More Shame on Colin Powell

It's pretty easy for Colin Powell to now say he "advised President Bush before the Iraq war to send more troops to the country, but the administration did not follow his recommendation". He's the former Secretary of State and with 2400 dead soldiers under his belt, in a war he did nothing to stop, it just seems a little too easy and a little too late for him to say "I told ya so".

How long ago did he forget about his years as a soldier? How long ago did he forget that he was a General, a leader of men? Before troops were sent into the middle east, back in 2002 or 2003, he could have and should have shouted from the rooftops, "SEND MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ", and fallen on his sword, but no, he has waited until now, nearly 4 years too late and his statement is barely a whisper.

People still say that Colin Powell isn't so bad. If you feel that way, you are wrong. He stood in front of the UN in 2003, and while he refused to cite the 16 words that Bush spoke at the state of the Union earlier in the month about Iraq attempting to acquire uranium from Africa, he knew he was not speaking the truth. He said

My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. I will cite some examples, and these are from human sources.

We know the sources were not solid, and the information was not based on solid intelligence. It was based on information that was formed to fit the premise this administration wanted, and what they wanted was to go to war with Iraq.

I hold Colin Powell, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld personally responsible for the death of my only child, Lt Ken Ballard.
Why? Here are the facts.

• 1st Cavalry had arrived in Iraq on 3.29.04 to replace 1st Armored Division.
• Ken's unit turned in their weapons on 4.3.04.
• No soldiers from Ken's unit had been killed as of 4.3. 04.
• Ken's unit had shipped their personal belongings home.
• They were ready to march out of Baghdad the week of 4.10.04.
• Ken expected to be home in Germany by late April.
• On 4.14.04, 1st Armor Division was operationally extended for 120 days because the "mission was not complete" (read that, there weren't enough soldiers in Iraq.)
• Instead of shopping for Ken's Homecoming Party, we had to fire up the CARE package shipping schedule, which had ceased as we awaited Ken's return. We resumed shipping necessities & goodies to Iraq.
• Every single day in May, Ken's unit was in combat.
• Ken was killed on 5.30.04.
• 4 men from Ken's unit were killed by the end of May.
• All of those soldiers should have been home safely to their families.

And the answer is, Bush, Powell, Rumsfeld and Cheney are responsible for my son's death because they did not properly plan for this war by providing sufficient boots on the ground, equipment, and training, they didn't plan for the peace. And worst of all, they don't know how to get out of Iraq. I suspect they would if they thought about it, but with 6 enduring bases, 4 American and 2 UK, being built in Iraq, bigger than any we have seen before, why would they want to?

Peace

Bruce Eric Kaplan from The New Yorker Magazine

that's all.....

1000 Days and Counting

In 1000 days, this president will go away, his time is up, his term is over, but let's not get excited anytime soon. Bush and his cronies will have done more damage to this country and our earth during his administration than anyone could have ever imagined.

I will always remember the night of the 2000 Presidential elections. I was not employed at the time, so I had the liberty of staying up all night to watch this slow moving train wreck. The networks were as confused as any of us. "We call Florida for Bush, no Gore, wait, no Bush". It went on for days as we waited for the Supreme Court to decide. The Supreme Court? Since when did they decide presidential elections? It seemed surreal to me. I remember thinking how awful it would be for this country to have Bush as the president. I quickly told myself, well, it will only be 4 years. How bad can it be? After 4 years people will realize how bad it had been and we could have a more reasonable person in charge of the country. It didn't work out that way.

It turns out, that the 2000 Presidential election was a day that changed my life forever. Because of Bush's election and because of the policies of his administration, my only child is dead. On 5.30.04, two Army soldiers knocked on my door to tell me that my son, Lt Ken Ballard was killed in battle in Najaf, Iraq.

When Bush was asked recently if there would be a day when there would be no more American soldiers in Iraq, he responded "That, of course, is an objective, and that will be decided by future Presidents and future governments of Iraq." He just doesn't care; it's not his responsibility anymore.

Nearly 18,000 American soldiers have been wounded. How high will that number grow in 1000 days? 2390 American soldiers have died in Bush's little regime change project. How many more will die in the next 1000 days?

Today is the 2 year anniversary of the death of Sgt Sherwood Baker, my friend's, the Zappala's oldest son. He was killed while protecting the Iraq Survey Group as they searched for the Weapons of Mass Destruction. He was the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman killed in combat since 1945.

This Saturday is the 2 year anniversary of the death of Sgt Adam Estep, my friend, Ken Estep's oldest son and Carrie's bonus son. Adam had been married barely 2 months when he was killed. He was a brilliant artist. Adam's unit, 1st Cavalry had arrived from Texas 30 days before.

April 2004 was a bad month with 140 Coalition soldiers dead; 4.67 a day. Now two years later, this April, in 2006, is on track to be a bad month for casualties as well. Things are not getting any better; it doesn't matter how many times Bush and his cronies tell us it is. He says that again and again and again, hoping that we will believe the lies that led to this war.

The President's numbers are at an all time low of 32%, and he continues to insist the that the best way to honor the sacrifices of the fallen is to complete the mission and to stay the course. Please do not honor the sacrifice of my son by killing one more person. Honor the sacrifice of my son with the truth.

As we mourn the loss of our soldiers, the US mainstream media doesn't report on Iraqi casualties. Their most precious resource, the Iraqi sons and daughters are being killed in this mess, too. We don't know the number, but it is estimated that the number is more than 30,000, and some say up to 100,000.

We are at the 1000 day countdown, but I'm not waiting. I will continue to speak out, meet with legislators, and work for change. I gave this country my best I had and I will not stop- what are you doing and what will you do to stop this war and this administration?

I hope this is a light at the end of the tunnel 1000 days away, but I fear it is another Bush freight train bearing down on us and is still out of control.

Unwelcoming Bush to California

It was Unwelcome Bush day in San Jose, Stanford & St Helena in California and I was one happy camper. Bush doesn't come to these parts much, but he braved it on Friday. For the record, I do not want to meet the current president of the US; there is nothing he could say that would make me believe he understands the pain he has caused millions of people in this country. He cannot say anything to make me believe he has given any thought to what a family experiences when their loved one is killed in his ugly war. I don't think he cares, either.

As I said, I was giddy as a school girl going on my first date. I didn't want to meet Bush or see him, but I really wanted to be in a crowd to let him know we're really not that into him here in Silicon Valley. My friends from Gold Star Families Speak Out had done their part to dog Bush and to let him know that he wasn't welcome in their towns, it was my turn now. I brought my big poster sized photo of Ken, it's the Lt Stripes pose, probably a better pose than Bill Murray ever did in Ken's favorite movie, Stripes. I wore my best shirt with the photo of Ken on the front and his headstone from Arlington on the back. That usually gets my message across.

There was a lot of confusion on Friday morning about public transportation or even private transportation. Where would we park, where could we park? I think the SJ PD liked it that way just fine. We were told we couldn't walk down a very public street to our assigned "free speech area". WTF? The police officer at that intersection told us we could still drive through, though we were told we could drive and a fellow protester told us she would drive us. The very minute we got to the intersection, less than 3 minutes later, they closed the road. Okay, take deep cleansing breathes....We drove for a bit more and found ourselves at yet another roadblock. We were very close to our intended target area as the crow flies, but the police officers wouldn't let us through. I reminded them that we were trying to get to a "free speech" area and that we had permits, so would they PLEASE tell us how to get there. After a few moments of discussion, they told us, make a u-turn, go back around, blah, blah, blah...It didn't seem that convincing to me, but there really was no other choice. It was becoming very apparent how much money this presidential visit was costing our town in terms of security. The closest we could get to the "free speech" area, which was really a penned-in street, was about 1/2 mile hike and there was only one way in. As a result, there were several hundred protesters in front of Cisco Systems in San Jose. We heard later that there were hundreds more who weren't there, because they couldn't get there or they didn't even know where there was. I'm sure the San Jose PD was quite happy with this conundrum that they had created. For anyone who actually got there, we earned our way in! We knew we were in the right place when we heard the drumming and chanting and other political commentary. The Liars Anonymous performance courtesy my friend, Jeff.

Many kudos to the people who organized this event in such a short amount of time, especially the folks from South Bay Mobilization. The World Can't Wait, and several more groups were also in attendance. My friends from Mountain View Voices for Peace and Military Families Speak Out were also there. Because of the president's appearance, most every media outlet was in attendance as well.

Although people were still straggling in, the organizers thought it was time to begin with some speeches. I spoke first

Today is the day we unwelcome George W. Bush to San Jose. Today is the day we let him know that the people of the Bay Area are not alone when we say we want our country back....This week when retired generals are calling for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense, the President made it clear once again that he is not listening to the military of the citizens of this country because HE CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!....We still don't know what the noble cause is. Why are we in Iraq? Why is there no exit strategy? When did Peace become a bad word?.....and I ended with PRESIDENT BUSH, GO BACK TO WASHINGTON, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!

While people from other organizations spoke, many people came up to me afterwards and thanked me for speaking, for being there. One man, a former police officer spoke to me and told me he had been laying low on the peace movement, he was angry about a lot of things, but mostly he was mad at the individual soldiers. I started to interrupt him, but he continued. He told me that he had heard me speak in Palo Alto at the rally marking the 3rd anniversary of the war, about a month ago. He told me how he was touched by what I had to say then and how it impacted him. I think that was why he was at the rally on Friday. Score one more for the peace movement; all of our voices are powerful AND necessary.

None of us really expected to see Bush and we were not disappointed in that. Instead of arriving via limousine, he flew in via Marine One, the Presidential helicopter. While he spoke about his pro-technology agenda with about 250 business leaders inside Cisco, we continued to entertain ourselves with speeches, songs, drumming and general peaceful protesting.

This peaceful gathering did not warrant the overwhelming police presence in San Jose. By my count there were probably 4-5 protesters for each police officer. There were a nearly 20 officers on horseback. And the piece de resistance was the police officer filming each one of us to document our presence. He tried to look subtle, but how can you when you have a videocamera in front of your face?

Bush & Co took off in their helicopters and headed to Stanford. A big high 5 to the students and others who did such a good job of keeping Bush from his intended destination on the campus. Bravo! They did eventually get to the campus home of George Shulz, a former Secretary of State. Bush was not welcome at Stanford, either.

On Saturday morning, Bush took a mountain bike ride after his overnight stay in the wine country. He told a reporter who accompanied him on the ride "I still ride the mountain bike primarily to help settle the soul and to burn off the excess energy one gets when you're living life to its fullest," I'm so happy for him. He's living his life to the fullest, settling his soul. We sir, are trying to end a war and stop the killing, but I'm glad he can find time for a bike ride. This ain't no war president; he just doesn't care. For that matter, he doesn't even pretend to care. Give him a couple of ibuprophen and maybe that'll cure his case of Iraq fatigue.

There were protesters in the Napa Valley and there were protesters in Sacramento. The President was not welcome there, either.

Go back to Washington, Mr Bush, you are not welcome in California. If you come back, we'll greet you the same.

p.s. Happy Earth Day and Happy Birthday to Gary.

What difference does it make?

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Mahatma Gandhi
(1869 - 1948), "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

No difference.

Rumsfeld should resign

I was first asked about Rumsfeld by a reporter in December 2004. He asked me should Rumsfeld resign? I told him yes.

The subject that time was the 1000 plus condolence letters that Rumsfeld did not personally sign. I had suspected that the letter of condolence regarding the death of my only child, Lt Ken Ballard that I received from the Secretary of Defense had not been personally signed. Despite many weeks of denying that he had a machine sign those letters to the first 1000 families of soldiers killed in Iraq, he finally admitted that a machine had signed them.

“At the earliest moment in the global war on terror, I determined that it is important that military families who have lost loved ones in hostile actions receive a letter from me directly.
“I wrote and approved the now more than 1000 letters sent to family members and next of kin of each of the servicemen and women killed in military action. While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter.

I can assure Rumsfeld that at that time, military families don't care about an expeditious anything except an expeditious return of their loved one's body. So, don't do us any favors, we can wait for your hollow words.

What Rumsfeld, Bush, every member of Congress and the Senate and every single government official who sends a condolence letter to a family who is suffering this loss, should do this. First write the letter and make it meaningful. Generally, the letter is a form letter, I think the Army must have about 5 different templates to choose from. The official should be forced to sit down and read the letter that they send to the family along with a photograph of that soldier. They should look into that face, and see the dreams that died, the future that died and the family that died when that soldier died. Did he or she have children? Were they in love? What was their favorite music? Those officials should understand who is dying in this war. They should see the faces of our countries most precious resource, our sons and daughters, our future. And mostly they should cry. Because then we will know they are being touched by this war. It's shameful that they don't.

The next time those legislators are sitting in their seat ready to cast a vote, they should remember those faces and think of the soldiers who are still in Iraq because of their continued support of the war. They should ask themselves why they are casting that vote and in who's best interest is it?

Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, an author and frequent critic of the Department of Defense, publicly criticized Rumsfeld in a syndicated column earlier this month for not reviewing each KIA letter personally.
He called the fake signatures “like having it signed by a monkey.”

We don't know if Rumsfeld is signing condolence letters now, but at the rate soldiers are being killed, he must have quite a stack. By the way, many families believe that Bush hasn't signed his condolence letters either. My sister asked me if I thought Bush was afraid he would be found out. I said 'I doubt it, he doesn't even know he's signing them"

We didn't know back in December 2004 how badly Rumsfeld would bungle the job in Iraq. We didn't know how many soldiers would still be dying. But we know that Rumsfeld doesn't listen to the military, he went in with inadequate forces and he still has no exit plan. And we know that 2378 soldiers have died in this illegal and immoral war.

The military and our country deserves better. Yes, it is time for Rumsfeld to resign.

Georgie is Bored

George Bush is like a kid at Christmas time. As one of the leaders of the free world, he has lots to keep himself occupied, but this president has too many toys to play with and he's bored again, so he's looking for something new to break.

4 years ago he rolled the dice and he landed on Iraq. One of the of the game pieces he found most interesting was the actual country of Iraq, and possibly the leader of that country, Saddam Hussein. Despite being told not to (Don't touch that Georgie!), he sent our military into Iraq in an illegal invasion and that country is now very broken. You could probably make a good case that Iraq was weakened by many years of sanctions, but for the sake of this discussion, let's just say it was the war that broke Iraq. But Georgie is bored with Iraq; he has a good old case of Iraq fatigue and he needs something new to entertain him.

Thankfully, there are several generals that aren't bored and are calling for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense. Bush has previously said that he listened to the military, but he isn't listening now. CNN reported that

Despite a practice of not usually commenting on personnel moves, the president told reporters Tuesday that his vote of confidence for Rumsfeld was an effort to stamp out speculation about his status. "You can understand why, because we've got people's reputations at stake," Bush said of his usual aversion to speculation about personnel matters.

No, Georgie, we have lives at stake who are fighting your war. PAY ATTENTION!

"And on Friday I stood up and said, 'I don't appreciate the speculation about Don Rumsfeld; he's doing a fine job; I strongly support him.' " Pressed to respond to critics who say he is ignoring the advice of respected former military commanders, Bush vigorously stood by Rumsfeld. "I listen to all voices, but mine is the final decision," he said. "And Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He's not only transforming the military, he's fighting a war on terror. He's helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. "I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."

Note the president of this country says he reads only the front page, maybe because it's got BIG writing and that's all he can comprehend, maybe he gets bored when he gets past the front page. If I was a betting woman, and I am, I'll give you odds that he never misses the comic section. Bet he gets a giggle out of Doonesbury.

Bush could have engaged in rebuilding the Gulf Coast of our country after the destruction of hurricane Katrina, and he promised to do just that, but that got boring, too. There are too many poor people who were in dire need of support from their government and it still hasn't come nearly 8 months later. That area is still very broken. Georgie's looking for a new toy to break.

Bush's new toy is Iran and that is downright scary. In the current New Yorker magazine, Sy Hersh quotes a member of the House of Representatives:

No one in the meetings "is really objecting" to the talk of war (in Iran). "The people they're briefing are the same ones who led the charge on Iraq. At most, questions are raised: How are you going to hit all the sites at once? How are you going to get deep enough?" (Iran is building facilities underground.) "There's no pressure from Congress" not to take military action, the House member added. "The only political pressure is from the guys who want to do it." Speaking of President Bush, the House member said, "The most worrisome thing is that this guy has a messianic vision."

Messianic? That's frightening when it is in the same sentence as the president of the United States. I don't think he has ever used that word in describing the axis of evil, but that's what I think of when I hear the word. This is the same leader who has failed miserably in Iraq and who is failing the people of his own country in terms of education and healthcare and every other sector.

Maybe someone can put some Ritalin in Georgie's purple koolaid so he can pay attention to the needs of this country as the Presidential job description requires him to. Our country needs a leader, not a distracted child.

Peeps Rule!

Easter wasn't the biggest holiday when I was raising my son, Ken, but we always did the Easter basket thing. We had the mandatory chocolate bunnies, jelly beans (I like Starburst brand the best), and Ken's favorite creme eggs. Ya gotta have marshmallow peeps at Easter time, and they became a particular curiosity to Ken and me.

Peeps are now made year round, you've got the peeps chicks, the peeps bunnies, creamy Easter eggs, Halloween ghosts and cats, Christmas trees and snowmen and for Valentines Day, peeps hearts. It's become a tradition to leave peeps at Ken's grave in Arlington when I visit. When I was in Virginia in February, I left some Valentines peeps for Ken along with some tulips and I went on my way. A couple of hours later, I received a phone call from one of Ken's friends who had missed me by about an hour. She saw the peeps so she knew I had been there. We had a nice conversation catching up after her deployment to Kuwait. I like it when people visit Ken's grave.

Peeps have been around since 1953 and are the favorite Easter candy, it says so on their official marshamallowpeeps.com. There are over 200 unofficial peeps websites. As a peep aficionado, I care about the health and welfare of peeps. One of my favorites is Peepresearch.com, with over a million visitors since 1998. The research includes experiments to test the reactions of peeps to cold, heat, solubility testing and low pressure environments. One of the most under-represented areas of study worldwide, issues of Peep well-being are only now making their way into the mainstream consciousness. This student group did a risk analysis on the effects of smoking and drinking and investigated whether these same health risks apply to Peeps. Their conclusion on this experiment? The synergistic effect of smoking and alcohol in Peeps produces a rapidly exothermic oxidation reaction, leading to a chemical and morphological divergence from the wild-type Peep phenotypes. And they give a strong recommendation to JustBorn Corporation that they supervise young Peeps and educate them of the risks associated with smoking and alcohol. Good advice for all of us!

Blue Funk

I'm in a funk, a big, fat, blue funk. Maybe others would say I've got the blues. Whatever. I don't like it, but there's not much to like these days.

Maybe it's the rain we've been having in California, it is relentless. I know we Californians are usually so chirpy about our weather, and we admit we are spoiled and we pay good money to live here. My favorite game in the winter is to call friends and relatives back east and ask, oh so sweetly, "so how cold did you say it is? And snow, too? nooooo, you can't be serious...." But we're just downright grumpy about the state of our skies today. When will this rain end?

Maybe it's the stories from the White House that are downright scary. I can't decide if they are laughing their asses off at us or if they really just don't care. Maybe both, probably both. If you don't hear the deafening sounds of the drum beat of war in Iran, you're just not listening. PAY ATTENTION! Bush said the idea that Iran would be the next U.S. military target as "pure speculation" Listen folks, that's what he told us even as they were drawing up war plans for Iraq. Thankfully,
54% said they did not trust him to "make the right decision about whether we should go to war with Iran

Retired Generals & Colonels are finally crawling out from under their rocks and are speaking up about how how badly it is to going in Iraq and calling for Rumsfeld's resignation. Retired Major General John Baptiste, who commanded the Big Red One, the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq until November,said:

"You know, it speaks volumes that guys like me are peaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," Batiste told CNN. "I believe we need a fresh start in the Pentagon. We need a leader who understands teamwork, a leader who knows how to
build teams, a leader that does it without intimidation," said Batiste, a West Point graduate who also served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

"When decisions are made without taking into account sound military recommendations, sound military decision-making, sound planning - then we're bound to make mistakes," he said.

Rumsfeld has offered to resign more than once, but Bush won't think of it. Bush is telling us Rummy's doing a heckuva job and we know what that means! When Bush spoke to the country back in December,2005 he said We will continue to listen to honest criticism, and make every change that will help us complete the mission. Yet there is a difference between honest critics who recognize what is wrong, and defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right about He's not listening, he never listens. I don't mean to be disrespectful to these Generals but where were they 4 years ago? Why didn't they fall on their swords then? How many lives would have been saved if they cared more about their soldiers instead of their retirement?

The news out of Iraq isn't getting any better. Baghdad is not safe for anyone these days and murder,assassination and kidnapping are the words of the day. There have been 3 times as many American casualties half way through April than ALL of March. Bush tells his audiences, the handpicked ones, he's optimistic about Iraq, we've also seen signs of a hopeful future. The sad thing is he's lying again or he really believes what he's saying and that means he's terribly out of touch with reality.

Maybe it's the voices on the tapes from the cockpit recorder from Flight 93 to SFO on 9/11 that are so gutwrenching, more in hindsight than what we knew then. But if these guys are repeating "Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest" as they prepare to take down an airliner with 44 people aboard, including the 4 hijackers, do they really think that Allah will greet them with open arms? Not any religion I know about. Love thy neighbor works for me, even if you don't like someone very much. There's a bumper sticker going around that says "When Jesus said, "Love your enemies", I think he probably meant don't kill them.

Maybe it was 2 years ago that my only child, Lt Ken Ballard was ready to come home from his hellish year in Iraq. He had done his job, and just when we were putting on those final touches to the Welcome home party, 1st Armor Division was extended for 120 days more of hell. Except, I didn't know at the time the meaning of hell. Everyday from now until May 30, I can tell you this was the day Ken was in battle here or there, this was the day when he sent this photo, this was the day we talked about his 1 month of block leave, this was the day I got that letter. So all these milestone days are coming up on me, more like a tsunami than a flood. Your mind can't control it and your heart doesn't want to. Because as painful as those memories are, Ken is not forgotten. On Memorial Day this year I will be at Arlington National Cemetery again with family & friends to celebrate Ken's life and the 26 years that we had him in our lives. Ken will not be forgotten.

I spent a few hours last night looking at Ken's website, www.ltkenballard.com, looking at photos and reading comments people have left from all over the world. Ken's website is my project to insure that people will know who he was. Some nights the tears won't stop.

Maybe it's that I just read that one of the soldiers from Ken's unit was killed last week. I have been in fear of that since I heard they were back in Iraq back in January.

Pvt. Jody W. Missildine, 19, of Plant City, Fla., died in Tal Afar, Iraq, on April 8, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Missildine was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany.

Jody's family doesn't know what has hit them yet. Jody's body will be getting home to Florida this week, but they won't see a photo of his flag covered casket arriving at Dover AFB, because the Department of Defense has regulations that prevent those photos from being taken. It's for the privacy of the families they say. Another lie that they keep repeating hoping that we will believe it.

Yeah, I'm in a testy mood today, but I've earned it. We all have!

Hope Springs Eternal

Senator John McCain says he respects DeLay's decision to step down So do I but why did DeLay wait so long? When you've been indicted on money-laundering charges, thats the bidness you should be attending to, NOT re-election. Don't you think the good folks in Texas deserve a break from those evil ways? Some people have said they are going to miss DeLay. Miss him? Like a splinter removed from your finger? Yeah, the splinter is gone, but there's likely a messy mess left while the healing is going on. No, I will not miss DeLay and his corruption and hate. Let's move on!

He says he doesn't want to be a hindrance to his party. Too late! "I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative personal campaign," DeLay said. He took care of that negative personal campaign by leaving the race. Without him there is a nice chance for decorum. With a well-earned nickname like Hammer, it's fair to say that "decorum" is not part of his vocabulary.

If I'm appearing a bit giddy about this bit of news, why, yes, I guess I am! There's not alot of good news these days, what with the Iraq war now into it's 4th year. This month the death toll is already nearly tripled from last month, and honestly, things in Afghanistan aren't going any better. So when one of the bad guys takes a tumble, and that is what DeLay is, there's no denying this is good news and hope springs eternal.

When I was in Crawford, TX, right outside the president's ranch last summer, one of the things we talked about was our political fantasies. I was waiting to see Bush & Cheney fly off in a helicopter a 'la Richard Nixon. Another wanted to watch the whole bunch of them do the perp walk out of the White House. There were others that are not fit for printing here, so I'll hold back, but suffice to say, in the end we all agreed we could live with any of those outcomes.

So farewell Tom DeLay, your party may miss you, but the rest of us won't.

The Art of War

I'm going to let Scott Ritter's words have this space today. Scott holds the bar high for those who question the path to war and the incompetence that continues. He earned that right as a Marine Intelligence Officer and then as a UN weapons inspector.

There is some controversy that Scott has changed his tune, or has gone from red to blue in support of this war. There are some who say "you voted for the war" and that stops the accused in their tracks. They did vote for the war based on a stack of information that we now know was manipulated to make a case for this war. We have document after document and personal accounts that Bush & his neocon buddies were making a case for this war since at least day one of this administration. So cut the crap! We were lied to and now based on the information that is now available, we want to bring the troops home. And if you supported the war, and you haven't changed your mind, then you haven't been paying attention!

Read Scott's words and take some time to see if you agree or disagree. It's worth a few minutes of your time.

The Art of War for the anti-war movement March 31, 2006.

It's high time to recognize that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue.

In the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition, and for three years since, I have spent many hours speaking to numerous anti-war forums across the country and around the world. I have always been struck by the sincerity of the vast majority of those who call themselves anti-war, and impressed by their willingness to give so much of themselves in the service of such a noble cause.

Whether participating in demonstrations, organizing a vigil, conducting town-hall meetings, or writing letters to their elected officials and the media, the participants in the anti-war movement have exhibited an energy and integrity that would make anyone proud. For myself, I have been vociferous in my defense of the actions of the majority of the anti-war movement, noting that the expression of their views is not only consistent with their rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States, but also that their engagement in the process of citizenship is a stellar example of the ideals and values set forth in that document, and as such representative of the highest form of patriotism in keeping with service to a document that begins, "We the People."

Lately I have noticed a growing despondency among many of those who call themselves the anti-war movement. With the United States now entering its fourth year of illegal war in and illegitimate occupation of Iraq, and the pro-war movement moving inexorably towards yet another disastrous conflict with Iran, there is an increasing awareness that the cause of the anti-war movement, no matter how noble and worthy, is in fact a losing cause as currently executed. Despite all of the well-meaning and patriotic work of the millions of activists and citizens who comprise the anti-war movement, America still remains very much a nation not only engaged in waging and planning wars of aggression, but has also become a nation which increasingly identifies itself through its military and the wars it fights. This is a sad manifestation of the fact that the American people seem to be addicted to war and violence, rather than the ideals of human rights, individual liberty, and freedom and justice for all that should define our nation.

In short, the anti-war movement has come face to face with the reality that in the ongoing war of ideologies that is being waged in America today, their cause is not just losing, but is in fact on the verge of complete collapse. Many in the anti-war movement would take exception to such a characterization of the situation, given the fact that there seems to be a growing change in the mood among Americans against the ongoing war in Iraq. But one only has to scratch at the surface of this public discontent to realize how shallow and superficial it is. Americans aren't against the war in Iraq because it is wrong; they are against it because we are losing.

Take the example of Congressman Jack Murtha. A vocal supporter of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, last fall Mr. Murtha went public with his dramatic change of position, suddenly rejecting the war as un-winnable, and demanding the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. While laudable, I have serious problems with Jack Murtha's thought process here. At what point did the American invasion of Iraq become a bad war? When we suffered 2,000 dead? After two years of fruitless struggle? Once we spent $100 billion?

While vocalizing his current opposition against the Iraq War, Congressman Murtha and others who voted for the war but now question its merits have never retracted their original pro-war stance. Nor have they criticized their role in abrogating the Constitutional processes for bringing our country into conflict when they voted for a war before the President had publicly committed to going to war (we now know the President had committed to the invasion of Iraq by the summer of 2002, and that all his representations to the American people and Congress about 'war as a matter of last resort' and 'seeking a diplomatic solution' were bold face lies). The Iraq War was wrong the moment we started bombing Iraq. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein is no excuse, and does not pardon America's collective sin of brooking and tolerating an illegal war of aggression.

The reality is, had our military prevailed in this struggle, the American people for the most part would not even blink at the moral and legal arguments against this war. This underlying reality is reflected in the fact that despite our ongoing disaster in Iraq, America is propelled down a course of action that leads us toward conflict with Iran. President Bush recently re-affirmed his embrace of the principles of pre-emptive war when he signed off on the 2006 version of the National Security Strategy of the United States, which highlights Iran as a threat worthy of confrontation. This event has gone virtually unmentioned by the American mainstream media, un-remarked by a Congress that remains complicit in the war-mongering policies of the Bush administration, and un-noticed by the majority of Americans. America is pre-programmed for war, and unless the anti-war movement dramatically changes the manner in which it conducts its struggle, America will become a nation of war, for war, and defined by war, and as such a nation that will ultimately be consumed by war.

It is high time for the anti-war movement to take a collective look in the mirror, and be honest about what they see. A poorly organized, chaotic, and indeed often anarchic conglomeration of egos, pet projects and idealism that barely constitutes a "movement," let alone a winning cause. I have yet to observe an anti-war demonstration that has a focus on anti-war. It often seemed that every left-wing cause took advantage of the event to promote its own particular agenda, so that "No War in Iraq" shared the stage with the environment, ecology, animal rights, pro-choice, and numerous other causes which not only diluted the anti-war message which was supposed to be sent, but also guaranteed that the demonstration itself would be seen as something hijacked by the left, inclusive of only progressive ideologues, and exclusive of the vast majority of moderate (and even conservative) Americans who might have wanted to share the stage with their fellow Americans from the left when it comes to opposing war with Iraq (or even Iran), but do not want to be associated with any other theme.

The anti-war movement, first and foremost, needs to develop a laser-like focus on being nothing more or less than anti-war.

The anti-war movement lacks any notion of strategic thinking, operational planning, or sense of sound tactics. So much energy is wasted because of this failure to centrally plan and organize. As a result, when the anti-war movement does get it right (and on occasion it does), the success is frittered away by a failure to have planned effective follow-up efforts, failure to have implemented any supporting operations, an inability to recognize opportunities as they emerge and a lack of resources to exploit such opportunities if in fact they were recognized to begin with. In short, the anti-war movement is little more than a walk-on squad of high school football players drawing plays in the sand, taking on the National Football League Super Bowl Champions.
In order to even have a chance of prevailing with the American people, the anti-war movement is going to need much more than just good ideals and values. It needs to start thinking like a warrior would, in full recognition that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue.

The anti-war movement needs to study the philosophies of those who have mastered the art of conflict, from Caesar to Napoleon, from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz. It needs to study the "enemy" learning to understand the pro-war movement as well as it understands itself. It needs to comprehend the art of campaigning, of waging battles only when necessary, and having the ability to wage a struggle on several fronts simultaneously, synchronizing each struggle so that a synergy is created which maximizes whatever energy is being expended. The anti-war movement needs to understand the pro-war movement's center of gravity, and design measures to defeat this. It needs to grasp the pro-war movement's decision-making cycle, then undertake a comprehensive course of action that learns to pre-empt this cycle, getting 'inside' the pro-war system of making decisions, and thereby forcing the pro-war movement to react to the anti-war agenda, instead of vice versa.

There is an old adage in the military that “intelligence drives operations.” The anti-war movement needs to develop a centralized intelligence operation, not a spy organization, but rather a think-tank that produces sound analysis based upon fact that can be used to empower those who are waging the struggle against war. Far too often the anti-war movement dilutes its effectiveness by either being unable to produce facts during a debate, or when it does, producing facts that are inaccurate, incomplete, or both. The mainstream media treats the anti-war movement as a joke because many times that is exactly what the anti-war movement, through its lack of preparation and grasp of the facts, allows itself to become.

The anti-war movement lacks organization. There is no central leadership, or mechanism to effectively muster and control resources. The anti-war movement takes pride in its “democratic” composition, but in fact it operates as little more than controlled chaos, creating ample opportunity for the pro-war movement to effectively execute a “divide and conquer” strategy to minimize and nullify whatever good the anti-war movement achieves through its efforts. The anti-war movement would do well to take a page from the fire service and implement a version of the Incident Command System (ICS) that firefighters use when fighting complex fires involving the integration of several departments, organizations and jurisdictions. The anti-war movement needs to develop its own “ICS for the anti-war” that is universally applied throughout the movement, so that an anti-war effort in Seattle, Washington operates the same as an anti-war effort in New York City, and as such can be coordinated and controlled by an overall command staff operating from Denver, Colorado.

Complex problems, such as faced by the anti-war movement, require complex solutions, which in turn dictate a flexible control mechanism that can coordinate and synchronize every effort to achieve the desired result at a time and place of the anti-war movement's choosing, and then be prepared to follow up on successes as they occur and sustain the movement over an extended period of time. It is not enough to win a battle against the pro-war movement; the anti-war movement needs to win the war of ideologies. As such it must not only prepare to win a particular fight, but to exploit that victory, massing its forces against any developed weakness, and drive the pro-movement into the ground and off the American political map once and for all.
I have indicated my willingness to apply my training and experience as a warrior in a manner which helps teach the principles of the art of war to those who call themselves part of the anti-war movement. There seems to be not only a need for this sort of training, but also a desire among the myriad of individuals and groups who comprise the anti-war movement for an overall coordinated strategic direction, operational planning, and tactical execution of agreed upon mission objectives. One can be certain that the pro-war movement is conducting itself in full accordance with these very same organizational principles and methodologies. And let there be no doubt: the pro-war movement in America is prevailing. In order to gain the upper hand politically, and actually position itself to stop not only those wars already being fought (Iraq), but also prevent those being planned (Iran), the anti-war movement will need to re-examine in totality the way it does business. I for one am ready to assist. However, in writing this essay, I am constantly reminded of the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." One can only hope that the anti-war movement is thirsty.

It's Just a Game

On a trip to England this week, Condoleezza Rice recently said the United States had probably made thousands of errors in Iraq, but defended the overall strategy of removing Saddam Hussein. Gee, when the U.S. Secretary of State starts confessing like that, it makes me feel so much better that my only child, Lt Ken Ballard was killed because of these thousands of errors. But, it's okay because we had to get Saddam.

I guess Condi had time to think about what she said, those thousands of errors, because she came back the next day to clarify, when she said that the U.S. had made "thousands" of mistakes in Iraq she meant figuratively, not literally. So it wasn't really thousands, maybe alot, maybe some, but not thousands of errors, right, Condi? And the thousands of American soldiers that have been killed? And the thousands of Iraqi civilians that have been killed? Were they just symbolic, too?

You'd never know that this country was at war with the flippancy that the adminstration treats these kinds of discussions. Like the backdrop on Bush's landing on an aircraft carrier with a banner that stated Mission Accomplished on May 1, 2003. Ken hadn't even arrived in Iraq and anyone who knew anything knew that this war had just begun. There had been no sign of flowers or chocolates and there never would be. That was flippant, too. So was Bush's taunt to those tempted to attack U.S. forces, "Bring them on." on July 2, 2003. Ken had been in Iraq for a little more than a month; he had just been notified that he would be in charge of a platoon of tanks instead of traveling in a HUMVEE. He was so proud of his guys and he was going to be a great platoon leader. I cannot say how offended and horrified I was to hear the president say those words. It still haunts me to hear those words, as if his macho rhetoric would scare anyone off.

It's all just a game to this administration. Despite what they say, they don't care about my son's death or any of the 2332 American casualties or the 17,000 American injuries and they certainly don't care about the "30,000 Iraqis, more or less, who have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis." 30,000 more or less....that's what Bush said, more or less. As if he was talking about buying salami at the deli...a pound, more or less.

Presidential Amnesia

Perhaps the President has amnesia, perhaps it's something more sinister, but it is obvious that his holier than thou attitude overrides reality. I'd like to remind the President of the oath of office he took, not once but two times as he became the President of the United States.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

I'm wondering if we haven't gotten the Bush translation for those sacred words, but his actions are speaking louder than those words he spoke and swore on a bible. I dunno, maybe I'm holding the bar too high. Maybe the President *is* performing to the best of his ability, but he's doing everything he can to NOT preserve, protect or defend the Constitution.

I know the oath of office for the Presidency is much shorter, and therefore easier for Bush to read and remember, than the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance that is taken by new citizens, but we might want to get someone from the administration to read this document and then give the Cliff Notes version to the President. If it's good enough for new citizens, shouldn't the president of the United States at least be held to the same principles?

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

There is something about supporting and defending the Constitution that keeps coming up. I know the President says he doesn't read the news, but this document, the Constitution .....is studied in 8th grade! You could make a good case that the junior high set is more informed about this precious document that is the written set of fundamental principles by which the United States is governed.

We know now Bush's attendance record in his service in the National Guard, perhaps he played hooky in 8th grade, too. For all the aides that serve the president, couldn't one of them give him a primer on Constitutional principles?

Who's (not) serving their country?

I'm on alot of emailing lists as I suspect most people are. Much of it, you open, scan and delete in quick order. I received an email recently about the Bush family members who are age-eligible to join the military, but are sitting on the sidelines in the safety zone while our kids are putting their patriotic lives on the line.

Many people make the case that Jenna & Barbara Bush should be sent to Iraq and while it is a nice argument, it just doesn't make logistical sense. The Secret Service protection alone would preclude their unit from accomplishing anything. Jenna and Barbara should make some kind of commitment to serve our country if indeed daddy's war plan in Iraq is a noble cause. You know, making a good example for the rest of us.

The Bush family is a great example of the current administration and so many of our elected officials not being touched by the war.

I only know of one elected official who shares the pain that 2322 families are suffering due to the loss of a loved one in the War in Iraq. Becky Lourey, a state Senator from Minnestoa has a unique platform in speaking out against the war. Becky Lourey lost her son, Matt in Iraq May 26, 2005. On Democracy Now, Amy Goodman described her this way:

Lourey was a leading opponent in her state of the invasion of Iraq. In March 2003, she authored an antiwar resolution signed by eighteen other state senators. She said she spoke out against the Iraq war because “this war is alienating us from the rest of the world, and I believe that this occupation in Iraq is making Americans less safe."

I do know that if the younger members of the Bush family think this is such a noble cause they should all be doing more to serve the country. We don't know if they have been encouraged to do so, but with the matriarch of the family, Barbara Bush making statements like this

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? It's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

I just don't think that joining up is anywhere on the radar of anyone in the Bush family. Here's a list and here's a pretty picture of all of them, too. Big smiles, because they aren't going to war.

Military Service Eligible Children of George W. Bush
Jenna Bush
Barbara Bush

Military Service Eligible Children of Jeb Bush
George P. Bush
Noelle Bush
John Ellis Bush Jr.

Military Service Eligible Children of Neil Bush
Lauren Bush
Pierce Bush

Military Service Eligible Children of Marvin Bush
Marshall Bush

Military Service Eligible Children of Dorothy Bush Koch
Samuel LeBlond
Ellie LeBlond

My son, Lt Ken Ballard will always have been a better man than any of them will ever be.

The President and the Press Conference

I don't think that the president thinks too much of press conferences. He winces alot. He laughs inappropriately. But mostly, he squirms. He isn't able have a backdrop of upstanding members of the military; the press room has to work just fine at the White House . His press conference this morning started at 7 a.m., here on the west coast, much too early for me. But I like to hear him lie, oh, alright, I'll go with twisting the truth. I like to watch the president speak, as I have said before. When he doesn't have a quick answer, he squirms, and I find that enjoyable. It also gets my blood pumping, and what's not fun about that?

He said he still believes that victory in Iraq is still possible. If I didn't believe we could succeed, I wouldn't be there. I wouldn't put those kids there. I meet with too many families who's lost a loved one to not be able to look them in the eye and say, we're doing the right thing. Be very sure that he only meets with families who are handpicked to make sure that they agree with the Bush policies. He hasn't met with me and while I know he could not or would not ever tell me anything that would make me accept the fact that my only child, Lt Ken Ballard was killed in his war, I have plenty of questions for him.

When asked if there will be a day when there are no more US Armed Forces in Iraq, The President responded "That, of course, is an objective, and that will be decided by future Presidents and future governments of Iraq." Future Presidents? Not the next one, but future? What kind of mess has this man left us with? He struts out of office with a tiara and a sash that says "war president", as he wanted to be known as and we carry the burden.

How many more will die under his watch? At some point in the history of the Viet Nam war, there were 2321 American casualties as there are in Iraq today. We cannot allow 57,0000+ names to be written on a monument that honors the soldiers who died in Iraq. Where is the outrage? Why are people so complacent?

The President also made the connection between 9/11 and Al Qaeda again, and even though Helen Thomas called him on it, he kept repeating it and repeating in hopes we will believe it.

They (Iraq) didn't do anything to you, or to our country

His rebuke was Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained ,

and then That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans. I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences.

We've read the minutes of the Downing Street memos, the President himself admitted his administration spies on American citizens without warrant, I could go on, but why would I when Bush Jr's Skeleton closet has done the homework. (it seems they had an awful lot of time on their hands, but it *is* interesting reading).

My head hurts!

Mathematics AOL Style

I've got a Gold Star Mom friend who is a math teacher. Vickie is the proud mom of Cpl Jonathan Castro who was killed in the Mosul mess tent bombing on 12.21.04. Vickie and her husband couldn't know that day that they would not make this journey alone. I was driving when I heard about the bombing and I cried and cried. I knew how their life was going to change and it was so close before Christmas. Jonathan was killed the day before my birthday and I was hurting for the Castro's and for me since this was my first birthday without Ken, who had been killed 6 months before.

As a math teacher, I know that using and abusing statistics must make Vickie crazy. She posted this on our message board tonite. You do the math!

I hate it when they try to play the numbers on me. Don't know if it's because I'm a math teacher or not, but I hate it when they try to compare apples and tennis shoes. I'd say apples and oranges but least those two things are both fruits and therefore have something in common. What I have seen and heard in a number of reports recently is that our casualty numbers are going down. First off, they can't 'go down'. We are never going to have fewer than 2309
fatalities. What they are trying to say is that the casualty numbers are going up at a slower pace. Check out how they show it on the graph at the bottom of this site http://news.aol.com/dailypulse/031306?d=20060313104209990001&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Okayyyyy, yes there are fewer casualties in 2006 than in 2005 and 2004, but then we are only 72 days into 2006. If you really want to compare equally.

Time frame (# of casualties)
Jan 1 - March 13

2003 (0 we hadn't invaded yet!!!))

2004 (76)
2005 (75)
2006 (72)

If that's what they are pushing as one of the "positives" that the press is ignoring they should run it by a math teacher first.

And I know a match teacher who would gladly set the numbers straight for you.

Pounding my head on the wall

Pardon the noise- it's just me pounding my head against the wall again and again and again... It is shameful how the good people of the Gulf States have been ignored, avoided, overlooked, disregarded, shunned, evaded- well you get the picture, it's just wrong. It has been more than 6 months since Katrina had her way with Louisiana, Mississippi and other states in the region. It has been 6 months since President Bush visited those good people and made promises about housing, rebuilding, the levee's....

On September 15, 2005, Bush made a speech in Jackson Square in New Orleans. About housing, he promised to empty shelters quickly, meet the immediate needs of the displaced, register victims, and provide housing aid in the form of rental assistance and trailers. Fast forward to January 2006,

trailers in Louisiana have been provided for about 37 percent of the estimated 90,000 displaced families in need of housing. Officials acknowledge production bottlenecks and in-state battles over sites. Trailer costs have swelled from $19,000 to $75,000 apiece.

And this week, Senate minority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) visited the Hope Arkansas airport to view the 11, 000 FEMA trailers that are sitting and rotting, waiting for FEMA to distribute them to hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast. Rep Reid says he is "ashamed for our country" We should all be ashamed for our country, but sadly, this kind of treatment is nothing new for this administration.

Here is FEMA's response to why these trailers are sitting in Hope, AR rather than in Mississippi or Louisiana.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said that it was unable to put the trailers to use because federal regulations prohibit placing them in flood plains, and many of those needing shelter after the hurricanes are in areas classified as flood-prone.

I don't know how anyone can say this with a straight face? How can anyone say this without checking up their chain of command and asking and pleading that this could not be true and HOW CAN WE FIX THIS? I don't know if the answer is to rebuild New Orleans, that is for brighter minds than mine. But I do know that while everyone is pointing fingers at each other, these families lives are nowhere near getting better.

I don't know what a fair cost would be to rebuild a house in the Gulf States, but I imagine $75,000 would go a long way towards a downpayment and certainly would minimize the costs that are being paid for housing vouchers. I suspect the good people who have been misplaced by the hurricane just want their old lives back. I suspect they don't understand why Barbara Bush said about victims in Houston And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

I don't care if she says she didn't mean it *that* way, I don't care if *they* say her comments were taken out of context. It was insensitive at best and cruel at worst. It demonstrates how the Bush family thinks about people who aren't *them*.

There is something wrong with the system that says you spend several hundred thousand dollars to buy trailers for hurricane victims to help them rebuild their lives and then you can't move those trailers where they need them because these families live in a flood plain. Of course they do, that's why they need new housing!

Bush blames the Congress for "shortchanging the process" of getting funds to all of the damaged states instead of the levee projects in Lousisiana

"I was kind of upset. He's blaming all this on Congress, and then he has the audacity to say what limited money he's helped us get, put it all on Louisiana. That's not fair," Reid said Saturday. "I'm very, very disappointed."

I'll bet that was an understatement. This country can do better, but does this administration want to?

And another thing...

Yesterday I wrote that the coalition of the willing was wilting. I just didn't know how much. A story from the UK goes further with Rupert Cornwell from the Independent Online saying At last, the warmongers are prepared to face the facts and admit they were wrong.


Back in 1997, Francis Fukuyama was the most prominent intellectual of the original signatories of the PNAC (Project for a New Amercian Century) document. The author is extremely critical and in his new book, America at the Crossroads, the subtitle is "Democracy, Power and the Neo-Conservative Legacy", now says that the neo-conservative legacy is fatally poisoned.

It was also Mr Fukuyama who wrote in an earlier book, The End of History and the Last Man, that the whole world was "locked on a glide-path to liberal, free-market democracy" thus supporting the PNAC agenda. His proviso was that the process was gradual, and must unfold at its own pace.

But not only were the neo-cons too impatient. A second error was to believe that an all-powerful America would be trusted to exercise a "benevolent hegemony". A third was the gross overstatement of the post 9/11 threat posed by radical Islam, in order to justify the dubious doctrine of preventive war.

Finally, there was the blatant contradiction between the neo-cons' aversion to government meddling at home and their childlike faith in their ability to impose massive social engineering in foreign and utterly unfamiliar countries like Iraq. Thence sprang the mistakes of the occupation period.

The good news is that those future Bush policymakers who signed the PNAC nine years ago have gone onto other things, not of course without leaving a permanent damaging footprint forever on this countries landscape to say nothing of the more than 2300 American casulaties.

• Paul Wolfowitz, the war's most relentless and starry-eyed promoter, has moved on to the World Bank, silent about the mess he did so much to create.
• Richard Perle, leader of the resident hawks department at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank here, has vanished from the scene.
• Lewis Libby meanwhile has stepped down as Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, to focus his energy on staying out of jail.
• Zalmay Khalilzad, now the US ambassador to Iraq. This week even he - Afghan born and the one original neo-con who had the region in his blood - admitted that the invasion had opened "a Pandora's box" that could see the Iraq conflict spread across the entire Middle East.

Not to worry for all you conservative readers (are there any here?) Diehard PNAC supporters steadfastly remain. Bill Kristol, of the Weekly Standard "accuses Mr Fukuyama of losing his nerve - of wanting to "retrench, hunker down and let large parts of the world go to hell in a handbasket, hoping the hand-basket won't blow up in our faces."

It is on George Bush's lips that neo-conservatism most obviously survives - in the commitment to spreading freedom and democracy that he proclaims almost daily, and most hubristically in his second inaugural in 2005 that promised to banish tyranny from the earth.
But even the extravagant oratory of that icy January day cannot obscure the irony of
America's Iraq adventure. The application of a doctrine built upon the supposed
boundlessness of US power has succeeded only in exposing its limits.

We progressives are, if nothing else, patient, maybe to a fault. There is hope, but my patience is wearing thin.

The Coalition of the Willing is Wilting

There is news that one of the original members of Project for a New American Century is now saying that plan (PNAC) is a mess. That's great news to me and others who hope that sanity isn't another of the precious traits this country is willing to hand off. If even one member of PNAC is backpedaling then there is hope that others will do the same.

Why is it that we have to get information like this first from the foreign press? The Scotsman.com reports, Neoconservatism has failed the United States and needs to be replaced by a more realistic foreign policy agenda, according to Francis Fukuyama, one of its prime architects. in 1997, Fukuyama was a a signatory to the statement of Principles of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC).

Francis Fukuyama, who wrote the best-selling book The End of History and was a member of PNAC, the neoconservative project, now says that, both as a political symbol and a body of thought, it has "evolved into something I can no longer support". He says it should be discarded on to history's pile of discredited ideologies.

In his new book "America at the Crossroads", Mr Fukuyama says that PNAC "is now in shambles" and that its failure has demonstrated "the danger of good intentions carried to extremes".

Mr Fukuyama once supported regime change in Iraq. However, Mr Fukuyama now thinks the war in Iraq is the wrong sort of war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. "The most basic misjudgment was an overestimation of the threat facing the United States from radical Islamism," he argues.
"Although the new and ominous possibility of undeterrable terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction did indeed present itself, advocates of the war wrongly conflated this with the threat presented by Iraq and with the rogue state/proliferation problem more generally."

"By definition, outsiders can't 'impose' democracy on a country that doesn't want it; demand for democracy and reform must be domestic. Democracy promotion is therefore a long-term and opportunistic process that has to await the gradual ripening of political and economic conditions to be effective."

The gradual ripening of democracy in the US has taken more than 200 years, and although we don't have it all the way right, we fight for it every day. Why would we expect it to happen any sooner in Iraq, expecially when it wasn't homegrown reform?

Time magazine's Andrew Sullivan confesses his own regrets when he writes:

"Several conservatives and neoconservatives have begun to renounce the decision to topple Saddam Hussein three years ago. William F. Buckley Jr., as close to a conservative icon as America has, recently wrote that "one can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed." George F. Will has been a moderate skeptic throughout. The specter of Iraq teetering closer to civil war and disintegration has forced a reckoning."

The coalition of the willing is wilting.

Not the compassionate president

I think the president has better things to attend to, like holding onto US ports and not selling them to the highest bidder without a thought to this countries security. Maybe he can oversee the rebuilding of New Orleans and Homeland Security, not necessarily in that order. He could work on an exit strategy for Iraq. He should be working on something presidential, but instead he is making nice as a goodwill ambassador to visitors from Iraq.

Imagine how thrilled I was to read that this president recently met with the victims of Saddam Hussein to discuss progress in Iraq.

"It's been my honor to visit with folks who know firsthand the brutality of Saddam Hussein. These are folks who have suffered, one way or the other, because the tyrant was a law unto himself, and was willing to deny people basic human rights. The stories here are compelling stories. They're stories of sadness and stories of bravery.

The dictionary defines a victim as "one who is harmed by or made to suffer from an act, circumstance, agency, or condition". I don't think of myself as a victim although I suppose one could make a case for that. I won't give this administration one more bit of power over my life by saying that they ruined my life. They turned it upside down, they changed it, but they did not ruin it. So, I'm not calling myself a victim and meeting with this president is nowhere on my "To Do" list.

Our President, who has sent hundreds of thousands of US military into an illegal and unwarranted invasion of Iraq, a country that was no threat to us, does not attend funerals. He doesn't honor the military's sacrifice with a ceremonial visit to Dover AFB as these flag covered "transfer tubes" come back to US soil either. And finally, when he wishes to comfort families of casualties, he hand picks those families to insure they support his policies. No wonder he thinks we are all grateful that he is the president and that our children died for his noble cause.

The truth is, I don't want to meet with President Bush. I cannot think of anything he could say to me that would make me feel he had any feelings about the loss of life in Iraq. I believe that he has not shed one tear for my only child, Lt Ken Ballard, or the 2290 other American soldiers who have died or been killed in Iraq. Furthermore, I'm guessing he doesn't think about the tens of thousands of Iraqi deaths. Let's not get into the wounded on both sides; they aren't anywhere on Bush's radar.

When Bush made the comments above after a White House meeting on 1.18.06, it is ironic that he easily could have been referring to the families in this country who have been affected by his policies if only the name Geroge Bush was substituted for Saddam Hussein. I wish I could look to my president for the kind of compassion he offers to citizens of other countries. Connecting those dots seems a bit too complex for this president to manage.

Good job, Mom!

From the day that I was told my only child, Lt Ken Ballard was killed in Iraq, the Army somehow managed to mess up everywhere they could. I wish I was exaggerating, but I have a letter of apology from the Secretary of the Army, Francis Harvey to that effect. I dare say there aren't too many of those kinds of letters in existence. When I met with the Secretary last fall, he conveyed his regrets to me personally.

I was initially told Ken was killed by enemy fire; he was actually killed by the accidental discharge of the unmanned machine gun on his M1 tank. When the Army notified me of the change in circumstances of Ken's death back in September, 15 months after he was killed, I found I had done a fair amount of healing. My heart was ripped open and I had to hear in minute detail about the last hour of his life. I found out his last words.....

The Secretary of the Army called for an investigation into why I didn't know the truth from the beginning, when everyone involved did. He also called for an investigation into the casualty process and on 1.31.06, the Inspector General of the Army and 2 of his staff presented me with their findings. Am I satisfied? Hmmm, Ken is still dead, he's never coming home. But, yes they treated my allegations and concerns with dignity and respect. The execution of the casualty process was very poor, the recovery was amazing.

The Stars & Stripes, a daily newspaper serving bases, posts, ships, and embassies around the world wrote a story about the draft of the new casualty process that is being proposed. GI's legacy: Changes in easing families' losses, MotherÂ’s work led to revision of casualty notification I am happy to say that I see evidence of my involvment in many places of this draft document. I read ALL 166 pages to make sure.

I belong to a group of Gold Star families, Gold Star Families Speak Out. We are a chapter of Military Families Speak Out. We believe the best way to support our troops is to bring them home now, take care of them when they get here and to never let a war like this happen again. Nobody wants to be in this group, even we don't want to be in this club, but we are extremely close now. Each one of us knows the other's story, each one of us knows the other children as if they were our own. The circumstances of death vary, certainly, and out of that comes a mission for each of us. One mom & dad are pursuing the story of weapons of mass destruction, another IED's, another land mines and still another family wants to know why the Humvees have inadequate armor. Our son's and nephew's and cousin's voices have been silenced, but we will not let their conscience and their legacy die; so we speak. My mission is fixing the Pentagon. Okay, I know that's a big job, but someone's got to do it! ;-)

The thing about the Army is, they are a bureaucracy just like any other big company. I know they can do better than they did with me. I know they should respect Army families and do better by the soldiers. Fortunately, I have met many members of the military who agree with me. Changing processes and procedures is one thing, changing a culture is another.

Ken volunteered to serve his country and he loved being a soldier. It's shameful that this administration betrayed his patriotism and sent him to invade a country that was no threat to ours. Because the Army tells soldiers that the Army is their family, and they take care of their own, I know that Ken would have been so disappointed to see what I had to go through, but I do think he would be proud of me and he would say "Good job, Mom"

The Military Public Affairs you got

Rumsfeld is at it again....He says the extremists are winning the media war, and his hands are clean.

The extremist groups are able to act quickly on the information front, with relatively few people, while the U.S. government bureaucracy has yet to keep up in an age of e-mail, blogs and instant messaging, he said. "We in the government have barely even begun to compete in reaching their audiences," Rumsfeld said.

In his speech, Rumsfeld said the military needs to focus more on adapting to the changes in global media. "In some cases, military public affairs officials have had little communications training and little, if any, grounding in the importance of timing and rapid response, and the realities of digital and broadcast media," he said.

The government's public affairs system is antiquated, he said, working mostly on an eight-hour, five-days-a-week schedule that cannot keep up with the rest of the world. "This is an unacceptable, dangerous deficiency," he said.

But wait, who does the military public affairs report to? The Department of Defense, of course. And who is the top dog in that organization? The Secretary of the Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, of course. Donald, dear Donald, it was back in December 2004 that you said "As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want," We have been fighting this war nearly 3 years, and it's been over a year since that famous quote. If we want to have the military public affairs that we *want*, then it is Rumsfeld's obligation to make that happen with training, management and intra-agency co-operation.

Rumsfeld's comments of today act as if he thinks the public affairs fairy is going to magically fix this little media problem. I suspect that most government workers would belly up to the bar and do what needs to be done, provided they have the proper training, equipment and resources. It is the job of the Secretary of Defense to insure that happens. Once again, the DOD can do better.

One more question, if we have "barely begun to compete", might I ask when we might begin? If we don't start now, we'll always have the military public afairs that we have and not the one we want and deserve. This country and our troops deserve better.

Worst Day of My Life

2.15.06- Dick Cheney on Fox TV crying crocodile tears about the "worst day of his life", when he filled his friend with buckshot.

5.31.04- The day I was notified that my only child was killed in a war I never supported brought to us by an administration I never supported. Welcome to my world, Dick!

But Dick Cheney doesn't really have a clue. If last week was the worst day of his life, he is no where near mine and he is no where near the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and marines who have the worst days of their lives nearly every day in Iraq. These men & woman are seeing their friends fall in unimaginable ways and we still don't know why. Those images may never leave their minds. EVER!

Let's get a collection together and send Dick Cheney to stand by those men and women this adminstration has sent into harms way and let him see "the worst day of their lives". On second thought, I wouldn't wish Dick Cheney to be anyone's shooting buddy and I certainly wouldn't want to spend the money on the body armor he would surely keep from a deserving soldier!