April 09, 2010

In Which Fouad Ajami Just Lays Into Obama's Strategic "Thinking"
— DrewM

I'm going to pull some quotes but you really should read the whole thing.

Still, this recent dust-up with Mr. Karzai—his outburst against the West, his melodramatic statement that he, too, could yet join the Taliban in a campaign of "national resistance," his indecent warning that those American and NATO forces soldiering to give his country a chance are on the verge of becoming foreign occupiers—is a statement about the authority of the Obama administration and its standing in Afghanistan and the region.

Forgive Mr. Karzai as he tilts with the wind and courts the Iranian theocrats next door. We can't chastise him for seeking an accommodation with Iranian power when Washington itself gives every indication that it would like nothing more than a grand bargain with Iran's rulers.

In Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East, populations long in the path, and in the shadow, of great foreign powers have a good feel for the will and staying power of those who venture into their world. If Iran's bid for nuclear weapons and a larger role in the region goes unchecked, and if Iran is now a power of the Mediterranean (through Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Beirut), the leaders in Kabul, whoever they are, are sure to do their best to secure for themselves an Iranian insurance policy.

...

In word and deed, Mr. Obama has given a sense of his priorities. The passion with which he pursued health-care reform could be seen at home and abroad as the drive of a man determined to remake the American social contract. He aims to tilt the balance away from liberty toward equality. The very ambition of his domestic agenda in health care and state intervention in the economy conveys the causes that stir him.

...

All this plays out under the gaze of an Islamic world that is coming to a consensus that a discernible American retreat in the region is in the works. America's enemies are increasingly brazen, its friends unnerved. Witness the hapless Lebanese, once wards of U.S. power, now making pilgrimages, one leader at a time, to Damascus. They, too, can read the wind: If Washington is out to "engage" that terrible lot in Syria, they better scurry there to secure reasonable terms of surrender.

Earlier today Allah asked on Twitter why some like Sarah Palin and Liz Cheney feel obliged to defend Karzai. It's a good question and one I considered the other day when I did it myself. The short answer for me is, he's the only game in town. It's not out of love or respect but out of the fact we are inexorably tied to him at the moment and our COIN strategy requires an indigenous government. Right now, for better or for worse, that means Hamid Karzai.

Obama's fighting with Karzai only highlights the inconsistencies in Obama's Afghanistan policy...add troops but announce the deadline for pulling out, set a stable government as a condition of success and then undermine it. It's all smoke and mirrors designed to walk the line between the need to be seen as strong on defense by moderate/independent voters but not too strong that the leftwing base desserts him.

As Ajami points out, the real pros in the region, the ones whose lives literally depend on reading the tea leaves and navigating the competing power centers, aren't impressed with Obama's straddle. They see the writing on the wall and are acting accordingly...they can't count on the US so they will make deals with our enemies, nations that are in it for the long run.

This is typical of Obama's 'above it all', passive-aggressive crap. By not fully committing to the effort, he forces others to walk away from us. He will then use that 'abandonment' or 'lack of progress' as his excuse to pull out. He'll pretend it was forced on him, nothing he could have done about it. The fact is by his actions and inaction, he will have set the stage and manipulated the outcome.

Lives will be lost, we will be less secure and America will be weaker.

Posted by: DrewM at 01:15 PM | Comments (115)
Post contains 704 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Reading a history of the Crusades.   There is nothing new here.  Even the Muslim sects sided with the Crusaders from time to time when it was in their interest. 

It must be gratifying to always be convinced of your own self-worth.  Gratifying, and a sure way to screw the pooch.

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 01:20 PM (0K3p3)

2

I guess I'll be witnessing the rebirth of the Persian Dynasty in my lifetime thanks to Obama.

Unprecedented !

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 01:23 PM (t72+4)

3 Hello?  Is this thing on?

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 01:23 PM (0K3p3)

4

fuck afganistan, it's not worth the last few drips shaken off my dick after a piss.

our boys are dying for a shiara law shit hole, and it will all end in tears, because they will never like us unless we submit to their will and become the trash that they think we are.

and anybody with half a brain knows it's true.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:24 PM (LBvKG)

5

Lives will be lost, we will be less secure and America will be weaker.

 

That's a feature, not a bug.

Posted by: Barack Obama at April 09, 2010 01:24 PM (tcMQZ)

6

Its also true that folks over there are not stupid.  They can, and do, read the numbers on the US economy.

Fact is that our own accumulating debt will force us to withdraw from "Foreign Adventures" within a few years, if not sooner.  As our economy stagnates due to a combination of Government mismanagment, and the Government prohibition from using our own resources, we will not be able to sustain our current Defense spending.

We will be forced to bring troops home... not because of lack of will... but due to the economy... and folks over there see the writing on the wall.

They are begining to make the relationships they will need to survive when America is no longer capable of being the worlds Policeman.

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 09, 2010 01:26 PM (OlHjR)

7 Lives will be lost, we will be less secure and America will be weaker...WHEN GUAM FINALLY TIPS INTO THE OCEAN!!!!

Posted by: THE SAVE GUAM PROJECT at April 09, 2010 01:28 PM (ngD76)

8 our boys are dying for a shiara law shit hole, and it will all end in tears, because they will never like us

That isn't the point.  The point is stabilizing that part of the world and excluding the bad actors who want to take it over and use it as a base to attack us. 

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 01:28 PM (0K3p3)

9 big bunch of bearded wankers if you ask me, not worth a toss.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:29 PM (LBvKG)

10

That isn't the point.  The point is stabilizing that part of the world and excluding the bad actors who want to take it over and use it as a base to attack us.

oh please are they going to fire home made arrows at us or throw a spear.

tell me how they can attack us if we decide not to let them in our lands.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:32 PM (LBvKG)

11 Karzai recognizes Obama's lack of character.  After Obama cuts and runs, Karzai will need to survive.  He is doing what is in his and his countries best interests.  No one trusts Obama, except DEAD BEATS.

Posted by: paul c's ass at April 09, 2010 01:32 PM (Vqruj)

12 Has Obama ordered the white flags from China yet?

Posted by: GarandFan at April 09, 2010 01:32 PM (6mwMs)

13 Lives will be lost, we will be less secure and America will be weaker.

With the repercussions not being just in the Middle East. 

2 I guess I'll be witnessing the rebirth of the Persian Dynasty in my lifetime thanks to Obama.

You also might be lucky enough to see another form of the Russian Empire, if they decide to march to the south.

/End....chaos.

Posted by: Kratos (missing from the side of Mt Olympus) at April 09, 2010 01:34 PM (c0A3e)

14

anybody that falls for this we fight them over there so we dont have to fight them here bull shit is mental.

they are fucking cave men, not russians.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:34 PM (LBvKG)

15 who cares about Afghainstan? We have two oceans to protect us!

Posted by: i am scummier at April 09, 2010 01:34 PM (Mmw0q)

16 We are all assuming that Obama wants democracies in the middle east at all. If you don't believe in our model why would you want to export it?

Posted by: dagny at April 09, 2010 01:35 PM (tIxqv)

17
Has Obama ordered the white flags from China yet?

Posted by: GarandFan at April 09, 2010 05:32 PM (6mwMs)






He did , but the check bounced.

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 01:36 PM (t72+4)

18 He may picture our being there as "colonialism."

Posted by: dagny at April 09, 2010 01:37 PM (tIxqv)

19 Hey, scum, remember September 11, 2001? The cave men scored pretty big that day.

By the way, am I the only one who finds it ironic that a Cook County Democrat and an Arkansas Clinton are lecturing Karzai over stuffed ballot boxes and corruption? Talk about the pot calling the kettle ... ooops, nearly made a racist remark ... well, you know what I mean.

Posted by: Brown Line at April 09, 2010 01:37 PM (VrNoa)

20 |||| Karzai will need to survive. Quite true. Haven't there already been three major assassination attempts against him? Karzai's got skin in this game in a way that Obama doesn't.

Posted by: Robert_Paulson at April 09, 2010 01:38 PM (+deq6)

21

what they gonna do build a nuclear spear, and some big old bearded fucker is going to toss it into orbit untill it destroys an american city.

rubbish,

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:38 PM (LBvKG)

22 I wonder if the Romans knew that Rome was falling, as it fell? We can certainly answer that question about ourselves. We are living history as it happens. How do you say Fuck in Latin?

Posted by: LGoPs at April 09, 2010 01:38 PM (v/rEn)

23
When Karzai said he might align with the taliban he was signaling he would join Obama.

Posted by: Atomic Roach at April 09, 2010 01:38 PM (Oxen1)

24 He did , but the check bounced.

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 05:36 PM (t72+4)

 

We should demand credit for all the tonsils and feet that Chinese doctors stole!!!

Posted by: palin steele at April 09, 2010 01:39 PM (tcMQZ)

25 Lives will be lost, we will be less secure and America will be weaker.

That should be emblazoned on the Presidential shield.

Posted by: Soap MacTavish at April 09, 2010 01:41 PM (554T5)

26 How do you say Fuck in Latin?

Fvck.

Posted by: nickless at April 09, 2010 01:42 PM (MMC8r)

27 "Earlier today Allah asked on Twitter"

I'm not sure what sucks more, Allah or Twitter?  If I had a Twitter account, I'd tweet it and tally the score.

Posted by: Fishy Smell at April 09, 2010 01:42 PM (vWt6O)

28

oh please are they going to fire home made arrows at us or throw a spear.

tell me how they can attack us if we decide not to let them in our lands.

Really?  Al Qaeda?  Ring a bell?  Trying to buy a nuke on the black market?  Transfer from oh, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea?

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 01:43 PM (0K3p3)

29

19 Hey, scum, remember September 11, 2001? The cave men scored pretty big that day.
yeah a new tactic and we had our pants down. it wont happen again.

you silly person, do you really believe being over there is going to stop the planning and execution of future terrorist attacks.

the 911 boys were mostly saudis, as we speak there could be a plot forming in any part of the world, 

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:43 PM (LBvKG)

30

I really hope this new troll is just ncj screwing with us again, because how this retard can type, maintain a pulse and breathe at the same time with only one brain cell powering both its voluntary and involuntary muscles is truly dumbfounding.

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 01:43 PM (t72+4)

31

Obama's followers don't have a clue what war is all about.

Demonstrate for peace and smoke a bowl.

That they know about.

If we conservatives want our Country back, we are going to have to TAKE it back, (by force if necessary).

Posted by: solitary knight at April 09, 2010 01:44 PM (JBJmt)

32

Posted by: nickless at April 09, 2010 05:42 PM (MMC8r)

Heh. Not bad.

Posted by: LGoPs at April 09, 2010 01:44 PM (v/rEn)

33 Really?  Al Qaeda?  Ring a bell?  Trying to buy a nuke on the black market?  Transfer from oh, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea?
fuck me if it's going to happen then it will happen, us lot being over there wont stop it, whats wrong with your logic.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:46 PM (LBvKG)

34 Guys-
sorry, but I fed the troll.  I wasn't thinking.

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 01:46 PM (0K3p3)

35 Don't feed it!

Posted by: Kratos (missing from the side of Mt Olympus) at April 09, 2010 01:49 PM (c0A3e)

36 <i>I wonder if the Romans knew that Rome was falling, as it fell?</i>

Oh, yeah. Aëtius knew when he couldn't raise another army to fight Atilla. The nation that gave up 17 years and a quarter of its sons to defeat Hannibal couldn't handle the Hun for more than a year.

Posted by: Meiczyslaw at April 09, 2010 01:50 PM (vEhUz)

37

33 You're knowledge of warfare and international policy making is astounding.

 

 

 

 

**astounding in what direction...well, I'll leave that up to the other readers; I know I have my opinions as to which

Posted by: unknown jane at April 09, 2010 01:50 PM (5/yRG)

38 I see Kilgore is bored once again.

Posted by: Soap MacTavish at April 09, 2010 01:50 PM (554T5)

39 I really hope this new troll is just ncj screwing with us again, because how this retard can type, maintain a pulse and breathe at the same time with only one brain cell powering both its voluntary and involuntary muscles is truly dumbfounding.
so i assume you think my logic is fucked, monsenior long term poster who feels someone is pissing on his very own rug,

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:50 PM (LBvKG)

40 I believe FUCK in Latin is  "Obama".

Posted by: paul c's ass at April 09, 2010 01:53 PM (Vqruj)

41

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Thankfully, where i am scum is involved, no waste occurred.

Posted by: somegai at April 09, 2010 01:54 PM (tcMQZ)

42

Why are you all so worried? You have nothing to fear from an Obama Presidency.

 

Posted by: John McShit at April 09, 2010 01:55 PM (P9FdQ)

43 Why Pep? Why?

I secretly have my own addiction to beating up trolls. But you have to understand they enjoy it.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose at April 09, 2010 01:55 PM (0q2P7)

44 <Chest bump>

Posted by: Marx and Engels at April 09, 2010 01:56 PM (P9FdQ)

45

is this the level of debate here troll, troll, troll,

like a little like minded club, with exclusive membership rules,

1,believe shit

2,suck up to the long term posters and their opinions.

3, pile on any so called troll who dares to rock the boat.

4. all the above with real cheese on top,

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 01:56 PM (LBvKG)

46
I really hope this new troll is just ncj screwing with us again, because how this retard can type, maintain a pulse and breathe at the same time with only one brain cell powering both its voluntary and involuntary muscles is truly dumbfounding.


so i assume you think my logic is fucked, monsenior long term poster who feels someone is pissing on his very own rug,

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 05:50 PM (LBvKG)







That, or Axelrod has been forced to troll the area homeless shelters and methadone clinics for talent due to budget cuts.

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 01:57 PM (t72+4)

47 monsenior

Well, with that kind of intellectual firepower, you can see why I was fooled. 

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 01:58 PM (0K3p3)

48

That, or Axelrod has been forced to troll the area homeless shelters and methadone clinics for talent due to budget cuts.

Hey, fuck you. You try paying for methadone in this economy.

Posted by: Methadone addict at April 09, 2010 01:58 PM (P33XN)

49 This is what I ask myself when I scan the news, and talk to old friends these days:

Are the actions undertaken by various organs and individuals within our government making us more... or less... secure from attack?

Are the actions undertaken by various organs and individuals within our government making the security of our interests and allies world-wide more... or less... stable?

Are the actions undertaken by various organs and individuals within our government spreading... or damaging... our influence among these allies?

Are the actions undertaken by various organs and individuals within our government making our economy and industry more... or less... stable?

Are the actions undertaken by various organs and individuals within our government making our population more... or less... stable?

The answer, I have found for all of the above is "less" or "damaging".

Now, ask yourself this: If we had enemy agents operating within key departments within the government, short of orchestrating a military attack or takeover, what would they be doing differently to damage us?

...and that's why I have trouble sleeping these days.

Posted by: Dionysus at April 09, 2010 01:59 PM (J0rOD)

50 31

Obama's followers don't have a clue what war is all about.

Demonstrate for peace and smoke a bowl.

That they know about.

If we conservatives want our Country back, we are going to have to TAKE it back, (by force if necessary).

Posted by: solitary knight at April 09, 2010 05:44 PM (JBJmt)

Unfortunately, something really, really disastrous is going to have to happen to get their attention again and it will obviously already be too late.

Posted by: conscious and formerly Andy Levy sockpuppet at April 09, 2010 02:00 PM (YVZlY)

51

Picture this before you engage in Friday afternoon moron/moronette rituals.

Joe Biden holding forth in the situation room, dispensing his own brand of foriegn policy expertise, while simultaneously wondering who could have possibly tied his two shoelaces together.

Yes, I do include in my stock portfolio all of the major adult beverage makers.

Hey, I'm a capitalist.

Posted by: solitary knight at April 09, 2010 02:00 PM (JBJmt)

52

I believe FUCK in Latin is  "Obama".

Posted by: paul c's ass at April 09, 2010 05:53 PM (Vqruj)

Technically speaking I think the word Obama is the ablative conjugation for "We are fucked in the ass".

Posted by: LGoPs at April 09, 2010 02:00 PM (v/rEn)

53 Well, with that kind of intellectual firepower, you can see why I was fooled. 
pull up on the head mi amigo.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:00 PM (LBvKG)

54 22 I wonder if the Romans knew that Rome was falling, as it fell? We can certainly answer that question about ourselves. We are living history as it happens. How do you say Fuck in Latin?

Futue te ipsum et caballum tuum. (F you and the horse you rode in on.)

Posted by: BethW at April 09, 2010 02:00 PM (gcRbW)

55 capitalization and proper punctuation are for you neo-con puncher-downers

Posted by: i am scum at April 09, 2010 02:00 PM (tcMQZ)

56 By the way, am I the only one who finds it ironic that a Cook County Democrat and an Arkansas Clinton are lecturing Karzai over stuffed ballot boxes and corruption?

Almost as funny as alGore sending Richard Daley to Florida to "oversee the recount."  Almost.

Posted by: HeatherRadish at April 09, 2010 02:01 PM (mR7mk)

57

neo-con puncher-downers

I'll admit I lol'd.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at April 09, 2010 02:02 PM (P33XN)

58

is this the level of debate here troll, troll, troll,

like a little like minded club, with exclusive membership rules,

1,believe shit

2,suck up to the long term posters and their opinions.

3, pile on any so called troll who dares to rock the boat.

4. all the above with real cheese on top,

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 05:56 PM (LBvKG)

--No, that's Daily Kos

Posted by: logprof at April 09, 2010 02:02 PM (Mmw0q)

59


I dont why, but I cant help myself from eating my own poo as I type. I wish mom would change me again, my butt hurts.

Posted by: i am scum at April 09, 2010 02:03 PM (t72+4)

60 That, or Axelrod has been forced to troll the area homeless shelters and methadone clinics for talent due to budget cuts.

Naw look here.
He uses the words.
"bearded wankers "
"not worth a toss"
"in our lands"
"rubbish"
"monsenior"

We've got a British Commonwealth troll.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose at April 09, 2010 02:04 PM (0q2P7)

61

And where was Arkansas Hillary Clinton born and raised?

Why, Chicago of course!

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at April 09, 2010 02:04 PM (P33XN)

62

Futue te ipsum et caballum tuum. (F you and the horse you rode in on.)

Ackshully, I ambled in here on my own two feet.

Posted by: LGoPs at April 09, 2010 02:05 PM (v/rEn)

63 #59  --No, that's Daily Kos

And LGF.

Posted by: Kratos (missing from the side of Mt Olympus) at April 09, 2010 02:05 PM (c0A3e)

64 "monsenior"
We've got a British Commonwealth troll.

Even the Geico gecko wouldn't be that stupid.

Posted by: pep at April 09, 2010 02:06 PM (0K3p3)

65 We've got a British Commonwealth troll.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose at April 09, 2010 06:04 PM (0q2P7)

--You rang?

Posted by: T-pud at April 09, 2010 02:06 PM (Mmw0q)

66 Al Qaeda Threatens US and British Soccer Teams At World Cup http://tinyurl.com/y7d7e67

Posted by: conscious and saying fuck Al Qaeda at April 09, 2010 02:06 PM (YVZlY)

67

Arkansas Hillary Clinton sounds like one of Snake Plissken's buddies:

Texas Mike O'Shea, Carjack Malone, Arkansas Hillary Clinton...

The heist in Cleveland claimed a lot of victims.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at April 09, 2010 02:06 PM (P33XN)

68

this smelly troll is going to tell you lot what it's all about, and it's this.

we in the west are going to have to live with terrorism for our whole lives and the lives of our children, it's never going to stop, and it makes no difference if we are over there or just minding our own buisness in our own countrys.

it's islam and we have let it in, and it's not going to go away, we are fucked because we are so nice and timid and we think the most horrible thing in the world is racism.

 

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:07 PM (LBvKG)

69 I am scum is like a lovechild between TheDean and Spathi

Posted by: fartbubble at April 09, 2010 02:10 PM (gAmQ1)

70 62 That, or Axelrod has been forced to troll the area homeless shelters and methadone clinics for talent due to budget cuts.

Naw look here.
He uses the words.
"bearded wankers "
"not worth a toss"
"in our lands"
"rubbish"
"monsenior"

We've got a British Commonwealth troll.
oh yes you nailed me good and proper there me old chap.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:11 PM (LBvKG)

71


I sort of miss T-Dub. You could derail any of his rants just by mentioning bad British teeth. Hit really close to home for him for some reason.

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 02:11 PM (t72+4)

72 Do you have what you need, Mr. Axelrod, or should I also start advocating armed rebellion?

Posted by: i am scum at April 09, 2010 02:11 PM (tcMQZ)

73
oh yes you nailed me good and proper there me old chap.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 06:11 PM (LBvKG)






While whipping your hind parts senselessly with a riding crop.

Posted by: Blazer at April 09, 2010 02:13 PM (t72+4)

74 I am scum = Someguy

Posted by: conscious and saying fuck Al Qaeda at April 09, 2010 02:13 PM (YVZlY)

75

75 Do you have what you need, Mr. Axelrod, or should I also start advocating armed rebellion?

no i am scum, not you, you are dung.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:14 PM (LBvKG)

76 He is at least trying to punch up.  

Posted by: toby928 at April 09, 2010 06:16 PM (PD1tk)

makes me think of Shaq with his hand on the head of a retarded midget swinging for the fences

Posted by: fartbubble at April 09, 2010 02:18 PM (gAmQ1)

77

this smelly troll is going to tell you lot what it's all about, and it's this.

Ah, the lovely condescending tone by a troll. If we would just liston to I Am Scum and Someguy, we would be so much better off and smarter for it.

Posted by: conscious and saying fuck Al Qaeda at April 09, 2010 02:20 PM (YVZlY)

78 people warned me about this place, like being among a load of over educated lady boys from bankok.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:21 PM (LBvKG)

79

makes me think of Shaq with his hand on the head of a retarded midget swinging for the fences

Posted by: fartbubble at April 09, 2010 06:18 PM (gAmQ1)

 

we prefer to be called little people

Posted by: i am scum at April 09, 2010 02:22 PM (tcMQZ)

80

Ah, the lovely condescending tone by a troll

poster mate, poster. get it right.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:23 PM (LBvKG)

81 Scum,
Just in case you missed public decorum at your finishing school,
If you're a new visitor to a public forum, the existing members will not respect you or listen to you if the first time you enter the forum you.
1. Buck the popular opinion AND
2. Personally insult the opposition.

You actually have to earn a little respect before you can do 1 and 2 at the same time. Put that in your troll-fu notebook.
Sounds like you came in looking for a f*ing profanity fight against popular opinion. That makes you a troll.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose at April 09, 2010 02:25 PM (0q2P7)

82 so have we got to stay there for a hundred years wet nursing the bearded fuckers to keep our selves safe from bearded fuckers that want to explode.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:27 PM (LBvKG)

83 Karzai knows we are not going to be there for the long haul so he is opening the door to aligning himself with who will fill the power vaccum when we leave.  Obama said he was going to do an 18 month surge and then bail.  His base is against him on the war and even the American people are against an open-ended commitment there. 

It has been 10 years, and other than driving Al Qaeda out early on (which was worthwhile) what has been accomplished since?  And I mean by the Afghans, not our troops.  Our soldiers have done everything we have asked of them and much more but there is no foundation for a modern society there.  No economy, no institutions, no loyalty to the country at all due to the tribal mentality.

You would have have to perform a miracle to take a shithole that resembles the 6th century into a viable, functioning republic.  We are diverting resources from a winnable situation in Iraq with far greater strategic considerations to a hellhole that will still be that way after we are gone.

We should use Karzai's insolence and corruption as a reason to begin drawing down.  That he is "the only game in town" should tell us something.  He is a horrible leader and yet he is the best we have?  What chance of success do we have under that condition?  Should we spend American lives and treasure for another 10 years only to end up with a corrupt regime that could turn on us the minute we leave?

Posted by: Ken Royall at April 09, 2010 02:27 PM (9zzk+)

84 so have we got to stay there for a hundred years wet nursing the bearded fuckers to keep our selves safe from bearded fuckers that want to explode.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 06:27 PM (LBvKG)


SURVEY SAYS


XXX

Posted by: Richard Dawson's Corpse at April 09, 2010 02:29 PM (gAmQ1)

85

re 87

or i might just be a drunken leper returning from the bar

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:31 PM (LBvKG)

86

89  Ken Royall

you are my man, the only person here with logic. totally agree with your post,

 

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:34 PM (LBvKG)

87 68 Al Qaeda Threatens US and British Soccer Teams At World Cup

I'm afraid that plucky little upstart from the ANC is going to get to the slaughter first.  They'll be fighting over the body parts.

Posted by: Derak at April 09, 2010 02:37 PM (amM+1)

88 I'm afraid that plucky little upstart from the ANC is going to get to the slaughter first.  They'll be fighting over the body parts.

Posted by: Derak at April 09, 2010 06:37 PM (amM+1)


the jackals do need to eat

Posted by: asshole at April 09, 2010 02:39 PM (gAmQ1)

89 I'm afraid that plucky little upstart from the ANC is going to get to the slaughter first.  They'll be fighting over the body parts.
and when they have killed or driven out the last white man and south africa is a true shit hole they will still blame whitey for their problems, and the most nausiating thing is the left in the west will agree with them and want to give them massive amounts of aid.   oh boy what a life.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:47 PM (LBvKG)

90 Discussing the "Collateral Murder" agitprop, a guy on another Web site said to me in all plaintive, melodramatic seriousness, "I just want to ask you who support these wars a simple question: When will it all end?"

To me that question is exactly the same as the scene in every crap film where someone discovers a dead loved one, throws back his head, and bellows "Nooooooooooooo!" to the indifferent heavens.

Western culture really needs to grow a pair. I'm sick to death of this galloping eunuchoidalism.

Posted by: Llarry at April 09, 2010 02:51 PM (o/pqQ)

91 Mmm. Desserts.

Posted by: homer simpson at April 09, 2010 02:51 PM (ocax6)

92 anyway this old troll is going to bed so you wont have to suffer my ignorant rants any more, good night and watch out for those bearded bastards wearing pajamas.

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 02:51 PM (LBvKG)

93 He's kinda got a point at #70 so far as I am concerned. Right now I'm more worried about homegrown radical Islamic cells than I am worried about Osama bin Laden, assuming OBL is even alive.

And until we start locking up Islamic troublemakers long-term, we need to worry about it.

Posted by: SGT Dan at April 09, 2010 06:10 PM (L0IJJ)

94 ""How do you say Fuck in Latin?"


Perfututum....... totally fucked

Posted by: Berserker at April 09, 2010 06:22 PM (gWHrG)

95 One participant in negotiations said that the administration's tactic was to present what one described as a "madman theory of the presidency" in which the President is someone to be feared because he was willing to do anything to get his way.

... and that was the situation regarding Chrysler's creditors.

Posted by: Neo at April 09, 2010 08:39 PM (tE8FB)

96 What do we really want from Afghanistan?  I think that the answer is really nothing.  We want no trouble to come out of there.  We want no more plots to fly airplanes into our buildings being hatched there. 

Now one way to make that happen would be to drag the Afghans kicking and screaming into the 21st century by educating their children, treating their diseases and trying to increase their lifespans into the 50s, building them an infrastructure so that they can have the basis for a modern industrial society and creating an economy so that they can live the lifestyle of modern day Europeans. 

But let's face it, Americans simply do not have the patience for that sort of thing. 

On the other hand the Chinese have even more patience than they have US Government T Bills and they have a lot of T Bills.  The big question, I think, is how do we get the Chinese to take over Afghanistan the way they took over Tibet?  What can we do to make the idea of owning Afghanistan seem attractive to China?  The only thing that I can come up with is to build railroads across Afghanistan so that the Chinese could ship their stuff by train from western China to Karachi where it could be loaded onto ships and sent easily to the east coast of Africa or through the Suez Canal to Europe.

Does any body have any ideas on what we could do to entice the Chinese to take over Afghanistan so that the Taliban weep with nostalgia for the days when they were being hunted and killed by Americans?

Posted by: Mark in Texas at April 09, 2010 09:27 PM (ZJeca)

98 Is this another example of that "smart power" that the Democrats have been bragging about since the general election contest?

In less than two short years, the foreign and national security policy of the Obama Administration has taken us back to the past. Remember MAD? Today, Obama gives us sheer madness.

Iran is moving quickly throughout the Middle East to inhabit the power vacuum that the Obama policies are creating. For Israel, it must be the nightmare they never dreamed would come true.

The President we will need in 2012 will need to be Thatcher and Reagan rolled into one smart, decisive, principled, tough leader. Is that person on the horizon yet?

Posted by: Jon at April 09, 2010 11:05 PM (WYy7C)

99 No one respects Obama now - not Russia, not China, not France, not Germany, not Iran, not any nation with eyes to see and ears to hear.

He is utterly spineless.  On Good Morning America he basically acknowledged to Stephanopoulos that the sort of sanctions we might be able to procure are not enough to change Iranian behavior - which means in effect he is accepting Iranian nukes, since we know he has taken military action off the table.

We are paying a heavy price so that some white people could feel "cool" by voting for the black guy.

Posted by: Adjoran at April 09, 2010 11:18 PM (3hg5M)

100 There is no more telling measure of the failure of a President's foreign policy than the fact that the despots have become emboldened while our friends are seeking other alternatives. 

The despots are emboldened by the perceived weakness of the Obama administration while our friends are worried and seeking other alternatives because of a perceived lack of commitment.

But, the more important telling measure of the Obama administration's foreign policy failure is that a majority of the American public ARE worried.

I would say, not since Jimmy Carter, has an American President hit the "trifecta" like that!

Posted by: Jon at April 09, 2010 11:24 PM (WYy7C)

101 so i assume you think my logic is fucked, monsenior long term poster who feels someone is pissing on his very own rug,

Posted by: I am scum at April 09, 2010 05:50 PM (LBvKG)



Walter, the chinaman who peed on my rug, I can't go give him a bill, so what the fuck are you talking about?

Posted by: The Dude at April 10, 2010 08:18 AM (mHQ7T)

102 That part about him being scum. I agree with that. Especially since he refuses to use his shift key and write in uppercase. Plus, he talks like a limey. Who is this guy -- ee cummings?

Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at April 10, 2010 08:21 AM (mHQ7T)

103 at least the pilgrim fathers used to shoot indians: the pilgrim children merely punch time clocks.

Posted by: ee cummings not the troll at April 10, 2010 08:24 AM (mHQ7T)

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