D-DAY … 70th Anniversary of Our Greatest Generation Who Sacrificed All for Freedom & Liberty

D-DAY, 70th ANNIVERSARY OF HONORING HEROES …

On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion began as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France that would serve to turn forever World War II. Allied forces landed on Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. So many soldiers lost their lives on that “Longest Day”. The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, was the largest seaborne invasion in history as Allied forces invaded Normandy in Operation Overlord in a counter-offensive against German-occupied western Europe. The Greatest Generation gave their lives for freedom on D-DAY. We honor those that fell and those that lived and took the beaches. These are true heroes, do not ever forget the sacrifices these men made on the beaches of Normandy. God Bless The Greatest Generation and Thank you!

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s crack troops.

Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer – June 6, 1944:

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas — whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them–help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

ALLIED FORCED LAND IN FRANCE … ORIGINAL FOOTAGE

D-Day anniversary events around US and abroad.

D-Day anniversary: ‘World-changing’ day remembered

Thousands gather on Normandy shores to recall ‘The Longest Day’

Ronald Reagan- 40th Anniversary of D-Day … “These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc”

And behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. And these are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your “lives fought for life and left the vivid air signed with your honor.”

Ronald Reagan – Normandy Speech: Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, D-Day 6/6/84

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead, or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

We’re bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we’re with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.”

Strengthened by their courage and heartened by their value [valor] and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

Obama State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf Suggests Fellow Soldiers Aren’t Reliable Sources on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

AN INSULT TOO FAR FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION … BENGHAZI 2.0

There comes a point and time when enough is enough.  That point was just reached with the Obama presidency.Yesterday, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf indicated, while answering media questions in the wake of the ill-advised Taliban prison swap for Sgt. Bergdahl, that she did not think that fellow soldiers were not a reliable source on Bergdahl’s walking away from his military unit. WHAT!!! Did she just call those soldiers who have spoken out against Bergdahl and called him a deserter, liars? Has the Obama administration no shame?

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf engaged in a heated exchange Tuesday with a reporter over the circumstances surrounding Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s capture five years ago, saying she does not think his squad mates have the best idea of what happened when he disappeared.

When Fox News reporter Lucas Tomlinson asked, “Does the State Department consider Sergeant Bergdahl to be a deserter?” Harf replied, “The State Department — no, Lucas. Look, what we’ve said is we are going to learn the facts about what happened here.”

As if the economy and Obama’s handling of domestic issues was not bad enough over the past six years that has seen little to no recovery from the recession. Escalating federal debt out of control and a government takeover of the healthcare system that was never intended to provide care, but rather control. A foreign policy that has alienated our allies and emboldened our enemies. Scandals that has seen entities like the IRS purposely and willfully target Conservative organizations. Cover-ups in Benghazi where no one came to the aid of Americans in distress that left four Americans dead, including a US Ambassador.  A VA scandal that this administration knew about and ran on in 2008, yet did nothing. Now the Obama administration swaps 5 Taliban GITMO detainees for some one who many believe was a deserter. Now they are calling fellow military soldiers liars. ENOUGH!

Watch the VIDEO below from The Kelly File, of the shameful actions of the State Department spokesperson and Lt. Col. Ralph Peters reaction just lambasting her and the administration.

Transcript from the Gateway Pundit:  

FOX News reporter: Does the State Department consider Sgt. Bergdahl to be a deserter?

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf: No, Lucas, what we said is we are going to learn the facts on what happened here.

FOX News: According to those around him, his platoon-mates his squadron-mates said he walked off…

Harf: Lucas, some of them, there are conflicting reports out there about this.

FOX News: The guys on national television last night, his squad-mates, platoon-mates were not correct?

Harf: I’m saying we do not know the fact pattern yet. We don’t. Nobody knows exactly what happened that night.

FOX News: Well, I think that his squad-mates would have the best indication…

Harf: I don’t think that that’s the case.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was heard to be whispering to herself, what difference does it make.

LIARS!!! Hmm, Remember When WH Mouthpiece Jay Carney Said in 2013 … No Bergdahl Decision Will Happen ‘Without Consulting Congress’

YET ANOTHER LIE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION THAT PROMISED, IF YOU LIKE YOUR HEALTHCARE PLAN, YOU CAN KEEP IT, PERIOD!

As reported at the Washington Free Beacon, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said nearly a year ago back on June 21, 2013 that no decisions about bringing about the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl through detainee transfer would be done “without consulting Congress.” My how times change. When the GITMO 5 were released from Guantanamo in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Congress was not notified 30 days in advance as per the law that Carney stated the president would follow.

Imagine that, the Obama White House said one thing in 2013 and then something different today. This administration thinks it can do anything it damn well pleases and no one stops it. They keep pushing the envelop and no one slaps their hand. What does it say about a presidency that cannot tell the truth and has no respect for the US Constitution or the laws that the president is supposed to “faithfully” uphold?

Jay Carney remarks at the press briefing on June 21, 2013. Full transcript can be read HERE:

Q: Jay, going to back to Afghanistan, the Taliban has offered to release Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five members of the Taliban who are currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. Is this something that the administration is considering? Is this something that the President would agree to?

JAY CARNEY:  What I can tell you is that the main dialogue that we support is the dialogue between Afghans — between the Taliban and the Afghan government.  However, there are some issues that we would like to discuss with the Taliban directly, and this includes the safe return of Sergeant Bergdahl, who has been gone for far too long. We continue to call for and work toward his safe and immediate release.  We cannot discuss all the details of our efforts, but there should be no doubt that on a daily basis we are continuing to pursue — using our military, intelligence and diplomatic tools — the effort to return him home safely.  And our hearts are with the Bergdahl family. With regard to the transfer of Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay, we have made — the United States has not made the decision to do that, though we do expect the Taliban to raise this issue in our discussion, if and when those discussions happen. As we have long said, however, we would not make any decisions about transfer of any detainees without consulting with Congress and without doing so in accordance with U.S. law.

Q: So you haven’t ruled it out?

CARNEY:  I’m simply saying that — first of all, you have to separate the two issues.  We are focused on the return  — the safe and immediate return of Sergeant Bergdahl, and we continue to use the tools at our disposal to help bring that about. We also expect the Taliban to raise the issue of their detainees in discussions that we have with them if those discussions take place.  And at this time we’ve made no decisions about the transfer of detainees.  And in accordance with law, we would be consulting with Congress should we make any decisions about that.

Protein Wisdom opines, It’s okay to ask: Whose side is Obama on?

But back on topic:  we know Obama is no fan of the Constitution.  We know he doesn’t believe in or abide separation of powers.   We know he doesn’t respect border security or national sovereignty, having refused to enforce federal immigration law and having noted — at a West Point commencement address — that he won’t stop rogue states from acting because the US has refused, in the past, to cede its sovereign powers to the UN, a bureaucratic body made up mostly of representatives of socialist or totalitarian states and a long-time heartthrob of the trasnational progressive movement.  We know that he doesn’t value individual privacy, as the NSA scandal shows and as ObamaCare’s data collection requirements reinforce.  We know he doesn’t much care for the military, having gutted it as best he could, having shut down its memorials during the partial government shut down, and having slept through an attack that left Americans to perish in some African hellhole.  We know that he despises his political “enemies” more so than he does any foreign actor — showing far more contempt for the “teabaggers” than for the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members are more welcome in the White House than is Israel’s head of state.

Sen. John McCain Questions Swap “Highest High-Risk” Terrorists as White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice Defends United States Negotiating with Terrorists over Exchange of GITMO 5 for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT THAT THE US WILL RUE THE DAY …

White House national security adviser Susan Rice went on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ with Candy Crowley to defend the Obama administration’s decision to exchange five GITMO “high risk” Taliban detainees for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Rice also spun the fact that the Obama administration broke the law in not notifying Congress 30 days prior that there was a negotiation in process. But of course, what difference does it make with this administration, all they do is break the law, thumb their nose at separations of power and The US Constitution. Let alone negotiating with terrorists. How and why would something like this be deemed so sensitive that Congress was not notified? ” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ “What does this tell the terrorists? That if you capture a U.S. soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorists Cruz called the prisoner swap “very disturbing.” 

White House national security adviser Susan Rice defended the Obama administration’s decision to exchange Guantanamo detainees for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, amid criticism that the United States negotiated with terrorists in the process.

She also said the “acute urgency” of Bergdahl’s health condition justified President Obama’s not notifying Congress beforehand that Bergdahl was being swapped for five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

“What we did was ensure that, as always, the United States doesn’t leave a man or a woman on the battlefield,” Rice said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Susan Rice went on to parrot President Obama in saying, “What we did was ensure that, as always, the United States doesn’t leave a man or a woman on the battlefield.” However, there appears to be just one little problem with that statement … Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was not left on the battlefield, by all accounts he left his

From The Daily Caller: CNN’s Candy Crowley Grills Susan Rice: ‘Point Blank, Did The US Negotiate With Terrorists?’

Once again the Obama administration is playing games with words. Newsflash to Susan Rice by the associative property, if a=b and b=c then a=c, you negotiated with terrorists.

CNN host Candy Crowley pressed White House national security adviser Susan Rice on the Taliban prisoner swap conducted Saturday, asking “point blank, did the US negotiate with terrorists” in violation of its long-held policy?

Crowley spoke with Rice on Sunday about the exchange of five high-ranking Taliban detainees — two of which are accused of the mass murder of religious minorities in Afghanistan — for Army Sgt. Bowe Berghdahl, whom many claim was captured after deserting his post and walking into the Afghan wilderness in 2009.

Berghdahl was captured by the Haqqani network, a close ally of the Taliban and an acknowledged terrorist organization according to the State Department.

“Point blank, did the US negotiate with terrorists for his release?” Crowley asked.

“Candy, what we did was ensure that, as always, the United States doesn’t leave a man or woman on the battlefield,” Rice replied. “It’s very important for folks to understand, if we got into a situation where we said because of who has captured an American soldier on the battlefield, we will leave that person behind.”

John McCain went on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ and questioned the swap of “highest high-risk people” for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. McCain called the GITMO detainees, “These are the hardest of the hard core” and added that he was disturbed the Taliban named the prisoners they wanted in exchange for Bergdahl’s freedom.

Current and former U.S. officials welcomed the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan, but voiced concern about the release of five members of the Taliban who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay as part of a negotiated prisoner swap.

“These are the hardest of the hard core. These are the highest high-risk people, and others that we have released have gone back into the fight,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in an interview on “Face the Nation,” adding that he was disturbed the Taliban named the prisoners they wanted in exchange for Bergdahl’s freedom.

Thanks Barack Obama: Taliban & Taliban’s Supreme Leader Mullah Omar Celebrate Release of Gitmo Detainees for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

Thanks Barack Obama … Isn’t this special, Taliban’s Supreme Leader Mullah Omar is celebrating the release of the GITMO 5 in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

The Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, hailed the release of the GITMO 5. Why shouldn’t Omar be elated, the 5 terror suspects freed by Obama administration over the weekend were labeled ‘high risk’ in 2008 Pentagon report. Are you serious, Obama exchanged 5 high risk Taliban terrorists for what appears by all accounts to be a deserter? Is it bad enough that the Obama administration just negotiated with terrorists, but compounded matters with selecting a potential deserter as their test case. UNREAL.

“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation, all the mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this big victory regarding the release of five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo prison,” he said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency.

It will be one year and one minute before these five Taliban terrorists are back on the terrorist battle field against the United States. Could Obama have done anything better to inspire the Taliban to continue the fight against America.

From the Islamic Eremite of Afghanistan:

Barack Obama and his misguided administration just created five Taliban rock stars.

We heartily congratulate the whole nation, Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate, particularly the kith and kin of the released ones that five heads of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan namely Mulla Muhammad Fazal Akhund, Mulla Noorulla Noori, Mulla Khairulla Khairkhwa, Mulla Abdul Haq Waseeq and Moulavi Muhammad Nabi who had been incarcerated for the last thirteen years in ‘Guantanamo Jail’ are released due to the benevolence of Allah Almighty and the sacrifices of the heroic and courageous Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate.

These five heads were released in the result of an indirect negotiation between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States mediated by Qatari government. They will remain with their families inside Qatar and will lead a normal life.

To get the preceding five heads released, it is worth mentioning that the Islamic Emirate handed over the American soldier to the US who was captive with us approximately for the last five years.

These five heads of the Islamic Emirate were handed over on Saturday at 07:00 pm Afghanistan standard time to the delegation of Qatar who has been waiting there in ‘Guantanamo Bay’ for the previous three days. This delegation, including five heads of the Islamic Emirate, left Guantanamo at 10:00 pm and will arrive in Qatar today Sunday. They will be received and welcomed by the Political Bureau of the Islamic Emirate inside Qatar and members of the leading council of the Islamic Emirate. Similarly, the American prisoner ‘Bergdahl’ was handed over in the suburbs of ‘Khost’ province to the other side on Saturday at 07:00 pm Afghanistan standard time.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been taking all possible measures since long to get all the Afghan prisoners released whether they are incarcerated inside the country or outside and to let them enjoy a free and peaceful life.

In the future too, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is determined to get all the Mujahidin prisoners released as soon as possible. In this regard, we expect all the legal and human rights societies particularly the United Nations to share and accelerate their efforts with Afghan people and the Islamic Emirate on the basis of human sympathy so that all the incarcerated people are freed and their basic legal and human rights are safeguarded and they could lead an independent and peaceful life of their own accord.

EXIT QUESTION: How soon will the next kidnapping or abduction take place in the Middle East now that Obama has shown that he is willing to negotiate with terrorists in hostage swaps?