By Ben Beliles, from Guam, on the outer rim of the Republic

Fortunately, there are some voices crying out in the wilderness. Writers like the late Oriana Fallaci, the great Italian journalist, and the writer Victor Davis Hanson who continues to beat the drums about the encroaching radical Islamic advance against the West, do exist. Unfortunately they are few and far between in a society that is remarkably unconcerned.

What I detest most about the opponents of the war, most notably the Democratic rank and file who urge their presidential candidates to be as anti-war as possible, is their complete absence of appreciation for the tragedy that is occurring. They are often quite giddy about the prospect of defeat for their nation. They cheer like hyenas when their leaders talk about withdrawal like it’s some sort of sporting event. This merely highlights their lack of respect for the men and women of the armed forces who have laid down their lives for our country. They trumpet the death list around as if they really care about it, but what they are actually doing is stomping around on the fresh graves of the dead while using the list for their own political purpose, which is the weakening of the American political will to fight. In addition, while they feign a sense of appreciation for a military that they have reviled since well before the 1960s, the leftwing’s true colors are exposed by their blackout of the study of military history throughout the academy where recent studies have demonstrated the complete dearth of military historians and the absence of the teaching of military history. Perhaps the academy fears that teaching military history will glorify the military they despise.

Read on . . .

By Ben Beliles, from Guam, on the outer rim of the Republic

Unfortunately, the threat to our nation and our military does not begin and end with Iraq, as some candidates for President would like to pretend.

Iran’s threatening posture of sustained nuclear arms development as well as increasing public statements advocating the elimination of the state of Israel are not even given a seconds’ thought by many in the West, which is more concerned with one Iraqi detainee who died at Abu Ghraib when several soldiers went beyond the scope of what they were ordered to in direct contravention of American policy. The fact that those soldiers were held accountable is irrelevant to the international leftist movement and an international media largely influenced by that movement’s propaganda. Where is the marching the streets in response to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s proclamations against Israel and the Jewish people? Where are the demonstrations and the little dolls of Ahmadinejad being burned in effigy? There aren’t any because no one cares. With growing anti-semitic violence and vandalism in France and the rest of Europe, we can only breathe a brief sigh of relief at the election of Sarkozy, with the hope that he can make some substantive changes in a nation that is on a dangerous tailspin into darkness.

Read on . . .

By Ben Beliles, from Guam, on the outer rim of the Republic

We have to face a stark reality. The West is losing. We are a civilization that has lost the political will to successfully pursue a war of more than a few weeks duration and a few hundred casualties. Consumed in our self-absorption, we no longer have time for dealing with issues other than when we are going to get our next buzz. There is no longer any great sense of moral purpose or destiny for the American people.

What highlights the weak moral courage of the American people and their stance on the war is that the vast majority of the American people simply are unaffected by the war we are currently waging. There is no gasoline or food rationing like there was in World War II on a grand scale. There is no draft, nor any chance of one being instituted, despite the fear mongering of Charlie Rangel.

Read on . . .