Author Archives: willisbryan2014
Having it both ways
At this moment America is at peace with the world, yet with careful political engineering we live in a state of perpetual war. This is only possible due no longer calling wars and acts of war, war, instead they are labeled as counter-terrorism operations, or some other sanitized name.
By the careful splitting of hairs one could say, as BHO said, that the bombing and airstrikes were conducted in order to protect Americans, and therefore the actions were not and act of war but an act of self-defense. One could even further dissect the act of self-defense as acting to protect ones own life or the life of another, but this only applies to life outside of military operations.
Combat operations in Iraq ended in 2011 with BHO stating that he had, as promised ended the war in Iraq and what was left behind was a “safe, secure and stable” Iraq and Iraqi government. Sectarian violence broke out even before the teleprompter was turned off, and has been almost a daily occurrence since.
At this time and for several weeks the U.S. has been engaged in an air campaign against ISIS in Iraq to protect Americans and to protect the refugees fleeing ISIS, as pointed out above this could be characterized as self-defense if it was occurring outside of military operations. The airstrikes were expanded to aid the Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting ISIS and to protect the infrastructure of northern Iraq. Protecting property can also be used as a justification for the use of force against an assailant, but again this does not apply to military operations. This week the airstrikes were further expanded to support Iraqi military operations against ISIS forces outside of Baghdad. One could say that the U.S. Embassy and American personnel were being protected but again this was a military operation. Attacking one force in support of another force can only be described as WAR, combat operations if you will, you have aligned with one against another. A war is a war not matter what you call it and act of is an act of war.
The rise of ISIL that later became ISIS and now just call themselves the Islamic State has caused a complex problem for BHO and his administration. Not only is this a complex problem it has once again proven the reluctance of BHO to follow through, although he has no problem playing through on the links. What was known as ISIL was seen as only a regional threat as was referred to as JV by BHO could have been easily handled by Syria and Iraq at the time, but that opportunity was squandered.
ISIL arrived on the scene a little more than a year ago but had its founding much earlier and were allowed to thrive and exist because of the policy blunders and practices of past administrations. They were allowed to exist much as the Taliban and al-Qaeda was allowed to exist in the 1970’s, they were an enemy of an enemy. They then as they are now armed and trained to fight an enemy, though they have and hold no allegiance to America or American interests.
The intervention and attack on Libya in early 2011 lead to the biggest foreign policy failure of BHO and his administration to that date. BHO was willing to assist insurgent fighters overthrow established governments, intervening in civil wars. Libya was engaged to say the least in internal strife, with government forces fighting several insurgent forces. The insurgent forces were made up of groups from Libya and many were non-Libyans. Administration officials and even some members of Congress said that they knew in fact which insurgent group was legitimate. The air campaign eventually led to the death of Qaddafi and the overthrow of the Libyan government. BHO began the insane practice of informing the insurgent groups the limits of American intervention in military operations. The American participation in the effort to overthrow Qaddafi would be limited to airstrikes and that “no boots would be on the ground”. Even before the smoke and dust of battle ended BHO and the administration set up an Embassy and installed an Ambassador, September 11th 2012 was the culmination of BHO and his practice of destabilization. The embassy was eventually reopened, but has since been abandoned due to increasing violence. Libya has not had a stable moment since the death and overthrow of Qaddafi. The rival factions, yes even the ones that BHO, his administration and some esteemed members of Congress recognized as legitimate have been in constant struggles to gain power. The justification of the airstrikes on Libya was what, because Qaddafi and Libya were sponsors of terrorists, if that were true we should be conducting airstrikes on half the world. The failure in Libya was due to taking action with no regard for the outcome. All BHO saw was a chance to oust a dictator and he seized it. There was no justification for the use of force against Libyan forces or Qaddafi, the internal strife in Libya posed no threat to America, at least at that time. BHO and certainly no one in his administration has ever said what kind of government would control Libya after the ouster of Qaddafi. The policy of arming and training the enemy of my enemy has garnered no ally and made no friends in Libya, but it has provided valuable resources to terror organizations in the Middle-East and Africa. Lately Arab nations have been conducting airstrikes in Libya to curtail, contain and limit the violence in Libya, recognizing it as a threat to their national security. Sooner or later someone is going to have to send in combat troops to clean up the mess made by BHO, his administration and a feckless foreign policy.
The Syrian civil war broke out in early 2011, again with insurgents attacking government forces seeking to oust a leader. My guess is that the rebel forces expected BHO to intervene on their behalf at some point just as he had in Libya conducting airstrikes against government forces. BHO could not run the risk of turning Syria into another Libya so nothing was done openly. The Syrian government forces were pounding the crap out of the insurgents. Another thing about 2011 is that it was followed by 2012 and BHO would be seeking re-election, BHO who had promised to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could not be sure of engaging in and winning a war in Syria prior to the elections, having already lost Libya. Yes, I said lost Libya, as pointed out above picking a side and entering a war, even a limited air campaign, using military forces on behalf of another is going to war. In war you either win or lose, a tie is not winning. Having allowed the civil war to rage for so long took away the urgency for American intervention. BHO began seeking authorization to arm and train Syrian rebels, and again the administration and some esteemed members of Congress decided who were the moderates. The arming and training of insurgent forces was still not quite good enough for BHO who had been re-elected, he wanted more having already declared the Assad regime an illegitimate government. BHO still at that time wanted very much to be a part of the ouster of Assad and the overthrow of the Syrian government. The delay in involvement led the world to believe that Syrian government forces could shoot, shell and bomb the rebel forces to their heart’s content. The only way in was for a heinous act to be acted out against the Syrian population. BHO warned Assad and the Syrian government forces and informed the world that the U.S. would intervene in the event government forces resorted to the use of chemical weapons, a “red line” was drawn. Then the strangest thing happened, chemical weapons were used, at least the allegation of use, and the use was blamed on the Syrian forces. The problem I had with this accusation was that the government forces were handing the insurgents their asses a nearly every engagement and I could come up with no reason for the government to resort to using chemical weapons. If it was the government forces using chemical weapons, my question is this, why wait until BHO issued his warning to use them, they could have been deployed at any time by government forces. Saddam Hussein had used them against the Kurds after desert storm concluded in 1991 and the world did nothing but complain. Surely Assad did not want U.S. intervention on behalf of the rebels. I could, however come up with a reason for rebel forces to use chemical weapons and that was to bring the U.S. into the civil war on the side of the rebel forces. With the “red line’ crossed the rebel forces expected action by the U.S., BHO tried his hand a forming a “coalition of the willing” and struck out, no one was willing to go to war in Syria. BHO went to Congress to seek approval for “pin point” airstrikes and continue the practice of telling the insurgents that “no American ground combat forces would be used”. The mission was aimed at “degrading” the Syrian government forces ability to fight. The “red Line” was becoming as big a disaster as the foray into Libya. Help in avoiding further embarrassment came from an unlikely source, Russia. Allegedly all of the chemical weapons in Syria were turned over for destruction and allegedly destroyed. Only time and events will tell if all the chemical weapons were destroyed. BHO to this day still wants to be a part of the ouster of Assad and the overthrow of the current Syrian government. Again the arming and training of the so-called moderate Muslims is a high priority of BHO, his administration and some of the esteemed members of Congress. Let us not forget that ISIL sprang forth from Syria, well armed and well-trained.
As stated above dealing with ISIS has become quite a dilemma for BHO and his administration. In Iraq the U.S. is bombing and killing them while at the same time arming and training them in Syria. This is what I meant by having it both ways. ISIS will be armed and trained in Syria to be a surrogate for BHO and his foreign policy. Not one in this administration has given any thought to what Syria will become if Assad is ousted.
As the U.S. heads for its third combat action in Iraq BHO again says their will not be any ground combat role for the American service members deployed to Iraq. As for there not being any “American boots on the ground”, I wholeheartedly disagree there is at this time a least 1,000 pairs of American boots on the ground, that is of course, unless the American military has taken to wearing sandals. The military being deployed to Iraq are there only as advisors and trainers. Viet Nam began with military advisors and quickly escalated into a war that lasted ten long years. BHO and the administration say that we are not a war in Iraq, I beg to differ, check the Leave and Earnings Statement(LES) of the service members deployed in Iraq. If they are only deployed to Iraq in a non-combat role their LES should reflect Overseas Pay, if there is an entry for Eminent Danger Pay(Combat Pay)they are at war. The hasty departure from Iraq left a void that was soon filled by sectarian violence and gave opportunity for ISIL to break out of Syria, begin operating in Iraq change its name to ISIS, capture enough land, acquire enough weaponry and wealth to declare a caliphate and call itself the Islamic State. Did I mention that they were well armed and trained and now well-funded, on top of all that they seem to be able to recruit volunteers from many western countries including America, either as fighters or concubines.
Until BHO calls them for what they are there can be no effective strategy for destroying them. Yes ISIS is Islamic and yes the are extremists. Which brings this question. How is one terror group seen as moderate, while another is seen as extreme? ISIS beheaded an American journalist. Another terror group released alive a journalist they held captive. ISIS has since beheaded two more westerners one American and one British. The terror group that released its hostage must be a moderate and worthy of recognition in the eyes of BHO and his administration and a candidate for training. I say, No, a terrorist is a terrorist there are no moderate terror organizations all are extremists. They can not be degraded but they can be destroyed, but that will take more than airpower it always has, sooner or later ground combat troops will be needed just as they always have throughout history. Brave men and women will be sent into harms way to fix political blunders. Blood will be spilled to correct political expedience.
American Humanist Association Demands “Under God” Be Removed From the Pledge. Americans Say “No”.
Red Skelton was more than a comedian he was a statesman, this video proves that.
Before I start in with the particulars of today’s Blog, please allow me to present three facts…
- Per Gallup.com, 76% of Americans are Christians.
- 92% of Americans believe in God.
- Therefore, atheists make up just 8% of America’s Population.
Small, but vocal. You won’t believe what they’re claiming concerning our country’s Pledge of Allegiance.
TheBlaze.com reports that
More than one-third of Americans support removing “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, according to an atheist activist group.
The American Humanist Association claims that a survey it commissioned through the Seidewitz Group, a research firm, found that, when given details about the history of the national expression of loyalty, 34 percent of Americans actually support removing “under God” from the Pledge.
This is significant, as the proportions differ greatly from the single-digit support seen for the removal in at least one recent survey — and the atheist group believes that’s because of one key difference…
View original post 1,114 more words
The Phrase….
The strategy of having no strategy
The result of moving or attempting to move “forward” with no strategy is a guarantee of total and absolute failure, that is of course, unless failure was the strategy. A strategy is no more than a plan. In business no one plans to fail, as a matter of fact no lending institution will give a business loan unless there is a good and sound business plan. A strategy for success.In politics the exact opposite is true. Individuals and groups donate huge sums of money to politicians and causes hoping for success to further a political or personal agenda. A strategy of hope. The campaign slogan of “forward” with the absence of a strategy is in essence “backward”.
“Forward” is to “Advance”. BHO used the word “Forward” as the campaign slogan in 2012, yet BHO has done nothing to advance America.
“Backward” is to “Retreat” or “Decline”. Since his election BHO has only “Advanced” the “Decline” of America, retreating from greatness and many times apologizing for it or denying it.
The world of radical Islam has no intention of going “Forward”, advancing the Muslim world in particular and the world in general. The radical groups like ISIS, Boko Haram and the myriad of others only have the intention of advancing forward to decline, by going backwards. However, they do use modern tools, weapons and equipment to advance the decline of humanity, and will continue to do so. The establishment of a Caliphate takes their world from the 21st century and lands them square in the 4th century and no farther forward than the 14th century and make no mistake, they want that for the entire world. Radical Islam has a strategy and has announced it to the world.
BHO on the other hand has no strategy to counter ISIS and has announced it to America and the world. But, BHO does have a strategy, his strategy is to tell the enemy or potential enemy what he will or will not do, what events will drive him to possible action and even discloses the timeline of events. This is a very dangerous practice to say the least.
Strategy in Iraq. Announce to America and the world when combat operations would cease, troop strength reductions would begin and the date of total withdrawal. Upon total withdrawal inform America and the world that “we” left behind a stable and self-sufficient Iraqi government, knowing full well the exact opposite was true. Every aspiring terror group knew the exact date they could begin operations to further destabilize a less than stable government and country. Unlike the U.S. government which is divided along party lines, the Iraqi government was divided along religious lines. Sectarian violence began anew.
Strategy in Afghanistan. Announce to America and the world when combat operations would cease, troop strength reductions would begin and again the date of full withdrawal. This again tells the terror groups when they can resume operations. The Taliban and al-Qaeda are still very much alive in Afghanistan and will be heard from again.
Strategy in Libya. Destabilization. Announce to America and the world that airstrikes will be used to further weaken the Libyan government and its fighting forces attempting to hold off an insurgency. Announce the arming and training of rebel forces in Libya without any thought of how the training or arms would be used afterward. While announcing what would happen BHO also announced what would not happen, BHO announced that there would be no “boots on the ground”, no U.S. ground combat forces would be used. Establish diplomatic relations with a country in turmoil and on the brink of civil war. We all saw how that worked out. The only strategy BHO had, was to topple Qaddafi, or at least help, at the present and not for what would happen after, much less what kind of government would exist or even if there would be one.
Strategy in Syria. Again, Destabilization. Announce to America and the world that the use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces would bring U.S. military action, a red line was drawn by BHO. Low and behold chemical weapons were deployed against a town being contested and there were civilian casualties. Allegations were circulated around the world that the Syrian military had used chemical weapons. My question was, was BHO warning the Syrian government or was he encouraging the rebel forces to use chemical weapons in order to bring the U.S. into action? I still think the latter. The red-line was erased or at least blurred by the intervention of Russia. The chemical weapons were being destroyed, but were they all destroyed. That news left the front pages and has never arisen since. How much was destroyed? How much is left? If any is left who has control of it?
The blunders by BHO and his administration in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria has shown to the world how ineffective the foreign policy of the U.S. is. Middle East foreign policy has suffered since President Carter and has not recovered. The policy of appeasement did not work for British PM Chamberlain and will never work for any leader.
The policy of destabilization of Libya and Syria has created the biggest and most lethal threat America has faced in many years. ISIS or as it is known now the Islamic State could have been destroyed when they were Known as ISIL only a short few months ago. They thrive and flourish now because BHO and his administration and some members of Congress were more concerned with toppling dictators than what the future may hold. The same is true of the previous administration with regards to Iraq and Afghanistan.
ISIS has made many gains while suffering a few loses. But is ISIS the only threat? In the beginning the intent was to establish The Levant, now the intent is to establish the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and have declared the establishment of a Caliphate. Why the change? The Levant is certainly larger than the Islamic State. Have they joined forces with other terror groups with each carving out their own domain in the world? Are they combining resources? When the news broke that ISIS fighters had captured a Syrian Air Base, I wondered why. Building and maintaining a civilian airport is expensive enough, but the costs of a Military Air Base are even more, much more. ISIS has no need of an Air Base, they have no aircraft. If the intent was to deny Syrian forces the use of the Airfield why not just render it useless and abandon it. It can not be disguised or moved, it is fixed. If it is captured the rightful owner will want it back, if it is still useable they will use it. Discussing this event with a friend, I made the following statements first they either have Aircraft other than stolen helicopters or they are expecting to get aircraft and second they may have stripped the Syrians down to their underwear and marched them out to the desert for execution, but all were not executed, the valuable were taken back. I say this for two reasons, first they intend on having aircraft and will need pilots and aviation support personnel and second Military Air Bases have what civilian airports lack, defense systems and they need to learn them as well. And once again the strategy of nothingness is revealed, ISIS was told by way of the announcement from BHO that he was authorizing surveillance flights over Syria to monitor the situation. If something is revealed what action will be taken. The ISIS fighters were even informed by social media how many more American service members we going to Iraq, where they would be sent and their intended mission, emphasizing a non-combat role. Think of the money ISIS saves daily by getting their intelligence straight from the administration and avoiding the expense of satellites or a spy network.
Now the chatter of missing civilian airliners from Libya, eleven of them. The rebels took control of the Tripoli airport and the airliners are now missing and ISIS has a Military Airbase in Syria. There was most certainly fuel at the airport in Tripoli and certainly fuel is at the Syrian Base now held by ISIS. What targets are in easy reach of an airliner from Syria or Libya used as a weapon?
Now to explain my previous statement that the terrorists have joined forces. It is perfectly acceptable for a Muslim to lie to a non-Muslim, known as an Infidel. When al Qaeda said they had kicked ISIS out of their group was it a member of al Qaeda that made that statement or was it an Infidel? When the rebels in Libya and Syria identified themselves as moderates was it a member of their group or was it an Infidel. I will even go one step further and simply state that all of the terror groups and their supporters are the same force with the same goal, no matter how they dress. There are no moderates.
Not only should one not make the mistake of confusing friends with enemies and then treating them as such, or trusting the enemy of ones enemy and thinking them to be your friend, one should also never make an enemy of a friend or potential friend based on political differences.
The anniversary of September the Eleventh is approaching.
Once, Twice, Three Times
Will the third time be a charm? The U.S. Military will be headed to the lovely country of Iraq for a third time. BHO made it clear in his own way that they will only be advisors and not engaging in combat roles, and we all know that we can trust every thing he says. He never lies to the people, right. We already did the advisors only once and that cost us over ten years and over 50,000 killed in action and nearly destroyed America will internal strife, rioting and protests. Our Military won all of the battles but the politicians managed to lose the war. Ten years of blood and sacrifice was for what, nothing was gained and every thing was lost. Returning soldiers were spat on and called baby killers. Who was to blame? Politicians and the news media. From the beginning of that there was no clear plan to win. LBJ came up with the policy of Vietnamization of the war, letting them defend their own country, and the drawdown began, we saw how that came out in May of 1975, this country left behind many friends who had to live through, the few that did, the onslaught of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. The U.S. involvement in Vietnam began as far back as WW 1 by political and foreign policies and were set in concrete at the conclusion of WW 2. But the matter of Vietnam is for another post and another time. This post is About Iraq and our involvement there and the failure of politicians and failed foreign policies, and most importantly the political expediency that has our Military facing a foe for the third time.
The first military action against Iraq, in recent history, was brought about by the attack on, defeat of the Kuwaiti military and the occupation of Kuwait in August of 1990, by Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military. The U.S. military was deployed to Saudi Arabia to defend that country from invasion by Iraq. The U.S. Military sat in Saudi Arabia training and preparing for war while waiting on the politicians and the U.N. to form a coalition of the willing to fight Saddam Hussein’s military. We were perfectly capable of defeating Iraq without any help, and it would have been better for the world if we had gone it alone. The coalition was formed, the U.N. set the rules and terms for disengagement and an attack was launched against Iraq. It all began with an air attack aimed at weakening and destroying Iraqi air defenses and ground equipment, then the ground war began. The Iraqi military was soundly defeated on the battlefield in pretty short order, we thought we were in it to win it and we set our sights on Baghdad. An early morning briefing was set for another day to face the enemy and objectives. A crisp and shiny officer came to the briefing an said that it was over, we thought Iraq had surrendered. We learned a short time later that Iraq had not surrendered that had only in fact met the requirements set by the U.N. and were leaving Kuwait. The army of Iraq was only to leave Kuwait and return to their own borders and remain in their own country. To make it short and simple Saddam Hussein got a sweetheart deal after leaving Kuwait. Not only did Saddam Hussein get to remain in power he was able to maintain what was left of his Military including aircraft. A senior commander was also dismayed by the terms set by the U.N. and simply said, we would be back in ten years, he was wrong about that it took, 12 years. Once again the American military won all the battles and the politicians ended up losing the war. The fact that Saddam Hussein remained in power and still had fighting assets, led to airstrikes on Iraq once again when he deployed his assets against The Kurds in repayment for their being disloyal to him. More airstrikes and still no complete victory and still he remained in power. The coalition of the willing was to satisfy or pacify the Arab world not to win a war. Failed policies, political correctness, politicians and political expedience will doom the civilized world.
The next military action against Iraq in 2003 was over alleged weapons of mass destruction and Congress approved the use of force resolution. Once the bombs starting falling and the U.S. military crossed the border the existence or absence of WMD’s no longer mattered the U.S. had invaded another country. The intention of this invasion was to remove Saddam Hussein from power and destroy his weapons. If the U.N. had kept their nose out of the first military action in Iraq and if the administration at the time had been less concerned about the feelings of the Arab world Iraq would have been totally beaten and forced to surrender and Hussein would have no longer been a problem to Iraq or the world, problem solved. The war with Iraq from 1990-1991 was for what purpose, it settled nothing and failing to finish that one led, to but did not cause the next one in 2003. The 2003 war with Iraq came to a close in 2011, fulfilling a campaign promise. The American military had once again won all of the battles, and again the politicians with their own agendas and promises once again failed to win the war. America had faced and beaten the same enemy twice and still nothing was finished.
Military Leaders and Kings of long ago had a saying, it went something like, One should not make war with the same people too many times, they will learn your tactics and use them against you.
As to Iraq the failures of 1991 led to the failures of 2011 and are leading us to repeat it all in 2014 all in the name of what, political correctness, political expedience and political agendas. The administrations abandoned the Kurds in 1991 and 2011, yet they still trust us. They suffered under Saddam Hussein and are now threatened by ISIS.
The failures of 1991 were not the direct cause of 2003, but the failures of 2011 are the direct cause of events in Iraq in 2014
As to the matter of the Iraqi Kurds, maybe the time has come to recognize who would be a friend and ally, and treat them as such. The Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites, will one day be a friend and ally once they overcome their religious differences and not until, and should be treated as such.
Now The U.S. prepares to send troops to Iraq for a third time, even if they are only advisors they are still American Military sent back to a country that had already been beaten twice. If you ask why, the answer is because of politicians, political correctness, political expedience and failed political policies just like all the other times in history. Politicians, political policies, political correctness and political expedience will doom the civilized world.
Kings and military commanders of times long ago recognized the dangers of fighting an enemy too often, they would adopt and use your tactics against you. In today’s world the presidents or prime ministers are the military commanders, or they are labeled as such though most if not all have no military experience. Our present administration may have committed the biggest possible military “sin”, not only is our military fighting the same enemy too often they are training them with our tactics and equipping them with our equipment.
If the U.S. is forced into another ground war in Iraq against the ISIS fighters the military will be facing an enemy using the same tactics and weapons, a little hard to win. Our military may be forced into finding out just how good our training and equipment is. With both sides using the same equipment and maneuvering in the same manner, many lives may be lost to “friendly fire” incidents.
BHO like LBJ previously, is sending out an aircraft with a pilot on board to bomb a truck. Many jets and pilots were lost looking to bomb ox carts in Vietnam. ISIS will acquire surface-to-air missiles and deploy them, again history may repeat itself, men and equipment lost looking to bomb trucks, not an army or a legitimate military target. BHO like LBJ previously, set about of forming a policy of Iraqization of the war. The war was started by the U.S. and should have been finished by the U.S.
The reason Kings and Military Commanders of long ago avoided fighting the same enemy too many times is that they went with their men into battle, and sooner or later they too would be killed by an enemy using the same tactics that were used to defeat him. The victor taught his enemy to be the victor, and soon the victor became the vanquished. It is real hard to beat yourself at anything.
Todays world is quite different Kings, Presidents, Presidents who see themselves as Kings and Military Commanders sit in a war room far removed from the battle make the rules and some even pick the targets for military action. They lead from the rear and never experience the dangers they order others to face. Few of the Leaders of the world have had any military experience and their children are too privileged to go into combat.
In my unit in Iraq in 1991 there were several Vietnam veterans, Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, I looked up to those men. I came to a realization they had twice in one lifetime and in one military career, they had won all the battles but were denied victory, a victory they had fought for and seen many of their friends dying trying to achieve.
Some of the advisors now going to Iraq may have never seen combat, but some of them that will be going may have been there in 1991 and many times from 2003-2011 and like all previous they too have won all the battles and never achieved total victory.
It is time for the politicians to either pony up and go or give the Generals the order and then get the hell out-of-the-way and shut-up.
Saddam Hussein remained in power with what remained of his military in tact just by meeting the U.N. resolution and withdrawing and returning to his country. Imagine a world if the U.N. was in existence in WW 2 and only demanded Germany, Japan and Italy to go home and stop fighting and the war would end. While in their own country with the leaders still in power still developing weapons and then breaking out and being set loose on the world once again. What is your favorite foreign language? It doesn’t matter because it would be English as one of the three aforementioned would be your primary language. Wars must be fought to a conclusion, there must be a victor and a vanquished or you will meet again in battle. If this non-sense of a draw or a truce continues the shoe may be on the other foot, as they say.
A world threat that will impact America
ISIS is a terror threat that BHO did not take serious and at least at this time they are operating in The Middle-East and Africa, that is if the government intelligence agencies can be trusted to tell the truth. In fact BHO called the terror group operating in Syria at the time JV(junior varsity), second string and not a major player if you will, it now seems that ISIS is a major player, varsity if you will and their numbers are growing. ISIS, or ISIL as they were known then could have been stopped cold in Syria, but that would have been a foreign policy nightmare. BHO would have had to make an alliance with Syria and President Assad to destroy ISIL. But how could he, he had already threatened Syria with military actions for an alleged use of chemical weapons. BHO ignored ISIL because they were an enemy of his enemy.
ISIS is making huge gains in towns and villages captured, accumulating wealth and capturing and using weapons effectively. The ISIS fighters, soldiers if you will, seem to be well-trained and equipped. They seem to have a grip on military tactics and seem to always have someone who immediately knows how to deploy or operate captured military hardware. Who trained them? They seem to be very comfortable with small unit tactics and maneuvers. They are more than terrorists with AK-47s running amuck and spreading terror with no goal. Where did they come from? Could they be the “good” terrorists that BHO, some members of congress and the administration were siding with and willing to accept as legitimate? The remnants of the MB had to go somewhere when they left Egypt. Some may be former members of the Iraqi Military and some may be from western countries, even Americans. The foreigners who have joined ISIS have valid passports for their home countries and can return to their homeland when ever they want, bringing their terror with them. We already know where the equipment that they are using so effectively came from.
Watching the news and especially the Christian and other religious minorities fleeing the ISIS fighters seemed to be carrying personal possessions, but I did notice the lack of any means of protection, personal firearms, not so much as a simple bow and arrow. A check of the map of Iraq will quickly reveal how they made such early gains, the small towns that fell had a weak if any military presence and were overrun quickly and the Iraqi Military Forces and Police were rather quick to drop their weapons and run, even shedding their uniforms and trying to blend into the local population. With each conquest of the smaller towns and villages more equipment was gathered up as the Iraqi military ran from the fight. Never forgetting to rob the local bank and raid the local military supply depot. Now they are equipped with American weapons of war and are using them quite effectively and are poised to attack and dominate larger cities, already in control of the of the majority of the second largest city, Mosul and are moving against the Kurds. The Kurds should be armed at least they seem willing and ready to fight.
Now, to the big question, will ISIS come to America? Some pundits say yes, while others say they are already here, still others say no way. Me, I believe this, they will come if we allow or invite them to come. By we I do not mean the American citizens, I mean the American politicians, civil rights groups, lobbyists, community organizers and advocates. The flow of illegals across the southern border could be anybody from anywhere, the southern border is an open invitation for anyone to come into America.
Words and numbers got us to where we are today, if applied corectly words and numbers get us out of this mess
Two words have gotten us to where we are today, Electability and Likeability, these two words should be stricken from the American language. Numbers have also played a major role is getting us to where we are the numbers I refer to are Poll Numbers and are constantly touted by the media. The only polls that matter are the elections and the results. Government is a necessary evil and no politician should ever be elected based on popularity, it is not a popularity contest it is only a necessary evil.
Words that should matter and get this country righted are illustrated in the following:
Core Values. Core values begin to form from birth and continue through adulthood and become what you hold near and dear. They do not continue to develop till death, long before you die your core values are set, set in stone. They are what you believe to be true, right and just and never waver. There are not many, if any, politicians who have the same core values that I have. I make my selection based on their core values and how near they match mine and vote accordingly not by political party affiliation.
Accountability and Responsibility. Accepting responsibility for your actions as well as those you have entrusted by delegating them some of the tasks or functions they may be better suited for than you. Delegate responsibility but accept the blame. It is not accept the responsibility(unless there happens to be someone standing nearby that you can pin that on) but delegate the blame as is illustrated by the current administration. BHO seems to accept neither the responsibility or the blame, that is about detached as one can get and still get paid.
Disclosure. And by this I mean full disclosure, upon deciding to enter public service there is no room for secrets of any kind. Upon announcement of your potential candidacy for public office you must be ready disclose and reveal your life, college and university records including subjects studied, test scores and any affiliation with any group or fraternity, voting records if any public office was held prior to your seeking of a new office, tax records, real estate records, birth certificate, passport, arrest record, military service record if you served and any other document the public has an interest in examining or scrutinizing. The people will determine if you are qualified to hold public office and vote accordingly. We as American citizens have a duty, right and obligation to know who and what you are and about before entrusting you with any public service or political office. Upon taking office the disclosure must continue, visitor logs are a must if you want two fine, one for official visitors and the other for unofficial visitors, if you combine the two that is also fine. Not a shadow should cross the threshold without being in the log. They must be ready to present on request at any time, no one should have to sue for information that is not a matter of national security. Protest the request under national security if you must, but explain why a visitor is a matter of national security. Upon leaving office you must disclose your personal wealth and the manner it was acquired. Your visitors log or logs must be surrendered for audit. Your voting record must be revealed for scrutiny. Your personal wealth will be matched to your visitor log or logs and voting record. If you voted for or introduced any legislation that became law that increased your personal wealth or protected you in any shape, manner or fashion without being of the same benefit of the public at the same time the money any interest it would have accumulated would be forfeited and placed in the national treasury as well as facing possible criminal charges. Lobbyists must petition Congress as a whole not on a one on one basis. As to the matter of bills that are introduced make them simple and addressing only one issue at a time, stop hiding pet projects or other issues in the legislation and post the bill as written for the public to read if they so choose, many of us have an interest in politics and the future of America but have no interest in becoming a politician. There should never have been a time when these words were uttered “you have to pass it to find out what is in it”, but there was and those words should never be heard again.
There are many more words that could be applied, Moral Courage, Moral Character, Honesty, Loyalty, Allegiance, Faithful, Integrity, Trust are just some examples of the many traits that so many of the politicians of today lack, but that is the fault of us the American voter who keep electing and then re-electing them.
If you wonder why so few on the right and almost none on the left stand up to and against BHO, the answer is simple they have waited their entire political careers for him or someone like him to arrive, some waited so long that they died of old age in office. You may have noticed some on the right have just starting to stand up to challenge BHO and are doing so only because of public opinion and for no other reason. The proof is this if they truly objected they would have raised objection and took action when it started. What took so long BHO did not just start doing what BHO does? Face it, they were swayed by public opinion and public opinion alone.
If a politician has constant rising or falling poll numbers he or she does not hold true and faithful, they are merely changing with the wind and trying to be all things to all people at different times. If a politician is capable of lying to themselves what makes you think they will ever be truthful to the people. Poll numbers are a matter of opinion formed before the facts come in, opinions change with the facts, facts do not change because of opinion. Todays politicians are more concerned with what is popular than what is right and just or factual. Power is what they crave and will change to whatever is needed at the time to keep it and will even change right back if their old position becomes popular again.
Numbers that I really like:
One. The number of vacations taken during the year. The average American working a full-time job usually earns 2 weeks paid vacation a year, some more, some less. Very few Americans are given a vacation at company expense, that would be like being paid 54 weeks for 52 weeks work, most pay for their own vacation. That is the idea behind a paid vacation receiving 52 weeks pay for 50 weeks work, the extra two weeks pay is intended to help pay for your vacation. Some politicians seem to be on a permanent vacation stopping by the office occasionally. There is no such thing as a working vacation, working is not a vacation. Company cars, the average employee that has that perk is given just one not a fleet of them and it is for company business only not pleasure, vacations, fund-raising or just to get away from it all, if it is used for pleasure or personal business the employee is responsible for expenses. This is a good plan for the following reason, the politicians are sent to congress and yes even the presidency to do the will of the people, what is best for the country or state as a whole, representing the people and should not be treated or demand more than the average citizen. The politicians claim to be looking out for the middle class try living like them.
Ten. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as The Bill of Rights are strictly off-limits to any form of limitation or restrictions by the Federal Government and no person should be harassed or intimidated in any way while lawfully exercising their rights.
Sixteen. Repeal the 16th amendment to the Constitution and effectively abolish the IRS. A flat rate tax is an option, come up with a percentage each person pays into the Treasury, no deductions no exemptions, but this is a tax placed on legal and lawful income. A better option would be to implement a consumption based tax, this taxation would cause all people to pay into the treasury no matter how they came by their money legal or otherwise.
Seventeen. Repeal the 17th amendment to the Constitution. Return the appointments to the Senate to the States and remove them from the political parties. The States would be able to recall and replace any Senator who failed to represent the State and its interests.
Twenty Eight. Introduce and ratify the 28th amendment to the Constitution allowing for the recall and of Representatives that have wavered from the intent of the citizens who sent them to Congress. This alone would return the House of Representatives to its original intent and purpose, which was to represent the interest of the people and mot the political party or their own special interests.
Fifty. The number of States to recall and replace any Senator if he or she places political party affiliation or their own personal ego and interests above the States interests.
One Hundred. The percentage of people who each law that is passed applies to, no exemptions or exceptions.
Politicians and Government Agency Employee Pay. This will be determined by the citizens in your Hometown, District or State. The formula is simple; Take the highest and lowest hourly wage earned, then add the two together and divide that number by two that will determine your hourly wage multiply that number by 40 and that will determine your weekly pay. Any overtime must be approved, if you can not get your job done in 40 hours see numbers 17, 28 and 50. I like this part best, since you are a public servant and are supposed to be looking out for the people for every person who loses their job because of laws and regulations you passed or enacted will be fined one cent per hour to be paid into the treasury to help fund the programs that you voted for. The way you have managed the government and the country will soon have your sorry butts paying just to have your office. Raising the minimum wage will not help you, while one person may make more money per hour, others may lose their jobs, the best you can hope for is a net gain of zero. The only way you can hope to lessen the fines you will pay and quite possibly increase your hourly pay is to create and environment that spurs more people to work and possibly increase their hourly pay. We win you win, we lose you lose. This is perhaps the best part if you sponsor, introduce or regulate any measure that causes a person to lose their job you must pay their unemployment checks directly out of your personal wealth, the unemployed become a personal leech on you and not on America. Not only must you pay the unemployment checks you must pay for all the social programs they will qualify for and receive, food stamps and the rest. Why should American citizens pay for your choices and blunders. By the way, abandon your retirement system and join the one that you forced us into. Good luck in your golden years, you will need it. If you can not or will not join the one we are forced into then at least give the common folks an opportunity to join yours or do you consider yourselves better than the common folks. By the way, can we join your healthcare plan the one you designed and forced on America really sucks?
Let’s just say the Founding Fathers got the Constitution right and quit trying to interpret what they meant. They meant exactly what they wrote. Read the preamble they did not try to create the perfect government, only a more perfect one. We can only imagine the kind of tyranny, abuse and hardships that were endured in Colonial America, and may God prevent us living here today having to endure such a life as the Colonials. But, I say this, if the American voters do not change their voting patterns and habits there may come a time when a man or woman is elected as president that will view themselves as above the law and can change the laws on a whim and view themselves as a king or queen.
Here we go again
It is the same old tired story with BHO, poll numbers drop and find someone to blame, this time it is the large corporations. If he really wanted to know why his poll numbers are dropping like a rock he needs to look no farther than the mirror, that is where the blame lies. Failed policies and a failing administration will be his legacy and his foreign and domestic policies can be summed up in one word. Destabilization.
Why would a sitting President of the United States of America even make the statement “the corporations of America based in foreign countries have effectively renounced their citizenship”? What was he thinking or was he? BHO has been in office since January 2009 and here it is July 2014 and he just realized that American corporations are based overseas for tax breaks. More than likely he is once again pandering to the base and the one’s that constantly have their hands out wanting what someone else has worked for and earned. Blaming a loop-hole for legalized tax evasion or avoidance is another instance of improper blame fixation, the tax codes and loop holes are the problems not the people or corporations who use them, but they were written by politicians. Concerning this the evil rich and the evil corporations are not paying their fair share, yet no liberal has ever said how much is a fair share and most politicians block attempts at changing the tax code. But as I said the tax code with all of the loop holes were written by politicians and politicians go to great lengths to protect and insulate themselves from the very laws the impose on the citizenry. Speaking of paying your fair share I have this question for BHO and the other politicians around the country, are you paying your fair share or are you using the tax code with all of the loop holes to protect yourself and wealth or are you ponying up? Be honest if you can. After all the politicians intentionally wrote themselves out of one of the most heinous, if not the most heinous laws ever inflicted on America, Obamacare. Based on that fact alone I can safely say that you are using the tax code with all the loop holes and not paying your fair share as you demand of others and at every opportunity remind the moochers that the wealthy and big corporations are not paying their fair share while you do not pay yours.
The latest closure of the Embassy in Libya was blamed on increasing violence near and around Tripoli, the real blame lies in the fact that the entire country was destabilized by the policies and actions of BHO and that is where the blame must be placed, at the feet of BHO. Libya is still unstable because no one had a plan after the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi. You plan for the future now not when you get there. The only plan was to topple the regime, there was no consideration for what would come next, unless what you have now is what you wanted. Given the continued habit of this administration jumping to conclusions before the facts come in, commonly known as sticking one’s foot in one’s own mouth, the chaos in Libya may have been the plan all along. BHO here is a simple fix for Libya close the Embassy, cut off diplomatic relations and stop the financial aid until those people can get their shit together. Let them establish a government to their liking and their choosing without any outside influences and if it goes against American morals and principles, not your own, keep them cut off until they come around to the true American way, again not your own, if they deviate later cut them off again. The same goes for Iraq and Afghanistan.
The escalation of violence and destruction in Gaza and the unprovoked rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas has shown the world how truly ineffective the Foreign policy of BHO and his administration is as if there were not already enough examples. BHO and his administration as well as the main stream media criticizes and chastises Israel for doing what any nation under attack would do. How would the United States react if Cuba were to take up shooting missiles into Florida daily or if Mexico fired missiles daily into Texas? Would we give them financial aid hoping that would end the hostility or would we pound them into puppy kibble? I would hope that we would pound on them until we got tired or they sank into the ocean whichever comes first. The United States provides financial aid to the Palestinians who are controlled, ruled and governed by Hamas, so by default Hamas is receiving financial aid. My question is this, is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority creating a better life for the Palestinians or are they using the money to purchase rockets and the other weapons of war to use against Israel? The weapons of war are neither free or cheap, the money has to come from somewhere. If the Palestinian Authority and Hamas would be as industrious in improving the lives of the Palestinians as they are at digging tunnels to attack Israel maybe there would actually be a country called Palestine. I am sure that the citizens of Israel would rather go through the day with each tending to his or her own business than waiting for the siren blast indicating incoming rockets. I am also sure that somewhere in Gaza there is at least some Palestinians who would rather go through the day tending to their personal business rather waiting for the next retaliatory strike from Israel because some radical Muslim fired rockets into Israel. More than likely American financial aid is being used to finance Hamas and their relentless and unprovoked attacks on Israel, the answer is simple cut off all financial aid and cease any and all relations until the attacks stop. As with Libya let the Palestinian people establish a government to their liking and their choosing and again no outside influences if they choose a government that goes against the morals and principles of America, not the president’s, keep them cut off until they come around. America should no more be helping to finance a war against one of our allies than Israel should be assisting the illegals across the southern border. America must stand with Israel, one day the tables could be turned. Who would you prefer to have standing by your side and quite possibly behind you, an ally or the enemy of your enemy? One more thing the areas that are normally avoided and immune from military action only retain that protected status as long as they are not used for military purposes including a storage facility for weapons of war or a safe haven for combatants, break the rules and become a target. If you don’t believe that check the number of normally protected areas that became targets during WW 2 including a famous Monastery. Use a church or a school as part of a line of fortifications or an ammunition depot and it quits being a church or a school and becomes a target even a hospital or an ambulance can fall into this category. There were even occasions where one religious building was torn down to erect a religious building as a symbol of victory during religious wars, even if the building was undamaged during the conflict, the intention was to erase all signs of the previous symbols of religious expression and to destroy the religion.
A new round of sanctions have been placed on Russia by BHO since the shoot-down of MH-17 are intended to punish or restrict who? The executive order which banned AK-47 rifles and their variants manufactured in Russia from importation into America will not be felt by Putin or the Russian people it was only a stunt and another step in the assault on the Second Amendment. The AK-47 is the most prolific weapon in the world the loss of one customer will make no difference and besides not many American own a true AK-47, the taxes and regulations of weapons capable of fully automatic fire make it at least a financial challenge not to mention the cost of the weapon. With all of the spy satellites in space today would produce a high probability of an image of the airliner in flight and the missile battery either before or after missile launch possibly even at the moment of launch, there should surely be an image of a launcher short one missile. BHO did his usual after the airliner was shot down gave a little speech, informed Russia that the world was watching. The world may have been watching but all they saw was BHO leave town to make it to two Democratic Party fundraisers. Russia was the first to be accused of firing the missile that downed the airliner, that did not stick so the Pro Russian separatists were blamed. There are former members of Russian and Ukrainian military in the separatists that is a given, but would they or do they have the knowledge and training to operate such a sophisticated missile system? The missiles themselves have been around for a long time but the launch and radar system like that of the U.S. are constantly upgraded. The Ukrainian military uses the same equipment as the Russian military. There may well be a satellite image of the launcher and possibly the launch if it is it must not support the narrative of the administration or it would have been released by now. The ban on AK-47 importation is supposed to punish Russia for supplying the Pro-Russian separatists with weapons and equipment. This the dumbest thing that I have heard this week, well nearly. Especially when the Afghanis and the Iraqis were using weapons and training provided by America to kill American troops, added to this Russia was awarded a no-bid contract to furnish weapons, equipment and spare parts to the Afghanis. The weapons were Russian but bought and given to the Afghanis with American dollars. No sanctions were placed on anyone for those murders. The new offensive mounted by the Ukrainian military against the Pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk can only bring Ukraine closer to a war with Russia, a war they know they can not win without help from The E.U. and the U.S., WWW 3 anyone. Here is where the labeling gets confusing and the lines become blurred. The fighting in Ukraine is between two factions the Ukrainians and the Pro-Russian Separatists. Why are they not called insurgents or freedom fighters or even militants as they are labeled in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan or even Syria? After all Donetsk is seeking freedom from Ukraine and to rejoin Mother Russia. Do not get me wrong I am no fan of Russia, Putin or Communism, but I am all for the right to self-determination. The answer for Ukraine is the same as the others everybody just pull out and cut them off no financial aid no military aid no nothing let the Ukrainians work it out, when they run out of bullets they will have to resort to beating each other to death and fighting like that will tire a person out. Long before they get to that point they will come to their senses and realize that they are only destroying their country, or not. Sometimes you have to nearly destroy something to save it, America itself went through that stage once and settled it and have since lived with the results. We now settle our differences on election day or at least try to, at least we can bitch, and wait until the next election for now at least.
ISIS is still making gains in Iraq and Syria, in fact they have done so well that they even staged a military parade to show off their newly acquired weapons of war. The majority of the weapons and equipment in possession and being used by ISIS was paid for and supplied by BHO and his administration though those in possession were not the intended to have them, however it is another case of the law of unintended consequences, arming the enemy of your enemy instead of an ally. You know you have arrived if you can stage a parade. Even taking time to re-establish a caliphate. Female genital mutilations have been ordered and reports have surfaced of an all female fighting unit, I had thought these people thought of women as property and basically useless, guess they found a use for them. There has not been one word of condemnation that I have heard from the liberals or the main stream media condemning the acts and atrocities leveled against women concerning the ordered and forced genital mutilation. There is also no or very little outcries or condemnation of the murders of Christians in the Muslim controlled countries or regions, the forced conversions of Christians to Muslim, the taxes that must be paid for not converting and the destruction of Christian religious symbols. Do you remain silent in order to not offend? You are only whistling past the graveyard. There is a cost to not speaking out as one group after another is assaulted and annihilated and that cost is no one will be left to speak out or act in your defense.
Says it all
Marksmanship Part 2 getting to know your rifle
The best and most expensive rifle will not make a poor shooter a better shooter, but even a mediocre rifle in the hands of a person who knows and understands his or her rifle can produce amazing results. The next step to becoming a marksman requires you to do your homework, go to your local store, get some range time and avoid the urge to hasten the process. You bought your rifle because you liked it, now you must find out what your rifle likes. First I must clear this up, this post is intended for hunting rifles and not the modern sporting rifles, you know the ones that are often referred to as “assault rifles”. They are not assault rifles they are modern sporting rifles, most of the blame for the misnomer is the fault of the manufacturers, but I digress. As stated before I am a hunter and I can not eat it if I miss it.
To find out what your rifle likes you will need the following:
1. Ammunition with different bullet (projectile) weights but take only one weight with you.
2. Targets, good sturdy targets mounted on a backing board, I avoid the use of “bleeding” targets as they tend to cause the shooter to adjust the point of aim.
3. one inch stick-on dots.
4. A magnifying glass.
5. Notebook and pen, not a pencil.
6. A ruler.
7. A timer.
The first issue to address is the clean cold bore (ccb). The first shot from a rifle is considered to be a throw away shot by some but not by me. If I know where the bullet will impact I will know where to aim to achieve the desired result, you may only have one chance. There is no clean bore, some are cleaner than others but it should be cold. Run a clean lint free patch or two through the barrel to remove dust and any remaining oil and solvent used in cleaning, this will lessen the effects of a clean cold bore on the first shot.
Target placement and set-up. The first target placed no further than 50 yards away, I start at 25 yards. On the first place 2 one inch stick on dots, I use orange, one in the center of the target and one-off center half way between the outer edge and center. The reason for two dots is simple, it is to find out how the clean cold bore effects the flight of the projectile on the first shot. The off-center dot should be your point of aim for the first shot only. The center dot should be the point of aim for the remaining shots. Keep your point of aim the same, sight alignment and sight picture. There should be no less than 30 seconds between shots, but not enough time to allow the barrel to cool completely. If the shots are fired to close together the barrel will heat and have an effect on bullet trajectory. Retrieve your target and mark it with the weight of the projectile and which hand you used right of left. Place another target at the same yardage and use the other hand, remember you should be able to use both effectively. If enough time has elapsed for the barrel to cool repeat the process with two dots, run a patch or two through the barrel to remove loose fouling. Time permitting and if you choose try different distances, I prefer to take it one step at a time, but continue using bullets of the same weight. At the completion of this stage the work really begins. You can do the following steps at home or while still at the range, remember other shooters as this is very time-consuming. Now is where you will need the ruler, the magnifying glass, notebook and pen. First measure the distance from the point of aim to the point of impact of the clean cold bore shot, then measure the remaining impact points to determine the minute of angle, look for anything 2 inches or less. Using the magnifying glass look at each hole in the target to determine if the bullet was climbing or descending on impact, the tears in the paper will tell you what the bullet was doing. Record all of this in the notebook.
On the next trip to the range use the same weight bullet at a different distance and repeat the entire process. As I stated this is a time consuming process but the results are well worth the investment in time and money.
You will notice that no mention was made about adjusting anything, that is because this is not the time to adjust anything, not sights and certainly not a scope if one is mounted. It might just be that your rifle does not like that weight bullet.
On subsequent trips to the range try a different weight bullet and repeat the above process. Note any differences in feeding and extracting as they may help identifying what your rifle likes. Once you have found the weight bullet your rifle prefers that is the time to make any needed adjustments for accuracy. But what to do with the left over ammunition of the weight your rifle liked least? Save them for a rainy day, you already have notes on how they will perform. Practice with the same weight as your hunt with.
Good hunting, shoot straight, kill clean.
willisbryanblog 