Picture from TimesOnLine.co.uk - (Nikola Solic/Reuters)Another ten brave men died this weekend in a war in Afghanistan that we are most certainly not winning right now. The reason we are not winning is political - not military. We have once again forgotten who we are. Take a look at these two simple quotes from one of the greatest men this nation as ever produced.
"In war there is no substitute for victory" - General Douglas MacArthur
"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it" - General Douglas MacArthur
How about another quote that invokes MacArthur's name? "I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur," President Obama told ABC News. Of course, Hirohito did no such thing, but the MSM will give him a pass on that one. They will also give him a pass on his campaign pledge that winning in Afghanistan would be his Administration's top priority.
Really? Let's examine that shall we.
On August 30th, the General that Obama himself appointed, sent an urgent request for more US troops to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal said in his war assessment that not only did we need more U.S. troops but that a new U.S. strategy was also urgently needed to defeat a growing insurgency in Afghanistan.
The President was vacationing in Martha's Vineyard at the time. Since September 1, the President has gone on SEVEN foreign trips. He has found time to play golf on four occasions, played some hoops with friends and even found time to mess around with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.
He has done eight TV interviews including Letterman. He's celebrated Ramadan at the White House, taken his wife out for their anniversary and taken to the kids to some of the sites in DC. He has delivered at least two speeches to AFL-CIO rallies, done numerous fundraisers, but has only answered questions from the press once in five weeks.
He did manage to declare October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month - that was just before he went to Copenhagen to try and bring home the 2016 Olympics - another failure! - and he did find time to go to the St. Regis Hotel in DC where a bunch of Democrat Governors were holding a big fundraiser. He even spoke at that event.
"I know some folks say we should focus on fixing the economy instead of on health insurance reform," he said. We all know what came next so let's not bother with it. Health care, health care, blah, blah, blah. Evil Republicans, George Bush, blah, blah, blah, Dick Cheney, blah blah.
Still no word on our men and women in harm's way of course, although he did manage to sign an an executive order banning federal workers from texting while driving government vehicles!!
So the question is, if "victory" is not our aim, what the heck are we doing there? Why is he having to make ten phone calls this weekend to the families of ten American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom?
The biggest problem seems to be that the President is not focused on what he should be focused on. You may remember that during the election, the McCain camp had some limited success with pointing out that the then candidate Obama had no Executive experience; no military experience and no foreign affairs experience. That lead to the whole "judge me by who I keep around me" garbage which is really working out well for the President I think.
But hidden in the fun of the campaign was a HUGE TRUTH that is now coming home to roost. Unfortunately the people paying the price for that hidden truth are the men and women in harm's way.
So Mr President I have a message for you.
MAKE A DECISION!!!
Either give YOUR GENERAL what he is asking for, or bring our men and women home. In the words of Douglas MacArthur...
"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it"
Remember - you can comment on this blog by e-mailing Simon at simontalkshow@gmail.com
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