HELL WEEK ISN'T JUST FOR FRAT HOUSES

Last Friday night I had missed my usual Special Report with Bret Baier, so turned on the Shep Smith Fox Report at 7:00.  First words out of smarmy Shep's mouth:  "Attack at Leatherneck -- two Marines killed and more wounded...."

Seven hours later (spent in an armchair reading the same news report over and over again from every corner of the globe), our Cincinnatus weighed in via email that he was among the living and intact.  He had been in country for all of three weeks, long enough to get sunburned and form an unfavourable opinion of people who murder American ambassadors.  Then it all went Kaboom.

I haven't anything more to say about that at the moment.  I'll just highlight a couple of grim assessments of the Leatherneck situation from intrepid self-embed Michael Yon (saints preserve him), here and here.


INSURRECTIONS WELCOME

...as long as they are instigated by a wise law professor from Ithaca, mastermind at Legal Insurrection.  New contributor Joel Engel weighs in with his assessment of an American turning point embodied in this photograph.

I guess I should 'splain that the original photo has been, uh, tampered with.  Go to Quickmeme Defend the Constitution and enjoy all 1600 variations.

BETTER ARMED THAN U.S. MARINES 
AT THE EGYPTIAN EMBASSY

British soldiers in Afghanistan show their support for the Naked Prince's antics in Las Vegas prior to his deployment

It's all over the interwebs, friends:

US Marines Guarding Embassy in Cairo Not Allowed to Carry Live Ammo
Update: There seems to be some question as to whether this report is true, but the jury's still out on that one.  Actually, the jury's been out on the news media as a whole for over four years now, because those of the 'mainstream' have not had one micro-particle of credibility since the dawn of the Obama candidacy.  I reserve judgement on the live ammo story.  Also -- no Marines killed, as was (and still is) reported.  The two security guys were former SEALs under private contract.  If that made any significant difference to the course of events, it has yet to be determined.

 
In other news:

Security outside embassies is the responsibility of the host country, and it’s “entirely possible” that U.S. officials asked for but didn’t receive help to push back the attackers that ultimately killed Stevens and the other staffers, said Fred Burton, a Stratfor analyst and former State Department counterterrorism agent.

“The question will be, once the dominoes fell in Cairo and protests started to occur, what was requested and what was done,” he said.
No U.S. Marines were guarding the consulate at the time of the attack, according to U.S. officials. But that is not necessarily unusual, Burton said.

“Having the Marines can be viewed as politically sensitive at times,” Burton said.

 
Meanwhile, back at the Yemeni ranch:

Protesters storm U.S. embassy in Sanaa

ALL COMING APART?

GATEWAY PUNDIT 
COVERS THE GREAT UNRAVELLING

...with several important articles about all the places that are currently on fire.

Be warned: they feature graphic images -----LIKE THIS!

Inbred moron terrorists desecrate dead body of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens

Two Marines were also killed in this attack -- maybe the only two guards at the consulate?  Who knows.  But, naturally, to let the world know that the Obama administration is riddled with tough guys, some wobbly-lipped "officials", who "spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly" have now announced that 50 Marines from some elite task force are on their way to Tripoli [not Benghazi -- make sure everybody hears that] to shut the barn door after the horse has been stolen and put down.

"Several officials said the U.S. military was making no other moves to deploy troops, ships or aircraft in response to Tuesdays attack. A second Marine FAST element was standing by in Spain but had no orders to move, officials said."  [Ya gotta love those "officials".]  Thanks for the heads-up, guys -- now the inbred moron terrorists will be ready for them.

Of note:  Daily Caller has the trailer for the video which has supplied the excuse Islamofascists needed to mob and burn the embassies and kill people.  It apparently cost $5 million to make, though for the life of me I can't figure out what they spent the money on.  It's a total POS, not to put too fine a point on it.  But good sense and good taste never put the brakes on a mass of inbred morons with God on their side, did it?

Many other worthwhile pieces at Daily Caller too.

Wikipedia has been quick to update Stevens' short biography with the story of his death as we know it:  he had been taken to a second building, deemed safer, and he, his guards, and embassy employee Sean Smith died of smoke inhalation after a grenade was launched into the complex setting the buildings on fire.

No biography that I can find gives any personal information about Stevens, so apparently he had no wife and kids.  The website of the embassy in Tripoli has not yet caught up with the news, and still shows his smiling face, ending with these chilling niceties:

When he’s not meeting with government officials or foreign diplomats, you can find Ambassador Stevens meeting with Libyan academics, business people, and civil society activists, exploring Libya’s rich archaeological sites, and enjoying Libya’s varied cuisine.

After several diplomatic assignments in the Middle East and North Africa, Ambassador Stevens understands and speaks Arabic and French. He likes the Facebook page of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli and hopes you will, too.

Update:  The home page of the Tripoli embassy has caught up, to the extent that they have four or five STERNLY WORDED WARNINGS and deplorings from the President and Sec-State.  But the travel advisories are anywhere from two weeks to one year out of date.  So go for it, world travellers -- could be exciting.


Amb. J. Christopher Stevens Requiescat in pace.

September 11 reflections

CINCINNATUS WEIGHS IN FROM 
THE MIDDLE OF AFGHANISTANIAN NOWHERE



 [I've got nothing to add.]



Day of fire, from the devil's den

 

SURFACING

HELLO, BLOG

I've been away so long (committing regular infidelities with my Facebook page), even the following paragraph, which has been waiting on ice, is now out of date:

Having been virtually underground for a couple of months, your Intrepid Reporter is back in Newfoundland to finish out what was supposed to have been an entire summer ensconced among the rural wonders of the Rock.  Not to be.  Have just come off three weeks in So-Cal (that's southern California to all who don't live in southern California), first in charge of, and then just visiting, the wee grandchildren who lost their maternal Grandpa and said goodbye to their deploying Daddy within a very short time.  (Made longer, however, by the fact that the military had trouble exchanging the proper papers to get Daddy to Afghanistan, taking another two weeks after granting him a week's bereavement leave.)

Had the also unscheduled thrill of laying eyes on all four grandkiddies within a 24-hour period, since the nearer ones were making a stopover at our place when we got home.  They all grow and thrive, and increase in their Unsurpassable Cuteness, each in his or her own inimitable way.  Life is good.

Well, the week in Newfoundland turned out rushed and insufficient to wind down the summer.  So we're back in the stinky heat and haze of Toronto, looking ahead to another busy year, with many serious concerns, not least of which is the coming election.  That's the sort of thing I would usually be covering here in detail, but somehow it's been too exhausting a prospect -- and spitting out mini-thoughts on Facebook has been the easier, lazier way out.

I tried to feel hopeful as the candidate became inevitable, one whom I did not much support but who ended up being "the guy" in default, since better men or women chose not to enter an increasingly unseemly fray.  I've met Mitt, shaken his hand, and been left unwarmed.  I have no doubt of his competence as a manager and executive.  But he doesn't move me.

My man Rubio would have been a great VP, but the choice of Ryan has worked out well, and let us hope he has saved the American bacon.  The ultra-choreographed kabuki of the conventions is coming to an end.  The Tango in Tampa was pretty upbeat and impressive, and made me feel confident about the deep conservative bench.  The Charade in Charlotte has been less edifying on every scale -- chock full of deception and mean-spiritedness -- and despite any grandstanding to the contrary, the backstage movers of the party know that they are in deep doo-doo.

At this moment, Joe Biden is unrolling a colossal tissue of whoppers in his ordinary way from within the deep reaches of his alternate universe.  Can't wait to see the roll-out of facts checked tomorrow.  The only comfort is that fewer and fewer people actually watch this kabuki.  Some new program about child beauty pageants called Honey Boo-Boo rivalled the convention in viewership.

Biden is about to tell us how brilliant Obama has been as Commander-in-Chief.  The Bin Laden story is being lavishly embroidered in senile rapture -- "LITERALLY!!!!!"

On that subject, let me just reference this brief report from Sunni tribal leader Ahmad Abu-Risha, one of the courageous Iraqis who turned the tide in his own country as part of the Anbar awakening.  The headline says it all:

Iraqi leader to Obama: 
'Why did you leave Iraq to Iran?'

During the troop surge of 2007, the group had several meetings with General David Patraeus, President George W. Bush and military officials to strategize against al-Qaida and help set the foundation for a new government.

Communication has since fizzled. Although then-Senator Obama met with the group for 90 minutes in 2008 and committed to continuing cooperation, Abu-Risha says he hasn’t met with any American officials since U.S. troops left Iraq.

“Why did you give up the many sacrifices that Americans made? You can still have a partnership with us. If you are going to be president for the next four years, bring Iraq back into a strategic partnership with the United States and remember the people who fought against al Qaeda with you.”

Biden just stated "the only truly sacred obligation we have" [then what the hell are all the entitlements, stimuli, and programs for?????????] is to prepare those we send to war, and care for them when they come back.  Not a bad idea.  Democrats should try trimming their agenda in just such a fashion some time.

POST UPDATE

This post re-mounted after some sort of copyright fracas.  We aim to please.