Miscellanea: Mexico, Cobra II, Air Force Morale, & “Arabism”

Think of this post as a preview of upcoming attractions....

MEXICO
In trying to gain a little distance from the illegal aliens and border security issues, I've decided to do a series on Mexico's Elements of National Power as the root cause of our ‘immigration’ problem. I’ll cover what works for them and what doesn’t, and probably set it up as a Pro & Con argument for each Element in separate posts. These will be interwoven with the other topics such as…….

COBRA II
Yes I’m still working on it. My sweet wife, who knows I take in most books like some people take a breath, turned to me a couple of nights ago and accused me over the top of one of her darned Sodoku puzzles: “You’re not reading that book are you? You’re studying it.”

Busted.

But I’m making progress. I’m finally past page 100, and have entered more ‘negative’ margin notes than I’ve read pages. It was just last night that the book laid out what I would call the first strong, supportable, criticism of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, after pretty much trying to condemn the Administration’s war effort the entire part of the book I’ve read to date.

Now that I’m getting to the point where factual accounts of actual battles will be given, the reading should get easier. I just have to be careful and not let them slip a zinger by me. Honestly, so far the most frequent thoughts this book has brought out in my mind are “Well that’s a stretch”, “Who IS this unnamed source?”, and most frequently: “Where in the blazes did that come from?

AIR FORCE MORALE
I’m still hooked in to Air Force network (and other services) by friends that were junior officers when I was senior enlisted, and relatives who are now serving. I also pick up the vibes when I visit the local BX and Commissary.

And I don’t like what I’m seeing and hearing.

I think there is a lot of Pollyannaish 'sunshine' being put out concerning Ops Tempo, Morale, and Force Structure (especially as it involves so-called 'Force Reshaping').

“ARABISM”
Like I just wrote above, I’m still hooked in to the network. My circle of correspondents (like everyone else’s circle of correspondents) send info and news around for each other to view and provide commentary. A piece came across my desktop recently that was “interesting”, but I think one of the comments that came in reply to the rest of the group merits very wide distribution. Since this person is in a position of responsibility at a major aerospace firm and is a widely cited authority on the Gulf War in ’91, I want to get permission to publish his reply from him (even if it is on condition of anonymity) before I put it on the web.