BlackFive

Jon Soltz is a world class tool who came to prominence for berating a young kid for wearing his uniform to the Kos Kidz batshit fest last year. He is a rude little punk who simply will not shut up and I can't believe they still have him on TV, Well Laura Ingraham teed the the little twerp up and Dave Bellavia knocked him out. Soltz likes to opine on the Iraq war but his total service in country was 4 months in the motor pool. Dave uses the brilliant rhetorical maneuver of stating he won't hold Soltz's lack of service against him in comparison and he shouldn't support Wesley Clark in minimizing John McCain's service and qualifications.

no one is sitting here and going to take swipes at general wesley clark. my point is are we saying that aviators are not real soldiers? the comments by rush limbaugh over what is a real soldier, it is like me telling you john, you spent four months in the motor pool dispatching vehicles and you are not a real soldier because you didn't go hand to hand combat in fallujah or you can't talk about iraq because you haven't been there since 2004....

POW that one left a mark. Here is the video link. And Kev and I are on the road to Denver so that means a mobile freefly.

Here is a pic of the blazing Iowa sun.

I'm not big on listening to newspaper editors or reporters about what General is the smartest, who likes whom, or what success is in a war (after all, who died and made them CENTCOM?), but this is a fine piece of work, full of facts, real quotes, and clearer about the agendas of people who disagree with a clearly successful endeavor than most.

The Man in the story is a Leader among Men. I am struck by his refusal to discuss why his Bible is marked with post-its and what passages they mark as important, by his generosity of spirit in advancing the career of the Man who shot him, by his superior physical prowess and example to his officers through running them into the ground to keep up with him, and in his steely determination to see a complex and difficult enterpise through to the end, no matter how much sleep he loses, or how difficult the odds against him. And those odds are leveraged by the enemies of America to make the load deeper, harder, and extremely more difficult for the Men and Women serving this General in Iraq.

Read the whole thing.

Not a damn thing any of us can do to provide relief to him in his Duty except pray for his continued safe existence and Leadership, and let him know we are with him. Every day.

Press on, General. You may not see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we do as long as you are on the job. If you can fill the unforgiving minute, with sixty seconds worth of distance run........

Kipling puts more wisdom on one page than most Men can learn in a lifetime.

Subsunk

Our very own COB has some very high aspirations.  I called in for a write-in campaign to get COB6 elected and look what happens...:

Ouch. That's going to leave a mark.

The Saddest Thing About Barack Obama's Available Military Expertise... ...is that though he has Wes Clark in his corner, the only person he knows with the experience of getting a bomb on target is Bill Ayers.

Well done CY...

LW

OK we had fired douche Wesley Clark weigh in and now since a half pint loser who once wore the uniform has smeared the maverick it's apparently OK for any two bit punk ass lefty blogger to do so as well. WOW.

Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?                   It's not "nice" to ask the question, but it's actually a pretty good question. Yes, we all know that John McCain was captured and tortured in Vietnam (McCain won't let you forget). A lot of people don't know, however, that McCain made a propaganda video for the enemy while he was in captivity. Putting that bit of disloyalty aside, what exactly is McCain's military experience that prepares him for being commander in chief?

WOW again you miserable piece of shit. What he did was stay true to ethical standards I couldn't even explain to your miserable ass. What he did was refuse the chance to go home and stop being tortured because there were men who had been there longer than him. I won't waste any more time with a human who has no soul so...Here is this world class pussy's bio.

John Aravosis is a Washington DC-based writer and political expert, specializing in using the Internet for politics. John has a joint law degree and masters in foreign service from Georgetown, where he studied under former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. John's writing experience includes having written as a stringer for the Economist magazine and RADAR, and his policy experience includes stints in the US Senate, the World Bank, and the Children's Defense Fund. John is also an occasional TV pundit, having appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Hardball with Chris Matthews, ABCNews World News Tonight, CNN, Court TV, and more. John speaks five languages and has visited or worked in 28 countries, including giving lectures about the Internet and politics (in English, French and Spanish) in France, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Indonesia and Cote d'Ivoire.

Worked for Madeline Albright, STRIKE, the World Bank, STRIKE TWO, and the Children's Defense Fund? STRIKE THREE. What a complete loser and tool Mr. Aravosis is. I am unsurprised that a man with such a long history of strutting his product rich hair and politically correct pedigree in front of mollified dolts feels free to dis respect his betters. He is unaware he has any. Look at the freakin shades resting above his quizzical brow. What a chump. I have to stop because this is the guy I have always hated and who makes it nearly impossible for me to reach out to the left. You are low and sorry Mr. Aravosis.

Our friend COL David Maxwell sends a piece from The Times of London:

...The American commander in Iraq has made history already. Which is why I'm in such a hurry to see him write it. On his watch, Iraq has turned a corner, with a dramatic decrease in violence, the pacification of provinces where al-Qaeda once held sway and the retreat of foreign-backed militias before a newly resurgent Iraqi national Army. Iraq is now on course to join Turkey and Israel as one of the Middle East's few functioning democracies.

Petraeus is an intellectual in battledress, a standing rebuke to the caricature of the American military as dumb Cowboy Colonels and dumber Imperial Storm Troopers. There's a proud tradition of scholars in the British Army, from Basil Liddell Hart to Rupert Smith, distinguished authors both. But a tradition of condescension towards America has blinded many Britons to the intellectual quality of the US military.

The British shouldn't feel bad -- this is a blind side shared by many, even in Amerca.  I've met a few "cowboy Colonels," but no dumb ones.

One of the great secrets of the US military is just how much time its officers and enlisted spend in school, both internal, professional schools and traditional academia.  An intellectual bent is often found among combat commanders, like Marine Corps General Mattis.  I happen to know the aforementioned Colonel Maxwell, a Special Forces officer, is another who loves to read and think as well as to command men in the field.  I value the readings he sends, and our occasional discussions.

Because it is knowledge put to practical purpose in the world, military officers less often have time to write the monographs that are the meat of academia.  They often are focused on passing problems of the moment, the business of keeping the world together, and cannot spend the time they would prefer on examining a question of history.  They are nevertheless keenly aware of our history. 

America is fortunate that citizens who are both intelligent and courageous choose to serve her in this way.  They, more than any technology, are the strength of the military -- and the country.

I can only echo their concern.

Kate Norley

Iraq? I was there-no shit. After weaving through the maze of sandbagged barricades in order to reach the gate of the FOB, I did my usual routine… took in a deep breath to slowly exhale, kissed the underside of my fingers before placing my hand over my heart as both a personal prayer to show courage under fire as well as give love to the laminated picture of my family nestled always within the inner flap of my OTV. Lastly, I performed the ceremonial lips to fingers then tap the ceiling of the vehicle just as I peeled out amidst the haze of dust (something I’d been told to do for “good luck” when running a yellow light back stateside).

Regardless, I was officially locked, cocked, and ready to rock. But this trip outside of the wire was to be different-my first night patrol. Up until this point, I had dealt only with the crippling heat while patrolling during the daytime- no huge deal, right? Tonight was new though, as best as I can describe, imagine playing hide and go seek in the dark…raises the bar of difficulty just a tad, right? Despite already knowing the route and every turn from memory-tonight was going to be different. So as we approached a more developed part of town and noticed increased congestion in the streets, we remained indifferent. Shortly after, we received calls over the radio from our scout vehicle telling us that despite their effort to break traffic for our passing, an obstacle of several Iraqi cars had been positioned at the entrance of the neighborhood to bar our patrol.

Nevertheless, this was manageable, so to plan B we went. Of course for me, plan B consisted of another tweak to my expertise…in turning to plan B we were to stage our vehicles to maintain 360 security to proceed with patrol on foot. First it was a night patrol, but now a night patrol on foot? There was no time for any of my superstitious luck rituals; this time I had to put on my big girl pants and gets it done. Just as soon as I dropped my M-16 to the ready position while walking and scanning, in came the first “POP!” immediately followed by many more. Without hesitation this cape of fearlessness I had heard others mention snapped on my shoulders and I took cover. Behind remnants of what could only have once been a statue or figure blown to pieces, I checked my weapon, and my aid bag to make sure they had made it with me considering I had just dove within one blink of an eye. Another “POP,” then a vicious “BUZZ!” That “buzz” is all too familiar still-not many are quick to forget the exact sound or breeze of a bullet shooting past your head. Yes, I have reason to believe that one was meant for me. Just as soon as I repositioned myself, I recall hearing that night’s first cry for “MEDIC!”

Shit, that’s me! Shit! I can’t see anything-its dark! But as I mentioned previously, that magic cape was on-the one that instantly puts you into numbness and allows you to forge ahead. Yeah well thankfully I did, needless to say all while in midst of the most death-defying version of Marco Polo I have ever had to play. Got to my guy that was hit-he’s talking, so far so good. Shit another one, hit too. As I’m down beside my injured battle buddy trying to help him as best as possible considering the urgency to move him to a better protected area, he belts out,” Doc! Just tell me! Tell me- is my stuff still there?” I’m thinking stuff? What? Sure enough the gesturing to the area of his groin made by his arm on the side of his body not shot was plenty for me figure out what he had meant…my dear injured battle buddy was inquiring the status of his “manhood,” first and foremost. I admit, my immediate reaction was mixed with both surprise and disappointment for not automatically assuming that he would be preoccupied with the potential loss of his mister. Ironically, that would not be the last time that exact concern would be voiced. In fact, rain or shine, night or day, my wounded men left me with no surprise thereafter, as that later helped assess the priority of treatment. Nine times out of ten, if a wounded man is still coherent enough to check the status of his “stuff,” he’s going to be ok after all.

We eventually received added support to control the area of patrol that night, and despite the many firsts I may have encountered in just one trip-thankfully the entire convoy manifest made it back to the FOB alive...bits and pieces and all.

During my recent trip, I had the opportunity to visit Barrett Firearms, makers of a rather famous .50 caliber rifle, along with a number of other firearms and specialty ammunition to shoot in them. This is part one of that visit, and I hope you enjoy it.

LW

UPDATE: You can see the second part of the visit here.

We discuss Wesley Clark borrowing a pair to diss the Maverick, Seymour Hersh propagandizing for himself about Iran &....

Seymour Hersh has a properly damaged reputation due to his numerous wild tales about our government's heinous activities. He became an icon of the hater left for exposing the My Lai massacre, but he has been chasing horror stories ever since and regularly "leaks" classified info. I scare quoted leak because quite a few of his "leaks" are more propaganda than reportage. A well-placed lie is as deadly as a well-placed truth and classified lies are the easiest because they cannot, by nature, be verified. That said his latest leak/lie is that we are prepping the battlefield in Iran.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has launched a "significant escalation" of covert operations in Iran, sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country's nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic's government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday..

Hersh told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that Congress has authorized up to $400 million to fund the secret campaign, which involves U.S. special operations troops and Iranian dissidents.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have rejected findings from U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has halted a clandestine effort to build a nuclear bomb and "do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program," Hersh said.

"They believe that their mission is to make sure that before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program," Hersh said.

President Bush, VP Cheney and all sentient beings have rejected a hack report by losers at the CIA who have gotten pretty much nothing right ever. I don't even think, well we know, El Baradei doesn't believe the lies he spews about Iran and even that clown was honest enough to say they could have a bomb in less than a year. He really doesn't care if they do and probably believes they have every right to. I mean who are the Americans to tell proud Islamic nations what kinds of weapons they may have.

You can also add the active role the media has assigned itself as a check on the Commander in Chief's authority to deal with clear and present dangers. They feel, as Hersh shows here, that they must expose the evil machinations of the Bush crime family and whether they leak actual classified info or pull a Hersh and just tell as big a lie as you think you can tell, they will advancs their policy. Freefly on this, Wesley (Clinton fired me) Clark mouthing off about McCain and a few other items.

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