THE FOURTH ESTATE
Larry Elder wrote an excellent column on media bias the other day. He demonstrates how journalists frame stories to convey a message above and beyond a straight reporting of the facts.

CNN's "American Morning" anchor compared an upcoming Kerry campaign speech to one being given on the same day by President George W. Bush: "President Bush heads to the swing state of Florida today. He'll be in Tampa appealing to conservative voters (emphasis added) with an address on human trafficking and then to a rally in Beckley, West Virginia. . . . And John Kerry will be in Washington speaking to the American Federation of Teachers. He's promising full funding for the No Child Left Behind Act. Later he'll hold a rally in Arlington, Virginia." And exactly what kind of voters did Kerry aim for in his teachers union speech? "Liberal" voters, perhaps?

On the same day, "CNN Headline News" compared the two speeches: "Earlier today, in Tampa, the president addressed the Justice Department conference on human trafficking. He says it's a global problem that the U.S. must tackle head-on. It's also an issue many conservative (emphasis added) voters say is important in November's election. . . . Bush's Democratic opponent is talking to teachers in the nation's capital today. Right now, John Kerry is addressing the American Federation of Teachers. The Democratic candidate says he would fully fund the No Child Left Behind education reforms authorized by Congress."

Wait a sec. Again, Kerry's speech before the teachers union, apparently, does not count as a pitch to his "liberal" base? And when did the issue of human trafficking concern primarily "conservatives"?

Elder hits this one right on the head. "Objective" journalists seem to believe that equal time=balanced reporting. By portraying Kerry's speeches as addressing important issues while implying that Bush is pandering to fringe groups, there is a not-so-subtly hidden message here as to who is the better man for the job.

Elder also did an intersting comparison of how the "three wise men" (Jennings, Brokaw, and Rather) covered the first days in office of President Clinton and President Bush (43) respectively. This one's well worth checking out. You can read the whole column here.

THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT
The 9/11 Commision report was released today. The Commission's ultimate conclusion was that there was enough blame to go around in terms of failing to predict and prevent the terrorist attacks. Congress' role in this failure did receive special attention in the report. Their systematic gutting of our intelligence capabilities goes back to the 1970's and the Church Committee hearings on CIA misdeeds that essentially threw the baby out with the bathwater.

The report also recommended creating a new high level intelligence office overseeing the intelligence function of all of the agencies in the intelligence community. This sounds like a good idea, but it would not be the panacea that its supporters claim. For one thing, there is already a position in the intelligence community for someone who oversees the entire community and reports to the President. That person is the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). Most people refer to this person as the CIA Director, but the DCI is more than director of one agency, he is the President's primary advisor on intelligence matters.

Another issue that complicates the Commission's recommendation is bureaucracy. This new intelligence "czar' would be the supervisor of people in various agencies that are in different cabinet departments. The FBI Director would answer to the Attorney General, but his intelligence personnel would answer to this new intelligence official. The same would go for the agencies that were a part of DoD, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Homeland Security. Would their intel personnel answer to an outside official (a bad plan from the get-go), or would they answer to both the agency head and the intel czar (an even worse plan).

The answer is to let the DCI do his job. If he advises the President properly and coordinates between the agencies, the information can flow in the proper directions. In the end, they ALL work for the President. Their job is to make his job easier, not to bicker amongst themselves.

OOPS. NO, REALLY!
Unless you've been living under a rock, or you are hyptonized by "reality" TV, you're probably aware that former Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger is under investigation concerning some classified materials he took from the National Archives while preparing for his testimony before the 9/11 commission. At first, reports were that he "only" took the notes he made while studying the documents. As attorney Ron Kuby, hardly a member of the vast right wing conspiracy, points out this is still illegal:

"You're not permitted to remove anything from that room - period," he said Tuesday morning. "And that means even your notes. If you're taking notes about classified information, those notes are now classified. They're placed in a secure area. You can have access to them only while being viewed by a security officer. Nothing gets removed."

Even if Berger had removed only his personal notes on classified material, it would still be a crime, said Kuby, who learned about classified reading room procedures during his own involvement in the trial of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers.

Now it appears that Berger also took documents other than his notes from the archive. Some of these documents have not been located as of yet. Berger stepped down today as an informal advisor to Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry.

Many on the right are speculating that Berger was trying to conceal documents that did not reflect well on the Clinton administration's handling of terrorism. The folks on the left side of the aisle are questioning the "timing" of the leak that Berger is being investigated. Further, many have stated their belief of Berger's statement that this was all an accident. Berger has said that this is just a case of "sloppiness".

Sloppiness? According to some reports, Berger was seen stuffing documents in his pants and socks. I find it hard to believe that even the most enthusiastic left-wing kool-aid drinkers among us believe him.

If there are two things I know about, it's stealing and lying. After I was discharged from the Army in 1990, I found employment in retail loss prevention. I spent five years as a store detective and seven as a loss prevention manager/investigator. In that time, I caught somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000 thieves (give or take a crook, or two). If there is one thing I can say without equivocation, it's that people who take something they aren't supposed to have, conceal it in their pants (or socks), and then leave the building with it, are thieves. He meant to steal. Another thing worth noting is that when "respectable" thieves get caught, they almost always say it was an accident ("Honestly sir, I have no idea how that 10 lb lobster got into my purse." Yeah, musta crawled in there looking for tictacs; happens all the time).

Sadly, Berger will probably get off with little or no punishment for what he did. The Republicans, ever fearful of being called "partisan", will let him skate. I hope I'm wrong about that.

HOLLYWEIRD
Last week, Tammi posted an entry on her blog about movies that you just have to watch all the way through if you catch them while flipping through the channels. She listed her "must watch" movies and asked her readers for theirs. My list (which is, I'm sorry to say, much longer than what I posted in her comments section) included the movie Ocean's Eleven. I was referring to the recent remake, not the "Rat Pack" film it was based on (also a good movie, BTW).

I was flipping through the channels a few nights ago and there it was, Ocean's Eleven. True to form, I watched it through to the end. As I watched it, I couldn't help but notice that this movie contains some prominent members of the Hollywood liberal elite. In 2003, cast members Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, and Carl Reiner all signed a letter to President Bush imploring him not to pursue military action in Iraq. While I disagree with these folks, they do have a right to their opinion. A few of cast members, however, have been downright mean about their liberal "activism".

-George Clooney made light of actor/NRA President Charlton Heston being recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He justified it by saying that being head of the NRA made Heston deserving of his affliction. Clooney also compared the Bush administration to the Sopranos TV crime family.
-Brad Pitt taunted Jenna Bush while she worked as an intern at a PR firm that represented him.
-Julia Roberts, the Pretty Woman herself, remarked that it is no mistake that Republican comes between "reptile" and "repugnant" in the dictionary (yeah, like she even owns a dictionary). Who says beauty is only skin deep.
-Matt Damon compared President Bush to Fredo (the dimmest of the Corleone brothers) in The Godfather.

It's hard to justify watching a movie with people like this in it. After all, I'm putting money into the pockets of some less than wonderful people. On the other hand, if I only watched movies made by people I agreed with, or were at least less disrespectful in their "activism", I would have a very short list of "approved" movies to watch. Since I am a movie buff, that just won't do.

I finally came to peace with this issue by viewing entertainers as service providers. After all, I don't know what the politics of the kid who served me that burger at the Wendy's drive-thru are. Ditto for my mailman, my car mechanic, the guy at the car wash, or the receptionist at my dentist's office. My only concern is that they provide me with good service. As long as they provide me with good entertainment, I guess I can overlook the politics of celebrities. There is, however, a limit to how far they should go. Politics is one thing, mean-spiritedness is another. Even the kid at the drive-thru knows that, which may make him smarter than Matt Damon and less repugnant than Julia Roberts.

I have to admit though, that there are a couple of them who are near the point of no return with me. It's not saying much about the state of things when you have to choose between popular culture and civility.

HE'S NOT JAMES BOND, BUT HE PLAYED HIM ON TV
Cliff May has an excellent column on the National Review website about Joseph Wilson IV. As you may recall, Wilson is the former diplomat who was sent to Niger to investigate intelligence reports that Iraq had attempted to purchase yellowcake uranium there. After reporting that the intel reports were unsubstantiated, he hit the TV/media circuit to make his case that the Bush administration lied to make its case for the Iraq invasion. Soon after, columnist Robert Novak wrote a column exposing Wilson's wife Valerie Plame as an employee of the CIA. Wilson cried foul, claiming that his wife was an undercover operative and that the exposure endangered her life and the entire Wilson family.

Reacting like any international man of mystery would, Wilson hit the cable news circuit even harder. He then granted an interview for a piece in Vanity Fair, even posing for a picture with his undercover wife (wearing a clever disguise) in a jaguar convertible (hey, at least they didn't pose in front of their house with the street address visible in the picture). He even wrote a book "exposing" the Bush administration's transgressions.

The media tried to turn this into a scandal ("Plamegate"). An investigation was started to determine who was responsible for leaking Plame's name to Novak. I've always believed that there was a real scandal here, but the media missed the point entirely. Why was Jospeh Wilson, who had no military, intelligence, or investigative background, sent on such an important mission? What role did his wife play in his selection for this contract? How much of the taxpayers' money wound up in the Wilson family coffers?

Wilson denied that his wife played any role in his selection for this contract. According to May, evidence uncovered in a Senate investigation says otherwise:

For starters, he has insisted that his wife, CIA employee Valerie Plame, was not the one who came up with the brilliant idea that the agency send him to Niger to investigate whether Saddam Hussein had been attempting to acquire uranium. "Valerie had nothing to do with the matter," Wilson says in his book. "She definitely had not proposed that I make the trip." In fact, the Senate panel found, she was the one who got him that assignment. The panel even found a memo by her. (She should have thought to use disappearing ink.)

Wilson not only lied about his wife's involvement in his employment by the government, he lied about the evidence that led to his conclusions about the uranium. He claimed that CIA reports showed that the documents connected with the attempted uranium sale were forgeries.

The problem is Wilson "had never seen the CIA reports and had no knowledge of what names and dates were in the reports," the Senate panel discovered. Schmidt notes: "The documents — purported sales agreements between Niger and Iraq — were not in U.S. hands until eight months after Wilson made his trip to Niger."

Not only did Wilson lie to further a political agenda, all the while endangering the security of the United States, he DEFRAUDED the government. His wife used her position to get him a job that he was not qualified for. He was paid, and I would love to know how much, to conduct an investigation. He took the money and spent eight days in Niger "drinking sweet mint tea and meeting with dozens of people" (his own words). If there is a point to criticize the Bush administration on here, it's sending Joe Wilson on this mission in the first place. Who sent a clown to do the lion tamer's job?

HATING BUSH (AND LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT)
Many of the opponents of President Bush are not satisfied to merely disagree with him. Working to defeat him in the upcoming election isn't enough for them either. For some, hate is the only answer.

A FEMA employee was sent home for wearing a shirt that read "Love America, Hate Bush". Hollywood luminaries at a recent fundraiser for the Kerry/Edwards campaign engaged in a Bush bashing fest where:
-Paul Newman said that the Bush tax cuts are "borderline criminal".
-Jessica Lange called the Bush administration “a self-serving regime of deceit, hypocrisy and belligerence.”
-Chevy Chase said of the President: “This guy is as bright as an egg-timer.”

Why all the hate? Whatever happened to honest disagreement? Maybe Eric Hoffer's study of mass movements might offer us an answer:

Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all unifying agents.

Even more telling is this:

Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil. Usually the strength of a mass movement is proportionate to the vividness and tangibility of its devil.

George W. Bush as the devil? If he never existed, the Movement would need to invent him.

THE TRUE BELIEVERS
Several days ago, I saw a link on the Drudge Report about a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who was marching in a 4th of July parade on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. According to the story,

Jason Gilson of East Bremerton, who as a Marine corporal was wounded in Nasiriyah early in the Iraq conflict and is now in the inactive Ready Reserve, marched in Bainbridge's July 4th parade holding a sign that said "Veterans for Bush."

While marching in the parade, Gilson was met with booing by members of the crowd, and was reportedly called a "murderer" and a "baby killer".

I was angered when I read this report, but unsurprised. I considered posting about the incident on my blog, but decided against it after reading many excellent posts by other bloggers out there. Since they already said what was on my mind (minus the profanity that keeps popping up in my head when I think about this), I saw no reason to say what has already been said so eloquently.

As I gave this story more thought, the thing that I have found most disturbing about this is how unsurpirising it was to me. Why should it seem like business as usual when people behave in such a mean spirited and hurtful fashion. These people probably don't know Jason Gilson. I'm sure they have no idea what he did, or didn't do while serving in Iraq. Their actions betray their real beliefs: anyone who serves in this war is a criminal.

I have blogged before about how anti-war protestors often make it a point to "support the troops". This incident goes beyond mere hypocrisy, though. Some of these people made it a point to hurt Gilson personally. Why would such "compassionate" people be so mean.

First of all, Gilson supports President Bush. Service members are seen by the left as victims of the President's "evil plans". Since Gilson refused to play the victim, he therefore forfeited the "support" of those on the extreme left.

The second reason I came up with was based on something I have been reading recently. It's not an article, a blog, or even a book on the current best seller list. I found this bit of wisdom in a fifty year old book by a man named Eric Hoffer. Hoffer was a self educated longshoreman who became a respected political philosopher. He published a number of books. The most famous of these, The True Believer, is where I found my answer.

Hoffer's book examined mass movements and the people who are drawn to them. According to Hoffer, mass movements fill a void in some people that they are unable to fill themselves. Affiliating themselves with The Movement gives meaning to the lives of such people. They feel that they are important because they are a part of something important. For many people, this doesn't present much of a problem. For others, their dedication to The Movement takes on fanatical undertones. Their political beliefs become more than a mere point of view. These beliefs become a sort of dogma. Questioning the belief system of the fanatical is met with the same reaction one would expect from a religious zealot whose faith had been attacked.

This brings us to Jason Gilson. The people who attacked Gilson probably don't know him. All they know is that Gilson, the non-victim service member, represents an attack on their belief system. A wounded veteran who supports the man who should be held accountable for his injury (President Bush) is a living contradiction to their faith. Gilson is a threat to The Movement, and The Movement gives meaning to the lives of the faithful. Consequently, Gilson is evil. Evil deserves no mercy. So they lashed out at him the only way that spineless cowards (left wing pacifists) know how to, they engaged in name calling. It's revolting behavior, but not surprising. It appears that the left is waging its own Jihad against "infidels".

IRONY
Drudge is reporting that a new documentary will debut in New York City on Monday that shows Republican bias at FOX News. FOX has countered claiming that they are prepared to go public with a behind the scenes look at the editorial methodology used by CNN and MSNBC.

In a twisted bit or irony:

Elsewhere, the NY TIMES magazine on Sunday is planning a detailed expose on the FOX NEWS movie, and the question of the documentary's fair use of footage broadcast on FOX NEWS.

That's perfect. The people who gave us Jayson Blair is going to expose FOX's lack of journalistic integrity. What next? Bill Clinton touring the country to give lectures on sexual harrassment?

A CIVILIAN AGAIN (FOR NOW)
I completed my processing today. As of 1600 (4 p.m. for you civilian types), I am back to reserve status. With no drills (weekend training) scheduled until mid-August, I may have to grow long hair and a beard. On second thought, maybe a goatee will be sufficient rebellion for now.

ON THE NET
Charles Krauthammer has an excellent column on Frontpage Mag about Hans Blix (the UN's answer to Mr. Magoo) and the mindless complacency of the left. You can read the column here.

Thomas Sowell has an excellent column on the "political malpractice" of the 2004 Democratic ticket.

It is an insult to our intelligence to act as if posing with guns is as significant as how the Senator has voted on gun control laws during his 16 years in Congress. It is an insult to our intelligence to claim conservative values when both liberal and non-partisan organizations have rated John Kerry's voting record as the most liberal in the Senate, more liberal even than Ted Kennedy's.

You can read the rest of it here.

STILL ON LEAVE
Today is my last day of leave. I'll be back in uniform tomorrow for my last day on active duty. After I finish out-processing, I'll be back to "weekend warrior" status again (for now). I'll be back to work at my civilian job on Monday. In the meantime, I'm trying to spend time with the kids. I took them to lunch at McDonalds today. If they get fat, I may have to sue. Hell, even Ronald McDonald is suing them. Serves them right, damn profiteers. How dare they get paid for their efforts.

In my internet travels today, I saw that Michelle Malkin gave Ted Rall a much needed cyber-spanking on her website. If only Rall's parents had given him a few of the real kind when he was younger he might not be such an insufferable jackass (apologies to jackasses everywhere) today. Apparently, Red Ted has grown tired of urinating on the graves of dead heroes like Ronald Reagan and Pat Tillman. His new gig is to judge the racial "authenticity" of minorities who dare to disagree with him. How dare they?!?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USA
I've spent very little time online recently, so I've been remiss in posting. I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with my kids, so posting will be spotty for another week or so.

Wednesday's trip to the beach went well. The weather cooperated and the beach wasn't too crowded. A stop at Dairy Queen on the way home made everybody happy.

We went to see Spiderman 2 on Friday. If you liked the first one, you'll love the sequel. In some ways I found it superior to the original. It's been doing monster box office since its opening last week. It would be a terrible tragedy, however, if it drained viewers away from Fahrenheit 9/11, a movie that gives us the "truth" about the war on terrorism.

On a side note, according to Drudge, Time magazine will report that Michael Moore is unhappy that his "documentary" has been hijacked by those who would use it as a tool in the 2004 election. Poor Michael. I guess no one told him that you forfeit ownership in propaganda films to "the movement". He should have learned that lesson from his most famous predecessor.

STILL HERE
It's always tough when you first come home after being away for awhile. There's always the temptation to try to do it all in such a short period of time. Combine that with the jet lag of recovering from a seven hour time difference and you get some serious disorientation. I got home ten days ago, but it seems like I just got home yesterday.

Last week my kids had their end of the year awards ceremony at school. Since I was on leave, I made it a point to go. It was the first one I had ever attended.

I also stopped in at my office (civilian employer). I BS'd with my boss and co-workers. I gave them my tentative return date (July 12) and went to lunch with a friend of mine.

Over the weekend, I took my daughters up north to attend my niece's high school graduation. I wasn't feeling up to the trip, but I didn't want to disappoint her. My wife couldn't attend due to a previous commitment. The ceremony was nice (and short!).

Yesterday I took the kids to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. They had seen it before, but wanted to see it again. It was good. A bit darker than the first two (this one had a new director), but well worth a couple hours of your time, if you like Harry Potter movies.

Tomorrow, it looks like we're going to the beach. The rest of the week looks like it may be less hospitable, weatherwise.

I'll have to start getting caught up on the news in the near future. If I'm going to continue blogging, I'm going to need something interesting to say. If I just blog about my day-to-day life, I'll wind up boring myself. Life's too short to be bored.

THE TRIP
While well worth the effort, my journey home was far from snag-free.

LEG 1
I arrived at the airbase three hours prior to the rotator's (a plane chartered by the military to ferry troops into and out of the theater) scheduled departure. I was informed by the airman at the check-in desk that the "bag drag" for my flight was completed hours earlier and that the luggage was already loaded and all passengers had long since checked in. I was told that I probably wouldn't be able to take this flight. Rotators must be booked weeks in advance and commercial was out of the question (I was transporting a weapon). I was unhappy, to say the least. My transportation office never told me that I was supposed to be there six hours early.

The airman got his supervisor. Her response was about the same as his. I asked if there was anything she could do. She made some phone calls, talked the ground crew into loading my gear, and checked me in. Thinking outside the box and making things happen is the sign of a true professional. I hope that the powers-that-be at the passenger terminal at Al Udeid AB know how lucky they are to have MSgt Russell working for them.

I boarded the plane and found myself seated in a middle seat between two big guys. I'm not small myself, so the trip was less than comfortable.

LEG 2
We stopped in a European city to change flight crews. We landed, taxied to a stop and waited. And waited. And waited. I walked toward the front of the cabin to get some fresh air from the open door. I chatted with one of the flight attendents. He told me that we were waiting for the other crew to arrive. It seems that no one bothered to tell them that they were flying today. Eventually, they showed up. Then we waited some more. A flight attendent announced that we were waiting for ice to be delivered to the plane. Ice. We couldn't take off because there was no ice for the beverage service. BEVERAGE SERVICE!?!!?? IT'S ONLY AN HOUR AND CHANGE TO OUR NEXT STOP!!!! SCREW THE BEVERAGE SERVICE!!! KICK THE TIRES AND LIGHT THE FIRES; LET'S BLOW THIS BURG!!!! Since I was not the Captain of the aircraft, my advice went unheeded. I am not an airline pilot and I don't play one on TV. Hell, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. So we waited. The ice came. We took off. They served beverages. I had a Coke....with ice.

LEG 3
We arrived at Rein Mein AB in Germany. Some of the passengers were not continuing on. We had about an hour in the terminal before takeoff. I sat and watched the clock, occasionally looking out the window to admire the cloudy, rainy day (not many of those in the sand box). Having had an icy cold beverage on the plane, I decided not to seek further liquid refreshment during my layover.

We boarded the plane, along with new passengers flying Space-A (space available) back to the states. Many of them had children with them. I returned to my middle seat between two new guys. These guys were smaller, but hot and sweaty, nonetheless. I was hot and sweaty too, so I fit right in. Not comfortably, though.

Being seated near the bathroom, I got to see each child on the flight approximately forty times, figuring five trips per hour for an eight hour flight. Children seem to use the bathroom more than adults (I'm a dad, trust me on this). Traveling children need to use it even more. When you factor in the fact that bathroom has a folding door that you need to SLAM when you close it, you come up with a place that that sits midway between McDonalds Playland and Disney World on the average kid's fun-o-meter. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep on this leg of my trip.

LEG 4
I arrived at the airport in the US (we all cheered when it touched down on our native sod) tired, but happy. After an interminable period of baggage claim and Customs checking, I carted my gear to the ticket counter for my next flight. As it turns out, two of my bags were too heavy. Apparently the seventy pound per bag limit given to me by the military does not apply with Continental Airlines on domestic flights. I spent the next few minutes playing musical bags with my gear, trying to find the right mix.

Once checked in, I rushed to the security checkpoint so I could board in time. I got into line behind millions (ok, it was probably really only a couple hundred) of people to be screened by TSA personnel, who look suspiciously like the contract security personnel who used to do the screening, but with cooler uniforms. After I was thoroughly screened, I ran to my gate as my flight was already scheduled to be boarding.

When I arrived at the gate, I was told that the flight was delayed another hour. Another hour? How would I make my connecting flight?

LEG 5
My connecting flight was cancelled. Sorry, no more flights until tomorrow. WRONG ANSWER!!!!

LEG 4 (REDUX)
The lady at the Continental desk called around until she found a flight with another airline that had a connection to my final destination. She got me the last seat on the flight. She then graciously called to make sure my bags would be transferred. (Note to Continental: Brianna at BWI is top shelf). My new arrival time was now three hours later than originally scheduled. I called my wife to let her know when to pick me up.

The plane, a twin engine turboprop, arrived late. We boarded late and took off late. I had a window seat with no one in the seat next to me. There was no icy cold refreshing beverage, but a good flight nevertheless. As long as I didn't miss my connection, that is.

As we were landing at LaGuardia, my boarding time for the next flight came...and went. We taxied around the airport forever. OK, it wasn't really forever, but the taxiing did last as long as our flight.

LEG 5 (REDUX)
I got off the plane as my next flight was supposed to be taking off. I went to the desk at the gate and asked if I was too late. Nope. The plane wasn't even there yet. At last a delay that worked in my favor.

I boarded the plane (a puddle jumper, even smaller than the previous plane) and took my seat. We taxied out toward the runway. The pilot announced over the PA that there would be a delay, as we were sixteenth in line to take off. The cockpit door was open, allowing us to see out the aircraft's front window. Fifteen planes looks like a lot when they are all lined up in front of you. The line looked as long as the security checkpoint line I had gone through earlier.

Eventually it was our turn. The pilots wound up the rubber bands as tight as they would go and released the propellers. We took off and headed north. An hour later, we touched down.

My wife and oldest daughter were there to meet me. Our youngest was at a sleepover. We claimed my bags, which (surprisingly)arrived, undamaged no less. We hit the Wendy's drive through and got some homestyle chicken strips (with the southwestern sauce, of course). After eating, I hit the sack. In my own bed. It was all good.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
At 9:30 p.m. last night, which was about four hours late. It was a long and frustrating trip. More on that later. For now, it's just good to be home.

NET STUFF
I ran across the following tidbits while riding the cyber-surf:

Matt Drudge gives us this interesting look at our would-be first lady.

Michelle Malkin takes Paul Krugman to task over his recent column on AG Ashcroft.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out these pictures of a June 5th rally in (surprise! surprise!) San Francisco.

Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney is calling on Senator Kerry to resign while he pursues the presidency. "Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, a Republican, said Kerry has missed 64 percent of last year's roll call votes and 87 percent this year, including a vote on banning Internet child pornography."

David DeBatto has an excellent column in Defensewatch about what President Reagan meant to the military.

AUSTRALIAN SAS

A large group of Taliban soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand-dune.

"One Australian SAS soldier is better than ten Taliban".

The Taliban commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune whereupon a gun-battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes, then silence. The voice then calls out "One Australian SAS soldier is better than one hundred Taliban".

Furious, the Taliban commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence. The Australian voice calls out again "One Australian SAS soldier is better than one thousand Taliban".

The enraged Taliban Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannon, rocket and machine gun fire ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence. Eventually one wounded Taliban fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander, "Don't send any more men, it's a trap, ...there's actually two of them."

Seen at ozjokes.com.

HOMEWARD BOUND
My time here in Qatar is growing short. I will be picking up my tickets at the transportation office tomorrow. This time next week I will be home. I can't say it hasn't been interesting, but I'll be happy to be out of here. I miss my wife and kids more this time than I did last time I was mobilized.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this blog. I originally started it to document some of my experiences while deployed. I had volunteered for a job that would have taken me all over the region. When I arrived here, I was told that I was needed here in Qatar and would not be traveling. Since I wasn't going to be posting about my travels in Iraq or Afghanistan, I used this blog to comment on the various issues in the news that caught my attention. If nothing else, maintaining this blog gave me something to do in my spare time here.

I guess I'll wait until I'm home to decide what I'm going to do. Until then, I'll try to post again before I leave, time permitting.

SPEAKING OF THE MEDIA
I received this from a coworker via email yesterday:

CBS News Anchor Dan Rather, NPR Reporter Cokie Roberts, and a U.S. Marine were walking through the desert one day when they were captured by Iraqi insurgents.

They were tied up, led to the village and brought before the leader. The leader said, "I am familiar with your western custom of granting the condemned a last wish. Before we kill and dismember you, do you have any last requests?"

Dan Rather said, "Well, I'm a Texan, so I'd like one last bowlfull of hot, spicy chili."
The leader nodded to an underling who left and returned with the chili. Rather ate it all and said, "Now I can die content."

Cokie Roberts said, "I'm a reporter to the end. I want to take out my tape recorder and describe the scene here and what's about to happen. Maybe someday someone will hear it and know that I was on the job 'til the end."

The leader directed an aide to hand over the tape recorder, and Roberts dictated some comments. She then said, "Now I can die happy."

The leader turned and said, "And now, Mr. U.S. Marine, what is your final wish?"

"Kick me in the ass," said the Marine.

"What?" asked the leader. "Will you mock us in your last hour?"

"No, I'm not kidding. I want you to kick me in the ass," insisted the Marine.
So the leader shoved him into the open, and kicked him in the ass.

The Marine went sprawling, but rolled to his knees, pulled a 9-mm pistol from inside his cammies, and shot the leader dead. In the resulting confusion, he leapt to his pack, pulled out his M4 carbine, and sprayed the Iraqis with gunfire. In a flash, the Iraqis were dead or fleeing for their lives.

As the Marine was untying Rather and Roberts, they asked him, "Why didn't you just shoot them? Why did you ask them to kick you in the ass?"

"What!?" said the Marine, "And have you liberal jerks call ME the aggressor?"

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS MEDIA
I received an email from a friend who tipped me off to a story in the New York Post about the media coverage of the death of President Reagan. Apparently, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw think that the media has over-covered the story. According to Rather:

"There is other news, like the reality of Iraq," said the "CBS Evening News" anchor. "It got very short shrift this weekend."

I have to say, I do agree with Dan on that one. The problem is that when they do report the news from Iraq, they tend to miss the stories that don't show the administration in a bad light. It's no accident that the number of Americans who know who Lynndie England is dwarfs the number who know who Chief Wiggles is. England's story is more sordid than the Chief's, but there is no doubt that his efforts will have a more lasting effect on the Iraqi people than England's. Negative stories play better, and the Reagan story is one of optimism and triumph over adversity.

While the coverage of President Reagan's death may be a bit much, there is no denying that he had a major impact on America and that he is held in high regard by many. That may be the real point of contention for Dan & Co. I think Reagan's successes still bother them to no end. I don't recall hearing any such complaints about the wall to wall media coverage of the death of JFK Jr. I remember one of the cable networks showing the ship that buried his remains at sea going back and forth, back and forth for what seemed like forever. No comments from the media about that one. Kennedy was the son of a Democratic icon. Reagan was an icon of the "extra chromosome right wing".

My advice to the "big media" types out there is to just zip it and gut it out. This too shall pass. America will mourn the loss of a great man. Many will praise him and his achivements. Eventually, we will move on because that's what he would want us to do.

Then, Dan, Tom, Peter and friends can get back to reporting on Iraq. Heck, they may even give Chief Wiggles some more coverage. Unless, of course, more Lynndie England pictures turn up.

(Thanks to DS for the heads up on this story)

COMMENTS
I have added comments links to my blog. Actually, I did it last week using the template provided by Blogger, but it wasn't user friendly. Today, I switched to Haloscan. Haloscan, which seems to be very popular in the blogosphere, also has a trackback function.

WORTHWHILE STUFF

-Peggy Noonan pays tribute to President Reagan. She sums up the Reagan foreign policy quite nicely:

Ronald Reagan told the truth to a world made weary by lies. He believed truth was the only platform on which a better future could be built. He shocked the world when he called the Soviet Union "evil," because it was, and an "empire," because it was that, too. He never stopped bringing his message to the people of the world, to Europe and China and in the end the Soviet Union. And when it was over, the Berlin Wall had been turned into a million concrete souvenirs, and Soviet communism had fallen. But of course it didn't fall. It was pushed. By Mr. Know Nothing Cowboy Gunslinger Dimwit. All presidents should be so stupid.

Noonan is an excellent writer. She also knew (and worked for) President Reagan. Her column is worth a look.

-Michael Reagan pays tribute to his father.

-Michelle Malkin, one of my favorite columnists, has changed the look of her homepage and added a weblog.

-Thomas Sowell has an excellent column today examining the differences between doers and talkers. Doers are the people who are out there getting things done. They're the ones who are constantly under a microsope. The talkers are the ones looking through the microscopes. When you think of talkers, think of congressional hearings and the various commissions that are always competing for time on the cable news channels.

RONALD REAGAN, 1911-2004
In 1984, I did something I had never done before. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, I walked into a booth, closed the curtain behind me, and voted. The election that year wasn't just any election, it was a Presidential election. The first person I cast a vote for wasn't just any politician, he was the man who inspired my personal political philosophy. That man, Ronald W. Reagan, died over the weekend at the age of ninety-three.

I was only sixteen during the 1980 election, two years too young to vote. In spite of my age, I was a Reagan supporter, through and through. I was first exposed to Ronald Reagan's politics during his campaign for the Republican nomination in 1976 (that's right, I was already a political/news junkie at twelve). I remember being disappointed when President Ford, an honorable but uninspiring man, won the nomination that year. I just knew he would lose to Jimmy Carter. I took no satisfaction in being right about that.

In 1980, Reagan finally got his chance to run in the general election. He ran as a different kind of politician. He fought for his beliefs, but did not appear to have a combative nature. He was maligned by his detractors, alternately portrayed as an evil mastermind and as a kindly but clueless old man. In spite of the brickbats hurled his way, Ronald Reagan never responded in kind. He was always gracious. The man had class.

In an era of post-Watergate, post-Vietnam cynicism, Reagan was always the optimist. He saw America as a "shining city on a hill", while his opponent saw a land beset by a plague of "malaise". An unshakeable faith in the American people was the Reagan way. Ronald Reagan was proud to be an American. He made it o.k. for the rest of us to be proud again, too.

I am proud of my vote to reelect President Reagan in 1984. I am equally proud to have worn the uniform of my country's military during his tenure as Commander-in-Chief. There will never be any doubt in my mind that we won the cold war (and we did WIN, by the way) because of the policies of Ronald Reagan.

I will miss President Reagan, as will many Americans. I am saddened by his passing, but glad he was finally released from the hellish grip of an insidious disease that destroyed the keen political mind that he possessed.

If there is one thing I am certain of, we are a better country for having known Ronald Reagan. Goodbye, Mr. President. Thank you for being there for us.

LAST NIGHT
Last night was a good night. After an uneventful shift, I went with a couple of the guys to a neighboring base to shop in the exchange. Their exchange isn't that much better than ours, but they have different stuff. I needed to buy some souveniers to bring home. My wife likes shot glasses, and the other exchange has a better selection than the one on our base. I also needed T-shirts for the kids. Afterwards, we stopped at Pizza Hut for dinner and then brought a guy to the airport.

Once we got back to the base, a few of us went our for drinks. We hung out and drank our three beer limit (three more than you can get in much of this part of the world). A few of the folks were playing cards, a couple guys were smoking cigars, and our supply NCO was playing his guitar (he's pretty damned good, too). I heard several guys who were on R&R from Iraq discussing how good it felt to be outside without helmets on. When midnight came, the MP's came and sent us on our way, as they do every night. Not an exciting night by "back in the world" standards, but pretty good for the Middle East.

I walked back to my room and turned on the TV. One of the news stations was doing a biography of former President Reagan. I had read a report earlier in the day on Drudge's site that his health had taken a turn for the worse. As soon as I saw that report on TV, I knew that President Reagan had died. A sad end to an otherwise happy night.

D-DAY
Sixty years ago today, allied forces mounted the largest amphibious assault in military history. The Normandy invasion spelled the beginning of the end of Hitler's reign of terror in Europe. In addition to the massive assault from the English channel, thousands of paratroopers were dropped behind the German defenses. The drop was done in darkness. A number of paratroopers were injured in the drop. There was no medevac for those who needed it. Units were scattered over wide areas. Many an officer or NCO could not find all of his troops after the drop.

In addition to amphibous assault craft and parachutes, gliders were used to move troops and equipment into Normandy. Of the gliders launched for the invasion, less than half landed intact. The glider and airborne assault tied down the German reserves, preventing them from reinforcing the coastal defense during the allied amphibious assault.

According to a story on the FOX News website, the number of troops killed in the invasion is still unclear.

Bodies disintegrated under bombs and shells. Soldiers drowned and disappeared. Company clerks who tallied casualties were killed. Records were lost.

The final number is estimated at between 2,500 and 5,000 killed on D-Day.

I watched Saving Private Ryan on AFN earlier this week. I find the ending of the movie to be particularly touching. A much older James Ryan visits the grave of a fallen comrade with his family. He asks his wife if he has lived a good life, if he is a good man. Ryan hopes he has been worthy of the sacrifices made by others so that he could live. This scene is a metaphor for all Americans, of our obligation to be worthy of the sacrifices made by others for our freedom.

ANOTHER GREAT QUOTE
"…if you are going to use military force, then you ought to use overwhelming military force. Use too much and deliberately use too much… you’ll save lives, not only your own, but the enemy's too."

Gen. Curtis E. LeMay

I often wonder how General LeMay's philosophy of war would pan out in our war on terror. I know that it wouldn't be too well received by the hand-wringers among us. Curtis E. LeMay was a controversial figure in his day. He was the first commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). He is said to be the inspiration for the war-mongoring "Buck" Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. LeMay believed that the only way to ensure victory was to destroy the enemy's ability to make war. This was the philosophy of the day during World War II.

Large bombing raids were mounted against the enemy with the goal being to inflict massive damage not only on his military, but on his industrial capability as well. In the process, massive civilian casualties (what we call "collateral damage" today) were inflicted. Massive losses were also incurred on our part as well. In a single bombing raid mounted on the German cities of Regensberg and Schweinfurt, over six hundred men and sixty aircraft were lost. That day, October 14, 1943, went down in history as Black Thursday. General LeMay was later quoted as saying "What other method in modern warfare could be used to destroy that much of the enemy's war effort with the loss of 600 men?" A harsh attitude, to be sure, but one that was right for the times.

While I'm not advocating the carpet bombing of Iraq and Afghanistan, there may come a time when we have to return to the "total war" philosophy of WW II. Will we have the will to do it? I honestly don't know. If our country's future depends on it, I hope so.

MUST READING
H. N. OShannasey is the pen name of an active duty Marine Corps officer. In her latest column on Defense Watch, she takes a hard look at how our news media is serving us. One important issue she addresses is the "public's right to know."

Is it my right to gawk at a distraught father and son embracing on their front lawn, upon hearing the news of a brutally executed family member? Is it my right to watch Iraqi people desecrate the bodies of slain American contractors? Is it my right to stand next to a Marine sniper on a rooftop, breathing down his neck, analyzing his every move? Should I really be playing judge and jury to the actions of every service member in the heat of combat while I sit on my couch glued to the television?

This is something that first occurred to me during the OJ Simpson trial. Defense attorneys and the news media were picking apart every action of the police and declaring every discrepancy proof of a frame-up. Could anyone survive extreme scrutiny of their every move with their reputation intact? Not likely. Come to think of it, the media hasn't fared too well under scrutiny either.

You can read the rest of this excellent column here.

MORE GOOD STUFF
No reading list would be complete without at least one Michelle Malkin column. Today I have three.

-The ambulances-for-terrorists scandal exposes a tactic that is becoming more common, especially in Iraq. You wouldn't know it by reading this bit of "journalism" by the BBC.

-This column looks at Islamic extremists behind bars.

-Breeding Terror looks at the spread of Islamic extremism in America's prison system. Scary stuff.

FOX News is reporting that the Army is going to implement the stop loss program for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Someone needs to go to DC and tell those political types that we need the same size Army we had in the 80's. We don't need more stop losses, we don't need the draft, and we don't need to keep all of the reserves on active duty indefinitely. We need a bigger Army, and it's going to cost more than what we've been spending. It's time to admit that the Peace Dividend was a bust. We got conned into blowing our money on the fiscal equivalent of junk bonds. Lesson learned (?).

MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone. With the war on terrorism underway, the day took on special meaning to many. The dedication of the World War II Memorial also served to give special meaning to the day.

Since I had Monday off, I decided to go out on Sunday night and drink a few beers (three or less, according to base regulation) with some of my fellow troops. The conversation turned to the subject of Memorial Day and to the WW II Memorial. The question arose as to why it took so long (nearly 60 years) to erect a monument to the crowning achievement of the greatest generation. America's WW II veterans played the decisive role in defeating the spread of tyranny. Why did it take so long? I thought about this for a bit and the answer I came up with is this:

The veterans of World War II are a humble lot. Considering what they accomplished and the obstacles that they overcame to accomplish it, they have every right to bask in the glory that comes with such an achievement. In spite of this, they aren't prone to bragging. I've known a number of WW II vets. While I never met one who wouldn't answer any questions put to him by an inquisitive (sometimes annoyingly so, I'm sure) young man, none of the vets I knew would bring up the subject on his own. To these guys, the war is something that they just had to do, a job that needed to be done. Forty years ago, it probably wouldn't have occurred to any WW II vets that they needed a memorial.

As time has moved on, we've begun to lose the members of this generation to whom we owe so much. Too many of our young people aren't familiar with what these veterans did and don't understand the debt we owe them. It is high time that we have a monument to these great Americans. In the end though, the true monument to our World War II veterans isn't the structure in Washington that was dedicated last weekend. The United States is the true monument to these great Americans; our strength, our prosperity, and our freedom. Without their courage and sacrifices, we wouldn't be the country we are today.

MORE EVIDENCE OF THAT WHICH DOES NOT EXIST
While checking the Drudge Report this morning, I saw a reference to a story concerning a link between Al-Qaida and Iraq. I Figured that this was the same story that I referenced in my last post,but I clicked the link anyway. As it turns out I was wrong. Not only was it a different story, it covered an entirely different angle to the Iraq-AQ connection. The story (featured on the Weekly Standard website), was written by Stephen F. Hayes, author of the The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein has Endangered America.

The article concerns the discovery made by Christopher Carney, a political science professor from Pennsylvania. While doing research at the Pentagon in February of 2004, Carney discovered that Ahmed Hikmat Shakir was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Fedayeen Saddam, Iraq's most feared security service. He recognized the name as being the same as that of an Iraqi that was present at an Al Qaida planning meeting in Malaysia in January of 2000. Many in the intelligence community believe that this meeting was when the 9/11 attacks were planned.

The article provides some compelling evidence that Lieutenant Colonel Shakir is the same Ahmed Hikmat Shakir that attended the AQ meeting in Malaysia in 2000.

The thing I found most interesting about the article was how it demonstrated a change in the "conventional wisdom" about AQ's connection with Iraq prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

From Newsweek on 1/11/99:

Saddam Hussein, who has a long record of supporting terrorism, is trying to rebuild his intelligence network overseas--assets that would allow him to establish a terrorism network. U.S. sources say he is reaching out to Islamic terrorists, including some who may be linked to Osama bin Laden, the wealthy Saudi exile accused of masterminding the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa last summer.

From ABC News on 1/15/99:

Intelligence sources say bin Laden's long relationship with the Iraqis began as he helped Sudan's fundamentalist government in their efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction. . . . ABC News has learned that in December, an Iraqi intelligence chief named Faruq Hijazi, now Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, made a secret trip to Afghanistan to meet with bin Laden. Three intelligence agencies tell ABC News they cannot be certain what was discussed, but almost certainly, they say, bin Laden has been told he would be welcome in Baghdad.

From NPR:

Iraq's contacts with bin Laden go back some years, to at least 1994, when, according to one U.S. government source, Hijazi met him when bin Laden lived in Sudan. According to Cannistraro, Iraq invited bin Laden to live in Baghdad to be nearer to potential targets of terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. . . . Some experts believe bin Laden might be tempted to live in Iraq because of his reported desire to obtain chemical or biological weapons. CIA Director George Tenet referred to that in recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee when he said bin Laden was planning additional attacks on American targets.

According to the indictment of bin Laden following the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa:

Al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.

Even former terrorism advisor Richard Clarke appears to have changed his tune:

Five months later, the same Richard Clarke who would one day claim that there was "absolutely no evidence that Iraq was supporting al Qaeda, ever," told the Washington Post that the U.S. government was "sure" that Iraq was behind the production of the chemical weapons precursor at the al Shifa plant. "Clarke said U.S. intelligence does not know how much of the substance was produced at al Shifa or what happened to it," wrote Post reporter Vernon Loeb, in an article published January 23, 1999. "But he said that intelligence exists linking bin Laden to al Shifa's current and past operators, the Iraqi nerve gas experts, and the National Islamic Front in Sudan."

I don't expect the news media to be two steps ahead of the CIA, but don't they even read their own archives? They should. Apparently, so should we.

WELL COLOR ME SURPRISED!
Smash posted today that ABC News is reporting a link between Al Qaida and the Hussein regime in Iraq. According to ABC, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi appears to be the link.

During the 1990s, Zarqawi trained under bin Laden in Afghanistan. After the fall of the Taliban, he fled to northwestern Iraq and worked with poisons for use in potential attacks, officials say.

There's the link between Zarqawi and Al Qaida.

In late 2002, officials say, Zarqawi began establishing sleeper cells in Baghdad and acquiring weapons from Iraqi intelligence officials.

And there's the link to Saddam and Iraq. Probably just a coincidence, right? After all, there is no link between Al Qaida and Iraq. European experts have said there isn't, and they're never wrong, are they?

IRAQ AND TERRORISM-PART 2
While reading a post on Dr. David Yeagley's site recently, I came across a name I wasn't familiar with. Jayna Davis is a reporter who covered the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. Ms. Davis uncovered a number of items that are not widely known:

-A truck fitting the description of the one sought by the FBI as the getaway vehicle was seen parked outside the office of a property management firm several days before the bombing. The company's owner was a Palestinian with suspected ties to the PLO.
-Six months before the bombing, the Palestinian hired several ex-Iraqi soldiers to do maintenance work.
-According to witnesses, these men were absent from work the day that Timothy McVeigh rented the truck that was used to carry the bomb.
-While following up on the Iraqis, Davis became aware of another ex-Iraqi soldier named Hussain Hashem Al-Hussaini.
-Two independent eyewitnesses claim to have seen Al-Hussaini drinking with McVeigh in an Oklahoma City nightculb four days before the bombing.
-Davis discovered that Al-Hussaini bore a striking resemblence to the composite sketch of the man dubbed "John Doe No. 2".
-Witnesses saw several of Al-Hussaini's associates with McVeigh and Terry Nichols on several different occasions at a motel in Oklahoma City.
-The owner of the motel saw McVeigh drive off in a Ryder truck with Al-Hussaini after McVeigh turned in a room key at the motel office. This occurred on April 19, 1995, the day of the bombing.
-Terry Nichols, who was by no means rich, made several trips to the Philippines in the 1990's.
-Nichols was in Cebu City in the Philippines in 1994 at the same time as 1993 WTC bomber Ramzi Yousef.

That is almost too many "coincidences" for me. The next two, however, really threw me for a loop.

-The motel that McVeigh, Nichols, and Al-Hussaini were seen at was later visited by Zacharias Moussaoui and 9/11 hijackers Mohammed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehi.
-Hussain Hashem Al-Hussaini later found employment at Logan Airport in Boston, where two of the hijacked flights took off from on 9/11.

Although I consider myself well informed, I was not familiar with much of this information until recently. I had read reports that Abu Sayyaf member Edwin Angeles had claimed to have met with McVeigh and Nichols in the Philippines. He also told of a meeting between Nichols and Ramzi Yousef in the Philippines. A year and a half before the 1996 election, President Clinton decided to pin the blame on his harshest critic, talk radio. Some looney ultra right wing "militia types" were brainwashed into doing it by hatemongoring radio hosts on AM stations. Convict the guilty parties (and I have no doubt that Mcveigh and Nichols were guilty), and "put it all behind us." No costly war raging during an election year meant an easy coast to victory in 1996. You gotta hand it to President Clinton, he wasn't much of a Commander-in-Chief, but he was one helluva politician.

For more information, check out Jayna Davis' website.

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ITEMS OF INTEREST

Mayor Daley in Chicago took John Kerry to task for his comment about President Bush's bicycle accident. (Credit: Drudge)

As of 2:15 p.m. EDT Google News is listing eleven stories about the Kerry comment.

Fred Barnes has a suggestion for Al Franken if he plans on investigating any more Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.

THE ENDLESS WAR
Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu, a former US Army Special Forces officer, wrote an excellent column that was featured in Front Page Magazine today. This column really lays out how essential it is that we win this war:

If we blanch in Iraq, back down before the horror of a helpless American citizen having his head severed and waved menacingly into a camera, then expect that the terror will ratchet up to new levels of severity. We know that the only thing that has prevented an attack with a dirty bomb, chemical, biological or possibly nuclear weapons is the fact that we have been relentlessly on the offense against the terrorists. If they are running, they cannot mount a strong attack.

This is an excellent column that I highly recommend, written by someone with more than a passing familiarity with the subject at hand. Lt. Col. Cucullu also has his own website where his columns are posted.


ANOTHER GOOD READ
Nonie Darwish, an Arab woman who grew up in Egypt gives us a glimpse into the Arab mindset. Americans tend to go through life assuming that everyone thinks along the same lines. Multiculturalists, in particular, seem to do this a lot. According to Ms. Darwish, the big push by leftists in the United States for President Bush to apologize for the abuse at Abu Ghraib really wasn't that good an idea.

To expect Arab and Moslem leadership to apologize for the barbaric murder of Nick Berg is a reflection of the West's naïve and wrong expectations of Arab culture. In the Arab world to take responsibility and say sorry is taken as an unmanly sign of weakness that may get a person into more trouble. Those who admit guilt, even if it is accidental, are given no mercy and may end up taking all the blame and being brutally punished. It is the norm for Arabs to deny a fact (however blatant) and blame others rather than admit to the wrongdoing and apologize. Honesty is not rewarded.

This column is must reading if you want to understand who it is we are at war with. Sales of the Koran went up dramatically after 9/11 as Americans tried to gain an understanding of those who attacked us. A true understanding requires context. This column provides some context.

HOT AIR FROM HILLARY
In a fundraising email to potential Democratic donors to the Kerry campaign, the New York Senator from Washongton, DC/Arkansas/Illinois took some shots at President Bush. Hillary Rodham (Clinton) wrote:

"If they get their way, you and I will be living in an America governed not by our hopes, but by our fears," Clinton wrote. "We'll be living in an America where we see our freedoms diminished when they ought to be embraced, our rights restricted when they ought to be strengthened."

Governing by fear? Who was it that created a "crisis" every time they needed to pass part of their political agenda? First we had the healthcare crisis, then the childcare crisis, the school lunch crisis, and so on. "Get behind us, or Newt Gingrich will kick granny out of the nursing home and steal junior's lunch money." Hillary knows all about governing by fear. She and her husband wrote the book on it.

And how about "seeing our freedoms diminished"? Wasn't it the Clinton administration that tried to violate the rights of the residents of federally funded housing projects by giving federal agents carte blanche to search them?

Hillary touched on another subject in the email with which she is intimately familiar:

"The Bush-Cheney campaign has blown $70 million on negative ads, but it is still tied in the polls with John Kerry," Clinton added.

Negative campaigning? How much of the Chinese government's money did the Clinton election and reelection campaigns spend on the services of professional dirt digger Terry Lenzner?

Senator Clinton must not have a high regard for the IQ/attention span of the electorate for her to feel so comfortable with such blatant hypocrisy.

REQUIRED READING FOR THE DAY
President Bush suffered minor injuries in a bicycle accident last weekend. Wannabe President John Kerry commented about the accident in front of media members (and cameras). "Did the training wheels fall off?" Kerry asked. Mildly amusing, but somewhat inappropriate for a presidential candidate when commenting on his opponent. It would seem that many in the media agree. Curiously, a search of Google News at 11 a.m. EDT showed only 5 stories posted about the remark. Three of the stories were on "right wing" news sites: National Review Online, The Washington Times, and Worldnet Daily. So much for the public's right to know.

In a continuation of the left's fixation on their heyday (1960s to the 1970s), Carl Bernstein, of Watergate fame, compares President Bush to Richard Nixon.

Madonna has cancelled some concerts scheduled in Israel due to death threats against her and her children. Baldilocks has an interesting take on the situation.

Smash attended another anti-war rally in San Diego. He overcame the temptation to buy a copy of The Socialist Worker.

A soldier recently convicted of desertion turns out to be the son of a prominent leftist.

Tammy Bruce puts the Abu Ghraib scandal in perspective.

FOOLS
In my life I've had to deal with more than my share of fools (haven't we all). Dealing with them is never easy. In fact it's often frustrating. I've found that it helps if you know what you're up against. Fools aren't all the same. While the little details may vary, I've found that fools fall into three categories:

1. THE IGNORANT
The people in this category don't have a clue. They just don't know better. This type of foolishness can be erased with education. With patience and a little effort, you can cure ignorance. Remember, we've all been ignorant from time to time.

2. THE STUPID
Like the ignorant, these folks don't have a clue. The difference is that they wouldn't know what to do with one if they had it. You can try educating them, but if they just aren't getting it, you need to know when to give it up. No use beating your head against a wall (it'll leave a mark, trust me).

3. THE WILLFULLY STUPID
The people in this group are the most frustrating fools of all. They don't have a clue. Furthermore, they don't want one. These are the people who plug their ears and sing loudly so as not to let any information in that may contradict their preconceived notions. These fools are the most dangerous of all. They aren't innately stupid, and they aren't completely ignorant. They're willing to learn everything they can to support their belief system. Contradictory information is dismissed, usually with an attack on the source of that information ("Oh they're biased." Yeah? Look who's talkin'). These people are over-represented in certain occupations, especially entertainers, activists, and career politicians. The willfully stupid are especially susceptible to wacky conspiracy theories. If you encounter one of the willfully stupid, just stay calm and walk slowly away. If you encounter a large group of them, run like hell. If one of them ever offers you a drink, whatever you do, don't drink it!!! Especially if it's Kool-Aid.

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
We've had some really strong winds here for the last couple of days. Yesterday, the sand was blowing everywhere. Visibility got so bad for a while, it reminded me of a snowstorm back home. There's nothing like that gritty feeling of sand in your teeth. The wierd part is the temperature. At home, when it's really windy, it's usually on the chilly side too. High winds and 100 degree heat just don't seem like they go together.

READING ASSIGNMENT
The following items make for some interesting reading (Study them thoroughly, you'll be tested on this material):

-Robert Spencer has an excellent article on what we're up against in the war on terrorism, and it's not just about 9/11.

-Joel Mowbray examines the media's conduct in covering the war in Iraq.

-Greyhawk examines the Orwellian turn that modern American politics have taken.

-The always-brilliant Michelle Malkin takes a look at political correctness and customer service.

-Christopher Hitchens takes a look at Seymour Hersh's Abu Ghraib "expose".

-Chief Wiggles, an Army interrogator who served in Iraq, writes an open letter to the media. Apparently, Tony Snow at Fox News has taken the Chief up on his offer.

-Kate, at the Roadkill Diaries, spills the beans about the vast right wing conspiracy.

NEW YORKER "FACT"
According to Setmour Hersh of the New Yorker magazine has written an "expose" about the Abu Ghraib scandal that asserts that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld approved of the abuse of detainees at the prison. The media have (predictably) lapped up the story. Joel Mowbray has written an excellent column that pokes a few holes in Hersh's theory, and in his "foil hat."

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE
It looks like I'll be leaving here on schedule. I was worried that I might get held in place waiting for a replacement, but apparently all the pieces have fallen into place so that won't be a problem. Not that things here are that bad, I'll just be happy to be back with my family.

Life here in Qatar isn't too uncomfortable, especially when compared to what it's like for the folks in Iraq and Afghanistan. We live in metal cargo containers called cormaxes. There are two people assigned to each cormax. We have electricty, AC, TV's and such. We also sleep on real beds, rather than cots (the mattresses are harder than granite, but it could be worse). The cormaxes are lined up and stacked inside a warehouse, making it look like some kind of indoor trailer park. The AC works almost too well. I've had to use a thinsulate-lined sleeping bag as a blanket on more than one occasion. It's definitely preferable to being too hot, though.

When I started exploring deployment opportunities, I tried to go to Iraq or Afghanistan, but the military (in its infinite wisdom) sent me here. One thing I have learned in my military career is that you have a say in whether you serve, but not in where or how. Those details are left to the powers that be in personnel. At least I've had a chance to play a part in the war on terrorism.

NICHOLAS BERG
The Nicholas Berg story is a tragic one, one of many in this war (and in this life). I watched the video of his murder on the internet with some of my team members. Needless to say, it was grisly. When Dan Pearl was murdered, I didn't make an effort to find the video that was posted on line. I saw no value in it. This situation was different. I think being in the Middle East is what made the difference. I wanted to see what it is we're up against. These guys are animals. Their excuses about payback for Abu Ghraib are bogus. They are just trying to scare us away. Berg's musder is nothing more than a barbaric PSYOP.

I have seen Berg's father on the news blaming President Bush and SecDef Rumsfeld for his son's death. Being a parent, I can understand his grief. There is nothing more horrifying to a parent than the thought of losing a child. Last year, one of the officers in my reserve unit lost his teenage son to a senseless accident. I went to the wake and it was a heartbreaking experience. I can understand Mr. Berg's pain, but he is off the mark in his accusations. After reading this article I found out how he got so far off the mark. It was Abu Musab al Zarqawi and his fellow terrorist thugs who bear responsibility for the death of Nicholas Berg, and no one else.

The media, as usual seemed to have missed the mark on this story too. Thomas Sowell, one of the smartest people around (smarter than Al Franken and Michael Moore combined), wrote an excellent column about how the media have conducted themselves as of late. If you aren't familiar with Dr. Sowell's work, you should be.

A FAVORITE QUOTE
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

John Stuart Mill

THE SAGA CONTINUES (AND GETS MORE BIZARRE)
In an interview with a Colorado TV station, accused Abu Ghraib abuser PFC Lynndie England claims that she was just following the orders of those above her in her chain of command. The 21 year old soldier failed to specify which one of her superiors gave her the order to engage in the bahavior documented in the now infamous photos from the Iraqi prison. "I was told to stand here, point thumbs up, look at the camera and take the picture" England said.

The story has now taken another strange twist with the revelation that England appeared in numerous photos that have not been released. The NY Post is reporting that some of the photos showed England "engaged in graphic sex acts with other soldiers in front of Iraqi prisoners, Pentagon officials told NBC Nightly News." According to one lawmaker who saw the photos, "she was having sex with numerous partners. It appeared to be consensual."

It will be interesting to see how England, her attorney, and her family attempt to spin this latest revelation. Was England just following orders when these pictures were taken? Who was giving all of these (obviously) illegal orders? If such orders were given, England and her co-defendants need to name names. Mysterious someones just won't do in a military court.

There is little doubt that the chain of command failed these soldiers. This does not mitigate the fact that the soldiers who committed the abuses at Abu Ghraib failed us. And furthermore, they failed themselves as well.

SERVING THE PUBLIC
According to an article by Joel Mowbray, Daniel Dow, a service member who had just returned from Kosovo, wrote a letter to his congressman expressing his displeasure over the congressman's "NO" vote on a resolution "supporting the troops in Iraq, but also condemning the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and calling for a full investigation." The congressman, Fortney "Pete" Stark was one of only 50 congressmen to vote against the resolution. Imagine Dow's surprise when he returned home later that same day to find message from Mr. Stark on his answering machine. Stark's message was less than polite and included the following comment:

“Probably somebody put you up to this, and I’m not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in the letter and somebody wrote it for you. So I don’t pay too much attention to it.”

You can read Dow's letter and hear Stark's message here. While it's commendable that Stark responded so quickly to a letter from a constituent, the response is utterly ridiculous. This guy's blatant arrogance is unbelieveable, even for a politician. I think the voters in the 13th district need to know what kind of man is representing them.

IRAQ AND TERRORISM
“Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with terrorism.” Ever heard that one? I have. It is a statement of monumental ignorance of the modern history of international terrorism. Hussein had been providing a safe haven and material support to terrorists for two decades before September 11, 2001. Did Iraq play a role in the 9/11 attacks? In my opinion, the jury is still out on that one. Many have stated emphatically that there is no connection. I’m not so sure. One thing is for certain, Saddam Hussein was a terrorist enabler. Want proof? We got proof. The following links should help you out in your next argument with a member of the “the war in Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terrorism” crowd.

Back in the 1980’s, Abu Ibrahim and members of his May 15 terrorist organization lived in and operated from Iraq. This group was responsible for planting bombs on several American airliners in the early 1980’s. Adnan Awad, a member of the group was dispatched to Europe with a bomb he was to use to blow up a hotel owned by Jews. Awad could not bring himself to carry out the bombing and turned himself in to police. This is well documented in a book by investigative journalist Steven Emerson. The book details the extent of support given by the Iraqi government to the terrorists.
-A good site outlining Abu Ibrahim’s activities and support from Iraq can be found here.
-Emerson’s book is out of print. Used editions can be purchased from Amazon.

Notorious terrorist Abu Nidal (a/k/a Sabri al-Banna) was residing in Libya until he was kicked out in 1998. He relocated to Iraq, where he lived until his death in 2002.
-This site and this site have good info on the ANO.
-Here is a VOA editorial written in 1999 (during the Clinton administration) about Abu Nidal and Iraq

Abu Abbas headed a terrorist organization that hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. The hijackers shot killed an elderly American man in a wheelchair. They dumped him and his wheelchair overboard.
-Here is a news story about the capture of Abbas in (believe it or not) Iraq in the spring of 2003.

The Salman Pak training area was reportedly used to train terrorists.
-This site has an overview of the installation.
-This one features a PBS Frontline interview with a former Iraqi special operations officer who worked at the camp. Interestingly enough, the officer made the following statement:
“I assure you, this operation was conducted by people who were trained by Saddam. And I'm going to keep assuring the world this is what happened. Osama bin Laden has no such capabilities. Why? Because this kind of attacks must be, and has to be, organized by a capable state, such as Iraq; a state where they can provide high level of training, and they can provide high level of intelligence to do such training. How could Osama bin Laden -- who's hiding in the middle of nowhere in Afghanistan in small caves and valleys -- train people and gather information and send people to do such high-level operation? We all know this is a high-level operation. This cannot be done by a person who does not even own a plane in Afghanistan, who cannot offer such training in Afghanistan. This is definitely done by a mastermind like Saddam…”

For those who insist on a 9/11 connection in order for the war to be justified, while definitive proof of such a link has not been provided yet, Iraq expert and former Clinton administration official Laurie Mylroie has an interesting take on the possible connection.
-A Middle east Intelligence Bulletin article by Mylroie asserting a connection between the 1993 WTC bombing and Iraq.
-Another article (written in 1995) linking Iraq to the 1993 WTC bombing.
-A National Review Online article she wrote about the threat Hussein posed to the US.
-A Frontpage Magazine interview with Mylroie about Hussein’s possible 9/11 connection.
-Mylroie’s reply to Richard Clarke.

“Sure Saddam was a vicious thug who brutalized his people, but he posed no threat to the US.” Yeah, sure. Ya gotta minute? I have some beautiful oceanfront land in Nebraska I’m selling.

IT'S OFFICIAL
I have been accepted into the Milblogs webring. I feel priviliged to be in such excellent company. Thanks to Greyhawk for allowing me to "enlist" in his unit. Click on the link to the left and check out some of these excellent weblogs. Milbloggers were my first introduction to blogging. In fact, the first blog I ever read belongs to a member of the milblog ring.

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE
It appears that Kevin is returning to Iraq soon. He is maintaining a positive attitude about it, like any good soldier would.

Greyhawk has an excellent timeline about the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq. He also has a good recap of Bill O'Reilly's interview with investigative reporter Seymour Hersh about the scandal.

Baldilocks explores an "Evil Right-Wing Fantasy".

Blackfive has a "rant" about JFK (the copy, not the original) and the controversy over his medals...er ribbons...um decorations...oh whatever. You know what I mean, just check it out.

AP has a story on Donald Rumsfeld's testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The story includes the revelation that there are videos of the abuse as well.

I'm hoping those videos don't wind up on television and the internet like the photos did. I think things are already inflamed more than enough.

HEATING UP
It's starting to get hot here. It has broken 100 degrees F every day this week. I'm told it'll get a lot worse when summer arrives. I ordered flowers for my wife and my mother for Mother's Day. Thank God for FTD. I'm scheduled to have Saturday off. Hopefully, I can get into town. I need to buy some genuine Arab-world type souveniers while I'm here.

I've been trying to keep up with the news back home. Thankfully, access to the internet makes that easier for me. Some of the following items caught my attention:

-Michelle Malkin wrote an excellent column about the demonization of talk radio hosts by apologists for the Islamic extremists. She hits the nail right on the head (as always). These guys have done the same thing to Daniel Pipes and Steven Emerson, two of the country's leading experts on Islamic extremism.

-Dick Morris thinks that former President Clinton is trying to sabotage John Kerry's run for the Presidency.

-Over 200 Navy and Coast Guard veterans have come out against John Kerry's run for White House, claiming that he is unfit for office. Many of these vets signed an open letter to him calling on the Senator to fully account for his war record.

-The doctor who treated Kerry for one of the in juries that he was awarded a Purple Heart for speaks out.

-A shameless anti-war cartoonist drew a tasteless cartoon about Pat Tillman.

That last one really made my blood boil. It's amazing how the purveyors of compassion can be so mean-spirited. They can't be satisfied with just making an argument for their beliefs. They have to demonize those who dare to disagree. Now even bloggers are finding themselves in the crosshairs. LT Smash and Glenn Reynolds have been declared guilty of McCarthyism for pointing out some of the more vicious things being said by members of the anti-war crowd. McCarthyism is the Left's H-bomb. It won't be too long before most people in the US don't know about old Tail Gunner Joe. I guess they'd better get all the mileage out of him they can while there's still time.

MORE FALLOUT
The fallout continues from the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq. The news media is going to beat this story to death, especially the Arab media. Al Jazeera has covered the story extensively. The Daily Mirror has run a story that implicates British soldiers in the abuse of prisoners as well. The former commander of the British unit that has been implicated denies that the pictures are real. This controversy will set the war effort back, but it is not yet clear by how much.

In my discussions with service members here in Qatar, there is universal agreement that the troops who committed these acts were clearly in the wrong and that failures on the part of the chain of command (and there were some serious failures) do not excuse the actions of the soldiers involved.

The spin machine has already started trying to pass the buck. The MP's blame their commanders, the commanders blame intelligence personnel, the intelligence personnel put it back on the MP's. In the end, there is probably enough blame to go around. Still, I see images like this and wonder how even the most inexperienced soldier could mistake this for professional behavior.