Topic category:  Other/General

The term "white noise" describes what would occur if one combined all audible frequencies and played them at the same time. An effect of white noise is that it tends to drown out the other noises around it. A songbird's tune, a symphony, or a thoughtful conversation; a veiled threat, or an urgent warning.

Human beings are sensitive creatures. We have emotions that are affected by various stimuli. But we are also susceptible to sensory overload. Once overloaded, our senses aren't reliable. And when our ears can no longer distinguish intelligent, logical discourse above the white noise, it affects everything; from the way we perceive our surroundings, to the way we react to them, to who we elect to represent us.

One thing is abundantly clear. I have no idea what the Administration's current strategy is for completing the mission in Iraq. Neither do they. Do you?

It's great that we live in a debatable society and all, but ultimately the buck stops with the Commander-In-Chief. It is he who makes the call. He's free to seek the opinions of others as he sees fit, but the solution to Iraq should not have been a public spectacle, it projects weakness and indecision. Bringing in Vernon Jordan and Sandra Day O'Connor, who know bupkus about what it takes to win a war doesn't raise the confidence level either.

A coherent message from the President is completely absent, due to these distractions. He has abdicated his responsibility to others. He had a solemn obligation to formulate an exit strategy along with his battle plan almost four years ago, whether that was when to stand down, or when to double-time out of there. Without that piece of the overall plan, your order of battle is not complete.

By seeking the input of the Iraq Study Group, the suggestion of diplomatic overtures to Iran and Syria, the mere mention that al Anbar province is a lost cause [1], the discussions to potentially abandon unification efforts with the Sunnis [2], and the mixed messages [3] being sent from some senior military officials, it all adds up to so much white noise, it's like falling into R.E.M. sleep on the couch at two A.M. after a bad science fiction movie, with the TV test pattern hissing in the background. You can hear it, but can't decide whether you even want to emerge from your stupor and get in bed, or just spend the night on the couch.

Such is the Iraq war. Not so much a quagmire, as a soupy fog. We're not stuck in it. We can get out, our leader just can't find his way through the muck, due to his tunnel vision.

In a Navy Times article , Gen. Peter Pace spoke of the need to throw more 10-pound brains at the problem, and that it matters not if they've ever worn the uniform. I heartily disagree. The last thing this war needs is more intellectuals.

If General Pace is so open to suggestion, how about some advice from someone who has served my country, and knows something about bleeding for it? Release the men you're holding from the Camp Pendleton Brig, drop the charges against Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, and the rest of his men and allow your Marines to finish what you ordered them to start, so they can get back home to their families.

Ten-pound brains are the result of either an inflated ego, or a malignant tumor, rather than intellectual horsepower. The US military must be allowed to finish this war, for it to go down in history as anything but a failure. A voice of reason must rise above the din, cut through the white noise, and offer up a solution that can be accepted by the US, and Iraq. It doesn't concern Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon, Syria or anyone else, and it's because we didn't stop their meddling that we are in this untenable position today.

Keep the members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in your thoughts and prayers, as they deploy to Ramadi, and elsewhere in al Anbar province. I had the pleasure of tipping a few with some these men in Japan as part of the same Battle Group back in 1990. True to form, [4] they represent the recklessness of youth, the steel resolve of Marines, and the Best this country has to offer.

The War On Terror continues... Remember the fallen

11/30/2006 US Army SSgt. Jeremy W. Mulhair, 35 - Omaha, NB (IED)

11/30/2006 US Army Spc.Chris Kleinwachter, 29 - Wahpeton, ND (KIA)*

11/29/2006 US Army PFC Theodore M. West, 23 - Richmond, KY (IED)

11/28/2006 US Army Cpl. Jonerik Loney, 21 - Hartselle, AL (IED)

11/28/2006 US Army SSgt. Michael A. Shank, 31 - Binham, TX (IED)*

11/28/2006 US Army Spc. Jeffrey G. Roberson, 22 - Phelan, CA (IED)

11/28/2006 US Army Spc. Christopher E. Mason, 32 - Mobile, AL (KIA)

11/27/2006 USAF Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, 34 - Litchfield Park, AZ (KIA)***

11/27/2006 USMC Lcpl. Michael A. Schwarz, 20 - Carlstadt, NJ(KIA)

11/26/2006 US Army Sgt. Jeanette T. Dunn, 44 - Bronx, NY (NCR)**

11/26/2006 US Army 1st. Lt. Benjamin D. Keating, 27 Shapleigh, MN (NCR)*

11/26/2006 US Army Cpt. Jason R. Hamill, 31 New Haven, CN (IED)

11/26/2006 US Army 1st Lt. David M. Fraser, 25 - TX (IED)

11/26/2006 US Army Pvt. Joshua C. Burrows, 20 Bossier, City, LA (IED)

11/25/2006 US Army 2nd Lt. Scott B. Lundell, 35 Hurricane, UT (KIA)*

11/25/2006 US Army SSgt. Daniel M. Morris, 28 - Clinton, TN (IED)

11/25/2006 USMC Cpl. Michael C. Ledsome, 24 - Austin, TX (KIA)

11/25/2006 USMC LCpl.Jeromy D. West, 20 - Aguanga, CA (KIA)

11/24/2006 USMC CPl. Nicholas P. Rapavi, 22 - Springfield, VA (KIA)

11/23/2006 US Army SFC James D. Priestap, 39 - Harwood, MI (KIA)

11/23/2006 US Army Cpl. Nathan J. Goodiron, 25 - Mandaree, ND (KIA)*

11/24/2006 US Army Pvt. Reece D. Moreno, 19 - Prescott, AZ (NCR)**

11/22/2006 USMC Lcpl. Joshua C.Alonzo, 21 - Dumas, TX (KIA)

11/22/2006 USMC Lcpl. James R. Davenport, 20 - Danville, IN (KIA)

11/22/2006 USMC Pvt. Heath D. Warner, 19 - Canton, OH (KIA)

11/21/2006 Command Sgt. Maj. Donovan E. Watts, 46 - Atlanta, GA (IED)

11/21/2006 US Army Sgt. James P. Musack, 23 - Riverside, IA (NCR)**

11/21/2006 US Arm.y Spc. Eric Vizcaino, 21 - New Mexico, (NCR)*

Jayme Evans