Maj. Hasan’s murderous attack that killed 13 people at Ft. Hood last week was a premeditated terrorist attack. I’m tired of hearing anything otherwise. If you don’t agree, please think about these four things:

1. We know Hasan planned this attack and was prepared to die.
2. We know Hasan was prepared and brought extra loaded magazines for this killing spree.
3. We know Hasan was a radical Muslim who vocally opposed our foreign policy. The Army knew this as well.
4. We know Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar!” (“Allah is great!”) while committing these murders.

If the above is not enough evidence to document Hasan’s actions as a terrorist attack then I don’t know what else is needed. This attack is clearly the deadliest post-9/11 terrorist act on American soil. Our President, leaders and news media should treat this terrorist attack as such and respond accordingly. Similarly, the Army (and everyone else for that matter) should be on the lookout for like-minded terrorists and, when radical Islamic warning signs are found, should have the backbone to remove them.

Our troops deserve better than to have to serve with terrorist sympathizers and terrorist murderers like Maj. Hasan. For a similar, yet more forceful and detailed viewpoint please see retired Col. Ralph Peter’s article “Fort Hood’s 9/11.”

Brian Perry wrote a well-reasoned article for today’s Madison County Journal entitled “Enemies Foreign and Domestic.” This editorial highlights his visit to the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC and provides a historical review of domestic and foreign terrorist attacks on the United States.

For the sake of a quick review, Perry noted domestic terrorist attacks that included those from anarchists, the Ku Klux Klan, the Weather Underground, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Timothy McVeigh. Foreign terrorists attacks included the pre-9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the USS Cole, multiple American embassies in Africa, and, of course, those on 9/11.

Perry elaborates on the museum’s exhibit of one particularly violent Klan member, the

Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Sam Bowers of Laurel, Mississippi. Bowers was suspected in hundreds of bombings and attacks. He orchestrated the fire-bombing that killed Vernon Dahmer and masterminded the killings of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney in Neshoba County. Time Magazine called Bowers “the most dangerous man ever to don a white hood.”

Perry also wrote about the museum’s exhibit featuring the Weather Underground. As Perry noted, the Weather Underground was described by the FBI as “a small, violent offshoot of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), created in the turbulent ’60s to promote social change.” This organization has once again been in the news due to Barack Obama’s recent associations with Weather Underground member William Ayers. Perry continues:

The Weather Underground claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks including bombings of the U.S. Capitol Building, the Pentagon, and the US State Department. In an article appearing in the New York Times on September 11, 2001, one of the organization’s founders, Bill Ayers, said “I don’t regret setting bombs” and looking back on their actions, “I feel we didn’t do enough.”

Senator Obama likes to claim that Ayers’ actions happened when he (Obama) was just eight years old. True. However, there is more to it than just Ayers’ past actions. To this day Ayers remains unrepentant and even expressed regret just a few years ago that they “didn’t do enough.” Perry writes:

Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn, another leader and founder of the Weather Underground, unrepentant of their past domestic terrorism, are now engaged in peaceful social radicalism in Chicago where they formed political alliances with Barack and Michelle Obama: launching an Obama political campaign in their home, supporting him with campaign funds, and serving and working together on the Chicago nonprofit Woods Fund, as well as the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. When Obama was a community organizer, it was folks like Ayers and Dohrn in his community.

I think the following quote from Perry deserves particular attention:

Whether Obama’s association with Ayers disqualifies him from being president is a question of such serious nature it deserves more than a dismissive denial from his campaign. Imagine if Obama were a Republican from Oklahoma with ties to McVeigh; or from Mississippi with ties to Bowers.

Think about that a minute if you would. What if John McCain had an association with anybody even remotely connected to the Klan? Would we ever hear the end of it? And yet we have a known and unrepentant domestic terrorist closely associated with Senator Obama and it hardly gets a mention, let alone a headline or even a simple question from a mainstream journalist.

Perry offers this insightful look at why William Ayers and other radical individuals associated within Obama’s recent past really matter.

The President of the United States is Commander-in-Chief of more than two million men and women, active and reserve, who pledged to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Bill Ayers was one of those domestic enemies who remains unrepentant of his past crimes. Obama’s relationship with Ayers deserves a proper vetting by America’s media watchdogs. Voters can determine whether there are credible criticisms.

Will Obama defend this nation against “enemies, foreign and domestic” when he showed extremely poor judgement (at best) by not even defending his own reputation from guilt by association with so many obvious radicals? If known and unrepentant domestic terrorists are counted among Obama’s friends then how can we trust him with the security of our nation? This is a legitimate question that Americans deserve to have answered clearly and fully to their satisfaction. If you ask me, though, it sounds like an Obama Presidency would be the fox guarding the hen house.

After watching three debates and many speeches, we all know John McCain is not an eloquent speaker. His mannerisms sometimes appear strained, partly due to torture-related injuries received decades ago as a prisoner of war, and partly because he is not as refined as his opponent. However, in this election we’re choosing a leader, not a celebrity spokesman, and so those cosmetic factors should be of little concern given the grave issues we face as a nation.

With that in mind, there are at least 10 things I’d like to see John McCain address everyday on the campaign stump.  If he will fully embrace and show energy and emotion on these ten populist issues, I feel the election will be his to lose. However, if he won’t actively campaign on them, then he will be defined by his opponent and will miss the chance to paint Barack Obama as the extreme liberal he really is. Apart from a strong stance on these issues, the race will degenerate into a popularity contest for which McCain cannot win.

Here are 10 things I’d like to see McCain embrace in his campaign:

1.  Fighting pork and cutting government spending.

Obama likes to accuse McCain of using a hatchet instead of a scalpel when McCain proposes a broad spending freeze. If I were McCain I’d welcome that accusation and say “Just a hatchet? Give me a chain saw.” The simple truth is you cannot cut much with a scalpel but you can cut vast quantities more with a larger tool. Government has so much pork and excessive spending that we need a chainsaw to cut it all out.

2. Support for the War and the need to kill terrorists.

National security is still the President’s number one task.  McCain should talk daily about his successes in this area and drive home the need for a competent Commander in Chief who supports winning the War and not just withdrawing. The same should be said about Iran and their support of terrorism. Iran must also be stopped in their efforts to enrich uranium and make nuclear weapons. This is a serious international problem that the next President will have to deal with.

3. The Supreme Court.

The next President is likely to appoint at least two Supreme Court Justices as well as scores of federal judges. These are lifetime appointments. McCain says he will nominate strict constructionists. Obama supports those who will legislate from the bench. Need I say more?

4. Abortion and the right to life.

Embracing a culture of life is critical to the survival of our nation. Forty million abortions since Roe v. Wade is equivalent to exterminating more than the entire population of California. To kill that many Americans today would mean that more than 13 out of every 100 of us would have to die.  Protecting life should be talked about everyday by a candidate who believes a baby’s human rights begin at conception.

5. Support for traditional marriage.

A huge majority of Americans are in favor of protecting marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman. Obama wants to redefine and distort the definition of marriage to include same gender arrangements. Americans need to know about this massive difference between the candidates.

6. Obama’s radical friends and associations.

Obama has a history of incredibly poor judgment in the area of his friends and associations. There are so many long-term radical associations in his past that it is hard to believe him when he claims that he is not a radical himself. Americans deserve to know the full story about William Ayers, Reverend Wright, Father Pfleger, Tony Rezko and ACORN to name just a few examples.

7. Oil and energy.

Drill here, drill now. Build more nuclear power plants. Develop more energy sources. We need to treat our lack of a viable energy policy as a national emergency and work to become energy independent ASAP.

8. Taxes and the economy.

With his “spread the wealth around” Marxist philosophy, Obama must be stopped before he transforms the American tax code into one that resembles a communist system.  Obama’s promise to give 95% of Americans a tax cut when only about 65% pay any income taxes amounts to such a system. Americans must be told the truth until it hits home.

9. Dangers posed by Russia and China.

Russia and China have been flexing their military muscles in more aggressive patterns over the past few years. We need a President who is willing to confront them, stare them down, and put them in their place when they bully other nations.

10. Name names and push a reform agenda now.

John McCain needs to live up to his nickname as The Sheriff and aggressively take on corrupt interests — especially Democrats in Washington — and those who led Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac down the path of corruption. McCain called for reforms of Fannie and Freddie years ago but few know that.  During that time, Obama, on the other hand, was taking huge sums in campaign contributions from these corrupt organizations. McCain needs to name names and push a strong reform agenda now.

I think if McCain aggressively addressed these ten areas he would win a landslide victory. Most voters are looking for a leader who will leave them alone to pursue the American dream, will take on the bad guys, and will protect our national interests and traditional values. John McCain needs to hurry up, step up to the plate and build the case that he is just that leader.

On the 7th anniversary of September 11, 2001, I am thankful that we have not been attacked on our soil since that dreadful day.  I am very grateful for the incredible sacrifices that hundreds of thousands of military personnel and their families have given to protect us. I am also deeply honored by those who gave their life in the fight to protect ours. I elaborated more about those thoughts in a post entitled “Remembering 9/11” on my company blog earlier today.

I think it is fitting to commend President George W. Bush for his leadership in the war against radical Islam. I feel his unwavering dedication to offensive military action against terrorism is a major reason why we have not experienced a second attack. His move to take the battle to them on their soil has undoubtedly,  in my mind, saved thousands of American civilian lives.

Furthermore, the invasion of Iraq created a “terrorist magnet” that pitted radicals against our highly-trained and prepared military instead of leaving them free to attack unarmed civilians at home. That strategy provided an important element in our safety, I feel, by allowing thousands of bad guys to be killed and captured.

I am also thankful for the dedicated intelligence operations that have been put into place to intercept plots and plans against America and other Western targets. These noteworthy efforts are not forgotten by me.

In spite of our best intentions, though, it could all be in vain if it were not for the grace and mercy of God. I am reminded of Psalm 127:1: “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.”

I am incredibly thankful for God’s blessings on our efforts and pray for continued success both at home and abroad. May we as Americans always build and watch and pray for God’s continued good success.

Barack Obama is saying conflicting things about Iran. On some days and for some audiences Obama tells us that Iran is not a threat. On other days and for other audiences he tells us they are a threat. Which one is it, Barack Obama?

Don’t take my word for this. Watch for yourself. Here’s what he said today (June 4, 2008) to the pro-Israel AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) about Iran being a threat.

Click here to view the embedded video.

But wait, contrast this with some statements in Billings, Montana from May 18 that Iran is not a threat. (Taken from FoxNews with an earlier Obama statement saying Iran is a “grave threat” to us.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Make up your mind, Mr. Obama.  What do you really think. (Or will you just say what you think people want to hear to get elected?)

It’s time the Western world wakes up and recognizes that we are now fighting World War III. The sad truth, though, is many who should be allies are sitting on the sidelines while the axis of evil feverishly gets stronger by building weapons that could truly disrupt our lives and kill millions within seconds.

Since many barely have a clue about what’s going on, I’ll spell it out plainly. World War III is between the West (and I include Israel in this classification) and Radical Islam. The opening shots were fired in the 1970s and barely anyone noticed. Over the next decades other battles were fought and the West essentially gave ground each time. We saw the fall of Iran to radical elements, the Marine barracks attack in Beirut, the first World Trade Center bombing, the U.S.S. Cole attack, the African embassy attacks, and then 9/11. In each of these cases it was Muslim terrorists attacking Western interests. And in the case of Israel, there were too many wars and homicide bombings on their homeland, civilian populations and military to even mention at this time.

Over the past 30 years thousands of Western civilians and soldiers have died. Yet, from a historical perspective, in the grand scheme of war relatively little has been done to end these attacks for good. The American-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have, in my opinion, reduced the number of attacks on civilian targets by refocusing the enemy on trying to outlast the American military presence. In the case of Israel, they have enjoyed more peace while they have occupied Palestinian and Lebanese territories and personally handled security there (ridding them of terror elements).

But in reality, the bulk of these military moves are only temporary stopgap measures. The truth is we have not killed enough radicals to break their will and put fear in their hearts. And part of the reason for this oversight, in my opinion, is the restraint placed on Western military leaders by their civilian counterparts. In short, American and allied military forces are not being allowed to get all the bad guys simply because civilian leaders don’t have the stomach for the temporary backlash brought on by the carnage of war.

Why is this so? Because our leaders don’t really recognize that we are really fighting World War III. They seem to still think we can negotiate and smart-bomb our way to a clean outcome of containment since this isn’t really a “real” war like the ones against Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire.

But if you listen to our enemies, it’s very real to them. They want to create an Islamic state in Britain, the United States and beyond. For Israel, they want to wipe them off the map and make the land uninhabitable through nuclear fallout.

Friends, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. We are at war. We must win. There can be no restraint and no substitute for unconditional victory. We MUST prevail or we or our children will be forced to live under the curse of sharia law. This is World War III and we must fight it with all the vigor and will that we showed as Americans in winning World War II.

So it’s time to put the world on notice and make them choose sides. We should stop pandering to so-called “moderate” Muslim governments that smile at us and then finance our enemy behind out backs. We should not allow Hugo Chavez to squander the Venezuelan people for his ego trip alliance with Iran’s madman. He should be put on notice that his days are numbered since he is allied with a terrorist on our most-wanted list. He is aiding and abetting the enemy and that makes him the enemy too.

It’s time to formally align ourselves militarily with Israel just as we have with the United Kingdom and other nations. An attack on Israel is an attack on us and vice versa. Let’s work together more closely and openly fight this fight together. It’s time for Europe to end their anti-Israel bias and think about reality. Has Israel ever attacked or even threatened them on their soil as so many radical Muslims have?

Understanding and acknowledgment that we are fighting World War III should produce the changes needed to actually win this long war. It would force us to pour more resources into the fight and let the military do what they do best and that is kill the enemy and break his things. As much as I hate collateral damage and civilian casualties, we can’t be so averse to these things that it leads the enemy to hide among civilians to achieve a safe haven. The enemy must be killed and pushed to exhaustion knowing that their only safety is in surrender and giving up this fight for good.

Let’s fight World War III like we mean it and win!

I’m extremely frustrated with most Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate right now. Their lack of funding for our troops and their insistence on setting what amounts to a timetable for surrender is just wrong.

Democrats cannot truly support our troops when then refuse to fund our military for weeks during wartime, write toothless resolutions and pass a cowardly “surrender funding” bill they know the President will veto. When most national Democrats say they support our troops they are simply lying. Just look at how they have been publicly (mis)treating and bad talking our war efforts using news media outlets at home and abroad.

And who ever heard of this ridiculous notion of setting a date certain to leave a war zone when the war is still being fought? That’s ludicrous and absurdly weak. I can think of no precedent in world history for such lame actions. It speaks volumes on their lack of resolve to protect this nation from radical Islamic terrorists.

These spineless actions by most of the Democrats in Congress, especially those in leadership and all Democratic Presidential candidates, brings me to a list of things that should never be done while at war.

• Never, ever, ever give up — study Winston Churchill if you need to learn more about doing this in the face of strong opposition.
• Never, ever, ever give your enemy anything to hope for — especially that they might actually survive to see the day you leave.
• Never, ever, ever show any weakness — stay on the offensive and overwhelm constantly and decisively.
• Never, ever, ever hold back — stand ready to crush the enemy at all times using all strategies at your disposal.
• Never, ever, ever divulge information that can be used against you — don’t publicize your strategy, your timetable, or any options that are not on the table.
• Always give your troops the best — the best support, equipment, vision, honor, and anything that helps them win.

There is no substitute for victory. Any war that we enter must be won decisively. We should not enter a war with any other intentions. Peace should be maintained through a wise strategy of building allies and stockpiling strength.

Many Democrats, while stating that we have lost the War in Iraq and should leave now, are asking Republican supporters to define what victory means. This question is often asked to counter the accusation that they (the Democrats) do not support our troops and are on a path of retreat.

So with that in mind, I offer the following definition of victory in Iraq. But before stating my definition of victory, I wish to lay out a few points that leads me to arrive at this definition.

• Force is the only language terrorists understand, therefore, we must speak to them from a position of force.
• The United States is safest by staying on the offense and putting constant pressure on terrorists and terrorist regimes.
• We must operate on their turf to prevent them from gaining a foothold on ours.
• Iraq is currently the central stage in the global war against terrorism (the long War against Radical Islam).
• We cannot demonstrate any sign of weakness or it will be interpreted as a lack of resolve and encourage them to wait us out.
• Radical Islamic fighters actually seek death at the hands of “infidels” in an effort to gain rewards in the afterlife. If we weren’t there, they would follow us here to die in homicide bombings.
• We didn’t start this War but we must end it.

With these long-term thoughts in mind, the invasion of Iraq made perfect sense. Furthermore, it is inconceivable to leave Iraq now. Iraq represents the first major battle in the long War against Radical Islam where we actually got credit for firing the first shot. It was long overdue, in my opinion. Everything else before, from the 1970s to 2001 was merely a weak response to some act of terrorism committed against us. Decades of relative inaction emboldened terrorists to carry out the 9/11 attacks. I’m sure the 9/11 terrorist planners anticipated elements of the Afghanistan campaign; however, I don’t think they were prepared for the invasion of Iraq. Therein lies the brilliance of that move.

The surprise move to invade Iraq forced terrorists to shift gears dramatically and fight armed American soldiers instead of blowing up more unarmed civilians. It cut into territory they once felt they could depend on for support. It removed a regime that had provided free oil and financing to terrorist-sponsoring nations and homicide bombers. In short, it changed the landscape dramatically.

I define this successful transition in the long War as a victory. The tables have been turned and the balance has been shifted in our favor. It put us in the driver’s seat for the first time in the over 30 years that this War has been waged against us and we did little. So today, every terrorist killed or captured is a victory for us. Everyday we have a strong foothold to launch more attacks against terrorists is a victory. Everyday we secure and train allies to do the same sweetens our victory and gives hope to millions who can now grow up with a different outlook on life. Iraq, while difficult, represents a major victory for us.

So I am thankful for our troops who liberated millions from a brutal dictator and his evil sons. I am thankful our military is on the front lines taking the fight to the enemy so he is too battered to take it to us. I grieve for every hero who dies in the fight. Their sacrifice is not in vain. They have done a huge service the extent of which we will probably never know.

In conclusion, I define victory in Iraq as removing a terrorist-supporting regime and securing a place to kill and disrupt terrorists. First and foremost, we are there with our best interests in mind and fighting terrorists is in our best interests. Our military presence in Iraq created the irresistible “terrorist magnet” needed to kill them on the battlefield instead of waiting for them to invade our civilian population at home. An since a dead terrorist is no longer a threat to anyone, we gain victory in Iraq every day.