Movie Review: 'United 93' A Must-See!

As promised, the Neocon went to see ‘United 93’ yesterday evening. The following are my observations:
This is an absolute must-see film for all American’s, and particularly for every weak-kneed, nattering nabob of negativism on the... shall we say… more liberal side of the spectrum. This film is also a public relations nightmere for Islamic PR groups like CAIR.

‘United 93’ does not preach, embellish, or engage in typical Hollywood dramatics. Unlike others with an agenda, it doesn’t need to. It has the look and feel of a documentary and moves in a pace that corresponds almost exactly to the real timeline of the events of 9/11. A number of the actors are unknown individuals who played real roles on that fateful day. Pretty-boy George Clooney, and... Michael Moore were nowhere to be seen.

The enemy was portrayed accurately, as the ruthless, religious fanatics and killers that they are. The passengers were accurately portrayed as naïve and oblivious to the troubling sight of a group of tense young Arab men glancing at each other, occasionally moving about the cabin to converse with each other in whispers; scenes that would surly arouse suspicion today despite every PC effort to suppress the natural survival-instinct to “profile.”

Following the hijacking, passengers engaged in tense conversations about how to react, as one passenger after another learned through phone conversations of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, it became clear that their abductors were on a suicide mission. A few passengers argued that they should avoid “provoking” the terrorists. These were undoubtedly the registered Democrats and Euro-liberals in this unfortunate crowd. Thankfully, a group of real hero's rose to the occasion; they took matters into their own hands and at the expense of their own lives, saved the Capitol building and countless lives on the ground; The first real counter-attack of this war was conducted by ordinary citizens as our military were just begining to grasp the situation.

The Neocon suspects that many folks will avoid seeing this film simply because they will not want to expose themselves to the difficult and gut-wrenching subject-matter. I urge you to overcome that instinct and go see this important film. Most will probably choose to see this film on DVD in the privacy of their own home.

Others will decide not to see this film because they don’t want to see anything that reminds us that this war is real, and the enemy as anything other than regular folks with “legitimate grievances” who are simply misunderstood. These are the hopeless souls who need to see this film the most.

Before viewing United 93 the Neocon was largely undecided about the need for a monument in that field in Pennsylvania. I now have no doubt that the monument is absolutely necessary; a monument to a great act of heroism by average people on that fateful day. They could not depend on our government, our military or anyone else. They acted in all of our names, in a desperate attempt to save their own lives and those who would udoutedly be hurt on the ground; we, in turn, should honor them appropriately.

Tags: United 93, terror, 9/11, Hollywood
Steyn: Where's the dissent about source of quote?
Vintage radicalism may emerge in protest

CAIR Advises Karen Hughes on Bin Laden: Just Exploiting “Legitimate Muslim Grievances”

Karen Hughes hosted a conference call with "Muslim leaders," including CAIR to get the skinny on the latest Bin Laden tape. Hughes was informed by the CAIR representative that Bin Laden is exploiting "legitimate Muslim grievances." Maybe it's just me. 1) What is a top administration official doing hanging out with CAIR on a conference call, an organization which has been linked to terror, instead of hanging out with real Muslim moderates who do need to be legitimized with White House attention. 2) Bin Laden is merely "exploiting legitimate Muslim grievances." That's the message she gets from CAIR, Wow! You make the call.

Tages: Karen Hughes, CAIR, Terror, Bin Laden
PRIZES FOR WARTIME TREASON
9/11 on Film: The horror, and heroism
Iran: We do not give a damn

United 93, the Cure for Pussyfooting: Not a Michael Moore-George Clooney Production

The Neocon Op-ed of the day comes from David Beamer writing in the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Beamer is the father of Todd Beamer who was on United Flight 93 on September 11th 2001. Todd Beamer is famous for the words “lets roll” as he and fellow passengers moved against the terrorist highjackers hell-bent on crashing the plane into White House or Capital Building in Washington DC. The Passengers learned of the basic intentions of the hijackers from phone conversations with relatives who told them of the planes that had already crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. They understood that they faced death & decided to fight back.

Since 9/11 and the tragic loss of his son, Mr. Beamer has clearly made an effort to study, research and understand the nature of the enemy that took the life of his son. His Op-ed in today's WSJ demonstrates that understanding:

"This enemy is on a fanatical mission to take away our lives and liberty...This enemy seeks to take away the free will that our Creator has endowed in us. Patrick Henry got it right some 231 years ago. Living without liberty is not living at all... This film further reminds us of the nature of the enemy we face. An enemy who will stop at nothing to achieve world domination and force a life devoid of freedom upon all. Their methods are inhumane and their targets are the innocent and unsuspecting...we are at war with a real enemy and it is personal. There are those who would hope to escape the pain of war. Can't we just live and let live and pretend every thing is OK? Let's discuss, negotiate, reason together. The film accurately shows an enemy who will stop at nothing in a quest for control. This enemy does not seek our resources, our land or our materials, but rather to alter our very way of life."

The Neocon is scheduled to fly to the Middle East on business in the coming days, but I will make a point of seeing ‘United 93’ and posting my review of the film before my trip.

Iran has missiles that put Europe in range: report
United 93: THE CURE FOR PUSSYFOOTING
Tags: United 93, 9/11, Hollywood, Terror, Radical Islam
Freedom Tower work begins at WTC site
Warren: Trying to Make Sense of The War
Rice Says U.N. Must Act on Iran Nuke Plan
Russia and China warn UN not to antagonise Iran

Neocon Op-ed Winner of the Day: Bruce Thornton

" As if there isn’t enough evidence of the ideological corruption of America’s universities, along come Chicago’s John Mearsheimer and Harvard’s Stephen Walt, arguing that the “Israel lobby” dominates American foreign policy to the hurt of our own national interests. Alan Dershowitz has exposed the errors of fact and the sophomoric logic that mar this thesis, and that should embarrass what are supposed to be two of the best universities in the country . Personally, I consider it intellectual malfeasance to harp on the Israel lobby while ignoring the Palestinian lobby — which includes most of the faculty of American universities, most of the Middle Eastern Studies Departments, most of the media’s editorial boards, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the U.N., and a significant chunk of the State Department. "

Loose lips win Pulitzers
The Cartoon Wars Are Over, We lost.
Reliving Flight 93
Tags: Harvard, Israel, Politics, Stephen Walt, John Mearsheimer, Bruce Thornton, Victor Davis Hanson, Dershowitz, Anti-Semitism, aipac, Neocon

Iran: We Will Transfer Nuclear Know-how to Others

Iran’s insane and escalating rhetoric is having a dramatic affect on the global price of oil which is now impacting every American going to the gas station. This, the Neocon contends is certainly one of Iran’s objectives. Iran, as a major oil exporter has a clear economic and political incentive to maintain uncertainty in the global oil markets, creating higher prices and greater wealth for that country. That said; it would be the height of irresponsibility to fail to take Iran’s nuclear posturing seriously, and assume that it’s all empty rhetoric aimed at raising the price of Oil. Should Iran succeed in the coming years in its declared vision of Nuclear proliferation, the civilized world will face the dawning of a new age of nuclear terror and uncertainty, the likes of which we have never experience. Those downplaying the threat today will be judged as the Neville Chamberlain’s of tomorrow. They place the accuracy of their judgment, and the future of the human race in the hands of an unstable leader sitting in Teheran, just as others placed their faith in a madman in Berlin 70 years ago. Let the record show today who stood where, as the storm gathered.

Iran 'worst threat to Jews since Hitler'
Israel to launch "eye in the sky" over Iran
Tags: Iran, Oil, Nuclear, Israel
Iran threatens to keep nuke program hidden

CIA's Mary O. McCarthy: Treachery for Partisan Motives

Mary O. McCarthy has been fired from the CIA for leaking highly sensitive, classified information to reporters who then proceeded to publish the information for which they won Pulitzer prizes! But it gets much worst: Mary O. McCarthy turns out to be a partisan Democrat and Clinton appointee; a crony of disgraced former Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Burger, and a financial contributor to various Democrat candidates, including $2,000 to the John Kerry campaign against President Bush. That a CIA employee would be willing to disclose highly classified national security secrets for partisan political motives is a big eye-opener and a blow to Democrats. The information disclosed (secret CIA detention facilities in Eastern European countries) was critical to national security and the on-going war on terror. It will be interesting to see how Democrats handle this issue in contrast to the insignificant Valerie Plame leak that they turned into a huge scandal. Senator John Kerry already seems to be downplaying the matter.
Update: McCarthy ‘categorically denies’ being the source of the leak

Islamists in N.Y. –'Mushroom cloud on the way'
Bin Laden says West waging war on Islam
President Lincoln 'Lied' Us Into War Too
Iran: Nuke Program 'Irreversible'
Iran: Israel Cannot Continue to Live
Iran: US to be humiliated if it attacks
Many casualties in Egyptian tourist resort blasts
Tag: CIA, Mary O. McCarthy, Leaks
US: 'Iranians have put both feet on the accelerator'

The ACLU Urged to Free the Terrorist... Who Shortly Thereafter Pled Guilty!

Let the record show that it was only a few months ago that the ACLU urged the Federal Government to drop all efforts to retry Florida Professor Sami al-Arian on charges that he helped fund a notorious Islamic terrorist organization.
In a letter to federal authorities, the director of the Florida ACLU wrote: "In light of the jury's [partial] acquittal ... on the most serious charges and in light of reportedly spending millions of dollars in a trial that led to no convictions, a decision to retry (Dr. Al-Arian) would appear to be pointless and vindictive."
This week, al-Arian plead guilty as charged to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to provide services to a terrorist organization and agreed as part of a plea bargin to be deported from the United States. In other words, if it were up to the ACLU, this terrorist would now be walking free in the US and teaching an audience of captive, impressionable young university students. Thanks ACLU.
Tags: ACLU, Sami al Arian, Terror

Democracy's Global Crisis: Not the Promised Cure-All

The Neocon Op-Ed of the Day goes to Ralph Peters, writing for Real Clear Politics. The Neocon is a great fan of Nathan Sharansky and his relentless promotion of democracy as mankind’s last best hope. Yet Ralph Peters delivers a thought-provoking analysis of democracy’s limitations and our policy of relentless-promotion and efforts to spread. A worthwhile and thought provoking read.

"The problem isn't with democracy. It's with us. We expected too much of a tool, forgetting that specific skills are required to use it well. We imagined that others could master in a day what we spent a millennium practicing. And we failed to allow for basic human emotions and bigotries: Hatreds, jealousies, ethnic and religious rivalries, and the fierce competition for resources in the lands of never-enough."
Rice says US will use varied means to stop Iran
No Tears For Terrorists
Tags: Ralph Peters, Democracy

As Generals engage in petty squabbling, Bush Declares that “all options are on the table” with Regard to Iran

The Neocon is back from Mexico, but will be traveling to the Middle East for 10 days early next month. There is a possibility that I will be able to post from the Middle East from time to time. In any event much has occurred since our departure to Mexico and two issues have particularly caught our attention: 1) the “Generals “revolt”; and 2) Iran’s ever-escalating nuclear posturing with continued hype about destroying Israel.
With regard to the Generals “revolt,” the Neocon finds this behavior borderline inappropriate, and a potential danger to the principle of civilian supremacy over the military should this so-called “revolt” escalate beyond retired generals who apparently did not have the guts to resign their commissions in protest. CNN seem to be having a field day with this tiny minority of General’s, amplifying the matter to the extent possible with partisan anti-administration overtones. Below we have linked to a number of articles on the matter that seek to bring clarity.
The Neocon also finds the Generals behavior inappropriate because apparently they fail to grasp the impact that their actions are having on our enemies from Iraqi insurgents, to Taliban and al-Qaeda crazies and islamo-facists everywhere, and particularly with regard to Iran which is rapidly emerging as a threat with Nuclear-terror potential. We are in the midst of a global struggle and our enemies see in this “revolt” a sign of weakness and chaos in our camp, take heart and become more emboldened. Unfortunately, there are those who have yet to grasp the seriousness of the threat and that this is indeed a real war; thus even ex-generals allow themselves the luxury of participation in petty squabbles with the civilian leadership. Could anyone imaging this type of behavior during WWII? Enough said.

RCP: Debunking the Washington Post's Morin
Why America's generals are out for revenge
Kelly: Record Re-Enlistment vs. Widespread Dissatisfaction
Blankley: Generals Prepare to 'Revolt' Against Rumsfeld
DITHERING WON'T STOP IRAN'S NUKES
Prager: All Americans Must See 'United 93'
Hamas has to be judged on what it says
Tags: Bush, Iran,

The Neocon Is On The Road In Remote Locations

Our apologies, The Neocon will be traveling in Mexico for the next eight days and will be unable to post. I encourage readers to check out our blogroll and visit great sites like The Dread Pundit Bluto, Atlas Shrugs, and others. I’ll see you in a week. Happy Easter, and Passover to all.

The Harvard Fear: Will Bin Laden Praise Harvard In His Next Video?

While Harvard is desperately trying to distance itself from the filthy paper co-authored by its School of Government Academic Dean, Stephen Walt, we at the Neocon don’t like splitting hairs so we simply refer to the paper as “The Harvard Israel Lobby Paper.” The “study” has been received enthusiastically throughout the Muslim world. It’s been widely praised by virtually every hate group from David Duke (former Grand Wizard of the KKK) to terrorists groups such as Islamic Jihad and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The Neocon will not be surprised if the paper will be praised by Osama Bin Laden himself (who seems to be on top of US domestic issues) in his next video on Al Jazeera, which would be another huge embarrassment to Harvard. Naturally, the tactic of the paper’s proponents is to loudly complain that when it comes to the US-Israel relationship, free speech is being stifled. That tactic in itself is an effort to stifle the free speech of those who are critical of the paper. Of course, Walt and Mearsheimer have a right to their views, but the rest of us also have a right to expose them for what they are. Meanwhile the world awaits Osama's word on the matter. Is there any question as to his view?
WP: Yes, It's Anti-Semitic
VDH: When Cynicism Meets Fanaticism
Dershowitz: Debunking the Newest-Oldest Jewish Conspiracy
New Republic: WALT AND MEARSHEIMER: ANTI-AMERICAN.
NRO, Ledeen: Easy Prey
Time of London: now we can blame mysterious, powerful group
WP: Academics' Paper on 'Israel Lobby' Blasted
WT: Harvard dean steps down after study is criticized
US News: Gergen: An Unfair Attack
Boot, LA Times: Policy analysis -- paranoid style
Ruth Wisse: This Paper in your hand is a tool of Israel
NR: SURVEYING THE ISRAEL LOBBY-Oil and Vinegar
Jacoby, BG: On Israel's side
Kramer: Sandstorm
Harvard, the Israeli Lobby, Prince Charles.
Gold: The Basis of the U.S.-Israel Alliance
Forward: In Dark Times, Blame The Jews
JW: No shame in pro-Israel lobbying
Israel-bashing wolves wear academic tweed
WP: Of Israel, Harvard and David Duke
Crimson: Harvard Seeks Distance from Paper
LA Times: Who's afraid of the 'Israel Lobby'?
Embarrassing and dangerous
Hitchens: Overstating Jewish Power
Tags: Harvard, Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, David Duke, Aipac, US Politics, Islam

Update: Following Harvard's Lead, Top Palestinian Says He Has Study That Proves: "Jews control U.S. Christianity"

In keeping with the newly found tradition at Harvard University, and following in the “respectable” footsteps of those “esteemed academics,” Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, a Senior Palestinian government official now declares that he has a Harvard-like study that proves that the Jooooooooos control Christianity in the United States. Thank you Harvard for unleashing the "great minds of the world."
Tags: Harvard, Jews, Hamas, Politics, Stephen Walt, John Mearsheimer, Aipac

Dershowitz: Debunking the Newest and Oldest Jewish Conspiracy

Cynthia McKinney Hires A Body Guard!
Even as Whacky Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney appeared to be trying to put the issue to rest, a bodyguard she hired was raising another furor when he threatened a television reporter trying to interview McKinney outside the Capitol just minutes before she appeared on the House floor. When the reporter from Cox Broadcasting tried to ask McKinney about the grand jury, the bodyguard told him, "I'm going to put your ass in jail. I'm a police officer," a videotape of the incident shows. Asked if he worked for Capitol police, the man said, "I work for Miss McKinney."
Word that McKinney had hired a bodyguard roiled the ranks of the Capitol police who were worried that the guard was carrying a weapon. They said they are concerned about what the bodyguard might do if Capitol police challenged McKinney at a security checkpoint.
VDH: The Congresswoman and the Admiral

John Hopkins Professor to Walt & Mearsheimer: Yes, You Are Anti-Semitic and Here's Why:

OP-ED OF THE DAY: In a powerful piece in today’s Washington Post, Professor Eliot Cohen of John Hopkins University slams Harvard Kennedy School Dean, Stephen Walt and Chicago University Professor John Mearsheimer, co-authors of the Israel Lobby. He does not merely lable the authors "anti-Semitic," but with clarity, reason and precision explains why they are anti-Semitic. Of course, in the authors strange minds this will be seen as proof of the Jewish conspiracy that their paper talks about (I encourage readers to read the entire arcitle in the Washinton Post):

“If by anti-Semitism one means obsessive and irrationally hostile beliefs about Jews; if one accuses them of disloyalty, subversion or treachery, of having occult powers and of participating in secret combinations that manipulate institutions and governments; if one systematically selects everything unfair, ugly or wrong about Jews as individuals or a group and equally systematically suppresses any exculpatory information -- why, yes, this paper is anti-Semitic.
Mearsheimer and Walt conceive of The Lobby as a conspiracy between the Washington Times and the New York Times, the Democratic-leaning Brookings Institution and Republican-leaning American Enterprise Institute, architects of the Oslo accords and their most vigorous opponents. In this world Douglas Feith manipulates Don Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney takes orders from Richard Perle. They dwell on public figures with Jewish names and take repeated shots at conservative Christians (acceptable subjects for prejudice in intellectual circles), but they never ask why a Sen. John McCain today or, in earlier years, a rough-hewn labor leader such as George Meany declared themselves friends of Israel.
The authors dismiss or ignore past Arab threats to exterminate Israel, as well as the sewer of anti-Semitic literature that pollutes public discourse in the Arab world today. The most recent calls by Iran's fanatical -- and nuclear weapons-hungry -- president for Israel to be "wiped off the map" they brush aside as insignificant. There is nothing here about the millions of dollars that Saudi Arabia has poured into lobbying and academic institutions, or the wealth of Islamic studies programs on American campuses, though they note with suspicion some 130 Jewish studies programs on those campuses. West Bank settlements get attention; terrorist butchery of civilians on buses or in shopping malls does not. To dispute their view of Israel is not to differ about policy but to act as a foreign agent.
If this sounds personal, it is, although I am only a footnote target for Mearsheimer and Walt. I am a public intellectual and a proud Jew; sympathetic to Israel and extensively engaged in our nation's military affairs; vaguely conservative and occasionally hawkish. In a week my family will celebrate Passover with my oldest son -- the third generation to serve as an officer in the United States Army. He will be home on leave from the bomb-strewn streets of Baghdad. The patch on his shoulder is the same flag that flies on my porch.
Other supposed members of "The Lobby" also have children in military service. Impugning their patriotism or mine is not scholarship or policy advocacy. It is merely, and unforgivably, bigotry.”
Tags: Harvard, University of Chicago, Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, Eliot Cohen, AIPAC, Israel, Anti-Semitic,
Academics' paper on 'Israel Lobby' brings scholarly heat
AEI, Frum: Nuclear Jihad

Palestinian Foreign Minister: Israel Must Be destroyed.

Palestinian foreign minister, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said today that Israel must not be recognized and the Palestinian Foreign Ministry should aim to establish a Palestinian State from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, in place of the Jewish State, Palestinian media reports. Al-Zahar made the remarks during his first meeting with Foreign Ministry officials and ahead of the first session to be held by the Hamas-led Palestinian government. Unless the Palestinian Foreign Minister does not represent his own government, this is the official position of the Hamas-Led Palestinian government elected in a landslide by the Palestinan people. Wow!

Barbarians: Insurgents Drag Burning Body of U.S. Pilot
How Israel Can Win
Tags: Palestine, Middle East, Israel, Al-Zahar, Terror, Hamas
Patterns of Discontent: Will History Repeat in Iran?

In the Strange World of Democrat Cynthia McKinney it’s All About Sex, Race and Gender.

Quote of the Day: "I want to make it really clear: If [officers] are not sure who's walking in that door, I expect them to challenge that person. And the person who is challenged has no right to strike an officer."
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer

Such a simple and straightforward truth in the real world; but in the bizzaro-racist-world of Democrat Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, it’s all about grievance-politics, it’s about sexual groping, institutional racism and anti-woman attitudes. McKinney is a Huge Embarrassment to Congress and A liability/distraction for Democrats.

English Spoken Here
The Party of Police-Haters
Tags: Cynthia McKinney, Race, Sex, Gender, Politics

Neocon Op-Ed of the Day, James Glassman: 'Fear of Confrontation'

James Glassman of TCS Daily wins the Neocon Op-Ed of the day. Reason, truth, clarity:
"In the 1930's, the leaders of Great Britain and France tried their best to avoid a confrontation with Nazi Germany. By the time the confrontation took place, it was on Hitler's terms, with German power ascendant. It seems that the same dynamic is at work relative to Iran. A fanatical, bullying regime is using a combination of threats and grievance-mongering. Western leaders shrink from confrontation, even though delay seems likely to worsen our position. One could argue that the more that America fears a confrontation with Iran, the more likely we are to have our worst fears realized. It will cost less in terms of American lives if we deal with Iran forcefully and soon rather than cautiously and late."

WSJ: A response to Messrs. Buckley, Will and Fukuyama.
Pinkerton: Intellectuals turn against illegal immigration
WSJ: Islam's Imperial Dreams
The Paranoid Style of Politics

Tags: James Glassman, Neocon, Opinion, Iran, Terror, Nuclear, Middle East

Arrest Warrant Requested for Whacko Congresswoman

Washington DC Capital Police Have requested an ARREST WARRENT for notoriously unstable Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia for assaulting a Police officer. McKinney has been defended by Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and appeared yesterday with entertainers Harry Bellefonte and Danny Glover. McKinney claims that she was “inappropriately touch.” Please carefully review this photo and come to your own conclusions as to the credibility of her claims of being groped.
Tags:Cynthia McKinney, Capital Police, Politics

Harvard Heart Attack: Massive US Evangelical Pro-Israel Lobby to be Launched in July

Joining the “conspiracy” (according to Harvard) of pro-Israel Americans, high-profile Christian televangelist John Hagee met with the Conference of Major American Jewish Organizations in New York to announce the formation of Christians United For Israel, a massive pro-Israel lobby to be launched in July, headed by the who’s who of the 40,000,000 strong evangelical Christian movement in the United States. CUI will compliment what the existing pro-Israel lobby, AIPAC, is already doing, but will draw from a much larger pool of millions of Christian members across the United States to lobby members of congress in favor of a strong US-Israel alliance in the Middle East, and to counter anti-Israel efforts funded by Arab petrol-dollars (1/4 of the US Congress identify themselves as evangelical Christians). Islamists will undoubtedly see a giant conspiracy. The Neocon calls it Democracy in action.

Iran Test-Fired Missile That Can "Destroy Warships"
Steyn: Don't deny some Muslims are hot for jihad
WP: As U.N. waffles, Iran's nuclear program proceeds
Fund: Ivory Tower Stonewall
U.S. Christian pro-Israel lobby to launch in July
PA Foreign Minister: “No Place for Israel on This Land”
Tags: Harvard, Christian, Jewish, AIPAC, US Politics, Middle East, Islam, Arab, Oil, Lobby, Congress, Stephen Walt, Israel, John Mearsheimer

Whacko Congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney Says That She Was “Inappropriately Touched.”

We could not make this stuff up. Notoriously unstable Democrat Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia is facing possible arrest after assaulting a Capital Hill police officer. Her defense? “I was inappropriately touched”. McKinney, who has been accused of many things, but has never been accused of being a hottie, has also announced that the incident was an illustration of racism because she’s black. McKinney has a long history of mental instability (in our opinion), once accusing President Bush of having advanced direct knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.
Tags: Cynthia McKinney, Politics