Iraq

The Special American-British Relationship Prevails: Obama And David Cameron

Ronald Leave a comment

The long term American-British friendship and relationship prevails, even now with a “progressive” President and a “conservative” Prime Minister.

Just the opposite of the relationship between a “conservative” President George W. Bush and a “progressive” Prime Minister Tony Blair, still the common ties connect the two nations, which have been closely allied since Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt linked in the Second World War era.

Britain has been America’s greatest ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they are committed to work together against the growing threat presented by the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its move toward a nuclear program that is seen as likely to cause danger not only to Israel and its Arab neighbors, but to Europe and the United States as well.

While Great Britain is promoting austerity to deal with its economic problems, a policy that does not seem to be working very well, the Conservative Party of that nation is nowhere near as right wing as the Republican Party and the conservative movement in America has become.

David Cameron has decided to be part of the cheering section for Barack Obama, something certainly not appreciated by Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul. It is clear that the British government does not have high regard for any of them, while recognizing the need, if any of them are elected, to deal with them.

Reality Of America’s Future: The Growing Role Of Asian Americans

Ronald 2 Comments

In the midst of “Linmania”, the rise of Jeremy Lin to stardom in the National Basketball Association, we are seeing people promoting humor about Asian Americans, specifically in the case of Jeremy Lin being Chinese, but we are also seeing the ugly tone of racism rearing its ugly head.

The fact that Asian Americans of all nationalities are high achievers academically is causing resentment among other racial and ethnic groups, which in itself is a sign of racism by people who have themselves experienced racism.

And of course, whites who are uncomfortable with the growing diversity of America’s population are alarmed at what this means, although hopefully, the number with such feelings is miniscule. But face the facts, that there are those who are nativists and racists and join paramilitary organizations determined to keep America’s white Christian population in control of the future.

But it must be recognized by all Americans that the growing role of Asian Americans of all backgrounds is the reality of the future in this nation.

While smaller in numbers than Hispanics and Latinos on one hand, and African Americans on the other hand, the Asian American population is rapidly growing, and will be an influential part of America long term.

The average American is certainly not aware that Asia is the largest continent with THIRTY percent of all land on earth; that Asia contains SIXTY percent of the world’s people; and that six countries have EIGHTY percent of all the population of the continent (China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan); and that if Pakistan and Bangladesh had not separated in a civil war 41 years ago, the combined Pakistan would be larger than Indonesia.

The future of the world is in Asia, and the defense and economic growth of America is based on what happens in Asia, as well as the growing Asian population in America. No wonder Barack Obama has said that our focus must be on Asia in the future, not the Middle East as the priority, as it has been, even though much of the Middle East is actually in Asia. But he is referring to East and South Asia, where the major population countries exist, not West Asia, also known as the Middle East.

And remember that our wars in the past century have focused on Asia, with Japan the enemy in World War II; North Korea and China in the Korean War; North Vietnam and China in the Vietnam War; and the Soviet Union, a Eurasian power our enemy during the Cold War years. And wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are also Asian wars, although not technically in East or South Asia.

So we must as a nation learn more about and understand Asia, and specific nations and cultures in Asia, and understand the role and significance of Asian Americans in our country’s future.

There is no room for the kind of discrimination visited against the Chinese and Japanese in the past, as well as generalized nativism against Asians of all backgrounds that expresses itself even today, and even with the success of Jeremy Lin. It is time for enlightened understanding for our country’s economic future and security and safety!

What The Fox News Channel South Carolina Republican Presidential Debate Revealed

Ronald Leave a comment

Last night’s Fox News Channel South Carolina Republican Presidential debate revealed a lot about the Republican Party and about South Carolina, none of it good!

It demonstrated that the Republican Party is willing to live the past–a past of racial discrimination, denial of the right to vote, talk of secession veiled in the term “states rights”, willingness to condemn the poor in the name of veiled code words, and to promote a radical right wing extremism that would promote prejudice, and a “them” versus “us” mentality.

It also demonstrated that the Republicans have no intention of trying to avoid war, when war is possible, by their tough stand against diplomacy, and their veiled threats against Iran, even with the knowledge that America was bankrupted by Iraq and Afghanistan, and the American people wish to avoid further foreign conflicts.

The audience was very outside the norms, by booing Ron Paul over foreign policy; cheering Newt Gingrich with his racial political appeal to a group of obvious Dixiecrat types who would have voted for Strom Thurmond in 1948; being supportive of Rick Perry in his claim that the national government is attacking the rights of the people of South Carolina and Texas; and the general disrespect to refuse to honor the memory of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on the national holiday which they were against from the beginning.

Nothing has changed in South Carolina, which started the Civil War; was one of the most viciously racist states in the era of segregation; and has demonstrated no concern for its large poverty stricken population, a majority of it white, although the image is left that they are all African American.

South Carolina remains one of the most backward states in many different statistical areas, but after all, they have their beliefs in their Christian faith, totally distorting the message of Jesus Christ!

Defense Cuts Coming: Unavoidable, And Reasonable Long Term

Ronald Leave a comment

The Pentagon, Secretary of State Leon Panetta, and President Barack Obama have announced plans for the future of our military, which are unavoidable and reasonable long term.

The philosophy behind the defense plans is that present costs for military spending, and trying to have the capability for involvement in two major wars at the same time, is unsustainable in the present economic climate.

Instead, involvement in one major war, with ability to send troops to a second theater of war, with eventual commitment of some troops from the first theater of war over time, is the best that America can do.

Also, the goal is to face the reality that future military personnel cannot have the same expenditures on families, health care costs, salaries, and pensions, as those costs now are beginning to become a financial burden on the American treasury.

Also, the major focus will be on the area of Asia and the Pacific, rather than the Middle East, where so much effort has been concentrated . The thought is that China, North Korea, and Pakistan are the major challenges for the long term future, and should be given the focus of our attention, without forgetting about Iran.

The one way not mentioned to change this reality is to start heavier taxation, particularly of the wealthy, as cutting of entitlements, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is not acceptable in any major fashion. We will have tp pay as we go if we want everything to be what everyone wants, but right now, that is not possible, so we need to concentrate on where it is felt the major challenges are in the future.

We must also face a more restrained use of military force in general, and more modest foreign policy goals, and deal with the internal problems this nation faces.

Conventional forces will be de-emphasized in favor of counter terrorist actions and “irregular” warfare, and greater investment in long range stealth bombers and anti missile systems.

Fighting regional wars, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be no longer a goal of the military, causing long periods of commitment and wearing down the budget costs.

The goal is to cut defense spending by $480 billion over the next decade, but if Congress fights over it, automatic cuts could rise to $1 trillion!

Special Forces troops, elite counter terrorist troops, and armed drones are the future of the military, with a decline in conventional ground forces.

The Army and Marine Corps would decline in numbers, and fewer troops would be stationed in Europe, in order to allow greater deployment into the Asia-Pacific theater.

This plan for the future will lead to a fight in Congress, but what else is new?

Woodrow Wilson Coming Back Into Notice On The 155th Anniversary Of His Birth

Ronald 1 Comment

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, was born on this day in 1856.

So on this 155th Anniversary, and as we enter 2012, there is a lot to say and comment about Woodrow Wilson.

Wilson has been under constant attack by conservatives and Republicans and by conservative talk radio show hosts. George Will of ABC’s This Week and Glenn Beck, formerly of Fox News Channel and still on talk radio, have led the attack, but there are many followers.

The attack is based on the fact that Wilson was a promoter of Progressive reform, including the Federal Reserve Banking system, the Federal Trade Commission, the Clayton Anti Trust Act, and the Underwood Simmons Tariff, which promoted free trade.

Wilson also promoted labor reforms and agricultural credits, so his administration became the most activist, interventionist national government we had yet seen.

This was followed up by the creation of massive government agencies to promote our efforts in World War i. And Wilson also advocated internationalism through the League of Nations, after having formed the first foreign military alliances in American history to fight the war.

Wilson, of course, also had controversial views, including opposition to women’s suffrage, and advocacy of a hard line racial segregation in unison with the Old South. He also advocated restrictions on civil liberties during wartime, and showed no tolerance for dissent, all very disturbing trends that he has rightfully been condemned for by anyone who has belief in basic values of fairness and tolerance.

Wilson was a very complicated person, and is being analyzed more now by all sides of the political spectrum, due to his relevance to present discussions and debates over the role of national government, and American involvement in world affairs after our tragic interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And, of course, we are coming up to the centennial of the Presidential Election of 1912, when Woodrow Wilson won over President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt, in what became a four way race including Socialist Eugene Debs, an election often referred to as the “Triumph of Progressivism”!

So we will be hearing a lot about Woodrow Wilson over the next year!

Rapidly Worsening Relations With Iran And Pakistan: A Concern For America And The West

Ronald Leave a comment

It is ironic that America has fought two wars in the past decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, both far from decisive, and now the reality is that the nations most to be concerned and worried about are their neighbors, Iran and Pakistan.

Iran has been clearly developing a secret nuclear weapons program, has been supporting Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel, and has become more and more belligerent as sanctions have been utilized against them. They are, in many ways, a much greater threat than either Iraq or Afghanistan ever were. And now, Iranian students have stormed the British embassy, done property destruction, and installed an Iranian flag in place of the British flag, and as the situation unfolds, it reminds one of the American embassy seizure in 1979 under the administration of President Jimmy Carter.

Pakistan, which harbored Osama Bin Laden for years, and has had connections to Al Qaeda and the Taliban for a long time, and whose secret service has worked against American interests in Afghanistan, has reacted aggressively against a NATO strike in Pakistan, part of an anti terrorist counteroffensive, by cutting off cooperation in allowing US and foreign forces to use their air space and roads in military operations in Afghanistan.

It is clear that relations with Pakistan are rapidly deteriorating, a dangerous situation since Pakistan has over 100 nuclear weapons, and in the wrong hands, could be utilized against India, or NATO forces in the area.

11/11/11: Honoring Our Veterans Appropriately

Ronald 1 Comment

Today is Veterans Day, when we remember and commemorate the sacrifices of our veterans in all wars since World War II, now that in the past year the last veteran of World War I, Frank Buckles, passed away at age 110.

President Barack Obama has been the strongest advocate of veterans and their needs since Franklin D. Roosevelt, and yesterday, the US Senate, in a very rare moment of unity, voted 94-1 to back the promotion of tax credits to employers who hire veterans coming home from our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The one negative vote came from South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint, who used the excuse that he did not believe in any “preferential treatment” for any group of Americans over others!

This is absolutely disgraceful reasoning and behavior, as if there is any group which deserves “preferential treatment” to honor their sacrifices and loss of employment advancement, it is our veterans who put themselves in “harm’s way” to defend our country.

2.4 million men and women have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, less than one percent of the population, and many have suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as crippling and lasting physical injuries. Over 6,000 have made the ultimate sacrifice.

So these veterans deserve “preferential treatment” in obtaining employment, gaining necessary health care, being given assistance in gaining education, and being allowed to have adequate housing.

We salute our veterans and we should offer each a salute and a hug when we have the opportunity to meet them, as they have preserved our nation’s security while we went about our daily business, being fortunate to live in the greatest nation of the world, which affords us the opportunity to pursue our dreams and our goals.

America’s veterans are our HEROES, and let’s not forget that!

Barack Obama: The Foreign Policy Success, Greatest Since World War II!

Ronald Leave a comment

When one thinks about Presidents and foreign policy, we tend to have the image that Republicans, particularly Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush, are the great success stories, and to look down on Democrats as better in domestic policy than foreign policy, where they are perceived as weak!

In 2008, Hillary Clinton had commercials that made one wonder if Barack Obama was prepared to make tough decisions at 3 AM, in the area of foreign policy, where he was seen as a novice.

Well, here we are nearly three years into Barack Obama’s term, and what has happened?

1. Obama has had Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State, arguably one of the very best in American history!

2. Barack Obama has had great success in improving the image of America worldwide through his cooperation with NATO, the United Nations, and the Arab League, a development no one would ever have believed when he became President!

3. Obama has been successful in the withdrawal from Iraq, which just today he announced would end by Christmas.

4. Obama has been able to move toward the idea of eventual withdrawal from Afghanistan, while not recklessly moving in that direction too quickly.

5. Obama intervened, in just the right amount, in Libya, and has now improved his image in that nation, many flying American flags, as Gaddafi has just, after 42 years, been removed finally as a threat to the international order. And it cost not one American life, only about $2 billion in expenditures, and showed that the international community could work successfully together!

6. Obama has been able to go after dozens of terrorists and eliminate them through our intelligence gathering and our drones, including Osama Bin Laden and Anwar al Awlaki, and these two terrorists, along with Moammar Gaddafi, have been successfully neutralized in a period of less than six months!

7. While there are certainly challenges in foreign policy, particularly with Iran, Pakistan and Venezuela, along with Russia and China, one notices a lot of rhetoric, primarily, as these nations and their leaders have realized that Obama is not a person to “mess with”! They recognize that he is one tough “hombre”!

Compare the record on foreign policy and national security of Obama to George W. Bush, and one wonders why Republicans and conservatives refuse to salute and honor the President for his accomplishments! The obvious answer is that they know this is his major strong point of all, and they are not about to give him the time of day!

Meanwhile, the GOP candidates for President sound like morons, as some of them actually are, when it comes to these issues, and it is clear that our foreign policy and national security would be undermined by a defeat of Barack Obama in 2012!

So the job of the Obama campaign team is to emphasize these achievements, and to work to convince the American people that Obama has more concern and better ideas about how to deal with the economic future, than members of the party who will not even allow funding of extra teachers and first responders because it might raise, very slightly, the tax responsibility of the obscenely rich!

Herman Cain: A “Clarence Thomas” Presidency America Cannot Afford!

Ronald 1 Comment

Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain may be the “Flavor of the Week” or the “Flavor of the Month” in the Republican Presidential race, but he represents a great threat to social justice, racial reconciliation, and political democratization as he has revealed that he is an admirer of Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his constitutional views; agrees with the neo-conservatives who advised George W. Bush to engage in war in Iraq; and is ready to raise taxes on the middle class and the poor, and further skew the acquisition of wealth by the elite top one percent, making him a favorite of the extreme right wing Koch Brothers!

This man is displaying a desire to take America back to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, as he rejects Social Security and Medicare as we know it, and basically the whole substance of the New Deal and Great Society!

Without ANY experience in government, he has the nerve to expect that we will elect him to the Presidency, without any concept of world affairs, not even understanding, when asked, what a neo-conservative is; with the belief that simplification of taxes will somehow magically solve the economic crisis; with a cockiness and arrogance that he is best qualified to lead over people who have been in the public sphere for years; with a willingness to attack his own racial group as “brainwashed” and undermining their role or significance, therefore, in American society; and with a narrow minded view about illegal immigrants and Muslims, designed to draw conservative support from the bigots and the extreme right wingers who would not have given Herman Cain the time of day in the past, and are now using him in an attempt to convince the country that they are not outside the mainstream!

Herman Cain is dangerous in that he would set back all of the human rights, social justice, and common decency that has made America a beacon for the world, in favor of greed, selfishness, and the worship of wealth without responsibility to the body politic! A President Herman Cain would be the ultimate irony, that after centuries of struggle by African Americans, that two of the three branches of government would be controlled or influenced by people who are self hating, and are joining those who would harm the progress that has been made with blood, sweat and tears, including that of Martin Luther King, Jr, who is being honored today with the dedication of the King National Memorial in Washington, DC!

Very Revealing Poll After Ten Years Of War: Many Vets Doubt Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan Were Worth It!

Ronald 1 Comment

A new poll shows that one out of three veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan doubt that the wars were worth it, and many feel it is time to cut back on foreign involvement and focus instead on our domestic problems.

This past ten years of war, marked two days from now when we first sent military forces into Afghanistan, caused the loss of 4,500 soldiers in Iraq and 1,700 in Afghanistan, $1 trillion and more in costs, and approximately 35-40 thousand wounded, many seriously!

It also allowed the corporations which engaged in the wars to make hundreds of billions of dollars on the backs of American taxpayers, and to create the budgetary crisis which helped to lead to the Great Recession, and now is being blamed by many solely on the inheritor of the problems, Barack Obama, rather than placing it where it belongs, on the backs of Republicans who controlled the government, and President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, who was personally enriched by his connections to Halliburton!

The future lives of the severely wounded veterans will be a tax burden on us for the next 50-75 years, and there will be many, who while not physically injured, are emotionally and mentally harmed, and that will be a great burden on them and us as well for the long term! Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is common, and veterans feel the average American has no real understanding of what they went through and the problems they face when they come home.

With only one half of one percent of the population serving in the military, as compared to 9 percent in World War II, there is a gap in how Americans see war when they are comfortably at home, compared to those who serve.

Interestingly, half the veterans in the Pew Research Center survey express doubt that fighting terrorism with military force works, as many think it promotes hate and more terrorism!

So the longest war in US history (Afghanistan) continues, and the final withdrawal of troops from Iraq, our second longest war ever, awaits final developments!