The ISIS Apocalypse

The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State By; William McCants I purchased this book in the interest of adding to the information I have been gleaning for over a decade. The title of this one was what got me interested. I hoped that I could finally grasp what it is that inspires thousands of Muslims to leave their homelands and travel to the Middle East in their zeal to become a part of the Islamist State of Iraq and Syria. It started in earnest in June 2014 when the head of the Islamic State conquered the second largest city in Iraq, Mosel. Black flags were unfurled. They proclaimed the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth and that Judgement Day approached. It will be nearly impossible for me to provide the content of this book but I will try. The U.S. invasion of Iraq and the stupendous violence that followed dramatically increased the Sunni public’s appetite for apocalyptic explanations of a world turned upside down. Throughout the centuries this has occurred before, each time believing that the end times were at hand with the call to rise up and create a Caliphate. The difference today is the weaponry that is available to them and the potential acquisition of more devastating weapons including Nuclear and chemical. I found it extremely interesting that the Islamic State’s theology and method of engaging with scripture is nearly identical with Wahhabism, the ultraconservative form of Islam found in Saudi Arabia. Penalties are identical for the same crimes; death for blasphemy, homosexual acts, treason and murder; death by stoning for adultery; one hundred lashes for sex out of wedlock; amputation of a hand for stealing. Why America continues to support the Saudi’s just doesn’t make sense to me. The weirdest part is the belief that Jesus will return to lead the Muslims in a war against the Jews. In February 2013 the Islamic State’s spokesman proclaimed, “We will not lay down this flag until we present it to Jesus, the son of Maryam, and the last of us fights the deceiver”. I have no idea who Maryam is nor do I intend to try to find out. The point is this religion has been fomenting mayhem ever since Muhammad and will continue one way or another until such time as they and all men renounce violence and agree to live in peace, one with the other. Not in my lifetime, that is for sure. I feel compelled to add a paragraph about slavery and the barbaric treatment of captives. As an example, there is a sect called Yazidi who lived near the Sinjar Mountains which is close to the Syrian border. They were deemed falsely of Devil worship. Many were killed and many captives were enslaved in August 2014. Muslim countries had forbade the practice of slavery in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries but in 2014 Islamic scholars permitted the enslavement of Yazidi women According to a prophecy attributed to Muhammad, the Prophet foretold the Hour would be close when “ the slave girl shall give birth to her master”. Some were sold at auction. The slaves were bought by jihadists and human traffickers, who reportedly shipped them to homes and brothels across the Middle East. The following paragraph is particularly heinous to me and I am writing it verbatim from the text. “Yazidi children were not shielded from the sexual advances of the Islamic fighters. “Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female slave who has not reached puberty?” asked a pamphlet distributed by the fighters in mosques throughout Mosel. “Yes, if she can have intercourse. If she cannot have intercourse, then one should enjoy her without intercourse”. This shows the depravity of the followers of the Islamic State. Jack B. Walters February 17, 2016

Cruz’s Dirty Trick played on Carson during the Iowa Caucus

I am only writing this to be assured you understand what occurred in the Iowa Caucus yesterday. Cruz's staff sent out an e-mail and used twitter to reach potential caucus goers. It said that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race and therefore they urged those who might have voted for Carson to instead give their votes to Cruz. This was not made public until the evening was essentially over. At first Cruz and his staff denied it but I find that today he reversed himself and apologized. I guess I am a vindictive type person but in my opinion Cruz should not only apologize but suspend his campaign. He knows that most Americans do not follow elections closely. For them the record from Iowa shows Carson as a distant fourth to Cruz. I had hoped all along that those Iowans who had a chance to meet with him would, in spite of the polls, actually vote for him. Carson is the most decent candidate in the field. The press has written him off weeks ago. In the two hour Republican Debate last week he was only given 4.5 minutes to talk. I was outraged and made another pledge. I am done watching these stupid so-called debates. The panelist’s sole purpose is to have one candidate or the other engage in verbal confrontation which has absolutely nothing to do with the critical issues our country is facing. For Cruz to do such a despicable trick pulled on the last day is inexcusable. I have to ask you, any candidate that would do this; do you want him to be President of the United States? I don't. You can take it to the bank Cruz will not get my vote when it is finally Arizona’s time to vote.

To Hell and Back by Ian Kershaw

Europe 1914-1949 This is another remarkable book that provides a thorough accounting of the people, events and ideologies that occurred during these momentous years. It contains 522 pages of text and 37 pages of Bibliography which are the documents he used to create this work. It is so detailed that it took me over three weeks to finish reading. It is the kind of book that requires concentration totally different from reading and enjoying a work of fiction. It is different from most WWI or WWII books in that little is concentrated on the battles but more on the events leading up to the wars and the aftermath. The one overriding issue was the lack of regard to humanity. Whole groups were treated as if they weren’t human. They were callously murdered by the millions. The Jewish people were hated the most. Many countries had large populations of Jews. It wasn’t just Hitler. It happened in Russia and other Eastern countries. In the second war the conquered nations were only too willing to aid the Germans in rounding up and sending them to their doom and taking their former properties to their own use. Even the several years after WWII was ended the slaughter continued, but this time Germans and other ethnic groups were forcibly removed from wherever they had lived and sent back to their own country. During these years millions more were killed but this time not by gas chambers but one by one with whatever means were available. It is so unbelievable that inhumanity could be so rampant. In today’s world we think of the 3,000 victims of 9/11 as outrageous. Don’t get me wrong, it was outrageous, but compared to multiple millions over the 35 years covered by this book it is minimal. I can’t say I recommend reading except by scholars. You will have your core belief in the humanity of man shaken. Jack B. Walters January 27, 2016

13 Hours- The True Story of Benghazi

Knowing who I am, you will not be surprised that I went to the theater yesterday to see this new film. It was similar to the true story about “The American Sniper”. It is amazing to me the footage from the actual location where this story played out. It was as realistic as anyone could make a film like this. It states that it is the true story based on the reports from those involved. I am inclined to agree. The six Special Forces guys refused an order to stand down but were delayed sufficiently that by the time they arrived at the Consulate they were too late to save the Ambassador. They did rescue other staff and under intense gunfire they returned to the CIA compound. Shortly thereafter and periodically throughout the night they fought off attacks by many men who are believed to be Al-Qaeda guerrillas. They kept bringing in heavier armament and finally mortar rounds registered direct hits killing two of our men. While all of this was going on, there was a drone overhead recording what was happening. A team was assembled in Tripoli and flown to Benghazi. It didn’t arrive until the fighting had ended. The staff was then driven to the airport for evacuation to Tripoli. The White House knew and various efforts were contemplated on bringing firepower but no orders were given to release them. This was clearly a well-organized attack well planned with many men and modern weaponry. Obama, Clinton and others proclaimed for a week thereafter that this incident was because of a video produced in California and not a planned Al-Qaeda attack. The supposition of some analysts surmised at the time that it was because Obama had declared Al-Qaeda to be diminished and to acknowledge that they were the attackers would be embarrassing. The handling of this episode which continued for 13 hours was disgraceful. These people deserved whatever assistance our Armed Services could provide. To not order a response and leave them to their fate I will never forgive, nor should you. Jack B. Walters January 24, 2016

Do you ever wonder?

I must admit for the past months I have been watching and reading about the candidates for President. They as a group from both parties tell us over and over the ideas they have to restore America to its greatness. Reforming the Income Tax, becoming energy independent, creating good paying jobs for our workers, improving the health care system, solving the illegal immigration process, protecting us from the Muslim terrorists, stop the growth of debt to foreign countries and many other topics. Do you ever wonder if it is possible with our form of government that just by placing him or her into office as President that these great and wonderful achievements will miraculously appear? The President can request but cannot dictate to the Congress. The reason FDR was able to accomplish his goals was because he had his party to enact his programs. Think what has happened in recent years particularly from the Republican side. First we were told if they had the House (which initiates funding) that they could accomplish good things. When that didn’t happen they said give us the Senate so we gave it to them. How has that turned out? Since they have the majority but not super majority nothing gets past the Senate even if the House tries. So unless they can get control of the Senate even with a Republican President none of these great wonderful achievements can occur. There are so many issues that in my mind are important for our well-being, why is it that both parties cannot find common ground? It appears to me that no matter who becomes president that person will not be successful unless the Congress is overwhelmingly of the same party so your voting decision for a candidate must also be for the House and Senate of the same party. Only in this way in this Century can anything of value be accomplished. The party you choose, of course, is up to you. Don’t let the TV blitz adds funded by pacts persuade you to change your mind. They have been so successful increasingly in my life time that we have just become lemmings. Jack B. Walters January 21, 2016

Falling Oil Prices

The price of oil has been dropping over the past year to historic near record lows. This has been a boon to many industries and consumers. The credit should go directly to the discovery of fracking in America and other countries following our lead. In America many workers have been making high wages and together with their employers have stimulated our economy. It has brought America closer to energy independence from the OPEC cartel. Decreasing the exorbitant funds to these mostly Muslim countries could slow down their drive for total dominion over the world. Saudi Arabia is determined to put the fracking companies out of business and regain their control. Their strategy is working. It is reported that many American companies are filling for bankruptcies. Once this runs its course then OPEC will resume their dominance. Restarting fracking might take years to accomplish. The Sheiks in a country like Saudi Arabia can make any policy they desire while Democracies such as ours looks to the free market to decide winners or losers. Understanding what is happening our government should find the way to support our companies similar to what was done for General Motors to help them through this crisis period and prevent the Saudis’ from destroying our American production capabilities. Should that be done then they would be forced to reduce their production as the low cost is cutting drastically into their reserves and the world price would stabilize at a higher price. It appears to me that somewhere in the $50/barrel would allow our fracking industry to restart with sufficient cushion to cover their costs and make a profit. In this way we could regain our drive towards energy independence. Shouldn’t both political parties agree on this? This is such a simple idea which could avert this (in my mind) tragedy why haven’t we heard about in in the news media or from any politician? Are the two parties so locked in their hatred of each other that they are incapable of enacting sensible legislation? The answer is yes they are which is why there is so much anger by Americans with our present government which is incapable of doing what is needed to solve the problems of today. Jack B. Walters January 21, 2016

Leonard Pitts editorial 1/14, 2016 Comparing Trump to Hitler

When Hitler gathered enough support to influence the German people to vote him and the NAZI Party into power it was during the years following the Depression which was devastating to the country. He did in fact restore Germany well ahead of all other countries including America. In his popular book Mein Kampf he laid blame for the depression on the Jewish people. That turned out to be acceptable to them. In fact the Jews were made scapegoats by most if not all European countries and were singled out for retribution. That they were responsible, of course, was not true. What is happening today with Muslims in entirely different? The zealots of the Islam religion carry out atrocities on a daily basis all over the world. The leaders clearly state their goal of converting all to Islam or they will be subjugated or killed. It is that simple. Do all Muslims support this, of course not, but there are millions who do. You should be aware that our current President has done all in his power to support Muslims. His ineffectiveness in fighting them in the Middle East is proof of that. With the overwhelming military we possess we could make ISIS disappear as an entity but our forces are handcuffed to where they cannot do the job. He has placed many Muslims in positions of authority sufficient, in my opinion, to confuse any effort to slow down their march to total dominance. Every time Muslims are identified as perpetrators of some heinous act he and his staff go out of their way to protect Muslim citizens by convincing Americans that these are just isolated happenings. Donald Trump, Ben Carson and a few others recognize the threat and propose dealing with it forcefully. It will never happen during the rest of Obama’s term nor will Hillary or Bernie should one of them become the next President. As each day goes by we drop further behind. My fear is that when Americans finally understand it will be too late. The thought of Sharia Law being the doctrine replacing the Constitution is sickening to me. I have granddaughters who I want to grow and become whatever they are capable of achieving, not subjugated to a status of inferiority and dominion. Jack B. Walters January 14, 2016