Filed under: Foreign Policy, News | Tags: Asia, Education, Europe, Military, Support the Troops!
Paul Tibbetts is a hero.
Most often referred to as, “the man who bombed Hiroshima,” the pilot of the Enola Gay would be better remembered as, “the man who ended World War II,” for that is precisely what his famous mission accomplished, saving millions of lives.
The war against Japan had to be won, but the Japanese were prepared, and determined, to fight to the death. President Truman had approved invasion plans that conservative estimates conclude would have resulted in the deaths of approximately 1 million American servicemen and up to 10 million Japanese.
Paul Tibbets’ heroic mission, no matter what detractors say, prevented that much more horrific outcome.
He died in his home last Thursday at the age of 92. He is survived by his wife, three sons, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
It is shameful, however, that America has allowed its citizenry to become so misinformed and ignorant that Tibbets requested no funeral and no headstone lest protesters use his grave as a place to demonstrate. This man’s dire mission saved millions in what would have been a long, protracted and very bloody invasion. That our children are being taught differently by ignorant liberal activists and that we allow it is truly shameful.
Paul Tibbets should be buried and remembered with the highest of honors. America, and the world, owe him a debt of gratitude.
God rest Paul Tibbets’ soul. And may He bring comfort to his family and loved ones.
The following is an excerpt from The Los Angeles Times. I encourage you to read it in it’s entirety.
By late summer 1942 — nine months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that thrust America into World War II against the Axis powers of Germany, Japan and Italy — Tibbets was flying some of the first U.S. bombing raids over German-held targets in Western Europe. Two months later, he led the bombing runs supporting the American landings in North Africa.
In early 1943, Tibbets was recalled to the United States to begin testing a new super bomber, the B-29. Within months, he was one of the nation’s most experienced B-29 pilots.
In September 1944, Lt. Col. Tibbets was summoned to a secret military conclave in Colorado, where he was told that he had been selected over dozens of other candidates to head a unit called the 509th Composite Group.
“My job, in brief, was to wage atomic war,” he wrote in his book, “Flight of the Enola Gay” (1989).
Tibbets searched for the perfect airfield to train his men and knew he had found it in Wendover, Utah. “It was remote in the truest sense,” he wrote. “Surrounding the field were miles and miles of salt flats.”
The arriving crewmen were told nothing about their mission, according to “Ruin From the Air,” a 1977 history of the project by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts.
“Don’t ask what the job is,” Tibbets told his men. “Stop being curious. . . . Never mention this base to anybody. That means your wives, girlfriends, sisters, family.”…[read more on Paul Tibbets’ historic mission]
Filed under: Foreign Policy, News, Politics | Tags: Asia, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Homeland Security, President Bush, Terrorism
Iraq, Iran, North Korea, al Qaeda — Bill Clinton was a popular president precisely because he did nothing serious to address the gathering threats of the world.
He thought regime change in Iraq so essential that he made it the official policy of the United States — and then did nothing. Al Qaeda attacked US interests, including the first attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, on average at least every two years throughout the Clinton presidency and Osama Bin Laden declared war on the United States.
Yet despite Sandy Berger’s best attempts to destroy the evidence, we now know the Clinton administration never took al Qaeda seriously and passed on several opportunities to kill or take custody of Osama bin Laden for fear of paying a political price (much like the one President Bush is paying now).
It’s easy to be popular when you don’t rock any boats.
As the historical record shows, some of the most unpopular presidents in our nation’s history — Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan for example — have also turned out to be among the greatest. No matter which direction you lead, you will always ruffle the feathers of those who want to go in the other direction.
But as the Clinton presidency has proven, ignoring the world’s dangers does not make them go away — it only allows them to gather strength and become more dangerous.
Unfortunately, Bill Clinton’s presidency also shows the danger of addressing the world’s dangers with feckless, toothless policy.
Clinton’s “Agreed Framework” with North Korea was just such a feckless, toothless policy. Under the bi-lateral agreement, North Korea would agree to stop enrichment of uranium, while the US would provide billions in oil and humanitarian aid and would convert NK’s weapons-capable graphite moderated reactors to light-water reactors (not capable of plutonium production.)
We now know the agreement was a complete farce, and that Pyongyang kept right on working on their nuclear weapons program under the Clinton administration’s nose.
Clinton made the agreement directly with Pyongyang, with no involvement or additional pressure from North Korea’s neighbors. His agreement also required no verification that North Korea was meeting its obligations.
Democrats have insisted ever since that President Bush follow in the footsteps of Clinton’s failed policy and negotiate with Kim Jong Il one on one.
But President Bush knew that the way forward was not to repeat Clinton’s failures. He has insisted from the beginning that North Korea’s neighbors, particularly China, participate in multi-nation talks and add their formidable influence to the mix. Bush knew that North Korea’s neighbors, particularly China (on which Pyongyang is most dependent), were essential to forcing an agreement that would stick and that could be verified.
Now President Bush has achieved just such an accord:
North Korean Nuclear Accord Reached
North Korea will disable key nuclear facilities by the end of the year and start disclosing details of its nuclear programs under a six-nation agreement released today in China. The deal appears to have been aided by a “side understanding” between Washington and Pyongyang that could accelerate the removal of North Korea from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The United States also appeared willing to accept, initially, more limited action than it originally sought to disable three key nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, with the understanding that additional work to incapacitate the facilities would occur later. In exchange, North Korea is expected to disclose the extent of its weapons-grade plutonium, including how much was used in a nuclear test last year.
According to the text of the document, released by China’s official Xinhua news agency, North Korea agreed to disable the 5 megawatt experimental reactor at Yongbyon, a fuel reprocessing plant, and a nuclear fuel rod facility by Dec. 31. The work will be paid for and overseen by the U.S. [read more]
It doesn’t accomplish everything, but it’s a major step, its verifiable and it’s certainly more meaningful than all of Madeline Albright’s dancing with Korean children and champagne sipping with Kim Il Sung and Clinton’s empty self-congratulations put together.
Filed under: Domestic Policy, Environment, Foreign Policy, Politics | Tags: Al Gore, Animals, Asia, Debunking Liberal Lies, Environment, Envirowhackos, Global Warming, Liberalism is a Mental Disorder
Al Gore has managed to scare the bureaucrats with his global warming hysteria. Ordinary people are a bit more dubious — with good reason. Legislators, city councilmen, members of congress are rushing to be seen as leaders in the fight to stop global warming. Aside from changing their light bulbs, recycling, and perhaps buying a Prius (just wait til they find out how much those new batteries cost) what can an individual do?
If you are a bureaucrat, and there’s a good fad handy, you regulate it.
According to the European Union’s climate change goals, two percent of all diesel must be vegetable oil, rising to 5.7% in 2010 and 10 percent by 2020. This makes the demand for palm oil, which is used in bio-diesel, guaranteed to increase.
This demand is met to a great extent by clear-cutting rain forests in Indonesia, to make way for palm oil plantations. As the rainforests disappear, the great apes — the orangutan — starve. They are hunted, burnt, and mutilated by workers trying to protect their crops. A charity, Borneo Orangutan Survival, now has more than 600 mostly orphaned orangutan babies. The center director estimates that they are rescuing only one-fifth of the apes. (Remember, conversely, the reason for not drilling in ANWR is supposedly to avoid annoying the caribou.)
In Europe, due to poor planning, there seems to be a shortage in the years’ grain crop. Last years’ was sold off, and land that was expected to be available has been turned over to production of bio-diesel and other industrial uses. Prices are soaring.
The fact is that there is not enough farmland in cultivation to fill both the world’s stomachs and the world’s gas tanks. There are dreams and there are pipe-dreams. It’s not always easy to tell the difference.
The EU has announced a tax of more than $70 for each return trip airfare, a tax on jet fuel for flights within the EU — doubling the cost of many budget airline flights in the belief that aviation is the fastest growing source for “greenhouse gasses.”
Naturally, all this is happening just as the case for man-made global warming is beginning to crumble. Can we regain a little common sense before environmentalists have destroyed too much woodland and wildlife?
American Elephants 