Of Myths and Legends

I used to tell my kids that if you could describe everyone's life as a book then the final chapter would be entitled 'Myths and Legends'. I told them that we all have a tendency to remember people as larger than life but not to be suspect of or discouraged by that. The fact is we need to emphasize the qualities of a person's life and hold them up as a billboard for the world to see. In a world that continues to plunge ever deeper into the recesses of the pit, people who still have a functional conscience need to know there is a better model to follow.

When I was a kid, I was an aficionado of the Saturday afternoon westerns. There was a lot of wisdom to be gleaned from those 'B' movies and 1/2 hour TV shows. The likes of John Wayne, Randolph Scott and Roy Rogers rode the plains and streets of the old west with guns displayed outside their trousers. These men lived by a code of honor like a modern race of Knights who demanded nothing less of other men . They defended the defenseless, confined evil and selflessly gave of themselves for the same. Some more memorable elements of those codes of honor I still keep with me today:

1. Always take the seat against the wall offering the best view of the room

2. Never face the Sun

3. Always command the high ground

4. A .36 caliber handgun is good but a .45 is better

5. If time permits; get a shotgun

6. It is better to die with Eagles than live with swine

7. Never trust a man who speaks with forked tongue (this was always my favorite)

8. Never expect of a man that which you are unwilling to do yourself

We have come a long way since the days when even the writers in Hollywood understood the simple wisdom of the ages and were willing to infuse it into the story line. We have, in fact, become a land of compromisers. Compromise has become the byline of the elite; a sign of wisdom in a city that no longer shines. It lost its luster so long ago that the current residents can't tell you when the transformation began. Those who choose to work in that city are, in danger of losing their very souls. Here logic has been replaced with convoluted rhetoric; purity with rampant sin; courage of conviction with sleazy backroom compromise; worship of the one omnipotent God has been replaced with the Eastern, New Age, Siren's song that 'all roads lead to heaven'. I wonder how one reconciles these passages from the Koran which are considered the latest and most authoritative:

Sura:9:5 - 'But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans (infidels; Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims) wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war; but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.'

Surah 9:29 - 'Fight against those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are of the People of the Book (Christians and Jews), until they pay the Jizya (a tax on non-believers) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued (enslaved).

With these from the New Testament:

John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Mathew 5:38 - 40 - ³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'^{[a] 39}But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

The answer of course is clear; only a deceitful person would dare to suggest some basic misunderstanding or maybe they have been spiritually blinded.

From this city the elected, lord from their lofty thrones, in the once hallowed halls of hope and hand down edicts designed to garner support from one sub-culture or another to insure another 2, 4, or 6 years of an illicit career. The fallout from these decisions varies in type, but not intensity. Laws cordoning the rights given men by their Creator, slip the electorate ever closer to the precipice overlooking the pit of slavery. Laws defending the indefensible at a cost paid by Patriots, demoralize and deaden the nerve center of nationalism. Wars haphazardly waged to massage the egotistical needs of lesser men reek eternal havoc on our idealistic youth and rob families of their posterity.

I have no doubt the worshipers of the lords of DC have hope their perverted cowboys, having transformed the countryside into a shining version of their polluted dream, will ride off into a glorious sunset. They have an awful truth awaiting them. On the other hand, down in the depths of my soul I know that the fallen Warrior will ride off into Glory. God speed Warrior! May God show more mercy to the lords of DC than they have shown to those who entrusted them with our sacred trust.

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

A Necessary Evil; an Intolerable Blight on the Land

You've heard it said; 'they eat their own' to describe all manner of self-destructive behavior as it pertains to organizations. We've all seen evidence of this kind of behavior and may even have been detrimentally affected by it. It's one of those phenomena that's difficult to explain to a sane person who has been 'off-world' for all of their adult lives because there isn't any rational excuse for it. It is seldom when you can point to a specific case and say, there; they fired Sam to further their career or to grow the company. The sane man might ask, why are we firing Sam when he is one of the best salesmen we have had or why Sam when so many others have done exactly the same thing and even been promoted in spite of it. Most often the answer lies in some base instinct to massage the ego of the person carrying out the 'execution'.

As it pertains to a nation; it is either subversive, politically ideological, diversionary or self ingratiating. None of these are acceptable and in most cases, the victims are the most vulnerable in whatever department of government they are in; those who will not be missed or on whom can be heaped all of the sins of the sitting administration.

It was Thomas Paine who said; "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." The government we as Americans are most familiar with, our own, has done it's best to make that statement true, over, and over, again. Almost all departments of government are to blame including the Department of Defense. During those instances when we see this kind of behavior emanating from that department it is most troubling largely because those who serve there (and I am speaking of those who serve in the lower echelons) have absolutely nothing to gain accept the knowledge that they have served their country. These days, however, there are a growing - almost daily listing of instances where upper echelon leadership and/or our civilian elected officials seem to be playing a perverse game of 'pin the tail on the donkey'.

SSgt CM sent this story concerning the discharge of Captain Hill for 'abuse of detainees'. The detainees in question were the enemy, the method he used to encourage them to talk was a ruse in which no physical contact was made with the 'detainees' and, most importantly, the ruse was successful. God forbid. One can only assume upper echelon and the dopes in DC were upset because we won in that encounter.

In another story sent by Andy Bostom, there is yet another possible instance of rogue Islamic adherents attempting to kill American military members on sovereign American soil. The story says that the incident is 'under investigation' which may be code for yet another duck and cover run by the Obama administration and his cronies.

In another story we have yet another travesty, Herschel Smith writes about the investigation into the death of 3 Marines and a Navy Corpsman in Ganjgal last year. As was predicted by Herschel and those of us who have served in uniform could have told you, upper echelon and their civilian masters are insuring they are indemnified by insuring someone else ultimately pays the price for their completely unnecessary deaths. The truth is, the vaguely issued ROE and those who penned that monstrosity are to blame. Those who have knowingly placed all of our Warriors at unnecessary risk for the sake of Afghans who cannot be trusted, are to blame but they have forgotten one of the leadership principles; 'seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions'. They have instead chosen to seek a sacrificial lamb, a scapegoat upon which to heap their unspeakable sins.

The continued unwillingness to attribute any subversive, aberrant illegal, immoral or unsavory act to the Islamic religion or its Koran is wearing exceptionally thin. Continuing to seek American Warriors to destroy legally and symbolically is also beginning to take its toll on not only true Americans but the Warrior community as a whole.

For those of you who 'serve' at the pleasure of the electorate and for those of you who have been appointed by them know this; God (not Allah), is not mocked. He knows you and has found you wanting. There is a reckoning. For the electorate, 2010 may prove to be a cleansing experience. For the elected and appointed, 2010 may prove to be a waterloo moment. For our Warriors; it will be business as usual because they have no ulterior motives. They signed to serve and always serve with distinction. Once this is over, they will sleep at night. Those of you in DC, may also but your eternal prognosis is not one I envy.

'There is nothing new under the sun.' Ecclesiastes 1:9

In 1949, the British backed colonial government in Malaya suffered a set-back in the year long Counter Insurgency against the CT's (Communist Terrorists) that resulted in a near stalemate. Opportunities to exploit the enemy's weaknesses had been missed largely due to a faulty intelligence network and a lackluster vision from the British government back home. Remember; Malaya was not foreign to the British and the British were not strangers to the Malayan. There was a history and it was not all bad and yet fighting the CT's (an actual insurgency), was extremely difficult in the early days of the 'emergency'.

At the same time, inexplicably, the British government with its sitting Socialist party under the leadership of Prime Minister Clement Atlee, legitimized Mao Tse Tung in China with positive rhetoric designed to court the Chairman. The effect was devastating to the Malayan Brits and the war effort.

Sound familiar?

* * * *

Four days ago a combined force of some 6000 Marines, Soldiers, NATO troops and ANA launched an 'offensive' on the town of Marjah. The local population numbers somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000 and is comprised largely of farmers. The primary money crop is opium. The Taliban have used the town for R & R, a staging and planning area and have reaped income by 'taxing' the farmers who move their illicit crop toward the Pakistani border and Karachi for shipment .

Approximately 3 days before the Helo's landed with the first troops, small units harassed the Taliban on the outskirts of town in an effort to draw fire and locate firing positions. It should also be noted that the Karzai government estimated some 1000 Taliban remained in the town while the Taliban released word that 2000 were there, dug in and ready for a fight to the death. It now appears that the actual force that remained behind to face our assault may have numbered fewer than 500.

That the Marines and NATO forces would succeed in the narrowly defined mission of liberating the town from Taliban was never in question. Marines never fail. They always follow the orders they are given and complete the mission as detailed. Analyzing what happened a lot further up the chain of command will reveal a lot more questions than answers.

1. Why publicly telegraph for weeks our intention to attack Marjah?

2. Why give the enemy any kind of intelligence information?

3. If the intent was simply to force the Taliban out of Marjah and not to kill them; where did they go where they will essentially be 'neutralized'?

4. If they are not neutralized, when and how to we intend to meet this new threat in a new area(s)?

There also remain the same questions of ROE and its negative effect on our Warriors and their efforts to kill or destroy the enemy while minimizing American casualties. During the offensive , rockets were launched, presumably, at Taliban targets and it has been reported that civilians were killed. General McChrystal's immediate response was to suspend the use of those rockets - indefinitely. Also during the fight, Taliban, or Taliban sympathizers were seen driving motorcycles in the distance aiding the Taliban effort possibly with intel or maybe moving munitions from site to site. The ROE requires a man be armed before our Warriors can engage him. Taliban were seen firing and then dropping weapons, knowing that would essentially, save their lives to maybe fight another day.

The overall effect of this has been to increase the frustration level of our Warriors and little else. (Diana West has done a fantastic job chronicling this battle; read it.) How exactly do you hold an enemy culpable - on any level or by any means if you don't intend to engage him? If in the end your efforts fail to hold him accountable, or bring him to justice, or kill him, what is it that then defines your success? If you say it is the 'friendship and trust' of the people, how long will that last once you abandon them to the fury of an angry Taliban that you failed to neutralize? What prevents the Taliban from returning to the point they were prior to 9/11? What ultimately will have been done to remove the 'clear and present danger' posed by these thugs to the United States of America?

The fact is, if we don't kill the Taliban, they will hide out (in their country Afghanistan), for as long as is necessary and essentially regroup. Once we are gone, they will re-emerge; violently and bolstered in their belief that they successfully outlasted us. Do we really; really believe, for an instant, that the Afghan people under any leadership will ever see anything even remotely resembling a democracy? Is anyone in this country truly prepared to say they truly believe that? Anyone? Remember; we removed Al Qaida from Afghanistan to deny them training/planning/launching facilities. We removed the Taliban from power and now we are courting them to 'participate' with the Karzai government. The entire Afghan population; civilians, government and the 'insurgency' are still Muslim, still hate us, still want us and all 'Infidels' dead and still propagate by Jihad.

And what of our Sons and Daughters whose lives were sacrificed by our government for a cause absolutely no one can identify? What of them? For them courage was not complicated; it was the best of their character. They gave their best and their final measure to a country whose leadership has thus far squandered that gift.

' For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.' Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

Our Schizophrenic Leadership Charges On.............

In the very same morning issue of Military.com, Marine Corps edition dated 01 February 2010, we have two lead stories and the juxtaposition of these two seemingly related stories beautifully illustrates just how completely detached our civilian and upper echelon military leadership is from reality on the battlefield. The opening story is entitled 'Clock starts Ticking on End Gay Ban'. I don't know about you, but I find it disturbing that while men and women are dying on the field of battle largely due to an uncertain strategy driving unethical ROE, we find time to discuss this.

A couple of weeks ago, General Petraeus found Trijicon's practice of infusing Bible Scripture addresses on it's optics 'disturbing'. This is largely due to a standing DOD prohibition barring American Troops from proselytizing in Afghanistan and Iraq for fear of offending them. It should be known, by the way, the Taliban and other Jihadists regularly paint the stocks of their weapons Islamic green and write sura's on them in order to engender the grace of Allah and victory over the enemy (us). http://mssparky.com/2010/01/firm-will-remove-bible-references-from-gun-sights/

So, to translate; we don't want to do anything that might 'offend' Muslims in Muslim-land. Yet by some twisted logic, these present day strategic geniuses, publicly announced their support (both top end leadership in our military and civilian structure) to actively seek placing openly, practicing, homosexual and lesbian Americans (again spelled Infidel) on the battlefield.....I thought Muslims, the Koran, Islam in general and the 'Prophet' found homosexuality an abomination worthy of death? This isn't going to 'offend' our Muslim 'brothers' in Afghanistan and Iraq? Can you say schizophrenia?

Again; Bible scripture addresses, discreetly placed on the side/bottom of optics, infused with the unit nomenclature (which by the way, is a big hit with American Troops) versus announcing the soon arrival of openly practicing homosexuals and lesbians on the soil of a practicing Muslim people. Oh yeah; I want to hire this brain-trust when they retire!

The second story some find 'troubling' and even 'astonishing'. The opening line to this story is as follows; 'Anger, frustration and a hunger for revenge are running high among U.S. Marines as casualties mount on the frontline of the battle against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan' http://www.military.com/news/article/troops-feel-growing-anger-in-afghanistan.html?wh=news&ESRC=marine-a.nl

Gee; you think? Their Commander in Chief, President Obama, their ISAF Commander, General McChrystal, Chairman of the JCS, Adm McMullen and SecDef Robert Gates have sold the entire US military structure downstream and almost gleefully announced and accepted the almost certain prospect of higher American casualty rates in an effort to reduce Afghan civilian casualties. All this in a combat zone where there is very little distinction between combatants and non-combatants and where the non-combatants have shown little concern for or desire to host our Warriors.

In addition, these same 'leaders' have made it clear that victory, winning, Islam, enemy, war and terrorists are no longer part of the lexicon. Then to top it off, Robert Holbrooke announces how gleeful he is that the UN is finally taking Taliban off the UN restricted list and that there will be talks of reconciliation between the seated Karzai administration and the Taliban. He, our President and Karzai are hopeful the Taliban will become part of the governance of Afghanistan again. You think Marines abandoned in this hell might be frustrated; a little?

Hey Geniuses; here's a history lesson for you by someone whose shoes you will never fill:

"When war does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard."
--General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

Paying the Jizya, Defiling the Soul, Wagging the Dog

You have to wonder when someone is going to ask the obvious question; Why is Barrack Obama so interested in the welfare of the Afghan people including the welfare of the Taliban? It isn't difficult to understand General McChrystal's actions or Sec Def Gates, for that matter. They are just doing their boss's bidding. Political appointments are exactly what one might assume them to be; a form of political 'nepotism'. It is a sort of political incest where you continue to reproduce yourself by insuring those you appoint think exactly like you or are, at the very least, willing to compromise their very soul for you and your vision. Of course nothing is done without a price and it will require a little time to find out what the cost of one's soul is on today's market.

This week there was a meeting in London to discuss the future of the Afghan war, the welfare of the Afghan people and the Taliban, reintegration of the Taliban with the Karzai government and what all willing nations were willing to pledge in 'support' for the rebuilding of Afghanistan's 'infrastructure' (such as it is). The amount will certainly be in the billions. It's good to see that the Islamic tradition of the jizya tax will remain intact and that there are so many willing leaders of the nations of the world still understanding the necessity of subjugating their entire populations to theology and jurisprudence of Islam. It's also good to know that what they started almost 1400 years ago will not be a wasted effort. Of course, India was not invited to participate because they don't share the same view of the Taliban. Read this piece: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2440497/posts

Just as an aside; there were several American deaths in Afghanistan this past week , at the hands of the very people we are now intending to 'forgive' and elevate to world power. I won't spend too much time on that because we already discussed that in the last piece and after all, our government apparently believes those lives to be a minor inconvenience in light of the wonderful events that they are now instrumental in bringing to fruition; the rise once again of the Taliban to power. Here are a few examples of what your government deems an appropriate price to pay to turn our enemies into government officials:

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/01/31/Afghan_interpreter_kills_two_soldiers_423178.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/27/us-soldiers-afghanistan

How blind must you be to think any of this makes sense on any level? In any case what does it take to understand the simplicity of an oath taken? All oaths taken by citizens of this country that deal with national security say essentially the same thing and are sworn before the same entity; God. This means that you intend to carry out the elements of your oath (which are pretty specific in scope) and understand you will incur the wrath of a Sovereign God should you fail. Again; for those who missed it the last time; AFGHANISTAN, TALIBAN, ISLAM, PAKISTAN, THE UNITED NATIONS, THE EUROPEAN UNION, et al, are not included in your oath! You are sworn to 'support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic;' as are all of us who have taken that oath (which has no 'sunset').

It's hard to believe that there are still those who believe that COIN is a viable strategy for a largely 'Christian' force to employ in the midst of an Islamic nation where the 'Insurgency' is home grown, home supported and that we are also actively working with to 'mainstream' and elevate to power?!

I once had a dog that chased his own tail - incessantly, to what avail I have no idea. I don't know if he had any idea what he was going to do when he finally 'caught' it but I do know it was going to be painful. Bad analogy? I don't think so.

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

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