Archive for the ‘war’ Category

Sit Down Pam Geller Light might be dawning on Marblehead MSNBC

Posted: January 5, 2011 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, middle east, opinion/news, war
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As a person who follows the war on terror and radical Islam, I have read many stories like this:

In the weeks before the New Year’s Day suicide bombing of an Egyptian church, al-Qaida-linked websites carried a how-to manual on “destroying the cross,” complete with videos on how to build a bomb and the locations of churches to target — including the one that was attacked.

They may have found a receptive audience in Alexandria, where increasingly radicalized Islamic hard-liners have been holding weekly anti-Christian demonstrations, filled with venomous slogans against the minority community.

This is not news to me, but the fact is this story didn’t come from my normal haunts. This story comes from MSNBC. What a shocker. I don’t know how much they are promoting this story but it is quite a change.

Of course to us old hands this news is as unsurprising as this story from Palestinian Media Watch:

A glimpse of the world of education in Sur Baher in East Jerusalem was recently made available by Hamas TV. A broadcast showed how the Jerusalem children in the Islamic Riyad (Gardens of) Al-Aqsa School were taught to sing about desiring death: “May our blood be shed.”

They also sang the following in front of the cameras:
“How strong is the army of Al-Aqsa.
I am a soldier, defending its protected area.
How precious is the land of Al-Aqsa.
I shall give up my life for its sake.”

This footage of young children singing and being taught these lines in the Islamic Riyad Al-Aqsa School in Sur Baher appeared in a documentary program entitled “The Shahids’ (Martyrs’) Wedding” on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV.

This is the same thing people like Pam Geller and Robert Spencer have been trying to warn folks about for years

Of course maybe these “Palestinians” have a point they have to defend against the evils of Israeli spy vultures and Sharks and Squirrels (yes those are real stories).

Then again yesterday’s news out of Pakistan of the murder of the Governor of Punjab by his own bodyguard makes it impossible to pretend that radical Islam is not the driving force here.

Taseer’s apparent killer cited his boss’s stance against a controversial anti-blasphemy law in justifying his actions.

And the reaction of to the killings has been frankly disgusting:

Hundreds of Facebook users welcomed the killing of liberal Pakistani politician Salman Taseer as a strike against reformers of the country’s tight blasphemy laws. The Punjab governor was shot on Tuesday by one of his guards, 26-year-old Mumtaz Qadri, who confessed to the murder because of Taseer’s vocal opposition to the law that was recently used to sentence a Christian woman to death.

You might remember that story, the woman got water for a group of people who refused to drink from the bucket because it was fetched by a Christian and therefore unclean. After the woman’s objection she was arrested and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

But that’s only facebook, it’s not as if the papers were backing this guy up:

Pakistan’s leading Urdu-language newspaper, Jang, ran a front-page story declaring: “There should be no funeral for Salman Taseer and no condemnation for his death.”

“A supporter of a blasphemer is also a blasphemer,” said a sub-heading, reporting that 500 religious scholars and clerics had paid tribute to Qadri.

and remember the murdered man was a Muslim! Sarah Memom is confused:

Islam never preaches for one Muslim to kill another Muslim, then why are all these atrocities happening?

The worst part is that his own guard killed him, after seeing this, how is one suppose to trust another, how is one suppose to have a sense of security.

Apparently Sarah hasn’t been paying attention. These guys have a history of going after their fellow Muslim’s if they preach peace:

Taseer lamented the power of the religious mob in an interview last summer following bombings of mosques belonging to the Ahmadi sect, whose members identify themselves as Muslims but are barred by the constitution from “posing” as such.

The Ahmadi sect has a mosque in Fitchburg, I’ve interviewed the Iman and visited his Mosque, he is a good man and they are a credit to both the city, their religion. Then again I suspect they would be targeted for the very things we celebrate about them.

While commentators opine I suspect this man is next on the list so to speak:

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti condemned Saturday the recent announcement of a reward for killing the jailed Christian woman on death row for blasphemy.

Bhatti said the call is unjust and irresponsible and should be discouraged in the strongest possible manner because no one has the right to issue a decree to kill someone else, according to Pakistan’s Daily Times newspaper. He also added that Pakistan is a civilized country and violation of the rule of law is not allowed.

“Every legal and constitutional means will be adopted in the Asia Bibi case,” assured Bhatti, who was in charge of investigating the case and reported that Bibi was innocent to President Asif Ali Zadari.

If the media is starting to notice this then there is hope, now if they can only make the connection between this stuff and the people we are fighting (and the voices in Islam we should support such as the Ahmadiyya Muslim community) then the worm may finally be turning!

Blackfive unclear on the concept

Posted: January 5, 2011 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
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Captain Owen Honors has been relieved and apparently so are liberals everywhere:

Without any regard for the highest moral values that military officers are expected to uphold, he broke barriers of taste and decency. Or, as the Navy put it in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the Enterprise’s skipper used “poor judgment.”

I don’t know if Luisita Lopez Torregrosa served, I didn’t but Blackfive has. That’s most likely why he has this reaction over the relief of Captain Honors:

Well, and while you can compare an aircraft carrier to a frat house, it isn’t. But the further away from that alpha male and females mentality, the more pussified and Dutch-like our military will become. They have a union for their troops FFS. If we don’t have guys like the XO flapping his gums, buzzing the tower and deriding Surface Officers and other lower life forms, then we won’t have the mentality that flies toward an incoming swarm of 200 enemy planes, that charges a machine gun, or that leaps on to a grenade to save comrades.

For the most part it takes a particular type to be a great soldier. I’m reminded of the Falklands war when the British commented on the bravery of the Argentine Pilots saying that any country that produces world-class formula one drivers are going have brave fighter and bomber pilots.

A Soldier’s perspective provides some:

Let’s be honest, the videos were not politically correct, but they contained messages of importance that every command must convey to their subordinates. I’ve heard from many people directly who were either on those deployments and saw the videos firsthand or viewed them later. Their response was that, for the first time ever, those messages were actually watched by Sailors on the ship.

Typically, military command messages are monotonous, cheesy, dry and boring. Not “or”, but “AND.”

The Navy has to endure a different type of suckiness than land forces do when they deploy. By and large, they are confined to the limits of the ship on which they are assigned. Unlike Soldiers and Marines, Sailors do not get to drive into town, move from camp to camp, etc. They are stuck in confined spaces with perhaps a tenth of the personal space that ground combat forces enjoy during their deployments. The mood gets pretty crabby and I’m sure that Capt Honors understood that and did a great job livening the mood on board the ship.emphasis mine

Of course some people found it offensive. As a Christian, I found it distasteful, but I also saw the humor in it and thought it was a brilliant stroke of genius to get the Sailors to pay attention.

In the military the goal is results, what results did we get:

Capt Honors served a successful tour as the XO of the USS Enterprise and followed that with a successful command of the USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20), in Gaeta, Italy. The ship conducted humanitarian assistance missions in Lebanon and the Republic of Georgia in support of Operation Assured Delivery. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medals, Meritorious Service Medal, and various campaign/unit awards.

Yeah, sounds like this incident really reflected poor performance didn’t it? Luisita Lopez Torregrosa again:

Though the videos have caught everyone’s attention, the captain’s anti-gay slurs cut more deeply, especially now, just weeks after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the beginning of a new era of openness and tolerance in our armed forces.

Because what we are all looking for in combat is openness and tolerance? I’m sure that is just what is needed when fighting in Afghanistan. Funny how our friends on the left don’t have the same openness and tolerance for humor that others are expected to have. Do you hear Sicilians going nuts over every mafia joke out there? However let’s go back to Blackfive again:

I have given my fair share of shite to any number of fighter pilot types, heck quite a few of them bought me and my friends drinks in O-clubs like Osan and Cubi Point as we told stories using our hands to show how we got on the guy’s six. But I sure as hell respect the stones, ability and discipline it takes to ride a rocket into the sky and then land it on a boat in the ocean. So unfortunately a good officer loses his chance to command the Enterprise over something this lame, but worse yet we lose a bit of our warrior spirit.

He doesn’t get it. The left has never cared for the “warrior spirit” The loss of American warrior spirit IS the goal of these folks. This isn’t a bug, this is a feature.

Hey Capt Owen Honors can solve this problem…

Posted: January 3, 2011 by datechguy in oddities, opinion/news, war
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…all he has to do is apply for a NEA grant for his videos and then it will be considered art and all will be well.

I haven’t seen the full videos yet so I don’t know how far over lines he crossed but if this has been out for 5 years and the crews didn’t have an issue with it who am I to say otherwise? I’m inclined to give a bunch of folks trying to keep loose while deployed far from home a bit of a pass but I reserve the right to change my mind once I’ve seen the full videos.

Update: No one of any import asks if this is the start of a purge:

My gut feeling is, this guy was trying to connect with his crew in a positive way. He was trying to help sailors have fun. He was purposefully ignoring all manner of political correctness.

For that, I salute Captain Owen P. Honors.

We all know what political correctness gets us, anyway.

It gets us children who can’t call dogs “Nazis.”

It gets us children who can’t play Cowboys and Indians.

Goodness knows, it gets us Season’s Greetings instead of Christmas.

Oh, by the way. The USS Enterprise is scheduled to deploy soon. Are they going to replace its CO because of these four-year-old video clips? After the hard work that Captain Honors has successfully seen the ship through?

I hope not. We’ll see.

Captain Honors’ job is high-profile. This controversy comes two weeks after the repeal of DADT. Coincidence? The beginning of a purge? Or simply a disgruntled sailor, looking for revenge?

Her perspective is superior to mine on this issue.

Morning Joe through the ages: There is no polite way to say it…

Posted: January 3, 2011 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, media, war
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Listening to Joe Scarborough and company prophesying defeat in Afghanistan after reports of US Casualties Let’s imagine Morning Joe as it reports on US wars throughout the ages:

Nov 1776: There is no polite way to say it: The Continental Army is in full retreat despite the heroic efforts of Washington and his troops

Dec 1780: There is no polite way to say it: The British are in full control of the south despite the heroic efforts of Continental troops

Oct 1803: There is no polite way to say it: The pirates of Tripoli have captured the USS Philadelphia and there is no way we can suppress them despite the heroic efforts of Commodore Preble

Aug 17, 1812: There’s no polite way to say it: the USS Nautilus has been captured and the USS Constitution has barely escaped a British Fleet, there is no way we can compete with the British Navy despite the heroic efforts of our sailors

Aug 1814: There’s no polite way to say it: The British have burned Washington and despite the heroic efforts of Mrs. Madison to save national treasures.

March 1836: There is no polite way to say it: The Alamo and the Goliard forces have fallen to a man and Sam Houston is in full retreat despite the heroic efforts of the Texans who fell.

July 1862: There is no polite way to say it: Our armies are in full retreat before General Lee despite the heroic efforts of the troops in the peninsula.

Sept 1863: There is no polite way to say it: Despite the heroic efforts of General Thomas the south has driven and besieged our forces in Chattanooga and we have to rethink if we can win this war.

June 1864: There’s no polite way to say it: with 40,000 more casualties Grant is no closer to Richmond that McClellan was two years ago despite heroic efforts on the part of the Army of the Potomac

June 1876: There’s no polite way to say this: The Sioux have destroyed General Custer’s command despite the heroic efforts of the 7th cavalry.

Dec 1917: There’s no polite way to say this: With the Russian surrender the war has turned despite the heroic efforts of the AEF

Aug 1942: There’s no polite way to say this: After Salvo Island we just don’t have the ability to cope with the Japanese fleet at Guadalcanal, despite heroic efforts of the Navy and Marines

Feb 1943: There’s no polite way to say this: Kasserine pass show there is no way for us to defeat the Desert Fox despite the heroic efforts of US troops.

Sept 12 1950: There’s no polite way to say this: The North Koreans and their allies have us in a pocket and our troops are exhausted after World War 2 despite heroic efforts of our men.

and could you imagine them after Thermopylae? There’s no polite way to say this but the Greek city states can’t cope with the Persians despite the heroic efforts of the 300 Spartans

I haven’t bothered mentioning Iraq because it’s recent enough that you can actually see the media from Leslie Stahl telling General Powell we can’t get our supplies and our rear is exposed. and Harry Reid saying (with Pelosi standing beside him) the war is lost.

It’s the old “we love our troops but they can’t win.” meme of the left.

If only he could talk to an expert on military history like Victor Davis Hanson to give them some perspective that is if Jeffery Sacks can give him permission to have an extremist like him on the show.

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