BlackFive

I had wanted to post this earlier, but I wanted to research the entire text of his 'message' before doing so.  Here is an excerpt of it...

[We] Both greatly value and readily embrace the promotion of human ideals such as compassion, empathy, respect for the rights of human beings, securing justice and equity, and defending the innocent and the weak against oppressors and bullies...

If this wasn't the biggest C0S ever bestowed upon us...

The Iraq Study Group will advocate a policy of cut and start packing it seems, relocating our forces either to bunkers in Baghdad or perhaps a nearby country, presumably not to Okinawa. Hey maybe we could head back to Saudi Arabia that worked out pretty well didn't it? They also will issue a timeline for withdrawal with no dates. These realists have an interesting version of real.

I don't think there is a chance in hell that will be adopted since like most bi-partisan wanks it produced nothing but a fleeting sense of joy for the individuals involved and not a damn thing of substance.

So we have a fairly simple choice here, reinforce and aim for a victory or retreat and manage a defeat. That's it. One must be chosen decisively and then implemented with a full effort. I choose to reinforce and here is what and why.

We never defeated Sadaam's Baathists and that has been our greatest problem. They cut and ran when the Thunder Run to Baghdad rolled by and when we disbanded the military we left a huge batch of thugs with no skills other than killing sitting idly by. They waited for the reprisals they assumed were coming, but when no one rounded them up for slaughter they cranked up the insurgency. Their initial successes led Al-Qaeda to begin the influx of foreign terrorists and we have been engaged with them ever since. Early on the Sadr brigades acted up and in a huge miscalculation we decided that the help of Al Sistani was more important than the trouble represented by Mookie and his iron-sandaled thugs. Wrong! A well-placed round or 2,000 lb bomb would have bought a lot more stability than a kow tow to a Shiite leader who, like the pope has no divisions.

The full glory of my cunning plan

[Reposting from the 21st]

Andi at Andi's World has a great post about Christmas on Ward 57 at Walter Reed and how you can help bring some Christmas cheer to our soldiers recovering from their wounds there:

Last Christmas my husband was deployed, so I decided to spend Christmas Day at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  I left the hospital more blessed than when I had entered:

The father of one of our wounded troops told me that he saw exactly what he wanted to see on Christmas Day in Ward 57 -- the ward where many of our most critically wounded reside -- people arriving with their arms loaded with goodies for our troops. The wife of one of the soldiers told me that it didn't matter that they were spending their Christmas in a hospital, "our family is together".

Many milbloggers are familiar with Carrie Costantini, the wife of a Marine and a frequent commenter on milblog sites. I had the incredible pleasure of meeting Carrie over breakfast last week. Carrie and Deb worked on Operation Santa last year. This year, Carrie had the brilliant idea to expand the project out to include wounded troops at Walter Reed and Bethesda...

Visit Andi's World to see how you can help Andi and Carrie bring some Christmas cheer to the people who should receive it the most...our troops.

Dean at Booklinker sends this article from The Independent.  It's a terrible reminder of what we're up against.  It begins thus:

The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy.

The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls.

Mr Halim was one of four teachers killed in rapid succession by the Islamists at Ghazni, a strategic point on the routes from Kabul to the south and east which has become the scene of fierce clashes between the Taliban and US and Afghan forces...

This is why it's important for NATO (who has the Afghan mission) to stay together, stay focused, on eliminating the Taliban.

The one post you should read today is over at Michelle Malkin's blog.  She recounts the press conference (AP in attendence) and the efforts to quell rumors to keep violence from happening in retaliation for things that, apparently, never happened.  This is Newsweak's Koran Flushing story times ten...

Ministry of Interior Weekly Press Conference Thursday, November 30, 2006

By Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf Al-Kenani
Ministry of Interior spokesman

Press conference synopsis:

1. Media, especially satellite news channels, must adhere to
responsible practices:

a. MOI is monitoring coverage, and will insist on corrections to
false reports.

b. Unnamed sources should not be used. Two recently named sources
do not work for MOI. Contact MOI PAO for official information.

c. Rumors are rampant, and media should be careful to check with
official sources about information to avoid spreading false rumors.

2. MOI succeeded in a number of operations against terrorists in
Baghdad.

a. The Baghdad Sniper was apprehended, and information gained from
him led to the arrest of 30 others in his organization.

b. Two unauthorized "courts" that had issued death fatwas were
broken up.

c. A kidnapping cell, including one that raped a young girl, was
arrested.

Go check out the whole comment from Brigadier General Al-Kenani.

Did you check out number 2.a?  Will CNN report that Juba the Baghdad Sniper (a group or cell of snipers - Juba is probably not a real person) is toast?

From October 19th - CNN Plays into the Hands of the Enemy (Knowingly)

Rusty at My Pet Jawa has the analysis.

I think there ought to be a requirement that all communications from W be read by some one else. I often tell progressives who have no clue what our government is trying to do, to go read his second inaugural speech. They usually hadn't seen it when he delivered it, and when read, in my head I hear Reagan, the words are beautiful and inspiring. The left has forgotten that the other team truly does have good intentions. Disputes over policy and technique have been amplified to the point that all actions and objectives of this administration and it's supporters are not just questioned they are presumed to be nefarious.

Anyhow back to the language flowing from W's cakehole. He had this to say about cutting and running in any euphemized fashion.

"I know there's a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq," he said. "This business about a graceful exit just simply has no realism to it at all."

I am going to hope that short bit was crafted by one of the master communicators who have written his major speeches. It is two sentences that eviscerates the Baker commission right before they offer a plan for a graceful exit. Then in a delicious shot right in the mouth bone he says that a graceful cut and run has no realism, Baker and the other dinos of the Iraq Study Group being Realists or apppeasers or heartless pragmatic, dictator-supporting, plutocrats. He took their there away. No realism in a graceful exit, Bravo!

I think the country as a whole would be well-served to remember that the other team in our little internal civil squabble is not really the enemy, it's the rat bastard Islamists. Maybe we could hire actors to play Bush and Pelosi, it would have to be an improvement and then we might see that our goals are the same we simply differ on what methods will best achieve them.

Mike Yon was recently in Cambodia and writes of the children in The Floating Village:

...The people live like other villagers except that the “roads” are water. (Keeps the dust down.) Tonle Sap lake feeds about half of Cambodia and the people export fish to other countries nearby. This is the biggest lake in Southeast Asia. There are gigantic catfish and many smaller fishes and the people eat them all. They also eat spiders: big, tarantula spiders. They’ll eat just about anything, actually. Some small boats drift around selling eggs with half-formed birds (embryos) and the people love to eat the un-hatched baby birds...

Go read (and see the photos of) the Floating Village.

Amber, in one of the (many) comments to the post on "Unwelcome in American Pubs," has a great idea.  She writes:

I think too, that instead of creating a running list of the bad guys, there should be a list of the good guys. I will add Emma Krumbees in Belle Plaine, MN to that list. Whenever a soldier is in uniform they they either give them a free meal of free pie. They are a great bunch of people who are proud to have soldiers in their restaurant. My husband does not like to abuse their kindness, so he does not wear his uniform there unless he absolutely has to.

We all remember the much-lamented Fran O'Brien's.  We must all know stories of places where a man in uniform gets his coffee on the house, or is otherwise shown due honor by the community.

Pile on in the comments, and let's build that list.  It's at least as important to praise good men as to condemn bad ones.

Special Forces Soldier, Francis Marion, has received permission to out his assignment in the Long War.  Visit his blog Where I Stand to find out more.

Any father has a right to feel testy about having a child in a combat zone, but James Webb comes off as a real jackass in this exchange with the President.

At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia’s newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn’t long before Bush found him.

“How’s your boy?” Bush asked, referring to Webb’s son, a Marine serving in Iraq.

“I’d like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President,” Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.

“That’s not what I asked you,” Bush said. “How’s your boy?”

“That’s between me and my boy, Mr. President,” Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.

I've seen quite a few clips of W asking folks about their kids who he has ordered into combat. In every instance he was the model of decorum and genuine concern. The left/Dems can say what they want about him, but any charge that he doesn't care deeply about military members and their families is complete BS. Webb ought to have the decency to put his politics aside and treat the President with some respect. He will have plenty of opportunities to air his opinions about the war and anything else he wants.