Have we reached the time when continual crisis removes our capacity to care or when we will finally face a crisis that cannot be resolved? There are too many tensions in the world to ignore but we don’t stay focused on them. How much shock can we take? It seems as if we have accepted a new normal and are becoming immune to the level of horror that man can … [Read more...]
Seriously Stupid: Cutting Troops While Enlisting the “Undocumented”
"Let’s kill our vets in the hospitals designed to take care of them, let’s get comfortable with 22 vets a day killing themselves because they cannot face the pain, let’s get rid of trained personnel, many who are combat veterans with invaluable experience. And once we do all that, let’s replace them." But then who do we replace them with? We replace them with criminals of … [Read more...]
It’s Obama’s War Now
Isn’t it interesting how history is edited when you need to excuse something but relied upon when you want it to be?The President did not go back to Congress for a vote on the actions being taken in Syria or Iraq because he has the power to continue under the Authorization for Use of Military Force from 2003. After all, we are still in Iraq defending the Iraqi People, … [Read more...]
Our Major Ally against ISIS is…the French? We are so Screwed.
Our Major Ally against ISIS is...the French? We are so Screwed. Our first national ally against the Islamic State is the French? In all the nightmares I had, my imagination was not enough to encompass that. When was the last time the French successfully accomplished a military task? Before Waterloo? Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, seems … [Read more...]
Pick a Side… Any Side…
Pick a side.Our President, who ran on an anti-war platform (twice) and who received the Nobel Peace Prize before doing... anything "peaceful," has probably had to shed some private tears as he finds himself required to send the American military back into the fight in Iraq. But no matter how hard you twist his arm or show him facts, he dodges the term ‘war’ like Clinton … [Read more...]
Collision Course: A Veteran’s Voice on the Threat of ISIS
Do you ever feel guilty because you want something bad to happen? Let's say you have a bad intersection on a stretch of road that has several near misses and you just cannot get anyone to pay attention. Maybe you hope for one really horrific accident so you can say “I told you so” and then finally get something done about it before the problem claims many more lives in … [Read more...]
The President’s Speech: Is This War or Not?
I am glad the President is finally realizing that we need to take an active role in the extermination of the Islamic State. I wish I had more nice things to say but I don’t have any because the President did not give me much reason. The President failed to answer the one question that matters the most, are we at war with the Islamic State? I am not arguing … [Read more...]
Preparing for Disaster: What the TV Shows and “Experts” Get Wrong
Over the last few years there have been quite a few shows about preparing for disaster from every possible threat to specific natural occurrences. Some have been about fear mongering and some have been public safety announcements.There have been numerous survival shows for entertainment value and arguments across the spectrum of who was right, wrong, and which technique … [Read more...]
Reflections on Sept. 11th (part 1)
Editor's Note:Today we remember the terrorist attacks that took place on 11 September, 2001. In the first of a series of personal vignettes, Havok Journal writer Leonard Benton offers a moving account of his experiences on 9/11 and after._______________ Never Forget.It was a routine day. I got up and went to work as I normally did. The only thing different was … [Read more...]
Tamerlane: A Lesson on ISIS from the First Man of Iron
Well-reasoned discourse only works on reasonable people. If you cannot honestly debate or communicate with integrity, you cannot have a conversation between equals. I have made some bold statements about how to deal with ISIS and the Middle East and a common response to my articles is that no one can cause a fanatic to fear enough to ameliorate … [Read more...]
