Changing Insurgent Hearts

USMC Major General Doug Stone, who is in charge of detainees in Iraq, is trying something new. Through a combination of education, religious classes, vocational training and even sports, the General is gradually reforming the moderate Muslim population of Iraq.Not only has the rate of re-capture (the percent of detainees released that make it back …

Petraeus and Congress

I’ve been watching General Petraeus report to Congress on Fox News. The anti-victory congressmen seem to keep harping on the lack of political progress as compared to military progress. My question is, why don’t the politicians leave the military planning to the generals, and take care of the political arena themselves? Perhaps some visits to …

Patriot Day

Today is Patriot Day, officially designated a holiday back in 2001 by Congress and the President. It is a day to remember the 3,000 who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 9/11; to remember the people who fought back; to remember why we are fighting for freedom and democracy in the middle east. …

Korean Hostages

Well, the good news is that the Taliban has released the last group of the Korean hostages that they kidnapped a month ago. While this is undoubtedly good news (no pun intended) for the Christian missionaries, I am afraid that it bodes poorly for the War on Terror and the world in general.The Taliban has …

Regional Combat Marksmanship Competition

Well, I competed in the Regional National Guard Combat Marksmanship Competition over the last weekend–Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All I got was a sunburn. 🙂My rifle score was okay–at 181, I actually out-shot some members of the Missouri team. I have never been a weak rifleman, but I have always been a stronger pistoleer.Always, that …

The True Jihad

On August 18th, 2007, in the town of al’Arafiya, an Iraqi citizen gave his life to save four American soldiers and the other eight members of his Concerned Citizens’ group. Although grieved at the incident, the unidentified man’s friends and family are proud that he gave his life in defense of American troops.Despite the slowness …

Left Spin on O’Reilly?

I was visiting Bill O’Reilly’s website recently, and was surprise to find that he had linked to a freep.com article without bothering to de-spin the title (“No Spin Zone?”). The article (here) was about a pair of sisters who exploited a loophole in military appropriations to combat zones in order to charge outrageous shipping fees. …