Want to bet these folks claim they love the United States -- just loathe the military?

Police charged five protesters on Friday during the second demonstration in a month outside the new Army recruiting station.

"We thought it was important to not have this recruiting station open quietly," said Emily McFarlane, a UNC-Chapel Hill junior who helped organize the protest at the Army Career Center, 1502 E. Franklin St.

About 30 protesters -- members of Students for a Democratic Society, The Raging Grannies and others -- held signs, walked in a circle and shouted, "Out of Iraq, out of our schools! Out of town, shut the war down!"

Property manager Analisa Bellamy, flanked by about five police officers, told the protesters to move to the public sidewalk several yards away on East Franklin Street.

After her second request, all but three protesters moved to the sidewalk.

Two of them, Barry Freeman, 80, and Janie Freeman, 71, were charged with second-degree trespass after refusing Bellamy's request that they put their signs down. The couple's 8-by-11-inch signs read "Hands Off My Grandchildren."

Stephen J. Woolford, 39, a peace advocate from rural Chatham County, was charged with second-degree trespass.

Attila Nemecz, 26, of Raleigh, and Eric Gardner, 22, of Apex, were charged with picketing.

I'm sure every one of those protesters considers themselves "pro-choice" -- but they want to make sure that their choice is the only one that potential recruits can learn about and access. They are not patriots -- they are anti-American fascists who actively support our nation's enemies.

Posted by: Greg at 11:14 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I want to lift this woman up as an example to America's Muslims -- and to all Americans. For while I am often very hard on the religion of Islam and the evils perpetrated in its name, I recognize that there are many Muslims (an overwhelming majority, in fact) who are good and decent people.

Fadwa Hamdan is one of them.

Stomping her boots and swinging her bony arms, Fadwa Hamdan led a column of troops through this bleak Texas base.

Only six months earlier, she wore the head scarf of a pious Muslim woman and dropped her eyes in the presence of men. Now she was marching them to dinner.

“I’m gonna be a shooting man, a shooting man!” she cried, her Jordanian accent lost in the chanting voices. “The best I can for Uncle Sam, for Uncle Sam!”

The United States military has long prided itself on molding raw recruits into hardened soldiers. Perhaps none have undergone a transformation quite like that of Ms. Hamdan.

Forbidden by her husband to work, she raised five children behind the drawn curtains of their home in Saudi Arabia. She was not allowed to drive. On the rare occasions when she set foot outside, she wore a full-face veil.

Then her world unraveled. Separated from her husband, who had taken a second wife, and torn from her children, she moved to Queens to start over. Struggling to survive on her own, she answered a recruiting advertisement for the Army and enlisted in May.

Ms. HamdanÂ’s passage through the military is a remarkable act of reinvention. It required courage and sacrifice. She had to remove her hijab, a sacred symbol of the faith she holds deeply. She had to embrace, at the age of 39, an arduous and unfamiliar life.

In return, she sought what the military has always promised new soldiers: a stable home, an adoptive family, a remade identity. She left one male-dominated culture for another, she said, in the hope of finding new strength along the way.

“Always, I dream I have power on the inside, and one day it’s going to come out,” said Ms. Hamdan, a small woman with delicate hands and sad, almond eyes.

She belongs to the rare class of Muslim women who have signed up to become soldiers trained in Arabic translation. Such female linguists play a crucial role for the American armed forces in Iraq, where civilian women often feel uncomfortable interacting with male troops.

Finding Arabic-speaking women willing to serve in the military has proved daunting. Of the 317 soldiers who have completed training in the Army linguist program since 2003, just 23 are women, 13 of them Muslim.

The story is inspirational -- and demonstrates how Muslims can and should be a part of every aspect of American society.

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I wonder if these folks -- actual experts in military and foreign affairs, including three retired four-star generals -- will get the same respect as the "realist" amateurs of the Iraq Surrender Group?

President Bush heard a blunt and dismal assessment of his handling of Iraq from a group of military experts yesterday, but the advisers shared the White House's skeptical view of the recommendations made last week by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, sources said.

The three retired generals and two academics disagreed in particular with the study group's plans to reduce the number of U.S. combat troops in Iraq and to reach out for help to Iran and Syria, according to sources familiar with the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the session was private.

Not only do they oppose the "cut-and-run" proposals of the ISG and the Democrat Party, some even suggest that an increase in troop levels might be needed.

I guess it all comes down to whether or not one believes in victory -- or whether one believes that America is past its prime and can no longer fight a war to victory.

Posted by: Greg at 11:37 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Just a quick reminder of the difference between American military personnel and those they fight.

The story of a group of Marines' quest to save a sick baby in war-torn Iraq gives some hope to humanity this holiday season.

At the center of the story is Navy medic Chris Walsh and the 1st Battalion 25th Marines. The Marines were patrolling the streets of Fallujah in June when they faced an enemy attack.

"An IED exploded immediately adjacent to Chris' vehicle, so they all piled out to chase the trigger man," said Capt. Sean Donovan.

But the Marines had a surprise encounter in their pursuit.

"And as they did so, a woman came from one of the houses calling to them that the baby was sick. So they stopped, and Chris came up and looked at the baby," Donovan said. "And this was baby Mariam, and it was immediately clear to him that this baby desperately needed care."

Baby Mariam was just 2 months old and suffering from a rare intestinal abnormality. Under the threat of another attack, Walsh had to make a quick decision.

"Right on the spot, the mission changed from the trigger man to the baby girl," Donovan said.

A routine military mission suddenly became a lifesaving mission for Walsh and those around him.

"The shared willingness to engage this mission was the bravery of the family in bringing her forward," Donovan said.

Chris Walsh was killed by an IED in September – but the mission of caring for little Mariam continues.

"To honor Chris, to honor the other men that died in battalion, we had to go through with the mission and keep fighting," said Father Marc Bishop.
Eventually the Marines won their fight, and baby Mariam was granted permission to leave Iraq.

Dr. Rafael Pieretti from Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital performed the surgery, which took place in October.

"She's doing well," Pieretti said. "She's gained weight. She's socializing more. She has a different life."

On the eve of baby Mariam's arrival, Walsh's mother, Maureen, received a letter from Donovan, telling her the story of a life that was saved because of her son's big heart.

The letter from Donovan read in part: "Although he won't be visible, Chris will be very much on that patrol, the hope for Mariam's very tiny life having arisen from the charity and gallantry of your son."

Miraiam lives because of the kindness, decency, and generosity of servicemen like Chris Walsh and his comrades. But you won’t here John Murtha, John Kerry, or the rest of the Cut-n-Run Caucus talking about these selfless actions by our troops – because you see, it doesn’t fit with the version of the truth with which they seek to mislead the American people.

Posted by: Greg at 07:11 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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