_BiB_

I'd love to get about 20 people here in a classroom for about a week. I'd be happy to do it without pay. I taught a lot of this stuff for five years or so. THIS IS HOW THINGS WORK 101. I'd put Debbie, LGB, and Westside in the front row. No gum chewing or note passing.

Wow, posting an opinion based on your own daily work experience? That only work for teachers? Obviously doesn't go for defense analysts.

Let's not forget Tora Bora, gents. US Army Special forces are specifically trained to act as a leadership/advisory cadre for indigenous troops. That's what US Army Special Forces do. That's why an A team is organized the way it is. That is their primary mission. So why is Kerry talking about "outsourcing" Bin Laden? He's also the one calling for all these Special Forces guys. I'm confused. My head hurts. He wants to add thousands more of the guys who were doing exactly what they were supposed to do, but what they did was bad?

At the risk of knowingly taking the bait, I would have to agree. I was actually drawing up transportation plans to get "known" Iraqi WMD consolidated at a destruction site. I think we're doing better at it now.

I've always hated the burnt roof of the mouth thing, where the skin peels off.

I'll also add that 95% of the people who actually do this stuff are not appointees, and don't have a political stake. They'll be doing it regardless of who gets elected. They are the ones who actually draw up the nuts and bolts of how things get done. We have an administration now that has made some mistakes in a totally uncharted field, and has learned a lot from them. The lessons learned are being implemented every day. Policy doesn't get enacted quickly, or on a whim. It takes months and sometimes years for an action to go from an idea to an active program. and, it needs to be that way to avoid making more mistakes. We're still fleshing out stuff from the Clinton administration. Homeland Defense? An entire military Combat Command was created by this administration to help deal with the problems. Check out www.Northcom.mil.

Once again, that part comes with the job, and is largely irrelevant to what's being discussed. What is germane, is that because of what I do I have to have some understanding of the background and the mechanisms to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. I've tried to share some of that with you guys. Most of the classified stuff doesn't really apply here. Like I said, most everything anyone wants to know is in the public domain. I've posted many a link, because I know where to find it as I use it in my work. Yes, I am close to this. It galls me when I hear Kerry talking about transforming the military to be better able to fight the war on terror, when I know it's exactly what we're doing. Seems to say Bush and his crew aren't doing it. It pisses me off to hear Kerry talk about not doing anything meaningful about nuclear proliferation when I work at the agency that oversees the destruction of nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals. It bugs the crap out of me to hear his comments on ignoring homeland defense, when I'm a sitting member of some of the related planning committees. All this stuff is out there, if you want to look. Nobody ever does, and now it's too late.

I thought the "may or may not have" was a pretty good dig as well. You don't come around here much. Over the last year or so I've posted about 500 posts on why I think the way I do, and explanations of what some things seen in the news that can be very confusing if not fully explained really mean. If you want to discuss weapons counter-proliferations strategies as they apply to fundamentalist Islamic movements I'd be happy to engage. Go vote for Kerry, I don't care. Wish you wouldn't, but it's your choice.

Most of it is not secret. It's in the public domain for the most part. Just takes a desire to dig for it. Much more than can be covered in a thread post.There are a lot of people within the DoD who actively support both candidates. And I could give a rats ass of what you appreciate or not. For several years I've brought information to this board to try to shed some light on given topics. Some people appreciate that. I've often appreciated the insights I've received from people in the financial industry, or the lawyers, or many others with specialized knowledge in their field. You happen to work wherever you do doing whatever you do. I happen to work for the Defense Agency that is responsible for keeping WMD out of the hands of bad guys. Of course there is a lot of specific things I won't post, but the general info is there for anyone who wants to find it. This is Kelly's thread, I don't think he questions my credibility.

If anything he has said can be believed, I personally believe his overall strategic outlook is wrong. I'm especially warry of his thoughts on homeland defense. Firetrucks are not the solution to the problem. I'm very warry on his continuance of naming Al Qaida as the enemy, which, while true-ignores the larger problem. I'm close enough to this to know where the lies and misrepresentations are. I'm aware of what the GWOT actually is, and what's being done to prosecute it. I'm very aware of the counterproliferation strategies being executed now. I'm acutely aware of the transformational efforts being accomplished within the DoD. They are the right ones to make. Kerry's announced "plans" regarding the subject are counter-productive to what is actually working, and the further changes that have to be made. I freely admit, I have a tremendously unfair advantage here in terms of information, but I have it none the less. I make no comment on the rest of it, but I know-from working at DoD policy and planning level every day, that Kerry is the wrong choice in terms of Defense.

Did you get the Panda?

I guess those controller folks over in the big building in Reston haven't watched the news lately. They seem awfully unhappy. That will, I'm sure, cheer them up.

Fair and Balanced. When this thing first started out, the intent was to have a righty, a lefty, and a centrist as mods. As I recall, I suggested you and Micky for the left. What happened buckshot?

I don't need the power. I have the Force.

That was offered. They didn't want any part of the war effort, but wanted to be included on reconstruction. We basically said you play, you get payed. You don't, you don't. KBR is losing money hand over fist over there right now. There's no big windfall to anyone.

Which brings us back to the UN. We don't hold much sway there. They are not our friends. And people don't get that in this crazy little world of ours, people can be for you and against you at the same time. I also go back to self interest. If it were in Frances, Germanys or Russias self interest to help us invade Iraq, there would have been plenty of troops there. As they were the ones, among others illegally supporting Iraq, there wasn't much incentive to get involved. By allying between themselves, they gained the upperhand for their own little agendas. Europe is gradually becoming islamified. They are playing quite a different game there. I wish to God we had done Iraq better, because it's only one step of several in this journey. Kerry hasn't said anything yet that leads me to believe he even understands the problems, let alone has a solution.

I've never said that the operation in Iraq wasn't flawed. It has plenty of flaws. However, the decision to be there is strategically sound. I have brought up the fact that in GWOT, we get plenty of cooperation from most everyone on earth, to include France. What has to be stopped cold is the Islamic Fundamentalist movement. That will only happen by force. It's been opined on many times as to how does one win the war on terror. That's how, but no politician in his right mind is going to say that.

Unfortunately, this conversation is dragging us right back into the Global War on Terror. What we have to do is never going to be popular.

I'm talking about the UN, where France has a lot of influence. France wants to head the "United States of Europe", and feel the best path to doing that is through the UN. You can't say UN without saying France. Google as to who the chief IAEA inspector is.

As with Debbies connections to virtually everything that happens in the world, I had intimate involvement with that little operation. That's why I didn't respond. I think Bush is trapped on this one. Anything he says is going to backfire. He knows the UN is pig crap, but if he gets reelected he has to still deal with them at some level. And the UN loving hot pockets will discount any of it. And, once again, a lot of the info that could help him is quite sensitive.

Any pro Kerry comment? Debbie? Buehler?

When does survivor come on? Did I miss anything on Lost? I just love all these citizens screaming about voting when they at least don't seem to have the slightest idea of what is going on around them.

I and several members of this board have been there. While I enjoyed killing camels, I never took any enjoyment from killing Iraqis. I'm almost certain that the current crop of guys and gals there feel the same way. This could stop. It's hard for many of us to understand what these Iraqi "patriots" (cough) are gaining by blowing up their own people, their own powerplants and their own oil infrastructure. Don't the Iraqi's realize that if the other side wins they will be another Iran? Or worse? stevestojan, we have to fight Al Qaida on their turf and them as well.

Millbank, bless his heart, already put this out. The usual suspects say it doesn't matter.

They don't need to talk to the US. They can tell Zarqawi they've had enough of this stevestojan, go home.