The Sergeant Major's Thoughts on That

Consider This Or It Takes A Little Time

2009-10-14T12:27:00.002-05:00

As I always like to say, I am just an old retired Sergeant Major who spent 27 years servicing my country in the United States Army and by the grace of God I also happen to be a proud citizen of these great United States. So I ask that you take a moment and just consider an old Sergeant Majors' thoughts and reflections.

I believe it is important to first, remind folks that it was not President Obama nor his administration that took us to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The plain truth is that it was President George W. Bush and his administration that took us to war in Afghanistan and it was President George W. Bush and his administration who initiated an unprovoked, and in my mind an unjust war in Iraq. Let us also not forget that it was also the Bush administration who inherited a country with a fiscal surplus and vibrant economy and it was the Bush administration that was at the helm of the ship of state and allowed it to run rudderless into the iceberg that has been the worst recession since the great depression. I therefore submit that it was the Bush administration and their actions that bled our nation dry of our national treasure, both human and monetary, and that has left us with untold human scars and economic misery.

So those are my thoughts on how we got where we were when President Obama was sworn into office this past January. Now I would like to reflect a little on where we are today and where we might go from here. Our President has been in office for not quite nine (9) months and during that time I believe that he has accomplished far more than the media and many others have given him credit for. It is as though the media and the critics must take each and every event and look at this administration through a prism of ebony. It seems as though they report and comment as though it would be a mortal sin to report and acknowledge the real progress that has and is being made. During these past nine months the President has brought this nation back from the brink of an economic Armageddon. He has also arguably taken back much of the moral high ground that was lost in the previous eight years as a result of the Bush administrations misguided foreign policies. And this young President has begun to repair our nations international reputation that was so recklessly squandered by the previous administration.

It is my thought that he has accomplished all of these things while moving on every front at once. I believe he's moved forward on all these fronts simultaneously because he understands that it is all important and must all be done now. I know it is hard to believe after eight years of the previous administration but, as our President has said before, you really can do more than one thing at a time. And he's demonstrating that every day.

In just nine months this President has:

passed an economic stimulus plan which has brought us back from the economic brink and he has done it without the support of the right.
He has begun the draw down in Iraq and the process of returning that country to the control of its elected government and has shifted troops to Afghanistan where they were and are so desperately needed, and he has done this without the support of the right.
He has begun the process of removing a catastrophic and embarrassing blot on the reputation of this nation by beginning the process of closing Guantanamo Bay, and he's doing it without the support of the right.
He has initiated a historic reform of the wasteful and ineffective health care system of this country and he is doing it without the support of the right.
He has begun the difficult task of joining with the other nations of the world in reducing green house gases and improving the environment and he's doing it without the the support of the right.
He has dealt with, and is dealing, with nuclear crisis's in North Korea and Iran and has brought the nations of the world into the process of trying to remove and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. He has even been able to bring Russia, and to some extent China, into this process and he is doing it without the support of the right.
And in between all of this he's found time to lobby the International Olympic Committee for the United States. Though unsuccessful in this attempt to get the Olympics to Chicago he was able to multitask on that trip also by meeting with his Commanding General in Afghanistan. Imagine that, multitasking. It's a wonder in the world. And he did it while the right rejoiced at "our" not succeeding in bringing the Olympics to the United States.

Now the President is going through the extremely important task of taking a deeper look at the way forward in Afghanistan. I say "the way forward" purposely because this President seems to always be looking at the way forward and not looking backward. As the he continues to look forward and make progress on so many fronts what do we hear from much of the media and the right? It is certainly not reporting or a reasonable and critical analysis of what is or is not being done or even a reasonable analysis of the way forward. What we are seeing and hearing is simplistic doom and gloom and make or break and of course it's all being boiled down to do we or don't we increase troop strength in Afghanistan. The media broadcast to the American people as though they think we are a bunch of illiterates not capable of rational thought while the conservative shock jocks strive for even more ludicrous charges and accusations to sling at and belittle the President. And they simply fill the airways with vitriol.

We all know that the President has tough decisions to make but unlike his immediate predecessor it appears to me that he is going about that decision making process in a careful, intelligent, and methodical way and it seems to me that he is getting input from all the right places.

I for one take, and will continue to take, what I hear from the talking heads, shock jocks, and shock jokes that call themselves news reporters, commentators, radio host, and political analyst, with much more than a grain of salt and with even greater skepticism. These people are in it for the money and not for the good of our nation. Tears or no tears.

I want to close with just these few thoughts. I for one believe that the President has been and will continue to uphold his oath of office and continue to do the right thing for America. I think the Presidents first nine months in office have made a pretty good dent in the problems created by 8 YEARS of abuse and neglect. I think I'll let him have a little more than nine months to finish up the job.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Morality - Or To Have And Have Not

2009-04-22T07:15:00.002-05:00

As a small child my Grandmother often said to me, "remember, for every good you do in this world you receive a good back and for every bad you do you receive a bad back". These certainly were not the words of a great philosopher or even of a country preacher but they were the words of a Grandmother explaining to a small child that you should do good in the world and not bad. The interesting thing is that even as a small child of 4, 5, or 6 I fully and completely understood what these words meant. It wasn't Christian, it wasn't Muslim, it wasn't Hindu or Jewish and it wasn't Agnostic. It was just Grandma guiding a small child down the right path. It was simple morality. It was simple right and wrong. Do good. Don't do bad.

Many years later when I joined the United States Army my Drill Sergeant (Not to be confused with my Grandmother.) gave me something called the "Code of the U.S. Fighting Force" as well as a "Geneva Conventions Card". The first was a guide to how a soldier should conduct himself or herself if a Prisoner of War. The second was a card outlining the Geneva Conventions on how a soldier should treat a Prisoner of War and how a soldier should expect to be treated as a Prisoner of War. To me, now a young man, these documents made perfect sense. They said do good don't do bad.

Today I am an old soldier having enjoyed a long military career. When I look back on that career and all of the wonderful, good, and great soldiers I served for and with I am a proud but not prideful man. We served in peace and we served in war. We served in the hell holes of the world and the paradises of the world but we, to a soldier, always struggled to do good and not do bad. I am proud to say that every one of those soldiers struggled to always do the right thing because that was who we were and what we had been taught. We knew what our Grandma and Drill Sergeant had said. It was what our parents and grandparents and teachers and ministers and yes even drill sergeants taught us. In other words, we, to a soldier, fulfilled our oath to the constitution of the United States of America.

Today as I listen to the rhetoric and reporting on "torture memo's" I find myself heart sick, embarrassed and ashamed beyond words. I am astounded that the products of the greatest generation have descended to these depths of depravity. That we have elected officials and officers sworn to uphold the constitution and laws of this nation who could instigate such atrocities on other human beings.

As a soldier this gives me great pause to think and to also question. For what did we serve and fight and die. Was it so that a group of people, though duly elected and appointed, could take the constitution for which they took and oath to support and defend and use it for toilet paper. Did we fight and die so that they could take the laws of this nation and twist and torture them into something that we the citizens can hardly recognize.

I hear it so often said that we are a "Christian" nation and that we are a nation of laws and of high morals and that we are the "leader of the free world". I must now ask myself how can any of that be? Where in any bible does it say that you should go forth and torture? Where in any law is it written that it is legal to commit "Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment"? Since when does this nation lower itself to the level of committing the self same acts as those committed on us by common terrorist? At what point do we move from "outrages upon personal dignity" to beheading on television.

As a soldier and a citizen I demand that those who instigated and perpetuated the torture of any person be held accountable and that they be held accountable regardless of what job or position they held or are holding. As a soldier and a citizen I demand that my elected representatives take the necessary steps to investigate and bring to justice those who are responsible for these acts. We are indeed a nation of laws and a nation which aspires to set the example and as such we must go to whatever lengths necessary to insure that justice is done. How far is the distance from detainee to citizen? It's not about politics. It's about the Constitution. It's about justice. It's about America. It's about Morality.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

A Question Of Moral Courage - Or I Want Truth And Not Spin

2009-04-21T11:58:00.001-05:00

Each day I read through my newspaper and online news sites and one thing seems to always stick out in my mind and that is that the shrillest voices are those on the extreme right followed at a somewhat distant second by those on the extreme left. I use the term shrillest because those seem to be the voices that grab the headlines day in and day out and take up the most space. The following are some of my thoughts on these shrill voices and sometimes not so shrill voices.

Growing up as a young boy when radio was still in it's heyday and television was beginning to make its serge into the American living room I remember sitting around a radio and later the television and listening and watching with my parents and grand parents. It was always a family time that I very much enjoyed. After the programs ended we would often have lengthy conversations about what we'd heard or seen. As a child I not only listened to the radio shows that I loved like The Shadow and The Lone Ranger and later watched like the Life of Riley and Ozzie and Harriet but I also listened to and watched news programs. Yes even back then I liked to listen to and watch the news. You remember the broadcasters like Walter Winchell, Edmund R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite or maybe Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. But my point is that we would listen and watch as a family and then talk about what was reported to us.

When comparing the news programs I listened to and watched back then with today's "shows" I immediately recognize that back then we didn't get nearly as much news but we got what I think was "real" news. Looking back on those programs it seems to be that they were filled with much more real and factual information and much less "opinion" or "slant" or "take" or the infamous "spin". Sure there were smut sheets and rag news papers and yes some of the reporters would sometimes try very hard to put color in their language but then I think it was because with the radio you couldn't see it and with the early television it was black and white and they didn't "tape" the news so the reporters put more effort into describing the events and describing them accurately. It just seems to me that back in the day you knew much more readily the difference between the smut and the news. Today this is no longer true. Even the "big" three networks no longer stick to just reporting the news. It has become apparent that they have become more interested in sensationalizing and creating entertainment to gain eyeballs than in "reporting" the news. The big networks and cable outfits are successfully blurring the line to the point where the average citizen can hardly tell the reporting from the opinion. It seems it is no longer about presenting news facts to the reader, listener, or watcher but more about sensationalizing, entertaining, and converting or changing the mind of the individual.

It's my thought that the citizens of this country are no longer allowed to read, hear, or watch the news and come to their own conclusions but must be proselytized. They are no longer left to make their own decisions but are told if they don't believe this or don't think that then they must be unpatriotic, weak, soft, or they don't believe in God, or are not so intelligent as everyone else.

I believe it is apparent that during the buildup and invasion of Iraq the media went after the sensational story and failed miserably to dig and report facts. The results have been painfully and disastrously evident every since. Today the media is once again embarking on that same path. They cannot simply dig for the facts and report on the rescue of the Captain of a pirated ship but they have to make it a test of a new President. It can't be simply reporting on the facts of the G20 summit it's got to be sensationalized and made to look like the Presidential debut and a test of the President as a diplomat and the President is pandering to the French or kowtowing to a communist dictator or accepting gifts from enemies of the country. These failures to conduct proper investigation and reporting on the part of "news organizations" and "news and cable networks" is in my mind unconscionable and shows an absolute lack of moral courage. Have the courage to tell us why the President went there and not conjure up mystical reasons. What were his stated goals and how did he do in achieving those goals? Was his purpose to open up a line of dialogue or to sign a treaty? There's a big difference.

I think most Americans are quite capable of listening to and watching real news programs and coming to appropriate conclusions. For instance, I might say that no, the action at sea was not a test of the President. It was a piracy incident that was taken care of appropriately by the United States government (paid for by your welcomed tax dollars). Yes the President had to make some decisions which he did and yes some military personnel had to do their jobs and they did and yes thank God the Captain and his crew were brought home safe but, it was not a test. It was real life and everyone involved did their jobs. That's all it was. Will there be more piracy incidents, yes. Will the President have to make decisions and the military carry them out, yes. That's all there is to it. Will it, over time, develop into a pattern and then we will see the whole picture that is the foreign policy of this President and this nation, yes but let's just report the facts and then let the American people make up their own minds.

You might ask why the title of this post is "A Question Of Moral Courage"? That is because I believe that if you have News in your name it is a question of moral courage, or lack there of, on the part of the news media to report the just the facts. To dig and know all of the facts and present them to the citizens of this nation as simple facts for them to draw their own conclusions. Show us pictures, tell us what happened and who said what. That's why we're watching.

If you're not a real news organization then label yourself what you really are "entertainment" just like Jon Stewart or Steven Colbert. It's my thought that the difference between Stewart and Colbert and the Fox "News" organization and its ilk is that when Colbert and Stewart tell their rare comedic lie they tell you they are lying and that's at least honest. They don't pretend to be real news organizations.

So my bottom line is this. If you are just a 7 day a week hard copy print blog or a 24/7 broadcast TV blog then have the moral courage to admit it and then those who are interested in being converted can read or tune you in. Otherwise take the News out of your name because your not.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts on That.

Civil Discourse, Real Civil Discourse

2009-04-16T09:44:00.001-05:00

Let me say at the outset that I begrudge no citizen their constitutional right to protest. After all, the documents that our founding fathers drafted when establishing this great nation guarantee every American citizen that right but I also have a right to a few observations and the following few paragraphs are those observations on the sad mockery that was yesterdays protests.

I consider myself to be an average American. I grew up in the south in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's and I would add, in a fairly poor family. The first few houses we lived in were situated on dirt roads which received the occasional spray of tar to keep down the dust as well as the occasional pest control truck passing to fog for disease bearing insects. The tar got tracked all over everything and it's a wonder all of our children weren't born with some defect as a result of us breathing in the fumes. When living within the city we even had city water and sewage provided at a fairly reasonable price and we were always lucky enough to have electricity even though it came in on an overhead wire. I knew many rural residents and neighbors who didn't have electricity and still used oil lamps and out houses. Anyone remember the TVA and the other projects to bring electricity to rural America. When we traveled a long distance it was on very narrow two lane roads that were sometimes paved and sometimes not. There were no interstate highways. A trip from Ocala to Moultrie could take nearly a whole day. I think what was most frightening was that we had no such thing as medical insurance so the vast majority of Americans simply didn't go to the doctor because they couldn't afford to and all dreaded a serious illness because it meant probable bankruptcy. I tell you this because today, I and indeed most of the collective we in this country, live a very different life from that of 60 or 50 or even 40 years ago.

Today I would venture to say that most Americans can't imagine living on a dirt road and though in the south they still spray for disease bearing insects I seldom if ever hear or notice because it's just a normal fact of life. How many other things have become just a normal fact of life. It's become a normal fact of life that we have a standing Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to fight our wars and protect our international interest. It's become a normal fact of life that we have competent well equipped police forces. It's become a normal fact of life that we have Fire Departments and Paramedics to respond to our home fires and accidents and medical emergencies. It's become a normal fact of life that we have health departments to protect the public health. It's become a normal fact of life that we have Homeland Security along with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Border Patrol. It's become a fact of life that we have an incredible network of roads and highways and interstate highways that take us where we want to go in minutes if not hours and certainly not days. And we virtually all have access to electricity, water, communications and sewage treatment. I think I need not go on with this nearly endless list of services that our city, county, state, and federal government provides for our taxes but there are one or two other services I do not want to pass. Those are Social Security and Medicare. My great grand parents, like most Americans of their time didn't have either of those and because of that they mostly died prematurely and often in abject poverty or living with their children if they were lucky and the children could house and feed them. If not they went to a poor house.

It is my thought that the reason these things and many others don't stand out in our minds is because they have become part of the American landscape and we have grown accustom to them and the many, many other services that our "government" provides to the citizens of this great nation in return for our taxes. This brings me to a few final thoughts on the protest of yesterday.

First I believe the Tea Party idea was grossly misguided for one simple reason. The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation. Today in the United States of America that is simply not an issue. Every citizen of this great nation has a vote and a representative in city, county, state, and federal government. Second, as far as higher taxes are concerned I can only say that after President Obama came into office and just a few weeks ago my paycheck went up because he and the Democratic Congress passed a law reducing 95% of all Americans taxes.

My third point is this. I believe it is past time for real civil discourse in this country. It seems to me that the far right knows only how to shout down people using catch phrases that grab simplistic headlines. It's time for that shouting and the sound bites to stop. It's time to talk about the real issues facing this nation and all their complexities and look for real solutions that benefit the nation as a whole. I served and defended my country for 27 years in every hell hole on the planet. I didn't serve part of my country I served all of my country, white, black, red, and yellow, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian and Independent, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Agnostic and Hindu, straight and gay, naturalized and native born and everyone in between. I did this without question because I swore and oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States. Our political leaders took that very same oath and I think it's time they started living up to it.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Of Irony And Grief Or Why Has He Turned His Back

2008-09-17T08:20:00.004-05:00

Today the numbers are 4,158 and 30,324 and 591. I don't believe I need to tell you what those numbers represent because anyone who reads this blog knows what I write about and therefore they will intuitively know what those numbers represent. But I'm writing today to share with you what I believe those numbers and another number, 95,533 really represents.

I believe those numbers represent the back of a hero, a failure in victory, and a nation lost.

Some forty years ago I began a journey in the jungles of Vietnam that I now look back on with great pride. I look back with pride because I was lucky enough to experience a career with a military that was led by visionary officers who said "never again". Never again to politically motivated wars that were destined to end in disaster for our nation. Those officers and non-commissioned officers led in rebuilding and re-energizing a decimated force and in creating the finest military the world had ever seen as was demonstrated in Panama, Kosovo, Kuwait and Iraq and in many other places over the decades since Vietnam.

Today, I regret to say, that force has once again been decimated and the officers who built and led it have been cast aside like so much unwanted distraction. It has once again been decimated not by the enemy without but by the enemy within; by the misguided and uncaring political forces of this country led by George W. Bush and the Republican Congress of which John McCain is one of the more prominent leaders.

As a soldier and veteran that has witnessed and experienced the rise and subsequent decline of our military I am most aggrieved by the actions of Senator John McCain. A man who experienced the fiasco that was the Vietnam war in the most cruel and inhumane manner appears to me to be turning a blind eye to history. It appears to me he is turning a blind eye to not only his own sacrifices but also to the sacrifices of others both past and present. As I observe Senator McCain's actions I must ask myself why? Why has John McCain conducted himself this way and I find this question leads to only one answer. It appears to me that John McCain is doing this for the basest of reasons. For self aggrandizement. I can come to no other conclusion based on what I myself have observed over the last eight years.

By his own words and actions it appears to me that John McCain has forgotten that his instruction at the Naval Academy focused "on integrity, honor, and mutual respect based on the moral values of respect for human dignity, respect for honesty and respect for the property of others."

Now our great nation faces an election of epic proportions and we must ask ourselves a very basic and serious question. Do we want a president who would turn his back on his own sacrifices as well as the sacrifices of others for the purpose of self promotion or do we want a president who looks to the past for knowledge and wisdom and to the future for possibilities and inspiration?

Political discourse and "media buzz" across our nation is filled with a sickening silence. Yes I said silence. I say silence because there is silence in the noise and lack of substance that is our nations political discourse and in the media that is called news. That silence is ripping our nation apart. It leaves the soldiers and civilians that have lost their lives and been maimed by this war in a vacuum of silence to be ignored by this nation as we grovel in our own self pity because we've ignored civic responsibility and we've spent ourselves into a hole as our infrastructure is crumbling around our ears.

Of course the numbers I mentioned at the beginning of this piece are the lives, both American and Iraqi, that have been sacrificed or permanently scarred by an unjust war perpetrated by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain and the rest of the Republican Congress. This is the tragedy that is John McCain, a warrior who seems to have forgotten he was one. A warrior who would let his and the sacrifices of so many others be spent in vain as he pursues glory in higher office and refuses to let history be his teacher or the future be his beacon.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

Honor - To Have And Have Not

2008-09-10T13:12:00.008-05:00

After these many months of silence I find I am once again compelled to express my thoughts.

I have over recent months followed the presidential campaign quite closely and even more closely over the past two weeks and one very specific issue has become crystal clear to me which I want to share with you.

Throughout my life growing up in a military family and in my military career one predominate trait or quality was emphasized and driven home by both my family and every leader I have ever met. That trait or quality was honor. Just to refresh your memory the dictionary defines honor as, honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions: a man of honor.

From the time that I had what I believe was probably my very first logical thought about the subject I do not believe that there was ever any doubt in my mind of what the meaning of honor was nor was there ever any doubt of what actions honor required. There was a second thing that I never had any doubt about and that was that once ones honor was compromised it was a permanent and oft never fading blemish. I know this from personal experience and my own personal failures against which I struggle to this very day. I point that out because I believe that even the most honorable and well intentioned people with the most hard earned sense of honor can fail and that they can be guilty of being dishonorable and I believe that that has happened in the presidential race.

I have known of John McCain for as long as he has been in the public eye. I have, as a fellow soldier and as a fellow citizen, respected him for his extraordinary military and public service. In fact I believe we as a nation should respect and appreciate and yes honor what he has done for our nation. I believe his have been the actions of an exceptionally brave and historically honorable man.

However there is something else that I believe. I believe that past honorable service and dedication to duty and country does not immunize one against poor judgment, failure or even from doing the wrong thing. I believe that ones honor is not something one does once and then puts it on a shelf where it shines forever. Honor is second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour and year by year. It is only as untarnished and undiminished as ones past and ones last action.

It is with great sadness that I say to you that John McCain is not an honorable man today. The reason I say this is because I am observing and hearing reported by every major news organization in this country that he and his running mate are participating in and personally articulating blatant lies. These are not the actions of honorable people. When one is aspiring to the highest and second highest public offices in the land it is incumbent upon one to speak truth and only truth and to communicate about those issues that are vital and of importance to the citizens of the nation. It is not honorable for individuals to speak lies to the citizens and make unproven accusations against those whom they oppose. When one opposes another person in vying for public office it becomes even more important to insure that one speaks the truth and deals with issues and substantive differences and not innuendo and accusation.

The fact that John McCain is a former Naval Officer and a sitting United States Senator makes this lack of honor horribly reprehensible. But I think what makes this lack of honor so disgusting and even more vile is that he would lose himself to the point of using his own sacrifice and service as a shield to commit such petit dishonorable acts of lying. Conservative, liberal, or Independent, share his beliefs or not, it would be morally reprehensible for anyone to support someone who displays so little honor. Sometimes we must call them like they are. Prisoner of war or not service to country or not there is a line and John McCain and his running mate have crossed the line.

This nation has endured eight long years of lies and deceptions from the two highest ranking public figures in the country and virtually their entire administration. Our honor as a nation is not just blemished but in tatters and we cannot endure another four or eight years of the same. If for no other reason than the fact that John McCain and his vice presidential running mate have publicly lied and continue to lie this nation needs to insure that he does not occupy the office of the president. Our nation needs honor above all else at this crucial point in our history. With honor comes respect and from these come all else.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

Heroes Or The Decline Of A Nation

2007-10-08T17:45:00.000-05:00

As a young boy, like many other young American boys, I grew up admiring heroes like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Randolf Scott, John Wayne and Audie Murphy to name a few. Many of my fondest memory's are of going to the drive-in movies and watching bigger than life heroes up on the silver screen duking it out with the bad guys and saving our country. You better believe that, if Friday nights were at the drive-in then it was going to be Saturdays in the fields and woods near the house in a make believe world of cowboy's and soldiers. And if I had a spare moment, when no one was around, I could be found going through the boxes and trunks filled with my fathers old uniforms and photo albums. As I'd rummage through musty uniforms, badges and pictures and travel in those make believe worlds it seemed to me that it was as much my father and grandfather whipping the bad guys and saving their fellow soldiers as it was Roy or Audie. At any rate it was no great leap for me to see my father and grandfather doing all of those heroic things up on that big screen. I think that the reason it wasn't such a great leap was because I was living in that time shortly after World War II when patriotic fervor still bubbled in the land. The country had survived the great depression and beaten the axis powers and had even conquered polio and we were Americans doing the right thing in the world and my family had been part of that experience. I was so very proud.

Today we don't have those hero's. No they are all gone and the ones we should have are too busy taking drugs and or driving drunk. Yeah I don't think Nick Nolte is any Randolph Scott and Mel Gibson is certainly no Audie Murphy. And by the way don't look at sports figures either because when it comes to the Roger Maris' or Mickey Mantles most of the ones that took their places are taking steroids and beating up other people if not their own wives and children. And what about the soldiers, well I haven't seen a George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, or even a Omar Bradley lately and if there was one of those around I'm certain they would have been fired by now. But most importantly we don't have the "genuine" patriotic fervor that we had in those years during and after World War II. We don't have that sense of knowing we are Americans and that we really do know right from wrong and we really do know about sacrifice and duty and honor and country. No we have lost all of that and it is our fault. Our very own fault. We can point fingers at the politicians in Washington and say it's all their fault. That's the easy excuse and also not the truth. We have become a nation of lazy self indulgent hedonist. As a nation we have lost our moral compass and those in Washington are simply a reflection of that loss and self indulgence.

As I look back over the last 6 years I see that our government has served only to bring clarity to this reality. We can look at the incompetence of our intelligence agencies and the deception and malice of the president and his administration and we know that we have elected and allowed the appointment that incompetence, deception, and malice. We can look at the congress and their failures to perform their constitutional duties and their willingness to accept money and favors from anyone willing to pay for influence and know that we elected the spineless greedy people occupying those offices. But what is most sad is that as we sit here in our comfortable recliners and gape at the world through a rose colored idiot box we are allowing thousands upon thousands of Iraqis and Afghans to die and thousands of American soldiers to die and thousands upon thousands of all of these people and soldiers to be wounded and maimed and we sit.

We sat and thought an unnecessary preemptive invasion was the final straw; and then we sat and thought Guantanamo was the final straw; and then we sat and thought Abu Grahib was the final straw; and then we sat and thought warrant-less wire tapping was the last straw; and then we sat and thought that Blackwater was the final straw and then we sat............ My grandfather served in World War I and my grandmother and my uncle and my father served in World War II and my father served again in Korea. I served in Vietnam and that was a tragedy beyond words but what we as a nation have wrought and continue to execute in Iraq is beyond anything anyone could ever explain much less justify or condone. I am proud of my families service in every conflict this nation has been engage in since the Revolutionary War but I am just as proud that we have not served in this conflict in which we are now engaged. Do not misunderstand. I was and am and always will be a soldier and I am very proud of our soldiers that are now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, they serve with honor and courage and for their country, but I am not, not proud of our "nation's" actions in this war. Is it not so very sad that I, one who served his country for 27 year, must write a qualifier at the end of my contemplations on the state of our nation.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

When? – Or Why I Love Soldiers

2007-09-13T10:54:00.000-05:00

I love American Soldiers! It's not because I come from a family of soldiers or even because I was one for 27 years. I love them because they choose to do something not many people choose to do or are capable of doing. They choose to serve their country by putting themselves in harms way to defend our constitution.

I continually hear politicians and pundits say you can't not support the troops. I hear them say if you criticize the war in Iraq you're criticizing the troops and if you say we're loosing the war in Iraq it demoralizes the troops and you're not supporting them. It is my thought that those politicians and pundits are dead wrong. You can criticize the war, and you can say we are loosing the war and doing so is not criticizing the troops and it is not demoralizing the troops because the troops are doing what they signed up to do. They are serving their nation and defending the constitution and defending our constitutional right to voice our opinions and criticize our government and it's actions.

We are not fighting in Iraq because 169,000 American soldiers decided we should invade a country without provocation and we are not loosing the war in Iraq because our soldiers are not doing the job on the battlefield. In fact it is quite the contrary. One man, who is not a soldier, decided we would preemptively invade another country and then lied to the nation to get us to do it and one man failed to set a realistic policy and failed to plan appropriately and that is why the nation is loosing the war.

No it is not the citizens of this nation who oppose this war who are demoralizing our soldiers. It is not the citizens of this country who say we are not winning the war who are demoralizing our soldiers. No it is not the citizens of this country who are not supporting the soldiers. It is one man and his associates who are demoralizing and not supporting the soldiers. It is George W. Bush and his administration.

The President of the United States was given a sacred trust in that when elected to office he became the Commander in Chief and was given the responsibility of leading our nations armed forces. He has violated that trust. He lied to take us to war. He took us to war without a coherent policy. He took us to war without a coherent plan and he took us to war without proper preparation and most heinous of all he continues to execute a war without a coherent policy or plan or the necessary equipment and that is what is demoralizing troops.

I love our soldiers because in spite of all that they are enduring at the hands foreign hostile forces and of our own president they continue to put themselves in harms way for our constitution and our country. They continue to bleed and endure hell on earth for our nation and their president is too arrogant and too stubborn to even care. He didn't care during Vietnam and he doesn't care now. Do we expect anything more?

When will our Congress act to bring this travesty to an end?

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

A Fools Errand – Or Why The General Embarrasses Me

2007-09-12T12:01:00.000-05:00

The testimony provided to Congress by General Petraeus over the last few days has embarrassed and saddened me. I saw a dedicated, professional officer focused on his mission but I also saw something else that I wish I had never seen. I saw a soldier letting down his soldiers in the most basic way.

As I watched General Petraeus brief members of the Congress and the Senate I saw a soldier doing his duty and presenting the situation in Iraq in simple, stark military terminology but I also saw an officer who, in spite of what I believe are the best of good intentions, is letting his soldiers down in the most basic way. This was brought home to me with laser clarity as I listened to his very simple response to Senator Warner's question; Is the war in Iraq making us safer at home? The Generals answer was very telling. “I don't know.” The very fact that he said that so simply made me realize that he was at that very moment coming to realize how badly he had and was letting his soldiers down. Simply put, no leader would ever lead his or her soldiers into combat without knowing two basic things. First, that the battle can and will be won and second that it is for the defense of the constitution and the nation. (Please note that I did not use the divisive and personally distasteful term “homeland”.)

There is no doubt in my mind that if General Petraeus believed that the war in Iraq was making America safer he would have unhesitatingly stated so unequivocally and succinctly in response to the Senators question. He didn't and that told the rest of the story.

In 2003 George W. Bush took our nation to war under false pretenses. He did this in spite of the advice of senior Generals and he in fact fired those officers who dared to speak against the invasion. As a result of his bloated ego and lack of world view and understanding we entered a conflict we were ill prepared to execute and unprepared to see through. Since that preemptive invasion the mission in Iraq has continued to morph and change with the whims of that self same President. All along more and more Americans and Iraqi's die as our nations blood and wealth is poured into the deserts of Iraq. And our once seemingly bright though certainly tarnished image in the world has been decimated.

I believe General Patraeus' testimony should serve to remind us of a few things. It should serve to remind us all of how we came to be where we are in Iraq. It should also serve to remind of where we stand in the world and how very difficult it will be to both extract forces from Iraq and to rebuild our credibility and honor. Most importantly it should serve to remind our Congress that in 2006 we put them in office to fulfill their constitutional duty of defending the constitution and that they must exercise their constitutional duty of checks and balances and force the president to extract our forces from Iraq in the most expedient and safe manner possible. No we cannot walk away and yes we must leave a stable Iraq but that requires both a plan and leadership. This president has failed and continues to fail to provide either of those things. It therefore falls to our duly elected Congress to provide both. We Americans, whatever our political leanings, must realize that, yes George W. Bush and his cohorts got us into this mess but it will take the will of the people holding our elected officials accountable to get us out of it. It is not going to be easy. It is not going to be pretty and neither the left nor the right will be completely satisfied but we must leave a stable Iraq and yes that is possible.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

Why I Want The Draft Back - Or They Take But Never Give

2006-11-21T14:16:00.000-05:00

As I write this post I'm sitting in my room looking at the memento's of a life and career in the Army. Each worn and fading object representing a different moment in my life, a different person or persons, place or event that has touched and changed my life in some way. It is a warm comfortable feeling that settles in me as I contemplate these objects because I know that each and everyone of the people and events these objects represent affected me and the course of my life. Some of these gentle and sometimes not so gentle touches were for the good and some for the bad but in the end I can say all for the best. And as I look from one to the other and see the often battle scarred faces and places they represent I like to think that perhaps I have made some small positive difference in their lives. All in all it has been a life I would not trade for all the gold or treasures of the world.

You know, not one part of a soldiers life is easy. Yes, for 20 or 30 years, not one part easy. It seems to cover the whole spectrum from teeth grinding boredom to muscle paralyzing fear and everywhere in between. Did you ever think about that? Did you ever think what must be going on inside of a soldier as they check and double check and recheck their vehicles and gear before going through the gates on yet another patrol or convoy? Did you ever wonder what it's like to be walking a dusty side street in a god forsaken dirty desert town not knowing what's in the next doorway or what's around the next corner or on the next roof? Did you ever wonder what's going through their minds as they ride down some dusty street not knowing which bump is going to be an IED that's going to send shrapnel and vehicle parts trough their bodies and rip off their arms and legs?...........Do you know what's not on their minds? Medals aren't on their minds. Ribbons and plaques are not on their minds and ticker tape parades are not on their minds. If they're smart and lucky the sounds and smells and sights of the moment are on their minds because that's all that is going to keep them alive for this one more patrol. If they're unlucky, their moms and dads and wives and children are on their minds and because they are on their minds they'll make a mistake and they won't go back to see those they love or at least they won't go back in one piece. Think about that for a moment. Can you just imagine how hard it must be? Can you imagine how hard it must be to make yourself not think about those you love; to not think about those you love just when that is what you want and need so badly it hurts down in your guts?

These are the things that I think about every single day. Every day I think about soldiers, sailors, and airmen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Europe and all over the world. I think of them in stifling desert heat and sand and waist deep mountain snow. I think of them in rocky holes in high mountains and knee deep mud in tropical swamps. I think of them with their families on a post or base in Kentucky, Texas, Georgia or North Carolina and I think of them alone on the deck of some ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I think about them, their families and friends think about them, and if you're reading this you probably think about them but, believe it or not there are thousands if not millions who do not think about them. They do not think about them because they do not have to think about them. These are the same thousands if not millions who are reaping the bounty of these soldiers' sacrifices. These are the same thousands if not millions who choose to not think about the soldiers because they and their little world are safe and neither they nor their children have to serve or sacrifice.

This is the folly of not having a national service obligation. This absence of an obligation to serve allows people to become lazy and disconnected from the broader world. It allows them to retreat into their consumer world of Wal-Mart and Target or into their neighborhood mall and not think about the thousands of innocent people who are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan or the thousands of soldiers who are bleeding and dying for them around the world. It allows them to ignore the poverty right here in America and certainly the rest of the world. It allows them to suffer the elements by standing in line for days to buy the first new video game system but not to stand in line to vote. They think that it is their God given right to mindlessly shop and drive and to burn precious fuel because "that's why God put it here"; he put it here just so I can drive to the mall. These people are so lazy and self absorbed that they cannot find the intestinal fortitude or presence of mind to take the one action most readily available to them and every other American and the one action in their immediate possession to defend the constitution and that act is the simple act of voting.

It is my thought that the absence of a national service obligation has created an elitist attitude among a large number of people in this country who believe it is the responsibility of someone else to defend the nation and it is the responsibility of someone else to fight terrorism. This lack of national service obligation has created, not an atmosphere of shared responsibility, but a self-serving atmosphere of you go and die for your country or send your child but leave me and my child alone. And, this atmosphere of self-centered elitism was, if not created then certainly fueled by George W. Bush and his administration. It is also George W. Bush and his administration along with the other elitist that hold a lions share of the responsibility for our being in Iraq today and for our failed foreign and domestic policies.

I must add that I believe it is the millions of non-voters who have, by their inaction, allowed the radical minority to determine the fate and direction of our nation. In the day of the volunteer military it is perhaps reasonable that people choose not to serve in the military and perhaps it is even reasonable that they not serve their nation in some civil capacity but it is absolutely unforgivable that they would not walk out their door and go to a voting booth and at least cast their vote in defense of the constitution and this is the very reason I champion national service. We citizens of this great nation who do defend our country and our constitution deserve to have that gift and burden shared. We deserve to have it shared by all and that includes those elitist who think it beneath them as well as those who are so apathetic and unpatriotic as to not vote. I believe this is true even if it means a mandatory national service obligation for ALL citizens of this great nation.

Those Are The Sergent Major's Thoughts On That.

Where The Brave Have Fallen - Bush In Vietnam

2006-11-21T14:15:00.000-05:00

Do you feel it George? Like a cold chill it starts at the back of your neck and radiates down through your body. It is the breath of the many brave soldiers who fell where you now stand. It is the sound of your conscience trying to get the attention you so callously and cavalierly refuse to give it. It is the cold breeze of guilt George; you know the guilt you felt when you chose the easy way and the guilt you should feel now. I know you felt the guilt back then George because that was why you drank wasn't it? You had a conscience back then and the alcohol helped numb it didn't it. At least for a little while George but only for a little while.

Do you remember that day back on May 27th, 1968? I know you remember it because that's the day you raised your hand to take an oath you'd never live up to isn't it. I remember that day very well George, because I was in infantry training and on my way to Vietnam doing what I raised my hand and swore to do. But mostly I remember because many of my friends were dying in Vietnam on that day. They were there where you stand today but they were bleeding and they were serving their country and fulfilling the oaths they took.

Why George? Why did you run away? Why are you still running away George?

Do you feel it George? It's the breath of those many brave soldiers who fell and are falling in Iraq; that place you are talking about today. It is the sound of your conscience still trying to get the attention you continue to refuse to give it.

Those Are The Sergent Major's Thoughts On That.

You Can Call It Hubris - I Call It Uncaring Criminal Arrogance

2006-11-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

As I read the newspapers, online and off line, and listen to the pundits and uniformed lapdogs that call themselves "Generals" I grow more angry and dismayed. It is my belief, having paid some attention, that anyone who lived through the 2000 election, the events of September 11, 2001, and the invasion and occupation of Iraq should be able to deduce and understand that this country was led to war by the Bush administration through blatant deceit.

In numerous posts in the past I have tried to contemplate, discuss, and share thoughts that I believe to be of some significant consequence to citizens, soldiers, and their families. I have spoken of leadership, courage, honor, trust, faith, and dedication to nation and constitution. These are all concepts, ideas, and beliefs that I believe have helped to forge this great nation. Yes, it is true that our history is filled with these honorable concepts, ideas and beliefs but it is also filled with the deepest depths of depravity, malice, and injustice as evidenced by our historic treatment of Native and African Americans and seemingly any other minority that has had the poor misfortune to cross our path. Please understand that I am not making light of what we have, as a nation, done to these peoples but that I am at this moment focusing on that aspect of our national Psyche that strives for the better. That being said, the one thing that I have always believed has made America truly great and made it stand out among all nations is our continuing struggle to achieve a higher moral goal and to try to live by those greater ideals. I believe that in spite of our weak individual human failings we have, as a nation, always been moved, inspired, and drawn to struggle to achieve the hard right and just.

With those thoughts in mind and simply said, the Bush administrations actions in Iraq were not and are not part of our national struggle to achieve the hard right and just. It has not been and is not part of our continuing struggle to achieve a higher moral goal. Invading Iraq was neither right nor just nor was it in the best interest of the United States but to the contrary it was in all likelihood probably a criminal act. As the titular head of of the nation we expect our President to move boldly but with a large measure of moral caution. We expect our President to act with the moral grounding which we as a nation strive to achieve. I believe that the invasion of Afghanistan was both bold and morally cautious and I do believe it was a legitimate part of our great struggle not only to fight global terrorism but also to do the right and just thing. But then in his arrogance and greed, and perhaps with a smidgen of vindictiveness, the President turned our nations might in the wrong direction. The President did this at the reckless peril of us all, and while using blatantly false information to justify his unilateral and preemptive invasion. This single malicious act has resulted in our now being bogged down in an unnecessary civil war and on the verge of perhaps having caused the complete destabilization of a region that is, at this moment in history, of almost incomprehensible strategic importance to our nation.

As we struggle to find a way out of Iraq that does not leave a destabilized country and region it is important that we realize that this situation was caused by one person and their administration. It was caused by coercion, lies, and deceit perpetrated by the President and Vice President of the United States and members of their administration. Yes, we Americans share part of the responsibility because even after the 2000 election we reelected this administration and allowed the continued ravaging of a nation but ultimately the responsibility lies with the President and he should be held accountable by the Congress and the citizens of this great nation. Unfortunately we must maintain a stable Middle East because until we achieve energy independence we are strategically vulnerable. So yes, struggle we must, and sacrifice, and even fight to return stability to Iraq and the entire Middle Eastern region but let us not forget who was and is responsible for the carnage. Let us not forget whose inability to lead brought us to this point. Let us not forget whose inability to face the reality of the situation even today, continues to cost this nation its treasure in the form of human life, limb, and blood and continues to cost Iraq the lives, limbs, and blood of its citizens.

It is time for the President and his administration to face reality. It is time for the Senate and Congress to quit playing political games and bring trust and honor to Washington. It is our nations very survival that is at stake. As our soldiers continue to fight, bleed, and often die so must the citizens of this nation fulfill their obligation to the nation and fight for the hard right and just. We citizens must hold our newly elected Congress and Senate to task. We have no time for infighting and backstabbing. We have elected these men and women to go to Washington to do a job and not to collect money from lobbyist and squabble over committee seats. I say to Congress and the Senate, 'get to work' and to the President I say, admit your gross errors and arrogance and get to work cleaning up your mess. That is if you have the moral fiber Mr. President.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

As I Sit And Ponder - Or A Matter Of Trust

2006-11-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

As I sit and ponder the state of our nation and my military career and service I am "disheartened"; in much the same way a certain General recently said he is "disheartened" by the situation in Iraq. Why you might ask am I pondering the state of our nation and my career these many years later. Well, simply put, I am where I am as a result of observing where our nation stands today and how we arrived at where we are but mostly it's a matter of pondering a trust lost. The Sergeant Majors thoughts are below the fold.

Today in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Germany, and a thousand other geographic points there are thousands upon thousands of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen serving their country. Why do you think those soldiers serve? I have heard any number of answers to that question over the years. They join for the educational benefits. They join because it's the only way out of abject poverty. They join because they want "adventure". Hell they even say they join because the judge told them that was the better of two choices. Well you know what? They join for all of those reasons and many many more but I know why they stay. They stay because it's a hard life of service to their country and the constitution and because they trust their leaders.

In my military career one 'most desired' and 'respected' virtue always stood out more than any other and that virtue was "trust". You were expected from day one to be trustworthy and to trust. Regardless of what aspect of military life you looked at it was all based on trust. You began to see it as a young soldier in basic training/boot camp when it was driven into your very soul that you take care of your buddy. That person who would share your foxhole for the "duration". Everything depended on the knowledge that your buddy would take care of you and you would take care of your buddy. You trusted each other more than brothers or sisters. The second part of that shared knowledge was that your leader would take care of you and your buddy and you would take care of your leader. It was about trust. My leader could trust that I would follow orders and I could trust my leader to give me the correct order. This concept, this sacred blood bond, was driven into your very being that you could trust your leader to never ask you to do something he or she would not do themselves and that they would stand right beside you and be the first up the hill and your shared survival and that of your nation depended on trusting one another. Any soldier, sailor, marine or airman understands this reality without question.

As I read this article it became crystal clear to me that our soldiers have come to realize that this most sacred of bonds has been and is being broken. They have come to realize that they cannot trust their leadership. This thought hurts and frightens me down to my core. It is important to understand that for a soldier to fight and fight well he or she must trust their leaders to not just provide them with the necessary tools to accomplish the mission such as armored vehicles, body armor and bullets but they must also be able to trust their leaders to take care of their families.

This trust has been violated one time to many and now the truth is obviously spreading through the ranks of our military. Our soldiers are coming to realize that this administration, this Presidents has not and is not supporting the troops. The reason the American military has been successful in its over two hundred year history is one that no, and I do mean no, other countries army has had and that reason was trust based on a constitution that guaranteed a government of the people and by the people. Well they no longer have that trust based on that constitution because the Bush administration has systematically destroyed that constitution and through repeated lies and deceit destroyed that trust.

On November the seventh the American electorate spoke loud and clear and our Congress and Senate have been changed and as if by punctuation this past weekend many Americans observed Veteran's Day. As we move forward I hope and pray that the Congress and Senate understand that the American people want leadership that they can trust. It is time this President understands that he is accountable to the American people and that our precious treasure is not one to be squandered on self centered idealogical and radical goals.

Those Are The Sergeant Major's Thoughts On That.

Deep Abiding Pain - But He Doesn't Feel It

2006-10-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

As I read this article it hurt. I mean it really hurt. When Gilda ran from the room and into the hall screaming I was screaming with her and my guts just plain hurt and the lump in my chest wouldn't shrink enough for me to breath. I was loosing one of my soldiers again and again and again.

As I read this article I understood Alex. Alex the marine. Alex the leader. Alex the husband. Alex the son. I understood him because he was, as all soldiers are, different yet so very much like every marine, every soldier, every sailor and every airman. He was doing what marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen do....he was serving his country. He was doing what his "country" asked him to do. He was fighting a war.

That is what soldier do you know.......They fight wars. That's what they're trained to do. They are trained to accomplish the mission by fighting and winning and surviving and taking care of their buddy. They are trained as leaders to accomplish the mission by fighting and winning and surviving and taking care of their soldiers. You read it in every quote....how is my soldier? Did he make it? Is she okay? Leaders leading, soldiers fighting and caring and sometimes giving everything for their country. What a hell of a marine he must have been. I won't say I wish I had known him because in my heart I know I did.

As of just a few minutes ago 2,754 American soldiers had given their lives for their country. As of just a few minutes ago 20,687 American soldiers had sacrificed part of their bodies for their country. As of just a few minutes ago arguably 600,000 Iraqis had died as a result of war in Iraq.

Mr. Bush you lied to us and took us to war.....look at the price we have paid.
Mr. Bush you lied to us and took us to war.....look at the price Iraq has paid.
Mr. Bush you lied to us and took us to war.....look at the mothers crying.

Why Mr. Bush?

Mr. Bush, for this old soldier, for the fathers and mothers, brothers and sister and all of the families of the soldiers and all of the Iraqis.

Mr. Bush stop this war!

*Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.*

Leaders and Lapdogs - Or The Consequences Of A Hollow Force

2006-10-10T14:57:00.000-05:00

You might have noticed that in my post I rarely link to articles or quote directly. That's because I don't consider myself to be a very complicated person and I simply want to share my thoughts on world events as seen through the eyes of an old soldier. Having said that I must also say I do occasionally link to an article and I will insert a few here because they are indicative of and germane to the point of today's post.
Readiness Link 1
Readiness Link 2
Readiness Link 3

I joined the military in 1968. Specifically I joined the United States Army as a volunteer and as an Airborne Infantryman. I was a wet behind the ears 18 years old boy from the Deep South and I was poor and a high school drop out. (And apparently not too smart hence Airborne Infantryman) That probably sounds rather gloomy to many of you but, it wasn't the worst that was happening about that time in our history nor was it the worst situation to be in in the south in America at that time. Now the Army that I joined wasn't in much better shape than I was in. We were buried in a war that was based on lies and we were loosing many too many American soldiers as well as American and Vietnamese civilians every day. Also because of the protracted war and the cultural/social agonies that our country was going through the United States Army was becoming an ever more dysfunctional reflection of a dysfunctional society.

Those were the not so good ole days. As the United States mercifully began to extricate itself from Vietnam a group of young officers, that included such bright young men as Colin Powell, Edward Meyer, John Wickham, Carl Vuono, Gordon Sullivan, Dennis Reimer, Eric Shinseki and too many others to mention began to move up through the ranks and these men saw an Army that was broken in every way it could be broken but they instinctively and with understanding and vision began to rebuild it. They began the change by providing a vision and by cleaning out and building up the ranks. They began to rebuild the Officer and Noncommissioned Officer Corps and they made what I believe was an unspoken pact with each other and the nation. That pact was to never allow another Vietnam to happen. These brave men were successful. They built a new Army. They rebuilt the Officer and Noncommissioned Officer Corps that had been decimated by years of war and neglect and they recruited the brightest and the best. I was a privileged and proud member of that organization. I stuck it out studied and worked hard and I met and exceeded the standards and I was able to get a good education and make an incredibly rewarding career in the Army. That was then and now is now and I am sad to say that the amazing results of all those brave men and women’s efforts are being dismantled soldier by soldier, bolt by bolt.

I believe it is intuitively obvious that the administration of George W. Bush has not the least bit of understanding of the purpose of the military other than that of a tool to garner power and bully the world. Neither a Statesman nor a Diplomat would call names (Axis of Evil) or make threats on the world stage without having a clear understanding of the potential diplomatic and military consequences of those statements and threats nor would they do so without the strategic and military knowledge to understand their own and others capabilities. One of the first inklings the public should have had of this administrations reckless attitude with regards to the military came when Donald Rumsfeld decimated the General Officer ranks by firing those who understood and hiring those who would be his lap dogs. Well now even the lap dogs are nipping at their ankles. Unfortunately the rest of the world saw and sees something else that this administration refuses to see and that something is that this administration is wearing out and destroying the American military. Put simply they are over extended, under funded, and wearing out. With 140,000 +/- troops in Iraq, another 12,000 in Afghanistan and thousands more spread out across the globe the active force is stretch to the breaking point. The reserve and National Guard Forces don't have the equipment and manpower to fully staff their ranks or train and respond to war or a national emergency.

As this nation faces the nuclear threat of Iran and North Korea it is with few options and many risks. As a result of the recklessness of the incompetent leadership that is the Bush administration we find ourselves with few options this side of the one option that is most un-thinkable.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Brave Soldiers All - Or Why Are Mr. Bush And Mr. Cheney Cowards

2006-10-09T11:27:00.000-05:00

In writing my posts I have often spoken of my family and of the great pride I have in their service to our nation. As I have often mentioned my family has served this nation in every conflict since the Revolutionary War but in this post I want to share a story with you that I believe demonstrates just how much my family really loves this nation.

My maternal grandparents met in Koblenz Germany at the end of World War I. My grandfather had served as a First Sergeant in the American Army and was working with the occupation Army in Germany as a civilian where he met my grandmother who was a young French woman working for the French occupation forces. After a typical war time whirlwind romance they married and in 1921 moved to my grandfather’s small hometown in Florida. They settled into a quiet southern life and raised a fairly typical "American" family. They later weathered the depression and all the hard times it brought; then came World War II. Like all the families of that time the war sent their lives into even more turmoil. Just after Pearl Harbor my uncle joined the Army Air Corps and shortly after that my grandfather volunteered for the Army. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, my grandfather was deemed to old to join for another war and that was when my grandmother decided to do her part. To "show her appreciation" to the country that had so warmly welcomed her when my grandfather was turned down by the Army my grandmother joined that organization that would later become known as the Women’s Army Corps. So the results of all of this patriotic fervor was that my war time mother was left with a son to raise alone and with a husband, a brother, a mother and a brother-in-law all away fighting a war.

I have told you this little story to demonstrate something that I think needs to be made clear to each and every Americans. All of these American patriots were members of the Democratic Party.

So it is that I tell you through this prism of patriotism that I find it particularly repugnant when I read this article. It amazes me that a man such as Mr. Cheney, who so obviously, aggressively, and successfully avoided serving his country, could find the gall and audacity to point a finger of cowardice at another human being much less and entire group of Americans. It is in fact even more repugnant and disgusting to me when I look at the military records of not only Mr. Cheney, but the military records of virtually all of the members of the current administration and I find them to be not just sorely lacking but virtually non-existent. So it is that I must ask myself, who is this person and who are these people to question the patriotism and valor of any American. They are in fact nobody. They are in fact the cowards whose failed foreign policy has brought this nation to the brink of disaster. These are the architects of a cowardly foreign policy that used lies and deceit to take a nation to war. These are the architects that took this nation into an unjust and illegal war that has cost thousands of American and Iraqi lives and wounded and maimed thousands of others for no honest reason. These are the architects of a cowardly foreign and domestic policy that has brought the absolute finest military to the brink of collapse. These are the architects of policies of failure that have emboldened our enemies, alienated our friends and created an unstable world filled with volatile despots.

It is by no means necessary to serve in the armed forces to demonstrate ones patriotism or love of country. It is by no means necessary to shed blood or draw blood to demonstrate ones patriotism but it is certainly necessary to demonstrate honor and integrity to be a patriot and Mr. Cheney neither you nor any of your fellow members of this administration demonstrate either of these traits.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Scarred - Or Soulless Ice

2006-10-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

“It is in the nature of soldiers who have been to war and returned to not share these thoughts but I believe these are “times that try men’s souls” and these things need to be said.” – Archibald MacLeish

Each day when I go to my computer the first thing I do is go to the Iraq war casualties website and check on the numbers of soldiers killed and wounded in action and the numbers of Iraqi’s killed. Today those numbers were 2,732 soldiers killed in action, 19,910 soldiers wounded in action and 43,546 – 48,343 Iraqi’s killed. Day in and day out the numbers go up and up and as they do I ask myself that eternal question, why?

It seems to me that in almost all of my posts I write these numbers and even though I have no definitive answer as to why they are dying I do have an answer as to why I write the numbers. I do this in hopes that someone will – really - understand what these numbers mean. That, that someone will “get it”, and repeat it and then another someone will understand and then another and still another and finally the 300 million people that are estimated to be breathing in this country this month will all understand. That they will understand that with each of these deaths a piece of us dies and with each of these wounds we are wounded and it is only they who can stop the killing and maiming.

To that someone who might be listening let me share this with you. Regardless of the circumstances; “justly” or “unjustly” the taking of a human life is an act that never leaves you. Knowing that you were personally responsible for taking a human life leaves an eternal, deep, and painful scar on your soul; at least I believe that if you are human it does. Let me share one other thing. The eyes are indeed windows into the soul and I know that when I look at the faces and into the eyes of those who are orchestrating the war in Iraq I do not see scarred souls but instead I see the soulless ice of those who do not care.

Each day as I look at my newspaper it is not the reality of stories of dying soldiers and civilians I see spread across the page but the sad soap opera that is our administration in Washington D.C. It is stories of corruption, graft, and moral bankruptcy that I see and then, even further back after the ads for cars and furniture and every other consumable good, I see the lone article with the number of lives given and taken, buried in the pages of tomorrows fish wrap, without ceremony or homage and before their bodies have hardly grown cold.

I close with another quote from Archibald MacLeish – “We are deluged with facts, but we have lost or are losing our human ability to feel them.”

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

A Soldiers Shame – Or Why I Won’t Wear My Uniform

2006-09-29T11:48:00.000-05:00

The day I retired from the United States Army I had my dress uniform cleaned and pressed and I hung it in the closet ready to put back on. I have only worn it on a very few special occasions since that day. One memorable time was a proud day that I was privileged to participated in my older daughters’ graduation from training in the United States Navy. The other occasions were of course very special events and celebrations of national and military honor and tradition. You see, I believe that one of the great privileges of being a soldier is that after you retire you can put that uniform back on and celebrate with great pride yours and your nation’s accomplishments.

Today I am taking an oath to not put that uniform back on. Let me explain why.

I have endured much in my life. Please don’t misunderstand because I say that with great and humble pride. I have endured much because that is what my family has always done since the revolutionary war. You see my family just happens to be one of those families that have chosen to serve the nation by serving in the military. That is simply what we do. I will not go into all of the details because I have mentioned them in several posts before but suffice it to say that for well over 200 years virtually every generation of my family has served in the United States military in defense of our constitution; that would be the Constitution of the United States of America. We have done so in peace and war and with pride and humility and we have all walked tall because we have always viewed our nation as a beacon of liberty in a world all to often filled with despots and tyranny. But today all of that has changed.

Today I hang my head in shame and I take a sworn oath and I take it as freely and solemnly as I took my oath of enlistment. Today I swear that I Sergeant Major Myers, United States Army Retired, will not put on my uniform again, for any reason what so ever, until George W. Bush is removed or leaves office and the abomination that has just passed the Congress of the United States is struck down by the Supreme Court or rescinded by an Act of Congress.

It has not been enough that this President has taken this country to war with a web of deceit and lies and it is not enough that he has by his actions and lack of leadership, in the words of former President United States and Noble Laureate Jimmy Carter, "brought discouragement and sometimes international disgrace to our great country," but now he would compound our disgrace and remove the rights of Americans as defined in our constitution and defile humanity by attempts to legalize torture of other human beings. I must also say that what is just as disgraceful and humiliating to this nation is that there are members of Congress, both in the House and the Senate, that would go along and support, no, even encourage such efforts for obviously crass political, personal, and economic gain.

No, enough is enough and this tired old soldier has one more fight left in him and it will be to do all that is in my power to defeat this blatant assault on our nation from within and I say to Mr. Bush, you sir are an abomination for a President and an abomination for a Commander in Chief. Your actions have removed any mantle of moral authority you may have had. You have in every way, imaginable and possible, broken the oath you took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. I love my country sir but I possess not one iota of respect for you.

I say to you sir, in spite of you, this nation will DEFEAT TERRORISM NOT SACRIFICE LIBERTY.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Of Soldier's Little Children and Uncaring Presidents

2006-09-27T12:33:00.001-05:00

You know soldiers don’t have it easy and it’s a fact that every war throws a different set of miseries at them that scars, cripples and all too often kills. Bullets are one obvious and common misery to all but there is a whole other set that is not so obvious; like the cold muddy fields of Europe during World War II and Korea that left fingers and toes frost bit or missing and then the glue like mud and wait a minute vines of Vietnam that left you with trench foot, crotch rot and bloody scratches and now it’s the blistering heat and sand of the Middle East that infest you with biting insects, strange bloody rashes and grinding grit between your teeth. But did you know there is another group that has suffered along with these soldiers and have had their own debilitating and scaring and varied miseries. That unheralded and suffering group is the families and friends waiting back home.

The reality is that most people not only don’t know or understand combat and its miseries that soldiers must endure but they also don’t know or understand the stressed despair of loneliness that is suffered by those left behind. They don’t understand that hollow painful void in a mother’s heart as she thinks and waits for her son or daughter or the worried headache of a father thinking of a son or daughter in imminent danger. They don’t understand that aching throb that is the lump in the spouses chest every time they think of their husband or wife and the danger he or she face or that sinking feeling of despair when they contemplate the unthinkable life without them ever again and they don’t understand the emptiness in a young child’s stomach when they miss their mommy or daddy and can’t understand why they’re gone or why they don’t come home everyday like all the other kids mommies and daddies do.

No, many people don’t understand these things because today fewer and fewer have ever experienced it and or don’t care and you know what; it shows all over this country. It shows in our government and in our society. It shows in the way our government treats our soldiers and it shows in the void that should be an outcry from those who should understand and care but don’t or won’t. It shows when after our country has been attacked a President says go shop and doesn’t say we must all sacrifice and here’s what I’m asking you to sacrifice. It shows when in the midst of a great struggle against terrorist the only sign of support for the troops and their families that you see is a magnetic ribbon on a bumper.

It is my thought that there will be an awful price to be paid by our country for not understanding and or not caring what the leadership of this nation is doing and that price is beginning to be paid. We have a military that is not only not ready but one that continues to be decimated through gross mismanagement.

When George W. Bush became President he inherited a military that was not only combat ready but the absolute finest in the world bar none. This was graphically demonstrated during the invasion of Iraq. It was a military that was not only ready but one with moral among soldiers and family member that was the highest it had been in decades. In a few short years he has successfully broken it materially and morally. He has created a rush to exit of the finest soldiers’ ever enlisted and begun to replace them with those less qualified intellectually, physically, and morally.

Over the last few days you have seen a continuing line of America’s finest officers come before the Democrats of our Congress and give testimony to what I have said here. These are soldiers who care and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they speak the truth. It takes great courage to stand and be counted and these soldiers have done it on the battlefield and now they are doing it at home.

Somewhere today a soldier’s spouse is hurting, a soldier’s mother weeps, a soldiers baby cries, and a soldiers fathers eyes are blurry.

Last word for today – It’s time that those who don’t understand and or don’t care woke up and smelled the roses. Your nation is bleeding and it’s bleeding to death.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Of Soldiers And Punctuation – Or Why I’m Not A Comma

2006-09-26T12:28:00.000-05:00

"Yes, you see — you see it on TV, and that’s the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there’s also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people…. I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is — my point is, there’s a strong will for democracy." George W. Bush to Wolf Blitzer, CNN - Emphasis mine.

2,703 dead American commas, 19,910 wounded and maimed American commas, 35 – 40,000 dead Iraqi commas.

What do you think it feels like to be a soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq without the proper body armor to protect you?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq without the proper armored vehicles to protect you?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq on your third tour and to not know when you’ll go home to your family because you’ve been involuntarily extended….again?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq on your third tour and 24 hours before you’re suppose to go home you find out you’ve been involuntarily extended….again?

What do you think if feels like to be a soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq and know that fully two thirds of American combat units are not combat ready?

What do you think it feels like to be and American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq knowing that the Chief of Staff of your Army withheld submitting the budget to fund you and your equipment because the Secretary of Defense slashed $25 billion off of your budget?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq knowing that the National Guard back at home doesn’t have the equipment it needs to train to replace you and to help your family when another Katrina strikes?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq knowing that your President wants to modify the Geneva Conventions and jeopardize your life and treatment and those of your comrades who follow you so that his administration can torture other people?

What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq knowing that the Taliban are coming back in Afghanistan as strong as or stronger than ever taking large swaths of country your comrades bled and died for?

Now…..What do you think it feels like to be an American soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq on your third tour and to not know when you’ll go home to your family because you’ve been involuntarily extended….again and your Commander in Chief has just referred to you and what you are doing in Iraq as a COMMA?

What do you think it feels like to be a mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sister, son, or daughter of an American soldier killed, maimed, or wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq and your President referred to your mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sister, son, or daughter as a COMMA?

For nearly three decades I was that soldier and today many of the soldiers I trained are those American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq and I will say this for myself and if I maybe so bold for those soldiers.

Mr. President I’m no damn comma!!

I am an American soldier and if you have no more respect for me than that, then I say to you sir that your words and indeed your deeds can only lead me to believe you are ignorant at best and a coward at worst and certainly not deserving of my respect and since you are in fact the President of the United States I must say I tend to believe you must be the later.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Have We All Become Such Cowards – Or What Is In Washington DC Is Not What This Soldier Fought For

2006-09-21T12:56:00.000-05:00

During the course of my military career I received training on how to survive being a Prisoner of War (POW). In a very controlled training environment I was subjected to “torture” that included humiliation (being kept nude), physical abuse such as slaps, belly slaps, punching, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, threats of electrocution, and even water-boarding. We, I and my fellow soldiers, were exposed to this in training because it was made clear to us that as soldiers, should we ever become a POW we should be prepared for and expect this kind of treatment from the “bad guys”.

This treatment was put upon us in a controlled environment and we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what we would not be permanently or irreparably harmed in any way and yet it was still a life altering, horrendous and humiliating experience.

The training was particularly poignant to us in that it was conducted in conjunction with our training on the Geneva Conventions. It was made clear that we as American soldiers were expected to conduct ourselves in a morally upright and honorable manner no matter what ours or our comrades in arms treatment was at the hands of an enemy. We were given detailed in depth training on the Geneva Conventions and we were given extensive hands on training in how to treat prisoners of war should we be faced with that situation. I believe that we all, to a soldier, learned our lessons well because I can say without equivocation that in the ensuing nearly three decades of my military career, which included several combat tours, I never treated a POW, nor did I personally witness a POW being treated in any manner that could ever be construed as inhumane.

As a young soldier that training taught me something much deeper than just how to expect to be treated as a POW or how I should treat a POW. It taught me that America was a nation founded on the rule of law and a nation that still strived to achieve and maintain the moral high ground no matter how the enemy conducted themselves. It taught me that we weren’t a nation built on religious fanaticism but one build on human dignity and justice. We didn’t gauge how we treated others by how we were treated but how we as human beings expected to be treated.
Today in Washington DC we have an administration that has lost touch with America. It has lost touch with American and all that this great nation has stood for better than two centuries. The conduct of the war in Iraq has been and continues to be an embarrassment to this nation and has undermined our moral standing in the world to the point of making us virtually irrelevant. From the falsehoods that took us to the preemptive war in Iraq, to the atrocities of Abu Ghraib, to the shame that is Guantánamo Bay, and on to the injustices put upon innocent victims of rendition such as the Canadian Citizen, Maher Arar, and many others currently incarcerated in Guantánamo Bay, this administration has ceded the moral high ground. Indeed the chaos that is Iraq today serves only to shine a bright light on what I believe is this administrations ineptitude and moral depravity.

The debate that is occurring in Washington DC is one that should never occur and is a simple continuation of a policy that is lost. It is indeed a needless exercise that can only result in the further deterioration of what is left of our standing in the international community and jeopardize the well being of every American Soldier for generations to come. Torture simply does not work. This has been proven time and time again and I can personally witness to that fact and Senator John McCain can certainly attest to that fact even more strongly than I. Torture is not and instrument of extracting truth but is more accurately an instrument of revenge and extractor of fiction.

Have we become a nation of cowards who seek revenge at all cost? Have we become a nation that would resort to physical and psychological torture to extract information from another human being? These are the acts not of just and honorable people but of cowards and people of no moral stature. If the answer to these questions is yes then the constitution and nation that I and millions of other Americans dedicated their lives to and shed our blood for no longer exist.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Failures Of Diplomacy – Or What Price Lies

2006-09-19T12:51:00.000-05:00

As a soldier I understand the consequences of failures in diplomacy. We soldiers all understand because the consequences of failures in diplomacy have all too often been a liberal spilling of our blood. And even at such a costly price we can accept the consequences when they are the results of “honest” failures. We can accept the consequences because we know that all other options have been exhausted and now we must do the difficult right thing. But what I and most other soldiers have great and real difficulty with is failures of diplomacy that are a result of dishonesty and that result in the dishonorable letting of American blood.

As I have witnessed in recent weeks the Bush administrations machinations as it has tried to un-lie the lies that were told to take us to war in Iraq and connect this dishonest and illegal Iraq war to a disingenuous and impossible “war” on terror I have become physically ill. I have become physically ill not just because of what they have said or because of my extreme dislike for this president and his dishonest and immoral cohorts in crime. I have become physically ill because of the gullibility and blatant ignorance and selfishness of a broad swath of the American people who glibly follow George W. Bush. I have become physically ill because this same group of Americans seem to fail to fully comprehend or show real understanding of the sacrifices of the American military and the carnage that has been put upon the Iraqi people as a result of the bald faced, in your face, lies told by George W. Bush and the members of his administration. I have become physically ill because this same group of American people sit blithely by in their overstuffed recliners in front of their 42 inch plasma screens as a Republican controlled House and Senate not only allow but in fact enable this administration to become an autocracy as a result of their own greed for wealth and power.

Are these people so engulfed in their own narcissistic delusions that they have lost the capacity to understand that this president and his Neocon henchmen are taking this country down the path to global isolation and irrelevance? Are they so engulfed in their own narcissistic delusions that they have lost their understanding of moral rightness and human compassion? Are they so engulfed in their own narcissistic delusions that they have lost their desire to maintain the laws, moral stature and democratic principals of the nation that was so graciously bequeathed to us by the founding fathers as set out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

As I look around I cannot believe that this is the same nation that I and my ancestors have fought, bled and died for since the Revolutionary War.

To those of you who follow George W. Bush; I ask you at what price? Think about 2,687 dead American soldiers. Think about 19,399 wounded and maimed American soldiers. Think about untold thousands of killed, wounded and maimed Iraqis. Think about thousands of killed, wounded and maimed innocent men, women and children.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

The Geneva Conventions – One Soldiers Perspective

2006-09-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Art. 3. In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions: (1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. (2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for. An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

This article does not and has never held any ambiguity for me and I do not believe it has ever held any for the millions of American soldiers (to include the OSS and CIA operatives) who have served in our armed forces since the United States signed these conventions. I make this statement without reservation and with the backdrop of having served in the United States Army for nearly three decades including several combat tours of duty. I also say to you that I proudly carried the “Geneva Conventions Card” in my pocket every single day of my military career from the day it was issued to me in basic training. I carried that card proudly because it represented the moral stature of my nation. It said to me that no matter what, no matter how I was treated, if I was captured or if I captured an enemy soldier I knew what my country expected of me and what my country stood for and I would never violate that trust. I would never violate the trusts placed in me by the citizens of our great nation, my comrades in arms and yes, even my enemy.

I thought not to write this post. I thought not to write it because I have become convinced that Americans, at least that vast multitude that continue to allow themselves to be deluded by the Bush administration, don’t care about anything but themselves much less the Geneva Conventions and I would therefore be posting to the wind. I still believe that and unfortunately I believe it with all my heart but in spite of that stolid belief I had an overpowering need to express my utter disdain and contempt for George W. Bush and the actions of his administration. So I say to you that in my opinion, this administration possesses not one iota of common decency, honor, or moral character and these attempts on their part to change the United States interpretation of the Geneva Conventions are just one more example of an administration with no moral compass. This is to me just one more example of a Commander in Chief who has removed his cloak of moral authority and I say God help us all if our elected officials in the House of Representatives and Senate allow this grotesque interpretation of the conventions to become the law of the land because that will be just one more nail in the coffin of our democracy.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What If They Walked Away

2006-05-18T11:26:00.000-05:00

As you know I write about the military. I write about the pride that I felt as a soldier and as a retired soldier and I write about the pride I feel as the descendant of a long line of soldiers and as an American citizen. Virtually every time I write a post I get at least several and sometimes many not so nice comments about soldiers and the military. I’ll expound on this below the fold.

As I said I get some not so nice comments and this post is for those who write those not so nice comments but those of you who write nice comments or even don’t write comments at all are invited to read this too.

We are an imperfect nation of imperfect people. Yep, we are imperfect. We have, from our inception, done really, really bad things and really, really good things. We have done bad things on purpose and bad things not on purpose. We have done good things on purpose and we have done good things not on purpose. In other words we have been doing a lot of things good and bad. (My token paragraph for those who use Bushian speak.)

Now our forefathers sat down in Philadelphia some 225+ years ago and drafted some documents that created the basic outline and laws of our nation. You know the constitution. They tried, based on their limited intellect to create a really good country. Since that time a lot of really, really good and really, really bad people have controlled and governed this nation. It has been kind of a mix for the most part but generally a little bit of both but leaning more to the good. (I know that some of you believe that a group of nare-do-wells control the whole thing and that may or may not be true, I just don’t know.) The point is that our founding fathers created this entity we call the United States and left it to their progeny to manage into the future.

Now I believe that in the this country regardless of who is elected or who is in office, or even if the nare-do-wells are in control, that we as a nation have an incredible amount of freedom and an incredible amount of access to information which allows us to remain informed and educated on not only our nation but also the world. We have an incredible ability to educate ourselves and organize and to choose our path in the world. Some of us choose to teach, some choose to drive a truck, some choose to pursue elected office, some choose to be firemen, some choose to be policemen and generally everyone chooses to be or do something. Some even choose to be soldiers. Some also, unfortunately, choose to not be or do anything, but that’s another story. We all seem to generally choose to be and to do something within the realm of this nation state we call the United States of America. Most importantly though is that we all have the opportunity to choose to make a difference. We who blog here on this site are choosing to voice our opinions. We are choosing to organize and cajole and to put forth our opinions and influence people to become active and activist in order to make a difference. At least I think that is what most of us are trying to do.

What I am saying here is that we citizens, both born and naturalized, all share in the inherited and adopted responsibility for this nation. We are not helpless sheep being led to slaughter. We are cogent humans with an ability to make change and whatever this nation was, is, or is becoming we are responsible for it and how we go about fulfilling that responsibility is of our own choosing.

Now, about those soldiers. Today soldiers generally choose to become soldiers. That is how they have chosen to fulfill their lives and to contribute to this nation. It is my belief that unfortunately we live in a world occupied by nation states and entities and people who would do us and millions of other people harm. It is, in my mind, a simple fact and because of that fact we must have a military. Now you may disagree with me on this point but I’m afraid that I still prefer that we maintain a military just in case you’re wrong and there really are people out there who want to harm us. You might say that I want to error on the side of “our” safety. It is also unfortunately true that when it is necessary to maintain a military you subject that military to the control of the government that you put in office. Yes I said you put in office. Remember the “we are responsible” bit I mentioned above; well if the people in office aren’t very nice people then it’s our fault and we put the military under the control of those not so nice people and it doesn’t matter if we voted for the person or not it is still our fault. It’s still our fault because “we are responsible” and we should have worked harder to get different people in office.

Now this is directly for those who write the not so nice comments trashing the military and soldiers. Soldiers join our military to serve and defend the Constitution of the United States. If they are sent to say Iraq by your President then it is your responsibility because it is your President. It is your government and it is your country. Get it? If you don’t like it you should change it. If you want the soldiers brought back from Iraq then you need to do something about it. Write your Congressmen. Write your Senators. Write your friends and relatives. March in the street. March with a group or march alone. Do something but do me a favor and don’t blame soldiers or trash them because they are in Iraq spilling their precious blood and leaving their limbs behind. It’s called citizenship. And don’t say you don’t do that on Dkos or MLW or MyDD or any other blog because you do. You are the people out there who don’t assume responsibility and find it easier to wax philosophically about how nation states shouldn’t exist and Marx said this or Lock said that or some other BS. It is what it is and that’s reality. You have one other option if you choose not to do anything and that is move to Iraq.

Now that we’ve established who is responsible for this great nation let’s talk about what happens if “They All Walk Away”. Think about it. What if every soldier, sailor, and airman walked away?

“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. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”

I would add this. The battle field is not always one of dirt and blood but it can be and is sometimes the halls of government.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

I fought for God – Or Did I?

2006-05-17T14:34:00.000-05:00

Did you ever wonder what soldiers fight for? Well I’m pretty sure the radical Christian right thinks that every soldier is a red blooded American boy (sorry girls) who goes out to fight for God and Country. I’m just as sure that every Neocon thinks that every soldier goes out to fight for the spread of Christian Democracy. Well you know what? They aren’t just red blooded American “boys” and they don’t just fight for God and Country and the spread of Christian Democracy. I’ll tell you who I think they really are and what they really fight for below the fold.

So who are American soldiers? During my 27 years in the United States Army I discovered that beyond the uniform soldiers had a lot in common but they also had a lot not in common. I found that if you took off the uniform you discovered soldiers are men and women; they are black, white, red, brown and every shade of ethnicity in between. They are tall and short and every other height. They are married and single and something else. They are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles. They are gay and straight and not so straight. They are from Angola, Greece, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Indonesia, Ghana, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Sudan, Egypt, Iran and every other country on the National Geographic map. They are educated, uneducated, smart and sometimes ignorant and some times yes just plain stupid. They are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Latter Day Saints, Agnostic, and Atheist. They are brave and not so brave. They are scared and some even cowardly. They are honest and dishonest and something in between. Most of all, the soldiers I know are, or want to be, American.

Now just what is it that American soldiers fight for? During my 27 years in the United States Army I discovered that there was one thing that every soldier was fighting for and it’s summed up very well in the oath that the soldier takes on the day they join the military. Here is the oath that they take when they join the Army and it is essentially the same, with very minor variations, for all branches of the service and all ranks.

"I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

This oath and my experience tell me that soldiers fight in support of and in defense of the Constitution of the United States of America or in other words they fight for FREEDOM. It’s that simple. Contrary to what a lot of people would like to believe the American soldier doesn’t join and fight for God or against terrorism or communism or Marxism or any other ism. American soldiers take and oath and fight for freedom as it is expressed in the Constitution of the United States of America. It is my humble opinion that the great men who gathered in Philadelphia to form our American government and ultimately write the constitution intended it so. Freedom was their focus. I have searched through the constitution and, believe it or not, I do not find the word God anywhere in the document nor do I find anti-Marxism, anti-communism, or anti any other ism. I do however find that every word of it and the construct of every phrase and sentence of that great document is focused on guaranteeing the freedoms of every citizen of the United States of America. It is this for which the American soldier fights and nothing else. This document does not guarantee a religion nor demand the spread of democracy outside the borders of our nation but it does guarantee every citizen’s freedoms and rights.

It is my belief that when you are elected to public office and you take an oath of office to uphold the constitution of the United States that you have incurred a solemn obligation and duty to obey the laws of the land an perform the duties of your office in the most honorable and faithful manner possible. If they believe in God they swear or affirm to God to do so. If they don’t believe in God they still swear or affirm to do so. The President along with the Vice President, members of Congress and all officers appointed by the administration take oaths of office. Below is the oath taken by the President and members of Congress.

The oath of President of the United States.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The oath of members of Congress of the United States

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

I have included these oaths so that you may more fully appreciate and understand that the focus of our government is and always has been on freedom and the freedoms guaranteed to each and every citizen of this country under our constitution. It has never been on the establishment or endorsement of any religion or on the spreading of Jeffersonian democracy. When one views our government through the prism of our constitution one can truly appreciate and comprehend the gross failures of the President and Republican controlled Congress in upholding their oaths of supporting and defending the constitution and in guaranteeing the citizens of this great nation their constitutional rights and freedoms.

President Bush along with the Republican controlled Congress has sent our troops to fight the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time for the wrong reasons and they have done so through the use of lies and deceit. The President has added further insult to injury by denying the American people their rights to a free and open government by concealing the resulting carnage of his misguided war and further violating their rights under the 4th amendment to the constitution by authorizing illegal wiretaps.

American soldiers once again find themselves in the unenviable position of fighting, not for American freedom, but for Executive and Congressional hubris. It is self evident that there are grounds for impeachment of the President and it is time that the Congress did its job. Each day that Congress continues to shamelessly avoid their duty more American blood is wasted into the Iraqi sand, not for freedom but, for arrogance and political gain.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Honor, Integrity, Compassion, Courage

2006-05-16T11:31:00.000-05:00

As the only “career” soldier in my family I have had the honor of inheriting most of the awards, decorations, and military memorabilia ever given to the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of my family. It is really quite a collection because as I have mentioned before every generation of my family has served in the armed forces of our great nation since the Revolutionary War.

This past weekend I had some quiet time to spend looking through this collection that includes such things as documents signed by my ancestor who was an officer during the Revolutionary War, a copy of my great-great grandfathers Civil War military records and even the scratched and worn “dog tag” that was my grandfathers and worn in France during World War I and even my fathers wings from World War II. I started with the oldest and picked them up one by one turning them in my hand. And as I touched each one I found myself thinking about each soldier who wore, carried or was represented by each of the items. I found myself remembering my father’s stories of World War II and my grandfather’s stories of World War I and the stories he passed on to me about the Civil War that were told to him by his father and grandfather. I also remembering that not once did my father or grandfather ever tell stories of the death associated with war but seemed to always focus on the camaraderie and the patriotic reasons they or their fathers, brothers or uncles served their country. It seemed to me that it was always about the ideals that our country was founded on and the need that every citizen sacrifice for the preservation of those ideals. It was never about their individual heroism or personal sacrifice but always how brave their friend was and how much their friends sacrificed. It was always obvious that they not only loved their country and respected the ideals on which it was founded and built but they really cared about their fellow soldiers and citizens.

I found that as I touched each of these mementos of my families’ history and as I reflected on my family both those long departed and those still on this earth two things began to occur. First, deep in my soul, the memories of my families’ shared and common experiences were stirred and as they were I grew very, very sad; then as I dwelled on all of their individual sacrifices I grew very, very angry. I grew sad and angry not because they were gone or because they sacrificed or suffered. No, I have long since mourned their parting and basked with pride in their accomplishments. I grew sad and angry because unfortunately we have a government that has lost touch with the sacrifices of past generations and are shaming our nation with their arrogance, intolerance, and false pride. I became sad and angry because all that I and my family and millions of other Americans have sacrificed and fought for and believed in is being systematically destroyed by those who know no honor, those who have no integrity, those who have no compassion, and those who have no courage.

Honor, integrity, compassion and courage. Dwell for a moment on the definitions of these four powerful traits. Take just a moment to read and think about them and then ask yourself this simple question. Which member(s) of the Executive branch, the United States Senate, Congress, and Judiciary Branches of our government can I describe using any one or more of these words?

Honor – Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.

Integrity – Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.

Courage – The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.

Compassion - Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

As of this writing 2,448 soldiers have been killed in Iraq. As of this writing 17,869 soldiers have been wounded in Iraq. As of this writing somewhere between 35,101 and 39,258 Iraqi’s have been killed in Iraq.

Five, Ten, Fifteen, Twenty years or more from now a son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, or uncle will be opening a box of military mementos. They will be taking the items out one by one and turning them in their hands. They will begin remembering the stories that their brother, sister, father, mother, grandfather or grandmother told them about World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the First Gulf War or the war in Iraq. What will their thoughts be? What will they feel and what will the country they live in look like and represent to the world? What will this generation have left them?

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

As Rome Burns – Or It’s Not Just George That’s Fiddling

2006-05-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

Last night, at the end of The News Hour, I watched sixteen young faces materialize and then dematerialize on my screen. They were almost all between 18 and 22 years old. Young, innocent faces much like my youngest daughter who is just 22. As their young faces faded from my screen I thought to myself, ‘thank dear God that none of them were my little girl’. And then I felt horribly guilty.

2,228 KIA – Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
17,869 WIA – Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
39,258 Civilian – www.iraqbodycount.org

How much blood Mr. Bush? How much American and Iraqi blood is enough Mr. Bush? When will your thirst be quenched Mr. Bush? It isn’t your children is it Mr. Bush?

How much blood Mr. Cheney? How much American and Iraqi blood is enough Mr. Cheney? When will your thirst be quenched Mr. Cheney? It isn’t your children is it Mr. Cheney?

As the nation raptly follows the Republican soap opera that is Washington D.C. today our children die. The Bush Administration and the Republican Party as a whole have brought corruption, radicalism, and political and economic failure to the nation’s capital. These are not melodramatic hyperbole statements but simple and pure fact. Our children are dying both at home and abroad because this administration and the Republican Party in control of our government lack the capacity to develop and strength of character to implement a rational and cohesive domestic or foreign policy. And the Executive Branch in particular lacks the leadership and managerial skills to operate our government. That is simple reality.

I want everyone who reads this to understand that this is a partisan post. I am unashamedly pointing a partisan finger and placing blame and guilt at the feet of the Republican Party.

What is happening in this country today is a Republican fiasco. Republican…..purely Republican…..and nothing but Republican. Republicans are in charge of the Executive Branch. Republicans are in charge of the Senate. Republicans are in charge of the House of Representatives and Republicans are mostly in control of the Supreme Court so yes this is a Republican scandal and fiasco and the citizens of this nation are morally obligated, by any moral standard, to hold the Republican Party responsible. They are in charge. No if’s, no and’s, and no but’s. Each Republican member of the House of Representatives, each Republican member of the Senate, and each Republican member of the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch are responsible for each one of those young people’s deaths. These individual Republicans and the collective membership of the Republican Party are responsible for the climate of corruption, lying, and deceit that is Washington D.C. today.

I am angry and each time I see the faces of those soldiers and I think of the children of Iraq I grow more angry and any American who doesn’t feel that same anger and sadness and moral outrage needs to hang their head in shame.

I read this today and then I could only think….Damn you George W. Bush!!!....Damn you Dick Cheney!!! DAMN YOU anyone who voted for them!!! You have no soul.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

It Is Your Government And Your Laws And Your Military And Your War

2006-04-20T14:09:00.000-05:00

We have often discussed where the guilt of war might lie. It is at this point I must admit that I often become quite emotional about this issue because of my personal commitment to this country and it’s military. Having said that, I want to share a few thoughts with my friends who sometimes openly “pray” for the complete collapse of the United States military and sometimes denigrate the soldiers serving in it.

It is my observation that the world is a very hostile place. It is filled with dictators, petty tyrants, and governments that believe in every form of vile governance and acts against man and beast. If I am not mistaken I believe there are about 169 very diverse nation states in the world today and unfortunately many of them are of the perpetual vile type. The history of mankind is filled with instances of grotesque atrocities pitting one of these nation states against another and even one ethnic group within a nation against another ethnic group within that same nation. Uganda and Darfur come to mind readily as immediate examples and many others in history too numerous to name. Because of this unfortunate circumstance in the world of Homo sapiens it is a cursed reality and necessity that nations must maintain armies to defend against aggressor nations and groups and therefore I believe that it is because of this condition that the United States must maintain a strong military.

The United States military is unlike most if not all other militaries in the world in that our constitution places the military under the strict control of the civilian government. It is not only a constitutional requirement but it is a well established condition of which this country is fortunate to have a 250 year tradition of adherence to. This requirement of the constitution creates a very special relationship between the civilian government and it’s military. It creates a relationship in which the civilian government is solely responsible for the establishment of laws and treaties and absolute authority in determining when and where to use military force and the military is responsible for defending the nation and winning wars while following the orders of the government and obeying the laws and treaties created by and entered into by the government of United States. This is a very important distinction in that it squarely places very specific responsibilities on these two entities.

Based on the Constitution of the United States it is the Congress’s responsibility to declare war and or authorize the use of military force and it is the Presidents responsibility to serve as Commander in Chief. And based on the Constitution of the United States if the President were to request and the Congress were to authorize the use of military force then that force would in fact be “legal” under United States law. This can, and possibly in the case of Iraq may some day, be challenged but it is none the less at this point in time apparently “legal” under United States law. Whether such an act is legal under international law, with regards to Iraq, is I believe yet to be determined and I’m not sure that it has even been challenged.

In my earlier writings I have attempted to draw a distinction between orders on the battlefield and orders to go to war. I did this for a very explicit purpose. As I said before the military in general and soldiers in particular are required and conditioned to follow orders and question those orders when necessary but, it is the constitutional responsibility of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches to ensure that the orders the military receives to go to war and to conduct military operations adhere to the constitution and laws of the United States and adhere to international treaties lawfully entered into by this nation. It is not the responsibility of the individual soldier to do this. It is the responsibility of the individual soldier to fight the war and adhere to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and obey the laws of the land and tenets of the Geneva Conventions and it is the responsibility of their superior officers to ensure that those laws are lawful, adhered to and charges brought when they are not adhered to.

Because of this constitutional and traditional relationship and because the United States military is so very disciplined they diligently strive to follow their orders with not blind obedience but with just and balanced obedience. So it is when the Congress passes laws and the President signs those laws they become the law of the land and the military, like every other individual and entity, must obey those laws. It is really that simple and in this way the military is simply a tool of the government which is elected by and serving as the representatives of the citizens of the nation.

I believe that the military is a necessary tool for the survival of the nation. That is simple fact. You can wish it were not but it is still fact and reality. How that military is used is the responsibility of the United States government as the representative of the citizens of the United States. So I say to those who denigrate the military of this nation that these are your sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles and neighbors doing the business you asked them to do. You can say I didn’t vote for him or her or I protested against this or that but the bottom line is this. This nation’s government is elected by its citizens and we citizens have access to more information than can be digested so the government in office is there because we put them there and it’s our fault and not that soldiers fault so you need to get over it and do something about it. The soldiers in the field are fighting for their lives because we put them there and we should be fighting for theirs and our lives here on the protest lines and in the voting booths and where ever else we can fight for America. The only way I see of bringing them home is to vote these fools and buffoons out of office so let’s get on with it. And while we’re fighting for America lets fight for the Iraqi’s too. It’s their land that’s being decimated.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Of Duty, Honor And Confusion

2006-04-17T14:01:00.000-05:00

I have read quite a few posts and received quite a few comments on my own posts with regards to soldiers obeying and disobeying illegal and legal orders. One thing has burned through on all of these writings is what I believe to be a deep misunderstanding of the definition of and reality of an illegal order as opposed to a legal order. I am also getting the impression that many of the authors of these comments are confusing our presence in Iraq with obeying an illegal order. Let’s pontificate on this issue a little.

Let me start by saying that I have a deep appreciation for these posts because it shows a desire to connect with a soldier’s world that one does not often see and I sincerely appreciate such efforts. Now here’s my short take on this issue. It is my belief that the founding fathers probably thought of this nation as being in a constant state of orderly/disorderly revolution through the electoral process. I believe it was for this reason that they rightly placed the military always and forever in civilian control and made the President the commander in chief. I believe that they looked to and intend for the citizenry, and not the military, to control the government and that the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branch would also keep each other in check and from running amuck. I do not believe that they ever had any intention that the military would defend the constitution from within. It is because of this that I must disagree with some comments and writing in that I do not believe there is any conflict in a soldier’s oath with regards to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Soldiers not only take an oath to support and defend the constitution but also to follow the orders of the officers appointed over them and they take that oath in the belief that those orders will be constitutionally legal and that those orders will in fact be steps in and of themselves in defense of the constitution. We must remember that in addition to their soldier/military side there is another side to the soldier and that is the citizen side that has all the rights of any citizen to protest and vote and take any other action that is within the law to bring about change in our government. I would add that soldiers do this every day and with zeal.

Now let’s clarify a couple of very different dynamics that may or may not be occurring in Iraq that I believe are adding to or even creating some of the confusion. If a soldier is given an order that is obviously illegal, i.e. shoot that civilian or torture that prisoner, then that soldier has not only a right but an obligation to disobey that order. And order such as that is rather obvious in nature and could more readily be interpreted as legal or illegal by most people with common sense. But if a soldier (General) is ordered to invade another country by the commander in chief and with Congress’s apparent approval then the officer must believe that in the absence of Congress’s objection and in the absence of judicial interdiction that the order is legal. Therefore to disobey the order to invade the country would in effect be a blatantly illegal act. This would hold true for the Generals subordinates as well since they also have no reason to believe the order to invade and conduct combat operations is illegal. We must not confuse the reality that we are in Iraq “legally” with our individual perception of being in Iraq illegally. If the citizens of this nation perceive and believe we are in Iraq illegally, as I do, then it is incumbent upon us, the citizens, to change the Legislative and Executive Branch and it is not, that is a capital NOT, the military’s responsibility as a military entity to take such action. Thank God!

Let us not take the incidents that occur at Abu Grahib, Gurantanimo Bay, or anywhere else in Iraq or Afghanistan out of their context of individual instances of possible illegal orders and overlay them on the invasion of Iraq. These are two very different and separate things. So to those of you who point the finger of guilt at the soldiers I say look in the mirror. The guilty person is looking back at you unless you voted for Gore and or Kerry. ;-) The military is doing its job and it is not doing it illegally yet (Sans Abu Grahib and some other highly suspect operations such as certain activities at Gitmo). If the Supreme Court or Congress says or determines that the invasion of Iraq is illegal then I am sure all of the soldiers will be glad to come home but until then they have no option but to defend themselves and the nation as ordered to do with the greatest honor and dignity possible which is what I believe 99.9999 percent are doing.

It’s not your soldiers but your government.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Generals All – Or The Burden Of Duty And Conscience

2006-04-14T11:28:00.000-05:00

Today I sat down and read through the comments of the General Officers who are now speaking up about the planning and execution of the Iraq war and subsequent occupation. As I read through their comments several things became crystal clear to me. The first was that these are soldiers whose conscience has come home to roost. I don’t want you to misunderstand what I am saying here. I am not denigrating these soldiers but simply recognizing their positions.

Generals are like Sergeant Majors in many ways but in at least one way they are painfully alike. They have both achieved or are beginning to realize the achievements of their life’s dreams. I have always believed that a soldier is the consummate professional. They take an oath when they join the military to support and defend the constitution and they dedicate their lives to that oath. Achieving the rank of General or Sergeant Major is, to these individuals, the recognition of having fulfilled that oath to the ultimate degree. But that is not all there is to it.

When you enter the military you are assimilated into a culture that dictates and requires that you dedicate your life to a belief that it is “mission first” and “soldiers always”. In other words accomplishing the mission and taking care of your soldiers are synonymous. One simply cannot happen without the other. And by doing this you are fulfilling your oath. Because of this it is my belief that these officers have fought the good fight and done their best to accomplish the mission assigned but have come to realize that they are not being heard and they can no longer bear to watch as their soldiers pay the ultimate price for the incompetence of this administration. It is only something so painfully ingrained in these officers that could drive them to break their discipline of silence as they have done. One must understand this in order to understand the gravity of what is occurring.

As I continued to contemplate these officers’ remarks another thought became crystal clear. Though not clearly spoken I believe that these soldiers are very, very concerned that Iran could be next. I believe this could well be the second major driving force behind them speaking up and I believe this should signal to the American people the gravity of the situation. These are not the kind of people who take talking to the public lightly. It is important to the military that they stand behind the civilian leadership. That is part of the bedrock of our constitution and these officers take that very seriously. So the mere fact that they are stepping forward and breaking their silence is more than significant.

As important as these officers coming forward is, I unfortunately do not see that it will be enough to bring about any real change. The Bush administration has shown a perpetual pattern of poor judgment and dishonesty along with a severe lack of foreign policy and military skills of any kind and they carry no credibility what so ever either at home or abroad. In an environment such as that I do not believe that simply the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld will bring about any significant change and besides Rumsfeld is not the root of the problem but simply a member of an incompetent band of Vulcan and Neocon Radicals that are bullying the nation and the world. I have no doubt that should Rumsfeld resign he would simply be replaced by more of the same arrogance and narrow mindedness that dominates this administration. The reality is that it will take an electoral change to make a real difference. Until the American people, Republican, Democrat, Independent or what ever political affiliation, wake up and demand change nothing will change and we will continue down the path to eventual total failure.
Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

NUTS!!!!

2006-04-12T16:48:00.000-05:00

Now let me be clear on one issue. I, unlike many of my superior officers, am not a military tactician. I am just a crusty old retired Sergeant Major with exceptionally accurate gut feelings and enough combat savvy and luck to have stayed alive. Having said that let me say that I saw, while observing from the outside and from the beginning, where the nation was being driven by this administration and I along with many of my comrades in arms boisterously voiced our concerns to every elected representative that would listen and wouldn’t listen (Unfortunately there were more of the later and damn few of the former.). Because of this, I have only one thing to say, to those senior officers and civilian leaders in positions of leadership who had direct knowledge of the intelligence leading up to the Iraq War and subsequent occupation and who failed to speak up, that they will unquestioningly understand. With all due respect sirs and ma’ams, NUTS!!!!

These individuals have, as surely as George W. Bush has, let this country down. They are responsible, as surely as George W. Bush is responsible, for the unnecessary deaths and injuries of thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Please understand that I am ecstatic that these officers are now coming forward. I laud them and applaud them. We need them to raise their voices and to shed the bright light of truth on this administration and its wanton disregard for the rule of law and the safety and security of this nation. As they do so I thank them from the bottom of my heart but I must also say this to them. It will take some time for me to get over your failure to come forward sooner and save this nation and the people of Iraq the many lives lost and broken and the suffering endured as a result of your failure to act sooner.

April 12, 2006 = KIA’s: 2,364; WIA’s: 17,469; Iraqis (Estimated): 100,000 +/- or WTFK’s

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Death, Honor, Honesty, And Other Fairy Tales

2006-04-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those seemingly very rare moments of absolute crystal clarity? If you have then you will know what I’m talking about in this post. For me these moments of clarity are moments when you look around and the whole world is in sharp focus and you think to yourself, “So this is what it’s all about.” I had one of those moments this weekend and the focal point of that moment of clarity was something I have known for a long time.

At the time I experienced this moment of clarity I was thinking about two very related subjects that I often think about and those are, the casualties of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the reporting of deceit, dishonesty, and corruption by the media. These two subjects are closely linked in my mind and I will expound on that in a moment.

I would like for you to take a moment and think about death. I realize this is not a very comfortable subject to discuss but I would like for you to just dwell on the idea of death and I would like for you to really try to understand the permanency of it. I would really like for you to try to think of what it is and what it might be like. Take a moment and really, really think about death and the emptiness of it. Think about not just death from the point of view of the person dying but also from the point of view of those left behind without them in their lives. Now if you have children I would like you to think about how you feel about your children. Really think about your children or if you don’t have any then think about the children of your brothers or sisters or close friends. Think about how you feel when your child hurts or injures themselves. When you are really into the emotion of your child being injured I would like for you to snuff that life out. That’s right, just snuff it out. They aren’t there anymore. They’re gone from your life permanently. Just imagine and dwell on your life without your child.

Now I would like for you to take a moment and think about a young man or woman about 19 or 20 years old and about what their life might be like. Really imagine what this young person’s life might be like. Think of them and think of your own child at that age and really dwell on it for a moment. Now think about that child’s mother or father. Think about how that mother or father feels when their child is injured or hurt. Now when you are really in that other parent’s head I want you to snuff that child’s life out. I want you to imagine life suddenly without your child and transfer that feeling over to the parent of that 19 or 20 year old child who is no longer there.

Now just think about those same children alive but horribly crippled and maimed for life. Think about those children missing legs, arms, eyes and even their ability to speak to you. Think about your child and the children of your family and friends in wheel chairs and in beds that they will never leave.

Over the weekend, as I read the headlines and then reviewed headlines of the past 4 or 5 years, one over riding and overpowering theme screamed from the pages and that theme was dishonesty. Oh, the headlines all read differently. Some were subtle and inferred, “influencing” and others were not so subtle and stated blatantly that they were accused of perjury or bribery or fraud but the theme of dishonesty was always there regardless of the adjective or noun and seemingly regardless of the subject being addressed. They might discuss “shielding” the president or employing “plausible deniability” but still the theme remained dishonesty. They might state that the president didn’t “authorize” the leak but he declassified the information after the leak and the theme remained dishonesty. The most telling and obvious of all the headlines though were the direct quotes about the war with and occupation of Iraq that were consistently diametrically opposed and spoken by persons representing the administration if not always the president himself. The point is that the theme was always dishonesty and it seems to me that when the theme is always dishonesty then dishonesty is fact. It also seems to me that this administration is the personification of repetition. Unfortunately, they are consistently repeating misinformation, disinformation, deceptive information and blatant lies. They would appear to be attempting to confirm the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he said, “Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.”

The lose of a child is a horrible and unspeakable thing. When one contemplates such a thing it is often a fruitless struggle to understand that which is not understandable and to justify that which is not justifiable. And so we find ourselves asking the unanswerable. Why is my child gone? What did my child die for? It is because of this unspeakable pain and these unanswerable questions that when the leader of a nation request authorization for and directs the use of military force it is imperative that it be a just and humane cause and a just authorization conducted in the bright and focused light of honesty. To ask for less is to ask that which should not be asked and to do less is to do the unthinkable.

The reality, the moment of clarity for this nation, is this. The children of America are giving their lives and limbs for lies. The children of Iraq are dying and being maimed because of lies. For this reason alone the citizens of this nation must stand before the gates of Washington D.C. and shout, ‘Mr. Bush, bring our children home!’

Where is there dignity unless there is honesty? Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Of Irony, Sacrifice, and Betrayal

2006-04-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

As I drove home today I was listening to a report about the Moussaoui trial. The segment I was listening to was about the testimony of a Firefighter who, on September 11, 2001, was watching as his friend and fellow Firefighter was killed by the falling body of a victim of the al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center who had jumped to his death. The irony of this event wasn’t lost on me nor was the pain that I felt and understood as I heard this report. The narrative triggered a series of thoughts and emotions that began as a flashback. I found myself reliving the lose of my friends and comrades in arms and I was seeing all of them falling and dying all over again but this time it was all of them at once. For anyone who has experienced such an event the shear horror of it cannot be expressed and the knowledge that on that day events such as that were occurring all around the Trade Center sickened my heart.

I then, in my minds eye, fast forwarded to the present and my thoughts moved to each of the 2,345 soldiers who have given their lives since the beginning of the Iraq conflict and each of the 17,469 soldiers who have spilled their blood and left parts of themselves in the deserts and streets of Iraq and then on to each of the estimated 100,000+ Iraqi deaths since the beginning of the conflict. My mind just kept reeling with the images of the men, women, and children dying and being crippled by the ravages of war.

The nausea was still with me earlier this evening as I watched the news and reports on how I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby testified before a Grand Jury that Vice President Cheney told him that President Bush had authorized him to leak classified information in the Valerie Plame case and Alberto Gonzales’ testifying before Congress that the President can authorize warrantless domestic wiretaps if they are al Qaeda related and then report after report of corruption and political cronyism. As I watched these reports, just as vividly as my flashbacks, came my remembered images of the endless series of interviews and speeches by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Codolezza Rice, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spewing a never ending series of purposefully deceptive statements, deceitful misrepresentations and plain lies. And just as vividly the never ending line of Republican Senators, Congressmen, and of course the sometimes suffocating masses of conservative talking heads spewing the same vile deceit and attempting to justify the grotesquely incompetent actions of their President and his administration.

As I watched and experienced these things the sickening reality came into crystal clear focus that on September 11, 2001 this nation was assaulted by a terrorist organization led by Osama Bin Laden that took the lives of thousands of Americans and the only member of that organization who has been brought to justice is a delusional “wanna be” named Moussaoui. The sickening reality came into crystal clear focus that our nation’s leadership, aided by both the active and complicit support of the Republican leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives and a parade of conservative pundits, misled and lied to the American people and took the nation to war and into an occupation of a sovereign nation that had absolutely nothing to do with the assault on the United States. As I watched these things the sickening reality came into crystal clear focus that thousands upon thousands of people have died as a result of their deception and immoral and illegal actions.

This nation has been betrayed by the President of the United States, his administration and the Republican Leadership of the Senate and Congress. They have been betrayed and the cost of that betrayal is absolutely inconceivable, disgusting and sad and stretches from the banks of the Tigress River to the Gulf shores of Mississippi and Louisiana touching the lives of Iraqis, Americans, and countless others.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

A Tribute To A Young Journalist

2006-04-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

This is just a short post in tribute to what I believe is the heroism of Jill Carroll. I have never actually read anything written by Jill Carroll but that doesn’t stop me from respecting and admiring her. I have read a lot about her over the last 82 days and I must say that what I have read has impressed me and left me with nothing but respect and admiration. I have been left with a picture of a young woman trying to report on the truth of the horror that is the Iraq war and the plight of the Iraqi people. I can think of no nobler cause for a young journalist to pursue so I can think of a no more appropriate place to be than where she was when she was abducted.

My experience with the military, of which I’ve had a little, has also left me with a deep appreciation for the fate and experiences of prisoners of war and hostages. I would tell you that even with my depth of experience I can only imagine the ordeal that Jill Carroll experienced over those 82 days of captivity. They were, I’m sure, those things of which nightmares are made. Just knowing these things are what make me see her as and believe her to be a true heroine. I believe that for her to be home in what appears to be good health and whole, at least physically, is a blessing for her and her family but what scars she may bear mentally will only really begin to be seen with the passage of time and for whatever those may be I am deeply saddened.

Now, as I said this post will be short, but I cannot bring it to a close without a comment on what I consider the grotesque conduct and comments of some all knowing, all seeing, heroic conservative bloggers and talking heads that have belittled the actions of Jill Carroll. From what I have seen in the past a returning hostage would never be questioned as to their conduct while in captivity but unfortunately in the politically hyper charged and divided political media world created by the radical Neocon, Vulcan, Rovian, Republicans of the Bush administration and those influenced and controlled by them it has become the norm. For you Rovian savants I want to tell you that whatever Jill Carroll said or did while in captivity that helped her to gain her freedom was the dead on correct thing to do or say. What I mean by that is that I laud and commend her for whatever she said or did that convinced her captors to free her. She was not a prisoner of war but the hostage of a bunch of radical criminals. So for you slim sucking ultra conservative radicals, for those of you who would point an accusing finger of shame at Jill Carroll as though she were a prisoner of war in your little make believe world I say this. First, it’s and Iraqi civil war and an American occupation. Second, when you have gone to Iraq and been taken captive and held for 82 days and returned, call me and I’ll have time to listen to you. Until you have completed that little mission I would ask that you simply shut the f**k up because you have no credibility.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

I’m Pissed

2006-03-31T07:29:00.000-05:00

I’ve been posting on dkos for several months now and as most of you know I post about the United States military and soldiers. On many, many of my posts I keep getting excuse the expression, a bunch of “whack jobs” that must be from some other country or planet. Here’s why I’m saying this.

Our soldiers, American soldiers, are in Iraq and Afghanistan because, as I have said in other post, the Commander in Chief, your president, sent them there. Yes I said your president because he came to power in your system. These soldiers are not 130,000+++ criminals. They are soldiers, your soldiers, your neighbors, your neighbors son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, mother, and father. They are NOT criminals!!!! Do you get it?

Now some of you come on and post comments to my posts that accuse these young men and women and talk about how they should disobey orders and revolt and every other such ridiculous act you can dream up. Well let me tell you something. You better bend down and kiss the ground they walk on or continue on around and kiss you ass good bye because I have news for you. If those young men and women didn’t obey their orders this country would be just like any other third world second rate dictatorship. What sets this nation apart from all the others is our system of government and the controls on our military. If you want that changed then either get involved and change your government politically or pick up a gun and call me when you finish the coup.

These young men and women are just like you and me. The difference is they happen to be serving their country. The operative word here is serving by the way and that would be something you cerebral lounge chair whack jobs don’t want to do or don’t have the kahoonas to do. They must obey the laws of the nation just like you and me plus the laws of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Geneva Conventions and every treaty this nation has signed. What is it that you want; for them to revolt and have a little coup. Well it isn’t going to happen because they are better than that.

One last thing on this short pissey post. As I said in yesterdays post and this post, this is your government. Those soldiers are in Iraq and Afghanistan and every other hell hole in the world because George W. Bush sent them there. In other words because “YOU” sent them there because he is your president whether you like it or not because it is your government that put him in the job. If you want them home as much as I do then get off your criticizing pissey little butts and do something about it. For those of you who want to continue to point a finger at these young men and women serving their country and accuse them of crimes I can only say this. You are amazing gods. I did not know that one could just sit in their living rooms and watch TV and read their blogs and other “intellectual” and historical papers and become the judge, jury, and executioner for 130,000+++ soldiers. The last time I checked that took a court of law in this country.

Do and say what you want but until hell freezes over I’m going to support and believe in my comrades in arms. Or at least until the jury comes in which is more than some of you’re doing. And we wonder why “OUR” progressive left is having trouble winning elections.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Some people just don’t get it.

2006-03-30T14:36:00.000-05:00

This great nation is a bloody mess. That’s right; the United States of America is a great big bloody mess. We have Dick, Don, and Doof running things with the incompetent Doof as Commander in Chief rounding out the stooges; but I’m damn proud of this country anyway. Please notice that I said I am proud of the United States of America, our nation, our country. (I’m actually ashamed of the stooges.)

I’m sure that you’ve heard time and again that “democracy is a messy business” and of course it is. We all know that. I just said it’s a bloody mess and Dick, Don, and Doof are heading it up so you know it’s a mess. But I didn’t make those statements to rehash the old adage. I made those statements to make a very different point and here is that point.

The United States is a country that makes mistakes, lots of mistakes, more mistakes than I care to think about, and it does a lot of things I wish it wouldn’t do. But, I must also say that it has done and does a lot of things that I’m damned glad for and proud of. The United States joined in World War I and World War II and helped win those wars against some very bad people. The United States was responsible for the Marshall plan that rebuilt Europe and it was the dominant power during the Cold War helping hold the line until the old Soviet Union collapsed and China was somewhat tamed. The United States has done a lot of things correctly but it has also done a lot of things incorrectly. Depending on who you talk to we did or didn’t botch the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Conflict. Depending on who you talk to we did or didn’t botched innumerable other foreign adventures and misadventures. All of this is true to some extent or another but there is another truth buried in all of this.

To me the simple reality is that the United States, for what ever reason, continues to strive and struggle, making mistakes and having successes, but always trying to move forward to a better tomorrow for themselves and as often as not for the rest of the world too. Now you may or may not agree with me and it really doesn’t matter but there is an even deeper point I want to make and that is about a subject that I always come back to. That subject is the United States military and the American soldier.

It is my belief that, in all of our adventures in foreign affairs, the United States military’s greatest value has been and is in its use as a tool of foreign diplomacy. I believe it was best said by Theodore Roosevelt when he said, “There is a homely old adage which runs: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." If the American nation will speak softly, and yet build and keep at a pitch of the highest training a thoroughly efficient navy, the Monroe Doctrine will go far.” America has too often ignored this sage advice from, what I believe was, one of our greatest presidents. We would be wise to reflect on that and tailor our future endeavors accordingly. What must not be lost in all of this though is the American soldier. American soldiers have been serving their country for over two hundred and twenty nine years. They have done everything asked of them consistently and courageously. They have stuck by this nation through every endeavor, adventure, and misadventure in her history. The latest misadventure included. They may belly ache and cry and they may praise and smile but they always stick it out and get the job that they are asked to do done. Sadly some soldiers go bad and do bad things and some just crumble under the responsibility. Some soldiers sacrifice a part or all of themselves and some serve simply and steadfastly while others show courage that is almost unfathomable but through it all the American soldier has always been there for this nation.

Now let’s talk about the military and soldiers today. I don’t like George W. Bush and I think he is an incompetent blemish on the posterior of the nation. I don’t like the conflict in Iraq and I believe many soldiers do not like the conflict in Iraq but they are there because George W. Bush, on behalf of this nation, sent them there. They are there carrying out the mission given to them by the Commander in Chief. We may not like this but we, as a nation, must face the fact that our system of government has placed George W. Bush in the position of President and Commander in Chief and as a result he has taken this nation into a conflict which I believe, as do many other Americans, to be illegal.

In light of what I have written above I would ask you to consider the position the American soldier is in. The soldier must, by oath and law, go where, and do what, his or her Commander in Chief says. So when you sit there, angry about what is happening in Iraq or Afghanistan or any other part of the world where the Commander in Chief has sent the soldiers, do not be angry with the soldiers. It is not the soldier’s fault but ours and the reason it is our fault is because it is our government. It is our system. Those in the Congress and the Senate and the Whitehouse that make up that government are there because we, the American people, put them there. If we want these things changed it is our responsibility to change it. I would also suggest that it is disingenuous to suggest that well it is not my fault because I voted for Sam or Bill or Sue. I would suggest that just voting isn’t enough. Enough is when you put all of your available and a little more energy into changing things. If we are willing to ask our soldiers to put their lives on the line for us then I believe it is our responsibility to put our everything on the line for the soldiers.

One last thought. Soldiers are ordered into combat. They are there by law and oath. Once there, they have no option but to fight. It is not an, I’d like not to, kind of thing. You either fight or die. Think about it.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

A Cancer Called Evil and Soldiers

2006-03-29T11:11:00.000-05:00

Those of you who have read my posts in the past know that I come from a long line of American soldiers. That line begins with the American Revolution, encompasses virtually every interim military action and currently ends with the first Gulf conflict. I am intensely proud of that tradition and because of that when I read or hear something I consider derogatory about soldiers I grow angry and incensed, and that brings me to the reason for this post.

I believe there is evil in the world. I say that because I have traveled all over the world and I have witnessed evil up close and personal. I have witnessed evil in the actions of groups, large and small, and I have seen it in the eyes and actions of individuals. I believe evil is a cancer. It can occupy a single person or it can spread and consume an entire group. I have seen this cancer manifest itself in the ability and desire to take a life or torture another human being while relishing the act and I have seen it take the form of pure greed and desire so strong as to enable a person to totally disregard another human life. The historical best example of this type of cancer of course is Adolph Hitler and the spread of evil through the Third Reich. And like a cancer I believe that evil must be treated and or destroyed and removed. During World War II the world had a cancer that was spreading and the world treated itself. Those nations who had the disease under control were able to surgically remove the cancer from and treat the residual malignancies in the other nations of the world.

Today the cancer that is evil still exist but in new and different forms. It exists in small malignant pockets such as al Qaeda and in larger groups such as the former Taliban government of Afghanistan and metastasizes itself in regimes in Africa which results in genocide such as in Dafur. There are malignant cells of evil in every nation in the world and every organization in the world and unfortunately it even exists in the United States military as we saw at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. But each of these cancers requires a different treatment. Some, such as the Taliban government of Afghanistan need to be removed by radical surgery using total and overwhelming force. Others such as al Qaeda must be searched out and eradicated malignant cell by malignant cell and still others such as those infections in the United States military and the chain of command that resulted in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo must be examined and treated by being brought to justice.

What is most important to me though is how the physician treats his instruments and medicines. To me the United States military is like a fine surgical instrument or drug that the surgeon should be proud of. Sure, during the surgery or treatment, the instrument or drug can get contaminated with malignant cells but you don’t deride the instrument or drug and throw it away. You sterilize the instrument and prepare it for the next surgery. So I ask that when you hear about the Abu Ghraibs and the Guantanamo Bays don’t ask that they throw the instrument away demand that they sterilize the instrument but don’t condemn it by treating it as though it were the disease.

One last thought I would like share. We need to remember that sometimes the physician can become ill also . Sometimes malignant cells spread into the organs of the body politic. I believe that that has happened to the government of the United States and it is time that the citizens take up the call “physician heal thyself.” We need to remove the malignant cells in our government and allow our nation to heal.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

When People Die

2006-03-27T17:45:00.000-05:00

I am a person who, unfortunately and fortunately, has experienced death from all sides. I know that statement might be hard to wrap your mind around but I believe that all people should and must strive to do so. I have a deep understanding of what it is to live with having taken human life and I have a deep understanding of what it is to lose life. To lose your own and the lives of others in the many different and varied ways. I share this because I believe it is important that you understand that I know intimately of that which I write here.

The experience and aftermath of taking a human life is not something you can ever communicate to another person. It simply isn’t humanly possible to express such and event. Even though the laws of man say you are not guilty of a crime for which you should be punished and societal tradition says you have in fact done something to be proud of, you still cannot ever, ever shed the guilt that your soul must carry and that is pain one cannot share.

The lose of a loved one is also something that cannot be communicated to another person. It is something that can only be truly understood when experienced and even then can not be truly shared. And even within that larger group that has experienced such lose there are subgroups of those who have lost their loved ones, friends, and acquaintances through violence, accidents, suicide, and natural death. Even these groups cannot share the different types and levels of grief, deep pain, anxiety, and anger they experience after such an event.

And then there is ones own death. This, for those who have gone to the edge and returned, cannot ever be communicated to another living soul. We can all share the anxiety of looking at our own demise but to have actually been to the edge and returned is not something one can share. It is an experience that changes the very soul of the person and it is a profoundly personal change.

Now you may ask why I am posting this diary on a political blog site. The answer is this. War is the perfect storm of death and all the varied experiences of death. Soldiers may and often do experience all that I have written above in a single day in war. They take life and loose friends and family through violence, accident, suicide and natural causes within the span of months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes and sometimes experience their own death as a cruel bonus while living the horror of war. A very miniscule few come back from the pull of death mostly broken and maimed, but those are the miniscule few.

These experiences that I have expressed above are happening every bloody second of every bloody day in Iraq. I write about this because when soldiers have to experience these things for all the right reasons it is bad…..very, very, very bad, but when they experience it for all the wrong reasons it becomes evil….very, very, very evil.

The American experience in Iraq is evil. It is evil because the American people were lied to, misled, and deceived into an unnecessary illegal preemptive war and subsequent insurgency and civil war by those who were and are charged with, and constitutionally responsible for, showing the light of truth and defending the constitution of the United States. It is evil because each and every day the perfect storm of death flows over the Iraqi countryside taking lives that should not be taken for reasons that are not reasons. The brave, the innocent and the guilty share death equally. They share an equal death that is promulgated by those who know nothing of death. Those who have no understanding of service to country and the ultimate sacrifice that may well be asked, because they have always shirked their duty when called and never struggled to defend the democracy they so enjoy. It is not necessary to list the violations of laws and the constitution that have been put upon the American people by this administration leading up to the war with Iraq, executing the war with Iraq and occupying Iraq because I believe that any rational, thinking human being capable of speaking, hearing, seeing and reading should know all of these things by now.

When people die it is because their leaders have failed. That is simple truth.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

We are not at war!

2006-03-24T17:37:00.000-05:00

We were at war!

We were at war with the country of Iraq from March 20, 2003 until May 1, 2003. We are now and armed occupier of Iraq. It is important to draw a line here and make clear a distinction between when we, arguably, illegally invaded Iraq without a formal Congressional declaration of war and when we became an occupation army in armed conflict with Iraqi insurgents.

We invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003 and were at war in Iraq from that time until it ended on May 1, 2003 when President Bush declared an end to major combat operations after we defeated the Iraqi army. Note that I said “after we defeated the Iraqi army” because that was the end of the war between nation states. As of that date, May 1, 2003, the United States Army became an army of occupation, which is what it continues to be today. It is important to understand that since that date the United States military has simply been one of several parties engaged in a conflict with and armed Iraqi insurgency. But, since May 1, 2003 when the war with Iraq ended and the insurgency began there has been a significant transformation of the conflict. There has been a definitive transition from and armed insurgency, where the United States military was one of the primary targets, to a civil war where the United States military is now simply another target for insurgents and a training target for terrorists. I add the “training target for terrorists” because during this same time al Qaeda made Iraq, not a war zone, but a terrorist training area.

Iraq is at war!

Based on the encyclopedia’s description, of which I am using Wikipedia for convenience here, I submit that Iraq is now fully engaged in a civil war with multiple internal warring factions.

Civil war - A civil war is a war in which parties within the same country or empire struggle for national control of state power. As in any war, the conflict may be over other matters such as religion, ethnicity, or distribution of wealth. Some civil wars are also categorized as revolutions when major societal restructuring is a possible outcome of the conflict. An insurgency, whether successful or not, is likely to be classified as a civil war by some historians if, and only if, organized armies fight conventional battles. Other historians state the criteria for a civil war is that there must be prolonged violence between organized factions or defined regions of a country (conventionally fought or not). In simple terms, a Civil War is a war in which a country fights another part of itself.

We are not at war!

At least we are not at war against terrorism or terror or terrorist and here is why I am of that opinion.

Here are some definitions from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

War: A state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations.

Terror: A state of intense fear.

Terrorism: The systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.

(Now here is the funny part of this post.) Now I don’t know about you but, unless the term “state” that is being used in the phrase, “a state of intense fear” is a geographic location with contiguous borders I’m not sure how you have a war with it. Now I also know that Terrorism is a noun but I’m still not sure how you have a war with “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion”. Is that like some special kind of country or nation or state that I wasn’t told about? If it is then all I can say is that that is a pretty odd name for a country and I’m betting they don’t get a lot of tourists. (This is the end of the funny part of this post.)

The reality is this; the world is involved in an armed struggle with terrorists. These are not soldiers that we are in conflict with. They are terrorists. They are armed criminals. This is not a war but an armed law enforcement operation against criminals and radicals who use terrorism to coerce and intimidate the law abiding citizens of the world in order to achieve their militant goals. To declare war on these elements is not only not possible but it is, in my view, irresponsible and does discredit to our own armed forces by equating them to these criminals. You capture and bring criminals to justice but you do not honor them as soldiers as though they were some army marching to battle for their country, home and family.

I believe that it is critical that we clearly articulate the current conflicts and identify them for what they are and here is how I see it.

Iraq is in a civil war as a result of the US invasion and the United States military has become nothing more than an occupying force that is propping up the Iraqi government.

The Bush administration has no real demonstrable plan to enable the Iraqi’s to stand on their own while simultaneously extricating the United States military from the occupation.

The Bush administration is spending vast amounts of money, billions per week (potentially totaling $1 Trillion dollars or more), on occupying and rebuilding Iraq that should be spent on providing security for the United States borders, ports, and infrastructure and providing enhanced funding for counter terrorism agencies and organizations within the US government.

The Bush administration is not effectively addressing terrorism through concrete steps such as bolstering international relations and cooperation but instead they are focused on the occupation of a country that is a distraction from the real threat to our own nation.

The Bush administration will continue to poor our soldier’s blood into the sands of the Iraqi dessert as long as we allow it.

I want to add one last thought here. If the definition of terrorism is, the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion, then it is my opinion that George W. Bush and his administration use terrorism daily when they continue to threaten the American people with their fear tactics of color coded alerts and constant browbeating of the American public with how threatened we are by these superhuman terrorist. Yes they are dangerous but quit beating us on the head with them and politicizing the issue. Defend America and stop grabbing power. And by the way please loose the “Homeland” bit. We defeated the “Fatherland” 60 years ago and it just gives me a creepy feeling and it ain’t the same war Dick and Don and Doof.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

If War Crimes Have Been Committed, It Is George W. Bush Who Is Guilty Or – A Failure Of Leadership

2006-03-22T17:13:00.000-05:00

If American soldiers have committed war crimes it is a failure of leadership. Period!

I have written several posts in the past reflecting on the failures of leadership that is the Bush administration. I believe it is urgent and necessary to re-address these failures.

When we, the American people, see news reports of alleged massacres and or alleged war crimes it is all too easy to one, jump to the conclusion that the accusations are true, and two, convict the accused soldiers before the investigations and subsequent possible trials are complete. This is doubly easy to do when you are as against the war as I am and have such strong feelings about the gross tragedies that are occurring in Iraq. I am asking America to not do that. I am begging America to reserve judgment until the facts are revealed, the investigations complete and the trials are ended.

That America not jump to conclusions is critically important to the sanity, safety, and security of the hundreds of thousands of honorable soldiers serving in our military.

It is my professional opinion that the actions of soldiers and by default military units/organizations are a reflection of their leadership. I have been a personal witness to this fact time and again. It was my sad duty but also honor to, on numerous occasions, be asked by my chain of command to go into an organization and with a new Commander “clean it up”. That is to restore military discipline and order and esprit de corps to the organization. I can attest, that in every single instance of this, and there were numerous instances, the reason for the breakdown in order and discipline was an inept, incompetent, and often derelict chain of command. That is that the leadership lacked moral courage and honor and as a result the organization had taken on the weak moral stature of the leadership. It is my opinion that this dynamic has been obvious and prevalent since the beginning of the Iraq war and it has seeped down like the insidious cancer it is from the very top of the military chain of command directly from the Commander in Chief.

Honor and moral courage begin with the manner in which a leader conducts him or her self. If leaders conduct themselves using deceit and dishonesty then it becomes obvious and the leader’s subordinates believe that it is okay for them to act this way. They in fact begin to believe that it is simply expected that they will emulate their leader. So the reality is that when George W. Bush puts himself and his administration above the law and orders torture, and orders warrantless wiretaps and spying on American citizens then the chain of command begins to believe that if the Commander in Chief can do it I can do it and I’m in fact expected to do it and maybe even ordered to do it. And If the Generals believe this then the Colonels believe it and the Captains and the Sergeants and the Privates. That’s how you end up with soldiers stacking nude POW’s into pyramids and making them perform sex acts on each other and that’s how you end up with a Sergeant using his dog to make “POW’s” soil themselves and that’s how you end up with soldiers being accused of shooting innocent men, women, and children.

In the rigid system that is the military there is no room for error. There is no room for people who do not follow orders. It is drilled into the soldiers head day in and day out to follow orders and oh by the way if the order is illegal you don’t have to follow it but oh by the way if you disobey you had better make sure that the order is illegal and oh by the way if it turns out the order is legal we’ll shoot you later for failing to follow a lawful order. The problem is you see that combat is not a nice neat, clean business. So the bottom line is if your leadership doesn’t stand for honor, integrity and the moral right then you the soldier loose either way.

So please when you hear and see these things first give the soldiers a benefit of a doubt and then remember there are hundreds of thousands who are standing tall honorably and with moral courage and third demand that George W. Bush and the rest of his chain of command be held accountable and responsible for every illegal, immoral and corrupt action they have committed and allowed to be committed. And then demand that any soldier found guilty of committing a war crime be held accountable.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What My Daddy Taught Me About Lying.

2006-03-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

When I was a little boy I had occasion to attempt to avoid getting in trouble. I often found very inventive ways of making sure my mother and father didn’t find out that I did or didn’t do something I was suppose to or not suppose to do. For instance if it was my turn to take out the trash and I forgot or was just to lazy to do it I would fall back on the old tried and true “It’s not my turn, I did it yesterday” knowing full well my brother did it yesterday. Or if I broke something I’d use the old, “I found it like that” knowing full well that I had turned the knob too hard and broke it off. But those were the little things and I could usually come to some childish justification that I could live with by convincing myself that it really wasn’t that big of a deal and it really didn’t hurt anyone anyway.

Those were the little things, but what I was usually most uncomfortable doing was telling the straight up lies. The real whoppers. You remember, it was the one where you knew you were just telling a bald faced lie. “No Dad, I didn’t smoke a cigarette.” “No way Mom, I didn’t skip school.” “No Sir, I didn’t snitch that candy from the store. Bobby gave it to me.” Or maybe I just plain lied and blamed someone else, usually my unsuspecting brother, for doing whatever the wrong may have been. I remember on those occasions that I would tell these lies thinking that it wasn’t my bottom that was going to get blistered so it must be okay. But in reality I was never really comfortable telling one of these whoppers so they were very few and far between.

Those were the lies of boyhood and I eventually out grew them and learned the lessons my parents and grandparents taught me and showed me through example. I eventually learned that you don’t lie, cheat, or steal and anyway you couch it, a lie is a lie. They taught me that even the subtle little misleadings were really lies. They taught me that saying “Oh, sorry but I forgot” was just as much a lie as “Oh, sorry but I had to do something else” if it simply wasn’t the truth. In other words they taught me right from wrong and they taught me that little wrongs are just as wrong as big wrongs and they taught me that there are consequences to telling lies. They taught me that there were real consequences and what those consequences were.

Now that I am an adult I have to ask myself this. Has George W. Bush grown up and what did George H. W. Bush teach him about lying? Apparently the answer is he has not grown up and his father didn’t teach him anything and that appears to be true of the fathers and grandfathers of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice and quite a few others in the Bush administration such as Scooter Libby. Monday evening, March 20th, 2006 the most recent example of George H. W. Bush’s fatherly failings and George W. Bush’s lies was demonstrated on Keith Olberman when Keith played two video clips. One of the clips was of George W. Bush from a speech he gave in, I believe it was, 2002 when he clearly falsely connected al Qaeda and Iraq and Saddam Hussein and one from Monday, March 20th, 2006 when he denied having ever connecting them. Well I would like to tell you that I don’t consider myself the morals police but I do consider myself a somewhat average and honest person and I consider myself somewhat intelligent and capable of recalling past events and interpreting what I hear somewhat accurately. In light of that I will tell you that on March 20th, 2006 George W. Bush once again lied to the American people. I will also tell you that I know that I have heard George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condi Rice do this same thing repeatedly over the last five years and here is what I think.

Using any standard of common sense and real ethical values George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condi Rice are liars. My daddy, if he were alive would tell me that and I would believe him. Plain and simple they are liars in my daddy's book, they are liars my granddaddy's book and they are liars my book and they are not the example I want my children to follow. Having said that I also believe it is incumbent upon the Congress to perform their constitutionally mandated duty of oversight and to initiate an investigation into these instances of dishonesty on the part of the President and take appropriate action. It is also my humble opinion that if the results of those investigations are that the President is guilty of high crimes and or treason he should be impeached. I am, as an American citizen, simply demanding that Congress fulfill their responsibility under the constitution. In other words I want our Congress to set the correct example for our children and I believe that is also in the constitution somewhere. Well, as my daddy would say "if it ain't it oughta be."

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Dying For All The Wrong Reasons

2006-03-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

As everyone who reads my blog knows, I am just an old soldier. I am, as the General once said “just fading away”, but I am one who, so long as I draw breath, will never stop caring about soldiers. Because of the state of our Army today I would like to address an issue that I believe has been largely overlooked or when it has been occasionally addressed I don’t believe it has been clearly articulated.

It is my humble thought that being a soldier is one of the noblest, if not the most noble, professions that any human being can pursue. Soldiers are men and women who have made a decision to be of service their nation. They have such a burning desire that their country exist in peace and harmony and security and they so love their country that they have made a very conscious decision to, if necessary; sacrifice their lives and limbs for it.

Please take a moment and think about this. I would like for each of you to think about these men and women who think so much of their country, and more importantly their countrymen, to give their very lives to defend them. Think for a moment, about these men and women who walk the streets of Baghdad and Fallujah and Kabul never knowing if their next step will be their last or lead to a life of disability, pain, and suffering. And, think about the fact that these are the noble descendants of the men and women who fought at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Verdun, Normandy, Inchon, and Dak To.

These are men and women who step up and say, “Send me, let me go to serve my country and defend my nation against tyranny.” And they do this selflessly. These are men and women who when performing their duties never question why.

It is because these men and women do this so selflessly and nobly that it is our duty to understand and demand that they be sent to do these things only when we, the citizens of this great nation, know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they go, to sacrifice and perhaps die, for all the right and just reasons. I say this again, that we, the citizens of this great nation, must know that they go, to sacrifice and perhaps die, for all the right and just reasons. I say this twice because I believe that we all know that they are not in Iraq sacrificing and dying for all the right and just reasons. I say this twice because we all know that we did not have the knowledge we needed as a nation to ask these young people to sacrifice so much.

It is not about not honoring our soldiers. Let me repeat that; it is not about not honoring our soldiers. We all strive to honor our soldiers in word and deed. We all know that they are wherever we send them, serving and sacrificing, because we as a nation asked them to do so and they are honor bound by oath to serve and defend and they are fulfilling that oath.

No, it is not about not honoring our soldiers but it is about our government. It is about the government that is led by George W. Bush, President and Commander-in-Chief. It is about George W. Bush who is responsible (the buck stops there) for all of the activities of this government whether it is the Pentagon, CIA, DIA, NSA or any of the other alphabet soup institutions of our government. It is George W. Bush who directed our soldiers to sacrifice and die for false information and to invoke war against a nation that did not pose the threat that he told us that it posed. It is about the government of George W. Bush not providing the citizens of this nation with the truth. Let me repeat that. It is about the government of George W. Bush not providing the citizens of this nation with the truth. We have exposed our soldiers to unnecessary danger and continue to expose them to unnecessary danger because George W. Bush did not tell this nation the truth.

Soldiers have struggled to always serve their nation with honor. They have not always succeeded but they have always struggled. We can ask no more of them because they are just soldiers and not gods. But when we ask a soldier to serve, we as a nation are honor bound to do so with all honesty and integrity. To do less is to dishonor and do an injustice to the men and women who serve. We and our government failed in this task during Vietnam and we have failed once again in Iraq but there is a profound difference this time. This time our government and George W. Bush have done so with criminal malice of forethought. It is one thing to struggle with incompetence and quite another to flagrantly proceed with such disdain and arrogance. We have asked and our military has sacrificed. It has cost our nation dearly and it continues to do so. At this writing we have lost 2,309 soldiers killed and 16,653 wounded and maimed. The cost to the Iraqi people is untold thousands.

The American people have been given a glimpse of the truth. It is time that we demand the whole truth and it is time we did the right thing. We must adopt a withdrawal plan and begin to extricate ourselves from this misguided war while simultaneously bringing stability to the region through diplomacy and firm military strength. This is not only possible but necessary. It is time that we fulfilled our obligation to our nation’s military forces and asked them to do what is needed and to ask them through a sense of honor, integrity, and honesty and not ask them while using deceit and deception.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

The Ravaged Results Of Incompetence.

2006-03-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

During the closing years of the decade that was the 1980’s President Ronald Regan proudly served as Commander in Chief of the finest military force in the world as the Berlin Wall crumbled and the Soviet Empire imploded before us. On February 23, 1991, that same great military force with George H.W. Bush as Commander in Chief began the ground war that would bring complete defeat to Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War. This was the same military force that had been rebuilt and restored after the disaster that was Vietnam. This was the same military force that had been rebuilt and restored by dedicated, committed officers of vision such as General Bernard W. Rogers, General Edward C. Meyer, General John A. Wickham, Jr., General Carl E. Vuono, General Gordon R. Sullivan, General Dennis J. Reimer, and General Eric K. Shinseki and by equally visionary and committed noncommissioned officers like SMA Silas L. Copeland, SMA Leon L. Van Autreve, SMA William G. Bainbridge, SMA William A. Connelly, SMA Glen E. Morrell, SMA Julius W. Gates, SMA Richard A. Kidd, SMA Robert E. Hall, and SMA Jack L. Tilley. This same military force that these soldiers and many, many others dedicated their lives to restoring and building is now being decimated not by an enemy army, but from within by the power drunk likes of Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush and the codependent myopic military and civilian lapdogs that kowtow to them in the pentagon.

It seems to me that our national collective memory is all too short. I listen to the babbling heads on cable news and it is as though they want to separate the collective mistakes and resultant consequences of this administration’s actions and look at each as though it were some isolated incident which the administration is valiantly responding too. (Chris Mathews comes to mind most readily.) But, this is not reality. This is not truth. The post invasion chaos and the emerging civil war in Iraq is not some isolated incident. Hamas wining elections in Palestine is not some isolated incident. North Koreas new found intense belligerence is not some isolated incident and Iran’s aggressive pursuit of a nuclear weapon is not some isolated incident. We can, very reasonably, conclude that much of this belligerence and aggression and chaos is a direct result of the aggressive and egomaniacal attitude and actions of this administration. We can, very reasonably argue that our egregious military actions in Iraq from invasion to torture and our presidential statements about the “Axis of Evil” could certainly be interpreted as acts of unprovoked aggression. Prudent people would certainly assume this to be a reasonable conclusion. Why should we be surprised by the “sudden” and intense anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world? And, why should we now be surprised, shocked and awed that we are up to our a**es in alligators in Iraq and Afghanistan and simultaneously faced with a hugely more threatening and “real” nuclear threat from Iran.

What I am pointing out is simple and straightforward cause and affect. Nothing more and nothing less but it is also a huge, horrendous, and catastrophic foreign policy debacle and threat to our national security. My point is that this administration, and the single most responsible person, in the person of George W. Bush, has created a military and foreign relations nightmare. It is my belief that their myopic view of foreign policy and use of the military has resulted in a significantly weakened (hollow) military force that is barely maintaining readiness and op tempo in Iraq while at home our national guard is virtually in a non-operationally ready status and is almost incapable of providing their traditional natural disaster operations and assistance that was, I believe, demonstrated in a most profound manner during hurricane Katrina.

Yes! Yes, this is a pattern. It is a pattern of incompetence. It is a pattern of profound and catastrophic incompetence that is leaving this nation with a national debt that will suffocate the prosperity of generations to come and leave us with a military that is in a near debilitated condition and possibly incapable of protecting the nation. This administration is reaping what they have sewn and unfortunately American soldiers and citizens are sharing in that bloody bounty.
The simple fact that the Secretary of Defense would respond to Congressional questions in this manner is all too telling. Once again this administration shows its complete lack of concern for or accountability to the American people and Congress by responding with their canned answers which amount to no answers. Here we see the continuation of their incompetent behavior. There is no remorse. There is no humility or regret for their actions. There is only raw ego and audacity and it is reflected in Mr. Rumsfelt’s, General Paces, and General Abizade’s words.

I must always come back to the beginning with these things. It was and is obvious that we are in the befuddled mess we are in, in Iraq because of this administrations muddled world view and their obvious inability to think strategically and efficiently with regards to the use of military force and foreign policy. These latest poll results would do my heart good except for one thing. I have to ask myself why it took so long for a majority of Americans to see the truth. When I say “took so long” you must understand that I measure it this way; 2,306 (KIA) killed in action, and 16,653 (WIA) wounded in action.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Bush Monkeys

2006-03-08T17:27:00.000-05:00

It was my intention not to blog this week and to take off and try to rejuvenate but things just aren’t working out. We went over 2,300 soldiers killed in action this week and we are well over 16,600 wounded. The numbers depress me but what is more depressing is the fact that the administration continues to parade their Bush Monkeys onto the talk shows to pump up the audience. They played the organ for General Pace this past weekend and it made me sick to see a Marine up there dancing to this administration’s ridiculous tune. You know the old things are “going well” tune. It made me want to cry to see such a sad sight. Well General Pace sir you need to peddle your snake oil to someone who’s willing to swallow it because I don’t think Americans are so willing anymore. At least another Marine was willing to tell the truth and Congressman (Reserve Marine Colonel) Jack Murtha came out to tell the truth and balance things out a little.

What really ticks me off is that as our young soldiers are fighting and dying for their country these slimy vandals of the Bush administration keep taking away our civil liberties and Congress doesn’t just keep going along for the ride but actually serves the vital function of performing as his enablers. No one on the hill will call this administration on their illegal spying and subversion of the FISA law. No one on the hill is willing to stand up and say that the “Patriot Act” is a flagrant violation of our right to privacy and is just another Bush power grab. No one on the hill appears willing to do their constitutional duty and put some checks and balances on this administration. They just keep playing along.

Let me ask you this Senators and Congressmen and Women. What the hell are our young soldiers dying for? Is it so you can sit back and let George W. Bush become a dictator? At just what point do you intend to begin to do your jobs? This whole story line is beginning to sound all too familiar. Are we, the United States of America, to become another Reich? Do you Senators and Congressmen and Women intend to just let things roll along until it’s too late?

It appears that Congress does not have the moral courage to stand up and say enough is enough and perform their constitutionally mandated duty of oversight by initiating investigations into the illegal activities of this administration. I believe it is fairly apparent to many if not most Americans that what this president is doing is illegal not to mention unethical and the bunch of ne’er do wells in Washington D.C. are sitting on their laurels and doing nothing at best and supporting an out of control executive at worst. Actually now it looks like Congress is trying to do something. They would seem to be attempting to make legal, after the fact, what was and is blatantly illegal. George W. Bush violated and continues to violate the FISA law and in my opinion it is not Congresses job to simply rubber stamp the illegal activities of the executive branch. I believe it is their responsibility to conduct oversight and review and, by the way having a subcommittee made up of the majority party monitoring a domestic spying program is not my idea of oversight but simple partisan politics.

Maybe Jack Abramoff Should have used bananas.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

My New Theory Is You Can Be So Incompetent That You Become Irrelevant.

2006-03-02T20:05:00.002-05:00

It is my belief that George W. Bush and his administration are so incompetent that they have become nearly irrelevant on the world stage. It is rather like a 900 pound gorilla in the jungle. He can tear apart anything he wants but he’s only one gorilla and it’s a big jungle so the rest of the jungle animals just get on with their lives while the 900 pound gorilla eats ants, nuts, and berries and takes big dumps in the woods.

We will continue to be a super power for a while and we will continue to be a huge world consumer for a while but it will come to an end. That is the sad part. The gorilla will continue to slam the poor sucker unlucky enough to get in his way and he will continue to tear up his part of the jungle but eventually he will run out of jungle as he mostly and the rest of the world to a much lesser degree gobbles it up and then he’ll just starve to death.

This is one of my favorite short list of steps to becoming irrelevant.

Stolen Election 2000
Failed before and on 9/11
Thousand Mile stare as the towers come down
Lied About WMD
Lied About al Qaeda/Iraq Connection
Divulged Classified Information
Failed The Troops Act I – Shortage of armored vehicles
Failed The Troops Act II – No body armor
Torture at Abu Ghraib
Torture at Guantanamo
Stole Another Election 2004
Failed To Protect Nation During Natural Disaster
Violated The Fourth Amendment/FISA Law Act I
Violated The Fourth Amendment/FISA Law Act II
Failed Port Security Act I - Don't Protect
Failed Port Security Act II – Don’t Control
Iraq Civil War Act I
Iraq Civil War Act II
Iraq Civil War Act III
Corruption Act I – David Safavian
Corruption Act II

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Mathews Is a Neocon Shill

2006-03-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

I was just watching Chris Mathews and he had Governor Haley Barbour on his show and once again he has shown that he is nothing but a Bush shill. His blatant timing by giving the neocons time and cutting the Progressive speakers short. There are so many ways to lean a talk show right or left and Chris thinks he has it down to a sleaze science but he’s wrong. The tapes are the tapes Chris and the transcripts are the transcripts Chris. George W. Bush said what he said and he said “no one anticipated the levees being breeched.” And breeching of the levees has been discussed “thousands” of times and that’s the truth so don’t try to take Max Mayfield’s words “topping” and spin them in an attempt to make Bush look competent. This administration botched the Katrina response and they continue to botch the disaster. It’s obvious to anyone half literate. Give me a break Mathews.
Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What Do Hurricanes And Nuclear Treaties Have In Common?

2006-03-02T17:31:00.000-05:00

I realize that I am just your average citizen but I really don’t understand this. If, as this report and the video would indicate, the President of the United States and the Secretary of Homeland Security were fully briefed on hurricane Katrina and; they were warned that there was a strong likelihood that the levees around New Orleans would be breached and they were fully briefed by the head of FEMA that he did not believe that they were prepared for Katrina why was the reaction still so slow?

Actually, coming from the background that I do and knowing a little something about emergency management and procedures I find this lack of response on the part of these two individuals criminal in nature. I simply cannot, nor do I believe any rational person could, fathom that the two people most responsible for the safety and security of this nation could be so completely disengaged and out of touch with what was going on in New Orleans after these warning. Perhaps this quote applies once again, “Frankly, senior officials simply weren't ready to pay attention to analysis that didn't conform to their own optimistic scenarios.” That seems to have been their attitude about Iraq and it seems to have been repeated with Katrina. I think that the greatest failing of this administration is its myopic view of the world in general. They obviously don’t have the ability to see anything beyond their own self interest.

It is fairly straightforward to me that when you are faced with a pending and forecasted natural disaster of catastrophic proportions you move to your emergency operations center and direct the activities of your organization. It is intuitively obvious to me that after reading the information available on the actions of the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of FEMA that they were all obviously derelict in their duties. It’s that plain and that simple. Nothing and I repeat nothing happened on the Gulf Coast when hurricane Katrina hit that could not and should not have been appropriately responded to and the damage that was done and continues to be done could have and should have been greatly mitigated. It is pure and simple dereliction of duty and a failure to fulfill the responsibilities of the positions for which they were elected and appointed. Additionally it is a clear violation of their oaths of office by which they are bound.

While we’re discussing a violations of oaths of office this little ditty really blows my mind. So now we have decided to ignore the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and sign deals with countries like India that are not a party to the treaty. Sign deals with nations that have nuclear weapons and haven’t signed the NPT. Oh how bright we are. And by the way when the president was called on it by a reporter did you hear his response? I hope someone recorded it. It made absolutely no sense what so ever. I mean it. It was almost so Bush like as to be beyond funny and achieve the sublimely ridiculous. It……made…..no…..sense! The man cannot communicate. There is no way he is in charge of this administration. Someone must be thinking for him and they obviously didn’t have him wired or he would have been at least somewhat coherent. I really hope that response is on tape and if the mainstream media doesn’t ridicule him for his obvious lack of oratory skill then they are derelict in their duties.

The answer to the lead question is they are both evidence that there is no intelligent life in the Whitehouse.

Short post today but I had to get something out there.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Why Does Bush Hate American Soldiers? – Or Why Is He Destroying America?

2006-03-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

Part I – Hating Soldiers.

This post on Daily kos yesterday brought back some bad memories: Why we need to leave Iraq ASAP-from someone who is over there, by djtyg.

As I read this I had just published my own rant about the Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll of American military personnel serving in Iraq. These two things together gave me a real live flashback. I mean cold sweats; got the shakes, mind blowing flashback. Let me explain why.

Thirty four years ago I was nearing the end of my first enlistment in the United States Army. I had just finished 20 months in Vietnam as a grunt and a door gunner and I was waffling between staying in the Army and getting out because I knew I could get out and go home. I knew I could go home and I had a good chance at a good job. But something happened just before I was to leave the service. I met a crusty old hard hitting, hard fighting First Sergeant. He was my company First Sergeant and he had shown me and I knew he really cared about and loved his soldiers.

Here’s what happened. The First Sergeant pulled me off to the side one day and he said, “Myers, I’m asking you to re-up and stay in and I’m gonna tell you why. We need good Noncommissioned Officers to put this Army back together when this shit in Nam is over.” He said, “I think you’ve got potential Myers and I want you to stay in.” Well the rest was history. I took what “Top” said to me to heart and went from there to try to become the best Noncommissioned Officer I could be.

Over the next 24 years I was proud to serve under some great officers and Senior Noncommissioned Officers. Vietnam had taken a devastating toll on the military. We had lost all of our experience and the core of the Noncommissioned Officer and Officer corps had been ravaged from years of neglect and bad leadership. But there was a small core of Noncommissioned Officers and Officers left with a real vision for the Army. They had an incredible desire and will and were determined to rebuild the Army. They rebuilt the United States military into the finest, most powerful and effective fighting machine in the history of the world. It really was just that good. And I was extremely proud to be a part of that rebuilding. When I retired in 1996 I knew my army was the best in the world and I was leaving it in good hands.

That was then and this is now. What I have been watching over the last 5 years is the, not so slow, destruction from within of the American military that so many good soldiers rebuilt over the nearly three decades after the Vietnam War. I have watched as George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the neocons and Vulcan’s have destroyed our Army. Djtyg’s post brought it all home again. As he/she wrote of how the experienced soldiers were once again leaving the military I had visions of that hollow post Vietnam force that I so vividly remember. You don’t make these things up. When the soldiers start talking and writing about it and most disturbingly start voicing their opinions with their feet as they walk out the door you know you’re in big trouble. The $160,000 dollar bonuses they are offering the Special Forces just reminds me of the huge bonuses they offered the soldiers at the end of Vietnam. It’s all the same.

This administration does not care about American soldiers. That is my absolute firm belief. The megalomaniac Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the Vulcan’s are destroying the American military with malice of forethought. Rumsfeld began on day one when the many professional military officers tried to point out to him and the rest of the administration the mistakes they were making as they marched to war in Iraq. Instead of listening and taking the advice of those officers he fired them and brought in the yes men lapdogs that would follow their idiotic orders. Instead of listening to the CIA and NSA he created his own intelligence agency in the pentagon that would tell him what he wanted to hear. Neither he nor his incompetent boss wanted the truth unless it met their warped needs and desires. Sure they marched into Iraq with overwhelming force and won the war of the armies in a matter of weeks, but through arrogance and ignorance they are loosing the occupation, reconstruction is nonexistent, and the war on terror is floundering because they failed to plan and failed to listen to those with the professionalism, knowledge, and experience. They have allowed our military to become bogged down in a civil war that is in all likelihood going to spill over and destabilize the entire region. And while our military is bogged down in the quagmire of Iraq the terrorists use them for training targets and expand and hone their own capabilities to wreak havoc on the entire world.
You can smear lipstick all over this pig but it’s still a pig. Iraq is just another Vietnam but with far more devastating consequences for the United States, the United States military, and the nation and world as a whole. The absolute lack of a cohesive foreign policy is taking this nation toward an abyss. Each and every step this administration makes seems to take the Middle East ever more near total destabilization.

Part II – Hating America.

The Bush administration has been on a downward spiral sense their rein of incompetence began in January 2001. And, they are purposefully dragging the nation down with them. This is a corrupt administration with a corrupt Legislative branch that refuses to fulfill their sworn duty to uphold the constitution and fulfill their obligation to conduct oversight. It is my belief that the Executive branch and the president specifically is guilty of impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors if not treason and that the Legislative branch leadership is equally guilty by reason of complicity. I just took a few minutes to peruse published reports and news coverage of this administration. I have often said in the past that simply reviewing these sources is sufficient to show any skeptic that this president and administration are incompetent at best and criminal at worst and I believe the following list demonstrates more than adequately that I am correct in this regard.

Bush Lies, Failures, and Corruption:

Stolen Election 2000
Failed before and on 9/11
Thousand Mile stare as the towers come down
Lied About WMD
Lied About al Qaeda/Iraq Connection
Divulged Classified Information
Failed The Troops Act I – Shortage of armored vehicles
Failed The Troops Act II – No body armor
Torture at Abu Ghraib
Torture at Guantanamo
Stole Another Election 2004
Failed To Protect Nation During Natural Disaster
Violated The Fourth Amendment/FISA Law Act I
Violated The Fourth Amendment/FISA Law Act II
Failed Port Security Act I - Don't Protect
Failed Port Security Act II – Don’t Control
Iraq Civil War Act I
Iraq Civil War Act II
Iraq Civil War Act III
Corruption Act I – David Safavian
Corruption Act II

Senate/House Corruption:
Bill Frist
Delay Act I
Delay Act II
Jack Abramoff
Duke Cunningham
Bob Ney

And after all of this there came a day when the sleeping American public groaned in their sleep.
They’ve groaned but will they awaken. The old saying goes, “where there’s smoke there’s fire” but in the case of the Bush administration and the neocon controlled Legislative branch there is enough smoke that, like in most house fires, our American family will all probably suffocate in our sleep long before we ever get burned. This, to me, is the sad truth. The American people have lain dormant for so long that it just might be too late. The Muslim world is burning and America is in their sights. George W. Bush has conducted foreign policy in such a befuddled and incompetent manner that he has created America hating enemies throughout the world. It is my greatest fear that this administration has bungled foreign and domestic policy so badly that it may be at the point of no return. Let’s hope and pray not.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Want To Know What Pi**'s Me Off – Or What We Have Here Is A Failure To Lead

2006-02-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

The following is in the diplomatic language of a very unhappy Sergeant Major. If you are easily offended please do not read any further. If you want to know what would piss a Sergeant Major off then read this.

The following is an excerpt from the Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll of American military personnel serving in Iraq.

The wide-ranging poll also shows that 58% of those serving in country say the U.S. mission in Iraq is clear in their minds, while 42% said it is either somewhat or very unclear to them, that they have no understanding of it at all, or are unsure. *While 85% said the U.S. mission is mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks*,” 77% said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”

“Ninety-three percent said that removing weapons of mass destruction is not a reason for U.S. troops being there,” said Pollster John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International. “Instead, that initial rationale went by the wayside and, in the minds of 68% of the troops, the real mission became to remove Saddam Hussein.” Just 24% said that “establishing a democracy that can be a model for the Arab World" was the main or a major reason for the war. Only small percentages see the mission there as securing oil supplies (11%) or to provide long-term bases for US troops in the region (6%).

Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll – Released February 28, 2006

One of the basic tenets of military leadership is to “know your mission.” What the results of this poll tells me is that not only is the Commander in Chief of the United States military derelict in his duty but he is obviously not a competent leader nor is he commanding his troops. This poll alone should tell you that George W. Bush doesn’t have a clue and is an incompetent buffoon. He can’t even communicate to his own troops their mission and purpose. Yes I’m pissed because it’s the soldiers of this great nation that he is screwing with. That’s right I said screwing with because if you can’t tell the men and women that are fighting and dying for their country the truth then, your a** ain’t worth the powder it would take to blow it away.

While 85% said the U.S. mission is mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks

What the f*** is that all about? What f***ing role in 9/11 would that be? Official Iraqi Cheerleader in Chief of al Qaeda. Something similar to George W. Bush’s role in relation to the United States military I trust.

2,296 killed in action and 16,653 wounded in action and you didn’t have the kahoonas to tell them what the hell the real mission was mr. president. Excuse me while I go puke!

Sorry about that rant but now you know what pisses the Sergeant Major off.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What George W. Bush Won’t Do –The Right Thing

2006-02-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

On September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked by a terrorist organization known as al Qaeda that was and probably still is headed by a sociopath by the name of Osama Bin Laden.  Bin Laden was at the time of the attacks residing in Afghanistan where he was supported by the Taliban government that was in control of that country.  Note for later reference: The United Arab Emirates was one of the few nations of the world to recognize the Taliban government.

In response to the attacks by this terrorist organization the United States retaliated by attacking and invading Afghanistan and subsequently over throwing the Taliban government and assisting in installing a new democratically elected government.   These actions were done in concert and coordination with American allies and the United Nations.  This was and is an ongoing and reasonably successful operation but it must be noted that during this action Osama Bin Laden was not and never has been captured and that the Taliban insurgents continue to be a threat to the Afghan government.

Subsequent to the successful invasion of Afghanistan the Bush administration attempted to build a case against the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by, not just suggesting but, stating outright that Iraq was a party to the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.  The administration then simultaneously declared that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and was an imminent threat to the United States.  Some knew then and all know now that as evidenced by numerous public documents and intelligence reports there was never any evidence showing any connection between the Osama Bin Laden led al Qaeda terrorist organization and Saddam Hussein.  Additionally it has sense been shown that Saddam Hussein neither had nor was he even close to acquiring and possessing weapons of mass destruction.  And the sad reality is that intelligence sources tried in vain to make the Bush administration see and understand that there was “no convincing evidence” that Saddam possess weapons of mass destruction.  In fact it has sense been shown that the Bush administration, in all probability, not only did not possess convincing evidence but, actually ignored intelligence sources and intentionally misled and most likely simply lied to the nation and the world on these two points.

Let me clearly state that I believe it is certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Saddam Hussein was a singularly sinister, cruel, and inhuman dictator who ruled Iraq with an iron, sadistic fist.  It is just as certain that he, like many other dictators today, needed to be removed from power; having said that, it is my opinion that the Bush administration made gross diplomatic, strategic, and military errors in judgment and actions by invading Iraq.  It was a diplomatic error in that it has signaled the Muslim world that the United States will take unilateral action and invade a country without regard for international law and precedent.  It was a strategic error in that it is having a destabilizing effect on the region and possibly world and it was a military error because it was ill planned, ill executed, and has overstretched the American military to the breaking point.  I also believe that the administration compounded these errors by not creating a true alliance and instead created an essentially paper alliance that was overwhelmingly American with a token participation from the few other nations that made up the alliance.

The results of the Bush administrations misguided actions will be felt by this nation and the rest of the world for generations to come.  By virtually unilaterally conducting a preemptive invasion of a sovereign nation without the full support of the United Nations and the rest of the world and without concrete evidence of a significant threat to the United States or any other nation it is my belief that the Bush administration has rushed down the path to destabilizing the Middle East and most probably the majority of the Muslim world.  This track toward destabilization is evidenced by the near civil war currently raging within and threatening to spill out of Iraq.  It is also evidenced regionally by the recent election of Hamas in Palestine and the election of the ultraconservative radical president in Iran and their now even more extreme militant posture toward the United States and the rest of the Western nations.  This trend toward destabilization is also manifesting itself in the apparent hyper sensitivity of the Muslim world in general to the smallest negative gesture from any Western nation.  These are just a few of the most obvious signs of what I believe could be the total destabilization of the Muslim World.

So this is where I believe we stand today.  We stand with 130,000 +/- American soldiers in a country on the verge of all out civil war.  We stand virtually alone without the confident backing of our customary allies because we have chosen to discard them like so much excess baggage.  We stand in the middle of an ever increasingly hostile Muslim world with no discernable foreign policy.  We stand in an ever increasingly hostile world with our economic and physical resources stretched to the breaking point.  We stand in an ever increasingly hostile world with our ports and borders unsecured against further terrorist strikes.  We stand in an ever increasingly hostile world when our dependency on foreign oil imports is greater than ever before.  We stand in an ever increasingly hostile world and our government has demonstrated that they are so incompetent so as to be incapable of defending us not only from terrorist attacks but also natural disasters.  We stand in an ever increasingly hostile world when our word as a nation is virtually worthless because we have so consistently broken it as our government has shown contempt for most of the world.   And not last nor least we stand in an ever increasingly hostile world without leadership.

I write this not as a statement of defeat but as a statement of simple fact and reality.  We have been brought to this point by a level of presidential incompetence never before seen in this nation’s history.  I write this because I believe the citizens of this nation must take action and take it soon to bring oversight back to our nation’s capital.  It is my belief that George W. Bush does not have the courage, desire, drive, or moral strength of character to do what this nation so desperately needs and that is for someone to step up and lead the nation out of a quagmire of war, dissolute incompetence, cronyism and plain corporate greed.  George W. Bush cannot lead this nation because he does not possess these traits and because he is controlled by the extreme radical religious right, the neocons, and the radical conservative corporate interests from which his Vulcan vice president and senior advisors come.   Lastly I write this too clearly state that I believe that with honest real leadership the terrorists can be brought to justice and peace can be brought to the entire Middle East.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

I Want The Cost Of Bush Failures To Be In Your Living Room

2006-02-25T17:48:00.000-05:00

That’s right. I think it is time that the 45% of the American people who think the war in Iraq was worth it to come over and join me and the other semi-sane 55% of the American citizens in demanding that the main stream media broadcast the cost of the Bush War right into living rooms of all Americans. It’s time that the American people got a taste, albeit a miniscule taste it would be, of what our soldiers get every single day that they are serving and sacrificing for us, the American people. What they are sacrificing in Iraq because their inept, incompetent, and immoral Commander in Chief has ordered them to do so.

I want it to be right in front of you, in your face, on your 40 inch plasma screens, in living, real life color. I want every one of you who is not demanding that George W. Bush pull our troops out of his war to see our sons and daughters, mothers, and fathers, brothers and sisters loosing their lives and limbs. I want every one of you to see the carnage wrought, not by our military, but by George W. Bush. I want you to see the carnage brought on the soldiers of this nation and the innocent men, women, and children of Iraq who have never had anything to do with terrorism or al Qaeda. And I want you to see it each and every day, in your living room, until it is over. I want every one of you to count every single flag draped coffin as it is rolled off of that airplane at Dover Air Force base. (Oh that’s right, you won’t be able to do that because George W. Bush has said you aren’t free people who can do that.) I want every single one of you to watch, in living color as a nation slides into a bloody civil war that has every possibility of boiling over into the rest of the Middle East.

There is no doubt in my mind, based solely on what has been widely reported, that George W. Bush lied to the American people in order to invade a country in a preemptive war. One must come to this conclusion based solely on George W. Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s public statements and subsequent morphing of those statements along with the statements and actions of their cabinet members as published in newspapers and seen on Television and heard on radio. Speaking of lying here is another two examples (Iraqi Readiness, Port Security) of, if not lying, then simple spinning of which there is no difference in my mind.

Having said that let me now say this. Regardless of the reason, I repeat, regardless of the reason that we went to war in Iraq we must, for the sake of national security, physical and economic, withdraw our troops from Iraq. It is my firm belief that we are expending precious national resources at a rate that is totally unsustainable and we are in such dire straits that we must withdraw from Iraq. We must adopt the Jack Murtha plan and stand off and let the Iraqi people settle their differences as we serve as a shield and support preventing invasion or any other actions or interference by outside powers. It is my belief that failure to do this will result in this nation becoming embroiled in a civil war and cost us even more dearly in American lives and wealth. (2,288 soldiers killed in action, 16,653 wounded in action and $250 billion dollars expended and this doesn’t include the damage to our economy so far.)

This nation’s precious resources must be expended on the most pressing issues as we develop a cohesive, coherent and effective foreign policy. (Something which we do not currently have and have not had for over 5 years.) We must focus on the real terrorists that continue to strike at will as in Saudi Arabia most recently.

It looks like it took three years for the grand father of Republican conservatives, William F. Buckley Jr. to realize what a catastrophic failure the Bush war was and is; so maybe if the mainstream media does their real job and puts this war in our living rooms the willingly blind will see.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Eye On The Failure – Or What Some Senators Believe

2006-02-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

Why does the Bush administration have such a difficult time seeing how absolutely stupid and what a gross misjudgment, if not criminal act, the invasion of Iraq was?

Perhaps this might give us a small clue. Senator Orrin Hatch recently said,

“We've stopped a mass murderer in Saddam Hussein. Nobody denies that he was supporting al-Qaida. Well, I shouldn't say 'nobody' -- nobody with brains."

I would like to know where Senator Hatch has been, or what special intelligence he is privy to, that has inspired him to say this. Perhaps this sheds a little light on why there has been no oversight by our Congress and Senate. I can only respond to such a silly statement by saying that if they (neocons) are all this ignorant, or stoned, then we are in some serious trouble because you’d have to be one of the two to believe what the good Senator said. I’m personally leaning toward the later being the case because simple ignorance couldn’t possibly explain it and good drugs might.

It just seems to me that when things get sublimely and absolutely ridiculous for this administration it turns around and out does itself i.e. UAE control of United States ports. But, and still only 55% of the American public thinks it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq. That makes me wonder where (under what rock) the other 45% have been or what they have been doing (probably sharing with Senator Hatch).

Let’s just look at a few recent and current events. As of today the number of American soldiers killed in this conflict has reached 2,287 and the number wounded and maimed has reached 16,653. By most accounts the Iraqi civilian death toll is somewhere between 28,501 and 32,119 and the country is generally believed to be on the verge of, if not already deeply in, a civil war and that that gargantuan sucking sound is the billions of American taxpayer dollars speeding toward that Middle Eastern black hole. Then there is the Iraqi oil production which is “dramatically” below prewar levels and there is their domestic electricity production that is ‘far’ below prewar levels and the number of fully functional hospitals which is, oh yeah, non-existent. What part of this real life scenario do you think the Bush administration calls success? Oh let me guess. We eliminated the threat to the United States from a country ruled by a dictator who had weapons of mass destruction. Guess what. That’s not a true statement Senator Hatch. I know it was said by your president but unfortunately it isn’t true and has never been true. Okay then that I believe that makes your president a liar and since he said it too it also makes your vice president a liar. But you know what?

The president just said that,

"people don't need to worry about security."

Now I’m real……….comfortable. Since I’m in a State where his brother is Governor and we have several ports that the UAE will be soon running I’m so comfortable I may be comatose.

From the warm and cozy State of Florida near the secure port of Miami –

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Why Soldiers Keep Dying – Or I Can’t Keep Up And It’s His Fault.

2006-02-23T17:32:00.000-05:00

Every day, twice a day I go to this website.
This evening the count stood at 2,287 American soldiers killed in action (KIA) and 16,653 American soldiers wounded in action (WIA). I record the number of my soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan that day by recording it in my journal and putting it on the screensaver on my computer. After I record the numbers I think about them. Not them as a group but each individual soldier. I think about each of them and their families. I think about their wives, husbands, children, mothers, fathers, and brothers and sisters. But mostly I think about each soldier. What did they look like before? What do they look like now? What did they do that morning? Did they write a letter home? Was it to their mom or dad or was it to their sweetheart? Did they have a chance to go to the chow hall that morning and have a cup of coffee or are they so young they don’t have a taste for coffee yet. Did they have a chance to shoot the shit with their buds?

After I think about all of those things, then I ask myself, what were they doing when they ‘got it’? Were they walking a patrol in Karbala or were they riding in a humvee through Baghdad? Were they maybe standing guard outside of a police station or a mosque or were they just strolling through a market amidst innocent civilians when the bomb went off tearing at their flesh and the flesh of the men, women, and children around them (Civilian Deaths 28,501 – 32,119)? Was a medic nearby? Did the medic get there in time to save their life but not their arm or leg? Did they suffer a lot of did the medic have morphine to give them so they died without too much pain?

I think about all of this and then I wonder to myself; do you think about these things George W. Bush? And I know the answer. It comes screaming at me. No! You don’t think about these things. George W. Bush doesn’t think about these things. He hasn’t thought about these things since May 27, 1968. That was the last day that there was a chance he might have to serve. That was the last day that there was a chance that it might be his flesh that would be torn apart by a bomb or a bullet. That was the last day that there was a chance that it might have been his picture on NPR’s broadcast that night. He didn’t want that to happen. Back then he thought about all of those things that I think about every day, and he was afraid. George W. Bush was afraid then but George W. Bush isn’t afraid now. He isn’t afraid now because he knows he doesn’t have to go. All of that is behind him. He isn’t afraid now because his children don’t have to go. He isn’t afraid now because the children of his friends don’t have to go.

The problem with George W. Bush is that he does not take responsibility. He has never had to take responsibility or be responsible. He didn’t have to be responsible for getting into college because his father arranged for him to get into Harvard even though he didn’t have the grades. He didn’t have to be a responsible adult because his father arranged for him to get into Air National Guard as a pilot in spite of the fact that his score was the very minimum you could achieve and still get accepted. He didn’t have to be a responsible business man because even in business his father’s connections and money always bailed him out. He bailed him out even when he bankrupted every venture he ever attempted. The problem is that George W. Bush has never had to be responsible for anything and because of that he doesn’t understand or doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. This is why he doesn’t care about the soldiers that are dying and sacrificing their lives and limbs for this country.

Mostly George W. Bush does not think about the soldiers dying and suffering in Iraq and Afghanistan because he doesn’t understand the concept of selflessness and serving a greater cause because today, as always, to George W. Bush, George W. Bush is the only greater cause.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Trite and True

2006-02-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

Well, Mr. Bush continues to prove himself a hollow human being.

For the most part I see things through the prism of a soldier. It seems to be in my nature but I find that it is most often a good thing. Soldiers tend to look at all things in a pragmatic and realistic manner. Charging an enemy position, where there is a very good chance of being killed, is a pretty realistic situation so it is generally beneficial to look at it realistically.

So let’s take a realistic look at couple of recent Bush related events. Let’s look at this situation. The administration cuts the budget of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This is the DOE agency responsible for developing alternative energy sources. This cut results in 32 agency employees losing their jobs. The President goes on a PR trip pushing his hollow energy program that he proposed in his State of the Union Address. He needs to stop at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to showcase his ‘program’. The administration restores about one fifth of the funding to the agency so they can hire the 32 employees back before he gets there. The realistic side of the Sergeant Major says bull. George W. Bush is big oil and George W. Bush will always be big oil. George W. Bush could give a s**t about alternative energy sources and the funds were restored for pure PR reasons.

Now let’s look at this situation. George W. Bush has repeatedly professed to be a “war President”. This is an individual that has justified the invasion of a sovereign nation based on his and his administrations cooked books and lies. This is an individual that has violated the constitution and the FISA laws by ordering wiretaps of the domestic communications of American citizens while using the “war on terror” as excuse. And yet he would let an obscure and secretive government committee approve a country with known ties to terrorists to take control 6 of America’s major ports. Could it be that the UAE has not only significant oil wealth but other significant investments in the United States and close ties to the Bush family? Short answer, yes.

These are two very simple, straight forward, realistic examples of the crass nature of George W. Bush. This is an individual that is so obvious in his actions as to be transparent. This is an individual that puts self before all else. I have used two very simple examples here but throughout George W. Bush’s life he has been just as transparent in his actions. If it is getting his father to pull strings to get him into the Texas Air National Guard or ordering a preemptive misguided invasion of a sovereign nation his motives are obvious and one readily sees that he is simply a coward on the one hand and a misguided, greedy, zealot on the other. That is pretty straight forward and it’s time people started calling them like they are.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this administration is totally focused on furthering the good fortunes of their wealthy cohorts at the expense of the middle class and poor of this country. We can enumerate the actions taken by this administration and draw a clear definitive line to the neocon reasoning behind the actions and it is no stretch whatsoever.

George W. Bush is neither a conservative president nor a liberal one. He is quite simply a neo-conservative radical.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Sleep Well Mr. Bush – Better Men And Women Than You Stand Guard For Your Freedom – Or Should We Sacrifice For Your Arrogance Mr. Bush

2006-02-20T18:04:00.000-05:00

I am probably somewhat of a novelty today in that I am the direct descendent of two families which have served in every war ever fought by America including the Civil War but, I am proud to say that that lineage does not include the current war in Iraq. To clarify just a little, beginning with me, my father, my grandfather, (my grandmother), my great grandfather, my great great grandfather, and my great great great grandfather have all served in the American military back to and including the revolutionary war. I have always been terribly proud of this military tradition but what I have always found most striking is that as my family would relate their stories to me about my family and their military experiences was the unwavering support that they all received from their friends, families and communities. It was that incredible sense of a need to sacrifice for family and country that was so obvious in their voices.

I remember long conversations with my grandparents about World War I, the depression, and World War II and thinking to myself how complete and absolute the sense of community was during those conflicts and struggles. My grandmother would tell me stories of how they would have war bond drives and collect scrap metal for the war effort and how so many families had victory gardens to supplement their food and income and to support the war effort. They would tell me of the rationing and how it was hard but worth it because they knew it was all for America.

I also remember my grandfather telling me stories of the great depression and of families helping families to survive and I remember all of my grandparents telling me stories of how they admired President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the new deal and the creation of the social security system and how they thought that this was real America and real “community” taking care of real people.

Now as I reflect on these stories and the history of my family I look around and ask myself, where has the sense of community, family, and friends gone? It has indeed vanished and we are, I believe, the worse for it. We have become a self absorbed, selfish, intolerant and arrogant nation of whiners. We are losing our greatest generation and with them our deeper understanding of hardship and sacrifice. But it is not just that we, as a nation, have become so ego centric but it is also that we no longer have any kind of leadership to help us focus on what is important as a nation and to give us that sense of purpose.

If we go back in American history and look at the leaders of our nation at the times of greatest crisis we find real leadership. Beginning with Washington and moving on to Jefferson, and Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and even John Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis, we always had leaders with the moral courage and strength of character to guide the nation. We have not had that type of leadership for a very long time and now when we are at one of the most critical junctures in our nation’s history we have a complete void in moral courage, strength of character, and leadership.

What I would consider some of the most important traits demonstrated by Americas leaders throughout our history is a sense of honesty and fair play and a commitment to sacrificing on the part of “all” Americans for the good of the nation. I do not believe that the current president, administration, House and Senate Leadership possess one iota of these traits. In my mind it is incongruous and unconscionable for a leader to tell a nation to go out and shop and spend, while developing and implementing policies so obviously slanted to further enriching and giving incredible tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and at the same time calling on middle class and poor America to sacrifice for the nation with their children’s blood while giving up their civil liberties in the name of security. What kind of warped logic is this? What kind of immoral course have we been set on by this misguided administration?

It saddens my heart to know that the military forces to which my family has so willingly given themselves for generations is now being so abused and misused in such an illicit manner. I have written this before and I will write it yet many more times but this is not what the American military force was created for nor is it the honest purpose for which I believe it should be used. They are not being used as the founding fathers had envisioned but abused as the current administration sees fit. This is not about liberty and democracy in the Middle East or the world but about one mans ego and aspirations and the egos and aspirations of his cronies and wealthy cohort. It is not about the security of the nation and this is evidenced by the ever shifting justifications spun and spewed by this administration. These are the reasons that the American people are not supporting the war and the reasons that others believe if they put a magnetic yellow ribbon on the back of their SUV they are supporting the war and the troops. That is not support. That is not sacrifice and that is not patriotism. That is superficial eye wash mixed with sick consumerism.

I believe that, when used properly, the American military ‘can be’ one of the most powerful tools in an American president’s foreign affairs tool box. The key phrase here is ‘when used properly’. Sooner or later a bully always gets his comeuppance. We cannot go around the world attempting to install Jeffersonian democracies on cultures and peoples we do not even understand. And we certainly can’t do it with the brute force of the American military. That only gets soldiers killed and peoples, cultures, and countries pissed off. The United States can however, through the use of diplomacy, allies, and understanding bring about meaningful change in the world.
.
Diplomacy is not about making war but about making peace and the Bush administration doesn’t have a clue about diplomacy and that I believe is obvious by the tremendous chaos that this administrations actions have brought about in the world. It is certainly imperative that when a country is assaulted the way the United States was assaulted on September 11, 2001that the response is sudden and swift aggressive action to bring justice to those who are guilty of the assault but that response should not include preemptive wars on countries not involved in the assault. Unfortunately that is precisely what the Bush administration has done to the detriment of the nation. We now have a Muslim world community agitated and openly and aggressively hostile toward the United States as a direct result of this countries response to 9/11. They are not angry at the United States for invading Afghanistan where the terrorist attacks originated but because we invaded Iraq and neglected to treat the rest of the Muslim world with respect.

You do not lead Mr. Bush you bully. You show no courage Mr. Bush you show greed. I have no doubt but that my family, like so many others, hangs their heads in shame at your dishonorable actions Mr. Bush. I weep at the graves of the soldiers who have sacrificed so much for your dishonesty.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

A Sergeant Major’s Incensed Rant – Or Give The Damn Ports Away

2006-02-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

As of today 2,273 American soldiers have died in Iraq, and 16,653 have been wounded and maimed. Today I read this article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10704051/from/RSS/ and grew ill with contempt. I would like to ask Mr. Bush this question. Have these Americans died and sacrificed their lives and limbs so that you can turn the control of American ports over to an Arab country that, unlike Iraq, has been directly linked to terrorists.

Mr. Bush I served my country for 27 years. I did this freely and without reservation, just as hundreds of thousands of American soldiers have done through out history and are doing today and will do tomorrow but, I must tell you this Mr. Bush. We have not sacrificed so that you may continue to make a mockery of being Commander in Chief. At what point do you or will you begin to have a drop of shame, remorse, or courage? How can you look the mother, father, sister, or brother of a soldier in the face?

I will not go into the details in this post because I have enumerated and listed gross transgressions and incompetence’s in many of my past post but you Mr. Bush have shepherded a never ending string of catastrophes that are destroying the American military and you have done absolutely nothing to make this nations safer and now you would outsource control of our ports in such a reckless manner.

I am too furious to express my contempt for you George W. Bush but I pray that America will wake up and do something to remove you and your neocon cohorts in the Senate and Congress from office. I promise you that I will do all in my power to motivate and move as many of the citizens of this nation to vote you and all of your cronies from office.

God help us all and protect us from your insane idiocy.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Extremely Distressed Thoughts On That.

The Painful Truth– Or Why The Neocons Keep Winning

2006-02-17T17:10:00.000-05:00

I don’t know if you have noticed but since 1994 the Republican Party has been winning and, since the presidential election of 2000 the Neocons have been winning.  I know this is a shock but it is the truth.  It is the plain and simple truth.  That’s right, we can complain and we can call them incompetent and we can call them failures and we can curse them for the evil they are doing in the world but the reality is that they are winning elections and staying in power and becoming more powerful each day.  Why?

Well the answer is as simple as the plain truth I’ve stated above.  They are winning for two reasons.  The first reason is that they are united with a single message.  The second reason is that the Democratic Party is not united and does not have a single message.  It’s really just that simple.  Sure there are other more complex facets to these two reasons but those are the basic core reasons.

Let’s do a quick study of their unity and single message.  Since the presidential election we, the citizens of this nation, have watched as this administration, Senate, and Congress have:

provided tax cuts to the very wealthy at the expense of the Middle Class and poor,

taken the nation from a near $300 billion budget surplus to a near $400 billion budget deficit,

driven the national debt to over $8 trillion dollars,

created a national disgrace with the haphazard implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug Program while placing an unreasonable burden on the elderly,

attempted to destroy Social Security and when they failed a frontal assault have now tried to clandestinely stick it in the budget and implement it through the back door,

lied to and deceived the nation as they took us into a misguided and illegal war,

began a spying program that is blatantly illegal and an obvious violation of the 4th amendment to the constitution,

through procedural and political maneuvering, neglect, and dereliction of duty avoided taking action and investigating illegal wiretaps,

outed a CIA covert operative in violation of national security policy and law,

committed acts of perjury,

participated in money laundering,

taken bribes and other gifts from lobbyist in return for legislative favors,

neglected homeland security and emergency management and allowed an American city to be virtually obliterated,

failed to provide adequate aid to the victims of one of the worst natural disasters in American history,

appointed arch conservatives to the Supreme Court who will legislate from the bench,

destroyed virtually any chance of peace or developing constructive relationships with the Muslim world through misguided and blatantly ignorant foreign policy,

and last but not least shot their friends with bird shot. And throughout this string of obvious disasters they have consistently supported one another.

Throughout this catastrophe called Republican leadership they have beat the drum:

that tax cuts for the wealthy stimulate the economy,

we have budget deficits because we’re fighting a war on terror,

private drug programs provide the cheapest drugs for America,

Social Security is broke and private investments are the answer,

Saddam was responsible for 9/11 and Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction,

FISA is broken and doesn’t allow us to do what we need to do to defend the nation,

the president has the authority to wiretap because Congress gave it to him,

Valerie Plame wasn’t a covert agent,

anyone who outed an agent will be fired,

my superiors authorized me to divulge classified information,

sending money to the national party and then them sending us money isn’t money laundering,

I never met Jack Abramof,

I don’t know Jack Abramof,

you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie,

we are reorganizing FEMA,

the State failed to respond,

the city failed to respond,

Judge Alito meets the gold standard,

Judge Alito is a mainstream jurist,

there is a democracy deficit in the middle east,

the Palestinians will elect their own government,

Hamas is a terrorist organization,

and all though they are mostly lies, to a neocon, they all stay on message.  And they not only stay on message but neither the Senate nor the Congress ever holds this administration accountable.  There is no system of checks and balances with a Republican held executive branch, legislative branch, and judiciary and that is what we have.  The president does what he wants and the Republican Party toes the line and voices the Party line while the Senate and Congress simply take no action or passes the law the president wants.  If he’s breaking the FISA laws then they change the law.  This is the unity and single message the Republicans and Neocons use to continue to win.

Now let’s look at reason two.  What is the Democratic Party doing to counter the single mindedness of the Republican Party?  What has been the united Democratic response to any one of the issues I’ve listed above?  Think about the two lists I have provided above and bear in mind that these are not comprehensive lists.  Pick a single issue on the list and see if you can clearly articulate the Democratic response or position on that issue. I’m betting you can’t.  And the reason is that the Democratic Party is not united and does not have a single message for the party to stay on point with.  That is the very sad and real truth.  And what makes this very bad is that we are reaching a point of no return.  I do not believe that I am being an alarmist but rather a realist.  This nation and this world are facing some very real, very large and very, very dangerous issues and we are not coming up with the correct answers.

This nation, by virtue of who we are, where we are, when we are, holds great responsibility and we are not living up to of fulfilling that responsibility.  So what can we do?  We must find a way to counter what the Republican Party and the Neocons are doing and I do not believe that an independent or new party is the answer.  The Democratic Party is the answer to this dilemma.  The structure and heart is there but the vision and discipline is not so there must be some fundamental changes made within the Party.  The Chairman of the DNC provide vision and must take the leadership in a new direction and we must help him.  As I have mentioned in past posts we are the heart and soul of the party and we must motivate these men and women who lead our party or as we use to say in the army we must show them that they need to, “Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.” And that is the message that has to be carried to the party leadership.

Lastly let me add this bit.  For each and every point above the Democratic Party must have a clear position and message that goes to the heart of what the American people think, feel and believe.  For example fifty five percent of the American people believe the Iraq war was a mistake so why isn’t the Democratic Party clearly communicating that it was a mistake and Jack Murtha is correct and we must pull out.  That’s simple, direct, and what the American people think.

We must not let the Neocons continue to dominate the American agenda and continue to warp our society and government.  They must be made to answer to the American people this November and in November 2008 and in order to do that the Democratic Party must wake up and show real leadership, have a real plan, and have a clear unified message.  And remember, in the words of Joseph Heller, “The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on."  George W. Bush and the Neocons are getting thousands of Americans killed and will get thousands more killed.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Waiting Until He Shoots Himself

2006-02-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

Let me say up front that I am, to paraphrase General Douglas MacAurther, just an old soldier and I am fading away.  Having said that I am however a follower of current events and political machinations and what I have observed over the last 5 years makes this old soldier, shall we say, nervous and in fact very, very nervous.  Not to mention nauseous and sometimes just plain violently ill.  Let me explain why.

Over the last five years I have watched an administration that does not have the support of a majority of Americans become what I believe is one of the most insolent and powerful administrations in the history of United States.  And what makes me very, very nervous is first, that I do not see an end to the accumulation of power by this administration and second I do not see either the House or the Senate reining in the executive power grab.  I believe that the legislative branch leadership is in fact a bunch of blindly greedy, inept, and almost buffoonish coconspirators.

I believe this crusty old Sergeant Major is becoming somewhat infamous for his lists of Bush transgressions against this nation so I’m not going to do the usual here because I believe I have provided enough of those in many of my earlier posts to support what I say here.

From day one this administration has had a very specific, and not conservative but radical, neo-conservative agenda that has had two main purposes and several sub-purposes.  The first goal of this administration was to garner as much executive power as possible as soon as possible so as to further empower themselves to accomplish their second goal which was to implement an agenda aimed at first enriching a very elite group of their wealthiest American cohorts and second to break the social programs of the American government while simultaneously redirecting and pumping as many tax dollars as possible into corporate America (Privatization and Outsourcing) and they are succeeding in their endeavors.

The Bush administration is using brute force, coercion, and intimidation in all that they do whether it is politically twisting the arms of fellow Republicans and Democrats alike or forcing the opposition party off of K street to forcefully get their way in the legislative branch or it is taking oil fields of other countries, they know only a slash and burn mentality for getting all they want.  One must not be a political science major or possess an advanced degree to draw a clear picture of where this administration was headed from the beginning or where they are going in the future.

In their every act is arrogance, disdain, and often open contempt for anyone or anything that disagrees with them or gets in the way of their agenda.  This is overtly, intuitively, and blatantly obvious by their actions as was demonstrated by the president in by-passing courts to, let’s not sugar coat it, spy on American citizens and it was reinforced by the idiotic actions of the vice president in snubbing his nose at the American public when he does something as serious as shooting someone.  And by the way, not to be nitpicky but, as a ‘former’ quail hunter, you have to be an idiot to shoot a fellow hunter.  Especially if you are considered a veteran, ‘expert,’ hunter.

From the building of the Texas Republican political empire through the slimy political gerrymandering, redistricting, and political contribution kickback schemes to the K Street project to totally marginalize the opposition party financially they have plotted taking complete control of our government.  (Yes I used the term ‘plotted’ but only because it is so blatantly obvious that these things are overtly intentional and planned.)  From the disastrous 2000 presidential election that was so manipulated by the Governor of Florida and conservatives on the Supreme Court as to make elections a joke to the malicious use of 9/11 for political gain they have crawled to new lows for any group of “Tammany Hall” style politicians in the history of our nation.

Yes today is an open rant but a healthy one.  I am also furious at the Democratic Party because they have been so obviously paralyzed as to make virtually no progress in even slowing down this administrations march to a near autocratic government.  Virtually all progress that has been made against this administration has been by grassroots organizations operating in near autonomy through the internet and on blogs.  I must ask the Democrats, as someone who has contributed to the Party and many of its candidates consistently, I would like to know if you simply do not have the ability to sit down together (the leadership) and look at the never ending and blatantly, intuitively obvious list of failures, missteps, and plain old criminal acts of the Bush administration and come up with a logical, meaningful, and effective plan to defeat this political machine or are you all so inept that you cannot take something so obvious and use it to your advantage?  Can you not think out of the old guard box or do we have to wait until he shoots himself?  (That’s a joke NSA, Secret Service, O’lie-ly or whoever else is listening in.)

Listen Democratic leadership, there is a vast common ground among the varied constituency of the Democratic Party.  We have an internet community that is easily and readily mobilized.  Form and solidify the message of the party (I’ve told you what it is enough times.) and start getting it out.  Use all of us crazy, whacked out bloggers and wanna be geeks.  Don’t play doormat anymore.  Attack the Republican machine and, above all, be consistent and unified.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What Part Of This Administration Do You Find Competent

2006-02-14T17:30:00.000-05:00

For over five years now the United States has suffered under an incredibly cruel burden. That cruel burden, in a word, is incompetence. The citizens of this great nation have suffered tremendous lose of life through grotesque attacks against our nation, the consequences of a misguided war, and a series of horrendous natural disasters that have been devastating and have seemed endless; but the single greatest burden we have suffered and had to bear is that of incompetent leadership. Incompetence on the part of the nation’s leadership starting with the president and going down through and including the Senate and the Congress.

Now you might ask how it is possible that I would put incompetent leadership above this series of horrible disasters that our nation has endured. Simple, because with competent leadership, though the attacks against our nation might not have been prevented, the chances would have been much greater that they could have been prevented. As for the misguided war, it definitely could have been prevented and thousands of casualties’ spared and untold suffering avoided. With regards to all of these events including the natural disasters, competent leadership would have certainly and dramatically mitigated the results.

What makes all of this even more repugnant and sad is that our governments system of checks and balances also failed in that the leadership ranks of the Senate and the Congress were and are as void of competent leadership as is the executive branch and as a result they took no steps whatsoever to intervene and mitigate the damage that was done by the executive branch.

But the damage hasn’t and doesn’t stop with the catastrophic events mentioned above. America’s domestic and foreign policy are also in a shambles with much of the damage done and being done a direct result of the actions or lack of action on the part of incompetent leadership.

Let’s do this by the numbers beginning with domestic issues. This administration entered office with an inherited budget surplus of over $400 billion dollars and immediately began to squander it for partisan political gain. It is now at a -$300 +/- Billion. They began their incompetent leadership with the cooperation of the House and Senate leadership by initiating a series of tax cuts specifically targeted at enriching their cohort of wealthy Americas through tax cuts aimed specifically at the very wealthy.

Tax Cuts – Act I

Tax Cuts – Act II

Tax Cuts – Act III

This irresponsible action resulted in a bloated federal deficit never before recorded in American history.

Bloated Deficit Act I

Bloated Deficit Act II

They continued demonstrate their incompetence with their assault on domestic policy and insult to middle class and poor America with their education wrecking, un-funded program of “No Child Left Behind.”

Education Left behind Act I

Education Left Behind Act II

But simple domestic incompetence in leadership wasn’t enough for this administration, Senate and House. After 9/11 they had to forcefully demonstrate their complete lack of competent leadership by ignoring common sense and the advice of those who were competent by initiating a misguided and probably illegal “preemptive” war.

Iraq Intelligence Misuse Act I

Iraq

Intelligence Misuse Act II

Reasons/Lies

Iraq Invasion

Still Lying

Once they were armpit deep in this war they continued to show a complete lack of competence by failing to demonstrate leadership and if not ordering torture then silently condoning it.

Torture Act I – GITMO
Torture Act II – Abu Ghraib
Torture Act III – Abu Ghraib
Torture Act IV – Abu Ghraib

And by way of further demonstration and in order to remove any doubt as to their total lack of military competence they fail to plan the war, execute the war, and manage the occupation.

Un-Armored Humvees Act I
Un-Armored Humvees Act II
Troops Body Armor Act I
Troops Body Armor Act II – Wife Armor
Occupation Failure
Readiness Act I – Murtha’s Letter to Bush
Readiness Act II

And of course once we have botched the war we can continue to add insult to injury in the Middle East and the Muslim world in general by burnishing our Foreign Policy credentials by demonstrating our incompetence in world leadership by ignoring Israel and Palestine until it’s too late.

Election Results Not To Our Liking

But remember that no incompetent leadership is complete without a domestic disaster so horrendous that it can demonstrate incompetence squared.

Katrina Disaster Act I

Katrina Disaster Act II – Waste

Katrina Disaster Act III – Failure

So now we come to the competency score card. Let’s check those grades.

Tax Relief = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Deficit = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Education = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Disasters = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Integrity = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Foreign Policy = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Iraq War = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

Military Leadership = Executive Branch F, Senate F, Congress F

As a result of this analysis if find no part of this administration or Congress and Senate competent.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What America Stands For – One Soldiers View – Or What Mr. Bush And The Neocons Don’t Get.

2006-02-13T17:40:00.000-05:00

Simply put, I believe that America stands for all the hopeful and grand ideals that the founding fathers put in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  The emphasis here is on “grand ideals”.  Ideals such as equality, liberty, freedom, and justice.

Those great yet fallible men who wrote these two documents were human beings and they like the documents they wrote and this great nation were, and are, and always will be, filled with fallacies.  More than many of us even care to contemplate.  Yes I hate to break it to some of you but the United States of America is not a perfect nation.  But, what I believe many people do not seem to realize, and this applies to those on the extreme left and right alike, is that the founding fathers never thought of these documents or our government as perfect or even near perfect.  In fact I believe they purposefully used words like “in order to form a more perfect union” to tell us this and this should tell us implicitly that they understood that the documents and the nation were not, are not, and never would be perfect.  These historic documents were in fact cobbled together from many different ideas and often through bitter argument and yes great struggle and compromise.  And, the simple construction of these two documents acknowledged that they must be living documents capable of growing with the nation but growing with extreme caution.

I believe that from the very founding of this great nation and because of our own difficult  struggles for freedom, our citizens have held these two documents up and proclaimed to themselves and the world, “this is what we want and strive to be”, “this is what we believe is right and correct and good”.  But, contrary to what this country’s current administration apparently believes, I do not believe we should ever hold these two documents up and say these documents are perfect and this is what we think the rest of the world should do and be.  And, contrary to the radicals on the other side who would destroy our country I promise you these documents, these ideals, and these people are strong and you will never succeed.

So what does all of this mean to me as a soldier/citizen?  What does this mean to me when someone holds up a list, from inception to the present, of our nation’s transgressions, domestic and international?  What does this mean to me when someone holds up pictures of innocent people killed, injured, and maimed by our military forces?  What does this mean to me when someone says you are and evil nation with out principles?

It means that I am deeply and woefully and painfully sorry for any unintended consequences of our actions but it also means I will march straighter and hold my head up higher because we are still a nation of free people struggling, sacrificing, and dying to achieve the ideals set forth in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.  It means that Abraham Lincoln knew and understood this struggle.  It means that Carrie Nation knew and understood this struggle, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew and understood this struggle.  And, it means that innumerable other Americans knew and know this struggle and died and are dying for it.  It means we are a nation in a constant internal battle to “form a more perfect union” while simultaneously defending ourselves and much of the world from real aggression.  And, it means that while we are all of these things, we are also a nation whom the world looks to as an example of a struggling nation of free people.  It means we are a nation often and consistently called upon by the world to intervene and aid and assist in spite of our fallacies and shortcomings and the mistakes we make.  It means that we are a nation that many other nations respect and fear and covet and loath all at the same time.  It means we are one nation trying to live and survive like so many other nations in this world.  And it means we are not perfect.  It means we are.

No we are not perfect, but to those of you who would damn us I say this.  Before you damn this nation again, I would ask you this.  Look around at the rest of the world.  How many other nations do you see struggling as vehemently as America does to achieve the “grand ideals” which we struggle so desperately to achieve?  How many other nations do you see who are capable of shouldering the burdens thrust upon this nation by the rest of the world?  How many other nations do you see where their citizenry have the freedoms to struggle against and change their government as we Americans do?  And, I would ask you this; would you have this nation put down all of its weapons and leave the rest of the world to have their own?  No, I think not, and if you would I would tell you it would be easier to simply place the gun at your head now and pull the trigger.

I am not a champion of war.  I hate war!  I have lived and survived war.  It is an ugly, callous, and cruel thing that is visited upon mankind but, I also know all too well that there is evil in this world and if those who are not evil would discern between good and evil and bring peace then I would tell you war is all too often an unfortunate necessity.

I believe that perhaps this quote by an Englishman, Economist, and Philosopher is appropriate.  “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.  A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made so by the exertions of better men than himself.”  John Stuart Mill, 1806 – 1879

So I say this to those Americans who would curse and damn this nation.  Demand change!  Struggle for change!  Fight for change!  And if necessary die for change but, think twice and long and hard before you curse, or damn this country for we are the mightiest of the islands of freedom and in our absence, not just this country but this world would surely descend into anarchy.  Use your energy to bring change to your country and not to weaken or bring it down because if you succeed I do not believe you will find another sanctuary from which to take up your fight.

Lastly, I would tell you that George W. Bush and the neocons do not understand any of what I have written here because if they did we would not be in Iraq today.  They do not understand that it is a moral obligation of this nation to not impose our system of government or belief system on other nations and cultures.  It is my belief that if, and it is a big if, we as a nation are charged or morally obligated to do anything in this world it is to create an environment around us where nations and peoples can grow and develop in a peaceful manner without threat from tyranny either from within or without and that is most often accomplished effectively through leadership, diplomacy, and example and not through brute force.  Mill explains Mr. Bush and the neocons for us with this quote.  “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”  John Stuart Mill, 1806 – 1879

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Why I love America and Don’t Like George W. Bush – A Soldiers Thoughts

2006-02-10T17:24:00.000-05:00

I was browsing the news today and began to think to myself; this really is a great country but why exactly do I love America? I thought to myself, I know I love this country because I served in her armed forces for 27 years and through a couple of wars so I must love her. So I decided to make a quick list of all those plain Jane kinds of reasons I love my country and here is the list that just popped in my head in just a few minutes so you know it is by no means all inclusive.

Reasons the Sergeant Major loves his country.

I love America because we are a land of high ideals.
I love America because we are a land of frugal and prudent people.
I love America because we are a land that believes in honesty and integrity.
I love America because we are a land that respects the rights of others.
I love America because we are a land that believes in the rule of law.
I love America because we are a land of people that are always there helping our neighbors.
I love America because we are a land that would never use military force without just provocation.
And last but not least I love America because we love and take care of our soldiers.

So after I made that quick list it suddenly hit me that the news I just read says that George W. Bush must not love America very much. The news I just read, in fact, says George W. Bush doesn’t even represent our mainstream American values. So I don’t like George W. Bush. And here are some of the reasons I don’t like George W. Bush.

I don’t like George W. Bush because he doesn’t have the mainstream American value of being frugal and prudent.
U.S. Trade Deficit

I don’t like George W. Bush because he doesn’t have the mainstream American value of honesty and integrity.
Intelligence
Libby

I don’t like George W. Bush because he doesn’t have the mainstream American value of honesty and integrity and respect for America’s laws and constitution.
FISA

I don’t like George W. Bush because he doesn’t have the mainstream American value of always being there to help his neighbors.
Katrina

I don’t like George W. Bush because he have the mainstream American value of never using military force without just provocation.
Invasion

I don’t like George W. Bush because he doesn’t have the mainstream American value of loving and taking care of our soldiers.
Body Armor

These are just some of the reason I don’t like George W. Bush but mostly I don’t like George W. Bush because he’s not a nice man and I know that because nice men wouldn’t do what George W. Bush does. Like this.
Rendition
And this.
Torture
And this.
Humvee Armor

George W. Bush should not be president because he doesn’t represent mainstream American values and because he’s not a nice man or a good Commander in Chief.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

America’s Army Decimated Seven Ways From Hell – Or Bush Failure To The 10th Power

2006-02-09T17:27:00.000-05:00

What the Bush administration has done to the military should make the “Greatest Generation” weep for their children, their grandchildren and their nation.

The threat that called our nation and the “Greatest Generation” to war on December the 7, 1941 was a clear act of war by a nation state and the response of the United States and the President on December 8, 1941 was an equally clear declaration of war.  The President mobilized the nation in response to a clear and present danger and he mobilized them in the most appropriate manner.

The threat that called our nation to action on September 11, 2001 was equally clear but it was NOT an act of war.  It was a simple, horrific, and deadly act of terrorism and it was not an act by a nation state but an act by a sinister and thoroughly evil terrorist group.  On September 12, 2001 the President mobilized the nation in response to a clear and present danger and he mobilized them in the most INappropriate manner.  The threat that called our nation to action on September 11, 2001 was one of terrorism that called for an appropriate anti-terrorist response.  The President was not up to this historic challenge.  He either failed to recognize or simply ignored the fact that acts of war, as we generally understand them, are acts committed by political entities which are usually associated with nation states and terrorist acts, as we generally understand them, are acts committed by terrorist and criminal elements not usually associated with nation states.

The President, instead of calling our nation to action against terrorism, lied and misled the nation into an ill-conceived and misguided war.  The actions by George W. Bush of failing to be engaged in Palestine, declaring a previously none existent “Axis of Evil”, making blatantly false accusations against Arab nations, and declaring a war on terrorism and finally by invading a sovereign, though militant and belligerent, Arab nation did nothing help to legitimize a terrorist organization in the eyes of many in the Muslim world.  This resulted in the rallying of many Muslims to the side of al Qaeda and the radical Muslim community.  That gross intentional act has wrought horrific results on our nations military.

Armies, Air Forces, and Navies are generally designed to fight wars; they are not designed to combat terrorism and terrorist acts.  That is a simple fact.  Military forces can be configured to fight different types of wars to include conventional wars such as World War II or guerilla wars as in the case of the Vietnam War and they can be configured to fight certain other limited combat even anti-terrorist operations but that does not change their basic purpose and function.  The American military was not and is not designed to be a primary anti-terrorist force nor is it a very effective force for such purposes.  That is not to say that they cannot be used as a “tool” in the fight against terrorism because in very specific circumstances they can be most effective.  However, it is my belief that anyone who would say otherwise is perpetuating a lie that only gives the American public a false sense of security.  The Iraq war itself is proof positive of this fact.

After the invasion of Iraq the major conflict of armies was over in a matter of weeks with a resounding, total and complete American victory.  “Mission Accomplished”.  That part was true by the way.  The American Army did exactly what it was designed and trained to do and did it with exceptional skill but, remember that it was after this total victory that the carnage began.  Simply put the 2,264 American deaths and 16, 653 wounded and maimed clearly demonstrates that our army was not designed or trained to deal with terrorism.  These soldiers were not killed and wounded by enemy soldiers in combat but by terrorists and criminals committing terrorist acts within a country on the verge of civil war.  This is further amplified by the fact that we incurred these casualties as a result of our equipment, i.e. vehicles and body armor, not being designed to withstand the “improvised” explosives used by terrorists in terrorist attacks.  It is critical that one understand that the troops serving in Iraq, though exceptionally professional soldier and in many cases “Rangers” are not anti-terrorist troops.  They are simply GI’s, “Mud Puppies”, “Jar Heads”, and “Dog Faces”.  Regular soldiers trained to fight wars.

To this point I have mostly talked about the obvious repercussions to this misguided and mislabeled “war on terrorism” but now let’s talk about the other types of decimation being wreaked on our armed forces.  In a conventional war the active forces are the first in and then the reserves are activated and brought into the conflict.  Virtually always during a major conflict a draft is implemented bringing in huge numbers of additional soldiers from every walk of life.  While all of this is occurring the military industrial complex goes into action to produce the needed equipment for fighting the war.  And through all of this the families love and support all of the soldiers because they all have a steak in the conflict and their flesh is on the front lines.  This is an example of the simple use of overwhelming force to bring about a quick and complete victory.  When the war is over the reserves and guard go home and the active force continues their mission.  Such is the clean neat conventional war.

As we all know this is not the way it is going in Iraq and in the fight against terrorism.  The Bush administration has not mobilized the nation in this fashion because they understand, but would never admit, that you cannot fight a “war on terrorism” and they have no intention of ever admitting that you can’t do this.  They understand that the problem with terrorism and Iraq is that they are two totally separate things.  Terrorism is most probably a never ending world wide police action.  That is not a defeatist statement but a simple statement of fact and human nature.  Iraq on the other hand is a war created by the Bush administration through a preemptive invasion and for questionable reasons and not for reasons of the national interest.  As a result of this folly the American army is now stuck in the middle of what has become essentially a civil war created by the George W. Bush and the neocons.

The war in Iraq has gone on longer than any American conflict or war in over 150 years.  Longer than World War I, longer than World War II, longer than the Korean War and longer than the Vietnam War.  It has gone on for nearly 4 years and our relatively small active duty, guard, and reserve forces are simply being worn out for what is in reality a civil war and they are simultaneously being decimated by terrorists.  This problem is further compounded by the fact that all of our forces are now voluntary and the pool of replacements is sorely limited.  (In case you haven’t noticed recruitment is way down.)  Additionally this means that we do not “all” have a steak in this Iraq war because not all of us have our flesh on the line in the conflict.

I believe that at last count a total of one member of the Congress had a family member in Iraq.  The nation has not been mobilized but our volunteer army has.  The reality is that the vast overwhelming majority of the American military forces are made up of soldiers, sailors, and airmen from poor and middle class families.  These are soldiers who joined not to be professional soldiers, but to pay for college or gain a skill to make a living and get ahead in the world.  These are the soldiers who are fighting and dying and being wounded and maimed for America and there is little or no relief in sight for these men and women.  And the reason that there is no relief in sight for these soldiers is because creating a faux national mobilization by encouraging people to put a yellow magnetic ribbon on the back of their SUV’s does not mean the nation has been mobilized or that their flesh is on the line.

On top of this human toll a heartless Bush administration continues to short change the military for the sake of tax cuts.  The military equipment our soldiers need is being worn out and when this Iraq war is over it will cost us, our children, and our grandchildren billions upon billions of dollars to replace and repair what Bush has wrought.

This to me is failure to the 10th power.  As a retired soldier, who after Vietnam saw the devastation wrought on our military by another misguided administration, and like many other professional soldiers, chose to stayed on to help build a military force that is the finest in the world am sickened by what George W. Bush has done.  America deserves far better and our brave soldiers certainly deserve better.

Let me summarize with this.  There is a difference between choosing the well worn and easy way when you are afraid and taking the path less worn and showing courage in the face of fear or doubt.  George W. Bush has chosen the well worn path.  George W. Bush did not serve during Vietnam and he is not serving now.  Soldiers know that when you have to search for the records somethin’ ain’t right.  It’s kinda like the clerk with the Silver Star; you know he got it but he didn’t get it with a weapon in his hand.

I believe this quote best fits Mr. Bush and based on their records most if not all of his administration.

“It is when power is wedded to chronic fear that it becomes formidable.”   Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983), The Passionate State of Mind, 1954.

How much of my brothers’ blood must be spilled for this shallow, weak man?

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

What America Knows - Or Democrats Need Focus And Voice

2006-02-08T17:22:00.000-05:00

One of the inherent problems in politics is an inability to maintain focus.

Whenever I need to re-focus I go to this link Casualties and it helps me get right back on track. That link is to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count and there is something on it for everyone whatever your political persuasion. But let's stay on task and that is talking about focus.

It is pretty obvious to me that the political landscape in the United States is divided into two simple groups and those groups are the conservatives and the liberals. (Please note that I said the political landscape and not the American people are in two simple groups.) Now I break those groups down a little bit more and I say conservative-bad and liberal-good. To me that is pretty straight forward but just for those who don't get it let's do it by the numbers.

Conservative – Bad – They want:

A never ending war on Terror that bestows unlimited power on their president.

Big tax breaks for rich.

No tax breaks for poor and middle class.

No regulation on big corporations.

No Social Security.

No Medicare.

No Medicaid.

No pension plans.

No health insurance.

No Food and Drug Administration.

No Department of Education.

No rich child left behind.

No Environmental Protection Agency.

No environmental protections.

No Department of Health and Human Services.

No affirmative action.

No foreign policy.

No fourth amendment rights.

Liberal/Progressive – Good – They want:

An effective law enforcement and homeland security program to fight terrorism and bring terrorist to justice and keep our country safe.

Fair taxes for everyone.

Corporations to be regulated – No monopolies, no ENRONS.

Social Security.

Medicare.

Medicaid.

Pension Plans.

Health Insurance.

Food and Drug Administration – That does its job.

Department of Education – So every American gets a good education.

NO child left behind – with funding to pay for the program.

Environmental Protection Agency – With enforcement capabilities.

Environmental Protection for our fragile environment.

Department of Health and Human Services funded and empowered to provide public health and human services required by the citizens of the nation.

Affirmative Action Program – That ensure a fair and equal chance for every citizen.

A foreign policy that incurs the respect of all of the nations of the world and does not alienate half of the world and promotes peace and prosperity.

A government that respects the Constitution of The United States.

Now I don't know about you but when I look at those two lists I think conservative-bad and liberal/progressive-good. That's just the truth of it. So I don't quite understand where the focus problem for the Democratic Party comes from. I believe that the vast majority of Democratic politicians, the extreme vast majority, get it with a few Lieberman exceptions so why don't they just get on with it?

Certainly every politician has his or her own special circumstance but they all have pretty much the same American values and belief system and believe me this great country is not divided into two groups of extreme conservative-bad on the right and extreme liberal/progressive-good on the left. They are pretty much right down the middle moderates like you and me that want that list of programs and institutions listed in the liberal/progressive-good column above.

So my question is this. Why can't the Democratic Party take that liberal/progressive-good list and expand it to include everything I didn't mention and make that their pledge to America? Why can't they take that message to America and show them, and pledge to them, that the Democratic Party is the party of America made up of "the Fighting Democrats", "the Fighting Independents", "the Fighting Moderates" and the rest of just plain old home town America?

America doesn't need any more sniping and bickering. America doesn't need a party of name callers and partisans. America needs a party with a focus that is carrying America forward. They need a party that calls them like they see them and then moves on to solve the problem.

They need a party that has called the folly of the Iraq war and that has a plan to withdraw from Iraq in a positive, productive manner.

They need a party that has called hooey on the "war on terror" and has a plan to combat terrorism in a meaningful manner with police forces and tactics the world over and with military force only when needed and only with surgical precision and in unison with our real allies and coalition partners.

They need a party that has called bull on the "my way or highway foreign policy" and has a plan to develop and implement a foreign policy that cultivates international relations and coalitions that will fight not only terrorism but poverty, genocide, and health crisis worldwide.

They need a party that calls BS on hallucinogenic budget proposals and has a plan to balance the budget and keep America on the leading edge of industry and economics.

They need a party that has a plan to guarantee every child will get an opportunity for a good education.

They need a party that has a plan to guarantee that every American has health insurance and social security.

They need a party that has a plan to insure that every American has an equal chance in every facet of our society.

They need a party that is not corrupt to the point of distraction and ineffectiveness.

So here is what I think. I don't believe the average American follows the Supreme Court nominee proceedings and whether or not the nominee is conservative or liberal. I don't believe the average American follows the submission of or the budget process of the nation. I don't believe the average American follows whether CAFTA or NAFTA is approved or disapproved but I do believe this. The average American knows how much taxes they are paying. The average American knows when he or she has or doesn't have a job. The average American knows if he or she or their family has health insurance. The average American knows if he or she has or will have Social Security. The average American knows if he or she has or will have a pension when they retire. The average American knows how much it cost him or her to fill up their gas tank and how much it cost to buy that new car or stereo or washing machine. And the average American knows if the country is wining or loosing a war and they know if the country has or hasn't been attacked. And the average American knows if Americans are dying on foreign soil.

What all of this means is that the Democratic Party needs to talk to the American people about what they know and how the Democratic Party can do for them what needs to be done. That's what all of what I have said here means. It's time for a plan and plain English.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Why It's All His Fault – Or The Failures Of George W. Bush

2006-02-06T17:56:00.000-05:00

I am not one who normally places blame (Yes I am when it comes to George W. Bush!) but sometimes it is called for and this is one of those times.

When he came to office George W. Bush became president of a nation with a budget surplus approaching $300 billion dollars, a standing army that was combat ready and whose strength was unmatched in the world, and a nation with an international reputation for doing the right thing and, if resented on some levels respected on most.   He has, during 5 short years, created an annual budget deficit approaching $400 billion dollars in 2006, has decimated the active duty, guard, and reserve forces by pushing them to the breaking point and they are now in need of billions of dollars to rebuild and reequip and he has taken us from having a modicum of respect in the world to being nearly universally vilified as a result of his foreign policy.   And all of this from a man who while campaigning for president promised America that he was a "uniter and not a divider", and he would be a leader who was a "consensus builder" and that he was someone capable of "reaching across the isle" politically.   And don't forget he is the same man who said he would bring "civility back to Washington" and he did not believe the United States should be in the nation building business and he would not be a nation builder president.

I'd like to talk common sense.  First let's talk about the budget deficit and to simplify process I want to compare our national budget to our family budget.   It goes like this.  So you have a family budget and it's based on income and expenses and the nation has a national family budget and it's based on income and expenses.  Your current income is $1,000.00 dollars and it pays all of your expenses which are $700.00 dollars a month and you have enough left over for savings and you save $300.00 a month.   This was basically the financial position of the United States when George W. Bush came into office.

So one day you become insane and tell your boss you want to keep working but you only want to be paid $300.00 dollars a month now.   In this insane moment you just created a situation where you will without a doubt have to declare bankruptcy and you have placed your family in a potentially life threatening situation.   You now have the same expenses of $700.00 a month but only an income of $300.00 a month so you just took a $700.00 cut in pay and you're not saving anything.  That is precisely what George W. Bush has done with the American family.   He went to" some" of his bosses (rich ones) and told them he didn't want their tax money anymore.  Now we, the national family, are in debt up to our eyeballs and must cut our expenses or we're going to go bankrupt.   It's as simple as that.  But it's not really so simple because you know what?  You use to have medical insurance (Medicare) and now you can't pay for it so if you get sick you're probably going to die.   And you know what else, you use to be able to pay into your retirement plan (Social Security) but now you can't so you're not going to be able to retire.   Now I don't know about you but I call that insane and anyone who would create a situation like that is insane.  So in my opinion he's insane and the condition of the national budget is George W. Bush's fault.

Now let's talk about common sense national defense.   On September 11, 2001 a group of terrorists hijacked four airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.   These men were a group of terrorists organized by Osama Bin Laden to execute a plan of his design which was a terrorist act against the United States.   Note that I said a terrorist act and not an "act of war".  The reason for this is common sense.  Terrorist are not soldiers but criminals.   Terrorist do not conduct military operations but criminal operations.  Terrorist organizations are not nations with armies with whom one can fight a war.   They are organized criminals to be fought with police forces and tactics and not with military forces and tactics of war.

You cannot fight a war on terrorism.  It is that simple.  During prohibition and the era of gangland mobs the United States did not use an army to fight these gangs of criminals.   Even though the criminal gangs used bombs and machine guns and murdered people by the hundreds the United States did not declare war on Mafia gangs, (except perhaps in a philosophical sense), they fought them with police forces both federal, state, and local.   Today the drug cartels of the world use bombs and machine guns and carry out criminal operations to move, sell, and distribute drugs in and out of many countries of the world but we don't declare war on them, (except perhaps in a philosophical sense), we fight them with state and local and federal law enforcement.  You know those special counter drug forces.   So why does George W. Bush want to declare war on terrorism?  The straight answer is that it simply fulfills a political expedient.   War powers gives him more power and power and money is what he’s all about.

Lastly let's talk first about common sense credibility at home and then common sense credibility abroad.   Since taking office, George W. Bush has alienated people both domestically and abroad.  Domestically his political and legislative agenda has been focused on taking from the poor and giving to the rich through tax cuts and policies aimed at benefiting the very wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class.   This has been a pretty straight forward process that is best explained this way.  If you reduce the amount of taxes paid by the very wealthy without proportionally reducing the taxes on the middle class and poor then the middle class and poor end up shouldering the bulk of the national budget.  He has done this in a manner that has been best described as the "my way or the highway" attitude and without consulting with the minority party in Congress.   The repeal of the estate tax is a perfect example of tax relief aimed at the very wealthy.  Additionally he has, in budget after budget, cut programs aimed at benefiting the middle class and poor while giving away taxpayer dollars in no bid contracts to wealthy corporations.   If you do this after disproportionately reducing the taxes on the very wealthy you are now taking money from the poor and middle class and just giving it to the wealthy so it's a double tap.   One for them and one for them and none for anyone else.  Simple huh?

Now what about our credibility abroad.  If you just go to war because you feel like it and you justify that war with fake documents and lies then you have no credibility.   That is precisely what Mr. Bush did.  He sent his Secretary of State to the United Nations and in front of the entire world, most of whom were already skeptical, presented a case for war with Iraq using suspect and in many cases patently false information to convince them to go to war with Iraq.   This tactic failed with almost every country and did incredible damage American credibility.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

A Speech, A Beer, A Puke, And The Future

2006-01-31T18:40:00.000-05:00

I have had a very difficult time trying to write a post for the last week or so.  The reason for this is that I am grappling with how to wrap my arms around this place in time and space and history that we find ourselves.

Let me then just share these thoughts.  This nation has never had an easy time of it.  From the blood and pain of our founding to the pictures of a young woman reporter weeping into a terrorists camera only a day ago it has been a struggle for this nation.  But, what I believe will be the most defining moment and perhaps greatest struggle for this nation in this decade if not this century will be the day the Supreme Court handed down its decision on the presidential election of 2000.

That moment in time, when that court made that judgment, placed an individual in the Whitehouse and at the head of this nations government who was and is neither intellectually nor morally capable of governing and guiding this nation much less the nations of the world in its endeavor for universal peace and prosperity.

From that, yet new day of infamy our great country has wandered in an abysmal desert, void of leadership, moral and judicial equilibrium and direction and yet filled with faux moral and religious righteousness and simple swaggering bravado with little real vision.

If we look back on these last five years this administration has governed by fear, lies, indignant innuendo and shear bullying.

Bearing these things in mind tonight I expect nothing new.  We will see a president without real vision who will, with great bravado, prance out the same old worn neocon ideas but in new feathers.  We will hear once again how tax cuts for the wealthy are the panacea for all our ills and how the placing of all our social programs such as social security and Medicare, in the hands of benevolent private companies will save us from the evil “big government” and we will hear once again how our great and brave president is at the helm of the ship of state and will protect the meek citizens of this great country from the axis of evil and evil doers of the world waiting to invade the homeland.

When this rhetoric hits the airways tonight I for one plan to drink a beer, go to the bathroom and become violently ill, and then go about the business of helping to get that lunatic and his neocon cohorts and minions out of office.

Short tonight but filled with heart.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

A Leadership Vacuum Filled By Incompetence

2006-01-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

I have always believed that a president should be not only a skilled leader but also be able to multi-task but now I think the absence of these traits has been elevated to a new art form by George W. Bush. Mr. Bush is not only a walking leadership vacuum but has proven that where there is an absolute and complete leadership vacuum the space is immediately filled by absolute and complete incompetence.

Here are some links to evidence of this theory as proven by George W. Bush.

First deny there is global warming until scientist find that it has probably reached the point of being irreversible. It also helps in the denying if you gag the scientist most responsible for informing the public when he tries to tell the truth.

Global Warming
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11079935/from/RSS/

Scientist Gagged
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/
29climate.html?ex=1296190800&en=28e236da0977ee
7f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Next go off on some irresponsible foreign policy adventures in countries, whose names and leaders you don’t know and can’t pronounce, and create militant and potential terrorist governments in places like Iran, Iraq, and Palestine. Now while on your irresponsible adventures ignore places like Darfur, Sudan and Haiti and every other poor and impoverished nation until their governments are broken to the point of being irreparable.

Iran
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/
countriesandterritories/iran/index.html?inline=nyt-
geo&excamp=GGGNiran

Iraq
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/worldspecial/
index.html?excamp=GGGNiraq

Saddam Trial
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11082046/from/RSS/

Haiti
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/international/americas/
29haiti.html?ei=5088&en=803d683187505b6f&ex=
1296190800&adxnnl =1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=
1138560423-w4YgzV/FS/JYaolaVk9qgw

Darfur, Sudan
http://www.savedarfur.org/go.php?q=neverAgain...Again.html

No absolute and completely incompetent presidency would be complete without the four P’s (Piss Poor Prior Planning) of soldier abuse. This is done by not planning your invasion so that you are not prepared for all contingencies and so that once your soldiers have won your irresponsible and unnecessary war in a matter of days you end up in a never ending quagmire so that you can abuse your army. I think Napoleon, and Hitler set the model for you for this but your administration has taken this to a new art form also. You send in brave troops without proper armored vehicles, weapons and body armor and after they win the war for you anyway because of your poor planning you extend all of them for some more abuse. Oh yes and while you’re at all of this make sure you get some torture and a few other abuses in because real leadership would prevent this but you don’t know what real leadership is and besides the little torturing you did in college wasn’t satisfying enough so you make sure you get the real stuff.

Stop Loss
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=
2006-01-29T155514Z_01_N196487_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-STOPLOSS.xml

Wives held
http://start.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20060127/43dafa50_3ca6_
1552620060128-50708055

George W. Bush is not just the most incompetent president that has ever sat in the oval office but also the most uncaring. He is uncaring in every respect possible if you are discussing the tax burden on the middle class and poor or the lack of medical care for Americans or foreign affairs where he is getting American soldiers killed in a misguided war and ignoring real foreign policy crisis’s such as capturing the terrorist, building meaningful diplomatic relationships with the Muslim world so that you can attack terrorist in a meaningful way instead of a farcical war. He is failing America!

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Why Does George W. Bush Hate Soldiers or Justice For All.....hmm Some

2006-01-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

When I woke up this morning and read the news I thought I started feeling much like Gulliver but then I realized instead of being in Lilliput I was really in Bizarro Land because instead of Lilliputians I found only neocon pontificators.

This administration gets weirder every time I pick up a paper or see a news program. Have you not noticed that same phenomenon? They are incredible spin artist. I, in fact, have never witnessed such talent in my entire life.

At any rate I want to talk about the subject I know best and that is my beloved army. Several studies came out this week on how the military is stretched thin. I am putting one of the links here and it is to the Village Voice and I want to be clear that I picked this link because the Voice references a 2002 War College article and I think that is important. So here is that link.

U.S. Army Stretched Thin in Iraq: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0605,vest,71928,2.html

And there is this “stretched thin” article quoting General Casey. Here: http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/01/
26/us_general_says_forces_are_stretched/

Let me be clear by saying that what I think, is that what makes this administration so bizarre is that they, as a group and the president in particular, can lie with an incredibly blatant lack of skill and or caring as to whether the American people see and know it or not.

This administration lied because they planned the invasion of Iraq from the first day in office.

This administration lied and told us that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

This administration lied and told us that Iraq was linked to al Qaeda.

This administration lied and told us that an Iraqi agent met an al Qaeda agent in Prague.

This administration lied and told us that the invasion of Iraq would only take place after all diplomatic avenues were exhausted.

This administration lied and told us “Mission Accomplished”.

This administration lied and told us that the Iraqi oil reserves would pay for the war.

This administration lied and told us our troops had the equipment they needed to accomplish the mission in Iraq.

This administration lied and told us that the factories were producing armored humvees at maximum capacity.

This administration lied by not telling us that better body armor was available for our soldiers and not providing it to them.

This administration lied and told us that they did not direct torture of American prisoners of war.

This administration lied and told us they didn’t engage in rendition for the purposes of torturing prisoners in foreign countries.

This administration lied and told us that no one in the Whitehouse leaked a CIA agent to the press.

This administration lied and committed perjury when asked by a grand jury about the CIA agent leak case.

I believe that this sufficiently establishes the fact that this administration lies and lies repeatedly and consistently. Now here is insult to injury. This is the administration that condones torture and has sunk to even newer lows here: Documents Show Army Seized Wives As Tactic
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_leveraging_wives

Why Does George W. Bush Hate Soldiers or Justice For All.....hmm Some

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." - Mark Twain.Now that I've set the tone I'll get on with my post. I have been out of the loop for about a week but I've kept up with what's going on and I am, not surprisingly, more than a little concerned. Actually I'm bloody furious as usual!
I would like for you to consider a couple of things and to facilitate that process I'm going to start out by making a simple statement that isn't as off the wall as it may sound. It really isn't off the wall, trust me....... not off the wall. Here goes; George W. Bush is a raving megalomaniac and is leading, no not possible, is shoving, no pushing, no coercing, no bamboozling, no lying, no........ all of the afore mentioned, this nation into an abysmal pit from which I doubt it will ever return. Please understand that this is just the world according to the Sergeant Major and is strictly from my perspective. Now I'm going to keep this simple. Very simple and based on information that is common knowledge straight out of main stream media. That is the "so called liberal" main stream media. And please feel free to Google any one of my statements below to find a reasonable source to corroborate my statements. Believe me you'll get a hit or two for each one. Here it is.

First George W. Bush came into office with the intention of invading Iraq.

Then using the tragedy of 9/11 and made up weapons of mass destruction, and fake documents alleging attempts to buy "yellow cake" from Niger, and bad intelligence about an "alleged" meeting of an al Qaeda agent with an Iraqi agent inPrague he took the country to war.

He allowed members of his staff to divulge classified information causing irreparable damage to national security.

He declared, with the support of Congress "war" in perpetuity on an ideology thereby insuring war powers for his entire presidency.

He then used that declaration, through purposeful misinterpretation, as an excuse to spy on Americans in violation of the fourth amendment to the constitution.

Prior to invading Iraq he fired his senior military staff for not agreeing with him on the invasion of Iraq. Specifically they said he needed more troops and more money and more equipment.

He then ordered the invasion of Iraq without, or at least with extremely poor, prior planning and without sufficient troops to accomplish the mission and subsequent obvious required occupation.

He ordered and executed a war and occupation without properly equipping the soldiers with the required armored vehicles, body armor, and weapons.

Here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/...20041209/news_1n9rumsfeld.htmlHere: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/...

He ordered the incarceration of American citizens ("enemy combatants") without due process.

He ordered the rendition of prisoners of war for the purposes of torture.

He created a situation as Commander in Chief that allowed and condoned the torture of prisoners.

He outsourced the "reconstruction" of Iraq in a no bid contract with the corporation which his vice president had headed and with whom he still had financial dealings. Here: http://www.truthout.org/...

He allowed that contractor to misappropriate (steal) billions of taxpayer dollars.

He allowed the same contractor to provide contaminated water to his soldiers due to lack of oversight and failed to take corrective action after the act was revealed.

Here: http://www.boston.com/...01/26/troops_said_to_get_tainted_water

He has allowed the military to deteriorate to the point of being ineffective and incapable of accomplishing the defense of the nation. Here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

He has failed to properly care for the wounded soldiers and veterans.

And while he was at it he managed to anger the Muslim world to the point that the radical or potentially hostile elements of Iraq, Iran, Palestine and a few other Middle Eastern countries are now gaining more control.

Now here is what I would like you to consider. If the average soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who committed any one of, or set of, the above offenses would he or she not be brought before a military court and tried and if convicted would he or she not be imprisoned if not executed for high crimes and or treason?George W. Bush is still president and Congress has not begun the process of impeachment. Are the laws different for a president than they are for a soldier or any other American citizen? Are the legal standards different for a president than they are for a soldier or any other American citizen? Are presidents above the law? Is dereliction of duty as Commander in Chief and violation of the fourth amendment to the constitution as president not a criminal act for the president but are for soldiers and citizens? Why has the Congress not done its job? There is ample evidence. It's really that simple. There is ample evidence and Congress is not acting. I ask again, why has Congress not begun the process of impeachment? Are these crimes so much less heinous and vile as perjury or fornication in the oval office? I for one am sickened by this president and his disdain and out right dislike for the American solider, the American people, and the Constitution of the United States. George W. Bush does not care what happens to American soldiers. That is the only conclusion a rational thinking person can come to. I am one soldier that thinks it's time for impeachment.

Let me close with another quote that most appropriately fits our Commander in Chief."A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Nuff said.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That

George Learns A New Word – Necessary

2006-01-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today I saw that our president learned a new word.  That word is “necessary”.  It is the president’s position that spying on Americans by the government is “necessary”.  First let’s clear up the semantics.  Eavesdropping on “international” communications where the communications begins and ends in a foreign country is eavesdropping on international communications and is legal under United States law.  Eavesdropping on “international” communications where one end of the conversation or communications originates or ends in the United States is eavesdropping on domestic communications and is illegal without a warrant.  Second point is the president says we are at war and therefore he is authorized and it is “necessary” for him to direct these wiretaps.  Well, two points here, Congress authorized the use of force against those who were responsible for 9/11.  Congress has not authorized nor passed a war act.  And no where in the declaration by Congress does it say “the president is authorized to conduct domestic eavesdropping on Americans.

Now back to George’s new word.  Necessary was the word if I remember correctly.   Let me ‘splane this other word Mr. President.  Unnecessary!  That is the correct term Mr. President.  As in it’s not necessary to do something.  For instance it is unnecessary to violate the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution.  It is unnecessary to violate the Federal Intelligence Security Act.  It is unnecessary for a speedy response to order wiretaps without a FISA warrant.  It is especially unnecessary when you can get a warrant “after”, and let me repeat that “after” the fact.  In other words Mr. President, if it is urgent you can do it legally and get the warrant after, as in later.  Get it?  That’s means fast.  That’s like you can do it now and get the warrant later.

Now perhaps you can ‘splane to the American people how it is faster to wiretap without a warrant than it is to wiretap and get a warrant after.  I’m having, actually we’re having, a little trouble getting the difference unless it’s the legal part.  As in when you get the warrant before or after you wiretap it’s legal and if you don’t get a warrant at all and you just do a wiretap then it’s illegal.  This is actually making my brain hurt.  Trying to explain simple things to an idiot is really tiring.  So let me sum this up for you.

It is “UNNECESSARY” to break the law.  It is unnecessary to violate the law when the law allows you to do what you need to do with a warrant that can be obtained before or after the fact.  So my question Mr. President is this, are you having the NSA perform illegal wiretaps and that’s why you’re not getting warrants from the FISA court?  That’s an easy question so you should be able to handle it.

Now just a little more on unnecessary.  It is unnecessary to have 2,239 dead American soldiers.  It is unnecessary to have 16,420 wounded and maimed soldiers.  It is unnecessary to have over 30,000 dead Iraqi’s.  It is unnecessary to be creating terrorist states all over the Middle East as in Iraq, and Iran, and most recently Palestine.  Are you seeing the unnecessary trend here Mr. President?  Do you get it that, by your actions, you are bringing more radical regimes into power.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.

Why Does George W. Bush Dislike Soldiers or Justice For All.....hmm Some

2006-01-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." - Mark Twain.
Now that I've set the tone I'll get on with my post. I have been out of the loop for about a week but I've kept up with what's going on and I am, not surprisingly, more than a little concerned. Actually I'm bloody furious as usual!
I would like for you to consider a couple of things and to facilitate that process I'm going to start out by making a simple statement that isn't as off the wall as it may sound. It really isn't off the wall, trust me....... not off the wall. Here goes; George W. Bush is a raving megalomaniac and is leading, no not possible, is shoving, no pushing, no coercing, no bamboozling, no lying, no........ all of the afore mentioned, this nation into an abysmal pit from which I doubt it will ever return. Please understand that this is just the world according to the Sergeant Major and is strictly from my perspective. Now I'm going to keep this simple. Very simple and based on information that is common knowledge straight out of main stream media. That is the "so called liberal" main stream media. And please feel free to Google any one of my statements below to find a reasonable source to corroborate my statements. Believe me you'll get a hit or two for each one.
Here it is.

First George W. Bush came into office with the intention of invading Iraq.

Then using the tragedy of 9/11 and made up weapons of mass destruction, and fake documents alleging attempts to buy "yellow cake" from Niger, and bad intelligence about an "alleged" meeting of an al Qaeda agent with an Iraqi agent in Prague he took the country to war.

He allowed members of his staff to divulge classified information causing irreparable damage to national security.

He declared, with the support of Congress "war" in perpetuity on an ideology thereby insuring war powers for his entire presidency.

He then used that declaration, through purposeful misinterpretation, as an excuse to spy on Americans in violation of the fourth amendment to the constitution.

Prior to invading Iraq he fired his senior military staff for not agreeing with him on the invasion of Iraq. Specifically they said he needed more troops and more money and more equipment.

He then ordered the invasion of Iraq without, or at least with extremely poor, prior planning and without sufficient troops to accomplish the mission and subsequent obvious required occupation.

He ordered and executed a war and occupation without properly equipping the soldiers with the required armored vehicles, body armor, and weapons.

Here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/...20041209/news_1n9rumsfeld.htmlHere: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/... Here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/...

He ordered the incarceration of American citizens ("enemy combatants") without due process.

He ordered the rendition of prisoners of war for the purposes of torture.

He created a situation as Commander in Chief that allowed and condoned the torture of prisoners.

He outsourced the "reconstruction" of Iraq in a no bid contract with the corporation which his vice president had headed and with whom he still had financial dealings. Here: http://www.truthout.org/...

He allowed that contractor to misappropriate (steal) billions of taxpayer dollars.

He allowed the same contractor to provide contaminated water to his soldiers due to lack of oversight and failed to take corrective action after the act was revealed.

Here: http://www.boston.com/...01/26/troops_said_to_get_tainted_water

He has allowed the military to deteriorate to the point of being ineffective and incapable of accomplishing the defense of the nation. Here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

He has failed to properly care for the wounded soldiers and veterans.

And while he was at it he managed to anger the Muslim world to the point that the radical or potentially hostile elements of Iraq, Iran, Palestine and a few other Middle Eastern countries are now gaining more control.

Now here is what I would like you to consider. If the average soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who committed any one of, or set of, the above offenses would he or she not be brought before a military court and tried and if convicted would he or she not be imprisoned if not executed for high crimes and or treason?
George W. Bush is still president and Congress has not begun the process of impeachment. Are the laws different for a president than they are for a soldier or any other American citizen? Are the legal standards different for a president than they are for a soldier or any other American citizen? Are presidents above the law? Is dereliction of duty as Commander in Chief and violation of the fourth amendment to the constitution as president not a criminal act for the president but are for soldiers and citizens? Why has the Congress not done its job? There is ample evidence. It's really that simple. There is ample evidence and Congress is not acting. I ask again, why has Congress not begun the process of impeachment? Are these crimes so much less heinous and vile as perjury or fornication in the oval office?
I for one am sickened by this president and his disdain and out right dislike for the American solider, the American people, and the Constitution of the United States. George W. Bush does not care what happens to American soldiers. That is the only conclusion a rational thinking person can come to. I am one soldier that thinks it's time for impeachment.
Let me close with another quote that most appropriately fits our Commander in Chief.
"A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Nuff said.
Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That

What part of failure don't you understand?

2006-01-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

On September 11, 2001 a group of primarily Saudi Arabian citizens who were also members of the terrorist group known as al Qaeda, at the direction of Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi citizen also, flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania killing thousands of American citizens. Since that event al Qaeda has exploded bombs all over the world killing thousands more innocent people in places like London and Madrid while carrying out kidnappings and assassinations.

As of December, 2005 and January 20, 2006, Osama Bin Laden is still an at large terrorist, apparently still directing his terrorist organization and now, thanks to our president, terrorists are playing in the big sand box in Iraq and killing and wounding thousands of Americans, Iraqis, and various other nationalities respectively.

Yesterday Osama released another audio taped message. It is obvious that he is still alive and controlling his organization and is still making threats against the United States and immediately after the tape was released the president's mouth piece stepped up to the podium in the Whitehouse to announce we are winning the war on terror.

Well Scotty I don't know how to break this to you but first you can't fight a war with terrorism, that's the first thing, and second, if you could and you were you ain't winin'. Now sooner or later, Scotty and Mr. President you are going to probably get lucky and someone will capture or find Osama Bin Laden dead. This will most likely be by pure accident and when that happens we can say we got lucky but we can also say it isn't because you've done anything right.

Now yesterday evening I was watching Chris Matthews as he interviewed Senator Joseph Biden. I don't know why I was watching the show because I think Matthews has become just another shill for the Whitehouse but never the less I was watching the program and you know what? They don't get it. Matthews was too busy defending this bumbling president and calling Michael Moore names and Biden was once again pontificating on a subject he apparently doesn't understand because if he did he would have been pointing out that we are not winning the war on terror instead of trying to do psychoanalysis on Bin Laden for the entertainment of Matthews and the cable news junkies.

Now let me tie all of this together for you.
On September 11, 2001 a foreign terrorist group called al Qaeda based out of Afghanistan attacked the United States.
The United States responded initially by identifying the terrorists and invading Afghanistan in order to find and destroy the terrorist and the government supporting them.
For personal, ideological, and monetary reasons the President of the United States ordered the American military to invade a country that had absolutely nothing to do with either the attacks on the United States or al Qaeda.
Iraq and the war there now serve as a training ground for al Qaeda and have cost the lives of thousands of Americans and Iraqis with the numbers mounting daily.
The monetary cost of the war in Iraq is nearing $2 trillion dollars for the American taxpayers.
The head of al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, is still alive and at large and making threats against the United States.
The Taliban are a reemerging force in Afghanistan with violence in that country escalating.
Drug production and exporting in Afghanistan is at an all time high and much of the country is still controlled by war lords.
Iraq is in chaos with a collapsing and virtually totally destroyed infrastructure, with unemployment hovering around 70%, hospitals operating under primitive conditions, electricity on for only a few hours a day, and oil production near zero.
Al Qaeda is using Iraq as a training ground for terrorist.
The President of the United States is using the war on terror to justify eavesdropping on the communications American citizens.
The President of the United States is using the war on terror to justify torturing enemy combatants.

In my humble professional military opinion this is not victory. Or simply put Mr. President, What part of failure don't you understand.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.