Master Sergeant Robert (Bob) Horrigan

While I was cat-sitting for my sister and her new husband while they were honeymooning in Cancun, I caught part of a local 10 o'clock newscast. It was the night of Veterans' Day, which is why they were doing the story.

A local man, Daniel Horrigan, lost his brother, MSG Robert Horrigan, in Iraq. When he died in Al Qaim on June 17, 2005, he was serving with Headquarters and Headquarters, United States Army Special Operations Command. Danny is building a memorial wall for the Fallen from the State of Texas in his yard here in Sunset Valley in Austin (view the news report here). He also carves figures of soldiers (not sure if they are "portraits" or not) and gives them to families of the Fallen. He expects to have his memorial wall completed by Veterans' Day 2010.

Daniel isn't the only one who remembers. An organization, Operation Honor Our Heroes, was inspired by MSG Horrigan. They tell his story:

Robert had completed three tours in Afghanistan and was completing his fifth and final tour in Iraq. Robert died in Al Qaim, Iraq, on June 17, 2005 with his comrades beside him after receiving mortal wounds during an early morning raid on known enemies of the United States. He was “the best of the best” serving his country while protecting everyone’s right to life and liberty. Every man dies, but not every man lives. Robert truly lived --- for family, for nation, and for the guys next to him. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved turkey and deer hunting, as well as fishing. He was an accomplished Bladesmith and his knives are cherished by many throughout the world. Robert was planning on retiring to Texas with his family after this deployment.

He also left behind family, including a wife, a daughter and his mother. He was had also earned many awards and decorations, including a Bronze Star with V device and an oak leaf cluster.

Phil Taylor, of the American Fallen Soldiers Project, has painted a portrait of Robert. This portrait was sponsored by Michael Rater of Frisco, TX. I highly recommend taking the time to watch the 12-minute documentary (at the link) about Robert and the portrait. Judging by what his family had to say, it wasn't just their loss when Robert was killed, but for all of us, as well. Where do we find such men?

"The Way We Get By"

About three and a half weeks ago, I learned of The Way We Get By while listening to the weekly YouServed BlogTalkRadio show. It was mentioned that the film would be making its World Premier at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin.

I checked the screening schedule and found out when and where it would screen. There would be a screening on March 15, March 16 and March 19. I preference was to attend the Monday screening at noon. Then, I emailed an old friend of mine that I was aware had some knowledge of how the film fest worked.

With my changing work schedule, I was able to have today off, and I called the theater last night to see when I might be able to purchase a ticket. Tickets go on sale 15 minutes before the screenings, but people who have purchased a badge for SXSW have first priority. My pockets aren't that deep, so I was going to have to take my chances.

I got to the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar about 11:40am. I had a good feeling when I didn't see a big line waiting to get in. I parked my car and walked up to the front doors. I approached a couple of people who were holding the door open, asking if I could purchase a ticket for The Way We Get By. She pointed me inside to a lady behind the counter. I paid my $10 and was directed where to go.

Alamo Drafthouse is one of those rare movie theaters where they serve food and drinks to the patrons. Since I hadn't had any breakfast and neglected to grab one of my protein bars before heading out the door, I perused the menu for something to tide me over until the end of the movie, wrote down my order, and a waitress came to pick it up.

Then, the movie started. The Way We Get By is a documentary. It follows three retired persons who also happen to act as Troop Greeters at the airport in Bangor, Maine. Bangor is the main pass-through point for troops headed to and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter what time of day or night, no matter the weather, there is a group of people out there to greet the deplaning troops, offering handshakes, hugs, free cellphone usage and snacks.

Bill Knight is a widower World War II veteran. Joan Gaudet is a widowed mother of eight grown children (one of her sons, Aron, is the director of this film), grandmother of many, and even great-grandmother to a few. Jerry Mundy, "not as lean, not as mean, but still a Marine", is also dealing with what aging brings. He is alone now, having lost his son many years ago, quite unexpectedly, at the age of 10. These three people find purpose in greeting our troops.

This film is very powerful. It will make you laugh out loud. It will make you cry. It will make you think: if given the opportunity, would I make myself available, on short notice, at any time of night or day, to drop everything to go do what they do? It will make you think: what kind of legacy will I leave behind? have I made a difference in anyone's life?


The Way We Get By - Trailer from The Way We Get By on Vimeo.

The Way We Get By is entered in the Documentary Feature Competition at SXSW. The award ceremony is to take place Tuesday, March 17 at 8pm. Good luck to Aron Gaudet, Gita Pullapilly, Dan Ferrigan and the rest of the crew in this competition.

Aron, Gita and Dan participated in a Q&A after the screening today. Since much of what they shared was follow-up on what has happened since the filming ended, and even after the project was completed, I won't spoil the film by sharing. They did say, however, that they were focusing on screenings at film festivals, and were looking to have screenings at US military bases, and to have it broadcast on PBS in November, along with releasing a DVD, around Veterans Day. I did approach them at the end of the Q&A to let them know I'd heard about the movie through YouServed. Gita said she loves the t-shirt she got from CJ ;-)

If you have an opportunity to see this film, I would highly recommend it.

Update:

The Way We Get By did win an award. If I am deciphering the announcement page correctly, for Feature Film Jury Awards, in the Documentary Feature category, it was recognized with a Special Jury Award. I can't find anything that explains exactly what that means, but not all of the documentaries were recognized (it appears there were two other awards for documentaries). Very cool, and congratulations to Aron, Gita and crew!

Today is V-I Day

Image courtesy Zombietime

From Zombietime:

We won. The Iraq War is over.

I declare November 22, 2008 to be "Victory in Iraq Day." (Hereafter known as "VI Day.")

By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won.

What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It's not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That's really not gonna happen. A declaration of victory by the media? Please. Don't make me laugh. A concession of surrender by what few remaining insurgents remain in hiding? Forget about it.

The moment has come to acknowledge the obvious. To overtly declare a fact that has already been true for quite some time now. Let me repeat:

WE WON THE WAR IN IRAQ

And since there will never be a ticker-tape parade down Fifth Avenue in New York for our troops, it's up to us, the people, to arrange a virtual ticker-tape parade. An online victory celebration. Saturday, November 22, 2008 is the day of that celebration: Victory in Iraq Day.

Read it all.

"...the larger truth..."

Yesterday before I left for the ballgame, I was in the kitchen and picked up the sports section my dad had left on the table - I wanted to skim through the article about the Texas baseball team. When I did so, a large (9x7) negative of the infamous image of the hooded Abu Ghraib prisoner jumped out on the front of the "Insight" section of the Sunday Austin American-Statesman.

In a piece titled "Seen, Unseen", Statesman staff writer Jody Seaborn writes about a new film by Errol Morris, Standard Operating Procedure. Morris is a documentary filmmaker who also blogs about photography for the New York Times. This movie, which apparently opens here in Austin (and elsewhere?) on Friday, "seeks to determine whether the abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib were merely the work of a few 'bad apples', as the military and the Bush administration publicly maintained, or the result of policies sanctioned and encouraged by civilian and military leaders."

I would hardly call the article "objective journalism," even for an editorial piece (not when the sub-head reads "For filmmaker Errol Morris, the Abu Ghraib photos concealed as much as they revealed, and helped cover up the larger truth."):

For two years, Morris interviewed soldiers, interrogators and investigators, and examined letters, depositions, memos, and military and government reports to find the larger truth behind the infamous photos of abuse at Abu Ghraib. As he writes in his director's statement for the film, "The story of Abu Ghraib is still shrouded in moral ambiguity, but it is clear what happened there."

And what happened, Morris says, is that the seven military police soldiers convicted of abuses at Abu Ghraib — Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick, Sgt. Javal Davis, Cpl. Charles Graner, Spc. Sabrina Harman, Spc. Megan Ambuhl, Spc. Jeremy Sivits and Pfc. Lynndie England — were doing what they thought their superiors wanted done.

...

In investigating Abu Ghraib, Morris collected more material than one movie can possibly hold. An excellent companion book, also titled "Standard Operating Procedure" and written by New Yorker staff writer Philip Gourevitch, uses the information that Morris gathered to further explore the story of Abu Ghraib. "There was no excuse" for Abu Ghraib, Gourevitch writes, "and there was nothing to show for it either, no great score of useful intelligence, no ends to justify the means. Nobody has ever even bothered to pretend otherwise. The horror ... was entirely gratuitous."

I won't excuse what those soldiers did. But one thing is sure - as Michael Yon explains in Moment of Truth in Iraq - we lost the moral high-ground because of Abu Ghraib, and that likely cost us the lives of countless American service men and women.

I have a problem with is Morris' conclusion, which it seems Seaborn accepts without question (Seaborn helpfully includes an "About Abu Ghraib" "fact list", as well as "additional information" pointing the reader to an article from Morris and Gourevitch in a March issue of The New Yorker, Morris' recent essay (on his NYT blog) about the photo of SPC Harman grinning over the body of a prisoner who it was later determined had been killed during CIA interrogation, Salon.com's "archive of 279 photographs and 19 videos from Abu Ghraib" and another documentary, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, that how these soldiers behaved is what was expected of American soldiers in Iraq:

The story of Abu Ghraib feels incomplete. We have a few so-called bad apples who were punished, but the officials responsible for the box where these apples rotted remain unpunished. It's an unsatisfying ending.

I don't know what the ending is yet. The ending is yet to be written by America and by Americans.

I've been asked, I don't know how many times, what about the smoking gun? Have you found the smoking gun?

What's the smoking gun supposed to be?

Well, I used to joke about it. I would say, what do you think you're going to find? Are you going to find the video conference call where Donald Rumsfeld tells Chuck Graner: "You ever think of piling them in a pyramid?" I don't think that exists!

But I think there are hundreds of smoking guns that we've seen. They're all around us. They're everywhere. How many torture memos does an administration have to promulgate before you get the idea that they're promulgating torture? How much stuff do you need to see?

Every time that we somehow just leave things be and accept the fact that lowly soldiers take the fall and the big shots run away and never are confronted by what they've done, I think we all lose, ultimately. It affects us all. And not for the good.

I just cannot accept that premise. I've known too many people in the military who would NEVER accept that as SOP. It just bothers me that others want to keep Abu Ghraib front and center, implying all our soldiers and Marines would do something like this without questioning the legality of these "orders". No mention is made in the article in regard to the fact that the military was already investigating what happened at Abu Ghraib prior to it becoming a headlining story for newspapers and TV news programs. Just as "Morris explores in Zoom [ed. - his NYT blog] - that it is necessary to understand what a photograph doesn't show us to understand what it does", there is more to the Abu Ghraib story that is shared in his "documentary".

Baghdad Angler's Club & School of Fly Fishing

From UK Times reporter Deborah Haynes:

Standing by a blown up bridge with Blackhawk helicopters buzzing overhead, the American soldier casts his fishing line into the lake surrounding a former palace of Saddam Hussein just outside Baghdad and waits for something to bite.

Warrant Officer Leslie “Scott” Henry is part of a unique group of fishermen and women that meets every Sunday and on odd days of the week to take a break from the toils of war with their rod and an array of bait.

“It’s a chance to relax and get away from everything else that’s going on out here,” said the 45-year-old, who deals with aviation safety for US military aircraft in Iraq when he is not trying to hook an asp or a bass.

“You’ve got to stay ahead of the fish. You’ve got to be innovative,” Warrant Officer Henry told The Times as he tried out a new form of bait – strips of scrunched up bacon from the canteen, stuffed with cream cheese.

Situated on a sprawling military base next to Baghdad airport, the al-Faw Palace is one of several grand, marble buildings ringed by man-made lakes that have been occupied by American troops since the invasion five years ago.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of fish live in these expanses of water, inspiring several soldiers to drop their guns and pick up a rod.

They formed the Baghdad Angler’s Club and School of Fly Fishing, which has its own Web site – www.baghdadflyfishing.com – displaying shots of men and at least one woman posing with fish of various sizes and shapes.

Last February, the group even helped to organise a tournament, dubbed Operation: Catch Fish, which attracted some 300 anglers. Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Carter grabbed top honours, reeling in a 14-pound carp.

"It's a great feeling," the amateur fisherman, who had competed in smaller contests back in the United States, said at the time. "I can't win one back home, but now I can say I came to Iraq and won a fishing tournament."

It's a good story about how our troops find ways to relax a bit so far from home. Go read the rest.

On hold...

When I recently finished reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, I went to B&N and bought Watership Down by Richard Adams, as several of the bloggers/commenters I read had highly recommended the book, especially its illustrations of leadership. I'm still early into that, but today, this arrived in the mail:


So, Watership Down will be placed on hold while I read Michael Yon's Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers Is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope. I expect it won't take long to get back to Watership Down and the writing will be just as edge-of-your-seat as his dispatches from the frontlines...

Update 4/9/08, 11:34pm:

Well, that didn't take too long - I finished it maybe 30-45 minutes ago... An excellent read, and I think the timing of the release of this book couldn't have been better. The message Yon leaves off with at the end just reinforces, in my opinion, what we heard from General Petraeus yesterday (I've not been able to follow up with today's testimony yet). I cannot more highly recommend this book. I've passed the book along to my father to read. It's baseball season, so in between grading papers, holding practice and being at games, I hope he gets to it soon!

The Daily Texan: Young vets recount deployments

Haole Wahine sent out an email with a link to an article in The Daily Texan, the student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, in which Knox Nunnally and Hunter "Doc" Hayes, both members of Vets for Freedom, were interviewed about their experiences in Iraq.

The stories law student Knox Nunnally and history and premed junior Hunter "Doc" Hayes tell about their deployment to Iraq are the stuff of this generation's history books.

Having just graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Nunnally was in basic training on Sept. 11, 2001. Hayes had enlisted in the U.S. Navy just days before.

"When 9/11 occurred, a switch got flipped and all of us and our instructors realized that instead of just training for maybe going on a cruise to South America or whatever, we were training for the war," Nunnally said.

Go read the whole thing.

This is also apparently "the second part in a series of stories on students who are serving or have served in Iraq." The first, Student recalls stint in Iraq definitely has a different flavor than the one I've highlighted.

Villainous Company: Hope, Realism and the Obama Doctrine

I am so very glad Cassandra decided to start blogging again. I am no longer denied her astute insights and great writing. Today, she posted something that should be read widely:

In today's borderless world, some want to resurrect an isolationist stance which became obsolete as soon as international air travel, telephony and the internet erased the barriers that separate America from the rest of the world. We can no longer afford that pipe dream: the very people who argue most vigorously in favor of it are the ones who refuse to allow us to protect ourselves from outside aggressors via electronic surveillance, profiling, aggressive law enforcement, and military intervention. They believe it a legitimate function of the media to publish classified documents, including the vulnerabilities of Marine body armor. And yet, oxymoronically, they argue we can somehow protect ourselves from the outside world while not giving up any of our freedoms.

Barack Obama has said he would not hesitate to go into Pakistan, even against the will of its government, after al Qaeda. What reaction, precisely, does he expect from a sovereign state when it is militarily invaded by a foreign power?

Passive acceptance? What reaction does he expect from the most radical Islamist elements within Pakistan? Would this not give them all the excuse they need to stage a coup and topple a government which at present cooperates with us, if not to the extent we desire?

And if military intervention in Iraq was unrealistic, what bizarre realism governs the Obama Doctrine's refusal to distinguish between military intervention where there is at least a demonstrable American security interest and situations (like Darfur) where there is none? Who in Darfur ever tried to assassinate a former U.S. President? Who in Darfur ever gave shelter to the architect of a World Trade Center bombing? Darfur doesn't fund terrorist organizations worldwide. America hasn't paid tens of thousands of dollars for decades to man a no-fly zone over Darfur. Darfur has no history of using weapons of mass destruction - several times - on its own people and on neighboring states:

Saddam launched more than 350 chemical weapon attacks across the border. Iraq has since admitted using 1,800 tonnes of mustard gas and 740 tonnes of the highly toxic nerve agents sarin and tabun. It was the worst use of mustard gas since the First World War and the first use of nerve agents. Iranian soldiers often had inadequate masks and little detection and decontamination equipment. Civilians had nothing.

Does Barack Obama see no moral problem with asking an all volunteer force to give their lives when there is no national security interest to protect?

Because this Marine wife damned well does. I believe in freedom and democracy promotion, but the United States cannot free the entire world single-handed. Where is the much-vaunted realism steely-eyed Progressives have been calling for now? It appears to be a function of political convenience.

Go read the whole thing.

Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour stops in Austin

When I found out the Heroes Tour would be passing through, I made myself unavailable to sub so I could go down to the Capitol to see the event. I would have liked to stay in bed this morning - technically yesterday morning; it's Good Friday and there's no school ;-), so I was just a smidge late walking up to the Capitol steps, but they hadn't gotten started yet, so I hadn't missed anything. It's a good thing I decided to take surface streets instead of messing with 35 or Mopac - then I'd have been late for sure! Anyhow, I wanted to introduce myself to Uncle Jimbo, and I knew he was going to be running a video camera. I found him easily enough. Guess it's a good thing he posts all those videos, else I would have had to ask all the different camera people "Are you Uncle Jimbo??" We didn't get to talk much, but it was nice to meet someone I read regularly in the blogosphere. Since I had a decent view standing behind the riser set up for all the video equipment, and it was in the shade, I stayed put during the event. I took a few pictures with my digital camera as each new speaker took to the podium, but I didn't take notes. I don't have specifics about what everyone said, and I'm just going from memory. Uncle Jimbo will be posting video as soon as he is able, but he might not include everything (one is linked below). It started with Pete Hegspeth.

He introduced David Bellavia, author of House to House: An Epic Memoir of War and nominee for the Medal of Honor. David speaks with passion and conviction about why we need to win The Long War.

One thing I hadn't known about Marcus Luttrell was that he is a Texan. He kept his remarks brief, knowing, he said, how Texans like it better that way. If you notice how he is standing in the photos above, he pretty much stood that way throughout, except for one instance I will discuss later...

One detail about Marcus I couldn't see until I was looking at my pictures: Take a look at the pin he is wearing on his jacket:

After Marcus Luttrell spoke, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson spoke. Mr. Patterson talked about Texas' history of taking care of her veterans, long before Texas was even a state, referring to a document granting land to Davy Crockett and/or his descendents, owing to his service to the Republic of Texas in the Texas Revolution, Davy Crockett's service having ended with his death at The Alamo on March 6, 1836. That tradition apparently continues, without the use of taxpayer dollars, allowing Texas veterans to access low interest loans for homes or land. Mr. Patterson also served in the Marine Corps during Vietnam.

The person who spoke next was Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas' 10th Congressional District. He is an ardent supporter of our troops and their mission. Towards the end of his remarks, he wanted to read something to the crowd. He wanted to read a passage from Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. As soon as he said that, I could see Marcus starting to fidget, as if he would prefer to be anywhere else at that moment instead of having to stand there as his own words were read aloud to a group of strangers. My thoughts on that? He is a little uncomfortable with people calling him a hero and he would just as soon not have special attention called to himself. After the event concluded, I mentioned this to Uncle Jimbo, and he'd noticed Marcus' reaction as well.

Governor Rick Perry spoke next. I also learned something new about him: he had served in the Air Force. He is also a strong supporter of our troops, but tends to do so out of the spotlight.

Once the Governor had concluded his remarks, the Texas VFF chairman Nunnally (I am not sure of his exact title) presented three Vets for Freedom Guardian Angel Awards to persons who do much in support of our troops. The first was a Texas State Representative (I can't recall his name) Mark Strama [ed. - thanks, again, Rejenia!], along with two of his staff, for their work in improving Texas veteran benefits, so that if the GI Bill will not cover all the costs of higher education, Texas veterans can access support from the state concurrently with the federal GI Bill funds. Next was General (ret) Leroy Sisco of the Military Warriors Support Foundation, an organization that helps wounded warriors through educational scholarships, job re-training and job placement, financial assistance and recreational programs (he noted he had 4 donated front row tickets to Friday night's Spurs game, tickets that cost $900 each, and those seats would be filled with 4 wounded warriors). I'm not sure who the last recipient was. Again, I can't recall the name, but I think she may be a Gold Star Mother. We'll see if UJ put up video of that presentation... The final recipient was Rejenia Anderson, a civilian member of VFF who assisted with the San Antonio and Austin stops of the National Heroes Tour. (Thanks, Rejenia, for the email!)




Another gentleman who had not previously spoken James Crabtree, Texas VFF Central Texas Vice Captain [ed. - again, thanks, Rejenia], offered short closing remarks. I suppose I could have joined in for the tour of the Capitol that was to follow, and maybe tried to speak with Pete, David or Marcus, but I would have felt like I was intruding. So, I hung back by the video riser and spoke to Jimbo a little more.


Blackfive commenter DeltaBravo came up to introduce herself once the event had concluded. We commented about the moonbat tendencies of Travis County, and I noted I was surprised no anti-war protesters had shown up. She said they probably didn't know about it... I'll have to find out if Jimbo got that lawn chair to sit out and enjoy the gorgeous spring day we had today or if he changed his mind about going home for the Easter break from the Heroes Tour. Then, it was back to the car and on to the Blanton Museum (it's free on Thursdays). I think that deserves a separate post, as I am hoping to get a bit of information on a particular piece that raised my blood pressure a little...

I cannot more highly recommend attending one of the public Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour events if they are coming to your area: the speakers are inspiring. Unfortunately, I was unable to take the time to drive up to Pfluggerville for the dedication of the Sgt. Norwood Memorial Post Office [ed. - Rejenia Anderson reports that the ceremony was very, very nice], or on to Killeen for the wreath-laying at the Central Texas State Veterans' Cemetery where 1LT Kile G. West is buried. I am glad I was able to hear for myself the words of Pete Hegspeth, David Bellavia and Marcus Luttrell.

Related:
Uncle Jimbo's video of Governor Rick Perry's remarks
Uncle Jimbo's YouTube channel: watch videos from stops along the Heroes Tour

Update 3/21/08 - Local news coverage:
Austin American-Statesman video report
Austin American-Statesman print report
Austin American-Statesman photo essay
Fox 7 News report
KVUE News report

So, far I've found nothing for KEYE (CBS affiliate), KXAN (NBC affiliate) or News 8 Austin (local cable news channel). And, I can't say the KVUE report was completely objective, refering to "growing anti-war sentiment" when in fact polls indicate anti-war sentiment is actually dropping...

Update 3/24/08 - A Soldier's Mind's reporting on the Fort Hood book signing event

Task Force Marne: Iskandariyah vocational school benefits residents

This will help Iraq become a peaceful, stable democracy.

From the Task Force Marne website:

The vocational school opened in 1972. Almost 500 students are currently enrolled.

“We are hoping in April to have 850 and in May more than 1,000,” Abbas said.

The end goal of the school is generating employment, said Lt. Col. Robert Bobinski, deputy team leader for the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

“That means sustainable employment, not part-time jobs; full-time jobs that pay money,” Bobinski said.

The short-term goal is to bring students from the Mahmudiyah Qada to the school to teach them skills. Mid-term is to provide opportunities for the students to hone skills, perhaps by on-the-job-training.

“Long-term, as demand for employees grows, we will work with the Government of Iraq to make more (vocational schools),” Bobinski said. That way, there will be a pipeline of trained employees with sustainable, marketable skills, he said.

A Gold Star Mother’s opinion on the Presidential Election

Posted with permission

March 2008

A Gold Star Mother’s opinion on the Presidential Election:

I am writing to you because I feel that we need to take more action to try and educate America on what the Operation Iraqi Freedom War is really about before people vote in the November election. I know everyone has their own opinion but this is mine.

I feel that if people understood all the circumstances surrounding this war maybe they would change their electoral vote and help the military make this world a better place. If the democrats win this election and withdraw the troops from Iraq then my son and all the other soldiers that have sacrificed their lives, died for nothing. If everyone took the time and really looked at all views of this war then maybe our armed forces could get more support so that they can do their jobs. People need to remember these soldiers volunteered and signed up to go to war because they believe in America and what it stands for. Without brave people like this in our world there is no telling where we would be right now.

My son Kile called me the first month of his deployment and asked me to get everyone that I know to gather up as many toys and school supplies that we could and send them to him. He said “Mom it is like trading a crayon for a bullet here and we need more crayons.” I was told by other soldiers that worked with Kile that handing out toys to the children was his favorite thing to do and that he always encouraged other soldiers to take toys out with them on their patrols. My son understood that it was the little children in Iraq that needed our help. The older children and the adults have already been convinced that America is bad. Those individuals are then convinced to fight, which makes it impossible to reason with them at this point. Kile knew that these little kids are the voice of Iraq’s future and they are witnessing firsthand the kindness of our soldiers and will remember the crayons and the support they were given by America. When these kids are old enough to go to school and the teachers try and tell them America is bad, they will know in their hearts that it is not so and they will be the ones that will make the difference for their country. It may take 20 -30 years but changing a culture takes time and if we give up on them now, these children will not ever have a chance to make their world a better place. My son also told me before he died that the sacrifice of a soldier is a much broader thing then anyone can imagine, it is not about the politics or President Bush, it is about people helping people that cannot help themselves, it is about understanding that no matter what color, race, or religion you are we are all the same. We need to remember the foundation of our existence; which is family, love and compassion. It is not about how much money you have or how big your house is because in the end these things do not matter, we are all family and we are all linked together in one way or another.

The death of a child is the worst nightmare that a parent could ever go through and I unfortunately had to be one of those parents. But the pride and the honor of who my son was and what he stood for and all that he accomplished, is what gets me through each day.

Whether you are a democrat or a republican, please take the time out to do your own research about this war. Talk to a soldier, get another view for your own knowledge before you vote, so that you can make a decision on who you want for president. Remember we do not live in a safe little bubble where no harm can be done to us. We have had war on our land before and we have had many lives lost to terrorist activity. If something happens again in America, who are you going to expect/demand to help you?

Please support our troops so that they can support your families.

Sincerely, Nanette West

Mother of 1LT Kile Grant West of the United States Army, who sacrificed his life on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007.

Update 3/8/08


One of Kile's favorite photos from Iraq, of him giving a toy to a little Iraqi girl, courtesy of Mrs. West.

Marine Corps News: Proactive PSF takes fight to enemy

Checking up on my favorite Major in the Marine Corps at Any Soldier, and see that he had emailed in a link to this article. Things are getting better in Iraq:

“The PSF immediately responded to the incident and requested our support,” said Sgt. Robert K. Breese, the Co. G watch officer during the attack. “The PSF battled and neutralized the insurgents, with the Marines providing security just in case (the firefight) turned bad.”

This incident shows how the Iraqis are no longer relying on the Marines to come in and eliminate threats; rather they are taking matters into their own hands, fending off enemies themselves, for the safety of their country.

“Golf (Company) showed tremendous discipline when they arrived, allowing the Iraqi police to finish what they started,” said Maj. Gary A. Bourland, the battalion watch officer at the time. “A year ago, the Marines would have shown up to a situation like this and immediately eliminated the enemy themselves. Now, it’s almost as if we look over their shoulders and, if necessary, take down the enemy.”

Task Force Marne: Coalition Forces save two Iraqi girls

From the Task Force Marne website, a story about the good our soldiers are doing in Iraq:

Klibbe, a 2nd Platoon team leader, had just dismounted his vehicle when he heard an explosion up the road.

Driven by his training and fueled by a desire to learn what happened and administer any help needed, he said he took off at a dead sprint toward the explosion site.

Accompanying Klibbe was platoon medic, Spc. Scott Wolfe, a native of Millbrae, Calif.

They arrived at the scene with other Soldiers from the unit and were met by a man cradling a little girl in his arms.

Hajer, conscious but wounded, was bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds.

A quick assessment by ‘Doc’ Wolfe, showed she had deep wounds to her stomach and shrapnel embedded in her torso and legs. The injuries were more than he could treat. He said the decision was made to evacuate her to Patrol Base Murray for more extensive care.

As the trucks rolled into position for ground evacuation, Hajer’s sister approached the Soldiers. Although she walked on her own, Nora sustained injuries. The most serious was a laceration across the right side of her head.

Nora was sent to PB Murray as well. They arrived by truck within four minutes.

US military doctors treated both girls, and Hajer, the more severely injured, is expected to "recover without any long-term disability."

Bill Whittle: Forty Second Boyd & The Big Picture

Bill Whittle has posted a new, two-part essay. I believe it is a Must Read.

From Forty Second Boyd & the Big Picture:

Whatever the action is, whether thrust or parry, Boyd realized that it is only here, in the fourth step – Observe-Orient-Decide-Act – that physical combat occurs. Being “a good stick” will help you here, yes. But Boyd’s breakthrough was to realize that there are three mental steps that precede the physical application of a warrior’s skill, and that these mental steps are not as important as the physical talent. They are far, far more important.

Observe.
Orient.
Decide.
Act.

Then Observe.
Orient.
Decide.
Act.

Then Observe…

It’s a cycle. It’s a loop. It’s called by its inelegant acronym: The OODA loop.

Now here’s what blew my mind, as I am sure it blew John Boyd’s mind on a level I can not and will never fully comprehend:

The winner of these battles is not necessarily the fellow who makes the best decisions. More often than not, it’s the guy who makes the fastest decisions.

Agility. Speed. Precision. Lethality. Fingerspitzengefuhl: fingertip control.

It seems counter-intuitive.

***

I do not know for certain, but I’d be willing to bet that today’s Pentagon is considerably less rigid than the one Boyd faced in the sixties and seventies. But it took three years of observing a steadily deteriorating situation on the ground in Iraq before a new orientation-decision-action was initiated. That’s way too much observation and way too slow a response. Obviously the political leadership bears a great deal of this responsibility as well. We can do better. These are our men and women out there.

***

Why is it that the fielded military can adopt Boyd’s concept of agility and maneuverability, but the political leadership remains absolutely blind to the fact that this battle may or may not be won on the streets of Baghdad and Fallujah and Ramadi, but it absolutely can be lost on the CBS Evening News? One would think the insurgents would need a multi-billion dollar, worldwide high-tech satellite network to spread their propaganda. But, being the generous people that we are, we have gallantly lent them ours.

***

General Petraeus – just perhaps – is in the process of winning such a victory in Iraq. By brilliant diplomacy, deep understanding of the culture and the judicious use of gunpowder and money, it appears he has severed most of the Sunni tribes from al Qaeda and used them as “Awakening” peacekeeping militias against their former allies. General Petraeus is not fighting the last war; he is fighting the next one. He did not arrive there and just hope for the best. He observed. He oriented. He decided. And he acted. And then he observed again to see what effect he had. And again. And again.

It might take a little while to read it all (to include a couple of video clips), but it is well worth your time to do so.

Too ironic...

H/T Instapundit

From Talking Points Memo:

Rep. Darrell Issa went on CSPAN's Washington Journal this morning and had this to say about the House oversight committee's investigation of Blackwater (via Atrios):

If Henry Waxman today wants to go to Iraq and do an investigation, Blackwater will be his support team. His protection team. Do you think he really wants to investigate directly?

They've got accompanying video.

Not sure what to think about this...

After logging out of my hotmail account a while ago, I saw a link titled Why We Need a Draft: A Marine’s Lament.

This opinion piece is written by one Marine Corporal Mark Finelli, who on 9/11 worked for Morgan Stanley at the World Trade Center. He thinks we need to have a draft like in WWII, not like the one during Vietnam. Not knowing my draft history, I don't know if he's accurate in stating that in WWII, the children of the elites couldn't avoid it as he perceives happened with the Vietnam draft. He thinks that if the children of the wealthy and the political elites were forced to serve, the military would be better funded.

According to the Pentagon, no service personnel have died in an MRAP. So why isn’t every Marine or soldier in Iraq riding in one? Simple economics. An MRAP costs five times more than even the most up-armored Humvee. People need a personal, vested, blood-or-money interest to maximize potential. That is why capitalism has trumped communism time and again, but it is also why private contractors in Iraq have MRAPs while Marines don’t. Because in actuality, America isn’t practicing the basic tenet of capitalism on the battlefield with an all-volunteer military, and won’t be until the reinstitution of the draft. Because until the wealthy have that vested interest, until it’s the sons of senators and the wealthy upper classes sitting in those trucks—it takes more than the McCain boy or the son of Sen. Jim Webb—the best gear won’t get paid for on an infantryman’s timetable. Eighteen months after the Marines first asked for the MRAP, it’s finally being delivered. Though not nearly at the rate that’s needed. By the end of the year, only 1,500 will have been delivered, less than half the 3,900 the Pentagon had initially promised.

He also seems to be saying the military is only getting the dregs of society, not the "best and brightest":

The real failure of this war, the mistake that has led to all the malaise of Operation Iraqi Freedom, was the failure to not reinstitute the draft on Sept. 12, 2001—something I certainly believed would happen after running down 61 flights of the South Tower, dodging the carnage as I made my way to the Hudson River [I worked at the World Trade Center as an investment adviser for Morgan Stanley at the time]. But President Bush was determined to keep the lives of nonuniformed America—the wealthiest Americans, like himself—uninterrupted by the war. Consequently, we have a severe talent deficiency in the military, which the draft would remedy immediately. While America’s bravest are in the military, America’s brightest are not. Allow me to build a squad of the five brightest students from MIT and Caltech and promise them patrols on the highways connecting Baghdad and Fallujah, and I’ll bet that in six months they could render IED’s about as effective as a “Just Say No” campaign at a Grateful Dead show.

Who says "the brightest" can only come from America's wealthy and elite? I just don't buy that. Kind of sounds like Kerry's "you'll get stuck in Iraq" "joke"...

I don't think he's looking at this quite right. During WWII, the vast majority of the American public supported the war effort. It was a war between nation-states between large armies and navies with tanks, artillery, ships and uniforms. Today's war is not against any nation-state, but the ideology of a death cult called radical Islam who don't have the large armies and navies with the tanks, artillery, ships and uniforms we have traditionally faced on the battlefield.

Today, far too many people do not believe there is anything truly worth fighting and dying for, or who do not believe we are really engaged in a war with persons who wish nothing but either our submission to their will or our utter destruction. I never considered joining the military, although I grew up as an Army brat. I never thought I had what it would take to do well in the military - it was not because I thought I was too good for it. Not everyone belongs in the military, and I really don't think we want people in the military who do not want to be there and don't really believe in what it is our military is asked to fight for, regardless of wanting to make everyone, including the elites of this nation, have a "blood-or-money interest" in this fight.

I know our military has been taxed by current military operations around the world, most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I also know I've heard that you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want. After the Cold War, some in power in the United States thought we would no longer need the military we had acquired during the conflict. Our military was cut drastically, and now we, or more accurately, our military and their families, are paying the price for that naïveté about future military needs and the nature of future military conflicts. Yes, we need to expand our military forces. Yes, we need to provide our military with the proper equipment and other resources. However, fixing these problems isn't going to happen overnight. It takes time to recruit and train new soldiers, sailors and Marines. I can only think we want those new recruits to actually want to be there - if they don't want to be there, are they going to do want needs to be done, or are they going to get their comrades in arms killed on the battlefield because they have been forced onto the battlefield instead of having arrived there willingly?

As for getting our military the funding that would be required to keep them properly outfitted, Washington has lots of competing interests for the tax dollars that are collected. How many say we already spend too much on the military? Look at the numbers, as a percentage of the federal budget. In 1956, we spent 57% of out federal budget on Defense. In 2006, it's just 19% of the budget, while Social Security and "other payments to individuals" (can we say "the welfare state"?) is now 59% of the budget. Just forcing the political elites' children into the military isn't going to have a drastic effect on the federal budget - politicians have too many constituencies to pay off with our tax dollars.

Bottom line, I can't agree with Cpl. Finelli's conclusion that a military draft will fix the problems with military funding, and I can't see that forcing someone who doesn't want to be in the military to do it anyway is going to get us "the brightest" in the service. Also, how big does he think our military needs to be? To have military service effect this nation's wealthy and elite and others who seem to be removed from any connection to the cost, in blood, of this war against radical Islam, I think we'd have a military far larger than what we truly need.

My letter to Rep. Doggett on his Yea vote on H.R. 2956

Representative Doggett,

I see that you voted in favor of defeat in Iraq today. So long as this is your position, you will not have my support in 2008.

What do you really think will happen if US forces leave Iraq before their government and its security forces are capable to defending themselves and the ordinary Iraqis who want nothing more than to live in peace and raise their families?

Bin Laden has said himself that Iraq is the main front in his jihad against the United States and the West. To leave before Iraq is capable of taking care of itself would to be to hand Al Qaeda a victory on a silver platter, and no one anywhere in the world would ever trust a promise made by America ever again. With your withdrawal deadline, you would confirm Bin Laden's belief that America is nothing but a Paper Tiger, a nation who does not have the stomach for a long war.

We are not losing the war militarily. We are losing the information war. American media report enemy propaganda as fact, yet they report our military's successes either begrudgingly or not at all. You need to listen to the commanders on the ground, not the latest polls. Just because something isn't popular doesn't make it wrong. Just because something is popular doesn't make it right.

Do the right thing. Support our troops by supporting their mission. Do not undermine them and make their job more difficult by sending a message to our enemies that all they have to do is wait us out. I do hope you will rethink your position and do the right thing - vote for Victory in Iraq, not assured defeat by setting arbitrary requirements and deadlines.

Sincerely,

Miss Ladybug

Be Not Afraid

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety, though you do not know the way.

You shall speak your words in foreign lands, and all will understand,
You shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid, I go before you always,
Come follow Me, and I shall give you rest.

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amidst the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.

If you stand before the pow’r of hell and death is at your side,
know that I am with you, through it all

Be not afraid, I go before you always,
Come follow Me, and I shall give you rest.

Blessed are your poor, for the Kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.

And if wicked men insult and hate you, all because of Me, blessed, blessed are you!

Be not afraid, I go before you always,
Come follow Me, and I shall give you rest.

I have always loved that hymn. Seems Mike Yon found some of those words on a prayer card on a base in Anbar Province. He is carrying that prayer with him into battle. Go read what he has to say. As always, it is well worth it...

An Important History Lesson: Why We Are in Iraq

I got an email from my oldest sister today. The content surprised me a little, because neither of my little sisters follow the news - they both say the news is too depressing. Anyway, the text of the email was from an essay written by Robert S. Kraft. I did a search on his name and found several sources I'll want to take a look at later. But, until I can take that time, I wanted to share what was in the email.

Why is it important?

Had Russia surrendered then, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire campaign against the Brits, then America, and the Nazis would have won the war.

I say this to illustrate that turning points in history are often dicey things. And we are at another one.

There is a very dangerous minority in Islam that either has, or wants and may soon have, the ability to deliver small nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, almost anywhere in the world, unless they are prevented from doing so.

The Jihadis, the militant Muslims, are basically Nazis in Kaffiyahs. They believe that Islam, a radically conservative (definitely not liberal!) form of Wahhabi Islam, should own and control the Middle East first, then Europe, then the world, and that all who do not bow to Allah should be killed, enslaved, or subjugated. They want to finish the Holocaust, destroy Israel, purge the world of Jews. This is what they say.

There is also a civil war raging in the Middle East, for the most part not a hot war, but a war of ideas. Islam is having its Inquisition and its Reformation today, but it is not yet known which will win ? the Inquisition or the Reformation.

If the Inquisition wins, then the Wahhabis, the Jihads, will control the Middle East, and the OPEC oil, and the US, European, and Asian economies, the techno industrial economies, will be at the mercy of OPEC, not an OPEC dominated by the well educated and rational Saudis of today, but an OPEC dominated by the Jihadis.

You want gas in your car? You want heating oil next winter? You want jobs? You want the dollar to be worth anything? You better hope the Jihad, the Muslim Inquisition, loses and the Islamic Reformation wins.

If the Reformation movement wins, that is, the moderate Muslims who believe that Islam can respect and tolerate other religions and live in peace with the rest of the world and move out of the 10th century and into the 21st, then the troubles in the Middle East will eventually fade away, and a moderate and prosperous Middle East will emerge.

We have to help the Reformation win, and to do that we have to fight the Inquisition, i.e., the Wahhabi movement, the Jihad, Al Qaeda, the Islamic terrorist movements. We have to do it somewhere. We cannot do it nowhere. And we cannot do it everywhere at once. We have created a focal point for the battle now at the time and place of our choosing, in Iraq.

The bottom line?

The real world is not like that. It is messy, uncertain, and sometimes bloody and ugly. Always has been, and probably always will be.

The bottom line here is that we will have to deal with Islamic terrorism until we defeat it, whenever that is. It will not go away on its own. It will not go away if we ignore it.

If the US can create a reasonably democratic and stable Iraq, then we have an "England" in the Middle East, a platform, from which we can work to help modernize and moderate the Middle East. The history of the world is the clash between the forces of relative civility and civilization, and the barbarians clamoring at the gates. The Iraq war is merely another battle in this ancient and never ending war. And now, for the first time ever, the barbarians are about to get nuclear weapons. Unless we prevent them! Or somebody does.

We have four options.

1. We can defeat the Jihad now, before it gets nuclear weapons.

2. We can fight the Jihad later, after it gets nuclear weapons (which may be as early as next year, if Iran's progress on nuclear weapons is what Iran claims it is).

3. We can surrender to the Jihad and accept its dominance in the Middle East, now, in Europe in the next few years or decades, and ultimately in America.

4. Or we can stand down now, and pick up the fight later when the Jihad is more widespread and better armed, perhaps after the Jihad has dominated France and Germany and maybe most of the rest of Europe. It will be more dangerous, more expensive, and much bloodier then.

Yes, the Jihadis say that they look forward to an Islamic America. If you oppose this war, I hope you like the idea that your children, or grandchildren, may live in an Islamic America under the Mullahs and the Sharia, an America that resembles Iran today.

We can be defeatist peace activists, as anti war types seem to be, and concede, surrender to the Jihad, or we can do whatever it takes to win this war against them.

The history of the world is the history of civilizational clashes, cultural clashes. All wars are about ideas, ideas about what society and civilization should be like, and the most determined always win.

Those who are willing to be the most ruthless always win. The pacifists always lose, because the anti-pacifists kill them.

Go read the whole thing.

A rare thing in Hollywood

Jon Voight supports our troops, the entire war against Islamic terrorists, and our President.

He gets his news from somewhere other than NBC, CBS, ABC, or CNN:

Q. So I imagine you're a supporter of the Patriot Act?

A. Yes, I'm a supporter of the Patriot Act. I support protecting us and investigating anyone who indicates they're going to be dangerous to our country. It's one of those things; it depends on which side you're on politically. If we had these things in place we could have anticipated 9/11. We're not interested in investigating someone who's doing something appropriate. We don't have time for that. That's nonsense. I certainly hope we're paying close attention to all those people crossing our borders who might be dangerous to us. We know for sure there are cells in the United States that are ready to erupt. We know that Hezbollah is here; we know there are cells from different terrorist organizations that are here and operational and that there are others waiting too. So listen, it's a serious business. It's wartime, guys. Because we don't have a continuous attack on our shores, we can get complacent. We've got to all be alert now, we've got to be a part of it and be supportive of our troops for sure.

H/T Michelle Malkin