"Businesslike" and "Professional"

 I suppose it's all a matter of perspective.  The meaning of words this day and age. Our whole language and culture is changing because of the "woke" movement, what ever that is and why it's even tolerated.

Okay, here I go again. An old lady who well knows Joe Biden should not be President any more than Donald Trump should run again.  When we reach a certain age everything about us is diminishing, be it cognitive acuity or the ability to compete in an Ironman competition. There comes a time when you should recognize truth because even if you refuse to, for whatever reason, those around you will.

So it is with Joe Biden. I think he's going rogue on his handlers.  I think he's still sharp enough to understand he is President and is getting irritated by being manipulated. Never mind that the reason that is happening is because that's where his being sharp ends.

That being said, if he is so sharp, I wish he would keep closer tabs on those who speak for him. We hear that the Taliban was "businesslike and professional" in facilitating the departure of a plane full of refugees and, hopefully, some Americans. Never mind that there are another half dozen planes being held on the tarmac of another airfield that the Taliban will not release.  No one is telling us what sort of "business and professionalism" is going on there.

Are they also being "businesslike and professional" when they arrest two fellow Afghanis, reporters, for covering a woman's protest?  Was it "businesslike and professional" the way the men were beaten and told they were lucky they hadn't been beheaded?

I'm sure they were. That is the "business" the Taliban is in. I fear we aren't that far from using similar tactics in this country. It depends on who wins the battle of wills.  Unfortunately, there seems to be only one side of our divide that has any will and it isn't the right side.

What really makes me cringe for the moment, however, is wondering when they'll start being "businesslike and professional" with those Americans and allies waiting on that other tarmac and those still trying to reach it. Will we even know? What journalist in his or her right mind would chance covering it?

If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

 I remember back when George H.W. Bush looked at his watch during a presidential debate.  It was noticed.  He was roundly criticized and never really recovered from it. 

Will Biden recover from the watch watching in the photo below? Combined with all the other images coming out of Afghanistan of late, I'm sure it's the least of his worries.  It is, however, visually telling.  

So are the photos of dogs being left behind to fend for themselves and the Taliban parading about in U.S. Military uniforms. 

Now, can any of you help me get my blood to quit boiling?

Could This Soon Be a City Near You?

 Yesterday's news video of the debacle in Kabul brought back so many memories from a similar situation in Vietnam, oh so long ago. Americans literally turning their tails and running.  For their lives. 

It isn't the fault of the thousands of Americans working in Afghanistan, nor the military who kept the Taliban at bay nor the rank and file of the Afghanis themselves.  It is the fault of self-serving, naive and perhaps even stupid leadership - people we've put in power to lead us.  It turns my stomach.

What makes it even worse is those among us who bow to their dictates because we are too lazy to dig beneath the surface to find truth. I think of the children of Afghanistan - both boys, who are subjected to a demented form of homosexuality, and girls who are sometimes not even in their teens spirited off to be the "wife" of some warrior. And more girls and women who are going to lose their opportunities for an education that can so vastly improve their lives.

Well, you might say, that's far away and it doesn't really affect us.  Doesn't it? The illustration above could soon be Chicago or Portland or Seattle or New York if we don't soon get a handle on our own country.

I see hope, I hear people speaking who are angry.  Really angry about what's happening be it CRT or mask mandates or defunding the police. The one thing that's lacking, however, is a lack of cohesiveness.  Someone who is willing to pick up the reins and get a movement organized.  A Tea Party movement without the capitulation to the Republican Party who are just as complicit in our current mess as the Democrats.

The ones I envision pulling it together are parents, no matter their politics. For those who are suffering the most are the children and don't get between a child and its parent. Mother or Father. Kids have lost far too much in the way of schooling during the lockdowns which have proven to be ineffectual at best. This applies to kids up to and including college.  They're not getting the education we expect them to get nor the one they deserve.

A lot of atonement needs to take place. First with our feckless politicians, then to those who have hijacked higher education, to the teachers union and school boards to health care officials who have suddenly turned into petty dictators.

They say they are following the science. How can the science be so different in so many places if that's true? Truth.  That's all we ask. Is that too much?  Apparently so.

The Death Of The Middle East

If you've been watching the news you know the situation in the Middle East is dire.  The new reports on the systematic torture and death of thousands of Syrians make my blood curdle.  Even when the photographs are edited to make them less graphic.

I've long ago quit worrying about our moral responsibility to put an end to the bloodshed.  The President opted out when the method was poison gas and the victims were children. Instead he made a deal with the devil to escape any moral responsibility.  Any responsibility at all.

It goes beyond that, however.  It didn't take long for the rebels whom we could have supported to be infiltrated by those wanting to make any new regime in their own image.  So now it's a three way war.
Some how denying access to medical aid and the most basic of foodstuffs isn't as bad as chemical weapons.  No matter that the people have been reduced to eating cats and rats if they are able to find and catch them being near death themselves.

This is just Syria.  Think about what they're doing to themselves.  They're killing themselves.  Not only children, but those who are of an age to bear children. Given enough time, there will be no one left.

Now let's go back to Iraq where we withdrew all our troops.  They are engaged, once more, in a bloody
civil war where the loser is having the most radical version of Islamic law reimposed. In Afghanistan the same is about to happen.  Do you for a believe Obama will choose the 10,000 troop option over zero troops?  The radical fringe is betting he won't and are just waiting.  Afghanistan cannot defend itself against them.

Iran has suckered us into believing they're going to play nice and give up their nuclear ambitions.  While we fall prey to that scheme they continue to threaten Iraq if they don't keep supply lines open to Syria so they can continue supplying troops and weaponry to Assad.

And now Pakistan is back in the news.  For quite some time Islamists have been killing aid workers trying to inoculate the children against polio.  It is running rampant.

Good news came that there seems to be some progress in efforts to release the doctor who helped us nail bin Laden.  The bad news is that his ploy was one of these inoculation exercises but that is was a sham set up by the CIA.  The end result is that every innocent aid worker trying to save the children are predetermined to be spies for the CIA.  The result?  Parents are afraid so they stay away from access points.

Again, a generation plus of the young will suffer death from disease while their parents die in the most unimaginable battles of just trying to save life and limb.

Maybe this is our President's policy.  Wait long enough, make the token gestures necessary to appease those few who still give us a thought, and the problem will resolve itself.  If that isn't it, then I'd suggest the President is paralyzed with fear.  That indicates to me he has no moral compass.  Rather like thinking smoking pot is no more dangerous than drinking alcohol.  That's comforting considering how dangerous drinking can be and that pot is still illegal at the Federal level.

Turn a deaf ear and a blind eye.  Like the tree falling in the forest making no sound if no one is present to hear it, perhaps war has no consequences unless someone is present to witness it.

Does Anyone Have A Clue?

As the Obamacare debacle continues, so does the one in Afghanistan.  Unless you've been living in a cave, lucky you, you know that President Karzai is dragging his feet over signing an agreement that will protect our soldiers from Afghan prosecution should we leave a contingent behind and they run afoul of Afghan law.

In return, of course, we give more than we get.  They want to tie our hands even more than they already have thus making it easier for our soldiers to err.  As usual it's a bad deal at best.

In our infinite wisdom, however, we've decided to give the Afghan security forces much needed helicopters.  Note I said give.  At a time when our country could sorely use the revenue from selling them, but then the Afghans have privatized the aid we've given them so they have no money.  Perhaps that's not all bad.  At least our people will build them.  What?  No?  We're buying them from the Russians?  We're buying Russian helicopters to give to the Afghans because they are superior to ours.

Well, open the door and come right in.  Those helicopters are going to have to be maintained.  That means Russians will send their techs giving them a new foothold in the country.  What are we thinking?  We know Russia is trying to get a strangle hold on the Mideast.  They already have it in Syria.  We know they are friends with Iran and now they will have carte blanche in Afghanistan.

And speaking of Iran, Karzai has agreed on a "cooperation pact" with them. It is to entail long term political security, economic and cultural cooperation and regional peace security.  Who better than the Russian backed Iranians?

Our Secretary of Defense tried to allay fears by promising to beef up security measures in non-complicit nations and it was of course considered a threat. A state of mistrust promulgated by Israel, Iran's arch enemy.

Let's ice the cake.  It has also been reported that prosecutions for crimes against women has slowed to a crawl, not that it ever really got going.

Dogwalk's solution?  Pull all our military out!  Let the Russians sell their copters directly to Karzai.  If he can't afford them perhaps Iran will lend him the money since they are doing better now that their sanctions have been eased.

Of course, now that Mr. Putin has dissolved state media in Russia it may take some time for how this all works out to reach us.  Not that it matters.  The President wants no part of it because a speech to a captive audience can't fix it.

That's the way things are now.  I understand that.  But please, Mr. President, do the right thing and bring all our personnel home.  If you don't they'll be sitting ducks.  I'm willing to wager the boys from Duck Dynasty would even give you some tips on how to call them home.  It makes no less sense than any other part of our foreign policy!

Karzai - Neither The Man Nor His Country Deserve Our Support

It never ceases to amaze me how many things we just don't seem to get.  For instance, before Kerry, having women serving as National Security Advisors and Secretaries of State.

If in a perverse sort of way it was intended to rub their chauvinistic noses in it, it hasn't worked. Hillary accomplished absolutely nothing.  Nor did her female predecessors. So why are we now sending Susan Rice to Afghanistan to try to get Karzai to sign the agreement allowing our troops to remain after 2014.  Even the loyal jirga know they are needed to buck up their own troops, but no, Karzai has never felt beholden to the country who has made him a rich man and kept him in power.  Susan Rice isn't going to change that.

Why be so hard on the country?  Karzai will soon be out of office.  Because they are once more thumbing their collective noses at us by planning to reintroduce stoning as a punishment for adultery. That's for married adulterers.  The unmarried will only need to endure 100 lashes.  So much for human and women's rights.

This is who they are as a people.  A deeply ingrained lack of respect for women.  Just like Iran who holds a deeply ingrained disrespect for America.  Yet we continue to fall prey to their insidious schemes.  It's what happens when you have amateurs running your government.

What can Susan Rice possibly do to get Karzai to give up his obstinance?  Are any more American deaths warranted for these people.  Were the ones that have come before?  I think not.

What a way to spend Thanksgiving.  Trying to buck up the morale of the troops who remain and garner respect from a host who hates them and those who sent them.

We have a lot to be thankful for in this country but having leaders who sense of appeasement outweighs their sense of patriotism is not one of them.

Obama Is No Jean-Luc Picard

Remember when on Star Trek Jean-Luc Picard would say, "Make it so" and the very competent 'Number One' would do just that?  I find myself wondering why our President couldn't do more to align himself with Picard. Well, for one thing he doesn't have competent 'Number Ones' and he doesn't hold anyone, including himself, responsible.  He just blames others.

As such, he gives the order and no one makes it so.  Especially with Obamacare as more and more faults are being found.  The lesson, of course, is read the legislation before passing it.

It goes further, however, and that takes us back to foreign policy.  Nothing in ours is concrete. If we even have something that is called policy.  Take the promise of having our troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 being negotiated into a broken promise.

We have the National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, at odds with Secretary of State John Kerry as to whether we back Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood or the Military who is on track to having elections and a new constitution rather than an entrenched Islamic regime.  Side with Kerry on this one.  One wonders where the President is.  Probably with Rice.  The wrong side as usual.

Then there is Syria. By partnering with Assad and Russia over the supposed destruction of WMDs, if anyone will take them, we have left the Syrian people exposed to systematic slaughter.  The cause, of course, is Assad who is practically guaranteed to stay in power and continues to be a strong ally of Iran, an even bigger nemesis. Plus, if they need WMDs again, North Korea stands ready to help them out from their ample supply.

Stay tuned to Syria.  The al Qaeda rebels have brought in their own mercenary to run the show, a well known Chechan terrorist who was looking for a new gig.  We fear him.  The Russians fear him.  Assad fears him.  And the time when we could have intervened to help the 'good' rebels has long since passed.  Nothing good can come of this.  Now everybody's lives will be at stake! What lengths will Assad go to in order to remain in power?

Back to Iran.  Some have been suggesting that sanctions should not be tightened while negotiations are pending. Every minute of every day the Iranians continue their march toward weapons grade enrichment.  There is nothing in their past history with us nor the rest of the world that suggests they will stop that march or dismantle or destroy anything already at hand.

No one trusts them.  Why are we so willing? I don't believe one phone call between historically adversarial leaders should carry that much weight.  What can I say other than Vive la France!

Come to think of it Jean-Luc Picard was French!

When Foreign Policy Is Foreign To The Policy Makers

It seems to me we still have no foreign policy.  While the Syrians have handed over their list of chemical weapons sites I can't help but wonder what's next.  Why is Iran all of a sudden getting so chummy by hinting they might talk and offering to moderate a peace process in Syria.  Russia seems to be coordinating all this nicey, nicey stuff and I don't trust it one bit.  I hope our government doesn't either.

This is so unlike our adversaries I wonder if they've come up with some new type of weapon or strategy of which we have no idea.  Therefore making nice about the current situation will have no lasting consequence. If we have a foreign policy we'd have a contingency.  Just in case. Do we?  I doubt it.

If indeed we don't it may be better for those who are warring. We've done Afghanistan no favors by decimating their country, losing the battle with the Taliban and pulling out before business is finished.

I've taken outgoing President Karzi to task multiple times for his corruption and complaints about the truths of war - that innocents get killed.  On the other hand, his frustration is understandable because in many ways we're leaving his country more vulnerable than it was before we went looking for bin Laden and ended up trying to appease the Taliban and the war lords.

They, the Taliban, have become far more aggressive as we've begun pulling our troops.  Though coalition forces are still suffering casualties, the percentage is far lesser than those being suffered by the still under trained Afghan army and police forces. Those casualties are three times higher than they were in 2010 and 2011.

Karzai reads those casualty reports but does not release them for concerns about morale. He mourns the fact they are all Afghans and he sees it getting worse, not better.

You see, as we leave we are also pulling our assets.  No more state of the art field hospitals.   No more med evac choppers.  Yet the enemy hasn't any fewer roadside bombs or ied's with which to attack.  And attack they do, under trained soldiers who are now deserting rather than facing what to them seems certain death.

Unintended consequences?  Not really.  Just a lack of sound policy and no forethought nor will to remedy it.

The lesson learned for this country, and I thing we've learned it even if the government hasn't.  Don't get into a war unless and until you know what you're doing and why. We're not the only ones who are hurt by cavalier decisions.

Forget The Handbook!

We have long known of the cultural divide between ourselves and the Afghans.  We've tried for decades to bridge it in our efforts to make the Afghans self sufficient against intruders, including ourselves.  I cannot help but wonder why.

President Karzai is quick to take us to task for our efforts.  I've complained about it for what seems an eternity.  Beyond that we get killed by those we train.  It's blamed on that cultural divide.

So what to do to make us more sensitive?  Produce a handbook for ready reference.  It is in the process of being reviewed for good reason.   The Wall Street Journal suggests there are some problems that should not be swept under the rug.  Never.  Ever.

Sure, I understand the Afghans might resent being considered gutless in combat and basically stupid.  After all, they are an uneducated lot.  I can even understand their resentment for having been found out for having colluded with and formed alliances with the enemies.  Whichever side does the best job of buttering their bread I would guess.

Such must be fairly common between cultures as different as our when being forced to work together when the will isn't there.  But it gets worse.  Far worse.  There is a list of taboo subjects like making disparaging remarks about the Taliban,  criticising  Afghans and just about anything Islam.  That too is to be expected.

But it gets worse.  Far worse.  Nix advocating women's rights.  Check.  Do not mention homosexual conduct.  What?  Do not criticise in any way, shape or form pedophilia.  WHAT?

That our soldiers are often solicited by Afghans for homosexual activity seems a bit off the Islamic path, but I guess you are what you are.  Bold though, don't you think?  What would happen if a GI accepted?

Worse though, is the wide spread practice of pedophilia.  Especially among the Pashtuns of whom Karzai is one.  Is his constant criticism of us an attempt to divert attention from these practices?  Too late.  It's out there.

They have gone so far as to defend it by claiming it's their segregation from women.  Whose fault is that? Their economy is bad and marriage is expensive.  If their President wasn't squirreling away our aid perhaps the economy would be better.  Then there is the romantic Islamic poetry that speaks to their infatuation with young boys.

We put up with an awful lot from the Afghans.  Their treatment of women and girls has garnered most of the headlines.  Now we must include the boys and the despicable  embracing of pedophilia.

I don't agree with President Obama about much.  I do agree with the withdrawal of our troops but it's imperative to bring all of them home.  Don't leave any behind.  Withdraw all financial aid. Let the Afghans fend for themselves and let the chips fall where they may.

We don't tolerate pedophilia among our priests.  We don't tolerate pedophilia by a football coach.  How can we in good conscience tolerate it in an entire culture?  Can we allow ourselves to be that hypocritical all in the name of a cultural divide?

Panetta - It's About Time

Finally, for all of you who think I am totally one sided, I'm going to say something positive about a member of the Obama administration.  Leon Panetta for finally poking back at Karzai.

We all know how much respect I have for Afghanistan's President.  Zip.  Zero.  He has made a career out of siphoning off  millions of U.S. tax payer dollars.  Along with that affront his avocation seems to be complaining about our efforts on his behalf. Building roads, rebuilding towns, trying to befriend his people and keeping the Taliban at bay, training his police and army so they can protect their own country after our withdrawal.

The complaining never seems to stop.  Now he's criticizing us for not pursuing militants in Pakistan and spending too much time on those in Afghanistan.

For one thing, Pakistan is  a sovereign nation itself and we cannot go about crossing into their territory willy nilly.  We've asked Pakistan for help in containing these militants and have gotten nothing.  Of course the fact we sacrificed a doctor, who literally pin pointed bin Laden for us, to Pakistani justice doesn't do much to encourage the average Joe to step forward.

Then there are the Afghans themselves who take great delight in killing the very men who are training them.  We shouldn't concentrate on that?  Sorry Mr. Karzai.  Good luck to you when we're gone.

Mr. Panetta finally had it.  Maybe he was tired.  Who knows.  His reaction was hardly the norm for this administration but he did step up to the plate and suggest that just maybe Mr. Karzai should say thank you now and then.  To all the allied forces who's young men are fighting and dying for Afghanistan, whatever it is other than a hodgepodge of warlords, Islamist extremists and Karzai himself heading it's corrupt government.

He has even gone so far as to complain they are not getting the weapons they need and hinting he may have to go elsewhere.  China or Russia.  I don't know about China, but I have my doubts.  They'd want something in return but I can't think what they might get other than opium.  Russia?  Again, I don't know.  They were struck by lightning once, would they return and chance it again?

Tensions between the two countries are high, mostly because of Karzai's attitude.  Maybe it's time for one of our drones to malfunction and hit one more target.  If  lucky, Mr. Karzai then would no longer be around to complain.

How 'bout it Mr. President?  Next time you and the boys are playing with your wish list and picking the death of the day by drone maybe it could get the 'stans mixed up.  After all, Karzai himself thinks we should concentrate on the safe havens.

2000 and counting American service personnel would be singing praises from on high.  And a whole lot of us down here.

Pure Evil

The world has gone mad, completely mad and both Christians and Israel are sitting in the cross hairs of the manifestation of hatred and evil beyond belief.

I could not believe this headline when I read it, Arab Spring Run Amok: 'Brotherhood' Starts Crucifixions.  Crucifixions?  Are you kidding? No. According to WND radical Muslims have begun crucifying those opposed to Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi. Naked.  On trees in front of the presidential palace.

I could not believe what I was seeing so I searched about a bit and found other articles reporting the same news. Apparently the victims can be anyone with extra brutality reserved for Christians.

Well, here we go again.  Savagery in the name of religion.  It seems it's not only a normal part of Islamic doctrine but obligatory according to the Quran.  Therefore the Muslim brotherhood is obliged to include it in their legal code in order to comply with Shariah.

We've long known the Muslims are bound to wage war against Christians who in many instances are synonymous with the west.  Us.  Are we not a 'Christian' nation?

Israel is in trouble because they thwarted an attack by Hamas trying to cross into Gaza.  Morsi used this as an excuse to purge the top ranks of the military, those who were fighting to preserve some degree of sanity.

We sit here taking no stand on the slaughter that continues in Syria.  We have taken a back seat to the entire theater of war that has been going on in the middle east for years, giving thumbs up to dictators who we declare redeemable but who never are.  Mubarak.  Ghadafi.  Al Assad.  Karzi.  Now Morsi.  We only give the thumbs down when it's apparent they can't extract themselves from the destruction they reigned down upon themselves.  Why is this?

I know the country is tired of war.  We get into them for all the wrong reasons and stay out of them for the same. Our foreign policy is floundering if indeed we have any.  Leading from behind is not a policy.  Or is it?  That makes it even worse.

Morsi is instituting a reign of terror to consolidate his power.  He will be attending a summit in Iran this month.  That does not bode well. He has an invitation to visit the White House in September.  They will try to convince us he is a moderate.  One more monster we wanted to see in power.

All I can do is ask why?  What are we thinking?  Al Assad is slaughtering his own people by the tens of thousands.  Morsi is having his opposition crucified.  This is pure evil.  Period. Yet we neither hear it, see it nor speak it.

We give Israel the cold shoulder, leaving them to fend for themselves.  We welcome these governments with open arms.  Something is drastically wrong.  We are the west.  We are mostly Christian.  We are targeted. Don't ever think we're not.  Just look at the number of our soldiers being murdered by the Afghans who we're training and providing with the very weapons they use.

Somehow, in the grand scheme of things, I could care less what Mitt Romney paid in taxes the last ten years or whether or not he releases that information.  You want something taxing to worry about?  Consider the future as the countries of the middle east fall like dominoes to the Islamic radicals.  Consider too, these monsters are beginning to be put into office by their own people.

What will we be putting into office?  Better yet, what have we put into office?

A Job To Die For

The political focus, for the time being,  has shifted to Paul Ryan, his thoughts on monetary policy, the President's stash of beer on his bus and Biden's claim the Republicans are going to put us back in chains.  Ah, how uplifting.

Meanwhile back to the wars.  Syria's death toll in its civil war is now over 20, 000.  I find it interesting how a single word can have such different meanings.  On one hand a civil war means it involves everyday citizens of the same country.  On the other hand, if you take it as meaning courteous and polite, there is nothing 'civil' about it!  About any war.

However, the middle east remains drenched in blood.  Fourteen suicide bombers killed 46 people in Afghanistan today alone.  If there is an upside, Karzai can't blame us for the deaths.  Unless he decides we're not training his people well enough.  But then they're so busy killing us it's a difficult task at best.

It's hard to keep track of who's doing the most damage - the Taliban or al Qaeda.  All we know for sure the various religious factions don't like each other any better than they like us.

If you think it's something we don't have to take seriously as long as we're pulling out in two years, think again.  First, two more years and how many more fatalities? Even one more American is too many.  It is said Paul Ryan wants to stay and finish the job.  Well, basically it is finished.  We aren't going to win it.  They are determined to get us out of the way so they can have at one another unobstructed.  Obviously they're tired of waiting.

Consider this.   The Times of Israel reports al Qaeda has run an ad for suicide bombers.  Honest.  If that isn't taking their mission seriously I don't know what is.  Basically takers will be self-employed after having been given proper training.  They will be given the freedom to plan the attack against  a pre-selected target.  They won't have to give their real name, just a few details on languages they speak and passports they hold.  Little stuff.

Openings seem to be just about everywhere.  The ad states the area of activity is the planet earth.  Could that include us?  Don't discount it!

It doesn't mention salary but than most want ads don't.  They do usually claim to be competitive.  I'll bet!  One last assurance for the would be recruit is the promise of 'a very slight chance of being caught'. Or ever getting a raise.

I know jobs are in short supply these days and it's a big issue in this country.  I, however, wouldn't be caught dead even considering this line of work.  There's no career path.  No future.

In all seriousness though.  We can't afford to overlook foreign policy.  This is world wide recruitment, make no mistake.  Planet earth.  Where will the next 46 deaths be?

It's Time To Get Tough!

Why is it we keep rewarding Afghanistan for bad behavior?  First there are the unaccounted for billions we've already given them.  Then there are the unending apologies for waging their war and training their troops for which ours get killed.

Now we have bestowed upon them the designation of 'major non-NATO ally'.  Whatever that means.  I really don't see that we are going to get anything for it.  They will get billions more.  Why are all the pledges going their way?

The President has accused Americans of having become soft.  Perhaps we have.  After all, we have his example to follow.  Where is the pledge from Karzai that he won't try to manipulate the system and run for office again?  Where is the pledge that he will stop his military from killing ours? What about furthering women's rights?  Why aren't we demanding results before we hand over the money rather than forking it over and hoping for the best?

At least the rest of the world is beginning to toughen up.  In an effort to get countries to pony up some $16 billion in development aid between now and 2015, they have put conditions on the deliverance of the money.  About 80 of them.  Let's face it, money is tight everywhere.  Pouring billions into openly rogue nations isn't sitting well with their own citizens who are in dire straits of their own.

We can only wait and see what will happen as Afghan elections get closer. The killing of our troops continues as of yesterday.  And women's rights?  How many of you watched the painfully hideous execution of a young woman while the men stood around cheering.  They pumped nine bullets into this woman who huddled helplessly.  She had been accused of adultery and had been tried and executed within in an hour of the accusation.

Money Mr. Karzai?  Not another bloody cent.  You say it was the Taliban?  They were on your soil not more than 50 miles from Kabul where you were no doubt counting your gold pieces in the security of your palace.

What can you possibly do for us?  You can't even protect your women from the monsters within your own country. Nope.  Not one red cent more. And don't expect an apology.

Karzai Has A Point

Now there's thought I never thought I'd have!  After listening to the stories on the news at noon about the numbers of children being tortured, yes, tortured, and killed in Syria, it brought to mind Karzai and his demands.

Once again Karzai has taken coalition forces to task for attacks on civilian enclaves.  It seems to be a weekly occurrence.  He complains so often I have to think there is something to it.  We attack and kill a targeted terrorist. Hopefully. Unfortunately the strike usually includes women and children.  Karzai complains.  We apologize.  And do it all over again.  What a way to fight a war.

I've been of the mind that war is war and there will be civilian casualties.  It's the nature of the beast.  But break down the word civilian and the whole scenario changes.  Women and children, non combatant men, the elderly.  The latest, last week, was 18. Many women.  Many children.

I don't like Mr. Karzai.  I don't believe he's an honest partner in our war against Islamic extremists and he's greedy.  On the other hand, he's tired of seeing innocent people, his people, slaughtered in the quest for often just a single individual.  So he wants all bombing of Afghan cities, towns and villages banned.  Even if coalition forces are under attack.  I see where he's coming from.  When they are shooting at us, we're all the enemy.  When we shoot at them, only scant intelligence tells us at whom we're shooting.  Sometimes the targeted person is present and sometimes not but people always get killed and it's obviously not necessarily the target.

Another argument for capturing the enemy rather than merely blowing them away.  Intelligence.  Of course a boots on the ground shooting war puts our troops in harms way and is far more difficult than using drones and other means of air attack.  It would be a good time to re-evaluate the war wouldn't it?  Are our troops and their women and children, any of their civilians, worth the end?  What is the end?  As of now it won't be victory, merely withdrawal.  If I had the money to bet, I'd bet the Taliban and al Qaeda will be out in full force before our dust has settled.

From Where Have All the Flowers Gone there's a telling verse.  "Where have all the soldiers gone?  Gone to graveyards, every one."  That's bad enough.  At least spare the children!  But then in war civilians get killed.  And that is another of the myriad of reasons I hate war.

Blood Money

The more I know the less I understand. It doesn't keep me from gettin mad though. Why are we going to pay Afghanistan (read Karzai) billions of dollars for a minimum of ten years after our withdrawal for the privilege of continuing to defend it?  Figure somewhere between four and six billion dollars per year. What am I missing here?

For one thing, it means more U.S. military casualties.  That's a given.  It means propping up a leader as corrupt as the day is long who we put in place not only once, but twice.  It means taking his abuse every time we look cross eyed and suffering his scoldings every time we sneeze. We're being made to look weak and subjective!

It means taking orders from him! It means continuing to train his security forces, the ones who with some regularity kill the very men training them.  Our men.  It means getting their permission for everything we do.  No more night raids.  No more launching drone attacks into Pakistan or any place else.

We're expected to support their economic development.  What?  Poppy production?  Education.  Women too? Not likely.  Health care and social initiatives?  What, pray tell!  Defend human rights and free speech?  Human rights?  This is Afghanistan we're talking about here.  The country the Taliban wants back.  Karzai is little more than the mayor of Kabul, by the grace of the Taliban at that.  The remainder of the country is still under the thumb of various war lords who side with us only if the money is right.

How this is supposed to insure stability in Central and South Asia is beyond me.  I'm not convinced any other country has an interest in that waste land other than us.  Our NATO allies are leaving.  We'll be there alone protecting the people against aggression from who?  They think it's us!

To make matters worse, it's being structured so the President doesn't even have to get Congressional approval.  Our only hope is they refuse funding.

I've long been weary of Mr. Karzai's abuse.  This is the last straw.  Bin Laden is dead.  He was the target from the get go and wasn't even there for the past six years or so.  Let's end it.   Really end it.  Karzai can tap the funds he has already embezzled to fund his protection.  It's not our responsibility to fund his retirement.

As I said, there is much I don't understand.  I do understand it's un-American for our military to have to pay lip service to a 'hostile' ally. Isn't it about time we put Mr. Karzai in his place?  We have a lot better use for four to six billion dollars a year in this country!  I can think of a lot better use for our young men and women's lives too!

What Exactly Is The "Mission" In Afghanistan?

When asked by reporters what they would do in Afghanistan, right now, if President,  Newt had the best answer.  It's time to reassess something that is unlikely doable.  Santorum said it would be wrong to leave the "mission" unfinished and Romney said it shouldn't be deterred by the actions of some crazy person.  Not one reporter asked what exactly the 'mission' was.

As for Mitt.  We know nothing of the soldier who committed the mass murders what's more what drove him to it.  All the talk about the death penalty and everything else being bandied about is premature to say the least. We owe it to him and ourselves to know all there is to know before acting as judge, jury and executioner.

Now, the mission.  Jay Carney, Obama's press secretary, said the mission is to "disrupt, dismantle and ultimately defeat" al Qaeda.  Did you know the last known death of an al Qaeda operative in Afghanistan was April 12, 2011?  And the last capture of one was in May of the same year? Bin Laden is dead.  The remnants that haven't scattered to Yemen and other such strongholds are holed up in Pakistan.  So we are in Afghanistan why?

Training their forces to protect them against who?  The Taliban.  We have no fight with the Taliban but we will if we stick around.  I believe what we're doing is called nation building.  Sure, we're building infrastructure and training police and military.  That's why Karzai hasn't thrown us out already.  He'd not like to have to dip into the funds he's already embezzled from us to do what we he's allowing us to do under nearly impossible constraints.  Yet on we march like lemmings to the sea.

I heard today that foreign policy is no where near the top of voters concerns in this Presidential election, but I would like the candidates to be able to articulate what the 'mission' of our military is in Afghanista.

I'd like, too, to hear some concern for the man who is allegedly at fault for the killings.  When you look around and all you see is death, horrible, violent death, for years on end it 's bound to have a negative effect.

Consider, we won't lift a finger to help the Syrian civilians caught up in massacre because we don't know who might follow in al Assad's footsteps.  So let them die.  Gaza is shelling Israel, Israel is bombing Gaza, the Palestinians are in an uproar and Libya is still trying to get itself straightened out.  Let them die.  Let them all die.  Just protect our re-election chances.  After all, what's most important here?

Ah, for Ron Paul. And Newt too.  Paul's theory of being nice isn't the answer, but  his and Newt's thought of getting the hell out just might be!

Is Afghanistan Worth One More Life?

With the slaughter of women and children at the hands of a U.S. soldier, you can be sure more is to come.  Is it worth it for either side?  I cannot for the life of me find a rationale that is acceptable.

The Afghans hate us.  Their leaders play us like a fiddle.  Our troops are killed by the very men they have trained.  Billions of U.S. tax  dollars have been squandered on who knows what.  No one can account for it.

With this latest incident, it's time to leave.  If we don't the bloodshed is only going to get worse because they will use the tragedy as inspiration to kill even more of our soldiers.

The details aren't clear yet.  Even though there have been reports it was more than one, as information comes it seems  to be it was only one distraught soldier.  A sergeant. The backbone of the troops.  I will be interested in finding out who this man is and what drove him to madness.  How many tours has he served?  How many of his friends has he seen killed? Were any of the men killed by Afghan soldiers after the burning of the Korans his friends?

Does it really need to take ten years and counting to figure out a war cannot be won?  Maybe it's time to play tough.  If our satellites show us any sign of al Qaeda or Taliban activity in either Afghanistan or the border areas of Pakistan they have forty eight hours to take them out - or we will.  Period.  End of story.

Karzai has made so many pacts with the enemy I've lost count.  Perhaps he has too.  All to insure his safety, his little piece of the action, namely Kabul.  The war lords of the various tribes will have the rest divvied up before the last plane departs.  They probably already have and are just waiting.

I know it's an old and ongoing rant of mine.  I hate war.  Especially when it's muddled by political gamesmenship. But I know as sure as I sit here pecking at my keyboard, slaughter is lurking.  Their people.  Ours. My heart bleeds for all of them. Mostly, however, for the unfortunate soldier who was driven to do the unthinkable.  He should not have to suffer the blame or it's consequences alone.

The Thanks We Get

Every time I turn around it seems Americans are being blamed for all the ills facing the nations of the world ruled by radical Islamists.

It certainly gives one pause to listen to Ron Paul and just stay away!  Even if we get involved, say in Syria, it should be made clear it's for the sake of humanity; that no government has the right to slaughter it's own people.  Depose the government then get out.

We should be doing it now.  Other countries, like Turkey are willing to get involved but are waiting for some leadership from America.  Well, with this administration, forget that.

It brings us around to the current cycle of violence against us in Afghanistan.  Where days after the fact our soldiers are still being targeted for having burned some Korans. Desecrating the holy books is punishable  by death. To the infidels!  Us. They seem to forget that their own people are the ones who desecrated them, not our soldiers.  They had been written in and were being passed around to relay messages of jihad.  But it's so much more enjoyable to blame Americans and kill them while shouting God is great!

I was thinking about what symbol of ourselves we hold most dear.  Our flag.  How many times have we seen it burned by unruly mobs who hate us.  Yet we do not go out and slaughter them in return.

We have even seen it happen by our own citizens.  They are protected under the first amendment.  Freedom of speech, or if you will, expression.  It rankles our sensibilities to be sure, but somehow to our way of thinking it's a right that we have, no matter how distastefully it's being utilized.

I must agree with those who are encouraging more diplomacy in the handling of Iran, more people of the same ilk as the Afghanistans.  Should a war break out over Iran's nuclear ambitions it's lose lose for everyone involved. And we will bear the brunt of the blame whether or not we deserve it.  It's the nature of the beast and the depth of the hatred.

How many American lives is it worth losing for a mindset we cannot change?

Politically Correct War

We've been at war in Afghanistan for better than ten years.  It has been brutal. The warfare unconventional.  Our military tested to the extreme by too many deployments without sufficient breaks.  Families torn apart because we've too few regular forces to get it done and have had to rely on reserves and national guard.  Equipment in many cases having to be jury-rigged by the soldiers.

We put in place that which is nor more than a puppet government yet it has been pulling our stings for years.  It negotiates with the enemy we are fighting.  It dictates where we can engage right down to the time of day and what equipment we can use.  They cannot account for millions of dollars.  Their police and military, which we have trained, kill our men.

They enslave their own people, deny them education, stone them to death, torture them if they refuse to become prostitutes.  They side with their neighbors against us to keep vital supplies from getting through to our troops. They scold us as if we were children.

When a small group of our Marines showed their contempt for them by urinating on their corpses,  once again we're the bad guys.  We didn't show them enough respect. In the name of whomever, they're the enemy!  Look at the numbers of our men and women they have slain or maimed for life!  Respect them? How can any sane person even ask that what's more expect it?  Don't look for it here!

What the Marines did show is exactly what we think of them.  They are not worth the death of one more soldier.  We cannot wage war and nation build at the same time. They are not compatible undertakings and should not, in any case, both be tried by the military.

The footprints won't even be filled with sand upon our departure before the Taliban is back in power and Karzai either in cushy exile somewhere or a safe haven provided by the Taliban for his help against us.  Bet on it. Living on monies he siphoned from us.

Now they're considering court martials against a handful of war weary Marines.  Nothing more should happen to them than being told that's not the way to behave, and for heavens sake don't post any thing like it to You Tube.  That's a no brainer unless you're just too exhausted to think straight.

What is it with these generals?  They become politicians  at some point rather than military men.  I wonder how politically correct they'd feel if they were in the field with their men, rather than sitting in their heavily protected headquarters.

I'm so sick of our namby-pamby ways, our bowing to the enemy, our allowing them to call the shots while we die for what is questionably called a country of questionably civilized people.

I don't particularly like the word 'pissed'.  But I can say I am 'pissed' off about the whole war and the way it has been managed by the civilians giving the orders.  Maybe the Marines chose the wrong target.

"Pardon" Me?

Did you know that many states still have sex out of wedlock laws on the books? Strange isn't it?  In this day and age where it seems to be the norm rather than a sinful exception!

For all those who partake,  be darn glad you don't live in Afghanistan.  There you'd get a prison term.  The woman, that is.  Actually half the women in prison are there for  sex 'crimes' or running away from their husbands who many were forced to marry in the first place or maybe even sold to them.

When word got out about a 19 year old serving 12 years who was raped by a relative and gave birth in prison,  five thousand people signed a petition urging she be released.

Talk about nitpicking details.  Rape being considered, for legal purposes, as sex outside of wedlock!

Well, the pressure seems to have worked.  Karzai, that pillar of law, order and ethics, pardoned the woman.  Was it the 5000 signatures?  Nope.  She agreed to marry the rapist!

We're supporting this nation why?  Okay, we're leaving.  And we should.  As one nation, even if we had the strongest leadership in the world (forget we once did), we would not be able to change their mindset.  It's the way they have functioned for centuries.  It is the bedrock of their male dominated culture. Women are possessions. Nothing more.

It isn't that they don't know how other cultures function.  Their leaders have visited this country often enough as well as other western countries to know that women are valued, contributing members of society.  They just don't want them to be such in their own country.

The view that they hate us for our decadent ways doesn't seem to hold much water.  To me it's the result of a huge inferiority complex.  They can accomplish nothing without corruption.  Let's face it.  They are inept.  One way to feel superior is to pick on the weaker.  In this case by using archaic laws to enslave women.

My, what big macho men they are.  What role models.  What paragons of virtue.  What sorry excuses for human beings.