Answering ANSWER

By Michelle Malkin  •  August 29, 2007 08:24 AM

answer.jpg

The dog days of August have drawn to a close. This is the calm before the gathering political storm. On September 15, the far Left group ANSWER (”Act Now to Stop war and End Racism”) will descend on the nation’s capital to demand what they’ve been demanding for the last six years in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks: immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, immediate closure of the Guatanamo Bay detention facility and immediate release of every last suspected al Qaeda operative in American custody, immediate impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and immediate capitulation to our enemies at home and abroad.

Who will be there to counter the Jane Fonda retreads? Will you?

eagles.jpg

Earlier this year, I reported on a new, non-partisan movement that arose to challenge the surrender lobby. On a bitter cold weekend in March, the Gathering of Eagles brought together veterans, families of active-duty servicemen and servicewomen, Rolling Thunder members, military bloggers, and their grass-roots supporters to raise their pro-troops, pro-mission voices. I interviewed Eagles who flew in from San Francisco, rode motorcycles south from Georgia, drove all night from Boston, and trekked in caravans from coast to coast to answer ANSWER. At the crack of dawn facing biting winds and contemptuous taunts, tens of thousands of Eagles stood guard over war memorials threatened by anti-war anarchists and lined the streets where bongo drum-beating retreatists marched.

The Gathering of Eagles turnout was unprecedented. The Cindy Sheehanistas and socialist rabble-rousers had never been met and matched with such force. Now, the Eagles are organizing a return to Washington at a historic moment in the global war against jihad. Gen. David Petraeus, top commander in Iraq, and US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are expected to testify before the Senate on September 11. Yes, that September 11. Four days later, September 15, is the deadline for the President to submit reports to Congress on how Iraq is meeting benchmarks for progress since the troop surge was announced in January.

ANSWER will lead what it bills as a “massive” September 15 demonstration to “End the War Now!”–no matter what Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker report. They will hold a “die in” and once again use the names and legacies of fallen soldiers without their permission to push for a precipitous pullout. They’ll remain in Washington the following week to hold a Code Pink-led protest in the House and an Iraq Veterans Against the War-led harassment campaign against military recruiters in D.C. and nationwide.

For every anti-Bush activist agitating for immediate withdrawal and throwing rocks at ROTC offices, an Eagle will be there in Washington to oppose the planting of the White Flag. The organizations leading the way include the Gathering of Eagles, Eagles Landing, Move America Forward, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Free Republic, Vets for Freedom, and the Victory Caucus. (Visit gatheringofeagles.org and
moveamericaforward.org for details.)

As retired Army Col. Harry Riley explains, “Unlike the 60s and 70s, the anti-war lemmings will not have the streets or the political stage to themselves. This time, Eagle Americans — we who support our troops, understand the stakes in the War on Terror and the true nature of our enemy, who aren’t blinded by an insane hatred of our way of life and our form of government — will also be in Washington, D.C., to show Congress that we will not tolerate another betrayal of our own forces or our allies…While the anti-democracy forces are well-funded by pro-left, anti-Americans, we Eagles have steadily been building our own coalition to stop ANSWER in its tracks, and keep Congress focused on winning the war, not their political ambitions.”

I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

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Comments


  1. #121470
    On August 29th, 2007 at 8:29 am, 509th Bob said:

    My son and I were here (in D.C.) for the last Gathering of Eagles, and we will be here again.

  2. #121471
    On August 29th, 2007 at 8:34 am, Ombre Rose said:

    I am so proud of our guys I could absolutely bust!

    YOU GO, GUYS! GOD BE WITH YOU!

    THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE FOR AMERICA!

    KICK SOCIALIST BUTT!

    GO, EAGLES!!!

  3. #121472
    On August 29th, 2007 at 8:34 am, sausage said:

    immediate closure of the Guatanamo Bay detention facility

    Not just ANSWER wanting that… Even the President says he wants to shut it down. Damn lib.

  4. #121474
    On August 29th, 2007 at 8:42 am, jrlingreenbay said:

    “Even the President says he wants to shut it down.”

    Difference being that the President would like it closed AFTER the detainees are processed and transferred to their home countries, whereas ANSWER wants them just set free with no accountability.

    These are individuals captured on the battlefield of this war. Why would we just ‘let them go’?

  5. #121482
    On August 29th, 2007 at 8:52 am, Sergeant Tim said:

    We will be there. Will you?

  6. #121488
    On August 29th, 2007 at 9:23 am, RedRepub said:

    God bless the Gathering of Eagles, Michelle, and everyone else who will be protecting our home and fighting terrorist-sypathizers on our homefront.

    The War on Terror isn’t just abroad. It must be fought in many different ways here in the U.S.

  7. #121501
    On August 29th, 2007 at 9:54 am, zyzzyg said:

    I wish there were a third way. Something I could support. Both sides talk past one another creating straw man arguements, not answering the other’s questions, assigning motives to another, and taking cheap shots. Each side has credible positions and each side makes me say, ‘HUH?’ Too often there is too much heat and not enough light grounded in an over abundance of emotion.

    I can’t fully support every element of either sides position. I am cynical, frustrated and just saddened by the whole thing.

  8. #121507
    On August 29th, 2007 at 10:05 am, derel3433 said:

    How many people turned out last time?

  9. #121514
    On August 29th, 2007 at 10:35 am, radio relay said:

    God bless you all!!

    Stand tall and proud in our nation’s capitol, my Brothers and Sisters who love our nation!

    Those of us all over America, who feel as you do, will be behind you in full force.

    I’ve contributed money to many of the patriotic groups that will be there. I’ll be there in spirit. It pains me that I cannot be there in body.

    May the United States Of America, forever be free, strong, and glorious! Protected by the finest military to ever exist on the planet.

  10. #121516
    On August 29th, 2007 at 10:39 am, gunslingerpatriot said:

    Eagles-You folks rock, keep the faith, and show the dhimis what it takes to defend freedom! :)

  11. #121520
    On August 29th, 2007 at 10:53 am, Jaded said:

    This as the other 2 GOE events will be beautiful to be part of, the patriotism of all of those Eagles is a feeling that cannot be described it can only be felt by being in attendence. I hope to see thousands more of us than the dirty and I mean dirty these anti war people do not know what the inside of a shower looks like show up and make them look like the communists, socialists and freedom hating people they are. Eagles Up!!!!!

  12. #121524
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:09 am, Alphonse said:

    What kind of Eagles are these? Short-toed Snake-Eagles (Circaetus gallicus) of Israel, or American bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)?

    Perhaps we should focus on getting our enemy bin Laden instead of Crusading against Islam for Israel. Not prudent, affordable, or in U.S. interests.

    Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia have never been threats to the United States with our 10,000 nuclear devices, nor even a credible threat to Israel with its 100-200 nuclear devices.

  13. #121525
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:14 am, Tantor said:

    The protest scene in Washington, DC, and perhaps most of the nation, is undergoing a remarkable shift where the anti-war protests are waning while the counter-protests are waxing full. The past giant anti-war marches of some 50,000 lefty loons have shrunk partly due to the inevitable bickering of the Marxist control freak factions which organize them but also due to a general distaste for the creeps who march in them. Some of the naive liberal dupes who march in these are catching on that the ANSWER Stalinists who organize them are merely using them to man a protest battering ram against America.

    There were only a couple dozen Freeper counter-protestors versus the hordes of protestors at every giant Washington protest until the March on the Pentagon this year, when the Gathering of Eagles matched their numbers, about ten thousand versus ten thousand. Let me tell you, the one thing protestors hate is protestors counter-protesting them. They’re against it. The lefties want a monopoly on protesting, on free speech.

    The GOE scared away some of ANSWER’s celebrity speakers, who wouldn’t set foot outside of their limos if their anti-American opinions were challenged. The GOE had enough numbers to form a gauntlet at the Lincoln Memorial through which the protestors had to pass, a sobering reminder to them that their anti-American sentiments were challenged by the majority of Americans.

    One good ole boy small town cop/military veteran from down South told me he watched three young kids walk up to the protest. When they saw all the vets gathered there to counter-protest, they dropped their protest signs on the ground and left, saying, “This isn’t fun.” While the ANSWER wolves who run these protests are deeply committed to their cause, most of the sheep who follow them are not. They come to protests to party. It’s like Mardi Gras for them. When vets show up en masse to challenge them, the dopey sophomore party-protestors shrink in the face of it and flee. Go to their protest and puncture their fun.

    The canary in the coal mine of Washington protests is the despicable Code Pink protest at Walter Reed Army Medical Center every Friday night from 7 PM to 9 PM. The Freepers have been counter-protesting them in a war of attrition for over two years now, whittling down the numbers of the protestors from fifty regulars to the last dirty half dozen. A couple months ago, one of the Code Pink leaders came out to the protest and called the troops the true terrorists in Iraq. That’s how Code Pink supports the troops it purports to “love.”

    In the past before a big Saturday protest, some of the moonbats would show up the night before at Walter Reed. They don’t do that anymore because the attention span of a moonbat is very short. However, if you are going to the GOE counter-protest of this coming ANSWER commie protest, you might think about getting in early and heading up Georgia Avenue Friday night to the front gate of Walter Reed to join the pro-troops Freeper counter-protest. They’ll be the ones waving The Flag. Maybe you might even stop at Walmart and pick up some boxes of snacks for the wounded troops inside. But most of all, turn out in big numbers to put a stake through the heart of this slanderous protest of our wounded warriors recovering from grievous wounds in Walter Reed.

    See you there.

  14. #121528
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:26 am, Brian72 said:

    It’s great that Americans are going to “answer” ANSWER. Those pathetic leftists need to be countered, and we all need to say to them NOT THIS TIME. We will not tolerate the slandering of our military, or belittling their sacrifices.

    Look out lefties, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!

    Alphonse, American military operations are for all of us in the free world, and that includes the only representative democracy in the Mid East and long time ally of the U.S., Isreal. We are partners with Isreal just as we are partners with the U.K., or Poland, or Slovakia. Your suggestion that we are “crusading for Isreal” is an insult to our soldiers, our President, and the Isrealis. You are playing into the hands of the jihadists and the Iranians, who want to drive a wedge into our long standing alliance, so they can destroy a nation. You seem to want that to happen. That’s an ignorant, reckless position.
    I won’t make any assumtions about your motivations for such a belief, I’ll just say it portends deeper issues on your part.

  15. #121532
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:46 am, Brian72 said:

    I’ll also add to this thread the comments of the President of the United States of America about our “crusade for the JOOOOOS”:

    Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran backs Hezbollah who are trying to undermine the democratic government of Lebanon. Iran funds terrorist groups like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which murder the innocent, and target Israel, and destabilize the Palestinian territories. Iran is sending arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan, which could be used to attack American and NATO troops. Iran has arrested visiting American scholars who have committed no crimes and pose no threat to their regime. And Iran’s active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust.

    Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late.

    Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to carry out attacks on our forces and the Iraqi people. Members of the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are supplying extremist groups with funding and weapons, including sophisticated IEDs. And with the assistance of Hezbollah, they’ve provided training for these violent forces inside of Iraq. Recently, coalition forces seized 240-millimeter rockets that had been manufactured in Iran this year and that had been provided to Iraqi extremist groups by Iranian agents. The attacks on our bases and our troops by Iranian-supplied munitions have increased in the last few months — despite pledges by Iran to help stabilize the security situation in Iraq.

    Some say Iran’s leaders are not aware of what members of their own regime are doing. Others say Iran’s leaders are actively seeking to provoke the West. Either way, they cannot escape responsibility for aiding attacks against coalition forces and the murder of innocent Iraqis. The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran’s murderous activities.

    Iran is at war with America and Isreal, and they started it in 1979. It’s about time that we did something about it for OUR OWN SECURITY, as well as the safety of allies in democracy we have had for half a century. I don’t know how it could be justified that America abandon a long term friend to the genocidal inclinations of a fanatical regime of terrorists. When they get an operational nuke, they will use it. We have them for deterrance, but you can’t deter a suicidal, homicidal maniac. The Iranians don’t believe the U.S. or Isreal will use our nukes, and if we did they will accept the damage as a necessary sacrifice to accomplish the return of the 12th Imam from his well.

    This isn’t for “the jooos”, it’s for all free people everywhere.

  16. #121534
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:54 am, tony the tiger said:

    ;^|
    The trolls are out early, today…

    Wish I could go – it’s sad that we have to hold support rallies to counter-demonstrate against the lefties… but that’s the state of affairs in America today.
    I much prefer the old Independence Day gatherings of my hometown – the whole community came out for picnic and celebration of our great country.

    God Bless America!

  17. #121535
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:56 am, davidleerothmann said:

    As retired Army Col. Harry Riley explains, “Unlike the 60s and 70s, the anti-war lemmings will not have the streets or the political stage to themselves.

    And they will hate that more than anything in the world. This time, they won’t have the cameras to themselves either. The MSM will still be there cheering them on, but at least the truth will leak out through MM and the other great bloggers, and maybe even on Fox News.

  18. #121536
    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:58 am, Brian72 said:

    The quote above is from Hugh Hewitt

    Here is an excerpt from a Weekly Standard piece by Kim Kagan, also ht Hewitt.

    Iran, and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, have been actively involved in supporting Shia militias and encouraging sectarian violence in Iraq since the invasion of 2003-and Iranian planning and preparation for that effort began as early as 2002. The precise purposes of this support are unclear and may have changed over time. But one thing is very clear: Iran has consistently supplied weapons, its own advisors, and Lebanese Hezbollah advisors to multiple resistance groups in Iraq, both Sunni and Shia, and has supported these groups as they have targeted Sunni Arabs, Coalition forces, Iraqi Security Forces, and the Iraqi Government itself. Their infl uence runs from Kurdistan to Basrah, and Coalition sources report that by August 2007, Iranian-backed insurgents accounted for roughly half the attacks on Coalition forces, a dramatic change from previous periods that had seen the overwhelming majority of attacks coming from the Sunni Arab insurgency and al Qaeda.

    The Coalition has stepped-up its efforts to combat Iranian intervention in Iraq in recent months both because the Iranians have increased their support for violence in Iraq since the start of the surge and because Coalition successes against al Qaeda in Iraq and the larger Sunni Arab insurgency have permitted the re-allocation of resources and effort against a problem that has plagued attempts to establish a stable government in Iraq from the outset. With those problems increasingly under control, Iranian intervention is the next major problem the Coalition must tackle.

    This is why the Eagles gather to answer ANSWER. They understand that this struggle goes beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, and will have implications on our own soil, if we don’t remain proactive, and on offense against these lunatics. They know if we don’t handle this now, we’ll have to handle it when their children and grandchildren are in uniform. The ANSWER retards refuse to grasp the reality of this situation.

  19. #121539
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:08 pm, bdfaith said:

    On August 29th, 2007 at 10:05 am, derel3433 said:
    How many people turned out last time?

    There were around 30,000 Eagles in D.C. on 3/17, more than enough to outnumber the lefties who showed up.

  20. #121540
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:14 pm, ajmontana said:

    I much prefer the old Independence Day gatherings of my hometown – the whole community came out for picnic and celebration of our great country.

    God Bless America!

    AMEN! To that tony the tiger.

  21. #121542
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:16 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Jane Fonda retreads?

    ROFL

    Wish I could make it. I will be there in spirit!

  22. #121543
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:16 pm, derel3433 said:

    30,000! That’s way more than the lefties can pull out these days.

    Onward!

  23. #121547
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm, Tantor said:

    Alphonse: “Perhaps we should focus on getting our enemy bin Laden instead of Crusading against Islam for Israel. Not prudent, affordable, or in U.S. interests.”

    Alphonse, you’re wildly mistaken. First, Bin Laden has been reduced from making mass terror attacks on America to silence. He doesn’t even show up on his own propaganda videos anymore. It is a measure of his impotence that nobody can tell if he is alive or not. All that is left, now that we have substantially dismantled his organization and killed or captured his leadership, is to capture him. Our efforts to do so are probably why he keeps his head down so low.

    Second, the US is not on a Crusade. Our wars with Afghanistan and Iraq are wars for our national defense, not to promote Christianity as you absurdly assert.

    Third, we are not engaged in a war with Islam, though a radical portion of it is certainly at war with the USA because it offends their religious bigotry that an infidel nation can be the dominant power in the world.

    Fourth, Israel has nothing to do with our war in Afghanistan, Iraq, or radical Islam.

    Alphonse: “Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia have never been threats to the United States with our 10,000 nuclear devices, nor even a credible threat to Israel with its 100-200 nuclear devices.”

    Our nuclear arsenal did not stop Wahhabi terrorists carrying out Saudi Arabia’s covert policy of bloody religious imperialism with respect to their attacks on Sep 11. It’s incredible that you dismiss such terror attacks as true threats.

    Terror is a finely grained threat which does not lend itself to be addressed by nuclear weapons, which address more coarsely grained threats. Terror is a form of asymmetric warfare, waged in a way that our nukes, jets, tanks, and ships can not easily address. Yet, terror remains a threat.

    Our enemy, Saudi Arabia, remains a threat to America because it’s foreign policy is to destroy the US democracy and replace it with Sharia law. It has invested hundreds of millions of petrodollars in its jihad to bring that about, both in the hard jihad of terror and the soft jihad of funding Wahhabi missionaries to America, radicalizing US mosques, funding CAIR to suppress criticism of Islam, etc.

    Iraq attempted to assassinate our ex-president with a car bomb in Kuwait, put bounties on our military people for their death or capture, and shot hundreds of SAMs at our aircraft patrolling the UN no-fly zone. Alphonse, how many hundreds of missiles must Saddam fire at us before you consider it a threat? Iraq also had a covert network of WMD labs producing chemical poisons at low levels for purposes of research and/or terror, according to the Duelfer report. They also had a plan to smuggle ricin in perfume bottles into Western Europe and the US. Please explain how these things did not threaten the US.

    Now Iran is building a nuke in the insane hopes of using it to prompt the return of the Hidden Imam who will bring about a Shia world. Alphonse, why do you not consider the possession of nukes by religious fanatics running a theocratic tyranny and who threaten to burn up their neighbors something other than a threat?

  24. #121551
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:36 pm, Bill DeFelice said:

    A gathering of Eagles! HOORAAH!!

  25. #121553
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:41 pm, Danoshere said:

    I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

    You GO girl!

  26. #121554
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:44 pm, Brian72 said:

    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm, Tantor said:

    Good questions, Tantor. I wonder what the answers will be?

  27. #121555
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:45 pm, ed said:

    Go Eagles,Vets,EL,FR,VC,andMAF.Wish I could be there.

  28. #121556
    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:46 pm, sheik_rattle_n_roll said:

    Wish I could be there. The last one was a big inspiration to me. Looking forward to your coverage of it, Michelle.

  29. #121575
    On August 29th, 2007 at 1:28 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Brian72 and Tantor – nice!

  30. #121617
    On August 29th, 2007 at 3:47 pm, leepro said:

    On August 29th, 2007 at 11:26 am, Brian72 said:

    Alphonse, American military operations are for all of us in the free world, and that includes the only representative democracy in the Mid East and long time ally of the U.S., Isreal. We are partners with Isreal just as we are partners with the U.K., or Poland, or Slovakia. Your suggestion that we are “crusading for Isreal” is an insult to our soldiers, our President, and the Isrealis. You are playing into the hands of the jihadists and the Iranians, who want to drive a wedge into our long standing alliance, so they can destroy a nation. You seem to want that to happen. That’s an ignorant, reckless position.
    I won’t make any assumtions about your motivations for such a belief, I’ll just say it portends deeper issues on your part.

    On August 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm, Tantor said:

    Alphonse, you’re wildly mistaken. [entire quote a bit long to repeat here]

    Tantor continues…

    Alphonse, why do you not consider the possession of nukes by religious fanatics running a theocratic tyranny and who threaten to burn up their neighbors something other than a threat?

    KUDOS TO BOTH OF YOU, BRIAN72 AND TANTOR! You said it better than I could have. Amazing how dense some people are about Sharia creep and the realities of radical Islam.

    Roll Eagles!

  31. #121622
    On August 29th, 2007 at 4:27 pm, ThackerAgency said:

    I’ll be there if there isn’t a football game then (priorities you know). Anyway, I haven’t heard of a project yet that MM was affiliated with that I disagree with. So I guess that means, if MM is there and thinks its important, then it is to me too. So I’ll have to check the schedule though it might be homecoming at Wake Forest (I might get to meet Jenna Bush with her new fiancee who is also a WFU alum:)

    I’ll be there in spirit with red white and blue on.

  32. #123969
    On September 4th, 2007 at 2:48 pm, Milwaukee Mike said:

    derel3433 said:
    30,000! That’s way more than the lefties can pull out these days

    If the coverage from the MSM could only be commensurate…..

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