Posted by
carlo of NYC on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 11:30:28 AM
Afghanistan
Let’s analyze what the president said last night.
He decided to send 35,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan, beginning in 2010, and he is limiting their presence to 18 months.
His objectives are to:
1) Beat back the Taliban, who have made inroads since 2003, (due to George Bush negligence).
2) Eliminate Al Qaeda from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of the world.
3) Win over the civilian population by providing security, as we did in Iraq (which is now considered a success, but not for George Bush).
4) Build up the Afghan army to 135,000 so that they can defend their own country when we begin to draw down in July, 2011.
Now does anyone believe that these are reasonable and achievable goals, with an 18 month commitment?
Well, let’s analyze. Do we have anything to compare this to? Hmnnn? How about Iraq? That’s fairly recent, duh!!!!
Didn’t we try to get Iraq to:
- form a government,
- create a constitution,
- develop a justice system,
- eliminate corruption,
- develop an economy,
- establish security for their people,
- create and train a police force,
- create and train an army,
- manage their own country and their own affairs,
Well, that’s exactly what we attempted in Iraq and, by the way, that’s exactly what we have accomplished, to date.
A digression……………….
I recently spoke at length with on of America’s finest, a young trooper who just returned from a 14 month stint in Iraq. He was dressed proudly in a form fitting uniform, sporting his CIB (Combat Infantry Badge) and his face was bright, scrubbed clean, rosy cheeked and very young. I thanked him for his service and just shaking his hand brought tears to my eyes. What a fine specimen of an American!
I engaged this hero in conversation and, unlike many that I have met, he wanted to talk. I asked him if he noticed any difference from the first day he entered Iraq and the day he left. His face lit up with a broad smile and he said it was “….night and day”. He said that the Iraqi’s are now running their own country and that our role is that of police action. We are in support and the Iraqi’s have successfully taken over. So, Iraq is a big success!
(Side note: Note how there are no press reports explaining this to us and more importantly, please note that no one is giving George Bush any credit for this success. This is important to notice and to understand, because it leads one to conclude that we, the American people, are being fed a daily diet of Pravda-like news. Our liberal press has been compromised and taken over. The American press, with the sole exclusion of Fox News, is actually a house organ for Obama and his administration and the press is complicit in this administration’s goals to take us to Socialism. Why is this important? Because Obama is using the press to further his ideology and this Afghanistan policy is just another head fake!)
Now, let me get back on point.......
Has anyone in the press asked Obama how long it took us to accomplish the successes in Iraq? No! Why? Because, that question would inherently compliment George Bush for the success. That question would lead to the fact that Obama inherited an Iraq success from George Bush and the Democrats are not finished using George Bush as a political piñata.
The fact is that it has taken us 6 years to get to this point in Iraq and we’re still there in the policing role and in support.
Next logical question. Is the Afghanistan challenge easier, the same or more difficult than Iraq? Answer….much more difficult! Why? The terrain; the corruption; the history; the war lords; etc. Hell, Russia was in Afghanistan for 10 years, with 100 thousand troops and they left with their tails between their legs and with a bankrupt country.
So, how can anyone believe that Obama’s 18 month plan has any chance of working? And….why isn’t the liberal press exposing this insane plan? That’s an easy one. They are in the tank for Obama!!!! More importantly, we have to ask ourselves why the Liberal Democrat Party has not puked all over this expansion of war plan.
Here’s my opinion, but before I lay it on you I must, in the interest of full disclosure, admit that I am not an Obama fan (surprise..surprize). So, please consider this as you read my following comments (or should I say my conspiracy theory).
My Conspiracy Theory:
As I listened to Obama last night he said lots of stuff. As usual, much of what he said was smooth and carefully crafted so it sounded like he really had good intentions. Then if you really listen and analyze, you begin to unravel his scheme. Did you hear him talk about the cost of this troop build up? He did but he just touched on it lightly and estimated that Afghanistan would cost us $30 billion this year. Then he lightly mentioned that, unlike that pariah George Bush, his administration was going to report in a transparent way the cost of this war so that the American people would have all the facts.
I believe that the Obama has cleverly figured out how to hold onto his liberal/leftist base while simultaneously keeping some of the center also ….the Independents and some Republicans…… thereby positioning himself very well for a 2012 re-election.
Obama realizes that his stated goals can NEVER be accomplished in 18 months. He’s aware of how difficult it was to accomplish these things in Iraq and he realizes that Afghanistan is a reaper machine. As soon as we get more soldiers into the theater, we’ll have more body bags. The liberal left will begin to complain, loudly. The complicit liberal press will eagerly and ghoulishly transmit these horrors into our living rooms, Vietnam style.
Meanwhile, Obama’s minions will be reporting the cost of this war. Then, at the right time, Obama and his Socialist ideologues will unleash a new financial crisis upon us that will shake us out of our boots. They will craft this crisis in such a way (as they have done since they took over, with the Tarp, Stimulus, GM, AIG, Freddy Mac, Fanny Mae, etc.) that most Americans will be frightened beyond their control as they see whatever wealth they still have evaporating. They will take to the streets and protest. They will demand fiscal improvement. They will beg the Federal Government to do something to save them.
Additionally, the left wing base of the Democrats will have already established a war tax to pay for Afghanistan (and to keep Obama’s promise of transparency and accountability). This will be designed so that every American that is hurting financially will begin to ask the logical questions of why we are spending so much money in Afghanistan while our unemployment is increasing and our economy is in the dumper. This tactic will result in Middle America, Independents, and even Republicans marching in the streets, side-by-side with the leftist war protesters because the need to feed our families will over-ride any political differences.
The next step is that Obama (and the Federal Government) will then ride in on a white horse as the masses beg for someone to save them. Obama will be glad to save them with more Socialist programs and entitlements (like healthcare, cap and trade, green jobs, global warming nonsense, and more and more fear tactics).
And as far as Obama’s plan to pull out of Afghanistan in 18 months goes…….he won’t have to deal with issues like the Afghans need more time to solidify their government; their army; their police force; their constitution; their judicial system; etc. He won’t have to deal with his liberal/leftist base of his party who are demanding pull out. The majority of Americans will be marching in the streets side-by-side with the Lefties demanding, very conveniently, that Obama pull out. No one will be complaining that the Democrats are soft on defense and that they have no stomach for war because the majority of Americans will be clamoring for us to stop spending in Afghanistan and to bring our troops home and stop the slaughter.
So, Obama and his Socialists will come away with a political windfall in 2011, just before the 2012 elections. (Note: this Political windfall will cost many American soldiers lives and will be the final nail in our Capitalist, free enterprise system).
Well, I wish my mind didn’t work this way but it does. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. We’ll see.
Carlo