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Afghanistan - What else is there to say?

Posted by Justin Weller on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 8:33:00 AM

President Obama and his national security team are currently reviewing their March strategy in Afghanistan and deciding whether to fulfill General McChrystal’s August request for some 40,000 more troops.

It now, being the end of October and the deadliest month for U.S. soldiers since the beginning of the Afghan War and having just received the first known protest resignation by a U. S. official in the Afghan War in September, seems to me we have reached a critical mass - we must analyze this war and make decisions immediately.

To assist the administration in this analysis, we should look to the Powell Doctrine to determine if continued military actions are appropriate. The Doctrine was developed by then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell to determine if it was appropriate for the U.S. to expel Saddheim Hussein out of Kuwait in the first Iraq War. The doctrine asks a series of questions that must be answered affirmatively to determine if military action is appropriate:

Question 1. Is a vital national security interest threatened?

Answer: Yes and no. The Taliban enabled Al Qaeda to recruit, train and plan attacks all over the globe (including of course the 9/11 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks). Most experts believe currently some of the Taliban and most if not all of Al Qaeda is now operating in Pakistan, where our soldiers are not. We attack al Qaeda in Pakistan with Predator drones only. As silly as this drone war is, it can be continued without our presence in Afghanistan. However, should American forces leave Afghanistan, it is all but assured that the Taliban and Al Qaeda will return, threatening our national security. On balance, the threat will not be significantly increased whether these terrorists are operating in Western Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Question 2. Do we have a clear, obtainable objective?

Answer: On March 27th, President Obama stated in his announcement for U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, “to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.” However, we are awaiting a new strategy decision now (hence this article). I do not believe there is a clear objective, and I do not believe that the previous goal is attainable. Like it or not, without draconian measures, al Qaeda will exist for the foreseeable future. So, no.

Question 3. Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?

Answer: Without a strategy, the risks and costs are difficult to analyze. It is likely this is where a bulk of the analysis within the White House and Pentagon is stuck. Certainly, the American people have not received a frank analysis of the costs and risks, and will likely not. So, no.

Question 4. Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?

Answer: No.

Question 5. Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?

Answer: No, not even in the same solar system with an exit strategy, other than leave now.

Question 6. Have the consequences of our actions been fully considered?

Answer: They may have been considered, but in large part I think they are being ignored. Our soldiers are dying, our war chests emptying, and we are creating a lot of enemies on the ground.

Question 7. Is the action supported by the American people?

Answer: A CNN/Opinion Research poll found recently 59% of Americans oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan. The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll has it at 49%, a winning plurality. In sum, no.

Question 8: Do we have genuine broad international support?

Answer: The key word in this question is genuine. We have a number of global leaders saying nice things, but little support by way of troops or money. I think we can all agree we are out there alone.

So by this analysis, on a scale of 0 to 8 (8 being all affirmative responses to the doctrine’s questions and the only score which justifies military action), continued military actions in Afghanistan scores a 0.5. What else is there to say?

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Tags: Afghanistan obama

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President for All Americans?

Posted by Justin Weller on Monday, October 19, 2009 12:00:00 AM

At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the national political stage with the keynote address. In it, he quoted the self evident truths passage of the Declaration of Independence, and then proclaimed,

"That is the true genius of America, a faith -- a faith in simple dreams [...] that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door [...] that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution." He went on to say, "[...]there is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America."

This is beautiful rhetoric, the dream of all of us - a faith in fairness, free speech and the strength of our institutions to question our leaders, to offer alternatives and to work together to solve problems. More recently, the Obama Administration has waged a war on a major news outlet, Fox News. The President's Communications Director boldly stated last week that the administration would not appear on Fox News, as it is, "opinion journalism masquerading as news." David Axelrod and Rahm Emmanuel both supported this view this weekend; Axelrod counseled ABC's George Stephanopoulos that Fox, "is not a news organization [...] Other news organizations like yours ought not to treat them that way, we're not going to treat them that way."

According to Fox News Sunday's anchor Chris Wallace, the White House has refused to make any administration officials available on any topic since August, when Fox News Sunday fact-checked a number of assertions made by Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Apparently, fact-checking statements made by an administration official is not within the purview of a news organization.

More broadly and to the point, the recent treatment of Fox News by the White House (which is supposed to represent the American people - all of them) is the exact sort of treatment State Senator Obama spoke of in his speech at the DNC - retribution for participation in the political process and a metaphorical sudden knock on the door. More importantly, it represents a dangerous affront to the rights promised to us in the passage Mr. Obama quoted, and the Constitution which Mr. Obama promised to uphold.

These are indeed dark times if the Chief Executive and his staff are allowed to determine what is news, who should be reporting it and how they should do so. Every news organization everywhere should be outraged.

For the threat is clear - if you question this administration too vigorously, you will not have access to its officials to do your job. Surely, NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN must wonder, "are we next?"

And the rest of the nation should be wondering if President Obama has changed his view that there is only a United States of America. For he certainly now believes that he should only be communicating with a certain fraction of the population. Is he indeed a President for all Americans?

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Tags: Fox News obama