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« March 18, 2007 | Main | March 20, 2007 »

March 19, 2007

Iraq Booming

[Greyhawk]

... in a good way: Michael Totten reports from the Kurdish north. I've said it before - it's not Iraq without America, it's Iraq without terrorists. (And it keeps getting better.)

Posted at 2257Z

Peace Democrats

[Dadmanly]

Copperheads. No better historical allusion describes them, the “opposition” to our efforts in Iraq.

Mackubin Thomas Owens, writing at National Review Online, compares current anti-war Democrats with the “Peace Democrats” faced by Abraham Lincoln during the civil war. Owens source is an intriguing and very timely history, Copperheads: The Rise an Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North, by Jennifer Weber, and explains:

The historical record aside, what struck me the most were the similarities between the rhetoric and actions of the Copperheads a century and a half ago and Democratic opponents of the Iraq war today.

Continue reading "Peace Democrats "

I gave an interview today to the local Fox affiliate, answering questions about the war, how it’s going, did I support our efforts, what do I think of vigils and other anti-war demonstrations staged to mark the war’s 4 year anniversary. Regular readers here or those who have seen me in earlier media appearances will know how I responded. It remains to be seen how much of my comments make it on-air.

I keep coming back to this great line by the MILBLOGGER JD Johannes:

Support the troops. Let them win.

Here’s what Owens said about Civil War Veteran’s reaction to the Peace Democrats of their day:

It is certain that the Union soldiers tired of hearing from the Copperheads that the Rebels could not be defeated. They surely tired of being described by the Copperheads as instruments of a tyrannical administration trampling the legitimate rights of the Southern states. The soldiers seemed to understand fairly quickly that the Copperheads preferred Lincoln’s failure to the country’s success. They also recognized that the Copperheads offered no viable alternative to Lincoln’s policy except to stop the war. Does any of this sound familiar?

Yes, it does. What Owens says next sounds even more familiar:

Today, Democratic opponents of the Iraq war echo the rhetoric of the Copperheads. As Lincoln was a bloodthirsty tyrant, trampling the rights of Southerners and Northerners alike, President Bush is the world’s worst terrorist, comparable to Hitler.

These words of the La Crosse Democrat responding to Lincoln’s re-nomination could just as easily have been written about Bush: “May God Almighty forbid that we are to have two terms of the rottenest, most stinking, ruin working smallpox ever conceived by fiends or mortals…” The recent lament of left-wing bloggers that Vice President Dick Cheney was not killed in a suicide bombing attempt in Pakistan echoes the incendiary language of Copperhead editorialist Brick Pomeroy who hoped that if Lincoln were re-elected, “some bold hand will pierce his heart with dagger point for the public good.”

Owens remarks on the eternal complaint of the soldier, and notes that soldiers will always see the failures and inadequacies of their leaders. But the “Peace Democrats” of today, like their Copperhead brethren of old, gravely mistake such criticisms as support for their political maneuvers and manipulations to confront, confound, or hamper the war effort. As Owens also observes:

Union soldiers could support the goals of the war and criticize the incompetence of their leaders in the same breath. But today’s soldiers, like their Union counterparts a century and a half ago, are tired of hearing that everything is the fault of their own government from people who invoke Gitmo and Abu Ghraib but rarely censure the enemy, and who certainly offer no constructive alternative to the current course of action.

Support our troops. Let them win.

By the way, I will also appear Tuesday 20 March, 6:50 am EST, for a live on-air interview for the Daybreak program on the same Fox affiliate. Tune in, or check it out online later tomorrow morning!

(Cross-posted at Dadmanly)

All done!

Posted at 2119Z

RE: Gimme What You Got

[Soldier's Dad]

"$100 million for contract mental health care when appointment waiting times exceed 30 days "

I can not find a respectful word to describe someone who would believe that a combat veteran having a "mental health emergency" should wait 30 days.

You *$&#@(*$@(#$ in congress had a vote....I don't care who may or may not haved lie to you....our children were sent to a place called war...on your authority.(It is in the Consitution...only congress can declare war)

When they come home...if they find themselves in need of a Health Professional, mental or otherwise, this nations only answer must be "Yes sir, right away sir". We are not as a nation going to leave struggling returning soldiers with no choice but to "Self medicate" while the Gummint pulls out its thumb.

Posted at 2112Z | Comments (1)

Gimme What You Got...

[Soldier's Mom]

The Wall Street Journal carried an Editorial this past weekend called " 'Peanuts' for Patraeus" which covered the shameful pork spending that the Congress has added to the Supplemental Defence Appropriations Bill. I haven't seen a lot of MSM covering the deplorable trough diving being done -- $20 million to restore farmland damaged by freezing temperatures, $1.48 billion for livestock farmers, $74 million "to ensure proper storage for peanuts," $25 million for spinach...

So I pulled out the provisions of the Bill on military and veterans health care and grabbed the trusty calculator and here's some notes:

With all the news stories about the "scandal" at Walter Reed, here's what I find in the appropriations for Health Programs (speak up if I missed anything):
Defense Health Programs: $2.79 billion of which $2.29 billion shall be for operation and maintenance [only available until 9/30/2008 so spend it while ya got it!] and of which $500 million shall be for research, development, test and evaluation [available until 9/30/2009]. [note that the $2.79 billion for military health isn't even 2x the Democrats' $1.48 Billion for livestock farmers!]

And for VETERANS AFFAIRS:

Compensation & Pensions: $20 million for a pilot program for disability examinations [OK, remember, the Dems have included $25 million for spinach...]

Medical Services: $414.982 million, which includes $30 million for a new Level I comprehensive Polytrauma Center (doesn't say where this will be); $56 million for prosthetics; $100 million for contract mental health care when appointment waiting times exceed 30 days [whiskey tango foxtrot??? there should be NO STRINGS for mental health care... it should be left to the VA how to spend this -- like using some of this $100 million to HIRE AND TRAIN TEAMS IN THE TREATMENT OF COMBAT-RELATED PTSD NOW 'CAUSE THE FLOOD GATES ARE ABOUT TO OPEN ON THE VA!!!!]; and $228.982 million shall be for the treatment of veterans of the global war on terror.

Medical Administration: $256.3 million, including $6.3 million for polytrauma support clinic teams for case management

Medical Facilities: $595.0 million, including $45 million for upgrades to polytrauma centers and $550 million for non-recurring maintenance as identified in the VA Facility Condition Assessment

Medical & Prosthetic Research: $35 million

Administrative Expenses: $62 million, including $1.25 million for digitization of records [yeah, that should digitize about 100 pages of records] and $60.75 million "for expenses related to hiring and training new claims processing personnel" [YES!!! wonderful! but not nearly enough!] [again... compare to the $74 million "to ensure proper storage for peanuts"!]

OK, that makes the VA total $1.38 billion -- and the Dems have included $1.48 BILLION just for livestock farmers. More money for cows & horses than Veterans??? Yeah... you have not only shown us your priorities, you have shown us your stripes.

More (with a rant) at Some Soldier's Mom

Posted at 2038Z | Comments (1)

San Diego, Here We Come

[Andi]

For military spouses in the San Diego/Camp Pendleton area, have we got a treat for you.

Posted at 1956Z

Chant obnoxiously and carry a big shtick

[Buck Sargent]

I realize that old school media loves to overhype antiwar protests because they remind them of their own dazed and confused youth, their shaggy sideburns and discarded bellbottoms and flaming draft cards... ah, reminiscing can be such sweet sorrow. But back to reality: serious antiwar sentiment this time around is about as prevalent as was opposition to the Second Boer War. (Don't feel bad, I had to look it up too). In that sense, Iraq could be considered the Second Bored War (after Afghanistan) in that a sizable percentage of the public is simply tired of having to hear about it. Never mind battle stress, they've got a serious case of frontpage fatigue, people!

Find the rest HERE

Posted at 0344Z | Comments (12)

Hmmmmm

[John Noonan]

Despite the camo, this protester looks awful familiar......

It couldn't be.....

Hotel Tango: CJ

Posted at 0331Z | Comments (2)

Shocked, Shocked...

[Grim]

Anyone want to start a pool on how much longer it'll be before BlackFive recovers from his St. Patrick's Day hangover enough to blog? Closest guess wins... well, probably just bragging rights.

Posted at 0255Z | Comments (1)

Odd sub hunters

[Eagle1]

Sure, you've heard about P-3 Orions and maybe even ASW blimps. But take a look at the bomb slung beneath that little single engine plane chasing that U-boat and you're talking about some brave vounteers in a sub hunting auxiliary that is still working hard today.

As set out here.

Posted at 0059Z