Winning the War???

Winning the war is not a sentence I've seen printed in the New York Times over the last few years. Until the OpEd piece by Mike O'Hanlon was printed that is. Guarded though his optimism was is concerning the 8 day visit he made to Iraq, it still encouraging. And astonishing that the NYT would be the source of such news.

Astonishing only if you have ignored other sources of information that are available covering the Iraq story. Astonishing if all you are exposed to is the drumbeat of defeat handed out daily by CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC. Astonishing if you are pessimist.

Granted we are a long way from stabilizing Iraq and providing an environment were this fledgling democracy can protect itself. However it is encouraging to see a democrat leaning member of the press put aside the "party line" and tell the truth.

As I have believed all along retreat from Iraq is not an option. We have to remain until the Iraqi's are capable of governing themselves. It will be the people of that nation that, in the end, will make this endeavor a success or failure. It is their decision to make. Our stake in this is to prevent opponents of freedom from aborting it before there is chance for it to succeed.

Reports like this show that the current tactics we are employing are beginning show signs of promise. Iraqi's that were opposed to us are now beginning to help us. This glimmer of hope deserves that we stay the course and see it through.

I sincerely hope that we as a nation will put aside the vitriol and lend to the solution instead of being apart of the problem. We have a chance to succeed, we should embrace that chance.

Times Poll Conundrum

The New York Times is in a tizzy. According to their polls the support for invading Iraq initially has raised from 35% to 42% over the last month. This can't be! Further, the opinion that the war in Iraq is going better rose 10%. The Times is beside itself. Why, this could be construed as good news!

It amazes me how the left wing institutions treat polling data as news. Like it is the Gospel according to the Times. Unless they show something "counter intuitive", as Jane Elder of the Times, put it. Then its marginalized and basically ignored.

Personally, I have about as much faith in opinion polls as I do the weather forecast. They have a lot in common though. Both are guesses at best and usually only about 10% accurate.

War IS Hell

Being a retired veteran of the military it comes as no surprise that enjoy the dickens out of having access to the Military Channel's programming. I've found it to provide some of the most accurate and insightful information concerning the military and especially Iraq. Unlike the diaries recently released through "New Republic" by Scott Thomas Beauchamp.

I don't know if what Beachamp claims happened, some of it sounds a bit over the top. This I can say, there are many ways to express your views. Using a publication like "New Republic" with its dubious past wouldn't have been my first choice.

It cannot be expected for anyone who never served in the Armed Forces to understand it. However, It should be expected for them to respect the men and women who have elected to serve. I personally was in Iraq during Desert Storm and other missions that I cannot speak of. Until you have endured the requirements of military service in combat you have no idea. You should keep that in mind if you haven't.

I am having a hard time believing this kid is any more or less a soldier than those he writes of. I disagree with how he has expressed himself, strongly disagree. However, I cannot label him a traitor like some other folks on the Right have. Violated the chain of command? Yes. But Traitor? No.

That aside we must understand, these 18,19 and 20 year old men and women are stepping into a situation that 90% of their own fellow citizens avoid like the plague. It takes a special person to do this, no matter the comonly believed underlying reasons for joining the service; money, respect, thrill, ideology, etc.

Do not patronize their abilities to make these decisions. When I enlisted I was never pressed by any recruiter to do so, and that was 26 years ago when the military was in desperate shape. Even at 18, I knew as these kids knew, what the decision represents.

I resent the uniformed idiots who elude that these kids are duped into joining by the money, or through misrepresentation. That is simply not true. I'll concede that they may not fully understand the gravity of their choice. Does anyone when they initially make a decision of this magnitude? Suggesting there is some form of deliberate subterfuge in the process is simply over reaching.

Try getting into their shoes. While they endure the horrors of combat they come in contact with things they can't understand. Why was I spared, when the guy next to me wasn't? How can someone smile to my face, then go up the road and plant a bomb that is designed to kill me?

Come on folks is it any wonder that atrocities happen during war? When you see buddies cut ribbons by the enemy, It's easy to lose it and misplace the blame. I am not excusing or condoning any behavior like that which Beauchamp reports or the fact he reported it. The cold hard fact is its War. Atrocities happen in War. Things go wrong, emotions get out of hand. So spare us your righteous indignation and allow the authorities to determine if any wrongdoing happened.

Besides Iraq isn't the only place atrocities have happened in this war. What about the hypocrites in this nation that call themselves anti-war? The ones that salivate every time a story like Beauchamp's hits the media. They decry the death toll of our soldiers, when most of them live in cities where more Americans die on the streets in six months from criminals than in the nearly six years we have fought in Iraq. Its not about lives being lost or we would see them marching on Washington about homicide rates. No.... you won't see them do that, any sooner than you will see them help their own law enforcement police their own streets either.

They will condemn the right wingers for calling a Beauchamp, traitor, yet demand the head of any soldier involved in what they call "atrocities". Don't you think that the same soldiers are deserving of the same understanding as they would have given to a Beauchamp? No, of course not, they are automatically baby killers. In their world allegations of atrocities are to be believed without question, to hell with the rights of the accused.

Some of the things the Left screams out to be "atrocities" are no worse in substance than some of the so called "hazing" that college sororities exact on plebes. And certainly no worse than the cruelty that is seen daily in American society. Where are the cries against those atrocities?

So stop feigning intellectual superiority at the expense of these young men and women. Especially if you are the same people that go to movies filled with worse violence than has been seen from any of our soldiers.

War is all Hell. General Sherman said that as he ordered Atlanta burned. War is what it is. Its not pretty, its not to be admired, it doesn't make sense. Neither does half of the other activities that humans do to one another. War is what it is. War.

Disturbing

ACORN, a left wing voter advocacy group, has been affiliated with fraudulent voter registration submissions. Why does this not disturb the American public more? A special interest group is involved in fraud that could effect the outcome of elections. Probably for the same reason that only 50% of Americans vote. Fraud is nothing new to American politics. Election fraud goes back as far as there are elections. Today, however, there really is no excuse for allowing it to happen. We have the technology and ability to ensure the fairest elections in our history, yet the public and politicians remain silent.

This is 2007, yet there are still precincts in states that use paper ballots and do not require voters to identify themselves. The latter infuriates me the most. In my particular state you are required to show a picture identification. What is wrong with that? No one can say they do not have access to one. In many states if you cannot obtain a driver license they will provide you a state picture ID for free or for a small fee. Yet, there are states that have no requirements for them to be shown at the polls.

And isn't a bit condemning that the special interest groups, like ACORN, are also the ones who are opposed to picture ID requirements and motor voter registration? Given the fact that had an ID been required in the states were this flap happened, the likelihood of those false registrations being submitted would most likely not have occurred. It makes their stand on this issue seem a bit dubious.

The entire idea that we need groups like ACORN running around registering voters stinks of partisanship. Voting is a constitutional right and is a personal responsibility. WE should be responsible to ensure that WE are registered to vote, and especially not some partisan group. Thats my two cents.