For the second time in a few weeks that General Dempsey has acted against free speech. He recently spoke against the veterans who've expressed political opposition to the Obama Administration. Perhaps he needs to take action to posthumously demote Dwight Eisenhower and US Grant. And how does he feel about John McCain and Joe Sestak?
Now Marty's calling the producer of this ridiculous video that has so riled the Muslims unto the point of murdering our ambassador in Libya and three other men. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff calling a private citizen because he doesn't like that citizen's beliefs is intimidation, no matter how you slice it. A lot of people, many in the military, have defended General Dempsey because he's trying to protect the troops. Well, this stuff angers the enemy. So does Christian religion, Western women's attire, Salman Rushdie, Jewish people, pork, alcohol, and a thousand other things. Which do we stop doing? Which of your values, what of your personal beliefs and habits do you surrender in order to placate someone?
I simply can't accept the premise that these actions - Koran burning or making videos - are responsible for the violence. If that's the case, then The DaVinci Code and the Piss Christ "artwork" should have led to riots across America. Why do we excuse such violence? We simply hold these people to a lower standard than we do ourselves. How condescending are these bigots?
These issues are a cover - the imams, Al Qaeda, and such love violence because to them, it's doing God's work. Most of the "protesters" have not seen the video. Now, this video may be hateful junk, but if free speech doesn't risk offending someone, then it's not free. I'm reminded of the Danish cartoons that caused such a deadly ruckus in the Muslim world. We're allowed to be offensive. Our culture, our values are built for this. We expect it as a part of the marketplace of ideas. And even in our society, offending Christians is tolerated. Maybe that's because the last time the Lutherans or the Baptists took to the streets is long past living memory.
Should there be a call for the Muslims to stop saying bad things about Christians and Jews? I can find countless calls for the death of all Jews in Muslim writings. Has General Dempsey called any of the Muslim clerics who spout this stuff? I wonder what General Dempsey's view might be of a competent Hollywood production about Muhammad - including his child bride, sexual enslavement of captive women, and murder of Jewish captives. These are aspects of the Muslim heritage that are inexplicable to most of us. But I know what we did to our World War II enemies who took comfort women and murdered Jews.
Perhaps General Dempsey should concentrate on the military role he's there to play: Either win the war or bring our kids home. War means fighting and fighting means killing. It's that simple, as Nathan Bedford Forrest said 150 years ago. We need to kill the enemy and wreck their will and capacity to carry on the fight. General Curtis LeMay said, "if you kill enough of them, they stop fighting." I don't care what the enemy thinks, so long as he understands to never again raise his hand against the United States, and to never ever let anyone come from his soil to kill Americans. Ralph Peters said on Fox News (9/14), that when they kill four of ours, we need to kill 400 of theirs. Brute force is all that works with some people. Much as we'd like to make nice, that's the way it is. And NEVER should we curb our freedoms to please some seventh-century minded despot.
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