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September 16, 2012
Politics Afghanistan, Libya, Middle East, Obama, Romney 1 Comment
I wish I didn’t feel impelled to echo the following statement made today by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnnson:
“Foreign policy is supposed to make us safer, not get Americans killed and bankrupt us. Yet, even as we mourn the loss of four Americans in Libya and watch the Middle East ignite with anti-American fervor, our leaders don’t get it.”
Gary Johnson: Libya, Afghanistan and the Middle East — Why Obama and Romney are Both Wrong
July 7, 2012
Politics Afghanistan, Bush's Folly, Vietnam Leave a comment
It would seem reasonable to figure that the longer we are involved in the Afghanistan fiasco, the more the military and the administration would see that we are in an unwinnable situation. Not only have we turned the Afghan population against us, and strengthened the insurgents’ determination to force us out, we are sacrificing American military personnel and depleting our national budget. Here’s what a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel has to say about it:
Think Vietnam in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The United States spent enormous sums of money, and used air power in even more profligate ways, to prop up the corrupt and ultimately illegitimate government of South Vietnam.
June 10, 2012
Politics Afghanistan, India, NATO, Pakistan, Taliban Leave a comment
How much longer can the U.S./Pakistan alliance farce continue? With the friction between us, and with Afghanistan and the Taliban the bones of contention, it’s time for this dog fight to end.
Pakistan refuses to end its six-month blockade of NATO troop supplies meant for Afghanistan, and the U.S. is angered by Pakistan’s unwillingness to go after Taliban forces using its territory. Pakistani officials don’t appreciate our requests for more help despite their internal problems, and feel that we show no consideration for the fact that Pakistan has lost thousands of troops fighting the Taliban, who are mad at Pakistan because they are helping the Americans.
The only way for the U.S. to win in the Middle East is to pay attention to the lesson the Soviets finally learned in 1989 — just get out. No invader has ever won a war in the Middle East, and that includes the Crusaders more than eight centuries ago. Don’t take my word for it, though. Ask Great Britain — or Russia.
We need to bring our troops and contractors home now. As for staying in Pakistan to safeguard their nuclear weapons, we can’t even protect our own installations there. And now India, Pakistan’s next-door enemy and our real ally in the region, has just tested a missile with nuclear weapon capabilities. Instead of creating unrest in Pakistan, we need to be brokering peace in the region as a neutral party, before some hothead starts World War III.
