POST MENOPAUSAL DIPLOMACY

FEISTY CLINTON BLASTS PAKISTAN













Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Lahore earlier today.



(October 29, Lahore, Pakistan) On a trip meant to improve our relations with Pakistan, our secretary of State, Mrs. Bill Clinton, took the opportunity to lambast the Pakistani government. In her most strident tone Hillary Clinton commented, "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get to them if they really wanted to," she said to a group of Pakistani journalists on her second day here. "Maybe that's the case; maybe they're not gettable. I don't know."

The United States has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan since September 2001 in the form of military and civilian aide. Then President George W. Bush sought the cooperation of then Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf after the Al Qaeda attacks on America on September 11, 2001. General Musharraf had obtained the Presidency after a military coup in 1999. From the outset of our courtship of Pakistan it was widely known within the United States military and intelligence communities that the Pakistani government was rife with corruption and was staffed by many high ranking officials sympathetic to Al Qaeda and the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

The past eight years has seen an uneasy relationship between the U.S. And Pakistan. Over the years there have been numerous occasions where Pakistan has acted in direct opposition to our national security interests in our military efforts in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Intelligence Service (IIS) has repeatedly dropped the ball when tasked by the U.S. To engage Al Qaeda and Taliban elements along the rugged, mountainous border territory that constitutes the ill defined border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The most notable failure of Pakistan as far as the United States is concerned was when they were expected to seal off the border at Tora Bora. Their failure to secure that region allowed Osama Bin Laden and his closest, highest ranking henchmen, as well as Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban to escape. Many in the U.S. Military and intelligence communities believed they escaped with Pakistani culpability if not overt assistance. One high ranking Pentagon official, now retired, speaking anonymously noted, “ The entire situation in Afghanistan would be dramatically different had the Pakistani forces cooperated with us instead of selling out and letting our enemies slip away. Bush should never have outsourced that mission to them and we should have had substantially more troops on the ground at Tora Bora. Unfortunately, Bush and his cronies had shifted their attention and all our military resources to his war of choice in Iraq. The damage done on both fronts was monumental.”

Given the rocky history with Pakistan, President Obama dispatched Secretary of State Clinton to meet with the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, to seek broader cooperation across a full range of issues. Pakistan is home to many important members of both Al Qaeda and the Taliban; this country remains a safe haven for radical Islamic fundamentalists of every stripe.

Clinton visit here was punctuated with several public events that exposed the often divergent interests between the two countries. In one public forum Clinton was challenged to defend the United States use of unmanned aircraft known as drones to seek out, locate, identify and kill members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. In several recent drone attacks, the Pakistani's contend that many civilians were killed. "We are fighting a war that was imposed on us. It is not our war, it is your war," television journalist Asma Shirazi told Clinton. He continued, "You had a 9-11. We are having daily 9-11s in Pakistan."

Secretary Clinton had several nasty exchanges with government officials and civilians alike during her three days here. At a woman's issue oriented forum she seemed to take pleasure in her verbal assault on Pakistan and its population. She told the audience that “You should all be grateful we haven't bombed your entire pathetic country back into the stone age. Actually, since the majority of this god forsaken nation is presently still in the stone age, it wouldn't take much effort on our part. You should get your act together; get with the program, get educated, sanitized and civilized. Being here reminds me of being in Arkansas in 1982.”

Hillary's visit here got off to a rocky start. On Wednesday, when Clinton arrived, a powerful car bomb in a market in Peshawar killed more than 100 people, mostly women and children, wounding an estimated 200 others. One radical Iman who operates a religious school for young men in Peshawar told Al Jezeera, the Arab language news outlet, “we will continue our fight against the infidels. The United States has murdered Millions of Muslims, supports the Zionist pigs in Israel and continues to oppress our people. They will never know safety until, God willing, we kill them in greater numbers. This Clinton woman who comes here should be stoned to death for her disrespect of our Holy places and religion. God willing, she will die a slow, painful death. Praise Allah.”

One of the most contentious meetings came when Secretary Clinton met with a high ranking Muslim Cleric, Mullah Ali Shali – Wali Bingbang. She challenged Bingbang to “teach your students, your people, the true Koran not the bastardized version that you interpret as giving you license to kill Americans. You are basically an asshole creating another generation of terrorists, suicide bombers and illiterate warriors.” Mullah Bingbang became visibly angered by Clinton's rebuke and threatened to have her beheaded. Her cadre of State Department security officers managed to whisk her away to a safe place.


Links:


http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE59R0II20091030

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6896956.ece

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/10/2009102919522938695.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28diplo.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/30/clintons-tough-talk-pakistan-drives-home-message-way-street/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33502831/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/




Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved

FIRST LADY TRIES FOR WORLD RECORD

MICHELLE OBAMA HULA HOOPS TO RAISE FUNDS

Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House.

Falls short of Guinness record, raises campaign funds for Democrats.

(October 22, Washington, DC) What could be more “down to earth” than the First lady hula hooping, running, and jumping rope on the manicured South Lawn of the White House?

Yesterday, while hosting the “Healthy Kids Fair”, Mrs. Obama attempted to break the Guinness World Record in the Hula Hoop event. While she fell far short of her goal, she did attract a good deal of attention from the area children who were present as well as the media, White House staff and Secret Service agents. A White House source leaked the news that a DVD of Mrs. Obama swinging her hips and shaking her booty was to be sold as a fund raising gimmick. The source, speaking anonymously said, “The DNC hopes the DVD will generate substantial revenue. I think it will be a big seller. I know, I'll buy a copy for my own private entertainment.”

Since taking up residence in the White House, the First Lady has used the White House grounds for a variety of events, has planted a vegetable garden, and placed a swing set for her two young daughters.

Mrs. Obama has become well known for, among other things, her athleticism, style, fashion sense and healthy life style. Earlier this year, her well muscled arms got a good deal of media attention as did her appearance exiting from Air Force One wearing casual shorts. White House Chief of Staff commented, “Hey, she has a heck of a body. If I wasn't a closet homosexual with a mad crush on Anderson Cooper, I'd really be excited.”

While there has been some harsh criticism from the Republicans and conservatives about some of Mrs. Obama's fashion choices and public displays of her anatomy, recent polling indicates that the American public is very comfortable with her. “She has stellar numbers, across all demographic segments. She is extremely popular. Mrs. Obama is a powerful role model not just for young African American and Latina girls but for women all over the country and the world”, noted Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Associates a highly respected polling company based in Arlington Virginia.

After eight years of the school-schoolmarmish, stodgy, if not frumpy reign of Laura Bush as First Lady, Michelle Obama appears more “regular” and “accessible” according to the Greenberg polls. “In all the years of polling about First Ladies, these are the highest numbers I've seen. She is more popular than her husband, the President, by a fairly large margin.”

Links:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/10/michelle-obama-hulahoops-her-way-to-health.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-1419-Minneapolis-Fitness-Examiner~y2009m10d22-Michelle-Obama-works-a-hula-hoop-to-promote-fitness

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i1wS1ndrEngTu-0v7Dor0tF4XRsQD9BFMQ5G0

http://michelleobamawatch.com/



Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved

KARZAI KNOWS WHERE HIS BREAD IS BUTTERED

MONEY TALKS








Hamid Karzai – Crook, Opium King, Statesman
Time For This Bum To Go Or Go It Alone.

(October 20, Kabul, Afghanistan) All of a sudden the corrupt “president” of this war and neglect ravaged country is supporting a run off election after evidence of widespread voting irregularities were documented by a United Nations elections watchdog group. Hamid Karzai had been opposed to the idea of a run off between his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, until the United States threatened to shut off the spigot from which he has collected billions of our dollars. If nothing else, like every other corrupt, self serving politician, Karzai will fight to save his ass to remain in the position to siphon as much of the money intended to rebuild this country into his own coffers.

It should not come as a surprise that Karzai is as criminal and corrupt as he is; after all, he was the hand picked “president” of the Cheney / Bush Administration. They certainly were able to form a “democratic government” in Afghanistan eerily similar to our own – it is rife with corruption, patronage, bribery and criminality of every sort and on a grand scale. The United States has poured untold billions of dollars into Afghanistan for everything from the development of a central government, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, utilities aside from our 9 year old military mission here.

Immediately after the polls had closed on election day, August 20, 2009, complaints began to trickle in from all the far reaching provinces and territories in this rugged, vast land. The United Nations backed Electoral Complaints Commission was made aware of all manner of voting and polling locations reporting irregularities. The voting public of Afghanistan quickly recognized that something was not quite right when the initial results were tallied and announced. In some polling places Karzai had “won”100% of the vote; in other locations, particularly in Abdullah's stronghold, the results were as dramatically skewed.

Despite claims of election fraud from all quarters, Karzai had remained defiant. He resisted the notion that his election was invalid and illegitimate and would not entertain any discussion of a run off. He claimed he had legitimately captured over 50% of the votes cast. With 50% of the vote or more, the Afghan “constitution” would not provide for a run off. The outrage of the Afghan people and the international community has been growing ever since.

Last week Karzai began to speak about the possibility of a “coalition” government; a “power-sharing” arrangement with Abdullah. This was not well received by anyone; this country is notoriously fractious and even the notion of a “coalition” as a central government was considered absurd by experts in America, the United Nations and certainly among Afghanistan's neighbors Pakistan and Iran.

As the debate in Washington, DC has heated up regarding increasing our military troop levels here, the need to rectify the electoral mess grew more pronounced. A group of envoys from several Western nations including the United States, held talks this past weekend with Karzai. Clearly the lack of a perceived legitimate government in this country was impacting the debate in the White House and Pentagon. Our military efforts in this country have been questioned for some time now and a dramatic change in tactics and strategy has been implemented since President Obama appointed General Stanley McChrystal last summer to lead our efforts here. The Taliban and Al Qaeda are widely acknowledged to be as powerful as they were prior to September 11, 2001. Under Karzai's tacit, if not overt approval, the opium trade has grown exponentially and serves as the major source of funding for both the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

According to a recent Newsweek article by Evan Thomas , General McChrystal “is a purebred warrior, the son of a two-star general, West Point class of '76, a former commander of the elite Rangers Regiment, and, from 2003 to 2008, the head of hunter-killer black ops in Special Operations.” He recently released a report for the President in which he requested an increase of up to 60,000 additional troops. That issue, the issue of combat troops, primary among others, dominates the debate and dilemma Obama and his top advisers are engaged in.

A member of the National Security Council, speaking not for attribution said, “We would not be in this position now if George W. Bush would have kept his focus on the real fight in 2001 instead of traipsing off to fight his disastrous war of choice in Iraq. Afghanistan is where our real enemies were. They are still there or, at least the ones who didn't slip away at Tora Bora are. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, they should have been the focus of all our military resources and might. Now, 9 years later, we have to try to sort this out and define precisely what our mission is. We cannot afford to kept spending lives and money recklessly.”

Recently, several in depth, outstanding journalistic pieces have appeared in publications most notably, Dexter Filkins piece in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday, October 18. General McChrystal states his perception of the situation on the ground and his goals for the future. According to the General, he views our troops role as one of “interacting” with the local population hoping to win their trust and cooperation. While his may be a noble ambition it poses risks to our troops that seem to be not worthy. The idea that we, or any outside force, can enact real change and establish a central government in this country is absurd, dangerous and futile. We should concentrate on eradicating Al Qaeda and members of the Taliban who choose to fight.

It is a shame that after nine years in this almost primitive country that it is only now, at this crucial juncture, that a real debate is being waged in Washington, DC about our future here. Hopefully, some pragmatic, realistic, thoughtful minds will craft our future mission that should include letting the Afghans fight their own battles, establish their own government and stop the flow of US dollars and troops into this harsh, unforgiving place. Let the Afghans fight their own insurgents while we concentrate on our enemy. To do anything else is to guarantee that we will be bogged down in Afghanistan for decades. Enough is enough.

Links:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568481,00.html

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-21-voa4.cfm

http://www.upi.com/Daily-Briefing/2009/10/20/Afghan-election/UPI-87861256041124/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/magazine/18Afghanistan-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

http://www.newsweek.com/id/216237



Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved

ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION

IMPOTENT DEMS, IGNORANT REPS
No Little Blue Pill Will Fix This Disorder



















DIVIDED WE FAIL




(October 13, Washington, DC) Let's face it, no matter which side of the political divide you inhabit, your Party of choice is letting you down. The perpetual state of gridlock that has come to define national politics, legislating, and governance is now the norm: ineffective, inefficient and rabidly partisan are the defining characteristics of members of Congress and the White House Administration.

Our tripartite system of government has been subverted over the last 15 years or so by ideological divides, endemic corruption, special interest influence and money as well as having people of lesser and lower intellect, character, morals and conscience than at any time in our history occupying offices in Congress, the White House, Governor's Mansions and State Legislatures. Our two Party system is broken, plain and simple. For too long a complacent electorate has allowed the fringe, “base” elements of each Party dominate agendas, platforms and the overall debates no matter the issue, irregardless of the importance. Examples of this dysfunction, just in the last nine years, are too numerous to list.

As a nation we have faced tremendous challenges since 2001 that have required capabilities and abilities from our federal government and those elected to serve within it that simply do not exist anymore. Arguably, this decline has been progressing since the Reagan Administration but has certainly come to be the unimpeachable reality since the turn of the millennium. The fact that the events of September 11, 2001 occurred was the first major indication that there was rampant ineptitude, dysfunction, and lack of sense of duty pervasive in government at every level in the myriad alphabet agencies comprising the “intelligence” community, through Congressional oversight committees. Hurricane Katrina was yet another example, albeit of a different sort and nature, that our federal government had become useless.

There was a time, not too long ago, that principals were motivators for our elected officials, now, it is all about money, incumbency and narrow self interest. Not even the aftermath of 9 11 01 could break the greed mode of Congress. Homeland Security funding devolved into politics as usual even before the smoldering heaps of wreckage in lower Manhattan began to cool. Funds meant for Homeland Security were divided up and diverted to pork barrel spending in an orgy of arrogant greed and self serving largesse. To this day parts of the Gulf Coast that had been decimated by Hurricane Katrina in September 2005 remain in virtually the same condition they did days after the flood waters resided. We remain engaged , after thousands of lives sacrificed and multi-trillions of taxpayers money has vanished in the black hole that is Iraq. The same could be said of Afghanistan except that was where our true enemies and battlefields were and remain to this day. The damage to every aspect of what America is and represents and, actually, how we function, was callously trampled and crapped on by the Cheney / Bush Administration in their eight year reign of neoconservative, messianic, wholly misguided reign of ignorance, idiocy and incompetence. They shred our Constitution with impunity.

Barak Obama won the Presidency last November with a virtual mandate. His was a commanding victory that included winning the majority status in both Houses of Congress. After Pennsylvania spineless, asshole, Arlen Specter, and Minnesotan Al Franken were seated on the Democratic side of the Senate aisle, the Dems had a “super majority”; 60 votes which gave them unlimited ability to pass legislation and usher through important components of Obama's ambitious agenda. The majority in the House was equally significant and the fact was that the Democrats really did not need ANY Republicans to pass bills. If the Republicans had these majorities you can rest assured they would be churning out bill after misguided bill. The GOP had been maniacal lemmings for the entire two terms of the Cheney / Bush Administration; they marched in lock step to the insane drumbeat coming from the White House allowing Cheney and company to have their way in all matters foreign and domestic. Congressional oversight was non existent and, by all appearances thus far, oversight will remain a low priority in the Democratically controlled Congress. We have come to expect nothing less, haven't we?

Yesterday's vote in the Senate Finance Committee on some half-assed version of a “Health Care Reform” bill passed 14 to 9 with the sole Republican vote cast by Olympia Snowe of Maine. This comes after four months of the President advocating for bipartisanship which was met with such overt blatant resistance that many key Republicans spent the month of August loudly and proudly proclaiming they would not “vote for any bill” no matter the particulars. Senate fossils like Chuck Grassley, Mike Enzi and Ben Nelson (among others) held the entire process hostage. These men from sparsely populated state's were in the position to derail all efforts in reform simply because they could; seniority had put them in pivotal Committee positions. It is also no secret that all of them, the entire “Gang of Six” and many others are bought and paid for by the health care industry lobby, the big pharmaceutical corporations pouring huge amounts of money into their campaign coffers. They cast their lot with their contributors and sold out the American people. Yet, the Democrats, from the President on down, insisted in trying to court and sway some Republicans their way. They failed royally. The bill voted out of Committee yesterday is in no way, shape or form, meaningful “Health Care Reform.” It is made up basically of some meager cosmetic measures to be applied to the health INSURANCE industry.

The Republicans framed this debate this summer and the Democrats, despite their majorities, feebly fought back. The GOP was calling the President's efforts “a government take over of our health care.” What the hell were they talking about? Who was going to “take over” what? It was a pitiful summer for the Democrats and, essentially , for the American public, particularly those among us without health insurance or struggling to pay our premiums. The concept of “A Public Option” was torn apart and mutated, bastardized by the GOP and came to represent one of the most damaging of all the outright lies they spewed forth. The media was complicit all along the way no matter what their ideological bent. (Yes, the media, all the media, operate from some point along the social / political spectrum despite their protestations to the contrary.)

We are poorly served by our elected officials and have been for so long that we hardly ever think anything positive, that benefits the greater good, can ever or will ever be enacted. It has been many years since any Congress or Administration acted in accordance with public opinion or for the greater good. Public sentiment in recent years has been callously ignored and continues to be. There is no wonder why American's have become cynical and complacent: they have witnessed a shocking breakdown of American Democracy. From a “war of choice” to the enormous bailouts of banks, brokerages and corporations, our government has acted in direct defiance of the populace.

The true colors of our elected officials have been laid bare by the health care reform debate. What we have seen and learned about some of the players involved is sickening. Until we as a voting people begin to pay attention to issues and express our opinions in the voting booth or at the ballot box, we will continue to have the ilk of people we currently have in Congress and in the White House.

The most misunderstood, distorted and excoriated component of some proposed versions of health care reform is what is known as “The Public Option.” The fiercest resistance to a public option has come from the GOP, Republican members of Congress, most of whom have taken funding from various entities in the health insurance / medical /pharmaceutical / insurance complex. The public option more than any other component or amendment to any reform bill is the most threatening to the status quo. It would not be “government run health care” as the lying, loud mouthed, corrupt opponents have been railing against. It would be no more a government run health care program than Medicaid which, as most users will confess, works quite well for all intents and purposes. Without a public option the health insurance industry, which has all the appearances of a collusive monopoly, will have free reign over the market. A public option would present the public with a choice; voluntarily electing to purchase health insurance from a government entity would make the market competitive and break the stranglehold of the health insurance / medical /pharmaceutical / insurance complex. Heaven forbid there be some equalizing force, some leveling of the playing field for Americans who struggle with medical insurance premium costs, the astronomical cost of medical care and treatment and the restrictive, exclusive practices that leave so many of us uninsured and uninsurable.

The battle is far from over. The bill voted out of the Finance Committee yesterday is just the first piece of “legislation” that will be voted on by various committees and conferences. Sadly, in their pursuit of bipartisanship, the Democrats ceded their numerical advantages and will, most likely, have nothing to show for it aside from some bastardized, watered down bill that falls far short from real, tangible health care reform.

What we have seen over the course of the last few months is that Democrats cannot govern and Republicans are pure self centered oppositionists. The result of this awful equation is that the American public looses, as usual when it comes to Washington DC politics.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-court/why-is-washington-dc-afra_b_312759.html

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/05-15

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/shaping-one-overhaul-with-564-amendments/

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20091015/DOSE/310159949

http://washingtonindependent.com/63859/dems-vs-the-insurance-industry-round-ii

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aWZXmErBUvVQ

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_health_insurance_option

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/29/AR2009092902028.html




Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved

McCAIN, GRAHAM & LIEBERMAN

3 STOOGES SINGING SAME OLD SONG














SUDDENLY THEY SEE AFGHANISTAN?


(October 11, Washington, DC) Moe, Larry and Curly at least were admittedly comedians. The Senatorial trio of John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman actually see themselves as dedicated, thoughtful statesmen. Individually, each represents the worst in foreign policy judgment, military affairs and governance. Collectively, these three imbeciles were among George W. Bush’s staunchest supporters, zealous hawks, and proponents for his ill-fated, disastrous war of choice in Iraq. They gave their vocal support for the neoconservative agenda and, at every step, at each turn over the past eight years, they were proved wrong; dreadfully wrong on all accounts.

Now, these Three Stooges are suddenly experts on Afghanistan and what our military mission should be in that ungovernable land. These are the same men who approved the transfer of military resources OUT OF Afghanistan so Bush could go fight his war in Iraq. Not only were they culpable in the drawdown in Afghanistan well before the righteous mission there was complete, over the ensuing years they actually downplayed the importance of our fight in Afghanistan and were among those who loudly proclaimed Iraq to be the “frontline in the war on terror.” These morons echoed the Cheney / Bush mantra of “fighting Al Qaeda there (Iraq), so we don’t have to fight them here.” Sadly, as we all know today, there is overwhelming evidence that supports the facts that Al Qaeda had no presence in Iraq before our military arrived there, that Saddam Hussein had no role in the terrorist attacks perpetrated here on September 11, 2001, and that Osama bin Laden would be captured or killed “quickly.” Each of these men bear some responsibility for the failures of the Cheney / Bush Administration pertaining to the military efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq. They could not have been more wrong about all there central premises. Now, all of a sudden, this idiotic trio, are out on the airwaves, in print and in the halls of Congress hoping to steer our future course regarding Afghanistan? All brass, blather and balls; no brains.

John McCain, the leader of the pack, this trios “Moe”, who was roundly and soundly defeated in last year’s Presidential election slunk back to his comfy Senate seat after his electoral ass kicking and immediately began harping on the new Administration. All his campaign rhetoric went out the window and he has devolved into the scorned, bitter, doddering, poor loser that he is. Any credibility he may have once possessed in matters of the military and foreign policy has long since ebbed away. Yes, in the Viet Nam war John McCain was a true hero who suffered more than most men could bear. For many years he was a moderate voice of reason in the Senate but, during and since his failed Presidential bid, has become an angry, rabble-rousing, blithering idiot. He should have retired after the drubbing he received last November.

Lindsey Graham, an early supporter and close adviser of McCain’s during his campaign is no less idiotic in his rants and raves. His bloviating is draped in a syrupy down home southern drawl and he sees himself as quite endowed with wit and wisdom. He is as transparent as Saran Wrap; he does nothing that will interfere with his political aspirations and he obviously can’t disassociate himself with the wrong-headedness of his mentor McCain. His military and foreign policy experience is basically nil. He claims having been a lawyer in the Air Force Reserve endows him with a certain degree of gravitas and military credentials. By the way he speaks about Iraq and Afghanistan; he probably would have gotten more military knowledge had he played with GI Joe’s beneath the Palmetto trees of his home. If he had any personal courage and character he would simply come out of the closet and admit to his homosexuality.

Joe Lieberman, the traitorous “Independent” from Connecticut has one political loafer in the Senate; the other in the Israeli Knesset. A rabid Zionist, all Joe cares about is his own political hide and the interests of Israel. He has no moral or ethical compass, no core beliefs aside from Zionism and appears to serve Israel more consistently, vigorously, and effectively than he does his own constituents and country. He, too, was joined at the hip to McCain during his campaign and views all foreign policy and military matters through the eyes of an Israeli.

The fact that these three losers are now advocating all sorts of military escalations in Afghanistan would be amusing if it were not so serious. The situation today in Afghanistan, going into our ninth year of fighting there, is as bad, if not worse, than it was when our first covert operatives landed there in October 2001. The Taliban has resurged and Al Qaeda remains a thriving, evil, guerilla force. Obviously, had the Cheney / Bush Administration and people like these Three Stooges taken our mission in Afghanistan as seriously as they should have, had they focused solely on Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts, perhaps things would be different for us today. Cheney / Bush began diverting military resources to Iraq in November 2001 shortly after the battle of Tora Bora which they decided to partially out source to the corrupt Pakistani military. Osama bin Laden slipped away into Pakistan along with remnants and some of the leadership of the Taliban. Now, the Taliban occupies or effectively controls more territory than they did in September 2001.

Meanwhile, in the capitol, Kabul, Cheney / Bush’s hand picked puppet president, Hamid Karzai,
Controls about five square miles of his country, has devoured billions of United States aide money and other funds and is the de facto CEO of Afghanistan’s opium trade. He is as corrupt and useless as are McCain, Graham and Lieberman.

There are big decisions to be made by the Obama Administration regarding our intervention in Afghanistan; the mission needs to be redefined, the composition and size of our troop presence there re-evaluated, and a clear path forward identified and acted upon. McCain, Graham and Lieberman should do the country a favor and just shut up. They are not in any way, shape or form part of the “loyal opposition”. Not at all. They are simply ignorant Republicans (even Jewish Joe) who have no interest or cause greater than being opposed to President Obama.

It is stunning that these men can face themselves in the mirror every morning to shave without being sickened by what they see. McCain has become a laughing stock, a regular on FOX News and his rhetoric is the same as it was during the lead up to the doomed invasion of Iraq. Graham is just a clown but a dangerous one at that. He tries to fool people into thinking he is rational and reasonable when he is, at heart, an obstinate politician playing all the games necessary to keep his gay ass in the Senate and, in the future perhaps, beyond. He spouts the GOP talking points with the best of them and, like his two buddies, clearly demonstrated advanced ineptitude in all matters of foreign policy, national security and military missions.

Joe should just move to Tel Aviv. He jumped from his Party’s ship when he saw he was going to be defeated in a primary race and since then has basically been a Republican; he spent the last eight years with his bulbous schnozzolla up the asses of Cheney / Bush. You can bet that any position Joe takes in foreign affairs, national security and military missions is the position of Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu. It is Jewish money that has financed his political career and Jewish issues that dominate his agenda. He seeks to use the United States military and all other resources to the furtherance of Israeli goals. It is amazing he has the chutzpah to go on national TV and speak about Afghanistan and the “importance” of the mission there when he was among the first to advance the Cheney / Bush doctrine of “pre emptive war” in Iraq. Israel is much closer to Iraq than it is Afghanistan. That explains that.

Afghanistan historically has been a quagmire for any outsiders. It is a country only in name. Our efforts there should be reduced to targeting our true enemies, not national building or trying to “win the hearts and minds” of the local, basically tribal and clannish people. They don’t want us there; they don’t want anybody else there. Our military possesses the technological capabilities to hunt our enemies with little to no risk to or need for troops on the ground. After eight years of engagement what have we to show for our efforts, lost lives and national treasure? Nothing, absolutely nothing.


Links:


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11rich.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=frank%20rich&st=cse

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/the-afghanistan-war-just_b_312870.html

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/afghanistan.war/index.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan22-2009sep22,0,908493.story

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/10/11/afghanistan___the_proxy_war/


Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved