No Sh*t, Sherlock! Clinton Doubts Iran Will Respond To Offer of Talks

No Sh*t! Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Ms. Clinton!

Barack Obama supports tough and direct diplomacy with Iran without preconditions. -- WhiteHouse.gov

Ynet News:

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in the Middle East for her first official visit Monday, expressed doubt that Iran would respond to the Obama administration's expressions of interest in engaging Tehran on nuclear and other issues, a senior State Department official said.

Clinton was in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheik to attend an international conference to raise money for the war-torn Gaza Strip.

She made the statement in a private meeting with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who had expressed to Clinton a concern among Persian Gulf nations that Obama might make a deal with Iran without full consultation with US allies. The official who described the exchange spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.

Clinton told her counterpart that the Obama administration is carefully calculating its moves and will consult fully with Gulf allies.

"We're under no illusions," the official quoted Clinton as telling Abdullah. "Our eyes are wide open on Iran."

She told the UAE minister, whose country has close historic commercial ties to Iran but is wary of Iranian nuclear ambitions, that she doubts the Iranian government, will respond to US diplomatic initiatives. Last week Clinton announced that she has appointed veteran diplomat Dennis Ross to be her special adviser on matters related to the Gulf, to include overtures to the Iranians.

***

Obama To Lift Sanctions Against Iran


Iranian TV Requests Obama Interview; State-Run News Agency Says Request Is Response To Obama's Call For Opportunities To Engage

Iran Celebrates Anniversary of Islamic Revolution: Stick-Wielding Mob Attacks Former President, Obama Burned In Effigy, A-Jad Wants "Mutual Respect"


Iran Launches Omid Satellite: Welcome To The Future, A Nuclear Iran. "Omid" Is Farsi for "Hope". This Is "Hope" and "Change" You Can Believe In.

Obama Team Has Been In Secret Talks With Iran and Syria Since Before The Election


Dear President Obama, Maybe That Whole "Meeting With Iran Without Precondition" Thing Was A Mistake? It's Time to Change Your Policy

CIA Destroyed 92 Tapes of Interrogations, Documents Show

And you know what? I still don't care! The Left Wing Nuts will no doubt propagandize and exploit this news, but remember, the terror suspects have no rights!

If water-boarding is torture, that call me pro-torture. This is ridiculous. I hate the ACLU.

The Associated Press reports:

WASHINGTON (AP) - New documents show the CIA destroyed nearly 100 tapes of terror interrogations, far more than has previously been acknowledged. The revelation Monday comes as a criminal prosecutor is wrapping up his investigation in the matter.

The acknowledgment of dozens of destroyed tapes came in a letter filed by government lawyers in New York, where the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit seeking more details of terror interrogation programs.

"The CIA can now identify the number of videotapes that were destroyed," said the letter by Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin. "Ninety two videotapes were destroyed."

The tapes became a contentious issue in the trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, after prosecutors initially claimed no such recordings existed, then acknowledged two videotapes and one audiotape had been made.

The letter, dated March 2 to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, says the CIA is now gathering more details for the lawsuit, including a list of the destroyed records, any secondary accounts that describe the destroyed contents, and the identities of those who may have viewed or possessed the recordings before they were destroyed.

But the lawyers also note that some of that information may be classified, such as the names of CIA personnel that viewed the tapes.

"The CIA intends to produce all of the information requested to the court and to produce as much information as possible on the public record to the plaintiffs," states the letter.

John Durham, a senior career prosecutor in Connecticut, was appointed to lead the criminal investigation out of Virginia.

He had asked that the requests for information in the civil lawsuit be put on hold until he had completed his criminal investigation. Durham asked that he be given until the end of February to wrap up his work, and has not asked for another extension.

***

Executive Order 13440 was signed by President Bush July 20th, 2007. It stated that that members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war.


The Third Geneva Convention provides protection for prisoners of war assuming they meet the following criteria

• 4.1.2 Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, provided that they fulfill all of the following conditions
  
• that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
  
• that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance (there are limited exceptions to this among countries who observe the 1977 Protocol I);
  
• that of carrying arms openly;
  
• that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
  

It is our belief that President Bush was correct. Members of terrorist organizations DO NOT meet the above criteria and therefore President Obama is incorrect in his belief that the Geneva Conventions and The Army Field Manual apply to enemy combatants. Further, terrorists are not covered by The Fourth Geneva Convention which applies to treatment of civilians.

Mitt Romney: Democrats' 'Pet Liberal Projects' Will Bankrupt Nation

Romney: “A lot of things in this country that we do we can’t afford right now, and adding new programs and spending on things that aren’t necessary, those things have to end.” (AP Photo)

Newsmax reports:

Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney tells Newsmax that the Democrats’ massive stimulus package is laden with “pet liberal projects” that won’t help the economy at all.

He also asserts that President Barack Obama is actually hurting the economy in two ways — and said Republicans in the Senate are close to having “no voice whatsoever.”

Newsmax’s Ashley Martella asked Romney to discuss his ongoing efforts to help Republicans in the House who have been opposing the stimulus bill.

“There are a number of Republicans, actually all Republicans, who voted for a Republican version of a stimulus bill that actually would have created jobs on an immediate basis,” Romney responded.

“But instead Barack Obama and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi came out with a bill that not only had stimulus in it, but also had a lot of pet liberal projects that frankly are not going to help the economy at all.

“And those Republicans who voted against [the Democrats’] bill that are in tough districts are being targeted by the Democratic Party to get turned out. Somebody needs to stand up for what I call the undaunted dozen, the 12 congressmen and congresswomen who stood up bravely in very difficult districts and voted no for the waste and the inefficiency and the political agenda of the American left.”

Martella asked if Romney was also helping any Republican senators who will be up for re-election next year.

“I’m going to work for probably every single Senator where I can be of help in the upcoming elections in 2010,” Romney said.

“It’s too early to know which races will be the really contested races, but we’ll focus on those like we did last time.”

Last year, Romney campaigned for Saxby Chambliss in Georgia and Norm Coleman in Minnesota. In Minnesota, he added, “not only did I go there but our team has been there since to help in the recount” between Coleman and challenger Al Franken.

“We’ll focus our energies on helping get conservatives re-elected and hopefully expanding our position in the Senate, where we’re awfully close to having no voice whatsoever.”

Martella pointed out that Obama has proposed a budget of $3.6 trillion and $1 trillion in tax hikes, and asked: “Is this the way to go about bolstering the economy and encouraging job growth?”

Romney answered: “He seems to have found a way to hurt the economy in two ways.

One is, of course, by continuing to spend massively more than we take in, which will require hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars of additional borrowing.

“That puts very much in question whether foreign investors are going to keep on lending Americans money by buying our Treasury bills, and perhaps if they don’t do that we could see a dramatic rise in interest rates and enormous economic challenges down the road.

“On the other hand, he’s also found a way to raise taxes, which will slow growth. So he’s doing two things, both of which will be harmful to the economy and the well-being of job creation in the country.

“What he should be doing instead is what he talked about, which is going through the budget line by line and cutting out the things that are unnecessary.

“Any time a family faces tough economic times they say, ‘There are a lot of things we like doing but we just can’t afford right now.’

“Well, a lot of things in this country that we do we can’t afford right now, and adding new programs and spending on things that aren’t necessary, those things have to end.”

For the full Newsmax interview Go Here Now.

VIDEO: Fox and Friends Deep Frys Obama's Budget; Literally!

Mmmm....I love the smell of fried bacon in the morning! Watched this morning and almost died of laughter! This is hilarious!

I think all upcoming "tea parties" should add this charade to the festivities! The one and only time I have ever supported "burning books" as censorship!


I apologize for the quality of the video and please, ignore the dude in the background but it's the best one I could find for now. Skip ahead to 1:10 mark to avoid this guy's ramblings. Ignore him and watch the F&F crew. (If anyone can find a better link, let us know at theconservativexpress@yahoo.com)

VIDEO: Republican Strategist "Listening To Barack Obama Speech Is Like Sex"!

Whatchya gonna do, when ObamaMania runs wild on you!

"I think, as a friend told me once, that -- listening to Barack Obama give a speech is like sex. The worse there ever was, was excellent."
--Republican strategist and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos said to John King on Sunday's "State of the Union".

The above quote is at 1:46 mark of the video



It's a sad, sad state of the media when even a Republican is slobbering and getting "tingly" Chris Matthews-esque feelings towards The One!

(Read more at News Busters)

The Media and The Voters, Do In Fact, Want To Have Sex With Obama... Now You Know How Obama Got Elected; Women Fantasize About Obama