Runt's Rant Page
An Alternative Approach to Preventing Terrorist Attacks
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Barack Obama recently informed us that if we don’t commit to the war effort in Afghanistan to the tune of 30,000 additional troops, al-Qaeda will take over Afghanistan and turn it into a training ground for terrorists. They would then presumably come here and kill more of us like they did on 9/11.
A more sensible solution might be to simply stop granting al-Qaeda operatives visas to come to America in the first place. All nineteen of the 9/11 terrorists had government-issued visas. How would they have gotten here without them? As desert dwellers, they probably wouldn’t have been capable of swimming across the ocean, and if they managed to construct some ragtag ships, surely our Navy could have spotted and stopped them before they got ashore. Theoretically, they could have snuck in across the Mexican or Canadian borders. Therefore, instead of sending 30,000 more of our young men and women into a war in the armpit of the world, couldn’t they instead just stay here and prevent future attacks by guarding our borders?
Some concerns with this plan are:
1) How do we know who to refuse visas to?
The answer is anyone that is an Arab Muslim. This will involve some racial and ethnic profiling, which members of some political groups (that aren’t on their way to Afghanistan) may find more horrific than war. This moratorium on Arab Muslim visas can be lifted once the jihad is over.
2) If our troops secure the borders, how will nannies and gardeners be able to come to America?
They will have to enter the U.S. legally by filling out an immigration application. This policy change will upset the political groups that fail to understand that there is nothing wrong with Mexico that the Mexicans can’t fix.
3) What about terror cells already in the United States?
Sending more troops to Afghanistan won’t get rid of them. Homeland Security will have to do its job.
4) If we pull out of Afghanistan, won’t it be taken over by al-Qaeda?
Maybe, but since the President announced our withdrawal timeline, al-Qaeda operatives will just hide in the mountains or get some R&R in Iran until we leave and take over anyway. We can’t save Afghanistan unless we’re prepared to stay there indefinitely or to neutralize Iran.
5) Americans want Osama bin Laden’s head. What about our revenge?
Give it up. Osama’s head isn’t worth the life of one more American soldier. Besides, the spread of Islam and its militant faction is a numbers game we can’t win. Let’s cut our losses now and concentrate on protecting our homeland.
Please consider this politically incorrect but more cost-effective and practical alternative to war, and bring it up with your congressman.
Michael R. Rhodanz
The 'Top Ten Reasons' why you may be Taliban, if:
10. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.
9. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.
8. You have more wives than teeth.
7. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon "unclean."
6. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
5. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against
4. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
3. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
2. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON, YOU MIGHT BE A TALIBAN:
1. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.
A U.S. Marine squad was marching north of
an Iraqi terrorist, badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite
side of the road was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state.
The Marine was conscious and alert, and, as first aid was given to
both men, the squad leader asked the injured Marine what had happened.
The Marine reported, "I was heavily armed and moving north along the
highway here, and coming south was a heavily armed insurgent. We saw
each other and both took cover in the ditches along the road.
"I yelled to him that Saddam Hussein is a miserable lowlife scumbag,
and he yelled back that Senator Ted Kennedy is a good-for-nothing, fat,
left- wing liberal drunk. So I said that Osama Bin Laden dresses and
acts like a frigid, mean spirited woman!!"
He retaliated by yelling, "Oh yeah? Well so does Hillary Clinton!"
"And, there we were, standing in the middle of the road, shaking hands, when a truck hit us."
|
See if I understand how the world works lately...
If a man cuts his finger off while slicing salami at work, he blames the restaurant.
If you smoke three packs a day for 40 years and die of lung cancer, your family blames the tobacco company.
If your neighbor crashes into a tree while driving home drunk, he blames the bartender. If your grandchildren are brats without manners, you blame television. If your friend is shot by a deranged madman, you blame the gun manufacturer.
And if a crazed person breaks into the cockpit & tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet, and the passengers kill him instead, the mother of the crazed deceased blames the airline. I must have lived too long to understand the world as it is anymore.
So, if I die while my old, wrinkled butt is parked in front of this computer, I want you to blame Bill Gates...okay? |
The Military
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm howitzer. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.
He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
Prayer: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan, sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq. There is nothing attached.... This can be very powerful.......
Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine or Airman, prayer is the very best one.
This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa Army National
Guard, serving in Iraq:
As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I
wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home. And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in
Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is
the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it
with your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is
producing.)
Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored
there so education can occur.
The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever
in Iraq.
The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.
Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with
US soldiers.
Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to
prevent the spread of germs. An interim constitution has been signed.
Girls are allowed to attend school.
Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.
Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us
there. I have met many, many people from Iraq that want us there, and in a bad way. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts. So If you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to give him my email address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him straight. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.
Ray Reynolds, SFC
Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion