In the scheme of things Afghanistan is nothing but a holdover from the failed policies and adventures of President Bush. It is amazing to me how Republicans have attempted even now to rehabilitate the 43rd president. That effort to revive the cult of neo-conservatism is eerily like the ongoing attempts in Russia to rehabilitate Stalin (the only man in modern history to give Hitler a run for his money in terms of pure unadulterated evil and craziness).
In terms of Afghanistan in the end what will really matter is how effective the military will do its job and that is dependent on strategy and tactics as well as leadership. Does Obama have the generals he needs to do the job? One is of course reminded of President Lincoln's struggle to find the right person to lead the Union to victory. This quote is from a paper available at the Abraham Lincoln Association website:
Army leaders proved more frustrating.
There is of course another factor which weighs in heavily on what happens in Afghanistan, and that is of course Afghanistan itself. Arguably it is not even a country but a loosely associated grouping of tribes and ethnicities that do not play well together, and that has never functioned as a nation state. I often think that the only entity that really wants, and believes in, a united Afghanistan is the United States. We are certainly doing the heavy lifting and nobody is thanking us for it.
As I write this health care reform is by no means an accomplished fact. The Republican party is fighting its own alarmist slash and burn policy of scare tactics and nay saying. Support for the president is wanning as a fickle American people forget how serious problems were the day the last Bush left the white house in one piece but the rest of the world in a shambles. This president has used up a lot of political capitol to get the initiative this far and if it fails it will fail not because of the Republicans but because of Democrats.
Once again extremeism, and the sheer hysteria of manic voices like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coultier, and Glenn Beck (am I the only one that thinks the uniform he is wearing on the book cover pictured below makes him look like a Nazi Storm Trooper?) resonate with the American people. What is the matter with Kansas?!
Beck does look like some flavor of fascist - either that or an old fashioned elevator man or perhaps a bell hop at a posh hotel? Look at that photograph and tell me who looks like an idiot. And what about Ann Coulter and her obvious eating disorder?
My point is that the Republican party is being led by a group of mean spirited maniacs with serious personality disorders and worse yet people listen to them. Those people are not wise, they are just loud. But, maybe loud mean spiritedness ego-centric behaviors are now what passes as wisdom? Don't even get me started on Sarah Palin. But, what do they all, including Sarah Palin, have in common besides all that? They are all millionaires with good health insurance who are against health care reform.
Our health care system only works if you have money and/or insurance. If you want to live in a country where it is everyone for themselves then that is fine. If you aspire to something higher then we need a change. Lets get health care reform.
