I Owe Turkey An Apology

Not so long ago I wondered what kind of trade off the Turks made with IS to get their diplomats back.  Whatever it was it worked. The diplomats were freed.

Now, they're doing the work we should be doing. Plus they're going to allow foreign units to utilize their bases.  This is huge.  They're going to help the Kurds.  Where is every one else who has promised?  They're going into Syria but they won't stop with IS, they'll go after Assad.

It's too late for what ifs, but if we had punished Syria for crossing the 'red line' and armed the Free Syrian Army back when it first became an issue, a lot of what's happening now could well have been avoided.  IS would not have been able to get a foothold.

If we hadn't insisted on passing arms through the still tenuous Iraqi government, the Kurds wouldn't have to be hanging on by their nails. If we'd quit exempting ourselves from putting boots on the ground maybe others would be willing to follow suit.

What's notable to me is the Turks got their people out before taking action.  Maybe we should have tried harder to get ours out.  The failed rescue only emboldened the enemy.  One more hapless action by the no-longer-so-great-Satan.

As of right now we're being given credit for the coalition even if they're stumbling all over one another.  If Turkey takes the lead, and they are militarily capable of doing so, it will be interesting to see if the middle east participants begin to follow their lead rather than ours.

As long as IS is eliminated, I don't care who gets the credit. If Turkey leads the way we may also get Assad. That would help ease the over all situation.

The fight might turn strictly regional.  I wonder if Turkey would join forces with Israel to deny Iran their centrifuges.  It would be in both their national interests. And ours.  Perhaps we could reshuffle our interests out of the region to more friendly and less war like nations.

At some point after all that if they want to continue bickering among themselves as to who has the correct interpretation of Islam, let them go at it. Never mind the earth will be scorched beyond repair. That would be their problem.  They will have done it to themselves.

The biggest irritation to me would be watching the administration swaggering to the mic with a self congratulatory smirk claiming victory over impossible odds.  After all, the legacy must be protected no matter the cost.

We Doze, People Die

I realize there is a lot going on in Washington these days and little of it good.  The incompetence of cabinet level people is enough to take your breath away. Maybe we should have cleaned our own house before engaging in another war no matter how justified.  But we have.

We also know that our own house won't be cleaned until after the November elections if then.  Some things can't wait.  Or can they?  I haven't seen the President call Congress back to get his war vote nor have I seen them volunteer to do so.  Heanven forbid their vote may come back to haunt them in future elections.  Who cares what's right?

I hear great bragging about this marvelous coalition we've pulled together - mostly with our own enemies.  They aren't in the fight because of the inhumanity of the IS but because of their own governmental and territorial interests.

Yes.  They'll fly with us but will only hit targets of their choice, not ours.  Like us they won't put boots on the ground.  I can't help but wonder about the commitment.  Well, you say, many of them have said they would send modern arms and armor to the Kurds, the only ones willing to fight.  On the ground.  They're still waiting.  Why?  Don't give me a big song and dance about delivery logistics.  It's not that.  It's politics.  Anything that can slow involvement is being done.  After all, elections loom.

In the meantime what about the Kurds?  They're still fighting with weapons from the Soviet era.  Give them an A+ for keeping what should be in a junk pile functional.  Such as it is against the modern weaponry of IS.

The IS is annoyed with the air strikes you can be sure but they're flicking them off like an irritating fly.  They've taken cover among civilians just as Hamas did against Israel.  Of course they're basically the same.

They continue with the ethnic and religious cleansing attacking villages, hospitals and schools.  Recruiting mere children.  Beheading women they don't sell into slavery. Sending more and more refugees into Turkey who like other neighboring countries will soon find themselves on overload.

Yet our politicians continue the opposition bashing campaigns while ignoring the state of the world.  No one is pressuring the coalition to step it up, the action is in "negotiations" with Iran.

The entire world could use some leadership.  It won't happen here with this administration.  Do we really have two years to wait for someone to emerge?  The Kurds, the only ones really willing to fight, don't.

Power ~ The Universal Curse

Why is it once one gains power it is so corrupting.  Perhaps it's because it takes corruption to maintain it and without it one becomes just another one of many.

We see it in our own government. Elections are no longer to elect people to do the people's bidding, it's to gain and retain power.  Given that we are far more likely to turn into an Iraq than an Iraq into us.

Consider what we are.  A group of autonomous states joined under a central government with the purpose of solidifying the nation as a unit, maintaining across border infrastructure and protecting the whole against potential outside aggression.

Okay, this is simplistic, but I'm thinking countries like Iraq could benefit from studying such a structure.  If not us, then the European Union.  Yes, we both have our member issues but on the whole it has been a system advantageous to each of the parts.

Consider all the ethnic minorities in Iraq that would like their own piece of the pie.  The Kurds have been the most successful at carving theirs out but there are many others including the Christians. Why not let them carve out their piece of Iraq, set up their states and send representatives to the central government in Baghdad?

Because the power brokers in Baghdad would lose some of their grip. In a skewed point of view, even the graft and corruption would be evened out. That aside, maybe they could all live under one flag more peacefully if each group could have that piece of the pie.  It could be put to practice in Afghanistan too.  Maybe even in Ukraine.

We're fortunate that here we can move from state to state without animosity but you have to admit each had it's own characteristics which are held dear by those who call it home.  So far we haven't gone to war with each other though there certainly are rumblings by some about seceding from the mother union.

Just a thought.  After all, it's really what the IS wants.  It's own Caliphate. The hatred on both sides stems from resentment of and revenge on those who refuse them for the radicals and rupugnance and fear of their tactics on the side of those who oppose them.

It is impossible at this point to contemplate allowing them their Caliphate. Their extremism has gone beyond redemption.  But maybe it's not too late for other countries to re-examine their centralized power bases and consider some restructuring.

Dream on, Dogwalk, dream on.

I'd Like To See Ben Carson Run

I've been following Ben Carson for some time now.  I have a great deal of respect for him.  I would like him to get in the race for President..

Actually the Republicans could use a whole slate of Ben Carsons.  Why?  Because when he talks he actually says something, means what he says and knows what he's talking about.

What I really like about him is he's the least political, in manner, of any of the Presidential wannabes. While not the most dynamic of speakers, he begs you to listen by what he has to say. He's not afraid to address issues.  He's not afraid to criticize when criticism is due. He speaks common sense.  He readily admits he's not all knowing but seems willing to listen to a broad base of ideas, not just a close inner circle. He has ideas on how to get things done. And he loves our country, he doesn't disdain it.

Do I think he can win?  I don't.  Still, we really need him to prod those more likely to win to quit spinning and in lieu of that make them defend their stand or lack thereof.

I feel bad that I don't think he can win.  Hopefully my mind will be changed after the mid-terms are over and 2016 comes more into focus. Should he be able to win, however, he'll still find before him a mighty challenge.  A Congress so inured with their own way of doing things they'll be hard pressed to know how to follow a real leader.

That's where we come in.  Maybe there's not much hope for elections this year. The incumbents and unfortunately their challengers have yet to hear us. Perhaps we're not speaking clearly enough or they figure polls are meant to be manipulated.  However, if we nominate a strong candidate for President, a man like Carson, who is much more than a personality, perhaps better people will run for office knowing they'd have a leader of ability and integrity to follow.

That's where we come in, yes.  To find those people and encourage them to run.  For us.  For the country.  It's time.

Busy Skies Over Iraq

Not to take away anything positive that's being done in the fight against IS, I must say the grand coalition has it's weaknesses.  While growing in numbers daily, they all seem to be doing the same thing.  Bombing in Iraq.  Not Syria.

There are of course reasons for this.  Syria hasn't asked for help.  Iraq has. Even though the news reports tell us the border between Iraq and Syria has been obliterated by the IS, for all practical purposes it does still exist and Syria is a sovereign nation.  To bomb in Syria requires a UN mandate which will not be forthcoming because you can be sure Russia will veto any such effort.

Why are we there?  Because of the alleged imminent plot by the Khorasan to sneak non metallic bombs on airplanes.  It's a stretch but it will do.  Of course they threatened France in the same way yet they aren't using it as an excuse to go into Syria.

That leaves us with crowded skies over Iraq, only ourselves over Syria where the IS headquarters are located, and still no boots on the ground.

To say the least, this is another ill thought out exercise which is likely to end in futility.  No one wants to send in boots if we're not willing to do so or won't admit that we actually have.  So here's another war being run, if you can call it that, by vauge goals, obfuscation and no certainty of how to get out of it when things go awry.

The salute isn't the only thing this President gets wrong.