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Corrupt Government Title: More than enough stupid to go around - Republicans show there is more than enough liberal stupidity to go around More than enough stupid to go around The other day, the Pentagon released a video of a group of top Taliban officials, (approximately 190 of them) packed together so tightly that the whole group fit into the Predator drone's gun-sight targeting box. One would expect the next frame to show the explosion from the bomb that the Predator dropped on such a tempting target. After all, the Taliban are the declared enemy of the United States, and they were targeted in a war zone. But all the film showed was the target. The Predator left them untouched. What in the world was the problem? Was the drone unarmed? Had it already expended its ordnance? No. The cadre of top Taliban officials and fighters were attending a funeral. The U.S. rules of engagement, inexplicably, declare funerals off-limits to attack. I wish I were kidding. "During the observation of the group over a significant period of time, it was determined that the group was located on the grounds of a cemetery and were likely conducting a funeral for Taliban insurgents killed in a coalition operation nearby earlier in the day," a coalition spokesperson told reporters. "A decision was made not to strike this group of insurgents at that specific location and time." Even though U.S. military officials in Afghanistan had positively identified those gathered as Taliban fighters, including some "high-level Taliban leaders," they told news organizations they "have no regrets" in refusing to authorize the attack. According to U.S. rules of engagement, every airstrike must first be approved by the regional Combined Air Operations Center. Depending on the value of the target, the decision keeps getting bumped upstairs until a general officer gives the go-ahead. By which time, the target often is no longer there. But in this case, when the decision not to fire was handed down, all 190 Taliban fighters were still lined up in formation. First off, how ridiculous is this? It isn't like the enemy would hold his fire out of respect for a fallen enemy. Indeed, funeral processions are among the Islamo-facists favorite targets. Last week, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked the funeral of provincial Gov. Abdul Hakim Taniwal in the eastern Khost province. They killed six and wounded 25. Most of the victims were civilians. (The Taliban evidently wanted to kill the governor twice.) Secondly, having such a ridiculous policy is one thing. Telling the enemy that funeral processions are immune from attack is like giving them a "get out of danger free" card. In the event a threat is spotted, all they need to do is scramble to the nearest cemetery. Not to worry. It gets dumber. In Congress, Republican lawmakers, fearing for their seats, broke ranks with the administration and, with Colin Powell leading the charge, voted essentially to grant enemy combatants the protections afforded uniformed combatants under the Geneva Conventions. But wait! There's more! Sens. John Warner, Lindsey Graham and John McCain explained that failing to afford enemy combatants full Geneva protection could "adversely affect enemies' treatment of captured U.S. service members." There are no living U.S. service members being held by the enemy. Not because none have been captured, but because those who were captured were immediately murdered! Most U.S. service members with whom I have spoken say they save one bullet for themselves in the event of potential capture. So what is going on here? Former Gen. Colin Powell explains: "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism." I couldn't believe my ears – and this from a (formerly) highly respected general. If the murders of 3,000 innocent civilians are an insufficient moral basis for the fight against terrorism, then there is no moral basis for any military action. America might as well surrender as allow world opinion to dictate the terms of U.S. security. Am I missing something? Such political cowardice must have Osama bin Laden splitting his sides with laughter. He has always made it clear that he considers the United States to be governed by craven cowards. He can now add the modifier "incredibly stupid" for emphasis. The only ones happier than Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar are the liberals to whom anything is fair game if it will result in an overthrow of Republican control in the House. U.S. security is secondary. The deaths of young Americans in harm's way is of even less impact. They aren't the ones who face the families of the dead; the commander in chief is. They aren't the ones who are responsible for winning the war; the commander in chief is. The more dead servicemen that come home in flag-draped coffins, the better it is for them politically. The more they can encourage the enemy to stay the course because America will lose its will to fight, the better it is for them politically. The more they can emasculate our forces in the field, the more they can weaken our resolve, the better it is for them politically. Graham, McCain, Warner and Powell aren't Democrats. They are Republicans. It just goes to show there is more than enough liberal stupidity to go around. When will we realize that the rules only apply to us? They clearly don't apply to them. How can you win a war without recognizing the true nature of the enemy?
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