More From Michael Scheuer......

[Deborah K]

Quite simply, there is no moral dimension to our Afghan War other than to protect the United States and the American people. That moral obligation was ignored by Bush and is detested by Obama, being Harvard educated and the good student of Rev. Wright, Saul Alinsky, and Bill Ayers. Those who believe we should, in Afghanistan, be creating a democracy, rebuilding the economy, providing women's rights, and protecting human rights are, I am sure, good people in their own way and minds. But they are, to a monstrous extent, selfish, unrealistic, and patently unconcerned with America's security. If they really want to ensure that all of the things just listed come to pass, they ought to join an NGO, become a religious missionary, or join the Afghan army. Such people are at all times entitled to waste their lives in any manner they choose.

They are not ever, however, entitled to spend the lives of America's soldier-children in anything other than America's defense. No U.S. soldier or Marine should ever be called on to be maimed or killed to make sure Mrs. Muhammad can vote or little Ibrahim can go to a secular school; they should be called on to make such sacrifices only in an effort to decisively defeat America's enemies on the battlefield or to defend its borders.

In other words, if Mrs. Clinton wants to install women's rights in Afghanistan; and if Senator McCain wants to become involved in the civil war in Darfur; and if most members of the Congress want to do everything possible to defend Israel, let them all resign their official positions and go and take up their "sacred" causes as private citizens following their personal beliefs. They would all be likely to get their butts shot off, and America would be no poorer for their loss. Indeed, all Americans would be better off because we would stop intervening in other peoples' wars and we would preserve the lives of our soldier-children for the few occasions where the application of overwhelming military power is necessary to defend America. Our moral obligation in Afghanistan is framed solely by the requirement laid down by the Founders: America first.

He sent this to me yesterday....

[Cowlesy]

<Applause>

Michael Scheuer is the best.

[amy31416]

Now THAT's an email that should be forwarded.

[georgiaboy]

Yes!
What a great read.

[Bruno]

Now THAT's an email that should be forwarded.

Indeed. Just did!

[JoshLowry]

I should include that in the mission statement.

Perfectly summed up.

[Kotin]

Bravo, Mr.Scheuer... spot on.

[AdamT]

Nice!!

[Deborah K]

I just forwarded this thread to him.....

[Cowlesy]

I sent the snippet out in an email.

[amy31416]

I quoted him on a couple of my other online accounts and sent an email out.

[Deborah K]

Thanks, Cowlsey. He said he posted it on NationalJournal.com but I can't find it.

[RSLudlum]

Thanks, Cowlsey. He said he posted it on NationalJournal.com but I can't find it.

found it here:

http://security.nationaljournal.com/...-o.php#1352882

[angelatc]

Very cool. Thanks, Deb.

[fj45lvr]

America First???

keep spreading talk like that and he'll be labeled an anti-semite.

[james1906]

He should send it to every newspaper in the country.

[Spot the Fed]

just posted it on a 2nd Am forum infested with NEOs.

[angelatc]

It's my impression that Scheuer indeed views radical Islam as a threat though. I am curious about what he thinks America should be doing.

[Cowlesy]

//

[angelatc]

Google is my friend! This is from a 2006 interview:

7. And finally, an extra question—what needs to be done?

This may be a country bumpkin approach, but the truth is the best place to start. We need to acknowledge that we are at war, not because of who we are, but because of what we do. We are confronting a jihad that is inspired by the tangible and visible impact of our policies. People are willing to die for that, and we're not going to win by killing them off one by one. We have a dozen years of reliable polling in the Middle East, and it shows overwhelming hostility to our policies—and at the same time it shows majorities that admire the way we live, our ability to feed and clothe our children and find work. We need to tell the truth to set the stage for a discussion of our foreign policy.

At the core of the debate is oil. As long as we and our allies are dependent on Gulf oil, we can't do anything about the perception that we support Arab tyranny—the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, and other regimes in the region. Without the problem of oil, who cares who rules Saudi Arabia? If we solved the oil problem, we could back away from the contradiction of being democracy promoters and tyranny protectors. We should have started on this back in 1973, at the time of the first Arab oil embargo, but we've never moved away from our dependence. As it stands, we are going to have to fight wars if anything endangers the oil supply in the Middle East.

What you want with foreign policy is options. Right now we don't have options because our economy and our allies' economies are dependent on Middle East oil. What benefit do we get by letting China commit genocide-by-inundation by moving thousands and thousands of Han Chinese to overcome the dominance of Muslim Uighurs? What do we get out of supporting Putin in Chechnya? He may need to do it to maintain his country, but we don't need to support what looks like a rape, pillage, and kill campaign against Muslims. The other area is Israel and Palestine. We're not going to abandon the Israelis but we need to reestablish the relationship so it looks like we're the great power and they're our ally, and not the other way around. We need to create a situation where moderate Muslims can express support for the United States without being laughed off the block.

[Deborah K]

Bump. Thanks everyone. Mike is enjoying reading your comments.

[Cowlesy]

The nice thing about Michael Scheuer is he never pulls any punches. There is no maneuvering, there is just "Look, you may not like it, but this is what is best for America. Take it or leave it."

It still amazes me how he still gets on TV, other than his snippets that make it online are wildly popular.

[Deborah K]

The nice thing about Michael Scheuer is he never pulls any punches. There is no maneuvering, there is just "Look, you may not like it, but this is what is best for America. Take it or leave it."

It still amazes me how he still gets on TV, other than his snippets that make it online are wildly popular.

He's taken some crap from the media for his stances. He won't give me any detail though, cuz he's not a whiner.

[Cowlesy]

//

[Athan]

Holy crap that was almost as good as the "It is not our money to give" speech.

[sratiug]

Bump. Thanks everyone. Mike is enjoying reading your comments.

Ask him, if he wanted to run for president, would he lean toward any particular party.

[Deborah K]

Ask him, if he wanted to run for president, would he lean toward any particular party.

Email him and ask him.

[ClayTrainor]

holy crap, he sure knows how to hit the nail on the head. Thanks for passing this on Deb.

In other words, if Mrs. Clinton wants to install women's rights in Afghanistan; and if Senator McCain wants to become involved in the civil war in Darfur; and if most members of the Congress want to do everything possible to defend Israel, let them all resign their official positions and go and take up their "sacred" causes as private citizens following their personal beliefs. They would all be likely to get their butts shot off, and America would be no poorer for their loss.

These are some powerful, and profoundly truthful words.

[Cowlesy]

I was thinking of something Scheuer wrote in one of his books Through Our Enemies' Eyes with respect to getting Americans to understand the perspective of Bin Laden's supporters.

To understand the perspective of the supporters of Bin Laden, we must accept that there are many Muslims in the world who believe that U.S. foreign policy is irretrievably biased in favor of Israel; trigger happy in attacking the poor and ill-defended Muslim countries, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and so forth; rapacious in controlling and consuming the Islamic world's energy resources; basphemous in allowing Israel to occupy Jerusalem and U.S. troops to be based in Saudi Arabia; and hypocritical and cruel in its denial of Palestinian rights, use of economic sanctions against the Muslim dictators. It matters not a lick if these perceptions hold water; they have been dogma for bin Laden, his followers, and tens of millions of Muslims around the world. Until that fact is accepted, America will not be able to defend itself.

How do we ever get through the media? The media will never be critical and analyze the root of the problem.

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
Henry David Thoreau

[Liberty Star]

Good read, he should get on national TV more often.