It's Time to Get Out of Afghanistan and Iraq

Great minds think alike.

Let us waste no more lives or dollars on barbarian civilizations.

Islamic Societies: a Culture of Murder, Mayhem and Madness

The slaughter of UN workers and other westerners in Afghanistan this week, over a burned Koran, was eye-opening.  According to some sources, as many as twenty people died at the hands of rampaging Afghanis who committed mass murder in reprisal.  Twenty people killed for a book made of paper and ink.  It is doubtful that any of the perpetrators will be adequately punished.  In Islam, it is not a capital crime to murder "infidels," no matter what the reason.

And this brings up the question:  why are we there?  Islamic societies are so barbaric, uncivilized and savage that any attempt to reform them appears futile.  In any case, they aren't worth the cost in blood and money.  Those on the right who want to democratize the world are on a fool's errand.  

The only sane policy now is for the West to separate itself from Islamic societies and cultures as completely as possible.  This is the only sound way to protect our people from this corrosive, savage culture.

To hell with Islam, its prophet, its Koran, its culture and everything else connected with it.

Heroic Dog Survives Afghan War But Not Homegrown Bureaucrat

From the U.K. Mail Online:

Target the dog lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan, saved the lives of U.S. soldiers and was featured on Oprah - but she couldn't survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.

An employee at the Pinal County facility was today on administrative leave after euthanizing the shepherd mix by mistake.

'When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow,' said Ruth Stalter, director of the Animal Care And Control centre.

'Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures.'
....

The idiot who killed the dog is someone I would personally love to horsewhip, but the army sergeant who adopted the dog is partially to blame.  He did not license the dog nor get a microchip for it, either of which would have quickly identified the dog to the shelter and saved its life.

Dogs are such loving, loyal and trusting animals, and often we simply do not deserve them.

Michael Laubs, American Patriot in Afghanistan

The recent fund drive for me, put on by blogger friends, raised helpful amounts of cash.  It also introduced me to some great people across the nation and the globe.  One donor was Michael Laubs, who donated a whopping $150!  I noticed that Michael had a military address, so wrote and asked if he were in the military.  Here was his response:

Cougars at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan

No sir. I am a former Marine (a hundred years ago) who has experienced the hell that has currently engulfed you. After purchasing a home and paying for 2 years, my wife hurt her back and was no longer able to work. She couldn't prove it was work related and social security being the liberal institution it is, refused her claims for 3 years. During that time I depleted all savings, sold all possessions that had value and when I was to the point of bankruptcy, I told the bank to take it. I'm now working in Afghanistan with the Marines on the MRAP's, Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected trucks. I sure do wish you the absolute best and will pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and provide a way where there is none. Take care and keep up the good work. If McCain is pulling for you, I have no reason not to help.

I wrote back:

Well Mike, the work you are doing is far more important than anything I have ever done. I am grateful for your service to our country. My wife had a similar experience -- she became disabled through severe carpal tunnel and was required by the workers compensation insurance to file for disability with the SSA. She was also refused, so took it to court acting as her own attorney and won, was paid for four years of back social security disability. That was the major source of our savings and is now gone.

Your story is similar to my own, but you have now found work that is more than useful, it is essential to our armed forces. God bless you and everything you have suffered for and all that you have accomplished. May you be safe over there and return home safely.

I then asked Mike who he works for, the army, Dept of Defense?  He replied back:

MATV's at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan

No, actually, I am a contractor and work for a company called VSE. They are headquartered in Alexandria,Va. I had just spent 8 months building the RG-33 at Letterkenny Army Depot in Pa.,and was listening to the contractor stories from some of the guys there, did a little digging, and liked what I was hearing. My brother Ray found out about VSE, got hired, and told me about it all in one day. He went to Iraq and I came here. 

I got here Dec 2, 08. Spent 4 months at Bagram Air Base, a month at Kandahar and then came down south here to Camp Bastion, a British base. Camp Leatherneck was at the beginning stages of being a work in progress. Our job is to ensure that the trucks that come in get the white glove inspection, everything has to work as advertized, before it gets issued to the units. Once issued, we shift to sustainment of the vehicles. Something breaks, quits working or the truck gets hit (IED) we put it back together. Thats about the gist of it.

We work 7-12 hour days, although we have seen half days off for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years (ssshhhh.....). Some have questioned why the extreme work hours and it's simple....the kids don't get a break from war, we're here to support them, so we don't either. Sure would like to be about 20 years younger though. That pretty much sums up the biography.

Mike noted that he loves to read conservative blogs, and described some of his favorites.

I enjoy reading conservative blogs. Having just a taste of journalism in middle and high school, I had aspirations of writing so it's fun to read what LCR, The Other McCain, Powerline, Dan Riehl, Hot Air, Flopping Aces, Allied Liberty News, Ace of Spades and Reaganite Republican are writing about. Yours I hadn't stumbled into yet, but is now in the favorites column. I'm starting to get the guys around me reading these posts as well. I'm having fun. I want to encourage you and the others listed here to keep up the great and important work that you are doing. We here feel that this is the only legitimate source of news that hasn't been tainted with bias or been polished. Thank you for what you do. 

Thank you Mike!!

Photos above were supplied by Mike Laubs


Note:  This post was done with advance permission from Mike, and he assured me there was nothing in it that  would invade his privacy or undermine the security of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

President Obama and the Afghanistan War

President Obama gave his speech yesterday at West Point, explaining his plans and policy for prosecuting the Afghanistan war.  There wasn't much wrong with it, except the setting of an arbitrary timeline for withdrawal.

I am unconvinced of Obama's will to win.  He has taken on an important task, but doesn't fully believe in it and isn't fully committed to it.  A large part of his base is opposed to any avenue but withdrawal.  A couple of days ago far-out leftist Michael Moore wrote a public letter to President Obama urging him to immediately withdraw all troops from Afghanistan and to abandon the war effort altogether.

Both General McChrystal and Sarah Palin are happy with Obama's new course, i.e. a troop surge in Afghanistan.  Rush Limbaugh is highly skeptical of it.  My feeling is one of mild skepticism and pessimism.

The most convincing argument I have heard against Obama's plan concerns the 18 month timeline for withdrawal.  Local Afghanis will be reluctant to cooperate with us, knowing that they may soon be abandoned.  Those who do cooperate will be killed by the victorious Taliban after we leave.  Smart Afghanis will hedge their bets and stay neutral in order to stay alive.

See Fox News "Obama's Afghan Plan Fails to Satisfy Left or Right"

Obama Needs to Lead, Follow or Get the Hell Out of the Way

There is an old army dictum that says one should "lead, follow or get the hell out of the way."  President Barack Obama has chosen not to do any of the three with regard to the war in Afghanistan.

The news story from Fox is captioned "Obama Rejects All Afghan War Options."

Obama's irresponsibility and incompetence are breathtaking.  He should resign the presidency.

Read it all here.

Zero Fiddles While Good Men Die; Salutes Coffins of the Fallen

President Obama has been getting a lot of deserved criticism for his inaction and indecisiveness on Afghanistan.  Just as Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Zero fiddles while good men die.  However, isn't every political issue managed by the right amount of posing and posturing?  It's all just a PR game, right?  All it takes is mouthing the right slogan, striking the right pose, making it all into a big Photo-op.

So President Zero may not provide the troops his own general has been begging for, but he does show up this one time to salute the coffins resulting from his lack of action.  That makes everything all right again.

Thanks, President Zero!

George Will, Effete Snob, False Conservative

George Will has long struck me as a reluctant conservative, if conservative at all. He seems to be one of the country club Republicans. They see the GOP not as a national political party but rather as a private club for snobs and elitists. They are happy to pontificate from atop Mount Olympus to the swarming masses below, safe from any actual contact with the dirty peasantry. I've always wondered if Will's bright red bowtie twirls like helicopter blades when no one is looking, and if so, will it fly him up and away? One can only hope.

Today George Weak Will has come out with a column calling for a complete ground withdrawal from Afghanistan, in effect, declaring the war lost and just getting out.

William Kristol disagrees with Will. He writes:

But let’s be honest. Will is not calling on the United States to accept a moderate degree of success in Afghanistan, and simply to stop short of some overly ambitious goal. Will is urging retreat, and accepting defeat.

I think R.S. McCain of The Other McCain has the right idea about George Will. He writes:

"The Air Force should load George Will and David Brooks into a C-130 and airdrop them, sans parachute, on a Taliban position in Afghanistan. They're useless as intellectuals, but perhaps they'll do some good as ordnance."

-- Robert Stacy McCain, Nov. 10, 2008

Via: The Washington Post

Via: The Other McCain

Via: Memeorandum

Update: Also see Kathryn Jean Lopez's "A Loss of Will" at the Corner (quoting Pete Wehner).

The Taliban: Another One Bites The Dust?

The media is reporting that the head of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed by a Predator strike. Oh I hope so. Then I can play that song "Another One Bites the Dust" and boogie around the living room.

The Predator Drone is an unmanned aircraft that just sort of creeps up on terrorists and sends them off to collect their virgins.

Typical scenario:

"Oh Qaseem, what is that strange buzzing sound?"

"I don't know, Mukhtar. I--"

KABOOOM!

The terrorists want to die for Allah and we want them to die also, for Allah or Abraxas, Bacchus or Beelzebub, it's all the same to us. As long as they're dead. It's a win-win for all.

Insurgent in a Burqua Dispatched by U.S. Army

From the U.K. Times Online:

The suicide bomb belt lies beside the body of the man shot in Lashkar Gar in Southern Helmand today.

Among the trail of clothes around him is the women's burqa with which he had disguised himself as he set out, explosives strapped to his chest, towards the police compound that was his target.

“He was shot in the forehead after he ignored warning shots and was killed on the spot,” said Hussain Andiwal, provincial police chief. “When we took off his burqa we found he was a man with a suicide vest tied around his body.”

Read it all.

You have to wonder how the dead assmunch is going to explain the woman's clothes to Allah. I do hope they bury him in that burqua.