Who Is "Mukhabarat, Baby!", And Should It Matter?

Surprisingly, I've had a few inquiries through email that include polite and non-intrusive questions about my upbringing and my opinions on both politics and social issues.  I'm flattered beyond measure that people would care enough to send an email, so I will try and craft an adequate response.

My father was in the U.S. Army and he met my mother in France while stationed in Europe.  I was born in North Carolina, but spent most of my infant years in France, with my mother, brother and sister, while my father completed a tour in Vietnam.  Fortunately, my parents chose to spend the majority of their children's formative years in Europe, so my father continued to request assignments in Germany (The French government France and the United States agreed to end the policy of a U.S. military presence in France, so Germany was as close to France as we could get).  Attending military schools in Europe was a unique and truly educational experience.  I even learned to speak a bit of German while still in Elementary School.  We lived on a small military post, which obliged the American families to form close bonds with each other.  In the winter, the small American Elementary School sponsored a ski trip in the Bavarian Alps for its students.  The parents had to pay, but the cost wasn't prohibitive, and for the few larger families that had tighter budgets, the money was always found.  I recall at the ages of seven, eight and nine, living in a truly supportive community that consisted of a variety of ethnicities.  I paid as much attention to the color of someone's skin as I did the color of their eyes.  We needed each other, and didn't have the luxury of getting distracted by such nonsense as racial conflict.  I was a white kid with an African-American kid as my best friend, and a French mother.  My mother's best friends were the Korean wife of another soldier and the German wife of a soldier whose family lives downstairs from us, and my father's best buddy was African-American.  If someone wanted to be so self-destructive as to engage in race baiting of any sort, they would have had no friends during the duration of their tour.  Until the day that I moved out of my parent's house and into my college apartment, my mother tolerated NO racial comments (or even jokes) in her house.  She hasn't changed.

During our years in Europe, we would inevitably head to France for the summer.  My parents had purchased the perfect little egg-like camper (actually, it was larger than most of the other egg-campers I saw), and we would hook it up to our Gremlin and drive to my grandparents house in Angouleme, France.  We would spend a few days getting everyone organized, and we were off again, for the four-hour trip to Ile De Re, a stunning, Mediterranean-like island just off the historic port city of La Rochelle.  It took no time at all to get the camper situated and for all the various family members (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, everybody) to put up their tents and get into their bathing suits.  For is kids, we would be spending almost all of the next month in those same bathing suits (my mother made us bring other suits, but lazy is lazy, and we were in the ocean everyday, anyhow).  During the week we practically lived in the beach, but on the weekends we would get cleaned up, put on proper clothes, and drive into the lovely little towns that dotted the island.  We would get a delicious Ice Cream Cone and watch the boats come into the fourteenth-century harbor.  The buildings were ancient, and most of the streets in the town were cobble-stone.  My memories of those summers are filled with the golden rays of the sun and the infectious laughter of my grandmother, as we tried to get her to wade into the ocean a little deeper each time.

Because my father had a medical issue that needed immediate care, we left Germany and Europe a bit sooner that planned.  Everyday I thank God that we landed in Texas, which has become home.  My father retired, my mother and sister became High School teachers, and my brother is a musician.  After college, I worked in Africa in the private sector for a while, then, a stint in Federal Law Enforcement.  I eventually ended up with a career in the Intelligence Community.  After retiring at a relatively early age (read the book), I started the blog in order to share excerpts from my memoir; but  the exercise exploded on me, and now I'm addicted to this blogging-thing.  I am especially fascinated by the symbiotic relationship that has developed between twitter and the blogosphere.

As for topics for the blog, I rarely write directly political posts because my politics don't fit into any traditional mold.  I'm a practicing Roman Catholic and I'm pro-life.  Its vitally important for me to be consistent; therefore, I'm opposed to the death penalty.  I can't support any legal killings by the U.S. Government of its own citizens, regardless of the fetus' in-vitro medical condition or the adult's rap sheet.  I have a visceral dislike for true racists and misogynists.  In many parts of our nation we continue to raise young men to value women by the size of their waists and boobs; taken your 11-year old son to Hooters lately, have you?  (Forgive my frankness.)  I do not consider the Constitution to be a living document; it can't be interpreted generationally.  If you need to adjust something, then follow the procedure and create an Amendment.  I believe that the founding fathers intended for the Second Amendment to be a guarantor of a lawful citizen's right to bear arms.  At the time, "arms" were basically muskets and pistols.  Only the Continental Army had anything heavier (cannons).  Therefore, as I continue my effort at consistency, I do not think that the right to own assault weapons, bazookas, flame throwers, or machine guns is covered by the Second Amendment (unless someone can find me an old painting of George Washington target-practicing with an Uzi).  Rifles and pistols were sufficient for a well-armed militia in 1781 and the same goes for 2015.  I do not hunt, nor am I supporter of "hunting".  When I see men taking their 8-yr. old sons hunting, I can't help but think that the kid should be watching Bambi on TV, not shooting him.  Its a difficult issue for me, and I usually chose to keep my opinion to myself.  I have too many relatives and dear friends who strongly disagree with my opinion.

I support efforts to make the United States self-supporting when it comes to energy.  I think when it comes to drilling approvals, we have lost all sense of balance in the last few years.  Fragging (another tremendous U.S. discovery) has made it clear that we can achieve self-sufficiency as long as we don't cripple ourselves with legislation and denials.  We can't live on fossil fuels forever, but until the market demands a full-on Sea Change in the industry, we must stick to research in alternative energies (wind, solar, electric) but make use of the gifts under our own soil.  I believe in a strong military, an unburdened, discreet and independent CIA, and a regular, aggressive international posture with regards to terrorism.  I recognize as Israel as our greatest ally in the Middle East, if not the world.  Vladimir Putin is a very dangerous demagogue, who doesn't have the balls (oops!) to face the U.S. Army directly.  Because he will avoid that type of confrontation, we must ramp-up our covert intelligence collection.

I realize I have given way more than was requested, but we all enjoying talking about ourselves, don't we?   

Post-Scotland: Crisis for Independence Movements in Europe?

List: Scotland Independence Referendum Complete Results


I was one of the many who anxiously followed the Scottish Independence Referendum results as they were announced. I'm not Scottish, but I love Scotland and I'm a bit sad that the voters rejected outright independence.   I'm also surprised.  I can't explain why, but I had this feeling that the voters would surprise the pundits.  Actually, they did.  The vote wasn't really close.  So I'm stuck humming "Loch Lomond" with a permanent vision of Queen Elizabeth and those ugly little dogs in my head.  Back on the continent, different folks with a variety of agendas set about interpreting the results.  Personally, I don't believe the referendum on Scotland is a precursor to anything (accept possibly another go by the Quebecois to separate from Canada).  Those persons keeping an eye on the various European independence movements now turn their focus on Catalonia, Spain. 

In 2012 the state government of Catalonia signed an agreement stating that a referendum on independence from Spain would be held in 2014 unless "socio-economic and political context make a postponement necessary".  Madrid is doing everything possible to legally combat the independence movement, which shouldn't be a surprise.  I will not get into the nuts and bolts of the Spanish financial crisis, except to say that I believe high domestic growth and international financing confidence indicate that the economy is on the mend.  The recent modest improvements in the economy have not discouraged the movement for Catalonian Independence.  Many Catalonians believe that Catalonia provides more to the Spanish government than it gets in return, especially when Barcelona is factored into the equation.  If Catalonia manages to hold the referendum in 2014 (which becomes less likely everyday), there is little doubt that the people will vote to secede by a statistical majority.  Even if the referendum is postponed for a year, I can't envision a scenario in which the Catalonian people vote against independence.  I'm going out on a limb here, but I believe the only way that Madrid can avoid a separation with Catalonia, is by proposing increased autonomy, and hoping that the Catalonians won't act unilaterally.  Frankly, I don't see this ending well.  With the Basque question presently on the back-burner ("hey, we were here first!"), the Spanish people are beginning to resent the Catalonian independence movement.  Most Spaniards have felt the pinch of austerity in recent years, and the Spanish media never misses an opportunity to portray Barcelona as the Bacchanalian capital of Europe, with plenty of drunk students and money from tourists to go around. My biggest concern, is that Madrid will be obliged to provide Catalonia with virtual independence, and the Basques will be right behind.

In all honestly, the so-called independence movements in mainland France (Brittany and Normandy being the only two that have received any media attention) are used as platforms to attract tourists.  Both Brittany and Normandy have fascinating and unique customs and dialects, but so does every region of France (trust me on this one; my family is from Angouleme).  The one exception is Corsica.

Since 1960, Corsica has suffered through periods of unrest highlighted by violence committed by Corsican nationalist groups.  Because of its location, the culture of Corsica incorporates traditions from France, Spain, as well as Italy.  In the mid to late 1970s, the underground independence movement was responsible for a number of assassinations, including mayors and policemen.  The government in Paris reacted aggressively and many arrests were made.  In the 1990s, the independence movement collapsed due to internal conflict, and in 2000, French President Lionel Jospin granted increased autonomy to Corsica.  Since then steps have been taken to protect the indigenous language, which is close to extinction.  One issue that has consistently caused problems is the building of summer/vacation homes in Corsica by wealthy Parisian families.  The last time I checked, the Parisians were winning, I'm sorry to say (of course, there's nothing wrong with a polite, half-French, half-Texan buying a vacation house in Bastia, right?).  You can commit the Corsican independence movement to history; France has won.

I am fascinated by the case of Belgium.  Fifty-five percent of Belgians (the northern side) speak Flemish (Dutch), and forty-five percent (the southern side), speak French and call themselves Walloons.  I once read an article which described Belgium as suffering from a case of "linguistic apartheid", which, ironically, is a Dutch word.  Basically, Belgium is a country made up of two separate nationalities, the Flemish and the Walloons, and neither side wants to play with the other.  Belgium is a wealthy country of 11.2 million souls, and (more irony), its capital Brussels is considered the de facto capital of the European Union.  Having spent some time in Belgium, I must say there seems to be a bit of snobbery at play on the part of the Flemish.  What keeps Belgium together?  More than anything else, its royal family.  Don't misunderstand; the Belgians don't adore their royals as the Dutch love the House of Orange.  Its just that the royal family seems to be the one thing that presides equally over both sides.  The rational thing to do would be for the Netherlands to annex north Belgium and for France to annex the south.  Brussels (and its environs) could remain a city-state, continuing its important functions relating to NATO and the EU.  But for something this prolific to happen, enough folks on both side would have to make the effort.  And no one cares enough to make the effort.

I won't delve into the examples of German "independence movements", because they follow the same examples of mainland France.  Bavarians want to talk about independence, but only if you come for Oktoberfest and drink lots of beer.  If you enjoy history as much as I do, you will appreciate the case of South Tyrol.  This situation involves Austria, not Germany; but I took advantage of the shared language to build a nice segue.  Time for a bit of history.  In 1914, The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire went to war against France, Russia, England, and Serbia (the Ottoman Empire, the United States, Italy and a few others joined later).  At the time, Germany and Austria-Hungary (Central Powers) were bound by a mutual-defense treaty with Italy.  The Italians chose to interpret their obligations quite narrowly and announced neutrality.  In 1915, Italy renounced its neutrality and declared war on the central Powers (Italy's former allies).  After the war, the victorious Allies dismembered Austria-Hungary, and, in payment for services rendered, gave Italy large swaths of Austrian territory including South Tyrol.  Even though another World War has occurred (in which the Italians switched sides AGAIN), many Austrians still resent Italy's land grab.  The former province of Tyrol is now split into North Tyrol (Austria) and South Tyrol (Italy).  Even today, seventy percent of people in South Tyrol speak German and identify themselves as ethnically Austrian.  Austrians in Tyrol take this issue very seriously, and at times groups of armed men have gathered in the mountains, anticipating hostilities.  Why won't Italy act sensibly, and return South Tyrol to Austria?  It has everything to do with the fact that South Tyrol is a wealthy province, with a booming tourist industry and a robust agricultural sector.  Unfortunately for Austrian Tyrolians, the government in Vienna is more pacifist than Heidi, and does nothing more than occasionally mention the issue politely through diplomatic channels.  In 1866, Italy demanded an end to Austrian rule in Venice because Venice was obviously an Italian city.  In 1918, the situation repeated itself with Trieste.  How about a little fair play from Rome?  Don't hold your breath.

I began this post with a bit of reflection on the Scottish referendum, and really never made any correlations.  I guess that was the point.  Every circumstance is different, and the independence issues on the mainland bear more similarities to the late problems in northern Ireland than they to do the temporary family disagreement over Scotland's status.  I do believe the issues mentioned above will attract the attention of the European media some time before the end of the year (with the exception of Corsica), as some dispensation has been debated.  Personally, I'm anxious to see the Quebec independence movement (Mouvement Souverainiste du Quebec) reassert itself and call for another referendum.  In 1995, the vote was razor-thin, with fifty-one-percent voting against independence and 49 percent in favor.