Friday, September 30, 2011

SPECIAL REPORT: Al-Qaeda Boss Anwar Al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen

SPECIAL REPORT:
Friday, September 30, 2011
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Original file photo by Muhammad ud-Deen
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Al-Qaeda Boss
Anwar Al-Awlaki
Killed by Airstrike in Yemen
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American-born Muslim Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the public face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed… So says the Yemeni Defense Ministry in a statement on one of its websites, EARLY this Friday morning stateside, September 30, 2011. The Yemeni Ministry provided no other details in statement.
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In another statement… the Yemeni Government says al-Awlaki was targeted and killed five miles from the town of Kashef in Yemen’s northern Jawf province, 87 miles east of the capital Sanaa. The attack, the statement said, was launched at 9:55am, local time.
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- FOX News has the following report on what we know so far at link below...
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This News Video posted on YouTube by ABCNews
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Post UPDATE:
Saturday, October 01, 2011
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“A Very Bad Man Just Had A Very Bad Day”
Said one Senior Defence Official, Friday
Death of bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, Magazine editor Samir Khan & Muslim Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki makes Friday drone strike one of the most effective single blows in the U.S. campaign to take out al-Qaida's top figures
- CBS News brings us the following short report this early Saturday afternoon and it starts off like this… U.S. intelligence indicates that the top al Qaeda bomb-maker in Yemen also died in the drone strike that killed radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, two U.S. officials said Friday…
Read the rest at link below…
Also by CBS was the following report, with Video, from late Friday
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- ABC News has the following report posted-up on their website from yesterday late and it starts off like this… A young American who edited al Qaeda's English-language magazine, and had urged Muslims to mount deadly attacks on U.S. targets, was killed in the same CIA drone strike that eliminated Anwar Awlaki in Yemen Friday, U.S. officials said… [Samir Khan], 25, was the Saudi-born, New York-raised editor behind "Inspire" magazine, the English language online publication of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. Khan had become a rising figure in jihadist propaganda and an "aspiring" Awlaki, according to U.S. intelligence officials…
Read this report in full at link below…
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Post UPDATE:
Justice Department gave approval to CIA
to kill Anwar al-Awlaki
Sunday, October 02, 2011
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- FOX News has the following report this Sunday evening and it starts off like this… The U.S. Justice Department gave the approval to the CIA to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, the charismatic U.S.-born cleric who orchestrated Al Qaeda recruitment from Yemen, by justifying his killing as an act of self-defense, a U.S. official told Fox News… The official said Sunday that a secret memo between the DOJ and CIA placed al-Awlaki on a kill or capture list, which laid out the case that al-Awlaki was not entitled to the same protections as a U.S. citizen, but rather a combatant targeting U.S. citizens…
Read the rest at link below…
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More on the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki throughout the week and in a new post too…
So keep checking back!
AubreyJ………
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- This post now closed -
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Pakistan/Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - September 30, 2011

Pakistan/Afghanistan: On Ground Updates
Pakistan sets free top-level al Qaeda prisoner who spent years guarding and fighting alongside Osama bin Laden
Friday, September 30, 2011
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- CBS News had the following report posted-up early Thursday morning and it starts off like this… Pakistan has set free a top-level al Qaeda prisoner who spent years guarding and fighting alongside Osama bin Laden, according to two senior Pakistani police officials, who tell CBS News Amin al-Haq was not a "key player" in the terror group, and "had no information of great value"…
Read the full report at link below…
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Also, in the News today …
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AubreyJ………
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Above old file photo by Rewards for Justice

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Massachusetts Man Charged with Plotting Attack on Pentagon and U.S. Capitol

Massachusetts Man Charged with Plotting Attack on Pentagon and U.S. Capitol and Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization
Public Was Not in Danger from Explosive Devices, Which Were Controlled by Undercover FBI Employees
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     U.S. Attorney’s Office
     September 28, 2011                    
                                                                                      District of Massachusetts
                                                                                     (617) 748-3100


BOSTON- A 26-year-old Ashland man was arrested and charged today in connection with his plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol, using large remote controlled aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives. Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen, was also charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically to al Qaeda, in order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers stationed overseas.
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“Our top priority is to protect our nation from terrorism and national security threats. The conduct alleged today shows that Mr. Ferdaus had long planned to commit violent acts against our country, including attacks on the Pentagon and our nation’s Capitol. Thanks to the diligence of the FBI and our many other law enforcement partners, that plan was thwarted,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “I want the public to understand that Mr. Ferdaus’ conduct, as alleged in the complaint, is not reflective of a particular culture, community, or religion,” she added. “In addition to protecting our citizens from the threats and violence alleged today, we also have an obligation to protect members of every community, race, and religion against violence and other unlawful conduct.”
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The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by undercover FBI employees (UCs). The defendant was closely monitored as his alleged plot developed and the UCs were in frequent contact with him.
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Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division said, “Today’s arrest was the culmination of an investigation forged through strong relationships among various Massachusetts law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and prevent terrorism. Each of the more than 30 federal, state, and local agencies on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) worked together to protect the community from this threat. In this particular investigation, the Worcester, Ashland, and Framingham Police Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, played particularly critical roles. The communities of Worcester, Ashland, and Framingham should be proud of the unwavering commitment and professionalism the agencies demonstrated in ensuring that their towns and region were safe from harm. The Massachusetts State Police and the Commonwealth Fusion Center also contributed significantly to this investigation.”
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“The FBI used an undercover operation to conduct this investigation. Undercover operations are used to combat all types of crimes and criminals, including in the counterterrorism arena.”
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“The JTTF initiated this investigation because we have an obligation to take action to protect the public whenever an individual expresses a desire to commit violence. A committed individual, even one with no direct connections to, or formal training from, an international terrorist organization, can pose a serious danger to the community,” added DesLauriers. “It is important to remember that our system of justice is based on the notion of individual responsibility. Therefore, no one should cite Mr. Ferdaus’ actions as an excuse or reason to engage in any unlawful behavior against others in the community. We will work diligently to protect the civil rights of all Americans.”
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The affidavit alleges the following: Ferdaus, a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in physics, began planning to commit a violent “jihad” against the U.S. in early 2010. He obtained mobile phones, each of which he modified to act as an electrical switch for an IED. He then supplied the phones to FBI UCs, who he believed to be members of, or recruiters for, al Qaeda. According to the affidavit, Ferdaus believed that the devices would be used to kill American soldiers overseas. During a June 2011 meeting, he appeared gratified when he was told that his first phone detonation device had killed three U.S. soldiers and injured four or five others in Iraq. Ferdaus responded, “That was exactly what I wanted.”
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According to the affidavit, after each subsequent delivery, Ferdaus was anxious to know how well each of his detonation devices had worked and how many Americans they had killed. During recorded conversations, Ferdaus stated that he devised the idea of attacking the Pentagon long before he met with the government’s cooperating witness (CW) and UC, and that his jihad had, “started last year.”
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In recorded conversations with the CW that began in January 2011, Ferdaus stated that he planned to attack the Pentagon using aircraft similar to “small drone airplanes” filled with explosives and guided by GPS equipment. According to the affidavit, in April 2011, Ferdaus expanded his plan to include an attack on the U.S. Capitol. In May and June 2011, Ferdaus delivered two thumb drives to the UCs, which contained detailed attack plans with step-by-step instructions as to how he planned to attack the Pentagon and Capitol. The plans included using three remote controlled aircraft and six people, including himself, whom he described as an “amir,” i.e., an Arabic term meaning leader.
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During various recorded meetings, Ferdaus envisioned causing a large “psychological” impact by killing Americans, including women and children, who he referred to as “enemies of Allah.” According to the affidavit, Ferdaus’ desire to attack the United States is so strong that he confided, “I just can’t stop; there is no other choice for me.”
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In May 2011, Ferdaus traveled from Boston to Washington, D.C., conducted surveillance and took photographs of his targets (Pentagon and Capitol), and identified and photographed sites at the East Potomac Park from which he planned to launch his aircraft filled with explosives. Upon his return, Ferdaus told the UC that “more stuff ha[d] to be done,” that his plan needed to be expanded, and that he had decided to couple his “aerial assault” plan with a “ground directive.” Ferdaus indicated that his ground assault plan would involve the use of six people, armed with automatic firearms and divided into two teams. Ferdaus described his expanded attack as follows:
...with this aerial assault, we can effectively eliminate key locations of the P-building then we can add to it in order to take out everything else and leave one area only as a squeeze where the individuals will be isolated, they’ll be vulnerable and we can dominate.
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Once isolated, Ferdaus planned to “open up on them” and “keep firing” to create “chaos” and “take out” everyone. He also provided the expanded plan to the UC on a thumb drive.
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Between May and September 2011, Ferdaus researched, ordered and acquired the necessary components for his attack plans, including one remote controlled aircraft (F-86 Sabre). This morning prior to his arrest, Ferdaus received from the UCs 25 pounds of (what he believed to be) C-4 explosives, six fully-automatic AK-47 assault rifles (machine guns) and grenades. In June 2011, Ferdaus rented a storage facility in Framingham, Mass., under a false name, to use to build his attack planes and maintain all his equipment.
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According to the affidavit, in August 2011, the F-86 remote controlled aircraft was delivered to the Framingham storage facility. Ferdaus delivered a total of eight detonation devices to the UCs over the course of the investigation, which he built with the intention that they be used by al Qaeda operatives overseas to kill U.S. soldiers. On September 20, 2011 Ferdaus made a training video, which he provided to the UCs, demonstrating how to make “cell phone detonators.”
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According to the affidavit, at today’s meeting the UCs allowed Ferdaus to inspect the explosives and firearms (a quantity of C-4 explosives, three grenades, and six fully-automatic AK-47 assault rifles) that the UCs delivered, and that Ferdaus had requested for his attack plan. After inspecting the components, Ferdaus brought them to his storage unit, took possession of the explosives and firearms, and locked them in his storage unit. Ferdaus was then immediately arrested.
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Although Ferdaus was presented with multiple opportunities to back out of his plan, including, being told that his attack would likely kill women and children, the affidavit alleges that Ferdaus never wavered in his desire to carry out the attacks.
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If convicted, Ferdaus faces up to 15 years in prison on the material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization charge; up to 20 years in prison on the charge of attempting to destroy national defense premises; and a five-year minimum mandatory in prison and up to 20 years on the charge of attempting to damage and destroy buildings that are owned by the United States, by using an explosive. On each charge Ferdaus also faces up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
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The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Worcester, Ashland and Framingham Police Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms ,and Explosives.
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The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Donald L. Cabell of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.
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The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
- FBI Press Release -
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AubreyJ………
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Pakistan/Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - September 27, 2011

Pakistan/Afghanistan: On Ground Updates
Pakistan's Prime Minister warns US to stop accusing it of playing a double game with Islamist militants - Says Washington must correct perceived tilt toward arch-foe India
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
- CENTCOM Area Of Responsibility Map -
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* The New York Times brings us the following report and it begins like this… A group of American military officers and Afghan officials had just finished a five-hour meeting with their Pakistani hosts in a village schoolhouse settling a border dispute when they were ambushed - by the Pakistanis… An American major was killed and three American officers were wounded, along with their Afghan interpreter, in what fresh accounts from the Afghan and American officers who were there reveal was a complex, calculated assault by a nominal ally. The Pakistanis opened fire on the Americans, who returned fire before escaping in a blood-soaked Black Hawk helicopter… The attack, in Teri Mangal on May 14, 2007, was kept quiet by Washington, which for much of a decade has seemed to play down or ignore signals that Pakistan would pursue its own interests, or even sometimes behave as an enemy
Read the full report at link below…
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* REUTERS has this take on the news out of the area today. It starts off like this… Pakistan's Prime Minister warned the United States on Tuesday to stop accusing it of playing a double game with Islamist militants, and said Washington must correct a perceived tilt toward arch-foe India… Yusuf Raza Gilani, speaking in an exclusive interview with Reuters, also said any unilateral military action by the United States to hunt down militants of the Haqqani network inside Pakistan would be a violation of his country's sovereignty…
Read the rest at link below…
Also from REUTERS today…
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AubreyJ………
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Friday, September 23, 2011

Photo for the Day - September 23, 2011

* Photo for the Day *
Capt. Lucas Frokjer, officer in charge of the flightline for Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, reunites with his family after returning from a seven-month deployment with HMH-463. The squadron arrived at Hangar 105 Sept. 17 and were welcomed home by a large crowd of family and friends. The squadron was replaced by HMH-363 who deployed to Afghanistan in August in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
WELCOME HOME!
Photo by DVIDS - Lance Cpl. Jacob Barber
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AubreyJ………
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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Videos: Nuclear Underground Detonation






Click it out at link below
Bragging Rights Time!
My above video just cleared 3 Million HITS!!!
AubreyJ………
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Israel: On Ground Updates - September 22, 2011

Here’s a troubling report from JPOST.com that gave me a great BIG headache reading in full. It starts off like this… As Cypriot natural gas drilling begins, expert says "Turkey will do everything it can to block Israel, Cyprus efforts to develop gas reserves." … A day after reports that [Noble Energy] had begun its natural gas drilling off the coast of Cyprus, amid threats from the Turkish government that it was considering deploying naval escort ships to protect exploration areas north of the country, an Israeli expert on the situation deemed the threats grave to both Cypriot and Israeli concerns…
Read the full report at link below…
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- One also might wish to read the following on topic articles…
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Our good friends of Israel can’t win for losing these days!
AubreyJ………
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Images above from Noble Energy website
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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Pakistan/Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - September 21, 2011

Pakistan/Afghanistan: On Ground Updates
U.S. officials say mounting evidence that Pakistan's chief intelligence agency has been encouraging Pakistan-based militant network to attack U.S. targets
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
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* Reuters.com brings us the following report late this Tuesday evening and their report starts off like this… U.S. officials say there is mounting evidence that Pakistan's chief intelligence agency has been encouraging a Pakistan-based militant network to attack U.S. targets[Say it isn’t SO!!!] The allegations, if fully confirmed, heighten a painful dilemma for President Barack Obama's administration. Washington is under growing political pressure to take action against the Haqqani network after a spate of deadly attacks U.S. officials have attributed to it. These include last week's strike against the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan… Some U.S. intelligence reporting alleges that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) specifically directed, or urged, the Haqqani network to carry out the September 13 attack on the embassy and a NATO headquarters in Kabul, according two U.S. officials and a source familiar with recent U.S.-Pakistan official contacts…
Read the rest of this troubling news at link below…
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* DAWN.com has this take on the news… The United States has increased pressure on Pakistan to take immediate military action against the Haqqani network, using a series of meetings between military and civilian leaders of the two countries to convey the message, diplomatic sources told Dawn… The ISI chief, Gen Shuja Pasha, who left Washington for home on Tuesday night after a meeting with Gen David Petraeus, is believed to have heard directly from the CIA chief that the US wanted an immediate military operation against the network… Gen Pasha also met another senior Obama administration official before leaving for home but both sides are declining to disclose the official’s name…
Read the rest at link below…
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* TimesOfIndia.com has more for this late evening and their reports goes in part like this… The Obama administration is going full court press on Pakistan, warning the chaotic country that it must give up its policy of using terrorism, or face US wrath. "If you are against terrorism, you have to be against all forms of terrorism," defence secretary Leon Panetta said at the Pentagon on Tuesday in some of the bluntest language used against Pakistan… "You cannot have the Haqqanis coming across the border attacking our forces and (Afghans) and disappearing back into a safe haven. That is not tolerable, and we have urged them to take steps."… Separately, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that "In what amounts to an ultimatum, administration officials have indicated that the US will act unilaterally if Pakistan does not comply." Washington pundits mused at length about how the Obama Administration has moved much of its supply routes to Afghanistan to the Northern Distribution Network , reducing its dependence on Pakistan so that it can have greater leverage on the country increasingly seen as having gone rogue…
Read the full report at link below…
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Going to be VERY interesting these next so many weeks as to just how this mess pans out.
AubreyJ………
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Above Old File Photo by MNF-I - Army Gen David H Petraeus
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Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - Operation Tofan 2

U.S. Army Soldiers from B Troop, 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Duke move towards a mission objective during Operation Tofan 2 in Suri Khel, Afghanistan, September 15, 2011. The mission objective was to clear insurgents from the town of Suri Khel and prevent them from returning.
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Here we have a couple of U.S. Army soldiers from B Troop… pulling security during a search during Operation Tofan 2 in Suri Khel, Afghanistan, September 15th.




The following day we find 4 U.S. Army soldiers looking on as one fires at an enemy hiding position. Operation Tofan 2 in Suri Khel, Afghanistan, Sept. 16th.
Above U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joseph Watson
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AubreyJ………
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Newt: Obama Fails the Test of Leadership

Council Bluffs, IA –
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
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Newt Gingrich released the following statement today reacting to President Obama's plan to reduce the deficit:
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"Once again, President Obama fails the test of leadership. In the midst of the worst economy since the Great Depression, job creation must be job one for our political leaders. Instead, the president has chosen the path of political gamesmanship and class warfare with a plan that would kill jobs with higher taxes on small businesses and private capital. America only works when Americans are working, and President Obama's latest proposal just doesn't work."
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Taken from an e-mail by R.C. Hammond - rch@newt.org
File photo by Newt's 2012 Campain Website
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Read more from Newt HERE
AubreyJ………
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