Talk about screwed up priorities. The Obama team is so busy targeting journalists, they can't be bothered to scarf up the guys who killed a US Ambassador and three other citizens on their watch.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has identified five men who might be responsible for the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, and has enough evidence to justify seizing them by military force as suspected terrorists, officials say. But there isn't enough proof to try them in a U.S. civilian court as the Obama administration prefers.

Seriously, we have them under surveillance and O doesn't want to capture them because then he would have to either bring then to the US, or horror of horrors, send them to Gitmo.

U.S. officials say the FBI has proof that the five men were either at the scene of the first attack or somehow involved because of intercepts of at least one of them bragging about taking part. Some of the men have also been in contact with a network of well-known regional Jihadists, including al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The bastards are bragging about it, but heaven forbid Barry actually do his damn job and capture them. Maybe he can have the IRS audit al Qaeda's status as an Islamic charity.

 The U.S. has kept them under surveillance, mostly by electronic means. There was a worry that the men could get spooked and hide, but so far, not even the FBI's release of surveillance video stills has done that.

Why should they worry, there was no security when they showed up to the show, none while they were slaughtering and they have no reason to believe they are going anywhere. Plus if Barry does act, it will be a drone strike, so why run? They would just die tired. This administration will go down as one of the least competent and most political ever.

The American Legion has stepped forward in Oklahoma.  The Legion is on the ground with Soldier's Wish in Moore right now, and has further allocated $1 million to help help veterans and their families affected by the tornado. 

"The American Legion is committed to the welfare of all veterans and has been on the front lines with veterans and their families in times like these since 1919," said American Legion National Commander James E. Koutz.

Bravo Zulu!

LW

NOTE:  Updated link with direct fundraising page, apologies for the bad URL before.

Devastation (not decimation) has hit in the midwest, particularly in Oklahoma. Team Rubicon is on it.  Please, share the word and spare what you can to help.  Meantime, keep the people effected by it in your thoughts and prayers. 

LW

A preliminary view of the Kindle cover, note final covers will vary

I am pleased (and somewhat relieved) to announce that the second volume in the A Different View series is now out in trade paperback and on Kindle.  This new volume showcases day-to-day life of Marines at Al Qa'im on the Syrian border while I was with them on the last part of my first embed.  It then transitions to Germany and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where I introduce readers to a very special ceremony for arriving wounded.  I'm honored that MaryAnn Phillips of Soldiers' Angels Germany and Michael Z. Williamson agreed to write the foreword and introduction, respectively. 

Here's a taste of what people who have seen it have to say:

“A Different View is a personal and vivid narrative of the author’s experience in a combat zone, showing not combat but the mundanity, humor, and boredom that make up ninety-nine percent of life ‘inside the wire.’ The author’s photos and narrative illustrate how service members cope and adapt to the surreal conditions, and how injury and death are still close by. This is a valuable book, and anyone who cares about America’s troops and the fight in the Middle East will find it worthwhile.” 
Larry Bond, bestselling author of Shattered Trident  

"A Different View is well-titled; it gives the reader an alternative perspective of the fruit yielded by the American effort in Iraq. Most of it is good fruit.  The book is well worth your time...and your money."
Juliette Ochieng, author of Tale of the Tigers

Given feedback from readers, the Kindle version of this new book was created specifically for Kindle in an effort to deal with format and photo issues that were reported with the previous volume.  While the print and Kindle covers will be slightly different, it is hoped that the presentation of the photos will give readers the best possible experience. 

This book builds on A Different View:  Travels with Team Easy, Iraq, 2007 (Kindle and trade paperback) 

You said you wanted more writing, so you got it.  I hope it makes you laugh, think, and cry. Also, if you want to read the full reviews, click on over to Laughing Wolf as I will have them posted there. 

LW

Last week, I saw a post on Facebook that caught my attention.  It was about a relay coming through the Atlanta area for an organization called Carry The Load.  The word was going out for people to sign up and join in to help the charity, remind people of the meaning of Memorial Day, and get in some exercise.  Well, that was my take on in when the president of Ranger Coffee (a former ranger) challenged everyone on a particular leg to bring a ruck and make it a ruck march.  Liking the concept and needing some exercise, I agreed. 

The previous relay arriving

Carry the Load was co-founded by former SEAL Clint Bruce.  I think the words he shares on the site say it best:

"I served our country as a Navy SEAL. Every Memorial Day I have a persistent, dull, deep ache. It’s the memory of all of the buddies I’ll never be able to talk to again. I couldn’t express my feelings with words, so I put on my boots, loaded my pack and I started walking. With every step, I thought about those buddies I lost. As I walked, a man stopped me and asked, ‘Son, who are you carrying?’ He understood what I couldn’t say. At that moment I knew that other people felt like me, and Carry The Load was born.”

A mother and daughter who walked

Nor do they stop with just the military, but also include law enforcement, firefighters, and -- most importantly to me -- their families. 

A young man who walked with us, signing the march flag

It was a very good experience doing the five mile "leg" as the group got to know each other.  There were quite a few veterans, some active duty, and the rest were just glad to show some support of those who serve and the meaning of Memorial Day.  One group even traveled an hour and a half to take part. 

Part of the group for my leg, ready to head out

It was an honor and a pleasure to take part, and a good reminder of the real meaning of Memorial Day.  Check out Carry the Load, and I also want to thank Ranger Coffee for the sample they provided.  It's a good brew, better than a certain "fishy" coffee chain by a mile. 

LW

Well, it appears that TRADOC is now well into the process of attempting to destroy the greatest armed force that the world has ever known.

Training and Doctrine Command has launched “two major efforts in support of this full integration of women soldiers.” TRADOC has started a scientific review working with U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine and Army Research Institute to assist in the development of gender-neutral physical standards for all Areas of Concentration for commissioned officers and military occupational specialties for enlisted soldiers.

In addition, the “TRADOC Analysis Center is examining the institutional and cultural barriers related to integrating women soldiers into previously all-male specialties and units in order to develop strategies to overcome these barriers,”

I am curious how the armed forces, particularly the US Army (and by extension the US Marines) are going to "gender norm" the physical standards. 

My argument is, the standards are already gender neutral...

First, let's have a look at the physical standards.  Take a look at the one everyone is talking so much about.  For those of you following along at home, that would be:  11A Infantry officer/11B Infantry. 

Let's have a look at the physical requirements in summary.  I know I have mentioned it here before, but let's look at the specifics.  I got this from some academic reports on the Land Warrior System.

The physical requirement for the infantry do not differ from those for all Army personnel. The physical demands for infantry soldiers include the following:

• occasionally raise and carry 160-pound persons on their back;

• frequently perform all other tasks while carrying a minimum of 65 pounds, evenly distributed over entire body; for miles;

• frequently walk, run, crawl, and climb over varying terrain for a distance of up to 25 miles (while carrying these loads)

• frequently give oral commands in outside area at distances up to 50 meters;

• able to hear oral commands in outside area at distances up to 50 meters;

• occasionally climb a rope a distance of up to 30 feet;

• frequently throw 1-pound object 40 meters;

• frequently visually identify vehicles, equipment, and individuals at long distances.

The physical profile also refers to functional capacity to perform as determined by medical personnel in six areas: physical capacity, upper extremities, lower extremities, hearing-ears, vision-eyes, and psychiatric. These areas are always presented in the same order. A score of 1 is normal and 4 is diminished performance. The required physical profile for an entry infantry soldier is translated as follows:

• physical capacity (1)--good muscular development with ability to perform maximum effort for indefinite periods;

• upper extremities (1)--no loss of digits or limitation of motion; no demonstrable abnormality; able to do hand-to-hand fighting;

• lower extremities (1)--no loss of digits or limitation of motion; no demonstrable abnormality; be capable of performing long marches, standing very long periods;

• hearing-ears (2)--audiometer average level of six readings (three per ear) at 500, 1000, 2000 Hz or not more than 30dB, with no individual level greater than 35dB at these frequencies and level not more than 55dB at 4000Hz; or audiometer level of 30dB at 500 Hz, 25dB at 1,000 and 2000 Hz, and 35dB at 4000 Hz in better ear (poorer ear may be deaf);

• vision-eyes (2)--distant visual acuity correctable to 20/40-20/70, 20/30-20/100, 20/20-20/400;

• psychiatric (1)--no psychiatric pathology; may have history of a transient personality disorder (well duh, you did pick the Infantry--ed).

As I said at the outset of this argument, the standards are normed already.  There are already a large group of 18 to 24 year old males who already have the ability to "perform maximum effort for indefinite periods," the ability "to do hand-to-hand fighting," and are capable of performing "long marches" and there are some 18 to 24 year old females who are just as capable, but there are alot less who are capable of these standards.  I know that I can take a group of those males and a group of those females from the general population (because that is who we recruit from) in that same group and get an 80 percent success rate on "occasionally raise and carry 160-pound persons on their back" from the men.

Anyone want to hazard a guess on what the success rate would be for that same group of women?  Does anyone think it would even break into the double digits?  What is going to be the injury rate, percentage wise? What do you think the rate of success is going to be if the men start lifting the women?  How about if the women start lifting the men?  More? Less?

So tell me Big Army, is the plan to have the female infantry soldiers only lift their battle buddy and carry them if they are smaller than them; only after stripping them of their 65 pounds of additional equipment?  Start making plastic artillery shells?  Insist that manufacturers of tanks and fighting vehicles make the component parts from plastic?  Only fight wars in countries with temperate climates and low rolling hills?  The base plates on mortars, Ma Deuce receivers, Mark 19 ammunition and machine gun barrels are not going to get lighter, so my guess is that Big Army's plan is to make soldiers lift them less, tote them half as far and involve twice as many soldiers to do it.  Infantry squads will go from 9 to 15, gun crew size will double and it will take twice as long to get anything done that involves physical work.

No matter what part of the equation you look at here, the only part you can change is the part you can't change:  The averages and genetics., because ON AVERAGE (which is where the Armed Forces recruits from) the average 5'4" 150 pound female can't run faster, punch harder, run farther or lift more than the average 5'10" 180 pound male.  I don't need the the wizards of smart at U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine and Army Research Institute to crunch any numbers, study any cohorts, evaluate the kinestetics, or discuss this in a committee to know what is plainly obvious:  Girls do not have a propensity for violent physical combat, nor do they possess the requisite muscle mass, bone density or aptitude for it.  Call me a misogynist and a chauvinist; I don't care.  The fact that I have to explain this tells me just how dumb the people who study this stuff have become. 

The next, more sinister part of this will be how they address the institutional and cultural barriers related to integrating women soldiers into previously all-male specialties and units in order to develop strategies to overcome these barriers.  Anyone want to walk down this path with me so we can wrap our minds around all the rules and regulations this is going to spawn?  I can't wait to hear about the ongoing battle against sexual harrassment in the workplace in Infantry units (i.e. the battlefield) and how it affects readiness, or the massive sea change taking place in Infantry combat becoming more focused on efficiency and less focused on power and strength.  If women can't as a group in units of type A+ personalities whose main mission is to violently end the intentions of our nations enemies deal with some dirty jokes and scat humor, FFS how the hell are they going to close with and destroy the nation's enemies?  The combat arms better get ready for an epic ass-load of sensitivity training and diversity indoctrination. 

None of our enemies have ever been killed with kindness; it generally takes a bullet, an artillery shell or an airstrike.

But more importantly, the institutional and cultural barriers related to integrating women soldiers into previously all-male specialties is about turning men, and I mean rough, violent, skirt chasing, beer drinking, march 25 miles with a 60 pound ruck and a 60mm baseplate with a bad hang over, put their foot up your ass if you can't meet the standard, wood-line attitude adjusting, stick a knife in you with extreme prejudice, hard men into something the Big Army thinks will make senators, Congresswomen and defense secretaries more apt to promote the officers that supervise these new age, kindler, gentler, happy warriors who are all too glad to have females in the combat arms.

Does anyone doubt that our misogynist enemies who think women belong in burkas and shouldn't be allowed to drive or see phallic vegetables in the market (yeah, a real news story) are not in the hospital right now being treated for the damage they have done to their insides from the epic belly laughs as they watch us weaken our armed forces in the name equality?

One of the maxims of battle is when your enemy is about to make a critical error, don't interfere.  I know that if I watched my enemy get ready to start putting soldiers, who are by every measure that matters, weaker soldiers, into front line, meeting the enemy combat; I would relish the thought of meeting them in battle.

And now that the words are out there (gender norming), is there any doubt about what Big Army has in mind and the outcome of this little experiment? Or, I could be wrong, maybe Big Army will do all that studying and come to the logical conclusions I have listed repeatedly here.

Tell me when I can stop holding my breath....

Quoting a friend, who was their LT:

Remembering Alex Varella, Travis Haslip, David Behrle, Joeseph Gilmore, Jean Paul Medlin, Christopher Moore, and "Caesar II" today.

KIA Ameriyah, Baghdad, Iraq
19 MAY 2007
1 PLT/A CO/1-5 CAV/1 CD

Six years ago today.

Black Knights

Long-time readers may well remember these fine men, and Lt. Hickey.  For those that don't go learn more about them, and previous things that showed their character, at this post that was part of Operation Puppy Love. 

Please join me in remembering and honoring them today.

LW

 Bonus:  Day two photos below the fold too.

Staff Sgt. Jacob Dipietro, 525th Military Police Battalion, Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, fires at his target at with his M4 Carbine Rifle at the Qualification Range. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

U.S. Army South is holding it's Best Warrior Competition, hosted this year at Camp Bullis, Texas.  U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH) has responsibility for 31 countries (and 15 areas of special sovreignity) covering the Carribean, Central, and South America.  The Warrior Games(corrected) Best Warrior Competition is an Army-wide competition that tests basic skills and knowledge through simulations and drills, demonstrations of basic skills, board reviews, essays, and other activities relevant to modern operations.  Here are some photos from day one of the competition, which wraps up tomorrow. 

Sgt. Andrew French, 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, fires his M4 Carbine Rifle at the Zero Range. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Sgt. Andrew French, 512th Geospacial Engineer Detachment, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, walks back to his M4 Carbine Rifle after checking his target at the Zero Range. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Staff Sgt. Jacob Dipietro, 525th Military Police Battalion, Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, fires at his target at with his M4 Carbine Rifle at the Qualification Range. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Down goes the target! (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Spc. Austin Hunsaker, 525th Military Police Battalion, Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, fires an M9 pistol. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Capturing the action. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Spc. Austin Hunsaker (right), 525th Military Police Battalion, Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, assembles a M249 machine gun as his grader looks on. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Spc. Austin Hunsaker (bottom), 525th Military Police Battalion, Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, performs a move during Modern Army Combatives testing. . (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Spc. Franciso Padilla (right), 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, performs an armbar during Modern Army Combatives testing. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Spc. Franciso Padilla (blue belt), 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, attempts to escape the rear naked choke during Modern Army Combatives. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Sgt. Andrew French (right), 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, listens to instruction before the Modern Army Combatives tournament. U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Spc. Franciso Padilla (bottom), 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, attempts to maintain the guard position during the Modern Army Combatives tournament. . (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

Wishing all those taking part well, and looking forward to sharing more with you after the conclusion of the competition.

LW

Army Spc. Elizabeth Wasil wins gold in the 1500-meter wheelchair race during the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 14, 2013. More than 200 wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans will compete in the games, which run through May 16. The military service with the most medals will win the Chairman's Cup. DOD photo by EJ Hersom

The Marine Corps sitting volleyball team celebrates a point and went on to defeat Army, earning the number one seed during the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 13, 2013. More than 200 wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans will compete in the games, which run through May 16. The military service with the most medals will win the Chairman's Cup. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jimmy D. Shea

Marine Corps Cpl. Kyle Reid wins the men's 200-meters open race during the 2013 Warrior Games track and field competition in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 14, 2013. More than 200 wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans will compete in the games, which run through May 16. The military service with the most medals will win the Chairman's Cup. DOD photo by EJ Hersom

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jim Castaneda throws the shot put during the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 14, 2013. More than 200 wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans will compete in the games. The military service with the most medals will win the Commander's Cup. DOD photo by EJ Hersom

The following book review and exclusive interview with John Sanford is provided as a special by Elise Cooper for BlackFive readers. You can read all of our book reviews by clicking on the Books category on the far right sidebar.

John Sandford’s latest book, Silken Prey, is a fascinating insight into the world of politics. He has the ability to blend strong characterizations with a very powerful plot. His dialogue is very realistic and often times funny. For anyone who is disgusted with politics as usual this is a must read book.

The story begins when Lucas Davenport, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Agent (BAC) is asked by the state’s Governor to investigate a campaign scandal. Senator Porter Smalls is running for re-election and is accused of having child pornography on his office computer. The trail leads to the disappearance of a political fixer, the involvement of the Minneapolis police department, and more troublingly, to the dirty tricks of his opponent, Taryn Grant. She has hired as bodyguards two trained killers who will protect her at any cost. This book is not a “who done it,” but more in the tradition of Colombo, a “how they done it.”

Sandford told blackfive.net that he wrote it because, “In a nut shell I was fed up with both sides, Republican and Democrat. The problem with politicians is that they are stuck with an ideology and can’t get around it, which explains why nothing ever gets done. They can’t seem to compromise for the better good. There is no longer any grey, only black and white. There is a take no prisoner attitude surrounding politics, that it is no longer congenial, with the fighting both political and personal. They have no respect for each other on the other side of the aisle. People are spending a large amount of money and there are no limitations on what they will do to get elected, so I just pushed that to its natural conclusion.”

He wrote the book to entertain but also to get his readers to think about politicians, how they have blind spots and are out of touch with the average working person as they live in their own Washington DC world. This message is emphasized with his powerful character development.

Taryn Grant could give Machiavelli lessons with her ideas about the way the world should work through her use of money, ruthlessness, and desire. Grant has a narcissistic personality with an oversized ego, extravagant plans for her political future, and someone who wants one day to be the first woman elected President. She is a new type of politician: smart, attractive, ambitious, and very wealthy. Sandford is hoping that readers will find “Taryn likeable. I gave her qualities you would want in a politician: tough, independent, and smart; but she is also a killer. I tried to balance readers going from admiring to hating her.”

Her opponent, Senator Porter Smalls is an old-school politician who has a clear agenda. He is more of a supporting character with the main characters being the hero, Lucas Davenport and the antagonist, Grant. Davenport is a cool headed investigative officer that is intelligent, sexy, a family man, someone who takes things to its limits and can connect the dots.

Sandford commented that he is pondering Davenport’s future since he is very dependent on the good graces of Minnesota Governor Elmer Henderson. “I thought about what Davenport might do after he leaves the BAC. Maybe the current Governor will become Vice-President and the new Governor makes Lucas feel uncomfortable so he leaves his position. Thanks to the Vice-President he becomes a free lance US Marshall and is able to just take cases of his choice. He tracks down unsolved cases and can travel anywhere in the world.”

Another character in the book who makes a cameo appearance is Virgil Flowers. Sandford intentionally puts him in the story to remind people of the Flowers series, with a new book due out in the fall. Blackfive.net was given a heads up about the plot. It will be a comedic satire surrounding a Minnesota minister who steals a stone while on an archeological dig in Israel. A number of groups are trying to buy it from the Turkish Government to Hezbollah as Israel attempts to get it back. Lucas Davenport will also have a small role in this next book.

Since Silken Prey is his 23rd thriller featuring Lucas Davenport, how does he continually come up with such fascinating plots? Sandford responded, “Pay attention to the news. For example, the three girls kidnapped in Cleveland allows for a great crime scenario. I enjoy playing off of a story by taking an idea from the news and using it as an inspiration for a plot. Of course, it should not to be too specific so that it interferes with real peoples lives. You don’t want them to think you are writing an entertainment book out of their misery. You put a riff on it which allows for the feeling of the plot being real without really being real.”

Silken Prey is one of those plots that appear realistic. It is a very suspenseful book that combines murder and politicians. A riveting story that anyone, regardless of party affiliation, will want to read if they are disgusted with todays politics and want a thriller with many twists and turns.

RE:  Prince Harry Will Not Go To Iraq (2007)
RE:  Good On Ya Harry (2008)
RE:  Prince Harry: Playboy or Soldier? (2009)
RE:  The Prince and the Marine (2010)
RE:  Captain Henry Charles Albert David Wales Reporting for Duty (2012)

Captain Wales recently took a walk in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery.  A friend of mine posted the note below on Facebook, and I asked if I could share it with all of you.  If you read another post today, read the one above about Harry and Todd Nicely ("The Prince and the Marine").

From Maas, second generation paratrooper:

Prince Harry.

I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. They call him the Warrior Prince

After seeing the day at Arlington my gf asked why do you guys like him so much. 

That’s an easy answer but it’s difficult to explain. I told her there were thousands of 28 year old pilots in US military doing the deed everyday through out our history. And not one of them laid a wreath at Arlington. That’s a high honor for a very young CPT.

There is a historical bond in the military between the British and us. We based our ranks, organization off them. We also sent soldiers to fight with them more than once.

If there was any guy in the world who could pick another job, it’s him.

He didn’t become a community activist, he didn't order the Naval Special Operations team to kill OBL, and he didn’t marry a woman who for the first time felt pride in our country was only when her husband got elected. He grew up being proud of his country. Just like every military family.

He served one tour on the ground and another as a pilot. And from a buddy flying MEDEVAC with the Brits covering, I was told that he was deadly serious about his job. 

And while this may make a few of my family cringe...He rated everyday naked in Vegas.

There is a picture of him walking among the graves. Politician’s lay wreaths and family members visit the one grave . Only Warriors do that walk. That’s why we like him.

He’s one of us. And if in 5 years he’s still alive and naked in Vegas we’ll only love him more.

Maas

Tonight, the Carry the Load relay will be in the Atlanta/Marietta area.  Anyone care to grab a ruck and join me for Leg 193 up into Smyrna proper?  This is a chance to show support, get some exercise, and maybe help raise some money and awareness for a charity. 

LW

The furnace surrounding Benghazi needs to be hotter on the players involved here, and we are seeing this becoming an indictment of not only the Administration and its leaders, but an indictment of the Media as well (as Crush has pointed out).  I have been watching the hearings and the press regarding Benghazi and I have no doubt that a scandal of this magnitude would have ended the Bush Presidency (hell, it would have ended the Coolidge presidency).  Benghazi taking place in 2006 for instance; would have seen the Lamestream Media running nothing but breathless reports and "breaking news" and endless coverage of the hearings about how the evil Bushitler left brave Americans to die and that Vice President Dick Cheney personally approved the "stand down" order and 6 weeks prior to that he had personally signed the supply requisition that provided the matches and mortar rounds to the terrorists so they could kill those men.

That tripe, thankfully, to those of us who have a brain, is old and busted.  New and Hot is "What Difference Does It Make?"

I could go into chapter and verse about what difference it makes Madame Secretary, but my guess is that you know exactly what difference it makes and you were counting on all of this to go away as you lied to the faces of the families of these men about what happened there.  Jonah Goldberg does a great job with Shrill Hill here, and Bing West at NRO has this to say as well, but that ain't what I want to talk about.  I want answers about this:

Later, Hicks testified, he asked military commanders to send a Special Forces attachment led by one Lieutenant Colonel Gibson back to Benghazi, but was denied by the brass at U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM):

"People in Benghazi had been fighting all night. They were tired. They were exhausted. We wanted to make sure the airport was secure for their withdrawal. As he and his three personnel were getting in the cars, he stopped, they called them off. He said that he had not been authorized to go."

"Lieutenant Colonel Gibson was furious. I had told him to bring our people home. That is what he wanted to do."

"Hicks quoted Gibson as saying then that it was the only time in his career he saw a diplomat have “more balls” than the United States military."

I have never been an officer, so I can't speak to this; I have one question to ask:

What is the price of disobedience to your career?

This question is the most pertinent to me.  Those of us who have been in any positions of command have been forced, at one time or another, to decide whether following an order or following it "in a different direction" were prudent courses of action.  But I want the answers that I may never get.

1. I want to know why Lt. Col. Gibson didn't just go anyway?
2. I want the names of the souless careerists at AFRICOM who left those men to die.
3. I want to know what happened to putting your career aspirations secondary to saving lives.

As to the first, there are those that are going to tell me "you weren't there" and call me "monday morning quarterback" and point out how wrong I am and how the foundation of our system is civilian control and obedience to orders, even when we don't agree with them; and BTW how dare I question this man who was only doing his duty.

I know all of that, and you are entitled to your opinion, just as I; but it is pertinent here to talk about disobedience because disobedience would have put more guns in the fight.  Disobedience may have turned this into something other than a blood bath.  In my opinion, disobedience in this case, and of this magnitude would have been something absolutely justifiable in the face of any UCMJ action. 

I would like to use an example from Jonah's work to illustrate my point:

If you see a child struggling in the ocean, you have no idea how long she will flail and paddle before she goes under for the last time. The moral response is to swim for her in the hope that you get there in time. If you fail and she dies, you can console yourself that you did your best to rescue her.

But if you just stand on the beach and do nothing as the child struggles for life, saying, “Well, there’s just no way I can get to her in time,” it doesn’t really matter whether you guessed right or not. You didn’t try.

How about some "I never got that message" as you board your plane to get into the fight.  Maybe some crinkling cellophane over the radio as your higher headquarters orders you to turn around.  I can imagine no variant in which my career would be more important than doing what was right and doing my duty.  We have no duty to follow immoral orders, and it is immoral to leave men to die because someone at National Command Authority says that is your mission. That is the plot of action movies, not a way of doing business.

Not the President, SoS, Chief of Staff, or AFRICOM 6 Actual could have stopped me from getting on that aircraft and flying to Benghazi short of actually shooting me.  My career wouldn't mean a big stack of excrement to me at that point.  I wouldn't care if you busted me to low-ass scum sucking private and sent me to Leavenworth to make little rocks out of big rocks in the hot sun; me, my men, and that aircraft would be headed into battle.  How's about you court-martial me if I live?

But as I type those words, maybe I should issue a caveat here; maybe I don't know the whole story.  Maybe 26 of the largest CID agents from the AFRICOM protective detail tackled Col. Gibson right there on the tarmac because he began attempting to steal the aircraft with his men and had to be physically restrained. Maybe there was a stand off like the shower scene in "The Rock" with everyone screaming "STAND DOWN!" The only way to truly know this story and what happened that day is to get Col. Gibson before Congress and have him tell his story.  I for one, am on the edge of my seat waiting to hear the ground truth of that day.

As to the second, I have my pencil and paper ready.  I promise you that this writer is not going to forget what you did.

And as to the third, I am dishearteningly disappointed that we have reached a point in our zero defects, zero tolerance for mistakes and zero margin for error military operational mentality that we have someone with the training and tools to affect the battle to reinforce the people who are fighting to save the most powerful man in the world's personal representative and no one thought that it was important enough to try to save the President in Name Only from his spineless, weak-ass, leading from behind, "I will just go back to bed and hope this will all go away" version of non-leadership.  The very idea that senior officials would follow an order that directs them to NOT assist men under fire tells me much about how bad the culture has become.

I write all of this as I think of a young man who is the son of one of the faithful who reads and comments here and a good friend as well who wants to be an Air Force PJ.  I think about what happened to these men and how they looked to the sky searching in vain for help that never came, and I can think of no words that I could speak to assuage her grief or ease her pain, if this had happened to her son in a far away land as he fought on.

Their leadership failed them and their President in Name Only abandoned them.  Someone in that chain of command owes the American People an explanation, and.... I..... am.... waiting.....

Today's Democrat Party views the United States military as nothing more than a political tool to further their agenda. And after Benghazi we see that our troops and intelligence operators are expendable if Democrats think sacrificing them is in their best political interests.

But don't take it from me; just look at what they do.

Instead of preserving the world's most effective combat force, the Democrat Party views the U.S. military as a massive source of funding (defense budget cuts), an opportunity to shore up political support through social engineering (allowing openly gay service members), and a means to further their liberal internationalist agenda (so-called “Responsibility to Protect” operations like Libya).

They know that the military community tends to vote strongly Republican, which partly explains their open contempt of the men and women that serve in the Armed Forces – whether falsely labeling them cold-blooded murderers (Rep. John Murtha), comparing them to Nazis, KGB, and the Khmer Rouge (Sen. Dick Durbin), joking about their intelligence (Sec. John Kerry)... the examples of the Democrat Party's distaste for the military could easily fill an entire article.

But throughout American history, our troops knew at least if they were wounded, in danger of being overrun, or even killed, our military will do everything in its power to get rescue or recover you.

No one gets left behind. At least that's how it used to be.

That is, until Benghazi, which has become one of the most dishonorable events in American history. When our consulate was attacked and overran, President Obama left Americans to die. Any rescue attempt was cut off – not by our enemies, but by the Obama administration.

Even worse than the tragic and preventable deaths of four Americans, Washington's reaction over the last eight months shows the utter disregard the Democrat Party and media have for not only the fallen, but for all of our troops and operators.

I am not saying that each and every Democrat politician wanted those men to die. But can you name any Democrat politician that has said we need to get to the bottom of Benghazi? Has any Democrat even so much as distanced themself from their party's callous disregard for the fallen? Washington can say they support the troops all day, it's time they show us how they support our troops.

Since day one, the Democrat Party – primarily the Obama administration – and their media allies have sought to make the story go away. Since that didn't work, they have resorted to distracting the American people and redirecting the focus by claiming Republicans are only making this an issue for political gain.

Just imagine if your son or daughter was killed in the attack and politicians reacted by saying that anyone trying to find out answers was only using the tragedy for political leverage. That really says something about our nation when the majority party can shamelessly stoop so low – and get away with it.

We need to be asking ourselves: what kind of people are we electing when merely investigating Benghazi somehow becomes politicization of a tragedy? After all, the men left to die in the consulate weren't Democrats or Republicans; they were Americans. In our society, the government serves the people, and therefore owes us answers.

But the aspiring tyrants in Washington view everything – which now includes the lives of our troops – in terms of advancing their agenda and narratives to gain political power.

Information or events harmful to the party or agenda must be rewritten or covered up, as was the case with Benghazi.

With the president only weeks away from a potentially close election, the White House had no options that would serve them politically. A rescue operation could draw attention to the operation in Libya and lead to more questions (such as what were they actually doing in Benghazi) – questions that would likely lead to more problems for the administration.

It already doesn't look good when al Qaeda-linked militants strike U.S. soil again on 9/11 when you have already declared the War on Terror over. To the Obama administration, they had nothing but bad choices, so to them, the answer was to let the consulate fall, then handle the problem by managing the story.

So, a co-ordinated, heavily armed assault magically becomes protestors angry about an American anti-Islam YouTube video that nobody had actually seen. It is unlikely that anyone in the newsrooms believed that the narrative was anything but outright lies, but they played right along, because their agenda aligns with that of the Democrat Party. The false narrative allowing them to shift the focus as much as possible to keep things in a more manageable and politically palatable light.

The administration bet that their fabricated account on Benghazi would hold out until the news cycle moved on, thanks to a complicit media. Anyone looking into the attack is attacked for politicizing the tragedy. Hope the lies stick, and once the story becomes “old” news, they could just dismiss it.

Fortunately, the story didn't go away.

As of this writing, no one has been held accountable or has admitted responsibility over Benghazi. There has been no real response to discourage our enemies from further attacks on the United States. Sure, there have been meaningless platitudes and grandstanding, but that is only going through the motions; no one believes that Obama will actually do anything because he clearly doesn't take our national security seriously.

The Obama administration, the Democrat Party, and their allies in media have indicated by their actions and inactions that they simply don't care about what happened in Libya – they only care about their political agenda.

What few reporters that are actually looking into Benghazi are being ostracized by their own organizations. Politicians looking into Benghazi are smeared by Democrats and the media. Commanding officers in the military have been fired. State Department employees coming forward are no doubt doing so at the risk of their careers.

Have we, as a nation, fallen to the level that this behavior from Washington is acceptable? Perhaps we have – after all, they have gotten away with it for this long. But what about the individual level; do you find this behavior acceptable? If your answer is no, then are you willing to express your disgust with your elected officials and media sponsors?

Hillary Clinton wants you to believe that none of this matters now, but the Democrat Party and the media have done with this tragedy is far worse than what our enemies did to the consulate. They have disgraced our nation.

The days of “no man gets left behind” are apparently over. And if we the people choose not to take action against the political and media elites who are driving us “forward” then things will only get worse.

My short story "A Bride to the Moon" is available for free download from Amazon starting today, for a limited time.  Fair warning:  If you are offended by war, werewolves, violence, or sex, please don't read it.  If you would like to see a rough vignette of a world I hope to explore and share in more detail later, read on.  It is rough, and was written as background simply for me -- a practice the late, great Roger Zelazny used and that I have found works well for me.  In this case, I thought I would share. 

LW

NOTE:  If you have a smartphone, a tablet, or a computer, there is a free app you can download so you can download and read books from Amazon/Kindle.  You will also want to browse all the free books, book sets, and such.  I've managed to snag Kipling and more for free that way.