Apologies, war and growing up...

In the largest and most aggressive offensive to date in Afghanistan (in the Marjah province) US and NATO forces are apologizing for civilian deaths.

Last week in the first days of the offensive it was initially reported that there were 12 civilian deaths. Ultimately of the 12 initially reported nine of them were civilians and three were Taliban combatants. In another offensive this past weekend NATO Commanders are again apologizing for civilian deaths. Military commanders in the region report that in Afghanistan (as in Iraq) it has become a common to use civilians as a "human shields". More on this later...

No sane person rejoices at the deaths of 12 people. Combatant or not. In previous times the term "collateral damage" was used. Yet I hesitate even now to use it as it is dehumanizing on some level. But isn't that really the point? How can any sane person speak of the horror of war without attempting to insulate the psyche from war's heinous nature. War really is hell. This is not a cliché but a truth every soldier, every warrior, can attest to.


In previous posts I've written about the subject of “political correctness”. I bring this up because it seems to me that we are dealing with an enemy that is completely and totally committed to victory. An enemy that views this conflict as a "zero sum" game. There will be no negotiated peace nor co existence. An enemy whose time frame is radically different than ours.


I understand and even wholeheartedly agree with the current strategy of "winning hearts and minds".


This requires United States and NATO troops to exhibit a level of restraint never seen before on the battlefield. It is a testament to the character of America that we are putting our soldiers in harms way going far above and beyond not only what is required to protect civilians but demonstrating an unprecedented level of care in this regard. There is NO other nation that behaves in this fashion. Quite the contrary... even NATO allies like Germany put their soldiers first. Not allowing their soldiers to operate after dark. The dirty business falls mainly upon the United States. As even Mr Obama observed in Oslo when accepting his Nobel Prize:

"...the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms"

Under the most recent rules of engagement soldiers cannot fire upon a person unless they can see that person in possession of a weapon. Previously, if fire came from a building and eventually people walked out of that building a logical assumption could be made (of course relying on training, experience, and common sense) about returning fire directed at that person that might now be leaving the building where previously a fierce firefight took place. Our enemy is not stupid. Soon enough reports began to come on that Taliban fighters simply put down their weapons and walked out and even taunt soldiers under these new rules. They know their safe passage is guaranteed now.


Much like terrorists know that they will not ever face water boarding. Or that if they are given “tough” interrogations they will be not all that tough and a physician will be standing by and slaps to the face will be open handed and away from the airway. Such are the details divulged by Mr. Obama in a hasty attempt to placate his far left supporters at the expense of keeping America safe.


Mr. Obama takes us back to what has been called a “pre-9/11 mentality” and intimidates our intelligence officers with the threat of prosecution. All the while running about the globe apologizing for what are the greatest accomplishments of any modern nation as if this will bring anyone closer to his dreamlike utopian fantasy and vision of America as a green and clean “global citizen” Our adversaries do not fetter themselves with such ideas.


During his campaign the Obama PR machine was tenacious in trying to enrobe Obama with the attire of President Lincoln. Anyone with even a passing familiarity of Lincoln's writings, presidency and in particular his actions during the civil war (including the suspension of Habeas Corpus) rightly blushed at the mere mention of the two names in the same sentence. Lincoln understood the primacy of keeping the union exactly that : united.


IF one accepts the Declaration of Independence and its inherent “theology” that is so unpolitically correct to speak of... appealing to “Nature and Nature's God”, speaking of rights from man's “Creator” and appealing to the “Supreme Judge of the world” with a “firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence” then these “unalienable rights” accorded all humans not from any piece of paper or governmental body And that the United States best embodies these unlaienable rights then the hopes of humanity itself are the hopes of the United Sates. That is if it is properly governed in line with these “self evident truths”.


Our strategy of being buddies to the people of Afghanistan is acceptable only within the larger framework and understanding of the exceptional nature of America. At the end of the day... America must prevail for the sake of the millions who still yearn to breathe the air of Liberty in North Korea, China, Cuba, Iran and others countries still in the grip of maniacal tyrants. There may be a time in our near future when we must think primarily as a fierce warrior and less so of a “global citizen”


I'll close with Lincolns own words that I have often wondered if Mr Obama ever read. It shows Mr Lincoln as a person who I doubt could even conceive of Mr Obama's view of the world where the admitted mastermind of 9/11 who has tried to plead guilty in a military tribunal is thought to be best handled on US soil for reasons (other than political theater choreographed by Eric Holder who refuses to reveal how many of his attorneys have previously defended high profile terrorists) that are still unknown.

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs who should be arrested, exiled or hanged."

Abraham Lincoln

Checks, balances and Chicago politics ...

Hope.
Change.
You bring a knife and I will bring a gun.


That's the way things are done in Chicago. For all his vaunted intelligence and promises of a new era in bipartisanship in Washington Barack Obama has shown his preferred style of working. The rough and tumble style of politics that is the norm in the windy city. His calls anew for bipartisanship on health care after breaking his now infamous promises of CSPAN coverage of what in reality were secret meetings behind closed doors where only Dems were given a seat at the table. Where CSPAN dared not tread to televise his secret deals with drug companies, AARP, and of course the bribery of Senators from Nebraska, Louisiana and Arkansas.


After a year of this and an onerous bill weighing in at close to 3,000 pages which he reaffirmed his commitment to he NOW wants to play nice? Almost 3,000 pages and accounting trickery to claim (with a straight face no less) that it would reduce the deficit? Accounting tom foolery that would land any non federal accountant in prison?


Shame on all of us for even considering that this administration has any integrity left after its legion of broken promises.


It disturbs me that we all seem to forget that this mammoth piece of legislation was something Mr Obama tried to force through in a matter of days or weeks without ANY discussion at all... Never mind the promise of posting it on the internet and the subsequent votes to keep it from being made available by Senate Healthcare finance members. That anyone can even take the matter seriously anymore is an act of self deception. Am I the only one outraged that US Congress and Senate members voted to keep ANY non national security related information from the public? The Constitution is the greatest political document in history. No qualifications nor prefaces needed..


Depending on the version that you are reading the total number of pages is approximately 15. Yet these few pages have governed the most incredible nation this earth has seen in modern times. In less than 200 years a meteoric rise to prosperity, military might and standard of living that is unprecedented and the envy of the world. A Nation where people risk life and limb and routinely die to get IN not out...


The founders knew of the wisdom of our system of governance. So it is only with some difficulty that it is changed. It was not meant to be easily changed in any wholesale fashion nor tinkered with in response to any fad or modern novelty of thought. The filibuster is an integral part of our legislative bodies' byzantine procedural maze of parliamentary procedure. It allows a minority party to hold up legislation from being rammed through and is functionally a primary facilitator of bi partisanship. To stop the filibuster requires a super majority. A super majority the Democrats have held for the past 13 months. although the party in power does not like this procedural weapon they know that their very existence and ability to shape legislation may also depend upon it in a different time when they are the minority.


It's with disgust that once again we are witness to the antithesis of bipartisanship called for by the president just 24 hours ago. Leading Democrats are now furiously working to eliminate the filibuster after their humiliating loss in Massachusetts with Scott Brown and with him so too their filibuster proof super majority in the Senate. That is not to say that they were able to accomplish much even though they had a super majority. If there is going to be blame for the failure to pass major legislation during the honeymoon first year of the Obama presidency it certainly cannot be blamed on Republicans. The gargantuan failure rests firmly on the shoulders of a divided democratic party torn between the "progressive" contingency and more moderate blue dog Democrats.


In all fairness Tom Harkin has been calling for elimination of the filibuster for many years now. However this is a new chant for most everyone else in the recently formed chorus of whining on Capitol Hill. To hear congresswoman Wasserman Schultz (D FL) opine that Republicans have,"... used the filibuster beyond the founders intentions" when she herself has been supportive of legislation that would make most of the founders shake their heads in bewilderment at how their simple clear instructions could be so hideously twisted. Once again this administration has demonstrated that it says one thing - usually what it believes the public wants to hear - and then proceeds to pursue it's extreme ideological agenda without regard to anyone or anything else.


At least conservatives CAN take solace in the consistency of what these tenacious proponents of state-ism actually DO as opposed to the perpetual verbal pandering to special interests and constituencies. For the progressive who governs from a fantastical Utopian dream state that is unachievable The answer always lies in additional regulations and legislation More dictates as to how you as an individual must live your life because you are obviously incapable and the "progressive" obviously of superior intellect DOES know what you need.


The cause of ALL problems is NOT human nature or our shear flawed state of humanity - the reality of which a conservative faces head on and must deal with in practical ways - but to the "progressive" ALL problems have a root cause in an imagined universal deficiency of governmental authority which must be constantly expanded in pursuit of achieving the unrealistic utopian dream of collectivism. I'd be happy to entertain the notion if anyone can tell me where it has ever worked in all of history.


I'm still waiting.

Audacity Indeed...

Today, like most days presents ample opportunity to be outraged. Joe Biden's has begun to take credit for the success in Iraq! Indeed the audacity of this administration knows no bounds! Joe Biden claims that Iraq can be one of the "proudest achievements of this administration"!


Yet 5 minutes on You Tube or Google easily locates video of Joe Biden and his boss Barack Obama declaring that not only will Iraq be a complete failure but also that the "surge" will "never work." Barack Obama stated that he felt the surge would have the opposite effect. Since taking office and particularly of late as his image as commander in chief has suffered he has taken to claiming credit for Iraq.

It's interesting to recall the negative PR strategy over Iraq and the surge's fantastic results. First with absolute opposition to the very idea then as the surge began working (then Sen) Obama claimed this was simply "spin" and as the success continued it became an egregious act of willful denial . At this point Obama and his cadre of "progressives" simply started to ignore the questions and stop talking about it while simultaneously the news media simply stopped reporting about Iraq all together.


For a while Iraq (at least in its early phases) should not be used as a model for future actions the latter phases (post surge) are in terms of the military effort and nation building an unmitigated success.


Afghanistan of course remains a book whose conclusion is as yet unwritten. For while Iraq was a functioning society albeit a dysfunctional one replete with sons of the tyrannical dictator who routinely chose women from the street and had them kidnapped for a night of rape it still was a society with organizational structure, industry and institutions. Afghanistan remains an essentially 12 or 13 Century land of warring tribes and villagers whose primary export is opium. America can export Democracy... and it can be argued that this is in the interest of our national security. It can also be argued from the sound position of the founders that it is not our responsibility to ensure the enforcement of the unalienable rights that are the cornerstone of our own society. For this would lead us down many dangerous paths. George Washington warned of this in his farewell address to the Nation.


The proper goal of Government is the preservation and improvement of our United States - first and foremost. All else is necessarily second. America remains the last best hope for all those yearning to breathe the air of liberty. Excessive foreign entanglements will only serve to weaken our ability to remain that shining city on a hill.