Why Sharia is bad

In case you had any pretensions that living under Islamic law, called Sharia, would be an OK concept, read this story from Saudi Arabia (our 'ally').

Yara, a businesswoman and married mother of three, said she was strip-searched, forced to sign false confessions and told by a judge she would "burn in hell" before she was released on Feb. 4.

What was her crime?

Late Monday night, The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice publicly denounced her with a statement posted on the Internet, saying her actions violated the country's Shariah law. It accused her of wearing makeup, not covering her hair and "moving around suspiciously" while sitting with her Syrian colleague

So if a country wants to set it's own rules on what is and is not allowed among consenting adults, that's up to the people of that country. But what makes this so disgusting, is the next line-

her Syrian colleague, who was also arrested, but later released.

If a society or a religion wants to condemn sexual promiscuity, that's their right. But to say that a woman is guilty of promiscuity while the man is exonerated is sexism rooted in the 7th century. While we in Western society may have many faults to our credit, we have at least moved past the ridiculous view that women are the source of sin and that men are innocent of lust. Until Islam comes to this conclusion, I can have no respect for a religion that refuses to see the inherent worth of every human, man or woman.

Built MRAP tough

I'm a Ford truck man, and proud of it. But if you want to see a vehicle that is really built tough, check out this slide show on the new MRAP trucks being used in Iraq. First look at the picture of one above that is in one piece.

Even after seeing dozens of destroyed vehicles in Iraq, I cannot believe everyone walked away from this IED. This is the truck I want next tour to Iraq.

Semper Fi

Like most of us in the Army, I tend to look down at jarheads, er, I mean Marines. Except for their much cooler dress uniforms, the Army is obviously superior in every respect. Spending 16 months with a handful of Army soldiers on a Marine run base in Iraq did nothing to improve my low opinion.

But that's just interservice rivalry. When it comes time to fight, Army stands shoulder to shoulder with Marines, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard. Of course we do most of the work...

But this nonsense in Berkely is just plain stupid. The level of Bush Derangement Syndrome there is now interferring with the Marines from recruiting. So in honor of them damn jarheads, here's the best picture I've seen in a long while, courtesy of Zombietime.com-

My old stomping grounds

It's always interesting to see news stories coming out of Iraq from the area that I was working in. Today's LA Times has one about a town I know well, Hit.

Located just off the main road from Al Asad to Ramadi, Hit was a small town that was home to many of the insurgents we faced. I would guestimate that just under half of all the IED's we found were in a 10 mile stretch closest to the town. Like the one that left this crater-

Those are Chemsticks all around the hole, to keep civilain drivers from driving into it at night.

Here's another to give you a feel for what the 'road' was like.

And in the town itself, small arms and RPG attacks were fairly common. So it's rewarding to see that Hit and the smaller town of Baghdadi just north of it have been turned over to the Iraqis. Hit breifly made the headlines early last year when Gen Petraeus walked the city streets without body armor to show how safe it had become.

The signs of recovery were evident even early last spring, when local contractors (Iraqis) began removing all the burned and destroyed vehicles from the sides of the road. Then just before we left in July, work was begun on replacing the entire stretch of road from Al Asad to Ramadi. Significantly, the contract was awarded to a local sheik, creating hundreds of local jobs.

And yet, as insane as it may seem, many Democrat (MoveOn) politicians still insist that the surge is not working.

Free speech without beheadings

The Pope is a child molester!

Jews control the US!

Both of those statements would likely turn some heads and garner me some negative comments (including from my mother!). But neither would increase my liklihood of being murdered by radical Islamists. So...

As requested by Ms Malkin and Cpt Ed, I am adding my small voice to those in support of Danish newspapers and the now infamous Muhammed cartoons. This was the most famous, and the author was the target of an assasination plot.

But remember that there were a bunch of Muhammed cartoons that caused the uproar, here are the rest-

Too bad I'm not doing this in the line of duty, maybe I could get hostile fire pay.

I'd like to announce tonight that, along with Rush, Ann and Laura, I am endorsing Sen Hillary Clinton for president of the United States.

Really, follow along here.

I finally decided to support Fred Thompson. About a week later he called it quits.

I then decided to root for Rudy Guiliani, as the next best. About a week later he called it quits after losing Florida.

I then reluctantly decided to support my third choice, Mitt Romney, as the best choice left to me as a conservative. About two weeks later, he called it quits after not winning Super Tuesday.

With my current record therefore at 0 for 3, I am putting all my bad luck, ability to jinx, and overall bad karma behind Sen Hillary Clinton, in the hopes that my record will now move to 0 and 4.

In all seriousness, though I have argued against Sen McCain for some pretty blatant transgressions against conservative thought, he is still better than the options of either Hillary or Obama.

In military terms, I can argue with my platoon leader all I want about the tactics of a mission. If I can persuade him to change course, so much the better. If not, I am bound to follow orders in the faith that he knows more than I do.

In this case, many straight line conservatives (Rush, Hannity, Ingraham, Coulter and countless others including myself) have said that McCain is not nearly conservative enough.

That point is not really in doubt. But we have all failed to persuade the higher authority, which in this case is the voters. The question now is whether it is better to execute a bad plan or to retreat from the field of battle. Infantry 101 says that a bad plan today is better than a good plan tomorrow.

McCain will keep us in the war and perhaps even prosecute it more aggressivley. Obama and Clinton will work unabashedly to withdraw us from Iraq as well as the greater War on Terror.
In wartime, security is everything. Any questions on that can be referred to the northern half of Israel under the threat of Hezbollah. I am willing to accept McCain's social liberalism in exchange for homeland security. Because with either MoveOn candidate we will have social liberalism with no security.

All of the blood and sweat we shed in Iraq and Afghanistan will have been for naught if we fall back now. Think about that before you decide whether or not to cast a protest vote against McCain.

Give peace a chance

That's what the anti war protesters have been saying for years. But did you know that the radical Islamists have been saying that for years as well?
Seriously, they may want to take over the Western world by peaceful means. Think I'm crazy?
See Powerline for the backstory, here and then here.

Today, no less than the Archbishop of Canturbury, head of the Church of England, has said that changing British law to appease Muslims who want to live under the law of Islam, Sharia, is not only a good idea, it may be inevietable. Tip of the hat to Neptunus Lex.

Sun Tzu said:

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

Is it irrational to think that we as Westerners are being hijacked from within? That the enemy is using our weakness, respect for the rule of law, to attack us slowly without actually fighting us?
Ironically, I can't help but think of Ghostbusters. Near the end of the comedy, the ghostbusters are told to choose the form of their destruction. Says Dan Aykroyd, "Mr. Stay Puft "just popped in there" as "something that could never possibly destroy us."



Will the 21st century version of our destructor be our dedication to the rule of law? Will our destructor be a 100 foot lawyer from the ACLU?

Rules

Anyone who has ever had a boss who was obsessed with some minor rule or regulation needs to understand how lucky they are not to have been in the military. In the service, an obsessive or anal retentive superior isn't just an annoyance, they are a person who can legally order you to comply with their rules.

In that spirit, I present to you a public service message that a former CSM (Command Sergeant Major) of mine would have endorsed-the Army PT belt, which is designed to make you more visible at night. Bear in mind that us infantry guys usually like to be less visible at night, so this goes against instinct, especially in a combat zone.

Credit where credit is due

In most things related to computers, I am self taught. No formal training means picking stuff up where you can, and occaisionally, picking up on stuff much slower than the rest of the world.
So it is with Sitemeter, which tells me how many floks visit this blog. But not until tonight did I realize that I could also find where visitors are being referred from.
So here I have been reading Neptunus Lex for more than a year now, not realizing that his site directs a lot of traffic to mine.
So do me a favor and give him a read so I can give something back.

Vets on the Hill

As Iraq slowly fades off the media radar and is replaced by the economy, it's important to remember that the war in Iraq will continue to be a political issue no matter who is elected this November.

To that end, Vets For Freedom is bringing together Iraq and Afghanistan Vets for another Vets on the Hill.

On April 8, 2008 in Washington, DC, Vets for Freedom will hold America's single largest gathering of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
SIGN UP HERE to be a part of "Vets on the Hill," the culminating event of the Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour.
If you're a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, or another theater of the War on Terror, sign up today to show up on April 8 and tell Congress to support General Petraeus and our fellow troops as they continue to succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Unlike our anti-war opponents, we will not stage protests, chant slogans, or impede the work of government. We will meet constructively with as many members of Congress as we can to express our first-hand experiences and explain why it is important that the sacrifices of our comrades-in-arms not be in vein.
Vets for Freedom will cover all travel expenses for the trip. So mark your calendar, sign up today, and tell your fellow veterans.
As many of you will recall, this isn't the first time we've done this. In September of 2007, Vets for Freedom brought 250 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to Capitol Hill to support General Petraeus and urge Congress to provide the troops the resources, manpower, and time necessary to compete their important mission.

At the time, it was the largest single gathering of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to-date on Capitol Hill; and that day, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle heard the on-the-ground truth from soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen who've seen the battle first hand. Soon thereafter, they voted to fund the troops.
On April 8th, 2008 we're going to do it again. And we're going to bring even more veterans to Capitol Hill this time!
And remember, if you're on active duty-you can still participate. Current DOD regulations allow you to participate as long as you are: 1) out of uniform; 2) not speaking on behalf of "the military"; and 3) not protesting. The same goes for National Guard and Reserve troops. Please join us.

There's no requirement to be a conservative, Republican, or even a supporter of the president or his administration. All that is needed is having served in theater and a belief that we should win the war rather than run from it. The MN chapter of VFF can be found here.