Tag Archives: ISIL

Changes…

17 Monday Nov 2014

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I have been quiet over the last few weeks. This isn’t because I haven’t had anything to say. On the contrary, there have been so many items to go over, that I’ve felt a great surfeit of choice…sorta like being at the buffet on a cruise ship, and trying to pick just one thing to have.

We have had ISIS push hard to wreck and destroy Syria, but stymied by one town, right on the Turkish border. Makes a difference when you stand up to oppressors doesn’t it? ISIS/ISIL have found out what true determination is, bleeding their troops against a wall of determined Kurdish people who know the meaning of the word oppress, and refuse to subject themselves to a tyrannical state. Shame we can’t get out president on board with this. Shame the Turkish barely supports this. What does Erdogan think? If Syria falls, then Turkey is safe?

We have Ebola running rampant through several West African nations. The way the Africans handled it? They imposed quarantines and refused exits and entries into their countries. Borders were sealed, and house to house investigations were performed. The result: An immediate decrease in the spread of Ebola in those countries that did this. What did Mr. Obama do? Refused to implement any type of controls, resulting in at least one infected person that we know about, slipping into the country. We have a doctor floating around New York city, a city that already had one major traumatic incident (9/11), and then suddenly finding out he had Ebola. And who could forget the nurse who returned from a highly infected area, but considered it an infringement of her liberty to be held in quarantine. Yet while in Africa, this same nurse thought nothing of maintaining quarantine. What was the difference? Nothing, except her arrogance.

We have had the mid-term elections, elections that Mr. Obama claims that while he wasn’t on the ballots, his policies were, and the decisions would be shown by the American public. Yet, when the Democrat party was soundly routed in the ballots, Mr. Obama, as usual, changed his rhetoric. According to him, the reason the Democrats lost was that Mr. Obama’s demographics were ‘disenfranchised’ and that only older white people voted. Last time I checked, I was and am classified as Black, and I voted. So did quite a few people I know. The people spoke, and the people want our president to act as a president, not as a king. The last king we had in America was Dr. King, and he would be ashamed of the policies of this president.

All in all, the last few weeks have been enlightening. Mr. Obama claims mightily that he will not send combat troops to Iraq. Yet, we are sending up to 3000 combat troops to West Africa to assist in Ebola operations. Our troops are for combat. If you want to send qualified health care experts to combat disease, there’s the CDC, the Public Health Service (a uniformed service organization), Peace Corps, etc., that can be sent instead. Use the proper tools in the proper place. However, the emperor-in-chief deigns to push his forces where he may.

The latest Labor Dept. numbers for jobless claims show there is a fall in the number of claims. Okaaaayy…..and this means what? The true indicator of an employment rise is the number of permanent jobs added. However the Labor Dept., and well as several other well-meaning but short-sighted organizations, use jobless claims as an indicator of job growth. Unemployment claims, or rather, the lack of claims, prove one thing, and one thing only: People have reached the limit of their claims and cannot claim any more benefits. That’s like saying the water in a leaky bucket remains at a constant low, because no extra water is flowing in. That disregards the holes in the bucket that keeps the water leaking out at the same constant rate as the water going into the bucket. The current spin specialists in this government have gone overboard trying to make Obama look good. So far, they’ve managed to raise him to mediocre.

Yes, there is plenty to aim at with the tailings of this lame duck presidency. Let’s see: Mr. Obama wants to use executive action to resolve the immigration issue. Hmmm, seems that Mr. Obama is treading on the Congress’ prerogatives. I believe that the Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that it is up to Congress, which is the federal government, to enact and enforce immigration laws. This was the ruling that invalided some of Arizona’s laws concerning immigration. So, if it’s the Congress’ responsibility to enact and enforce the laws, according to SCOTUS, how can the president suddenly decide it’s his job? The answer is, he can’t. Executive action can only be applied to laws that are already in place, or in areas that are the executive’s portion to make a decision on. Since this isn’t a treaty, an executive order implementing any immigration reform or changes is invalid upon signature. Mr. Obama oversteps his authority as president. Let’s see, what else? Mr. Obama is now sending more troops to Iraq. Again, he states these are only for training. However, Mr. Obama hedges his bets by saying that if he were told that the ISIS/ISIL were transporting a ‘nuke’, he would be forced to send in combat troops to intercept and/or destroy said device. Short step from there to, if we see a possibility of harm to the people of the US. Can’t seem to keep your promises, but then again, Obama never said ‘If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor’ either.

I said before, and I’ll say again, Mitt Romney should have been voted President. Mitt’s advisors did him a great disservice by not letting him be the man he is. Mitt’s advisors should have taken him to the inner cities to speak with those inner-city leaders and let them see the man he is. His advisors should have allowed Mitt to speak in all the debates in the same manner as he did in the first one, and people would be able to see that Mitt is a man who cares for his country, above all else, and is not an egotist of the highest degree, like the current president. Mitt’s advisors failed him. I hope that Mitt Romney will take up the baton again, and strive for the presidency. I believe that Mitt can be what America needs to retrieve her image, and her allies, from the mess the current president has put us in.

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

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Our Debt to Iraq and the Iraqi People

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

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Over the last two weeks, our military has supported the Kurdish Peshmarga’s fight against one of the most brutal regimes since the Khmer Rouge. Arguably, this group is one of the most brutal seen since the 14th century. The Peshmarga have fought hard to push ISIS from the Mosul Dam, and are working to push them from Tikrit, a city the US and its coalition partners cleared prior to President Obama’s decision to leave the country. The US Air Force have attacked targets of opportunity, clearing roads and sides of roads of ISIS terrorists. However, this is not enough.

The US has an obligation to bring US military forces back into Iraq, equip the Peshmarga forces with armor and weapons, and to push the ISIS terrorists and murderers out of Iraq. We have this obligation because we toppled Saddam Hussein and we promised we would help the fledgling democracy stand on its feet. Yes, we lost nearly 4,500 in Iraq, in eight years of fighting. In the same time frame, there were nearly 350,000 deaths from automobile accidents, and over 42,000 pedestrian deaths. The military’s role is place themselves in harm’s way to insure those who would do damage to us and our allies, don’t. This is the reason for a military. The military is the hard fist used when the velvet glove of diplomacy is ignored or thrown in the face of well-meaning peoples.

We have an obligation to those who were crucified, who were torn in half, who were beheaded, who were buried alive, weeping and pleading. We have an obligation to those left behind, crying over the loss of their loved ones, and their livelihoods, people we pledged to help, to stand by. There comes a time when political maneuvering is not enough. There comes a time when those who claim to speak for humanity, who claim to be offended by obscene acts of dehumanizing atrocities, must stand against the barbarians, whether they are at our gates, or at the gates of our friends and allies. It is not enough to send in aircraft that bomb. That is too indiscriminate, and cannot reach those who have hidden, like rats and snakes, in burrows that cannot be touched with attacks from planes and drones on high. It is not enough to send in “advisors” in small numbers, who, hampered by Rules of Engagements that the enemy ignore, must ask permission from others thousands of miles away before even moving forwarding one mile or more.

No, it is time, and past time, to send in large military presences, to establish or reestablish bases, to force the savages back or kill them in their burrows. It is time, and past time, to stand with and train the Iraqi military to become a true military force, able to stand when pressed, led by able officers and NCOs who look to taking care of their men, not profiting from the logistics supplied to keep those troops trained. Now is the time to work with the Iraqi people to rebuild, and rebuild strongly, their fledgling democracy attempts, to insure no one again can push their way in and rape and pillage their country. And now is the time to pursue them over the border into Syria and complete the decimation of ISIS, lend support to the moderates who would fight against Assad, and help to bring peace to that portion of the Middle East, before the Middle East explodes beyond repair.

Our president must send troops, combat troops, in division or better size, into Iraq, into the north, to help the Kurdish government their reassert control. He must send troops into and around Baghdad, not to besiege the country, but to assist in the rebuilding of the coalition of the groups into an inclusive government. We must do this, because, despite what some, or even many, politicians claim, it is in the US’ best interests to have a stable and democratic Iraq, supporting democracy, in the region. This allows the US to become part of the Middle East peace process, gives us a platform to monitor and oversee Iran’s denuclearization program, provides the US with a stable platform for launching support for piracy and other operations in the Indian and Southern Atlantic Oceans, as well as provide Iraq and its people with a strong ally to prevent other countries or terrorist nation-states from attempting the overthrow of Iraq.

We have a large debt to pay to Iraq and the Iraqi people. We should never have left Iraq without the needed stability to continue building their country into a shining model of democracy in the Middle East. Leaving Iraq was purely a political decision. Returning to Iraq is the correct, humanitarian, and proper thing to do.

Obama’s Foreign Policy Doctrine and the Rise of the New Caliphate

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

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obama’s foreign policy doctrine has always been, take our hands off the wheel, do not become enmeshed in international politics. The administration’s hands-off approach determined our departure from Iraq, and our ensuing departure from Afghanistan. With this idea that the US should not involve itself in other countries’ issues, obama made his famous “Red Line in the sand” speech about Syrian use of Chemical Weapons, or Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), and then subsequently backing off, further delineating what he means about lines.

Now that the world understands the obama foreign policy doctrine really means “We’re not helping anyone, but we will throw money at you because we feel guilty”, the terrorists known as the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL) as well as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has decided to declare itself the Islamic State. This is better known as the Caliphate, and the terrorists have declared Al-Baghdadi as the Caliph, and all muslims must swear to him. What does this mean? Simply this: Every nightmare scenario that can be thought of, pales to insignificance to the reality of a true caliphate.

Under a caliph, in a caliphate, no one who is not a muslim, is considered a citizen. Every christian, buddhist, you name it, is a second class citizen, if not considered a slave. Despite what the UN bleats from their safe haven in New York, in the caliphate, if you are not a true muslim, proven by your imam, you are not worthy of note. You can be bought and sold, and your children can be bought and sold. If you are not a slave, you will be taxed until all of your money is gone, and your goods and any personal items can be confiscated by anyone who deems you owe them anything. Your daughters can be raped, as well as your sons, and there is nothing you can do about this. If you protest, you can be beaten, possibly to death, and your family confiscated and sold as slaves to the greater glory of the caliphate. If you are muslim, your life isn’t much better. Women can be raped, if they are found outside without at least one male member of their family. And to prove they have been raped, they must produce four, count them, four male persons to verify this. If the woman cannot, she will be accused of adultery. This is actually sharia law, and the woman can be whipped, or stoned to death. A muslim man can divorce his wife by announcing in front of male witnesses “I divorce you” three times. An imam should be present, however, someone of high (sic) character can also be used to vouch for the man. Although adultery is frowned upon, a muslim man can have a quick marriage of convenience performed by an imam or mullah, to allow him to have his way with any young woman (and the ages can range as low as 8) he wishes. Homosexual sex is not condoned, publicly, however, young boys, especially blonde boys, are considered, in the caliphate, a particular desire.

Why am I detailing this? Because this is happening in Iraq and Syria now. With the declaration of a caliphate, millions of people in these areas are about to partake of a humanitarian disaster not seen since the collapse of the last caliphate. And how is this the fault of obama? Let us take a look at the path that he trod to this.

obama was elected in 2008 on a platform of hope and change. His role, as leader of the greatest nation, and the last superpower on earth, was to chart a path to stability for the planet. He immediately stumbled. After his coronation, excuse me, inauguration, obama made plans to go, not to Iraq to sit down with Maliki about the resolution of the war. He headed for Chicago to boost the city for the Olympics. obama began a tour of the world, meeting leaders. His message should have been, We are firm but resolute. Bush had laid a path, that any reasonable person could follow, in providing a secure foundation for democracy in the middle east. obama only had to secure a Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to allow 10,000 US troops to remain in Iraq. This group would have been able to train the Iraqi military, shore up and support them in actions throughout Iraq, and work to establish a true democracy and setting for the growth of peace and stability in the region. Instead, obama toured the middle east, apologized for US agression in the area, promised to remove our troops as fast as possible, and ignored Maliki and the Iraqi government. The US State Department, the diplomatic arm of the US government, was supposed to work on the SOFA, and work to help stabilize the government, and was supposed to be working to make sure the Iraqi government was inclusive. The problem with this is that personnel in the embassy and the consulates seldom ventured out of either. With 5,000 people assigned to the embassy alone, there should have been an over abundance of assistance for the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people to be able to work through issues. The reality is, the embassy personnel didn’t provide a lot of assistance, or even little assistance, to either Iraqi government people, or to US business personnel trying to work with the Iraqi people. Business people I actually spoke to told me that they were told the embassy could not provide any direct assistance in meeting either Iraqi government people or Iraqi business people. I attended several meetings at the embassy, and this was borne out. The best the embassy people would offer is to try and bring someone that the group could meet. In contrast, the Chinese and Russian embassies provided direct connections between their industry people and the Iraqi government and industry personnel. And these embassies were not the only ones.

So, with a concrete effort to take all the US military out of the country, along with an embassy that wouldn’t engage with the fledgling government, the recipe for a disaster was there in the making. Nouri Al-Maliki, the prime minister, wasted no time in pushing out those who were not part of his sect of muslim faith. With Talabani, the one vice-president who could handle Maliki, suddenly ill with heart issues, and, for Maliki, safely out of the country in Germany, Maliki began his push to turn Iraq into a Shia-led country. With no real US counsel sitting next to Maliki, Maliki felt no problem about cosying closer to the Shia’s ultimate religious leader, the ayatollah of Iran. This led to more and more power being fed to Maliki’s supporters, and the Sunnis being more and more marginalized. The Kurdish people continued to build their area up, and reinforcing their own Peshmarga forces, in anticipation of a civil war with Maliki and his followers. What happened, however, is much, much worse.

While Iraq was busy fomenting itself into a sectarian civil war, bit by bit, across the border in Syria, a rebellion was gaining serious momentum. Moderate muslims began an attempt to overthrow the government of Assad, because of his barbaric tactics, and his not-inclusive government. Libya had already overthrown Gaddafi, and the Syrians were ready to follow suit. Unfortunately, unlike with Libya, obama refused to provide direct support. No missiles launched, no arms provided. Assad decided to up the ante, and still obama did nothing. The Syrian rebels were soon taken over by ISIL members, and then the rebellion really started getting ugly. ISIL declared any area they overtook to be under sharia law. Before anyone knew it, the extremists terrorists ran over the Syrian border, and ousted the Iraqi military. Since Maliki had the opportunity, and took it, to purge the military of any strong leaders, the military collapsed faster than a house of cards in a chicago wind. obama still had a chance to do something, by sending troops in to support the Iraqi military, but he held his hand back, preferring to ignore the middle east. Rapidly, ISIL/ISIS began taking over towns, developing their own areas, and “cleansing” the area. Read: beheading, killing, etc. With everyone demanding he do something, obama did: he went on vacation. And ISIS/ISIL kept moving forward.

Now that ISIL/ISIS have declared a caliphate, and anointed a caliph, what can be done? What must be done is to have a real US military division dropped in, have the Iraqi military attached to it, and begin the campaign to push the terrorists out. At the same time, the president must send a high-level person to Baghdad, and bring the heads of the three main groups, the Shia, the Sunni, and the Kurds, together and force an inclusive government. We must establish bases in Iraq, to protect the people until such time as they can truly have a safe government, push Iran back across the border, and insure free flow of commerce for the people. We must make sure that all understand that Iraq is one country, with many peoples living there, not three states, in contention with each other.

If we don’t do this, the match to ignite the middle east will not be lit by Israel. It will be lit by someone who decides he has the right and the moral authority to create one nation out of many, and rule as if he were a god. And heaven help those who try to turn a blind eye…

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

 

When Do We Say, Enough Is Enough?

18 Wednesday Jun 2014

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Huge announcement this morning. obama had the special forces team, that has been trailing mastermind behind the Benghazi Consulate attack, pick him up. During his press conference, he called it “arresting the bad guy”. Tell us something, obama. Your press representatives from the pentagon and the white house say that the team has been trailing him for the last two years. He hasn’t been hiding, as a matter of fact, he has given several interviews, including with CNN. According to your spokespeople, it took two weeks in 2012 to collect all of the information needed to arrest the guy. And the team was ready to pick up this guy last year, but was called off by the administration. What was that about? You needed to pick the best opportunity to show off your “international diplomacy skills”?

This administration has done such a slipshod job on the international stage, it’s a wonder anyone pays us any attention at all. Wait, the Iraqis aren’t!! They’re approaching the Iranians, and have the commanding general of Iran’s Qods Guards advising the MOD. What else? Oh, yeah, because of our fearless leader’s desire to “end the war in Iraq”, ISIS now have M-1 Abrams tanks to roll around in. Despite what the admiral, the pentagon spokesman, said today, can anyone show us all of the Stinger Air-to-Ground missiles that the Iraqi security forces had, prior to the rout? If ISIS have Abrams, what makes you think they don’t have the Stingers? The one good thing is that the F-16 hadn’t been delivered to Iraq. However, the C-130Js, some of the most sophisticated cargo planes around, may be missing. Even one of those outfitted to be an AC-130 by ISIS could be a serious issue for ground forces, not to mention anyone they decide to take shots at. Would be really embarrassing if ISIS did something like that, then sent the plane to Syria. Or to Turkey, for that matter .

We need to get back into Iraq, with ground troops and air support. We need to go in and stay until the country is stable, regardless of how long it takes. I said before, we didn’t turn our backs on Europe, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, when we completed our missions there. We still have bases in all of these places. Why was Iraq so different? Iraq wasn’t, the president was and is. This president shirked his responsibility on foreign policy, shirked his strategic responsibilities to this country and to Iraq. What was he thinking? He was thinking about his next term of office.

With the scale of disasters this administration has had, domestically and foreign, I am just so shocked that there hasn’t been a call for his impeachment. Richard Nixon was taken for impeachment for missing 18 and a half minutes in hours of taping. Lois Lerner lost TWO YEARS worth of emails, and it’s ho-hum by congress. This administration is governing by executive fiat. Where’s the congress? Where’s the supreme court? Where’s the outrage? If this had been a Republican president, the screaming and yelling and threats of impeachment would have caused the man above to cover his ears!!

It’s one thing to go on jaunts when there’s nothing going on. But, as president, something is always going. Going on fundraising trips when your consulate is being burned down, when your attorney general is responsible for weapons being sold to criminals, when your VA director is giving bonuses to allow vets to die, when your health and human services secretary drops everyone’s health insurance, after you sign one of the biggest frauds in human history, is downright criminal. But no one calls anyone to account.

I can understand when the liberal press soft-pedals or ignores the problems of this administration. What I don’t understand, why doesn’t Fox hit hard when they have the opportunity. Having hillary on Special Report, I thought there would be a go-for-the-, it was like throat portion, but Bret was so easy on hillary, I thought I was watching MSNBC.

What will it take for my country to stand up and say “No More!” What will it take for us to say “This far, and no farther.” Will it be when the barbarians are kicking in our door? When??

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