SLIP SLIDING AWAY

Saturday the first of the funerals began for the fallen Killeen thirteen. They were laid to rest because of a brutal attack on the part of an Islamic jihadist who – though born a U.S. citizen, raised in the borders of our country, and commissioned by the U.S. Army – felt a greater allegiance to Islam than to the oath he freely took as a military officer.

According to the words of our President and his willing accomplices in the media, Major Hasan is not an Islamic terrorist, but a lone gunman who acted on his own behalf.

Also, this last week, our military leaders brought four plans outlining victory in Afghanistan to our President. The basic concept was to increase the troop strength in a surge much like what was done in Iraq. He summarily dismissed all four plans, citing that Karl Eikenberry, our ambassador to the country, was uncomfortable with raising force strength in the light of the instability of Afghanistan’s political climate.

The President feels that their country needs greater political strength before committing more combat troops to complete the task we started.

Then, it was announced on Friday that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, along with four of his co-conspirators, will be tried in the civil court system and not under a military tribunal. This will take place in New York, and as for the rest of the Al Qaeda combatants we’ve gathered over the years at “Gitmo”, they are likely going to be moved to a maximum security prison in Illinois. It is further assumed that they too will be tried in the civil courts, all being granted the same rights as any red-blooded American citizen.

The problem is, these individuals were collected during battle, are not citizens, were never detained on U.S. soil, nor were they apprehended due to a breach of American criminal law.

In all of this, the truth is, there is one common theme. According to the White House, the whole of the 911 attack was a criminal offense and not an act of war. Our President seems oddly uneasy with the concept that we are truly in a direct confrontation with Islamic extremists, not even allowing the term “terrorists” to be applied to them.

This is why it is essential to President Obama to push this into the courts. By doing so, the whole of 911 becomes a criminal matter, changing the prosecution over to the Justice Department and out of the hands of Defense. Like most liberals, he is very uncomfortable with the operations of the military, and thus, proves this further by his waffling on the subject of Afghanistan. By committing troops, he then must admit that we are still engaged in a military conflict, and not the pursuit of criminal justice.

Where does this leave the military? If the President is successful, then the only alternative will be to leave Iraq and Afghanistan, which would then appease the left, though it will outrage our allies in the region. When we withdraw, which is where I assume he’s going with all of this, it will pull the only support these fledgling democracies have to keep them afloat. From there, the pattern looks peculiarly similar to the path of implosion seen in Saigon during the mid 1970’s.

Wars should never be run out of the White House, which is the one aspect of Bush’s presidency that he truly got right. Of course, Both GW and his father were veterans, fighter pilots, and men who understood the dynamics of warfare. President Obama has never served in the armed forces, and also carries that certain disdain for them found in common with nearly all leftists.

Worse yet, he is not alone. This disease of mistaking the Jihadists call to war for stand-alone criminal activity seems to infect nearly all of the Democrat party. Listening to Fox News, to a person, every Democrat lawmaker sided with the Administration. Both Reid and Pelosi are on record in line with the Justice Department’s actions, and the whole lot of them together is bent on twisting the public’s perception of the conflict to meet their own political ends.

If there is no “war”, then Bush’s administration was not only acting unjustly, but was doing so illegally, as the methods they employed were those reserved for military conflict, and would be deemed unlawful in a police action. Therefore, the left would be justified in pursuing investigations and eventual show trials for anyone they deemed a political adversary out the previous administration.

And so, the witch hunt continues. Their intention is to vilify the prior presidency, and to lay at Bush’s feet any failures that arise from leaving the battle before its conclusion. In fact, as has been seen in our economic situation, this is a very common ploy they are using. Nearly everything that has gone wrong over the past year is deemed to be inherited. This plays even further into the scapegoat affect whereby none of the recent catastrophes can be pinned to Obama, regardless of whether they either happened or worsened due to his leadership, policies, or lack thereof.

Part of the reason Obama is so hesitant to move on Afghanistan with the same surge as Bush did in Iraq is that it very likely would be successful, and that gives the distinct possibility of victory, something with witch Obama has already stated his uneasiness. In the liberal world, “winning” is simply a concept they cannot abide. Our schools are beginning to teach our children how to play games without keeping score, so as not to offend anyone or hurt their feelings. To be honest, the Taliban and Al Qaeda are keeping score!

Moreover, it also is increasingly obvious that these foreign conflicts are a distraction from Obama’s intended goal of grasping further power by federalizing our health care system. He has already imposed the will of government on the banks, two major auto manufacturers, the education system through student loans, and by shoving his hand into the pockets of even modest wage earners by proposing extremely excessive taxation.

And yet, he is caught on video bowing to the Japanese Emperor, all after giving his grand world apology tour this last summer; even bowing to a Saudi king.

But in all of this, there may well be a backlash. Reverend Wright may have uttered an unwitting prophecy. America’s – or should we say, Obama’s – chickens are coming home to roost. North Korea clashed with South Korean naval forces on Friday, Iran stated that they have no intentions of bending to the U.N.’s nuclear restrictions, and Palestine recently decided to make its bid for nation status.

Obviously Obama’s standing within the international community is not what he believes it to be. Much of the inroads Bush built by refusing unilateral talks, insisting instead on all negotiations being multilateral, is fading as the world’s rogue leaders snub Obama. Bush also was readily willing to back U.S. assertions with military force, if necessary. Obama is openly apologizing for our nation’s strength, and is actively undermining our recent military operations. This would be little more than laughing stock, were it not for the fact that a major nuclear arms agreement with Russia will expire this December.

How will a man who disdains the military, has no experience on the foreign stage, refuses to see Jihad as war, and is all but willing to roll over and show his belly to every world leader he meets, going to be able to hold the line on U.S. sovereignty and security in arms limitation?

Remember, he’s the one who vowed to disarm America’s nuclear arsenal . . . first!

Maybe he should take notes from Israel’s Prime Minister before heading to Moscow. "There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians," Netanyahu said. "Any unilateral action would only unravel the framework of agreements between us and can only lead to one-sided steps on the part of Israel."

At least the world hasn't run out of leaders yet. Only America has, for the moment. Then again, the elections in 2010 are just around the corner and less than a year away. Hopefully Americans will see how our country is slipping away from us and will bring some real “hope and change” by sweeping Obama’s support from Congress.

Maybe then we can get back to fighting and winning our conflicts, relieving the people from their tax burden, instilling pride in our young, and elevate the U.S. to her former position as “leader” of the free world. I must admit, it’s an awful big, “we’ll see”. In years past, Americans have had short memories and an all too forgiving heart. Let’s hope we’re not seeing the last days of a once great empire, because though the President is uncomfortable with victory, the terrorists are not. And they are the ones who declared war on us.

Haven’t we seen this situation before, where some European countries were queasy about conflict and didn't want to confront a rogue nation, choosing appeasement in place of strength? Of course, that was a long time ago in the 1930’s and 40’s, and surely couldn't happen again . . . could it?