...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
Friday, February 23, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
It's the most wonderful time of the year...
Sunday, February 11, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, January 26, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
"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?
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?
Thursday, January 04, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
No, Really, I hate the American Taliban...
For those American Taliban against the display of a pentacle on a soldier's tombstone...
...lest, in the general wreck of superstition, of false systems of government, and false theology, we lose sight of morality, of humanity, and of the theology that is true.
-Thomas Paine, Age of Reason, Part One.
-Thomas Paine, Age of Reason, Part One.
War On Christmas
No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, the second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and heresay to every other; consequently they are not obliged to believe it.
-Thomas Paine referring to religious texts and dogma in Age of Reason, Part One.
This controversy over the disbanding of the Christmas trees in Sea-Tac is such a false controversy in more ways than one. First of all Christmas, as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, would more accurately be celebrated in March or April. Religious scholars and historians agree that Jesus was actually born around that time. The Christmas Tree and Yule log are actually Pagan traditions started before the Roman invasion of the Barbarian lands. So, the Rabbi suing to put a Menorah next to a “Chrisitian” Christmas tree, which isn’t really Christian except in the confused minds over-commercialized populous who have been told it and believe it is so. Just like they were told Jesus was born in December and believe that is so also, when facts point out it is not. I’ve noticed facts don’t matter much to the religious though. All that matters is belief, and beliefs and dogmas inside of organized religion, are as easily misconstrued as the original message at the end of the child’s game of “telephone.”
Does it really matter if a Christmas tree is displayed? Even if we assume that Jesus really was born in December on the Gregorian calendar, and that the tree is really now, and always has been a Christian tradition, is that still what it really means? Aren’t the original enemies of Christmas profiteerism and commercialization? Weren’t they the ones that transformed it into a meaningless Holiday enabled by the Christian majority in our capitalist society? It wasn’t the SP’s as Bill O’Reilly likes to call them in his ridiculous war on Christmas. So maybe Mr. O’Reilly should first ask for the Christian capitalists to restore the religious meaning to their own holiday, then, maybe it might lend credibility to the cause against SP’s railing against this holiday that really has lost all its religious meaning. After all, I am a very cynical atheist and I celebrate Christmas as a joyous holiday family and giving. I guess I celebrate the American watered-down version.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Tread Surely but Lightly
I'm certainly surprised by the Democratic victory in the Legislature as I was fully expecting this election to be stolen through electronic voting apparati. Now, what? With the extreme situations America faces both domestically, and internationally, that is the main question. Dems say we are not out for revenge, which I say, Of course not. We are out for accountability and oversight. If you think investigating the Executive is just nasty partisan politics then you dont understand the mission of the "People's House." If you believe that then you have fallen for the NeoCon Reichwing fantasy of a unitary executive and hopefully you will never again hold a place in the Senate or House. If you had an employee who still worked for your company and you found in the past that they had stolen or used suspect techniques in the execution of your business you would certainly have every right to investigate and punish them as neccessary. It is no different than the relationship between the Executive and Legislative. It is their job to keep the executive in CHECK, through whatever Parliamentary means they have available. Including investigations and drawing up Articles of Impeachment.
To Democrats: If America wanted two more years of abuse they wouldnt have elected you. If America wanted to stay the course in Iraq, on Paris Hilton tax cuts, on minimum wage, on healthcare, on stem cell research, on foreign policy, they would have stayed the course in the Senate and Congress. Dont squander that hope for change on doing nothing, hoping to save it for two years and magically open it up and use it in 2008. The President and the Republicans may balk, veto, and filibuster but this will only point them out for the whiny hypocrites they are. Hence the fight for 2008 begins with the 110th Congress of the United States with a Democrat majority and two Independents who caucus with Dems in th Senate. Show the American people now, the next two years, what accountability means, and what a compassionte government can do. Because if there is one thing Americans appreciate it's justice, not revenge.
To Democrats: If America wanted two more years of abuse they wouldnt have elected you. If America wanted to stay the course in Iraq, on Paris Hilton tax cuts, on minimum wage, on healthcare, on stem cell research, on foreign policy, they would have stayed the course in the Senate and Congress. Dont squander that hope for change on doing nothing, hoping to save it for two years and magically open it up and use it in 2008. The President and the Republicans may balk, veto, and filibuster but this will only point them out for the whiny hypocrites they are. Hence the fight for 2008 begins with the 110th Congress of the United States with a Democrat majority and two Independents who caucus with Dems in th Senate. Show the American people now, the next two years, what accountability means, and what a compassionte government can do. Because if there is one thing Americans appreciate it's justice, not revenge.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Reality's a Bitch
Hahhaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhaaaaaaaaahhhahahahahahahahahhhhaaaaa!!!!!!!
Nov 7th 2006 was my early Christmas present. Thank you America. I knew you had it in you.
Nov 7th 2006 was my early Christmas present. Thank you America. I knew you had it in you.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
The Brownshirts are coming!!!!!
So, a man walks up to a political candidate and asks that candidate question. The man is immediately pounced by supporters of the candidate acting like bouncers at a downtown bar. He is put in a headlock and dragged away from the candidate. Did the scene I describe occur A) 1930's Germany during the Rise of Hitler, Fascism, and the Nazis or B) Yesterday, in Virginia USA? If you picked either answer you are correct.
When a member of our democracy is physically attacked by supporters of a political candidate with no provocation, but to ask a question, however inappropriate, what would you call that? I call it FASCISM. All these people are missing are the Brownshirts, jackboots, and swasitkas. While their agenda might be slightly nativist in nature, their real hatred is for freedom. They abhor Freedom of dissent, free speech, free thought, and freedom of and from religion. Everyone should be and think like them, and if you dont prepare for the beating of your life.
Dont believe they hate freedom and they arent the Jeffersonian Conservatives yet? Did you know the President now has the power to control the National Guard of your state without you or your governors consent?
When a member of our democracy is physically attacked by supporters of a political candidate with no provocation, but to ask a question, however inappropriate, what would you call that? I call it FASCISM. All these people are missing are the Brownshirts, jackboots, and swasitkas. While their agenda might be slightly nativist in nature, their real hatred is for freedom. They abhor Freedom of dissent, free speech, free thought, and freedom of and from religion. Everyone should be and think like them, and if you dont prepare for the beating of your life.
Dont believe they hate freedom and they arent the Jeffersonian Conservatives yet? Did you know the President now has the power to control the National Guard of your state without you or your governors consent?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Neo Con Incompetence
I've come to realize there is an inherent flaw in Neo Cons running a war of stability and support operations (SASO). They lack the morals and values necessary to fight such a war correctly. To fight a an insurgency correctly requires empathy, to know how the people are suffering and being able to correct it before your enemy can. It require an ability to understand complex social structures and networks and work within those networks to achieve compromise amongst the indigenous people. In other words, a war such as this requires flexible diplomacy from the strategic to the tactical level with a common goal. That goal was unapparent in the beginning months of this war and that's when we lost our momentum. The Neo Cons don't even care about the people they supposedly govern, I reference Hurricane Katrina as one example, why would they care about the plight of people who can't unelect them, or have no power to stop them. Someone once said, "Terrorism is the war of the powerless, and war is the terrorism of the powerful." So, what are the powerless going to resort to when they see their grievances, inflicted by us, are not being addressed? The war of the powerless.So, Neo Cons, lacking simple human emotions, morals, and values, and having no other goals but unlimited power, are the wrong people to fight any war, much less a war where the will of the occupied is the center of gravity, and the deciding factor for victory.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Wars of Credibility
What's this new diplomatic SOP where we dont talk to our enemies? I can't understand it. Of course, you talk to your enemies, you know what your friends are doing to hell with them you dont need to talk to them, that's how you find out what your enemies are doing. You know, there are other ways to force your political will on other countries without going to war, without using the military, without violence. You do it through talking. That is such retarded middle school bullshit. "We dont talk to our enemies." Then who the fuck are you talking to. Oh yeah, that's right you have a direct line to God and God tells you which of his people to kill and not kill. What's the number so I can call him and tell him he fucked up? Can I send him a text? I'm sure God has a blackberry. Maybe I can explain the ways of peace and diplomacy to him. Talking to your enemies is the first resort from the strategic to the tactical level. That's what you do first, not shoot them.
I know why they dont talk to our enemies because we have no leverage. We used to be able to leverage our credibility to build worldwide coalitions to force our/the WORLD'S diplomatic will. First that credibility is gone so we cant build a coalition to do a high school science project. Second we have gone so far over the deep end that noone knows what our strategic and national goals and/or will are anymore. And people are afraid to get behind us because we're like lunatic with a loaded gun. They just dont know where we are going to shoot and why.
"So you were attacked by OBL, what do you want to do about it America."
"Well, I think we'll attack Atlantis."
"But Atlantis is fictional Mr. President."
"That's just what the liberal media wants you to think, that's where all the WMD's and OBL are hiding, that's where they harbor all the terrorists."
I mean that might as well have been the conversation with us and the rest of the world the months following 9-11, because what was done in our name makes just as much sense. So, just like the schoolyard bullies I used to piss off with my smart mouth and quick wit our only reaction to any problem of diplomacy is violence. It wasnt hard to outwit the bully, but when I did, he had no other option but to punch me in the face in order to enforce his will upon me. At that point I would gladly give him my lunch money. I got punched all because he couldnt come up with clever scheme to outsmart me out of my money. I guess my point is, When all you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.
I know why they dont talk to our enemies because we have no leverage. We used to be able to leverage our credibility to build worldwide coalitions to force our/the WORLD'S diplomatic will. First that credibility is gone so we cant build a coalition to do a high school science project. Second we have gone so far over the deep end that noone knows what our strategic and national goals and/or will are anymore. And people are afraid to get behind us because we're like lunatic with a loaded gun. They just dont know where we are going to shoot and why.
"So you were attacked by OBL, what do you want to do about it America."
"Well, I think we'll attack Atlantis."
"But Atlantis is fictional Mr. President."
"That's just what the liberal media wants you to think, that's where all the WMD's and OBL are hiding, that's where they harbor all the terrorists."
I mean that might as well have been the conversation with us and the rest of the world the months following 9-11, because what was done in our name makes just as much sense. So, just like the schoolyard bullies I used to piss off with my smart mouth and quick wit our only reaction to any problem of diplomacy is violence. It wasnt hard to outwit the bully, but when I did, he had no other option but to punch me in the face in order to enforce his will upon me. At that point I would gladly give him my lunch money. I got punched all because he couldnt come up with clever scheme to outsmart me out of my money. I guess my point is, When all you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.
"Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, 'tis time to part." Thomas Paine on Decolonization
Monday, September 25, 2006
EXTENSION!!!!
We knew it was coming all along...the extension of the 1BDE, 1AD. We have officially been extended to stay in Ramadi because there is no unit that could replace us without violating "dwell time" standards. For OPSEC reasons I wont say which unit or for how long we are extended but it's shorter than most extensions, considering last time 1AD was here it was for 15 months. This news comes on the day when I find these headlines on Army Knowledge Online or AKO for short:
Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short
An extraordinary action by the chief of staff sends a message: The Pentagon must increase the budget or reduce commitments in Iraq and elsewhere.
By Peter Spiegel, Times Staff Writer
They chose this goddamn war now they want to starve the military that's fighting it. Remember Mr. Secretary, we all know now this was a war of CHOICE. So, you better come up with the fucking money to fight it right.
___________________________________________________________________
Washington Times: September 25, 2006
Army Considers More Combat Units For Iraq
Escalated deployments eyed to tackle violence
By Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times
Escalated deployments such as for the unit replacing us.
"We'll be greeted as liberators." 2003
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." 2003
"I think what we are seeing here is an insurgency in its last throes." 2004
_____________________________________________________________
New York Times: September 25, 2006
Unit Makes Do As Army Strives To Plug Gaps
By David S. Cloud
A story about 3ID training with minimal equipment and time because all of their equipment was torn up by the last deployment, or it got left behind as what is called Theater Provided Equipment. The Army version of hand-me-downs.
_____________________________________________________________
Washington Times: September 25, 2006 Pg. 1
U.S. Soldiers See Inept Output By Iraqi Troops
By Antonio Castaneda, Associated Press
Look these Iraqis are never going to take over their own country they are too afraid. I talk to the Iraqi soldiers here in Ramadi and they are not from here. They are from completely different regions of the country. They tell me that "Ramadi is no good. All Ali Baba." Ali Baba is the word for a thief or a bad person. They dont like the people here and have no reason to want to defend them because they are outsiders just like us being attacked by them. On several occasions I've been asked to attach IA convoys to mine and have refused on the grounds that this is their country and if they are too afraid to drive a convoy at night in their own country then they are never going to take over and we are never going to leave.
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Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short
An extraordinary action by the chief of staff sends a message: The Pentagon must increase the budget or reduce commitments in Iraq and elsewhere.
By Peter Spiegel, Times Staff Writer
They chose this goddamn war now they want to starve the military that's fighting it. Remember Mr. Secretary, we all know now this was a war of CHOICE. So, you better come up with the fucking money to fight it right.
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Washington Times: September 25, 2006
Army Considers More Combat Units For Iraq
Escalated deployments eyed to tackle violence
By Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times
Escalated deployments such as for the unit replacing us.
"We'll be greeted as liberators." 2003
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." 2003
"I think what we are seeing here is an insurgency in its last throes." 2004
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New York Times: September 25, 2006
Unit Makes Do As Army Strives To Plug Gaps
By David S. Cloud
A story about 3ID training with minimal equipment and time because all of their equipment was torn up by the last deployment, or it got left behind as what is called Theater Provided Equipment. The Army version of hand-me-downs.
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Washington Times: September 25, 2006 Pg. 1
U.S. Soldiers See Inept Output By Iraqi Troops
By Antonio Castaneda, Associated Press
Look these Iraqis are never going to take over their own country they are too afraid. I talk to the Iraqi soldiers here in Ramadi and they are not from here. They are from completely different regions of the country. They tell me that "Ramadi is no good. All Ali Baba." Ali Baba is the word for a thief or a bad person. They dont like the people here and have no reason to want to defend them because they are outsiders just like us being attacked by them. On several occasions I've been asked to attach IA convoys to mine and have refused on the grounds that this is their country and if they are too afraid to drive a convoy at night in their own country then they are never going to take over and we are never going to leave.
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Saturday, September 23, 2006
February 2003
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was another cold and brisk, but sunny February day in Muncie, Indiana in 2003. At the time I was attending college, an institution of enlightenment, I was in my second to last year. I was a telecommunications major with emphasis in television, radio, and film production, with a minor in military science. I remember leaving to go pick my future wife up from class right as Secretary of State Colin Powell stepped up to the microphone at the United Nations Assembly. I listened to the local NPR station as they carried the broadcast live. I yelled and screamed, to my wife, or anyone that would listen, “There it is, the proof, he’s laying it all out for you. How can we not go to war now? We must defend America from this grave and serious threat. How can the nations of old, most proximal to this threat, allow it to exist past today with this mountain of proof?” And it was not as if I had no skin in the game because I had been enlisted in the Army Reserve since 1999, and knew how much they relied on the Reserve in the support function in the last war in this same desert. Two life-changing events happened within the next month. On March 8th 2003 I married a woman who would also become an officer, and March 17th the US invaded Iraq.
The most important fact was that my wife and I were both going to be officers. Shortly thereafter I signed my Senior ROTC contract committing me to 8 more years, 3 of those on active duty, to an Army at war. At the time we were being told that the war would be over in no time. I remember seeing pictures of Chalabi, and stories on the Iraqi National Congress. I thought if there is someone willing to take over, let them. Take out the dangerous dictator; put Chalabi, who at the time I did not know was an international felon, in the charge of this country. I signed the line based on the promise of the civilian leadership of the military, and this country that we would be in and out quickly, and the Iraqis would quickly take the reigns of their own country. I was so naïve that I even remember lamenting, with my fellow cadets, that I would be in the Army from 1999 until 2012 and I would miss the chance to go to war. Yet, here it is 2006 and I have been deployed almost a whole year.
I can’t really recall what happened but I woke up. I can’t recall the exact incident or time, but I realized everything that I had been told was bullshit. I know it was later in the year of 2003 when I came to realize I had been duped. It could have been the information that I was gradually getting off the internet since none of the major news networks carried it. Maybe it was because we had been in country almost 9 months, by that time, and there was no sign of WMD’s that were supposedly parked in everyone’s garage, and under every floor mat. Maybe it was because NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING the administration had said had come to be true. Maybe it was because I saw my Commander-In-Chief stand on the deck of a ship and declare “Mission Accomplished,” but my brothers and sisters in arms were still fighting and dying in Iraq, and casualties were mounting in greater numbers than they did during the invasion.
I was not the type of person to question my government, or my commanders but by the end of 2003 a cynic was born, and I realized the grave mistake I had made. My wife and I had both signed the line to fight a war that we were told would be over long before we hit the force. It was a war that I had rooted for. I had gone so far as to counter-protest with my signs stating the facts given to me by Colin Powell. I wasn’t trying to avoid going to war, but if my leadership got so many things, perhaps everything, so wrong about this war how could I trust them for the rest of my tenure as an officer.
If the reasons they had stated to go to war in the first place were all false then why did we go to war in Iraq? If I can no longer trust the intentions of my leaders then how can I continue in this profession? Of course, I had already signed the line; I had and still have no choice but to continue until the end of my obligation. What I once thought was a noble profession, being a leader in the military, has been muddied inside of me by the same inalienable values and convictions that make this profession great, and those who do it great leaders. My conviction to moral principles and dedication to my subordinates and my country are at odds with my duty to obey orders of the Commander-In-Chief, and my superiors. With all the evidence against them, how can I trust what they say is true? How can I know that the orders I get are lawful and legal when the character of their producers is at the very least suspect, if not in violation of my own and the military’s moral code of principles and ethics? I’m sure if I thought about it, in my view, I would find violations of all of the Army’s 7 Core Values by the Commander-In-Chief; Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. What are they to them but words that keep me loyal, and to me convictions that keep me bound to service in a conflict where their anithesis is their creator.
The most important fact was that my wife and I were both going to be officers. Shortly thereafter I signed my Senior ROTC contract committing me to 8 more years, 3 of those on active duty, to an Army at war. At the time we were being told that the war would be over in no time. I remember seeing pictures of Chalabi, and stories on the Iraqi National Congress. I thought if there is someone willing to take over, let them. Take out the dangerous dictator; put Chalabi, who at the time I did not know was an international felon, in the charge of this country. I signed the line based on the promise of the civilian leadership of the military, and this country that we would be in and out quickly, and the Iraqis would quickly take the reigns of their own country. I was so naïve that I even remember lamenting, with my fellow cadets, that I would be in the Army from 1999 until 2012 and I would miss the chance to go to war. Yet, here it is 2006 and I have been deployed almost a whole year.
I can’t really recall what happened but I woke up. I can’t recall the exact incident or time, but I realized everything that I had been told was bullshit. I know it was later in the year of 2003 when I came to realize I had been duped. It could have been the information that I was gradually getting off the internet since none of the major news networks carried it. Maybe it was because we had been in country almost 9 months, by that time, and there was no sign of WMD’s that were supposedly parked in everyone’s garage, and under every floor mat. Maybe it was because NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING the administration had said had come to be true. Maybe it was because I saw my Commander-In-Chief stand on the deck of a ship and declare “Mission Accomplished,” but my brothers and sisters in arms were still fighting and dying in Iraq, and casualties were mounting in greater numbers than they did during the invasion.
I was not the type of person to question my government, or my commanders but by the end of 2003 a cynic was born, and I realized the grave mistake I had made. My wife and I had both signed the line to fight a war that we were told would be over long before we hit the force. It was a war that I had rooted for. I had gone so far as to counter-protest with my signs stating the facts given to me by Colin Powell. I wasn’t trying to avoid going to war, but if my leadership got so many things, perhaps everything, so wrong about this war how could I trust them for the rest of my tenure as an officer.
If the reasons they had stated to go to war in the first place were all false then why did we go to war in Iraq? If I can no longer trust the intentions of my leaders then how can I continue in this profession? Of course, I had already signed the line; I had and still have no choice but to continue until the end of my obligation. What I once thought was a noble profession, being a leader in the military, has been muddied inside of me by the same inalienable values and convictions that make this profession great, and those who do it great leaders. My conviction to moral principles and dedication to my subordinates and my country are at odds with my duty to obey orders of the Commander-In-Chief, and my superiors. With all the evidence against them, how can I trust what they say is true? How can I know that the orders I get are lawful and legal when the character of their producers is at the very least suspect, if not in violation of my own and the military’s moral code of principles and ethics? I’m sure if I thought about it, in my view, I would find violations of all of the Army’s 7 Core Values by the Commander-In-Chief; Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. What are they to them but words that keep me loyal, and to me convictions that keep me bound to service in a conflict where their anithesis is their creator.
Friday, September 01, 2006
A Quick Observation
If things are getting better shouldn't my chances of getting blown up when I roll out the gate decrease, not increase? Just thought that might be a good measuring stick for progress. Throwing it out there. You decide.
Who's the Fascist?
I want someone who advocated the abuse and torture of prisoners to talk to me about fascism. I want an administration that is classifying documents at the highest rate in our history, in a supposedly open government, to speak to me about totalitarianism. I want to be lectured by a government that solves all problems through military force about the dangers of power run amok. I want a government that spies on 20 million of its own citizens to define the fight against despotism. I want a man who has spent his time in public office, in the name of my country, supplying brutal dictators with chemical and biological weapons and contra soldiers to define, for me, the global struggle against fascists. I think the first person to speak out against fascism should be a government that is stripping its own people of “certain unalienable rights” that it hypocritically tries to spread around the world as a guise for its imperialist ambitions. I want a government that has more citizens imprisoned than any other nation in the world to speak of fascism. In a country where peaceful protestors are wrangled into fenced off areas to redress their grievances against their government. It is in this country that political dissenters are put on no-fly lists and harassed by executive law enforcement agencies. It is in America where political protestors have been shot, maced, and gassed without provocation by representatives of the executive branch of our government. A government where day after day the executive violates rules and laws they swore to uphold. The same government that imprisoned its own citizens for years after 9-11-01 with no due process should know full well the dangers of fascism. I want an executive that uses religion to justify its political stance against life saving medical procedures to lecture me about the dangers of religious fanaticism. The fight against fascism needs to start at home. These Orwellian “newspeak” speeches given around the US to unite people in a struggle against the supposed fascists on the outside, while we forget the tactics we use to fight this “enemy” are the creation of the fascists on the inside. These people we fight are not fascists; they are missing one important ingredient…the corporations. Fascism by definition is the blending of corporate interest with public government. I can’t think of anyplace on the planet where it is more the case, than it is in the US. In a country where you are hard pressed to find legislation that is not bought and paid for by corporate interests. Or try to find the individual senator or congressperson that isn’t bought either; it will be a hard find. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. If we are going to fight an all out war on fascism we should start at home. Only then will we have the moral authority to demand and end to totalitarianism around the world.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
On a More Somber Note
We like to think and say we are making progress over here, but there is one thing I notice as I drive down Iraqi streets. Men wandering aimlessly, staring out at my convoy with a listless, hopeless stare that seems to ask why have we done this to them. These men have nothing to do. Go out at all hours that it is not curfew and you will see all the men just standing outside their homes, or markets staring off into the distance. We want to know why they join the insurgency, its because they have nothing better to do, and no other way to make money. Let's see I can stand here and do nothing to support my family all day, or I can go plant this bomb and make $100. I mean really what would you do? I know the US is doing the best they can, but so are the insurgents (Iraqi and Foreign) at thwarting our every attempt to improve life for these miserable bastards. It just doesnt seem like there is any progress as month after month I see the same dudes starting at me from the same place everytime I roll out the gate. I guess the one bonus is that this means more IA/IP recruits which means more of a chance of the entire military pulling out sooner.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Northwest Union CANT STRIKE
Apparently workers in this country no longer have the right to assemble to redress grievances against their employer. One of the top things that have made America what it is today and give people the opportunity for success are labor unions and their ability to use their mass as a bargaining chip for job improvement. I didnt know that a judge could order people not to strike...not to speak out against their employer. This judge is taking the only bartering chip they have away from them and it cant be constitutional or fair.
FUCK IT. GO ON STRIKE ANYWAY show this government run amok who this country actually belongs to. This is a country of, for, and by the people no the corporation. STRIKE. This, I think is pivotal, to the future of unions and the future of worker rights in this country. I dont care if they're striking because they want caviar and limos, it's a workers right and not a judges business. One judge cant stop all of them.
FUCK IT. GO ON STRIKE ANYWAY show this government run amok who this country actually belongs to. This is a country of, for, and by the people no the corporation. STRIKE. This, I think is pivotal, to the future of unions and the future of worker rights in this country. I dont care if they're striking because they want caviar and limos, it's a workers right and not a judges business. One judge cant stop all of them.
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