Mosque-va?

As I have written before regarding Russia and her strategic goals in the Middle East, it would appear that Moscow is playing a game of Russian Roulette. While she arms Iran with nuclear technology in an attempt to play Persia against the West, Russia may come to regret that she opened up the bottle to the nuclear genie that is now growing in size and power in Tehran.

From the Jersusalem Post:

Russia has no interest in Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, as Moscow does not want a radical, Islamic nuclear power on its doorstep, a high-ranking Russian diplomat in the Middle East told The Jerusalem Post this week.

On Wednesday, Iran rejected a Russian proposal to move Iran's uranium enrichment production to Russia to resolve the standoff over Teheran's nuclear program.

Moscow had made the offer to Teheran "so it would be able to supervise the process of uranium enrichment and the use of that material," said the diplomat. "Living in such close proximity to Iran, Russia is not at all interested in Iran having atomic bombs at its disposal."

Well, they may be saying that but their actions speak louder than their words. Clearly there is a Russian clandestine operation to arm the Iranians before American armed forces move against this Persian state. Many secrets would be revealed to us if the Persian capital fell to our army and marine infantry and armored divisions as they conquered the administrative, political, and financial capital of Iran.

the article continues:

Moscow, a longstanding ally of Iran, was caught by surprise at Iran's harsh position and unwillingness even to discuss the proposal, the Russian diplomat said.

Some Russian analysts believe that this incident will seriously damage Russia's reputation as an effective mediator between the ayatollah's regime and the E3.

According to the diplomat, even within the Russian administration there is no united position towards Iran.

The ministry of defense and the ministry of nuclear energy consider Iran to be one of Russia's most important strategic partners, whereas in Vladimir Putin's office the attitude toward Iran is much more ambivalent and complex.

Over the past few months, several voices from the Duma (Russian parliament) alerting to Iran's possible threat to Russian security were heard, but Moscow continues to back Iran, vetoing the E3 decision to pass the Iranian nuclear file to UN Security Council.

I believe 2006 may see a possible outbreak of hostilities between America and Iran over their nuclear gamble. Iran continues to confidentally oppose American initiative in the Gulf and Mesopotamian region and this could only mean that she must have been given great assurances from Russia to hold steady and move forward against the United States and Israel. What assurances could they be? Perhaps with Russian assistance they are already enriching uranium and have already arrived at the point that the Iranians can field an operational atomic bomb. Or, the other assurance could be in the form of political aid at the United Nations and extra conventional weapons sales to thrwart a US conventional invasion of their country. Either way, it does no bode well for the future.

the article continues again:

The position Moscow must take is a precarious one. Any serious concessions in this area would be considered as giving in to US pressure and would bring about a serious cooling in relations with the Iranian government. On the other hand, too much enthusiasm in defending Iran's nuclear program could threaten US-Russian relations.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's spokesman Ra'anan Gissin welcomed the Russian diplomat's comments, but said they should be backed up by actions.

He said that Russia should work with the European Union and the United States to bring Iran to the UN Security Council so that there would be a meaningful threat of applying "real sanctions" against Iran.

Gissin said that, until now, Russia has prevented effective use of the Security Council and sanctions. "Russia makes declarations, but these declarations must be translated into real action," he added.

Since Teheran's rejection of the offer, Moscow has kept mum on its future steps on this issue. During an interview to the daily Izvestia newspaper in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that "Russia continues to monitor the situation in Iran very carefully. Currently we do not have any evidence that will show that Iran is in violation of the regime of non-proliferation."

It is my contention, although shared by others, that World War One was started essentially by Russia to show solidarity with her slavic brothers in Serbia when they were accused of agitating revolution and terrorism against the Austro-Hungarian Empire when the Arch-Duke was assassinated in Sarajevo in August of 1914. Serbia was ready to bow to Austo-Hungarian demands for retribution against the terrorists/anarchists forces operating in their territory when Russia demanded that the Serbs not cave-in and stand up against the emporer. As a result the old empire moblized their armies to crush the Serbian rebellian but Russia moblized her armies across the Austro-Hungarian border as well. With millions of moblized Russian troops threatening Vienna, this in turn alarmed Berlin and they moblized their forces to counter. With Paris aligned with Moscow against Berlin, there would be no backing down. Thus began the Great War.

The article goes on:

"Unfortunately, some countries tend to use the Iranian card in a political context which is completely irrelevant to the main issue," said Lavrov, adding, "This is a very dangerous tendency, since the problem of WMD non-proliferation is too important to turn it into a hostage of some internal political campaign."

Iran has already produced 40 tons of UF6, a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons, Mossad chief Meir Dagan said Tuesday. That amount of UF6 could produce 40 kg. of fissile material.

Iran is also continuing to "build and enhance" centrifuges, which are part of its nuclear program, Dagan added. The Mossad believes that Teheran is but six months away from achieving technological independence in its quest to develop a nuclear bomb.

Russia's traditional brinkmanship around the edges of their political sphere of influence in the past have resulted in two world wars and in both cases had the effect of creating a tsunami-like tidal wave come crashing upon them with devastating effect resulting in millions of Russians perishing either on the frontlines of war or by political upheaval so extreme that it destroyed the old fabric of Russian life that existed for hundreds of years. Russian international brinkmanship nearly wrought a third world war in Western Europe during the understated Cold War from 1945 - 1989, the consequences of which we wish not to phathom.

Nuclear Islam is the next great threat of international peace and with Russia playing both sides, the Christo -Hellenic West against Oriental Islam, it thinks it can manufacture crisis' to their geopolitical advantage. Perhaps this is the way it has always been except today, the ramifications are that much greater with the advent of the A-bomb. What will be the fortunes the 21'st Century shall bring to us?

An F16 Fighting Falcon pilot with the Vermont Air National Guard peers through his night vision goggles. www.af.mil

Thousands of Christmas wreaths are nestled against headstones in Section 27 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Dec. 15, 2005. Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Arlington to place more than five thousand donated Christmas wreaths on head stones in the cemetery. www.defenselink.mil

Home for Christmas

The hyperventalation going on in the Old Media regarding troop levels in Iraq is simply ignorance of how the military works. I know that you hear SecDef Rumsfeld say "we will begin drawing troops down in Iraq...." but really he knows the media simply are playing dumb or are in fact just plain stupid. He gives them words that they want to hear. The Democrats are demanding "withdrawal" and thus the media is always asking moronic questions as to when "we will be withdrawing from Iraq" as if withdrawal solves all of our problems or is how the world works.

There is always troop ROTATIONS going on at any one time. Troops may be on their first, second or third "tour" but in no way does this mean, like World War II, that those troops have been in a constant state of war for the past two years in Iraq. This army is an all volunteer force and therefore, will individually or with units be going in and out of this theatre of opearations as the Pentagon sees fit.

We will always have a presence in Iraq whether we maintain 150,000 troops or 15,000 troops in the future. So, if we say we are "drawing down" some troops in Iraq, it does NOT mean or imply that the Democrats were right and we are now "withdrawing" from Iraq. The Old Media will broadcast it that way, but we know how smart they are, now don't we. If we used their logic in regards to the Second World War, then because we have withdrawn 95% of our armed forces from Germany since 1945 then it stands to reason we somehow lost the war as they are want to make such an inference. Nonsense.

You will occaisionally hear administration officials in Washington and Baghdad make all the right clucking noises regarding "withdrawal" but make no mistake about it, we are there to stay and to stay for the long haul. Iraq is but the second front on the War on Terror and there are still other objectives that demand our attention namely Tehran and Damascus. Iraq is a splendid jumping off point into both Iran and Syria and to leave this area in such haste would be foolhardy to say the least.

The amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) displays her holiday lights in her homeport of Naval Station San Diego. www.navy.mil

Seventeen C-17 Globemaster III aircraft fly over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia during low level tactical training Dec. 20, 2005. The C-17s, assigned to the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., demonstrated the strategic airdrop capability of the U.S. Air Force. www.defenselink.mil

Argument of Kings

Democrats, Old Media, and leftists in general have triangulated their arguments against the War on Terror by making their chief argument "anti-war", at least as far as America is concerned, because they see things through the prism of Viet Nam. For them, they have propagated a myth that America lost this war solely in the military sphere. However, as any objective historian will note, not a single battle was lost to either the North Vietnamese army nor to the Viet Cong guerrila forces. We did not suffer a Dien Bien Phu unlike our French counterparts in 1954. The entire war was started by Democrat Presidents and its critical first 4 years was waged completely defensive. With communist agents and their sycophants in the universities and media clearly agitating for "withdrawal" from Viet Nam, the war itself was lost entirely and 100% on American soil.

In spite of the liberal war-protests propagated daily by the Old Media, the American people by and large supported the defense of Viet Nam. Under Nixon, however, the war could not be sustained defensively forever, therefore a critical decision was made to infact withdrawal from Southeast Asia since both Republicans and Democrats were unwilling to bring a land war to Hanoi itself. Clearly, a liberal defeatist and pessimistic viewpoint crept into the political mindset of both parties and resulted in the complete and unncessary collapse of South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to the communist jihad.

Today, democrats believe they can revive this old spectre of defeatism and pessimism by constantly harping on the number of dead in Iraq. This is their cornerstone argument against any war America wages to defend herself and her allies. With Old Media showing dead Americans or giving a daily count of the American dead (not the enemy mind you) and with liberal politicians constantly making non-sequitors to the Viet Nam War, the Democrats hope that Americans will reject President Bush's agenda and embrace their own. Terrorists around the world therefore only need to bring the fuel that will light the democrats "Burning Man" abomination with George Bush in effigy, by attacking American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and causing as many casualties as they can for the evening news cycle. Just like in the days of Viet Nam. Ah yes, the good ole days. Are democrats trying to make history repeat itself?

We lost 3000 Marines at Tarawa, 5000 Army soldiers on D-Day alone and nearly 19,000 men at the infamous Battle of the Bulge. Tarawa took a mere 5 days. D-Day was just the first day of Operation Overlord, and the Battle of the Bulge was waged in less than 2 months. Korea took approximately 33,000 American lives and Viet Nam 56,000 souls. Do I need to mention the Civil War? All wars cost lives and blood. There is not a single war that has not. Knowing all this, Operation Iraqi Freedom has cost under 2200 lives. So far, this war has been waged and executed exceptionally well. The numbers speak for themselves. Over 50 million souls have been liberated from secular and religious tyranny in Iraq and Afghanistan and we are avenging the destruction wrought by the hands of terror regimes on that other day of infamy, September 11th, 2001.

If Democrats want to retreat at the first sign of casualties, then I dare say, they are in for a rude awakening because their own policies will feed the machinery of war for the other side. A vaccuum must be and will be filled when we retreat. Thus, terror regimes will "chase" us out from whence we came and where shall we go after that? Europe? Japan? And when they attack us there, then where shall we go? Back to Fortress America? But wait, they don't even want to watch our borders much less defend them here. For Democrats, its retreat, retreat, retreat. Where is their last stand? Hell?

If Democrats are unwilling to occupy the field of battle then indeed they are unworthy of rulership. For the last argument of kings is war. And if a king refuses to wage war, for whatever reason, then he is unworthy of his kingdom and his throne. A party of rats and rabbits have they become and even now, the wolves are licking their chops. I pity them for their lack of courage in these dark days. They shall die a thousand deaths.

An EA-6B Prowler, assigned to the "Yellow Jackets" of Electronic Warfare Squadron One Three Eight (VAQ-138), conducts a flyby near of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The fly-by was conducted to test self-defense systems and targeting radars simulating hostile aircraft. Stennis is undergoing sea trials in the Pacific Ocean after an 11-month overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. www.navy.mil

Big Trouble in Little Turkey

Events in Turkey apparently are coming to a head. Why should we concentrate on Turkey? Well, because Turkey will set the stage whether Islamic fundamentalism will take hold on this forced secular state. In a way, it is an experiment testing the edges of civilizations that transect this part of the world and whether this country will embrace western or oriental concepts of government and international relations. Since World War I, the Turks have dabbled with western culture and institutions to better transform their society towards a more modern state and to be able to compete with western military dominance, which they had suffered defeat after defeat by european arms. Even German involvement in Turkish affairs was too little, too late to change the course of events that would see the fall of the Ottoman Empire after The Great War.

The Turks eventually would dissolve the caliphate based in Instanbul in the early 1920's and embrace military dictatorship based in Ankara, the current capital of Turkey, albeit a "benevolent" dictatorship that rid its old capital of Islamic religious dominance with mosque and state united as one. But the times, they are a changing.

From the World Tribune:

Tensions have risen between Turkey's military and Islamist government.

Officials and military sources said the tensions stem from efforts by the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to sharply reduce the role and profile of the military. The effort has been supported by Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, which has a huge majority in parliament.

With the rise of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Middle East, the Turkish state has not been without its own islamist uprising in their culture. Are we witnessing a sort of "Weimar" government disintergrating under the weight of its own democratic institutions by the subversive nature of Moslem organizations and parties sucking the lifeblood out the secular nature of their government and using the system to destroy the system like the parasites they are?

the article continues:

The latest tiff was sparked by a parliamentary demand to remove the military contingent from the government complex in Ankara. Parliamentarians said the military presence in the complex was not appropriate for a country that sought to join the European Union, Middle East Newsline reported.

"Ankara, which is the center of national politics, has a military appearance rather than a political one," parliamentarian Resul Tosun, an AKP member said.

The campaign by Tosun has been supported by many in the AKP. Turkey's military maintains the headquarters of the General Staff as well as the land, naval and air forces commands near parliament. The military academy is also located nearby.

Turkey is cracking at the seams under the extreme forces of cultural and religious tectonic plates from Eastern Orthodoxy under the Slavs, to the Catholic West Europeans, to the Sunni Arabic influence straining forward like a glacier at the end of its ice flow, ready to sheer off into the ocean in one large titanic crash. How will the resultant waves affect us and effect international relations?

the story goes on:

The General Staff has objected to the parliamentary demand. On Dec. 8, the military high command issued a statement, calling Tosun's campaign an effort to banish the military.

"Such initiatives are worrying and surprising and must be evaluated as individual delirium," the Office of the Chief of Staff said. "This is an attempt to banish the Turkish Armed Forces, first from sight and then from the heart of the Turkish nation."

The Turkish military statement has rankled parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. Arinc said he could not recall such a harsh military statement against parliament.

"I will interfere if necessary," Arinc said.

With the EU having second thoughts about Turkey and any other state joining its exclusive commonwealth of nations and the inherent problems that the Turks have historically been immersed in, its not likely we will see Ankara so easily make adjustments toward reform that it so desperately needs.

finally from the article:

Turkish officials said the General Staff has been divided over the government effort to reduce the military's influence. Chief of Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok was said to have quietly agreed to a more modest role for the military and its submission to civilian rule.

Some of his generals, however, were said to argue that Erdogan's effort was meant to impose Islamic rule in Turkey, a leading NATO member. Since 1908, Turkey, under Ataturk, has sought to maintain a secular society.

Ozkok has already approved the replacement of the seal of the Land Forces Command with one that would not include Ataturk. Ataturk's continued prominence in Turkey has drawn criticism from Erdogan supporters as well as from the EU.

Will the Turkish military save the day? Or will western culture like the janissaries before them, be expunged once and for all from Turkish society as it once again embraces the call to Jihad under a new Ottoman caliphate? We will soon see.

A RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launches off the port side of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), during an exercise designed to demonstrate the ships self-defense combat system. The RIM-116 RAM is designed as an all-weather, high-firepower, low-cost, self-defense system against anti-ship cruise missiles and other asymmetric threats. www.navy.mil

Heretics of Doom

One of the more obvious symptoms of leftwing ideology is the denial of history. They even may go as far as ignoring, distorting or revising history to establish a set of "principles" to justify the position they have taken to further their socialist and political goals in some vain attempt at gaining moral superiority at the expense of their ideological peers. For them, truth is an obstacle that stands in the way of "progress" and is something to be molded to ones desires for surely they believe the truth does not stand on its own. However, truth is much like gold, no matter how much you may bend and shape this precious metal, it retains its integrity. And like gold, stands the test of time and keeps its value throughout the ages and is recognized by all for its beauty.

There have been many holocausts throughout history and in our most recent time period has not gone without its own murderous horrors. The Turkish genocide of Armenians during WWI, the Communist genocide of "peasants" in Russia and China and of course, the Nazi genocide of Europe's Jews to name but a few. To deny these murders is to deny history. And really, we should call those who are in denial, heretics. For they refuse to be convinced otherwise, for them they are the masters of knowledge and intellect and are compelled to impose their view before it is too late. They have an urgency about them that must not be hindered by the slow and meandering river of truth. For this reason the ends do indeed justify the means. The river must be dammed by their own constructive efforts because if not they then whom? And if the river can be dammed then just think of the possibilities that can be harnessed with the turgid waters of their accomplishment!

From RadioFreeEurope:

Ahmadinejads comments echoed his declaration last week that since Europe bears responsibility for the Holocaust, it should provide land to which Israel can be relocated.

"If you [Europe] have committed this serious crime [the Holocaust]," he said, "why should the innocent Palestinian nation pay for this crime?" His remarks came in a speech carried live on national television from the southeastern city of Zahedan.

Ahmadinejad also said, "They [the West] have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions, and the prophets." And he reiterated that Israel should be moved somewhere else.

"If you have committed such a crime, then it will be good if you give a piece of your own soil, a piece of soil in Europe, the United States, Canada, or Alaska to them [Jews] so that they can create a country for themselves," Ahmadinejad said.

If you deny history then the vacated truth is filled in by the heresy of your own earthly viewpoint that defies the natural order of things. Naturally, the Persian has conveniently left out the fact that Jews resided in present day "Palestine" from time immemorial and only recently, due to several world wars, reconstituted their nation after a 1900 year absence from the world scene.

the article continues:

Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor of political science at Tehran University, told RFE/RL that Ahmadinejad is giving countries such as Israel and the United States an excuse to increase their pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear program. He added that Ahmadinejad seems to enjoy being in the spotlight.

"The wise people, the scholars and others keep telling him that making such comments is damaging our national interests, especially at a time when the world is watching us because of the nuclear issue. There is enough campaigning by the Americans and Israelis against us, and what Mr. Ahmadinejad is saying goes exactly to their court; it is making the Israelis really happy. Apart from the fact that what Ahmadinejad is saying is historically not correct, the other issue is that he should pay attention because all these remarks are against Irans national interests. I think [Ahmadinejad] enjoys the attention he gets from making these comments and unfortunately it seems he doesnt care much about the consequences of his comments and actions," Zibakalam said.

Will the leader from Iran recognize the warning flare before it is too late? Probably not. And what does history tell us when man denies the truth? Death and destruction become their legacy as a river that destroys bridges and dams when it is held back too long by the arrogance and deceit of heretics.

Ghost of Christmas Past

I believe that Russia is embracing its past much more so than the western public have been led to believe. With the unmasking of communism in Russia we have seen a rising Eastern Orthodox religion filling in the vaccuum that the religion of atheism left behind. A hunger has existed with the Russian people since the days of Lenin when the Eastern Orthodox religion went essentially underground to survive totatlitarian socialist government but today is now spreading its wings like never before. This in turn is unleashing cultural forces not seen since the days of the Czars.

From RadioFreeEurope:

The debate surrounding the coat of arms first emerged in the predominantly Muslim republic of Tatarstan, when a group of Muslims complained about having to carry passports emblazoned with Christian symbols.

The current coat of arms, which was adopted in November 1993, represents a double-headed eagle with three cross-tipped crowns. A shield on its breast features a horseman slaying a dragon, a figure many identify as St. George.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Ashirov said growing numbers of Muslims in Russia are insulted by the religion-tainted emblem. According to Muslim leaders, Russia is home to 20 million Muslims.

Russia has been at war with the Moslem peoples on its southern borders for centuries. Its latest conflict in Chechnya sees no end in sight. Russia has always pushed the envelope of international relations near the spheres of their own interests especially in the Middle East. Even now, if I may be so bold, they are playing Russian Roulette with Iran. They have given Tehran the equipment, logistics and support for building nuclear power plants and ultimately nuclear weapons. This development may come to haunt them down the road, but for now they are pleased that Iran is confident enough to challenge the West which to Moscow is their traditional and most dangerous enemy. By playing off Iran against America the Russians may be able to make their moves against the Mohammedan without interference by the West. They have learned their lesson well since the days of Afghanistan.

RadioFreeEurope continues:

Ashirov went on to tell us that the coat of arms is only one example of a wider tendency to introduce Russian Orthodox symbols and practices into institutions that are, by law, secular.

"There are other issues besides the coat of arms: 20-meter crosses are being installed everywhere, submarines are being blessed," Ashirov said.

"This happens very often now, they've started sending icons into space. In my opinion, this is already irritating the public." As far as the coat of arms goes, authorities deny any wrongdoing.

Don't you just love it when Russians deny anything? You can just see the look on their faces "who me? We are your 'friends' comrade, ha ha!".

The article continues:

Georgii Vilinbakhov, the head of the State Heraldry Office, said the official description of the emblem does not identify the horseman as St. George. Were the rider a saint, Vilinbakhov further argued, he would have a halo around his head.

As for the crosses, Vilinbakhov said that such square crosses used on flags and medals around the world and do not have a particular religious connotation.

Despite their consistent requests that state symbols be reviewed, Muslim leaders say they are simply trying to draw attention to what they describe as a countrywide campaign against Muslims.

"Today Muslims feel just they way they did in the colonial, Tsarist empire -- second-class people who are arrested on the street on the basis of their ethnic characteristics, who are accused of crimes they haven't committed," said Geidar Dzhemal, president of the Islamic Committee of Russia.

"Today, hundreds of young men are being tortured in police detention centers, they are told they are Wahabbis or terrorists. Of course, these issues are a lot more important than the coat of arms -- but you've got to start with the small things." The Beslan hostage tragedy that took place last year in Russia's southern republic of North Ossetia triggered off a wave of trials against Muslims accused of links with the radical Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russia considers terrorist organization.

Russia is the wild card in the poker game of international relations. Is it a bluff? Or have they called our bluff? Russa appears weak and diluted of power, but make no mistake, like an arrow that is pulled tight on the bow, it need only to be released to score its deadly strike. Is the Eastern Orthodox religion the "release" that gives Moscow momentum to move forward in the Middle East? Only time will tell.

The British Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose (F236) comes along side the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Roosevelt and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) are currently underway on a regularly scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations in the Persian Gulf. www.navy.mil

Throngs of Iraqi army soldiers head to the polls in Taji, Iraq on the morning of Dec. 12, 2005. Elements of the 9th Iraqi Army Division patrol the Taji area north of Baghdad with U.S. soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. www.defenselink.mil

The Ways of the Force

You know, being a Jedi Master as myself, gives me certain advantages that my fellow humans may not appreciate or understand. The inculcation of bible doctrine is a force that no human may repel. To study the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is to be infused with the Mind of Christ. This in turn conveys upon the acolyte the greatest honor of all: to be called the friend of God.

They who do not belong to our order may view us with suspicion. They may even consider us Jedi an anachronism, a throwback to the days when superstition was the modus vivendi for all sentient beings. There was a time when our order was persecuted and many of our knights perished in the fire pits and dungeons of emporers and kings. The Jedi are members of the Royal Family of God and we consist of all races and genders that inhabit this planet. We swim against the tide, knowing that someday we will walk on water. Our prototype is the Lord and Master himself, Christ the Lord.

Bible doctrine is felt through the force by means of perception. To know the truth and about truth is the power by which we rule the universe and consequently, this planet. The iron-fisted laws of God as expressed through nature which is visible and the laws of physics which are invisible cannot be defied. Man attempts to defy these laws and suffer accordingly. If they embrace these laws then they are rewarded accordingly.

Make no mistake, young padawan, we do have enemies. Be mindful of your thoughts and constantly train by means of bible doctrine that you may have the whole armor of God fully fitted upon your frame of mind and shined for the coming battles. You will be tested thouroughly and perhaps you will be broken by these events. Remember the force and let it flow through you! Let not your mind be tempted by the dark side for there are many things in life which will convince you to give-in to evil. Hatred, jealousy, vindictiveness, implacability, envy, faithlessness and above all apathy is a path to the dark side. May it not be accounted unto you.

Now go forth and protect the weak and despised. Go forth in the power of the force and conquer the wicked for they plot even now to tear down our order and replace it with their own. Woe to them who are ruled by the Sith and fully embrace the dark side.

May peace flow from your robes and the light saber be fully seen as a scion of hope for the slave. May the force be with you.

Qui Bruce

Two AH1-W Cobras assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron Two Six Seven (HMLA-267) take off from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5). Currently the Peleliu is conducting her Composite Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) off the coast of Southern California. www.navy.mil

An SH-60B Seahawk helicopter lifts-off from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) to begin evening flight operations.
www.navy.mil

Cassus Belli

I have had a rather eye-opening discussion of late regarding the reason the United States went to war with Saddam Husseing in 2003, now known as Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Left claims that President Bush has "deceived" them into supporting the war in Iraq. There were many reasons for the invasion of Iraq, one of them being that Saddam Hussein was developing WMD's and was prepared to use them. Since a full blown and active nuclear or chemical weapon was not located in this ancient land in 2003 with the direct advent of US Forces the Left has taken up the cause of disavowing our reasons for being there but cheifly their main qualm being the lack of an operational WMD weapon or program which can only mean that "Bush Lied; People Died".

Are they right to be so defensive and reactionary? The answer: No. As you will note UN weapons, that's right, WEAPONS inspectors were in Iraq since the end of the First Gulf War in 1991. Saddam Hussein's regime had a number of stockpiles of chemical and biological agents which could easily be "weaponized", that is placed onto SCUD missles, delivered by aircraft and fired from artillery. It is a historical fact that Iraq used WMD's in this fashion, missles, aircraft and artillery during the Iranian conflict from 1981 -1989. And in fact, it was a real fear that during the First Gulf War when SCUD missles rained down upon Riyahd and Jerusalem that they were laced with chemical or biological agents. Considering what Saddam did to both Iranians and Kurds, it was not without concern and trepidation that both of these capitols faced the horrific scenario of thousands perishing by chemical or biological agents released by these bombardments.

We must also consider the fact, and it is fact, that Iraq had an OPERATIONAL NUCLEAR FACILITY at Osirak just outside of Baghdad by 1981! Nearly 25 years ago, Iraq was on the verge of nuclear parity with both Israel and the United States in that region of the world. Israel, no doubt with US blessings, destroyed this facility in a daring and bold move which resolved this nuclear picadello for the short term. However, like Egypt, Saudi Arabi and Pakistan, Iraq continued to develop these weapons in utmost secrecy. Clearly, Saddam couldn't just build another facility only to see it destroyed again by the Israeli Air Force. He simply went underground.

UN Weapons Inspectors are to this day unable to account for Saddam's chemical and biological stockpiles as recorded after the First Gulf War. It appears they have vanished. It is my contention they are in another country perhaps Syria and maybe even Iran. Once again, history has shown when the going gets tough the Baathist run and hide! In the First Gulf War, Iraqi air force fighter aircraft were flown to Iran for safe keeping knowing the Americans would cut them in half in midflight should they have contested us in the skies over Baghdad. They are still there to this day. In Operation Iraqi Freedom several Mig-25's were discovered buried directly in the desert and were later dug out by US Navy Seabees. If the Baathists buried whole aircraft in the deep desert, could they not bury their forbidden stockpiles of weapons as well? Of course they may have or they may have moved them to another country. Desparate times demand desparate measures.

America's declarations of war have historically been based on more flimsier "evidence". The Spanish-American War was started over the sinking of the Maine in Cuba. Did Spain plant a bomb or was it an overactive boiler? Who knows. American involvement in World War I began because Americans were on board a BRITISH vessel in war torn waters off of Britain when it came under atttack by a German submarine. The Lusitania went down along with the Americans. That was considered enough "evidence" that the Germans had to be dealt with in 1917. Then there is the famous Gulf of Tonkin incident in the early '60's that brought America to war against North Vietnam. Even today, it is considered an "over-reaction" by the Americans as Congress was eager for war with this communist nation. And on and on and on.

It is true, as Patton would say, all true Americans love the sting of battle. We are a war-faring nation and have been since 1775. It is only with this current generation of democrats and leftists who are defying our historical adherence to Manifest Destiny that places them at odds with our own history of war. We were born by war, we have lived by war and may very well die by war. Iraq is but the latest chapter of American military dominance and really our only cassus belli need be the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. Woe to them who are on the receiving end of the United States military.

Long live the Republic.

Spc. Kyle Shelton, from 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, searches for insurgents in Mosul, Iraq. www.army.mil

The Murtha Effect

When we invaded Iraq in 2003 this opened up a second front on the War on Terror. The leftwing pundits predicted defeat for American forces or at least hoped for it. They counseled that we would be bogged down in the deserts and cities of Baghdad and Tikrit. But they were wrong. We smashed the pathetic Baathist regime to pieces in a matter of weeks and were in Baghdad in less than a month. Saddam and his thugish regime went into hiding and fought the United States primarily through the typical leftwing form of attack: terrorism and guerrila warfare. Additionally, Iranian and Syrian agents have passed through the Iraqi borders to lend their aid and comfort to terrorists fighting the American forces as well as the nascent Iraqi army and police in a weak attempt at toppeling the Iraqi provisional government. Further, these agents and their terror benefactors have developed a campaign to murder and intimidate the Iraqi people, primarily Shia and Kurd, by means of a terror bombing campaign for they hate the Iraqi people for supporting the Americans. Blood is upon their hands for they are murderers.

In spite of the obstacles placed before the Iraqi people and the American armed forces, we are consolidating our gains from the initial invasion and current occupation of this once treacherous state that not only threatened but attacked Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Israel, but also the United States. The Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein was continually firing anti-aircraft missles at our fighters flying the "No-Fly Zone" established after the first Gulf War. After 9/11, this state of affairs was completely unnacceptable. We thus vanquished our enemy.

However, the Left has seen fit to take on the mantle of cowardice. They hate this current President but additionally they hate his policies that have so far prevailed in the world. The Left refuses to fight for the United States and consequently refuses to fight for our allies. Their frame of reference is the Viet Nam war which ironically was started by a Democrat President, John Kennedy but fully emerged as the cornerstone foreign policy of Lyndon Banes Johnson. The Viet Nam war was a catastrophe for two main reasons (1) the war was defensive in nature and (2) was NOT supported by the political elites towards the end of the war in 1973. Furthermore, when we did leave Viet Nam, the majority Democrats in the House and Senate completely abandoned our ally, South Vietnam, when the North invaded in one last push to topple Saigon. The communists prevailed as a result and communism spread to Cambodia and Laos with all of its murderous reprecussions.

Todays Democrats have insisted that Iraq is Viet Nam. They are sadly mistaken. Their bombastic and negative assertions and demands on the War on Terror, however, has had the effect of demoralizing America and engergizing our enemies. This is the only relationship that can be drawn from the war in Southeast Asia some 30 years ago. With their accomplices in Old Media, their urination of defeatism and cowardice has not only soaked the American people but has fully been felt by Al Qaida in the Middle East. And they are jazzed.

From the Australian AP:

Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri has praised Islamic militants in Iraq, saying they are forcing US troops to look for a way out of the Arab country, according to an audio tape posted on the internet.

"If it were not for the sacrifices of the mujahideen in Iraq ... there would have been no bold jihadi resistance there. It is that resistance which stabs America every day and makes it scream and search feverishly for a way out of its predicament there."

Its bad enough when the Old Media trumpets the cowardice of Cindy Sheehan but its much worse when its our own representatives holding office such as John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Jack Murtha. Actually, Jack's statement weeks ago that we should fully abandon our ally was a real zinger becuase the Left sought to massage his cowardice by saying what a wonderful soldier he was in Viet Nam. Nevermind that the Democrats have crafted their message of defeat on the worst foregin policy debacle created by this very same political party in the 20th Century. Not to mention, according to that other coward, John Kerry, America had created monsters in the jungles of South Vietnam that were terrorizing the countryside and were nearly cannabalizing the Vietnamese whenever we could sink our bloody fangs into them. The hypocrisy of the Democrat Party couldn't be more complete.

Unfortunately, our enemies have read the tea leaves appropriately, at least from watching the Old Media work its "magic" on the American people.

More from the AAP:

The speaker, who sounded like earlier recordings attributed to Zawahri, called on Muslims to support a holy war in Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories as well as an al-Qaeda campaign against Saudi Arabia's "puppet rulers".

"Were it not for the mujahideen's confrontation of Israel and its agents - our rulers - Israel would have now expanded to many times its current size.

"If it were not for the jihad movement against puppet rulers the corruption of these rulers would have worsened and they would have sought to eradicate Islam," he said.

Just because Democrats in the House and Senate are demoralized doesn't necessarily mean that the American People and her glorious legions occupying Iraq and Afghanstan are demoralized too but they are trying. And yet, the Democrats are colloborating with the enemy on the propaganda front in a pathetic attempt to turn history to their side on the road to the White House at the expense of our troops in the field. Their cowardice is noticed by our enemies and only encourages THEM that they must continue their fight against liberty and freedom.

In a video interview posted on an Islamist website on Wednesday, Zawahri urged militants to attack oil targets in Muslim states and said al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was still alive and leading the group's war on the West.

This current deviant generation of Democrats are attempting to sap the morale of God fearing Americans and those who want liberty to prevail against dictatorship in whatever form it takes. Terrorists around the world are losing in Iraq but winning in the hearts of Democrats everywhere. When terrorists attack Americans then Democrats scream for mercy and demand withdrawals not of terrorists but of Americans in Iraq. Democrats will answer for this come election time.

Two Sailors duck to avoid the engine blast of an E-2C Hawkeye, assigned to the "Liberty Bells" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One One Five (VAW-115), as it launches from the conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). Kitty Hawk and embarked Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) are currently conducting operations in the Western Pacific Ocean. www.navy.mil

USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) steams into Victoria Harbor Nov. 24, 2005, for a port visit to Hong Kong after completing Annual Exercise 2005. www.navy.mil

Epiphany

It has recently come to my attention that most conservatives in America yearn for the days of George Washington. A weak federal government, states that have their own militia, freedom from a micro-managed economy by the state and a return to a Christo-centric domination of our culture, a constitution whereby the several states of the Union are accorded the greatest latitude in their political and economic affairs and no taxation beyond the needs of defense, roads and civil order. I have to say, I too am wooed at such a beautiful state of being and really our country was built upon those very foundational principles. However, much like the dinosaurs of yesteryear, that era in America was wiped out by a catastrophe as great as any fiery doom visited upon our supposed paleo-cousins that resulted in their extinction. I mainly speak of the catastrophe of the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865.

Many conservatives view the American way of life as ideal from the years of 1789 - 1861 when the Constitution was first ratified by the original 13 states until the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Republican Party in 1861. The reason for this romantic view of the US Government was the fact that the federal head was so fragile and its power so denuded that the States of the Union could nearly dictate to Washington their own desires and demands at will. Both in word and in deed the States reigned supreme. But the war between the States would come to completely destroy that paradigm.

As the Southern States seceded from the Union and the armies of the Union and Confederacy moblized for the coming battles a new paradigm was being formed from the crucible of war. As thousands and hundreds of thousands of Americans would perish in the civil war in the next 4 years the United States would make a subtle departure from the old way of dealing with the world. The civil war was the hinge that connected two eras in American foreign policy with the first era being that of the Washington government and the second era being the Lincoln government. The Washington government was primarily focused on insular needs such as moving west and expanding the frontier to the Pacific with a weak federal head to govern the disparate states of the Union. More importantly, Washington's era was characterized by anti-British sentiment, for obvious reasons since we broke away from the mother country in 1775 and as it was the Red Coats that burned Washington DC to the ground in 1812, as such Great Britain was the primary villain during this period of government until the advent of the civil war.

As Lincoln took the reigns of power, a new era was thus bequeathed to America as the civil war broke down the old barriers of British antagonisms that so alienated America from the Empire. After 1865, we see how the States of the Union no longer were supreme and an inverse relationship took hold as Washington DC was now the empress of state affairs. The old era was swept away by the death and destruction wrought by the civil war. The Federal Government was now calling the shots and the states would have to bow to her demands. As the cold spring waters of peace started to flow from the winter snow of war, a new budding relationship was growing between Washington and London that would bring America back into the orbit of the British Empire at least as far as foreign policy was concerned. The Lincoln era of American government was born and now America would look not just across the North American continent but the entire world as she would become a global power with all of its concomitant responsibilities and reprecussions.

The first shot fired in our rise to global ascendency in the Lincoln Era would be the Spanish-American War of 1898 in which Spain was the first European power we went to war with since England in 1812. And really, the first war with a european power in which we wanted to go to war since the Declaration of Independence upon which the United States military both army and navy were on the offensive as opposed to be being purely defensive operationally speaking. 10 years later we would see the Great White Fleet of the United States Navy under President Theodore Roosevelt make their port calls throughout the world demonstrating American capability and power projection that signalled to all of the great European sea powers especially Great Britian that America was a power to be reckoned with and a power to be used in their favor.

Ironically, as America stood up Europe would fall down with the Great War that would come to consume whole empires and leave Europe completely gutted from Paris to Moscow and from Jutland to Gallipoli. World War I sees America for the first time in its history subordinate its military command to another power, namely Great Britain. Could anyone in the United States at the conclusion of the War of 1812 have foresaw 100 years later an alliance with London and not take note that perhaps America was no longer as independent as she might want to believe? World War One brought down empires, formed the nascent modern middle east, birthed the radical movements of communism, fascism and national socialism, introduced mechanized warfare and expanded war to the air, killed tens of millions of Europes' finest soldiers all across France, Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy and Turkey, and finally and perhaps most importantly for the free-world brought America into a British Alliance that ulitmately would come to preserve the Empire in which the sun never set from the nakid ambitions of Germany, Italy and Japan with the advent of the Second World War just a short 20 years later. America was now the British Hessian of the Twentieth Century in service to the Hanovarian Crown that ruled the Anglosphere.

Like Atlas who holds the world upon its shoulders, America has preserved the Anglosphere from dictatorship and darkness and kept its peoples free from the tyranny of the Nazi's to the Communists and now to the Jihadists that are so eager to ingratitiate themselves upon the fat of the West. And for the future, America will remain the one and only super power as evidenced by our military capabilities and industrial capacity backed by a Christian culture infused with righteous indignation that no country could possibly compete against and rise victorious. Our prototype is the British Empire upon which we Americans now find ourselves in all parts of the world where the tan pith helmet once trekked. This "Hessian" paradigm will not change until Europe rises once more to take her place upon the world throne. Until then, America is the Steward who simply maintains the throne until the rightful ruler returns once more with royal standard unfurled. In other words, when Europe stands up then America will stand down. This event may not occur for another generation or two I suspect. It will happen someday in which America will no longer defend the Anglosphere or the free-world from aggression like it does today. Political and cultural forces in America from both the right and left want to see America return to its shores and leave the world to its own devices. Time will tell when the fates themselves are alligned properly for yet another paradigm shift that brings America home again.

Until then, God save the Queen!