Christmas Day, sitting in the park in Antigua, Guatemala eating a 3 Quetzal ice cream cone....life doesn´t get much better. BTW...3 Quetz. (40cents US) gets you a double scoop of homemade ice cream topped with blackberry syrup. It´s mid-day, warm and the park is crowded with an interesting cross section of humanity. A little Mayan girl...maybe 5 years old...tries to sell me a jade necklace. Very seriously she goes into her spiel about the quality of the jade, it´s workmanship and excellent price ...$8...which we both know is double it´s real value. I smile and shake my head no. She giggles and moves on to the next potential customer. She´ll be here 10 hours today. On a nearby bench are three old guys from the States. It´s their bench during these hours. They meet here each day. Left behind at home are grown kids, ex-wives and careers that fade in memory. Guatemala is where they can live in eternal spring. These are members of our finest generation,. veterans of WWII and Korea. They earned a retirement in dignity. Down here a social security check and some Veteran´s benefits mean you live in comfort, a maid keeps the house clean, gardner mows the lawn and your deepest voiced concern is where to go that day to have a cup of the world´s finest coffee. Do their friends and families back home understand why they come here? Probably not. Mine don´t and I haven´t made that final move quite yet. But we share the knowledge that this is a wonderful place to live...and die. Familes stroll by...kids clutching balloons or Christmas presents. Guatemalan women, in groups of 3 or more for propriety´s sake walk through the park. From mid teens to early twenties they span that point of shy beauty to sultriness that lasts but a brief time until they suddenly transform into their mothers.

Out of no where the air is filled with statico explosions. To the untrained ear it seems like automatic weapons fire. Can´t be though. The guerrilla leadership is either running landscaping businesses in Bel Air or occupying unmarked mass graves on the far side of Lake Atitlan. If it was a coup I would have at least had the courtesy of a code word. Turns out it is fireworks, just another part of the Christmas celebration. The churches set off the big stuff. The municipal government buys cases of the small fireworks and then hands them out to kids to set off at noon. A sleazy trial lawyer from home would be wringing his hands  in anticipation of a law suit. But down here that´s not a possibility. If the fuse burns too fast some kid loses a finger or two, but no one screams for a lawyer.

In those seconds before I reallixe that it´s no gun fire it takes me back to my first years down here during the civil war. The Guatemalan Civil War as it was called, more an insurgency of communists, university students and clueless labor union folks, began in the 1950´s when the CIA, in one of it´s more brilliant moves combined a handful of exiles, military officers and a clandestine radio station to make it appear as if a large army was invading to overthrow a pro-communist governement. The plan worked but failure to follow up left in place a rag tag band of insurgents who instigated a compaign of low key warfare centered around asassination and infrastructure destruction. For much of the remainder of the 50´s and 60´s the insurrgency had enough success to cause a flight of foreign capitol and keep tourism to a minimum. Generals became president on a revolving door system. Finally, in the 1980´s General Rios Montt became president due to a power vaccum and some quick thinking by his case officer. I was working here at the time helping some folks with security issues. Rios Montt was most likely schizophrenic...he claimed to hear instructions from God...more likely from Langley. Let´s just say that needs to remain a murky part of history for a few more years. He instituted a particulaly brutal episode of Guatemala life. Civilian militias were created to forcibly keep guerrillas out of highland towns and deprive them of their supply base. The Guatemalan army had key units created and trained in rapid deployment manuevers and counter insergency tactics. Another decade went by, thousands died, probably more innocent than guilty. But that is the natue of unconventional warefare. The transition to peace was rough. Out of work guerrillas, civilian militia and regular army personnel turned to crime. The US and other foreign governments had to put their foot down. Local vigilente groups got fed up enough and lynchings and torchings slowed down crime. Today the Maras Salvatruchas keep the crime and murder rate at high levels. But resports of resurrgence of the so clalled dapth squads have been linked to increases in killings of the Maras. Guatemala has crime and economic issues to overcome, but it is free from the danger of a communist take over. For those of us who know what really happened and can discount the pro-socialist propaganda of Amnesty Iternational it stands as an example of what can be accomplished in Iraq. Merry Xmas to all.

As I begin this on December 7, 2006, I think back to that other December 7 that we still commemorate even to this date. My father and his three brothers all served in the Army/Air Corp as it was known then. An uncle through marriage was a Naval aviator. None had to be drafted. My father was working in an aircraft plant, which gave him a deferment. But prior to Dec. 7 he had quit and was undergoing training to fly B-17s. There are moments that are generational defining. Everyone remembers vividly exactly what they were doing that day. My father and his brother, a fighter pilot, were attending a sporting event in San Diego...I guess probably a football game (he told me but it's been years and they are both long dead).. when the announcer stopped the game and gave the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the audience sat in stunned silence, it was announced that all military leaves were canceled and all personnel were to report to their units. Hundreds of soldiers were in the audience. I'll always remember his telling me how the crowd applauded those exiting the stadium. An applause continuing until the last man had left. That generation had no doubts. No question as to the mission. No rules of engagement. No polls. They had a job to do at what ever the cost. By the way, all four brothers and my uncle survived the war. Dad had to bailout over Italy but was rescued. My uncle had two carriers shot out from underneath him, but went on to a long and distinguished career as test pilot and engineer. The only one to die in service was an uncle involved in flying secret missions after the war against the Soviets.

So where are we now? The day of the election the defeatists in both parties came out in force. A loss at the ballot box puts into power a cabal of America haters. Immediately, the cries of retreat, defeat, cut and run fill the airwaves. But are we really loosing? Do you read of huge numbers of downed aircraft? Tank battles against Iraqi armor? Of course not. Saddam's airforce last flew offensively for about twenty minutes against the US in Desert Storm. The Iraqi tanks stupid enough to fight back this time had life spans measured in minutes. Today, if insurgents and their terrorist allies dare to stand and fight...and not from the shelter of a mosque or school or hospital.. they are decimated. IF our troops are allowed to fight back.

That is the crux of the matter. We have to allow the troops to fight back using the full might of our armed forces. All of Iraq is not engulfed in war. Go to the northern third of the country. Kurdish markets thrive, with no car bombers. Not a week goes by in those towns without a new business opening up and more people getting jobs. Why? Because the Kurdish people and their militias will settle for nothing less. Insurgents are dealt with instantly and brutally. American soldiers are respected allies. The people in the south are vigorously fighting the insurgents. It is only in the region around Baghdad that chaos is a danger. Here, American soldiers are harangued constantly to avoid civilian casualties and collateral damage. These are the same civilians who, when an American vehicle is hit, come out and dance on the wreckage.

We need rules of engagement that allow are troops to go after the enemy with full force where ever they hide. Ever notice how many people are talking on cell phones in news from Baghdad? Why? Cell towers are impossible to defend since they must be everywhere. Why do they and certain key  industries function?  They aren't counting on the army to defend them. Private security forces are in place. Someone attacks...they die..as do those connected to them. What should be the military's rules of engagement? If a town or area revolts and sides with the enemy, then you surround them. Leaflet and announce that they have a limited time to evacuate. Search all who leave. Military age men are to be detained until their loyalty is accertained. At the end of the grace period, artillery and air power destroy everything in the cordoned area. Yes, people lose homes and businesses. And they learn the penalty for aiding the enemy or permitting their unreported presence. Hardly a week goes by that you don't see MSM reports showing the enemy walking the streets with weapons in hand. This should be grounds for instant execution. 

It is estimated that at best there are 15-20,000 insurgents in Iraq. Their heaviest weapons are AK-47s and RPGs. Most of our casualties and not caused by these but the improvised munitions..artillery shells set to explode. When they are used in an area, retaliation against that area must be swift and overwhelming. In an ideal world there wouldn't be collateral damage. But when you are fighting against people who have sworn to destroy Christian civilization and replace it with their own filthy beliefs you do what must be done.

No doubt when many read the title of this post thoughts of Hugo Chavez or Daniel Ortega come to mind. I'll deal with both in future posts. But this is about much closer to home in Oaxaca, Mexico. The latest reports I received just today speak of Marxist led mobs burning buildings in the center of historic Oaxaca. Buildings and cultural monuments that have lasted centuries are now in ruins. They may be able to be repaired, but further damage has been done.

The MSM has been pretty much ignoring what happens in Oaxaca. Yet the problems there are symptomatic of a greater cancer infesting all of Mexico.

Oaxaca has long been a popular tourist destination with a beautiful, colonial center highlighted by a Zocalo ringed with charming restaurants. The outlying villages in the state are known for their handicrafts, producing everything from amazing wood carvings to world class weavings. Two of the great pre-Colombian civilizations of Mexico make their homes there, leaving behind magnificent ruins. But there is another side to Oaxaca. It is one of the poorest states in Mexico. Lacking a well developed infrastructure and modern farming technologies large numbers of it's inhabitants have joined the hordes of illegal aliens invading the U.S. Many of these are Mixtec and Zapotec Indians who even today suffer discrimination at the hands of their countrymen worse than blacks in the '50s south. While the city of Oaxaca is a charming home to many expats from the U.S. the countryside is mired in poverty little changed from a hundred years ago.

Last spring 30,000 teachers in the state went out on strike,  calling for higher wages and better schools. Wages for any teacher in Mexico tend to be poor. Many of the rural teachers have no better than a high school education and work for a pittance. Classrooms are often bare bones affairs where books and materials are scarce. Few could argue that their demands were legitimate. But the strike soon took on a life of its own as other issues were raised and outsiders with a more sinister and Marxist agenda infiltrated and in many places took control of the strike under the banner of the Oaxaca People's Assembly (APPO).

A focal point of contention was the Governor, Ulises Ruiz, of the PRI. The PRI had ruled Mexico for 70 years using a combination of bribery, corruption, electoral fraud and an iron fist. This monopoly of power was broken with the election of Vincente Fox as president in 2000. But Fox never achieved the goals he promised. Oaxaca remains a PRI stronghold, especially in rural villages, where the PRI leadership control everything from access to electrification to farm credits to jobs on public works projects. I was in Oaxaca in the time leading up to the governor's election in 2004. A splintered opposition could only complain of fraud while the still entrenched PRI electoral machine stole the election. Weakness at the federal level stopped the results from being effectively challenged. In the last two years the local PRI office holders have actually increased the looting of the treasury, perhaps realizing that their time was limited.

APPO increased their tactics of confrontation. More and more scenes of masked, rock throwing crowds made their way into the media. The university, long considered autonomous, was occupied. Even churches were not immune. Tourism faded away and many tourist related businesses teetered on the brink of collapse. People have disappeared...at whose hands still often remains in question. Many believe  that APPO is behind much of the attacks on the more moderate followers in order to whip up public sentiment. After months of confrontation the teachers agreed to return to work...seemingly without accomplishing much. APPO responded to the threat of their support base abandoning them with an increasing series of attacks and provocations on the authorities. Oaxaca is a transport hub and repeated demonstrations have blocked highways. Finally, federal police forces, the PFP, backed by armored cars and water cannon were sent in to restore order. They were met in places by APPO barricades and molotov cocktails. Scattered shooting occurred thought this time from both sides. APPO also employed very crude homemade rocket launchers and firecrackers surrounded with nails. It was during this time that Brad Will, an American anarchist, was shot and killed while filming APPO thugs in a street battle. To date there remains controversy as to who the shooter was. The anarchists, many carrying red flags, continue to disrupt the life of Oaxaca. At this writing there is no resolution in sight. In fact things may be about to get worse.

This needs to be looked at in context of the greater political crisis facing Mexico. Following the last presidential election, the loser, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, refused to concede his loss despite the fact that both domestic and foreign observers declared it to be one of the cleanest elections in Mexican history. Since then AMLO and his followers have undertaken a series of actions to disrupt the Mexican economy and political life. AMLO has been compared on numerous fronts to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, especially in how Chavez used the mob to consolidate his power. AMLO followers have demonstrated and blockaded roads in Mexico City and elsewhere. Several times the capital has been so disrupted as to shut down many businesses. He recently swore himself in as Mexico's "shadow president", setting the stage for possibly years of disruption. He has promised to disrupt the upcoming presidential inauguration. His followers in Congress have been disrupting legislative sessions.

Going back to Oaxaca, his supporters have already visited the city to further fan the flames of anarchy. The continued crisis can only further increase the flood of illegal aliens coming from the region to the U.S.The ongoing debate about defending our borders can only become more critical. With the Democrats threatening to stop the fence and Bush pushing amnesty the invasion of our borders can only become more intense.

When I saw the headline proposing a new draft I at first thought someone was making a sincere effort to deal with the military's manpower issues. Then I saw that the proposal was brought forth by Rep. Charlie Rangel D-NY. Alarm bells went off. This is not a man noted for his support of the military, the war on terrorism or national security. Further research showed that he had been proposing such legislation every year since Iraq was liberated. By his own admission this in not an attempt to help the military but rather further politicize the war. He feels that a draft will cause further protests against the war. In other words, he wants to reinstate the dark days of Vietnam where our troops fought a fanatic enemy only to come home to scorn. Every piece of legislation he introduced was promptly voted down. But now, with the incoming House and Senate leadership one has to wonder what kind of legislation will be rammed through.