Maybe I Have the President's Ear

Wow! I’m so impressed the President is taking my advice. All this time I thought it was Michelle he was listening to. (Maybe she shares my view) Here’s the latest on the Afghanistan strategy:

NY Times Article on Afghanistan Strategy

Seriously, it would appear that the administration may be leaning more toward Mr. Biden’s strategy:

a) Go after Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, not Afghanistan
b) The Taliban, while nasty people, are in fact indigenous to Afghanistan and will fight to regain control, but do not impose a direct threat to the U.S.

As Aristotle said, “Eureka!” They found it!

I’ll believe it, if and when it actually happens, but it’s encouraging that the administration is sending this- ah leak- possible trial balloon- out for reaction from the public. If they go forward with less emphasis on Afghanistan, and more on Al Qaeda, you can bet Senator McCain will go ballistic. He was mouthing off pretty good yesterday. We can thank our lucky stars that loose cannon is securely contained in the Senate Chamber, and not the Oval Office. General McChrystal won’t be a happy camper either.

I firmly believe the situation in Afghanistan is likely to dissipate if we turn our attention back to Al Qaeda. Who knows, the Taliban may even decide it’s in their best interest to reject Al Qaeda, and keep them out. The full brunt of our wrath rained down on them for eight years because of their ties prior to 9/11. Maybe they’ll wise up. Probably not- but if were the Taliban, I’d distance myself- and stick the business of regaining control of the country.

As for the people who say the Taliban are bad people worth fighting (that would be everyone in the administration except Joe Biden, and all the Republicans)- are they really worth American lives? As I’ve mentioned in previous postings, we have never fought a war on humanitarian grounds, and while it may be the virtuous thing to do, we would ultimately lose because we don’t have the stomach to wage an endless war to right a wrong. Besides, and I apologize for being sarcastic, if we set a precedent like that we’d have at least two dozen other countries (too many to mention) that would like us to do an extreme makeover in their countries. We’re just not all that magnanimous unless our interests are at stake- treaties, oil, Israel, or honor.

Now, if I can just get my good friend Barack to push through single payer health care, I’ll be convinced that I really do have his ear.