In the annals of the phenomenally stupid moves made by organizations and characters, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — al-Sham if you want to buy into IS propaganda and call it ISIS; I respectfully refuse to call the Christian Levant by any other name) has chosen to target several individuals of prominence.
Among them? Virginia State Senator and former Colonel Dick Black.
“Capitol police called me yesterday afternoon,” Black said on Tuesday. “They just wanted to be sure that I was aware of it because, of course, ISIS has been an ultra-violent organization. These are people who have been burning people in cages and beheading them.”
. . .
Black, a former Pentagon lawyer who was chief of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division while stationed in Germany in the 1980s, has sometimes used his perch in state politics as a soapbox for international affairs. He drew international attention a year ago by sending a letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, thanking him for defending Christians. The Syrian president posted the letter on his Facebook page.
Since then, reporters with international news outlets have sometimes sought Black out for comment. Within the past month, he was interviewed with the Russian state RT news service, and the magazine quoted some of his comments.
“One thing is clear, if Damascus falls, the dreaded black and white flag of ISIS will fly over Damascus,” Black is quoted as saying. “Within a period of months after the fall of Damascus, Jordan will fall and Lebanon will fall. … I think you will automatically see a beginning of a historic push of Islam towards Europe and I think, ultimately, Europe will be conquered.”
Now obviously, I don’t have much penchant for bucking up the regime of al-Assad — though the Syrian regime’s tolerance of Arab Christians makes it unique in the region. That having been said, Black isn’t just any old state senator comfortably deliberating on legislation from his perch in Richmond.
In Vietnam, Dick Black flew 269 helicopter missions and was wounded in ground fighting with the 1st Marine Regiment. As a JAG lawyer, he was a career prosecutor and ran the Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon.
Oh, and what State Senator Black won’t tell you that others will? Black earned a Purple Heart for his service.
So you gotta question the wisdom of targeting someone like Dick Black. In my head, some scene from Patriot Games ensues where Jack Ryan kills all the bad guys in his own house. Or as so many ducks in a row, Senator Black ties the bandana around his forehead and this sort of carnage ensues:
Of all the people you could possibly target, was Colonel Dick Black really the guy ISIL wanted to pick out?
Y’all have fun with that.
