'Myopic Group of Imbeciles'
Soldier's Diary: One of Capt. Dan's soldiers attends his military brother's funeral only to be confronted by 'church' protesters
Readers Respond

Philippine Sea (June 21, 2006) - Operations Specialist 2nd Class Charles Miranda stands watch in the Combat Information Center (CIC) aboard of the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53). Mobile Bay is currently underway in the Guam operating area in support of Exercise Valiant Shield 2006. Valiant Shield focuses on integrated joint training among U.S. military forces, enabling real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces and in detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land and cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman James R. Evans

David takes a look at liberal thinking:

I don’t know why I’m amazed at the thought process of the left, perhaps it’s the fact that after years studying the Constitution and in every Constitutional Law class I ever took there was someone that just didn’t get the concept that the Bill of Rights is the foundation for all of our laws in this country. They are like many things in politics compromises, but once having reached that compromise they are irrefutable and virtually unchangeable. I say virtually, because the Constitution does allow for the Amendment of Amendments as well as the Articles set forth by the Constitution, but it takes a major force to make changes to the Constitution and its Amendments...

Well worth the read - over at The Thunder Run


Other great posts on David's Blog:
Mr. Stokely Responds To Missing Soldiers Found
The Flags Are For Heros

CURRENT LOCATION — U.S. Army Capt. Douglas Houston, assigned to the Military Transition Team, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, calls in his current location during Operation St. Albans being conducted near Haddan, Iraq, June 16, 2006. The operation was intended to root out a kidnapping cell and discover possible cave hideouts. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood

It’s taken me til now to comment on the murder of our Heroes, and I'm entirely sure that this rant isn't going to go down as my best work. Part of the delay involved my work schedule. Part of it was that I just couldn’t put into words what I wanted to say. My feelings have finally coalesced with a sort of pinpoint focus: RAGE.

I am enraged. Not surprised, mind you, but enraged. And while my heart breaks for the family and comrades of these Heroes, my mind asks a single question:

Now can we call them the enemy?

There was a time in this country when we knew the enemy – before the cloud of a biased, power-drunk media derailed an entire country’s commitment to doing what it needed to do. Before an entire political party devolved into a pseudo-socialist bunch of weak-kneed self-servers, betraying their country, selling out to foreign interests, and maligning the people who bought the freedoms they claim to champion.

The details emerging on the deaths of these two Heroes are unspeakable. They are the stuff that our nightmares have been made of since the day our troops crossed into Iraq. And now the nightmare is real. It stares us in the face with all of the malevolence of Hell itself, and yet, where is the outrage?

Cruising the headlines this morning, of the sources I searched, only Fox had extensive coverage of this horror. Where are the politicians, crying for justice? Where are the media outlets, blasting this all over the country – making sure people know what THE ENEMY DID? Compare the coverage, if you will, to Abu Ghraib. To Gitmo. How do you think it measures up? Where is Amnesty International, shrieking to the rafters about this wickedness?

And yet, we as a country will spend countless media dollars lamenting the treatment of terrorists in Gitmo. We will expend untold amounts of energy raging against a couple of stupid photographs. We will put our own Heroes on trial for the treatment of detainees. Politicians will rage against what they term coldblooded murder in Haditha, condemning Marines for murdering civilians before any trial is even begun. We will betray those in harm’s way at the drop of the hat, but we don’t dare call a murdering animal of a terrorist what he is.

Now, can we take the gloves off?

There is one language these people understand. One. It is the language of brutality.

In 1985, in Beirut, terrorists made the fateful mistake of thinking they could kidnap Soviet diplomats the same way they did any other. They were wrong.

The Soviets wrote off the diplomat. Details of what happened next vary - from the terrorist leader being sent a package containing the head of his beloved nephew, to an entirely different part from a Sheikh’s son being sent, to other versions. Bottom line – the Soviets proved they spoke the language.

There were no further kidnappings of Soviet diplomats in Beirut.
Russian diplomats have been killed and kidnapped in Iraq, too. But Russian hostages are usually released pretty quickly. I wonder Russia still speaks the language?

We should know soon – Al Qaeda is threatening to kill its four current Russian hostages.

Oh, and by the way, Kofi Annan made sure to issue a condemnation for one incident – where is the condemnation on the murder of our heroes?

The outcries about the Geneva Convention have been all over the place for detained terrorists – who are NOT troops, who are NOT the military of any country, who are disgusting, murderous criminals, and who do NOT follow the Geneva convention.

So where, pray tell, are the cries now?

There is one way to deal with this. I am not advocating the specific method of the Soviets – but there is a very important lesson to be learned here.

Speak the language.

The way to ensure that Al Qaeda will NEVER do this again is to make the consequences so severe, so swift and sure, so absolute, that they will do anything rather than ever incur the wrath of the United States again.

The moonbats will tell you – "see? This is why we need to pull out now."

But the reports are that the US military is saying something different. I’m talking about the boots on the ground. They are saying, to paraphrase: "OK, gloves F*in’ OFF!!"

We have ONE course – find them. Find them, and kill them. Not try them, not get them touchy-feely therapy, not discuss anything with them, not detain them – KILL them.

To take a page from sentiments of old, the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist. The only way to remove the terrorist threat is to kill them so well that they decide that maybe this isn’t such a hot idea anymore – or until they cease to be. Send them to their 72 virgins – or more likely, to whatever circle of Hell their just reward awaits them in. And send them quickly.

The war’s too expensive? I promise will happily pay more taxes to ensure that terrorists are dead. I promise I will endure oil rationing with silence. I promise I will always stand strong to support our Heroes. I ask one thing of our government in return: promise me that you will KILL them.

Tell Iraq that the gloves are off now. You want our help? I’m 100% behind supporting you, behind staying as long as it takes to get the job done. But conditionally:

1. DO NOT expect the US Military to cater to terrorists. DO NOT expect us to ask permission to hunt them. DO NOT expect us to be nice to them. DO NOT expect us to be concerned about taking them alive. They are terrorists. They are parasites. They are a virus in your country. You don’t negotiate with a virus or parasite. You kill it.

2. DO NOT play games when you ask the US to stay and defend you. DO NOT criticize us on one hand, and ask us to stay on the other. Either you are with us, or you are not. And if you are not, then we will respond accordingly.

It is time to tell Al Qaeda, our own slithering political naysayers, the Moonbats, and the rest of the world what the rules are when it comes to terrorists. I want to hear us lay out the rules:

1. We do not negotiate with terrorists, EVER. We do not bargain with them, we do not treat with them, we do not care what they think, we do not care what offends them. We do one thing with terrorists – we KILL them.

2. We will hunt our enemies wherever they hide. We will track them to the farthest ends of the globe. And if you harbor them, you are them. We do not need the permission of terrorists or their allies to defend our country. Side with the terrorists, and you have chosen your fate. You’ve been given clear warning, and we are not responsible for the consequences – YOU are.

3. The US military is very, very good at what it does. And what it does is kill the enemy.

4. Follow whatever religion you choose. We believe strongly in freedom of religion. But murder is not a religion. Murder an American and you’re not exercising your religion – you’re commiting an act of War. And we will respond accordingly – see rule #3.

5. We are better than terrorists. We are more worthy than terrorists. We are, in fact, the best country there is. And we’re not going to apologize for that. If it takes the deaths of 10,000 – or 1,000,000 – terrorists to ensure the safety of one American, fine. Terrorists are nothing. They are not fit to grace Uncle Sam’s heel – which will grind them into the ground.

6. If we choose to detain people, we will treat them according to the rules they deserve. We will give them such courtesies as we deem fit. Terrorists don’t deserve much. They don’t deserve the protection of our laws. They don’t deserve the protection of the Geneva Convention. And since you’ve shown that you won’t treat our people with anything remotely resembling human decency, don’t whine to us when the salmon mousse isn’t the right temperature at Gitmo. We don’t care. They’re lucky to be alive and eating anything. See rule #3

7. When we bring food, clothing, candy, and other items to local people – when our Heroes go well beyond the call of duty to help those they come in contact with – it is a gift. It is well beyond what we require. It is part of why we call them Heroes.

8. Life under Saddam sucked. He was not a nice guy. He was not a glorious leader. He was a thug, a mass-murderer, and an enemy of the US. The world is better off with him out of power. Who’s responsible for the invasion of Iraq? He is. He had his chance. We know it, and you know it. Get over it.

9. The Taliban were a vicious bunch of murderers, directly linked to the worst terrorist attack in history. They got what they deserved –better than they deserved. And we’ll keep sending them to Hell as quickly as possible – without losing a wink of sleep.

10. Al Qaeda is the enemy – as all terrorists are. They are not freedom fighters. They are not insurgents. They are scum. They are not after us because of anything we did, or will do, or are responsible for – except for the fact that we’re the one country that they know will never bend to them. They are killing us because we do not believe what they believe. When they give up on one twisted reason, they will find another. They are after us because they are a bunch of repressed, demented psychopaths. They can’t be rehabbed. They can’t be talked to. They can, however, be killed. See rule #3.

11. Yes, there is an anti-war contingent in the US. There always is. But blindly anti-war, recapture-the-60's pacifists aren't heroes. They’re idiots. They’re spineless. They’re wrong. And right now, war IS the answer. Deal with it.

12. We are at WAR. It’s not a game, it’s not a recreational event. It is a war. And when the U.S. goes to war, you know it. If it were meant to be nice, it’d be called a tea party. Deal with it.

13. If you are a reporter, you’re just that. You’re a reporter. You’re not a policy-maker, you’re not a military strategist, you’re not a world leader. You’re a reporter. You’re there for one thing – to report facts. So start doing your job.

14. The UN can’t manage its own house – it has no right to attempt to manage ours. And there was a terrorist attack in NY that destroyed a lot of valuable real estate. If the UN is more of a liability than an asset, we reserve the right to take it back for an alternate use. The UN is not a government. It is a collection of world leaders who voluntarily participate. We don’t need the permission of the UN to defend ourselves. Ever.

15. We no longer have the luxury of waiting to be attacked before we respond. We will neutralize emerging threats. Don’t want us to come to town? Don’t make yourself a threat. Otherwise, the consequences are on your head. See rule #3.

And my personal rules?
I do not care if the terrorists have enough tv time. I do not care if some scum gets barked at by a dog. I do not care if we offend someone by killing terrorists. And yes, I take pleasure in the deaths of terrorists. I was grinning for days when we blew Zarqawi to the Hell he so richly deserved. And I will be nothing but proud and happy when we find the monsters who murdered two American Soldiers, and we send them to Hell, too. My loyalty lies with our troops. Deal with it.

What does it take? This stuff is not new. Remember how our people were treated by the Japanese? The Vietnamese? Somalis? Remember Robert Dean Stethem? Nicolas Berg? 9/11? The rest of the world doesn’t care how our Heroes are treated. Our enemies have relieved themselves all over the Geneva Convention when it comes to Americans, or at best, just turned away.

Now, have we had enough? Now are they the enemy? Now can we kill them?

Now, is it time for Vengeance?

by Air Force Sgt. Stacy Pearsall
June 20, 2006
A Soldier trainee makes her way down the rope ladder obstacle during the 9-week basic combat training course at Fort Jackson, S.C.

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Missing GIs Found Dead
REMAINS BELIEVED TO BE MISSING SOLDIERS LOCATED
Uncle Blasts U.S. Government
Group: Al Qaeda Responsible
21,000 Notified of Deployment
Saddam's Weak Line of Defense - Saddam Lawyer Found Dead
AP: Iraqi troops killed 2 U.S. soldiers

Operation Enduring Freedom
COALITION KILLS MORE TALIBAN INSURGENTS
COALITION SOLDIER KILLED IN KANDAHAR PROVINCE
AFGHAN NATIONAL POLICE DEFEND DISTRICT CENTER, KILL SIX EXTREMISTS
TALIBAN EXTREMISTS CONTINUE TO TARGET SCHOOLS FOR DESTRUCTION

Homeland Security / War on Terror
New Al Qaeda Video Shows Alleged 20th Sept. 11 Hijacker

Other Military News
National Guard Arrives in N.O.

Immigration / Border Control
GOP House: Broad immigration bill unlikely

Worldwide Wackos
Compromise in Pyongyang
Report: U.S. Activates Missile Defense Over N. Korea
U.S. weighs shootdown of N. Korea missile
Video: Video: Defense Showdown
N. Korea: We Have the Right
Bush tries to strengthen EU resolve on Iran - Video
Mexico election could put leftist on US doorstep

Media in the Media
Rather leaves CBS in bitter end to 44 years

Politics / Government
House Considers Voting Rights Act Amendments
US House clears $427.6 billion for Pentagon
Japan, U.S. agree on beef import resumption
Group: Sierra Club invests in state races

In the Courts
Jury Finds Safavian Guilty in Abramoff Scandal Trial
Court: Judge erred in sex offender case

Oddities
Judge: Cat Gets Life Indoors
For once, a bad boss could be a good thing...
Wife accused in swordplay death of husband

Other News of Note
Employee Data Stolen From Top Credit-Info Agency
Heat ride Wade to NBA Finals victory
Small arms: the global trade in life and death

Fox News
Stocks to Watch: FedEx
Waves Lash Central America
Episcopalian Leaders Reject Ban on Gay Bishops
England Wins Group With Tie
FULL WORLD CUP COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
US Presbyterian church opens door to gay clergy
Texas man executed for 1999 triple murder
Three million babies born after fertility treatment
Sex abuse trial opens for gene therapy pioneer
Microsoft sees future in robots
MySpace bolsters defenses, faces sex predator suit
Food movement in US encourages local buying
Diabetes rate doubled in last 30 years
Nonprofit health care often better: study
N.Y. film festivals proliferate
Arctic Monkeys' bass player quits the band
Mittal faces pressure to up Arcelor bid
Traditional media rules retail -- for now
Euronext, Deutsche Boerse sights on Borsa Italiana
NEC in talks to sell part of Europe PC operations
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Telefonica to get 1.75 bln euros for Endemol-paper
MEDIA: ITV raises cash return to 500 mln stg
Stocks seen flat
Neurochem stock falls after analyst report
Final Michaels Stores bids due Wednesday: source
Ericsson shares close up on outlook rumor
Nikkei flat as Sony falls, KDDI advances
REUTERS SUMMIT: CONSUMER & RETAIL
Traditional media rules retail: for now
Licensors keep an eye on China, India
Staples eyes $1 billion in China sales

AP World News
East Timor PM said will likely resign
Celebrity chef Ramsay wins libel damages
Melanoma deadlier in blacks and Hispanics
Southwest to test assigned seating
Visa says ATM breach may have exposed data
Despite tie, England wins World Cup group
Shatner, Brokaw, Regis to join TV Hall
NBA fines Mavericks' Cuban $250,000
NASA safety chief against launch decision
Hasselhoff: Cowell said 'Be a judge'
Firefighters battle wildfire in Arizona
Man pleads not guilty in minivan plunge
Ohio police testing fetus for DNA

Military.com
Teen Raises Money to Help Servicemembers

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DETAIN SENIOR AL-QAIDA IN IRAQ NETWORK MEMBER

COALITION FORCES KILL 15 TERRORISTS, DETAIN THREE OTHERS

Department of Defense
ON THE GROUND
Coast Guard, Navy, FBI Team Up for Exercise - Story
Secure Environment Essential to Iraq’s Future - Commentary
Task Force Rebuilds School, Clinic in Yemen - Story
Soldiers Upgrade Humvees With New Armor - Story
Afghan Officers Complete Course - Story
Afghan Villagers Get Medical Care - Story

IN IRAQ
Army Reservists Assemble 'FOB in the Box'
Renovated Yusufiyah Playground Reopens
Macedonian Troops Praised at Transfer Ceremony
Australian Navy Cools Down the Oil Platforms
Civil Affairs Soldiers Help Baghdad Citizens

IN AFGHANISTAN
Squadron Monitors Sky Over Afghanistan
U.S. Army MPs Mentor Afghan National Police
Engineer Reflects on Second Afghan Deployment

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualties - Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1498 - Emperor Maximillian expells Jews Nurenberg, Bavaria.
1633 - Galileo Galilei is forced by the Inquisition to "abjure, curse, & detest" his Copernican views.
1684 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony's charter is revoked.
1788 - The U.S. Constitution goes into effect as NH becomes the 9th to ratify it.
1805 - Great Stoneface Mt is found in NH.
1893 - The first Ferris wheel premieres at Chicago's Columbian Exposition.
1919 - Germans scuttle their own fleet.
1943 - Federal troops put down a racial riot in Detroit that leaves 30 dead.
1962 - USAF Major Robert M. White takes the X-15 to 75,190 m.
1968 - Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren resigns.
1975 - Soyuz 19 returns to Earth.
1985 - American, Brazilian & West German forensic pathologists confirm that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil are those of Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele.
1989 - The Supreme Court rules it legal to burn the U.S. flag as a political expression.
1990 - The U.S. House of Reps fails to pass a bill to stop U.S. flag burning.

Birthdays
1732 - Martha Washington, first U.S. First Lady
1774 - Daniel D. Tompkins, 6th U.S. Vice President
1851 - Daniel Carter Beard, organized the first Boy Scout troop
1905 - Jean-Paul Sartre, philosopher/writer, declined Nobel Prize
1931 - Lawrence K. Grossman, NBC News president
1942 - William Bradford Reynolds, U.S. Assistant Attorney General
1953 - Benazir Bhutto, first female leader of a Muslim nation (Pakistan)
1982 - Prince William of Wales

Passings
1876 - Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Mexican general (Alamo)
1973 - Frank Leahy, Notre Dame football coach

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Johnson, Edward R., US Army (PA); Released in Cambodia November, 1976 - deceased

1966
Black, Cole, USN (MN); F8E shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Eastman, Leonard C., USN (MA); RF8A shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Sullivan, John B., USAF (PA); F105D shot down, remains returned September, 1990

1967
Spinler, Darrell J., USAF (MN); A1E shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1968
Wadleigh, Carl D., US Army; AWOL

1971
Metzler, Charles D., USN (CA); F8J shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1972
Callaghan, Peter A., USAF (NY); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Rose, George A., USAF (MO); F4E shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998