Jeff Frawley after returning from Iraq
in 2005
He is an infantry Sergeant and team leader - he recently returned from 15 months in Afghanistan
My son, Jeff, is a proud member
of the US Army 82nd airborne. He is a 23
year old paratrooper who was recently promoted to Sergeant while
serving in Afghanistan. This photo was taken before his second
deployment.
Jeff and 3 of his best friends (Jared Leable,
Nick Essick and Brent Wilson) left for basic training 4 days after
graduating from high school (June 5th, 2004).
Nick Essick got his jump wings and went back to his reserve unite. He later did two tours in Iraq. The first was a 18 months as a 50 cal. gunner
on a gun truck guarding convoys all over Iraq.
On December 7th, 2004, 10 days after graduating
from jump school, Jeff landed at Baghdad International Airport
with members of Charlie Company 3/325 82nd Airborne. Within 3
days he had earned his combat infantry badge. Jeff returned to
Ft Bragg on March 25th, 2005.
Jeff's three friends have all done
their tour in Iraq. Jeff and Jared were deployed a second
time to Afghanistan. Both had very difficult tours there.
These
young men have had friends killed in combat and
grown up faster than they probably should have.
With that said they have not changed their
feelings about why they joined the army. They have witnessed the brutality
of radical Islam.
In Iraq one of Jeff's company's missions
was to guard Baghdad voting stations during the 2005
Iraqi election. His company provided security
for the gate leading out of the green zone to the Baghdad airport.
At the time some called this the deadliest
5 miles of highway in the world.
Charlie Company also provided
security in Sadr City for American police officers training
.
While in Iraq, Jeff's unit was constantly
hit with suicide bombers. Through the luck of God and their training
none of them were injured. Over 60 Iraqis lost
their lives in the various suicide bombings to took place in front of them.
After returning fro Iraq Jeff's company spent the summer of 2006 teaching
West point cadets the art of building and manning check points. Jeff
and another trooper wrote the course on suicide bombers. West
point had never before had a course on this. Now they do and
according to Jeff it's a very good one.
After the cadets initial
training Jeff's company took on the role of the opposing force
(OP4) and showed the cadets how experience combat veterans would
attack a check point. Needless to say the cadets learned valuable
lessons that hopefully will save the lives of soldiers that
these future officers will lead into battle on this war on terror.
Jeff's battalion of 82nd airborne
was deploying into the mountains of Afghanistan
for 15 months on February 8th 2007. According to published news
article the 82nd will replace the 10th mountain division.
While in Afghanistan - on March 13th 2007 Jeff re-enlisted for
4 additional years. When he returns he will go through special forces selection. His dreams are to become become a member of a Special Forces A team.
To all those people who think there is
no such thing as a war on terror I say " PULL YOUR
HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS."
August 10, 2006
The events that occurred in England of August 10 th 2006
confirm that our country needs people like these young men. Ten airliners would have been blown out of the air had law enforcement not caught the suicide terrorists involved. Do the math - how many people
do ten 747's carry? I'll tell you how many - it's more than the
number of people that died on 9-11 in the world trade center.
To the politicians who choose to politicize
this war on terror, I say "PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR
ASS" I wonder how many suicide bombers have to make their way
to America before these fool politicians take this war seriously.
Take a minute and watch this video clip (CLICK
HERE) then come back and read the rest of this article.
I am not sure that nuclear weapons are such a bad option.
History will have to determine if the war
in Iraq served a valuable purpose. I can't answer that question.
I feel deeply for the military families that have lost a
loved one. One thing is for certain, these terrorists came to
us and blew up OUR world trade center. If left unchecked they
will do it again and again and again. The people that did this are not normal
human beings, they are brain washed terrorists who will not negotiate
with reason.
If anyone thinks for one minute that this
war is over when we pull out of Iraq or Afghanistan they are blind.
After my son joined the 82nd Airborne he became best friends with Adam Thompson and Grant Bleaser. He went to Iraq and Afghanistan with both of these young men. I was at Ft Brag when the three of them returned form each tour and was honored to spend many a night buying them drinks.
On July 2nd, 2010, Grant stepped on an IED in Afghanistan. His leg was blown off and he came very close to losing his arm.
I don't have the words to describe how frustrated I feel about an Army that ties their soldiers hands behind their back on weak an ineffective rules of engagement. This war stinks like Vietnam all over again. We are supporting a corrupt ineffective government and people like Grant are paying for it.
We need new people in Washington. We need new leadership in the army. We are either at wart or we are not at war and we should not tie the hands of these young men behind their back and ask then to play a life and death game whose rules are stacked in favor of the enemy.
I have added a short video that Jeff brought
back from Afghanistan when he visited on his 18 day mid-cycle
leave. I believe it will make you laugh and also make you proud
of our soldiers.
My war hero - listen to this soldier talk. Our American politicians should grow a set of balls and talk straight like this soldier does. Maybe then our forgiven policy would develop into a manful policy that has some form of accountability.
Warning - if you don't like vulgar language, if for some reason this bothers you - then don't listen to this video. But with that said - when you look beyond the language the message is very clear.
A different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'
' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN 30th Naval Construction Regiment OIC, Logistics Cell One Al Taqqadum, Iraq
Let there be no misunderstanding about who I support for President
CPL Jeff Frawley is kneeling third from
the right - the photo was taken in the summer of 2006 when members
of Jeff's Platoon went to Ground Zero to re-in list in the Army
and the 82nd Airborne.
Jesse Voelk of the United States Navy (Jeff Frawley's cousin),
Ed Frawley, and Sgt Jeff Frawley.
Jeff is currently an E6 Staff Sgt in the United States Army.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.
The decayed and degraded state of moral and
patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is
much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is
willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his
own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has
no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the
exertions of better men than himself.
—John Stuart Mill (1868)
Churchill saw it coming!
Here is a short speech given by Winston
Churchill in 1899 when he was a young soldier and journalist
working in Africa.
How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism
lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous
in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic
apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits,
slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and
insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the
Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its
grace and refinement the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that
in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute
property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the
final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great
power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities,
but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of
those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.
Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing
faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising
fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity
is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it
had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as
fell the civilization of ancient Rome."
Sir Winston Churchill; (The River War, first edition, Vol.
II, pages 248-50 )
Most Politicians Lack Integrity
You have to ask yourself some questions about how we got to this point.
I am not a fan of politicians. Most talk out of one side of their
mouth and will eat their mother if it means staying in office.
They majority of them are spineless and lack integrity.
Should
you doubt this - take a look at this short little video clip.
I believe our government should start spending
money on research for alternative fuels. Our country must
become in dependant of our need for middle east oil. Lets find
other other ways to power our factories, run our vehicles and
heat our homes. Let's find ways to eliminate the need for Arab
oil.
All of a sudden nuclear power plants don't
seem that bad do they?
I also believe that when our country is
attacked we must respond with overwhelming force.
The days of NATION BUILDING
should end. We need to get back to fighting wars like we did
in WW II . When we are attacked we
can not and should not be concerned with minimal damage and civilian
deaths. Yes it is too bad that civilians die in war, but these same civilians often tolerate a corrupt government.
We won the war with Japan and Germany because we killed
so many of their people that they sued for peace. Do some home
work and look at how many people were killed in the fire bombings
of Germany and Japan. We demanded unconditional surrender.
We need to get back to unconditional surrender.
It worked then and it will work again. We should not care
what the United Nations things. It's a corrupt organization.
We should not be concerned what people from other countries think
- their countries were not attacked.
If our country is attacked
we should stop sending American soldiers to fight our battles
and die. We should send nuclear bombs to flatten the country
that these attackers came from or flatten the countries that
trained and sponsored the attackers.
The Nov 6th 2006 issue of Newsweek magazine
had an article about Captain Robert Secher, a Marine captain
who was killed on Oct 8 th 2006 by a snipers bullet in Iraq.
Captain Secher was writing a book on his tour when he died.
He had sent numerous emails home and in one he wrote a fitting
quote. "If you really want to win a war you have to be brutal.
You have to be Sherman and raze Georgia as you march to the
sea."
Would I trade 10 million
dead Iraqis or 15 million dead Iranians or Syrians for 2,500
dead Americans soldiers? In a heart beat. Let me push the nuclear button.
Does anyone think for one minute that we
are going to change muslim extremists or the countries that grow
them? Not ever - not in my lifetime, not in your lifetime, not
in our children's children's lifetime, not ever! If you think I am wrong I suggest you read a little history. Start with President Thomas Jefferson. Read what he had to say about radical Islam almost 200 years ago.
Have you ever listened to the Marine hymn? You know the one - "FROM THE SHORES SOF TRIPPOLI" Those words came from Marines fighting radical Muslims 200 years ago in the Barnary wars.
How do you change
people who cut the heads off of people they kidnap? I will tell
you how - you kill them and everyone around them.
Countries that
harbor extremists and allow them to live and operate within their
borders have the responsibility to control them or suffer the
consequences. Until this happens we will forever be looking over
our shoulder wondering when the next terrorist attack will happen,
BECAUE IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN!
I believe it's time that the citizens in
this country start to tell the politicians of this country that
"if you decide to go to war, go in it to win, go in with the concept
of "unconditional
surrender." Colen Powel tried to tell George Bush this. No one
listened.
The people who disagree with this thinking
should have their children join the 82nd Airborne and go into
the mountains of Afghanistan for a year to fight alongside
my son Jeff or explain their position to the surviving family
members of those who died on 9-11.
Here is an email
from a person who disagrees with me:
After reading your page of personal views
about the war, I feel compelled to respond.
First of all, I wish for a fast and safe return for your son
and all of the members of the U.S. armed forces.
Having said that, I am saddened by the misinformed, ignorant
and ethnocentric basis for your arguments about how we should handle the
war. You think we should nuke the middle east into oblivion. To
hell with innocents, you want us to kill the "Muslim extremists." Yet
your stance is just as extreme as those you're stumping for us to nuke,
if not more so - while the terrorists aim for the deaths of dozens or hundreds,
you're perfectly content to slaughter thousands and millions in order
to achieve "unconditional surrender" (which, by the way, is a pipe dream). Your
disregard for innocent lives is just as irresponsible and unforgivable
as their disregard for ours. Unilateral bloodbaths won't win the
U.S. unconditional surrender, it will unite the rest of the world - including
our present allies - against us, and likely instigate World War III.
I was actually getting ready to buy some equipment from your
site - I've purchased leashes and training collars from you and been very,
very happy with them. Easily the highest quality items I've used
so far. But after reading your perspective on the war, I honestly
don't know if I can justify giving my business to you. I don't expect
you to agree with me about the war, but your comments are irresponsible
to the point of being flat-out obscene. I'm sure you couldn't care
less whether or not you get my business - I seriously doubt my small purchases
would even be noticeable. Nevertheless, I just can't justify doing
business with you right now, and I'm afraid that I'll have to share my
thoughts with friends/family who are in the market for training products.
Again, I hope your son returns from duty quickly and safely,
and although I disagree with why we are at war (and with whom), I am still
very proud of people like your son who are risking their lives for our
country.
Matthew Bunce [mwbunce@hotmail.com]
TAKE 5 MINUTES
AND WATCH THIS
I invite you to take 5 minutes and watch
a short video clip that pretty much explains my opinion of feelings
of this war and the people who protest.
Then tell me how they would have explained 10 planes exploding over the
Atlantic. What part of this do the politicians miss? When is "A VOTE" more
important than the security of our country?
Jeff Frawley graduating from Airborne School
Ft. Benning, GA
Nick Essick In Iraq
Retired Leerburg kennel
employee
Nick is one of Jeff's best friends.
Nick and Jeff worked here at Leerburg Kennels for 3 years while
in high school. He and Jeff are the reason I have white
hair. Their view of a job description included "See
how much you can screw with Ed without making him go completely
crazy."
Nick went through jump school with
Jeff and served in Iraq until late 2006. He is
a Humvee gunner guarding convoys
all over Iraq. He lost two men from his company to IEDs.
Photo by Todd Heisler
The Rocky Mountain News
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived
at the Reno Airport,
Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the
flag over
his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.
During
the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International
Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as one of the most
powerful
in the process: "See the people in the windows? They'll sit right
there in
the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going
through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought
him home," he
said. "They're going to remember being on that plane for the rest
of their
lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And
they
should."
Photo by Todd Heisler
The Rocky Mountain News
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine
Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to
his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking
in the sheets
below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer
and played songs
that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she
wanted them
to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind
of nice
if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would
have wanted."
ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS
Jill Edwards is a junior math major at the University
of Washington. In brief, Edwards, a member of the UW student
senate, opposed a memorial
to UW grad "Pappy" Boyington. Boyington was a U.S. Marine aviator
who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II. Edwards said that
she didn't think it was appropriate to honor a person who killed
other people. She
also said that a member of the Marine Corps was NOT an example
of the sort of person the University of Washington wanted to
produce.
Gen. Dula's letter to the University of Washington student senate leader:
To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)
Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
Miss Edwards, I read of your 'student activity'
regarding the proposed memorial to Col Greg Boyington, USMC
and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect
you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from conservative
folks like me. You may be too young to appreciate fully the
sacrifices of generations
of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your
fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways
of youth and your
naiveté.
It may be that you are, simply, a sheep. There's no dishonor in being
a sheep - - as long as you know and accept what you are. Please take a
couple of minutes to read the following. And be grateful for the thousands
- - millions - - of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express
even bad ideas.
Brett Dula
Sheepdog, retired
----------------------------------------------------------
ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS
By LTC(RET) Dave Grossman, RANGER,
Ph.D., author of "On Killing."
Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so
because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things
that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time,
that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution,
or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending?
What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett
- in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once
said this to me: "Most
of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive
creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true.
Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the
aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this
means is that the vast
majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.
Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent
crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record
rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which
means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably
less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many
violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of
violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation:
We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still
remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people
who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under
extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me, it is like the
pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will
grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its
hard blue shell.
Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and
someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.
For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and
the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there
are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy?
You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they
are capable of evil
deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you
become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and
I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. "
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive
citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for
your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a
wolf.
But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your
fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone
who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of
darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed
Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves,
and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes
them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world.
They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want
fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout
their kids' schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police
officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more
likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire,
but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial.
The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard,
and so they chose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the
wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though,
is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep.
Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be
punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not
in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is
a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They
would prefer that he didn't tell them
where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready
in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The
sheep would much
rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself
white, and go, "Baa." Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire
flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high
school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have
had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they
just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however,
and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had
to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how
the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded
hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently
about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember
how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog;
it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a
funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking
the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning
for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous
battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move
to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently.
The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog
lives for that day. After the
attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most
citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The
sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been
on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When
you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested
yourself into warrior hood, you want to be there. You want to
be able to make a
difference.
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but
he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able
to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the
population.
There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted
of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes
of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The
vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language:
Slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their
victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd
that is least able to protect itself.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically
primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose
which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans
are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11,
2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury,
New Jersey. Todd, as you recall,
was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his
cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about
the hijacking. When he
learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used
as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which
authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront
the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred
among the
passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep
to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately
saving an unknown number
of lives on the ground.
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil
of evil men. - Edmund Burke
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of
police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep,
real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are
wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human
being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay,
but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and
your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect
you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going
to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love.
But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you
must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip
and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the
wolf comes knocking at the door.
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well
concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters
tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious
service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation
is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your
place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved
ones.
I was training a group of police officers in Texas,
and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried
his weapon in church. The other
cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I
asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he
knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that
incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened
fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could
have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own
son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body
and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you
have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after
that?"
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew
this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might
call him paranoid and would
probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged
and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that
the air bags in their cars were defective, or that the fire
extinguisher and fire sprinklers
in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact
that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there
must be safeguards against
them.
Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial,
and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and
disdain. But the sheepdog
quietly asks himself, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be
to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed,
and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared
for that
day?"
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically
destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive
and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf
shows up.
Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when
you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't
train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy.
Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive,
you are psychologically shattered by your fear, helplessness and horror
at your moment of truth.
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less,
his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading
for anyone trying to come to terms
with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but
it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers
think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when
faced with new
violence is all the more unsettling."
Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in
small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on
some level. And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects
of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.
If you are warrior who is legally authorized to
carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then
you become a sheep, pretending
that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7,
for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to
carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath,
and say this to yourself..."Baa."
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy.
It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees,
a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the
other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one
end or the other.
Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America
took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few
steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors
started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move
up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which
you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at
your moment of truth.
"If It Weren't For The United States Military"
"There Would Be NO United States of America"
A very touching slide show on another web site about our soldiers
Written by a housewife from New Jersey and I agree
with ever word!
"Are
we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started
by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?
Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally
murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our
nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?
Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible,
burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?
And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when
an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well,
I don't. I don't care at all.
I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents
for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.
I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East
start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime
in Saudi Arabia
I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for
hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling
slashed throat.
I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in
Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their
own religion by hiding in mosques.
I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in
search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their
suicide bombs.
I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their
First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead
of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.
In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing
up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.
When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who
have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest
assured: I don't care.
When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is
told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to
the bank: I don't care.
When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer
mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars,
is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you
can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.
And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and
other times "Quran" Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I
don't care !!
Some things to think about:
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference
in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan
"If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a
nation gone under." Also by.. Ronald Reagan
In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American
sentiment and negativity, we should remember England's Prime
Minister Tony Blair's words, he said: "A simple way to take measure of
a country is to look at how many want in... And how many want out."
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom!
I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh, And looked across
the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix, My stocks were
down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.
And so with only minutes till my son got home from school I gave up on
the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take, And so I flipped
the TV on to catch a little break.
I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust, No snowflakes hung
upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh, Eight
Hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.
A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens.
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight, Their
dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.
Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind, To share a scrap
of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts
at ease, They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MRE's.
They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see, They didn't need
an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn't have a present even though it was
tradition, the only boxes I could see were labeled "ammunition."
I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side, He asked me what
it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near and kissed him on
the forehead as I whispered in his ear.
There's nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight, Our heroes
stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
To worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all, Instead of wondering
if we will be the next to fall.
He looked at me as children do and said its always right, to thank the
ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note, to thank the
many far from home, and this is what we wrote:
God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you're not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day, You give the
gift of liberty and that we can't repay.
To Kill an American
You probably missed it in the rush of recent news - there
was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published
in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American,
any American.
So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone
know what an American is, so they would know when they found
one. (Good one ya, mate!!!!)
An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German,
Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian,
Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian,
Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American
may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole
or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.
An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist,
or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in
Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are
free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also
free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only
to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to
speak for the government and for God.
An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of
the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration
of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each
person the pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about
every
other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan
was
overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with
arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country.!
As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than
any
Other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.
Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books,
the
Best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome
the least.
The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your
tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores,
the
homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built
America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September
11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I've been told that
the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries,
cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted
the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an American if you must.
Hitler did. So
did
General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty
tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you
would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a
particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment
of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who Holds to that
spirit, everywhere,
can fit the profile of being an American.
Sent to me from a friend - a letter from a U.S. Soldier somewhere in
Afghanistan:
"So we are up in the mountains at about 0100
hrs looking for
bad guys that we thought were in the area. Here are ten of us,
pitch black, crystal clear night, about 25 degrees. We know
there are bad guys in the area; a few shots have been fired but
no big deal. We decide that we need air cover and the only
thing in the area is a solo B-1 bomber. He flies around at
about 20,000 feet and tells us there is nothing in the area.
He then asks if we would like a low level show of force. Stupid
question. Of course we tell him yes. The controller who is
attached to the team then is heard talking to the pilot.
Pilot asks if we want it subsonic or supersonic. Very stupid
question. Pilot advises he is twenty miles out and stand by.
The controller gets us all sitting down in a line and points
out the proper location. You have to picture this. Pitch black,
ten killers sitting down, dead quiet and overlooking this about
30 mile long valley. All of a sudden, way out (below our level)
you see a set of four 200' white flames coming at us. The
controller says, "Ah-- guys-- you might want to plug your
ears".
Faster than you can think a B-1, supersonic, 1000' over
our heads, blasts the sound barrier and it feels like God just
hit you in the head with a hammer". He then stands it straight
up with 4 white trails of flame coming out and disappears."
Cost of gas for that: Probably $50,000
Hearing damage: For certain
Bunch of Taliban thinking twice about shooting at us: Priceless
Something a Retired Marine Officer Wrote
Eleven thousand American soldiers
lay beneath the dirt and stone,
all buried on a distant land
so far away from home.
For just a strip of dismal beach
they paid a hero's price,
to save a foreign nation
they all made the sacrifice.
And now the shores of Normandy
are lined with blocks of white:
Americans who didn't turn
from someone else's plight.
Eleven thousand reasons
for the French to take our side,
but in the moment of our need,
they chose to run and hide.
Chirac said every war means loss,
perhaps for France that's true,
for they've lost every battle
since the days of Waterloo.
Without a soldier worth a damn
to be found within the region,
the French became the only land
to need a Foreign Legion.
You French all say we're arrogant.
Well hell, we've earned the right--
We saved your sorry nation
when you lacked the guts to fight.
But now you've made a big mistake,
and one that you'll regret;
you took sides with our enemies,
and that we won't forget.
It wasn't just our citizens
you spit on when you turned,
but every one of yours
who fell the day the towers burned.
You spit upon our soldiers,
on our pilots and Marines,
and now you'll get a little sense
of just what payback means.
So keep your Paris fashions
and your wine and your champagne,
and find some other market
that will buy your airplanes.
And try to find somebody else
to wear your French cologne,
for you're about to find out
what it means to stand alone.
You see, you need us far more
than we ever needed you.
America has better friends
who know how to be true.
I'd rather stand with warriors
who have the will and might,
than huddle in the dark
with those whose only flag is white.
I'll take the Brits, the Aussies,
the Israelis and the rest,
for when it comes to valor
we have seen that they're the best.
We'll count on one another
as we face a moment dire,
while you sit on the sideline
with a sign, "friendship for hire."
We'll win this war without you
and we'll total up the cost,
and take it from your foreign aid,
and then you'll feel the loss.
And when your nation starts to fall,
well Frenchie, you can spare us,
just call the Germans for a hand,
they know the way to Paris.
I have heard enough about Iraqi prisoner mistreatment
- here is my response.
If hooking up an Iraqi prisoner's scrotum to a car battery
will save one American's life, then I have just two things to say:
Maybe the NAY SAYERS in our country do not understand
that cutting the heads off innocent civilians is a war atrocity. Killing
women and children with suicide bombers is a war atrocity.
Parading terrorists around naked on a dog leash is not
a war atrocity. If doing this results in one prisoner giving up information
that helps find one bomb factory – well, I say lets get their cloths
off, find the dogs and the dog leashes.
We have women in my town that protest the war every
Friday by standing on Main Street during lunch hour with signs. They are
called the "women in black." These people insult me, they insult
my son, they insult our military and they insult our country. I wonder
what they would say to Osama or his followers? I wonder what they would
say to the British suicide bombers? I wonder what they would say to the
survivors and family members of the victims of 9-11?
When our military has a terrorist like Al Sadar
and 40 to 50 of his closest followers surrounded in a 1000 year
old Mosque
Bomb the hell out of the Mosque and let God sort
it out.
Let the first American step foreword who would
rather sacrifice his son or daughter rather than bomb a stupid
building.
A very good friend of mine is a retired Korea Marine - he sent me these thoughts:
Rules for Gun Fighting
USMC Rules for Gun Fighting
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't
work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone
you meet.
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does
not start with a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap.
Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal
preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one
you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber,
stance, or tactics.
They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating or reloading.
14. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they
should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
15. And above all ... don't drop your guard.
Navy SEALS Rules For Gun Fighting
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Return quickly to looking cool in latest beach wear.
4. Check hair in mirror.
US Army Rangers Rules For Gun Fighting
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound ruck while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher Up" to perform
killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound ruck while starving.
US Air Force Rules For Gun Fighting
1. Have a cocktail
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner
3. See what's on HBO
4. Determine "what a gunfight is"
5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" Power
Point presentation
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DoD & defense industry
executives
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally
9. Tell the Navy to send the Marines
Navy Rules For Gun Fighting
1. Go to Sea
2. Drink Coffee
3. Watch porn
4. Send the Marines
The war-weary Marine asked, "Ma'am, may I have
that seat?"
The French woman just sniffed and said to no one in
particular, "Americans
are so rude. My little Fifi is using that seat."
The Marine walked the entire train again, but the only seat left was
under that dog.
"Please, ma'am. May I sit down? I'm very tired."
She snorted, "Not only are you Americans rude,
you are also arrogant!"
This time the Marine didn't say a word, he just picked up the little
dog, tossed it out the train window, and sat down. The woman shrieked,
"Someone must defend my honor! Put this American
in his place!"
An English gentleman sitting! nearby spoke up, "Sir,
you Americans often seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing.
You hold the
fork in the wrong hand. You drive your autos on the wrong side
of the road. And now, sir, you've thrown the wrong bitch out the window!"
The difference between a hero and a .....
HERO IN FALLUJAH: Marine Laid Himself on Top of Grenade to Save
the Rest
of his Squad
by Oliver North
Posted Dec 16, 2004
"It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and
Tarawa Marines who won the Medal of Honor," Lance Corporal Rob
Rogers of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment told the Army Times. Corporal
Rogers was describing the actions of his fellow Marine, Sgt. Rafael
Peralta, a Mexican immigrant who enlisted in the Marine Corps the day
he received his green card.
Most readers of this column probably haven't heard about Rafael Peralta.
With the exception of the Los Angeles Times, most of our mainstream media haven't bothered to write about him. The next time you
log onto the Internet, do a Google search on Rafael Peralta. As of this
writing, the Internet's most used search engine will provide you with
only 26 citations from news sources that have bothered to write about
this heroic young
man.
Then, just for giggles, do a Google search on Pablo Paredes.
Hundreds of media outlets have written about him. The wire services
have blasted his story to thousands of newspapers. Television and radio
debate programs gladly provide the public with talking heads that can speak
eloquently on the actions of Pablo Paredes.
You see, Pablo Paredes, a Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class, did
something the liberal elites consider "heroic" and the media
consider "newsworthy" - he defied an order. Last week, Paredes refused to board his ship
bound for Iraq along with 5,000 other sailors and Marines. He showed
up on the pier wearing a black tee shirt that read, ``Like a Cabinet member,
I resign.''
We know this because Petty Officer Pablo Paredes had the courtesy
and forethought to notify the local media that he would commit an
act of cowardice the following day. Perhaps he hoped to follow the lead
of another famous war protestor who went on to become a U.S. Senator
and his party's presidential nominee by throwing away his military
medals. Petty Officer Paredes stopped short of trashing his military I.D. in
front of the cameras because he said he didn't want to be charged with
the destruction of government property. The media, we are promised,
will continue to follow this story intently.
It is a shame that the media focus on such acts when they could
tell stories about real heroes like Rafael Peralta who "saved
the life of my son and every Marine in that room," according to Garry
Morrison the father of a Marine in Peralta's unit - Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison.
On the morning of November 15, 2004, the men of 1st Battalion,
3rd Marines awoke before sunrise and continued what they had been
doing for seven days previously - cleansing the city of Fallujah of terrorists
house by house.
At the fourth house they encountered that morning the Marines
kicked in the door and "cleared" the front rooms, but then
noticed a locked door off to the side that required inspection. Sgt. Rafael Peralta
threw open the closed door, but behind it were three terrorists with AK-47s.
Peralta was hit in the head and chest with multiple shots at close range.
Peralta's fellow Marines had to step over his body to continue
the shootout with the terrorists. As the firefight raged on, a "yellow, foreign-made, oval-shaped grenade," as Lance Corporal Travis
Kaemmerer described it, rolled into the room where they were all standing
and came to a stop near Peralta's body.
But Sgt. Rafael Peralta wasn't dead - yet. This young immigrant
of 25 years, who enlisted in the Marines when he received his green
card, who volunteered for the front line duty in Fallujah, had one
last act of heroism in him.
Sgt. Rafael Peralta was the polar opposite of
Pablo Paredes, the Petty Officer who turned his back on his shipmates and mocked his
commander in chief. Peralta was proud to serve his adopted country. In
his parent's home, on his bedroom walls hung only three items - a copy of
the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and his boot
camp graduation certificate. Before he set out for Fallujah, he wrote to his
14-year old brother, "be proud of me, bro...and be proud of being
an American."
Not only can Rafael's family be proud of him, but his fellow
Marines are alive because of him. As Sgt. Rafael Peralta lay near death
on the floor of a Fallujah terrorist hideout, he spotted the yellow
grenade that had rolled next to his near-lifeless body. Once detonated, it
would take out the rest of Peralta's squad. To save his fellow Marines,
Peralta reached out, grabbed the grenade, and tucked it under his abdomen
where it exploded.
"Most of the Marines in the house
were in the immediate area of the grenade," Cpl. Kaemmerer said. "We will never forget
the second chance at life that Sgt. Peralta gave us."
Unfortunately, unlike Pablo Paredes, Sgt. Rafael Peralta will
get little media coverage. He is unlikely to have books written about
him or movies made about his extraordinarily selfless sacrifice. But
he is likely to
receive the Medal of Honor. And that Medal of Honor is likely
to be displayed next to the only items that hung on his bedroom wall
- the Constitution, Bill of Rights and his Boot Camp graduation certificate.
Yes, Virginia, there are still heroes in America, and Sgt. Rafael Peralta was one of them. It's just too bad the media can't recognize
them.
Lt. Col. North (Ret.) is a nationally syndicated columnist and
the author of the new FOX News/Regnery book, War Stories: Operation
Iraqi Freedom
From the LA Times:
MARINE TO MARINE
No one can understand the singular suffering of the wounded like
their injured comrades. So one is leading the way in ministering
to them.
By David Zucchino, L. A. Times Staff Writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A hospital
therapist pressed down hard against a ridge of crimson scar
tissue on the shattered
left leg of Marine Lance Cpl. Donald Ferguson. The corporal gritted
his teeth.
His face red and contorted, Ferguson tried to snap to attention
as a Marine lieutenant colonel approached. The officer's hair
was cropped close on top and shaved on the sides, revealing a
jagged pink scar across his left temple from a combat wound.
"Relax, relax," Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell said, resting
his hand on the corporal's shoulder. "Just wanted to see
how you're doing."
"Doing good, sir. How about you?"
"I feel like I got no brain left," Maxwell said. "My
brain got whacked pretty good. I kind of have to fake it to get
by."
On Oct. 7 in central Iraq, mortar shrapnel tore into Maxwell's
skull, causing severe brain damage, and lacerated the left side
of his body. Seventeen days later, a rocket exploded near Ferguson
in western Iraq, shredding his lower left leg.
The two Marines had never met before the 40-year-old colonel
sought out the 22-year-old corporal in the physical therapy ward
of the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune this month. Their encounter
was part of an extraordinary endeavor by a Marine officer with
a faulty memory and a speech impediment, in which the walking
wounded help care for injured comrades.
Even as Maxwell recovers physically and psychologically, he
patrols military hospitals and barracks to comfort and counsel
a handful of the U.S. service members injured in Iraq, which
number about 14,000.
Sometimes Maxwell's speech is halting,
and often his right foot "flops," as
he puts it. He struggles to recall mundane words like "strawberry" or "compass." But
Maxwell, who has endured depression and self-doubt during his
recovery, says he is determined to make sure that no wounded
Marine is left alone to sink into depression or despair.
"People who haven't been wounded can't possibly understand
the sense of loneliness and abandonment you feel," Maxwell,
a slender, sharp-featured figure in a tan Marine uniform, said
as he hustled through the therapy ward.
Maxwell, one of the highest-ranking U.S. service members wounded
in Iraq, recalls encountering a 20-year-old Marine sitting alone
inside a Camp Lejeune barracks in May.
"The kid couldn't use his arm. He'd seen his buddy killed.
His family was in Florida," Maxwell said. "And he told
me he felt so lonely and lost. I decided no Marine was going
to be left all alone like that."
This spring, his solitary mission evolved
into an informal effort approved by Marine brass. Maxwell has
recruited several other
injured Marines to help wounded comrades — most of them
young and far from home.
They tell them what to expect during surgery, therapy and recovery.
They help them negotiate the military health system. They have
heartfelt talks with wives and parents.
They also display graphic photos of their own wounds to show
that even the most grievous injuries can heal. Mostly, they try
to lift spirits during what is probably the most trying period
in the lives of these soldiers.
"I want these families to know that their guys aren't forgotten," Maxwell
said. "There are Marines here for them, right by their side."
Maxwell says the military will provide a small office and vehicles
as he recruits more volunteers. And 10-bed living quarters for
wounded Marines will open at the base Aug. 8, he said.
Sometimes Maxwell brings along his wife,
Shannon, on his visits. She helps him finish his sentences
and fill in holes in his memory.
She urges him to be gentle and patient. "I was a scary guy
with a bad temper" as a battalion operations officer in
Iraq, he said.
Shannon Maxwell says her husband doesn't
remember rolling his wheelchair through a ward at Bethesda
Naval Hospital just days
after brain surgery in January, searching for Marines. He does
remember the first thing he told her after awakening: "I
want to be with wounded Marines."
Maxwell still longs for the intense bonds forged in combat.
Every wounded Marine he has met, he said, has described a deep
emotional void that develops after being ripped from a tightly
knit unit.
"Worse than getting hurt is leaving the team," Maxwell
said. "These Marines feel guilty: 'Did I abandon my buddies?
Did I quit on them? How will they ever get along without me?'
"Their unit — their crew — is
all they care about. So we've created a new crew for them."
Maxwell finds camaraderie in what he
calls his "wounded
warrior team." There's Staff Sgt. James Sturla, 26, a tank
commander whose right hand was "de-gloved" — the
skin, tissue and muscle ripped from the bone — during an
attack in western Iraq in September. And there's Gunnery Sgt.
Ken Barnes, 35, whose left arm was shattered by a roadside bomb
in central Iraq in November.
Barnes was recovering in the hospital here last month when Maxwell
called.
"He was so excited, it took me a minute to figure out what
he was talking about," Barnes said. "But once I realized
he meant reaching out to wounded Marines, I jumped at the chance."
Barnes has had seven surgeries. His left
wrist was broken and his face and arms were tattooed by shrapnel.
His left arm has
lost muscle tone. His children call his injured hand "The
Claw." Once a 225-pound weightlifter, he weighs 180. He
can barely do three pull-ups.
"You get discouraged with how slow the recovery goes," he
said. "I tell these Marines that no matter how bad things
look, they will get better."
Sturla, who was recruited by Maxwell
at the hospital in late May, has struggled through 24 surgeries
on his hand, arm and
back — including skin grafted from his stomach to his hand.
His face is dotted with tiny purple shrapnel scars, and his right
hand is still bandaged.
He was in the middle of his daily therapy recently when he encountered
Ferguson. When Ferguson mentioned that he was awaiting a special
shoe lift because he had lost an inch of bone in his injured
leg, Sturla said he had just had surgery to remove excess bone
growth.
"I wish I could give you my extra bone growth," he
told Ferguson.
The two began exchanging war stories. Most Marines will not
tell anyone except a fellow Marine the details of their injuries,
Sturla said.
"They just don't feel comfortable sharing their stories
with outsiders, even the nurses and therapists," he said. "But
once I tell them what happened to me, they open right up. There's
this huge release — they just talk and talk."
There are two basic questions most wounded Marines ask: Can
I go back to my unit? Can I stay in the Marine Corps?
Until recently, wounded Marines who could not
perform battlefield duties were forced to leave the Corps. Now
the service attempts to find non combat positions for them.
Returning to combat is rarely an option. Barnes, who is serving
as a machine gun instructor while he recovers, says he has accepted,
with deep regret, that he will never again be a combat infantryman.
Sturla still hopes to return to Iraq with his unit as a tank
commander in the spring if his hand heals properly.
Apart from telling severely wounded Marines that they can't
rejoin their units, the most difficult part of the team's mission
is persuading them to talk to psychiatrists. A 2004 New England
Journal of Medicine study of 6,200 Marines and soldiers in Iraq
and Afghanistan found that combat veterans with mental health
problems did not seek counseling because they did not want to
be seen as weak.
"They're afraid it'll stay on their record," Barnes
said. "Plus, they figure they're tough, they're mentally
hard, so they don't need a shrink messing with their heads."
Maxwell said he sought a psychiatrist
after he realized he was severely depressed. He wept when he
was transferred from the
military hospital in Bethesda — where he was surrounded
by wounded Marines — to a Veterans Administration hospital
in Richmond, Va.
"I tell these kids: Don't be ashamed to see a psychiatrist.
Don't be afraid," Maxwell said. "I tell them how depressed
I felt, that it's normal to be depressed after what they've been
through."
For Maxwell, counseling Marines is his own form of therapy.
He is still recovering from surgery that removed a portion of
his scalp to relieve brain swelling. The scalp flap was sewn
to his abdomen in October and replaced on his head in January.
Early on, he said, he was bitter and angry.
He had been a tri athlete and marathoner, and was proud of his
physical prowess. Confined at first to bed and then a wheelchair,
he had difficulty speaking and walking. Photos of him receiving
a Purple Heart show scarlet bruises under both eyes and a raised
red surgical scar snaking across his temple.
Shannon Maxwell described his progress: "At first, the
doctors said he'd lose a lot of cognitive abilities and some
of his personality," she said, sitting at home in Jacksonville
with her husband and their two children. "So he's really
exceeding the prognosis.
"He has the same personality and energy — he's
just more sensitive now."
Lt. Col. Maxwell is able to swim, lift weights and run three
miles. He has taught himself to read again, beginning with children's
books. His speech pathologist, Anna JurczynskiMartin, said Maxwell
read at a third-grade level when he began seeing her in January.
Today, he reads at a seventh-grade level and is improving weekly,
she said.
At a recent therapy session, Maxwell held his head in his hands
as he struggled to recall the names of everyday objects.
He sweated through his uniform as Jurczynski-Martin
showed him drawings — an exercise called "confrontational
naming."
In January, Maxwell could name just 40% to 50% of the objects
she showed him. On this test, he named 80% to 90%.
He was able to come up with "bed," "tree," "book," "pencil," "toothbrush" and "helicopter." But,
squeezing his eyes shut, he couldn't remember "volcano."
"It explodes…. It smokes," he
muttered.
"Starts with a 'V,' " the therapist
said.
"Oh, 'volcano!' " Maxwell said.
She showed him a drawing of a tripod.
"You use it to lay mortar rounds," Maxwell said. He
paused and said: "Yeah, 'tripod.' "
He stumbled over "accordion" and "asparagus," got "pyramids" and "tongs," but
couldn't come up with "trellis," "protractor" or "abacus." He
was sweaty and spent. The therapist ended the session.
"You showed significant improvement; you're doing great," she
told him.
Despite his difficulty naming things — a condition called
anomia — Maxwell's motor speech is good, and "cognitively,
he is absolutely intact," JurczynskiMartin said. "This
man's motivation and focus are beyond anything I've ever seen."
Maxwell, a 17-year veteran with a chest
full of campaign ribbons and awards, says he is determined
to stay in the Corps if his
condition continues to improve. But, he added, "I'll get
out of the Corps if I stay the way, uh … " — he
struggled for the right words — " … if I stay
the way I am."
Maxwell spent much of a recent day patrolling the hospital ward,
keeping up a steady chatter with nurses, therapists and wounded
Marines. He focused on Ferguson and his badly injured leg.
He asked, as he usually does, about the Marine's family. Ferguson
is married, with a 4-month-old son.
Maxwell asked whether Ferguson had spoken with a Marine comrade
who was wounded in the same attack as Ferguson. The corporal
nodded.
"That's critical," the colonel said. "Keep
talking to him. I'm glad you got that going for you."
Maxwell paused, then mentioned how badly he had missed his fellow
Marines in Iraq after being evacuated. He had felt helpless and
abandoned, he told Ferguson.
"Being alone sucks, huh?" he
whispered.
The corporal stared down at his scarred
leg. "Yes, sir," he
said. "It's awful."
WHAT SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID
Things that make you think a little:
There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January.
In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the
month of January. That's just one American city,
about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq.
When some claim that President Bush shouldn't
have started this war, state the following:
a. FDR led us into World War II.
b. Germany never attacked us; Japan did.
> From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost ...
an average of 112,500 per year.
c. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea.
North Korea never attacked us.
> From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost ...
an average of 18,334 per year.
d John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962.
Vietnam never attacked us.
e. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire.
> From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost ..
an average of 5,800 per year.
f. Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent.
Bosnia never attacked us.
He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three
times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on
multiple occasions.
g. In the years since terrorists attacked us , President Bush
has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled
al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and, North
Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who
slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.
It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno
to take the Branch Davidian compound.
That was a 51-day operation.
We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons
in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find
the Rose Law Firm billing records.
It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the
Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard
than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his
Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.
It took less time to take Iraq than it took
to count the votes in Florida!!!!
Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB!
The Military morale is high!
The biased media hopes we are too ignorant
to realize the facts
But Wait .
There's more!
JOHN GLENN (ON THE SENATE FLOOR)
Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13
Some people still don't understand why military personnel
do what they do for a living. This exchange between
Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum
is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive
impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one
man's explanation of why men and women in the armed
services do what they do for a living.
This IS a typical, though sad, example of what
some who have never served think of the military.
Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn):
" How can you run for Senate
when you've never held a real job?"
Senator Glenn (D-Ohio):
" I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.
I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions.
My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different
occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my
checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was
not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the
daily cash receipts to the bank."
"I ask you to go
with me ... as I went the other day...
to a veteran's hospital and look those men ...
with their mangled bodies . in the eye, and tell THEM
they didn't hold a job!
You go with me to the Space Program at NASA
and go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans
of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...
and you look those kids in the eye and tell them
that their DADS didn't hold a job.
You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in
Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends
buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch
those waving flags.
You stand there, and you think about this nation,
and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?
What about you?"
For those who don't remember ..
During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney
representing the Communist Party in the USA.
Now he's a Senator!
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.
DOWN UNDER - A BETTER WAY
Get out if you want Sharia law, Australia tells Muslims
CANBERRA: Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law
were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government
targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.
A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty
to Australia at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard,
he and his ministers made it clear that extremists would face
a crackdown.
Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted
that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country
if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state and
its laws were made by parliament. "If those are not your
values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic
state, then Australia is not for you," he said on national
television.
"I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are
two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law
and another the Islamic law, that that is false. If you can't
agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy,
and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to
another country which practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better
option, "Costello said.
Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave,
he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked move
to the other country.
Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that
Muslims who did not want to accept local values should "clear
off". "Basically, people who don't want to be Australians,
and they don't want to live by Australian values and understand
them, well then they can basically clear off," he said.
Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday
by saying he supported spies monitoring the nation's mosques.
AMERICANS.....ARE YOU LISTENING?
FLANDERS FIELDS
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies
blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days
ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the
foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In thanks for those who served...
A few Facts that we should all know
Did you know that 47 countries have reestablished
their embassies in Iraq?
Did you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?
Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools
are under rehabilitation, 263 schools are now under construction
and 38 new schools have been built in Iraq?
Did you know that Iraq's higher educational structure consists
of
20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers,
all
currently operating?
Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States
in January 2005 for the reestablished Fulbright program?
Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational? They have 5-
100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry
regiment.
Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational
squadrons, which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport
aircraft (under Iraqi operational control) which operate day
and night,
and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?
Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando
Battalion?
Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully
trained and equipped police officers?
Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that
produce
over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?
Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going
on in
Iraq? They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals,
83
railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69
electrical facilities.
Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have
received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?
Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in
primary school by mid October?
Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers
in
Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?
Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists
of 75
radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?
Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of
2004?
Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election
had a televised debate recently?
OF COURSE WE DIDN'T KNOW!
WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW?OUR MEDIA WOULDN'T TELL US!
Instead of reflecting our love for our country, we get photos
of
flag burning incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs
at the
presidential motorcades.
The lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves two
purposes. It is intended to undermine the world's perception
of the
United States thus minimizing consequent support, and it is intended
to
discourage American citizens.
Don Bendell served as an officer in four Special
Forces Groups, including a tour on a Green Beret A-team (Dak
Pek) in Vietnam in 1968-1969 and was in the Top Secret Phoenix
Program, is a top-selling author of 21 books, with over 1,500,000
copies of his books in print worldwide, a 1995 inductee into
the International Karate Hall of Fame, and owns karate schools
in southern Colorado.
His editorials were widely published in newspapers and magazines,
and circulated by millions all over the world on the Internet.
He has been interviewed on and on many TV and radio shows and
speaks all over the country. His newest novel, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
DETACHMENT, was released worldwide by Berkley (Penguin) in December
2005.
SWATTING FLIES by Don Bendell
John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy, Harry Reid,
John Murtha, Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, and those of your ilk,
where were you when God created
the world? Senator Hiram Johnson in a 1917 speech before the
US Senate said, "The first casualty when war comes is truth."
I'm not speaking of George W. Bush or
Dick Cheney; I refer to each of you and either your total sacrifice
of integrity for
the sake of political expedience, or maybe each of you has simply
lost your mind, or just maybe you misplaced your testes. "Pull
out of Iraq immediately," you cry, and most of you have
visions of leading our country, especially in these years following
the cowardly sneak attack of September 11, 2001.
You have got to be kidding! I would not
follow any of you to a public undressing of Catherine Zeta-Jones,
much less off to
war. Whatever happened to the great statesmen of the democratic
party, the John Kennedy’s, the FDR’s, the Harry Truman’s?
Wesley Clark, you are a retired Army general and John Murtha,
a retired Marine colonel. Did you two completely forget our code
of honor, supporting our troops, and tenacity in the face of
adversity? Yes, you did, all for politics, which is empirically
more important to you than the safety and psychological well-being
of our fighting men and women from whose ranks you rose. How
many men under your commands died, so you could betray their
legacy of courage by talking about cutting and running in the
midst of a war? Neither of you served with any more honor or
courage than me, and I gladly will take you to the woodpile for
your comments.
Ted Kennedy, you are quite simply a political pimp, who could
not even get hired as a lifeguard away from Washington or your
family's money and name.
John Kerry, if I had my way, you would be in prison for treason.
And Harry Reid and John Dean, all you two have to do is occasionally
open your mouths and you save me the trouble of commenting on
your actions.
How dare you! How dare you aid and abet the enemies of freedom,
of democracy, of man's inherent right to live without oppression,
because of your egomaniacal visions of being one of the great
statesmen of our time! Believe me, your actions simply will make
you a speck of dust in an unread history book, and a few quickly-forgotten
public flashes while being devoured by the multi-headed, gluttonous
network news monster.
If you really want to go down in history, become part of the
solution, not the problem. You do not publicly say our President
lied to go to war. You all know better, but every time one of
you makes such ignorant statements, bin-Laden chuckles. Each
one of you is one of the most effective weapons of our enemy
in a time of war. They use you, with your obedient cooperation.
Why? So you or more in your party get into office.
What a damnable reason to betray our
troops! Hanoi taught our future enemies how to manipulate such
a weapon decades ago, but
people like you have forgotten all about "lessons-learned" in
war. They got away with it with me in the Sixties, but you are
not going to get away with it with my sons in harm's way.
Every time flies like you leave the manure-pile of Beltway strategizing
and try to land on the exposed skin of the American public and
leave your dung-covered tracks on the minds of innocent or misled
Americans, I will be there with my fly-swatter.
And I am not alone. 'nuff said
WHY THE WAR IS A LONG WAY FROM
BEING OVER
Psychology behind suicide bombers
By - Pierre Rehov, documentary filmmaker
On July 15, 2006 MSNBC's "Connected" program
discussed the July 7th London attacks.
One of the guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who
has filmed six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the
Palestinian areas. Pierre's upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," is
based on interviews that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers
and would-be bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it.
Pierre agreed to a request for a Q&A interview
here about his work on the new film.
Q - What inspired you to produce "Suicide Killers," your
seventh film?
A - I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make
a film on PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated
with the personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they
were described again and again by their victims. Especially the
fact that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow
themselves up.
Q - Why is this film especially important?
A - People don't understand the devastating culture behind
this unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct
because it addresses the real problem, showing the real face of Islam.
It points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated
are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes
to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a god whose word,
as transmitted by other men, has become their only certitude.
Q - What insights did you gain from making this film? What
do you know that other experts do not know?
A - I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis
at the level of an entire civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event, generally linked to an unacceptable sexual behavior.
In this case, we are talking of kids living all their lives in pure
frustration, with no opportunity to experience sex, love, tenderness or
even understanding from the opposite sex. The separation between
men and women in Islam is absolute. So is contempt toward women, who
are totally dominated by men. This leads to a situation of pure
anxiety, in which normal behavior is not possible. It is no coincidence
that suicide killers are mostly young men dominated subconsciously
by an overwhelming libido that they not only cannot satisfy but are
afraid of, as if it is the work of the devil. Since Islam describes
heaven as a place where everything on Earth will finally be allowed,
and promises 72 virgins to those frustrated kids, killing others and killing themselves to reach this redemption becomes their only solution.
Q - What was it like to interview would-be suicide bombers,
their families and survivors of suicide bombings?
A - It was a fascinating and a terrifying experience. You are
dealing with seemingly normal people with very nice manners who have
their own logic, which to a certain extent can make sense since they
are so convinced that what they say is true. It is like dealing with
pure craziness, like interviewing people in an asylum, since what
they say is, for them, the absolute truth. I
hear a mother saying "Thank
Allah, my son is dead." Her son had became
a shaheed, a martyr, which for her was a greater source of pride than if he had became an engineer,
a doctor or a winner of the Nobel Prize. This system of values
works completely backwards since their interpretation of Islam worships
death much more than life. You are facing people whose only dream,
only achievement goal is to fulfill what they believe to be their
destiny, namely to be a Shaheed or the family of a shaheed. They don't
see the innocent being killed, they only see the impure that they have
to destroy.
Q - You say suicide bombers experience a moment of absolute
power, beyond punishment. Is death the ultimate power?
A - Not death as an end, but death as a door opener to the
after life. They are seeking the reward that God has promised them. They
work for their God, the ultimate authority, above all human laws. They
therefore experience this single delusional second of absolute power,
where nothing bad can ever happen to them, since they become their
God's sword.
Q - Is there a suicide bomber personality profile? Describe
the psychopathology.
A - Generally kids between 15 and 25 bearing a lot of complexes, generally inferiority complexes. They must have been fed with
religion. They usually have a lack of developed personality. Usually
they are impressionable idealists. In the western world they would easily
have become drug addicts, but not criminals. Interestingly, they
are not criminals since they don't see good and evil the same way that
we do. If they had been raised in an Occidental culture, they would
have hated violence. But they constantly battle against their own death
anxiety. The only solution to this deep-seated pathology is to be willing
to die and be rewarded in the afterlife in Paradise.
Q - Are suicide bombers principally motivated by religious
conviction?
A - Yes, it is their only conviction. They don't act to gain
a territory or to find freedom or even dignity. They only follow
Allah, the supreme judge, and what he tells them to do.
Q - Do all Muslims interpret jihad and martyrdom in the same
way?
A - All Muslim believers believe that, ultimately, Islam will
prevail on earth. They believe this is the only true religion and there
is no room, in their mind, for interpretation. The main difference
between moderate Muslims and extremists is that moderate Muslims don't
think they will see the absolute victory of Islam during their lifetime, therefore they respect other beliefs. The extremists believe
that the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Islam and ruling the entire
world as described in the Koran, is for today. Each victory of Bin Laden convinces 20 million moderate Muslims to become extremists.
Q - Describe the culture that manufactures suicide bombers.
A - Oppression,lack of freedom, brain washing, organized poverty, placing their God in charge of daily life, total separation
between men and women, forbidding sex, giving women no power whatsoever,
and placing men in charge of family honor, which is mainly connected
to their women's behavior.
Q - What socio-economic forces support the perpetuation of
suicide bombings?
A - Muslim charity is usually a cover for supporting terrorist organizations. But one has also to look at countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are also supporting the same organizations through different networks. The ironic thing in the case of
Palestinian suicide bombers is that most of the money comes through financial support from the Occidental world, donated to a culture that
utterly hates and rejects the West(mainly symbolized by Israel).
Q - Is there a financial support network for the families of
the suicide bombers? If so, who is paying them and how does that
affect the decision?
A - There used to be a financial incentive in the days of Saddam Hussein ($25,000 per family) and Yasser Arafat (smaller amounts),
but these days are gone. It is a mistake to believe that these
families would sacrifice their children for money. Although, the children themselves who are very attached to their families, might find
in this financial support another reason to become suicide bombers.
It is like buying a life insurance policy and then committing suicide.
Q - Why are so many suicide bombers young men?
A - As discussed above, libido is paramount. Also ego, because
this is a sure way to become a hero. The shaheeds are the cowboys or
the firemen of Islam. Shaheed is a positively reinforced value
in this culture. And what kid has never dreamed of becoming a cowboy
or a fireman?
Q - What role does the U.N. play in the terrorist equation?
A - The U.N. is in the hands of Arab countries and third world
or ex-communist countries. Their hands are tied. The U.N. has
condemned Israel more than any other country in the world, including
the regime of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddahfi. By behaving this way, the U.N.
leaves a door open by not openly condemning terrorist organizations.
In addition, through UNRWA, the U.N. is directly tied to terror organizations such as Hamas, representing 65 percent of their
apparatus in the so-called Palestinian refugee camps. As a support to
Arab countries, the U.N. has maintained Palestinians in camps with
the hope to "return" into Israel for
more than 50 years, therefore making it impossible to settle those populations, which still live in
deplorable conditions. Four hundred million dollars are spent every year,
mainly financed by U.S. taxes, to support 23,000 employees of UNRWA,
many of whom belong to terrorist organizations (see Congressman Eric
Cantor on this subject, and in my film "Hostages of Hatred").
Q - You say that a suicide bomber is a 'stupid bomb and a smart
bomb' simultaneously. Explain what you mean.
A - Unlike an electronic device, a suicide killer has until
the last second the capacity to change his mind. In reality, he is nothing
but a platform representing interests which are not his, but he doesn't
know it.
Q - How can we put an end to the madness of suicide bombings
and terrorism in general?
A - Stop being politically correct and stop believing that
this culture is a victim of ours. Radical Islamism today is nothing but
a new form of Nazism. Nobody was trying to justify or excuse Hitler in
the 1930s. We had to defeat him in order to make peace one day with the
German people.
Q - Are these men traveling outside their native areas in large numbers? Based on your research, would you predict that we
are beginning to see a new wave of suicide bombings outside the
Middle East?
A - Every successful terror attack is considered a victory
by the radical Islamists. Everywhere Islam expands there is regional
conflict. Right now, there are thousands of candidates for martyrdom
lining up in training camps in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Inside
Europe, hundreds of illegal mosques are preparing the next step of
brain washing to lost young men who cannot find a satisfying identity in
the Occidental world. Israel is much more prepared for this than
the rest of the world will ever be. Yes, there will be more suicide
killings in Europe and the U.S. Sadly, this is only the beginning.
Here is a part from a recent NEWT GINGRICH speech
The third thing I want to talk about very briefly is the genuine
danger of terrorism, in particular terrorists using weapons of mass
destruction and weapons of mass murder, nuclear and bio logical weapons.
And I want to suggest to you that right now we should be impaneling
people to look seriously at a level of supervision that we would
never dream of if it weren't for the scale of threat.
Let me give you two examples. When the British
this summer arrested people who were planning to
blow up ten airliners in one day, they arrested a couple who were going
to use their six month old baby in order to hide
the bomb as baby milk.
Now, if I come to you tonight and say that there
are people on the planet who hate you, and they
are 15-25 year old males who are willing to die as long as they g et to kill
you, I've simply described the warrior culture which has been true historically
for 6 or 7 thousand years.
But, if I come to you and say that there is a couple
that hates you so much that they will kill their
six month old baby in order to kill you, I am describing a level of ferocity,
and a level of savagery beyond anything we have
tried to deal with.
And, what is truly frightening about the British
experience is they are arresting British citizens, born in Britain , speaking
English, who went to British schools,
live in British housing, and have good jobs.
This is a serious long term war, and it will inevitably lead
us to want to
know what is said in every suspect place in the country, that
will lead us to learn how to close down every website
that is dangerous, and it
will lead us to a very severe approach to people who advocate
the killing of Americans and advocate the use of
nuclear or biological weapons.
And, my prediction to you is that either before
we lose a city, or if we are truly stupid, after
we lose a city, we will adopt rules of engagement that use
every technology we can find to break up their capacity
to use the internet, to break up their capacity to use free speech,
and to go after people who want to kill us to stop them from recruiting
people before they get to reach out and convince young people
to destroy their lives while destroying us.
This is a serious problem that will lead to a
serious debate about the first amendment, but
I think that the national security threat of losing an American city
to a nuclear weapon, or losing several million Americans to a biological attack is so real that
we need to proactively, now, develop the appropriate rules of engagement.
And, I further think that we should propose a
Geneva convention for fighting terrorism which makes
very clear that those who would fight outside the rules
of law, those who would use weapons of mass destruction,
and those who would target civilians are in fact subject to
a totally different set of rules that allow us to protect civilization by
defeating barbarism before it gains so much strength that it
is truly horrendous.
This is a sober topic, but I think it is a topic
we need a national dialogue about,
and we need to get ahead of the curve rather than wait until
actually we lose a city which could literally happen within
the next decade if we are unfortunate.
So this is finally said in a way that even the most "head
in the sand" person can understand
it. Please God, help us.
This is a very sober description of the Islamic terrorist threat we are faced
with. We are NOW at war with a culture that wants, not to take over our land, but to KILL us. Please pass this
on to those on your list
"This Letter of Apology"
was written by Lieutenant General Chuck Pitman,
US Marine Corps, Retired:
For good and ill, the Iraqi prisoner abuse
mess will remain an issue. On the one hand, right thinking Americans
will abhor the stupidity of the actions while on the other hand,
political glee will take control and fashion this minor event
into some modern day massacre.
I humbly offer my opinion here:
I am sorry that the last seven times we
Americans took up arms and sacrificed the blood of our youth,
it was in the defense of Muslims (Bosnia , Kosovo, Gulf War 1,
Kuwait , etc.).
I am sorry that no such call for an apology
upon the extremists came after 9/11.
I am sorry that all of the murderers on
9/11 were Islamic Arabs.
I am sorry that most Arabs and Muslims have to
live in squalor under savage dictatorships.
I am sorry that their leaders squander their
wealth.
I am sorry that their governments breed hate
for the US in their religious schools, mosques, and government-controlled
media.
I am sorry that Yassar Arafat was kicked out
of every Arab country and high-jacked the Palestinian "cause."
I am sorry that no other Arab country will take
in or offer more than a token amount of financial help to those
same Palestinians.
I am sorry that the U.S.A. has to step in and
be the biggest financial supporter of poverty stricken Arabs
while the insanely wealthy Arabs blame the USA for all their
problems.
I am sorry that our own left wing, our media,
and our own brainwashed masses do not understand any of this
(from the misleading vocal elements of our society like radical
professors, CNN and the NY TIMES).
I am sorry the United Nations scammed the poor
people of Iraq out of the "food for oil" money so they could
get rich while the common folk suffered.
I am sorry that some Arab governments pay the
families of homicide bombers upon their death.
I am sorry that those same bombers are brainwashed
thinking they will receive 72 virgins in "paradise."
I am sorry that the homicide bombers think pregnant
women, babies, children, the elderly and other noncombatant civilians
are legitimate targets.
I am sorry that our troops die to free more Arabs
from the gang rape rooms and the filling of mass graves of dissidents
of their own making.
I am sorry that Muslim extremists have killed
more Arabs than any other group.
I am sorry that foreign trained terrorists are
trying to seize control of Iraq and return it to a terrorist
state.
I am sorry we don't drop a few dozen Daisy cutters
on Fallujah.
I am sorry every time terrorists hide they find
a convenient "Holy Site."
I am sorry they didn't apologize for driving
a jet into the World Trade Center that collapsed and severely
damaged Sa! int Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church one of our Holy
Sites.
I am sorry they didn't apologize for flight 93
and 175, the USS Cole, the embassy bombings, the murders and
beheadings of Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl, etc.... etc!
I am sorry Michael Moore is American; he could
feed a medium sized village in Africa .
America will get past this latest absurdity.
We will punish those responsible because that is what we do.
We hang out our dirty laundry for the entire
world to see. We move on. That's one of the reasons we are hated
so much. We don't hide this stuff like all those Arab countries
that are now demanding an apology.
Deep down inside, when most Americans saw this
reported in the news, we were like - so what? We lost hundreds
and made fun of a few prisoners. Sure, it was wrong, sure, it
dramatically hurts our cause, but until captured we were trying
to kill these same prisoners. Now we're supposed to wring our
hands because a few were humiliated?
Our compassion is tempered with the vivid memories
of our own people killed, mutilated and burnt amongst a joyous
crowd of celebrating Fallujahans.
If you want an apology from this American, you're
going to have a long wait! You have a better chance of finding
those seventy-two virgins.
Chuck Pitman
Lieutenant General, USMC
Modern Arabia's
big picture
Question: Where do most of the foreign fighters battling coalition forces in Iraq come from? Answer: Saudi Arabia. Or so two recent
news reports suggest.
Last week, Iraq's national security advisor told Al-Arabiya television that "nearly half" of the foreigners in Iraqi prisons
are from Saudi Arabia, and that "those who drive the vehicles to
blow up our innocent civilians . . . are Saudis." Then, this weekend,
the Los Angeles Times reported that "about 45 percent of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians" come from
Saudi Arabia, the most of any nation.
So, this week, we're taking a multi-part look at Arabia. Tomorrow, we'll size up the modern Saudi nation--a U.S. ally, despite being Osama bin Laden's birthplace and a major source of insurgents.
But first, let's ask a historical question: how did ancient Arabia
become Saudi Arabia?
Saud + Wahhab = Nation?
Our story begins more than 250 years ago, with the simultaneous
rise of two men: Muhammad ibn Saud, a leader in the central Arabian
town of Ad Diriyah, and Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab, founder of Sunni Islam's puritanical Wahhabi movement. In the 1740s, Abd al Wahhab traveled to Ad Diriyah, where Muhammad ibn Saud received the
young theologian warmly. Soon prince and preacher had pledged loyalty
to each other and to the foundation of a properly Islamic state
in Arabia.
The Saud clan conquered local towns and villages, smashing Shia Muslim shrines and establishing Wahhabi-based authority throughout central Arabia. A few decades later, they moved on to points
east, including Karbala, Iraq, and points west, including Mecca and
Medina, the holiest of Muslim places.
But taking the Wahhabi show on the road ticked off the Ottoman
Turks, the Muslim world's superpower. So, in the early 19th century,
the Ottomans dispatched an Egyptian force to recapture Mecca and
Medina. The Egyptians went above and beyond the call, razing the Saudis' hometown and shipping the head of the clan off to Turkey for beheading. Saudi Arabia, in less than 80 years, was kaput.
Down, But Not Out
Egyptian control, however, proved short-lived. In 1824, one of Muhammad ibn Saud's grandsons retook what was left of Ad Diriyah
and expelled the Egyptians from nearby Riyadh, which from then on
would serve as the Saudi capital.
The Saudis quickly re-established control over central Arabia,
where Wahhabi beliefs had truly taken root. It helped that, this time,
they accepted the nominal sovereignty of the Turks. But it did not
help that the clan continually fought with itself for control. In
1891, a powerful new family--the Rashidis--violently sent the fractious Saudis packing. And for the second time in 70 years, Saudi Arabia
was kaput.
Third Time's the Charm
What was left of the Saudi clan took refuge in Kuwait. Among
them was the heir apparent, Abd al Aziz--the founding father of modern
Saudi Arabia (and father of more than 40 recognized sons, including
the current king, Abdullah).
In 1902, Abd al Aziz led a small force that scaled the walls
of Riyadh and recaptured the Saudi capital. The locals, who didn't
much care for their Rashidi governor, hailed Abd al Aziz as a hero,
and the religious establishment recognized him as the Wahhabi imam. Within a few years, the Saudis were once again the dominant force
in central Arabia.
By 1925, the Saudis, with staunch Wahhabi support, had seized
control of Mecca and Medina again, too. The staunchest Wahhabis wanted
to go after British-protected regimes in Iraq and Jordan next, but
Abd al Aziz made deals with the British and destroyed the most radical militants instead. In 1932, Abd al Aziz felt secure enough to proclaim a new kingdom and endow it with his family name: the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 1938, oil was discovered under the king's
sand, and Saudi Arabia went ka-ching.
Here is a youtube you have to watch
It's perfect for all the DOVES that
have SUPPORT OUR TROOPS Signs in their yards
I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first choice. Amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted
and they haven't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy
at least one thing at Sears this year?
How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut
and lose benefits as a result of being called up.
Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two
years.
I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should
be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears,
and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves.
Pass it on.
Decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department:
I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true.
If it is, the Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your company. I know I would go out of my way
to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it's cheaper at that store.
This is their answer to my e-mail:
Dear Customer:
Thank you for contacting Sears.The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback.
Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part
to lessen the burden they bear at this time.
Bill Thorn
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com 1-800-349-4358
Please pass this on to all your friends. Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!!
I thought this website may make a good addition to you web page.
If anyone thinks that we are not in harms way just have him or
her take a look at this site. The website is updated every 8
minutes and it indicates acts of terrorism on a worldwide basis.
You can move around the map, zoom in, and read stories on current
events.
My name is Melissa Williams. I was browsing the web when I came across your site and began reading your views on the war. I completely agree with everything you said and I really needed to read everything because I was beginning to lose heart. I was 13 when 9/11 happened and am now 20, but I understood what the war was about then and I still feel the same way now and even more so now that I'm older with a better understanding.
I honestly pity the Americans who feel that this war should be cut short and say that our country is wrong for still being over there, especially the Americans who are old enough to be my parents and grandparents. They've seen more violence and had a better understanding of the attack than I did when it happened, yet it seems they are as easily brain washed as the muslim extremists. I expect it from my generation because that's the world we live in, but I honestly expected a greater show of support from our fathers. I was blessed enough not to have lost any loved ones on 9/11, but I will NEVER forget that day. Those images are forever burned into my mind and soul. The pain of my nation will always burn in my heart. Everyone is tired and weary of this war, but we can't stop now. We all miss our loved ones and want their safety as they fight for us, but if we just pull them out now and give up then the soldiers before them will have died for nothing and our nation will have failed.
You're also right about the way we're handling this war. The terrorists don't give a rats ass if they kill their own innocent women and children, and they don't care if they kill ours, so why should we be concerned about bombing their freakin' hide outs and running them out like the savage animals they are? We DO need to take charge and fight like this is actually a war. Our troops don't need to be over there to stand guard like Canadian mounties or the Queen's guards. They don't blink, so what? Finish the job already! I am so proud of our soldiers, though; they want this to be over more than we can imagine, but they still stay and they fight for us and I couldn't be happier or more honored to be in love with one of them. He's my hero.
Your site was very informative and I learned a lot from what I read and the videos I watched. I'm so glad you're posting those things and I hope more people's eyes are opened in the future. I love my country, but I'm so saddened by what is happening to us. We're being more and more blinded by the shallow view of the media and our people are falling farther from reality everyday. America needs a wake up call; I fear that unfortunately it would take another disaster to do so, but those of us who agree that this war is the right thing and that we need to pick up the pace should be taking it upon ourselves to use our rights and speak out. There are so many of us that believe in our cause so strongly, but we don't take the time to stand up for it. I'm glad you are, and it's making a difference, and I've failed in the past, but I'm going to fight harder. Thank you for posting your views. My passion is renewed.
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