donbendell.com

I was so depressed after being medevaced from Vietnam to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 1969. A young gung-ho Special Forces (Green Beret) Captain, I ended up stuck behind a desk, a Chairborne Ranger, with the 3^rd Special Forces Group, and they would not let me return to Vietnam, because of a medical profile. To make matters worse, the unit was also depressed at the time. The barracks were in disrepair, nobody could get the normally professional non-commissioned officers who lived there to clean them, and espirit de corps in the Third Herd had gone AWOL. Then one day, we got a new commander, Colonel Barbwire Bob Kingston, who would later become a four-star general and a lifelong friend, passing away in 2007. He immediately held two barracks inspections two days in a row at 6AM. When the barracks didn’t pass the second day, he made all the NCOs move out onto the lawn into pup tents. By the next morning when the sun came up, men were still brushing away the last specks of dust, the entire barracks had been repainted wall-to-wall, and scrubbed up and down. Now passing inspection, the men were allowed to move back inside. Within weeks, the entire 3^rd Special Forces Group was a fire-breathing, hard-charging unit of men who remembered the pride in their incredible legacy. There never was a question that General Kingston was the boss wherever he served, but even if he spoke to the wife of a private he always stood at attention showing her total respect and dignity, such was his command presence.

Now, four decades later, after much concern, anxiety, and even depression in the current Presidential race, I have; once again, seen another Barbwire Bob Kingston walk through the door. His name is John McCain.

I watched the interviews at Saddleback Church and saw John McCain address his remarks not to the moderator like his opponent did but to the crowd and to America. I saw a leader who was willing to make things right for all Americans, not just his own political party. I also saw humor, honesty, decisiveness, and a real concern for the things that matter most to me. I witnessed the leader this country sorely needs, a Barbwire Bob Kingston who takes charge, a Ronald Reagan who will make us believe in America and remember we are the greatest nation on earth. I saw the real change this nation must have right now; more patriotism, not less.

John McCain will get the barracks painted, cleaned, and standing tall. He will motivate us to take pride again, wanting to serve something greater than ourselves, willing to slay any dragons that attack us in the future, and once again, become Team America. John McCain has reminded me that the last four letters in American are: “I can,” not “I can’t.” If he is willing to go against the grain and reach across that aisle to put our nation ahead of his political party, I am willing to extend myself to do all I can to get people to see that John McCain is the only choice for President. We have never been a nation of pure-breds. Real Americans have always been Mavericks. The original maverick is named John McCain, a man who will lead us by example with a quiet strength, a warm smile, and class. He will show dignity and respect to the least among us, but everybody in the world will know we have a true leader, a man who will reach out to be a great friend, or if they choose, their worst enemy. John McCain, the real change that we can all believe in.

Don Bendell, 61, is an author of 26 books including a number of military thrillers with over 1,500,00 copies in print worldwide and is a popular editorialist who has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE, many national radio shows, and his editorials have been published all over the world. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and his wife also own karate schools in southern Colorado. A 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program and has offspring serving in Special Forces now. He lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com.

Enough is enough! Just because the NEA, your particular union, your daddy, or your favorite race-baiter told you that you must vote democrat for real change in this country, that does not . . .I repeat, that does not mean you are supposed to check your brains at the door or stop using your common sense. Forget your party and all the promises of Shangri-La you are hearing and please heed this warning:

Why did Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad make the outrageous statement that “a world without the United States of America is conceivable?” Many experts wondered why he had the nerve to say that, but now we know.

Many of us who stay abreast of the world intelligence network have known for some time that an estimated 80 1- to-5 kiloton backpack nuclear bombs, most weighing 57 pounds each, and many nuclear mines and artillery rounds were left behind in Afghanistan by the Soviets when they were beaten by the Muhajideen. The Soviets admitted it, but not the amount of devices left behind. These were quickly snatched up and some made it onto the world arms black-market. It only takes one device to start World War III, but this is not the scary part.

I want to tell you about something that is very, very real that Kenneth R. Timmerman wrote about in Newsmax on July 29, 2008, and he warned about it as long as 9 years ago. Dr. William Graham was Senior Science Advisor to President Ronald Reagan, but now Dr. Graham is the Chairman of the Congressional blue ribbon Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, which was established by Congress in 2001.

You recall not long ago seeing the Iranians on the evening news testing SCUD missiles in the Caspian Sea and detonating them before they hit the target? The Commission said none of that was an accident. They believe they bypassed their normal test ranges on land and launched from the sea to practice a nuclear attack with an EMP device to be exploded 25 to 250 miles above the continental US after being simply launched from free international shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the US. This is not pie-in-the-sky. This is a very real and very viable threat.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, citing the Commission report, Dr. Graham warned, “If even a crude nuclear weapon were detonated anywhere between 40 kilometers to 400 kilometers above the earth, in a split-second it would generate an electro-magnetic pulse [EMP] that would cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure.”

In other words, before long we would be living like Americans did in the 1800’s. The Commission believes that we would actually lose 70% to 90% of the US population, with only about 30 million Americans surviving. We would all be walking or riding horses.

You would not hire a guy at work with 143 days experience to be your foreman or your manager, but to appear kindler and gentler you want to hire a man with that kind of experience to be the most powerful man in the world. We cannot allow Iran to strike us first, and the Commission set up by Congress after 9-11 knows that Iran just held a dress rehearsal. This is not some plot by an oil company, greedy politicians, or banking concern. This is the survival of the United States of America. Still want to make your feel-good vote listening to all those promises of Paradise and believing only the rich will get taxed? No country in the history of the world ever taxed itself into good economic times, but that is a minor consideration now. If you want to vote for Obama, stock up on candles, canned goods, water, and make sure you have plenty of hiking shoes. The mullahs in Iran do not believe in Mister Rogers Neighborhood, but they do give their followers promises of Paradise, too. McCain-2008. There is no other choice.

Don Bendell, 61, is an author of 26 books including a number of military thrillers with over 1,500,000 copies in print worldwide and is a popular editorialist who has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE, many national radio shows, and his editorials have been published all over the world. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and his wife also own karate schools in southern Colorado. A 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program and has offspring serving in Special Forces now. He lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com .

I grew up in Ohio watching and idolizing John Wayne and all the cowboy hero figures and dreamed of becoming an American cowboy. When I became an adult and a Green Beret serving in the Vietnam War, who was the one man who consistently and staunchly went against the grain and stood up for all my fellow vets and me in those days? Oddly enough, it was my old hero John Wayne who played a Green Beret in the movie of the same name. Have we actually progressed since those thrilling days of yesteryear, or have we regressed? We had enemies since 9-11 refer to our President as a “cowboy” or as “John Wayne,” and they said it as a putdown. Then many liberal politicians and left-leaning media mimicked our enemies and tried to chastise him the same way. I moved to Colorado years ago to realize my childhood dream, and I am very proud to be a real American cowboy with a real horse. I too have had people try to put me down by saying I am a “John Wayne-type,” because they were angered by my straight-talking editorials or speeches in the past. They actually felt that they were criticizing me, but I cannot tell you how complimented I felt by such a comparison.

For years, I have listened to liberals and many news media call George W. Bush a liar, a scoundrel, and many other vile names stating that he out and out lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Now, however, it has been not claimed or alleged, but very clearly proven and documented that over one million two-hundred thousand pounds of concentrated uranium called Yellowcake, and numerous devices to produce hundreds of nuclear bombs have just been discovered at Saddam Hussein’s Tuwaitha nuclear complex only 12 miles south of Baghdad. These have recently been safely removed from Iraq and shipped to Canada for storage. This is not a hoped for conservative victory, or surmised claim by a right wing weblog, but a major news story by the Associated Press, who picked it up from a foreign newspaper who broke the story, not the ever-vigilant see-themselves-as-Woodward- and-Bernstein American press corps. Why have you not heard about it as the lead story on any of the major news networks? Why have you not read about it on the front page of every paper in our nation? Also, why have we not heard any of the vociferous congressional leaders or liberal broadcasters publicly apologize to the President of the United States who they so loudly slandered the past five years with the entire world listening, especially our enemies while we are at war? Where is John Kerry now, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, and all the other slanderers? Where are the apologies from the Hollywood elite who seem to feel they have all the answers for our nation, especially when they are plugging their latest movie releases or books?

George W. Bush has certainly had his warts, such as previously having bad-taste in selecting a Secretary of Defense. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not originally prosecuted properly, but General Petraeus, like John Wayne, brought in the Cavalry and started “the Surge.” Now, Iraq has done a complete turnaround and the war will be ended within one year. Not only is it winding down now significantly, the London Times this week declared the War in Iraq to essentially be over. Finally, doing it right, we have now started a do-over in Afghanistan, which will work this time. Have the liberals who wanted to cut and run apologized? No, they ignore the good news and still claim the sky is falling. I am sorry folks; I don’t care what pollsters that libs are listening to, all citizens, especially warriors hate war and are tired of this one, but most Americans want us to win the war, not surrender. If you are a liberal who has only protested this war or maybe the Vietnam War, there is a big difference between you and me, a major difference. Like John Wayne’s characters I was willing to risk my life for what I believed in, but you instead only risked a pair of flex cuffs or a water cannon for what you believed in. That was like me getting into the ring with Mike Tyson and you getting into a pillow fight with Elton John.

You liberals were all quick to pounce on the President, but why have you not been quick to apologize since he was proven to be correct? I will tell you why. John Wayne and men and women of his stripe are dead and gone, and our congressional leaders have generally morphed into a marble-floored building full of pencil-necked, panty-waist wimps. Political cowards who look to the flag pole first to see which way the wind is blowing before making a stand on anything. Their charismatic leader is a political chameleon, Barack Obama, who changes positions to match the voting trend environment faster than Britney Spears changes personalities.

George W. Bush has done a number of things wrong but at least he was a leader with some gumption, courage, and tenacity to stay the course. He stuck to his guns and now he has been proven right, and the critics are either too busy choking on the crow they had to eat or are simply moral cowards in regards to correcting or retracting their horrendous accusations about the resounding success of The Surge, and now about the discovery of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, which President Bush tried to warn us about in his 2003 State of the Union address.

John McCain is running for President and yes, he has his faults, too. But he is not a carbon copy of GWB that Obama apologists would have you believe, and which insults the intelligence of thinking voters. However, one of the things that McCain does have in common with George W. Bush is that they each have a little bit of John Wayne in them. Some have branded McCain as a “maverick.” That is exactly what we need now in our President more than ever. And no, Barack Obama is not another John F. Kennedy who created the Green Berets. John F. Kennedy was a great speaker, and like John McCain, was a war hero. Barack Obama is simply a great speaker, but the only courageous thing he has bragged about was repeatedly risking prison breaking the law by snorting cocaine and as he said it, “smoking reefer with his buddies.”

John Wayne said, “A man ought to do what he thinks is right.”

George W. Bush did just that, and he has been proven to be right. Senator McCain, to the frustration of both democrats and republicans at times, has shown that he has been willing to stand his ground on principle and not spin around in the political breezes that blow in every direction. Now more than ever, our nation needs political leaders like this man who have a little bit of “The Duke” in them. If not, there are gangs of outlaws just waiting in the shadows of the gulches and canyons of freedom who are watching for any sign of weakness so they can bushwhack us.

Most modern day political leaders and many self-described journalists need to rent some John Wayne movies and learn a lesson or two about standing their ground and not waving the white flag of cowardice. And they need to learn to become men or women of strong enough character to now apologize.

Don Bendell, 61, is an author of 26 books including a number of military thrillers with over 1,500,00 copies in print worldwide and is a popular editorialist who has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE, many national radio shows, and his editorials have been published all over the world. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and his wife also own karate schools in southern Colorado. A 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program and has offspring serving in Special Forces now. He lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com .

 I lived with Montagnard tribespeople in 1968 and 1969 in Vietnam, a tough, dark-skinned, primitive, aboriginal race of warriors. Plar was a cute, lovable 8-year old orphan of the Jeh tribe whose parents were both murdered by the Viet Cong. The Vietnamese called Montagnards “Moi” which translates to “Savage” but is synonymous with the “N” word in our language. They had no right to vote, no schools, no medical care, no equal representation in government. I really loved Plar and obtained through channels the paperwork to adopt her, but while I was out in the jungle on an operation for two weeks, my allies, some so-called friendly Vietnamese in my camp raped and murdered her and tossed her body into the barbed wire on our perimeter. Do not try to tell me that I do not understand or care about racism simply because I am a conservative white male.
The big villain in the Presidential race is John McCain, because he too is a white, conservative, Christian, heterosexual male, and to make matters worse, he is not only a former POW but one of those dreaded Vietnam veterans. . . and a decorated one no less.  If you do not believe me just listen to all the electronic news journalists who swoon and fawn about an Obama-Clinton ticket and how it would be a “dream team,” because we would have a black candidate for President and a woman candidate for Vice-President. Wow!
Here is a question: Should electing the President of the United States be some wonderful social experiment?
Here is another idea: The President is also the Commander-In-Chief of the US Military. Members of our military can be court-martialed for not saluting a superior officer, and especially the Commander-in-Chief. The first thing officers learn is to set an example if they want fighting men and women to follow them. So, if we elect Barack Obama, who openly refused to simply observe official protocol and place his hand over his heart during the playing and singing of the National Anthem on many public occasions, should he demand our military to follow and respect him and also adhere to their own rules of protocol such as saluting? The U.S. Flag Code describing the proper protocol, especially for elected officials, states, “During a rendition of the National Anthem when the flag is displayed all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.”  Until very recently Obama even refused to wear a flag lapel pin, but if he reviews the troops, they better have every piece of brass polished and ribbon in place.
John McCain, on the other hand, refused an early release from captivity, also turning down special treatment offered to him. It was offered  because his father was the commander of our Pacific Fleet. The North Vietnamese thought McCain was an American  prince.  Why did he turn down such offers knowing he would be tortured? Out of respect and loyalty for his fellow prisoners of war.  While John McCain was earning medals for valor and spending five and a half years as a POW, Barack Obama in his twenties admittedly experimented with cocaine and marijuana, and regularly attended a church which now has been shown to preach hatred and racism, but there is something more sinister and much more damning than all of that. In Barack Obama’s autobiography he frequently refers to his close friend and mentor “Frank” but never mentioned his last name in the book. Very unusual, but there was an important reason for that: In a major new report just out, respected investigative journalists Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, have presented evidence that the mysterious “Frank,” who Obama said mentored and influenced him so much while attending high school in Hawaii, was actually Frank Marshall Davis, a black poet and journalist who was a prominent member of the Communist Party of the USA. Further in their investigation, the two journalists also report extensively about Obama’s ties to anti-American radicals such as Ayers who has been alluded to on national news.

You want to talk about “Change we can believe in?” We have longed for a man or woman in the White House who is not afraid to stand alone on pure principle to do what is right for all of us. John McCain is the one who has stood alone when need be. He has reached across the aisle to do what he believes is right.  Do we really want change in the White House based on the teachings of the Communist Party of the USA, or do we want a real war hero, who took longer confinement, possible death, and torture over an early release from a POW compound to display total loyalty to his comrades? That is the integrity and courage you want in a President. That is why 81 former Vietnam POWs voluntarily work on his campaign. There is no guesswork to it.
Forget the economy, housing prices, oil, global warming, and all the other important issues we face. We must concern ourselves right now, more than anything, with our very survival. John McCain alone knows what we are facing in our future, and he alone knows how to lead us safely through this threatening storm.  To learn how great a threat that killer storm is, please look at a short video of Newt Gingrich at the National Press Club in August of 2007 answering a question from a reporter about the tornado of hate we are now facing and how much real danger our children and grandchildren are actually in. Here is that link: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/08/gingrich/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
Please watch it before you ever enter that voting booth, no matter what your party affiliation. John McCain is the only one who can pilot us through that storm, even if he happens to be a white, conservative male, and you want to feel good about yourself. Whose finger do you want on the button?

Don Bendell, 61, is an author of 25 books including a number of military thrillers with over 1,500,00 copies in print worldwide and is a popular editorialist who has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE, many national radio shows, and his editorials have been published all over the world. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and his wife also own karate schools in southern Colorado. A 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program and has offspring serving in Special Forces now. He lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com .

Many years ago, one of the jobs I held as a starving writer was selling cars, new and used, at what was called a “Fast track” dealership. It was straight commission and dog-eat-dog. The top salesman there, Bill, made well over $ 70,000 per year in the early seventies. That was a lot of income back then. It was simple: he smiled, turned on the charm, told every customer exactly what they wanted to hear, and then lied through his teeth.

I once overheard him respond to a customer who asked about a new Ford Pinto if it would get the EPA gas mileage listed on the sticker, and Bill answered with question, “Is gas mileage what is really important to you?”

The man responded, “Yes, I have to drive many miles to work and back everyday.”

Bill laughed and put his hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “Man, did you come to the right place. The EPA ratings were done by the government, and you know how they screw things up. This car will actually get you at least 54miles to the gallon between highway and city driving combined. Probably a lot more”

In actuality, the car would have gotten maybe 24 miles to the gallon. The manlike they all did, bought the car.

Another man’s biggest concern was rust. Ohio salted its roads in the winter, and he did not want his car eaten away. Bill immediately told him that the new Ford Mustangs were made out of recycled aluminum beer cans and would never rust, and he would throw in complete rust-proofing for only $ 285. The man bought the car. We were charged $ 8 byte dealership to rust proof a car, and any amount charged above that was profit, out of which we would get one fourth in commissions. The lies were so outlandish, I could not stand working there and never sold cars again.

Bill could turn on the charm with a smile and a golden tongue, stare into your eyes and ad lib the most outlandish lies I ever heard, and worse yet, people believed it hook, line, and sinker, and he was richly rewarded for the deceit.

It has been over three decades, and I have finally seen another Bill, but on a much grander scale. His name is Barrack Obama. He named his best-selling book after a sermon by his self-proclaimed mentor Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who married him and wife Michelle and baptized their family. He knows that Wright gave an award to Louis Farrakhan, one of the most outlandish racial bigots in America, and the horrific statements from sermons by Wright which are played all daylong on the news were taken from his DVD’s sold by Obama’s church where Obama has attended for over 20 years. Barrack Obama claims he never heard Wright make any of the outlandish racist statements. Right! And people believe him! Duh!

Then, we have Hillary Clinton braving sniper fire from the Bosnian tooth fairy. The only difference between the two is that she would not be a good crooked car salesman. She does not even lie well at all.

Which now brings me to John McCain. I could not stand him for years. I testified for the Senate Select Committee on MIA/POW Affairs. John McCain tried to shut the committee down and people started saying he had something to hide. I was one of those who said it and passed some of the rumors that started about him. So, when McCain got the presumptive Republican nod, I wrote former POW’s I knew who were POWs with McCain in the Hanoi Hilton, such as Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Bud Day and asked them.

Bud Day, MOH wrote me and said, in part: “Dear Don: I was JSM’s first room-mate and commander in the Hanoi Hilton. He is brilliant, patriotic, loyal, gregarious, independent, feisty, a good follower, a good leader, republican ..”

Bud finished with “He does not have to haveeveryone’s approval to act. There is a lot of Ronald Reagan..Teddy Roosevelt. . .Harry Truman in his genes. Example..telling Reagan to get out of Lebanon. Telling GW, the Sec Def, and the world that Rumsfeld policies were a failure.. backing the surge (like from Vietnam)as the only correct choice….and being right both times.
His combat experience and life experiences make him the solid choice for prez. John is clearly and unquestionably the best candidate in 2008 …of either party, Best regards. Col. Bud Day, MOH.”

Paul Galanti gave me very similar raves about him, and Jim Warner, John McCain’s longtime cellmate and still very close friend and advisor, not only wrote me but has spoken to me on the phone several times, and he said, “Don, if John had any hidden secrets from our time in the Hanoi Hilton or if any of the other rumors about him are true, simply tell me why are there 81 former Vietnam POW’s voluntarily working on his campaign?”

I learned that John McCain simply believed very strongly that there were no more live POW’s left behind, and he believed that as strongly as I believed that there were. But the important point is that he does not fold, and he does not lie to get someone’s vote.

John McCain stands his ground if he feels he is right. He also has faced down Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and other Republican pundits because he is willing to work with democrats and actually listen to their point of view. America clearly wants that in our President. If ever there was a time in US history we need such a person in the White House, it is right now. We need someone with credibility, a quiet strength, and a total determination to stay the course on our national defense, because our pampered nation that now has way too many quick-fix wimps will perish if we don’t. The mullahs and jihadists do not want to be our buddies no matter how much we might suck up to them. They want our heads. The only body parts John McCain will give them is our collective middle finger.

Don Bendell, 61, an author of 25 books with over1,500,000 copies in print worldwide, and a 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces (Green Beret) Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and his wife also own karate schools in Colorado. He has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE and many national radio shows and his editorials have been published all over the world. He lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com.

When I teach martial arts, my main concern is teaching my students how to protect themselves from attack, rape, kidnapping, or abuse, so consequently I teach very functional self-defense techniques, but I also believe they should become “martial artists” and not just “partial artists.” So, in that regard, when teaching aesthetic things such as kata (forms), I employ traditional forms which have been passed down from generation-to-generation with very little change. This balance of martial arts instruction is a microcosm of what also works in the real world.

For balance, we must have tradition in our lives, but we must also have a functional lifestyle. By that same regard, but on an even much higher plain, so does our military. The US military is full of great, rich tradition, but it is also the toughest most functional fighting force in the history of the world. That however may soon end, if we continue to eat our own young, and then we will not suffer defeat from an external enemy, but simply implode from within. What I propose transcends political parties, and it is neither conservative or liberal, republican or democratic. It is simply common sense, practical, and pro-American.

Politicians talk smack, but few, if any, have the actual courage and fortitude to say out loud what many of us will say privately, and what some of us think but do not verbalize. Right now our military tradition is far outweighing the functionality of our armed forces, which costs us billions, but more importantly it makes our military less efficient and consequently less powerful. By making the tough decisions to actually change, like so many politicians like to talk about but never really do; we can make a more cohesive, less costly, and much more functional fighting force than the world has ever seen, but without tossing our hallowed, rich, military tradition out the window. We simply need to overcome our own fear of change. With an upcoming Presidential and congressional election looming, I think it is time to present this very controversial but cost-saving and efficiency-producing solution to our military, which may make some people angry at me, but hopefully it will make some leaders think.

The general overview I suggest will shock and outrage some, but it is what will work. In the very broad look, here is my proposal in a nutshell:

1. The US Army should be the one military fighting force that is in charge offend solely responsible for fighting on land.

2. The US Navy should be the one military fighting force that is in charge of and solely responsible for fighting on water.

3. The US Air Force should be the one military fighting force that is in charge of and solely responsible for fighting in the air.

This is the simple general solution, but let me get into more specifics before loading your firearm, donning your cammies, and looking for my house on MapQuest.

One of the main reasons I have been so proud that two of my sons followed my footsteps into the US Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) was because I naively thought that our military leadership had actually grown by lessons-learned from the Vietnam War, but we have not. We still make some errors in command.

We spend billions of dollars to train company grade officers (lieutenants and captains) and senior NCOs (Sergeants) how to properly deploy and protect troops in battle and accomplish unit missions, and then in the Global War On Terrorism, instead of trusting that small unit commander with “boots on the ground” and who knows the situation, we have “Chairborne-Rangers” sitting in air-conditioned offices and briefing rooms in places like MacDill AFB, the Pentagon, Qatar, Fort Bragg, Eglin AFB, and many higher headquarters all over the world micro-managing the war. That has previously been proven time and again to be a surefire formula for disaster in war, but nobody has the guts to tell flag officers, “Back off, General (or Admiral). Give a captain or a sergeant a job, and then do NOT tell them how to do it, especially when they, or their men and women, are the ones risking earning the Purple Heart (given for wounds or death), and they know the enemy situation on the ground.”

Now, with a Navy Admiral at the helm of the US Special Operations Command, the new big thing is MARSOC, the Marine Special Operations Command. After 50 years of the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) learning more than any other fighting force about how to successfully conduct Unconventional Warfare, they now want the Marines to take over and do the same thing. This is after five decades of success by USA Special Forces, which has had its operators (Green Berets) learn to speak virtually every language in the world, the customs of every country, and of its indigenous citizens thereof. Befriending folks in remote villages all over the globe, learning how to infiltrate behind enemy lines and interact, co-exist, and actually train and equip those indigenous forces to fight their own battles, so United States troops do not have to be needlessly sacrificed fighting for those countries, Green Berets have become synonymous with successful Unconventional Warfare. Now, after 50 years of that great experience by the elite Special Forces, the US Marine Corps are being transformed to try to duplicate what Special Forces has done so successfully for decades. How ridiculous, arrogant, and short-sighted! I cannot believe the Pentagon has even allowed it to be a discussion let alone a reality.

SemperFidelis! The US Marine Corps, I personally believe, has not only the coolest-looking dress uniforms of any of our armed forces, but also by far and away the very best esprit de corps. Marines have always been hard-charging, fire-breathing, butt-kicking, mission-accomplishing warriors, who distinguished themselves with a legacy of courage and honor in many wars at places like Tarawa, Bougainville, Iwo Jima, and beachheads all over the west and east. Do not think I want to do away with the Marine Corps. However, I suggest that we no longer attack on beaches with Navy ducks or other amphibious craft. That was in the distant past, and this is now. So what is the solution? I think the US Marine Corps is the finest infantry force in the world, but the US Navy, in my opinion, has zero business possessing their own army. The solution is very simple: The US Marine Corps stays the same but simply becomes a branch of the US Army. However, MARSOC, I propose, would be changed to what it actually should be for function: The only Special Operations mission the USMC should ever have is Direct Action, such as Force Recon or Sniper teams, but not UW, unconventional warfare.

Yes, I said it and many, many of us have whispered it for years, because it inefficient and common sense.

So let’s say we have made the USMC part of the Army, now what happens to the US Army Rangers? That is simple: It becomes a reinforcing direct action force for the US Army Special Forces, and the 1^st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta(Delta Force), which it is already doing effectively now. Ranger School can also specialize in Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) training and execution, which is what happened with the original Roger’s Rangers. No units will have LRRP members who have not first earned a Ranger tab.

Okay, Swabbies, I know. To be fair, the army has to lose something, right? Well, it’s not going to actually lose them, in my proposal, but just like the Navy, the US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps will turn over all of its aircraft to the US Air Force. Well, in actuality, all helicopter pilots on naval ships and with the US Army, including the USMC branch, will be part of and trained exclusively by the US Air Force, and then will be attached to Army or Navy units. No more naval and marine aviators or army chopper jockeys. They will all be US Air Force pilots, with both rotary and fixed wings. As mentioned earlier, the US Air Force will be in charge of the skies and any craft that goes into them. Naval aircraft mechanics will still be responsible for maintenance of craft and all flight deck operations, because they do operate on a ship. Likewise, helicopter and fixed wing army mechanics will maintain aircraft on the ground unless a USAF airbase is within close proximity, but all pilots and all aircraft will be USAF, attached to army and navy units.

So, now we might ask what about Navy Seals. Again, I believe that US Navy SEALs have indeed proven their worth and have a legacy of valor. But like the Marines and Rangers, they should only be used for direct action missions, but their missions should only be adjacent to or on the waterways of the world. They will still do the shore-launched sabotage missions, submarine lockout, many underwater missions. Like now, they will be like UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams) on steroids in a sense. The BUDS training qualification for SEALs should still be there to challenge young sailors to the maximum. Navy SEALs however, in my opinion, have no business fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan or sand-blown cities of Iraq, unless they are carrying out a mission on a seaport or coastline. The US Army Special Forces and 1^st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta(Delta Force) would still use SCUBA and HALO-SCUBA infiltration methodology intakes and rivers and on oceans only where a SEAL mission would not be applicable. In other words, if it is a UW mission that should only be performed by USASF or Delta Force, such as a hostage rescue on a cruise ship, then a SCUBA infiltration could be used where apropos.

Now, I have suggested taking from the Navy a bit herein, so what about adding to them? Fine, that is simple and common sense. Since it is dealing with oceans, seas, and other large waterways, it will also be efficient, and cost-effective for the US Coast Guard to become a branch of the US Navy. They are their own little Navy already, but would become part of the real deal, but their mission will not change.

Finally, to go into even more detail, the primary unit in the US Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) is the ODA, or 12-man Operational Detachment-A, often called “A-Teams.”It is commanded by a Captain, with a Warrant Officer as Executive Officer, or second-in-command, who come from SF NCOs who attend Warrant Officer school. This is good in that the XO has experience as a team non-com; however it hurts the US Army Special Forces significantly. One of the reasons I left the army as a young Captain was because my entire commissioned time as a Special Forces-qualified Infantry officer was spent serving in 4 Special Forces Groups, including the 5^th Group in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. I used to write suggestions and pass them up the chain of command and one suggestion, which many others wrote as well, was to make a new branch of the army called the Unconventional Warfare branch or Special Forces branch. Then it could attract young officers, like I was, who loved and believed in the role of Special Forces with a deep and abiding passion and could develop an entire career in that elite unit. In those days, with 4 SF Groups under my belt, my career was essentially ruined. I had become a “guerilla leader” in the minds of the brass; “too unconventional” was the term often used. Like in my day, and still to this day, conventional military commanders do not understand the US Army Special Forces, or there is professional jealousy, or both. We were and are the soldiers who were and are taught and encouraged to think outside the box and color outside the lines. When you get right down to brass tacks, conventional generals and admirals cannot easily control such men, so they want to destroy and develop something else that they can control. Brilliant! The same type of thinking had lines of British soldiers marching to drums towards our independent-minded fledgling continental army, which they killed by the thousands until we started thinking outside the box and actually won the Revolutionary War by shooting from ambush, firing from behind rocks and trees, and using hit and run tactics. The British commanders simply wanted to keep marching, halting, aiming, and firing on command. That, the protection of God, and our American fighting spirit were the primary reasons that the British sailed home, heads- hanging, and we became the United States of America.

Anew years after I left the army, somebody actually thought and acted outside the bounds of military-thinking, and the branch like some of my contemporaries and superiors and I had proposed, the Unconventional Warfare Branch, was indeed created, but unfortunately we still have not learned, and it is now only a stop-off point for many young career captains. No longer are First Lieutenants ODA XO’s (Executive Officers) and Second Lieutenants ODA XO’sin-training. The USA Special Forces does not have 2^nd or 1^stLieutenants anymore, none. You must be a captain to even try to qualify for Special Forces, but then after qualifying many captains try to do just one tour on an ODA. Not wanting to get stuck in staff jobs, they move on to other units such as the Rangers or airborne infantry outfits so they can still command troops and see action. Most of the good lieutenants who want to go to SF when they are promoted are simply kept with the conventional units where they have served. Worse yet, many young qualified men, like my sons, have no desire to go to Officers Candidate School (OCS) and become officers, because they cannot even get into Special Forces until they reach Captain, if they are even then allowed to go to Selection (SF qualification).

SFWarrant Officers can only become Chief Warrant Officers and can only make more money, but they can never become Captains or higher. They can never command ODA’s or go on to become majors, colonels, and so on. Utilizing the same theory as the SF warrant program, I strongly suggest changing the process, and experienced Special Forces NCOs can apply for a direct commission to First Lieutenant if they are a Sergeant First Class(SFC E7) or higher, and they become an ODA XO, eventually making captain and becoming an ODA commander. Additionally, experienced Special Forces Staff Sergeants (SSG E6) can apply to become second lieutenants. Or already commissioned second lieutenants can go through Special Forces qualification and continuous training like I did, to get them ready to become an A-team XO and eventually CO. This gives young leaders actual incentive. Higher pay is not an incentive to them; Having an opportunity to advance and take on greater challenge is. This will attract many more young officers to make a career out of Special Forces and not pursue command time in other units. It will also, like the current Warrant Officer program, afford Special Forces NCOs who wish greater advancement but actually keep being promoted to higher rank. Upon direct commission, the new officer will attend a short UW branch officer’s course. Current Special Forces Warrant Officers can also apply for commission to lieutenant and will be given priority.

Ata higher command level, when I was in Special Forces, one problem was that senior SF officers had to deal with being the lowest rank there in command structure in theater during war. For example the head Green Beret in Vietnam, the 5^th Special Forces Group commander, in charge of all A-Camps, special projects, and B and C team headquarters all over Vietnam was only a full colonel, while affiliated military divisions were being commanded by brigadier and major generals. I could not believe that still has not changed after all these years. I suggest that Special Forces Group command structure should change the TO and E (Tables of Organization and Equipment) so that Group commanding officers will be brigadier generals. Since a Special Forces battalion is much different than a conventional battalion, SF battalion commanders, under my proposal, will be full colonels, unlike the rank of lieutenant colonel now.

We are most definitely winning the Global War on Terrorism, and “the surge” has positively shown it is working much better than ever expected. We have the finest and toughest fighting force in the world, but the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have also shown us our weak areas where we can and should significantly improve. If US military command truly wants to improve, and if congress truly wants to cut costs, I hope someone will actually read this editorial and give it some thought. These are suggestions, not cast in concrete, but written in pencil so they can be revised and improved upon.

The problem with my proposal and what faces us, is two-fold: will professional jealousy, Pentagon politics, and competition between military branches eventually destroy us from within, or will we become smarter than that and learn it is also okay to shoot from behind trees and rocks, use hit and run tactics, and even let some of our elite troops color outside the lines.? The second question is: Aside from General Petraeus, do we still have any flag officers with the guts to think and act against the grain, or have so many of our senior leaders only developed the courage to speak out against their own chain of command on national politics because of a promised political position after retirement, then wonder why their own troops will not even follow them to the mess hall let alone to hell and back?

Tome, a true warrior is willing to grow and innovate. The American fighting spirit and initiative that created Roger’s Rangers, defeated a much stronger, more highly-trained, and much larger army and navy that could only think and act the way it had previously performed . . . for centuries. It was not just our fighting spirit and valor, but by actually thinking and acting outside convention, that we became the United States of America and not South Canada, a proud but subservient British possession.

Don Bendell, 61, is an author of 25 books including a number of military thrillers with over 1,500,00 copies in print worldwide and is a popular editorialist who has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE, many national radio shows, and his editorials have been published all over the world. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and his wife also own karate schools in southern Colorado. A 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program and has offspring serving in Special Forces now. He lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com .

Former NewYork City Mayor Ed Koch is a friend who is a liberal democrat who I respect and often disagree with. This, his newest editorial though is spot-on and a must read as far as I am concerned. Don Bendell
By ED KOCH
September 13, 2007 — DAVID Petraeus is a highly decorated four-star general. He has been designated by the commander-in- chief to lead the young men and women who comprise the great U.S. force of 160,000 soldiers and Marines serving on the battlefields of Iraq, at great danger to themselves and to the officers who lead them.

Most soldiers, in pointing out their military honors, will cite the Combat Infantry Badge - which the general wears, as he does those medals awarded to him for personal bravery in combat.

Gen. Petraeus has sworn, as do all our military officers, to defend the Constitution of the United States and to carry out the orders given to him by the president - who, under that Constitution, is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. He is trying to lead our troops to victory.

The Congress asked the general to testify before both Houses and to provide his assessment of the situation on the ground in Iraq. This he has done.

There are people in our country who have different views on what U.S. policy toward Iraq should be. MoveOn.org, a radical group of opponents of the Iraq war, took a full-page ad in The New York Times of Sept. 10, the day he was to testify before the House of Representatives. Under his photo, a banner headline stated, in a play on words, “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?”

It is vile on the part of MoveOn to charge the general with betrayal of our country, even before he testified.
The Republican candidates for president have denounced MoveOn for its unfair attack on Gen. Petraeus. Most of the Democratic presidential candidates declined to do so when asked.

While I believe we should leave Iraq immediately, I respect the opinions of those who have come to a different conclusion. We are at war. The Iraqi insurgents and al Qaeda operatives want to kill us - not only U.S. military personnel in Iraq, but Americans wherever we are, including those of us in the United States.

There are those, like President Bush, who believe we are safer fighting them there than here, where they will surely ultimately follow us.

In my opinion, the Democratic candidates declined to denounce MoveOn because they fear themselves becoming the victims of a similar onslaught from the radical left. This is a cowardly position, which I hope they will rethink. It takes more than intelligence to be a good or great president. It takes integrity and courage, as well.

This is not the only wartime foolishness perpetrated by Democrats. This silence of the Democratic presidential candidates is similar to the damage to the country perpetrated by all but one of the Democratic members of Congress from New York City. They, with the exception of Rep. Anthony Weiner, voted against an amendment by Rep. Peter King (R-Nassau) which will protect passengers boarding planes who in good faith report suspicious activities of other passengers to airline personnel and police.

The need for the King amendment arose when several air passengers reported to airline staff suspicious activity by six Muslim imams who boarded the plane in Minneapolis. The imams sued those passengers who “saw something and said something defending themselves would require them to spend many thousands of dollars.

King explained, “While boarding, passengers and flight staff witnessed these six individuals demonstrating suspicious behavior, including not sitting in their assigned seats, but rather sitting in a configuration similar to that used by the hijackers on 9/11; requesting seat-belt extenders but not using them; and speaking loudly about Osama bin Laden and the United States’ role in the death of Saddam Hussein.”

Under the law, of course, Move.On has the right to libel and slander the general - a public personality - with impunity, and be protected from lawsuits. Nevertheless, decent people have an obligation to come to the general’s defense and denounce Move.On by no longer supporting it and withholding any future financial contributions to it.

QUESTIONS ABOUT AMERICA – THE LAND OF DAVY CROCKETT 

            Years ago, Uncle Sam turned into Big Brother, but now it is no longer Big Brother: It has become Big Smother. We are smothered by taxes, strangled by regulations, and suffocated by the leadership of a multi-headed, beady-eyed dragon, which has been castrated and had its heart removed. I wore a Green Beret and fought for the principles of freedom and justice, the very foundation upon which our nation was built, and now two of my sons also wear Green Berets and serve for those same principles, but none of us fought for the burden of intrusion or for federal regulations filled with esoteric legalese. Our government is supposed to simply be a convenience for Americans to help administrate each of us, as we practice and celebrate our individual freedoms. It is not our employer, supervisor, principal, nor should it ever be our warden. We must run the government, and not allow the government to run us. But Fellow Citizen, Neighbor, my Friend, run us it has through the elected representatives we sent to Washington, most of who are obviously hell-bent for election to feather their own nests and are morally-challenged and leadership-deprived.

            I ask you? Whatever happened to Congressional leaders like Davy Crockett?

Davy’s motto was, “Make sure you’re right, then go ahead.”

Today’s Congressional credo is, “Make sure it is politically-expedient and politically-correct, then go ahead, unless the polls change overnight.”

We are, “One nation under God,” but many of our pseudo-leaders think our motto is  “One nation under the thumb of Beltway lawyers, lobbyists, and legislators.” No thanks. I actually prefer being “under God” and my own free will. That is why God gave me that free will, as well as a brain and two hands. Washington did not do that for me, but I am very surprised they have not demanded the amputation and immediate mailing in of three or four of my fingers. And before you tell me “There is no God,” I tell you, “God does not believe in atheists, so therefore atheists do not exist.”

            And regarding the Global War on Terrorism, specifically Iraq and Afghanistan; if you must get into a fight, any fight, you win, period. Any other scenario is surrender. Try any rose-colored glasses you choose, but there is simply no other way to paint that picture. Pull out and we, the United States of America, have been defeated by a bunch of heathens who beat women at whim, decapitate prisoners, don’t use toilet tissue, and kill innocents, but then cleverly manipulate our own naïve media to portray themselves as the victims, so that our plastic Hollywood geniuses or some greedy left-wing industrialists will try to hold hands and be their friends (By the way, Superstar, make sure it is the right hand you hold). If we pull out and simply give up because it is too tough, then we will have become a nation of cowards. Want to pass that on to the grandkids? I sure won’t.

No matter how hard we wish, we have only two choices: We can either fight the fanatical jihadists here on our soil, or we can fight them in some other countries overseas, but we must fight them and defeat them, because they will not stop attacking and killing us until we do. We cannot appease them, reason with them, or coexist with them. That is totally against their religious dictums, and they believe killing us gets them into paradise easily.  We must win, or we will perish. There is no other way. The foundation of Dar el Islam, the Nation of Islam, is to spread Islam worldwide and borders do not count, and the pre-seventh century mindset of al-Qaida is to destroy all Christians and Jews.  When will our congressional leaders, and the world, realize that; regardless of the reasons, we invaded the two countries of Iraq and Afghanistan, fought, and won. Now, we are the occupying army, and we can do whatever the hell we choose to do, including putting down insurgencies with swift, powerful force? When will we realize we cannot be every country’s buddy?  Friend, this ain’t rocket science. We are occupying Iraq, and if we do not like the sandal-dragging of those we allowed to be put into power by free elections, which we set up and monitored, then we remove them and say, “Nice try, but not good enough. Try again, but If your new government does not act swiftly and in the best interests of the United States, then we will remove that one and try again, or if you would rather, we will simply take over your entire country and run it the way we want. What is your choice?”

What are we afraid of: That some angry Muslims in foreign countries will protest and burn our flag and burn our President in effigy? Hell, they will do that anyway even if we buy everyone an ice cream cone and an I-pod.

The nay-sayers claim it is all about oil: So? With Iran it most certainly is about oil, for Iran controls has no modern oil refining capabilities  itself, and simply must rely on the conquest of its neighbors to become a major oil power. Look at the price-gouging the free world endures at the hands of the Mideast oil mullahs, our pals. Why wouldn’t Iran want a big piece of that or even total control?  But we are the occupying force, so why don’t we simply take over the oil industry in Iraq? Seriously, why not? Oil prices would come down significantly. We would effectively control the price of oil worldwide, not some sultans with 20 wives each, five Bentleys, and three private jets, while I am shaking my head and paying over one hundred bucks to fill the tank of my Chevy one-ton pickup. One hundred bucks! When I was a younger man I bought cars for a hundred bucks.  How many $ 100 gas refills do we want to go through before we pull our collective heads out of our gas tanks and act aggressively for our own self-preservation? Shall we wait until the cost of filling a gas tank buys some sultan in Saudi Arabia or Yemen another ruby to put in one of their rings, or should we wait until the mullahs in Iran depose and replace those pampered oil barons of our supposed Muslim allies? What will the cost of filling your tank be then? When will the price-line be crossed before Americans finally say, “Enough! Now you’ve pushed the envelope too far!” Or shall we just keep handing them jars of petroleum jelly?

            My question for our leaders is simple: When will you do what you were elected to do? When will you start doing the job we hired you for? We hired you, and we will fire you and kick your sorry butts to the curb if you cannot do the job, just like in the real world where the rest of us live. We must insist on leaders who take a firm hold on the reins of government, not grabbing onto the saddle-horn and just hanging on for the ride, as it gets bigger, stronger, wilder, and more out of control.

            The last four letters of “American” are “I can,” not “I can’t.” We can do anything we set our minds to, and we can spin this horse around by simply controlling the bit. We can make this all work out smoothly for America. We simply need leaders who act more like Davy Crockett than Davy Crackpot or Davy Cricket, and the rest of us have the power to vote to either put them there or remove them when they start their incessant nonsensical chirping. Recently, phone calls and emails killed the unpopular amnesty bill and even overloaded and shut down the Congressional phone system, and we can still take charge and force other needed changes. Americans have free will, because we still are one nation under God. Let’s make sure it stays that way. It only takes the common sense and courage of a man who wore a coonskin cap. A man who had what is called the pioneering spirit of America. We all have it but most have kept it hidden away under layers of apathy, self-absorption, and anxiety. We simply need to pull it out now and use it, or if we wait a little bit longer, someday a scarf-wearing fanatic will yank it out and cut it off with a scimitar. The choice is ours.

HONOR GOES BOTH WAYS

Opinion by
Don Bendell

            Dear President Bush: Today, as I write this, six Muslim males were just arrested as they bought dummy weapons they thought to be M16 and AK-47 fully-automatic rifles. Their goal? To enter and gun down as many US soldiers as possible at
Fort Dix, New Jersey, an American army base . . . on American soil! A few short weeks ago, one lone demented man plotted, then executed dozens of innocent college students at Virginia Tech, and how did we handle it? The American news media splashed his name, photographs, videos, and writings over and over. Why wouldn’t anybody with a grudge and a character flaw or two want to pull off a similar act? They can get their “fifteen minutes of fame” guaranteed. But now, without even watching how this plays out, I know the electronic media will barely discuss the six Muslim plotters, the very story that should get the publicity to raise our awareness.

            Not always agreeing with your methodology, I have staunchly defended, with my pen and words, you, our commander in chief, and strongly believe those in the hallowed halls of Congress should do so all the more, in order to provide a united front before all our enemies. To me, it is sickening the way lawmakers of both parties abandoned you, Mr. President, in droves and most for political expediency, nothing more. It is not surprising some Congressional members are sweating bullets over the possible disclosure of the names held by a
Washington madam, as so many in Congress are simply political whores. The TV media are their pimps.

            But Mr. President, that loyalty you most rightfully deserve during a time of war goes both ways. Those brave men and women who guard our borders trying to interdict the locust-like invasions of those who would exploit our freedoms and want our riches without the responsibilities of citizenship along our  porous southern boundary need your loyalty, too. They are always susceptible to automatic weapons fire, explosives, and stabbing by ruthless drug-smugglers, blood-letting gang members, even al-Qaida infiltrators dressed like and posing as Mexican nationals, let alone ruthless coyotes who prey upon the hopes and dreams of their fellow citizens.  Our freedoms are so great, our riches so bountiful, that we are the only country in the world building a fence to keep people out, not to imprison our citizenry within.

            Mr. President, a horrible American injustice has occurred and little children and wives, let alone brave Americans suffer while you hold in your hands the ability to correct this wrong, today. Not months from now, or weeks, or tomorrow, but today.

Border Patrol Agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos – two loyal Americans of Mexican descent – spotted an illegal alien Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, in a van, smuggling 743 pounds of marijuana into the
United States. That is drug-smuggling, Mr. President, which almost always involves weapons, lots of them and shootings. Aldrete-Davila ran and Jose Compean headed him off, while Ramos chased him. Both men thought they saw a gun in Davila’s hand, so being prudent law enforcement officers pursuing a running drug smuggler, both Agents fired.

Davila was hit in the buttocks, a portion of the body which was later  extensively used by federal prosecutors in deciding how to handle this case. Davila made it to a van and sped away making it to safety in
Mexico. It was a story played out many times with dedicated Border Patrol Agents along our southern border, but the two men did not know they hit him with a bullet.

Safely in
Mexico, Davila hatched a plan and called a childhood friend who was an Arizona-based border patrol agent Rene Sanchez and complained that he had been illegally shot and mistreated by Ramos and Compean.

Sanchez made contacts and subsequently an investigator for the Inspector General’s office, presumably one who does not risk his life daily facing the dangers of our southern border, believed the known Mexican drug smuggler, had him taken to a hospital in El Paso for free medical treatment of his wounds, and gave him immunity to testify against Compean and Ramos, and then US Attorney Johnny Sutton piled charges on against the two agents.

They have been jailed with sentences harsher than many pedophiles and even killers receive, for shooting a running drug smuggler, who was an illegal alien, and they did not even kill him, which is what Border Patrol Agents will be more wont to do from now on, since they have the message our government will abandon them when the chips are down.

If our American fighting men and women and all those charged with protecting us from another 9-11 cannot get total loyalty from their chain of command, why should they want to serve our nation, Mr. President? This ain’t a Rodney King beating; and simply looking at the facts, it ain’t exactly brain surgery to figure out. There is honor in our society and there is dishonor, and they both flow uphlll and downhill.

Mr. President, the wife of one of these men has already lost their house and their families have suffered other hardships, while politicians continue to push their individual agendas on our border problems, and the television network news media focuses on whatever is the latest sparkle, whether it be a serial killer’s exploits or the latest rantings of breast-enhanced, drug-addicted high society brat. Somebody has got to care about honor and about justice, and it must begin with you, Sir. If you want to take months to review the case and only concern yourself with the letter of the law, then you must also immediately arrest and prosecute every illegal alien in the
US to offer balance. Use your common sense, Sir, and send a strong message. I implore you to pardon Compean and Ramos today.

We can always find Americans with the courage to protect us and our way of life. That is what our country produces, men and women of courage and valor. But, Mr. President, our way of life will only continue to exist if our leaders always protect those among us who are brave patriots, like Compean and Ramos, and not feed them to the wolves. If you want your plunging poll numbers to rise again, please take this step, and they will leap, for we are all sick of weak-kneed politicos and this is a definitive way to separate yourself from the pack. Or should I say the flock?

    .

Did you ever watch a group of dogs when they get together? They are much like republicans and democrats gathered together in a setting, such as Congress. Of course, each is always sniffing all over their cohorts and enemies alike, smelling for previous dalliances, possible wounds that could be weaknesses, powerful odors which could intimidate  lesser pack members, or a possible mate. They each select a territory, as large as each dares and then mark it by peeing on trees. If anyone comes anywhere near this marked territory, then there is barking, growling, popping of teeth, and even occasionally actual biting, especially if another gets too close to the territory that is already marked out.

If a person starts yelling at me or gets very angry for any reason and begins talking disrespectfully, I picture them as one of the dogs in the pack and seldom hear their actual words. Some are little tiny things much like chihuahuas with high squeaky voices, while others, with jowels swinging from side-to-side, are like big fat Saint Bernards with deep bass growls.

Every once in a while though, a big majestic well-muscled German Shepherd shows up, intelligent eyes, and proud stance, making the rest of the pack stare in envy and awe, and they jump to his bidding when he seems to even glance in their direction. Such are the rare leaders in our government, very rare; but oft-times, many members of the pack are so busy barking, growling, and snapping, they don’t even notice that a leader has come into their pack.  Others bark at him just because he intimidates, but the rest of the pack should bark them down, yet seldom do.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we simply had a government of individuals who were more like the German Shepherd, with a quiet strength and regal bearing, who realized that in a pack like our Congress all of the males are Alpha males, and all the females are Alpha bitches. But being secure, confident dogs, eash decides to get along with all the rest for the sake of the pack’s survival. 

Wouldn’t it be nice?