Facts Wrong

From the NY Times, 3/27/03

I think two tons is a bit of an understatement!!

With American troops deep in Iraq, one of the biggest challenges is keeping them supplied with fuel, water, food and ammuntion (sic). A 20,000-person division can go through two tons of supplies in a day.

To keep up, hundreds of trucks each day make the the 14-hour trip from Kuwait to forces at the front in Iraq, where they unload their supplies, change drivers, and head home again.

Iraq's Republican Guard

These guys won't fall easily, but continuous pounding, particularly at night should wear them down to defeat. The most difficult part will be when they discard their uniforms and form a guerilla force in Baghdad. Undoubtedly they have plenty of small arms ammo and grenades stashed throughout the city.

NY Times Editorial Right on Target

America and the coalition must pursue for a very long time the sources of both materiel and intellectual capacity that can be used to produce chemical and biological warfare agents. Unless this top priority goal is accomplished, and soon, the Iraq war cannot be considered complete. It will be insufficient to destroy the existing stocks of these agents, but the capacity to produce them must also be contained.

America's Military

General Tommy Franks first briefing portrays policy as well as military results.

"Asked about Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, which was under siege by U.S. and British forces Saturday, Franks said: "What we have seen is that the Iraqis are welcoming" allied forces as they move through the country. He said they expect the same reaction when Basra falls.

"This is about liberation not occupation," the U.S. general said."

America's military might is on display for the whole world to see in real time. Any doubts about what our military technology in the hands of highly skilled and motivated Americans can do will now be dispelled.

The challenge for American foreign policy after Iraq is to convince the world that we do understand good and evil and will not equivocate on the basis of bankrupt theories of relativism so prominent in our culture and in other parts of the world. America intends to preserve it's way of life and freedom. The recently heralded failure of American diplomacy at the UN and elsewhere, while serious, cannot dissuade us form protecting ourselves.

I challenge the world to solve the North Korean mess with diplomacy. The French, Germans, China and South Korea and Japan seem the logical partners for the effort if they believe the US cannot do so.

Thank You, Tony Blair

I have enormous respect for Tony Blair on two counts:

1/ He is a man of principle (as is President Bush), rather than a 'finger in the wind' politician. He recognizes good from evil, right from wrong and is willing to risk his future on his beliefs.

2/ He is a true friend of America.

This link suggests that he did a masterful job in parliament earlier in the week: I don't know where you come down on the war with Iraq, but I am a 110% supporter of Bush's position. He is doing the right thing. Chirac is a Gaullist retread and a menace to solidarity in the Western Alliance. (Schroeder in Germany is a second rate politician steeped in the pacifiist movement). The sooner Chirac is removed from office or collapses from old age, the better.

The only circumstance that would change my mind on Iraq is if no weapons of mass destruction were found there. My suspicion is that if such weapons are found, both France and Germany may wind up in embarassing straits. If they are not found, then I must rethink my position on President Bush.

James Black's Gratitude

Thank you, James Black!


London Daily Mail, Thursday, February 13, 2003

Dear America, you quirky mix of 280 million misfits that have somehow blended into the strongest nation in the world, I write to offer you
four apologies and two vows.

I, James Black, a European passport holder whose parents are Scottish, whose wife is English, and whose four children are free to be whatever
they may want to be (directly because of the sacrifice of your nation), am ashamed for pointing out to a colleague while visiting your country a few days ago that Winston Churchill was wrong when he said the biggest difference between Britain and the United States was the fact we both spoke the same language -- and instead, telling him that the real difference between our peoples was actually about 100 pounds per person.

I, James Black, who work as a journalist with the Daily Mail, one of Britain's national newspapers, and (directly because of the sacrifice of your nation) is able to say exactly what he wants whenever he wants without fear of death or imprisonment, also apologize for saying to the same colleague that many of the Americans I met were far less sophisticated and worldly than Europeans.

I, James Black, a man born free of social or physical shackles and chains, who is able to travel around the world and visit other countries and
who (directly because of the sacrifice of your nation) is able to converse, discuss, even argue with people from other nations, would like to
apologize for mocking your president and your political system. Your president may not be the sharpest knife in the cutlery set, but I now understand he and the good people of the United States operate not just from a high intellectual stance, but also from the heart -- a heart
that knows the difference between good and evil. And importantly, your president was smart enough to have picked the best to sit with him at the world table.

I, James Black, whose friends, family and colleagues are allowed to set up home, take a job, even run for politician, in any part of the European Union (directly because of the sacrifice of your nation) without being rounded up because of their religion or shot on the spot for their place of birth would finally like to apologize for the biggest mistake the people of my continent have ever made -- their total lack of respect for the greatest friend they will ever have -- the United States of America.

My anger at some of my fellow Europeans is more than palpable. I hear the self-centered, cowardly, and just plain annoying words thrown out by
old-minded -- old world -- so-called leaders of the Free World. I may have made fun of America and Americans, but deep down I know
this is only friendly banter between the greatest of friends -- and friends who should give their all to each other when called upon to do so.

So I, whose grandfather fought in both World Wars and had the good humor to suggest the Americans were late for both events, but the sense to
point out they ensured victory when they finally did show up, make my first vow:

I will never forget or dishonor the amazing and courageous sacrifice of the people of the United States in coming to the aid of the world over
the past ten decades. The men and women who left peace and prosperity in a land of plenty to face bullet and shrapnel on the beaches of Normandy and around the World.

I will honor the debt my small island nation owes for your unswerving devotion to aiding our continued freedom. Your help when we stood
small and alone against the plague of Nazi aggression. Your assistance in making us strong when the battle was finished and the peace began, and your protection from a colder enemy in the decades that followed.

I have stood, and I will stand again, with my own family,in places such as the cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, an eternal resting place for over 10,000 teen and twenty-something Americans who gave over ALL their future so that I and my children could have a future today, and I will again pledge my eternal gratitude.

I, James Black, a man who simply wants his children to live in a future where all good and constructive things are possible, a future where we
can discover, invent, enjoy, without fear of fanatics or madmen or the weapons and pain they may wreak, pledge my assistance to the United States in its fight against evil.

This is not brainwashed verse, but based on the honorable history and proven friendship the United States has with Europe. Further, it is based on the fact that the people and leaders of the United States have the foresight to see the world, even life itself, is futile without someone to love, things to build and create, and things to look forward to -- and none of these things are possible in a world awash with nuclear, chemical and biological arms controlled by those who despise the life we lead.

I am one person, but there are millions like me who thank the USA and wish your nation and your people all the best over the next few months -- and will be there by your side when the times get tough.

Yours with all my gratitude,

James Black
Wychwood Park, Cheshire, England

P.S.: It is said that today is the tomorrow we worried about
yesterday. You should be proud as a nation that you have something to do with the
fact it didn't turn out so badly after all -- nor should it again.

[James Black handles the Daily Mail's Answers to Correspondents column. e-mail address is james.black@dailymail.co.uk]

Thank You, Mr. Bennett!

We seek to liberate Iraq today, not only because for Saddam torture is not a method of last resort in Iraq, it is often the method of first resort, according to Kenneth Pollack, President Clinton’s director of Gulf Affairs at the NSC. We seek to liberate Iraq because after Sept. 11, 2001, we were put on notice. We were put on notice that civilized people can no longer live in a bubble and hope for the best. We were put on notice that there are fanatics and tyrants who want nothing from us but our death. And this notice requires action: the action of the brave, the action of the unthanked, the action of the free.

"In Iraq as in other contemporary situations, the responsibility to act has been ours because the ability has been ours. The responsibility has been ours because oppressed people look to us for their deliverance. There is a duty in being the nation that Abraham Lincoln, speaking of our Declaration of Independence, called "a rebuke and a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of re-appearing tyranny and oppression." That is who we happen to be. And it is an honor."

TIME Will Tell

This excerpt from a much longer piece published today by TIME goes to the reality of the timing decision made by President Bush. Anyone who has been to war or understands the realities of war knows that troops cannot be moved, massed and held in abeyance for months. There is a limited window in which to move or go home. In Iraq, the other relevant factor is the weather. Once decided, this war must commence now or 'wait until next year.' Waiting would not be politically wise.

"The administration's actions, however, were even more important than its words. Even as it pursued the UN route in the hope of maximizing international support for a war, the Bush team began moving swiftly and without pause to assemble an invasion armada capable of delivering a swift military victory over Saddam's regime. The "moment of truth" arrived not because of any crisis in the inspection process or any act of provocation by Iraq, but because the invasion force is now ready to fight and the window of optimal weather conditions for a ground war is closing fast. In the end, military logic has determined the timetable of diplomacy, rather than vice versa."

Why We Fight

I have begun reading William Bennett's book, Why We Fight Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism. In it he quotes John Stuart Mill:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of a moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight-nothing he cares about more than his own safety-is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

More later on the issues raised in Bennett's book first published in 2002. Suffice to say I am an admirer of Bennett because he has consistently exposed and argued against the theories, politics and philosophy of the 'peace party,' that umbrella of loosely linked advocates of a variety of causes from PETA to the anti-globalization, no-growth groups.

UN Wrangling

The charade is over. The Security Council has shown itself ineffective as a forum to stop tyrants and dictators with dangerous weapons. The UN cannot make hard decisions not have they the stomach for tough decisions. Do it Mr. Bush. Enough attempts at diplomacy with fools. Fight the war or send the troops home and leave the mess in French hands. They are a peace-loving nation, apparently comfortable with Saddam, Chirac's old friend.