America is Not at War With the Marines

On the whole, I like living in America. I also think this country has a political system that's not the worst ever devised by humanity.

Which isn't quite the same as thinking that democracy always produces desirable results - and that other forms of government are always bad:

• "Guinea, Military Rule, and Terrorism: Beware Hasty Judgment"
  (December 29, 2008)

On a related topic, Americans have a presidential election coming up this November. I plan to vote. This time around, I think it's particularly important: because apparently the lunatics are running this particular asylum.

An Apparent Attack, and Disarming Those Big, Rough, Marines

The good news is that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is okay. The bad news is that, if an apparent attack had been a little better planned - some obliging soul had seen to it that all the big, rough, dangerous United States Marines in Mr. Panetta's vicinity - - - had been disarmed.

I - am - not - making - this - up.

"Military source calls incident at Afghanistan airport an 'attempted attack' "
FoxNews.com (March 14, 2012)

"A military source tells Fox News the strange incident on the tarmac Wednesday at Camp Bastion that occurred moments before Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived via C-17 was an attempted attack.

"This official could not say whether the local Afghan involved knew Panetta was about to arrive, but he could say it certainly wasn't any type of accident.

"Fox News has learned the attacker was an Afghan interpreter who was carrying gasoline and a lighter with him in the pickup truck, which he managed to steal from a British service member. The coalition service member was injured during the incident, possibly run over by the truck...."

That article is about the apparent attack.

This is why I think Mr. Panetta was very, very lucky:

"Soldiers asked to disarm during Leon Panetta speech"
The Telegraph (March 15, 2012)(not a typo: it's 'tomorrow' on the other side of the Atlantic now)

"US soldiers were asked to disarm during a speech by Leon Panetta, the American defence secretary, in a sign of grown concern over spates of seemingly random violence in Afghanistan.

"Less than a week after a US staff sergeant allegedly massacred 16 civilians in Kandahar, American soldiers were banned from bringing guns into a talk by Mr Panetta at a base in Helmand province.

"Around 200 troops who had gathered in a tent at Camp Leatherneck were told 'something had come to light' and asked abruptly to file outside and lay down their automatic rifles and 9mm pistols.

" 'Somebody got itchy, that's all I've got to say. Somebody got itchy - we just adjust,' said the sergeant who was told to clear the hall of weapons.

"Major General Mark Gurganus later said he gave the order because Afghan troops attending the talk were unarmed and he wanted the policy to be consistent for all....."

I don't blame General Gurganus. Like anyone else in the United States Armed forces, the hierarchy he's in has a civilian at the top. There may even have been a rational motive for 'consistently' disarming everybody around Mr. Panetta.

With the possible exception of anyone who might want to hurt the American official: and wasn't as dedicated to following the rules as Marines are.

Someone really ought to tell the lot that's running America just now: We're NOT AT WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES MARINES. The American military is not, except in the minds of some politically-correct diehards from the '60s, the enemy.

A tip of the hat to @darsen003, on Twitter, for the heads-up on the Telegraph article.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Noted: New York State Education Department: 'The Military ... Doesn't Count' "
  (March 4, 2012)
• "New York City's Times Square, a Smoking SUV, and Decisions"
  (May 1, 2010)
• "Someone Should Tell Congress There's a War on: President Obama, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab"
  (February 3, 2010)
• "Nidal Malik Hasan: 'We've Got to Promote Him'?"
  (January 11, 2010)
• "Air Force One Attacks New York City: City Passes Air Raid Drill"
  (April 27, 2009)