2001-2008 --- A Return To A Time Of Darkness

We were taught in school that there was a time in our history's past when learning seemed to stop.  It was called "The Dark Ages."  Who ever thought history would repeat itself in the 21st century?  The past seven and half years has been a repeat for our leaders who have failed to learn and then stopped learning from their mistakes altogether.

 

The present Dark Age covers a broad spectrum and I will discuss two of them in this post that came to light just in the last few days.  Nothing needs to be said about Iraq because the problem is so obvious.  Now it is Afghanistan and Iran.

 

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Afghanistan and said more foreign fighters including al Qaeda militants are operating in Pakistan's tribal areas then in the past and they are flowing into Afghanistan more freely this year compared to last.  Attacks in Eastern Afghanistan where American forces operate along the border with Pakistan are up 40% this year.  June was the deadliest month for U.S. and NATO soldiers since 2001.

 

This Dark Age of leadership goes back to our invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 when we failed to seal the borders.  It was known before our invasion that the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan was a haven for training al Qaeda and the Taliban.  After the tragic events of 9-11, Mr. Bush said his administration would make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor them.  Not only did our leadership fail to carry out that policy with Pakistan, but seven years into the war in Afghanistan, our Chairman says the problem is still there and worse.

 

Now we have Secretary of State Condi Rice who just warned Iran that its latest launching of rockets was a provocative act and that the U.S. has the ability to counter them --- another example of this Dark Age of leadership failure where our leaders have learned nothing.  Our leadership has a policy of provocations and going along with the threats of Israel's leaders to other countries.  When leaders fail to learn, innocent people pay the price for their mistakes. 

 

Mr. Bush failed to learn that two can play the same game he tries to play.  That failure is darker than dark.  He played the game in Iraq over WMD that did not exist and went on to destabilize Iraq and the middle east.  Iran does not have a history of  invading other countries nor of launching a war against other countries.  Our own intelligence people said they stopped working to produce a nuclear weapon several years ago.  If they are in fact working to acquire such weapons, the U.S. can contain them like we did the Soviet Union for over 40 years.  We don't need a failure in leadership that will push the U.S. into yet another unnecessary war. 

 

This Dark Age of leadership and learning has put our country and its people in peril.  We see the economic repercussions for this failed leadership that touches the people's lives in almost every situation.  Russia was bogged down in Afghanistan for 10 years and then withdrew.  Our leadership furnished the Taliban weapons to fight Russia and they are now using those weapons we supplied them against our own troops.  We also supported Saddam during his invasion of Iran and ten year war.  We even gave Saddam U.S. intelligence gathered on Iran's military movements.  What has our country learned from those Dark Ages? ---Apparently, nothing.  

 

Can our nation escape this present Dark Age where our leaders have stopped learning.  Have we run out of leaders who understand what America is all about and how to use our military power wisely?  Hopefully the next President will answer those questions, in the way that they need to be answered.  

Afghanistan: Failing Because Of Iraq (Part 2)

Once again Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is telling the American people how we are failing in Afghanistan.  The Los Angeles Times reports that Gates said he believes NATO forces currently deployed in the southern part of that country do not know how to combat a guerrilla insurgency.

 

While at the same time, many NATO officials blame inadequate U.S. troop numbers earlier in the war in part for a Taliban resurgence.  Does that sound familiar and reminiscent of our track record in Iraq, where we used too little troops in a completely unnecessary invasion?  Afghanistan was where our enemies were.  We should have been fighting there instead of worrying bout Iraq. So now Gates decides to send an additional 3200 Marines to continue this 6 year old war. 

 

Gates went to Scotland last month and met with NATO leaders to try and convince them to send more NATO troops, but said no one at the table stood up and agreed.  The incompetence of this administration and Mr. Gates in trying to bully other nations is historic.  The U.S. under Mr. Bush has lost all creditability in fighting this war on terror.  Other nations hear that we call this the War on Terror, but they see that the U.S. practically abandoned Afghanistan, where bin-Laden and al-Qaeda were, and focused on Iraq, who was no threat to the U.S.   

 

Iraq seems to have been pushed to the back burner because of the Presidential primaries, that's the way the people in this administration would like it to be.  Get it out of the news.  I truly hope the American people never forget the tragic loss of life among our men and women in uniform because of the reckless behavior of Mr. Bush and his surrogates.  Never again should the people accept such incompetence and reckless behavior in our President.  Our troops and our country deserve better.

The Bush Legacy: Afghanistan And Iraq

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the U.S. will be sending 3200 additional Marines to fight the war in Afghanistan.  Mr. Bush and Mr. Gates, who recently visited with the leaders of NATO, have both been trying to get NATO to contribute more combat troops to that war with no success.

 

Our previous Presidents were able to offer leadership to NATO, but not Mr. Bush.  His reckless foreign policy has isolated the U.S. more than ever with our allies.  The war in Afghanistan passed the 6 year mark in 2007, which was the most deadly year for our troops and our own military leaders said that things are getting worse.  That is the exact language we heard during the Vietnam war---"things are getting worse so lets send in more U.S. troops". 

 

The American people should remember it was the Reagan-Bush administration who created the Taliban and armed them to fight the Soviet occupation and now they are fighting and killing Americans.  Our military technology is worthless if we have to occupy other countries to protect our national security.

 

And to top it off, Mr. Bush told reporters on his tour of the Middle East this past week that the U.S. could  be in Iraq for 10 years.  All of the reasons Bush gave for invading and occupying Iraq were lies and now we are being told it may be another Vietnam.  We already know the Republican candidates running for President would continue the Bush policies(with exception of Ron Paul), so the American people and our men and women in uniform have a major stake with their vote in November in electing a President who will truly keep our country and its people safe.  Bush failed to keep our country and people safe on 9-11 and almost 7 years later, there is no end in sight.