who needed new boots got them.


"There's not much you can say," says his friend Stys, "just try to talk about our remembrances of him."

And how his death changed everything. ]]> Enduring Freedom David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114879 Pakistan demands US share Afghan blueprint http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114878&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:04:16 GMT AP ISLAMABAD – Pakistan expressed fear Friday that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into... AP


ISLAMABAD – Pakistan expressed fear Friday that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into its territory and called on the U.S. to factor in that concern as part of its new war strategy.

Meanwhile, a suspected U.S. missile strike killed eight militants in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, the second attack this week in an area believed to hold many insurgents who fled from an army offensive elsewhere in the Afghan border region. American officials generally do not acknowledge the unpopular attacks.

The Pakistani concerns, raised by the prime minister during a meeting with visiting CIA director Leon Panetta, could pose another headache for President Barack Obama as he weighs military proposals to send 10,000 to 40,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan next year.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the United States must fully share its plans for Afghanistan with Pakistan so that it can contribute to them, according to a statement from his office.

Gilani also warned that more troops could push militants across the border.

The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the CIA director's visit to the country. American security and government leaders have frequently visited Pakistan in recent weeks to urge it to do more against militants on its side of the border blamed for violence inside Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials have said in the past that they were worried that Obama's original surge of 21,000 troops this summer would lead to more militants crossing over into the country, something that has not happened.

Also, U.S. plans to close remote posts near the border and instead focus on larger population centers in Afghanistan have sparked fears that militants will now find it easier to move between the two countries.

Pakistan's government is under domestic pressure not to be seen simply taking orders from the United States and give the impression it has a say in any new Afghan policy. As such, Gilani's statement could have been as much directed at a local audience as to the Americans.

Pakistan's army launched an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan in mid-October — an effort welcomed by Washington. It has retaken many towns in the lawless region, but many militants are believed to have fled north to escape the fighting and have retaliated with deadly bombings and clashes.

Four Pakistani soldiers, including a captain, were killed Friday when militants ambushed their convoy in the North Waziristan area of Shawal, local intelligence officials said.

Two police officers also were killed and four others were wounded earlier Friday when a remote-controlled bomb destroyed their vehicle in Peshawar, said city police Chief Liaquat Ali Khan. The attack occurred hours after a suicide bomber killed 19 people in the city, which is the main gateway to the al-Qaida and Taliban-inhabited border region.

Pakistani officials flagged the offensive in South Waziristan several months before it actually began, which critics say allowed the militants to escape and plan the current wave of terror.

A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound being used by suspected Taliban militants in a village near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, according to two intelligence officials.

The compound was destroyed and eight bodies and two wounded militants were pulled from the rubble, two other intelligence officials said, adding that Taliban militants were frequently seen at the targeted building.

The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information

Another suspected U.S. missile strike killed three militants and wounded four just after midnight Thursday in Shana Khuwara village in North Waziristan, officials said.

Anti-American sentiment is pervasive throughout Pakistan. The Pakistani government publicly condemns the U.S. strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but many analysts believe the two countries have a secret deal allowing them.

Obama, who has been criticized for taking so long to weigh the issue, has promised to announce his decision on Afghanistan over the next several weeks.

Pakistan helped nurture a generation of Islamic militants after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Following the Soviet withdrawal a decade later, Pakistan helped the Taliban seize control. Many of these militants fled to Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. ]]> Enduring Freedom David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114878 Breitbart to AG Holder: Investigate ACORN or We’ll Release More Tapes Just Before 201 http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114876&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:07:42 GMT *Breitbart to AG Holder: Investigate ACORN or We’ll Release More Tapes Just Before 2010 Election* by *Publiu ... Breitbart to AG Holder: Investigate ACORN or We’ll Release More Tapes Just Before 2010 Election

by Publiu
Earlier tonight Andrew Breitbart, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles discussed the final chapter of the ACORN L.A. saga on “Hannity,” but more interestingly, Breitbart disclosed where the story goes from here. Transcript (below) starts from 3:50 into the clip:
Breitbart: There’s a lot of hypocrisy and the dust has settled for ACORN and at the end of the day they’ve recognized that Eric Holder, the Attorney General, has not initiated an investigation into ACORN after we now have seven tapes. There were five initially that came out, ACORN was defunded by the Senate, was defunded by the House, lost it’s link to the Census; while all that damage occurred, Congress didn’t come in to investigate them, obviously not the Attorney General’s office, and they’ve now realized let’s get back into business because they realized that the dust settled and they were not being investigated, it was Hannah, James, and me who were being investigated, that’s why we’ve been forced to offer this latest tape.

Hannity: Are you saying, Andrew, that there are more tapes?

Breitbart: Oh my goodness there are! Not only are there more tapes, it’s not just ACORN. And this message is to Attorney General Holder: I want you to know that we have more tapes, it’s not just ACORN, and we’re going to hold out until the next election cycle, or else if you want to do a clean investigation, we will give you the rest of what we have, we will comply with you, we will give you the documentation we have from countless ACORN whistleblowers who want to come forward but are fearful of this organization and the retribution that they fear that this is a dangerous organization. So if you get into an investigation, we will give you the tapes; if you don’t give us the tapes, we will revisit these tapes come election time.

Hannity: This is a blockbuster, what you’re saying here. You guys have more tapes, you’ll release them before the election, that could have a big impact on the election, obviously…

http://biggovernment.com/2009/11/20/...2010-election/ ]]> Political Debate darrels joy http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114876 Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114875&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:48:12 GMT AP TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze... AP


TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

Smiling kids embracing a soldier. A dog sniffing blood oozing from a corpse. Movie star Cameron Diaz posing sideways in a midriff top. Troops cowering for safety during an ambush.

A doctor tracked his stress levels and counted the number of times he blinked. Electrode wires dangled from his left eye and right pinky finger.

Sheets is part of a military experiment to try to predict who's most at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Understanding underlying triggers might help reduce the burden of those who return psychologically wounded — if they can get early help.

PTSD is a crippling condition that can emerge after a terrifying event — car accident, sexual assault, terrorist attack or combat. It's thought to affect as many as one in five veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Military doctors have been mystified as to why certain warfighters exposed to bombings and bloodshed develop paralyzing stress symptoms while others who witness the same trauma shake it off.

Studies on veterans and civilians point to some clues. Childhood abuse, history of mental illness and severity of trauma seem to raise a person's risk. Having a social net and a coping strategy appear to offer some protection.

However, none of the factors explored so far are reliable predictors.

"Right now, we can't determine with certainty who will and who won't develop PTSD," said Paula Schnurr, deputy executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. "Perhaps with better measures, we can get closer."

Earlier this year, a quarterly publication from the national PTSD center found that studies to date have looked at only "a narrow band of the potential risk and resilience predictors" and that more work beyond surveys was needed.

New PTSD studies are using technology to try to get at the answer. Select Marine and Army units are undergoing a battery of physical and mental tests before deployment including genetic testing, brain imaging and stress exams. They are followed in war zones and upon return.

There's an urgency to detect early signs. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, more than 1.8 million U.S. troops have fought in Afghanistan or Iraq. The Obama administration is weighing whether to increase forces in Afghanistan where violence has escalated in recent months.

Previously called shell shock, combat fatigue and post-Vietnam syndrome, PTSD was officially recognized as a mental disorder in 1980. Sufferers experience flashbacks, nightmares, sudden outbursts and social withdrawal and are sometimes haunted years after the trauma.

The ongoing wars have given scientists fresh opportunities to follow service members.

One autumn morning, a throng of Marines squeezed into a trailer at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Southern California before deploying to Afghanistan. They belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment — nicknamed the "Thundering Third."

"We're doing this not to make you better prepared to go do what you have to do in Afghanistan. We're not doing this to make your health any better," said Dr. William Nash, a retired Navy psychiatrist and study co-investigator. "We're doing this so that we can learn more about how to protect Marines from stress injuries like PSTD."

Nash asked how many have heard of PTSD. A half dozen raised their hands.

Who wants PTSD? "Right, nobody," he answered rhetorically.

The trailer soon buzzed like a factory, with Marines rotating from one test station to another in an assembly line. They donated blood, urine and saliva samples so researchers can search for genetic biomarkers that might play a role.

Groundbreaking research published last year on adult survivors of child abuse suggests that specific variations of a gene increased their chances of developing PTSD. Scientists believe there may be many other gene variants that contribute to PTSD risk.

Marines also underwent a blink test to gauge their startle response and neuropsychological screening. They filled out questionnaires and were interviewed by psychiatrists with a checklist to diagnose PTSD.

The work is funded by the Marine Corps, Veterans Affairs and Navy Medicine. Last year, about 1,000 Marines were recruited before leaving for Iraq.

This latest batch of 673 Marines who were tested during a two-week period in the fall headed to Afghanistan where they're sure to see more intense fighting. They will be followed up in the field by Navy corpsmen with special "stress first-aid" training to read early signals.

Researchers recently did six-month follow-up testing on some Marines who returned from Iraq. It will take time to analyze the results, said the study's lead investigator, Dr. Dewleen Baker of the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Cmdr. Bryan Schumacher, the 1st Marine Division's top doctor, said the purpose of studying PTSD triggers is not to bar someone from service. If it turns out that something can be done to prevent it, those vulnerable could get special training to reduce their risk, he said.

Similar research is ongoing 1,300 miles away at the University of Texas at Austin where scientists have collected detailed health data from 178 soldiers from nearby Fort Hood who recently came back from Iraq. The base was the scene of a massacre on Nov. 5 when an Army psychiatrist opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding dozens more.

The shooting has not affected the research, which enrolled first-time deployed soldiers. Unlike the Marines, the soldiers filled out monthly questionnaires online while in combat that tracked their experiences such as whether they saw a roadside bomb go off or knew of a wounded buddy.

Before deployment, soldiers submitted a DNA sample, had an MRI scan of their brain and inhaled carbon dioxide as part of a stress reaction test.

Early results suggest soldiers who reacted more strongly to the CO2 test and who were exposed to more stress in the field showed greater PTSD symptoms, said chief researcher Michael Telch, of UT Austin's Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders.

The decision to volunteer in the Marine experiment was personal for Lance Cpl. Jaecob Kyllo. His grandfather fought in Korea and Vietnam and two uncles served in Operation Desert Storm. They spoke less afterward and would get irritated easily.

Kyllo said his uncles were diagnosed with PTSD and suspects his grandfather had it too.

"I've seen it before and it's not the most pleasant thing," said the 20-year-old from Seattle, who previously served in Iraq.

Melvin Carter, a 27-year-old Marine sergeant who had done three tours in Iraq, noticed buddies who were once laid-back turn angry after coming home. The Oakland, Calif., native copes with stress by laughing and cracking jokes.

Navy corpsman Benjamin Reinhardt was recently trained to look for signs of PTSD in 20 Marines attached to a mortar platoon. He likened his job to a school nurse. Marines confide in him about their innermost struggles. He thinks he can spot when someone is not himself.

"I tend to be reasonably observant with people's personalities. I can see changes," said the 21-year-old from upstate New York.

He added: "I hope none of us become PTSD casualties."

Sheets, a 22-year-old private first class from Newark, Del., has never seen combat before. Before joining the Marines, Sheets dabbled with college and was working a dead-end job hauling trash.

He enlisted after being inspired by a sermon from his pastor. While in infantry school, he met a sergeant who suffered from PTSD. He's not exactly sure what it is, but has heard horror stories.

"A guy comes home from war and he's freaking out. He's beating his wife. He's drinking. He's doing everything he can. He'll go off and he'll hate the Marine Corps," Sheets said. "And it's just like, OK, is that going to be me when I come home?" ]]> General Posts David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114875 <![CDATA[200 Web sites spread al-Qaida's message in English]]> http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114874&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:47:01 GMT AP


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings.

The U.S.-born al-Awlaki has been an inspiration to several militants arrested in the United States and Canada in recent years, with his Web-based sermons often turning up on their computers.

"The point is you don't have to be an official part of al-Qaida to spread hatred and sectarian views," said Evan Kohlmann, a senior investigator for the New York-based NEFA Foundation, which researches Islamic militants.

"If you look at the most influential documents in terms of homegrown terrorism cases, it's not training manuals on building bombs," Kohlmann said. "The most influential documents are the ones that are written by theological advisers, some of whom are not even official al-Qaida members."

Most of the radical Islamic sites are not run or directed by al-Qaida, but they provide a powerful tool for recruiting sympathizers to its cause of jihad, or holy war, against the United States, experts who track the activity said.

The number of English-language sites sympathetic to al-Qaida has risen from about 30 seven years ago to more than 200 recently, said Abdulmanam Almushawah, head of a Saudi government program called Assakeena, which works to combat militant Islamic Web sites.

In contrast, Arabic-language radical sites have dropped to around 50, down from 1,000 seven years ago, because of efforts by governments around the world to shut them down, he said.

Al-Qaida has long tried to reach a Western audience. Videotaped messages from its leader, Osama bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri usually have English subtitles. But translations of writings and sermons that form the theological grounding for al-Qaida's ideology, along with preachers like al-Awlaki, mostly eliminate the language barrier.

Al-Awlaki's sermons have turned up on the computers of nearly every homegrown terror suspect arrested in the United States, Kohlmann said.

Members of a group of Canadian Muslims arrested in 2006 for allegedly forming a training camp and plotting bombing attacks in Toronto listened to his online calls for jihad, according to the case against them in court. According to prosecutors, an al-Awlaki sermon on jihad was among the numerous materials — including videos of beheadings — found on the computers of five men convicted in December of plotting attacks on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey.

On his Web site and in widely circulated lectures, the 38-year-old al-Awlaki, now in hiding in Yemen, often calls on Muslims to fight against the United States, accusing it of waging war on Islam in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nidal Hasan, who has been charged in the Fort Hood shootings, contacted al-Awlaki nearly a year ago. In an interview published in The Washington Post, al-Awlaki said he did not pressure Hasan to carry out the shooting, but after the attack, al-Awlaki praised him as a hero. U.S. investigators have said Hasan appears to have acted alone, not on orders from anyone, when he opened fire Nov. 5 at the Texas military base, killing 13.

The cleric met two of the 9/11 hijackers at mosques where he preached in the United States, and after his return to Yemen he was detained for more than a year on suspicion of involvement in a kidnapping gang. Yemeni officials released him because they could not confirm an al-Qaida link, but they say they are hunting for him again on suspicion he may have ties.

U.S. intelligence officials declined comment on the spread of English-language jihadist Web sites.

Such sites are expected to follow closely the upcoming trials of Hasan and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of being a top architect of the 9/11 attacks, said Rita Katz, head of the U.S. based SITE Intelligence Group, which follows on line militant traffic. The Obama administration announced this week that Mohammed and four others will be put on trial in New York City.

Almushawah said clerics like al-Awlaki are "more dangerous than any other group." And if these clerics are jailed, "it's no big loss for al-Qaida because they don't belong to the network," he said.

Many of the sites post speeches by English-speaking clerics like al-Awlaki or, more often, translations of sermons and lectures by Arabic-speaking clerics.

One site, the Pulpit of Monotheism and Jihad links to sermons by al-Awlaki, alongside English versions of speeches by some of the top sheikhs of jihadist ideology — even some who are dead like Abdullah Azzam.

The proliferation of sites in English means "potential jihadists can know only their native language and still be radicalized," Katz said.

While al-Awlaki has become popular, "other, more prominent and influential Arabic-speaking jihadist sheikhs ... have had their works and speeches translated into English and other languages. Their works tend to be used more often by the jihadist community to justify violence," she said in an e-mail interview. Al-Awlaki "fills a void in that he can directly interact, understand and communicate with English-speaking jihadists in a way that Arabic-speaking clerics cannot."

Almushawah says most of the servers for the sites are in Britain, but they can be run from anywhere and most of them are operated and receive content from the U.S. Most of the clerics who appear on them are in the Arab world with some in France and England.

U.S. intelligence officials declined to comment on the spread of English language sites and their influence.

Saudi Arabia set up its Assakeena program after authorities found that 70 percent of al-Qaida sympathizers were drawn to the group through the Internet. In the campaign, government-backed preachers monitor 400 radical Islamic web sites and inject a more moderate message on the sites.

The campaigners also directly contact and dialogue with militants they encounter on the Web, conversations that can take weeks or months. Of 2,631 militants contacted by the group, 1,170 withdrew their support for radicals, according to the campaign. About a fifth of the militants were from Europe and North American, and the rest from Arab countries.

Assakeena — the name is Arabic for "Tranquility from God" — is part of other hearts-and-minds programs the kingdom launched to complement its crackdown on al-Qaida after the group carried out a series of attacks on foreigners and oil infrastructure in 2004. ]]> Terrorism David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114874 <![CDATA[Troops' post-deployment questionnaires missing]]> http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114873&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:31:36 GMT AP WASHINGTON – Congressional investigators said Thursday that tens of thousands of questionnaires aimed at measuring the mental and physical... AP


WASHINGTON – Congressional investigators said Thursday that tens of thousands of questionnaires aimed at measuring the mental and physical health of returning combat troops can't be found.

As a result, the Government Accountability Office said, the military does not have reasonable assurances that the service members got the opportunity to report their health problems on the forms.

The forms are filled out electronically and used to track health problems among troops. They also give returning soldiers a chance to say if they'd like to see a counselor.

The GAO said about 20 percent of the questionnaires it sought during a set period were missing.

The military's policy is that military members must fill out the forms from three months to six months after they return home from war. The hope is after being home for a while, the member will recognize any problems and seek help.

Military leaders told the GAO that it agreed that more controls should be used to ensure greater accountability with the program. ]]> General Posts David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114873 <![CDATA[Senate passes benefits for vets' caregivers]]> http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114872&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:29:32 GMT AP WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation that would provide monthly stipends and medical benefits to family members... AP


WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation that would provide monthly stipends and medical benefits to family members who stay home to care for severely injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill also includes travel expenses and training for the caregivers, improved health services for women veterans and rural areas, and nearly $1 billion for veterans medical facilities.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure would cost nearly $4 billion over the first five years, most of it to pay for the new caregiver benefits.

Although the bill had bipartisan support, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., held it up for weeks trying to persuade senators to pay for the new spending by making cuts in other programs. He tried without success Thursday to amend the bill to cut funding for the United Nations.

"If, in fact, we want to honor our veterans ... we ought to have the courage to make hard choices about how we pay for it," Coburn said.

But Coburn ultimately supported the bill after his amendment failed. The measure passed on a 98-0 vote.

Supporters, including veterans groups such as the Wounded Warrior Project, argued that the spending is part of the cost of war. Democrats said Coburn and others who were quick to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without paying for them up-front should be just as eager to deal with the consequences.

"We cannot now turn our backs on the obligations to those who fought," said Sen. Daniel Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the bill's sponsor.

Supporters also argued that the caregiver benefits will save money in the long-run as more veterans stay home instead of moving into expensive nursing facilities.

Lawmakers limited the new caregiver benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to keep down the cost.

The House has passed similar legislation, but it has more limited benefits — covering only the most severely wounded veterans. The next step is for a House-Senate conference committee to resolve differences between the two bills.



The bill is S. 1963. ]]> Veterans Benefits David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114872 Terrorists Inside U.S. Increase Attacks, Panel Hears http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114871&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:41:03 GMT Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Terrorist incidents over the past 12 months show that Islamic extremists within the U.S. increasingly are launching attacks... Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Terrorist incidents over the past 12 months show that Islamic extremists within the U.S. increasingly are launching attacks against targets such as military bases, anti-terrorist experts said today.

“The threat is now increasingly from within, from homegrown terrorists who are inspired by violent Islamist ideology to plan and execute attacks where they live,” Mitchell Silber, director of intelligence analysis for the New York City Police Department, said.

Silber was among witnesses testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has started an investigation into events leading up to the Nov. 5 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, in which 13 people were killed and 43 were injured.

While it may be “premature” to link the shootings at the Texas Army base to homegrown radical Islamic terrorism, the incident is similar to other recent incidents at military bases, Juan Zarate, President George W. Bush’s deputy national security adviser, said.

“Unfortunately, this event follows in a line of attacks against military personnel,” said Zarate, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based policy group.

Zarate pointed to a murder outside a military recruitment center in Little Rock, Arkansas, in June and killings at Camp Liberty in Iraq in May and Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait in 2003.

Premeditated Murder

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, has been charged by military authorities with 13 counts of premeditated murder in connection with the Fort Hood incident.

The Homeland Security panel’s probe is the first congressional investigation into the shootings. Republicans have been pressing Democrats, who control Congress, for more probes into the incident.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who heads the panel, has said his goal is to find out how the federal government missed detecting Hasan as a threat.

He said the panel wants to talk to members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who were collecting information on Hasan. The task force is headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The panel also wants to interview staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where Hasan completed a residency in psychiatry before transferring to Fort Hood.

Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said his panel will investigate how the military handled concerns about Hasan.

New Wave

Zarate said the shootings raise “questions about whether we are facing a new wave of terrorism driven in part by self- radicalized actors.”

Some witnesses said they thought those investigating Hasan’s behavior before the shootings may have felt reluctant to act because they were overly concerned with protecting the suspect’s religious beliefs.

Retired General John Keane, the Army’s former vice chief of staff, said the military needs “clear, specific guidelines” on what constitutes jihadist behavior.

“It should not be an act of moral courage for a soldier to identify a fellow solider” as a potentially dangerous Islamic extremist, he said. “It should be an obligation.”

Keane was commanding officer at Fort Bragg in North Carolina during the investigation of racially motivated murders in the 1990s. He said the Fort Hood situation may be similar.

At Fort Bragg, “we were wrongfully tolerating extremists in our organization,” he said.

Pentagon Review

Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans a broad review of the military procedures and policies that were in place before the shootings, a spokesman said.

Gates wants to “assess if the department is doing everything it can to prevent” similar incidents, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The steps could include a review of base security and how “adverse personnel information is handled,” he said.

Frances Fragos Townsend, Bush’s former assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, said reports about Hasan’s communications and ideology indicate that investigators shouldn’t have felt restricted by his First Amendment rights.

Many of the inflammatory comments “had nothing to do with his religion or speech,” she said.

‘Political Correctness’

Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, asked if “political correctness” may have contributed to authorities not stopping Hasan.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that was operating here,” Keane said.

Zarate disagreed and said that any reluctance may have stemmed from the perception of Hasan being a doctor conducting research.

Intelligence agencies last year intercepted e-mails between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim religious leader in Yemen known for his anti-American views. Investigators say there was nothing suspicious in the communications, and they appeared to be related to a research project.

Silber said Hasan’s alleged murder spree came after U.S. authorities foiled a number of terror plots by cells and individuals, including four men placing what they believed were explosives outside a Riverdale, New York, synagogue and community center in April.

In September, authorities arrested Najibullah Zazi for allegedly planning to attack New York sites with explosives.

Most recently, the Internet has become a tool for spurring militants in the U.S. to act, Silber said.

Charismatic religious leaders such as al-Awlaki have been effective in urging on would-be terrorists, he said.

Also testifying today was Brian Jenkins, senior adviser at RAND Corp., a Santa Monica, California-based policy group.

The administration provided no witnesses for the hearing. ]]> Terrorism David http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114871 <![CDATA["Political Debate" forum should be renamed "Angry Right-Wing Bubbas"]]> http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114870&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:09:19 GMT I'm a new member and would like to refer family and friends to this site because it's a great source of history as told by a wide range of military men and women. For sure, the partnership with the Library of Congress is a big “cred” and my hat is off to those who built and administer this site.

But the site has a problem if it wants to be seen as inclusive of all Americans and representing all veterans. The "Latest Posts" section on the home page is often dominated by angry right-wing political rhetoric. Scrolling through the full-list of postings on the "Political Debate" as well as "General Posts" forums reveals that there are two or three people who monopolize it daily with what is often political-hate commentary masked as news. The first impression that this gives of the "Patriot Files" website is that it is only for "real" Americans, you know, the red-meat Republican base that hates anything Obama or "lubberal" – the folks who constantly warn us of impending doom.

Yeah, I voted for the "O" man, and so did a lot of veterans. And speaking for my own family (Grandfather:Army WWI, Father:Navy WWII, myself:Marines, Vietnam era, daughter:Navy, Gulf-war era) our ideologies have been a centrist mixture of conservative AND liberal. I can offer that we generally distrust ALL politicians, especially chickenhawks - you know, those who had "other priorities" when it came to military service, but are still "American-enough" to eagerly send the children of others off to fight.

Sure, the hot-heads will wrap themselves in the flag, claim free-speech and want to take me on - dare me to respond with centrist or left-view arguments that, regardless of any logic or facts presented, will always be slandered as "un-American" and heading us for certain catastrophe. No, I'm not going to engage in that. Not here. It's not why I (and I think MOST people) come to this website. I'd like to believe that it's a place where the stores of many American heroes are archived - heroes who represent every gender, race, religion AND POLITICAL PERSUASION! News-Flash guys: NOT ALL VETERANS ARE RIGHT-WINGERS!

My advice to the Administrators: Free speech and all that, I don't advocate shutting down the "Political Debate" forum or mess with "who" can post what. God knows the bubbas need a place to vent or they might burst an artery or accidently shoot themselves with that loaded 357 laying somewhere under all of those empty beer cans. Instead, remove the news feed for "Political Debate” and "General Posts" from appearing on the home page. "Latest Posts" should be actual postings of military history stories - not the equivalent of a Fox News ticker, and that goes for arguments that are both right and left. In my opinion, the site should be politically neutral if its goal is to provide a credible source of military history for everyone and honor the stories of ALL veterans. ]]> Political Debate jriley1349 http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114870 An Inconvenient State -guns http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114869&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:55:41 GMT *An Inconvenient State* *posted at 11:38 am on November 19, 2009 by Slublog * This week, the Bangor Daily News has been doing a very good... An Inconvenient State

posted at 11:38 am on November 19, 2009 by Slublog


This week, the Bangor Daily News has been doing a very good series on gun ownership in Maine and the state’s gun culture. Today’s article is on the challenge Maine presents to gun-control advocates such as the Brady Campaign. It’s an interesting article, because it shows the extent to which those advocates ignore facts that discredit their claims when seeking new laws to make it harder to purchase firearms.
Blodgett, an Augusta Democrat, arranged for the father of one of the students killed at Columbine High School in Colorado to testify in support of her bill to require private sellers at gun shows to conduct background checks of potential buyers.

But by the time the committee voted, Blodgett had even lost the support of several lawmakers who had signed on as co-sponsors. The unanimous vote against her bill dismayed Blodgett.

“After the vote, I had said that I would never do that again, but I will,” Blodgett said recently. (The most important statement ... "I will" )
Blodgett’s first mistake was violating a cardinal rule of Maine politics: don’t rely on arguments made by people “from away.” Her second was trying to create a law that the state simply doesn’t need. As the article notes, the argument that firearms are a threat to public safety don’t work well in a state where the rate of firearm ownership is high and crime is low.


According to FBI crime statistics, there were 1,547 violent crimes committed in the state last year, and 31 of them were murders. That’s 117 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, or 2.4 murders per 100,000 and random crime is virtually non-existent. Of the 2008 murders, 12 were committed with a firearm. (pdf link). Maine is the sort of state where many people leave their cars and homes unlocked without fear. It’s hard for groups like the Brady Campaign to make the argument that the state needs new firearms laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals when there are so few criminals. The gun control advocates, however, aren’t ones to allow facts to get in the way of their agenda:
A major reason for the low score is Maine policymakers’ resistance to closing the “gun show loophole,” which critics contend feeds the black market and enables convicted felons to purchase firearms from private sellers without background checks. All dealers must perform background checks on potential buyers, whether selling at their store or at a gun show.

“We certainly don’t want to disrupt that hunting culture in Maine,” said Chad Ramsey, senior associate director at the Brady Campaign. “But it only takes a few minutes to get a background check conducted, and it could save lives.”
Of course, many gun shows in Maine only allow licensed dealers to sell and forbid private sales on the premises. When I purchased a handgun at a show a few years ago, a background check was performed on the spot.

The only “loophole” in Maine is private sales, of which there are many.

The push for new gun control laws in Maine makes the agenda of groups like the Brady Campaign very clear – their push for gun control laws is rooted in ideology, not state need. They simply do not seem to care that their laws are not needed or wanted, but they keep working to pass them, as the quote from Rep. Blodgett makes clear. This is not about increasing public safety. It’s about increasing state control over a right guaranteed by both the US Constitution and the Maine Constitution, which states that “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.” In the headline, I called Maine an inconvenient state.

Clearly, to gun-control advocates, that is the case. The continued push for gun control measures is bothersome because it displays an arrogance on the part of those who are doing it ‘for our own good.’ It also shows just how dishonest the Brady Campaign is willing to be to get their way.


Their newest argument for gun laws is to simply ignore the safety of the state.
The Brady Campaign, the national organization Stop Handgun Violence and Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence all contend that Maine’s lax regulations help feed the illegal gun trade — and, therefore, violent crime — in Massachusetts and other states.
…In 2008, Maine supplied 11 percent of the nearly 900 recovered guns in Massachusetts that were traced back to a specific state outside of Massachusetts, according to the report from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That was more than any other state.
So because 90 or so guns were found in Massachusetts, we need to amend our laws to close that darned “gun show loophole.”

There’s one major problem with that argument. Criminals don’t purchase guns from gun shows.
Hohenwarter pointed out that prisoners in state correctional facilities reported obtaining firearms from gun shows just 0.7 percent of the time, according to the last U.S. Department of Justice survey of the topic, conducted in 1997. Roughly 80 percent said they obtained their guns from friends and family or from the black market.
Again, Maine defeats the arguments of gun owners by simply existing.
Maine is not paradise. Guns are used in the commission of crimes. But they are not used often enough to warrant restriction on their ownership to law-abiding citizens. The next time you hear someone claim the Brady Campaign and other organizations are simply seeking common-sense gun laws to protect the public, point to their actions in Maine.

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives...venient-state/ ]]> Political Debate darrels joy http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114869 <![CDATA[Sarah Palin book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Grand Rapids]]> http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114868&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:43:50 GMT http://www.youtube.com/v/ELj91GjsPT4 http://www.youtube.com/v/ELj91GjsPT4 ]]> Political Debate darrels joy http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114868