Was only a matter of time.
The mo is exactly the same every time & has worked just like this on a number of other matters in the recent past, too.
Ron?
Next time you speak with ol' Hugh?
LOL! Psst.. Here's a secret. Don't tell anyone, but the "inside connection" that I have with Hugh Hewitt is...
(I go to www.hughhewitt.com and click on the Contact Us button at the top. That's it. No magic involved.No big surprise. Hugh actually READS the e-mail that we send him. (Although he does not often have the time to respond.)
And, if you'd like... YOU can contact him in EXACTLY this same way, too!)
Case in point, from TODAY's "Message of the Day" on his website, here is an e-mail that he read on the air yesterday:
October 30, 2001
Morning Glory and Evening Grace!
The hawks are getting restless even as the television talkers are getting defeatist. I'm glad FDR and Churchill didn't have to work with folks who head south on you after three weeks of war.
The hawkish view is represented by Krauthammer and Kristol, both writing in today's Washington Post. For a more balanced view of the war's progress, try the Boston Globe's articles by Bryan Bender on the effort to establish a base in Afghanistan, and by Chris Tomlinson on bomb-making inside the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
For encouraging news, you'll have to buy the Wall Street Journal where scholar Michael Ledeen details the swelling protests against the government in Iran. Millions have participated in weeks of riots, and the top of the Iranian state is deeply worried. The wheel is turning again.I've posted below the e-mail that I received from Ray in San Diego and I read on yesterday's program. It needs to be widely distributed to counteract creeping defeatism in the media.
"From Ray in San Diego
Subject: The Afghan Winter gives the US a Military Advantage
Morning Glory and Evening Grace to you Hugh,
It's bothering me that the "military experts" in the media are only giving half the story about the upcoming Afghan winter. They make it sound like when winter hits our forces will be paralyzed like the city of Atlanta, GA would be if it were hit by a major snowstorm. I hope through the "Voice of Reason" the truth can be heard. Here's the other side of the story:
I've trained at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Pickel Meadows, CA (in the Sierras south of Lake Tahoe) both in the winter and summer and I've trained in Norway at the Allied Officer Winter Warfare Course in the middle of a Norwegian winter. I know from first hand experience the rigors of operating in conditions similar to those that will be experienced in Afghanistan. Yes, the onset of winter does create some unique challenges for US, British and other forces. What no one has mentioned though, is that it creates the same unique challenges for the Taliban as well. The weather doesn't care if your the Taliban, a Muslim, a Christian or an American. The snow will fall, the wind will blow and the temperatures will drop. The Taliban will face many of the same challenges as our forces will face: maintaing troop morale, equipment maintenance, movement of forces and supplies, etc.
The thought that our forces are not capable of or prepared to operate in those conditions is ludicrous. Particularly when you consider the forces that are currently deployed. All the ground, naval and air forces currently being employed are well trained and accustomed to the rigors the Afghan winter will bring. Every unit that I can think of that is currently operating there or is deploying there is well suited to operate in the terrain and climate. Even the Marine Expeditionary Units sitting onboard ships in the Arabian and Mediterranean Seas are ready, willing and capable. They have trained at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center before deploying. How about the 10th Mountain Division? Hello...they're home-based at Fort Drum, NY. Being a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate NY, I can tell you it gets pretty darn cold and miserable up there. Trust me, the 10th Mountain Division can handle itself under the expected winter conditions. The Special Forces units, the Rangers, the SEALs, they're all experienced. I could go on, I hope you get my point. Our soldiers, sailors, airman and marines are well trained, well lead and excellently equipped. It's not like we're asking the National Guardsman at the airports to go over there and lead the assault on Kabul.
If you were wounded, where would you want the medevac helicopter to take you? To Kabul or maybe to an airbase in Pakistan or Uzbekistan where we have set up medical facilities? If you're cold, hungry and running low on ammo, who do you think has a better chance of resupplying you? A Taliban mule train or a US Army CH-47 or US Marine CH-53 helicopter? Quite frankly, I would rather be in our shoes than theirs!
Remember, we're the "guerillas" in this war. We're on the offensive. The initiative is totally ours. Please take a brief moment on the air and get the facts out there. As I learned in all my training - the weather can be one of your greatest allies - if you're smart. I believe we are. Our soldiers, sailors, airman and marines aren't soft, it's the boneheads in the media who never served in the military, but are all experts, are the ones that are soft - soft in the head."