I made reference in my earlier post, "It's My Party And I'll (Lie) If I Want To," to the pomposity of Kofi Annan's title of "His Excellency." I've also mentioned the arrogance of members of foreign leaders cabinets being called "Secretary General" and "generally" using the word "General" in their title. "General" this and "general" that...give me a break, please.
Then there are dictators like Saddam, Kadaffi, and Idi; and numerous other egomaniacs, present and past, that have and had their picture or statue or other likeness plastered all over every public square and on every square inch of their own abodes. A few women I've known that were obsessed with pasting "Glamour Shots" of themselves all over their homes had nothing on these yokels.
And then there is this item today.
The BBC is reporting that the pictures plastered everywhere of the little troll leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, are being taken down:
"An unnamed diplomat told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass that at receptions hosted by the North Korean foreign ministry, guests had recently only seen pictures of Kim Jong-il's father, Kim Il-sung, and a mark on the wall where a portrait of the North Korean leader used to hang."
We all know that most communist countries are extremely secretive when it comes to the internal workings of their gun wielding governments, particularly on issues relating to the health of their leaders. So what in the heck is going on in North Korea--maybe they're just updating the pictures to show the results of Mr. Jong-il's new membership in the Hair Club for Men.
Then again, it would be impossibly convenient for the world to lose the threat of Yasser Arafat AND Kim-Jong il in the same month.
Yet, we can always have hope...
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Can't Win For Losing
First Abu Ghabri prison. Now this. You mark my words; the recent successful Marine assault on Fallujah is going to end up being defined by the main stream media as a reason to stir public outrage over the apparent killing of a critically wounded “insurgent” by a US Marine.
“Not a success” they’ll cry, “it’s a war crime.”
I am really tired of the double standard being applied by the world’s citizens and our liberal media to our war effort. They somehow believe that our solders possess some kind of psychic powers or operate some kind of new high tech equipment that can read the minds of people on the battlefield who are all dressed the same, civilian and “insurgent.”
In earlier times, honorable warriors went to battle shoulder to shoulder, wearing their country's uniform, under their countries’ flag, on a man to man basis. Churches and civilians were left out of the fray as much as was practical. The wounded were cared for as best as they could on the battlefield and the dead were often buried on the spot they fell. Spies and others caught fighting wearing the other side’s uniform or prosecuting the war wearing civilian clothes risked immediant justice by hanging or death by firing squad.
Not any more.
The US is fighting yet the latest in a series of “gorilla wars” that began with the UN lead Korean “Police Action” and as history predicts, the other side refuses to play by the rules of the Geneva Conventions and act as “honorable” men should act. Instead, these bloody killers use schools and hospitals as weapons caches and use their ancient domed Mosques as fortresses. They wear the clothing of religious clerics and average Iraqis and disappear into the population when the odds are not in their favor. They strap explosives on their bodies and hope that if they are killed or wounded they can blow up any member of the coalition forces who hazards to attempt to attend to their wounds or move their dead corpse to ensure a proper burial.
They fight this way because not because they are all cowards, but because they know how the citizens of the US think and what behavior we expect of our troops. They also know that the “embedded” media and our adversaries, the UN, the French, and the Germans, will demand that no matter what dirty tricks they utilize that we “play fair.”
Now a young Marine comes along-- tired and stressed out from being shot at by every shape, form, and manner of “insurgent” that has trickled into Iraq from Iran and Syria over the past year—and decides to not risk his own life and the lives of his platoon. They all cry "FOUL."
Since a member of the Marine’s own unit had been killed the day before by the detonation of a booby-trapped explosive attached to another “insurgent,” he decides it is safest to prevent another incident by using a few more bullets and a little less compassion.
You know what, I DON’T BLAME HIM ONE BIT!
If the world and the media want to prevent events of this kind from happening, a court marshal and months of harping about it in the newspapers isn’t the answer. They are complaining about the actions of the wrong people.
Instead, the TV talking heads and the rest of the world media should be demanding that the so called “insurgents” (I call them terrorists) get themselves some uniforms that will allow us to discern them from the civilians, move their bombs and ammo out of their schools and hospitals, stop putting snipers on the domes of their sacred buildings, and stop strapping explosives to their cars, their children, and their wounded.
If they don’t care enough about their elderly, children, women, and Mosques to not involve them in their Holy War, why should a boy from Alabama give a Rat’s ASS.
Is it just me?
“Not a success” they’ll cry, “it’s a war crime.”
I am really tired of the double standard being applied by the world’s citizens and our liberal media to our war effort. They somehow believe that our solders possess some kind of psychic powers or operate some kind of new high tech equipment that can read the minds of people on the battlefield who are all dressed the same, civilian and “insurgent.”
In earlier times, honorable warriors went to battle shoulder to shoulder, wearing their country's uniform, under their countries’ flag, on a man to man basis. Churches and civilians were left out of the fray as much as was practical. The wounded were cared for as best as they could on the battlefield and the dead were often buried on the spot they fell. Spies and others caught fighting wearing the other side’s uniform or prosecuting the war wearing civilian clothes risked immediant justice by hanging or death by firing squad.
Not any more.
The US is fighting yet the latest in a series of “gorilla wars” that began with the UN lead Korean “Police Action” and as history predicts, the other side refuses to play by the rules of the Geneva Conventions and act as “honorable” men should act. Instead, these bloody killers use schools and hospitals as weapons caches and use their ancient domed Mosques as fortresses. They wear the clothing of religious clerics and average Iraqis and disappear into the population when the odds are not in their favor. They strap explosives on their bodies and hope that if they are killed or wounded they can blow up any member of the coalition forces who hazards to attempt to attend to their wounds or move their dead corpse to ensure a proper burial.
They fight this way because not because they are all cowards, but because they know how the citizens of the US think and what behavior we expect of our troops. They also know that the “embedded” media and our adversaries, the UN, the French, and the Germans, will demand that no matter what dirty tricks they utilize that we “play fair.”
Now a young Marine comes along-- tired and stressed out from being shot at by every shape, form, and manner of “insurgent” that has trickled into Iraq from Iran and Syria over the past year—and decides to not risk his own life and the lives of his platoon. They all cry "FOUL."
Since a member of the Marine’s own unit had been killed the day before by the detonation of a booby-trapped explosive attached to another “insurgent,” he decides it is safest to prevent another incident by using a few more bullets and a little less compassion.
You know what, I DON’T BLAME HIM ONE BIT!
If the world and the media want to prevent events of this kind from happening, a court marshal and months of harping about it in the newspapers isn’t the answer. They are complaining about the actions of the wrong people.
Instead, the TV talking heads and the rest of the world media should be demanding that the so called “insurgents” (I call them terrorists) get themselves some uniforms that will allow us to discern them from the civilians, move their bombs and ammo out of their schools and hospitals, stop putting snipers on the domes of their sacred buildings, and stop strapping explosives to their cars, their children, and their wounded.
If they don’t care enough about their elderly, children, women, and Mosques to not involve them in their Holy War, why should a boy from Alabama give a Rat’s ASS.
Is it just me?
