Some of Dan Cragg's Writings

  IGÇÖve decided to let these letters speak for themselves so readers can form their own judgments about his mind set.

  In a letter to the Washington Times of September 18, 1995. p. A18, Cragg said:

Were I a citizen of the Republic of South Korea, reading Harry G. Summers' "Pursuit of peace in the Pacific" (Commentary, Aug. 31), would lead me to conclude two things: The good Col. Summers has flipped his wig, and I'd better find a deep hole, because if the security of my country depends on the promises of Bill Clinton to defend it, all is lost. Even a cursory examination of Mr. Clinton's public life reveals that he has never defended anyone but himself, and when goaded into making a difficult decision, inevitably it is based solely on his perception of its short-term political advantage.

To assert that Mr. Clinton may be the "most effective peacekeeper" of all our presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt is so breathtakingly absurd one wonders if Col. Summers has abandoned the pose of military-affairs pundit and now aspires to sit with that gaggle of blow-dried fig-eaters advising the current White House resident.

So the belated removal from office of Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney over sexual harassment charges is seen by some as preferential treatment? The argument goes that since drill sergeants are removed from troop duty at the first whisper of sexual misconduct, so should the Army's top noncommissioned officer.

But there is a precedent for leaving Mr. McKinney right where he is. The sergeant major's very own commander-in-chief still sits in office despite lurid allegations that he is a sexual harasser of the first magnitude. What works for the commander-in-chief should also work for his soldiers.

And let us not forget that Mr. McKinney earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge in Vietnam, serving his country on the firing line, facing a powerful and resolute enemy. That was an act of greater courage and self-sacrifice than any his commander-in-chief has ever attempted.

  In his letter of March 27, 1995, p. C2, Cragg said:

Ralph Dombrower of Richmond has a good and very original idea when he suggests that Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria be retroceded to the District of Columbia to assuage that jurisdiction's "financial woes." If carried through, Mr. Dombrower's suggestion might give the District the impetus it needs to become the 51st state, and then Marion Barry could be its first governor, while Virginia's John Warner and Jesse Jackson could be its senators.[author note: Cragg broke with Webb when the latter supported Chuck Robb over Ollie North; I am guessing John Warner, who refused toi endorse North, is somehow being vilified here]

The only drawback to this is that many people now living in the affected parts of Virginia might object to living under the District's peculiar system of governance. They should be given assistance to migrate elsewhere.

I recommend a massive helicopter evacuation a la the U.S. Embassy in Saigon circa April 30, 1975. It could take place from the parking lot in front of the Taj Mahal at the Fairfax County's government center complex.

Mr. Dombrower has an idea whose time has come. By the way, how're real estate prices in Richmond these days?

  This January 27, 1994 Cragg letter appeared in the Times at p. A18:

I find it rather bizarre that an old warrior like Harry Summers ("Reaffirmation for women warriors," Commentary, Jan. 20) views the statistic of six women killed and 21 wounded in the Gulf war as a significant, let alone positive, development in opening opportunities for women in military service. Isn't that like equating increased rates of lung cancer among women as indicators of their "liberation" because it disposes of the old taboo that a lady shouldn't smoke? Our shortest and least-costly war in human terms should not be the basis of prognosticating the outcome of future conflicts, although I think Col. Summers is correct that it will have "profound implications" on the composition of any force deployed in the future.

Some day we'll face a real enemy who knows how to fight. Had 6.8 percent of our forces in Korea in November 1950 been composed of women, as was the case in Desert Storm, how would that have played in Peoria, much less along the icy roads during the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir to Hungnam?

  This letter in the Washington Times appeared November 9, 1993 at C2:

I wish Adrienne T. Washington could specify how the Draconian gun-control measures she and her friends wish imposed on the law-abiding residents of Virginia will reduce violence in the District of Columbia, or anywhere else in this country ("Va. vote shot holes in gun-control hopes," Nov. 5). If we lived in a jungle and our lives were threatened by wild beasts, we would welcome any effort by game wardens to control the animal population. If we were beset by man-eating tigers in our homes or businesses, not a soul would ever gainsay us the right and necessity of defending ourselves until the wardens arrive.

In reality, we do live in a jungle of sorts, where the beasts of prey walk on two legs and drive automobiles to their hunting grounds.

Let the anti-gunners Ms. Washington admires so much - Mary Sue Terry; Jeff Muchnick, legislative director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence; Massachusetts Gov. William Weld; and Maudine Cooper, president of the Washington Urban League - defend themselves with words and their garden tools. But for the rest of us, a heavy-caliber firearm will do.

As for adults who let children get their hands on guns, punish them as severely as we should anyone who misuses a firearm. However, don't stigmatize the rest of us for the evil and stupid acts of a few.

  Here is a letter of CraggGÇÖs published May 28, 1993 at F2:

The press reaction from Japan over the acquittal of Rodney Peairs in the tragic shooting death of Yoshihiro Hattori in Baton Rouge, La., last Halloween is amazing ("Japan irate over acquittal in killing of teen," World, May 25). Have our Japanese friends forgotton so soon the bellicosity of their parents and how it propelled both our countries into World War II? Plenty of Americans are alive today who remember those events too well to accept lectures from Japanese newspaper editors on the faults they perceive in the American justice system or the right of American citizens to defend themselves in their homes.

Instead of pontificating on the violence and disorder in our society, thoughtful Japanese might understand us better by contemplating the violence and bloodshed of their own recent history, and how the grip of imperialism on the Japanese heart and mind was broken by the force of American arms.

  This commentary appeared in the Times on Oct. 4, 1992 at B5:

As an observer of the controversy over who should serve in our armed forces, I am struck by how some of the most opinionated, not to mention well-respected commentators, lack any empirical experience of military service. This lack of evidence is nowhere more evident than in recent statements by Bill Clinton, who would rescind service regulations barring homosexuals from the ranks, and by William F. Buckley Jr., who apparently agrees, thus implying that Mr. Clinton's position is common sense. I refer to Mr. Buckley's Sept. 15 column, "When closet doors open on the right." That Mr. Clinton, a professional politican, takes this stand, I can understand; Mr. Buckley I cannot. In order for Mr. Buckley to better comprehend life in the barracks, where every belch is public knowledge, I suggest he invite a gay couple to share his bedroom and lavatory for a while.  [authorGÇÖs note:  Buckley served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army between 1944-45, according to Wikipedia]

Mr. Buckley postulates a gay platoon sergeant whose preferences, as long as he "obeys military regulations shouldn't endanger the republic or even his own platoon." Oh, yeah? I guess Mr. Buckley has never known an irascible or venal platoon sergeant, much less one who is a gay and in love with a rifleman. That scenario will last only until he has to pick his "companion" to walk point. No matter how fair he might try to be, or any of the less life-threatening details he has to assign his sol diers, they always will suspect favoritism. There goes morale, there goes unit cohesion.

Flesh being what it is, no regulation or law can protect impressionable teen-agers from unwanted attentions of noncommissioned officers or officer lechers, nor can they protect them in the pressure-cooked environment of a small military unit. In civilian life we can tolerate almost any kind of outrageous conduct because we can escape from it. That is not possible in the mililtary; and Mr. Buckley, safe from the environment he would prescribe for our children and grandchildren, should know it.

  Cragg also writes under the nom de plume GÇ£finucaneGÇ¥ (a family name) on a fan website for the Starfist military/sci fi books he has co-authored.  (His comments make it plain that he is the co-author of the series.  I recall one of the comments is in fact signed Dan Cragg.)  Here is the discussion thread link:  http://www.starfisth...  His comments there are almost all specific to the Starfist series, but a few comments stood out:
 

http://www.starfisth...
Gibbon estimated that the number of slaves in the Roman Empire was at least equal to the number of  free Romans.  That is millions of slaves.  They were everywhere, sort like illegal immigrants here today.

http://www.starfisth...
You must be thinking of Sicily which is prosperous, peaceful, well ordered, unlike our own cities -- because it's run by the Mafia.

Comments