Delivering an address at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today, President Obama conceded that Americans are “tiring” of the eight year long war in Afghanistan. He then insisted that he is “examining” the situation to determine the right strategy.
His examination and what is widely expected to be the revelation of his second “new” strategy since he took office eight months ago will not, however, give serious consideration to ending the war. Rather he is considering whether or not to approve a massive escalation proposed by General Stanley McChrystal.
President Obama escalated the war markedly when he took office, adding 21,000 troops to the conflict. Gen. McChrystal, however, is seeking another 45,000 which would bring the overall level to 113,000, almost triple the size of the force when the president was elected.
McChrystal’s escalation has been endorsed by the top military brass, and is widely expected to eventually be endorsed by President Obama, despite the massive unpopularity of the conflict. In the meantime, however, he is under growing pressure to accept the move.
Obama insists there is no hurry to accept the escalation, but Gen. McChrystal has already cautioned him not to take too long and the president’s political rivals are already accusing him of putting America in danger by not endorsing the massive troop hike immediately. And while a public sick of war seems to be good enough to delay the escalation, it doesn’t appear to make any real difference in the long term policy of continuing this war.
I'm not sure who's President, is it McChrystal or Obama? Whoever it is, the word is out on the street – Obama's for sale to the loudest, most demanding and obnoxious bidder!
McChrystal's report has been underestimated by almost everyone. What McChrystal said in the report was simply, "The surge of 20,000 troops failed to produce the same kind of results the surge in Iraq produced. We are losing this war, and the situation is now verging toward critical mass. The only option is to pour more troops into the melting core in an attempt to prevent melt down and the China Syndrome." The details of his report were not encouraging, and it is no wonder that Obama is not keen for it. For example, McChrystal said that the prison system is a huge factory for radicalization with the highest number of radicals, extremists and would-be terrorists boiling out of it and churning within it. Pointedly, he offered no realistic solution to that particular problem — maybe we should be grateful that this is not the Bush Era — when the solution to a rancid prison problem would have been to construct more prisons.
Does anyone recognize the absurdity of this situation? We have invaded and are occupying a country that clearly isn't a threat to us. Despite eight years of killing and destruction, our government can't muster up a believable rationale for our being there.
Would it be asking too much for the mental giants in Washington to stumble upon a decent strategy BEFORE we wage a war? I guess not. Ready, fire, aim.
How funny. Gen. Meth Crystal clearly points out that those big bad prisons only create more hostility. Gee! Who-da-thunk-it. So the "answer" is pouring in more death and destruction on top of whats already been done. Like, all of a sudden, they're going to love you for it. Guns and butter. Hearts and minds. Shock and awe. Stupidity and death. On and on and on.