(Via Politico) President Obama’s comments condemning military sexual assault and suggesting that those convicted be punished with, among other things, a dishonorable discharge may be backfiring on his efforts to root out the growing problem.

In pretrial hearings in two cases, a Navy judge in Hawaii ruled this week that Obama had exerted “unlawful command influence” as commander-in-chief in outlining the specific “consequences” he saw fit for members of the military convicted of sexual assault.

As a result of Navy Judge Cmdr. Marcus Fulton’s rulings, the defendants in United States v. Johnson and United States v. Fuentes can’t be punitively discharged, even if they’re convicted of sexual assault. Stars and Stripes first reported on the rulings. (more…)

Story HERE

A U.S. military proposal for arming Syrian rebels also calls for a limited no-fly zone inside Syria that would be enforced from Jordanian territory to protect Syrian refugees and rebels who would train there, according to U.S. officials.  (link)

……. [Excerpt From CFP]  The present administration is going after leakers, media sources, anyone and everyone who is even suspected of ‘betrayal.’ That’s what they call it, ‘betrayal.’…This administration considers anyone telling the truth about Benghazi, the IRS, hell, you name the issue, ‘betrayal,’” he said.

“We know all this already,” I stated. He looked at me, giving me a look like I’ve never seen, and actually pushed his finger into my chest. “You don’t know jack,” he said, “this is bigger than you can imagine, bigger than anyone can imagine.  …. If you are a website owner with a brisk readership and a conservative bent, you’re on that list. It’s a political dissident list, not an enemy threat list,”…  (continue reading)

fyi, an insider detail – We can secondarily confirm the information provided within this Wall Street Journal report. Those of you who have been with the Treehouse community since the beginning may remember a conversation thread about the “new age” credit cards that allow capability of RFID transmission. [symbols: ((( )))  and Ξ ]  One of our close friends actually quit his job in disgust over the use of his computer program -a central component to the RFID system- being used to embed internally into credit cards with the expressed intent on tracking user id, location, history etc.  He knew the potential risk several years ago, and sent a warning – we shared – it appears this is now coming to light.

WASHINGTON (WSJ) —The National Security Agency’s monitoring of Americans includes customer records from the three major phone networks as well as emails and Web searches, and the agency also has cataloged credit-card transactions, said people familiar with the agency’s activities.

The disclosure this week of an order by a secret U.S. court for Verizon Communications Inc.’s phone records set off the latest public discussion of the program. But people familiar with the NSA’s operations said the initiative also encompasses phone-call data from AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp., records from Internet-service providers and purchase information from credit-card providers.

(more…)

Hey, ya gotta give em’ props for honesty.  The Syrian “rebels” admit they are al-Qaeda, and the folks that met John McCain were only pitchmen – not commanders, and not representative of the real ideology behind uprising. 

(Via Time) . . . The reason for this night’s meeting, and indeed for the Libyans’ 10-day trip to southern Turkey and across the border into northern Syria, was to help the Libyans figure out how to get some of Libya’s vast and loose stockpiles of machine guns, artillery, ammunition and antiaircraft systems — leftovers amassed largely by snatching government stockpiles during their own successful military uprising against their late dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, and from supplies donated to the Libyan rebels by the oil-rich Gulf nation of Qatar — to Assad’s opponents. […]

The Syrian men who sat radially around the beige couch in the Turkish hotel were keen to get their hands on some of that batch of weapons. But first, the Libyans wanted to know who the Syrians were exactly and which rebel group each represented. (more…)

The French authorities are dealing what they feel may be a “copy cat” attack against one of their active duty military members on “anti-terrorism” patrol in a crowded Paris street on Saturday.  The soldier was attacked from behind with a box-cutter – the same tool used in the 9-11 hijackings that brought down the World Trade Center.  While the US media remains silent, the UK’s Daily Mail helpfully reports:

A uniformed French soldier on anti-terrorist duties in Paris had his throat cut by a knife-wielding man tonight.

The savage attack follows the murder of a British soldier by two men using weapons including knives and a meat cleaver. One of the suspects said they were acting in the name of Islam.

Today there were fears that the Paris attack was a copy-cat crime and that a radical Muslim might once more be responsible. 

-snip-

Police in the French capital described the attacker as a being ‘bearded, of North African origin and wearing a light coloured jihab’ under a jacket.

(more…)

Last month we brought you the story of John Heinz Kerry’s new strategy for diplomacy.  {It was part of our “stuck on stupid” series}  In essence Ketchup Boy’s primary strategy is to put Western Businesses in the Middle East, subsidize their efforts, and hope that the jihadists will take off their suicide vests in favor of picking up a spatula (taking a job).  

At the time Kerry said:

“[W]e’re not going to solve this challenge of terror and of extremism and of people finding an alternative if we’re not reaching out to people, talking to them, bringing them to the table and trying to work through major, perceived differences,”

[…]  “I believe we have to create a new paradigm, frankly, to deal with this.”

[…]  He repeated that the new paradigm combines economic diplomacy with “significant diplomatic outreach.”

Yesterday the initial report of him following this strategy came out: (more…)

http://projects.militarytimes.com/valor/

Please click through the link and look at the faces.  Consider the individuals.  

The first page of pictures is of those who died most recently.  This is the first Memorial Day for their families who, instead of thinking of their loved one serving, are still trying to come to grips with the fact that their daughter, their son, their brother, their husband, their cousin, their daddy — is gone.

I think of this as pretty close to the least I can do.  I can look at the photos.  Look at Air Force Captain Mark Voss.  Four weeks ago he was alive.  Now he’s not.

What is Air Force Captain James Steel bustin’ up about?  Something’s going on, off camera, to his right and he’s enjoying it.  Some friends deliberately goofing off, perhaps, or maybe a dog jumping an amazing height to catch a frisbee, and James is just enjoying the sight.

The photo of Army Pfc Markie Sims makes me sad.  He looks sad, don’t you think?  I suppose the photo was taken during basic training, and this was his first deployment.  Maybe he was already wondering what he had gotten himself into.  Maybe he’s just a sad kind of guy and couldn’t brighten up for a photo.

Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Christian looks proud and focused.  At the end of April, his family was just waiting to hear from him again.  Now I suppose they’ve received whatever his last letter was.  They’ve received his personal effects.  They’re not waiting to hear from him any more.

Army Specialist Cody Suggs — what you doing with ear-studs, bud!??  There must not have been a uniform pic available for him, but Specialist Suggs’ life was spent also.  He’s gone.  And I bet some family member will treasure (or wear) Cody’s ear-studs for a long, long time.  Cody, you’re breaking my heart.  You have the goofy ear-rings, like an adolescent who won’t listen to mom — but you went and laid your life down, didn’t you?

Army Sgt Enrique Mondragen, whose shoulder is that you are affectionately leaning into?  Is that your sister? Maybe your girlfriend?  Were they waiting for a call for you on Christmas Day, 2012, when instead they saw uniformed officers walking up to their front door?  Enrique — why Christmas Eve?  Why.  I’m sure the owner of the shoulder wonders the same….why, at all.  And why Christmas Eve.

Air Force Captain Victoria Pinckney, is that your little doll baby leaning in to touch your cheek?  Or a niece?  Whoever that little sweetie is, this photo will be a forever part of their future.

Please go and look at the faces and the names and the dates.  It is, very nearly, the least we can do.

Radio Interview – CLICK HERE

(Via Townhall.Com) Grief and politics don’t mix. When raw, aching grief and the dirtiest kind of politics meet, a hot volcano of pain and outrage erupts that is unstoppable. But it is necessary. It is the only way things might ever be clean again.

I am thinking of recent casket transfer ceremonies that have taken place at Dover Air Force Base, where senior administration officials have used the solemn occasions — Benghazi, the shoot-down of Extortion 17 — less to comfort grieving families than to lay blame; to establish a narrative; to lie. (more…)

Seven months we’ve been waiting for someone, anyone, to ask the White House staff what was President Obama doing on the night the Benghazi attacks took place.    We have researched this on our own and have him tracked from 4pm to around 7:30pm (EST).  But after 7:30pm it is a total BLACKOUT – an unknown void of information.

Finally after seven MONTHS.  Chris Wallace asks White House Communications Director, Dan Pfeiffer, what was President Obama doing.  [Please watch this video clip in its entirety before continuing]

Of course Dan Pfeiffer pulls the familiar “what difference does it make” angle, with his claim that it is an “irrelevant fact“. (more…)