McClatchy, the N&O and the War on Terror

I've just gotten another outstanding letter from Mike Williams who begins - - -

There’s a blog out there called McClatchy Watch. It’s “mainly about cluelessness at The Sacramento Bee and its parent…the McClatchy Company.” You may recall that McClatchy also owns the N&O. So, here we go again:

Two of McClatchy's "activist journalists" co-wrote a Bush-bashing article this week entitled "Mideast negotiations now bypassing Washington."

I skimmed the column Saturday and almost decided not to post anything about it because the anti-Bush stuff from Strobel and Allam has become so routine that it is boring. But I changed my mind and decided to do some fact-checking. And I found information that leads me to believe Strobel and Allam, if not outright lied, at the very least mislead their readers.

The point of this particular article is that Bush has become so "toxic" to middle eastern leaders that they are bypassing Washington….

This article was in yesterday’s N&O.

And by the way, Melanie Sill, formerly the N&O’s executive editor, is now executive editor at The Sacramento Bee. So is her replacement at the N&O any more “fair and balanced” than she was, or any more scrupulous about fact-checking, or is he just another rubber stamp for the McClatchy agenda?

I encourage you to follow the link and form your own opinions.

We’ve talked a lot recently about Colombia and FARC. Today there’s more good news:

After the death of FARC leader Manual "Sureshot" Marulanda yesterday, FARC rebels have contacted the Colombian government and are ready to release hostages in exchange for freedom.Sureshot, the leader of FARC for 40 years, was the third FARC leader lost since March 1st….

Earlier this week, starving one-eyed FARC leader Nelly Avila Moreno, also known as "Karina", surrendered to Colombian officials.

She later made a radio plea to her fellow rebels to turn themselves in.

It's been a very bad year for the FARC terrorists.

A Marxist mass murderer with the handle Sureshot! You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due, I guess. Maybe Hollywood will canonize him like they’ve done Ché.

In Iraq:

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Saturday that al-Qaida's network in the country has never been closer to defeat, and he praised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his moves to rein in Shiite and Sunni militant groups….

The Gateway Pundit comments: “Thank goodness for today's news... Now, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats won't have to admit that Al-Qaeda is actually operating in Iraq since they've been obliterated.”

And then there’s this:

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) is seen in a video that has surfaced on the Web saying that Democrats “sort of stretched the facts” in the 2006 elections about their ability to end the Iraq war….

Republicans reacted Friday by calling for Kanjorski to apologize.

“For Paul Kanjorski to admit that Democrats campaigned in ’06 on a fraudulent agenda to end the war not only exposes his own calculated efforts to fool the voters of his district, but it also raises the question of whether this was a coordinated effort by the Democratic Party as a whole”….

Roger L. Simon:

…this "insincerity" is the essence of why I no longer consider myself a Democrat. A party that could be that dishonest about such a crucial situation is repellent. And it's worse now with Obama's fake palaver about Iraq and Iran, every word built on getting himself elected.

I haven't fallen in love with the Republicans, not by a long shot, but the current version of the Democrats (other than Lieberman) gives me the creeps. They should actually give themselves the creeps when they read what Kanjorski said….

As Simon says, lying is shameful. Funny, I used to be a registered Democrat myself.

Well, outside McClatchy and the N&O, good news about the War on Terror continues to pour in:

Less than one week after pushing into the northern two-thirds of Sadr City from the walled southern neighborhoods, the Iraqi Army is uncovering substantial weapons caches in the Mahdi Army stronghold. Iraqi and Coalition forces continue to press against the Mahdi Army in Baghdad as the New Baghdad district begins to heat up….

And in Afghanistan:

The May 14 airstrike launched against a Taliban and al Qaeda safe house in the town of Damadola in Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal agency has claimed a senior al Qaeda trainer and operations commander, US and European intelligence officials said.

Meanwhile, Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, said cross-border attacks into Pakistan would continue despite the peace agreements signed with the government.

Abu Sulayman Jazairi, a senior Algerian operative for al Qaeda’s central organization, was killed in the Damadola strike along with 13 others….

You wouldn’t know it, but it’s NATO that’s been on the offensive in Afghanistan this year, and it looks like they’re getting less shy about cross-border strikes into Pakistan. Obama should be pleased….

On a personal note, my daughter made an overnight visit on her way to her next duty station. She’s an Air Force major who’s been in Baghdad the past year, helping hunt roadside bombs – and bombers.

Well done Wendy, and well done to her recently returned cohort, Major Don, as well.