BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) - The father of a soldier listed as missing-captured in Iraq since 2004 said Sunday that the military had informed him that his son’s remains were found in Iraq.

Keith Maupin said at a news conference in suburban Cincinnati that an Army general told him DNA testing had identified the remains of his son, Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin, or “Matt�? as he was commonly known.

Lt. Lee Packnett, an Army public affairs officer in Washington, confirmed that the Maupins were notified Sunday that their son’s remains had been identified. Packnett said an official statement about the identification would be released Monday.

Matt Maupin was a 20-year-old private first class when he was captured April 9, 2004, after his fuel convoy, part of the 724th Transportation Company, was ambushed west of Baghdad.

A week later, the Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.

That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. soldier being shot. But the dark and grainy tape showed only the back of the victim’s head and not the actual shooting.

Full Story Here:
Remains ID’d As Missing Ohio Soldier’s

Rest in Peace Matt, you served bravely and you did your duty, you’re coming home now, and your Mom and Dad can have some peace in just knowing your fate, I hate the word closure, but for lack of a better word, maybe they can finally have some closure.

All our love and sympathy to the Maupin family, and to ALL the families of our brave troops that have given their lives in the line of duty.

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A special thanks to these wonderful folks, they all either commented, blogged or did both regarding Matt Maupin, you folks are the very best!! If I have missed anyone, I DO apologize, drop me an email and let me know, I will gladly include you in this list of GREAT bloggers!!

The Ranando Report, Bloviating Zeppelin, RTaylor, Right Truth, Marilyn, Chicago Ray, The BoBo Files, Patrick Sperry, GM Roper, GuyK, ablur, Jenn of the Jungle, An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings, Driving Out The Snakes , I’m Thinking of the “O” Word, Southern Sass on Crime, ARRA News Service

AMMAN, Jordan �? Jordanian lawmakers are demanding their government cuts ties with the Netherlands in protest of a Dutch film that portrays Islam as a ticking time bomb aimed at the West.

Forty-eight lawmakers in the 110-seat parliament say the film entitled “Fitna,” or “ordeal” in Arabic, insults Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and hurts Muslim feelings. The film was made by Dutch anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders.

The deputies outlined their views in a letter delivered to their government during a meeting Sunday. It called for the government to cut diplomatic relations with the Netherlands and dismiss the Dutch envoy.

There was no immediate response from the Jordanian government.

SOURCE HERE:
Jordan Says Anti-Islam Film Threatens Ties With Dutch

Islam IS a ticking time bomb and even though most Muslims aren’t radicals, they certainly aren’t making any effort to speak out against their radical brethren, and in MY opinion, if you don’t have the balls to speak out against evil, then you’re as much a part OF that evil as are the evildoers themselves.

Europe is overrun with Muslims and is a continent on the verge of Muslim domination, or perhaps another war to keep that full domination to coming to fruition, and according to this report Muslims now outnumber Catholics, and I find that comparison by the Vatican to be interesting considering the recent brouhaha between Muslims and the Vatican over statements made by the Pope, is the Catholic church concerned that they may be in for a battle over the control of the many 3rd world nations they have dominated for centuries?

Islam IS our enemy, the enemy of ALL free people, the enemy of anyone that isn’t Muslim, the world over. I wonder how the EU would handle an all out attack by radical Islam? I wonder if they have the will to fight or would they submit to Islam and cry because the USA didn’t run in and save them?

And I also wonder, would we run in and save them? And if we did, how would we do it, considering the supposedly stretched military we have, is saving Europe again even a doable task?

If there are Muslims that disagree with my views, prove me wrong, take a stand against radical Islamics, do YOUR part to make them go away and leave the rest of the world in peace, renounce the dominance that IS Islam, and the mindset that says ‘Convert or die’, until then, ALL Muslims are the enemy and as far as I’m concerned we’re in a state of WAR with Islam, and Islam started it on 9-11-2001.

Now all we have to do is convince The Bush that it’s not Iraq, well, it’s not just Iraq, it’s Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and a lot more, and the Islamic threat IS real.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.

The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.

Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: “taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere.”

He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop “haphazard raids” and release security detainees who haven’t been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.

Full Story Here:
Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Iraq Streets

al-Sadr blinked. And you can bet it wasn’t from fear of the Iraqi army or police, it was because of the raids being conducted by U.S. aircraft, ground support being provided by the U.S. military and artillery barrages being provided by British forces, had it not been for those 3 factors, Iraqi forces, such as they are, would be locked in a bloody struggle right now, or, should I say, more of a struggle than they already are?

This is the question I asked in a post on Tuesday, “Will al-Sadr and his cohorts blink 1st? Will al-Maliki have to return the balls he appears to have found once this is over? Is there going to be a massive push into Sadr City and Basra to oust these radical vermin?”, al-Maliki and al-Sadr both rattle their sabres and now I wonder, is al-Sadr truly a man of his word, will he be capable of controlling the actions of his Mahdi army thugs?

We shall see I suppose, time will tell, but I am reasonably sure this will not be the last we hear from al-Sadr and his Mahdi army, they will continue to be a thorn in the side of the Iraqi government as they try to establish a working democracy in Iraq.

I also wonder, has al-Maliki got the balls to actually pull this off? Does he have the power to stop his police from surrendering to the Mahdi army and turning their weapons over to them? “We can’t fight our brothers in the Mahdi Army, so we came here to submit our weapons,�? one policeman said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.”, Shiite Leader Al-Sadr Defies Iraq Gov’t

I am, quite frankly, a bit surprised that al-Maliki is still alive, given the preferred methods of removal from office incorporated by the Iraqi insurgents, maybe the man has more to him than has been seen so far, maybe it’s because American forces and some really sharp private security forces have protected him that well.

Or maybe the puppeteer is pulling the right strings.

All I know for certain is this, I am very tired of hearing that even more American troops have died for this cause, I am tired of hearing how many BILLIONS of our tax dollars are being poured into a nation that will, in all likelihood, never return a penny of that cost to us, I am tired of hearing how we are fighting to help establish a true democracy in an Islamic nation, a nation consumed by a religion that will never allow democracy to live, they can’t allow it to live and remain an Islamic nation, Islam and democracy are in direct opposition to each other.

And another thing I am tired of is this, I am tired of being told that this Debacle in Iraq is making us safer here in the USA.

If our shores, ports and borders were actually secure, if our immigration laws, as well as the issuance of travel and student visas were well regulated and policed, there would be no way that any of the insurgents in Iraq could possibly make their way into this nation and do us harm.

As retired U.S. Navy Commander Jeff Huber of Pen and Sword said a while back, and I loosely quote, “How are they going to threaten us if our borders are secure? Attack us with their air force? Sail their navy over here with an invasion force? An air force and navy they don’t have?”

Cmdr. Huber has also points out some of the same facts that I have, on numerous occasions, we don’t have to worry about an invasion by radical Islamic terrorists and/or insurgents that would come here from Iraq or other places, they’re already here, they are living right here in the USA, right now, and it’s only a matter of time until they strike the American people.

I am only guessing with this statement, but I am of the opinion, so far, the reason we haven’t seen terrorist attacks in the USA is because of the ARMED citizenry of America, the radical insurgent factions of Islam, those that would conduct terrorist attacks on our shores, are FULLY aware that if they were do so, something like HALF of the population of this nation would rise in anger and strike out against ALL Muslims in America, with NO concern as to whether they were striking radical terrorists or innocent bystanders, it would simply be the fact that they were Muslims, and that my friends is a cold hard truth.

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