A HOLIDAY HIT
Re: Steve Hornbeck’s ‘Twas
Just Before Christmas:
Wonderful! And what’s truly amazing is that someone who once
wrote for Politically Incorrect’s host (nameless here, forevermore)
could pen something as bitingly observant of our Democratic
hopefuls. I can’t help but wonder what he wrote that “BM” would say
on the air!
— Bob Johnson
Bedford, TX
CRISIS OF EVIL
Re: Ben Stein’s
Iraq and North Korea in Cahoots?:
Yes, a diversionary tactic by a valued member of the Axis of
Evil (N. Korea) to confuse American strategists and commentators as
we prepare for war on the most proximate threat (Iraq). Exactly the
thought I’ve been mulling since Pyongyang started acting up, only
Ben wrote it first and wrote it more cogently. That illumination
needs to get out, especially to such as the editors of the L.A.
Times, who can’t get beyond the sophistry that Korea merits
more urgent attention. If the Bush administration understands this,
that would explain the downplaying of the “crisis” in its weekend
media outings. Baghdad first. Then we take care of the peninsula’s
playboy potentate.
— K. E. Grubbs Jr.
Irvine, CA
Ben Stein, bless him, is thinking like a lawyer when he asks
whether Iraq and North Korea are in cahoots. Perhaps he wonders, as
do many thoughtful folk, whether there is an evidentiary basis, a
paper trail perhaps, supporting the prosecutorial theory that the
two states conspire against us. He, and they, need not trouble
themselves with this question.
In geopolitics, as in jazz, coordinated actions by multiple
parties do not require sheet music. The actions of states on the
global chessboard are driven by interests. Whether or not North
Korea and Iraq have ever exchanged memos or taken meetings to plan
the current gambit against the United States, they are perforce
acting in concert since they have a common, overwhelming interest:
victory. It is entirely unnecessary for there to have been explicit
planning, or for there to be ongoing conferencing for cahoots to be
cahoots. Jazz musicians improvise exquisitely, each responding to
the others, anticipating melodic and rhythmic ploys with no
explicit forewarning. Bees build architectural marvels, in concert,
with not a single feasibility study or planning memo. Likewise, our
enemies and adversaries.
The axis of evil is real. There may never come a day when
somebody can produce the sort of documentary evidence of this
conspiracy that would satisfy an Orange County jury — there may
well be no such material.
There are, however, and, sadly, will be many more smoking guns.
Of course Iraq and North Korea are in cahoots, and it matters not a
whit if these cahoots are de facto rather than de jure. From our
point of view, there is no difference, nor is there any other point
of view that is of any interest to us in this matter.
Bravo, Mr. Stein. Shout it loud, shout it often.
— Paul Kotik
Plantation, FL
Good work, Ben. You got the attention of Army planners. Your
article was carried on the West Point alumni site — wp-forum. The
collaboration you suggest is too obvious to be ignored. They (Iraq
and NK) have vital interests at stake. They would be irresponsible
Bad Guys not to be talking to each other. They read the tea leaves.
They read George W’s press releases. I like the line of the
Administration: “We are not negotiating; this is not a crisis; bad
news, but no reason to negotiate and reward a reckless tyrant.”
Pretty good stuff.
The problem I see, is the point you make. Let’s not try to do
this one on a shoestring. We need to increase the number of good
guys on the ground. We need an increase in end strength — total
folks in uniform. The Democrats took a number of peace dividends:
creeping inflation not met with pay increases, reductions in
medical benefits, cuts in maintenance and training costs, cuts in
the training base, reductions in strategic reserves, ammunition
accounts depleted and not replaced, and back to back deployments of
troops in uniform. Combat training subjects in some cases replaced
with sensitivity training and “How to Be a Good Peacekeeper,” etc.
Wore the “pigs” down to a frazzle. I’ll bet Hillary and Bill got
some big laughs over that payback.
Keep up the good work! I read your column regularly in TAS. Happy New Year!
— Andy O’Meara
Retired Army
Fredericksburg, VA
Ben Stein makes an interesting suggestion (that Iraq and North
Korea are in strategic collaboration).
But I must question his assertion that the U.S. should
substantially increase its military spending. The U.S. presently
spends about 3% of GDP on defense; that is, about $300 billion. The
combined total GDP of Iraq and North Korea is only about $80
billion. Iraq is still massively crippled from the Gulf War (they
haven’t replaced any of the tanks, planes, helicopters, and cannon
lost then). If the U.S. cannot squish both regimes like bugs, then
we have problems, but the problems are not the budget.
Oh, and one nit to pick: U.S. defense spending was 10% of GDP
during the 1950s, but dropped to 5.4% by 1975, and was only 6.4% in
1986, at the height of the Reagan build-up. Now the USSR, which was
our great foe, is dead and buried. We don’t need the scale of
military force we had then, or the budget we had then. Military
spending is like any other government spending: it takes from the
people, and even when administered scrupulously, it corrupts and
distorts the economy.
— Rich Rostrom
Iraq and N. Korea may be acting in concert as you suggest or, N.
Korea may just be taking advantage of our focus on Iraq. Why
wouldn’t China do the same with regard to Taiwan? We admit we only
have a two-regional-war capacity, so when we are engaged with Iraq
and N. Korea, the Chinese may view it as the perfect opportunity to
cross the strait into Taiwan.
— Chris Small
Winston-Salem, NC
Of course Iraq and Korea act in cahoots. I believe that they are
also working with forces in Colombia and more importantly
Venezuela. With cells in over 60 countries and an untold number of
allied anti-Americans we can expect a world wide effort to
destabilize our society.
— Ed Wager
BOXER BETWEEN THE EARS
Re: The Washington Prowler’s
Barbara Boxer’s Big Plans:
I would just love for California Sen. Barbara Boxer to run for
California Governor in 2006. I wonder if the stupidity of the Dems
truly knows no boundaries. Imagine the genius who told Boxer she
could win against the Republican opponent. We all do remember who
that will be, don’t we? Bottom line…he’ll terminate her.
— Nancy Mowat
FORWARD TO THE FUTURE
Re: Jed Babbin’s Once
More, Into the Breach:
Great Article, no apologies necessary. The silent majority can
be silent no longer. We are ready for the future, bring it on! We
can handle it, whatever it is.
— A. McGaughey
Laguna Beach, CA
Mr. Babbin’s article is right on target. As a nation, America is at
a watershed. We have a possible war on our hands in which we will
go after the world’s current greatest threat to everyone. Why this
action is unpopular and opposed by so many is a mystery to me. I
just wish that they could have seen the actual results of the rise
of Adolf Hitler. Then, perhaps, they would be more supportive of
President Bush. Despite an unending string of failed attempts, they
still live in the dream world that somehow we can talk our way to
peace with rabid dogs like a Hitler or a Saddam or that nut case in
charge of North Korea or any other of a number of dictators around
the world….
There is no arguing with liberals since they rely on feelings
instead of the truth and facts. You hear them everyday blaming
America for the world’s ills and that somehow we were responsible
for the attacks on September 11, 2001 à la Sen. Patty “Osama
Mama” Murray (Taliban-WA)….
— Al Martin
Portland, OR
PARTY TIME
Sounds like Ms. Sharon Boone, in her letter published in
Reader Mail December 30, 2002, has fallen for one of the many
so called racist tricks pulled by the Republican Leadership. She
leads the charge for African-Americans to form their own party in
three years. Sorry, Ms. Boone, but that will be too late for the
next election cycle! Her tirade brings to mind campaigns in which
literature is distributed that states that if the weather is bad on
the seventh, you can always vote on the tenth. I always wondered,
but now I know, who would fall for such a trick. Good luck Ms.
Boone, may you someday see the truth.
— Vernon Rocco
Freeland, MD
