Why Are We in Iraq?
Part II
If you are expecting to find "fair and balanced" reporting on Iraq coming from your network news channels, CNN, or even Fox News, prepare to be disappointed. There is a lot of rhetoric about the war that doesn't have very much real information about what is really going on.
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Why Are We in Iraq?
Part III
There is another reason why we are and should be in Iraq, a humanitarian reason. We should be there because it is the right thing to do. And we should be there as long as it takes to get the job done properly. Saddam was a vicious dictator who brutalized his people. His sons were just as bad if not worse.
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We Are Not Stupid
The Idiocy of Liberals
Many liberals have always felt that all soldiers are uneducated boobs who joined the military because they couldn’t do anything. I patently know that this is false. The sixties are over, so get with the program. Today’s all volunteer military is not a welfare organization, we don’t just accept anybody!
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Rumsfeld Gone
Reflecting on the Rumsfeld Era
For many on both sides of the political spectrum it was time for Donald Rumsfeld to go. He has always been a controversial figure with his blunt manner of speaking and a macho persona that has always annoyed liberals. He has also earned the angst and disapproval of many conservatives during the last few years.
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Called To Serve
Weekend Warrior No More
When I first came on active duty back in 1980, reservists (and the Guard) were viewed simply as "weekend warriors" who sat around, drank coffee, and read the paper. And then came the force draw-down which transformed the military and everything about the Reserve and the Guard changed.
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VSP: An Analysis
About Joining the Reserves
VSP is the money the Air Force is paying its Airmen to voluntarily leave military service. If an Airman enters the reserve after taking VSP, they must pay back the entire amount if they stay until retirement. So is it worth it to join the reserves, if you have to pay back all that money upon retirement?
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Is Iraq Like Vietnam?
Part 1 - Unity of Command
The media and activists often compare Iraq to the war in Vietnam. But the Iraqi insurgents often spend considerable effort fighting each other in internal power struggles. The various factions don’t even share a common vision of the political future for Iraq except to expel foreign powers.
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Is Iraq Like Vietnam?
Part 2 - Spreading Democracy
The insurgency in Iraq and the Vietnam War are two very different conflicts with unique places in history. Parallels do exist between these two conflicts but they are not identical or even very similar. A profound difference is the implementation of democracy which was never a policy objective during the Vietnam War.
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The Media Corrects Itself
Newspaper Admits to Iraqi Bias
In a stunning revelation, an editor to a major newspaper admits to a biased headline in the front page about the death of terrorist leader Zarqawi. The paper not only offered a correction but it also explained what went wrong and how it got duped into misleading the public with its bogus perspective.
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The Making of America
What it Means to be an American
I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
Military Code of Conduct, Article I
That describes what our military is about.
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Iraq’s Infrastructure
The Key to an Ideological Victory
The war in Iraq is really a conflict between competing ideologies of an emerging free society with a rigid authoritarian one. But if it is indeed an ideological conflict, why is a military occupation necessary? Why can’t we just use soft power assets like radio broadcasts, international aid, and trade?
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If You’re a Loser
You Can Join the Military!
Far from being a collection of ill-educated misfits who joined the military because they were too stupid to be able to do anything else, today’s military is the most highly educated and highly motivated armed forces in the history of our county. They have to be. Our military today, across the board, is a high-tech force.
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Airhead America
Broadcasting Bogus Facts
Air America commentators have managed to offend just about every U.S. Veteran with their nonsense and repulsive ignorance. What these Liberal commentators fail to understand is that the military is a serious profession with higher standards of conduct than for journalists or politicians.
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The Patriette
Ph.D. Student and Military Wife
Kelly of The Patriette initially started her web site as a political blog but as a young military wife and mother, she now focuses on military news and issues, especially Iraq since her husband is now deployed there. National Summary interviewed Kelly to get her perspective on supporting the military and politics.
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The Cost of Defense
Is Our Military Too Expensive?
To most liberals, anything spent on defense is too much, let alone the $450 billion we are currently spending, which does not include the continuing cost of the war in Iraq. But what really is the true amount that we are spending on all of our military assets and how much (or how little) is “enough”?
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Road Ahead in Iraq
No Cutting and Running
Regardless of opinions about Iraq, right now we are there and we are heavily engaged so we need to win and stop at nothing short of it. It is also time to leave the second guessing to historians. The war may not turn out the way we had planned but we can still achieve success if we make the right decisions now.
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Iraqi Unemployment
The Administration Shifts Tactics
Immediately after the invasion, certain top officials thought it was a no-brainer that millions of Iraqis needed to keep their jobs. Instead, the Administration thought otherwise and formulated a series of poor decisions that resulted in far too many unemployed Iraqis. Now the Administration is finally changing its strategy.
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Democracy in Iraq
Was That Really A Mistake?
Some have speculated that much of the chaos in Iraq could have been avoided if the United States sacrificed democracy by installing another dictator. This dictator would have squelched the unrest and kept the country from falling apart. However, there are many problems with this kind of approach.
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Dissolving Iraq’s Military
It Was Always The Right Decision
As history is being written about the Iraqi conflict, it is inevitable to point fingers at what went wrong while conveniently glossing over what went right. One such accusation has been the decision to dismantle Saddam Hussein’s army. It was always the correct decision to dissolve Iraq's military and build a new one.
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Justice Overdue
Saddam Hussein’s Death Sentence
While we should be glad that Saddam’s death by hanging was carried out, there were no immediate benefits for Iraq. Although his sentence is important, it is only one milestone in Iraq’s recovery and not the sole benchmark of victory. Perhaps it will give some the courage to persevere and build a peaceful nation.
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Victory Inevitable?
Superior Forces Don’t Always Win
I just love it when people foolishly make absolute claims about things for which they only have superficial knowledge of; and then fail to support that claim. For example, there is an assumption that because the Aztecs and Mayans were so thoroughly conquered by the Europeans, that no other outcome was possible.
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Ignoring Iraqi Progress
The Tacit Omissions of Our Media
All too often, most of our media outlets are not very interested about what the military is doing in Iraq unless a serviceman dies or something sensational or tragic happens. And the press certainly doesn't care about the progress that our troops and our allies have worked hard to accomplish.
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Pinups for Vets
Supporting the Troops: Part 1
Gina Elise wanted our troops deployed overseas and all of our injured vets in VA hospitals to know that they are not forgotten. So she decided to create the "Pin-Ups For Vets" project consisting of calendars and posters. National Summary interviewed this young patriot about her support of our armed forces. 
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Pinups for Vets
Supporting Injured Vets: Part 2
In addition to Gina Elise showing her appreciation to the people who has served their country in our armed forces, her "Pin-Ups For Vets" project is also a great fundraiser for our hospitalized vets. National Summary continues its interview with this inspiring patriot about boosting the morale of our injured vets.
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War in Korea?
More Inane Banter from Kim Jong Il
North Korea has recently threatened South Korea and the United States. The North can cause severe damage to the South but it cannot destroy it. An invasion of the South would only guarantee that North Korea would ultimately be destroyed. South Korea can defeat the North by itself.
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China and the Art of War
Part 4
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.
Sun Tzu, the Art of War Read Article

Iraq’s Economy
Was Saddam a Communist?
One interesting thing I learned while serving in Iraq was that Saddam Hussein had a communist economy even though he did not make any claims of being one. Saddam expressed absolutely no concern for the workers of the world and he did not fund any communist movements for ideological reasons.
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The Iraqi Blues
Is Losing A War A Good Thing?
One of the things I have never understood about the liberals is their fascination (or fixation) with losing the war in Iraq. They often seem to take great delight each time there is bad news about Iraq. And they care more about bashing George W. Bush than they do about the troops in the field.  
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A Mother’s Grievance
Exploiting Dead Soldiers
A slow news cycle along with a woman who trashes the president has value to the media. The press loves extremes and adversaries who are ideologically far apart so that one side hurls invective after invective while the other side cannot degrade itself by responding to the polemics, like the president.
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Our Military Too Big?
Just How Expensive Is It?
War protesters constantly rant about America being a war-mongering nation that is obsessed with financing an expensive oversized military machine. But where do we really stand in our military expenditures compared to our own economy and compare to everybody else’s military spending?
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Information Warfare
The Battle for Hearts and Minds
One facet of information warfare, “psychological operations” or psyops, is all around you. A big part of what we are trying to accomplish in Iraq is based on psychological operations; an attempt to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and bring a stable democracy of some sort to that region.
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Psyoping Liberals
Our Enemies are Winning the IO War
All of our national enemies, both active and passive, engage in Offensive Information Operations against the United States at the strategic level all of the time. Yes, from Iran to China, any nation that would benefit from America’s decline engages in and employs IO against us and against your fellow American.
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Secular Triumphs
Liberals are AWOL on Secularism
Unacknowledged by the mainstream media, the Bush Administration is doing an enormous job in promoting secularism while trying to reduce the appeal of religious fanaticism in Iraq. Yet, Liberals are intentionally ignorant of this large scale effort that could benefit the entire Middle East.
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George W. Bush
Only a Guardsman?
I’ve heard about enough concerning President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard during Vietnam. You’d think that serving in the Guard was somehow even worse than dodging the draft. At least those folks were honest about wanting to avoid military service. That makes sense. Mr. Bush tried to avoid military service by – joining the military!
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