http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/category_rss/nationalsecurity I noticed some of the right wing pundits are shouting that a civil trial is "too good" for Khalid Sheik Mohammed. I am mindful that five of the first ten amendments relate to civil rights pertaining to the accused. We deny those rights to anyone at our own peril. The fifth amendment mentions "except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; " After the "Patriot Act" I am not sure what we are left with. Timothy McVeigh was convicted by a civil trial. I affirm that a civil trial is our best chance of stating OUR case against terrorism and OUR belief in the rule of law. However, we have violated international law on so many levels for such a long time that our supposed belief in the Constitution and the rule of law is but a joke to the international community. Conservative estimates show that up to 88,585 Iraqi civilians have been killed since 2003, compared to 2,976 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks. 2,700,000 Japans civilians and military killed for the deaths of 2,040 American civilian and military deaths at Pearl Harbor. Nothing like a "sneak" attack to bring the devil out in us, kill them all, let God sort them out.. Regardless of who killed whom, we were responsible for Iraq security as soon as we set foot in Baghdad and yes they had nothing to do with 9/11, nor did they possess anything that would create a "mushroom cloud." unless you count napalm. Something Powell said seems to fallen on deaf ears, "We break it we own it" MC [Article deleted] http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhM http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhM/commentary#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:23:15 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhM Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhM/ I will say it again, we are so bad at national defense that we had our pants down around our ankles for 52 minutes from the first strike on the WTC to the third strike on the Pentagon.  At a speed of 17,000 MPH an ICBM can travel the distance of 4,800 miles from Russia to the USA in about 17 minutes (Barely enough time to kiss your ass goodbye).  At 1500 MPH an F-16 can travel the distance fromWashington DC (204 miles) to New York City in 8 minutes, the time air traffic controllers suspected Flight 11 was hijacked and notification of NORAD, 20 minutes later.  Flight 11 hit the WTC 6 minutes later.  17 minutes later Flight 175 hits the second tower of the WTC.  35 minutes later Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon proving that it takes a general over an hour and 15 minutes to get his pants back on.  So why are we spending $1,688 every year on defense for every man, woman and child (all 305 million of us)?  So we can fight them over there?  So we can exploit the resources of third world countries?  Is an M-1 Abrams tank a defensive weapon?  A B-1 bomber?  An Apache attack helicopter?  An A-10 Wart Hog?  A Stealth fighter?  MCNY TimesNovember 15, 2009Op-Ed ColumnistThe Missing Link From Killeen to Kabul By FRANK RICH THE dead at Fort Hood had not even been laid to rest when their massacre became yet another political battle cry for the self-proclaimed patriots of the American right. Their verdict was unambiguous: Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an American-born psychiatrist of Palestinian parentage who sent e-mail to a radical imam, was a terrorist. And he did not act alone. His co-conspirators included our military brass, the Defense Department, the F.B.I., the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and, of course, the liberal media and the Obama administration. All these institutions had failed to heed the warning signs raised by Hasan’s behavior and activities because they are blinded by political correctness toward Muslims, too eager to portray criminals as sympathetic victims of social injustice, and too cowardly to call out evil when it strikes 42 innocents in cold blood . http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhB http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhB/commentary#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:41:32 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhB Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhB/ A bit of war music for Veteran's Day, the dead cry, 'Remember me'  the mothers cry, 'I can't forget'  the nation cries, 'I know not war or sacrifice and we will forget'  MC Music from "Mansions of the Lord " The song was sung by the  West Point Glee Club  at the end of the movie "We Were Soldiers" "The Mansions of the Lord"  To fallen soldiers let us sing  where no rockets fly nor bullets wing  Our broken brothers let us bring  to the mansions of the Lord  No more bleeding no more fight  No prayers pleading through the night  just divine embrace, eternal light  in the mansions of the Lord  Where no mothers cry and no children weep  We will stand and guard tho the angels sleep  All through the ages safely keep the mansions of the Lord  Words by Randall Wallace http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRP http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRP/commentary#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:34:25 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRP Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZRP/ "If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat every problem as a nail"Don't think we suck at nation building?"The record of past U.S. experience in democratic nation building is daunting. The low rate of success is a sobering reminder that these are among the most difficult foreign policy ventures for the United States. Of the sixteen such efforts during the past century, democracy was sustained in only four cases ten years after the departure of U.S. forces. Two of these followed the total defeat and surrender of Japan and Germany after World War II, and two were tiny Grenada and Panama." Source NY TimesOctober 29, 2009Op-Ed ColumnistMore Schools, Not Troops By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Dispatching more troops to Afghanistan would be a monumental bet and probably a bad one, most likely a waste of lives and resources that might simply empower the Taliban. In particular, one of the most compelling arguments against more troops rests on this stunning trade-off: For the cost of a single additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for one year, we could build roughly 20 schools there. It’s hard to do the calculation precisely, but for the cost of 40,000 troops over a few years — well, we could just about turn every Afghan into a Ph.D. The hawks respond: It’s naïve to think that you can sprinkle a bit of education on a war-torn society. It’s impossible to build schools now because the Taliban will blow them up. In fact, it’s still quite possible to operate schools in Afghanistan — particularly when there’s a strong “buy-in” from the local community. Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea,” has now built 39 schools in Afghanistan and 92 in Pakistan — and not one has been burned down or closed. The aid organization CARE has 295 schools educating 50,000 girls in Afghanistan, and not a single one has been closed or burned by the Taliban. The Afghan Institute of Learning , another aid group, has 32 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with none closed by the Taliban (although local communities have temporarily suspended three for security reasons). In short, there is still vast scope for greater investment in education, health and agriculture in Afghanistan. These are extraordinarily cheap and have a better record at stabilizing societies than military solutions, which, in fact, have a pretty dismal record. In Afghanistan, for example, we have already increased our troop presence by 40,000 troops since the beginning of last year, yet the result has not been the promised stability but only more casualties and a strengthened insurgency. If the last surge of 40,000 troops didn’t help, why will the next one be so different? Matthew P. Hoh, an American military veteran who was the top civilian officer in Zabul Province, resigned over Afghan policy , as The Washington Post reported this week. Mr. Hoh argues that our military presence is feeding the insurgency, not quelling it. Already our troops have created a backlash with Kabul University students this week burning President Obama in effigy until police dispersed them with gunshots. The heavier our military footprint, the more resentment — and perhaps the more legitimacy for the Taliban. Schools are not a quick fix or silver bullet any more than troops are. But we have abundant evidence that they can, over time, transform countries, and in the area near Afghanistan there’s a nice natural experiment in the comparative power of educational versus military tools. Since 9/11, the United States has spent $15 billion in Pakistan , mostly on military support, and today Pakistan is more unstable than ever. In contrast, Bangladesh, which until 1971 was a part of Pakistan, has focused on education in a way that Pakistan never did. Bangladesh now has more girls in high school than boys. (In contrast, only 3 percent of Pakistani women in the tribal areas are literate.) Those educated Bangladeshi women joined the labor force, laying the foundation for a garment industry and working in civil society groups like BRAC and Grameen Bank . That led to a virtuous spiral of development, jobs, lower birth rates, education and stability. That’s one reason Al Qaeda is holed up in Pakistan, not in Bangladesh, and it’s a reminder that education can transform societies. When I travel in Pakistan, I see evidence that one group — Islamic extremists — believes in the transformative power of education. They pay for madrassas that provide free schooling and often free meals for students. They then offer scholarships for the best pupils to study abroad in Wahhabi madrassas before returning to become leaders of their communities. What I don’t see on my trips is similar numbers of American-backed schools. It breaks my heart that we don’t invest in schools as much as medieval, misogynist extremists. For roughly the same cost as stationing 40,000 troops in Afghanistan for one year, we could educate the great majority of the 75 million children worldwide who, according to Unicef, are not getting even a primary education. We won’t turn them into graduate students, but we can help them achieve literacy. Such a vast global education campaign would reduce poverty, cut birth rates, improve America’s image in the world, promote stability and chip away at extremism. Education isn’t a panacea, and no policy in Afghanistan is a sure bet. But all in all, the evidence suggests that education can help foster a virtuous cycle that promotes stability and moderation. So instead of sending 40,000 troops more to Afghanistan, how about opening 40,000 schools? NY Times http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRl http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRl/commentary#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:49:35 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRl Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZRl/ Lets see, McChrystal wants 40,000 troops and his boss, Petraeus, is keeping his mouth shut. What's up with that? MC "— Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s reported recommendation of 40,000 additional troops — is itself counterinsurgency light. In his definitive recent field manual on the subject, Gen. David Petraeus stipulates that real counterinsurgency requires 20 to 25 troops for each thousand residents. That comes out, conservatively, to 640,000 troops for Afghanistan (population, 32 million). Some 535,000 American troops couldn’t achieve a successful counterinsurgency in South Vietnam, which had half Afghanistan’s population and just over a quarter of its land area."   http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnJ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnJ/commentary#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:27:51 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnJ Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnJ/ I have been researching the two most costly battles in Afghanistan, the most recent at Kadesh and the previous one at Wanat .  Both American outposts were located at the base of the mountains rather than on top.  This link will take you to a detailed topographical Google map: Topo Map  of Wanat, AfghanistanAnother image showing the elevations surrounding the base here   Not sure who was responsible for the locations of these two bases,  but you can bet your ass a general would never admit responsibility and they will probably charge the battalion commander who would have little control over the general location of base, but should at the least control the strategic location.  As was the case in Vietnam, there are many incompetent officers, generals on down.  Some come from desk jobs at the Pentagon with the purpose of getting their ticket punched with a combat command.  The most capable officers in the military don't have the political skill necessary to make it past full bird Colonel and have too much pride to wear knee pads.  Considering that the two attacks were about a year apart and had many of the same problems, I would tend to hold General McChrystal responsible for not properly advising those in his command about the dangers of locating a base in a valley.  Then again, there is his commander, good old CENTCOM Commander, David Petraeus . In the case of both Kadesh and Wanat, civilians had been killed by accident and inflamed the locals.  In my humble opinion,  we can not succeed in Afghanistan because of a failure in military leadership , a very deadly prognosis for the boots on the ground. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZng http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZng/commentary#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:27:08 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZng Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZng/ If one were consider the US financial industry as a threat to the welfare of the nation and an entity without constraint or regulation, being in effect outside the law of the US with many foreign investors in collusion might legally be considered "foreign" and a quasi government, fully capable of seriously injuring the host nation. One might also assume that given the conservative/capitalistic propensity that the 14th Ammendment gives corporations citizenship status, a conclusion might be drawn that the US government (of, by and for the people) has been overthrown and seriously injured without a shot being fired. As far as attracting "good people" and your belief that members of Congress work long hours, them making more money in the private sector, reasonable compensation, I find all to be extremely laughable. Assuming that most members of congress are lawyers and also taking into consideration their incompetence as law makers, I would be hard pressed to hire one of them: In May 2006, the median annual earnings of all wage-and-salaried lawyers were $102,470. The middle half of the occupation earned between $69,910 and $145,600. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of lawyers in May 2006 were: Management of companies and enterprises $128,610 Federal Government 119,240 Legal services 108,100 Local government 78,810 State government 75,840 "Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as: "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]." "Outside legal spheres, the word "traitor" may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, team, religion, social class, or other group to which they may belong. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which they are a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group leaders making the charge." http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnC http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnC/commentary#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:51:01 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnC Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnC/ I've been a little depressed lately, the Michael Moore movie seems to have intensified the despair. Much has been said to marginalize the so called "left wing" of the Democrat Party. In reality, the left wing is the "right" wing, meaning that it is the segment of the party that is mostly correct in it's philosophies and promotes academic, logical introspection and solutions. Most of all they are somewhat unselfishly devoted to truth, justice and the idea that America is duty-bound to strive for a more perfect union. That liberty and justice for all applies to our law and most certainly to economic equity. I am afraid that conservative/blue dog Democrat thought implies no room for improvement or reflection and a preference for a balance that is in their favor. The Right Wing of the Democrat Party seems the most "Christian" in its opinions and deeds. However, they are less likely to belong to an organized religion, they carry within them the only law that matters when dealing with most human, animal and earthly interaction. The Golden Rule is at once logical and effortless, what else could qualify as "self-evident" if not the Golden Rule. Where are we as a nation? From the Declaration of Independence comes a profound clue, an indication that we are in fact sheep, the status quo is undemanding of social responsibility or activism: "accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." The Declaration of Independence "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed............................." In the words of Ann Richards in answer to, "What must Democrats do in order to win" she answered, "You (All of us) must find the courage to talk to the people you don't know and tell them things they may not want to hear." Michael Moore has that kind of courage. I wish I had asked Governor Richards if there was a cure for complacency. MC CONFORMITY We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove. - Mark Twain's Autobiography Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect). Mark Twain- Notebook, 1904 Conformity-the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority. Mark Twain- "Corn Pone Opinions" TREACHERY Gratitude and treachery are merely the two extremities of the same procession. You have seen all of it that is worth staying for when the band and the gaudy officials have gone by. Mark Twain- Pudd'nhead Wilson TRADITION ...scrap heap of unverifiable odds and ends which we call tradition. Mark Twain- Speech, 5/25/1908 JUSTICE The rain ...falls upon the just and the unjust alike; a thing which would not happen if I were superintending the rain's affairs. No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him. - Mark Twain, a Biography TRUTH Familiarity breeds contempt. How accurate that is. The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it. Mark Twain- Notebook, 1898 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY/commentary#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:58:31 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSY/ I saw the movie tonight at a special showing at Chez Artiste. Mr. Moore has done it again, he has taken pure, unadulterated truth and made it an art form. Moore expressed a desire to be a priest in his early days, I think he became one for all intents and purposes. Bravo, Mr. Moore, you are a priest in every sense of the word. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP/commentary#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:08:48 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSP/ "It's Deja Vu all over again" Yogi Berra Unfortunately, we still refuse to have a national discussion about Vietnam and not just about our casualties- US Armed Forces 58,202 Killed In Action 304,704 Wounded In Action, 1,948 Missing in Action (Nov.7, 2001). The most tragic omission? We never bothered to own up to what actually happened TO Vietnam, Armed Forces of South Vietnam 233,748 Killed In Action 1,169,763 Wounded In Action. One million North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong killed, three million Vietnamese civilians killed. Who are we that we can ignore our responsibility for such chaos? And what are the consequences of such belligerence? Such ignorance? The question is staring at us again in Afghanistan and Iraq. Where do Islamic radicals get their weapons and ammunition? Does a country ever secure the blessings of liberty by the actions of foreigners? Can centuries of isolation, theocracy and tradition be supplanted by military might or intrigue? In ten years? 30? 50? Ever? Indeed the doves ARE right. November 30, 2008 'The Doves Were Right' By RICHARD HOLBROOKE LESSONS IN DISASTER McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam By Gordon M. Goldstein 300 pp. Times Books/ Henry Holt & Company. $25 In 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy brought to Washington a new generation of pragmatic young activists who came to be known as the New Frontiersmen. When the journalist Theodore White later wrote a memorable photo essay about them for Life magazine, he called them the "action-intellectuals." The most celebrated were Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and McGeorge Bundy, whose title - modest by today's standards - was special assistant to the president for national security affairs, but whose importance was great (today the position has a more grandiose title - national security adviser). Mc­Namara, of course, became one of the most controversial public servants in modern times, while Bundy got less attention, except for Kai Bird's excellent 1998 dual biography of him and his ­brother William (who had served as assistant secretary of state for East Asia).  But in "Lessons in Disaster," Gordon Goldstein's highly unusual book, Bundy emerges as the most interesting figure in the Vietnam tragedy - less for his unfortunate part in prosecuting the war than for his agonized search 30 years later to understand himself. Bundy was the quintessential Eastern Establishment Republican, a member of a family that traced its Boston roots back to 1639. His ties to Groton (where he graduated first in his class), Yale and then Harvard were deep. At the age of 27, he wrote, to national acclaim, the 'memoirs" of former Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. In 1953, Bundy became dean of the faculty at Harvard - an astonishing responsibility for someone still only 34. Even David Halberstam, who would play so important a role in the public demolition of Bundy's reputation in his classic, "The Best and the Brightest," admitted that "Bundy was a magnificent dean" who played with the faculty "like a cat with mice." Continued: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/books/review/Holbrooke-t.html http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSd http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSd/commentary#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:25:40 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSd Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSd/ This is a good 'un,  a must read regarding Afghanistan.  Just hope Obama finds time to read this along with "Lessons in Disaster"  MCNY TimesSeptember 27, 2009Op-Ed ColumnistObama at the Precipice By FRANK RICH THE most intriguing, and possibly most fateful, news of last week could not be found in the health care horse-trading in Congress, or in the international zoo at the United Nations, or in the Iran slapdown in Pittsburgh . It was an item tucked into a blog at ABCNews.com . George Stephanopoulos reported that the new “must-read book” for President Obama’s war team is “Lessons in Disaster” by Gordon M. Goldstein, a foreign-policy scholar who had collaborated with McGeorge Bundy, the Kennedy-Johnson national security adviser, on writing a Robert McNamara-style mea culpa about his role as an architect of the Vietnam War. Bundy left his memoir unfinished at his death in 1996 . Goldstein’s book, drawn from Bundy’s ruminations and deep new research, is full of fresh information on how the best and the brightest led America into the fiasco. “Lessons in Disaster” caused only a modest stir when published in November, but The Times Book Review cheered it as “an extraordinary cautionary tale for all Americans.” The reviewer was, of all people, the diplomat Richard Holbrooke, whose career began in Vietnam and who would later be charged with the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis by the new Obama administration. Holbrooke’s verdict on “Lessons in Disaster” was not only correct but more prescient than even he could have imagined. This book’s intimate account of White House decision-making is almost literally being replayed in Washington (with Holbrooke himself as a principal actor) as the new president sets a course for the war in Afghanistan. The time for all Americans to catch up with this extraordinary cautionary tale is now. Analogies between Vietnam and Afghanistan are the rage these days. Some are wrong, inexact or speculative. We don’t know whether Afghanistan would be a quagmire, let alone that it could remotely bulk up to the war in Vietnam, which, at its peak, involved 535,000 American troops. But what happened after L.B.J. Americanized the war in 1965 is Vietnam’s apocalyptic climax. What’s most relevant to our moment is the war’s and Goldstein’s first chapter, set in 1961. That’s where we see the hawkish young President Kennedy wrestling with Vietnam during his first months in office.   http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSl http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSl/commentary#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:02:28 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSl Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSl/ If the American people are fed up with war, imagine how the soldiers, sailors and airmen feel.  Besides, being "fed up with war" would imply America's sacrifice in general or  profound awareness of what our troops endure.  I can name several of the Colorado delegation that have never visited the Denver VA and without naming names, I daresay, with the exception of patients, their families and a handful of volunteers, the VA is a total mystery to most and a place where you can meet America's most recent wounded heroes along with many from the past.  If you haven't seen "Born on the Fourth of July" rent it.  The only difference between then and now?  The VA is even less prepared to deal with those in it's care and those new to the system.  Without civilian knowledge and advocacy, the VA remains what it is and not what politicians call the "best care in the world."  Not sure how these young men and women are doing it, after my Vietnam tour, I was not capable mentally or physically from doing another.Herbert mentions a victory parade towards the end of this op/ed.  I know that Colorado Springs had a parade in honor of Ft. Carson a few years ago.  Has it ever occurred to any large American city to have a thank you parade for any of the major combat units that have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.  After the first tour?  The second tour?  The third tour?  MC NY Times September 26, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist Fed Up With War By BOB HERBERT Most Americans, looking at a globe, would be hard pressed to find Afghanistan. Americans on the whole know very little about the land or its people — and care even less. They know we’re at war over there, wherever it is, but if you were to ask what a Pashtun is or mention the name Abdullah Abdullah you would most likely get a blank stare. Americans’ minds are on other things, like trying to figure out why, if the Great Recession is over, as Ben Bernanke seems to believe, the employment landscape still looks like a toxic waste dump. A New York Times/CBS News poll found that eight years after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, there is a general feeling of disenchantment with our military involvement there and a desire to bring it to an end. About half of all Americans believe that the war has had no effect on the threat of terrorism, and a majority want the troops out of there in two years. Americans are tired of the war. Some of the young people currently being outfitted for combat were just 10 or 11 years old when Al Qaeda struck the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. They are heading off to a conflict that most Americans are no longer interested in. The difference between the public’s take on this war and that of the nation’s top civilian and military leadership is both stunning and ominous. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSf http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSf/commentary#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:06:13 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSf Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSf/ Thanks, Larry, for this op/ed.  General Hoar and many others excepted from my statement regarding arms sales, etc.  That's the problem in painting with such a broad brush, my bad.  However, there are peacocks that get under my skin.  Look at all the fruit salad and bling on the general on the left, David Petraeus, not a Vietnam vet and the General on the right, Joseph Hoar, a Vietnam vet.  Krulak on the far right has a little more bling than Hoar.  He has a pretty good reason for it, in addition to Hoar's Bronze Star for Valor and Combat Action Ribbon, Krulak was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.  David Petraeus was a Major General when awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and never discharged his weapon.  They should prosecute Petraeus for impersonating a peacock.  Please read the op/ed below the Wikipedia entry.  MC     "General Hoar drew upon his experience with CENTCOM in the days leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq to stress the importance of allied cooperation, notably the ability to base military operations from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey, as key to success in the region.   As U.S. strategy for the invasion coalesced, Hoar expressed misgivings, in particular regarding the number of troops committed to the operation. A year after the official cessation of hostilities, Hoar continued to maintain that coalition forces did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish their mission.  In December 2003, Hoar stated that Assistant Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, "...doesn't know much about the business he's in".  In testimony before the Senate committee on foreign relations on May 19, 2004, he stated regarding the situation in Iraq, "I believe we are absolutely on the brink of failure. We are looking into the abyss" On September 7, 2004, Hoar and seven other retired officers wrote an open letter to President Bush expressing their concern over the number of allegations of abuse of prisoners in U.S. military custody.  In it they wrote: "We urge you to commit – immediately and publicly – to support the creation of a comprehensive, independent commission to investigate and report on the truth about all of these allegations, and to chart a course for how practices that violate the law should be addressed." Wikipedia Fear was no excuse to condone torture The Miami Herald September 11, 2009 BY CHARLES C. KRULAK and JOSEPH P. HOAR In the fear that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to ``take off the gloves.'' As a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster. But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics. We have seen how ill-conceived policies that ignored military law on the treatment of enemy prisoners hindered our ability to defeat al Qaeda. We have seen American troops die at the hands of foreign fighters recruited with stories about tortured Muslim detainees at Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib. And yet Cheney and others who orchestrated America's disastrous trip to ``the dark side'' continue to assert -- against all evidence -- that torture ``worked'' and that our country is better off for having gone there. In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Cheney applauded the ``enhanced interrogation techniques'' -- what we used to call ``war crimes'' because they violated the Geneva Conventions, which the United States instigated and has followed for 60 years. Cheney insisted the abusive techniques were ``absolutely essential in saving thousands of American lives and preventing further attacks against the United States.'' He claimed they were ``directly responsible for the fact that for eight years, we had no further mass casualty attacks against the United States. It was good policy . . . It worked very, very well.'' Repeating these assertions doesn't make them true. We now see that the best intelligence, which led to the capture of Saddam Hussein and the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was produced by professional interrogations using non-coercive techniques. When the abuse began, prisoners told interrogators whatever they thought would make it stop. Torture is as likely to produce lies as the truth. And it did. What leaders say matters. So when it comes to light, as it did recently, that U.S. interrogators staged mock executions and held a whirling electric drill close to the body of a naked, hooded detainee, and the former vice president winks and nods, it matters. The Bush administration had already degraded the rules of war by authorizing techniques that violated the Geneva Conventions and shocked the conscience of the world. Now Cheney has publicly condoned the abuse that went beyond even those weakened standards, leading us down a slippery slope of lawlessness. Rules about the humane treatment of prisoners exist precisely to deter those in the field from taking matters into their own hands. They protect our nation's honor. To argue that honorable conduct is only required against an honorable enemy degrades the Americans who must carry out the orders. As military professionals, we know that complex situational ethics cannot be applied during the stress of combat. The rules must be firm and absolute; if torture is broached as a possibility, it will become a reality. Moral equivocation about abuse at the top of the chain of command travels through the ranks at warp speed. On Aug. 24, the United States took an important step toward moral clarity and the rule of law when a special task force recommended that in the future, the Army interrogation manual should be the single standard for all agencies of the U.S. government. The unanimous decision represents an unusual consensus among the defense, intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security agencies. Members of the task force had access to every scrap of intelligence, yet they drew the opposite conclusion from Cheney's. They concluded that far from making us safer, cruelty betrays American values and harms U.S. national security. On this solemn day we pause to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11. As our leaders work to prevent terrorists from again striking on our soil, they should remember the fundamental precept of counterinsurgency we've relearned in Afghanistan and Iraq: Undermine the enemy's legitimacy while building our own. These wars will not be won on the battlefield. They will be won in the hearts of young men who decide not to sign up to be fighters and young women who decline to be suicide bombers. If Americans torture and it comes to light -- as it inevitably will -- it embitters and alienates the very people we need most. Our current commander-in-chief understands this. The task force recommendations take us a step closer to restoring the rule of law and the standards of human dignity that made us who we are as a nation. Repudiating torture and other cruelty helps keep us from being sent on fools' errands by bad intelligence. And in the end, that makes us all safer. Charles C. Krulak was commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999. Joseph P. Hoar was commander in chief of U.S. Central Command from 1991 to 1994. The Miami Herald http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSD http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSD/commentary#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:01:31 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSD Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSD/ .......for they shall have peace. Jesus H. Christ FYI, we spend $600 billion a year on defense plus supplemental funding in the $ billions.  China is #2 at $71 billion.  There ought to be a law against throwing gasoline on a fire.  MC "Almost every weekend, there are cocktails and closed-door presentations in the suites of New Delhi's five-star hotels, hosted by retired admirals and generals from the U.S. armed forces who now work for defense firms, such as Raytheon and Northrop Grumman." Who better than a general to promote weapons systems? That's all they're really good for, with the exception of begging for more troops and explaining why they had to destroy the village to save it.. They make tax and spend Democrats look like puppies trying to pee like a big dog.. MC U.S. Eyes Bigger Slice Of Indian Defense Pie New Delhi Boosting Military Budget in Modernization Mission By Emily Wax Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, September 26, 2009 NEW DELHI -- In the ballroom of a five-star hotel here, executives from Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, the world's biggest arms supplier, threw a candlelight reception one recent night to woo Indian defense experts as their country embarks on a major military shopping spree. India plans to spend an estimated $100 billion on defense over the next decade to modernize its Soviet-era arsenal. With its growing military footprint, India is steering away from traditional ally Russia, its main weapons supplier, and looking toward the United States to help upgrade its weapons systems and troop gear. As the world's largest democracy, India is seen as the most dependable U.S. ally in a part of the world that also includes Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which are racked by Islamist insurgencies. But India's expanding military ambitions, and the U.S. role in selling this nuclear-armed nation more firepower, is starting to worry its neighbors, especially perennial rival Pakistan. India also has ongoing border disputes with another Asian giant, China, which defeated it in a short 1962 war. Continued at The Washington Post   http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSL http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSL/commentary#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:09:16 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSL Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSL/ From fellow vet, retired Navy Captain Ralph Blanchard. A powerful essay and reminder of International Peace Day. Jim Callard A reminder on International Peace Day: Words are not empty by Ralph Blanchard Sunday, September 20, 2009 As I left Durango's busy Farmers Market last week, my attention was drawn to a small table with information reminding me that International Peace Day is Sept. 21. Those of us who have spent careers in the military are naturally drawn to the subject of world peace. I am no exception. When I picked up a Peace Day brochure, I was reminded of the news reports from Cairo, Egypt, regarding Islam's holy month of Ramadan and the fact that the highest-quality dates in Cairo's markets this year have been named "Obama dates," a token of high honor, according to the news report..... Continued at the Durango Herald http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/2009/09/20/A_reminder_on_International_Peace_Day_Words_are_not_empty/ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSc/commentary#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:23:13 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSc Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSc/ September 20, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist Real Men Tax Gas By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Do we owe the French and other Europeans a second look when it comes to their willingness to exercise power in today’s world? Was it really fair for some to call the French and other Europeans “cheese-eating surrender monkeys?” Is it time to restore the French in “French fries” at the Congressional dining room, and stop calling them “Freedom Fries?” Why do I ask these profound questions? Because we are once again having one of those big troop debates: Do we send more forces to Afghanistan, and are we ready to do what it takes to “win” there? This argument will be framed in many ways, but you can set your watch on these chest-thumpers: “toughness,” “grit,” “fortitude,” “willingness to do whatever it takes to realize big stakes” — all the qualities we tend to see in ourselves, with some justification, but not in Europeans. But are we really that tough? If the metric is a willingness to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and consider the use of force against Iran, the answer is yes. And we should be eternally grateful to the Americans willing to go off and fight those fights. But in another way — when it comes to doing things that would actually weaken the people we are sending our boys and girls to fight — we are total wimps. We are, in fact, the wimps of the world. We are, in fact, so wimpy our politicians are afraid to even talk about how wimpy we are. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSZ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSZ/commentary#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:49:18 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSZ Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSZ/ Obama has endorsed Michael Bennet, that's ok, we all know why. Money talks and the powers that be have violated the rule of neutrality before the primaries. I know in my heart that real Democrats want real change they can touch, taste and feel, Andrew Romanoff is the change we are looking for. Most of Bennet's campaign money is out from out of state, we can more than match that. You can believe me when I say this, there will be more Romanoff signs than Bennet signs at every Bennet fundraising event. You can fight or fade into the fringe, this is a fight we can and must win. Read the Romanoff bio below and then compare it to Bennet's, the choice for real Democrats is clear. If you fight half as hard as I am going to, you will have given your all, my passion has no limits, don't put limits on your's. MC http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSh http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSh/commentary#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:14:12 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSh Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSh/ Part 1 Romanoff Denver kickoff. At the very end he says some very flattering remarks regarding veterans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuN4plsyNzE Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDiL2Ki-zFA&feature=related http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSR http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSR/commentary#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:46:29 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSR Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSR/ "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people" Martin Luther King, Jr. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSN http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSN/commentary#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:59:05 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSN Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSN/ Sign me up, I'm a "Liberal" If your elected Democrat doesn't talk and think like this, you have a problem and perhaps you should encourage that "Centrist" to switch parties. I certainly wouldn't contribute my money or time to a person just because they use a "D" by their name. People who pretend to be liberal can get elected in Colorado, e.g. Ken Salazar, a liberal Hispanic, Bill Ritter, a liberal, law and order, Catholic kind of guy ("Law and Order" types scare me, they usually consider "prison building" a solution). Ben NightHorse Campbell, a liberal Native American. Liberals can get elected in Colorado, even if they are DINOs. MC "What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label 'Liberal'? If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal'. But if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal', then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal'." John F. Kennedy Wikipedia http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM/commentary#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:04:19 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSM/