TTom50 Blog Comments (10)

RE: To win the war on Terror

Sicne we are talking foreign aid now.

Think about the recent wall incident between Egypt and Gaza for a moment. Ok? Kepp that in the back of your mind, I going to come back to it at the end here.

Every time we give foriegn food aid....say to Solomia or elsewhere....this
what happens. The NGO goes in with food. They place a storage site and
begin to distribute. The terror groups see what is happening begin either
intradict the shipments of food, steal them or extort them. One of the main reasons we went into Solomia was because a NGO food storage point had been taken over.

Let us return to Gaza now. We see on media that Palestine women and children are throwing themselves at the wall, fences, and gates between
Egypt and Gaza. The world says....It must be horrible in Gaza for them to
have to do that. Reporters go in and the world learns of how they cannot
get water, food, funds from Egypt into Gaza. Everything points at the Isreali that are forcing the Egpytians to honor this agreement on the wall
between them and Palistines. Isreal is made to look the bad guy here...in
the eyes of the world.

The wall comes down. Palestines flood into Egpyt to buy goods, foods, water etc. Also with that wall coming down.....many militants have a chance to bring weapons and funds from Egypt back into Gaza. Only a few weeks later, you have a increase of the rockets from Gaza into Isreal.
I wonder how the rockets might have got into Gaza?

The wall has been down a week. The Hamas government and Egypt have come to an agreement on it. 7 days later Hamas and Egyptians are putting the wall back into place. So at this point stop and ask your self why? Why if this wall was so bad to the Palestine people, would Hamas reset it? Simple answer:

Economic control on the Palestine people by Hamas.

With the wall down they did not have it. With the wall up they did. With the wall up they had economic control of what is going on in Gaza. They could extort the baker on the flour he needs to make bread. With it down, the baker goes to Egypt gets his flour and makes his bread without paying dime one to them. Hamas learned this in the week's time it was down......puts it back up for economic control of thier population.

They smudged Isreal in the world eye with the women pressing for it to come down. They put it back up when it cost them dollars, with it being down. That is how much aid in the middle east get handled, Munichtexan. That is the game that gets played here. It is about economic control, extortion, and making black eyes on the US and Isreal when you can. And it is a sad game that is bringing injury and death to 1000s.jmo

RE: To win the war on Terror

Are we hurting here economically? Yes. Our factories built for WWII are aged and a development program there is needed. We have problems in the housing market with financial lending/borrowing. People borrowed more than they could afford to acquire a house. Inflation of food and other good is high, mostly associate with the cost of gas and disel.

One of the big benefit to alternative and electric vehicles as they get the power to move heavy and lerger loads......is with this area. A electric delivery van....gets the bread to the store just as well as a disel unit.

We do have some 40 state with buy back programs on electricity. But the law is only to the rate that the power company is selling not a forced rate that promotes the development of alternative energy. Our philoshopy is a kw of energy is a kw of energy. If you ask the power supplier to pay more for his kw.....in the US where the power grids overlap....and they sell energy across them. He will not buy the local high price energy from your alternatice providers....rather he goes to a connecting grid....buys low cost kws if he can. That can shot the entire alternative energy development concept here, in the US. So most state have this compromise where the cost of the buy back is to the rate charged.

Is our infrasctructure going to change in the next 20 years? Yes. Is our transportation system going to change? Yes. How little power a president has to do these kinds of very large scale local program like this might surprise you. I remember a mid 90s plan local to central Florida for mass transit trains. The Federal goverment....was only one....of the State, the county, the city, and firm providing the service...to its development. It came down a single vote at the county level for project approval.....mind you with $250m invested already in study for this....and was defeated by 1 vote. The President had no way to control or make that vote occur positively for mass transit. He can order those agencies to do what you ask, yes. But he cannot get or guarrantee at the local and state level cooperation. Understand?

There is ton of politics here in the US over mass transit. Best that the President be left out of it, during a time of conflict, unless you want him/her to be answering the phone at 3 AM and being asked if someone found there lost book bag from the previeous day bus run.:-)jmo

RE: Great Men Are Seldom Good Men

Good post.

I think many have this personal weakness, in some degree and manner.
For some it goes to excessives and goes into illegal actions and hurting others and themselves.

I think those that would make political gain of this with throwing stones,
should look at the glass houses that they walk around in. They are
pretty fragile.

There does seem to does seem to be a blurred and faded line, to this kind of activity that allows one person in a position of trust to escape (maybe with taint) and another in a trust position to fall and resign (by force or choice). I think that society, culture and our country are still trying to define that line.

Returning to the quote for a moment. I think the 'greatness' is an adjective that most often men place on another man. But all men can have inheritant 'goodness' from the shadows of thier 'unenlightened darkness'.

RE: WAR OR PAECE !!!!!!!!!!!!

Think bin Laden would accept a vote of Muslim women?
Peace is good.....it takes two parties desiring peace to
achieve.

RE: new states is born - KOSOVO

Congratulations. But also this. Freedom has responsibilities. Living at peace with one's neighbors the very best you can is one of those.
There is a time for conflict and there is a time for peace. Kosovo and
Kosovians can choose either course now. Peace is better.

RE: The cost of things

Do the same little thing with bottled water. Most bottles water is more expensive than gas as well.

RE: If we're more ladylike will they be gentlemen?

I have learned not to accept the woman's behavior here. But it was a difficult learn.

The mere idea that a man..should be a "gentleman" placed him into harms way when it comes to woman that wishes to play this game with him. He is kind of like the proverbial sitting duck.

I have stopped doing some very traditional gentleman things....e.g. draw a chair out. While keeping some of the others...opening a door. So I have gotten selective, in my assistance to women. As she passed, I usually will say to her, "I have done my one nice thing for the day and now can return to being my normal self". It gets a giggle and a thank you.

But I still will stop and offer to aid a woman in distress....e.g. the flat tire situation and just did a couple of months ago.

To really grasp this idea of being a gentleman, there is a fair amount of situational awareness that the man needs to acquire. It is learned skill,
ladies. Help him along. Tell him what you would like done and not done.....
but in a non condemming manner. Also understand he has limitations.

He is not a mind reader and his back may very break with that 100 pound
suitcase you packed.

RE: Into the mind of an Iraqi civilian

I recently received photos from a city in France where they sustain a museum to the US Airborne troops of WWII. This one particular unit
was principle in keeping many of its civilian safe from Germans following
the invasion of Southern France. For about 40 years now, they have a
annual rememberance of what was done there in the days of WWII.

The question I have is, while not immediately but sometime in the future. Could not similar musuems, plaques and ceremonies occur in Iraq? For United Forces that have saved Iraqi lives? Freed a country and installed a democratic government?

Before you answer. Let me tell you what was done in that French city and
why they do this annual rememberance.

The French city was a vital cross road behind the invasion beach point.
Who ever controlled it, also had the road grid for movement. The Airborne drop that night was broken and dispersed. There were to be nearly 2500 dropped in and around the city. Only 40 with one small cannon were placed directly there. They controlled the city center, but Germans were all around and in force.

For two and half days, these 40 with this one small anti tank gun fought
off various attacks of German's with tanks. Every man in the 40 was wounded taking turns manning that cannon. Many were wounded several times. A British unit of 500 tried to relieve the 40. They were driven back with hard loses. Eventually a 125 man group force marched for 2 days to relieve them on the third day.

My father was part of that 125.

Tollens, that same spirit of those men that fought WWII, is in the people
we send to Iraq today. Have we made mistakes there? Yes. But do you really wish to dishonor or discredit the effort and sacrifice they make there? Do you wish to discredit the forces that serve in Iraq that are
doing similar things as this group WWII veterans of 40 and 125?

Often our people in Iraq are out numbered. Often they are surrounded and fighting in 3 of 4 directions. Often help is slow in coming. And it is happeing many times there. Very similar events to this WWII action, yes?

Someday, Iraq and its people could very well be setting up similar museums, plaques and awards to them. Remembering their sacrifices for Iraq and its people.

RE: Looking At so called United Nations Peacekeeping

I cannot speak knowledgeable for what happened in Rhowadan with the Canadian peacekeepers. I can speak with some knowledge on a similar thing when the Dutch peacekeeping force in former Yoguslavia gave the Muslim men to the Serbs.

The Dutch forces were very out manned and out gunned. Only several companies of the them with light weapons. Surrounding the hills of the city were an estimated two regiments of Serbs with heavy weapons.
Not good odds.

The Dutch commander delayed the release of the Muslims for as long as he could. But the Serbs were basicaly saying release them to us or we shell the city. It was going to be bad either way he choose. He saved the women and children with his decision.

The problem is that with a "fluid situation", peace keepers will get caught in the middle of such often. That is what happened here. One can call the Dutch commander dishonorable for what occurred. But a commander is only as strong as his immediate deployed force on the ground is and what he can bring in via some kind of support. It was winter, the weather was lousey and was not going to let any support coming in for him anytime soon. He was in both a box and a trap.

My thinking is that just as much as it was his failure...he was late in asking for support and failed to see what was coming in his direction.
It was also his command's for placing him there without much possible rapid reactionary support. Without enough intelligence gathering to see the Serbian coming.

These are tough calls all along the command chain. If the chain breaks, is not fully informed, is not prepped with reaction forces, only bad things happen in peacekeeping. The UN and NATO wish to deploy small force strengths in these efforts.......thinking large deployment will only heat things up......but when you don't have reactionary forces in your deployment....your small unit deployments are at risks. You watch what will happen eventually to the French peacekeeping forces in Southern Lebanon.

They have deployed with a small footprint. Hezbollah will eventually test them. By either by deployments of Hezbollah forces near their compounds (eg. just as they did with the UN Peacekeepers) or with some kind of encirclement/kidnapping/hostage taking of French soldiers/compound.

Basically it is a way to say...hey you are in our backyard.....and we have rules here.....and you need to play by our rules. We are not playing by your rules because your did not bring enough to the party.

Have a good one.

RE: Looking At so called United Nations Peacekeeping

I think that you are on to something, Solitare.

I am former USARMY and was a training NCO at our School or Americas
at Fort Benning, GA. On occassion I would train foreign troops, including
some from Panama.

But training either foreign troops or ingenious forces (i.e. our training or
of Iraqi forces) is a tricky affair. Often there is a language barrier.
Often there is little way to make a trusting training environment for them, Yes, soldiers need to trust thier ranking NCOs in the training environment. That he will not place them into some harmful situation.

You are right, not all military forces are equal. No one said war is fair.
Those same Panamian forces that I trained were latter part of the
Panamian Defense Forces. And we know what happened there.

I read the same reports of Dufar and Solomia that you are. Some have fought well. One report I read was that the out manned outpost of peacekeepers fought to the last round against a overwhelming force of Dafur tribesmen. Others will flee at the first hint of trouble.

The US Government has little ability to evaulate these peacekeeper
prior to the contract. And once the contract is done, we have even less
ability to stop new and untrained recruits from assignment to the
deployed unit.

So it is one these night mare circles of events, of decisions, of bad luck on duty assignments for them.

Sure turning everything over to NATO sounds good. But NATO is only as strong as the European leaders that wish to back it with manpower and deployments. How much NATO countries wish to get involved in Dafur and Solomia is open for alot of debate. Maybe the UN needs to better evualate what they are placing these inexpereinced soldiers into, prior to the missioning them.

Maybe leave the rough and hard places for the pros. Send the kids to the cake walks is the answer.

I also know this. Certain foreign military units of any of the countries that you mention are tough and fair as it comes. You send them to pecekeep, they will peacekeep. Even it means a few broken heads along the way.:-) So go easy there, Solitaire.

Also if you think that we can get the politicians and beuacratics from of making miliary assessments and advising career military men after they have just read a book on Alexander the Greats invasion of the Indian Sub content. :-) They simply love to have thier fingers into everything, with little knowledge of anything.
Drink a cold one!