While BO inherited many wars and he did promise to stop a few, the appearance of leadership, a commonly applauded activity consisting of quick decisions whether wise or not, whether prudent or not, whether good or not, whether appropriate or not, whether founded on the facts or not, whether dependent on theology or not, whether right or not seldom does much but assuage the confusion and delusions of those watching the ‘show’. In no way do I wish to minimize the importance of affording the ‘masses’ a less confused and less deluded vision of reality by any leader, this activity is important. Now, the question becomes how much should one replace actual wisdom of a situation such as a ‘war on terror’, a non sequitur if ever there was one, with pabulum for the hungry hoard. This is something that I have no clear cut answer for.
In the specific case, the humanitarians and families of many of the military involved might wish a faster withdrawal. At the same time, those with stock in Boeing and GE et al as well as other associated strings of the web of the military industrial complex might not be in such a hurry. Nor would many politicians who fear any decision might mean being unseated next round of elections wish to hurry the process as far as I can tell. Of course, for some, theology comes into the mix… and on both sides of the issue. There are the liberal sympathetic and the conservative hardliner views to consider. Perhaps this sort of war is an innate aspect of human and animal existence. Somehow, I also see a transcendental view as not quite matching the materialistic ones. On Oct 6, 2:49 pm, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes, Obama's war is winding down. I wish he had the guts to cut bait > or fish but it seems the strategy is to remain there putting our > soldiers lives at risk fighting a half-ass war with one arm tied > around our back. The unfortunate leaks have only exacerbated the > problem. Gen. McChrystal may very well have sacrificed his career > going public with this disaster but I understand why he did it. I > wish he'd just quit; talking sets a bad precedent. We don't need our > military bickering with our elected officials. Mr. President, in > Afghanistan it is time to shit or get off the pot. All this > indecision is making us look weaker and weaker. > > dj > > > > On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 6:07 AM, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > the louder the erudite tunes from the latest best and > > brightest -- whistling past graveyards, to be filled by people far > > away. Orn. > > > That's about it I'm afraid. The only way any of this might make sense > > is through dreadful assumptions about someone's human nature. A > > brilliant turn of phrase Orn. > > > On 6 Oct, 09:48, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I hesitate to repeat my views again about such things Neil. So, here > >> are some words from someone else. > >> Orn. > >> =========== > >> Starting Another Year of War in Afghanistan > > >> October, 02 2009By Solomon, Norman > > >> October 2009 has begun with the New York Times reporting that "the > >> president, vice president and an array of cabinet secretaries, > >> intelligence chiefs, generals, diplomats and advisers gathered in a > >> windowless basement room of the White House for three hours on > >> Wednesday to chart a new course in Afghanistan." > > >> As this month begins the ninth year of the U.S. war effort in > >> Afghanistan, "windowless" seems to be an apt metaphor. The structure > >> of thought and the range of options being debated in Washington's high > >> places are notably insular. The "new course" will be a permutation of > >> the present course. > > >> While certainty is lacking, steely resolve is evident. An unspoken > >> mantra remains in effect: When in doubt, keep killing. The knotty > >> question is: Exactly who and how? > > >> News accounts are filled with stories about options that mix > >> "counterinsurgency" with "counterterrorism." The thicker the jargon in > >> Washington, the louder the erudite tunes from the latest best and > >> brightest -- whistling past graveyards, to be filled by people far > >> away. > > >> In the White House, there's no indication of a pane that's facing the > >> pain in Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, where > >> the U.S. government continues to bring gifts: a dollar's worth of > >> warfare for a dime's worth of everything else… > > >> For the rest of the story, > >> see:http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/commentaries/4000 > > >> Again, one small vignette about a few people, humanity and the lack > >> thereof as well as what feeds insurgency. The USSR had it right… > >> retreat. > > >> On Oct 6, 12:44 am, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > "Truth..."http://video.google.com/videosearch?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1ACGWCENUS3... > > >> > All clear now? ;-) > > >> > On Oct 5, 5:29 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > Perhaps the recession is a depression after all. It seems Chris was > >> > > approached to lend his ear in traditional manner so we could have a > >> > > basis for a just war (the second war of another Jenkins' Ear) and > >> > > refused on the moral grounds that he was not offered enough money and > >> > > exclusion from the draft. In place of this, the powers that be are > >> > > ramping up Afghanistan, where we can fight a just war on behalf of the > >> > > new tradition of protecting unfairly elected governments and a > >> > > necessary search for WDM there (weak, democratic malcontents). In > >> > > once smoke filled rooms, our foreign policy analysts and > >> > > econometricians have decided we need a war, any old war, to recover > >> > > from the recession. The first stage will be a draft of 50,000 new > >> > > troops to protect a run off election between Khazi and Abdullah > >> > > Abdullah (votes for him will only count half). In my view, these > >> > > battalions should consist only of unarmed bwankers parachuted in at > >> > > random and led by Rumsfeld espousing that a sensible strategy must > >> > > make no sense at all to the enemy and that all must remain silent on > >> > > it on pain of death. There is no shortage of recruits to kick him out > >> > > of the plane first to further protect the strategy. > > >> > > Any more sensible suggestions on what we are doing in this country?- > >> > > Hide quoted text - > > >> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
