1700 American casualties -- How many Iraqi ??

Tuesday, 6/28/05, RIP [Ripley's Internet Press] American President George Bush's speech tonight on the status of the invasion of Iraq yields some answers but leaves unanswered questions. oOo oOo

While we and the American leadership all grieve the loss of any and all soldiers, and we all wish for the fighting to be over, it must be seen that the level of military loss in this war (1700 was the figure bantered about, how do we verify this?) is nowhere near to an incredible, horrible, and irrational level. Compared to the losses in Vietnam, Korea, Arab-Israeli war, the Gulf War, Bosnia-Croatia, etc.--virtually any other conflicts-- we see in these past examples far greater unacceptable numbers of dead.

Frankly, if it were "17,000 dead" this would motivate me to protest in alarm and be concerned! We are not at this level, and God forbid, we never will be. oOo oOo We can stem the tide of further deaths. We should be doing everything humanly possible to thwart any more killings.

-- I personally agree with a Zero Tolerance policy to Death. --

But for those Americans who are swayed by horror over the dead already, I say that with your protest of our government's actions in Iraq, you should proclaim this value to the "insurgency"! See what their reponse and attitude is. oOo oOo It will be more of the same-- total disregard for human life and rights, for the sake of their own twisted agenda. [ This goes, of course, the same for Palestinian, Irish, African, and any other terrorists as well. ]

I do not believe for a moment that these scattered, scrappy militants have any support from the REAL people of Iraq. They are not independents, freedom-fighters, defenders of Islam or any such thing.
They are merely outlaws & renegades. They do not care about anyone but themselves.
They should not be trusted or have any voice. They are a festering boil and a blight on humanity. oOo oOo

I do not mourn their suicidal self-killing, they can help us all they like, in the vermin-iradication process.
But to murder the people around them is never acceptable and will be resisted.

Less than 1,000 casualties (!) were sustained in the "invasion" of a foreign stronghold of terrorists,
and a dictator rallying his thug "army" to remain in tryannical control!? I don't know the actual figures,
but that must be seen as a great relief and sound victory for the strategists and the brave military forces
that we have sent to these lands!

-- We have not forgotten to get Osama bin Laden, but we will also have to

eliminate his underlings and wanna-be's --

oOo oOo oOo
The military action in Iraq must be compared to a police action in the middle of Chicago (or LA or NY for other examples) to attack a conclave of gangs, criminals and mobsters bent on controlling and terrorizing the city.
It would be a very brave move to inject those forces into the middle of these criminals in order to destroy their operations-- and they would be open and vulnerable to continued re-attacks while they remain on the criminal's own turf. oOo oOo

But as Bush has again told us, from the viewpoint of his advisors and American military leaders, the battle against terrorism must take place on the terrorists' own turf. It must be in those areas they have chosen to infest with their subversive presence, or it will happen again on our soil. Thus we have taken the fight across the globe to get directly face to face with terrorists, and hope to eradicate their stronghold before they can regroup to attack more of the countries of the world. oOo oOo

-- Who's Kidding Whom!? --

The question remains for me (if we have to count numbers)-- HOW MANY innocent men, women, and children of the Iraqi people have been slaughtered, murdered, and terrorized by these punks and mobsters that continue to wage war on their own flesh and blood in the supposed name of driving out the "Evil Americans"!! oOo oOo

The numbers do grow daily-- "averaging 70 a day" as reported-- but the casualties are not mounting so fast in American soldiers (and those of our allied coalition forces) as they are rising much faster, steadily, with each car-bombing, suicide mission, grenading or rocket firing carried out by these "insurgents" in their midst.

The death toll continues to rise, demonically among the Iraqi people themselves. oOo oOo

The cost of this war, and of our staying the course-- of "not standing down" until the "Iraqi forcese are able to stand up" for themselves and the protection of their country-- must not be measured in money! oOo oOo

See my "Cost of the TerroristThugMob Gang-Rape-of Islamic-Countries Murderous Insanity Network counter"

-- the true cost of this "war in Iraq" is the brutally shattered lives of the population forced to

endure these shameful acts by the very few lawless ones in their midst.

-- The Pundits' - Observers' - Peanut Gallery - Sidelines Commentary --

After President Bush's speech tonight, the inimitable Tim Russert of NBC is heard to say that a "new outlook"

or rationale for the "war on terror" is given by Bush, by stating that "instead of WMD now the battle is to ensure

that Iraq does not become a haven for terrorists." oOo If we remember correctly, it was

1. the paper [ cellphone / computer / email ] trail. . .
2. the smoking gun [ hijacked plane / bomb / gas / WMD ] trail. . .
3. the money [laundering / "charities" / secret wealthy families ] trail. . .
4. the terrorist network [ recruiting / training / harboring / support ] trail. . .

that (surprise!) led us to connect the dots first to Afghanistan and then to Iraq. oOo oOo oOo

oOo oOo Amazing! Terrorists are loose on the world!

they have money and weapons support from "somewhere"- oOo

-- Bin Laden has ties and para-military allegiances with radicals in Iraq oOo oOo

(and, it must be said, ALSO SCATTERED AROUND [ STILL! ] IN VARIOUS OTHER COUNTRIES)--

AND THERE IS A DICTATOR, Saddam Houssein, in Iraq:

• WHO SUPPORTS TERRORIST ACTIVITY (at the very least, by rhetoric, attitude and example!)
• who oppresses his own people;
• rapes their economy and their women;
• steals and hoards their national treasures and profits;
• gouges the very eyes and hearts of dissenters to his tyranny;
• supports his own network of thugs, thieves and criminals;
• allows unchecked brutal power in his "leadership"-- for over 30 years;
• and is "reported"(reputed among the intelligence community) to be developing WMD--

for what use? To adorn the walls of his palace(s)? Is he going to help us get the terrorists? Not hardly.

Thus, what better place for other terrorists of the world to re-group, amass, strategize, prepare and launch yet more attacks on innocent popoulations, the US included, than in a vulnerable, volatile hotbed of hatred and tacit support as that given under Saddam?

THEREFORE, OF COURSE it made and makes sense to cut out the dark sinister debased heart of this global criminal enterprise that would set itself up in the Iraq-Iran-Syrian-Jordanian quadrant of the instable Middle-East!

So has the American strategy and purpose in carrying on the War Against Terror into Iraq changed?

NO-- even though the threat was less than we were led to believe (without amassed WMD's) the grave danger would still remain with Saddam and his crony leaders in power. More than other totalitarian regimes (with the exception perhaps of N. Korea and China now) they could act as a catalyst to draw more terrorist actions to the middle-east, to become a veritable staging area to attack the world at large. At least this is my hindsight theory. oOo oOo

Why can't freedom-loving people over the world see this? Is it because they really AREN'T FREEDOM-LOVING, actually just Self-interest-loving at heart? oOo oOo

Are some of us blind to the ramifications of allowing ANY criminals to thrive and survive in our cities, states, nations and continents?

Don't we all want a peaceful, crime-free, open and caring "neighborhood", to live together in this "global village"? Why don't we support the efforts of the anti-mobster deputies, man-hunters, private eyes, "Elliot Ness and the Untouchables" willing to risk their own lives for these great values?

I'm not saying the means justify the ends. This is never right. Far from it.

The Ends must Justify the Means beforehand.

And we can't allow the "good guys" to usurp our [the world's] freedoms for the sake of their helping us.

We all understand this.

oOo oOo But are we "too afraid" of losing our [ and other nations' ] high and mighty "personal rights"? oOo oOo

- - - Con't. below - - -

Parable of "The Dead Pork floating bloated in the River"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that roaches and assorted vermin have been cleared and exterminated, the clean-up and disinfection process must continue. Here's the parable paraphrase:

Once the swine have their fill of the demons and are chased down the hills into the sea, if they are

allowed to return to re-infest their "hosts", these parasites will return 7-fold times as nasty, mean and hideous.

The dead pork floating bloated in the Tigris must not be allowed to re-assault the cleansed sands

of Islamic soil to pervert the real faith and religion of these peoples! Begone, Satan!

Another, more modern analogy:

These criminals and minions of the True Satan (the "evil one" in the Bible, not in radical terrorist rhetoric)

are so much like the evil hoards of the Evil Eye in Tolkein's classic The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

They breed more evil among the easily manipulated, like the slimey Orcs enslaved from the depths.

As such, they must not be allowed to debase and destroy their own race's heritage for the sake of their own greed, power, atrocities and cruelty. Why don't the strong people of the bordering nations bind together to lock out any more outsiders, mercenaries and criminals from getting into Iraq to carry out the criminal actions of this "insurgency"?

-- What then can we say to all of this? --

We can pray that a swift end, a changing of hearts,

a laying down of weapons and fighting come quickly and soon.

We can enlist the cooperation of humanitarian,

economic and social aid for the beleagured people of Iraq.

We can stand for justice and mercy in our own countries,

and the decrease in lawless living wherever we are.

We can work for peace in our own circles of influence,

the cause of righteousness and truth,

and salvation from slavery of all sorts,

by any who would deny true freedom

to another human being--

all for their own perverted gain.

We can hold fast to the effort we have begun

(reluctantly, with great cost)

to stop the terrorist network in it's tracks.

Remember: 9 - 11 Never Again,

just like Pearl Harbor Never Again,

Auschwitz Never Again,

Killing Fields Never Again,

Bosnia Never Again,

Rowanda Never Again. . .

. . .[ add your personal knowledge of murderous tragedy ]. . .

and this will lead to never again the need for drastic "radical cancer surgery"

like Hiroshima,

Iwo Jima,

Battle of the Bulge,

D-Day on Normandy ,

Waterloo,

Gettysburg and Appomattox,

the American Revolution,

the (disastrous, but necessary) Fall of Rome,

Old Testament wars of righteousness to overthrow evil kings, etc. . .

. . .[ where and whenever evil men oppress other human beings, add your own dismal examples ]. . .

Short of despair, fear and pessimism, we can have hope and courage-- resolve in the face of evil intent.

And Faith: "Lord Jesus, come quickly to deliver your people and the world!"

Until then, we share the responsibility to our selves and this planet.

Together. One Village. One World.

President Bush: "The terrorists are brutal, but they are No Match for the United States of America, or our people."

This is a call to the same resolve we felt after 9-11 to pursue and bring terrorists to justice. Expect that this pursuit will not be easy. Most attempts at anything worthwile have a large cost to be accepted.

The people of Iraq and other followers of Islam can be freed from terrorist and dictator oppression, and rise to their own glorious and free achievements. The rest of the world would do well to help with the swift and sure completion of this task, and then continue the "fight for peace." This is alas, not the only fight for freedom we (the world) will face in this century--

you know of the other countries where the danger or oppression already exists.

There can be no peace while some of us suffer.
"No man is an island."

There can be no peace while criminals roam the streets of the world.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow Knows. . ."

This is the "shadow" that would eclipse the human soul-- the darkening of sin;

which only God can fully see, and only he can fully eradicate. We must do

what we can in this life physically and spiritually, but only God can bring the final end to sin and death. oOo oOo

And this is the message alluded to in Tolkien's metaphorical Trilogy: it is

the courage in the Face of Evil that "the Quest to destroy the Ring" embodies.

We can again embrace the hope that such a vision gives--

a new heaven and new earth remade,

without the brokenness

that we all too easily

see and know here now.

oOo oOo oOo Do Not Give Up. . . the (Good!) End Is Near. . . oOo oOo oOo

More Bread Dangers-- At Least to Criminals!

Yes folks, as our recent post attested, Bread has all sorts of Inherent Dangers to your Health. oOo oOo Just witness the results of this criminal action in Scotland not long ago-- YoOo Will Be AstoOounded! oOo oOo

The Scotsman - Scotland - Brave shopkeeper thwarts gunman with volley of bread rolls
The robber broke into the shop in Mayfield, Midlothian, early on Sunday morning, just after the 50-year-old shopkeeper took delivery of a lorry load of bread.

The gunman pulled up the shop’s shutters and smashed a glass panel to force his way in. The shopkeeper was standing alone in the premises, surrounded by stacks of plastic bakers’ crates and bundles of newspapers.

"I was standing in the middle of the shop between dozens of bread crates full of rolls.

"I didn’t want to give him another chance to point the gun at me, and so I started throwing . . ."

The shopkeeper added: "I lost a few dozen rolls, but I am glad it was nothing more serious."

oOo oOo This reminds me of a Great restaurant in Missouri, USA-- you better try it out, but DUCK when they start throwing the rolls!

oOo oOo Follow-up: Police in Scotland are appealing for witnesses to the robbery, partly because they are sorely missing their morning shipment of crumpets and doughnuts.

ALL POINTS BULLETIN HERE!! oOo oOo