“13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI”

“13 Hours” ranks up there with the best war movies ever made. It’s a gripping movie that arouses your patriotism, touches your heart, and peaks your anger. My top ten list of great war movies, in order of release date, are listed below with links to the Internet Movie Database.

They Were Expendable (1945)

Twelve O’clock High (1949)

From Here to Eternity (1953)

In Harms Way (1965)

Patton (1970)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The Patriot (2000)

We Were Soldiers (2002)

American Sniper (2014)

13 Hours (2016) 

What all these movies have in common is that they not only portray combat realistically, it shows those who fight and die for our country as the complex, compassionate and patriotic people they really are. There’s a reason the American Warrior and the U.S. Armed Forces are the most respected class of people and institution in America, and they are it.

War movies at the top of my list, made in the twentieth century, didn’t have the advantage of the sophisticated, real-life-effect computerized graphics movies today have. But great graphics alone don’t make a good movie. Too many filmmakers today believe that all you need is eye-popping destruction and that will drive people to the box office. Moviegoers haven’t changed in the past 100 years. They want a good story, well acted, and well told.

To be sure, “13 Hours” has plenty of great graphic effects, but they don’t overshadow the story of the bravery and sacrifice of a small group of men who fought and died for their comrades. We’ve heard a lot about Benghazi on the news over the past three years. It’s become a hot political topic divided along party lines. For that reason, along with the fact that the story has received scant coverage in the mainstream media, many of not most Americans have tuned out to the story.

Michael Bay did a great job of making the movie as apolitical as possible. There’s no mention of Hillary Clinton or the Obama administration attempt to cover up what really happened in Benghazi. Nevertheless, the debate over Benghazi is too well known, if not well understood, and you can’t watch the move without asking yourself, Why did the President, the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor lie to the American people and believe they could get away with it. Why didn’t AFRICOM deploy assets to support the beleaguered diplomatic post and the CIA annex?

The movie never explains why AFRICACOM or EUCOM never launched an effort to support those fighting and dying in Benghazi; but can you imagine them not taking action unless ordered not to from above? I can’t.

There’s no need for me to summarize the plot of “13 Hours.” You know the gist of the story. But no matter what you think you know, I guarantee you that you’ll come away from the movie with knowledge and insight you didn’t have before. I give “13 Hours” five stars.

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“The Transplants” a novel by Ed Ross. Click on image.

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Movies-TV, Uncategorized, 13 hours, AFRICOM, Benghazi, CIA, Hillary Clinton, Michael Bay, Obama

GET A FREE COPY OF “THE TRANSPLANTS”

Starting today for the next 21 days I’m offering fre copies of “The Transplants” in exchange for your review at StoryCartel.com. Check it out.

Of the potentially billions of planets in the Universe that could support intelligent life like that on Earth, is it not reasonable to assume that at least one of them contains life that very much resembles humans? If so, would they share our beliefs in God, religion and human love?

“The Transplants” is a science fiction novel about Rion and Sena, two refugees from just such a planet who travel across the galaxy to Earth to save their species from extinction. Arriving on Earth, they are separated at sea in a hurricane. He washes up on the coast of Georgia. An Australian billionaire on his yacht rescues her and takes her to Australia. Pursued by an obsessed NASA scientist, an FBI agent and multiple foreign intelligence services, they must find each other, survive, evade and escape capture. It’s a science fiction story, an action adventure story, a love story and the eternal story of intelligent life’s relationship with the Universe. 

Filed under: Books, Australia, CIA, Ed Ross, ewross.com, FBI, navel, Perth, space travel, suspended animation, The Transplants, Yachts

THE TRANSPLANTS

“The Transplants is selling briskly on Amazon.com. Thanks to everyone who’s purchased a copy. For those who haven’t yet; remember, you don’t need a Kindle device to read the Kindle edition. Just download the free Kindle app from “The a Transplants” book page on Amazon.com. Also e-books make great gifts, especially for people far away like troops serving overseas. All you need is an email address.

For those of you who don’t generally read SciFi books, “The Transplants” isn’t your normal SciFi novel. No aliens with superpowers, no little green men; just a story about two people from another planet who look just like us in search of a planet where they can save their species and live anonomyous lives. On the run from the U.S. government that wants to lock them away and study them and from foreign governments that want to do the same, they survive, evade and escape across two continents before a final confrontation with their pursuers, It’s a SciFi story by definition, but it’s much more. It’s a love story, an action adventure story, and a Washington, D.C. bureaucratic politics story.

Try it you’ll like it. If you don’t, I’ll provide verified purchasers their money back.

Watch the trailer/teaseer at https://www.youtube.com/user/EWRossdotcom

Filed under: Books, Australia, CIA, Ed Ross, FBI, love story, novel, Perth, space aliens, The Transplants, yacht

ASSAD, CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND OBAMA

A year ago, President Barack Obama said that if the Bashar al-Assad regime used chemical weapons in Syria, it would cross a red line that would result in “serious consequences.” Last week, Assad crossed that line again, killing hundreds and debilitating several thousand with a chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus. Will President Obama impose serious consequences this time?  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, Adlai Stevenson, al-Qai’da, Amb. Lincoln Bloomfield, Bashar al-Assad, centcom, Chemical warfare, chemical weapons, china, CIA, civil war, Cuban Missile Crisis, Damascus, DIA, Ed Ross, ewross, Free syrian Army, humanitarian disaster, Iraq, national security bureaucracy, OSD, President Barack Obama, red line, Russsia, Samantha Power, SOCOM, State, Syria, Syrian rebels, The National Interest, United Nations, WMD

TWO ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE BENGHAZI COVER UP

 

Is the Benghazi cover up just about hiding incompetence, dereliction of duty and deceptive presidential politics or are there plausible, more troubling explanations?  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, 2012 presidential election, 9/11/2012, al-Qai’da, anti-Muslim video, arms smuggling operation, arms transfers, Benghazi, Capitol Hill, CIA, CNN, Congress, conservative talk radio, cover-up, DoD, Ed Ross, ewross, Fox News, Hiillary Clinton, House Intelligence Committee, Iran Contra, Libya, President Obama, Senate Intelligence Committee, Syria, Syrian rebels, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, Watergate

OBAMA’S DISREGARD FOR THE NATURE OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM

President Obama’s fundamental disregard for the nature of Islamic terrorism, no doubt, has Islamist-jihadists around the world cheering.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, 9/11, Afghanistan, al-Qai’da, American citizens, Arabian Peninsula, armed drones, as Qaeda, barack obama, businessmen, caliphate, chaos in the Islamic world, Christian martyrs, Christianity, CIA, communists, counterterrorism, declare victory and go home, democracy, deter and combat terrorism, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Ed Ross, Egypt, enemy, enemy combatants, European countries, ewross, fascists, gangsters, Guantanamo, Horn of Africa, Imperial Japanese armed forces, individual freedom, intelligence, Iraq, Islamic terrorism, Islamic-jihadists, israel, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, law enforcement, Mafia, martyrs, middle east, Military, military vs. criminal justice counterterrorism strategies, Miranda warnings, Muslim Brotherhood, National Defense University, nazi, Pakistan-Afghanistan border, patriots, President Obama, Quran, Roman Empire, Romans, secular Muslims, Sharia law, Sunni and Shia Muslims, terrorists’ handbook, true believers, United States, Vietnam War, water-boarded, will of Allah, world war II

WHY THE BENGHAZI STORY WON’T GO AWAY

President Barack Obama has been adept at deflecting Republicans’ continuing questions about the 9/11/12 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Still, the story won’t go away because the explanations he and his administration have provided don’t add up, and a strong odor of cover up lingers in the air. It’s been five months since the Benghazi attack. Even if we accept the Obama administrations explanations for what happened before, during and after the attack, we still don’t know full story. What difference does it make, at this point, whether or not we know the full story? It makes a difference whenever the President of the United States attempts to deceive the American people.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, 9/11/12, Admiral Mike Mullen, al-Qai’da, Ambassador Chris Stevens, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Ambassador to Libya, American people, anti Muslin video, Benghazi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA, consulate in Benghazi, cover-up, covert activities, covert paramilitary activity, Department of Defense, Department of State, Ed Ross, ewross, fell through the cracks, fog of war, General Martin Dempsey, Hillary Clinton, intelligence community, Iran Contra, Libya, List of terrorist incidents, mistakes were made, Muammar Qaddafi, Mujahedeen, Muslim rebels, Obama administration officials, Obama’s reelection campaign, Osama Ben Laden, President Barack Obama, President of the United States, President Ronald Reagan, pro-American, republicans, Russian occupation of Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Secretary of State, Senate Armed Services Committee, Syria, talking points, Turkey, U.S. government, U.S. Navy SEALS, UN Ambassador Susan Rice

THE DRONE WARS

During the George W. Bush administration, Democrats and anti-war groups derided enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) and the detention facility at Guantanamo as inconsistent with American values and a recruiting tool for al-Qai’da. Far fewer of those critics decry the Obama administration’s killing of al-Qai’da terrorists, including American citizens, with drone strikes, despite the collateral damage that is far more detrimental to winning friends in the Islamic world.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, 9/11/2001, al-Qaeda, al-Qai’da, American citizens, American values, American warriors, anti-war groups, CIA, CIA director, collateral damage, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, democrats, Department of Justice, detainees, drone strikes, drone wars, Ed Ross, EITs, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, Geneva Conventions, George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration, Guantanamo, high-value targets, hypocrisy, illegal enemy combatants, John Brennan, north vietnamese army, Osama Bin Laden, precision guided munitions, Presidency of George W. Bush, President Obama, republicans, SEAL Team 6, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Taliban, U.S. criminal justice system, vietcong, Vietnam War, White Paper, world war II

BENGHAZI: INCOMPETENCE AND NEGLIGENCE, OR SOMETHING MORE?

The more we learn about what happened before, during, and after the Benghazi attack, the more unanswered questions remain. The Obama administration is withholding answers to those questions. Americans have the right to know the whole truth and whether the President simply is covering up incompetence, negligence and the failure of his Middle East policy or something more.   (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, 11th anniversary of 9/11, 9/11/12 attack, al-Qaeda, Amb. Chris Stevens, anti-Muslim video, Benghazi, Benghazi consulate, Catherine Herridge, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, CIA annex, combat aircraft, Congress, Ed Ross, emergency meeting, ewross, Fox News, intelligence community, Italy, Jennifer Griffin, Libya, Libyan government. Muammar Qaddafi, mainstream media, man-portable surface to air missiles, middle east, Middle East policy, obama administration, Obama reelection campaign, President Obama, presidential election campaign, rebels in Syria, scandal, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sigonella, special operations forces, spontaneous demonstration, State Department, terrorists, U.S. military, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, weapons of mass destruction, White House, White House Press Secretary Tim Carney

ISOLATIONIST REPUBLICANS VS. INTERVENTIONIST DEMOCRAT

Are Republicans returning to their isolationist roots while Democrats under President Barack Obama become more interventionist?

Polling results and recent statements by Republican presidential hopefuls suggest that Republicans are becoming more isolationists. Conversely, while the far left remains staunchly anti-war and non-interventionist, President Barack Obama, in the mold of his post-World War II Democratic predecessors, appears to be leading Democrats, albeit unwillingly, toward greater interventionism. He seeks to maintain substantial U.S. forces in Iraq. He continues the war in Afghanistan. He’s intervened in Libya. And he is conducting not-so-secret wars in Pakistan and Yemen.  (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, 1945, 9/11, Afghanistan, anit-war, anti-interventionist, Bay of Pigs, Bill Clinton, Bosnia, Chinese Civil War, CIA, conservative Republicans, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, Democratic Party, Dwight Eisenhower, Ed Ross, ewross, Facebook, French Indochina, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Germany, GOP New Hampshire debate, Grenada, Hamid Karzai, harry truman, insurgents, intervened in Libya, interventionist Democrats, Iraq, isolationist Republicans, isolationist roots, Japan, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lyndon Johnson, military over extension, Mitt Romney, nation building, NATO, Panama, Pat Buchanan, Pew Poll, post Vietnam War, President Barack Obama, republican party, Ronald Reagan, Rwanda, sarah palin, Sen John McCain, South Korea, terrorists, U.S. Marines, Vietnam, war in Afghanistan, war weariness, world war II

ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES: It’s Time for a Law That Authorizes Their Use

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Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

As we learned following the killing of Osama bin Laden, enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) played an important role in the CIA eventually tracking him to his Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound. It’s time to stop the spurious arguments about EITs and for Congress to enact a law permitting the President of the United States, and only the President, to authorize the use of well defined and limited EITs when he determines they are essential to the national security of the United States.  (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, 9/11, Abbottabad, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, abu Faraj al-Libbi, Abu Zubaydah, Adb al-Rahim al-Nashiri, al-Qaeda, Attorney General Eric Holder, Central Intelligence Agency, Chris Wallace, CIA, CIA interrogators, Congress, courier, detainee, Ed Ross, EITs, enact a law, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, Fox News Sunday, George W. Bush, House of Representatives, Islamist-Jihadism, John McCain, Jose Rodriguez, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, KSM, Leon Panetta, majority leader, Michael Hayden, Michael Mukasey, Mike McConnell, minority leader, obama administration, Op-ed, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, President of the United States, presidential candidate, Senate, Speaker, Tom Donilon, torture, Washington Post

GENERAL PETRAEUS TO CIA: Is He the Right Person to Replace Panetta?

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Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

President Barack Obama has named CIA Director Leon Panetta to replace Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and GEN David Petraeus to replace Panetta. My April 18 column discussed the kind of person that should replace Gates and concluded that Panetta may not be the right person for the job. What about Petraeus; is he the right person to lead the CIA in these troubled times, and how will Osama Bin Laden’s death affect how Petraeus does his job.  (More)

Filed under: National Security, 9/11, ADM Mike Mullen, ADM Sidney Souers, ADM Stansfield Turner, bureaucratic battles, Central Intelligence Agency, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA, CIA interrogators, CJCS, clandestine service, David Petraeus, Director Central Intelligence, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Director of the CIA, Ed Ross, ewross, GEN Michael Hayden, General Petraeus, Guantanamo, Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Leon Panetta, LTGEN James Clapper, middle east, North Africa, Pakistan, Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, President Barack Obama, President Harry Truman, Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon

CALIPHATE, COUPS, OR CONSTITUTIONS: Barack Obama’s Greatest Foreign Policy Challenge

Image by Imagery by Pete via Flickr

The sense of relief in the Obama administration and in Washington, D.C., was palpable the day after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak resigned and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt under Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (75) assumed power, promising free and fair democratic elections in September. Fears of the infamous Muslim Brotherhood’s ascendency waned and hopes for the spread of freedom and democracy were encouraged. The media, for the time being, will focus its cameras elsewhere; and Americans can return to worrying about jobs, deficits, and the economy. The outcome in Egypt, however, is far from settled, and the implications for governments from Algiers to Teheran ensure we will soon go down this road again. Washington now must assess multiple situations and move intelligently and effectively to influence them.  (More)

Filed under: National Security, Africa, Algiers, barack obama, bogyman, caliphate, challenge, CIA, constitutions, coups, Ed Ross, Egypt, ewross, foreign policy, Hosni Mubarak, International Republican Institute, Iran, James Clapper, Leon Panetta, military assistance, Mohamed Hussein Tanntawi, Muslim Brotherhood, National Democraticc Institute for International Affairs, presidential election, professional military education, Sharia law, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt, Tehran, Tunisia, United States

RONALD REAGAN: What You Saw is What You Got

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Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday Sunday provides an opportunity for people who respected and admired him to talk and write the President and his legacy. Some recall his great achievements—his role in ending the Cold War, Reganomics, and the revival of conservatism. Others reminisce about his acting and political careers before he became president. Others remember his storytelling, his boundless sense of optimism, and his deep and enduring love of America.

As someone who arrived in Washington, D.C., the year before President Reagan and who worked in the Department of Defense during his eight years in office, I remember a president who inspired and empowered the people that worked for him, didn’t require or create a bloated national-security bureaucracy, and who you didn’t have to analyze to understand. What you saw is what you got. (More)

Filed under: The Presidency, 100th birthday, Afghanistan, American Exceptionalism, Bill Clinton, Bob Gates, Caspar Weinberger, china, CIA, cold war, Conservatism, Defense Intelligence Agency, DoD, DoS, Ed Ross, empowerment, ewross, faith in America, George HW Bush, George Schultz, George W. Bush, Iran-Contra Affair, legacy, limited government, national security, national security establishment, office of the Secretary of Defense, President Barack Obama, Reganomics, Ronald Reagan, Soviets, Taiwan, US arms sales, US Army attache, Vietnam War, Washington DC, what you saw is what you got, William Casey

THE PERENNIAL CHINA-POLICY DEBATE: Conciliation vs. Carrots and Sticks

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Bill Gertz of the Washington Times in his October 20 “Inside the Ring” column reports on the current China-policy debate within the Obama administration. He identifies two opposing groups—the “kowtow” group, and the “sad and disappointed” group. Twenty-five years ago we called them the “convert-them-to-Christianity-and-democracy” group and the “let’s-just-outsmart-them” group. The U.S. players in the perennial China-policy debate change as administrations come and go, but the fundamental differences between two classic approaches to China remain the same. (More)

Filed under: China-Taiwan, access and influence, Bill Gertz, carrots and sticks, china, China scholars, China-policy debate, Chinese Communist Party, Chinese military establishment, Chip Gregson, Christian missionaries, Christianity and democracy, CIA, cold war, conciliation and concession, Ed Ross, ewross, foreign policy, Hillary Clinton, Inside the Ring, Iran, Kurt Campbell, Leon Panetta, north korea, obama administration, People's Republic of China, Policy debate, Richard Armitage, Robert Gates, Ronald Reagan, soviet union, Taiwan, Tiananmen massacre, US arms sales to Taiwan, US defense policy, US-China relations, Washington Times