not sure this is considered a blog, but very important reading !!

This is from the guy who had his finger on the nuclear trigger for
> three> years as head of our defense and response complex buried under
> Cheyenne Mountain at Colorado Springs. He was the only person who could
> initiate a nuclear attack after advising the sitting president of a missile
> launch by our enemies and our need to respond. No political or civilian type
> in the US had more knowledge about day to day military actions around the
> world.
>
> Everyone should find quiet time to read this.
>
> John R. (Jack) Farrington Major General, USAF (Retired)
>> Middle East Imperative
>
> BY: JIM CASH, Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.
>
> I recently wrote about the war in Iraq and the larger war against
radical Islam, eliciting a number of responses. Let me try and put this
> conflict in proper perspective. Understand, the current battle we are engaged in is much bigger than
> just Iraq. What happens in the next year will affect this country and how
> our kids and grandkids live throughout their lifetime, and beyond. Radical
> Islam has been attacking the West since the seventh century. They have been
> defeated in the past and decimated to the point of taking hundreds of years
> to recover. But they can never be totally defeated. Their birth rates are
> so far beyond civilized world rates that in time they recover and attempt to
> dominate again.
>
> There are eight terror-sponsoring countries that make up the grand
> threat to the West. Two, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, just need firm pressure
> from the West to make major reforms. They need to decide who they are really
> going to support and commit to that support. That answer is simple. They
> both will support who they think will hang in there until the end, and win. We are not sending
> very good signals in that direction right now, thanks to the Democrats.
>The other six, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya
> will require regime change or a major policy shift. Now, let's look more
> closely. Afghanistan and Iraq have both had regime changes, but are being
> fueled by outsiders from Syria and Iran . We have scared Gaddafi's pants off,
> and he has given up his quest for nuclear weapons, so I don't think Libya
> is now a threat.
>
> North Korea (the non-Islamic threat) can be handled diplomatically
> by buying them off. They are starving. That leaves Syria and Iran. Syria is
> like a frightened puppy. Without the support of Iran they will join the
> stronger side. So where does that leave us? Sooner or later, we are going to be
> forced to confront Iran, and it better be before they gain nuclear
> capability.
>
> In 1989 I served as a Command Director inside the Cheyenne Mountain
> complex located in Colorado Springs, Colorado for almost three years. My job
> there was to observe (through classified means) every missile shot
> anywhere in the world and assess if it was a threat to the US or Canada. If any shot
> was threatening to either nation I had only minutes to advise the
> President, as he had only minutes to respond. I watched Iran and Iraq shoot missiles at each other every day, and
> all day, for months. They killed hundreds of thousands of their people.
> Know why? They were fighting for control of the Middle East and that
> enormous oil supply. At that time, they were preoccupied with their internal problems and
> could care less about toppling the west. Oil prices were fairly stable and
> we could not see an immediate threat. Well, the worst part of what we
> have done as a nation in Iraq is to do away with the military capability
> of one of those nations. Now, Iran has a clear field to dominate the Middle
> East, since Iraq is no longer a threat to them. They have turned their
> attention to the only other threat to their dominance, they are convinced they will
> win, because the US is so divided, and the Democrat s (who now control
> Congress and may control the Presidency in 2008) have openly said we are pulling out.
> Do you have any idea what will happen if the entire Middle East turns their
> support to Iran , which they will obviously do if we pull out? It is not
> the price of oil we will have to worry about. Oil WILL NOT BE
> AVAILABLE to this country at any price. I personally would vote for any
> presidential candidate who did what JFK did with the space program; declare a
> goal to bring this country to total energy independence in a decade.
>Yes, it is about oil. The economy in this country will totally die
> if that Middle East supply is cut off right now. It will not be a recession.
> It will be a depression that will make 1929 l ook like the "good-old-
> days". The bottom line here is simple. If Iran is forced to fall in line, the
> fighting in Iraq will end over night, and the nightmare will be over.
> One way or another, Iran must be forced to join modern times and the
> global community. It may mean a real war - if so, now is the time, before
> we face a nuclear Iran with the capacity to destroy Israel and begin a new
> ice age. I urge you to read the book "END GAME" by two of our best Middle East
> experts, true American patriots and retired military generals, Paul
> Vallely and Tom McInerney. They are our finest, and totally honest in their
> assessment of why victory in the Middle East is so important, and
> how it can be won. Proceeds for the book go directly to memorial fund for our
> fallen soldiers who served the country during the war on terror. You can
> find that book by going to the internet through Stand-up America at www.ospreyradio.us
> or www.rightalk.com. On the other hand, we have several very angry retired generals
> today, who evidently have not achieved their lofty goals, and insist on ranting
> and raving about the war. They are wrong, and doing the country great
> harm by giving a certain political party reason to use them as experts to
> back their anti-war claims. You may be one of those who believe nothing could ever be terrible
> enough to support our go ing to war. If that is the case I should stop here, as
> that level of thinking approaches mental disability in this day and age.
> It is right up there with alien abductions and high altitude seeding through
> government aircraft contrails. I helped produced those contrails for
> almost 30 years, and I can assure you we were not seeding the atmosphere. The
> human race is a war-like population, and if a country is not willing to protect
> itself, it deserves the consequences. Nuff-said!!!
>
> Now, my last comments will get to the nerve. They will be on
> politics. I am not a Republican. And, George Bush has made enough mistakes as
> President to insure my feelings about that for the rest of my life. However, the
> Democratic Party has moved so far left, they have made me support
> those farther to t he right. I am a conservative who totally supports the
> Constitution of this country. The only difference between the United
> States and the South American, third world, dictator infested and
> ever-changing South American governments, is our US Constitution.
> This Republic (note I did not say Democracy) is the longest standing
> the world has ever known, but it is vulnerable. It would take so little to
> change it through economic upheaval. There was a time when politicians
> could disagree, but still work together. We are past that time, and
> that is the initial step toward the downfall of our form of government. I
> think that many view Bush-hating as payback time. The Republicans hated the
> Clinton's and now the Democrats hate Bush. So, both parties are
> putting their hate toward willingness to do anything for political domin ance
> to include lying and always taking the opposite stand just for the sake
> of being opposed.> JUST HOW GOOD IS THAT FOR OUR COUNTRY?
> In my lifetime, after serving in uniform for Presidents Kennedy,
> Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush I have a pretty good feel for
> which party supported our military, and what military life was like under
> each of their terms. And, let me assure you that times were best under the
> Republicans. Service under Jimmy Carter was devastating for all branches of the
> military. And, Ronald Reagan was truly a salvation. You can choose to listen to
> enriched newscasters, and foolish people like John Murtha (he is no
> war hero), Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, Harry
> Reid, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clin ton, Ted Kennedy, and on-and-on to include the true fools in Hollywood if you
> like. If you do, your conclusions will be totally wrong.
>
> The reason that I write, appear on radio talk shows, and do
> everything I can to denounce those people is simple. THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR THIRST FOR
> POLITICAL POWER AND QUEST FOR VICTORY IN 2008 ABOVE WHAT IS BEST FOR
> THIS COUNTRY. I cannot abide that. Pelosi clearly defied the Logan Act by
> going to Syria, which should have lead to imprisonment of three years and
> a heavy fine. Jane Fonda did more to prolong the Vietnam war longer than any other
> human being (as acknowledged by Ho Chi Minh in his writing before he
> died). She truly should have been indicted for treason, along with her radical
> husband, Tom Hayden, and forced to pay the consequences. This country has started to soften by not enforcing its laws, which is
> another indication of a Republic about to fall. All Democrats, along with
> the Hollywood elite, are sending us headlong into a total defeat in the
> Middle East, which will finally give Iran total dominance in the region. A
> lack of oil in the near future will be the final straw that dooms this
Republic. However, if we refuse to let this happen and really get
> serious about an energy self- sufficiency program, this can be avoided. I am afraid, however, that
> we are going in the opposite direction. If we elect Hillary Clinton and a Democrat-controlled congress, and
> they carry through with allowing Iran to take control of the Middle East,
> continue to refuse development of nuclear energy, refuse to a llow
> drilling for new oil, and continue to do nothing but oppose everything Bush,
> it will be over in terms of what we view as the good life in the USA.
> Now, do I think that all who do not support the war are un- American ... of
> course not. They just do not understand the importance of total
> victory in that region. Another failure of George Bush is his inability to explain to the
> American people why we are there, and why we MUST win. By the way, it is not a
> war. It is martial law that is under attack by Iranian and Syrian
> outside influences, and there is a difference.> So, what do I believe? What is the bottom line? I will simply say
> that the Democratic Party has fielded the foulest, power hungry, anti-
> country, self absorbed group of individuals that I have o bserved in my lifetime. Our
> educational system is partially to blame for allowing the mass of
> America to be taken in by this group. To win wars, you must put boots on the ground. When you put boots on
> the ground, soldiers are going to die. A President must make the war
> decision wisely, and insure that the cause is right before
> using his last political option. However, CONTROLLING IRAN
> AND DEMOCRATIZING THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE ONLY CHOICE IF WE ARE HELL-
> BENT ON DEPENDING ON THEM FOR OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.
>
Jimmy L. Cash, Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.
> Lakeside , Montana 59922
>
> "I'll tell you what war is all about, you've got to kill people,
> and when you've killed enough they stop fighting."
> - Gen. Curtis LeMay