Use of Force

   The President of the United States has (finally) gone to Congress with a request for authorization for a use of military force against a group of muslim religious fanatics known as the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, muslim cockroaches, etc).  It is a request he doesn't have to make.  It is also a request he has no bloody will to carry out.  The last sentence is my opinion, although it is a widely held opinion among people who don't think of the current president is the best thing since sliced bread.  In order to give you my reasoning for that opinion, let's take a look at the definition of force.

force: noun. coercion or compulsion, especially with the use or threat of violence.

   This is the definition that President Obama is thinking of in his mind.  I can almost guarantee that.  I figure he is just glossing over the word "use" and just sees the phrase "threat of violence."  In his mind, I'm sure that is enough to make a bunch of muslim cockroaches cower in fear and disband to the nearest rock quarry.  Maybe, in his childhood, it was always the threat of violence that made him do things.  I don't know, mainly because his past is one of the best kept secrets known to mankind.  But, from his request for the use of force to destroy ISIS, one can only come to the assertion that the threat of violence is what he believes will destroy a growing group of muslim extremists.  I can say this because all he wants to do is continue with an air war that hasn't stopped ISIS.  We've been bombing ISIS positions since August 2014.  Yet, according to Obama's own National Counterterrorism Director Nicholas Rasmussen, ISIS continues to grow in size of their manpower and physical territory.  So, it goes to figure that Obama's use of force doesn't request the use of ground forces.  Nor does it have an exit strategy, but that's a tenet of almost any politician who has never worn a military uniform.  O yeah, it does talk about using special forces here and there, but that isn't ground forces.  Special forces, the way they are meant to be used, do not constitute "ground forces".  Ground forces take, by force, an objective (town, hilltop, etc.) and hold it.  Usually, during the "hold it" part, they continue to search out enemy combatants, weapon caches, etc.  No offense to fighter pilots, but they don't hold anything when it comes to a physical, geographical location.  Neither does a drone. 
   Just days after their captured pilot was burned alive by these inhuman cockroaches, Jordan bombed the crap out of a Syrian city called Raqqa, which is thought to be the de facto capitol of ISIS.  But ISIS is still in Raqqa.  That's because we don't have ground troops to hold any piece of land that we bomb.  You can bomb the bejesus out of anything.  Until you have ground troops go in and take physical control of an area, it isn't yours and you can't say you know the enemy is gone.  And, you damn sure can't say you've defeated someone until you know they are gone. 
   A couple of days ago, on twitter, I had a running conversation with someone I can only describe as a totally out of touch pacifist.  This person claimed that she just wanted peace.  That's fine, everyone wants peace.  I told her, though, that peace has to be a two way street.  In other words, peace can only happen when all sides want peace.  Otherwise, it sucks and you're going to get run over.  ISIS wants pieces, not peace.  They don't want to coexist with Christians, Buddhists, or any other religion.  They want you to bow down in the name of islam.  That is what we are up against.  Religious fanatics pure and simple. 
   If the above seems political then maybe it is.  But, if you want to win a war, if you want to destroy a group of religious fanatics, then you need do it the right way.  If you fight, you need to fight to win, its the only way to fight a war. 

*****

   Now, also a couple of days ago VA Secretary Robert McDonald was in front of the House of Representatives justifying the VA budget for Fiscal Year 2016.  During his testimony, he had a rather pointed conversation with Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO). Coffman is an Iraq War Veteran.  During the exchange, which basically centered on an over budget and behind schedule VA hospital in Denver, McDonald asked Coffman (keep in mind Coffman is a Veteran) "What have you done?"
   Now, I don't think I have ever defended McDonald.  I have said in past blog posts that we should give him a chance.  This exchange, along with the fact that McDonald claims to be for the financial gutting of the VA Choice card program, is just about the end of his chance with me.  By that, I mean that, since McDonald is a government outsider, I had hopes he might bring true change to the culture of the Department of Veteran Affairs.  I now realize if there is going to be change it is going to be brought about by groups like IAVA, The American Legion, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, and AMVETS. These groups have proven their ability to get the ear of politicians and get legislation passed to improve the care of our Veterans.  Keep in mind groups like Wounded Warrior Project and others are great too.  But, when it comes to getting legislative action done, the Vets groups are getting the job done.  We have to work with these groups to achieve the change that our Veterans need and deserve. 
In the meantime, please feel free to go to the Department of Veteran Affairs facebook page or their twitter account and tell them what you have done, either as a Veteran of the United States Military or as a supporter of Veterans who deserve better care from a bureaucracy that is mismanaged.  Please use #WhatHaveUDone when letting them know our Veterans deserve the best care we can give them.
That is all.

Thanks to articles by Fox News and The Washington Post

******

If you are a Veteran please take the The Spartan Pledge. If you are thinking about suicide please call the Veteran Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. 

If you want to put an end to 22 Veterans committing suicide everyday, then please consider Telephone A Veteran Tuesdays and call at least one Veteran that you know and just talk to them.  This is a project put together by my friend A Vet with PTSD.  he's the one that got me into blogging, and I thank him for it.