On...Heroism

Get choked up reading about the tragic events at Ft. Hood. Here are a couple of the snapshots of heroism and the call of duty.

The Mother who brought down the Fort Hood killer Daily Telegraph UK

But for the heroes, bloodbath could have been worse Breitbart

Heroic civilian police officer 'walked up and engaged' shooter Washington Post

On...Afghanistan Insight

Real Quick (Everything is Real Quick These Days)


The best analysis on the Afghanistan conflict and the future of American forces there has been coming from David Ignatius of the Washington Post. He is always bringing new, honest angles from the debate without all the partisan rant. Also he has spent a lot of time on the ground there among the people, politicians, and soldiers of AfPak as well as Americans. Here's his latest to mull over.

The Real Afghan Strategy

In addition his posts from the last week or so as well.

On the War's Frontlines

In Waziristan

On...North Korea, Ya Gotta Love These Guys

56 year hiatus of the Forgotten War May be Over

Probably not, but I love the North Koreans. They are so sad and lonely. They are like the fat fifth-grader in the corner of the room desperate for attention. He breaks pencils and flicks them when the teacher steps out of the room. He farts and laughs like a hyena. He picks fights with second-graders and hides when eighth-graders stroll by. As long as he's sane there is nothing to fear, but if he's mad, well then get ready for a big mess. Their grand leader is mad, but hopefully everyone around him knows what consequences lurk around the corner.

The USA must protect South Korea and Japan, but we don't want a war. We have been playing a nice balancing act in the Pacific since 1945. We need to keep it that way. North Korea with nuclear weapons is a reality. That's a done deal, but threatening neighbors can not be allowed. And most importantly selling any such nuclear or missile technology cannot happen. If so we need to sink every ship out of North Korea. We need to let China know they need to get ahold of their leash.

Here's a bunch of ARTICLES on this subject.

Dan Blumenthal and Robert Kagan from WSJ: What to do About North Korea

David Sanger from NYTimes: Tested Early, Obama Has Few Options

Fred Kaplan from Slate.com: First, Take A Deep Breath

Robert Kaplan from Atlantic: North Korea, the Next Iraq?

Christian Science Monitor: Why Obama Can't be Soft with (You know who)

On...The Normalization of Evil

Calling Evil Evil

The following is a link to an article from the father of Daniel Pearl who was murdered 7 years ago. I believe it is a powerful piece and full of questions too many Americans and for that matter people in general would like to ignore. It is also one of the reasons I cannot stand with the Left. I know not everyone on the Left or left-leaning are the people Mr. Pearl talks about but it is too many of the Left that grab the microphone and protect murderers and butchers and call it tolerance and call for police action instead of the savage wars of peace--those same self-righteous guardians of peace who denounce the Jewish state and all it stands for. As for me I stand with Daniel Pearl and his family and Israel and Western civilization and democracy and liberty. Those who know the depravity of man and study the history of man know the dark abyss of man's heart and why it must be given no mercy. When it grasps the sword of war and will not listen to reason it must be cornered and eradicated or at least isolated and caged. Though the former is preferable.

Daniel Pearl and the Normalization of Evil

When will our luminaries stop making excuses for terror?

...Daring Eagles

I encourage everyone to check out Michael Yon's latest post "Where Eagles Dare," about the top-secret mission to deliver a new turbine to the Kajaki Dam. Posted: 9 September 2008
from Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

It's in my links to other Blogs to the right of my page.

[He's moved on to new posts, so here is the LINK to "Where Eagles Dare."]

Poetry: Der Kriegsglück, IV-VI

Der Kriegsglück continues. The first two segments deal with the Americans, the third with the guy who started it all.

IV.

The brown waves of the Elbe cast a frame on sorrow and defeat.

I will look across.

Will you dare me?

Listen and pray—hold the savior’s cross.

This is not the Detroit River—Windsor across the way.

Past rumrunners—tires on ice—cash in a pocket.

A pat on the head—Purple Gangs and cold whiskey.

No, this is not foolish youth and adventure across the long water.

But death, 25 times over. So many dead.

Feel their sorrow—it’s in the air like songs.

V.

Yankees are naïve, standing in Government Issue boots

Perched in Motor City jeeps.

Full bellies and unshaved faces.

Eyes of the new killers.

Whispers and memories.

Look there, only tattered Teutonic soldiers beyond the bridges

Surrender like glass queens—fragile scepters of power now lost.

Run from the Reds. So many. So brutal. So hungry.

“Surrender.” We surrender. Our blood is thin.

Take my gun Joe. Bitte.

VI.

Glorious chieftain. Betrayed.

Surrounded. Accused.

Die like Alcibiades.

No arrows here.

Pistol to the head.

Poetry: Der Kriegsglück, I-III

From time to time I will post selections from my prose or poetry. The first post is the first part of a long poem, Der Kriegsglück, focusing on World War II that was originally begun in 2003 and revised in 2006 and again in 2008. It is inspired by both T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Antony Beevor's The Fall of Berlin.

[All punctuation or lack there of is intentional.]

Der Kriegsglück translates basically as The Luck of War.

I.

A vision of the future...

Have not these visions left countless bones in the fields?

Cut down in accountable actions—driven

When will they tire of these vast ideas—

So massive and big, the IDEA

Careless towards all that flesh needed to achieve.

Great men with short tempers.

Hope to uplift man.

Revolution to lift themselves.

Clash, clash, clash.

Ego and steel.

They have answers. The masses need them.

The claw at their faces to be led.

Great changes that leave broken cities and lost children.

The sheep want safety—a land free of fear.

Work and sleep and love—warm beds and beer.

The Great Men know this—they will mold the fears.

Clay and marrow and blood.

National Socialism, Communism, Marxism,

Isms from here to there.

The children will embrace them.

Give me security they scream. Give them the glory they long for.

They, and only they, can assuage the lonely pit of anxiety that holds the weak

The mob holds tight to the Great Men.

But sometimes the Great Men wish to be Greater Men.

All crumbles before ambition.

Then comes trouble, death...prostration before the laws of history.

Feel the trembling of the jealous gods.

The Will of Great Men is an insatiable lust.

II.

Pete and Repeat. Nothing new.

That’s the jaded message.

The call that has fallen on ears time and time again.

Listen. We know the way.

Run and die. But most of all obey

III.

High standards—when they are too high,

The stumbling man

Falls.

Hangman—learning is a challenging art.

Trust, trust, trust.

Don’t let me down.

Christopher Hitchens From Slate

I'll let Hitchens speak for himself. He asks some poignant questions about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and addresses the fallacy that we can and should only fight one war at a time.

HITCHENS: The War between the Wars