This past week it was reported, quietly, that the 1000^th U.S. serviceman had died in Afghanistan.  There are some points regarding this sad and somber event that I believe should be made.

First, don’t be surprised if you didn’t hear about it.  The dramatic and loud coverage of such milestones that existed under a republican presidency have miraculously ceased under President Obama.

Secondly, one did not hear Mitch McConnell, the minority leader of the U.S. Senate, or his counterpart in the House John Boehner, smugly proclaim “This war is lost” as did Harry Reid, democrat majority leader in the Senate, speaking of Iraq in 2007.

What contrasts!  Has President Obama, who took ownership of the Afghanistan conflict even before he was elected, been faced with the hateful, ugliness that was continually slung at President Bush?  And, where is Cindy Sheehan?

It should be recalled that Senator Obama blasted the Iraq troop “surge”. 

It should also be recalled that Congressman Ike Skelton, the much-vaunted Chairman of House Armed Services, was Nancy Pelosi’s chief voice in opposition to the highly successful Iraq strategy devised by the Bush team. 

What do you have to say now, Congressman?  Where are you? 

Cutting the ribbon on another hangar?

It should also be recalled that in Afghanistan, our military leadership did NOT get what it asked for.  The lawyers, academics, and social theoreticians who compose Barack Obama’s administration know better.  And while we here at home are grilling burgers and watching baseball in our air conditioned homes, our troops in Afghanistan are fighting a war under “Rules of Engagement” in which their hands are tied; and if they defend themselves, they may be rewarded for their service with a stay in prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Congressman Skelton!   I’d like to hear your thoughts on that as well!

Finally, you should learn about Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht, a great American from Texas, who was that 1000^th American loss in Afghanistan.  He was killed by a land mine less than a month into his second tour, which he fought for after being wounded in his first.

Nine days before Cpl. Leicht was killed, his brother Jesse enlisted in the U.S. Marines.

As long as America keeps producing men such as these, there is hope that the Great Republic will survive its politicians.

Jeff Parnell

LINKS

1,000^th GI Killed In Afghan War Was On 2^nd Tour

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100530/D9G1297O1.html

Harry Reid Surrenders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niPmXym7u3g

Ike Skelton Speaks Against The Iraq “Surge”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHXrLT1AGNY

Obama Against The Troop “Surge” In Iraq

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJbsQ7oUQWw

The Leavenworth Ten

http://www.supportsgtleahy.com/theleavenworth10.htm

I appeared on KRMS’ Morning Magazine with Michael McSorely Monday, and the podcast is up!

Go to the link below, scroll down, and click on

2010-05-24_9:00_The_Morning_Magazine

Parnell: Obama's policy will end effective deterrent to war

This is the unedited version--The News-Leader edited out the majority of the article because of references to Ike Skelton.....

“The Obama Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review balances the role of our nuclear deterrent forces with the goals of preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism”.  This is the opening sentence in a joint statement from Missouri’s own Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton (D), and Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Jim Langevin (D-RI). 

There are key words that appear often in political speeches and statements by those on the Left.  “Balances” is one of those.  Usually “balance”, “balances”, or “balanced” indicates that we are giving up something; in this case not only strategy, but also part of the arsenal that makes us the only Superpower still standing. Should you doubt this, be advised that in a later sentence, Mr. Skelton states:  “We are also pleased that the review concluded that maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of our nuclear weapons, especially at lower numbers…” It will undoubtedly come as a surprise to many of Congressman Skelton’s constituents that he approves the Obama administration’s troubling change to our defense posture.

I have studied the debates over nuclear policy for several years.  Dating back to when President Truman found himself in sole control of the new nuclear genie, to President Eisenhower’s dealing with the Soviet Union’s development of nuclear weapons, to President Carter’s gaffe that his 10 year old daughter Amy’s greatest worry was nuclear proliferation, and finally President Reagan’s dream that the horrendous weapons might be rendered obsolete, which led to the Strategic Defense Initiative.  For those of you who learned all your history in liberal universities, it was the Soviet Union’s irrational fear of SDI that eventually bankrupted them and led to their final collapse; it was Ted Kennedy who derisively nicknamed the effort “Star Wars”.  It doesn’t matter to me that SDI has yet to be workable; the Soviet Union is history.  You liberals should actually like that this is a case where the end truly justified the means.

In any case, President Obama, in banning terms such as “Islamic extremism” breaks the first rule of  war, which is “know your enemy”.  Now he insists on not only dismantling a long-effective deterrent to war, but is also broadcasting it to the world. 

True genius.

It is time for me to “wind up” this stint as From The Right columnist, and I wish to express a heartfelt “Thank You” to the News-Leader editorial staff, the readers, and especially those who have taken time to contact me this past year…even the guy who began his email with “Dear Sir; U R an idiot.”!

Is it not a grand country where a common citizen can write about any subject, any subject at all-- provided one has the courage, of course-- and be published not only in the local newspaper, but also on the World Wide Web?  I have heard from people all over the United States and from several countries; my columns have been “tweeted”, emailed, complimented, panned, and pasted.

Thank you for the opportunity, the ideas, and the fun.

From the Right

Obama administration pushes anti-Israel media campaign

 Since much of the American "history" taught in government schools these days seems to focus upon evil American imperialism, the feminist movement and mistreatment of minority groups, while ignoring the great good brought about by the United States and its people, I feel I have no choice but to remind:

In 1948 President Harry Truman changed the course of history by quickly recognizing the brand new state of Israel -- it did not even have an official name at that moment -- and legitimized its existence. The story of that road to U.S. recognition is dramatic and exciting. Truman, product of a Baptist upbringing, knew from Sunday school and his own study of history the story of the Jewish people, their persecution, the Diaspora, and was undoubtedly one of the first westerners with full knowledge of the horror of the Nazi death camps. He was lobbied to distraction by members of the Zionist movement, with whom he already personally agreed. He had pressured the British, who controlled the area at that time, to allow mass immigration of European Jews with mixed result. He had to fight his own State Department, which felt that Truman had a much too simplistic view of the issue

(I cannot resist ruminating about Harry Truman: He was an evangelical; he did not possess a college degree; he believed that there are times when it is necessary to use military force; he stood up to labor unions ... and he was a Democrat!)

Fast-forward 62 years to 2010: Israel is in trouble again, this time with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It seems that the Israelis approved the building of some apartment complexes that the U.S. president found to be "unhelpful" to his personal peace proposal du jour. What most news reports fail to mention is that the construction will take place in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem. Again, that's a Jewish neighborhood inside Jerusalem.

The Obama administration has since coordinated a media campaign designed to chastise Israel, the only democracy in that part of the Earth. As I have previously written, the world pays attention to what any U.S. president says. Following his lead, Hamas declared a new "Intifada" or uprising; the leftist press and groups such as Peace Now, a pro-Palestinian organization financed by European governments, began a PR campaign to try to destabilize the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The president should have studied more Middle East history and less Daley-style politics. All he has done is galvanize Israeli suspicion of him. Netanyahu's brother-in-law accused the president of being anti-Semitic, and there are now posters in Israel suggesting that the president is an agent of the PLO.

This president, intent upon "reaching out" to the Muslim world, who thinks he can deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, cannot even deal with our best friend and only true ally in the region without looking like a foreign policy infant ... but that is surely what he is.