Another American hero has been buried in Katy, TX, a booming, middle-to-upper-middle class suburb to the west of Houston.

A Katy Marine was honored as a hometown hero by family, friends and strangers who lined the streets waving American flags after his funeral service on Saturday.

Sgt. James R. Tijerina, 26, became the sixth member of the military from the Katy area to die in the war when his CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed in Iraq on Feb. 7.

Those who gathered Saturday morning at Katy's Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Community to pay their respects remembered him as a caring man who loved God, his country, friends and family.

The photographic pieces of his life, from smiling newborn and Katy High School football player to Marine standing proudly in his uniform, were vividly displayed a few feet from his flag-draped casket.

Sgt. Tijerina was a young man with many opportunities before him who CHOSE the military. He made a decision to serve, and to continue serving even though he knew that his decision would place him in harm's way in Iraq. Indeed, after joining the Marines in 2002, J.R. Tijerina had recently chosen to reenlist for five more years of service to his country -- a decision common among his fellow members of the armed forces today. J.R. Tijerina was not an ignorant child with no choices, no hope and no future other than the military -- he was an American patriot who made the decision to be a part of something greater than himself when he chose to serve his country.

I believe the pastor of Sgt. Tijerina's boyhood church summed up his life and sacrifice well.

The Rev. Monsignor Jack Dinkins, who presided over the ceremony, said a poem Tijerina wrote expressed how he interpreted life and revealed all he was trying to be.

"It's about his beliefs, faith in America as a great nation and ideals of freedom," Dinkins said. "For a young man to have these thoughts about his country is remarkable."

Tijerina, who joined the Marines in 2002, had re-enlisted for five more years.

After his comments, Dinkins asked that Tijerina be given a standing ovation.

"J.R. not only gave his life to his country," he said, "he gave his life to the people in Iraq."

Sgt. J.R. Tijerina laid down his life for his fellow man, which my faith tells me is the greatest sort of love that there is. May his sacrifice, and the sacrifices of every other member of the American military killed or wounded in Iraq, not have been in vain.

An online guestbook honoring Sgt. J.R. Tijerina can be found here.

And I have a request for anyone who may read this post -- Msgr. Dinkins mentions the poem that Sgt. Tijerina wrote. If you have access to it, would you please add it to the comment section or email it to me so that I can include it in this post as a tribute to Sgt. Tijerina and the sacrifice he made.

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Posted by: Greg at 05:05 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Rep. Sam Johnson, a real American hero whose made a tremendous sacrifice for his country, speaks out against the tactics of Neo-Copperheads.

You know, I flew 62 combat missions in the Korean War and 25 missions in the Vietnam War before being shot down.

I had the privilege of serving in the United States Air Force for 29 years, attending the prestigious National War College, and commanding two air bases, among other things.

I mention these stories because I view the debate on the floor not just as a U.S. Congressman elected to serve the good people of the Third District in Texas, but also through the lens of a life-long fighter pilot, student of war, a combat warrior, a leader of men, and a Prisoner of War.

Ironically, this week marks the anniversary that I started a new life - and my freedom from prison in Hanoi.

I spent nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam, more than half of that time in solitary confinement. I flew out of Hanoi on February 12, 1973 with other long-held Prisoners of War - weighing just 140 pounds. And tomorrow - 34 years ago, I had my homecoming to Texas - a truly unspeakable blessing of freedom.

While in solitary confinement, my captors kept me in leg stocks, like the pilgrims... for 72 days....

As you can imagine, they had to carry me out of the stocks because I couldn't walk. The following day, they put me in leg irons... for 2 ½ years. That's when you have a tight metal cuff around each ankle - with a foot-long bar connecting the legs.

I still have little feeling in my right arm and my right hand... and my body has never been the same since my nearly 2,500 days of captivity.

But I will never let my physical wounds hold me back.

Instead, I try to see the silver lining. I say that because in some way ... I'm living a dream...a hope I had for the future. "From April 16, 1966 to February 12, 1973 - I prayed that I would return home to the loving embrace of my wife, Shirley, and my three kids, Bob, Gini, and Beverly...

And my fellow POWs and I clung to the hope of when - not if - we returned home.

We would spend hours tapping on the adjoining cement walls about what we would do when we got home to America.

We pledged to quit griping about the way the government was running the war in Vietnam and do something about it... We decided that we would run for office and try to make America a better place for all.

So - little did I know back in my rat-infested 3 x 8 dark and filthy cell that 34 years after my departure from Hell on Earth... I would spend the anniversary of my release pleading for a House panel to back my measure to support and fully fund the troops in harm's way....and that just days later I would be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives surrounded by distinguished veterans urging Congress to support our troops to the hilt.

We POWs were still in Vietnam when Washington cut the funding for Vietnam. I know what it does to morale and mission success. Words can not fully describe the horrendous damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground.

Our captors would blare nasty recordings over the loud speaker of Americans protesting back home...tales of Americans spitting on Vietnam veterans when they came home... and worse.

We must never, ever let that happen again.

The pain inflicted by your country's indifference is tenfold that inflicted by your ruthless captors.

Our troops - and their families - want, need and deserve the full support of the country - and the Congress. Moms and dads watching the news need to know that the Congress will not leave their sons and daughters in harm's way without support.

Since the President announced his new plan for Iraq last month, there has been steady progress. He changed the rules of engagement and removed political protections.

There are reports we wounded the number two of Al Qaeda and killed his deputy. Yes, Al Qaeda operates in Iraq. It's alleged that top radical jihadist Al-Sadr has fled Iraq - maybe to Iran. And Iraq's closed its borders with Iran and Syria. The President changed course and offered a new plan ...we are making progress. We must seize the opportunity to move forward, not stifle future success.

Debating non-binding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success, and emboldens the enemy.

The grim reality is that this House measure is the first step to cutting funding of the troops...Just ask John Murtha about his 'slow-bleed' plan that hamstrings our troops in harm's way.

Now it's time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home - and those who fought and died in Iraq - so I can keep my promise that when we got home we would quit griping about the war and do something positive about it...and we must not allow this Congress to leave these troops like the Congress left us.

Today, let my body serve as a brutal reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past... instead learn from them.

We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them. We must support them all the way...To our troops we must remain...always faithful.

God bless you and I salute you all. Thank you.

Here's hoping Sam Johnson is the Secretary of Defense in after the 2008 elections put a Republican in office -- and not a "starve the troops until the Administration capitulates" member of the Aid And Comfort Caucus like John Murtha, who clearly wants to be Secretary of Surrender under a Democrat president.

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Mike Gallagher reports on this incident at Arlington National Cemetery, where the body of one of our Iraq heroes has been treated like refuse at the city dump.

With the family gone and the area cleared out, my friends watched as four civilian workers began to handle the casket. The honor guard was gone, the military escort had left. Just four workers and a beloved soldier, husband, father, and friend in a casket.

The men struggled to lift the casket and put it into the vault, which was up on some kind of a forklift. Evidently, the walls of the grave that had been dug were collapsing and they weren’t able to lower the casket into the ground. They watched as the men basically dumped the casket, like a load of garbage, into the vault. It crashed into the container, and the forklift spun it around like a top. My friend said there could be no doubt that Nicholas’ body would have been thrown around in the casket. In fact, he believes that the casket would have been damaged considering the way the men tossed it around in the container.

These witnesses cried out in anger and anguish. They went to Arlington’s administration office and encountered a sympathetic officer. “What would you like us to do?” he asked my friends. “We want the body exhumed so that Nicholas can be straightened out in the casket, the men who did this to him should be reprimanded, and there should be some kind of protocol change so that someone can oversee these soldier’s burials so that this can’t happen again to anyone else”, they said.

The officer was patient and kind and sympathetic, my buddy told me. But he indicated that none of that is likely to happen. He told him that there are, on average, 22 funerals a day at Arlington. This was probably an isolated case, he said. It would be too expensive to exhume the body. And there would be no plans to change their protocols.

I’ve been harshly critical of those members of Congress who today pissed on our troops with their cut-and-run resolution, but if anything, this callous disregard for the dignity of one of our supposedly-honored dead may be even worse in my eyes.

Posted by: Greg at 01:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Mike Gallagher reports on this incident at Arlington National Cemetery, where the body of one of our Iraq heroes has been treated like refuse at the city dump.

With the family gone and the area cleared out, my friends watched as four civilian workers began to handle the casket. The honor guard was gone, the military escort had left. Just four workers and a beloved soldier, husband, father, and friend in a casket.

The men struggled to lift the casket and put it into the vault, which was up on some kind of a forklift. Evidently, the walls of the grave that had been dug were collapsing and they werenÂ’t able to lower the casket into the ground. They watched as the men basically dumped the casket, like a load of garbage, into the vault. It crashed into the container, and the forklift spun it around like a top. My friend said there could be no doubt that NicholasÂ’ body would have been thrown around in the casket. In fact, he believes that the casket would have been damaged considering the way the men tossed it around in the container.

These witnesses cried out in anger and anguish. They went to Arlington’s administration office and encountered a sympathetic officer. “What would you like us to do?” he asked my friends. “We want the body exhumed so that Nicholas can be straightened out in the casket, the men who did this to him should be reprimanded, and there should be some kind of protocol change so that someone can oversee these soldier’s burials so that this can’t happen again to anyone else”, they said.

The officer was patient and kind and sympathetic, my buddy told me. But he indicated that none of that is likely to happen. He told him that there are, on average, 22 funerals a day at Arlington. This was probably an isolated case, he said. It would be too expensive to exhume the body. And there would be no plans to change their protocols.

IÂ’ve been harshly critical of those members of Congress who today pissed on our troops with their cut-and-run resolution, but if anything, this callous disregard for the dignity of one of our supposedly-honored dead may be even worse in my eyes.

Posted by: Greg at 01:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Remember those four soldiers kidnapped and executed by terrorists in Iraq last month? The Washington post has an article about one of them, Capt. Brian S. Freeman, and the effort he spent his last hours working on -- getting an 11-year-old Irqi boy to the United States for lifesaving heart surgery.

Hours before getting killed the way he feared most, Capt. Brian S. Freeman looked up and smiled when Abu Ali dropped by his office.

After nearly six months of overcoming financial and bureaucratic hurdles in a war zone, Freeman told the Iraqi man, there were promising signs that a pair of U.S. visas -- the last big step in getting Abu Ali's 11-year-old son to the United States for lifesaving heart surgery -- would be issued soon.

The Iraqi was speechless. He asked an interpreter to express his gratitude to the tall American soldier who had made saving the child's life an unofficial mission. Then he pulled out his camera, swung his arm around Freeman's broad shoulders and posed for three photographs.

Hours later, shortly before sunset Jan. 20, armed men in GMC trucks stormed into the government building in Karbala, in southern Iraq. They killed an American soldier, handcuffed Freeman and three other U.S. soldiers, hauled them into the vehicles and drove off. Freeman and the other abducted soldiers were later slain by the attackers.

There are those in this country who believe our soldiers are the moral equivalent of SS stormtroopers, terrorizing the people of Iraq. They claim that our soldiers are intellectually deficient and lacking in opportunities in life, so they are stuck in Iraq because the military was their only option. And there are those who believe that Iraqis don't want or support US troops present in their country. I hope they read this article, and recognize how wrong they are about those things -- and about the terrorists they argue are the moral equivalent of our founding fathers.

American soldiers struggle to bring life and peace to Iraq -- the terrorists bring only death, chaos, and a return to the bad old days of Baathist rule, or worse.

Posted by: Greg at 11:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The New York Times has a way of assigning tabloid-like headlines that obscure the truth more than they illuminate it.

Take this example.

Army Giving More Waivers in Recruiting

The article then goes on to talk about so-called "moral waivers" increasing. These generally are used to let in someone who has a conviction, usually in a juvenile court, for serious misdemeanors like aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and vehicular homicide, or even a less-serious felony convictions. They have increased 65%.

But then you get this little kernel of truth a little bit further down the page.

In the last three years, the percentage of moral waivers for all new enlistments in the four services combined has fallen 3 percent, with spikes in the Army and Air Force.

Oh. So moral waivers really are not up at all, and are declining instead. And the waivers that are increasing are actually medical waivers (we discover over half-way through the story) for conditions that do not particularly decrease military readiness -- high blood pressure, asthma, and ADD (an over-used label for boys acting like boys in too many cases).

And the irony is that the Left often demands that supporters of the war in Iraq sign up for the military as a condition of being allowed to hold an opinion on the matter -- including insisting that we seek waivers of factors that disqualify us from service. Now when there are those actually doing so, they complain that the waivers are being granted for relatively minor issues. And let's not forget that certain left-wing politicians are urging a draft -- which would degrade the readiness and quality of members of the armed forces significantly more than the selective granting of waivers for less-serious disqualifications.

The New York Times -- its motto should be "We only print the news that fits."

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Posted by: Greg at 11:24 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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A recent alumnus of the Duke lacrosse program has been killed in Iraq.

Jimmy Regan followed a calling to the military, becoming a U.S. Army Ranger and serving double tours of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq, earning a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and several other medals.

Mourners gathered at the Regan home in Manhasset on Sunday to remember the 26-year-old former member of the Duke University lacrosse team, who was killed in combat last week in Iraq.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

I believe this shows the true caliber of the young men produced by the Duke lacrosse team, not the caricature presented by the news media and the corrupt prosecutor in Durham.

We salute this young man, and honor his sacrifice on behalf of our nation.

Posted by: Greg at 12:44 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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There is absolutely no other way to interpret this garbage by the Washington Post's William M. Arkin.

So, we pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?

I can imagine some post-9/11 moment, when the American people say enough already with the wars against terrorism and those in the national security establishment feel these same frustrations. In my little parable, those in leadership positions shake their heads that the people don't get it, that they don't understand that the threat from terrorism, while difficult to defeat, demands commitment and sacrifice and is very real because it is so shadowy, that the very survival of the United States is at stake. Those Hoover's and Nixon's will use these kids in uniform as their soldiers. If I weren't the United States, I'd say the story end with a military coup where those in the know, and those with fire in their bellies, save the nation from the people.

But it is the United States and instead this NBC report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer - force that thinks it is doing the dirty work.

Gee -- it was the left-wing liberals who demanded that we end the draft at the end of the Vietnam War, on the basis that no American should be forced to serve int he military against their will. The result was an all-volunteer military that is undeniably the best trained, highest quality force in the history of America, if notht eh world as a whole. While faux-patriots on the Left have suggested that the best way of "spreading the sacrifice around" (read that "undercutting any US military action anywhere in the world"), there has been no serious proposal to that end.

So now we get this piece of garbage from a piece of garbage reporter.

Our troops are mercenaries. They are over-privileged. They don't think like the rest of us (read that "we smarter-than-the-masses liberals") do. And in a fit of paranoia -- the right-wing fascists of the GOP are plotting a military coup using these pampered storm-trooper mercenaries to end our liberties.

Not one more word, Mr. Arkin, about your support for the troops. Not one more word, Washington Post, about your support for the troops. And not one more word, any politician or media outlet who does not condemn the sort of rhetoric used by Arkin, about your support for the troops. Your contempt for the troops is obvious.

Oh, and by the way, Billy-boy -- you lied when you made this statement.

We just don't see very many "baby killer" epithets being thrown around these days, no one in uniform is being spit upon."

That sir is a lie. We hear it all the time from the anti-war Left -- including members of Congress -- in th form of comparisons to Nazis, statements of moral equivalency between the terrorists and the soldiers, and bullshit like your column. And as far as spitting on the troops, might I direct you to this report?

In Washington, counterprotesters also converged on the mall in smaller numbers, but the antiwar demonstration was largely peaceful.

There were a few tense moments, however, including an encounter involving Joshua Sparling, 25, who was on crutches and who said he was a corporal with the 82nd Airborne Division and lost his right leg below the knee in Ramadi, Iraq. Mr. Sparling spoke at a smaller rally held earlier in the day at the United States Navy Memorial, and voiced his support for the administrationÂ’s policies in Iraq.

Later, as antiwar protesters passed where he and his group were standing, words were exchanged and one of the antiwar protestors spit at the ground near Mr. Sparling; he spit back.

This incident took place just a short distance from your comfy office where you work as a mercenary for the Washington Post, undercutting American and the troops.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:49 PM | Comments (81) | Add Comment
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It is rather sad that when a clear violation of international law provokes not a peep of outrage from those who claim to support those standards.

I guess the reason is, of course, that those who have waxed eloquent or raved vehement about the rights of captured terrorists only believe the US needs to abide by the Geneva Conventions -- the jihadi pigs who executed two prisoners in cold blood won't have a single voice raised against them by opponents of the war in Iraq. And they certainly won't be accused of crimes against humanity or violations of international law.

Those who insist so loudly on following Geneva Conventions rules regarding captured terrorists need to take a long, hard look at the latest atrocity in Iraq, news of which broke yesterday.

Four U.S. soldiers, one of them a New Yorker, were captured - and promptly murdered - last Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles from Baghdad, officials confirmed.

Two of the slain soldiers were found handcuffed together in the back of a vehicle.

Soldiers die in combat, of course.

But the murder of disarmed and helpless troops - killing POWs, in effect - is what's at issue here.

The killers traveled in vehicles used by U.S. government convoys, wore U.S. combat fatigues, had American weapons and spoke English. That got them past an army checkpoint and into a U.S. compound - where they opened fire with grenades and rifles.

Among those killed was Pfc. Shawn Falter, 25, of Homer in northern Westchester. Officials confirmed that he was killed last Saturday after being ambushed in Karbala, but didn't name the two victims of the atrocity.

The murder of helpless captives is a stark reminder of the barbaric nature of the enemy that American-led forces face in Iraq.

Indeed, it puts into perspective the complaints about U.S. "atrocities" committed against prisoners at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

Frankly, complaints about degrading photos and alleged desecration of the Koran can't hold a candle to the savage abduction and execution-style murders of brave soldiers.

Those who have led the outcry over what they hysterically decry as U.S. "war crimes" in Iraq have a particular obligation to speak out against genuine atrocities of the kind committed by these terrorist insurgents.

Their failure to do so will only serve to confirm their actual motive: not to hold America to the highest moral standard, but to undermine the U.S. effort and ensure a Vietnam-style defeat in Iraq.

But then again, that this has been their desired outcome from the very beginning has long been evident to anyone who has listened to their rhetoric.

UPDATE: Bill Roggio raises this possibility.

The Iranians may be responsible the conducting the attack that resulted in the murder of five American soldiers in Karbala

Well, that would explain the why our troops need the authorization to kill Iranian operatives in Iraq.

Posted by: Greg at 11:55 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I had been aware of this for some time prior to the former PresidentÂ’s death, and was surprised not to see it mentioned during the course of the funeral coverage. But now the news is official, and I am pleased to report it now.

The Navy said Tuesday its next aircraft carrier will be named the USS Gerald R. Ford in honor of the late president, a tribute to his love of the Navy.

Ford, who served in the Navy during World War II, died Dec. 26 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at 93. Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had said the Navy was planning the honor during a eulogy at Ford's funeral.

"President Ford will always be an example to us of personal kindness, loyalty and coolness under pressure," said Vice President Dick Cheney, who served as Ford's chief of staff, during a Pentagon ceremony.

Susan Ford Bales said her father had mentioned the impending honor in a letter to a friend shortly before his death. He wrote, "In my life, I have received countless honors, but none was greater than the opportunity to wear the uniform of lieutenant commander of the United States Navy."

The former president wrote it was a "a source of indescribable pride and humility to know that an aircraft carrier bearing my name may be permanently associated with the valor and patriotism of the men and women of the United States Navy."

And this is an appropriate honor as well, for Lt. Gerald Ford was responsible for saving the carrier USS Monterey during a fire in 1944. That heroism alone makes this a fitting decision, even without considering all he subsequently did to serve this country.

Wikipedia has some information about ">USS Gerald R. Ford, which will be the lead ship of its class.

Posted by: Greg at 11:32 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Are there a couple of garbage scows on the drawing board to adequately commemorate the legacies of two of our worst Presidents -- USS Bill Clinton & USS Jimmy Carter?

Posted by: Jacob at Thu Jan 18 01:08:39 2007 (4nXaP)

2 If the carrier launches an attack on the US, will it get an automatic pardon?

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Remember the Wicked Witch of Marin County’s disgusting attack on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice? This was one of her comments, when she was not questioning the right of the childless to hold an opinion in favor of the US action in Iraq.

So who pays the price? The American military and their families, and I just want to bring us back to that fact.

Well, Senator, why don’t you listen to the opinions of those who have children in Iraq, or whose sons have given the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country? How about listening to one of your constituents, Debbie Argel Bastian, whose son Derek Argel was killed in Iraq?

When they talk of families of U.S. troops, it's as if they think only of Cindy Sheehan. "I have begged to go on the media and tell my story," Bastian told me. And, excusing her language: "Any time Cindy Sheehan burps or farts, she's on the news."

If anyone is interested, Bastian supports the Bush troop surge.

Or how about this constituent, Senator?

Mary Riley of Napa, whose son Gregory Smedley served in Iraq, doesn't want Boxer speaking for her or her son. She told me, "Sen. Boxer's presumption to speak for the troops and their families is fundamentally dishonest. She's undermining the war effort -- which hurts and doesn't help the troops. That's how my son and I feel."

They’ve paid the price, and view it as worthwhile. How dare you second guess them?

But let’s be honest – Senator boxer and those opposed to the war are not REALLY interested in what the military and their families have to say about the war, whether or not they consider “the price” to be acceptable. They oppose the war – PERIOD. They will take Cindy Sheehan and the relatively small percentage of servicemen and women who share their opposition and cast them as representative of the whole, but that is just for show.

The reality is that the talk about “who pays the price” is all a smokescreen for their willingness to walk away from Iraq in disgrace and defeat. Now I’ll concede that doing so is a legitimate option if they can get the votes – and exactly what they desired and received in Vietnam.

But don’t sully the sacrifices of the troops and their families to get it.

Posted by: Greg at 12:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Remember the Wicked Witch of Marin CountyÂ’s disgusting attack on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice? This was one of her comments, when she was not questioning the right of the childless to hold an opinion in favor of the US action in Iraq.

So who pays the price? The American military and their families, and I just want to bring us back to that fact.

Well, Senator, why donÂ’t you listen to the opinions of those who have children in Iraq, or whose sons have given the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country? How about listening to one of your constituents, Debbie Argel Bastian, whose son Derek Argel was killed in Iraq?

When they talk of families of U.S. troops, it's as if they think only of Cindy Sheehan. "I have begged to go on the media and tell my story," Bastian told me. And, excusing her language: "Any time Cindy Sheehan burps or farts, she's on the news."

If anyone is interested, Bastian supports the Bush troop surge.

Or how about this constituent, Senator?

Mary Riley of Napa, whose son Gregory Smedley served in Iraq, doesn't want Boxer speaking for her or her son. She told me, "Sen. Boxer's presumption to speak for the troops and their families is fundamentally dishonest. She's undermining the war effort -- which hurts and doesn't help the troops. That's how my son and I feel."

TheyÂ’ve paid the price, and view it as worthwhile. How dare you second guess them?

But let’s be honest – Senator boxer and those opposed to the war are not REALLY interested in what the military and their families have to say about the war, whether or not they consider “the price” to be acceptable. They oppose the war – PERIOD. They will take Cindy Sheehan and the relatively small percentage of servicemen and women who share their opposition and cast them as representative of the whole, but that is just for show.

The reality is that the talk about “who pays the price” is all a smokescreen for their willingness to walk away from Iraq in disgrace and defeat. Now I’ll concede that doing so is a legitimate option if they can get the votes – and exactly what they desired and received in Vietnam.

But donÂ’t sully the sacrifices of the troops and their families to get it.

Posted by: Greg at 12:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I can add nothing to this story, beyond my heartfelt thanks and admiration as a grateful American.

In April 2004, Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, an ordinary recruit from a small town in upstate New York, did something extraordinary: he threw himself on a grenade to shield two men in his unit as they battled insurgents on a road in Iraq.

On Thursday, President Bush gave Corporal Dunham, who was 22 when he died, the Medal of Honor, the nationÂ’s highest military award, presenting it to his mother and father in a somber East Room ceremony attended by his relatives and friends.

In an interview on Tuesday, as she was preparing to make the six-hour trip to Washington for the ceremony, Corporal Dunham’s mother, Debra, said she wished her son could “receive it himself.” “But we will receive it for him, and he will be watching us do that,” she said.

Corporal Dunham, who was a rifle squad leader in the Marines, is the second soldier to receive the medal for service in the current war in Iraq. Prior to that, the 1993 conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia, was the last to produce Medal of Honor recipients; two Delta Army Force soldiers died protecting a downed helicopter pilot there in actions later depicted in the movie “Black Hawk Down.”

In presenting the award to the Dunhams, President Bush, who on Wednesday night told the nation he would send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, cited Corporal Dunham’s uncommon valor and said that he “gave his own life so that the men under his command might live.”

No greater love has a man than to lay down his life for his friends.

And for moral and intellectual midgets like John Kerry and Charles Rangel, let's clarify something -- Jason Dunham was in Iraq because he chose to be, not because he was forced to be. Indeed, he had volunteered to extend his tour of duty by two months so he could stay with his unit, and ensure that each and every one of his buddies came home safe and sound. He gave his life to fulfill that goal.

And for those who think that President George W. Bush is lightly committing troops to combat and has no concern for their lives, think again. The president wept openly during this ceremony, as I suspect he does in private over each casualty report. I do not believe there is any American who is more keenly aware of what the casualty figures mean.

The citation that accompanies this award reads as follows.

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

CORPORAL
JASON L. DUNHAM
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third
Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine
Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west.
Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

May God watch over each and every American in uniform, and show his tender mercies to each one killed or wounded in the service of our nation.

ADDENDUM: A memorial website honoring Cpl. Dunham can be found here.

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Jack Kelly nails it – and explains why the Ethiopians are so successful in Somalia and the US is bogged down in Iraq.

Ethiopia won in short order because it unapologetically used force against vicious people who understand only force. They killed the people they needed to kill without worrying overmuch about collateral damage, and not at all about world opinion. And though the Ethiopian soldiers are Christians, they were hailed as liberators in this overwhelmingly Muslim country.

What is more important – victory, or appeasing the unappeasable critics of military action?

Posted by: Greg at 11:18 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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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.

Posted by: Greg at 02:05 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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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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And who says that Democrats don't have contempt for the military?

Having been shown stats that indicate that members of the armed forces are less likely to be black, poor, or high school dropouts than the American population at large, Rangel was asked a very simple question.

Isn't the volunteer Army better educated and more well to do than the general population?

His response shows the degree of contempt for the US military that exists in his shriveled, anti-American, left-wing heart.

Of course not. I want to make it abundantly clear: if thereÂ’s anyone who believes that these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits. And most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment. If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq.

Got that -- even though the FACTS show that the members of today's military are more educated and from more affluent backgrounds than at any point in our nation's history, Rangel argues that they are simply poor, dumb screw-ups with no options in civilian life. Given his own contempt for America, I guess that Rangel cannot fathom patriotism and service to one's country, rather than the partisanship and service to himself that Rangel has engaged in for decades in Congress.

So let's remember that Charlie Rangel is the "new" face of the Democrat Party -- despite being a hack politician who has served (himself) in Congress for decades.

And if you wonder why this angers me so, it is because I heard the same sort of crap about Vietnam vets growing up -- raised by a father whose career was serving this country in the United States Navy, including multiple tours in Vietnam. And I remember watching him struggle to serve our country by day and complete both a masters Degree and a Doctorate by night -- so that upon retirement he could spend the next two decades running a Job Corps Center, overseeing a group of Job Corps Centers in the Northwest, and finally end his second career (in education) as a college professor. My father did not serve because he had no choices or no brains -- he served because of a great love for this country that he still manifests to this day, a half century after he joined the Navy straight out of college.

And I know that the men and women of the US military serving today in Iraq are every bit the equal in intelligence, ability, and love of country as he was back then, when he joined and when he continued to serve with pride during Vietnam and the dark years for the military that followed.

H/T Hot Air & Jawa Report

Others blogging on this topic include The Political Pit Bull, Biga, Macsmind - Conservative Commentary and Common Sense » Blog Archive » More Rangel hoof in mouth disease, Y.A.C.R.W.B - Yet Another Conservative, Right Wing Blog » Rangel Pulls a Kerry, Sister Toldjah » Rep. Charlie Rangel disrespects our military - again, Post : Military Matters, Growing Old Disgracefully » Tonight’s surf-bored, Right Voices » Blog Archive » Rangel Does His Best John Kerry Imitation, Stop The ACLU, Curiouser and Curiouser, RAINGULL: US MILITARY STUPID LOSERS « Texas Hold ‘Em Blogger, Ace of Spades HQ, Charles Rangel on What the Left Really Thinks « Woodiah’s BlogThe LLama Butchers, SlublogDumbass IV: Can’t let it go at Imperium ZorlociHang Right Politics - Archives » First, Mississippi. Now, This., BizzyBlog: The Business End of the Blogosphere » Let’s See: There’s Kerry, Strickland, and Now Rangel …..Texas Rainmaker » Rangel’s Alternate Punchline to Kerry’s “Botched Joke”, Dawnsblood, “7.62mm Justice” » Rangel, Sit Down & Shut Up, Bill's Bites, Media Lies, Say Anything, » Democrats and the Profession of ArmsIvory Dome, Sgt Hook - This We'll Defend, Blue Crab Boulevard » Rangel Continues To Insult The Troops, Andrew Olmsted dot com, Church and State, The Moderate Voice, Sam Wilkinson is…Taking It Eaaaaaasy. » Blog Archive » Rangel Hates America, Rangel Hates America…Wait, What?!?, Hoystory » Blog Archive » Keep talking…, The Dread Pundit Bluto, Cop The Truth, Blog-o-Fascists, Bruised Orange » Rangel: I’m With Stoopid, » Blog Archive » Is it Kerry?, Leaning Straight Up, third world county, NW Bloggers

Posted by: Greg at 11:49 PM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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This past summer, I wrote about the discovery of the USS Legarto. Now, though, an even more legendary American submarine has been found -- the ">USS Wahoo.

The discovery of her last resting place has been confirmed by the United States Navy.

ommander, U.S. Pacific Fleet declared Oct. 31 that the sunken submarine recently discovered by divers in the Western Pacific is, indeed, the World War II submarine USS Wahoo (SS 23 .

"After reviewing the records and information, we are certain USS Wahoo has been located," said Adm. Gary Roughead, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander. “We are grateful for the support of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, and appreciate greatly the underwater video footage of the submarine provided by our Russian navy colleagues, which allowed us to make this determination. This brings closure to the families of the men of Wahoo - one of the greatest fighting submarines in the history of the U.S. Navy."

In July, the Russian dive team “Iskra” photographed wreckage lying in about 213 feet (65 meters) of water in the La Perouse (Soya) Strait between the Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin. The divers were working with The Wahoo Project Group, an international team of experts coordinated by Bryan MacKinnon, a relative of Wahoo’s famed skipper, Cmdr. Dudley W. “Mush” Morton.

“I am very pleased to be part of an effort where old adversaries have joined together as friends to find the Wahoo,” said MacKinnon.

Wahoo was lost with all hands on her seventh patrol in October, 1943. She and her skipper, Cdr. Dudley W. "Mush" Morton, had compiled a phenomenal record of success during the sub's time in service. Morton's success as a captain was such that he was still a legend among navy men when I was a boy growing up on navy bases, more than a quarter century after the last patrol.

The following is a list of the brave men of the USS Wahoo, lost when she was sunk on October 11, 1943.

Anders, F. MM3
Andrews, J. S. EM1
Bailey, R. E. SC3
Bair, A. I. TM3
Berg, J. C. MM3
Browning, C. E. MOMM2
Brown, D. R. LTJG
Bruce, C. L. MOMM1
Buckley, J. P. RM1
Burgan, W. W. LT
Campbell, J. S. ENS
Carr, W. J. CGMA
Carter, J. E. RM2
Davison, W. E. MOMM1
Deaton, L. N. TM1
Erdey, J. S. EM3
Fielder, E. F. LTJG
Finkelstein, O. TM3
Galli, W. O. TM3
Garmon, C. E. MOMM2
Garrett, G. C., Jr. MOMM2
Gerlacher, W. L. S2
Goss, R. P. MOMM1
Greene, H. M. LT
Hand, W. R. EM2
Hartman, L. M. MM3
Hayes, D. M. EM2
Henderson, R. N. LT
Holmes, W. H. EM1
House, V. A. S1
Howe, H. J. EM2
Jacobs, O. MOMM1
Jasa, R. L. MM3
Jayson, J. O. CK3
Johnson, K. B. TM1
Keeter, D. C. CMOMMA
Kemp, W. W. GM1
Kessock, P. F1
Krebs, P. H. S1
Kirk, E. T. S1
Lape, A. D. F1
Lindemann, C. A. S1
Logue, R. B. FC1
Lynch, W. L. F1
MacAlman, S. E. PHM1
MacGowen, T. J. MOMM1
Magyar, A. J. MM3
Manalisay, J. C. ST3
Mandjiak, P. A. MM3
Massa, E. E. S1
Maulding, E. C. SM3
Maulding, G. E. TM3
McGill, T. J. CMOMMA
McGilton, H. E. TM3
McSpadden, D. J. TM1
Mills, M. L. RT1
Misch, G. A. LTJG
Morton, D. W. CDR
Neel, P. TM2
O'Brien, F. L. EM1
O'Neal, R. L. EM3
Ostrander, E. E. MM3
Phillips, P. D. SC1
Rennels, J. L. SC2
Renno, H. S1
Seal, E. H. Jr. TM2
Simonetti, A. R. SM2
Skjonsby, V. L. LCDR
Smith, D. O. BM1
Stevens, G. V. MOMM2
Terrell, W. C. QM3
Thomas, W. S1
Tyler, R. O. TM3
Vidick, J. EM2
Wach, L. J. COX
Waldron, W. E. RM3
Ware, N. C. CEM
White, W. T. Y2
Whipp, K. L. MM2
Witting, R. L. MM3

It seems that this unofficial alternate verse to the Navy Hymn is appropriate.

Lord God, our power evermore,
Who arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea;
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
them safe from peril in the deep.

May God grant the men of USS Wahoo eternal and peaceful rest -- and may our country never forget their sacrifice.

Posted by: Greg at 03:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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An excellent piece appears over at OpinionJournal that explains that a draft would water down the military -- and do very little to "spread the burden" of military service from the lower classes to more affluent members of our society.

In this mythology, the military is overly reliant on uneducated dupes from poor communities because those from more affluent backgrounds don't want to serve. But the truth is closer to the opposite, according to a recent Heritage Foundation report on the demographic characteristics of the military. It's titled "Who Are the Recruits?" and Mr. Rangel, a Korean War veteran, might want to read it before implying that the military doesn't look like America.

According to the report, which analyzed the most recent Pentagon enlistee data, "the only group that is lowering its participation in the military is the poor. The percentage of recruits from the poorest American neighborhoods (with one-fifth of the U.S. population) declined from 18 percent in 1999 to 14.6 percent in 2003, 14.1 percent in 2004, and 13.7 percent in 2005." Put another way, if military burdens aren't spread more evenly among socio-economic groups in the U.S., it's because the poor are underrepresented.

Or consider education levels. In the general U.S. population, the high school graduation rate is a little under 80%. But among military recruits from 2003-2005, nearly 97% had high school diplomas. The academic quality of recruits has also been rising this decade. According to Heritage, the military defines a "high quality" recruit as someone who scores above the 50th percentile on the Armed Forces Qualifying Test and has a high school degree. The percentage of high quality recruits had climbed to 67% in 2004 and 64% in 2005, up from 57% in 2001.

And what about race? In 2004, about 76% of the U.S. population was white, which was only slightly above the 73% of military recruits (and 72% of Army recruits) who were white. Blacks made up 12.17% of the population in 2004, and made up 14.54% of recruits in 2004 and 13% in 2005. Hispanic Americans are also slightly overrepresented in the military compared to their share of the population, but also not to a degree that suggests some worrisome cultural chasm among the races.

The overall truth is that today's recruits come primarily from the middle class, and, more importantly, they come willingly.

And, of course, there is the more key issue -- the nature of those who would be drafted and the impact of the draft on military resources.

An Army of draftees would so expand the number of recruits that training resources would inevitably be stretched and standards watered down. Meanwhile, scarce resources would be devoted to tens of thousands of temporary soldiers who planned to leave as soon as their year or two of forced service was up.

It's true that such training would help to shape up more young Americans who could use a few weeks of Marine discipline at Parris Island, and if this is what Mr. Rangel has in mind he should say so. But the price would be a less effective fighting force, and precisely at a time when experience and technological mastery are more important than ever in a fighting force.

"The military doesn't want a draft," says Tim Kane, an Air Force veteran and author of the Heritage study. "What the military wants is the most effective fighting force they can field. They want to win wars and minimize casualties. And you don't do that when you're forced to take less-educated, unmotivated people."

But then again, a buffoon like Charlie Rangel really wants a less-educated, less motivated, less-effective military force, so that the US will be perpetually under-prepared for military action. That way the military won't be used aggressively to fight for freedom around the world -- but that also means that in time of crisis we will be less able to defend this nation from attacks from abroad (you do remember 9/11, Charlie, don't you -- I hear it happened near your district).

Personally, I oppose a draft for a different reason. My father spent over a quarter century in the US Navy. The last part of it was in positions overseeing basic training and the more advanced service schools . Based upon my conversations with him and with officers and senior enlisted personnel at the time that Jimmy Carter re-instituted draft registration, I learned of the benefits of an all-volunteer military -- and that military professionals do not want draftees, barring a conflagration of the scale of WWII. Unless Congressman Rangel and other supporters of a draft envision widening the Crusade Against Jihadi Terror to wipe that scourge from the face of the planet for the benefit of all humanity (as was done with Nazism), there is no military need for a draft.

Posted by: Greg at 01:44 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The United States military has functioned effectively as an all-volunteer force for three decades. Statistics show that our soldiers today are better educated, and broadly representative of the American population -- and that if anything, whites from the middle class are OVER-REPRESENTED in the armed forces.

But that doesn't stop a certain senior Democrat from claiming that the military is not representative enough -- and from proposing a solution that will make it non-volunteer and filled with less-educated, less qualified, less-motivated soldiers and sailors.

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) has long advocated returning to the draft, but his efforts drew little attention during the 12 years that House Democrats were in the minority. Starting in January, however, he will chair the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Yesterday he said "you bet your life" he will renew his drive for a draft.

"I will be introducing that bill as soon as we start the new session," Rangel said on CBS's "Face the Nation." He portrayed the draft, suspended since 1973, as a means of spreading military obligations more equitably and prompting political leaders to think twice before starting wars.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," said Rangel, a Korean War veteran. "If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft."

And while we are at it, Charlie, how about a proposed amendment to repeal the provision in the Constitution banning involuntary servitude -- because that is what you seek to propose on every single American young person.

UPDATE: Not only does the Dem Leadership oppose the Rangel Draft, but so does the New york Times. The latter shouldn't come as a surprise, though, since they have opposed the draft in most circumstances all the way back to when Lincoln implemented one back during the Civil War. Come to think of it, the Democrat Party opposed that draft as well -- and if they had succeeded in undermining that war effort like they did in Vietnam and are doing in Iraq, Charlie Rangel wouldn't be a Congressman today!

MORE AT Michelle Malkin, Gina Cobb, Blogmeister USA, 7.62 mm Justice, Babalu Blog, Public Figures. . . Beware, Hot Air, Not Ready For My Burqa, Nasty Brutish & Short, The Waterglass, Pajamas Media, Conservative Outpost, Stop the ACLU, Urban Grounds, World According To Nick, Tammy Bruce, It Shines For All, StikNStein, Broken Chair, Bill's Bites, Valletta Papers, Captain's Quarters, Church & State, Y.A.C.R.W.B., Blogmeister USA

Posted by: Greg at 02:23 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Michelle Malkin brings us this photo by Mike Fumento, taken in Iraq at Camp Ramadi. It delivers a profound message about the importance of military might to preserve peace, and the need to stand firm in the face of aggression by our enemies.

And note the quote from George Orwell, whose observation about the nature of security in a free society is spot on. And while I've not been able to find that quote confirmed from any other source, its message is clearly conveyed in this one.

Those who abjure violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.

And let us not forget his observation on pacifism, which applies as well to the "Peace Movement today as it did to those who objected to war with Hitler.

Pacifism. Pacifism is objectively pro-Fascist. This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side you automatically help that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, ‘he that is not with me is against me’.

America must combat the forces of jihadi terror abroad, or we will surely combat it on American shores. May God bless the men and women of the United States military who have volunteered to fight that battle on our behalf, and may He frustrate the plans of those who would do harm to them or their mission.

Posted by: Greg at 08:29 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Abazid or Mutha? Come on, I'm serious -- which one should we be listening to, the commanding general on the ground who believes we can win or an old corrupt congressman who wants to surrender?

The top American military commander for the Middle East said Wednesday that to begin a significant troop withdrawal from Iraq over the next six months would lead to an increase in sectarian killings and hamper efforts to persuade the Iraqi government to make the difficult decisions needed to secure the country.

The commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, made it clear that he did not endorse the phased troop withdrawals being proposed by Democratic lawmakers. Instead, he said the number of troops in Iraq might be increased by a small amount as part of new plans by American commanders to improve the training of the Iraqi Army.

And yes, I recognize that he criticized the Bush Administration for not sending more troops earlier. I agree with him. But the solution isn't to cut and run now.

More from Captain Ed.

Posted by: Greg at 11:48 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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Today is Veteran's Day.

We owe so much to those who defend us -- men and women who ask so little in return.

Project Valour-IT is a program to supply voice-controlled laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at home or in military hospitals. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse.

In honor of my father, a retired US Navy officer, I have affiliated myself with Team Navy in this fundraising effort. Please give generously.

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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IÂ’ve got no doubt that the senator was aiming to disrespect the President of the United States, but instead he hit every man and woman in the United States military. But then what do you expect from this pampered imbecile who sold out his own comrades in arms with false claims of war crimes, all to advance his own political career.

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

Clearly not the sort of man who should have ever been considered for the role of Commander-in-Chief.

But let’s look at the numbers from one branch of the service – the Air Force.

Academic Education

-- 49.2 percent of officers have advanced or professional degrees; 39.4 percent have master's degrees, 8.5 percent have professional degrees and 1.3 percent have doctorate degrees.

-- 22.8 percent of company grade officers have advanced degrees; 16.5 percent have master's degrees, 5.9 percent have professional degrees and 0.3 percent have doctorate degrees.

-- 85.4 percent of field grade officers have advanced degrees; 70.7 percent have master's degrees, 12.1 percent have professional degrees and 2.5 percent have doctorate degrees.

-- 99.9 percent of the enlisted force have at least a high school education; 73.3 percent have some semester hours toward a college degree; 16.2 percent have an associate's degree or equivalent semester hours; 4.7 percent have a bachelor's degree; 0.7 percent have a master's degree and .01 percent have a professional or doctorate degree.

I’m curious, Senator – what other employer would have such high educational attainment among its employees? I don’t think you would find such achievement in your average corporation, school district, police or fire department. It would take a highly specialized organization – a law firm, hospital, or NASA.

No, our armed forces are made up of dedicated, educated individuals who love our country – something that apparently cannot be said of the Democrat party, given this statement and the lack of Democrat outcry against it.

But then again, let’s assume that my charitable speculation about John Kerry’s ignorant insulting comment is correct. Let’s assume that he meant to insult the President of the United States, George W. Bush. As I recall, they both attended the same university – and Bush out-performed Kerry academically.

Lots of great coverage of this story in the Blogosphere. Ms. Michelle Malkin is great, as is Captain Ed. Jawa Report is fantastic as well.

UPDATE: OH MY GOD! I cannot believe the gall of this arrogant piece of shit from Massachusetts. He makes Teddy Kennedy and Barney Franks look like they have class.

This is how John Kerry responds to critics who defend our troops.

Statement of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions, Pathetic Tony Snow Diversions and Distractions

Washington – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:

“If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

IÂ’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. FoxÂ’s ParkinsonÂ’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real men. And this time it won’t work because we’re going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq.”

In other words, the John Kerry dares to question the right of Americans to question his defamatory statements about the American military! Rather than apologize for his ill-chosen words, he attacks anyone who would dare to call criticize him for them. The arrogance of this son of a bitch!

An reckless driver who caused an auto accident stole my dream of a military career many years ago, and so I chose a career of service to my country by going into teaching. Along the way, I have encouraged my students to consider serving their country in the military – and many have entered the Armed Forces. Often, they are among my best and brightest. So while I didn’t get the opportunity to serve, I want to take this opportunity to speak on behalf of young men and women who I love and respect as if they were my own flesh and blood.

Screw you, Senator Kerry! Go to Hell!

UPDATE II: American Legion condemns Kerry comments. So does John McCain.

Update III: Even though his words are on tape, Kerry denies that he said what he said – and even dares to question John McCain’s right to question him. I guess only left-wing, anti-American vets have a right to speak out on this issue. Heroes like McCain need not apply.

Posted by: Greg at 09:50 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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Garry Trudeau has gotten a bad rap from conservatives over the years -- some of it deserved, some of it not. But I think we need to acknowledge some basic human decency on his part and how it serves as a counterpoint to how the Left responded to Vietnam vets -- and how some respond to the vets of today's War on Terror.

IN THE BANQUET ROOM WERE MEN WHO WERE BLIND, men with burns, men with gouges, men missing an arm, men missing a leg, men missing an arm and a leg, men missing an arm and both legs, men missing parts of their faces, and a cartoonist from the funny pages.

We were just a few blocks from the White House, at Fran O'Brien's Steak House. Fran's was hosting a night out for casualties of the current war, visiting from their hospital wards.

It's hard to know what to say to a grievously injured person, and it's easy to be wrong . You could do what I did, for example. Scrounging for the positive, I cheerfully informed a young man who had lost both legs and his left forearm that at least he's lucky he's a righty. Then he wordlessly showed me his right hand, which is missing fingertips and has limited motion -- an articulated claw. That shut things right up, for both of us, and it would have stayed that way, except the cartoonist showed up.

Garry Trudeau, the creator of "Doonesbury," hunkered right down in front of the soldier, eye to eye, introduced himself and proceeded to ignore every single diplomatic nicety.

"So, when were you hit?" he asked.

"October 23."

Trudeau pivoted his body. "So you took the blast on, what . . . this side?"

"Yeah."

Brian Anderson, 25, was in shorts, a look favored by most of the amputees, who tend to wear their new prostheses like combat medals. His legs are metal and plastic, blue and knobby at the knee, shin poles culminating abruptly in sneakers.

Trudeau surveyed Brian's intact arm. "You've got dots."

"Yeah." Dots are soldier-speak for little beads of shrapnel buried under the skin. Sometimes they take a lifetime to work their way back to the surface. At this, Brian became fully engaged and animated, smiling and talking about the improvised explosive device that took his vehicle out; about his rescue; his recovery; his plans for the future. Trudeau, it turned out, had given him what he needed.

("In these soldiers' minds," Trudeau will explain afterward, "their whole identity, who they are right now, is what happened to them. They want to tell the story, they want to be asked about it, and you're honoring them by listening. The more they revisit it, the less power it has over them.")

And this is not a PR visit -- this is a part of who Trudeau is. Indeed, it is a part of his body of work, having maimed the beloved B.D. in Iraq and walked with him through recovery, rehab and post-traumatic stress. He may have a problem with the war and the president, but he behaves as a man of decency -- and a patriot.

God bless you Garry Trudeau.

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No doubt the Left will be wanting to cry "retaliation!" However, I think there is significantly less to this story than meets the eye.

The Navy lawyer who led a successful Supreme Court challenge of the Bush administration's military tribunals for detainees at Guantanamo Bay has been passed over for promotion and will have to leave the military, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.

Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, 44, will retire in March or April under the military's ``up or out'' promotion system. Swift said last week he was notified he would not be promoted to commander.

He said the notification came about two weeks after the Supreme Court sided with him and against the White House in the case involving Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who was Osama bin Laden's driver.

``It was a pleasure to serve,'' Swift told the newspaper. He added he would have defended Hamdan even if he had known it would cut short his Navy career.

``All I ever wanted was to make a difference - and in that sense I think my career and personal satisfaction has been beyond my dreams,'' Swift said.

The Pentagon had no comment Sunday.

The problem with this story (by the anti-American Guardian) is that the promotion decision would have been made weeks before the Hamdan case was decided by the Supreme Court. There are only a limited number of promotion slots to captain available, particularly in the JAG Corps, and a lot of highly qualified attorneys seeking to make that next step. Much like we see each fall in the NFL when rosters are pruned, good men of talent and integrity do not make the cut and find themselves taking an unplanned career detour.

As my dad said to me some years ago when a friend's father retired under similar circumstances, such decisions are not a reflection on the man but are instead designed to make room for the next generation of officers coming up the ladder -- or else we would rapidly find the military full of 40-year-old lieutenants waiting for 60-year-old commanders and 70-year-old captains to die or retire. Military readiness dictates that we not allow such a situation to occur.

Posted by: Greg at 11:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Saturday is the christening of AmericaÂ’s next aircraft carrier. President George W. Bush will be on hand for the event, which will have special meaning for him and his family. You see, the ship will be named for the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, his father.

President Bush will join his parents at Saturday's christening of the nation's newest aircraft carrier, named for his father, at shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News.

The carrier, CVN-77, is called the George H.W. Bush, after the country's 41st president.

President Bush will participate in the ceremony, said Blair Jones, a White House spokesman.

"This is a tremendous honor for the president's father, and he's looking forward to the christening," Jones said Monday.

The elder Bush's daughter, Doro Bush Koch, the ship's sponsor, will break the traditional bottle of sparkling wine on the flattop's bow.

Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector began construction of the approximately $6 billion nuclear-powered ship in 2001 and plans to deliver it to the Navy in late 2008.

It is the last of 10 Nimitz-class carriers and includes technology and improved features that will serve as a bridge to the Navy's next-generation carrier, the CVN-21, now under design and planning at Newport News.

A well-deserved honor for a man whose life has been devoted to public service.

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Gotta respect the rights of those not covered by the treaties, otherwise our sideÂ’s soldiers might not be treated humanely. That is the argument from the pro-terrorist anti-American anti-war Left.

Yeah. Right.

Like this.

IRAQI officers loyal to Saddam Hussain filmed their cold-blooded murder of two British bomb disposal officers who were captured after a roadside ambush.

An inquest was told that Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 36, and Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, thought that they were being taken to hospital for treatment, but instead they were moved to a compound run by SaddamÂ’s military intelligence.

The harrowing ordeal lasted for hours until Iraqi agents killed the pair. The soldiers were buried in a shallow grave.

IÂ’m sure glad our enemies show such high respect the for the terms of theGeneva Convention. Let's give them equally humane treatment.

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Remember this story about the brutal attack on a Houston-area teen last spring? Well, the victim has returned to school on his own two feet.

A youth savagely beaten and assaulted with a pipe five months ago in Spring has recovered well enough to take classes at Klein Collins High School, his mother said Wednesday.

The 17-year-old has come a long way since he nearly died after being beaten April 22, she said.

He relies on a cane, but his recovery has been quicker than relatives anticipated.

"He was supposed to use a walker, but he thinks it makes him look old," she said.

David Tuck, 18, and Keith Turner, 17, both of Spring, were indicted on a charge of aggravated sexual assault in the beating and torture of the student.

Turner put a plastic pipe used to hold a patio umbrella in the teen's rectum, and Tuck, a skinhead, kicked it up inside him, damaging his internal organs, authorities have said. At least one of the two yelled ethnic insults during the beating, authorities have said. The student is Hispanic.

The youth, whose name is being withheld because he was sexually assaulted, spent three months and eight days in Memorial Hermann Hospital's intensive care unit.

He was released and sent home in late July, his mother said.

He has undergone operations on his internal organs and will undergo others later.

And the victim, a former football player, has not been abandoned by his old teammates. They are escorting him to class and ensuring that he has any help he needs during the day. It is good to see kids react with class and compassion.

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USS Texas (SSN 775), that is.

The Navy debuted its newest nuclear-powered submarine Friday in an Atlantic Ocean swing off the Florida coast, the second in the latest fast-attack class that marks a broad departure from the Cold War-era deterrence boats.

The Texas, which will officially earn a "USS" designator in a commissioning ceremony in two weeks, weighs 7,800 tons, measures 377 feet long and can remain submerged on covert surveillance up to three months. It travels faster than 25 knots underwater and dives farther than 800 feet.

"It's much more effective than any ship I've been on before," said Capt. John Litherland, who has been on more than 50. "It's not the fastest, but the difference is that it's quiet even at its top speed."

Perhaps the biggest improvement is the ability to travel with a small special forces submarine, nine commandos and their gear. Previous subs would have carried only three Navy SEALS.

The second of the so-called Virginia boats, following the USS Virginia, the Texas also features advanced navigation and computer systems that only require two sailors piloting. The periscope is fiberoptic, useful for two reasons: there is no longer a vulnerable hatch on top to telescope into and out of, and its images can be projected to everyone in the control room.

God bless Texas!

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Some on the Left call it a "backdoor draft" -- but it isn't. Then again, their mischaracterization of the truth is one more demonstration that the Left cannot be trusted with the security of our nation.

Spc. Chris Carlson had been out of the U.S. Army for two years and was working at Costco in California when he received notice that he was being called back into service.

The 24-year-old is one of thousands of soldiers and Marines who have been deployed to Iraq under a policy that allows military leaders to recall troops who have left the service but still have time left on their contract.

"I thought it was crazy," said Carlson, who has found himself protecting convoys on Iraq's dangerous roads as part of a New Jersey National Guard unit. "Never in a million years did I think they would call me back."

Although troops are allowed to leave active duty after a few years of service, they generally still have time left on their contract with the military that is known as "inactive ready reserve" status, or IRR. During that time, they have to let their service know their current address, but they don't train, draw a paycheck or associate in any other way with the military.

But with active duty units already completing multiple tours in Iraq, the
Pentagon has employed the rarely used tactic of calling people back from IRR status, a policy sometimes referred to as a "backdoor draft."

But it isn't any sort of draft -- as noted above, it is holding individuals who volunteered for service to the terms of their contract. It is something which they are told about up front, and which they know to expect.

Take this soldier, for example.

Anthony Breaux, 24, from La Place, La., said he had a feeling that eventually he would be recalled to service after hearing of so many other soldiers who were pulled from IRR status. Breaux, who left active duty in September 2002, said he knew it was part of the bargain when he joined the army.

"Well, I signed up. I signed the papers. So you know what? I got to do what I got to do," Breaux said, before getting ready for a reconnaissance patrol around Camp Anaconda.

Got that -- they knew what they were signing up for when they signed their contracts. They are not draftees being plucked from the streets -- they are members of our nations military reserves being called to fulfill the duty they volunteered for.

And anyone who claims differently is simply a liar, and more concerned with trashing the Bush Administration than protecting the United States from its enemies.

Posted by: Greg at 04:17 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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After all, these are OLD chemical weapons -- weapons dating back to the Cold War and therefore clearly old enough that they must be degraded beyond use and not a threat to anyone.

The Army has begun draining and incinerating thousands of containers of mustard gas held in storage at a facility in the Utah desert.

The project at the Deseret Chemical Depot, begun Friday, will last six to 10 years. It involves burning about 6,200 tons of liquid blister agent and is complicated by the presence of an estimated 800 pounds of toxic mercury.

At one time, the depot housed more chemical weapons than any other U.S. storage site. To comply with the international Chemical Weapons Convention, the U.S. government began weapons destruction there in 1996.

The destruction of the mustard gas is the final phase in the project.

Mustard gas, which is a liquid at room temperature, causes severe blisters, internal and external bleeding, and strips mucous membranes from airways.

Workers will first drain and incinerate the 1-ton mustard gas containers, depot spokeswoman Alaine Southworth said. They will also design and install filters to scrub mercury from the exhaust, she said.

So would someone explain to me why American chemical weapons must be disposed of so carefully? Are these some sort of super-weapons that contain speacial chemicals not bound by the same laws of physics that operate in Iraq? Is this program simply a government boodoggle, putting an expensive piece of pork in someone's home state?

Or is it perhaps teh case that these weapons are still dangerous WMDs -- and that the ones found in Iraq are ALSO live, dangerous WMDs that prove that Saddam Hussein was not in compliance with his UN obligations?

Posted by: Greg at 12:45 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I really have to wonder what world the editors of the NY Times live in. It is certainly a very different one than I do.

Look at this bizarre statement at the end of today's editorial.

The Geneva Conventions protect Americans. If this country changes the rules, itÂ’s changing the rules for Americans taken prisoner abroad. That is far too high a price to pay so this administration can hang on to its misbegotten policies.

Let's look at this, shall we.

Since the end of WWII, Americans have not received the protections afforded under the Geneva Conventions in any conflict.

In Korea, our prisoners were subject to brainwashing and deprivation. Ask John McCain about the respect for the Geneva Conventions in Vietnam -- torture and degrading treatment were the norm there. Not only is one American POW still unaccounted for follwoing the Gulf War in 1991, but it is also known that female POWs were subject to rape. And in Iraq and Afghanistan today, those who our courts grant the protections of the Geneva Conventions (incorrectly, according to the clear language of the treaties) subject captive Americans to beheading. Not one perpetrator of such abuses against Americans has ever been brought to justice by either US, national, or international courts.

Would you care to explain to me again how Americans are protected by the Geneva Conventions?

Posted by: Greg at 06:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I've never made a secret of the fact that I find "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to be a flawed policy, and the ban on homosexuals serving to be equally flawed. But this argument in support of it is particularly dumb.

Even its supporters acknowledge that don't ask, don't tell isn't perfect.

"It's like what Churchill said about democracy -- it's the worst system possible, except for all the other ones," said Charles Moskos, a military sociologist at Northwestern University who helped craft the policy.

But, Mr. Moskos said, allowing openly homosexual service members would hurt the morale of the military rank and file and make many recruits uncomfortable.

"There are few situations in life where you're forced to live in intimate circumstances not of your choosing," he said.

I cannot help but point out the flaw in Moskos' position on the issue.

First, we have an all volunteer military. Nobody is "forced" to be a part of it. Individuals voluntarily chose to submit themselves to military discipline and military policies.

If anything, Moskos' argument is much more suited to arguing that the desegregation of the military by Harry Truman was unwise and inappropriate. After all, that happened during the days of the military draft, when there wre thousands of American men involuntarily serving and being forced to live in circumstances not of their choosing. Many of them, especially those born and raised in the segregated South, had no desire to live and work as equals with blacks -- much less find themselves under the command authority of those they had been raised to view as "niggers" who were inferior to any white man. Truman ordered desegregation to happen, and made it clear that those who could not accept the policy should be prepared to leave the military. And it worked.

Ending the ban on homosexuals serving in the military would create no more serious problem -- and those who find themselves unable or unwilling to serve with their fellow Americans on an equal basis should be prepared to leave teh military under less than honorable circumstances.

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An American sailor with a distinctly Jewish name is in the brig accused of spying -- for Russia.

A sailor facing espionage and desertion charges has been held at a Norfolk, Virginia, brig since March, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

Ariel Weinmann, 21, is suspected of having worked on behalf of Russia, said military sources close to the case.

He was likely to have had access to technical manuals and other material on submarine systems, Navy sources said. No one else in the Navy is suspected of having worked with Weinmann, they said.

The fire control technician third class, assigned to the submarine USS Albuquerque, attempted on three occasions to pass classified information to foreign agents, the charges against him state.

Those incidents occurred in March 2005 in Bahrain; October 2005 in Vienna, Austria; and March 2006 in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the charges.

In addition to the espionage allegations, Weinmann also faces desertion charges, which could result in the death penalty. He is accused of deserting in July 2005 during his first tour of duty.

A customs agent took Weinmann into custody March 26 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when he tried to re-enter the United States.

The case is the second involving allegations of military spying by Russia. The Defense Department has said it suspects Russia collected information about American intelligence in Iraq from U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar, in 2003.

That didn't stop the Arab press from reporting the story very differently, according to the Jerusalem Post.

A US Navy sailor, Ariel J. Weinmann, is suspected of spying for Israel and has been held in prison for four months, according to an article published Monday in the Saudi daily Al-Watan. It reported that Weinmann is being held at a military base in Virginia on suspicion of espionage and desertion.

According to the navy, Weinmann was apprehended on March 26 "after it was learned that he had been listed as a deserter by his command." Though initial information released by the navy makes no mention of it, Al-Watan reported that he was returning from an undisclosed "foreign country." American sources close to the Defense Department told Al-Watan that Israel was the country in question.

Given the lack of a free press in Saudi Arabia, it is clear that this was an attempt at misinformation and propaganda to drive a wedge between the US and Israel at a crucial time for both nations. Are we really sure that the Saudis are partners in the war on terrorism -- or are they out to see to it that the terrorists succeed in eliminating Israel -- and her Jews -- from the face of the earth?

Posted by: Greg at 01:32 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I'm not a big fan of Senator John McCain, but I do respect the long tradition of service to our nation that the McCain family has demonstrated over the years.

That tradition continues today.

The youngest son of Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and a vocal proponent of more American troops in Iraq, will soon report for duty in the Marine Corps, Time Magazine reported today.

Jimmy McCain, 18, will spend three months in boot camp in California this autumn and another month in specialized training.

Depending on his unit, the younger McCain could eventually wind up in Iraq where Marines have experienced heavy fighting, Time reported. Marines are also in combat in Afghanistan.

"I'm obviously very proud of my son," McCain told Time, "but also understandably a little nervous."

Jimmy's older brother, Jack, attends the Naval Academy.

Semper fi, young man. May God watch over you and those with whom you serve.

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I've mentioned once or twice that I grew up in a Navy family. While we did not move as often as many of my fellow military brats (we both actually attended the same high school for all four years -- something virtually unheard of among brats), my brother and I both lived our lives in a very special sub-culture that most folks just don't get. I therefore found this article about a new magazine caled Military Brats.

The first 250,000 copies of Military Brats was distributed free through 258 commissaries worldwide and began disappearing almost as soon as they were put out, said Robert Hansgen, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency.

"That's a sure sign that it filled a need that people had," said Janice Witte, director of the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Children and Youth. "There are lots of publications out there for military personnel over age 18 but there isn't really anything that's really connected to the military for our youth."

Misty Burris noticed the void, too. So while she and her husband, now retired Army Staff Sgt. Sean Burris, were driving cross-country three years ago from California to Fort Drum, Burris wrote out a detailed business plan for a military youth magazine.

"We hear all these stories about how military morale is down in these difficult times. I thought the way to fix that is to start with the kids. If the kids are happy, everybody's happy," said Burris, who formed a company, Littlefoot Publishing, Inc., to produce the magazine.

The two hardest things for us brats have always been the uprooting and the deployments. I remember the fear I had every time my father's ship left port -- and when he was stationed in Saigon during the Vietnam War. I see the same fear in the eyes of my students with deployed family members -- mostly the children of reservists, who weren't raised with the expectation that mom or dad would ever be in a war zone.

I think this mgazine is a great idea, and i hope it is successful in every sense of the word.

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When you have someone with needed skills and a desire to serve, something extraneous like sexual orientation should not be a bar. After all, this man had four years of exemplary service.

A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, though he says he never told his superiors he was gay and his accuser was never identified.

Bleu Copas, 30, told The Associated Press he is gay, but said he was "outed" by a stream of anonymous e-mails to his superiors in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

In other words, he wasn't trying to make a statement -- he was trying to serve his county.

Indeed, this is a case where the command did ask -- in violation of military regulations.

Shortly after Copas was appointed to the 82nd Airborne's highly visible All-American Chorus last May, the first e-mail came to the chorus director.

"The director brought everyone into the hallway and told us about this e-mail they had just received and blatantly asked, 'Which one of you are gay?'" Copas said.

Copas later complained to the director and his platoon sergeant, saying the questions violated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"They said they would watch it in the future," Copas said. "And they said, even specifically then, 'Well, you are not gay are you?' And I said, 'no.'"

The accuser, who signed his e-mails "John Smith" or "ftbraggman," pressed Copas' superiors to take action against him or "I will inform your entire battalion of the information that I gave you."

On Dec. 2, investigators formally interviewed Copas and asked if he understood the military's policy on homosexuals, if he had any close acquaintances who were gay, and if he was involved in community theater. He answered affirmatively.

But Copas declined to answer when they asked, "Have you ever engaged in homosexual activity or conduct?" He refused to answer 19 of 47 questions before he asked for a lawyer and the interrogation stopped.

My question is why the Army even takes notice of anonymous accusations of this sort -- and what possible relevance involvement in community theater would have to do with sexual orientation.

But if anecdotal evidence doesn;t prove taht the policy is flawed, consider the statistics that show it.

More than 11,000 service members have been dismissed under the policy, including 726 last year _ an 11 percent jump from 2004 and the first increase since 2001.

That's less than a half-percent of the more than 2 million soldiers, sailors and Marines dismissed for all reasons since 1993, according to the General Accountability Office.

But the GAO also noted that nearly 800 dismissed gay or lesbian service members had critical abilities, including 300 with important language skills. Fifty-five were proficient in Arabic, including Copas, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in California.

Discharging and replacing them has cost the Pentagon nearly $369 million, according to the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

So when that vital piece of intelligence is not translated, or some other critical task is not accomplished, remembr that it could have been -- if only patriotic Americans were allowed to serve regardless of their sexuality.

After all, this isn't about special rights or political correctness -- it is about national security.

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