The Art of War or Submission?
“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.” – Sun Tzu, the Art of War
On May 1, 2011, Obama boasted, “Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden……At my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.”
Since that day, not only have the actions of SEAL Team 6 been used as a political campaign tool for Obama’s reelection, but leaks about the OBL killing have been beneficial to him, while proving deadly for our Military who have been and are still in Afghanistan.
Consider the following. The immediate announcement of the killing spiked Obama’s approval ratings yet, he didn’t use all of the information and intelligence which was taken by SEAL Team 6 which might have helped to destroy Al Qaeda. Hollywood film producers were given special access to Dept. of Defense and CIA details and about OBL, and disclosure about the unit, cover name, the number of SEAL members and their movements, equipment and the raid itself at the compound. They also had the information which led to the identity of Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani Doctor who provided intelligence info to the CIA which helped lead to the raid. This doctor was convicted 23 May 2012, of treason and sentenced to 33 years in a Pakistani prison, and is awaiting yet another hearing to see if the case will be overturned and if he will be set free. .
Disclosures that were “leaked” to the public included the Unit’s location, the disclosure of JSOC- Joint Special Operations Command, the parent unit, which endangers operators and support personnel, including civilians. Thanks to loose lips of the Obama administration, our enemies have known and now understand our Special Ops forces and Intelligence practices and since, SEAL Team 6 and other Special Ops forces have been basically put in the enemy cross hairs.
By allowing such information to be given, Obama violated an understanding of secrecy that keeps our Special Operations Forces safe and put them all in jeopardy. Since Obama bragged about the OBL killing, America has lost over 330 of her finest, and over 4,784 have been wounded in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of those lost, include many of the SEAL Team 6 members themselves.
Three families of Navy SEAL Team 6 Special Forces servicemen, the family of an Army National Guardsman, and retired Military experts spoke at a Press Conference May 9th, 2013 at the National Press Club, which lasted a little over 2 hours. They spoke about how and why their sons along with 26 others died in a helicopter crash, known as Extortion 17 in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011, just a few months after the raid on the compound in Pakistan, in which Bin Laden was killed. The press conference was held, not only to disclose never before heard information about Extortion 17, but also to show how the Obama Administration and others have hamstrung our Military in government. Among the speakers were Gen. Boykin, Allen West, Michele Bachmann, and Bridgette Gabrielle.
The downing of the CH-47 “Chinook” on August 6, 2011 has been considered the worst loss of U.S Military life in the Afghanistan war. The Helicopter call sign Extortion 17 crashed while transporting a quick reaction force and attempting to reinforce members of the 75th Rangers who were engaged in a fierce fight in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. All 38 people on board died, including 25 American special operations personnel, 5 Task Force Knighthawk aircrew and Army Reserve crewmen.
Karen and Billy Vaughn, parents of Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Aaron Vaughn, one of the SEALS who died in the crash have been raising questions about how the Obama administration has pushed the limits of the military’s Special Operations Forces as part of its war policy. Also in question is how ROE’s, “rules of engagement” have been used to try and win over the Afghan people yet have contributed to the deaths of all those aboard the helicopter and over 200 others who have died in Afghanistan since.
Ever since they read the declassified CENTCOM report, it raised more questions than answers about the incident. From the number of monthly objectives for our Special Ops which has grown over 600% in two years to the fact that Afghan military and police forces are involved in planning every special operations mission, which has had security issues, there are a lot of valid concerns for our military. The more involved Afghan troops are in operations and taking more control in their own country, the number of green on blue attacks has risen.
It’s not only our Special Ops Forces who have been put in more jeopardy, but all of our forces. We have seen the ROEs that have tied the hands of our soldiers, all to try and gain respect from the Afghani people. Not only is the administration using ROEs causing our soldiers to have to practically submit to the culture of Islam, but our soldiers are also in danger of not being allowed to express their own faiths in order to not offend Muslims.
The political correctness of tolerance of Islam has led to an increase in deaths of our soldiers abroad, and also at home, as we saw with the Ft. Hood shooting, which our own government offensively refers to as an incident of “work place violence.” No, it was a terrorist attack by a Muslim soldier, on an American base on American soil, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people.
We have seen the cases where Koran burnings resulted in deaths of Americans, and apologies from this administration, yet burning of Bibles was considered burning trash. We have seen protests over Retired Lt. General William Boykin’s speech that was planned this past January at West Point’s prayer breakfast because of his views on Islam. Last October several dozen top US Muslim groups sent a letter to the White House and John Brennan demanding that the Obama administration establish a task force to “purge” US government counter-terrorism training of views them deem offensive. And last April, a complaint about anti-Islamic materials used in a class for officers at Norfolk’s Joint Forces Staff College caused top military officials to suspend the course and order a broad review of instructional materials across all branches of the service.
The most disturbing case for many however is the fact that military leaders allowed a Muslim Cleric to come and pray at the funeral of the fallen SEAL Team 6 members in Kabul. The cleric according to video released, actually cursed the soldiers as he prayed in Arabic.
All of this while the US has spent nearly a $1 trillion in Afghanistan, not including CIA cash payments to the Karzai government and will continue payments. While many will disagree with me, payments for our military presence in Afghanistan seem like jizya–an Islamic tax that is collected from infidels on Islamic soil.
Somehow too many people still seem to believe Bush lied, people died, when in fact more have died under Obama’s watch and the numbers still grow. With his declaration that Al Qaeda is on the run Obama has done nothing to keep our nation safe, yet by implementing politically correct feel good, pro-Islamic tolerance into top Military and intelligence community positions, it is our troops and civilians in many Islamic countries who suffer from it.
Leadership consists of honor, courage, commitment, and character. Obama and many in his administration have showed none of these qualities when it comes to either keeping our military or civilians safe during a time of war, whether here at home, in Iraq, Afghanistan or in Benghazi, Libya.
