Christmas Card from Teheran

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers.

Noble Americans,

We have so much in common. Both our nations are God-fearing, truth-loving and justice-seeking, and both seek dignity, respect and perfection.

Both greatly value and readily embrace the promotion of human ideals such as compassion, empathy, respect for the rights of human beings, securing justice and equity, and defending the innocent and the weak against oppressors and bullies.

We all deplore injustice, the trampling of peoples' rights and the intimidation and humiliation of human beings.

So why can't we acknowledge these universal values, and come together against our common enemy, the filthy Jews?

Defending Devlin: Marines Are Not Martyrs

Somehow, the Washington Post has managed to distort the conclusions of a secret intelligence assessment on the situation in Anbar so grotesquely as to somehow morph Marine Corps Colonel Peter Devlin's recommendations for smashing al-Qaeda in Iraq into a fantastical military mea culpa, instead concluding that Devlin insists that it is impossible to defeat al-Qaeda or the insurgents.

Please forgive the self-reference, but in Distorting Marines As Martyrs, an attempt has been made to initiate a vigorous defense of Colonel Devlin, who in fact asserts that with another division (15k - 20k troops) and the Fallujafication of Ramadi, al-Qaeda can be defeated in Iraq.

One must conclude that, as a responsible commander of Marines, Colonel Devlin was not making the recommendation as a means to a more dignified and glorious death and certain defeat.

Yet, the Post’s opening sentence states that, according to Col. Devlin’s assessment, “The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda’s rising popularity there.” Why then a recommendation of an additional 20,000 troops if the “U.S. military is no longer able to defeat” al-Qaeda and the insurgency? Marines are not in the martyrdom business. If the open can be this wrong, what ensues in the rest of the article is surely a literary minefield with cherry-picked sentence fragments strewn about in order to support an article that opens with its (flawed) conclusion.

The Post writers almost certainly agree - with a great many others - that fighting al-Qaeda in Afghanistan is a proper fight. They also clearly believe that the United States should withdraw from Iraq. To that disjointed logic and those who share it, I offer that "Those who advocate fighting al-Qaeda in Afghanistan yet would opt not to engage them in Iraq exhibit a logical disconnect and a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the enemy and the jihadi fight he brings."

Colonel Devlin is in Ramadi and clearly understands the nature of the enemy. And he deserves a vigorous defense in the face of leaks and wild distortions in Washington.

Saudi's will intervene in Iraq if US withdraws

via Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Using money, weapons or its oil power, Saudi Arabia will intervene to prevent Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias from massacring Iraqi Sunni Muslims once the United States begins pulling out of Iraq, a security adviser to the Saudi government said on Wednesday.

"To be sure, Saudi engagement in Iraq carries great risks -- it could spark a regional war. So be it: The consequences of inaction are far worse," Obaid said.

Baby steps in Latvia

News is starting to trickle out of the NATO Riga summit. Neither a full victory for the "can we be a grown up Alliance" crowd, but not a defeat either. Some movements on caveats, some new equipment and troops.

Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer welcomed the relaxation of "caveats" on deployment in Afghanistan.

He said about 20,000 of the 32,000-strong Nato force were now more usable for combat and non-combat missions.

"We have made real progress on caveats," he said.
...
Those agreeing to ease the restrictions on deployment against the Taleban include the Dutch, Romanians and smaller nations such as Slovenia and Luxembourg.
...
The summit also saw several countries offer additional troops and training teams, while France agreed to send more helicopters and aircraft.

France, Germany, Spain and Italy have said they will now send help to trouble zones outside their areas, but only in emergencies.

Operation Santa/Bethesda & Walter Reed

UPDATED: Some of you emailed that you were having trouble with the Paypal link. Link has been fixed, see below.

Operation Santa/Bethesda & Walter Reed, a project designed to bring some Christmas cheer to our wounded troops who will be confined to a hospital bed over Christmas, is in full swing. Click here for background. Quantico-based Marines, and their families, have been generous in their support of this worthy project. Quantico will become home base for stuffing hundreds of stockings, which will be delivered to patients at the hospitals on Christmas. As of today, we're only $2,130 away from our goal. Please consider a donation, no matter how small. Your donation will support a worthy cause, and it's also tax-deductible.

Click here to donate (use the pink Operation Santa button), and (very important) be sure to note that your donation is for Operation Santa Bethesda & Walter Reed in the "payment for" field.

If you prefer to mail a donation of money or gift cards, you can use the following address:

Marine Corps Family Foundation
Operation Santa - Bethesda & Walter Reed
4000 Lancaster Drive- Suite 57
Salem, OR 97309

Thanks for your support. It's never fun to be stuck in a hospital, but less so during the Holiday season.

I'll post more info in the extended entry section.

Waiting With Bated Breath...

...for the Iraq Study Group to guide us to victory. Might be a long wait.

Members of an independent commission on Iraq policy could not reach a consensus Tuesday on how many or how long U.S. troops should remain in Iraq, forcing the group to return for a third day of debate, according to an official close to the panel's negotiations.

IDF Hates D&D

I see at the Castle that John Donovan is a Dungeon Master. Having met him at I MBC, I find this not at all surprising.

Actually, I'd imagine (if it were possible to study it) that role playing gamers are overrepresented in the military. Let's say you grew up imagining what it would be like to be a hero -- well, now you're 18. Would you rather pursue a degree in accounting at the local college, or JOIN THE MARINES?

I once made a passing comment about Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. on the blog, which got an immediate response from former Marine Doc Russia. He wrote in the comments, "Holy Smokes! I used to play that game when I was a kid. I used to play it a lot."

Well, naturally.

Security Council Extends Iraq MNF Mandate Through 2007

UN council extends U.S.-led force in Iraq one year

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday unanimously renewed the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq through the end of 2007, granting a request from the Baghdad government.
...
The resolution authorizes the Iraqi government to terminate the force's mandate at any time over the next year if it so chooses.

Good news. No word if the resolution contemplates a US decision to terminate the mandate by withdrawing.

The operative elements of the resolution: