Jerusalem

I wrote....ummm I mean I found a Bible that says the Holy Land of Jerusalem was promised by God to my family. I therefore now have a legitimate claim to land in the Holy Territory of Jerusalem.

The passge reads:

"...and this guy begat and so on and so forth. Daniel beget Marcus, Marcus beget Hunter and this land of promise shall hitherforth belong to those, whom I, God, demand are the descendants of Carl, Daniel, and Marcus Byrne."

So, you see because I wrote...I mean found a book of my religion, which I have just made up, I now have legitimate claim to anything this religious text says. Just as the Jews proclaim in their genocide and apartheid of the Palestinian people.

A Few Things I've learned...

This is a short list of the things that have angered me since May:

First of all there are the usual: people who are slow, old, stupid, ignorant, and/or any combination of those things.

Closeted homosexual escapades of Republicans as they try to treat the LGBT community as second class citizens.

People who blame Clinton for anything that has happened after January 19th 2000. 9-11, the failed ventures in a Afghanistan and Iraq, the spiraling deficit, the busted economy, the bungling of the cleanup in NOLA after Katrina, and the squashing of civil liberties all happened on George W. Bush's watch. He's been in office for seven years. Get over it. Just because you say it's Clinton's fault, doesnt make it so. On the Clinton note, Bush is a far worse president than Bill Clinton could have ever thought about being. Anytime I bring up one of the thousand things that this administration has done to destroy our country the only retort I get is something to the effect of "Well, Clinton killed Vince Foster." First of all, no he didnt. Secondly if the only defense you have for your great and glorious leader is a dreamed up right wing conspiracy theory about how the president killed a guy, you might as well say he was the gunman on the grassy knoll because it would make just as much sense and you would sound just as sane.

Fucking Columbus Day. What the fuck for? All the Italians were out in full regalia. Guess what morons, Italy didn't fund his trip, Spain did. He was only Italian by birth. And he didn't "discover" anything. In case you didnt get it in your history class, here's a little secret for you: THERE WERE PEOPLE ALREADY HERE!!! Hello McFly! You cant discover something that's already been found. I'm sorry I forgot the major tenet of revisionist history, those people that were already there don't count because they were tannish brown.

Republicans have battered wife or Stockholm syndrome, I can't decide which it is.

There are still people with Bush/Cheney 04 stickers on their car and they display them proudly. It's a badge of honor for them. What honor? Who are these people? What the fuck are they proud of? What? Give me one goddamn thing these guys have done in 7 years of rule that has been good for America as a whole. Not the oligarchy. These people should be run off the road at every available opportunity. These people are dragging our collective IQ down and ruining our country. It's time to get rid of the caveman knuckle dragging, FAUX News watching shitheads who want to sell our civil liberties so they can live out their dream of all the tan people in the US being terrorized by law enforcement agencies in the name of Christ.

Fred Thompson is a MORON. The people with the Bush/Cheney bumper stickers are the people that are supporting this guy. Need I say more. Jesus Christ on a Crutch!!! WAKE UP SHEEPLE!!!

Democrats=Collapsocrats but they are all we've got.

If I ever run into Rush Limbaugh at any point in the rest of my life, I'm going to punch him in the face. I was so angry when I heard his recent comment about "phony soldiers," such as myself, that I was pacing in my living room. Punching him was in between ripping his heart out with my bare hands and doing nothing at all. I find it's a good compromise.

Getting punched repeatedly in the face hurts. No, I'm not getting into bar fights its part of my military martial arts qualification.

Remember this is just the short list, I'm sure there are more things to come that I wont remember until I try to go to sleep.

Letter to Sen. Bayh

Senator Bayh,
In accordance with the follwing sense of the Senate, for which you voted, concerning subsection 2, I would wish for you to vote to condemn Rush Limbaugh for his disparaging remarks about soldiers currently serving and having served in Iraq. I am an officer in the United States Army about to go on my second 15 month tour, who disagrees with this war, and I feel Limbaugh attacked my honor and integrity.

(b) Sense of Senate.–It is the sense of the Senate–
(1) to reaffirm its support for all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, including General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq;
(2) to strongly condemn any effort to attack the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the United States Armed Forces; and
(3) to specifically repudiate the unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus by the liberal activist group Moveon.org.

Sincerely,
Marcus D. Byrne

Good to Be Back

I dont even know if anyone reads these things anymore. I havent posted since May but I would like to give an update.
My wife and I got back from Iraq March 2006. Left Germany for our new duty station in Virginia at the end of May. Have been going to a course here and we move to our next duty station in Texas come the end of November. Where my wife will be deployinging December and I might be deploying in March.
I havent posted much because this course keeps us pretty busy and between that and the child there is very little time left in the day.

Well, at least someone gets it.

Sir, you might want to share that field manual with Attorney Generalissimo and VP thatseem to thinks it's OK and it works, and are it's biggest advocates.

I was concerned by the results of a recently released survey conducted last
fall in Irasq that revealed an apparent unwillingness on the part of some US
personnel to report illegal actions taken by fellow members of their units.
The
study also indicated that a small percentage of those surveyed may have
mistreated noncombatants. This survey should spur reflection on our conduct
in
combat. …Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned
torture
or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy.
They would be
wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal,
history shows that
they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary.

The Movers are coming...the movers are coming

Tomorrow the movers come. And we are nowhere near ready. Holy Shit. So much to do so little time. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

It's a Plan

Something that seems to be fundementally lacking for almost this half decade of war is a plan linked to a fundemental goal for termination of our involvement in Iraq. So, what does the president want before we leave Iraq? Does he want to waste another 37billion taxpayer dollars on recontruction projects that are inundated with sewage, waste, and looting? Does he want us to stay there another year, four years, or 10 years in order to make his "base" another large fortune credited by the blood of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, and not to mention the countless number of Iraqis? The problem is getting so bad that recently a LT COL, a career officer on their way to a full bird, or even a star, just said he's had enough and wrote a scathing piece on the failure of generalship in the military. The failure of the Generals and the Secretaries of the forces to look forward to the threat we would be facing and not preparing the forces for it. The forces are too small and overburdened, as we and our families are the only ones paying the toll on this war. Literally. The only country in recorded history to give tax cuts in a time of war. It seems the Democrats are trying to give him a way out and take the punishment for the "failure" of the "mission," but that's just not good enough. I'm sorry the first lady and the President are so affected by seeing in pictures what my wife and I saw up close, and smelled for 14 months. Our deployments have already been extended to 15 months and there is talk in the Pentagon of extending our deployments to 18 months. If this is not enough cause to reinstate the draft, I dont know what is. Soldiers and young officer are getting out at alarmingly high rates, and the 1 billion dollars of incentives was just enough to cover the gaping wound. They have already lowered the standards for promotion in both the NCO and Officer ranks, we are already crumbling why not at least lessen the burden with a draft. If we are going to be an imperialist army then we need to star acting like it. An all volunteer force will not hold up for long under this kind of pressure and stress. People on their 3rd or 4th deployments for 15 months I'm sure would agree.

As of 29April2007 we had lost 99 military personnel in Iraq. That's 3 VA Tech massacres of just American servicemembers every month for four years. That doesnt count Iraqis where a good day is 33 dead, or military contractors. So, if we're outraged about the deaths of 33 college students why aren't we just as outraged about the 100 deaths of mostly college aged kids fighting a war that has been fought, won and lost. Why isn't America outraged over the futility of death in Iraq, especially of our own? And to those that aren't at least somewhat perturbed, I ask, what are we there dying for?

Every reason for this war has been debunked. So, why arent we outraged that we have men an women dying to make someone an extra buck.

The bloodletting has already started. The genocide/civil war that the defenders of the "stay the course" mentality are afraid of has been going on for four years. We opened a Pandora's Box. Of all times, we are supposed to trust that now...this time, you will know what happens after all your crystal ball told us that: Saddam had links to Al Qaeda...Saddam had weapons of mass destruction...we would be greeted as liberators with flowers and candy...the reconstruction would be paid for with Iraq's oil money...you defenders of this war have been wrong at every turn...but now you're right. Now we're supposed to believe that you know what is best to be done to solve the mess you got us into by lying or at best being completely ignorant of every known fact about Iraq, Al Qaeda, and the whole mess of the war on Terror.

Why dont you Neo Con, chicken hawk, chickenshit, AWOL, draft dodging, war mongers go slink into your lair and "plan" the next big debacle, go to Bohemian Grove and do your Pagan rituals and have your gay orgies, or call up your local escort service and spend time with the mistress. Spend all the time you want doing those things. Let the grown ups with attached brain stems and frontal lobes clean up your mess? The next time you come out with an idea this stupid, I can only hope that there is someone with the decency and patriotism near you willing to let you know what it feels like to be shot or shot at.

It's Not Conspiracy...

...It's Fucking History.

Leo Strauss started the NeoConservative movement in an attempt to bring America to it's full potential through constant war. He and his ilk felt as though Americans were going the way of the Romans, and were too enthralled in the selfish materialistic culture created by liberal democracy. You know, the "liberal" culture that gives all the Republican businessman their money. Strauss felt America needed a cause in order to keep America from falling into the hypnotic trance of living everyday life, and succmbing to the disease of...peace, I guess.

Saayid Qutb visited the US at the same time in the early '60s as an emissary from Egypt to study American schools. He found American culture repulsive. He thought Americans were too wrapped in their materialistic culture and found a philosophical ally in Strauss. When Qutb returned to Egypt he realized that they needed to renounce American culture so they did not become infected with the "disease." He felt the American way of liberal democracy which created cynicism, materialism, and questioning of authority was contrary to the teachings of Islam. He called on all Muslim nations to rise up and kill their leaders who were "infected" by these evil ideas. Anyone infected by these ideals was fair game to be killed. Civilians included. He was captured by the Egyptian government and tortured and realized this disease wasnt benign, it brought out the worst of mankind. He came to this conclusion based on the fact his torturers were trained by the Americans. Qutb is eventually tried for treason and killed, but there is student of Qutb's that picks up his cause where he left off. A future doctor by the name of Ayman al Zawahiri. Yes that's right...the first number 2 man in Al Qaeda. The guy that has more videos than Puff Daddy.

So, a Muslim that found an ally in the man that created the political movement that is being followed by the current leaders of the US based on the assumption Americans are stupid, and people being able to make their own choices and decisions is wrong, and liberal democracy is a disease that needs to be stamped out, creates the fundementalist Islamic movement and engages a young student that continues his cause who becomes a Co creator of a group that supposedly perpetrates an attack that furthers the agenda of both factions of the same ideology.

So, Leo Strauss' thoughts destroyed the WTC Towers and created fundemenatlist Islam.

Those are some Hardcore fucking thoughts.

Pashtun Pelosi???

I think not.
SOTH Pelosi is just doing what any good leader would do in a time of crisis. When the shit starts to hit the fan and you realize it doesn't seem like anyone is in charge or has any plan to fix what is going, or the person in charge just seems lost and doesn't know what to do, a good leader will step up and do what needs to be done. SOTH Pelosi is doing just that. She is the leader of the peoples house and Constitutionally equal to the President and has the right, even the obligation to start fixing things she sees are broken. Such as when SOTH Hastert went to Colombia, and SOTH Gingrich basically promised our unfettered protection of an Asian Island Nation without consulting the president. Is SOTH Pelosi a "traitor" as the news and right wing echo chamber would paint her to be for being respectful of another culture and wearing a headscarf just as the first lady did when she visited Arab countries. No. SOTH Pelosi is acting like a true leader, stepping up in a time of crisis to find a solution to a problem created by the same unintelligent, ignorant, assholes that would call her a traitor.

Around Germany and back Again

Berg Rheifels

Berg Katze

Schloss Neuschwanstein

Out the Window of Neuschwanstein
Outside Neuschwanstein
I told you...just beautiful.

Made our way around Germany this weekend. From Hessen to Bavaria/Alps in Germany to see Neuschwanstein Castle that was the inspiration for the Disney Castle. Absolutely beautiful area of the world, and the weather was absolutely perfect. After spending a couple of days down there we drove up to the Rheinland-Hessen area to visit our favorite wine ship and pick up some gifts from Stefan the shop owner, who has the be Eiswein in the world. And I'm not just saying that, he really wins the wine competition year after year for his Eiswein. If you have an extra $200 he'll ship you some. Just contact him at: Stefan's Wine Paradise. Of course the Rhein area is where all the Castles are: Katz, Mause, Rheinstein, Rheinfels, Eltz, etc.

Hohenschwangau, Germany

View from the Hotel

Hunter at the Aktiv Hotel Schweiger, Fussen, Germany (in the Alps).

It's all Rosie

First of all in the words of a true poet and artist, Mr. Snoop Dogg: "Fuck Bill O'Reilly...he can suck my cock."

Second Bill O'Reilly, apparently with the number one news show on cable TV (as I'm reminded at every possible opportunity on his show) can't afford a research staff, as Al Franken has pointed out time and time again and I will point out one more time. He must be spending all of the money on loofahs, long distance phone calls, lawyers, and settlements.

Bill, Rosie is right. Building 7 was blown up by admission of Mr. Silverstein the property owner on a PBS documentary Why the Towers Fell. He says in the documentary in order to prevent more loss of life, after talking to fire fighters and structural engineers he decided to "pull building 7." 'Pull' is construction speak for the organized demolition of a building by means of explosives. Mr. Silverstein very clearly states in the documentary that he decided to pull it, and explains what that means to pull a building. Mr. O'Reilly watch something other than your own show, or your own reflection, or the clips and sound bites fed to you by your obviously worthless producers.

I believe this morning's Rosie segment started with a coyfully indignant "Oh no, not again." Please. Like you're really upset that you have to spend a few more minutes on fake news Matt Lauer. Because if you actually had to cover what was going on in the world, your masters as GE might not be too happy with you. We're losing people at a significantly high rate every day, Iraqis are dropping like flies an what's imporatant is an arrogant fake news man commenting on something some TV personality said. Give me a break why dont you do the right thing, do the research that Bill cant afford and prove one side right or wrong. That would require your show to some sort of standard for what is news.

Your 'glib' coverage of the JibJab video pointing out the idiocy of the 24 hour news cycle and the punditocracy was about all I could stomach. Did you not get it? They were pointing out that you dont do your job any more. The fourth estate has fallen.

Cheney: 'Self-appointed strategists' forcing withdrawal

The Penguin Strikes Again.
Hey Mr. Vice President, Darth Maul, Death-Monger in Chief, supereme sith of the Bush-Cheney Neo-Con Death Cult why don't you take a look at the constitution. The Congress isn't self appointed, they are the people's appointed watch dogs. Why dont you try reading a book or two. Congress controlled the purse of the Continental army also. GEN George Washington had to write Senators and Governors to receive more soldiers, money, and equipment.

Hopeless

It seems hopeless over there. I hate to say it but it doesnt seem winnable as the places where my brigade operated and made great strides seem to be slipping backwards to their state prior to our blood, sweat, and hardwork went into making the areas more secure. It seems since we left Tall Afar almost a year ago I've read once a week of a car bomb that kills at least 30 in that medium sized city of Sunnis, Shia, Kurds, and Turkomen. As today I read about the largest attack since the war began killing 160 and wounding 350 in the city that the President touted as the example for all the other cities to follow in his 2006 SOTU address, as my brigade was entering the country and specifically that city. Now that we have done a 14 month tour, 5 months of it there, and are now back home. I look at the news in disgust. Disgust at our leaders for being so ignorant and naive in starting this preventetive illegal invasion and occupation, and disgust at the Iraqis for being so ignorant and ungrateful. In Ramadi, Fallujah, and Anbar Province it seems to be more of the same. All of our hardwork means nothing, because they are back to where they were before we arrived. They want to be in the 7th Century, so pull out and leave them there. Our time, lives, and treasure there, wasted.

Post Operation Disney Leave

We only had a few days of leave after Disney so we drove to Memphis so Hunter could meet his Great Grandparents and Alissa's Uncle and his two babies:

On the way back from Memphis Hunter got really ill. Throwing up every couple of hours or so. By the time we hit Kentucky we decided to take him to the ER where they told us it would be a 2 hour wait before they could see him because they had a trauma coming in. Seeing how it was Kentucky it was probably some dumb hillbilly last heard uttering the phrase "Hey yall watch this," after downing a 12 pack of PBR. So we decided to go 30 minutes up the road to Ft. Knox and then decided to nix the ER plan altogether and just drive straight through to Northern Indiana and get him an appt with his doctor. Everytime we thought it was over he would throw up again. We decided it would be best for him to rest so we stopped in a hotel in Indy overnight. We thought all was clear and were on the phone about to cancel the appt. when we heard the familiar cry of pain from the rocket seat in the pack and then the all too familiar smell of curdled milk. It turned out to be some kind of stomach virus or something because he was all better that night, and the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with him. But it was scary to say the least.

And then I got a tatoo

And finally we are all back "home" in Germany...for now.

Operation Disney Part 2

Let me start by saying Disney is not a vacation alright. It's expensive as hell and you have to make every moment count. I didnt know this before enlisting on this adventure. Disney is like boot camp for parents. And for parents that have been away from their 2 year old child for 14 months it is a wake up call. You cant waste a moment. Every day has to be planned with military precision, and executed accordingly. There is no time to rest and relax. There are 5 theme parks and you have to see every show and ride every ride inside of them. That means you're up at dawn and dont get to bed until hours after the park closes. You really dont have the money to waste time. Adding Univerals Studios to the lineup for first timer like me probably wasnt a good idea either. But there were chances to drink margaritas as we were walking, and all and all I think Hunter enjoyed it as much as I did. I think he's a sadist like that.

Day 2-Disney MGM

We got there as Mater was about to drive away. You dont understand he watches Cars on a loop and loves Mater. Everytime we saw him drive by that day it was a temper tantrum.
Day 3- Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

Day 4-Magic Kingdom Part I

Day 5-Universal Studios

After the Barney show. We had to drag him away kicking and screaming.

Blues Brothers just performed and are driving off.

Day 6-Magic Kingdom Part II

I think the look says it all. It's night six of Operation Disney, the fireworks are going off, the Baby is asleep, and we still have the last ride to go: Space Mountain.

Seeing how we had the money we stayed in Carribbean Beach Resort. It was nice but food ran us at least $100 per day. After six days with two adults and a kid in the same Hotel room with no time to clean up because you are always on the go it doesnt look too good.

Operation Disney Part 1

Operation Disney Day 0- Travel

We made our way from Indiana to Orlando. One long day.

Operation Disney-Day 1- Animal Kingdom

I'm told not the best of the theme parks on Disney, but we still had fun. I'm rollercoaster guy and the Everest ride wasnt that bad. But toting a two year old makes it a daunting task.

Just doing traveling. We leave for the US tomorrow go pick up Hunter. I'll probably once again be out of the loop for a few weeks.

M.

3rd Story of the Port Nigra, Trier, Germany

The Roman Amphiteatheater at Trier

Champagne

Should have internet in a few days. But I thought I would post this thing I wrote in the heat of the 2004 campaign.

Champagne
Marcus Daniel Byrne
October 2004


Sippin’ champagne on the campaign
You sure as hell can’t complain
As you put on a pin stripe suit
Me and a Mother’s son lace up combat boots.
Where were you in ’72?
Was it Harvard Business School?
How long do I have to be here for?
To fight your war
Because I’m poor and couldn’t afford school anymore.
Sent overseas to stop WMDs and set people free
That want to kill me.
Wait there’s a shot...
Pop, pop, pop.
Make your daughters enlist
And put up with this shit.
Oh, aint that a bitch
They’re rich.
Look at the opportunity they’re going to miss.
That’s what the poor are for.
To fight in a war
That closes the door even more
Keepin’ me and my family poor
Old men with grey hair keep makin’ decisions
That decide whether or not I keep living.
Of course, how would they know what it’s like?
When their country called they were AWOL
All the things they keep on preachin’ and teachin’
Love your country because of all it gives to you
It only gives if you are among the connected few
Enron…Halliburton those CEOs aren’t hurtin’
A million jobs and pensions robbed
Take from us to give to you and your band of merry few.
Heart of a lion
Boys around me dyin’
You’re still lyin’
About why I’m here
Mothers cryin’
Still lyin’
How much does your vote matter?
When there’s terrorist chatter and Dirty bombs
And soccer moms with American Flags
On their 4 mile per gallon SUV
Can’t you see the irony as you increase
Our dependency…
oh wait that’s OK…
As long as I wave a flag and say
“Support our troops”
Send them boots, bullets, and magazines maybe someday
My gas will be free
My only hope is that the people listening love the idea of their country as much as me
And aren’t willing
To send it spilling
Over the edge
For a simple pledge
Gas will never be free but the people of this country should be
Around the world our armies roam
While here at home
We live in fear but don’t you dare question
Our method
Oh, and don’t you mind the corporate goons
Lined up like dragoons to cash in
Are we safer than we were four years ago?
Why don’t you ask the soldier in Baghdad on patrol?
How much safer do you feel?
Aim…shoot…kill.
18 years old, full combat gear
A kid can’t even buy a beer
Has to make decisions everyday that decide everyday whether that kid in his sights will keep living
Friend or Foe
He doesn’t know.
Sigh of relief as he runs away
To live another day
How proud the families are that they’ve freed the people in Kandahar
And that women can drive a car.
But here they can’t decide whether or not they should reproduce.
Because of old men with grey hair and pin stripe suits.

Great to back...

...even if it is only Germany.
It's great to be back home. Been back since the 19th. Dont have the internet hooked up yet at my house so time is limited, as is my knowledge of the outside world. Just spending time travelling with the wife before we go pick up the little one. Thanks to all of you for your support, words of encouragement, and just being out there to vent through this awful thing.
More posts to come...hopefully the internet will get connected soon.
M

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Happy Darwin Day, February 12th 2007.

This picture has nothing to do with that...just trying out new blogger.

Almost out of here 6 more days.....

Top 10 Signs You're a Fundementalist Christian...

I'm sorry but they just make it too easy...

taken from evilbible.com

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

Taking it to a New Level

The insurgency is taking their fight to a new level, probably sponsored in part by the Iranians who are trying to tie down GWBs swords in Iraq to stop the rattling. So, who's really making things worse over here? The people that want to get us out of here and back to the states, or the people that want to get us out of Iraq and move us straight to Iran?

This is the kind of brazen attack you see from well funded, well trained, clandestine miltary units, much like the US Special Forces. No, half-assed Al Qaeda insurgent could have pulled this off. They abducted 4 soldiers threw them in the back of a truck and drove off with them to execute them later. First of all these soldiers let their guard down and were caught by surprise, hopefully it's a lesson learned. I know, having done Personal Security, for the types of people who do these BILATs that this had to be a breakdown in military bearing and security. That said, it was a clever trick that could exploit even the smallest crack in a security detail like that. The fact that they did a tactical entry on a building, took prisoners, and killed 5 American soldiers, and spoke English, shows these guys were well trained. It would be hard to do dynamic entry into a building with Americans and be able to retreat alive, but to go in shoot them and come out, with prisoners shows they have training.

I recently saw a video captured from a bunch of dead insurgents that shows them assaulting an OP. Most of this video is a recording of the insurgents doing a rehearsal and a rock drill of the assault. Professional military training. Not to mention these guys conducting the assault, from what I could tell, were Persian not Arab. The video ends with them assaulting the OP, most of them dying and the rest being taken prisoner.

This professional military assault is probably why they gave us permission to shoot Iranians. This proclamation is completely bullshit, and is nothing but a political/foreign relations proclamation. First, we don't stop to ask the people that are exhibiting hostile intent towards us or other Coalition forces, whether it be planting IEDs or busting into buildings where we are having meetings and shooting us, whether they're Persian or Arab, Iraqi or Iranian, Sunni or Shia. We just shoot them. Second, we've been killing or taking prisoner anyone who is or might be actively plotting against our efforts here in Iraq. Nothing new. It's sort of the same mission we've had for 4 and half years.

Just having Army uniforms shouldn't have gotten that far anyways. Maybe past an IP checkpoint, but through American security that should have been on the outside of that building no fucking way. There is something wrong here. The unit conducting this meeting would have been here long enough to know who operates in their AO especially concerning the mission at a JCC. This just shouldn't have happened. And the more I think about the more impossible I think it would be.

"We step forward...

...because the US Army never steps back." That's what my Drill Sergeant told me in basic training during our bayonet assault course. I believed it too.
Last week a group of US Army National Guard soldiers were engaged with small arms fire by international felons illegally invading our country. Before I get too deep into this let me just say I am by no means a racist, a xenophobe, or isolationist. There are legal means to enter our country and if you wish to be here you may do so. So, you would think that after they got shot at they would return fire. Nope. They're not allowed to. Wait a second even a private citizen has the right to defend themselves when being shot at.
Let's say you are in your house, some people jump over your fence come into your yard and start shooting at you. If you are a gun owner, experienced marksman, like myself, you shoot back, and you have every right to. You have every right to defend yourself, your property, and your family. It's the same prinicple with the member of the US Army on the border. They are sent there to defend their home, people are jumping over the fence illegally and then shooting at them, how can they not have the right to shoot back? How can they not have the right and the means to defend not only themselves but the sovereignty of the US from these attacks?
This was an attack on our nation, and an assault on our military by invaders, and people just brush it off. Did you know that three times last year that armed Mexican military units clandestinely crossed over the border into the US?
What's it going to take for us to use our military, political, and economic might to secure our border, or just annex Mexico?

Sacrifice???

When the military does your evaluation reports they like things quantifiable. They like numbers here are the numbers on my sacrifice, thus far...
My wife and I have been married for 46 months and have spent 17 of those living together.
We had a child in May 2005 and had to ship him off from Germany where we are stationed to live with his grandmother for three months from the time he was 4 months until the time he was 7 months old. We then had to fly him from Germany back to the US two months later as we deployed to Iraq on a 12 month...no wait, 14 month...what could become a 16 month tour of Iraq because we have to sacrifice. And by the way the Army doesnt pay for him and my mother-in-law to fly back and forth so we were also out almost $6,000 on plane tickets in 2005.
So let's do the math on that one: my son is now almost 21 months old and has spent 15 months living with his grandmother, which is going to be at least 17 out of 23, and could possibly become 19 out of 25 of the most precious first two years of his life.
We're out all the money out of pocket we've had to spend to ensure he didnt get third rate healthcare because my mother-in-law doesnt live near a military base so she cant get a good pediatrician, or use our healthcare at most offices.
So my wife and I have sacrificed being parents to our child whom we love more than anything in the world. And we have sacrificed being companions to one another so we could fight this damned war neither one of us has believed in from the beginning.
We're both hollow shells now. All you have left to take is our physical life, because it doesnt seem that we are ever going to leave this place. We are never going to escape death's shadow. Because you can just keep extending our unit with disregard for the lives that are destroyed by the haplessness of your mistake.

I guess a man who sacrificed the first 40 years of his life to beer and blow, got his cushy assignment in a champagne unit in the Air Guard during VietNam, got his legacy scholarships to Yale and Harvard, got bailed out of failed business after failed business by his dad, and spent 60% of his first 4 years in the oval office on vacation knows all too much about sacrifice though.

I know I signed up for this. No I didnt. I didnt sign up to protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iraq, my oath clearly states, "support and defend the Constitution of the United States." And on top of that we have done our time. We did our year plus some. We did our tour of sacrifice, now it is our turn to go home. Let's not have to have one more memorial ceremony for my Brigade. Or any other for that matter. We've done all we can here. It's up to the Iraqi's to sacrifice now, not America. It's up to the Iraqis to defend Iraq, not America.