Bombs and Dollars – American Foreign Policy Blog – China, Afghanistan, Pakistan

OMG! Terrible, terrible day for Michael Moore! Barack Hussein Obama, sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, in what is the final nail in the coffin of the “hopes” of anti-war protesters in U.S.

Obama speech – full text

Going against his anti-war messiah image, Obama is said to follow Saint George II’s footsteps by sending more troops, which is already drawing parallels to Vietnam from eager anti-war brigade…

Here are the “responses on the internet” regarding this momentous decision…
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Barack Hussein Obama decided at last. That he already made a mess of the whole Afghan scenario by dithering for so long is still a factor, but nonetheless, he decided. The U.S. is going to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

The sending of troops, though a relief for the over-stretched boys there, comes at a heavy price for Obama if we analyze it seriously.

1. It smells thickly of ego of the U.S. president, as he is sending the troops alright, but not as much as the wishes of the generals posted on field. (General McChrystal wanted 80,000, but his realistic recommendation was 40,000.) This can pose two simultaneous problems. If the troops suffer casualties, the whole blame will be totally on him for not sending the sufficient number according to the calculations, and if they succeed, he will be pointed, for wasting so much time in deciding, and could have prevented the deaths of the soldiers in the last one year.

2. He lost total credibility among the thick anti-war base in his home, and his party, which helped him win the election a year back. Thus proving the necessity, and inevitability, of military operations in Afghanistan beyond doubt.

3. The Republican base can celebrate a moral victory today, and Bush junior must be laughing in his drawing-room.

4. Also proving the fact that words such as “Hope/Change” is basically bogus, and cannot and will not ever be an alternative of careful planning and practical execution.

Barack Husein Obama is a lonely man today, having lost his credibility, and with that…his spine. Continue reading

Obama should realize that, with Mehsud dead, this is the best time to deal the deadly final blow to the depleted Taliban.

The “War on Terror,” if we can still call it a war, drags on to its ninth year, with the most recent development being the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud by an unmanned U.S. Drone attack. The holy war of “sacrifice, martyrdom, and pride”, waged by the mostly, militia type “non-state” factors against the mighty war-machines of United States, NATO, or the Israeli army also saw the evolution of post-modern wars, which is more of a war of attrition and endurance, than of brute force. Now, we should keep in mind, that, in these kinds of wars, the chance of an overwhelmingly decisive victory is small and tricky. Because if these so called non-state factors, can even create a perception of victory, the kind Hezbollah did in the 2006 Israel war, which for all practical purposes they do by simply enduring the assault, it plays on the psyche of the people, which in turn, opens up lock gates for new recruitment, for the “divinely victorious” force.

Now coming to the main theater of this drama, the question that was unanswered for all these years is where did the Taliban vanish after their caves were smoked out, their communication and military destroyed and their cities liberated? The answer almost came as a shock to the people of the world, early this year, when Pakistan plunged into a civil war with the Taliban, after an initial unsuccessful policy of appeasement.
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Here’s some funny news. Our new American president is a man with a huge ego evidently, which is probably at a peak after the historic health care bill passed the house…(now people, just to get things clear, recently the word “historically” is being used and often interchangeably with something good…ironically while forgetting that history brought us Stalin, Hitler and Carter…)

The promised Afghan Surge, which was a cause of a debate and accompanying headache for “That Chosen One”, was being put off and delayed for ages. ‘Cause President Obama, was in a terrible, terrible moral dilemma faced typically by Democrat presidents, who wants to keep their champions of peace image alive (which they can attain with just the order of some fish tacos).

We’ve seen these before. Carter, Clinton, both “hoped” to “change” to an “ethical” foreign policy. Only later faced a cold cruel reality, Carter in Iran embassy siege, Clinton in Kosovo.

Obama, however played smart. Continue reading

Our respected Managing Director of this Blog, who is a keen observer of the developments of Afghanistan, when he gets his rare free time that is, was kinda critical of me, as I have been neglecting Afghanistan, from my posts. I was giving the excuse that even Obama is neglecting Afghanistan…big deal!

But no more…not after the result of Afghan re-election (if you can say the supremely farcical and ludicrous drama to be any kind of a democratic process!) a couple of days back.

Not that it changed anything major though! Afghanistan is still chaotic, it’s government hilariously corrupt, people still have their morning tea everyday, while waiting for the next roadsides I.E.D.s to blast. Soldiers, mostly British and American, die without knowing the reason and awaiting replacement. Continue reading