I know many readers will sneer that it's too late and that it's an utterly waste of time and effort. Maybe. Maybe not. But if Michael Moore goes to the trouble of showing me the site, I'm going to put my effort along side his. Invite my readers to do the same, copying and pasting their letters in the comments below. Or, readers can comment below explaining why they did not want to waste their time and effort. But I do not think anyone can just read and say nothing. Afghanistan is that huge.
Sun, Dec 22
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2001—Richard Reid’s shoe-bomb fizzles, but all air passengers must still
remove shoes before boarding. 1984—Asked for money on a New York subway,
Bernhard ...
9 hours ago
Mr. President, please don't buy Gen McChrystal's plan to get more deeply mired into Afghanistan. It will absolutely destroy your (our!) domestic agenda. America cannot afford it. We need to invest in our own infrastructure more than we need to invest in pulling Afghanistan out of its medieval conditions. I support our troops; that's why I want you to bring them home.
ReplyDelete“Mr. President,
ReplyDeleteAdding more 30,000 troops without getting at least 3 detailed options for exit strategies from General McChrystal in return is not bringing us closer to ending our engagement there.
If McChrystal and others in government haven’t told the nation how we can stabilize Afghanistan and leave, then it’s time to leave, the same holds for Iraq.”
-Thanks for the link, Vig.
-SJ
Vigil,
ReplyDeleteIt sure doesn't hurt.I put in my two cents worth there too.
PREZ O... I FUCKIN' DON'T LIKE IT!!
ReplyDeleteHarry Shearer is asking about Iraq: Was The Surge Just A Fig Leaf?
ReplyDeleteIt is said,
that “the surge worked.” What exactly does that mean?
Let’s look at it for a moment with a cynical eye, the one possessed by politicians and satirists alike. The surge encompassed a rapid infusion of American troops, simultaneously accompanied by a short-term program of paying off Sunni insurgents to switch sides. What was supposed to happen was that the job of paying off the Sunnis would eventually transfer to the Shiite government, which would enroll the former insurgents in the national army and police. Meanwhile, peace would ensue, and we could withdraw.
Shearer states conditions on the ground that require American presence in Iraq indefinitely, and then - pertaining to Afghanistan - concludes,
So what was the real purpose of the surge, the real success? To act as a convenient fig leaf to cover our withdrawal of troops, perhaps? And leaving the following administration to reap the political splashback if renewed chaos ensues?
Would that be the real nature of the plan President Obama is announcing this week, Surgeleaf 2.0?
I want to bring out troops home, but not if they are needed in Afghanistan. When you join the military you join with the assumption that someday you might actually have to fight, get wounded or even die.
ReplyDeleteWill I sign petitions and join organizations opposed to the war? Yes! But that is my heart speaking, not my head. One Mathew Hoh or a few retired generals and liberal columnists are not going to convince me that my president is making a foolish decision. Perhaps some will think it strange but I support the captain of the ship. It is his job to make the big decisions. If I could do a better job then I would be captain of the ship.
So, as I have said over at my place, before I start trashing the commander in chief I am going to wait and see what his plan entails. I am confident he has a plan and I am also confident it is no Vietnam Redux. Remember that Barack Obama is no George Bush. The former is a leader the latter was a fool. The president is no fool. I am certain he got a lot more than 3 detailed opinions before he decided on this course of action. I admire him for making the tough decisions.
Me, I'm just a Canuck watching from the sidelines. And hoping my Prime Minister keeps his word on withdrawing Canadian combat troops in 2011.
ReplyDeleteI don't see that happening Stimpson. I don't see that happening at all. If America and Great Britain stay Canada will stay.
ReplyDeleteSadly, you're probably right, MadMike. My neocon Prime Minister isn't very trustworthy.
ReplyDeleteThis, to Lydia Cornell and company: "30,000 Ameican kids being sent off to serve like Gary Cooper in Beau Geste. What do you think of your hero now, Cliffy?....P.S. I'm sorry, Lydia. I know that this is off-topic. But I just can't sit silent while another U.S. president thinks that Ameican youngsters are expendable/continues to make these politically expedient (30,000 troops instead of 40,000) and idiotic compromises that accomplish bubkus. It's just not a part of my nature, friend. I didn't think that it was a part of yours, either."
ReplyDelete