Thomas Wictor

Two days ago I was finally able to get back into my Meniere’ disease dietary regimen. It took three years for me to process my parents’ deaths. For me, suffering is immediate. It’s very real. I guess most people have to experience something before they can empathize, but I have no patience for that.

Stop sending me links to debates about the ethics of fighting terrorism. If you don’t want to fight terrorism, then die. I’ll stick with the people who don’t feel guilty about saving their own lives and the lives of others.

Suffering mush

Before my parents were both diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, I religiously followed the low-salt Meniere’s disease diet. It meant hours of preparation of fresh foods. When my father began requiring round-the-clock care, I switched to foods that were convenient. Then my mother slowly committed suicide, and I discovered that my book publicist was a crook. He killed the best work of my life.

From 2013 until 2016, it was nothing but bad news and setbacks. But I finally mustered the discipline to avoid processed food again. I’m not interested in spending hours preparing my meals, and I’ve given up animal protein, so what I eat is cereal with soy milk for breakfast; unsalted nuts and soy milk for lunch; and ground-up fruit, vegetables, and soy milk for dinner.

All my big glasses disappeared over the last three years. I therefore eat my evening meal from a vase.

Blueberries, strawberries, mixed veggies, and vanilla soy milk.

At some point I’ll begin grilling again. In time.

Deserved suffering

Here’s what’s happening in Syria: The Iranians, Iranian proxies, Hezbollah, and Russians have suspended major combat operations; the Syrian Arab Army continues to fight. Arabs of the army and select militias are defeating the Islamic State and jihadist rebels. It’s necessary for the Syrian Arab Army to remain in existence and rack up victories. This will prevent the nightmare that we saw in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

Russia and Iran are playacting. They’ve caused so much suffering that I don’t mind exposing them as frauds.

Here’s the Russian Kamov Ka-52 Alligator gunship, which is supposed to be the best such aircraft in the world.

It’s laughable junk, as effective as a chimp hurling its own feces. The unguided rockets fly in all directions.

As a consequence, the rockets hit the ground randomly.

Below is how American MH-60L DAP (Direct Action Penetrator) gunships fire unguided rockets.

Vladimir Putin is lucky that I have no power. If I were Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I’d be giving daily press conferences on how pathetic the Russians are. But that would be counterproductive.

Things are as they should be. I’m just a blogger, and people with the correct temperament are fixing the world’s problems.

Suffering humiliation

Every single Iranian commander sent to Syria has been killed. They ran out of brigadier generals and are now sending colonels. Guess what’s happening to them?

Three Senior Iranian officers, who have been operating in Syria as military advisers to pro-Assad forces, were reportedly killed during clashes with rebel groups in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, Iranian sources reported on Sunday.

According to the Iranian state agency Tasnim, Colonel Mashallah Shamsi of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards was killed on Saturday in clashes with Syrian rebel fighters in Aleppo.

On Sunday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards also bid farewell to the military commanders Jamal Riza and Saeed Musafer, who were killed after clashes broke out between Syrian rebel forces and pro-Assad troops in Aleppo province.

When you have no more generals and have to use colonels, you’re in trouble.

Today the Iranians put out this sad propaganda.

Although the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade exists, the men above are not members. They’re too old, and they have no trigger discipline (red arrow).

Actors. Below are real troops of the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade.

These young men are good at goose stepping and dying. That’s it. They hate Jews, but they’re armed with Uzi submachine guns.

Shared suffering

At least fifteen years ago, the Saudis began reforming their armed forces. One of the changes they made was requiring that officers endure all the physical training that enlisted men do. King Salman’s main bodyguard is Brigadier General Abdul Aziz Al-Faghm of the Special Forces.

His qualification badges include a Special Forces tab, Saudi Counter-Terrorism Special Service badge level two, Saudi Counter-Terrorism Special Service badge level one, and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal badge. It took him a decade to earn those qualifications. As a brigadier general, he has to be around fifty years old, but he has all the physical skills of a man in his twenties.

Brigadier General Al-Faghm was awarded the Order of Bravery sometime last year, which means that he engaged in combat. See how he walks with his arms held away from his sides? That’s a technique used by protection details.

Next we have a major of the Saudi Special Forces.

He has nine qualification badges.

Saudi Special Forces tab.
US Army Master Parachutist jump wings.
US Navy Master Parachutist jump wings.
Saudi Counter-Terrorism Special Service badge level two.
Saudi Counter-Terrorism Special Service badge level one.
Saudi Air Force pilot’s wings.
Saudi Land Forces marksmanship badge.
Saudi Explosive Ordnance Disposal badge.
Saudi Combat Diver badge.

In comparison, General Peter Schoomkaer, US Army (retired), is a former Delta Force operator and Army Chief of Staff.

Schoomkaer has five qualification badges.

US Army Master Parachutist jump wings.
Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge.
Special Forces tab.
Ranger tab.
Royal Thai Airborne jump wings.

Why are Saudi officers now required to be as qualified as the men? Because in Arab armies of the past, officers were appointed according to their family ties, and they had nothing but contempt for their soldiers. It was a social-class issue.

Officers and men who experience the same thing become like a family. No mission is too difficult. If you know that your general has the same background as you, it inspires you to fight harder. You’re all in it together.

The greatest American military hero you’ve never heard of is Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr.

He was my kind of guy. A multimillionaire, he had the means to spend all his time on his passions: theater, writing, alligators, and close combat. During World War I, he joined the US Marine Corps at the age of forty-one and revolutionized how men were taught to fight. Unarmed, he would take on soldiers with bayoneted rifles, and he’d always win.

In 1942, Biddle was recalled to active duty at the age of sixty-eight. He taught close combat—including the use of hand grenades—until the end of the war.

Anthony Drexel Biddle Sr. was a devout Christian whose faith didn’t cloud his thinking. He understood that there are evil people in the world who must be killed.

The Saudis have changed everything about their armed forces. Now their main goal is to alleviate suffering. Like Anthony Drexel Biddle Sr., they’re not conflicted in the slightest.

That’s why I admire them. They don’t waste time and energy justifying themselves. This isn’t a debating exercise; it’s war. People have to be killed.

But the Saudis kill the right people. They’re also saving millions of lives. Eventually you’ll see that I’m correct.