Quick and important links re oil and Al Qaeda *UPDATED*

I must work, but I have to give you a couple of quick links, one of which you may want to act upon and one of which is just nice to know.

On the “you might want to act” (by contacting your representatives in D.C.), Right Wing News offers useful information about the expiration on a major drilling ban:

Yesterday, the fine folks over at Americans for Prosperity alerted me to the fact that the election issue of all election issues has been dumped into the GOP’s lap.

You see, on October 1st, 2008, “the existing bans on Outer Continental Shelf drilling and oil shale leasing expire — unless Congress specifically votes to extend the bans.”

What will likely happen, according to AFP is that “Congressional leaders will likely try to sneak an extension into supposedly ‘must-pass’ last-minute spending legislation.”

Republicans, including most importantly, John McCain, should refuse to support ANY legislation that extends the drilling ban. That means they should speak out against it, they should vote against it, and George Bush should veto it if it comes across his desk.

This should not be a issue in the 2008 election, the GOP should make it THE ISSUE of the 2008 elections.

Even with gas prices as high as they are, the Democrats want to keep a drilling ban in place while Republicans want to take action that will help reduce prices, in the short and long term. What do you think the American people are going to think about that news if the GOP has the guts to make it a centerpiece of their electoral strategy?

The GOP, John McCain included, is already talking the talk on this issue and if they walk the walk and the Democrats predictably, yet foolishly, fight to keep us from drilling, this issue alone could literally make the difference in the presidential race and save multiple seats for the GOP in the House and Senate.

So, take a look at what I have written and take a look at the letter the AFP has been sending around to Congress that follows and call your senators and congressmen, call your favorite talk radio host and get them talking about this, write your favorite bloggers, and email your friends. If the Republican pols on the Hill see that this is taking off, they will get on board, too, and it can change the face of the political landscape in 2008.

Read the rest here.

Also, I thought I’d pass on to you some excellent news I learned from Steve Schippert (who blogs at The Tank and Threats Watch).  It seems that Al Qaeda, once famed for its tight, practically impermeable network, is falling apart:

This Washington Post report that Abu Ayyub al-Masri has, according to the Iraqi interrogation of captured al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders, fled Iraq for Afghanistan is perhaps the most significant report to come out of Iraq since the fall of Baghdad. It may not readily jump out at readers as such, but trust me when I stress that it is, and will prove such without doubt in due time for those who may question or doubt. Read it all and read it carefully.

The insurgency has collapsed, an implosion brought about by the clear splintering of what was once a cohesive al-Qaeda in Iraq. Each of the new leaders for the various splintered groups spoken to by WaPo in the article presents a different view on the status of al-Masri’s intent in leaving Iraq and his status as overall leader, but the differences themselves evidence a splintering, no matter what each believes. And the key to breaking and defeating an insurgency is to fracture cohesion. Done. Meaning: Don’t get too hung up on one guy saying he is keeping the seat warm for the Egyptian to return from the Mother Ship in Pakistan. If others refuse it, it’s fractured. Game over.

Now, that does not mean we’ll be hosting the Sundance Film Festival in Baghdad or Ramadi any time soon. The various disjointed cells are quite capable of and will carry out lethal acts of terrorism through bombings and the like. but the cohesive insurgency’s concerted run at the Iraqi government is finished.

Read the rest here.  It’s quite heartening, although I’m sure the MSM will miss its significance and ignore it too.

UPDATE:  And one silly link regarding another Obama lie.  (H/t:  Thomas who blogs here.)