Day: October 17, 2006
Sgt. Merideth Howard, 52, Killed on Duty in Afghanistan
Not so long ago, the idea of putting women in the line of fire was controversial — even unthinkable to some. Now it’s all but routine:
On Sept. 8, 2006, Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard was killed while on duty in Afghanistan. She had been assigned to the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade which was tasked with rebuilding roads and water systems.
Sgt. Howard was killed when a car bomb exploded near a military Humvee in which she was riding. She was 52 years old, which makes her the oldest female casuality of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
When she traveled with her unit, Sgt. Howard manned an M-240 machine gun. Yet, the Army consistently tells the American public that women are only positioned in areas of safety, and not exposed to battle.
GOP Leaders Fail Pop Test on the Difference between Sunnis and Shiites
One take-away from the story of the schism between Shiites and Sunnis is that these are people who can hold a grudge of centuries. This would have been a factor to consider before we invaded and pissed them all off.
In August 2006, Peter Galbraith, the former ambassador to Croatia, revealed that in the run-up to invading Iraq President Bush did not know that Muslims in the region were split into two sects, Shiites and Sunnis, and that these two sects had been in conflict for over a thousand years.
Now that the president has led United States forces into the middle of an escalating civil war between the two sects, you might think his Republican cohorts in Congress would have a basic knowledge of the issues that divide the two sides. If so, you would be wrong:
Take Representative Terry Everett, a seven-term Alabama Republican who is vice chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence.
“Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?” I asked him a few weeks ago.
Mr. Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: “One’s in one location, another’s in another location. No, to be honest with you, I don’t know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.”
To his credit, he asked me to explain the differences. I told him briefly about the schism that developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and how Iraq and Iran are majority Shiite nations while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. “Now that you’ve explained it to me,” he replied, “what occurs to me is that it makes what we’re doing over there extremely difficult, not only in Iraq but that whole area.”
Representative Jo Ann Davis, a Virginia Republican who heads a House intelligence subcommittee charged with overseeing the C.I.A.’s performance in recruiting Islamic spies and analyzing information, was similarly dumbfounded when I asked her if she knew the difference between Sunnis and Shiites.
“Do I?” she asked me. A look of concentration came over her face. “You know, I should.” She took a stab at it: “It’s a difference in their fundamental religious beliefs. The Sunni are more radical than the Shia. Or vice versa. But I think it’s the Sunnis who’re more radical than the Shia.”
Did she know which branch Al Qaeda’s leaders follow?
“Al Qaeda is the one that’s most radical, so I think they’re Sunni,” she replied. “I may be wrong, but I think that’s right.”
Did she think that it was important, I asked, for members of Congress charged with oversight of the intelligence agencies, to know the answer to such questions, so they can cut through officials’ puffery when they came up to the Hill?
“Oh, I think it’s very important,” said Ms. Davis, “because Al Qaeda’s whole reason for being is based on their beliefs. And you’ve got to understand, and to know your enemy.”
The schism between Shiites and Sunnis started with a conflict over succession of leadership after Mohammed departed the planet around 700 C.E.:
Sunnis have their historical roots in the majority group who followed Abu Bakr, an effective leader, as Muhammad’s successor, instead of his cousin and son-in-law Ali. The Sunnis are so named because they believe themselves to follow the sunnah or “custom” of the Prophet. Shi’ites are those Muslims who followed Ali, the closest relative of Muhammad, as Muhammad’s successor.
One take-away from the story of the schism between Shiites and Sunnis is that these are people who can hold a grudge of centuries. This would have been a factor for the president and the Republicans to have considered before we invaded and pissed them all off.
Quote du Jour
Color line is a great problem of this century. . . . Back of the problem of race and color lies a greater problem which both obscures and implements it; and that is the fact that so many civilized persons are willing to live in comfort, even if the price of this is poverty, ignorance and disease of the majority of their fellowmen; that to maintain this privilege men have waged war until today war tends to become universal and continuous, and the excuse for this war continues largely to be color and race.
— W.E.B Du Bois (1868-1963), American writer, editor
Florida Newspaper Endorsements: Nelson 10, Harris 0
But who’s counting: Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson leads Republican Rep. Katherine Harris by almost every measure — in the polls, in sanity, and now, in newspaper endorsements. Last weekend, Nelson picked up endorsements from three Florida newspapers, bringing his total to 10. Harris has yet to garner an endorsement from any Florida fish wrapper.
Harris should be able to expect an endorsement by the Lakeland Ledger, right? I mean, she was born there.
Nelson has been endorsed by the Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, Gainesville Sun, Palm Beach Post, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fort Pierce Tribune, Port St. Lucie News, Stuart News, Vero Beach Press Journal and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Ouch! That last one had to hurt, since Sarasota is smack in the middle of Harris country. But maybe it’s too much for the Lord’s Chosen One to expect endorsements from the state’s top-tier newspapers. Maybe Harris should aim a little lower and go for quanity, not quality.
She could start by courting the Sarasoto Tempo-News, which, while it is not the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, it is hyphenated. Then there’s Basta Pinoy in Boca Raton, which serves the oft-forgotten Filipino constituency. Or the Bradford County Telegraph in Starke, home of Florida’s Death Row and a well-known bastion of wingnuts. Harris could probably pay to get endorsed by Miami’s El Nuevo Herald, as long as she said bad things about Fidel Castro.
Harris should be able to expect an endorsement by the Lakeland Ledger, right? I mean, she was born there, and did really well in a picnic poll two weeks ago, clobbering Nelson by 20 points. Other possibilities include the Okeechobee Times, Palatka Daily News, the Walton Sun and Williston Pioneer.
So take heart, Kate, there’s still a chance you’ll get a newspaper endorsement before the election. After all, I hear they’re expecting a cold front in Hell next week ….
Poll: Bush’s Approval Rating Drops to 37 Percent
Free fall: The latest Zogby poll shows George Bush’s approval rating is falling faster than Greg Louganis doing a triple with a half-gainer off the 30-meter board:
After making headway improving his job approval rating over the course of several weeks, President Bush took a hit last week, dropping from 42 percent three weeks ago to 37 percent in a national live telephone survey conducted last week by Zogby International.
Another demographic that has strongly supported him in the past – weekly Wal-Mart shoppers – turned more negative.Bush was last at 37 percent positive job approval in a Zogby telephone poll taken in early September. In this latest survey, 63 percent gave him negative job marks.
He held steady among Republicans in this latest survey – 72 percent said they give the President positive marks for his work. However, independent voters abandoned him – just 24 percent gave him positive marks, down from 36 percent just three weeks ago.
While married respondents, a part of Bush’s political base, remained steady at 42 percent positive in this latest survey, another demographic that has strongly supported him in the past – weekly Wal-Mart shoppers – turned more negative. Just 43 percent gave him positive marks in this latest poll, down from 55 percent three weeks ago. Among those shoppers, 57 percent gave him negative job marks.
