Afghanistan War

Does The Republican Party Have No Shame? The 9/11 Responders Health Legislation Rejected In The Senate! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

One always likes to think that the Republican Party of 2010 has SOME conscience and decency, but it is obvious that this party, which is soon to gain control of the House of Representatives, and six more seats in the Senate, has ABSOLUTELY no shame or sense of dignity! 🙁

The “Party Of NO” has just filibustered, and prevented the passage of 9/11 Responders Health legislation in the US Senate, declaring they cannot back it because of its COST! 🙁

The fact that these “first responders” sacrificed their health, and many sacrificed their lives, to help the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center, does not seem to be enough of a reason to support any and all health coverage that these heroes need. 🙁

The fact that the tax agreement reached with President Obama by the GOP will add tremendously to the national debt does not perturb Republicans, as the super wealthy MUST have their outrageous tax cut, but the first responders are simply not that important, even though the GOP is quick to support action in Afghanistan and Iraq, costing more than a trillion dollars added to the national debt over the past nine years.

But, apparently, anything involving health care for ANYONE is not the business of the American government, and veterans in our military should keep that in mind, as they apparently do not do, assuming that the GOP will support veterans AFTER their service, which historically they have NOT done. 🙁

When, oh when, are military people, and the American people at large, finally going to realize that the Republican Party is ONLY concerned about the wealthy among us, and give not a damn about those who sacrifice for our country, whether on September 11, 2001, or on the battlefields far from home? 🙁

Elizabeth Edwards’s Funeral And The Westboro Baptist Church: Time To Say NO To Hateful Demonstration At Moment Of Mourning! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

The author has written before about the hateful Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, led by the Reverend Fred Phelps, a church consisting of mostly his family of about 50 relatives, which demonstrates at military funerals of soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, promoting their hate of gay rights, and claiming America is going to hell!

There is a case in the Supreme Court right now, which will soon be decided, as to whether this is an issue of free speech, assembly and religion, or one of obscene, disgraceful behavior which interferes with the mourning of families at these military funerals of our heroes.

Now, with the death of Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of former Senator John Edwards, a woman much respected, admired and loved by millions of people, the Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket her funeral in the same despicable manner that they do at military funerals. 🙁

It is time for this outrageous behavior to be banned at any point anywhere near the mourners, not only at the Edwards funeral, but ALL funerals, military or otherwise, now and in the future.

To call this freedom of speech, assembly and religion is a total distortion of the meaning of the First Amendment. Such reprehensible behavior should NOT be endorsed or supported, and hopefully, the Supreme Court will soon rule that the Westboro Baptist Church should not be allowed any closer than three miles to any funeral that they wish, with their hatred motivation, to disrupt.

It is time to take a stand against what is wrong, and ban it anywhere near the site of a funeral, and allow the mourners to have peace of mind and solitude as they mourn their loved ones.

The Strange Relationship Of Joe Lieberman And John McCain

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The story of the strange, odd relationship between Independent Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona continues to amaze.

Lieberman was the Vice Presidential running mate of Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election.

After September 11, Lieberman became very fixated on national security, including giving full support to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, joining McCain and many Republicans in that view, including Vice President Dick Cheney.

By 2006, Lieberman had alienated many Democrats, lost the Democratic Senatorial primary for another term, and ran as an independent Democrat, winning back his seat.

By 2008, he had antagonized the Democratic Party further by refusing to support Barack Obama, and endorsing John McCain for President.

He was on the short list of McCain to run for Vice President, which would have been a path breaking bi-partisan ticket.

There was some consideration by the Democratic Party to deny him a chairmanship because of his disloyalty, but Obama made clear that he did not support such an action.

Lieberman and McCain have continued to be the best of friends, and on national security and defense, they are united.

But as McCain turned further right in order to win back his Senate seat, Lieberman continued to be a liberal on domestic issues, other than homeland security.

So Lieberman is working very hard to end “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military, while McCain is leading the charge to keep it the policy of the defense establishment. Lieberman has even said that he is working on McCain but is having no success in changing his mind.

The two men are on opposite ends of the abortion issue as well, along with all other domestic issues, and yet they remain good friends and socialize a great deal with each other.

A book will be written someday analyzing the strange, odd friendship and alliance of Lieberman and McCain–of how a basically liberal Democrat and conservative Republican could become such strong allies on things they believe in common, and strong opponents of each other, in a very civil way, on issues that they totally disagree on.

This may be the greatest, but oddest relationship of two opposing Senators since the famous one of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch!

Barack Obama, Commander In Chief: Reluctant Warrior!

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As Barack Obama speaks to the nation this evening, commemorating the end of the combat phase of the war in Iraq after seven years and six months, there remains uncertainty about the future of that nation, and continued concern about the war in Afghanistan, and the expansion of actions against terrorism in Pakistan and Yemen!

Obama entered the Presidency with two wars to deal with, along with all of the other burdens regarding the economic recession, and the interest in reforming health care and other parts of his domestic agenda!

He had to adjust to the military culture, and the reality that many in the military and the defense structure were not thrilled by his ascendancy!

As he decided to escalate the war in Afghanistan, and to use drones in Pakistan and utilize intelligence operations in Yemen, he received the criticism of liberals and Democrats who wanted him to get out of the war! But at the same time, Republicans and conservatives have remained skeptical about his long range commitment to the war on terror!

Obama was smart to lean on and rely on Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General David Petraeus, and they both were very willing to assist him in difficult moments!

Obama has been described as a “reluctant warrior”, who felt the burden of the wars, and felt oppressed by the deaths of soldiers and the massive injuries many young war veterans have suffered!

It is clear he would prefer to be remembered as a domestic President who brought major reforms, and it is hoped that he will work to prevent what President Dwight D. Eisenhower called the “military industrial complex” from overtaking the purposes of his Presidency!

This is a time to wish him the best as he faces tough decisions on the future of our military operations as the Presidential election nears over the next two years!

A Conservative Schism Developing Over Afghanistan: An Opening For Obama To Change Policy!

Ronald 1 Comment

Amazingly, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele’s comment last week, that Afghanistan was an unwinnable war, and that history tells us it is a place that was the graveyard for many military forces in the past, has led to an open conservative schism over support of President Obama’s Afghan War strategy!

This offers the President the option to reconsider policy, and change it over the next year, as now we have people on the Right, as well as the Left, who are openly opposed to escalation of the war in Afghanistan!

Among those who criticized Steele were Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney; and Bill Kristol, publisher of The Weekly Standard, and Fox News contributor and commentator; and even Independent Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut!

But at the same time, Ann Coulter, the conservative ideologue, has condemned the war and agreed with Steele! Also, George Will (commentator on ABC News This Week and syndicated columnist); Joe Scarborough (former Florida Congressman and host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe); Pat Buchanan (MSNBC commentator and two time candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination); Tony Blankley (former spokesman for House Speaker Newt Gingrich and commentator); Ron Paul (Texas Congressman, libertarian, and candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2008); and his son, Rand Paul (GOP and Tea Party Movement nominee for Kentucky Senator this fall) all have denounced the war as “Obama’s War” as Michael Steele has done!

This split may seem to be unbelievable, and the author does not wish to try to connect himself to any of these people directly! 🙂 LOL BUT it clearly offers the President the opportunity to say that he tried the “Neoconservative” strategy, and now has come to the conclusion that the conservative opponents of the “neocons” are correct, along with many liberals, and that he has decided to cut our losses, save billions upon billions of dollars in the process, and spend money on the restoration of the American economy and the reinforcement of American security internally against terrorism!

Were he to announce this, with the reality that a majority of Americans are opposed to the Afghanistan war effort as it is, he would restore faith in his administration and improve his odds of being reelected in 2012!

And as far as the “neocons” are concerned, they have had too much dominance under George W. Bush, and it is time to “send them packing”, something that should have been done before they ever had the detrimental impact and influence that they have had over the past decade!

This would be a final repudiation of Dick Cheney as well, and none too soon! 🙁

Michael Steele Shocks His Party And The Nation On Afghanistan War!

Ronald 1 Comment

Republican National Chairman Michael Steele has been a very controversial leader of his party, constantly stirring the pot with his statements against the Obama Administration, and also embarrassing himself and others with his commentary on all kinds of issues!

But now, he has really SHOCKED the party and the nation with his statement that the Afghanistan War cannot be won; that it was a war of choice on the part of President Obama; and that history tells us that no one has been able to conquer Afghanistan over the long haul of history!

All of the above are points that the author absolutely agrees with, and has been making the case for, on this blog! Steele is, for once, absolutely correct!

It is nice to see Michael Steele making such a statement, but it already seems clear that he may be somewhat backtracking on it, but possibly too late, as conservative Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard and Fox News Channel has called for his resignation as RNC chair!

But the fact that Steele has gone ahead and made this statement should lead to a reassessment of the historical realities that he so well presents! We lost more soldiers last month than any other in the nine year war, and foreign allies in NATO are also losing more heavily, and with little progress to show for the sacrifices!

There are other ways to fight terrorism than committing our young men and women to an interminable war with no substantial possibility of success over the next few years, if not decades!

Barack Obama is an intelligent, insightful man! It will take courage and principle for him to fight for the end of US involvement on the ground in Afghanistan, but it is an excellent way to cut down the deficit, which so monopolizes political debate in this country, and to address the domestic needs we face!

So this controversy should be seen as an opportunity for a renewed debate about the future of our foreign policy, which is causing a massive debt problem that will burden our children and grandchildren, without any likelihood of any substantial progress!

Proper Move By Obama, Replacing McChrystal With Petraeus, But Now Listen To Joe Biden On Afghanistan!

Ronald 1 Comment

President Obama this afternoon did the absolutely proper thing, when he dismissed General Stanley McChrystal as head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and replaced him with his superior, the head of Central Command in the Middle East, General David Petraeus!

No military leader can be allowed to be disrespectful to the President of the United States, as civilian command over the military is paramount in our system of government! McChrystal’s insubordination, on top of his coverup of the “friendly fire” death of Pat Tillman, the football player who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan, required his dismissal, as no General is indispensable! 🙁

Petraeus is an excellent alternative, although it adds to his total burden, being in both positions, so one wonders if he will keep the head of Central Command for long, or whether someone else will eventually become the head of forces in Afghanistan, once things settle down!

In any case, Obama took the right step, but now he needs to go one step further, and have the courage to do what his Vice President, Joe Biden, a foreign policy specialist in his 36 years in the Senate, has been advocating!

Biden has been the loyal partner, not complaining that Obama chose to escalate US involvement in Afghanistan, but Biden is still advocating that we rapidly withdraw troops a year from now, to keep with Obama’s date of starting to remove our combat soldiers!

Biden has not been afraid to contradict Petraeus on the need to have rapid withdrawal next year! It is obvious the battle for the heart and mind of President Obama continues on this issue!

With so many problems at home, and such a big budget deficit, we need to lay down plans to withdraw, and not only save hundreds of billions of dollars annually, but also the lives of our courageous troops!

President Obama, the author has stated this before, and says it again! We need to get out of Afghanistan, a cemetery for the British and the Soviet Union, and fight terrorism in other ways! Listen to Joe Biden, as he is a brilliant man who knows what he is talking about! And realize the fact that McChrystal’s ridicule of Biden should be seen for what it is: McChrystal is not to be respected, as he has attacked the man who, in many ways, makes your Presidency better than it could have been with anyone else in the Vice Presidency!

Joe Biden should be respected and listened to, as he has the proper perspective and insights, and he is there to support you and back you up! He is an jewel of unlimited value! 🙂

The McChrystal Controversy: An Opportunity To Revisit Afghanistan Policy!

Ronald Leave a comment

The controversy over the insubordination of General Stanley McChrystal, the commander in charge of our military effort in Afghanistan, creates the opportunity to revisit the Afghan War policy!

Now the longest war in American history, and with no strategy that insures any end game anytime soon, and with growing numbers of casualties, it is time for President Obama to use the occasion of the McChrystal matter to decide that it is time to cut our losses, and withdraw sooner, rather than later!

Instead of saying that we will START withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011, how about us saying that we start withdrawal immediately, meaning July 2010, and accomplish a complete withdrawal by a year from now, July 2011?

It is clear that Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, is a crook, illegally elected, and an unreliable ally, who should actually be prosecuted for his involvement in war crimes, corruption, and drug dealing! At the least, we should not trust him one iota, after his talk of working with the Taliban against the Western allies! With allies like Karzai, we need no allies, as he is a detriment to the whole prosecution of the war!

It is time for us to face the facts: The only time we could have won in Afghanistan was right after September 11, IF President George W. Bush had committed adequate forces and equipment to overcome Osama Bin Laden! It was his failure to do so, that has dragged out this war for almost nine years now!

This war may be abandoned at some point, but it is not the fault of Barack Obama, but rather George W. Bush and Dick Cheney!

Mr. President, take advantage of this moment of decision to make the ultimate commitment to stop sacrificing our young men and women to an impossible war that cannot be won! 🙁

General Stanley McChrystal Must Be Fired, President Obama! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

As if President Obama did not have enough to deal with on a daily basis, now General Stanley McChrystal, in charge of the war in Afghanistan, has created new problems for him! 🙁

McChrystal, long rumored to lack basic diplomatic skills, was stupid enough to vent his frustrations with officials in the government in an interview about to be published in Rolling Stone Magazine!

Just the fact that McChrystal would lack the intelligence and common sense to avoid making public criticisms of the President, the Vice President, the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, the National Security Adviser, and the Special Representative to Afghanistan, is enough reason to fire him immediately as the military leader in the Afghan War! 🙁

No general is indispensable, and in the past, when generals have defied the President in wartime or peacetime with their lack of respect for the Commander in Chief, they have been summarily dismissed!

The most famous case is General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry Truman during the Korean War. But also, General George McClellan was dismissed by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Also, generals were dismissed for lack of respect and decorum by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and even President George W. Bush dismissed generals who were not “part of the team” in their privately expressed thoughts on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!

No President can tolerate disloyalty in the military, which if they engage in “politics”, giving ammunition to the critics of the President and his administration, make the burden of the Presidency all the greater!

No matter what McChrystal says in his upcoming Oval Office meeting before Obama and his top military and civilian advisers, he has lost the confidence of the top leadership, simply by his poor judgment!

If he has any decency left, he should resign and retire immediately, but if he lacks the courage and guts to do what is appropriate, then Obama MUST fire him with a severe reprimand statement! 🙁

And the fact that conservatives and Republicans will back McChrystal, and be emboldened by his defiance and arrogance, is no reason for the President to back down! This is a moment to show the critics that he will not tolerate disloyalty, as indeed no President should have to face!

Obama is the Commander in Chief whether Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter and other right wingers wants to acknowledge it! Whether Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, John McCain and others support McChrystal is of no importance, as it would only reflect badly on them! 🙁

President Obama, show everyone, including the critics, who is in charge, and to hell with any criticism! You are in the right historically, in good company with Truman, Lincoln and others! Our Constitution provides for civilian control of the military, and god forbid anything else were to be reality! 🙁

The Afghanistan War: A Cause That Cannot Be Won!

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The Afghanistan War has recently become the longest war in US history, surpassing the Vietnam War, and the news coming from the war front is not positive! 🙁

Just this week, on ABC’s THIS WEEK, which lists all those who have died, almost all of the names listed were of young men in their early to mid 20s, who had their lives snuffed out in an interminable war in which the Taliban seem to be getting stronger, and the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai seems more resistant to the influence of the NATO allies fighting there, amidst reports that Karzai and his brother, who has been involved in the cocaine trade, are looking toward an eventual deal with the enemy!

The Afghan government has never really been interested in the plight of the average Afghan civilian, and the corruption and scandal in that country is endemic, and makes one continue to wonder how we can continue to sustain a war that has already cost more than 1,000 lives, plus even more than that number severely wounded! 🙁

This war is costing more every month in lives and cost, and it seems as if the best opportunity to win, back in late 2001, botched by the Bush Administration, has now made the commitment of President Obama to win there seemingly a pipe dream!

And meanwhile, young Americans continue to die for a cause that is not just, by any means, when one examines the facts! 🙁