A New Military Strategy in the Middle East…

When will we learn? The Middle East is a tinder box of tribal factions that spend their time looking back instead of toward the future. The hatred runs deep within the countries and the hatred is vile toward the west whenever we stick our nose into the fight. Our men and women of the military deserve a better strategy and I think I have one.


It is time to pack up and leave Afghanistan and leave the tribes to fight amongst themselves. Our military did exactly what we needed them to do when they removed the Taliban and killed the majority of Al Qaeda members that were using the country as a training ground and launch pad to attack the west. Mission accomplished for sure. The troops and the US can leave with our heads high and in victory.

We must monitor the activity there and if we see a resurgence of activity that is threatening to the west then we come back in and destroy everything and anything associated with that activity and go home. It is a fool’s errand to think we are going to democratize such a backward nation, and even if we could the cost is enormous in both treasure and lives. Not worth it when the people of Afghanistan are tied to a religion and culture that keeps them in poverty and ignorance based on religious beliefs.

Our strategy in the oil states of the Middle East should be simple; stop buying their oil. The best strategy to end the hatred in the Middle East toward the West is to end our purchase of Middle Eastern oil. If you think about it what else do they have that we need? Nothing! They produce nothing useful in this world beyond a barrel of oil. The next administration (because we know this one is anti energy) needs to take on energy independence like JFK took on a mission to the moon.

The energy strategy of the United States should be tied directly to our military strategy. Currently the price of oil does not consider the cost of our military operations. If we were no longer dependent on Middle Eastern oil the military mission and costs change. Right now our military is focused on the ME mainly to insure the safe flow of oil. We don’t account for that in a gallon of gas but we should. If we were to develop for real a comprehensive national energy strategy, we could eliminate the need for ME oil.

If we were to stop buying or reduce the amount of oil we purchased from the Middle East, what would happen? The OPEC cartel would not be able to function. They would have one option; become a civilized partner in the world or starve. They could still supply other nations but losing one of their biggest customers will change the dynamic and make them realize they must behave in certain ways if they want our business.

If we don’t need oil from other countries the entire military strategy of the US changes. We don’t need to be concerned with people warring among themselves unless they export that war to our allies or our homeland. We don’t need to send our troops to be put in harm’s way of a people that fundamentally hate us. We can focus our military efforts in other regions that show more promise of democracy than the Middle East has shown.

We need to stop thinking that people are going to like us in the Middle East if we free them and force democracy on them. I believe all people want freedom but freedom is not something to be given, it is something that must be earned and defended. Until the people show an interest in freedom beyond simply changing dictators we need to stay away.

Our country is broke and the cost of our military in the Middle East is a cost we can no longer afford. Oil keeps us there so we must change our strategy from oil importer to an energy independent country. Oil is being found everywhere around the globe including our own back yard. Let’s develop and use it, support it with a comprehensive policy including all forms of energy and bring our troops home…

God Bless our Veterans…

Words are never enough to express the gratitude our veterans deserve for their part in securing the freedom of America and the world. This world would be unrecognizable if not for their dedication and sacrifice.

Today, I hope you take a moment and say a prayer for all of our active military, and never forget the past patriots who have sacrificed their lives and fortunes to leave us in a country blessed with freedom. Freedom has never been free; these men and women have paid the price on our behalf.

For that, we owe them our heartfelt thanks. God Bless our Military, their families, and our country…

When Will We Learn?

The information about the Fort Hood murders is now flowing, and the information is disturbing to say the least. I believe with my entire heart we have allowed 13 murders to happen due to political correctness in our handling of Muslims. Even with evidence that Major Hasan was in contact with terrorist sympathizers, and al Qaeda, Army leaders were intimidated, whether self imposed or institutional, which lead to the deaths of these American patriots.

Radical Muslims are telling us they hate us and want to kill us, and we continue to behave as if this is just some kind of irrelevant chatter. When will we learn? This is not about targeting a religious group, it is about protecting ourselves from a group of people that fundamentally hate us. It is about facts and behavior. The fact is that the religion of Islam is the foundation for the terrorism that is happening around the world. The behavior tells us we must be prepared to defend ourselves against people that have engaged in the philosophy of radical Islam.

We need to face the facts. When a Muslim in this country is vocal about their motives, we need to take them seriously. Otherwise; our soldiers and citizens die.

The military has become politicized to the point of disaster. That must change if we are to survive…

God Bless our Troops...

Yesterday's massacre of individuals at Fort Hood is a sad moment, and we pray for the families of the victims.

As days go on we will learn about the shooter and his background. What we are hearing is disturbing and we will follow this carefully even if the media wants to minimize the influence of this man's affiliations...

Back to the Real Issues…

The president needs to support our troops in Afghanistan now. The president is ignoring the most defined responsibility of the federal government, while troops are dying. He says he is thinking about it and I understand he may be busy but is playing golf and basketball more important than the lives of our troops? I know even if he makes a decision on Afghanistan troops could die, but at least look like you care Mr. President!

I don’t know how he sleeps at night with our soldiers dying while the commanders in Afghanistan are waiting on additional troops or at least an indication of where the commander in chief stands on their request. He says he is waiting for elections in Afghanistan but is he? Could it be he is concerned about the elections here in the US? If he continues to be this indecisive he will not only lose the two governor races in 2009, he will lose his house and senate in 2010. Our troops are too important to put off until any election. This is outrageous!

Our congress needs to escalate this issue to get the attention it deserves. Our troop’s lives are depending on it…

Napolitano Needs to Go; Now…

Janet Napolitano is not qualified to protect this nation. Any person heading up an agency that is charged with protecting this nation cannot have such a fundamental lack of understanding and respect for our greatest protector of freedom, the military. These are the greatest assets (our veterans and soldiers) we have as Americans when it comes to our culture and way of life.

These men and women are volunteers that have a deep love for this nation. These are not draftees that are disgruntled Seattle youth forced into service for their nation. If we had a bunch of left leaning individuals forced into the military there would be some merit to the report. But that is not the case and she should step down.

This report of “Right Wing” groups was created by a group with a political agenda; to destroy liberty in America. Each and every American that went to a tea party yesterday demonstrated the great traditions of this nation. They are causing fear in this administration because they are now realizing how vulnerable they are to the people’s will. These “right wing radicals” that attended tea parties across the nation are groups of patriotic Americans that love our military, our soldiers, the constitution, free speech, the right to assemble, and most important they understand that the people in government work for us. This new administration hates all of that.

This is just one of a series of actions this administration is taking to change what they see as a threat to their agenda. The left is always talking about free speech and discourse but only if you agree. They have permeated our college campuses teaching kids about socialist utopias that will never work while neglecting to teach analytical thinking through constructive debate or our constitution. The left and these products of the left are incapable of defending their arguments because their arguments are flawed so they resort to name calling, disruption, and violence. But unfortunately they are now in seats of power to undermine our way of life.

People like Napolitano have no place being in charge of the security of our nation. She can insult our military at the same time turning her back on Islamic Terrorism which is the real threat to this nation. We are vulnerable to attack with this person in charge of security. She must go…

A Rare Obama Success; ironically it’s the military…

Obama finally gets it right and it is because of our military. His thanks to them; reduce the funding for the greatest protector of freedom in the world. Maybe he will change his mind about his cuts to defense spending but I doubt it.

Every attempt is being made to make his decision to allow the military to do their job a great decision. It is not a great decision, it was the only decision. What were Obama’s choices? To continue to “negotiate” the release of the captain and give them what they wanted in return? Let the pirates take the captain to shore and have him dragged through the streets of Mogadishu?

He made the only choice anyone in their right mind would make. This was an easy decision for Obama because if it failed he had many parties to place blame. The decisions he continues to struggle with are the ones that take true intelligence and challenge a true leaders fundamental instincts. He continues to fail in social and economic decisions because unlike the trust he showed here toward the military, he doesn’t trust the individual citizens of this country to make the right decisions for themselves.

Obama wants credit for everything and this is his downfall. Credit is unnecessary to true leaders. It is only the results they need as their just reward. He needs to trust the people as much as he was willing to trust the military in this circumstance. Then and only then will this country prosper under his administration. Trust the individual not the government Mr. President…

A Founding Debate…

One of the most debated issues at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was the issue of a standing military force at times of peace. The founders were extremely suspicious of granting power to the Executive office that included access to federal troops.

You have to remember the circumstances in 1787. Thirteen separate colonies tied together by the Articles of Confederation, mostly content with a loose framework to insure there was no return to a dominant authority like Great Britain. Freshly freed from colonization and a bloody battle with British troops, there was little appetite for a centralized authority, controlling the affairs of the states, and in particular a central authority with a military.

In those lively constitutional debates the founders found it very suspicious that the federal government should need standing troops in a time of peace. In today’s world we see how important a military force is for the security and stability of the world. With that said, the military has rarely been used for internal domestic affairs. I share the founder’s suspicion.

I am uncomfortable with the military policing our streets. That’s why we have millions of local police, state troopers, all reporting to civilian law enforcement agencies. I love our military and their ability to keep us free from the enemies of freedom. I love knowing they are there in case of invasion from a foreign enemy. I also know they have a role in stopping terrorist activity.

My concern is the potential for abuse. Not the military per se, but the people in charge, particularly Obama. I don’t trust Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, or most politicians with power. They are prone to abuse it. I think there needs to be further debate before deploying 20,000 troops to our local streets under the guise of terrorism. I need more information. The devil is always in the details…

Iranian Boats Testing Attack on US Navy Ships…

The Navy should have blown these three Iranian Guard “Navy” boats, basically water skiing boats, right out of the water. No hesitation. What you see in this video is an intelligence gathering effort to see how close they can get to a US ship before being fired upon. This intelligence may not be used by the Iranian government directly, but is extremely valuable information for terrorists.

President Bush’s response in the video is disappointing. I wish he would have put the Iranian government on notice, especially in light of his upcoming visit to the Middle East, that any future move like this will end up with dead Iranian sailors; period. View the video and you be the judge…

Sending a Thought and Thanks…

I mailed a small Christmas package to my cousin Kathleen in Iraq today that my family put together, and it got me thinking. It got me thinking about how good we have it here because we have people like my cousin Kathleen, spending their holiday in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all around the world, protecting our God given freedoms. They often don’t see what they do the same way
I do, but I thank God every day for people like Kathleen.

Many soldiers like Kathleen are not political, and don’t equate what they do with the political landscape, but if it wasn’t for our soldiers protecting our liberties around the world, politics would be different. These soldiers allow us to be free from the tyranny of foreign governments, they allow us to bargain from a position of strength, and they allow us to argue our points without the threat of interference from those that might wish to take advantage of our differences. They are the confidence we hold when we choose to confront the evil of our world. It is because of them, we are respected around the world no matter what their critics say. Without our troops, the evil of this world would have no boundary.

Without these soldiers we risk a different and cruel world. Our soldiers show the rest of the world what it is to truly be American; selfless, compassionate, freedom loving, and the beacon of hope for all suppressed people of the world. Sometimes I wish the world would show more appreciation. I have to believe deep down the people that have been freed from the likes of Saddam, and the Taliban, do appreciate our efforts. To think otherwise would be too depressing.

So thank you Kathleen, thank you to all the soldiers and their families during this Christmas season, and every day, for keeping me and my family safe. I thank you for representing us around the world with such dedication and honor. And thank you Kathleen for teaching my children how important it is to make sacrifices for the freedom they enjoy. They love writing to you, and it fills my heart that they have such a wonderful pen pal and role model.

I hope everyone writes a letter to our troops to show them they are not alone. We are thinking of you here, over there, and we pray for your safety. God Bless…

A gift to veterans…

On this Veterans Day, I link to this story about the failure at the box office of recent anti Iraq war films. The analysis is off the mark though. They blame the failures of these films on the current confusion around the war, and that the war is still in the headlines every day. Wrong, wrong, the reason these movies have failed is that Americans support their troops, and the mission of bringing freedom to a people oppressed under a dictator. They may not like the speed of the war, but Americans don’t believe the crap that the current Hollywood crop portrays about our troops and military.

The real analysis why these Iraq war movies have failed; they are built on lies. They are lying about why we have gone to Iraq, who our troops are, what the real circumstances are, and that America is the real problem in the world. These people don’t get it; we love our veterans and military. We know that without them we have no foundation to stand. We know that without the American military, the radical sects of the world would be causing havoc everywhere including the US.

So as a gift to our veterans, these Hollywood idiots have shown how ignorant they are to the greatness of our troops, both today and throughout all history. These movies have failed because we love our veterans, and that is a gift to be treasured. God Bless our veterans. Just a thought…

Senator Schumer should resign…

He is despicable, anti American, anti military, and must resign. If footsy in the Men’s room is good enough to get rid of the Senator from Idaho (which I agree with whole heartedly!), disrespecting and lying about our troops is surely grounds enough to call for NY Senator Schumer to resign… Here are his words. You be the judge and jury:

“And let me be clear, the violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not
because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes
from al Qaeda said to these tribes we have to fight al Qaeda ourselves. It
wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace
here, created a temporary peace here. And that is because there was no one else
there protecting.”

He must be removed because he is obviously against our troops and on the side of victory for our enemy. Throw the bum out!