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Quiet, Please
· Friday, October 9, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Eight years ago this week, just 25 days after the vicious attacks of 9/11, the U.S. struck back at the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Thirty-three days later, U.S.-supported Northern Alliance troops were in Kabul, and the remnants of al-Qaida and its Taliban hosts were in retreat to Kandahar and mountain redoubts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. All of this was preceded by intense diplomacy and a virtually nonstop publicly aired series of presidential announcements, news conferences, speeches, debates and discussions at the White House, from the badly damaged Pentagon, in congressional hearings -- even at the United Nations. In December, three months after the U.S. was attacked, public approval for Operation Enduring Freedom was nearly 90 percent. Today fewer than half of Americans support continued U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. The difference is leadership.
The Obama administration is now in its ninth month of a self-inflicted quandary over what to do about Afghanistan. Human pregnancy and giving birth takes less time and is -- at least according to my wife, the mother of four -- less painful.
On his first day in office, President Barack Obama promised a new era of "openness and transparency" in Washington. The government, he explained, "should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears."
Meetings would be open; voices would be heard; the public would be fully informed about the actions of government, we were told. To this end, Mr. Obama instructed: "Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve."
However, non-disclosure has become the order of the day when it comes to the administration's policy on Afghanistan, and public confidence in Operation Enduring Freedom has plummeted. The administration's procrastination, vacillation and secrecy about "the options in Afghanistan" also have eroded international support -- once considered an essential component for waging a successful campaign.
On Oct. 1, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Mr. Obama's hand-picked senior commander, addressed the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Though his appearance and remarks were approved in advance, the general has since been rebuked for warning that the situation in Afghanistan is "serious" and "deteriorating" and that "waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome." He added that the effort "will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support." He was right.
This week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, never known for backing his subordinates in any of his previous incarnations, admonished the general. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army, Gates said that while Mr. Obama deliberates on Afghanistan, "it is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations -- civilians and military alike -- provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately."
On Tuesday, congressional leaders were summoned to the White House and handed the same sheet of music. It didn't work quite as well as the O-Team had hoped. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, clearly repelled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's suggestion that Democrats would "support whatever" the administration decided to do in Afghanistan, took up the attack on Gen. McChrystal: "With all due respect, his recommendations to the president should go up the line of command. They shouldn't be in press conferences." Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said "it would be irresponsible" to send more troops until it becomes clear "what is possible in Afghanistan."
Instead of making Gen. McChrystal available for congressional testimony -- as the Bush administration did with Gen. David Petraeus -- the Obama administration has decided to muzzle its battlefield commander. It is a serious mistake.
Mr. Obama, enmeshed in an increasingly unpopular war and an uphill fight for his far-reaching domestic policy agenda, is now at risk of going the way of Lyndon Johnson. "Landslide Lyndon," intent on pursuing his "Great Society" goals, refused wise counsel to "go for a victory or not at all" in Vietnam. Instead, Mr. Johnson brought forces into the fight piecemeal, in what he called "incremental escalation." It was a disaster -- one that need not be and should not be repeated in the shadows of the Hindu Kush.
Gen. McChrystal has defined victory: a stable, pro-Western government in Kabul that respects the human rights of the people of Afghanistan. He has asked for what he needs to win: more U.S. troops, improved reconstruction aid, clearer lines of command and control, and more help building national infrastructure -- roads, schools, clinics and hospitals.
The American people, whose sons and daughters have volunteered to serve in harm's way, deserve to hear this directly from Gen. McChrystal. If the Obama administration wants to win this war, it will dispatch Gen. McChrystal to Congress with orders other than "quiet, please."
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PatriotUSA
Over the years Oliver North has been a steady, rock solid commentator of relevence on military, stragety and military history. I have found myself agreeing with his positions and assesments time and again. Obama and the left are out to silence ANY and ALL criticism of his agenda or policies. McChrystal is no exception. Everything this adminsitration has done, every move has hurt our military, and made us look weaker than ever. The Obama policy of appeasement, cowardice and deal making has emboldened our enemies both here at home and abroad. We either fight them over there with everything we have at our disposal or will we have to fight them here. And they are here. There can be no peace with Islam, Al Qaida or the Taliban. A complete and total committment ensuring victory is our only option.
Kudos to your new website and layout. It is superb and the ability to leave comments and have the resources you have here is much appreciated. The news and opinions here are a mirror of the foundations that have built his country, the Constitution. Thank you for your dedication, love of country and standing up for our military and their families. May the Lord continue to bless Patriot Post and all who work here.
Posted October 9, 2009 at 2:00:15 AM
g.w.wegmann
Apparently the commander in chief of the armed forces cares more about satisfying the radical anti-military voters to assure his re-election than he does for the brave men and women in harms way in Afghanistan. It is time for people to realize that a man who whole heartedly supports abortion and partial birth abortion could not care less if lives are lost in Afghanistan! It is time for a change and not the change that Obama is producing!
Posted October 9, 2009 at 8:49:41 AM
MotherRedDog
Pray for our brave men and women defending Obama's right to trash America.
God help us all. When the President spends more time with the gay rights activits talking about repealing "don't ask don't tell" rather then the two wars where our men and women are serving, it's not hard to figure out that something is incredibly wrong with our priorities. I can't even imagine how the men and women fighting on the ground would feel about this, if in fact they know about it. One thing for certain, their parents, spouses and children know and something tells me that they aren't happy about it.
Why are we catering to 2 percent of the population when our men and women are dying?
It's time for President Obama to make a decision and carry through with it. It's time to stop trying to set up America for failure and do something about jobs for people. It's time to fix or economy, not continue marching towards socialism and return to the principles that founded this great nation.
Posted October 11, 2009 at 11:35:44 AM
MSG USAR
I thank you Mr. North. It's time we give America back to "GOD" and quit apologizing for everything we have accomplished as a GOD fearing Nation. This country fought for our freedom, but it seems that fewer are willing to fight to keep it. Why don't the politicians put on a uniform and spend a year in harms way? Not just sitting in Washington.
As Thomas Jefferson stated "The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants". "God Bless America"
Posted October 12, 2009 at 7:33:52 AM
Art Patscheck
You win wars by killing and breaking things and doing that worse to them, than they do to you.
Our leadership almost screwed that up in Iraq, but "The Surge" pulled our fat out of the fire.
When your boss doesn't talk to you but once in 70 days, it means he doesn't care about what you're doing.
Look for a loss to occur in Afgan, because Democrats don't understand my 1st sentence in this post.
Posted October 12, 2009 at 3:57:03 PM
Ileana
I am outraged that our CIC has time for everything that promotes his persona but does not have time for our soldiers who are in the trenches in Afghanistan. Obama is so focused on taking control of our healthcare system that he and Congress have not yet passed the appropriations bill for 2010! This budget for the fiscal year 2010 starts Oct. 1st, yet all they could do was pass a continuation through Oct. 31st on Defense only, meaning that the budget is at the level that it was last year. None of the other budgets have been approved or signed. How can they run health care when they cannot even run the country for this current fiscal year? They will run health care into the ground that is what they will do. I don't understand why the supine media does not scream that we are twelve days into the new fiscal year and none of the appropriation bills have been passed and/or signed by the president. I guess he was too busy appearing on talk shows, flying to Copenhagen, accepting undeserved Nobel Peace Prize, etc. It is all about him and his narcissism, not about our country.
Posted October 12, 2009 at 8:44:13 PM
Reality Check
First, I wholeheartedly support our troops and the impossible position they have been put in, in Afghanistan. If we send our troops into battle, then it should be a "no holds barred" battle.
That said, by what stretch of the imagination is this 8 year war the fault of the guy that's been there 9 months? How can you blame Obama for not doing something that Bush didn't do in the past 8 years? When the Afghan war started we had the Taliban on the ropes and Rumsfield refused to give commanders the troops they requested to finish the job. (this is well documented for those of you with short memories) Many military leaders retired because of how the Bush administration was running the wars. Rumsfield pulled troops from Afghanistan to go Iraq to search for the NON-EXISTENT weapons of mass destruction. Remember that? The problems we now have in Afghanistan are the DIRECT result of the Bush screw ups. Finding oil for Cheney was more important than finding Bin Laden. And not having the military commanders telling the world their military plans for the Taliban is a GOOD thing!
I'm not an Obama fan, but we didn't get here because of him. He's just trying to clean up all the messes that Bush created.
Posted October 14, 2009 at 10:11:19 AM