Defense Chiefs Flatly Deny Karzai Claims of U.S.-Taliban Collusion

This is the last straw. Over 2,000 Americans have died defending this worthless shit hole not to mention we have pumped in a half a trillion dollars in the last 12 years. If it were up to me I'd give the order to pull out now. Let them kill each other off like they're doing in Syria. Muslims killing Muslims and not one drop of American blood spilled. What could be better then that?

  Hoping, that's his life expectancy after we leave.

Top defense officials categorically deny claims by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the United States is working unilaterally with the Taliban, and that the militant political group secretly wants foreign powers to remain in the country after 12 years of war.

Newly minted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been in Afghanistan meeting with leaders and greeting coalition troops. He said on Sunday he discussed Karzai's most recent comments during a meeting with him this weekend. Karzai's statements follow other criticisms of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan at a time when the White House is trying to shift the rhetoric to the American troop drawdown in 2014. "I told the president it was not true that the United States was working unilaterally with the Taliban and trying to negotiate anything," Hagel told reporters in Kabul. "The fact is, any prospect for peace or political settlements—that has to be led by the Afghans. That has to come from the Afghan side. I know these are difficult issues for President Karzai and the Afghan people," Hagel added. "And I was once a politician, so I can understand the kind of pressures that especially leaders of countries are always under."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for bomb attacks in Kabul and in Khost Province on March 9 that killed at least 19 people during Hagel's visit, including nine civilians, eight children, and two policeman. A U.S. contractor and four soldiers were injured. Karzai said afterward that the attack showed the Taliban "are serving foreigners and are not against the foreigner. These bombings show that Taliban want longer presence of foreigners, not their departure from Afghanistan." Karzai also claimed the United States and Taliban representatives host daily talks.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, who inherited command of the coalition forces in February, said Karzai had never repeated these claims while speaking to him. "I don't know what caused him to say that today," he told reporters in Kabul. "All I can do is speak for the coalition to tell you that it's categorically false, he said. We have no reason to be supporting instability in Afghanistan. And all that we have been about over the past 12 years is to bring peace and stability to the Afghan people so that they can take advantage of the decade of opportunity that will follow 2014. That's what we're all about." Karzai's most recent comments follow criticisms of U.S. special forces in Wardak Province, immediately west of Kabul and a key region for access to the capital. He echoed claims from local residents of the mistreatment of detainees and called for the complete withdrawal of the commandos within two weeks.

The outgoing commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees Afghanistan, told a Senate panel March 5 that the Pentagon was still negotiating with Afghans to reach a solution."That issue is being worked right now. It is not operant right now," said Marine Gen. James Mattis, who is expected to retire in March. "Obviously we would be reluctant to see our forces not able to operate there right now. It's not just reversing [Karzai's order], Mattis said. It's crafting how best we operate in Wardak Province."

Defense Chiefs Flatly Deny Karzai Claims of U.S.-Taliban Collusion

Chavez protege Maduro seeks snap election as Venezuela mourns

Maduro, hand picked by Chavez, is trying to push a snap election to cash in on  Chavez's death while it still lingers in the air. 

This is a major crossroad for Venezuela. Either they get back on the road to Democracy, or follow the path of Cuba.

My condolences to Sean Penn who I understand is on suicide watch.

Emotional: Sean Penn  pictured at the funeral of Hugo Chavez.
He described the Venezuelan leader as a 'champion of the poor'


Some of the other "notable attendees" were
Jesse Jackson, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Raul Castro, and Hugo's Protégé: Evo Morales, Dictator of Bolivia.

 Venezuela's new acting President Nicolas Maduro is pushing for a quick election, hoping to benefit from an emotional outpouring at the death of his charismatic mentor, Hugo Chavez, and step into his shoes. 

 Venezuela's election commission could announce as early as Saturday a date for the election, which two recent polls have forecast Maduro would win comfortably. 

 Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader who served as foreign minister and vice president under Chavez, has vowed to keep Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution alive. He was sworn in as acting president in Congress on Friday and handed the red, yellow and blue presidential sash. "I asked (the election authority) to comply with legal and constitutional obligations and immediately call elections," Maduro, 50, told Congress late on Friday as he cemented his position as heir-in-waiting. 

 The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that Maduro did not need to step down in order to campaign, but the move was denounced by opponents as a violation of the constitution and a "fraud." As Maduro spoke in Congress, residents of some wealthy neighborhoods of Caracas banged pots and pans in a traditional form of protest. Maduro named Chavez's son-in-law Jorge Arreaza as his vice president, and then returned to a military base where more than 2 million people have filed past Chavez's remains to pay their last respects, and took his oath again in front of the casket.

 Chavez was a hero to millions of mostly poor supporters for using Venezuela's oil wealth to finance heavy social spending during his 14-year rule but he was seen as a dictator by his opponents. He died on Tuesday at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer. 

 Like Communist leaders Lenin, Stalin and Mao, Chavez's remains are to be embalmed and put on display "for eternity". An eclectic cast of celebrities, leftist and center-right presidents and rogue leaders attended Chavez's state funeral on Friday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a close ally, broke with protocol to kiss the coffin, while Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn was also in attendance.

 It is likely to be a particularly bitter election campaign in the OPEC nation, which boasts the world's largest oil reserves. The opposition had accused the government of trampling on the constitution during its handling of Chavez's battle with cancer, and is furious that Maduro was allowed to take on the job of caretaker president while he campaigns for the job. "This transgression is unprecedented in the history of the republic," opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado said on Twitter. "Today, on a day of mourning ... the Supreme Court issued a political sentence, a fraud," said opposition leader Henrique Capriles, 40, the centrist governor of Miranda state who lost to Chavez in October's election and is expected to face off against Maduro. "We are not prepared to tolerate abuses of power," he added. "To become president, the people have to elect you. ... No one elected Nicolas president." 

Judging by this article it doesn't seem they're off to a good start.

Chavez protege Maduro seeks snap election as Venezuela mourns

The Desperation in Sequestration

Citing sequestration, White House cancels tours

(Unless, of course, you have $500,000 to meet with Barry)

 Times are tough.
 Some staff members have been seen parading around the WH lawn with these.

The White House announced Tuesday that all tours of the building have been canceled because of the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, which took effect on Friday.

"Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House Tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice," The White House visitor's office announced in an email Tuesday afternoon. "Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours."

"We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular Spring touring season," the email added. (RELATED: Bob Woodward claims President Barack Obama lied repeatedly about sequester trigger)

Federal agencies facing budget cuts have a long-standing habit of suspending their most visible and popular activities in an effort to gin up public outrage, a strategy that Washington journalist Charles Peters nicknamed the "Firemen First Principle" in 1976.

In one famous example of the strategy, the National Parks Service director closed all the nation's national parks, including the Grand Canyon and the Washington Monument, for two days a week after President Nixon cut the agency's budget. The ploy worked, and Congress quickly restored funding amid public outcry.

The Desperation in Sequestration

I'm not buying it and either is Egypt

Napolitano got back on her high horse yesterday and said she is going to have to release more illegals because of financial woes better know as sequestration. This comes on the heels of  announcing we are giving, not selling, 20 F16's and 200 M1 Abrams tanks to the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt.  The F16's alone come to $213 million, which is paid for by U.S. taxpayers and approved by Washington. The M1 Abrams tank goes for about $8.5 million a pop. 

 Mohammed Morsi's (the name alone should have been a show stopper) overriding goal is to establish Shariah law and has thus far decreed near-absolute power for himself while opponents battle outside his palace. So what is really going on in Egypt? With the support of Barry, Mubarak was disposed of and replaced with Morsi who is far more detrimental to the U.S. and Israel then Mubarak ever was.  Someone tell me this isn't going to come back and bite us on the ass. 

Press conference photo of Napolitano trying to explain it away. 

This is what would take place if WH press reporters had any guts.

So you see, it is more important to spend money giving Muslims instruments of war, then it is to keep illegals behind bars ... and to add insult to injury, releasing them back on the streets of America, rather then Mexico where they belong. 

Thought this would send up some red flags but evidently not.

Visit by Egypt’s Morsi to Iran reflects foreign policy shift

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-27/world/35491859_1_morsi-nuclear-program-minister-ali-akbar-salehi

The visit by President Mohamed Morsi to Iran will be the first by an Egyptian leader since the nations broke off diplomatic relations in the 1980's after Egypt’s recognition of Israel. 

PS: I'm bet Israel is just tickled pink over the weapons deal.

I'm not buying it and either is Egypt

White House retreats from doomsday spending cuts predictions

       

Gene Sperling... Spin Doctor Extraordinaire :

"Nobody ever suggested that this was going to have all its impact in the first few days," he told "NBC's "Meet the Press.

This idiot must live in an alternate universe!

Did this not occur or was it a figment of my imagination? 

☟

WASHINGTON — The Associated Press has learned that the Homeland Security Department released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants facing deportation from immigration jails in recent weeks because of looming budget cuts. It also planned to release 3,000 more during March.

And the sequester didn't even kick in yet!!!

I guess the nation experienced a collective coma when Napolitano said, "All I can say is, look, we're doing our very best to minimize the impacts of sequester. But there's only so much I can do. I'm supposed to have 34,000 detention beds for immigration. How do I pay for those?"

They're undocumented Democrats.

White House is retreated from its doomsday predictions about the impact of the $85 billion in federal spending cuts as they enter a second week -- with Republican leaders appearing at least satisfied about delivering on their promise to limit government spending and hold down taxes.

Gene Sperling, the White House's top economic adviser, repeatedly said Sunday the cuts will not hurt as much on "Day One" as they will over the long haul. 

"Nobody ever suggested that this … was going to have all its impact in the first few days," he told "NBC's "Meet the Press." "It is a slow grind."

His remarks are in contrast to weeks of President Obama and his Cabinet warning that the cuts will result in furloughs or pay cuts for middle-class wage-earners such as teachers, Capitol Hill janitors and air traffic controllers, which they said could cause 90-minutes delays at major U.S. airports.

Sperling declined at least twice to directly answer questions about whether the worst-case-scenario rhetoric has hurt the president's credibility on the issue. He instead stuck to his argument that independent economists forecast the cuts will result in 750,000 fewer jobs and that corporate executives now anticipate slower economic growth.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN's "State of the Union" Americans absorbed similar cuts once already this year.

"This modest reduction of 2.4 percent in spending over the next six months is a little more than the average American experienced just two months ago, when their own pay went down when the payroll tax holiday expired," the Kentucky Republican said.

Congress agreed to the cuts, known as sequester, in 2011 after failing to agree on more measure reductions -- to defense and some domestic spending. However, the cuts were intended to be so drastic that Democrats and Republicans would be forced to compromise before they started.

Still, Sperling rejected several Republican-backed plans and said no compromise would be reached unless the party agrees to tax increases.

Barry came up with sequestration and signed it into law. The whole idea was to cut spending. Tax increases were never part of it and only serves to defeat the purpose of the bill. The words "Cutting Spending" are not in a Democrat's vocabulary.

White House retreats from doomsday spending cuts predictions