Tag Archives: war

Five Terrorists for one Soldier?!

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban on June 30, 2014. The United States broke it’s policy of not negotiating with terrorists when they exchanged five high-level terrorists for Sergeant Bowe. Even if the trade wasn’t fair, we still saved a loyal soldier, right? Kind of, but since his rescue many stories of him abandoning his post, which lead to his capture have arisen. Now, while this doesn’t look good as for being a smart decision, there were some other factors. One of these factors was the reports of the Sergeant being in ill health. This rumor appears to be true, as after he was rescued he was immediately taken to Germany for medical care. Another factor is that the terrorists have to stay in the country Qatari for at least one year. During this time they will be under constant surveillance to make sure they do not engage in military activities.

I have some mixed thoughts on what happened. In my opinion, it was not a good trade, very far from it. At the same time though, I believe we have the responsibility to save as many American lives as we can. We did, no doubt, save his life. In the end I believe it was worthwhile to save him, though the United States should be ready in case those terrorists try something against us. There is no fact to whether this decision was a good one or a bad one, that is up to you.

~Nick

Uprising Conflict in Syria

  Syria, a small country next to Israel with a conflict that is anything but small. For over two years, Syria has been involved in a civil war due to citizens rebelling against their ruling government, the Assad family. The Assad family has been in power since 1971, starting with Hafez al-Assad and the current ruler, Bashar al-Assad. Recently it was discovered that the Syrian army was using chemical weapons on their own civilians. United States President, Barack Obama, said that if a country used chemical weapons then that would be a red line, meaning that military action may be used. Obama is still undecided on whether we should be involved in this war.

   It is an incredibly hard decision for President Obama to make on whether we are going to take military actions. Personally, I don’t believe that we should follow through with taking military action because we do not have all the details of the situation. Although we do know that chemical weapons are being used to harm innocent people in Syria, we do not fully know if that is being done by the Syrian government or not. The point is, taking military actions would mean that we were in favor of one side of this war and from what we know, both sides have done terrible things. In conclusion, I do not think that the United States military should get involved in the massive civil war in Syria.

 ~Camille Bisson

Its Not Just Chess

For many people not familiar with it, observing those circular pawns, the game is a mere variety of draughts or checkers. Of course, they are quite wrong; this is a real Chess game in which its complexity is comparable to the one of European Chess. Generally, pieces are in form of token with the name written on the upper face, with a Chinese sinogram. Both sides have different colors.

SHORT DESCRIPTION:
Xiangqi is played on the intersections of a board. Opposite sides are separated by a central “river”. Each camp has a “palace” which is constituted by an intersection at the center of South and North sides.
Armies are formed by 16 men each. Red plays at South and (generally) starts the game. Black (or Blue) plays at North. In Xiangqi, not all the pieces have the same name for both sides:

  • The “royal” piece is a Governor (Shuai) for Red and a General (Jiang) for Black.
  • The “pawn” is always a Soldier but two different synonyms are used to distinguish them. Red has Bing and Black has Zu.
  • The Elephant (Xiang) – that gives its name to the game – is only for Red. Black has also a Xiang but it is written differently as it is a homonym which stands for Minister.

Cultural Identities Distinguished

Chess is popular around the world, while Chinese chess is mainly popular in China; almost half of its population knows the rules. I had began to play Chinese Chess myself as a pretty small child, and fell in love with it after a few games, I felt excited to move pieces to fight, for the game is the epitome of a real war; from this point of view, chess is the same with Chinese chess, however, the differences between them reflects the different culture between China and the western world.

In Chinese chess Game: 1.There is no queen on the board; this is because the contribution of women was not emphasized in ancient China.
2. The pawn, or soldier in Chinese Chess, can not be promoted: In ancient China, everyone’s destiny is pre-determined.

3. There are four cannons on the board: because at the time when Chinese chess was invented, cannons were also invented, so the powerful cannon was integrated on the board.

4. The king is fastened in a fort. You see, in ancient China, the emperor would never go to battle. Also, the emperor has 2 triggermen (shi in Chinese) and 2 prime ministers (similar to bishop in chess).The king is well-protected, however, sometimes, the lack of freedom killed the king. In the game, the limited movement usually leads to a more rapid defeat than the traditional, international version of chess. There are clear historical example of this especially during the Manchu invasion of Han controlled China. Interestingly enough, the King is housed in a fort of sorts, so the classic move, castling, is not possible in Chinese Chess.

5. There is a boundary called the Chu River (or also the Han boundary) on the board. The boundary can be traced to the time of the Han dynasty, when Liu Bang and Xiangyu shared central plains for over 2000 years ago.

~Jake Rinaldi

Black Ops 2: Going Overboard?

http://www.blackops2.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/black-ops-2-official-logo-595x364.jpg

Black Ops, a video game that is part of the Call of Duty franchise, was a huge success. It took place in the cold war and was very realistic, only with a few slight exceptions. It stuck to mainly using your gun to get through the levels, yet occasionally it allowed you to operate various vehicles, like helicopters and a rocket on the back of a car. Much of the Call of Duty franchise has a campaign that is based on you progressing through levels with mainly your gun. Coming out this November 13 is their latest addition, Black Ops 2. Although, it appears as though in this game you will be relying on more robots and machines than your actual gun to advance throughout the campaign. Being displayed in the release trailer for the game that came out on May 1, 2012, were multiple, small, robotic helicopters, giant robotic tanks, x-ray scopes that see through walls, and a plethora of futuristic helicopters and planes. Although all of this makes sense, as the game is supposed to take place in 2025, will it be a little over the top? Even the narrator Sgt. Frank Woods, a fictional video game character, said during the Black Ops 2 official trailer, “Technology got stronger, but we got weaker. We built computers, robots, whole unmanned armies.” With a giant new step being taken to bring Call of Duty to the next level, how will the fans react? Will they admire the drastic leap Black Ops 2 took from the traditional style of play or will they long for it back? There has been much controversy over this topic, as Black Ops 2 is going to change not only the campaign style of play, with it more based on robots, but also a traditional and beloved zombies mode. As for now, we’ll have to wait until the game is released to see if these drastic steps paid off, or sunk the game.

I consider myself to be a strong fan of the Call of Duty franchise, and with this news of the new immense changes Treyarch plans to make on its game, I am disappointed. After watching the trailer for the game, it appears as though the majority of the story mode will be robots fighting against one another. I would rather stick to the exhilarating gun no gun battles. Also, I find the machines they are going to be implementing will be ruining the game. They are taking it in an entirely different direction and I am hesitant to approve of this. Although drastic changes in the game paid off before, this one seems too much for me. Also, where does horse riding fit into all of this? I find it appalling, even insulting, how they are making it futuristic warfare with detailed new robots, and yet in one scene you are riding a horse! In all their games you ride stupendous cars, tanks, helicopters, and underwater vehicles, and now you ride a horse? As much as I fear they butchered the campaign of Call of Duty games, I am now terrified of what they have done to the treasured zombies mode. They already double the amount of players who can play in one game by taking it from a balanced four to a claustrophobic eight. I cherish the zombies mode and enjoy it for what it is, and they’re changing it without a need to. Overall, I am reluctant to see what other drastic determinants, or as unlikely as it is, improvements, have been implemented in this new game, as I’m sure many others are as well.

~Dan Fisher

Massacre of Afghan Civilians

In the early days of March, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales slips away from his guard duty and kills 16 Afghan civilians.  Investigators say that it was because of his brain injury. He was put on three tours of duty when this happened. The Taliban swore revenge on the killings that happened on March 11th. He is now being charged on 16 counts of murder and six counts of assault. Investigators also say that he does not remember anything from the night of the murders. Does this have to do with the brain damage and the three tours of duty? This is what everyone wants to know.

On the evening of March 11th, Staff Sergeant Bales kills 16 Afghan civilians. Before his third tour of duty, the Army knows he has a brain injury that could result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and still sends him on another tour of duty! This means the U.S. Army is knowing that this Staff Sergeant could have a brain disorder while on duty. The U.S. Army should have limited the number of tours that this man could go on. Now, learning this mistake, the U.S. Army will know better on what to do with troops with Brain disorders.

~Trai Gozzi

“Super-Six-Four is Hit!”

 

Michael Durant is a Night stalker who was involved in a battle in Mogadishu, Somalia. For the people who have heard of “Black Hawk Down” Michael J. “Mike” Durant is the brave Night Stalker pilot of his helicopter (Super-Six-Four).  His helicopter was shot down and he was taken prisoner during a battle in Mogadishu, Somalia.  He writes about his captor’s personality’s and their quirks.  For example, Durant makes you laugh as he describes his prison guard snoring as he sleeps.  Mike Durant makes you feel like you are in the dark concrete room with him, scared, angry, and hopeful.  I have just read his book, In The Company of Hero’s, which I thought was an excellent book and it’s a book that you have to read.  I mean it, it’s a quality book.

Mike Durant paints a picture in your mind of how gruesome ,yet compassionate, his captors were.  His captor’s were horrific because they moved him to places VERY violently.  But, when they realized he could be useful to them, they got a doctor to help him, give him pain killer’s, let him write letters home, and letters to his fellow pilot’s who survived the battle.  This book depicts the real life scenario that Mike had to face.  I thought that this book was very interesting and exciting because the details made you feel like you were suffering with him.  Most of us boys think about the coolness of war with guns, but, none of us think how would it feel to be captured.  Mike Durant excels in making the reader understand every aspect of war, even the parts no one wants to think about.  I would recommend In The Company of Hero’s to anybody who wants wants to hear a true heroic story.

~Peter Earley

Project KONY 2012

We as Americans, are so lucky to live in such a wonderful and free country.  Many people take the things that we have for granted, and don’t think about what else is happening throughout the world.  Something is happening in this world in a small country in Africa called Uganda, and it is terrible.  A man named Joseph Kony is going around and kidnapping kids, giving them guns, and is forcing them to kill people and become part of his personal army of children called the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).  Many innocent children are being abducted from their homes and forced into this army.  A call throughout the world has came from this country for help against this terrible warlord.  People everywhere are starting to spread the awareness about Project Kony 2012, the year that we finally catch this criminal.  Many celebrities are spreading the message about this movement and tons of communities are taking part in this action.  We are trying to convince the U.S. government to keep American soldiers in Uganda to help Ugandan soldiers find the hiding criminal and free all those innocent kids.

I think that Project Kony 2012 is a great thing that this country can do to help out another country when they are in need.  There are innocent children out there being taken from their homes and being forced to kill other people.  Obviously, that doesn’t happen in America, but if it did and the government couldn’t help out too much, wouldn’t you want other countries to help support us and find this bloodthirsty maniac?  That is the reason why everyone is spreading the word.  The more the word is spread, the more we can help these kids.  Everyone should come together, and help to take down this criminal once and for all.

~Nick Sansone

Wounds Healed, Christmases Saved

On December 15, the United States lowered its flag in Baghdad as the U.S. military mission in Iraq was officially declared over. After the nine years at war and thousands of lives lost, the war in Iraq is over, leaving Iraqis in a fragile democracy still facing divisions. Despite this, it was been determined by the Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the United States will now stand by Iraq considering all that has happened. The final convoy carrying approximately 500 troops crossed the border of Kuwait at 7:38 AM on Sunday, December 18. I feel as though the ending of this war has been long awaited and actually a relief. As someone whose brother was in the army, it almost means more when a war ends. It means that now, there is one less war zone for my siblings, family member, loved one to enter into and possibly get injured in. Though he was only a part of the Army National Guard, it is still a relief to know that there is one less war that the Unites States isinvolved in. Having my brother be a member of the Army allows me to sympathize with others who have loved ones serving for our country. I know the feeling to see our loved one for the first time when they come home from serving and I know that there is barely anything that can top it. Seeing someone that you unconditionally love come home safe and alive after protecting your country is amazing and during the holidays, there are few presents that could be better.

When first hearing this news, most people think of how nice it is that just any other war has been ended. You may have thought this at the beginning of this blog too, when first discovering this incredible news. But that’s just it; this is just news for a large majority of this country. The families of the people who are coming home from Iraq are not taking this as news, they are taking it as a blessing from God and a miracle that they would have never expected. I would like you to know that to you it may be just another newspaper headline, but to thousands of people, it is one of the best things that has ever happened to them and the best gift there is to give. For me to see so many soldiers come home after months and years in Iraq not only brings tears to my eyes and hope in my heart but shows our country how many wives, husbands, children, and parents are getting the best Christmas gift they could possibly receive during the holidays – the ones they love and could have lost. This holiday season there will be more smiles, “Merry Christmas”s, and “I love you”s than most because of this ended war. This Christmas when you are opening your gifts under the Christmas tree, remember the daughters, sons, wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers all over the U.S., who are may not have a single gift under a tree, but who have a completed family.

~Maria Latta

“It’s All Over!” Obama Pulls Troops From Iraq.

Today President Obama announced that the United States will pull all its troops from Iraq by the end of the year. When I heard this decision I was extremely happy.  In my opinion this war has gone on long enough.  He promised to work with the Iraqi government in the up coming  years, and said that both sides were in full agreement about how to move forward.   This decision I felt was also good because it kept us in peace with Iraq, and if they really did need help we could still assist them.  The White House also said that about 4,000 to 5,000 security contractors will remain in Iraq.   Many of the Iraqi’s wanted the troops to stay but would not give the troops immunity, or protection, a key demand of the administration.  The U.S. assessment determined that the Iraqis were ready and they proved they could fully take over security.

More than one-million Americans have served in Iraq since the war began nine years ago, and if you think about that, that is a lot of Americans.  More than 4,000 troops have died, which we pray for those 4,000 families, and over 32,000 injured during these years.  There are 39,000 U.S. troops in Iraq right now.  The Iraq war has become deeply unpopular among Americans.  In a poll conducted in January, 66 percent of Americans opposed the war and a majority did not think it was worth fighting, given its costs versus the benefits.  The cost highly outweigh the benefits.  That 66 percent of Americans are finally happy.  I once heard a saying that said “Until they all come home”.  That saying  has just been fulfilled.

~James Robitaille

Assassination in Afghanistan

In Kabul, Afghanistan there was an assassination of their former president Burahanuddin Rabbani. It was committed by a suicide bomber who waited days to meet the president. The killer hid the bomb in his turban. He then posed as part of a Taliban Peace Convoy and killed him in is room. This was a terrible blow to attempts to bring peace to a country that has had decades of war. This will also most likely delay bringing the troops back from Afghanistan if it has not already.

This assassination was only a few days after a daytime attack on the U.S. Embassy. There was also an attack on the NATO headquarters. These reasons have deepened the fear in the country. The close friends of Rabbani say that a high contact from the Taliban came to speak with him. After insisting on not being searched they got into their meeting. Then he bent his head down and his turban exploded. The friends say it destroyed the windows of his house and shook other houses.

I feel that these events will greatly impact bringing peace to the middle east. I also believe that because of the assassination security will be greatly increased around people of high value. The attacks on the U.S. Embassy and the NATO headquarters will also call for increased security around all U.S. buildings. Since the Taliban attacked the former president of Afghanistan I think they will try to attack the current president of  Afghanistan next. I think that more attacks will occur on U.S. buildings and more assassination attempts of high ranking people will take place.

~Andrew Goggin