A tribute to veterans of Operation Overlord

Today is the 64^th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy. The progressive rock band, Contrarian, wrote the song, Operation Overlord, as a tribute to those veterans who fought and died in the Allied invasion.

This week, we buried my grandfather, Lt. Colonel Walter P. Rupert, III, who enlisted in the Army during WWII and volunteered to train as a pilot in the Army Air Corps (now the US Air Force).  Though he didn’t participate in Operation Overlord, his Air Force career spanned three wars.  After he retired from the Air Force, he worked 15 years in the Veterans’ Administration, helping other vets navigate the complex bureaucracy to receive the benefits they’d earned in serving our country.

To of all those who fought and died at Normandy, my grandfather, and all who wear or have worn the uniform to protect the US, her interests, and her values, I say thank you and may God bless you.

GOP Senators want N. Korea relisted as sponsor of terror

Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) posted the following letter, signed by himself and 7 other Senators, requesting that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton immediately relist belligerent N. Korea as a state sponsor of terror.

June 2, 2009 The Honorable Hillary Clinton Secretary U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 Dear Madame Secretary: We are writing to request that you immediately place the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) back on the State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List. As you know, the DPRK has never ended the activities for which it was listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. A number of reports have demonstrated this fact. Despite this fact, under the Six-Party Talks framework that focused on “action for action,” former President Bush removed the DPRK from the State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List to encourage the DPRK to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. However, in recent weeks, the DPRK has engaged in a number of nuclear and missile tests that have destabilized the region and increased the threat to U.S. national security. In addition, the DPRK has gone even further in announcing its withdrawal from the 1953 Armistice the United Nations negotiated to end the Korean War. The DPRK has neither ended its sponsorship of terror activities nor moved in the direction intended when President Bush de-listed the DPRK. In fact, the DPRK has done just the opposite. In light of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’s announcement that DPRK is preparing to launch a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States, it is critical that the DPRK be placed back on the list without delay and that its regime is denied access to multinational loans and other financial vehicles that help fund their destabilizing activities. Sincerely, Jim DeMint John Cornyn Jeff Sessions Tom Coburn Saxby Chambliss Michael B. Enzi David Vitter John Ensign

The following day, Sen. Demint and 15 other Republican Senators sponsored an amendment to the FDA Tobacco bill that would require Sec. Clinton to place N. Korea back on the list. “Now is not the time for rhetoric,” said Jim DeMint. “North Korea’s provocative actions must have immediate consequences.”

The Bush adminstration removed the rogue nation from the list when it promised to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and agreed to submit verification that its promise was fulfilled. Sen. Demint calls this decision disastrous and says the Communist regime has never stopped supporting terrorism, but exploited the Bush decision to access funds that had been frozen while the country remained on the State Department’s list of terror sponsors.

Demint goes on to say that recent N. Korean actions demand immediate consequences. “In the past two weeks, North Korea has threatened the security of the United States and the entire Pacific region. They have tested a nuclear weapon, fired multiple missiles, and are currently preparing a ballistic missile that could reach Hawaii or Alaska. And if they sell this technology, as they have done in the past, terrorist groups will finally have access to nuclear weapons to wreak havoc on free nations.”

The current administration has stated there will be consequences for N. Korea’s hostile actions, but the lack of any such consequences has emboldened the totalitarian regime to continue threatening its neighbors and even the US.

Israelis feel thrown under bus

After Obama’s speech in Cairo, Israelis are feeling somewhat abandoned by their US ally.

Duane Lester at All-American Blogger has a great post that quotes several of Obama’s pre-election campaign promises to stand by the Jewish state and several Israeli commentators’ problems with the President’s current promises to the Muslim world.

Read Duane’s post: Obama’s Pledges “Unshakable Commitment” To Israel…During the Campaign