WAR IS NOT A GAME

ARE WE AT WAR OR MAKING BELIEVE WE ARE AT WAR?

Part of our government is convinced that we are being attacked by terrorists and they are attempting to protect us and wage war against the attackers.

Part of our government only wants us to wage war under certain conditions which would not infringe upon the rights of the enemy.

Our armed forces are trained to destroy and kill. If they win, they are successful, but to win they must destroy the enemy.

It is very simple. The objective is to win. When you win, you can go home, that is the exit strategy. If the enemy loses then everything they own, including their land belongs to us.

We entered into an agreement with many other countries in 1941 and it was called the Geneva Convention. The countries who signed the documents agreed to treat their prisoners a certain way.
John McCain was a prisoner of one of these countries but they did not meet the terms of the agreement. We lost that war as McCain sat in prison while we argued if we should release our full military might.
Not many have been as fair and considerate as the United States. There are many terrorists in various groups and they want to rob you and kill you. Unless they are in uniform and represent some country they would not be entitled to treatment under terms of the Geneva Agreement. These are terrorists, thugs, and gangsters. They do not negotiate unless in a position of distress where they cannot win. If they think they can win, they will not negotiate and will try to kill you. If they are part of some Far East cells who believe they will be a martyr if they die trying to kill you, nothing will stop them, there is no negotiation, just game playing until they get the advantage. They will laugh at your stupidity in trying to bargain with them.

We have thugs and killers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We were holding them until the fighting ended where we took them from the battlefields.
Our Supreme Court has decided we must give these thugs all the rights of the Geneva Agreement even though they are not fighting for a country or were in uniform. They hide in civilian clothes and often hide behind women and children. The court decision was 5-3 and would have been 5-4 but one member did not participate because he had already ruled on the case. If he voted it would have been 5-4. This one vote difference ruled the military tribunals that tried these prisoners were unconstitutional and illegal under the Geneva Conventions. They did say the prisoners could be tried in military tribunals authorized by congress. The court said the Geneva Convention applied to civil wars and thus to thugs and terrorists.

The problem is two fold. First, the Geneva conventions were written in a way that gave an incentive to countries to join the agreement to insure better treatment for their prisoners. By giving the benefits to all, it takes away the incentive to join the agreement.

Second, the decision interferes with the rights of the Commander in Chief to have unusual wartime powers. He (or she) must move quickly to protect the citizens and there is not always time to wait for debate. We are seeing extended bickering between the Congress and the President and the President and the Supreme Court in an attempt to limit the powers of the President. This bickering can cost us dearly during times of emergency.

If these powers are questioned will decisions made in the past be reversed?
Remember that the Emancipation Proclamation prepared and signed by President Abraham Lincoln was done using his wartime powers and was not challenged by the judiciary at the time. This resulted in the freedom of the first slaves. Is the Court now going to try to reverse that?

In addition our units that interrogate these prisoners are now afraid of being charged with a crime. There is only one result from this action. If we take a prisoner and we cannot try to obtain information from him then he is of no value to us. It is useless to take prisoners so the incentive will be to terminate him in the battle zone.

Now we have another situation. We ask our men and women to volunteer for service. We put them in harms way having carefully taught them to destroy our enemies. 7 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman see a man on the opposite side of the road carrying an AK47. That is an assault rifle used for killing people. It is a battle weapon. If he is going to carry it around areas where our military is he should be expected to be shot at.
In 1941 there were German Submarines operating in the Western Atlantic. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered them sunk. He said that if you see a snake poised to strike you crush him before he strikes. In fact, we have discussions going on now with many suggesting that we strike Iran and North Korea before they strike us.
Should the marines terminate this threat with an AK 47? They then noticed he was carrying a shovel and he started to dig alongside the road. With all the damage and death resulting from road side bombs and mines it seemed obvious the armed intruder performing an act that could cause death and destruction must be eliminated. It happened.

There are still 3 marines being held for this act and they are charged with a crime. They are lining up attorneys to defend them and their families will no doubt lose their homes and savings in an attempt to save their sons from these terrible charges.

There is only one result from this action. Our brave young men will no longer want to volunteer for the military. The risks and the costs are too high. The people at home will not appreciate their service and we will not defend their action.

It is obvious we are not serious about defending ourselves and our families from the terrorists. I believe we need to tell our children not to have any more children. If we are not going to fight with the intention of winning then we will surely lose and we should not want to place our future generations in the position of the horrible and brutal tactics that are used by those who will conquer us. They are thugs, murderers, rapists, opportunists and they are intent on using us as their slaves, converting us to their beliefs or destroying us.
They are very clever and patient. They have stolen a peaceful religion and profess edicts that were not intended. They feel that the actions of the westerners have caused the deaths of many of their people so when they kill us it is just an eye for an eye. And when they kill us they believe they become martyrs and will go to a rewarding afterlife.

If they want to play the game of an eye for an eye we should fight fire with fire. We can hire mercenaries to intercept and destroy them. We can increase our security. We can support tribes and countries that want to destroy them. We have done it before and could do it now. But we must not hesitate. We have to be committed and it all starts right now with you and me. Other wise, quit having kids, you are condemning them to a life worse than hell.

If you disagree, tell me. (DTM)
If you agree, tell others. (ATO)