OCPA: Biden administration’s fiscal policy has echoes of Afghanistan

Biden administration’s fiscal policy has echoes of Afghanistan

By Jonathan Small

Amidst the ongoing chaos of U.S. withdrawal, it’s widely understood that the Biden administration’s handling of Afghanistan is a debacle that will have long term, negative consequences. Unfortunately, the administration’s approach to fiscal policy falls into the same category.

The spending package initially approved as a COVID bailout in 2020 was enormous, but some could defend it as a once-a-century emergency response. Instead, Washington politicians are now treating it as a floor for future spending, creating levels of deficit spending unimaginable just a few years ago.

The consequences of that spending are already being felt by working families in Oklahoma, and the situation will only get worse with time if it is allowed to continue.

A recent forum hosted in Oklahoma City by the Millennial Debt Foundation, which seeks to “lead a generational conversation about fiscal stewardship, the role of the federal government and America’s deficit spending crisis,” highlighted facts that all citizens should hear.

Markwayne Mullin talks overseas trip, Afghan rescue effort on Fox News

Congressman Markwayne Mullin made headlines this week after going seemingly off-the-radar for a time while involved in an effort to evacuate some American citizens and allies from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Media reports alleged that he "threatened" U.S. embassy staff in Tajikistan when they refused to assist his team, and made it sound like Mullin had charged in on a one-man Rambo mission.

Yesterday, Rep. Mullin went on Special Report with Bret Baier to give his side of the story.

This was evidently Mullin's second attempt to sponsor a flight into Afghanistan. His flight was not allowed clearance to land. "I don't know who shut us down, but I think it was 100 percent directed from the State Department," Mullin said. 

OCPA: Afghanistan debacle is big government in action

Afghanistan debacle is big government in action

By Jonathan Small

The ongoing debacle in Afghanistan has become a military rout, international humiliation, and humanitarian crisis for the United States. But it’s also a lesson in the fallacy of thinking bigger government is better government.

It’s notable that many stories of successful rescues from Afghanistan are the result of private individuals and organizations acting independently of the U.S. government. That’s not surprising. Independent actors respond to changing circumstances … by changing tactics. With big government, the tendency is to stick with a flawed process regardless of outcomes and any change in course must first wade through a morass of red tape.

Big government is also plagued by hubris. Those in charge too often think they really are smarter than the average citizen and stubbornly insist their choices are best. Thus, when President Joe Biden was asked about the sight of Afghans desperately clinging to the outside of aircraft to escape and plummeting to their deaths, he dismissively responded, “That was four days ago, five days ago.”

Former Democrat OK Gov: Biden's handling of Afghanistan "a boneheaded mistake" and moral disaster

Former Democratic Oklahoma Governor David Walters (1991-1995) made the New York Times with some sharp criticism for President Joe Biden over the unmitigated disaster which has been the closing days of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"I consider Afghanistan a boneheaded mistake, unforced error," said David Walters, a former Oklahoma governor who is now a member of the Democratic National Committee's executive committee. "There is no real excuse. This was morally and politically a disaster and just bad policy."

Gov. Stitt welcome Medal of Honor recipient to Oklahoma

GOVERNOR STITT WELCOMES MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT ARMY MASTER SGT. MATTHEW WILLIAMS TO OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City, Okla. (November 6, 2019) — Governor Kevin Stitt today hosted Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient Army Master Sgt. Matthew Williams at the Oklahoma Capitol. Williams’ visit with Governor Stitt marks his first official stop after receiving the Medal of Honor.

“It is an honor and privilege to welcome Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Williams to our state,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “Master Sgt.  Williams selflessly braved enemy fire in order to successfully save the lives of his fellow comrades. His heroic actions, leadership and bravery are inspiring and we are so proud to thank him for continuing to faithfully serve our country.”

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery that can be awarded to members of America’s armed forces for exceptional acts of valor.

Williams was originally awarded the Silver Star for his heroic actions in 2008, and President Donald J. Trump upgraded his decoration to the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House on October 30, 2019.

An active service Green Beret, Williams receives this award in recognition of his heroic actions while on mission in the Shok Valley of Nuristan Province in Afghanistan on April 6, 2008. Williams helped evacuate four of his wounded teammates from the mountains of Shok Valley as the unit took fire from insurgents.

A 3rd Special Forces Group operations sergeant, Williams graduated from Angelo State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Driven to serve, Williams enlisted into the Army under the 18X Special Forces enlistment program in September 2005.

After completing Infantry One Station Unit Training, Williams attended Basic Airborne Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He then went through the Special Forces assessment and selection process in 2006 and was accepted into the program. In 2007, Williams graduated as a weapons sergeant from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Throughout his career, Williams deployed multiple times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Juniper Shield serving in numerous positions, including weapons sergeant, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A); senior weapons sergeant, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A); senior weapons sergeant, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A); senior instructor/writer Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group; senior weapons sergeant, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A); and operations sergeant, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A).

Master Leader Course; Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape; Special Forces Qualification Course; the Defense Language Institute’s French Course; Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course; Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance Target Exploitation Course; Basic instructor Training and Small Group Instructor Training.

Williams’ awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal with Bronze Clasp and four Loops, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral “4,” Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral “3,” Valorous Unit Award, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and Special Forces Tab.

Williams resides in North Carolina with his wife and son.

For more information about Master Sergeant Matthew Williams, click here.

'Oklahoma Hello': McAlester Ammo Plant sends greetings to ISIS

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (AKA Mother Of All Bombs) recently dropped on an ISIS position in Afghanistan was made in McAlester at the Army Ammunition Plant. It appears that 94 ISIS fighters were neutralized in the strike. It now carries the distinction of being the most powerful conventional/non-nuclear bomb ever dropped in combat.

How's that for an 'Oklahoma Hello'?

"There, but for the grace of God, go I"

I read an article this morning about a U.S. Army sergeant who was on the brink of being discharged from the Army for interfering with an Afghan official who had been serially molesting young boys. Fortunately, military justice seems to have been prodded into good sense and the soldier will be allowed to stay in service.

I asked a veteran who served in Afghanistan how widespread this sort of behavior was there, and he said it was an everyday occurrence. Sometimes Afghan soldiers and police did it under the guise of interrogation. "Might makes right" is the norm over there.

America is an incredible place. Our founding fathers understood the nature of man as described in the Bible. They understood the depravity of man, and that man unrestrained follows the strongest impulses of his nature - pride, greed and lust.

For this reason our founders placed strict limits on the government, intended to restrain these excesses of man's nature. Yet even they understood that the form of government they gave us would only work with a moral people, a people who understood and followed the principles of the Bible.

The article reminded me of the old saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I". Have you ever pondered how supremely fortunate you are to have been born in America? Why me? Why was I not born in some other land? Why was I not subjected to the same sort of experiences others endure?

Inscrutable are the ways of God. Romans 9:20-21 says "Nay but, oh man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?"  And in Romans 11:33 - "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!"

The sovereignty of God in all things is a difficult thing to comprehend, but is a wonderful truth. We should be grateful every day for the mercy God showed in placing us where we were born and for the salvation He so freely gives, unworthy though we are.

God placed you where you are for a reason, and for reasons known only to Him. What are you doing about it?

Iran's Nuclear Program - What Will Israel Do?

Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant

Russia will deliver nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant on Saturday, August 21st. Former UN Ambassador John Bolton has said that Israel has [now less than] "three days" to stop the Iranian reactor from going online.

Israel has bombed nuclear programs in the past, although Iran is much farther away than the previous operations were. If Israel does something about Bushehr, there will be serious consequences, including the great possibility of a retaliatory attack by Iran, perhaps also including attacks on American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 1981, the Israeli Air Force bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, crippling it. Iraq lost French help with their nuclear program shortly thereafter, and the Iraqi nuclear program was forced underground.

In 2007, Israel struck a secret Syrian nuclear reactor, which was built with North Korean help. Syria denied the attack, and the reactor, but satellite shows that they attempted to erase evidence of both at the site.

This brings me to another thought, dealing with North Korea. If Israel strikes at Iran's nuclear facilities, there will be great chaos in the region, perhaps all-out war. With the current turmoil between North and South Korea, what will North Korea do?

Only time will tell for both.

Arnett: "Let Afghanistan take care of Afghanistan"

Republican congressional candidate Dan Arnett made the following statement in an article in the Sunday edition of the McAlester News-Capital.

“In Arizona, the government isn’t protecting our border,”  Arnett said.

“That’s an area where the government isn’t doing its job. I would like to see the government step up and do its job.”

Arnett knows how he would like to see that accomplished.

“Get our men and women out of Afghanistan and bring them back to our own borders,” Arnett said. “Let Afghanistan take care of Afghanistan.” [emphasis mine]

Arnett is one of six Republican candidates for the 2nd Congressional District, currently held by Democrat Congressman Dan Boren. The other GOP contenders are Daniel Edmonds, Howard Houchen, Charles Thompson, and last-minute candidates Raymond Wickson, and Chester Falling. State Sen. Jim Wilson is the lone Democrat candidate running against Congressman Boren.

The Conservative View: Shaking Sacks

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner.

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Shaking Sacks

There have always been hoodlums and thugs in any society that are a burden to law abiding people. Whether those thugs live on the west coast or the east or even in another country they are pretty much the same. My grandfather used to have a saying that makes more sense to me as I grow older. He would say, “If you could put all of those kind of people in a sack and shake it up and turn it upside down they would all hit the ground at the same time”. Civilized people can sit down at a table and through negotiation come to an acceptable compromise that can rarely happen when a civilized person tries to negotiate with a hoodlum.

Over the past few weeks there has been much news about the war in Afghanistan, while our military had a huge success there eight years ago the war is far from over. While I don’t claim to be a military strategist, I have some concerns about some of the ideas coming out of Washington DC. A little background, before America liberated Afghanistan the main power there was al-Qaida and the Taliban. These two groups worked hand in hand to terrorize the people of that country. They are a group that does not recognize or respect the God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While some would say that only affects the people of Afghanistan, I strongly disagree. Those two groups were responsible for the killing of over 3,000 Americans on 9/11/2001. Now there are advocates who would be willing to talk to the Taliban and only fight al-Qaida.

In the old war movies about WW2 the good guys wore American and British uniforms and the bad guys wore Nazi uniforms. In a failed state such as Afghanistan, loyalties can overlap. A warlord can be a Taliban, an al-Qaida member, an opium trafficker or all of the above. How can anyone hope to negotiate with one group of thugs and not with the other, when in reality they are one in the same? There are currently over 68,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan and our military leaders are requesting an additional 40,000 troops. Deploying more troops will be expensive, but allowing a bunch of murdering thugs back in power would be much more expensive. We need to remember that the terrorists that executed the 9/11 attacks were able to do so because they had a safe place to operate from.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, click here.