Bid Red Car here in the middling ATX with a high of 73F but cloudy. The Boss, meanwhile, is in the sunny and cool NYC feeding off the fat of the land. If the weather cooperates, me and the housesitter are headed out for a little drive through the Hill Country. Do not tell The Boss.
So, the blood from the horrific murders in Paris is not yet dry and already the world has begun to adjust and accept the outcomes.
The talk shows were alive with . . . . . nothing. The new norm — we do nothing and simply move beyond the horror as long as it doesn’t touch us directly.
Declaration of War
The French President, Francois Hollande, has declared war on ISIS — yawn, excuse me. More importantly, ISIS continues to declare and execute war on the French keeping promises they have openly made from their position in Syria and Iraq.
The told the world they were coming. The world did nothing. They came. The world will continue to do nothing.
Why?
Simply — we are led by men of no conviction — they cannot even say ISLAMIC TERRORISM.
Islamic Terrorism, Radical Islam
ISLAMIC TERRORISM is the bastardization of the Qu’ran which calls for waging jihad against the infidels and enemies of Islam. It is a preposterous notion and is an affront to even below average levels of intelligence. It is not sophisticated. It is not subtle. It is not intellectually sound.
It is bloodthirsty and worthy of being eradicated from the earth in the same way that the Nazis were. It is the latest embodiment of evil in a world that is otherwise good.
Our Feckless Leaders
Our leaders are terrified and tongue-tied at the prospect of speaking the truth. This attack — this jihad — is intended to kill infidels and to show the strength of the Caliphate of one Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
The caliph rules the religious and governmental fortunes of Islam. He is a religious leader. He is a governor. He is a military leader.
In this instance, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is the leader of IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh (different names for the same bunch of shitheads).
Caliphs and caliphates have come and gone and this one, too, deserves a similar fate. Let’s hurry him along into history and his grave.
What will it take, Big Red Car?
It is so easy as to be laughable.
It will take American military leadership and two divisions — the 82nd ABN Div and the 1st Cav Div. Picked because of their mobility and their ability to move quickly great distances in short periods of time.
The French will contribute their Foreign Legion Command (1st-4th Foreign Infantry Regiments, the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment, the Foreign Airborne Combat Engineers (1st, 4th, 6th regiments)). Selected for their speed of movement and their ability to fight in desert climes.
The English will contribute their Parachute Regiment and some SAS units.
The Germans and the Italians will contribute what they can which is likely to be not much.
US close air support (A-10s, please) and artillery will support operations which will find, fix, and destroy ISIS anywhere they exist.
The entire exercise will not last three months in much the same way that the Iraqis and their vaunted Republican Guard were ejected from Kuwait.
Militarily, ISIS is not much of a challenge. Tough on women, children, and killing innocent civilians. On the battlefield? Not much. They are pussies.
This will not be a hard fight. It will be easy and it will be successful. It will take some resolve and therein lies the real problem. Leadership.
Leadership — Article 5 of the Atlantic Charter
Article 5 of the Atlantic Charter (NATO) requires the entire alliance to support and defend any ally who is attacked by a threat.
France is a signatory to the Charter.
It is important to know that NATO invoked Article 5 as part of its response to 9-11 and the subsequent attack on Afghanistan.
The French President, in essence, invoked Article 5 when he said this attack was an act of war.
What is required now?
American leadership.
Good luck with that. Our President is not capable of such leadership. It is not in his head, his heart, his DNA. It is why much of the expansion of international terrorism has happened.
Our President believed that Al Qaeda was decapitated and that ISIS was contained. It was a political utterance and he was and is WRONG.
The dead in Paris scream from their graves — “Not so!”
But, hey, what do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Let’s get this job done. Now.
