Via Michelle Malkin’s blog, a picture of a lonely John Kerry sitting by himself after being snubbed by American troops on a visit to Iraq.
Well, what did he expect?
… and about time, too.
Islamists in Somalia have for some time been plotting to wipe out Ethiopia, inviting fellow jihadists to Somalia to help wage war against Ethiopia. All because of the support Ethiopia has been giving to the interim government of Somalia, much to the displeasure of the islamist forces.
Apart from anything else, there is a personal angle for me. In my youth, I spent many a happy moment in Ethiopia. After all the dear people of that precious land have been through in the past 20 years, I would hate to see them destabilised in this way.
Ethiopia had no option but to attack the islamist targets. Their sovereignty is at stake, and they must do what they can to defend it. The islamist militants are no match for Ethiopia, and President Zenawi has reportedly declared that he could wipe them out in ‘one or two weeks’.
I wish the army and people of Ethiopia the best of luck as they fight the islamist threat. If they manage to succeed in this, they would have accomplished for themselves the very thing that Western powers have signally failed to do in their own backyards.
Norman Kember is calling for ‘all possible clemency’ to be extended to the murderous thugs who kidnapped him and his group of Christian workers in Iraq last year.
Leave to one side the fact that he has demonstrated more concern for this bunch of animals than for the brave SAS men and other officers who rescued him from their clutches. He failed to thank his rescuers, only doing so after a wave of criticism.
Is the man mad? So he wants these kidnappers out on the street to capture and kill someone else? Does he forget that one of his party, Tom Fox, was brutally murdered by these men? Norman Kember is a Christian, and if there is one thing he should know, it is this: forgiveness does not necessarily mean absolution for the consequences of one’s actions. Yes, he can forgive them ‘unconditionally’, as he claims, but that does not mean that the law should not act to punish them for their deeds. The purpose of a criminal sentence is two-fold, punishment and rehabilitation. One could also argue that in a case like this, there is also a compelling need to keep these men away from civilised society, to the extent that that still exists in Iraq.
Does Norman Kember think that the mere fact of his forgiveness is sufficient to turn these men into law-abiding members of society? He is a fool if he thinks that.
Norman Kember went to Iraq on a misguided mission, ostensibly out of concern for the Iraqi people. If he really cares about them, he should do his utmost to protect them from these men.
Interesting article by James Higham on why the Taliban will never be defeated. One major reason is their weapon of war. Not only are they using anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, they also have experts who know how to convert unexploded American bombs for Taliban use. Add to that the fact that these men have no problem with dying, and you can see the difficulty of fighting them on their terrain.
Something about fools rushing in …
Read the article, it’s worth it.
