End Of Day Report

Gary Bauer's End of Day report today deserves to be reprinted in it's entirity, so here you go:


Recipe For Massacre

Retired military officer and author Ralph Peters penned a blistering
response today to the Washington politicians in both parties who are
pushing for a retreat from Iraq, calling them the "cowards on Capitol
Hill."

He predicts that if they succeed in forcing a withdrawal, the inevitable
result would be "a slaughter of the innocents – so many dead the bodies
will never be counted." He also speculates that Iran will fill the vacuum
left by America’s retreat from the Middle East and will effectively take
control of Iraq’s southern oil fields.

Peters is far from alone in his analysis. Virtually any military man in
Washington will tell you the same. Retired four star General Jack Keane
said today that Iran’s operatives are already all over Iraq, providing
weapons and advice to literally all of our opponents, whether they are
Shiites or Sunni.

Iran smells weakness, and you can bet our enemies across the world are
picking up the same putrid scent, and likely picking sides. We will be
less safe after a retreat, my friends – not more!

Finally, what about the men and women in Baghdad, Fallujah and Anbar
Province right now giving everything they have for America? Many of them
joined the U.S. military after 9/11 and after the war in Iraq began. Over
3,500 have died and another 25,000 have been wounded. They volunteered for
this war because they believed our country was serious about defeating the
Islamofascists who attacked us and who right now are planning the next
attack on our homeland.

This war is not yet won, and it is far from over. Do Reid and Pelosi,
Lugar and Voinovich, and the rest of the defeatists even think about what
it means to give up and cause the sacrifices of so many to be in vain?


"Anti-War Terrorists"

In previous reports, I have told you about the incredibly intolerant "hate
speech" that some on the Left have directed toward our young men and women
in uniform. As disgusting as signs like "We support our troops when they
shoot their officers" are, that is the price we pay for living in a free
society.

Our soldiers make incredible sacrifices – leaving loved ones for long
periods of time – and must fight and serve under intense conditions against
a brutal and vicious enemy, while adhering to the standards of our
civilized society. When a few break the rules, it’s front page news for
weeks, and they are prosecuted by our government.

But what happens when anti-war activism turns violent? If a soldier were
gunned down by an anti-war protestor, would that make the front page? Of
course not, and I bet you have never heard of Airman Jonathan Schrieken. I
had not until I read a column today by Michelle Malkin in the New York
Post.

Schrieken was shot in the chest at point blank range on the Fourth of July
by an individual who, according to police, was "suffering from mental- health problems." That may well be true, but it isn’t the full story.

The assailant, Matthew Marren, who committed suicide after he shot
Schrieken, reportedly left notes full of hatred for the government and the
U.S. military, and expressed how he "wanted to go out making a statement."
Instead of writing a letter to the editor or casting a ballot, it appears
as though Marren made his "statement" by shooting a soldier on the Fourth
of July.

Beyond a few articles in local papers, this story hasn’t been touched by
Big Media, but, as Malkin notes, just imagine if the scenario were
reversed: "What if a soldier had attempted to murder a peace activist over
the holidays in order to make a statement?"

The "good news" in this story is that Jonathan Schrieken was not killed and
is recovering. But the bad news is that whatever "mental-health problems"
Marren was suffering from appear to have infected whole swaths of anti-war
radicals, and even young congressional interns, as you may recall, who seem
to have trouble telling the good guys from the bad guys.

Our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are the good guys who have
liberated millions from the tyranny of the Taliban and from the "Butcher of
Baghdad." Today, they are doing their best to defeat an enemy that hides
in places of worship, beheads its captives, turns children into human bombs
and that has vowed to bring more death and destruction to our shores.

May God give them strength and courage, keep them safe and bless their
families for the sacrifices they have made!