Obama Claims End of American Fighting In Iraq
August 31st, 2010
The President announced today that the combat phase of operations in Iraq are over. He used the usual platitudes to express gratitude to the troops who have fought there. He then noted his fulfillment of his campaign commitment to end the wartime efforts in Iraq. On that score Obama has done as he said he would. But Bush had already made a commitment to the Iraqis to be out by the end of 2011 which Obama claims he will also meet for the remaining 50,000 troops. So far so good.
The other promise Obama made was to ratchet up the war in Afghanistan and that he has done in spades. With 56 dead for the month of August, casualties are going up as the Taliban respond to pressure from the American forces according to NPR today.
The big question is will Obama cut the defense budget to free up more funds for his domestic green job creation program? It seems more likely that the savings in Iraq will be spent in Afghanistan.
This is from Obama's speech.
"Americans across the political spectrum supported the use of force against those who attacked us on 9/11. Now, as we approach our 10th year of combat in Afghanistan, there are those who are understandably asking tough questions about our mission there. But we must never lose sight of what's at stake. As we speak, al Qaeda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains anchored in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists. And because of our drawdown in Iraq, we are now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense."
I would contradict that statement. Many of us thought there should be a police action and not an invasion to deal with the terrorists just as the British and Spanish did when they were attacked by terrorists. Some even believe the events of 9/11 were the actions of domestic forces although I personally find the evidence for that lacking.
Obama seems determined to spend the savings from withdrawing forces from Iraq on the endless chasing after Al Qaeda like a dog trying to catch its own tail in Afghanistan, in Yemen, in Somalia and wherever the Hydra shows its head. Chop one off and another pops up because the root cause is not being addressed, American imperialism and the propping up of crony regimes.
We need to bring the troops home and negotiate a peace. At least start negotiating and withdraw the troops as we can. Certainly the Afghan people can take care of themselves with a little serious financial aid and perhaps a discrete police action to deal with those who insist on terrorizing innocent people. This is what the USA should have done in the first place.
Obama talked a little about restoring the domestic economy.
"Our most urgent task is to restore our economy, and put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work. To strengthen our middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy. We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil. We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs. This will be difficult. But in the days to come, it must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as President."
This is a pretty vague statement. It seems he wants to spend more on education and stimulus, if that is what he means by `"jumpstart". This is mostly the same old rhetoric, talking about ending dependence on foreign oil without spelling out how. It is not cost effective to stop using oil from other sources and won't be for at least a decade. These are platitudes without an action plan. Perhaps Obama has a policy rabbit up his sleeve but he better pull it out pretty quick because Americans are getting impatient with this ongoing depression. They want action or at least a president who makes the right noises.
As things stand it looks more and more like a Republican victory this fall and they have almost nothing to offer, just not Obama. The Democrats with the successes they have had so far with Health care and the Financial legislation should be able to crow about it instead of dodging blows from the right. But then what can you expect from the other party of capitalism?
No comments:
Post a Comment