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