Archive for the ‘Afghanistan war’ Category

You mean this is all about justifying retreat? NO!

Posted: July 28, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, opinion/news
Tags: , , ,

Our next contestant is Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul of the Pakistani army. His topic the bleeding obvious:

described the documents’ release as the start of a White House plot. It will end, he posited, with an early U.S. pullout from Afghanistan — thus proving Gul, an unabashed advocate of the Afghan insurgency, right.

President Obama “is a very good chess player. . . . He says, ‘I don’t want to carry the historic blame of having orchestrated the defeat of America, their humiliation in Afghanistan,’ ”

Here Gul, 74 shows himself a little less knowledgeable than he thinks. The Wikileaks stuff isn’t part of a administration plot, but the media, the left and anti-victory members of the administration will use it to their advantage.

Let me repeat, the goal is to engineer withdrawal and political defeat before Petraeus manages to engineer victory.

I’m sure that such a defeat will have no chance of emboldening the forces of Jihad all over the world. There is absolutely no chance that the next Osama Bin Ladin will be able to convince radical Islamists that there is no danger in opposing the US or in hitting America again. Once we stop fighting Jihad I’m sure those trying to push Sharia all over the world will decide we are friends and stop.

One word of advice: make sure you don’t drive after drinking whatever the people who actually believe that nonsense are.

What is this nobody knows what “Victory” in Afghanistan is?

Posted: July 28, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, opinion/news, war
Tags: , ,

Why is this so confusing? Let me answer you:

1. Preventing Afghanistan from being used as a forward base for terror.

2. Neutralizing the Taliban as an effective fighting force.

Why is it so hard to understand that?

The Morning Joe crew has one good point. You don’t win a war simply by throwing more troops at it you win a war by having a smart stratagy to win it and the right leaders and tactics to do so.

Anybody who thinks the US military can’t win in Afghanistan is an idiot, but it’s more than that. The president in one of he few really good moves has put Petraeus in charge over there. There reason you see the Wikileaks and the push against the Afghan war now just as the strategy has changed is not because the left is afraid of losing this war, its because the left is afraid we will win it.

Expect more of this meme, in their minds the battle cry is “Stop Petraeus before he wins again!”

Joe Raises a great point about Pakistan

Posted: July 26, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, opinion/news, war
Tags: , , , , ,

In a phone call to Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough makes a critical point on Pakistan; that of course they are our enemy and have been from the start.

Does anyone remember the speech that Musharraf made at the start of the Afghan war besides me? As I recall (and correct me if I’m wrong) In that speech he compared his actions in corporation with the Bush administration to Mohammad’s treaty with the Jews and stressed he was doing what he was about to do for the survival of his country.

Basically at a time when practically the entire country was looking for blood Bush laid down the law and Musharraf caved, but at the same time we breathed a sigh of relief as we wanted no part of a war with a Nuclear Pakistan if it could be avoided.

As soon as they (Pakistan) determined that we were not going to hit them, they quickly resumed their role as quiet friends of Islamic terror in general and the Taliban in particular.

Since there is absolutely of us challenging Pakistan in a way they would find credible (particularly with this administration) this will continue with impunity until and unless there is a cost to those in power greater than the domestic risk of supporting us.

Update: Hate to admit it but Zbigniew Brzezinski is absolutely right, I’m being simplistic on Pakistan, there are multiple sides within the government and it is very complicated. We do have to be very careful here.

Two nasty thoughts…

Posted: July 2, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, opinion/news, war
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

…one about the past and one about the present.

Nasty Thought #1: All this draft nonsense:

Do you get the feeling that MSNBC and the left are pushing and talking draft right now because they are afraid of Gen Petraeus? Not afraid of him politically but afraid of him as a general. I have the horrible and uncharitable feeling that they are afraid he will actually win this war.

Success in the war would mean a more powerful US. One more likely to act rather than talk. The concept of the US military as a force never to be used is even more sacred to the left than the first black president. They aren’t in a position to attack Petraeus so the only way to counter him is to get the country talking draft. With a high unemployment rate and college so expensive it is a tempting solution to several social/economic problems but it would scare the britches off of many in the ME generation.

The left has never lost their love of 60’s radicalism, it was their greatest moment, it is their dream to bring it back in living color.

Such an appraisal is not very fair to most of the left and is as I said a nasty thought, but right now it is stuck in my head and won’t come out.

Nasty Thought #2 Al Gore

For years I’ve wondered why Al Gore didn’t assert himself during the Clinton Impeachment stuff. It would have been up to Gore to talk to the president and say it was time for him to go. If he had conventional wisdom says he would have easily won election in 2000 and maybe even in 2004. Not only did he not assert himself but he after the impeachment vote made that ludicrous speech calling Mr. Bill “One of our greatest presidents” (talk about grading on a curve)! In my mind the question has always been: Why did he play along?

I have the nasty feeling that question has now been answered. Does anyone believe for one moment that if the Clintons knew Gore had some ahem “interesting diversions” they wouldn’t have held that over him? Al understood that people judge a Rogue differently than a “strait arrow”. It’s the expectations game. People were not surprised that Clinton was messing around and judged him accordingly, but Gore? He would be judged by his strait arrow image.

Again this is a nasty thought and assumes Gore’s guilt but I can’t get it out of my head.

Are these thoughts a sign I am becoming paranoid or am I just becoming more street savvy? What do you think?

Older Entries
Newer Entries