Gitmo Propaganda

Mention Guantanamo Bay and two things come to mind: A Few Good Men, starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise and the detention camp for terrorist suspects.

Guantanamo Bay is a little piece of United States owned property on the island of Cuba. In the years following 9/11, it has become the center of controversy and a vast treasure trove of propaganda bits for anti-Bush groups and individuals. Detractors paint a portrait of constant prisoner abuse, beatings, torture, and dehumanizing conditions. Advocates claim that the detention center is nothing more than a modernized high security facility designed to house a specific type of prisoner; radical extremist Islamic terrorists. Administration and security of the facility is handled by Joint Task Force Guantanamo.

What are conditions like at Guantanamo that has so many people in an uproar about how bad that it is there? There have been riots, suicides and suicide attempts, and claims of extreme disrespect of the prisoners rights, to include a retracted article by Newsweek which charged that a copy of the Koran had been flushed down a toilet by a guard.

Critics and human rights advocates demand that the detainees be granted rights according to the tenets of the United States Constitution, a document clearly created as the foundation of law for citizens of the United States. This demand lies in conflict with the Bush administration, and indeed with the legal system itself, as the detainees in Guantanamo are not American citizens. The Bush administration would prefer that they be considered "enemy combatants" rather than "prisoners of war" as defined by the Geneva Conventions under Article 4.

Much of the controversy surrounding Guantanamo stems from a 2004 report by the International Red Cross on the conditions at the facility:

An ICRC inspection team that spent most of June at Guantanamo Bay reported the use of psychological and sometimes physical coercion on the prisoners, the newspaper (the New York Times) said.

It said it had recently obtained a memorandum that quoted the report in detail and listed its major findings.

In Geneva, the ICRC said it would neither confirm nor deny the New York Times report -- in which allegations of treatment tantamount to torture go further than what the neutral intermediary has publicly stated before about inmates held at Guantanamo.

But, in a statement, the Geneva-based ICRC said it remained concerned that "significant problems regarding conditions and treatment at Guantanamo Bay have not yet been adequately addressed," and it was pursuing talks with U.S. authorities.

Reactions from critics of the Bush administration, both at home and abroad, were immediate, calling for both the closure of Guantanamo and the impeachment of President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney.

But there are other reports that come out of Guantanamo, as well, that tell a different side of life in the facility; detainees forming teams and playing baseball, prayer rugs distributed to each detainee, regular prayer times being observed, and even a high demand for the Harry Potter books from the facility library:

The Harry Potter craze has reached the cells of Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. The ripping tales of the boy wizard are said to be top of the request list for the prison's 520 al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects.

Lori, a contractor who runs the prison library, said the J K Rowling stories had beaten Agatha Christie into second place.

"We've got a few who are kind of hooked on it," she told the Washington Times. "A couple have asked if they can see the movie."

Still, life in the Guantanamo facility is far different than in other prisons. Toilet paper is rationed, bed sheets are issued nightly for sleep and collected the next morning in order to cut down on the number of suicide attempts by detainees, and their eating utensils are accounted for after every meal to ensure that none are turned into makeshift weapons. Television is available for detainees to watch preapproved programs, now, where they had once been allowed television only as a privilege for cooperating during interrogations. And some prisoners have been reported as gaining weight, with one detainee having doubled his weight from 215 lbs. at his arrival to 410 lbs. today. This stems from efforts by the Bush administration to improve the conditions of life at Guantanamo for the detainees:

There are certainly benefits to giving them outlets other than sitting in their cell or sitting in their recreation cell for hours at a time with nothing else to exercise their mind or think about other than their situation," Buzby said.

The easing of conditions marks a new course on discipline at Guantanamo, where the U.S. holds about 375 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

One thing is certain, no matter how much things are improved at Guantanamo, there will be controversy surrounding the facility. Some of the controversy, notably, is justifiable. The transformation and conversion of a facility built to handle Haitian refugees into a military prison in a short period of time was bound to be a situation that would be bereft with problems. Factor in the willingness of those who wish to blame George Bush for everything that goes wrong in the world (the infamous Bush Derangement Syndrome), the willingness of our enemies in this most recent war to engage in "lawfare" in our court systems, and the very literal conflict of cultures of East meets West, combine them into a detention facility called Gitmo, and thus is born a breeding ground for politics and propaganda wrangling.

Are there problems at Gitmo? Of course there are. There are problems with any maximum security prison anywhere in the world. The difference with Gitmo is that it was opened to house a group of individuals suspected of committing acts of terrorism. This is a different type of criminal than is found in other maximum security facilities, and there are nearly four hundred of them at Gitmo. Have there been violations of prisoners rights? More than likely. Again, that comes with the running of a prison. It should be noted, however, that in the entire time since detainees first arrived at the facility in 2004, no prisoner at Gitmo has been filmed being beheaded by their sword-wielding captors.

That in and of itself sets it apart from the treatment that the detainees at Gitmo have been receiving as compared to what westerners experience at the hands of capturing al-Qaeda and Taliban groups.

That, and one 410 lb detainee at Gitmo...


Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Israel Endures, and so does a Paladin...

I had started this piece as a reply to a discussion on Snooper's site. However, given my condition that spree refers to as "diarrhea of the mouth," I found it to be too long to put there, and decided to put it here instead.

Let me preface this piece by stating, for the record, that I am a Zionist. I have been a Zionist long before I truly knew what the term meant, or even that there was a term for it. As a child reared in a church upbringing, I can remember many of the stories and lessons of Sunday school teachings from very early in my life. I fell in love with the nation of Israel at a very young age, have spent my life as an advocate of modern Israel, once considered immigrating TO Israel to volunteer to be a member of her armed forces after having served my OWN country in OUR armed forces.

That being said, here is the piece that started out as a reply and wound up being a personal revelation:

The "holy wars" karen refers to are most likely the wars Israel fought in ancient times against such tribes as the Philistines, the Hittites, and the Canaanites (whom they defeated when they first began settling ancient Israel), among others. The Bible and tradition teaches that Israel was to destroy her enemies utterly and completely. There was a reason for this; from day one, Israel has been fighting for her very survival.

Is Israel indeed the chosen nation of God? Let's do a brief tracking through history, looking at things in a fairly non-specific manner.

Israel has survived, over the millenia, enslavement by the Egyptians, a division of the kingdom into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea, captivity by the Babylonians, and the Romans, who dispersed the Jews from their homeland, from which they remained in exile until they were given leave, by Britain (who did little to nothing to help them, in actuality) to return TO the area known as Palestine in the late 1940's. In the time period between the Diaspora and the Return, the Holy Land has been ravaged by Arabic occupations and wars, the Crusades, which saw western Christendom establishing kingdoms and baronies of their own via mandate of the Church, the dispelling of Christendom by Islam, and finally occupation by the British Empire until the Jews returned, finally, home.

That's roughly six thousand years stuffed VERY tightly into a nutshell.

Six thousand years. The Babylonian Empire is gone. The British Empire is no more, they are now the British Commonwealth. The Roman Empire is gone, as is the Holy Roman Empire.

Israel has not only survived being spread among the nations of the Earth, she has returned to her home. She has survived.

Now, following this to it's logical conclusion, it would appear, indeed, that there IS something wondrous and special about Israel. Something that goes beyond the mere boundaries of a land. Israel is a people, a people set aside and chosen, a people protected BY the hand of a God who not only keeps and preserves them, but, as is shown clearly throughout the Bible, a God who chastises and punishes them when they are out of his will.

But you will notice that Israel survives, DESPITE so many attempts through history to eliminate this proud people from the face of the Earth.

Who then, are the infidels? I say to you that if there are infidels, if there are unbelievers, it would be those who are hell bent on the destruction of Israel. That would be radical jihadist fascist extremist Islam, at the top of the list. True "neo-Nazi's."

My mother's uncle fought under Patton during World War II. He was very quiet regarding most of his military service. He wouldn't discuss the war much at all, other than to talk about the French and Italian countryside and how beautiful the land was, and to say that MY generation would have to face the Nazi's again, because their message of hatred had spread beyond Europe into other parts of the world. Look to the Middle East, to Radical Extremist Islam, and their message.

Ossama bin Laden fancies himself, if one looks to both history and psychology, as being the Saladin of our lifetime. Saladin was an honorable man, a true warrior, a true leader. Saladin led his forces HIMSELF, in the open, and had no fear to meet his opponents face to face in meetings of truce, and on the open battlefield. Saladin would NEVER have dishonored himself by hiding in caves, in supporting acts of dishonor and cowardice of convincing others to blow themselves to hell in crowded places to kill innocents, pronouncing them martyrs to be rewarded in heaven.

I am a Zionist, yes, and have been all of my life, for as long as I can remember. The lessons of Israel's history, not just the religious messages, but the lessons of the people, the individuals, are as rich and meaningful today as they were when they were written so many millenia ago. Yes, there are lessons to be learned by studying other cultures, other religions, other societies, but Israel endures. Sampson, Gideon, David, and Solomon were my heroes long before Superman, Batman, Richard, Charlemagne, and even Saladin. I suppose there is no surprise, all these years after my initial teachings, that the great love of my life is a daughter of Zion. However, I also have questioned God for a number of years, at times questioning his very existence, let alone his divine will and purpose in my OWN life, my individual existence. Time has brought these questions; time, observation, experience, and situation. I'm in good company, I suppose, for I share that habit with the likes of David, Moses, and Jesus of Nazareth himself. I don't equate myself in ANY way with these men OTHER than that I do have questions which have yet to be answered. Perhaps there are no answers, not in the form in which we tend to think of them. I have maintained, after much reflection through the years and no small amount of studying Zen and practicing it's meditations when I was younger, that all true answers to such questions can ultimately be found within ones self.

A student asked me once, before one of my classes, when I was teaching, about my life before teaching. It took me a bit off guard, something that high school seniors are prone to attempt with their teachers, especially the ones who come back to their home towns to take interim positions after being away and out of contact with the "locals" for some time; I was an enigma to them. That I was known as having come into the teaching field later than most, having spent time as a soldier, a fireman, and a contractor, furthered the mystery about me in their minds even more, I'm sure. Most of their teachers, from the time they began kindergarten on through the years until their final year in school had been more "traditional," having gone from high school to college and then into their own classrooms to teach. I didn't fit into that mold. I weighed her question, which was honest and sincere in it's presentation, having been the subject of much discussion amongst my classes, and considered how best to answer her, and the others who had turned their attention to me awaiting my answer.

This is the basis of what my reply to her was:

I have lived my life largely on my own terms for as long as I have been able to do so. I have been and done everything I set out to do and to be, I have seen things of incredible beauty, I have seen things of absolute horror. I've been places and done things that I can never share with anyone, but those memories, those experiences, live within me every day of my life. I have seen life come into this world, I have seen life leave this world in the most horrible of manners. I have known the fear that comes with the closeness of death. I have saved lives, I have done otherwise at least once...

I have loved greatly and fully, and I have known the agony of love lost, and the rapture of love returned and the promise of tomorrow. I have known pain of the body, pain of the soul, and joy beyond measure.

At my lowest point, I had considered my life, and had asked myself, "Is there nothing more? Have I done all that there is to do?" I very nearly decided that I had, when three simple little words found me and shook me to my foundations, urging me to begin a climb out of my own personal hell back into the light. Those three little words were something special, precious, meant just for me, and they literally saved my life. With those words I began the most difficult assent of the soul that I have ever undertaken, and I continue it still, more confidently each day as I continue on this quest that I am meant to endure.

My students were silent when I finished, I know not what their thoughts were, or even if I had answered their question. Perhaps I left them wondering even more with my reply. I do know that it was the most honest answer that I could give.

Perhaps, in retrospect, I found an answer of my own as well. Perhaps my studies did more than instill me with a love and respect of a tiny little nation forged on the shores of the Mediterranean sea so long ago. Perhaps the chastising of a nation can equate to the trials of the soul of the individual, as well. Perhaps the will of God for me is to do exactly what Israel has done through the millenia; to endure. And endure I will, for I cling fast to that promise of tomorrow, and with each day the quest draws me closer to that for which my heart and soul long and yearn for.

Questing onward...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Springtime in Islamberg

Tennesseans, you'd better wake up. That goes for the rest of the country, too, of course, but I say this particularly to Tennesseans because this is going on very literally across Kentucky Lake from me and I had no idea that it was happening until today.

Hat tip to Snooper at TownHall for this one.

Our nation is at war, something that we CAN NOT forget. What in the blue hades are we doing allowing the establishment of compounds by Radical Islamic Extremists on our own soil? Don't go throwing the First Amendment at me, either, because last time I checked, the First Amendment didn't include allowing groups intent on the destruction of our nation and the death of our people.

The fact that a Canadian media outlet had to be the one to break this story is all the MORE disturbing, in my mind. Thank you to the Canadian Free Press for showing us this story.

Springtime in Islamberg
Radical Muslim paramilitary compound flourishes in upper New York state
By Paul L. Williams Ph.D., (author of THE DAY OF ISLAM)

With the able assistance of Douglas Hagmann, Bill Krayer and Michael Travis

Friday, May 11, 2007

Situated within a dense forest at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains on the outskirts of Hancock, New York, Islamberg is not an ideal place for a summer vacation unless, of course, you are an exponent of the Jihad or a fan of Osama bin Laden.

The 70 acre complex is surrounded with "No trespassing" signs; the rocky terrain is infested with rattlesnakes; and the woods are home to black bears, coyotes, wolves, and a few bobcats.

The entrance to the community is at the bottom of a very steep hill that is difficult to navigate even on a bright sunny day in May. The road, dubbed Muslim Lane, is unpaved and marred by deep crevices that have been created by torrential downpours. On a wintry day, few, save those with all terrain vehicles, could venture forth from the remote encampment.

A sentry post has been established at the base of the hill.

The sentry, at the time of this visit, is an African American dressed in Islamic garb - - a skull cap, a prayer shawl, and a loose fitting shalwat kameez. He instructs us to turn around and leave. "Our community is not open to visitors," he says.

Behind the sentry and across a small stream stand dozens of inhabitants of the compound - - the men wearing skull caps and loose fitting tunics, the women in full burqa. They appear ready to deal with any unauthorized intruders.

The hillside is blighted by rusty trailers that appear to be without power or running water and a number of outhouses. The scent of raw sewage is in the air.

(...)

While buzzing with activity during the week, the place becomes a virtual hive on weekends. The guest includes arrivals from the inner cities of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and, occasionally, white-robed dignitaries in Ray-Bans from the Middle East.

Venturing into the complex last summer, Douglas Hagmann, an intrepid investigator and director of the Northeast Intelligence Service, came upon a military training area at the eastern perimeter of the property. The area was equipped with ropes hanging from tall trees, wooden fences for scaling, a make-shift obstacle course, and a firing range. Hagmann said that the range appeared to have been in regular use.

Islamberg is not as benign as a Buddhist monastery or a Carmelite convent. Nearly every weekend, neighbors hear sounds of gunfire. Some, including a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, have heard the bang of small explosives. None of the neighbors wished to be identified for fear of "retaliation." "We don't even dare to slow down when we drive by," one resident said. "They own the mountain and they know it and there is nothing we can do about it but move, and we can't even do that. Who wants to buy a property near that?"

(...)

Islamberg is a branch of Muslims of the Americas Inc., a tax-exempt organization formed in 1980 by Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, who refers to himself as "the sixth Sultan Ul Faqr," Gilani, has been directly linked by court documents to Jamaat ul-Fuqra or "community of the impoverished," an organization that seeks to "purify" Islam through violence.

Though primarily based in Lahore, Pakistan, Jamaat ul-Fuqra has operational headquarters in New York and openly recruits through various social service organizations in the U.S., including the prison system. Members live in hamaats or compounds, such as Islamberg, where they agree to abide by the laws of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, which are considered to be above local, state and federal authority. Additional hamaats have been established in Hyattsville, Maryland; Red House, Virginia; Falls Church, Virginia; Macon, Georgia; York, South Carolina; Dover, Tennessee; Buena Vista, Colorado; Talihina, Oklahoma; Tulane Country, California; Commerce, California; and Onalaska, Washington. Others are being built, including an expansive facility in Sherman, Pennsylvania.

Before becoming a citizen of Islamberg or any of the other Fuqra compounds, the recruits - - primarily inner city black men who became converts in prison - - are compelled to sign an oath that reads: "I shall always hear and obey, and whenever given the command, I shall readily fight for Allah's sake."

In the past, thousands of members of the U.S. branches of Jamaat ul-Fuqra traveled to Pakistan for paramilitary training, but encampments, such as Islamberg, are now capable of providing book-camp training so raw recruits are no longer required to travel abroad amidst the increased scrutiny of post 9/11.

(...)

By 2004 federal investigators uncovered evidence that linked both the DC "sniper killer" John Allen Muhammed and "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid to the group and reports surfaced that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was captured and beheaded in the process of attempting to obtain an interview with Sheikh Gilani in Pakistan.

Even though Jamaat ul-Fuqra has been involved in terror attacks and sundry criminal activities, recruited thousands of members from federal and state penal systems, and appears to be operating paramilitary facilities for militant Muslims, it remains to be placed on the official US Terror Watch List. On the contrary, it continues to operate, flourish, and expand as a legitimate nonprofit, tax-deductible charity.

Take a stand, Americans. Rattle your state and federal representatives. Rattle your local law enforcement, your state law enforcement. Bombard them with demands that this be looked into. Demand that action be taken for criminal activities.

We can NOT afford to sit idle any longer on our fat, lazy, complacent asses, letting someone else do things for us.

Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

THIS IS HAPPENING NOW!

And we have to make sure that it doesn't endanger us again.

Cross post this article, trackback to it, link to it, but MAKE SURE that the American public knows that this is going on.

Tennesseans, you can find email resources for both state and federal government officials here.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Can we leave peacefully?

To all you "cut and run" "surrender and retreat" people out there, I want you to consider something. Do you honestly think that al-Qaeda will just watch us if we withdraw from Iraq, leaving us to go peacefully, maybe tossing a few "we won, we won, nyah nyah nyah nyah nyaaaah nyaaaaaaah's" at out troops? How many of you have really taken into consideration what happens during demobilization operations if we were to abandon Iraq to it's own devices at this point in the game? Here is what al-Qaeda has plans for in the event that we cut and run:

Hat Tip, Miss Beth's Victory Dance via Victory Caucus.

New Tape: Al Qaeda No. 2 Wants 200,000-300,000 U.S. Dead in Iraq

Ayman al-Zawahiri Says Al Qaeda Wants to Spill More U.S. Blood Before America Withdraws

In a new video posted today on the Internet, al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al Zawahiri, mocks the bill passed by Congress setting a timetable for the pullout of U.S. troops in Iraq.

"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," Zawahiri says in answer to a question posed to him an interviewer.


Continuing in the same tone, Zawahiri says, "We ask Allah that they only get out of it after losing 200,000 to 300,000 killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson."


Based on the references to the bill, the tape, produced by al Qaeda's propaganda arm, as-Sahab, appears to have been made after Congress passed the legislation last week but before President Bush vetoed in on Thursday.


According to Laura Mansfield, a counter terrorism analyst with Strategic Translations, an organization that monitors al Qaeda postings, the tape was posted on the Internet this morning and covers the usual range of Zawahri's topics including Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.


There has been a flurry of audio and video releases featuring Zawahiri, although no new communication from Osama bin Laden since mid-2006.

How many times do the American people have to be told that these people want us all DEAD? How many times does it have to be said before it penetrates thick skulls? Will it take the deaths that this man is calling for? Will it take another incident like 9/11 before people fully realize that these people are serious?

I'm serious in asking this. WHAT is it going to take for people to undersand that these radical fascist imperialist Islamic extremist want us utterly destroyed and the survivors subjegated to them?

I'm simply and utterly confounded by the mentallity of cutting and running, MORE so the mentallity of "let's fight them over here instead." It simply amazes me. In my mind, we HAVE to keep them busy on their own turf so they can't have time to concentrate on mayhem and destruction here. Too many innocent civilians in our own population depend on it, not to mention the people in the Middle East who don't fall in lockstep behind this mindset.

Simply amazing.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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"It's an illegal war..."

I haven't ranted yet on this site.

Not really.

I've not really just let go and vented yet.

That's about to change.

Buckle up, hold on, here we go.

I am sick and tired of hearing the terms "Illegal war," "Bush's war," "the war was a mistake," and the like when it comes to Iraq. We had sufficient reason to go into Iraq, we had intelligence reports showing that there was reason to go into Iraq, the Clintons BOTH supported going into Iraq, Bill Clinton said that there was evidence of weapons of mass destruction DURING his presidency, Congress supported it, ENOUGH with the back pedaling.

"The American people are tired of this war."

Big whoop. Tell me about a war that isn't tiring. THIS ISN'T A NEW THING.

Where there mistakes made? Yes. There are always mistakes made during war. At the outset of World War II (don't tell me not to compare this to WWII, I'm a history major and political science minor, god dammit, I know what I'm talking about here) we were NOT winning the war. We were in trouble. The American people rallied and we soldiered on.

Step forward to today. Who's making the American people tired of the war? Who is shoving down our throats the concept that we shouldn't be in the war with Iraq? The same people who seem to be able to find terrorists whenever they want to to interview them and show the American people our enemy in a more appealing light than what our troops see when they face them in firefights. The same people who have a clear agenda that they have shown over and over again in not only this war but in politics in general. The Democratic party and the Media. It's hard to tell any more which one is the lap dog of the other.

Ask the Kurds if they think that we've violated their nation by coming in and stopping the Saddam Hussein regime from massacring them. Ask the women who are no longer being rounded up and raped in the rape rooms if we did the wrong thing. Was the intelligence wrong about the WMD's? The jury is still out on that. The Iraqi's had PLENTY of time to move things into Syria and Lebanon while the UN pussy footed around doing their inspections. There are STILL reports of buried dumps out in the desert that the military hasn't had time to look for.

Our nation was attacked on 11SEP2001, and it wasn't the first time. Militant extremist fascist imperialist Islamic extremists don't have ANY problem in dying for their cause, and their cause is global Islam with NO room for Christianity or Judaism. IF YOU AREN'T A MUSLIM THEY WANT TO KILL YOU. Can people not wrap their minds around this? Are the American people so spoiled, so complacent, so self absorbed and in such a state of denial that they can't SEE this when car bombs are driven into shopping areas and the drivers set them off, killing themselves and others in the name of Allah?

It's one hell of a damned wake up call to realize "someone is trying to kill me" as a bullet whizzes by your head. One HELL of a wake up call. And if you're armed, you're forced to make a choice. And then you live with it.

We have GOT to stop backpedaling and pussy footing around with this thing in the Middle East. The American people have to come to terms with the fact that there are factions out there who want to see us come to an end. Have we forgotten the threat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War? Did the end of the Soviet Union mean that we had no enemies? HELL NO. It simply meant that there was someone else out there waiting in the wings to come into force to be the next to try. King of the Hill mentality.

We have become so wrapped up in political correctness, so wrapped up in not being offensive to others, so hamstringed by the UN (a body I am all FOR us ending our involvement in, by the way) that we're in danger of becoming the fabled toothless lion.

Is that the legacy we want to leave for our grandchildren?

THINK about that.

To quote Dennis Miller, "that's just my opinion, I may be wrong."

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

[Update] See the perfect accompanying piece from Amy Proctor, with video, here.

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A very interesting letter

Hat Tip to Tanker Brothers for the email.

I'll let this one speak for itself. I for one agree completely...

Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like it! This
Is one ticked off lady.

"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it
Not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on
September 11, 2001?


Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not
Brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac
From our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ? Did nearly
Three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or
Crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was
"desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it
Wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and
Repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East
Start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a
Crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for
Hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling
Slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come
Out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by
Hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in
Search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of
their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their
First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law
Instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine
Roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I
don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who
Have been Humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident,
rest assured: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is
Told not to Move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to
the Bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer
Mat, and Fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is
Complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can
absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled
"Koran" and Other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and -you
guessed it -I don't care ! ! ! ! !

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your
E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible
for This ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button.
Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more
Atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great
Country! And may I add:

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a
Difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem."
-- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I hope
You forward all this.

"If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will
Be a nation gone under."

Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the
Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's
Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When
asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America ,
he said:

"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how
Many want in... And how many want out."

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.
AMEN!

Can I GET an AMEN?

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Missing the Point Entirely

After reading through more blogs, more news reports, more information sources and outlets, it still amazes me how so few people understand that this situation in the middle east crosses borders because so many of the people FROM that region never KNEW borders until the end of the European colonial period after World War II.

We, Americans and western Europeans alike, are trying to view this entire conflict in terms of taking on this country or that country, Iraq or Afghanistan. The cry "Bush has FORGETTEN Afghanistan" is such a rampant thing that it's disgusting. Bush hasn't forgotten Afghanistan, Africa, or any place else in the world, the dinosaur media has. Bush has even stepped UP funding to Africa. The dinosaur media deliberately have chosen to ignore Afghanistan in their reporting, and then try to paint the President as having turned his back on the area and the rest of the world to focus ONLY of Iraq. A great trick, worthy of a Copperfield or a Henning, but, unfortunately, so many American's have fallen for it that they actually BELIEVE the President has forgotten Afghanistan. A helping hand from the leftist Clintonista's in the Congress doesn't hurt anything in that regard; the dem's are right there at the forefront of the propoganda scandal in trying to blame Bush for forgetting about Afghanistan to focus only on Iraq. This coming week, others will be citing examples of how we are still involved in Afghanistan, just as much as we are in Iraq. We haven't abandoned nor have we forgotten Afghanistan. The media has. And I charge that they did so deliberately, setting the stage to blame the President for having lost focus.

My proof? My proof is the LACK of evidence seen in the news media in regards to our activities in Afghanistan. We are there, boots on the ground as the saying goes, although I have to say, this old combat engineer never HEARD that phrase until this go around. We are running missions, operations, encountering the al Quida on a weekly basis. Yet it goes ignored by the dinosaur media.

Case in point, from CENTCOM:

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. and Afghan noncommissioned officers toured the Pakistan Army’s Junior Leader Academy in Shinkiari, Pakistan, Dec. 28 during the second day of an exchange program tour.

Pakistan officers and NCOs briefed the team on training procedures and processes in an effort to strengthen the ties between the Afghan National Army and the Pakistan military.

“We came to learn,” said Sgt. Maj. Mahmodi Shamsudine, the command sergeant major of the ANA’s 201st Corps, after asking several questions about the training curriculum and format.

He was one of three Afghan Senior NCOs who traveled to Pakistan hoping to take back information that will help them develop their 4-year-old army.

“This was very good for (the Afghans) because they discussed training strategies, schools, doctrines, techniques and procedures that can be shared between the two armies,” said Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood, command sergeant major for Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan.

Staff members from the JLA took the team to a field training area and watched students conduct mission planning. They were also shown classrooms and sat in on a class discussing tactics.

“This visit was very good for our countries,” said Sgt. Usman, JLA instructor. “Our door is open and we want to help the Afghan army because we want peace in Afghanistan.”

Wood called the meeting a ”very successful engagement with the military of Pakistan.” He contributed the success to the ”non-threatening and non-political environment” between the NCOs.

“The (Afghans) are very excited about the information they heard,” Wood added. “They are excited to hear about the focus on counter-terrorism and the amount of effort and attention that they are putting on training. They want to go back and try to put more of a counter-terrorism focus in their own training.”

The visit also gave the U.S. and Afghan NCOs an opportunity to share information about the progress and accomplishments of the ANA.

“People from the Pakistan military and Frontier Corps did not realize how far ahead the ANA were – they were very surprised and it made them feel more secure,” Wood said.

During a meeting with Col. Rehman, the JLA deputy commandant, he explained that Pakistani Soldiers were “giving (their) life to help Afghanistan.

“The world is a global village, and the sooner we have peace, the better it is for the world,” he said.

Sgt. Major Ahmad Fazel, the command sergeant major for the ANA’s 203rd Corps, agreed, saying, “If we work together we will be successful because we have the same goal and the same enemy.”

Plans are underway for the next program to take place at Fort Benning, Ga., in the U.S.

For more information, contact the press center at Kabul-Presscenter@cfc-a.centcom.mil.

Back to the point here. The only reason there are established and recognized borders in the Middle East is for one reason: European Colonization. The same is the case for most of central Africa. Once the Europeans pulled out and went back home, old tribal and regional differences flared back up again, hence the period of civil wars (the mercenary war era) in Africa and the reintroduction of a Jewish state into the Middle East. The Jews were merely allowed, after a couple of thousand years, to return home, folks. If anyone has any dispute with that concept, pick up a Bible, a Torah, the Talmud, and various and other sundry histories of the ancient world that DON'T have to do with religious influence and belief. But as I have been trying to say, the concept of a border is a foreign notion to the Arabic mind. Regionalism? That concept they understand. Borders created by European cartogrophers? They could care less. Hence the ease at which the terrorist networks pass from one country to another in the Middle East, welcomed with open arms by supporters across various old caravan trade routes from one city to the other. The concept of the city-state is still very much alive and well in the Muslim world. In case you haven't really grasped this notion yet, ask yourself this: how many Baptists have ever set foot in Mecca? How many Methodists? Has the Pope ever held Mass there?

As the TITLE of this site says, WAKE UP, AMERICA. This war, this military action, is NOT about one country versus another. It's about our nation fighting an enemy that transcends borders, a concept of hatred that would see both us and Israel cleared from the map in the name of the Jihad. This is a war to stop radical Muslim Imperialism, a notion that, if it comes to pass, will strike away the freedom of the individual. All of the work done by many liberal organizations will be gone. That in itself should bring the left on board with this. NOW would be outlawed. ACTUP would be outlawed. The NAACP would be changed radically. Dissidents and "free thinkers" would be labeled as outlaws and infidels. Women in the US think that they're still under male subjegation today? Imagine how it will be if the terrorists WIN.

The bikini would become a thing of the past, A horrible concept, in my opinion. The world is a MUCH better place since the introduction of the bikini, especially the thong bikini. Welcome to the age of the burkah...

Think outside our borders, learn how the rest of the world sees us, and how they know that we see them. We have GOT to stop bickering, fighting amongst ourselves over penny anty issues that don't amount to a hill of beans. We have GOT to maintain our focus on the ENTIRE Middle East to hunt these terrorist groups down, keeping a watchful eye on Korea.

We also HAVE to do something about the number of illegal immigrants coming into this country across the Mexican border, but that is another story...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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