The second thing that got me going was the whole world without nuclear weapons bit.  I do not for one second believe that if we had no weapons we would all get along.  An argument can be made that the longest period of prolonged peace has been since the invention of nuclear weapons.  To think that we would be liked and listened to if we were weak is naive.  It is a nice idea to hold onto in college but in a world leader it shakes my confidence.

Tonight was a disappointing night.  Obama went to West Point to elevate his stature.  He failed.

- FOP Vermillion

Now, at last, we’re attempting a “reset.” The CIA has sent a field officer who has strong relations with Karzai to be its Kabul station chief and Hillary Clinton – the Secretary of Reset – tried to charm Karzai at a dinner earlier this week. Meanwhile, Holbrooke is spending more time in Washington and has focused on obtaining international support of reconstruction projects and development programs. This sounds like his highest and best use.

I agree the Administration is trying a reset.  The problem is resets only work in theory.  Relationships between states are not purely about one group’s opinion.  Sure when you have a change of administration, you get an opportunity to make changes, but you still do not get a clean slate.  Regardless of the positions taken by the previous administration, there are reasons the relationships and positions taken exist.  The simplest reason, and the one that Team Obama seem to underestimate, is that the other side has their own agenda and priorities.

So the idea of a complete reset at the beginning is a stretch.  It is even more absurd after they have been ham-handed and decide you need a fresh start.  Think of this in terms of your own life.  You have a business in town that you deal with and has been around for a while.  Now they get bought out and let everyone know they are “under new management”.  So you check them out and decide they you do not like the way you are treated and the customer service is poor so after a few experiences you start going less or not at all.  Well they want your business so they decide to fire the manager and “reset” the business.  They make a big deal about the change to get you in.  Do you go back?  Maybe, but more than likely, you still expect to be treated the way you were before and you may not need them anymore.  You have found someone else who does the job you need done and you like them better.  Just because they canned the old manager doesn’t mean you are running back.

This is the same garbage the Obama Administration is trying to pull.  They are all, “We are new and improved” and then when they blow it, they try to change the faces and say forget what happened before.  The problem is the world is watching and they are figuring out the playbook.  If we can’t get serious about diplomacy and not having to rely on do overs to give us chance after chance to get it right, we are doomed to be a joke in international relations.

- FOP Vermillion

Prove me wrong Mr. President.  Don’t make this a one time thing.  Honor our warriors and their sacrifice.  They deserve it and they have earned it.

- FOP Vermillion

Update:  Well it looks like Hot Air has caught the friends of the White House at the NY Times covering up the fact that the trip to Dover AFB was a calculated move that looked good.  The operative phrase is “intended by the White House to convey to the nation that Mr. Obama was not making his Afghanistan decision lightly or in haste.”  I would rather have been proved wrong.

I am glad general McChrystal is sticking by his guns and demanding what he needs and I believe the mission in Afghanistan is the right one.  We need to help make the region safer, kill those who would try to kill us, and build a better image of the US in the area.  If we will not stand up for ourselves, who will?

However, based on the administrations current stance, please do us all a favor and PULL OUT THE TROOPS.  I would willingly put my life on the line for our country and to take up the cause for freedom and lives will be lost in the cause.  If the prize is worth it, we will make the sacrifice.  I suspect that this is not the attitude of our current leadership and it is just a matter of time before they find a reason to pull the troops and come home.  Well I don’t want to see a repeat of Somolia where we see dead American soldiers in the streets and then we pull up and go home.  If you don’t have the spine or stomach to do what needs to be done and commit the blood and treasure required to win, pull out.

Do everyone a favor and be honest with yourself and us and get out and save countless lives.

- FOP Vermillion

Please go to Micheal’s page to read the entire article.

- FOP Vermillion

Locally, we are not in much better shape.  With the recent arrest of the man in Denver, we are reminded again that Al-Quaida is still out there and wants us dead.  They have not been convinced not to kill innocents because we have a new more tolerant President in office.  I, for one,do not believe we were not attacked at home for the last eight years by accident.  However, the tools and more importantly the mind set that made that happen is being changed and I see us as much less safe.  It comes down to mindset of the leadership.  Is this a battle (war) or is it about criminal behavior (law enforcement)?  This is actually a very important starting point.  In a battle, you are trying to destroy the enemy and you will us whatever tactics you can to win while preserving your assets within the “rules” you have accepted.  Criminal activity is about punishment of the perpetrator AFTER the fact.  Law enforcement cannot do anything until a crime has been committed.  Hopefully the punishment is bad enough to discourage the next guy but the fundamental point is that if the goal was to kill/murder innocents in the one scenario you find and kill them first and in the other you lock up the bad guy and console the families who lost loved ones.

Count me in the battle camp.

- FOP Vermillion

Newsflash John, people dying and in agony from terrible wounds inflicted in war is not brave; it is sad.  Nothing was added to the discussion by showing this, especially over the objections of the family.  No one understands the war better, understands Lance Corporal Bernard’s reasons for being there or his character better because of this, we just got to see blood and the terrible loss of life that comes with war.  For those of your readers who can comprehend the written word, it should come as no surprise that war is bad and causes death and destruction.  They should not need to see a picture of a dying Marine to be aware of it.  How shallow do you think your audience is?

We who fight wars, who get bloodied, and die in them understand that it is a fact of life when you go to battle.  This is not the Boy Scouts or some camping trip.  Those Marines lost a comrade who deserved honor and respect and you gave NEITHER.  Shame on you!

I salute you Lance Corporal Bernard.  Your service will be remembered and valued by many, if not all, of us.

- FOP Vermillion