Krauthammer on Obama's Televised Tax Announcement: He Was Addressing Daily Kos, NYT and MoveOn

Newsbusters  "Well, I was struck by the tone and by the audience. This is ostensibly a speech to the American people. It was actually a speech addressed at Daily Kos, the New York Times, and MoveOn. This was a speech that was rather partisan. Interestingly, it's about the first agreement and supposedly the first step in a new era of comity in Washington, but it was quite partisan. He attacked the Republican ideas. "

Obama sells out the left: a Republican win on taxes "Translation: the White House sided with the Republicans. And it was Democratic gloomy faces all around. The president looked solemn as he announced the deal. Reid pointedly refused to endorse the deal; his spokesman issued a statement that Reid would have to consult with his fellow Democrats. One Senate adviser said that the party caucus meeting tomorrow should "be interesting." We'll have much more tomorrow."  Jennifer Rubin



http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/BrianFarrington



Hezbollah, Radical but Rational

STRATFOR "When we discuss threats along the U.S.-Mexico border with sources and customers, or when we write an analysis on topics such as violence and improvised explosive devices along the border, a certain topic inevitably pops up: Hezbollah. "

Obama in Afghanistan

Two Cheers for Obama’s Afghanistan Policy "The president deserves praise for the way he has defined the problem. The United States faces a syndicate of violent extremist groups — al-Qaeda among them — that is based in western Pakistan. This syndicate seeks to launch transnational terrorist attacks (al-Qaeda), to destabilize Afghanistan (Taliban, Haqqani group, and Hezbe Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar), and to challenge the Pakistani government (Pakistani Taliban). It is noteworthy that President Obama, unlike some of his advisers, did not contrive to portray an illusory distinction between al-Qaeda and the Taliban."

ForeignPolicy.com  "Obama and his retinue will also get a chance to see how the tenor of private conversations with foreign governments changes when confidentiality is no longer guaranteed. I wonder who gets to write the cable on this one."

NY Times: Obama Pays Visit to Afghanistan   "Mr. Obama’s visit came at a pivotal moment in the war on both sides. In Washington, the administration is completing a review of the surge and counterinsurgency strategy that the president approved a year ago, although officials played down its import." Credit should go to President Obama for many of his actions in Afghanistan. It appears he is moving away from the left in the areas where he grows wiser.

http://terrellaftermath.com/



Those Christian Zionists Are at It Again

Alana Goodman in Commentary: "The Carmel blaze destroyed more than 5 million trees, so this is a welcome effort. Israel is fortunate to have the support of the Christian Zionists, especially when some other groups — such as the New Israel Fund, an organization that purports to be “pro-Israel” — spend much of their funds and energy supporting those trying to get Tzipi Livni arrested in Europe."

Two forward leaps bring Iran weeks away from weapons-grade uranium

DEBKAfile  "Production of Iran's first batch of uranium yellowcake marked just one of Tehran's two nuclear leaps forward ahead of the resumption of its nuclear talks with the Six Powers in Geneva Monday, Dec. 6, after a 14-month interruption.

"The second breakthrough was not made public. debkafile's military and intelligence sources disclose that after a huge effort, Iran was able to sit down with those powers having piled up 23.5 kilos of 19.75 percent enriched uranium."

WikiLeaks and the Afghan War

STRATFOR "The Afghan war is about an insufficient American and allied force fighting a capable enemy on its home ground and a Pakistan positioning itself for the inevitable outcome. The WikiLeaks contain all the details."

More damaging revelations from Wikileaks   "Today's blow are revelations about facilities in other countries that we consider "vital" to our security. From BBC:"...Rick Moran in American Thinker,
as is the following:

Wikileaks threatens 'poison pill' doc dump if shut down "Assange has to be stopped, even at the risk of these other documents coming out. An example has to be made of him and that traitor Manning who has helped him. The anarchists have their boot on our throats and their drive to create chaos in a dangerous world must be nipped in the bud or the survival of civilization would be put at risk."

No Negotiation With WikiTerrorists "If there were any doubt that WikiLeaks is not about open government, but giving aid and comfort to enemies of the U.S., then the latest release of a State Department document listing facilities vital to U.S. security ends any doubt.
"The document is described by the BBC -- hardly a right-wing organization -- as a terrorist wish list:"...
Via Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion