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POPSThe Hole at the Heart of Our Strategy ~ Mark Steyn
...to the “noble” “heroism” of suicide bombers and, indeed, objectively supporting the other side in an active war is to be regarded as just some kind of alternative lifestyle that adds to the general vibrancy of the base. Since 9/11, we have, as the Twitterers recommend, judged people by their actions " flying planes into skyscrapers, blowing themselves up in Bali nightclubs or London Tube trains, planting IEDs by the roadside in Baghdad or Tikrit. And on the whole we’re effective at responding with action of our own " taking out training camps in Afghanistan, rolling up insurgency networks in Fallujah and Ramadi, intercepting terror plots in London and Toronto and Dearborn. But we’re scrupulously non-judgmental about the ideology that drives a man to fly into a building or self-detonate on the subway, and thus we have a hole at the heart of our strategy. We use rhetorical conveniences like “radical Islam” or, if that seems a wee bit Islamophobic .......
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POPSTorture advocates will set the military back GENERATIONS MORE: Now, our opponents won't feel secure in surrendering to U.S. forces. In fact, I wouldn't expect to see images like those of the surrendering soldiers above for decades. It's just not going to happen anymore. If a hot war breaks out in Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, or anywhere else, we can expect to face an enemy that simply won't accept surrender. No Taliban fighter, no starving North Korean soldier in his right mind will surrender willingly if he thinks he's going to be tortured or beaten to death. Instead, he'll prefer a fight to the death, even as he becomes cornered. And this will get Americans killed.
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POPSArmy official: Suicides in January 'terrifying' The Army said it already has confirmed seven suicides, with 17 additional cases pending that it believes investigators will confirm as suicides for January. If those prove true, more soldiers will have killed themselves than died in combat last month. According to Pentagon statistics, there were 16 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq in January.
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POPSArmy Suicides Still on the Rise The piece continues: Since 2003, yearly reports on the Army’s suicide rates have spurred similar news stories, and similar reactions by Pentagon officials. Suicide-prevention initiatives – such as the "battle-buddy" program, which relied on ordinary soldiers to keep an eye on each other – have spawned in the wake of the grim statistics, but the numbers have only worsened. In 2005, the Army’s surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, told a House Appropriations subcommittee, "That’s still part of our culture: Real men don’t see … I would like to see a culture that resets the force mentally."
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POPSBritish Commander: Taleban Cannot be Defeated He says the American strategy is doomed to fail. The Taleban (which denied any knowledge, role or involvement of themselves or bin Laden in 9/11) are tough, despite the image portrayed in media: the Taleban, tactically, is reasonably resilient, certainly quite dangerous and seems relatively impervious to losses. Its potency is as a force for influence.” The war in Afghanistan is not about "terrorism". (Repetition and mere allegation do not equal truth). It's about "regime change" and oil pipeline from the Caspian region (to Pakistan and the sea).
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POPSGeorge Medal winner killed in Afghanistan Normally the bomb disposal soldiers use a remote- controlled razor blade to cut the wires, while they take cover in case the device is booby trapped with a secondary circuit. But WO2 O'Donnell was trapped with his fingers inside the trigger, and he couldn't get away without detonating the explosives. To make matters worse, he wasn't wearing a protective bomb suit, like soldiers in Britain often use to give them extra protection from a blast. The massive, unwieldy suits weigh 45kg and they make it difficult for the soldiers to defend themselves if they get attacked en route to a bomb site. In a single day, WO2 O'Donnell had to defuse eight Taliban bombs on a hill overlooking Helmand's deadly green zone, near Gereshk. The insurgents have started targeting high ground with record numbers of massive improvised explosive devices, because they know it is where the tanks and armoured cars go to provide back-up for soldiers in the valley below.
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POPSUS Military Deaths, Just a Number Only, declined, the casualties first suffered, since, the latest, at least 4,153, since....2003 These words used in the article seem to detach themselves from the fact that "our " brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, husbands, and friends are being killed in a war with Iraq. It makes me think that people may be viewing this as just " war " and maybe compared to " the Vietnam War " and not as " the war on terrorism " or " the fight for freedom." Maybe " that " is why people protest this war, not against the soldiers that are led there, but " the Politics behind it ". I may be wrong and you may not care what I think, but I hope " I still have the freedom ", to say it.
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POPSIraqi Councilman Kills U.S. Soldiers Two members of the Iraqi parliament recently visited the US in an effort to more fully explain their concerns with a continued US presence. First, that it is a threat to their sovereignty. Secondly, that our continued presence contributes to instability in the region. They feel that they are capable of defending themselves against foreign threats, and solving their own problems. Now one Iraqi councilman has taken matters into his own hands. BAGHDAD, June 23 -- Two U.S. soldiers were killed and three were wounded Monday when a council member opened fire on them after a meeting in a small town south of Baghdad. Residents Rafi Suleiman, 39, and Abu Dawood said in phone interviews that Ajil, a Sunni tribal leader, opened fire on the soldiers without provocation. Suleiman said the soldiers were in town for the opening of a park built with U.S. funds. The FBI sent a team of agents to Baghdad to investigate the shooting. None of the guards has been charged
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POPS4,000 GI's Dead - I Ain't No Senators Son, Son Some folks are born made to wave the flag, Ooh, theyre red, white and blue. And when the band plays hail to the chief, Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no, Yeah! Some folks are born silver spoon in hand, Lord, dont they help themselves, oh. But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no. Some folks inherit star spangled eyes, Ooh, they send you down to war, lord, And when you ask them, how much should we give? Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yoh, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no military son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one. It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate one, no no no, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate son, no no no,
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POPS Church ordered to pay $10.9 million for funeral protest These people are nuts. How could someone do something so horrible to people morning the loss of a loved one? If you want to see just how crazy these people are, just check out their website at www.godhatesfags.com . I have never heard or seen such hateful speech from so called god fearing people. They are nothing more than a bunch of anti-american homophobic dumb-asses trying to pass themselves off as a church.
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POPSpowerful commentary on both sides Please read the whole thing and comments...I have very mixed feelings about "supporting the troops" because i fell compassion for them for being put into harms way by our Preznut and gang but deep down I cannot support what they do--which is to kill.
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POPSTears for the future...
You know I hate to admit it, but it's true. Obama may be a "rock star" (although he's no Jim Morrison) and he may be a great guy (although he's no Bobby Kennedy) I have to agree: on the hard issues, he hasn't shown us that he has what it takes. This was exactly the failure of Royale (Sego) in France. The sad thing is that, although it took me years of college and field research to do it the hard way, I estimate that with the resources of a national politician, and about $25,000,000 it would only take about three or four months of intensive study to come up to speed on the relevant facts of Islamic "terrorism" and the situation in Iraq, both military and civilian. Why is it that I some how feel that quite a few of the people on Clipmarks are more qualified to lead the country than any of the people currently running? (Both left and right!) Come to think of it, why aren't any of you guys running? How long will it be before we get an erudite, informed and passionate leader?
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