Brothers

[JonStuck]

The following was written by one of the best men I have ever had the privilege to know.
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"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother…"
Henry V, William Shakespear


The honor of spending a year embedded with U.S. Special Operations in Afghanistan taught me a great many lessons, but none so vivid as the strength of brotherhood. It is a bond that is not freely given, especially to outsiders. You have to work to earn that respect, pitching in on the lowliest of tasks without hesitation, working long days without complaint, doing your best because everyone around you is giving their best. That standard doesn't get you a gold star, it is the basic ante just to sit at the table. Like most things with this cadre, the embrace is understated, something you may recognize only after the fact. For me that moment came on a patrol in a blighted stretch of desert, walking into the birthplace of the Taliban. A Special Forces soldier half my age turned to me, checked my gear and said "OK sir, we're likely to get shot at, but don't worry. I'll be charging the guys with the guns."

As a writer I pride myself on a fearsome arsenal of words, but I can find none to convey how humbled I was at that moment. I had lived so much of life and here was a smart, athletic young man who was just getting started on his, ready to lay that life down to protect me. True to his word we did get attacked, and when it happened he and his team charged without hesitation, crushing the enemy with a stunning efficiency. As soon as the smoke cleared, he trotted up to me and asked with a smile, "You OK?" I could only grin and nod, struck as much by his kindness as his demonstrable lethality. In that brief exchange I saw firsthand the two pillars of brotherhood: you always watch your brother's back, and you never leave a brother behind.

It is a creed catastrophically lacking in Washington, a fact made all too apparent in their most recent debacle, the Libya Embassy massacre. That a US Ambassador died is tragic, but one might argue that Chris Stevens bravely accepted the same risk shouldered by every American who stands in harm's way on foreign soil. One might also argue that the death of two former Navy SEALs was perhaps a more heart-rending tragedy, as they made a personal decision to hold the line in defense of their countrymen. But as I have watched the events unfold from the first breaking news, I am sickened and disgusted by a far greater tragedy; the sell-out of these fine Americans, of our brothers, in the name of politics.

First came the "blame a YouTube video" response that we all saw on TV, delivered by President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, UN Ambassador Rice and White House Press Secretary Carney. This story was sold to the public with remarkable zeal and certainty given there had been literally no time to gather intelligence on the event. They held this position for two full weeks before making a 180-degree flip-flop in the face of overwhelming evidence that the attack was a terrorist act scheduled for the September 11th anniversary. The Administration then stated that terrorism was "self-evident" despite two weeks of prior denial. In subsequent testimony before Congress we learned that the embassy had threat awareness before the attack and had even requested additional security, only to be refused by the same Obama administration that was at that very moment spending money to put "green energy" electric cars at other embassy locations. Like all great train wrecks, the testimony before Congress was immediately refuted by Vice President Joe Biden on a nationally-televised debate, where he clearly stated "We were never told they wanted more security." Now the spin-doctors are giving us a new lie explaining why Biden's lie conflicted with the Administration's prior lies. It is pathetic.

I think I speak for a majority of Americans when I say that I am sick and tired of the endless dishonesty that gushes from the halls of Washington to splatter on the pages of the mainstream media. I would have more respect for an Administration that stepped up to the plate and said "we screwed up, here is what we learned and what we are going to do to fix it." Instead, we get nothing but what Mark Twain so aptly called "lies, damn lies and statistics." The truly amazing part is this Administration lies to our face knowing full well that the rebuttal is on video tape, sure to surface hours or even minutes later. The current Administration has become so steeped in lies that they have lost the ability to care, or to know the difference.

That is not the American way. Let me take you to 1987 when Lee Iacocca was running Chrysler. It came out that certain managers had altered the odometers on some demo cars that were later dis-reputably sold as new. If you don't remember the incident you can thank Iacocca, who demonstrated military-grade leadership by going live to the press stating, we did it, it was dumb, and here is what we did to fix it. Instead of a scandal, the incident was over by lunchtime. That is the impact of leadership and integrity, the end result of caring more about your good name than your momentary popularity. That's having the guts to shoulder the responsibility and pay the price. Our soldiers do that every day; they deserve a Commander in Chief who understands the concept. Instead, the Obama camp is now laying the blame on the intelligence community. Michael Chertoff, former Director of Homeland Security, responded by rightly pointing out "Blaming those who put their lives on the line is not the kind of leadership America needs."

According to press reports, Ambassador Chris Stevens was a personal friend of Barack Obama, yet Obama's administration abandoned him when he asked for protection. Then they watched the attack for seven hours and didn't lift a finger. They didn't have Steven's back. When that betrayal resulted in Stevens being brutally raped and murdered, the Obama camp abandoned him again in death, denying the truth and leaving any hope of justice in the dirt where Stevens died. The Americans slain in Libya, and every soldier who serves in harm's way today, deserve a better President than Barack Obama.

The ante for democracy is making the effort to vote. Join your brothers and sisters and be heard on November 6th.

[allingeneral]

Thanks for sharing that, Jon.

The ante for democracy is making the effort to vote. Join your brothers and sisters and be heard on November 6th.