BlackFive

Here are the segments that I was a guest on Pundit Review Radio:

Special Memorial Day Edition of Someone You Should Know:

...This week we learn the story of Mat Schram, a close personal friend of Matt from Blackfive. He gave his life in defense of this country on Memorial Day 2003. We also paid a special tribute to Kevin’s father-in-law, a Marine and Korean War veteran, who just passed away this week...

And Patti Patton-Bader of Soldiers' Angels was a guest during the last half of the show:

...Soldiers Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader joined us on Memorial Day weekend to tell us about her incredible organization and what we can do to support the troops both here and abroad. We also got the perspective of Matt from Blackfive on what groups like Soldiers Angels mean to the troops...

Boy you do one rant about presumption of innocence and write one piece about the legalities of shooting non-combatants and the love starts flowing.

My rant about Murtha at YouTube got a rousing response from my progressive fan club like:

You are an idiot and and chickens**t.

Go f**k yourself you balding fat f**k. You have no idea what it means to be an American..s**t for brains.

The guy in the video is objectively pro child-murder. It's time to dust off an old epithet- BABYKILLER.

While I appreciate the complete ignorance it takes to conflate my call for a trial with support for slaughter, the previous toads pale in comparison with this creative genius.

Uncle J,

I see you have greeted the tedious malaise of fatness, balding and middle-age with a fallacious melange of none-too-critical thinking. Bravo you inspipid moron.

 
My Riposte:

Tedious malaise & fallacious melange,

Don't send me your rejected Cure lyrics or I will start making fun of you, and I figger you have already used up what qualifies as your ammo.

Cordially,

Uncle J

Then back at madison.com I gained a friend who managed 17 posts in the 8 hours since he registered, starting with a blow by blow restating of the Time article, which apparently is the highest form of fact in the universe, plus he takes a swipe at Matt.

I will note that your justification for the massacre has been republished on Blackfive.net, a so-called "milblog" that censors opposing comments. Censorship is an act of cowardice, as is your justification for murder and the personal attack on Rep. Murtha, who has done nothing but tell the truth. You should be ashamed, but something tells me that's not a realistic prospect.

At least he's bright enough to note I am unlikely to be shamed, and I really like the so-called "milblog" swipe, because renowned chickenhawk Matty O'Blackfive is the king of all poseurs. But my troll has more.

I've been asking myself why the marines called in the airstrikes that dropped the 500-pound bombs on some of the houses that night. The answer might lie in that phony press release issued the day after the massacre. Recall that it attributed some of the civilian deaths to the effects of the IAD.

Could it be that the airstrikes were called in for the purpose of obscuring the cause of the civilian deaths?

WHAT? Now he's even confusing me. The Marines dropped bombs to obscure the results of the massacre but missed? And then they issued a press release? And I guess he agrees it wasn't a massacre since the deaths are attributed to the Marines IAD or immediate action drill. Next he takes on one of the truth-based community who questioned whether we had to take Time's word as gospel.

TheNewGuy, were you at Guadalcanal? How do you know a battle took place? Were you at Pearl Harbor? How do you know it was attacked? Were you in New York? How do you know the WTC towers were hit? Then you really "know" nothing. Although your faith in Fox News (they've never gotten a story wrong) is noted.

Not that I don't enjoy pimp-slapping these clowns, I do I really do, but DAG they are out in force. Must be global warming I guess.

Disclaimer: If this turns out to have been an actual revenge massacre, then I hope all guilty rot in hell. I add this because apparently the overexposure to patchouli renders some unable to understand my position. I will shorten this to: If Massacre, Guilty Hang (IMGH) for convenience.

The following is my view of how the determination will be made as to whether this was a tragedy or a travesty. It could serve as a simple primer about when shooting civilians is sadly acceptable and when it is criminal. I will not discuss the possibility of a massacre because then all of these calculations are void and IMGH. I lay this out as it will likely form the basis for a defense to any charges that may come down.

These are some of the implications of shooting a non-combatant during immediate action and house-clearing operations.

Disclosure: I have never been to Iraq and have no direct knowledge of this incident or anyone involved. I do have extensive experience training teams in hostage rescue and close quarters battle (CQB) and have been on countless training and multiple live operations kicking doors in.

There is one and only one relevant standard for this whole incident and that is the reasonable belief that your life or the life of others is in danger. If that is reasonably believed then deadly force may be employed, absent that belief it may not. There are other factors that would impact this, like rules of engagement, but in this case the Marines ROE obviously included the right to return fire. The question is was there any, and if not why did they fire? If the Marines killed people without reasonable belief they were in danger, then they committed murder. If they had a reasonable belief in their danger, they did not.

An in-depth look at shooting around civilians

Hi-

Drunky MacScotchy here wondering if anyone has tried any *hic * of the three Jon, Mark and Robbo's Scotches.

Jon and Mark Geary and David "Robbo" Robertson, former Master Distller for the most excellent Macallan (almost convinced Mrs. Blackfive, err, MacScotchy, to name our daughter Macallan) started blending their own whiskeys.  And Jon, Mark and Robbo have, of course, a blog.

Their best scotch appears to be called "The Smokey Peaty One" and is Islay in nature - which would probably make me, Tim Oren of Due Dilligence and Straight White Guy happy.

"The Rich Spicey One" with tastes from Speyside would probably appeal to the Laughing Wolf and Armed Liberal.

"The Smooth Sweeter One" might appeal to some - but I think it might be heresy.  Being both Irish and Scottish has it's advantages (think enormous liver) but blending the two types into one whiskey doesn't sound appealing to me...

So, if anyone tries these, please let me know in the Comments.  They sound interesting enough to try. 

But I'll never abandon my Lagavulins, Laphroaigs, or Caol Ilas...

Sin-*hic*-secerly,

Drunky

Banter in Atlanter has the story about a waiter, and former Marine, who was cornered by five robbers (one with a shotgun and another with a .380):

...One more tip, if you pull your shotgun on a Marine and he shows you his war face you should probably pack it up and call it night...

Be sure to check it out.  Tantor sends a follow up on the story.

...Stephens said Autry had left his job at the Jocks & Jills restaurant in Midtown and was walking along Penn Avenue when a blue Cadillac pulled alongside and three men, one armed with a shotgun, and the woman jumped from the car.

"This group had robbed two men on Piedmont earlier Monday night, taking a video camera and a cellphone," Stephens said.

"Autry takes off running, and they chase him. During the chase, Autry's trying to get into his backpack to get a pocket knife, which slows him down," Stephens said.

During the chase, Autry repeatedly yelled "fire,  fire," which Stephens said attracted nearby residents' attention.

Grabbing the knife from his backpack, Autry managed to kick the shotgun from the man's hands and stabbed the woman in the chest, fatally wounding her. Stephens said. In the melee, Autry also stabbed one of the male suspects. Another suspect attempted to shoot Autry with a .380 pistol, which misfired, Stephens said.

The suspects ran back to the Cadillac and drove to Atlanta Medical Center, where police arrested them. The young woman, "about two weeks pregnant," was pronounced dead at the hospital, Stephens said. The wounded suspect is in critical condition...

Autry will not be charged.

The following text was inspired by Commenters Jordan and Synova.  This fictional speech is just something that I would hope a lawmaker and former-Marine like Jack Murtha would say about Haditha:

My name is Jack Murtha and I'm here to talk about the alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha.

Here in America, we have a system of justice with the precept that you are innocent until proven guilty.  I fight for this system every day in the halls of congress.

As a Marine veteran, I fought for my country alongside of some of the best that America has to offer.  I'm still a Marine at heart and I have confidence in the Marines' capability to investigate the allegations. 

To Marines around the world, I give you my word - if these men are innocent, they will be cleared - and if they are guilty, they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.  Marines would expect no less from our fair system of justice.

As a key member of the House, I'm privy to more information about this alleged crime than most Americans.  To the media, I will not allow you to use me for your anti-victory agenda.  I didn't agree with the invasion of Iraq and I don't agree with the President's agenda, policy, or party about Iraq.  I would like us to withdraw immediately.

However, I will not allow my words to be broadcast around the world to be used against us - to, in fact, recruit more terrorists or cause more Marine deaths.  I will not allow my words to be used to undermine the good work of hundreds of thousands Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors and Coastguardsmen.

Let us wait for the investigation to be completed.  If the investigation produces enough evidence against Marines, then charges will be filed and a court martial will begin.  We must let our justice system take it's course.

Let us show the world how our democracy works.  After all, justice is what we want in the Middle East.

Thank you.

Semper Fi,

The Hon. John Murtha

Bill Roggio made it to Afghanistan and sends a note.  In part:

The good news is I've safely landed in Kabul. The somewhat bad news is the UN flight to Kandahar is booked, so I will head down there on Monday. But there is plenty to do in Kabul, and I've already dug around a little bit about the violence in the city yesterday after a US vehicle killed 1 to 3 Afghans during a traffic accident.  The consensus among the folks I spoke to is the protests after the accident were staged by groups waiting for such an event to happen. I made the comparison to the reaction by some Islamist groups in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) after the Muhammad Cartoon riots, where the "spontaneous protests" were anything but. There was agreement on this point. I will likely post about this tonight or tomorrow.

I drove through the city twice today, and it is an interesting place. The city is scarred from decades of combat, however you can see people are working to rebuild.  Shops are open, people and traffic are on the streets, and there are signs of new construction and rebuilding/repair projects. I saw several "land/title offices," as well as signs for rooms for rent. Security is tight, and it seemed as if police were on every corner, no doubt a reaction to yesterday's events. Unfortunately my camera was packed away, but I'll get some shots tomorrow.

Keep an eye on CounterTerrorism.org for updates.

“Day by day, fix your eyes upon the greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it.” - Thucydides, The Funeral Speech for Pericles

Owen West has an Op-Ed in the New York Times:

 

...Soldiers are sick of apologizing for a sliver of malcontents who are not at all representative of the new breed. But they are also sick of being pitied. Our warriors are the hunters, not the hunted, and we should celebrate them as we did in the past, for while our tastes have changed, warfare — and the need to cultivate national guardians — has not...

It's worth your time to read.  Our guardians know their duty and have the courage to do it. 

Do our leaders?

[Related:  I Only Hang with Sheepdogs, and Pro-Victory]

The bedrock of American justice is that all are innocent until proven guilty. Well John Murtha has repealed that protection for the Marines in Iraq and now serves as judge, jury and I guess executioner. He has foregone fairness and even decency in taking leaked information from an unfinished investigation and proclaiming not just guilt but a cover up.

This man has lost any claim on respect and has done irreparable harm to our efforts overseas and the safety of all our military. You are a swine Mr. Murtha and this shameful betrayal will forever be your legacy.

I have a look at the implications of shooting non-combatants that will be up tomorrow. In the meantime check Uncle J TV for a Murtha beatdown that somehow stayed PG-13. Although if this keeps up I feel an HBO- style F-bomb-a-thon coming on.

Chris Michel at Military.com wants to take back Memorial Day.

...Even more surprising is that this disappointing trend hasn’t ebbed since the Long War began more than four years ago.  Today the solemnity once associated with this day should be closer to the surface.  Our nation is at war, which is to say our friends, family, and neighbors are fighting.  Some of them do not make it home.  In recent years, too many Americans have been personally touched by the sacrifice of battle.  But the unfortunate reality is that for most people, the war remains a distant concept, something that happens on TV...

Lorie Byrd at Wizbang! has a round of Memorial Day links.

Tammi's World also has a Memorial round up of links.

Val at Babalu Blog says it simply and succinctly.

Smash has a round up of posts based on his visits to the graves of our veterans.  The links below are from MilBloggers taking part in Smash's intent to honor the Fallen:

John Donovan has a three part series about Memorial Day - One, Two, Three.  And has these stories to tell:

Captain William Galt, KIA 29 May '44, MOH

Gold Star Mothers

Captain Robert D. Kent, USMC

Some Soldier's Mom posts about Commander Kirk T. Walsh

More to follow...

The Will To Exist honors Marine Lance Corporal Jeremy Bohlman.

Andi at Andi's World writes of Sergeant Perry D. Martin.