Let’s not overlook what’s been accomplished over the past year. Yeah, it’s not sexy. Yeah, it’s not the kind of thing you want to work on. But it’s progress nonetheless.
. . . We’ve brought the economy back from the brink of the worst economic condition since the Great Depression. Heck, we’ve even already been paid back some of the bailout money so many people, including myself, are generally upset over.
. . . We’ve articulated a plan to withdraw from Iraq.
. . . Our standing in the world has dramatically improved.
. . . We have plans for Afghanistan that help focus [ more . . . ]
Remember, and listen carefully tonight, it’s what the hell we’re doing there in Afghanistan, i.e. the Mission, that’s what’s important, not necessarily whether we pull troops out or put more in.
For more in-depth perspective on Afghanistan, here’s a recent article, “Outside Thinking on the Inside of Afghanistan . . . What To Do?”, that tries to get to the nitty-gritty details of formulating a strategy that works.
I don’t like having troops there, either. I wish the Bush Administration had not dropped the ball by utterly ignoring its responsibilities in Afghanistan. But it’s the situation we find ourselves in, and [ more . . . ]
I don’t know, at least not for certain anyway — And it’s likely no else does for sure, either. In math-speak, Afghanistan is fairly intractable, meaning very difficult to solve . . . and for a problem of this magnitude, that’s an understatement.
It’s also in large part why I’ve stayed away from commenting much on Afghanistan here at LittleDEM. Simply put, it’s too important a problem to be at all casual about.
But now is the time to put forth all ideas, suggestions, and observations to get Afghanistan right (or at least as right as we can make the situation). It’s [ more . . . ]
Yes, I know — It’s been said before. But I don’t think it’s ever been truer than it is right now, and now is the perfect timing to do it.
First of all, look at the Republican Party’s infrastructure and what they currently have in place, starting with the Republican National Committee.
There isn’t anything there, at least very little of any actual value. The RNC is a piece of junk and, led by Party Chairman Michael Steele, as apt to say something palatable as it is to say something that gives most Americans the heebie-jeebies. Heck, in a [ more . . . ]
As we remember 9-11, let us not forget those who attacked us. And let us not loose our resolve to — however we can, however we need to, abiding by our values and code — to make sure it does not happen again.
There is legitimate debate as of late — as there always should be — on how to proceed with respect to Afghanistan. We should always have debate on such topics. But let us not loose sight on the objective, that of disabling and dismantling Al-Qaeda. They are the ones that attacked us, and it’s them and their affiliates [ more . . . ]
