Rows of fresh-faced cadets. Hollywood quality stage lighting and sound systems. Strains of 'Hail to the Chief' cued. And... "Action!" Out prances the Capitulator-in-Chief, one Barack Hussein Obama. Using the hallowed halls of The United States Military Academy at West Point for a stage prop, the putative head of the nation's military services thus began his disgraceful address to the country on the evening of Tuesday, December 1st. Held captive for the duration were the honorable men of West Point, the inheritors of a proud legacy of selfless duty to country. The personal outrage felt by Obama's defiling presence on the grounds of the Academy still will not abate. The full text of Obama's self-serving speech of a cynical half-strategy for operations in Afghanistan are provided reluctantly at the link below.
The link is given so that the reader may review, in its entirety, the full breadth of Obama's exercise in narcissism. Thirty-four times he used the word 'I' to establish his importance in the scheme of things. Zero was the number of times he used the word 'victory' to describe the end game in Afghanistan.
So, Obama wants to "break the momentum of the Taliban." As an aside, he pronounces the name of the vulgar terrorists as 'Tolly-Bon'. Perhaps there is a Jamaican connection to the Afghan-Arab terror cells that we have not fully explored. Regardless, this statement alone from the unqualified Commander-in-Chief speaks volumes to the lack of conviction, courage, and vision of the office holder. Not so long ago, a mere sixty-five years ago, battlefield commanders and presidents spoke of total victory against enemies of the Republic.
Unlike those television political pundits with wonderfully coiffed hair -- left and right -- who give Obama a pass for an "eloquently" delivered speech, irrespective of its banal content, I refuse to offer even grudging praise. As thoroughly expected, the Obama address was one more brick in the growing monument of his self-aggrandizement. What was notable about his speech was the ever-present electioneering with which he indulged himself.
Obama seized early, often, and late opportunities to cast aspersions on his presidential predecessor as if he was still running for office -- the perpetual campaign cycle as former DNC Chairman and village idiot Howard Dean recently mentioned. From spouting wild claims of $1 trillion in war expenses, to charges of neglect in the Afghanistan theatre of operations, Obama essentially used his address to berate the Bush Administration for an imagined complete bungling of the war effort. Obama was quick to point out that "Congress authorized the use of force against al-Qaeda..." as if President Bush as then Commander-in-Chief had no active role in directing the offensive against the terrorists. This was after the not-so-veiled inference that previous administrations had neglected to 'nation build' and pour untold dollars into rebuilding a foreign society in a prescient move to stave off future anti-American hatred. Perhaps Mr. Obama had just recently viewed the movie Charlie Wilson's War and had formulated his entire Afghanistan historical perspective based upon the last five minutes of the film.
Simultaneously, Obama attacked the decision to destroy the brutal dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein while lauding a successful conclusion to the same conflict in another snipe against President Bush. The impending successful conclusion of the Iraqi campaign was couched, of course, in verbiage that hinted at Obama's skillfully deft guidance. Stung by press coverage suggesting that his administration has allowed troops in the field to languish without reinforcement or a clear agenda for victory, Obama was quick to proclaim in a response few truly believe, "Now, let me be clear: There has never been an option before me that called for troop deployments before 2010, so there has been no delay or denial of resources necessary for the conduct of the war during this review period." Okay, let's see. If that assertion were true (and former Vice President Dick Cheney has stated unequivocally that Afghanistan policy proposals were given in thorough briefings to the Obama Administration transition team), why did it take from January until July to announce his own policy initiative? Six months in a war effort is a veritable eternity -- an eternity broken by a courageous General Stanley A. McChrystal who knew he would draw the ire of the administration by publicly calling for more troops.
Continuing to parse the self-serving speech made by Obama would simply lengthen this commentary beyond that which is necessary. The speech should have never been delivered at West Point. Barack Hussein Obama has a pathological need for large, captive audiences and the applause they provide. When past presidents needed to announce important policy decisions, they used the Oval Office of the White House as the seat of presidential authority. The Oval Office also lends a seriousness of purpose to the content of a presidential address. In contrast, Obama never misses an opportunity to use a big stage to promote himself and denigrate those who preceded him. His use of the hallowed halls of West Point was as narcissistic as it was craven. Only his terminally deluded worshippers cannot see the dreadful juxtaposition of the one who despises the glorious honor and traditions of America's military culture, and the setting of one of that culture's most visible symbols. It was painful to see the men having to endure the pretentious prattle of a politician who, despite his glib compliments to the Corps of Cadets, wantonly used them for political currency. Benedict Arnold betrayed West Point in 1780. This was the second betrayal.
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Reviled by the timid and weak. Celebrated by those who value duty, honor, and country. General Douglas MacArthur epitomized the American warrior ethos with grandeur. Often criticized for self-promotion, General MacArthur used his visibility to inspire troops in the field and the civilian homefront during the worst years of war. When he spoke before West Point in his last address to the cadets, the applause did not have to be encouraged in advance by superior officers. MacArthur earned his respect with valor, leadership, and indisputably real accomplishment.
“I’m always worried about using the word ‘victory,’ because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur.”
Barack Hussein Obama
23 July 2009
And the problem with the word 'victory' is...? No, we DON'T know, Mr. Obama. Complete destruction of our enemies' capacity to make war and their total capitulation had always worked supremely well for us in the past, Mr. Obama. What really is your personal, cowardly problem with the idea of VICTORY? If you do not have the courage, spirit, and the manliness to call for victory, then get the hell out of the way and make room for a man who can. Your timidity is a disgrace to the millions of living and dead American warriors who have gone before us or serve our country today. Incidentally, Professor Obama, Emperor Hirohito was not present on the USS Missouri for the formal surrender ceremonies. General Yoshijiro Umezu and Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu represented Japan in signing the Instrument of Surrender aboard the Battleship Missouri. -- editor
And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory?
Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefields many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless...
Their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory - always victory, always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of gaunt, ghastly men, reverently following your password of Duty, Honor, Country."
General Douglas MacArthur
to the Corps of Cadets at West Point
May 12, 1962
"... al-Qaeda's base of operations was in Afghanistan, where they were harbored by the Taliban, a ruthless, repressive and radical movement that seized control of that country after it was ravaged by years of Soviet occupation and civil war and after the attention of America and our friends had turned elsewhere." Just days after 9/11, Congress authorized the use of force against al-Qaeda and those who harbored them, an authorization that continues to this day." (empasis added)
Barack Hussein Obama
1 December 2009
(continued)
There was another speech made before the Corps of Cadets, albeit given in the month of May, 1962. It was given by an aged warrior who had been a leader in three of America's most horrific wars. He has been both celebrated and criticized by those who commanded him, those who served under his commands, and the civilians who knew of his service. I cringe to think of the millions of college students, high school attendees, and even older adults who have no idea who the man was. For those who do know and truly understand him, he was a leader of unparalleled ability, courage, and effectiveness when America needed him the most. He not only understood the American Warrior Ethos, he personified it.
General Douglas MacArthur addressed the Corps of Cadets at West Point Academy in one of the greatest speeches delivered by a statesman of any age, of any nation. A full transcript of MacArthur's speech is linked below, courtesy of the website www.nationalcenter.org.
In all fairness, Obama's address before West Point was to announce military policy decisions for a specific foreign policy objective. The speech given by General MacArthur was a final note of appreciation and reverence for the institution that helped to define his being, and for a nation he loved beyond measure. What is instructive in contrasting the two addresses are the levels of motivation and sincerity contained within each.
I encourage you to read, in its entirety, the words of General MacArthur. Don't worry. His address does not stumble on insufferably the way Obama's diatribe does. Here, with the General, you will find an unbridled affinity for the American warrior. MacArthur taps into the very source of American exceptionalism with his depiction of the soldier who defends the American Republic. Incredibly insightful, he acknowledges the vexing civil difficulties of our day, and he urges the young men of the audience to transcend them. "Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government. Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as firm and complete as they should be. These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country."
MacArthur infused entreaties for soldierly bearing with words encouraging gentlemanly poise and dignified reserve. He added, "The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country. This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war.""
Day by oppressive day, this current administration actively pursues an agenda that minimizes the culture that has propagated the greatest civilization mankind has ever known. Through measures overt and insidious, he and his charges embark on a course of remaking the American experience into an image unrecognizable by the majority of Americans -- and certainly unrecognizable by the heroic general who gave over a half-century of gallant service to a most special country. "How," you might ask, "do I extrapolate all this from a single speech?" I don't. However, Obama's speech speaks to a pattern. It is a pattern of subterfuge, malfeasance, and narcissistic despotism that was evident long before Barack Hussein Obama was elected -- unbelievably -- to the highest office in the land. Make no mistake. Obama hates the land of our fathers. One needs only to read his own words, view his associations, and witness his statist agenda. The heroic grandeur of America's past leaders seems as remote under this oppressive regime as the Andromeda Galaxy is in distance from Earth. Yet, the war for the hearts, souls, and minds of the American people is not over -- not by a long shot. The efforts of citizen groups across the land bear testimony to a renewed spirit of American Exceptionalism and rugged individualism. To press ahead for the future, let us look to our past. Let us take stock in the words and deeds of the great men who led our nation in its darkest hours. Men who were unashamed of the greatness of our country and its special place in the world. Men who used speeches to rally people to achieve greatness -- not platitudes designed to curry political favor.
On the battlefields of World War I in France, the jungles of the Pacific Basin in World War II, and the forbidding terrain of Korea, General Douglas MacArthur proved his singular valor and leadership time and again. He returned to his beloved West Point to offer his "last roll call" with the inheritors of the American military experience. Even though it was a farewell address, it wasn't necessarily about him -- it was about America.
Lee A. Heilig
Men, I apologize. Although I was not involved in this production in any way, I feel badly that you had to endure this speech. Try to think upon the great men of our history who had addressed your predecessors in generations past. -- Editor
