Sunday, July 20, 2008

War of the Walls

First we take Manhattan / Then we take Berlin…  ~ Leonard Cohen, Manhattan

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, life continues as normal… at least that’s what normally happens when I get back from overseas.  The first months back from any extended absence are typically the same pattern, so much so that I have learned to guard against the more negative and downward spiraling though I still have not figured out how to negate them entirely.  In synopsis, I will over-extend my budget on less frugal purchases, which is by and large okay because I have the saved capital; a definite benefit of the job.  I spend the weeks leading up to the return making promises to too many estranged friends, offering tentative plans of small scale holidays in median states, maybe foreign countries, and consequently booking my  weekends up to three months out.  Lastly, once I return, I find that I have re-entered a personal life full of lose ends that I have not only neglected to tie up, but also have made zero attempt to further (or even plan to further) while I’ve been sitting in a third world country not only kicking ass and taking names, but also planning video games and reading books that I missed in college.  So it goes.

That being said, about a month ago, I was hosting a friend of mine from work, and I was giving him the usual canned-tour of my house, complete with suggestive fixer-uppers that I intend to get at just as soon as factors X, Y, and Z clear themselves up.  Unfortunately, this time I was called out, and for whatever the reason, I did not care for the nature of the comment nor the tone that accompanied it: “You know, you Officers are always planning shit, but you never really execute all that much…”  Perhaps I’m paraphrasing, but you get the gist.  Nothing short of saber-rattling to my ears.

The assault on the interior of my home that followed is nothing short of a blitzkrieg into Poland .  The first room that fell was my bathroom; the attack began without warning early on a Sunday morning, and by that afternoon the room was stripped bare from ceiling to floor, wading in the ebbing dust of loose plaster.  While the choosing of the bathroom as the primary target may have been premature and perhaps a strategic error (as I still have not gotten around to the “nation building” task of remodeling that one), my follow-on targets of the guest bedroom and study, though larger and more formidable objectives, were aggravated and assimilated quickly utilizing the lessons learned from the battle of the bathroom.  Now, with a new found confidence and high morale on my side, I stare down the barrel of what will likely be my most aggressive aim to date: the dining room.  As of now, the conditions are not fully set.  I have a few more pieces of equipment to acquire and a few more small issues to attend to in the study, but then I will begin.

It’s not to say that this campaign has been an easy one, because it has not.  There have been a few causalities along the way, some directly, some indirectly.  For example, the ceiling fan in the guest bedroom is unlikely to return to duty, and the fan in the dining room will likely not survive; however, that is a calculated decision on the part of the command and staff.  Two other light fixtures and a great deal of wall paper are also listed among the fallen.  Further, while not directly involved with the conflict, my gardens, flower boxes, deck, and general landscaping have all suffered due to an increased focus on efforts in the interior by the governing body of the house.  Unfortunate, but the powers that be seem to think that interior spotlight should shift back to the exterior sometime this fall.  We can only hope that things will have settled by then.

But these ventures are all part of the re-acclimation process.  You start by buying some jeans that you probably don’t need or can afford, then you spend more time travelling then you did when you were actually supposed to be travelling, and finally you realize that if you don’t start knocking off projects and goals that you set for yourself, then you never will.  You run out the rest of your prime days telling yourself about tomorrow and living in the past as it streams further and further away from you.  Living in the past is fine, as long as you’re making it anew every single day, and allowing life to continue as normal… as it does back at the ranch.   

Posted by The Guttersnake at 21:10:42 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

A Cyprus Standpoint part 3

The first clause in our Army’s orders is, ‘ Israel is the enemy.’  Hezbollah’s victory will be all of Lebanon ’s victory.  ~ Lebanese President Emil Lahoud on Al-Jazeera 31 July 2006

To pick up where we left off, notably it has been about two years since the 34 Day War.  For those of you whom do not remember, this was kicked off when two Israeli Reservist Soldiers were kidnapped along the Lebanese / Israeli boarder by the Shiite extremist organization of Hezbollah.  Israel’s reaction was a typical one for them; they shelled southern Lebanon with 155mm Artillery barrages for days and nights, targeting Hezbollah safe houses and reportedly killing a considerable number of Lebanese civilians.  Markedly, it was Hezbollah (not the Lebanese Government) who responded by shooting Katyusha Rockets from remote launchers into crowded Israeli towns and cities within northern Israel .  Finally, after 34 days of fighting, the UN brokered a cease fire between the two states and life returned to its normal uncomfortable armistice.

At the time, I wrote a commentary on this forum, which was derived mainly from the UN and NATO’s almost unanimous decision of backing of Israel for the first four days of the conflict or at the very least turning a blind eye to it.  Certainly, it was assumed, that Israel was not just firing into urban areas with area-fire weapon systems rather than guided missiles, and further, it was taken for granted that Hezbollah would realize the morale error of their ways and return the kidnapped Soldiers safe and sound.  Both were not only foolish, but naïve.  Further the precedence that this set on the Global scale was staggering, if only to me.  What this basically said was that if a militant or pseudo-political group active within a given country conducts cross-boarder acts of crime, human rights violations, or war, then the wronged state has completely clearance to wage direct assault upon the host state if in order to kill or capture the assailing body active within.  To use an example more close to home, if a Mexican drug cartel came across the Rio Grande and kidnapped or killed a US Reservist, Police Office, Boarder Guard, Post Officer Worker, etc; then the US Government would have the right to, at a minimum, enter Mexico with military and government forces with complete disregard to the civilian populace in order to kill or capture the assailants and recover US personal.  Or shell the shit out of TJ and Jarez.

Now in the case of the 34 Day War, the UN did eventually step in… at the bequest of a near “powerless” Lebanese government.  However, this model was also active in the case in Afghanistan in 2001.  The rationale for that invasion was because Osama Bin Ladin, the master-mind of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, was believed to be within Afghanistan being housed by the then illegitimate and controlling government of the Taliban.  It should be noted for semantic purposes, that Bin Ladin was not a Talib nor was he Afghan.  He was Saudi, and his militants claimed no homeland as they all hailed from around the Muslim world, and many would argue that Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, had not wanted him in Afghanistan for sometime leading up to the US attacks.  So again, we see a precedent being sent.

This is important because today Israel brokered a deal with Hezbollah and the Lebanese government to have their two kidnapped Soldiers returned.  No word was given as to the current state of these two men.  The agreement in exchange: Hezbollah would receive five imprisoned militants (to include one Palestinian guilty of the murder of an Israeli Police Officer and his family to include their 4 year old daughter in 1979) as well as the remains of over 200 killed Palestinian and Lebanese militants.  This morning, Israel received its half of the bargain: the bodies of the two dead Soldiers.

It is probable that Israel assumed they were dead, but it is clear that neither Hezbollah nor Lebanon offered information one way or the other, which likely increased the bounty received by the Muslim side.  Regardless, Hezbollah is already calling it a further victory for their cause, claiming the 34 Day War, while started by the Israelis, was finished and decisively won by Islam.

Now, I’m not sure how I would have handled this if I was Israel .  Heck, I’m not sure how this would be handled by America if it would have been ol’ GW in their shoes.  At work today, some ideas were definitely tossed around.  Some of the more centrist of us simply would have changed the deal and only released bodies for bodies.  Others, slightly more extreme, said they would have the five promised prisoners executed and sent back as an eye for an eye.  Seems appropriate to me, and especially Biblical considered the players and the playing field.  And the even more extreme members of my work force claimed that they would start shelling the hills in southern Lebanon where celebrations and open mockery of the Israeli situation were being held in anticipation of receiving the bodies and prisoners.  Again, since even NPR was reporting that mostly Hezbollah flags were displayed and not Lebanese, it would see a viable military target to me.

True, maybe these reactions seemed unprovoked and perhaps harsh in today’s world of warfare that encompasses nation building and considerations for global implications more than actually killing anybody; but they are as historically and strategically feasible as giving small-pox infested blankets to the Indians, using mustard gas in the trenches, napalm on suspected VC strong points, or dropping the Atomic Bomb.  Israel does not react because it realizes the back-lash that this would create in the world community, namely the UN.  Israel is one of the last nations within our ‘union’, who’s acts of war are akin to acts of will, and even now, they become more and more chained to the European counties’ lack of backbone and dullness of tooth.  Noteworthy; there is no backlash to Lebanon by there peers as the society of Muslim counties both respects willful gains regardless of the morality of their means, and also understands that nations must do what is best for themselves from time to time.  They have no historical Great War founded decades ago to unite them as some world-governing body who need to run decisions and morality by each other in forum.  They still exist in a time of independence… ironic that we do not.      

Posted by The Guttersnake at 00:57:42 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Traveling Orders

The Devil himself has probably redesigned Hell in light of information he has gained from observing airport layouts.  ~ Anthony Price

It would seem that I can’t sit still.  With travels all over the Carolinas, a 4th of July in Michigan, and eminent plans to see the UK and France in the coming month, it would certainly be fair to say that I’ve been on the go ever since returning from Central Asia , which would in turn imply that I have been on the go even before that.  Nonetheless, not being one to turn down further exploration of our world at large, I would be a fool to turn down further ventures as I’ve had such admirable company shared in visiting such fine locals, however; the state of always being a ramblin’ man has left certain responsibilities as a home owner flapping in the breeze, sometime quiet literally, but that is a blog for another time…

My most recent flights through Chicago O’Hare have been interesting ones.  The first had God himself seizing the opportunity to take pot-shots at my airplane with poorly aimed lightning bolts and the resulting turbulence from two massive high and low pressure systems slugging it out like round three of a Tyson/Riddick title bout.  I’m not sure if I’ve taken anti-aircraft fire close enough to rock me in the air that bad, but I did enjoy the rather surreal experience… until they turned us around back to O’Hare and attempted to maroon the flight there for the subsequent night and morning.  Resulting efforts included befriending a young corporate lady and hitching a ride to Kalamazoo on her company’s dime.  Seemed very Americana .  Dr. Thompson would have approved.

The way home the other day was equally lethargic.  This time a three hour layover kept me pacing the seemingly endless terminals and gates of the Chicago airport.  It’s an old technique that I’ve used throughout the years when I realize that my days exercise will culminate with me removing my carry-on from the overhead compartment and walking through a parking garage likely in an aimless fashion.  Usually, a forty-pound knapsack and an hour or two of walking makes me feel a bit more fit and a tad more ready for a cool beverage once airborne.  However, on this late afternoon, I turned to listening to the loud speaker and found that the USO had been refurbished and that, as normal, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Seamen were all welcome to come, enjoy, and relax.  Besides, I was walking that way anyhow.

Interestingly enough, the new USO was nowhere to be found in the terminal that I was directed to.  Upon asking my friendly (and sleeping) TSA agent, I discovered that the new USO had been moved… outside of the terminal’s security check point. 

I’ve only been to one other airport in the lower forty-eight in which this is the case (I’ll save that city the embarrassment of this rant).  I asked the snoozing gent if there was any way of reaching the USO without going back out through the security check point, to which he claimed he was unsure.  I would expect nothing less from an informed man who relieves women of forgotten cosmetics in their purses before boarding for a living.  I circled for a moment until I found a grey-haired Chicago police officer atop a motorized standing scooter conversing with a vastly overweight local airport security officer.  I directed the same question to them.  They responded with an echoing ‘no’.

My retort, which they did not appreciate, was, “excuse me for saying so gentlemen, but doesn’t that seem fucking stupid to you?”  Their heightened response was obviously due to a vested interest between the brotherhood of service men and law enforcement officials.

The aged Chicago police officer quickly explained that when the USO was inside of O’Hare security gates that all manner of people without boarding passes were let in, and that this caused problems with theft and vandalism, not to mention the security risk.  Also, that if I would just show my military ID card to the TSA agents then I could cut to the front of the security line and get through the check point in an expedient manner as to catch my connecting flight.  Finally, he concluded (breathlessly, I might add) by saying that the decision to put the USO outside of the terminal security check point was done with the Soldier in mind so that he could meet with his family more easily as they travelled through the area.

I’d heard enough bullshit.  I stopped him right there, midway through a ramble about how his son was no longer in the service, and thank God for that, but his nephew, etc, etc; and began my counter point.  To begin with, I explained to him that contrary to his apparent demographic research, most Soldiers aren’t from the Chicago area, so it would stand to reason that their families are not here also, and therefore placing the USO outside of the terminal security check point served an extreme minimal purpose in that regard to begin with.  Further, Soldiers travelling home on leave or heading to combat theaters, something the USO caters almost exclusively to, are en route to their families or assigned unit, and with O’Hare being a major hub, it is likely that they only have a short period of time before their connecting flights are scheduled to depart.  As a military member who has been deployed to three separate theaters, I explained to him that regardless of his reassurance that a speedily return through the check point is guaranteed, I’m still less likely to chance it when missing my flight would mean punishment under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.  I further explained that many smaller airports and jetports will issue a temporary pass, similar to a boarding pass, at the bag check area for family members with a current military IDs who register with the airlines so that they may pass into the airlines area and onto the USO.  They are logged in a system and subject to the same security measures as anyone else, so I told him that I failed to see the problem that this would have on the airport or security personnel, especially since rumor has it that O’Hare does things “with the Soldier in mind”.  Lastly, and most immediate, I explained that it was not centrally located and that it had taken me a brisk twenty minute walk to reach this terminal alone, when all I wanted was a can of Sprite – something that I would be unable to take back through the check point, regardless of how many patiently waiting civilians I would visibly cut in front of as they all turned and glared at the Soldier who was delaying them from their flight, which may or may not be currently be in the boarding process.

The police officer laughed at me and then asked where my flight was.  Once I told him, he stated that there was no way that the terminal I had offered was twenty minutes away.  I looked the gentleman up and down and asked if that was the case if I could borrow his scooter, because my flight was boarding in fifteen minutes.  With that, I turned and walked away.

Of course, the encounter nettled me; things that I had said poorly, things that I had not said at all, and most of all, the lack of time that I had to fully engage the officers or lodge a formal complaint.  For those of you who have never been to a USO, it is a wonderfully hospitable and charitable organization whose small, corner-pushed areas in large airports serve as havens to transient service men and women.  They simply require your military ID card for access, and usually offer sandwiches, sodas, snacks, cakes, TVs, beds, free international and local phones, internet terminals, baby stations, family areas, and the like as well as countless veteran volunteers who are more than willing to listen to your story or tell you their’s.  The unfortunate part of the USO is that it becomes reluctant refuge to all the ex-military security agents, police officers, and airport guards who work at these airports, many of who use it as their own private and privileged club full of free takeaway meals and small cubical areas from which they can hide from their supervisor to check their myspace or make a long distance phone call.

What I am not saying is that this moving of the USO at Chicago O’Hare International is some sort of conspiracy theory.  What I am saying is that likely when asked, the veterans who chimed in when the airport senior leaders where thinking about moving the USO were likely not thinking about Soldiers and only about what was convenient to themselves.  I would urge all of you who are travelling this summer through your local airport to ask where the USO is located, and if it is located outside the security area, remind as many airport staffers as you can find that the next time that a large group of returning US service men and women wander through their corridors that they should not stand and clap with the rest.  Instead, scurry out beyond the security check point, hustle up the stairs, gather as many sandwiches and cokes as they can carry, and race back to those brave men and women before they have to board for their next flight.  Then you may clap for them.

Posted by The Guttersnake at 04:47:08 | Permalink | Comments (4)