Tag Archives: Grenada

Common Sense Is Slowly Arriving

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On Sunday, Red State, reported:

My Mom, a child of the Depression and a young adult during World War 2, even in the Reagan era, was not a fan of the legacy media, then, pretty much the only media. She didn’t trust them too much, and she was fond of an (apocryphal) quote from WW2, from U.S. Navy Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, who, when asked by an aide what he should tell the press about an upcoming operation, replied, “Tell them nothing. When it’s over, tell them who won.”

That’s how military communications should be carried out. There’s a level of security that should be taken for granted, and that means, in certain cases, such as an ongoing operation, telling the media only what they need to know, when they need to know it.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gets it. To that end, he has now put an end to the media wandering around the Pentagon, unbadged and unchecked.

We need to remember that when the military invaded the island of Grenada to end the Russian footprint there, the press was not even informed until three hours after the invasion began (source here). Many Americans blamed the press for the loss of the Vietnam war. Certainly, the enemy propaganda the American press blindly repeated did play a role.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has stated:

“The Pentagon press corps can SQUEAL all they want! We’re taking these things seriously.”

“We’re not allowing everybody to roam around the building. You know, that was the policy before. If you were a Pentagon reporter, you could just walk around the building.”

“No badge, no escort, no nothing. Walk into offices, talk to anybody, who knows where there’s classified information. We’re making the rules more like you might say the White House.”

“If you want to move around the building, you’re going to have a badge. It’s going to be clear. You’re going to be escorted when you do so. And we have expectation that you’re not soliciting classified or sensitive information.”

“The American people see things like that as absolute common sense.”

I think the Secretary of War is acting like a Secretary of War.

The World Has Changed

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On Saturday, I attended my high school reunion in New Jersey. When I got back to the hotel afterward, I opened my ipad and realized that the world had changed. Iran would never again be able to bully the world with the threat of a nuclear attack. America finally dealt with the incorrigible child in the Middle East who since 1979 has funded almost all of the terrorism around the world, especially against American troops.

President Trump drew a line in the sand–he gave them 60 days to negotiate seriously. The Iranians continued to stall for time. Just like the exasperated parent of a two-year old throwing a tantrum, President Trump dealt with the situation. I can’t help but believe that some aspects of this attack were discussed with the leaders of other Middle Eastern countries when President Trump visited those countries recently. The incorrigible child of the Middle East has now learned that bullying and funding terrorism has drastic consequences.

There are several aspects of this operation that are noteworthy. Congress and the media were not informed ahead of time–so there were no leaks from those sources. In contrast to his first term in office, President Trump has people around him that support his agenda and worldview. There was no leaking from either the President’s cabinet or the Department of Defense. The sleight of hand involved in sending some of our military aircraft to Guam was brilliant. The playbook used to protect the operational security of this attack was similar to the playbook used by President Reagan in preventing a communist takeover of Grenada–the press was told afterward so that there would be no leaks.

We can expect howls of protest from some members of Congress–particularly from those in the Democrat party, although there will be some Republicans who object to keeping America and the Middle East safer. However, we need to remember that the Democrats were silent in the past when similar actions were taken by Democrat Presidents. I suspect that the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities will be popular among the American people. This will probably be one of many 80/20 issues that the Democrats find themselves on the wrong side of. Some recent Democrat actions that backfired and were also 80/20 were the unannounced raid on Mar-a-Lago, and the Trump mugshot after his arrest in Atlanta.

The Democrats need new strategists!