Eight of our troops were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday, the largest number of single-day American casualties in over a year.
It’s time to get out of Afghanistan. President Obama needs to hear this message loudly and clearly every day from the Americans who elected him, most of whom were persuaded to vote for him (as opposed to Hillary or McCain) because he spoke of ending Bush’s terror wars.
Now, according to CNN, there is a pitched debate inside the White House between those who want to escalate the war and those who want to end it.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has made no secret about his belief that the U.S. needs to send more troops now – up to 40,000 more troops to carry out the mission in Afghanistan. Obama has yet to respond to McChrystal’s report, prompting opponents to accuse him of indecisiveness.
Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and special Afghan and Pakistan envoy Richard Holbrooke also agree with McChrystal’s recommendations.
Obama pressed key members of his national security team Wednesday for their views during an intense, three-hour session in a packed White House Situation Room.
CBS News reports that Vice President Biden, Rham Emanuel, and National Security Adviser Jim Jones stand in opposition to McChrystal’s plan. Vice President Joe Biden supports a strategy that directly targets al Qaeda fighters who are believed to be hiding in Pakistan, rather than a general troop increase.
Which side has more influence with the President remains to be seen, but the tension between the Obama/Biden White House and the neoCon hawks in Congress and the military intensified when McChrystal spoke in London last week in harsh and hostile terms about his demand for additional troops.
McChrystal flatly rejected proposals to switch to a strategy more reliant on drone missile strikes and special forces operations against al-Qaeda. He told the Institute of International and Strategic Studies that the formula, which is favoured by Vice-President Joe Biden, would lead to “Chaos-istan”. When asked whether he would support it, he said: “The short answer is: No.” He then told Newsweek he was firmly against half measures in Afghanistan: “You can’t hope to contain the fire by letting just half the building burn.”
Somebody needs to remind McChrystal that Obama/Biden ain’t Bush/Cheney. This White House will actually consider the pros and cons before throwing more of our brave young Americans into a killing machine. They may do it anyway, but there is a debate first. For a top military leader, McChrystal seems woefully ignorant about the history of Afghanistan. Have he and the chichenhawks in Congress decided to completely ignore the fact that no army in the entire pantheon of recorded history has ever defeated the Afghans? The Greeks, Indians, Persians, Mongolians, British and Russians all failed to conquer and hold Afghanistan. As famously noted – it is where empires go to die.
And McChrystal should’ve learned from the Bush Crime Family’s hideous failure in Iraq that you cannot win the hearts and minds of a population with carpet bombs and depleted uranium munitions. Or flesh-melting white phosphorus. The Taliban? There to stay. Given a choice the Afghans would rather accept executions under Sharia law than American occupation, terrorism, torture, rape, mutilation and devastation.
Bring the boys back home, President Obama. Do it now. Please do not send more innocents to the slaughter on either side of Bush’s unwinnable terror war. It is a central reason you were elected.
Enough.
Scene One: Obama has won the White House, and the Progressives and the hopeful ones are jubilant. Finally, someone with true character and brains to lead us back to respect and sanity. Oh, Happy Day!
Scene Two: The new President is called into a meeting at an underground bunker to have a sit down with ‘da’ boys’. These folks are not from the Chicago underworld, but despite their creased uniforms and shiny medals, they seem much more menacing. A film clip begins to roll, and Obama’s mouth and eyes lock into an expression of complete disbelief. It’s the infamous Zapruder film from 11/22/63. He let’s out a loud protest, but to no avail; these men mean business and give him an icy stare that stops him in his tracks. “Now sir”, one of the Generals says, “with all due respect for your new office, we are willing to give you the health care reform issue as your pet project, but don’t even think about touching Afghanistan, we’ll take care of all that. Understood?”
Scene three: The new President is not feeling well. He excuses himself, and leans over the sink in the lavatory. He wants to throw up, but only shivers, sweats, and gags. He feels like he’s just been shaken out of a terrible nightmare. It takes him some time to regain his composure.
Scene Four: As he is escorted out of the darkened room, the Generals give a knowing wink and nod to their new commander-in-disbelief, and he heads to his new digs at the White House. The only thing on his mind is all the work to be done on health care reform.
Closing Scene: Obama sits by himself in the Oval Office with the Door’s song, THE END, playing in the background. He’s so pale, that right now, he looks more like his mother.