"Obama's Chore"*
Worldwide coverage of President Obama's speech outlining his policy decisions on Afghanistan, Pakistan and terrorist movements in the Middle and Near East has almost-universally claimed that he now owned "Obama's War".
*Bob Cesca, writing in the Huffington Post, disagreed and quite rightly called it "Obama's Chore".
How anyone could think the grey-faced Obama wanted to claim a war and set time lines for withdrawal to coincide with U.S. elections just so that he could be re-elected is beyond comprehension.
Also beyond comprehension are Republican charges that Obama's announcing a targeted time line for withdrawal would both endanger U.S. forces and/or simply prompt the Taliban (they seem to have forgotten Al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden in their attacks) to lay low and then move to Somalia or Yeman once the U.S. troops left the area.
Either U.S. troops will be endangered by a revitalized Taliban or they will have an easy time until they train Afghani police and militia before they depart.
As to the Taliban, they will not leave their homeland. The departure of Al-Qaida and Bin Laden anywhere far away from the nuclear weapons in Pakistan would be very good news indeed.
Yeman is not a likely option for refuge given the pasting the Saudi forces just gave the Yemenis who invaded their southern borders. Further, it has been rumoured that Bin Laden has an agreement with the Wahhabis to stay away from Saudi Arabia.
Another ridiculous charge is that a very inexperienced and naive Obama dangerously delayed his decisions so that the enemy would have the advantage to build up forces and U.S. troops would not be ready to depart for months.
Those of us Americans who live in Europe have heard for months of increased unmanned drone attacks in the border area of AfPak (Pashtun territory), 500 or more CIA agents arriving in Afghanistan and secret Blackwater "black opps" apparently doing or preparing for something.
Today, the Marines landed in operation "Cobra Anger" to support the beleagured British troops in Helmand province which is the Taliban's southern base.
According to Lt. Col. Martin Wetterauer, their purpose is to "cut off enemy supply and communication lines to the north".
The President kept his election promises to escalate U.S. troop departures from Iraq and to do something about Afghanistan.
It appears that the inexperienced and naive Obama has played a very successful game of cat and mouse with both the enemy in AfPak and the neocons of the Republican Party and New Dems who were so critical of his "dithering".
It appears that the "dithering" was actually fine tuning a surge with the support of 7,000 NATO troops (and more after the January NATO meeting).
Now he has to deal with those in his own Party who want the U.S. out of Afghanistan and those Democrats will have to deal with his cunning fait accompli.
Respected journalist Dan Rather, recently returned from Afghanistan which he visited many times, summed it up to the BBC: "It's a gambol; it can work, but it's a gambol".
If it can work, you can bet the Marines will make sure it does.
Susan's Views http://www.susansviews.com
*Bob Cesca, writing in the Huffington Post, disagreed and quite rightly called it "Obama's Chore".
How anyone could think the grey-faced Obama wanted to claim a war and set time lines for withdrawal to coincide with U.S. elections just so that he could be re-elected is beyond comprehension.
Also beyond comprehension are Republican charges that Obama's announcing a targeted time line for withdrawal would both endanger U.S. forces and/or simply prompt the Taliban (they seem to have forgotten Al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden in their attacks) to lay low and then move to Somalia or Yeman once the U.S. troops left the area.
Either U.S. troops will be endangered by a revitalized Taliban or they will have an easy time until they train Afghani police and militia before they depart.
As to the Taliban, they will not leave their homeland. The departure of Al-Qaida and Bin Laden anywhere far away from the nuclear weapons in Pakistan would be very good news indeed.
Yeman is not a likely option for refuge given the pasting the Saudi forces just gave the Yemenis who invaded their southern borders. Further, it has been rumoured that Bin Laden has an agreement with the Wahhabis to stay away from Saudi Arabia.
Another ridiculous charge is that a very inexperienced and naive Obama dangerously delayed his decisions so that the enemy would have the advantage to build up forces and U.S. troops would not be ready to depart for months.
Those of us Americans who live in Europe have heard for months of increased unmanned drone attacks in the border area of AfPak (Pashtun territory), 500 or more CIA agents arriving in Afghanistan and secret Blackwater "black opps" apparently doing or preparing for something.
Today, the Marines landed in operation "Cobra Anger" to support the beleagured British troops in Helmand province which is the Taliban's southern base.
According to Lt. Col. Martin Wetterauer, their purpose is to "cut off enemy supply and communication lines to the north".
The President kept his election promises to escalate U.S. troop departures from Iraq and to do something about Afghanistan.
It appears that the inexperienced and naive Obama has played a very successful game of cat and mouse with both the enemy in AfPak and the neocons of the Republican Party and New Dems who were so critical of his "dithering".
It appears that the "dithering" was actually fine tuning a surge with the support of 7,000 NATO troops (and more after the January NATO meeting).
Now he has to deal with those in his own Party who want the U.S. out of Afghanistan and those Democrats will have to deal with his cunning fait accompli.
Respected journalist Dan Rather, recently returned from Afghanistan which he visited many times, summed it up to the BBC: "It's a gambol; it can work, but it's a gambol".
If it can work, you can bet the Marines will make sure it does.
Susan's Views http://www.susansviews.com
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