D-Day,
Sixty-two years ago the patriarchs and leaders of our generation fell from the sky, exited landing crafts, glided into and assaulted in any manner imaginable the beaches of Normandy, France, an entire generation of children never to be born onto a society drained by the death and devastation of a world war.
Only a few stories this week. Due to this, one can deduce a few things: the insurgents are unable to acquire the necessary materials because of our efforts or the enemy is getting better at concealing it. If you pay attention to the news, the number of attacks by IEDs are declining. The number of small arms attacks are become more commonplace. This is good because we can action against small arms attacks. It's no secret where they come from. IEDs are planted by ghosts most of the time.
Personally, I think the insurgency is faltering. I can track that back to the day when Zarqawi released his video and we released the unedited version of the same video showing him to be the idiot he is. Unfortunately, all the progress we made is being rolled back because of this Haditha story. The terrorists are revelling in these accusations. As a matter of fact, they've found a new way to defeat us. The court of popular American opinion is a great battlefield on which they fight. I will not be surprised if more and more Iraqis suddenly appear with "gunshot wounds" to their heads. The victims will be women and children. They will mysteriously appear to coincide with military raids to give the impression that WE committed the attrocities. Don't get me wrong, if the Marines committed the ALLEGED acts of inhumanity, they need to be harshly dealt with.
This week saw the identification of more than 170 IEDs before they hit the streets. This equates to more than 1700 people kept safe from their devastating effects. Here's this week's IED Roll-Up:
May 30 - Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division reported that Iraqi Police officers found an arms cache near a local gas station. The cache contained six 120 mm rounds and a large amount of TNT, which was seized for later disposal. No injuries or damages were reported.
May 30 - Iraqi forces raided two targets in the Karada area of Baghdad and detained seven individuals responsible for improvised explosive device attacks against Iraqi Security Forces. The first target was a dormitory on the campus of the Baghdad Technical University where two student cells, operating out of dormitory rooms, built IEDs and later initiated attacks against Iraqi Army and Police forces. Iraqi forces detained four students on this target. On the second target, an apartment building near the campus, Iraqi forces detained three cell leaders responsible for emplacing IEDs made by their student cells. All three cell leaders are believed to be Palestinians and they were financed by a local business. This cell is responsible for at least two attacks against Iraqi security and police forces in the Karada area. The first attack, in December 2005, resulted in no casualties. The second attack, in January of this year, killed several Iraqi police officers riding in a vehicle. No Iraqi forces were killed or wounded during this operation.
May 31 - Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad's Troop A, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered a large weapons cache and ammunition aboard a wheat dump truck northwest of Baghdad May 30 at approximately 6 p.m. Soldiers had stopped the truck May 9 and discovered seven fuses, 15 mortar tips and wire commonly used in roadside bombs. However, it wasn't until May 30, while the unit was looking for additional evidence, that they found the weapons hidden under bags of wheat in the bed of the truck. The cache consisted of twenty-eight 107 mm Katusha rockets, 82 anti-personnel land mines, 43 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, one RPG launcher, two 60 mm mortar systems, one 81 mm mortar system, thirty 60 mm mortar rounds, 33 rocket-propellant sticks, and other bomb-making materials. The driver of the truck was detained May 9. Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, also discovered a weapon cache while conducting a cordon and search of buildings in western Baghdad May 31 at approximately 11 a.m. The cache consisted of four Russian-made bombs and three hand grenades.
May 31 - Iraqi Scouts raided a housing compound in Baghdad on May 31 and captured three insurgents who were members of an improvised explosive device cell. Scouts from the 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, assisted by Coalition force advisers, raided three separate objectives simultaneously in the Al Rasheed district in east central Baghdad . They captured three key members of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or VBIED cell operating in the Al Doura area of Baghdad . This cell is responsible for making VBIEDs and carrying out attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces. The Scouts also detained five other individuals and captured two AK-47 assault rifles and six magazines, or approximately 180 rounds of AK-47 ammunition. According to a senior Coalition force adviser, this mission was a success because it was executed so rapidly the Scouts were able to achieve complete surprise. No Iraqi forces, Coalition forces or civilians were killed or wounded during this operation.
A Soldier's Perspective
www.soldiersperspective.us
The naysayer’s of the world are running back into their “Oh my God, it’s the millennium caves” and hiding now that the date is about to turn, 666, June 06, 2006. The nexus of numerology and just plain, weird(ism) is about to come together once more, so let’s all run out to the surplus stores and stock up on MRE’s and what have you, don’t forget the shotgun shells to defend the family when the mutant’s are knocking on the door either.
Yes folks, it is the apocalypse once more, fire, brimstone, the devil, little horned dude with evil on his mind and everything else that we all have come to know and love all wrapped up in one date, 666. Gee, I wonder if all the computer’s will fail, airplanes fall from the sky, elevators sticking mid-floor and damn, this is nuts.
I guess we will all have to sit back, sip an iced tea and see what happens, bet you it will be like any other day though.
Canada is in the news, having thwarted a terrorist plot within their borders, but the news conference made me laugh. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in the finery were discussing the background of the arrests and showing the obvious Muslim suspects, and then describing them as coming from a broad range of society, I do not recall the exact wording, but it had me in stitches.
This morning, in a Reuter’s article, it was even better; here is a quote from the article,
“Aly Hindy, an imam at a Toronto mosque, said he knew most of the accused and believed one or two were involved in criminal acts but not terrorism-related.
"One guy was doing some criminal activity, selling guns for money. However, the problem is these days when a Muslim commits fraud, it becomes terrorism. When he commits stealing it becomes terrorism," he told reporters outside the courtroom.” I guess the Royal Canadian Mounted Police can simply forget about the bomb making equipment that was found at the scene along with all the evidence collected.
We have to stop and think about this, terrorism has a name and a face, the name is, al Qaeda, the face, at least for most Americans is that of bin Laden. We all are aware that al Qaeda is comprised of Muslims and yet people are so afraid of being called a racist’s bigot that they are afraid to call things exactly as they are, Muslim.
This is not a bigoted statement, on the contrary, when England was fighting the IRA, the world knew it was Irish, no one thought it was Arab, African, or any other nationality, Irish, so why is everyone afraid to say al Qaeda is Muslim other then being afraid of calling this a crusade, when it is not, it is war.
The world needs a wake-up call, I have been saying that for a long time now and it never changes, just keeps spinning.
Michelle Malkin has an article regarding a slanderous, outright lie in a UK Times's report from
It is evident the media has begun their typical, “if it is in the news then it is the truth” lie, smear campaign against the military and events recently taking place in
The more I read about the military probes and
The people comprising their new government needs a very big wake up call, where do they get off demanding anything from the United States when we have our troops stationed all over their country? They lost that right the moment our tanks rolled into
After WWII, General Patton was running Germany, Douglas McArthur was running Japan, stop and think what their answer would have been to questions such as this. Patton would have simply knocked them on their butt and rode off into the sunset, McArthur would have been nicer, but the end-result would have been the same.
This is what war is, win, loose, that is what it is all about, they lost, end of story, now shut the hell up and go stand in the corner.
I visited Michael Yon’s site yesterday, MichaelYon-Online.com, to read an article written by someone in Iraq whose blog I have been following, the article was, The Haditha Killings, good stuff, by the way. I have been a follower of Michael’s work since his first or second dispatch from Iraq when he was first embedded with the now fabled, Deuce Four; he has always inspired, yet at the same time instilled a sense of awe in me with every post he has written.
When I first began reading his posts I was not yet familiar with Michael Yon, the man, only from his writing style, which was the best I had encountered with embedded reporting, he left no stone unturned, I loved it. I had spent my early years in the military and the majority of my adult life in law enforcement, my wife always said that I was definitely the type not to share his fire hydrant; Michael’s writing suited me just fine.
I was relatively new to the blogs, having just recently taken a medical retirement and was looking for something to take up a bit of time, always an avid reader, I decided to write a bit myself and searched for blogs that I could read, learn and enjoy while doing it. Quickly coming across a few that matched my way of thinking A Soldier’s Perspective, Blackfive, Michael Yon, and many others, I began my own.
I learned quite a bit about Michael from reading a few of the blogs and more from his work, bio and background, learning this is the type of man they make movies about, write songs, this was the real deal all wrapped up in a pen and a camera. I learned that the only fear this type of man has is if he will be the first to give the devil the finger, should something go wrong.
When I learned of the Shock magazine incident, it infuriated me just as it did many others, I also blogged and called a complaint into the company. Now to read they are making threats to seek litigation for the complaints filed by his supporters, when he had nothing to do with it, only makes me madder.
This incident demonstrates to the world the true character of the individuals running that publication and the fact they are used to getting their own way with threats of litigation. I am sure they will soon learn they cannot always get their way with threats, especially to someone who has no fear.
My favorite comment on this incident came from the always-eloquent Blackfive; he described it all in one sentence:
“But, you know, it would take a lot to make a former SF Soldier reconsider. In fact, how stupid (or French) do you have to be to bully a guy that doesn't blink?”
Watching the news last night I sat mouth-hanging open and head shaking as radio reporter Sandy Wells of KABC in Los Angeles described an attack, which took place after an attempted interview of Marcos Aguilar the principal and founder of a local charter school, Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School.
The following background information was extrapolated from multiple news sources, (I am unable to point to only one link) that are reporting this morning that Marcos Aguilar, the schools principal, has stated in recent interviews that he believes in racial segregation and sees his school as part of a larger cultural "struggle.
The school, Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School, was chartered by the district in 2001 and backed by MEChA, a radical student group with the stated goal of returning the American Southwest to Mexico. The brave souls of The Alamo, the great Texan, Sam Houston and those that fought for independence in the great state of Texas would not be happy with that news.
The reporter, Sandy Wells, equipped with his press credentials and radio station microphone was repeatedly turned away from any interview he requested at the school, front desk, outside, anywhere. He then asked the four or five black-garbed guards stationed outside for permission to interview parents bringing their children to the school, and was denied.
What occurred next is unbelievable, unreal and that it happened at all just blows me away. I want to point that Wells was live, on the The O'Reilly Factor as he discussed the events, he appeared shaken up, to say the least.
Wells states, a Dodge Magnum actually pulled up onto the sidewalk, causing the reporter to get out of the way for his own safety. Then a large Hispanic man, shaved head, about 25, jumped out of the vehicle and chased Wells down the street, tackling him and demanding the tape, which Wells promptly turned over. Wells stated that the tape did not contain any interviews. While all this is going on, the guards Wells had talked with just stood there, nice guys.
It only gets worse as Wells drives away from the school and notices at once that he is being tailed by a black SUV. He calls a radio show and put on the air as he quickly describes his dire situation, the SUV pulls away.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials say they are conducting an investigation of the "performance" and "culture" of the Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School. This needs more than that; it needs an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The very fact that this occurred is a slap on the face of every charter school in the United States and needs to be dealt with.
What follows is not a Hollywood story of rockets and men hitting the beach, on the contrary, it is the story of one man, one soul who lost his life serving his country. It is a heartfelt synopsis by CJ, of a U.S. Army Soldier, CPT James A. Funkhouser Jr, who died Tuesday May 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, while serving his country.
On a personal note, CJ is a soldier, like so many others and so many before him, but he is special, he cares about the humanity and sacrifice of those in service to their country and those who have served. Not only the military, but also the world needs people like him. God Bless my Brother.
CJ:> I wrote this on ASP, but wanted to send to everyone as well. Feel free to link to the post and please pass this around to as many as you can. I spoke with the father of this fallen soldier today on the phone and here is his son's story:
named after his father, James A. Funkhouser Sr., a 31 year retired Army veteran.Alex was born in Okinawa, Japan, while his parents were stationed there. Growing up he was an active child. His father told me that he "liked doing things." He read a lot and was just a normal boy. Between the ages of two and twelve, he lived in California. Then they moved to Texas. Alex fell in love with Texas, who wouldn't?Can there be any more joy in Whoville than that of a disabled, double-amputee Iraq-war vet suing Michael Moore for $85 million dollars. It seems that Mr. “I hate everything Republican and I have a camera” Moore recycled an old interview that had been done, edited it, turned it around using it to fit Moore’s anti-war film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, having paid a dear price is a strong supporter of both Bush and the invasion of Iraq. It appears Sgt. Damon never gave his permission for his statements to be used, let alone his words changed to reflect an anti-war attitude.
Putting it in a nutshell, it appears Sgt. Damon was on a gurney exclaiming he had pain still where his arms had been before the amputation and was discussing the pain medication. Moore, edited the entire, what some are stating, “Gut wrenching scene” into an anti-war statement by a brave wounded soldier, in a quote from comments Sgt. Damon made, “"I was complaining about the pain I would've been having [if it weren't for the painkiller],"
There are quite a few blogs, news items and stories pertaining to Sgt. Damon and the litigation, in fact far too many to be linking here. I am just supplying the main story released by Reuters this morning.
There are a few things we can all count on to come out of the Haditha probe, a media feeding frenzy of unknown proportions. The reporters and bottom feeder crowd following them around for a dropped morsel will both be hitting this story with everything they have in order to get their byline in front of the public. This feeding frenzy will leave no stone unturned or no trash can bottom scraped in their quest to smear someone's name before the public’s eye.
The subsequent stories will serve as cannon fodder for the antiwar crowd already searching for a new comet to attach themselves to since their make believe Ranger Jesse Macbeth was outed in a very big way. (A side note to this is word is out that Macbeth will be worrying more about the federal charges to be filed against him for attempting to get VA benefits on his make-believe DD 214. When the system works, it really works great.)
Our men and women in uniform serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will endure the most of this nonsense, paying the price for just doing their daily jobs. They will have tighter rule of engagement restrictions placed upon them and generally walk around on top of eggshells in a combat zone instead of performing their duty.
I recently had a commenter, Anna, point out something very important, “Haditha was a hot bed of al Qaeda and had this been WWII era, the building where those terrorists were would have been leveled, regardless of who else might have been in the building!”
That statement is very true and the sad fact to it is with the present political correctness of this country a WWII type of full-on war could not play out again. People would be standing on rooftops, screaming rights violations from every corner of the country it is sickening to think about what would happen.
War is comprised of blowing up what needs to be and killing those that need to be, that is war, not holding hands and skipping across the countryside doing good deeds for people.
While watching the news and reading the morning newspaper headlines all I see are comments about the incident in Haditha, the accident in Afghanistan and politicians asking why aren’t we making headway in Iraq? I can answer those questions in three words, “Rules of Engagement”, or ROE, as they are also known.
The rules of engagement are established by commanders on the ground and often times Washington, they set a form of rules when and where soldiers may or may not use deadly force and quite honestly, they totally amaze me. I am amazed because these rules are so unspecified that we have military personnel failing to pull the trigger when in fact they should.
I have had conversations with vets who have returned and they often say they were afraid to pull the trigger, or fire first because of the possibility of charges being filed. Most of them tell me how difficult it is to fight in the first place, when a person may be standing on the corner holding an AK47 and an RPG had just been fired from the direction immediately behind him, whom do you target?
When small arms fire had just come from a second floor apartment, you have seen which apartment it was, know beyond a doubt it is that apartment, but a little old man is standing there with a weapon in his hand, you know if you return fire, killing him, you will be crucified in the media and in the courts. When the enemy combatants intentionally wear clothing that matches the civilian population, fires at you then blends into the population, what do you do besides nothing?
We really must step back for a moment and say to ourselves, either we are at war, or not, either we are going to effectively fight terrorism, or not. How can we hinder our military in defending themselves or defeating the opposition, I am at a total loss over this. If we are going to go to war, then we need to throw all the rules out the window and go to war, as it should be, as those we are fighting are doing as I am typing this.
Some of us are so caught up in the political correctness of the world and how we feel the morality of the world should be that we are placing the lives of these men and women in jeopardy. Ladies and Gentlemen, we cannot save the world from itself, we cannot save a rainforest that no other country cares about and we cannot stop the disappearance of the ozone just because we outlaw antifreeze, because we are but a small part of this world.
We are but a small mound of ants when compared to the rest of the world and guess what, they don’t play by our rules and they play to win at all costs. That is what war really is all about. We are used to hitting beachheads, fighting our way through a defined enemy and this is not the same folks, it has changed and if we want to win this thing, we need to change with the rest of the world, before it is too late.
Someone needs to duct tape Murtha’s mouth shut, then tape a sign to his chest stating, “I was once part of the few, the proud, the Marines, now I use them as a stepping stone for personal gain.” This man is a disgrace to the uniform he once wore proudly. His actions and words have proved to the world that his attitude towards the Marines is that of a turncoat and nothing more.
He has aligned himself with the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John W. Warner, in an obvious attempt to cast dispersions upon the Corps as well as the judicial arm now investigating the allegations of a shooting incident. Murtha, always on the lookout for media “face time,” is now accusing the officers investigating the incident of complacency and cover up.
A Los Angeles Times, (click on link for the full article) ran a story stating his latest comments and ravings against the Marine Corps, where he and Sen. John W. Warner are making accusations in a blatant attempt at headline grabbing.
“But both said the delay in launching a formal investigation into the incident in the western Iraqi town of Haditha led them to suspect that officers up the chain of command were complicit in attempting to keep the incident under wraps.”
"It goes right up the chain of command," said Murtha, who has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the Iraq war. "Who said: Until March, there was no serious investigation. There was an investigation right afterward, but then it was stifled."
Murtha is using any negative issue of the Marine Corps he can dredge up as his personal golden ticket of admission to his favorite show, the Democratic nomination for President; hanging onto that ticket until no longer serving his media needs.
I am not stating an incident did not occur, that is not the purpose of this, however, I am stating he is a disgrace to the uniform he once wore proudly and a disgrace to the constituents he 
represents. As some of their sons and daughters just may be in this branch of military constantly withstanding the worst of his barrage of insults and complaints.
Worst of all, he has disgraced the memory of those Marines who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom of speech he now uses to destroy them, all the way from the Halls of Montezuma, the Shores of Tripoli to Baghdad and Afghanistan.
There are many more stories of the Marine Corps than this, those of sacrifice, bravery, heroism, valor, those of humanity in helping others, but to Murtha, they do not exist. They are not sensational enough, not news worthy enough to get that golden ticket punched for admission. This man is an embarrassment, a self-serving typical politician, nothing more.
I always assumed television was that one time of the day where I can sit back, allow my mind to wonder freely and possibly be entertained for an hour or so. That was then, this is now and what was once called “the great wasteland” has morphed into outlet for hard hitting made for television documentaries that you will find nowhere else.
I watched two documentaries over the weekend that were hard-hitting true stories of but a part of the war in Iraq, Baghdad ER, an HBO production and Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company, A&E Television. These two documentaries not only provided a small window into two events, which took place in the war on terrorism in Iraq, but demonstrated the valor and professionalism of the men and women who are fighting it day in, day out.
Baghdad ER is not for everyone, as it portrays the realities of war. Here is a blurb quoted from the HBO site that says it all in a nutshell.
“12-time Emmy® Award winner producer/director Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill capture the humanity, hardships and heroism of the US Military and medical personnel of the 86th Combat Support Hospital, the Army's premier medical facility in Iraq. Sometimes graphic in its depiction of combat-related wounds, BAGHDAD ER offers an unflinching and honest account of the realities of war.”
Baghdad ER, HBO provides a very graphic overview of a military emergency room during wartime, as I said above, it is not the show for everyone and it is a very emotional experience and may prove too emotional for some people.
Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company, A&E Television, is an inside peek at what these Marines went through during their deployment. Here is the blurb from the A&E Television site.
“Featuring candid interviews and never-before-seen video, we tell the story of the hardest hit combat unit of the Iraq war. Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit out of Columbus, Ohio was deployed to Iraq from February 28-September 30, 2005.”
This documentary contained actual footage as recorded by the Marines themselves and each Marine explains each event as it unfolds on the screen. I highly recommend that everyone watch this documentary; I assure that you will walk away with additional insight into the events taking place in Baghdad.
Memorial Day should be a time of reflection, remembering those who have gone before us, paying the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, their lives. Through the course of the history of America, people have died so that others may be free.
In many far off lands, American’s have laid down their lives so that the spark that makes this country what it is, lives on, passed on to our children, standing the test of time.
Today, our country is engaged in a battle against terrorism, its military standing in places named, Baghdad, Kabul and Kandahar, names from the news, now sacred with the blood and lives of its men and women who have died in the name of freedom.
The war on terrorism is difficult for some to understand, we are not facing an army, we are facing people who hide and kill without thought. We have learned the painful lesson that an airplane can be used as a Weapon of Mass Destruction, taking the lives of thousands in the blink of an eye, destroying a family and changing the landscape of a city forever more.
The war has taught us new terms of death and devastation, like, IED, and Suicide Bomber, we have learned how cowards hidden from view can take the lives of America’s sons and daughters. We learn more every day how a terrorist can kill and the pain and anguish that accompanies each lesson.
The war on terrorism has touched many families, some that will never be the same, this is what we need to remember this weekend, this and phrases like, D-Day, Normandy, Market Garden, The Battle of the Buldge, A Shu Valley, Khe San, the Korean war, and more.
This is what we must reflect upon, this and more, not the marketing nightmare of retail hoping to cash in on a three-day weekend. Teach your children the truth, teach them what freedom means and explain what this country has paid to insure they live free.
I can think of no better prayer than this Memorial Day Prayer, by Rev. Dick Kozelka (ret), which can be found on U.S. Memorial Day History and Information site.
It happens in every war, always a few fake veterans joining the ranks of the protestors and every time a microphone is placed anywhere near their mouth they tell terrible tales of killing innocent women and children, often times having been ordered to do so. The Iraq war is no different from any other war; Blackfive posted updates to the story of, Jesse MacBeth, as well as Greyhawk and many others in the MilBlogs, gee, what a laughable person he is.
It was such a pleasure watching this scumbag’s true identity and background placed before the public’s eye by those who count. The latest escapade was laughable, a DD form 214, belonging to MacBeth, supposedly a Ranger who slaughtered all those women and children, not only was it falsified, he misspelled the words! What a piece of work and it is nice to know it will not be tolerated in today’s age of technology.
I am not going to go into the back story that proceeds all this, that privilege belongs to those who count in this debacle, I highly recommend you click on the links and read the story behind all of this and the events that took place, it is a great piece of detective work, CSI would be proud.
Reports are coming into a few blogs from several media outlets in Iran, and I have obtained quite a bit of information from ARYAMEHR, who has compiled the sources into one source for better reading and understanding. The sources are reporting, albeit in a restricted and censured fashion, Iranian Security Forces firing at the protesting students and homes outside the university with live ammunition.
There have been quotes from the reformist Internet daily Rooz, this one in particular explains quite a bit of what is presently taking place, "The university campus is on fire, raids are being 
conducted throughout the campus, and the students are in fear and anxiety... Gunfire is heard from all directions... There is blood everywhere."
Reports are further stating that riot police entered the campus; beating students severely to the point hey were unable to walk. A quote published by Rooz of a campus security guard explaining to a reporter the amount of force they were ordered to use, “We were told that we were permitted to use violence against the students, but not to hit them on their heads or their faces, in order to avoid leaving marks. We were told not to be respectful towards any student, unless he is a member of the Basij student union."
Contrary to the reports from the Iranian police of only 100 involved in the protest, eyewitnesses have told Rooz the riots involved approximately 6000 students from all campuses combined.
We are not hearing one word of the present situation from national or local media outlets and this is absurd. These students are in mortal danger because of their stance on nuclear energy and the growing nuclear problem in Iran. Why this is not being addressed in the halls of the United Nations is beyond my comprehension. The fear of a nuclear response from Iran must be so severe that it actually has nations living in fear, not wanting to rock the boat.
I’ll bet that if asked, any number of us could tell you exactly what is going on today in Iraq, but not too many would be able to answer the same question if asked about Afghanistan.
How many know that the Taliban has been on the offensive, or that the UN International Organization for Migration is saying approximately 3000 people have been uprooted, loosing their entire homes and fled the region because of new fighting between coalition forces and neo-Taliban insurgents
The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai has called for the people to be calm, swearing, “I swear to God, I'll bring security to you”. The coalition forces are working their tales off to bring peace to the country and some headway has been made. The US. Central Command has an article in their latest newsletter stating, “KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Afghanistan flag was raised over a remote outpost in the Korangal Valley May 7, bringing the promise of stability and national unity east into this turbulent region.” They are working diligently to insure this peace, but not without casualties.
We have a great coalition in Afghanistan, Canadian, Australian, British, French, Italian and Dutch forces working alongside our own forces and a plethora of special operations and they are doing their job. They often release reports of captured Taliban or al Qaeda operatives, which demonstrate they are working their tails off to keep peace to the region.
Michael Yon, presently embedded with Canadian military in Afghanistan, said in a release, Monday, May 22, Hiatus Corpus, that “The money from the massive opium harvest in 2006 will buy weapons and influence that will be used against us in the spring of 2007. The heroin will create thousands of new addicts twitching with crime to feed their habits. Among the fast growing groups of heroin users on American streets, 8th graders are making their presence known.”
That is a very prolific and eye-opening statement pertaining to the on-going drug battles within our country as well as a sad statement on what will be facing our troops soon in Afghanistan.
Everyone should stay on top of this action as well, it appears to be escalating and may escalate even more. There are quite a few sources, one I check daily is our government source for the area, Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan, Michael Yon’s dispatches from the area is another great source, Milblogs are another source and should be your primary source for military blogs from that area.
Blackfive has outright busted a magazine for the theft of a photograph, correspondent Michael yon had taken while embedded with the Deuce 4 in Iraq. His writing and photographs are not only a statement of the war and everything that surrounds it, but a testimony to the men in the Deuce Four with which he lived, fought and with everyone else in the unit became a band of brothers.
Michael’s photograph, which can be seen in the photo on the front cover of the magazine that stole it, has become a statement of the war and those who serve. There are many stories involved with this particular photograph and is a must read for those who are not aware of the story.
Please, go to Blackfive, read his statement then go to Michael Yon’s site, read his stories as only he can tell, as he was there, alongside each man who fought.
The theft of this photograph by a magazine is an attack upon the name of every man and woman who was, is and will be in Iraq Afghanistan and anywhere else, our military is serving. It is a violation of Michael Yon’s rights and privacy as a journalist, a correspondent and a friend of the military, support him and go to Blackfive, click on the e-mail addresses he has listed for this magazine and tell them what you think. I did and I will do it again, this theft is a disgusting affront to anyone who has served and any journalists who was there.
The time has come for The Ranter to name his first, Dumb Crook of the Month Award. I want to explain to everyone that I have expanded a vast amount of time, energy and financial resources in my search for the first recipient of this prestigious award. I confess it was a very tough choice, but in the end, I have a winner, although this is still an alleged crime, as he has not come to court yet, the award is well deserved.
The first ever, Dumb Crook of the Month award goes to, a 61-year-old Paul Wendell Gunn of Texas, who surrendered to police an hour after entering a bank, demanding money and after receiving said money, picked up a magazine, sat on a couch while everyone ran like hell from the bank.
Mr. Gunn did not have too long to wait for the police as the bank was a half-block from the police station, hopefully he was able to finish reading the story which had caught his interest.
A weapon was not used in the gentlemen’s search for just that one good story to read and no one was injured. Needless to say, but Mr. Gunn is not returning any telephone calls relating to his alleged Robbery-Read crime.
I came across a news story this afternoon that caught my attention and has to do with the latest tape released by bin Laden that I was discussing a few days ago that made me shake my head in wonder.
It addressed the findings of an expert who is stating that bin Laden’s latest message was actually a desire to expose US intelligence sources as a sham and to discredit the Guantanamo, Gitmo” prison camp.
There is a quote credited to a London-based Saudi dissident Saad al-Faqih, who states, “Bin Laden wanted to prove the US intelligence services were impotent and that the US justice system was wicked” What a great surprise this was, we could have never reached this conclusion without his assistance. It amazes me the amount of dissidents, ex-this group, ex-that group, and experts who come prancing into the view of the media whenever something happens
Anyone with the thought capabilities of drooling monkey zoned out on cocaine leaves would have reached this conclusion. It does not take a genie from a lamp to tell us the answers. We all know that bin Laden has no interest in defending Moussaoui and even less in defending the innocence of any person housed at Gitmo, he could care less. In fact, the truth be told, I could care less as well. My thoughts are, this piece of slime sat in an American court of law, under oath stating what he did, how he did it and what else he was supposed to do, a jury found him guilty, end of story. My regret is he received imprisonment and not the chair or a needle in his arm.
While surfing through the many channels of cable this afternoon, on a “something to watch” quest, I stopped on Fox News to watch a brief interview with Former Enron Corp. chiefs Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, just walking out from their conviction for lying to investors. Ken Lay, who is the son of a preacher, was standing at the microphone making a statement regarding his conviction and quoting biblical passages of encouragement. Just at that moment, the Fox correspondent, whose name I cannot recall right now, said, “Though shall not steal either”.
I absolutely lost it when that comment was made, I wished so badly that Lay could have heard that, I really did.
It totally boggles my mind to no end how these two, and their accounting staff thought they 
could get away with the loss of billions of dollars of investors funds. I am sure that everyone recalls what transpired with Enron, once one of the top ten largest companies in America, then falling to the bottom and filing bankruptcy. Then the bottom literally fell out when it was discovered they were using off-the-books deals to hide billions of dollars debt and inflated prices.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, I thought while watching Lay stand tearfully at the microphone quoting the bible. How in the world did they ever think they could get away with all that they did is beyond me, but for a period of time they did, that is what is sad.
Their financial team, Arthur Anderson was convicted for their part of the money fraud, obstruction of justice, I believe. The Supreme Court later overturned that conviction, but by then they were no longer a respected firm for any financial dealing and they were completely out of business.
I could not help thinking, while watching Lay that there was a time when he was the golden child in Washington for his financial support, and had become so close to politicians that President Bush referred to him as, “Kenny Boy”. Of course, that is all over now and he will simply be referred to by a number, we can safely say he will never be called by Bush again.
I must confess that I am completely perplexed over the lack of news coverage on behalf of the brave students who are putting their lives on the line in Iran. I have went as far as sending news tips to Fox News, quoting the blogs currently covering this from update by students on the ground and I can attest to the fact that other blogger’s have done the same, yet I see nothing being done.
Besides this blog and Redneck's Revenge, I am unable to locate any other blogs who do not have friends and family in Iran that are presently blogging anything pertaining to the protest, nothing. This has me more than perplexed, it has me confused because we have a country ruled by hatred making daily threats to the USA and Israel of a nuclear nature and people within trying to change this, yet nothing is mentioned.
We have this same country’s President standing before people calling for the open destruction of the state of Israel and individuals putting their life on the line in an attempt to change that and yet nothing is mentioned. These brave students are presently creating a major problem for the ruling party of Iran, who are responding by sending out secret squads in vans taking people off the street to what, no one knows, and nothing is mentioned.
The only references, stories, anything that is coming from our country are a few blogger’s who have friends on the ground at the protest sending updates and photos through the internet to them for blogging, in hope something will be noticed by our media. One person in Iran stated to a friend with a blog that students are hollering phrases that he is not permitted to type in the message for fear of execution, and yet nothing is mentioned.
Here are the few blogs not yet mentioned, that Papa ray has discovered and sent to me and a couple I discovered by following links on their pages and a little bit of search, to our knowledge this is the total coverage, stop by these and see for yourself just what I am saying.
Pasargadae Institute Blog, Report from the BBC, BBC News, S'CAN-IRANIC,
Another at the BBC.
Papa Ray sent me additional information pertaining to the student protest in Iran; additional information and coverage is posted on, ARYAMEHR in a post titled, Reports on the Unrest in Iran. This site has a substantial amount of additional vital information that is coming from the ground in Iran and you all should stop by to read everything and view a few of the photos they have online.
At this particular point in time, the students who initiated and those participating in the protests require all the news coverage possible and I am witnessing so very little on this important subject.
The lack of news coverage gives the appearance to the public that our nation does not care and this is wrong. These students want to rid themselves of what they are referring to as a dictatorship and quite honestly, they are putting their very lives on the line for a cause that is as important to them as life itself. We all need to begin sending e-mail to the news services asking them why there is so little coverage on this or none at all.
I just received a heads-up from Papa Ray, Redneck's Revenge blog, regarding an important story presently going on in
So far, his sources indicate that the protest began with a group of between 20 and 30 students then swelled into its present state, with additional students coming and joining from two other colleges. This protest could very well be a vital part of changes to come and we in the
Here are two of the photos; I provided links on each one back to The Spirit of Man. I really don’t like posting other peoples photos, but he has given permission to sources and I want all of you to learn about it. I can only hope this succeeds and now or later someone will toss that loud mouth president of their country in the nearest trash can.
Everyday in Iraq our military troops become involved with events that change the lives of someone or a family. Yet, stories of this nature are never found within the media outlets available to the public, i.e. newspapers, television, radio or magazine articles and we must question why. One life changed, saved or someone becoming involved to make a difference in it is one life that will go on.
Instead of me sitting here ranting and raving about it, allow me to provide you with one example, an event taken from The United States Central Command, CENTCOM web site.
Coalition Forces Save Abandoned Boy (Click on the link for the full story)
This article explains an incident that occurred during an on-going hour-long firefight that resulted in the deaths of over 25 terrorists in Baghdad, Iraq May 14 in Yusifiyah. It truly demonstrates the care for others and deep concerns for the safety of children within our troops and clearly shows their will to sacrifice and protect the young and innocent caught up in dangerous situations.
During the battle, in an attempt to save only their cowardly lives, terrorists actually threw a two-year-old toddler inside a vehicle that was near a burning van where weapons, rockets and ammunition were stored. Our troops saved the life of the little one just before the rockets exploded into a ball of fire. They not only willingly placed their own lives in danger, but for the life of another, truly a noble, unselfish act of heroism and one you will not find in the newspaper or television.
The media’s only concern is to print stories that will mold people into their way of thinking, especially with politicians not in their favor or the war on terrorism. Stories emanating from Iraq or Afghanistan of heroic acts by our troops or their willingness to sacrifice for the life of another do not fit their agenda; therefore, they cannot be published or discussed.
We need to see more stories as this one and other of that nature so that we may better understand the situation unfolding and make informed decisions that do not involve the Medias way of thinking.
Visit Yankeemom and get a daily fix of patriotism that will make your heart beat, foot tap and feel good all at the same time, Toby Keith, belting out one of my all time favorite patriotic songs, Courtesy of The Red White and Blue.
I even have the lyrics. Stop by her site; see all the pictures of her son, Greg who recently returned from Iraq and say hi while you’re there.
The murderer of women and children master planner Osama bin Laden made one of his, “Hey, I’m still alive!” audio, video statements today. We learn now that we have wasted all that time, energy and resources on the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, then went to the trouble of finding him guilty and sent him to a nice room with a view and now we are told another story.
The bearded one’s audio comments created an insane headline, Bin Laden: Moussaoui Not Linked to 9/11. In a quote from the audio bin Laden made from the security and sanctuary of his latest cold, damp cave he shares with a bear, various insects and lice, "He had no connection at all with Sept. 11". The conniving murder also said that none of the hundreds of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, “Gitmo”, were involved, but he was forgetting that the scum are guilty of attempted escape, assault upon federal authorities and as enemy combatants.
We are in one big pickle now, because we have to run right over to Moussaoui’s nice comfortable jail cell and release him, poor guy just bought curtains too. Adhering to the law that bin Laden lives by, the “I said so!” law, now we must provide Moussaoui with a plane ticket to bin Laden’s 
place, the two of them can hold hands and skip merrily through the desert to their cave they’ll share with the other blood sucking lice.
I have always had the assumption that should you question the innocence of prisoners, everyone asked will answer that they are innocent. Now, following bin Laden’s “I said so!” law we must release every one of them, the crime they were imprisoned for does not matter, they are not guilty, just ask any one of them.
If we believe bin Laden, (I assure you we will read somewhere that we should do just that.) then we must believe in the answers given to us by every murderer, rapist, pedophile and the rest. After all, there is no difference between them, Okay, bin Laden is worse and following the bin Laden, “I said so!” law we must release them at once. After all, we can feel very comfortable in releasing them, they said they are innocent and we can believe them, they said so!
