Jimmy L. Cash, Brigadier General, USAF Retired, on the threat posed by Islam
Middle East Imperative
by: James Cash, Brigadier General, USAF, Retired
I wrote recently about the war in Iraq and the larger war against radical Islam, eliciting a number of responses. Let me try and put this conflict in proper perspective.
Understand; the current battle we are engaged in is much bigger than just Iraq. What happens in the next year will affect this country and how our kids and grand kids live throughout their lifetime, and beyond. Radical Islam has been attacking the West since the seventh century.
They have been defeated in the past and decimated to the point of taking hundreds of years to recover. But they can never be totally defeated. Their birth rates are so far beyond civilized world rates, that in time they recover and attempt to dominate again.
There are eight terror-sponsoring countries that make up the grand threat to the West. Two, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan just need firm pressure from the West to make major reforms. They need to decide who they are really going to support and commit to that support.
That answer is simple. They both will support who they think will hang in there until the end, and win. We are not sending very good signals in that direction right now, thanks to the Democrats. The other six, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya will require regime change or a major policy shift. Now, let’s look more closely.
Afghanistan and Iraq have both had regime changes, but are being fueled by outsiders from Syria and Iran . We have scared Gaddafi’s pants off, and he has given up his quest for nuclear weapons, so I don’t think Libya is now a threat.
North Korea (the non-Islamic threat) can be handled diplomatically by buying them off. They are starving. That leaves Syria and Iran. Syria is like a frightened puppy. Without the support of Iran they will join the stronger side. So where does that leave us? Sooner, or later, we
are going to be forced to confront Iran, and it better be before they gain nuclear capability.
In 1989 I served as a Command Director inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex located in Colorado Springs, Colorado for almost three years. My job there was to observe (through classified means) every missile shot anywhere in the world and assess if it was a threat to the US or Canada. If any shot was threatening to either nation I had only minutes
to advise the President, as he had only minutes to respond.
I watched Iran and Iraq shoot missiles at each other every day, and all day long, for months. They killed hundreds of thousands of their people. Know why? They were fighting for control of the Middle East and that enormous oil supply.
At that time, they were preoccupied with their internal problems and could care less about toppling the west. Oil prices were fairly stable and we could not see an immediate threat.
Well, the worst part of what we have done as a nation in Iraq is to do away with the military capability of one of those nations. Now, Iran has a clear field to dominate the Middle East, since Iraq is no longer a threat to them.
They have turned their attention to the only other threat to their dominance, they are convinced they will win, because the US is so divided, and the Democrats (who now control Congress and may control the Presidency in 2008) have openly said we are pulling out.
Do you have any idea what will happen if the entire Middle East turns their support to Iran, which they will obviously do if we pull out? It is not the price of oil we will have to worry about. Oil WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE to this country at any price. I personally would vote for any
presidential candidate who did what JFK did with the space program—declare a goal to bring this country to total energy independence in a decade.
Yes, it is about oil. The economy in this country will totally die if that Middle East supply is cut off right now. It will not be a recession. It will be a depression that will make 1929 look like the
“good-old-days”. The bottom line here is simple. If Iran is forced to fall in line, the fighting in Iraq will end over night, and the nightmare will be over.
One way or another, Iran must be forced to join modern times and the global community. It may mean a real war—if so, now is the time, before we face a nuclear Iran with the capacity to destroy Israel and begin a new ice age.
I urge you to read the book “END GAME” by two of our best Middle East experts, true American patriots and retired military generals, Paul Vallely and Tom McInerney . They are our finest, and totally honest in their assessment of why victory in the Middle East is so important, and
how it can be won. Proceeds for the book go directly to memorial fund for our fallen soldiers who served the country during the war on terror. You can find that book by going to the Internet through Stand-up America at http://www.ospreyradio.us/, http://www.ospreyradio.us/ or http://www.rightalk.com/, http://www.rightalk. com/.
On the other hand, we have several very angry retired generals today, who evidently have not achieved their lofty goals, and insist on ranting and raving about the war. They are wrong, and doing the country great harm by giving a certain political party reason to use them as
experts to back their anti-war claims.
You may be one of those who believe nothing could ever be terrible enough to support our going to war. If that is the case I should stop here, as that level of thinking approaches mental disability in this day and age. It is right up there with alien abductions and high
altitude seeding through government aircraft contrails. I helped produced those contrails for almost 30 years, and I can assure you we were not seeding the atmosphere. The human race is a war-like population, and if a country is not willing to protect itself, it deserves the consequences.
‘Enough - said!’
Now, my last comments will get to the nerve. They will be on politics.
I am not a Republican. And, George Bush has made enough mistakes as President to insure my feelings about that for the rest of my life. However, the Democratic Party has moved so far left, they have made me support those farther to the right.
I am a conservative who totally supports the Constitution of this country. The only difference between the United States and the South American, third world, dictator infested and ever-changing South American governments, is our US Constitution.
This Republic (note I did not say Democracy) is the longest standing the world has ever known, but it is vulnerable. It would take so little to change it through economic upheaval. There was a time when politicians could disagree, but still work togeth er. We are past that
time, and that is the initial step toward the downfall of our form of government.
I think that many view Bush-hating as payback time. The Republicans hated the Clinton’s and now the Democrats hate Bush. So, both parties are putting their hate toward willingness to do
anything for political dominance to include lying and always taking the opposite stand just for the sake of being opposed. JUST HOW GOOD IS THAT FOR OUR COUNTRY?
In my lifetime, after serving in uniform for President’s Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan , and Bush I have a pretty good feel for which party supported our military, and what military life was like under each of their terms. And, let me assure you that times were
best under the Republicans.
Service under Jimmy Carter was devastating for all branches of the military. And, Ronald Regan was truly a salvation.
You can choose to listen to enriched newscasters, and foolish people like John Murtha (he is no war hero), Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and on-and-on to include the true fools in Hollywood if you
like. If you do, your conclusions will be totally wrong.
The reason that I write, appear on radio talk shows, and do everything I can to denounce those people is simple. THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR THIRST FOR POLITICAL POWER AND QUEST FOR VICTORY IN 2008 ABOVE WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS COUNTRY. I cannot abide that.
Pelosi clearly defied the Logan Act by going to Syria , which should have lead to imprisonment of three years and a heavy fine.
Jane Fonda did more to prolong the Vietnam War than any other human being (as acknowledged by Ho Chi Minh in his writing before he died). She truly should have been indicted for treason, along with her radical husband, Tom Hayden, and forced to pay the consequences.
This country has started to soften by not enforcing its laws, which is another indication of a Republic about to fall.
All Democrats, along with the Hollywood elite, are sending us headlong into a total defeat in the Middle East, which will finally give Iran total dominance in the region. A lack of oil in the near future will be the final straw that dooms this Republic.
However, if we refuse to let this happen and really get serious about an energy self-sufficiency program, this can be avoided. I am afraid, however, that we are going in the opposite direction.
If we elect Hillary Clinton and a Democrat controlled congress, and they carry through with allowing Iran to take control of the Middle East, continue to refuse development of nuclear energy, refuse to allow drilling for new oil, and continue to do nothing but oppose everything
Bush, it will be over in terms of what we view as the good life in the USA.
Now, do I think that all who do not support the war are un-American—of course not. They just do not understand the importance of total victory in that region.
Another failure of George Bush is his inability to explain to the American people why we are there, and why we MUST win.
By the way, it is not a war. The war was won four years ago. It is martial law that is under attack by Iranian and Syrian outside influences, and there is a difference.
So, what do I believe? What is the bottom line? I will simply say that the Democratic Party has fielded the foulest, power hungry, anti-country, self absorbed group of individuals that I have observed in my lifetime. Our educational system is partially to blame for allowing the mass of America to be taken in by this group. George Bush has done the best he can with the disabilities that he possesses.
A President must communicate with the people. And, I would tell you that Desert Storm spoiled the people. Bush Senior’s 100-hour war convinced the people that technology has progressed to the point that wars could be fought with no casualties and won in very short periods
of time. I remember feeling at the time, that this was a tragedy for the US
military. To win wars, you must put boots on the ground. When you put boots on the ground, soldiers are going to die. A President must make the war decision wisely, and insure that the cause is right before using his last political option.
HOWEVER, CONTROLLING IRAN AND DEMOCRATIZING THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE ONLY CHOICE IF WE ARE HELL BENT ON DEPENDING ON THEM FOR OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.
Jimmy L. Cash, Brigadier General, USAF, Retired
Lakeside, Montana 59922
Tags: , Afghanistan, crude oil, dan lee, democrats, fascist, gas prices, iran, Iraq, islam, Isreal, jews, koran, liberals, Mahmoud Ahmajinidad, Media, middle east, military, Mohammad, news, oil, oil independence, Political, politics, press, Pundit, Saudi Arabia, syria
April 14th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
please try not to insult our intelligence. this poorly-written treatise on the middle east was obviously not written my a retired general with top-secret clearance. i’d say it was written by someone with, at most, a high school diploma. maybe just a GED. if you’re gonna get the BS propaganda out there, at least write something halfway believable.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Dear “lex luther”,
If your parents were really mean enough to name you that, they should have taught you that proper names are supposed to be capitalized. Also, your teachers should have taught you that sentences are supposed to start with a capital letter.
If you’re going to insult the writing of a retired U.S. Brigadier General, perhaps you should at least go & get some grammar tutoring first.
xoxoxo ~ Dan Lee
May 7th, 2008 at 5:44 am
It appears that we have four choices:
1. Pull out of Iraq and take the consequences of losing access to oil in the middle east.
2. Fight it out in Iraq, while not starting a war with Iran.
3. Stay in Iraq and fight it out in Iraq, while starting a war with Iran as well
4. Leave Iraq but start a war with Iran.
Choices 3 and 4 make no sense at all. Why would we think we can be more successful with Iran than we have been with Iraq?
If more “boots on ther ground” are needed–which seems obvious, unless we are going to abandon Iraq–then let those boots be put on the ground in Iraq. If we finish what we started there, we will have access to Iraqi oil forever and a day.
Bush et al did not engage in this war in Iraq to eliminate weapons of mass destruction or stop al Quaeda, or to promote democracy. We had to kick some butt in the Middle East after 9/11. We couldn’t invade our “ally” Saudi Arabia, Syria was too inconsequential, Iran too powerful. so, we beat up on Saddam because nobody liked him and because the UN had already “resolved” against him. It was a good choice, poorly executed by our government. But the premise was not faulty, and the situation can be salvaged by applying more power–in Iraq.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I believe Iran must be confronted. The Mullahs that run Iran are on a mission to destroy Israel and cause the downfall of the U.S. These nuts believe they must cause world chaos in order to pave the way for what they believe will be the arrival of “The 12th Imam, The Mahdi!” According to Shia-Islam, The Mahdi will defeat the Jews and Christians (Israel & the West), impose “Sharia Law”, thus the world will submit to Allah.
If one remembers when Iranian President Ahmadinejahd spoke in front of the U.N. last year, he prayed for the quick arrival of the 12th Imam before addressing the U.N. Genenral Assembly. This Mahdi dude is to Islam what Jesus is to Christianity, their long awaited savior. Iran must be stopped before they develope nuclear weapons period! If we elect Barrak Hussein Obama as President, he’ll appease Islam, abandon Israel and cause the downfall of the United States!
The key is Israel, if we abandon the Jews, God will take away the special blessings he has for all that defend Israel! I believe the Mahdi will be the Antichrist! He’ll unite Islam Sunni & Shia, dominate the world scene and with the U.S. now out of the picture, make it look he’ll be a man of peace. He’ll offer Israel a seven year peace treaty. The Jews, now all alone, will jump at the opportunity for peace. However, three and a half into this peace, The Mahdi(antichrist) will catch the Jews off guard and attack Israel. The Jews will flee to the mountains. During the peace treaty, the Jews will rebuilt their Temple, after invading Israel, The Mahdi will enter the temple and declair himself God! The good news is that the antichrist will meet his end when “The Lamb of God Jesus Christ” returns to save Israel and mankind!
May 8th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
["Understand; the current battle we are engaged in is much bigger than just Iraq. What happens in the next year will affect this country and how our kids and grand kids live throughout their lifetime, and beyond. Radical Islam has been attacking the West since the seventh century.
They have been defeated in the past and decimated to the point of taking hundreds of years to recover. But they can never be totally defeated. Their birth rates are so far beyond civilized world rates, that in time they recover and attempt to dominate again."]
In response to the above, the very fact we are in Iraq is flawed thinking on the part of the Bush Administration. The object of the war should have been Al-Qaeda, their command and control, their sources of funding, and their ability to communicate with their cells and operatives. And the way in which is was prosecuted should have been total war, and the politicians need to stay out of it and let the military do what is needed with everyone understanding, and I mean understanding the following: “War in and of itself is not humane and should never be thought of as surgical strikes, etc., and winning the hearts and minds of the enemy, you take their hearts and their minds will follow. The goal should be to dominate the conflict, bring all ‘reasonable’ assets to bear on the enemy, and decimate him so he doesn’t have the ability to carry on the fight. Several things can be accomplished in this manner, it cuts down on our casualties and it shortens the overall length of a war. There are going to be innocent casualties, its a part of war, not a nice part, but it is what it is, war.”
["I watched Iran and Iraq shoot missiles at each other every day, and all day long, for months. They killed hundreds of thousands of their people. Know why? They were fighting for control of the Middle East and that enormous oil supply.
At that time, they were preoccupied with their internal problems and could care less about toppling the west. Oil prices were fairly stable and we could not see an immediate threat."]
This is exactly the point, why did we go into Iraq and destabilize the Middle East and have NO COHERENT plan or foresight in dealing with this situation. Let’s face it, there are factions in the Middle East, most of them religious in nature, which have been fighting for generation. I think the expectation was, with the removal of Saddam Hussein, the factions would start to come together and form a new central government in Iraq and be able to work together, and maybe they would if Syria and Iran would cease to interfere in Iraq’s internal strife. But it doesn’t end just there, with Imam’s and Sheiks all struggling for power in Iraq in the void of real leadership, lets face it, they haven’t had leadership for over thirty years, they had a dictatorship, but not real leadership to deal with the modern world. And to be blunt, to allow Muqtada Al Sadr to have his militia in Iraq is counterproductive to bring peace and stabilization to Iraq.
[“Yes, it is about oil. The economy in this country will totally die if that
Middle East supply is cut off right now. It will not be a recession. It
will be a depression that will make 1929 look like the "good-old-days". The
bottom line here is simple. If Iran is forced to fall in line, the fighting
in Iraq will end over night, and the nightmare will be over.
One way or another, Iran must be forced to join modern times and the globalcommunity. It may mean a real war - if so, now is the time, before we facea nuclear Iran with the capacity to destroy Israel and begin a new iceage. Read the book "END GAME" by two of our best Middle East
experts, true American patriots and retired military generals, Paul Vallely
and Tom McInerney. They are our finest, and totally honest in their
assessment of why victory in the Middle East is so important, and how it can be won. “]
I haven’t read their book, however I can say this, the American people were told it wasn’t about oil in ‘The First Gulf War’. The mistake then was, we had the troops, we had the moral imperative and the co-operation of many countries at that point in time to deal with Saddam Hussein. It was decided NOT to remove him because it would destabilize the Middle East.
So American taxpayers, who paid to send all the troops to Iraq in the first Middle East conflict were lied to about the intent of the war, it was about Oil. It was about the dependence of America on oil. We should have
taken the money spent on both Middle East conflicts or wars and spent it on developing renewable energy sources. We are going to have to anyway, according to experts who say the world oil supply will be depleted, at the present rate of consumption, by as early as 2020 and some say possibly as late as 2050. Either way, we better come up with a viable, renewable energy source to power commerce in this country and the
rest of the world. There are several sources, water turned into its constituent gases through electrolysis (hydrogen and oxygen) and the energy release obtained when they are reconstituted to water. We should be devoting more resources to developing nuclear fusion. Wind power and solar conversion are also in use today, but could be expanded. If we run out of oil, it will force us to look at these other sources of energy, and I can’t help but think, maybe naively, that this is natures way of ‘self-correcting’ some of the damage done to planet earth such as global warming and water pollution.
The other obvious conclusion is, if we had used our resources better in regards to the wars, and to developing energy independence, Iran might be a moot point. In another 20 to 40 years when the oil is gone, most of the current Islamic states will lose their financial base. Another point I would like to add is, we are using up the supply of oil in the Middle East, and when it is gone we, the United States and our ‘close’ allies, will still
have a supply of oil which has been tapped and capped in this country.
[“You may be one of those who believe nothing could ever be terrible enough to
support our going to war. If that is the case I should stop here, as that
level of thinking approaches mental disability in this day and age. It is
right up there with alien abductions and high altitude seeding through
government aircraft contrails. I helped produced those contrails for almost
30 years, and I can assure you we were not seed ing the atmosphere. The
human race is a war-like population, and if a country is not willing to protect itself, it deserves the consequences. Nuff-said!!!”]
I take exception to the above paragraph. Yes, I believe there is something to go to war for, the events leading up to 9/11, ie. the bombings of our embassies in Africa, the Cole bombing, and 9/11 itself were reasons to go to war. But who is the enemy exactly? We have defined them as Radical Islamic Fundamentalist under the umbrella or Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Ladin. We have defined some of their goals, getting the infidels (The US) out of their Holy Lands, by any means necessary, most notably terrorism. Terrorism is just another tactic in guerilla warfare. As I stated previously, if we are going to fight a war it should be a total war, the politicians should declare it then shut up and let the military fight it. I have read about Harry S. Truman, and I like him as a President. I liked his mid-western values but he set a bad precedent in removing General McArthur, and since then
politicians have inserted their influence in every conflict this country has engaged since then. I will say it again, if a war is to be fought, let Congress declare it, let the military fight it, and everyone else remain silent and let the military do ‘what it must’ in order to gain victory as expediently as possible.
[“There was a time when politicians could disagree, but still work together.
We are past that time, and that is the initial step toward the downfall of our
form of government. I think that many view Bush-hating as payback time.
The Republicans hated the Clinton's and now the Democrats hate Bush.
So, both parties are putting their hate toward willingness to do anything
for political dominance to include lying and always taking the opposite
stand just for the sake of being opposed.”]
I think both political parties are to blame, but I also see more culpable
players, the likes of Rush Limbaugh who think his view is the only view. Rush Limbaugh and many other so called “conservatives” have done more to divide this country. I believe in free speech, but I also think radio stations and the mass media should police themselves and not let the word of hate be spewed on the airwaves in America. I wish both parties would stop being “Republicans” or “Democrats” and be “Americans.” Do what’s right for the people of the country, not just select groups, and certainly not for corporations. Business’ will come and go, it is the way of a Capitalistic Economy, and they should succeed or fail on their own merit.
A side comment to this is, for all those in the media who talk about war and how it should be prosecuted, if you haven’t served in the military, you probably don’t have a perspective on what it means to serve your country in uniform, so it would be best served if you remained silent.
I will work more on addressing this letter, I think it’s important to read and educate yourself on what is truly at stake. We are only temporarily on this planet, life is hard enough, we should all endeavor to make it an easier stay.
I also have a thought about religion which I will state, “Every religion fights for ‘their’ God. It is my belief it is the same God, just a different name, and I’m sure if he felt something needed to be fought over, he could decide the outcome without our help.”
May 9th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Carl,
I see you are very intelligent and I respect your insight on this whole matter. True mistakes were made and both political parties are to blame. I agree with most of your opinion above with the exception of the last paragraph. I respectfully disagree with your belief that it is the same God shared by Christianity/Judiaism on one side and Islam on the other. I believe Islam was founded by Satan through Mohammed. I believe Islam is evil, it’s teachings are evil, it’s intentions are pure evil! Most non-muslims don’t understand Islam or take the time to study the Quran. Islam’s goal is world conquest pure and simple. Please take the time to read up on Islam’s evil teachings. Read anything written by Robert Spencer on Islam, I’m sure afterwards you’ll come to the same conclusion.
One more thing, this war is spiritual, I believe we are getting real close to the second coming of our savior Jesus Christ. Please study the Word of God and seek Jesus.
God Bless You and all your loved ones!
Sincerely,
Webslinger……
June 4th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
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