Abdullah Abdullah evidently decided that even with UN inspectors monitoring the polling stations, that he would not get a fair vote count, and bowed out of Afghanistan's presidential race. His departure allowed the Election Committee to give President Karzai his second term.
USA President Obama congratulated Karzai but said that Karzai's actions would speak louder than words and would be very influential in what actions the USA takes over the next several months.
Why did Abdullah bow out? Okay, we know the first election was corrupt and rigged, but this time the hope was UN inspectors would make some kind of difference. If nothing else, a close contest would have put pressure on Karzai to focus on the Afghan people and his country, rather than himself and immediate family.
My fear is that Karzai will now consider himself invincible, becoming arrogant, aloof and a dangerous ally.
Hopefully I am wrong. Time will tell. In the meantime tens of thousands of American military service personnel are putting their lives on line to free Afghanistan of the Taliban and al Qaeda. If they do not receive the support they need - foremost from the Afghan people and government - then their mission will fail and the deaths of thousands (American and Afghan) will have been for nothing.
President Obama needs to watch President Karzai closely and insure the security of our military personnel. If Karzai betrays us, the the USA and NATO need to withdraw from Afghanistan and join with hunting down the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan. Karzai will be left to his own devices, and maybe that desperate act will allow the Afghan people to have a true chance for freedom.
Its Common Sense!
Showing posts with label Foreign Affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Affairs. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Afghanistan Eight Years Later
Eight years ago yesterday the USA attack Al Qaeda locations in Afghanistan after the ruling Taliban party refused to turn over Osama bin Laden and his henchmen after the 9/11 attack.
For eight years the USA and allies have been involved in trying to hunt down and wipe out Al Qaeda, in Afghanistan and where ever else they are hiding.
Unfortunately this war got side tracked when the Bush Administration decided to focus their attention on Iraq.
Now focus is returning to Afghanistan, but big talk and promises are fading and the Obama Administration is face with dealing with the realities.
The Afghan people are not happy with Karzai. I cannot blame them because there seems to be a lot of corruption. At the same time, the majority do not appear to want a return of Taliban control. I sympathize with that because I would not want to be ruled by archaic Middle Age laws applied by fanatics armed with AK47s.
What I believe the USA needs to do is refocus on the original mission. Get bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Our original objective was not to bring democracy to Afghanistan. That is something the Afghans will have to handle for themselves. I believe we can offer financial aide to rebuild infrastructure and help with education and modernization but political change needs to come from the people.
These tribes have been sparring with each other for centuries, they need to resolve their issues without outside interference.
The USA and its allies need to concentrate their military and intelligence operation on hunting down and capturing/killing bin Laden and all his Al Qaeda network. They need to concentrate in Afghanistan and Pakistan and once they have finished there they will need to move to Somalia, Sudan and any other country that is offering Al Qaeda a haven.
The UN needs to issue a proclamation that any nation harboring Al Qaeda criminals need to surrender them or face the consequences.
Obama needs to let Afghanistan and Iraq take care of themselves, offer aide for building, but the military needs to concentrate on Al Qaeda.
Its Common Sense!
For eight years the USA and allies have been involved in trying to hunt down and wipe out Al Qaeda, in Afghanistan and where ever else they are hiding.
Unfortunately this war got side tracked when the Bush Administration decided to focus their attention on Iraq.
Now focus is returning to Afghanistan, but big talk and promises are fading and the Obama Administration is face with dealing with the realities.
The Afghan people are not happy with Karzai. I cannot blame them because there seems to be a lot of corruption. At the same time, the majority do not appear to want a return of Taliban control. I sympathize with that because I would not want to be ruled by archaic Middle Age laws applied by fanatics armed with AK47s.
What I believe the USA needs to do is refocus on the original mission. Get bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Our original objective was not to bring democracy to Afghanistan. That is something the Afghans will have to handle for themselves. I believe we can offer financial aide to rebuild infrastructure and help with education and modernization but political change needs to come from the people.
These tribes have been sparring with each other for centuries, they need to resolve their issues without outside interference.
The USA and its allies need to concentrate their military and intelligence operation on hunting down and capturing/killing bin Laden and all his Al Qaeda network. They need to concentrate in Afghanistan and Pakistan and once they have finished there they will need to move to Somalia, Sudan and any other country that is offering Al Qaeda a haven.
The UN needs to issue a proclamation that any nation harboring Al Qaeda criminals need to surrender them or face the consequences.
Obama needs to let Afghanistan and Iraq take care of themselves, offer aide for building, but the military needs to concentrate on Al Qaeda.
Its Common Sense!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Presidential Debate #1
Last night was the first of the three presidential debates. Along with my wife, we watched the entire thing, as well as the commentaries afterwards on CNN and MSNBC.
I give kudos to Jim Lehrer for trying to get the candidates to actually face off one against the other and let some passion flow. Unfortunately the only passion I saw was when McCain spoke about the surge in Iraq.
I think at the next debate the candidates should be seated at a table, facing one another, so that they will be forced to have eye contact and get into a serious discussion, hopefully where they will be forced to get down to specifics. They need to make this personal, this is about the two of them, who they are, not some lofty goals.
Contrary to many of the commentators I did not see either one as the victor. Of course, the fact that I saw them as pretty even I guess means that Obama did better on foreign affairs than expected.
Over all I was disappointed in that both avoid specifics.
After asking their views on the bailout and if they would support what Congress proposes, Jim Lehrer asked which of their programs would be affected due to lack of funding.
McCain talked of freezing most programs, with the exceptions of defense and veteran spending.
Obama admitted some of his programs would be delayed but that he planned to pushed through health care and education - the two high ticket items on his agenda.
Is it possible that neither man gets the fact that Americans are tired of bailing everybody in world out of trouble and leaving ourselves with a hopeless deficit? McCain mention at one point the $500 billion we owe China. He didn't mention the other countries holding our securities.
We can not continue to do crazy spending until we get control of our debt.
My view of their positives and negatives.
Barack Obama
Economy
Positive - Wants to work out tax breaks for 95% of Americans. Plans to veto entitlements, restrict loopholes for big business and look into cutting government wasteful spending practices.
Make Iraq start paying for the war out of their oil surplus.
Negative - Does not explain where the money is going to come from to pay for his programs if the majority of taxes are going to be cut. Also makes no mention of how he plans to start paying off the deficit.
Foreign Affairs
Positive - Concentrate on stabilising Afghanistan and eliminating the bin Laden, Al Quada, Taliban threat in that part of the world. Wants to meet with allies and improve the world image of the USA.
Negative - Lack of experience about foreign relations. Although in a debate with Hilary Clinton he stated that he would meet with no pre-conditions with the leaders of countries hostile to the USA, last night he tried to give a different spin. Admit that you were wrong and move on.
John McCain
Economy
Positive - Veto entitlements and clean up up wasteful government spending by revamping Federal Agencies and holding them accountable.
Negative - Still wants to give breaks to big business without holding them accountable.
Foreign Affairs
Positive - He's been everywhere and knows everyone. Even though I was against the war in Iraq since day one, he was right about the surge and just maybe the USA will be able to withdraw with a victory.
Negative - Still seems to be a victim of the Evil Empire mentality.
Overall I was disappointed. Obama came across as an aloof college professor.
As much as I hate to admit this, McCain came across as a tired old man, repeating himself and at times losing his train of thought.
Oh well, two more debates to go. Hopefully things will get better.
This coming Thursday night debate between Palin and Biden should be really entertaining, if nothing else. (Maybe she will wear her bathing suit and bring her rifle.)
In all the furor over the presidential election, let's not forget that there are also races for the Senate and Congress. We should take a careful look at these candidates as well. Maybe its time to do some "House" cleaning.
Keep informed, ask questions, and don't rush into any decisions.
It's Common sense.
I give kudos to Jim Lehrer for trying to get the candidates to actually face off one against the other and let some passion flow. Unfortunately the only passion I saw was when McCain spoke about the surge in Iraq.
I think at the next debate the candidates should be seated at a table, facing one another, so that they will be forced to have eye contact and get into a serious discussion, hopefully where they will be forced to get down to specifics. They need to make this personal, this is about the two of them, who they are, not some lofty goals.
Contrary to many of the commentators I did not see either one as the victor. Of course, the fact that I saw them as pretty even I guess means that Obama did better on foreign affairs than expected.
Over all I was disappointed in that both avoid specifics.
After asking their views on the bailout and if they would support what Congress proposes, Jim Lehrer asked which of their programs would be affected due to lack of funding.
McCain talked of freezing most programs, with the exceptions of defense and veteran spending.
Obama admitted some of his programs would be delayed but that he planned to pushed through health care and education - the two high ticket items on his agenda.
Is it possible that neither man gets the fact that Americans are tired of bailing everybody in world out of trouble and leaving ourselves with a hopeless deficit? McCain mention at one point the $500 billion we owe China. He didn't mention the other countries holding our securities.
We can not continue to do crazy spending until we get control of our debt.
My view of their positives and negatives.
Barack Obama
Economy
Positive - Wants to work out tax breaks for 95% of Americans. Plans to veto entitlements, restrict loopholes for big business and look into cutting government wasteful spending practices.
Make Iraq start paying for the war out of their oil surplus.
Negative - Does not explain where the money is going to come from to pay for his programs if the majority of taxes are going to be cut. Also makes no mention of how he plans to start paying off the deficit.
Foreign Affairs
Positive - Concentrate on stabilising Afghanistan and eliminating the bin Laden, Al Quada, Taliban threat in that part of the world. Wants to meet with allies and improve the world image of the USA.
Negative - Lack of experience about foreign relations. Although in a debate with Hilary Clinton he stated that he would meet with no pre-conditions with the leaders of countries hostile to the USA, last night he tried to give a different spin. Admit that you were wrong and move on.
John McCain
Economy
Positive - Veto entitlements and clean up up wasteful government spending by revamping Federal Agencies and holding them accountable.
Negative - Still wants to give breaks to big business without holding them accountable.
Foreign Affairs
Positive - He's been everywhere and knows everyone. Even though I was against the war in Iraq since day one, he was right about the surge and just maybe the USA will be able to withdraw with a victory.
Negative - Still seems to be a victim of the Evil Empire mentality.
Overall I was disappointed. Obama came across as an aloof college professor.
As much as I hate to admit this, McCain came across as a tired old man, repeating himself and at times losing his train of thought.
Oh well, two more debates to go. Hopefully things will get better.
This coming Thursday night debate between Palin and Biden should be really entertaining, if nothing else. (Maybe she will wear her bathing suit and bring her rifle.)
In all the furor over the presidential election, let's not forget that there are also races for the Senate and Congress. We should take a careful look at these candidates as well. Maybe its time to do some "House" cleaning.
Keep informed, ask questions, and don't rush into any decisions.
It's Common sense.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Debate
McCain says he may not debate tomorrow night. What is he afraid of? We all know that the government needs to make decisions on the bailouts. In truth, I thought that Obama and McCain should have been invited over the weekend to meet with Bush and Paulson to see what the options are. After all, one of them is going to be stuck with the results of the bailout, not Bush.
I agree that coming to a practical plan is important. I feel that Obama and McCain should make their contributions. But the truth of the matter is that neither one of them heads a senate committee that ties in directly to the bailout, so they can advise from a distance, they do not have to be in D.C.
Its forty days until the election. The the voters have the right to see our candidates in action. We need to hear them respond to real questions about the current world and home situations. To be a President you have to multi-task. You should be able to participate in a 90 minute debate and have aides to keep you informed of any crisis in the world.
Our economy is vital to everything our country does. You can not have much of a foreign policy if you do not have the cash to back it up. How our economy stands will determine what we can do outside our borders. After all, if there is no cash, we can not supply aide to Georgia, Afghanistan and other hard pressed allies.
I feel that a debate about foreign policy will have no problem incorporating a check on the status of the current economic situation. After all, nothing stands alone anymore, everything goes hand in hand.
McCain and Obama need to debate to allow the voters the opportunity to see how they act under pressure, what they know and do not know, and to see just how honest (or at least how honest they appear to be) they are in what they have to say.
I feel we would be better served if we could witness two debates a week until the election. Political commercials are junk, I don't believe any of them, or pay any attention to them. What I do pay attention to is how the candidate reacts responding to questions, especially if the commentators press for specifics.
Whoever wins this election is inheriting a mess and four hard years. We have to make sure the winner is the one we feel can do the job.
Let them talk, but ask specifics and let's make sure they are held accountable for the promises they make.
The President works for us - let's hire the best man for the job!!
Its Common Sense.
I agree that coming to a practical plan is important. I feel that Obama and McCain should make their contributions. But the truth of the matter is that neither one of them heads a senate committee that ties in directly to the bailout, so they can advise from a distance, they do not have to be in D.C.
Its forty days until the election. The the voters have the right to see our candidates in action. We need to hear them respond to real questions about the current world and home situations. To be a President you have to multi-task. You should be able to participate in a 90 minute debate and have aides to keep you informed of any crisis in the world.
Our economy is vital to everything our country does. You can not have much of a foreign policy if you do not have the cash to back it up. How our economy stands will determine what we can do outside our borders. After all, if there is no cash, we can not supply aide to Georgia, Afghanistan and other hard pressed allies.
I feel that a debate about foreign policy will have no problem incorporating a check on the status of the current economic situation. After all, nothing stands alone anymore, everything goes hand in hand.
McCain and Obama need to debate to allow the voters the opportunity to see how they act under pressure, what they know and do not know, and to see just how honest (or at least how honest they appear to be) they are in what they have to say.
I feel we would be better served if we could witness two debates a week until the election. Political commercials are junk, I don't believe any of them, or pay any attention to them. What I do pay attention to is how the candidate reacts responding to questions, especially if the commentators press for specifics.
Whoever wins this election is inheriting a mess and four hard years. We have to make sure the winner is the one we feel can do the job.
Let them talk, but ask specifics and let's make sure they are held accountable for the promises they make.
The President works for us - let's hire the best man for the job!!
Its Common Sense.
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