Afghanistan Drama

Things keep happening in Afghanistan to keep the confusion/chaos alive. Obama sneaks in to visit with the troops and then tell Karzai he's got to get his act together and show some progress if he wants to continue to receive aide. Of course, since Obama has increased the USA's military commitment, the USA isn't getting out anytime soon, which means the aide will continue.

Evidently Karzai's feelings got hurt and the rumor is he has threatened to go over the the Taliban if the outsiders don't stop pressuring him. How long do you think he would last if he went over to the Taliban?

Both presidents need to stop trying to out stage the other and get to the serious business of bringing a workable peace to Afghanistan making all of the compromises necessary to end the killing. Too many lives have been wasted. Now is the time for true leadership, not stagemanship.

Its Common Sense!

Senator Mikulski on Afghanistan & Pakistan

I just received a response from Senator Mikulski on the wars in Afghanistan & Pakistan. What's frightening is we appear to agree on several points.

See how you feel about her responses.

Dear Mr. Wolfe:

Thank you for getting in touch with me about our involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is one of the most important issues facing our nation and I appreciate hearing your views.

On March 27, 2009 President Obama announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. At its core was a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and eventually defeat al Qaeda and to prevent their return to either Afghanistan or Pakistan. On December 1, 2009 President Obama announced an increase of 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan.

I have no reservations about our troops -- their courage or competence. They will accomplish whatever mission we give them with honor. But I do have grave reservations about sending additional troops to Afghanistan. Our troops are worn out and we are out of money.

There are no simple answers, and no silver bullets for Afghanistan. President Obama rightfully went through a deliberative and thoughtful process to arrive at this strategy. Now Congress needs to ask hard questions to better understand this plan and hold the Administration accountable for progress.

My three key principles going forward are: First, the U.S. commitment cannot be open ended. Second, Afghanistan needs a functional and sustainable government. Third, the Afghans must take the lead in this war.

I continue to have serious concerns about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and question whether their leaders share the commitment of U.S. forces to combat extremism. I am concerned that Afghanistan seems threatened not only by the Taliban, but by a government that's riddled with cronyism and corruption. The corruption is aiding the booming narcotics trade in Afghanistan and lining the Taliban's pockets. I fear Afghanistan is on its way to becoming a narco-state.

I am also concerned about the safety, treatment, and security of Afghanistan's women. That's why I joined my Senate colleagues to introduce a resolution calling on Afghanistan's leaders to repudiate a law they passed that includes provisions legalizing marital rape and imposing Taliban-era restrictions on Shiite women in Afghanistan. The Shiite Personal Status Law violates the basic human rights of women. American soldiers fight every day to help Afghans create a stable and free nation that can protect and provide for its people. This law is an affront to the sacrifices they make every day. The United States should do everything it can to encourage Afghanistan to respect the basic rights and welfare of women and children.

I also supported the Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental funding bill because it provides the necessary funding to meet the needs of our troops on the ground and to continue our assistance programs in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I fully support our troops and will not abandon them while they are on the battlefield or when they come home needing healthcare.

Again, thanks for contacting me. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me again.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator

President Obama's Campaign Promises

President Obama during a recent interview with Oprah gave himself a B+ for his performance to date. Needless to say, I think he has given himself a very favorable curve, especially based on what I have seen of his performance to date.

Troops are being pulled out of Iraq, but at a slower rate than promised and now it appears that more will be staying than in the original plan.

The USA's commitment to Afghanistan has increased with the ordering of an additional thirty thousand troops, not to mention billions in finanical aid. Where is the end of al-Quada and the Taliban?

There are still prisoners in Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) even though the President promised it would be closed in the first year of his Administration. There is talk of the prisoners being moved to a high security facility in Illinois, but nothing has been finalized.

Health Care Reform is an on going battle being fought along clearly partisan lines. What happened to the spirit of cooperation and unity in government?

Where are the new jobs? Where are all the new Green businesses? Unemployment has slowed down, but for millions nothing has improved.

Where are strong regulations to control banks? They are paying off the bail out money, paying employees big bonuses, increasing interest on credit cards, withholding loans for home buyers, and taking no precautions for the future. Why is the Obama Administration not making things tougher on Wall Street?

Other areas not going well. Obama failed to bring the Olympics to Chicago. Personally I do not think he should have even gone to plead the city's case, but the fact is he went and lost. Not a pretty picture.

Obama receives the Noble Peace Prize but no one, including himself, understands why. Regardless of the justification supplied by the Noble Committee, it still looks like Obama got the prize based on future hopes as opposed to any real action he has performed to date.

Climate control and saving the environment. Obama went to Copenhagen and failed miserably. Now,to be fair he tried, but it is evident other world leaders do not hold him in that high esteem because he could not even get the nations to agree to an enforceable plan. In truth, it looks like business will continue as always and future generations will pay the price for the greed of their ancestors.

Overall, I give Obama a C-. A lot of talk, a lot of promises but very little to show.
He got elected by people who really thought he was different, that he was more than just another politician, that he was a man of his word and that he would make things happen. Having been part of the system he knew how it worked, so he should only have promised what he knew was doable. Instead, he stayed a politician wanting to win and has put us in our current situation.

Understand that I know he can do nothing on his own. He has to deal with the Congress. But having been a part of Congress he knew what obstacles he would be up against and he should have been honest about them up front. Instead he gave the impression that he could overcome the obstacles and thus far he has failed miserably.

The real challenge for Obama is to see if his Administration can turn things around or he could end up being another one term president.

Actions speak louder than words, now Obama's actions need to live up to his words.

Its Common Sense!

Random Thoughts on President Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

Clearly as surprised as the majority of the world, President Obama was selected to be this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Newly elected to office, he has not done anything yet, although in the time between being named the winner and going to Oslo to accept the prize, he did order another thirty thousand combat troops into Afghanistan. As for the withdrawal from Iraq, I am unclear if it is moving on schedule or not.

To his credit, President Obama shared his surprise and then gave what I considered to be a fairly good acceptance speech, which followed along the lines of St Paul's just war theory.

However, the bottom line is, he should never have even been a candidate for the prize. One has to wonder about the motives of the selection committee. Were they so happy to see President Bush replaced with a younger, perhaps more opened and more world visioned individual? Did they think the United States deserved some kind of an award for electing a bi-racial president?

I don't know. I just wish they had selected someone else, because now there will be additional unneeded pressure placed on Obama to prove he is truly a peacemaker.

With our current economic situation, the unemployment rate, the debate over health care and the two ever present wars, Obama in having enough trouble trying to keep the peace within the United States, much less through out the world.

A side note, totally unrelated, but something that has been bothering me, is the First Lady's taste in clothes. The off greens and weird yellows just do nothing for her. Call me a traditionalist but I think she looks much better in a single colored gown of black or dark red. These combination colors or the whole yellow to beige group needs to be thrown out.

Doesn't she have consultants? Let's hope her wardrobe improves.

I know, that's my opinion and means very little, but I needed to get it out.

As for the President and peace, we will just have to wait and see if the strategy he has formulated will play out the way he hopes. If it does not, then its back to the drawing board and yet another new war strategy. Let's hope this one works, after eight years we need to get things finished once and for all and bring our troops home for good.

Its Common Sense!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Traditionally today is the day we come together with friends and family to celebrate all we are thankful for. For a lot of people this year, like last year, finds them with less to be thankful for than normal.

Many families have one or more loved one fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq. Their prayer is for the safe return of that loved one.

Others find themselves depending on the aide of family or state or church agencies to help them eat this Thanksgiving because they fall in the category of the millions of unemployed.

Of course the fat cat bank executives have their fancy bonuses, so they'll be eating fine and I have a feeling very few of them will be helping out at local soup kitchens.

Congress is in recess and I am sure the Democrats and Republicans are getting ready to fight about Health Care, Social Security and the National Debt. Of course, they will also probably work in a raise for themselves even though they decided the elderly did not need the Social Security raised.

We all need to sit back and see what we are thankful for. for myself I am thankful for my wife, daughter, family and friends.

I am thankful that I am employed and in conditions to do a little to help others.

I am thankful that I live in a country where I can write a blog, criticize my government and not have to worry about imprisonment.

All of us have something to be thankful for. Let's celebrate today, and continue the fight tomorrow.

Its Common Sense!

President Obama and Afghanistan

President Obama is not satisfied with any of the recommendations of his war council regarding what policy to follow in Afghanistan, so he has put a decision on hold. He is off on a trip to Asia and maybe when he gets back he will have a plan.

I have a few suggestions to make.

1) Tell Karzai it is time to get tough with the poppy growers and all drug traffic in Afghanistan. The Taliban wiped out the drug trade when they were in power, and revitalized it to supply the funding for their war. The Afghan military, not the USA & NATO, need to take the lead on the war on drugs.

2) Invite the Muslim nations of the world to send humanitarian aide, educators, doctors and construction personnel to aide in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. It would also help if they sent some militaryto assist in the training and building of the Afghan Army. That will USA and NATO troops free to concentrate on going after al Qaeda and the Taliban.

3) Following that thought,give our military a clear objective. Be it to go after al Qaeda and the Taliban or provide stability to Afghanistan. The truth of the matter is that our military presence is not big enough to do both. Which is why I think our troops should deal with al Qaeda which Muslim troops help train and support the Afghan military.

My opinion. We'll and wait and see if the President is thinking along the same lines.

Iraq Withdrawal

This coming Tuesday US troops will begin withdrawing from major Iraq cities, turning over protection duties to the Iraq security forces. Evidently there are mixed feeling on both sides.

The positive group is saying the Iraq troops are more than capable of assuming the responsibility of protecting their country. They want the Allied forces out of their country as soon as possible, so they can show the world they can control their own destiny.

Then there are those who fear, based on the recent increase of car bombing and other violence, that the withdrawal of the Allied forces will only bring Iraq that much closer to a civil war.

I was never in favor of this war, right from the beginning. Part of the reason is that I am a member of the Viet Nam generation and I still see the images of people on top of the US embassy waiting for the helicopters to come and take them to safety, while the Vietnamese who had been our allies, stood barred at the embassy gate, hoping for salvation but knowing their fate was in the hands of the victors from Hanoi.

I do not think we will see American on the roof of the USA embassy in Baghdad. However, we will probably see a stream of Iraqis coming to the embassy looking for visas to get them out of Iraq.

For all of the rhetoric, I still see a civil war looming in Iraq's near future. I truly believe that the Kurds will take advantage of the confusion to try once again to form an independent country.
The Sunnis and Shiites have always just tolerated each other, and with interested parties wanting to preach their own agenda, both sides will receive outside support from those wanting to turn Iraq into the next Islamic theocracy.

The important thing, as all this unfolds, is to make sure no more American lives are lost in a war that never should have happened. It is time to concentrate on the only war we should have been involved in, Afghanistan. Maybe now, with all of our efforts devoted there, something positive, effective and final can be accomplished.

Its Common Sense!

Let's take a minute to breath

I think that now is the time we all need to sit back and calmly reflect on what is going on. The stimulus package, like it or not, is passed and the money is going to be disbursed, sooner better than later. Some governors have problems with some of the money and that's fine. They should ask their constituents' opinion on the spending of any "questionable" money from the Federal government. This money is for the people, not for politicians to play with.

This week President Obama will unveil his budget and his plan to cut his inherited deficit in half during his term. Details will be important. Following the details will be even more important.

Pulling back from Iraq may save some money, but the truth of the matter is if we are to save Afghanistan from the Taliban and Al Quada, then we are going to have to spend heavily on education and modernization. In the past no country has defeated the Afghans because they only tried to destroy and break. To be successful we will have to work with the Afghans to help them grow and expand. All of which will take money.

So, we will sit and wait. There was a big conference today about the economy and the future of the country. All the experts were there. What we have to wait and see is if the "experts" can make their thoughts and dreams practical so that something beneficial will happen for the country.

Its Common Sense!