Tough Talk with Colonel Hunt

Be Very Suspicious....

I must say it interesting to me, that two months before the midterm Congressional elections, we are now being treated to discussions of secret prisons and captured terrorists and military commissions for those responsible for 9/11 and other acts of terror. My friends, always be suspicious of your government when they hold a press conference, fill the hall with people who they know will clap at every word or put those in uniform behind them for a photo op and then announce something or admit something. Be very suspicious.

I am tired of politicians from both sides of the aisle making no sense of the fight against terrorism. The President of the United States, confirming classified projects then demanding Congress approve things to finally bring to justice, murderers that we have held for over 5 years.

I do not want to coddle a single terrorist, but if we do not kill them and we capture them, they have to get treated like prisoners. I am in favor of torture in certain cases, but Senator McCain got a bill passed that said we cannot. The Supreme Court has said we cannot do some of the things we want to do...sooo we have to change what we do. This does not mean be nice to or easier on Terrorists, hell no. But it does mean we have to get smarter, faster, deadlier, sneaker, smaller staffed and a whole lot more focused.
 
We are a nation of laws and while laws can be changed, they usually--most of the time--cannot be ignored and they certainly can not be ignored by our own government. I will say this again; we are not using all the tools we have. We are not pushing all the buttons, firing on all cylinders. When we do and are still not getting it done, then—maybe--we can take the easy way out--just not yet. Bin Laden not being dead or Zuwari not being without his head has nothing to do with torture and everything to do with lack of our political will
 
Now, I know that a lot of you seem to think that we can drop the Atomic Bomb on any and all Muslim Countries and end this war the “easy” way. You don’t care about the hearts and minds aspect of this war. You had better start caring because it is just as important as the “military might” part of this war. The truth is that we do not have enough bombs to destroy the entire Muslim population. If we tried, we would fail and then those people that we missed…well, we would have created even more hatred for us. You have to get this, until we actually change the Muslims world opinion of us, until we can convince Muslim parents to stop strapping bombs to their kids chests, until these things happens, we will not be moving forward towards victory in this war. More than half the world hates us and while you might not care what the rest of the world thinks, they are no longer afraid of us and that is a very, very bad combination.
          
How we treat our enemies matters. How we treat our friends matters. How we fight this war matters.

I do not want CIA officers going to jail for doing what they thought was the right thing. If we have spies in harms way, taking risks--be they life and limb, danger or administrative-might-go-to-jail danger--our government is ethically bound to take care of them, cover their asses, give them a safe haven. They shouldn’t be making laws backwards; that is lazy government, piss poor leadership and it does not work.
 
I do want this war won. I want our men home, over 23,000 men killed or wounded in Iraq is enough. We should not cut and run, but it is long past time that we change the way we are fighting. One of the ways we have to change is how we arrest, detain and question terrorists. We have to because our courts and our government have told us so.

We have to figure this out now, as this war which our government refuses to declare as such, a war that is, is not going away any time soon.
 

New Hazard in Iraq...

Since I've Been Gone

Chris and Lisa have agreed to allow me back into the inner sanctum, the secret circle of enlightenment that is the Two Babes and a Brain Blog Site. I had to do some stuff, which kept me from writing. Thank you, to those of you who show up to read what it is we have to say and thank you, Chris and Lisa, for understanding and welcoming me back. I will endeavor not to suck too badly.

Since I have been away, lots of things have occurred that bear mentioning. For me, the most important of these things is that we have continued to lose our great American Servicemen and women in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The fight against Islamafacists is not going well. Evidence that it is not going well is the fact that Hamas--a terrorist organization controlled by Iran--is running Palestine. Hezbollah, another terrorist organization also run by Iran, is running Lebanon and winning the PR aspect of that war. For the record, Israel fought a half-assed, mostly from the air war against Hezbollah and lost. This is the second time in thirty years that Israel has been beaten by Hezbollah and that is not helpful.

Iran is able to control the news cycle as well as the fates of three countries--Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq; can scare the be-geebers out of the rest of us with talk of no holocaust, Israel’s destruction and the fact that they probably have the A Bomb. Oh, and for those of you who missed it, Iran just recently fired a missile from a submarine. All of this leaves no doubt that Iran has become a super power in the Middle East.

North Korea plopped seven missiles into the Sea of Japan and is about to perform an underground test of a nuclear bomb.

And just when you thought you couldn't take anymore...

Iraq has slipped into a Civil War, at least in the Sunni Triangle and we are going to have to really change the way we fight there soon or lose all the good will and real accomplishments that thousands and thousands of killed and wounded American servicemen and women have given the Iraqi people.

Then, there were the almost-suicide bombers who made it so no one can take gels and liquids on planes. This is getting ridiculous. It is now at the point that I cannot take my hair gel on board a plane. Do you know how hard it is to find hair gel for a bald headed fat man? Not easy, let me tell you.

I hope you have a mirror, as I want you look into it and say, “This is my fault.” It is, you know. It is yours and mine for letting our leaders off the “responsibility” hook. We let politicians--from both parties--lie to us.  We are getting f….. and not enjoying it all. So, how about we start wearing protection? (just to keep the sexual metaphor alive) By protection, I mean read, get involved, argue, protest, spend time with a cop or a soldier, ask questions, give blood, go to a vets home, do something, damn it! And do it now!

So, thats all for now. Thanks for listening. See ya next week. Thanks again to Chris and Lisa; they run a great blog and I am lucky to be part of it--again.

It's been a while...

It has been awhile, sorry; but between Lisa's maneuverings and Chris's...well, Chris being Chris, I have not been given a blog writing assignment until just now. And mind you, the assignment wasn't much in the way of detail. "Write something," was the order I got from one of the Babes. Alas, such is the lot of a lowly old Colonel.

Little has happened since I last yelled into the blogosphere, yeah right. But as this is a blog, and usually we do current events, it would seem appropriate that I do that as well. So, here goes.

The CIA is in turmoil--again. The Executive Director, kind of like the Chief of Staff, has just resigned over there over sex, gambling, rock and roll; juicy stuff. This disaster was only eclipsed by the firing or resignation or leaving, or a combination of them all, of the head guy, the Director of the CIA, Porter Goss. Oh, in case you did not think it could get even juicier, Goss is the guy who brought the sexed out Executive Director into the agency.

Damn! This is not a good day for what is our first line of defense in the undeclared War on Terror.

All of this, when we are supposed to be at our best; when we are supposed to be at our sharpest. Hell! we are kind of looking at

Iran

, and instead of focusing on that we are going to go through yet another cluster of hearings and political posturing. This will be the third Director of the CIA we have had in three years and the truth is that we may not get this one.

The President has decided to run Air Force General Hayden up the flag poll and see who salutes. Hell, on this one even the Republicans are bailing out--not a pretty site. Here is my take. We have a less than 55 years young agency in the CIA. Surely we have some professional spooks out there who can also lead. Surely we can do better than this Air Force guy?

Hayden ran the NSA, where he spent billions on a failed intelligence system overhaul and said its OK to tap the phones of Americans without a court order. This is not a good beginning. I am in favor of wire tapping just not without some form of control.

My bet it that this guy Hayden will get a grilling and pull out and then we might, just might, get the right man or woman for this very important job--maybe the most important of jobs.

Col. David Hunt

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Only 4 percent of all the containers that come into this country are inspected. That is not good.

We are using United Nations standards to secure those containers that are inspected. That is bad because even my dog knows that the United Nations only does one thing well, besides steal money, and that is refugee relief. They have no business in this at all.

So, what brilliant thing did the clowns running Home Land Security do now, as if screwing up Katrina relief was not enough? They have turned over security for six of this nation’s seaports to a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Just so we all understand this situation, the UAE has been implicated in the 9/11 plot and since has been sighted by the 9/11 Commission as complicit in the War on Terror. The UAE is not a country that we can easily monitor goings on in or easily get access to records. Hell, you would probably have trouble getting a copy of the phone book from there. So of course, we want to turn over already unprotected US Sea Ports to a country in the Middle East?

I know; how about we turn over US Beef Production to North Korea? How about we let Al-Qaeda run our telephone system? This whole situation just keeps getting worse.

You "wing nuts" can come pat me on the head and tell me, “It’s OK. We put classified conditions in the contract that have to be followed. Trust us; we know what we are doing." But this is one time, even you cannot blame Clinton. He was an ass-grabbing-wussy-boy for sure. And but even he did not give United States Port Security over to another country let alone one in the Middle East that is tied to terrorists. Clinton has been gone for 5 years, so tell me, who owns this colossal mistake?

I don’t usually do politics. Politics gets in the way of us fighting this War on Terror. It distracts us from doing things that will keep us safe. I do not care if Cheney shot the guys’ arm off (but hello, all you gun experts-- HE WHO PULLS THE TRIGGER OWNS WHERE THE PELLETS GO), although I got to tell ya, blaming the guy who was shot was amazing to watch, but in this War on Terror, when the politicians from either side do something so stupid as putting a company with ties to terrorists in charge of Port Security, even I get to comment.

If this is true...

I seem to remember, not that long ago, we were all pissed off, yelling, and pointing fingers at the United Nations and its Oil For Food Scandal. Billions and billions of dollars were stolen over nine years when Saddam was in power. Many countries and even more companies, including some in the United States, were implicated. It was a bad moment for everyone.

If this this is true we are about to have another bad really bad moment.

Now, it looks like we have 8.8 billion dollars that we, the United States, let someone steal from the Iraqi people. This is money that went from the US to Iraq that was supposed to help them and did not. It went who knows where. It could have gone to buy some slimeball a yacht or it could have been funneled to terrorist groups so they can buy all manner of nastiness to kill us with. Osama could be walking around with our money for all we know and the President has just requested tens of billions more for the war in Iraq.

If there is really 8.8 Billion missing, if this report is accurate, then we have over 2,000 American’s that have been killed and 17,000 wounded and nothing to show for it. While it is true that Iraq is now free, the average Iraqi citizen still has no electricity and the toilets don’t flush. This money was supposed to make that happen. As long as Mohammad can’t flush his toilet or turn on his lights and we allow criminals to get rich off of the money that was supposed to make these things happen we will never win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. If we don’t do that, the insurgency and secular fighting will increase. Disenfranchised Iraqis will not help us with intelligence, they will not become part of the political process and they will not stand up for their country so that we can stand down. This will get more of our guys killed.

If this story is true, and the money was stolen by Iraqis we should announce that we’ve had enough and done enough and given enough, that we are done. Bye! Have a nice day.

If this story is true, and there are Americans involved, we should put the bastards on trial for treason and when they are found guilty; execute them. And I mean in a public lynching kind of way.

Come on all you right-wing-nut-jobs, come on all you left-wing-pansies, come on all you uncaring, apathetic people who are sitting on your fat asses watching Johnny Carson reruns. We are in a war, our guys are dying daily and some asshole or assholes are stealing money by the BILLIONS. Enough is enough, can we, now, get excited and really care about how we are fighting this war?

The Colonel's sense of humor...

UPDATE: These are not real. They are jokes. They have been passed around the internet and we thought they were funny...that's all...now back to our regularly scheduled program...

  #15 "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."
#14 "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."
#13 "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."
#12 "Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9mm bullet fired from my gun."
#11 "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"
#10 "Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it  will help. Oh .. did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"
#9 "Warning! You want a warning? O. K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."
#8 "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"
#7 "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in monkey poop!."
#6 "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."
#5 "In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."
#4 "Just how big were those two beers?"
#3 "No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."
#2 "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."
and the best one . . . .
#1 "You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? ... You're right, we don't. .... Sign here."

This Year -- 2006

May all your wishes be granted.

May all the children be safe.

May all the soldiers be home by this time next year.

May all your debts be repaid.

May you know the love of a good man or woman.

May you know how important you are.

May your favorite team win.

May your hope become a dream which becomes you.

May you know what everyone that serves knows: we live in a blessed country with blessed people.

Happy New Year...

Colonel Hunt

Why We Were There

Some of us went because we had never been around them. Some of us went because we know how it feels to be in a hospital in so much pain you want to die but are afraid to admit to it. Some of us went because they were asked.

We all went to see Soldiers and Marines who were missing parts of their bodies, parts they left in Iraq or Afghanistan and a couple who lost their parts in Viet Nam. Some were women how about that? All were doing mostly great and being treated like the kings and queens of the world that they are.

Walter Reed is a hospital in the heart of Washington where men and women are cared for, repaired, treated and sent home in as good a shape as they can be. Walter Reed is a hospital manned by wonderfully talented men and women, doctors, nurses, therapists and administrators who love soldiers and show it in the way they care for the most severely wounded.

We saw soldiers with their heads caved in, soldiers missing both legs, missing one arm, missing one arm and had one leg gone and one leg so infected they might that lose that one too. We saw happy soldiers, soldiers in pain, soldiers walking for the first time on a titanium leg and all of them--every brave one of them--want to go back to their units. Where do we find such men and women?

We saw Viet Nam vets who were there helping the Iraq and Afghan vets deal with their loss and their new life.

We laughed with them all, cried with a few, gave all we could find a gift--a sweat shirt, a hat, a book and a thank you.

We met parents, wives and girlfriends who will now have to care for these soldiers for a very long time--a price and burden of love seldom discussed.

We stayed for hours and wanted to stay longer. We hope we helped them; we know they helped us.

Merry Christmas guys, get well soon.

Pay Attention to the Vets

We should listen. We now have Hagal and Murtha, a Republican and a Democrat. Each has been critical and each wants things to change in Iraq, They want things to change now.

I have said that Iraq is not Vietnam, and I still believe that. But all of us who fought in Viet Nam have experienced the amazing frustration of the interference, incompetence and lack of support for what we were doing. We have never blamed each other. We have always respected the brothers who came home, mourned those who died and we have never forgotten those who are still there. It never leaves us.

We are loath to say anything about Iraq because many will jump on what we say and use our experience to support or attack the current administration or worse, interpret what we say as some how being critical of those who are in uniform fighting. Those of us who had bags of shit thrown at us in airports when we came home from Nam and those of us who were refused admission into the American Veterans of Foreign Wars do not want our sons and daughters to feel that way. So when one of us says something, we do so because we care about the soldiers and we do not want Iraq to be anything like Vietnam.

When combat veterans speak about what they know, it is best to listen. I didn’t say agree; I said listen.

There have been so many errors made by our government in the last 29 months, so many failures of leadership by both the civilian and military that it would fill a large book. It is time to start doing things right.

We have just passed the 17,000 wounded mark and over 2,060 of our best are dead. These casualties were mostly caused by bombs--not soldiers or advancing armies--but by murderers who put bombs in dead cows and dogs. While we are not losing this war, we are not winning either, our political leaders are giving Syria and Iran a pass and we are letting militias run around free in Iraq while corruption is everywhere

Let’s be clear, if anyone can criticize out handling of this war while holding the feet and balls of incompetent political and military leaders to the fire, combat vets can. Who better? It’s kind of hard to call them unpatriotic and whoever throws the next rock had better damn well have a purple heart attached to it. Others talking about this: Michelle Malkin, Small Town Veteran, and The Moderate Voice. Posted over at The Political Teen.