Let us give our President the Benefit of the Doubt and here is why….

After great Deliberation and Agony, Pres. Obama called for an Escalation of the “struggle” but he also Coupled it with an End date of this Struggle by military might and because of that (end date), I have Hope that soon the Long Nightmare of the twin wars, ignited by the twin towers will be over.

I saw in Pres. Obama a heart that bleeds for this decision for anyone whose heart center is open and active feels the pain of this task, yet, speaking with a Heavy Heart, I also heard in that speech the unspoken wish or Intent that he was going to also bring Bin Laden to justice ( the great Prize and Symbol)! I also heard the great Urgency he feels to bind up all loose nuclear threats and to prevent them from getting into those hands within Afghanistan and Pakistan which might annihilate the world as we know it. He has not made this this “call to arms” for Oil or for profit based upon a lie but a heartfelt desire to keep safe the people in the world, in the binding up of these nuclear threats to the world by this faction which he knows is still out there plotting to do harm! That in this way we are Standing up for Peace and that somehow we must go into Hell for a Heavenly cause.

I heard him also say to the Military Industrial Complex Machine that there will be an end date, and that it will not be open-ended, but that the battle for peace might call for other strategic ways to get to this goal — that giving the benefit of the doubt to his generals — he will try their way (since they are so much more knowledgeable about military than him).
As, he spoke about true security from a world without nuclear weapons (his real true goal), he also spoke about the need to unite with the world to accomplish this task because in truth, terror and nuclear weapons is a world problem! And finally, he called us to the time after 9/11, when we were all united but got deviated from the course, but to return to that Unity of purpose, one more time…. and that if he is lucky, he will bring home the Prize, Bin Ladin, break the back of this threat, and then for the weary and battle scarred-soldiers they can look onward and say, well done — yet, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home!

Let us trust ” that there is a goodness in all of life that cannot even be eliminated by thoughts that temporarily cause you to believe that negativity is the underlying reality of human life on earth… ” (1) Let us call on that goodness to illuminate our way forward towards that peace and goodwill and seal the door where evil dwells.

1. Ron Scolastico. Doorway to the Soul

Let’s take a moment to thank our friends on the other side of the aisle, who took seven years to make this delicious sandwich.

Lots of words known to evoke emotion were said with no affect.on the part of the speaker.

I just finished a wonderful memoir of the years of the French Revolution. The intensity and insanity that evolved from a well intended social change spawned by perhaps the finest liberal intelligentsia of the millennium is inexplicable to this simple mind. But one observation that struck me especially was how the various French governments repeatedly reached to war during the most painful and chaotic domestic turmoil.

That detachment from the facts has become the distinguishing characteristic of the right wing, and results in damage that the sane and responsible of us that are left (yes, more than one meaning to ‘left’) in the U.S. have to cope with.

Yup. Unfit to govern.
In your guts, you know they’re nuts.

How many times have you cut & pasted this comment? This is the second time I have seen.

Good morning everyone.

I just finished a book on Afghanistan mainly covering the couple of decades of the Soviet occupation & the civil war. The book was published in 2000. There is no doubt that the Soviets thought they were trying to modernize Afghanistan for the betterment of the people. The U.S. is just as delusional as they were.

Here is an excellent article By Robert Fisk on the Russians in Afghanistan. Well worth the read.

By the spring of 1980, I was watching the Soviet military stage a “surge”. Sound familiar? The Russians announced new training for the Afghan army. Sound familiar? Only 60 per cent of the force was following orders at the time. Yes, it does sound familiar.

Seems like the right wing gave up on ‘government’ after its complete failure when it had the power to enact its ideology, and brought economic disaster on the whole world. They’ve turned into raving, drooling idiots from the shock. When they get proper treatment, they might recover, but will no longer be the deluded right wing. What to do, what to do??

I didn’t hear him say any end date rather we’ll start to withdraw if the conditions on the ground permit. Who will make that call ? The generals.
President Omama embraced killing and drone attacks on the unchosen.
He’s a warmonger.

I think the Rs deliberately trashed the govt as part of their plan to downsize it & privatize it.

One thing that for me stands out the most in the way policy makers frame the Afghan conflict is the inability to define clearly the term “extremism”, which they often use. More generally their inability to entertain which actions the US should take in defusing “extrtemism”.

Also, the fact that this term is almost universally used shows that it is used delibrately.

What is meant by an extremist ideology? The shortest version is that of an extreme hatred toward the US such that it wants to destroy it as much as it can, using whatever means it can. Fine but if you are the subject of this extreme hatred the next logical step, if you are rational, is to find out what provokes this hatred, if anything.

It is this step that is deliberately bypassed by policy makers when they justify the conflict. The enemy entertains this hatred apparently simply for the hell of it and there is nothing we can do on our part to halt this hatred. This claim is to be accepted without the slightest need for substantiation, eventhough the most cursory look would find much that could be done.

Stopping the Israeli onslaught against the Palestinians would be the logical place to start, and probably would staunch the “extreme” hatred on its tracks. If the unbridled hatred of the Israeli Jews toward a Muslim populationon were to be checked rather than abetted by the US, this “extremist” hatred would be greatly diminished. Why? because the “extremists” have said as much.

This all just goes to point out that, first; “extremist” ideology does have a foundation in fact. And second, that the US can do much on its own to staunch the hatred that drives “extremism”. This is only one example but there are others. Why? Again because the “extremists” have said as much.

The U.S. is just as delusional as they were.

But the US is always right and, as we know, the Russians are always wrong. Look America has the best Army, Navy Air force etc., the best Empire evah, the best banking system, the best health care, make the best cars, make the best plum jam and surely are the biggest arms dealers in the world.

Watching cnbc. Hosts are trashing Paul & Sanders, no surprise. Think Sanders’s hold on Bernanke is just a speed bump.

Good morning, pups. It’s Collins and Kristof today. Ms. Collins, in “The Long Hot Winter,” says given the incredibly depressing nature of all the big news stories of the week, it’s understandable that people would rather focus on the marital problems of Tiger Woods. Well, that and the fact that it’s the latest bright, shiny object to distract people from what’s important. Mr. Kristof considers “Johnson, Gorbachev, Obama” and says despite the risk of nationalist backlash, President Obama has emerged more enthusiastic about adding troops than even the corrupt Afghan government we are buttressing.

For the 1000th time, here they are.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got banana pancakes for breakfast. It appears that the storms we had last evening have moved up to coast and are about to batter New York. We had drenching rains, but at least in my neighborhood we didn’t have much wind. Here’s hoping all you pups in the Northeast do okay and don’t lose power. Have a great day.

If the U.S. is the best, why isn’t it doing as well as the Soviets did in Afghanistan? The Soviets were winning, despite heavy outside support for the muj from Pakistan, Saudia Arabia and the U.S., until the U.S. provided Stingers. The Taliban’s outside support, near as I can tell, is not nearly as substantive as the muj’s outside support. So why can’t the U.S. win?

Oh Bummah! specific? You surely jest. He is full of P & V but never ever will he say something specific. Do not, as the saying goes, believe a bloody word the man says rather look at what he does.

Thanks Marion, and happy 1000th anniversary.

Bringing up Alexander the Great and Tamerlane and claiming their experiences are relevant to this debate is the stupidest argument I have yet seen on this subject. That is like someone bringing up the Roman Empire and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest as a reason for why we shouldn’t have entered Germany during WWII.

The Soviet situation is a ridiculous comparison as well. The United States was providing billions and billions of dollars in aid and sophisticated weapons to those fighting the Soviets. That is not happening here. But hey, why don’t you just ignore that fact.

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong strategy, wrong motives.

You are a gem. Thank you for without you I would have to read The Putz.

See my 16.

IN case you are interested this is the Iraq war investigation “live” blogging. Jeeze, you think that if the Americans did a little more investigating we would not be making the same mistakes again and again and again.

Agreed. My appreciation for Marion is also based on the avoidance of Putzment as well as excellent crystalization of the worthwhile editorialists.

Is there a live video somewhere on the web?

Actually, I’ve concluded lately that they show so little control and rational behavior now, that it was more likely an accident – resulting from inability to see the error in their ideology. That would better explain their derangement now, imho.

You’re probably right. I give them too much credit.

This is the first I’ve heard about pay-for-delay.

Are you sure we aren’t supplying them Stingers?

Not that I can find. The blogging is updated every few minutes. (there is probably some “pixie” in the hearing)

Supplying Stingers to whom?

If there are Stingers around, it’s a big secret. I have seen no evidence of any. Have you?

I get a better sense of live events from listening rather than reading. It’s OK, Guardian will pick out the high points later. Thanks for looking.

It worked so well for auto & oil companies for years. They bought up, and killed, better ideas for the internal combustion engine so that they could keep building gas guzzling junk that kept the profits rolling in. It is just the free market doing what it does best/s

Don’t forget buying up the city tram lines and tearing out the tracks.

So the Salahis say they won’t show up at the hearings tomorrow. Josh suggests not inviting them would have been a better ploy.

WTF? Can’t they be subpoenaed?

-snicker-

If they don’t show up tomorrow, they’ll be subpoenaed.

I agree 1000%. With the economy in the crapper due to unsustainable deficits both domestic and current account reforming entitlements at the expense of almost everyone is a fait accompli.

I was offended when Cheney’s demon-spawn dissed Obama for visiting Dover recently saying it was just a photo op. At the time I said I didn’t believe that but that his actions in regard to escalating the war in Afghanistan would decide it for me.

Well, escalating this war, after showing all that “compassion” in front of the cameras at Dover clinches it for me. The visit with the attendant news people and camera crews was political meant to deflect any criticism of this man as a war monger.

I for one don’t buy any of his kabuki any more. He’s a war criminal and a domestic criminal for consistently refusing to hold the war criminals who preceded him accountable for the crimes they committed while in office.

Now that is funny.

I believe Desiree Rogers should testify, too, although the WH is not going to send her. Both the Clinton & Bush WH Social Offices had a representative located with the Secret Service Agents to check off names of guests arriving on a list, according to the press. I would think it would be more welcoming than just being greeted by Secret Service, too.

I doubt if Rogers is going to make that mistake again. But the WH’s telling the Congress she doesn’t have to testify because of separation of powers reminds me of the last guy who was in the WH….

A few thoughts of the day; Patchouli mixed with B O was a real downer…

Birkenstocks have the best footbed ( especially for aging hippies) but the sandals are ugly…best choice: order the footbeds and put them in your other shoes :0)

Sounds like America is way more interested in the “well being” of the Afghanis than we are the actual America people. Or, we could be concerned about those poor European children and how they will get their gas and oil from Iraq! Or the Chinese children who are starving ( may well be true)and need their daddies to get the oil to heat their hovels.

The Salahis, working closely with the Secret Service/CIA got in to the State dinner as a little “heads up” to Obama on how fast he’s toast if he didn’t authorize more war. I mean, THIS TIME they were nice and the womon was a babe…but what about NEXT TIME???? So, real fast, Obama made up his mind about deployment, remembering JFK and HIS “dithering” about Vietnam, which wasn’t very pretty

There’s MONEY to be made……

I think nomolus was agreeing with you, he is being facetious.

One thing that all these invasions taken together do illustrate I think, is that Afghans are tough fighters, no matter who the foe happens to be. Of course all people when invaded will put up a fight, but some more tenaciously than others.

This lesson seems to be lost on the US, since their well stated hopes at hegemony blinds them to this fact.

didn’t you post that exact smae comment yesterday, in a different thread?

When the Soviets were in Afghanistan women were attending schools and universities, wearing western style clothes on the street, having careers and a real future. Must have been too much for the powers that be in the U.S. who in their God given infinite wisdom felt it would be a good idea to support with arms and money a collection of religious fundamentalist extremists. The U.S. chose poorly.

” dirty effing hippie who’s read some history?”
History ,who needs fucking history ,we are an empire we create our own history /s

I read one on Alexander and Afghanistan. As far as I can tell, he only got out alive because he married the daughter of the local warlord. Otherwise, it sounds like nothing much has changed since then,
outside of the locals having another 2300 years of experience in taking down invading armies ….

failed world history, did you?

I’m wondering what story the Salahis spun for the woman at the DoD, trying to get that non-existent invitation. They clearly have experience in gatecrashing, or they wouldn’t be able to do such a good job at it. (Also, I wonder if they post the photos online in order to convince others that they’re Important and a good loan risk.)

Unfortunately, the “end date” only comes after we find the Magic Pony. We’ve had end dates for the past eight years (“the next six months….”) but the Magic Pony has proved elusive.

The Salahis, working closely with the Secret Service/CIA got in to the State dinner as a little “heads up” to Obama on how fast he’s toast if he didn’t authorize more war. I mean, THIS TIME they were nice and the womon was a babe…but what about NEXT TIME???? So, real fast, Obama made up his mind about deployment, remembering JFK and HIS “dithering” about Vietnam, which wasn’t very pretty

That is awesome. Thank you for the tinfoil-hat moment!!