Monday, July 14, 2008

Barack Obama's Op-Ed in today's New York Times

Using war to make politics. Through all of the death, suffering, ruined lives, reopened wounds and abject loss, all the man can see fit to do is use it as leverage to bolster his own standing. His repeated mentions of John McCain's positions and George Bush's actions make it hard for me to see his own words as sincere. It's all about positioning himself against them. Them, them, them. Why couldn't he just state his positions without swiping at others? This article seems so dirty, so impure of purpose.

After reading his piece several times, I'm still not sure why he wants to end the war. He makes a nebulous statement that "Ending the war is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Taliban is resurgent and Al Qaeda has a safe haven." What does this mean? War in Pakistan? Move the war east? Were that to happen, will the people of Pakistan be more appreciative of a drastically increased number of Americans on their soil? Doubtful. What are these "broader strategic goals," anyway?

Regarding Afghanistan, Senator Obama proffers that "We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there." Which mission is that? Wiping out the Taliban? Good luck with that. No recommendations on how to do that one, huh? Oh wait, more troops and helicopters. Yeah, that usually does the job.

No mention of dead Iraqis.

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