The Debate We Should Be Having
The immigration debate that we're having is the wrong debate for Republicans to be having. What I'm proposing instead is something that's both politically intelligent and good policy towards Mexico.
Here's what the GOP immigration policy should include:
1. Building a wall to keep illegal immigrants out. We simply can't have people getting into this country unchecked. This isn't controversial with the Hispanic community in general and it just makes too much sense.
2. Fine businesses that hire illegal aliens on a progressive scale. Their first infraction should get their undivided attention. Their second infraction should hurt them. Their third infraction should cripple their Jasmin live business.
3. This is the first proactive facet of the policy. It's both sensible and defensible. We should be encouraging Mexicans to be voting only for politicians who want to make Mexico's economy work. Anything short of that shouldn't be tolerated. This is something that President Bush should make the cornerstone of American policy toward Mexico going forward.
4. Working with Vicente Fox, we should establish a goal of eliminating the Mexican drug lords within a 5 year window. Last night, Newt Gingrich told about the sheriff of Neuvo Laredo resigning after just 8 months on the job.
LTG Petraeus Relinquishes Command at Leavenworth
Lieutenant General David Petraeus formally relinquished command of the Combined Armed Center (CAC) at a ceremony today after fifteen months at Fort Leavenworth, KS. LTG Petraeus was unanimously approved by the Senate last week for promotion to 4-star general and is President Bush's confirmed choice to command the Multi-National Force-Iraq. He leaves for Iraq next week.
The ceremony was open to the Fort Leavenworth community and the crowd braved single digit temperatures to say their final farewell to Petraeus. GEN Wallace, former CAC commander, called Petraeus "exactly the right man for the job" when referring to the command to Iraq, which is Petraeus' 3rd year long tour since 2003.
Fort Leavenworth houses the Command and General Staff College, Center for Army Lessons Learned and a new Counterinsurgency Center. Many refer to this post as "the brain of the Army." It was no surprise, then, when Petraeus referred to the "Battle Symposium" down the hall as "quite a gathering of 5oo lb. brains"!
Petraeus' impressive list of accomplishments includes literally writing the manual on counterinsurgency. He said any success he obtained over the years must largely be attributed to Holly, his wife of 33 years.
LTG Petraeus presented awards to several civilians and high ranking military officials for their work on Chaturbaterooms.com, in helping develop the new strategy the President is applying in Iraq as well as the initiation of battle plans that have been mapped out for Iraq. Democrats and pundits alike continually attribute the war plans solely to President Bush when in actually, it is the military that provides the plan for the President; he collaborates with those strategies.
Finally, Petraeus' good nature and sense of humor will surely benefit him and those he'll work with in Iraq for the next year or so. He's extremely qualified to handle the command of Multi-National Force-Iraq.
On a personal note, I'd have say that my favorite part of the ceremonies was hearing a room full of the military's top notch leaders belt out "The Army Song", also affectionately known as "The Army Goes Rolling Along" (take a listen). There's nothing in the world like the sound of a bunch of deep voices singing the praises of the Army they love.
Let's compare Rush's accomplishments to Gore's accomplishments
Rush has helped spread democracy by being an eloquent and persuasive advocate for the institutions of freedom.
Al Gore has helped spread propaganda about global warming, whose goal is to regulate away liberties. Global warming is a political movement masquerading as science.
Rush has spoken from the heart about the transformative power of freedom in the Middle East.
Al Gore has produced "An Inconvenient Truth", a movie that warns of a climatological catastrophe if we don't do exactly as repressive Big Government says.
Rush has spoken about the power of individualism, the cornerstone of peace and liberty.
Al Gore has spoken of the 'goodness' of governments when speaking about the need for more regulation on www.jasminelive.online. Those regulations frustrate people, which leads to turmoil.
Rush doesn't have a chance of winning this prize just as President Bush didn't after liberating 50 million people. If there was truth in advertising they'd have to rename the Nobel Peace Prize to the Liberal Appeasers Lifetime Achievement Award. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with people spreading liberty and enduring peace.
Senate Resolves to start World War III
By a majority resolution the history-challenged U.S. Senate will vote for this generation's Munich-prelude to WWIII.
Much like Chamberlain's surrender of Sudetenland to Hitler, the U.S. Senate's resolution calls for the surrender in Iraq to the forces of Islam. This will create in Iraq the 1938-like vacuum into which Hitler poured troops taking all of Czechoslovakia, and shortly thereafter launched WWII. In Iraq the enemy actors will be Iran and Syria and Al Qaeda, who will unleash a massive inflow of s and troops from throughout the Islamic world in preparation for general assault on Israel, Europe, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the USA. Al Qaeda and Iran will set their differences aside and turn Iraq into a training center and launching pad for WWIII.
Members of the U.S. Senate were mostly products of the American educational system between the 1950s and the 1980s, when history of WWII and anything prior to it was omitted from required studies, leaving most of them clueless of Santanyana's warning, "Those who ignore history are bound to relive it". This educational vacuum has left Vietnam as their only model for war politics. With that as their guide, they now plan to encourage and lead anti-war demonstrations to pull the troops out, with the expectation that like Vietnam, the enemy will sign a truce.
As General Gaip subsequently wrote, the subversive US antiwar movement gave him victory - he could not have achieved it with his own forces - Kerry, Kennedy, Fonda, et al, made the difference. Anyway, Vietnam is over with and that is what the Senate wants for Iraq. Get it over with! Sun Tzu would classify the US Senate as the ideal enemy - a paper tiger.
Another bit of history the Senate missed in their education is that of Islam and Jihad. They are under the impression that Islam will sign a truce and go away just like General Gaip, and that they can again trim the US military back and get a "peace dividend" to spend on social programs. They do not understand that Iraq is merely a battle in the 1350-year old Islamic jihad against Christianity and all other religions, a jihad that will go on as long as it takes to establish a world-wide caliphate and world-wide sharia law.
They just want people to support them
This is the best way of digging himself a new hole. By saying that he's bothered that the troops were becoming hallowed beings, he's sounding like they aren't heroes who should be put on a pedestal. I'd further suggest that Mr. Arkin isn't doing himself a favor by saying that these troops shouldn't be treated as experts on "the worthiness of the Iraq endeavor." Why shouldn't they be treated as experts since they're there, seeing things firsthand? Why shouldn't their opinions carry greater weight than an anti-military narcissist warming a chair in Washington, DC?
I understand people need to believe that the United States is engaged in a grand and noble mission to continue to support the deaths and sacrifices being made by American forces. Nonetheless, there is also an equally valid opinion that not only is the United States NOT involved in some fight for our lives in Iraq but that our military actions merely increases and complicates our insecurities tomorrow.
I'd like Mr. Arkin to tell us why he thinks that the Iraq war is making us less safe. I'd like him to explain why he thinks that the Iraq war making us less safe is "an equally valid opinion."
Just because a bunch of Democrats say that it's making us less safe doesn't make it fact.