Category Archives: American History

June 15, 2014 · 10:23 pm

Defining a Team of Rivals

We live in a society where idiotic slogans and catchphrases pass for thoughtful ideas, strategies and concepts. Last week the smartest woman in the world, aka Hillary, the longest-mile Secretary of State rolled out her long-awaited (boy, that’s hard to imagine) new autobiography, “Hard Choices”, Clinton compares President Obama’s choice of her for secretary of state to that of President Lincoln choosing William Henry Seward (from a New Republic piece):

“But Hillary Clinton is, and will always be, Hillary Clinton. In Hard Choices, she playfully extends the oft-cited Team of Rivals comparison, likening Abraham Lincoln’s choice of William Henry Seward as secretary of state to Obama’s choice of her. Clinton writes of how she warms to the comparison, citing a contemporary of Seward’s who described him as “ruffled or excited never, astute, keen to perceive a joke, appreciative of a good thing, and fond of ‘good victuals.'” Sound familiar? It does to Clinton. “I could relate to that,” she writes.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin, an author of several historical works, has come under criticism more than once being accused of plagiarism. For a gist of the controversy, here is Eric J. Weiner, from a 2006 Huffington post piece:

“Kudos to the good people at the New York Historical Society for looking beyond the past sins of plagiarism committed by Doris Kearns Goodwin and bestowing on the prolific celebrity historian a prestigious award and $50,000 prize in honor of her recent biography of Abe Lincoln, “Team of Rivals.””

We all know the Clintons’ respect for the truth, so I wanted to give you my take on Ms Goodwin and Hillary’s understanding of military history:

Here are two well-known, oft-used, simple sayings that have stood the test of time:

Let’s start with the Biblical version: “A house divided can not stand”

Next let’s move on to the geopolitical/military strategic realm: “Divide and Conquer”

So, it’s obvious to anyone with a functioning brain cell (that excludes most of American academia) that dividing teams is a way to defeat a team. Thus, in simple language, “a team of rivals” is one the most idiotic things ever uttered and a contradiction in terms. Perhaps, we should offer these two brilliant women a Thelma and Louise road trip to US Civil War cemeteries or the military cemeteries of World War I and let them count the dead, to see how that “team of rivals” pans out. Unluckily for us Hillary seems far from the cliff’s edge and ready to hit the highways trotting out her same tired, old parsed lies, in her floundering book tour.

No better time than the present to remind everyone outside the DC echo chamber of The Gettysburg Address, obtained from the webpage, Our Documents:

Executive Mansion,

Washington, , 186 .

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal”

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow, this ground– The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us, the living, to stand here, we here be dedica-ted to the great task remaining before us — that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

So, how about we agree to work toward a new American banner:

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!!!

“

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Filed under American Character, American History, General Interest, Military, Politics

June 6, 2014 · 9:15 pm

“When wars end”

Today, being the 70 year commemoration of D-Day, which put Allied boots firmly on French soil, from where they fought on the many miles to Paris, liberating France and eventually defeating Hitler’s German forces is the perfect time to discuss “when wars end”. So, let’s put on our thinking hats, while libertybelle, your big-box store employee, former homemaker challenges this endless stream of White House spin, “when wars end” blah, blah, blah prisoners of war get traded all the time”. First, sometimes, sometimes not – that is the historical record. The larger point about “war” is just by President Obama declaring an end to the fighting and unilaterally withdrawing does not mean the war is ended. This man is the most obtuse fool ever to occupy the Oval Office and his minions don’t really study military history, being “anti-war” and so intellectually superior. The Taliban is hitting the airwaves announcing they will continue to target Americans. Does that sound like “the war” is ended to you? The other side gets to play their hand too and since we announced our defeat, they intend to seize on that weakness. Al Qaeda is morphing and growing, the Taliban intends to target Americans too, so lame White House spin is not only another big fat LIE, it’s putting Americans at risk. The single biggest threat to American national security, in my opinion, sure seems to be coming from this arrogant, clueless band of nincompoops at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. There isn’t any ceasefire or treaty or anything remotely like an end to war in the normal sense – we’re dealing with bands of terrorists, not nation-state players. And maybe they missed getting their news from the newspapers the past few days, but the Taliban and other jihadists are reinvigorated with the release of these 5 Taliban terrorists – they are happily broadcasting it. So, really, this spin on top of all the other LIES is really pathetic! The war, unfortunately isn’t over, so maybe someone can send President Obama this newsflash, since he waits to learn about world events, his administration failures and everything else from the media. When things spin even more out of control as this moves along, expect more altered intelligence documents to be fed to the media – just like Benghazi.

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Filed under American History, Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics

June 5, 2014 · 10:57 am

The Choices We Make

Many things, on many levels, disturb me about the latest President Obama disaster of releasing 5 terrorists for a US soldier held in captivity. This situation contains so many threads we’ll probably be trying to untangle this massive web of lies, truth and partisan spin for years and future historians will certainly have plenty of information to sift through to put a stamp of judgment on President Obama’s decision to make this trade. One thread I’m going to attempt to untangle (and feel free to toss in your opinions in the comments) is the choices open to Bowe Bergdahl. None of us will ever be able to ascertain for certain what he thought or what he believed and the investigation, the accumulation of facts that come forward about his actions before, during and after his leaving his base in Afghanistan, and how we line these up will lead each of us to form an opinion in the matter.

Most of us are people of beliefs, opinions, feelings, desires and no man can ever be totally objective and free from some degree of bias, because we can’t separate our thinking into tidy little separate compartments. Sadly, from watching these sorts of national crises of “conscience” play out over the years, the political strategists have trained Americans to rely on poll numbers and influencing feelings to sway “public opinion” and thus allow the politicians to pursue their agendas without much oversight from “we the people”.

Bowe Bergdahl was a young man who voluntarily decided to enlist in the US Army. Of course, I can relate to that, because as a young woman I did the same thing, in perhaps a very similar naive way. No matter how carefully you research the military before raising your right hand and swearing an oath to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, the reality turns out very different from your preconceived notions.

The single most important lesson military service teaches you is that there are other things more important than yourself (selfless service). You are part of a team tasked with a mission and in combat the very lives of your fellow soldiers depend on TRUST – lives depend on this and accomplishing the mission depends on it (loyalty and trust).

When soldiers swear that oath, they agree to follow lawful orders and to work toward that big picture mission “defending the Constitution”. How that big mission trickles down to the individual soldier in our Republic is a combination of civilian political decision-making with the President having a great deal of latitude in execution of military missions and Congress with the prescribed role of declaring war, oversight of military actions and fiduciary responsibilities (they control the purse strings). Now, how the little missions get passed on down through the ranks has evolved in our military since General George Washington first took command of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. From that day forward the military rules and traditions evolved and today Army soldiers operate under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and we agree to uphold Army Values, to live by the Soldier’s Creed and Warrior Ethos.

Often times what you “feel” differs from what the people above you in rank order you to do and believe me, being a private in the US Army is a lesson in forbearance and self-restraint, because you’re at the bottom of the power structure and everything rolls downhill. That means you often feel like you’re being run around in circles, because you don’t know what the big picture parts of the mission are and as the little parts get tasked on down the chain of command, both good and bad decisions are made. It’s a complex organization and lots of hands are required to achieve the big picture mission. You follow your orders, unless the order is unlawful.

Based on the emails that Bowe Bergdahl’s parents reportedly shared with the frequently referenced 2012 Rolling Stone magazine article (hardly a hardcore right-wing source). Bowe Bergdahl had many negative feelings about his chain of command, his teammates and the overall mission in Afghanistan. At a later date, that will likely be a blog post to tackle – American foreign policy failures.

I can sympathize having been a private in the US Army and having grave misgivings about our military mission in Afghanistan and Iraq, especially since President Obama took office, but truthfully even for most of the Bush presidency too. From the very biggest picture level on down to the execution on the ground, I have disagreed with everything from nation-building on down to rules of engagement. I have nothing but contempt for military strategy reliant on lame slogans, rather than a clear strategic vision for America, both short-term and long-term. It looks to me like Bowe Bergdahl drank the “hearts and minds” three cups of tea mission. I disagreed with it then and I disagree with it now. COIN is not a strategy – it’s a tactic, in my opinion and I’ve felt all along it should be just a part of our military toolkit, not the complete doctrine in the Army. Yes, we’ve all listened “shock and awe” and “it will be a cake walk” on to the “winning the hearts and minds”, which the media regurgitate like trained parrots. Right now, the press and the politicians hit us with “we never leave one of our own on the battlefield” type slogans.

Most in the media have no clue about anything having to do with military matters. No one in the President’s inner-circle of trusted advisers knows anything about military matters (and they suck at managing their PR big time too). From watching this unfolding circus, sadly way too many of the retired military pundits and commentators on which the media and public rely to translate military matters into civilian language are partisan political hacks. Sadly, I’ve thought most of our top brass are political hacks for a long, long time. When the “war on terror” began and the Bush administration began briefing these retired officers and sending them out to be “military analysts” for the media, it’s pretty easy to determine where these officers’ political loyalties lie and it’s not with telling the truth.

So, now back to Bowe Bergdahl, the Private First Class, arriving in Afghanistan in March of 2009 and on June 30, 2009 he walked away from his base. I love my Sun Tzu, while our military is more attuned to Clausewitz and Jomini. I love reading about military strategy and military history, so naturally I have lots of opinions. Bowe Bergdahl seems to have formed lots of opinions too. And that is what the point of this post is. No matter how the media and politicians or his supporters or the folks for the war or against the war try to spin it – at the heart of the matter is Bowe Bergdahl, whom I can sympathize with in many ways, as a naive young man, “wanting to help the Afghan people” according to his father. I am always trying to “help people” too. I can even sympathize with his parents and even his father trying to talk to the Taliban, trying to get his son released. The crux of the matter and what this will boil down to – unlike Bowe’s father, mine lived by a simple code of honor that he drilled into our heads, “If you give your word, you keep it!” Bowe’s father, a religious man, told his son, according to that Rolling Stone interview, “OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!” Bowe gave his word and didn’t keep it, nor did he discuss his change of conscience with his chain of command. He walked away in a war zone for an as yet to be determined personal mission.

Here’re the simple facts. Bowe Bergdahl had other choices. It was not a matter of he had no other course of action to pursue if he felt, as a matter of conscience he couldn’t do this. Like everything in the military, conscientious objector status is covered in UCMJ too. Did Bowe Bergdahl ever talk to anyone in his chain of command about his misgivings about the war? Did he attempt to seek conscientious objector status or even try to get out of the Army? The reporting indicated he tried to join the French Foreign Legion, wanting to be a mercenary, so fighting didn’t seem to be morally reprehensible to him then. He joined the Army and was reported to have earned the nickname SF, short for Special Forces, because of his fascination with COIN. How he was planning to help the Afghan people matters and we may never get that answer from him. I would love to hear his father explain in what ways he believes Bowe intended to help the Afghan people. How was he going to help them, this young man fascinated with being a mercenary and survivalist skills? To me, I’m trying to wrap my mind around his father’s views in this video, where he at length talks about how he feels the mission in Afghanistan was wrong, but I can’t make heads or tails out of how he believes his son intended to help the Afghan people.

So, away from the politics, there are honorable and dishonorable ways to “obey your conscience” and sorry, walking away from your base is not one of them. Not being a JAG lawyer, I don’t know if Bowe Bergdahl’s convictions would have met the threshold for conscientious objector status. This website About.com on this issue it states: “You can’t pick and choose which war you object to. By law, a conscientious objector is one who is opposed to participation in all wars. The person’s opposition must be based on religious belief and training, and it must be deeply held.” My husband had a soldier who found God on the way to the Gulf War and he was still in the company when they returned, albeit on his way out. I haven’t consulted Gladius on this matter yet, but like everything else in the Army, there are various types of actions commanders have at their disposal to deal with a soldier and his/her conscience in a war zone – Bowe Bergdahl decided to skip all that.

This isn’t about the merits of the US mission in Afghanistan or the partisan politics, this is about one soldier who swore an oath and the choices he voluntarily made. And when the political left tries to turn this into an indictment of the policy in Afghanistan – what matters here is that the UCMJ applies to every soldier and that’s why so many soldiers are demanding he be held accountable for his actions. We might sympathize with his feelings, but we can’t lose sight that we are a nation of laws, not men. That law is the Constitution of the United States of America and if keeping your word no longer matters, our Republic will crumble. Don’t once again buy into the crap about the polls of how the American people feel or the partisan spin – that doesn’t matter!!! We are a nation of laws, not of what people feel this week based on the latest poll numbers!

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Filed under American History, Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Military, Politics, The Constitution, The Media

May 25, 2014 · 8:06 pm

We here must speak of heroes

Memorial Day serves as a holiday for backyard grilling, first taste of summertime activities and having fun. The actual “memorial” part of it is remembered by a few canned patriotic speeches delivered by political leaders and a flurry of social media graphics thanking those who served. Today, President Obama, in a shallow, face-saving measure to deflect from the VA scandal fall-out, made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to visit US troops, the political motives glaringly obvious. In the scheme of American holidays, Memorial Day fades from our memories quickly, unremembered and afar, most don’t even spare a thought for the sacrifices made to secure their liberty. Do people even think about “liberty”?

Kinnison, in part, commented yesterday:

“Someone once said, “America is better-served by its armed forces than it deserves.” Early in the War on Terror a wounded Marine in the very first “Wounded Warrior” barracks at Camp Lejeune, NC, wrote on the white board in the passageway, “America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall…””

Sadly, this seems to be an accurate assessment, with fewer and fewer of our leaders having any military service or interest in learning about those who sacrificed so much. In our culture of self-entitlement and fatuous idolization of shameless, self-promoting celebrities, it’s easy to lose hope for America’s future. Let’s commit to remember our true American heroes as Minta beautifully states:

“A greater gratitude than we can here express.
Here fallen heroes lie.
The ones we’ve come to honor,
And celebrate their lives.
They were the ones who paid –
In Lincoln’s words –
“The last full measure of devotion.””

JK offered a comment yesterday with just a link, no explanation. This link transports you to Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 400,000 of our country’s military heroes. One such hero at Arlington, General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing, was the most famous American military leader of his generation and yet it’s doubtful more than a very few Americans would even recognize his name.

General Pershing was the most famous American general in World War I. He took a decidedly haphazardly organized US Armed Forces and turned it into a 2 million strong integrated modern fighting force in World War I (further reading, “US Army in the World War 1917-1919, Organization of the American Expeditionary Force”). His accomplishments fill many books written about his remarkable military achievements and he alone received the title “General of the Armies”, the highest rank in the US Army while still alive. General George Washington received that title posthumously. Words like cold, reserved, stubborn appear frequently in descriptions of General Pershing, but beneath that stern mask was a man who sacrificed a great deal to serve his country; a man who cared deeply for his family, his soldiers, his country.

In 1915 while serving in the Army at Fort Bliss, Pershing’s wife and three daughters perished in a house fire at their home at the Presidio of San Francisco. The 1948 NY Times obituary account recounts:

“On Aug. 27, 1915, there came the great tragedy of Pershing’s life. The general was called to the telephone at headquarters.

“Telegram for you, sir,” said the telephone orderly.

“Yes?” responded the General.

“Shall I–shall I–read it to you, sir?” the orderly asked, haltingly.

“Yes,” said General Pershing.

Again the orderly hesitated.

“Go ahead,” said Pershing.

And then the orderly read him the message telling of the death of his wife and three daughters–all his family except his son Warren–in a fire at their quarters in the Presidio. Warren alone had been saved by a maid and was reported to be in serious condition in the Army hospital.

“Is that all–is that everything?” Pershing asked when the orderly had completed the message.

“Yes, sir,” said the orderly.

Pershing left his duties only long enough to see to the burial of his family, left his son Warren with his sister in Lincoln, Neb., and returned, his hair whitened and his face lined, to his post.”

General Pershing could have called it quits on the Army life at this point, because he had acquired a law degree in 1893 and had many other options. He chose to continue serving our country in uniform.

While browsing through a book I purchased recently (“War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars”, Andrew Carroll), a letter written by General Pershing during WWI to his 9-year-old son, living with an aunt in Nebraska, offers a glimpse of the man behind that cold mask. Luckily, the letter was located quickly online here. This excerpt speaks to that higher purpose that so easily gets drowned out by our pop culture:

“I want you to come so that you yourself can see something of the army and see something of France. I want you to know while you are still a boy something of the fine patriotism that inspires the American soldiers who are fighting over here for the cause of liberty. They are fighting as you know against Germany and her Allies to prevent the rulers of Germany from seizing territory that does not belong to them and from extending their rule over the people of other governments who do not wish to be ruled by Germany. I might add that in order to do this the German army, under orders from the Ruler of Germany, has committed most serious crimes, and for that also we are fighting in order to punish them.

I want you to see some of the battlefields of France with me, over which the American soldiers have fought in carrying out the great purpose of our people. It will enable you to realize later in life just what sacrifice means and just what degree of sacrifice our army is called upon to make and which they have made and are making bravely and courageously.”

He promised his young son a trip to France to see the battlefields and in words meant for his son only, General Pershing sums up the larger purpose, simple, poignant and meant to be private, a father trying to teach his son what we hold dear. He kept his promise to his son and here are photos of young Warren Pershing with his father in France.

We should remember all those, who sacrificed so much for our liberty, not only on Memorial Day, but every day:

“We here must speak of things
That give us pause –
Our hesitation comes because some words
When spoken here
Tremble in the air
And voice immortal thoughts.
We here must speak of heroes,
Of loyalty, and love,
Of valor, fear controlled –
And, yes, of death –
That fearful price that those who’re named here paid.”

– Minta Marie Morze

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Filed under American Character, American History, Culture Wars, General Interest, Military, Politics

May 14, 2014 · 1:21 pm

You owe them your Freedom

The Meaning of Memorial Day

Memorial Day originated on a crude wooden speakers’ platform at the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg on the 30th of May, 1864.

President Abraham Lincoln, the last speaker in a long line of distinguished orators who had come to speak that day at the dedication of the memorial cemetery to the dead of the Gettysburg battlefield, made a few remarks he had hurriedly scribbled on the back of an envelope on the train from Washington, D.C. His Gettysburg Address is considered one of the finest pieces of tribute ever written to honor any nation’s fallen.

President Lincoln said, in part:

“…From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…Let us never forget that these gallant dead must not have died in vain”.

His words, printed and reprinted in newspapers all over this country, were taken into the nation’s consciousness, and have become an important part of our history.

The Grand Army of the Republic, a group of Union Civil War veterans, was the Nation’s first chartered veterans’ organization. The “GAR” began observing the anniversary of Lincoln’s historic tribute to the gallant dead at Gettysburg by decorating the graves of Civil War veterans in cemeteries all over the country with American flags and flowers.

Begun as a private remembrance of fallen comrades, the American people soon took the day to their hearts, and solemnized the sacrifice of their sons to the preservation of the Union with annual prayers and ceremonies nationwide.

On May 30th, 1868, President James A. Garfield, himself a former Union general, spoke at Gettysburg on the occasion of the first official national memorial observance. Describing the Union’s honored dead of the Civil War, he said:

“…They summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens.”

Until 1882, the day was known as “Decoration Day”. In that year, Congress declared the 30th of May an official national holiday, and re-named it “Memorial Day” to honor the dead of all America’s wars. In the 238 years of U.S. history, there have been 29 wars, major military conflicts and actions, which claimed the lives of 1,343,812 Americans.

At a military funeral, the flag draping the casket is carefully folded by the burial detail, and presented to the wife or mother of the deceased by the escort officer, with the words:

“Accept this flag with the thanks of a grateful nation.”

We as a nation sometimes forget the sacrifices that made us, and keep us, free. The families…the fathers and mothers, the husbands and wives, daughters and sons… never forget the price that has been paid.

Since the Congress passed the National Holiday Act of 1971, and Memorial Day was designated as the last Monday in May, the day set aside to honor America’s war dead has become just another three-day weekend to many people. Few bother to pause and honor the fallen. The families, and their living comrades, remember them and their sacrifice.

Pause this Memorial Day for a moment and remember the men who froze in that terrible winter at Valley Forge (and Bastogne, and Chosin Reservoir), the men who fought on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg (and San Juan Hill in Cuba, Blanc Mont in France, Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal, Monte Casino in Italy, Heartbreak Ridge in Korea, and Hamburger Hill in Vietnam). Remember the men who fought outnumbered at Concord Bridge (and the Peking Legation, and Bataan, and Koto-Ri, Khe Sahn and Fallujah). Remember the sailors and Marines entombed in the U.S.S. Arizona on the bottom of Pearl Harbor, and all those gallant men of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard who have found a watery grave in the world’s seas in the defense of your liberty. Remember the pilots and aircrew who were shot down in flames over France in two world wars, and the graves of those who died over Germany and Japan. Mourn for those who died in the Persian Gulf, and those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Think, for just a moment, of Molly Pitcher, who took her wounded husband’s place at the cannon at the Battle of Trenton. Remember the Army nurses that refused to be evacuated from Corregidor, and the patients who needed them: many of both died in the prison camps of the Philippines and Japan.

Remember that the Vietnam Memorial has inscribed upon it the names of eight women who died serving their country.

Remember those men whose inscriptions on the Vietnam Memorial read simply: “M.I.A.”

Remember them as you drive past the cemeteries in the towns and cities of America this three-day weekend, and see the many small flags on the graves of those who served.

Remember all of them, dressed in ragged uniforms of many eras, in their ghostly ranks. Remember what they sacrificed for their country, their loved ones…and for you.

Remember them. You owe them your freedom.

Respectfully submitted,
Kinnison
Lieutenant Colonel, Armor, AUS (Ret.)
…and former Sgt. & “Mustang”
Capt. of Marines

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Filed under American Character, American History, Food for Thought, General Interest, Military

March 24, 2014 · 4:20 pm

Who will defend our castle?

“No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character”

– John, Viscount Morley

Being sort of squeamish and abhorring violence, I’m not a fan of war movies, but one of my favorite movies, oddly enough, is The Big Red One, the 1980 Sam Fuller WWII epic. Being a lowly private in the Army, stationed in southern Germany in 1980, our movie theater was located across a parking lot, behind my barracks. My kaserne, perched atop a picturesque southern mountaintop, was a vintage German army post and the Germans built their posts in a consistent, orderly fashion, with the companies neatly arranged around a parade field in the center and all the lesser support facilities beyond that tight circle.

There wasn’t much to do on small kasernes, like the one I was at, but being a little country girl, I found everything new and interesting. I could imagine I was Heidi in the Alps (well, okay, the Swabian Alps), following the footpath down the mountain to the town proper or let my imagination run wild, gazing out the large window at the end of the female hallway, where a view to rival the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, greeted me each morning. My view, a lovely old monastery perched upon another mountaintop in the distance, fueled my ever-fluttering flights of fancy. Of course, I took several trips to that old monastery to explore it close-up.

Now, having a movie theater within walking distance seemed a luxury to me, because the nearest movie theater, where I grew-up in the mountains of PA, was 10 miles away. I would always ask a few of the guys to go to the movies with me and first we’d go to the snack bar, next to the movie theater, for ice cream, because I loved eating my vanilla ice cream first. These uncomplaining young men, in gentlemanly fashion, usually insisted on buying my ice cream too.

I met many wonderful young men in that unit and as an aside to this tale, gentlemen were still in plentiful supply in the US Army in those days. Back to my story, the only drawback to our movie theater was the same movie played for weeks on end, until something new arrived from the States. I watched The Big Red One over and over and each time I came away remembering some new details I had missed before.

JK sent me a link to a fascinating WWII story, The Battle for Castle Itter, which reminded me of a line from The Big Red One, that has stuck with me all these years. I’ve spent decades thinking about war and wondering if this endless cycle of human behavior can ever change. I’ve wondered if we’re destined to continually build up human societies, only to demolish them through corruption and then outside conquest. I’ve wondered, as the line in The Big Red One, will we ever find a time when, “der krieg ist vorbei.”

The almost farcical nature of the characters and events in the battle for Castle Itter provides a quirky, yet almost emblematic view of how in the unlikely circumstance of fighting for their lives, this castle’s curious mix of inhabitants, like people everywhere, can put aside national and personal loyalties, to unite in moments, because not much else mattered, except surviving.

The story centers on VIP French prisoners, whom the SS kept imprisoned in Castle Itter during WWII. As the Americans advanced across Europe in the waning days of the war, a young American first lieutenant, John C. “Jack” Lee, Jr., made the mistake of volunteering to go secure the castle, after a surrendering German major arrived to tell the advancing Americans about the VIP prisoners held prisoner in nearby Castle Itter. The young American officer sets off with 8 volunteers, plus 5 soldiers from the African-American Company, along with the surrendering German major and a truckload of his German soldiers. The French VIPs, upon seeing their small rescue force, were unimpressed that such a paltry band of soldiers was sent to rescue their grand personages. But quickly the scene changed as the castle fell under attack from SS troops. The squabbling French VIPs (which included two French generals, who despised each other) and the surrendering Germans all turned to the young American lieutenant to take charge of their castle defense. To get the full impact of the absurdity of the events, read the full story of the battle for Castle Itter (here’s the link again).

In history, certain moments in time become the leitmotif, that subsequent generations warn us identify a bellwether event. Glenn Beck, aside from drawing complex charts, in which he connects the dots, in ever-widening and distant circles, prognosticates often about what he refers to as “the Archduke Ferdinand moment”, harkening back to the assassination of the Austrian heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne in Serbia, which led to the outbreak of World War I. History doesn’t replay like watching old reruns on TV, it’s more nuanced and runs along in patterns that require looking at human history from a wider perspective than awaiting a single, harbinger of doom event.

Times do change and while history is replete with enough strange coincidences to give one pause, it seems more useful to step back and take a big picture view of history, if seeking a more useful predictive model. As events in the world overtake our national security folks in the Obama administration’s collective strategic-thinking ability, America seems adrift in the world. America, with President Obama, leading us from behind, forces his national security team to play defense (rather poorly), reacting in ever-disjointed fits and starts. The US flails about, wantonly widening the decades old strategic-vacuum the US fell into when the infamous “end of history’ mentality took hold after the Soviet Union imploded and we sat on our laurels just floating along in a dangerous world, believing we could bail water faster than anyone else in the world, safe and insulated from the geopolitical waves around the globe. Sadly, our lifeboat went to sea without strategic life-vests, part of the new fly-by-the-seat-of-our pants, not so grand strategy. The always erudite and eloquent, G. Murphy Donovan (here), assessed the Obama administration’s policy,The Brennan Doctrine:

“There is no evidence that the Brennan doctrine supports prudent near or long-term strategy. Strategic appeasement has now produced a generation of catamite tacticians, leaders that assume a defensive crouch after each indignity, hoping that the next atrocity will not hurt as much as the last.”

In numerous past posts, I’ve bloviated on and on and on about this President’s dangerous lack of geopolitical acumen (here, here, here, here), an endless broken record playing the same old tune. To begin to understand history it starts from the little picture human building block – trust. Believe it, because it’s true! No matter how enlightened, how educated, how many fancy degrees and terminology you conjure up, at the end of the day, trust determines our fate, from the smallest human endeavor and interactions to the big picture moves by countries on the world stage. To repeat from my “B.H. Liddell Hart Echoes through time” post last year, (from his short book, “Why We Don’t Learn From History” – free download here):

“Civilization is built on the practice of keeping promises. It may not sound a high attainment, but if trust in its observance be shaken the whole structure cracks and sinks. Any constructive effort and all human relations – personal, political, and commercial – depend on being able to depend on promises.”

Over the weekend, while reading a favorite blog, Diplomad2.0, that’s a regular stop on my blogging routine, I found a link posted in the comments section, by Sundling, obviously an historically-inclined poster, that left me wondering why no one in my history classes had ever mentioned this brilliant paper before: “Fate of Empires and Search For Survival”, by Sir John Glubb. Published in 1976, this 26 page paper blasts away at studying history through a series of memorization of isolated, unconnected events or from a lopsided view from one country’s or time period’s perspective. Glubb implores us to step back and take a long view of history as a study of the human race. A short search of Sir John Glubb’s bio and you will find a man who traveled extensively, read extensively, and a man whose ideas moved beyond the island of his birth to encompass the world and humanity, in its entirety:

“To derive any useful instruction from history, it seems to me essential first of all to grasp the principle that history, to be meaningful, must be the history of the human race. For history is a continuous process, gradually developing, changing and turning back, but in general moving forward in a single mighty stream. Any useful lessons to be derived must be learned by the study of the whole flow of human development, not by the selection of short periods here and there in one country or another. Every age and culture is derived from its predecessors, adds some contribution of its own, and passes it on to its successors. If we boycott various periods of history, the origins of the new cultures which succeeded them cannot be explained.”

Glubb’s short paper breaks down the life of empires as falling into an amazingly similar pattern through history, which he divides into 5 distinct ages of an empire. The last age is the Age of Decadence, which he describes as :

“The Age of Decadence.

(e) Decadence is marked by:

Defensiveness
Pessimism
Materialism
Frivolity
An influx of foreigners
The Welfare State
A weakening of religion.

(f) Decadence is due to:

Too long a period of wealth and power
Selfishness
Love of money
The loss of a sense of duty.

(g) The life histories of great states are amazingly similar, and are due to internal factors.

(h) Their falls are diverse, because they are largely the result of external causes.”

For a fuller understanding of his views, read the short paper. I’m not Glenn Beck and I won’t pretend to be the harbinger of doom, but I must say, at the very least, this paper caused a few ripples of uneasiness as I digested Glubb’s analysis of the life cycle of empires, once again, published in 1976.

Watching the events in recent years play out, with American military adventurism, in pursuit of transplanting democracy in inhospitable arid desert sands during the Bush years, then moving to knee-jerk, reactionary gambits under Obama’s shaky trigger-finger, trying to force regime change on the cheap, with bluster and poorly applied military pressure, it’s clear to see that America desperately needs, if not a grand strategy, at least a coherent strategy. The Battle for Castle Itter serves as the perfect metaphor for how the world understands a calm, strong American taking charge of a dicey situation and even a passel of troublesome French notables, to include two generals, quickly fell into line and followed. A group of surrendering Nazis, likewise sized up their situation and cast their lot with the unflappable young American commander, who without hesitation led from the front. And at the end of day, sadly, 1st Lieutenant Lee, came from another American generation, far removed from the Choom-gang, drug haze of Obama’s youth.

The Battle for Castle Itter also shows how a whole bunch of competing interests can spin wildly out of control and create an international conflagration in moments and sadly we don’t have a calm, collected American commander to defend our castle. We’ve got, leading-from-behind Obama, war-protesting, medal-throwing John Kerry, yes-sir, yes-sir Chuck Hagel and drone kill champ Brennan, nudged by the likes of Samantha the genocide pixie, Susan the ever-faithful political handmaiden, and always hovering nearby, bossy-pants Valerie, keeping watch that none dare stray from her approved narrative (fabrications)…

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Filed under American Character, American History, Foreign Policy, General Interest, History, Military, Politics

February 27, 2014 · 6:00 am

America in need of humility….. a daunting challenge

Dr. David J. Bobb wrote a book, “Humility: An Unlikely Biography Of America’s Greatest Virtue”, which I started reading last week. Admittedly, I haven’t finished it yet, but I am going to recommend it anyway. Browsing late last night, I came across a YouTube video of him, discussing his book. It runs almost an hour, so grab a beverage and nestle down in a comfy chair before clicking play.

His speech was at Hillsdale College (of which he’s an alumnus, hope I got the case right, never having studied Latin…. yet) and I’d like to direct you to their free online, not-for-credit courses. Each lecture, just like Dr. Bobb’s video, runs about an hour, followed by an optional quiz. I’ve listened to several and intend to get back and listen to some more. He talks about Benjamin Franklin’s self-improvement regimen, of which “humility” became his greatest challenge and I remembered reading about that in Franklin’s Autobiography (a must read on our founding fathers)

The Gates Foundation funded a free adult learning endeavor late last year called, The Big History Project, which is worth checking out too.

That’s it for this morning – time to get ready for work 😦

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Filed under American Character, American History, Education, General Interest

February 19, 2014 · 4:15 am

An American moment to remember

Marc Thiessen wrote a very interesting piece, “No miracle on ice in Sochi”, on the US hockey victory at Sochi, harkening back to the Cold War era US win at Lake Placid. If you remember the Reagan years, as fondly as me, Thiessen’s piece will cheer you up this morning. Sometimes unlikely events serve to unite us under one flag and the Lake Placid win endures as one of those shining moments, where the American spirit soared, all because, as Thiessen says:

“Then, suddenly a band of college kids wearing the red, white and blue restored our confidence.”

Of course, Ronald Reagan followed that event and I certainly credit him a great deal for the rejuvenation of the American spirit too, after those dismal Carter years.

Someone else says Saturday

Thomas Sowell offers a column he dubs ,“Random Thoughts”, where he offers up short paragraphs on wide-ranging topics. I suspect that unlike most people’s random thoughts, his really probe matters of great import and offer keen insights into current happenings. Here are a few gold nuggets from his latest musings:

“Anyone who wants to read one book that will help explain the international crises of our time should read “The Gathering Storm” by Winston Churchill. It is not about the Middle East or even about today. It is about the fatuous and irresponsible foreign policies of the 1930s that led to the most catastrophic war in human history. But you can recognize the same fecklessness today.”

and

“It is fascinating to see academics full of indignation over the “exploitation” of low-wage workers by multinational corporations in Third World countries, when it is common on their own academic campuses to have young men get paid nothing at all for risking their health, and sometimes their lives, playing football that brings in millions of dollars to the college and often gets coaches paid higher salaries than the president of the college or university.”

and

“Once, when I was teaching at an institution that bent over backward for foreign students, I was asked in class one day: “What is your policy toward foreign students?” My reply was: “To me, all students are the same. I treat them all the same and hold them all to the same standards.” The next semester there was an organized boycott of my classes by foreign students. When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”

Moving on, I purchased a 20 page little pamphlet, “How To Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide To Life’s Most Vital Skill”, by Herbert E. Meyer on Amazon.com this morning. His advice, although seeming like common sense, laid down the simple steps to take to find the hidden needles, in the fields upon fields of haystacks in our information-filled, high-tech world. The punditry and political classes in America should heed his advice What a pleasant surprise this short read turned out to be and I highlighted something in just about every paragraph. For only $1.99, well, I certainly got my money’s worth this time, so here’s his recipe (psst, he uses several food analogies):

first

“Until you know “where you are” you cannot make good use of the available information. That’s because you cannot know what specific information you’ll need next, or what the information you’ll be looking at when you get it will mean. So take the time to figure out “where you are” – literally or metaphorically — before moving on to the next step.” (Meyer, Herbert E. (2010-10-10). How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill (Kindle Locations 67-70). Storm King Press. Kindle Edition)

then

“The key to seeing information clearly is to make certain there isn’t a prism between you and whatever you are looking at. You may not know whether the population of San Francisco is 500,000 or one million – it’s about 740,000 – but you ought to know it’s a big city. You shouldn’t think your best friend is a saint if he’s a crook, and you don’t need to be an expert in world economics who can reel off India’s current economic growth rate – it’s about 9 percent – to know that the image of India as a hopelessly backward sub-continent is long since outdated. And if you’re dealing with political issues, never let yourself be blinded by ideology.” (Meyer, Herbert E. (2010-10-10). How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill (Kindle Locations 97-99). Storm King Press. Kindle Edition)

finally

“My seventh-grade history teacher in New York, Mrs. Naomi Jacobs, never let a day go by without hammering into our heads a sentence that is so insightful it ought to be painted onto the walls of every classroom and office in the world: “The question is more important than the answer.” She was right; it is. If you don’t ask the right question, you cannot possibly get the right answer.” (Meyer, Herbert E. (2010-10-10). How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill (Kindle Locations 107-110). Storm King Press. Kindle Edition)

Not to quit there, he states, “By studying the information you’ve collected until you have determined the facts and seen the patterns it contains, you have turned raw material into a finished product. You have turned information into knowledge.” (Meyer, Herbert E. (2010-10-10). How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill (Kindle Locations 228-230). Storm King Press. Kindle Edition.). Mr. Meyer offers sage advice as to why our official intelligence full course meal often falls short:

“Judgment is the sum total of who we are – the combined product of our character, our personality, our instincts and our knowledge. Because judgment involves more than knowledge, it isn’t the same thing as education. You cannot learn judgment by taking a course, or by reading a book. This is why some of the most highly educated people in the world have terrible judgment, and why some people who dropped out of school at the age of sixteen have superb judgment.”
(Meyer, Herbert E. (2010-10-10). How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill (Kindle Locations 232-236). Storm King Press. Kindle Edition.)

He ends by talking about a fascinating dinnertime conversation with Dr. Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine, where they discussed Darwin. To find out the brilliant insights Dr. Salk offered after a few moments of thought, you’ll need to read the book, trust me, that insight alone is worth way more than $1.99 (once again, it’s available here).

A week late, but here’s a link to a Politico story, “Why Does America Send So Many Stupid, Unqualified Hacks Overseas?”, written by James Bruno, a career Foreign Service officer, about the embarrassing testimony from some new ambassador appointees that President Obama selected – political cronyism, *sigh*. Alas, Mr. Bruno, none of these latest less than stellar appointees will likely provide nearly as many gaffes as the current Secretary of State, the Vice President, or even this President.

These latest clowns join this three-ring circus late in the performance and much of the world has already learned to bypass America as much as possible. Even our allies openly diss us: “Merkel, Hollande to discuss European communication network avoiding US”. It must be noted that President Hollande just visited America and President Obama hailed France as our oldest ally (official posting of their respective remarks from the White House). So far, President Obama has presided over some the of the most damaging national security leaks, failures, and a complete muddling of foreign policy. Let’s see if President Obama accepts Hollande’s invitation to attend the 70 year D-Day anniversary commemoration, June 6, 2014, as befitting the President of the United States of America. His track record for showing due respect for WWII allies is dismal, so I wonder if he will make the effort to attend.

This post started with Winston Churchill and it will end there too, remember President Obama’s return of the Churchill bust and the ensuing Obama administration protestations that the bust hadn’t been returned to the British ambassador, whilst the British stated the bust was now residing in their ambassador’s residence? Maybe, President Obama will even take the time to read up on the Churchill’s WWII contributions (The Churchill Centre site) and when it comes to speeches, sorry, Mr. President, Winston Churchill far, far surpasses you (another great Churchill site, The Churchill Society here):

But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of pervert science. let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say,

‘This was their Finest Hour’

George Washington Issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving Proclamation

[New York, 3 October 1789]

By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington