This Is Just Flat Out Wrong!

October 2, 2009 — This story on MSNBC.com http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33132724/ns/world_news-washington_post/ just makes me mad as hell! We just will never learn from mistakes we have made in the past. Because of political expediency, and only because of that, the White House and when I say the White House I am talking about President Obama is fighting back against the call by the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, for the immediate infusion of more combat troops into Afghanistan. The General states this is needed in order to regain the initiative against the Taliban and ultimately al Qaeda. Reports indicate we have been losing the initiative for some time now.

While the President is off talking to the IOC about getting the 2016 Olympics in Chicago, Ill. and that is so very important (please don't make me ill) he is having his high level staff headed up by Vice President Biden come up with ways to down play Gen. McChrystal's request and turn this around so as not to harm the President politically. How is that you say? Polls show that the war in Afghanistan is becoming very unpopular, so the President sure as hell does not want to appear like he is "Hawkish."

I just can't believe this. Why can't civilians leave the business of fighting a war, regardless of how unpopular it is, to the professionals that are trained for it and have spent their entire adult life preparing for and doing! It's called leaving the tactical decisions to the "boots on the ground." We did not do it in Vietnam nor any conflict/war since. And, because we do not do it young men and women in our armed forces die unnecessarily. This is the ultimate tragic consequence of what these senior WH officials are doing.

Gen. McChrystal's immediate military superiors support him in his assessment of the situation in Afghanistan. The General is also not being quiet about this as noted in the article above where it is stated he continued making his call for more troops in a speech on Thursday in London. This is going to get the General fired. Not because he is wrong, but because he is going against the administration and they will shut him up, or so they think, by ultimately firing him. What the General is doing here is standing up for his troops. He is doing the right thing! A solider can ask for nothing more than this sort of outstanding leadership. The group that should be getting fired are those making decisions in the WH and we could start with Vice President Biden.

Curiously Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is being somewhat mum on this issue. And here I thought Gates was a "breath of fresh air" after the control freak Rumsfeld. Now I am not so sure. Why can he not come out and say he supports the General's assessment or if he agrees with the polticos in the WH say so! That is a classic example of very poor leadership! The article above also points out that Secretary of State Clinton is remaining mute on this issue. Well she should because it is not a matter for the State Department.

The war in Afghanistan started as a result of 9/11. We the American public felt it was right to do then. The administration of President Bush knew it was the right thing to do. President Bush told the American public upfront that this was not going to be easy and it was going to take a long time. Why did he say those things...he did so because his military commanders...the boots on the ground...told him it was going to be like that. It has proven to be true.

Those that think that war is a nasty, vile thing are correct. It is! There is no doubt that war is nasty and that people die some very innocently and tragically. It is the nature of war. Look at history...look at the history of the Civil War...and you can see that this is true. But if we are ever to defeat terrorism, and terrorism is alive and well in this world today, then this war is necessary and it will not be the last. To turn our back and disregard the needs of our troops is to waste the lives that have already been lost and to dishonor the service of those that have been wounded and maimed for life, and to dishonor the memory of those that lost their lives on 9/11. How can we do this? The answer is we cannot and we must not. We have to give our military commanders the tools they need to get the job done so that they can come home to their families and the killing can stop...it's what really matters!