And while in Afghanistan, visit the beautiful Kyber Pass, graveyard of empires past!

bastogne, 1944, “nuts”

Thanks Gregg.

digg

No, thank you!

We only have one president at a time to criticize. So I am keeping my counsel with respect to Obama. The dreadful appointments of neo-con corporate lapdog Cass Sunstein, and tax deadbeat Timothy Geitner will provide plenty to criticize after Jan. 20.

I did receive an e-mail from Michelle Obama requesting that Obama supporters should find opportunities for “service” in their communities. My first service under the new Administration will be to oppose the genocide in both Irak and Afghanistan.

These wars were started under false pretenses. Al Qaeda Al CIAda was was created and trained by the American government to fight the Soviets in the mideast. It does seem with the collapse of the Soviet Union, a new enemy was needed to keep the economy of the War Machine and weapons dealing.

The phony Afghanistan War is just more MURDER FOR PROFITS.

It should be pointed out so everyone recognizes that BUshco failed utterly in Afghanistan (as well as Iraq). Those questions above should have asked in 2001 now we are 8 yrs into an absolutely bungled policy or lack thereof.
144 hrs & 19 min

You’re very welcome. It’s a pleasure and an honor to provide whatever little help I can to a site that means so much to me.

FWIW, Joe Wilson left this on an FDL thread a few years ago. I substituted Afghanistan for Iraq. I think it overlaps with the excellent questions you asked.

Based on current US deployments to Afghanistan, what are the troop to task ratios and the force protection requirements?

In memory of Steve Gilliard, here’s a summary of the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force, which I also think overlaps well with the questions you asked:

The questions posed by the Powell Doctrine, which should be answered affirmatively before military action, are:

1. Is a vital national security interest threatened?
2. Do we have a clear attainable objective?
3. Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?
4. Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?
5. Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?
6. Have the consequences of our action been fully considered?
7. Is the action supported by the American people?
8. Do we have genuine broad international support?

I think another confirmation of the accuracy of your post is that Afhanistan and Iraq are “4G” wars. Land, sea, and air-supremacy don’t matter. This is a battle for hearts and minds.

Someone has to tell Barack that the central front in the war on terror is our dependence on foreign oil. We need tax policies that reflect that so we can move quickly to alternatives such as U.S. grown algae-oil. Cutting our imports of foreign oil helps our trade imbalance and increases the strength of the U.S. dollar. That strengthens our economy.

“Bush appointee Lt. General Douglas E. Lute would stay on as Barack Obama’s War Czar (officially the Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan). Add Lute to a team that already includes Bush warriors Robert Gates and David Petraeus, along with a new Secretary of State that has a few authorization for military force votes under her belt, and one might be inclined to start checking one’s pockets for missing change.”

Wow. What the hell has Lute accomplished? Obama is starting to sound Manchurian. This is all starting to scare me, and he isn’t even in office yet. WTF is going on????

Is Obama a Republican???

FWIW, interesting link about algae First flight of algae-fuelled jet

The United States of America would be a good place to make a foreign policy- we haven’t seen one for eight years…

Getting in or out of this country or that is not a foreign policy. Ending a war is not a foreign policy. A foreign policy must define American Interests and what will be done to defend or expand them…

Afghanistan and Pakistan are trouble spots and just getting out of Dodge won’t solve the problems.

We have one unstable nation with nuclear weapons and another that is practically leaderless and foundering.

Where does our national interest lie in that region?

“This is all starting to scare me, and he isn’t even in office yet.”

BOO!

And you WANT it all yesterday, right?

Oh stop it! :)

What is it Raven? Do you just think everything is hunky dory, or do you just not give a sh*t what happens? Do you think that keeping all these Bushco characters is okay and/or that we can’t do anything about it anyway? WTF?

Oh yeah, it’s all BS and this is just something to do anyway..and you like to fork with everybody, but what the hell is YOUR opinion other than certain people are always full of sh*t and you know better….

I know…it doesn’t matter.

Yup, thanks to Bushco, Afghanistan and by extension Pakistan, are more unstable than before we invaded Afghanistan and routed Al Qaeda (remember the Taliban wanted Al Qaeda gone and made offers to Bushco to cooperate). Instead of winning the “hearts and minds” of Afghan people with aid and community support, we install and support a massively corrupt government, routinely kill innocents, and end up walking in the shoes of the Soviets. Pakistan meanwhile funded the Taliban through the ISI and had chosen to allow autonomous tribal areas and porous borders for the Taliban and recently shut down the main supply route through the Khyber Pass. Pakistan is in a world of hurt, confronted by internal strife, often Taliban inspired, a corrupt intel community and ongoing pissing contests with India.

Now the best minds think it’s time to get out of Afghanistan in favor of the New Taliban and allow it’s theocratic and sexist policies to subjugate the populous. But all is not lost, as these great theorists would initiate an underground railroad, run by the CIA no doubt, to allow women and children to escape the terror that is the New Taliban. Good luck!

scathing analysis

I’ve heard Obama, while campaigning, many times talk about reducing our dependence on foreign oil and discuss how to fund R&D of alternatives. I would be surprised if he doesn’t follow through.
I’ve also heard him talk about our need to pursue Al-Qaeda and kill Bin Laden and it’s other top leaders, to prevent Afghanistan from returning into being a haven for Al-Qaeda, and to prevent Pakistan from a similar future. I would expect him to follow through on these things also.
.

What
Ev
Er

We funded the Islamic resistance to the Russians in Afghanistan, therefore, there is no Al Qaeda. geeze, it’s so fucking simple.

The Tao of Raven…Heh, heh, heh…often makes sense.

In many ways I believe that Afghanistan is more troubling than Iraq. In Iraq all we need to do is leave – not simple, I know, but doable. The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is very dangerous for both countries and nukes are involved. I am amazed at the courage of the Afghan female students who are going to school despite acid attacks by their own people. There must be something we can do to help the people there but I’m not sure what it is.

“Do we stay or do we go?” is a part of the decision to be made about central asia- but it is the tail end of a long chain of thinking- not the first step.

Leaving and hoping for the best won’t cut it. Sending boatloads of money hoping to buy “loyalty” won’t cut it.

We are in need of a strategy.

TOTALLY and GRATEFULLY dugg!!!
Thanks huge, Gregg.
Boy did THIS one need to be written!

We funded Britain between 1919-1947. Does that mean that there’s no UK?

I was being facetious.

I was being facetious as well.

Well, either we can ‘help’ by continuing with the ‘war and weapons’ method, or … we just might, possibly, if we thought real hard about ‘it’, come up with a better, less ‘costly’ (and dare I say, far less ’stupid’) ‘approach’.

The ‘difficulty’ with doing something ‘better’ is that it is not so wonderfully profitable.

Therein, lies the ‘problem’.

Our failures in Iraq and Afghanistan could easily lead to a new american isolationism..probably not a good time for it.

Well come up with the idea first- we can then analyze the problems with it.

Last time we walked away from Afghanistan was sorta problematic.

The thing about Afghanistan is that the US needs to hold the territory in order for it to transport oil via a pipeline. The idea that OBL is alive and well and living in a cave is probably a myth.

It is all about the war for oil, not the war on terror.

The videos supposedly from OBL over the last few years are NOT videos of OBL…they don’t even resemble him in the least.

It is all about oil.

Passage through Pakistan is necessary in order to get equipment for “everything” to Afghanistan. Afghanistan has always been a “prize” for oil dependent nations. The Russians couldn’t do it, because the US counterfunded the resistance, which was the Taliban and “Al Qaeda”, which was a CIA created entity.

There was a period when Russian politicians stated that they wanted to take all of the territory south of Russia to the Gulf. That was a huge threat to our oil futures. The US wants the same thing. It is a turf war for oil. OBL is the boogie man, used to create a unified sentiment for the American public to rally around to support the “Oil War”. The GWOT is a manufactured device to gather support for the expenditure of lives and funds. For the last 8 years, we’ve been “ruled” by oil tycoons.

Me too, but it’s something to do! ;>

This is a very brutal and harsh part of the world. The brutality of one group to another is incredible. When my son was there in 01 – 02 he was very much shocked by it. Bringing all of the competing tribes together will not be an easy matter if possible. The mountainous regions make for a long, long involvement.
143 hrs & 27 min

I was hoping someone would bring up the Powell Doctrine wrt Afghanistan. It is key to getting a foreign military involvement right and it has once again been pushed down the memory hole.

Anyone who listened to Clinton yesterday or has looked at Obama’s national security appointments can see that Obama means to continue Bush’s militarizing of foreign policy.

My own view on formulating foreign policy is to answer a few simple questions:

What do we want?

What can we do?

What can we live with?

It is surprising how seldom these are asked, or answered with any clarity.

So, do you think we should just di di mau (leave)? What does he think?

I suspeculate that the “Golden Rule” approach might be of use.

Frankly, since the American public has no real ‘clue’ as regards the actual nature of war, having not entertained one, here at home, for some 150 years (9-11, notwithstanding), I suspect that we don’t really understand what hell we blithely direct toward others.

Maybe we could just start with the assumption that people are really more alike than different, and that to dehumanize others so that we may kill them more easily, requires that first we lay waste our own soul and sense of humanity.

Except for the evil Israeli’s and Americans.

If one wants to occupy land in order to hunt prey… say…something like…say…a test for superior tracking dogs…one creates the most intricate trail possible to trip them all up…

When one wants to trick the hunting dogs and keep them hunting…they follow the scent, laid by the owners of the dogs, but the dogs never reach the prey…until the owners are good and ready to end it….then they either get the prey or they get dried liver as a reward for their efforts.

That is what is happening.

I believe he feels that it would be a good thing to finish but when he was there the strategies etc being followed had been developed by the CIA and were disfunctional. Whether we stay or not there will be many deaths. Perhaps fewer if we stay.
143 hrs & 20 min

I think this is a worthy topic for discussion, but I’m pretty tired of the tone of “Obama isn’t doing everything I want, he must be selling us out and turning into a Republican!”

I don’t want a quagmire in Afghanistan, but I don’t necessarily agree that more troops cannot be helpful. I recall reading opinions that seemed credible that part of the reason the US military was using more airstrikes that kill civilians and lose hearts and minds was that the troops that might have enabled them to do some of those operations right were in Iraq. That could be wrong; I’m willing to be convinced, but I don’t find “it’s going to turn into another Vietnam!” convincing.

We’ve had long years of idiots who believed that everything could be accomplished by military action alone. That doesn’t mean that the methods that actually could work won’t require military support.

Also, thanks for pointing out the basis of Get Afghanistan Right — I hadn’t visited the website, only seen the Facebook group, so I thought it was an open discussion of how to get it right. I hadn’t realized it was a discussion of how to get it right as long as we all agree in advance that any additional troops for any period of time isn’t part of the solution. No, thanks.

So what’s the PLAN? Let em figure it out by themselves?

Re Afghanistan, there are some problems that can not be fixed, at least by us. In such situations, we need to look at how they can be managed. Both by its geography and culture Afghanistan is not a cohesive country. So I think the idea of nation building there is pretty much of a non-starter.

But in many ways, Afghanistan is really a secondary foreign policy consideration. What we and for that matter the Indians should be worrying about is Pakistan. I recently heard someone come up with one of these interesting sayings: Somalia is a country without a government. Pakistan is a government without a country. There is a lot of truth in that and we need to consider how this affects and should shape our foreign policy.

So what is Obama going to do with Afaghan once he has ‘won’ it?

Afaghanistan has almost no water,is landlocked, has no resources to speak of except for one mineral they mine and their poppy crops. The averge life span of an Afaghan is 44 years.

Go ahead,bomb it to rubble, kill every terrorist wedding party, pour 100 trillion dollars into it. When it seeps back to life it will come back as exactly as it was.

I don’t think it is jumping the gun to start planning how you are going to stop Obama and congress.

There are only 3 reasons the US gets into wars:

Nationally-needed resources, i.e., oil.
Nationally-needed strategic territory grabs, i.e., to protect the US from threats to oil supplies or
Nationally-needed security because of foreign military threats to the U.S.

It is the route through which oil pipelines flow that fuel the U.S. and its allies.

So you are in favor of leaving and doing nothing- on the basis that nothing can be done?

I think this is a worthy topic for discussion, but I’m pretty tired of the tone of “Obama isn’t doing everything I want, he must be selling us out and turning into a Republican!”

The problem is that Obama has signaled pretty much across the board that his main criticisms of Bush are that he was too extreme and that he executed poorly. But as to the fundamentals of Bush’s policies, he seems to be fairly much in agreement. This is seen in his emerging Iran policy which looks pretty aggressive, on his escalation without forethought in Afghanistan, his non-policy toward Pakistan, and of course in a non-foreign policy arena his approach to the meltdown and the economy.

I tend to agree with you but the reason for the increase as stated above doesn’t make sense. You don’t send more troops in without an actual plan. If the only plan Obama and the new administration have is more troops, then I don’t think anything long term will be accomplished.

“fairly much in agreement”

Well- except that he thinks that the invasion of Iraq was a huge mistake, and that the tax cuts favoring the wealthy were a big mistake- and he doesn’t favor torture, or detention without charges. I don’t believe that he is in favor of warrantless phone tapping either.

Those are some pretty major differences aren’t they?

Obama seems like a mainstream dem to me-

” Khalilzad’s historic support for the Taliban does not appear to have been an obstacle to his appointment. While working on Unocal’s project beginning in 1997, Khalilzad participated in talks with the Taliban on oil and gas pipeline infrastructure through the country, attended a delegation of Taliban leaders visiting Texas, and called for US support far their regime.

In 1997 Khalilzad conducted risk assessments for Unocal on their proposed 1,500-kilometre pipeline project to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan while he was a consultant with Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

In 1998, after the US retaliated for the attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania by bombing Afghanistan, Unocal suspended all public negotiations for trans-Afghanistan pipelines, stating it would only participate in a Centgas pipeline project ‘when and if’ Afghanistan achieved the ‘peace and stability necessary to obtain financing from international agencies and a government that is recognized by the US and the United Nations’. “

http://www.articlearchives.com…..856-1.html

This is the same Khalizad…that is UN Ambassador right now…former Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration. This article is from 2002.

Ultimately yes.

When it comes to figuring out plans, it is questionable whether we are in any better state of awareness than anyone else, American ‘exceptionalism’ included …

I would suggest that, in reality, the collective future of all human beings is on the line, and what we, having the biggest, most profitable arsenal ‘production’, ‘choose’ to ‘do’ or not ‘do’.

What ‘plan’ have we for our own future, that we have any superior wisdom or insight to insist that others heed?

Excellent, necessary, and fair questions, which I hope someday soon will receive the consideration they deserve.

I’d be willing to bet that any number of ‘ugly’ Americans could come up with a better ‘plan’, but then, we would all be in the same boat, rather than haughtily sailing above everyone else.

The Middle East is a ‘problem’. (Is America a ‘problem? Or dare we not ask that?)

And, we have the ’solution’?

Is there a need for a ‘final solution’?

What would we want America to do if we were Afghanistan?

Consideration by who?

If that turns out to be true, then I would absolutely agree. However, I’m thinking about logistical lead times, which are likely longer for military resources than for a lot of other elements of a new comprehensive plan. I’m willing to believe that a competent administration could have the broad outlines of a plan while not having a comprehensive plan until they get into office and get all the details, and have a pretty good idea that the comprehensive plan will involve some more troops. Personally, I think that’s a more likely interpretation of what’s presented in the article than “I said I was going to send more troops, so let’s do that and then make it up as we go along.”

Well- except that he thinks that the invasion of Iraq was a huge mistake, and that the tax cuts favoring the wealthy were a big mistake- and he doesn’t favor torture, or detention without charges. I don’t believe that he is in favor of warrantless phone tapping either.

Those are some pretty major differences aren’t they?

He may have thought that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake but he never led any move in the Senate to oppose it. Also since his election, there has been much less talk about his 16 month withdrawal scenario. This would be one combat brigade a month but it should be remembered that this accounts for only some 50,000-60,000 troops and while non-combat units may be withdrawn Obama has indicated he could leave up to 50,000 troops in country and some of these would be combat troops who were redesignated as training units or something else but they would in fact still be combat units with a combat role.

While he has said that tax cuts for the wealthy were a mistake, some 40% of his stimulus package is geared to unproductive cuts in business taxes favored by Republicans.

While he has said he is against torture so has George Bush. Obama refused to commit to bringing all agencies including the CIA under the interrogation guidelines of the Army Field Manual.

Finally, Obama spearheaded the passage of the FISA Amendments Act which is about as pro-doemstic spying as you can get.

So I stand by previous statement.

What does get it right mean to you?

And how much longer should we occupy and bomb or shoot these people while figuring it out? Don’ forge the wasted treasure, unless you have a contract.

The only surface issue which ever made a lick of sense to the American public.. was get Osama. Clearly that has not been and is not why we are still there. And we know the pipeline routes (Pak. and Afgh.) from the Caspian region are the real motivations.

I mean, should it matter what flavor the Kool Aid might be, if It’s still a bloody recipe for disaster?

Dear Eureka,

As a fellow curmudgeon, I shall defend, until the last marshmallow, Raven’s right to be … Raven.

S’more to the point, beneath that prickly exterior lies a kind, sensitive, and very wise soul (you won’t ever tell him I said so, I hope …) whose knowledge of music is only exceeded by his understanding of the human ‘predicament’ and the changeable or unchangeable ‘nature’ of the human animal.

So, there!

;~D

I appreciate that, I do my best to stay away from him. Anytime Christy or Jane want me gone it’s a simple matter. Otherwise I don’t really give a fuck what people think.

I would join you in that defense if i thought it was ever a real need.

However I can do that and stand with/by what LS raised. ANd I hope one day some folks might consider their methods come off like something between a troll and self mutilation.

The negative trolling effect is a real downer and counterproductive for those of us who are here sorting out info.

Quit bullying people when you disagree.. and argue points on merit.. not slapping around folks like they are the weakest kid in he schoolyard.. and expecting no dissent.

I don’t really give a fuck what people think.

Then why are you here? And know this is not me saying.. go away. It’s a simple question which you constantly avoid answering… just like you avoided very kind points raised by LS earlier.

You always put people in some strange defensive posture and never reply to any questions, whether they be about post topics or of a more personal nature. Seemingly for sport.

Eureka, I just assume that everyone at FDL is mature enough to keep things in ‘perspective’, whatever that may mean, and that the characterful presentation of views and opinion is to be expected, and frankly, to be enjoyed.

Raven may be direct or even obtuse, but I, personally, have never witnessed any bullying on his part, and, on the web, it doesn’t matter how loudly one shouts because one can simply, if it becomes too much, go do something else or, the old tried and true standby, ignore the commenters who are being unpleasant or offensive or blindlngly stoopid.

When it comes to those who post, I have witnessed, just once (well, on a number of this person’s posts, to be honest), behavior that was simply unacceptable and petty in its meaness (all definitions apply).

Otherwise, regarding commenters, folks is folks, and I’m rather hard-pressed to think of any who participate here whom I regard as unpleasant or unsufferable, frankly there aren’t any here who come even close …

DW

Suffering dog hairs!

That should be ‘insufferable’.

Everyone here is on edge and worn out. We have to be a bit forgiving because we all react differently about things. There’s much caring at this place and could we all have a little patience? I sit here at times and have to sit on my hands to not answer something that I disagree with but maybe it’s good to do that. I don’t see any need for sniping and hurting people.

During Clinton’s confirmation hearing yesterday, Kerry questioned our intentions in Afghanistan so I think at least he is thinking about the consequences of staying or leaving.

http://washingtonindependent.c…..an-vietnam

David.. DO you think Raven needs your help right now? If so, why?

I didn’t intend to speak for anyone.. except to show support for what must have been a difficult yet loving set of questions raised by LS. Which I share and have for some time now.

But the reply – I don’t give a fuck.. said it all. SO I am going to move along now.

Just maybe someday.. Raven will read, comprehend, even directly reply to loving questions when folks take the time to write them down… with something besides an attack, a run behind mommy CHS or Jane for cover.. or an I don’t give a fuck.

Cheerio….

May I sit with you, Twain?

Your last sentence sums things up very well.

It could also be used as a basis for a rational foreign ‘policy’.

I wonder if there is anywhere in the world where it might be of benefit to approach ‘things’ from such a ‘perspective’?

Twain, I always appreciate your compassion and humanity (not to mention your humor when ‘things’ are in need of it).

David

That was not at all nice or helpful. What happens to people around here sometimes? ….a thread will be going along well and all of a sudden there’s all this snarling. Who does that help?

He doesn’t like me, hasn’t for a long time. Don’t worry about it.

Hi, David. I WAS feeling very cheerful this morning and BAM – felt as if I had been hit by a bus. I try to make the assumption that people have something going on that we don’t have any business knowing and it makes them cranky. That’s okay – I get cranky myself – that’s when I read. :)

I like you and how are the dogs?

Stinky!

Thanks to Gregg for the great post. LS, you are so on target! It is not up the Oil Barons to plan the future of Afghanistan. They are criminals who have ruined the United States, Irak and Afghanistan.

If the Afghans want to make Hashish that is totally fine with me personally. Our technology could be based on Solar Energy and we could trade solar generators for Hash. That is better than bombing their children. NO WAR FOR OIL!

And we know the pipeline routes (Pak. and Afgh.) from the Caspian region are the real motivations.

Ah, well, if we all know that, then there’s not much point in having a discussion, is there? Positing that we all agree with your position pretty much wins the argument without any effort.

I mean, should it matter what flavor the Kool Aid might be, if It’s still a bloody recipe for disaster?

And another round of “even before I hear it, whatever you think it wrong,” and a declaration that disagreeing is being a delusional Kook-Aid drinker as a bonus. Nice.

In short, I believe that the defensible reason for being in Afghanistan (not that I believe this is why the Bush Administration stayed) is that during the Soviet invasion, we pursued a strategy with tremendous blowback potential, said we wouldn’t abandon them when that was done, and then did, leaving the country to devolve into a political hellhole that ended up being very dangerous for us. Telling them we wouldn’t abandon them and then doing it again seems awfully likely to produce a similar situation down the road. That seems like a pretty clear national interest to me.

The non-military elements clearly must be given priority, but many of them cannot be carried out without security. If our military forces are pulled out, any significant reconstruction efforts and most international aid efforts will end. No one else is going to pick that up. How is that different than “let’s abandon them again, and hope it doesn’t turn out as badly as last time”?

If you’re absolutely certain that no additional troops could possibly do any good, then perhaps you could explain what getting it right means to you. Because “it’s going to be a disaster no matter what” doesn’t seem to contain much “right” to me.

Raven doesn’t need my ‘help’, Eureka, but LS, whom I also appreciate very much, seemed more than able to deal with the Dreadful Cap’n Raven, and did it with commendable humor, as well.

Yes, Raven can be trying, even vexacious in his ‘manifestation’ of toobular ‘personality’, but somehow we shall all just simply have try to get along.

What do you think are the chances that Raven is gonna ‘change’ any time soon? How ’bout over the long term?

I like him as he is.

That’s Raven.

Does Raven need YOUR help?

Do ya think he’d ‘take’ it were you to offer if?

PS: ES, I happen to enjoy your curmudgery quite as much as I do Raven’s.

Do you like mine?

Bath Time – for mine, too!

Thank you.

smootch to you

back atcha, luv

guess I’ll go out and eat some worms

Actually, I’m not on edge and worn out. I’m still pretty excited about the many areas of government where things are going to be a lot better than they’ve been for the past eight years. I’m just unhappy that I’m not feeling the sense of community that I used to here (not blaming anyone, things change, but I still miss it) and I’m frustrated, feeling like “the perfect is the enemy of the good” has become the default mode much of the time here.

There is an essential role for us to advocate and pressure our government to do what we see as the right thing, now that the party that is more on our side is in power and we’ve gotten a lot of good people elected, and I am fully on board with that. But that doesn’t mean that any time we don’t succeed, we’ve been sold out. We’ve had so many outrages over the past eight years that I’m afraid we’ve become accustomed to reacting only with outrage. With a government that is not deeply corrupt, there may be times when our answer turns out not to be right, when our elected officials are making a decision based on more information than we have, not because they’re ignoring us. Beyond that, compromises are sometimes necessary, and well, you win some and you lose some, because there are competing forces. That’s government.

The thing I find most puzzling are the people who during the campaign declared “you’re deluded if you think that Obama is going to be the perfect president and solve all your problems!” and are now saying “Look! Obama isn’t the perfect president, solving all your problems!” Um, guys? We never believed that; you’re arguing against your own straw man.

But Obama has illustrated just this week on the $3000 “job creation” tax cut, by abandoning it, that he is responsive to pressure. Not that everything on the outrage meter should be at 11, but by showing that he hears and adjusts, he’s given all of us permission to carp, criticize, recommend alternatives, and holler, don’t you think?

I was never among those who thought he was perfect, I’m not complaining that he’s not perfect now. But if he’s responsive to complaints, don’t we owe it to him and ourselves to make very clear when we think he’s on the wrong path? Finally, we have a president who will listen! Hadn’t we better speak up?

There is a solution for Afghanistan..

Locally owned and operated, village-based poppy control models would have beneficial ‘ink blot’ effects on security and economic development in the regions around the villages, and thus complement the international community’s mission in Afghanistan.

Poppy for Medicine model adaptable to local conditions
This village-based Poppy for Medicine model is grounded in proven, local control systems which were documented in extensive sociological and criminological field research undertaken throughout 2005 and 2006. The model can be easily adapted to the specific circumstances of different regions of Afghanistan, where poppy licensing is most needed.

An Afghan-owned solution to the Global Pain Crisis
Given the increasing global demand for essential poppy-based pain medicines such as morphine, Afghanistan is ideally positioned to address the substantial gap in the international market for these medicines.

Exported under special trade frameworks from Afghan villages and used within the region and globally, Afghan morphine would help address the global demand for essential pain medicines, which, according to the International Narcotics Control Board whose mandate is to ensure an adequate supply of morphine for medical and scientific purposes, 80 percent of the world’s population, including Afghanistan, face an acute shortage of essential morphine medicines.

By facilitating the production and promotion of an Afghan humanitarian brand of morphine, the international community can vividly demonstrate that post-conflict states such as Afghanistan have the potential to diversify their economies and become international trade partners.

http://www.poppyformedicine.net/

Absolutely, that was my point. More speaking up, lots of pressure, but without the hyperbole of “he’s acting just like the Bush!” or “it’s just like Vietnam!” We were outraged at Bush because the things he did were outrageous; cranking up outrage at Obama just makes people who are inclined to give the benefit of a doubt defensive, instead of enlisting their support.

Big ones! With hair!
Now say “sorry” and then you can post with the other children. But not too rough.

Kerry would know lots about the drug trade there and who might be profiting from it. He did an amazing report on drugs, Contra, etc. back in 1988..90 page PDF. Anybody at all interested in how the drug trade gained strength in the US would find this report interesting. Kerry would be aware of the real reason the US invaded Afghanistan. His reference to Vietnam is telling; he fought in a war that he realized was wrong, just like Afghanistan. He knows that an invaded country will fight to expel the invaders. There is no ‘win’ to be had by NATO forces. Clinton never did answer his question. Discrete goals…what the heck is that supposed to mean?

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/N…..orth06.pdf

The Oliver North file from the National Security Archive.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/N…../index.htm

He’s a uniter!! WooHoo!!