I do agree that this could be another Vietnam because the one lesson of Vietnam is that if you are going to fight a war, don’t fight it halfway.

Vietnam was a war that was run from the White House and not on the ground. This could be another Vietnam because Obama is choosing to ignore all of the advice of commanders and fight this halfway.

There are also other similarities such as the terrain being an asset to the enemy, the enemy being embedded within a loyal civilian population, and the people we are trying to protect having questionable commitment to fighting this enemy.

The one difference is that the Vietnamese never attacked the U.S. while Al Qaeda and Taliban did.

The Holbrooke-Petraeu-Clinton faction won the debate. Another interesting look and angle.

Article can be found here:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/26/inside-the-ring-23718486/

There’s also a link within the article talking about the 4000 additional “military advisors.” That makes me nervous. Kennedy started sending in military advisors and we ended up with Vietnam.

Anyway, I found it interesting.

• Pakistan intelligence identifies at least 20 young Britons trained by Pakistan Kashmiri terrorists and al Qaeda.
• Al Qaeda cells in UK proliferate, all linked to Pakistan

And this from awhile back…
One Step Closer to War in Iran.

That LJ posted way back on 3-11-08.

While the Pakistan Afghan theater is simmering away, the world is hardly standing still.

Thanks Mr. Johnson for commenting on this critical piece of policy (or lack there of) with the recent posting by LisaB of the wheels coming off the bus, is this effort going to be frustrated with SOS Clinton being undercut by these ropes pulling the wheels off?

I have also been reading that the Special Ops are seriously lacking logistical support. So it would follow that all these assembled forces are lacking as well.

OBL had stated he would attack western economics…what better way to drain away the initiative than spend this country’s treasure to play right into this hand.

I look forward to you next installment and very much appreciate your views.

The velocity of BO earwax on the Matrix is very difficult to keep up with.

me: supported Hillary; voted McCain; basically wants to withdraw from Afgahnistan or go hard; no big problem with Iraq War

dad: supported Hillary; voted Obama; fought in Vietnam; little problems with Iraq War; thinks we should nuke Afghanistan and turn the place to glass so nothing can grow there for 50 years

“The program has been compared to the U.S.-fostered Awakening Councils in Iraq, which have often been credited with reducing violence there.”

Note that Iraq Awakening was composed of two efforts e.g. the American-based Sons of Iraq (public security) and the Iraqi Awakening (national reconciliation). President Obama seems to have embraced, in some cases, ‘alternative solutions’ to past Bush Administration policies in Iraq. Correct me if I am wrong, but President Obama has used the phrase “anti-American sentiment” which seems to rise with military interventions which result in civilian casualites.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan;_ylt=AhKVeo2zTQjYoWWGG0F28KRvaA8F

First Afghan community policing force graduates
By HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Writer
Fri Mar 27, 7:09 am ET

“…KABUL – The first group of Afghans have completed training for a U.S.-backed community policing force that some warn will arm local militias, but the government has touted as vital to confronting an increasingly virulent insurgency…”

There’s a rather scathing analysis at The Nation by Tom Hayden, no less, that underscores what you’re saying here [nice to know someone is starting to wake up--the Far Left, not you, Soldier]. I found this comment chilling:

“In summary, be prepared for a war that spans the length of the Obama presidency, an Obama War. Expect the Congress to be inert and distracted. Expect little help from the media.

But hey, we’ve been here before.”

Full article here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/27/opinion/main4897292.shtml

For those too young to remember, Tom Hayden was a founder of the SDS, arrested as part of the Chicago Seven, and the decade + husband of Jane Fonda.

Even the Far Left kool-aide drinkers are howling. This is not a good sign.

Tea Party anyone???

He still can’t read a teleprompter, ha, ha:

it is far cheaper to train a policeman to secure his or her own village than to help a farmer seed a crop

The problems are monumental; Pakistan is the biggest challenge, even considering NATO, U.S. conventional forces, U.S. Special Operations forces and the CIA each pursuing their own objectives rather than unified under one command with a single purpose.
“Just words”

the world cannot afford the price that will come due

we have a shared responsibility to act

the very idea that free nations can come together on behalf of our common security, our common purpose today

some have taken up arms because of coercion or simply for a price

The real problem is we have no right to be in Afghanistan now. Our boots on the ground insults all Afgans. We were not invited.

Iraq: A ‘Pre-emptive Strike’ based on lies told to the public? The Kurds still want Kirkuk, the big oil area that was part of Kurdistan of old. This can not be resolved.

Now Pakistan: Over 30 nuclear warheads. The Pakistani’s don’t want us on their soil. Period.

The tribes of old, the leaders want us out of Afghanistan. We use drones to kill people that we do not know if they are the true bad people or just being set up by some faction that points them out.

Pres. Obama want up to 200 Billion to be spent this year in Afghanistan and Iraq. ENOUGH of this mindless killing. The military answer does not exist.