WEP has returned from the holidays. I hope everyone had a safe and Merry Christmas. Before I post today, I want to send a special prayer for Benazir Bhutto, her family and supporters, the people of Pakistan and America. The radical Islamists once again show that they have hardly retreated into the shadows. Bhutto was a friend of the West. She believed in democracy, equality and basic human rights. She rejected much of the old Sharia that so many radical Muslims embrace, and she was murdered for it. Now, an entire nation is ready to be ripped apart at the seams while Musharraf appears powerless to stop it. Make no mistake, this is a very dangerous situation with implications for every citizen of the world. Pakistan has dozens of nuclear weapons and if Musharraf loses control of those the Iranian threat suddenly becomes minute in comparison.

On a related note, I'd like to point out yet another tasteless moment from John Edwards. He called Pervez Musharraf after the murder of Bhutto, apparently to urge the Pakistani president to continue to press for democracy in his counry. This was moments after a major political figure was assassinated and the entire country was on the verge of brutal riots, and John Edwards - someone with absolutely NO political power or position in our government - decides to put in a personal phone call. Huh? Pretentious doesn't begin to describe this. Tacky, inappropriate, arrogant, assuming would all fit as well, insert your own synonym, but this is a prime example of the type of person John Edwards is...delusional AND cocky.

And let's not leave out Mike Huckabee, who (along with every other presidential candidate) attempted to capitalize on the situation by claiming (along with every other presidential candidate) that HE was best suited to deal with similar international incidents as president. My guess is that Huckabee probably couldn't find Pakistan on a map, but that's another post. The actual reason why I singled him out of the crowd of buzzards is because during his opportunistic stumping he made a statement regarding his concern for martial law in Pakistan and how much longer this would go on. Apparently, no one informed Mikey that martial law ended over 2 weeks ago. Yeah, and this guy wants to be president? I don't care how close you are to Jesus. If you can't keep up with current events in the Muslim community, especially ones involving nuclear nations, then the White House is the last place you need to be.

Meanwhile, here is a link to the latest info from Iraq with an excerpt below:

BAGHDAD — Iraq's interior ministry spokesman said Saturday that 75 percent of Al Qaeda in Iraq's terrorist network had been destroyed this year, but the top American commander in the country said the terror group remained his chief concern. Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said the disruption of the terrorist network was due to improvements in the Iraqi security forces, which he said had made strides in weeding out commanders and officers with ties to militias or who were involved in criminal activities.