Back on the Street Corner

I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost. I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble.

She said she was leaving. She said she'd go home. But the lure of the red-light district in D.C. was too much. Yes, Cindy Sheehan is back.

"The Democrats will not hold this administration accountable, so we have to hold the Democrats accountable," Sheehan said outside Conyers' office after the meeting. "And I for one am going to step up to the plate and run against Nancy Pelosi."

So, what happened to going home and reconnecting with her family? Did she get home and find out that they've decided to "move on" without her? Was the solitude frightening? Were there no news cameras to capture the histrionic wailing and gnashing of teeth?

Well, if she tries to run for office, I'm sure she'll get the rabid pacifist vote, but the cooler heads will vote for someone more stable.

Used, and Used Up

Well, by now, most of you've heard that Cindy Sheehan's giving up and going home. This post will neither heap antagonistic calumny on her, nor tar her with the epithet Chiroptera Lunae. She's a victim of the Left's game.

A grieving mother, with a questionable grasp on theology, geopolitics and domestic politics, was scooped up by the Left. Transformed into an instant propaganda machine, Cindy had the credibility of actually suffering a loss from the War. Unlike most military families, which grieved their losses with dignity and respect for their children, Cindy ran about manically screaming for the War to stop. As if just stopping the War would make all the problems go away, and all would be puppies and sunshine.

Cindy pledged everything she had to the cause, and must have been rightly deflated by the Left's recent betrayal. Anti-war advocates in the House and Senate rolled over, as soon as the President wrote 30 pieces of silver into his budget for them. Sold out, there's nothing left to do. So let her go home and try to recover her family, if the bitterness will allow it.

I will eagerly await Cindy's next book, as it will reveal much to the Left that they will not admit to. Her farewell missive was titled "Good Riddance, Attention Whore", and while she may have been called that by less-than-charitable conservative bloggers, it's the Left that really treated her like a whore.

Deep Shiite

So, Muqta al-Sadr is conferring with his mentors in Iran. Is anyone really surprised? It's natural that he would be touching base with his allies, making sure that the supply lines stay open.

Despite the official denials from Iran, which are quite plausible, it's the mullahs that run the country. If the mullahs say that al-Sadr is to be armed, it happens, with or without any government paperwork.

Expect to see redoubled efforts in Washington, aimed at evacuating, retreating, withdrawing our troops from Iraq. The last thing that Americans want is a war with a country where every last man, woman, and child would pick up arms to defend their country. It might make us look bad.

Pawns

Unrest is causing problems in Nigeria, impacting oil production. From CNN:

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer. In 2005, it was the world's sixth largest exporter of oil, but the conflict there has cut distribution by an estimated 500,000 barrels per day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The militants are threatening to hurt the oil sector even more.

While this may only seem to be a symptom, I imagine that oil production disruption is a distinct goal here.

More than 2 million barrels of crude oil is pumped out of Nigeria every day, according to the U.S. Energy Department. International oil conglomerates from the United States, China and other countries have taken up stakes in the Niger Delta. Among the oil giants are Shell, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, and oil service companies like Schlumberger and Brazil's Petrobas.

And there's the stakes. While it's the Nigerian militias that are demanding a cut of the profits, there's another party/parties at work here, here's the clue:

Nigerian forces have struggled in the battle. The navy doesn't travel to the regions where CNN went because the waters are so dangerous, patrolled by armed militants in speed boats that quickly navigate through the swamps.

"The militants are far more well armed than the Nigerian navy. They have bigger guns and speed boats that can practically go anywhere, even shallow waters," she said.

A week ago, the militants sailed into Port Harcourt and boldly made their way to the central police station in the middle of the town and shot their way out, rescuing 15 of their comrades who had been arrested by the navy.

Ok, so how does a group, that claims to be extremely poor and deprived, end up better armed and equipped than the nation's government forces? Outside agitation. Proxy war. It's a time-honored African tradition to fund rebel groups in your neighboring countries. Or, it's someone who stands to gain much by disrupting oil supplies to the countries listed above, which may be more likely. It's time to start following the money..

Dear Senators

A letter to my senators, that though they may not read it, you and Google can:

Senators Hagel and Nelson,

This is embarrassing, guys, and not what I elected you for. Looking at the news reports, it seems you guys, along with many others in Congress, are running around like Frenchmen; arms in the air, looking for someone to surrender to.

I get it, you guys want to get reelected someday, but screwing up this war is selfishness. A common criticism of the war in Viet Nam was that Congress meddled with how to fight the war. Another factoid about Viet Nam is how many people in the region were slaughtered, by the regimes we left intact, after we gave up.

Whether we were suckered in rightly or wrongly, let us agree to be men about it and finish the job so that we don’t leave the populace of Iraq in peril. It may not be in the “National Interest”, at least in the short-term, but it should be a point of national honor. I hope you have the courage to do the honorable thing.

Sincerely,

[St. Jimbob's real name will remain a misery, um, mystery]

Rousing the Troops

Unseen Blogger has upped the ante by posting George C. Scott's speech from Patton, and to I will do my part by posting the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V, with apologies to the Bard.

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin McCain? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.

God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for oil,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.

No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from America:
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!

Rather proclaim it, McCain, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.

This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
George the president, Cheney and Condi,
Rumsfeld and Lieberman, Petreus and Abizaid,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin, Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in America now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Possible Reasons

Why are many Americans so down about our situation in Iraq, and so ready to run away? I pondered different generations, and their track records with commitment:

1) Baby Boomers - A 34% divorce rate tells me that when the going gets tough, these cats just pack up and go. Couple a flight instinct with an aversion to blood, and you can see why Boomer politicians are almost universally posturing with a white flag.

2) The 'Me' generation - 'Nuff said.

3) Generation X - Discovered the Boomers' "Don't trust anyone over 30" kool-ade, and mixed it with cough syrup. Makes Barney Fife look like the model of courage and intestinal fortitude.

4) Generation Y - The culture of Hook-ups is not the model of commitment that would fan the flames of patriotism, now is it? Sated with violent video games, a culture of glorified lawlessness, and petulant marxism, who really feels like volunteering to defend this mess?

Regardless of the failings of the overall populace, the men and women that choose to defend this country rise head and shoulders above their protesting peers. These soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines deserve every right and privelege that the snivelling masses shrilly demand.

Double-Edged Rope

So, Saddam got the short drop, and a sudden stop. While Shiites and Kurds (and not a few NeoCons) will be dancing with glee, something tells me that the world has not been markedly improved with the execution of Saddam Hussein. The blood on his hands and in the Iraqi soil, still cries out, but will get no answer. There will never be any penance, and never any reconciliation.

It was a foregone conclusion that Saddam was going to hang, from the moment that they pulled him out of his hidey-hole, and he knew it as well. Despite the efforts to put on an apparently fair trial, it will always the seen as just a veneer of civility to an otherwise delayed execution. There was never any question as to the eventual outcome, it was just a matter of observing formality.

There was a TV movie, in 2000, about the trials at Nuremberg. In the movie, Hermann Goering sums up the trials as such; Yes, I understand, we lost the war and now you're going to hang us. To him, and by extension, many others now, Saddam's hanging will be seen as only a consequence of losing an armed conflict with the United States.

DNC War Planning Division

Buck Knife, $55

Running shoes, $60

A Democratic plan to leave Iraq, priceless.

Rwanda and Darfur

Once in a while, I come across something that, while I may want to write about it right away, I feel like I need to wait until the emotional turmoil dies down. I watched Hotel Rwanda this weekend. I couldn’t sleep later that night, and the pit in my stomach didn’t dissipate until well into the next day.

For those who haven’t seen it, Hotel Rwanda is a movie about the 100 day, Hutu-led genocide that claimed the lives of 500,000 to over 1,000,000 ethnic Tutsis and Moderate Hutus, in 1994.

First, the genocide underscores the belief that the United Nations is useless at preventing violence and protecting others from violence. Every decision is by committee, and thus any issue that arises must inspire widespread support to ever get acted on. Since none of the major players at the U.N. cared about African conflicts, the news of the Rwanda genocide was slow to permeate the consciousness of the delegates.

The U.N. had personnel there! Oh, but they weren’t allowed to intervene (the force was also small enough that intervention would have resulted in dead peacekeepers). Finally, Western governments responded, sending some troops, but it was only to rescue foreign nationals trapped in the country.

Something similar has been going on, for the last three years, in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Islamicist militias, with the tacit approval of the Sudanese government, is waging a campaign of murder, rape, and pillaging to drive non-muslim residents of Sudan into neighboring countries. The Sudanese government has obviously learned more from the Rwanda genocide than the U.N. has, including how to wage an internal war without foreign intervention. After three years, the U.N. has finally voted to gather some troops, and establish some peacekeeping operations in the region. Good luck with that, by the way.

It seems clear that anyone who’s depending on the U.N. for help is screwed. The Blue Helmets will show up in time to uncover the mass graves, tour the burned villages, and give candies to the children of all the rape victims. Is that the best we can do?

"Where are the French? We'd love to watch them surrender."

Out of Curiousity

Hezbollah was using ALL of these apartments and homes to launch rockets from?

Forgive me if I seem a bit skeptical.

Big Stick Diplomacy?

From a speech by Abraham Lincoln, Hartford Connecticut, 1860:

If I saw a venomous snake crawling in the road, any man would say I might seize the nearest stick and kill it; but if I found that snake in bed with my children, that would be another question. I might hurt the children more than the snake, and it might bite them.

Whilst the esteemed gentleman from Illinois was talking about the subject of slavery, The allegory may have other useful extensions:

A Red Cross worker carries the body of a girl pulled out of the rubble of the destroyed building after Israeli airstrikes in Qana, Lebanon, on Sunday.