PROCRASTINATION IS THE WAY TO DEFEAT

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen pointed out the dangers of failure on the part of the Western military alliance in Afghanistan. The war effort is already underfunded to the tune of several hundred million euros. Nevertheless, the costs of defeat will be much higher than the costs of the mission, Rasmussen said at the NATO summit in Bratislava, Slovakia last week.


UNFORTUNATEY, his warnings have  fallen on deaf ears, with only Great Britain agreeing to a slight increase in troop strength. All other NATO defense ministers, including, of course, the German defense minister, remained politely aloof when it came time to make commitments.

For once, this hesitation cannot be attributed to widespread war fatigue in Europe. The mission in Afghanistan is seen as a toxic issue in all Western nations,( it is difficult to fund a war and run an alredy failing socialist government) and every government that has provided troops has come under sharp criticism at home. What the US's NATO allies now find far more irritating is US President Barack Obama's silence on the issue!

The world has been waiting for clear words from the White House for months. Obama has had government and military analysts studying the military and political situation in the embattled Hindu Kush region since early January. He appointed Richard Holbrooke, probably the US's most effective diplomat in crisis situations, to be his special envoy to the "AfPak" region, he has replaced generals and he has deployed more troops. The answers Obama asked his experts to provide after taking office have been sitting on his desk for a long time. But the conclusions vary. Obama will have to make his own decision, one that will shape his political fate.

According to Carl von Clausewitz, a country has only won a war when it has imposed its will on the enemy. But even without studying the writings of the Prussian military historian, which are required curriculum at military academies like the US Military Academy at West Point, the American generals know full well just how far they are from that goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

White House officials have previously told the Associated Press Obama is considering sending a large number of additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan next year but fewer than Gen. Stanley McChrystal prefers. The president appears willing to send at least 10,000 to 15,000 troops of the 40,000 forces requested by McChrystal.

The Washington Post reported that Obama is seeking a strategy that would satisfy both his military and civilian advisers.(what they do not say is he is trying to appease his anti-war supporters and still act like a CIC of the armed forces)
Obama's long awaited review of how to right a deteriorating war effort is hopefully nearing its end but appears  weeks away from being wrapped up. Once made, he is expected to explain his decision to the American public( a telepromptered aided speech written by his speech writers) and the international community in a prominent way, such as a major address. The details are not yet set.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff includes a high ranking admiral and generals from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The group's main mission is to ensure that the armed forces are trained, ready, healthy and large enough to carry out the missions of the military. In that sense, the body would play a vital role in a normal presidents decision, but I do not think in Obama's war planning they have as much input as his Czars and people like George Sorros. Or the decision would have been made long before this. No commander leaves his field general who has requested more troops and support, hanging in doubt this long!

Morale and unfortunately deaths and injury resut from indecision. Not VICTORY!

WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TO FACTS IS ACCUSATION AND INDIGNATION

Posting its results late yesterday afternoon at Recovery.gov, the White House claimed 640,329 jobs have been created or saved because of the $159 billion in stimulus funds allocated as of Sept. 30.

Even though officials in the White House acknowledged the numbers were not exact, saying that states and localities that reported the numbers have made mistakes.
Assuming their number is right -- 160 billion divided by 1 million. Does that mean the stimulus costs taxpayers $160,000 per job?

Jared Bernstein, chief economist and senior economic advisor to the vice president, called that "calculator abuse."
He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts where he studied double bass with Orin O'Brien. He earned a Masters Degree in Social Work from the Hunter School of Social Work, and from Columbia University he received a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Ph.D. in Social Welfare. With that kind education he becomes an economist? Why not a brain surgeon while he's at it!


Bernstein's areas of interest include "federal, state and international economic policies, specifically the middle-class squeeze, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, low-wage labor markets, poverty, and international comparisons."[2] He is known as a critic of free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[3] He has taught at Howard University, Columbia University and New York University. In 1992, he was hired at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a think tank with ties to organized labor and a focus on issues affecting low- and middle-income workers.[3] From 1995-1996, he served in the Department of Labor as Deputy Chief Economist. He then returned to the EPI, where he was senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program when selected by Biden. Source:Wikipedia

This appears to be the modus operandi for the Obama "capos"anytime anyone disagrees with their "messia".Instead of refuting the facts presented in opposition to their "rosy" claims. The acolytes of Obama attacked those who questioned the claims of jobs creation and saved.


And by the way, proving "jobs saved" is like proving "how high is up"!


Thomas Sowel an noted University Professor of economics had this to say in a recent article'
 White house seems to react violently to any suggestion that what they are doing or saying by "indignation, accusations of bad faith and even charges of racism." The White House thinks we should all be nice little sheep and follow any way that OUR SHEPHERD leads us with so much as a bleep! The only problem is that is to the destruction of our economy and a change fre the free enterprise system to a marxist socialism or worse!

Bernstein was not able to say how many of the 640,329 jobs were saved and how many were created. How do they know that government officials asking for stimulus funds to help prevent layoffs were legitimate?

What we have to do is expect that our public officials are honest," Bernstein said. "I know that's a high bar."

After all the lies and mis-information that have come from the White House that bar is a super world class pole vault for all of us that are not members of Obama's worshipers!

THE TRUTH IS A STRANGER TO DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON

At first the pitch to Americans was that we needed a Health Care Bill to cover the 40 plus people who did not have health insurance, but the Bill that Queen Pelosi introduced on the steps of the House of Representatives leaves out 29 million Americans despite the fact that the taxes begin as soon as the Bill is signed by the president and the health care plan is scheduled to begin in 2013!

The second reason Obama and his minions said was why they needed to pass a Health Care Bill was to save patients and the country from rising health care costs. But the nearly 2000 page bill presented yesterday
added $20 billion in taxes on sales of medical devices like artificial hips and heart stents to the legislation..

In fact the Bill would impose an array of new taxes, fees and government mandates on major players in the health industry, including insurers, doctors and drugs and would cost the tax payers at least $1.05 trillion dollars according to the CBO preliminary estimate.

And Obama said repeatedly that thousands of people die each year because they do not have health insurance. But when Gov. Sara Palin said that the proposed bill would have "death panels" included in it. Every Democrat and the president lied and said there was no such provision in any proposal. The Senate promptly removed the provision from its proposed Bill , but the Medicare end-of-life planning provision that Sarah Palin said was tantamount to "death panels" for seniors is staying in the latest Democratic health care bill unveiled Thursday.by Pelosi!

The provision allows Medicare to pay for voluntary counseling to help beneficiaries deal with the complex and painful decisions families face when a loved one is approaching death.
President Barack Obama has promised Americans that if they like their current insurance, they can keep it. But Republicans say that’s a promise the president cannot make. I believe he never believed what he said!

“When you set the government up as a competitor, as a funder, as a regulator, all that can happen is, it’s going to drive the private sector out,” Sen. Chuck Grassley told Fox News on Tuesday.

A bill that drives up insurance premiums and taxes and also cuts Medicare is not health care reform. And the Bill the House plans to vote on next week cuts medicare disbursements by 450 billion dollars over a ten-year period! This can only lead to reduction of doctor payments and the resulting decrease in the number of medical providers due to retirement of older doctors, rather than work under a plan that cuts the already low reimbursements to doctors by Medicaid and Medicare..Grandma's access is being slashed to add illegal immigrants and twenty-somethings into the insurance system.

Here's the latest shock: Average current health insurance premiums with likely triple under Obamacare.

The new data comes from a well regarded, state-by-state study conducted for WellPoint, Inc. The most dramatic premium boosts will hit young people. These are the actual individuals that often opt out of insurance plans now.

The reason for the dramatic insurance premium increases is the result of Obamacare regulations. First cause is the mandate that insurance companies take any customer. Insurance traditionally is an actuarial business that rates different customers based on risk factors. This is the reason a driver aged 19 with two speeding tickets pays more for auto insurance than a customer aged 35 with no speeding tickets. Nineteen-year-olds have more accidents. Therefore they pose more risk.

Traditionally, health insurance companies charged customers with risk factors and chronic illness more than young, healthy 19-year-olds. Obamacare stands the concept of insurance on its head. Since an insurance company will be forced to sell to any sick patient, the incentive to buy insurance when you are healthy decreases. Why not wait until you are sick; get cancer, diabetes or some other severe illness before you buy? To circumvent this problem, Obama is riddling the program with police-state mandates on healthy, younger citizens. Perverted, negative incentives such as threats of large fines and even prison time will hang over young people's heads to force them to join and stay enrolled in Obama's healthcare scheme. Does this sound like America to you? Source: Floyd and Mary Beth Brown

Will the American voters allow the government that has bankrupted Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Social Security, Medicare and the U.S. Postal Service. WE cannot allow Obama and his ilk in Congress to  let the politicians destroy the greatest healthcare delivery system in the world in the disguise of reducing cost and increasing access to Americans who have no health Insurance. Let the Republican plan to repeals  laws that prohibit selling health insurance across state lines, introduce tort reform and include the legal Americans who do not have health insurance because they cannot afford it. To be included in the medicaid plan.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell also warned that the Democrats' "trillion-dollar" legislation will raise insurance premiums, raise taxes and slash Medicare to create new government spending programs.He did not include the words, but the increase will be directed toward abortion on demand!

Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), said the proposed government-run insurance plan "would underpay doctors and hospitals rather than driving real reforms that bring down costs and improve quality. The American people want health care reform that will reduce costs and this plan doesn't do that." Source:CNSNews.com

And if this does not convince you that the TRUTH is a stranger to Obama and the Democrats in Congress. Maybe this will tweak your mind!
bama repeatedly has used transparency in government as a campaign slogan and a continuing phrase he used to deprecate the industries like the private Insurance companies. He claimed what they lacked was transparency of their profit that he said were excessive. The fact is the bottom line of health insurance companies shows that they make only 2% profit!
Yet both the House of Representatives and the Senate, both controlled by Democrats, crafted their Bills behind closed doors!

THREE REASONS AND MORE ABOUT THE USA ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” —Ronald Reagan

First and foremost, the US state debt has skyrocketed from $2 trillion to $11 trillion within a decade. The USA will never be able to pay off the debt.
Secondly, the political structure of the nation is vulnerable. There is neither universal legislation in the country, nor common traffic rules. The US Army does not execute its major function – defense – anymore since many foreign nationals prefer to serve in the army to obtain the US citizenship.
Third, the split of elites, which was especially visible under the conditions of the crisis.
The problems, which Panarin named, are absolutely real. However, there is only one thing that is real: America will not be able to cope with these problems. The USA is sick, but the illness began a long time ago and had a number of exacerbation. However, none of those illnesses has ever resulted in the collapse of the nation.

The USA survived several immigration and economic crises. There was the split of elites before – it once resulted in the civil war between the North and the South. Winston Churchill once said that Americans will find a way out of a difficult situation only after they try all other ways. It goes without saying that the map of the United States will remain unchanged in 2010.
Professor Igor Panarin made his mapof the divided USA in 1998, although it did not produce any attention on either the Russians or the Americans.

For those who have not seen the map It divides the USA into sections that will be taken over by foreign countries, such as Alaska by the Russians, the South West and the West Coast by the mexicans and so on! Any American knows that the USA economy is based on a large market. The larger the market is, the faster the nation can overcome economic difficulties.

America has never suffered from any crisislike like we are facing todayEven.after WWII, that is why the  current crisis so painfully. However, the interest, which so many Americans have shown to the research of the Russian professor, proves they treat the imminent threat seriously. The government and the majority of the USA will not take a risk of triggering a global war.
If we do, our nation will suffer from much greater damage than it did during WWII, when we lost thousands of military personel but no damge to our infra-structure. There were no intercontinental ballistic missiles 70 years ago. However, Our  nation's presnt leadership can provoke smaller, local wars, for example a conflict between China and India. If it happens, the USA will not try to have Russia involved in any regional conflict because Russia, for the time being, is the only state that is technically capable of destroying America,

Within six months (April through September) the dollar lost over 10 percent at the world foreign exchange trading, which marked the sharpest decline since 1991. Some experts believe that the American currency is close to collapse, which may lead to a new financial crisis.
Our present GDP to the amount of money in circulation, due to the government printing money as fast as they can spend it, is 120 times the GDP. The slide of the US dollar devaluation has been observed for a few years, but the current rate of decline is unprecedented.
Some jokester even rushed to re-read the letters of Karl Marx to Friedrich Engels written during the US financial panic of 1857 discussing the collapse of America. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so serious.

The chief economist of HSBC Bank Stephen King believes that if the US officials fail to stop the fall of American currency, it may provoke another financial crisis. “A dollar collapse would be a disaster all round! It would leave the international monetary system short of stability and long on fear. It would unleash economic upheavals on a similar scale to those seen in the 1970,” King wrote for The Independent.

American government officials, including the Treasury and the Congress,  don’t seem to be overly concerned since nothing is being done about it.And the spending marches on at a rapid pace despite the Tea Parties and protests by concerned citizens.
The US hasn’t done anything to support the currency since 1955. But is a collapse inevitable? From the viewpoint of macroeconomic indicators, the US state of affairs is, indeed, scary: A record budget deficit of $1.4 trillion, record state debt that now exceeds $11.9 trillion, high unemployment and weak currency. Huge inflows of capital into the economy that Obama is proud of haven’t yet shown results!

AND WHILE OBAMA CUTS ONLY THE "UNNECESSARY" DEFENSE SPENDING, THE RUSSIANS HAVE DEVELOPED A NUCLEAR CARRYING ROCKET THAT THEY SECRETLY FIRED AT THE POLAR REGION.
On 11 October 2008 Russia’s northern fleet held military exercises in the Murmansk region. Russia’s President Dimitry Medvedev praised the maneuvers paying special attention to the launch of the intercontinental missile ‘Sineva’, which he watched from Russia’s only aircraft carrier. The ministry of defence says the rocket, which was fired from the fleet’s nuclear submarine ‘Tula’, reached its longest distance yet – 11,547 kilometers. An aide to the Russian navy commander said it was the first time a submarine had launched the Sineva ballistic missile to its maximum range. “For the first time in Navy history, the launch was not to the Kura test range in Kamchatka [Russian Far East], but to the area of an equatorial part of the Pacific,” Captain 1st rank Igor Dygalo said, adding that the launch was made to check the preparedness of naval strategic nuclear forces. The Sineva launch was made as part of the Dvina tactical exercises of the Russian Northern Fleet, which are also part of larger-scale Stability-2008 exercises conducted with Belarus that started in September and ran until October 21..
 These RSM-54 missiles will be able to stand on alert status until 2030. The K-84 Ekaterinburg strategic submarine of the Project 667BDRM/Dela IV class of the Northern Fleet conducted a successful launch of a R-29RM Sineva/SS-N-23 missile at 15:20 MSK (11:20 UTC) on September 9, 2006. The missile was launched from a surfaced submarine from an ice-covered polar region toward the Chizha test site at the Kanin Peninsula. The three warheads that the missile was reported to carry successfully reached their targets.
 Unlike its predecessor, the Skif, the Sineva carries 10 independently targetable re-entry vehicles instead of four. The new missile has a longer range and a modern control system developed for Makeyev’s Bark SLBM (SS-NX-28). It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification. The RSM-54 carries four, and the Sineva (with a service life of several decades) 10 individually targetable reentry vehicles, with a yield of 100Kt each. source: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.com

So now after Obama and his followers in the Congress manage to spend US into insolvency, that will make paying the present military force impossible. All the Russians and Chinese have to do to take over the USA is threatened to annihilate us with their nukes, and Kruschefs prediction that we will not have to beat you on the battle field will become a truism!
Kruschev remarked to Agriculture Secretary, Ezra T. Benson,  that communism would eventually consume democracy. Benson replied that Americans would never accept such a drastic change in their form of government as communism. Kruschev then told Benson that it was already beginning to happen.


He said that Americans were being fed one small bite of communism at a time, and that over the course of several years, Americans will have accepted so many communistic ideals, including a massive and uncontrollable federal government, that one day we would wake up to discover that we are a democracy only in name - that our policies and methods of government will be communist in nature. Kruschev concluded that it will be the slow injection of socialist/communist principles into America - not nuclear missiles - that would destroy our nation.Source: Wikapedia

Posted in THREATS TO US

« THE RUSSIAN ARE ENJOYING THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR ECONOMY

THE RUSSIAN ARE ENJOYING THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR ECONOMY

Many historians attribute the arms race between president Reagan and the Soviet Union and the destruction of the OSSR economy as the reason for the demise of the Communist state.


Now it would appear to this blogger that the U.S. Congress and Obama are committing economic suicide with the mad dash toward government control of our lives. And the Russians are enjoying the sight!

This quote from a well-known(in Russia) columnist about the Immolation of the U.S. economy illustrates how much they are enjoying the debacle that is occurring in Washington.

“ It can be safely said, that the last time a great nation destroyed itself through its own hubris and economic folly was the early Soviet Union (though in the end the late Soviet Union still died by the economic hand). Now we get the opportunity to watch the Americans do the exact same thing to themselves. The most amazing thing of course, is that they are just repeating the failed mistakes of the past. One would expect their fellow travelers in suicide, the British, to have spoken up by now, but unfortunately for the British, their education system is now even more of a joke than that of the Americans.

While taking a small breather from mouthing the never-ending propaganda of recovery, never mind that every real indicator is pointing to death and destruction, the American Marxists have noticed that the French and Germans are out of recession and that Russia and Italy are heading out at a good clip themselves. Of course these facts have been wrapped up into their mind-boggling non stop chant of “recovery” and hope-change-zombification. What is ignored, of course, is that we and the other three great nations all cut our taxes, cut our spending, made life easy for small business…in other words: the exact opposite of the Anglo-Sphere.

That brings us to Cap and Trade. Never in the history of humanity has a more idiotic plan been put forward and sold with bigger lies. Energy is the key stone to any and every economy, be it man power, animal power, wood or coal or nuclear. How else does one power industry that makes human life better (unless of course its making the bombs that end that human life, but that’s a different topic). Never in history, with the exception of the Japanese self-imposed isolation in the 1600s, did a government actively force its people away from economic activity and industry.

Even the Soviets never created such idiocy. The great famine of the late 1920s was caused by quite the opposite, as the Soviets collectivized farms to force peasants off of their land and into the big new factories. Of course this had disastrous results. So one must ask, are the powers that be in Washington and London degenerates or satanically evil? Where is the opposition? Where are the Republicans in America and Tories in England?

This is a story you will not read in our newspapers or see on the major television networks, but I hope will be picked up by other bloggers and circulated on the net.

Hans Hoppe’s first book in English – and the one that put him on the map as a social thinker and economist to watch. In it he argued that there are only two possible archetypes in economic affairs: socialism and capitalism. All systems are combinations of those two types. The capitalist model he defines as pure protection of private property, free association, and exchange – no exceptions. All deviations from that ideal are species of socialism, with public ownership and interference with trade.

Within the structure of socialism, he distinguishes the left and right version. “Conservative” socialism favors high regulation, behavioral controls, protectionism, and nationalism. The “liberal” version tends more toward outright public ownership and redistribution. I believe Obama is a liberal socialist and his goal is to transform(aka. change) the USA from a free enterprise system to one that is controled by the government from cradle to grave!
The consequences of socialism vary based on their degree and kind, but they have similarities: high costs, resource waste, low growth.

While Obama destroys our economy that currently borrows $ two(2) billion a day to keep are economy going, and Obama makes nice with China and Russia They are busy making deals with each other to become the power that once was the USA!
This excerpt from an article written in the English version of Pravda, illustrates the problem we are to face if Americans don’ t stop the “train reck” that is going on behind closed doors by the DEAMONCRATS and Obama consigliere.
“Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, together with a Russian business delegation, has sealed over five billion dollars in deals with China on energy, infrastructure and space exploration. The lucrative agreements are the outcome of talks with China’s leaders in Beijing Russia Today reports.

In terms of security cooperation, the two countries agreed to notify one another on any launches of ballistic missiles. Both Russia and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council and are big players when it comes to negotiations with Iran and North Korea, so talks on those issues took place on the sidelines of the major deals.
The foundation has been set for a future pipeline which, when built, will bring up to 70 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Russia to China, according to Aleksey Miller, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom CEO. Preliminary agreements have been already signed.
“We have agreed on the initial framework for supplying China with natural gas,” Miller said.
According to the agreements, the price of the gas will be determined by a special formula included into the future contract. It will be based on existing international practice.”
Prime Minister Putin expressed confidence that the talks on gas deliveries will end fruitfully.

Another thing is important – there are requirements, and there are opportunities to work with each other. In this sense, the Russian and Chinese economies supplement each other. This work is planned for many decades.”Meanwhile in Washington DC, our odious president and his willing Democrat congress is preparing to destroy our economy by passing CAP AND TAX!

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

IS THE RUSSIAN GAS PIPELINE FUNCTIONING AS THE NEW BERLIN WALL?

THE ARCTIC AND RUSSIA WHILE CONGRESS ARGUES OVER SPENDING BILL!

WHAT WILL USA DO WHEN THE SECOND SHOE DROPS???

Could Russia “go gold”?

Posted in THREATS TO US
Tags: CONGRESS, ECONOMY, obama, Russia, socialism, USA

AND I THOUGHT THE PURPOSE OF THE WAR WAS TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY!!

If the United States waited until Germany and Italy had stable governments before we invaded Europe in 1944. The British and most of Europe would be speaking German, possibly Russian by now.

We went to war to defeat the Nazis and the Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor.Not to establish a stable government!
MacArthur set up the government in Japan and Eisenhower set up the government in Germany AFTER we defeated the enemy!

Today we dither around at the peril of the brave men and women who are trying to defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the General sent by Obama has asked for 40,000 more troops to complete the job that Obama sent him to Afghanistan to do.

The absurdity of the dialogue about sending more troops is centered around the establishment of a stable government. We do not even have a stable government in the USA in my opinion. How can you equate what Obama and the Democrats are trying to do with health care and cap-and-trade with the Constitution and Bill of Rights! You cannot!!

But todays news highlites the statement by the spokes person in NATO that they would not consider sending troops to fight in Afghanistan until a stable government has been established.
“Bratislava, Slovakia (AP) – Two NATO members said Friday they will not send more troops to Afghanistan unless its Nov. 7 presidential runoff creates a legitimate government and until President Barack Obama decides on a new strategy there.
Dutch Defense Minister Eimert Van Middelkoop said his country, with 2,160 troops in Afghanistan, is awaiting the final election results “because the legitimacy of the Afghan government is key,” as well as a decision by the Obama administration.

“I think most countries are waiting for the American decisions,” van Middelkoop said at a meeting in Bratislava of the defense ministers of the 28 NATO countries.
I believe they will have to wait until Obama gets his Health Care Bill and the CAP and Trade(aka Tax) are passed, and then he will say that the economy will not support the sending of 40,000 troops as an excuse to do what he intended to do two months ago. Deny McChrystal’s request for 40,000 troops!

The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was briefing NATO ministers — including U.S. Defense Minister Robert Gates — on his view of the war in Afghanistan at the meeting.
Danish Defense Minister Soeren Gade said allies won’t increase troop levels until they’re assured the new government in Kabul is committed to the NATO goals.
“I think whoever is going to send more troops to Afghanistan will put up some conditions,” said Gade, whose country has 690 soldiers in Afghanistan. (who cares what a country steeped in socialism that only has 690 troops committed cares?)

“They need to see the new Afghan president and say: ‘If we send more troops to your country, you have to deal with this, this and this.’ We have to make sure the new government in Afghanistan are committed to their job before we send any more troops to Afghanistan.”
Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung of Germany said he also doesn’t expect his country to increase its troop numbers in Afghanistan when the soldiers’ mandate from the German parliament comes up for renewal in December. The existing mandate allows the deployment of a maximum 4,500 soldiers, and Germany currently has just over 4,200 troops in Afghanistan.

The” Hill” is reporting today that: In a speech to nearly 3,000 servicemen at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., Obama said those who died gave “the last full measure of devotion.”9But will he send the troops to watch their backs as McChrystal has requested?)
In the same speech, he pushed back against critics who say he hasn’t acted swiftly enough.( he has not!!)
“While I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests, I also promise you this — and this is very important as we consider our next steps in Afghanistan — I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm’s way,” Obama said. “I won’t risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary. And if it is necessary, we will back you up to the hilt.”( I guess he forgot his votes against anything that Congress was doing to support the troops in the Iraq war!)
Monday’s loss of U.S. troops in Afghanistan followed Sunday’s car bombs in Iraq that killed more than 150 people, many of them children.

The president met with some of his national security advisers Monday in the White House Situation Room, the sixth meeting of its kind, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. But fewer advisers were included, and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in the region who reportedly has asked for nearly 40,000 additional troops, did not participate! (It sounds like the failure of McNamara and president Lyndon Johnson to listen to the generals in Viet Nam while they were listening to the anti-war chants in the streets and reading the negative articles in the Washington Post and New York Times)

Will Americans allow this smooth talking president to be Commander in Chief over the modern day Viet Nam!

CAMPAIGNER-IN CHIEF NOT COMMANDER -IN-CHIEF

Governing  involves tough, unpopular choices and cutting deals with opponents. It requires doing things rather than talking about them!.

Obama is showing little appetite for this. Instead of being the commander-in-chief, he is the campaigner-in-chief.
After a disastrous summer that saw his approval rating drop more than any other president at the same stage since Harry Truman in 1953, Mr Obama has temporarily abandoned the campaign-style events promoting his stalled health-care reform initiative.

Now, he is stumping for Democratic candidates in states he won last year but which are now in danger. Last Wednesday in Hackensack, Mr Obama took to the stage to proclaim: "Your voice can change the world. Your voice can elect Jon Corzine, governor once again of New Jersey." Change the world? Mr Corzine is a former Goldman Sachs executive whose political career was launched when he spent $57 million of his own money on a Senate seat in 2000.

And as he always does, Mr Obama blamed every economic woe on the Bush years, conveniently forgetting that Republicans are no longer in office and it's been his mess for nine months now.

Campaigning and raising cash is what Mr Obama does best. Next week's fundraising events in Florida and Virginia will bring to 24 the number of such functions he had headlined since entering office in January. During his first year in office, Mr Bush attended just six fundraisers.

Late-night comics, although unabashedly liberal and at a loss last year as to how to poke fun at the rather humourless Mr Obama, are having a field day portraying him as a do-nothing prevaricator obsessed with his own image.

"Obama agreed to commit an additional 40,000 troops to help fight Fox News," quipped NBC's Jay Leno. "Senior White House adviser David Axelrod told reporters that Fox News is just pushing a point of view. Well, yes, but at least they've got a point of view." Mr Obama was elected on a promise of being post-partisan to Washington and transforming the country. Thus far, he has won the support of only a single Republican for his health-care plan and has shown himself to be as aggressive a Democratic partisan in office as anyone in the fabled Clinton war room.

All this says much about Mr Obama's priorities at a time when he is sitting on an urgent request for 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, seemingly unsure about whether the counter-insurgency strategy he announced in March is the right one.
And while our version of Nero dithers, a total of 46 US troops have died in Afghanistan in October in what is already by far the bloodiest year in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion.
With enough effort, resources and time, the marines are confident the Afghan population can be won over. But, with the platoon’s influence limited to a small area around their base, many soldiers wonder if the Taliban and Al-Qaeda may simply outlast them, or if the US and Afghan governments have the resolve to send enough troops to win. Top Republican senators have escalated their call for Obama to grant McChrystal's request for more troops in Afghanistan, and one prominent Democrat warned that a failure to do so could jeopardize U.S. forces.Source:


Despite the urgency in Afghanistan and the decreasing morale problem, Obama procrastinates in his decision to grant or deny McChrystal's request for 40,000 more troops.
Obama has said he would make up his mind in the coming weeks, and no announcement is expected before November. A senior administration official said the president is still working through and considering various options as has not settled on one. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the debate is ongoing.

Source: Telegraph.uk.com
















Beyond the grand announcements, fine speeches and his eager acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Mr Obama has yet to achieve anything of substance. It is time for the campaign to end!