On one hand, you have the finest this country has to offer. Like Robert Jones. On his second tour in Iraq, who wrote his father for Father’s Day to tell him he would have sent a card, but they didn’t have any in the PX. And who, incidentally gave his life for freedom.

Or Kristian Menchaca, who was recently married;

Or David Babineau who died while bravely defending his post;

Or Tom Tucker, who joined the Army because he wanted to do something GOOD for his country.

On the other hand you have military leadership and politicians believing the unproven allegations of Sunni Muslims and charging young Marines with murder.

If we are to defeat global terror. We must hold the following people accountable:

Those who would allow the prosecution or shackling of any combat soldier who was following the Rules of Engagement set out by his superiors.

Senator Dick “Turban” Durbin from Illinois, who once equated the interrogation techniques of US troops at Guantanamo to those of Nazis.

John “Cold-Blooded Murtha”(D-PA) who, weeks ago accused fellow Marines of cold-blooded murder without as much as a shred of evidence.

Donald Rumsfeld, who went into Iraq with preconceived notions, and wouldn’t take any advice that ran contrary to his vision of military “transformation”.

Ted Kennedy and John Kerry(D-Mass.), who continue to criticize, yet have no solutions whatsoever.

And President Bush. Any war planner will tell you, without both a clear objective and a clear exit strategy; One that sets out both the conditions for victory, as well as those for defeat you have no business starting a fight, because you’re not being realistic about the risks. Bush’s exit strategy is to leave when the Iraqis take over.

I’m sick and tired of hearing “We’re fighting them in Iraq so we don’t have to fight them here.”

The fact-of-the-matter is that we are fighting them here. All the time. They’re infiltrating through that block o’ Swiss cheese we call a border; or they’re visa holders; or they’re homegrown.

If we weren’t fighting them here, why would we need domestic surveillance and eavesdropping?

Our enemy hides behind their women. Their children. Their elderly;

They use hit-and-run tactics, and melt back into the population.

They use traps, kidnappings, ambushes and IEDs. They use remote controlled explosives; and propaganda.

While praising their god, they slit the throats, and cut off the heads of men, women, soldiers, journalists, contractors, politicians, peace activists, Jews, Christians, and even other Muslims.

They hide bombs in donkey carts. On bicycles; In burquas.

They bomb markets and schools and babies.

They blow up weddings. They respect no laws of civilized conduct. They blow up funerals.

They don’t even have the decency to allow you the dignity of collecting your dead without worrying about ambushes or booby-traps.

They can’t be reasoned with. They can’t be negotiated with. They can’t be begged for mercy.

They have no empathy. No sympathy, humanity.

They want to convert you, and if that fails to kill you, because you are an infidel.

We broadcast our intentions.

At Guantanamo Bay, We feed them culturally sensitive meals.

We give them Korans.

And prayer rugs.

And we paint symbols on the ground to allow them to face Mecca so they can then pray to Allah for our destruction.

By the way, that light I mentioned earlier… It’s the oncoming train.

The media should really stop floating phrases such as “turning point” to describe the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It is really irresponsible. We’ve heard of turning points in this war many times before.

The fall of the Saddam statue;

The drubbing of those rabid killers in Fallujah who hung and burned civilian contractors from a bridge;

The capture of Saddam;

The appointing of The UN Ambassador to Iraq, who was then subsequently assassinated in a hotel bombing;

The first Iraqi election;

The adoption of a constitution;

The second Iraqi election;

The death of Zarqawi.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

We killed one man. No doubt responsible for the deaths of thousands, but still, only one man. If we fail to both capitalize on his death AND maintain momentum it is meaningless; it will be status quo, and the bloodbath will continue.

Although there have been fleeting moments of American muscle flexing, this veteran still gives Bush an “F” for his handling of Iraq, despite dropping a half ton of explosives on Zarqawi’s noggin.

Bush convened what is being called a “War Council” to assess where where they need to go with the war. He said “The best way to win this war against an insurgency is to stand up a unity government which is capable of defending itself…” This is Bush’s way of saying “I have no plan other than to hope that Iraqis can take over soon”.

The White House admitted that without Iraqi defense and interior ministers being named last week, the war council would not have happened.

Does this sound like someone in control to you? He is desperately trying to find some traction on the war, but I fail to understand why -all of a sudden- the death of one man is sparking so much talk about things changing. We should have been dropping bombs on the heads of the leadership of this terror campaing 3 years, and thousands of gallons of American blood ago.

As Commander-in-Chief, if you’re going to wage war on foreign soil, you have a moral obligation to ensure the hostilities end as soon as possible, with as few lives lost as possible, friend, enemy, or civilian.

Let’s face it. If we would have come down like a ton of bricks, perhaps more innocent lives would have been lost in the initial invasion, but I have been watching the body count rise steadily for over 2 years, and it’s getting worse.

A few civilian beheadings here… A mosque bombing there; 30 Iraqi police recruits taken off a bus and executed… Week after week after week. Well over 2,500 American dead; the vast majority of which are killed by IED.

With all due respect, Mr. President, I supported you for over 2 years on this war, but the blood of America’s best is not that cheap. You need to finish it so we can bring our soldiers home. This is insanity.

The US Congress continues to show both it’s disdain for the average American, and how truly detached and isolated from you and I they really are. Like aliens from another planet…

First, Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), son of Senator Edward Kennedy, pleaded guilty to DUI and was sentenced to treatment, 1 year probation, $350.00 in fines, 50 hours of community service, suspension of driving privileges for 6 months, and a suspended 10 day jail sentence - meaning no jail unless he violates the terms of his probation.

D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti said Kennedy “…has been treated like any other citizen found guilty of driving under the influence.”

That’s funny; police already admitted that they gave him treatment that was different than everyone else. There was no field sobriety tests of any sort conducted and Kennedy was taken home by police after their superiors were summoned to the scene.

Any other “citizen” would have been given the test; and if they refused, it would be administered…

And they would restrain that person, and do it by force if necessary…

After their vehicle was impounded, resulting in several hundred dollars in fines to get it back…

Then they would have been jailed, humiliated, probably lose their job and had to pay thousands in lawyer’s fees and fines.

If there is anyone other than the son of a sitting Senator out there that has ever been chauffeured home by the police after a DUI vehicle crash, I would love hear from you.

Congress accepted a cost of living increase to raise their annual salaries up to 168,500.00. My wages have decreased 55% over the last 3 years. What about yours?

In 1989, Congress enshrined into law annual COLA increases that were automatic unless they were blocked. To his credit, Jim Matheson (D-UT) attempted to restore a patina of ethics to the process by trying to get a recorded vote on the COLA. Needless to say, it was soundly defeated.

A big Brontosaurus bone of contention I have with the politicians in this country is that they have a system where many times their votes are never recorded.

Or they abstain.

Or they vote “present” instead of yea or nay.

Or they don’t vote at all when they feel their colleagues votes are enough to do the job, so it’s not their neck on the voter’s chopping block back home.

Or worst of all, even have the audacity to have a vote not to have a vote on something.

Every person in this country should demand from their politicians RECORDED VOTES on EVERYTHING, except that which would compromise national security. That’s what you sent them there for.

How can you make informed decisions about the people you choose to lead you if there’s no record of where they stand on controversial issues? They are using this as political cover; a back door tactic to avoid having their feet held to the fire for their vote for or against an issue.

Whatever your political persuasion, it makes no difference, we’re all in this together

Insanity (L.) - In ~ `san ~ i ~ tee -

1. A disease, defect or lack of understanding of such severity, that one is prevented from having the mental capacity required by law to understand the nature of their acts or the difference between right and wrong.

2. Endless repetition of the same task with the expectation of a different result.

The media should really stop floating phrases such as “turning point” to describe the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It is really irresponsible. We’ve heard of turning points in this war many times before.

The fall of the Saddam statue;

The drubbing of those rabid killers in Fallujah who hung and burned civilian contractors from a bridge;

The capture of Saddam;

The appointing of The UN Ambassador to Iraq who was then subsequently assassinated in a hotel bombing;

The first Iraqi election;

The adoption of a constitution;

The second Iraqi election;

The death of Zarqawi.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

We killed one man. No doubt responsible for the deaths of thousands, but still only one man. If we fail to both capitalize on his death AND maintain momentum it is meaningless; it will be status quo and the bloodbath will continue.

Although there have been fleeting moments of American muscle flexing, this veteran still gives Bush an “F” for his handling of Iraq despite dropping a half ton of explosives on Zarqawi’s noggin.

Bush convened what is being called a “War Council” to assess where where they need to go with the war. He said “The best way to win this war against an insurgency is to stand up a unity government which is capable of defending itself…” This is Bush’s way of saying “I have no plan other than to hope that Iraqis can take over soon”.

The White House admitted that without Iraqi defense and interior ministers being named last week, the war council would not have happened.

Does this sound like someone in control to you? He is desperately trying to find some traction on the war, but I fail to understand why -all of a sudden- the death of one man is sparking so much talk about things changing. We should have been dropping bombs on the heads of the leadership of this terror campaign 3 years and thousands of gallons of American blood ago.

As Commander-in-Chief, if you’re going to wage war on foreign soil you have a moral obligation to ensure the hostilities end as soon as possible with as few lives lost as possible, friend, enemy, or civilian.

Let’s face it. If we would have come down like a ton of bricks, perhaps more innocent lives would have been lost in the initial invasion, but I have been watching the body count rise steadily for over 2 years and it’s getting worse.

A few civilian beheadings here… A mosque bombing there; 30 Iraqi police recruits taken off a bus and executed… Week after week after week. Well over 2,500 American dead; the vast majority of which are killed by IED.

With all due respect, Mr. President, I supported you for over 2 years on this war but the blood of America’s best is not that cheap. You need to finish it so we can bring our soldiers home. This is insanity.

While Marines, such as Ryan Cummings, 22, from Streamwood Ill., or Mark Smykowski, 23, of Mentor, Oh., continue to die in combat because their enemy uses the the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions to wipe their behinds, others are tossed in the brig without being formally charged.

The enemy has declared war on the US Marines on two fronts, the military as well as the political. With the help of the media, many politicians and the invertebrate Marine Corps leadership, the enemy may win.

This whole episode is a stunning abdication of professional responsibility on the part of a whole lot of people, from President Bush, to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Pace all the way down the chain of command.

Rather than issue no comment until all of the facts were known or urging restraint and the presumption of innocence, they are still issuing the same tired talking points that anyone who did anything wrong will be punished. I guess because of political pressure, they have to say something.

Now, all Marines are undergoing “Core Values Training” and are being told by General Pace, as he did so in Singapore on June 4th, 2006 to “revisit themselves to see where they are on their moral compass”.

It seems kind of insane to me;

Sending them over there to “kill or capture” the enemy, then tossing them in the brig without charges on evidence consisting entirely of verbal testimony. The allegations may even be false. As Americans, we have a responsibility to assume they are innocent.

Instead of being in Singapore to deliver what sounded eerily like a future campaign speech, General Pace should have flown out to Camp Pendleton to order those men released from the brig until such time as charges were filed and made sure their well-being was looked after.

While these men are in the Brig, Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada is giving press conferences to try and explain his refusal to deploy to Iraq even though he enlisted just prior to the invasion during the buildup. Millions of veterans received orders to deploy, from World War I to Iraqi Freedom. Some will never be the same. Some will never come home. Some bled. Some lost limbs and eyes and friends. The point is, we went and did our duty. We didn’t ask why.

The investigations continue. The allegations of massacres and war crimes may turn out to be true. Only time and the uncovering of all the facts will tell. The sad commentary on all of this is the deafening silence on behalf of these men. They deserve at a minimum, the same rights we extend to accused murderers.

Back when I played football, I learned many valuable lessons. Lessons about guts. Lessons about determination and sucking it up. Lessons about sacrifice and putting the team’s best interests above your own; about continuing the fight until the clock runs out.

President Bush, Congressman John Murtha and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have all come out and made inflammatory statements in regards to supposed atrocities committed by US Marines without any basis for doing so, other than the allegations of some Iraqi villagers and despite statements to the contrary by those involved.

Many of us now know of an alleged incident at Ishaqi, Iraq that occurred in March. According to the US Military, the military raided a house where an al-Qaeda suspect was visiting. After encountering stiff resistance, they incrementally increased the level of force, until it was necessary to call in an AC-130 Specter Gunship. A video of the scene surfaced that the BBC and residents of the area claimed was proof of a massacre by US troops.

It showed numerous bodies with what was described as obvious bullet wounds. There were media reports that the bodies shown in the video, including children, were all bound and shot. US troops were cleared of any wrongdoing. The Pentagon investigation found that they properly escalated the use of force.

You’re -quite purposefully- not being told about the dozens of allegations of supposed assaults and brutality that have been determined to be unfounded. The vast majority of accusations against US troops have been dismissed.

What we are now witnessing is the manifestation - in the terrorists- of the realization that they cannot defeat US troops militarily. Therefore they are seeking a political end to at least US involvement, by framing them for massacres that they are either committing themselves or by attacking US troops –as I said in my introduction– “from behind the skirts of women”.

I believe all of these allegations of so-called “atrocities” or “massacres” will eventually be shown to be part of a broader campaign to discredit US troops and force them to leave. I believe in the coming months, we will see a sharp escalation of these accusations.

The international press has already tried and convicted these men. A quick gander at an Internet search of the latest headlines reveals:

“First, The Killings, Then The Cover Up” - Sydney Morning Herald, 6/3/06

“Please Stop The American Troops killing more people” -The UK’s Guardian 6/2/06

I have heard nothing over the last week that indicates anyone is taking any sort of measured approach to these allegations. All I hear is “massacres”, “atrocities”, “executions” “horrible crime”. If it turns out that the Marines did NOT engage in atrocities, then those responsible for these outrageous statements must offer the Marine Corps an apology, and the American people their resignations, for their stunning lack of judgment and political cowardice.

As a pollywog, it doesn’t take long before you learn to keep your mouth shut.

I had just left the bus at Basic Training. I was next in line for the barber chair watching the guys in front of me –some of whom had that rock star length hair– get it buzzed right off. When I sat in the chair, I expected the barber to just buzz my head like he had done to all of the other recruits who went before me.

He paused, cocked his head from one side to the other all the while eyeballing my hair as if trying to determine how much to take off. He looked at me and smiled and to my surprise he said “Did you want to keep your sideburns?” I thought for a moment and then figured this guy is a civilian, so he won’t mess with me. He seems pretty cool. I answered “Sure”.

He then began the haircut. Zip, zip, zip and it was over. He pulled off the white bib that covers the “victim” and as I stood up, he said “Here you go” and handed me my sideburns.

“To the rear… MARCH!!” is an old military expression. Besides being a drill instruction, it is a term used by enlisted men to express a strong desire not to volunteer for something and to indicate they would be at the back of the line, wherever that may be.

In case anyone has been on planet Mars, there was what was alleged to have been an ambush with a roadside bomb attack and a firefight involving a US Marine convoy in Haditha, Iraq on November, 19th, 2005. The bomb killed Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas. According to initial reports, the alleged incident also killed 15 civilians and 8 terrorists. This week, everyone from a TIME Magazine reporter to the Iraqi Prime Minister are calling it revenge, a crime, a massacre. No charges have yet been filed.

As if that weren’t enough, President Bush himself has probably increased the numbers of men headed to the back of that line I spoke of earlier, with his admission that he is relying on news reports to get his information regarding this incident.

Not one ounce of support. Not one suggestion that we shouldn’t rush to judgment. No urging of restraint until all of the facts are known. He just turned his back on them. Kicked them when they were down. Right square in the giblets. The remarks by the President were completely lacking respect for the military. Unmitigated chutzpah. A severe lapse of judgment. O.J. Simpson even had attorneys publicly arguing on his behalf that no one should rush to judgment.

The alleged incident is still under investigation, and yet people are tossing around expressions such as “murder charges” as if they were condoms on the quarterdeck during liberty. Like John Murtha, a “distinguished” member of Congress and a former Marine himself whom I couldn’t believe actually called this incident “cold-blooded murder” by US Marines.

Common criminals get more respect than that Mr. Murtha. You obviously have some sort of hidden agenda and I doubt it’s the best interests of the US Marine Corps.

Why is it that every time an allegation of US massacres of civilians surfaces, that a damn Democrat in Congress gives it legs?