Revisionist Media History, Part 1

Well, it hasn't taken long for our friends at the NY Times to already start backpedaling on Barack Obama's promise to close Gitmo as soon as he is President. This after grilling President Bush for years about how unfair Gitmo was. Notice these files have been open since 2006, but you are just now hearing about this.

For those of you who don't want to read the whole article, I've emboldened the revelations from our friends in NY. It won't be long before the media suddenly reveals gas prices have dropped 50% and we are coming out of the terrible depression we are in.

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By WILLIAM GLABERSON and MARGOT WILLIAMS
Published: November 2, 2008
They were called the Dirty 30 — bodyguards for Osama bin Laden captured early in the Afghanistan war — and many of them are still being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Others still at the much-criticized detention camp there include prisoners who the government says were trained in assassination and the use of poisons and disguises.

One detainee is said to have been schooled in making detonators out of Sega game cartridges. A Yemeni who has received little public attention was originally selected by Mr. bin Laden as a potential Sept. 11 hijacker, intelligence officials say.

As the Bush administration enters its final months with no apparent plan to close the Guantánamo Bay camp, an extensive review of the government’s military tribunal files suggests that dozens of the roughly 255 prisoners remaining in detention are said by military and intelligence agencies to have been captured with important terrorism suspects, to have connections to top leaders of Al Qaeda or to have other serious terrorism credentials.

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have said they would close the detention camp, but the review of the government’s public files underscores the challenges of fulfilling that promise. The next president will have to contend with sobering intelligence claims against many of the remaining detainees.
“It would be very difficult for a new president to come in and say, ‘I don’t believe what the C.I.A. is saying about these guys,’ ” said Daniel Marcus, a Democrat who was general counsel of the 9/11 Commission and held senior positions in the Carter and Clinton administrations.

The strength of the evidence is difficult to assess, because the government has kept much of it secret and because of questions about whether some was gathered through torture.

When the administration has had to defend its accusations in court, government lawyers in several cases have retreated from the most serious claims. As a result, critics have raised doubts about the danger of Guantánamo’s prisoners beyond a handful of the camp’s most notorious ones.

But as a new administration begins to sort through the government’s dossiers on the men, the analysis shows, officials are likely to face tough choices in deciding how many of Guantánamo’s hard cases should be sent home, how many should be charged and what to do with the rest.

The Pentagon has declined to provide a list of the detainees now being held or even to specify how many there are beyond offering a figure of “about 255.” But by reviewing thousands of pages of government documents released in recent years, as well as court records and news reports from around the world, The New York Times was able to compile its own list and construct a picture of the population still held at Guantánamo Bay.

Much of the analysis is based on records of Guantánamo hearings for individual detainees, which have been made public since 2006 as a result of a lawsuit by The Associated Press. The Times has posted those documents on its Web site arranged by detainee name.

The analysis shows that about 34 of the remaining detainees were seized in raids in Pakistan that netted three men the government calls major Qaeda operatives: Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Al Hajj Abdu Ali Sharqawi. Sixteen detainees are accused of some of the most significant terrorist attacks in the last decade, including the 1998 bombings at American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the 2000 attack on the destroyer Cole in Yemen, and the Sept. 11 attacks. Twenty others were called Mr. bin Laden’s bodyguards.

The analysis also shows that 13 of the original 23 detainees who arrived at Guantánamo on Jan. 11, 2002, remain there nearly seven years later. Of the roughly 255 men now being held, more than 60 have been cleared for release or transfer, according to the Pentagon, but remain at Guantánamo because of difficulties negotiating transfer agreements between the United States and other countries.

Two of those still held, government documents show, were seen by Mr. bin Laden as potential Sept. 11 hijackers. The case of Mohammed al-Qahtani, whom the government has labeled a potential “20th hijacker,” has drawn wide notice because he was subjected to interrogation tactics that included sleep deprivation, isolation and being put on a leash and forced to perform dog tricks.

The other detainee deemed a potential hijacker, whose presence at Guantánamo has gone virtually unmentioned in public reports, is a Yemeni called Abu Bara. The 9/11 Commission said he studied flights and airport security and participated in an important planning meeting for the 2001 attack in Malaysia in January 2000.

The Guantánamo list also includes two Saudi brothers, Hassan and Walid bin Attash. The government describes them as something like Qaeda royalty. Military officials said during Guantánamo hearings that their father, imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, was a “close contact of Osama bin Laden” and that his sons were committed jihadists.

Walid bin Attash is facing a possible death sentence as a coordinator of the Sept. 11 attacks. Hassan bin Attash was accused of having been involved in planning attacks on American oil tankers and Navy ships.

What Do Conservatives Do Now?

It is day one after the glass ceiling was shattered, and US markets are down 5%. I thought a forward looking stock market would be jubilant that six months from now Obama's policies are going to kick in and the economy will jump to life next year? Finally, a way out of the Great Depression Two, right? Finally, an end to unemployment that is half of what it was 30 years ago. Finally, a rapid decline in gas prices once greedy Cheney is gone. Geesh, I would think investors would be giddy at the money individuals will have available to throw back into our economy with their soon to be new purchasing power?

WHAT SHOULD WE THINK NOW?

Let's call today the "Great Awakening" for conservatives. With John McCain, Republicans looked in their "maybe if we elect a moderate, more tolerant leader, independent voters will like us" playbook and they've lost again. This after eight years of George Bush who I would argue played like a conservative to get elected but really hasn't been much of one. Oh, he is a Republican, but not a conservative.

We seem to have the mindset as Christians Jesus would want us to play nice with the other side. Jesus would ask us to speak out softly for our ideals and then go away when we are steamrolled. The whole "turn the other cheek" mindset. THIS IS A LIE and will cost us elections every time. Jesus also told his people to actually make war against disobedient enemies of God's people, but we always seem to forget this side of our Saviour. We are the only thing holding this culture together. As our values continue to get pushed out of the marketplace of ideas, we continue to see things run amok.

Oh, I know, you can't legislate morality many Christians say, even though we legislate lots of things like murder and stealing to name two big ones. Even if you can't legislate morality what about voting to protect our rights as Christians? If we don't vote this way, who is going to?? Why do we keep having to be so soft in the face of people who really, at their core, hate us and our ideals? They aren't going to stop hating us because we sit in the corner meekly extending our hands in bi-partisan support while they are never bi-partisan themselves.

I think we as conservatives need to gain some perspective on what has just happened. John McCain couldn't truly articulate conservative values because he doesn't share them. George Bush is a Republican but not a conservative. Very few of his policies were based on solid conservative ideas. He spent money like a Democrat, he left the border unprotected, the judges he appointed are moderate, he left social issues up to the states, and he couldn't articulate why conservative tax policy is the only way to lift all boats. John McCain is far more to the center-left than the right. Mr. McCain just got defeated by independents 60%-39% last night. I thought independents were going to be attracted to this new open-minded, tolerant Republican?? It didn't work. Despite what the media tells you, Sarah Palin was the only excitement Republicans had this election cycle.

What should we do now? First of all, don't call the other side stupid or ignorant. This degrades our real arguments and is the same thing they do to us. Don't be Ann Coulter. She may be right, but she makes us all look bad by being so mean spirited with her rhetoric. Second, don't root for Obama to put us back in the 1970's when inflation and unemployment were double digits. I would rather be blatantly wrong about this election and see folks succeed and prosper than sit around rooting for things to blow up so we can be proven right. Third, if and when things do implode, and I think they are going to, be ready to articulate your viewpoint with fervor. Be passionate about it. Don't shrink from the fight. Don't be afraid. Always remember that God eventually withholds his blessings from nations that turn from him. Our clock is ticking and we need to develop courage rather quickly before it is too late. We are called 'salt and light' to those around us. Without us, make no mistake the country's superpower status will crumble. Not because we are special, but because we serve the God of the Earth. Finally, pray and remember God is in control. Don't use this as a crutch to justify doing nothing, but keep it in your heart to remember we serve a King who is all powerful and will one day hold everyone accountable for their actions.