In the aftermath of General McChrystal’s legendary, possibly heroic, interview with Rolling Stone magazine, President Barack Obama has accepted the General’s resignation and has selected General David Petraeus to take control as top commander in Afghanistan. Beautiful! That’s excellent representation of this nation and the future of the war. The second a high commander is publicly honest about the state of affairs overseas, he’s out.

It is no secret that there is relentless division of opinion for everything that involves the strategy overseas. However the split opinion is never addressed and they continue to sweep the differences under a rug. So for the first time, a high commander tells it how it is, and he is eliminated all together. McChrystal may have said some offensive, off the cuff remarks, but at least he was honest. Something had to change. And after all, isn’t ‘Change’ President Obama’s motto?

This was an opportunity for Obamaland to walk the walk, but instead he steps up to the podium at the White House and continues to talk the talk. It’s obvious McChrystal’s remarks were impulsive and clearly he had had enough and subsequently offered his own resignation. Now that Petraeus is in the driver’s seat, what is going to change? Obama said in his speech, “It is the right thing for our mission in Afghanistan, for our military and our country.”

How’s this for Obama propaganda? The President believes McChrystal’s explosive remarks demoralize the civilian control of the military “at the core of our democratic system.” Additionally, Obama said, “I believe this mission demands unity of effort across our alliance and across my national security team… I don’t think that we can sustain that unity of effort and achieve our objectives in Afghanistan without making this change.”

Did that really happen today? The president is delusional. The fact of the matter is, the lack of unity is detrimental to the progress and success overseas, which was one point McChrystal made in his interview, and the entire world is aware of it. However, Obama wants to “sustain that unity” that they already have? What unity? That’s what is failing! For a man empowered by change, he certainly is sitting on his hands. It doesn’t matter now, the truth is out thanks to General McChrystal, and Obama already has the broom out.

Aside from being a millionaire, Michael Moore’s life must be miserable living in a frame of mind that is so unrealistic and hopeless. Maybe it is just words, that he makes a lot of money for, and when he’s done talking it doesn’t mean anything to him. Yesterday, Mr. Moore published an open letter he sent to President Obama. He is begging the President to reconsider his decision to send over 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. He opens the letter saying, “Do you really want to be the new ‘war president’?” The best part is the seriousness of Mr. Moore’s letter. Apparently he missed the connection between the ongoing war to when Obama stepped into office. Therefore, Yes. Obama is the new Commander of the war. Apologies for the realism, Mr. Moore.

Mr. Moore believes there are “LESS than a hundred al-Qaeda left in Afghanistan,” and says there will be one hundred thousand troops “trying to crush a hundred guys living in caves.” He asks President Obama, “Are you serious? Have you drunk Bush’s Kool-Aid?” Oh, the irony! Are you serious, Mr. Moore? You did not consider the racist insinuation of that question? Dave Chapelle will be all over that material. Forget the Kool-Aid comment. You seriously think Al-Qaeda is the only threat to security? Not the Taliban and other independently operating radical Sunni movements allied with Al-Qaeda? This is why it would be miserable to live in your frame of mind. Where is the reality? And you’re neglecting Pakistan… probably intentionally.

Also, using the people who cried the night of his victory is not legitimate leverage for President Obama’s decision. The people who voted for him were not crying alone because the people who didn’t vote for him were crying as well. I recant my apologies because you can’t fix oblivious. My apologies are for the thousands of people who believe you.

View Michael Moore’s Open Letter to President Obama at MichaelMoore.com.

Is there really any chance at long term success for bribing the Taliban to join our forces?

Apparently President Barack Obama “hopes” there is a chance, since last week he signed a $680 billion defense appropriations bill to fund the military operations in fiscal 2010. The strategy of paying Taliban members to join American forces against the radical Taliban is an element of this bill to receive a piece of the payout. There is a popular Afghan phrase, “You can rent an Afghan, but you can’t buy him,” but the U.S. Government is willing to spend billions of dollars and try anyway.

The defense of the strategy reveals the Taliban members of Afghanistan are dissimilar to those in Iraq. They are less motivated by the extreme ideologies and religious fervor, and more motivated by employment or income. To them, their loyalty to the Taliban is conditional and can be reversed if their conditions from American forces are better. Senator Carl Levin said, “They believe an effort to attract these fighters to the governments side could succeed, if they are offered security for themselves and their families,” as well as granted amnesty. The offering of amnesty is not a new concept to separate Taliban members from their leaders, however offering monetary compensation is.

A similar tactic was applied in Iraq, however these “bribes” we called “employment opportunities.” Of the Taliban in Afghanistan, General McChrystal says, “Most are operating for pay; some are under a commander’s charismatic leadership; some are frustrated with local leaders.” Certainly, there is a lot of truth to this statement. However, relying solely on bribing the Taliban to join positive forces has little promise for long term stability for Afghanistan.

Long term success for Afghanistan and their people does not reflect some Blockbuster movie scene where some nations chalk up the “W” and others defeat. This has more to do with Afghanistan’s ability to maintain a stable government after the separated Taliban members are no longer on the American payroll. An expert on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, Nicholas Schmidle, said “So long as the Americans are keenly aware of this, you’re buying a very, very, very temporary allegiance… If that’s the foundation for moving forward, it’s a shaky foundation.” At this point, there is a clear effort to rent some Afghans, however there is no promise we can buy them out permanently.

After the unfortunate events Monday, where 18 Americans were killed in Afghanistan, President Obama departed D.C by Marine One to Dover Air Force Base in the late hours Wednesday night to meet the bodies. Those 18 Americans add to the death toll as the most fatal month in Afghanistan for Americans. In the current events leading up to this Dover visit, Obama has received much criticism for his actions on proceeding in Afghanistan.

In mixed responses, some praise the President’s efforts for paying respect to the American heroes upon their arrival to their homeland, and appreciate the humanity of the Commander in Chief. Sadly, others believe it is just another publicity stunt as if Obama is still campaigning to the Americans and is beating around the Bush (no pun intended) in his decision for Afghanistan. Regardless of Obama’s agenda, those fallen sons and daughters deserve the utmost respect and honor for their service to our nation.

The GOP is really laying the pressure on Obama because they believe the troops overseas are in danger if they do not get more help. The additional 18 Americans killed Monday only reinforce their beliefs. Senator John McCain (AZ) is one who has strongly criticized Obama for taking too much time in his decision making, as he believes if decisions are made more swiftly, the President has an opportunity to prevent similar events.

Even the lefts are supporting the troop surge, as Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) stated on the deployment of more troops, ” In my mind, you should pay for the cost whatever way.” This is a valid statement from chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, in control of funding operations in Afghanistan. Murtha says, “You can take it out of other programs or you can raise taxes.”

From the White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who accompanied Obama to Dover Air Force Base, stated the President’s decision proceeding in Afghanistan is near its end. But has it already been to long?

In the opinion of former Vice President Dick Cheney, President Obama appears “afraid to make a decision” on the proceedings in Afghanistan. Thank you Captain Obvious!

During a conservative gathering, President Barack Obama’s harshest critic, Cheney, is never hesitant to spare his two cents when it comes to the President’s actions. He declared, “The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed force are in danger.” Yes, it would seem impulsive for Obama to pull the trigger without much consideration (i.e. he doesn’t want to shoot his friend in the face). However, with the recommendations of General Stanley McChrystal, commander of troops in Afghanistan, this certainly is a time sensitive matter.

Obama does have an obligation to generate a solution or come to consensus for his commander. Cheney said, “Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission.” Surely, General McChrystal offered a lengthy explanation for his recommendation to deploy more troops, therefore Cheney’s statements are redundant. Cheney, have you been in a cave for the last two weeks?

Certainly, the President is playing a bit of a waiting game, however Obama’s decision truly will reflect whether he can “make good on his promise” as Cheney said. The critical element in this situation is prioritizing the support of the men and women overseas. If they need more support as General McChrystal recommends, it would be in the President’s best interest to act swiftly and responsibly.

No matter what you think of OUR President, it really bothers me that anything is thrown at him and he is potentially hurt. Who is to say that next time someone throws something really heavy and seriously hurts the leader of our nation?

If you have not already seen this it really is incredible. A reporter in Iraq throws both of his shoes at President Bush. I give Bush credit for dodging the shoes without flinching and just going on like nothing happened.  No one ever said he did not have balls.

Goodbye old friend. Been a fun 6 years together, but this is my last visit. No way you will see my ass here ever again. Time to let someone else clean up my mess.

With literally NOTHING left to do but watch “the store” and make sure things don’t get even worse then they already are, outgoing President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq today. The only reason I can think that he made the secret trip was to say goodbye to his best friend in the world - Iraq. Without Iraq President Bush would not have any friends at all.

U.S. President George W. Bush made an unannounced farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, just weeks before he leaves office and bequeaths the unpopular Iraq war to President-elect Barack Obama.

Slipping out of the White House over the weekend, Bush flew secretly to the Iraqi capital to hold talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and address a rally of U.S. troops. “Bush has come to meet Iraqi leaders, thank the troops and celebrate the new security agreement,” a White House official said. Source.

Celebrate??? Celebrate what? If the war was completely over today what would we have gained? What benefit has this entire war had for the American people? (more…)

Whether I agree or not, I love it when people go completely off the deep end, get all red in the face, and use a ton of big words that speak far above the heads of the common American. Let’s be honest, no one is listening any more to Bush …. and no one is listening to Olbermann, or any of the talking heads to be honest. Watch Olbermann go completely postal about Bush and the war on May 15th.

To some this “war” has become increasingly similar to the popular video games they obsessively play. Almost simultaneously to the war beginning there were new video games featuring air assaults eerily similar to the real battles going on in Iraq. As Alliance troops hit the ground running and were met with gorilla resistance, the newest games mimicked the real life hand to hand fighting. As caves and bunkers were searched and bombed to ferret out Osama and his followers a new bread of games was born. And so on, and so on. I actually know people who believe they have figured out ways to end the fighting and “win” with carefully planned out offensives that they worked out and then executed on their Sony Playstations and Xbox units. What a bunch of morons. (more…)

I support the war efforts and the troops 100%, but also want to get out of the dirty desert as quickly as possible. I can not stand the people who now in hindsight say that we should not be in the war. What a bunch of crap. Everyone of us was for going to war after 9/11. Every single person. Yet now some want to criticize. Personally I am happy they found Saddam all dirty and hiding in a hole. I am happy that he was brought to trial and executed on December 30, 2006. Now we have to finish the job we started. Were there weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Who knows. Not you and not me. And please don’t try to make me believe that what “the report” did or did not prove. The report DID say:

The massive report does say, however, that Iraq worked hard to cheat on United Nations-imposed sanctions and retain the capability to resume production of weapons of mass destruction at some time in the future. “[Saddam] wanted to end sanctions while preserving the capability to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction when sanctions were lifted,” a summary of the report says. (CNN.com story)
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