Rummy anyone???

Question from Kirk M:

What did you think of the so called Rumsfeld gaffe? I found this, I should
have suspected AP blew this out of proportion.

My opinion of the "incident" over the armored Humvees is that certain media members and politicians have, and will continue to twist anything Rumsfeld says.

I absolutely agree with SECDEF that you go to war with the army you have - meanwhile the Army continues working on getting them all armored.

Secretary Rumsfeld is probably one of our most valuable assets in the current administration. I've never heard a word out of his mouth that did not sound sincere, honest, thoughtful, and intelligent. I'd love to meet the guy.

RE: the armor situation. They said about three-quarters of the vehicles in Iraq are currently armored. Well, news flash, at least a quarter of the Humvees in Iraq never leave the confines of the US controlled bases. I'm not saying that every vehicle that goes outside the wire is armored but the majority of Humvees leaving the "safe" areas are armored. The rest are used - for example in the Green Zone - to get around inside the wire and may or may not have armor, doors, a roof, etc... I know every time I travelled in a U.S. convoy there was armor on the humvees we drove. The only exception to that was when I went with the Iraqi forces and then we used "soft-skin" vehicles. That's what they had available and that's what we used.

The shame of Iraq

TIA Daily had a link about how the false pride of the Arab culture has led to the apparent ingratitude of many Iraqis toward the U.S. liberators. I can attest to the truth of this phenomenon - having witnessed it myself. It's kind of difficult for Americans to get our brains around since it involves a fundamental sense of low self-esteem that is foreign to us as a culture. I recall one Jordanian army officer asking General Petraeus if resistance to "the occupation" was ever justified. Gen. Petraeus shot back something to the effect of: What are they resisting? Are they resisting the $1.3 Billion we are spending to rebuild their country? Are they resisting democracy and a chance to participate in the future of their country? Are they resisiting better security? A better life? Freedom? What???

Obviously the fact that we are there is an insult to their "pride." This article says it well. An excerpt:

He was a short, intense, bespectacled lawyer from Baquba, who claimed he had connections with anti-Coalition forces in the Sunni Triangle. As we drove through the desert into Baghdad, "I hate your country," he informed me. "Every time I see a U.S. tank I feel like it is crushing my skull."

Less startled by this expression — for this was my second trip to Iraq — I asked the attorney the cause of his feelings. As if explaining the most self-evident thing in the world, he replied, "America is occupying my country — as a patriot, of course I must resist." He fixed his wire-rimmed gaze on me. "Imagine if a foreign power was occupying America — wouldn't you resist?"

Click on National Review online for the complete story.

Joe Kane
Pearl Harbor

Facets of Iraq

Here are the answers to a few questions sent by a school teacher in New Hampshire... Though I recently left Iraq, I will happily answer whatever questions I can. Thanks for the questions Judy!

1. What are your living conditions?
I lived in a 2-person trailer about 7 ft by 15ft. There were sandbags all around it to protect against mortar and rocket attacks. The attacks happened almost every day and often landed within a couple hundred meters of where I lived and worked.

2. What are the average living conditions of Iraqis?
Many Iraqis are rather poor by US standards. Imagine Baghdad, a city with 5 million people and most of the buildings are only 1 or 2 stories high, and built of brick. Sewage can be seen running in the street, and electricity is not reliable. Saddam ran down the country terribly in the last 3 decades. Many Iraqis outside the cities rely on agriculture to survive - goats, sheep, farming and orchards. Date palms are very popular and irrigation is common. It's amazing how much agriculture is going on there! I flew a lot of missions to different areas of Iraq while I was there and saw a lot.

3. Is there a lot of fear?
There is fear of course. We were under attack daily and our Iraqi friends who lived outside the Green Zone were often threatened and sometimes killed. You can't help but have some fear under those conditions. The American and coalition forces there are really doing a great job under very tough conditions. Not to mention the Iraqi forces trying to take over security under extremely rough times. They receive threats all the time and if you read the news you will see dozens of Iraqi police getting killed every day. May more are standing in line to take their place though.

4. Do you get used to it?
Umm, yes and no. I think most people just deal with it. Remember, these are all volunteers who really love their jobs and feel good about being able to make a difference over there. High morale is good to help you get over fear. I know for myself, I just tuned it out when I had to and stay focused on the mission at hand.

5. Is there visible progress being made to restore utilities, buildings, infrastructure, etc.?
Yes, absolutely. This is the real untold story from Iraq. There is 1.3 Billion dollars being spent over there right now. The amount of construction and positive things being done there is unbelievable. And one crucial aspect of this building process is the thirst for knowledge that some Iraqis have to learn and improve their lives and country. Some of the most memorable comments I heard while there were made in reference to Marines and soldiers training Iraqi security forces. They would get extremely emotional as they talked about how abused they were in the old Iraqi army and how grateful they were to the Marines now training them. They really love the U.S. for it and it shows in the way they talk about them.

Hope this helps,
Joe Kane
Pearl Harbor

The West’s secret weapon against terrorism

It may seem, on the surface, a bit of a stretch but I’m willing to bet that Osama Bin Laden never, ever believed in Santa Claus. I just can’t picture him hanging his stockings by the chimney with care or baking cookies or writing a list of things he’d like to send to the North Pole. If he had done any of those things he might have some idea about the consequences of being naughty and being nice.

I’m not in any way trying to trivialize the horrors that terrorists have perpetrated and certainly I understand the gravity of the war we are currently engaged in. Having spent the last four months dodging mortar rounds and attending Purple Heart and memorial ceremonies for my wounded and fallen co-workers over in Iraq, I have a new perspective on what we are facing as a nation and as a culture. What I would like to point out though is that we have in our arsenal a secret and very lethal weapon to use against the terrorists who wish for our destruction. That weapon is Santa Claus.

Okay, I hear the sound of “Bah humbugs” along with the rustling of hands busily searching the cushions of mental sofas for the remote control to turn the proverbial channel but bear with me for a moment.

It has become abundantly clear since Sept. 11, 2001 that what the terrorists hate most about America is our pro-life, this-worldly focus and our dedication to the sanctity of individual rights and continuing pursuit of happiness. They hate our success, our pride in our achievements, our freedom to choose our lifestyles and religion (or lack of) and our enormous wealth. These are all things that we celebrate with exuberance in the Christmas and holiday season and the kind of things that Santa Claus himself represents – the enjoyment of life.

As Dr. Leonard Peikoff put it in an article for Capitalism Magazine Dec. 6, “Christmas as we celebrate it today is a 19th-century American invention. The freedom and prosperity of post-Civil War America created the happiest nation in history. The result was the desire to celebrate, to revel in the goods and pleasures of life on earth. Christmas (which was not a federal holiday until 1870) became the leading American outlet for this feeling… the major developments of 19th-century capitalism: industrialization, urbanization, the triumph of science -- all of it leading to easy transportation, efficient mail delivery, the widespread publishing of books and magazines, new inventions making life comfortable and exciting, and the rise of entrepreneurs who understood that the way to make a profit was to produce something good and sell it to a mass market.”

These are the conditions that make our celebration of Christmas possible and also the very things that frighten those who wish to impose their own will on everyone around them, whether out of a lust for power and control or out of a fanatical adherence to an anti-life creed. Tolerance of freethinking individuals is a threat to them.

So, how does Santa Claus fit into all of this? Imagine the idea of a benevolent person who can see everything you do – yes, he could see you while you are sleeping and he knows when you are awake – he would also know when you did something right or wrong and reward you accordingly. That is a concept of justice that children learn very early when they believe in Santa Claus. And they get presents, as Dr. Peikoff points out, whether they are rich or poor, as long as they are good. The emphasis rests on equality and justice based on one’s character rather than social status – that’s an idea many cultures lack outside the United States. Often times outside the western countries justice is meted out based on tribal, ethnic or wealth status, and “who you know” could be an issue of life or death.

What is needed is a very large dose of reason inserted into the Middle Eastern culture. Even if it comes dressed in a red and white suit and is riding in a sleigh – okay, maybe pulled by flying camels instead of flying reindeer - the benefits of such a life-affirming concept like Santa Claus could really have a great impact on the future culture of the region.

My suggestion is that everyone write an email to Santa Claus and CC your local government officials. In the email we’ll urge our leaders to embrace the idea of proposing an upgrade of Santa’s sleigh to include armored plating and Kevlar helmets for the reindeer/camels, and we will send them into Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else a little good old fashion Christmas cheer is needed. Maybe then we will truly enjoy peace on Earth and good will toward men.

Joe Kane
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Where am I?

Well, I am temporarily out of Baghdad.

My mother-in-law, who is staying with my wife and daughter while I'm in Iraq, has gone into the hospital. She has been receiving treatment for a cancerous tumor for about a year. It was located near her ear and has now also been determined to be inside her skull going deep enough into the brain and near enough the spinal column to be beyond operations or even radiation treatments.

So, I am on emergency leave for about three weeks. I return to Baghdad around the end of December. I may still post while I am here in Hawaii, but it just depends on what's going on here.

Joe