"It's Time to Toughen Up, Unify, and Rally the Home Front"

A most worthy article by Victor Keith Williams at FindLaw's Writ, Mar. 29:

.... In the eighteen months since September 11, 2001, President Bush has consistently charged the world either to "be for us or against us."

In a sense, that is his challenge to the American people as well. It's time for the American public to support the President in his campaign - especially since not all of America's purported allies have done so.

Longtime allies have repaid American blood sacrifice with worse-than-expected cowardice. The new Germany seems to have learned the old French art of surrender-before-engagement, and France, too, is running true to historical form. And sadly, our new potential ally, Russia, has added insult to injury by continuing to lie about the sale of sophisticated military technology to Hussein's terrorist regime.

When allies betray and disappoint, we should be able to count on the American people to be loyal and true. Mostly, that is the case. But some dissenting voices have marred our unity.

With American soldiers already in harm's way, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle recklessly charged that George Bush had "failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war." As Senator Rick Santorum responded, "I think Senator Daschle clearly articulated the French position."

Of course, Daschle has a right to his views, and a right to express them - he speaks for his Party in the Senate. But attacking a President when he most needs support shows, among other things, strange judgment.

Meanwhile, Daschle is not alone. Thirty-two House Democrats shockingly refused to vote for a simple support resolution for U.S. troops. So much for "common strength." Even those who do not support the war ought at least to support the men and women who risk their lives for the rest of us.

The Democrats' dissent has only emboldened and encouraged others in their anti-war protests. Flags are desecrated as Coalition troops die to bring freedom and liberty to the Iraqi people - and to ensure the security of the nations of the Coalition....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 10:15:45 PM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.

Los Angeles Times Fires Photographer Who Altered Photo

Good on them. For a change.

little green footballs has it covered.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 09:38:14 PM
Categorized as Media.

2002 GIRM

The long-awaited English translation.

(Thanks, Bill.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 07:31:07 PM
Categorized as Religious.

"Where Do They Get Young Men Like This?"

"Where do they get young men like this?"

America, for one place.

[Follow-up: "Where Do They Get Young Men Like This?" Seems to be an Urban Legend.]

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 04:18:03 PM
Categorized as War.

War and Life

What the Naysayers Seem to Be Missing

E. L. Core

“It’s a Bad Plan Leading to Disaster!” One can sense a disconnect among the crowd that spouts that line of thinking about the War Against Saddam Hussein. A singular disconnect, that is, from life among human beings. They have given new meaning to the old phrase “fog of war”; caught up in the day-to-day details, they lose sight of the overall picture. Whether they be reporters in the Middle East, or pundits in jazzy TV studios in the USA, or columnists ensconced at their desks anywhere, they all seem to have something in common: they seem to be clueless about how people work together towards a goal.

Knowledge of military strategy, logistics, and tactics is quite unnecessary here. Merely think about how a family brings a holiday meal to the table, or how a contractor constructs a house for the new family on the block, or how a football team marches through four quarters to victory.

Thanksgiving dinner with the whole family at Grandmother’s house can be quite an affair. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, salad, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, and drinks and desserts of many kinds: they don’t get on the table by magic. Preliminary planning may begin weeks ahead of time. Who is going to be having dinner at Grandma’s? And what time do we want to eat? Will there be enough room for everybody? Can someone bring an extra table with chairs so we can have some of the children eat in the living room?

As the holiday approaches, the focus shifts. Can we get a big enough turkey? Who has turkeys on sale now? Do we really like that brand? Can we get the kind of cranberries that Uncle Randy likes? Is Aunt Linda going to bring her specialty dessert? Do we like the frozen corn better than the canned? Or the canned green beans better than the frozen? Who is going to bring the beverages?

When the day arrives, the focus shifts again. How early does Grandma have to get up to put the turkey in the oven? Is there going to be enough room in the refrigerator for everything? Can we get all the vegetables done at the same time? Can we cook a few things at Aunt Susan’s next door?

No matter the fuss and the hitches, the meal comes off as well as it has every other year. So you couldn’t get Uncle Randy’s favorite cranberry sauce: he discovered he likes this one just as well. So the circuit to the kitchen’s wiring kept tripping: the meal was delayed 15 minutes, but the kids were having fun playing in the meantime. So the green beans got cold while the corn was cooking: 90 seconds in the microwave, and nobody knew the difference. So everything didn’t happen quite as planned: everybody had a wonderful time anyway.

If bringing off the holiday meal can sometimes seem like a miracle, think about what is involved in building a house. The contractor employs sub-contractors who, in turn, must depend on their suppliers. Certain steps must be completed before others can be started: the foundation, for instance, must be laid first, then the framework for walls, before the roof can even be attempted. Once a certain stage of completion has been reached, many different kinds of work can go on more-or-less at once — with the added complication of getting in one another’s way. Problems will most certainly arise. If one supplier comes up short, another can be engaged; if one brand product goes up too much in price, another can be substituted; if one color clashes too much with the overall decor, the alternative color scheme can be rendered. In the end, the house is still a dream-come-true for its new owners.

True, the construction of a house, like the production of a holiday meal, involves no enemy — somebody else, that is, who has a plan of their own to frustrate your plan. For that, consider a high-school football game on a lovely autumn Friday evening. The home team, 6-0 for the season, has beaten the visitors in five of their last six match-ups, and the visiting team is 1-5. Still, the home team’s coach takes nothing for granted, and his team prepares for this game as it would for any other. At the last minute, though, he realizes he’ll have to start the second-string quarterback. And the visitors run a play or two that nobody has seen before. They get a lucky break, two or three times, and rack up 13 points in the first half, surprising even their die-hard fans. Still the lopsided outcome, 42-13, was never really in doubt, and never at all in jeopardy.

In all these cases — and a million million others, every day, everywhere — nothing goes quite exactly as planned. In fact, nobody with any sense expects them to do so. There are no perfect plans because there are no perfect people. And most people know that.

Most people know, too, that if Grandma sits down for 10 minutes, the meal is still on its way. That if a laborer falls and breaks his arm, the house is still going to get finished. That a sick first-string quarterback, and a few lucky breaks for the underdog, doesn’t mean the game is lost.

So, how can some of the most successful warfare in history amount to a poor plan, poorly executed? In two weeks, Coalition forces have driven nearly to the gates of Baghdad, gained effective control of much of Iraq, and achieved air dominance almost instantaneously. Sure, we couldn’t send infantry through the north because Turkey balked; the wind whipped up one of the fiercest sandstorms in decades; our troops are being harried by the guerrilla-style tactics of thugs; and we are suffering KIAs, MIAs, and POWs. But fewer, by thousands, than the enemy is suffering; and they have not been able to stop our forward progress by sheer force of arms or strategy; even now, the Fourth Infantry Division is soon to come into play, and two Iraqi divisions are being pulverized. May all plans be drawn up so poorly and be so badly executed!

Why the prophets of doom? Why the magnification of minor problems while downplaying the overall success? Why the refusal to admit that the war effort is making measurable progress nearly every day, despite minor setbacks, and has actually been going pretty darned well from the start?

Maybe the naysayers never wanted the war and simply don’t want to admit it’s going well. Or maybe they have a prejudice against the military, or the White House, or the United States of America.

But maybe the naysayers just have too little experience of real life.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 03:46:12 PM
Categorized as Most Notable & War.

2002 Floral Flag

An old friend of mine e-mailed this to me today:

It was accompanied by the following text, for which (of course) I cannot vouch:

Between the field where the flag is planted there are 9+ miles of flower fields that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed companies. It's a beautiful place close to Vandenberg AFB. Checkout the dimensions of the flag.

The 2002 Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions as described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is the first Floral Flag to be planted with 5 pointed Stars comprised of White Larkspur. Each Star is 24 feet in diameter; Each Stripe is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants with 4-5 flower stems each for a total of more than 2 million flowers. You can drive by this flag on V Street south of Ocean Ave. in Lompoc, CA.

Aerial photo courtesy of Bill Morson.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 02:08:44 PM
Categorized as Political.

Smiles and Cheers for Coalition Troops

In Najaf, Iraq.

In The New York Times today:

Hundreds of American troops marched into town at midday today and were greeted by its residents.

The infantry was backed by attack helicopters and bombers, and immediately destroyed several arms caches and took over a military training facility to serve as their headquarters.

The occupying forces, from the First and Second brigades of the 101st Airborne Division, entered from the south and north. They had seized the perimeter of town on Tuesday.

People rushed to greet them today, crying out repeatedly, "Thank you, this is beautiful!" ....

(Thanks, Matt.)

P.S. Alas, Jonah is right.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 01:19:11 PM
Categorized as War.

O'Brien vs. Botean

The battle of the bishops.

Today's Washington Post has an article delineating the different approaches to the War Against Saddam Hussein by Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, of the US Military Archdiocese, and Bishop John Michael Botean of the Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church in America.

(Thanks, Bill.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 01:10:27 PM
Categorized as Religious.

Why Can't American Journalists Root for the Home Team During Wartime?

Good question from David Frum today:

I am not a believer in journalistic “objectivity” in wartime. Journalists who cover fires cheer for the firefighters. Journalists who cover crime don’t keep neutral between the crooks and their victims. What kind of warped system of values forbids journalists to support their country when the guns are blasting?

Some journalists fear that patriotism is just a euphemism for propaganda. But anti-patriotic journalists can engage in propaganda too – and (I would argue) often do so. In his first column for the Daily Mirror, Peter Arnett presents himself as a simple truth-teller, fired for “stating the obvious.” But in a war that will last only so long as the enemy forces’ morale lasts, it is not an “objective” act for a famous Western correspondent to give an interview to Iraqi state-controlled television claiming that the Allies’ war plans are failing because of the “determination” and “resistance” of the Iraqis. Every Iraqi who hears those words and believes them draws from them a sharp and ominous message: Saddam’s rule may yet survive. Since the fear of Saddam is the principal force keeping his army in the field, Arnett’s words have the effect of prolonging the war and increasing casualties to all sides. I find it hard to believe that Arnett did not and does not appreciate that fact. Certainly the Iraqis do.

"What kind of warped system of values forbids journalists to support their country when the guns are blasting?" May I suggest that the answer is Marxoid?

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 08:45:45 AM
Categorized as Media.

West Virginia is Ecstatic Over Jesse Lynch's Rescue

And so is everybody else! :)

Vide.

(Thanks, Kevin.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 04/02/03 08:05:50 AM
Categorized as War.