The Congressional Abuse Excuse
By Irwin N. Graulich (05/21/04)
Shame on the 20 or so American soldiers who abused, or rather humiliated Iraqi prisoners. What is truly ironic is that in New York City, there are many UN officials who are paying East Side women in brownstones upwards of $500 an hour to be put on a leash or have women's underwear placed over their heads.
Overwhelmingly, the world has not focused quite as much on the terrorism directed against the soldiers or the kidnapping of civilians. Instead, they obsess over the 20 miscreants, while disregarding the 134,980 soldiers who have behaved admirably, fought valiantly and are true heroes.
Who is really to blame for these Spring Break-like, fraternity pranks at Abu Ghraib prison? If we must jail someone besides the actual culprits, we should begin by prosecuting Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Carl Levin, whose politically correct views and legislation transcended reason and changed the American military by ending "combat exclusion for women."
These so called "progressives" now realize the consequences of their grave errors and fear retribution. Therefore, they are shifting the blame for their ridiculous actions onto Donald Rumsfeld and other defense department officials for the indiscretions of a few soldiers.
Remember the congressional mantra, "Women are as capable as men in the military." What did not matter at all to many senators and congress people who voted for this policy was the simple fact that so many highly experienced military leaders were against a co-ed fighting force. Why should sophisticated, elite university-educated elected officials listen to the likes of Norman Schwarzkopf, John Shalikashvilli or Colin Powell on such an important issue?
What the liberal establishment in Congress forgot to take into account were the consequences of putting healthy, hormonally-challenged young men and women together, thousands of miles from their homes, girlfriends, boyfriends and families. Even Israel, which has the world's most successful mixed-gender military, keeps women away from men in the theater of operations. Israeli women soldiers were nowhere to be found on the battlefields of Lebanon, Egypt, Syria or Jordan, and that was one reason for Israel's great successes.
The military is not the place for social experimentation. Do you hear that, Teddy boy! The same Ted Kennedy, of Chappaquidick fame, refuses to acknowledge the power of sex. Did any rational elected official truly expect perfect behavior when bringing together healthy, red-blooded men and women in their late teens, 20's and 30's to a foreign land.
Just check out the French Riviera, Club Med and the Bahamas. Turn on MTV and you will see very clearly the true nature of young men when they are around women away from home. Only the likes of Tom Harkin, Charlie Rangel, Chuck Schumer, the late Paul Wellstone, Hillary Clinton et al. could expect 50 push ups a day and jogging at 5:00am to overcome this basic human instinct.
The military is an extremely difficult environment with one major purpose. To win at all costs. When Congress decided to make it into a laboratory for testing new feminist theories, disaster should have been expected, as we now see.
Our politicians are totally out of touch with America. The "outrage" in Congress showed ignorance of common sense and human behavior. Yet most Americans are not at all surprised. We are embarrassed as we would be if our own children misbehaved; but certainly not outraged.
The soldiers' mission is catching the bad guys and terrorists who are out to kill or blow them up, yet they are expected to treat the captured enemy fighters like diplomats. Americans risk their lives and money to free a people from an evil despot, and they are spat upon and confronted by curses in the streets of Baghdad. Talk about being ungrateful; and yet our men and women should react like robots without any emotion. Wake up Ted Kennedy!
War is horror. We cannot expect to fight a war like a congressional battle--cleanly; especially when the enemy is more vile than the Nazis. This is not only a war with Iraq. That is simply one battleground where the terrorist enemies are using every available tactic including out of proportion media lies about our forces. They must resort to this strategy because they cannot possibly win an actual physical battle.
This is a war for the future of civilization. If we allow the immoral parts of the Muslim world, Europe and Scandinavia to make up their own rules and criticize the good guys--US, then we endanger everything. Our enemies know that if they lose in Iraq, in all likelihood, they will lose it all. That is why they will do anything in their power, including partnering with Ted Kennedy.
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