Memorial Day: Mourn and Honor Those Who Sacrificed for American Independence and Freedom by Defeating Terrorists

Memorial Day is the day to mourn and honor those who have sacrificed their lives in service to the United States to safeguard American independence, liberty and representative government. Since last Memorial Day, the only Americans killed in service were those killed by the Islamic State terrorists in Afghanistan, during the completion of the disastrous Trump-Biden withdrawal of U.S.-led international forces. The forces were there after overthrowing the Taliban regime that had provided safe harbor to al-Qaeda Islamist terrorists who committed the deadliest terrorist attacks in history, the September 11 Terrorist Attacks on New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, among other attacks, and sparked the global War on Terrorism, of which Afghanistan was the first major campaign. The Islamic State is an offshoot of al-Qaeda. Despite a minimal number of troops remaining in a non-combat advisory and support role for the Afghan government to prevent a return to power of the Taliban, Donald Trump negotiated a deal with the Taliban in which they promised not to harbor al-Qaeda again. The Taliban, which is intertwined with Islamist terrorists, is again harboring al-Qaeda, which advised it on its offensive that allowed it to take power last year after the Trump-Biden withdrawal and is continuing to advise it. Al Qaeda is now better able to recruit, fundraise and train for more attacks. It is vital to prevent it from becoming internationally operational again. As I posted recently, U.S. forces are returning on a longer-term non-combat mission to support the Somali against a powerful al-Qaeda affiliate there, which is encouraging. It is better if allies in the War on Terrorism can be supported with advice, intelligence, training and materiel with a strategy of defeating the enemy, instead of only preventing the enemy from regaining power, and proving a safe haven for terrorists, than if Americans must risk their lives, but, if necessary, as throughout American history, Americans may again have to sacrifice for our security to prevent more deaths of civilians and even more troops to defeat a persistent enemy, or else the sacrifice of those who have already died will have been in vain.

Ukraine Update: The Folly of Diplomacy with an Aggressor, Russian Genocide, Ukraine’s Government Is Not Like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein Regime

The Folly of Diplomacy with an Aggressor: There have been calls from the left and the isolationist right for “diplomacy” and for Ukraine to negotiate with the Russian Federation about the latter’s aggression against Ukraine. Some even call for Ukraine to cede territory that Russia had recognized as Ukrainian after the Cold War when the Russian Federation recognized the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the former Soviet Republic, in exchange for Ukrainian relinquishment of Soviet-era nuclear weapons. Other than negotiating the details of a cease-fire, a withdrawal of troops across the border, an exchange of prisoners and reparations from the aggressor, negotiating with an aggressor intent on conquest, as is Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to reestablish the Soviet Union, is harmful to the victim, as it legitimizes the aggression and even rewards it. Such appeasement is like expecting a victim to negotiate with his mugger. Russia has no legitimate interest in Ukraine, as its claim of concern about Russian-speakers is unfounded and beyond its sovereign rights, while its claim of a threat from the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is disproven by the strictly defensive nature of the pact. Russian Genocide: The Russian atrocities being committed in Ukraine, though typical of Putin’s tactics, such as in Chechnya and Syria, are also examples of genocide, as he is trying to erase Ukrainian national identity in order to make a claim that all of Ukraine, and not only the primarily Russian-speaking areas, should be under the Russian tyrant’s control. Ukraine’s Government Is Not Like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein Regime: As I have noted before, a comparison between the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Liberation of Iraq by the United States and an international coalition reveals no similarity, as the left and the isolationist right argue, because Iraq was violating the ceasefire it had signed after the Liberation of Kuwait in 1991 and United Nations resolutions that were imposed upon it as a result, in addition to sponsoring terrorism, whereas Russian aggression against Ukraine is totally unjustified. And unlike Putin, the American-led coalition never had any intent on seizing territory, but gave Iraqis the opportunity for self-determination. I post to note also how the argument from the left and the isolationist right that they were similar implies that the elected constitutional parliamentary government of a free Ukraine that is defending itself against Russian aggression is like the autocratic Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein, a brutal tyrant who had himself serially committed aggression, which as an absurd and offensive implication. Instead, American opposition to both Iraqi and Russian aggression has been consistent.

Federal Watchdog Finds the Trump-Taliban Withdrawal Deal Caused Afghanistan to Fall

A federal watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has found that the deal negotiated between Donald Trump and the Taliban undermined the morale and support of the Afghan government, which led to its rapid fall during the post-deal Taliban offensive. The United States had led an international coalition, working with the recognized Afghan government, to overthrow the Taliban, who controlled most of Afghanistan, after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks by the Islamist al-Qaeda terrorist harbored by the Taliban. The U.S. and its allies supported the Afghan government that replaced the Taliban. The coalition had maintained a small contingent of a few thousand troops that provided training, equipment maintenance and other support, after their combat mission had ended in 2014, only occasionally responding to attacks in self-defense. The U.S. also conducted drone strikes against terrorists on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border. But because the isolationist Trump wanted to withdraw the troops, he legitimized the Taliban by negotiating with them, leaving out the Afghan government, and struck a deal to withdraw American troops, in exchange for a promise by the Taliban not to harbor terrorists again. The Taliban, who are intertwined with Islamist terrorists, were backed by al-Qaeda during their offensive to retake Afghanistan. The Trump deal removed the troops and equipment maintenance and stopped U.S. airstrikes, while leaving our Afghan allies feeling abandoned and uncertain. It also provided political cover for a weak successor as Commander in Chief, such as Joe Biden, to withdraw the small American contingent for domestic political reasons, even though American involvement in combat was minimal, other than drone strikes against terrorists, which now can no longer be done. Trump and his supporters have tried to blame Biden for the Afghan disaster, but the federal watchdog’s report proves that the responsibility for the disaster cannot be attributed to Biden without including Trump. It also confirms what I have been posting that the Trump-Biden withdrawal was disastrous because of the Trump deal that Biden carried out, which Biden should have torn up and substituted with a strategy of defeating the Taliban. Trump and his supporters also blame the withdrawal from Afghanistan for emboldening Russian Federation tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to reestablish the Soviet Union, to commit aggression against Ukraine, but Putin did not need to be emboldened after over 20 years of relative weakness in the West in response to his machinations, including Trump’s withholding of defensive weapons to Ukraine and other pro-Putin policies. Biden had said and done the right things to try to deter Russia, such as signing the bipartisan defense bill that increased spending and aid to Ukraine and sharing intelligence about Putin’s troop buildup, but Putin calculated that he could nevertheless defeat Ukrainian forces easily and withstand the sanctions imposed after his invasion and that the sanctions would, as usual, be limited because of Western self-interest and political risk from inflation or recession. Those on the isolationist right who supported the Trump-Taliban withdrawal deal cannot credibly argue that Putin was emboldened only by Biden’s poor handling of carrying out the withdrawal, as it was the withdrawal itself that confirmed what Putin already thought of Western weakness, let alone to argue that Trump would have deterred Putin. Putin had only to wait for Trump, whom he had backed in the 2016 Republican primary and general election and again in 2020, to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to have a free hand in Ukraine. Only those of us true conservatives who believe in a strong defense and a principled, consistent foreign policy have maintained credibility on American security.

Foreign Digest: Lebanon, Finland and Sweden

Lebanon: Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terrorist party, lost its majority in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections this week, as reformers won the most votes and seats. Lebanon has been plagued by the highest national debt, incompetence and corruption. It is often dominated by Syria, which harbors Hezbollah and is the conduit for Iranian support. Iran and the Russian Federation back Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad against rebels. Finland and Sweden: Finland and Sweden ended their longstanding policies of neutrality by requesting admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Finland has been neutral since the Second World War and Sweden from long before. The Nordic States have been prompted to join the Atlantic Alliance because of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The northern Baltic States of Finland and Sweden, who have sanctioned the Russian Federation, have been official partners of NATO. Because of Sweden’s strategic location, it has been victimized frequently by Soviet and then Russian incursions into its airspace and territorial waters. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to reconstitute the Soviet Union, has threatened Finland and Sweden, but they have insisted on exercising their sovereignty in deciding whether or not to join the defensive alliance that poses no offensive threat to Russia. They join Georgia, Ukraine and Kosovo in applying to join NATO, but Finland and Sweden’s applications will be expedited and they are receiving security guarantees during the adhesion process. NATO member Turkey, led by an Islamist dictator, is objecting to their application because of support for Kurds in Syria against the Islamic State Islamist terrorists, who are an offshoot of al-Qaeda, over ties to Marxist terrorist Kurds who operate in Turkey.

Return of American Forces to Somalia: A Necessary Continuation of the War on Terrorism

The United States is sending hundreds of troops to Somalia on a longer-term mission in support of the Somali government and African Union troops battling the Islamist terrorist organization al-Qaeda’s affiliate, al-Shabab. The longer American presence replaces the system put in place after Donald Trump’s precipitous withdrawal late in his administration of inefficient, ineffective and dangerous continuous eight-week training missions with only occasional drone strikes to defend against direct threats to allies. Al-Qaeda was responsible for the September 11 Terrorist Attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. They were harbored by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, but were overthrown in the War on Terrorism following the attacks by a U.S.-led international coalition and Afghan allies. The coalition kept the Taliban out of power to prevent it from again becoming a safe haven for terrorists, until President Joe Biden carried out a deal Trump struck with the Taliban for the coalition to withdraw, in exchange for a Taliban promise not to harbor terrorists, thereby abandoning our Afghan allies, for the sake of ending the longest campaign of the War on Terrorism. By contrast, the return of a regular presence of American forces to Somalia signifies a necessary continuation of the war because of the threat from al-Shabab to American allies, interests and security. Al-Shabab, which is al-Qaeda’s wealthiest and most powerful affiliate and which controls large swaths of the southern interior of Somalia, has launched attacks in neighboring Kenya, including on a U.S. air base in 2000, and harbors the intent to strike the American homeland. After some lengthy delays, a new government was elected last week in Somalia, which will be led by a former President who worked previously with the U.S. and its allies and is welcoming the American troops.

2022 Pennsylvania Republican Primary

The 2022 Pennsylvania Republican Primary is on Tuesday, May 17. On the ballot statewide are nominations for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor and United States Senator. Nominees will also be chosen in districts for U.S. Representative and for half the seats of the State Senate and all State Representative seats. Trumpist Influence: Nearly all the statewide candidates, as well as many of the other candidates, are Trumpist, not only seeking the endorsement of Donald Trump or promoting their ties to him, but expressing typical Trumpist views, instead of conservatism. Trumpism is a populist set of beliefs and practices, including protectionism, nativism, isolationism, authoritarianism, cruelty, falsehood and corruption. It is typically accompanied by minimizing or denying the threat from the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic, or at least regarding the reasonable, responsible restrictions as a greater threat than the diseases that has killed tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians and sickened millions of others, most of whom suffer long-term consequences. Trumpist Pennsylvania Republican statewide candidates usually repeat the populist GOP talking points that misplace the blame for inflation, exaggerate it and even offer proposals that would be inflationary, like cutting taxes or exacerbating the labor shortage from decreased immigration that businesses are complaining about by making it harder for migrants to enter, instead of a reasonable reform of immigration law based on security and economic interest. Trumpist candidates, particularly in closely contested States like Pennsylvania, typically espouse false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and make exaggerations and misleading statements about it and Pennsylvania’s election law, which undermines confidence in elections, instead of focusing on valid reforms to ensure election security. Reject Trump and Trumpism by Voting for Conservatives: Such candidates do not deserve a vote for the nomination to public office, not only because their views are disqualifying, but because nominating candidates endorsed by Trump or who seek his favor or play to his crowd by adopting Trumpist platforms increase the hold over the Republican Party held by Trump, validates Trumpist ideas, and rewards populism/demagoguery over truth, reason and principle. Although it is tempting to vote strategically for those who are relatively less Trumpist versus those who are more Trumpist, choosing the “lesser of two evils” is nonetheless choosing evil. Choosing a non-Trumpist conservative, or writing in the name of a qualified conservative, even if those candidates are unlikely to win the GOP nomination, is the only morally acceptable way to exercise the privilege to vote and the only way to express a rejection of the supplanting of conservatism with Trumpism as the Republican platform, which is a necessary step to return the GOP to its principles. Furthermore, it is vital to save the party to support such candidates in order to encourage more of them to seek Republican nomination to office. Dr. Nche Zama for Governor: There appears to be only one statewide Republican primary candidate who is not Trumpist: Dr. Nche Zama of the Poconos, who is seeking the GOP nod for Governor. Zama typifies the American Dream, as he grew up in a grass hut in Cameroon, saw his mother die in childbirth from a preventable disease, and had difficulty obtaining formal education. After he was finally able to receive an education, he immigrated legally to America, becoming a surgeon and director of various surgical departments, and founding a philanthropic organization to provide healthcare to the needy. Understanding the effects of the pandemic, the reknown doctor criticized Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization as “shortsighted.” Reforming education and the healthcare system are Dr. Zama’s major platform planks. He is pro-life and pro-right to keep and bear arms. The polls are open Tuesday from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Make plans today to vote for non-Trumpist conservative candidates for Republican nomination.

Russo-Serbian Ties Based on Genocide

Serbia has been sympathetic to Russia, despite the Russian aggression against Ukraine, declining to join some of the measures being taken against the tyrannical regime led by ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin. Serbia and ethnic Serbs living in other States that gained independence from Yugoslavia have sympathy toward Russia because of ties as fellow Orthodox Christians and Slavs, but also because the Russian Federation supported the Serbs and their nationalist ambitions during the wars that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia after 1990. Yugoslavia, which was dominated by Serbia, was led by a Communist, Slobodan Milosevic, who fomented ethnic divisions in a failed effort to retain Serbian domination and to hold onto power as dictator, which led to the Yugoslav breakup. Orthodox Serbia wanted to hold onto Catholic or Muslim-majority Republics or provinces or where other Slavic languages were spoken by other Orthodox. Some Serbs or ethnic Serbs backed by Serbia engaged in what they called “ethnic cleansing,” which was a euphemism for the genocidal killing or forced removal of other ethnic groups. More than 100,000 people were killed because of Milosevic and other Serb nationalists in a series of wars over a decade. The “Butcher of Belgrade” was later prosecuted for crimes against humanity before his death and other Serbian or ethnic Serbian leaders were convicted. Serbia is also being hostile to Kosovo, a breakaway province inhabited mostly by Albanian Muslims recognized by the United States and most NATO and European Union members, but which Serbia refused to recognize. Kosovo is seeking EU membership as a form of protection against Serbian ambition. Kosovo should be considered, but Serbia should never be admitted until it renounces its extreme ethno-nationalism, which the continued Serbian loyalty for Russian support of Serbian genocide proves they have failed ever to do, especially as Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine, as part of Putin’s strategy of denying Ukrainian national identity in order to violate Ukraine’s Russian-recognized independence, sovereignty and self-determination.

Increased Afghan Resistance to the Taliban

Now that meteorological winter is ending in Afghanistan, new militias are springing up to fight the Taliban regime and the main one, the National Resistance Front, has increased and expanded its operations in northern Afghanistan. The NRF is made up of ethnic Tajiks, who are a significant minority in Afghanistan, and former Afghan military and police. The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan last year after having been overthrown by the United States and an international coalition after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks by al-Qaeda Islamists harbored by the Taliban. The Taliban had controlled most of Afghanistan since the mid-1990s, but the Tajik-area of Afghanistan had remained under the control of the internationally recognized Northern Alliance, led by Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Lion of the Panjshir, whom al-Qaeda assassinated before the September 11 Attacks. His son leads the NRF. The Taliban have been killing former Afghan regime members and imposing harsh Islamist law. Their persecution of the Hazara ethnic minority has inspired a Hazara militia, but other Afghans have formed other militias across Afghanistan, including some from the plurality Pashtun, the same ethnic group from which the Taliban originates. Afghanistan’s poverty and disease; a lack of international recognition for the Taliban; attacks from the al-Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State; and the Taliban’s unpopularity from their oppression, together with the resistance from the militias, pose a challenge to the Taliban’s hold on power and their ability to host terrorists again. The U.S. and the international community must remain vigilant to the threat the terrorist-backed Taliban pose to global security.

Foreign Digest: Nicaragua, Slovenia, Hungary and France

Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan Marxist Sandinista dictatorship of Daniel Ortega is restricting academic freedom, after he recently won reelection after having arrested each of his opponents, among other barriers to free and fair elections. Nicaragua also recently left the Organization for American States because of the organization’s commitment to liberty and representative government. Slovenia, Hungary and France: The pro-Trump far right populist Prime Minister of Slovenia lost reelection a week ago, as a new center-left party led by a businessman won a plurality of the votes and will likely form a coalition government with smaller left-wing parties. Violations of the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, freedom of the press, as well as other potential authoritarian policies were at issue. The Slovenian results were unlike those recently in Hungary, where the far-right authoritarian leader was re-elected in no small part because of the control he has over state-run media. But it is like the trend against other far-right leaders in Europe. Had Slovenia been led by a center-right (conservative) party, the results would likely have been less favorable to the left. Center-right parties can win competitive elections because of the appeal of their policies, while far-right nationalist xenophobic authoritarian populists appeal only to a limited bloc of voters. As with elections in which a far-right leader is the incumbent, the same is true when a far-right candidate is the challenger. In France, for example, a far-right presidential candidate was defeated, also a week ago. Center-right candidates would likely have fared better than the far-right candidate, who was put on the defensive for her support for Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, a former Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to restore the Soviet Union and for having received Russian financial backing. Support for Putin is typical of most far-right Western parties, despite its multiple inconsistencies.