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Home Front: Politix
Obama says he will shift emphasis to al-Qaeda
2008-03-20
Barack Obama says he will shift to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding in mountainous regions.
As opposed to Iraq, where we're in the process of destroying the al-Qaeda main force.
Obama, speaking Wednesday at North Carolina's Fort Bragg military base, declared he would begin “long-term investment in the Afghan people.”
Terminology alert: When Dems talk about making an "investment," they're not thinking of getting a return on it, only about handing out cash. For instance, making "an investment in our schools" breaks down to dumping large amount of money into substandard schools, which remain substandard but do become overpriced. They're always eager to "rescue" our schools, but I'm not aware of one that's actually been rescued.
“We will start with an additional $1 billion (640 million) in nonmilitary assistance each year aid that is focused on reaching ordinary Afghans,'' he said, according to AP
Without military force to control them, the Talibs will set fire to as much of that billion dollars as they can't steal.
Anti-war activists are commemorating fifth anniversary of US-led Iraq invasion to provoke more public awareness on the prolonged US war abroad. The presidential hopefuls have tried to take advantage of the occasion to show their opposition toward war or highlight their foreign policies.
Posted by:Fred

#20  OTOH, given that US Dems must be aware of US success in Iraq, Barack is not clear AGAIN whether by "ending the War" he truly means to UNILATER WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ-ME COMPLETELY = TOTALLY, VERSUS ONLY DIVERTING SIZABLE US ASSETS FROM IRAQ TO AFGANISTAN WHILE MAINTAINING A "SUFFICIENT" POTENT MILSUP LEVEL BACK IN IRAQ.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-03-20 22:45  

#19  The bulk of the people at FOX NEWS, CNN, + MSNBC/CNBC appear to be in rough consensus that the USA per se will only have to go back in iff OBAMA or HILLARY proceed wid their withdrawal or redux plans, and to include pulling out when the USA has either already won or on the threshold of complete mil victory.

THE GOOD NEWS FOR OBAMA > STEPHANIE MILLER on FOX - AMERS CAN TRUST BARACK + HIS MENTOR WRIGHT BECUZ HOW MANY AMERS STILL TRUST OR RELY ON THEIR CONTROVERSIAL? MENTORS = PERSONAGES DESPITE NOT ALWAYS BEING IN PUBLIC OR SILENT AGREEMENT WID THEIR VIEWS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-03-20 22:36  

#18  He gets to be AL GORE for 4 years!

crap! Can you imagine the increased food and replacement clothing bill, much less the heating and air conditioning at the newly 20,000 sq ft Chateau Rezko Gore O'bama?
Posted by: Frank G   2008-03-20 22:29  

#17  get bin laden already!

Bring a shovel and a bag.
Posted by: DMFD   2008-03-20 21:53  

#16  He gets to be AL GORE for 4 years!

I see a Nobel Piece Prize in his future.
Posted by: JohnQC   2008-03-20 18:42  

#15  Seems to me the better solution to the Opium Crop is to talk to the plant genetic engineers and make a very specific plant virus, targets poppies only, air spray and no more crop.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-03-20 18:25  

#14  get bin laden already!
Posted by: Waldemar Whaising4075   2008-03-20 17:45  

#13  Gore-Obama 2012 ?

And on the right, Colin Powell and David Petreaus. Drivers, start your engines!
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-03-20 16:33  

#12  Obama will get the nomination "stolen" by Hillary who will be "selected not elected".

That gives him a TON of power. He gets to be the biggest victim in a party of professional victims.

He gets to be AL GORE for 4 years!

Gore-Obama 2012 ?
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-03-20 16:27  

#11  Obama will not be elected so he can froth at the mouth by himself after the election in Nov.

[of course the Media Liberals will adopt him just like they adopted then elevated, Jimmy 'the-Sad-Sack-of-Shit' Carter, way past Jesus.]

Mitch H.:
"Other Enablers of Countercultural Assholedom."

thankyouverymuch. >:)
Posted by: RD   2008-03-20 14:18  

#10  So, let's see, he wants to do his nation building in Afghanistan where the people are only just barely past the stone age, opium is the number one crop and Christianity is strictly forbidden.

Then, he wants to pull out of Iraq where we are beginning to see hopeful signs that they really can pull it together and join the human race. Not to mention all that oil and the strategic positioning on the Gulf. Not to mention that al Qaeda is ready, willing and able to move quickly into the kind of a vacuum that we would leave. And what al Qaeda doesn't take, Iran will. Then they can seize the oil and use the profits to develop WMDs. Hmmmm. Then Big O's gonna take all the "savings" to Cubanize health care in America. Heck, he'll probably want to recruit doctors from Pakistan.

I'll say one thing for him: He has done what everyone thought was impossible by making Hillary Clinton look attractive.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2008-03-20 12:46  

#9  So this racist assclown is still saying we need to invade Pakistan.

Also, many of the opium farmers wouldn't mind trading crops, but the drug gangs threaten and kill them and they don't know how to grow anything else. I wonder how well wheat would do there since the cost of it is going sky-high.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-03-20 11:22  

#8  

Hey Barry, Al Qaeda is IN Iraq, you nitwit!
Posted by: doc   2008-03-20 11:14  

#7  Napalm works well too.

As for the farmers, PAY them to make other crops. Firebomb them if they do not. Carrot and stick.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-03-20 11:07  

#6  Ya know, the government has lots of experience buying up over-produced crops and storing/destroying the excess, in order to keep prices up. Give the Afghan farmers a slight premium for their crop over the going rate *AND* invest in infrastructure in the areas where farmers cooperate.

Consider it a form of latter-day Berlin Airlift; securing a foreign population in order to increase our own security.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2008-03-20 09:09  

#5  That's exactly what people have been saying for years now. Buy the stuff, dump it on the medical markets as needed. Buy the stuff at gunpoint if you have to, if it's more than the pharms can process or use, then dump it at sea. Farmers may be annoyed at not getting black-market prices & having to sell to the soldiers, but either way they're getting paid at gunpoint.

The drug warriors fucked up Afghanistan pretty badly. They turned an up-hill march into a cliff-climbing expedition.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no pot-loving libertarian. Drugs suck, and potheads in particular are stinking, halfwitted jackasses. But I care a hell of a lot more about winning the War on Islamism than I care about the War on Drugs & Other Enablers of Countercultural Assholedom.
Posted by: Mitch H.   2008-03-20 08:57  

#4  So what are you saying, we should subsidize the opium industry?

Either you fight the war to win or you quit and go home.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2008-03-20 07:41  

#3  ok, so somehow you 'kill of the opium trade', you've just destroyed the livelihoods of several hundred thousand Afghan farmers and their families. Do you think that would improve or degrade the security situation in Afghanistan?

Also, as the price of Heroin dramatically increases, heroin production would no doubt dramatically increase in the Golden Triangle, Lebanon, Central Asia etc. The question is if moving the trade to these countries (assuming such a step was possible), would reduce the funding terrorist organisations receive (I personally doubt it).
Posted by: Albemarle Cleaque8456   2008-03-20 02:41  

#2  A bit difficult to kill off the opium crop when President Hamid Karzai's own brother is involved in the trade. They're all bloody dirty. I'm afraid "Roundup" for people may be required.
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-03-20 02:10  

#1  And jsut who the F*** does Empty Suit Obama think we have been fighting and killing (and DISCREDITING) in Iraq?

Fricken moron.

Wanna get Afghanistan under control? Kill the opium crop 3 straight years. Agent Orange, roundup whatever. Choke off the cash supply.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-03-20 01:39  

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