Iraq Assumes Control Of Offshore Oil Terminal

by MC2 D. Keith Simmons
US Naval Forces Central Command

ABOARD KHAWR AL AMAYA OIL TERMINAL, Iraq – The Iraqi Navy assumed control of the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT) during a ceremony held today aboard the terminal in the North Arabian Gulf.

This turnover is the first step of a multi-step naval transition plan that will eventually transfer security responsibilities to the Iraqi Navy.

“The Iraqi Navy is ready and capable of assuming security responsibility for KAAOT,” said Rear Adm. T.C. Cropper, Commander, Task Force Iraqi Maritime (CTF-IM). “This milestone represents another indication of increasing Iraqi operational independence. It’s very important to the way ahead and the future of Iraq.”

U.S. and Coalition forces have maintained a presence on KAAOT since April 2004, assisting the Iraqi Navy by helping provide security to their oil platforms, which account for approximately 70 to 85 percent of Iraq’s gross domestic product.

Coalition forces have operated jointly with Iraqi Navy sailors and marines, training them in point-defense force protection and visit, board, search and seizure operations.

“Our Sailors have labored diligently to make this day possible, working by, with and through the Iraqi Navy in a very close partnership,” said Capt. Karl Van Deusen, Commander, Combined Task Force (CTF) 55, which is responsible for providing security to the oil platforms. “They have brought great credit upon our Navy and our nation.”

U.S. and British forces will continue to operate jointly with the Iraqi Navy to provide training and assistance in support of future security transfers in accordance with a security agreement, to include Iraq’s other key oil platform, the Al Basrah Oil Platform.

“It’s my duty to defend the oil terminal”, said an Iraqi Marine aboard KAAOT. “It belongs to my country. It belongs to my people. Our economy is based on it. I take pride in doing so.”

The U.S. Navy will continue to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Gulf and provide assistance as requested. MSO help set the conditions for security, which promotes stability and prosperity in the North Arabian Gulf. These operations protect Iraq’s sea-based infrastructure, which provides the Iraqi people the opportunity for self-determination. MSO complement the counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations and seek to disrupt violent extremists’ use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel,weapons or other material.

Iraqi and Coalition officials render a hand salute at the beginning of a ceremony in which the Iraqi Navy assumed control of the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in the North Arabian Gulf. This turnover is the first step of a naval transition plan that will eventually transfer security responsibilities to the Iraqi Navy.

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary’s Thoughts.

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Atlantic Council Honors Petraeus

by John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (April 30, 2009) – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus attended a ceremony here last night honoring several giants of military, government, industry and the arts.

Gates introduced former President George H.W. Bush, an honoree at the Atlantic Council’s annual gala, while Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, received the council’s Distinguished Military Leadership Award.

Helmut Kohl, former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Samuel J. Palmisano, chairman and CEO of IBM Corporation, and Thomas Hampson, a world reknowned opera singer, also received awards.

Along with highlighting the work of these key leaders, the event also celebrated the 60th anniversary of NATO and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and emphasized the role the Atlantic community has played since World War II. Guest speakers punctuated the ceremony with Cold War anecdotes and nostalgia for the era when former Soviet satellite states emerged from behind the Iron Curtain.

Gates recalled witnessing these moments in history from a front-row seat. “I remember being the note-taker when President Bush spoke on the phone about these matters with [German] Chancellor [Helmut] Kohl,” recalled Gates, who was Bush’s deputy national security advisor at the time. “It was the afternoon of Nov. 10, 1989, the day after the Berlin Wall came down, and thousands of East Germans had already begun moving freely across the border,” he said.

Before welcoming Bush onstage to accept the council’s Distinguished International Leadership Award, the defense secretary shared his recollection of the president’s deft handling of the vanquished Soviet empire during Moscow’s moment of great vulnerability.

“As the communist bloc was disintegrating,” he said, “it was George Bush’s skilled, yet quiet, statecraft that made a revolutionary time seem much less dangerous than it actually was.”

Petraeus said he was grateful to receive the council’s award, but quickly turned the spotlight on the nation’s troops. “I can only accept this award inasmuch as I do so on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of troopers, who day after day don Kevlar helmets and body armor, strap themselves into a cockpit or take to the sea and perform complex missions against tough enemies in challenging conditions to do what our country has asked them to do,” the general said.

Petraeus, whose command responsibility includes the war in Afghanistan, underscored the significance of NATO’s commitment to that mission.

“In signing on to support missions in Afghanistan, NATO nations signaled their recognition that transnational extremism poses a threat to all of us,” he said. “In so doing, NATO committed its resources, its institutions and its expertise in cooperative defense endeavors — built over 60 years of partnership — to the international effort to ensure that extremists cannot re-establish safe havens in Afghanistan like those from which they launched the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in 9/11.”

The general said critics have seized on the deteriorating security conditions in some parts of Afghanistan and questioned NATO’s competency and level of commitment.

“Afghanistan has thus emerged as a critical challenge for NATO, and the alliance now faces a very urgent moment,” Petraeus said. “I offer that observation while noting that with the recent announcement of the new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and with the conduct of the NATO summit earlier this month, new resources have been pledged and new resolve has been demonstrated.”

Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, speaks after receiving the Atlantic Council’s 2009 Distinguished Military Leadership Award during the council’s gala in Washington D.C.

Source: CENTCOM.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary’s Thoughts.

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One Economy Grows During World Recession

Throughout the world we have been in a recession, but there is one country that has flourished. I’ll bet you wouldn’t guess this country if you tried (unless you’ve been following the financial improvements like I have). This country has seen much war, much death, much dislocation, much tyranny. She is now coming out on the other side of hell, and she is taking the free markets by storm.

Yes, that country is Iraq. See the graph below. The horizontal line represents the devastation from the war to the success of the ‘surge’ to the entrepreneurial spirit ingrown in each of us. I am very glad to see Iraq finally succeeding in a good way.

They may not have billions of dollars in their trading, but what they do have seems to be stable. That is more than I can say for many countries. Good on you, Iraq! Who said they couldn’t handle freedom and/or Liberty? Oh yes, that was the Left. Who do you trust to run the country?

Hat tip: Omar over at Iraq The Model (ITM).

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary’s Thoughts. Digg!

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Bi-Monthly News Digest II(a) 4/09

April 14, 2009.
Pakistan President Signs Deal Expanding Taliban’s Power.
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor

Islamic militants on their way to a peace meeting with Pakistani government officials in Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, Feb. 16, 2009. Pakistan will impose Islamic law in the northwest where Taliban fighters increasingly hold sway. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)(CNSNews.com) – Just days before Pakistan’s government hopes to secure billions of dollars in aid pledges from the U.S. and other countries, President Asif Ali Zardari has signed a law enabling Pakistani Taliban extremists to impose Islamic law in the North-West Frontier Province’s volatile Swat valley…CNSNews.

April 15, 2009.
Dare To Stand.

April 16, 2009.
The NRA is giving FREE 1-yr memberships to everyone who wants to join. They are trying to build up their membership to fight pending legislation that impacts our right to keep and bear arms. It is very important that anti-gun congressmen see how many people they will have to fight to get their legislation through. Please pass this on to everyone you know! This can include spouses and children also.

Hat tip: Mike C.

Exclusive: Obama Administration Stacking the Deck with Islamists.
by M. Zuhdi Jasser.

As we try to understand where the Obama administration will fall with regards to the global threat of political Islam, the first few months have provided a number of hints, not least of which was the tenor of the recent visit to Turkey. It was painfully obvious after witnessing the length to which the Obama team went to avoid any substantive discussion on political Islam and the threat it poses to human rights abroad and domestically…Family Security Matters.

April 17, 2009.
Napolitano is Lying to Americans About Her Department’s Rightwing Extremism Report; TMLC Files Suit.

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that on Thursday, April 16th, it filed a federal lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The lawsuit claims that her Department’s “Rightwing Extremism Policy,” as reflected in the recently publicized Intelligence Assessment, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” violates the civil liberties of combat veterans as well as American citizens by targeting them for disfavored treatment on account of their political beliefs. Click here to read the complaint filed by the Thomas More Law Center…The Thomas More Law Center article.

Now Videos from Blackfive:

Star Trek Cast in Kuwait Visiting our Troops.

Captain Phillips Rescue.

New Videos from thefairreporter:

Proof CNN is biased against Tea Parties and Conservatives.

Nashville Tea Party.

FOX News beats all other networks.

Other Interesting Videos:

Barack Obama on Ellen. (HUH?)

Backstreet Boys-If You Want It To Be Good Girl.

Nashville Tea Party.

Scrubs – The Best Of The Todd.

U.S. Navy Face-Off with Iran Speed Boats ACTUAL VIDEO!!!!!!

Greetings from the Triangle Conservatives Unite group in Raleigh, NC! We have “We Surround Them” T-shirts for sale and I would like to request you pass this email along to your Tea Party attendees or anyone in your area that would like to have one. 100% of the proceeds will go towards our group as we continue to plan events that will help us fight for our Constitutional rights and fight the out-of-control spending in DC.

Let’s show that We Surround Them by wearing our T-Shirts proudly! All T’s are $16.00 and you can safely order online. I appreciate your support and help! (Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.)

God Bless America!

Julie Griffin, Organizer
Triangle Conservatives Unite

April 18, 2009.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was caught selling Sayyid Qutb (the father of Jihad) books and anti-Judeo-Christian material which state that those who wrote the Bible should “burn in hell for blasphemy.” (Video. Hat tip: Stop The ACLU.)

April 19, 2009.
Texas takes aim at Planned ParenthoodTexas takes aim at Planned Parenthood.

The state of Texas has shut down four Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in San Antonio that were operating without licenses. Clinic officials say it is a matter of miscommunication, claiming that they were told no licenses were needed because they do not conduct surgical abortions. Jonathon Saenz of Free Market Foundation does not accept that…OneNewsNow.com.

Okla. lawmakers OK teaching on religious documents.

Oklahoma teachers would have broad flexibility to discuss religious documents, speeches, and other materials under a bill working its way through the state lawmakers. The Oklahoma Senate voted 40-7 Wednesday to approve the legislation. State Senator Clark Jolley says the bill would allow teachers to discuss the religious context of historical documents like the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence…OneNewsNow.com.

EDITORS NOTE: I’ll bet no one who fought the Revolutionary War and wrote the Constitution of the United States ever dreamed that a bill would be necessary to discuss THAT history on the grounds that is religious. So what, they would have said! It’s history, you fools.

Dismissal sought in military religious bias case.

Government lawyers are seeking dismissal of a federal lawsuit alleging widespread religious discrimination in the military. The Justice Department says many of the lawsuit’s claims are only “general grievances” and not wrongs against specific soldiers. They also contend that a soldier who joined the Military Religious Freedom Foundation in filing the lawsuit did not pursue his complaints enough with superiors first. The lawsuit alleges a pervasive bias within the military in favor of evangelical Christianity, including allowing troops to try to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan…OneNewsNow.com.

April 20, 2009.
John Adams on Islam in 1830.
John Adams knew this, and Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of the Koran for The Barbary Wars from 1801-1805, but our leaders act “baffled” today. Have post-modernism, liberal secularism removed the yardstick people used to determine right from wrong and good from evil?…Mary Christina Love. Hat tip: ACT! For America.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary’s Thoughts. Digg!

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McClintock: Tea Parties

I receive e-Team e-mails from Congressman Tom McClintock, and I would like to share them with you so you may be informed as well. I’m off to a bad start, however. See, today is actually the 27th of May, but I received this on the 30th of April. So why the delay? I have had over 200-300 e-mails everyday since we had the Tea Party!

I am going to post each e-mail on the date received, and then I will keep up with it. Thanks for being patient.

******************************
Dear E-Team,

It was a great privilege to speak to the 10,000 participants at the Sacramento Tea Party. I have never seen so many people gathered at the state Capitol for a taxpayer rally. I can tell you that I came away from that event knowing that ordinary citizens throughout our nation is starting to awaken to the terrible direction which our nation is headed.

People are tired of Congress using taxpayer money to bailout other people’s bad decisions. They don’t want to burden their children and grand children with our debts and mismanagement. This is the message I am taking away from these Tea Parties and I will take this message to the halls of Congress.
******************************

PS. This is the only person I consider worthy to serve in Congress. I would love to have him as president. So that is where I stand as far he goes. Do I support him? He’s one of the only ones I willingly support. If you would like to support him or check him out to find out if you would like to support him, his (campaign) website is www.TomMcClintock. (He even has a blog!) This is his House website: McClintock.House.gov. Thank you.

Cross-posted @ Rosemary’s Thoughts.

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