A poem from a Vietnam vet. Posted at Pass The Ammo.

I think it captures the overall theme of my posting this week….

“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”George Orwell

There’s a character trait that’s decided by fate
Comes sadly to many, far too faint, far too late.
They won’t face the aggressor, stand up to his ire
They have not the will to fight his fire with fire.
So they bend over backwards to see all sides as fair,
Till they’re faced with dragon breath fire in their hair.
Like our brethren in France, who’d know better than we,
Yet seem never to learn, seem doomed never to see.

Yes, it seems there are some who’re determined by fate,
To possess not the courage to step up to the plate,
Who shrink from all threat because nothing’s worth war.
But how can they know lest they’ve been there before?
Thank God some have courage, the will, yes, the grace,
To stand for the shirkers, stand strong in their place.
Thank God we have stalwarts who’ll stand for us all,
Who will rise to the challenge at their nation’s call.

The faint-hearted, who fear, whose reaction is flight,
Have no comprehension of those who will fight.
To hide their own trepidation they attempt to demean
The rough men, who defend them, as barbaric, obscene.
Yet these rough men stand ready, hard weapons to hand,
To put placaters behind them, draw a line in the sand,
To preserve for the peaceniks what they won’t defend,
So their own unearned freedom won’t perish, won’t end.

To appeasers, rough men are coarse government tools.
To rough men, appeasers are dumb delusional fools.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

(via Parrot Check)

A must read article is up at StrategyPage.

You owe it to yourself to read these insights regardless of where you stand on the war.

(via Instapundit)

Early tomorrow morning I am hitting the road for Oklahoma. I want to spend a couple of days with my parents before I leave for Korea. It is a LONG drive and I am hoping for good weather. I chose not to fly because I do long to experience the open road and a taste of backcountry Americana that you can only see from the highway.

So, posting will be light next week but hopefully I will come home with some new blogfodder to share.

Just finished watching the extended version of ROTK Santa brought me. The extra 50 minutes really helped overcome some of the flaws in the original. I was glad to see Faramir redeemed and at least some of the backstory of his relationship with Eowyn shown. I know some have criticized the portrayal of the death of Saruman, and although not true to the book, it at least closes that loose end in a believable manner.

Seems to me any criticisim of this movie is really just quibbling. The audacity of taking on the challenge of even making this film makes Peter Jackson worthy of praise. The acting, the scenery, the special effects, and the fealty to the vision of Tolkein are all there. So I will always treasure the books first and foremost, but the big screen depiction is nothing short of outstanding.

Now, if we could have a new movie just for the appendix I would be very pleased indeed.

A commenter to my post “A Voice of Reason” asks:

the end, if accomplished, will be great…but does it justify the means?

Comment by Anonymous — 26/December/2004 @ 9:26 am

A fair enough question. I take it to mean does the loss of life and destruction in Iraq outweigh the uncertain outcome of freedom and democracy. I think the answer is no, and here is why. To begin, it is not like people weren’t dying in Iraq before we came. Hundreds of thousands (including women and children) found in mass graves so far. I believe that even the innocents killed by our intervention pale in comparison to the systemic rape and murder perpetuated by Saddam and his sons and cronies. I also believe that we are fighting and killing terrorists on ground of our choosing. Someone likened it to the flypaper effect. With so-called insurgents coming in from Syria and Iran, we can and will kill them in the streets of Fallajuh or Mosul or wherever else they foolishly raise their heads. I say better on the streets of Baghdad than NYC.

Finally, I believe recent events demonstrate that what our enemies fear most is democracy gaining a foothold in the region. I remain confident that the Iraqi people will demonstrate their resolve, beginning with next months elections. Security will be gradually turned over to the Iraqi armed forces and they will once again assume responsibility for their future. Democracy has never come easy, and unfortunately the cost of freedom is often paid for in blood. But history has proven (see Germany and Japan) that even at that price it is worth the effort.

So yes, the long-term implications in this global war on terror do justify the means we have utilized. This article says it much better than I can.

The enemy in Iraq is brutal, ruthless and, yes, evil. There’s no other word for people who murder civilians organizing elections, bomb churches and mosques, and saw the heads off innocents while screaming slogans and making home videos.

But they are not stupid. They know that every time they stage a massacre, millions of people get angry – not at them, but at Don Rumsfeld and President Bush and Prime Minister Blair and the “neo-cons.”

“We have seen …the weakness of the American soldier who is … unprepared to fight long wars,” Osama bin Laden said in 1998, as he began contemplating his next attacks. “This was proven in Beirut when the Marines fled after two explosions. It also proves they can run in less than 24 hours, and this was also repeated in Somalia. We are ready for all occasions.”

Only when the kind of butchery we witnessed this week strengthens, rather than weakens our resolve, will the barbarians see that the road they have chosen is a dead end – figuratively and literally as well.

There are casualties in war. Let’s us pray that it is not our will and resolve to see this mission through to the end.