Forgive but not forget, “This is the way?”

On the evening of September 10^th, 2001, the skyline of New York City sported its then familiar skyline.  It’s “Twin Towers” rising to touch the sky.  A Hub of international trade and financial interaction on an international scale.  People of literally of every religion, ethnicity, social and economic niche could be found working in and around this marvel of engineering. “The World Trade Center” (WTC) was a feather in the cap of the Big Apple. For 28 years, the WTC and the Statue of Liberty were the symbols of the United States.

For 15 years, it was the obsession of Osama bin Laden.

In 1993 bin Laden orchestrated the First bombing, Trying to collapse the towers by using a car bomb in the underground parking.  Though several parking floors were damaged, the structure remained sound.  The US did not respond. 

Nine years later, and several other Embassy attacks by al Qaeda, they orchestrated the Infamous 9/11 attacks.  Getting on to planes with box cutters and such and taking control of aircraft through terror and intimidation. These terrorists flew one plane into each tower, one into the most protected portion of the Pentagon, and another was brought down in a field by the passengers who fought for control and died in the effort.  

At 8:46 AM Eastern time (15:46 UT) the first plane crashes into the North Tower. Seventeen minutes later the South Tower is struck.

At 10:28 Eastern (17:28 UT) the skyline of New York City is changed forever as the Twin Towers fell. The Pentagon has been struct, and Flight 93 has crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Thousands are dead, and the country mourns.

This is where the “War on Terror” starts.

Never Forget! But can we heal if we never forgive? 

Forgiveness or “to forgive” is a noble trait. In Christianity, it is an integral part of our belief:

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Mathew 6:14-15 (NASB 1995)

There are no conditions placed on why we forgive. It is just an expected duty. As the forgiven, that does not mean I do not suffer the consequences. Justice demands it. I think a study of the Book of Philemon is a great example of this. But I won’t bore you with those details here. If you want a blog on that let me know in the comments. Suffice it to say that Paul is clear that forgiveness is expected, but justice is not too much to ask. So forgive, but not forget, this is the way.

Islam also teaches forgiveness. They even break it down into two distinct types. One where you have no “power” This is more about a pardon, patience, or tolerance on your part, a personal journey. It is noble but not the important kind. Then there is the type where you have the opportunity to take revenge or exact a toll. Where you are in control and can extract justice. This forgiveness, the Prophet says is much better and something to be cherished by the person who does this. I will not risk an infidels insult to Islam by quoting the Holy Qur’an.

In doing some research for this I did a quick search on “Psychology
forgiveness” and found tons of articles dealing with self-forgiveness as well as forgiveness of others. The basic idea of all of them is that forgiveness is for the forgiver and not so much for the forgivee (Yes that is a new word, See definition).

Am I saying at this point we should trust our new “Friends” the Taliban?

No! I fully expect something awful to happen on September 11th, 2021. They will blame ISIS-K or ISIL or somebody else. And in the last 20 years, there have been few years where something was not either thwarted or did happen someplace in the world.

Yet I think forgiving is a major step in our recovery. I do not hate Islam, Muslims, Persians, Arabic, or Afghan peoples. I do not trust Radical Islamists who promote Sharia Law.  Why?  Because, by their own admittance, peace is obtained by world domination.  You will have 3 choices in a Sharia Afghanistan, Convert to Sharia/Suni Islam, be a slave or die.  It is not complicated.

Will we need to go back to Afghanistan?

I don’t know.  But I expect to.  We have left behind Americans and supporters.  We have abandoned our allies. Our President and State Department has committed Treason and Misdemeanors in arming our enemies and breaking the trust of the American People and her allies.  We have created the 26^th most powerful military in the world by abandoning some $85 Billion of advanced military equipment, who also thinks that they should rule under a medieval architecture of Sharia Law. And will probably gleefully sell our tech to both Russia and China, people whom we seem poised to fight in the near future.    We have broken trusts around the globe.  The only way you earn that back is to pay the price.

Let me be clear. 

For 20 years our service members fought, bled, and died to keep this country safe.  Their mission was to keep the wolves in the mountains of Afghanistan, and they were mostly successful.  Out fighting personnel.  Have nothing to be ashamed of.  They fought well and did their duty.  It is not their fault our ambiguous mission of “War on Terror” did not give them the direction they needed.  Next time we end up in a war, “We the People” must hold our leaders to a higher standard.  I don’t want a war on an idea.  We will look for and find an enemy.

Ideas can’t be destroyed, enemies can. And it all starts first with forgiveness.

First, we must stop fighting ourselves.  Come together under a principle of Liberty and Justice for all.  Not Equity or Social Justice that tries to guarantee outcomes that cannot be upheld. But the opportunity for each person

Remember first we are all human on this planet.  Homo Sapiens. If you are in a hospital and need a kidney, do you care if the person who gives you one is Afghan, African, Chinese, or Caucasian?  I know I don’t.

In the end Mr. President, I can forgive you for your mishandling of Afghanistan and its withdrawal.  But that does not mean I can forgo the consequences of your actions! The incompetence of your actions and that of the State Department you have appointed are criminal. The abandonment of US citizens and others for no other reason than to meet a political goal simply shows your lack of personal morals.

Just because I forgive, does not mean I forget.  If I forgive a doctor for a bad diagnosis, I do not allow them to continue as my doctor.  If my contractor builds a bad staircase, I forgive them and make sure the folks that build the bad staircase do not continue to work on my project. 

Mr. President, Secretary of State Blinker, Thank you for your service, I hereby accept your resignations.

Or we could do the whole perp walk thing out the West entrance in cuffs for Treason.  The choice is yours.

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

What does Peace with the Taliban Look Like?

It has been a week since we declared peace with the Taliban.  Officially we have gotten 4 Americans out of Afghanistan that the State Department claims credit for.  They bravely met them outside of Afghanistan at a Consulate in an undisclosed country bordering Afghanistan after the 4 tracked across the Afghan battlefields to escape.  Forgive me if I have my doubts about how much the State Department actually did.

Earlier in the week a Congressman Markwayne Mullin had a plane ready to land at KIA (Kabul International Airport) but was forced to circle.  He planned to pick up 20 Americans who were supposed to have been there waiting.  The Taliban Refused.

On Tuesday, August 31st, there were reports of several airplanes, Airbus A380 and Boeing 737,  on the tarmac with Americans and Afghans loaded waiting for takeoff clearance. The State Department did not provide that clearance. The planes have been there for several days.  The passengers have melted back into the city in hiding.  Thanks to our new Taliban peace-loving and cooperative allies they remain there.  Some reports indicate these people are being held hostage for more demands of money (CBS News). Also, there are reports of the Taliban going door to door seeking those with "Blue Passports" (USA).

Taliban Flag

Peace with the Taliban looks a lot like a hostage crisis.  I remember the 1979/1980 Hostage crisis President Carter ineffectively dealt with in Iran.  I see our current administration looking far worse.  Our current president has been in the government for 50 years and has sat on committees dealing with these things, including the Iran Hostage Crisis.  And yet we purposefully left Americans behind to be used as a pawn, enslaved or worse.  In the hands of an enemy that we know to have a different moral code that we do not ascribe to.

Forgive me for saying this Mr. President, but if this is peace, I almost prefer the war we had.

A peace where our people are ransomed, raped, or enslaved.  Where the brave Afghans who tried to help establish a free Afghanistan were abandoned to be mutilated or killed?  That is not how a moral society works. But there is another question, is America moral anymore?  

So why did President Biden do this?

Politics over principle.  The ends justify the means.  Take your pick, they essentially mean the same thing.  Many Americans wanted out of what was becoming an endless war, myself included.  For the last 10 or so years, I did not see an end game.  A point of victory.  We were fighting an idea that would always return like a hydra “The War on Terror” not an enemy.  If we did that we would be stuck there forever.  All the nation-building we had tried to do in that area had failed over and over.  We tried to westernize people.  As somebody who has spent time overseas in a foreign land, I can say this is a bad approach. 

America is unique for many reasons.  Most of us these days don’t even know the real things that make us so unique, because we are too busy blaming people for things.  I highly recommend “The 5000year Leap” as a start.  But the fact is we cannot expect Syria, Afghanistan, or any other Muslim Majority country to adopt a Constitutional Republic like ours.  Not in one generation.  One of the huge differences between the US and most countries is our lack of Homogeny.  You have heard the phrase “Strength Through Diversity?” Well, that is a bald-faced lie.  Most countries have a racial homogony that gives them a commonality.  We do not have that.  Our Homogeny comes from the principles in our Declaration of Independence that was then codified in our Constitution.  Eventually amended to be sure every individual is included. 

The true secret to the United States of America is not that "BIPOC-Americans" and "White-Americans” can get along and do something wonderful. The secret is that Americans have common principles and will work to develop a community that is a better place to live. Hyphens cause division. 

That is at least how it did work in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Then we got over it and started looking to the Federal Government to fix it all again.  Between Wars, and Depressions and Civil Rights Acts, and National Aid to this group or that group.  These special groups became something less, or more accurately something more.  More equal than others.  Thank you, George Orwell.

I am a firm believer that we are all Human or Homo Sapiens.  Melatonin levels have nothing to do with race.  According to many Anthropologists, we came out of Africa, according to scripture we originated from Adam and Eve.  In either case, our genetic differences are so small we can exchange, blood, organs, and create progeny together.  That is enough for me to view all people as just that, people.  Nothing less.

It is the content of your character that makes you special. Be loyal to your country, your community, and love your family.  Help those around you.  Try to build up, do not tear down.  That is American.

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.