The US is on the brink. Despite what the white house is telling the American people, there are serious issues facing the US. The US people, myself included, have a remarkable lack of faith in our government, especially the white house and the democrat-controlled senate. This administration is showing a serious lack of intelligence regarding foreign and domestic policies, a serious disregard for the constitution, and a desire, manifest desire, to cripple our defenses, remove our borders, and fill our welfare rolls with illegal immigrants and those who don’t desire to work. On top of all this, this administration ignores the continuing scandals that have erupted from many of the agencies that are supposed to be serving the people, not the other way around.

barack obama’s incompetence has come very well to the fore with the implosion in Iraq. The administration’s desire to remove the bulwarks underpinning the fragile democracy in Iraq, led to a slow deterioration of the government. The president decided to act like he was handling a local dispute among gang members and local people in a parish in Chicago. He gave an ultimatum to the president of a sovereign country: Sign or we leave. Apparently, obama flunked leadership principles and concepts. This enraged maliki, who proceeded to tear up any agreements we had. I believe that obama did this deliberately. As a matter of fact, we all know he did. obama was able to implement our military’s removal from Iraq, fulfilling a promise to the US people, while destroying, not just breaking, but destroying all our promises to the Iraqi people.

Now, we have the ISIS/ISIL rampaging through the middle of Iraq. Their aggression and their terror tactics are sweeping through a large swathe of Syria and Iraq. To combat this, Iranian, not US, not coalition, not UN troops, Iranian troops are pouring across the border, supposedly to protect Shiite holy sites. But the ultimate result will be Iran securing a foothold in Iraq, establishing themselves in Iraq, and resisting future efforts to be pushed out. Meanwhile, according to press, the ISIS/ISIL have robbed Mosul of upwards of $400 million from the banks. This will fund that group for quite a while. Not to mention acquiring quite a bit of the equipment the Iraqi security forces left when they ran away. Which may wind up in the hands of the Iranian forces.

And why did the security forces run away? Because they didn’t believe in their leaders. And why didn’t they believe in their leaders? Because our so-called president dumped Iraq before we were able to train their leaders to be self-sufficient, before we could work with the Iraqi government to insure that competent leaders weren’t dumped, before we could insure that the Iraqi security forces believed in their country and their people. This administration, for some reason, doesn’t believe, know, or care, that we have a responsibility to the people of the region. We took on that responsibility when we invaded both Afghanistan and Iraq, to try to stabilize this region so people can live their lives, pursue their religion, without fear or favor. By abandoning the people of Iraq, we are now dropping the entire region into chaos, confusion, and ultimately, we will cause the rise of something that may well be as venal, vicious, and corrupt, as anything Adolph Hitler and his minions could dream of. Already, sharia law is attempting to be implemented in Mosul and areas surrounding. Now, Saudi Arabia, formerly a staunch ally of ours, may have problems with insurgents, well paid and well financed insurgents. Lebanon is just one bullet away from falling into anarchy once again. Israel is tightening their fingers on their triggers, with everything swirling around them. Turkey, next door to both Syria and Iraq, has problems of their own with their own militant Islamists. With a free entry door from either, the situation in Turkey could deteriorate so fast, none may be prepared. Further south, in the Emirates, years of discontent with the profligate lifestyles of the royals could be blown wide open by militant mullahs, resulting in the devolution of another swathe of the Middle East. Across the straits, Yemen is festering, as well as Libya. At any time, this president could have used diplomacy and military to settle the region, insure those who want a voice, have a voice, and he could have ushered in a new Arab Spring, not as violent, very peaceful, and very US leaning. This would have led to a stability not seen in decades, if not centuries. Instead, this president has shirked his duties, declined the role of world power, and side stepped his responsibilities to the world at large, and to the US in particular. As a result, we will suffer.

The president and his lackluster security team cannot see what our strategic path is. As a matter of fact, I believe the entire current national security apparatus, excluding the NSA and CIA, have as much a grip on reality as a hippie in the sixties dropping acid. The reason I exclude the two intelligence agencies, is not because of their competence and capability. They have shown a few missteps, but none on the scale of the current administration. The reason I exclude them, is because whatever they present to the NCA, the information is completely ignored by the administration and the state department, two critical places that are supposed use the information to form national and international strategic policy. This administration acts as though it is only concerned with domestic, local policy. When the president says he is frustrated about gun violence ONLY when it occurs in safe neighborhoods, but never says a word about the constant muggings, violence, etc., in the inner cities, you can see the administration and their cohorts are extremely out of touch.

What the US needs, is to remove the current administration from the white house. This is not a racial issue. This is a competence issue. Were this a company, it would either be thoroughly bankrupt, or the entire upper level management removed by shareholders. But its our government, and we need to have them removed before they destroy the country. Nancy Pelosi must be impeached, which can be done. Her blindness to all but her own agendas helps enable this administration. We are, if this administration is not removed, destined to reap the disasters for years.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separate…”

Previously, I laid out why, on a strategic basis, we should return to Iraq. This time, I lay out the reasons on a humanitarian basis.

The Iraqi people were freed from dictatorship by our brave men and women in uniform. Directed by our previous Commander-in-Chief, and led by able generals and officers, our team rolled into Baghdad and liberated the people in 2003. In the next five years, hard fighting proved to the Iraqi people we believed in freedom and democracy for them, and fought side by side with our men and women.

2007 was a turning point. Insurgents, terrorists really, bought terror and chaos to the Iraqi people. GW decided to surge troops, and from 2007 to 2009, thousands of US troops, as well as coalition troops, surged into the country and worked to stifle the terrorists. This was a resounding success, as the insurgents were thoroughly pushed out of Iraq. Stability started taking hold, and Iraqi security forces started getting trained. The Iraqi people started rebuilding their country, believing our promises to help keep them secure and free. Many Iraqi people worked alongside people from the embassies, worked with US contractors, to learn the best way to rebuild their lives, and to rebuild their country. All this, believing we would always be there to help, notice I said help, protect them.

The Iraqi people were starting to lead normal lives. With US military forces training Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi security posture was starting to improve. In the Kurdish north, tourism started to begin to happen, industry was being rebuilt, and people were electing leaders who looked after the people’s interests. In the south, PM Maliki was trying to consolidate his control, but elsewhere, people were beginning to rebuild their lives, and their infrastructure, with US and coalition assistance. By direction of obama, however, forces started to withdraw, even though Iraqi Defense Chiefs were continually asking the administration to leave enough combat and training troops to insure the stability of Iraq. The overall plan was to have been, to leave combat and training troops to help Iraqi security forces learn to properly perform patrols, maintain the security forces equipment, and help rebuild the local and federal level governments. The state department’s role was supposed to be to work with the political and civil sides to build up a coherent, non-corrupt, all inclusive government. This was the plan that GW had, to be able to eventually have Iraq manage every vestige of its own country. But in the interim, the plan was to insure that Iraq could grow to meet the challenge.

barack obama abandoned that plan. Elected on a wave of false euphoria, called “hope and change”, barack implemented the complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq, without insuring there was adequate support in place for the vacuum. The result was thousands of people, people who believed our presidents’ pledges of support and the words from the secretaries of state, that we would always support and keep safe the country were abandoned. And the excuse we were given by the administration was: The Iraqis won’t give us immunity for our troops.  What??!! We kept people in Saudi Arabia, and, even though its a strict monarchy, the people are safer knowing we have bases there. We kept people in Kuwait, and and Kuwaitis sleep safe at night, knowing we have bases full of troops ready to defend them. So why could we not leave troops in Iraq? Why could we not have permanent installations, with forward deployed troops, ready to help defend the Iraqi people for such as this? Why? Because barack obama, hillary clinton, joe biden, were all more concerned about “polls” and their “legacies” than in the strategic needs of our allies. Because of this, thousands of Iraqis have died, millions are displaced, and we need to return immediately.

We have a legacy of helping those who have helped us. We need to return, before Iran gets a bigger foot hold into Iraq. We need to return now, not later.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Hang Separate….”

In 2011, barack obama declared that, since the Iraqis failed to sign a security agreement, all US troops would leave Iraq. All of the critics of his decision were derided as doomsayers. hillary clinton, as Secretary of State, announced that contractors would be able to provide the security apparatus that had been managed by the US military, and thus, the State Department would be able to provide the security and training the Iraqi security forces needed.

1 January, 2012, the State Department got a wake-up call, the 3AM call, but hillary ignored it. The Iraqi government clamped down on US contractor-secured convoys, jailing contractors who provided security, as well as the drivers of the convoys, because these contractors didn’t have the proper visas. And the State Department worked hard NOT to get involved. Contractors were told, because you are Office of Security Cooperation – Iraq (OSC-I) personnel, you didn’t come under the State Department’s Embassy cover. Security personnel were held in jails for up to two weeks, until their parent company could work through the maze to get the proper visas. The embassy couldn’t, not wouldn’t, but could not, per the same Secretary of State’s guidance (Hillary’s guidance) get involved with contractors’ issues. Travel became restricted, without the US military to ensure safety and security, so that movement between sites for equipment, food, personnel, was nearly impossible at times.

The State Department’s refusal to complete the security agreement, led to the debacles that have endangered Iraq’s fledgling democracy. Had the State Department, and the administration, stepped up to the plate, helped the Iraqi government, allowed the DOD to maintain a presence in Iraq, allowed the DOD to build permanent bases and interact properly with the Iraqi security forces, today, Iraq would not have anything like the mess that is currently going on. The administration, and the State Department, have fumbled an opportunity to develop a strong relationship in the Middle East, deter the aggression of Iran, support the security of Iraq’s border with Syria, provided a bulwark against Al Qaeda in the Middle East, and supported Israel’s security, by limiting the aggressive tendencies of Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

Instead, there is turmoil in Iraq. Two, count them, Two major Iraq cities have fallen under the militant terrorists in the group islamic state of iraq and syria (isis). We have taliban terrorists threatening to kidnap US citizens and military because they see us as weak. Iran is poised to swoop into Iraq, to claim territory and people for the greater good of Iran. The only bulwark now in Iraq is the Kurdish area, and the Kurdish people are starting to set up a separate security apparatus, because the Kurdish people are not even looking for support from the US. And we are ignoring pleas, and begging, by the Iraqi government to come help them out. In the Middle East, the governments in the area are looking at the way we are abandoning our supposed ally, and see us as weak, backstabbing, and useless. How long before these self-same governments start throwing our military out of their countries? Not long.

obama has ignored, turned a blind eye, to a strategic ally in the Middle East. By doing so, this administration has effectively said, the US will not take any part in being a world power. Into this vacuum, I predict, either China or Russia will step in. Neither will want their access to oil and gas to be impeded by something so trivial as religion. I believe that China will be the one that will provide the military support that Maliki and his government so desperately needs. And once China gets into a place, it never leaves. Just look at the places in Africa the Chinese government has slowly overtaken. China sees the strategic value of Iraq. The oil is something that China needs, and having access to the southern oil fields would be a god-send to them. Having a permanent position in the Middle East, where their ships can dock and their military can roam with free will, would be a blessing. The US would have to negotiate with the Iraqi government, who have Chinese advisors, for anything. The Russians have enough oil, and they have enough issues at the moment, not to move fast into this power vacuum. That is why I believe the Chinese will move into this. The Indian government would like the opportunity, however, with the issues the Indians are having with Pakistan, the Indians cannot take their eye off that ball at all. The Pakistan government is under siege from the Taliban on many sides, and may make a temporary, shakey truce with the Indians, but not enough of one for the Indians to help Iraq. No one in Europe will make a move without having a great debate, and the UN will only wring their hands.

We MUST, not we should, not maybe, We MUST assist Iraq. We MUST send our troops to help. Why would I say something like this? It’s because we allowed this to happen. We left the Iraqi security forces unprepared. We didn’t build the Iraqi government, help them clean up their act, work with the Kurdish people to insure their inclusion, work with Sunni to make sure they are part of the government. These are things that the DOS and the DOD were supposed to do. Had we had this attitude after World War II, Europe would have been smothered under the Soviet boot, Korea, Japan, the Phillipine Islands, and Vietnam would have all been part of China. The Middle East would have overwhelmed and buried Israel, or, at the least, the whole Middle East would have been a smoking whole and a night light for Europe. We started this in Iraq. We must return, and we MUST finish this properly. We must go back in, build bases and consulates throughout. We must have our military help put down this insurgency, and then train with them to insure this doesn’t happen again. We must make sure that those who have done so much harm to the Iraqi people are bought to justice. If necessary, we must put in someone to directly advise the Iraqi government, regardless of what the appearances are, to insure all the Iraqi people have a say in their government, that all can worship as they wish, and that trade and commerce can be done without worry about terrorists.

The alternative does not bear thinking.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Hang Separate..”

I promise not to get on my soapbox..too much. However, this is something I do feel a little vehement about.
Our elected officials put restrictions on the use of deadly force by the ordinary citizenry. These officials feel that the only ones that should carry firearms should be those that protect these self-same elected officials, and that everyone else should be satisfied with the protection of the local law-enforcement community. This is, of course, the same justification the British had for limiting firearms in the colonies, the same justification that Hitler had for rearming his country’s military, the same reason the former Soviet Union kept a lockdown on all local firearms, and what every dictator and anyone who wants to keep people down wants.

Today, we had another shooting at a school. This made news because it happened in a suburban neighborhood, a “safe” area. What about the shootings and murders that happen in inner-city neighborhoods? What about muggings and stabbings that happen on street corners country-wide? What’s this monumental silence about? Because guns make a bigger bang, no pun intended, for newspapers when these things happen in “safe” neighborhoods.
There is no such thing as a safe neighborhood, when local politicians and associations want to limit the protections afforded by the constitution. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. And the outlaws have many, many guns. Hell, because of Fast and Furious, promulgated by the attorney general and the president, the outlaws have better weaponry than the police, in many cases. And the attacks in many places are being helped by what can on only be described as criminally insane laws that prevent the average homeowner from protecting themselves. Home invasions are happening in many states, however, the only ones you hear about are in the states with “gun-free” zones. The other states, who allow homeowners and anyone who wants to, to carry openly or concealed, generally speak of the “deceased home invader” and thus are not considered worthy of news. In the so-called gun-free zones, the amount of victims in home invasions subjected to abuse, rape, murder, is substantially as much as in inner-cities. Before anyone tries trolling, please use your intelligence, the one you, I believe, was born with and is still available, and check the statistics from the FBI, the local and state law enforcement groups, etc. Let me know, using facts, not opinions, I am mistaken. You will find that, sadly, I am not.

The problem with school shootings is not the weapons. If people want to commit a crime, they will. It is the lack of opportunity for those who are supposed to protect our most natural resources, our young, to do anything about protecting them. If this school had a policy of armed intervention by the school officials, someone could have prevented this. But, because so many people feel that guns lead people to commit violent acts, and using the same level of intelligence, decide to ban guns to prevent violence, when a violent offender appears with a weapon and disregard of any laws, those who should be able to protect our children, instead, find themselves victims of a law that doesn’t protect anyone, save the person committing the crime. How is this justice? Its a good thing that these silly laws were not in place during the formation of our country. We’d still be drinking tea instead of coffee, playing soccer instead of football, cricket instead of baseball, and celebrating the Queen’s speech on Christmas day.

We have a large group of people in positions that they should not have, making decisions they should not make, on our everyday lives. And we have an even greater group of people who feel that this is right and proper. When our grandfathers came back from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, they didn’t want to hear anything about weapons. These people had seen the elephant. They were, and still are, prepared to accept violence to preserve the liberty and the safety of their loved ones. An abhorrence of weapons and violence was not why they kept quiet. It was a desire, a hope, that violence was no longer needed, but they all, everyone, understood, that someone must stand at the gates to prevent the barbarians. These defenders never felt that giving up the right to violence is a necessary thing. However, having seen violence, they all knew those who they protected, would not quite understand their feelings, but they never said peace was now at hand. However, those who never faced the sounds of weapons, mistakenly believed that meant that we are supposed to do away with weapons because the world was becoming a kinder, gentler place. The hippies singing about “Imagine®” had been smoking too much cannabis, partaking of way too much mind-altering substances such as LSD, to form a coherent thought, yet were perceived to be the harbinger of the future: A world at peace. Man’s only condition is chaos, peace is achievable only at the expense of maintaining a vigilance, yet we have an entire generation that believes such nonsense as weapons are not needed.

“If you are willing to sacrifice a little liberty, for a little security, you deserve, and will receive, neither…”

“We Must All Stand Together, Or, Assuredly, We Shall Swing Separate…”