They’re like the people who yell BINGO! on a cover-all and don’t have one of the numbers.You’ve made an ass of yourself.Fools! Fools I tell you.

As for Obama, he is in way over his head here. Afghanistan is a whole different thing. The US used NATO and the UN in Afghanistan. One of the reasons the poppy crop has not been eradicated is that there are so many people among our allies there who do not support that mission. That is the problem with large joint missions, too many cooks.

I also wonder if sending in a lot of people would help. The terrain is so different that just keeping troops supplied could be a problem.

I heard a short report on the radio today about this and some Marine commander {I do not remember his name} said we need to stop depending on the Europeans who will not live up to their end of things and just send in enough Marines to do the job. And he was not talking about hundreds of thousands of troops either.

By his measure, we will soon be in hock to the Arabs, while he looks for alternatives.

Barack Obama based his editorial on Iraq in large part on the assertion by Nouri al-Maliki wants timetables for American withdrawal. Unfortunately, as the BBC notes, Maliki didn’t actually say that — although the fault really does not lie with Obama. In fact, the Maliki government doesn’t want date-certain withdrawal dates, and may not want a withdrawal at all

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/07/14/bbc-malikis-remarks-misreported/

= = = = = = = = = =

Is Obama already backtracking on troop withdrawal policy?

Seems he has drastically changed his website to reflect a flip flop on troop withdrawals in Iraq.

http://barackswhitelies.blogspot.com/2008/07/its-official-barack-flips-on-iraq.html

Obama: 911 Attack Caused by “Lack of Empathy”
Posted on July 14, 2008

The cover of the New Yorker isn’t the only controversy, the article itself is very revealing. It mentions how unstable the young Senator was, as he threatened to physically kick another Senator’s a$$! It also has this little snippet of interesting information from an Obama speech on 9/19/01 speech:
We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.
We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe—children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our own shores.

There is also a big difference between Afghanistan and Iraq. The Taliban are basically the protectors of the worlds heroin supply. Iraq is a sovereign nation. The Taliban is what happens when you have tribes with access to as much money as nations have. You can buy private armies, train, and equip them. You can pay off politicians millions of dollars to keep them off your back. You can corrupt intelligence organizations.

The first step in getting rid of the Taliban is eradication of the opium poppy cultivation. Until that is done, the Taliban will always be around.

I would not be surprised if Maliki set a trap for Obama – I doubt he wants him in the Oval Office “watching his back”!

Check this out over at Hot Air. It seems that Maliki’s comments about withdrawal were mis-translated and it is that mistranslation that everyone ran with.

The Iraqis have been trying to correct it for over 24hrs, but some places are still running the original translation and the reactions to it. Maliki does NOT want specific timetables for withdrawal.

Here’s a little snippet from Bill Roggio:

“More than 100 terror camps” in operation in northwestern Pakistan
By Bill RoggioJuly 11, 2008 9:05 AM

Al Qaeda continues to grow its network and expand its capabilities in northwestern Pakistan, US military and intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. The peace agreements have given the Taliban and al Qaeda time and space to re-establish their networks, which pose a threat not only to Pakistan, but the West as well.

Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and allied terrorists groups, collectively called al Qaeda and allied movements, or AQAM, by some in US military and intelligence circles, has set up a series of camps throughout the tribal areas and in the settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. “More than 100″ terror camps of varying sizes and types are currently in operation in the region, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. As of the summer of 2007, 29 terror camps were known to be operating in North and South Waziristan alone.

hmm….

I said Nawaz Sharif was a terrorist and we now have a terrorist state
with nuclear weapons. Any dream that an awakening is happening there
is just that, a dream.

Looks like Pakistan goes onto the list, nukes and all.