Spooks. Intelligence collectors. Agents and handlers. Interceptors and radar operators. Long range reconnaissance. First in and last out of any war zone, potential or actual. Out in front of friendly defenses. Sometimes under cover, without uniforms and therefore, without Geneva Convention protection.
But even when they don't wear uniforms, they serve our country and protect our freedoms. They do it for little pay, often no recognition at all, and sometimes at risk of making the ultimate sacrifice in the performance of their duty.
The first American casualty in the War on Terror was CIA operative Mike Spann. And over forty years before, the first American to die in Vietnam was Army Specialist James T. Davis a signal intercept operator working under cover for the National Security Agency.
So no one, NO ONE, can claim to support "the troops" and not give a damn about the men and women who collect the intelligence that lets the rest of the troops do their jobs.
But that's exactly what I heard from Republicans on the House Oversight Committee last week as they questioned witnesses concerning the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson.
Read more at Soldiering on for Wesley Clark
Those of us who follow the Christian tradition are currently in the middle of Lent: a season where we turn inward, reflect about our lives, sometimes take on or give up certain things. You can give up more than sweets or alcohol: this year I “gave up” driving one day a week (among other things), which has been a very interesting experience.
Sacrifice seems to be a concept a lot of people talk about, but not very many want to do. We hear endless talk about sacrificing for the War on Terror: yet, when a true national emergency hit, our president urged us to go to the mall. We are currently at war in Iraq, with tens of thousands of our young people wounded or killed, but unless you know (or are) one of these young people, it’s easy to ignore the entire thing and just focus on the latest example of American Idol. We admire people who sacrifice, they are heroes, but they don’t tend to be emulated.
Which brings me to General Wesley Clark and how he embodies a spirit of service and sacrifice. Someone with his gifts and abilities could probably have done just about anything. He could have gone into business, or politics, yet he chose to serve his country in the armed force. After he retired from the service, again, he could have become a lobbyist for a defense contractor, sat on boards of directors and made enormous sums of money. After his first presidential campaign, he could have, once again, retired from public life, written books, sat on more corporate boards, played with his grandchildren - in short, had a very nice life.
Read More at Faith & Reason
Steve Clemons is all a twitter at the thought of Chuck Hagel entering the presidential race. Since Steve’s forte is national security, I can understand his excitement.
Agree with him or not, you have to admit that Hagel’s has been the loudest, most consistent voice (except for Wes Clark) among possible contenders, on the debacle that is Iraq, and indeed, Bush’s whole foreign policy “vision”.
I think Clemons is right in as much as his entry could really shake up the race….
……..I’m must concerned about getting the Democratic contenders to shape up. I think with Hagel in the race — they will have little choice but to mimick his views on the Iraq War and foreign policy.
Wes Clark played this role on being the first significant political player to endorse direct negotiations with Iran.
Hagel will stir the pot in good ways. Americans need to get to know him to see if the other issues they care about mesh with the Senator’s views — but on foreign policy and national security and Iraq — I think he gets it right.
With Hagel in the mix, the current Dem contenders will have to face
national security head on, instead of the usual sound bites and we all
know how much they prefer to retreat to the safe cocoon of domestic
politics.
Read more at A Time To Lead
Obama calls Iran threat to U.S., Israel | Chicago Tribune
Seeking to woo Jewish votes and contributions, Sen. Barack Obama told an audience in Chicago Friday that he considers Iran “one of the greatest threats to the United States, Israel and world peace” and pledged he would try to end that nation’s uranium enrichment program. <
> “My plan includes a robust regional diplomatic strategy that includes talking to Syria and Iran — something this administration has finally embraced,” he (Barack Obama) said. <
Your plan, Senator Obama? o’really?
Read more at Wes Clark, Protect Our Civil Liberties
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I was fortunate enough to see Wes Clark interviewed by Amy Goodman at the 92nd St Y in NYC last night. He was, as usual, wonderful, knowledgeable and brutally honest.
He and his lovely wife Gert met with a small group of supporters before the event. Wes spoke to us and answered questions for about half an hour. He told us how much we all meant to him. He took questions, of course, about a potential ’08 run but said nothing committal, only that he’s trying to turn the conversation to a discussion of the issues and doesn’t know if it can be done. Running for President was too much about celebrity, he said.
Someone asked about his trip to Saudi Arabia and he said that there’s a lot of anger toward Americans, not just the Bush Administration as before but now toward Americans. He spoke of how he’d talked to people before the ‘04 election who said they did not hold all Americans accountable for what Bush was doing because we didn’t all elect him but things would be different if he put him back in office...and he won "an uncontested election", I think that’s the way he put it. Someone suggested he hadn’t won and Wes didn’t discount that but noted that, for whatever their reasons, the Democratic leadership chose not to contest the election at the time when it would have mattered....It was an interesting little exchange. Take from it what you will.
Read more at A Wes Clark Democrat
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