Bob's Human
One down, one to go....Mike Walker, USMC, Col. (retired)
Marines,
Although there is no joy in my heart over the death of
Saddam Hussein, I find that justice has been served
and if you too had served two tours in Iraq and seen
first hand the horrors wrought upon the Iraqi people
by his evil deeds then you would probably feel the
same.
Saddam well deserves to stand amidst the ranks of the
hundreds of thousands of his victims, Iraqis from all
walks of life who died, often horrifically, as a
direct result of his actions.
But the job is not finished. There is another who now
needs to feel the full weight of justice in Iraq:
Muqtada Sadr.
In the summer of 2003, just weeks after the end of the
conventional war, the Marines wished to move against
Muqtada Sadr for directing the assassination of an
Iraqi who had opposed him. He eluded justice at that
time which is squarely our fault.
Later, in August 2004, Muqtada Sadr seized the Shrine
of Ali in an Najaf, the world's holiest site for Shi'a
Muslims. We was surrounded by Coalition Forces (US
Marines and Iraqi army units). His militia was
soundly defeated and ultimately surrendered en masse.
During the fighting, Muqtada Sadr used the Shrine for
his headquarters. He and his Mahdi army "troops"
desecrated the Shrine to a degree unequaled in all the
centuries of its existence. There were literally
dozens and dozens of bottles of alcohol littered about
various parts of the holy Shrine, the after effects of
this thugs getting some "liquid courage" before they
could face the Marines and Iraqi army units.
Sadr also established torture chambers and conducted
summary executions of his "enemies" while occupying
the Shrine. His sins before man and God during that
period in 2004 is to the everlasting shame of Muqtada
Sadr and his Mahdi army. Muqtada Sadr is often
identified as a Muslim cleric? In a pig's eye. Yet
PM Ayad Allawi allowed him to walk away. Shame on
him.
Muqtada Sadr must be brought to justice if there is to
be peace in Iraq. Now is the time for this megalomaniac to face the
court and if need be to follow in Saddam's footsteps,
right up the gallows's stairs and into the hangman's
noose. God willing.
Semper Fi,
Mike
P.S. While abusing alcohol in a Mosque seemed to be
the preferred method of getting high in battle for the
Mahdi army, the only similar drug use I ever
encountered in Iraq was that done by the Sunni guys in
the al Anbar fighting the Marines, a fairly common
occurrence. I guess if Oliver Stone is going to make
a movie about drug-crazed soldiers in Iraq he will
have to cast the actors as the enemy because the US
soldiers and Marines serving in Iraq make a lie of his
"Platoon" image of American fighting men and women at
war.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
A little late, I apologize. This is taken from an ongoing series of letters from Col. Mike Walker (retired) to Marine Corps associates...
Marines,
It would be grand if Muqtada Sadr keeps his promise to leave the government and takes all his minions with him over the Amman meeting this week but he is such an incorrigible liar that I doubt it. If he does it will present a great opportunity to advance the cause of peace in Iraq if Prime Minister Malaki and the Coalition have the courage to take advantage of the situation.
Tell the resigning members of Muqtada’s cabal “Thank you for your service. Your resignations are accepted effective immediately.” The President of Iraq should refrain from any calls for the government to collapse or for new elections to be held. He should charge the Prime Minister to form a transcendental cabinet to see the country through the emergency.
As for the legislature, keep those who remain for they will better represent the Iraqis who want to move forward, who are willing to put country ahead of sectarianism. It can also strengthen the position of the Sunnis within the government which will serve to unify rather than further divide the country.
Then the Iraqi Security Forces allied with the Multi-National Forces in Iraq need to get rid of the Madhi Army once and for all. If Muqtada Sadr wishes to martyr himself at its head then so be it. He is a pawn of Iran. Iran’s strategy for Iraq is neither sophisticated nor novel. All one has to do is look to Lebanon. Substitute Muqtada Sadr for Hassam Nasrallah and the Madhi Army for Hezbollah and you have it. In Sadr they hope, in the near future, to have a political force through which Iran can directly influence events in Iraq and if political action fails they can achieve their ends military through Sadr’s private army.
Iraqi democracy is and will continue to be an unappetizing thing to watch but that is to be expected. We helped to establish democratic roots in South Korea in the 1950’s. That seed grew slowly despite many setbacks. It withstood many strong attacks that often threatened to kill it. But it survived because the democracy is a powerful idea. Korean democracy only began to thrive in the 1990’s, forty years later. The situation in Iraq is similar. The democracy is a fledgling undertaking in Iraq today, but it is worth our effort to stick with it in the full knowledge that it may well take two generations before it fully takes hold.
One other note on the meeting in Amman this week, some have argued that it should have been in Baghdad. Perhaps, but two thoughts on why Amman is possibly better, first it is an ideal place to advance the regional issues that have prolonged the war in Iraq. King Abdullah of Jordan recognizes that the Islamic world is in a great upheaval and that three Muslim on Muslim wars on his borders are a real possibility (Hamas v Palestinian Authority/Fatah, Sunni(+Christians) v Shi'a (Hezbollah) in Lebanon, Sunni (Saddamists/al Qaeda) v Shi'a (Madhi Army) in Iraq. Second, it will be far easier for those representing the Sunni insurgents to have their voice heard in neutral Amman than it would in any location in Iraq. Having that voice heard is critical. Wars do not end until those warring effectively communicate.
Semper Fi,
Mike Walker
Marines,
It would be grand if Muqtada Sadr keeps his promise to leave the government and takes all his minions with him over the Amman meeting this week but he is such an incorrigible liar that I doubt it. If he does it will present a great opportunity to advance the cause of peace in Iraq if Prime Minister Malaki and the Coalition have the courage to take advantage of the situation.
Tell the resigning members of Muqtada’s cabal “Thank you for your service. Your resignations are accepted effective immediately.” The President of Iraq should refrain from any calls for the government to collapse or for new elections to be held. He should charge the Prime Minister to form a transcendental cabinet to see the country through the emergency.
As for the legislature, keep those who remain for they will better represent the Iraqis who want to move forward, who are willing to put country ahead of sectarianism. It can also strengthen the position of the Sunnis within the government which will serve to unify rather than further divide the country.
Then the Iraqi Security Forces allied with the Multi-National Forces in Iraq need to get rid of the Madhi Army once and for all. If Muqtada Sadr wishes to martyr himself at its head then so be it. He is a pawn of Iran. Iran’s strategy for Iraq is neither sophisticated nor novel. All one has to do is look to Lebanon. Substitute Muqtada Sadr for Hassam Nasrallah and the Madhi Army for Hezbollah and you have it. In Sadr they hope, in the near future, to have a political force through which Iran can directly influence events in Iraq and if political action fails they can achieve their ends military through Sadr’s private army.
Iraqi democracy is and will continue to be an unappetizing thing to watch but that is to be expected. We helped to establish democratic roots in South Korea in the 1950’s. That seed grew slowly despite many setbacks. It withstood many strong attacks that often threatened to kill it. But it survived because the democracy is a powerful idea. Korean democracy only began to thrive in the 1990’s, forty years later. The situation in Iraq is similar. The democracy is a fledgling undertaking in Iraq today, but it is worth our effort to stick with it in the full knowledge that it may well take two generations before it fully takes hold.
One other note on the meeting in Amman this week, some have argued that it should have been in Baghdad. Perhaps, but two thoughts on why Amman is possibly better, first it is an ideal place to advance the regional issues that have prolonged the war in Iraq. King Abdullah of Jordan recognizes that the Islamic world is in a great upheaval and that three Muslim on Muslim wars on his borders are a real possibility (Hamas v Palestinian Authority/Fatah, Sunni(+Christians) v Shi'a (Hezbollah) in Lebanon, Sunni (Saddamists/al Qaeda) v Shi'a (Madhi Army) in Iraq. Second, it will be far easier for those representing the Sunni insurgents to have their voice heard in neutral Amman than it would in any location in Iraq. Having that voice heard is critical. Wars do not end until those warring effectively communicate.
Semper Fi,
Mike Walker
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Why is this so hard to see? Mark states what we all know very well. If we don't see it then I'm afraid that we are doomed. We will assuredly slide down that loose shale that France and Germany have been sliding on to their growing despair.
U.S. must prove it's a staying power
November 12, 2006
BY MARK STEYN Sun-Times Columnist
On the radio a couple of weeks ago, Hugh Hewitt suggested to me the terrorists might try to pull a Spain on the U.S. elections. You'll recall (though evidently many Americans don't) that in 2004 hundreds of commuters were slaughtered in multiple train bombings in Madrid. The Spaniards responded with a huge street demonstration of supposed solidarity with the dead, all teary passivity and signs saying "Basta!" -- "Enough!" By which they meant not "enough!" of these murderers but "enough!" of the government of Prime Minister Aznar, and of Bush and Blair, and troops in Iraq. A couple of days later, they voted in a socialist government, which immediately withdrew Spanish forces from the Middle East. A profitable couple of hours' work for the jihad.
I said to Hugh I didn't think that would happen this time round. The enemy aren't a bunch of simpleton Pushtun yakherds, but relatively sophisticated at least in their understanding of us. We're all infidels, but not all infidels crack the same way. If they'd done a Spain -- blown up a bunch of subway cars in New York or vaporized the Empire State Building -- they'd have re-awoken the primal anger of September 2001. With another mound of corpses piled sky-high, the electorate would have stampeded into the Republican column and demanded the U.S. fly somewhere and bomb someone.
The jihad crowd know that. So instead they employed a craftier strategy. Their view of America is roughly that of the British historian Niall Ferguson -- that the Great Satan is the first superpower with ADHD. They reasoned that if you could subject Americans to the drip-drip-drip of remorseless water torture in the deserts of Mesopotamia -- a couple of deaths here, a market bombing there, cars burning, smoke over the city on the evening news, day after day after day, and ratcheted up a notch or two for the weeks before the election -- you could grind down enough of the electorate and persuade them to vote like Spaniards, without even realizing it. And it worked. You can rationalize what happened on Tuesday in the context of previous sixth-year elections -- 1986, 1958, 1938, yada yada -- but that's not how it was seen around the world, either in the chancelleries of Europe, where they're dancing conga lines, or in the caves of the Hindu Kush, where they would also be dancing conga lines if Mullah Omar hadn't made it a beheading offense. And, as if to confirm that Tuesday wasn't merely 1986 or 1938, the president responded to the results by firing the Cabinet officer most closely identified with the prosecution of the war and replacing him with a man associated with James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and the other "stability" fetishists of the unreal realpolitik crowd.
Whether or not Rumsfeld should have been tossed overboard long ago, he certainly shouldn't have been tossed on Wednesday morning. For one thing, it's a startlingly brazen confirmation of the politicization of the war, and a particularly unworthy one: It's difficult to conceive of any more public diminution of a noble cause than to make its leadership contingent on Lincoln Chafee's Senate seat. The president's firing of Rumsfeld was small and graceless.
Still, we are all Spaniards now. The incoming speaker says Iraq is not a war to be won but a problem to be solved. The incoming defense secretary belongs to a commission charged with doing just that. A nostalgic boomer columnist in the Boston Globe argues that honor requires the United States to "accept defeat," as it did in Vietnam. Didn't work out so swell for the natives, but to hell with them.
What does it mean when the world's hyperpower, responsible for 40 percent of the planet's military spending, decides that it cannot withstand a guerrilla war with historically low casualties against a ragbag of local insurgents and imported terrorists? You can call it "redeployment" or "exit strategy" or "peace with honor" but, by the time it's announced on al-Jazeera, you can pretty much bet that whatever official euphemism was agreed on back in Washington will have been lost in translation. Likewise, when it's announced on "Good Morning Pyongyang" and the Khartoum Network and, come to that, the BBC.
For the rest of the world, the Iraq war isn't about Iraq; it's about America, and American will. I'm told that deep in the bowels of the Pentagon there are strategists wargaming for the big showdown with China circa 2030/2040. Well, it's steady work, I guess. But, as things stand, by the time China's powerful enough to challenge the United States it won't need to. Meanwhile, the guys who are challenging us right now -- in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere -- are regarded by the American electorate like a reality show we're bored with. Sorry, we don't want to stick around to see if we win; we'd rather vote ourselves off the island.
Two weeks ago, you may remember, I reported on a meeting with the president, in which I'd asked him the following: "You say you need to be on the offense all the time and stay on the offense. Isn't the problem that the American people were solidly behind this when you went in and you toppled the Taliban, when you go in and you topple Saddam. But when it just seems to be a kind of thankless semi-colonial policing defensive operation with no end . . . I mean, where is the offense in this?"
On Tuesday, the national security vote evaporated, and, without it, what's left for the GOP? Congressional Republicans wound up running on the worst of all worlds -- big bloated porked-up entitlements-a-go-go government at home and a fainthearted tentative policing operation abroad. As it happens, my new book argues for the opposite: small lean efficient government at home and muscular assertiveness abroad. It does a superb job, if I do say so myself, of connecting war and foreign policy with the domestic issues. Of course, it doesn't have to be that superb if the GOP's incoherent inversion is the only alternative on offer.
As it is, we're in a very dark place right now. It has been a long time since America unambiguously won a war, and to choose to lose Iraq would be an act of such parochial self-indulgence that the American moment would not endure, and would not deserve to. Europe is becoming semi-Muslim, Third World basket-case states are going nuclear, and, for all that 40 percent of planetary military spending, America can't muster the will to take on pipsqueak enemies. We think we can just call off the game early, and go back home and watch TV.
It doesn't work like that. Whatever it started out as, Iraq is a test of American seriousness. And, if the Great Satan can't win in Vietnam or Iraq, where can it win? That's how China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Venezuela and a whole lot of others look at it. "These Colors Don't Run" is a fine T-shirt slogan, but in reality these colors have spent 40 years running from the jungles of Southeast Asia, the helicopters in the Persian desert, the streets of Mogadishu. ... To add the sands of Mesopotamia to the list will be an act of weakness from which America will never recover.
©Mark Steyn, 2006
U.S. must prove it's a staying power
November 12, 2006
BY MARK STEYN Sun-Times Columnist
On the radio a couple of weeks ago, Hugh Hewitt suggested to me the terrorists might try to pull a Spain on the U.S. elections. You'll recall (though evidently many Americans don't) that in 2004 hundreds of commuters were slaughtered in multiple train bombings in Madrid. The Spaniards responded with a huge street demonstration of supposed solidarity with the dead, all teary passivity and signs saying "Basta!" -- "Enough!" By which they meant not "enough!" of these murderers but "enough!" of the government of Prime Minister Aznar, and of Bush and Blair, and troops in Iraq. A couple of days later, they voted in a socialist government, which immediately withdrew Spanish forces from the Middle East. A profitable couple of hours' work for the jihad.
I said to Hugh I didn't think that would happen this time round. The enemy aren't a bunch of simpleton Pushtun yakherds, but relatively sophisticated at least in their understanding of us. We're all infidels, but not all infidels crack the same way. If they'd done a Spain -- blown up a bunch of subway cars in New York or vaporized the Empire State Building -- they'd have re-awoken the primal anger of September 2001. With another mound of corpses piled sky-high, the electorate would have stampeded into the Republican column and demanded the U.S. fly somewhere and bomb someone.
The jihad crowd know that. So instead they employed a craftier strategy. Their view of America is roughly that of the British historian Niall Ferguson -- that the Great Satan is the first superpower with ADHD. They reasoned that if you could subject Americans to the drip-drip-drip of remorseless water torture in the deserts of Mesopotamia -- a couple of deaths here, a market bombing there, cars burning, smoke over the city on the evening news, day after day after day, and ratcheted up a notch or two for the weeks before the election -- you could grind down enough of the electorate and persuade them to vote like Spaniards, without even realizing it. And it worked. You can rationalize what happened on Tuesday in the context of previous sixth-year elections -- 1986, 1958, 1938, yada yada -- but that's not how it was seen around the world, either in the chancelleries of Europe, where they're dancing conga lines, or in the caves of the Hindu Kush, where they would also be dancing conga lines if Mullah Omar hadn't made it a beheading offense. And, as if to confirm that Tuesday wasn't merely 1986 or 1938, the president responded to the results by firing the Cabinet officer most closely identified with the prosecution of the war and replacing him with a man associated with James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and the other "stability" fetishists of the unreal realpolitik crowd.
Whether or not Rumsfeld should have been tossed overboard long ago, he certainly shouldn't have been tossed on Wednesday morning. For one thing, it's a startlingly brazen confirmation of the politicization of the war, and a particularly unworthy one: It's difficult to conceive of any more public diminution of a noble cause than to make its leadership contingent on Lincoln Chafee's Senate seat. The president's firing of Rumsfeld was small and graceless.
Still, we are all Spaniards now. The incoming speaker says Iraq is not a war to be won but a problem to be solved. The incoming defense secretary belongs to a commission charged with doing just that. A nostalgic boomer columnist in the Boston Globe argues that honor requires the United States to "accept defeat," as it did in Vietnam. Didn't work out so swell for the natives, but to hell with them.
What does it mean when the world's hyperpower, responsible for 40 percent of the planet's military spending, decides that it cannot withstand a guerrilla war with historically low casualties against a ragbag of local insurgents and imported terrorists? You can call it "redeployment" or "exit strategy" or "peace with honor" but, by the time it's announced on al-Jazeera, you can pretty much bet that whatever official euphemism was agreed on back in Washington will have been lost in translation. Likewise, when it's announced on "Good Morning Pyongyang" and the Khartoum Network and, come to that, the BBC.
For the rest of the world, the Iraq war isn't about Iraq; it's about America, and American will. I'm told that deep in the bowels of the Pentagon there are strategists wargaming for the big showdown with China circa 2030/2040. Well, it's steady work, I guess. But, as things stand, by the time China's powerful enough to challenge the United States it won't need to. Meanwhile, the guys who are challenging us right now -- in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere -- are regarded by the American electorate like a reality show we're bored with. Sorry, we don't want to stick around to see if we win; we'd rather vote ourselves off the island.
Two weeks ago, you may remember, I reported on a meeting with the president, in which I'd asked him the following: "You say you need to be on the offense all the time and stay on the offense. Isn't the problem that the American people were solidly behind this when you went in and you toppled the Taliban, when you go in and you topple Saddam. But when it just seems to be a kind of thankless semi-colonial policing defensive operation with no end . . . I mean, where is the offense in this?"
On Tuesday, the national security vote evaporated, and, without it, what's left for the GOP? Congressional Republicans wound up running on the worst of all worlds -- big bloated porked-up entitlements-a-go-go government at home and a fainthearted tentative policing operation abroad. As it happens, my new book argues for the opposite: small lean efficient government at home and muscular assertiveness abroad. It does a superb job, if I do say so myself, of connecting war and foreign policy with the domestic issues. Of course, it doesn't have to be that superb if the GOP's incoherent inversion is the only alternative on offer.
As it is, we're in a very dark place right now. It has been a long time since America unambiguously won a war, and to choose to lose Iraq would be an act of such parochial self-indulgence that the American moment would not endure, and would not deserve to. Europe is becoming semi-Muslim, Third World basket-case states are going nuclear, and, for all that 40 percent of planetary military spending, America can't muster the will to take on pipsqueak enemies. We think we can just call off the game early, and go back home and watch TV.
It doesn't work like that. Whatever it started out as, Iraq is a test of American seriousness. And, if the Great Satan can't win in Vietnam or Iraq, where can it win? That's how China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Venezuela and a whole lot of others look at it. "These Colors Don't Run" is a fine T-shirt slogan, but in reality these colors have spent 40 years running from the jungles of Southeast Asia, the helicopters in the Persian desert, the streets of Mogadishu. ... To add the sands of Mesopotamia to the list will be an act of weakness from which America will never recover.
©Mark Steyn, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
( I am sending this letter from Mike Walker, Col. USMC retired, to share an answer that he had written to a friend who had asked Mike, "Can we win in Iraq?")
All,
"Can we win in Iraq?"
This was a response to a friend who posed the question
above. Attachment is the same as below.
Semper Fi,
Mike
A long answer:
I. Can we win?
Tough question but the answer is “Yes,” the war is
still ours to win or lose. I feel we finally found
the complete answer on how to win in mid-to-late
2004. By complete answer it is meant that to win in an
insurgency, you must win along two lines of operation,
one winning the political battle in Iraq and the
other winning the military battle in Iraq, ignoring/putting
aside for now the need to win the political battle in
the United States. Of the two, the political fight in
Iraq, as in almost all insurgencies, is more important
than the military fight.
By not adopting the right military course of action,
establishing a strong Iraqi security force centered on
the army and directed by an Iraqi national command
authority, we muffed the ball early in the game. Even
worse, we did not start with a clean slate in
mid-to-late 2004 but instead had to play catch-up to
get us back to where we should have been in
mid-to-late 2003. In other words, welost/squandered
more than a year in winning the military fight, in my
opinion.
II. The Record on Winning the Political Fight
I have to give Ambassador Bremer very high marks for
providing a decisive victory over the Saddamists in
the political fight. He made a misstep by not
getting rid of Muqtada Sadr in regards to the Shi'a but it
was not a fatal error as the Shi'a were for the first
time given a say in ruling Iraq commensurate with their
position in the country. He also masterfully
avoided a civil war by keeping the Kurds from seceding from
Iraq.
The Saddamists made a fatal miscalculation when they
assumed that the Shi’a, Kurds, and “traitor” Sunni’s
would be unable to set up a government. With the
abolishment the CPA occupation regime in June 2004
concurrent with creation of the Iraqi interim
government as directed by UNSCR 1546, the concept
that the Iraqis could rule themselves without the
Saddamists was put to the test. In reality, the
hospitals ran, school were open and, in general, the
government functioned quite well. They passed the
test with flying colors and the momentum only grew.
Working to completely fill the requirements of UNSCR
1546, elections were held in December of 2004 which
led the formation of the transitional Iraqi
government and to the subsequent ratification of the Iraqi
constitution in October 2005. Building upon these
successes, the January 2006 elections culminated in
the establishment of a sovereign Iraqi government in
June 2006. These results have yielded a great
victory for the people of Iraq and have made a shambles of
the political strategy of the enemy.
As the Nobel winner and famed political economist
Douglass North has argued, governmental institutions
as political bodies are critical in shaping a
nation. In Iraq we have achieved “winning the hearts and
minds” democratic and political reforms to an extent
never reached during the Korean War, the Vietnam
War, or the involvements in East Timor, Haiti, Somalia,
or Lebanon. Even the lauded successes in the Balkans
pale in comparison to the political/governmental
successes reached in Iraq, and for that matter, also
in Afghanistan. This result is equally or more so a
tribute to the determined will of the Iraqi people
to rid themselves of their Saddamist past and their
asymmetrical “Cannot be Stopped, Will not be Stopped”
strategy, as it is to the remarkable efforts of the
United Nations and the Multi-National Forces in
Iraq.
III. The Record on Winning the Military Fight
As stated above, we “goofed” this one up right from
the start. That story is for another time. What
needs to be addressed is that we finally got it
right.
When I was in al Anbar in 2004 on my second tour in
Iraq, there were NO Iraqi Army units in the governorate.
The entire Iraqi Army ground forces in April 2004 consisted of one
“special forces” battalion and two infantry battalions, the
three of which barely totaled 2,000 troops. They
didn’t have a single tank in the whole outfit. In
April 2004, there was no functioning Iraqi national
military chain of command, no Iraqi command, control, and
communications system, no Iraqi military strategy,
no Iraqi general staff, only an ineffective ministry of
defense. The local paramilitary troops, called the
Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC), were locally
recruited, 100% Sunni units, and completely
infiltrated and compromised by the Saddamists. When
the fighting started they stayed in their barracks,
went home, or went over to the enemy. They had to
be disbanded. Today there is a full Iraqi Army
Division in al Anbar with more than a dozen combat
battalions, supported by Iraqi armor. Even more surprising is
that units are officers by Shi’a, Kurd, and Sunni
officers. No Shi’a Army General has ever held a
position of authority in al Anbar, ever, until now
that is.
We are finally on the road of having an effective
Iraqi Security force centered on a strong army that
can defend itself against its neighbors. It is
security force that is subordinate to the elected
government and that has a national command authority
which is carrying out a national defense strategy
that is implemented through a national command, control,
and communications system. It has been a painful
two years since the “light finally went on” in 2004, but
it is the road to success.
IV. How long will it take?
The truth is that we will not be able to leave until
the Iraqi security forces take over. That won’t
happen until late 2007 or early 2008 at the
earliest. The Iraqis will probably fighting for years after
that before the insurgency is finally crushed. This is
also a tough message to accept. It is going to be
along fight.
Perhaps citing some historical precedents will help.
It seems every century or two there is a violent
movement of Jihad/Crusade that moves across the
Islamic world. It began in 7th -8th centuries and
continued through the Christian crusades. It reared
its head again with the fall of Byzantine Empire and
subsequent invasion of southeastern Europe in the
Middle Ages and was also prevalent in the 19th and
20th centuries:
The Barbary Wars ran from 1801-1816, the first time
the US entered a fight against an Islamic state.
The Quing Dynasty in China fought repeated Islamic
uprisings in Yunan Province from 1821 to 1855 to
1873. The Quing fought against an Islamic Jihad in
Turkmenistan which they annexed to their empire
renaming the region Sinkiang or New Province in the
1840’s. They also fought Islamic Jihads in Shensi
Province from 1862-1877.
The Russians fought against an Islamic Jihad in
Chechnya from 1834-1859.
The British fought a losing campaign in Afghanistan
against a Jihad there from 1839-1842 before
returning for a successful campaign in 1878-1880. They fought
the Mahdi Army (if that name sounds familiar is
should, it is what Muqtada Sadr has named his
militia in Iraq) in the Sudan from 1883-1898. During the
Iraq Mandate period from 1920-1932, the British Army had
to put down Islamic uprisings in 1920, 1921-22,
1927-28, and 1930-31.
The Italians fought against a Jihad called by a
Mullah in Somalia from 1899-1905. They fought against a
Jihad in Libya from 1921-931.
The Spanish and French fought a Jihad in the Rif
Mountains of Morocco from 1921 through 1925
suffering over 10,000 killed in action.
The point here is not to weigh the merits of the
wars above but to point out that these were all long
fights, ranging from four to twenty-five years in
length with most lasting over a decade. We should
expect the global war on terrorism to last quite a
while
V. Four things we need to do to close this out:
A. Reinforce Success both Politically and
Economically
This has been an area of great accomplishments. The
political campaign is always superior to that of the
military in an insurgency. Our successes to date
have put us, not the insurgents, on the road to victory.
We cannot afford to let up on our support to the
Iraqi people in the areas of economics, governance, and
democracy. We have achieved great success on the
political front. We need to work harder in the
economic arena, especially in private sector
development. There can be no political freedom if
the people have no economic freedom.
B. No Justice – No Peace
Saddam and his henchmen must feel the full weight of
justice in Iraq. His regime must be seen for what
it was, a brutal and murderous tyranny. There cannot
be an unhindered progressive advance in a new Iraq
until the crimes of the past are dealt with. All of
the Saddamists’ false trappings of legitimacy must be
discredited and removed from the body politic in
Iraq. We must make a concerted effort to publish the
large quantity of documentary evidence (video, photo, etc)
that detail in the most horrible way the crimes of
the Saddamist regime. We are helping to lose the war by
failing to do this.
C. The Iraqi Security Forces must lead the Way
The Iraqi Army must be returned to its proper place
in society. We were tardy in making this happen but to
again quote Sir Winston Churchill, "Americans can
always be counted on to do the right thing...after
they have exhausted all other possibilities." We
need to continue to support the
staffing, equipping, and training of a national army. There
must be a strong emphasis on combat operations
defined by human intelligence vice firepower. It must be a
professional army whose sole purpose is to protect
and defend Iraq first before any ethnic or religious
loyalties. We must work to instill a military
culture that embraces subordination to constitutionally
empowered civil authority.
D. Both Fight and Negotiate for a Better Future
This war will end at a “tipping point” when our
enemies realize that the gains possible through
peace will greatly outweigh any potential gains brought by
war. To reach that point we must exploit the
fractious nature of the insurgency. This dictates a
diverse and sophisticated solution to end the
fighting. We need to support the Iraqi government
asit exploits the gaps and seams in the insurgent
mosaic. This will require an amnesty policy that it
done properly will be distasteful to all parties.
We need to eliminate al Qaeda in Iraq.
We need to eat this insurgent elephant one bite at a
time. This can be done by region, by city or town,
byinsurgent group or groups, but must be done within a
framework of Iraqi national unity and progress.
The Iraqi government, the ISF, and MNF-I must couple the
besting of the enemy on the battlefield by
continuing with a dialogue of engagement in the pursuit of
peace. That dialogue must be built upon the maxim that all
wars end and that all parties can ill afford to
waste more lives and time in putting off the real job
facing us in creating a new, democratic, peaceful, and
prosperous Iraq.
Semper Fi and God Bless,
Mike
All,
"Can we win in Iraq?"
This was a response to a friend who posed the question
above. Attachment is the same as below.
Semper Fi,
Mike
A long answer:
I. Can we win?
Tough question but the answer is “Yes,” the war is
still ours to win or lose. I feel we finally found
the complete answer on how to win in mid-to-late
2004. By complete answer it is meant that to win in an
insurgency, you must win along two lines of operation,
one winning the political battle in Iraq and the
other winning the military battle in Iraq, ignoring/putting
aside for now the need to win the political battle in
the United States. Of the two, the political fight in
Iraq, as in almost all insurgencies, is more important
than the military fight.
By not adopting the right military course of action,
establishing a strong Iraqi security force centered on
the army and directed by an Iraqi national command
authority, we muffed the ball early in the game. Even
worse, we did not start with a clean slate in
mid-to-late 2004 but instead had to play catch-up to
get us back to where we should have been in
mid-to-late 2003. In other words, welost/squandered
more than a year in winning the military fight, in my
opinion.
II. The Record on Winning the Political Fight
I have to give Ambassador Bremer very high marks for
providing a decisive victory over the Saddamists in
the political fight. He made a misstep by not
getting rid of Muqtada Sadr in regards to the Shi'a but it
was not a fatal error as the Shi'a were for the first
time given a say in ruling Iraq commensurate with their
position in the country. He also masterfully
avoided a civil war by keeping the Kurds from seceding from
Iraq.
The Saddamists made a fatal miscalculation when they
assumed that the Shi’a, Kurds, and “traitor” Sunni’s
would be unable to set up a government. With the
abolishment the CPA occupation regime in June 2004
concurrent with creation of the Iraqi interim
government as directed by UNSCR 1546, the concept
that the Iraqis could rule themselves without the
Saddamists was put to the test. In reality, the
hospitals ran, school were open and, in general, the
government functioned quite well. They passed the
test with flying colors and the momentum only grew.
Working to completely fill the requirements of UNSCR
1546, elections were held in December of 2004 which
led the formation of the transitional Iraqi
government and to the subsequent ratification of the Iraqi
constitution in October 2005. Building upon these
successes, the January 2006 elections culminated in
the establishment of a sovereign Iraqi government in
June 2006. These results have yielded a great
victory for the people of Iraq and have made a shambles of
the political strategy of the enemy.
As the Nobel winner and famed political economist
Douglass North has argued, governmental institutions
as political bodies are critical in shaping a
nation. In Iraq we have achieved “winning the hearts and
minds” democratic and political reforms to an extent
never reached during the Korean War, the Vietnam
War, or the involvements in East Timor, Haiti, Somalia,
or Lebanon. Even the lauded successes in the Balkans
pale in comparison to the political/governmental
successes reached in Iraq, and for that matter, also
in Afghanistan. This result is equally or more so a
tribute to the determined will of the Iraqi people
to rid themselves of their Saddamist past and their
asymmetrical “Cannot be Stopped, Will not be Stopped”
strategy, as it is to the remarkable efforts of the
United Nations and the Multi-National Forces in
Iraq.
III. The Record on Winning the Military Fight
As stated above, we “goofed” this one up right from
the start. That story is for another time. What
needs to be addressed is that we finally got it
right.
When I was in al Anbar in 2004 on my second tour in
Iraq, there were NO Iraqi Army units in the governorate.
The entire Iraqi Army ground forces in April 2004 consisted of one
“special forces” battalion and two infantry battalions, the
three of which barely totaled 2,000 troops. They
didn’t have a single tank in the whole outfit. In
April 2004, there was no functioning Iraqi national
military chain of command, no Iraqi command, control, and
communications system, no Iraqi military strategy,
no Iraqi general staff, only an ineffective ministry of
defense. The local paramilitary troops, called the
Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC), were locally
recruited, 100% Sunni units, and completely
infiltrated and compromised by the Saddamists. When
the fighting started they stayed in their barracks,
went home, or went over to the enemy. They had to
be disbanded. Today there is a full Iraqi Army
Division in al Anbar with more than a dozen combat
battalions, supported by Iraqi armor. Even more surprising is
that units are officers by Shi’a, Kurd, and Sunni
officers. No Shi’a Army General has ever held a
position of authority in al Anbar, ever, until now
that is.
We are finally on the road of having an effective
Iraqi Security force centered on a strong army that
can defend itself against its neighbors. It is
security force that is subordinate to the elected
government and that has a national command authority
which is carrying out a national defense strategy
that is implemented through a national command, control,
and communications system. It has been a painful
two years since the “light finally went on” in 2004, but
it is the road to success.
IV. How long will it take?
The truth is that we will not be able to leave until
the Iraqi security forces take over. That won’t
happen until late 2007 or early 2008 at the
earliest. The Iraqis will probably fighting for years after
that before the insurgency is finally crushed. This is
also a tough message to accept. It is going to be
along fight.
Perhaps citing some historical precedents will help.
It seems every century or two there is a violent
movement of Jihad/Crusade that moves across the
Islamic world. It began in 7th -8th centuries and
continued through the Christian crusades. It reared
its head again with the fall of Byzantine Empire and
subsequent invasion of southeastern Europe in the
Middle Ages and was also prevalent in the 19th and
20th centuries:
The Barbary Wars ran from 1801-1816, the first time
the US entered a fight against an Islamic state.
The Quing Dynasty in China fought repeated Islamic
uprisings in Yunan Province from 1821 to 1855 to
1873. The Quing fought against an Islamic Jihad in
Turkmenistan which they annexed to their empire
renaming the region Sinkiang or New Province in the
1840’s. They also fought Islamic Jihads in Shensi
Province from 1862-1877.
The Russians fought against an Islamic Jihad in
Chechnya from 1834-1859.
The British fought a losing campaign in Afghanistan
against a Jihad there from 1839-1842 before
returning for a successful campaign in 1878-1880. They fought
the Mahdi Army (if that name sounds familiar is
should, it is what Muqtada Sadr has named his
militia in Iraq) in the Sudan from 1883-1898. During the
Iraq Mandate period from 1920-1932, the British Army had
to put down Islamic uprisings in 1920, 1921-22,
1927-28, and 1930-31.
The Italians fought against a Jihad called by a
Mullah in Somalia from 1899-1905. They fought against a
Jihad in Libya from 1921-931.
The Spanish and French fought a Jihad in the Rif
Mountains of Morocco from 1921 through 1925
suffering over 10,000 killed in action.
The point here is not to weigh the merits of the
wars above but to point out that these were all long
fights, ranging from four to twenty-five years in
length with most lasting over a decade. We should
expect the global war on terrorism to last quite a
while
V. Four things we need to do to close this out:
A. Reinforce Success both Politically and
Economically
This has been an area of great accomplishments. The
political campaign is always superior to that of the
military in an insurgency. Our successes to date
have put us, not the insurgents, on the road to victory.
We cannot afford to let up on our support to the
Iraqi people in the areas of economics, governance, and
democracy. We have achieved great success on the
political front. We need to work harder in the
economic arena, especially in private sector
development. There can be no political freedom if
the people have no economic freedom.
B. No Justice – No Peace
Saddam and his henchmen must feel the full weight of
justice in Iraq. His regime must be seen for what
it was, a brutal and murderous tyranny. There cannot
be an unhindered progressive advance in a new Iraq
until the crimes of the past are dealt with. All of
the Saddamists’ false trappings of legitimacy must be
discredited and removed from the body politic in
Iraq. We must make a concerted effort to publish the
large quantity of documentary evidence (video, photo, etc)
that detail in the most horrible way the crimes of
the Saddamist regime. We are helping to lose the war by
failing to do this.
C. The Iraqi Security Forces must lead the Way
The Iraqi Army must be returned to its proper place
in society. We were tardy in making this happen but to
again quote Sir Winston Churchill, "Americans can
always be counted on to do the right thing...after
they have exhausted all other possibilities." We
need to continue to support the
staffing, equipping, and training of a national army. There
must be a strong emphasis on combat operations
defined by human intelligence vice firepower. It must be a
professional army whose sole purpose is to protect
and defend Iraq first before any ethnic or religious
loyalties. We must work to instill a military
culture that embraces subordination to constitutionally
empowered civil authority.
D. Both Fight and Negotiate for a Better Future
This war will end at a “tipping point” when our
enemies realize that the gains possible through
peace will greatly outweigh any potential gains brought by
war. To reach that point we must exploit the
fractious nature of the insurgency. This dictates a
diverse and sophisticated solution to end the
fighting. We need to support the Iraqi government
asit exploits the gaps and seams in the insurgent
mosaic. This will require an amnesty policy that it
done properly will be distasteful to all parties.
We need to eliminate al Qaeda in Iraq.
We need to eat this insurgent elephant one bite at a
time. This can be done by region, by city or town,
byinsurgent group or groups, but must be done within a
framework of Iraqi national unity and progress.
The Iraqi government, the ISF, and MNF-I must couple the
besting of the enemy on the battlefield by
continuing with a dialogue of engagement in the pursuit of
peace. That dialogue must be built upon the maxim that all
wars end and that all parties can ill afford to
waste more lives and time in putting off the real job
facing us in creating a new, democratic, peaceful, and
prosperous Iraq.
Semper Fi and God Bless,
Mike
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Yesterday I learned that a former student in my 5th grade classroom was killed in Fallujah in early January. It has been a sobering day.
Brett Lundstrum was a Marine who followed in his father's footsteps in more ways than being a Marine. His father, Ed, is a retired Marine Major and a decendant of White Cloud, the Oglala Sioux chief. Brett understood what duty to family, community, and nation ment. He also knew the dangers in his "standing-up". He has paid a price for that with his life. For this, more than our elementary school history, I'll always hold his memory dear to my heart. I still remember his easy smile, his graciousness with others, the effort that he put into his work, but something has replaced that and that is an image of a lone warrior standing strongly on a ridge guarding his family and friends. Remember his name, Brett Lundstrum, remember too that he placed himself in harm's way to protect all of us.
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a lasting tribute - a name - to first tribal
fatality in Iraq By Jim Sheeler, Rocky Mountain News
January 21, 2006
KYLE, S.D. - Two miles from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation the car
radio crackled, then locked onto the signal. "I understand they are
currently escorting Brett's body back," the disc jockey said. "There
are several police cars, followed by the hearse and
vans filled with Marines. We'll let you know when they are on the
reservation." Inside their rental car, two Marines from Colorado
stared out at the road, winding through the rolling brown grass of the
desolate Badlands. A few cars ahead, through the back window of the
hearse, they could see the flag-draped casket of the first Oglala Sioux
fatality of the war in Iraq. A few minutes later, the disc jockey
broke in again. "Right now they are at the reservation line with the
body of Corporal Brett Lundstrom," she said. "I've got eight songs
queued up here, and we will play them back to back. So here they are,
going out to Corporal Lundstrom . . ." She started with a spoken word
piece that began just as the procession rolled across the reservation
line.
"Throughout time, American Indians have had to defend themselves and
their way of life," said the solemn voice of songwriter Wil Numkena.
"American Indian warriors have a long tradition of protecting their
families, tribe and nation . . " The Marines listened as they drove
past weather-beaten wooden houses and lone mobile homes, through the
second poorest county in the United States, toward the geographic
center of the 2 million-acre reservation. "By tradition, American
Indian people have always embraced their warriors upon their return
from battle," the voice on the radio said.
"Embraced them in heart, embraced them in spirit . ."
Since arriving at the home of Cpl. Lundstrom's mother in nearby Black
Hawk to inform her of her son's death, Marines from Buckley Air Force
Base in Aurora had spent two days helping with plans for a nonstop,
42-hour wake on the reservation - the beginning of nearly five full
days of traditional honors.
As the procession advanced, residents poured from their homes. The
hearse passed families sitting on the hoods of their cars, their
children wrapped in colorful blankets. One couple stood at the side of
the road, their heads bowed. A boy on horseback watched with his dog
near a barbed-wire fence. A man in a rusty pickup stared from atop a
grassy hill. The procession continued to grow as cars from the side
of the road pulled in, stretching the line for more than five miles.
On their car radios, the tribute continued.
"We mourn, but honor the warriors who have given of their lives in the
field of battle. We embrace their spirit, for they are our very breath
of life. "Great Spirit, we ask of you to receive our warriors."
From hearse to wooden wagon Three tribal chiefs in feathered
headdresses waited on horseback off to the side of the road, along with
a dozen other riders and a small empty wooden wagon. The procession
arrived from over a hill, and as the Marines got out, the two bands of
warriors nodded to each other. The Marines lifted the flag-draped
casket from the new Cadillac hearse,
transferred it to the old pinewood wagon, and fell in line, issuing
clipped commands under their breath. They stood at attention in
spotless dress blue uniforms, white gloves and shiny black dress shoes.
The Oglala Sioux escorts wore blue jeans, Windbreakers and dusty boots.
They spoke to their horses in the Lakota language. "Unkiyapo," someone
said. "Let's go." They walked together, the Marines marching in crisp
formation behind the chiefs.
The last horse in the procession - an old paint - ambled along behind
them all. In a funeral tradition that goes back generations, its
saddle was empty. The procession was quiet, other than occasional war
whoops and horse whinnies, until it reached the gym at Little Wound
High School. At the parking lot of the school, one woman sat alone in
her car, crying.
Then the drumbeat began.
Inside the gymnasium - "Home of the Mustangs" - a 30-foot-tall tepee
dominated one end of the hardwood floor. The Marines brought the
flag-draped casket to the front of the tepee, then two of them took
their post at each end, beginning a shift that would last for the next
two days. Several rows of elderly men moved forward slowly, some
supported by gnarled canes. Many had pulled their hair into dark gray
ponytails, framing faces that looked like the landscape. Many of them
wore old caps and uniforms emblazoned with distinctive patches:
Airborne, Special Forces and the revered combat infantry badge - along
with dozens of gleaming medals. On the back of their caps, some also
wore a single eagle feather. At the front of the tepee, a funeral
director opened the casket.
Descendant of Chief Red Cloud
Cpl. Brett Lee Lundstrom grew up in the wake of warriors. Among his
distant relations was Dewey Beard, also known by the Indian name Iron
Hail, who fought in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and who also
survived the 1890 massacre at nearby Wounded Knee. A grandfather on his
father's side was Red Cloud, one of the great Lakota leaders of the
1800s. More recently, his great-uncle, Charlie Underbaggage, was
killed at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Another
great-uncle, Alfred Underbaggage, was killed in Korea. He has relatives
at Pine Ridge who served in Vietnam and Desert Storm. His father, Ed,
was a career Marine, and retired recently as a Major. At the time of
Brett's death, his brother, Eddy - his only other sibling - was serving
in the Army, stationed in the Iraqi hot spot of Tikrit.
"He was born to be a Marine," said Philip Underwood, who first met
Brett when they were teenagers. By then, Lundstrom had long since
decided to join the armed forces. The two friends spent the bulk of
their time razzing each other, rarely serious - until it came to the
Corps, which spawned a conversation that's rarely spoken, even among
the best of friends. "As a friend, he told me one time, 'I will die
for you,' " Underwood said. Lundstrom's parents grew up on and around
reservations - his father at nearby Rosebud, his mother at Pine Ridge -
but due to Ed Lundstrom's job with the Marines the family moved around
the country, spending most of their time in Virginia. Though the
family returned to the reservation only periodically - primarily when
Brett was young - Brett retained an interest in Indian tradition.
In January 2003 he enlisted, not only in the Marines, but in the most
dangerous job in the Corps - one that would almost certainly send him
into battle. "I always told him he volunteered twice. Not only did he
volunteer as a Marine, he volunteered to be infantry," Ed Lundstrom
said. "I tried to talk him out of it. He had so many other options
besides enlisting. But he knew what he was getting into. He went into
it eyes wide open," he said. Brett served three months in Afghanistan
in 2004. Nine months later, in September 2005, he headed to Iraq with
the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division based at Camp
Lejeune, N.C.
One result of his frequent moves to new towns: The strapping 6-foot-2-
inch tall Marine with the wide grin had no problem making new friends.
The last entry on his Web page - written from Iraq - said, "I'm outta
here in three months and I can't wait to come to Colorado." His
parents recently divorced, and his mother, Doyla Underbaggage
Lundstrom, planned to move to the Denver area this month. After his
hitch was up with the Marines, Lundstrom had talked of settling near
her, and becoming a Broomfield police officer.
On one of his last nights in Colorado, Brett had spent the night in his
aunt and uncle's home in Thornton, in the same room as his cousin,
13-year-old Richard Munoz. Before he crashed on the couch that night,
Richard said, the Marine left him with his last words. He said,
'Live life while you can,' " the boy remembered. "Then he went to
sleep."
Cpl. Lundstrom was killed by small-arms fire Jan. 7 in Fallujah. He
was 22.
His people bestow feather. Next to the casket in the Pine Ridge gym
stood a tall staff crested with buffalo hair and lined with eagle
feathers to represent local members of the tribe stationed in Iraq. The
middle of the staff was pinned with photos of their faces. A similar
memorial was set up in the school's cafeteria, by mothers who formed a
support group. Every Wednesday, they huddle in a sweat lodge, where they
pray for their deployed children. "Sophia Young Bear" . . . "Jason
Brave Heart," their names read, in part, "Kimberly Long Soldier" . . .
"Lisa White Face" . . . Atop them all was the photo of Brett
Lundstrom.
Upon their return from Iraq, tribe members receive the highest honor
for bravery: an eagle feather. If they are injured in combat, the
feather may be stained red with blood. Before the first night's
ceremony began, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran named John Around Him
looked at the staff, and then at Brett Lundstrom's flag-draped casket.
"He earns the American flag from his government," he said. "He earns
the eagle feather from his people." Near 11 on Saturday night, the
gymnasium fell silent. Along with his first and last eagle feather,
Cpl. Lundstrom was about to receive something even more enduring.
"This evening I want to take a few minutes of your time to name my
grandson," said Birgil Kills Straight, Cpl. Lundstrom's great-uncle.
"Before he enters the spirit world, it's important for him to have an
Indian name, because that's how the ancestors will know him," he said.
Earlier that night, Kills Straight had gone to an Inipi, a sweat lodge,
to pray for the name, and to ask the spirits to guide the fallen
warrior. After the ceremony, long after midnight, the Marines would
take Lundstrom's body into the tepee, where Lakota beliefs hold that
the spirits of Lundstrom's ancestors would communicate with his.
First, Kills Straight said, they needed to know who he was. "His name
is Wanbli Isnala," Kills Straight said, and then translated: "Lone
Eagle." With that, he took the eagle feather, walked to the open
casket, and placed it on the Marine's chest. "He, alone, above
everything else, is an eagle," Kills Straight said. "He will fly to
the highest reaches of the universe. He may bring back news to us in
our dreams." He looked to the stands of the stadium, and spoke of
Lundstrom's well- known warrior ancestors.
"The blood of these people you've probably heard of runs in the blood
of Brett . . . this is who Brett is," Kills Straight said. "He is a
warrior." After placing ceremonial grasses in the casket and offering
prayers in Lakota, he turned again to the crowd.
"Now I want to name my other grandson," he said. From the back of the
room, Pfc. Eddy Lundstrom walked in wearing his desert camouflage
uniform, the one he was wearing only a week earlier in Tikrit, when
told of his brother's death. As the only surviving son in the family,
he had the option to spend the rest of his tour stateside. Instead, he
plans to leave Tuesday to go back to Iraq. In the days leading up to
the naming ceremony, as Birgil Kills Straight searched for the proper
names to bestow on the two brothers, he said he specifically wanted a
name that might help ensure Eddy's safe return.
As the 21-year-old private stood at attention, his shoulders straight,
his fingers curled slightly at his sides, Kills Straight took out
another eagle feather. "His name is Wicahci Kailehya," he said
finally. "Shining Star."
Anguished cry wonders why American Indians have the highest per-capita
participation in the armed services of any ethnic group. According to
the Web site icasualties.org, 23 American Indians and Alaska Native
Americans have died in Iraq as of the end of last year. "People always
ask, why do the Indian people, who were treated so badly, step forward
to serve their country?" said James Shaw Sr. during one of the
ceremonies. "It's that good old nation pride." For John Around Him, an
Army combat infantry veteran who served in Vietnam and whose son
recently returned from Iraq, the bond is more tangible. "In 1876, the
Lakota Sioux took that flag from Custer," he said, nodding toward the
U.S. flag near the casket. "So that flag is ours, too."
Still, after so many centuries of battle, they also know the
consequences all too well. "I saw his name on CNN and I let out a war
whoop," said Velma Killsback - whose daughter served in Iraq - as she
looked at the casket that held Cpl. Lundstrom. "I sat here in
disbelief, wondering why. For a war that shouldn't go on."
On the reservation, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans
9-1, the war in Iraq is largely unpopular. The men and women fighting
it, however, never are. "When we would have late-night talks, he would
tell me how he was fighting for me to do the things I do in everyday
life," said Brett's cousin Amanda Munoz. "No matter how much I was
against it, I gradually understood. No matter how much I hated it, and
said, 'Please Brett, don't go,' he was doing what he wanted to do. It
was his calling."
Generosity of the star quilts By the time the wake entered its 30th
hour, eyes had begun to sag, clothes had rumpled and stubble covered
the faces of many male mourners. The energy level never waned.
Periodically, drum groups formed circles that pulled the drowsy from
the bleachers. Visitors ate buffalo soup and fry bread. While most
tribe members left each night to return home, some slept near family
members on the floor of the gym, or under the bleachers, refusing to
leave the man few of them had ever met. All the while, the group of 12
young Marines from Colorado - most of whom had never visited an Indian
reservation - continued to post watch in 30-minute shifts. They stood
without flinching, listening to relatives cry over the open casket, and
as friends and family members placed letters, a rose and sports jerseys
alongside his body. On Saturday night, while many of their friends
back in Colorado concerned themselves with the outcome of the Denver
Broncos playoff game, the Marines watched as the family showed
childhood photos of Brett Lundstrom's life, projected on a screen next
to his open casket. After the ceremony on the reservation, they would
head back to Colorado for Lundstrom's burial at Fort Logan National
Cemetery.
"I hope they will take this message back, that they'll say, 'We went to
Pine Ridge, and it was one of the greatest honors we've ever seen,' "
John Around Him said. "They're witnesses, to take this honor and share
it." According to Staff Sgt. Kevin Thomas, they have no choice. "I was
a history major. I learned about the Western expansion, I learned about
the Indians," Thomas said. "But I never really understood." As the
ceremony progressed, many of the mourners brought handmade gifts,
including elaborate dreamcatchers, miniature illuminated tepees and
traditional star quilts. By Sunday night, more than 50 of the quilts -
which can take weeks to make and can sell for between $300 and $600
each - lined an entire wall of the gymnasium. Then, as is customary,
the family gave them all away. "Value doesn't mean nothing to the
family - earthly property, it doesn't mean nothing right now - it's
life that has worth," said 82-year-old Sylvester Bad Cob, a World War
II and Korean War veteran. "They give it out now, but they'll get it
back someday." One by one, the family called up everyone who had
helped organize the ceremony, and presented them with one of the
elaborate star quilts.
They began with the Marines. "I had a picture of this in my mind, but
to actually see it . . . It's just overwhelming," said Capt. Chris
Sutherland, shortly after Doyla and Ed Lundstrom wrapped him in one of
the quilts, and - as they did with each of his Marines - sealed their
gift with a hug. "If you think about it, in our culture, we give
thank-you notes," Sutherland said, shaking his head. "Just thank-you
notes." Once the gifting ceremony was over, however, the Lundstroms
found out that Sutherland also had something to return. As the gym
once again quieted, Sutherland took out a small red velvet bag, and
walked toward the Marine's parents. He dropped to one knee and tilted
the bag. He then pulled out a watch - the same one that the corporal
was wearing when he was killed. He handed it to Ed Lundstrom, who
hadn't slept for the past 36 hours, while remaining near his son's
casket. The former Marine major held tight to the watch, then crumbled
in tears. Sutherland tipped the bag again, and softly folded the
remaining contents into the hands of Brett Lundstrom's mother:
Her son's dog tags.
Sunday night near midnight, 65-year-old Regina Brave stood up from the
bleachers and made her way to the floor.
"As a rule, I don't go to wakes, I don't go to funerals. But for some
reason, I had to come to this one," she said. "After I heard about him,
I knew I had to be here. I walked for a long time."
Two days earlier, Brave had hitchhiked more than 100 miles across the
reservation to attend the wake. For the entire journey, the Navy
veteran carried one of her handmade star quilts, in memory of her son,
a Marine who served during the first Gulf War. Earlier that night, the
family gave the quilt away with all the others.
"My father told me, 'Everywhere you go, you're there for a reason,' "
she said. " 'You're either there to help somebody, or they're there to
help you.' "
Inside the gymnasium, Brave joined more than a hundred men and women
who lined up behind the Colorado Marines, for the last official ceremony
of the wake, the "Final Roll Call." She was soon joined by men and
women from all services, ages 19 to 90.
Some hobbled in walkers, others stood in desert camouflage, some wore
the same clothes they had for the past two days. As Sunday stretched
into Monday, they came to attention. For the next 15 minutes, they
all waited for their name, and then barked
the same response: "Here, Sir." "Here, Sir." "Here, Sir . . "
each of them said, one after another, until they reached the last
veteran in the building. "Corporal Brett Lee Lundstrom . .
"Corporal Brett Lee Lundstrom . . . "Corporal Brett Lee Lundstrom."
Finally, Capt. Sutherland answered for the Marine who never would.
"Not here, Sir," he said. As the Lakota warrior songs began, John
Around Him took the microphone once more. "This ceremony will continue
on - because in the past, in our history
with our great warriors, and how they defended our land, their culture
and their way of life - it passes on, generation after generation," he
said. "These veterans, they love us. They care for us." He looked
over at the groups of old men and women, the groups of young ones, and
thought of all the wars in between. "To all the veterans who are here
tonight, welcome home," he said. He then looked over at the open
casket at the man with a feather on his chest, and said it again,
"Welcome home."
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Unhinged high school propagandist in Denver... I am a high school teacher and I take my job seriously. When I read this kind of story, it makes my blood boil. Unfortunately most high school teachers that I know are quite liberal, occasionally I hear that so-and-so said this or that in class but most of the time even the liberals I know try to keep the information they present and the questions they pose as balanced as possible. There are jerks, obviously this guy is one... he believes it is his reponsibility to set students straight with his very biased and absurd logic. Most of his points seem to be made through his vocal inflection rather than verifiable facts.... a dangerous man for an idiot. Read Michelle Malkin's angle on this nut... here.
Bad news today.....NOT... Looks like Al Franken's main megaphone will be lost to us...yes, Air America has rolled on it's back exposing it's white underbelly. Brian Maloney has more ...here.
I'll always remember Old Al in the kick-off Democratic event (before the last election) in Central Park as the celebrated defacto "mouth piece" for the Demoncratic Parity started the event with a rousing "F... George Bush, F... George Bush,F... George Bush..." Gee, do you think that voters were paying attention? Isn't that a way to begin a national debate? I know Al supports abortions, don't we wish his mother had? Think of all the Al-like creatures that we have been rescued from...
I'll always remember Old Al in the kick-off Democratic event (before the last election) in Central Park as the celebrated defacto "mouth piece" for the Demoncratic Parity started the event with a rousing "F... George Bush, F... George Bush,F... George Bush..." Gee, do you think that voters were paying attention? Isn't that a way to begin a national debate? I know Al supports abortions, don't we wish his mother had? Think of all the Al-like creatures that we have been rescued from...
Over at Captain's Quarters the Captain does his usual thorough dissection of the New York Times Editor Bill Keller's approach to "what's not good for the goose is good for the gander"... "fair and balanced" news reporting. The question looms in my mind, "How long do we have to suffer the absolute biased day to day operations of our major news sources?" Then, I wake up and realize it is only a bad dream, reality shows that all of the worst media actors are being driven from the stage anyway through loss of readership and advertising revenue... the death nell of conniving... read the Caps work here...
David Gregory, the indignant, shows in so many ways why he and many other MSM journos don't deserve our attention or respect. Without guile, they will shade stories, misrepresent facts, and pursue their quarry into the ground. At the end of the day, what have they accomplished beyond crass political posturing? Carol Liebau has more here...
This image refers to Davids tipsy call into the Imus Show from India... How does he get away with it?
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
A must read, a response by LTC Russell to Joel Stein's limp Los Angeles Times column. The Colonel has fought in Kosovo, Afganistan, and Iraq and very maturely counters Mr. Stein's snide and personally irresponsible diatribe... here!
An excerpt...."But what separates him from me is certainly not education. Nor is it conviction of purpose. It is indeed morality. But of a nobler kind. No greater love has a man, than he lay down his life for his friends—even when they act and write unfriendly."
Mr. Stein, if he read this would not understand. I can picture him with his friends demeaning the Colonel's purpose and smug in his characterization. Fact is, he'll never understand the Colonel's sense of duty to Joel and everyone else here in the US, in Kosovo, Afganistan, and Iraq.
An excerpt...."But what separates him from me is certainly not education. Nor is it conviction of purpose. It is indeed morality. But of a nobler kind. No greater love has a man, than he lay down his life for his friends—even when they act and write unfriendly."
Mr. Stein, if he read this would not understand. I can picture him with his friends demeaning the Colonel's purpose and smug in his characterization. Fact is, he'll never understand the Colonel's sense of duty to Joel and everyone else here in the US, in Kosovo, Afganistan, and Iraq.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
If you're not reading Hugh Hewitt daily then you are missing some important information and sources. Hugh has a wide range of skills and has a finger in a number of pies; Radio show, blogging, teaches constitutional law. Read Hugh's inclusion of Carl Rove's speech at the RNC Winter meeting.
Also, you must follow Hugh's piece on the Colombia School of Journalism and the Los Angeles Times. You'll find that it's impossible to tell the "truth" if you are totally prejudiced against even the possibility of that truth.
Also, you must follow Hugh's piece on the Colombia School of Journalism and the Los Angeles Times. You'll find that it's impossible to tell the "truth" if you are totally prejudiced against even the possibility of that truth.
The New York Times, are they wholly subversive? Good read to add to what you may need to know... read here. From William Tate at the American Thinker.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Captain's Quarters has a good look at Osama's message to the world today. Check it out here.
Keep The Captain and his first mate in your prayers concerning her health issues.
Keep The Captain and his first mate in your prayers concerning her health issues.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Amazing limited offer available only through BobMail... $129.95 You've heard about the amazing Bob-Ups and the incredible life regenerative qualities associated with daily contact with lightly toasted Bobs. For the first time BobMail is making a limited supply of Bob-Ups available directly to you. Try an introductory four pack of Bob-Ups and you'll be itching for more. We have a variety of plans that guarantee the correct amount of Bob-Ups to meet your needs. It is recommended that Bob-Ups are toasted in the original Bob-Ups Toaster, you can toast Bob-Ups in a conventional toaster. DONT OVERHEAT THE BOB-UPS! Call for details.Order your introductory Bob-Ups kit today and start living.
Bob-Ups can be highly addictive, you should consult your physician.
Oops, why can't people listen?
Morongo Valley, California
Office of Strategic Monster Control
All participating agencies be aware of the carnage taking place in downtown Morongo Valley. The perp appears to be an amalgam of the infamous Japanese urban legend Godzilla and what appears to be a small canine. It has been reported that all of the downtown high rise buildings have been leveled and that responding military personnel and equipment have been melted like wax.
Also, reportedly an individual from BobMail Inc. has been running around yelling , "We told them not to overheat the Bob-Ups! Now look what they've done! Oh, the humanity!" Be advised, this is chaotic... Wait, what is that sound? Sounds like Uncle Vinnie blowing through a vacuum hose doing a cheap imitation of a Ricola ad. Uh oh, we're in trouble here. There is something big outside the door and it's blowing flames from its mouth and destroying everything in sight. I hope I have enough time to send this email....to send the only image we have and to warn you all... DONT OVERHEAT THE BOB-UPS!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
San Bernardino National Forest Alertre: Bear warning
We have received word that there is a grizzly bear loose in the Mount San Gorgonio area, more notedly on the eastern slope in Morongo Valley. As you know the last native grizzlies were hunted out early in the 20th century. Please note accompanying photo taken by a surprised resident. If you have heard the rumor being spread by some local nut that says that the bear is really his dog Bob in a rented bear-suit, please disregard. Consider the "bear" to be dangerous and take all precautions.
Department of the Interior BulletinInterdepartmental Memo from the desk of Hubert Doubledorf, Rapid City
Mount Rushmore National Park, South Dakota
May 31, 2005
As you know the heavy snows in the Black Hills of the Dakotas have caused a lot of problems this year. We appreciate each agency's effort to keep the parks open and accidents to a minimum.
There are unexpected problems and the main area of concern is with Rushmore. It wasn't until mid-April that the snows had melted enough from the mantle of the mountain to expose what appears to be the image of a small canine to the right of Lincoln. I have questioned all of the field teams and local law enforcement only to receive rather unsatisfactory answers as to how someone could have carved a 150 foot high image without anyone questioning or even noticing the equipment necessary to complete the task.
A local park road crew remembered that a private contractor from southern California had told them that he had a contract to remove embarrassing "nose hairs" from three of the presidents. The nose hairs reportedly were Flamagina Nostricium a vine that grows on the ceilings of caves, which the nostrils certainly are. It is true that we hired the contractor to remove the ever noticeable "hairs." What is disturbing is that a former field manager did not send a ranger to view the "hairs" initially but took the word of this contractor relying instead on what could be seen from the viewing deck through binoculars. There was never any follow up inspections of the site. The growth turns out to be plastic Boston Ivy purchased from the Michaels in Rapid City from July to October of 2004. The ivy was pinned to the roofs of the nostril caves. It appears that the contractor applied layers of plastic Flamagina over the course of some months which is why the "hairs" seamed to grow. Later the material was simply pulled out and allowed to fall to the talus and snow at the base. Apparently the real time spent on this project was not to burn the hairs out but to carve the canine head.
Agents are being sent to two Southern California sites to question individuals and to three retail outlets to identify who might have purchased a half dozen small squishable rubber pet toys that were found at the base of the mountain. The agency is asking that all department heads and managers review the situation and report any unusual events occurring from July, 2004 to April of 2005.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
BOB ina BOX tmSouthwest Marketing Division
It has come to our attention that a number of our Bob ina Box units have become a problem. When the product was first brought to market we anticipated possible problems connected with end users not opening the crate in a timely manner. The graphics department created printed as well as digital media throughly explaining the need to release the Bob as soon as possible. Without going into horrific and gruesome details, some scenarios were initially outlined. What we feared has occurred. Buyers have not always released the Bob in a timely manner and have suffered the consequences. Contact your sales personnel, store managers, and delivery companies and explain in detail what their obligation entails. You might have heard the rumors circulating about the "forgotten" Bob ina Box in a storeroom at the Amboy, California, Bob R Us. We do not want a repeat of that carnage. Also, be sure to provide a "Bob waiver" to anyone who comes in contact with a Bob ina Box crate as well. Bruce Hamilton
Day two of "truancy"... I submit two related pieces of information that is worth pursuing...
First, from Mary Katherine Ham @ Hugh Hewitt... "They Tell Me It's a Nice Idea"... or, conversations with socialists... here...
Then, read The Heritage Foundation's 2006 Index of Economic Freedom, which... "measures 161 countries against a list of 50 independent variables divided into 10 broad factors of economic freedom." You can download a PDF or order the report in book form.
Over the years teaching
at a California high school I have met some very interesting foreign exchange students. It is interesting to discuss cultural issues and differences which harks back to my other degree area which was Applied Anthropology... Two years ago I enjoyed such an exchange with a talented artist from Sweden. I had mentioned that I had heard that in Sweden there is a saying, "Just enough" that covers pretty much their everyday activities. I had taken it as a societal guide in determining personal effort or direction. She told me that it determines much more and causes angst among the less indoctrinated younger set.
She said that because of the pervasive socialist/collective mentality the term "just enough" is really a controller. She said that if someone was to announce an interest in becoming a famed musician or visual artist that the first reaction in any social circumstance would be to question, "Why?" The implication is that the person is trying to elevate themselves above their family, friends, or community. The controller would make everyone trully the same. Reassuring to the cronically jealous recalcitrants but stilting to the visionaries. Bruce Hamilton
Mark Steyn's far reaching look at not just 2006 but forward through the entire century... here...
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Well, I stayed home today on this the first school day of 2006. My "truancy" involved a dentist, pain, cosmetics, and pride. Not the best day of this holiday season. But, I had a chance to read some interesting blogs today and I'd like to share some of those... btw, GO TROJANS!
We've all heard the rantings of the "Daily Kos" like moonbats who portray their anti-war stance to morality and patriotism. Well, they just don't get it. They have either taken too much acid or Mom just never said, "NO!"
If a person witnessed an attack on an elderly person and didn't attempt to thwart or throttle the attacker then that would be immoral. If a family member is overtly menaced and a person seeing this does nothing they are immoral. If your country is attacked and there are clear indications of continuing attack and you do nothing then you are immoral, and if you give aid to that attacker then you are not only immoral but an attacker.
Bill Roggio has an interesting peek at a world-wide movement... here. What is it about this information that isn't clear? Why are there those that just don't get it? They are a clear danger themselves.
......................................
Michael Barone's "Hard America, soft America"... here... by way of Power Line. Who is the enemy?
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Paul Mirengoff at Power Line and a closer look at The Daily Kos... Again, who is the enemy? ...here
We've all heard the rantings of the "Daily Kos" like moonbats who portray their anti-war stance to morality and patriotism. Well, they just don't get it. They have either taken too much acid or Mom just never said, "NO!"
If a person witnessed an attack on an elderly person and didn't attempt to thwart or throttle the attacker then that would be immoral. If a family member is overtly menaced and a person seeing this does nothing they are immoral. If your country is attacked and there are clear indications of continuing attack and you do nothing then you are immoral, and if you give aid to that attacker then you are not only immoral but an attacker.
Bill Roggio has an interesting peek at a world-wide movement... here. What is it about this information that isn't clear? Why are there those that just don't get it? They are a clear danger themselves.
......................................
Michael Barone's "Hard America, soft America"... here... by way of Power Line. Who is the enemy?
......................................
Paul Mirengoff at Power Line and a closer look at The Daily Kos... Again, who is the enemy? ...here
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Happy New Year!
.................................................
A look forward...
The Anchoress gives a great look forward, here...
So what...
Carol Liebau's take on the NYT's tag-team of Risen and Lichtblau and their latest offering. Just in time for Risen's book release, how convenient, here..
Obstruction...
Read Patterico's LA Times review for the year. Decide for yourself if the Times is reporting news events or trying to shape the news, here...
A Look back, at Apple...
Another phenomenal year for the original "Silicon Valley" guys, here...
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