Sheila Jackson Lee is from the Texas 18th – most of North and East Houston.  She can be counted on for absolutely stupid and uninformed comments on a regular basis.  And if you disagree with her, – you’re a racist! 

First elected in 1994, she’s been re-elected seven (7) times!!

Do you suppose she knows anything about [or even gives a shit] the Vietnam War and how it ended?  She ~ almost ~ makes Niki Tsongas look like a rocket scientist.  Naah!  And she is voting on your future! 

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, Still Good for Parts!

Per early reports he is out as the Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. 

With nobody else of suitable stature and experience readily available [none that want to work directly for THE MEssiah] – General David Petraeus will take a slight technical demotion, – relinquish Central Command, and take over Afghanistan once approved by the Senate and NATO.

People ask me “Why would McChrystal be so open with a magazine like Rolling Stone?” 

Simple, he was volunteering to drink the hemlock to reveal to the American voting public how bad things are in the military under Obama. His inner circle of staffers understood this as well, – all knowing that this maneuver could be a career-ender.

For that, Americans, you should be extremely grateful that we still have officers of the caliber that they will “put their ass on the line” – and honor their oath to our Constitution – and their duty to their soldiers and to our country over and above their own career advancement. 

This did not happen during the long torturous Vietnam War.  Almost all officers saw a tour there as a chance to punch two tickets – one leading troops in the field and one in a staff assignment.  The grunts knew what was going on and loathed both the corruption of “the system”, and the officers who put career advancement above any other consideration.  

Not one Vietnam-era general walked up to a microphone and said we were fighting the wrong war in the South, – and that we should take that war North to Hanoi.  So in April 1972, when the NVA came south with five Soviet-style mechanized divisions – ripping the mask off “people’s guerilla war” – the will to resist had already been eroded – not in Vietnam, – but here at home. 

Stanley McChrystal has done us an enormous favor.  He has said in public “This Emperor Has No Clothes”.  He has made it possible for even knee-jerk lefties to admit that Joe Biden is a f^**ing joke, – a buffoon. 

Thanks to Stan, even the most anti-war “let the bad guys win – so what?” left wingers will be able to start discussing pResidential incompetence as they sit hunched over laptops sipping lattes in Starbucks.  Stan McChrystal has just liberated the American Left!

For the moment there is almost no place to station him.  He’ll sit in the Pentagon or maybe at the War College for awhile – writing after-action reports and being debriefed.  He’ll be in a little danger too, because the executive protection stops now.  He’ll soon be back driving his own car.

He is positioned now to write a book, buy a new home, and think about a career in business, education, industry, or…or politics.  Do you think there are voters ready for an honest no-B.S. US Senator, or even presidential candidate?  Stan, Sir,…would you consider Mass-a-One-Shits? 

Just guessing, but I think you’ll be seeing a lot fewer occasions when our Undocumented Worker uses our troops as a backdrop for his teleprompter readings.  Let the left-wing soul searching begin!  [Do they have souls?  Or do they just get recycled when they die?  Anybody out there know?] 

Now everybody can see – Obama has no idea what he’s doing!  No clue!  He’s run out of generals,  he can’t fix an oil leak or pick up the mess, – he can’t fix the economy, and he can’t or won’t protect our borders. Only his golf game is said to be improving.

Thank you General Stan McChrystal – for accomplishing your finest mission!

    Salute!

    /s/  Iron Mike
    Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

LBJ and his "Wiz Kids" trying to micro-manage the war in '68

Murth’a lack-luster Marine career began in 1952 – Korean War days – but he served stateside and was discharged in ’55.  But he stayed in the USMC Reserve and later volunteered of duty in Vietnam – where he won the usual Bronze Star and two John Kerry Purple Hearts.  In 1969 he ran for the Pennsylvania State Legislature and in ’74 won a seat in the newly created 12th District due to the death of the incumbent – John Saylor.

Murtha liked government.  Let him explain:   

Murtha was always thumping his chest and proclaiming himself a “Combat Marine” – always claimed to be looking out for the troops.  You should also know about his airport, – you paid for it!

But his true colors showed most clearly in 2005 – when in a hysterical knee-jerk reaction to an unsubstantiated news story – he hysterically accused seven Marines from 3^rd  Bn 1^st Marines of killing unarmed civilians in Haditha.  All charges were later dropped – after lengthy investigations, except for SSG Wuterich.  Real Marines and real combat veterans from all of our wars have not forgiven Murtha for this unpardonable high-profile stab in the back.  You civilians need to understand how very illegal it was for him as a retired Colonel – in Congress – to influence an ongoing military criminal investigation.  He knew better!

We fully understand where it was coming from,  Murtha spent his “combat time” in a bunker.  And he was always “anti Bush / anti-war”.

I urge you good readers to take the time and send a written letter to the SecNav Ray Mabus:

Secretary of the Navy
The Honorable Ray Mabus
Office of the Secretary of the Navy
2000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20350-2000

Ask him to either reverse this onerous decision, – or to resign.  We need clearer minds and more honorable men leading our military.  Real Marines will be loathe to serve aboard – or even set foot aboard this ship.   Marines everywhere – you all deserve better!

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

BTW, there is speculation on the web that Mabus is looking for a cushy job with the shipbuilder – Northrop Grumman Corp.  Wouldn’t you know!

Murtha – Always A Windbag

Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha died today at age 77.  He represented the PA 12^th District.   His gall bladder saved him from an embarrassing re-election defeat,  and saved the voters of the 12^th from any further embarrassment.   Remember in ’08 when he called them - his own voters –  racists?  

I’ll shed no tears for him.  I saw him as a bloated bombastic windbag, – always looking for the TV cameras and almost always on the wrong side of issues.  He was probably the “King of Pork” in Congress – the John Murtha Airport – with only three flights daily – being one of the more glaring examples.

I’ll let the Marines who served around him write his final epithet.  For my 2 cents worth: “G’bye John, – we won’t miss ya’!” 

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

I’ve come to understand that she is genetically incapable of logical or rational thinking about this subject – any more than she was back during her youth – the Vietnam era. To her “all war is bad” – there is never a good reason for war.  And there wouldn’t be any war – if smarter more visionary people like herself were simply allowed to sit down and talk to our enemies.  In her heart she’s an internationalist socialist – a person who yearns for a world without borders or countries – and thus without armies. She’s led a very protected life.

So despite the fact that Islamists struck here and killed people from her district [my next-door neighbor for one] her instinct is to go reason with them. She cannot grasp that the Islamists see her as a woman deserving of being stoned to death.  She just doesn’t get it – and never will – even if she was being stoned.

 >> opposed … supplemental funds for the war .. did not have an exit strategy in place
Going to war is not like going to a hockey game at the Garden. It’s nice to have an “exit strategy” when the game is over and you want to get out of Boston and drive home.  But war is not a game, and is not undertaken lightly. You are all in – or you don’t go.  And if you are being attacked,  you’re already all in it.  So you defend and counter-attack with everything – or submit to your attacker.  “Submit” has often meant that the men are killed, the women raped, and the children carried off as slaves. In 21st Century America too many people have not studied history, and cannot grasp this basic reality.

 >> length of the U.S. commitment in the region was unknown
In war the commitment is until one side is either dead, – or willing to submit. For so long as the Islamists are willing to wait us out in caves, we still have a commitment, – or they will reemerge and their next campaign will be worse. That lesson should be obvious from recent history; – our failure to crush Saddam the first time required a much more costly return trip. Vietnam and Cambodia should also be fresh in your memory.

 >> potential costs in both American lives and treasure had not been appropriately articulated
War is not a discretionary expense. If you are worried about dollar signs you are hobbling your generals and endangering your troops.  GrandMa doesn’t understand; – she is not debating about buying new jerseys for the Varsity, – she’s funding a war! This is defeatist talk at the outset, – which we also saw in Obama’s West Point surrender announcement.

 >> Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen continued the process of explaining

Niki Clutching Notes

She is such a [pardon my French] a dumb ***** she loves flinging words and titles around because she (1). is overly impressed herself, and (2) she thinks you’ll be impressed to hear her use these words.  Remember her clutching her MoveON talking points during the Town Hall events?  She really doesn’t have a CLUE!  Over a year ago I gave her the Principles of War – and offered to teach her further about them.  Think she ever even read them?  She hasn’t got a clue. Way too dumb to be in Congress.

 >> greater detail…needed around several points that are central to the ultimate success of this strategy
What Strategy??!? We have no strategy!  Obama does NOT want to win this war – you never heard him say “victory”.  His reasons and makeup are far different from GrandMa’s,  he is emotionally on the side of al Qaeda and the Taliban. He wants the Islamists to win – but it can’t be obvious.

So he claims to have a “strategy” – in reality a plan of half-actions and missteps guaranteed to produce a defeat. Democrats don’t care. [Most don’t care about people as people, they care about their grand visions and policies]. They’d all just as soon pull out now and let the Taliban start the beheadings and the stonings. They do not understand the nature of this enemy. They have no strategic vision, – right now they’re only thinking about the mid-term elections,  not about our national security or world peace.

>> I will continue to press for answers to these unresolved questions during the Armed Services Committee hearing with General McChrystal next week.
Translation: “I am just so important!!  I get to question a 4-Star General!!  I will read a series of prepared statements to McChrystal [who will listen with stony resolve while clenching his toes under the desk] and ask some prepared questions which I don’t fully understand.  I won’t understand his answers – but I’ll be seen on C-SPAN.”

 >> As the President stated, our commitment in Afghanistan cannot be indefinite
Really?  We’re still in Germany and Korea. Who dictates timelines, – Congress, the press, or the actions of the enemy?

>> training of Afghan National Security Forces has been part of our strategy for…eight years . . . they still are not close to being capable of providing security on their own.
Well, – let’s change our “strategy” and go after the Taliban and al Qaeda – let’s kill every last man, woman, child and dog where necessary to end the threat to America. That is a strategy! [OK, a ~ little ~ over the top, but you get the idea. Don’t wuss around with something this important].

Doing something half-assed, – then deciding that since it’s not working you’ll pack up and go home is why we lost in Vietnam [an easily winnable war].  It’s exactly why Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge [Cambodian version of the Taliban] and why the Khmer Rouge were then able to slaughter 1,500,000 people in the killing fields.  BTW Niki, the scourge of street gang violence in Lawrence and Lowell is a direct result of our turning tail and exiting SE Asia without a victory.  

Look at the map People, – understand just how very close the Taliban and al Qaeda are right now to the Pakistani nuclear arsenal – and how quickly the whole equation will change if they get their hands on even one of those Pakistani nukes.  Do you think GrandMa has a clue?

Islamist are swarming over most European countries, bullying those nations into permitting Sharia Law, and gaining ever easier access into America. Do you think GrandMa has a clue?   Help GrandMa understand she isn’t helping anybody but our enemies by diluting our efforts.  Email her at:  ntsongas@nikitsongas.com  or call: (202) 225-3411.

   /s/ Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

The boss, we called him “Dirtball” – decided I was ready to be the pointy end of the spear, – so I was to lead an ARVN battalion onto a hillside about a klick south of the old Khe Sanh airstrip. It would be sixty ships – 20 seconds apart – landing sideways on a 45° slope. Tricky stuff. Of course I wasn’t really leading the event, Dirtball had assigned two combat seasoned Pathfinders to wire-guide me. Thus I met Jolly and Bear.

It seems the nearby NVA were quite annoyed by our arrival, – but I was initially unaware of their reception.  By the time I’d guided in the tenth or eleventh bird, I became aware of a pair of Cobras working the nearby ridgeline.  I looked over my shoulder to see Jolly on the radio, and suddenly realized I’d been focusing on only part of the operation.  Jolly gave me a little waive-off – which in a single gesture said “Don’t sweat LT – we’ve got this part under control, – you finish your part.” It was a great teaching moment – by a great teacher. All the way back they ragged me for being totally unaware that we’d been under near constant Cal. 50 fire from that ridge.

Years later illness – some caused by all the Agent Orange we worked with – would cause Jolly a lot of problems.  These continued after his retirement.  He would continue to fight that battle. This morning God won. Sergeant First Class James Gary Witt, US Army Retired, took off on his final mission as an Airborne Pathfinder. Now in addition to the wings he wears on his chest, he’s been issued a new pair – shoulder-mounted models, and they are fully functional. That smiling angel who watched over me and that ARVN battalion that bright August morning will continue to watch over soldiers – paratroopers in particular, – just from a higher OP.  You see, if you spent five minutes with Jolly, you are his friend for life. And if someone assigns Jolly to watch over you – he thinks it means forever. That’s why he fought so hard to stay alive, – he has lots of troops to look after.

Jolly, thank you for everything. Thank you for being a great patriot, a great soldier , a magnificent Pathfinder, a sterling NCO, and the best friend any man or woman could ask for.  And save a place at the bar for me Jolly, – just on the odd chance that St. Peter overlooks some of the stuff I did when I was younger. I’d really like to buy you another drink, or two!

   /s/ Iron Mike [aka "Scotsman"]
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!
   [and possibly alive because of Jolly and Bear!]

Got back from the hospital yesterday and received a pleasant little surprise – is seems that “an American Icon” – broadcaster Walter Cronkite has finally died.  Walter – it may sound cruel – or even heartless – but I won’t miss you.

All the promise of Cronkite’s early career in journalism seems to have been wasted, – and America put in a worse position for it.

As a young reporter he was brave enough during WWII – flying into battle on a glider with the 101^st Airborne, and later reporting from inside the Battle of the Bulge.  But by the Vietnam years, he seemed to have started taking himself far too seriously. 

Sadly,  the naïve American TV audience did too.   So when the NVA Têt Offensive started producing massive lists [and pictures] of US Casualties, Cronkite saw nothing wrong in abusing his position as “the most trusted man in journalism” when he bombastically told the CBS evening news audience that “this war is un-winnable, and that the enemy can match our every escalation”. 

Despite his exposure to combat – in Europe during WWII – he was terribly wrong.   Although initially surprised by the widespread and daring NVA attacks, ARVN and US units had quickly rallied and were beating them soundly everywhere – from the cities to the villages to the hillsides, to the delta.

But he and the American TV audience became the exact targets of General Giap’s remaining campaigns.  Giap had been baffled, then devastated that the people of South Vietnam had not risen up to welcome his troops as “liberators”, and had in fact pointed out their hiding places to ARVN and American units.  But Walter Cronkite gave Giap an unprecedented political victory – pulled from the very jaws of defeat. 

 We can debate forever the history and the outcome of the Vietnam War.  But after Têt the anti-war movement here had a powerful ally in CBS and Walter Cronkite, – our nation remains fractured – even 41 years later, – and Vietnam remains under Communist domination.  Oh, and the dominoes did fall. 

In his retirement years Cronkite made his politics clear – he was a die-hard Democrat except for any attempt to build windmills near his home water off Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard.  Good-bye Walter, – I’m sure General Võ Nguyên Giáp has just welcomed you with open arms!

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!