KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A national Hispanic civil rights organization said Saturday it will not hold its 2009 annual convention in Kansas City because an opponent of illegal immigration was appointed to the city’s park board.

The National Council of La Raza said its board of directors voted unanimously to pull the conference after being unable to reach an agreement with Mayor Mark Funkhouser over his appointment in June of Frances Semler, a member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps.

“Our decision is a clear expression of support for Kansas City’s Hispanic community,” said board chairwoman Monica Lozano. “An active member of the Minutemen should not be an official representative for a city that purports to believe in diversity.”

NCLR officials consider the Minutemen, who are known for posting sometimes armed patrols on the Mexican border and picketing construction sites where illegal immigrants may be working, hostile to Hispanics. The Arizona-based organization maintains it simply wants U.S. immigration policies enforced.

Funkhouser, who has stood by Semler throughout the controversy, declined to comment Saturday afternoon on the group’s decision, saying he was abiding by an agreement he reached with local Hispanic leaders during a federally mediated session Friday.

Full Story Here:
Hispanic group pulls conference over immigration flap

Just look at the bright side of this, K.C. will likely SAVE more money than this convention would bring in, save on police and EMS services, and additional trash pick up by NOT having La Raza and it’s filthy associates in town…

These ILLEGAL supporters need to take their meeting to a big hotel in Mexico City, and while they’re down there we can close the borders and keep them OUT of the USA…

Like that would happen with Bush in office, he’d be on the border himself just to personally welcome his amigos back home…

And to any La Raza asshat that may take a click on this story, the Minutemen don’t have anything against LEGAL immigration, it’s the ILLEGALS that stream across the border that the Minutemen take issue with, learn the difference before you criticize, your illiterate, one way hypocrisy is showing…

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ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - The U.S. mission in Iraq is a “nightmare with no end in sight” because of political misjudgments after the fall of Saddam Hussein that continue today, a former chief of U.S.-led forces said Friday.

Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded coalition troops for a year beginning June 2003, cast a wide net of blame for both political and military shortcomings in Iraq that helped open the way for the insurgency - such as disbanding the Saddam-era military and failing to cement ties with tribal leaders and quickly establish civilian government after Saddam was toppled.

He called current strategies - including the deployment of 30,000 additional forces earlier this year - a “desperate attempt” to make up for years of misguided policies in Iraq.

“There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight,” Sanchez told a group of journalists covering military affairs.

Sanchez avoided pointing his criticism at any single official or agency, but it appeared a broad indictment of White House policies and a lack of leadership in the Pentagon to oppose them. Such assessments - even by former Pentagon brass - are not new, but they have added resonance as debates over war strategy dominate the presidential campaign.

Sanchez went on to offer a pessimistic view on the current U.S. strategy against extremists will make lasting gains, but said a full-scale withdrawal also was not an option.

“The American military finds itself in an intractable situation … America has no choice but to continue our efforts in Iraq,” said Sanchez, who works as a consultant training U.S. generals.

Ex-General: Iraq a ‘Nightmare’ for US

I can already hear the cries of the ‘Bush is God’ crowd, “Another traitor to the war effort” will likely be the 1st cry, and “Why didn’t he say something when he was running things?? Why wait until now??‘, that’s likely the most popular 2nd crybaby scream from the Bush Bots, and to answer those folks that think the General maybe didn’t do his job, and didn’t TELL Bush what the REAL problems are, here’s the deal, that’s WHY he’s an EX General, he DID tell Bush and you see what it got him??

But to the Bush Bots, Gen. Sanchez will now be a lefty loon, a moonbat, a coward, maybe even a FAKE General, yeah, that’s it, he MUST be a fake, there’s no way he could be a REAL General…

Some of these Bots need to wake the hell up and realize, the DoD is filling em with a load of crap and all that stench you get hanging out and kissing ass at the ‘O’ Club trying to make points for the hubby, well, that ain’t perfume you’re smelling sister…

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PATROL BASE HAWKS, Iraq (AP) - When U.S. sentries fatally shot three guards near an Iraqi-manned checkpoint south of Baghdad, they thought they were targeting enemy fighters planting roadside bombs, according to the American commander of the region.

The shootings, which are still under investigation, underscore a new dilemma facing U.S. troops as former fighters join forces against extremists and Iraqis are increasingly forced to take up arms to protect themselves - how does one distinguish them from the enemy?

The U.S. military said the American troops shot the three civilians Thursday near a checkpoint manned by local members of a U.S.-allied group helping provide security in the village of Abu Lukah, near Musayyib, a Shiite-dominated town 40 miles south of Baghdad.

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division that controls territory south of Baghdad, stressed the investigation was continuing but said initial results showed that U.S. troops fired on the checkpoint after spotting what appeared to be enemy forces planting roadside bombs.

If the truth were told, our guys may have very well BEEN targeting enemy fighters planting roadside bombs, Iraqi forces are so infiltrated that absolutely nothing is out of the question, and THAT is the exact way the Sec. of State needs to be looking at it too, concerning Blackwater USA and their recent problems, this is an enemy that is NOT wearing uniforms, and in some cases, if they are in a uniform, it’s simply because they are a paid member of Iraqi security forces and have managed to pull off a successful infiltration…

If they can’t be put into some kind of highly recognizable uniform it’s going to be almost impossible to distinguish them from insurgents, and this is NOT mean to sound as racist as it is going to sound but to combat troops, they all look alike in civvies…

The comments reflect rising concerns about possible friendly fire killings that could threaten to undermine the U.S. strategy of seeking alliances with local Sunni and Shiite leaders to fill the vacuum left by a national police force that has been plagued by corruption allegations and infiltration by militants.

Incidents of shooting of civilians at checkpoints has drawn allegations by many, in Iraq and beyond, that U.S. troops and contractors are quick to fire and ask question later.

Such criticism was widespread after the March 2005 fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence officer at a checkpoint near Baghdad airport. The officer was traveling at night shortly after securing the release of a kidnapped Italian reporter, who was wounded along with an Italian driver when a U.S. soldier opened fire. The U.S. military has said the soldier acted appropriately in the incident.

I happened to have known some of the soldiers that were in the same unit as the troops that fired on the Italian Intelligence officer, and you betcha, our troops did exactly the right thing, it’s regrettable they guy was killed but he made a bone head move in a combat zone, and that type of bone head move, or something similar, more often than not, generally gets someone hurt or killed in a war zone, that’s the facts of life and if the people that are criticizing our troops and the private security forces of being trigger happy took the time to actually be ON the trigger and not just the keyboard, they might see life in a combat zone a lot differently…

After the Abu Lukah shooting, the so-called North of Hillah Awakening Council staged a three-day strike to register its anger over the loss of three of its members, but guards resumed their posts on Sunday.

“Such acts will create a gap between us and the Americans. We are trying to restore security in the area while the Americans are killing us,” Nabil Saleh, 37, said as he stood with his AK-47 slung over his shoulder at his post in Abu Lukah.

You betcha, it’s the AMERICANS fault, it’s always the Americans fault, we’re just blasting the hell out of every Iraqi we see, sure, that’s what our goal is, look, I know there are some bitter feelings on the Iraqis part over their 3 guys getting killed but our guys are NOT committing wholesale murder or atrocities, it’s just not happening that way, and there are gaps between these people and our troops, a day or 2 before this happened those guys were very likely trying to KILL our troops, and even now I am highly suspect of their intentions, and I am NOT the only one that is…

Capt. John Newman, 31, of Columbus, Ga., said the soldiers believe they can discern volunteers from the insurgents.

“We’ve given them their road guard vests,” Newman said. “So, he’d better be wearing that vest if I see him carrying an AK-47.”

Be careful Captain, you’ll incur the wrath of the Bush administration if you actually go out there and do your job, they aren’t taking too kindly to Iraqis getting killed lately, even if they ARE carrying rifles and firing on our troops or private contractors…

Full Story Here:
Knowing the Enemy Difficult in Iraq

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