Folks,
John C. Bystrom is a visitor to this blog and I thought I'd return the favor. The illustration above is from there, and this Wolverine has some great, and very on-point, observations about our present situation (more about that in my next post). But for now, read what John was doing while President Obama was working on national security. (Note: CIDG stands for "Civilian Irregular Defense Group," a term first coined in South Vietnam and not a bad one for where we find ourselves today.)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
While the President Was Working On National Security....
I was too....
While President Obama was signing an executive order to end the detention of 245 enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay Cuba......
......I was treading by snowshoe on a lunch hour patrol at the Verona State Game Area in Huron County Michigan. I routinely trek public and private land in order to stay in shape, and to understand my neighborhood and places of refuge, for myself and family if The End of the World as We Know It should come.
While President Obama, was issuing an executive order to prevent brave, rough men from using certain interviewing methods to obtain information from our enemies......
I stopped by the local sporting goods store and bought 150 more rounds of .357 magnum. I am now at my minimum ammo inventory for my Winchester 94AE Trapper.
While President Obama signed executive orders closing CIA facilites where over 100 enemies of the United States are detained......
I cooked brats outside the door of my toolshed, and had a beer with three CIDG brothers. We watch what President Obama has done, think out loud about when we'll need to defend ourselves and communities, since it appears that some of the policies that have kept our country relatively secure are being undone with the stroke of a pen.
Since the United States Government is dismantling our security processes, as it relates to Islamic terrorism, we may be required to defend ourselves and deal with the emergencies that President Obama is creating. I ask you, what are you doing to protect yourself, your family and your community? Are you going to an Appleseed? Are you forming a CIDG? Are you considering the KISSATA model for a CIDG? Are you stocking up on essentials, are you prepared?
11 comments:
Um, was he criticizing the decision to close Guantanamo? I seem to remember a certain policy that a certain Clinton advocated, and Bush expanded on, that said that some people, even American Citizens, can be considered "enemy combatants", and therefore tortured and kept indefinitely without trial.
Do I really need to make a comparison here?
GITMO has been a sore spot with me for a long time. The Declaration of Independence says "...that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain Rights...". If ALL men are not included, then the whole premise for our nation is flawed. Once we make exceptions, we start down the road to where we are now, with US being the next exception! Close the damned thing, and good riddance. That is the ONLY decision he has made, with a view to our Founding Documents, that I concur with.
Bar soap, unscented bleach, iodine, tooth brushes, Q-tips, engine oil, hydrogen peroxide, ziploc freezer bags, etc. are very inexpensive right now, but will be invaluable if a situation occurs where running to the store is no longer an option. They store for years with no problem. Get it while you can. Don't get locked into the ammo, food, water prep mode and forget about the other stuff you will need.
Well, when I am thinking about preparedness, my calculations do include a wholistic approach that has to do with rations, extra toilet paper and a variety of supplies. Not just guns and ammo, although that is what my blog entry and AmericanCIDG.blogspot.com os about. On the day, Obama was pulling apart national security processes, I was doing what I always do, which is a little prepartion on a day to day basis.
As far as Guantanamo goes, closing it sets up a new set of problems, like where to put a batch of hard-core hajis that were picked up off a foreign battlefield. I personally do not want them in my census tract,or yours for that matter. Now that we have taken the first step toward releasing these islamic "boy scouts," I'd rather be prepared to deal with them and their kind then to let them walk into my town and do some of the things that they were doing when the were scooped up in the first place.
I haven't been much on worrying about the federal government suspending liberties until the last few months. Prior to a few months ago, my last recollection of an obtrusive government was when the boys had that little barbeque down in Waco. The Obama-nation has rekindled the spark though with the proposed gutting of the 2nd. I will have to pay closer attention. I appreciate your consideration and your feedback
JB
not only are americans subject to enemy combatant status under certain conditions, the GWOT is just that: global. that includes the US, because of course, "they could be anywhere."
and, the definition of "they" boils down to anyone who disobeys the laws of a government, in a given geopolitical area. it has nothing to do with the justness of the laws. it has nothing to do with trials.
prisons, in general, are counterproductive. better to arm yourselves. better to let even die-hard criminals walk around. provides for more chances that they simply disappear some day, never to be thought of again.
JCB has MBV's imprimatur so I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. The others have rightly pointed out that Gitmo is a stain upon the American psyche. We are now in a situation -- holding a tiger by the tail -- in which we are damned if we do and damned if we don't
Let us remember through all of this that it is our actions which have put us here: we overthrew the Mossadegh gov't and installed the Shah of Iran in its place; we set Saddam Hussein up and made him what he was; we trained and armed Osama bin Laden; we stuck our noses into every nook and cranny of the Middle East to ensure the continued delivery at a pleasant price of our oil.
When will we ever learn?
We will soon have trouble-a-plenty right here... a bumper crop. We need to stop planting it in other peoples' fields.
"JCB has MBV's imprimatur so I have to give him the benefit of the doubt."
Whoa up, pardner. My "imprimatur?" I post a lot of other folks' work here, and many of us agree on everything zero percent of the time.
I err to the side of free speech on letting everyone have their say here. That is as it should be. But unless I say something, don't attribute it to me. I may not have an opinion (unlikely, but possible); I may not wish to get into that particular discussion at this particular time (more likely).
I have found running a blog to be time-consuming at a time when I can least afford it. But I have committed to do it and I will continue to do so. However, don't make the connection between what I let somebody else say on my blog and what I say. They ain't always the same thing.
Now, that said, have at it.
Mike
III
I cooked brats outside the door of my toolshed, and had a beer with three CIDG brothers. We watch what President Obama has done, think out loud about when we'll need to defend ourselves and communities, since it appears that some of the policies that have kept our country relatively secure are being undone with the stroke of a pen.
I stress prepping myself, including G&A. But I've gotta say - a fellow who really thinks the things that have gone on at Guantanamo and worse are 'keeping our country relatively secure' in any way, probably has a lot of other things wrong as well.
His subsequent comment about "hard-core hajis" confirms my first impression. JCB, have you read anything about these guys? The ones who were able to get info about themselves disseminated, that is? Guantanamo is down to a third or a fourth of its original prisoner population because so many of "the worst of the worst" turned out to be Just Some Guy. If the ones in there now are hard-core...well, after eight years locked up without recourse or any hint of justice I'd be pretty damned hard-core too.
OK, here's where I jump in.
My son refers to them as "hard core hadjis" and he does so for a reason after two tours in Iraq.
Guantanamo is no picnic, but neither is it a torture center. And the "hadjis" there are all islamofascists who wish us all dead. Several releasees have already appeared again in Al Quaeda videos. Others have killed again.
Now, do I believe we should have gone over there? Afghanistan? Yes. Iraq? At this remove, probably not. The older I get the more I see the wisdom of Washington's no foreign entanglements. But remember this, THEY attacked US.
According to the rules of war which no one has the balls to enforce anymore, they could have been stood against a wall and shot.
Of course we'll be treated the same way by the Obama administration if push comes to shove. I expect that. You think they won't waterboard me, or worse despite how solicitous they are to the hadjis? I expect it precisely because they will think it necessary and marxists are nothing if not ends justify the means folks.
I am on record as opposing the PATRIOT Act. I am on record as opposing torture simply because it tends to define deviancy down across the board. But I expect nothing more than a noose or a bullet if the Obamanoids push us into resistance.
Pardon me if I don't get too excited over the continued detention of non-state combatants/terrorists who have already killed 3,000 innocent Americans.
What he said,.
edited version
First off, Mike and I are only acquainted because I posted a comment one of his entries, he read some of my entries and reposted here. In no way are we pushing this or any issue in a concerted way. I appreciate the exposure that he has given AmericanCIDG.blogspot.com and have high regards for the work he is doing here. That is it.
Well it seems that my posting has touched a nerve concerning Guantanamo. After spending most of my life under arms, and having been personally involved with Islamists and their sympathizers, I can assure you that they are not particularly noble people. My experience has been with Albanian Muslims and with Iraqi muslims.
My opinion on Guantanamo comes from first hand accounts from MPs from the Michigan National Guard that served their in 2003. I am confident that the formation of my opinion on Guantanomo has at least as valid as those that think that those held at Guantanamo are there by some mistake made by the United States military in the field. Based upon my first hand with Muslims in the field, and first hand accounts of those who have served in the prison garrison at Guantanomo, I have reached a reasonable conclusion that those held are dangerous people. I surely can see how someone else can reach a different conclusion, but I think that conclusion is incorrect.
I really don't see why we need to fight each other about why or why not Guantanomo exists. Arguing over politics, beyond who you want to vote for, is next to useless. It exists because the politicians made it happen. In the military, we used to say "it is what it is." Those five words helped us get past through much of what was well beyond our control, and that is how I feel about the policy to house prisoners there.
Is Guantanomo right or wrong? I really don't think anyone can say with the absolute certainty that some who have posted here are saying. The better question would be, is Guantanomo the best option for battlefield pick-ups? You see the first question is the easy question, because the critic can sit at the keyboard and type "Guantanomo Sucks" and not have to consider anything else. The latter question forces one to examine all the other options and decide if the policy was the best one or is their really a better way to handle dangerous people.
For me, the policy on Guantanomo is what it is. If the enemy is turned loose, so be it. My original posting on Obama's executive order has more to do with being prepared and not so much with why things are the way they are, because in the big picture we really do not have anything to say about it, one way or another.
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