Abridged letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors – followed by a response from Gregory Knox:
Dear Employee,
Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis………..
As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.
Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.
Troy Clarke
President General Motors North America
**************
In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.
You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new “messiah” to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep “living the dream”…
The dream is over!
The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded “laborers” without paying the price for these atrocities…and that still the masses will line up to buy our products.
Don’t tell me I’m wrong. Don’t accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford,GM ,Chrysler,TRW, Delphi ,Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM’s and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I’ve seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.
Mr Clark, the president of General Motors, states: There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not…
You’re right – it’s not JUST management… how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass… so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time… for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week.
How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics… for putting out too many parts on a shift… and for being too productive (mustn’t expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!?
How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke’s sad plea:
over the last few years … we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.
What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?
The K car vs. the Accord?
The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?
Do I need to go on?
We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.
Time to pay for your sins, Detroit .
I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of “bailout money”. Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day… and something else would happen… where there had been greedy and sloppy banks new efficient ones would pop up… that is how a free market system works… it does work… if we would let it work…
But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn’t work – that we need the government to step in and “save us”… save us, hell – we’re nationalizing… and unfortunately too many of this once fine nations citizens don’t even have a clue that this is what’s really happening… but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams… yeah – THAT’S important…
Does it occur to ANYONE that the “competition” has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?…
How can that be???
Let’s see…
Fuel efficient…
Listening to customers…
Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…
Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming four decades ago…
Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans…
Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like “the enemy”…
Efficient front and back offices…
Non union environment…
Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn’t be telling anyone anything they really don’t already know in their hearts.
I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into – my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) – I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.
Radical concept, huh…
Am I there for them in the wings? Of course – but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults. I don’t want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.
Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people – it’s coming whether we like it or not.
The newly elected Messiah really doesn’t have a magic wand big enough to “make it all go away” I laughed as I heard Obama “reeling it back in” almost immediately after the vote count was tallied…”we might not do it in a year… or in four…” where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office.
Stop trying to put off the inevitable …
That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000…
People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits…
That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn’t worth $85,000 a year…
We really shouldn’t allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…
That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn’t be living in that $485,000 home…
Let the market correct itself people – it will. Yes it will be painful, but it’s gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has…and doesn’t live beyond its means… and gets back to basics… and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world… and probably turns back to God.
Sorry – don’t cut my head off, I’m just the messenger sharing with you the “bad news”
Gregory J Knox
President Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin , Ohio 45005
Filed under: Who Is Obama?
I was raised in one country but my father was born in another. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with number of women.
I became very close to my mother because my father showed little interest in me. Then my mother died at an early age from cancer. Later in life, questions arose over my real name. My birth records were sketchy and no one was able to produce a reliable birth certificate.
I grow up practicing one faith, but converted to Christianity because this was widely accepted in my country. But I practiced non-traditional beliefs and did not follow mainstream Christianity.
I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and I embarked on a new career.
I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It was clear to those who read my memoirs that I had difficulties accepting that my father abandoned me as a child.
I became active in local politics when I was in my 30s and then burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office when I was in my 40s. I had a virtually non-existent resume, very little work history, and no experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker who managed to draw incredibly large crowds during my public appearances.
At first, my political campaign focused on my country’s foreign policy. I was critical of my country in the last war.
But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on the country’s economy. I had a plan on how we could do better. I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess.
Mine was a people’s campaign. I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the traditional path of politics and was able to gain widespread popular support. I offered the people the hope that together we could change our country and the world.
I spoke on behalf of the downtrodden including persecuted minorities such as Jews, but my actual views were not widely known until after I became my nations leader. However, anyone could have easily learned what I really believed if they had simply read my writings and examined those people I associated with. But they did not.
Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And the world learned the truth.
Who am I?
ADOLF HITLER! WERE YOU THINKING OF SOMEONE ELSE?
Has History repeated because we have forgotten HISTORY?
The so-called “free-speech code” of Yuba Community College District is under federal court scrutiny.
California student, Ryan Dozier, decided to spend some time on campus sharing his faith and handing out tracts to fellow students, generating conversations about Christianity. Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Heather Hacker comments on the situation.
“A campus police officer came over and told him that if he continued to do so without a permit that he would be possibly expelled or arrested, and so Ryan stopped immediately,” she explains.
Hacker says Dozier thought the case was closed, but he was apparently mistaken. “Three weeks later he got a certified letter from the president of the college stating that his actions were the subject of a campus crime report,” she adds. “Last time I checked, sharing your faith on a public college campus was not a crime.”
But the letter informed him he could face expulsion if he shared his faith on campus again. ADF filed suit, and a federal judge has ordered the college to suspend enforcement of its highly restricted free speech policies until the lawsuit is resolved.
Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow – 11/23/2008
11/18/2008: Protestors of Proposition 8 in California (the marriage amendment) shoved aside a 69-year-old woman who was bearing a cross. They reportedly spit on her and stomped on her cross. They then aligned themselves in a human barricade, blocking the media from getting to or interviewing the woman.
Prop. 8 supporter Jose Nunez, 37, was assaulted brutally while distributing yard signs to other supporters after church services at the St. Stanislaus Parish in Modesto.
Calvary Chapel Chino Hills was spray painted by vandals after they learned that the church served as an official collection point for Prop. 8 petitions.
Letters containing white powder (obviously mimicking anthrax) were sent to the Salt Lake City headquarters of the Mormon church and to a temple in Los Angeles. (Thankfully, the FBI said the substance was nontoxic.)
The 25-year artistic director of the California Musical Theatre, who also happens to be a Mormon, was muscled to resign because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California.
A pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back marched into the middle of a church service and flung fliers and condoms to the congregants. They also hung a banner from the balcony that featured two lesbians in provocative positions at the pulpit.
And lastly, the tolerance-preaching activists also have taken their anger to the blogosphere, where posts have planted ideas ranging from burning churches to storming the citadels of government until our society is forced to overturn Prop. 8. You even can find donor blacklists online. The lists include everyone who financially backed Prop. 8 — even those who gave as little as $46 — with the obvious objective that these individuals will be bantered and boycotted for doing so.
What’s wrong with this picture? Lots.
First, there’s the obvious inability of the minority to accept the will of the majority. Californians have spoken twice, through the elections in 2000 and 2008. Nearly every county across the state (including Los Angeles County) voted to amend the state constitution in favor of traditional marriage.
Nevertheless, bitter activists simply cannot accept the outcome as being truly reflective of the general public. So they have placed the brainwashing blame upon the crusading and misleading zealotry of those religious villains: the Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and especially Mormons, who allegedly are robbing the rights of American citizens by merely executing their right to vote and standing upon their moral convictions and traditional views.
What’s surprising (or maybe not so) is that even though 70 percent of African-Americans voted in favor of Proposition 8, protests against black churches are virtually nonexistent. And everyone knows exactly why: Such actions would be viewed as racist. Yet these opponents of Prop. 8 can protest vehemently and shout obscenities in front of Mormon temples without ever being accused of religious bigotry. There’s a clear double standard in our society. Where are the hate-crime cops when religious conservatives need them?
There were many of us who passionately opposed Obama, but you don’t see us protesting in the streets or crying “unfair.” Rather, we are submitting to a democratic process and now asking how we can support “our” president. Just because we don’t like the election outcome doesn’t give us the right to bully those who oppose us. In other words, if democracy doesn’t tip our direction, we don’t swing to anarchy. That would be like the Wild West, the resurrection of which seems to be happening in these postelection protests.
I agree with Prison Fellowship’s founder, Chuck Colson, who wrote: “This is an outrage. What hypocrisy from those who spend all of their time preaching tolerance to the rest of us! How dare they threaten and attack political opponents? We live in a democratic country, not a banana republic ruled by thugs.”
Regardless of one’s opinion of Proposition 8, it is flat-out wrong and un-American to intimidate and harass individuals, churches and businesses that are guilty of nothing more than participating in the democratic process. Political protests are one thing, but when old-fashioned bullying techniques are used that restrict voting liberties and even prompt fear of safety, activists have crossed a line. There is a difference between respectfully advocating one’s civil rights and demanding public endorsement of what many still consider to be unnatural sexual behavior through cruel coercion and repression tactics. One thing is for sure: The days of peaceful marches, such as those headed up by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seem to be long gone.
The truth is that the great majority of Prop. 8 advocates are not bigots or hatemongers. They are American citizens who are following 5,000 years of human history and the belief of every major people and religion: Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. Their pro-Prop. 8 votes weren’t intended to deprive any group of its rights; they were safeguarding their honest convictions regarding the boundaries of marriage.
On Nov. 4, the pro-gay community obviously was flabbergasted that a state that generally leans left actually voted right when it came to holy matrimony. But that’s exactly what happened; the majority of Californians — red, yellow, black and white — voted to define the margins of marriage as being between one man and one woman. California is the 30th state in our union to amend its constitution in doing so, joining Florida and Arizona in this election.
Like it or not, it’s the law now. The people have spoken.
Chuck Norris
Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the “DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY” during the Carter Administration?
Anybody?
Anything?
No?
Didn’t think so.
Bottom line . . We’ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency the reason for whose formation not one person who reads this can remember.
Ready?
Here we go… It was very simple, and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate.
The U. S. Department of Energy was instituted on August 4th, 1977 to “LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL” … Hey, what a great goal, HUH?
AND NOW IT’S 2008, 31 YEARS LATER, AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS VERY NECESSARY U. S. GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT IS NOW AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR !!
THEY NOW HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES … AND JUST LOOK AT THE GREAT JOB THAT THEY HAVE DONE TO DATE !!!
This is where you’re suppose to slap your forehead and say.. “WHAT WERE THEY (we) THINKING?”
Ah yes, good ole bureaucracy…. and now we are turning the Banking System over to them?
May Heaven help us…….
During the past seven years, a new phrase has worked its way into the lexicon of the left—I support the troops, but not the war. I’ve listened to it for quite some time now and failed to address it, filing it under the category “too moronic to discuss.” With the election of Barack Obama, however, it is clear that well over half our nation has no understanding of the military whatsoever, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to bring them up to speed.
First and foremeost, a news flash for the support-the-troops-but-not-the-war gang: Every single serviceman currently serving in the military enlisted or reenlisted while the country was at war. Since the military’s job is war, and war is designed to kill people and break things, it’s pretty much certain that every single serviceman took their oath knowing that violence was part of the package. For the contrarians in the crowd, let me dumb that down a bit: How many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines do you suppose joined up thinking, “I disagree with this illegal and immoral war, but—hey, sign me up anyway. I’m willing to risk life and limb for a per-hour paycheck of less than minimum wage.”
If your guess was zero, step forward and collect your prize.
Look, I’m quite sure there are servicemen who regret their decision to join, and now want us (and themselves) out of Iraq and Afghanistan , but that kind of military mind-changing has been happening since armies first clashed with rocks and saber-tooth tiger teeth. War is horrible, and wanting to be home is a sane response to an insane situation. Wanting to come home, however, should not be confused with the sense of purpose and duty these brave individuals felt when joining.
Now, if 100% of our troops joined while the nation was at war, what can we conclude that means?
Logically, it means that those young men and women thought it through, and decided the war was righteous. They decided the cause of fighting fundamental Islamic terrorism at its source (instead of here in America ) was worth the risk. They decided, “You don’t get to blow up the Twin Towers , then live in peace. This is America, and we will not abide such behavior. Someone’s got to pay, and I’m willing to be the one who collects that debt.”
Is this barbarous? For the John Mellencamps’s who view America as nothing more than a geographic location, it surely is. For the Keith Olbermann’s who believe America is the problem, not the solution, it surely is. And for the Michael Moore’s who believe America is an evil empire, it’s more than barbarous—it’s imperialistic murder.
But what is it to the troops?
It’s duty. Honor. Country.
You see, not-the-war gang, our nation still gives birth to these rare souls—men and women who don’t need input from the United Nations or The Huffington Post to determine right from wrong. They don’t care about geo-political deal making; they don’t care about Sunni vs. Shia squabbles over who should have inherited Mohammad’s camels; they don’t care who’s getting what oil from where. They know America was attacked, and thousands of innocent men, women and children were murdered.
So somebody’s got to pay.
And if you ask our combat troops about collecting on that payment, 95% of them would say, ” Afghanistan? Of course. Iraq? Sure, why not. Oh, no WMD’s were discovered? Gee, I’ll just have to soothe my aching conscience with the knowledge that Sadam Hussein, who murdered over 50,000 Kurds and ran rape/torture rooms for political opponents, is now dead and in hell. And maybe I can get through the day knowing that Islamic terrorists are still flooding into Iraq like lemmings to the sea, and by killing those animals here I know they won’t make it to my homeland.”
The men and women on the front lines of this war simply don’t care that Bill Maher thinks the war is bad. They don’t care that decades ago, before they were born, America was in bed with Saddam. And they certainly don’t care about the opinions of the pinot grigio and foie gras crowd. When they joined the military, they cared about duty, honor, and country. Now that they’ve experienced the horrors of war, they probably care more about the man on their left and their right. But let there be no doubt they care about winning, and returning home with honor. And you, Mister and Miss Not-the-War, sound like morons when you fail to comprehend this very basic foundation of an all-volunteer military.
A hypothetical situation for all the not-the-war supporters: You find yourself sitting next to an Iraq War veteran in a bar, and you hear him talking to the bartender about the media’s coverage of the war, and how demoralizing it was to hear the Democrats proclaiming the war to be lost, unjust, illegal, and pointless. You hear him speak of the losses his unit suffered, but also of the good he feels they achieved.
What do you do? You want to speak up, but—oops, you are no longer oh-so-bravely poised behind your computer screen, able to comment anonymously. And you’re not surrounded by a crowd of fellow protestors, bolstered by mob bravery and the thrill of being anti-establishment. It’s just you, and him. So what do you do? Do you speak up, and tell him you supported him, but not the war?
Of course you don’t. He stands for something, and is willing to put pain, mutilation, and his life on the line to defend his beliefs. You stand for nothing but your own “feelings,” and are willing to put nothing on the line. Perhaps you will go home and post on your blog about what you “felt like saying,” but you won’t actually say anything.
Want to know why? Because physical violence is scary. And a weak man is always afraid of a hard man. The same holds true for nations. And we know these Islamic fundamentalists are, if nothing else, hard men, backed by hard governments. And if you won’t even face down an American veteran with your beliefs, what makes you think you and your equally impotent political leaders can face down Muslim terrorists?
But, hey—feel free to keep that I-support-the-troops-but-not-the-war sticker on your car. Maybe you can use the sticky side to stop some of the kids’ bleeding when the war comes to an elementary school near you.
Prioleau Alexander, author of You Want Fries With That? A White-Collar Burnout Experiences Life at Minimum Wage. ( Arcade Publishing, 2008) His website is www.SouthernFriedWriter.com
Filed under: Uncategorized
NOTE FROM WAYNE: I do NOT know Scott Walkington… but am simply forwarding a prophecy that was sent to me by a trusted Christian brother…
Scott Walkington experienced a life after death experience. We have talked with him on several occasions and he spoke at our church. When he speaks, he is very articulate and he gives details that would be difficult to relate if this experience had not been real. Jesus gave Scott seven events that were to happen before the rapture.(1st Thes. 4:13-17; 5:1-4.) The following is Scott’s thoughts on the past election. The fulfillment of the following will be the verification of whether Scott had a dream or his life after death experience was real. Whatever happens, this is definitely a time for Christians to pray for our families and our nation.
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2008 00: Dear friends in Christ; Before I start, let me make this statement … I’m just a messenger, nothing more, nothing less. Many of you asked in the past year or so who might be elected the next president, based on the Seven Signs that Jesus gave me in my heaven experience. And I answered that Obama’s campaign seemed to match many of the issues that Jesus promised in this next candidate.
I would have liked to share this prophecy back then, but I did not want it to look like a political advertisement. So I chose to write about this AFTER the election. I can also tell you that this presidential election based on my heaven experience is prophecy being fulfilled. We’re just one more milestone closer to the rapture. Just remember…except for local elections, last Tuesday’s election was the LAST presidential election we will ever experience before the rapture. There will be no more! Isn’t that exciting?
Here is what’s yet to happen: 1. Coming in January (inauguration) … Due to a “problem”, Obama will NOT be sworn in as the next president. He will never take that office. Why? I don’t know. This is the missing piece to the puzzle. We must wait in anticipation to see whatever this “problem” might be.
2. Bush will be forced to extend his presidential term until this “problem” can be resolved. Remember, Jesus told me, “The president you know right now (meaning Bush) will be the last president you will know at the time of the rapture.” 3. Violence will erupt within our nation due to this “problem”. What might this be? Rioting? Demonstrations? Terrorism? We will wait and see.
4. Jesus told me, “Your troops will be brought home from around the world, but this does not mean peace.” Then my minister, Rev. John Rice, (in heaven) said, “When this happens, stay off the airplanes, the trains and the interstate highways. If you must cross a river, use a less traveled bridge or a ferry. When driving, use as many back roads as possible.” Then Jesus told me, “Your nation will need all the help it can get to defend itself.” 5. World War III will erupt. All the nations will turn against this nation, blaming Bush for this “problem”, but by the time the world realizes that Bush was not to blame, it will be too late. 6. Missiles will be dropped on cities on the east coast, then the west coast, making 9/11 look very minimal.
7. Then by the time we see missiles and fighter jets flying above us in all directions right here at home and you feel like it can’t get any worse than this, that’s when you know the rapture is about to take place. Our nation will lose this war badly. It will be the end of the United States. At this time the one world government and the antichrist will take over. All these things I learned from my heaven experience. Jesus also told me, “These are all in God’s plan. As horrible as these events may seem, these events must happen in order for the rapture to take place. But you must fear not, for as you see these things happen, you must realize these are merely milestones as we get closer to the rapture. Just do your works as normally as you possibly can. Then when this time comes, I will call you and everyone else on My list, in the twinkle of My eye, just that fast..” Let me finish by saying, I’m just a messenger, nothing more, nothing less. God bless, Scott
Filed under: Humor (If one can laugh at such a serious situation), US Economics
Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.
The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.
The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He next announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: “Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each.”
The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys for 700 billion dollars.
They never saw the man or his assistant again, only lots and lots of monkeys!
Now you have a better understanding of how the WALL STREET BAILOUT PLAN WILL WORK!!!!
CNSNews.com recently reported: “There were only two front-page New York Times stories that mentioned ‘Iraq’ in the headline in October 2008 — there were 11 in October 2006 and 17 in October 2004. … The Washington Post ran four front-page stories that had headlines using the word ‘Iraq’ in October 2008 — in October 2006 there were 17 stories, and 27 stories in October 2004.”
In July, The Times, a newspaper in the U.K., ran a column that commended American and Iraqi forces in making significant progress in Mosul, Iraq, and reaching the “final purge” of al-Qaida in Iraq. Investor’s Business Daily echoed the same sentiment but sharply criticized American mainstream media for completely overlooking that military success. The media indictment became so widespread on the Internet that it left the global audience wondering whether such an oversight was an urban legend.
TruthOrFiction.com, an urban legend-debunking Web site, affirmed this media Mosul omission by saying: “At the time of our investigation, US media reports of this were hard to find but we did manage to find a report of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s announcement on the Fox News site. For the most part, it appears the mainstream media missed this one.”
Here’s what they missed:
During the surge in 2007 and early 2008, U.S. forces intensified efforts in Mosul by pushing out into small-neighborhood bases — a strategy that proved successful in routing insurgents from other large cities in the country.
In February 2008, Col. Michael A. Bills, commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, predicted that U.S. and Iraqi troops would be in full control of the city by the end of July.
By March 2008, Brig. Gen. Tony Thomas, second in command of coalition forces in northern Iraq, already was reporting: “So again, we can go anywhere we want to in Mosul … and we’re now forcing the enemy — boxing them in, if you will — into areas that they otherwise had free play in the city. So we’ve seized the initiative, and we’re slowly but surely eliminating their toehold in the city.”
By June 2008, this city of 2 million people had 14 Iraqi army battalions, 10,000 Iraqi police and 4,000 coalition force soldiers. And they were utilizing the “Sons of Iraq” (paid volunteers by the U.S.) to control neighborhoods better. And it was working.
Despite the fact that July 2008 saw an increase in insurgent activity, Lt. Col. Robert Molinari reported that it was really “nothing out of the norm.” A senior Iraqi commander added: “We’ve limited their movements with checkpoints. They are doing small attacks and trying big ones, but they’re mostly not succeeding.” American and Iraqi forces clearly were getting the upper hand, demonstrated then through the dip in the number of U.S. casualties to the lowest number since the start of the war — 11 deaths in the entire country.
Overall, attacks in Mosul and in Ninevah province have declined from 50 a day at the start of the year to the present number of 10 a day — almost the same as the number was in 2006. Open street fighting is a rarity. That is why Maj. Ra’ad Jalal, an Iraqi officer, said: “The security situation in Mosul is improving. It’s safe here now. I’d be happy to come here even without all of this protection.”
Of course, assaults continue. But they don’t diminish the momentous progress. Capt. Hunter Bowers, who presently is serving on the battlefield in Mosul, summarized his upbeat thoughts about their progress to me by e-mail Monday: “We have had some great success here and a lot of it has to do with the integration of the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police.”
Unfortunately, instead of reporting these substantial advances being made in Mosul, mainstream American media have chosen to ignore them, favoring to continue to report only negative news from the war zones or repeated jabs by Democratic leaders about the unfounded grounds for the war. (I’ve been sadly amazed and gravely amused how often progress in war is played out not on the battlefield, but in the backrooms of news broadcasting studios.)
With another Pearl Harbor anniversary approaching and in a Christmas season when the sacrifice of our troops is accentuated by their absence from loved ones, it’s fitting to honor, not overlook, those who fight for freedom. Find ways to commemorate their courage and commitment. Admonish others to watch positive and honorable tributes to our service members, such as those on the Military Channel and those created by director Mike Slee of Zaragoza Pictures, a documentary filmmaker whose mission also is to capture the progress of our troops — including those in Mosul. (See his Mosul footage.)
The fact is American coalition forces have reduced the number of al-Qaida fighters in Iraq from roughly 12,000 to 1,200, have cornered them in Mosul, and are successfully gaining the upper hand on their remaining strongholds. That is why Gen. James Conway, the head of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, summarized, “Iraq is now a rear-guard action on the part of al-Qaida.” In fact, he says that security is so good around the country that for the first time, it “smells like victory,” adding that next year, as many as 20,000 Marines currently deployed will return home.
And just in time for President-elect Barack Obama to begin his withdrawal of our troops — an act that likely will be a signal broadcasting victory in Iraq and likely will earn the new commander in chief credit for military success. Now there’s a 2009 news story that America’s mainstream media will be guaranteed to run over and over.
