Things looking up for Obama?

The stock market is reaching record highs, unemployment at dec 08 levels, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down. A lot of work left to do, but things are headed in the right direction on a macro level.

Some updates on Bin Laden, Afghan/Pakistan War Effort

* In the wake of the finding and killing of the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, the biggest question that I see facing the United States going forward is our ongoing foreign relationship with Pakistan. Many expected that Bin Laden would be found in the rugged mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the rule of law is scarce and tribal warlords control the utmost impossible of terrains. Very few expected Bin Laden to be found in the heart of Pakistan, within two Kilometers of what has been called their Country’s equivalent of the West Point Military Academy, and less than 100 Kilometers from the Nation’s Capital. There will be great pressure within Congress to cut foreign aid to Pakistan in response to what will be described as either gross incompetence or implicit cooperation with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The truth is that we will never know who knew what and when in Pakistan, but that will not stop the drums of ignorance from continuing their steady crescendo.

To toss such a crucial relationship to the wind would be the apex of foolhardiness. Pakistan is by far the more important strategic interest in the region, not the Country we are actually occupying and propping up in Afghanistan. Pakistan is more populated, developed economically, inter-connected to the global community, and in a more significant location. Did I mention that they also have nuclear weapons? We must continue to do what we can to support stability and continuity in Pakistan. As House Leader John Boehner has suggested, the alternative of letting such a critical Country fall into utter chaos could very well be catastrophic on multiple levels.

This is not to suggest that we should not work to reform and improve our relationship with the Muslim majority State. Pakistan is far from the most reliable ally we have and is nothing close to a pure white dove on many, many issues. They are a country with their own demons to wrestle with, but they are a sovereign Nation that will chart their own course going forward. An unfortunate fact about foreign relations is that you don’t get to choose who the regional power brokers you are working with are. You have to do the best you can with the associations you have.


* A pre-recorded tape of Bin Laden is supposedly in the pipeline and ready to be released posthumously. Please do not be fooled into any screwball conspiracies about him actually still being alive. As for the question of whether pictures of the deceased terror mastermind should be released? For our collective security and the safety of our troops serving overseas, I wish that people would just be satisfied he is dead and gone. Other then satisfying some curiosity and giving people a lasting image of finality, the distribution of such photos will do more strategic harm than good. I fully expect the pressure will build until they are in fact released. And the vocal minority who are denying the official story will continue on in the face of all evidence to the contrary, so it won’t matter to them anyways.


* It does speak to our relationship with Pakistan that we did not even tip them off right before the operation to get Bin Laden began that we would be doing something in the area. I understand that we proceeded with an abundance of caution in taking out such an elusive and important figure, but the total lack of cooperation with the Country we were going after him in tells us that there are multitudes of reasons not to trust them completely. And that is not just Pakistan’s problem. It is ours as well. As I have implied here before, the war in Afghanistan is more about Pakistan than it is about Afghanistan. The US must set a course to find a delicate balance between withdrawing combat forces from the region, while continuing to promote stability and secular rule in the area. The madmen and the violent fundamentalists in the region are many and active. The cooler and more rational heads must prevail and rule effectively, strategically, and humanely or the consequences for the world will be dire indeed. Competence must be the Order of the Day.


* I am meeting the instantaneous claims that torture of Al Qaeda operatives held at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp lead directly to finding Bin Laden with extreme skepticism. I think it is a blatant attempt by some on the Right to reclaim some moral and national security high ground in the wake of these momentous events. It can never be totally disproven, but I have my logical doubts over the oft-repeated and vehement claims of such convenient chain of intel that has been professed directly and in totality in the immediate aftermath of Bin Laden’s demise. If these guys were so smart and well clued in on the terror mastermind’s whereabouts, why did they not get him years ago? It seems to be a tactic I have noticed before where you float out such an opportune premise immediately as the story breaks and everyone is paying attention. As such, your spin becomes lodged into everyone’s conscious as established, legitimate, and historical. I guarantee you that no matter how Bin Laden met his end, it would have been tied back to Guantanamo and Torture, as an ex post facto justification for such.

Plenty Of Praise To Go Around

Nearly 10 years ago, the United States of America suffered a terrorist attack at the hands of a global terrorism group headed by Osama bin Laden. This heinous and cowardly act served as a rallying point for a nation divided after a heated election in which there were many accusations of fraud and cheating conducted by the victorious party. Americans bought up every patriotic item they could get their hands on. Democrats and Republicans stood together as representatives of a proud and vigilant nation who would stop at nothing to bring justice to those responsible for this act. The President saw his approval ratings skyrocket.

Now, nearly 10 years later, the person at the apex of responsibility for those attacks has been brought to justice.The President himself reported last evening that Osama bin Laden has indeed been killed by U.S. forces after nearly a year of detailed surveillance concentrating on the Pakistani compound that ultimately housed bin Laden. In his address to the nation, President Obama outlined the sequence of events leading to bin Laden's better-late-than-never termination which included several meetings with intelligence personnel and ranking military officers. Mr. Obama explained his role in the process and that he  gave the go ahead to put the plan in motion to finally take out Osama bin Laden. This plan succeeded and did such with no loss of American lives during the operation.

This result, however, is not good enough for some people. Many posts I have seen on Twitter, facebook, and comments sections of news and political sites are all blasting Obama.  People are accusing him of taking all the credit, laying praise on George Bush, and ultimately passing this off as a publicity stunt. Honestly, I am not sure exactly how many questions Obama has to answer before some people are satisfied but I am going to estimate that some people simply never will be satisfied. Merely days after Obama put to rest criticism that he was not born in the United States, he gave the green light to have Osama bin Laden killed. Not good enough, apparently.

The truth is that plenty of people deserve high praise for taking out a mad man who had zero regard for human life. First and foremost are the men and women of the USA's armed forces whose selfless sacrifices and willingness to put their lives on the line every minute of everyday  to assure we never see another 9/11.
Those individuals, fighting together as one, deserve the largest pat on the back of anybody. We also have the intelligence experts who never gave up on finding bin Laden and used their innate skills to help finally bring him to justice. President Bush deserves some commendation for initiating the effort to find bin Laden, be it unsuccessful under his watch. Lastly, President Obama deserves his share of praise for his handling of the situation since he first received word that bin Laden's whereabouts had been located by US Forces. He was patient but prudent and was involved in the process throughout.

That same synergy that bonded Americans in the wake of 9-11 seems to be absent these last few days. Sure there were people in the streets of NYC and DC waving their flags and singing the "Star Spangled Banner" but that celebration has been shouted over by the screams of the Conservative movement looking for any excuse to denigrate Obama and his presidency. They had to make sure that little to no credit was awarded to the Commander-in-Chief they vehemently detest like a 5 year old jealous of his neighbor's Hot Wheels. Those same people were calling people like myself un-American, un-Patriotic, and instructing me to move to another country when I showed dissent towards President Bush's policies. Funny what life is like when the shoe is on the other foot. 

Nearly 10 years later, that sense of unity felt in the days following the 9-11 attacks is but a whisper amongst screams. I just wonder if that sense of unity will ever find it's way back?

Free Speech and Manners of Life and Death

This will be the first, and I sincerely hope the only, time I mention the Westboro Baptist Church on this blog. They are a despicable "church" group that travels around the Country protesting funerals of Armed Service Members who have been killed in the line of duty. Their message, as far as I understand it, is that these brave men and women have died because God is punishing our country for our tolerance of homosexual lifestyles. The logical, moral, and tactful gap in their argument is so enormously wide that I will not even bother to go into further discussion in regards to their 'message'. These folks, to me, are the scum of the earth. My primal reaction, if I would encounter these folks at the funeral of someone close to me, would be to take a ballbat to their knees and kick them a few more times for good measure. This emotional response is exactly why an impartial Judiciary is such a crucial part of our free country.
The Supreme Court today upheld the Free Speech rights of this extremely unpopular minority view. Did it hurt to see those bastards 'win' a victory in the Highest Court in the Land? Of course it did. As I mulled it over however, I came to a recognition that it was the right decision. The Courts are not there to protect popular people saying popular things, they don't need the help. The Courts are there to protect the rights of unpopular people who do not violate any laws. As much as I despise their point of view, the church protestors have been very careful not to violate any established laws while making their obnoxious and rancid statement at the worst possible time and place. The right to free speech supersedes good taste.
The importance of this point was really driven home by another event half way around the world in Pakistan, where Shabaz Bhatti, the Government Minister for Religious Minorities, and the only Christian in the Government was brazenly gunned down and murdered for his vocal opposition to the countries harsh blasphemy laws. Here was someone who willingly forfeited his life over a manner of speech. It is obvious from what happened to him that his message made him extremely unpopular with some in his homeland. But he was willing to take a stand and die for his deeply held convictions in the power of free speech. That we all could be so bold.