Liberals in Congress and out are calling for a new tax to pay for the war on terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, rising unemployment and falling political prospects have driven President Obama and friends to fumble for stimulus 2.0, the first $787 billion Obama stimulus having now so obviously if predictably failed. Only liberals could propose higher taxes and a jobs summit at the same time and not notice the conflict. Of course, the real purpose of the tax proposal is to bring additional leftwing pressure …
On March 27th, President Barack Obama followed through on one of his core campaign promises and announced a New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that included sending an additional 21,000 troops to the region. Speaking from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Obama explained: “Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban — or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged — that country will again be a …
The AP reports today that “a request for new troops from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan may have to be revised now that there is growing uncertainty inside the Obama administration over whether to escalate the American commitment to the eight-year war.” General Stanley McChrystal is set to deliver his troop request, believed to be upwards of 40,000 additional troops, by the end of the week. It is now up to President Obama to decide if he will keep his promise to the American people when he committed to winning …
Congress has increased its focus on the war in Afghanistan as the Obama Administration fine tunes its new counterinsurgency strategy. Yesterday, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he supported “a properly resourced, classically pursued counterinsurgency effort.” Mullen acknowledged that “a properly-resourced counterinsurgency probably needs more forces – and without question more time and more commitment to the protection of the Afghan people and to the development of good governance.”
Press reports herald the release of a new Osama Bib Laden tape. Among the words of “wisdom” from the perpetrator of 9/11, a warning to America that Afghanistan is unwinnable. We should remember this is from a guy who has been hiding in cave for some time now. A “fearless” leader who also predicted death and destruction would accompany US elections. It did not. That the US would fail in Iraq. We have not. Since 2004, the head of al Qaeda’s man function seems to be to serve as an …
While cross cultural communication has been deployed throughout the ages, most notably during WWII and the Cold War, it has now become “unavoidable” if the United States is to succeed in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to Col. Glen Ayers, who until retirement last year was chief of the Psychological Operations Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Col. Ayers was part of the book panel discussion at Heritage on Sept. 10, focusing on the anthology, Cultural Intelligence for Winning the Peace, edited by Dr. Juliana Geron Pilon of the Institute …
Yesterday Iraqis celebrated a new national holiday, National Sovereignty Day, which marked the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities. This partial pullback, which is a vindication of the Bush Administration’s surge strategy, has gone relatively unnoticed in Washington, perhaps because many members of the Obama Administration opposed the surge and remain ambivalent about progress in Iraq. Thanks to Bush’s surge, which enabled an Iraqi surge, violence in Iraq is down by 90 percent from its peak in 2007. Iraqi security forces have made great strides in improving their …
Repeating the Mistakes From the Iraq War in Afghanistan Yesterday, early in the morning, the House Armed Services Committee finished its work on the Defense Authorization bill for 2010. The bill unfortunately falls short is several areas, including a slashing of our missile defense program and a failure to dedicate the resources necessary to prevail in Afghanistan. I recently took a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. This was my first trip back to Iraq since having served with the United States Marine Corps in al Anbar province from August 2005 …
Major Senate Floor Action – The Senate will be considering the conference report for the Iraq and Afghanistan War Supplemental bill. The Senate is set to except language that would allow the release of prisoner abuse photos, but only after the Obama administration promised to use executive authority to block them. There is also a $100 billion IMF bailout in the bill. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will bring a tourism bill to the floor that will create a government marketing firm to promote tourism to the United States.
President Barack Obama’s speech in Egypt on Thursday received mixed reviews both among the crowd at Cairo University and across the Middle East. Indeed, there were some praiseworthy passages in the address including his call for greater religious tolerance, his emphasis on women’s rights, and his recitation of America’s founding principles. But the speech was also highly problematic in many ways that will end up backfiring on the President and the United States: Iraq – Obama attacked the decision to go to war in Iraq as “a war of choice” without …
