THE LORDS OF KOBOL: June 2007

Amnesty Bill Blues

Why go to Iraq?

A Milblogger weighs in..

Fort Carson-based Army Major Andrew Olmsted is blogging from the war in Iraq, where his mission is to teach members of the Iraqi Army how to defend their country and provide security for their people. Major Olmsted is a veteran blogger and he is determined to make a difference in Iraq. "The sooner the Iraqi government doesn't need U.S. support to provide security for its people, the sooner we will probably be asked to leave." Contact him here: andrewolmsted@andrewolmsted.com.

A common question among those who hear that I'm going to Iraq is 'Why?' A lot of Americans consider Iraq already a lost cause, and wonder what might drive me to willingly go there when I could get myself hurt or killed. As I noted in my first post, I'm not here to get into politics, but I think it is a reasonable question that deserves an answer.

The pat answer would be that I'm going because I've been told to do so, I'm a soldier, and soldiers obey lawful orders. It would be an accurate answer, too; I have been a soldier my entire adult life, and I am in the habit of going where the Army tells me to go, although this is by far the least pleasant deployment I'll have in my career to date. But that doesn't really get to the heart of the matter.

I am not a constitutional scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I understand that there are arguments to be made that the Iraq war is in some way unconstitutional, but since I have seen no arguments to that extent argued before an appellate court, I will work on the assumption that the Iraq war was approved in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. That being the case, then legally my oath to support and defend the Constitution holds regarding the Iraq war.

That is not just a fallback to my first answer. Even people like me, who believe that government should be relatively small, don't generally dispute the need for military and police forces to protect the rights of all citizens. In the case of the Army, we exist to protect the citizens from external threats. And it is the responsibility of the government to decide the nature of these threats and how it will utilize the Armed Forces to deal with them.

It is not for individual soldiers to refuse such orders. A soldier has a duty to refuse unlawful orders, but individual soldiers simply cannot reasonably argue that a war itself is unlawful; that is a question that must be decided at the highest levels. If individual soldiers may decline to participate in a war, that is an invitation for mob rule: we agree to serve our country, not to serve when we agree with the decisions our leaders make. The system would not work otherwise.

Do I think that my participation in this war will prevent the American system of government from collapsing? I have no such illusions. But the principle matters to me.

Finally, and most importantly, someone is going to take this MiTT into combat. If I were to somehow escape this duty, the requirement would not vanish, it would merely devolve on another officer. It would be beyond inappropriate for me to push off that burden onto another person after having enjoyed the benefits of my rank for so long. My service has been remarkably cost-free; I have never before deployed to combat, the deployments I have had have generally been not-too-unpleasant, and I have had a great deal of time (if never enough) to spend with Amanda. At a time when so many of my friends and fellow officers have spent two or even three years in theater, it's well past the time I take a turn and give someone else a little time at home.

None of which is to suggest I'm some kind of saint. If someone offered me the chance to not go to Iraq, I cannot say with any certainty that I would be strong enough to turn them down. I hope that I would be, but who can say what I would do in such circumstances? I'm a human being, like any other, and I am certainly capable of faltering in the face of my principles when they might be too costly. Fortunately, it's unlikely that such an out will be offered, so I needn't fear letting myself down in this case.

Having said all that, I now wonder if anyone will even care, but the question has come up enough I thought it deserved to be answered to the best of my ability. (Insert joke about my lack thereof here.) And since comments are enabled, if anyone else has questions, I can try to elaborate and clarify my explanation where necessary.

President Bush Disappointed by Congress's Failure to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

THE PRESIDENT: I thank the members of the Senate and members of my administration who worked so hard on the border security and immigration reform bill. I'm sorry the Senate was unable to reach agreement on the bill this morning.

Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people and Congress's failure to act on it is a disappointment. The American people understand the status quo is unacceptable when it comes to our immigration laws. A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find a common ground -- it didn't work.

Congress really needs to prove to the American people that it can come together on hard issues. The Congress needs to work on comprehensive energy policy and good health care; make sure health care is affordable without inviting the federal government to run the health care system. We've got to work together to make sure we can balance this federal budget, and not overspend or raise taxes on the American people. We've got a lot of work to do.

When they come back from the summer -- from the July recess, before the summer break begins, we'll be focusing on the appropriations process. And I look forward to working with Congress to balance our budgets and to be wise about how we spend the people's money.

Thank you for your time.

How about we start enforcing the current laws? now theres a novel idea George!

20 beheaded bodies found in Iraq

BAGHDAD - Twenty beheaded bodies were discovered Thursday on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad, while a parked car bomb killed another 20 people in one of the capital's busy outdoor bus stations, police said.

The beheaded remains were found in the Sunni Muslim village of Um al-Abeed, near the city of Salman Pak, which lies 14 miles southeast of Baghdad.

The bodies — all men aged 20 to 40 years old — had their hands and legs bound, and some of the heads were found next to the bodies, two officers said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

More..

Taliban Baby Killers Get Two Little Girls

The Brave Mujahadbeens are out shooting at little girls for learning their ABCs, again.Via The BBC:A group of girls returning home from school in Afghanistan's Logar province recently did not for a moment expect what lay ahead. As they walked...

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Human Rights Abuses in Iran

This needs to get much more play in the mainstream press. It likely won't, because these aren't US soldiers. They are the jack-booted, masked thugs that are the official arm of the Iranian thought/morality police. Michelle is right. Where are all of the weekend humanitarian warriors on the left over these abuses by a fascist, totalitarian theocracy

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A strike against Sanctuary Nation

Progress is being made in the battle to secure our borders from the law-breakers who have no respect for our country . Cities that bear allegiance to Mexico instead of the United States will have the US tax dollars taken away from them under this proposed legislation. Maybe those cities can beg a few pesos from their masters to replace the funds?

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Friday Freefly- Harry Reid is a fool against war

Everybody's ganging up on our poor Senate Majority leader. He deserves it! Senator "undocumented Americans" Reid would be better off keeping his fool cakehole closed. The victim card comes out of his sleeve next...

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Report: Reid will reintroduce shamnesty next week

It's do or die time, Please if you object, make your voice heard before its too late.

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Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing

An account of the lost heroes of Seal team 10

To Afghanistan ... in a Flying Warehouse

This was payback time for the World Trade Center. We were coming after the guys who did it. If not the actual guys, then their blood brothers, the lunatics who still wished us dead and might try it again.

Good-byes tend to be curt among Navy SEALs. A quick backslap, a friendly bear hug, no one uttering what we’re all thinking: Here we go again, guys, going to war, to another trouble spot, another half-assed enemy willing to try their luck against us...they must be out of their minds.

It’s a SEAL thing, our unspoken invincibility, the silent code of the elite warriors of the U.S. Armed Forces. Big, fast, highly trained guys, armed to the teeth, expert in unarmed combat, so stealthy no one ever hears us coming. SEALs are masters of strategy, professional marksmen with rifles, artists with machine guns, and, if necessary, pretty handy with knives. In general terms, we believe there are very few of the world’s problems we could not solve with high explosive or a well-aimed bullet. Cont...

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The $54 million pants suit

LOL

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Battle over the Blue Angels update

The moonbats continue to bash the Blue Angels in San Francisco. Here's video of one of the leaders trying to kick the Blue Angels out of the city for Fleet Week.

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Video: What Dennis Miller barbecued this weekend

Seared, sliced, and served on a silver platter.

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How Congress gives special relief to convicted murderers, smugglers, and..

Got to love seeing those hard earned tax dollars we all pay going to these assholes. We should overthrow the fucking house and senate and start from scratch.

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