The Most Important Article Bash Has Ever Posted Here
Please take the time to read this. This intro is by John R. ( Jack ) Farrington, Major General, USAF (Retired). ~Bash…
“I’ll tell you what war is all about; you’ve got to kill people, and when you’ve killed enough they stop fighting.”
Gen. Curtis LeMay
Introduction
This is one of the most profound articles that I have ever read about this Presidency, this era, and this war. No matter your politics, you owe it to yourself to read this.
An assessment of where the US stands in relation to the Middle East problems, this one is from the guy who had his finger on the nuclear trigger for three years as head of our defense and response complex buried under Cheyenne Mountain at Colorado Springs.
He was the only person who could initiate a nuclear attack after advising the sitting president of a missile launch by our enemies and our need to respond.
No political or civilian type in the US had more knowledge about day to day military actions around the world.
Everyone should find quiet time to read this. As far as I am concerned, it is exactly the direction we should go and the consequences of not doing so are well thought out.
John R. ( Jack ) Farrington, Major General, USAF (Retired)
* * *
Middle East Imperative
by: James Cash, Brig. Gen., USAF, (Retired)
I wrote recently about the war in Iraq and the larger war against radical Islam, eliciting a number of responses. Let me try and put this conflict in proper perspective.
Understand; the current battle we are engaged in is much bigger than just Iraq. What happens in the next year will affect this country and how our kids and grand kids live throughout their lifetime, and beyond. Radical Islam has been attacking the West since the seventh century. They have been defeated in the past and decimated to the point of taking hundreds of years to recover. But they can never be totally defeated. Their birth rates are so far beyond civilized world rates, that in time they recover and attempt to dominate again.
There are eight terror-sponsoring countries that make up the grand threat to the West. Two, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan just need firm pressure from the West to make major reforms. They need to decide who they are really going to support and commit to that support.
That answer is simple. They both will support who they think will hang in there until the end, and win.
We are not sending very good signals in that direction right now, thanks to the Democrats.
The other six, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya will require regime change or a major policy shift. Now, let’s look more closely.
Afghanistan and Iraq have both had regime changes, but are being fueled by outsiders from Syria and Iran . We have scared Gaddafi’s pants off, and he has given up his quest for nuclear weapons, so I don’t think Libya is now a threat.
North Korea (the non-Islamic threat) can be handled diplomatically by buying them off. They are starving. That leaves Syria and Iran. Syria is like a frightened puppy. Without the support of Iran they will join the stronger side. So where does that leave us? Sooner, or later, we are going to be forced to confront Iran, and it better be before they gain nuclear capability.
In 1989 I served as a Command Director inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex located in Colorado Springs, Colorado for almost three years. My job there was to observe (through classified means) every missile shot anywhere in the world and assess if it was a threat to the US or Canada. If any shot was threatening to either nation I had only minutes to advise the President, as he had only minutes to respond.
I watched Iran and Iraq shoot missiles at each other every day, and all day long, for months. They killed hundreds of thousands of their people. Know why? They were fighting for control of the Middle East and that enormous oil supply.
At that time, they were preoccupied with their internal problems and could care less about toppling the west. Oil prices were fairly stable and we could not see an immediate threat.
Well, the worst part of what we have done as a nation in Iraq is to do away with the military capability of one of those nations. Now, Iran has a clear field to dominate the Middle East, since Iraq is no longer a threat to them.
They have turned their attention to the only other threat to their dominance, they are convinced they will win, because the US is so divided, and the Democrats (who now control Congress and may control the Presidency in 2008) have openly said we are pulling out.
Do you have any idea what will happen if the entire Middle East turns their support to Iran, which they will obviously do if we pull out? It is not the price of oil we will have to worry about. Oil WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE to this country at any price. I personally would vote for any presidential candidate who did what JFK did with the space program—declare a goal to bring this country to total energy independence in a decade.
Yes, it is about oil. The economy in this country will totally die if that Middle East supply is cut off right now. It will not be a recession. It will be a depression that will make 1929 look like the “good-old-days”. The bottom line here is simple. If Iran is forced to fall in line, the fighting in Iraq will end over night, and the nightmare will be over.
One way or another, Iran must be forced to join modern times and the global community. It may mean a real war—if so, now is the time, before we face a nuclear Iran with the capacity to destroy Israel and begin a new ice age.
I urge you to read the book “END GAME” by two of our best Middle East experts, true American patriots and retired military generals, Paul Vallely and Tom McInerney . They are our finest, and totally honest in their assessment of why victory in the Middle East is so important, and how it can be won. Proceeds for the book go directly to memorial fund for our fallen soldiers who served the country during the war on terror. You can find that book by going to the Internet through Stand-up America at http://www.ospreyradio.us/, http://www.ospreyradio.us/ or http://www.rightalk.com/, http://www.rightalk.com/.
On the other hand, we have several very angry retired generals today, who evidently have not achieved their lofty goals, and insist on ranting and raving about the war. They are wrong, and doing the country great harm by giving a certain political party reason to use them as experts to back their anti-war claims.
You may be one of those who believe nothing could ever be terrible enough to support our going to war. If that is the case I should stop here, as that level of thinking approaches mental disability in this day and age. It is right up there with alien abductions and high altitude seeding through government aircraft contrails. I helped produce those contrails for almost 30 years, and I can assure you we were not seeding the atmosphere. The human race is a war-like population, and if a country is not willing to protect itself, it deserves the consequences.
‘Enough - said!’
Now, my last comments will get to the nerve. They will be on politics.
I am not a Republican. And, George Bush has made enough mistakes as President to insure my feelings about that for the rest of my life. However, the Democratic Party has moved so far left, they have made me support those farther to the right.
I am a conservative who totally supports the Constitution of this country. The only difference between the United States and the South American, third world, dictator infested and ever-changing South American governments, is our US Constitution.
This Republic (note I did not say Democracy) is the longest standing the world has ever known, but it is vulnerable. It would take so little to change it through economic upheaval. There was a time when politicians could disagree, but still work together. We are past that time, and that is the initial step toward the downfall of our form of government.
I think that many view Bush-hating as payback time. The Republicans hated the Clinton’s and now the Democrats hate Bush.
So, both parties are putting their hate toward willingness to do anything for political dominance to include lying and always taking the opposite stand just for the sake of being opposed. JUST HOW GOOD IS THAT FOR OUR COUNTRY?
In my lifetime, after serving in uniform for President’s Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan , and Bush I have a pretty good feel for which party supported our military, and what military life was like under each of their terms. And, let me assure you that times were best under the Republicans.
Service under Jimmy Carter was devastating for all branches of the military. And, Ronald Regan was truly a salvation.
You can choose to listen to enriched newscasters, and foolish people like John Murtha (he is no war hero), Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and on-and-on to include the true fools in Hollywood if you like. If you do, your conclusions will be totally wrong.
The reason that I write, appear on radio talk shows, and do everything I can to denounce those people is simple. THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR THIRST FOR POLITICAL POWER AND QUEST FOR VICTORY IN 2008 ABOVE WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS COUNTRY. I cannot abide that.
Pelosi clearly defied the Logan Act by going to Syria , which should have lead to imprisonment of three years and a heavy fine.
Jane Fonda did more to prolong the Vietnam War longer than any other human being (as acknowledged by Ho Chi Minh in his writing before he died). She truly should have been indicted for treason, along with her radical husband, Tom Hayden, and forced to pay the consequences.
This country has started to soften by not enforcing its laws, which is another indication of a Republic about to fall.
All Democrats, along with the Hollywood elite, are sending us headlong into a total defeat in the Middle East, which will finally give Iran total dominance in the region. A lack of oil in the near future will be the final straw that dooms this Republic.
However, if we refuse to let this happen and really get serious about an energy self-sufficiency program, this can be avoided. I am afraid, however, that we are going in the opposite direction.
If we elect Hillary Clinton and a Democrat controlled congress, and they carry through with allowing Iran to take control of the Middle East, continue to refuse development of nuclear energy, refuse to allow drilling for new oil, and continue to do nothing but oppose everything Bush, it will be over in terms of what we view as the good life in the USA.
Now, do I think that all who do not support the war are un-American— of course not. They just do not understand the importance of total victory in that region.
Another failure of George Bush is his inability to explain to the American people why we are there, and why we MUST win.
By the way, it is not a war. The war was won four years ago. It is martial law that is under attack by Iranian and Syrian outside influences, and there is a difference.
So, what do I believe? What is the bottom line? I will simply say that the Democratic Party has fielded the foulest, power hungry, anti-country, self absorbed group of individuals that I have observed in my lifetime. Our educational system is partially to blame for allowing the mass of America to be taken in by this group. George Bush has done the best he can with the disabilities that he possesses.
A President must communicate with the people. And, I would tell you that Desert Storm spoiled the people. Bush Senior’s 100-hour war convinced the people that technology has progressed to the point that wars could be fought with no casualties and won in very short periods of time.
I remember feeling at the time, that this was a tragedy for the US military. To win wars, you must put boots on the ground. When you put boots on the ground, soldiers are going to die. A President must make the war decision wisely, and insure that the cause is right before using his last political option.
HOWEVER, CONTROLLING IRAN AND DEMOCRATIZING THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE ONLY CHOICE IF WE ARE HELL-BENT ON DEPENDING ON THEM FOR OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.
Jimmy L. Cash, Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.
Lakeside, Montana 59922
Nods to One Shot.
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That was ace. I agree wholeheartedly. If there is one thing that Bush has truly failed to do it is to communicate. We need to force the ignorant masses to understand the threat that the middle east and radical Islam presents.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:25 pm“failure of George Bush is his inability to explain to the American people why we are there, and why we MUST win”
I do think this the great failure of Bush, I have voted twice for him and could a third time looking at the current crop
This ‘long war’ and border security is the two items that matter more than anything and should be the basis for the decision on who to vote for. These are the greatest threats to this nation and therefore the greatest threats to freedom worldwide. Truly our children deserve more than passivity and self absorbed greed by the adults of this time in history.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:25 pmbash you gunna put this on LL,too?More people need to see this.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:36 pmFantastic article! This guy knows his stuff!
January 25th, 2008 at 7:41 pmScary times.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:42 pm“A President must communicate with the people” my complaint of him since 911.
Nice read…
One Shot 
January 25th, 2008 at 7:47 pmI am so deeply humbled by reading this. I will share it with everyone I know!
January 25th, 2008 at 7:52 pmI tip my hat, that was one great read.
Truly, I believe that anyone who was not taken in by the 60’s and 60’s wannabe come lately crowd can easily see the truth in all of this.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:02 pmThe race is on.
Will this message of truth get out to every American before our nation’s game clock expires? And if the message does get out…will anyone understand the urgency?
Having watched in awe as the nation speaks through the tunnel-vission of the demedia in this primary season about the direction of our nation, I take no pleasure in stating I remain pessimistic for same reason expressed by Brig Gen Cash:
“…enriched newscasters, and foolish people like John Murtha (he is no war hero), Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and on-and-on to include the true fools in Hollywood…the Democratic Party has fielded the foulest, power hungry, anti-country, self absorbed group of individuals that I have observed in my lifetime. Our educational system is partially to blame for allowing the mass of America to be taken in by this group.”
Yes Bash, this is the most important article you have ever posted here.
“I can’t stand that I live in a culture, especially in Hollywood, where measure of man is self-indulgence.” — Pat Dollard
January 25th, 2008 at 8:04 pm[…] Hillary Clinton for President wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIf we elect Hillary Clinton and a Democrat controlled congress, and they carry through with allowing Iran to take control of the Middle East, continue to refuse development of nuclear energy, refuse to allow drilling for new oil, … Read the rest of this great post here Posted by […]
January 25th, 2008 at 8:07 pm[…] Adam Shear wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAn assessment of where the US stands in relation to the Middle East problems, this one is from the guy who had his finger on the nuclear trigger for three years as head of our defense and response complex buried under Cheyenne Mountain … […]
January 25th, 2008 at 8:31 pmI need to get a life. It’s Friday night and I have more enjoyment reading Dollard/Bash articles than I do watching TV, partying, or possibly even getting l…no, I’m still not old enough I can go that far.
Great article Bash. Since at least 60% of dumb Americans wouldn’t have a clue what the man was talking about and wouldn’t worry about a thing until their VISA card is maxed and won’t slide, I doubt it will make a difference. But perhaps for a small percentage of people that still straddle the fence for explanation, maybe articles like that would help to explain why control in the middle east is so vital. That is one thing I would like to kick G.W. in the ass about - doing a much better job of explaining the why.
But I disagree with Brig. Gen Cash about one item. Stopping the flow of middle eastern oil into the U.S. coffers actually help motivate us in the long run and we could survive in the short run. It would dog the economy, tank Wall Street for a time and you might start paying about $4.50 for a gallon of gas but it wouldn’t bring us completely to our knees. Two of the three biggest import countries still sit right on our domestic borders.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html
I do agree with Brig. Gen Cash as I sure would like to see us pick up the pace of developing alternative technology - and we could start right now with a few new nuclear reactors. One of the dumbest things we ever did was to interfere with building more sites…and you can thank the dumbshit lib politicians (Al Gore types), green freaks (who ought to be the first on board if they had any sense about chemistry) and ambulance chasers for shoving us in that hole.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:35 pmGeneral Cash NEVER disappoints.
I suggest reading “Let’s Be Specific” - Gen. Cash
January 25th, 2008 at 9:22 pmhttp://justrightofrush.blogspot.com/2007/02/letter-from-general-cash.html
Truly the most important post. Every American needs to read this. I will share it with as many as I can reach.
The ignorant masses scare me more than anything as they can cause the fall of this country and possibly the world.
Thanks for this post, important to say the least. Thank God there are some level heads out there, we need to stop being the silent majority.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:25 pmI have started to impress upon my ten-year-old daughter that we must have a “Marshall Plan” approach to our energy needs. She understands that we must ween ourself off the Middle Eastern oil or face rounds of war after endless war.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:39 pmIf we could slap these Middle Eastern ingrates into the 21rst century as “normal civilized nations” that would be wonderful; but I fully expect that to never happen.
Every 1% less of imported oil we use, is a big victory for us.
Thank you General Cash, you sure have it correct.
It is time for China or India to be the “great Satan and infidel”.
This guy is pretty good. Getting off of ME oil is an idea that I and others have been pushing for awhile. Excellent point.
GW is a lousy communicator…this is disappointingly true.
The long war must be fought until we kill enough of the enemy that they finally give up. Also true.
It isn’t just Iran that wants control of the ME. It is also AQ/MMA and the Taliban. All want the job of caliph.
Iran would have difficulty dominating the Salifist world
since the majority of Islam is Sunni…who also consider Shit=-ites to be apostate belivers.
Saudi Arabia the great exporter of Salifist Whahabbism is as great a threat to the west as is Iran or Waziristan.
It is the Saudis who have built all the mosques in the west where they preach the Salifist message in 80% of those Mosques. Paid for of couse by western purchases of their oil. Getting off of that oild would go along way to stopping the spread of Salifist Islam to the west and cut off the money supplied reaching the jihadis in Waziristan to include MMA, AQ and the Taliban.
Our schools, universities, Hollywood and the Dhimis are not helping us win this war. They are what I call the near enemy. The good General is wise to point this out.
Nice piece.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:43 pmAn excellent assessment by the General.
When you target an enemy, you must first find it, locate the kill zone and apply a deadly force.
We already know the extremities of the enemy, (educational system, political parties, world bodies like the UN, banking systems, etc.) but I am having difficulty locating the kill zone.
I wonder why most political parties and people in positions of control are…., in a most purposeful and systematic manner…., implementing extremely destructive, chaotic actions and policies. What is their overall rational ? Who or what purpose does this serve ?? Who or what is coordinating all this ?? No large group/committee can perform like this….
What kill zone is making all this happen ?????…..
January 25th, 2008 at 9:59 pmAll I can say is, I totally agree! Generals Zinni and Clark are 2 such generals that Cash alludes too, and they have been a big disappointment to their careers. Constructive criticism is fine, but some push it to sedition. I can only hope that the government doesn’t lose its nerve in the near future.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:28 pmI’ve heard of large areas in the south that are surrounded with fencing and barbed wire. I wonder when they’re going to start using them.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:43 pmIts hard to communicate with people that refuse to listen..its not about oil, its about a religous belief and dominance..oil is just the ace in the hole
January 26th, 2008 at 3:18 amThank you Bash…
That was certainly one of the most important articles I’ve read in a long time… Will pass it on along with Pats web link to my “people”.
Keep up the good work and say HI!!!
to Louie for me..
January 26th, 2008 at 3:34 am“War is cruelty, there is no use trying to reform it.
January 26th, 2008 at 6:11 amThe crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”
Gen W T Sherman
Spot on General! Most of us here reading this are former military members from a wide range of conflicts. I served in the Cold War on the frontlines as a submariner. I have felt ever since 9/11 that the boiling point has now arrived.
I can not, for the life of me, understand our own foolishness to allow a group of environmental whackos to basically strangle this country to death. Our overall dependence to ME oil may now be our downfall. What we are witnessing is the desire of a nation (Iran) to bring us to our knees and we are being totally complacent about this threat. I have paid close attention to Imanutjob’s speeches and he has very clearly stated his goals to his people and those of the ME. Only a fool would ignore his threats. We better wake up! My salute to teh General for this piece.
January 26th, 2008 at 7:24 amAnd this man is not running for President, why?
January 26th, 2008 at 9:51 amThis puts things in perspective. I believe everyone paying attention had already figured out Saudi and Pakistan — they blow with the wind. And nobody believes Libya and North Korea are a threat — the former ‘cuz they learned and the latter ‘cuz they haven’t the wherewithal. Afghanistan and Iraq are well in hand as evidenced by the absence of any media coverage but remain at risk due to the last two terrorist states that give them hope. Now comes my view of strategy, admittedly amateurish. I’ve always believed we should use our strength against our enemy’s weakest point — and right now that’s Syria. Haffez Assad was a terrorist bastard and baby Bashir is a chip off the old block. Diplomacy hasn’t worked but I’d give it one more chance with an ultimatum. Stop supplying Al Qaeda with men, arms and intelligence or go to war. Not the sneak-around-and-blow-up-kids kinda’ war. Real grown up war with whole cities and states lying in ruin. When they defy the ultimatum, and they will, burn Damascus to a cinder.
For too long, I believed the well-educated students in Iran would revolt against the ayatollah-mullah-imam-nuts. But now I believe they’ve proven inadequate and too slow. I’d give Iran about 24 hours to settle the ant-pile-like frenzy that’s sure to follow Damascus and if they don’t stand down, I’d burn Teheran to a cinder. I keep thinking about the 15 years leading up to Pearl Harbor, the millions dead over the following 3.5 years and the fact that Japan absolutely would not surrender until we turned Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki into the ultimate cinder. I don’t know much about Canadian history but last week they greatly bemoaned the loss of one soldier. I believe the liberally-influenced youngsters there don’t know that we sat on our hands from ‘33-’39, just like the libs would have us do now. They probably haven’t been told about Dunkirk and Dieppe. But us old guys know about it and some of us remember.
I recognize some of the complications of energy self-sufficiency. One is the certainty that if we achieved such a goal, the Saudis would no longer be our friend. And where the Saudis go, so goes Pakistan. That said, I believe even I could reassure the Saudis that a powerful oil market would dominate the planet as long as the supply lasts. Plastics alone would keep the world’s oil supply valuable. We’re talking about survivability rather than dominance. Oil is a factor in this conflict but for the period 800-1900, the muzzies had different reasons to kill us. When the oil is gone, they’ll have yet another reason. I believe now is the time to civilize these uncivilized folks and it seems force is the only path. At the very least, we need to listen to men like Gen. Cash, or buy stock in a burquah factory.
January 26th, 2008 at 10:12 amMost excellent. One great point after another. We should scrap our plans for returning to the moon by 2020 and going to Mars, at least in the near term, and instead put that money into developing the oil shale fields we have in the tri-corner region where Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah meet. It is estimated there is more oil in that area then all the rest of the world’s oil reserves COMBINED. We could erase the national debt in 5-10 years after the technology was fully developed to extract it efficently. We could completely eradicate all foreign trade deficits (especially with China since they need oil desperately and we could sell it to them for a healthy profit). We could expand our military and fund all kinds of research without saddling us with more taxes. I think we should be writing our Republican representatives and the President demanding they start this “1960’s space program” style research immediately. The technology is already fairly mature. The break even point back in the early 80’s was considered to be around $35 per barrel. Obviously we have gone way past that now. So it’s the right time to pour money into this in my opinion. http://www.dailyreckoning.com/rpt/OilShale.html
January 26th, 2008 at 10:22 amImportant article, but a number of overstatements and errors.
About 1/6 of US oil comes from the ME. It is VERY HARD to deprive any customer of access to the “fungible” oil market, short of a physical blockade. IOW, neither Imanutjob nor Chavez nor anyone else can prevent the US from buying all the oil it wants at the going (spot) price.
The sanguine views of the relevance of Syria, and NK, etc., are kind of superficial.
But the emphasis is correct.
As for energy independence, Jason, the Moon and Mars are irrelevant.
For a few million USD (yes, I said MILLION, not billion), the world’s electrical supply picture could be transformed.
Read the www.focusfusion.org site; get a sci-nerd to help if anything is too abstruse (but it’s not all that tough; they do a good job of explaining.)
Combine that with 2 other developments:
www.teslamotors.com
and
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/january9/nanowire-010908.html
Talk about disruptive technologies. These not only detonate the Oil Economy, they cut the ground out from under coal and natural gas, too.
January 26th, 2008 at 12:09 pmWow, no offense intended on a personal level Brian…but you’re not nearly as intelligent as you seem to think you are. This article is not just about Middle East oil, but all foreign based oil. And the point is economic, not whether we could still obtain oil. Of course we could still obtain oil if the ME oil was shutoff to us. But it would be at a premium price wise, especially if all the other leftist/jihadist oil producing countries decided to play along with them. So whether or not we only get 1/6th of our oil from the ME is not relevant. You need to look at the macro, not just the micro.
Irrelevant?! Of course the money we have budgeted for Lunar and Mars missions and other assorted NASA boondoggles (billions of dollars) is absolutely relevant to energy independence! It can be utilized instead to develop the technology to extract the HUGE oil reserves we have in the USA in the form of oil shale. There is a minimum of 300 years worth of oil there, some estimates go all the way up to 500 years. It’s there, so it’s just a matter of figuring out how to extract it efficiently. I also would have no problem with taking some of the money from the ill conceived NASA boondoggles or some of the democRat inspired social programs, and putting it towards building new nuclear power plants (Fission based of course since Fusion is many years away). Energy independence is far more important over the next 10-20 years, then going back to the Moon or to Mars in the same timeframe.
You are seriously misled on the fundamentals of Nuclear Fusion and it’s related technology, especially as it’s applied to energy production. The FACT is, that technology is MANY years away. Conservative estimates are 40 years at minimum. If you and the pie-in-the-sky dreamers at that website you linked to understood the bare fundamentals of Physics and Engineering, you would know that already. The technological obstacles won’t be solved any sooner unless there is some kind of breakthrough of massive proportions. And that requires HUGE amounts of money to achieve. Or I guess you could try asking Dennis Kucinich to ask his UFO friends to gives us some help.
You think the world’s electrical supply “picture” can be solved with a few million dollars huh? Pretty funny, you really are a Kucinich kind of guy! Let’s see, they spent 2 BILLION dollars on the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas before they shut the project down. You won’t get Fusion without Super Colliders. Electric cars? Ho hum, been around since the automobile was invented. It will take not an evolution of energy storage (battery) technology to make them viable, but a revolution. And that silicon based battery isn’t it. It could be an advance though. But even if the battery revolution happened tomorrow, it would take at least 20 years for everyone to get rid of all their internal combustion engine powered cars and other devices, and buy electric. Not to mention you would still need powerplants to generate all that electricity. The bottom line is we need energy independence starting now, not 25-50 years from now. None of those technologies you mentioned are “disruptive”, nor will they supplant Oil, Coal and Natural Gas anytime in the forseable future.
I also suggest you think a bit more before you make idiotic assumptions about someone you don’t know anything about. I earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering summa cum laude from one of the best Science and Technology Universities in the USA. I graduated when I was 20 years old. So nothing on those websites you linked is abstruse. Just because I’m choosing to serve in the Army right now does not make me incapable of understanding advanced concepts in physics, engineering or for that matter, political science, history, etc. That’s another bad assumption. The vast majority of officers in the military are college educated. And most of my buddies (I’m enlisted) take classes when they can. I’m sure when I’m done with my active duty, I’ll go back and earn a graduate degree in engineering.
January 26th, 2008 at 3:33 pmThat was PROFOUND! I hope everyone is e-mailing this link to everyone in their address book! Do it quickly!
January 28th, 2008 at 1:33 pmThis 2008 election will determine the collective voting IQ of a once great nation. It is time to soul search, each of us. Can we mobilize and get this stunning message out in time to educate the people. Choices may not be great, but we must at least know them, know the candidates, and the PARTY. We know that the Democrats are full of hate and will not defend our nation. Bill Clinton gutted our military and then proclaimed “balanced budget”. This is as short term thinking as you can get. We need a strong defense and we need to use it without political handcuffs. I commend Mr. Bush for what he has all done. Perfect…no! But the democrats demonized him from day one and that man has withstood more than any president I have known, and much of that was from his own countrymen (many of them overpaid politicians with big mouths). The democrats need a reality check and if it is going to take a 9-11 times ten, then so be it. IT WILL HAPPEN if they do not wake up. GOD BLESS out active military and I support all they do. Let’s get this done and done right. Please vote wisely.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pmThe generals comments were interesting. I have the utmost respect for the generals rank. As a former Marine, I always respect rank. But I am curious as to this websites patronage, because there are no dissenting opinions…
January 31st, 2008 at 10:36 amI never believed going to war in Iraw was the right decision. Regime change never works, it does not result in the long term social change that is required.
The General seems to forget the paramount improtance of politics in these conflicts. The General I am sure served extremely well, and I would probably prefer him to be no other place than with his finger on the button in the depths of the Rockies.
I am sure all your readers and the General is well aware that the main reason Bush is in Iraq is because the original CIA supported uprising was squashed. Why was it squashed? For some reason, Bush Senior decided to have Stormin Normin negotiate the peace treaty. He was asked if using the Iraq helicopters would violate the no-fly zone… apparently, the helicopters were needed to fly relief into hard to reach areas. The General said okay, and when the uprising was gaining strength in the South part of Iraq, Saddam used his helicopters to missle the uprising quiet.
We all need to search out all information to make the best decisions. Just listening to information that already supports your preconceived notions, is what lead George Bush to put the country in its current state, both economically at home and defensively abroad.
He is a smart man, but is not quite right about several things.
1. Oil will always be made available by Islamic countries (he also left out Nigeria and Indonesia, which are also both Islamic countries and members of OPEC, as well as Russia and Venezuela who are members of OPEC but not Islamic, but certainly don’t love us). The Islamic countries have no intention of fighting us militarily (which would surely happen if they cut off the oil). They intend to be economic vampires, sucking us dry through high oil prices. Therefore, oil will always be made available to us - unless WE start a world war - but at a VERY high price.
2. The Middle East will never be democratic - period. They can’t handle it and they don’t want it. I live with these people and I am sure. Every American life we spend trying to make them democratic is a wasted travesty. We will destroy our conventional military, as well as our national budget, perpetuating the fantasy of democracy in the Middle East.
3. The answer is to take the $3 billion an week we are wasting in Iraq and put every nickel of it into finding substitutes for oil (i.e., gas and diesel) as a motor fuel. No I am not against the oil industry - this will take 10-20 years to implement even if we start today, and they will be able to sell every drop of oil they can produce at a high price any way. WE HAVE ALREADY WAITED TOO LONG TO FIND A CHEAP WAY OUT OF THIS SITUATION!!!!!
4. Failure to find a substitute for oil is our largest national security threat, not a bunch of rag heads trying to build a bomb for the first time (we did this SEVENTY YEARS AGO and today we have 180,000 times the destructive force of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - what part of 180,000 don’t you understand). Right now, any bomb popped anywhere in the civilized world by radical Islamists (read Iranian-back radical terrorists, whether Shia or Sunni) would mean that Iran would cease to exist as a culture - we would blow it off the face of the map using smaller nuclear weapons and it wouldn’t cause nuclear winter, and we would still leave the oilfields intact - I am really surprised that a general who deals with this on a daily basis for over thirty years wouldn’t realize this. The “nuclear scare card” has been the #1 way for the military to retain funding for all of their programs, whether realistic or not, and it gets our focus off of our REAL security issues (i.e., oil dependence and criminals coming across our border with Mexico by the hundreds).
5. Our constant blind support for all of Israel’s policies, no matter how unfair or wrong, is the biggest irritant to “moderate” Islamic forces in the Middle East - we push them into the camp of the radical Islamists this way. Also, Israel does not always act in our best interest, but their own best interest (this is normal, but we refuse to recognize it). Israel is NOT our ONLY friend in the Middle East, we have NO friends in the Middle East - get used to it!!! I do NOT advocate Israel’s destruction, and in fact, for our own interests, we may want to use them to help maintain a balance of power in the Middle East. But “saving” Israel will not bring peace in the Middle East, only war - this is a fact. Therefore, we need to have a balanced foreign policy about Israel in the Middle East which sometimes goes their way and sometimes doesn’t, as is beneficial to US in any given circumstance.
So look at all these world events with a level head !?!?!
For those of you who believe that this is a “spiritual issue” - our spiritual future does not depend on the survival of a state that today calls itself Israel. This is a farce perpetuated by sensation (and money seeking televangelists). Our spiritual job right now as Christians is to protect the U.S. from all of Satan’s detractors (including radical Islam) as the main base (no other country even comes close)!
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