Haditha in Perspective

There has been considerable media ink spilled in the attempt to analyze and explain the alleged killing of Iraqi civilians by American Marines at Haditha. I have not spent the time to properly research the actual events myself, so I will not comment on them here. I will also not comment directly on the possible motivations that the MSM might have for keeping this story in the regular news rotation. However, I think that it is significant to note that there have not been hundreds, or even dozens of similar allegations against American and coalition forces in the region, despite the thousands of operations that have occured there since the war began. In spite of those who would claim otherwise, it is apparent that there is not widespread abuse of Iraqi civilians by coalition forces (either that, or our guys are WAY better at working the media than they are given credit for). I think this statement by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari maintains the correct perspective. An exerept:

"Yes, civilians got killed in Haditha and other places but it is the terrorists who target civilians in Iraq...This is the solid truth which journalists cannot beat us on."

That last comment about journalists is interesting, isn't it?

The Coulter "Crisis"

Isn’t it funny how sometimes things happen seemingly to validate your opinions? The other night, my wife and I (yes, I’m married to a woman, but that’s another post) were talking about a situation I had at work in which two people (self-professed liberals) with whom I disagreed abruptly exited the conversation when it became apparent that I was not going to agree with them. I commented that it seems that many liberals are not capable of arguing an issue on its merits, but rather resort to ad hominim attacks on those on the other side. Today, I click on the radio and feel truly vindicated. The buzz on the airwaves today is Ann Coulter's newest book, "Godless: The Church of Liberalism", and certain comments made in it (I have not read the book). Now I must say that while I find Ann entertaining at times, I believe that she routinely crosses the line between satire and cruelty. That being said, it was interesting that almost no one today was discussing the merits of what she said, but was instead trashing her for how she said it. This is a shame, because she has a good point, namely that in our culture of victimization, it is common for victims of some highly publicized crime or tragedy to reap fame and fortune and become spokesmen for some cause. I thnk her real point, which will unfortunately be completely lost, is that in the eyes of the liberal media, these spokesmen become unassailable by anyone who might happen to disagree with their views, as Bill O'Reilly experienced on the Letterman show. Personally, I have been and continue to be friends (or at least on speaking terms) with many liberals, but have found only a small few who were willing to engage me in healthy debate without name-calling. Maybe someday we will be able to have vigorous, civil debate in the public arena, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ruth as a Model for the Southern Border?

Greetings and welcome back (as if anyone really reads this!)

I have long been an advocate of both securing the US borders, with force if necessary, and of vigorously enforcing our immigration laws and arresting/deporting those who violate them. I have not felt that my position was open to change. Much of the reason for this is that most of the "open border" or amnesty-type arguements presented in the media are so weak as to be laughable. Recently however, I have met some people who have forced me to re-think my position, or at least the basis behind it. When I finally come to a coherent position, I will comment on it here. In the meantime, here is an article I ran across with an interesting perspective. The author takes the biblical character Ruth and uses her as an example.

Enjoy.

Values Education Needed?

There is no doubt, especially given the current political climate, that the alleged killing of civilians by U.S. Marines at the Iraqi town of Haditha and the subsequent investigations into that incident will harm both the military operations in Iraq and America's image throughout the world. Yesterday, Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, ordered that troops receive new training in "core values" which will highlight "the importance of adhering to legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield". The real question is whether this training will have any positive effect. My guess is that the impact of this initiative will be limited. From my own military experience, I can testify that it is exceedingly difficult to try to instill moral behaviors in young people who their entire lives have been taught that morality is relative. I wish Gen Casey the best of luck. I think his efforts are of a pure heart, but if the first slide of his new presentation doesn't start with "Right and Wrong do exist, and are not relative", his task will be a long uphill battle.