Do we have the resolve to finish the job in Afghanistan? That’s the question the Right is asking.
One of my favorite cartoons is a pilot walking down the isle of an airplane from the cockpit toward an exit whistling with his hands in his pocket and a parachute on his back. This is the same feeling I got from President Barack Obama’s speech. I loved, loved, LOVED IT.
President Dwight David Eisenhower got elected on a platform of ending the war in Korea. He put his hands in his pocket, started whistling and quietly ended the war. So, today we have North Korea to deal with. I guess Ike did not have the resolve to finish the job. President Richard Milhous Nixon got elected on a platform of ending the war in Vietnam: same action, same result. Now we have North Vietnam to deal with. Everybody get the picture?
President Barack Hussein Obama has his eye on an exit strategy. That’s where his eye should be. We will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011 and we will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2012 just in time for the November election. Obama understands the reality of these wars and the simple fact that once we exit we will still have to deal with these countries just like we have to deal with Korea and Vietnam.
Eisenhower did not win; Nixon did not win; Obama will not win.
So, what is the big argument Fox is broadcasting morning, noon and night? Announcing a timeline gives our enemy, whoever they are, the necessary information they need to go into hiding and wait until we leave so they can rise up and resume their leadership. The fact that we have been in Afghanistan for over 7 years does not give Fox the necessary information they need to realize the bad guys will wait however long it takes until we leave, and then they will try to resume their leadership.
The question is whether or not the elected leaders of Afghanistan will be ready, willing and able to defend their country against this assault. They better be: we are leaving in 2012; Obama has given them fair warning.
Was this decision and timeline politically motivated? You betcha! Did the Republicans think Obama was going to end all our wars in 2013, or 2014? Obama could have gotten done by 2011. But that would leave a year for the Right to come up with another Monica Lewinsky. So 2012 is the perfect year
To be Brutal, to be Frank, no matter how fast or how slow we exit Iraq and Afghanistan we will have the same countries to deal with in the years to come after we exit.
The only difference will be what the elected leadership can do with these countries going forward and the quality of life the people can have. I recommend Iraq and Afghanistan split their countries into a North and a South and give the North to Bad Guys – whoever they are – so at least half the people have a shot at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Back to you, Greg.
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Nice Brutally Frank.
The problem with your dizzying reasoning, however, is that you think that THIS TIME we mean it.
The WARS will continue on and on. In Afghanistan, we are propping up a fake government, a fake US placed leader, and all of the Afghans, Taliban and otherwise, do not want this government in their country. It is interesting that we went there after Alqueda; which is GONE! They are in Pakistan. Let’s face it. We are there to mine the heroine production. But that doesn’t make good news, or does it.
i am sick of this and any war. when will this country understand that we are all casualties of war. i would like to hang bush Cheney and rumsfeld like they did mussolini. my heart goes out to our military families. its hard to fathom the hardships they have endured these 8 years. world war two was only four years. if Afghanistan is so important for our security lets implement the draft, to relieve the burden of our military families. or best of all lets just get our ass out of there.
To be Brutal, to be Frank, I’m not the one who gets sea sick. Greg does. What you call dizzy, I call pragmatic. So far, the president has made a lot of very unpopular, but very necessary decisions. Without even calling himself “The Decider.”
To be Brutal, to be Frank, boys pull out, men finish the job and LEAVE.
You guys just don’t get it. BHO does gets it. Bush 41 got it. It’s always about getting out after neutralizing the situation. We will always have to deal with these unstable nations and we can never, never, never fix them. We can only neutralize and exit. Dubya didn’t get it or for that matter anything else.
gotta say, my dad called this before anyone else.
3 BF comments in a row what a shocker. You may want to try letting folks comment and than responding. Exhausting!
attack, attack, attack. i get it. you’re good at it. i’ll bet you’re good at being sweet. give it a try. just sayin…
Frank Frank Frank.
The situation in Afghanistan has been neutralized. Its over. ITS BEEN OVER. But nothing is over. It will never be over. This fist squarely in GWB lingo, fight’em over there so we ain’t gotta fight’em over here.”
The Brutal Truth is, we don’t need to fight them anywhere.
I am sorry for the Morelli family. I am sorry all of you, except Frank’s wife, is so lost on this issue. You are blinded by your vote for a black man who sold you a dream and delivered a continued nightmare. Sorry folks, the ride is over.
Back to you Greg.
sorry i didn’t comment on what frank said but it felt good to go on my own rant. thank you for the opportunity.
Back to you, Frank.
rant about anything you want, brian a. hayes. that’s what it’s all about. the blogs are just there to get you started. once you start typing, follow your heart.