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Showing posts with label radical Islamic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radical Islamic. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Israel 101: Bibi still on top
From the art studios of A.F. (Tony) Branco and featured at Comically Incorrect.com
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Thursday, February 26, 2015
Locking arms with Nancy Pelosi on FGM
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) from the files of Colonel Allen B. West
Pundits are always talking about finding common issues where left and right can stand united. Now, I for one find the ridiculous politically-driven “War on Women” agenda to be unproductive, but I’d like to offer a topic where even Nancy Pelosi and I could find allegiance — FGM, or female genital mutilation.
In fact, I’d be thrilled to sit beside Rep. Pelosi in a PSA and denounce this practice. As the father of two girls, it is without a doubt one of the most reprehensible and archaic practices in our modern world.
This weekend I came across a story from February 6th on the subject on a blog called Unbound– sadly there were only 6 comments. The story is based on an interview with a Kenyan couple, Daniel and Sophia who have eight children – four girls and four boys. “Daniel speaks proudly of his cultural heritage and passing it along to his children.
There’s one tradition he and his wife won’t continue, though, in order to protect their daughters. Female genital mutilation — also referred to as FGM or female circumcision — is a difficult subject to talk about in their culture, but the Kenyan couple agreed to speak with Unbound about their views.
“FGM involves altering or injuring female genitalia for non-medical reasons. While it’s concentrated in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, it’s a universal problem, according to the U.N., and is practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America and by immigrant populations in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.”
The fact that we are in the 21st century and abhorrent practices such as beheadings and FGM are still being conducted is troubling — actually, embarrassing.
“I am from the Kenyan tribe called Samburu,” Daniel said. “My people are very traditional and they are true to their culture. As the rest of Kenya embraces Westernization, we still hold on to what we believe is real — our culture.” There’s much about Samburu culture that Daniel loves.
“I love the Samburu regalia and am so proud when I get to wear it,” he said. “It also makes me happy to see my family adorned in our traditional gear. Many tribes in Kenya have done away with their traditional gear, but we stand tall and beautiful with ours. It sets us apart.”
“However, this proud man does not embrace all of his traditional culture. “I chose to carry the culture that is good and do away with that which is harmful,” he said.
The practice of FGM harms girls and women. It can cause severe bleeding, infections, infertility, complications in childbirth and higher risk of newborn deaths, according to the U.N., which estimates that more than 140 million girls and women alive today have gone through some form of FGM.
According to Daniel, when a girl reaches puberty, she has to be initiated to womanhood,” he said. “Her ears are pierced, her two lower teeth removed and finally she has to face the knife. Female relatives (aunts and grandmothers) are the ones who perform this ritual on a girl. …
“If a girl refused to be part of this initiation, she is referred to as an outcast and she cannot find a man to marry her. … Immediately after circumcision, the girl is married off. Many girls are age 12 at the circumcision initiation.”
According to a 2012 review conducted by Unbound (a Catholic non-profit organization) in Kenya’s Meru area, FGM and early marriage were cited as the two main cultural barriers to education.
“These two factors are to a great extent interrelated in that most girls are married off immediately after undergoing FGM,” said the study authored by David Wamae of Unbound in Kenya. Economic pressures to marry off girls for a “bride price” contribute to the continuation of FGM and early marriage. Even if girls are not married immediately after FGM, they may believe they are no longer children and school is not for them.”
Where is the U.N.’s statement on this practice – I guess they’re too busy condemning Israel and supporting Hamas who uses children as human shields.
This disgusting practice must be ended and every country where it is allowed must be brought to the attention of us all. If we cannot unite to stand against this, what does it say about our character?
I think Rachel Maddow and Melissa Harris-Perry should join me in speaking out on this — maybe even Joy Behar would join with me along with Kirsten Powers and Julie Roginsky. There shouldn’t be a single daddy of daughters who should tolerate this practice — and folks, I’m not talking about some empty hashtag campaign.
I’d be more than willing to tour the globe with the first lady Michele Obama and denounce this heinous assault against the bodies and future of young girls. This is the REAL war on women and here is the true frontline in the battle for women’s reproductive rights — not the murder of babies that has been taken over by the progressive left.
How do we fight this clear and present danger of FGM and child marriage? We must bring forth the full weight of our diplomatic, informational, and economic strength to dissuade countries from accepting these practices.
And we should support organizations such as Unbound. “Sponsorship through Unbound helps relieve economic pressures on families by helping with educational costs and other needs. It also provides families with economic opportunities and a safe space to discuss issues such as FGM through support groups for mothers.
Local staff members also make families aware of the health risks of FGM. “It’s important for both men and women to understand the risks of FGM and protect girls from this dangerous practice,” said Dan Pearson, director of international programs for Unbound. “FGM has no benefits and only brings pain, trauma and a host of health risks to girls and women.”
“Regina Muburu, communications liaison for Unbound in Africa, said it is seen as a “rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood” in some cultures, and is done to “tame [a girl’s] feelings and prepare her for the duty of being a wife.” “This practice leaves a trail of destruction in the lives of girls,” Mburu said.
“They are robbed of an important part of their lives as women, not to mention the health complications that can arise from the practice, especially during childbirth.” While some cultures are known for upholding the practice, other communities continue it “mostly in hiding as the government has banned it,” Mburu said.”
As a dad, I believe the greatest rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood is a quality education that unlocks all the doors of opportunity — and it seems that Daniel and I, separated by thousands of miles, agree. “My dream is to see my children excel,” Daniel said. “… I want them to have a better life, and that can only be achieved through education. They will become pilots and so much more.”
According to the U.N.,the practice has persisted for more than a thousand years. Well, I say it is doggone time it ended. What say you, women of the progressive socialist left? Wanna lock shields and make this stand as one with me?
 |
| Nancy Pelosi and Colonel Allen B. West |
In fact, I’d be thrilled to sit beside Rep. Pelosi in a PSA and denounce this practice. As the father of two girls, it is without a doubt one of the most reprehensible and archaic practices in our modern world.
This weekend I came across a story from February 6th on the subject on a blog called Unbound– sadly there were only 6 comments. The story is based on an interview with a Kenyan couple, Daniel and Sophia who have eight children – four girls and four boys. “Daniel speaks proudly of his cultural heritage and passing it along to his children.
There’s one tradition he and his wife won’t continue, though, in order to protect their daughters. Female genital mutilation — also referred to as FGM or female circumcision — is a difficult subject to talk about in their culture, but the Kenyan couple agreed to speak with Unbound about their views.
“FGM involves altering or injuring female genitalia for non-medical reasons. While it’s concentrated in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, it’s a universal problem, according to the U.N., and is practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America and by immigrant populations in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.”
The fact that we are in the 21st century and abhorrent practices such as beheadings and FGM are still being conducted is troubling — actually, embarrassing.
“I am from the Kenyan tribe called Samburu,” Daniel said. “My people are very traditional and they are true to their culture. As the rest of Kenya embraces Westernization, we still hold on to what we believe is real — our culture.” There’s much about Samburu culture that Daniel loves.
“I love the Samburu regalia and am so proud when I get to wear it,” he said. “It also makes me happy to see my family adorned in our traditional gear. Many tribes in Kenya have done away with their traditional gear, but we stand tall and beautiful with ours. It sets us apart.”
“However, this proud man does not embrace all of his traditional culture. “I chose to carry the culture that is good and do away with that which is harmful,” he said.
The practice of FGM harms girls and women. It can cause severe bleeding, infections, infertility, complications in childbirth and higher risk of newborn deaths, according to the U.N., which estimates that more than 140 million girls and women alive today have gone through some form of FGM.
According to Daniel, when a girl reaches puberty, she has to be initiated to womanhood,” he said. “Her ears are pierced, her two lower teeth removed and finally she has to face the knife. Female relatives (aunts and grandmothers) are the ones who perform this ritual on a girl. …
“If a girl refused to be part of this initiation, she is referred to as an outcast and she cannot find a man to marry her. … Immediately after circumcision, the girl is married off. Many girls are age 12 at the circumcision initiation.”
According to a 2012 review conducted by Unbound (a Catholic non-profit organization) in Kenya’s Meru area, FGM and early marriage were cited as the two main cultural barriers to education.
“These two factors are to a great extent interrelated in that most girls are married off immediately after undergoing FGM,” said the study authored by David Wamae of Unbound in Kenya. Economic pressures to marry off girls for a “bride price” contribute to the continuation of FGM and early marriage. Even if girls are not married immediately after FGM, they may believe they are no longer children and school is not for them.”
Where is the U.N.’s statement on this practice – I guess they’re too busy condemning Israel and supporting Hamas who uses children as human shields.
This disgusting practice must be ended and every country where it is allowed must be brought to the attention of us all. If we cannot unite to stand against this, what does it say about our character?
I think Rachel Maddow and Melissa Harris-Perry should join me in speaking out on this — maybe even Joy Behar would join with me along with Kirsten Powers and Julie Roginsky. There shouldn’t be a single daddy of daughters who should tolerate this practice — and folks, I’m not talking about some empty hashtag campaign.
I’d be more than willing to tour the globe with the first lady Michele Obama and denounce this heinous assault against the bodies and future of young girls. This is the REAL war on women and here is the true frontline in the battle for women’s reproductive rights — not the murder of babies that has been taken over by the progressive left.
How do we fight this clear and present danger of FGM and child marriage? We must bring forth the full weight of our diplomatic, informational, and economic strength to dissuade countries from accepting these practices.
And we should support organizations such as Unbound. “Sponsorship through Unbound helps relieve economic pressures on families by helping with educational costs and other needs. It also provides families with economic opportunities and a safe space to discuss issues such as FGM through support groups for mothers.
Local staff members also make families aware of the health risks of FGM. “It’s important for both men and women to understand the risks of FGM and protect girls from this dangerous practice,” said Dan Pearson, director of international programs for Unbound. “FGM has no benefits and only brings pain, trauma and a host of health risks to girls and women.”
“Regina Muburu, communications liaison for Unbound in Africa, said it is seen as a “rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood” in some cultures, and is done to “tame [a girl’s] feelings and prepare her for the duty of being a wife.” “This practice leaves a trail of destruction in the lives of girls,” Mburu said.
“They are robbed of an important part of their lives as women, not to mention the health complications that can arise from the practice, especially during childbirth.” While some cultures are known for upholding the practice, other communities continue it “mostly in hiding as the government has banned it,” Mburu said.”
As a dad, I believe the greatest rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood is a quality education that unlocks all the doors of opportunity — and it seems that Daniel and I, separated by thousands of miles, agree. “My dream is to see my children excel,” Daniel said. “… I want them to have a better life, and that can only be achieved through education. They will become pilots and so much more.”
According to the U.N.,the practice has persisted for more than a thousand years. Well, I say it is doggone time it ended. What say you, women of the progressive socialist left? Wanna lock shields and make this stand as one with me?
_____________________________
Become a Truth Serum Partner Now
Become a Truth Serum Partner Now
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
There will always be war
There Will Always Be War from the Warning Signs of Alan Caruba at Facts-not-Fantasy
We begin with the reality that the United States and many other nations are at war with militant Islamists. They are a growing army of religious zealots murdering Christians, Jews, others who are not Muslim, and even other Muslims.
In my youth America knew how to win wars. In Europe it bombed Germany into submission, leading its allies in an invasion that left Germany divided for decades until the Soviet Union collapsed. In Asia Truman dropped two atomic bombs on Japan because they didn’t get the message when Hiroshima was destroyed on August 6, 1945. It took a second bomb on Nagasaki on August 9 to bring about Japan’s surrender.
Millions died in World War II but the alternative would have been the loss of freedom for millions worldwide.
If one spends any time learning history, the primary lesson is that war has been a constant factor from the beginning of what we call civilization about five thousand years ago.
The Bronze Age introduced new weapons that gave the residents of the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East a distinct advantage over invading nomadic people, but the invaders introduced chariots and it took the Egyptians and Babylonians a while to catch up. War has always been about new, more lethal weaponry.
Why would we be surprised to learn that the Assyrians who originated in what is now northern Iraq or the Islamic State (ISIS) were the most violent and bloodthirsty of the ancient world’s peoples? Known to all their neighbors by 1300 B.C.E., their army become a source of terror for the Middle East during the ninth century.
They destroyed the Kingdom of Israel around 732 B.C.E., but the southern part of the Kingdom of Judah survived. In time the Babylonians would defeat the Assyrians.
Not all wars involved religion. The Greeks fought each other and then fought the Persians. Alexander the Great, a Macedonian, loved waging war and was very successful.
The constant factor, however, was war and, of course, Rome would become the greatest empire of its time, beginning around 509 B.C.E., fighting three Punic wars with Carthage, but losing an estimated 400,000 in the first war and 150,000 in the second.
Eventually, Rome was so powerful it imposed a “Pax Romana” on the entire Mediterranean area it controlled. In time, Rome would be destroyed by the “barbarians”, Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoth’s, and Burgundians. By 476 C.E., the Roman Empire was history.
After establishing a group of followers in the Arabian Peninsula as the “last prophet”, proclaiming Islam as the one, true faith, Muhammad died in 632 C.E. Within ten years, the Arabs had conquered Jerusalem and were taking aim at Damascus and Cairo. Baghdad and the Libyan Desert were the next to be conquered. They moved on to Spain and Central Asia.
During his lifetime, Ali, Mohammad’s son-in-law, was the leader of the Arab forces. As noted in Samuel Willard Crompton’s ‘The Handy Military History Answer Book’, by the time the Arabs fought the Byzantines and the Persians they had also initiated the great split that remains today between the Sunnis and the Shiites.” Shiite means “follower of Ali.” The Sunnis wanted to elect their own caliph.
After taking the southern half of Spain, the Muslim army was poised to take all of Europe, but their 732 C.E. defeat in the Battle of Tours put an end to further expansion.
Their momentum in Asia was stopped in 751 C.E. with a defeat in the Battle of Talas. As Crompton notes, “in the century that followed the Prophet’s death, the Arabs took over ninety percent of all the urban centers in the Western world, and their conquests equaled those of ancient Rome.”
Which brings us to the first Crusade; it began when Pope Urban II in 1095 told a gathering of 10,000, mostly French and German knights, that a “new accursed group”, the Muslims, had taken control of the holy land were preventing pilgrims from visiting holy sites. The knights responded to his call to liberate Jerusalem by chanting “Deus Volt! Deus Volt!”—God wills it.
They were joined by a “Peasants Crusade” between 1095 and 1096. By June 1099 the knights arrived outside Jerusalem and what followed was a wholesale murder of everyone there. In 1185, Saladin, the emir of Cairo and Lord of Damascus, proclaimed a jihad—a holy war—against the Christians in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The knights defending it were defeated.
A Second Crusade followed in 1147 C.E. but accomplished little and the Third Crusade had the same result. A Fourth Crusade resulted in the Europeans taking control of Constantinople in August 1204 C.E. They would rule it for the next fifty years. Years later, in 1489, a war drove the Muslims from Spain.
The spokeswoman from our Department of State who said that the present generation of Muslim holy warriors can’t all be killed doesn’t know that this is the way wars are won. You kill the enemy until the enemy decides that dying for their cause is not worth it.
If ISIS is insane enough to bring the war to our homeland (and even if it doesn’t), a war of total destruction will be the only way to end the present conflict.
Currently, the Jordanians and the Egyptians are doing what they can to resist ISIS, but recent polls confirm that Americans are beginning to conclude that our active boots-on-the-ground participation is the only way this will end.
Obama is merely going through the motions of conducting a war against ISIS, but retired generals and diplomats have told Congress that only full-scale war will end the threat they represent.
Meanwhile, ISIS is committing genocide against the Christians of the Middle East while Boko Haram is doing the same in Africa. Hezbollah would do the same against Israel if it could. Given nuclear arms, Iran will assert control over all of the Muslim warriors, threatening both Israel and the U.S.
Our next President will have to commit to destroying ISIS. There is no alternative. That is history’s primary lesson.
Editor’s Note: The Handy Military History Answer Book is published by Visible Ink, $21.95, softcover.
Become a Truth Serum Partner Now
 |
| Know the Warning Signs from Alan Caruba at Facts-not-Fantasy |
We begin with the reality that the United States and many other nations are at war with militant Islamists. They are a growing army of religious zealots murdering Christians, Jews, others who are not Muslim, and even other Muslims.
In my youth America knew how to win wars. In Europe it bombed Germany into submission, leading its allies in an invasion that left Germany divided for decades until the Soviet Union collapsed. In Asia Truman dropped two atomic bombs on Japan because they didn’t get the message when Hiroshima was destroyed on August 6, 1945. It took a second bomb on Nagasaki on August 9 to bring about Japan’s surrender.
Millions died in World War II but the alternative would have been the loss of freedom for millions worldwide.
If one spends any time learning history, the primary lesson is that war has been a constant factor from the beginning of what we call civilization about five thousand years ago.
The Bronze Age introduced new weapons that gave the residents of the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East a distinct advantage over invading nomadic people, but the invaders introduced chariots and it took the Egyptians and Babylonians a while to catch up. War has always been about new, more lethal weaponry.
Why would we be surprised to learn that the Assyrians who originated in what is now northern Iraq or the Islamic State (ISIS) were the most violent and bloodthirsty of the ancient world’s peoples? Known to all their neighbors by 1300 B.C.E., their army become a source of terror for the Middle East during the ninth century.
They destroyed the Kingdom of Israel around 732 B.C.E., but the southern part of the Kingdom of Judah survived. In time the Babylonians would defeat the Assyrians.
Not all wars involved religion. The Greeks fought each other and then fought the Persians. Alexander the Great, a Macedonian, loved waging war and was very successful.
The constant factor, however, was war and, of course, Rome would become the greatest empire of its time, beginning around 509 B.C.E., fighting three Punic wars with Carthage, but losing an estimated 400,000 in the first war and 150,000 in the second.
Eventually, Rome was so powerful it imposed a “Pax Romana” on the entire Mediterranean area it controlled. In time, Rome would be destroyed by the “barbarians”, Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoth’s, and Burgundians. By 476 C.E., the Roman Empire was history.
After establishing a group of followers in the Arabian Peninsula as the “last prophet”, proclaiming Islam as the one, true faith, Muhammad died in 632 C.E. Within ten years, the Arabs had conquered Jerusalem and were taking aim at Damascus and Cairo. Baghdad and the Libyan Desert were the next to be conquered. They moved on to Spain and Central Asia.
After taking the southern half of Spain, the Muslim army was poised to take all of Europe, but their 732 C.E. defeat in the Battle of Tours put an end to further expansion.
Their momentum in Asia was stopped in 751 C.E. with a defeat in the Battle of Talas. As Crompton notes, “in the century that followed the Prophet’s death, the Arabs took over ninety percent of all the urban centers in the Western world, and their conquests equaled those of ancient Rome.”
Which brings us to the first Crusade; it began when Pope Urban II in 1095 told a gathering of 10,000, mostly French and German knights, that a “new accursed group”, the Muslims, had taken control of the holy land were preventing pilgrims from visiting holy sites. The knights responded to his call to liberate Jerusalem by chanting “Deus Volt! Deus Volt!”—God wills it.
They were joined by a “Peasants Crusade” between 1095 and 1096. By June 1099 the knights arrived outside Jerusalem and what followed was a wholesale murder of everyone there. In 1185, Saladin, the emir of Cairo and Lord of Damascus, proclaimed a jihad—a holy war—against the Christians in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The knights defending it were defeated.
A Second Crusade followed in 1147 C.E. but accomplished little and the Third Crusade had the same result. A Fourth Crusade resulted in the Europeans taking control of Constantinople in August 1204 C.E. They would rule it for the next fifty years. Years later, in 1489, a war drove the Muslims from Spain.
If ISIS is insane enough to bring the war to our homeland (and even if it doesn’t), a war of total destruction will be the only way to end the present conflict.
Currently, the Jordanians and the Egyptians are doing what they can to resist ISIS, but recent polls confirm that Americans are beginning to conclude that our active boots-on-the-ground participation is the only way this will end.
Obama is merely going through the motions of conducting a war against ISIS, but retired generals and diplomats have told Congress that only full-scale war will end the threat they represent.
Meanwhile, ISIS is committing genocide against the Christians of the Middle East while Boko Haram is doing the same in Africa. Hezbollah would do the same against Israel if it could. Given nuclear arms, Iran will assert control over all of the Muslim warriors, threatening both Israel and the U.S.
Our next President will have to commit to destroying ISIS. There is no alternative. That is history’s primary lesson.
_____________________________________________
Editor’s Note: The Handy Military History Answer Book is published by Visible Ink, $21.95, softcover.
_____________________________________________
Thursday, February 5, 2015
American woman held hostage by ISIS
What horror is next for American woman held by ISIS? from the files of Colonel Allen B. West
We’ve known for some time that ISIS has been holding an American woman hostage. And it seems the mainstream media are finally giving this attention.
As reported by Yahoo News, “President Barack Obama says the U.S. is doing everything in its power to try to rescue an American woman being held by Islamic State militants.
A day after a Japanese journalist held by the militants was purportedly beheaded, Obama says the U.S. and its allies are deploying all available tools to identify a 26-year-old U.S. aid worker’s location. He called her captivity heartbreaking.”
“The woman was captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups. U.S. officials have asked that the woman not be identified out of fears for her safety. Obama says he has watched videos of hostages being beheaded. He says “the terrible stuff that’s happening” is part of the reason why the U.S. has to be aggressive in going after Islamic State terrorists.”
I find it unconscionable that President Obama refers to the savage and barbaric beheadings as “the terrible stuff that’s happening.” Downplaying the actions of ISIS is commonplace for the Obama administration.
At what point do President Obama and his administration admit this is a serious issue and not just another episode of a bad reality show?
As former Secretary of Defense Gates stated, “President Barack Obama’s goal to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is “unrealistic“ and “unattainable” with the means he has approved so far.
As Politico reports, “Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, the former Pentagon chief under both Obama and President George W. Bush said U.S. forces should not focus entirely on eradicating the terrorist group but should create an operation that contains the spread of ISIL militants and “denies them the ability to hang onto territory.”
What SecDef Gates was addressing was the attempt to ensure national security with rhetorical speeches rather than sound strategy. Last year when President Obama came out and delivered his speech regarding his ISIS strategy, those of us who understood the military knew it had no possibility of success – “not a snowball’s chance in hell.”
That evening I wrote my assessment of Obama’s ISIS speech — because it was certainly not a strategic vision. It would have been better if Obama had gone before the joint session of the U.S. Congress and made his point to the representatives of the American people.
It’s been little more than a year since the infamous “jayvee” statement when ISIS was only at a strength of 3,000.
Those who throw words out like degrade, defeat and destroy have no idea what those words actually mean — and what it will take to bring them to fruition. You cannot destroy an enemy from 30,000 feet. But leadership is about humility. And the failure of Barack Obama to say the simple words “I was wrong” means that under this president, we shall never stem the growth of ISIS.
No, I’m not a defeatist but a realist. We have the wrong person in the position of Commander-in-Chief at this critical time. I’m quite sure if we were to study history we’d see the same in the years when Britain was under the failed leadership of Sir Neville Chamberlain.
“The president has set an ambitious and, I think under current circumstances, an unrealistic goal when he talks about our intent being to destroy ISIS,” Gates said. “With the means he has approved so far, I think that’s an unattainable objective.”
And, he said, special forces will be needed in Iraq and Syria to assist with the airstrikes that are being conducted by the U.S. and its allies. A “re-invasion of Iraq with large ground forces is a false set of options,” Gates said, but “a few hundred troops” should be stationed in the region.”
And if the situation in the Middle East with ISIS isn’t enough, just look at what the toy “reset button” has meant for Ukraine.
America voted for “hope and change” and even in the face of failure, reelected it once again! As one Rev. Jeremiah Wright stated, “the chickens have come home to roost.”
Become a Truth Serum Partner Now
 |
| Meet Colonel Allen B. West |
As reported by Yahoo News, “President Barack Obama says the U.S. is doing everything in its power to try to rescue an American woman being held by Islamic State militants.
A day after a Japanese journalist held by the militants was purportedly beheaded, Obama says the U.S. and its allies are deploying all available tools to identify a 26-year-old U.S. aid worker’s location. He called her captivity heartbreaking.”
“The woman was captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups. U.S. officials have asked that the woman not be identified out of fears for her safety. Obama says he has watched videos of hostages being beheaded. He says “the terrible stuff that’s happening” is part of the reason why the U.S. has to be aggressive in going after Islamic State terrorists.”
I find it unconscionable that President Obama refers to the savage and barbaric beheadings as “the terrible stuff that’s happening.” Downplaying the actions of ISIS is commonplace for the Obama administration.
At what point do President Obama and his administration admit this is a serious issue and not just another episode of a bad reality show?
As former Secretary of Defense Gates stated, “President Barack Obama’s goal to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is “unrealistic“ and “unattainable” with the means he has approved so far.
As Politico reports, “Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, the former Pentagon chief under both Obama and President George W. Bush said U.S. forces should not focus entirely on eradicating the terrorist group but should create an operation that contains the spread of ISIL militants and “denies them the ability to hang onto territory.”
What SecDef Gates was addressing was the attempt to ensure national security with rhetorical speeches rather than sound strategy. Last year when President Obama came out and delivered his speech regarding his ISIS strategy, those of us who understood the military knew it had no possibility of success – “not a snowball’s chance in hell.”
That evening I wrote my assessment of Obama’s ISIS speech — because it was certainly not a strategic vision. It would have been better if Obama had gone before the joint session of the U.S. Congress and made his point to the representatives of the American people.
It’s been little more than a year since the infamous “jayvee” statement when ISIS was only at a strength of 3,000.
Those who throw words out like degrade, defeat and destroy have no idea what those words actually mean — and what it will take to bring them to fruition. You cannot destroy an enemy from 30,000 feet. But leadership is about humility. And the failure of Barack Obama to say the simple words “I was wrong” means that under this president, we shall never stem the growth of ISIS.
No, I’m not a defeatist but a realist. We have the wrong person in the position of Commander-in-Chief at this critical time. I’m quite sure if we were to study history we’d see the same in the years when Britain was under the failed leadership of Sir Neville Chamberlain.
“The president has set an ambitious and, I think under current circumstances, an unrealistic goal when he talks about our intent being to destroy ISIS,” Gates said. “With the means he has approved so far, I think that’s an unattainable objective.”
And, he said, special forces will be needed in Iraq and Syria to assist with the airstrikes that are being conducted by the U.S. and its allies. A “re-invasion of Iraq with large ground forces is a false set of options,” Gates said, but “a few hundred troops” should be stationed in the region.”
And if the situation in the Middle East with ISIS isn’t enough, just look at what the toy “reset button” has meant for Ukraine.
America voted for “hope and change” and even in the face of failure, reelected it once again! As one Rev. Jeremiah Wright stated, “the chickens have come home to roost.”
______________________________________________