Disgusting and that’s not strong enough a word for this blatant effort by the Islamic terrorists to make even more people cringe and turn against the war in Iraq. In fact, they want you to step back from the entire GWoT. The only problem is as you step back, they step forward.

I have regularly asked (in a virtual rhetorical format via this blog) just where are all the NOW women, and I now call to the male “feminists” as well. What’s your response to the throat slitting of Atwar Buhjat?

At some point, you whiny liberal, “peace loving” people, I have bad news for you:

If you persist in your efforts to derail the free world from taking this group of criminals and sadists down, who have not perverted their religion, they are just strict adherents of the teaching of Mohammed, one day your back will be against the wall and your throat will be next.

How ironic, you call for peace, it is peace through weakness. These people were breed in a part of the world where to show a lack of strength is not only losing face, but also designates you as a target for attack. You have to study the cultural issues before you pontificate from your safe place, having grown up in a society that is full of compassion for those around them and that doesn’t resort to killing anyone who sends a signal that they are a threat to the current person in power.

Most unfortunately, you cannot stop improperly used strength by having none of your own. It’s a nice thought that one day we could, but while the president of Iran threatens to build nuclear weapons, and use them for no other reason then to destroy a culture he has been raised to blame for his own countries ills (sound familiar? Yep, same argument Mr. Hitler used to get into power in Germany in the 1930s….study it…it is happening again), I’d think you’d be buying plane tickets to go to hold up your daiseys in Teheran and also Sadr City, but there haven’t been any news reports of a mass migration of “peace loving people” in the news. What’s wrong? Afraid you’ll be carted off to prison and your lawyer friends won’t be able to get you out on bail before you are tortured (maybe with an electric drill) before you are summarily beheaded or shot in cold blood?

Go ahead…keep it up, they’ll be sure to thank you by shaking your hands for your efforts to defeat George Bush, and any other president who will do the hard and right thing to protect us, before they place a hand around you, in order to keep you still while they take their 8″ blade to your jugular arteries.

Now, a solution, for I hate “idea men” who can only complain, but not give you a way to fix it:

Your only hope, in the long run, is to not only support the troops, but to support the war. Thank the young men and women who daily sit 6000 miles from their family just for you. They may not know you, but they know you love freedom as they do, and they have the courage to raise their right hand and make the commitment for all of us.

In the short term, get your letter writing campaign to the terrorist leaders and the president of Iran. Tell them to stop, and boycott their products and services (oops! Pardon me, but just what is it they produce other than death, slavery and mahem?). How about booking your plane tickets to Israel, where you can be human shields to prevent another major event of genocide.

As for the women of the world, and Alan Alda, time to (SU)³!

Little Green Footballs reports the same story, but the comments on posts there are always good reading.

H/T: Mudville Gazette.

It was on this day, May 7th in 1954 that the French forces in Vietnam surrendered to General Giap, culminating the “57 Days of Hell,” at a place now burned into the collective military knowledge, as a seminal battle, Dien Bien Phu.

The official website for the battle is here.

There is much to study and much to learn from this battle. Some might argue that we (the US) should have been supportive the man we call Ho Chi Minh in the aftermath of WWII and the subsequent strife in the region could have been avoided. Certainly, William Lederer, a retired Navy Captian with significant experience in SE Asia, tells an interesting story in “Our Own Worst Enemy”. I first found this book while at the Naval War College in 87-88 and I have recently purchased a used copy and begun re-reading it. The book was published in 1968, and he prophetically listed a number of major factors that were not going well for us. The most striking, in my reading, was our lack of our understanding of the culture and history of the Vietnamese, and the great regional history, added to the exceptionally limited number of Americans who were literate in Vietnamese. Bill Lederer, on page 54 of his book describes a chance meeting in a bomb shelter in China, while waiting out a Japanese bombing raid, with a Jesuit priest and his assistant , Mr. Nguyen. After the raid, they went to the river gun boat and provided a copy of the US declaration of Independence to this oriental gentleman, at the request of the priest. The story seems to hold together well, when you read this document from Sept 2, 1945 (less than a month after VJ Day).

It begins thusly:

All men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. In a broader sense, this means: All the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free.

The Declaration of the French Revolution made in 1791 on the Rights of Man and the Citizen also states: “All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights.”

Those are undeniable truths.

Other reading tells us Ho Chi Minh actively supported the OSS in conducting guerilla warfare against the Japanese forces in the French Indochina region.

The net result, at the end of the war, is we didn’t support freedom for all, but President Truman responded to the request of the French to allow them to return to their SE Asian colonies. The Japanese prisoners were armed and put to work ferreting out the Vietnamese nationalists, and assisting the French in re-establishing control.

Back to William Lederer. His book describes a people who once fought 1000 (yes, ONE THOUSAND) years agains the Chinese conquerors. I’d say that shows a cultural mentality of long term thought. By the way, the Vietnamese fought until they prevailed. That’s a lesson in “stick to it-ness” if I ever read one.

Along the way to our effective withdrawal from the region in 1972, the French felt the fury of a people determined to be their own controlling authority. The French were overcome in a valley base of Dien Bein Phu. Bernard Fall wrote the early story of the battle, “Hell in a Very Small Place: The Seige of Dien Bien Phu”. Obviously, because of the significance of a battle, where a large industrial nation’s defeat by peasant farmers occured in the post WWII period, many other documents and studies have been conducted.

Miscalcualtion? Entangling alliances? Over confidence? Arrogance? Greed? It happened, its still a story in heroism and strong wills in battle.

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post.

Just what do Shannon Falkner and those illegally in this country have in common?

Shannon Falkner, back in the early 80s, applied to attend The Citadel in Charleston, SC and was accepted. That doesn’t sound bad, particularly with a strong academic record. In case you’re not away, which is a crucial puzzle piece for this analysis, back then, The Citadel was a male only school. Shannon, being a name that could imply either gender, is a woman. She had “forgotten” to fill out the gender block on the application form, and, just when you think your assumptions won’t bite you, the board reviewing records obviously didn’t frame the fact that a potential cadet would specifically mislead them.

Subsequently, the acceptance, was recinded, once Shannon and her lawyers got a national media audience as soon as the acceptance letter was received. They really intended all of this as a specific assault on a system. I’ll leave the complimentary debate on this part of the issue out now, for it’s not really material to the intended discussion.

Once the acceptance was withdrawn, the court battles began, and the federal courts ruled Shannon was to be allowed to matriculate into The Citadel. This part of the process took about two school years.

Once The Citadel was ordered to accept her, more maneuvering began. All “knobs” receive, one day one, as almost one of the very first things, a paid for haircut. It should be more proeprly be called a hair removal, that is only about 98% successful. Boy, does it feel strange to rub your hand over your almost bare scalp, but this was an accepted part of the entry procedure, which had a greater meaning in the grand scheme of things. With all males, people complained, but, you still lost your hair.

One of the more public “debates” that followed was the demand that Shannon’s hair not be cut,because it would be humiliating for a woman to have this happen. The end result, was she wouldn’t get the full cut, like all the men did. There were several other issues, and I was stationed in VA at the time, so I couldn’t keep up with the many other issues. The net result was Shannon’s lawyers got her several “concessions” as to how she would be given the experience of “Knob Year.”

Why was there the push for a women to get into The Citadel? The arguments revolved around “the good old boys club” professional fraternity, with the entry path coming via the all male institution. The lawyers wanted to know why should women be deprived of the experience of The Citadel system, the gave this advantage? Not a bad discussion to consider at all.

Now, begin assembling the puzzle: Shannon and her legal team demanded a female be given the system experience, so they could later be considered a part of the “club,” yet they also, having won the right to get a foot in the door, began telling the 100+ year old system, which must have been successful, for Ms. Falkner wanted it, just how that experience would be given to Shannon. That’s the rub. Her very presense, under these imposed changes, automatically altered the very system she desired to experience. How could she get it, being partially isolated from her fellow “knobs,” and still having hair, while the men did not?

Consider this with the illegal aliens, who came to this country because there is economic opportunity, and many freedoms not regualrly seen in other countries, particularly their own, yet they begin to demand just how they will accept their acceptance.

We value the power of the vote in this country and we argue and debate and say bad words to each other on various issues, but we, in some cases grudgingly, accept the results of a duly held election/vote.

Here’s my suggestion to the illegal aliens: You came here to get what you could not get at home. You were drawn here, because the American experience, while not the first republic style of democracy in history, it has evolved much further and has made us, a country of immigrants, able to not do what didn’t work and to adopt and refine what did/does from other cultures and history. If you have an idea on how to do it better, get it on a ballot, convince us it’s a better way and we’ll all vote on it, or let our elected representatives know how we feel, and therefore get them to vote in our stead.

Oh, you say you can’t vote if you’re not a citizen? Yes, that’s right. You know how to fix that, too. Get to the authorities and begin the process to become one, legally, and then join the debate, and exercise your vote.

The mass riots in the streets to helpt decide the outcome of such significant issues doesn’t work well where you came from so I ask why you’d want to try doing it the less effective way once more? If you really like to influence governments in the manner of large crowds, go home and do it there.

Once more, I remind the illegals that you came here because iwe have been a nation to “borrow” the good things of many other societies, while rejecting the bad, so, take a chance, try it the American way…you might just find you like it a lot better.

I went to the trouble to get this domain name and hosting, and I keep blogging via my Blogger account. Lazy me.

I’ll be spending some time in the near future pulling together the data from the “beginners” blog I have over to this blog.

In the mean time, I’ll begin with this next post as the first post (well, besides this one) that was not previously posted “over there.”

Much of my writing lately has been discussing the experience of the first MilBlogging Conference held 4/22/06 in DC. Jump over there and read up, and follow the links to the many other bloggers who were there and have covered their experiences.

From the great poster and former blogger, Fjordman, a regular commenter on Litte Green Footballs in the comments for this article “Muslim Groups will march with Illegals”:

I am always working on several posts at the same time, now including one called “Another American Century or Another American Civil War?” You Americans need to understand just how much is at stake here. We are in the early stages of a world war with Islam, Muslims are working to get nuclear weapons and are openly calling for the physical destruction of the West. Your enemies are watching the way you are handling the illegal situation, and they are not impressed. Do you think the North Koreans or the Iranians are scared of a country that allows itself to be intimidated and held hostage by a bunch of Mexicans who shouldn’t even be in the country in the first place? When you’re a supwerpower, the line of separation between domestic and foreign policy hardly exists. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was impressed by the way Ronald Reagan handled the blackmail by the air trafic controllers. He simply fired them. This signalled to your enemies abroad that you were not going to give into black mail anywhere.

What is at stake here is your credibility as a superpower. In the longer run, it could be your physical security from nuclear attacks, perhaps even your very survival as a coherent nation state.

DO NOT give in to Mexican intimidation. Build the fence, and deport the illegals. Yes, ALL of them. No amnesty.

We are facing decades of what could potentially become the deadliest war in human history, where the very survival of Western civilization and perhaps human civilization in general hangs in the balance. We cannot win this without you. You are the indispensible nation, and if you break down, the rest of the planet is basically screwed.

Fjordman also has some thought provoking info at the Gates of Vienna blog. He has been reporting on the spreading problems Eurabia is seeing from the massive immigration without assimilation. Here is one of his recent posts: “New Oslo Peace Process”.

He may be our Paul Revere for this time in history. Are we willing to consider his analysis?

Update 4/29/2006: Daily there is more international news, not reported by the MSM with any detail, on what lies ahead. I submit our “tolerance” of the “religion of peace” is doing nothing more than bringing on a world conflict, which, but all written history, begun as the followers of Mohammed spread their religion/politics across the middle east, into the Indian subcontinent, and then to Europe within about the time frame of one century. The fighting that has taken the lines of battle back and forth since then is what we are still engaged in. With the addition of nuclear weaponry, modern telecommunications and international travel by air, the battle lines are no longer measurabel on a map. Fjordman has it half right in his coming article, but I am rapidly coming to tne belief that the coming American Civil War (stay tuned for the Battle of the Illegal Immigrants on May 1, 2006) is merely a cover stroy for the coming global war on all things not Islamic. See this story on “Judgement Day”, not brought to you by President Bush and his cabal of right wing Biblical friends, but another president that is quickly having his name become a household word…it’s not going to be pretty and the size of our amred forces will not be large enough to take it on as we are now. The draft will be for more than just the sons of Republicans, but for all those who do not desire to live in slavery to the thoughts of a 7th century epileptic.

Part I

Editorial note: I thought I was in it Saturday during the conference, but I found it Monday driving home….

The comments from the conference are mulitplying (go figure!) and posted at Andi’s World. Great reads all, but the best one is this one from Steve Schippert from Threats Watch just goes to show you how a simple effort can help someone else.

I added Black Five’s discussion at the top of the entries, for I think it’s worth keeping in our thoughts as we blog: What is the “max range” of your blog?

I’ve had a little time to think over the MilBlogging Conference adventure. Here is some detail to go with a “take away” point:

From Part I:

Top levels “take away” points:

1) “Stay in your lane” is good guidance. Blog on what you know. With a rule like that, you should be bulletproof if a question is posed about how factual your commentary is.

In regards to that direction, have you noticed how hard it is to tell the person who just told you their story that they are wrong? If they told you another person’s story, it can be picked apart. When it’s yours to tell, just what will they say? Nada…or they’ll just whip out the ad hominum stuff and tell you how stupid you are. So…stick with what you know for sure.

The focus of 2/3rds of the Conference day was essentially discussions centered on blogging issues dealing with current world ops in the GWoT. Certainly, that provides an essential foundation for future MilBlogging, for the comments on “think carefully about who is reading this blog” is a fitting framework for all other blogging for the community (not a bad idea for everyone else, too…what if kids on MySpace posted based on what their parent’s reaction would be…but I digress).

I see several subdivisions of MilBlogs and by wrtiing this, I think it will help frame what people are doing, as well as maybe someone reading this will realize they may have a part to play as well.

1) MilBlogs that are fundimentally daily diaries. Smash and CJ got their starts there, and so much of the active duty blogs today are in this “model.” At the conference, CJ admitted this was his venting method during his time in theater, and Smash initially did it to get the word back home to his family (he has since matured, or “evolved” to being our BlogDaddy, so I’m looking for a present at Christmas this year). Begun as coping mechanisms, they are, in fact, history being recorded from a first person’s view, with out the Monday Morning Quarterbacking. One other blog like this of note is no longer active, the 365 and a Wakeup blog of Capt Danjel Bout, CA National Guard, but is one of the finest pieces of writing I have found.

2) MilBlogs that are designed as support networks, out in the open bulletin boards. The panel discussion on this topic was amazing. The power of the Internet, combined with some family members wanting information, turned these early seekers into mentors for spouses and parents all over the country. Carla, of Some Soldier’s Mom and Deb of Marine Corps Moms are two like this. Included in this area would be blogs such as Soldier’s Angels.

3) MilBlogs written by non-active duty people with significant “discrete knowledge” and usually are analysis/commentary on geo-political/military matters. Not constrained by DoD rules, and also “out of the loop” of current tactical/startegic info, these blogs stand to be a powerful part of the “Army of Davids” that Col Austin Bay referenced several times during his conference remarks. The insight provided by these blogs can help either the MSM or just plain old citizens understand the issues in military operations more consisely. Threats Watch is one of these, and the work of Bill Roggio at The Fourth Rail is another of note. I would also put Eagle Speak here, for he runs a great blog on stuff that tends to the leagl side of maritime affairs, with piracy being a major topic these days.

4) Personal historical MilBlogs. Cheaper and easier than publishing a book, and you don’t need an editor to tell you to do parts over…lots of veterans fit here, such as much of my current work. I have also found it quite rewarding to document storeis of many of the older vets I find.

5) Organizational blogs designed particularly to support the troops. There are many, but at the moment I’m thinking it’s pretty late and I can continue this discussion later.

As far as the blogs mentioned above, I linked them for some quick examples, but I know there are many more that fall into the same groupings. My blogroll has plenty of them to pick from.

That’s about enough for the moment. Again, as I got taught: to tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. Here’s the wrap up: By categorizing the main discussions of MilBlogs, I think it will help each blogger frame where “their lane” may be, and therefore keep the work applicable and effective in the greater discussions of our society. I also think the rest of the world will better know where to go to read, and some of them will realize they are an intergral part of the MilBlog community, they just haven’t taken the time to get going yet. Later, it will help subdivide our networking for any efforts we undertake.

Comments welcome.

Part II

I can’t help but feel something pretty powerful happened yesterday, and, with luck, years from now, about 150 of us can say “back at the first conference, we wore jeans and T-Shirts…none of this fancy black tie stuff was allowed!”

While the air of informality reigned, it was the meeting and greeting and putting faces to text, followed by exciting conversation and thought provoking panel discussions.

Top levels “take away” points:

1) “Stay in your lane” is good guidance. Blog on what you know. With a rule like that, you should be bulletproof if a question is posed about how factual your commentary is.

2) Don’t underestimate the “max effective range” of your comments. The well placed furor over Fran’s Steakhouse lease began when FbL’s not very big readership blog made those fateful remarks, that, within days, became national level news in the MSM! Other stories were told that indicated similar results, in the most unexpected manner.

3) Your stories relating to military life and issues can be a powerful factor in closing the gap between the military/ex-military and the non-serving public. Share them wisely.

4) A lady who does marketing for a living indicated the rise of the blogosphere pretty much coincides with the declining readership of the dead tree media. One more powerful point: They don’t augment their understanding of events with blogs, they turn to the blogs for info. Take a moment to soak that one in.

5) She also said psychology studies show when a message of fear is delivered via TV, the viewer connects “better” with the message, which also makes the viewer more attentive to the commercials. That means the fear produces better results for the advertisers, which means the show/network can make more dollars this way. It pays to make us fearful….

6) Chuck Z says he’s upset that the MSM doesn’t tell the bad. Interesting point that makes you go “HUH?” until you hear the rest. He told of an insurgent who gunned down his own nephew so he could get a shot at two of Chuck’s sergeants. That was never in the news. Other examples followed that one.

7) Also from Chuck Z, he says it’s a great feeling to walk into a wounded service person’s room and bring them a laptop that makes a significant change in their life. Valour-IT – it’s making a difference in a big way.

8) Given the changing sources of sought out information coming from blogs, we bloggers have become “accidental journalists.” I’d say not only is that interesting, it also should give us some reason to not repeat those mistakes we complain about the MSM making, lest we fall victim to them ourselves as time passes and this form of info sharing becomes part of the MSM of the future.

9) Our efforts provide “individuals with discrete knowledge.” Back to take away lesson 1: Use it wisely, particularly by staying in your area of expertise. Resist the urge to pretend you know more than you do.

More to come. I’m still enroute home and visiting.

During the return home from the MilBlogging Conference, I found that mythical place that so many other have…..

So, one more mystery of life solved: Hog Heaven is a place witth an address…

MilBlogging post-conference work delayed to watcht the Lightening play hockey the way it was meant to be: Full contact, helmets, gloves, sticks, punches all flying….

PS: If you want the full address, leave me comments.

Some earlier info…

The first session is over and the discussion was centered on the purpose and (implied) the responsibility of MilBloggers. I’m sure the main site is going to cover this well.

The side discussions have been interesting. After thinking Neptunus Lex was this completely amazing writer of the “Rythyms” blogvel, I now know he has had assistance from a ghost….well, it’s still good anyhow, and I understand how the ghost writing made the detail of another area fit the overall “look and feel” of reality the Lex so masterfully weaves into the online story.

More later, but this is “from my perspective,” something that was highlighted as to what we can do best in the MilBlogging universe.

Part I

Lesson learned: When you are having the first conference and the population is largely those who don’t post their pictures, tell everyone to bring one of those spring steel crickets, like they used with the airborne troops on D-Day.

Got there at 8PM, the bar was packed and no one was discernably standing at the entrance, with a box of “Hello, My Name Is” stickers. I got a drink and stood back doing the visual sweep. I did notice a couple in one of the side halls, the women looking ever so slightly familiar. Another guy wandered in and leaned against the door frame, looking around. I told him he’d have to push up to the bar to get help. He said “I’m supposed to be meeting a group of people here at 8:30, but we don’t know what each other look like.” DING, DING, DING! It was DadManly. Hand shake, a chuckle, and then I approached the couple. It was Smash and spouse. Buzz Patterson zipped thru, and then we began to form up quickly. Andi had a stack of blank white name tags and the obligatory fat black pen, and those of us who had filled one table made ours. I then slef-appointed and figured the best way to meet everyone was to be the name tag person. Lots and lots of people showed up. Lots of good conversations, and nice to put faces and real names to the reading….

The discussions were from ackward, like “ummm…I haven’t read your blog…” to discussions on the status of books, self funded trips to the ‘Stan, and “I’m glad to see you here.”

It’s late. Chap: Too bad you’re on TAD, because there are a few people here you’d really enjoy.

More later (no promise as to when)!