Category Archives: Terrorism

by Barry Kelly | September 29, 2014 · 7:22 am

INSIGHTS 159: FLAWED VISION OR ANTI-U.S. AGENDA?

Normally when a president gives a speech to an international audience, the president and his staff carefully craft the message he is to deliver. The Obama White House is no different. They never miss a chance to get their message out. They are very good about keeping all their key members on the message.

What message was the president reading off his teleprompter this past week in front of his international audience? Was it that ISIS is a bad group that needs to be checked and all concerned nations should join him in the fight against ISIS? Sounds right. And he did ask for support.

The second message seemed to be that while these people are bad, they are not radical or extremist Islamists. In fact, he never used the words “radical Islamists.” He said America will never wage a war against Islam, going on to say there is no “them or us.” We have millions of Islamic members in America, he said, as if to say a war against Islam would be a war against our own people.

The president has a hard time with using words to describe terrorism inflicted on others by followers of Islam. Remember he and his attorney general still refer to the murdering of service members at Fort Hood by a self-avowed Islamist shouting “Allah Akbar” while firing into an unarmed group of service men and women as “work place violence.” The president and his attorney general have never used the Islamic label in any situation involving terrorism. (Hope the next attorney general can break this mold.) It is clear all Islamists are not terrorists but nearly all recent terrorism attacks have been done in the name of Islam by the terrorists. What is the problem with recognizing reality?

This president acts as if he doesn’t like America or its historical past. Does he really think the shooting of a black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, is equal to the beheadings and murders of thousands of people judged to be unbelievers by ISIS? If not, why even raise the issue? The case in Ferguson is still under investigation and until the grand jury makes the evidence public, everyone, including our president and Eric Holder, should be quiet about the issue. It may not be exactly the way they would like it to be.

I suspect the president is so mired in the anti-colonial socialist past of his historical view that he has trouble seeing reality in some cases. Unfortunately, those cases sometimes involve national security. A lot of American blood and treasure have been spent by brave men and women to defend us from radical jihadists. How can we win the struggle against radical Islam if our leaders cannot even recognize the issue and call it by name? Your call: flawed vision or an anti-U.S. agenda?

Written by the author of “Insights: Transforming America — Is This What We Fought For?” available now as an ebook, in paperback or hardcover on Amazon.com or BN.com. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80. If you think this message is important, please share it.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Politics, Progressives, Terrorism

Tagged as Attorney General, eric holder, ISIS, Islam, Middle East, Obama, socialism

by Barry Kelly | September 11, 2014 · 6:58 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 150

SHAPE THE BATTLEFIELD

President Obama read the polls and decided he should address the nation on the ISIS threat. But he didn’t say a word Wednesday night about how his past policies have made it necessary for America to go to war again in Iraq.

He claimed to have a small coalition of nine NATO nations and Australia who have not committed ground troops. That’s a bit smaller than the last time we went into Iraq, when we were supported by 29 nations who committed ground troops. President Obama did as well as he could from the foundations of his foreign policy over the last nearly six years. Let’s not poke anymore holes into his speech about ISIS.

As commander-in-chief, he needs to be clear on a few critical points. The first is call the threat what it is. It is radical Islam. Within those circles which include most of the Islamic world, it is a good thing to kill infidels/nonbelievers. Where are the moderate Muslims? The Saudis have funded radical madrases/schools all over the near, middle and far east for at least two decades. Money from Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Kuwait, and Pakistan have poured resources into the Taliban and other radical Islamic organizations for years. Nearly all the World Trade Center bombers were Saudis. In Egypt the more moderate military is nearly fully occupied dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood that Obama backed against Mubarak. Libya doesn’t seem too moderate, nor does our old ally, Turkey. Pakistan is not a moderate Islamic nation. Good luck, Mr. President, in finding moderate Islamic states to join your coalition with real help and commitment. They may not continue to support ISIS but I doubt they will stand up with a Christian nation against ISIS. Their only interest is keeping ISIS away from their territory.

The second point is that competent boots on the ground are necessary to win any military campaign. Obama’s examples of his strategic success in fighting terrorism in Yemen and Somalia are not even relevant. The relevant bit of recent history is the Bush Administration defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan with approximately 500 American boots on the ground, all military or civilian special forces warriors and, of course, thousands of tribal fighters from the Northern Alliance. Enough fighters to push the Taliban into massing to defend against attack so the U.S. Air Force, flying no holds barred missions, including B-52s, destroyed the defense positions of the Taliban down the length of Afghanistan. The air strikes were guided to the kill zones by American civilian and uniformed Special Forces. That is a proven tactic. The problem is that skilled fighters like those of the Northern Alliance have yet to be identified.

With a clear broad view of the strategic battlefield, victory is possible without large U.S. combat units, but small units on the ground will be needed. First the Kurds will fight and can fight as soon as the Obama Administration recognizes the Kurds will fight for their own homeland. We need to accept and welcome Kurdistan into the alliance. As of last week they reported that had not received any arms shipments from the U.S. Our in the box thinkers had to send all aid to the Kurds through Baghdad which is the same as not sending any. Shiites don’t send weapons to Kurds.

The next tactic to hurt the heads of our people struggling to put Iraq back together again is to rekindle our Special Forces relationship with the Sunni tribes. They will not go back into a Shiite-dominated government so recognize that, and tell the humpty-dumpty bureaucrats trying to patch together a phony country to cease and desist. The Sunni tribes, if promised their own land and given weapons, will fight and take care of the ISIS forces in Iraq. The next step is easy. Let the Shiites retreat south of Baghdad until they decide they will stop and fight for their own land, Shiiteville. All we have to do then is separate the not so bad guys from the really bad guys in Syria and work with them to get rid of the Assad tyranny. All this can be done in less than a year with very few American WIA or KIA. What was Iraq is now nearly the same as it was before arrogant western diplomats drew unreal lines on a map and created the nightmare of Iraq. None of this can be done unless the president gets out of the way and lets the Pentagon and CIA run the war on terror and radical Islam.

Written by the author of “INSIGHTS: Transforming America — Is This What We Fought For?” available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You are encouraged to share this message and follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

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Filed under Afghanistan, Barry Kelly, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Kurds, Obama, Shiite, Sunni, Terrorism

Tagged as America, iraq, ISIS, Islam, Middle East, military, Obama, u.s.

by Barry Kelly | August 27, 2014 · 5:55 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 144

THE THREAT OF ISLAM

Fate and luck have often produced the leadership needed in times of crises. Unfortunately, neither fate nor luck have given America the leadership she needs to combat the virulent march of Islamic radicals across Syria and Iraq. We have a president who is ill-equipped to deal with real world crises. He leans toward the Muslim side in all foreign policy issues. The president has surrounded himself with inexperienced department heads who share his view of the world. Both the critical departments of State and Defense are under pedestrian leadership. Clinton, Kerry, Hagel, and Dempsey have been conducting foreign and defense policy designed to withdraw America from a super power role to one consistent with the goals of the United Nations, an organization that has no love for American power.

Our executive leadership is implementing a plan to bring American troop strength down to pre-World War II levels at a time when radical Islam is sweeping across the Middle East and Putin is moving to reconstitute the Soviet Empire. (According to media reports, 900 army majors have been given termination notices, some while in combat areas. Majors and sergeants are the backbone of any army. It will take ten or twenty years to replace their knowledge and experience.)

But that is not the worst. A significant part of our population is increasingly anti-military and doesn’t recognize that all violence is not evil. All our personal freedoms and national security at times need violence to protect the nation and its citizens. The belief that we can control or positively influence enemies, current or potential, by our unilateral behavior is foolish to the point of suicidal. That unilateral disarmament on our part will lead other nations to act accordingly is a belief, not only naive and arrogant, but without any historical evidence. The president and his attorney general have often stated closing Guantanamo Bay will make it harder for radical Muslims to recruit new members. What deters enemies is strength and they will to use it.

While young Muslim boys (girls don’t get to go to school in the world of Sharia law) are being taught to hate the West and to learn how to be soldiers, our children are being punished for pointing a pretend finger gun or engaging in any act that might be construed to represent Christianity. Recently the media reported a young school girl was disciplined when she said, “Bless you” to a classmate who had sneezed. The spirit that got us through two World Wars and several others, needs to be rekindled. The meek don’t inherit the earth; in the real world they get themselves or others killed.

Before we encourage the spread of Islam in America, the citizens should know Islam is not a religion of peace. The Koran has none of the forgiveness, love, gentleness, or acceptance of the people of other religions that is contained in the New Testament. Muslim teachings support forcible conversions of non-Muslims and the killings of those who don’t convert. The imposition of Sharia Law is the end game of radical Islam that is, today, being carried out by ISIS. Occupation and domination is the plan. The end result of radical Islam is to impose a totalitarian rule run by an elite group. Funny how the progressive, socialist, communist, Islamic or fascist systems of governing all have the same end result, rule by an elite who make your choices for you. Individual freedom is not an issue. None of them believe in it.

Fortunately, we can see what the Islamization of Europe is doing. It is spreading fast and even imposing Sharia Law in some areas where the Muslim population is dominate. The United Kingdom now has more Muslim citizens fighting for ISIS than it has Muslims in its own armed forces. Muslim immigrants do not assimilate. They maintain their own language, culture, law, and education. Local mosques are the spearhead for the spread of Islam. It need not happen here. It must not.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Politics, Terrorism

Tagged as America, BarackObama, Hillary Clinton, iraq, ISIS, Islam, military, Obama

by Barry Kelly | August 22, 2014 · 12:09 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 143

DON’T TAKE A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT

From all their pronouncements, it seems the Obama Holder dynamic duo plan to use their law and order weapon against ISIS. That is as foolish as taking a knife to a gun fight. ISIS Terrorism does not operate on a law and order field. They know and say they are in a war with the west. Their weapons and tactics are from the manuals of warfare. During my time in the Reagan White House, as the point staff person for terrorism, we used the law and order approach. Even with the relatively very small number of terrorists and terrorists organization active at that time, the law and order legal process was cumbersome and stretched nearly to its limit. The requirement to collect information that would stand up to the rules of evidence in our courts was a heavy burden. None of us were thinking enough outside the box of legalism. The military leadership, the intelligence sector, the Congressional committees, and, of course the State Department were all mired in the rules of our court system.

Looking back now, our efforts to fight international terrorism with the weapons of law and order were not equal to the task. To apply law and order restraints to the war against terrorism, yes it is a war, today is beyond reason. It is absurd. Our President and his Attorney General do not trust the military to capture, detain, question and try terrorist in a military court. They have an engrained ideological fear that some terrorist may have his or her civil rights violated. I think the roots of that thinking go deep into their guilt over American power being used in the colonial past. No matter what the issue, the President and his soul mate will ride the civil rights horse onto every battlefield. No, I can not square that legalistic approach with using drone strikes against terrorists even if they are American citizens. I can only guess that the law and order rules of engagement do not extend to drone strikes. Maybe it is because dead people have no civil rights, due process, and no need to have Miranda rights read to them.

The law and order people do not seem to understand the need to obtain real-time intelligence from interrogating (not torturing) combatants captured on the battlefield. Intelligence wins wars, saves American lives, and treasure. The cumbersome time required for the law and order system to play out does not match the need to defeat terrorists before they can bring the war to our shores again. Imagine having a backlog of several hundred terrorist prisoners to move through our law and order procedures. Lastly our Constitution does not apply to foreign nationals who are trying to kill us. Nor should it apply to U.S. citizens fighting on the side of terrorists. The first step should be to strip them of their citizenship. That is an appropriate job for the law and order process.

Using law and order procedures as our Attorney General has in the past will ensure we lose the war against terrorism. Save the law and order rules for U.S. citizens or residents who commit terrorist acts inside the U.S. Due process is their right.

Read my non fiction book, INSIGHTS Transforming America. Is this what we fought for?

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, Terrorism

Tagged as Attorney General, Holder, ISIS, military, terrorism

by Barry Kelly | August 12, 2014 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 139

ISRAEL AND HAMAS

When Israel and Hamas have their battles every few years you can depend on a number of things being repeated. There is the start of the conflict provoked by some aggressive act by Hamas, a raid from a tunnel or the launch of missiles from Gaza into Israel. We have also seen repeated cease fires, some lasting days, some a few hours and others never getting started. We can also count on some bumbling by the State Department. Secretary Kerry is a world-class bumbler. In the end, Israel’s air, ground, and artillery forces prevail and the fighting stops until the next time.

During the conflict all the anti-Israel liberal voices in America and Europe bleat their moronic chants. They need no practice. It is always the same. “Israel needs to be controlled. They are not trying to avoid civilian deaths, the citizens of Gaza under Hamas’s leadership are fighting for their independence. If only Israel would end their occupation of Gaza and withdraw to the 1967 borders there would be no more violence. Israel won’t negotiate. The government (America’s) needs to pressure Israel to act responsibly.”

I know the radical left (today’s liberals) dislike facts unless the facts are theirs, but here goes in constant hope the truth will prevail.

(1) Hamas always starts the mini wars. Mostly with an increase in missile attacks. An increase because Hamas has launched missiles into Israel several times every month. How many nations would remain defensive in the face of rockets and mortars landing in civilian centers? Hamas missiles have poor or no guidance systems beyond the burning of the missile’s engine. So Hamas has no capability of avoiding population centers. In fact, population centers are their targets but poor guidance capabilities and the effectiveness of Israel’s “iron dome” missile defense and civilian missile shelters have spared Israeli population centers from heavy damage.

(2) No nation can negotiate with an enemy whose clearly stated goal is the total destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. What’s to negotiate?

(3) Hamas diverts cement and building materials, the Israelis permitted to cross the border, to the building of tunnels and other military facilities.

(4) Without support from radical Muslim nations, Hamas could not wage war.

(5) Hamas cares little about improving the lives of their citizens.

It is hard to understand why liberals equate the actions of a designated terrorist state with those of the only democracy in the Middle East. Except the liberal history is to always blame America or Israel. I think this blame America attitude has it roots in the liberal belief you can negotiate with anyone. If you show willingness to compromise your adversary will reciprocate. This history is shared by high officials in our government. How else can you explain the reckless reliance on negotiations and sanctions? Nations whose goal is to destroy us, use negotiations to buy time. If the end game is critical to our enemies, they will embrace the trade of continued negotiations and possible sanctions for time.

Israel is our only real ally in the Middle East. Why should we not use our influence and power to encourage the growth of democracy? Even in Muslim states. The book describing wars between democratic nations has not yet been written. The source material is just not there. I guess it never will be. On the other hand, there is great source material for the attacks of Muslim states on both other Muslims states and non-Muslim states. What is ISIS about? Has it shown tolerance for Christians or heretical Muslims? (Muslims who do not fit their definition of acceptability.) Is the ISIS movement’s mission to reinstitute a strict Muslim rule over the territory its armies spread the Muslim religion in the 700s AD?

For more about the Obama Administration and the world, read “INSIGHTS: Transforming America — Is this what we fought for? Available in hardcover, Kindle Free and paperback at Amazon.

by the author of the Brandon mystery/thriller novels.