Category Archives: Security

Death by Drones

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.”
- Col. Nathan R. Jessup (A Few Good Men)

With NBC News releasing the 16-page U.S. Department of Justice (White Paper) memo that “concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be ‘senior operational leaders’ of al-Qaida or ‘an associated force’ — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.,” I think it’s time we all stepped back and started thinking seriously about building that underground bunker because that “buzz” you’re hearing may be a drone monitoring you and not a pesky mosquito.

And many people thought the Bush Administration had taken away our rights with things like the Patriot Act and REAL ID, and with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security that has that pesky agency called the TSA!

In the next few years, we may yearn for the freedoms we enjoyed during the Bush Administration…

Continue reading →

About these ads

Petraeus: Skills and Talent

It’s complicated. It’s troubling. It’s starting to get really interesting – plus it’s soap opera juicy. I can’t wait for the movie and book.

And we don’t even know all the details yet.

On Friday when it was first disclosed that CIA Director (and retired four-star General) David Petraeus had resigned over an extramarital affair, I thought how dumb could a person be holding a very important position (then I thought about President Clinton). I normally feel sad for the wife and children of the man who has been caught cheating.

I doubt we see the General and Mrs. Petraeus at many holiday parties this season… Continue reading →

On Top Of It

Almost two weeks ago I wrote a column I called, “Wouldn’t it be nice?” which was about Iran being well on their way to developing a nuclear weapon and about the Obama Administration having plans to cut the number of nuclear weapons possibly down to 300-400.

I said, “Let’s hope the people representing us in Washington, D.C., take notice.”

They did.  Yesterday.

My faithful readers are probably sitting on the edge of their seats wondering what the Montana Congressional delegation did about this issue that is so closely tied to our national security (not to mention that Malmstrom employs about 5000 personnel and has $335 million in yearly total economic impact for Montana).

What-did-the-delegation-do?  Continue reading →

Wouldn’t it be nice?

And wouldn’t it be nice to live together

In the kind of world where we belong

-Beach Boys “Wouldn’t it be nice”

It would be nice if we all lived in peace and harmony in a place where we could leave our doors unlocked, the keys in our car, and we would never worry about theft or vandalism.  When looking at our world, it would also be nice if every country in the world got along with one another and there were no wars or conflicts.  It would also be nice to have a safe world – a world where we do not need weapons to annihilate each other.  It would even be wonderful if there were no nuclear weapons in the world.

But we don’t live in a place like that.  I never have.  My children probably won’t either.

Today we are hearing that Iran is well on their way to developing a nuclear weapon.  The Associated Press reported, “Iran claimed Wednesday that it has taken two major steps toward mastering the production of nuclear fuel.”

We should be alarmed by this news. Continue reading →

We Need a Hero

Being one who has long supported the military missions around Great Falls and across Montana, as well as being one who has actually been in the military (that’s how I got here), I was somewhat alarmed after catching THIS STORY in today’s Great Falls Tribune.

Short version:  It does not look good for military missions around Great Falls, Montana.

The people interviewed for the story did not present a very rosy picture for the Air Guard and the Active Duty military base.  Starting with the headline “MANG’s mission change probable” and a 30% loss of personnel and ending with the missile bases losing another 30-50 missiles, the future does not look very bright at all. Continue reading →

A Good Laugh

It’s always interesting and sometimes comical to hear what someone, who has no idea whatsoever what it’s like to serve in the military, says about a military operation.

On Wednesday U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was that person.  The Huffington Post has the story and video HERE.

Anyone who reads my columns very often understands that I don’t particularly care for those “non-military” folks getting involved in military or veterans issues.  In fact, they should just shut up – even if they are a senior member of the United States Senate. Baucus may be high on the seniority list, but he is low on the favorable list of many veterans and military personnel. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week

Great Falls is Montana’s military town. Often you will see signs around Great Falls welcoming units back to Montana from their deployments. I know it was a nice feeling to see the signs when I was serving in the military, and I am sure the military personnel serving now (and their families) appreciate seeing the signs.

The photo of the sign (below) was spotted on 10th Avenue South in Great Falls a few days ago, and I just happened to have my camera with me last night to snap a photo:

I’m sure I will be renting all my equipment from this store here on out…

The Fog of War and Politics

Sorry to my faithful readers for being a little late posting my column this morning…

The first I heard about the finding and killing of Osama bin Laden was when I checked my Twitter feed Sunday night. If you are like me, I check Twitter about a thousand times a day for my news. I have more Google Alerts and Twitter followers than friends…and they are nicer, too.

Soon after hearing the news, my TV was on, the laptop was on, and I was getting ready for the big announcement like most Americans.

I was proud. I was relieved. I was cautiously happy because there are so many bad people in the world that someone else will surely step up and take bin Laden’s place – but we got the sucker and being a veteran of the United States military, I am proud of my active duty buddies!

Many times when something big happens in the world there’s so much information flowing out it is almost like trying to get a drink of water from a fire hydrant. This successful military mission has exceeded our wildest imagination in this information world. Continue reading →

bin Laden: Politics and Credit

So now that most of the “new” news about Osama bin Laden has been brought forth, it’s time to take a look at a couple of angles; the political and the “getting credit” angle.

I don’t mean to say that we won’t learn more about bringing to justice Osama bin Laden, because we will – especially the on the ground reports from those who actually were on the mission (after several parts are redacted) and someone will write a book…then there’s movie… Continue reading →

Justice has been done

There’s not too much more that can be said about the successful mission performed by the United States Military that killed Osama bin Laden.

Congratulations to those who were actually on this mission, those who coordinated it, and to the President and his National Security Team for approving it. THANK YOU!

Now is the time for the United States and our people to be alert – so let’s be careful out there as there are still evil people in the world who wants to do us harm.

There will be more information to come out in the days and weeks ahead about the work that went into this mission – who helped us and who hindered us – and how it was discovered that bin Laden was living in a pretty nice home in Pakistan. Continue reading →