Sunday, August 30, 2009

War reporting then and now

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*


I am working on a couple (or more) original columns, but in the meantime came across two items that speak to my interest in how wars are reported. During the current Global War on Terror, (yes, I still call it that, ) there have been a number of first person accounts from military personnel in the sandbox. If you really want to know what is going on, pick up one of the great books available. Of course, we also have the blogs written by boots on the ground. These warrior/writers give us immediate first hand accounts that you will not find in the msm. Because of modern technology, our troops can share what they see, and do, almost as it happens. Wasn't always so. Back in the previous world wars, it would often take weeks for a single handwritten letter from the trenches to reach waiting families on the homefront. Those letters were usually full of blacked out sections, too. Today, we also have independent journalists like Michael Yon sending up-to-the-minute reports which provide insights not found elsewhere. You DO read Michael Yon, don't you?


Over D-Day celebrations recently, the BBC ran an interesting article on a technological breakthrough. Read on:

D-Day: A breakthrough for war reporting

By Vincent Dowd
BBC World Service

'Midget' recording device (copyright: Chris Owen)
The 'midget' recording device was revolutionary for the time

Saturday marks the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of occupied Europe on June 6 1944.

Unlike earlier in the war, it was the first time that BBC radio was able to broadcast news back to the UK from the beaches and battlefields of Europe.

Hidden away in a BBC storeroom in central London is a remarkable bit of broadcasting history. It looks rather like a 1950s Dansette record player, redesigned by the British army.

In fact it's a so-called 'midget' recording device made by the BBC for use by correspondents in the field during and after the D-Day invasions.

The BBC's Charles Commander, who guards this priceless bit of broadcasting heritage, pulls it out from under a pile of boxes. "What the BBC considered 'portable' in 1944 is remarkable. But compared to what came before, it did give the reporter freedom to move.

The idea was they could take it through the sand-dunes and round the back roads in Normandy. And it worked: we still have the recordings to prove it."..


Go learn more here.


Today, veterans of the GWOT are also writing books about their experiences. Because of the articulate warrior/writers we have in our midst, there has been a whole new genree of war books released. House to House by David Bellavia is one; The Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell is another. Both well worth reading.


Came across a review of another book yesterday. It appears on a blog I found quite recently. Between the Sandhills and the Sea is another homefront blog, written by a Soldiers' Angel who has a personal connection to the GWOT. The book review?:


"War Reporting for Cowards"

When the destruction was finally over, everyone in the Humvee was shouting. This, I thought, is what the will to live sounds like.'YEAH! YEAH! Oh, YEAH!' we all howled in union like the animals we were. 'Targets destroyed,'said the monotone on the radio.

Book of the week is War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayers. I don't usually enjoy Iraq war books by reporters. Most of them take themselves a little too seriously. Ayers, self-deprecating throughout, does not have this problem.

Ayers describes himself as an accidental war reporter. Writing for The Times of London, he makes his name as a business/financial reporter more familiar with stock prices than NBC gear. His first taste of war came when he had the misfortune of living in New York and covering Wall Street at the time of the September 11th attacks. He also was in the right place-if you will- to cover the anthrax attacks when they befell his office building. Hoping to move towards a life of more glamour and less terror, he makes a move to LA to cover the celebrity beat for The Times.

It is from the Hollywood scene this young reporter is picked to cover the war in Iraq. You follow Chris, a man who had never even been camping, to the mud and dust of the Iraqi desert....


There is much more, and you can find that here. Check it out, and yes, bookmark that blog, or connect to the "following" thingamajig...(tech term.)


There is NO excuse for anyone to be uninformed these days; well, unless you choose to stay uninformed, but that's a whole 'nother story.

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Friday, August 28, 2009

Obama and Hezbollah

Now comes World Net Daily suggesting that President Obama's Homeland Security Advisor, John Brennan, seeks a policy of "engagement" with Hezbollah. WND quotes snippets of Brennan's August 6 address to CSIS, and links to more quotes at Independent Media Review Analysis, which links to a 23 page transcript in pdf format.

I addressed a few of the deceptions in Brennan's address in a previous blog post: Obanination: High Treason, which concentrates on the Al-Qaeda/Islam identity. In this post, I will address the issue of "engagement" with the "Party of Allah".

Observe the cognitive dissonance clearly evident in this excerpt [emphasis added]. Brennan is erecting a false premise: grievance driven terrorism, even while denying it.
The president has been very clear on this. Poverty does not cause violence and terrorism. Lack of education does not cause terrorism. But just as there is no excuse for the wanton slaughter of innocents, there is no denying that when children have no hope for an education, when young people have no hope for a job and feel disconnected from the modern world, when governments fail to provide for the basic needs of their people, then people become more susceptible to ideologies of violence and death.

Extremist violence and terrorist attacks are therefore, often the final, murderous manifestations of a long process rooted in helplessness, humiliation and hatred. Therefore, any comprehensive approach has to also address the upstream factors, the conditions that help fuel violent extremism. Indeed, the counterinsurgency lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan apply equally to the broader fight against extremism.

We cannot shoot ourselves out of this challenge. We can take out all the terrorists we want – their leadership and their foot soldiers – but if we fail to confront the broader political, economic and social conditions under which extremists thrive, then there will always be another recruit in the pipeline, another attack coming downstream. Indeed, our failure to address these conditions also plays into the extremists’ hands, allowing them to make the false claim that the United States actually wants to keep people impoverished and unempowered.
Are Usama bin Ladin, Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad illiterate, uneducated indigents? No, they are educated professionals, with the potential to earn good incomes and accrue wealth. Usama had inherited wealth.

Ideologies of violence and death? What are those? Has Brennan read the Qur'an, hadith, Sira or Shari'ah? Islam is an ideology of violence and death, this fatal fact is clear on the face of the Qur'an. Violence and death are the rule, not the exception. The elected and appointed leadership of this nation denies objective factual reality in order to promote their Socialist agenda. They pretend that education, development and social welfare programs will prevent 'radicalization'. They can not explain the fact that the majority of the Magnificent Nineteen came from middle and upper class families in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Brennan attributes Islam's violence to helplessness, humiliation and hatred, completely ignoring the fact that Allah ordained Jihad in 2:216 and commanded it in 8:39 & 9:29, as he commanded terrorism in 8:12 and exemplified it in 33:26. Islamic humiliation is the result of loss of empire. Islamic aspiration is the recovery and expansion of empire. Has Brennan read the hadith? If he has read Sunan Abu Dawud 23.3455, then he intentionally ignores its clear lesson: " When you enter into the inah transaction, hold the tails of oxen, are pleased with agriculture, and give up conducting jihad (struggle in the way of Allah). Allah will make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to your original religion."

The clear implication is that remaking Islamic states in our image will prevent them from sponsoring terrorism. The concept is worse than cretinous, it is treacherous. It promotes the waste of blood & treasure without any possible benefit. Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and the rest will engage in Jihad and sponsor terrorism so long as they remain Muslim. There is no other possibility, regardless of how much tribute we pay. Jihad is a 'religious obligation', established in the Qur'an, exemplified in the Sunnah & Sira, codified in Shari'ah; taught in every Madrassa and preached in every Mosque. Denial of this fatal fact is suicidal.

If we could succeed in making those states productive, wealthy and prosperous, they would export more, import less, and devote more wealth to Jihad & terrorism.
This is why the president’s approach includes a critical fourth element – the recognition that addressing these upstream factors is ultimately not a military operation, but a political, economic and social campaign to meet the basic needs and legitimate grievances of ordinary people – security for their communities, education for their children, a job and income for parents and a sense of dignity and worth.
Their grievances are loss of empire & our existence. Their needs are weapons of war, material and transportation infrastructure to get them to the battlefront. Their dignity and worth are measured in participation in Jihad, which is the best act a Muslim can perform.
The extremists know this. Wherever governments are unable to provide for the legitimate needs of their people, these groups step into the void. It is why they offer free education to impoverished Pakistani children, where they can recruit and indoctrinate the next generation. It is why Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaze provide so many social services to the poor even as they commit heinous acts of terror. It is why the terrorist warlord in Somalia can so easily recruit a destitute teenager who sees nothing but a future of poverty and despair.
Governments do not provide the needs of people, the people do. Governments interfere with the creation and enjoyment of wealth through excessive taxation and regulation. Brennan is setting up an alternative outlook on terrorists as social welfare activists. Hezbollah is a social welfare agency, not a violent terrorism promoter. In Gaza, the UNRWA provides social welfare programs. Has their provision of food, clothing, shelter, education & medical care reduced the incidence of terrorism against Israel? Why not?
President Obama understands that successfully defeating these extremists over the long term requires breaking this bond, exposing al-Qaida as nothing but the death cult it is and isolating extremists from the people they pretend to serve. Often, the extremists do this themselves. Time and again, their barbarism, brutality and beheadings have provoked backlashes among ordinary, good people, from Afghanistan under the Taliban to al-Qaida in Iraq, and increasingly in Pakistan today.
There are no extremists. The acts of al-Qaida, Hamas, etc. are standard Islam, not extremism. They were mandated by Allah and exemplified by his messenger. Those who will not read the Qur'an & hadith can not comprehend this crucial fact. The bond which must be broken is Allah's yoke of slavery. 9:111 informs us that Allah has purchased the Muslims so that they fight in his cause, kill and are killed in return for the promise of the celestial bordello. The death cult is Islam. Al-Qaida is another name for Islam; same people, same ideology, same actions.

Going forward, people must come to see that it is the likes of al-Qaida and the Taliban, Hezbollah and Hamas, not the United States, that is holding their aspirations hostage. That of all those al-Qaida have killed, most have been Muslims; that the murder of innocent civilians, as the president said in Cairo, is not how moral authority is claimed, but how it is surrendered; that the future offered by extremists is not one of peace, but of violence, not of hope and opportunity but of poverty and despair.
Brennan wants his listeners to believe that Joe Camel aspires to the good life, home, health, happiness, running water, warmth in winter, cool in summer, and a good education for his children. Brennan is a deceiver. Joe Camel aspires to be part of the winning team, to conquer and enslave the entire world and live the high life off of the labor of others through spoils of war and extortion payments. You need to read the Qur'an to comprehend this fatal fact. The people are subject to deception because of their ignorance.
Governments that provide for basic security and needs of their people, strong and transparent institutions free from corruption, mainstream clerics and scholars who teach that Islam promotes peace, not extremism, and ordinary people who are ready to choose a future free from violence and fear.
Those who do not read the Qur'an & hadith do not realize that Brennan is the worst sort of liar. Standard, off the shelf, orthodox Islam is not a religion of peace, it is a war cult. Mainstream clerics and scholars teach Jihad because that is what Allah commanded and Moe exemplified.
For even as we condemn and oppose the illegitimate tactics used by terrorists, we need to acknowledge and address the legitimate needs and grievances of ordinary people those terrorists claim to represent, which leads to the fifth and final part of the president’s approach – integrating every element of American power to ensure that those upstream factor discourage rather than encourage violent extremism.
The list of tactics which legitimize aggressive world conquest is a null set; there ain't any. The legitimate needs and grievances of Joe Camel are irrelevant, they are not the motivating factor of Jihad. Jihad is doctrine driven, not grievance driven. To discourage 'violent extremism', we must make Islam extinct. There is no other way to accomplish that objective. Islam is Jihad; Jihad is Islam, that identity can not be broken except by breaking Allah's yoke of slavery. Either we induce mass apostasy, nuke them all or suffer the consequences of allowing a vicious predator to prey upon us. There are no other alternatives.
After all, the most effective long-term strategy for safeguarding the American people is one that promotes a future where young man or woman never even considers joining an extremist group in the first place, where they reject out of hand the idea of picking up that gun or strapping on that suicide vest; where they have faith in the political process and confidence in the rule of law; where they realize that they can build, not simply destroy and that the United States is a real partner in opportunity, prosperity, dignity and peace.
While they are Muslims, they will not reject the idea of Jihad, if they do, they cease to be Muslims and become hypocrites, condemned to eternity in the fire. The political process and rule of law have nothing to do with Jihad. Muslims must obey Allah's imperatives, regardless of their form of government. Brennan needs to open Reliance of the Traveller to Book O, Chapter 9, Paragraph 1 and familiarize himself with the collective obligation of Jihad. If Jihad is neglected in any year when it was possible, all who knew of it and did nothing are sinners. Please don't hand me the standard line of crap about Jihad Akhbar/Asghar. Paragraph 0 defines Jihad with extreme clarity as making war upon Kufar.

Islamic prosperity comes from spoils of war and tribute payments. Islamic dignity comes from successful conquest. Peace is the condition after they conquer the entire world.
That is why President Obama is committed to using every element of our national power to address the underlying causes and conditions that fuel so many national security threats, including violent extremism.
Islam is doctrine driven, not grievance driven. Jihad, terrorism & genocide are driven by Allah's demonic imperatives and Moe's excellent example, which are the foundation of Islamic law. Brennan should open Reliance of the Traveller to Book O, Chapter 9, Paragraph 8 and see exactly what drives Jihad. To fully comprehend the fact that our leaders are treacherous liars, you need to know the fundamental facts of Islam, which you will only learn by reading its canon of scripture, tradition and jurisprudence; that is why I post links to them.
We will use our military power not only to take down al-Qaida and its allies, but to train and build up the capacity of foreign militaries and security forces, as we are doing from Iraq to Afghanistan to Africa, because if these militaries and security forces can uphold the rule of law, if these countries can take responsibility for their own security, then militias, warlords and terrorists will find it harder to win sympathizers and recruits with the false promise of security and stability.
Building up military and 'security forces' is a great idea. Tell me how well that is working out in Gaza? When have they been used against terrorists? When have they not been used against Israel? The concept is the Acme of counter productive idiocy!!

Rule of law? What law? Shari'ah is the source of law in Afghanistan & Iraq. What does Shari'ah say about Jihad? Hint: I gave you a link to it four paragraphs back. It is a huge text file, you will need to use the Windows search function [Ctrl f] to search for O9.0 and start reading.

In the question & answer period, we get down to business: engaging Hamas & Hezbollah.
Q: Good morning, John. I’m Bob Dreyfuss from The Nation magazine. It’s good to see you. You mentioned the long term and the short term. My question is, maybe there’s a medium term in between I wanted you to address. In between al-Qaida and general violent extremists, there are other organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, even the Taliban, that seem amenable to
the kind of persuasion that you said that al-Qaida, the president believes, is not amenable to
. And we’ve discussed this in the past, and you’ve suggested that it might be possible to have a dialogue with Hamas and Hezbollah, and I think the president himself has said the Taliban. So I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about disaggregating these movements, which the Bush administration was so prone to rolling up into one, big Islamo-fascist ball of wax. Talk a little bit about how we could deal with some of the other formations that exist and whether or not it might be prudent to start talking to them, now.

MR. BRENNAN: Well, the two cases that you give, Hamas and Hezbollah, are
interesting case studies. Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early
’80s and has evolved significantly over time. And now it has members of parliament, in the
cabinet; there are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization.
However, within Hezbollah, there’s still a terrorist core. And hopefully those elements
within the Shia community in Lebanon and within Hezbollah at large – they’re going to continue
to look at that extremist terrorist core as being something that is anathema to what, in fact,
they’re trying to accomplish in terms of their aspirations about being part of the political process
in Lebanon. And so, quite frankly, I’m pleased to see that a lot of Hezbollah individuals are in
fact renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate in the political
process in a very legitimate fashion.

Muslims are not amenable to persuasion. They are obligated by Allah's command and Moe's example to attempt to conquer the entire world, eliminating all non-Muslim rule and religion. What part of 8:39 & 9:29 does Brennan not comprehend? [Links to Ibn Kathir's Tafsir, which includes the Arabic ayeh, translation and explanation of its meaning.]

Brenan hints that Hezbollah is evolving. So, they have members in the parliament and cabinet; they are succeeding in subverting the government of Lebanon. That does nothing to dilute their zeal for Jihad. They have doctors and lawyers in their ranks, but 'extremism' is supposed to be driven by ignorance and poverty. Ayman al-Zawahiri is a doctor, has that stopped him from Jihad?

Terrorist core? It is Islam!!! Nothing special, just Allah's commands and Moe's example. These traitors will never tell us the truth. I will repeat it here for the benefit of anyone who has not read my previous posts.
  • 8:12. (Remember) when your Lord inspired the angels, "Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes."
  • 33:26-27. And those of the people of the Scripture who backed them (the disbelievers) Allâh brought them down from their forts and cast terror into their hearts, (so that) a group (of them) you killed, and a group (of them) you made captives. And He caused you to inherit their lands, and their houses, and their riches, and a land which you had not trodden (before). And Allâh is Able to do all things.
  • Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220:
    Narrated Abu Huraira:

    Allah's Apostle said, "I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand." Abu Huraira added: Allah's Apostle has left the world and now you, people, are bringing out those treasures (i.e. the Prophet did not benefit by them).
What did Allah command? What did Allah do? How was Moe made victorious? If you can't answer those questions, go back to school for a remedial reading course. If you don't understand that Islam is terrorism and terrorism is Islam, then ask your proctologist to perform an optorectomy.
Hamas, on the other hand, started out as a very focused social organization that was providing welfare to Palestinians, primarily in Gaza. Over time, it developed an extremist and terrorist element to it that, I think, has unfortunately delegitimized it in the eyes of many, not just throughout the world, but also in the territories. And its continued embrace of violence and terrorism is something that the Palestinian people, I think, have to continue to tell Hamas leaders that this is not going to bring them what they truly deserve, which is a Palestinian state side-byside with Israel.
Has this traitor ever read the Hamas Charter? It is extremely explicit about its provenance, objective & strategy. The "continued embrace of violence and terrorism" describes Hamas, Hezbollah & Islam. They do not want a state beside Israel, they want a province instead of Israel. It is all about reconquest; policide & genocide. The Falestinians deserve to be ushered into hell.
So you’re absolutely correct. There are a number of different organizations that have both political and terrorist dimensions to it. Unfortunately, it’s the terrorist dimension that, as I pointed out in my remarks, really holds the aspirations of the people. There are disenfranchised Shia within Lebanon that Hezbollah is trying to represent. But they’re doing it in a corrupted and twisted manner. They’re not going to help to realize those aspirations of the Shia people if they continue to embrace that violence – same thing with Hamas. And I think these aspirations of the people need to be realized, and it’s not going to be through the terrorist agenda.
Terrorism is a tactic, not an agenda. The agenda is reconquest of Israel, followed by regional and world conquest. Jihad is Jihad, whether conducted by massed armies or small bands of terrorists. In either case, innocent people are dispossessed, displaced, killed or enslaved. Conquest is not acceptable whether carried out by massed armies or small bands; intensive or low intensity warfare on whatever scope and scale.
Q: So what do we do? What is America’s role?

MR. BRENNAN: I think what we’ve done is to demonstrate both in Lebanon and to the Palestinians that we, the United States, are willing to engage and have a dialogue with any organizations or groups that are, in fact, dedicated to realizing peaceful solutions to existing problems. And I think those elements within Lebanon, be they Hezbollah or others, know that
the United States has tried to be a very honest broker there, providing support to Lebanese institutions.

And those who shun and eschew that terrorism will, in fact, gain favor with the United States. The same thing in the Palestinian community – those Palestinians that are really going to ensure that they pursue a path towards peace that does not bring terrorism to bear are going to be partners with the United States.
The "problem" is the existence of a Jewish state on soil conquered by Islam in 638. Caliph Umar's conquest makes the Levant permanently Islamic. Israel's recovery of a tiny fragment of her ancient patrimony proves Allah to be an impotent idol whose promises are vain. Muslim pride can't live with that; they must destroy Israel at any cost, no matter how long it takes or how many lives are spent in the process. What is the difference if they drive the Jews into the sea with masses of tanks and aircraft or thousands of rockets and hundreds of homicide bombers? Or one Iranian nuke, that would be ok with Brennan because it ain't terrorism. Why is one tactic acceptable and the other to be rejected?

Brenan has admitted that all Hamas & Hezbollah must do to get the Obama regime on their side is make a false declaration rejecting terrorism. They can do whatever they want, but they must mouth the words for the cameras, then Obama will negotiate with them and hand Israel to them on a silver platter.

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Police Officer: "It ain't [ America] no more"

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

Came across the following:


And there you have it. No editorialising needed from me.


[Update: Found the following comment on Flopping Aces here

I have responded to this outrage by e-mail to the Reston police dept. Also you can phone 703-478-0904 and voice your complaint to Capt. Deborah L Burnett. The e-mail address is
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/


You know what to do!]

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Warrenpoint: Never forget







(video found here)

Always remembered and honoured. They matter.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Warrenpoint: Remember these names






(source: Palace Barracks Memorial Garden here.)

Parachute Regiment Badge

Roll of Honour

MacLEOD - Lance Corporal Victor - 27th August 1979 - Aged 24 - Queen's own Highlanders

BLAIR - Lieutenant Colonel David - 27th August 1979 - Aged 40 - Queen's own Highlanders - Married with two children

ANDREWS - Corporal Nicholas J. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 24 (2 Para) Married

BARNES - Private Gary I. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 18 (2 Para) Single

DUNN - Private Raymond - 27th August 1979 - Aged 20 (2 Para) Single

WOOD - Private Anthony G. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 19 (2 Para) Single

WOODS - Private Michael - 27th August 1979 - Aged 18 (2 Para) Single

GILES - Corporal John C. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 22 (2 Para) Married

ROGERS - Sergeant Ian A. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 31 (2 Para) Married

BEARD - Warrant Officer Walter - 27th August 1979 - Aged 31 (2 Para)

VANCE - Private Thomas R. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 23 (2 Para)

ENGLAND - Private Robert N. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 23 (2 Para) Married with one child

JONES - Private Jeffrey A. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 18 (2 Para)

JONES - Corporal Leonard - 27th August 1979 - Aged 26 (2 Para) Married with one child 18 month old daughter

JONES - Private Robert D.V. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 18 (Para) Single

IRELAND - Lance Corporal Chris G. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 25 (2 Para) Married with one child

FURSMAN - Officer Peter - 27th August 1979 - Aged 35 (Para)

BLAIR - Private Donald F. - 27th August 1979 - Aged 23 (2 Para)

A picture showing the Warrenpoint Narrow Water Castle

Narrow Water Castle, a medieval tower

The Collect of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces

May the defence of the Most High be above
and beneath, around and within us, in our
going out and in our coming in, in our rising
up and in our going down, through all our
days and all our nights, until the dawn when
the Sun of righteousness shall arise with
healing in his wings
for the peoples of the world.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen.


A scenic view of Carlingford Lough  from where the bombs where detonated by the IRA

(Here)


The day after the bombs went-off, Officers and men from 2 Para paraded at the scene of the blast to pay their respect to their fellow soldiers



This plaque is on the Warrenpoint bench in Aldershot Military cemetery.



"The scene was truly something from a nightmare. Severed limbs, decapitations, human remains everywhere. Most of these were very close friends and associates. Taff Jones, the medic, did a sterling job in very difficult circumstances. ..."

In August, 2007, I wrote a column on Tanker Bros, about Warrenpoint. That column was written to mark the withdrawal from Northern Ireland of most of the British troops after 38 years.


I began that column with one of the pictures I have begun today's column with, and I wrote:


A few days ago, I shared with a friend here in North America how an article on the BBC site really brought back a whole myriad of emotions for me. I am happy, and yet I am so sad because I am really aware of the high, high price paid to bring peace to Northern Ireland. That first picture above is of the brave men - paras - who were killed by the IRA terrorists in Narrow Waters, Warrenpoint on August 27, 1979. Of twenty men there, only two survived to tell the tale, to relive the nightmare over and over. That day saw the largest number of British troops murdered in a single incident. ('Incident' is the official word still used in news items.) And my intimate connection to that first picture? Regular readers here may remember a dedication I did on the Rolling Victory Fast a while back. Of the two men that survived Warrenpoint, I have been blessed to have one as a dear friend. I call him "my Yorkshire pud," (an inside joke that a Brit would readily understand!) This veteran of the British paras is the most amazing man....


You can read that whole original column here at Tanker Bros.


From the BBC that day:


At least 18 soldiers have been killed in two booby-trap bomb attacks at Warrenpoint, South Down, close to the border with the Irish Republic.


It is the highest death toll suffered by the British Army in a single incident since it arrived in Northern Ireland to restore order a decade ago.


The IRA are believed to be behind the attack.


It came only hours after the Queen's cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Donegal Bay in the Irish Republic.


The dead at Warrenpoint included the most senior Army officer killed in Northern Ireland to date, the commanding Officer of the Queen's Own Highlanders, Lieutenant-Colonel David Blair....


Please read the rest at Assoluta Tranquillita here.

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The Duke On Immigration....

The Duke On Immigration....
The Duke Says it Best!

They Sacrifice for US

They Sacrifice for US
DO NOT LET THEIR SACRIFICE BE IN VAIN!

SOLDIER"S ANGELS

SOLDIER"S ANGELS NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The Veterans Hospital in Tucson needs our help!!! They have contacted Soldiers' Angels with a list of needs for their patients. Soldiers Angels needs your help in making some of these come true.

Below you will find just a small portion of needs that are immediate. You can also find this list posted on the Soldiers Angels Forum at www.soldiersangelsforum.com you will be able to find lots of great information there for our deployed and vets.

If you are sending a monetary donation please follow the link and indicate the State you are in.

Donate here;
Ttp://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=veterans-support

COMFORT ITEMS- $350/MO
Dry Skin Cream
Slipper Socks-No skid
Catheter bag covers
Shaving Cream
Hand Lotion
Baby Shampoo
Hand Soap
Roll on/Spray Deodorant
Denture Cleaner
Underwear (men and women (all sizes)
Toothbrushes
Denture Grip
Socks (white)
Talcum Powder
Nail Clippers
Toothpaste
Ladies hand and body lotion
Backpacks
Disposable Razors
Comb/Brushes
Shawls
Shaving Cream/small
Knitted Caps
Travel Alarm Clocks
Ball Caps
Tote Bags
Shower Shoes
Pocket Size Needle and Thread Kit
Heart pillows for cardiac patients
Lap Robes (3x5 or 5x7)

GUEST SERVICES
30 cup coffee makers
Coffee supplies (reg. & decaf)
Music CDs
Stamps
Writing Paper and Envelopes
Prepaid Phone Cards for patients’

RECREATION
Puzzle books
Crossword Puzzles
Pencils
Video tapes & DVDs (movies, educational)
DVD Player

Sports equipment (basketball, tennis rackets &
Tickets for entertainment & sporting events
Balls, badminton set, Frisbees, football)

If you can send just one item that would be great!!! If each person sends one thing we will make a difference! They are also needing those who can volunteer time at the hospital just contact the Voluntary Services Dept. For information.

Mail Items to:

Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Arizona VA Health Care System – Voluntary Services 9-135, 3601 S. Sixth Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85723


PLEASE HELP US HELP THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM!

Surrender is NOT An Option Banner

Surrender is NOT An Option Banner

My Favorite Speeches and Other Items of Interest

  • George Bush's March 28, 2007 Discusses Economy, War on Terror During Remarks to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association;http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070328-2.html
  • Mitch McConnell's March 15, 2007 Funding For Troops, Not Timelines for Retreat; http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=270747&start=1
  • Ronald Reagan's June 12, 1987 Tear Down This Wall Speech; http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/wall.asp
  • Vice President Cheney's March 12, 2007 Remarks at the AIPAC 2007 Policy Conference; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070312.html

Winston Churchill Quotes

  • A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.
  • Although personally I am quite content with existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement.
  • Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.
  • Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
  • Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.
  • Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
  • I always seem to get inspiration and renewed vitality by contact with this great novel land of yours which sticks up out of the Atlantic.
  • I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
  • I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.
  • I like a man who grins when he fights.
  • I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside.
  • If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack.
  • In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.
  • It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.
  • Moral of the Work. In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.
  • Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
  • Never, never, never give up.
  • No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism.
  • One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
  • Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
  • Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
  • The first quality that is needed is audacity.
  • The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go.
  • The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.
  • There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion.
  • These are not dark days: these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived.
  • They are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.
  • True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
  • Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
  • War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin, keep out of the way till you can.
  • War is mainly a catalogue of blunders.
  • We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
  • We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.
  • When the eagles are silent the parrots begin to jabber.
  • When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise.
  • You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Ronald Reagan Quotes

  • "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so."
  • Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.
  • All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.
  • Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources
  • Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
  • Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.
  • Double, no triple, our troubles and we'd still be better off than any other people on earth. It is time that we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause.
  • Facts are stupid things.
  • Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
  • Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
  • Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.
  • Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.
  • History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.
  • How can a president not be an actor?
  • How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
  • I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.
  • I will stand on, and continue to use, the figures I have used, because I believe they are correct. Now, I'm not going to deny that you don't now and then slip up on something; no one bats a thousand.
  • In Israel, free men and women are every day demonstrating the power of courage and faith. Back in 1948 when Israel was founded, pundits claimed the new country could never survive. Today, no one questions that. Israel is a land of stability and democracy in a region of tryanny and unrest.
  • Let us ask ourselves; "What kind of people do we think we are?".
  • Man is not free unless government is limited.
  • My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.
  • No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology.
  • Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.
  • Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.
  • Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.
  • Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.
  • The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas - a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
  • The United Sates has much to offer the third world war.
  • There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.
  • To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.
  • Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.
  • We are never defeated unless we give up on God.
  • We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child.
  • We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
  • We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.
  • Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
  • You know, if I listened to Michael Dukakis long enough, I would be convinced we're in an economic downturn and people are homeless and going without food and medical attention and that we've got to do something about the unemployed.

Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes

  • No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

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