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Ralph Peters is Correct Once Again

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Too late for Syria: Radicals now rule the rebellion is the latest Piece from Ralph Peters in the New York Post and this one deals with the wisdom or folly of US intervention in Syria. I generally agree with Col. Peters as he is one of the few national security commentators that seems to have a realistic grasp of what America can and should do in the world. His ultimate take here is that the US should not touch the Civil War aspect of Syria with a ten foot pole and we should only act to secure chemical weapons stockpiles if that becomes necessary. I disagree with him that we … More after the Jump…

Support the Syrian Rebels?: How stupid can the West be?

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 Video shows Islamist rebels executing 11 Syrian soldiers:  Yet for some unfathomable reason the Administration is talking about providing support to the rebel groups in Syria.  The video is below (Warning, it is graphic). After watching just contemplate that these are the folks some in the West want us to help.  How they differ from the regime thugs I have no idea. Compare the picture in the linked article with the video.  Notice there is no mention of the cries of Allahu Akbar in the article although they do mention in passing that the group is Islamist.  Now also remember the constant refrain about Islam being a Religion of Peace, which Muslim’s give the lie … More after the Jump…

Happy New Year

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I hope all my readers have a Happy New Year!  Especially those troops deployed, may they stay safe, come home healthy to their families, and most of all be Victorious!

Merry Christmas

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I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas with a special thought to all military personnel who have to spend this holiday away from their family as they serve their countries.  They are not forgotten.

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I will probably be a little slack on posting over the next 6-8 months.   Mainly because I am trying to complete a second Bachelor’s degree right now and simply do not have the time to devote to updating the blog as I would like.   Expect the Book Reviews to keep coming and the monthly world military updates, but I cannot promise any substantive military history posts for the foreseeable future.   I have a couple in the pipeline that I will try to finish as time allows.   This is one reason I solicited contributors a few months ago.   I renew the invitation now.   Just contact me using the contact link on the right and we can get going.

The Moral Quandary?

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Lately I have been somewhat preoccupied thinking about the geostrategic position the US and even the wider Western world find themselves in.  While I do not believe that the world is on the cusp of some massive catastrophe, it does seem to me that the rise of Militant Islam in the last ten years presents problems that are new or that at least have not been faced on such a scale by Western countries since before the rise of the modern nation state. Essentially, I think that Islam is facing the West with a crucial choice, one the West would rather not have to make as it goes against all … More after the Jump…

The Grave of Richard Wagner

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I recently visited the grave of Richard Wagner behind the Wagner Museum in Bayreuth, Germany and thought I would share the photos I took while there.  The grave itself is not very remarkable and the only way you know it is is his is because there are signs pointing to it.  There is no marking on the grave itself saying it is where Wagner and his wife are buried.  There is an outstanding site with a wealth of information on the composer at the Richard Wagner Archive.   The gravestone for the dog says Here rests and guards Wagner’s Russ.  Russ was the name of his dog.  

Some Videos from Iraq in 2004

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I figured I would embed both of the videos I took in Iraq in 2004 on the site.   I have included brief captions below each video.   plus, I took them all personally, none of them are graphic and I don’t have and would not post any pictures of dead bodies.   The videos are pretty bad quality because the camera I had in Iraq was a very basic 3 megapixel POS. I will give it one thing though, it made it through the deployment where expensive cameras did not. Tripod, one of the coolest dogs I ever met is below.   How you can be so happy with only three legs I do not know, but his tail literally never stopped moving.

Tripod outside the Mess Hall on our FOB in Sep 2004.


The controlled detonation of an IED we found in the Ad-Dawr police Chief’s office in Dec 2004


Controlled detonation of an IED on the main road road through town 22 Nov 04

I have a whole bunch of pictures I took while deployed and if I get some interest I will post more with better descriptions.

SLDN Stay out of my Inbox

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I have gotten two emails over the last twelve hours at my @military-history.us address from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network(The Gays in the Military Advocacy Group), I don’t for the life of me know why.   I have never supported the repeal of DADT and was sure happy that I retired from the military less than a month after its official repeal.   I am guessing that since I have a military themed site and have not really commented on DADT they thought I might support them.   They could not be more wrong. I have strong moral reservations to homosexuality in general and personal objections to homosexuals serving openly. … More after the Jump…

Officially Retired from the Military

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As of 010001NOV2011 or midnight on November 1st for the civilians out there, I am officially retired from the United States Army after a combined total of 8273 days or 22 years, 7 months and 24 days I am kind of a civilian again. I don’t have to cut my hair and I can grow a beard if my lets me. It came faster than I thought it would but I am proud to have served and glad to be on civvy street again at the same time.   Now I just have to go out and find a real job, great economy for that huh? 🙁

Spam Comments on my Blog

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I get about 15-20 spam comments on my blog every day.   Most are the “Thanks for that Awesome posting, it saved MUCH time” variety.   They usually have a link in them to anything from Viagra ads, penis enlargement, cheap homeloans, to how to get student aid.   I am currently doing an experiment to see many of the “thanks for that Awesome posting spam I get as a percentage of all the spam I get.   My gut tells me that the “awesome posting” spam is about 50% of all the spam I get.   I have recieved 31 spam comments in the past two days and 18 … More after the Jump…

The God Clause

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I ran across a piece in Bloomberg Businessweek that is very interesting. The God Clause and the Reinsurance Industry It is a fairly long story but the gist of it is that reinsurer’s, companies that essentially insure insurance companies, have some very sophisticated models for assessing risk but even they are not omniscient when it comes to natural events. The way these companies caegorize risk is interesting in the extreme. Lloyds of London has an entire section of their website devoted to analyzing risk and they annually put out a list of Realistic Disaster Scenarios.   What I found most interesting were the examples in the story of the way … More after the Jump…

WOW, What more can you say to a story like this?

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Education officials break down Stockton man’s door I don’t even know what to think about this. Surprise that the DOE has cops or shock that they would use a SWAT team to go after a student loan defaulter. Maybe those guys over at Prison Planet really are onto something. Of course, this could lead to all sorts of jokes about DOE cops toting rulers and detention slips too.

New RSS Feed

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I have added a new RSS Feed subscription form in the sidebar.  I hope that people are interested enough in what I have to say to subscribe.  I have reproduced it below. Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

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