Can Marijuana Fuel Jihad?

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/can-marijuana-fuel-jihad/

Cliff Kincaid  —   October 24, 2014

Potheads defend their addiction by insisting that marijuana can make people lazy, dumb or hungry, but not violent.

However, the case of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the Canadian Islamic terrorist killer, proves otherwise.

Zehaf-Bibeau was an Islamist, as well as a pothead.

In another notorious case of jihad, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was not only a dope smoker but a dealer.

It appears that Dzhokhar’s brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was implicated in a Jewish triple murder case in which thousands of dollars’ worth of marijuana and money were left covering the bodies.

All three victims’ throats were slashed.

It may be too early to draw a direct connection between jihad, marijuana, and mass murder, but it is worth considering whether consumption of the drug can alter the mind to such an extent that jihad becomes appealing to some mentally unstable individuals.

Clearly, a number of factors were at work in the case of the Tsarnaev brothers, who were born in the former Soviet Union and attended a mosque in the Boston area.

The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was fascinated by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a Russian forgery about a Jewish plot to take over the world, and he “took an interest” in the Alex Jones website Infowars, which carries Russian disinformation.

But their involvement in the marijuana business appears to have been very deep.

We also have the case of Michael Brown, the black thug who was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri.

An autopsy and toxicology report finds that he had marijuana in his system and had been a user for some time.

There is no hint of jihad here, only anti-police violence.

But the role of marijuana in this violent confrontation deserves extensive coverage, not just a footnote.

Trayvon Martin, the black juvenile delinquent shot and killed after he assaulted anti-crime activist George Zimmerman, also smoked marijuana regularly.

The latest White House fence-jumper, Dominic Adesanya, had a “substance abuse” problem as well.

A clearly deranged individual, he told officials he smoked marijuana “sometimes, but not everyday.”

Do we see a pattern here?

Other such cases involving marijuana and violence include:

•  Jerad and Amanda Miller, who killed two cops;
• Maryland mall shooter Darion Aguilar;
• would-be Obama assassin Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez;
• Pentagon shooter John Patrick Bedell;
• killer student Jeff Weise;
• child killer Joseph Smith;
• and Vladimir Baptiste, a psychotic pot user who drove his truck through the headquarters of WMAR-TV in Towson, Maryland.

Yet, our media keep insisting that marijuana is a harmless drug with beneficial medical properties, and that dopers aren’t aggressive people.

The Canadian case should be a wake-up call.

A recent convert to Islam once known as Michael Joseph Hall, Canadian Islamic terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was charged with marijuana possession on at least two occasions.

He was also charged at one time with possession of PCP, with side effects including hallucinations and delirium.

Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper quotes a friend by the name of Dave Bathurst as saying Zehaf-Bibeau frequently talked about Shaytan in the world—“an Arabic term for devils and demons.”

Bathurst said he thought Zehaf-Bibveau was mentally ill, a distinct possibility because of his marijuana use.

But the shooting rampage could have been a direct result of his interpretation of the Koran, the Muslim Holy book. Or perhaps it was a combination of both factors.

Yet, the CBC reports that his neighbors said “they remember Zehaf-Bibeau as a sweet boy, and are in shock at the news.”

The transformation of a “sweet boy” into a maniac, psychotic, or jihadist killer can happen under the influence of a mind-altering substance like marijuana.

In the Michael Brown case, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has run a story saying his toxicology report found a level of THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, at 12 nanograms per milliliter of blood.

“Levels of inactive ingredients of the drug were also detected in Brown’s blood and urine,” the paper said.

In other words, Brown was a marijuana abuser, quite possibly an addict.

The paper confirmed this, saying, “Pathologists who read the toxicology report said Brown probably had used marijuana within a few hours of his death.

There were also indications that Brown was a habitual user.

An undisclosed amount of the drug was recovered from his body. A surveillance video taken the same day appears to show Brown stealing cigarillos from a convenience store.

The tobacco in the flavored small cigars is known to be easily replaced with marijuana leaves, as shown in YouTube videos and in cannabis literature.”

Brown had stolen a box of Swisher Sweet cigars.

A Swisher Sweet cigar—also known as a cigarillo—that has been re-rolled with marijuana is called a blunt.

High Times magazine has highlighted the seven best cigars or cigarillos to use, making it easier for thugs to know what brand to steal.

The paper noted that Brown’s active level of THC was more than twice what authorities in Colorado have set as the legal limit on marijuana in a driver’s bloodstream.

Colorado sets that level at 5 nanograms per milliliter.

However, the paper went on to say that “While alcohol has a direct influence on violent behavior, marijuana does not increase the odds of any type of aggression, according to a study published this year in the journal Addictive Behaviors.”

This claim in the newspaper account is in dispute.

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington says the evidence indicates that while marijuana usually has a sedating effect on most users, “sometimes when marijuana is used it can cause fear, anxiety, panic or paranoia, which can result in an aggressive outburst.”

The UPI wire service reports that a Dutch study on the effects of marijuana use on teenagers found “the higher the frequency and amount of marijuana use, the more aggressive behavior the teenager showed.”

However, the pro-marijuana movement is hoping that the public doesn’t draw a connection between marijuana and violence, and is counting on more legislative victories.

Amy Ronshausen, Interim Deputy Director of Save Our Society From Drugs, reports that “As Election Day approaches, several states are facing ballot initiatives to either legalize marijuana as so-called medicine or for recreational purposes.” These include:

• Amendment 2 in Florida (DontLetFLGoToPot.com and www.Voteno2.org
• Ballot measure 2 in Alaska (https://www.facebook.com/votenoon2alaska)
• Measure 91 in Oregon (Vote No on Oregon Measure 91)
• Initiative 71 in Washington, D. C. (Two is Enough D.C.)

But the potheads are well-funded.

“Our movement to end prohibition is gaining momentum,” says the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform.

“Colorado and Washington have succeeded in passing measures that legalize cannabis.”

The group’s spokesperson is Dale Sky Jones, identified as “Executive Chancellor of Oaksterdam University.”

Oaksterdam University, which calls itself “America’s first cannabis college,” teaches “students” how to grow dope.

One of the instructors is known as “Miss Bliss,” and specializes in creating marijuana “edibles.”

In Colorado, where dope has been legalized, such edibles have resulted in a murder and a student jumping to his death.

Oaksterdam “college” even offers advice on rolling blunts using Michael Brown’s favorite Swisher Sweet cigars.

FAMILIES TALK ABOUT OPIATE ADDICTION:

PRESS RELEASE

 

Contacts:

 

Lisa Lowe, Heroin Action Coalition heroinactioncoalition@gmail.com 

301-525-6183

 

Mr. Deforest "Dee" Rathbone DZR@prodigy.net

301- 994 - 2733

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., LAWYER'S MALL, ANNAPOLIS, MD

 

FAMILIES ARE HOPING THAT THE NEW ADMINISTRATION

WILL ADDRESS MARYLAND'S BIGGEST HEALTH CRISIS

In the most recent gubernatorial debate between Lieutenant Governor, Anthony Brown, and Republican contender, Larry Hogan, Maryland's heroin epidemic was noted among the top issues facing the state.  Hogan admits that "we have a heroin epidemic here in Maryland. We have been called the heroin capital of the United States."  He claims that "Maryland is the only state on the East Coast that has not declared a state of emergency over this very serious problem."  He promises that within two days of taking office, he will "immediately call a state of emergency and call a summit to bring all of the various components together to sit around the table to find out how we attack this problem.  It is a major major issue!"

Anthony Brown promised to allocate $100,000,000 to "better drug treatment, education and outreach programs".  This funding will become available through savings created by the new marijuana decriminalization laws which will save the state millions when cases in which marijuana users are caught with small amounts of marijuana are no longer prosecuted.

Leaders of grassroots advocacy groups across the state agree that opiate addiction and overdose death have reached epidemic proportions and is Maryland's biggest problem.  Members are continuously frustrated by a lack of responsiveness and leadership on the part of Governor O'Malley in tackling the problem.

"If our kids were dying of any other epidemic, our state would be under quarantine," says Carin Callan-Miller, co-founder of Save Our Children and member of the statewide coalition of family-based grassroots advocacy groups --Heroin Action Coalition of Maryland.  "All you hear about in the media these days is Ebola.  We have mustered funding, doctors, troops, medicine and everything else to address this problem.  Yet, while 3,000 people died of Ebola in Africa, 30,000 Americans died from overdoses --And still the President, elected leaders, the press, local health departments, school officials, and every other community leader remains relatively silent on this issue!" 

Lisa Lowe, founder of Heroin Action Coalition agrees.  "This is the biggest public health crisis in my lifetime --parents are burying more kids than they were during the Vietnam War, but due to a long history of stigma and anonymity surrounding addiction, family members are extremely reluctant to talk about it.  If no one is talking about it, the media has no stories to write about it, and our elected officials do not have a constituency to hold them accountable for resolving the problem," says Lowe.  "By the same token, our Maryland Governor has been remiss in making this issue the state priority that it should have been during the past four years." 

"Maryland is way behind other states in providing a solution," says Callan-Miller.  "Families are going bankrupt, mortgaging their homes, cashing out life savings, and spending their retirement to save their kids --often sending them to out of state treatment programs that are just not available in our own state."  She says that she and her husband have mortgaged their home and spent their retirement on getting treatment for their son, who has struggled with a substance use disorder and has been repeatedly unable to get the help he needs in Maryland.  Lowe has spent so much time trying to get her son the treatment that would save his life-- that she ended up losing her job and then her home. 

Ginger Rosela lost her son to an overdose a little over a year ago.  Since then, she has been an advocate for better prevention, treatment and recovery programs in Calvert County and has also joined the statewide Coalition of family advocates.  She started a FaceBook page dedicated to her son Jake, and has been instrumental in heightening awareness and helping families to get their loved ones into treatment in Southern Maryland.  She recently held an event in Calvert County in which more than 50 people attended and received training in overdose prevention and free Naloxone kits --the opiate overdose reversal drug that only recently became available to parents with the passage of legislation.  According to Rosela, family members are doing the work that they expected their state and county health departments to do.  "In order to get Naloxone into the hands of family members, we had to find a local legislator willing to introduce a bill, then we had to take off work to educate our legislators."  "Now, in order to get the Naloxone to the families who need it, we must find doctors willing to prescribe it, get trained in teaching other family members to use it, find locations to hold the trainings, promote the events, and raise money to purchase the kits --all at our own expense," explains Rosela.  "There are many advocates who are working full time without pay to save lives," says Rosela.  "Even though it is too late to save my own son, I cannot bear to hear about the next death or the next funeral or the next heartbroken Mom or Dad.  So I am fighting to save their kid." 

Families are frustrated that more has not been done to resolve the problem.  "Last year, families spent a lot of time educating elected leaders on the merits of the Good Samaritan Bill and were successful in getting it passed into law," points out Rosela.  The Good Samaritan Bill provides limited immunity from arrest or prosecution for minor drug law violations for people who call for medical help when they are witnessing an overdose.  Rosela is disappointed that there has not been a statewide campaign to educate citizens about the new law.  "This law has the potential to save lives," maintains Rosela, "except that no one has heard about it."

"We do not have an organization that supports families with an individual struggling with a substance use disorder," Lowe points out.  "We have no budget, no paid staff, and we are all doing this work around our other jobs," she admits.  "There are other advocacy organizations that save the Bay, save animals, or advocate for fair mental health policy --all with million dollar annual budgets --but we are trying to save kids with absolutely no budget."

Lowe argues that a lack of performance measures for treatment programs are at the root of the problem. "Despite millions being poured into Maryland's addiction treatment programs, Maryland continues to wrestle with an out-of-control heroin epidemic.  We do not know what works because we have no standards for defining successful outcomes and no real performance measures for comparing various programs or determining which ones are even effective.  How do we know where to spend tax payer dollars if we don't know what has worked and what hasn't," questions Lowe.  "We need to begin to look at ways to compare all of the programs in our state's continuum of care, so that we can fund what works.  We need to look at what other states are doing that has achieved measurable results."

"This is definitely an area where we would like to see improvement in the new administration," says Lowe.  "While the Governor may define successful recovery as the ability to hold a job while an individual maintains a dependency on high doses of methadone --a relatively low cost option for the state, many family peer support advocates argue that methadone maintenance is simply another form of addiction, albeit a legal form.  Many families are in support of long term residential treatment, arguing that even though it may be more costly in the short term, the savings in terms of health and quality of life is worth it in the long run.  Families need to be invited to weigh in on the policy that affects our lives and impacts our families," urges Lowe.  

"We need to look at ways of defining success that everyone agrees with," emphasizes Lowe.   "Then we need to figure out which treatment providers have the highest rates of success with regard to meeting these benchmarks.  We need to look at ALL programs along the continuum of care --those that are publicly funded as well as privately funded. Then we need to tie rates of success to county and state funding.  Only then can our elected leaders be sure that our tax dollars are doing what our citizens want them to do --and that is to solve the problem of addiction and overdose death."   Lowe stresses that "our elected officials have a responsibility to spend tax payer dollars wisely --to achieve the best bang for the buck.  Transparent and measurable outcomes are the only way that Maryland constituents have to hold their elected and appointed leaders accountable for spending their money on what is in their best interest." 

Rosella agrees, "…the responsibility for implementing effective policy and programs for addiction treatment in the State of Maryland falls squarely at the door of the Governor.  This is a critical campaign issue which has not been fully addressed by either gubernatorial candidate."  With an 88% increase in the overdose rate from 2011 to 2013, and DHMH first quarter stats for this year showing a 33% increase in overdose deaths compared to the same time last year, voters want to know how the candidates will address this issue.

Family advocates are guardedly hopeful that the new administration will bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to tackle the problem.  "But in the long run," notes Callan-Miller, "we will need the new administration to allocate the necessary funding to create necessary programs, rather than cut the treatment budget --as Governor O'Malley did during the past year."

CHARLES: Ebola, more vital facts untold

"HAPPY TALK WILL NOT GET YOU THROUGH THIS ONE, MR. PRESIDENT"

FILE - This undated file image made available by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows the Ebola virus. In a second, smaller Ebola outbreak, at least 69 people, including eight health workers, are believed to have been infected according ... more >

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/16/charles-ebola-more-vital-facts-untold/?page=2#ixzz3GPEBsF3w 

 

 

 

By Robert Charles (Bio) - - Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Obama White House and CDC have done it again.

With countless unknowns surrounding the recent discovery, transmission, infection rates, and potentially exponential growth of Ebola in the United States in the months ahead, trust is vital. Every American is dependent on information being disseminated by the Federal Government as this crisis unfolds. Information has to be accurate, both as to what we know and do not know. There cannot be material omissions. Yet, this White House continues to blithely assert knowledge they do not have, and to hold back facts that the public should know.

Examples pile up in both categories. In the first category, statements of knowledge and confidence without basis, we learned today that the White House really does not know how the nurses in Texas contracted Ebola, despite being protected by hazmat suits. We learned that the disease is supposed to be transmissible only person-to-person and by an exchange of bodily fluids, and yet there are studies indicating it may be transmitted by dogs, and that contact can be minimal.

Likewise, we learned that flights will continue to the U.S. from West Africa, even though we are not checking 100 percent of the passengers arriving from these countries; we are checking 94 percent of the hundreds daily entering the U.S. We learned that even at the five U.S. airports checking for Ebola infections by fever readings, there is no agreed fever level that warrants pulling someone aside. We learned that there is no protocol for what to do with the person pulled aside, other than call a hospital.

Nor is there a protocol to stop the passengers leaving the airport who were in contact with the potentially infected person. There are no quarantine facilities, no negative pressure or “clean rooms,” for passengers arriving who may be infected. There is no way, apparently, to check manifests from Europe to see if any passengers arriving from Europe have come recently from an infected country. And under the current policy, if a person wants to enter the US from these unregulated flights, direct or indirect, they can pop two aspirin before landing and banish their fever. They are now among us.

All these facts, and many more surfaced in the congressional hearings today, seem to make current presidential protestations of “complete confidence” in a flawed process with vast unknowns, seem more than a little hollow. Who can be confidence or can presume knowledge when so many unknowns – including the old unknown unknowns – plague the Federal repository of knowledge.

Instead, be honest. Be aggressive with the crisis, protecting Americans first, last and always. And stop telling the American public that this is like other crises, since it is not.

This set of events requires not just vigilance, deterrence, and luck. It requires flawless execution of a thoughtful, defensible and realistic set of protocols, intensive and immediate nationwide training, proper deployment of quarantine zones, equipment and so-called “clean rooms” (even if temporary and later decontaminated) at both airports and major hospitals. Happy talk will not get you through this one, Mr. President. Needed is a higher level of nationwide engagement, complete competence, and total transparency.

This brings me to that second category, the set of facts known and not being communicated. If trust is everything in a crisis, giving the American public reasons to trust in a President who has given us pause prior to this should be a White House priority.

Every fact that could help average Americans believe more in their Federal Government should be shared. But that is not happening. The reverse is happening.

Thus, for example, the White House – President Obama – did a long press conference on Wednesday of this week, but never revealed that one of the nurses infected was not – as presumed – remaining in Texas. Nor was she headed for Atlanta, but was instead quietly headed for a “level four containment” medical facility in suburban Washington, DC. She was placed in a “level four containment” area at the National Institutes of Health.

If he knew this on Wednesday, during the press conference, why keep this material fact from the American people? Even if the move was medic ally necessary, why was this kept secret? Again, the trust thing. People have a right to know about this crisis, both as and before it happens – not afterwards.

Here is another secret. According to well-placed sources tied to various parts of the medical community, the nation – our entire nation – has only four “level four containment” medical facilities, that is, highly secure hospitals of the Emory sort in Atlanta and the NIH sort in Washington DC.

The news is starker still. Between the four, I am told that there is a capacity of only 18 beds. For a population of 350 million Americans? Let us hope that no more than 18 cases emerge, then. Is this good preparation? No, not if that level of containment is needed for stopping the Ebola epidemic from rooting in the United States, and not if that level of isolation is needed to keep these patients both well treated and non-infectious to medical staff.

The four are apparently located in disparate places, and are each highly unique – thus, the placement of the two Ebola cases, so far known, at two of these four locations. The four are at Emory, NIH, Nebraska and Montana. That is it. So, please tell the American people Mr. President, that the options are limited, and that you are therefore doing something about this, now.

What are we doing to prepare for a wider set of needs? Are there temporary facilities with high level isolation units being created? And on the contact front, are each of the potentially infected persons on various flights, including those on which infected persons have flown, being physically isolated, tracked before they can infect others, and is there a universal or mass contact list being created to track each in detail?

If so, tell us. If not, tell us. Either way, do it.

In short, average Americans should not have to be hunting and pecking for real data, for the material facts surrounding this bona fides emerging Ebola crisis. Their President should be leading, helping them understand the facts, not backing and filling or blaming others, not sending his head of CDC to the Hill to spread unfounded confidence based on no more than happy talk.

Now is a time for complete engagement, honesty, and a restoration of trust. As I have written before, on other less urgent topics, if not now, when? Is this not reason enough to leave politics at the curb, get beyond the dodge and weave practice, and get in front of this emerging set of critical events.

Mr. President, you have the wheel. Now, turn into the wind. Help us all with this restoration of trust, or a meaningful attempt. We will try to turn with you into the wind. America must meet this Ebola crisis head on, unified. You must lead, based on a realistic assessment of what lies ahead. Unity depends on common trust. Trust depends on transparency, which means sharing all material facts with the public. There is no time like the present. Back to you, Mr. President.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State who served under Colin Powell and is now a private consultant in Washington DC.

CHARLES: Mr. Obama, Mr. Erdogan: save Kobani

 

Dear All,

Robert B. Charles writes on many subjects of importance to our nation.  In the past I have published several of his articles in regards to issues surrounding marijuana and other illegal drugs.

Today, under what many Americans consider the weak leadership of President Barack Obama, our nation has many more serious problems than just drug abuse; not to minimize the drug problem and Obama's feckless leadership on enforcing our nations laws and treaties on marijuana and drugs overall.

Mr. Charles was a Assistant Secretary of State for General Colin Powell in the President George W. Bush Administration.  As such it is my pleasure to share his important and educated perspective regarding the Middle East and ISIS with all of you for your consideration.

Ronald L. Kirkish 

CHARLES: Mr. Obama, Mr. Erdogan: save Kobani

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/8/charles-mr-obama-mr-erdogan-save-kobani/#ixzz3FeyDW4Dv 

By Robert Charles - - Wednesday, October 8, 2014
[Bio] Robert Charles was Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, 2003-2005, under Secretary of State Colin Powell and President George W. Bush.

  Smoke rises after strikes in Kobani, Syria as fighting intensifies between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State group, as seen from Mursitpinar on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. Kobani has been under the onslaught of the Islamic State group since mid-September when the militants’ launched their offensive in the area, capturing several Kurdish villages around the town and bringing Syria's civil war yet again to Turkey's doorstep. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Just over a week ago, I sat in a room with President Erdogan of Turkey.

He spoke to a small group.

He was asked: How did the 49 Turkish hostages suddenly get released by ISIS?

His answer was coy, at best.

He implied that no money had changed hands.

He pivoted, mentioning that Israel had once done a large prisoner swap.

Of course, he could have referenced President Obama’s own terrorist swap with the Taliban.

Still, Erdogan’s answer just hung in the air, incomplete.

Now, we may know the answer.

Today, a leading northern city in Syria, Kobani, is under intense assault from ISIS.

From videos and pleas for help, one is put in mind of Pol Pot’s “killing fields” in Cambodia, and our promise never to let this happen again.

So, why is Turkey and why are we, as Americans, letting these innocents of Kobani – the Kurds – face an unconscionable massacre?

America could stop that massacre by direct weapons drop to the Kurds, yet Obama resists even that support.

America could stop the massacre with direct, overwhelming force from the air, based on acquired intelligence.

Instead the President authorizes only token air strikes, making excuses shamelessly for not doing more.

By all accounts, what he is doing qualifies as patently ineffectual and unimpressive, even if the White House gets a good daily headline.

Turkey could also stop that massacre.

Turkey has tanks positioned within a stone’s throw of Kobani, on the Syrian-Turkish border.

But they are all Kurds.

And who are the Kurds?

The biggest Kurd population in America is in Tennessee.

But internationally, Kurds are religiously diverse, hopeful, and diffuse.

Dating to Mesopotamia, Kurds are practitioners of Islam, Yazidism, Christianity and Judaism.

They are spread across Syria (two million), Iraq (six million), Iran (eight million), and Turkey (14 million).

Thus, in a way Kobani is symbolic.

To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, “We are all Kobani today.”

What lies beyond Kobani?

If ISIS terrorists have their way, Baghdad, Medina, Mecca, and the West.

So, when will we act?

And if not for Kobani, where?

And why is Turkey not acting?

Turkey has long been at odds with the Kurds, who have historically pressed for autonomy, across the region, consistent with promises made after World War I.

So, could it be – cynical as this sounds – that a deal was actually cut with ISIS?

That the hostage deal involves inaction as ISIS massacres the Kurds in Kobani?

No, surely, this cannot be the motivation for inaction by Turkey.

Surely, this is not the real answer.

And surely, as a NATO ally of the United States, Turkish tanks will roll to save these innocents, preventing another unconscionable killing field.

But they are not rolling yet.

Why not?

On a different note, what is motivating President Obama’s inaction?

Strategic ignorance is no longer an excuse.

His actions have been ineffectual, feckless, his bombardments leveling empty warehouses.

That is not a U.S. strategy.

Surely, this is not an anti-war President throwing up political flack, a few here-and-there bombs to appear engaged, just through the coming elections.

Obama’s indifference cannot run this deep, can it?

He would not let these people die – knowingly, would he?

No American President in history has wished death on innocents, and none should avert the use of power we have to save them, right?

Then, what is Obama doing?

How do we win this?

The answer – for Turkey, President Obama and Congress – is: Act.

The answer is to immediately arm the Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, for a full-on defense of their lives, permit them survival.

To this, Obama should add real air support not window dressing for the midterms.

He instantly should authorize considerable monies to buy intelligence on ISIS positions in Kobani and elsewhere.

Then, he should take the gloves off.

He should convene a National Security Council meeting of principals, fully empower the United States military to initiate a robust air campaign, and drop perhaps half of the 4000 Tomahawk missiles available to him, on ISIS targets over a four week period.

Three dozen sends the opposite signal, weakness, indifference and indecision.

At the end of that period, with a repeat strategy available, he should invite all ISIS combatants left to promptly demobilize and become, once and for all, part of Iraq, Turkey or Syrian civil society.

Syrian civil society, you ask?

Yes.

To make this strategy work, he will have to talk candidly with President Erdogan, persuading him to save Kobani, in the process saving Turkey.

He should give the green light to U.S. military commanders, get multiple carrier battle groups to the front, and launch a real air campaign from Incirlik.

In this way, Obama’s failing non-strategy for beating ISIS, at best containment strategy, will become decisive, instant rollback.

More lives, land and leadership will not be senselessly lost.

And here is the kicker.

Obama could silence the ISIS threat with resolve and overwhelming force.

Then, in an act of brilliant diplomacy, he could unveil a collaborative Arab nation ground force, its mission to hold, with cooperation from Iraq and Turkey, ground recovered (including oil production facilities) through his uncompromising air campaign.

Finally, in tour de force, giving Obama an unlikely legacy for incisive strategic thinking, the President could opening path-breaking peace talks, personally brokering a tete-en-tete between the Assad government and half a dozen “moderate” minority and formerly warring anti-Assad groups.

Shocking the world, Obama would win global acclaim and his second Nobel Peace Prize.

If all this is too much, how about we arm the Kurds, convince Erdogan to forsake his hostage deal and save Kobani, and then open a real air campaign?

As Edmund Burke once observed, “All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.”

On behalf of all good people everywhere, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Obama, it is time to act.

Retired general says political correctness is deadly to US

 

Dear All,

A common theme between Major General Tom McInerney and the Rev. James V. Schall, [in the blog below] is their opinion that political correctness is a major concern for America's national security.

 

They both share the same concern that President Obama and his administration are the main culprits of promoting this dangerous political correctness doctrine.

 

Ron Kirkish

 

Retired general says political correctness is deadly to US

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/retired-general-says-political-correctness-is-deadly-to-us-1.303321

By Drew Brooks  - The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. (MCT) - Published: September 16, 2014

Major General Thomas G. McInerney - U.S. Air Force        

PINEHURST — A retired three-star general railed against the Obama administration, political correctness, the media and rules of engagement during a speech Monday night at Sandhills Community College.

Thomas G. McInerney, who retired from the Air Force in 1994 as a lieutenant general, currently serves as a Fox News military analyst and was invited to speak by the Moore County Republican Party.

The general was originally slated to talk about how military downsizing may affect preparedness, but changed his topic to instead address current threats facing the nation.

McInerney presented views that he called "more harsh" than his Fox News commentary.

He particularly focused on events surrounding the attack on a U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012.

"Unless we're harsh we're going to lose this nation," he said. "We're losing it fast."

McInerney said U.S. leaders failed to attack during the Benghazi attack. He said leaders were derelict of duty and have since covered up their actions.

Benghazi is bigger than Watergate, McInerney said, but the media is complacent in covering up the Benghazi attacks.

"I can tell you, even from Fox, the information isn't getting out here," he said.

"Our nation has never seen such duplicity, such dereliction of duty, such lying ... and the media is covering it up."

McInerney said the U.S. response was one of several miscues by leaders that have contributed to growing threats.

McInerney said the economy, shrinking military and more than a decade's worth of U.S. policies in the Middle East have only increased the dangers facing the nation.

"These are very dangerous times for America," McInerney said.

"We are leading from behind, and that's why these things are happening. You cannot lead from behind. Someone has to lead."

The biggest threat, McInerney said, is radical Islam, and the general said the onus for "cleaning house" has to be on the Muslim community.

McInerney said American leaders are afraid of offending Muslims, and said radicals have hidden behind their religion.

Earning applause from the audience, he compared Islam to Nazis, Fascism and Communism.

"Political correctness is killing us," he said. "It is a global war against radical Islam. Let's call it what it is ... Islam is not a religion of peace."

McInerney said his strong feelings have been developed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

During his 35 years in the military, the general said he thought the Middle East was too complicated to try to understand.

He later embraced the U.S. strategy of counterinsurgency, which involved winning the "hearts and minds" of the civilian populace.

"I bought into it," he said. "It sounded good."

But McInerney said he no longer supports that strategy, and said the U.S., too, should move on.

McInerney said ISIS could be defeated quickly, thanks to the military's technological dominance.

He said it should only take 90 days to defeat the organization, but only if rules of engagement are relaxed.

"Let's just kill them," he said, again garnering applause. "I would wipe them out."

Threats of collateral damage should not deter forces, McInerney said.

He said those near radical fighters were either hostages or complicit and added that not even religious buildings should be safe from attack.

"Hit the mosque, take them out," he said.

"Until we get serious, we are being unfair to our troops and the American public."

McInerney said German cities were leveled during World War II and "there's no question in Germany's mind who won.

That's been our problem (in the Middle East)."

McInerney said the U.S. should be targeting 200 locations a day in an air campaign.

And he said U.S. officials should be leaning on other Middle East nations to provide ground forces.

"We do need boots on the ground, but not American boots," he said.

After the terrorist organization is defeated, McInerney said the U.S. should avoid any attempts at nation building.

"That's their problem," he said. "They're the ones that ought to be doing it."