10/12/00 Let us not forget this day either,,,

Today, 9 years ago, some 17 sailors were killed and 39 or so injured.

Yep, I am talking about the USS Cole.

Another day when the Islamic Radicals were willing to blow themselves up just so they could damage or kill American servicemen and women, and express their hatred against the US. (which, incidentally, has done more to help the Muslims than nearly all of the rest of the countries in the world combined, INCLUDING the Muslim oil producing states....But I digress.

This day, 9 years ago, the US learned just how loved the US was by the country of Yemen. (see here for details of how the investigators were treated).

But I bring this up for a reason......It was the rules of engagement that were in place which allowed the bombing boat (which held a 1000+ lb shaped charge bomb) to even get close enough. Rather than have rules of engagement in place to provide for the safety of our servicemen, we had in place politically correct ROE which required that the captain or other command level officer approve even the loading of weapons, much less firing to defend the ship.

It is bullshit thinking, the deliberate hobbling of our sailors, that got 17 men and women killed and 39 others injured, some for life.

You can't be at war halfway.....Either you are in the fight with all you have and can bring to bear, or you aren't in it at all, but are merely striving hard to lose. War, like a bar fight, is won by those who fight hardest, give it all they have, and work to win.

These facts seem to be lost on the diplomatic folks (many of whom, I am sure, have never seen a fight of any kind). I learned these rules of fighting on the playground at an early age, but some folks seem to have forgotten them, if they ever learned them at all.

But these folks who are making decisions, not only killed sailors 9 years ago, but are making the same decisions today, and are getting our soldiers killed, in far away, dusty places like Iraq and especially Afghanistan.

Either let those men and women fight, and support them with all the weapons and materials that they need, or bring them home so not another dies uselessly, hobbled by some poorly thought out ROE which places them in harms way without the ability to fight hard to win, in order to prevent the possibility of harm to civilians who allow the enemy to live among them.

If our politicians, especially Mr. Obama fail to do one or the other, then the blood of those who die in the next days, weeks or months shall be on their hands.