Category Archives: Military
Greatest National Security Threat
Not only is climate change our greatest national security threat. It causes terrorism. Trust me.
Isis Oil Crisis
President Obama is so green it’s tough to get him to take his own side in a fight.
Former CIA Director Michael Morell told Charlie Rose the reason President Obama refused to bomb ISIS oil facilities was to save the environment.
Really.
Obama was also reluctant to bomb ISIS oil trucks because he didn’t want to harm the drivers. When the trucks finally were bombed, we gave 45 minutes advance warning by dropping leaflets telling the drivers to run away.
Dick Morris thinks this is “loony”. ISIS pays its jihadis with the $2 million a day it makes in oil sales. Here’s what Morris had to say about the environmental cost of putting a stop to that:
This kind of environmental fantasizing was in vogue during the Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein’s destruction of all of Kuwait’s oil fields was thought to be likely to cause huge damage. Paul Crutzen, a noted atmospheric scientist, predicted that a “nuclear winter” might ensue with a cloud of smoke covering half the Northern Hemisphere for at least 100 days. Carl Sagan argued that the effects of the destruction of Kuwaiti oil fields could be comparable to the explosion of the volcano Tambora in 1815, which produced “a year without summer.”
It never happened.
ISIS Nuisance
John Kerry thinks terrorists might have had cause for murdering cartoonists but the attack on Paris is beyond the pale. He backpedalled his statement but here it is. At least he didn’t croon “You’ve got a friend”.
He based his presidential campaign in 2004 on the idea that Islamic jihad is just a nuisance. President Obama feels the same. He wants to close Gitmo and prosecute Islamic jihadists though the US court system.
President Holland feels differently. Freedom fries anyone?
Update:
This analysis by John Lloyd of Reuters says it’s not only an act of war, ISIS is an “existential threat”.
What Obama’s Not Interested in Doing
French President Hollande pronounced France at war and promised to destroy ISIS/ISIL.
At a press conference today President Obama could barely be bothered to answer questions about his ISIS strategy. He seemed sedated. There was plenty of his customary “what we’re not going to do” line of lecturing. As in, “What I’m not interested in doing is posing or pursuing some notion of ‘American leadership’ or ‘America winning,”’
He spoke in a sort of monotone and mentioned how busy he is. Here’s a You Tube of the speech.
Veterans Day
Camp Arifjan Kuwait
Thank you to all who’ve served, from my 92 year old father-in-law in the greatest generation, to all the men and women I’ve met overseas this year. 
Since it’s Veterans Day it seems like a good time to reflect on two trips I made this year to visit troops in Kuwait, Djibouti, Turkey, and Iraq. The trips were sponsored by the USO and featured members of the National Cartoonists Society. We were there to draw and help build morale.
Our visits were promoted in advance so we’d often arrive at a facility with people lined up waiting for us. Each person took a seat at tables opposite a cartoonist. Then we drew. 
Good Morning from a guy who teaches Arabic to our troops
My method was to talk to the person while observing facial features. I’d try to get to know something about his or her background while trying to provoke a smile or frown. All the while I was drawing in ink and processing the information I was getting. If all went well I ended up with a caricature in a gag cartoon that had something to do with the person’s real life. And if it really went well I didn’t have to ask to be reminded of the guy’s name. Then I signed the cartoon to him, with thanks for his service.
Usually they love it. 
They told me all kinds of stuff, mostly about family at home, what their jobs are in the service, and what they hope to do when they get out. Sometimes they’d whip out an iPhone with pictures. I’ve drawn whole family portraits from cell phones and iPads. One guy asked me to draw a picture of his little boy born in Spain, except his wife lives in England. Whatever makes ’em happy.
It’s an intense process requiring serious concentration from an easily distracted cartoonist. It’s also really rewarding. For the most part these are special people doing a hard job they volunteered for far from home. They don’t get much recognition and they don’t complain. At least not to the cartoonist.
Veterans Day
So this Veterans Day I’d like to thank all who’ve served, especially the ones who took time to talk to me. 
