Common Sense is Missing

The recent release of the Senate report on Enhanced Interrogation Methods is a shameful act by those who do not understand the nature of our enemy in this war we are fighting.  By releasing the report they have put patriotic Americans who have served their country at risk by naming them and accusing them of torture without allowing them to defend themselves.  Most citizens with any common sense do not understand the reasoning behind releasing this report.  More importantly most citizens support our efforts to defeat our enemies by all legal means possible.   All veterans understand the need for good intelligence in the battle, and using enhanced means to break our enemies to get needed information must be done in the best interests of our country.  This is what can happen to a nation where we  have few veterans in our government and the understanding of warfare is sadly missing as evidenced by this report being made public.

The Real Story Needs Telling

The current use of air power is a disgrace to those who fly and have flown for our country.  We hear of ISIS moving 9,000 troops and 75 or more vehicles to attack a Kurdish city, and we fly 3 or 4 air strikes; our total air strikes have not reached what we have flow  many times in one day.  We are using expensive "smart bombs" on vehicles one at a time, what a waste.  Where are the A-10s, Apaches, and AC 130s?   The ISIS movement is in the open on roads and would be a fighter pilot's dream mission.  I believe the rules of engagement are coming from the POTUS a limit on our forces that will cost thousands of lives.   Military people know what should be  happening, yes there is a case for troops on the ground, but the use of air power in a desert environment can deny the enemy movement and inflict huge losses.   As a retired military veteran, it disturbs me greatly to see this whole political exercise play out at the expense of our military reputation and the loss of civilian lives from ISIS.

A Bold Move is Needed

What if our leaders in Congress decided to put the nation first and follow the founders plan for getting America moving again.  We have been in neutral for too long.   The Speaker and Senate Leader could do a great service for our nation  Harry Reid could agree to bring all the house bills he has in his desk to a vote, and the Speaker agrees to do the same with Senate bills.  That is the way our government is supposed to work, let the people's representatives vote on all passed legislation, and use the conference system for resolving differences.  The polls show the frustration of the people.  I am a Vietnam Vet, and an active conservative voter all my life, but I am getting fed up with no action.  I challenge to Speaker Boehner and Leader Reid to put America first.

Iraq and Vietnam

I was in Thailand when Vietnam went south, do you remember the sequence of events and how close it comes to what we are seeing in Iraq the last few days.   The Vietnam story went something like this; peace talks, agreement to get POWs back and disengage; Hanoi cheats and invades, President in the middle of Watergate so no American help, not even supplies; the result South Vietnam is overrun after we expended 57,000 lives and untold billions.   Fast forward to Iraq; new President can't negotiate a status of forces agreement, pulls out all troops, we lose influence and ability to help, bad guys begin their push, we provide no support, and today the enemy is within a few miles of Baghdad.  Consider Germany, Japan and Korea, we left troops (still have them) and the end result was positive.  America needs to lead and use military force when needed; a failure to do that results in losing countries that we have fought for even though we  never lost  a battle.  I can't help but believe President Reagan would be increasing our military and sending in American air power to demonstrate some more shock and awe in Iraq. 

America Declining

As veterans who served our great country, have we considered the current condition of America?  I hope  that, as citizens, we are taking  note of the decline of our cultural values, of our inability to lead in the world, and the movement away from the free enterprise system and the worth of the individual.    There is an uneasiness in the land, a frustration with our government in Washington DC, a "waking up" to the fact that actions are not being taken that are in the best interests of the people.  Americans are displaying their concerns in both political parties and in a number of different ways.   Multiple streams of political movements and opinions but all come from the prevailing thought that America needs help, fresh leadership, and a return to the founding principles.  Veterans can play a part in this most critical period in history by being involved in the political process and demanding accountability from our leaders and those who want to replace them.   Veterans have paid the price to be able to express their views on why a new direction is needed, and soon.

Aid and Comfort to the Enemy

All veterans should sit up and take notice of our Commander in Chief's recent actions.  He made a trade for one US soldier, held hostage as a deserter from his unit five years ago, for five Taliban leaders, all dangerous individuals we had captured and put in prison.  We have seen proof that this soldier left his unit and was a deserter or worse (as stated by those in his unit).   The president took unilateral action outside of the law for informing congress, and aided the enemy by releasing high value prisoners.   How can that not be a failure and dereliction of duty on his part.  It is hard to believe that our President would be involved in such a blatant act against his country in a time of war and not be held accountable by the people.   As veterans, we understand this situation better than most, and we need to sound the alarm before this country continues to decline on the world stage from what America has always been.

Finally a Select Committee

Finally we have a select committee formed which has been called for by a majority of the House of Representatives.   Representative Wolf, who introduced the resolution for a select committee has a list of questions that need answers.   As a former military officer, I would add some questions on the status of our forces that night.
1. Did we have an AC-130 in theater that could have been deployed?
2. Why did local commanders when the attack became known not take action to arm F-16 fighters with internal ammunition and place them on standby.
3. Local commanders have authority to contingency plan their assets without taking specific action; getting aircraft ready in the early hours of the attack would have made engagement and perhaps rescue possible.  Why was no action taken or ordered by senior commanders?

Benghazi

Today's release of further testimony on the Benghazi attack cries out for a select committee to demand answers to what is a cover up by senior government officials and agencies.  There are three issues that need to be addressed:  first, lack of security and preparation at our consulate (people should be fired), second a failure to define what had occured and a false narrative given to the American people about a video, and third why no rescue was attempted.  The rescue failure should be of concern to all veterans, too many conflicting stories as to resources available and forces being delayed.  A Select Committee needs to trace the actions or lack of action from the notification of the attack to the National Command Authority within fifteen minutes up the chain of command.  Someone failed to make a decision and that caused lives to be lost.   We must keep the pressure on our leaders to uncover the truth about Benghazi, no matter how  high up it goes.