URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:Same -Sex "Marriage"- PLEASE PRAY WITH ME (every day untill the decision is revealed around mid-June) THAT THE SUPREME COURT WILL VOTE TO UPHOLD THE 2 LAWS REVIEWED SUPPORTING A TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.. PRAY that the Court will resist any pressure to MAKE new law based on "cultural trends." PRAY as though the very future of the institution of the family is at stake because it is. PRAY! - for the sake of possibly millions of children, and for our country if it is to continue to be shown any more favor by our Heavenly Father, who I promise you will be very displeased if homosexual marriage is legalized; "GOD IS NOT [TO BE] MOCKED..." - (Gal. 6:7) - Stan [Be sure to check out my brief essay at post #478.]
"Prayers from Prison: American Pastor Held in Iran Releases Letter," May 22, 2013; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=1458"...Abedini has been held at the brutal prison for 238 days, enduring long stints in solitary confinement, and, according to his supporters, beatings and torture at the hands of his jailers and fellow inmates. For months, he has been suffering from serious injuries, including internal bleeding from beatings with no proper medical attention, according to his family and attorneys."(Sources: Fox News, Assemblies of God website) As the Lord leads, please PRAY: =1) For the imprisoned Pastor Abedini, and for those Iranians who tend to his needs in prison to treat him more humanely. 2) For his family in Boise, Idaho. and their efforts to involve the U.S. State Department in securing Pastor Abedini’s release. And 3) For the impact of his witness upon believers and non-believers, in America and across the world.
"President Obama Is Tired of Fighting Terrorism,"by James Carafano, May 24, 2013"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…” These were words President Obama never used during his speech at the National Defense University yesterday. Rather, he said anything but anything that sounded like Winston Churchill’s immortal speech about defiance in the face of the march of tyranny.
In large part, there was nothing new in the counterterrorism strategy the President announced. Flash back to 2011—that was the real turning point. Before then, Obama really followed what was called “Bush-lite,” pretty much the same tactics as the previous Administration—just dropping all the rhetoric.
The war of ideas was completely banned from the Obama lexicon. Islamist terrorism became “violent extremism.” Terrorism became “senseless violence.” In 2011, however, Obama shifted course dramatically. More than dumping the war of words, the White House signed off on a new counterterrorism strategy that amounted to running away from Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as possible and limiting the offensive campaign to whacking top-level al-Qaeda with drone strikes. The new strategy was bound to fail [2], fighting the last war while al-Qaeda evolved into a global insurgency that has spread from Pakistan to Nigeria.
Yet, even as the new fronts in the war on terrorism sprang up, the Administration continued to argue that it was winning. After Islamist terrorists murdered Americans and burned a U.S. consulate to the ground in Benghazi, the President claimed he was winning. As homegrown terrorists kill in Boston and London, he claims he is winning. As the Taliban mocks the U.S. standing down in Afghanistan, he claims he is winning.
>>> See what the Administration said about the London attack [3] Rather than admit failure and change course, faced with criticism here at home, the President has decided to declare victory, hoping this will reenergize support from the left. In his speech, he promised to do even less and make the less more transparent. This will no doubt please progressives who were unhappy that Obama carried over any vestige of the Bush policies.
While this speech may make the President more popular with the progressive caucus, it amounts to Maginot Line strategy: The U.S. won’t go after them if they don’t come after us. If they do come after us—we will treat them like any other criminal. If they do get through—it won’t be our fault; it will be the result of addled minds and “senseless” violence [3].
Obama has warped backed to the Clinton counterterrorism strategy of the 1990s without remembering that was the strategy that led to 9/11. Obama framed the challenges we face today as a false choice between sitting back and global, endless, borderless war. In reality, there is much that the U.S. can do to defend itself: dismantle global terrorist networks; push back on political Islam; and champion freedom in the world. There are options between doing nothing and invading countries. President Obama has decided to ignore them. He is sick of fighting. Unfortunately, America’s enemies are not.
[bold and italics emphaisis mine, except portions also underlined]
Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/05/24/morning-bell-president-obama-is-tired-of-fighting-terrorism/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/Obama_NDU.jpg
[2] bound to fail: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/08/a-counterterrorism-strategy-for-the-next-wave
[3] >>> See what the Administration said about the London attack: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/05/23/obama-administration-refuses-to-label-london-attack-as-terrorism/
[4] Heritage Libertad: http://www.libertad.org/
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Copyright © 2013 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
"President Wishes Away Terrorism," by Brian Slattery, May 23, 2013 http://blog.heritage.org/2013/05/23/president-wishes-away-terrorism/
Today, President Obama acknowledged the myriad terrorist threats around the world during his remarks [2] at the National Defense University. Yet his description was much rosier than reality: “Today, the core of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat.” That point is debatable by itself, but it more importantly glosses over the numerous affiliated [3] terrorist groups that have risen to fill the void in the Middle East and Northern Africa—groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani network, and Boko Haram...
The President later said, “We must take these threats seriously, and do all that we can to confront them.” However, throughout this Administration’s tenure, it has continually done less than what is necessary—and what the U.S. is capable of—to provide security. Special operations forces were deemed unnecessary [4] in responding to disruption in Benghazi. America’s military presence in Europe is being systematically drawn down [5] despite those forces’ critical role in the Libyan conflict in 2011 and both Iraq and Afghanistan. Overall, our security forces are shrinking [6] at an alarming rate.
Obama also claimed, “Our alliances are strong, and so is our standing in the world.” As The Heritage Foundation’s Dr. James J. Carafano countered [7], “Nothing could be farther from true. In the Middle East most of America’s friends see us declining, uncertain, and increasingly a power that can’t be depended on.”The President also fails to realize that the enemy gets a vote. As he continues to withdraw U.S. presence from the world, adversaries grow emboldened. They see America leaving as an opportunity to act without consequence against peaceful people and even U.S. allies.
President Obama concluded with a story of one runner who pledged to enter next year’s Boston Marathon as a statement of American resolve. The President said, “Now, we need a strategy—and a politics—that reflects this resilient spirit.” But he simply has no security strategy. The U.S. cannot continue to provide for the common defense by receding from the world and only reacting when we have been attacked. A true national security strategy [8] involves a long-term commitment to our armed forces—one that enables them to project power throughout the world, assure our allies, and deter our enemies.
[bold and italics emphais mine]
URLs in this post:
Obama also claimed, “Our alliances are strong, and so is our standing in the world.” As The Heritage Foundation’s Dr. James J. Carafano countered [7], “Nothing could be farther from true. In the Middle East most of America’s friends see us declining, uncertain, and increasingly a power that can’t be depended on.”The President also fails to realize that the enemy gets a vote. As he continues to withdraw U.S. presence from the world, adversaries grow emboldened. They see America leaving as an opportunity to act without consequence against peaceful people and even U.S. allies.
President Obama concluded with a story of one runner who pledged to enter next year’s Boston Marathon as a statement of American resolve. The President said, “Now, we need a strategy—and a politics—that reflects this resilient spirit.” But he simply has no security strategy. The U.S. cannot continue to provide for the common defense by receding from the world and only reacting when we have been attacked. A true national security strategy [8] involves a long-term commitment to our armed forces—one that enables them to project power throughout the world, assure our allies, and deter our enemies.
[bold and italics emphais mine]
URLs in this post:
[2] remarks: http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2013/may/23/obama-speech-terrorism/
[3] affiliated: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/05/07/seven-terrorist-groups-affiliated-with-al-qaeda/
[4] unnecessary: http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/06/18086898-official-us-special-forces-team-wasnt-allowed-to-fly-to-benghazi-during-attack?lite
[5] drawn down: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/05/withdrawing-us-forces-from-europe-weakens-america
[6] shrinking: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/09/anti-american-protests-in-the-middle-east-impact-of-sequestration
[7] countered: http://nationalreview.com/corner/349196/obama%E2%80%99s-speech-replacing-nothing-nothing-james-jay-carafano
[8] security strategy: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/01/the-measure-of-superpower-a-two-major-regional-contingency-military-for-21-century
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Copyright © 2013 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
Culture, in Cardinal Dolan’s words, “is simply humanity’s best effort to protect the baby, the mother, and the father.” Its “purpose is to embrace, nurture, and protect the baby, the mom, the dad, and to see that this precious infant has the embrace of the community to grow in age and wisdom until . . . that baby, as an adult can tenderly and faithfully love a spouse, have his or her own baby, and the sacred cycle begins again.” Thus, as the historian Christopher Dawson put it, “culture was actually humanity’s attempt to ‘extend the womb.’”
