Does America Still Deserve The Marines?

Weekly column posted at Gunny Bob's 850am KOA webpage ^ | Friday November 11th, 2005 | Gunny Bob Newman

[ajolympian2004]

Does America Still Deserve The Marines? (by Gunny Bob Newman, retired 20-year veteran of the Marine Corps)

Not that I know what one is, but I do know what one looks like. A parabolic wave is a thing that looks like a wave when viewed from the side. Parabolic waves appear on screens that are part of certain machines and computers and other technical devices. I suspect they are useless, really, but scientists and technicians like them because they look cool and by turning just about any dial, one can change the height and frequency of the wave.

The war on terror can be viewed as a parabolic wave, with crests and troughs. The topographic equivalent would be peaks and valleys. In the last two days or so, as is so frequently the case, we have seen peaks and valleys in the war on terror. First there was a peak, with the death of Azahari Husin in a fight with Indonesian security forces. Who was that? He was the Malaysian who built the bombs used in the Bali nightclub attacks of 2002. Then we had the valley yesterday, when three al Qaeda suicide bombers detonated their deadly wares at three US-flagged hotels in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s capital of Amman.

Sadly, American hotel corporations knowingly and willingly live in an especially dangerous valley.

Even more troubling is how more and more Americans are simply unwilling to get serious about the war on terror. A recent MSNBC/Wall Street Journal poll revealed 57% of Americans agree with the Kerry Plan: begin surrender proceedings to the terrorists in Iraq as soon as possible and abandon the people of Iraq to whatever grim fate awaits the poor schmucks.

The same poll said a mere 39% agree with the way we are fighting the war on terror.

Beginning in the late 1960s, America, for a variety of reasons, began seeing retreat and surrender as a viable option when dealing with tyrannical regimes. In 1973 we retreated from Vietnam and left the people of South Vietnam, whom we had promised to defend, to be vanquished by the invading hoards from the communist north.

In 1979 and 1980, Jimmy Carter allowed a terrorist regime to seize our embassy in Tehran, with dozens of Americans held hostage for 444 days. Carter did nothing to punish the terrorists.

In 1984, we fled Beirut on Ronald Reagan’s orders. The terrorists who killed hundreds of Marines were never held accountable.

After quick victories in Grenada, Panama and Kuwait, we retreated from Somalia on Bill Clinton’s orders, leaving that stricken nation in the hands of terrorists and warlords. In 1993, Bubba warmed up for that move by doing nothing about the World Trade Center attack.

Clinton followed that stunt up by allowing terrorists to destroy a US military barracks and two of our embassies, and nearly sink one of our ships with no repercussions.

Then 9-11 came and we got mad. We swore to fight the terrorists everywhere and anywhere we could find them with everything we could fight them with. A paltry four years later, we are shaking and trembling as most Americans call for surrender.

Why? Because America remembered that bullets and shrapnel can fly not only toward the enemy, but toward our troops. Stunned with this revelation, we quickly decided that cowardice is the best way to get terrorists to stop killing us.

If only that were true.

Reality, on the other hand, has told humans for millennia that cowardice just leads to more of people being killed more quickly. But Americans have no interest in history, which is a tedious lesson plan that, if studied and heeded, cuts into our golf time.

At this very moment, Marines I led in the Gulf War are now the battlefield leaders. I dream of them often and think of them many times daily. I fear for their well-being because the majority of the people they swore an oath to defend now want them to surrender.

Surrender to a Marine is anathema. It is unthinkable. It is a concept so foreign that the very suggestion of it being an option brings Marines to a rolling boil.

Sometimes I wake up sweating and shouting orders in some distant dream scape, my Marines, with fixed bayonets, assaulting a burning trench line in the desert.

"Johnson! Get me some Mark 19 fire on the right end of that trench!" "Washington! Get your squad to cover 2nd squad as they clear from left to right! Make sure your SAW gunners are tight on target!"

"Nishimoto! Pop that clown behind the burning APC! Shoot him in the shins!"

Surrender is never in my dreams.

America spits in the Corps’ face when the majority say the Marines should surrender, and that is precisely what withdrawal before total victory is. Perhaps the majority of this country feel surrender is honorable, but as it has been to the Marines since their creation, it is the most vile of notions, not to mention incredibly stupid given how the terrorists stand no chance of defeating the Corps. Only 21st Century Americans would suggest surrender when victory is assured.

Fortunately for the United States, you can rest assured that on this 230th birthday of the Corps, the Marines will press on ‘til victory, with or without the respect and support of our employers.

[ajolympian2004]

Gunny Bob Newman hosts the 'Gunny Bob' show on 850am KOA from 7:00pm - 10:00pm M-F.

Listen Live at http://www.850koa.com/ (link at top left - no registration required)

Gunny Bob's webpage at KOA: http://www.850koa.com/shows/newman.html

Gunny Bob Newman profile at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newman

----

Before signing off the air each night since Gunny Bob has been on the air he always ends the program with, "Goodnight Chesty wherever you may be."

Below you will see that the United States Post Office has just released a new issue of "Distinguished Marine Stamps". One of those honored is Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC.

----

Distinguished Marines commemorative 37-cent U.S. Postage stamps. The stamps immortalize four heroic legendary Marines: John Basilone, Daniel "Dan" Joseph Daly, John A. Lejeune and Lewis "Chesty" Puller.

Order info here: USPS Order info here
---

Semper Fi to all of our men and women who have served, are serving and in the future will serve in the Marine Corps.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Americanwolf]

Man Gunny writes a good piece!

[ajolympian2004]

Man Gunny writes a good piece!

You should hear him on talk radio.

[MNJohnnie]

Fortunately Gunny you have a Commander in Chief worthy of your Marines. No matter how nuts it drives the Moveon.org "news media", GW Bush will be President until Jan 2009. Doesn't matter what the polls think, what matters is what W thinks.

[MizSterious]

This one will have to be emailed to a lot of people. Many in this country absolutely do not deserve the Marines, and for the life of me, I don't know what brought us to this point. Had WWII occurred in this time, we'd be under either a Japanese or German flag by now.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Chesty Puller is surrounded...that simplifies the problem!

[kimosabe31]

Semper Fi to all of our men and women who have served, are serving and in the future will serve in the Marine Corps.

Will serve unless american libs decide it would be in the best interest of world peace to eliminate the Corps.

[Let's Roll]

The America of our Founding Fathers does ... most Americans do not deserve the Marines or our other brave young people. God Bless Them.

[ajolympian2004]

Your link is outdated or been moved.

[vpintheak]

A former Force recon Marine told me once, "If you tell the Army to take an Airstrip, you'll get it but it'll take 3 days. You tell the Marines and you'll have the airstrip in 3 hours. You may have a thousand dead Marines, but you'll hav ethat airstrip." It gives a whole new meaning to "Git 'er done!"

[Paleo Conservative]

San Francisco does. When can they start the invasion?

[Republic of Texas]

I agree. Most of this country doesn't deserve the Marines, or any of our armed forces. But they serve anyway, and thank God for them.

[G.Mason]

" ... I fear for their well-being because the majority of the people they swore an oath to defend now want them to surrender."

Absolutely untrue!

I trust the old "Gunny", Bob Newman will get over this obvious and understandable depressive state soon.

I think I'll send him a letter and cheer him up.

[ajolympian2004]

Gunny Bob's email address:

gunnybob@850koa.com

[Old Seadog]

[daybreakcoming]

I disagree to a point. Generally speaking, what have we done to deserve the sacrifices of all kinds made by Marines and the rest of our armed forces?? But to think/believe that "most of the country" does not support and love our guys/gals is merely falling into the media/pollster trap.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Final Salute