GW Obama??

Most who read here will not be surprised that I am steadfastly opposed to our continued military occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have never believed that it was in our national interest to be an army of occupation in any country that did not directly attack our own or pose any real and imminent threat to our security. Therefore it should come as no surprise that I was not swayed by what I will sadly refer to as the GW Obama speech on escalating our military presence in Afghanistan delivered Tuesday night. Unlike some of my friends, however, I cannot say that I was surprised by what I heard or the actual plan itself. Having never really drunk the Obama-aid I was only hoping that the tenor of President Obama’s words might have been a little less militaristic. My concerns about the new Obama administration are expressed to various degrees here and then again here. Most recently, in June I wrote (over at my other gig as the Snohomish County Progressive Politics Examiner) about the official transfer of ownership of the “war” into the hands of President Obama and the Democrats.

Some of the “low-lights” of the GW Obama speech came as Obama, just as W so many times in the previous 7 years, invoked 9-11 as the impetus for his actions. Just as Bush had used “slight of tongue” to convince an unwilling public that Iraq was somehow involved in the 9-11 attacks, Obama repeatedly proclaimed that the 9-11 attacks originated in Afghanistan, as if to imply the same level of threat that existed prior to that attack continues today even though the Taliban are no longer the official government there and their numbers have been drastically reduced as a result of the initial invasion. Of course the effect of this is to conjure up the memory of “we shall fight them there so that we don’t have to fight them here”. This is not to say that there is no threat to us from the Al Qaida network or other terrorist groups. However, it is a continuing disservice to the American people to tell us that sending thousands of troops into the mountains and deserts of the Middle East will ever defeat an enemy who operates as a de-centralized and highly mobile force and whose membership continues to be reinforced through our own actions in leaving a trail of “collateral damage” in our wake.

Perhaps the most unsettling piece of President Obama’s plan is the Bushian “money is no object” meme. There is not a day that goes by that the country is not reminded of the tough economic times inherited by the Obama Administration. There is still much debate over the effectiveness of the Obama stimulus plan to divert a full depression. Very few outside the administration are pleased with the Wall Street Bailout plan and to add to this, a healthcare reform bill that is beginning to look and sound more and more like a handout to the health insurance industry – complete with mandates for coverage and only the most impotent “public option”. Add to all this economic tragedy, an increased price tag to surge the already surging military effort in Afghanistan for at least another 18 months. And how will this effort be paid for? Well, again as I wrote in April, Obama has already proven that he is not unwilling to use the Bush tactic of “off-budget emergency supplementals” to provide the funding for war. And, just as in June, there is very little doubt that he will once again achieve that otherwise elusive bipartisanship as our congress has proven they can come together “for the troops”. Now there’s change we can believe in…

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue