Election Day Part Deaux

The push toward election day has begun, and that's a two way push. The insurgents are likely to start fighting not just for their own survival (for which they don't seem to be all that concerned about), but for the survival of their movement- the jihad and all it's trimmings. Fallujah may not have "broken their backs," but it hurt them. A lot. I expect a sloppy, poorly-organized crescendo of violence leading up to the end of January. It's a tough road ahead for our brave warriors over there, but the operation in Fallujah ensured that it should be less lethal than it otherwise would have been. Do not lose faith if the election is postponed. They postponed it in Afghanistan- and it was one of the best strategic decisions in the War on Terror thus far.

And Speaking of Afghanistan

Heard anything out of Afghanistan lately? Wonder why that is?

Remember how that was going to be a "repeat of the Soviet disaster" of the 70's and 80's? Well- most people don't know this, but the only reason they whipped up on the Russians like that was because Rambo was flown in to help them out. I'm serious, I saw the movie. Sly Stallone fought alongside Osama bin Laden and the rest of the anti-communist mujahadeen. He even dedicated the movie to them. And he had a really bad 80's mullet.

But seriously folks, I saw in some left-leaning blog (can't remember which one- but I believe the post was titled "Failure of Afghanistan")- a long rant about how Afghanistan has been overtaken by a "drug epidemic." Claimed they were making tons of opium over there! Can you imagine the horror? I mean, especially because we don't have any issues with drugs in the U.S. And Mexico is like one big anti-drug.

Wouldn't it have been great if opium had been the biggest problem in Afghanistan before 9/11?

Mosul vs. Bad Guys

I've been catching up on the current status of Fallujah, Mosul, and the rest. I don't really know anything more than you all know at this point. I can tell you that the people of Mosul aren't letting me down. I talked them up quite a bit in recent months, and they're giving me reason to keep believing in them. One thing they always used to tell me- "Don't be fooled- those car bombers and suicide bombers are not Iraqis! We don't do that sort of thing. It's foreigners! Iraqi's don't do that, and we think it's despicable."

They were always so outraged about the violence that was constantly flaring up in the Sunni Triangle. Well, it seems that many of those violently misguided morons from that ill-fated triangle are finding their way to Mosul. I believe the people will prevail. Don't get me wrong, it may get ugly. It's likely to get worse up there before it gets better (especially as election day approaches), but I give the insurgents zero chance in Mosul. They're barking up a very bad tree up there. Mosul could end up being the "back breaker." We'll see...

Oil for Food?

Why are we still calling it the "Oil for Food" Scandal? Isn't it fairly obvious now that "food" really wasn't much of a player in this racket? Why not call it the "Oil for Fraud" Scandal? Or how about "Oil for France?" I've said it before- if you're not familiar with this unbelievable scandal, then you are not qualified to debate the legitimacy of the War in Iraq. As it turns out, our friend The Commissar (the genius behind The Politburo Diktat) has a side project that I just found out about- it's a one-stop shop to get all the information you'll ever need about the Oil for Fascism Scandal. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you- Friends of Saddam.

My Last Word on the Fallujah Incident

Sure there were probably some "rogue" MSM blowhards who tried to Abu Ghraibicize this thing- but I think (hope) that the majority of the media kept it fair. I hear Bill O'Reilly was a big watchdog during the whole thing- good job, Bill. In any case, it seems to be dying down quite a bit. Maybe it's the basketball fight or maybe the media is actually starting to "get it." Okay, you're right- it's the basketball fight.

Here's an interesting related piece from everyone's favorite small town veteran- Of Unsung Heroes and Split-second Decisions. Of Mo Duc and Fallujah. Of Soldiers and Marines and Killing or Dying. Of Kevin Sites and a Camera. Of Doing The Right Thing. Click here.