1 Nice to know what kind of enemy we're dealing with--certainly not combatants with any sense of decency or chivalry--just liars.

2 No surprise there YBP, the Lie is the most powerful weapon of modern war. Propaganda has always been valuable, but now that we have the ability to ditribute information around the globe instantly, it has become the first strike weapon of choice. Of course, the means of delivery, mass media and the internet, have to be monopolized by the propagandists in order for the Lie to be effective, and monopolization of information is sharing an apartment with the dodo bird. In this modern age, where every pajama-clad soccer mom and combat soldier, and everyone in between, can have a blog, the Lie is like a water balloon thrown at a castle, it bursts on impact and only causes a temporary wet spot which soon dries and fades. Of course we have the Chicken Littles like little Marky Zuniga and his sycophants who believe the water balloons are really dangerous, and run around screaming that we should not provoke the balloon tossers, but they are ultimately inconsequential as everyone who is initially shocked by their rantings eventually figures out that the sky is not falling. The real problem lies in the fact that there are massive flocks of Chicken Littles whose hysterical rants continue, 24/7, unabated by reality and who are insensible to reason or logic. These are the people who live in perpetual fear that the climate is going to cook us, the the Jews are going to enslave us, and the Eeeeevil Republicans are going to make us behave as responsible adults. For them, the sky never ceases plunging toward them, the Hour of Doom is forever at hand, and the only thing to do is join hands and sing Kumbayah. Most ironic of all their absurdities though is the fact that they don't see, or can't see, or won't see, the very real dangers that inhabit our world and threaten us constantly, dangers that are very real, very quantifiable, and very much defensible against if only we weren't so distracted by the latest hysterical ravings regarding the sky hurtling downward to crush us. There is hope though; as free access to information spreads across the globe, like the sun breaking through a fog, people are becoming aware. The Chicken Littles now have the ability to let everyone who has access to a computer or cable TV know that the sky is falling, but people also now have the ability to Google "sky falling", and instantly find all the information they could possibly need regarding such impending catastrophe and the lack of certainty pertaining thereunto. Of course there is a large worldwide community of Chicken Littles, and they go to great lengths to support one another's predictions, but most people in the world are sane and smart enough to be able to eventually figure out that it isn't the sky to watch, but the screaming idiots who build bombs with which to kill innocent people. Let them cackle, but ignore them when you can, and make Chicken Little soup when necessary.

3 Very true and wise, IM. Always appreciate reading your thoughts.

4 I think of the families, too, that had sons who were SEALS and the agony they must have felt, waiting for a video to emerge any day showing their son dying a gruesome death. Thank God this did not happen

5 Yes YBP, yes, but what I think of more are the moronic masses who were cheering for the murderers the whole time, people who support our enemies while enjoying our freedom. There will be a reckoning one day soon, and I think a lot of people won't like it very much at all.

6 "There will be a reckoning one day soon, and I think a lot of people won't like it very much at all." If this happens, do you think that the the U.S. as we know it will survive and still be the U.S.?

7 About that propaganda thing being the first strike weapon of choice. Consider this: "We are seriously preparing media material that will reveal the facts, call forth firm intentions, arouse determination, and be[come] an arena of jihad in which the pen and the sword complement each other." - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

8 Just a small point Rusty, you may want to capitalize SEAL in your headline to diferentiate from the sea-mammal. Wouldn't want any Greenies to needlessly worry. Having said that flippantly, I'll close with Orwell's observation: "People sleep peaceably in their beds because rough men stand ready to do violence in their behalf" We will honor these men best by seeing the mission through to it's only acceptable conclusion.

9 YBP and IM have brought up a very important and touching point. The families of those murdered. Imagine seeing your son on a video tape. Not killed in battle. But slaughtered by the lowest form of humanity. If my son dies in battle I'm going to cry. If my son is captured and slaughtered I'm going on a raghead hunt that the world will hear about. I will be a indescrimate as they. I refuse to make excuses for these animals.

10 First in answer to YBP: The US will not only survive, but it will be stronger for it. Utopian idealism is fine, but we still live in the real world, where savages eternally wait just outside the light of civilization, looking to waylay innocent people. Once we have exterminated the vermin, the US will be a good place for decent people to live again. Second, to greyrooster: Let me know before you start your safari.

11 Thanks, IM. Hiope you are right. Again, I see these political battles as overt signs of spiritual ones (i.e., good vs. evil, as St. Paul says). However we see it, the end result is the same--Islam is BAD for everyone.

12 My son is a SERE Airforce Staff Seargent. He will be leaving for Afghanistan on Wednesday July 20th, 2005. Please pray for his safe return. He volunteered to go without knowing where he would be sent. I pray for all our servicemen and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom and the freedom of others.

13 If those Taliban fellows want to go jihad and collect their bounty of virgins, let's not stand in their way. Help every one that you can to realize his dream. Send one to Alah today. A jihad is a terrible thing to waste. Shalom