"Just a Horse"

There is no such thing as “Just a Horse” and Nancy Armour knows that when she ends her column today on Barbaro with:

“Grief,” co-owner Gretchen Jackson said, “is the price we all pay for love.”

Even if he was just a horse.

The Jackson’s are grieving today from their loss as are millions of Barbaro’s fans.

There is no such thing as just a horse, just as there is no such thing as just a dog, or just a bird or just another human being. Each and every one has a distinct ‘person’ality that we either choose to see or not. (Bear with me)
I was actually surprised to note the differences in bird personalities when I finally had a chance to work with them. Birders wouldn’t be surprised, but I was. I had never noticed before. And horses? I have 2 that are on opposite ends of the spectrum of personalities. And neither are anything like Mr. Barbaro.

That personality bit, where we can see it (as in your favorite dog) or choose not to (as in the herefords we drive by on the highway), allows us humans to compartmentalize each other too.

Right now the paradigm is ‘Iraq is failed and we need to get out. And get out soon.’ Yet that same person holding that train of thought also believes we should get in to Darfur. Why would anyone want us near their country when we clearly can’t handle things? Why would people want to risk the lives of our military for a civil war in Sudan, but not for one in Iraq? How is it possible?

Simple….We aren’t going to go into Darfur. So people can protest and complain and let their views be known on the subject and loudly.
“We feel badly!”
And yet they can be safe in the knowledge that nothing will be done so the protests can go on. That “compartment” can serve as an outlet for everything wrong in the world.

Arrrrgghhh – this world is horrible, there is war in the ME, Bush lied, and Darfur!!! Arrrggghhhh

Most people feel badly about a lot of things in this world. And a lot of things in this world can’t be fixed. Let me get back animal corollaries. Remember the Mutual of Omaha shows? First you’d get to know the pretty gazelle as it grazed and cared for it’s young etc. Then you’d get to know the pretty lioness as she napped and cared for it’s young etc. Then the two met.

Life. It’s easier if you can keep your compartments separate. Barbaro wasn’t just a horse. He was Barbaro. He wanted to live. He had feelings for his owners and they loved him with all their hearts. They knew it was time.

We have responsilities for those we take under our roof. The Jacksons’ definitely lived up to theirs.
At this point and time we have a responsibility to the Iraqi people. (and no I am not comparing them to “just a horse”) I am saying that right now, they are the real thing. Darfur is there in the outliers and it’s terrible what’s going on there but right now, it isn’t as real to me. They are the neighbors, or to keep with the animal theme, they are the neighbor’s herefords. Going to slaughter.

But right now we are IN Iraq. We took on Iraq and said you have to change. That means that we are responsible for their well being up until the point where they are responsible for their own. Everyone who knows anything, including the President and Prime Minister of Iraq say that we are still needed there. And so we must stay.

A friend of mine has cried over every Barbaro slip and I am certain she is fulling grieving today. I’m ok. He’s gone, it had to be done and wasn’t unexpected. But I put Barbaro in a separate compartment of news stories. He never became a “friend” and I never got to know him.
Darfur may have it’s day, but it isn’t today.
Today we take care of our own responsibilities and that right now is Iraq.

Senator Lugar

Bloodthirsty Liberal caught Senator Lugar’s remarks and notes that perhaps that’s what a grown up sounds like! I would have to agree.

One for the Good guys

Iraqi authorities said they believed that the fighters, a diverse cadre of Sunni, Shiite, Afghan and other foreign gunmen, convened under cover of the pilgrims to set up a camp within striking distance of the Najaf-based Shiite religious leadership when attention was turned elsewhere. The fighters, who called themselves the Soldiers of the Sky, are driven by an apocalyptic vision of clearing the Earth of the depraved in preparation for the second coming of Muhammad al-Mahdi, a Shiite imam who disappeared in the 9th century, according to Ahmed Duaibel, a spokesman for the provincial government in Najaf. The governor of Najaf province, Assad Abu Gilel, said the group planned to attack pilgrims and shrines and to assassinate Shiite clerics at the peak of the religious holiday, called Ashura, which culminates Tuesday.

Good one!

Roundup

Sandy Berger, and John Kerry.

Monday Funnies

via the LATimes entitled

Was 911 Really That Bad?

Ok, you would be aghast, I’m sure. But the funny part here is the complete and utter disregard for reality. The premise is that basically we didn’t lose that many people on 911 and the Islamists weren’t that much of a threat.
Ok – we’ve all heard that before, but seriously, this guy David Bell, while comparing our losses on 911 and adding in our losses during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq to losses during WWII comes to the conclusion that we are overreacting!!

Oddly he doesn’t once compare the death and destruction of WWII with the death and desctruction of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq!!

How can a professor be this obtuse??
The intro:

IMAGINE THAT on 9/11, six hours after the assault on the twin towers and the Pentagon, terrorists had carried out a second wave of attacks on the United States, taking an additional 3,000 lives. Imagine that six hours after that, there had been yet another wave. Now imagine that the attacks had continued, every six hours, for another four years, until nearly 20 million Americans were dead. This is roughly what the Soviet Union suffered during World War II, and contemplating these numbers may help put in perspective what the United States has so far experienced during the war against terrorism.

It also raises several questions. Has the American reaction to the attacks in fact been a massive overreaction? Is the widespread belief that 9/11 plunged us into one of the deadliest struggles of our time simply wrong? If we did overreact, why did we do so? Does history provide any insight?

Steyn

Because it’s been awhile.

The only energy displayed by Nancy Pelosi was the spectacular leap to her feet within a nano-second of the president mentioning Darfur. Up went Madam Speaker and the entire Democratic caucus like enthusiastic loons on a gameshow. Darfur! We’re all in favor of Darfur. People are being murdered! Hundreds of thousands! We oughtta do something! Like, er, jump up and down when it’s mentioned in a speech. And, er, call for the international community to mobilize.

I know a non-binding resolution!! Because it’s important to let the President know how we really feel.

Anger

It’s hard on a soul to go from a perfect, sunny day of hiking with the dog and spending time with the horses to coming home just to be angered all over again by what’s going on lately. Let’s start with that tiny little piece of crap John Kerry at Davos this week.
Where else would he be during “world economic forum day” since he’s such a worldly guy. Yes, that’s right, sitting right next to the former president of Iran while evidence piles every day concerning their (Iran’s) involvement in the murders in Kerbala. I am sooooooooooo thankful for every Swift Boat Veteran involved in the campaign against him in 2004. I cringe to think of where we would be if he were in office today.

On to those resolutions. Rober Kagan has a piece that says so elegantly what I feel about these damn resolutions that I’ll just ask you to go read his piece.

Many of their proponents frankly, even proudly, admit they are responding to the current public mood, as if that is what they were put in office to do. Those who think they were elected sometimes to lead rather than follow seem to be in a minority.

Imagine that!! Leadership. Oh no – says Hillary – Don’t hand us your problems in 2009, the President should

withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office, asserting it would be “the height of irresponsibility” to pass the war along to the next commander in chief.

If only she hadn’t voted to allow us in eh?? Or if her own husband had gotten us out of Bosnia or……………….

Bleeechhhhh
I’m going back to fantasy land right now to watch Desparate Housewives. It’s no frickin wonder that TV is so popular.

Another Vietnam?

Not if we can stop it!! Fred Barnes points out the similarities and concludes:

In Vietnam, the slide down the slippery slope seemed inevitable. But in Iraq, there’s time to halt it. Bush can be expected to hold firm in his pursuit of victory in Iraq. If Petraeus achieves a breakthrough in pacifying Baghdad and then in controlling insurgent-dominated Anbar province, the war opponents must stand down. If they refuse to acknowledge success and cause a repeat of the Vietnam calamity, they should be held accountable. This time, self-inflicted defeat should not be met with silence.

Amen.

Iraq

You can feel the screws tightening. During a Parliamentary meeting:

The speaker (al-Mashhadani) didn’t like this response from Maliki and turned to the lawmakers and said “You applaud this? The Prime Minister is openly accusing one of your colleagues of being a terrorist and you applaud! This is unacceptable!”
The session descended into chaos with members in white and black turbans shouting at each other. The speaker lost his patience and screamed back “Enough of this sectarian speech making! You will set the streets on fire! How are we going to succeed if we’re divided like this?”

Resolution on Iraq: Number 1 (Hey – I’ve only just begun!)

In the spirit of the United Nations and the current Congress of the United States of America I bring to you yet another non-binding resolution in order to make me feel better because now I have “done something” important regarding this important matter. I hope that in spite of this resolution being non-binding, that you will take it to heart and remember it fondly.

Whereas the United States strategy and presence on the ground in Iraq can only be sustained with the support of the American people and bipartisan support from Congress;

Whereas we voted to allow our President to start this war in Iraq with specific goals in mind;

Whereas maximizing chances of success in Iraq should be our goal, and the best chance of success requires support from all sources.

Whereas the President, after careful study of the Iraq Study Group’s proposals along with the wise council of many others chose a course of action that included an increase of troops by 21,500 for a duration of time during which the Iraqi troops are also to be increased and given more training and the Iraqi government is to cooperate more fully to control militias within and around Baghdad and help to rebuild security so that militias are no longer thought to be needed by the neighborhoods.

Whereas the President, during his State of the Union specifically requested a little more time.

Whereas General Petraeus has suggested that resolutions undermining the President’s request for support without actually doing anything than undermining the President’s request for support is a morale booster to the enemy and morale killer to our own troops on the ground.

Now therefore be it resolved by me and any other signatory that

1) I will support the Commander and Chief as requested as he makes use of the most recent facts on the ground to come to his decision.

2) I will support our military men and women who make choices every day on how best to win this war and stabilize Iraq, who have all around done an outstanding job from the beginning of this war.

3) I will support Iraq and Iraqis as they work to create a functioning democracy of sorts and must try to do this without the support of their own neighbors.

4) I will support fulfilling our obligations of war. Just like in Bosnia, and South Korea and in Germany, we entered the arena, we need to feel obliged to stay until we are no longer needed.

5) When the Iraqi government along with our own military leadership including our Commander in Chief says we are no longer needed, I will support withdrawing. That time is not now.

Signed:
Terri Goon