Trump Accepting Minorities Means More than Just Christians

 

Trump excluded minorities from the immigration temporary ban, which might surprise many as to the numbers and different minorities exist throughout these seven nations listed in President Trump’s order, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Somalia. Perhaps we should start with a quick reference of the population of each of the nations in question. So, on with the show.

 

 

Iraq consists mostly of differing tribes such as Kurds (some being Muslims), Bedouins (some being Muslims), Feylis, Yazidis, Shabaks, Kaka’is, Armenians, Circassians, Persians, Mandaeans, Sabians, Bahá’ís and Doms. The minority religious makeup is Christianity accounting for 0.8% of the population while the rest practice Mandaeism, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, a minor smattering of Jews who remaining in Iraq and other religions. Iraq is on the verge of failing as a governance as the Sunni central zones and the Shia majority in the south are in conflict and the Kurdish north has allied with the Kurds of Syria but are being targeted by the Turkish forces which cross into the nation claiming to attack terrorist groups when in reality they assist terrorists against Assad and more so against the Kurds. If the Kurdish areas from the Syrian northeast, the northern areas of Iraq and the Kurdish regions in northwest Iran were united, they could form the promised nation of Kurdistan and take in any Kurds wishing to relocate from Turkey thus removing the perceived threat by Kurds to Turkey and potentially ending the bloodshed.

 

Syria also has a number of tribal minorities including Kurds, Armenians, Turkman, Aramaic Assyrian, Chaldean, Yazidi, Druze, Syriacs with religious minorities numbering Christian 10% which includes Greek Orthodox, Greek Christian, Latin Catholics, Protestants, Maronites, Uniate, and Nestorian as well as Druze 3% and a minor smattering of Jews who remain in Syria. The war in Syria has more sides than a set of dice and the nation has no operative governance and has completely failed as a nation.

 

Iran also has a sizeable Kurdish minority (10%) many of which are Muslim but likely not banned by President Trump’s order. Turkmans Balochs and Arabs make up two percent of the population each while sixty percent of the population being of Persian extraction Azeris making up most of the remaining population at sixteen percent. Iran has a tiny minority of non-Muslims totaling less than one percent of the population consisting of a mix of Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian. Iran is probably the most stable country in governance but qualifies for the list as the largest state funder of terrorism worldwide.

 

Libya is a mix of mostly Muslims tribes mostly ruled by their strongest clan with each tribe warring with their neighboring tribe. The violence between the many tribal factions even made terrorist training camps unsafe to such a point that many packed up and left for safer climes. The situation has only worsened progressing from bad to worse after the dethroning of Muammar Gaddafi leaving a central government barely able to rule the capital of Tripoli. The uncertainty of the entire region was made evident with the murder of United States Ambassador Chris Stevens as well as his aide Sean Smith along with former Navy Seals Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods who both went down fighting throughout the night finally succumbing to mortar fire from al-Qaeda terror groups who were seeking to gather as many MANPAD anti-aircraft weapons, the same weapons which the Americans who were murdered were attempting to intercept and send on to Syria to assist the American backed Syrian rebels.

 

Sudan has a small Christian population consisting of Nubian Coptic, Coptic Orthodox and other groups of Christians in the Nuba Mountains who have declared their area to be a new nation recognized as South Sudan, Animists of several roots and persuasions. Like Yemen the Sudan and South Sudan are warring as the Muslims from the Sudan, the northern half, are trying to unify the breakaway nation which is largely Christian and Animist. There have been too many genocidal assaults against the South Sudan and the nation is in turmoil with the South most resembling a failed state.

 

Yemen once had a sizeable Jewish population but the Jews are now mostly held in a government compound for their protection as otherwise they would rapidly become an endangered species, its Christians are divided into Roman Catholic, Anglican, Ethiopian Orthodox and Tewahedo, and there exists a smattering of Hindus. The real problem with Yemen stems largely from it being engaged in a civil war with the sides being aided by outside national forces. The Houthi tribes are being supplied, trained and even assisted by Iran while the former government and Sunnis are receiving aid from Saudi Arabia. Yemen has all the signs of a failed state.

 

Somalia is predominantly Islamic and tribal with a small minority of Christian and traditional Animists who reside in the south. Somalia has been without any measurable governance for the last few decades with tribal warfare and piracy being rampant across much of the nation with no reasonable end in sight. Somalia probably qualified well ahead of the rest, but how would we know.

 

Many of these minorities are persecuted by the Islamic majority governments spending much of their lives in a sort of hiding keeping a low profile. Often ministering to these minorities is a life threatening career as they are a central target whenever the government seeks a distraction or a group to blame. This position is often filled by Israel but these minority populations are target one when something closer to home is required. Ignoring this exception or attempting to make it appear as if it was only about religion is inaccurate as the Kurdish and Bedouin tribes are often largely Islamic. The President’s order was not about Muslims as much as it was about terrorism which was likely the same reason that Presidents Obama and Bush also named these same nations for additional precautions during their administrations. But why lay everything out in the open when there is a new President to smear. Yes, Trump brought this on himself and deserves much of the scorn being heaped upon him but the media also deserves some truth serum as they pretend such limitations on immigrations have never existed before.

 

Remember that there are a small number of those who would be permitted entry into the United States who are Jews. This stands in stark contrast to during World War II when despite the State Department and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt knowing about the extermination camps and the Final Solution to eliminate Jews, Homosexuals, Roma and other “undesirables” that FDR refused to permit Jews attempting to escape the advancing Nazis to enter the United States while the British refused them entry to the areas under the British Mandate. FDR is rumored to have stated that the United States did not need any more than a minority of Jews and he feared permitting additional Jews into the United States. At least this time the Jews will be permitted to escape potential persecution should they so choose. There will also be numerous Islamic minority peoples who also will be permitted entry along with Christians and Animists among others. And for the record, Islam is not a race and encompasses membership from virtually if not every racial group on Earth.

 

Beyond the Cusp 

 

What We Will Never Ever Know About Benghazi

The simple answer to the question of what we will never find out about what happened that additional fateful September 11 is the complete truth. Sure we will be told about all the things that might have been done beforehand to provide ample and proper security for Ambassador Stevens and the brave Americans who battled against all the odds to try and save lives. We will hear about a number of options which were available for dispatch that might have completely altered the fatal outcomes of the attack in Benghazi. We will hear of the brave and valiant efforts made by Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty who rescued a number of personnel and fought giving a heroic effort at the Consulate and then again at the Annex Building. We will hear that they had painted the mortar position with laser identifiers and which eventually zeroed in on their position ending their fight. Everything which has already been made public which would serve to give those who were allowed to be sacrificed some of the deep respect they are due will be rehashed in the press taking up every available inch of space. What we will likely never know is who actually gave the stand-down orders to the various units who were in the process of dispatching help to the embattled Americans. The press will once again not cover in any depth the shortcomings of those responsible from within the Obama Administration. Somewhere in the eventual outcome of the politicized hearings an unlikely and unfortunate individual will become the chosen middle level functionary who is going to be sacrificed to save those who were actually to blame. Benghazi will eventually have its very own Colonel Oliver North and if they are fortunate, they will be able to wear their sacrifice bravely and even gain respect from some quarters for their efforts.

 

But there is one item that not only will we never know, it will likely never be asked by anybody covering this story from any angle. Part of the reason is that it is a question that cannot be answered. What will be overlooked is what effect would the entire Benghazi debacle have had on the Presidential Election had the press given the story the full investigative coverage it deserved. Such a question is one the press would very much like to bury and instead attempt to credit themselves over their brave take-no-prisoners coverage they will give the investigations. There will be editorials delving into the intricate elements that together birthed this disaster. They will explain complicated webs of woven information which was not shared in a timely enough manner to have made a difference in the immediacy of the attack. There might even be detailed explanations as to the reasoning and execution of the offensive video ruse which eventually fell apart as the cheap evasive ploy that it was. Hopefully we will receive details over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s testimony where she was quoted angrily exclaiming, “Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they would go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?” To be absolutely honest, this is one of the items I am particularly desiring a full explanation as this was not only the nastiest and most disrespectful outrages in the entire Benghazi debacle, but actually the worst outburst ever to pass from Hillary Clinton’s lips, which is an accomplishment. I am sure that there will be a very large number of people and questions, both public and privately held, for which there will be no answer forthcoming. Many of these will remain unasked as the mainstream media is mostly interested in getting the Obama Administration through the investigation without any impeachment charges or serious damage to the Democrat Party or their potential Presidential hopefuls for 2016, even Hillary Clinton.

 

As this is my editorial, perhaps I should share what I hope will come from these hearings. I want to know who in the White House and the entire Obama Administration heard about the stand-down orders before 4:00 AM Benghazi time as had teams from either Tripoli, Italy, France, or either of the two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea been dispatched, they could have arrived in time to save at least some of our people caught in a desperate fight for their lives. I would like to have an accounting of the action of President Obama during the entire time the entire confrontation was playing out with particular emphasis on what information was given him, by whom, and his exact orders, reactions, and his attitude to the situation. If the rumors that he left people in charge without specific instructions and went to bed sleeping peacefully as our people died, that would be extremely upsetting. I am curious as to what the commanders who were in theater thought and would be curious if they have any reasons for not taking actions to send aid and support to our forces who were heavily engaged. Was their inaction due to lack of information, if so what did they do to attempt to gain additional information, and did they simply choose to obey a stand-down order and gave no thought to ignoring such orders and going out on their shield after supporting our people in a dire situation which cried out for a hero to come to the rescue in the nick of time. American history has numerous cases where officers or even enlisted personnel went against orders because it was the decent and correct actions to take. I want to know where are such heroes today and if we have none of that caliber in command positions, maybe we need some new commanders. As a veteran I am fully cognizant of the importance of obeying orders and even more familiar with the beating heart of a fighting force which demands that no man be left sacrifice if there is the slimmest chance to come to their aid and come to the aid of those in distress as we are never supposed to leave a man behind. That is the real sin in Benghazi, we left our people behind at the mercy of a cruel enemy and that is something as Americans we should not and cannot allow to go unpunished.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Hurricane Sandy, President Obama and Benghazi, Libya

The predictions for Hurricane Sandy have been quite dire and have claimed that this storm will be one, if not the, worst storm congruence, especially as there is what is called a nor’easter which will be striking simultaneously over almost the entire area with Hurricane Sandy. This is presumed to produce double the amount of precipitation, be it rain or snow. Anticipating the worst, President Obama declared a state of emergency for Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island thus enabling them to receive federal emergency assistance funds and other advantages to facilitate their recovery. While I am glad that the residents who are in the sights of this horrific storm system are likely relieved that they will be eligible for every form of assistance which the Federal Government is able to provide, there is something about declaring such a wide area as being in a state of emergency even before the calamity has arrived for what is an act of nature and the contrast it makes with last month’s complete lack of action for our personnel in the Consulate in Benghazi, Libya when they came under deadly attack from terrorist forces. This is another thing that makes people ask, why?

There actually are many parallels between the horrific events in Benghazi, Libya and the events unfolding on the northeastern coast of the United States facing off against nature. Both events fit under the classification of an attack, one by nature and the other by terrorists. Both had some amount of predictability, one by weather forecasters and the other through intelligence agency warnings. At the onset of both threats there are predictions of possible casualties and unavoidable dangers which demand remedial steps to be taken. And it is at this point where President Obama’s actions are in stark contrast. For the combined assault by two very potentially destructive storms over a multistate area President Obama declared a state of emergency well before either storm had arrived with their full fury. President Obama acted with anticipation for the inevitable results. While it is welcome that the President declared measures for dealing with a coming potential disaster of nature, his actions will hopefully prove premature for most, if not all, of the areas under threat from this combined assault by nature. The usual protocol for acts of nature is to wait until the damages are assessable and then declare the necessary state of emergency for the areas which suffered the worst that nature could deliver.

On the other hand, in Benghazi, Libya the President is reported to have seen the events from the White House Situation Room as they were unfolding and did not at any point declare the assault to be a state of emergency requiring immediate remedial actions. Had President Obama declared a state of emergency concerning the assets of the United States under assault in Benghazi, Libya; it could have resulted in military actions by protocols already in place which may have saved lives and dealt a blow to the terrorists at the same time. The nonsense excuse that one does not deploy troops into an area without having complete picture of the threats, their positions and any other mitigating conditions is pure nonsense. These are the exact conditions into which troops are usually sent. We did not have a complete picture of the threats and all other mitigating factors before the assault on Iraq and Saddam Hussein, sending troops to coordinate and execute the attacks against the Taliban in Afghanistan, nor was there much more than a complex plan and prayers on the eve of the D-day invasion of Europe that was the beginning of the end of World War II. Likely the sole battle which those entering the battle where the final results were known ahead of time was the Battle of Thermopile where King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan Warriors were fully cognizant that theirs was a final battle which could only end with their deaths. Even knowing this, the Battle of Thermopile very likely surprised even the Spartans who managed to hold off the inevitable through the first two days and gave their all refusing to desert their fatally stricken King to the Persians until they had fought to the very last man. Their effort and spirit of sacrifice for glory, country and honor was also carried forth in Benghazi by Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, the two Navy Seals who against orders entered into the battle with no real intelligence beyond that people were under attack and desperately in need of their specific talents. They never quit and in the end gave their every last ounce. May their actions and sacrifice become as legendary as that of King Leonidas and his Spartans. May the lack of action by President Obama and every other person who concurred with his lack of decision and commitment to the safety and lives of American personnel who were left to their own devices also be remembered for all his days.

So, in conclusion we have a President who declares a wide swath of area potentially facing the extreme wrath of nature as being in a state of emergency while making no declaration and taking no action when Americans were facing obvious threats to life and limb in real time while he watched and was appraised of every single action and moment. President Obama was completely unable to pull the trigger when Americans were being assaulted in the consulate in Benghazi in what classifies as an act of war but rushed to hold a press conference after a White House briefing in the same Situation Room where he had watched Americans under attack a few weeks earlier. Some actions simply make no sense though I am sure there will be some who will take it upon themselves to instruct me as to the logic and reasoning behind the Presidents unacceptable leadership.

Beyond the Cusp