WMD - WTF or OMG?

Now that we have another, brand new crisis in the Middle East, all eyes are off of Syria. However, Syria is a festering wound for many different reasons. Most of the attention has been focused on Syria's brutal dictator, Bashar Hafez al-Assad. Assad, like his father before him, will do anything to hold onto power and crush whoever gets in his way.  

For example, according to the United Nations, since the 18-month-old conflict in Syria began, more than 20,000 people have been killed, 1.2 million have been uprooted, and more than 250,000 have fled abroad. Food, water and medical supplies have run short in areas subjected to Syrian government air strikes, shelling and siege.

However, there is something far more sinister to Syria. First we need to dial back the clock to very early 2003, right before the Iraq War began. The United States and the UK asserted that Saddam Hussein possessed large hidden stockpiles of  WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), and that he was clandestinely procuring and producing more. After being subjected to withering pressure from the United Nations, Saddam Hussein finally agreed to let sanctioned inspectors resolve the status of suspected WMD.

We knew Iraq had them - since Saddam had used chemical weapons on the Iranians during the eight year war as well as on the Kurds (his own people) in the Northern Iraq. President Bush as been excoriated time and time again when none were found during the inspections. However, President Bush was not alone on his suppositions on WMD. For example, consider the following very important quotes by notable people:

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
--Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by:
-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998
 

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."

-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."

-- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

There are many more quotes, but I think the point has been made. Memories became very short after hostilities began with Iraq and again, no WMDs were found. All of a sudden the cry from many in the opposition party was "Bush lied and people died!". The irony was some of the people saying this are quoted above saying something quite different. Besides the fact both parties of our political system believed at some time Saddam had WMD, many of our allies also believed it!
 

So what happened to this huge arsenal of chemical and biological weapons? Some of these weapons are so heinous that to use them on a human population is beyond comprehension. Anthrax, Monkey Pox, Nerve Gas, and so on. To safely destroy these most toxic of weapons would have surely left some reside or clues. Or were we victims of a shell game with most willing accomplices living right next door - Lebanon and Syria. 
 

The Bekaa Valley in Lebanon is long suspected of housing Iraq's WMDs. Unfortunately, getting to them will be nearly impossible for the United States, as the containers are located in Lebanon’s heavily-fortified Bekaa Valley and it is swarming with Iranian and Syrian forces. In fact, U.S. intelligence first identified a stream of tractor-trailer trucks moving from Iraq to Syria to Lebanon as early as January 2003.

This needs to sink in just for a minute. Weapons of a horrible resolve are located close to and guarded by Syria. Syria, who is currently murdering it's own people, who will stop at nothing to retain power, has access to tons of WMDs. Syria, who has no love for us and hates Israel, is guarding these weapons along with Iranian troops, who also has no love for us and wants to destroy Israel.

U.S. intelligence sources also believe the area contains extended-range Scud-based missiles and parts for chemical and biological warheads.

Get the picture? Many in this country still believe the Iraq War was about oil and it was Bush's war of choice. The WMD question usually got a WTF answer. If these weapons come out of hiding to be used against Israel, our allies, or even us, we will then find the WMD question will be answered with OMG, and OMG might not even be adequate to describe the indescribable horror being unleashed.



...give us this day our daily bread...

 

 

 

 

Yesterday we traveled to a small town in Northern Minnesota to attend an art fair. My cousin was one of the exhibitors, so we stopped at his house first. When we arrived at his studio, we asked where his wife was. He replied she had a new job - she was managing the food shelf in town. Our discussion then moved to how important food shelves were. Not just in his town, but any town, no matter the size.

 

In Minnesota, March is Hunger Awareness Month. Food shelves look forward to this event as March is when food stocks are usually very low.  Even though most people that use food shelves are already using the SNAP Program (food stamps), the benefit is usually not enough. In fact the benefit depends on income, expenses and the number of people living under the same roof. The average monthly benefit amount per person in Minnesota is $118. If there are more people living in a household and sharing food, there will be more money to buy food. However, the the minimum monthly benefit is $16 - not very much.

 

My story about food ministry concerns a church located just north of the Twin Cities. At one time, that church, loaded with people who had a deep passion for feeding the needy, were able to really made a difference. It was a church that through this passion came up with a "cook book" on how to make an annual food drive succeed, and succeed in a big way.

 

The planning for the March event usually started right after Christmas. Partnerships with stores were cemented, expectations set, and iron clad coordination with the Anoka County Food Shelf was all but done. Signs were ordered and empty boxes were gathered from the stores. People would sign up for different teams every Sunday between services. This continued until all teams were filled with enough volunteers to complete the mission.

 

Immediately before the food drive started, store captains from the church would work with each of the partnered stores to establish items which would constitute $5 or $10 bags. The purpose was to allow each store enough time to place adequate orders for each item. A few days before the food drive began, bagging teams would work with the stores that needed help preparing the donation bags.

 

Once the food drive started, there were collection teams which consisted of 4 to 6 people that worked 2 hour shifts at each of the partnered stores. These people were the meeters, greeters and the inviters. All the teams involved in the event were important, but the collection teams were "the tip of the spear". If they failed, what the other teams did would not matter much. When people are invited, the amount of food donated went up many times over normal collection.

 

Next were the transportation teams. When the food drive really got rolling, so much food was being collected, it could get in the way of normal store operations. The transportation team would have drivers come to each store at scheduled times to gather donated food and bring it to the church. There were times that the collections were so heavy, transportation teams had to be augmented - and this was a great problem to have!

 

Once the food arrived at the church, the sorting teams took over. All bags were opened up and the contents sorted into groups and then put into large transportation boxes. There was always some items collected which were different than the normal items contained in the bags. There were rules from the food shelf on how all food items were to be sorted, packaged and delivered. Since the food drive took place on two consecutive weekends, the inside of the church began looking like a food shelf itself as mountains of food were everywhere.

 

Finally, the Monday after the second weekend was over, the delivery took place to the food shelf. For two years in a row the church set a record for a single day delivery. Our annual delivery was measured in tons and not pounds. As good as we felt about seeing this mountain of food in the food shelf once the delivery was finished, our bubble was burst when we found out it was only good for about 10 to 14 days of normal distribution. That is when many of us realized how critical this service was to Anoka County.

 

Sadly, this amazing annual collection from the church is no longer done as because of doctrinal differences, the church divided. Memories are there, unfortunately so is the need. In fact, the need today is much, much greater than it was just a few years ago. However, the "cook book" is still there. Hopefully another church or organization will pick up the ball, follow the "cook book", and run with it. Many, many in our county, our country, our world continue to pray "give us this day our daily bread...". And this is a prayer that we can help answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and the Coptics?...

"That’s good sauce for a goose, it must be good for a gander."

1670 J. Ray English Proverbs 98

This week we witnessed the Middle East becoming a boiling cauldron once again. This was because six months ago someone in this country, using the First Amendment privilege, made a tasteless fourteen minute video considered disrespectful to Islam. I understand why this would be bothersome - Christians daily watch their faith dragged through the mud by not only other radical religions, but secular forces in this country also. I don't think I need to remind anyone of a Crucifix dropped into a jar of urine. As offensive as this was, somehow it was considered art, and our First Amendment protected it.

Let us now forget the hurtful words and images. Rather, let us talk about something far more sinister. Christians, mostly Coptic that reside in Egypt and Nigeria, continue to suffer at the hands of Islamists. In Egypt, Muslim mobs have rampaged through Coptic villages, while in Nigeria, the radical Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, have blown up churches and slaughtered Christians in their homes. The outrage from the Middle East as well as the rest of the world? Forget it - not there. In fact, both the Obama Administration as well as the State Department continue to blame the violence on poverty and social inequality rather than condemn Islamic supremacy for persecuting Christian minorities.

In fact despite the insistence by the White House that the violence is all about social justice, Boko Haram is crystal clear why Christians need to be killed:

“The Nigerian state and Christians are our enemies and we will be launching attacks on the Nigerian state and its security apparatus as well as churches until we achieve our goal of establishing an Islamic state in place of the secular state.”

Since the the attacks by Boko Haram began in 2009, over 1,000 Christians have been murdered in their homes or in their churches. Dozens of churches, and many hundreds of Christian homes, have also been destroyed. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with about 150 million people. It is 51 percent Christian and around 45 percent Muslim. What gives Boko Haram the right to think that Nigeria is a Islamic country and Christians deserve to be exterminated?

By the way, this inequity does not end with the Coptics. When I worked at a church, one of the youth director was leaving to go on a mission trip to the Baltics. Since he was going to a Muslim country, we needed to misspell his name on the church internet. This was just in case someone in the country he was visiting did a Google search on him. He was concerned if he was identified with a Christian religion, his life could be in danger. In fact, any Christian caught trying to convert a Muslim could be convicted of a crime and put to death on the spot.

Where is our outrage for people being butchered in their homes or in a house of worship? Is it okay to force one faith on a population over another? People in Egypt deserve better; people in Nigeria deserve better; people anywhere in the world deserve better. When many blame this senseless violence and murder on a fourteen minute, six month old, poorly made video, I will change the conversation to the treatment of the Coptic Christians. My response to religious intolerance and persecution will always be "What is good for the goose is also good for the gander - and both deserve to live in peace."

Not all that Smart...

You would almost have to be living in a cave these days to not know the dire condition the auto industry is in. For some of us, it seems as if this happened over night, but in reality this has been developing for decades. I could enumerate the causes such as we have seen of different news shows for the past few months - I choose not to. As the expression goes, "success has many fathers and failure is aways an orphan" - however in this case failure has had many benefactors.

To paraphrase my wife's family who states "it is what it is", I will say "we are were we are". I am not going to access blame on the unions, the management staff, the consumers, the environmentalists, the congress and so on. All are guilty to some degree. My purpose with this posting is to try and figure out where we go from here, because here is nowhere for all. Two out of three of the "big three" are now under new ownership (one foreign and the other government). Because of knee jerk reactions and billions of dollars which were spent foolishly, we might already be around the bend, but lets hope not.

There is talk on the street that GM might need one more bailout, as the mix of cars mandated is not what the consumer wants. For example, the Volt. This is a car which at some point in time will have a market - but not now. The battery technology is just not there yet. For example, the maximum charge will yield 40 miles. However, there are many variables. How cold it is, how much air conditioning or heat is used, how many charging cycles are on the battery and so on. The manufacturing process of these batteries have many negative externalities of production and the replacement cost of a battery is through the roof.

The question which begs to be asked, yet has not been addressed is "what kind of car does the American consumer want?" Not a hard question - basic marketing 101. However, not only has that question not been asked, we are being told what kind of car we should drive. According to some on capitol hill, we should all be driving cars that range in size from Mini Coopers to Smart Cars. Wow! I don't know about anyone else, but if a car the size of a Mini Cooper would fit my family's lifestyle, I would have bought one years ago.

Not to be deterred by what citizens want, our unelected bureaucrats in Emerald City have recently mandated that the new CAFE standards for 2025 will be an average of 54.5 mpg.
Keep in mind, many Americans want a vehicle that will pull a boat, a utility trailer, a vacation trailer or other. In addition, many with a family want a vehicle that will provide maximum safety in the event of an accident.

Since I have not yet been asked what type of vehicle I think we should build, I will give my answer anyway. The kind of car I want has the following features:

• Built in America by Americans
• Owned by profit motivated private industry
• Gets over 50 mpg using some kind of hybrid technology
• Greatly reduced carbon footprint
• Has towing capacity of 7,000 lbs
• Has enough room for 5 adults to ride comfortably
• Will not rust from road salt or sea air
• With proper maintenance, will last 20 years
• High degree of survivability for passengers in most highway crashes

That is it - end of story. Build a quality car with those features and I, along with many others in this country will buy it. My feeling is the two items which are in bold are the most important. There are some city dwellers which still might want a Smart Car - I am fine with  that - it is their choice to do so. My choice is to have something different. I own one of the more than 850,000 pleasure boats which are licensed in the state of Minnesota. In addition, there are tens of thousands of pull behind trailers, fifth wheel trailers, utility trailers and so on. If you try pulling any of those with a Smart Car, you will find out it is not that smart.

Where it all Began...

 

Yesterday was Patriot Day. The 11th anniversary of the cold blooded attack on our country by nineteen radicalized Middle Eastern men. Our day of tribute, of remembrance, turned into a day of reality as once again some of our Middle East embassies came under attack. As our flag was desecrated and burned, four innocent people, including our Ambassador to Libya, were murdered in cold blood. How did we get here? How did this ever get started?

It all started with a place which once was known as Persia. In the sixties and early seventies, modern day Persia, Iran, was an important ally of the United States. Our relationship was strong - so strong we had signed a contract to sell some "blue water" Naval ships to Iran. The Shah of Iran ordered four modern destroyers (USS Kidd vintage) from us as well as the associated combat systems. I had just started working at Sperry Univac in Eagan. One of the buildings off campus was for international programs and it was crawling with Iranians learning to operate the very complicated combat systems Sperry had designed. The Iranians I had contact with were polite, professional and anxious to learn. Nothing like what you see on the news today.

However, our relationship with the Shah was a bit like dancing with the devil. We needed that strong presence to counterbalance the Soviets in the Persian Gulf, but the Shah could be brutal to his own people. As with many monarchs or dictators, peace was kept with an iron fist. As the Shah was secular, many in the Islamic "grass roots" movement were not - and that was the fertile ground where the revolution really began.

In January of 1979, after two years of crippling civil disobedience, the Shah saw the writing on the wall, abdicated his rule, and went into exile. His government was abolished and replaced with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenini. Anything that was associated with the Shah was considered corrupt and dealt with quickly. The men going through training at Sperry Univac suddenly found their status changed from guests to exiles from their homeland. The Iranian ship contract was nullified and the assets were assigned to the United States Navy.

The United States kept it's embassy open in Iran and attempted to work with the new government. On November 4, 1979 a group of Islamic students and militants stormed the embassy and took 52 Americans, including our ambassador, hostage for 444 days. As we remember from our history, this brazen move took our country by surprise. Our president was unable to quickly react to this crisis and how it was subsequently handled helped determine the outcome of the next election. Once the hostages were finally released, our relationship with Iran was never the same - in fact it has worsened.
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Over the past thirty years we have seen many changes in the Middle East. Many of the dictatorial "keepers of the peace" have been swept aside by either execution or the Arab Spring. What has replaced them for the most part have been theocracies. Yesterday we saw the results of a theocratic change. Governments, once secular, are now powerless to control populations who are fervent in their religion.

Our presence in that part of the world has become alien - many there do not understand us and we no longer understand them. Many do not want us there as friends or even trading partners. The relationship has become so strained, it is truly amazing it has taken this long for another embassy incident.

I believe it is time to do a major rethink on why we are in that part of the world. We need a reclama - a big one. Many hate us, most don't trust us. In fact, we are referred to by some as "The Great Satan". Since Isaac and Ishmael battled in ancient times, our Judeo-Christian and Islamic faiths have been at odds more than once. Many Muslims still remember us and refer to us as Crusaders from events that happened almost a thousand years ago.

Our current Administration has tried apology and appeasement - neither has worked very well. Our former Administration believed in engagement - and that worked to rid the world of Saddam Hussein and bring a very shaky democracy to Iraq. Despite some diplomatic gains which have been made, many in the Middle East believe the caliphate has begun - and that is a party to which we are not invited, nor wanted.

So this is how I believe our current Middle East problems started. There are other complications which have further stressed our relationships. How this will end is anybody's guess. Many Christians believe the table is being set for Armageddon. With a nuclear Iran close to reality, that very well could be true. What I do know is this - in that boiling cauldron, Israel stands in the gap not only for them, but also for us. If Israel falls, we are next. We MUST stand with Israel.



 

Patriot's Day

 

 

"Let us never, ever forget..."

When I was just a young boy, my parents would often recount two events they would never forget. In particular, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the death of FDR. They were very hopeful that in my life, I would never go through the trauma they went though. I like most of us, in later years found out they were wrong, very wrong.

In late 2001, I was working at IBM and assigned to the American Express account in downtown Minneapolis. September 11 was no special day - just a beautiful Tuesday morning with the traffic being a bit less hectic than normal. As I usually did, I pulled into the parking ramp next to the account and was ready to shut off my car. Hold on - breaking news on the radio station! What was thought to be a small aircraft flew into the World Trade Center. My first thought was "Wow! How could anyone have missed such a big building!". Not thinking much more, I turned off my car and headed into to the account.

Once into my cube, the phone rang. It was my daughter Amanda who was a student at St. Cloud State. "Dad! Did you see an aircraft flew into the World Trade Center?". I told her I knew about it and not to worry as it probably just a wayward Piper Cub or something. She said 'No Dad, they are saying it was a passenger jet!".

That was a punch in the solar plexus. I took a small radio out of my desk and started listening to the news feeds. Soon I had 10 to 15 people gathered outside my office. Next the unthinkable happened - a second aircraft flew into the second tower. I turned around and told those listening, "Folks, we are at war".

I gathered up my things and got ready to leave. I suggested to the others they do so also. By the time I got outside, all aircraft were ordered to be grounded. There was a steady flow of aircraft in the landing pattern for the MSP airport. As I watched each aircraft fly over the IDS Building, I thought, "Is this the next one to crash? Are there 100 aircraft or just 4?".

I drove as fast as I could legally drive to my folk's house in Robbinsdale. They were watching this carnage on their TV. By the time I got there, the first tower had fallen. Along with them we watched in horror as the second tower fell. I told them I had to leave and get to the school where my wife taught. I needed to get her home. The significance of the moment was starting to set in. Life as we knew it, was changing, and changing fast.

I know all us have separate and unique memories of that day. Patriot Day is a day to remember them and to share them. It was a day that shook this nation out of naivety and innocence to reality. War had come to our shores. Not conventional war, but a type of war that we had never seen before.

The world changed that day - our world changed. We changed. It is a day we will never forget. It is a day many of our fellow citizens burned to death, jumped to their deaths or were crushed to death. All for the crime of just going to work. That day, the cold warrior living within me became a hot warrior once again. I will never forget, I will always remember. Tomorrow is Patriot's Day. Least we never, ever forget...

Shay's Story

This a story that come to me via e-mail. It is reproduced with permission as the author requested it be passed on.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.Where is the natural order of things in my son?' The audience was stilled by the query..The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'Then he told the following story:Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat..At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.The game would now be over.The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!Run to first!'Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.B y the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay! Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!' As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team. 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!