Updating Those New Kinetic Military Actions

How are the French-initiated kinetic military actions going?  The Times reports that in Libya Qaddafi's troops have adapted to NATO airpower and are rolling back the untrained, poorly led, under-equipped rebels.  Fortunately, that debacle reflects badly on NATO rather than the US since Obama is pretending we are not in a leadership role.

And in the Ivory Coast, we the US is really not involved, the embattled President is clinging to power and even regrouping:

Gbagbo Loyalists Regain Ground in Ivory Coast

By SCOTT SAYARE

PARIS — As the wily Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo remained cornered in the basement of the presidential residence in Abidjan on Saturday, his forces retook the offensive in a series of military actions, belying recent predictions of his imminent downfall.

Since Friday, forces loyal to Mr. Gbagbo have recaptured territory in Abidjan, the economic capital, repelled a French military operation, attacked his rival’s headquarters and recaptured state television and radio, which resumed broadcasting messages of defiance.

Mr. Gbagbo was still surrounded by forces loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, the country’s internationally recognized president, which were backed by troops from France and the United Nations.

But on Saturday evening, his forces attacked the Golf Hôtel, where Mr. Ouattara has maintained his headquarters since winning the presidential election in November. A United Nations official said it was the first time Mr. Gbagbo’s forces had attacked the hotel.

 

Comments

[peter]

Obama is pretending he is in a leadership role.

[clarice]

Narciso kindly posted this on the other thread--take a bow jmh, ranger and ignatz:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/the_story_of_o_icarus_not_pega_1.html

[Ralph L]

I presume you meant "where the US is not involved..."

[clarice]

Oops --and bgates.

peter--just like he pretended he won the budget battle--see hid "victory lap" video at Legal Insurrection

[narciso]

Looking over that conflict, what a mess, two warlords, one more credentialed than another,
playing our their decades long feud with live
ammunition

[clarice]

we are so insulated from what most of the world is really like, aren't we, narciso.

[narciso]

You know it's tragic, clarice, I made that line 'no blood for chocolate' only half in gest, how does the 'international community'
make such a determination, of who to support,
they both should be in jail,

[sbw]

Narciso and Clarice, when will the scales fall from the eyes of Republicans, Democrats, and national news so they will label the UN for what it is — the state leader full employment association.

[Jane]

I asked this in the other thread - did anyone else watch david Plouffe on FNS? He really made a fool of himself talking about what a great job Bambi did in last week's negotiations. It was LOL absurd.

[Jane]

BTW Plouffe's plan is for Obama to appear the grown-up in all these battles - and the comments here reflect how absurd that is.

[Gmax]

the disgustingly corrupt and non democratic state leader full employment association

There you go. Lets be descriptive.

[Ian R Thoepe]

You did not mention the real news from Ivory Coast, that mass killings of non combatants have been carried out by both sides and that Ouattara's supporters have allegedy embarked on a campaign of genocial rape.

Genocidal rape? Now there's a phrase than make little sense. Or is it?

African tribal cultures cling to a primitive belief that if a woman is penetrated by a man who is not a member of her tribe her womb is permanently adulterated and her children can then never become full tribe members. Thus she will never find a husband in her own tribe and no other tribe will accept her.

Thus having been raped takes her out of the breeding cycle. It is a very cruel thing to inflict on a woman in societies where her only options other than marriage are field labour, prostitution or begging.

The west's fetishization of virginity comes from the same root. Fortunately we dispensed with the more unpleasant extremities of the tradition.

It does however reveal for the benefit of those who iconise all things African how alien to us African cultures are. We would do far better to keep out of their disputes.

[clarice]

Reports today are that mercenaries are engaged in real genocide--burning civilians alive.

****

The Horror
*********

Jane, even Maher says Obama is a terrible negotiator--well, you have to pay attenton to facts in order to negotiate. He's better at sitting around with MO and Valjar figuring out the next media stunt--like the "vistory lap" at the Memorial last night

[clarice]

*viCtory lap**

[centralcal]

Jane, I don't see FNS until later in the day - did Chris Wallace press him at all?

[anduril]

will you really claim honestest guy in this room while not answering?

As I said, honesty for internet forum purposes has to do with addressing issues. Avoiding distractions is not lack of honesty.

[narciso]

Well they give their applause lines to Ahmadinejad, Chavez, previously Castro and
Arafat,

[Rick Ballard]

The President's decision to employ Kinetic Humanitarian Aid in order to 'save' the people of Benghazi from a bloody end appears to have had utterly unforeseeable consequences*.

Oh, well. At least there's no blood involved in starving to death.

*Does not apply to those possessing even the most modest appreciation of possible and/or probable outcomes.

[anduril]

Michael Barone has a very good article @ RCP. "Spending cuts are hot in the political marketplace." Despite the title, it's actually a rather big picturish piece.

[Jim Ryan]

Does not apply to those possessing even the most modest appreciation of possible and/or probable outcomes.

Rick, there should be a federal law requiring that a guy say this at the end of every Dem campaign ad next season, like the warnings in pharmaceutical ads.

[narciso]

I think this was always true, but it seems more so, the higher you go:

http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2011/04/quote-of-day.html

[Captain Hate]

ane, I don't see FNS until later in the day - did Chris Wallace press him at all?

cc, I'm not the biggest Chris Wallace fan in the world but he did seem pretty incredulous at the garbage he was coming up with. There's only so much you can do with somebody that's obviously lying about things and just sit back and watch him dig deeper.

Juan Williams is going full retard on the budget deal to the point where everybody else is laughing at him, except maybe Mara.

[OldTimer]

Barry's Daddy Warbucks and int'l buds set to further manipulate and steal America's treasury right from under her nose, at Bretton Woods on American soil:

At the peak of the crisis during the record surge in October 2008, 70 percent of the $110.7 billion borrowed went to foreign banks.

These disclosures - contained in Fed documents released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request - will surely prompt a re-examination of the risks U.S. taxpayers bear because of the Fed's role in global financial markets.

All the while, Americans can't get loans to start and/or invest in businesses or afford a home; two-thirds of consumers can't even afford to refinance their mortgages, often to avoid defaulting.

With Soros and company picking winners and losers - "Chinese style" - little wonder Donald Trump - as canny as they come, vis-a-vis America's global financial position - is surging in the polls among Republican presidential primary voters.

Read more at the Washington Examiner LUN

[hit and run]

Posted by: peter | April 10, 2011 at 08:18 AM

You're two days late! Inexcusable.

But...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER!!!

...just the same.

I made sure the Yankees won yesterday just for you.

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 18 at Raz today; 21% strongly approve.

[Jane]

Happy B-day Stephanie and Peter! Are you guys twins?

CC - as the capn said, it was fab. In the second half Juan tried to defend the president and it was like a joke. Even Bill Kristol said he never thought we would accomplish whst we did and he was impressed.

I see the same 2 approaches that I saw after the election. The democrats said then and are saying again that the election was a signal that American people just want politicians to work together. I have always thought that was not the least bit what the election was about. It was always about cutting spending.

The president is now turning 360 degrees on everything, nut unlike our side he will do it as an adult joke.

Perhaps Plouffe has lost his mojo.

[narciso]

Just in case, you were curious, here's Maher
being accidentally right, and yet totally
obnoxious, a 'bug not a feature' with him:

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2011/04/video-of-bill-maher-obama-is-terrible.html

[centralcal]

The democrats said then and are saying again that the election was a signal that American people just want politicians to work together.

What utter Plouffe piffle.

Thanks for the pre-report Jane and Cap'n.

Happy birthday to Steph and Peter.

[Danube of Thought]

Don't know if he did it on FNS, but Lucianne is headlining that Plouffe has announced a big Obama speech on deficit reduction, and specifically entitlement reform, this week.

It's a great opportunity for some real income redistribution--that's ultimately where the battle will be fought once the Dems are dragged kicking and screaming into acknowledging that the present system can't go on.

[anduril]

Steve Sailer notes in "The Forever War:"

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is in Iraq dropping big hints that the Obama Administration wants the Iraqis to request U.S. troops stay in Iraq past the end of 2011, the final exit date announced by both Bush and Obama.

Sadly, he gives a perfect example of the shortcomings of Kantian ethical thinking in "Eunomia:"

I would add that the whimsicality of three of America's last four wars -- Serbia, Iraq, and Libya -- increases America's need to stay unquestionably #1 in the world militarily, at our vast expense. Our policy has been: We're #1, so we can start wars with other sovereign states as long as they are, at minimum, unpopular. In contrast, Switzerland's traditional policy -- We won't attack you, but if you attack us, we will defeat you -- doesn't require Switzerland to be #1, just strong enough to make invading Switzerland unprofitable for other countries.

Moreover, the Swiss policy is generalizable like the Golden Rule: don't starts wars with other countries, and they shouldn't start wars with you. In contrast, post-Cold War America acts like it believes in the "Golden Rule:" he who has the gold, makes the rules.

Kantian ethics, like libertarianism, lacks intellectual foundations and grossly oversimplifies human nature.

[hit and run]

Sorry about not getting the Braves a win for you for your birthday,Stephanie.

Who would you like to see win the Masters?

[peter]

Shucks, guys, I can't believe you remembered my birthday. Thanks.
And as for the Yankees' win, yesterday, it is quite astounding that the Red Sox, with what looked (before the season started) like the most formidable pitching staff in the AL, have a team e.r.a. of over 7. That's what I love about sports, the proof of the pudding, yada yada yada.

[Thomas Collins]

H&R, speaking of birthdays and wins, you have until May 19th to secure a second Red Sox win for my birthday.

[narciso]

Happy birthdays, Steph and Peter.

[Thomas Collins]

Happy Birthdays to peter and Stephanie.

Peter, your comment about the Red Sox shows the abject state to which the Sox have fallen. As a Yankee fan, if you viewed the Sox as a serious threat, you would have been far more snarky about the Yankees' pummeling of the Sox pitching staff. Instead, you simply present a calm dissection of the troubles of the Sox. It looks as if Yankee fans don't even think the Sox are enough of a threat to bother themselves with trash talk anymore! :-))

[Melinda Romanoff]

Happy Birthday, Stephanie + Peter!

[anduril]

Rosslyn Smith at AT "Judge Sumi and the Wisconsin Supremes" has a nice for-the-layman explanation of the WI AG's Petition for Supervisory Writ, with some useful links.

[narciso]

One of these days, Mr. Baker, you'll figure it out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/weekinreview/10obama.html

[Sue]

You guys can thank my Rangers for starting the Sox off on the right track. ::sweep:: ::sweep:: ::grin::

[centralcal]

Dana Perino on Twitter said Big O's victory lap at the Washington monument was ridiculous and looked like a SNL skit.

No kidding!

[Captain Hate]

The president is now turning 360 degrees on everything/i

Not to be obnoxious, but he's really doing a 180; although in his case since he really is lying about changing, perhaps you got it right. Plus does he really have any position other than me, me, me?

HB Stephanie and Peter

[Captain Hate]

Shit; sorry I broke the italics.

[Thomas Collins]

At least the Red Sox are currently ahead of the pace set by the 1962 New York Mets (see LUN). I've decided that the only fun I am going to have this baseball season is seeing whether the Red Sox can top the 40-120-1 record compiled by Casey Stengel's Amazin' '62 Mets!

Sue, who would have thunk at the beginning of the season that the Rangers would be facing tougher competition from the Orioles than from the Red Sox?!

[Rocco]

And you take a bow also Clarice...Free Republic, Congrats!

[Sue]

Thomas,

Not me. And certainly not the Rangers, as the 1st game yesterday proved. Oh well, I wasn't expecting a perfect season. Just a better one than the Philadelphia Phillies. Go Rangers.

[Ranger]

DoT, Drudge has a link up to this story:

White House: Obama to lay out spending plan

Key bit:

Obama adviser David Plouffe, speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," says Obama plans to offer ideas for what Plouffe calls "long-term deficit reduction" as Congress begins to debate raising the nation's debt ceiling.

Plouffe is giving few specifics on what Obama will announce, but he says that the president believes taxes should go up on higher-income Americans.

So, he is apparently going back to his 2008 mode of 'a new era of fiscal responsibility' and "if you make less than $250,000 (or maybe $125,000, or what every number sounds good today) your taxes will not go up, not one dime (but your food and fule costs will)!"

I am sure he will promise net spending cuts again too. The guy signed off on jacking the budget up almost 25% in two years, and now he wants all the credit for cutting 1/2 %.

[Sue]

Great Pieces, Clarice.

[Jane]

Dot,

The president is going to present his plan this week. Of course he has already presented his 2012 budget, so I guess he is looking for a do-over.

[Waiting with bated breath]

"since Obama is pretending we are not in a leadership role."

That's the role we have taken in world affairs since the Republicans decided being Isolationists is 19th century thinking.

When will you enter the 21st century?

[Threadkiller]

Happy birthday Stepahnie and Peter!

[Jane]

360 - 180 - math is not my strong suit!

[Danube of Thought]

It's going to be awfully interesting to see how he reconciles whatever his plan is with the Obamacare nonsense we're already saddled with. He absolutely will not alter the basic structure of that monstrosity, not one iota.

[narciso]

Don't we call that a mulligan, in his favored
idiom.

[Captain Hate]

Well Jane, since Plouffe said that B+ Hussein is still stuck on thinking taxes have to go up for teh wealthy, you probably had it right after all.

Cleo, what were the reactions to the Wisconsin vote in the halfway house? Elation followed by depression? Just like old times.

[Danube of Thought]

This is what we're up against:

ANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) -- Brian Krutsch has been long one of many automatic votes here for Rep. Paul Ryan. The unemployed warehouse manager, along with a solid majority of other Janesville voters, has helped elect Ryan seven times and watched with pride as he became one of Congress' leading authorities on the federal budget. But this week, admiration has been tinged with apprehension as one of Ryan's signature ideas - ending Medicare's status as a full, guaranteed benefit for senior citizens - suddenly took a step toward reality.

"I think that's one of the things they should probably leave alone - you know - unless it's absolutely necessary," Krutsch said as he took a break from reviewing job openings at the Rock County Job Center. "Old people need help with medical bills. There's too many people under-insured right now - especially people like myself right now who don't have insurance."

Well-meaning, supportive folks who nevertheless think that the federal government should--and can--pay everyone's medical bills.

[MayBee]

Happy Birthday Stephanie!
Happy Birthday Peter!

[Captain Hate]

DoT, I disagree that he wouldn't alter Bammycare. Why should he care; he didn't write a damn word of it but just wanted to take credit for having it happen on his watch.

[narciso]

True, Captain, but remember the goal of the plan, to put private insurance out of business
and lead to single payer, the means are incidental.

[Ranger]

More bad news for the rebels in Libya. Gaddafi's troops are in Ajdabiya, so it looks like the rebels will be falling back to Benghazi soon. BBC headline today does not focus on the rebels losing ground of curse:

Libya: African Union mission arrives for Tripoli talks

An African Union mission has arrived in Libya to try to negotiate a ceasefire between rebel forces and those loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi.

[clarice]

Happy B-day Stephanie and Peter!

[Waiting with bated breath]

"Well-meaning, supportive folks who nevertheless think that the federal government should--and can--pay everyone's medical bills."

As opposed to, mean-spirited, duplicitous folks, who, nevertheless think, the federal government should not, under any circumstances pay for anything except tax cuts for the very rich.

[Sue]

DoT,

I expected that. Which is why I wonder what Paul Ryan has planned for his future after the battle. I hope he survives it, but suspect he won't.

[Ranger]

360 - 180 - math is not my strong suit!

Posted by: Jane | April 10, 2011 at 10:54 AM

Actually, it is a 360, since he ran as a deficit hawk and a spending cutter, then did a 180 away from that, and is now coming completely back around to it again.

[Captain Hate]

Absolutely narc. Which is why it was good to get a vote on it in the budget scrum of last week. Let the Indonesian Imbecile be forced to veto a vote against it and own it in 2012.

[Captain Hate]

How does the government pay for a tax cut, drug addict? Is your position that the state owns everything including the lives of the citizens?

[narciso]

Think of it more like a spiral, you never get back to the same place, because it was never real.

[Rick Ballard]

Jane,

I believe 360 correctly applies to his actions - trying to follow his words would require putting a tach on the compass. His actions always point toward that bright Red Star under which he was born in Kendonesia.

[pagar]

Happy Birthday, Stephanie and Peter!
--------------------------------------------
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/the_story_of_o_icarus_not_pega_1.html

has some mention of unions possibly losing some support if they can not get the state to collect their dues. IMO, there is no way to diminish support for the unions as long as the Obama Administration and the US court system give them support like this.

"Appeals Court Approves of Union Fining Member for Reporting Safety Violation

U.S. Court of Appeals [DC Circuit] Rules $2500 Union Fine For Gross Disloyalty Is Okay.

"By reporting a safety violation, a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) violated his union’s constitution when the company he worked for investigated the report and found another union member had indeed violated safety rules. In so doing the IUOE member who reported the violation engaged in gross disloyalty and conduct unbecoming a member when the company subsequently suspended the rule violator for three days."

LUN

Based on this ruling, I would say this US court feels a union member's primary loyalty is to the union, not the United States of America.

[narciso]

Audacity of Stupidity, doesn't quite have the same ring to it:

http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/nice-david-plouffe-slams-us-conservatives-on-fox-news-sunday-video

[windansea]

Who would you like to see win the Masters?

Posted by: hit and run

I'm rooting for the kid from Australia,
Rory McIlroy

[Jane]

Me too windansea!

360 - I must be brilliant afterall!!

[scott]

I'm pretty sure he's Irish. McIlroy I mean.

[Danube of Thought]

McIlroy is from Ireland. The second-place kid is from Australia.

Don't you just love the notion that a tax cut has to be "paid for?" There are people abroad in the land who actually think that way. That is why preventing an ultimate fiscal collapse is such a challenging prospect, and likely to fail. I'm pretty sure it will occur after I'm gone--but not long after.

A nation of dopes deserves no better. The sad part is that the fools drag responsible, thinking people down with them.

[Rick Ballard]

There's an interesting report in the Italian press of Berlusconi strongly suggesting that the EU be dissolved if it does not shoulder the responsibility for the hordes of Tunisian refugees desperately fleeing the reek of this fetid Arab Spring. Zapatero is quitting politics in Spain and the three other PIIGS are already lingering on German life support.

I don't believe that the basis for the '12 election is actually knowable at the moment. There are just too many cheap commie facades crumbling rapidly in too many places in the world.

[peter]

Terrific pieces, Clarice, and thanks for the bd wishes. Whenever I hear a reference to Icarus, I am reminded of a bizarre exhibition about the myth that I saw at the Joan Miro museum in Barcelona about 15 years ago. The entire museum was set up as a performance art theater. They had actors dressed up as Icarus, feathers from all over the world, a liter of water from each of the seas of the world, slingshot-like launching apparatus, and a sound system with the word "eek-ah-rus, eek-ah-rus" in the background, over and over. Really and truly over the top. a reference to the exhibition is at the LUN

[narciso]

Sounds like one of those Leonard Pinth Garnell
sketches, about 'really bad theatre, from SNL's good years

[peter]

Saw this bumper sticker today. "enjoy the taxes you gullible fools" made me chuckle. LUN

[clarice]

Heh, peter.. the Europeans really see the world thru different eyes. In France they pay couples to smooch around Paris to lend the city an extra romantic air and in the Southern parts the federal govt pays people to do stupid mime acts dressed as statutes with white face or in gold lame.

[windansea]

McIlroy is from Ireland. The second-place kid is from Australia.

yep, got them mixed up, they are both fun to watch

[Captain Hate]

360 - I must be brilliant afterall!!

Sorry to question your wisdom, Jane; I won't make that mistake again until the next time I screw up the italics.

[narciso]

I forget which magazine dubbed him not too bright,

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/republicans-are-trying-to-destroy-the-whole-wide-world-congressman-markeys-unhinged-greedy-pollution-loving-gop-attack/

[Frau Steingehirn]

Happiest of birthdays, Peter.
May the Fore be with you, Stephanie. HB!

[Jane]

That's all right Captain, I didn't know it either.

[clarice]

Chaco on why the budget cuts are enough to stem the tide
http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/04/09/actually-the-budget-cuts-are-enough/

[Ignatz]

If it's like every other country in Africa, a pox on both their huts.
But Senator Inhofe claims we are backing the wrong side in Ivory Coast and that the French interfered in the election.
Whether he's right or not I don't know but neither the UN, the French nor the WH inspire any confidence, the last especially in light of the scandalous hash they made of Honduras.

[Frau Steingehirn]

daddy, wiki picture says this is Churchill landing on the east bank of the Rhine on his secret "relief" visit to Wesel, March 1945, during Operation Plunder. It appears he is about to unzip!

[Jim Ryan]

"I think that's one of the things they should probably leave alone - you know - unless it's absolutely necessary. Which it may be for all I know, so I should probably just shut the hell up now," Krutsch said

FTFY

[Thomas Collins]

CHACO's current article and his prior one on the budget present the reality of the situation, not only as to the rate of growth of spending vs. the rate of growth of GDP, but also as to politicians structuring programs so that the true costs will only be fully known when their careers or lives are over. The reason I am not yet cautiously optimistic is best expressed by a quote from CHACO's origional article.

"The bad news is, basically, that no one will tell you this. All politicians talk about the deficit — but that doesn’t stop each Congress member, from the rawest newly elected one to the speaker and the Senate leadership, from talking about the priority of their special project, which just coincidentally benefits their district and their big contributors. Add in entitlement programs, which seem to grow without bounds because there’s always someone — like AARP, not to name names — who wants to increase the spending on their particular group. The result is that government spending, over time, seems always to grow faster than the economy that supports it."

There are signs the mentality CHACO described in this quote is weakening, but it hasn't been broken yet. Still, the House GOP under Boehner's leadership has done well so far.

[Danube of Thought]

As Winnie himself once said, "never pass up a chance to go to the bathroom."

[matt]

I believe the better characterization of Dear Leader's performance this week was a forward 2 1/2 somersault, 2 1/2 twist with a belly flop in front of 350 million people on national TV.

To think that the rallying cry of the Dems in Congress was support for an organization that aborts one baby every 60 seconds shows what a pathetic, amoral pack of sheep buggerers they are.

And then there are the Brian K's of the world sending the message that it's okay to cut, but just not mine. What part of "we're broke" don't they understand?

and I will never forget Marcel Marceau coming to our college to speak and my asking him in front of a packed crowd, "why?".

Maybe we could ask Congress to spend one day miming everything. They're already playing charades. Ba dum dum!

Happy birthday Peter and Stephanie!

[hit and run]

matt:
Maybe we could ask Congress to spend one day miming everything.

"Think of an economy where people could be a mime without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance."
--stuff Nancy Pelosi (almost) said

[Danube of Thought]

In the first of Chaco's two graphs, i don't understand how to interpet the two horizontal spending-level lines in conjunction with the revenue and spending curves.

[clarice]

and I will never forget Marcel Marceau coming to our college to speak and my asking him in front of a packed crowd, "why?".

Troublemaking even then, matt.

I've been laughing to myself all morning as I imagine the O braintrust (ValJar and Mo) planning the "Victory Lap" to cover up the flop.

[Porchlight]

Happy Birthday to Stephanie and Peter!

[Porchlight]

Obama's supporters are morons and don't comprehend his defeats, so I honestly have to credit him and ValJar on this victory lap tactic. The MSM goes right along with them and it appears to work.

[PD]

Happy birthday, Stephanie (a.k.a., the "Ice Pick")!
Happy birthday, peter!

[Danube of Thought]

I'll post the following, then I'll see who takes the bait. Let's see the fur fly:

"The Hawaiian state health official who personally reviewed Barack Obama's original birth certificate has affirmed again that the document is 'real' and denounced 'conspiracy theorists' in the so-called 'birther' movement for continuing to spread bogus claims about the issue.

"'It’s kind of ludicrous at this point,' Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the former director of Hawaii's Department of Health, said in a rare telephone interview with NBC.

"Fukino, sounding both exasperated and amused, spoke to a reporter in the aftermath of Donald Trump's statements on the NBC Today show last week questioning whether Obama has a legitimate birth certificate."

[Jim Ryan]

DoT, those horizontal lines are there to show that the projected spending and revenue curves go higher than current spending and higher than %125 of current spending.

[PD]

You sound surprised to discover that rape is a tool of war.

[PD]

Something disappeared. My last comment was in reference to:

Genocidal rape? Now there's a phrase than make little sense. Or is it?