Bin Laden: USA After Action Report

The following is purely opinion, but one that I find needs to be written.

1 May 2011, 22:45
FLASH TRAFFIC:
BIN LADEN, DOA.
REPEAT, BIN LADEN, DOA

That was the news last night around 10:30 EDT, and man was it some good news!  I admit, I partook in staying up until the early hours of Monday, gaining a sense of the speculation by the MSM (mostly wrong as they fondled themselves to talk up Obama and to beat their competitors to the punch) and the reaction to the speculation by the people in the streets (and to a lesser extent, the country).  Now that the reaction has died down, and the details have emerged, I find it prudent to express a few more sentiments to support my Tweets from last night (read them via the panel on the home page).

As the day has progressed, I've listened to the talking heads, I've read the retail news outlets, and the blogosphere, and even listened to talk-radio callers fornicate over this great success.  Unfortunately, that opinion will not be seen here.  Yes, undoubtedly justice has been served, and that is great news (without any discount).  Great credit should be given to the nameless and tireless work done by the grunts, the SpecOps, the Spooks and the intel-guys (and gals) who have spent countless man-years (not man-hours), attempting to piece together the mouse crumbs left by, perhaps, the most illusive man on the (then) face of the planet.  The preceding sentence should be interrupted as a resounding and major Kudos to those who have given their lives or put their lives in harms way to make the past 36~48 hours (and several prep months before) a resounding success.  The .mil and .spook folk "done good" and get a major "atta boy!" 

So shall I now begin my qualification of the whole thing; I am not celebrating, and I refuse to celebrate.  While this is America, and I would be a bit of a hypocrite to prevent anyone from freely expressing their emotions, ideas, and expressions, I would call these people fools for acting out the celebration one witnessed last night.  My reasoning?  Simple.  Celebrating the death of one individual (a spiritual figurehead of an Islamic militant movement) does not win the War on Terror.  There are many whom still wish our citizens and soldiers dead, and further wish our way of life to die a death with which will banish it for perhaps a thousand years (historical reference to be written tomorrow).  Further, celebrating the death of humans is not something even great soldiers wish for (namesake of this blog included).

The celebrations I witnessed last night on TV make us as civilized (or barbaric) as our foe.  I don't condemn them, but it certainly speaks to how bin Laden's legacy has truly affected our country.  As I write what follows this sentence, please realize that I absolutely HATE this analogy, but it must be made.  We, as a country, did not celebrate the death of one despotic dictator (Hitler) until the War was officially over, and our troops were brought home to march in armistice parades.  Today, that is not happening.  Today, the WOT continues, and today, the war against an idea continues. 

Ideas supersede martyrs, and wars supersede soldiers (and generals).  While I will leave our military actions and interventions to another day's debate, let me continue by saying again, history has been made and this is great news.  The families affected by 9/11 have some closure, and closure is certainly welcome for human benefit.  Yet let us as a united people not look towards our political leaders for this success, and let us not look at our foe for the status that will surly be lauded upon him.  Freedom resides within the hearts and minds of man and I encourage the intelligent readers to remember exactly this and discuss it with their family and friends.

I would hope that as our country moves forward, we take this "battle" win, and learn from it.  Perhaps this small, tireless effort to bring justice will be the next step in the War on Terror, and thus shape the battle field away from the protracted natures we have found ourselves in.  I pen this as a wish of mine, for the people o the front lines, as well as our country whom tires here at home of extended engagements.  Though, the last thought in all of this is that we, the American People, know how to fight.  We are not weak, and we will always be resolute for justice and that freedom based upon that justice within our society.  Of course, we encourage the entire world to join us in this endeavor, but it is up to the citizens of other countries to make this happen. 

To sign off...ObL, you have lost the battle, you have lost the war.  Regardless of the political leadership's imperial policies, the people realize what freedom means, and we realize what justice means.  We have served justice, and unfortunately for you, it was not vengeful (for the most part) but righteous. 

QOTD: Equality of the Charges (or Law)

Back in the saddle here, and sorry I've had an extended layoff of meaningful posts. 

While the MSM, Dino-Media is focusing on the blame game, I've been busy looking at things from the average citizens' perspective.  You know, just your friendly neighborhood blogger (and gun owner) here.  So, it should come as no surprise that ZeroHedge has some interesting coverage of this story (here and here).

From the latter link, it is interesting see that the charges against the shooter lack at least one charge of domestic terrorism.

It's also worth pointing out that there has yet to be a domestic terrorist who has a motive that has surpassed his fame. Or a terrorist for that matter: the idea is almost moot. When one becomes a puppet of the news, they necessarily give up their ideals: they're reduced to their actions. That, again, is something people in an actionist community should think about.

While it is clear that the actions of this madman were indeed, simply mad, at what point does a US District Attorney invoke the use of a "domestic" (or even just regular) terrorism charge.  As those of us in the mainstream (note usage) should come to realize, anyone of us could theoretically be charged with some form of "terrorism" when the law is loosely defined and broadly enforced.  (Let me specifically give credit to Sacrilege for that prior sentence).  It is so appalling at how far removed from limited government we have come that within this tragedy there is a prime example of our country's downward trajectory.  Here is an almost pure, terrorist act, yet the DA's don't even bother to file the charge.  Why then is the law even in existence?  What would invoke its usage? 

There are several things that the lack of this charge should tell us about our country.  First, domestic terrorism is nothing more than an everyday crime when it is reflected upon.  Loonies committing mass murders involving elected officials and appointed judges (or even 9 year old children)  should have been a prime area for a DT charge yet it wasn't reflected in the indictment.  Second, a bad and broad law can be used to level charges against those whom don't qualify to "know" the true charges against them.  Simply put, when there are not enough political enemies of the state, obscure and bad laws that people are guaranteed to violate will create more criminals, thus inducing a perpetual state of fear and control.  Hey, you have to have some way around those pesky fourth and fifth amendment rights now don't you?  Finally, if a charge of terrorism had been levied against the shooter, the politicization of the even would have to stop immediately.  After all, the WOT is the only true bi-partisan issue left in this country.  Of course, bringing that charge would not be very conducive to the future political career (either elected or appointed) of the US District Attorney who will be handling the prosecution of this case. 

So, yes, as the author Sacrilege from ZH stated rather well, the media is nothing more than the puppets of our ruling class and the overall agenda.  Jared Loughner is just one willing pawn who was mentally incapacitated to the point that he did not know any better, and played along perfectly with the game that is now manifesting itself.

Remington Upgrading M24 Sniper Rifle

The tried and true Remington 700 has been a workhorse of US military sniping for almost a quarter-century.  Now, it's getting a face lift.  According to the Military Times the M24 variant will get a caliber upgrade (which will increase it's effective range), as well as a new suppressor and optics system, and a detachable box mag.  This is sure to keep your back yard sniping monkeys (author included) drooling over a tool 99.9% of us don't have a need for.

These changes come at the behest of the Tenth Mountain Division's request for a new weapon to "reach out and touch someone," with.  Considering the long engagement distances seen in the mountains of Afghanistan and the use of other, larger and further reaching calibers of our NATO allies, it was only a mater of time before the US Armed Forces got a similarly capable weapon.  Not that the .300 Winchester Magnum round will produce a new distance record in the near future, it at least provides our boys with a bit more to make the most out of their mission.

As always, to our men and women in harms way, stay safe.

Marines Want More Labs!

Awwwww puppies!  Specifically Labradors!  Even better, Marine Labs?  Hooh RAHH!  That's right.  The Marine Corp wants to get their hands on the best bomb techs in the world!  (Or at least the best bomb detecting techs in the world).

So, as a dog lover and a life long lab fan, I have to say, good luck guys, and come back safe.  We've got some geese and ducks for ya to sniff up and retrieve once you take your fortnight of retirement from the Corp.