Opinion : Letter To The Editor: It's just short time until the November Election

A Leader is a person who inspires people to do more than they think they could. Many people in our military are trained to do just that. Some people in public service have this trait, but in this era sorely lacking. Many of us more senior can remember the leadership shown by President Kennedy, President Nixon, President Reagan, President Clinton, and President G. W. Bush (after 9/11). From Ret Gunnery Sgt Jesse Jane Duff, 70% of our active duty military believe it is a poor idea to re-invade Iraq. But, they also realize no victory can occur over ISIS unless the ground they occupy is re-captured. Also make no mistake they will obey the order if given. What they are really saying is they have lost confidence in the leadership of the President. Does he have the will to follow through to a WIN? Or, will the result be another Fallujah like the Second (November 2004). Coalition Forces lost 95 KIA and 560 WIA. Most casualties were U. S. Marines. This battle was house to house hand to hand brutal urban warfare against the Taliban Insurgents. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fallujah) But, the real tragedy was with the U. S. withdrawal (no residual force), Al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant took over Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in late 2013.

This happened right under our nose. The President blamed intelligence failures under Director of National Intelligence Mr. James Clapper. I don’t buy this for one minute. President Obama has a habit of blaming others for his own missteps and failures. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/09/29/Report-Obama-Has-Missed-Over-Half-His-Second-Term-Daily-Intel-Briefings)

We cannot vote for a new President this November, but we can vote for Congress and the Senate. I will vote for Rod Blum and Joni Ernst. Also, we need a new State Treasurer I cannot think of anyone more intelligent, wise or qualified than Sam Clovis. The new Treasurer biggest responsibility will be insuring IPERS is sound for future State retirees.