Clay Bennett's brilliant work can be found HERE
Showing posts with label permawar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label permawar. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Mitt Watch - The Man Without A Plan
July 1st, 2012
While everyone is justifiably preoccupied with the SCOTUS decision regarding the ACA in its potential political impact, it's worth remembering that the upcoming election is meant to select our Commander in Chief. On that count, we are still faced with a choice between Obama's frustrating pragmatism and absolute disaster.
Fred Kaplan writes:
While everyone is justifiably preoccupied with the SCOTUS decision regarding the ACA in its potential political impact, it's worth remembering that the upcoming election is meant to select our Commander in Chief. On that count, we are still faced with a choice between Obama's frustrating pragmatism and absolute disaster.
Fred Kaplan writes:
"What is Romney’s position on drone strikes? What’s his position on Afghanistan? During the Republican debates, he once said that his position was not to negotiate with the Taliban but to defeat them. What does that mean? Does he want to keep tens of thousands of U.S. troops there after NATO’s 2014 deadline? To what end? Doing what? He also once said that military spending should consume at least 4 percent of gross domestic product. Obama’s most recent military budget ($525 billion, not counting the cost of the war in Afghanistan) amounts to 3 percent. So Romney intends to raise the budget by one-third, or by about $175 billion a year—by more than $1 trillion in the next six years. Where is he going to get the money? What’s he going to spend it on? No details. None.
Is Romney an extremist? Or, in keeping with the GOP approach to politics in general these days, has he simply calculated that it’s best not to agree with Obama on anything? Either way, one thing is clear: He is not a serious man."You don't have to support Obama's foreign policy. You just have to be smart enough to reject its opposite. And vote accordingly.
Friday, February 10, 2012
George Will Vs. The GOP On Defense
Feb 10th, 2012
A few days ago, conservative columnist George Will penned a withering critique of current Republican messaging on defense. He begins with nothing less than a rebuke of the entire Iraq misadventure:
"Hours — not months, not weeks, hours — after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, vicious political factionalism and sectarian violence intensified. Many Republicans say Barack Obama's withdrawal — accompanied by his administration's foolish praise of Iraq's "stability" — has jeopardized what has been achieved there. But if it cannot survive a sunrise without fraying, how much of an achievement was it?
Few things so embitter a nation as squandered valor; hence Americans, with much valor spent there, want Iraq to master its fissures. But with America in the second decade of its longest war, the probable Republican nominee is promising to extend it indefinitely." EMPHASIS OURS
In fact, all of the GOP contenders (with the exception of Ron Paul) are now in a mad dash to outdo one another in promising more wars, longer wars and bigger wars. The situation is out of hand and these positions are dramatically at odds with the will of the people.
A few days ago, conservative columnist George Will penned a withering critique of current Republican messaging on defense. He begins with nothing less than a rebuke of the entire Iraq misadventure:
"Hours — not months, not weeks, hours — after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, vicious political factionalism and sectarian violence intensified. Many Republicans say Barack Obama's withdrawal — accompanied by his administration's foolish praise of Iraq's "stability" — has jeopardized what has been achieved there. But if it cannot survive a sunrise without fraying, how much of an achievement was it?
Few things so embitter a nation as squandered valor; hence Americans, with much valor spent there, want Iraq to master its fissures. But with America in the second decade of its longest war, the probable Republican nominee is promising to extend it indefinitely." EMPHASIS OURS
In fact, all of the GOP contenders (with the exception of Ron Paul) are now in a mad dash to outdo one another in promising more wars, longer wars and bigger wars. The situation is out of hand and these positions are dramatically at odds with the will of the people.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
About The Latest Afghanistan Handwringing
Feb 1st, 2012
First of all, it's not news that members of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service are in bed with radical elements of the Taliban. Second of all, if we stayed in Afghanistan for another hundred years, they would begin destroying each other not long after we departed. This is what we are seeing in Iraq already. Eventually, we are going to have to think about doing more nation building at home. In fact, discussion of that kind have begun in earnest on both sides of the aisle. Now comes an "explosive report" detailing the imminent return to power of the Taliban aided and abetted by the ISI. Sigh.
Reuters has some coverage about this "report" which is essential reading for anyone before they start running around in panic-circles and yelling that the sky is falling:
"Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC. But he said it was not a strategic study.
"The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis." EMPHASIS OURS
Get it? This prisoner braggadocio. This is not the kind of thing on which so much as a single change in policy particulars should be based. It will be interesting to see if the neo-conservative permawar crowd, which is always harping on the need to 'listen to military,' actually listens to the military on this one.
First of all, it's not news that members of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service are in bed with radical elements of the Taliban. Second of all, if we stayed in Afghanistan for another hundred years, they would begin destroying each other not long after we departed. This is what we are seeing in Iraq already. Eventually, we are going to have to think about doing more nation building at home. In fact, discussion of that kind have begun in earnest on both sides of the aisle. Now comes an "explosive report" detailing the imminent return to power of the Taliban aided and abetted by the ISI. Sigh.
Reuters has some coverage about this "report" which is essential reading for anyone before they start running around in panic-circles and yelling that the sky is falling:
"Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC. But he said it was not a strategic study.
"The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis." EMPHASIS OURS
Get it? This prisoner braggadocio. This is not the kind of thing on which so much as a single change in policy particulars should be based. It will be interesting to see if the neo-conservative permawar crowd, which is always harping on the need to 'listen to military,' actually listens to the military on this one.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Spirit Of Legitimate Conservatism
Jan 24th, 2012
Kelley Vlahos' column from last Sunday, firing back at supposedly "conservative" apologists for the blatant war crime of body desecration recently captured on video in Afghanistan, is arguably the finest critique in months of what has gone so horribly wrong with the right in our country:
"Writers at The Weekly Standard, National Review, The Washington Times and Commentary have been ruthless non-apologists for the indiscriminate killing of non-whites as a means to their ends, from the “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq and the flattening of Fallujah to the ethnic cleansing of Baghdad, today’s drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and all of the wars’ human repercussions (death, disease, displacement). In their world, these are always treated as time-wasting, politically motivated afterthoughts that merely muddy their own paper-white narrative."
Kelley Vlahos' column from last Sunday, firing back at supposedly "conservative" apologists for the blatant war crime of body desecration recently captured on video in Afghanistan, is arguably the finest critique in months of what has gone so horribly wrong with the right in our country:
"Writers at The Weekly Standard, National Review, The Washington Times and Commentary have been ruthless non-apologists for the indiscriminate killing of non-whites as a means to their ends, from the “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq and the flattening of Fallujah to the ethnic cleansing of Baghdad, today’s drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and all of the wars’ human repercussions (death, disease, displacement). In their world, these are always treated as time-wasting, politically motivated afterthoughts that merely muddy their own paper-white narrative."
Friday, October 7, 2011
10 Straight Years Of Permawar
Oct 7th, 2011
via The Kansas City Star
"For America, the Afghanistan war turns 10 years old today.
For many it has seemed never-ending, no less so for the Afghans, who are now in their third decade of conflict.
The arguments for U.S. boots on the ground remain unchanged: Deny the terrorist tribes a homeland from which to strike again. But for many, the goals of crushing the Taliban and fostering democracy in Afghanistan seem further away than in 2001.
A former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday the U.S. military had a “frighteningly simplistic” understanding of the place it invaded, which helps explain why the war lasted 10 years."
via The Kansas City Star
 |
| Photo by Darren Stevenson |
For many it has seemed never-ending, no less so for the Afghans, who are now in their third decade of conflict.
The arguments for U.S. boots on the ground remain unchanged: Deny the terrorist tribes a homeland from which to strike again. But for many, the goals of crushing the Taliban and fostering democracy in Afghanistan seem further away than in 2001.
A former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday the U.S. military had a “frighteningly simplistic” understanding of the place it invaded, which helps explain why the war lasted 10 years."
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