From New York Homeland Security, Michael Haltman
The Greatest Generation Forward to Generations Baby Boomer and X
Although a little slow on the uptake, the United States came to understand the necessity for winning World War II. There was no option for losing, as we faced an enemy led by a leader, Hitler, bent on world domination and in the creation of a world order that was defined by his beliefs of what it should be.
The leaders of the nation and of our allies made decisions that were based on the defeat of an enemy that they knew had to be defeated. These were not easy decisions, as these types of decisions never will be. But they were made not only for the near-term defeat of the enemy, but for what they hoped would be the long-term preservation of our way of life.
Religious Extremists and the Obama Way
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
Today, our leaders take a different approach in protecting not only our homeland security, but also the security of the world. It was actually an approach that was attempted with Hitler, but that of course failed miserably as you cannot negotiate with men such as that.
Today, we are playing the game of appeasement, procrastination, negotiation, diplomacy and the mushy carrot and stick approach with an enemy that does not play by these rules. In the same way that Hitler was more than happy to sign the Non-Aggression pact with Russia, Iran is more than happy to string us along, saying one thing and do another because they are aware of the world's lack of resolve for dealing with this problem.
The problem, however, will not go away, but will only become worse as this enemy thrives on what it views to be weakness and capitulation. They do not play by the Marquis of Queensbury Rules or by the rules of the Geneva Convention. To go at them in this way is the equivalent of trying to blow a bunker buster bomb out of the sky with a water pistol as it is descending right on top of you.
· We had our contemporary Pearl Harbor on September 11, 2001, yet instead of fighting back we call our conflict "overseas contingency operations".
· Instead of keeping these terrorists at Gitmo where we can keep the United States safe, we look to ship them to the mainland and back to their countries of origin.
· Instead of pumping them for every last piece of potentially actionable information they may have, we read them their Miranda Rights and bring them into one of the most congested cities in the world to stand trial.
· Instead of taking matters of national security into our own hands, we farm it out to an organization, the United Nations, that unfortunately could not locate its' own butt with both hands.
· Instead of letting our enemy now that we mean business, we set deadlines for action that we have no intention of keeping.
· Instead of acting like the superpower that we are in making our own security decisions, we cede this power to a consensus among allies, some of whom are false.
· We politicize decisions that are military in nature, so that they either get decided in a way to placate the ACLU or left-wing of the Democrat Party, or they never get decided at all.
· Instead of strengthening our intelligence gathering capability, the leadership seeks to marginalize it.
The Allied Victory at The Battle of the Bulge Marked The Beginning Of The End For The German War Machine
At a time when veterans of World War II are dying at a rate some estimate to be over 1,000 a day, it is important to remember them and their sacrifice. It is also important to remember the end of one of the fiercest battles of World War II, one that inflicted a devastating blow to the Nazi war machine. While this battle did not mark the end of the war in Europe, it was the beginning of the end for Germany. The battle I speak of is the Battle of the Bulge.
The battle began on December 16, 1944 and ended on January 25, 1945, with the German loss of men and aircraft paving the way for it's ultimate surrender and the end of the war in Europe only months later.
Battle Devastating In The Number Of Lives Lost, Yet Critical To The Security Of The World
Numbers vary as numbers often will, but the death toll of American soldiers killed in this long, drawn out battle totals close to 20,000 with over 80,000 wounded. These soldiers of the Greatest Generation need to be continually remembered and thanked. Thanked for their sacrifices as well as for their contributions to the lives we are able to lead today.
