Wanted al Qaeda member killed in Mosul crossfire

Terrorist Abu Zubair, also known as Mohammed Salah Sultan, was killed Friday by Iraqi security forces in an ambush in the northern city of Mosul, officials said Monday.

Zubair was a known member of al Qaeda in Iraq and a lieutenant in the operations of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Mosul.

Zubair was being sought by coalition and Iraqi security forces for his involvement in a July suicide bombing attack of a police station in Mosul where five Iraqi police officers died. He was also suspected of resourcing and facilitating suicide bomber attacks against coalition, Iraqi security forces and Iraqi citizens throughout the country.

When Zubair was killed, he was wearing a suicide device consisting of an explosive pack across his stomach armed with pellets, officials noted.

"Abu Zubair's death, as well as recent captures of terrorists in northern Iraq, is making a difference in coalition and Iraqi security forces efforts to disrupt terrorists operating in this part of the country," said Col. Billy J. Buckner, Multinational Corps Iraq spokesman.

"Terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free Iraq, but their bombs and attacks have not prevented Iraqi sovereignty and they will not prevent Iraqi democracy," Buckner said.

Coalition and Iraqi security forces captured three bomb makers and six foreign fighters, and found and cleared 101 improvised explosive devices during the week ending Friday.

On July 27, forces conducted a raid on a safe house in Mosul, arresting six terrorists and finding terrorist propaganda, to include a letter written to Zarqawi. In that letter the author, Abu Zayd, a terrorist operating out of Mosul, complained of the poor leadership in Mosul and mistreatment of foreign fighters.

Several Detained in Jordan Rocket Attacks

Jordanian police rounded up several people Saturday and uncovered the launcher used by militants to fire three Katyusha rockets from a hilltop warehouse the day before, narrowly missing a U.S. Navy ship docked in this Red Sea resort.

"We have found the rocket launcher in the warehouse from where they fired," Interior Minister Awni Yirfas told The Associated Press in what marked one of the first key breakthroughs in the investigation.

"The investigation is still underway and issues related to it will remain secret so it would not harm the process. I cannot give you the names or say if we are looking for the perpetrators in the desert or any other place."

Cindy Sheehan's allies

At Cindy Sheehan's side since Aug. 6 when she began her antiwar protest outside President Bush's Texas ranch have been three groups that openly support the Iraqi insurgency against U.S. troops: Code Pink-Women For Peace, United for Peace & Justice, and Veterans For Peace.
Those organizations were represented at a mock "war crimes" trial in Istanbul that on June 27 produced a joint declaration backing the insurgency. Based on the United Nations Charter, it said "the popular national resistance to the occupation is legitimate and justified. It deserves the support of people everywhere who care for justice and freedom."

The Istanbul statement also rejected U.S. efforts to leave behind a democratic government in Iraq, asserting: "Any law or institution created under the aegis of occupation is devoid of both legal and moral authority."

Marine from Pasadena, killed in Afghanistan, 'was serving both God and country'

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Phillip George of Pasadena, who would have celebrated his 23rd birthday on Sept. 3, was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan.

His family was notified late Thursday that George was killed in battle in eastern Afghanistan, where he had been stationed with the 2nd Battalion since late May. Details of how he was killed were not available Friday from the U.S. Defense Department.

"We are very proud of Phillip. We feel that he is a hero and that he died doing exactly what he wanted to do, and what God called him to do," said his mother, Penny George. "At least I can say that Phillip was a hero."

His father, Carson George, a Vietnam veteran working for KBR-Halliburton in Iraq, will be flown to Germany. Carson then will accompany his son's body home, said Sara George, the Marine's sister.

"He loved being a Marine," Sara George said. "This was exactly what he wanted to do. He was also a dedicated Christian. He was serving both God and country."

"That carried over into his being a Marine," she said. "He was loyal to his friends, to his platoon members. He was fighting for them, too."

Bush supporters start camp countering war protesters

A patriotic camp with a "God Bless Our President!" banner sprung up downtown Saturday, countering the anti-war demonstration started by a fallen soldier's mother two weeks ago near President Bush's ranch.

The camp is named "Fort Qualls" in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, killed in Fallujah, Iraq, last fall. His father, Gary Qualls of Temple, said his 16-year-old son also wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.

"If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said Qualls, a friend of the local business owner who started the pro-Bush camp, Bill Johnson.

Large counter-protests were held in a ditch near Sheehan's site a week after she arrived, and since then a few Bush supporters have stood in the sun holding signs for several hours each day.

But Johnson, who owns the town's biggest gift and souvenir store Yellow Rose, said he created "Fort Qualls" as a larger, more convenient place for Bush supporters. The tent and a trailer on a vacant lot beside his store will be staffed each day, but people will probably not sleep there.

"A lot of people saw a problem (with the war protest) and said there needs to be relief," Johnson said Saturday afternoon, as patriotic music played at the tent containing a life-size cardboard cutout of Bush.

Qualls gained attention last week when he went to Sheehan's camp, which has hundreds of crosses as a tribute to troops killed, and removed one bearing his son's name. But he said protesters keep replacing it; he has yanked two more crosses, saying the protesters' views are disrespectful to soldiers.

More Supporters of the President :

Friday morning, several dozen backers of the president met for breakfast on the edge of town to gather messages of support written on bed sheets.

Billed as the "I Give a Sheet Vigil and Prayer Rally," the event foreshadowed the likelihood of more counterdemonstrations over the weekend.

"We're not here to antagonize them at all," said Valerie Duty, an organizer from Waco, Texas. "We're only here to show the president and our troops that there are people that do care."

She expected the war protesters to carry on, even while Sheehan was back in California, Duty said. "We're just going to have to carry on, too."

Crawford embraces Bush, not protesters

"I'm a Democrat and proud of it," Keith Lynch, 67, said while taking a break from trimming the brush around the flag pole in front of his 600-acre ranch "about a mile and a half as the crow flies" from the Bush spread.

"But you're got to respect your country, you've got to respect your flag, and you've got to respect your president."

Lynch and others around the town of 745 people believe that respect hasn't been around the past couple of weeks as Crawford, about 95 miles south of Dallas in Central Texas, has been invaded by more than a hundred people protesting Bush and the Iraq war.

"Like the circus, it needs to pack up and go," said Kim Williams, a 41-year-old mother of two.

"They have every right to speak their mind and say their piece, but they've just kind of taken over," Williams said. "I just wish they'd go home. It gets old."

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion," Nelson, 59, said. "Part of the American way."

As for the war, he backs Bush.

"Freedom and liberty," he said, describing the accomplishments in Iraq. "I don't see them as a bad thing."

Many of his neighbors in the area feel the same way. McLennan County, which surrounds Crawford, voted for Bush over Democrat John Kerry 65 percent to 33 percent in the 2004 presidential election. The Democratic mayor was replaced this year with a Republican.

Kay and Bill Bregan thrill when the presidential motorcade drives past the big eagle carved out of wood that sits out front.

"We stand over here and he waves at us," Kay Bregan, 65, said of her encounters with the president as his motorcade passes the eagle her woodworker-husband made.

"One day (Bush) drove by after he got a hamburger, rolled down the window and gave my husband a thumbs up," she said. "He was thrilled to death."

Bregan supports the president.

"Of course I hate to see all the boys and girls killed there," she said. "But I think to pull out of this war would be the worst mistake we could ever made... We didn't get to be free without fighting for it. It doesn't come easy. I pray everyday the killing will end in Iraq, but I don't agree with wanting to pull out."

Most of the dozen or so ranching families living close to the Bush property appear to have had enough of protesters and reporters and traffic. Those without closed ranch gates to their property have put up ropes, yellow plastic tape or "No Trespassing" or "No Parking" signs to keep others away � and next to U.S. flags or banners of support that read, "For Our Commander In Chief."

"It's kind of embarrassing," said Lynch, who with his wife, Boo, raised three children on land that's been in his family for 158 years. "I'm sure it's embarrassing to President and Mrs. Bush.

Cindy Sheehan: 38% Unfavorable 35% Favorable

Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who maintained an anti-War protest outside of President Bush's ranch, is viewed favorably by 35% of Americans and unfavorably by 38%.

Sheehan is viewed favorably by 34% of men and 35% of women. Forty-two percent (42%) of men and 34% of women have an unfavorable view.
In general, people see in Sheehan what they want to see. Opinion about her is Democrats, by a 56% to 18% margin, have a favorable opinion. Republicans, by a 64% to 16% margin, have an unfavorable view.largely based upon views of the War, rather than views about the woman herself. Those not affiliated with either major party are evenly divided.

People who think we should withdraw troops from Iraq now have a positive opinion of Sheehan (59% favorable, 12% unfavorable). Those who do not think we should withdraw troops at this time have a negative view (15% favorable , 64% unfavorable).
Among those with family members who have served in the military, Sheehan is viewed favorably by 31% and unfavorably by 48%.

Marine gets tuition break

Officials find way for Texan following nationwide outcry

Following nationwide public outcry, a decorated U.S. Marine from Texas will be allowed in-state college tuition after a school turned him down because he didn't reside in the state when he began two tours of duty in Iraq.

As WorldNetDaily reported, Texas native Cpl. Carl Basham was told by admissions officials at Austin Community College he didn't qualify as a Texas resident "for tuition purposes, despite being a registered voter and holder of a state driver's license.

But today the college said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, himself a former U.S. Marine, identified a state waiver provision for which Basham qualifies, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

"We are so delighted that he will be eligible for in-state tuition," said Veronica Obregon, spokeswoman for Austin Community College.

Patterson wrote a letter stating Basham qualified for a waiver that requires him to provide military documents showing Texas as his state of residence plus his voter and automobile registration.

Obregon said Basham has presented the proper documentation to meet the waiver requirements.

Iran Made Thousands of Centrifuges, Breaking Pledge, Exiles Say

Iran has continued to produce centrifuges, which are used in the uranium enrichment process, in contravention of a November 2004 agreement with the U.K., France and Germany to suspend all such activities, the exiled opposition National Council for Resistance in Iran said.

Iran this month removed United Nations seals on equipment used in uranium enrichment at its Isfahan plant, after rejecting an offer from the so-called EU-3 of technology and economic incentives in exchange for halting processing activity. Even during the supposed suspension, Iran had continued to make centrifuges, the NCRI said at a London press conference today.

``In several secret locations, including several sites around Tehran, the regime is working round-the-clock to build centrifuges,'' Hossein Abedini, a member of the NCRI's Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters. ``Thousands of these machines have already been built and are ready for use,'' in work that has been ``non-stop throughout the past few months.''


The NCRI has in the past revealed information about Iran's nuclear activities that has proven to be true. The group in August 2002 said that Iran was building secret nuclear facilities in Natanz and Arak. Iran admitted the existence of those facilities during a visit to the Islamic Republic in February 2003 by officials from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.

Tuition fund set up for Marine

Texas man denied in-state benefit due to time served in military

An Indiana talk-radio host has set up a fund for those who would like to help a U.S. Marine from Texas pay his college tuition after he was denied in-state tuition because he didn't reside in the state during his military service.

When talk-radio host Chris Dickson of WKBV-1490 in Richmond, Ind., read about Basham's plight, he set up a fund to which people can donate to help the Marine pay for his fall semester tuition.

The information is:

American Patriots College Scholarship Fund
c/o West End Saving Bank
34 South 7th Street
Richmond, IN 47374

ACLU to Gitmo inmates: Don't talk

Prisoners advised of 'right' not to answer interrogators

U.S. military sources tell Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin that American Civil Liberties Union attorneys have been permitted to advise Guantanamo Bay prisoners, including Taliban and al-Qaida operatives, that they have the right not to answer the questions of interrogators.

In addition, the Pentagon has brought in a veteran staff attorney from the ACLU to serve as chief defense counsel in future military tribunals.

Pentagon Probing Able Danger Lawyers

The Pentagon has launched an investigation to determine whether Clinton administration lawyers blocked a military intelligence unit code named Able Danger from sharing with the FBI critical information on Mohamed Atta and three other 9/11 hijackers a year before the 9/11 attacks.

"Because this happened in a previous administration, the Pentagon right now is trying to get their hands around what actually happened and who was involved," Rep. Curt Weldon told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity on Thursday.

Weldon said that Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, the Able Danger team member who came forward this week, "had a good meeting with [Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence] Stephen Cambone and Gen. Schwartz on Monday where they really laid it out."
"Secretary Cambone told him - 'Look, we need to know what really happened here because this all happened in a previous administration and so we don't know all the details,'" Weldon said.

Lt. Col. Shaffer, who also spoke with Hannity on Thursday, confirmed the Pentagon investigation, saying: "There's good progress being made at the Pentagon to try to confirm what I'm saying. I'm very hopeful that a lot more of this - the truth is going to come out very soon."

Asked if he knew whether the lawyers who blocked Able Danger's intelligence on Atta were Clinton appointees or holdovers from a previous administration, Lt. Col. Shaffer said:

"I don't [know]. And that's one of the mysteries which now, both the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice are probably going to have to look at; to figure out exactly who these people were and what the nature of their contacts were."

Clinton Lawyers Fretted Over Bin Laden's Comfort

The CIA's former Bin Laden desk chief revealed Thursday night that Clinton administration lawyers warned counterterrorism agents that Osama bin Laden had to be kept as comfortable as possible if they captured him during planned raids into Afghanistan.

"The lawyers were more concerned with bin Laden`s safety and his comfort than they were with the officers charged with capturing him," former Bin Laden desk chief Michael Scheuer told MSNBC's "Hardball.
"We had to build an ergonomically designed chair to put him in, [for] special comfort in terms of how he was shackled into the chair," Scheuer explained. "They even worried about what kind of tape to gag him with so it wouldn`t irritate his beard."

"The lawyers are the bane of the intelligence community," the former CIA man lamented.

Concerns like that, as well as foot dragging by the White House, resulted in one missed opportunity after another to get the al Qaida terror mastermind, Scheuer said.

"We had at least eight to 10 chances to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in 1998 and 1999. And the government on all occasions decided that the information was not good enough to act," he claimed.
Although sharply critical of President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq , the CIA counterterrorism specialist put the blame for bin Laden's escape firmly on Mr. Clinton.

"In terms of which administration had more chances, Mr. Clinton`s administration had far more chances to kill Osama bin Laden than Mr. Bush has until this day," Scheuer said.

America's true Gold Star Moms

Only at the risk of seeming stone-hearted does one beat up on such a grief-torn soul as Gold Star Mom Cindy Sheehan - unless one is a Gold Star Parent oneself and thus entitled to viewpoints every much as morally authoritative as hers.

Many moms and dads who have lost their own sons and daughters to Iraq are informing Sheehan that hers is hardly the only Gold Star out there, and that personally they choose to honor their dead by supporting the war. "Chris and all those over there are fighting for all of us," a mourner said the other day at a service for 19-year-old Ohio Marine Christopher Dyer. His mother, Kathy, urged family and friends not to let anger at Christopher's death turn them against the war. Christopher served his country "with the greatest pride ... fighting to preserve freedom."

It happens that more and more Americans are unhappy about Iraq and are ripe to be galvanized by this single-minded woman. But Mother Cindy's own flame will likely soon burn down, as her sympathizers begin to discover that, for example, she's an admirer of Lynne Stewart, the New York lawyer recently convicted of aiding and abetting a jailed terrorist mastermind, and that she has been known to blame "the Jews" for many of the world's ills.

But hear as well the pride-filled words of those Gold Star families for whom Cindy Sheehan does not speak. Hear of Kathy Dyer, along with Ann and Dale Hampton and Stacey Sammis and Joan Curtin and Karen Long, all of whom lost a child or a spouse in Iraq and who stand far apart from Sheehan. Their stories were told yesterday in The Wall Street Journal by Ronald Griffin, father of Spec. Kyle Griffin, who, too, was killed in the war.

"We refuse to allow Cindy Sheehan to speak for all of us," Griffin wrote. "Instead, we ask you to learn the individual stories. They are glorious. Honor their memories. Honor their service. Never dishonor them by giving in. They never did."
Well said.

What's the difference between gold star mothers and American Gold Star Mothers, Inc?

German court convicts 9/11 suspect

Moroccan man suspected of aiding hijackers sentenced to 7 years in prison


A court on Friday convicted a Moroccan man suspected of helping the Sept. 11 hijackers of membership in a terrorist organization and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Presiding Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt, announcing the conviction of Mounir el Motassadeq after a yearlong retrial, did not immediately explain the Hamburg state court's reasons for the decision.

El Motassadeq was acquitted of more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder in the 2001 attacks on the United States.

The 31-year-old Moroccan, who in 2003 became the first person anywhere to be convicted in the attacks, looked on calmly as Schudt announced the verdict.

Prosecutors had demanded the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for el Motassadeq, who was accused of helping pay tuition and other bills for cell members to allow them to live as students while they plotted the attacks.

But defense lawyers sought acquittal for the Moroccan, who acknowledges he was close to the hijackers but insists he knew nothing of their plans. They have criticized the lack of direct testimony from witnesses, including Ramzi Binalshibh, a key Sept. 11 suspect held by the United States.

Three missiles fired at U.S. ships in Jordan

Attack claimed by al-Qaida unit; rocket also fired at Israeli airport

Attackers fired at least three missiles from Jordan on Friday, with one narrowly missing a U.S. Navy ship docked in a Jordanian port and killing a Jordanian soldier, and another falling close to a nearby airport in neighboring Israel, officials said.

Jordanian security forces are hunting a Syrian and two Iraqi nationals, a security source said.

An Internet statement released by the al-Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades militant group claimed responsibility the attacks.

Officials said they believe Katyusha rockets were fired from a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Aqaba, a Jordanian Red Sea port 210 miles south of the capital, Amman, officials added.

Jordanian soldier Ahmed Jamal Saleh was fatally wounded when a mortar sailed over a U.S. Navy ship docked in Aqaba and slammed into a warehouse, a Jordanian security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said two American amphibious ships were docked in Aqaba when the mortar was fired toward them. The vessels later sailed out of port as a result of the attacks, U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Cdr. Charlie Brown told The Associated Press in Bahrain.

"At approximately 8:44 a.m. local time, a suspected mortar rocket flew over the USS Ashland's bow and impacted in a warehouse on the pier in the vicinity of the Ashland and USS Kearsage," Brown said. "The warehouse sustained an approximate 8 foot (2.5 meter) hole in the roof of the building."

No sailors or Marines were injured in the attack, Brown added.

Cindy Sheehan on the front page of the Socialist Worker

Foul-mouthed anti-American Cindy Mohammed Shaheen has appeared on a front page story of the Socialist Worker, a magazine whose objective is to "overthrow Capitalism and achieve a revolution." The article lauds Cindy's antics and her hysterical rants against the President which clearly show she hasn't a clue what her son was fighting for.

The "Socialist Worker", a Communist Party publication, fits right in with Moveon.org, Code Pink, Democrats.com, Michael Moore, and the other radical anti-American left groups who have moved in on Sheehan's spotlight in the media and on the road in Crawford, Texas. The real pity is, she has allowed it and alligned herself with them. It's nice to see that she now also has the official support of the Communist Party USA. This should end any doubt about Cindy Sheehan's agenda and who she really is.

HT: Talk Show America Group Member: Faith

Nation's Report Card Results: Score One for Education Reform

STUDENT SCORES ARE UP � THREE REASONS WHY

On July 14, 2005 The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) released the �NAEP 2004 Long-Term Trends in Academic Progress� report. For the first time in recent memory, the results were positive. In the past five years, students throughout the country have made significant progress in reading and math. According to The Economist, �This year's report contained two striking results. The first is that America's nine-year-olds posted their best scores in reading and math since the tests were introduced (in 1971 in reading and 1973 in math). The second is that the gap between white students and minorities is narrowing. The nine-year-olds who made the biggest gains of all were blacks, traditionally the most educationally deprived group in American society.�
These improvements are laudable, but the real question for policymakers is: Why? A look at the record on education reform over the last decade provides a glimpse.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The push for real educational accountability � holding schools, teachers, and administrators responsible for educational results, has taken off in the country. Starting with state standards and assessments with consequences in the early 90s, to a more recent push and connection to state accountability systems in the landmark No Child Left Behind Act. Schools have never before been so pressured to show results. Parents have access to more data in this new era and are provided the ability to do something about the data in some cases. State efforts send a national push clearly combined to create enormous opportunities for learning as indicated by the recent NAEP longitudinal data.

COMPETITION

Economists and academics continue to report that when conventional public schools are faced with outside competition, their performance increases. University of California-Berkeley professor Eric Rofes reports that 25 percent of schools faced with competition changed their practices because of the pressure to show better results. Harvard professor Martin West found similar results in Florida. Conventional schools in the state of Florida exposed to school choice post higher academic gains than schools without the competitive edge. During the time of dramatic increases on the NAEP, the number of charter schools in operation in the U.S. increased by 41 percent. This growth and the addition of other forms of competition positively altered academic outcomes and the education landscape. Similar results can be been seen in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin by Caroline Hoxby, another economist and professor at Harvard University. According to Hoxby�s data, students exposed to school choice, in the form of vouchers or charter schools, increased their test scores by up to 6 times that of their counterparts in unaffected schools

TEACHERS

More than any other factor besides the family, a quality teacher can mean the difference between success and failure for a child. A quality teacher can mitigate at-risk factors and prior failure; quality teachers over time directly affect student success. In the last six years, several new teacher initiatives have put the guardians of the teaching profession on notice that simply having a certificate is no longer acceptable. From NCLB regulations guiding what it means to be highly qualified, to a larger local focus on ensuring higher pay for the best teachers, the past half-decade or so has seen numerous programs aimed at providing all students the best teachers regardless of income or geography. Programs like The New Teacher Project, Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators and The Teacher Advancement Program help schools attract and retain high quality educators by offering professional growth opportunities through strategies like performance-based pay and ongoing teacher recruitment from other areas of expertise.

Americans believe that news organizations are "politically biased in their reporting"

THE share of Americans who believe that news organizations are "politically biased in their reporting" increased to 60 percent in 2005, up from 45 percent in 1985, according to polls by the Pew Research Center.

Many people also believe that biased reporting influences who wins or loses elections. A new study by Stefano DellaVigna of the University of California, Berkeley, and Ethan Kaplan of the Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm University, however, casts doubt on this view. Specifically, the economists ask whether the advent of the Fox News Channel, Rupert Murdoch's cable television network, affected voter behavior. They found that Fox had no detectable effect on which party people voted for, or whether they voted at all.

Slain Marine�s mother calls for war support

The mother of a Marine killed in Iraq urged mourners Wednesday not to let their anger and sadness turn them against the U.S. fight in Iraq.

�Honor me in this way,� Kathy Dyer said during a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale.

At the funeral at Tri-County Baptist Church, Kathy Dyer delivered what she believed would have been her son�s own message: �It has been with the greatest pride I have served ... fighting to preserve freedom.�

She said he would want mourners to continue supporting the troops in the war against terrorism.

Dyer and eight other Marines from Columbus-based Lima Company were among 14 killed Aug. 3 in the deadliest roadside bombing of U.S. troops in Iraq. The company is part of the Cleveland-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, which has been hit hard by attacks that have killed 16 members in recent weeks.

Dyer urged support for the troops in Iraq a day after the parents of Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder II, another Ohio-based Marine killed in Iraq, urged Americans to voice their opposition to the war.

Warship built with steel from Twin Towers

'It would almost be a resurrection' for victims of NYC attack'

In tribute to victims of the 9-11 attack on New York City, the U.S. Navy is using 10 tons of steel from the World Trade Center to build a new warship that will help defend the nation from terrorism.

The USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2008, according to the European edition of the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

Patrick Cartier told the paper the ship is an honorable way to remember his son, James Marcel Cartier, who was killed when the South Tower collapsed.

"You've got the very soul of the event in that mangled steel, and all of that steel which housed all the people fell along with them and they were all consumed in that terrible fireball and that collapse," Cartier said.

The New York City man said using the steel "would almost be a resurrection" for those who died in the attacks.

New York City firefighter Bill Butler called it a "great testament to the strong will of the people who died that day."

Butler, who was in the North Tower when it collapsed, said the New York Fire Department supports U.S. troops.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them every single day and we appreciate them defending our freedom, and we're doing our best on the homefront," he said.

Decorated Marine denied in-state tuition

Despite being a Texas native, a registered voter and holder of a state driver's license, a decorated Marine has been denied lower in-state tuition at a community college because he spent too much time out of the state while serving two tours of duty in Iraq.

Carl Basham says he was shocked when personnel at Austin Community College told him a few weeks ago that he didn't qualify as a Texas resident "for tuition purposes." Basham was born in Beeville, Texas, registered to vote in Travis County in 1998, holds a Texas driver's license and does his banking in Austin, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

"They told me that I have to physically live in the state of Texas for at least a year," Basham told the paper. "It kind of hurts."
According to the report, Austin Community College officials were unable to specify why Basham isn't considered a Texas resident, only that he didn't meet state requirements as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A spokeswoman said privacy laws prevent a discussion of Basham's case.

In-state tuition at the college is $500 per semester, compared to $2,600 for non-Texas residents.

"[The admissions officer] said, 'It's really your military service that's holding you back.' I couldn't believe that those words came out of her mouth," Jolie Basham is quoted as saying.
"He's always Texas this and Texas that," she said. "It's always been his home."

Parents of American Soldiers in Iraq say protester doesn't speak for them

The continued focus by the nation's media on Cindy Sheehan, the so-called "Peace Mom" who's demanding a second meeting with President Bush in the wake of her son's death, is sparking a backlash from parents of other American servicemen and women in Iraq.

One Texas family of a fallen Marine became so enraged with Sheehan's use of their son's name on a protest cross, they drove from the town of Spicewood to Crawford to remove it.

"I went there and had Matthew's name taken off of there," said Matt Matula, whose son, a 20-year-old Marine, was killed by hostile fire last year. "It's fine for people to grieve their own way. It aggravates me to see them using other people's names to further their cause."

"He's not a victim, he's a hero," he told KXAN-TV, "and I think that everybody that's serving our country [are] heroes."

Cpl. Matthew Matula, whose wife, Julie, was pregnant when he was killed in action, had planned on bringing his wife and baby back from his base in Southern California to Texas to get a ranch and build a house.
His younger brother just recently joined the military and is also heading to Iraq.

"Matthew was very proud of being a Marine and proud of his unit and what they were doing," his mother, Toni, said.

Her feelings are echoed by another war mom, Debbie from Indianapolis, who called radio host Rush Limbaugh today to say her own son was wounded in Iraq when his vehicle ran over a land mine twice in one day, and he's now serving his second tour of duty.

"I would never dishonor his actions by doing what this woman is doing," she tearfully said, referring to Cindy Sheehan. "What she's doing is not only dishonoring her son, she's dishonoring mine. ... [Casey Sheehan] didn't die for nothing, he died in the United States Armed Forces.There's nothing more honorable than that. These kids volunteered, they were not yanked from their cradle by an evil government to send them someplace they didn't want to go ... My son knew what was in store for him, and my son stepped up to the plate."
Lee Miller, who has a long list of family members in the service, wrote the China Daily newspaper to blast Mrs. Sheehan, while at the same time heaping praise on her son, Casey.

"He is a better person then you will ever be. So go home and honor his name instead of dragging it in the dirt. Make a difference instead of trying to be in the limelight. You're making an a-- out of yourself. I know your pain. I have been down that path � it hurts, but don't blame someone for a choice a person makes when it doesn't work out. Build a bridge and get over it. Your son was proud of what he did, so be proud of him."

The backlash has led to the creation of the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour, a caravan of military family members who plan to converge on Crawford for a rally Aug. 27.

Saudis Say They've Killed al-Qaida Leader

Al-Qaida's leader in Saudi Arabia was killed Thursday during clashes with police in the western city of Medina, the Interior Ministry said.

Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi was among six al-Qaida militants reported killed during police raids on numerous locations in the holy city and the capital, Riyadh, security officials told The Associated Press.

Al-Aoofi, a Saudi in his late 30s, and another militant were killed during one of seven police raids in Medina, the Interior Ministry said.
Al-Aoofi was considered the top leader of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden's network in this conservative Gulf country, which has been rocked by multiple terror attacks since 2003.

He was among two of the kingdom's 26 most-wanted militants still at large. The other 24 on the list issued in December 2003 either have been captured or killed.

It was not immediately clear whether the other militants killed Thursday were on a separate list of 36 suspects issued recently.

Al-Aoofi, a former prison guard, reportedly fought in Chechnya and traveled to Afghanistan to join al-Qaida shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Sheehan's Hubby: Cindy Go Home

The husband and son of Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan are urging her to end her anti-war protest outside President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, saying she's doing a disservice to their family.

"I don't think she's done the best for the family," Patrick Sheehan, 52, tells People Magazine. "When we see Cindy talking about Casey, we all relive the loss."

Casey Sheehan was killed while serving in Iraq last year. But even his brother, Andy, 21, doesn't agree with his mother's antics, telling People, "I think she should come home."
Patrick explained: "My kids and I feel like we've had two losses, Casey, and now our wife and mother. The kids are angry and lonely for her."

Mr. Sheehan filed for divorce earlier this week.

Mrs. Sheehan told People that she understands her kids would like to have her back home, but still claimed that "they're supportive."

"They understand what I'm trying to do," she insisted.

Victims' Families Outraged, Want New 9/11 Panel

The families of 9/11 victims are outraged that military spies were blocked from sharing key intelligence they believe could have averted the terrorist attacks � and are calling for a new commission to investigate.

"I�m angry that my son's death could have been prevented," Diana Horning, whose son was killed at the World Trade Center, told the New York Post.

"It outrages me because it's taken four years to come out."

Horning and other family members of 9/11 victims are up in arms over the disclosure that the elite military intelligence unit "Able Danger" had identified Mohamed Atta and three other Sept. 11 hijackers more than a year before the attacks, but military lawyers stopped the unit from sharing that information with the FBI.

"I don't think you can understate the significance here," Mindy Kleinberg, a member of the Sept. 11 Advocates, a coalition of family members, told the Post.

"You're talking about the four lead hijackers. If we shared information and did surveillance on them, there is no telling what we could have uncovered and what we could have thwarted.

"I think we do need a new commission, and that's really sad."

And Bill Doyle, whose son was killed on 9/11, ripped Jamie Gorelick, President Clinton's deputy attorney general, who codified the separation between intelligence and investigative agencies in a 1995 memo � then was chosen to serve on the Sept. 11 Commission investigating the attacks.

"What is disheartening," said Doyle, "is from the beginning, we said Jamie Gorelick had a conflict of interest."

Bush Admin. Briefed on Able Danger After Attacks

Two weeks after the 9/11 the attacks, the Bush administration was told that a special military intelligence unit code named Able Danger had developed actionable intelligence two years earlier that could have foiled the 9/11 plot, a member of the Able Danger team revealed on Wednesday.

Among the Able Danger evidence shared with the Bush National Security Council: a chart put together before 9/11 featuring a picture of lead hijacker Mohamed Atta.

Asked why he didn't go public before this week with the news that his group had been tracking Atta during the Clinton administration, Able Danger team member Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer told ABC radio host Sean Hannity:
"Within two weeks of the attack, this colleague of mine ... she took that very poster [with Mohamed Atta] to Congressman [Curt] Weldon," Shaffer said. "And I have to say he took it right to Michael Hadley, I believe, over at the NSC."

"It's my understanding that he gave him that chart and Hadley had a great deal of interest in it," he added.

Once the Bush administration had been briefed, Shaffer said, he thought the information would be handled properly. "[I felt] that we were good to go - that everything was going to be solved," he told Hannity.

The military intelligence sleuth stressed, however, "I'm not criticizing the Bush administration here. They're doing everything in their power to prevent this now. I think they're fully behind what we're doing. I think the Pentagon right now is fully behind me trying to get the word out and trying to get to the bottom of this."

War in Afghanistan is Wrong Too

Cindy Sheehan is a grade A fool, via Hardball.

MATTHEWS: All right. If your son had been killed in Afghanistan, would you have a different feeling?

SHEEHAN: I don�t think so, Chris, because I believe that Afghanistan is almost the same thing. We�re fighting terrorism. Or terrorists, we�re saying. But they�re not contained in a country. This is an ideology and not an enemy. And we know that Iraq, Iraq had no terrorism. They were no threat to the United States of America.

MATTHEWS: But Afghanistan was harboring, the Taliban was harboring al-Qaida which is the group that attacked us on 9/11.

SHEEHAN: Well then we should have gone after al-Qaida and maybe not after the country of Afghanistan.

MATTHEWS: But that�s where they were being harbored. That�s where they were headquartered. Shouldn�t we go after their headquarters? Doesn�t that make sense?

SHEEHAN: Well, but there were a lot of innocent people killed in that invasion, too. � But I�m seeing that we�re sending our ground troops in to invade countries where the entire country wasn�t the problem. Especially Iraq. Iraq was no problem. And why do we send in invading armies to march into Afghanistan when we�re looking for a select group of people in that country?

So I believe that our troops should be brought home out of both places where we�re obviously not having any success in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is still on the loose and that�s who they told us was responsible for 9/11.

HT:Thanks to my friends at Save The GOP

Pentagon spokesman: 'Able Danger' Investigation Under Way...

Lt. Col. Chris Conway, a Pentagon spokesman, said Wednesday an investigation into Able Danger was under way.

The department "has been working to gain more clarity on this issue. Accordingly, we continue to interview a number of individuals associated with Able Danger," Conway said.

Conway said it was too soon to comment on findings related to the program.

Al Felzenberg, spokesman for the commission's follow-up project, said the commission is awaiting the results of the Pentagon's investigation.

CINDY UNLEASHED: 'THE BIGGEST TERRORIST IN THE WORLD IS GEORGE W. BUSH'

"We are not waging a war on terror in this country. We�re waging a war of terror. The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush!"

So declared Cindy Sheehan earlier this year during a rally at San Francisco State University.

Sheehan, who is demanding a second meeting with Bush, stated: "We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now."

Sheehan unleashed a foul-mouth tirade on April 27, 2005:

"They�re a bunch of f***ing hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..." Sheehan said of the Bush administration.

"If George Bush believes his rhetoric and his bullsh*t, that this is a war for freedom and democracy, that he is spreading freedom and democracy, does he think every person he kills makes Iraq more free?"

"The whole world is damaged. Our humanity is damaged. If he thinks that it�s so important for Iraq to have a U.S.-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war."

"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog sh*t in Washington, we will impeach all those people."

"You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" Tour

Move America Forward will be conducting the �You Don�t Speak for Me, Cindy� caravan beginning next week. It will feature military family members who have loved ones serving in the war against terrorism in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The delegation will be led by Deborah Johns of Marine Moms. (Her son has served in Operation Iraqi Freedom).

Main caravan leaves from San Francisco, California on Monday, August 22nd. Other caravans will depart from around the country. If you want to be part of a caravan, email us with your name and location you will depart from and we will include in our caravan coverage so people in your area can depart with you.

Everyone arrives in Crawford, Texas for a giant �We Support Our Troops AND Their Mission� Rally on Saturday, August 27, 2005.

We need your support - either joining our caravan or meeting us for the giant rally on August 28th. If you cannot attend, please support the cost of this project with a financial contribution - contribute online here.

Tentative Schedule for "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" Tour

Oil Falls as Government Report Shows Adequate U.S. Inventories

Crude oil in New York fell almost $3 a barrel, the biggest decline since April, after a government report showed that U.S. refineries have sufficient supplies to make gasoline for the final weeks of summer.

Oil and gasoline prices jumped in the minutes after the Energy Department report showed an unexpectedly large decline in gasoline supplies. Prices subsequently tumbled after gasoline touched an all-time high. Oil inventories are almost 10 percent higher than a year ago, dispelling any concern of a fuel shortage in the months ahead.

``Peak summer gasoline demand is over, with only two weeks left in the driving season,'' said Doug Leggate, senior oil analyst at Citigroup Inc. in New York. ``Attention is turning to distillate stocks'' including heating oil, which have increased for 13 consecutive weeks.

Crude oil for September delivery fell $2.78, or 4.2 percent, to $63.30 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures surged to $67.10 a barrel on Aug. 12, the highest since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 35 percent from a year ago.

``During the last three days we got close to $67.10 but couldn't get through,'' said Tom Bentz, an oil broker at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. ``Gasoline made new highs after the report, pulling crude higher, but was unable to sustain the rally. Sentiment has shifted.''

Gasoline for September delivery fell 9.86 cents, or 5 percent, to $1.885 a gallon in New York. Prices rose to $2.029 a gallon at 10:34 a.m., the highest since the contract was introduced in 1984. The September heating oil contract fell 7.65 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $1.7875 a gallon.

The Energy Department released the weekly inventory report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.

Inventory Report

Inventories of gasoline dropped 4.97 million barrels to 198.1 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 12, the seventh straight decline, the report showed. A drop of 1.5 million barrels was expected, according to the median of 12 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

Demand for gasoline fell 75,000 barrels to an average 9.4 barrels a day, the lowest in a month, according to the report.

``There are signs that gasoline demand is tapering off, which has reduced supply fears,'' Bentz said.

U.S. gasoline demand last month was lower than in July 2004 because of higher retail prices, the American Petroleum Institute said in a report released today. The total amount of gasoline supplied in the U.S., a measure of demand, was 9.28 million barrels a day in July, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier, the industry-funded group's report showed.

US Soldier in Iraq Zaps Media

When the Today show sprung a surprise this morning -- an unannounced
trip to Iraq by Matt Lauer -- one US soldier had a little surprise of
his own for Today and the media at large.

Lauer interviewed a group of soldiers at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, and
at one point asked about the state of morale. After getting two
responses to the effect that morale was good, Lauer had this to say:

"Don't get me wrong, I think you're probably telling the truth, but
there might be a lot of people at home wondering how that could be
possible with the conditions you're facing and with the insurgent
attacks you're facing. "

Asked Lauer: "What would you say to those people who are doubtful that
morale could be that high?"

Captain Sherman Powell nailed Lauer, the MSM and the anti-war crowd
with this beauty:
"Well sir, I'd tell you, if I got my news from the newspapers also I'd
be pretty depressed as well!"

"For those of us who have actually had a chance to get out and meet
the Iraqi Army and Iraqi police and go on patrols with them, we are
very satisfied with the way things are going here and we are confident
that if we are allowed to finish the job we started we'll be very
proud of it and our country will be proud of us for doing it!"

Praying school board likened to terrorists

ACLU boss compares officials to 'people who flew the airplanes into the buildings'

A local ACLU director equated al-Qaida terrrorists with members of a Louisiana school board seeking to open their meetings with prayer.

Joe Cook of the ACLU of Louisiana spoke on camera with WAFB-TV, Baton Rouge, La., while staff and teachers of the Tangipahoa Parish district in New Orleans were at a seminar being informed of their free-speech rights by a member of the Alliance Defense Fund.

Referring to the school board, Cook said, "They believe that they answer to a higher power, in my opinion. Which is the kind of thinking that you had with the people who flew the airplanes into the buildings in this country, and the people who did the kind of things in London."

Johnson, senior counsel and southeastern regional coordinator for the Alliance Defense Fund, said Cook has become increasingly outlandish in his statements.

"It shows the ACLU has become more and more extreme and marginalized," said Johnson. "So, to that extent, I like it when he talks, because he simply reveals who they are."

Johnson said the ACLU tries to "come across as champions of liberty, but the truth of the matter is they are extremists."

"It's clear in a number of recent cases that the ACLU of Louisiana wants to impose a radical form of secularism that the Constitution doesn't require, and frankly, that people of this state are not willing to accept," Johnson said.

Terror Plot Hatched In California Prison

Authorities Thwart Attack Intended For Next Month

terrorist plot to attack military an