Holbrooke ENDORSES Return of the Taliban to Power!!!

One day after the DOD announced the deaths of 4 more Marines, Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane of Cherry Hill, N.J, Sgt. Daniel Angus, 28, of Thonotosassa, Fla., Lance Cpl Timothy J. Poole, 22, of Bowling Green, Ky. and Lance Cpl Zachary D. Smith of Hornell, N.Y., U.S. Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke applauded the removal of (5) former Taliban from the sanctions list according to Stratfor. Harmid Karzai, the UN and the Obama administration are hopeful that more former Taliban will be taken off the list shortly.

Let's talk about this for a moment, shall we? We went into Afghanistan, 8 years ago to remove Al Qaida from Afghanistan and hold the Taliban accountable by removing every vestige of them from power. Since that time, we have done everything unseemly and unimaginable to insure not only that we could not possibly win the war there, but to insure the highest level of American casualties possible while simultaneously protecting the Afghan civilian population and, apparently, the Taliban fighters as well.

We must remember something else; we have been told over and over again, that the Taliban isn't an Afghan phenomenon but in fact a loose confederacy of disaffected 'extremists' from all over the world; an unwelcome cancer in Afghanistan. We were told that a Counter-Insurgency Strategy (COIN) would be the best strategy to endorse (even though many of us have held that there never has been a successful one) in order to remove this cancer from Afghan society. Let us recap:

1. The Taliban were in charge when we entered Afghanistan 8 years ago.

2. Obama, McChrystal and Gates told us the Taliban was largely made up of foreigners.

3. A Counter Insurgency would best alleviate the problem

4. The Afghan people just want peace and would be more than happy to help us once we made 'friends'.

Two weeks ago the civilians in Garmsir rioted and chanted anti-American death slogans because someone told them an American had 'abused' a Koran. This week 4 more Americans are slain in Helmand province by whom? Oh yeah; the Taliban and then we have the issue of Scriptures on Optics used by American Marines and Soldiers, who are largely Christian. Our General Petraeus decides this is 'troubling' along with a list (not yet released) of other Generals who seem to have misplaced their manhood and their American credentials and have now pressured the manufacturer, Trijicon into removing the Scriptures not only from new products but ones currently in use by our troops. And lastly we have Richard Holbrooke, a member of the Obama administration applauding the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.

This all begins with our fundamental misunderstanding of the enemy and our unwillingness to understand him as he declares himself to be - rather than imposing on him what we would like him to be. Even Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey took great issue with Islam and Islamics being addressed by any modifier of Islam like 'moderate' or 'extremist'. If you can't identify the enemy, how do you identify who you are fighting?

If you are unwilling to identify the enemy, doesn't that also suggest an unwillingness to fight him? So here we are, 8 years later, hundreds of young, honorable, American men dead following the uncertain trumpet of battle blown by self-serving bureaucrats lacking honor, courage, conviction and purpose. And for this great cost, we, America, will have nothing to show for it because the enemy is still out there, still convicted by their faith, still intent on carrying out its mandate which is to force the entire world to 'submit' (Islam) to Allah, not to mention soon to be back in power, somehow.

So tell me; do you know where 'East' is because at the rate we are going we are all going to be required to pay homage to Mecca, five times daily along with the rest of the Muslim world.

Folks; this is not a simple misunderstanding of the complexities of governance or foreign policy, this is a simple failure on the part of elected officials and their appointees, in this government, to understand that they are ultimately responsible to their oaths and the electorate. They have all failed us miserably and, I fear, for some devious and evil personal gain. I would love to end by saying we have November of 2010 to correct this injustice and 'oust the bums', but why should we have any hope in that after all, Obama was some 5700 words into his speech before he even mentioned foreign policy and then it revolved around 'nuclear weapons proliferation' rather than Afghanistan and there was hardly a whisper of protest from either side of the isle.

And what of the men and women who sacrificed their very lives for this country in that hell-hole, trusting that their leaders were of sound mind, strong heart, forthright souls sending them into harm's way for honor and country?What of the families who have lost their sons and daughters? What of the future of this country?

The real answer lies with, as it always has, with the people. Are the citizens of the United States going to settle for fraternizing with the enemy at the highest levels of our government?

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

A Logical Regression and the Shame of a Nation!

ISAF Commander General McChrystal has said he sees his strategy leading to a likely 'negotiated peace' with the Taliban(see - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/30b0c4d8-091f-11df-ba88-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1 ) while eradicating these cut-throat, sub-human creatures has now apparently become completely unpalatable. He has in fact equated his hope for a 'negotiated peace', with wars in the past where reasonable peoples and nations have chosen to cease hostilities and come to a meeting of the minds. Must we again remind everyone that theirs (the Taliban and Al Qaida) is a war of religious necessity? We need to remember that these 'insurgents' don't represent any flag, nation or people. They represent, and legitimately so, their religion. They fight, kill, maim. slaughter, torture, brutalize and rape in the name of Allah - their god. They don't take to the field of combat in a uniform or conform to the Geneva Conventions. They don't differentiate between women, children, foreign uniformed soldiers or Mother Theresa. They are equal opportunity murderers carrying out the mandate of their Holy Book, the Koran. They are neither any more violent nor any more peaceful than their predecessors and have purposefully supported efforts by Al Qaida to export death and destruction to the shores of the United States of America.

STRATFOR - Afghanistan: McChrystal Focuses On Peace With Taliban

January 25, 2010

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, said his troop surge could lead to a negotiated peace with the Taliban, AFP reported Jan. 25. McChrystal stated that he hopes his allies will leave the Jan. 28 meeting in London with a “renewed commitment” to the increasingly bloody conflict. By using the 30,000-strong surge in U.S. troops to secure territory stretching from the Taliban’s southern heartlands to Kabul, the general said he aims to weaken the insurgency so much its leaders would accept a political settlement. McChrystal added that a political solution to all conflicts is the inevitable outcome.

We have lost some 5000 men and women in the effort to cordon both the Taliban and Al Qaida in their continued efforts to force the world to submit to Islam and specifically to kill and maim Americans and destabilize our nation. Eight years ago, our Commander in Chief handed down his Commanders Intent to Locate, Close with and Destroy Al Qaida and all those who stand with them. Dutifully, Honorably and Courageously, our Warriors took to the field of battle and began a campaign to do just that. Within 90 days we had completely disrupted the Taliban and all but destroyed Al Qaida's presence in Afghanistan. Now, we're hoping to make peace with them. While we can only hope for peace, the reality of peace with an element whose focus is world-wide submission, is unlikely. This is tantamount to the Police choosing to make peace with a mass murderer rather than risk anything further in trying to bring them to justice. And this comparison is not without merit because we decided long ago to hold these Islamic murderers to the 'Law of the Land' - American law, American land, American Rights, rather than to hold them accountable in a Military setting. We effectively covered them with our coveted Constitutionally guaranteed rights (rights the Islamist finds repugnant), and to treat them like US citizens.

In addition, the United Nations, that bastion of honor, courage and honesty, has decided to take Senior Taliban Leaders OFF THE UN LIST OF TERRORISTS! One has to wonder if a grievous injustice was done by placing them on the list to begin with. Did we make a mistake and were they just gentle farmers? Did we mis-ID quiet respectful, God-fearing souls for cold blooded murders and are now determined to right this injustice? No; this is just another reflection of the cowardice that is all pervasive.

Stratfor - Afghanistan: Remove Some From Terrorist List

January 25, 2010

Kai Eide, the United Nations special representative to Afghanistan, called on Afghan Officials to push for the removal of some senior Taliban leaders from the United Nations' list of terrorists, in an attempt toward opening direct negotiations, the New York Times reported Jan.25. Eides also asked the U.S. military to speed cases through of about 750 detainees in U.S. military prisons in Afghanistan.

Hey; here's one for you Kai Eides; how about we release our Warriors from prison who have been charged with crimes on Afghan and Iraqi soil? No chance, huh?

MG asked a great question; Why does Trijicon have to remove Bible Scripture from their ACOG scopes currently in use by our Warriors (presumably over 'separation of church and state' issues as well the fear of 'insulting' the Taliban) but then require our Warriors to help in the re-building of Mosques, when many good Christian and Jewish, American Warriors might find that repugnant - not to mention the whole separation thing.

(see - http://www.marine-corps-news.com/2010/01/afghan_government_leaders_join.htm)

We are rapidly moving toward Sharia being introduced into our American system of justice. Our European partners in the 'War on Terror', or whatever we are calling it today, are already having serious discussions along these lines. We can only speculate as to the motivation but whatever it is, it is insane. In our case, it will be nothing short of sedition.

Call me crazy. Maybe I am in the minority and maybe we should all be taking a knee to Islam and the Taliban and Al Qaida as some seem to be suggesting. Or maybe; just maybe, these people have sold their collective souls to the highest bidder for assurance of a bright future career.

Lest we forget the ultimate goal of this blog and all who have followed and understand; we are adamant that the Rules of Engagement under which our Warriors must try to perform, win and still come home alive, must change to reflect the reality of war not some social experiment. Knowingly placing our Warriors in an untenable situation with unreasonable expectations born of a fanciful, theater-wide, controversial, historically improvable strategy with an implacable enemy whose sole purpose for fighting and existing is the propagation of their religion is IMMORAL if not insane. The very administration that appointed the current ISAF Commander and that is bending over to accommodate the enemy with this surreal vision of the battlefield; even they don't envision being able to hold any support from the people who elected them beyond the next 18 months.

Does this tell us anything; do you think?

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Do Nothing!

Elements of this story are going to continue to provide fodder for writers and commentators for years to come as long as our government is filled with PC fools without the courage or knowledge required to ID our enemy. If this war was conventional we would be talking about a 'foreign' enemy on another continent. But this war is not conventional, it is asymmetrical (one of the few catch words of any value). This enemy comes at you 'side-ways' and lurks in the halls of friendly institutions, schools, government offices and yes, the military. Curiously, the founding Fathers did not exclude them by name when they penned the First Amendment. On the other hand, they were intricately familiar with them and their doctrine, Koran and Jihad. It has been said Thomas Jefferson had a personal copy of the Koran and Keith Ellison swore his oath of office on it. I suppose he felt it carried more significance. Apparently he is another US Leader with very little knowledge of history. It is a widely held belief that Jefferson was a Deist although there are many references to Jesus Christ in his writings and he clearly held to Biblical teachings as a foundational inspiration throughout his political life.

***

Of course he also dispatched Marines to Algiers in 1805 and by 1815 had defeated the Muslim hordes (pirates) that plagued our shipping. The Mediterranean problem with Piracy and Muslim interdiction was not new to the Jefferson administration, Muslim hordes had succeeded in taking, by force, the entire north African continent, much of Spain and made incursions into Europe and France. By the time Columbus 'sailed the oceans blue', Spain was actively seeking a safer trade route to the Indies.

***

The fact is, since 621 AD, history is replete with stories of Muslim incursions and conquests, slavery and abuses and that imperialistic spirit is alive and well today. Of course it is all for Allah and the religion of peace is only seeking the best for its newly acquired vassals; or is it submission (def: Islam)? And if it is submission; to what or whom? Lest we forget that old adage; 'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely', let's not forget that by any other name or allegiance, these people are human with human emotions, desires and vices. Our government seems to forget that part. While they are busy selling themselves and the rest of the United States on the lie that Islam is a religion of peace (a lie perpetrated by and gladly shared with our Armed Forces by invitation from our government), they do manage to completely overlook the weakness of humanity to power, money, sex, debauchery. Enter Major Hassan and his dutiful murder of the 'Infidel', on what use to be considered a secure location; an American Base on American soil. The investigation has yet to yield one single word tying Hassan to his religious root.

***

Enter Diana West with another superb piece:

***

Useless Fort Hood Leaves Americans Unprotected

by Diana West

21 Jan 2010

"Do you believe in 'radical Islam'?" the famous Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders once asked me.

The occasion was a banquet last summer at the Reagan Library outside of Los Angeles where later that evening Wilders would receive a Hero of Conscience award from the American Freedom Alliance. I would have the honor of introducing him. "What did you say?" I could barely hear him over the speaker at the podium elaborating on the perils of, yes, "radical Islam."

"'Radical Islam,'" he repeated. "Do you think there is 'radical Islam,' or only 'Islam'"?

Me, I'm an "only Islam" kind of gal, as I told him. Who am I to argue with Muslims ranging from terror-cleric Abu Qatada to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan? Erdogan is particularly interesting as a democratically elected Islamic leader who eschews all word-modifiers of Islam including "moderate," the adjective the media often applies to his AKP political party. "These descriptions are very ugly," Erdogan said in 2007. "It is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam, and that's it." Erdogan has also bluntly rejected descriptions of Turkey itself as an example of "moderate Islam," saying last April: "It is unacceptable for us to agree with such a definition. Turkey has never been a country to represent such a concept. Moreover, Islam cannot be classified as moderate or not."

I mention this now because after the fireworks over Scott Brown's U.S. Senate victory in Massachusetts have died down, we will have to return to the same, old, equal parts humdrum and deadly wrangle over how to think, talk about and grapple with Islam in what remains a post-9/11 world.

Two related events took place just as the Massachusetts miracle sucked the oxygen from non-election news excepting Haiti coverage. First, the Pentagon report on the Fort Hood massacre came out. It is 86 pages long and doesn't mention the words "Muslim," "Islam," "jihad," "Sharia" (Islamic law), "Koran" -- despite the fact that we know, among other things, that the killer, who initiated his massacre with a cry of "Allahu Akbar," was a Muslim inspired by Islam to perform an act of jihad as sanctioned by Sharia derived from the Koran.

These facts, however, rate official silence. So what else is new? From the Bush years to the present, see-no-Islam denial has turned U.S. government attempts to assess and discuss national security issues into Kabuki gibberish, a perpetual exercise in make-believe that the core doctrines and traditional institutions of Islam -- not "radical Islam," not "Islamism," not other aliases -- pose no threat to the core doctrines and traditional institutions of the non-Islamic Free World. Naturally, mum's the Pentagon word over jihad at Fort Hood. Or, rather, "self-radicalization" is the word. It is mentioned more than a dozen times in the report.

I can't imagine a greater dereliction of duty than this failure of U.S. government leaders to recognize, articulate and defend against what in military parlance is known as the "enemy threat doctrine." But this dereliction, this failure will trigger no investigations or court proceedings on how and why our leaders consistently mask, soft-soap and otherwise fail to assess and repel the existential threat posed by the imposition or accommodation of these same Islamic doctrines.

Talk about irony: Within days of the report's release, one of the few politicians in the world who understands, articulates and fights the imposition and accommodation of these same Islamic doctrines went on trial in the Netherlands for doing exactly that.

I refer again to Geert Wilders, now enmeshed in a Kafkaesque court trial in which the Dutch government is subverting its own democratic institutions -- namely, freedom of speech and the will of the people -- in an effort to shut down Wilders and his political opposition to the Islamization of the Netherlands. The government's case rests on Wilders' increasingly successful efforts to win support for his anti-Islamization program from the Dutch people through speeches, writings and the short film "Fitna" (easily viewable online) -- a body of work that only a tyrannical, Islamically correct government could designate as "evidence" of a crime.

How Dutch government officials must envy America's Sharia-compliant public servants who willingly generate see-no-Islam blather such as the Fort Hood report.

They can have it.

***

Go get 'em Diana!

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

The Curious Case of the Illusive Strategy

In a world where winning the war means winning hearts and minds, we have some of those troubling realities messing up the plan once again. An enemy that we still can't quite identify in the midst of a population whose hearts and minds we are buying...sorry... winning. Many questions arise from the piece that follows not the least of which is; how can these attacks continue to happen in the midst of a population of people whose hearts and minds have been won (spelled bought). Conflicting guidance and orders from upper echelon that borders on schizophrenia and a growing frustration among our men and women is taking its toll. In the midst of this insanity comes this little gem;

* * * * *

This note was written just before a recent attack where a number of CIA agents were murdered.

In paraphrase:

"Our Base is well inside hostile territory. All serious attacks here have been within a few hundred meters of us, including a successful attack on a UN 'Safe House.'

Everyone here is, however, completely unarmed! This is what they say to us, and I am quoting directly:

'... all personnel will have their weapons GREEN (we call it "Storage Mode") at all times. All weapons will be cleared immediately upon entering the compound... at no time are weapons to be loaded, nor is any weapon to have a magazine inserted'

When attacked, we've been directed to run and hide in bunkers, but still not load our weapons! I've tried, unsuccessfully, to get our allowable weapons status upgraded. I'm told, 'We'll have NDs, and that will generate too much paperwork,' another direct quotation! I've even confronted star-wearers, saying 'Why
do we have soldiers in an overseas combat zone, including officers and staff NCOs, under arms, who are apparently so poorly discipline and trained that they can't be trusted with loaded small arms?' With a sneer, the general replied, '... it's just too dangerous having people walking around with loaded guns.' (SOUNDS LIKE CHIEFs Of Police Depts)

After years of continuous lethal contact with an implacable enemy, most reasonable people would think we would have long-since weeded out such emasculate fools, sheep, and attaboys. No such luck. In fact, we've promoted them! As for me, and a number of others, we've long ago decided to ignore stupid rules that endanger our lives, about which no one apparently cares, except us. My pistol is always in "Carry Mode" (called "Red" here), no matter where I am. When stopped by someone who points out that I have a magazine inserted in my pistol. My response is as follows, depending upon the rank of the person who noticed:

(1) 'Go find something else do to, Sonny!'

(2) 'I've never been able to understand violence in any form. Have you? Actually Bud, that is not a magazine. It's a dust-cover. It renders then pistol completely useless. You should get one!"

(3) 'Sir, that regulation negates my ability to defend myself, which is my inalienable right, a right I claim, fearlessly and unapologetically. If you think you want to charge me, go for it!'

Most of the time, my pistols are concealed, and the issue never rears its ugly head. Like so many other capable and dedicated officers and NCOs, I'm getting out, leaving in disgust!" Comment: Although we've made some progress, particularly with the Marines, the foregoing nauseating catastrophe is still all too typical.

* * * * *

If this seems like a break-down in discipline and order, you are wrong. I would give up my nice quiet life to be back in the struggle in the midst of the Warrior community in a heartbeat! What has broken down is common sense, common decency, any sense of nationalism, the courage to call a spade a spade (in this case our enemy as Islam - self identified by the way), the ability to find truly qualified people to represent us in Washington DC, an educated electorate and General grade Officers with any sense of obligation to tell the truth regardless of ramifications for their careers. The Officer/NCO that sent this to the rear did so anonymously, knowing his career would be jettisoned and might in fact face charges under the UCMJ if identified with these remarks.

The two things I take away from this is first, the ability and willingness of our Warriors to adapt in an environment of insanity and second that they should have to simply to protect themselves - from the enemy. It should be duly noted that upper echelon leadership and their civilian counterparts rarely, if ever, subject themselves to the horrors they project on our Warriors. I wonder how willing our elected representatives would be to spend even one week in the conditions they subject our Warriors to? The answer is pitifully obvious after all, just 21 of the elected in DC have ever worn a uniform.

With the latest political broadside, coming out of Massachusetts, there is undoubtedly a movement afoot that we can only hope will affect foreign affairs and specifically as it affects our Warriors. 'Business as usual' is not being tolerated on the domestic front anymore. It is now clear that the country at large is incensed by the callous, self-centered ideology of the political elite and has effectively put all of DC on notice. Scott Brown does not represent what an election might have been in years past. His was not a 'masterful' sales pitch nor is his career any great study. What this election does represent is a super-charged electorate that is finished with politicians who think they deserve their 'jobs'. One can only hope that the population will be spending as much time reconsidering our non-strategy in handling our Islamic foes and 'throw the bums out' that are responsible for this great travesty.

In the meantime consider this last piece of depravity; Trijicon, which provides many of the scopes currently in use by all branches of our military, has been inscribing its scopes, discreetly, with Biblical references. Today; they announced they were conceding to demands from the DOD due to a 'complaint' from an unnamed person or group. The story is as follows:

* * *

Trijicon:

No more Bible references on

scopes

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 21, 2010 17:00:27 EST

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

A company under fire for etching biblical references on rifle scopes used by the U.S. military said Thursday it will stop the practice, and offered to provide modification kits to the Pentagon to enable their removal on existing optics.

Michigan-based Trijicon Inc. made the announcement in a statement released by Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that specializes in crisis management.

“Trijicon has proudly served the U.S. military for more than two decades, and our decision to offer to voluntarily remove these references is both prudent and appropriate,” Trijicon president Stephen Bindon said in a statement. “We want to thank the Department of Defense for the opportunity to work with them and will move as quickly as possible to provide the modification kits for deployment overseas.”

Trijicon also said it will remove the inscriptions from all products it has made for the military, but not yet shipped, and that it will provide foreign military services that purchased Trijicon products the same options.

Company officials said Monday in a report on ABC News’ “Nightline” news program that it included coded references to Bible passages on its products, including optics used by U.S. troops currently in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a statement released Tuesday, the company said it adopted the practice “as part of our faith and our belief in service to country.”

The admission led to a maelstrom of media attention and criticism that the practice would allow Muslim extremists to claim that the U.S. is waging a holy war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Corps officials said in a statement Tuesday they were “aware of the issue and concerned with how this may be perceived,” and said they planned to meet with Trijicon.

The inscriptions gained attention on the company’s Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is mounted to M16A4 and M4 service rifles used by tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In one example, an inscription included “JN8:12,” a reference to John 8:12, a Christian gospel passage: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The inscription on another optic includes “2COR4:6,” which refers to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

* * *

It will be interesting to watch and see how far the electorate comes this year and how successful we are in turning this vessel around we call a nation.

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

Traitors in Our Midst?

It has been well over 200 years since the great American patriot, Nathan Hale uttered his now immortal words, 'My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my country'. Although historians may quibble about the precision with which his words have been purveyed to us, the sheer force of those words never fail to strike awe in us; that a man would willingly forfeit his life that his family and friends might live in freedom. This is how we remember and define heroism and even martyrdom.

These concepts have been so obscured in recent years and by recent events that without a determined effort by us, our children might never fully understand the concept of self-sacrifice. These days we see endless examples of men, warped by evil ideology blowing themselves up in crowded bazaars and on crowded planes not to secure freedom for anyone but simply to strike fear in the hearts of free men. This evil ideology is as sinister a doctrine as ever contrived by men and has been offered to us in the guise of divine utterance. While there are many among us who choose to recognize this ideology as something given to a deranged man by a demon, there are still others who accept them as just another example of another way to 'God'. Anyone who was not well trained in any other religion might come to that conclusion and even those of us with a fair understanding of our own religion might fall victim to the belief that it is harmless, if it wasn't for history.

This evil ideology (spelled Islam) and the countless millions who have sold their souls to it are as determined today as they were in the 7th century to transform the entire world into a cesspool of service to their warped version of God. The thing is, they have never hidden their understanding of the mandates of their religion or their intent to carry them out. They have, however, made clever use of deception and omission when discussing it openly with unwitting adversaries (spelled infidels). Like a spider they have lured larger prey into their web and have caused them to do their will and even caused their prey to turn on their own. They are crafty, lying, deceitful murderers of men, rapists, thieves and deluded by the Devil himself. And they are among us.

Our own government has knowledge of these men and their ideology and rather than to identify them and hold them responsible for the atrocities they commit, they reward them by asking them to help us 'understand' them. They hire them to teach our intelligence community and our military a perverted version of the truth of their religion and send these same military personnel and intelligence agents out into hell to fight a war without fire support and with a corrupt knowledge of the culture and the enemy that is a lie. Our government tells our people, daily, that the enemy is a sub-set of a larger group and an anomaly and that the best way to handle it is to convince the larger population to help us. They have been telling us this for years and have not been able to produce ANY proof of what they are saying. They deny history and facts that are piling up by the hour like some kind of mentally traumatized and terminally ill patient refusing to come to terms with his own mortality.

If this sounds a little melodramatic, then you need to start paying attention to all that you are not being told; that means you now have to study, on your own, to determine if what you are being told is in fact so. We who are Christians know this admonition in the form of 1 John 4:1 -'Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.'. In the same way, there are many people in high office who harbor motivations that are not in keeping with their solemn oaths sworn to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;' These men - and women are primarily interested in winning yet another seat in office. They have done, and will continue to do whatever it takes to convince an ever 'dumbed-down' constituency that they have made the country safer because of their due diligence and through their diplomatic prowess when dealing with cultures with these 'anomalous', 'extremist', 'radical' elements in our midst. They will tell you this while they continue to be lured by front groups for this perverse ideology and use them to further confuse the minds of men and women who have sworn their oaths to fight and die for your freedom.

The latest incidences in Afghanistan should at the very least cause even the most skeptical to take another look at the policies of our civilian leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq. In Gamsir, an area where the 'Winning Hearts and Minds' strategy (spelled counter-insurgency), is suppose to be a model of success, one bit of propaganda (presumably by the Taliban) was enough to spark riots with rioters screaming for the death of American and NATO troops. They were upset because they were told someone had damaged or desecrated the Quran. In Kabul where militants attacked several Afghan government buildings and injured and killed many and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. In Iraq where rockets were fired in to Najaf, killing 15 and wounding 22 near a shrine. We were told that COIN doctrine would garner greater respect and trust among the people and that this would in turn help us eradicate the 'extremists' in their midst. It still hasn't occurred to most that the 'extremists' are simply those in a society of perversion who happen to have the courage to carry out what their ideology demands of them. AND THEY ARE AMONG US.

This year we have an opportunity to undo at least some of the damage caused by years of neglect. We can break the back of the 'world community organizers' that currently hold the power in this country and elect people who will remember that they are servants to us. We can elect men and women who understand that this nation is sovereign and that no people, ideology or influence can have us or our freedom. We can elect men and women who understand the gravity of taking an oath and who are willing to sacrifice whatever of themselves is necessary in carrying out the duties of that oath. We can elect men and women who are educated about this enemy and who are not afraid of demographics, an imagined power base, foreign pestilence, perverse ideologies, their proponents and are not afraid to name the enemies of this nation.

The current seated caretakers of this nation are not created in the image of Nathan Hale, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or Patrick Henry. They are of another ilk and they have done their best to sell the soul of this nation for a little personal aggrandizement. In the process, they have made us a lot less safe and have invited the enemy into our midst. It is time to take back this country and elect men and women of sound character, moral courage, noble, with a sound sense of service and patriotism because the 536 currently seated in the Dark City are not! Tomorrow, Massachusetts may send a signal that this country is not only disgusted with the self-serving, but ready to meet our enemies head to head. And most importantly, that we are no longer going to tolerate the likes of Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid, Murtha or their minions like Gates and McChrystal as they continue to spill the precious blood of the greatest members of this generation on a faulty vision of the world!

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

Where is Islamberg and Why is it a Ghost Town?

I know there are those who will never accept any 'anomaly' as evidence and this same segment of the population will never take the time to research this subject to see if what they have been indoctrinated with stands up to the scrutiny of history and sound academic research. For everyone else; here is yet another troubling evidence of the continuing and coming storm. The question we all have to ask is just how many times this 'anomaly' has repeated itself nationwide and for that matter, in Canada and western Europe? Do those in whom we have entrusted our security know the answer to that and what are they prepared to do about it? The events that have unfolded in Afghanistan concerning our 'strategy change' and related ROE have suggested that these decisions are based on a faulty understanding of the enemy and a left-wing agenda. I'm curious to know how many more 9/11's we will have to experience before our sworn Leaders and the Protectors of our Constitution, Land and People are going to be willing to re-visit their flawed perception of the enemy?

The latest revelation surrounding the latest Executive Order that affords diplomatic immunity to Interpol and by extension the ICC suggest much darker times ahead. It is no secret that the ICC and other international governing bodies see the campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as 'illegal' by their own standards. Until the 17th of this month, that meant little. Now , our own President has laid the ground work necessary to subjugate an entire country which was entrusted to him by 53% of the population. This population which can no longer expect protection from their government from a foreign pestilence in the form of Interpol and the ICC. Our Warriors can no longer expect they will not be held liable for 'crimes against humanity' by a foreign agancy that has already expressed their disdain for America and declared the war we are embroiled in, illegal. It has been feared that they would eventually exploit any opportunity to hold any and all American Warriors liable. This President has given them that opportunity. Can you say Sedition?

Some will say that these things are not inter-related but that is an extremely naive and dangerous view. These things are all related! Applying a battle strategy that has failed historically, in a land of people that have no respect for their own central government and ideologically hate all outside of their ideology, where the human and physical terrain is unforgivable and murderous is insane. Placing our Warriors in this place without expectation of simple, timely, organic fire support from weapon systems like 60mm mortars is murderous - not naive and not unrelated to the bigger picture! It very clearly smacks of a government and government officials that no longer fear their constituency and no longer love or respect the men in uniform that they have placed in harm's way. One can only deduce that they have a new constituency and a new 'first love'. The question is, will this present constituency tolerate the current crop of traitors or will they show them the door in 2010? Will the new crop that replaces them be any different? Will they understand what the current crop has so obviously forgotten; that they have sworn an oath 'to support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;' or will they continue the same failing policies of their predecessors and continue to drive this, their country into the ground and into the shackles of some foreign pestilence?

A question was posed to me the other day; 'Power, money, and prestige are motivators toward evil. O for honest men and women to stand up and lead! Are there any out there? Can they possibly rise to the top without corruption?' To which I answer; I don't know. I honestly don't know.

John Bernard

www.newmediajournal.us/staff/p_williams/2009/1222209.htm

Dr. Paul L. Williams, PhD
Why Is Islamberg Now a Ghost Town?
December 22, 2009

The Wall Street Journal reports this week that U.S. investigators are discovering that more and more young Muslims are vanishing from mosques, madrassas, and Islamic centers.

The disappearances, the Journal notes, are raising grave concerns among FBI and Homeland Security officials who fear that an onset of jihadist activity will take place on American soil in the near future.

Hundreds of Muslim men are also missing from Islamberg and this is not a propitious omen.

The sentry post is gone and no guards are in sight at the entrance to the 70 acre Islamic settlement located in the dense forest between Deposit and Hancock in upper New York State.

Young men in Islamic garb no longer congregate before the makeshift mosque, and no students are in attendance at the one room shack that serves as Sheikh Gilani's “International Quranic Open University.”

Gunfire no longer can be heard from the firing ranges along the eastern parameter of the property – and no grunts come from new recruits at the obstacle course.

A new sign at the entranceway reads, “Welcome to Holy Islamberg: The International Quranic Open University.” Next to this sign, which features the image of a mosque emerging from the mountains, is a pot of plastic carnations. Another sign proclaims that the community is home to the “United Muslim – Christian Forum.”

Such statements of welcome are offset by the “No Trespassing” signs that have been nailed to trees throughout the compound.

On the opposite side of the road leading into the community is a rack of metal mailboxes bearing such names as Abdul-Haqq, Abdul Jalil, Mumim Roberts, Abdullah Simonds, and Salam Insan.

What has happened to this once bustling complex of radical Islamists – a place where the cries of muezzins were accompanied by the incessant rat-tat-tat of machine gunfire? Where are the Arab dignitaries that used to visit this remote community in chauffeur-driven limousines? Where are the armed sentries who warded away all intruders?

A handful of children play in the mud and muck before rows of rusty old trailers, and a few women in full burkas walk along the rutty dirt road that leads to the heart of the squalid Muslim compound.

The few residents who remain in the settlement are not environmentalists. Sewage seeps from septic tanks and outhouses into the creek that flows at the base of the settlement. Bags of rotting garbage remain stacked between the trailers. And the once pristine countryside is now littered with junk cars, moldy mattresses, empty tanks of propane, and old appliances.

Where are the men?

What has happened to this bustling center of jihadi training?

Why has Islamberg become a ghost town?

The same phenomenon of vanishing Muslim men is taking place at mosques, madrassas, and other Islamic communities throughout the country and at other Jamaat ul-Fuqra paramilitary compounds, including one in Red House, Virginia.

U.S. investigators have now discovered that many of the missing Muslims are showing up in the killing fields of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

Five American Muslims recently were arrested in Pakistan following a raid at the home of a member of the Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistani movement designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2001.

The five American Muslims – identified as Ahmed Abdullah, Waqar Hassan Khan, Eman Hassan, Yasir and Rami Zamzam – were planning to join forces with the Taliban to fight the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Zamzam is a graduate dental student at Howard University, where he served as president of the Muslim Student Association.

David Coleman Headley, another Muslim who disappeared, is a native of Chicago who attended Lashkar-e-Toiba-operated terrorism training camps in Pakistan and helped Lashker-e-Toiba members and others plan and execute the attacks in Denmark against the newspaper which published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, which Muslims found offensive, as well as the violent attack in Mumbai, in about 170 people died.

At the same time Headley was taken into custody, U.S. investigators discovered that 20 Somali immigrants, who were reported missing from a mosque in Minnesota, had joined the Islamist insurgent group, al Shabaab, and were engaged in fighting Somalia's U.S.-backed government.

And there is the case of Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old resident of Denver, who made a trip to Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2008 for the stated purpose of visiting his wife only to show up at an al Qaeda training camp where he received instruction in making and detonating explosives. In September, Zazi was collared by federal officials as he made his way to New York City to carry out attacks with the same back-pack bombs that were used to blow up a train station in Madrid and several subway stations in London.

Where are the Muslim men from Islamberg?

The answer comes from a heavy-set woman in a long black burka who stops to check her mail box. “The men – all gone,” she says in halting English. “All – in Pakistan.”

Islamberg was established in 1980 by Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, a Pakistani cleric who served as the imam of the Yasin Masjid in Brooklyn. A quack practitioner of something called “Koranic psychiatry,” Sheikh Gilani presented himself to the Brooklyn congregation as "the sixth Sultan ul Faqr,” with a lineage that dates back to the prophet Mohammed. He claimed to have supernatural powers that came from his regular reception of visits by jinn and “non-human beings.”

Sporting ammunition belts, Gilani called upon members of a Black Muslim street gang known as Dar al-Islam (DAR) to take part in the holy war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Hundreds answered the call and headed off to training camps in Pakistan, which had been established by Osama bin Laden, and other members of the mujahadeen.

Under Gilani’s direction, the DAR transformed into Jamaat ul-Fuqra (“the community of the impoverished”) and continued its prison ministry under Muslims of the Americas, a new, non-profit corporation. The sheikh soon came to realize that it would be financially advantageous to train new recruits for the holy war on American soil rather than shelling out the freight of sending them to Lahore and Peshawar. He purchased a 70-acre parcel of land near Green Haven, set up a firing range and an obstacle course, purchased a slew of old single-wide trailers and created a paramilitary compound called Islamberg.

When released from the federal prison, former convicts now received not only the customary $10 and a suit of clothes but also a one-way ticket to Gilani’s compound.

What took place at Islamberg and the International Quranic Open University?

The answers came from Sheikh Gilani in his recruitment videos: “We give [students] specialized training in guerilla warfare. We are at present establishing training camps. You can easily reach us at Open Quranic offices in upstate New York or in Canada or in South Carolina or in Pakistan.”

Similarly, in a handbook, published by the university, Gilani wrote that the foremost duty of all students is to wage war against “the oppressors of Muslims.” The students are expected to sign an oath that reads: “I shall always hear and obey, and whenever given the command, I shall readily fight for Allah’s sake.”

Now that the recruits at Islamberg have been trained in the basics of guerilla warfare, they have been deployed to Pakistan for advanced courses in explosives and weapons of mass destruction.

They will be returning home soon.

The Real Rules Of War

Another great perspective on the Rules of Engagement, Civilization, the cruelty of war and an argument for reason.

By Warren Kozak

Five years ago, a particularly gruesome image made its way to our television

screens from the war in Iraq. Four U.S. civilian contractors working in

Fallujah were ambushed and killed by al Qaeda. Their bodies were burned,

then dragged through the streets. Two of the charred bodies were hung from

the Euphrates Bridge and left dangling.

This barbaric act left an impression that our military did not forget: In a

special operation earlier this year, Navy SEALs captured the mastermind of

that attack, Ahmed Hashim Abed. But after he was taken into custody in

September, Abed claimed he was punched by his captors. He showed a fat lip

to prove it. Three of the SEALS are now awaiting a courts-martial on charges

ranging from assault to dereliction of duty and making false statements.

This incident and its twisted irony takes me back to an oddly serene setting

many years ago. When I was in college, I joined my parents on a trip to

retrace my father's wartime experience in Europe. We drove from France,

through Holland and Belgium and on to Germany-the same route he had taken

with the U.S. Army in 1944-45. At a field outside the Belgian town of

Malmedy, we got out of our rented car where my father described something I

had never heard before.

During the Battle of the Bulge, in the bleak December of 1944, the Germans

had quickly overrun the American lines. They took thousands of prisoners as

they pushed through in a last chance gamble to turn the war around. One

unit, part of the First SS Panzer Division, had captured over a hundred GIs.

They were moving fast, and they didn't care to be burdened by prisoners. So

the SS troops put the American soldiers in that field and mowed them down

with machine guns.

Around 90 Americans were killed in that barrage. The Germans then walked

through the tangle of bodies, shooting those who were still alive in the

back of the head. The few that survived were brought to where my father was

located in the nearby town of Liege where word of the massacre quickly

spread.

My father was never a talker. And in spite of the fact that we were on a

trip to look at his past, he didn't open up much, or couldn't. When I asked

him what the reaction was among the U.S. troops, he answered without

emotion: "We didn't take prisoners for two weeks." I immediately understood

what he meant, and had the sense not to press the issue any further. I just

looked out at the field, now green and peaceful on a beautiful summer day,

and realized he was looking at the same field and seeing something quite

different.

In the weeks following the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops clearly broke the

rules of the Geneva Conventions. Justified or not, they were technically

guilty of war crimes.

My guess is that the American correspondents imbedded with those troops knew

all about this and chose not to report it. So did their officers. They

understood the gravity of the war, as well as the absolute importance of its

outcome. And they understood that disclosing this information might

ultimately help the enemy. In other words, they used common sense. Was the

U.S. a lesser country because these GIs weren't arrested? Was the

Constitution jeopardized? Somehow it survived.

You don't have to dig too deep to understand that war brings out behavior in

people that they would never demonstrate in normal life. In Paul Fussell's

moving memoir, "The Boys' Crusade," the former infantryman relates a story

about the liberation of Dachau. There were about 120 SS guards who had been

captured by the Americans. Even though the Germans were being held at

gunpoint, they still had the arrogance-or epic stupidity-to continue to heap

verbal abuse and threats on the inmates. Their American guards, thoroughly

disgusted by what they had already witnessed in the camp, had seen enough

and opened fire on the SS. Some of the remaining SS guards were handed over

to the inmates who tore them limb from limb. Another war crime? No doubt.

Justified? It depends on your point of view. But before you weigh in,

realize that you didn't walk through the camp. You didn't smell it. You

didn't witness the obscene horror of the Nazis.

Rules of war are important. They are something to strive for as they

separate us from our distant ancestors. But when only one side follows these

rules, they no longer elevate us. They create a very unlevel field and more

than a little frustration. It is equally bizarre for any of us to judge

someone's behavior in war by the rules we follow in our very peaceful

universe. We sit in homes that are air-conditioned in the summer and warmed

in the winter. We have more than enough food in our bellies and we get

enough sleep. The stress in our lives won't ever match the stress of battle.

Can we honestly begin to decide if a soldier acted in compliance with rules

that work perfectly well on Main Street but not, say, in Malmedy or

Fallujah?

In his book, Mr. Fussell probably sums up the feelings of many soldiers when

he quotes a British captain, John Tonkin, who experienced a great deal of

the war. "I have always felt," Capt. Tonkin said, "that the Geneva

Convention is a dangerous piece of stupidity, because it leads people to

believe that war can be civilized. It can't."

Mr. Kozak is the author of "LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis

LeMay" (Regnery, 2009).