It would appear that we need a new president....one that is interested in the American spirit instead of every loser that whines. Good grief people, lets get our heads unscrewed from our hind-quarters and get the job done. How hard can that be? Oh, wait, my bad, we're dealing with liberals and "moon-beam" children of yesterday.

If only he would withdraw himself from America.

I still don't know how much of BHO's policy is ignorance or intentional well thought out ambition to destroy America (as it is spelled out in the constitution and Bill of rights and bring about his fundamental change to the failed policies of many Socialist nations gone by.

If it happens here expect that a lot of heads will roll starting with the man at the top. We will go looking and not settle until those who alloow it are retired from public life for good, preferably in a prison either of their own making or one we supply.

Dear Mr. Alexander,

I agree with you 99.9% of the time. BUT, this time a disagree. I recently went to a presentation given by a Marine who just came back from Afghanistan after 9 months. He gave a photo presentation of his time there. Undoubtably, he and his fellow soldiers are the best American has to offer. However, I came away with the strong sense that we are wasting our time, blood, and resources there. These people are NEVER going to change! And the rules of engagement are stupid and put our soldiers lives at great risk. And for what? Afghanistan is the most God-forsaken land I have ever seen. It is not worth one more American life or dollar! Sure, the Generals and Gates advocate staying longer. They say if we leave now then all our gains will be lost. I say if we leave 5 years from now all our gains will be lost then too! Gates and the Generals are in the war business! They remind me of management of a company that is going in the wrong direction, but don't listen to the frontline employees who are trying to tell them.

First, let me say how much I appreciate your stand for truth and decency. I cannot believe that people still believe this president is concerned about this country when he has constantly criticized our military, (at least in the past). He has wrecked our economy with his policies. One thing I would ask you to consider. If you could put your post in pages i.e. 1,2,3 etc. so that we might be able to copy important information without having to print all of the things that are listed throughout your post. Thank-you so much! We do send support from time to time.

mark: great stuff; how can we forward this one in particular around.

For BHO, strengthening America's interests in Afghanistan gets in the way of nation building here at home. "Nation building" in the USA is code for "nation destroying". It would be ideologically inconsistent to systematically weaken the USA domestically while simultaneously strengthening her internationally. Therefore the troops must come home now. That and he can't afford any left-wing deffections next fall--he'll need every vote he can muster to even hope to get re-elected.

BHO cannot lead because he is blind; ignorant of history, of the U.S. Constitution and of the real source of this nation’s success (In GOD we trust!). Consequently, he follows polls, which is to say he follows the blind masses who follow the blind media, while they keep affirming each other with hype and hope. (Hype is not truth, and hope is not a plan.)

If we keep following this blind man, we deserve what we get. Our nation will repeat the lessons learned and once taught in public schools in WW1, WW2, Korea and Desert Storm 1. The lesson is our failure to oppose freedom’s enemy outside our borders will require we fight within our borders. I do not know the sum total of the cost (dollars or lives), but to pay to learn the same lesson is the epitome of foolishness. (I suspect if more students flunked or failed to graduate and had to learn the lesson over again, all students would learn to study harder. In addition, our fellow citizens would study their candidates with greater discernment and make wiser voting decisions!)

Our world today is far smaller than in the periods of those previous conflicts. Likewise, the price of relearning those lessons will be far higher. No doubt, the USA has so far been history’s leader in teaching and demonstrating freedom can be enjoyed by all humanity. The end of the USA may not be the end of freedom forever, but it will certainly bring spark unprecedented ages of worldwide blindness. Imagine a “Mad Max” type world that lasts several millennia.

Long past time to acknowledge the Only source of Truth and Freedom, else, without vision, the people perish.

Obamass could care less about the security of the United States, and anyone who thinks differently has another think coming. All Obamass cares about is what George Soros tells him to care about, which is whatever points in the direction of Soros ruling the world. Onewildman, time for your closing remark...

This man, who calls himself Commander-in-chief, could not successfully command a troop of Cub Scouts without taking massive casualties. He needs to go away!

I do not agree with Obama on anything. I do not believe that the life of one of our servicemen is worth the version of freedom that will result from our further involvement in Afganistan. We can no longer afford [in blood or treasure] to be the world's policemen. We are not a rat on a gluetrap over there, we are a country that must decide what is most important to us. We do not honor our fallen heros by getting their buddies killed and maimed for a country that has never and will never govern itself. We have a real war going on our border with Mexico that is more important than a war in the middle east.

Mark

Great as always but OBL was not killed by US. Special Forces, which are Army, but by Navy Seals , part of the US Special Operations Command, USSOCOM at McDill, FB, Tampa Florida.

VR

Richard Whitman

ABN< SF< SPECOPS

Mr. Alexander, you mention India as a possible future troublespot in your troop withdrawal scenario. This begs the question, "Do the Indians see it this way also?" And can we get them on board, to strengthen our position in this theater?

Jim A - Very elloquently stated. I am a former Naval Officer and fully support our military however, I believe that we would be more effective if we reinvested some of the money we are spending overseas into better security of our homeland and relied on Asymetric Warfare to address the terrorist threats in the Middle East.

When Obama dithered on the troop escalation, I knew we had already lost. As Nixon (who I am loathe to quote given his un-conservative views on may topics) said aptly in "The Real War," effective warfighting has 2 essential components: skill and will. I'm confident our generals have the ability to prosecute this war successfully if given the rein they need; however, Obama's singular lack of will, substance, leadership and humility, make him more ineffective than LBJ in Vietnam.

So the question becomes, given BHO's incompetence and politicization of the war, do we keep fighting when at least one of the key components of Just War Theory is missing: probability of success? By handcuffing our troops so blatantly, BHO sacrifices young men on the altar of reelection. Conversely, a nuke detonated here or elsewhere is a massive risk - what other alternatives are there? Good example of what happens when wicked men (sorry, only descriptor that fits) are put in positions of immense power.

I am concerned that the withdrawal plan that President Obama announced tonight poses an unnecessary risk to the hard-won gains that our troops have made thus far in Afghanistan and to the decisive progress that must still be made. This is not the "modest" withdrawal that I and others had hoped for and advocated.

Now, who was it who said before the '08 election that if it ever came right down to it, he would be standing with his "muslim brothers"?

He handed Egypt to the Muslim Brotherhood hoods, and is doing his best to turn over Libya to them, too.

What makes you think he won't do the same with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, India, or anyplace else he can get away with? (What do you think he's trying to do with Israel?)

Playing footsie with the poll numbers and his "base" base would be gravy.

Does he get to hurt us, and help our enemies in Jihadistan? That's what he's after.

There is a word my wife likes to use for the usurper-in-chief; I won't use that word. I will say I don't believe his parents were married before his Kenyan birth...

The first thing I thought of when I read the news of this announcement was that this was PURELY a political move by Oblahblah. He is down in the polls and just has to do something 'cause that billion from Soros and company can't overcome the mess that is the middle east.

I am against intervention there for a number of reasons but, I am outraged that this incompetent boob in the WH is using this to buy votes. It has nothing to do with right or wrong, what's good for the country, or any other issue that comes up. It is simply about Oblahblah as is always has been.

The is the best and most succinct pronouncement of why we are there.

It also explains why we're wasting our time.

A bunch of Mohammedan loons over there

with AK-47's don't threaten our cities and we distract ourselves and expend precious human military resources in the absurd chase.

What Israel has done when needed, 20 some years ago in Iraq, and more recently in Syria, is to obliterate those facilities representing the possibilities of Islamic Nukes.

In this matter we should condemn all of Islam to the seventh century where their minds remain.

In should be announced: Their "religion" is a fraud perpetuated for the dark purposes of Tyranny and the USA will crush any efforts by any Islamic Nation to gain atomic technologies. For our own safety and the sanity of the world, we must.

Our "Long War" should begin with Iran and Pakistan.

Sorry to our "friends " in Pakistan, but they never were. If we don't know where their nukes are and how to strike them in a day, by now, we've been day-dreaming over there to our infinite detriment.

Mr. Alexander:

I believed from the start that our "troop level" in Afghanistan should have comprised a half million, maybe more, warfighting personnel. That's because dealing with an enemy that can't be "seen" most likely requires door-to-door fighting, eradication of the enemy and the confiscation of arms. The concept of "nation building" has never been successful ... that's simply a catch phrase made up by the politicians to justify their folly. The potential for Pakistan or even India being raided by al Queda operatives is not only real, but the results are unthinkable!

Michael W. Reece

Simpsonville, South Carolina

You can't fight the Taliban or Alquieda using onventional methods ie wearing uniforms, patrolling etc. It has to be an undercover operation. The Pakistani Government will never take over their own defense and will never have any feelings for an honest alligience with the USA. They won't embrace Democracy either. It is not in their genes.The middle esat culture is a cancer to the US. It won't be cured through expensive treatments. Simply put it must be eradicated.

I must disagree with your position on the Afghanistan drawdown. History shows no indicator of sucess from our present foreign policy. The economics of the war and occupation of afghanistan, iraq, yemen, etc is undefendable, unthinkable, and tryrannical. It enslaves the people of our nation with an unsustainable burden of debt that further weakens our position in the world. I think you should check your server security, I'm having a hard time believing that this particular POST was written by a Patriot.

Your "Opting Out of Enduring Freedom" is exactly right. But the president wants it that way for two reasons: 1. you mentioned it - for the 2012 election. and 2. because his final goal is an Islamic Caliphate in North America. I doubt he cares if a US city is nuked, he knows he will not be in that city when it happens...he is in on the plot.

Keep up the good work! Maybe we can win in 2012 unless by then the Pres. has control of the ballot boxes through his underground army: ACORN,SEIU, etc.

president bongo is doing what all national socialist democrats do,snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.wilson did it in 1918 than roosevelt did it again in 1945.truman made korea unwinnable and johnson screwed up viet nam now we have the commie in charge turning away from muslim terrorists.we will pay for this.thank a democrat!

Simply a poliical move to shore up his uber-liberal, liberal and the indepdendent base for the upcoming 2012 elections.

And likely such a selfish political move, at the expense of future American soldiers' lives.

No, its not more important to get the job done, but more important that he and his Socialist cronies get reelected to office.

Pathetic are these despicable politicians, pathetic!

To the Patriot Post Staff and my fellow Patriotic Americans:

Mr Alexander, I am an avid reader of this publication but your position and stated arguments this time are inherently flawed and misguided. I am a serving member of the United States Military; beyond that an elite unit therein. I have served in both OIF and OEF and am currently in Afghanistan. The Afghan people - specifically the males - have a social enterprise that is so corrupt and flawed that our concept of democracy and governance will never take hold here; not in five years, not in ten years. Their brutish, misogynistic and unfailingly corrosive malfeasance will forever bind them to the chains of ignorance, crime and strife. What you fail to understand sir, is that we are attempting to overhaul a people with ideals and values completely alien to them. The Afghan forces we mentor serve as a template for anecdotes. These forces, after ten years of mentoring cannot plan, coordinate, maintain or synchronize operations within units let alone an entire country. The soldiers and police themselves share no sense of duty. They are a collection of liars, theives, dodgy opportunists and lazy third world cowards who have become accustomed to United States handouts. They have a sense of entitlement for US provided goods and material that borders on the absurd. They are illiterate and unmotivated. They frequently put their American and CF mentors at great risk due to their tactical inabilities and lack of discipline. We have had many operations where they simply quit - quit patrolling, quit using standard security practices, quit in the truest sense of the term. (They did not however quit demanding more money and logistic support from us). Anecdotally, the peasants that inhabit this rough land are no better. In my 'AO' the literacy rate hovers around 2%. We have conducted village outreach medical initiatives where numerous women arrive. The women are terrified, but they are also bruised, bloodied and in some cases suffering from horrible maladies because their "husbands" have beaten them and abused them for the most trifling "offenses". Decorum prohibits naming some of these injuries but I will say they were caused by physical beatings, torture and sodomy. Billions of United States "development" dollars are being wasted on these shiftless laggards. They have no industry, save for the drug runners. Please ask your O-5 an O-6 sources for word on progress. An inordinate amount of US money in some of the most restive provinces finds its way into insurgent hands. Mr Alexander: I have the privilege of serving alongside the finest men and women in our country, and I will tell you that their service and sacrifice is the epitome of honor, but their talents and training and sense of , duty to their country is wasted daily by an ignorant, ungrateful collection of savages. This is not an indictment of your ideals, nor a gripe session - I propose we in the United States military actually used for national defense in the Global War on Terror - we use our special units as forward deployed intelligence gatherers and use other special units and the elite strike forces that bring swift justice to our enemies all over the world. Our fine infantry brigade and regimental combat teams in conjunction with our superb technical capabilities and strike aircraft could ably chase terrorist networks to the ends of the Earth and exterminate them; what they will not do is destroy those who would seek to destroy us by building a well in a remote village where the people do not even know what 9-11 was. America is the mightiest nation that has ever existed, if we wish to remain as such it is time we stop wasting our resources and precious military on ruinous interventionist schemes.

Respectfully submitted

E

There is absolutely NO reason for us to be in Afghanistan. None. Your attempt at fear-mongering with you visions of nuclear holocaust at the hands of the Taliban is nonsense. While you insist on the loss of more American blood in treasure the American border is wide open. Odd how we can have more troops in Afghanistan, Korea, Germany and now Libya than we have on our own southern border !

Nation building is not what our military is for. Bring them home....and use them to defend our Mexican border against millions of illegal aliens and the violence happening on that border.

Obama you can fool part of the people all of the time, but you can't fool some of the people any of the time. It was all planned, what a shallow, transparent fool you are. You denied General McCrystal the number of troops he requested and the only way he could reply was to speak out publicly which forced him into retirement. Then to cover your own sorry ass and possibly re-election, knowing full well you had already decided to lose this war, you put in your top General to be your scapegoat, who better to blame? We have wasted the best part of America's youth just so you can you maybe salvage your Hope and Change myth. No one and I mean no one can defeat our military, except a worthless politician.

I don't know if leaving Afghanistan next year is the right thing to do or not. I do know, however, that no one, repeat, no one, has ever conquered the Afghanis. I also know that we will never build a democracy in Afghanistan and we will also never build a functioning nation there.

"Nation building" has diluted our military and deluded our nation; military forces exist to force our will on the enemy, not win their hearts and minds. Petreus and the like have sold us a bill of politically correct claptrap. A Patton would have understood what was necessary to defeat an enemy.

Like Bill, I agree with you mostly. I partly agree with Bill. It is probable the Afghans will not change. Nor will the various tyrants falling in the so-called "Arab Spring" likely be replaced by anything better. Rules of Engagement are often preposterous for all civilized nations fighting barbarous ones but Democracies have to maintain popular support or at the very least to avoid adamant opposition. I know how it sounds to say we must not lose our humanity when fighting barbaric enemies but it's true. A thousand years will not move them to our level but we can descend to theirs in an instant. If we become inured to our own barbarism, tyrants will rule here as they rule there for the barbarism will not remain directed outwardly but will increasingly move inwardly as well.

So while I agree with Bill mostly about nation-building, there are still two major threats: Pakistan and Iran. US troops are now placed on both sides of Iran where, unfortunately, I think they must stay, not to nation-build so much as to protect US security interests.

If nation-building is a result of these actions, all the better. The British East India Company didn't go to India to stop suttee but they stopped it because in order to do business they had to instill law and order. Some Indians may complain about British Colonialism but the smart money says the British brought the rule of law, due process and a lot of other good things to India which is now poised to be a powerful ally and trading partner to other Democracies in the region.

By and large, those commenting today sound much more like statists than patriots.

I think we have been there too long...our mission was accomplished along time ago. We do need to make sure before we leave in place structure that hopefully does not allow Afghanistan to just return to the old ways of supporting terrorism.(if they do see below)

That said, I believe our foreign policy to be one of being friends to the world. However, if a nation or group becomes a threat to our country, our liberty, our people or our vital supply lines, we will warn you once. If you then persist, we will strike you as needed or crush you if needed. We will also not hang around to help you rebuild from the ruins of our actions.

I cannot believe you would have us remain in a hopeless quagmire that we cannot win and more importantly, cannot afford. Sure Obama is a terrible president (as was George W. Bush) but pulling out is the correct thing to do. We should pull out of Iraq and Japan and Europe as well. George Washington said it best!

Mr. Alexander could you please tell me, while you take to task Obama, what does it mean to you, that a nation of only God knows, how many millions of illegals have peacefully settled in, with their language respected and treated equal, from the Federal Government and down the line to every business? Yes, if this signifies to you to keep America in full and secure freedom? Yes, while at the same time America's Imperialistic Militarism circles the globe more powerful than the rest of world combined and really accomplishes what may I also ask? All Empires have always self-destroyed and America has now chosen that same road to hell! Lest hear what the Founding Fathers have told America of all generations to follow if they wish to remain free and secure: "Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty". By George Washington. "No pecuniary consideration is more urgent than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious or an economy of time more valuable". By George Washington. "It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn". By George Washington. Yes, Mr. Alexander has you so well have written the Founding Fathers are shaking in their graves. Yes, it seems to me that it does not bother you at all, that another nation of illegals has settled in with the intention to recover parts of the USA that once was under control of Mexico. In a sense I have to salute the Mexicans for doing this so peacefully as some Hispanic leaders in the USA have so said! And again, while America shoots to pieces parts of the world in many parts of the world, with even mothers going to war. And yes, while the American traditional home is fast a thing of the past, right? I rest my case for now! Of course now the greatest debtor nation with Communist China America's preferred banker!

Gentlemen,

Just remember Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, this history should inform any strategy.

What have we in the west got to show for ten years effort, blood and treasure.I am also sure you are all aware of the uptick in incidents/contacts/ firefights from 1627in Nov.2010 to over 2278 in May 2011. This would suggest something is wrong

It is not good enough to just say we in the west have avoided further attacks. This is only a partial truth, attacks have still continued. It is not a good enough standard to say, 'ah but no big ones'.

Alexander as you report in your essay Graham Allisons comments have huge relevancy here, not just because they refer to nuclear.

It seems to me that there is an element of 'Group Think' or unanimity on Afghanistan in the military and governments across the West (excepting local political considerations) including Alexanders essay.

This is not a good place to be, to paraphrase Gen. Patton 'if everyone thinks the same , someone ain't thinking.

It concerns me that Socialist dogma(partial truisms,mostly lies) and operancy has informed the strategy of 'nation building', this is more in evidence in the civilian leaderships instructions to the Military.

Put simply, it patronizes the enemy as 'noble savages' who need help to 'understand', who if they 'make mistakes' along the way can be viewed benignly and their' mistakes' overlooked and forgiven simply because they are like children who know no better.

Socialist philosophy with its political correctness not only permeates the political establishments but also the Defence establishments and Staff training colleges across the west.

There is a careless attitude amongst some elements of the hierarchy for the lives and welfare of the common soldier carrying out their nation's bidding, this is evidenced where casualties are avoidable and unnecessary, affecting morale. Some say this is to break the martial spirit which some of your respondents allude to.

I think Michaels post above sums all this up 'from the field of battle', and I agree with everything he has to say bar one comment. He states they are incapable , cannot plan and coordinate in that he is wrong. They do so when it suits them and no one else. I have observed cultures that play this as an art form.

What appalls me is that if I knew this from the 'get go' and I am of rudimentary intelligence, why is it that our 'political elites' don't. Is it because I don't subscribe to socialism or what?

Teaching the enemy for that is what 'nation building' and COIN is doing is not a very intelligent strategy at the expense of American and British soldiers lives.

Michael's strategy/tactics is worthy of another hard look. In order to carry it out it requires 'bottle' which I doubt our elites have whatsoever,( they do not deserve the excellent troops they have) .

Any strategy has to take into account Pakistan also. Firstly Afghanistan should just be a turkey shoot and kept in the stone age whenever they kick off, Michaels tactics would achieve that. After all why should we care for these 'poor benighted heathen', they are happy in that state.

The Pakistan nuclear worry as a failed state.The status quo is just blackmail, tribute or zakat to Islam.. Put quite frankly the US has the wherewithall to eliminate the nuclear proliferation worry with some hefty actions, done whilst it is still an ostensible ally. Pakistans nuclear capability should just be removed. No doubt there would be a lot of jumping up and down but the deed would be done, Iran and N.Korea would certainly take note, like Gaddafi.

If blood and treasure are to be expended lets have some long lasting results , so far that goal has not been achieved.

To: MAJ USA Ret

Re: Obama's blindness

Hhhoooo Boy! You said a mouthful. I relished every word of every sentence. Exceptionally clear thinking. Thank you.

There is one major difference between the way Britain operated in India and the way we operate in Afghanistan. In India, Christian missionaries were tolerated and protected, if not openly welcomed, by the British administrators. Today the Christian church in India is expanding at a double-figure annual percentage, with the greatest share of the growth coming from former Muslims. The Christian influence is evident in Indian government and other institutions, even though Christianity remains a minority religion. As the Master said, "You are the salt of the earth."

By contrast, in Afghanistan, American forces are prohibited from anything resembling "proselytizing". In fact, last year when American citizens sent Bibles to their brethren serving in Afghanistan, by orders from Washington those Bibles were confiscated and burned. There was no word of whether there was "just compensation" for the property taken, as required by the Constitution, or whether the Constitutional ban on prohibiting the free exercise of religion is considered applicable. Does anyone seriously think God will bless our efforts when we deliberately exclude Him?

The Afghan people will go nowhere without adopting the Christian mindset that in gratitude to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ they ought to glorify God in their work and behavior. It's that simple.

Afghanistan has vast mineral resources buried in its mountains (discovered by electromagnetic surveys while searching for jihadis), but the locals will have no lasting profit from the wealth if they retain their current social structure. I predict China will exploit it all and the Afghans will get nothing except a few miserly paychecks.

To: RK Sprau

It's personally gratifying to me for you to say that you follow my reasoning and that you agree with it. We all like to think we're making a difference with what we write into Mr. Alexander's column, don't we? I'm glad that you've learned something.

As for the rest of your post of today, you covered a lot of ground. I'm not sure what to say to provide a comprehensive reply. Suffice it to say that you provided the key when you said, "It is hardworking people with a sense of morals and spirituality that made this country great."

In my view, America began with a mission statement of high morals and ethics. Our Founders codified it the best they could. And they did a damn good job. But in the 200+ years since then, the generations upon generations of politicians and judges haven't been idle. In their arrogance, they've all known better than those who came before them. They've screwed it up, to be blunt. Their misdeeds are best seen if one looks at the big picture - the entire timeline of American history over that period. They've changed the manner in which our society operates with a host of Constitutional amendments, warped judicial decisions, foolish reliance on precedents, and the passage of other laws, layered upon each other at various governmental levels, like layers of worthless dead-hulk shingles from a roof tear-off, thrown into a dumpster. The result is like an unfortunate animal that got itself trapped under the shingles and can't escape. Our Constitution is choking under layers of crap, dropped onto it over our 200+ year timeline.

Moreover, we must understand that the rationale for the 200+ years of unfortunate changes was typically to allow some action that wasn't allowed before, to free up the system so someone or some group could get its way, to liberalize the protocol and thereby ignore the essential reasons for the provisions in the Constitution. Ignoring those reasons was the peril because those reasons were the bread and butter of our Founders' efforts, crafted with the trowel of morality and honed with the stone of ethics. The result has been a comprehensive lowering of standards, which by the way, is a hallmark characteristic of liberalism. And guess who typically got their protocols liberalized? You guessed it, politicians, and eventually, whomever jumped into bed with them.

It's a sad state of affairs we're in. All I can say is that whatever redemption we make for ourselves, must involve the same tools our Founders used.

"...since he took office, casualties in Afghanistan have increased five-fold."

--And you don't hear the running count on the evening news like we did when Bush was in office. Wonder why.

"If you think the cost of keeping the battle on their turf for the last 10 years has been expensive, try calculating the cost of recovery after a fissile weapon detonation in Boston or Baltimore, and the resulting economic consequence."

--Or then, there's the cost of an EMP weapon or two detonated in the upper atmosphere over the US. Most of North America would be instantly living in the Dark Ages (to the radical islamists, this would be "leveling the playing field", ja?)

Sure...let's pull out of Afghanastan, Iraq, Europe, etc...but on the last plane out of Afghanastan, have it circle around and lay a nuclear egg on 'em....fly over to Pakistan and let them see the light as well...then have the flight plan go over Iran and drop a few eggs there too. Then...we have a pig roast at Mecca & Medina...war over...OOooops, sorry, I just woke up...

I have to say that I agree 100% with the Marine who said (and I paraphrase) that Obama is NO LEADER!!! But again, what can one expect from a community organizer. Not much call for leadership qualities in that line of work.

With regard to your Afg/Pak comments... are you living on the same planet? The "one more year to turn the tide" idea never answers the question of what happens after that. Answer: sooner or later we have to go home and its their country. If they want to breed terrorists we cant stop them. And we are never going to change Afghanistan or the Afghan people. Agree we need to defend ourselves against a nuke threat - but in that part of the world we must do it with standoff weapons and the war in teh shadows. The US - or any democracy - cannot sustain "the long war" with armies in contact. Too expensive in treasure. Yes, we must fight the long war - but we must fight it in the shadows.

I heard this same baloney in 1969 in Vietnam when the troop withdrawals began under another tyrant, Nixon, with his Vietnamization nonsense. But then as a sergeant in a Marine infantry battalion, you would not have asked my opinion; I was just in the mud and the blood and not in the know as those in the CIA and State departments. Oh, the horror of that cocktail party fool, Kissinger! Now I have a daughter on orders to this Islamic hellhole in support of the scum of the earth, Muslims like the President. Maybe my father's wounds in Italy in WW II were worth his ultimate death; my wounds in Vietnam accomplished NOTHING and now I have to offer up a daughter for Obama, RINOs and the gutless Republicans in Congress that you support.

Petraeus does not have any answers but he has feathered his nest nicely in the future by the blood of his long-suffering troops. Who on your staff has seen combat?

This article was great. I particularly like the reference to the expense of an atomic bomb being sent to the US compared to the cost of the wars.

I am disgusted with Obama willing to trade the Country's security for his campaign run including the nonsense of releasing oil from our reserves while standing in the way of our own development in Alaska and other places.. Enough is enough. I can't imagine folks out there still supporting this dangerous individual.

John Burke

Anchorage, Alaska

Whether the war is necessary or not is irrelevant at this point. The problem is that we have a Washington regime in power that is utterly incompetent to prosecute this or any other war. The choice is withdrawal or defeat. I would choose withdrawal; in the bigger picture, that results in fewer dead Americans. It doesn't matter how much money we spend on technology, or the spirit of the troops. A military under the command of Demsheviks is like a sharp knife in the hands of a baby.

The three pillars of Demshevik fascism are corruption, incompetence, and tyranny. Management of the military is currently dominated by pillar number two.

Big deal! He is using sleight of hand to bolster his reelection chances. And the weak-minded Americans that elected him the first time will do it again. Never mind that he crafted crises so that, at the right time, he could "fix" them or at least "improve" them long enough to appear successful.

And who cares about an announcement to pull the surge troops out within 12 months? Who cares! The hands of the military are tied by ROE no matter how long we stay there. We are not in Afghanistan to win anything. And if we were, someone tell me, of the foreign leaders the United States has propped up which have resulted in honorable, decent, good rulers? So what are we out to gain in Afghanistan? What benefits are we receiving? What cost is being expended there that could not be better used on national DEFENSE?

You know, taking the fight to another land while good for us is, in the final analysis, a selfish and hypocritical act on our part when we let those with destructive ideals to our Constitution sit in the seats of power over us!

Afghanistan is the least of our problems.

"The attempt to undermine the nation from within is more serious than the threat of armed force from without.” War Department TM 2000-25

To achieve "victory" one must have a goal and a strategy to reach the goal. Instruments of power (Diplomatic, Economic, Information, Military) must be harmonized throughout each level of action (strategic/operational/tactical).

Wars are won or lost before the first bullet leaves the barrel. The decision to use the military to achieve a political goal should be carefully considered, and the senior military leaders, so worshipped by press, the administration, and those who haven't served, should have the character to look civilian leadership in the eye and advise against military employment unless the goal and the path to the goal is crystal clear. If the citizenry understood that the general officer corp is almost ubiquitously politicized (you only make 4-stars by telling political leaders what they want to hear) perhaps they would be seen as the show dogs that they are. Petraues is praised for the surge, a surge of money used to pay Sunni leaders to quick attacking our troops, but how many civilians can name the 4-star sacked by Rumsfield for testifying that the number of troops required to invade and stabilize Iraq was three times what the SECDEF wanted? The last 4-star who professionally and respectfully told an administration they were making a mistake in their strategic approach to a problem, was forced to resign and was replaced by one he had earlier characterized as a "butt kisser". Regardless, their is plenty of blame to go around, beginning with Congress who have shamelessly ceded their responsibility to debate and declare war. One thing for sure the men who salute, deploy and fight are not to blame. Most are heroic in the classical sense for they do their duty despite doubting the politic wisdom of the war they were fated to fight.

God bless our troops and bring them safely home!

Hey, what's more important than getting reelected? To hell with the country, literally. POD (President of Dereliction) mesmerized the sheeple once, and he'll do it again. That's what happens when you dumb down education. Every move he makes from now on has "2012" stamped on it. Wow, did you ever in your life meet anyone as evil as POD?

As a Viet Nam veteran who bitterly learned of America's inability to stick to wars of attrition to achieve its initial impulses of moral purpose and noble sentiment,it seems to me pointless to sacrifice the most patriotic among us while the country continues to be filled with unasimilable

Muslims and disloyal criminal aliens. Those who remain at home with no skin in the game continue to just turn the channel while more and more of our nationalism, our sovereignty, and our common values as Americans are lost through cultural polution and the Left's relentless propaganda machine. Add to this the new assault on our military. Now, for the first time in America's history, the initiation of political correctness, gender equality, 'diversity' sensitivity, and open homosexuality are beginning to infest our last line of defense. These internal parasites will weaken and ultimately consume us. At what point during this degeneration will an American city be reduced to ashes glowing in the dark for five hundred years? Will it be too late for us to awaken then? Who will serve, and what will they fight for then?

After the removal of all our troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, and all other Muslim nations, the next step to complete is the TOTAL severance of ALL aid to them, i.e money and everything else. Let them fend for themselves.

Mark, I am more convinced by the day that Obama was hired to bring down the U.S. as hard and as rapidly as possible. I believe he came into office with pre-created bills and plans (including Obamacare) that he was charged with driving through by any means necessary. There is no way that a novice with no background in anything could have opened attack on absolutely all fronts, as he has, as aggressively as he has without intense preparation long before hand by a group dedicated to the destruction of this country. This is why he's so jolly all the time and so relaxed. He genuinely believes his end game will be enacted under his watch and no one can touch him.

I think his handlers decided they couldn't wait any longer to enact our demise. I think they fully believe that the American people are too dumb, too dissolute, and too pagan to mount any meaningful defense. In addition, they are driving so many wedges between all of us that I think they believe "divide and conquer" will take out those who can resist.

The fact that Obama and team have opened a new crisis every single day for over two years is a great plan. It exhausts the emotional and financial resources of the Americans who want to resist. In the meanwhile, he and his team are collecting the names of those who join the various PACs against him, for future reprisals.

I feel certain his handlers realize that any legal, court-oriented actions will cost too much, take too long, and hit enough snags that the opposition will never reach him before he finalizes the end of our country. Why Congress dithers is beyond me because there seem to be honorable people there. I'm not sure they are prepared enough for the deluge of attacks on all fronts - and they still believe in what would be the right way to approach things, were the circumstances "normal."

In addition, if one ascribes ordinary motives to Obama and team, the sense of urgency is diffused to some degree.

Finally, if we continue to focus on the budget and economy as though that were the main or only problem, we will never attend to the root of the problem - our descent into moral degeneracy, mental flabbiness, love of comfort more than righteousness, and abandonment of our Christian principles and heritage. These are what are sinking us.

I don't know how this can be resolved because I don't see enough unity among true Americans to pull together any useful resistance. I get 50 emails a day, all "urgent" and all asking for money for various good causes. These may be genuine needs, but the effect is that recipients almost dread so much crisis about which they can do so little. And one is not sure about the accountability of all these voices calling for money.

One thing for sure, we've got to clean house in both the Senate and Congress completely next year - if we last that long. Then those folks must be of the caliber to take on undoing all the harm that has been foisted on us for the last fifty years. And, Christians must be praying and repent of the their moral laxness, their selfish desire for peace and comfort at any price, their laziness in knowing both their faith and the foundational principles of this country. And we must find a way to gather into real unity all of us who are genuine patriots, no matter where we are. These are all mammoth tasks in miracle territory.

I write you because you are one of the few voices of Christian reason that continue to rise above the storm.

ANYONE who thinks the Iraq or Afghan wars were necessary is a complete fool and idiot, ala Vietnam.

You vote Republican.

You want deficit cuts but want to fight more and more wars.

You don't care about vets when they come home and need medical care, physical and mental

Can we for ONCE spend money in AMERICA????

Or will the Republican party continue to ruin our nation with addiction to war, war, war.

I want PEACE, PEACE, PEACE.

Mark,

Excellent discussion abut the President and his recent speech about Afghanistan. I would only point out that the 10,000 or so were not "injured", they were honorably "wounded in battle". Injured is what happens when you fall off the back of a truck. You don't get a Purple Heart for being "injured"!

I'm happy to see that the majority of reading Patriots understand the folly of our "nation building" policies. Change will not come at the end of a rifle barrel. It must begin with us, in our communities, in our requirements from the actions of our leaders we elect(our duty), and from the examples we set. Those examples in our recent past have created the quagmire that we now struggle to extricate ourselves from. The paradigm of Us vs. Them (Dem v Rep) has kept us from solutive dialog. When we return to a country of first principles, God fearing faith and values in our commuties and saying what we mean, meaning what we say...maybe then we'll win back the respect of other nations.

God help us.

In response to Alexanders' essay on the Afghan Cut & Run. It is patently obvious that this tactic serves absolutely no positive military purpose. Obama has every intention of attepmting to garner votes from the radical left by getting out of Afghanistan well before the next Presidential election. He does so at his (and the nations) peril, but he cares nothing about that, only his own self serving political ambitions are paramount to such a narcissist.

Didn't our Dear Leader vociferiosly support the Afghan war as the "correct" war rather than Iraq? Doesn't this guy have any more substance than a dandelion puff?

To paraphrase Michelle - this is the first time in my life that I have been ashamed to be called an American.

A blanket, and heartfelt, apology to those brave members of our armed forces and their families who have paid the last full measure of their devotion in service of an unmentionable turd of a president and his minions. A pox upon them all.