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Old 05-21-2002, 07:55 AM
Seascamp Seascamp is offline
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Default Connecting the dots?

This seems to be the latest buzzword inside the belt way and it appears that all hands are dashing about shouting this new mantra. Perhaps rightfully so as our Fed agencies have simply got to get over all the old inhabitations and get with this new day and new challenge. Connecting old dots is not a particularly relevant task as much as figuring out what is going on right now, today. Are they up to the task? Well I?m not particularly optimistic as it will take a lot more than all the King?s horse and men to put that humpty dumpty back together again or together for the first time, depending upon opinion.

I can?t help but think of Vietnam, January 1968. There it was, a land area much smaller than the state of California, 500,000 US troops present and constantly patrolling, borders and inland mountain areas covered by Marine and Army recon units. Cross border areas covered by MACV-SOG. Coastal, estuary and river areas were covered by the USN. No fewer than two Carrier battle groups on station at any given time and dozens and dozens of DDs, DEs and smaller Navy craft always patrolling everything all the time. Then add an uncounted number of spook aircraft up with ECM, photo and infrared gear, not to mention the infamous McNamara?s E-wall. Add to this the largest CIA facility outside Langley, VA, and two matching equal sized South Vietnamese versions of the CIA. (Funny enough I suppose, but the second VN CIA reported to the then VN President and supposedly kept an eye on the first VN CIA.)

Then one dark night, up out of hidey-holes pop the rough equivalent of eight (8) light infantry divisions of VC and NVA and the whole place was ablaze from end to end. Big surprise and I really wonder about the ?dot connecting? that was supposed to be going at MACV and/or Siagon's CIA. TET 68 was on and any hope of finishing that war on US terms was over, there and then.

As time marches forth there was no dot connecting when 260 Marines got blown away in Lebanon and there was no dot connecting when the Cole got hit and 17 Sailors killed in the port of Aden. It seems to me that we have a bad habit of shooting the barer of bad news and therefore the vital dots get filed away to never see the light of day. Or alternatively, we ignore the dots for the purposes of political expediency.
I know, I know, I got an attitude and am a bit jaundiced about all this sort of thing but then the highest offices of the land are saying we are going to get hit again and again. I believe them I just hope they believe it them selves and get cracking about sorting out the dot connecting counter culture.

Fair seas, Bill
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Old 05-21-2002, 09:09 AM
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Keith_Hixson Keith_Hixson is offline
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Post As Humans we are a bit reactionary.

Connect the dots. Even in our personal lives we often "shut the barn door after the horse is out." If by connecting the you mean we need to learn from the past you are absolutely correct but then we have PC. For instance: We learn from the past that most of the plane hi-jackings are done by young Arab men, however we are not allowed to "racial profile" which means we aren't learning from the past and connecting the dots. Most of the world's societies are a reactionary in thinking including us as Americans. Is it frustrating to those who can see what is coming down the pike but see a government waiting for something to happen to act. And BOTH political parties are equally quilty of being reactionary.

Keith

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The Old Farmer told his wife: When it was raining "I can't fix the roof now dear, its rain'in." When the Sun was out he told his wife, "No need fixing the roof now it ain't leak'in." We all do it but shouldn't, connect them dots after the fact.
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Old 05-21-2002, 11:38 AM
Seascamp Seascamp is offline
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Agreed Keith, but what is bothersome these days is that the aspiring politicos have 20/20 vision in retrospect and have their kickers in a knot as to why someone or somebodys weren?t busy connecting the dots before a calamity occurs. Now it seems the prudent thing to do is form up more committees to figure out why we didn?t see the 9/11 disaster coming and stop it in it?s tracks. The now infamous FBI ?Phoenix memo? of July 01 that discusses the possibility that al Qaeda agents were busy taking flight training in the US seems to be the evidence of a ?smoking gun? that no one was connecting the dots.

Well for great shakes, of course they weren?t and a committee doesn?t need to tell us that. But at least one FBI agent got on to part of the plan; and that is encouraging, but his dot only got connected to the filing cabinet.

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Old 05-21-2002, 01:05 PM
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phuloi phuloi is offline
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Default Committees

To connect dots in hindsight are a waste of time and tax-payer`s dollars.Does anyone really feel more enlightened by the Warren Commission reports?Did forming a committee investigating Pearl Harbor put it to rest? ..This is all a bullshit political maneuver launched by Democrats to weaken the President of the United States of America,and it is dispicable.They are using our country being in turmoil and at war for political gain and to fire a volley back at Republicans for impeaching Clinton.We`re in a world of hurt here with OBL,etal zeroing in on us and the best we can come up with is forming yet another committee?!What happened to the bi-partisan patriotism of Sept.12th?..All the politicos,Rep.and Dem.,had better stop the battle in Washington and pay more attention to the REAL front before it`s too late.If they don`t bury the hatchet soon,I`m afraid we`ll find it buried in America`s heart.I have always felt that the best defense is a potent offense..it`s time to show strength,not weakness.
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Old 05-21-2002, 11:45 PM
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If I was on the White House staff my answer to that question would be"what damn dots?"
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