Here’s at least a 1000 word essay in compacted form:

By: Chip BokMaybe the best part of this alternative future is the Dems won’t have to take expensive junkets to a far off bit of real estate, stained with the blood of a volunteer force. They are doing the raising right on Capitol Hill. The many advantages include:

• You can stop at the memorial and then be in your office in 2 minutes
• You don’t have to suffer the disapproving stares of the military crews of the transportation command, while you jet half way around the world
• You won’t have to hike about in 130 degree heat to get there and smile while sweating rivers
• You won’t have to look the people in the eyes who’s families were slaughtered when the US military pulls out too early (you may still have to face the families of the dead and wounded service members on the way to your office daily)
• The money saved by not traveling can be used in the welfare system to buy more votes, because you can reduce the travel budget for DoD
• When Shar’ia Law becomes the law of the land, you’ll be worshiped as Heroes of the Caliphate

How convenient!

Now this certainly will come to the front quickly (NOT!) or there will be efforts to, at the least discount, at best, bury, any detailed looks into this report. Talk about and embarrassment at the party’s refreshment bowl, on any side of the aisle:

“I Found Saddam’s WMD Bunkers” from Melanie Phillips’s column in the Spectator.

The reported find of bunkers built under the Euphrates River bed doesn’t seem all that outrageous. Remember the reports about German engineering firms constructing elaborate bunkers for Saddam? No one disputes that. So, possible from a technical standpoint? Yes. Possible from the track record of Saddam? Yes to that, also.

Will we see more to help ferret out the truth? Not likely. Our children will most likely know, long after we go and books are written by historians.

H/T: commenter nuke gingrich at Little Green Footballs

Welcome, LGF readers! Enjoy and feel free to comment…

I heard this morning that the DA’s Office in North Carolina has dismissed all charges against the three Lacrosse players. Two new prosecuters who took over the case after Michael Nifong recused himself (under threat of disbarment), said there was many, many discrepancies with the allegations and dismissed all legal charges.

In the heat of the current affairs regarding Don Imus, one of the players said in the news conference yesterday “he stole our joy.”

Don Imus went on Al Sharpton’s show to apologize. Good move. Don also is going to meet with the Rutger’s basketball team. Better move.

Not to dismiss anything as “not important” or proclaim it’s OK, consider the acrimony over the three lacrosse players, some of it lead by Al Sharpton:

[…]
REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I think that there are certainly a lot of racial factors. Whether it is directly in the case, we’ll see, because some reports said that there was racial language used. But I think that when you look at the racial atmosphere, when you look at the fact that there again were the allegations of racial statements, when you look at a lot of people feeling that they have been treated differently, where this girl has basically had a character charged in the media, there is a lot of racism that’s in the air. Having said that, I commend a lot of the blacks and whites who stood vigil and to come together in that community to stand up for this girl. So I think in the midst of this, there is some good.
[…]

(from an interview with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News 4/19/2006)

If it was bad for Don Imus to steal someone’s joy, is it also bad to steal someone’s life, future and education, in addition to making their families put out thousands of dollars. More than joy was stolen, not only from the 3 young men, but of an entire team, the coach included, and the reputation of the very school who had 88 faculty members condemn before evidence was looked at with the quality we expect from our legal system.

This issue will follow these three young men for many years to come. Check out an employment application and note that most likely they will have to disclose they have been charged with felonies, regardless of the outcome, the question usually lists “been charged with, convicted of, plead no contest to a felony” as conditions of filling out the response to a criminal history. It will show up on background checks, also. Hopefully the NC legal system will drop everything and expunge the charges immediately, due to the long term nature of this case and the high level of interest it generated.

So…I’m just waiting for Al Sharpton, who has positioned himself as a voice for his community, and had strong opinions on the subject, to invite the entire Duke Lacrosse Team to his show and apologize. I think it would do well for many people, in the media and at the school to seek some private meetings as well. All in the name of what Martin Luther King was after for us all.

Would that be expecting too much?

Update: In response to the so far two comments left, I don’t have a category for “Satire” in my database yet, but this is some politics and then, you guessed it a “Walking in a Wishful Wonderland” type of moment. I’m sure not blue in the face yet, nor do I expect to get there.

Tracked back@: stik N stein

More news on the news of the British sailors and marines:

It seems the head British Military Chaplin thinks the Iranians were quite polite in their handling of the hostages.

From the UK Telegraph:

Fury as bishops back Iran
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent Nicole Martin and Brendan Carlin

he Roman Catholic bishop who oversees the armed forces has provoked fury by praising the Iranian leadership for its “forgiveness” and “act of mercy” in freeing the 15 British sailors and marines last week.

Bishop of the Forces, the Rt Rev Tom Burns
Bishop Burns said Iran demonstrated ‘faith in a forgiving God’

The Bishop of the Forces, the Rt Rev Tom Burns, said that the religious beliefs of the Iranians had played a large part in their decision to release the hostages after holding them for more than two weeks.

His words were echoed by a leading Anglican figure, the Right Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, who said Iran had acted within the “moral and spiritual tradition of their country” and contrasted this with Britain’s “free-floating attitudes”.
[…]

What has happened to Winston Churchill’s England?

This is beginning to look more like a late night infomercial about Ginzu knifes that an international incident. Now do we just sit back and see the MoD’s version of “British Sea Service Idol?”

I know some around the net, including some of my professional serving peers indicated we should sit back and listen for the truth behind the Iranian-British hostage situation before passing judgment on behavior, but this takes the cake:

“Fury as the Hostages Sell Stories” from the UK based Times Online.

It seems the MoD has authorized an exception to the ban against military members making money off their service experiences.

The 15 British military captives who were released by the Iranians have been authorised by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to sell their stories.

MoD officials claimed that the move to lift the ban on military personnel selling their stories while in service was justified because of the “exceptional circumstances” of the case. The hostages are expected to earn as much as £250,000 between them.

The story of Faye Turney, 26, the only female among them, is expected to be the most lucrative. She could profit by as much as £150,000 from a joint deal with a newspaper and ITV.

The MoD bracketed the hostages’ 13-day captivity in Iran — including appearances on state television by some to admit straying into Iranian waters — with winners of the Victoria Cross.
[…]

What can I saw but I think I’m not going to think the best of these 15 members of the Queen’s Own any longer. Even the one who “didn’t break,” for he think he should get more than the others, except he knows the female angle will take the largest purse.

I’m sure two retired Colonels will have more to say about this shameful money grab.

I’m glad we had our Adm Stockdale’s, Senator McCain’s and Captain Lance Sijan’s in our history, and those three names are but a few of the many who have honored us with their resolve recently and in the past conflicts we have had.

But this story of greed begs the question: Will the President of Iran get personalized, signed copies of each book for his collection? Oh, and I wonder how big the promotion will be for the Middle Eastern book signing tour? will the MoD grant them extra leave, or make them wait until they have completed their service time?

I’m a little steamed about it all myself.

Oh, and don’t forget to check eBay regularly in the next few days for your chance to win the auctions on the items from the goodie bags they received as a “thank you” for stopping by present.

Besides being a sad statement of military good order and discipline, it sure lends itself to a range of comedic scripts…more on that later.

H/T: Little Green Footballs – “British Hostages Sell Stories for Big Cash”

Tracked back@: Third World County, 123beta, Stuck on Stupid, Blue Star Chronicles

Today, above the fold, main section, New York Times:

Photo: Tyler Hicks/New York Times
Caption: “Dutch soldiers, who stress reconstruction over combat, with a member of the Afghan National Police recently in Qala-e-Surkh, Afghanistan.”Could the parenthetical statement “who stress reconstruction over combat” have been left out and still conveyed a message? I think so, but I guess any set of words can be used to convey a bias when you really want to get the point across….

In the meantime, why are there no pictures like this of the SEABEES? They have been stressing not only reconstruction, but also construction over combat for their entire existence. Prominently displayed on their home page the words: “With compassion for others, we build – we fight for peace and freedom.” Not only do they build and fight, they have been known to build while they fight!

I guess the Dutch have issued camo and M-16s to carpenters.  I suggest they outsource their work to the Navy.

Surfing about, I read Secretary Rice is making a trip to Libya and Sudan to discuss Darfur.

Sometimes it’s what isn’t going on that’s very important.

Lemme see….the Speaker of the House is in Syria and Saudi Arabia to undermine the US foreign policy on the War on Terror, and the SEC State is headed to Africa to try to end the genocide in Africa by TALKING TO THEM!

Did I miss something, or wasn’t it a large number of liberals, notably the Hollywood crowd, all hollering that we need to do something about the slaughter in the Darfur region? And they also demand we “talk to ‘them'” before using the military might of the nation?

Actions…they speak volumes. Guess who’s in it for the power, and who’s in it for the human race?

Victor David Hanson’s column today nails it….

[…]
What should we make of the Iranians’ behavior?

Namely that the country’s leadership is in deep political trouble. The Iranian government is desperate to provoke the West to win back friends in the Islamic world, and to quell growing unrest at home. Subsidizing food and gas, providing billions for terrorists and building nukes all cost money at a time when the state-run Iranian economy is in shambles.
[…]

It’s all about “showing off” and his contention is they want us to not just rattle the saber, but unsheathe it in their specific direction. More propaganda victories, even if it means many Iranian citizens take the bullet(s) for their President. If we do, then AMadDinnerJacket has propaganda out the wazoo and he’s still not with the 72 raisins. like some of his country men would be

Mark Steyn on Bill Bennett’s show this morning said “we need to quit handing them these little propaganda victories.” He was discussing the Birts backing down on the hostage situation, but he meant victories in plural. The pile of “little propaganda victories” is getting pretty tall in the last 5 years. At some point it will look like one big one to the Islamic world culture.

So…VDH says take your fingers off the pickle. Other things will do the job without giving them what they demand….go and find out what he says.

I was scrolling through the channels last night and settled on a documentary on the History Channel: “The First World War: Jihad”

It was about the British/ANZAC battles in the Mediterranean in WWI and it backtracked some of the ramp up situations.

It seems the Germans, with a “little” problem on their eastern border realized the Turks to the south, and Muslim in nature, also had a problem with the Russians. Solution to a really big nation? Gather overt allies, or….study the neighboring culture and fine a leverage point. They did. Guess what it was? “Jihad.” Heard of it?

To be brief, the show talked through the campaigns of the early days of WWI and also included some of the effect after the war, to include the problems the Brits had in the empire in the Middle East. It seems the jihad “reminder” placed by the Kaiser led to an emboldened Turkey and Muslim world, and it was on with the jihad even before WWII.

What a legacy. On the other hand, for some time, I thought this was a more recent phenomena, but it seems the Soviets got more than German rocket scientists at the end of WWII….

(it shows again 4/7-11-12-14. The link takes you to the schedule)

I went back and did some more work at the end of the posting on the topic of the captured British service members, based on the announcement from Iran today saying they were “pardoned.”

In the background, I’m doing an email discussion with someone who has questions on shipboard operations, and I suspect he has some detailed knowledge. I’m looking forward to reading some details, but it already sounds like letting your small boats operate in the open waters of the Gulf 4 NM away is a recipe for disaster, or this kind, and possibly a physical one from the elements in “normal” circumstances.

More when that comes through. I did spend a few months patrolling the “NPG” (Northern Persian Gulf) in an FFG, but spent more time in the “SOHEPA” (Strait of Homuz/Eastern Patrol Area) doing tanker escort on that cruise. All that while filling the Navigator billet, too.

Update: Here’s the post from Red State’s blog. He’s done some good homework and has some good graphics/charts and info to links on the ROE….

EU Referendum has more (found in the comments section at Red State).

It seems the USS CHINOOK (PC-9) and WHIRLWIND (PC-11) were in the flotilla. CYCLONE Class patrol boats that could have dashed in a put a hurting on any Iranians eyeing the Brits with evil intent….

Tracked back @; Yankee Sailor (who is back up and posting after a majority of a year layoff)