The "Maginot Line" around Baghdad

Once apon a time, there was a very distinguished and highly intelligent Frenchman named Maginot, (see photo at left) after whom was named the most insanely and utterly useless defensive project in all of recorded history: Though the French had 10700 artillery pieces, and their British allies could muster an additional 1280, the German attacking forces could muster only 7378. Same for the other military ingredients for the battle. The allies had 108 division, the Germans only 93; the allies had 3894 tanks, the Germans only 2493. Nevertheless, the German army went around the Maginot Line and destroyed or captured the entire allied army.

The French commanders, unlike the brilliant French comanders in their distant past, were apparently ignorant of the lessons of history: For instance, the "Great Wall of China", so much admired by tourists, was a similarly tragic farce: By spreading their vast armies across such an enormous distance, the Chinese leaders guaranteed that a determined and intelligent enemy would take advantage of this dispersion and, though inferior in total strength, annihilate the enormous Chinese army, one isolated unit at a time.

Now our "president" George "W" Bush, who had the guts to fly National Guard planes around Texas, while I was wimping out of that kind of hazardous duty, content to fight North Vietnamese Regular Forces from a tiny RVN outpost at Ngo Trang, a few miles north of Kontum, and hardcore Viet Cong at Trung Lap, at the edge of the "Iron Triangle", the most hotly contested piece of real estate in South Vietnam, and the target of numerous B-52 bomber raids, whose rude impact often disturbed my unsavory dreams, usually while local VC units bombarded my advisory compound with 60mm motars, feels that he wants to repeat that brilliant Anglo/French strategy, by throwing a "Maginot Line" around Baghdad.

Apparently one of his deranged advisors, who does not have a clue about military strategy or tactics, has decided to dust off the Maginot Line strategy to win a final victory in Iraq (the Nazis called that "endsieg", and history records that it did not work out exactly as planned.

May God have mercy on our brave military, and grant that many of them survive this insane strategy, initiated by the tactically and strategically illiterate among Bush advisors! I shall indeed be praying for them, for they do not deserve this clueless commander-in-chief!

Like Crassus, Bush is Spiritually Blind

Our armed forces, among whose ranks I served as Advisory Team Leader in Vietnam, are in great danger of disintegrating: AWOL's are up, Marines are being sent into combat for their fourth tour, and even Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, is out control. Armed militias roam the streets unmolested, threatening to kill any woman not wearing an Islamic headscarf. Even Christian women, now in fear or their lives, are trying to pose as devout muslims by wearing headscarves.

Our war, which President Bush started for oil, is lost. The ancient ruins of Harran (see map), were called Carrhae by the Romans. They speak of another man, driven by greed, who destroyed an invincible army: Crassus (see picture), like Bush, though fabulously wealthy, physically deaf and spiritually blind, set out for Syria in his campaign against the Parthians, whose western frontier bordered the Euphrates. Their land covers much of the territory that we now call Iraq. Crassus was met by a young general, (Surenas, far left on this posting), whose army surrounded the Roman legions at Carrhae (now Harran). Surenas killed Crassus and his son, as well as 20,000 legionaires. Those who were unfortunate enough to be captured, were sold into slavery, and only a few were able to return safely to Rome.

Even in those days, news of the disastrous Roman defeat travelled quickly throughout the empire. In 42BC, Gaul, (now France), under the able leadership of Vercingetorix, revolted - a severe crisis for the Roman empire.

Remembering a Soldier who Died to Preserve Peace

Major "Wolf" Paeta Hess-von-Kruedener was the only Canadian serving as an unarmed United Nations Military Observer in Lebanon, and was stationed at a UN hilltop base 10 kilometers (.6 miles) from where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. His mission was to report ceasefire violations. On Feb 1, 06, Major Hess-von-Kruedener had reported the death of a young shepherd boy killed by an Israeli patrol near an abandoned goat farm called "Bastarra". On July 25, his UN base came under fire from Israeli artillery and was struck by a precision guided bomb. Four UN observers died.

Major Hess-von-Kruedener is survived by his wife, Cynthia Hess-vonKruedener, who told a news conference that, according to her information, Israeli targeting of the UN base was intentional. "The building was clearly marked, their vehicles were clearly marked, they were clearly marked as UN Observers." She indicated that the Israelis had targeted her huband's area several times. According to CTV, UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan also believes that UN observers were deliberately targeted by the Israeli defense force. (The photo at the top left, shows Israeli school children writing messages on artillery shells, to be delivered to their Lebanese neighbors.)

De Ni(a)le is NOT Just a River in Egypt

It's Not His Fault!
The gentleman you see here, and I use this term with deliberate and heartfelt respect, the general commanding our forces in Iraq, is NOT responsible for the terrible mess in which he is forced to work, to salvage what he can of the quagmire that is now Iraq, which a bumbling amateur, who is unfortunately our president, has bequeathed to our magnificent military forces.

As Publius Quintilius Varo said many centuries ago: "Easy is the descent into hell, but to retrace one's steps, and return to the air above, there is the task, there lies the difficulty".

It's time to get out of Iraq, an impossible and unnecessary mission, which is now destroying to capability of our armed forces to respond to crises which are critical to the survival of our great nation.

Let Our People Go!

On July 26, the men and women of the 172nd Stryker Combat Brigade prepared to end their unit's deployment to Iraq. These 3,800 Americans had fought for one year to bring stability to Northern Iraq, establishing a reputation as an essential and highly effective force in bringing stablity to that war-torn area.

Some of the men had already arrived at their base in Fairbanks, Alaska, while many others were in Kuweit, ready to board their homebound planes, personal items sent stateside, vehicles turned over to newly arriving combat units.

On the following day, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld extended the 172nd Brigade's deployment in Iraq, to fight the rapidly growing insurgency in Baghdad. Click - above - to visit their web site!

CLICK HERE to write to your congessman to bring them home!

The Foolishness of Israel's War

First, a history lesson about the limits of air power: On January 29, 1944, Allied bombers dropped 453 tons of bombs on the Abbey at Monte Cassino, thus turning the abbey from a building into a fortress, because the defense of a rubble heap mixed with ruins is a lot easier than the defense of a building. Not only can the loose rubble be used to protect the otherwise vulnerable infantry defenders, but there are no roofs or walls to fall on the defenders. Thus, according to the brilliant historian General J.F.C Fuller (The Second World War, the bombing of the abbey at Monte Cassino was not so much an act of vandalism but an act of sheer tactical stupidity.

The same goes for the bombing of houses, commercial and residential high-rise buildings and bridges by the IDF, with one important difference: The homeless victims of the Israeli bombings, especially those who have lost friends and loved ones, are now lining up to fight for Hezbolla. What would YOU do, after losing friends and members of your family?

Arab Freedom? We have made the residents of Lebanon REALLY free: "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose!"

As Martin Luther King once said: "War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrows". In the United States, we shall now be faced with problems from Hezbollah as well as Al Quaida. As Richard Armitage said on April 18, 2003: Hezbollah, not Al Quaida, is the "A" team of terrorists.

Israel Uses Poison Gas and Depleted Uranium

According to the Wayne Madsen Report
Lebanon has reported that Israel is now using poison gas and depleted Uranium Shells on towns in the south of Lebanon. Residents of Kasarshoba became violently ill, experiencing severe vomiting, after the Israelis hit the village with poison gas. In addition, underground shelters in southern Lebanon were hit with depleted uranium shells. WMR sources indicate that the entire southern suburbs of southern Beirut , with a population of 800,000 have been totally depopulated. Sic transit gloria mundi!
No, This Is Not 'Our War' exclaims President Reagan's Republican conservative speech writer, and author of incisive, conservative books. "Israel is doing the Lord's work" says columnist Lawrence Kudlow. Perhaps, but not the work of that Lord, whose words and deeds I ready daily in HIS New Testament, but the work of that other "Lord", whom MY Lord justly names "The Prince of Darkness". No matter! The powers of darkness will persist, at least for now, while we say a farewell to Beirut. Indeed, we are also saying a sad 'farewell' to any reasonable hope for an honest, durable peace in the Middle East, and 'hello' to the very real possibility that those idiots who want to hurry the approach of the 'end times' will have their perverted wish fulfilled, assure that "THEY", and those of us, who truly want peace for the sake of those who much younger than we, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS, shall witness the imminent destruction of all life forms on this troubled, small and fragile planet.