Iraq

Barack Obama’s War On Terror: Reason Why, No Matter What The Economy, He Will Win Reelection In 2012!

Ronald 2 Comments

Barack Obama decided early on in his administration that he was NOT going to use the term “War On Terror”!

But forget what it is called: Barack Obama has waged a very effective “War On Terror”, has shown he is tough and decisive, has demonstrated aggressiveness in military matters, and has protected the homeland more effectively than George W. Bush and Dick Cheney before him!

His military and intelligence people have hunted down and eliminated dozens, if not more, terrorist leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and related groups. Of course, the most famous is Osama Bin Laden!

He has utilized drones effectively, and made arrangements for new drone locations to go after terrorists in Somalia and Yemen.

He has given private warnings, now becoming public, to Pakistan and Afghanistan about connections to terrorists.

He has made Iran aware that we will not tolerate their connections with Hamas and Hezbollah in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and while we are trying to withdraw our involvement with ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are not abandoning the fight against terrorist elements.

Barack Obama is often called too nice, lacking in aggressiveness in dealing with Republicans, but even that is starting to change as he pursues an economic plan to promote fairness in taxation, and stop victimizing the middle class in favor of the rich!

He cannot quickly create jobs, but he is showing his intent for the long term, and while he is doing this, he has made perfectly clear his aggressiveness and single mindedness to protect us from terrorism and root it out wherever it exists!

This is a long battle that may never fully end, but the waging of the War on Terror worldwide is the ultimate reason why, no matter what the economy, he will win reelection in 2012! The Republican Party will be helpless on this issue, unable to criticize Obama, and they will lose the election and seats in Congress, and possibly control, because of that reality!

The What Ifs Of September 11: If It Never Happened, How Would America Be Different?

Ronald 1 Comment

As we commemorate the 10th Anniversary of September 11, one can wonder how America would be different if September 11 had never occurred.

Among the thoughts and possibilities are:

1. There would be no Homeland Security Department in the federal government, and no special precautions at airports.
2. There would not be level of secret government activities, including intrusion on American citizens and interferences with civil liberties, that we have now.
3. There would not have been prolonged wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for ten years.
4. We would not have the level of national debt that we have now because of reactions to September 11.
5. Very likely, George W. Bush might not have won reelection because of the domestic economy problems, and a “new” type of Democrat, such as Howard Dean, might have won the Presidency.
6. A President Dean, in peacetime, and with reforms, might have won reelection in 2008, and there would have been no President Barack Obama.
7. Problems with Iran might have been more focused on, and there might have been military reactions against Iran as a result, and instead Iran is a major threat to the world in 2011.
8. Problems with China in 2001 might have led to more confrontation with that nation, instead of depending on China for much of our national budget through their buying of US debt caused by the wars we have waged after September 11.
9. We would not have the level of distrust and suspicion of the Islamic faith that we have today.
10. Politics might not be as polarized and confrontational as it has become in the past decade.
11. We might be having a spirited contest in 2012 with different faces in the mix for the Presidency, with President Howard Dean finishing his second term of domestic reform and no major foreign policy crisis, unless Iran or China had become so problematical that there was military conflict with either nation.
12. The Middle East would still have Saddam Hussein, but he would remain contained, but by now, with the Arab Spring, he might be facing turmoil and rebellion, as in the rest of the region.
13. Domestic reforms greater than Barack Obama has achieved would have likely occurred under President Howard Dean, including national health care, as there would not have been the kind of defense and war spending that occurred in the past decade.

Of course, all of the above are suppositions, theories, projections–all of which might NOT have happened, but it is fascinating to try to imagine Others will see things differently, and it is the stuff of historical fiction to conceive a novel with the imaginary past!

The Month Of August: A Crisis Month In History For The American Presidency!

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Now that we have seen the month of August slip into history, it is worthwhile to look back and notice how significant the month is in Presidential history, how it is often a crisis month!

Examples include:

August 24, 1814–Great Britain invaded and burned the nation’s capitol, Washington, DC during the War of 1812, sending President James Madison and Congress fleeing to nearby Baltimore. This was the only invasion of American territory until Pearl Harbor in 1941.

August 4, 1914–World War I began in full swing, as all of the major European powers had finally declared war a week after the initial declaration. This alarmed President Woodrow Wilson issued a declaration that the United States would remain “neutral in thought, as well as action”, a statement which could not be upheld as the war progressed into a long term stalemate, leading to US entrance in 1917.

August 6 and 9, 1945–Newly inaugurated President Harry Truman, in office less than four months after the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, unleashes the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, leading to the end of World War II.

August 13, 1961–The Soviet Union begins the construction of the Berlin Wall, separating East Berlin from West Berlin, during the first year of the administration of President John F. Kennedy. It will remain a symbol of oppression until its destruction in November 1989.

August 4, 1964–The Tonkin Gulf Incident is reported during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, a supposed attack on US Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin by North Vietnamese patrol boats. This led to Johnson’s request of a resolution allowing the use of force to react to the reported aggression, and was the first step in the escalation of the war in Vietnam to a full scale conflict.

August 9, 1974–President Richard Nixon resigned from office, the first President to take such action, due to the “smoking gun” tape that showed his involvement in a coverup of the Watergate scandal. President Gerald Ford succeeded him in office, and later pardoned Nixon from prosecution, allowing Nixon to evade punishment, including being removed from office in an impeachment trial had he stayed in office.

August 2, 1990–Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, invaded its oil rich neighbor, Kuwait, alarming Saudi Arabia and other Arab and oil nations, and led to US involvement, in unison with a United Nations coalition, to force Iraq out of Kuwait, but also putting US troops for the first time in the Middle East, and inciting Muslims who became involved in terrorism through participation with Al Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden,

August 2011–President Barack Obama faced the crisis of the Debt Ceiling, which led to a lowering of the credit rating of the United States by Standard and Poor’s and a stock market crisis. Additionally, the Atlantic Coast Earthquake and Hurricane Irene became major crises, along with the final steps toward the removal of Moammar Gaddafi from power in Libya after a five month effort by the US, with backing of NATO allies, the United Nations, and the Arab League.

So there has to be a sign of relief that the ugly month of August has again passed into history!

Libya Success Proof Of Obama’s NEW Foreign Policy Being A Success!

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The overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in Libya, even if Gaddafi himself is still at large as the author writes, is a triumph of major proportions for President Obama, and adds to his image of fighting against terrorism and international outlaws in unison with the international community, rather than going “Lone Ranger” as George W. Bush did in Iraq!

Despite all the critics who said Barack Obama was defying the War Powers Act, which he was not; and that the Libyan Civil War should not have been intervened in, as many Republicans declared; or the criticism that we had led from behind, rather than use our own air power and troops on the ground, as John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman stated; Barack Obama did PRECISELY the right thing in working with the Arab League, the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and with the full backing of his Secretary or State Hillary Clinton and his UN Ambassador Susan Rice in undermining Gaddafi, working with the Libyan rebels, and yet NOT committing ground forces or major American air attacks and spending large amounts of money on the involvement!

So not one person was killed who wore an American uniform; not one plane was lost; and only about $1 billion was spent on this crisis, by the latest estimate!

This outdoes the Kosovo intervention against Serbia in 1999 under President Bill Clinton, where no one was killed and only one plane was shot down and lost!

The Republicans may be unwilling to give Barack Obama credit, but his new foreign policy of collaboration with other nations has been a major success, and he deserves full credit for what has happened!

So even in the midst of economic troubles that the President faces, which threaten his reelection, one must hail the President’s outstanding record in foreign policy and ask again: Other than Jon Huntsman, what are the credentials in foreign policy of ANY of the other GOP Presidential candidates? The answer, unlike with John McCain in 2008, is ABSOLUTELY NONE!

So again, if the Republicans have any common sense, in more ways than one, they will make Jon Huntsman their Presidential nominee, and if so, Barack Obama will have some sleepless nights during the fall campaign of 2012!

Herman Cain, Allen West, Tim Scott: African American Republicans Who Come Across As Outside The Mainstream!

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A recent development that makes one wonder about what motivates people is the candidacy of Herman Cain for President, and the words and actions of Congressmen Allen West of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina.

These people are the face of African Americans in the Republican Party, and all three have made people’s heads turn and eyes roll, as all three have come across as way out of the mainstream of American politics!

Herman Cain, former talk show host and corporate President of Godfather Pizza, is running for President, and making ridiculous statements, including letting the average American decide if a mosque can be built in his or her community, and stating that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet. He also has made statements against Mormons, as not being a Christian group, and while that could be argued, the answer is who cares, as we do not have a religious test for public office!

How would the American people react if we were to say that a church or synagogue could not be built? It is not up to the average American to limit the rights of any religious group to organize, and Cain shows tremendous prejudice against both Muslims and Mormons.

Now Cain has suggested that Barack Obama face impeachment because of the Health Care legislation, and because the administration is attempting to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. So we are to impeach a President because we disagree with his policy choices? Then every President would face impeachment!

Also, Cain claims he woke up after finishing fifth in the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, believing that he will be the Republican Presidential nominee, which means he is mentally deranged, having delusions of grandeur! What an embarrassment to the party and to the African American community at large, and notice he has no ideas or suggestions to help create jobs for his own community or Americans at large!

Then, there is Allen West, who uses incendiary language regularly, uses his military background as a plus, even though he was drummed out of the military for inappropriate behavior in Iraq, and fails to act in a chivalrous manner against anyone who dares to criticize him on the issues! So he goes ahead and insults Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to the extreme, using inappropriate language in an email, over reacting to her denunciation of his stand against Medicare, when he has hundreds of thousands of constituents in his district who are covered by Medicare. West refused to apologize for his outburst, and obviously has an anger problem, and yet some are crazy enough to suggest him for Vice President!

Tim Scott has also called for the impeachment of Obama because of the Debt Ceiling Crisis, even though both he and West contributed to it through their support of the Tea Party Movement, and both of them are among the most right wing members of the GOP presently, and both are a disgrace in the sense of not accepting how their stands hurt the African American community at large.

It is almost as if Herman Cain, Allen West, and Tim Scott are aliens from outer space, who somehow got stranded on earth, and need to be examined in a lab for their weirdness, and anger, and self hate of who they are!

Republican Presidential Candidates And The Outside World: Who Is Legitimate?

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In the midst of all the tumult and drama surrounding the Debt Ceiling Crisis, the lowering of the US credit rating by Standard and Poor’s, and the Stock Market gyrations this past week, it would seem as if only the economy matters to most Americans, an understandable viewpoint, but a dangerous one!

We must remember that the President of the United States is not just the leader of this country, but the number one world leader, and therefore, his or her credibility on an international scale really is significant and crucial!

So when one looks at the four finalists in the Republican Presidential contest, as the author earlier today assessed it, one must see the dramatic differences between the so called Establishment Republican Mormon candidates (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman), and the Tea Party Republican evangelical Christian candidates (Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann).

Romney has the record of having operated the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, requiring diplomatic skills to make it the success it was.

Even more so, Huntsman has been the Ambassador to Singapore in the time of President George H. W. Bush, Deputy US Trade Representative under George W. Bush, and Ambassador to China under Barack Obama, therefore having tremendous foreign policy training and experience.

Rick Perry has NO foreign policy experience, and comes across as a bully type who would throw his weight around in foreign affairs with his swagger and arrogant manner, in a way that would make George W. Bush, often called a “cowboy” in foreign affairs, look civil and diplomatic by comparison!

And Michele Bachmann also has ZERO foreign policy experience, and a loose, no holds barred way of speaking, that would totally antagonize the outside world!

Both Perry and Bachmann would be a danger in world affairs through their lack of experience and judgment, and with their Christian evangelical roots, would promote a war on Islam, that would make the nightmare of Iraq and Afghanistan in the past ten years look like a minor blip in international affairs! They would conduct themselves as Christian crusaders, something we do NOT need if there is to be peace and diplomacy with an outside world which Is not going to accept American imperialism and dominance!

So the foreign policy issue may seem minor now, but in a campaign of Barack Obama against either Perry or Bachmann, it would be a tremendously important issue, and a blessing to Obama!

With Huntsman in particular, and Romney lesser so, Obama would have more difficulty on this issue, as well as generally all matters, including the economic difficulties we now face.

So for Barack Obama, a dream fulfilled would be Perry or Bachmann as his opponent, while Huntsman or Romney could be his greatest nightmare!

A Pitiful Republican Presidential Debate Sponsored By Fox News Channel In Ames, Iowa!

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If a neutral observer was watching the Republican Presidential debate in Ames, Iowa, last night, sponsored by Fox News Channel, he or she would likely come away with the thought: Are these eight people competing for the Presidential nomination of the party of Lincoln, TR, Eisenhower and Reagan the best they can find to run for the highest office in the land? Are these candidates NOT a tremendous embarrassment to themselves, as well as the nation? Even if one is dissatisfied with President Barack Obama, why is it that the opposition party cannot find a candidate who matches the level of past candidates, including losers like Charles Evans Hughes, Wendell Willkie, Thomas Dewey, Bob Dole and John McCain?

When one looks at the eight people in the debate, the conclusions are the following observations:

1. None of the candidates was willing to commit to ANY tax increase at all, even with the theoretical deal suggested of ten dollars of budget cuts for each additional dollar of tax increases on the wealthy and corporations, an unbelievable commentary on the lack of financial responsibility of the Republican candidates who wish to be President of the United States!

2. The number of factual errors and miscues by all of the candidates is mind boggling, and demonstrates just how ignorant of economics, foreign policy, and civil liberties these candidates are!

3. Michele Bachmann came across as totally loony and whacky in her presentation, far weaker than her performance in the last debate which brought her to prominence in June.

4. Herman Cain proved that he should go back to running a pizza corporation, as he has no understanding of any issues, displaying total stupidity in just about everything he enunciated.

5. Rick Santorum surprised when he seemed to defend the rights of gays in Iran, but not in America, but also showed stupidity when he referred to the people of Afghanistan as “Afghanistanis”, rather than Afghans.

6. Ron Paul did his usual ranting and raving like a crazy man, with a total isolationist view that has zero chance to be adopted by the party which has promoted overseas engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.

7. Newt Gingrich actually improved somewhat, but is already fatally flawed because of past blunders, statements, actions, and resignation of his staff members.

8. Tim Pawlenty also did a bit better, but still comes across as too weak, and often seeming more like a governor who had trouble defending his record against attacks by fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann.

9. Jon Huntsman disappointed tremendously, having an opportunity to stand out in the race as the one reasonable moderate centrist, and instead showed timidity, and even distorted what the Obama Administration has done in dealings with China, while he was Ambassador to China, contradicting positive statements about the President that he had made while working for him.

10. Mitt Romney, the theoretical front runner, at least until Rick Perry enters the race officially this weekend of the Iowa Ames Straw Poll, still can be considered the front runner, but he does not enthuse party members or the general public, and when one hears that he is worth $264 million, one has to say how in the world can he understand average Americans, and have the nerve to say that corporations are people, and joke that he is also unemployed!

What a sad commentary on the opposition to Barack Obama, and no matter how displeased many Americans may be with the President, it is very hard to conceptualize that they will vote him out in favor of any of these candidates, all of whom could rightly be condemned as LOSERS in every sense of the word!

Twenty One Years Ago Today, The World Changed For The Worst!

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On August 2, 1990, Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein attacked and occupied the oil nation of Kuwait, presenting a threat to Saudi Arabia and all of the Middle East, and to the world’s petroleum supply.

President George H. W. Bush created an international coalition centered around the United Nations to demand that Iraq withdraw, but when that failed, in January 1991, the Persian Gulf War ensued, with it being won in six weeks, successfully removing Iraq from Kuwait, but failing to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Saudi Arabia agreed to allow US forces into their nation, angering Muslim nationalists throughout the Middle East, who hated the thought of Christian troops in the holy land of Mecca and Medina, and Islamic terrorism now became a major threat to the United States and the Western world, with the development of various groups, including Al Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden.

This intervention led long term to September 11, to the invasion of Afghanistan to overcome Al Qaeda, and the later intervention in Iraq, overthrowing Saddam Hussein, but leading to a long bloody civil war engulfing American forces, and taking attention off Afghanistan.

Here we are today, with American troops in Iraq, although not in combat, and war continuing in Afghanistan, our two longest wars in American history, and effectively bankrupting our economy, causing massive expenditures in fighting terrorism and defending US interests in the Middle East, and promoting the loss of civil liberties through the Patriot Act, and the inability to deal with the many domestic problems our country faces.

So on this 21st anniversary of Iraq going into Kuwait, one can see the long range deleterious effects of this short lived war, with damaging impact that threatens the supremacy of the United States domestically and in foreign affairs in 2011!

The Republican Party Again Doing What They Are Best At: Self Destruction!

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The Republican Party has suicidal tendencies since the years of the Great Depression.

When the Great Depression began in 1929, the party in Congress refused to abandon laissez faire economics, and some even fought President Herbert Hoover’s attempt to provide some public works projects and federal aid through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

During the New Deal years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the party stood in the way of reform and change and continued to decline.

As World War II came on, most Republicans were isolationists who failed to see the threat of Fascism and Nazism.

As World War II ended, Republicans set out to to weaken labor unions and set back the New Deal, and after two brief years in control of Congress in 1947-1948, they lost control and saw Harry Truman stage an upset victory in the Presidential campaign.

The party pursued the Joseph McCarthy anti communist agenda in the late 1940s and early 1950s, undermining America’s effort in the Korean War, but with a popular World War II general, Dwight D. Eisenhower, they were given another chance in 1952, and won back control of Congress, but with their conservative agenda, lost control again after two years.

From that point on, the party failed to gain control of Congress for 40 years in the House, and 26 in the Senate, and after six years of a divided Congress under Ronald Reagan, lost the Senate again in 1986 and for the next eight years.

Despite Eisenhower’s personal popularity, it did not transform into party control after two years, and while Richard Nixon won over a divided Democratic Party in 1968, he could not translate his victory into a Republican majority, and Watergate damaged any hope again of a soon to occur change in party loyalties and success.

Ronald Reagan managed a divided Congress with Republican control of the Senate for six years, but again it did not change party loyalties and success in the long run, and the party was bitterly divided during the administration of George H. W. Bush, with Pat Buchanan helping to divide the party and lead to the defeat of Bush in 1992.

Then in 1994, the Republicans gained control of Congress for the next twelve years, but Bill Clinton, despite personal problems leading to impeachment, was able to control much of the political agenda.

After the Republicans won the battle over Florida’s electoral votes with George W. Bush in 2000, it seemed as if finally they had become the majority party, but September 11, two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economic collapse of 2008, took away any gains it seemed that the party had made.

While they won the House of Representatives in 2010, the emergence of the Tea Party Movement has now destroyed any chance of Republican success, as again they are seen as obstructionist in so many ways, and public opinion polls still see the party as to blame much more for the economic recession we are suffering through, rather than to hold Barack Obama accountable.

With an image of negativism, concern only for the rich and powerful special interests, isolationism, corruption, and obstructionism, the Republican Party is again in the process of committing political suicide, and relegating itself to minority status in American politics!

Proper Policy Change: Letters Of Condolence From President Obama To Families Of Soldiers Who Commit Suicide!

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An important change has been made to military policy, regarding Presidential letters of condolence to families of soldiers who die in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.

With the suicide rate of soldiers who have served arising at an alarming rate, it is appropriate that the President of the United States send letters of condolence to the families of those tragically taking their own lives, as it is the stresses of combat that led to such suicides.

It is important that the American people recognize that soldiers are not only victims of physical injuries, but also of mental illness arising from their patriotic service, and they should be appreciated and mourned for their sacrifices for this nation!

More must be done to assist soldiers in dealing with the mental strains of combat zones, as we owe it to them with their decision to serve our nation in wartime!