I read at a couple of places the king of Jordan has decided to fly bombing missions to approving applause. I do not know if he meant it. I do not know if he is expressing bravado or what. I am hearing that he already has. The fierce reaction seems very ancient, ISIS burning a pilot as due retribution for the Jordanian pilot burning them, burying the pilot in rubble because the pilot buried them in rubble. Literally an eye for an eye ancient type retribution, this is Old Testament stuff and this is the reaction of clans, it is where they are, where we all are when we engage them. And all this reminded me of the stories of ancient kings before Christian sense of modesty was invented, who set off to war publicly displaying an erection assuring the admiring court and witnessing subjects the king has a boner for war and the bigger the better.
The part I found interesting is the braggadocio, [we will pursue the jihadists until we run out of] "fuel and bullets."
Then what, you'll stop and go home? It seemed an odd place to stop. You expect, "until they are annihilated, until they sue for peace, until nothing is left, until the end of time," but until we run out of bullets?
Signaling, it seemed to me, "give us fuel and bullets, equipment and money, and we will fling it."
Daily Caller (a dreadful site with auto play videos, advertisements all over, slap happy pop-up messages and polls and invitations, and meth-head java script writer)
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One story claims the king in a meeting with US representatives quoted from the movie Unforgiven.
"Hunter would not say which part of "Unforgiven" the king quoted , but noted it was where Eastwood's character describes how he is going to deliver his retribution. There is a scene in the picture in which Eastwood's character, William Munny, says, "Any man I see out there, I'm gonna kill him. Any son of a bitch takes a shot at me, I'm not only going to kill him, I'm going to kill his wife and all his friends and burn his damn house down."
He probably does need bullets.
WE all do.
I'm going to assume that wearing a pressurized flight suit poses certain anatomical challenges.
Which maybe explains a lot.
For as it has been written, so it is true, that whoso shall pop a boner piloting this aircraft, the same is rightly born King of Jordan.
Why can't Obama suit up and get busy?
He's been placed on a pedestal like a god. Come on Obama - work for it.
Fore!
Chip Ahoy said (in his post)...
The part I found interesting is the braggadocio, [we will pursue the jihadists until we run out of] "fuel and bullets."
Actually that could be his only option. In the sweep in to Iraq in 2003, we, the US military, ran short of bullets...so much so that we shipped American munitions maker boxes to Israel and they supplied the necessary additional bullets...in the US labeled boxes and cans. In some cases we shipped US made cartridges to the battle field and had Israel ship their contribution to the US for training purposes.
We once were the "Arsenal of Democracy" and are certainly capable to providing what ever materiel and materials are needed to an ally. That we don't cut the red tape and just do so is a political choice, one that makes our hollering and yelling about "why don't the good Muslims rise up against the bad Muslims", etc., a rather hollow argument. When one indicates it is willing, we shirk? It's embarrassing.
Our mouth outruns our brains at times in this administration, and some predecessors as well. Think the **go with what you have** guy's concepts....when we in fact did not have enough bullets and knew it. If you do not have enough, you will be over run sooner than later.
We could even have Israel make the cartridges and pack then again in US labeled boxes...so not to make a diversionary issue writ large.
Still, it boggles my mind that a tiny country far away could out produce us for the elementary supplies for battle. I know for a fact that we have the capacity, but for the red tape in DC.
Full disclosure: I have a bias in favor of Jordan, somewhat. Quite by accident of coincidence I met Najeeb Hallaby at a trap & skeet range we both were at when Mr Hallaby was the guest of the range owner. I was a member because I knew the owner too....it was a private range. A couple of times Hallaby brought his kids with him to the range, and his daughter, Lisa, was barely a teenager then, but magnetically charming. She grew up to be Queen [Consort] Noor of Jordan. Najeeb Hallaby himself was also very interesting and had no overbearing traits in his personality when he strangers.
How would you answer ISIS burning a Jordanian pilot to death if you were the head of that state? I think the King's words are the right words and way overdue. Especially in the vacuum wrought by Obama.
Wasn't the reason the King was in the States in the first place to get munitions released? Word is that Jordanian intel already knew the pilot was dead.
When was the last time the West had a ruler who was simultaneously a general? Napoleon? Personally I'd like to bring back Vlad the Impaler. He was brutal, but he stopped the Ottomans.
Sandhurst grad, served in Her Britannic Majesty's forces as recon troop commander, then as an armored officer in his own country.
Airborne/freefall qualified, also Cobra gunship qualified. Oxford and Fort Knox grad, also.
Yeah, I'd say he packs the gear.
Sounds like he talks the talk, and then has the balls to walk the walk.
Christy, Albert I of Belgium was the actual commander of Belgium's armed forces during WWI, supposedly, occasionally from the front. It sounds like his entire family were in uniform, his queen was a nurse at the front, his heir was enlisted as a private in the ranks.
His son Leopold III, the aforementioned crown prince and enlisted heir, likewise took command of the Belgian armed forces in 1940, and against his prime minister's virulent objections, surrendered the army at Neiuport rather than leave the last sliver of unoccupied Belgium. For this he was afterwards known as "Traitor King" and "King Rat", and was replaced by a brother acting as regent after the liberation.
Thanks, Mitch. I'm woefully ignorant of non-English recent history and couldn't craft a useful Google search. While I admire King Abdullah II, I choose to prefer our separation of the administration and military.
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