God and Country

The news of a US Army briefing seemingly supporting a doctrine of Michael Weinstein — and the firm decision by the Army to disavow the presentation — made surprisingly wide press this weekend.

At issue was a briefing given by a US Army Reservist on “Extremism and Extremist Organizations” (PDF, with notes) which listed “evangelical Christians,” “Ultra-Orthodox Judaism,” “Sunni Muslims” and “Catholicism” alongside “al Quaeda [sic]” as “religious extremism.”  (In fact, evangelical Christianity was at the top of the list.)  The briefer was apparently a Military Equal Opportunity officer, ironically enough.

An attendee of the briefing — who describes himself as an evangelical Christian — took issue, obtained a copy of the briefing, and provided it to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (CARL) and the military Catholic Archdiocese:

“Men and women of faith who have served the Army faithfully for centuries shouldn’t be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States,” retired Col. Ron Crews, Read more…

Contrary to a prior prediction that Michael Weinstein would seethe at the thought of LtGen Robert Caslen taking the helm as Superintendent of West Point, it seems Weinstein has chosen to do the complete opposite:

I am pleased to announce that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation fully endorses the United States Senate’s confirmation of the President’s nomination of Lt. General Robert Caslen to the position of Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

If only it were that simple.  The “endorsement” (cross-posted) is a veritable portrait in self-contradiction and capriciousness.  Weinstein says he is “pleased,” but later says he has “non-trivial trepidation” — yet also “wishes him well.”  Demonstrating both his repetitive redundancy and intellectual inconsistency, Weinstein says he has no idea what Caslen will “actually do,” but “he incontrovertibly deserves and merits [sic] the chance to do it.”

During Gen Caslen’s involvement in the Christian Embassy controversy in 2006, Weinstein said those involved in the scandal were equivalent to al Qaida, Iraqi militant Muqtada al Sadr, and deserved to be court-martialed.  Two years later, Weinstein Read more…

The French are reportedly entering what could be one of their most significant military operations in some years.  They are assisting their former colony, the African country of Mali, in a fight against “Islamist militants.”

Mali is being joined by France…as it tries to beat back advances by forces linked to al Qaeda…

“Every means was used in fighting the Islamists, Read more…

Though media figures have ignored it when they’ve interviewed him, Michael Weinstein has long been an avid conspiracy theorist.  As he noted when he first started his self-described “war” against “the wrong kind” of Christians several years ago, it has nothing to do with religious freedom:  His war is about American Christians trying to take over the world to persecute Jews.  Quoth Weinstein:

In Plan A, evangelical Christians with a smile on their face will ask you to please, please, please accept their biblical worldview of Jesus. The problem with that is, inevitably, Plan A morphs into Plan B. They stop asking so nicely, and then you have the Holocaust, the pogroms, the Inquisition…
 
This country is going through—right now—a transition from A to B.  Read more…

Jews in Green recently announced LtGen Howard Bromberg, US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and Col Glenn Goldman, Director of Military Instruction at West Point, will be speaking to the Aleph Institute’s 2013 ”Military Training Course” in January.  (Gen Bromberg has spoken there before, and prior speakers have included Speaker of the House John Boehner.)

The annual conference is intended for Jewish members of the military who Read more…

Michael Weinstein’s need to stroke his ego knows no limits.  Glen Doherty was one of the four men killed in Libya when the consulate was overrun.  Weinstein has been loudly touting the fact Doherty was a member of his advisory board.  Fair enough.

But when invited to speak on cable news about Mr. Doherty, Weinstein did what he is often wont to do:  He talked about himself.  Interviewing Weinstein in a split screen, Judge Jeanine of “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on FoxNews started with a simple statement:  “Tell us about him.”  Weinstein’s response mentioned Doherty only once, in the first few words [edited to remove verbal fillers]:  Read more…

Update: Terry Jones has indicated his response to General Dempsey was to ask, “How long do we appease Islam?  How far do we back down?”  He also said he is considering not showing the film, as the public reaction has demonstrated that Islam is “not a religion of peace.  It is a very dangerous religion.”

By now, most are probably aware of the murders of American embassy officials and the anti-Islam movie (as well as possible al Qaeda links) that is associated with it.

The Pentagon announced that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, called Pastor Terry Jones (of Koran-burning infamy), who had supported the film, to “express his concerns:”

“In the brief call, Gen Dempsey expressed his concerns over the nature of the film, the tensions it will inflame and the violence it will cause. He asked Mr. Jones to consider withdrawing his support for the film,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said.

Apparently, General Dempsey told Jones the film was “pornographic,” which is causing Jones to re-evaluate his support for it — meaning he apparently endorsed a film he hasn’t seen.

Meanwhile, US military leadership has received scathing criticism for its decision to engage an American civilian over an issue of American liberties:  Read more…

An Air Force Times article has an interesting summation of the feelings about RPA/UAV pilots in the Air Force:

Becoming a fighter pilot is still a hotly coveted goal at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
But slowly, a culture change is taking hold.
 
Initially snubbed as second-class pilot-wannabes, the airmen who remotely control America’s arsenal of lethal drones are gaining stature and securing a permanent place in the Air Force.

The article then says part of the reason for the “draw” to the drone career is the very-public successes of drone missions:  Read more…

Accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan — yes, he is still in the US Army — has been fined by his military judge for refusing to shave.  Hasan is required to abide by military dress and personal appearance regulations, which generally prohibit beards.  (As noted earlier, beards are also prohibited in the militaries of some predominantly Islamic countries.)

Beards are a violation of Army regulations. Hasan’s attorneys say he keeps declining to shave because he believes that doing so would violate his Muslim faith.  Read more…

A US Army article previously described an effort to help the Afghans by “turning swords into plowshares,” a potentially inadvertent reference to Isaiah 2:4.  While the text of the Bible is not as well-known as it may have once been, it is interesting to see where the American culture makes (even unknowing) Biblical references.

The US Air Force leadership did it recently, too, in their annual Memorial Day message.  Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Norton Schwartz wrote:  Read more…

According to MSNBC, the VMFA-122 Crusaders were “ordered to reverse” their decision to return to the “Crusaders” moniker.

“The deputy commandant for aviation [Lt. Gen. Terry Robling] directed VMFA 122 to maintain the unit identification as the Werewolves,” said Marines public information officer Lt. Col. Joseph Plenzler. “I called down there to confirm that they have changed the tail markings, squadron patches” and other places the squadron logo appears, he said.

The Marines gave no reason for the order, giving Michael Weinstein — who had called the Marines a “national security threat” for the move — the blood in the water he needed to claim victory and make further demands:  Read more…

US Army PFC Bradley Manning has been scheduled to go on trial this fall to face charges he was responsible for the unauthorized release of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

The judge recently  Read more…

As predicted, it didn’t take long for Chris Rodda to read last week’s write-up on the VMFA-122 Crusaders and manufacture some outrage.  She called the renaming of the unit from the recent “Werewolves” back to the “Crusaders” “sheer stupidity” and a “constitutional issue.”  Of course, everyone is aware of the clause in the Constitution that prohibits military units from having a cross on their patches.  It must be in there somewhere…she said so.

Michael Weinstein was in regular form.  Eliminating the unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, which constituted about half his statement:

“This…action…is…unconstitutional[] and…stupid[]. It [is]…propaganda…for our…Islamic foes and…a…national security threat…It will…hasten the maiming and deaths of our armed forces members…We’ll be seeing you in Federal Court, chump.”

“See you in court” from Michael Weinstein is about as threatening as “see you on the field” from the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.  Being a perpetual loser kind of undermines your credibility.

Michael Weinstein, again, says that America’s extremist adversaries — not the US Constitution nor “Nature” nor “Nature’s God” — are the barometer by which Read more…

During recent hearings on the case of US Army PFC Bradley Manning, accused of stealing and inappropriately distributing classified military documents, the prosecution indicated they intend to prove Manning’s actions aided the terrorist group:

The judge, Col. Denise Lind, said the government contends Read more…

While some will doubt the degree to which Christianity and the Bible permeate American culture, it is often interesting to see people cite quotations from the Bible, often unknowingly.  (It’s often more entertaining to see them claim something is in the Bible that isn’t, though.)

A recent article from Army.mil talked of an Army unit helping give Afghans a way to live their lives without having to fight for the Taliban to support themselves.  The Army is trying Read more…