BlackFive

 Here is the audio from my bit on radio today w/ the G-man. I think we are going to make this a regular thing.

I will say happy Thanksgiving to all as I am heading to the hinterlands and will be off the grid for a few days. I am personally thankful that my family is healthy and happy. I am thankful to be an American and always will be. And I am thankful to have an extended family of readers here, you people are a great bunch and my life is richer for interacting with you.

Oh and Happy Birthday Tanker Babe.

I can add another thing to be thankful for, I just got a call from Concrete Bob's wife and his surgery went well and he is now recovering. Woo Hoo!.

This Navy SEAL thing has me positively inconsolable, and Little Deebow and Household 6 had to put up with quite a rant yesterday in the car.  In fact, there might be enough money in the swear jar at this point to buy an NFL Franchise...

Here was my question at the end of it all; Does anyone give a flying crap whether or not a man who was the mastermind of the murder and desecration of 4 good men was punched in the face?

Not me...  Not even a little bit.

And knowing a little bit about this community (I wasn't always an MP), I can tell you that this comes down to two options as to the origin of this; Either their commander would not defend them or their actions (one of the jobs of a leader is to shield their men from crap like this) or it comes because it was command directed from much higher in the food chain (likely from someone who couldn't find the trigger on a rifle, let alone summon the will to squeeze it).

Either way, my advice to these men who find themselves in this situation, and to others who are serving is one thing:

5.56 holes make invisible souls...

Anything that was a briefed as a "Kill/Capture" to me had the effect of emphasizing the "Kill" portion in my mind instead of "Capture."  I find that it is nice to capture a target whom you can interrogate who might tell us things we don't already know, but if we kill them, we have a twofold solution; 1) they can't carry out their evil plans and (2), we still know exactly what we knew before the tango bled out.

No matter how I look at that, that looks "win/win" to me...

We send these men through the hell (they call it Hell Week for a reason) to ensure that at the moment of truth, they will eviscerate their enemy.  Now we are worried about some terrorist a$$monkey getting a split lip?  These men are not day care workers with jump wings and they are not deployed to bad places to coddle the evil.  They are warriors  Men who will truly fight; and this terrorist is lucky to still be around to steal oxygen from those more deserving.

Prosecuting them for having a dangerous nature is like hating the sky because it is blue.

Next time fellas, shoot 'em in the face... Twice...

LTC Allen West retired from the US Army after having discharged a pistol in a mock execution of an Iraqi prisoner. BLACKFIVE readers know this because we followed the story closely at the time.  I also know this because both times I went to Iraq, I was treated to a JAG presentation on the laws of war that used him as a (bad) example.

Both times, the JAG officer got heavy pushback from the audience, both uniformed and civilian. Many going over as civilians were former military, but now freer to speak their minds to officers. There was no doubt about how the uniformed soldiers felt either, though they framed their opinion in the respectful manner required by their rank and position.

The clear and passionate majority opinion, both times, was that Colonel West absolutely right to do what he did: whatever it took to accomplish the mission, save the lives of his soldiers and bring them home. He was absolutely revered for the fact that he was willing to suffer legal consequences in order to do what he thought he needed to do to bring his soldiers home.

If the majority was right about the morality, the law and morality are not aligned. What he did was very plainly against the law, as he admitted. The law was enforced with what I suppose would now be called a "wrist slap," though it ended his career.

West was processed through an Article 32 hearing in November 2003, where he admitted wrongdoing, was fined $5,000 over two months for misconduct and assault. He then submitted his resignation, and was allowed to retire with full benefits in the summer of 2004.

After West's resignation was brought to public attention the next Fall, he received over two thousand letters and e-mails from the American public offering him moral support. In addition, a letter was drafted to the secretary of the Army, its signatories being ninety-five members of Congress in West's support. Even a prominent critic of the Abu Graib affair, Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, wrote a letter to his constituents in support of West's honorable intentions during the controversial incident.

To judge from the video, retirement hasn't taken much of the fire out of the man.  The one career may be over, but that just means he's free to fight in another arena.  There's probably a lesson in that somewhere.

I launched both barrels at Allahpundit from Hot Air yesterday about what I considered a sorry post accepting the idea that the SEALs charged with splitting the lip of a terrorist could be made an example of. I still believe that his post was far too casual and in agreement with the idea that a "wrist slap", which would end their careers, was appropriate. I do think, having had some time to cool off and think about it, that I didn't need to come down as hard as I did. I remain outraged by the fact that these SEALs are facing court martial and will continue to push against that. But I don't think it gains us much for me to be pummeling someone who I have far more in common with than not.

Hot Air is one of my favorite sites and I think does a great service to our cause. Allah can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but as I said we have plenty of common ground. I am a libertarian with no God in this fight and that is his basic stance as well. Over all I think he is an asset and treats most issues fairly. So I apologize to him for the overkill, my bad. But I also think he should take a look at how he discusses the difficulties are troops are facing and the reality that we have now stabbed them right in the front.

Next slide.

1105 Eastern I will be talking about the travesty of our SEALs being charged w/ the heinous crime of allegedly causing a bloody lip on a terrorist. You can listen live here.

UPDATE II: Beta male links to this with headline "Time for another Allahpundit sucks post" not that I can recall one in many moons or maybe ever. Fair is fair here is the post that pissed me off, and yes the blood mist is in my eyes. C'est la Vie.

UPDATE: I am not listening to any, "Oh he is just doing analysis" BS. Then where is the statement "But this is a chickenshit thing to do"? Absent, sadly.Looks like some Gordon Liddy radio tomorrow on this, I will advise as to the time. have I mentioned we don't even know if this guy was just following the AQ playbook and popped himself so he could screw our guys. AAARRGGHHH!

Aww c'mon now. I do my best to avoid red on red fire, but sometimes it is absolutely called for. Noted beta male and "many moons ago" entertaining blogger Allahpundit at Hot Air throws three Navy SEALs under the bus just to appease people who are only safe to be appeased, himself included, because of these rough men. No link from me.

Even so, the fact that this turd got the Iraqi authorities involved may have left Central Command with little choice here. The last thing the military needs right now is another detainee-abuse headache, especially with some Iraqi pols already leaning on them about withdrawal. Giving the SEALs a zero-tolerance wrist slap reminds other troops not to do anything more seriously stupid that might be exploited politically. And it will be a wrist slap, I’m sure: The last thing The One needs after shipping KSM off to NYC for his close-up is the image of SEALs being hauled off to prison for busting some jihadi in the face. In fact, according to Fox, the SEALs requested a court-martial rather than nonjudicial punishment, presumably because they know full well how awful this looks for the military. Prediction: Wrist slap.

Let me explain something to you amigo. That wrist slap would be a career-ender in Spec Ops for these men. You understand? We take three guys who accomplish more in a lazy afternoon than you have in your entire anonymous, snarking-from-the-sideline, existence and we put them out of work making dead tangos. And that sounds like what should have happened to this ass clown. If he dies during the take down we have no problems.

I know you have no earthly clue just how god-awful complicated it is to actually perform a raid and scarf up a bad guy, let's just say it rates up there with trying to conduct a Beethoven Symphony with your orchestra in free fall, screaming towards Earth like a phalanx of freaking lawn darts. That is why we like to send a f**king Hellfire down on them and last time I checked that leaves a little more than a god damn bloody lip. And yes I am saying I don't care if he got it once he got to base. What if the guy who clocked his murderous ass knew Scott Helverson, who this bastard helped kill, burn and then defile his corpse? Do you really want to be on record saying he should be made an example of? Do you remember what Kos said about the four men this scumbag killed you dumbass? I'll remind you "F**k them". You are sure in illustrious company.

I realize you get paid to say controversial shite all day long. Every once in a while you ought to take a gander at who gives you the freedom to flap your freakin' gums and think twice before you decide that zero-tolerance demands that your betters suffer for some bullshit like this. Don't offer the PC losers cover, ever. They will use it against my friends.

Unless this guy shows up with multiple compound fractures caused by the repeated use of a chunk of rebar long after he was in custody in the rear, I will go on record as saying I don't give a f**k.

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

You have absolutely got to be shittin' me, a bloody lip? Good Lord, I hope he didn't have any scrapes on him's widdle knee. This is another slap in the faces of those we ask to do the toughest job on the damn planet. I think it may just be time to have a no prisoners policy. All of the organs of our government now seem to be more concerned with the safety and legal rights of murderous barbarians and oblivious to the damage they are doing to the morale and esprit de corps of our troops, not to mention the safety of our country.

WTF is wrong with these people? The only nice thing is they will face a jury of their peers as they told the command to suck it and demanded court martial. All it takes is a few good men on that f**king jury to tell all the chickenshits in the chain of command that we know who the good guys are and these guys walk. Navy it's time to represent for your brothers, serve proudly on that jury and let the gutless punks know what they ought to focus on.

Froggy, send and I will amend this post. Or just launch yourself.

Home of some of the longest running insurgencies, the Philippines saw a horrific massacre this week.

AMPATUAN, Philippines – The Philippine president placed two southern provinces under emergency rule Tuesday as security forces unearthed more bodies, pushing the death toll to 46 in some of the deadliest election violence in the nation's history.

Police and soldiers found 22 bodies in a hillside mass grave Tuesday, adding to the 24 bullet-riddled bodies recovered near the scene of Monday's massacre in Maguindanao province, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna of the Central Mindanao region.

This southern region of the Philippines is wracked by violent political rivalries, in addition to a long-running Islamic insurgency, but the killings have shocked this Southeast Asian nation. One adviser to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has described the massacre as the worst in the country's recent history. A media rights watchdog also says that it appears to be the world's worst mass killing of journalists, with as many as 20 reportedly among the dead.

The area where this happened is a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and this deal seems to be working out as well as the ones the Pakistanis have been making. It apparently stems from a reaction to a challenger filing to oppose the current leader and a long standing feud between two major families in the region. It is a problem for the government as the suspected killers are allied w/ President Gloria Arroyo.

Since we are hearing that surrender is on the table, we better take a look at what it would take to win. The Foreign Policy Initiative has a document exploding many of the myths about Gen. McChrystal's request for a fully-resourced Counterinsurgency strategy.

During the time that President Obama has been mulling the way forward in Afghanistan, a number of politicians, advisors, and analysts have put forth various arguments against a significant increase in troop strength and a counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy. The arguments, when closely considered, expose a default resistance to completing the mission, not a thoughtful dismantling of the pro “surge” case. Below you’ll find a list of the most popular critiques of General Stanley McChrystal’s COIN strategy and resource request, each followed by clear refutations from relevant experts.

Charge: The illegitimate election of Hamid Karzai means failure for any stepped up effort in Afghanistan.

Response:  “[C]onsider the analogous case of Iraq over the last three years,” write Richard Fontaine and John Nagl in the Los Angeles Times. “At the time [of the surge of forces to Iraq], Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shiite-led government was widely viewed as weak and sectarian. An overwhelming number of Sunni Arabs -- who formed the center of gravity of the insurgency -- rejected its legitimacy and had boycotted the December 2005 elections that brought it to power. The Maliki government had done little to allay these feelings; on the contrary, elements of its security forces participated in sectarian violence against Sunnis through 2006.” Yet Gen. David H. Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy was able to protect populations, restore order, and make room for the political reconciliation that would not have otherwise been possible. “Prospects for such an outcome in Afghanistan actually look better now than they did in Iraq in early 2007,” write Fontaine and Nagl, “unlike Iraq -- where success hinged on persuading a critical mass of the Sunni Arab community to accept the bitter reality of a Shiite-led government -- no deep existential issue drives Afghans (primarily Pashtuns) into the arms of the insurgents.” In fact, all polls and other data indicate that “the national government in Afghanistan almost certainly retains greater legitimacy among the people than did the Iraqi government before things began to turn for the better there.” -- Los Angeles Times

There is plenty more and it quite easily punctures many of the arguments bandied about as to why we cannot win. And they finished this paper before the reports of a possible awakening against the Taliban came out.

ThreatsWatch has a scary bit of intel that needs to be confirmed or blown out of the water.

It comes to our attention that the MEMRI Blog highlights an article from the Saudi _al-Watan_ in Arabic that - according to an Afghan source - the United States is talking to the Taliban seeking to trade control of 5 provinces in exchange for the cessation of attacks on US bases. MEMRI summarizes:

An Afghan source in Kabul reports that U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry is holding secret talks with Taliban elements headed by the movement's foreign minister, Ahmad Mutawakil, at a secret location in Kabul. According to the source, the U.S. has offered the Taliban control of the Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Kunar and Nuristan provinces in return for a halt to the Taliban missile attacks on U.S. bases.

Kunar province borders the Khyber Pass region where the majority of US and NATO supplies pass enroute from Pakistan. And the4 remaining four provinces constitute fully the southern 25% of Afghanistan's territory.

Like I said this is a sole source so far, but sadly it fits in with Eikenberry's strategically leaked messages stabbing Gen. McChrystal in the back by calling for no reinforcements. It also offers President Obama the opportunity to start the exfil from the country and avoid having to attempt to win.

Just a question that pops into my meager little brain, what do we think the Taliban will do if we surrender the 5 provinces to them? Renounce their avowed goal of an Islamic State leading to a larger Caliphate? Settle down and become kindly goat herders studying the Koran in pursuit of peace?

or

Take this as another sign of the weak horse status of the declining United States? A sign to Pakistan that there is no point to their continuing operations against their own Taliban? A good time  for the Talibs to declare Greater Pashtunistan on both sides of the border? 

This surrender would undoubtedly work out just as well as the dozen or so that the Pakistanis have signed with the same folks. Oh wait the Talibs violated every single one of these agreements and simply used them as an opportunity to recruit and rebuild leading to their resurgence on both sides of the border they don't recognize.

This would be a mistake so blatant and obvious that I cannot conceive of it.