Truth Revisited

In light of flagging support of the war on terror, I thought it an appropriate time to remember that horrible week. A USAF Colonel penned this letter, which needs to be read by all.


"14 September, 2001

Dear friends and fellow Americans

Like everyone else in this great country, I am reeling from last week's attack on our sovereignty. But unlike some, I am not reeling from surprise. As a career soldier and a student and teacher of military history, I have a different perspective and I think you should hear it.

This war will be won or lost by the American citizens, not diplomats, politicians or soldiers. Let me briefly explain. In spite of what the media, and even our own government is telling us, this act was not committed by a group of mentally deranged fanatics. To dismiss them as such would be among the gravest of mistakes. This attack was committed by a ferocious, intelligent and dedicated adversary. Don't take this the wrong way. I don't admire these men and I deplore their tactics, but I respect their capabilities. The many parallels that have been made with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are apropos. Not only because it was a brilliant sneak attack against a complacent America, but also because we may well be pulling our new adversaries out of caves 30 years after we think this war is over, just like my father's generation had to do with the formidable Japanese in the years following WW II.

These men hate the United States with all of their being, and we must not underestimate the power of their moral commitment. Napoleon, perhaps the world's greatest combination of soldier and statesman, stated the moral is to the physical as three is to one. Patton thought the Frenchman underestimated its importance and said moral conviction was five times more important in battle than physical strength. Our enemies are willing — better said anxious — to give their lives for their cause. How committed are we America? And for how long?

In addition to demonstrating great moral conviction, the recent attack demonstrated a mastery of some of the basic fundamentals of warfare taught to most military officers worldwide, namely simplicity, security and surprise. When I first heard rumors that some of these men may have been trained at our own Air War College, it made perfect sense to me. This was not a random act of violence, and we can expect the same sort of military competence to be displayed in the battle to come. This war will escalate, with a good portion of it happening right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. These men will not go easily into the night. They do not fear us. We must not fear them.

In spite of our overwhelming conventional strength as the world's only superpower (a truly silly term), we are the underdog in this fight. As you listen to the carefully scripted rhetoric designed to prepare us for the march for war, please realize that America is not equipped or seriously trained for the battle ahead. To be certain, our soldiers are much better than the enemy, and we have some excellent counter-terrorist organizations, but they are mostly trained for hostage rescues, airfield seizures, or the occasional body snatch, (which may come in handy). We will be fighting a war of annihilation, because if their early efforts are any indication, our enemy is ready and willing to die to the last man. Eradicating the enemy will be costly and time consuming. They have already deployed their forces in as many as 20 countries, and are likely living the lives of everyday citizens.

Simply put, our soldiers will be tasked with a search and destroy mission on multiple foreign landscapes, and the public must be patient and supportive until the strategy and tactics can be worked out. For the most part, our military is still in the process of redefining itself and is presided over by men and women who grew up with - and were promoted because they excelled in - Cold War doctrine, strategy and tactics. This will not be linear warfare, there will be no clear centers of gravity to strike with high technology weapons. Our vast technological edge will certainly be helpful, but it will not be decisive. Perhaps the perfect metaphor for the coming battle was introduced by the terrorists themselves aboard the hijacked aircraft — this will be a knife fight, and it will be won or lost by the ingenuity and will of citizens and soldiers, not by software or smart bombs. We must also be patient with our military leaders.

Unlike Americans who are eager to put this messy time behind us, our adversaries have time on their side, and they will use it. They plan to fight a battle of attrition, hoping to drag the battle out until the American public loses its will to fight. This might be difficult to believe in this euphoric time of flag waving and patriotism, but it is generally acknowledged that America lacks the stomach for a long fight. We need only look as far back as Vietnam, when North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap (also a military history teacher) defeated the United States of America without ever winning a major tactical battle. American soldiers who marched to war cheered on by flag waving Americans in 1965 were reviled and spat upon less than three years later when they returned.

Although we hope that Usama Bin Laden is no Giap, he is certain to understand and employ the concept. We can expect not only large doses of pain like the recent attacks, but also less audacious sand in the gears tactics, ranging from livestock infestations to attacks at water supplies and power distribution facilities. These attacks are designed to hit us in our comfort zone forcing the average American to pay more and play less and eventually eroding our resolve. But it can only work if we let it. It is clear to me that the will of the American citizenry - you and I - is the center of gravity the enemy has targeted. It will be the fulcrum upon which victory or defeat will turn. He believes us to be soft, impatient, and self-centered. He may be right, but if so, we must change. The Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, (the most often quoted and least read military theorist in history), says that there is a remarkable trinity of war that is composed of the (1) will of the people, (2) the political leadership of the government, and (3) the chance and probability that plays out on the field of battle, in that order.

Every American citizen was in the crosshairs of last Tuesday's attack, not just those that were unfortunate enough to be in the World Trade Center or Pentagon. The will of the American people will decide this war. If we are to win, it will be because we have what it takes to persevere through a few more hits, learn from our mistakes, improvise, and adapt. If we can do that, we will eventually prevail.

Everyone I've talked to in the past few days has shared a common frustration, saying in one form or another, "I just wish I could do something!" You are already doing it. Just keep faith in America, and continue to support your President and military, and the outcome is certain. If we fail to do so, the outcome is equally certain. God Bless America

Dr. Tony Kern, Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
Former Director of Military History, USAF Academy .."

Liberals Off by Only 900%

"Over 100.000 innocent Iraqi children, women and men have been slaughtered and
killed "

"Iraq : New International Study: 100.000 Iraqis died"

"100.000 IRAQI DEATHS--WORLD WIDE PETITION AGAINST THE ESCALATION"

"GeorgeWBush.org Forum > At least 100.000 Dead Iraqis"

"Voices in the Wilderness : Press Release: Lawton Peace Vigils For ...
... estimating that 100.000 Iraqis have been killed in the current war. “It seems
the majority killed are bystanders shot or bombed by mistake,”

...Google returned nearly 4000 stories that mentioned this staggering number-100,000 deaths- at the hands of George W. Hitler and the Reichpublicans' lust for world domination. Actually, I've been tracking this number in stories, and I've seen it morphing into 110,000-up to 140,000. The left asserts that our oil-thirsty military greases the tracks of its tanks with the livers of 6 year olds on its headlong rush to war, stopping briefly only to mow down some old people for target practice. Since the left says 100,000, well it must be true.

So naturally when I read this piece by the right wing extremist news source, the BBC, I was nodding my head once again in a knowing disbelief:

"'25,000 civilians' killed in Iraq

More than half of civilian deaths were caused by explosive devices
Nearly 25,000 civilians have died violently in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003, a report says.
The dossier, based on media reports, says US-led forces were responsible for more than a third of the deaths.

So, they're now saying US forces butchered only 8,000-9,000 people. Ridiculous. How could that number be so small? And no doubt every one of those poor Iraqis had their hands up, offering tea and cookies to our troops that were sadly mistaken for RPG's.

Elegant Nonsense

Another great piece by VDH:...


Nearly 24 centuries ago, Plato warned not to confuse innate artistic skill with either education or intelligence.

The philosopher worried that the emotional bond we can forge with good actors might also allow these manipulative mimics too much influence in matters in which they were often ignorant.

So he would cringe that the high-school graduate Sean Penn is now capitalizing on his worldly fame from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" to pose as an informed commentator on the Iranian elections.

Then there's Robert Redford, who once played Bob Woodward in "All the President's Men" and apparently still believes that role made him an experienced Washington Post-like muckraker from the Watergate Era. These days Redford lectures reporters to go after George W. Bush, undeterred by the fact that the real journalist Dan Rather ended his career by just such an obsessed effort.

Redford and Penn, of course, aren't the only entertainers as would-be wise men and moralists who lecture us on the evils of the Bush administration.

more....

Grande Latte Please, Hold the Gay

"The way I see it #43.....

My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long.
I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short.

--Armistead Maupin "


The above was printed on the side of my coffee cup from Starbucks. Gee, thanks Starbucks, for the corporate sponsored browbeat. Listen to this hyperbole: "I repressed it"..."I surrendered my youth to the people I feared"..."I could have been out there loving someone"...

I see, so this person was afraid that what, he'd be sent to a camp in Cleveland and gassed? And we are supposed to believe that this person just bottled up his love for 'someone' and sat in the corner and cried his life away?. I won't presume to know.

So a coffee marketing minion picks this little ideogram up off of some website, and to make the monthly political correctness quota, orders it slapped onto cups so that consumers will be assured that Starbucks is 'inclusive' and 'tolerant'.


Had this kind of message been placed on a cup in the 1950's, my hat would be off to a company like Starbucks. When society truly looked askance at homosexuality fifty years ago, a professed sentiment of tolerance would indeed be a bold step forward, much like the early civil rights laws..(passed by Republicans and repulsed by Democrats).. of decades past.

But this is the 21st century, well into the age of gay 'rights', hate crime laws, same-sex marriage, 'Boy meets Boy' TV shows, lesbian kisses on prime time, and endless legislation to 'end bigotry'. Apparently, it's not enough to allow society to evolve in the most tolerant and pluralistic nation ever to grace the face of the Earth, no, we have to force it. A constant state of 'social revolution' must be maintained to keep the agitprop relevant, as Fidel Castro in Cuba who still wears his goofy uniform at 70-something years old knows. Were he to remove his uniform it would signal a sense of normalcy not harmonious with the required socialist angst. And so it is with the gay agenda, now seeped into the very pores of corporate America.

However,I don't need to be told to be tolerant. Believe it or not, I've never lynched a black, beat up a gay man, nor gassed a Jew and I've never known anyone, nor even heard of anyone of my contemporaries doing same, and I'm sick to death of being preached at from the extremist left that because I'm not gay, I therefore need to to be re-educated and enlightened. There is a dark history of this kind of re-education that I'm sure we're all familiar with.

But for Starbucks, victimhood and guilt are also a means to an end: money. I contend that companies do not only do this to demonstrate a presumed elevated social consciousness, but rather for fiscal consciousness. It's fashionable to espouse a veneer of tolerance, and gays are statistically financially more successful than non-gays on average. Sales!

Yet there are far more heterosexuals in the buying public, so I offer this retort to Starbucks, a purveyor of products to all:

"If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War. "
George Washington

This, a quote from a great man who suffered far more than any gay man of any era. He advocates a national vigilance, a sense of preparedness for sacrifice...............ideas long ago abandoned by the liberal left.

I prefer to drink from your cup, Mr. Washington.

Blair Knew

After an exhaustive probe over the weekend, forensics investigators, terrorism experts and contemplative people in offices have arrived at the unfortunate conclusion that Prime Minister Tony Blair had over 50 Londoners murdered and another 700 maimed, to further his sinister, diminionist agenda.

Blair's ties to big business since his days before he stole the Prime Minister's office nearly a decade ago, have long been suspected. Blair, a failed soccer team owner and one time member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has sought to re-capture England's former colonies all over again by way of back room cronyism and payoffs. When that stopped working, 'he hoodwinked innocent muslims into carrying bombs onto trains and buses', experts say. We know the rest.

The investigation into Blair's obvious knowledge of the blasts last Wednesday began the previous week after the smoking gun, a letter dating August 10, 2004 to Nikhil Parekh, a Tandoori restaurant owner was leaked indicating that Blair was going to..... Scotland. Our sources have taken great risk to bring the truth forward to the light of day, posted here for the first time:



Additionally, secret internet photographs have been trickling in since the planned London bombings took place, clearly illuminating Blair's culpability. Our experts have selected several photographs which provide the damning evidence that points only to Blair. We will present here a series of photos in relation to the timeline of the London attacks:

Photo 1-The Blair Bush project concludes the planning stage:


If you look carefully, you will see that the man who's hand Blair is shaking is not George Clooney's, but George W. Bush's blood-stained paw. The conspiracy begins.

Photo 2-The G8 Summit:
As last week's G8 summit commenced, Blair was all alone in the room, giving his speech, which has now been proven to be a coded message to launch the attacks. Notice how Blair is wearing a dark suit, and is seated-....more incriminating evidence:



Photo 3-Rec.Room at GlenEagles:
Taken the very moment that Blair was 'informed' of the attacks, this photo captures the complete lack of surprise on his face. No amount of acting could prepare him for the level of scrutiny this image lays at his feet. He continued on, losing to Jacques Chirac 21-19, no doubt part of the script. He even went on to challenge Chirac to a 'best 2 out of 3', 3 minutes after the heinous attacks on London's unknowing citizens:



Photo 4-10 Downing St.:
In our last example of the Blair guilt, a hidden camera in the lapel pin of a Multi-National executive shows Blair's defensive posture when questioned about the underground blasts on Wednesday morning, July 6th. This time, he was not rehearsed by his handlers and apparently over-reacted, just like guilty people always do. He was heard to utter something like "Are you talking to me?". Experts are still working to decode that last phrase:



BlairCo had these innocent people killed to prop up his faltering government, and to further his selfish and dangerous campaign of world domination on the backs of the poor. Blair, a wholly owned subsidiary of BushCo, is simply carrying out the orders from his paymaster, George W. Bush. The British lapdog, the anglican poodle, the Wizard of Windsor, will stop at nothing to ensure that we all live in a world of orchestrated and well-funded fear of terrorism, so that he can take over his little piece of Europe.

We must stop him now.

Freidman on London

Thursday's bombings in downtown London are profoundly disturbing. In part, that is because a bombing in our mother country and closest ally, England, is almost like a bombing in our own country. In part, it's because one assault may have involved a suicide bomber, bringing this terrible jihadist weapon into the heart of a major Western capital.

That would be deeply troubling because open societies depend on trust - on trusting that the person sitting next to you on the bus or subway is not wearing dynamite.

The attacks are also deeply disturbing because when jihadist bombers take their madness into the heart of our open societies, our societies are never again quite as open. Indeed, we all just lost a little freedom Thursday.

But maybe the most important aspect of the London bombings is this: When jihadist-style bombings happen in Riyadh, that is a Muslim-Muslim problem. That is a police problem for Saudi Arabia. But when Qaeda-like bombings come to the London Underground, that becomes a civilizational problem.

Every Muslim living in a Western society suddenly becomes a suspect, becomes a potential walking bomb. And when that happens, it means Western countries are going to be tempted to crack down even harder on their own Muslim populations.

That, too, is deeply troubling. The more Western societies - particularly the big European societies, which have much larger Muslim populations than America - look on their own Muslims with suspicion, the more internal tensions this creates, and the more alienated their already alienated Muslim youth become. This is exactly what Osama bin Laden dreamed of with 9/11: to create a great gulf between the Muslim world and the globalizing West.

So this is a critical moment. We must do all we can to limit the civilizational fallout from this bombing. But this is not going to be easy. Why? Because unlike after 9/11, there is no obvious, easy target to retaliate against for bombings like those in London. There are no obvious terrorist headquarters and training camps in Afghanistan that we can hit with cruise missiles. The Qaeda threat has metastasized and become franchised. It is no longer vertical, something that we can punch in the face. It is now horizontal, flat and widely distributed, operating through the Internet and tiny cells.

Because there is no obvious target to retaliate against, and because there are not enough police to police every opening in an open society, either the Muslim world begins to really restrain, inhibit and denounce its own extremists - if it turns out that they are behind the London bombings - or the West is going to do it for them. And the West will do it in a rough, crude way - by simply shutting them out, denying them visas and making every Muslim in its midst guilty until proven innocent.

And because I think that would be a disaster, it is essential that the Muslim world wake up to the fact that it has a jihadist death cult in its midst. If it does not fight that death cult, that cancer, within its own body politic, it is going to infect Muslim-Western relations everywhere. Only the Muslim world can root out that death cult. It takes a village.

What do I mean? I mean that the greatest restraint on human behavior is never a policeman or a border guard. The greatest restraint on human behavior is what a culture and a religion deem shameful. It is what the village and its religious and political elders say is wrong or not allowed. Many people said Palestinian suicide bombing was the spontaneous reaction of frustrated Palestinian youth. But when Palestinians decided that it was in their interest to have a cease-fire with Israel, those bombings stopped cold. The village said enough was enough.

The Muslim village has been derelict in condemning the madness of jihadist attacks. When Salman Rushdie wrote a controversial novel involving the prophet Muhammad, he was sentenced to death by the leader of Iran. To this day - to this day - no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden.

Some Muslim leaders have taken up this challenge. This past week in Jordan, King Abdullah II hosted an impressive conference in Amman for moderate Muslim thinkers and clerics who want to take back their faith from those who have tried to hijack it. But this has to go further and wider.

The double-decker buses of London and the subways of Paris, as well as the covered markets of Riyadh, Bali and Cairo, will never be secure as long as the Muslim village and elders do not take on, delegitimize, condemn and isolate the extremists in their midst.

Tattered, yes....but the sun does not set on Britain...........not just yet, arab filth.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement of Donald Rumsfeld

"But if these terrorists thought they could intimidate the people of a great nation, they picked the wrong people and the wrong nation. For generations, tyrants, fascists, and terrorists have sought to carry out their violent designs upon the British people only to founder upon its unrelenting shores.
Before long, I suspect that those responsible for these acts will encounter British steel. Their kind of steel has an uncommon strength. It does not bend or break.
The British have learned from history that this kind of evil must be confronted. It cannot be appeased. Our two countries understand well that once a people give in to terrorists’ demands, whatever they are, their demands will grow.
The British people are determined and resolute. And I know the people of the United States are proud to stand at their side."

Amen.

Iran lays groundwork for Iraq power grab

I can't believe how stupid we can be. First, we allow Iran to broadcast TV into Iraq, so that any information that Iraqis have is not from Americans who are there, but another Islamic Fundamentalist country with a history of decades of state sponsored terrorism.

Now, Iran is going to 'help train, rebuild, and modernize the Iraqi army".

This, as Iran continues to build nuclear facilities for 'electrical purposes'. The sea of oil that iran floats upon apparently cannot generate electricity.

"...It's a new chapter in our relations with Iraq. We will start wide defence cooperation," Iranian Defence Minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani told a joint news conference with visiting Iraqi counterpart Sadoun al-Dulaimi.

"We're going to form some committees which will be involved in mine clearance, identifying those missing from the war and also ... to help train, rebuild and modernise the Iraqi army," Shamkhani added.

Iran last year offered to train Iraqi border guards, but Baghdad declined the offer.

Meddling accusation

US and Iraqi officials have often accused Iran of stirring up instability in Iraq. Tehran denies meddling in Iraq or helping, arming or letting foreign fighters cross its borders. ..."

Hey, since we're at it, let's let Syria train Iraq's western border guards, then wonder why there are still car bombings and beheadings in Iraq.

You Can Help

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War Was the Answer

We endured a ten hour bus ride to a town called Gualala (yes, that's correct-only two 'la's').....about 100 miles north of San Francisco on the pacific coast and about a thousand centuries south of reality. The bus was great. Cramped, noisy, and with a bathroom reminiscent of an andy gump toilet, only about one third the size, directly above the engine's heat exchanger. So, as I would stumble around at 80 mph with my fly open, the 150 degree heat would waft up in a heady miasma of diesel oil and effluent. No worries though, as the bus driver had told us he had 'enough Red Bull' to keep him going through the night.

We left at 8pm from Simi Valley, with time being an irrelevant concept as day drifted into night and back again with no clear distinction behind my irritated and swollen eyelids. Like most invasions, ours began in the Land of Tolerance at 6am. It was like passing through time in many different ways. When we arrived, after setting up our camp, I strolled about the town, which was an odd assemblage of high-priced (bad) art galleries stuffed with paintings of trees and birdies, restaurants with names like 'PanGaea' and trinket shops with names like 'Noma' selling peace sign earrings and you guessed it-Birkenstocks, all inhabited by vintage hippies, alcoholic human driftwood, and the wealthy yet oh-so-concerned enviro-riche'. Our hotel was a 1903 original, with all the original trappings of the time, such as no room service, shared bathrooms with marginal plumbing, and the town drunks out back making sure that you too participated in their revelry two floors below at three in the morning.

So there we were, with our guns, cannons, flags, and gender-specific spousal cohabitants, all in the name of 'big oil' as the protest signs reminded us. It must have been 'Big Whale Oil' since for us, it was 1775. All very disorienting.



That’s right. We were protested. Re-enactors portraying the American Revolution were accused of 'glamorizing Bush's war'. The protests ranged from a single gray-haired woman with a 'give peace a chance' sign who was quite shaken that our musketry would sterilize seagulls and otters from nearly a mile distant, to five or six tye-dye-and-hemp wearing youth loudly declaring their unyielding support for dissent, or dissent from support, whichever it was. None of us were quite sure. Since our British contingent had previously taken the town, ‘end the occupation’ signs would have been better. Alas, hindsight.

After a pleasant chat with a couple of them, it became evident that their blend of amateur street theater and muted agitprop was either a half-hearted attempt at guilt mongering or self-flagellation. It was difficult to tell. But it was a break from the daunting labor of bong loading and Bush-effigy puppet building, something to do in a one-crosswalk town. Later on, after hours of joyfully terrorizing otters and seagulls, two of us approached 'give-peace-a-chance' lady asking for a photo-op with her. Not sensing imminent danger from two grown men adorned with gold epaulettes and knee-pants, she tentatively assented--'you want a picture?…with me?'...ummmm, okayyyyy'. Our two neo-soldiers from the past beamed for the camera with peace lady, immortalizing both the 1770's and 1960's simultaneously with a congruity usually reserved for planetary alignment and Blue Moons. Peace lady had no idea how priceless was the moment she provided us with:..



She then told our Captain that ‘I would have been there protesting England, too, if I had been alive then’. The reality of protest and its consequences coming from a woman in 18th century England evaded her, so we just smiled and nodded our heads.
Another adult, who informed me that he possessed a big shiny PhD., assured me that separation of church and state was in fact in the Constitution, and that Bush was ‘just like the other King George’ who wanted to ram his brand of theocracy down our throats, and that somehow--, in the midst of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, Michael Moore, ACLU lawsuits everywhere, condom use being taught in elementary schools,--the country has become ‘way too conservative’. Again, I quickly sent him on his way, after concurring that, ok, Bush is Hitler. (I had to pee).

Anti-Bush signs and stickers bejeweled this little hamlet of happiness, with this example of open-mindedness taking the prize for intellectual inclusiveness. A large sign stating:“Where’s Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him?”, decorated not a hybrid, Earth-friendly car or a bicycle, but a large SUV. Hey, assassination is just another form of expression. Lighten up.


Yet there were signs of life in this otherwise hermetically sealed compound of liberalism. I met a home-schooled family who whispered to us that they-----owned guns----. I assured the mother of two boys that her secret was safe with us. Among everyone we met last weekend, her kids asked the most intelligent questions. Her 8 year old re-assured me that no, separation of church and state was not in the Constitution. Whew, that was close. PhD man nearly had me flummoxed.

We concluded our weekend in Granola with a battle; The ‘Battle of Granola Wood’. Fortunately, we were not asked to yell ‘bang’ during this event, as the sea otters were far enough away. The Americans prevailed, to the perplexed reaction of the 300-plus audience, who clapped anyway. They weren’t sure what was worse: British rule or American capitalism. I suppose if Mao or Lenin were in the ranks, they would have been comforted.

But one thing was certain. Gualala was now free again, to drift like so much socialist flotsam and jetsam in a swirling, fetid pool of capitalist individualism and prosperity.