Monday, September 21, 2009

President Obama Is Not George Bush



by Ron Spangler

A lot of people are accusing President Obama of acting like President Bush in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. President Obama is no George Bush. With the criticism that he is following in President Bush's path, President Obama has worked overtime to overturn everything President Bush achieved.

While the Bush haters and Democrat Party supporters will never agree, the war in Iraq is basically over and a victory for the U S has been achieved. There is a stable and friendly government in control and Iraq is on the path of becoming a form of a Democratic State the Mideast.

President Obama may try to use the surge in Iraq as a battle plan for Afghanistan but the Democrats and Far Left will never allow this to happen. With the release of the secret report saying we need to increase our forces by 30-40 thousand troops or risk failure in Afghanistan, Obama felt resistance and capitulated. Instead of showing support for the Commander on the ground and the troops already in Afghanistan, Obama decided to decide later. This is not the actions of a strong Commander In Chief.

Troops in combat cannot afford to wait for reinforcements while the Commander tests the political climate before making his decision. This is what leads to unnecessary high casualty rates and losing the war. The difference between Bush and Obama is Bush was willing to lose the Presidency and win the war where it is unclear if President Obama is willing to do the same. When times were dark in Iraq and there was a call for more troops, George Bush stood firm and took on the critics that said the war was lost. Bush listened to his Commanders on the ground and sent more troops. Now the situation in Afghanistan is looking very similar and the Commanders are calling for more troops. Obama unlike Bush has decided to study the matter basically sending the message that he doesn't trust Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's assessment of the situation.

This is beginning to look like supporting the troops is nothing more than lip service from the Democrats and President Obama. A true leader will not leave his military undermanned in a combat situation while he ponders the political question of sending in reinforcement. A poorly manned Army is a Army doomed to high casualties. While the enemy is increasing their manpower, we are wearing ours out. There is no doubt we have the best military in the world and they can win their battles, the question is for how long. In combat everyone gets tired after a while and with little hope of support or reinforcement when needed moral will eventually disappear. When moral is lost, hope will be lost and the war will be lost

President Obama declared Afghanistan to be his war. He said before he was elected that Afghanistan was where we should be fighting not Iraq. He told us he had a strategy for winning in Afghanistan. The troops on the ground need help, it is time to act on his strategy and support the troops on the ground in Afghanistan.

The troops on the battlefield will not die if Health Care Reform is not passed by Jan 2010. There may be unnecessary deaths on the field if a decision to reinforce them is delayed until 2010. I am certain this President is stalling for time and letting the situation deteriorate to the point that he can convince the public to reinstate the draft. After all, from what I have seen from this President nothing will surprise me. He has already said "We will win in the Senate like we won in the House and I will sign this Bill." He was referring to the Health Care Bill. With the overwhelming number of Americans against his plan it is clear he doesn't care what we say or think. After he signs his bill he will focus his attention on Afghanistan and seeing he cannot take the troops from Iraq, he will look to the draft for new troops.

This will be a losing strategy. By the time the system is fought over politically and eventually reinstated, it could be too late. Training new troops for the rigors of Afghanistan will take months if not years. Like we did in Vietnam, we could rush troops through training and witness high casualties but I find it hard to believe the American people will stand for it. Americans have almost reached the end of their tolerance level with this President and Congress. If he allows Afghanistan to get completely out of control because he wants to study the situation people will be marching on Washington by the hundreds of thousands. Creating another crisis so the messiah can come to the rescue, this time in Afghanistan, could cost thousands of American lives.


Technorati Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator

No comments:

Post a Comment