Tag Archive for: US military

The War Neither Obama, Nor Any Other Nation Wants to Fight

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Two trends have emerged since President Obama’s September 10thAA - Obama Stop ISIS speech regarding his intention to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State.

One is the understanding that he will not commit U.S. troops as “boots on the ground” to fight a force estimated variously between 10,000 and 30,000 depending on intelligence guesswork.

The other trend is the reluctance of any other nation to engage in the warfare that would be necessary to defeat the terrorist army occupying northern Iraq and a swath of Syria.

This was initially signaled at the NATO meeting in Wales and, according to a September 12 page one report in The Wall Street Journal, “A day after President Barack Obama outlined a strategy to combat Islamic State militants, Washington’s international allies didn’t make clear how far they would go to join military operations even as they pledged support.”

Who would support a President who said he had no intention of being “dragged back into a war in Iraq”?

That is not a “strategy.” It’s surrender. It is an admission of a lack of intent to confront what will surely emerge as a major threat to the Middle East and the West.

Word Games

The Obama administration was initially reluctant to even call it a war. It was a “counter-intelligence operation” according to Secretary of State Kerry.  The President and his administration have spent six and a half years labeling terrorist attacks as anything other than acts of war. But 9/11 was an act of war.

The killing of soldiers at Fort Hood was called “workplace violence” when it was clearly a terrorist act. Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told us that the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed our ambassador and three security personnel was just a bunch of militants angered by a video no one ever saw.

In Iraq—a nation now in name only—its military fled from combat with ISIS. The result has been a demonstration of the barbarity of ISIS, killing Muslims and “infidels” alike in large numbers. The videos of the beheadings of two American journalists sent the U.S. a message that dramatically altered the simmering reluctance of Americans to make war on the Islamic State. The beheading of a British citizen will no doubt echo the U.S. population’s desire for revenge and a full-scale war on ISIS.

Middle East expert, Walid Phares, says ISIS’s message is that it has concluded that neither the U.S. nor Great Britain will engage it with troops, preferring only air strikes. No military expert believes that will be sufficient to defeat ISIS.

Turkey, that shares a border with Syria, Iraq and Iran, is fearful for the lives of nearly fifty of its diplomats taken hostage in Mosul when it was captured in June. They have cause, but Turkey has been increasingly Islamic in its outlook for nearly a decade, shedding its secular approach to governance. It has refused to allow the U.S. to use bases there to fight ISIS.

In Europe, Germany said it would not take part in any airstrikes against ISIS. Other EU nations will likely follow its lead. In a similar fashion, Arab nations have not indicated any intention to actively—militarily—participate in what appears to be a “coalition” in name only.

A post by Steve Eichler, CEO of Tea Party, Inc. says it all:

“We are in the gravest of situations. Our military—once the most powerful in the world—is crumbling.

Obama is purging every branch of the US armed forces at an alarming rate.

He’s deliberately crippling our military, setting them up for failure and defeat. Through his actions he is rapidly demoralizing our troops en masse, creating a dangerous situation at home and abroad, leaving our troops, our country and we citizens open to attack.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, recipient of the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, as well as other top retired officers, say Obama’s agenda is decimating the morale of the U.S. ranks to the point members no longer feel prepared to fight or have the desire to win.

Our Army has not trained for six months. Meanwhile there is tremendous domestic and foreign unrest taking place. “To have the Chief of Staff of the Army confess to the world that our Army has not trained for six months is highly disturbing,” says former Florida Congressman Allen West. ‘[It] should make us all sleep less soundly at night.’”

Obama has been destroying our military in every way he can and, other than air power, he has a greatly reduced infantry and other forces with which to wage a ground war in Iraq. ISIS knows this and so does the rest of the world.

Not since the end of World War II and our ascendance as a superpower has America fallen to such a loss and lack of real power both militarily and economically.

The years since Obama’s election in 2008 have been an unqualified disaster for the nation, the West, and the rest of the world. They have looked to the U.S. to lead and now see a U.S. that has twice elected a man whose entire agenda has been to abandon leadership.

To some, his actions reek of treason.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

US Army troop cuts: Hagel and Obama seem determined to decimate our military capability by Allen West

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Early this morning I received an email from Mrs. Annie Shyne, a former constituent, whose son Nicholas received a nomination from our congressional office to the US Naval Academy where he is now a plebe.

She was distressed over the intentions of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, former US Army Soldier, to decimate our military capability with deep US Army troop cuts. Her email expressed concern for her son and his future as a commissioned officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. She was even more disturbed over the abandonment our military families will receive by way of cuts to commissary services and pay freezes. We recently reported the level of food stamp usage by our military families and its unconscionable increase.

Then this morning, I tuned in to hear SecDef Hagel attempt to explain this ill-conceived budget decision — which certainly has our enemies cheering. It seems Hagel, in his insidious and dubious manner, fails to realize that the most technologically advanced weapon on the battlefield is a trained, resolute, and determined warrior.

Instead of “investing” in the most important task of our federal government — providing for the common defense — we shall now focus on “investing” in the expansion of the welfare nanny-state. There is no doubt where President Obama’s priorities lie.

We have departed from the maxim of “peace through strength” to a belief in “appeasement through weakness.” Obama somehow believes kumbaya is a strategic objective. And don’t give me the crap about drones, because we learned during Vietnam that a president should not be directing strikes from the White House – implemented by another failed progressive president, Lyndon Baines Johnson.

We should be examining how we create the capability and capacity to meet the challenges of the enemy globally. That means looking at each geographic AOR (Area of Responsibility; CENTCOM, AFRICOM, EUCOM, PACOM, SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM) and ensuring they have the appropriate level of force mix to meet the threats in their AORs.

We don’t need massive endeavors into new technologies, we need a massive focus on capability to meet and defeat the enemy by way of deterrence. Of course I support the defense industry, but the defense industry should not be the drivers of our national security strategy.

For Obama and Hagel to believe taking the US Army down to pre-World War II levels is a smart decision evidences their abject stupidity in comprehending the global conflagrations in which we are embroiled — the enemy has a vote. This whole inane statement about “pivoting to the Asian-Pacific rim” is more empty rhetoric as we decimate our US Naval strength while China builds theirs.

Barack Hussein Obama cannot be seen as a Commander-in-Chief and I will never refer to him that way. His fundamental transformation of America means weakening our nation and leaving our Republic less secure. I can just imagine how appreciative and elated his Muslim Brotherhood friends are at this point, to include Turkey’s President Erdogan, as well as the mad mullahs in Iran.

Why would any mother like Annie Shyne want her son or daughter to serve under this charlatan? The real “War on Women?” It’s the Obama vision to have more American mothers welcoming their children home in flag-draped caskets — as we’ve seen under his purview in Afghanistan, where deaths have skyrocketed.

This is my Army for whom I gave 22 years of honorable service and where I have a nephew and many a dear friend serving. I will be damned if I allow these progressive socialists to put their lives in danger. This, my fellow Americans, is why we need conservative American leaders who have served and are willing to lay down their life for this nation. Not some sorry Obama lapdog.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com.

Law Enforcement in America: Pretty Uniforms, Ugly Demeanor

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Most of my adult life I lived and worked in the ever changing world of law enforcement. I feel I put in my time and have the right to provide my analysis on law enforcement in America, and their effectiveness in fighting Islamic based terrorism and their lack of support of the American Patriots who love our country and Constitution.

I will break the various categories of U.S. law enforcement down into four groups:

Group 1: Local and County law enforcement officers
Group 2: State law enforcement officers
Group 3: The dozens of 1811 federal law enforcement officers excluding the FBI.
Group 4: The FBI
Group 5: U.S. Military

Our country has always needed law enforcement officers at all levels of government to enforce the laws of our land in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. For the most part they have been effective … up until the sad day on 11 September 2001.

On 911 I was an active (1811) U.S. Federal Agent. I fell into Group 3. It is my honor to say I did not fall into Group 4. On 911 I saw our country change, and not for the better. This is the day I saw the early stages of a wide separation of the Group 1 officers and the FBI (Group 4).

Group 1: Group 1 officers have always been the backbone of our country. Over our young history they have always been the ones with their eyes on the ground and an inner loving and respect for America. They handled law enforcement matters for the most part with a firm, heavy hand when needed, but knew when to back off when required. Their training normally consisted of ‘on the job training’. They were the American citizens best friend, the true defenders of our U.S. Constitution, and a menace to lawbreakers.. They were not always right, but their intentions normally were. They are often the lowest paid and hardest worked. These officers have a Police Chief, Sheriff, but more often than not there were only a couple of officers assigned to a small town area. In other words their management oversight was low. They worked together as one unit protecting America.

Groups 2 and 3: These officers were normally trained to a higher level and their pay was higher. These two groups had more oversight than group 1 officers. Their organizations were often led by people who were career managers and not law enforcement officers. Politics and pleasing politicians were an every day occurrence. Before 911 these officers worked hard days and nights and did their best to stay out of the media and politicians line of view. These officers put the U.S. Constitution ahead of politics, but often their higher management became politician ‘pleasers’ instead of supporting their street level officers.

Group 4: The FBI. Since it’s founding in 1935 it has always been managed by non elected politicians. The first duty of FBI management has always been to fight for the attention from the media, and to do their best to please their masters (Senior U.S. Government politicians all the way up to the White House). FBI Agent were taught directly from the academy that they were America’s super investigators. They had the money allocated to them that was always in excess of what they truly needed. The egos of most FBI Agents is way higher than their true value to America. Many great street level Agents, but they are taught to be glory hounds. The FBI routinely take over local, county, and state investigations when there is even a hint of nationwide media attention. 1811 Federal Agents who fall into Group 3 attend the same academy and receive the same training, but with the help of the media and politicians (through continuous butt kissing) they are portrayed as a more clever investigator. In actuality they are not. They just have more government money to look pretty. The FBI often get involved in military cases and overseas investigations, although they have no authority to do so.

Group 5: The U.S. military. This group of several hundred thousand are not supposed to be involved in U.S. law enforcement activities. Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 Prior to 911 they seldom were. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was intended to prevent U.S. military from enforcing U.S. civilian law. The role of the military was to defend our country from outside forces. For 200 plus years they have been very honorable.

AFTER 11 September 2001: Prior to 911, the dividing lines between each of the five groups has always been well laid out. Each of the groups knew their roles and duties in enforcing civilian law in America. I noticed a major change after 911. All of the groups have seen an increase in department funding, primarily due to counter-terrorism money granted by the federal government.

Their lines now overlap one another. Even small police departments have been provided money they never knew existed. They now have the money to buy military style uniforms, military style weapons, and many now have the egos of FBI Agents (both undeserved). Their goals are no longer to protect the citizens in their communities, they now have the media, politicians, and federal money dispatchers to please. Group 1 now want to look like highly trained combat military soldiers. Their departments have new patrol cars, expensive SWAT gear, RV’s for HQ operations, and they are now 10 times more likely to be seen giving news conferences on trivial matters.

Nice equipment, authoritative combat gear, tanks, drones, and other costly equipment does not make any of the groups any better in handling Islamic based terrorism events if they do not have the proper training. Current none of the groups (1 -5) are being properly trained to defend our country against Islamic based terrorist groups. Few are ever taught Arabic or can even use the term Islam in their investigations.

Our former leaders never intended for our local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers to be U.S. military personnel. The lines were drawn over 200 years ago and for a reason. Our forefathers have always known that the closer law enforcement are to senior government officials their mindset changes. We do not need our local law enforcement who police a community of 500 to have the type of equipment our U.S. military have. Why? Because the higher you get to the top of the federal government, the more corrupt people become.

As the non commissioned officers are the backbone of our military (ask any commissioned officer), the backbone of defending America from within as the first-line defenders are the local and county law enforcement officers. The more political and ego driven they become, the less prepared they are to fight Islamic based terrorism.

Another lesson: We could help resolve our country’s high debt ceiling if we were to abolish the FBI. This agency costs billions a year to fund, and the vast majority of cases could be handled by Groups 1, 2, 3, and 5.