Reading the news lately I got a bit nostalgic for 1969 – it seemed that surely I have been transported back in time.  It was a bit more than a year after Tet (does anyone remember what “Tet” was??) and I had just received orders for Vietnam.  I was on a small island off the west coast of Taiwan and had volunteered for Vietnam a few months earlier.  My orders were my Christmas present for my mother.  She was devastated, I was elated and excited.  I’m not sure she ever understood my decision or forgave me for her year of fear and worry.

However, unbeknownst to me, at home the tide had turned against the Vietnam War.  I was to become a “baby killer”, a destroyer of villages and the hopes of the Vietnamese.  Who knew?  By the time I returned to “the world” in April of 1971 our nation had begun to abandon the victory of Tet, decrease our troop strength to the point that previously secured areas quickly became more dangerous and funding for our Vietnamese allies began to dry up in our Congress.  Four short years later, as the North Vietnamese abandoned the Paris Peace Accords and launched full scale invasion, our Congress pulled all funding – assuring the death of 3 million innocents and the subjugation of the Vietnamese people that continues to this day.  I am still ashamed of America’s choice.

Which brings me to todays’ headlines and our current situation in Afghanistan.  The current headline in favor sounds something like “Obama continues to dither”.   Buried beneath the defense of his actions resides a simple truth – he is totally incapable of making a decision.  That was clear prior to his election by a simple review of this state and federal voting record.  His single most favorite vote was “present”.  A year after election he has yet to find his footing.  As a retired officer with 21 years of service, perhaps I could offer a few ideas.

Have a clear-eyed mission.

Muster all necessary resources – money, equipment and soldiers.

Accept nothing but victory.

President Obama is either unwilling or unable to do these three things.  Our path forward in Afghanistan is then clear – surrender and leave – quickly!  As I type these words, we as a community, have one of our Troop 47 Eagle Scouts doing convoy duty in Baghdad. Two others are attending BOLC (one awaiting Ranger school and the other preparing for deployment in the Spring) and yet another in ROTC at U of I.  Not to mention the other community members, family and friends we have all seen pack their rucksacks and get on the bus.  They deserve a clear mission, total support and the opportunity for victory.  They are not getting this from this administration.  To me, that means it’s time for them to come home – quickly.

There will be consequences to this withdrawal of course. 

The Taliban will be resurgent and will surely retake the country.  For those who do not remember their rampage against civil society and the women of the country, a search of YouTube still displays their public executions, beheadings and beatings of women and girls.  Ah, the return to the good old days.

The training camps will return as well, allowing ample space for planning the next attack on the U.S. – which will follow our exit as surely as it did when we ran with our tail between our legs from Somalia after President Clinton sacrificed the 18 Rangers made famous by “Blackhawk Down”.

Finally, our abandoning the fight will strengthen our enemies, embolden their attacks and virtually ensure a new and devastating attack on our homeland.

On the plus side, our troops will be safe within our borders and they will have some time to refit and heal before the next attack.

By the time I returned to the U.S. soldiers that were killed in Vietnam were called “wasted”.  President Obama does not have the courage, heart or willingness to commit to victory in Afghanistan, it’s time to come home – NOW – to insure not a single soldier’s life is “wasted”!

The past nine months have been illustrative of President Obama’s world view.  He believes a weaker, diminutive and withdrawn America is preferable to a strong, vibrant and assertive one.  This certainly is in line with the liberal viewpoint of American politics during President Bush’s two terms.  While taking on those that planned and executed 9/11 in Afghanistan was tolerated, the elimination of the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein was not.  Throughout the 6 years of engagement with al-Qaeda troops that poured into Iraq and the establishment of a government that met all the stated goals of the Bush administration – elimination of the Hussein regime, able to defend itself and willing to hold free and open elections – President Bush was hammered for the wrong war, an illegal war, an unjust war.  Yet, we were successful in all three areas finally giving 25 million Iraqis the chance to choose their own destiny.  This is a good thing.  We achieved this success through clear, focused and direct American power.  Obviously President Obama agrees with this. 

Prior to election and throughout his campaign he clearly stated that he would begin withdrawing troops immediately after election.  His position has become more “nuanced”, shall we say, with troops beginning to be withdrawn by March 2009 – or maybe we will have all combat troops out by August 2010 – or by the end of 2010 – or maybe by the end of 2011.  Or, maybe we may have 50,000 support troops in Iraq well into the future.  Obviously “hope and change” are at work in the Obama administration.

I was also glad to see the “Global War on Terrorism” ended in March 2009.  What a burden off our country.  Had President Bush known he could simply end it by the simple use of his voice, the global threats to us and other countries throughout the world could have been restored on 9/12 without all the intervening combat.  Of course, President Obama has recognized that there is still an “Overseas Contingency Operation” going on – one that claimed 10 of our soldiers in Afghanistan on October 3^rd in the deadliest day of fighting in more than a year.  Michelle and Barak enjoyed a nice night out at the Blue Duck Tavern that evening.  I wonder if they discussed the 40,000 troops that Gen. McChrystal is asking for. 

It would seem that the enemies of the Afghan people have decided that President Obama is not going to send the troops, much less make a commitment to defeat them, so it’s safe to take on the US military again.  In order to make the US military friendlier, there are new Rules of Engagement that have gone into effect.  For example – if the Air Force sees insurgents planting bombs, they must first buzz them to scare them off rather than killing them.  If enemy forces are spotted and there is the possibility of hurting a civilian they can not be engaged.  (Ever wonder why these animals hide in civilian areas?)  Our soldiers are now ordered to “break engagement” (run away) in the event there are civilians in the area.  Not only that, they are denied air cover or artillery in the event these may cause civilian casualties.  If you are interested, read about the events surrounding Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard.  These rules led to his death.  More, many more will follow.  Weakness will not lead to a victory in Afghanastan.

President Obama’s performance in the Mideast is no less hesitant.  This week the IAEA of the United Nations leaked a report that Iran has everything in place to produce a nuclear weapon.  President Ahmadinejad, while addressing the UN, invoked the name of the Mahdi, or the 12th Imam.  The particular sect that Ahmadinejad belongs to believes that if they can bring about chaos on earth, this will hasten the Mahdi who will bring about the apocalypse and subject all on earth to the rule of Islam and kill those that do not submit.  He has stated that his personal goal is the elimination of Israel and that he would gladly sacrifice up to one-half of his population to do this.  We have also learned that they have a second processing plant for nuclear weapons material that President Obama has known about since his transition.  President Obama has decided that his oratory skills are significant enough that he can talk Iran back from the edge while Iran presses forward towards the end that most pundits now accept as inevitable – the acquisition of a nuclear weapon.  I find I take no comfort in President Obama’s teleprompter skills in light of this.

Or, perhaps, he sees no threat from Iran.  After all, he has canceled our national agreement with Poland and the Czech Republic to provide a defensive missile shield to protect them from attacks from rogue nations (read Iran).  This seems to have been a hat tip to Prime Minister Putin of Russia.   It was particularly poignant since the cancellation occurred on the 70^th anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Poland.  Given that Iran now has short range missiles that can reach Israel,  medium range missiles that can reach well into Europe and long range missiles that can reach the US (remember, they launched a satellite into orbit) President Obama must be dead-on certain that Iran poses no near-term nor long-term threat.  Enough so that he is removing defensive systems meant to mitigate their threat.

Of course, other weapons systems need to be curtailed as well.  The F22 fleet no longer needs to be expanded.  A new satellite system to replace aging equipment has been scrapped.  A new rescue chopper is also scrapped.  All-in-all, the standard “cut military spending” mantra is once again being sounded throughout Washington.

What does all this mean?  Simply put, in President Obama’s mind, a weak America is a more secure America.  If we ignore terrorism throughout the world and simply call our efforts in Afghanastan an “Overseas Contingency Operation”, we will be less of a threat to our enemies and they will not harm us.  If we remove defensive weapons from Europe, Iran will feel less threatened and will not attack Israel or other Mideastern countries.  If we reduce our tactical capabilities and weapons systems, our enemies will see no need to build up their arms and pose a threat to us.  If we simply kneel before the world, bare our chests and confess our misdeeds – the world will forgive us and once again see us as the shining land upon the earth and simply fall in love with us all over again.

I believe the reality is a bit different.  This weak-kneed response is emboldening our enemies.  Russia, rather that halting construction of Iran’s nuclear facilities (you knew the Russians were building them – right?) it continues apace with Iran resolutely saying they have no intention of stopping their enrichment plants.  France’s Sarkosy has called President Obama’s approach to Iran “utterly immature” and “naïve”, publicly saying he wished President Obama would present a firmer approach with Iran.  The people of Poland and Czech Republic now know that security agreements signed between America and their countries are worthless – as do the leaders of Iran and Russia.  The Taliban of Afghanistan is now emboldened, actively using our own rules of engagement against our troops.  While the First Couple looks over the menu at the Blue Duck Tavern, the Taliban is drooling over a target list of poorly manned and supported US troop installations. 

Threats are not confined to foreign soil.  This past month four separate terrorist attacks were foiled within the US with more surely in the works.  Meanwhile, North Korea has introduced and tested a variety of medium and long-range missiles while their nuclear weapons plant is back on-line as well.  We were also witness to a very large military parade celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the communist revolution of China.  President Obama found it necessary to congratulate China on this milestone.  I suspect the 30+ millions that died under Mao might have a different take.

It’s been a busy 9 months for the President.  These are simply international issues.  There were all the domestic items as well.  However, they all lead to the same destination for President Obama – a weakened America is a safe America.  The smaller our footprint on the world stage, the less we confront evil, the less we defend our friends, the more we withdraw – the safer we will be.

We will pay a terrible price for this lunacy.

Sincerely,

Bill Keller

Vinton, IA

I am tremendously frustrated tonight.  I have just watched our country be forced to take a giant leap left.  Not a nudge, not a step, not a jump but a LEAP!  It was done at the hands of a Marxist President and an authoritarian and fascist Congress.  I intend to stop them.

I suppose I must be slipping into a delusional state given the amount of duct tape I have wrapped around my head.  Yet, someone needs to stop them and I am not going to wait for anyone else to step up.

Here’s the deal.  In my lifetime my wife and I have both had a bout of cancer.  She has been symptom free for 25 years, me for nearly 5.  The reason that we are still here is that our oncologists eliminated the cancer – exactly the way I intend to eliminate the threat to our country that currently resides in Washington.

My wife’s cancer was destroyed through chemo.  It was essentially starved her cancer to  death.  That is what needs to happen to Congress – they need to be starved to death.  Their life blood – money, taxes.  Today, the American economy lives on the efforts of the small business man.  Those companies that employee 500 employees or less.  There are over 20 million of them.  They are the backbone of our economy.  And, they are the key to killing the cancer.

I propose that we – for I too am one of the small business community – simply kill the cancer by starving it to death.  We need to stop sending our hard earned money to Washington – we need to stop paying taxes.  Let me explain.

I have recently undergone something of an epiphany in my life.  Perhaps it is being in business for 25 years.  Perhaps it is empty nest syndrome – I need activity in my life.  Regardless, I realized that I had kept my business small – a “life style” business.  I decided to change.  Unremarkably, the growth of my business accelerated rapidly.  It all depends on focus.  Rather that family, I am now focused on business.  It made a difference.  And, along with this, my tax obligations are rising.

Now, with this disastrous “stimulus” bill I look forward to my tax dollars – and those of my fellow small business owners – being wasted in a pathetic orgy of spending.  I’m not going to do it.  I am in control of my business.  I can control my sales and expenditures.  I can determine my lifestyle.  I can adjust how much money I need. 

In other words, I can adjust my lifestyle, adjust my sales, adjust my expenditures and finally – adjust my profits so I pay a minimal amount of taxes.  Or no taxes.

That is the proposal I am putting out to my fellow small business owners.  Adjust you business, adjust your lifestyle, talk to your accountant, be aggressive and manage yhour business in such a way that – at the end of the day – you own no taxes.  This should not be a permanent situation.  Most should be able to maintain their businesses, to stay solvent and keep the doors open long enough to starve Congress.  To eliminate their most desired resource – our money.

That is where the second method of getting rid of cancer comes in – removal.  That is what was done with my prostate cancer – they removed the prostate.  No more cancer.  Once these folks are starved out, we can remove them and begin the process of rebuilding our country.

My thoughts are sketchy.  I would enjoy your input, your thoughts and ideas.  But, something must be done to stop them.  And starving them to death is one sure way that they will no longer take our money.

Join me.  Let’s pool our ideas.  If we work together, we can get American back on track.

http://notasinglecent.blogspot.com