These are my opinions on pretty much any subject that I think begs for my comments. You'll find my comments lean toward the conservative side (OK, so there's no left turn signal on my car)so if you are offended by conservative thought you may as well go find a tree to hug now.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

That's All Folks

Howdy friends and neighbors! I just had to comment this evening due to the demise of Zarqawi and other items in the news. Since I work around the U.S. Navy these days all I can say is Bravo Zulu to the guys on the ground and in the air who coordinated this operation. An operation is an excellent term for killing this cancer of a human being. He has been removed from the world body. It's just too bad that the Berg and Armstrong families didn't get to press the pickle button that dropped the bombs.

OK, the guy is dead. Let's not expect this to be the magic bullet (pardon the pun) that will end the insurgency in Iraq. A free democratic Iraq is NOT what the fanatical Muslem regimes (think Iran/Syria) want to see. The cooperation between regular Iraqis and Jordan that killed Zarqawi is going to be needed to stop the influx of terrorists from outside of Iraq. Once that is done, the local resistance will have to be quelled or shown that Iran is not the US's 51 state.

I am already reading that there is a renewed debate in Washington to set a withdrawl timetable. This is what I was just talking about: the magic bullet. Unless a stable government is in place and the country's military is taking the total burden, and winning, or the local government requests our withdrawl, it is not the time to cut and run. Yea, I'm one of those who are too old to be in the fight and are safe and sound at home. I'm also tired of watching guys I know and kids I've watched grow up go into harms way, but I don't want to watch their kids have to fight the same battle. What's my solution? Read on.

First, let the guys that are in the thick of thing get the job done. Quit spouting what a quagmire we have put ourselves in and quit drooling over mistakes that are made. Yea, admit when they are made, but move on. Finish the job and leave as close to a real democracy as you can get in that part of the world.

Second, develope a real alternative to using oil to power our cars. Make petroleum a much smaller part of our economy and let the Arabs drink their own brew. Create a world where buying another country's oil is a favor to their economy. Right now the oil rich Arab countries can take our money and say "Sucker". We need them to say "Thank You" and mean it. Unfortunately the only contribution I can make toward this effort is to allow my cars (yea I have a couple) collect dust and spin my pedals the 12 miles to and from work. I also keep my Congressman on his toes with letters demanding less subsidising of oil companies and do-nothing research, milage standards for the auto industry, and tax breaks for cyclists (ok, that's wishful thinking). The rest of it I'll have to leave to you people that are smarter than I am.

Well, that's the ramble for the evening. If'n ya have somthin' to say, leave a comment.