Drone Debate

Sen. Rand Paul [R-KY] just concluded an almost 13 hour long filibuster of the US Senate. This filibuster has delayed the confirmation by the full Senate of Brennan to head the CIA. The reason why Sen. Rand spoke, with able assistance for 13 hours, is very simple as he wants a simple answer to a very serious question.

Sen. Paul wants to know if the Obama administration, via the CIA that Brennan is nominated to head, is willing to use drones to kill American citizens on American soil without the due process of the law. Yes or no, that is all Sen. Paul wanted to know.

The response he got from Attorney General Eric Holder can be charitably called a 'maybe' answer. Two strawmen were brought out by Holder in his answer – Pearl Harbor and 9/11. There is a simple logical fault in using these two examples, neither attack was carried out by American citizens. Unlike Hassan Nidal at Ft. Hood or Timothy McVeigh at Oklahoma City.

In the case of Nidal and McVeigh, regular means were used to apprehend the killers. A routine traffic stop detained McVeigh long enough for them to connect the rental truck VIN to him. Nidal was bodily tackled and stopped in his killing spree.

So this administration wants a blank check to determine if an American citizen is an imminent danger. Without recourse to the American judicial system to rule if they have enough evidence to make such a finding. And then to send a remote control aircraft to kill that American citizen. Let me rephrase that, this administration wants to have the ability to assassinate American citizens on US soil without any oversight.

If you are not disturbed at that thought, just contemplate the government getting bad intelligence and sending out a drone on that information. Remember that wedding party in Iraq that American aircraft bombed by accident? Now imagine that happening on Main St in Peoria, IL – a drone fires a Hellfire missile at someone's SUV. Its noon in Peoria. The Hellfire hits and detonates, exploding the gas tank for good measure. Besides Betty Sue and her twin girls getting murdered because of bad information, how many people in the surrounding area just got killed or maimed also.

Now do you think armed drones over the US is such a good idea?

P.S. You may want to look up a movie from the 1980s called 'Blue Thunder' with Roy Scheider. LAPD is loaned a new helicopter. An armed helicopter that can also spy. Scheider's character Murphy finds out the organization supplying Blue Thunder has an ulterior motive of eliminating domestic threats. This administration is trying to replace Blue Thunder with something almost like a video game, just press the R1 on your X-Box controller to fire a Hellfire missile to blow up the target and get Achievement Points which is now a medal that can be worn between the Silver Star and Bronze Star.

Saddam's Shields

Saddam Hussein using human shields to ward off Coalition air strikes.  When it turned out to be a PR disaster he let the foreigners go.  This was scanned from Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year : 1992 Edition.

Armoured Women

Back in 1934 Robert E. Howard help create a whole new genre of sword fantasy, the fearsome woman warrior.  Her name was Red Sonya and the story was The Shadow of the Vulture.  This inspired the later comic hero Red Sonja and then a movie was made which put Red Sonja into the Age of Conan.  So the ring linking two Robert E. Howard characters was forged.

Red Sonya/Red Sonja had another impact in the world of fiction.  More than a new genre was created, a new term was also birthed.  From thence onwards any story that featured a woman warrior in skimpy armor was called a 'Chick in Chainmail' story.  Esther Friesner and Baen Publishing then proceeded to turn the concept on its head with the publication of Chicks in Chainmail, a collection of short stories featuring woman warriors who proceed to prove who's really the baddest warriors.

So where is this going this post?  Is it supposed to be just on fiction and fantasy?  Not really.  Like the authors in Esther Friesner's book, the United States Army has come to a realization of a different sort, body armor designed for men really does not properly fit all the women in the military.  So they have gone back to the design board to address this uncomfortable matter.  I just have a problem with the Army invoking another fictional female warrior in their attempt to sell the new designs - Xena.  One thing I can say is, if the new armor is based on the Xena armor then the US military won't see any chicks in high-tech chainmail.  I am reserving judgement on the whole idea after the Army finally realized that the $5 billion ACU program was a dangerous bust.

Looking forward in time, if the Army is successful in creating more female friendly body armor, will the Knight Sabre HardSuits be far behind?

Flags

Today in the United States of America is recognized as Flag Day.  A flag is used to rally forces, to be able to tell your mob from the other guy's mob in the midst of carnage and confusion.  Children to this day play a game called Capture the Flag, adults also play the same game while armed with paint-ball guns.

When larger and larger groups of people coalesced into nations, naturally some symbol was selected as the flag for that nation.  The American flag was birthed during our revolt from British tyranny.  Each color represents a specific theme while each white star in the corner represents a state in the Union.  For the average soldier sucking down lungfuls of sand in Iraq or freezing in Afghanistan that flag really represents his battle buddies beside him along with the friends and family back home.  The flag is a touchstone.

So while I am pondering all that the US flag represents, across the Atlantic I wonder if our British cousins have the same appreciation of their flag and history.  Thirty years ago, the Union Jack was run up over Government House in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands signaling the end of Argentinian occupation.  Three civilians and 255 members of Her Majesty's military paid the ultimate price for that victory.  So to mark this historic day, the flag of the Falklands is flying over No. 10 Downing Street.

If Argentina decided to follow through on its current demands for the islands, that bit of flag waving would be all Britain could do.  The Royal Navy is a shadow of its former self.  The carriers who helped retake the Falklands 30 years ago are no more, HMS Hermes now serves as an Indian carrier while HMS Invincible last year was sold for scrap.  In fact there is no carrier in active service with the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm has not flown a Harrier in over year, the Harriers are either gate guards or scrap.  The RAF and its small fleet of Typhoon fighters would also be incapable of affecting an Argentine invasion.

Just some things to ponder on this Flag Day.

Update - added a few more links.

Solar Energy and the end of the Harappan Civilization

I first discovered the Harappan civilization while reading H. Beam Piper's excellent short story Omnilingual.  Like many other authors, Piper was fascinated with the concept of Martian civilization.  In this story, the advanced civilization of Mars has vanished while leaving tantalizing clues.  Martha Dane is on the first Earth expedition to Mars, she had previously worked on the Harappa civilization in the Indus valley.

So when I run across stories about Harappa, I pause to think of Piper. Then I plunge into reading the newest story on this mysterious civilization that was in some ways far greater than the better known civilizations that rose alongside the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris rivers.

After extensive use of satellite data along with years of geologic sampling where the Harappan civilization flourished, the scientists have come to a possible theory on why it collapsed.  The culprit it seems is the sun.  For several thousand years solar radiation in the Northern Hemisphere moderated the monsoon rains which allowed the Harappan civilization to reach great heights.  And then that same solar radiation caused the fall of the same civilization as the monsoon rains dwindled and the land became incapable of supporting the same population density because the land then dried out.  So the people of Harappa migrated east towards the Ganges and its more reliable monsoon rains, leaving behind a mystery that is now just a bit less mysterious.

The Great Betrayal

I have been paying some attention to real world events even as blogging took a break. The withdrawal of all but 150 soldiers from Iraq by the end of this year deeply troubles me.

No one who is praising President Obama wants to mention the state of the Iraqi air force. This air force is still in the fledgling state - the first of 18 F-16 Block 52 Fighting Falcons will not arrive in Iraq to defend Iraqi air space until late 2012 or perhaps not until 2013. One full year after the American pullout. If that is not abandonment of an ally and a responsibility than I do not know what is.

This UPI article is pretty depressing in the scope of how unilateral US pull out is leaving Iraq naked to foreign aggression - no real air defense and no radars until the middle of next year. And Iran to the east and Turkey to the north which are the greatest threats; Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait have no desires to conquer Iraq.

To borrow a phrase from Star Wars, "I have a bad feeling about this." Especially when Maj Gen. Buchanan is grasping for straws to give positive spin. Eighteen planes is "robust" when before there are no jet fighters in the Iraqi air force. But when compared to the 40 F/A-18 Hornets of tiny Kuwait or Saudi Arabia which now flies American build F-15 Eagles and Panavia Tornados and has on order 72 Eurofighters and 72 Rafaels, 18 airplanes is a joke. Which also sums up President Obama's 'smart' diplomacy.

One Percenters

The below t-shirt idea was inspired by this post over on BlackFive.

http://www.cafepress.com/sufashop.518824668

I think I need to enlarge the image and redo it. But to all who have served and are serving this is dedicated. For the military the spearpoint represents how they see themselves. They are the tip risking their all so that the other 99% of America can sleep easy at night. And yes even protest those folks at the spear-tip. To the 1% I dedicate this.

Azazel in Baghdad

Jim Lacey at National Review has a very informative article on the continuing danger Saddam Hussein posed. From biological weapons to suicide bombers to supporting terror groups.

When American tanks smashed into Baghdad, Saddam had already completed construction of an anthrax production facility, which was a week away from going live.

Another nearby lab was busily working on cowpox vaccines, with the exact same equipment necessary to create smallpox.

Other WMD scientists told investigators that they had the materials and equipment to start mustard-gas production in days.

Read the article. Hussein and his murderous government were a menance to their population and to the world at large. The Earth is a far better place without him.

Monday QB

Predictably; Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, and CAIR are condemning the US arranging Osama bin Laden to meet with his Maker. Not a real shocker. To borrow and paraphrase Die Hard, "Welcome to the party Mr. President."

Celebrations, are they decent? Are they respectful? After this compare&contrast, you decide.

As the Twin Towers fell and the Pentagon burned, people in Gaza came out and celebrated the mass-murder of innocent people.
As for last night in NYC and Washington DC, what we saw was human beings celebrating the death of a mass murderer.

I think the difference is very clear. How about you?

Now the burying of Osama at sea? There are many who will refuse to believe he is dead because of how fast his body was chucked. At least with Uday people got to see he was really dead. As for the followers of Osama bin Laden, the lack of a body wont stop them from memorializing him. They still have the compound to turn into the AQ version of Graceland.

For those this morning who think this will make Barrack Obama a shoe-in for re-election next year. Think again, November 2012 is 18 months away. Much can happen. The economy can still be in the loo with 10% unemployment and $6/gal gasoline. After Desert Storm it seemed George HW Bush would get re-elected also. Instead the economy faltered and William Jefferson Clinton was elected. It's the economy stupid.

Forgetting Veterans

Actions like this leave me gobsmacked. Stunned and speechless also pop to mind as proper adjectives. Something rotten is afoot methinks. Lots of attention needs to be applied to this school board for their excuse holds not a drop of water or believability.

What am I irate about that causes to pen the above? The school board for Norwalk, CT is dropping from their school calendar November 11th as a recognized holiday. You heard me right, they want to cut out Veterans Day to get more school time in but they promise to spend some of the time teaching about Veterans Day. Right. The feedback needs to be monumental to correct the errant ways of this school board. So lets go for broke and tell them how we feel on this matter.

Good News from Wisconsin

Lets take a break from the Kloppenburg fit of petulance over Prosser's 7,000 vote win. Instead lets look at a serious piece of awesome goodness on this Good Friday.

Second grader Mackenzie Frost has a mission. Her mission is to send Girl Scout cookies overseas to military personnel serving in the combat zones. Her father adored receiving Girl Scout cookies while he was deployed. SSgt Frost was killed in a helicopter crash in 2008 in Iraq when Mackenzie was 5. Go read the article and have the tissues ready.

The Coming of the Political Military

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had political officers embedded throughout its military command hierarchy to ensure the political reliability of the military. After the purges of the 1930s, the Soviet military had all the political ambitions of a lap-dog and the martial skills of Toulouse Lautrac. As the Finns showed in the first Winter War and what the Germans experienced during the opening of Operation Barbarossa. Since the Finns just wanted to be left alone, they never invaded the USSR while the sheer vastness of that country plus miscalculations on the Germans' part saved the USSR.

Then there is the model of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army. The obedience of this army was ensured by the placing of Hussein's tribal kin and ardent supporters in the command slots. So one had an Iraqi minority suppressing the majority of the country's populace. In the Iran-Iraq War, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom we saw how well this military fought.

So what did the Progressive Socialist democrats under the aegis of Nancy Pelosi do to cause me to write the above paragraphs? They did what they always do, commission a study to push their corrosive agenda. Congress just got delivered this report from the Military Leadership Diversity Commission. Surprise is not an option on this report. It concludes there are not enough women and minorities in senior command slots, that the military hierarchy is top heavy in white men.

The report ordered by Congress in 2009 calls for greater diversity in the military's leadership so it will better reflect the racial, ethnic and gender mix in the armed forces and in American society.

I am so glad the Progressive Socialist Democrats got routed last November. I see the canard has been trotted out that women can't ascend to the higher echelons because they can't serve in combat areas. The commander of the MPs at Abu Gharib was female. One of USS Churchill's former captains got relieved for cause when she did a Captain Queeg on the cruiser she commanded. On the flip side we are witnessing the purge of Captain Honors and others for funny though slightly risque videos. The first two examples are of people promoted to positions of authority they were not qualified to hold but they made the Army and Navy look good. While the third has the faint whiff of a Peoples Tribunal where the most minor deviance is grounds for destruction and a warning to all those white males in command to shut up or else. This report, if not properly refuted, will help lay the groundwork for quotas for senior command slots. Which will mean less qualified people will be put in senior slots and hazarding the lives of American warriors, thus increasing the chances in any future conflict the US will be defeated.

Though the final nail in this coffin is this: as it stands now for an officer to wear at least one star; they must walk on water, graduate from many schools in the military and civilian side, and then get vetted by Congress. To make the US military more diverse by Congressional fiat will obviate the need for all that schooling, one will just have to have the right ethnic makeup and the correct contacts. Which means an American military will become more political in nature as it's combat prowess withers. Which again is not a healthy recipe for the American Republic and a grave disservice to those actual heros like David Petraeus or Allen West.

Ineptitude, Courage, and Libya

Only the United States under President Obama would formulate strategic US foreign policy guided by fears of hurting feelings. At least that is the impression Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave Tuesday in testimony before Congress when she said - "We feel we that we did this in a prudent and effective manner, and we did it in a way that did not raise the alarm bells around the region and the world that we were about to invade for oil... But the last thing we wanted was to start off with military assets, when we effectively got our people out. Yeah, the seas were high. The seas were high for the other evacuators as well."

This follows questions many have had in regards to President Obama's very hands off approach to Libya in comparison to US ally Egypt. If we are to believe Clinton's remarks, its more of the 'We are not Bush' foreign policy playbook. In this case the old No Blood For Oil meme. If this is true, then Hosni Mubarak could have stayed in power by claiming to find oil. Words like simplistic, stupid, and suicidal pop to mind.

And it is a slightly different excuse than the previous one trotted out by the Obama administration. That the soft policy with Libya was due to concerns for the safety of American citizens in Libya. Which upon closer examination falls apart since there were far more American citizens, including tourists, in Egypt yet Obama did all he could to actively kick Mubarak out while the Egyptian populace rioted. It could be argued from these statements that Obama would let Libya hold Americans hostage, something not seen since Desert Shield/Desert Storm when Saddam Hussein took many foreign nationals hostage and placed them at critical locations to ward off coalition air strikes. Or perhaps Obama does truly want to replace James Earl Carter in the annals of ineptitude and start another 444 days of shame? I do not think Obama really wants that, but his weak actions are leading to it.

Meanwhile in the deserts of Libya, brave men are doing the hard thing. British Special Air Service, who got their start in WWII in the Libyan desert battling Rommel's Afrika Corps, have managed to evacuate more than 150 civilians to Malta aboard two Hercules transports. And Germany says it has evacuated 132 civilians via military airlift from the Libyan desert. Where are the American Wings of Eagles? Being clipped by a Democratic administration that seeks to curry favor instead of commanding respect it seems.

DADT

With the Obama administration, with Congressional allies, on a roll to repeal the Clinton era Don't Ask Don't Tell policy on gays in the military, I have decided to comment on it, I guess to beat a dead donkey. I have a few points of argument on the whole process and what it possibly means.

First lets look at the surveys. They are supposed to be anonymous, but any survey that is administered via the military computer network is far from anonymous. First the web-site hosting the survey tracks your computer name, IP address, and user account. They have to deliberately ignore that data since its automatically recorded in event logs. Next are surveys I have seen in the Air Force that strip away anonymity by how they are constructed. First your NCO emails you with a login password, you are told not to pass the password around, and to take the survey. Once you login; you are subjected to questions on your gender, rank, and career speciality[AFSC] to name a few bits of data. Given all this information, they know who you are. That 48% still thought repealing DADT is a bad idea, well G_d bless them for their courage.

Second point on DADT is, its all about allowing openly homosexual people into the military. We have already seen the Air Force try things like 'time-outs' between the TI and recruits when things get tense, what will be going through their mind over DADT? It will be almost impossible to discipline the openly gay recruits because the trainers will be fearful that the recruit will yell discrimination and the TI be over-ruled or disciplined. Now Basic is supposed to be grueling to one extent or another as the military service rebuilds the recruit into a useable airman, dogface, squid, or Marine. Discipline is required. But if discipline for the openly gay is curtailed, what message will that send? There will be schisms in each recruit unit over preferntial treatment the straights perceive the homosexuals are getting, this resentment will carry out into the field and color their preceptions. What kind of product will come out? A less keen sword that is far more brittel and more likely to break.

Which brings up the third point the grunts in the line units are worried about. A breakdown of unit cohesion. Will the preferential treatment continue and the openly homosexual troops get passes for things the regular troops get Article 15s for? Will they cut the mustard when the bullets are flying and IEDs going off? Will there be a sense of entitlement for the homosexual troops now they are out in the open? Then there is the whole trepidation of homosexual predators bagging their straight bunkmates while they share a hooch.

A last point, this is the first time such a massive integration effort has been attempted while the United States is actively engaged in combat operations. The 442d Regimental Combat Team or the Tuskegee Airmen were Japanese or black units in WWII. They were never internally integrated units like DADT will enforce on the current military. The desegregation of the US military between white only and black only units happened during peacetime. Same for allowing women to enter more combat related specialties during the 1990s, there was Northern and Southern Watch but nothing like OEF or OIF.

So there are many pitfalls to this situation and I have probably missed a few. But I think the Obama administration and its allies want to push DADT forward to repay some favors. And let hang any negative consequences. May this Republic survive this short-sighted foolishness.

I Miss Them

Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura surprise troops returning from the AOR at Dallas-Fort Worth airport recently. More pics can be found on the USO Facebook page.

Character is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Or in this case, no one from ABC, CNN, CBS, or NBC is around to call you an idiot.

This Talk of War

For a man who promised to break out of the Bush view of the world, it seems Obama has had a change of heart. Well not really. All he is talking about is battling the oil spill as it invades the US coastline. Our president will ascribe human motives and capabilities to an inanimate object - oil. But he will not use the same terms where they belong, out on the battlefield of Iraq and Afghanistan. Or even closer to home, in the United States itself. An Army deserter and female companion try to gain access to MacDill AFB, which is CENTCOM HQ, and we have a Ft. Gordon another person gained access to the post armed with things like flash bang grenades.

Luckily we have brave Horatius still guarding the bridge or in this case the guard shack at two bases on American soil. In both cases the people were stopped before they could do any harm, unlike the Ft. Hood massacre by Nidal Hassan. Or the harm of another type a Specialist named Manning has inflicted upon the United States and its efforts to stem global terrorism, which the Obama administration now calls man-caused disasters.

I truly wish the Obama administration would focus with laser like precision on each task like stopping the oil leak in the gulf of Mexico. Instead Okaloosa has voted to defend its beaches and ignore the Fedearl dictats. It was another verbal mistake for Obama to invoke Kennedy's man on the moon vision when Johnson Space Center in Houston, Michoud outside New Orleans, Stennis in Mississippi, and Kennedy Space Center are facing the loss of thousands of high tech jobs because Obama cut Orion and Constellation. Now these states are seeing even more job losses and environmental destruction because Emperor Obama has been too busy golfing and dancing. Though have no fear, Obama has nominated a new Czar to deal with the oil spill and tossed the whole fiasco onto the desk of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

Instead we saw last night a true leadership failure as Obama ignored the current problem in order to push his cherished delusion of enacting climate control legislation disguised as green energy independence. So the only thing this laser 'precision' has seemingly punctured is Obama's credibility. Shooting onself in the foot, even in a political sense, is a painful thing. For the Left who put Obama on a pedestal and gave him a platinum halo, it must truly hurt to realize their cherished 'god' doth bleed.

For War Was Too Terrible

The newest sanctions against Iran remind me of another series of sanctions against Iraq. We know how those Iraqi sanctions worked. This also remind me of another time when people thought if they kept talking with the despots they could avert conflict because the last shooting match was literally bloody terrible.

I speak of the scars and fears induced by World War I. When England lost 600,000 on the Somme. Then Gallipoli. And the French being equally winnowed. The thought of war became akin to grasping a hot skillet without a mitt on. So instead at the League of Nations and in other forums England and France talked and talked while the likes of Mussolini and Hitler portrayed such talk as signs of weakness.

Mussolinni rose to power in a sick Italy. He made many promises, among them restoring the glory that was Rome to Italy. So he invaded Ethiopia in Africa and proceeded to conquer the poor country. When the King of Ethiopia appeared before the League of Nations to plea to this body that was supposed to end conflicts, his pleas were heard and nothing done. The days of considering the League as of any importance became numbered then.

So when Chancellor Adolph Hitler broke the Versailles Treaty that started Germany on the road to military re-armament, what was the reaction of other countries? More talk. Austria was absorbed in the Anschluss and all the West did was talk more to Hitler. Then the Sudetenland demands came, it was given to Herr Hitler and the Czechs lost faith in the West. Then the rest of the Czech populace was taken into the new German Third Reich. While Chamberlain talked of 'peace in our times' Hitler and his minions were building to their next conquest. Even though England and France promised to some to Poland's aid if Germany attacked, by now the word of these two countries was extremely suspect. So Hitler, believing he would only get more words from England and France while having a deal with the USSR, invaded Poland. That was the official start of World War II. The French invaded the Rhur and the German generals got nervous since all German forces were in Poland, but Hitler laughed and predicted the French would pull back. And Hitler was right. So six months later France fell to the German forces that had transferred in from the Polish campaign. When this conflict ended, large swathes of Europe were piles of rubble and tens of millions lay dead, including almost 12 million in Nazi concentration camps.

It seems we are on the precipice of another global conflict, this time with a nuclear Iran bent on controlling all around it. One conflict that could have been ended in earlier stages if the international community could have countenance such abhorrent idea as a muscular diplomacy that involved striking at Iran with military forces. Instead we see IAEA reports Iran may have enough nuclear material for two atomic weapons. And still too many in the West believe they can talk Iran out of snuggling up to a nuclear teddy-bear while ignoring lessons brutish dictators of not 100 years ago taught. Titlting at windmills never seemed more dangerous.

A Hero Honored

When many people think of a hero, they think of the likes of the already mortally wounded Sgt Rafael Peralta falling on a grenade to save his men in Fallujah. Or an oversized teenage boy named Lucas who fell on two grenades at a place called Iwo Jima and lived. Both of these men were United States Marines.

Well here is the story another hero who happened to be a Marine, though that service was far in the past. Ray Vivier would serve his time in the Corps Stateside and then muster out. He would marry, have five children, build a career, and lose it all due to alcoholism. Then in the evening of his life he would start to rebuild his life while living under a bridge in Cleveland. Which lead to him living in a boarding house and earning a living as a welder. It was at the boarding house it seems the Marine Corps tradition of leaving no one behind kicked in once again. As a fire set by arsonists raged through the boarding house, Ray would personally rescue five people before the fire claimed him as a victim. Recently Ray Vivier's ashses were interred at Arlington; on hand was his ex-wife and his oldest daughter who placed his urn as the rifles barked their own salute twenty-one times. Rest in peace Marine for now your posting is in Heaven.

Time to Nut Up Mr. President

As President Obama and his advisers wrestle with the decision to either double down and send 40,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan to physically secure more of the country or hope Biden's electronic ninja jujitsu will work. Former Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor winner, and Senator Bob Kerrey argues that President Obama needs to follow General McChrystal's advice. This kind of advice is sorely needed within the confines of Obama's inner circle and is rooted in history.

When grappling with deterrent threats and the task of keeping them credible, there is always a temptation to seek an easy way out. ... The answer to this question, of course, has to be "no." ... If our opponents are really to believe that we shall sacrifice American lives and risk terrible destruction to oppose their aggression, we must, for all practical purposes, be in fact willing to do so. We cannot say we are firm and be cowardly, for our words will be a "specious appearance." In managing a deterrence policy, there is no substitute for courage. - pg 154

As Bob Kerrey mentions in regards to President Obama's foreign policy vision, there is not a coherent policy. And Kerrey chastises the President for apologising too much. As the above quote shows, such apologia creates an impression that the United States is unwilling to shoulder any burden in the name of democracy and freedom.

When the opponent offers a choice between war or retreat, the statesman chooses, without hesitation, war. ... How, in the nuclear era, does one muster the courage to say "Well, then, it is war."? To a large extent, the roots of courage lies in understanding that the opponent can have a war whenever he chooses. ... Hence, when faced by an ultimatum of retreat or war the statesman should calmly say - and mean - "it is war." If the ultimatum was a bluff, then no war results and no retreat is made. If the ultimatum is real, then the resulting war was actively risked by the enemy and the responsibility for it is his. The 1961-62 Berlin crisis illustrates the error of holding oneself responsible for a possible war provoked by an aggressor. ... Illustrative of the fright was George Kennan's comment, reported by Schlesinger: "I am expendable, I have no further official career, and I am going to do everything I can to prevent war....the only thing I have left in life is to do everything I can to stop war." But Kennan was apparently assuming precisely what the United States should not have assumed: that we should have done anything to prevent a war. ... It is dangerous to believe that we can do anything to prevent war when an aggressor wishes to risk it, because there is one thing we can do and a panicky search will lead right to it: retreat. - pg 154-156

Looking at the above passage, one has to think on North Korea and Iran. Starting with the Clinton administration, everyone has tried to reason with North Korea while offering incentives from a basketball to grain to fuel oil. All that has accomplished is more North Koreans starved to death while their dear leader gained an atomic weapon. And the same mistakes have been perpetrated in regards to Iran. The UN, EU, and now the US are caught up in a mental box of their own creation, if they could only negotiate better with the Iranian mullahs, the mullahs are reasonable and see the value of the negotiations. Thus they can prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. This ignores the fact that Iran has multiple nuclear facilities and has spent a vast fortune to get these weapons. England and France both thought negotiations at any cost were better than another war in Europe, in the end they got that war anyway; in the meantime countries like Czechoslovakia and Poland fell victim to naked aggression before those remaining countries had had enough and were willing to risk war.

"Are we going to have another Vietnam in Thailand?" ... Rather it appears that this question is a rhetorical way of advancing an interpretation of the Vietnam war: The United States has got into a costly and unfortunate war. South Vietnam isn't really worth such a war. ... Therefore, we should learn our lesson and never again become involved in such a war. This view is perhaps the most dangerous, most destructive interpretation that could ever be placed upon our involvement in Vietnam. ... That we should make such sacrifices in Vietnam is the best evidence we can offer our opponents that we shall oppose them if they attempt aggression elsewhere. ... To reverse this interpretation, to tell the world that we shall never fight again in Southeast Asia is to weaken our threat and encourage aggression. It is difficult to imagine a more senseless way to squander the American blood that has been shed in Vietnam. - pg 157

In 1975, the Democrats in Congress cut off further military aid to South Vietnam so the country finally fell to Communist aggression. In the following decade, millions of people fled what was South Vietnam while millions more died in Cambodia; all this stemmed from the Untied States buying into the myth put forward by the likes of Jane Fonda and John Kerry that Vietnam was not worth it. We have seen this cannard be put forth in regards to Iraq, which as Kerrey points out President Bush had the courage to double down, listen to Gen. Petreaus, and send in more troops that turned around the situation in Iraq. Now we are hearing from pro-Obama sectors that the fraud in the Afghanistan election is reason enough for the United States to ponder this war is not worth it. Or we hear from Vice President Biden that we, the Afghan government and US, surrender the countryside to the various terror groups while trying to strike at them from secure enclaves. The Soviets controlled the cities and lost all of Afghanistan, but this plan is what Biden is proposing the United States do. Which would mean a democratic Afghanistan would fall and the pogroms to enslave Afghan women will start again. Bob Kerrey's advice should really be listened to by the Obama Administration. Or the view of the bin Ladens of the world will be confirmed again, when things get tough the United States packs up and runs away. Which will beget more violence.

End notes: Passages were quoted from The American Threat - The Fear of War as an Instrument of Foreign Policy. James L. Payne. Markham Publishing Co., Chicago. 1970. 241 pages.

Firstest with the Mostest

That is one of the most succinct summations of how battles are won. A guy named Nathan Bedford Forest coined it. It means the first person with enough forces at the point of contact or the one who can get those forces there fastest wins. One just looks at those three squadrons of Dauntless dive bombers at Midway arriving over the Japanese First Air Fleet within five minutes and leaving three of the four carriers in flames. Or forcing the crossing at Remagen, after showing initiative to take advantage of an unanticipated boon, it was the American Army who shove enough forces across the Rhine to hold the bridgehead and keep going.

Now we have Lt. Gen. McChrystal, who was appointed the commander of the Afghanistan theater of operations by Sec. of Defense Gates this year, who has submitted a report to the White House that more troops are needed in Afghanistan to ensure stabilization while Afghan security forces are trained to take over. And now going on three weeks, there has sat the report. It seems the president has not made a decision yet. He has taken his eye off the ball in Afghanistan to deal with self-inflicted domestic troubles it seems. Senators like Carl Levin of his own party are voicing opposition to Afghanistan while public opinion to support the mission keeps slipping.

We have seen such before when it came to Iraq. But President Bush had the courage to change strategy, deal with party dissension, and gut out public disapproval to see Iraq turn the corner towards stability.

But there are differences between Iraq and Afghanistan. In the 'stan the village or family loyalty is more important than loyalty to the country. Also the lines of supply are more fragile - supply lines through a thoroughly restive Pakistan can result in hijacked convoys while the air bridge through Manas is under constant threat of closure due to Russian objections. And that is the true rub of any delay by the Obama administration, it takes a long time to build up the forces Gen. McChrystal is requesting. Every delay means we approach that end-game in which the NATO forces watch the country fall back into Taliban hands. These are the consequences the West faces and instead Obama focuses on domestic issues like trying to force the governor of New York not to run for re-election or deny when a tax is a tax on a Sunday talk show.

Remember when these guys used to complain that President Bush was "distracted" from Afghanistan by Iraq? If the U.S. is attacked by terrorists on Obama's watch, it may be written that Americans died because we had an insurance salesman when we needed a commander in chief. - Wall street Journal

Do we really want that as an epitaph for our noble mission in Afghanistan, we lost because we had an insurance salesman in charge?

And if that does not spur you to sound off and have your voice heard, then think of all the soldiers from NATO in Afghanistan. If that country fails, they will be like Xenophon's Ten Thousand - cut off in a foreign hostile land. But this time it will not be Persians betraying their Greek mercenaries, it will be the 'intellectual elites' of the United States betraying them. We owe it to our soldiers to keep faith with them after they have given so much.