Three weeks ago, I told you about the violent postings of Iraq Veterans Against the War member Evan Knappenberger, who threatened the Gathering of Eagles and advocated my assassination. I offered thanks to an IVAW official who announced that Knappenberger had been indefinitely suspended. Well, now that IVAW’s Winter Soldier hearings are over, it looks like things are back to normal.

“Normal” for the nutroots, that is.

Bellingham Herald reporter/blogger Sam Taylor reports that Knappenberger has been reinstated by the group.

Evan Knappenberger, a local Iraq War veteran who did the Stop Loss Tower Guard vigil last summer and started the local Iraq Veterans Against the War chapter was suspended from the group, but reinstated after four days, for making threats online against pro-war activists two weeks ago.

Knappenberger, who initially suffered an indefinite suspension, told me on the phone this morning that he had received an apology from the IVAW board for what he called their “arbitrary decision” to suspend him in the heat of the moment.

A reminder of the posts he published:

There’s your poster boy for peace–once again a good member in standing with Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Gen. Wesley Clark, you must be so proud.

This menacing jerk’s blog is hosted on Blogspot.

Here are their terms of service.

Support the Gathering of Eagles and get the latest on Friday and Saturday’s counter-protests here.

Justin at Right on the Right has more:

The blogger in question claims to be Evan M. Knappenberger. The big deal about this is, Evan M. Knappenberger is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. It looks pretty plausible because Knappenberger uses the same “Gathering of Smeagols” title line. The kicker? The end of his IVAW post:

Peace, and non-violence, always, Evan M. Knappenberger

Update3 (Language Warning): Evan Knappenberger has chosen to respond to Michelle since she pointed out his threat. In a very obvious way, he made an outright threat against the Gathering of Eagles, and now he’s backtracking. That’s good news, because we don’t want anyone in danger. Look at this horrific response:

***

From commenter gtoast:

This left-wing nut isn’t just any left wing nut. He’s IVAW member Evan M. Knappenberger.

http://ivaw.org/user/542

And he’s threatened GoE not ONCE but THREE TIMES!

1) A bomb threat in the original post
2) Another bomb threat here:
link
“We will fix the broken world… save it from all the chickenhawk armchair warrior gathering of idiots.
But I still want to blow up their fucking gathering.”
3) A threat of gun violence here:
link
“And don’t be afraid. I am not in the database as PTSD-suffering, so I can still buy all manners of handguns. Not to mention the vast arsenal I brought back from Iraq!”

Anf of course his latest insight:

http://wobblynomad.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-am-popular.html

“I really really really hope that someday Malkin and her counterpart, Ann “Fucking” Coulter end up laying hog-tied with electrical wire in an Iraqi ditch”

So this is the best that IVAW has to offer?

Update 9:30pm Eastern. More threats of violence and intimidation against counterprotesters:

I don’t know what fucking idiot lobbied for these shithead right-wingers to be allowed at Winter Soldier but I fear for their safety on the campus. Me, I’m not doing shit to them. Not at Winter Soldier, anyway. But I’m far from being the only IVAW member who’s quick with his fists. Also: after putting up with weeks of crude, sexual insults from conservative bloggers “Thus Spake [Brokedick] Ortner”, the “[Not Actually but Wannabe] Sniper”, that fat fucking pig Jonn Lillyea and all those other cockroaches, I’ve decided I’m probably going to waste most of them on sight dry-hump them all if I see them in DC away from Winter Soldier. I’ll give them a clear, verbal ten-second exit opportunity to clear out of my fucking field of vision in some pub, restaurant or subway stop. If they don’t get the fuck out of my sight… oh, well. Sorry. Dry-humped. How could you think you can call a guy a “faggot” and mock his ethnicity and feel he has no right to smash your fucking face in dry-hump you? Yeah, they’re real tough guys online. Real quick to talk shit to combat vets through a computer screen. Real quick to taunt us and fucking cry about it when we guarantee retaliation. But real, real fucking scared when they’re staring down the barrel of their in-person comeuppance a good, stiff dry-humping. See if a judge gives a shit when I punch holes in the backs of their heads by going through the fronts of them dry-hump them after the bullshit they’ve tried to pull with us.

The Gathering of Eagles and many other pro-troops activists turned out in the rain yesterday to show support for the recruiters at Times Square.

Jennifer sends video:

Flickr photo set here. More blog coverage here.

The NYDaily News has coverage.

Dozens of demonstrators rallied in support of the military Saturday outside the bomb-damaged Times Square recruiting center.

“It backfired,” retired U.S. Marine Jim Behan said of Thursday’s early-morning bombing. “It just makes us respect the military even more.”

“If this bombing hadn’t happened, I’d be home reading,” added Behan, 66, of the upper West Side.

About 50 people sang “God Bless America” and waved flags at the event, which was sponsored by the Gathering of Eagles, a national group that usually rallies opposite anti-war protests.

Though the bicycling bomber’s motive remains unknown, many of the protesters assumed the blast was an anti-war message.

“Bombing something is completely unacceptable,” said Chris Hill, the group’s national coordinator. “It’s not peace activism. It’s terrorism. Period.”

GoE and a coalition of other counterprotesters including Freedom’s Watch, The Band of Mothers, Vets for Freedom, DC Protest Warrior, Eagles Up, Free Republic, and New England Warrior will be in D.C. on March 15 to answer the ANSWER/Code Pink demonstrations scheduled next week.

Go here for more info.

The Gathering of Eagles, a patriotic organization dedicated to the public support of all Military persons, active duty or veteran, announces a patriotic rally in front of the Times Square Recruiting Station in New York City, NY on March 8 from 1PM to 4PM.

The Police have allowed us a rally at the Times Square Recruiting Station Island, 43rd Street and Broadway, to hold a patriotic rally as a show of encouragement for our troops and our recruiters in New York City.

The action of trying to destroy public property and place the lives and safety of Americans in jeopardy just to make a political point must be answered with the firmest response from Patriotic Americans. In times past, these actions were considered abnormal and best ignored. The actions and national responses to the bombings and protests of the 1960′s and early 1970′s and the failure of Americans to rise up and demand an accounting of those who engage in criminal acts under the false banner of FREE SPEECH led to a national embarrassment at the end of the Vietnam War, and eventually to a Military pullout and subsequent deaths of a Million People when the North Vietnamese broke the Paris Peace Accord treaty and invaded South Vietnam in 1975.

This criminal action against the recruiting station in Times Square has the potential of leading a national downturn in the minds of those who disagree with the war.

It is imperative that Patriotic Americans demand a show of force by law enforcement and Patriotic Groups in calling these acts what they are: cowardice and criminal.

GOE’s Chris Hill has more:

As you all know, I was lucky enough to be invited to the christening of the USS New York this past weekend. It is doubly disturbing then to have the recruiting station in Times Square, the heart of Manhattan, bombed by an act of domestic terrorism. We at GOE are therefore, calling all Eagles and supporters in the Northeast to join us as we stand in support of the troops stationed there. We will gather at 1230hrs until 1600hrs, this Saturday, 8 March in Times Square to serve notice that our troops do not cut and run, and neither do we. We recognize that most of you do not live within easy driving distance of NYC, so we are asking that everyone else don your military or patriotic garb and visit your local recruiter station. It is important for them to know we love and respect them, and will stand with them always. New York City has, once again, been the victim of terrorism; this time of the homegrown brand it appears. This despicable act can be laid right at the feet of the vehement anti-American groups we have countered so often. They have made it okay in the minds of some to attack recruiter stations and deface our war memorials. We must not allow this to continue! I have contacted law enforcement agencies in several of the cities where recruiter stations have been previously targeted. They assure me that security has been stepped up. Respectfully, that is not enough. We must show support publicly and proudly for our brothers and sisters in uniform. This is our line in the sand. This nonsense will stop. I look forward to standing with you all again and appreciate your unqualified support. I love New York. Manchu.

Chris Hill
National Director of Operations

Meanwhile, some NYC anarchists are cheering the bombing…and suggesting more havoc is on the way later this month. Be aware:

I got into work this morning and someone was playing the radio. Bloomberg was giving a speech about how our armed forces were protecting us, and protecting our AmeriKKKan freedoms and so forth. After the billionaire finished his propaganda statements via the corporate conrolled radio station, pig commissioner Kelly came on and I then perked up. He was looking for rats to come forward and finger the male (according to them) who early this morning placed a bomb at the Times Square Armed Forces recruiting statement and who then buzzed away on his bicycle.

News also reports that the police began stopping cars around New York and questioning the drivers…no, I am just kidding. The news does actually report that police began stopping those beatnik, gas-hating people riding bicycles this morning and questioning them.

Unlike the bombs the US Armed Forces drops on brown people around the world, this bomb hurt no one. It just makes our Keystone Kops and the “FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force” look silly, incompetent and impotent. The boys in blue will be scratching their heads and downing their donuts trying to crack this caper for some time to come I’m sure.

And this:

The pump don’t work..

Mar 07, 2008 02:34AM EST
delgado

“It was ONE station in ONE city and got minimal coverage..”

Not quite. 1,445 news articles, with extensive international coverage according to Google News.
link

Wonder how much corporate media coverage the M19-20 protests will get?

Meanwhile, loose lips sink ships.

That’s one of the reactions over at YouTube to our simple video of the weekly Friday gathering at Walter Reed to show support for wounded troops. Who are the haters?

Enjoy the vid. It’s a great experience and if any of you are ever in the D.C. area, you shouldn’t miss it. Every Friday, 6:30pm to 9:30pm, at the front gate of Walter Reed:

Update: Gee, which side do you think the protester charged with felony possession of an incendiary device was on…Us or Them? Via ABC News (hat tip – bpmonaco): “Thousands of anti-war protesters holding black and yellow signs saying “End the War” filled the park in front of the White House today demanding an end to U.S. occupation of Iraq. Police said they arrested 189 people, one of them on a felony charge of carrying an incendiary device.”

***
I can’t tell you how proud and honored I was to meet so many Eagles out on the streets of D.C. today. We’re just beginning to wade through our photos and video, but the difference could not be starker between the Eagles and the ANSWER mob. Here’s a quick compare-and-contrast between us and them (I snapped all the “Us” photos unless otherwise noted; see photo credits for “Them” links).

Us:

Them (photo credit: Victory Caucus):

Us:

Them (Yahoo! News):

Us:

Them (photo credit: Charles Ryder):

Us:

Them (photo credit – Tom the Redhunter):

Us:

Them (photo credit – Charles Ryder):

Us (photo credit – the George Washington University College Republicans…and yep, that’s me in the middle):

Them (photo credit – Victory Caucus):

More to come…

***

Bonus video. Last night at our hotel, we heard from members of Rolling Thunder who had gone to the DC Code Pink house. Code Pink posted video of some of the encounter. Another stark Us vs. Them moment:

***

From the, yes, NYTimes:

The antiwar demonstration was held on the same day as a separate event sponsored by a group called Gathering of Eagles, a veterans group.

Before the antiwar marchers arrived, there was a brief physical altercation between some members of the antiwar group Code Pink and some of the demonstrators who said they were there to support the troops. The police moved in to break up the scuffle. As the antiwar demonstrators moved along Pennsylvania Avenue, the two sides continued to trade chants and sometimes heated messages, but lines of police officers intervened to keep the opposing sides apart.

“What troubles me, the thing that is so dismaying, is they don’t realize the big picture,” said John Aldins, 54, who came from Media, Pa., with his wife, Karen, and daughter, Rachel, to show their support for the troops. The Aldins have three other children serving in the military. Rachel Aldins will join the Army in the fall to serve as a nurse.

“It’s not just Iraq, it’s the whole Middle East,” Mr. Aldins said. “It’s not a red, blue or pink issue. It’s an all-of-us issue.”

***

The Hill reports about 200 ANSWER-istas arrested. (Also note how ANSWER’s crowd estimate is featured high up in the article. We were right in the middle of the crowd at the Capitol and walked the length of the moonbat convergence. There were certainly more of them compared to the March protest, but there’s no way there were 100,000. Knock off a zero and you’re getting closer to reality.)

Update 5:00pm Eastern. Well, they came, they spewed, they cursed. Several thousand Soros marchers descended on the Capitol yelling “Fuck Bush” and “Fuck you” at Gold Star Families. As Capitol Hill police arrested the “die-in” participants, young peaceniks shouted “What does a pig look like? The Capitol police” and “Oink! Oink! Oink.” Others shrieked about “Fascism!” and gleefully performed “Sieg Heil” salutes. We’ll have video from the midst of the moonbats. Across from Taft Park, some anti-American demonstrators waving a large, upside-down American flag and pulling a coffin with Army boots got in a scuffle with Eagles. We’ll have that video of that as well.

It’s difficult to make any crowd estimates at this point. The Eagles were spread all along the protest/counterprotest route. From our vantage point, the Eagles were several thousand strong. And many will be back tomorrow and throughout the week lobbying on Capitol Hill. As Col. Harry Riley told me just now:

“We’re not going away.”

Stay tuned.

WaPo spares a few paragraphs for the Eagles here. More from Pam at Blogmeister USA.

Update 3:17pm Eastern. I’m hearing that the peaceniks are throwing eggs at the Eagles.

Naturally, by the way, the Yahoo! News photo gallery is full of anti-war protest photos, but none I see so far from the Walter Reed Freeper/Eagle rally last night or the Eagles’ gathering this morning.

Update 3:15pm Eastern. The Associated Press gives the moonbats top billing in this piece on the protests today. Here’s the brief mention of the Eagles:

About 13 blocks away, nearly 1,000 counter-protesters gathered near the Washington Monument, frequently erupting in chants of “U-S-A” and waving American flags.

They planned to line both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue to confront anti-war protesters as they marched by and follow them to the Capitol.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson, speaking from a stage to crowds clad in camouflage, American flag bandanas and Harley Davidson jackets, said he wanted to send three messages.

“Congress, quit playing games with our troops. Terrorists, we will find you and kill you,” he said. “And to our troops, we’re here for you, and we support you.”

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., made a surprise visit to the counter-protest, which was organized by the group Gathering of Eagles. The group was created this year by veterans who wanted to challenge war protesters.

“We’re a people of faith, courage and fidelity,” said Hunter, a 2008 presidential candidate. “It’s for this generation that we will win this war on terror.”

There are counter-protesters spread everywhere along the route, FYI. Still no sign of the ANSWER crowd here at the Capitol yet.

Update 2:15pm Eastern. Hanging with the Eagles at the foot of the Capitol. No sign of the Pinkos and the Answeristas, but there were still MORE young leftists cruising on their Segways.

Update 1:40pm Eastern. A few photos up at Victory Caucus.

Update: 1:30pm Eastern. I’ve just finished interviewing several Gold Star parents who are here to ensure that their children’s names are not used and exploited by the ANSWER thugs preparing to hold a “die-in” at the base of the Capitol. The ANSWER mob is on its way here from the White House. They’ll be marching some 25 blocks to get here. The Eagles have thanked Capitol Hill police all along the route. There have been only a sprinkling of moonbats along the way. The weirdest sight so far:

Anti-war activists riding around on Segways in groups of 5 or 6.

Soros Segways, perhaps?

Photos coming.

Update 10:35am Eastern. The anti-Cindy Sheehans are here! Blue Star mom Deborah Johns: “Cindy Sheehan doesn’t speak for me. She has never spoken for me. And she will never speak for me! We are winning this war. Now let our troops finish their job!…We are not going to let the domestic enemies at home defeat us like they did [during the Vietnam War.]…No retreat, no surrender. Not now. Not ever!…We are not 50 red states or blue states. We are the United States of America…These colors don’t run.”

Debbie Lee, mother of the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq, Mark A. Lee, speaks. Describing her son’s heroism. “You can’t ‘take’ someone’s life who gives it…and Mark willingly gave his life….God redeployed Mark to heaven.”

Singer Diana Nagy performs.

***
9:45am. The Gathering of Eagles are on Madison Ave. and 7th in front of the Capitol. Melanie Morgan of Move America Foward and Kristinn Taylor of FreeRepublic.com have just addressed a growing crowd. A priest ends his invocation: “Surrender is not a word in our vocabulary.”

Larry Bailey and Chris Hill of Gathering of Eagles have welcomed the activists. Hill: “What happened in Vietnam will not happen to this generation.” Hill mentions a 9/11 survivor who brought a large American flag flying on stage. “That’s what we fight for.”

Hill pumping up the crowd: “All across the country people are yelling at the television sets when they see Code Pink. They are looking for us. Yell loud enough so they can hear us. Yell loud enough so our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan can hear us.” Crowd is chanting: “USA, USA, USA!”

“It’s time for us to yell back…We’re not taking it anymore.”

Pete Hegseth of Vets for Freedom:

“I figured I’d seize this opportunity to quote a man best known for his $400 haircut. He claims there are two Americas in this country. For once, he’s right. There are two Americas…on display here today.

One America here today to desecreate our war memorials…those who want to retreat from the battlefield teeming with Islamic extremists

On the other hand, there are those who are here to defend our memorials, who understand the threat we face. This America. Our America…We cannot let a bunch of sign-waving, slogan-chanting protesters…speak for us.”

Hegseth mentions the MoveOn.org ad. “Stand up to the voices of defeat and retreat….As an infantryman who fought over there, I understand the difficulties…al Qaeda has drawn the line in the sand…I understand that Gen. Petraeus is working with American soldiers, brave Iraqis, to turn the tide in Iraq…Americans are saying, ‘We want victory.’”

“History will judge us not by when we leave, but by what we leave behind…Tell Congress to have as much courage on Capitol Hill as our soldiers have on the front lines.”

Brad Blakeman of the newly-created Freedom’s Watch now addressing the crowd. “Message to Code Pink: There’s a new sheriff in town and we plan to be around a long time.”

Military of the Order of Purple Heart commander Henry Cook on stage welcoming the crowd.

Popular singer Lloyd Marcus performs, “Remember 9/11.”

The Eagles joined Free Republic.com members at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the weekly Friday “Freep” tonight to show support for the troops. Bryan Preston and I were there to join in, meet fellow Eagles, and film the gathering for a future Hot Air special (see our video report on the first Gathering of Eagles in March here).

If you’ve never been to the Walter Reed Friday gatherings, you should really make the time to attend. Folks traveled from New York, Oregon, North Carolina, and all points between and beyond to be there. We were there between 6:45pm and 8:15pm. The rain was light The mood was red, white, and blue. The honks of support from passing traffic were long and loud. Eagles and Freepers outnumbered the Code Pinkos by more than 100 to about 12. I also had the honor of talking to one of the wounded soldiers recuperating at Walter Reed. He was a young gunner whose vehicle was hit by an IED. He spent four hours pinned under the vehicle after the bomb caused it to overturn. He was disgusted by the MoveOn.org rhetoric and passionately opposed the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Here’s more of what we experienced…a taste of things to come tomorrow as GOE III kicks off. Hope you’ll be there:

For anyone living in Blue State America who has had to put up with Kerry-Edwards stickers and 1-20-09 stickers and Bush Lied stickers and Peace is Patriotic lawn signs, these will be welcome sights for sore eyes:

One last shot of a cross-dressing Code Pinko wading into the crowd of Eagles:

Col. Harry Riley and Col. George “Bud” Day issue their calls to arms.

Charter Buses for 9/15
For other bus information click here, here, here, or here. Hudson Valley Bus
$80/seat 56 seats Restroom
Departs:
Albany at Midnight, Friday Night
Newburgh at 0200am
Nanuet or Suffern at 0330am
It may stop at Edison, NJ, departing at 4:30am

Long Island/NYC Bus
$80/seat 56 seats Restroom
Departure Times are estimates
Suffolk County 2300 Friday Night
Nassau County at Midnight, Friday Night
Queens at 0100
NYC at 0200
Brooklyn at 0300
Staten Island at 0400

And from Eagles Up, another detailed map (click for full-size):

***

Eagles in action on Capitol Hill, via NRO.

Here’s a GOE mega-thread from Right on the Right.

***

Make your voice heard:

Update: An interview with N.Z. Bear of the Victory Caucus.

***

You want to see how the moonbats are firing up their side? Have you seen the ANSWER die-in check-in? Look:

Who’s coming: the Sheehanistas, the Pinkos, the socialists, the open-borders lobby, bored hippies, college Democrats, and, of course, the cop-killer apologists of the “International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal:”

ANSWER Coalition; Ramsey Clark; Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation; Mounzer Sleiman, Vice Chair, National Council of Arab Americans; Cindy Sheehan; Camp Casey Peace Institute; Cynthia McKinney; Veterans for Peace (National); Garett Reppenhagen, Chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War; Tina Richards, CEO of Grassroots America; Rev. Lenox Yearwood, CEO of Hip Hop Caucus; Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Code Pink; Father Roy Bourgeois and Eric LeCompte, School of Americas Watch; George Washington University College Democrats; Campus Anti-War Network; Chelsea Uniting Against the War; Sarah “echo” Steiner, Co-Chair, Green Party of the United States; Kevin Zeese, Democracy Rising; Navy Petty Officer Jonathan Hutto, co-founder Appeal for Redress; Liam Madden, Pres., Boston Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War and co-founder of Appeal for Redress; Malik Rahim, founder of Common Ground Collective, New Orleans; Howard Zinn, Author and Historian; Carlos & Melida Arredondo, Gold Star Families for Peace; Rev. Graylan Hagler, Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice; Latino Movement USA; Hermandad Mexicana Nacional; Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran, author, Born on the 4th of July; Leonard Weinglass, Cuban 5 attorney; Michael Berg; National Lawyers Guild; Father Luis Barrios, Iglesia de San Romero de las Americas – UCC; World Can’t Wait; Frank Velgara, ProLibertad Freedom Campaign; Empower DC; Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; the Latin America Solidarity Coalition; Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition; and many others.

On Saturday, September 15, the Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club, a U.S. military veteran and law enforcement MC, will provide security at the Vietnam Memorial and the Vietnam Nurses Memorial in Washington, D.C. as part of the larger counter demonstation to that of ANSWER. (www.freestate-nk.org) or (www.namknights.org)

If you are interested in learning more about us, I invite you to come to visit us on Saturday. The bulk of the activity, as you know, will take place between the White House and the Capitol building at the other end of the Mall, but we and the Gather of Eagles organization, feel that we need to cover this flank.

Bravo.

Update 9/13 10:15am. I have been asking you to be in Washington on Saturday to answer the ANSWER mob. I have been reporting on their disruptive plans and die-ins. I’ve reported before on the vandalism at military recruiting centers. They are going to do it again:

A week of events meant to crank up a national demonstration against the war in Iraq is set to begin Saturday, with a 1,000-person “die-in” at the U.S. Capitol led by current and former American troops and accompanied by taps and a mock 21-gun salute. The die-in will be the culmination of a march and rally. Organizers hope the event will spur people in the antiwar movement to move from protesting to performing acts of civil disobedience that “get in the way of the war machine,” said Brian Becker, national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, at a news conference yesterday at the National Press Club. The group’s permit with the U.S. Park Police is for 10,000 people, a source said, but ANSWER, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, expects tens of thousands, Becker said. More than 1,000 people had signed up on the group’s Web site as of yesterday to lie down at the die-in, he said, which is meant to represent Americans, Iraqis and others who have died in the war. Organizers expect the number to double or triple by Saturday. Daily antiwar events are planned from Saturday through Friday. War opponents are scheduled to go to Washington area military recruitment centers Monday to try to shut them down. War opponents are scheduled to go to Washington area military recruitment centers Monday to try to shut them down…

Enough is enough.

Update 9/13 9:50am Eastern. More war memorials damaged and defaced. (hat tip – Murdoc)

Enough is enough.

***
Bryan Preston and I went down to Washington to document the recent damage at the Vietnam War Memorial, first reported by Free Republic members. Photos do not do it justice. Here’s our video:

Transcript of our report:

Over the weekend, something happened here at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Something destructive. Something dishonorable. Along the foot of the wall, covering a stretch almost two-thirds of the entire monument, an oily substance was spilled on the panels and paving stones that were built to pay tribute to those who gave their lives on the battlefield.

The National Park Service is investigating. Whatever the substance was, it was potent and corrosive. Huge swaths of the wall have been defaced. This is despicable desecration.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Founder and President Jan C. Scruggs said “While it is unclear what transpired, we are heartened by the response of the veterans’ community and the general public. After 25 years, their connection to The Wall remains as strong as ever, and we appreciate that.”

This vandalism comes on the eve of a massive anti-war protest by radicals who have threatened our national monuments before. Those threats motivated veterans, Rolling Thunder members, and military supporters to organize the first Gathering of Eagles. On Saturday, they’ll be back…to protect the honor of the troops and the sacred monuments and war memorials in the nation’s capital.

We’ll be there. Will you? Go to gatheringofeagles.org for more information.

What the hell is wrong with people in this country? If this is intentional vandalism, the culprit(s) deserve to be named, punished, and shamed before the nation. In so many other similar instances, we have reaped the rotten fruits of tolerance for thugs who have gotten away with substituting harassment, intimidation, and violence for civil debate and political expression.

There were some initial, unofficial explanations that a “cleaning accident” caused the damage. But that information is unreliable. As we noted in our report, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund says an investigation is ongoing:

On Friday, September 7, National Park Service staff and volunteers discovered a light, oily and unidentified substance that was spilled over portions of some of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s panels and paving stones, with National Park Service (NPS) preservation and maintenance staff beginning the removal process immediately.

The United States Park Police has begun an investigation into the matter, and that investigation is ongoing. Until this investigation is completed, it is premature to speculate whether any intentional act was committed.

As you can see from our video, the damage is extensive. Could a “cleaning accident” cause this? What did they use? Murphy’s Cleaning Oil? Would something like that eat through the granite etchings? Because that’s what happened to several panels, not just a few. If it is a “cleaning accident,” we need to hear exactly how such a bone-headed thing could happen after 25 years.

Also: If you look here, past volunteers are shown cleaning the wall from top to bottom.

There is no damage on the top of the panels. Strange. The damage we videotaped has the appearance of a substance being thrown and splashed. One panel had distinctive splash marks in an arc at roughly elbow-level…it looked like it was tossed, not dripped or sponged.

If anyone out there has experience working with granite and cleaning substances, please chime in.

*10:03pm Eastern update:* A reader e-mails:

My husband & I own a natural stone fabrication business in Houston.

I have been to the Vietnam War Memorial and if memory serves me it is constructed of black basalt aka black granite. The description of a “light oily” substance and the appearance of the damage might indicate the memorial was defaced using common penetrating oil (think WD-40).

Very few substances will damage granite(s), but thin penetrating oils would do considerable staining. I am confident those responsible for maintenance of the memorial would not have used such a substance. The granite would simply not need “routine” cleaning. At most it might be hosed down with water and possibly scrubbed with mild cleansers every few years but I would hope that this is done by a professional stone restoration company.

Here’s more video from FR.

Human Events reports:

Anyone who has seen photos or video of the trail of gunk on the black glossy walls would definitely not see it as an accident — but it is true that the circumstances of the spraying are still unknown.

If a particularly twisted individual or group of individuals decided they wanted to deface a national monument that represents some 58,000 fallen warriors, why would they chose a wimpy “light, oily” substance? Wouldn’t you choice a flaming red can of paint? But how this could possibly be an accident?

Col. Harry G. Riley (US Army, Ret.) who is heading up the “Eagles” group — one of the veterans groups coming to Washington to protect the monuments this weekend said “When you see there is some type of a substance on the wall down and on the base for 50 to 60 feet, its pretty hard for me to rationalize how that could be anything other than purposeful…”

“Who ever did this, if they were trying to enrage the Vietnam Veterans, they did,” said Riley. “We have been stomped on and ridiculed and spit on simply because we went when our nation called. It wasn’t that we are pro war — when the nation called we went.”

Vandalism of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has not occurred since 1989 said Jan Scruggs, who conceived the idea of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall and raised the money to have it built 25 years ago.

“Someone put some lighter fluid on one of the directories on Constitution Avenue, lit a fire, and burned a few pages off,” said Scruggs.

Scruggs who is also founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund said that there is a belief that the recent vandalism was motivated by “MoveOn.org type of people” but he hopes that no one is accusing them at this point.

“I just can’t image that this was an organized activity or a conspiracy involving more than one deranged person, or that anyone would have done this to score political points for their cause — it would have just the opposite effect.”

Well, we are talking about the same kinds of idiots who thought calling Gen. Petraeus a traitor was a brilliant political strategy and disrupting Congressional hearings was persuasive.

This brief Washington Post article states falsely that the substance has been removed. The WashTimes has a photo of cleaners trying to get it off the wall. They were, as you can see, unsuccessful.

If this doesn’t motivate you to come out on Saturday and join the Eagles, I don’t know what will.

On the opposite coast, in San Francisco, look at this evil deed:

SFChron (click for full-size)

The only local monument to a heroic flight attendant from San Francisco killed in the Sept. 11 attacks six years ago is a North Beach mural that vandals have defaced almost beyond recognition.

Betty Ong, 45, who grew up in Chinatown and North Beach, was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane hijacked by the terrorists. Just minutes before the plane smashed into the World Trade Center, she quietly contacted authorities and gave a detailed description of the hijackers.

Ong is one of several Chinatown natives depicted in a 200-foot-long, 7-foot-tall mural dedicated to Chinese contributions to American history. Titled “Gold Mountain,” the mural also includes educators and nurses, Edsel Ford Fong, a waiter made famous by the late Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, and Larry Ching, the “Chinese Frank Sinatra,” who was a longtime entertainer at Forbidden City.

Painted by artist Ann Sherry in 1994 on the side of an apartment building on Romolo Place, the mural has been damaged by taggers numerous times. Each time, Sherry, the building’s owners and community volunteers have stepped up to perform touchups – and twice to restore the mural completely.

A section for Ong was added in 2003, when the mural was restored the second time. Graffiti-resistant varnish was added, too. But almost immediately, the mural was tagged again. Sherry patched up the mural, but since January, taggers have struck several more times. Sherry kept returning to make repairs but recently found the damage to be worse than ever before.

“This time, the taggers used paint (mixed) with epoxy that we can’t just wash out or remove. We have to completely redo the mural,” Sherry said. “We started fixing it … but the taggers get angry if you remove their graffiti and they just tried to ruin it.”

I embedded the audio of Betty Ong’s phone call from AA Flight 11 in my 9/11 post yesterday. Listen to it again as you look at the photos of Ong’s desecrated memorial:

Here’s one last example from Billings, Montana, if you’re not angry enough:

Vandals cut down and burned a U.S. flag in front of a Billings retirement home sometime during the night Monday.

On Tuesday morning, the cover of the book of matches used to start the fire was still attached to the partially burned flag in front of Prairie Tower Apartments.

Dave Kessler and his wife, Judy, arrive at the independent retirement home at 725 N. 25th St. each morning about 7, he said Tuesday.

About 8 a.m., some of the residents alerted Judy that the flag was missing, and she found it in the yard, Dave Kessler said.

The apartment building is home to 119 people.

Resident Joe Jonutis took a flag of his own and hung it in the entrance of the building Tuesday afternoon to replace the damaged flag. Jonutis, 87, is a World War II veteran.

Kessler said he thought the vandalism was a political statement.

“I mean, why now? There has been no similar experience from before,” said Kessler, who has handled the maintenance at Prairie Tower for 13 years. He is a Vietnam War veteran.

The flag is flown 24 hours a day and is lighted, he said.

Vandalism. Desecration. Cowardice. Coddling.

Enough is enough.

***

Flashback: Indianapolis military memorial defaced with “peace” graffiti and anti-Bush profanities.

Tonight’s topic: Hate speech on the Left.

No, not Geraldo’s. The focus is MoveOn.org’s despicable ad. I worked in a plug at the end of the segment for all of the pro-troops, pro-mission counter-demonstrations taking place this Saturday. See my Gathering of Eagles category for more info. Hope you can be there with us.

And to answer all of the readers who have asked whether I’ve complained to top Fox people about stupid spit-gate, I have. They’ve gotten an earful from me.

I’m not going to let it get in the way of my job. But I won’t forget. Thanks to all of you who’ve expressed your disgust by e-mailing Fox News and thanks for your support of my work.

More on Howard vs. the protesters here.

***

The photo of the morning comes from reader John M., who e-mailed: “I am sending you a picture of graffiti that was photographed in Sacramento California on the I 80 on-ramp heading east to Reno. It first read “Stop the War.” Someone did what I wanted to do and crossed out the stop and added ‘Win’ in front.”

Which will it be?

Across the country, ordinary Americans–I’m talking about grass-roots activists without George Soros funding–are gearing up to bring the fight over the war to Washington. Summer’s over. Iraq tops the agenda as Congress returns. Next week will bring a historic clash of activists. Melanie Morgan and Move America Forward are on their way, leading a cross-country caravan. Check out the driving route to see if they’ll be stopping by a town near year on their journey to answer the ANSWER mob. Catherine Moy reports that Democrat Party organs ain’t happy. Eagles are preparing. Vets for Freedom are mobilizing.

The Victory Caucus is asking for your signature on a petition urging Washington to “Stand By the Mission:”

General Petraeus and the new U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, will report to Congress in mid-September on the American effort. We urge our nation’s leaders to:

Recognize the importance of fighting and defeating al-Qaeda, wherever they can be found, not least in Iraq;
Consider the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker with an open mind and without regard for partisan politics;

Recognize the significant threat to U.S. national security that a hasty retreat or a made-in-Washington timetable for withdrawal from Iraq would generate; and

Listen to the U.S. service members who willingly sacrifice to protect our country and who do not want defeat legislated in Washington so long as American troops are on the battlefield.

America has a chance to strike a serious blow against terrorism and the ideologies that drive terrorism. By contrast, the defeat of the United States would embolden terrorists, making the world a more dangerous place for Americans and consigning the people of Iraq and the Middle East to a perilous future.

We urge you to support our troops by giving them the resources and time they need to successfully complete their mission.

Sign here.

***

Want to know what’s going on on the ground? Read Badgers Forward. And Mudville Gazette’s Dawn Patrol.

The MNF-I page, which you should always check regularly, is here.

Troop combat deaths are down. It won’t make Katie Couric’s newscasts.
McQ at Q&O outlines the reasons for the trend. Bottom line: “[T]he combination of careful planning, excellent execution, experience, Iraqi cooperation and exponentially increased human intelligence have all combined to keep our casualties very low despite the fact that we’re on the offense.”

And if you missed John Wixted’s analysis of Iraq war civilian casualties over the summer, make sure you click over and check out what he found versus what the AP reported. He concludes:

Although I wish more progress were evident in the civilian casualty chart, one has to say that the new strategy adopted by General Petraeus is showing results. Actually, the results have been quite spectacular, but this fact is obscured by the high number of civilian casualties that are still evident. I have thought all along that if civilian casualties did not drop very substantially by the Fall “deadline,” Harry Reid would use that fact to successfully convince the American public that “this war is lost.” And because most Americans do not pay close attention to the details and therefore do not really understand what is happening in Iraq, I had thought that surrender (to al Qaeda) would be in the cards.

I don’t think that any more. In fact, I am amazed that Americans (and even some Democratic leaders) are able to appreciate the momentous turn of events that has occurred in Iraq lately. More and more Americans seem to understand that we really are in a war against al Qaeda in Iraq (whether or not Iraqi politicians reconcile with each other), that al Qaeda has made it so, and that losing to al Qaeda would have profoundly negative consequences. They also seem to appreciate that the tide has turned against al Qaeda in a very big way even though the terrorists remain capable of launching sneak attacks against and slaughtering unarmed and completely innocent men, women and children. Although the mainstream media often refers to these attacks as being carried out by Sunni “militants” or “extremists,” the American public seems to appreciate the glaringly obvious fact that these attacks are instead carried out by “terrorists.” Al Qaeda terrorists, in fact. They are doing so not because they are participating in a Sunni-vs.-Shiite civil war but because they are trying to provoke a civil war to bring down the Iraqi government and to demoralize you (so that you will throw your support behind Harry Reid and like-minded anti-victory Democrats).

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?

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.

They’re coming back to Washington, D.C. Will you stand with them? As you’ll recall, the first Gathering of Eagles in March to counter the White Flag mob drew unprecedented masses to the nation’s capital in support of the troops and their mission. In 33 days, the Eagles and a number of similar organizations plan to answer the ANSWER crowd again.

GOE is holding a Freedom Walk on September 10 and Operation Eagle Justice on September 15.

Eagles Landing “will assemble in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2007 in support of America, our troops, and our fallen brothers and sisters.”

Move America Forward will once again lead a cross-country caravan to D.C. as part of the Fight for Victory tour:

Supporters of Operation Iraqi Freedom will conduct a nationwide caravan along with more than 2-dozen rallies calling for continued support of U.S. troops based in Iraq in the days leading up to General David Petraeus September 15th report to Congress.

From September 3, 2007 through September 15, 2007 the nation’s largest grassroots, pro-troop organization, Move America Forward will lead thousands of supporters in a cross-country effort called the “FIGHT FOR VICTORY TOUR.”

Here’s MAF’s itinerary.

And the Vets for Freedom “are mobilizing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to engage members of Congress during the entire month of August and tell them that General Petraeus needs adequate troops, time, and resources to complete the mission in Iraq.” Sign up here for the Sept. 17-18 mission.

Mark these dates and events on your calendars. Donate. Volunteer. Spread the word. If you missed the 1st GOE, this is your chance to make your voice heard, bear witness to history, and make a difference.

***

Flashback report from the 1st GOE:

Many highlights there, but take special note of the face-off at the 6:00 minute mark. As you can see, we spent most of the day covering the march on the Eagles’ side of the fence. Why? Because almost all of the news camera crews we spotted–the ones that bothered to show up, that is–gathered around Cindy Sheehan and the anti-war freak show and then left. We didn’t see any of them covering the long lines of Eagles waiting to get through security to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Didn’t see them covering the speeches and performances by the vets and pro-military activists. Reporters mingled comfortably on the moonbat side, except to shoot drive-by photos casting pro-troops counterprotesters in a negative light. Bloggers continue to rip old media whitewashing of the historic event:

Newsbusters
GoE
HA thread
Cinnamon Stillwell:

This may mark the beginning of the end of mainstream America’s complacency in the face of a vastly outnumbered but vocal (and overreported) antiwar movement whose platform spells disaster for the United States and Iraq.

Never again will America’s brave warriors and their cause be abandoned and the people our country has pledged to liberate be left to perish at the hands of tyrants. Those days are most definitely over.

Bloggers also continue to report on the ugly behavior and background of the surrender lobbyists:

Don’t miss Tantor’s four-part series–including a description of what happened when a woman in a “Viva The Reagan Revolution” T-shirt jumped in the middle of a gaggle of socialists, waving an American flag and holding a sign: “Win the War or lose to Jihad!”

And check out A Soldier’s Perspective.

More: Jack Langer reports on an anarchist flag-burning that didn’t make the Washington Post’s photo gallery.

Christopher Cook chronicled the Leftist/reconquista protesters marching under the anti-war banner in Los Angeles.

***

We ventured into the ANSWER/Soros crowd when they started their march to the Pentagon. This was the view from the anti-war side of the fence. The horses are turned the right way:

A counterprotester in San Francisco stands up:

One of the most chuckle-worthy signs from the port-a-potty line at the Eagles event (via Sniper One):

***

FReeper/Gathering of Eagles organizer Kristinn Taylor appeared on Fox News this morning to talk about the event. Video here. He took Fox News to task for their weak coverage. Megyn Kendall pointed out that they did cover the protest/counterprotest. But it was superficial and concentrated mostly on the anti-war freaks. I regret to say that Kristinn was absolutely right: It was a missed opportunity for Fox.

Related good read: Michael Barone on the Blame-America-First crowd.

Noon update: President Bush speaks…

With Democrats pushing for an end to the
Iraq war now entering its fifth year,
President Bush pleaded for more patience Monday, saying success is possible but “will take months, not days or weeks.”

The war has stretched longer, with higher costs, than the White House ever predicted. On the fourth anniversary of the day Bush directed the invasion to begin, the president made a televised statement from the White House Roosevelt Room to defend continued U.S. involvement.

He said his plan to send 21,500 additional U.S. troops to secure Baghdad and Iraq’s troubled Anbar Province “will need more time to take effect,” especially since fewer than half of the troop reinforcements have yet arrived in the capital. Bush added: “There will be good days and bad days ahead as the security plan unfolds.”

Democrats are bringing up this week in the House a war spending bill that would effectively require the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the fall of 2008, on top of providing funding for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan for the year. The White House has been pushing aggressively against this legislation, and Bush did so again on Monday.

“It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home,” he said. “That may be satisfying in the short run. But I believe the consequences for America’s security would be devastating.”

He said he had received news of positive signs during a morning briefing on the war with his National Security Council, and during a closed-circuit television conference call with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from Baghdad.

Bush ridiculed House Democrats’ legislation to remove troops, a measure he has promised to veto because it contains a timeline. He called it an abdication of U.S. commitments to Iraqis.

“There’s a lot more work to be done and Iraq’s leaders must continue to work to meet the benchmarks they have set forward,” he said. “As Iraqis work to meet their commitments, we have important commitments of our own.”

Don’t forget: Appeal for Courage.

Progress: Video: The Patriquin plan in action in Anbar