United States Navy Names Vessel After Michael Monsoor

~Snooper~

Roger That

HT Ace


The second ship in the Navy's new class of destroyers will carry the name of Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Michael Monsoor.

Anti AQ Parade In Ramadi...Doing The Job The Lame Stream Won't

Hat Tip to Wake Up America for this data.

There was a parade in downtown Ramadi, Iraq on 10/25/07 and much like the Medal of Honor recipient, Lt. Michael Murphy, the recipient of the first congressional Medal of Honor in the War on Terror was ignored by the Lame Stream Media, so was this parade.

From Wake Up America:

I think one of the most damning things about our media today is when you look for the recent parade that was held in Ramadi, Iraq, this week, when you do a search, there is very little in the news about it. (Time article about the parade)

[...]

This parade is very significant for several reasons but the primary reason I see this as very significant is that just a few days ago, OBL, acting like our own Democratic Party Leaders and some Republican Party Leaders, began the whining about "why can't we all get along?" and acting like a spoiled brat when things aren't going his way.

He, as most of the political leaders of the Democrats, cannot and will not admit defeat...they blame someone or something else.

For a more in depth analysis of the OBL whine and cry incident, go here or here.

To see the responses of OBL's pathetic plea from other mutants of the genre of flaming fools of OBL's ilk, go here, or here.

From DefenseLink News: By David Mays, Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2007 – A remarkable parade in Iraq’s Anbar province, openly attended by citizens from all walks of life, demonstrates that Iraqi reconciliation efforts are working, a coalition commander said today.

“Out in al Anbar, which you know has been a difficult area about six months ago: a total change,” Army Brig. Gen. Dave Phillips told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from Baghdad. “When they say there is an awakening, I think that's almost an understatement.”

Phillips, deputy commanding general for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, said he personally attended an event earlier this week that proved the awakening movement encouraged by Sunni sheiks is working.

“This past Tuesday, I went out to Ramadi,” the general explained. “The Iraqis came up with a concept of a Unity Day parade. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think Ramadi would host a parade which would be led with a band playing and then also young Iraqi boy scouts marching with flags, young Iraqi girl scouts marching with flags, followed by the fire department, the national police, the regular police, ambulances. Never dreamed I would see something like that.”

Increased security in Iraqi communities allows such open celebrations to take place, Phillips explained. To that end, the general said, he and his team have helped hire more than 13,000 new Iraqi police officers just in the past two months.

“We have more people signing up than what we actually have ability to hire,” Phillips explained. “And when I say ‘we,’ I'm referring to the Iraqis.”

Tomorrow, 450 Iraqi police officers will begin 10 weeks of specialized training led by Italy’s fabled Carabinieri force, the general said.

“The national police of Iraq are structured very similar to the Carabinieri in Italy,” Phillips explained. “The Carabinieri have nationwide authority; so do the (Iraqi) national police. They can deploy anywhere in the country, and they're a high-end police force that can transition very rapidly to almost light infantry. And so we saw the parallels there.”

In addition to the thousands of police applicants, thousands more Iraqis are volunteering to patrol their own neighborhoods as “concerned local citizens” the general said.

“Most of them bring their own weapons with them,” Phillips said. “They will work with the Iraqi police, and they will be responsible for guarding a block or a corner or some area. And they basically are auxiliaries. They help the police. They can't make arrests, but they are there as eyes and ears on the street, and they provide information.”

So far, more than 50,000 concerned local citizens have offered their services in and around Fallujah, Muqdadiyah, and Diyala, the general said.

“Some are paid. A vast majority are not paid,” Phillips said. “They're doing it because they want to see a difference in their community.”

It’s clear, the general said, that Iraqi citizens are making a difference in their community when they are able to openly celebrate as they did this week in Ramadi.

“When I sat there at the Ramadi parade, that evening I contacted my wife and told her that for one of the first times in a long time, I was very optimistic,” he said. “In the past, I was cautiously optimistic, but what I saw at Ramadi, to me, that was one of those days to where you realized you are witnessing something extremely special.”

(David Mays works in New Media at American Forces Information Service.)

The video can be viewed here or click my VODPOD above. The Americans were invited to witness this parade. Security was extremely tight but the fact that the parade took place without incident is a tribute to the hard work that our Armed Services have rendered to the returning to normalcy in Al Anbar Province.

Why is this ignored? Could it be that it goes against the grain of the idiots like Arianna Huff and Blowhard that still are stuck in their own BDS quagmire? Isn't it in the Journalist's Credo to find news and to seek truth without bias and personal feelings? Could it be that the parade and what it represents too hurtful in revealing blind rhetoric?

For a recent transcript at a news conference in regards to the successes in Iraq and the recognition of the turning point for Victory In Iraq, go here. The data therein is also largely ignored by the BDS crowds as well as the Lame Stream Media and the alleged leaders of the Democratic Party Leadership.

As an aside, click here to read the translation of the latest OBL video and audio of the plea of OBL, theoretically to unite the Iraqi people against the United States.

Poor slog. He has lost...he knows it. Our politicos know it...yet are too cowardly to accept it.

Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

bobzhuman posted this at the Victory Caucus: (if you ain't a member, SHAME on YOU!)

Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

This letter was written by Charles Grennel and his comrades, veterans of the Global War On Terror. Grennel is an Army Reservist who spent two years in Iraq and was a principal in putting together the first Iraq elections in January 2005.

They wrote it to Jill Edwards, student at the University of Washington, who did not want to honor Medal of Honor winner USMC Colonel Greg Boyington. Ms. Edwards, other students and faculty do not think those who serve in the U.S. armed services are good role model.

To: Jill Edwards, Student, University of Washington Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

Miss Edwards, I read of your student activity regarding the proposed memorial to Colonel Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive many angry emails from conservative people like me.

You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naiveté. It may be that you are simply a sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep, as long as you know and accept what you are.

William J. Bennett, in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997 said "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident. We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people, not capable of hurting each other except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

Then there are the wolves who feed on the sheep without mercy. Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

Then there are sheepdogs and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the unchartered path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

We know that the sheep live in denial that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kid's schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard. So they choose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours. Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go Baa. Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them.

This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door. Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be.

Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter. He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day.

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." You want to be able to make a difference. There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that would destroy 98 percent of the population.

Research was conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said they specifically targeted victims by body language: Slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When they learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd and the other passengers confronted the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents - from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

Edmund Burke said "There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men." Here is the point I want to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They don't have a choice.

But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you.

If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

This business of being a sheep or a sheepdog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between.

Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously.

Its OK to be a sheep, but do not kick the sheepdog. Indeed, the sheepdog may just run a little harder, strive to protect a little better and be fully prepared to pay an ultimate price in battle and spirit with the sheep moving from "baa" to "thanks".

We do not call for gifts or freedoms beyond our lot. We just need a small pat on the head, a smile and a thank you to fill the emotional tank which is drained protecting the sheep. And, when our number is called by The Almighty, and day retreats into night, a small prayer before the heavens just may be in order to say thanks for letting you continue to be a sheep. And be grateful for the millions of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.

The lecture can be found here