As I reflected two days ago on the events of Pearl Harbor, I was troubled in my thoughts on how today’s protectors of our families and friends are being treated today. There are three Navy Seals accused of ‘roughing up’ the terrorist responsible for the kidnapping, torture, killing and hanging of the charred and mangled corpses of 4 American contractors in Fallujah in 2004. The evidence presented is flimsy at best and rests on taking the terrorist’s word over the word of our men. How did we come to this?
Petraeus Hearings an Embarrassment
April 8, 2008
Once again the loyal opposition chose to ignore the facts on the ground because it does not match their 3 year old narrative of defeat. General Petraeus was again magnificent and clear about the realities of the progress that has been made to date, the obstacles to be overcome, and the consequences of pulling out – i.e., creating defeat from victory. Just watching career politicians who should have retired long ago reinforces why I am running for Congress. We need regular folks who will bring common sense to the proceedings.
There is now study out done by two researchers at Harvard that shows when bad news and criticism of the War in Iraq hits our news, the amount of violence goes up as our very savvy enemy seeks to win the PR war over here as the only way to achieve victory over there. It is irresponsible for our political leaders to keep endangering our troops, Iraqi forces, and innocent civilians to win a political power struggle here. No matter the prize our career politicians seek when seeking our defeat, no reward is worth their undermining of the sacrifice we all have had to bear to win the freedom of an entire country from decades of a brutal dictatorship and for us to have a stabilizing presence in the region.
That sacrifice falls with the most weight on our soldiers and their loved ones. We must honor their giving of all by completing the mission successfully. If we achieve anything less due to the machinations of politicians in Washington, then they are spitting on those troops and their families as surely as they did when our Vietnam Vets returned home having earned honor but given spite.
Politics must change. We are the change.
Congress Plays Games with our Lives
February 18, 2008
Congress is now on a 12 day recess. Before leaving they had plenty of time to rename Post Offices and pass resolutions congratulating athletic teams on well earned accomplishments. They even had time to hold hearings on steroids in Major League baseball and listen to a he said-he said argument between Roger Clemons and his former trainer.
What they didn’t have time to do, understandable since Congress has only been in session a very few weeks before deciding it was time for a break, was to protect us from the enemy who is fighting our soldiers abroad and trying to kill our loved ones here. Congress went on vacation without renewing the survelliance act and by their inaction have left all of us in the sights of our Islamofascist enemies. Enough! It is time for a change in Washington, DC. It is time to fire the career politicians who play games with our lives, who do not see the threat to our country, who fiddle while our enemies plan, now safely hidden from the eyes and ears of our intelligence community.
It is time to pick up the phone and fire up the email. Our Representatives don’t need a vacation, they need to earn their pay. It is time to demand Congress return to DC and pass this protection for the folks. Then I would ask you to look around and, if your Representative is part of the problem, find a candidate to believe in, contribute to their campaign, volunteer to get them elected. Do not stay on the sidelines – these people are playing Russian Roulette with our lives and the lives of our loved ones.
Berkeley Backs Down
February 14, 2008
As a Marine veteran who volunteered to defend America in the mid-1970’s, I watched with frustration the unfolding controversy fomented by the Berkeley, California City Council’s disrespect of our Marines. First they provided a reserved parking space for Code Pink directly in front of the Marine Corps recruiting office to aid Code Pink in their harassment of those doing their patriotic duty to defend their country by joining the Marines.
When that didn’t scare the Marines away, the Berkeley City Council sent a letter that said the local Marine Corps recruiting office was an “uninvited and unwelcome” intrusion. In my opinion, a disgusting display of left wing hatred and intolerance for the very folks who protect the rights of those politicians to political free speech and action. The kicker is that when their Federal earmarks were then threatened, they folded like a bad chair and by a 7-2 vote; the City Council retracted its statements. So much for conviction. Those on the left who only tolerate one point of view are always stunned when there are consequences to their words and actions.
We do have the right of free political speech and I defend that right. I also believe we must be prepared to stand by those words and actions or we should not act. Those of us who cherish our Bills of Rights must realize we are in a fight for our culture with those who would deny the rights of the free practice of religion and free political speech with new hate crimes legislation and the reinstatement of the misnamed ‘Fairness Doctrine’. Please join our campaign to send one of the folks to Washington to protect our basic rights.
In regards this particular incident, I, as a Marine veteran, will not be satisfied until the City Council of Berkeley, California issues a public apology and thanks our Marines for being willing to sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms and those we love.
We must win
July 24, 2007
As I have watched the debate rage over the War in Iraq, I wonder that many of our politicians, the main stream media, and the Bush haters don’t get it. This is not about the President, it is about our country in a time of war and crisis. By narrowing the focus to WMD’s, failed tactics, the daily toll of blood, and the incessant cry that it is worse today than yesterday war/President Bush opponents miss or purposefully ignore the big picture.
We are in a war with a totalitarian ideology that answers to no government, no citizen, that is willing to use ANY tactic to win, and that will not seek a diplomatic solution. Their choices are: we surrender and convert or we die. That is it. This is not a feel good movement fueled by a motivation to improve the lives of the downtrodden and poor. This is a religious movement that seeks to establish the Caliphate throughout the world using whatever means are necessary. In this age of nuclear, biological, and poisonous weapons those means can be catastrophic.
We are the target because we are the biggest kids on the world block – any other reason given is just a rationalization. If our enemy can get us to back down what chance does the rest of the world stand?
We must stand as we always have against the winds of totalitarianism no matter their underlying philosophy. We must remember these ideologies do not go away on their own, they must be defeated on the field of battle before they can be defeated in the hearts of the people drawn to them. It is time for those who want nothing more than the failure of our President to realize his failure would be a bigger failure for us, for America.
We could not be safer, only more comfortable in our minds for a short while, having wasted the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters over these long 4 years. We do not honor sacrifice by ceasing sacrifice without securing victory. For the killed, the wounded, the maimed, the lonely, the scarred, their loved ones, their survivors, we must persevere. We must win the hearts and minds of America as we call our fellow citizens to stand in the breach.
In our time, around the world, we have nothing less than the forces of freedom versus the forces of oppression. We must win.
Tired Politics
July 18, 2007
I tire of the stunts our career politicians keep pulling in DC. Last night, it was the Democrats making an all night plea to ensure our defeat in Iraq. It was a made for the media event trying to convince us, the folks, that they are doing something with conviction and for the good of our men and women in the armed forces. It was all drivel. If the Democrats in both Houses of Congress really want to show conviction and fulfill their promise made during last year’s elections, they need to propose and vote on a bill to end funding for the War in Iraq. Any resolution or bill short of that is politics as usual.
In any case I do not support the cut and run posture of our elected representatives, mostly Dems but a few Republicans thrown in on the House side. It occurs to me they are running for the exit as quickly as possible to attempt to thwart the surge strategy which is showing signs of progress. They lose if we succeed – that is an awful way to represent us. I tire of them all.
It is time to change Congress by sending regular folks who are in touch with us. Only then will it change.
Emanuel Cleaver: Handled By CAIR
September 18, 2006
Liberal Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) described the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as an organization “which we know has ties to terrorism.” According to Project Vote Smart, Emanuel Cleaver supported the interests of CAIR 100 percent in 2005.
Five CAIR employees and board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities. This is why Congressmen Roy Blunt, Todd Akin, and Sam Graves received a 0% rating.
They don’t think Americans should be supporting terrorist organizations or sympathizers… Does Emanuel?
Remembering 9/11
September 11, 2006
Today, as we watch the coverage of the 5th anniversary of the unprovoked terrorist attacks on America, our tears flow and our hearts are torn out anew. We, as Americans, need this reminder we are under attack and no amount of appeasement will change one terrorist’s mind. We must remember to remain strong, to honor all those who have fought and fallen. We must ignore the dividers among us who somehow believe we started this War, who would retreat under the guise of timetables and talk, endless talk. Americans of all beliefs and ideologies must realize we are the target because we are free, tolerant, great, not for any of the made up reasons created by apologists for the savages who attacked us and continue to attack the innocent around the world. Today, there are two types of people in this country and world, those who believe barbarians and murderers can be changed if somehow we change and those who know the heart of evil and realize we must stand up to evil when evil comes for us.
God bless and protect every one of you.
Cleaver Praises Hezbollah
September 8, 2006
“One day after Hezbollah discontinued bombing Israel, Hezbollah was passing out $12,000 checks in Lebanon. [And] we couldn’t do it in New Orleans.” (Congressman Emanuel Cleaver)
Are you kidding?
When answering ridiculous comments such as these, one has three options. You can say nothing, as the ridiculous comments speak for themselves. You can laugh, as they deserve that reaction. Or, you can give the Congressman’s comments the response they so richly deserve.
Prior to Katrina, the United States government had not engaged in terrorism. They had not killed innocent civilians for twisted ideology. Nor had they expressed hatred against a group willing to make peace. These were the actions of Hezbollah.
The government response to Katrina was poor. However, it does not warrant comparison to a terrorist organization. We did nothing to provoke Katrina. It was a meteorological occurrence. Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others. They then condemned Israel, even as they killed civilians themselves.
Congressman Cleaver’s statement was ignorant. It was not worthy of a United States Representative. It was not worthy of a petulant child. The Congressman should not only be ashamed of making it. He should be ashamed for thinking it.
As I said, I had three options. Normally, I would dismiss the Congressman’s rant as a typical liberal attack. Not on this occasion. America deserves better than his hateful discourse. The fifth district deserves better than Congressman Cleaver.
Common Sense In The War on Terror
September 6, 2006
Excerpting & Explaining Wednesday’s Presidential Speech:
With the Twin Towers and the Pentagon still smoldering, our country on edge, and a stream of intelligence coming in about potential new attacks, my administration faced immediate challenges: We had to respond to the attack on our country. We had to wage an unprecedented war against an enemy unlike any we had fought before. We had to find the terrorists hiding in America and across the world, before they were able to strike our country again. So in the early days and weeks after 9/11, I directed our government’s senior national security officials to do everything in their power, within our laws, to prevent another attack.
Unfortunately , some in our government possess antiquated thinking. They have also opposed vital “War on Terror” tools.
Another reason the terrorists have not succeeded is because our government has changed its policies — and given our military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel the tools they need to fight this enemy and protect our people and preserve our freedoms.
Tools that Democrats have ridiculed and opposed.
The terrorists who declared war on America represent no nation, they defend no territory, and they wear no uniform. They do not mass armies on borders, or flotillas of warships on the high seas. They operate in the shadows of society; they send small teams of operatives to infiltrate free nations; they live quietly among their victims; they conspire in secret, and then they strike without warning. In this new war, the most important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists, themselves. Captured terrorists have unique knowledge about how terrorist networks operate. They have knowledge of where their operatives are deployed, and knowledge about what plots are underway. This intelligence — this is intelligence that cannot be found any other place. And our security depends on getting this kind of information. To win the war on terror, we must be able to detain, question, and, when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America, and on the battlefields around the world.
Sadly, Congressman Cleaver and his colleagues don’t get this.
After the 9/11 attacks, our coalition launched operations across the world to remove terrorist safe havens, and capture or kill terrorist operatives and leaders. Working with our allies, we’ve captured and detained thousands of terrorists and enemy fighters in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and other fronts of this war on terror. These enemy — these are enemy combatants, who were waging war on our nation. We have a right under the laws of war, and we have an obligation to the American people, to detain these enemies and stop them from rejoining the battle.
Anyone want these men in your apartment complex?
Some of these individuals are taken to the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It’s important for Americans and others across the world to understand the kind of people held at Guantanamo. These aren’t common criminals, or bystanders accidentally swept up on the battlefield — we have in place a rigorous process to ensure those held at Guantanamo Bay belong at Guantanamo. Those held at Guantanamo include suspected bomb makers, terrorist trainers, recruiters and facilitators, and potential suicide bombers. They are in our custody so they cannot murder our people. One detainee held at Guantanamo told a questioner questioning him — he said this: “I’ll never forget your face. I will kill you, your brothers, your mother, and sisters.”
Yes we should not torture. But they don’t deserves milk and cookies.
In addition to the terrorists held at Guantanamo, a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency. This group includes individuals believed to be the key architects of the September the 11th attacks, and attacks on the USS Cole, an operative involved in the bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and individuals involved in other attacks that have taken the lives of innocent civilians across the world. These are dangerous men with unparalleled knowledge about terrorist networks and their plans for new attacks. The security of our nation and the lives of our citizens depend on our ability to learn what these terrorists know.
Therefore, we shouldn’t be prevented form learning it.
I want to be absolutely clear with our people, and the world: The United States does not torture. It’s against our laws, and it’s against our values. I have not authorized it — and I will not authorize it. Last year, my administration worked with Senator John McCain, and I signed into law the Detainee Treatment Act, which established the legal standard for treatment of detainees wherever they are held. I support this act. And as we implement this law, our government will continue to use every lawful method to obtain intelligence that can protect innocent people, and stop another attack like the one we experienced on September the 11th, 2001.
Any Democrats listening? We do not torture.
The CIA program has detained only a limited number of terrorists at any given time — and once we’ve determined that the terrorists held by the CIA have little or no additional intelligence value, many of them have been returned to their home countries for prosecution or detention by their governments. Others have been accused of terrible crimes against the American people, and we have a duty to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice. So we intend to prosecute these men, as appropriate, for their crimes.
So today, I’m sending Congress legislation to specifically authorize the creation of military commissions to try terrorists for war crimes. My administration has been working with members of both parties in the House and Senate on this legislation. We put forward a bill that ensures these commissions are established in a way that protects our national security, and ensures a full and fair trial for those accused. The procedures in the bill I am sending to Congress today reflect the reality that we are a nation at war, and that it’s essential for us to use all reliable evidence to bring these people to justice.
This must be Congress’ first priority. Prosecuting these individuals is vital to our national security.
So today, I’m asking Congress to pass legislation that will clarify the rules for our personnel fighting the war on terror. First, I’m asking Congress to list the specific, recognizable offenses that would be considered crimes under the War Crimes Act — so our personnel can know clearly what is prohibited in the handling of terrorist enemies. Second, I’m asking that Congress make explicit that by following the standards of the Detainee Treatment Act our personnel are fulfilling America’s obligations under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. Third, I’m asking that Congress make it clear that captured terrorists cannot use the Geneva Conventions as a basis to sue our personnel in courts — in U.S. courts. The men and women who protect us should not have to fear lawsuits filed by terrorists because they’re doing their jobs.
The need for this legislation is urgent. We need to ensure that those questioning terrorists can continue to do everything within the limits of the law to get information that can save American lives. My administration will continue to work with the Congress to get this legislation enacted — but time is of the essence. Congress is in session just for a few more weeks, and passing this legislation ought to be the top priority. (Applause.)
As we work with Congress to pass a good bill, we will also consult with congressional leaders on how to ensure that the CIA program goes forward in a way that follows the law, that meets the national security needs of our country, and protects the brave men and women we ask to obtain information that will save innocent lives. For the sake of our security, Congress needs to act, and update our laws to meet the threats of this new era. And I know they will.
How will Congressman Cleaver vote?
