WhatFinger


America's identity is lost, and we need to get it back -- now, before it's lost for good

What Exactly Is It, We Are Doing In Afghanistan?



"[General Petraeus] we know that a major part of the Kandahar offensive will include some serious repairs, and upgrades to the energy system, which will include small-scale solar and hydro-power systems, and also some solar-powered street lights. I'm just curious if [there are] plans to utilize any of those same technologies at our bases around Afghanistan, and wouldn't that greatly reduce our need for fuel?" -- Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) questioning Gen. Petraeus during a Congressional briefing June, 2010

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Allow me to suggest that America bring our troops home from Afghanistan, and get our own house in order, before we even think about exporting "what we have" to other countries. What is it exactly that we "have" anyway, that the world is in such dire need of? Our floundering economy? Our "social activist" trial lawyers and judges? Our racially bigoted justice department? Our corrupt and venal Congress? Our pathetic educational/indoctrinational system? Our porno industry? Hollywood? Our shredded US Constitution? Our.... What is it exactly, that is so precious, that we absolutely must gift Afghanistan with it? I'm listening. (Crickets chirping. Sagebrush rustling across a deserted dirt street. Water slowly dripping into a half-full bowl. A soft breeze blowing over the Greenland icecap). I didn't think so. So if America doesn't really have much to offer -- until we get our own house cleaned up -- wouldn't you say that should be our first order of business? Otherwise, I suspect, all we're doing is exporting the mess, and not the message. And what is our message, or rather, what should our message be? The message is the US Constitution. The message is free enterprise and capitalism. The message is rule of law in a free republic. The message is one man, one vote. The message is...lost. America's identity is lost, and we need to get it back -- now, before it's lost for good. Coach Dave Daubenmire recently said about Americans, that "we have a sense of emergency, but not of urgency." If Americans had any idea -- any idea -- how bad things are in this country, especially vis a vis the Islamist stealth jihad being waged against us, they would sit up and pay attention. They would acquire a "sense of urgency" -- in a heartbeat. America needs to wake up -- now -- yesterday would have been better. We need to deal with the threat the Islamists pose right here in America. Right here, right now. And we need to deal with an invasion taking place across our southern border -- right here, right now. We need to deal with a corrupt and traitorous Congress -- right here, right now. We need to deal with an economy in a nose-dive -- right here, right now. We need to deal with a POTUS and administration, that are destroying America as a free republic, as a world power, as a "beacon of light" to the world. We have quite enough on our plate right at home. Right here, right now. I'm not saying that we should withdraw all of our troops from overseas. We are, after all, involved in a global war with Islamists. Calling it a "war on terror" is not only anathema to the current administration, it's -- not to put too fine a point on it -- dumb. As Robert Spencer sagely points out, we have never actually fought a "war on terror." "Terror is a tactic, not an opponent. To wage a 'war on terror' is like waging a 'war on bombs': it focuses on a tool of the enemy rather than the enemy itself."

The stealth jihad in the United States is well underway

The enemy is Islamists, not terror. Terror is just one weapon in their arsenal. And America d--n well better wake up to this fact -- quickly. The stealth jihad in the United States is well underway. Understanding Islamist tactics and goals, will go a long way towards explaining why I don't believe that Afghanistan can ever be successfully "colonized" by the US -- whether directly, by proxy, or by ideology. (There are a number of good books concerning the threat posed by the Islamists. I especially recommend Robert Spencer's books -- [Ralph Peters' "Endless War" is a personal favorite]. "The Grand Jihad" by Andrew McCarthy is excellent, and covers a lot of bases. Also, there are several good websites out there -- "Jihad Watch" "Creeping Sharia," and "Act for America," are three of the best). We should take each member of Congress, lock them in a room; sit them down and require them to read "Islamists for Dumbf--ks," (or any other suitable book, such as "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam: and the Crusades") -- and don't let the morons out -- not even for a latte break, or pedicure -- until they've finished reading the entire book. (A handful of Congress-critters can be excused from having to attend such a class -- Sue Myrick (R-NC) springs to mind). Getting back to US involvement in Afghanistan: Do you think we're going to "win over the hearts and minds" of the Afghani people? Oh really? What makes you think that such a thing is either plausible, or desirable? Have you given any thought to what is involved in such a lame-brained undertaking? The cost to our men and women in uniform? (Link) I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea here -- it's not like I'm an ant-war activist or something. I mean, of course I deplore war, any sane person does, but I feel that war is sometimes an unavoidable necessity. However, I am also a firm believer in -- get in, do your business, and get out. I'm from the Vietnam era -- call me "gun shy," regarding long-term, "hearts and minds," overseas, military entanglements. (Link) Am I for a long term commitment to defeating the Islamists? Absolutely, you bet. Am I for a long term commitment to "colonizing" the Islamic world? No frigging way. Here's an idea: Bring our troops home from Afghanistan, and deploy them along the US southern border, and start kicking some drug cartel butt! Now there's a war that makes sense to me.

We need patriotic warriors by God, not some quisling career dweebs

Bring our troops home and give them some sane ROE (Rules of Engagement), and leaders with patriotic hearts -- leaders who take their oaths to defend the Constitution earnestly. We need to deep-six the current crop of court eunuchs running the show at the Pentagon these days -- starting with Adm. Mike "Let's Be Gay!" Mullen, and Gen. George "Diversity First!" Casey. We need patriotic warriors by God, not some quisling career dweebs. There are some questions that bother Constitutional conservatives regarding leaving Afghanistan. Perhaps some of the following questions have crossed your mind:
  • Are you reluctant to appear to be agreeing with the Left?
  • Are you afraid of looking like you don't support our men and women in uniform?
  • Are you afraid that the Tailiban will take over Afghanistan if we leave?
  • Are you afraid of America "losing" -- losing face, if nothing else?
No doubt the most difficult question is, "What about the US military men and women who have already sacrificed their limbs, mental health, or lives. Are we supposed to just write off their loss -- like it never happened, like it doesn't matter?" Let me attempt to answer each of these in turn. Not wanting to support a US withdrawal from Afghanistan, because it might appear that you're agreeing with the Left, is the lamest of these questions. First of all, this is a patriotic issue, not a Left or Right issue. Secondly, although the Left may often do the right things, for the wrong reasons (e.g. environmentalism, for "social justice"), that doesn't negate the fact that the "things" are right. We just want to make sure that we're doing the right things, for the right reasons. (Link) As far as support for our troops go. Do you think that backing a cock-eyed effort to "colonize" a barbarous, corrupt, stuck-in-the-middle-ages country, is supporting our troops? Do you think that sending them into harms way, with one arm tied behind their back by idiotic ROE, is supporting our troops? Do you think that pairing them up with a Taliban-infiltrated "ally" such as Pakistan, is supporting our troops? (Link) Will the Taliban take over Afghanistan if we leave? No doubt -- they seem to be thriving everywhere else! We have to rethink this whole scenario from the get-go, and we need to get out of Afghanistan, in order to best do that. If the Tailiban come waltzing back in after we leave, then so be it. (Link) We have more important fish to fry. America is going down the tubes -- I could care less about Afghanistan. Screw Afghanistan -- and please feel free to tell them I said so. We need to save America's butt first. This is no drill. The whole "losing," or "losing face," deal, is a red herring, and a sophomoric trap. If we have gained knowledge, wisdom, and experience, from our time in Afghanistan, how is that "losing?" If we leave on our own terms, on our own time-table, after having kicked the Taliban and Bin Laden out of the country, how is that "losing face." The Taliban may consider it a "loss" for the US, and the Taliban might consider it "losing face," but if you give a tinker's damn what the Taliban's opinion about us is, then you have some serious self-respect issues to deal with. I said that the last question was the hardest to answer, and indeed it is. I'll do my best. Let me say first of all, that I honor all of our service men and women. I especially honor those who have sacrificed physically, or mentally/emotionally (or spiritually) on behalf of our country. And most of all, I honor those who "gave the last full measure," and died in the service of the United States, I am proud of you, and grateful for you. May God bless you all, and your families. As I mentioned before, I'm from the Vietnam era, so I've long ago had to make peace with the idea that brave and patriotic men and women can be misused, mislead, and misdirected, for less than noble reasons. That didn't diminish in the slightest, the valor, integrity, and sacrifice of those who fought in Vietnam. They didn't fail -- their country failed them. Those who fought in Vietnam were not allowed to win that war -- for political reasons -- but that in no way takes away from their honor. I feel the same way about those who have fought and/or died in Afghanistan. Their honor is intact -- win or "lose," that's a given. Saying "win or lose" is actually a misleading way of phrasing things -- because we already won in Afghanistan, some years ago. The US went in there to kick the Taliban's butt, and kill or capture Bin Laden. We did kick the Taliban's butt -- from Kabul to Herat -- and we chased Bin Laden out of the country, with his tail between his legs. And then.... And then, when we could have pulled our troops out, we screwed up and stayed. I grant you, the situation in Afghanistan is a mess, with no easy, clear-cut solutions. Yet surely, getting bogged down "winning hearts and minds," in a brutal "tar-baby" backwater, is near the bottom on anybody's list of "smart moves." What genius came up with this plan? He probably stumbled on an old copy of "A Politician's Guide to Winning in Vietnam" -- blew the dust off the cover, read it, and shouted "Eureka!" Gen. Petraeus is a top-notch military commander, and even though Afghanistan is vastly different than Iraq, he just might make a go of it, you never know. Then what? What indeed -- what's next? Yemen? Let's go to Yemen -- "colonize" Yemen. But you know that those darn Al-Qaeda will just scoot on over to Somalia. Somalia then? Let's "colonize" Somalia. Where to next? I don't know about you, but I have less than zero (we're talking negative numbers here) interest in "colonizing" the entire Muslim world. As much as I like Muslims, that would just be too much of a good thing. Besides it's impossible to do. But I don't believe that even Gen. Petraeus can win in Afghanistan, and in any case, it's something of a moot point.

America is collapsing. America is being invaded -- both from Mexico, and through stealth jihad

America is collapsing. America is being invaded -- both from Mexico, and through stealth jihad. America is teetering on the brink of hyper-inflation and financial ruin. America is being transformed into an also-ran. America will soon be unrecognizable. To let the United States of America become a shadow of its former self -- that would be disrespecting our troops in Afghanistan. To allow the US to be invaded by drug cartels from Mexico, (while our DOJ attempts to aid and abet them) -- that would be betraying our troops in Afghanistan. Pretending that the wholesale destruction of America's economy, and the mortgaging of future generations isn't happening under our noses -- that is backstabbing our troops in Afghanistan. Letting America go down the tubes on our watch, while our brave men and women fight for us overseas, is the ultimate cowardly copout. That would disrespect the sacrifices made by our military personnel in Afghanistan, and everywhere else. It would disrespect not only the troops who are serving, or have served in Afghanistan, it would dishonor the memories of everyone who has ever fought for the United States of America -- from the Revolutionary War, up until the present day. If America falls, all of their sacrifices throughout the centuries, all of it, will have been for naught.

Which do you think is more important -- Afghanistan, or America?

Which do you think is more important -- Afghanistan, or America? You still think the US needs to be in Afghanistan? Why -- why is that? Is it that you like the idea of continuing to enrich the "military/industrial complex," and the "merchants of death" (a number of whom happen to be Muslim, Chinese, and Russian)? Or is it that you feel that acquiring the minerals (especially lithium) in Afghanistan, for the Power Elites, is worth the blood and sacrifice of American troops? As Congressional candidate Ernest Huber (R-WA) put it: "Our military has shown the world that they are the best warriors, and they have killed many times over, our 9-11 losses. We've made our point, and we can make it again if necessary. Our most urgent threat is the invasion by, and our de facto war with, Mexico." (Link) We should use our remaining time in Afghanistan to, well, let's just say to make any preparations which will facilitate post-occupational surgical strikes, and sallies, as needed in the future. Don't, for God's sake, announce when we're leaving, just leave -- in a manner, and time, of our choosing. Let me reiterate, my problem is with our involvement in Afghanistan, not with our men and women in uniform -- they represent the best that America has to offer. Whether the US stays or goes, they will always have my unwavering support. One last time -- we need to get our own house in order, before we even think about exporting "what we have." Forget "Pax Americana," we need to save "E Pluribus Unum!" And getting our own house in order, must include bringing God back into the forefront of our culture. We need to, not just take America back, not just "draw a line in the sand." No more "lines in the sand," no more retreat, hold, retreat, hold, retreat... It's time to, in the time-honored tradition of America, take the United States, and transform it into something different, something better, than we received. Something that we can pass on to future generations with pride. And those future generations will say of us, "They were the ones who saved America, in her darkest hour." No joke. We must, and we will, restore the Framers vision of a vital, ever-evolving, pluralistic society of laws and freedom, under God's providence. Laus Deo.


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Jim ONeill -- Bio and Archives

Born June 4, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Served in the U.S. Navy from 1970-1974 in both UDT-21 (Underwater Demolition Team) and SEAL Team Two.  Worked as a commercial diver in the waters off of Scotland, India, and the United States.  Worked overseas in the Merchant Marines.  While attending the University of South Florida as a journalism student in 1998 was presented with the “Carol Burnett/University of Hawaii AEJMC Research in Journalism Ethics Award,” 1st place undergraduate division.  (The annual contest was set up by Carol Burnett with money she won from successfully suing a national newspaper for libel).  Awarded US Army, US Navy, South African, and Russian jump wings.  Graduate of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School, 1970).  Member of Mensa, China Post #1, and lifetime member of the NRA and UDT/SEAL Association.


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