The light at the end of the tunnel for Hamas is most likely not there. Not when Israel, consumed with rage, retaliated following the Oct 7th barbaric massacre reminiscent of the Holocaust’s unspeakable atrocities. I doubt Israel will take many prisoners. The checkered, black and white Kaffiyeh, head scarf, is the iconic symbol of Palestine. […]
Who are Hamas?
It’s common knowledge Hamas is a terrorist group- a brutal, barbaric one- who committed atrocities in Israel on Oct 7th, 2023 in a surprise attack akin to Pearl Harbor. But beyond that, what else do we know about them? What makes them tick? With attribution to articles by Victor David Hanson (Stanford Hoover Institute), Ed […]
Trying to Understand the Middle East Muddle
This blog attempts to grasp the context of the current Israeli/Hamas conflict by offering a synopsis of the background history of a poorly understood region of the world. The overview renders some basic knowledge of the very complex mixture of vastly different cultures living there in seemingly never-ending tension. Hopefully, some familiarity may promote a […]
THE TALIBAN – Who are they?
Know thy enemy, know thy self… Sun Tzu- The Art of War. There’s a good argument that we did not fully understand the enemy or ourselves. Or, take Tzu’s advice seriously. History repeated itself in late August, 2021 with the fall of Kabul. Many Americans have a notion that Afghanistan is a nation somewhere in […]
America’s Longest War Over – Really?
This post was originally written in early September 2021, but I am now just getting a chance to post it. Newspapers’ headlines triumph fully paraded that announcement in large, bold letters last week at the top of the front page. However, our enemy, radical Islamic terrorism, has a vote in that boastful declaration. The war […]
Kabul 2021 -A Saigon 1975 Redux?
Any surviving Vietnam veteran must be experiencing flashbacks of the hurried rooftop evacuations in Saigon as the North Vietnamese stormed that capitol city in 1975. Having served as USAF flight surgeon flying air evac’s in South Vietnam in the mid ‘60’s, I quickly saw the parallel, the significance of failed policy and strategic planning for […]
