A New Strategy in Afganistan

On a small ridge above the intersection of two trails, two men lie motionless in the cold mountain air. Dawn is near when they hear the sounds of men coming down one of the trails. In the early morning light, two men carrying automatic weapons come carefully down the trail. They pause at the intersecton, then move on. A second group of armed men appear on the trail. One man is obviously being protected.

A single shot rings out, and the man who was being protected falls. A second shot sound, and another drops. A third shot echos across the barren land, and a third falls. The rest of the men dive behind rocks, and boulders and fire in all directions. In the brighening day, they dash one by one, back down the trail leaving thier dead lying on the frosty ground.

Two hours later, the post action team is on the ground at the intersection of the trails. The Marine sniper team is being debriefed, and has described the engagement. The dead are photographed and searched.

The comander of the post action team approaches the sniper team. The men stand to meet him.

"Did you shoot these men?", the post action commander asks.
"Yes, we did.", the sniper replies, and he describes the engagement.
"Did you command these men to stop, and drop their weapons?"
"No"
"Did you identify yourself as United States Soldiers?"
"No"
"Did you give them any opportunity to surrender?"
"No"
"Well, this is pretty clear cut.", the commander said. "Arrest them, charge them with murder."

What? Who are you guys?

NCIS: Kabul

Thia is the president's new strategy in Afganistan, and he is determined to bring the killers to justice.

Wrong People and the Bill of Rights

When the founding fathers laid down the foundation of our systems of government, they began with the phrase 'We, the People..'. For the first time in all of mankind's history, a nation was being defined by the people. State sovereignty came not to some man claiming 'Devine Right', but from the people. We, a free people, were chartering a government and defining for it certain tasks, and reserving for the people, all those rights not given over to the government.. In the first ten amendments to that document, the founding fathers specified a number of protections from the government that the people would enjoy. For two hundred years, these protections have served us well. Until now.

The United States Attorney General, in conjunction with the President of the United States, has decided that those who commit acts of war against American Civilians are entitled to civil trials.

Consider the problems this precipitates. If by virtue of the United States Constitution, a combatant has the right to remain silent, how does the military interrogate him? At trial, a defendant has the right to all the evidence that is arrayed against him. In order to get a 'conviction', must we now expose to the world our intelligence gathering methods? Considering all the legal technicalities that can be exploited by skilled attorneys, what is the probability that some cases will get thrown out? What do you do with a bomber you can no longer incarcerate?

The irony is that the founding fathers put together the Bill of Rights to protect us from the government. It has worked well for over 200 years. Too bad they didn't figure out a way to protect us from morons.

Something more important than Freedom

A year after selecting the most ill prepared man in history to sit in the Oval Office, America is sometimes still in awe of it's president, and often amazed by his decisions and actions.

This week, most of us will celebrate, or recognize in some way, the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the height of the Cold War, when the wall was new, John Kennedy went to Berlin. John F. Kennedy stood before that wall and proclaimed to the Soviets and to the world that he too, was a Berliner, that all free men were Berliners. America would stand by and in the hostage city because the only think keeping Soviet Tanks out of West Berlin was an American promise.

Ronald Reagan went to the wall and spoke. He said 'Mr. Gorbechove, Tear down this wall..and two years later, it fell. It fell as the Soviet Union began it's death spiral. The enslaved people of Eastern Europe began to shake of the shackels of Soviet domination and communism. Country after country kicked out it's Soviet masters. Soon, the Soviet Union itself splintered as it's conquered republics secceeded and chose independance over mother Russia.

This week, Germany remembers. Russia remembers. The world remembers. Everyone remembers, except one.

In Washington, a confused and overwhelmed man ponders his many problems and issues. Without the basis to understand the importance of this anniversary, he fails to recognize the it. He was busy. He was working on something more important. For the first time in history, an American President found something more important than freedom.

He was working on health care reform.

Welcome to the new America.