Friday, November 17, 2006
Hezbollah, Samir Kuntar, Leon Klinghoffer
Remember the Achille Lauro? An innocent American was murdered by Hezbollah backed Samir Kuntar, now resting comfortably in an Israeli Prison. We know the evil that we fight, but here is it's face
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Islamic Reformists -- A Matter of Life and Death
By
Robert T. Jordan
For modern Muslim reformists, a 21st Century interpretation of the Qur'an assures that: Man was created free, with a mind and a mission on earth to do good and avoid evil. His allegiance is to God and no one else. God will judge man for his deeds in the hereafter –- not anyone else. Man bears full responsibility for his deeds. Thus, freedom and responsibility means accountability. If these are the bases of the relationship with God Almighty, it should be the bases for all human relations in this world as well.
As Islamic fascist groups, such as Al Aqsa, Abu Sayaf, The Egyptian Brotherhood, HAMAS, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, rein terrorism throughout the world, the question arises as to why Islam’s moderates do not restrain this supposedly minority faction that high jacked their religion.
I posed these questions at a church briefing about Islam by an Arab Christian convert. “What happened to the Islamic reformists? Why aren’t the Islamic moderates responding with outrage?”
Our guest speaker smiled wryly, making a motion as if casting a fishing line into the water. “They are in the pond,” he said. “And al-Qaeda fishes for them. If they do not covert, they are killed.”
What I was referring to is a struggling group of moderate Moslems who urge fellow Moslems to initiate a modern interpretation of the Qur'anic text that would be in harmony with 21st Century ethics and civil thought.
The reformists base their call for Moslems to respect freedom of thought upon their interpretation that Allah (God) refrained from providing any worldly punishment any deviation or change of heart or mind on matters of religious faith. They assert that any penalty for such would be the province of God on judgment day.
Advocating Servility
Saad E. Ibrahim, in his article: Democratization and Islamic Reformation, points to many Qur'anic verses where Mohammad is commanded to abstain from harsh manners in advocating the new faith of Islam:
"Invite all to the way of the Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious, for the Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His path." [Verse 125, Sura 16, al Nahl] "Those who spend freely, whether in prosperity or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon all men; for God loves those who do good." [Verse 134, Sura 3, Al Omran]
“In the last ten years, Muslim militants killed thirty times more fellow Muslims than non-Muslims. In other words, the wrath of Islamic zealots is more directed against other Muslims, whom they consider ‘corrupt’ or ‘decadent’.’” Ibrahim says. “The question, therefore, is, what are the roots of this madness, and whether something can be done about it?”
But Islamist radicals want to ignore these parts of the Qur'an. They want to take all of Islam back to the 7th Century’s strict punitive controls and ignore any parts of the Qur'an that support freedom and equality other than their limited view.
Former Tunisian Education Minister Mohammed al-Sharafi told a gathering of Moslem moderates in 2004 that, "if a child learns an idealized view of the past that sanctifies its history and tradition, then looks around and sees in society what goes against what he's learned, he will have some sort of a schizophrenia that might lead to violence." This disconnect is easily exploited as the terrorist leaders prey upon naïve youths to sacrifice themselves for their idealized goal of one global theocratic state.
Ibrahim wonders which version of the Qur'an will be taught to future generations.
The Charter of Medina
The Charter of Medina embodies the Prophet Mohammed's understanding and practice of pluralism. Upon his flight from Mecca to Yathrib in 622, he proposed a new name for it -- "civicus," or "medina" in Arabic. Muslim newcomers were to co-exist peacefully with non-Muslim communities and tribes in the same city. A written Charter negotiated and signed by the elders of 17 distinct groups in Civicus (The Charter of Medina) asserts the basic values and rights of the peaceful coexistence, including:
• Freedom of religious belief and worship for each and all;
• equality in all worldly rights and obligations,
• communal settlement of disputes, and
• shared responsibility in the defense of Civicus against outsider threats.
Coming nearly six centuries before the Magna Carta (1215), the Charter of Medina is probably the earliest formulation of the basis of what later on defined "civil society."
Conservative Reaction to Reform
Where Islamic reformists see peace and harmony in their modern interpretations of the Qur'an, conservative activists see danger. Ibrahim points out that conservatives closely allied with the heads of Islamic governments control all media and education. They also use Islamic law to proscribe, intimidate and persecute any reformists brave enough to speak out.
Ibrahim explains that the militant Islamists response to the reformist movement of the 1970s was to take direct action against the reformists by intimidating, assaulting or assassinating them.
“Two dramatic cases in point were the kidnapping and killing of Sheikh al Dhabi in July 1977 and the assassination in daylight of Dr. Faray Fouda, shortly after a public debate with an arch-conservative sheikh in June 1992,” Ibrahim explains: “Worse still is when the arch-conservatives incite the state to persecute Islamic reformists. The most dramatic case in point is the execution of four leading Sudanese Islamic reformists, known as the Republican Brothers, in January 1985, on charges of ‘heresy’ and ‘apostasy’. Their religious crime was their public rejection of the Shari'aa, as handed down from the ulama of ten centuries ago.”
What Must Be Done
The Islamic reformists stress that the Qur'an must be reinterpreted from an “ancient” 10th Century understanding into modern terms that harmonize with current thought.
They point to the dark periods of Christianity, such as the Inquisition and the crusades, when church and state were inseparable. They point out that “pure spirituality” came within the Christian faith only after the Reformation, which introduced the concept of separation of church and state.
That will only come through a democratization of Islamic governments that adopt concepts of individual liberty and the separation between religious belief and governmental law.
But democracy alone is not the answer. As seen in Palestine and Lebanon, democratic elections may be co-opted when fanatical factions are capable of unduly influencing the process by external support and influence.
The seeds of moderate thought and individual freedom cannot thrive very well in the hostile environment of Islamic fascism. But evidence exists that the planted seeds only need encouragement and support to flourish. The alternative is enslavement or death.
(Robert Jordan is a Former PAO Major with the United States Marine Corps and Beirut Veteran)
Robert T. Jordan
For modern Muslim reformists, a 21st Century interpretation of the Qur'an assures that: Man was created free, with a mind and a mission on earth to do good and avoid evil. His allegiance is to God and no one else. God will judge man for his deeds in the hereafter –- not anyone else. Man bears full responsibility for his deeds. Thus, freedom and responsibility means accountability. If these are the bases of the relationship with God Almighty, it should be the bases for all human relations in this world as well.
As Islamic fascist groups, such as Al Aqsa, Abu Sayaf, The Egyptian Brotherhood, HAMAS, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, rein terrorism throughout the world, the question arises as to why Islam’s moderates do not restrain this supposedly minority faction that high jacked their religion.
I posed these questions at a church briefing about Islam by an Arab Christian convert. “What happened to the Islamic reformists? Why aren’t the Islamic moderates responding with outrage?”
Our guest speaker smiled wryly, making a motion as if casting a fishing line into the water. “They are in the pond,” he said. “And al-Qaeda fishes for them. If they do not covert, they are killed.”
What I was referring to is a struggling group of moderate Moslems who urge fellow Moslems to initiate a modern interpretation of the Qur'anic text that would be in harmony with 21st Century ethics and civil thought.
The reformists base their call for Moslems to respect freedom of thought upon their interpretation that Allah (God) refrained from providing any worldly punishment any deviation or change of heart or mind on matters of religious faith. They assert that any penalty for such would be the province of God on judgment day.
Advocating Servility
Saad E. Ibrahim, in his article: Democratization and Islamic Reformation, points to many Qur'anic verses where Mohammad is commanded to abstain from harsh manners in advocating the new faith of Islam:
"Invite all to the way of the Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious, for the Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His path." [Verse 125, Sura 16, al Nahl] "Those who spend freely, whether in prosperity or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon all men; for God loves those who do good." [Verse 134, Sura 3, Al Omran]
“In the last ten years, Muslim militants killed thirty times more fellow Muslims than non-Muslims. In other words, the wrath of Islamic zealots is more directed against other Muslims, whom they consider ‘corrupt’ or ‘decadent’.’” Ibrahim says. “The question, therefore, is, what are the roots of this madness, and whether something can be done about it?”
But Islamist radicals want to ignore these parts of the Qur'an. They want to take all of Islam back to the 7th Century’s strict punitive controls and ignore any parts of the Qur'an that support freedom and equality other than their limited view.
Former Tunisian Education Minister Mohammed al-Sharafi told a gathering of Moslem moderates in 2004 that, "if a child learns an idealized view of the past that sanctifies its history and tradition, then looks around and sees in society what goes against what he's learned, he will have some sort of a schizophrenia that might lead to violence." This disconnect is easily exploited as the terrorist leaders prey upon naïve youths to sacrifice themselves for their idealized goal of one global theocratic state.
Ibrahim wonders which version of the Qur'an will be taught to future generations.
The Charter of Medina
The Charter of Medina embodies the Prophet Mohammed's understanding and practice of pluralism. Upon his flight from Mecca to Yathrib in 622, he proposed a new name for it -- "civicus," or "medina" in Arabic. Muslim newcomers were to co-exist peacefully with non-Muslim communities and tribes in the same city. A written Charter negotiated and signed by the elders of 17 distinct groups in Civicus (The Charter of Medina) asserts the basic values and rights of the peaceful coexistence, including:
• Freedom of religious belief and worship for each and all;
• equality in all worldly rights and obligations,
• communal settlement of disputes, and
• shared responsibility in the defense of Civicus against outsider threats.
Coming nearly six centuries before the Magna Carta (1215), the Charter of Medina is probably the earliest formulation of the basis of what later on defined "civil society."
Conservative Reaction to Reform
Where Islamic reformists see peace and harmony in their modern interpretations of the Qur'an, conservative activists see danger. Ibrahim points out that conservatives closely allied with the heads of Islamic governments control all media and education. They also use Islamic law to proscribe, intimidate and persecute any reformists brave enough to speak out.
Ibrahim explains that the militant Islamists response to the reformist movement of the 1970s was to take direct action against the reformists by intimidating, assaulting or assassinating them.
“Two dramatic cases in point were the kidnapping and killing of Sheikh al Dhabi in July 1977 and the assassination in daylight of Dr. Faray Fouda, shortly after a public debate with an arch-conservative sheikh in June 1992,” Ibrahim explains: “Worse still is when the arch-conservatives incite the state to persecute Islamic reformists. The most dramatic case in point is the execution of four leading Sudanese Islamic reformists, known as the Republican Brothers, in January 1985, on charges of ‘heresy’ and ‘apostasy’. Their religious crime was their public rejection of the Shari'aa, as handed down from the ulama of ten centuries ago.”
What Must Be Done
The Islamic reformists stress that the Qur'an must be reinterpreted from an “ancient” 10th Century understanding into modern terms that harmonize with current thought.
They point to the dark periods of Christianity, such as the Inquisition and the crusades, when church and state were inseparable. They point out that “pure spirituality” came within the Christian faith only after the Reformation, which introduced the concept of separation of church and state.
That will only come through a democratization of Islamic governments that adopt concepts of individual liberty and the separation between religious belief and governmental law.
But democracy alone is not the answer. As seen in Palestine and Lebanon, democratic elections may be co-opted when fanatical factions are capable of unduly influencing the process by external support and influence.
The seeds of moderate thought and individual freedom cannot thrive very well in the hostile environment of Islamic fascism. But evidence exists that the planted seeds only need encouragement and support to flourish. The alternative is enslavement or death.
(Robert Jordan is a Former PAO Major with the United States Marine Corps and Beirut Veteran)
Sunday, September 24, 2006
A Warning on Terriorism
Major Warns of Terrorism
U.S. Marine Jordan tells of surviving suicide bombing
By Masha Rifkin
Sep 18 2006
Deckhead: U.S. Marine Jordan tells of surviving suicide bombing
On October 23, 1983, a Hezbollah suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives to Beirut International Airport, where the U.S. Marines had set up their headquarters. Once outside of the barracks, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives, resulting in the deaths of over 241 servicemen. Major Robert Jordan, a former marine and homeland security expert who spoke yesterday about his experiences, was one of the few survivors of the attack.
At the time, Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war and had asked the Marines to intervene and evacuate the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
According to Jordan, the Marines had just begun to succeed in this task, when Hezbollah thought they would be able to silence them and send them home with their tail between their legs.
“This was the moment of truth,” Jordan said referring to the aforementioned attack. “We were being tested culturally, politically and militarily.” Soon after the attack, President Ronald Reagan decided to withdraw from Lebanon — an action that Jordan disagreed with. “Folks, we failed that test,” he criticized. “[If we had passed it] there might not have been a Gulf War, or Somalia or Kosovo.”
Jordan explained that Islamists “do not want to compromise, they want to re-establish the caliphate as it was in 1675.” To all those who view negotiation as the only solution to conflict, Jordan said, “War is a failure of diplomacy, and we should use it sparingly. But when it is used, it should involve only total force and total victory.”
Jordan emphasized that terrorism is real and is a continuous threat. “People are afraid to point fingers and make accusations … but we have to get back to reality.” He said that while the American public argues over whether or not the Bush Administration entered Iraq for oil, Iran and other Islamist nations are “using oil money to finance terrorism.”
According to Jordan, many Americans sit too complacently denying the idea of Islamo-fascism, while future terrorists infiltrate our society and universities. “As weird as it sounds, Osama bin Laden did us a favor — he exposed what’s going on,” Jordan said. Still, Jordan believes the American public forgets too quickly. One should “be open minded enough to educate oneself to the reality of what’s going on. There are people in the world who don’t care about you and me…just power and control,” he stressed.
“This one is for all the marbles,” Jordan continued. If Americans stay on their path of denial, Islamism will soon infiltrate American society, and we will be given “three choices: convert to Islam, pay a huge punitive tax for living under their regime, or [Islamists] will be happy to liberate your head.”
So what can we do to make sure that our heads and necks stay attached? “You should not be intimidated or terrified by terrorism,” Jordan reiterated. “You should understand it.” In his lecture, Jordan paraphrased a quote by Thomas Jefferson: “It is criminal for our generation to pass on our duties and obligations to the next.” Jordan expressed that his generation had failed in that regard — by the marines’ failure to finish their job in 1983 and in other instances. Now, our generation and the generations of our children and grandchildren have received the burden of living in, and attempting to eradicate, the time of terrorism.
“Your responsibility is to teach future generations.” He further explained that he is “tapped” into the Department of Homeland Security and sees regularly how terrorist plots are neutralized: “People like you and me see suspicious activity and send it in to the authorities.” He then described, “Specialists then analyze those that are deemed of the most importance.”
Jordan continued that moderate Muslims, who understand the regime they live in, are either silenced or killed, but to successfully win the war on terror, their voices must be supported. He referenced a friend who said, “They are in the pond — and al-Qaeda is fishing for them.”
Overall, students seemed to react positively to the lecture.
“It was interesting to hear the perspective of someone from the military community and therefore personally and intimately involved in the Middle East conflict,” said Daniel Balson ’07.
Tatyana Rozenberg ’07 said, “It was very refreshing to have someone like Major Jordan on campus. It seems most people today, especially on college campuses, are blind to the reality of what’s going on.”
By Masha Rifkin at Sep 18 2006 - 11:31pm
U.S. Marine Jordan tells of surviving suicide bombing
By Masha Rifkin
Sep 18 2006
Deckhead: U.S. Marine Jordan tells of surviving suicide bombing
On October 23, 1983, a Hezbollah suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives to Beirut International Airport, where the U.S. Marines had set up their headquarters. Once outside of the barracks, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives, resulting in the deaths of over 241 servicemen. Major Robert Jordan, a former marine and homeland security expert who spoke yesterday about his experiences, was one of the few survivors of the attack.
At the time, Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war and had asked the Marines to intervene and evacuate the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
According to Jordan, the Marines had just begun to succeed in this task, when Hezbollah thought they would be able to silence them and send them home with their tail between their legs.
“This was the moment of truth,” Jordan said referring to the aforementioned attack. “We were being tested culturally, politically and militarily.” Soon after the attack, President Ronald Reagan decided to withdraw from Lebanon — an action that Jordan disagreed with. “Folks, we failed that test,” he criticized. “[If we had passed it] there might not have been a Gulf War, or Somalia or Kosovo.”
Jordan explained that Islamists “do not want to compromise, they want to re-establish the caliphate as it was in 1675.” To all those who view negotiation as the only solution to conflict, Jordan said, “War is a failure of diplomacy, and we should use it sparingly. But when it is used, it should involve only total force and total victory.”
Jordan emphasized that terrorism is real and is a continuous threat. “People are afraid to point fingers and make accusations … but we have to get back to reality.” He said that while the American public argues over whether or not the Bush Administration entered Iraq for oil, Iran and other Islamist nations are “using oil money to finance terrorism.”
According to Jordan, many Americans sit too complacently denying the idea of Islamo-fascism, while future terrorists infiltrate our society and universities. “As weird as it sounds, Osama bin Laden did us a favor — he exposed what’s going on,” Jordan said. Still, Jordan believes the American public forgets too quickly. One should “be open minded enough to educate oneself to the reality of what’s going on. There are people in the world who don’t care about you and me…just power and control,” he stressed.
“This one is for all the marbles,” Jordan continued. If Americans stay on their path of denial, Islamism will soon infiltrate American society, and we will be given “three choices: convert to Islam, pay a huge punitive tax for living under their regime, or [Islamists] will be happy to liberate your head.”
So what can we do to make sure that our heads and necks stay attached? “You should not be intimidated or terrified by terrorism,” Jordan reiterated. “You should understand it.” In his lecture, Jordan paraphrased a quote by Thomas Jefferson: “It is criminal for our generation to pass on our duties and obligations to the next.” Jordan expressed that his generation had failed in that regard — by the marines’ failure to finish their job in 1983 and in other instances. Now, our generation and the generations of our children and grandchildren have received the burden of living in, and attempting to eradicate, the time of terrorism.
“Your responsibility is to teach future generations.” He further explained that he is “tapped” into the Department of Homeland Security and sees regularly how terrorist plots are neutralized: “People like you and me see suspicious activity and send it in to the authorities.” He then described, “Specialists then analyze those that are deemed of the most importance.”
Jordan continued that moderate Muslims, who understand the regime they live in, are either silenced or killed, but to successfully win the war on terror, their voices must be supported. He referenced a friend who said, “They are in the pond — and al-Qaeda is fishing for them.”
Overall, students seemed to react positively to the lecture.
“It was interesting to hear the perspective of someone from the military community and therefore personally and intimately involved in the Middle East conflict,” said Daniel Balson ’07.
Tatyana Rozenberg ’07 said, “It was very refreshing to have someone like Major Jordan on campus. It seems most people today, especially on college campuses, are blind to the reality of what’s going on.”
By Masha Rifkin at Sep 18 2006 - 11:31pm
Friday, July 28, 2006
Hezbollah leader Hides inside Embassy
Well, Well, Well, the cowardly Hezbollah leader speaks a good game on TV but it seems he prefers hiding under the shelter of Diplomatic Cowardice. It seems when the going gets tough, the terriorist gets into hiding.
Hezbollah leader said to be hiding in Iranian Embassy
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 28, 2006
Intelligence reports indicate the leader of Hezbollah is hiding in a foreign mission in Beirut, possibly the Iranian Embassy, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.
Israeli military and intelligence forces are continuing to hunt for Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, who fled his headquarters in Beirut shortly before Israeli jets bombed the building last week.
"We think he is in an embassy," said one U.S. official with access to the intelligence reports, while Israeli intelligence speculates Sheik Nasrallah is hiding in the Iranian Embassy.
If confirmed, the reports could lead to an Israeli air strike on the embassy, possibly leading to a widening of the conflict, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Foreign embassies are sovereign territory and an attack on an embassy could be considered an act of war.
But other reports from the region indicate Sheik Nasrallah may be in Damascus. A Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Seyassah, reported from the Syrian capital yesterday that Sheik Nasrallah was seen moving through the city with Syrian guards in an intelligence agency car, Associated Press reported. He was dressed in civilian clothes, not his normal clerical robe.
The newspaper quoted Syrian government sources as saying Iranian national security council official Ali Larijani was in Damascus and was to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Sheik Nasrallah.
Hezbollah officials in Beirut said they did not know whether Sheik Nasrallah had gone to Damascus.
Asked about the reports of Sheik Nasrallah in Syria, a U.S. official said they are unconfirmed, but noted that because of the proximity, it is easy to travel between Lebanon and Damascus.
U.S. officials confirmed the existence of intelligence reports about Sheik Nasrallah hiding in a Beirut embassy after Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper reported Wednesday that the Hezbollah leader was thought to be in the Iranian Embassy. The newspaper, quoting intelligence officials, said Sheik Nasrallah has set up an operations center in an embassy basement that is coordinating Hezbollah attacks.
However, the U.S. officials said the intelligence reports have not confirmed Sheik Nasrallah's precise location.
Iran's embassy in Beirut is located in the Shi'ite stronghold known as the Bir Hasan section, in the western part of the city.
The embassy also is a major base for Iranian intelligence and is used by large numbers of Ministry of Intelligence and Security agents, as well as by senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's shock troops that are linked to international terrorist activities.
Hezbollah leader said to be hiding in Iranian Embassy
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 28, 2006
Intelligence reports indicate the leader of Hezbollah is hiding in a foreign mission in Beirut, possibly the Iranian Embassy, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.
Israeli military and intelligence forces are continuing to hunt for Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, who fled his headquarters in Beirut shortly before Israeli jets bombed the building last week.
"We think he is in an embassy," said one U.S. official with access to the intelligence reports, while Israeli intelligence speculates Sheik Nasrallah is hiding in the Iranian Embassy.
If confirmed, the reports could lead to an Israeli air strike on the embassy, possibly leading to a widening of the conflict, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Foreign embassies are sovereign territory and an attack on an embassy could be considered an act of war.
But other reports from the region indicate Sheik Nasrallah may be in Damascus. A Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Seyassah, reported from the Syrian capital yesterday that Sheik Nasrallah was seen moving through the city with Syrian guards in an intelligence agency car, Associated Press reported. He was dressed in civilian clothes, not his normal clerical robe.
The newspaper quoted Syrian government sources as saying Iranian national security council official Ali Larijani was in Damascus and was to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Sheik Nasrallah.
Hezbollah officials in Beirut said they did not know whether Sheik Nasrallah had gone to Damascus.
Asked about the reports of Sheik Nasrallah in Syria, a U.S. official said they are unconfirmed, but noted that because of the proximity, it is easy to travel between Lebanon and Damascus.
U.S. officials confirmed the existence of intelligence reports about Sheik Nasrallah hiding in a Beirut embassy after Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper reported Wednesday that the Hezbollah leader was thought to be in the Iranian Embassy. The newspaper, quoting intelligence officials, said Sheik Nasrallah has set up an operations center in an embassy basement that is coordinating Hezbollah attacks.
However, the U.S. officials said the intelligence reports have not confirmed Sheik Nasrallah's precise location.
Iran's embassy in Beirut is located in the Shi'ite stronghold known as the Bir Hasan section, in the western part of the city.
The embassy also is a major base for Iranian intelligence and is used by large numbers of Ministry of Intelligence and Security agents, as well as by senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's shock troops that are linked to international terrorist activities.
Iranian Justice
This is how justice is handed out in Iran, for more on the Country that spawned hezbollah, and this incident click here.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Recent Events
The recent events that are now making the news bring to mind Yogi Berra's famous quote" It's deja vu all over again!" In 1982 the same criminal terrorists, backed by the same criminal terrorist regime, that kidnapped Americans in Tehran, started to stir up the hornets nest of Israel.
The Israelis, like today, needed to defend themselves from unwanted aggression against their people. Israel decided that if Lebanon would not, or could not, get these radical Islamists out of Lebanon, then Israel would have to do it.
The PLO , Hezbollah, and others, backed by the Iranians, Syrians, and others, rocketed the Israeli border towns on a daily basis. The tanks rolled, the warplanes flew, and the next thing the World knew was, Israel was taking over Lebanon.
The hand wringing began. "Oh my God, how could they? The Jews are expanding their empire!" the Worlds Press spoke, demanding Israel stop and withdraw from Southern Lebanon. Enter the United States.
Poor Arafat was trapped in Beirut and about to be taken by the Israelis. "Save Him!" the World cried. "Don't let him fall into the evil hands of the Israelis" The pressure mounted what would the U.S. do?
Ronald Reagan sent in the Marines. In August the Marines escorted the criminal Arafat out of Lebanon. Case closed. Marines, pack up .
Hold it, calm down, I hear something in Southern Lebanon, what's that?
Some Christian Militia have slaughtered some Shia's? Say it aint so! We can't have that, send in the Marines! Well, the rest is history, but does history record the thanks the Marines got for saving the criminal Arafat? No. The thanks we received was the largest non nuclear explosion to date. A truck loaded with explosives driven by a madman, trained and financed by the Shia Hezbollah regime of Iran. The truck was gladly donated by Syria.
Now some 23 years later the same thing is happening. Hezbollah has become a parasite on Lebanon, sucking the blood of the Country as they struggle to regain the Lebanon of old. Just as Lebanon was coming out of it's coma, the parasite Hezbollah, strikes it down.
The U.S. has been here before. Now, it will be different. Now, we have seen the fanatic as what he really is. September 11th will not be forgotten. Unfortunately, the 23rd of October 1983 was, and we did not learn from it.
This time around lets wake up and realize that we can't save Lebanon from itself. The only people that can save Lebanon are the true Lebanese and they are in short supply
The Israelis, like today, needed to defend themselves from unwanted aggression against their people. Israel decided that if Lebanon would not, or could not, get these radical Islamists out of Lebanon, then Israel would have to do it.
The PLO , Hezbollah, and others, backed by the Iranians, Syrians, and others, rocketed the Israeli border towns on a daily basis. The tanks rolled, the warplanes flew, and the next thing the World knew was, Israel was taking over Lebanon.
The hand wringing began. "Oh my God, how could they? The Jews are expanding their empire!" the Worlds Press spoke, demanding Israel stop and withdraw from Southern Lebanon. Enter the United States.
Poor Arafat was trapped in Beirut and about to be taken by the Israelis. "Save Him!" the World cried. "Don't let him fall into the evil hands of the Israelis" The pressure mounted what would the U.S. do?
Ronald Reagan sent in the Marines. In August the Marines escorted the criminal Arafat out of Lebanon. Case closed. Marines, pack up .
Hold it, calm down, I hear something in Southern Lebanon, what's that?
Some Christian Militia have slaughtered some Shia's? Say it aint so! We can't have that, send in the Marines! Well, the rest is history, but does history record the thanks the Marines got for saving the criminal Arafat? No. The thanks we received was the largest non nuclear explosion to date. A truck loaded with explosives driven by a madman, trained and financed by the Shia Hezbollah regime of Iran. The truck was gladly donated by Syria.
Now some 23 years later the same thing is happening. Hezbollah has become a parasite on Lebanon, sucking the blood of the Country as they struggle to regain the Lebanon of old. Just as Lebanon was coming out of it's coma, the parasite Hezbollah, strikes it down.
The U.S. has been here before. Now, it will be different. Now, we have seen the fanatic as what he really is. September 11th will not be forgotten. Unfortunately, the 23rd of October 1983 was, and we did not learn from it.
This time around lets wake up and realize that we can't save Lebanon from itself. The only people that can save Lebanon are the true Lebanese and they are in short supply
Monday, June 26, 2006
6/25/96 KHOBAR TOWERS we will not forget!!!!!!
KHOBAR TOWERS: 10 YEARS LATER
By Michelle Malkin ·
Louis Freeh, writing in the WSJ earlier this week, looks back:
On June 25, 1996, Iran again attacked America at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, exploding a huge truck bomb that devastated Khobar Towers and murdered 19 U.S. airmen as they rested in their dormitory. These young heroes spent every day risking their lives enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq; that is, protecting Iraqi Shiites from their own murderous tyrant. When I visited this horrific scene soon after the attack, I watched dozens of dedicated FBI agents combing through the wreckage in 120-degree heat, reverently handling the human remains of our brave young men. More than 400 of our Air Force men and women were wounded in this well-planned attack, and I was humbled by their courage and spirit. I later met with the families of our lost Khobar heroes and promised that we would do whatever was necessary to bring these terrorists to American justice. The courage and dignity these wonderful families have consistently exemplified has been one of the most powerful experiences of my 26 years of public service.
The FBI's investigation of the Khobar attack was extraordinarily persistent, indeed relentless. Our fallen heroes and their families deserve nothing less. Working in close cooperation with the White House, State Department, CIA and Department of Defense, I made a series of trips to Saudi Arabia beginning in 1996. FBI agents opened an office in Riyadh and aligned themselves closely with the Mabaheth, the kingdom's antiterrorist police. Over the course of our investigation the evidence became clear that while the attack was staged by Saudi Hezbollah members, the entire operation was planned, funded and coordinated by Iran's security services, the IRGC and MOIS, acting on orders from the highest levels of the regime in Tehran.
In order to return an indictment and bring these terrorists to American justice, it became essential that FBI agents be permitted to interview several of the participating Hezbollah terrorists who were detained in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the interviews was to confirm--with usable, co-conspirator testimonial evidence--the Iranian complicity that Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan and the Mabaheth had already relayed to us. (For the record, the FBI's investigation only succeeded because of the real cooperation provided by Prince Bandar and our colleagues in the Mabaheth.) FBI agents had never before been permitted to interview firsthand Saudis detained in the kingdom.
Unfortunately, the White House was unable or unwilling to help the FBI gain access to these critical witnesses. The only direction from the Clinton administration regarding Iran was to order the FBI to stop photographing and fingerprinting official Iranian delegations entering the U.S. because it was adversely impacting our "relationship" with Tehran. We had argued that the MOIS was using these groups to infiltrate its agents into the U.S.
After months of inaction, I finally turned to the former President Bush, who immediately interceded with Crown Prince Abdullah on the FBI's behalf. Mr. Bush personally asked the Saudis to let the FBI do one-on-one interviews of the detained Khobar bombers. The Saudis immediately acceded. After Mr. Bush's Saturday meeting with the Crown Prince in Washington, Ambassador Wyche Fowler, Dale Watson, the FBI's excellent counterterrorism chief, and I were summoned to a Monday meeting where the crown prince directed that the FBI be given direct access to the Saudi detainees. This was the investigative breakthrough for which we had been waiting for several years.
Mr. Bush typically disclaimed any credit for his critical intervention but he earned the gratitude of many FBI agents and the Khobar families. I quickly dispatched the FBI case agents back to Saudi Arabia, where they interviewed, one-on-one, six of the Hezbollah members who actually carried out the attack. All of them directly implicated the IRGC, MOIS and senior Iranian government officials in the planning and execution of this attack. Armed with this evidence, the FBI recommended a criminal indictment that would identify Iran as the sponsor of the Khobar bombing. Finding a problem for every solution, the Clinton administration refused to support a prosecution.
The prosecution and criminal indictment for these murders had to wait for a new administration. In February 2001, working with exactly the same evidence but with a talented new prosecutor, James B. Comey Jr. (now U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York), Attorney General John Ashcroft's personal intervention, and White House support, the case was presented to a grand jury. On June 21, 2001, only four days before some of the terrorist charges would have become barred by the five-year statute of limitations, the grand jury indicted 13 Hezbollah terrorists for the Khobar attack and identified Iran as the sponsor.
Nonetheless, the terrorists who murdered 19 U.S. airmen and wounded hundreds more have yet to be brought to American justice. Whenever U.S. diplomats hold talks with representatives of Iran's Islamic government, Khobar Towers should be the top item on their agenda. The arrest and turnover to U.S. authorities of Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Mughassil and Ali Saed bin Ali Al-Houri, two of the indicted Hezbollah leaders of the Khobar attack believed to be in Iran, should be part of any "normalization" discussion. Furthermore, access and accountability by IRGC, MOIS and other senior Iranian government leaders for their complicity in the attack should be nonnegotiable.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Hizbullah and the Iranian connection
John R. Cassady, LTC U.S.Army, Ret.
The Muslim extremist President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." More recently he said, "We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot logically continue to live." His comments have drawn widespread condemnation from civilized nations in the world community. Increasing the level of alarm over his outrageous comments is the fact that his radical government is gaining speed in their pursuit of the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Clearly Iran under the radical Ahmadinejad rule fits the classic definition of a terrorist state. They extensively promote, export and support terrorism in the world. His comments about destroying Israel are, in fact, policy among many Mideastern terrorist organizations. They differ in approaches, but nearly all Muslim extremist terrorist organizations (including alQueda) agree that the removal of Israel is the first step in the global Jihad of Islamic Imperialism. Indeed, some international scholars have named Iran a key player in what they call the new "Axis of Islam" growing in the Middle East. They see a sinister force by the uniting of Hizbullah, Iran, Syria, Hammas, the Muslim Brotherhood, elements of Iraquis Shiites and others in an anti-Israel, anti-American alliance backed by Russia.
The Lebanon based terrorist organization known as Hizbullah is an Islamist Shiite group inspired by the Iranian revolution of 1979 and formed soon after. Hizbullah is Arabic for Party of God. It's also known as the Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine. Hizbullah's long range goal is the extension of radical Shiite Islamist ideologies worldwide. Their shorter range objectives are the expulsion of western and Israeli influence and the establishment of an Islamist state in Lebanon patterned after the Iranian Islamic Republic, the destruction of Israel, and the capture and rule of Jerusalem. Hizbullah leaders view the United States as their real enemy. A noteworthy aspect of their ideology is their openness to cooperation with Sunni and other Islamist groups. Study reveals their connections with other terrorist groups include; al-Queda, Hammas, the P.L.O., Fatah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to name a few. Like al-Queda, Hizbullah's reach is worldwide, extending from the Mid-east to Central and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. In North America Hizbullah operated and raised funds from Canada until 2002 when Canada finally outlawed them. In the same year two operatives were arrested in North Carolina and convicted of providing material support to a terrorist group. There have been unconfirmed reports of a Hizbullah sleeper cell in Texas preparing to target the U.S. oil industry. The Iranian connection to Hizbullah is especially important since Hizbullah is based in a country bordering Israel. Current estimates indicate Iran provides them more than $100 million annually underwriting social services and military equipment and supplies.
Of all Iranian attempts to export their Islamic revolution, Hizbullah is the most successful. This effectively gives Iran an operational arm bordering their declared enemy Israel. Many of Hizbullah's terrorist operations are conducted in close coordination with Tehran. Another terrorist supporting geographical partner with Hizbullah is Syria. Their relationship is complex and although officially secular, Syria helped the founding of Hizbullah. Syria's aim was to protect their control over Lebanon at that time. Syria supported Hizbullah's undertaking of international terrorist activities in its war against Israel. Massive shipments of weapons were transferred from Iran to Lebanon via Damascus, Syria. The current president of Syria is much closer to the leadership of Hizbullah than was his father.
Hizbullah pioneered many terrorist tactics, including suicide bombing and simultaneous truck or car bombings. They've also developed expertise in building effective explosive devices. Since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Hizbullah has received
enormous amounts of weaponry from Iran. Sophisticated antiaircraft and anti-tank missiles along with over 10,000 medium and long range rockets that place more than a third of Israel within their striking range, have been delivered. It's certainly not much of a stretch to believe that Iran's President Ahmadinejad would like to deliver nuclear weapons to his proxy on Israel's border.
An example of the danger presented by Hizbullah can be learned by looking at their terrorist activities over 20 years.
In the two decades between 1983 and 2003 approximately 64 incidents of terrorism were generated by that terrorist organization. These incidents included but were not limited to kidnappings, assassinations, torture, suicide bombings and other mayhem resulting in about 795 people killed and more than 1407 wounded, maimed or otherwise injured. The targets of the terrorists included both military and civilian personnel world wide. Many of the events were directed at Israel and their citizens, but other nationalities, including U.S. citizens, were also targeted. The most infamous terrorist attack directed at the United States by elements of Hizbullah was the suicide truck bombing of the U.S. Marine Headquarters and barracks of the Peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983. That suicide attack resulted in the deaths of 241 young Marines and many others injured. A nearby French base was also attacked resulting in the deaths of at least 56 French soldiers, while the exact number of French injured is unknown. Like al-Queda and Hammas, Hizbullah is a radical and lethal terrorist organization based on its own despicable merits. However, when you combine them with the current Iranian government and others, their lethality and capability for mass murder and mayhem increases exponentially as the threat to western civilization increases.
The Muslim extremist President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." More recently he said, "We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot logically continue to live." His comments have drawn widespread condemnation from civilized nations in the world community. Increasing the level of alarm over his outrageous comments is the fact that his radical government is gaining speed in their pursuit of the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Clearly Iran under the radical Ahmadinejad rule fits the classic definition of a terrorist state. They extensively promote, export and support terrorism in the world. His comments about destroying Israel are, in fact, policy among many Mideastern terrorist organizations. They differ in approaches, but nearly all Muslim extremist terrorist organizations (including alQueda) agree that the removal of Israel is the first step in the global Jihad of Islamic Imperialism. Indeed, some international scholars have named Iran a key player in what they call the new "Axis of Islam" growing in the Middle East. They see a sinister force by the uniting of Hizbullah, Iran, Syria, Hammas, the Muslim Brotherhood, elements of Iraquis Shiites and others in an anti-Israel, anti-American alliance backed by Russia.
The Lebanon based terrorist organization known as Hizbullah is an Islamist Shiite group inspired by the Iranian revolution of 1979 and formed soon after. Hizbullah is Arabic for Party of God. It's also known as the Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine. Hizbullah's long range goal is the extension of radical Shiite Islamist ideologies worldwide. Their shorter range objectives are the expulsion of western and Israeli influence and the establishment of an Islamist state in Lebanon patterned after the Iranian Islamic Republic, the destruction of Israel, and the capture and rule of Jerusalem. Hizbullah leaders view the United States as their real enemy. A noteworthy aspect of their ideology is their openness to cooperation with Sunni and other Islamist groups. Study reveals their connections with other terrorist groups include; al-Queda, Hammas, the P.L.O., Fatah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to name a few. Like al-Queda, Hizbullah's reach is worldwide, extending from the Mid-east to Central and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. In North America Hizbullah operated and raised funds from Canada until 2002 when Canada finally outlawed them. In the same year two operatives were arrested in North Carolina and convicted of providing material support to a terrorist group. There have been unconfirmed reports of a Hizbullah sleeper cell in Texas preparing to target the U.S. oil industry. The Iranian connection to Hizbullah is especially important since Hizbullah is based in a country bordering Israel. Current estimates indicate Iran provides them more than $100 million annually underwriting social services and military equipment and supplies.
Of all Iranian attempts to export their Islamic revolution, Hizbullah is the most successful. This effectively gives Iran an operational arm bordering their declared enemy Israel. Many of Hizbullah's terrorist operations are conducted in close coordination with Tehran. Another terrorist supporting geographical partner with Hizbullah is Syria. Their relationship is complex and although officially secular, Syria helped the founding of Hizbullah. Syria's aim was to protect their control over Lebanon at that time. Syria supported Hizbullah's undertaking of international terrorist activities in its war against Israel. Massive shipments of weapons were transferred from Iran to Lebanon via Damascus, Syria. The current president of Syria is much closer to the leadership of Hizbullah than was his father.
Hizbullah pioneered many terrorist tactics, including suicide bombing and simultaneous truck or car bombings. They've also developed expertise in building effective explosive devices. Since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Hizbullah has received
enormous amounts of weaponry from Iran. Sophisticated antiaircraft and anti-tank missiles along with over 10,000 medium and long range rockets that place more than a third of Israel within their striking range, have been delivered. It's certainly not much of a stretch to believe that Iran's President Ahmadinejad would like to deliver nuclear weapons to his proxy on Israel's border.
An example of the danger presented by Hizbullah can be learned by looking at their terrorist activities over 20 years.
In the two decades between 1983 and 2003 approximately 64 incidents of terrorism were generated by that terrorist organization. These incidents included but were not limited to kidnappings, assassinations, torture, suicide bombings and other mayhem resulting in about 795 people killed and more than 1407 wounded, maimed or otherwise injured. The targets of the terrorists included both military and civilian personnel world wide. Many of the events were directed at Israel and their citizens, but other nationalities, including U.S. citizens, were also targeted. The most infamous terrorist attack directed at the United States by elements of Hizbullah was the suicide truck bombing of the U.S. Marine Headquarters and barracks of the Peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983. That suicide attack resulted in the deaths of 241 young Marines and many others injured. A nearby French base was also attacked resulting in the deaths of at least 56 French soldiers, while the exact number of French injured is unknown. Like al-Queda and Hammas, Hizbullah is a radical and lethal terrorist organization based on its own despicable merits. However, when you combine them with the current Iranian government and others, their lethality and capability for mass murder and mayhem increases exponentially as the threat to western civilization increases.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Beirut Vets Son continues the Proud Tradition
Darkhorse Marine Decorated for Valor
Marine Corps News | Mark Sixbey | May 22, 2006
Camp Fallujah, Iraq - A Darkhorse Marine was decorated with the nation�s fourth highest award for valor by the 1st Marine Division commanding general here, May 19.
Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski presented the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device to 1st Lt. Alfred L. Butler IV, Weapons Company executive officer, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment outside the battalion�s command post.
�I knew his father, and I think he�s following in his footsteps,� Natonski said. �This is his third deployment to Iraq, and he�s done a marvelous job over here.�
The 27-year-old from Jacksonville, N.C., earned the award for his actions and leadership while commanding an 81mm Mortar Platoon on Dec. 23, 2004 during combat operations in Fallujah. He is currently on duty in Iraq with Regimental Combat Team 5.
�It was one of those days when everyone ran out of ammo,� said Butler, a graduate of Western Carolina University. �We even used AK-47�s.�
According to the award citation, as insurgents ambushed his platoon, Butler rushed to the attack where he found several men pinned under heavy automatic weapons fire on a stairwell. He evacuated them from the house and learned insurgents isolated additional men on the second floor. He quickly organized an assault force and raced to an adjacent house under constant small arms fire to recover the men.
Cpl. Justin Butler, a mortarman in the platoon, saw his platoon commander from across the street while laying suppressive fire.
�When we were on the roof, he was the first one I saw standing up to see the situation while everyone was getting shot at,� said the 21-year-old from Dyer, Ind. �It pumped everybody up that he would do that just to know everything that�s going on.�
The platoon commander led his team as they cleared two buildings, jumping from roof-to-roof to reach them. He shielded the bodies of the fallen Marines when a grenade landed nearby with complete disregard for his own safety, then threw two grenades into a room filled with insurgents.
While delivering cover fire, Butler moved the men across to an adjacent rooftop, personally evacuating a wounded Marine under constant small arms fire and grenade attacks. His actions preserved the lives of the men.
Butler credited the decoration to the Marines under his command.
�I owe those Marines my life,� he said. �The things they did that day are the sort of things you read about in books. What they do for each other and what they sacrifice for each other makes you not want to leave the Marine Corps. They hold up the tradition of 3/5 and live up to the legacy.�
Alfred Butler III, was a Marine major who was killed in Beirut when his son was only five-years-old. Butler said most of what he knows of his father he learned from Marines who served with him.
�It�s nice that he knew my father and served with him,� he said. �My knowledge of him as a person is through people like General Natonski and what they say about him and the man he was. From what I understand, he was a great man, great Marine, husband and father. If I can be half of that, I think I�ll be fine.�
Marine Corps News | Mark Sixbey | May 22, 2006
Camp Fallujah, Iraq - A Darkhorse Marine was decorated with the nation�s fourth highest award for valor by the 1st Marine Division commanding general here, May 19.
Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski presented the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device to 1st Lt. Alfred L. Butler IV, Weapons Company executive officer, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment outside the battalion�s command post.
�I knew his father, and I think he�s following in his footsteps,� Natonski said. �This is his third deployment to Iraq, and he�s done a marvelous job over here.�
The 27-year-old from Jacksonville, N.C., earned the award for his actions and leadership while commanding an 81mm Mortar Platoon on Dec. 23, 2004 during combat operations in Fallujah. He is currently on duty in Iraq with Regimental Combat Team 5.
�It was one of those days when everyone ran out of ammo,� said Butler, a graduate of Western Carolina University. �We even used AK-47�s.�
According to the award citation, as insurgents ambushed his platoon, Butler rushed to the attack where he found several men pinned under heavy automatic weapons fire on a stairwell. He evacuated them from the house and learned insurgents isolated additional men on the second floor. He quickly organized an assault force and raced to an adjacent house under constant small arms fire to recover the men.
Cpl. Justin Butler, a mortarman in the platoon, saw his platoon commander from across the street while laying suppressive fire.
�When we were on the roof, he was the first one I saw standing up to see the situation while everyone was getting shot at,� said the 21-year-old from Dyer, Ind. �It pumped everybody up that he would do that just to know everything that�s going on.�
The platoon commander led his team as they cleared two buildings, jumping from roof-to-roof to reach them. He shielded the bodies of the fallen Marines when a grenade landed nearby with complete disregard for his own safety, then threw two grenades into a room filled with insurgents.
While delivering cover fire, Butler moved the men across to an adjacent rooftop, personally evacuating a wounded Marine under constant small arms fire and grenade attacks. His actions preserved the lives of the men.
Butler credited the decoration to the Marines under his command.
�I owe those Marines my life,� he said. �The things they did that day are the sort of things you read about in books. What they do for each other and what they sacrifice for each other makes you not want to leave the Marine Corps. They hold up the tradition of 3/5 and live up to the legacy.�
Alfred Butler III, was a Marine major who was killed in Beirut when his son was only five-years-old. Butler said most of what he knows of his father he learned from Marines who served with him.
�It�s nice that he knew my father and served with him,� he said. �My knowledge of him as a person is through people like General Natonski and what they say about him and the man he was. From what I understand, he was a great man, great Marine, husband and father. If I can be half of that, I think I�ll be fine.�
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
1957 Beirut Marine has a unique hobby
When he saw the first statue, the crusty old Marine had tears in his eyes.
He bought it right away, took it home and set it up in his front yard. Then Lloyd Seekamp told his wife, "I'm going to get them all."
And that's why you can find a line of five saluting, flag-holding statues in the Seekamp front yard in west Greeley. And that's why Eaton Grove Nursery north of Greeley is temporarily out of the military statues. Lloyd bought all they had.
The concrete military statues are about four feet tall, with a coating that makes them appear to be bronze. Represented are the Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force and a female Army officer.
For Lloyd and Zola Seekamp, they are more than just statues. Lloyd was a U.S. Marine for seven years beginning in 1950. He was just off the coast of Korea when the armistice that ended that war was signed.
In 1957, he was one of only 11 Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, guarding the U.S. Embassy, when he met an embassy secretary, Zola Estep. Three months later, they were married.
"We really don't talk about how quickly we got married," Zola said. "But we've been married 49 years, so I guess it worked."
Lloyd was the oldest of 14 kids in a dairy farm family in Wisconsin; Zola grew up in Lamar. He got to Lebanon after other assignments as a Marine. Zola joined the U.S. State Department in 1954 and went to London before Beirut.
"Beirut was beautiful in those days," Zola said. "That was before the problems in the Middle East, and it was very quiet."
After they married, the couple returned to the U.S., and Lloyd went into the agricultural feed business. He's been doing it now for 40 years.
In 1981, after living in Greeley seven years, the Seekamps started a seed business in their basement. It grew into a good living, and Lloyd retired a few years ago.
Now 74, Lloyd still goes to work each day, but this time he's working with his son-in-law's Peterson Pet Food business.
"I'm on the road a lot," Lloyd said, "doing what I do best -- selling."
And he comes home each evening, greeted by the five military statues in his front yard. "It still breaks me up a little when I see them," Lloyd said. "We need to show support for our military and remember what they've done for us."
They worry about vandals or thieves stealing the statues, so they keep a close eye on them. They don't want their address in the paper, fearing it will be an invitation for someone who doesn't like the military.
But they've been surprised, by the people who stop in front to view the statues or the people who come to the door to ask about their display.
"It's good to see so many people who care about the soldiers," Zola said.
It even makes the crusty old Marine smile.
Staff writer Mike Peters' column about Weld County people appears Mondays in the Tribune. His humor column, the Gnarly Trombone, appears Saturdays. Contact him by e-mail at mpeters@greeleytribune.com
If you live here, you get it!
For the most up to date news and information in Weld County, subscribe to the Greeley Tribune.
He bought it right away, took it home and set it up in his front yard. Then Lloyd Seekamp told his wife, "I'm going to get them all."
And that's why you can find a line of five saluting, flag-holding statues in the Seekamp front yard in west Greeley. And that's why Eaton Grove Nursery north of Greeley is temporarily out of the military statues. Lloyd bought all they had.
The concrete military statues are about four feet tall, with a coating that makes them appear to be bronze. Represented are the Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force and a female Army officer.
For Lloyd and Zola Seekamp, they are more than just statues. Lloyd was a U.S. Marine for seven years beginning in 1950. He was just off the coast of Korea when the armistice that ended that war was signed.
In 1957, he was one of only 11 Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, guarding the U.S. Embassy, when he met an embassy secretary, Zola Estep. Three months later, they were married.
"We really don't talk about how quickly we got married," Zola said. "But we've been married 49 years, so I guess it worked."
Lloyd was the oldest of 14 kids in a dairy farm family in Wisconsin; Zola grew up in Lamar. He got to Lebanon after other assignments as a Marine. Zola joined the U.S. State Department in 1954 and went to London before Beirut.
"Beirut was beautiful in those days," Zola said. "That was before the problems in the Middle East, and it was very quiet."
After they married, the couple returned to the U.S., and Lloyd went into the agricultural feed business. He's been doing it now for 40 years.
In 1981, after living in Greeley seven years, the Seekamps started a seed business in their basement. It grew into a good living, and Lloyd retired a few years ago.
Now 74, Lloyd still goes to work each day, but this time he's working with his son-in-law's Peterson Pet Food business.
"I'm on the road a lot," Lloyd said, "doing what I do best -- selling."
And he comes home each evening, greeted by the five military statues in his front yard. "It still breaks me up a little when I see them," Lloyd said. "We need to show support for our military and remember what they've done for us."
They worry about vandals or thieves stealing the statues, so they keep a close eye on them. They don't want their address in the paper, fearing it will be an invitation for someone who doesn't like the military.
But they've been surprised, by the people who stop in front to view the statues or the people who come to the door to ask about their display.
"It's good to see so many people who care about the soldiers," Zola said.
It even makes the crusty old Marine smile.
Staff writer Mike Peters' column about Weld County people appears Mondays in the Tribune. His humor column, the Gnarly Trombone, appears Saturdays. Contact him by e-mail at mpeters@greeleytribune.com
If you live here, you get it!
For the most up to date news and information in Weld County, subscribe to the Greeley Tribune.
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