The Face of Moral Courage: Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks were on top of the "country" music world in 2003, when George Bush decided to invade Iraq. We know that he did so by lying to the citizens who elected him, by fabricating evidence that Saddam Hussein had "weapons of mass destruction, and by FALSELY linking him to Osama Bin Laden. As everyone who read the foreign press knew, the two were bitter enemies, and would have tried to kill each other, had they been placed into the same room. In the process, his people outed Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA operative who was tracking nuclear bomb technology in Iran. Thanks to our Bush government, we now have no "humint", or human intelligence, keeping an eye on the progress of nuclear weapons technology in Iran.

Natalie Maines said what most of us who knew the facts of the situation did say in our blogs, though our subservient press did not have the courage to report the truth. Because of her patriotic and courageous act FOR AMERICA, "country" music stations banned the Dixie Chicks, in an act that was not only cowardly, but also anti-American.

Now we are in a mess in Iraq, and the so-called "patriotic" country disk jockeys are partly responsible for it. How can they sleep at night, after helping to betray America, which they claim to love?

Why do we have a outrageously high gas prices?

A May 1 article in Germany's largest News Magazine - "Der Spiegel", indicates that since our invasion, the Iraqi oil industry is on the verge of collapse, leading to more world shortages. When Saddam was in power, he tried to sell as much oil as possible to whoever wanted to buy, whether friend or potential foe.

Because its northern pipeline into Turkey has been out of commission for months as a result of continuing insurgent attacks, Iraq now processes all of its oil exports through its two terminals on the Gulf, which are in deplorable shape, and have not been properly repaired. This means less oil, higher prices at the pump, dismal approval ratings for the Bush regime which lied us into our invasion of Iraq. During this deception, President Bush's regime succeded in "outing" the CIA's agent handler for Iran. I will take many years to replace the agents in Iran who reported to him, and meanwhile, we may lack "human" intel (vs electronic, etc.), which is now severly needed, if an ill-advised invasion is in the planning process.

If we now commit the additional folly of attacking Iran, the two Gulf terminals, pathetic as they are, will be at risk, and Iran is likely to quit selling oil on the world market, and our crisis will then become a catastrophy, from which we are unlikely to recover in the foreseeable future. Many of us may be walking many miles to work, if our workplace survives the inevitable world-wide economic depression, which is certain to follow a severe oil shortage. It will take years to replace oil with other fuel sources in sufficient quantities to avert this catastrophe.

Even the many citizens of the United States, who are unable to find Iran or Iraq on a world map, will soon understand the impact of our misadventure into the Middle East. It has been, and will continue to be a massive tragedy for the Iraqi as well as the American people

Our Military's Honor Roll

Those of us who served honorably for our United States in combat, as I have, should salute, from left: Major General Paul D. Eaton, General Anthony C. Zinni, Lieutenant General Gregory Newbold, Major General John Batiste, Major General John Riggs, Major General Charles H. Swannack Jr.

When a commander has major, irreconcilable policy differences with those to whom he reports, especially concerning policies which undermine the ability of his unit to assist with the defense of our country, it becomes his moral duty to resign.

We need men like these, who can not only lead our nation in war, but understand the logistical problems caused by natural disasters like the hurricane which devastated New Orleans, to report for duty as candidates for the office of President of the United States.

Jill Carroll and the idiotic propaganda from both sides

I join the many Christians and Moslems, as well as the multitudes from other religions, who are joyfully celebrating Jill Carroll's release. Unfortunately, my joy is tempered with sadness, when I consider the degree to which she has succumbed to the crude, irrational propaganda of the evil forces of our world.

Jill is right in condemning those who killed her friend Alan, and thereby devastated his family. I would gladly pull the trigger of my .45 Colt Commander, or the M-16 I carried in combat during my assignment in Vietnam, to avenge their untimely deaths, even though my Christian religion prohibits such acts of revenge. Unfortunately, unlike Jesus, I am only human, and have a great deal of difficulty in sublimating my anger. I suspect that Moslems, including my friend Samir Farah, who, with my help, argued for the Arab cause so fervently on the Ed Bush talk show many years ago, are burdened with similar problems of our imperfect humanity, for only God is great.

Though I am only one insignificant person, I humbly thank those who sacrificed to make her freedom possible. I know that God will reward them for their kindness, which He demands of us.

Groessenwahnsinn (Megalomania)

Several recent press reports have suggested we (the US) are planning up to 14 permanent bases in Iraq.

The United States, with other Allies, occupied Germany in 1945, and stayed because the "Cold War" began. The cold war has been over for many years, and yet we are still there. The same dreary fate awaits Iraq.

This administration's drug and alcohol induced logic, which caused the shooting of Cheney's hunting companion, governs what passes for "foreign policy" these days.

We Must Find the Words

The photo in this post shows a small boy, detained with his father by our American Armed Forces. If you and your son were forced to endure this sort of emotional torment, how would YOU react to the invaders?

Multiply this scene by a thousand, perhaps by hundreds of thousands, and you will begin to understand why most of the residents of Iraq do not entirely love their "guests".

I do understand. My grandmother, mother, and I endured similar torments during the Soviet and Polish occupation of my German hometown from 1945 to 1947.

In the last posting before his death, Tom Fox quoted an Islamic cleric, who tried to explain the gut-wrenching torment of the innocent civilians of that devastated city: "The ongoing difficulties faced by Fallujans are so great that words fail to properly express it". Nevertheless, we must try to find the appropriate words, though they fall pitifully short of the emotions from which they spring.

In his weblog Tom had written: "I am to stand firm against the kidnapper as I am to stand firm against the soldier."....."If Jesus and Ghandi were right, then I am asked to risk my life, and if I lose it, to be as forgiving as they, when murdered by the forces of Satan."

Tom's body was found concealed in a garbage bag, in a vacant lot near the West Baghdad railway line. The many scars on his back gave ample evidence of severe beatings. His hands had been tied, and there were numerous gunshot wounds at his head and chest. Which side of this dehumanizing conflict gained from his death?Please CLICK HERE to visit those who supported this humble ambassador of Christ.

Another Pat Tillman Investigation

There is no doubt that Pat Tillman was a hero. If forsaking a multi-million dollar contract in order to put himself in harm's way is not selfless heroism, I have no idea what deed might fit that definition.

Based on everything I have read, his death was caused by a number of gross errors by those in command. Since I led two advisory teams in Vietnam, I believe that I can comment authoritatively concerning the decisions by his commander, pending additional information, which has not yet been communicated to us:

1. One of the unit's vehicles broke down. The commander decided to leave half of his team with the vehicle in a small Afghan village, while the remainder were to return to their base camp. Unfortunately, the entire team was too small to defend against a substantial attack, and splitting the team made that situation even worse.

2. The team in the village was able to find a vehicle to tow their disabled vehicle, and decided to follow the first unit, apparently without notifying that unit of it's course of action.

3. The first half of the team heard them coming, assumed they were an enemy unit, and prepared an ambush, firing on their comrades when they came in range.

4. The second half of the team thought they were being attacked by enemy soldiers, and decided to return fire. Among them was an indigenous guide or interpreter, who had been allowed to carry an AK-47. That weapon has a distinctive sound, which is substantially different from our M-16's. In addition, the weapon probably fired green tracers - our M-16 tracers are red.

5. The first half of the team, watching green tracers from the second unit, was now certain that they were facing an enemy unit, and did what it could to wipe them out. In Vietnam, I carried a pocket size code book, which could be used to encode my transmissions, and I suspect that the Special Forces commander had one as well. When in doubt as to the automatic weapons fire coming in their directions, the commander of each of the two elements should have taken a few moments to encode a message to the other unit, but that would have been difficult by the rapidly diminishing light of the setting sun, and the use of a flashlight would have revealed their position to enemy forces in the vicinity.