:Reasonable Force

This WorldTribune story could be read to suggest that the risk of al Qaeda obtaining WMD is actually higher now than before the toppling of Saddam’s regime.

However, while this Russian official dismisses the contacts that we know occurred between Hussein’s government and Osama’s group, his fears of weapons falling into the hands of terrorists now operating in Iraq make it quite clear that he believes the weapons were there and may remain.

“It is obvious that Iraq has really become attractive to all kinds of terrorists, and Al Qaida feels quite comfortable in Iraq,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuriy Fedotov said. “Therefore, the threat that components and materials, which possibly remain in Iraq, can find their way into the hands of international terrorists, is quite high.”

Of course, for me the question of WMD is a closed one and not, in any event, the sole justification for the war. The possibility of terrorists getting their hands on some would seem to remain high, however, and I can only wonder how long it will be before they are used and where.

(hat tip: Drudge)

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If you haven’t seen it yet, please go to Hugh Hewitt’s site to read this open letter from a Marine to al Zarqawi.

Here’s a teaser:

I see that you have captured a U. S. Marine, and that you plan to cut off his head if your demands are not met. Big mistake. Before you carry out your threat I suggest you read up on Marine Corps history. The Japanese tried the same thing on Makin Island and in a few other places during World War Two, and came to regret it. Go ahead and read about what then happened to the mighty Imperial Army on Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. They paid full price for what they did, and you will too.

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Having heard about the new Army Combat Uniform (replacing the Battle Dress Uniform) on the radio last night I commented to my wife on what I viewed as a big problem with it. The news cited an increased use of velcro, to which my immediate response was, “Memo to the Army: VELCRO MAKES NOISE! HELLO!?”

Upon relating this to my oh-so-clever wife, she replied, “Don’t you think they’ve thought of that?”

I commenced to explain exasperatedly, drawing from my wealth of knowledge of matters tactical gleaned from four years of training as a Light Infantryman, that when on a combat patrol it is essential to maintain noise discipline. As I condescendingly put it, “Honey, noise will get you killed.”

And, of course, I was right about that. But she was right about the uniform.

Turns out “they” really were smarter than I was giving them credit for, as the velcro is primarily used for affixing name, rank, insignia and skill badges to the uniform while the pockets (my primary concern) have been moved around to allow greater access when used with body armor and have replaced the old buttons with zippers.

I hate it when she’s right!

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Had to post this article. These are my boys and I am exceedingly proud of their service in this war.

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Army News Service, June 14, 2004) — Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai visited Fort Drum June 8 to thank Soldiers for their role in ousting the Taliban regime.

Karzai, who was in the U.S. to attend the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit in Georgia and to meet with President George W. Bush, became the first foreign head of state to visit Fort Drum since the 10th Mountain Division’s reactivation in 1985.

The president’s remarks from the article are included below.

“I am pleased to begin my visit to the United States by meeting the men and women who are at the forefront of the war on terrorism. On behalf of the Afghan people, I thank those of you who have served in Afghanistan. With your help, we have reclaimed our country from terror and oppression.”

He expressed his “deepest gratitude” to all Soldiers, especially those who were killed in Afghanistan.

“We, the people of Afghanistan, mourn them as we mourn our own,” Karzai said.

“I would like to take a moment to pay a special tribute to the brave men of the 10th Mountain Division who gave their lives in Afghanistan, and to their families I say my deepest sympathy and gratitude: Chad Fuller, Adam Thomas, Evan O’Neill, Phillip Albert, Shawn Clemens, Robert Cook, Justin Scott, Benjamin Gilman, Nicholes Golding, Anthony Lagman and Michael Esposito.”

Spc. Tomiwa DaSilva, A Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, served with O’Neill in Afghanistan. He was among a group of Soldiers to whom Karzai spoke.

DaSilva said he was moved when Karzai honored by name the Soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

“Last week I went to see Pfc. O’Neill’s father,” DaSilva said. “Now I can tell his father that people do appreciate what we did over there.”

10th Mountain Division Soldiers were among the first on the ground in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon.

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When George W. Bush was campaigning I recall hearing that Laura ‘supported her husband’ in his positions on abortion, but that she held slightly more liberal views on the subject (If she enumerated those differences I can’t recall, and I doubt she ever did so).

It was encouraging, therefore, to see her publicly decline to join Nancy Reagan’s call to lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, saying that, “we have to be really careful between what we want to do for science and what we should do ethically.”

That quote is from a Reuters article that also notes that Mrs. Bush’s own father was a victim of Alzheimer’s, having died of the disease in 1997.

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Though I have nothing substantive to add to the abundance of material in memory of this remarkable man it just didn’t feel right to let the day end without mentioning his passing.

In Memoriam

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I have been pondering in the last few days the role of information and national morale in determining the outcome of military conflicts. I’ve noted several times the type of coverage the war receives and linked to others who explain the effect that it has on the nation. As Victor Hanson’s recent article, The New Defeatism, warns:

These depressing times really are much like the late 1960s, when only a few dared to plead that Hue and Tet were not abject defeats, but rare examples of American courage and skill. But now as then, the louder voice of defeatism smothers all reason, all perspective, all sense of balance — and so the war is not assessed in terms of five years but rather by the last five hours of ignorant punditry. Shame on us all.

It is particularly striking to contrast present-day reporting with news reports and broadcasts during the Great War, the heroes of which we currently commemorate, in which the national morale was bolstered with accounts of our victories and tales of the heroism of our frontline servicemen.

Aside from their combat prowess, which is awesome on all levels, our soldiers are doing a lot of good things that have been lost in endless Abu Ghraib coverage. If you haven’t been looking for such news, for example, you would never hear of this water purification project for an Iraqi village.

It’s my considered opinion that we need, that the nation needs, this kind of news and that our military needs for us to have it as well. We can’t force the privately owned media to provide it (though we can pressure their editors and program directors), so it seems to me that the Defense Department ought to go into the cable news channel business. Let’s get the good news straight from the horse’s mouth and tell Brokaw, Jennings, et al. to take a powder.

Now, some might call this nothing more than propaganda, but folks, wake up. That’s what we’re getting now, only it’s not the kind of propaganda that’s conducive to winning a war. In fact it strongly resembles the kind of propaganda our troops were treated to by the likes of Hanoi Jane in Vietnam. In short, we’re getting the enemy’s propaganda from our own press and for no more pure reason than that they favor the candidate from the opposing political party as our Commander-in-Chief.

Vietnam and Somalia, just to name two, testified amply to the fact that public opinion is a vital component in any modern military effort. That being the case, it behooves the Department of Defense to provide a source of information to the general public that can be counted on for more than just the latest acontextual U.S. body count or a lurid focus on missteps rather than the overwhelming positives that most Americans will never hear.

Somebody get me Rummy on the phone.

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Ann weighs in on liberal rewrites of pre-Iraq War history in her latest. It’s all good stuff, but I was prompted to link it because of the bit about Al Gore in the last paragraph:

The good news is: Liberals’ anti-war hysteria seems to have run its course. I base this conclusion on Al Gore’s lunatic anti-war speech last week. Gore always comes out swinging just as an issue is about to go south. He’s the stereotypical white guy always clapping on the wrong beat. Gore switched from being a pro-defense Democrat to a lefty peacenik – just before the 9-11 attack. He grew a beard – just in time for an attack on the nation by fundamentalist Muslims. He endorsed Howard Dean – just as the orange-capped Deaniacs were punching themselves out. Gore even went out and got really fat – just before America officially gave up carbs. This guy is always leaping into the mosh pit at the precise moment the crowd parts. Mark my words: Now that good old Al has come lunging in, the anti-war movement is dead. (emphasis mine)

I’m skeptical of her conclusion, but that one-liner created a mental image that is going to have me smiling all day.

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Along comes a bit of Euro-liberal nuttiness to prove you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A Swedish aid organization will roll out a new line of defense to the country’s emergency services next week — the condom ambulance.

From Friday, June 4, amorous couples can call the telephone number 696969 and a white van featuring a large red condom with wings as a logo will deliver them a packet of 10 prophylactics.

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