After watching the Iraq Survey Group press conference today I am a firm believer that all politicians are idiots. Okay well not all of them but they all have a problem understanding reality. If any politician is reading this now feel free to email me and we’ll go out for coffee and I’ll further explain. But I digress.
The Iraq Survey Group’s findings or rather, recommendations are a joke and could have only come from a group of old people who have been stuck in Washington for too long. The brainpower of the ISG has come up with a new direction for our country and that includes negotiating with countries whose people chant “Death to America” and whose leaders deny the Holocaust and call for Israel to be wiped from the face of the earth. Baker and Hamilton want us to get terrorists supporting countries involved in fighting terrorism! If I am the only one who finds something wrong with that then please let me know because right now I feel like I am the only person who feels this way.
Not only are the findings of the ISG a joke but the people who led the group (Baker and Hamilton) treat soldiers like they are a joke. One of the main recommendations of the ISG is to send more troops to Iraq in order to train Iraqis so they can secure their own country, but they don’t feel that we are doing a good job of that right now because training Iraqis isn’t an attractive job for soldiers to do because it isn’t a “career advancing” job. As someone who trained Iraqis from time to time I take personal offense to this remark. In my experience soldiers clamored for the chance to train Iraqis. Any soldier who doesn’t think training Iraqis is worth their time because it isn’t a “career advancing” job shouldn’t be part in the war on terror plain and simple.
What the group desperately needed was at least one their members to have been in the military and had recent experience in Iraq. The problem with having an entire panel with no one under the age of 67 is that none of them could possibly know what the situation is actually like on the ground in Iraq. Now I concede that it is possible to have a good understanding of things as they stand in Iraq but unless you interact with the people of Iraq and spend a year or years of your life on ground you cannot possibly have a complete picture of the situation.
We cannot appease our enemies and we cannot continue to cut and run when the going gets tough. As it stands in the world right now our enemies view America as a country full of queasy people who are inclined to cut and run when things take a turn for the worse. Just as the Tet Offensive was the victory that led to our failure in Vietnam our victories in Iraq now are leading to our failure in the Middle East. How many more times must we fight to fail? I feel like all of my efforts (30 months of deployment time) and the efforts of all my brothers in arms are all for naught. I thought old people were supposed to be more patient than a 24 year old but apparently I have more patience for our victory to unfold in Iraq than 99.9 percent of Americans. Iraq isn’t fast food-you can’t have what you want and have it now. To completely change a country for the first time in it’s entire history takes time, and when I say time I don’t mean 4 years.
Talking doesn’t solve anything with a crazed people, bullets do and we need to be given a chance to work our military magic. Like I told a reporter buddy of mine: War sucks but a world run by Islamofacists sucks more.
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126 comments:
Well Tim,
Nice to see a new post and glad you are settling in at home. Thanks again and welcome back.
Now you know how we here at home have felt all along. More enemies of the country in and running the country than on the outside. And while you are at a country run by liberal idiots ain't all that hot either Tim...never mind the terrorists they love so well. Again....welcome home to hell.
The Iraq Survey Group kind of reminds me of the blind men describing the elephant - how can they describe what they do not have the whole picture of.
Bill Roggio is back in Iraq - should be some interesting reporting over at The Fourth Rail http://billroggio.com/
Even with the Liberals in office, I would never describe home as hell.
Welcome home...and Hugh Hewitt just read your post!
Glad to see your post t.f., I read the first two sentences of the report and got rather angry...to put it mildly.
It amazes me, and it shouldn't I suppose, that these folks are recommending talking to Iran and Syria. HUH? Hello McFly...
The Iraq govt has only been in power 6 months, you're right this isn't like ordering fast food.
Tim,
Your efforts have NOT been in vain.
There are plenty of Americans who feel as you do. I for one, cannot understand how "smart" people can think that appeasement will stop our enemy. I agree with you, it is a joke.
Please, do not lose heart. Keep posting, people are reading it.
Thanks for your service and your sanity on this issue. I'm linking to your blog!
Simply put...Thank you for your service and thank you for your honesty. Keep up the good work and the good fight.
Now you know how we here at home have felt all along. More enemies of the country in and running the country than on the outside. And while you are at a country run by liberal idiots ain't all that hot either Tim...never mind the terrorists they love so well. Again....welcome home to hell.
Good to know you conservatives know who the real enemy is. "Blame America First" as they say".
Great blog. Happy to find you
Baker and Hamilton want us to get terrorists supporting countries involved in fighting terrorism! If I am the only one who finds something wrong with that then please let me know because right now I feel like I am the only person who feels this way.
Well, Iran and Syria are pissed with the US for a few reasons, but mostly because in their view, Western powers have been messing with their affairs pretty much continuously for 150 years.
Right after 9/11 there were actually demonstrations in Iran in support of the US. But these days they're literally surrounded by US troop deployments, and there's been all this saber-rattling coming from Washington and the press about strikes or an invasion.
They seem to be acting all crazy now, but from Iran's perspective, they've already been invaded X times before, and they're determined not to go down so easy this time.
The Iranian government are a bunch of assholes, but they were elected out of a sense in Iran that it takes a bunch of assholes to deal with the security threat. The Bush Administration was basically Axis-of-Evilling Iran out of options since before their last election.
So it's not so nuts to include them in discussions at this point. We don't have to listen to them or follow any of their advice, but it helps defuse tensions just to have a dialogue going.
Read your post after returning Boggs and didn't expect another for a while so haven't checked in on your site in over a week. Went to Powerline tonight and low and behold found your post of 12/7 there. Good and good.
Even before the ISG finally opened their bag of hogwash today, the leaks elicited much commentary.
Andrew McCarthy on 11/29 wrote a piece and one sentence wrapped up the insanity of the suggestions by this "auspicious" group -
"Nor do I remember, in two decades as a prosecutor, anyone saying, "Y'know, maybe if we just talk with these Mafia
guys, we could achieve some kind of understanding..."
No, you don't stand alone - this is a farce.
Welcome home Boggs!
Andrea in California
Thanks you Sgt. Boggs. A great first blog after your home coming. You are even better here than you were there, if that is possible. Even though they, (the enemies within as described above), are trying their best to get us a loss in this war, nothing you guys have done is really in vain. Don't let the B*****ds here at home get you down. Although from this blog, I think they are only inspiring you to better writing. Glad you are getting noticed by an ever growing audience. Thanks for everything, Tim Boggs. Loved the blog.
Annie & Neatie
I gather that some soldiers disagree.
Kevin Hayden, I guess it depends on where you get your news. On Nov 1, I posted a letter (http://bagwag.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html) from my cousin, a Captain in the USMC, currently in Ramadi working to train the Iraq military. He was very positive about the training missions - as he was during his first deployment a year ago. He has great things to say about the Iraq Army.
Welcome home. And thank you, from one old veteran of a war long ago.
Trust me, it isn't the age of the jerks, it is the political fumes and addiction to their mirrors that is the problem. The government of the United States has now apparently shifted totally to the Trilateral Commission and the Council of Foreign Relations. We are jailing those who defend our borders right here, no surprise we would sell others out.
No, it isn't hell here yet, but not because a slew of people are not trying to make it so. You are dead on about lack of patience, collectively we seem to have none. A whole lot more people have just dropped out, and don't believe any of this effects them.
I am old now, my time was 1968-1971. Even older is LTG Harold Moore, who penned "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young..." Now I am trying to remember why.
Well said.
Bravo!
Thank you.
The ISG has a darm sight more military experience then the man who created this disaster in Iraq in the first place. How's about Chuck Robb?
A Marine Corps veteran who finished first in his class at Quantico,Robb went on to serve two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he led a rifle company in combat, and was awarded the Bronze Star.
I guess that doesn't meet your requirements for military service? Does skipping out on the last six months of one's military commitment better equip one to deal with Iraq? I don't think so.
Unlike Bush, Robb actually went outside of the green zone when he visited Iraq, going to Anbar province and seeing first hand that Bush's disaster in the desert is not limited to Baghdad.
So what's your solution? Satisfied with Bush's policy of Americans being killed by the twos and threes for the forseeable future? Cause that's what he's willing to sacrifice to never have to admit his mistakes. He's perfectly contented for you and your compatriots to continue to die and be wounded by the thousands so that he can continue to contend that "we are making progress in Iraq". He doesn't have to pay a price, but our men and women in arms do.
Why doesn't that tick you off as much as does the ISG?
gyr: it sounds like you're drooling at the prospect of defeat.
I think the problem is not lack of being out of the green zone, nor lack of youth. It's lack of principles.
Bush's problem is that he lacks the principle of America's interests. So he's there getting US military personnel killed to help Iraqis.
The liberals' (and this includes Baker et al) problem is that they want the US to be crushed.
The answer is simple (but difficult in this political climate). Start fighting to win, for the sake of US interests. Crush the enemy. Cut him down utterly. Mow him down where he marches, burn him down where he stands, slay him in his sleep. Leave him no sanctuary where he can avoid being killed.
This includes the enemy in Iran.
Use all means necessary, if they are effective. Do not avoid mosques, funerals, civilian zones.
We could be done with this enemy in 6 months.
Crush the enemy. Cut him down utterly. Mow him down where he marches, burn him down where he stands, slay him in his sleep. Leave him no sanctuary where he can avoid being killed.
This includes the enemy in Iran.
Use all means necessary, if they are effective. Do not avoid mosques, funerals, civilian zones.
We could be done with this enemy in 6 months.
Operation Homicidal Maniac. Great idea. That would be an effective way to bring democracy to Iraq -- just set US forces against the country's whole population.
Looks like someone's been playing too much Counter Strike.
Don't let the frustration override
your focus and principles.
Thank you for your service, well
done!
/git r dun!
You're wise. Good post.
Thanks
Hi guy,
Great talking to you the other day.
I heard a great one liner from one of your brothers in arms the other day. he was talking about people who would opt for the cut-n-run scenario and said his one line come back is "I just want to keep the "F" in VFW when it comes to this whole WOT."
Thanks to guys like you in what I think is becoming the new "Greatest Generation", so far it remains off of our soil since 9/11.
Hope to see you soon,
Todd
You are not alone, Tim. You didn't risk your lives just so James Baker could be put in a position to "negotiate". Ronald Reagan's way of negotiating was to give them an offer they couldn't refuse. Baker's way is to give them an offer they would be fools to turn down. It appears that all the gains our military has made are simply a bargaining chip now.
Chuck Robb....hummm....is that the same guy who snorted coke, sat naked in hot tubs with a beauty queen while married to President Johnson's daughter, and was a lousy governor of Virgina, and built himself an extravagant palace (like some dictators I know) on the bank of the Patomac River? Naw...doesn't sound like the same man to me. Must be another Chuck Robb. The one you describe wouldn't have done all that....and I definitly wouldn't trust that one as far as I could see him to make a judgement for my country.
Annie... in case you want to bitch at me for knowing "the other Chuck Robb"
Most Excellent Post. I'm in full agreement. You can read my posts (I have several) regarding this idiocy at
http://fleetingperusal.blogspot.com
While I agree with most of your post, I have to strongly disagree about the patience of your fellow Americans. It's one thing to actually yearn for American defeat (which is, of course, deplorable) It is quite another to be insulted by the incompetence of the very people who lead us to war.
And for those of you who blame the media, get over yourselves. So the sectarian violence in Iraq is the media's fault? Generations of hatred being unleashed is the fault of the AP and the NYT? Give me a freekin' break. We were taken to war without a REAL post-war plan. If you're going to blame someone, blame your president. He IS the Decider after all. He has 'stayed the course' right up to the precipice of defeat. The damn New York Times didn't order our military into Iraq, the President did. So lets cut the crap, shall we?
Looks like you have a group of propagandists back on your blog again, Boggsy. I can rate your blogs by how many of them it takes to try to counter you. They always use the same techiques and bull. They also don't know how to cuss in English very well. Not even clever enough to come up with something original. You are right on this time Boggsy. You have a 3 *** rating so far ....want to shoot for 4 ***? Great Blog! And we will never give in to terrorism, terrorists or terrorist sympathizers...we will be here right along side of you Sgt. Keep your powder dry. We are.
"War sucks but a world run by Islamofacists sucks more."
Do you really believe there is a chance of this? How exactly are they going to invade, occupy, and rule our part of the world, for instance. Do they have a secret fleet somewhere? Are hundreds of millions of americans going to convert to Islam?
By way overstating the threat--either through ignorance or calculation--you undermine the authority you claim.
You did it Boggsy...you did it! Four STARS!!!! Only one more for a perfect score!
Boggs for President
How exactly are they going to invade, occupy, and rule our part of the world, for instance.
Ever heard of Malysia or Indonesia?
Or Marseille for that matter.
Spot on post! BTW thank you for your service. Luckily the recommendations are just that, recommendations. CW “How exactly are they going to invade, occupy, and rule our part of the world, for instance?” We will be the last bastion, surely, but Europe will fall. France first, there are already parts of Paris that have been taken over. Britain is a close second. In many Muslim enclaves in Europe Sharia is already in place. Immigration, both legal and illegal, and demographics will see the Islamification of the EU in our lifetime.
Congratulations Sgt. I think you have just passed the 5 star rating that another commenter set as a goal for you. Boggs for President! In the words of FS Key, that great song writer...Oh say can you see...
Tom Canterbury
regarding the lack of 'militariness' of the ISG; one can't count on the 'slam dunk' nature of military credentials to assist the cause for stasis or offensive escalation. For a former commander or staff officer, you have to consider the soul-searing effect of condolence letters to family members when their son (or, even more sadly in the context, daughter) is a fatality. Subjectivity, and the reality on the ground, has an overarching effect on plans and tactics these days, especially accompanied by the MSM drumbeat of casualty figures for this war. For that reason, a Colin Powell, say, or individual of that nature might not be best-suited to give next-step opinions that inevitably lead to more casualties, win, lose, or tie.
I would think that the opinions of a military historian and a counterterrorism expert should, and would, hold tremendous sway in the opinions of any group studying this operation, or any within the greater WOT. I cannot identify anyone in this group holding such cache, and especially not Mr. Green-Tie-is-for-Dealin', JAB III, who seems to think every deal made needs an obligatory element of 'stick it to the Jew'.
I can only hope that W was only keeping a promise to Poppy when he brought this group of detente' thinkers in for a look around.
Their leadership reflects their attitude.
We are wise enough to see what is being smuggled into this country as we live on a border and keep our eyes open. We see the Muslim cells growing in number and covering the whole country and are much more aware than you presume...
You ought to make a call to Homeland Security then. If you have any actual information, and aren't just being all like, 'We are wiser than you think,' in-between dangerous fact-finding missions to Little Green Footballs.
I mean it, go pick up the phone and report a terror cell. They're covering the whole country, right?
Surely you have information on one of them.
snlabs....what makes you think we haven't. We hold our cards a little closer than you think. Have a nice day. We are not all talk and no action.
Thanks for your service, and welcome home. I agree with your thoughts about the Iraq Surrender Group. A bunch of old fools. And to the commenter that thought the presence of Robb on the panel lent a valid military opinion, "you live in a dream world"!! He most likely couldn't find his arse with both hands.
Outstanding!
Keep the Faith, you know you are right.
snlabs....what makes you think we haven't. We hold our cards a little closer than you think. Have a nice day. We are not all talk and no action.
Right, counter-terrorism vigilantes are frequently found hanging around blog comments sections talking about their secret operationzz.
You aren't by any chance associated with the 910 group, are you?
CW - the worldwide Muslim takeover starts first in the minds - the muslim battle for worldwide domination need not be completely military (the 12th Imam will accomplish that later). Ever hear of dhimmitude? Muslims are quite content to allow dhimmis to live in fear, ie "peace" - Europe has already surrendered -no more Danish cartoons or operas in Germany. Not even the Pope can cite an ancient text without making penance to the Caliphate. Islam is indeed a religion of Peace, but at the cost of freedom -first and foremost at the cost of the freedom of critical thought. Pax Islama. Your critical-less opinion already is one of surrender. You may as well be telling us how good sharia is (recently some Africans accepted sharia in order to make "peace" with islamists).
Thanks for something sane. Our country is in great trouble. But you, and other loyal Americans, keep up the good work.
It looks like quite a collection of gutless, anti-american chickenhawks on this site. big talk, but no lines at the recruiting stations. Blah blah blah, shouting your ignorance of America's laws and ideals, screaming for genocide like some African tribalist, but not a one of you will saddle up and put your rifle where your mouth is. You have been rejected soundly by the sane Americans, who can see quite clearly that an AWOL drunken cocaine freak is not the right person to lead this country into an illegal, immoral war. A handful of nutcases, all with more courage than any of you, has caused the USA to abandon its historic principles and its laws and Constitution. even the Germans took a few years to be swindled by their leadership, but you clowns make them look like geniuses. I'd be interested in knowing how you think a few thousand Isalamists are going to invade and conquer America, short of Bush letting them, like he did on 9/11.
you're right on the money, Tim. God bless you for taking up the call of freedom.
Well done Tim - Welcome home soldier.
They're having to call in more clowns, TF Boggs. Great work and great blog. Thanks for defending us against terrorists who number more than a few thousand and for writing about reality. You are appreciated.
No contrarian remarks here, Tim. You're spot-on, center mass. You just had to know that any committee focused on reporting on the war in Iraq that didn't include people who have actually BEEN there recently was going to be biased against our efforts in the Middle East.
Milne - read my post - *military* takeover of a country is not the *only* tactic for the strategy of taking over the world - not even the islamists believe that. If a people can be dhimmified (as was Spain a few years back) then the 12th Imam will take care of any military option later. First and foremost is the silencing of any voices critical to the Prophet - whether that comes about due to military moves or thru fear (Europe) doesn't matter.
CW and Milne -
another obvious point:
just let Pres Tom of Iran get nukes: he'll be more than happy to distribute them to his Hamas, AlQ, Hezbo buds - then what?
The paltry few thousand Islamists will have a chokehold on the entire West (including America) out of sheer *fear* even if no attack is ever made. Sadly Israel will be attacked I'm afraid.
Milne - read my post - *military* takeover of a country is not the *only* tactic for the strategy of taking over the world - not even the islamists believe that. If a people can be dhimmified (as was Spain a few years back) then the 12th Imam will take care of any military option later. First and foremost is the silencing of any voices critical to the Prophet - whether that comes about due to military moves or thru fear (Europe) doesn't matter.
I remember this argument from the original German -- where the so-called 'international Jew' was supposedly infiltrating the world.
My my, how times change yet stay the same.
Good post, Tim and I have to agree with you on the Iraq Study Group. I'm not sure any of them are qualified to speak with any authority on the subject. As you said, they're OLD - why, most of them are older than ME by a few years :) The notion that we need to talk with Iran and Syria, who are aiding & abeting our enemies in Iraq just boggles the mind!
anon wrote,
"I remember this argument from the original German -- where the so-called 'international Jew' was supposedly infiltrating the world.
My my, how times change yet stay the same. "
yeah sir - the islamists still use this argument today. They use it to justify their suicide bombs, their beheadings, their takeovers, their reach for nukes to terrorize and control the world. Glad to see you are on their side!
I don't remember the Jews ever threatening to cut our heads off if we didn't bow down to Jeruselum.
yeah sir - the islamists still use this argument today. They use it to justify their suicide bombs, their beheadings, their takeovers, their reach for nukes to terrorize and control the world. Glad to see you are on their side!
You ought to take a time-out someday and read some of the anti-Jewish propaganda that people believed in the 20s and 30s -- not only in Germany, but also in America. Perhaps Henry Ford's book.
And then go read Little Green Footballs again, only hopefully a little wiser.
I fail to see what Tim's blog has to do with German's wanting to eradicate Jews, or little green footballs. Thanks Tim. Tell me, did you see any Jews killing American soldiers over there because they wanted to make a buck off of them? Did you see any americans wanting to put muslims in ovens because they like to do business all over the world or sell oil at a rediculous profit so they don't have to produce one other damn thing? Did you see any little green footballs, as far as that goes? Did you or did you not see Muslim terrorists killing both muslims and christians and jews and our military men because of their religious beliefs? Were your orders to eradicate all Muslims? Did you have any kind of religious indoctrination by your superiors? Are we comparing apples to oranges here? Please clarify, Sgt Boggs. And was your blog about a group of unqualified men making suggestions to compromise with muslim terrorists and their sponsor countries and suggesting we cut and run...in Iraq or was it? I would like to know just how far off track a few propagandists can lead a blog.
Annie
anon wrote
"You ought to take a time-out someday and read some of the anti-Jewish propaganda that people believed in the 20s and 30s -- not only in Germany, but also in America. Perhaps Henry Ford's book"
So what? We rightly took up arms against the Nazis. Today it's the islamists who not only believe but *operate* on such anti-Jewish claptrap. The islamists (who btw deny the Nazi holocaust) would like nothing better than to perpetrate a holocaust - and that's not propoganda sir it's quotation! - But these heirs to the 3rd Reich are close to getting one thing the Germans could only dream of: nukes.
We are dong the right thing by taking up arms against the islamists sir. Just like it was the right thing to do so against the Nazis in the 40s.
Your mistake Sgt. Hobbs is to assume the members of the ISG don't have Alziemers disease.
Baker has been showing signs of losing it for years. I don't like to get personal when I disagree with someone, and do know that reasonable people can disagree. However, I am completely at a loss to understand the idiocy of the ISG.
It's what I would expect of career politicians. If they had any real ability they would have had real jobs.
So what? We rightly took up arms against the Nazis. Today it's the islamists who not only believe but *operate* on such anti-Jewish claptrap.
The thing you folks always seem to miss is that your 'facts' about the Global Islamic Conspiracy That's Taking Over The World are cooked up by crazy people like Charles Johnson, and are exactly parallel to the anti-Semitic rumors and false information that were propagated in the 1930s.
Except for the rumors of nukes, which are a new innovation.
Is there Islamic terrorism? Yes, and the bastards need to be put out of action.
However, sir, the crucial wrong turn in your assessment is that an entire world religion and/or ethnic group is 'the enemy' and wants to conquer or kill us. Nobody believes that except crazy people like Charles Johnson -- who want very badly to believe it.
Because, sir, it gives them an excuse to fantasize about killing people and nuking cities.
No sane person is eager to kill other people, like Johnson (and others) are. So eager that they'll believe anything that enables that pathology.
I'm saying that you ought to have learned something from Auschwitz. The lesson wasn't that some people ought to be rounded up and destroyed, only the Nazis got the wrong ones. Capesce?
milne said...
It looks like quite a collection of gutless, anti-american chickenhawks on this site. big talk, but no lines at the recruiting stations.
I did my time in the USMC, unfortunately they won't take me back, I’m older than MissBirdlegs. Aridog served, (thanks BTW), the Sarge has done his time and is still active. I'm sure others have served as well. What have you done? As to the post above mine, Charles backs up his point of view numerous times a day at LGF.
As to the post above mine, Charles backs up his point of view numerous times a day at LGF.
By searching the world press very selectively every day.
Johnson plays an easy game. It's called, 'Today A Muslim Somewhere In The World Said Or Did Something Bad.' Except often it's just something totally normal, like some benign CAIR press release, which is spun to look spooky because Muslims must secretly all be terrorists.
And of course the liberal MSM is in on the conspiracy, etc. Typical cult behavior: Block out any contradictory information by making everthing 'part of the conspiracy.'
If Bin Laden were smart, he'd be trying to hire guys like Johnson as press agents. His goal is to terrorize Americans, after all.
you people scare the living shit out of me. seriously.
As a middle aged American I have personally experienced several terrifying encounters with Islamic terrorists right here in this country. One dealt with Muslims marrying college students to get green cards. I helped to rescued several of these girls who got in way over their heads along with the help of the courts. My life and the lives of my family and others lives were threatened. Many lives were ruined. Make no mistake, we citizens of the USA don't have to read anyone's books to know what is going on so stupid remarks from propagandists don't mean dittly squat to me. Reality is reality and it is experienced first hand every day in this country. We know who the enemy is and what they are capable of from personal experience. Soldiers are not the only citizens fighting this war on terror and guns are not the only weapons being used. I am sure the honest readers of Tim's blog know this is true.
Hey Tim. Great reading of your blog by Bill Bennett. If your readers are interested go to
http://www.bennettmornings.com/ and hear Bennett read Tim's blog and comment on it. It is great! And we hear you were on Hugh Hewitt as well. Way to go Boggs.
Great blog.
... lifts up rock to see what's living there ...
Sometimes it's necessary to turn over the rock and see what idiotic homicidal maniacs live in this country. Anyone who is still defending Bush's complete and utter incompetency and is still spouting that "turn us loose so we can win" mantra that went out with Vietnam needs to have their heads examined.
The right wing in this country is one arrogant scary bunch who led us to a pointless war resulting in the deaths of almost 3000 good Americans. Still as the situation deteriorates (30 US deaths this week alone), they chant for more bloodshed and more killing. Lotsa comic book soldiers post here is see.
... quietly replaces the rock so the little monsters can live in quietly in their own filth ...
You are up to 10 stars Tim. Nearly off the charts with this one. Lovers of darkness hate the light. This is one good blog. Thank you again.
Thanks for serving your country Boggs. And thanks for having a head on your shoulders that is more than the equal of the ISG.
I am surprised at your reluctance to turn military matters and foreign policy over to Sandra Day O'Connor though. Are you some sort of sexist? Just joshing Boggs.
The ISG has taken the first step in the Vietnamization of Iraq. 31 years ago, under pressure from the left and the MSM, we abandoned Southeast Asia to the murderous communists resulting in the deaths of millions. The bleeding heart liberals who led that charge have not lost a wink of sleep contemplating the deaths of so many because their hearts only bleed for themselves.
Baker, Hamilton and friends have decided that it is time we do the same to the Kurds and perhaps the Israelis as well, if Baker had his way.
Oh well, enough reminiscing. Some of us are very proud of what you guys and gals have accomplished, my family included. We are a bit too old to be humping the boonies with you now but we fight the likes of Baker and Hamilton when and where we can.
God bless and Go Army!
"Baker and Hamilton want us to get terrorists supporting countries involved in fighting terrorism! If I am the only one who finds something wrong with that then please let me know because right now I feel like I am the only person who feels this way."
No, there are a lot of us out here, and more every day, I hope (though I could be wrong). But there just are not enough of us yet.
We're being governed by fools, and lied to by our news media. So, many of us are confused about what is going on. And, since they don't have to fool all the people all the time, only enough to get their idiots elected, they continue to gain access to the power to harm our nation and the world.
Warmest Regards,
ytba
RIGHT ON!
Being 66 and unwanted as a recruit, I have to let my son-in-law SSGT US Army - cover for the family.
I remember when we tried to teach the S. Vietnamese to fly helicopters - (there is NO translation for tail rotor gear box) I can imagine what you were up against teaching Iraqi's.
Thanks for your service! and Welcome Home!
p.s. ********** I give it a full ten stars!
Iran is not part of the problem as ISG wants us to believe. It's the problem!
Please do not feel your efforts are for naught.
Many many Americans are mad as hell that current political leadership has chosen to handcuff the armed forces and not let them do what they do best- defeat the enemy. We are sick of half-measures, and the thought of giving up and quitting is repulsive to us.
God bless the troops. May God forgive their leaders in Washington for letting them down.
TF,
Thank you for your service. That's an excellent analysis of the group of aged fools who would sit with a Hitler and talk peace.
If you haven;t read this before, the first time is a treat. Enjoy!
Steve C
Charlotte NC
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and
degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that
nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself".
John Stuart Mills
I must say I feel the same. When I sit here back in America, I feel as if someone is talking about a different Iraq than the one I spent my time in. A tale of two Iraq's?
We must remember to thank the Iraqi Surrender Group for having returned from so many months on the ground detailing their observations to return so quickly and prepare a report for us without so much as having kicked the sand from their boots. Perhaps next time they'll write a report about the Iraq I served in.
Your frustration is shared, you are not alone. We are being Vietnam'd by the Vietnam generation. They'll never figure it out till we're fighting on our own shores again.
We are behind you 100%! Ordinary Americans are crying out for a real man with some stones to stand up to these idiots and do what it takes to win this war - where is this generation's Ronald Reagan????
Where is this generation's Ronald Reagan????
Newt Gingrich
Boggs and thousands of current and former military have an understandable frustration with any proposal to withdraw from a conflict under terms other than absolute, unquestioned victory. There's no shortage of faith in the military that perseverance will win out in the end. We inculcate that kind of belief in them for a reason.
But there is also a reason why these people are not running and advising the Government. Such ignorance of military history, of military strategy, and doe-eyed naivete in general is not conducive to wise policy-making. The kind of experience that counts is not small unit tactics, although a grasp of the real mechanics of counter-insurgency is essential in this case (and Boggs and most other posters in this blog demonstrate their abject lack of comprehension of its fundemental tenets). The kind of experience that counts here is high-level political and diplomatic experience.
We should talk to Iran and Syria for exactly the same reasons that we talked to the USSR and still talk to China and North Korea. As Don Corleone said, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". Savvy? Wisdom is not shared by everyone and simplistic solutions and faith do not succeed merely because millions of ideologues and fools are eager to believe their demagogic leaders blindly.
The ISG report is a political tool. What it says is infinitely less important than the mere fact that it exists and that it was drafted by a bipartisan group (therefore is not a partisan attack and can be accepted) and leaves an "out" for a president who is allergic to any suggestion that he change course.
Iraq is a failure because, as I indicated prior to the invasion, it was destined to fail. I, and I have ample reason to believe that all responsible active intelligence analysts so queried, told the government this months before we invaded. I predicted the insurgency, the civil war, everything. None of this is a surprise and more is coming.
Invading Iraq was arguably the greatest error of judgment in human history, possibly rivaled by Hitler's decision to not invade Britain in 1941 and instead invade the USSR and declare war on the US. But in that case the stupidity benefitted mankind, whereas the folly of Bush will cost the whole human race dearly for decades and pave the road of the Apocalypse.
BULLSHIT!
Sgt. Boggs,
Welcome back!!! We are so thankful and grateful that you are HOME. You've been in our thoughts and prayers!
The responses to your post confirm what we already knew--that Iraq continues to be an highly emotional topic on both sides of the spectrum. I continue to believe you have a lot of wisdom well beyond your 24 years, and your observations and thoughts have a credibility that many contributors to the debate don't have--because you have actually been there and served. I believe you have a great understanding of history as well.
Years ago, my grandfather once said when we set out on any worthwhile venture there are always obstacles to be overcome--but that they usually fade out of the picture when sincere and earnest souls meet them with courage, faith and patience. I'm old fashioned enough to believe that is true.
Thank you for your courage, your faith and your patience. We are all going to need a lot of it in the days ahead. All three of those characteristics are rare qualities these days, but they are key to finishing well what we begin. We are going to need all three to finish well what we've begun in Afghanistan and Iraq. The stakes are too enormously high to do otherwise.
Clare
I was waiting to comment until the right moment and I think I just found it. The last commentor seems like a great person, they cut everyone down while talking themselves up. You sure are smart Anon. While you prove everyone else's ignorance while pointing out mine you even show that you predicted everything that has happened. Could you possibly email me and teach me the ways! Oh please!
Give me a break anon. Go buy an extra large mirror so that you can look at yourself while you talk yourself up. Let me know how that works.
For everyone else thanks for the support and I hope to have another post up today. I really do appreciate all the kind words.
I second that BULLSHIT!
Iraq is a failure because, as I indicated prior to the invasion, it was destined to fail. I, and I have ample reason to believe that all responsible active intelligence analysts so queried, told the government this months before we invaded. I predicted the insurgency, the civil war, everything. None of this is a surprise and more is coming.
If I were to tell my 11 year-old every day that, because she chose art over math, that I could have predicted her coming difficulty with math and that this indicated a failure of her entire educational endeavor and is securing her future as an underemployed artist or unfulfilled wife and mother, I am sure that she would eventually give up ever trying to climb the math mountain and may even eventually lose interest in art.
We often dismiss the power of words, positive or negative. When the drumbeat of the failure paradigm becomes so pervasive (MSM) and the voices ring so shrill (Pelosi, anyone?)all of it designed more to disparage the current administration far in excess of the actual impact to US forces on the ground, those negative forces are rewarded with the satisfaction of their point... but the true damage is done first, to the public psyche, and second (and more seriously) it is done to those who were sent to do the job, prevented from doing what they're best at, and, by association, the most greivous harm is done to those our forces were sent to help.
So drum on, MoveOn types- when you finally put down the bullhorn to offer solutions, you offer those of the last war and the last enemy; this has been confirmed by the opinions of the ISG, whose only accomplishment was to demonstrate bipartisan consensus in a fishbowl.
You continually fail to see the big picture by commission; the mistakes of the current administration have been erros of omission.
You fail to see that the Qur'an provides all the justification necessary for destroying us, the kaffir nation, by any means possible to extend the Ummah... even their most educated Islamic minds cannot refute or deny the words in the Qur'an because to do so would be, to their thinking, to refute or deny the Almighty, not to mention demolishing their socio-political concepts and ambitions. And so they pull the wool over your eyes by crying 'prejudice' or 'bigotry' They don't want you to have any question as to their beliefs, and ultimately they don't want you to have any choice in accepting their caliphate.
So just fess up- you would be well served to admit that the age of instant communications and real-time pictures of carnage has made you, at your core, incapable of believing that there is anything worth fighting and dying for, even your own survival as a society. You leveraged the MSM in 'Nam, and you're doing it again in Iraq.
I guess we will have you to thank when the attacks and bombings resume on our embassies and territories, when all you had to do was offer some encouragement to press on, that the victory over terror and its safe harbors is a worthy and attainable goal.
Even when you were told it would take a long time, you proved that you couldn't wait. Now that you've gotten all the media consumers to pick up your tune and march in time, we will all pay for your impatience.
I am older (71 next week) and scared to death for my grandchildren and the America they will grow up in, if there is one. Thank you Tim, for giving me some hope and all you who have expressed feelings, opinions,and perceptions similar to mine here in defense and support of a strong, confident, America. May our voices be heard! Merry Christmas!
Boggs, since you asked, here is the first lesson: use the minimum amount of force that will achieve the result, with the desired result being a cessation of violence (not necessarily the extermination of all enemy combatants). All successful counter-insurgency campaigns have used this approach. Those that have tried maximum force, scorched earth and attrition approaches have invariably failed - at all times and places in history. Insurgency is the most successful form of military conflict. It almost always succeeds, regardless of the power and resources of the opponent. Students of military history know that.
I look just fine in the mirror. I was an authority on counter-insurgency and terrorism when you were still in middle school. That's not a slight, its a plain fact. Thirteen years ago I warned, as an intel analyst for DIA, that Islamic fundamentalist terrorism was the greatest threat facing the US for the foreseeable future - and I was ridiculed for saying it. I warned about the millions going from the Saudis to the jihadis - 13 years ago. I predicted that our policies would galvanize the fundamentalist movement and destabilize the secular governments, perhaps topple some. That has happened.
I have not dissed "everyone", but the rank and file in this country need to understand that ideology works both ways. If any of you thinks that your ideology or toughness is going to cow a fundamentalist martyr into not killing, that is denial or delusional. Islamic ideology is intrinsically violent and self-destructive and motivated by the ultimate power: absolute religious conviction. Simply killing them has no deterrent effect and America should not aspire to be the most ruthless and bloodthirsty empire in human history, which is the necessary consequence in order to prosecute the approaches suggested by some here and what would be required in order to extirpate the jihadis. You'd be talking about genocide on the scale of millions of people.
There is absolutely nothing in this region that we want or need - other than oil, and the oil will be completely exhausted in 20 or 30 years, at the very latest. That may seem like a long time to you soldier, but to someone almost twice your age, I can tell you its not very long. The bottom line is that about the time that any effort to stabilize this region would be realized, our strategic interests in that stability will have expired. It won't matter anymore.
And if we don't immediately begin to focus our finite resources on solving our long term energy problem, then little nuisances like terrorism (even nuclear terrorism) will seem like a headache to a drowning man. We should let it burn and focus on containment. It was idiocy to invade and its insanity to continue pursuing a course that has failed while expecting that it will yield fundamentally different results in future.
There were alot of weak suggestions in the Study Group report. I wish they had the guts to put countries like France, Russia, China and Germany on the hot seat. They should have recommended they each supply 25,000 troops and China send 100,000. World War II was not our making but we understood that we had to join in for the greater good of the world. To let these countries sit by and do nothing while we carry the most of the load is the scandle. This is what the democrats should have been harping on instead of blaming Bush. Who cares at this point why we entered the war. Blaming Bush does nothing to prevent ours soldiers from dying. Taking the moral high ground and insisting these countries join the effort would have saved thousands of lives. All the blame Bush talk in the world has done nothing to save lives. It has just given these other countries a shield for not joining the effort.
I'll add one final comment since so many here seem to have married blind ideology with polarization of contrarian expression. I am by no means a dove. I work for the DOD still. I am on the sharp end of its activities.
Had we pursued in Afghanistan the kind of operation that I would have advocated, as quickly as I would have done it, then Osama bin-Laden (the actual architect of our terrorism concerns - not Hussein) would be dead right now, the Taliban eliminated and the fundamentalist world would still be in awe of US military power.
It is a mistake to get into situations in which the opponent can get the full measure of you, worse yet to find yourself overextended. I would never have made that error and plenty of smart people told Bush not to do it.
Bush betrayed this nation by diverting attention away from the Sept 11 attackers to Iraq. The real enemies of America are still free, thanks to Bush and his feckless leadership. But terrorism is best handled quietly, sub rosa, by the Quiet Professionals, not in clumsy conventional conflicts that only feed the source from which they spring.
Like I said, I was one of the original voices warning about the rising global fundamentalist threat. But it would behoove us to bolster our own resources (not exhaust them), employ their own sectarian divisions to keep them occupied among themselves and let the end of oil ruin them and deplete their resources and power before we are compelled to have that final showdown with Islam. Because it is more than a little probable that the failure of the entire heartland of Islam even to feed itself when the oil is gone would lead to a mass renunciation of the bogus deity that should surely never have allowed that to happen to the faithful. And none of that would be our fault or cost us a dime.
Maybe annonymous...and who knows who he really is.....is a part of the problem since he claims to have been so active in critical places. Much of what he says is a theory that many of us reject because of past history. His self importance is impressive....as is his admitted inability to convince supposedly intelligent men, his peers, of his reasoning. Don't know about you Boggs but I find holes in his reasoning and I'm a free thinker, not fueling myself on any ideology. I think I missed that somewhere in my education reality course. Yes, those in government positions of the past, never blame themselves for the mess we are in. Sort of like you never meet a German who was a Nazi.
Just a regular citizen out here who doesn't buy it. I do buy that uninformed and brainwashed voters in this country have elected a lot of idiots to office...and I don't mean Bush.
Annie
We should let it burn and focus on containment. It was idiocy to invade and its insanity to continue pursuing a course that has failed while expecting that it will yield fundamentally different results in future.
Intelligence wonk Anon, what is an acceptable degree of loss based on your very Clinton-era concept of 'containment'? Is it another Khobar Towers, another USS Cole bombing, another embassy, what? This is not an insurgency which limits itself to local gains- it is a metastasis of global jihad, looking for safe harbor from which it may spread.
Do you categorically deny the aims and goals of the primary financier and supplier of insurgent unrest in Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran?
Your years in analysis, I am sure, didn't show them to be an honest broker in the region; all that Ahmadinejad has done is remove the facade that the regime represented anything but a locus of terror and enmity towards us.
You disparage the current approach, whose fruits have kept both our domestic and overseas non-military assets safe from catastrophic attack, and then you offer yet another, in your words, 'course that has failed while expecting that it will yield fundamentally different results in the future'.
Let me, in the spirit of Christmas, offer a farthing or two; if by 'containment', you intend to cut off and starve the insurgency as the British did in Malaya, then let's all sit down and devise a strategy for supply line interdictions on all routes from Syria and Iran, and agree that force lethality can be effectively targeted at the flow of arms and jihadis. Also, lose any heartburn about targeted assassinations of insurgent kingpins, your 'bloodthirsty empire' declamation notwithstanding. Understand that Syria and Iran look on talks and diplomacy as advantageous to their tactics of subterfuge and obfuscation, and that their regimes will never be bargained with honestly. Want to prove to the freedom-minded people of the Middle East that you're serious about bringing change? Confront their problem players, don't dicker at their terror bazaar.
So is that what you mean, Intel Anon?
To the Anonymous who wrote at 9:48 PM....WOW ....You are good! You know that is exactly what I was thinking but didn't know quite how to phrase it. I am so glad you came along to this blog site!
A different grateful anonymous commenter.
Anon wrote,
"The thing you folks always seem to miss is that your 'facts' about the Global Islamic Conspiracy That's Taking Over The World are... exactly parallel to the anti-Semitic rumors and false information that were propagated in the 1930s"
Except for the fact that world wide abeyance to Islam is indeed the stated goal of the islamists and hence not false propoganda. That's enough to refute your ridiculous attempt at a "parallel".
Anon wrote,
"Had we pursued in Afghanistan the kind of operation that I would have advocated, as quickly as I would have done it, then Osama bin-Laden (the actual architect of our terrorism concerns - not Hussein) would be dead right now, the Taliban eliminated and the fundamentalist world would still be in awe of US military power."
Please resign from the DOD - anyone who limits the terrorist/fundamentalist threat to Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban alone hasn't got a clue. It's this kind of thinking that will have us waking up to another 911 in no time.
I agree with you, the media is fighting a war against Bush as hard as you and our soldiers are fighting the war against terrorism. There are not many sports teams, if any, who have won the max if the fans were demanding to see the playbook or the media and fans bashed the coach constantly. Our military and our president have done an outstanding job in spite of the media's effort to reduce support for the war on terrorism. And you are so right that a country who has known nothing but oppression, violence, terrorist reign, can not change overnight. It may take a generation or two growing up in democracy, and for the safety of America, we need to stay there in significant capacity until that happens.
GYRFalcon - Your hatred for Bush, like the rest of the left, has clouded your judgement and vision, and the media exploits that by feeding you doom and gloom. No one wants any American to die, and surely not the President. But the media is loathe to print or broadcast stories like these, because it strengthens Bush's war on terrorism, and at the risk of the nation, the media will do what it can to get the conservatives out of office. Annonymous in Texas
"War sucks but a world run by Islamofacists sucks more."
Iranians are 100% with you there. As long as you don't completley destroy our country, that is!
If you are 100% with us then why the hell aren't you doing something to eradicate Islamic terrorism sponsored by your country? I for one do not think Iranians are 100% with us. In America we say put your money where your mouth is. or sometimes we say put up or shut up. Some of us want proof not mealy mouthed negotiations.
Why don't you tell that to the people who have destroyed your country...like your own leaders. If you are "all" 100% with America then it couldn't leave too many in Iran that you have to take down.
10:56 Anon, don't be too impressed by 9:48 Anon's high-handed rebuttal.
9:48 Anon, if you are defending the continuation of the war in Iraq then YOUR acceptable degree of loss is at least 1000 times as extreme as all the things you listed, because that is what we've wasted there already and obviously more would be required. My answer is to stop wasting our best people on a fool's errand.
And for the record, though I don't sense that many of the posters on this site will think it matters, according to the most reliable estimates made so far, this war has cost the lives of at least half-a-million Iraqis. The only people who have disputed this figure are those who stand to look bad in light of it; all scientific reviews have defended the methods, surveyors and data.
No, I don't think we should encircle Iraq and strangle the insurgents. I think we should contain them within the Middle East. And get ourselves out, forever. So, I don't care whether Iran is belligerent or trustworthy. Its irrelevant. And you must be too young to remember 1979. I don't know what facade you speak of; Iran has been frothing against us for most of my life.
Incidentally, since we overthrew their democratically elected secular government in the 1950s and re-installed the Shah, so that we could take back the oil that PM Mossadeq had wickedly declared to actually belong to the country of Iran, I daresay that they had a valid grievance against us. And so, we (the CIA) created that problem too!
But I imagine that you have never heard that story. We tend not to teach about all the coups d'etat, and fascist dictators we've supported, and covert wars that we have waged to keep the United Fruit Company profitable or that US owned oil company facilities were the actual reason why we did not bomb Hanoi, etc. But in my experience, the average person doesn't want to know the truth if it complicates their ideology.
Another thing that is rarely if ever mentioned: who believes that Usay and Quday would have shared power? Or that the Hussein regime would have outlived Saddam? See the point? This civil war was inevitable. The difference is that we would not have been the cause of its precipitance.
The contention that the war in Iraq has made our domestic and overseas assets safer is absurd. There is not one analyst that would agree. The danger posed by terrorism and fundamentalist militarism has increased dramatically since the invasion. Only because of Bush's stupidity is there a safe haven for such militants today. But that situation is beyond repair and for reasons I have already cited, it is not cost-effective to even try to reverse the situation.
Good efforts have been made to suppress terrorism, despite the drain on resources created by the debacle in Iraq. None of that credit should go to or be associated with the invasion of Iraq. Its an insult to the people who are doing the real work.
To the person who chided me for "limiting the war on terrorism to Osama bin-Laden", I never did. Review your logic. Your criticism also seems to imply that invading Iraq is part of the war on terrorism? Are you still ignorant of this deception? Can it be that such informed minds still believe that Saddam Hussein's regime EVER had contact with or facilitated al-Qaeda? No expert on terrorism ever thought that. Bush and Cheney lied when they made (and continue to make) that connection. Prior to the invasion, Iraq was 100% fundamentalist terrorist free.
Also, to those who deride the Clinton administration, review your history. He was ridiculed for "wagging the dog" when he attacked al-Qaeda. And those plans were formulated in the Pentagon, not the White House, just as the failed rescue attempt in 1979 was military failure - not Carter's fault. Terrorist chief Dick Clark was never offered a shot at killing or capturing bin-Laden as some have claimed, but the SOF guys were there and ready to pull the trigger, so where was the disconnect? It happened somewhere between the Pentagon brass and the CIA chiefs. That's bureaucracy at work. Bureaucrats are allergic to embarassment and military chiefs can't let one service get all the glory, so roadblocks come up.
And to an earlier poster, the entire intel community was ignored by Bush and friends. Not one particle of support for the 9/11 connection came from US intel. That was entirely from sources that stood to gain from a US invasion (read there: Chalabi's "Iraqi National Congress"). That's what is called an unreliable source. But Bush was just looking for some window dressing. The decision to invade Iraq had been made prior to his inauguration. It was a Neo-Con plan and its still posted on the web on their site. Iraq was the country chosen for the demonstration of the new theory of power projection.
But more to the point, as Solomon said long ago: instruct a fool and he will hate you. It is impossible to enlighten a mind darkened by ideology, as this blog so ably evinces. Believe what you will.
Welcome home Sgt, we're happy to have you back and look forward to more of your blog.
You are at about 25 stars now Tim. You certainly do draw fire from the enemy. That's because people who state the truth like you scare the enemy because truth will bring them down! Thank you and keep up the great work!
Welcome home Tim and thank you for your service.
Your right, what the liberal politicians are doing is leading us down a road to a big corral so we can all hold hands and sing kumbayah while the terrorists fly over and drop a bomb on us.
What happened on 911 was nothing compared to what is to come if we keep going down this liberal path.
Tim,
This post inspired me.
In regard to the age and the so called "expertise" of the ISG panel, i believe there are enough people with relevant experience and creativity in the blogging circles that we can come up with a better assessment plan for the President and Congress to consider. While I am sure this idea is no longer an original one, we could concentrate our resources to produce our own list of recommendations and submit them to the President. What do you say?
Furthermore, in response to your insight regarding the training of Iraqi soldiers and police, that was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my tour. When we were tasked to train Iraqi police, the troops on the ground acted as the front line ambassadors and representatives to American policy. It was through those minute but tremendously important interactions that the Iraqis were more able to stand up on there own, and the bonds between our countries strengthened. Any attempt by officials to diminish the importance of such interactions weakens the relationship that exists, and cultivates an environment where the ideals held by the terrorists are given more opportunity to grow.
In regard to the strategy of appeasing our enemies, did anyone on that panel care to reflect upon the lessons learned about Hitler and his buddy PM Chamberlain? The ISG members were old enough to remember that weren't they? "Lets make a deal with the sponsors of half of our problems" what great policy making! I hope that the ISG will be a learning tool for teachers of International policy schools on what not to do.
Anyway, how is it we have more patience than a bunch of dinosaurs? Aren't we supposed to be the ADD-ridden-impulsive generations?
GG
This was excellent. I hope everyone from the President down reads this. With all the negativity in the media, it is refreshing to read the perspective of someone who has been there.
Someone wrote that you should be at the White House next to the President. You could BE President. So, in 2020 will you be running for President?
To GG and Sgt. Boggs.....Strange thing GG. Yesterday we were sitting reading news and the comments from blog readers and this very idea hit us. Inspired by Sgt. Boggs and his commenters on this post, we discussed the possibility that you touched on, GG, that we Americans who meet together on blogs, need leaders to organize us, encourage and inspire and direct our individual participation in this war from here at home. Our individual abilities need to be put to constructive use, the energy, knowledge, patriotism, will to win this war on Islamic terrorism. A story came to mind of Gideon, who started out with thousands of soldiers to fight a great enemy but God Himself eleminated those from that army whose minds and hearts were not in the battle. And the not so brave but willing Gideon was nervous, to say the least, when all that was left to fight the battle were 400 men. But they were men, like some Americans who were ready and capable to fight. Needless to say they won the victory over the hord they faced. Why not us? Why not we Americans who want with all our hearts and minds to beat this enemy we have today, who love our country and what it stood for before we were overtaken by the enemy within, the thousands who will not fight for anything, the incapable leaders of a sleeping and or ignorant people. Yes, GG, I think if we are to win it will be because of a few who will sacrifice, work diligently, use what strength we have, pray much, and never give up...no matter what the enemy shoots at us. Let me know if you are interested. What do you say Tim? You, after all, are our inspiration. And what do your other readers think...not the propagandists and the hate America group...the real Americans who write to this blog. Thanks GG and needless to say another thanks to Tim.
A & N
Oh yes...remember .. it is one thing to know what is right to do..and it is another to do it. We have no right to complain if we ourselves are not willing to step forward as our Sgt. has.
Now we have finally found where Mr Anon-CIA-DOD-Intelexpert-knowitall-terrorismexpert-etcetc has his loyalties. It is not with the US it is with the leftist demogog I mean Democrat loosers.
He/she even goes back to the completely failed Carter presidency that brought us the current regime in Iran. Anyone with half a brain knows that Carter was among the worst ever to sit in the White House. Only slightly ahead or behind him was Clinton's merry band of idiots.
I had a feeling since their thread started that we might get back there. Everyone eventually shows their true colors.
Before I begin the post, just want to mention that I don’t expect logical replies nor rational arguments, especially after having read most of them. Also, this is not flaming nor am I trying to offend anyone personally. You'll need an open mind to understand it.
It is sad to see how many of you believe that America needs to steam roll other countries and think of them as enemies. Have you understood why they chant Death to America? Do you really understand history? And no I am not talking about history from watching movies. Have you taken the time to read the major religious texts? Do you understand the birth of Christanity, Islam, Zorastrianism, etc? Have you read the history about Palestine? Do you know about Soviet -occupied Afghanistan and our country’s role? Do you know who Dr. Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun is? He is generally regarded as the father of the United States space program while also remembered as head of the team that designed the Nazi V-2 rockets that killed more than 7,000 people in Britain in 1944 and 1945. Have you read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Article 25 on which the US had the worst record. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration. It states: "Everyone has the right to work, to just and favorable conditions of work, and to protection against unemployment, with remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, supplemented if necessary by other means of social protection." Furthermore, "everyone has the right to form and join trade unions, for protection of his interests." On the last point - Illegal firings for union organizing have gone up sixfold, it reckoned, in the past 25 years. In particular, thousands of union organizers have been illegally fired since the start of Ronald Reagan's presidency in 1981.
If you have not understood or read many of the above, then don’t even bother replying to this post. Certainly it would take pages to write about this, so I’ll try to keep it pithy.
Its not about appeasement folks, it’s about human beings living together. Stop meddling in other people's affairs and mind your own business - dig for oil in your own backyard, stop playing the role of a world policeman, respect other cultures, and get out of their face - then we'll see what reason " enemies" have to chant. Terrorists? Freedom fighters? - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Terrorism is not formed because there's a bunch of folks sitting around doing nothing – it’s because you have done something that offended them and they don't have the same resources to fight you. Don't get me wrong - I don't support "real" terrorists, but in this case do you folks realize that our country supported Saddam and gave him the weapons? Fomented rebellion in South America. The Iran-Contra scandal. – is that all forgotten? Have you read about the invasion of East Timor? We might be a fast food nation, but not all countries are – they remember what we did to them!
In 2002 the US and United Kingdom proclaimed the right to invade Iraq because it was developing weapons of mass destruction. That was the "single question," as stressed constantly by Bush, Prime Minister Blair and associates. It was also the sole basis on which Bush received congressional authorization to resort to force. The answer to the "single question" was given shortly after the invasion, and reluctantly conceded: The WMD didn't exist. Scarcely missing a beat, the government and media doctrinal system concocted new pretexts and justifications for going to war – spreading democracy! Who the hell are we to spread democracy – let’s fix issues at home first before waltzing off playing the moral police. Like they say, "Don't throw rocks if you live in a glass house."
Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the more astute of the senior planners and analysts, pointed out in the journal National Interest that America's control over the Middle East "gives it indirect but politically critical leverage on the European and Asian economies that are also dependent on energy exports from the region." If the United States can maintain its control over Iraq, with the world's second largest known oil reserves, and right at the heart of the world's major energy supplies, that will enhance significantly its strategic power and influence over its major rivals in the tripolar world that has been taking shape for the past 30 years: US-dominated North America, Europe, and Northeast Asia, linked to South and Southeast Asia economies.
It is a rational calculation, on the assumption that human survival is not particularly significant in comparison with short-term power and wealth. And that is nothing new. These themes resonate through history. So looks like we are the aggressors. Let’s admit it – this is not about spreading democracy or rooting out terrorism. It’s about control and wealth. Why can’t we own up to it, instead of sitting around computers and talking about enemies, etc.
What the ISG is proposing is based on sound principles – dialogue is what we need. Not a cowboy with a gun.
The reality is quite different. Power is increasingly concentrated in unaccountable institutions, and the rich and powerful are no more willing to submit themselves to market disciplines or popular pressures than they ever have been in the past. And we the people are blindly following this and supporting war, glad to see enemies burned, countries destroyed, wearing camouflage in the name of patriotism. Wake up before its too late folks – this is not some Woodstock flower child driven chant for peace. We humans are like a virus on this planet – destroying its resources, killing people in the name of religion, flags, wealth and more. I am not speaking to a countless number of you who wake up everyday looking to fire a gun or play Counter Strike and then think you can make solid rational arguments, or even go to Iraq for a season and then come back thinking you have a moral right to discuss destroying other cultures and countries. And please don’t talk about going to Iraq – my brother who is in the Reserve just recently came back with horror stories. And no I am not a Democrat, Republican, liberal or right wing, Christian or Muslim. And no I am not American, Iraqi, Chinese, British, Canadian or Russian. I don’t want to be from any country. I am a regular human being appalled at the state of the world. No one country or group of people has a right to decide the direction of civilization, has a right to invade countries, has a right to monopolize cultures, or dictate what other cultures should do. Do no harm to others and no harm will come to you. I could go on writing but it just won’t stop, nor can I complete all the arguments.
Wake up people. Get out of the herd mentality. And yes, if you have a reasonable point to make, I’ll be happy to reply to it. Otherwise, scratch your own itch.
I forgot to mention that it is precisely this kind of idiot left behind in the bureaucracy that has made it nearly impossible for true presidents like W to wage war against an enemy like we now face.
It would not surprise me if this was the weasel who leaked stuff like the financial tracking stuff to the NYT so his buddies in AQ can hide their tracks.
People like this should be tried as the traitors they are. Then we could get things done
I don't about that, TH Snur...but the idiot just sounds like a muslim terrorist to me. I know he doesn't know dink about history. It sounds like he has studied in a Madras to me. Doesn't even sound like a good lefty liberal mentality...and that is bad enough. But I think you are right about his kind...no matter where they were born. They are America haters with no real cause other than religious...which he obviously knows very little about either. If American he fits the role of traitor okay. But if not he's just another terrorist who underestimates Americans. Tim's blog was great and right on and that's why the creeps are crawling out from under the rocks. They really do hate the truth and seeing that many Americans are wise to them and buy their lies.
Make that DON'T buy their lies.
I've appreciated your blog for months, and this post is one of the best. I'm grateful for your service to our country and for taking the extra time and effort to help us back home to understand what you and others have been experiencing in Iraq. It's just icing on the cake that you are home and yet are still producing little pearls of wisdom. Keep blogging as long as you feel up to it; your efforts do have a positive effect.
You will be able to take satisfaction for the rest of your life that you have served well. I also believe you have already contributed more to our country than have the members of the Iraq Surrender Group. You certainly have demostrated greater wisdom!
No, I don't think we should encircle Iraq and strangle the insurgents. I think we should contain them within the Middle East. And get ourselves out, forever. So, I don't care whether Iran is belligerent or trustworthy. Its irrelevant. And you must be too young to remember 1979. I don't know what facade you speak of; Iran has been frothing against us for most of my life.
Incidentally, since we overthrew their democratically elected secular government in the 1950s and re-installed the Shah, so that we could take back the oil that PM Mossadeq had wickedly declared to actually belong to the country of Iran, I daresay that they had a valid grievance against us. And so, we (the CIA) created that problem too!
But I imagine that you have never heard that story. We tend not to teach about all the coups d'etat, and fascist dictators we've supported, and covert wars that we have waged to keep the United Fruit Company profitable or that US owned oil company facilities were the actual reason why we did not bomb Hanoi, etc. But in my experience, the average person doesn't want to know the truth if it complicates their ideology.
IntelWonkAnon, your powers of 'dialogue' are amazing, and reminiscent of the response of a duty CPO to my official statement regarding a barracks fight being investigated during the days of my callow USN youth;
"this sounds like an officer wrote it- a bunch of fancy words that don't mean S#1T!"
I have since learned to ratchet back my penchant for prose, much to the relief, I am sure, of most here. ;-)
In reply- I watched what was happening in Iran as a very interested teen-ager who was, at the time, personally studying current events as they relate to the End Times. My perspective has changed over the years. I already knew by then that the CIA had assisted in putting a Pahlavi heir back on the throne in Iran; my source material said it was in response to unrest and chaos.
I learned in later years the story of Moussadeq and his nationalist movement's efforts to assert sovereignty over its petroleum resources, which would have been fine in and of itself had he not been so closely aligned with the Tudeh party, who in turn was aided and abetted by the Soviet Union. Intel Wonk Anon, you are old enough, I am sure, to realize that this was a particularly skittish time in geo-politics, what with a Cold War against a monolithic enemy of militarily comparable capacities and global aspirations, and a particularly nasty proxy war of attrition involving that enemy in the Korean Peninsula going on. It was Eisenhower's first bold move of Cold War containment - hey, there's that word again! No one then would have imagined the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1991 of its own exhaustion. But hindsight being crystal clear, we condemn the collateral damage of containing the spread of Communism as having greater consequences than doing nothing and allowing Iran and its oil to roll to the Soviet sphere. My source for this perspective includes Daniel Yergin's "The Prize" (does anyone know if it has been revised to reflect the tumult of the '90s? it's an excellent book).
To address your points- you seem to think that we have 20-30 years to give to the Middle East mess until they pump the ground dry and fall over. Need we review what technological advances can be made by a determined society with a fungible resource during that time? I don't have to ascribe to any particular political perspective to comprehend that that is plenty of time to have full nuclear proliferation in that region, to say nothing of the enemy in question, given your expressed course of action. And that would be, what, a good thing? See Edmund Burke.
Aw, what the heck- I'll go ahead and post the quote:
‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’
As to your Citizen of the World sentiment, I think that is admirable and Christ-minded. Now go to the door and walk outside. All things being equal, this is a noble affirmation of the innate goodness of Man. In your perfect world, everyone gets along, no one messes with anyone else, we stand as separates but equal. In someone else's perfect world, its name is Ummah. Based on that someone else's baseline, I think you will find it somewhat less than accomodating of yours. Yet he is no less convinced of his perfect Ummah concept than you are of your perfect world. What's more, his seeks to extend itself to yours as Divine mandate, Divinely written, Divinely given. That might send shudders down your spine as it pertains to your (alleged) DoD tenure, safe under both Willy Jeff and Dubya, as you briskly step back inside and close the door.
I have to address a thought that will not jibe with others of your ilk; the notion of 'drill for oil in your own back yard'. What a capital idea. Too bad the band of cowards we elected before are scared of the cowards who we(?) elected hence, and won't allow a vote to see if what has been said about the existence of a larger-than-Saudi field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico is true. Ditto for further exploitation of the proven resources off the SoCal coast. Our hand is forced to hold our nose as we deal with so many petro-despots, all the while being hamstrung in building more nuclear power plants, another proven asset which could CLEANLY bridge us from oil dependence to the vaunted helio / hydrogen based economy. Hey, every planetary virus needs a commensurate inoculation, don't you think? Sometimes it takes a cocktail of treatments, but you get the point.
And in closing, Wonk Anon, (and to everyone here) I will air one last pithy epigram, author unknown-
'if you torture a fact long enough, it will confess to anything.'
Merry Christmas and Chanukah Sameach to all.
948 Anon- Turkey Sub, whatever. Circumstantial appellations rock!
Anon wrote,
"Have you understood why they chant Death to America? Do you really understand history?"
This writer then goes on to display his utter lack of knowledge. The "Death to America"
chants have been going on oh at least since 1948 - and not because of Israel mind you. But simply because of the visit of one very influential Muslim Brotherhood dude - Sayyid Qutb - look him up sometime. He's the intellectual leader of the current jihadis. His brother taught Zwahiri and Osama, his writings greatly influenced Khomeini (and hence Iran). He was the first to call America the Great Unbelief and calling for its extermination - why? quite simple:
During a visit to the states in 1948 he decided that women in America had way too much un-Islamic freedom. Qutb realized that if Arab Muslim women got a taste of this "western" freedom that there would be no Islam within a generation. Note that his reason isn't political, or economic, but pure religion: survival of Islam in the face of "western" freedom for women (eg Qutb mainly emphasized jahiliyya). That's also why they call for world wide sharia law. Face it people - the coming clash is over the deepest most basic conflict: freedom or sharia. Take your pick.
Anon wrote about Qutb,
Less important are two others (admittedly both pale in comparison to Qutb's influence however)
In Egypt, Hassan al-Banna's Muslim Brotherhood and in Pakistan, Syed Abul Ala Maududi's Jamaat Islami sought to restore the Islamic ideal of the union of religion and state.
They blamed the western idea of the separation of religion and politics for the decline of Muslim societies
They both called for jihad to restore the Islamic order. Qutb, however, took those arguments much further and wound up prophesying a world wide conflict.
etc...
Utter lack of knowledge? 10:59PM Anon?
First off, I am responding because you do make some accurate observations. You are right about Sayyid Qutb. But you go on to point out the chant and its origins to “quite simple: the comment about women in America.” It’s much more than that, and just one part of a theory Sir. While you do make a valid point, Mr.10:59, I was not writing a history book about the chant or Sayyid Qutb. If I did for every question I pose in my comment, I would rather direct people towards a history text. Sayyid Qutb and his theoretical work on Islamic advocacy, social justice and education, has left a significant mark on the Islamic world and Muslim Brotherhood, and is well documented. Look at his work as a whole, and please don’t cherry pick sir. Late in his life, Qutb synthesized his personal experiences and intellectual development into a body of religious and political convictions (note: not just religious), published in the famous Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (quoted). Note that Qutb’s influence and radicalism only grew after he was imprisoned in the 50’s, after an attempted assassination on Abdel Nasser. But, I am not here to espouse Sayiid Qutb’s work nor endorse it.We could hold another discussion going all the way back to Cyrus the Great in a separate post. But that’s not the point. However, you highlight exactly the point I was trying to get across – that religion plays a major role in the current hatred seeping within humanity. Violence is not the way – dialogue is. The hatred is ably fueled by American policies within the region.
The chant certainly has found use in political statements of non-Iranian Islamic fundamentalist political, criminal gangs, and guerilla groups – much more after the Iranian Revolution. Throughout the Mideast, there are Muslims who call America the Great Satan. These Muslims have called for the violent destruction of America. Frequently great crowds have gathered to chant "death to America, death to Reagan, or Bush, or ???". But we know that the chanting of a crowd of hot-heads does not justify the use of violence against them. There are better ways of dealing with critics and criticisms. And without going into historical details – radicalism has grown not just because of Qutbism.
And regarding your point about the CIA assisted coup - In the early 1950s, there was a political crisis centered in Iran that commanded the focused attention of British and American intelligence outfits. In 1951, the Iranian parliament, under the leadership of the nationalist movement of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, voted unanimously to nationalize the oil industry. This shut out the immensely profitable Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), which was a pillar of Britain's economy and political clout. A month after that vote, Mossadegh was named Prime Minister of Iran.
In response to nationalization, Britain placed a massive embargo on Iranian oil exports, which only worsened the already fragile economy. Neither the AIOC nor Mossadegh was open to compromise in this period, with Britain insisting on a restoration of the AIOC and Mossadegh only willing to negotiate on the terms of its compensation for lost assets. The U.S. president at the time, Harry S. Truman, was categorically unwilling to join Britain in planning a coup against Mossadegh, and Britain felt unable to act without American cooperation, particularly since Mossadegh had shut down their embassy in 1952. Truman's successor, Dwight Eisenhower, was finally persuaded by arguments that were anti-Communist rather than primarily economic, and focused on the potential for Iran's Communist Tudeh Party to capitalize on political instability and assume power, aligning Iran and its immense oil resources with the Soviet bloc. Though Mossadegh never had a close political alliance with Tudeh, he also failed to act decisively against them in any way, which hardened U.S. policy against him. Coup plans which had stalled under Truman were immediately revived by an eager intelligence corps, with powerful aid from the brothers John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State) and Allen Welsh Dulles (CIA director), after Eisenhower's inauguration in 1953. (source material from Wikipedia for ease of use)
With Iran's great oil wealth, Mohammad Reza Shah became the pre-eminent leader of the Middle East, and self-styled "Guardian" of the Persian Gulf. In 1975, he abolished the multi-party system of government so that he could rule through a one-party state under the Rastakhiz (Resurrection) Party in autocratic fashion, which he claimed was a response, among other things, to the Soviet Union's support of Iranian Communist militias and parties, particularly the Tudeh Party. In addition, the Shah had decreed that all Iranian citizens and the few remaining political parties must become part of Rastakhiz.The Shah also authorized the creation of the secret police force, SAVAK (National Organization for Information and Security, which was organized with the help of the CIA.).This infamous agency operated its own secret prison, used torture extensively, assassinated dissidents, and kept the CIA informed.
My point again being – let’s not cherry pick what suits our arguments and discussions. History can be spun many ways sir, its how we choose to learn from it that matters. The interesting fact is that you have managed to steer this discussion to Iran, while the focus of the blog has been the invasion and war in Iraq and the existence of WMD’s. So are we now justifying war based on a much larger religious sentiment and capitalism? See – this is the problem sir – again being the moral police for the world. We could go on and on quoting history and facts - The point is we humans need dialogue, not violence. But folks on both sides (Western and Islamic) twist sentiments to their advantage, while the people suffer. There are many countries that have religions that co-exist peacefully together. It is the grand designs and strategic posturing that lead to conflict.
Citizen of the World being Christ minded – religion again? Not Christ minded sir, logic and reasoning and faith in people.
And to borrow from the eloquent 10:59 Anon, I will end by saying – and in closing (and to everyone here) –
"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Mahatma Gandhi.
Enough said.
Citizen of the World being Christ minded – religion again? Not Christ minded sir, logic and reasoning and faith in people.
What an empty life you lead, Intel Anon... too proud and autotheistic to give credit to One who died for you, your lack of faith notwithstanding. I'm sure you're not alone in your mental prison of dialectical materialism.
As to the rest of your 'clarification' regarding Iran in relation to the West- all of that which you wrote is found in public domain archival material(almost word for word I might add)- Wiki even packaged the contextual scope and analysis for you! That does not speak well for your intellectual vigor, in which you clearly pride yourself. The bottom line- vast oil reserves held by a country which could not, of itself, defend them against a sworn enemy of the US, were saved from Soviet alignment at the least, and domination at the worst. Next point-
At the risk of pedantry it was Mohammed Reza Pahlavi who ascended the Lion's Throne of Iran, not his father and predecessor, with CIA assistance, but that would be cherrypicking, right?
You seem to want us to see the big picture without any reference to Faith- so which is your greater damnation, that it's the 'opiate of the masses' or 'virulent source of war and destruction'? Here's a couple of names for you of what FAITH (my emphasis) does- Muhammad Yunus. Mother Teresa. Find for me a secularist of your stripe who has done half as much good. But you go ahead and continue to paint with a very broad brush; it'll just be that much quicker that you find yourself in a corner. On a personal note, your overarching condescension may serve you well but it has no wings with which to rise above the fray. And you prove that Man, though he may be educated, never really learns; as indicated long ago.
"Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man...
- Saul of Tarsus
Merry Whatever, Wonk Anon.
and to all:
Christianity survives to this day in spite of Christians;
Muslims survive to this day in spite of Islam.
Eventually they all will recognize Truth.
True colors always come out.
Give credit to the One who died for me? You mean people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr who died fighting against your pitiful reign of oppression. You mean people like Mahatma Gandhi, who died adhering to the philosophies of non violent civil disobedience against colonialism. Spirituality is one thing sir, blind faith in Men (emphasized) and women who came before us is another. Respect and admiration for those men and women is one thing sir, violence and massacre in their name is another.
And sure, cherry picking it is – what else would you call it. Nitpicking?
Father: Reza Shah Pahlavi, also known as Reza Pahlavi or Reza Shah the Great
Son: Mohammad Reza Shah (as used by me), also known as Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, also known as Mohammad Reza (the surname Pahlavi did not exist in Persia before this date, and was introduced as a modernization measure during Reza Shah’s reign). Case closed.
Oh by the way, I am sure your information and intellectual vigor comes from the One and not from publicly available information.
Now I am confused – so are you fighting a war on WMD’s, or terrorism, or in the name of the One? Interestingly folks like you always change the direction of the conversation to what suits you - you never commented about Dr. Mossadegh being democratically elected, the points about Qutbism and the promotion of non-violence.
Fundamentalism can be defined as religious beliefs based on an interpretation of the scriptures. Many individuals endeavor to establish the superiority of their faith or sect through slogans and proclamations about the infallibility of their scriptures and saints. I see no difference between you 5:33pm Anon and the other fundamentalists. And, you are right – man never really learns, aptly demonstrated by your discourse.
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi.
Happy holidays
Anon
"I was not writing a history book about the chant or Sayyid Qutb."
My point sir was to refute your notion that "history" has taught us that American "policy" is the cause for "death to America" chants. It obviously - for anyone who has indeed studied - isn't the case. Qutb is a *major* piece of evidence against your idea - Qutb indeed called America the great Unbelief and called for its destruction not because of "policy" but because of the freedom enjoyed here and the mere influence such an *idea* (not a policy sir) has on the true Muslim (remember jahiliyya?).
Your point has been refuted -by a study of history no less.
As for your point that "dialogue" is the way to go - it seems obvious you didn't read Qutb sir. Why is it that you limit americans to "dialogue" when it seems quite ok to you that Qutb and his modern terrorists are calling for wholesale extermination of said americans? Dialogue is not part of Qutb's vocabulary - militant jihad is. There's only one way to meet that threat sir - history itself has taught us what that is. But you seem to turn a blind eye to that lesson and prattle about "dialogue" - a thing Qutb would have rejected as another symptom of jahiliyya.
For Intel Anon
Qutb wrote,
"The Jihaad of Islam is to secure complete freedom for every man throughout the world by releasing him from servitude to other human beings so that he may serve his God, Who IS One and Who has no associates. This is in itself a sufficient reason for Jihaad. These were the only reasons in the hearts of Muslim warriors. If they had been asked the question "Why are you fighting?" none would have answered, "My country is in danger; I am fighting for its defense" or "The Persians and the Romans have come upon us", or, "We want to extend our dominion and want more spoils'.'
They would have answered the same as Rabati bin 'Amer, Huzaifa bin Muhsin and Mughira bin Shtuba answered the Persian general Rustum when he asked them one by one during three successive days preceding the battle of Qadisiyyah, "For what purpose have you come?" Their answer was the same: "God has sent us to bring anyone who wishes from servitude to men into the service of God alone, from the narrowness of this world into the vastness of this world and the Here- after, and from the tyranny of religions into the justice of Islam. God raised a Messenger for this purpose to teach His creatures His way. If anyone accepts this way of life, we turn back and give his country back to him, and we fight with those who rebel until we are martyred or become victorious" .
These are the reasons inherent in the very nature of this religion."
Milestones
So much for "American policy", so much for "dialogue. Perhaps it's time you and others started to understand what exactly it is we're up against. As I said before sharia or freedom -take your pick.
There is NO SUCH THING as a “War on Terror”. Terror is a tactic, not an opponent. That would be like saying “War on Blitzkrieg”. Let’s call this what it is: The War of Islam. They started it. The followers of Muhammad perpetuate it. They are not threatening us to “convert or die” they are promising us. I have a solution to the W.O.I. . . And I’m being serious.
The Christian Crusades: History views as an evil episode in the history of Christianity. It was brutal and merciless but it was in retaliation to ISLAMASISTS who had swept across the land, laying waste to everything it came in contact with. Concurred and ruled by Islam. The Christians of the time had had enough and took back what was theirs, in a fashion that was use on them. THIS is historical FACT.
What we are in now has been going on now for 1,200+ years. One thousand two hundred plus years. Of the 24 current skirmishes on the planet right now, 23 of them were started and are about the religion of peace, ISLAM.
THE CHRISTIAN & JEWISH CRUSADES II
Outlaw Islam Now.
Everything Islam is destroyed.
ALL Qu’ rans, burned, destroyed.
ALL Mosque’s, burned, destroyed, completely leveled.
ALL Islamic gathering places, burned, destroyed, completely leveled.
They have X amount of days to turn in all of their Islamic paraphernalia (which will be burned, destroyed, completely vaporized). After that, if you’re caught with it or caught practicing the religion, you do time in a re-education camp. Those deemed violent are executed – on the spot. 2 generations of STRICT enforcement by ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET (The Religion of Islam vs. Everybody else on the planet) and “Islam” is a forgotten, evil, sidebar in the footnotes of history. Not even that: It’s against the “Law of mankind” to produce ANY literature pertaining to Islam. Gone – Completely forgotten. ANYONE who’s comes out against the Crusades II does time in a re-education camp. Those deemed violent or resist arrest are executed – on the spot.
You get 2 chances in the re-education camp. After that: executed.
“Well,” you say “ This is nothing different then what the Nazi’s did!”
It’s completely different.
Jew’s weren’t wanting to take over the world and convert everyone to Judaism....not even a small faction of them.
Of course NONE of this will EVER happen. You know it as well as I do. Not in this politically correct society we live in. This is why my grandchildren are going to be worshiping Allah 3 times a day. Political correctness will be the downfall of modern society which Islam will rule amongst the rubble of what once was. No Electricity. No Computers, NONE of the modern conveniences we know and love. All in the name of Allah.
Those who stand up for Islam, those of other faiths: They want you converted or dead too! Try and remember that.
Fuck Islam.
Fuck Allah.
Fuck All Who Follow them.
Proud to be an American Christian.
“This isn’t very Christian thinking.” you say? I beg to differ, but that’s another op-ed piece altogether.
I would sign my name to this, but I’m afraid some practitioner of the “religion of peace” would hunt me down and chop off my head.
Now I am confused – so are you fighting a war on WMD’s, or terrorism, or in the name of the One? Interestingly folks like you always change the direction of the conversation to what suits you - you never commented about Dr. Mossadegh being democratically elected, the points about Qutbism and the promotion of non-violence.
I defer to the other esteemed anon as regards the Qutbism references. I can call on several suras and hadiths to source Islamic incitement to violence, to the exhortations of the Prophet himself, strangely absent from Greek Scripture.
But I'm not talking about that.
Moussadeq was elected by the people. For that matter, Hamas was elected by the people. It does not, of itself, confer competency and global responsibility- only the will of the people (your inferred objection to the results of the 2000 US Presidential election is duly noted here for you).
But I shiver in your macrocephalic presence, wonk anon, being a fundamentalist mouth-breather who can't think for himself. Did you invent the wheelbarrow just so I could learn to walk upright?
Bless you sir.
Dear Bless you sir,
Oh, such big words. You must be so much more educated then the rest of us. We were so impressed with your flowery retoric!
Islam wants world domination, plain and simple. "Join us or die" is their motto.
If I had a magic button that would kill ALL the muslims on the planet all at once, I'd push it.
3 times a day I point my ass to Mecca and fart...or for such a scholar as you I should say "Thrice daily I point my posterior toward Mecca and expel flatulent gasses."
A side point about "dialogue" -
One of the missing ingredients in this discussion is the intra dialogue of muslims themselves. Put aside dialogue between the Qutbs and the Great Satan for a second - has anyone ever heard of meaningful dialogue going on between radicals and so-called moderate/reformers in Islam (if indeed there are any)?
Not in any significant way that I'm aware of. And there's a reason why I think: the radicals are too far gone in the ways of militant jihad. That's why smarter persons talk about us supporting or even fomenting internal *uprisings* rather than intra-faith *dialogues*. Let's face it, those who internally oppose or criticise the mullahs via dialogue soon vanish from this earth without leaving so much as a dent.
Which brings us to the adjunct: just where is the moderate muslim voice anyway? The best we hear from them so far has been a "yeah, *but*.." which of course means they are not too hip on engaging their own intra faith problem. Look,in Christianity, Martin Luther argued *against* the peasants war quite forcefully and vocally - no "buts" about it. What influential Muslim voice today parallels that kind of thunder?
I'm not for wiping *every* Muslim off the face of the earth as indeed the Qutbs promise to do to us (I am for wiping out the current Qutbs however), - but I certainly do think it does the alleged moderate muslim no good if he stands idly by while his religion is Qutb'ed. It would go along way to placate the previous anon who does wish to exterminate all muslims that many alleged reformed Muslims take a stand against the Qutbs in their own religion - at least I hope it would.
Congratulations! I heard this mentioned by Bill Kristol on Fox News Sunday.
**But this is a war, you know? There's a terrific e-mail from a 24- year-old sergeant in the Army Reserve, T.F. Boggs (ph), who wrote, "I feel like all my efforts, 30 months of deployment in Iraq and the efforts of all my brothers in arms are for naught. I thought old people were supposed to be more patient than a 24-year-old."
But he says he and his fellow soldiers understand that this will take time. He also wishes there were more troops, then they could clear and hold and build, but that it will take time.
It's pathetic. It's pathetic for adults to be impatient. The soldiers know it takes time and it's worth fighting. And Senator Smith and Senator Brownback -- gee, you know, it doesn't accord with their wishes of how the world would work.**
The transcipt is over at Real Clear Politics, Fox News Sunday 12/10/06. I recognized your name and words from reading over at the Catle of Argghhh!
Rock on, soldier!
What is going on now,is what the communist propaganda machines have,so well taken advantage of.The lack of a cohesive united front in america,due to political partisan agendas.Our government is primarily business interested and business driven,to the exclusion of it's citizens and at a furious pace, seeks that which makes the most money for those who control it with money.When the people who have not become despondant and apathetic,have had enough,there is an equaly ridiculous sharp change to an opposite direction,sometimes more ridiculous.Career polititions pay attention to two things;potential votes and the money which could get them votes.NPUBLICI
The coming storm...
Diplomacy today means one thing: loss of valuable time which translates into many more horrible US/West/Israeli deaths in the future - *meaningful* dialogue and sanctions have already been effectively undermined: Russia has basically guaranteed Iranian nukes by sending military defenses and nuclear fuel to the Mullahs' sites (Bushehr "plant" to be "online" by Sept 2007) and by holding things up at the useless UN.
update on relevance and danger of Qutb
On Dec 16, 2006, a famous blogger (who'll remain anonymous for now) wrote that,
"The group [local reps of a Muslim community group in the mainland US] complained that the *** editorial page picked out small faults in the Muslim community locally, and highlighted them. Among their complaints: our editorial criticizing the ***** Central Mosque for stocking anti-Jewish, anti-Christian hate literature in its library. And the ***** Central Mosque's teaching the violent, revolutionary, jihad-promoting writing of Sayyid Qutb to its teenagers. Members of the group said Qutb was an "obscure" writer who had some good ideas for improving Islam, but had some fringe ideas. They tried to portray him as a marginal oddball. Which is b.s. -- Osama bin Laden has cited Qutb as his spiritual godfather, and his work is at the intellectual center of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is no small thing that the largest mosque in ***** is having its teenagers read Qutb's work. One of my colleagues, a reporter who covered the British subway bombings when he was stationed in London, said to the group that he'd visited Islamic bookstores, and discovered Qutb's books and other Islamic extremist literature there on the shelves -- and this was where the subway bombers and radicalized Islamist youth in Britain were getting their ideas.
The group rejected the implications of this, with someone even suggesting that it was the West's fault that these youth were becoming radicalized."
Qutb and his militant jihadism is alive and well - in the US no less - please start to take notice.
Anyone experience anything about the easy google profit kit? I discovered a lot of advertisements around it. I also found a site that is supposedly a review of the program, but the whole thing seems kind of sketchy to me. However, the cost is low so I’m going to go ahead and try it out, unless any of you have experience with this system first hand?
www.onlineuniversalwork
Anyone experience anything about the easy google profit kit? I discovered a lot of advertisements around it. I also found a site that is supposedly a review of the program, but the whole thing seems kind of sketchy to me. However, the cost is low so I’m going to go ahead and try it out, unless any of you have experience with this system first hand?
www.onlineuniversalwork
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