Afghanistan; “Right war, right time?”

When the United States invaded Iraq, the president not only had the support of the Democrats, they almost demanded that he invade. Intelligence collected by the Clinton Administration lead to the assumption that Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, had or was in the midst of developing weapons of mass destruction. These are facts supported by various congressional transcripts and videos. After no WMDs were found in Iraq, the most vocal democratic supporters of the invasion decided they no longer wanted to be there, and just as vocally demanded an immediate. I must admit that I congratulate Senator Clinton, on her steadfast unwavering support of the invasion, the surge, and our troops.

Senator Barack Obama has always stated that he was against the invasion. It’s easy to monday morning quarterback the issue after the fact. It is funny however to try to figure out what was in the man’s head back then. At the time he says he was against the invasion Barack Obama was merely a state senator, and not privy to national security reports, that had painted Iraq as a country ruled by a dictator and had WMDs within it’s grasp.

Senator Obama ran his campaign on two major items, the war in Iraq that we had to get out of, and the poor state of the economy. He claimed that we had “wasted” the money we had spent on the Iraq invasion, and thus it was part of the reason the economy was in such bad condition.

As I reported long ago in my blog, President Obama is far from being a dove, he just feels we invaded the wrong country(ies), and his aim now is to move the war from Iraq to Afghanistan and possibly a future run into Pakistan.

With the Taliban now taking up residence in Pakistan, and most intelligence now placing Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts in the same country, my question is………..why are we in Afghanistan? Isn’t this the very same country that Russia battled for 9 years and couldn’t beat?

If Obama’s intention was to reduce the money we spend on war for the betterment of the economy, he will not save us one thin dime by switching battle zones. This battlefront will cost us more, because of a few factors. Our troops are battle weary, and the use of more and more reservists leaves us less then ready to fight a new fight. Our war machine has been used, abused, and generally worn out. Many vehicles because of the extreme use are being left in Iraq, for the forces in training. This war has decimated our weapons and vehicles. President Obama has voiced his intention to decrease federal spending for the military by 10% and yet it needs a massive overhaul, and the troops need rest. Before the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Senator Inhofe-R-OK submitted an Amendment (S.AMDT.262) to refund dwindling military supplies, etc. to the tune of 5 billion dollars, it was turned down flat by the Democratic Congress.

"I would be very happy if there was some way to make it a misdemeanor for people to talk about reducing the budget deficit without including a recommendation that we substantially cut military spending." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

Generals on the ground have stated that fighting in Afghanistan will be a long drawn out affair, spanning 5 to 12 years in some opinions. They have stated that the Afghani people are far better equipped and are better at gorilla warfare then the Iraqi people. The outcome can’t even be certain, but history taught us that guerrilla warfare is the hardest to fight, when Vietnam handed us a defeat when Obama was a schoolchild in Indonesia.

Where are the calls from John Kerry, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid voicing their opinions against the Invasion of Afghanistan? Do they approve this action for no other reason than it’s a “democratic position?” Do they believe it was wrong to remove a brutal dictator who possibly possessed WMDs, and it’s ok to attack the people of a basically lawless nation, whose only crime is simply living there?

Is it ok to fund selfish “earmarks” in their own home states while ignoring our military?
Isn’t the primary intention of government to protect its citizens, and secondarily to protect our freedoms?

It is our duty to inform our congress that this is the wrong war, at the wrong time. Since the inauguration the government has been printing money 24/7, this is NOT fiscal responsibility; we can’t afford another war right now!

The way the administration has been “selling” the stimulus package is not working. If the market is driven more from perception then it is from action, the result is a direct reaction to programs the DOW doesn’t like.

My prophecy is that the market WILL drop below 7000, and recovery to the level of 9000 or more will take longer then 3 years.

Senator Obama asked during his campaign “are you in better shape now then you were eight years ago?” I’d like to ask President Obama if he feels we are better off now then we were a mere 35 days ago?