US Focus- Foreign Policy, White House Imposters & Tiger Woods

It seems that in America we are still not learning lessons from our past! This evening, President Obama is supposed to formally announce, at West Point, that there is a new policy for Afghanistan. We can expect a well-worded defense of a policy where we send an additional 30,000 to 35,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but that the President announces that this is part of an overall "exit policy," (he probably won't call it that!) restricted for a limited period/ not endless (but don't expect an actual timetable), and that the additional troops are needed to assure that "we accomplished our mission," and that US troops will be training the Afghanistan military to take over that country's security. And, yes, this is from a man who a little over a year ago won the Presidency, at least partly because he stated that his opponents in the primaries and the election supported our war in Iraq (and Afghanistan), and he did not! Of course, he was NOT a Senator when that vote was taken, so it was easy to use some revisionist history! Certainly, the President will give another excellent speech. However, it seems that Mr.Obama has never stopped campaigning, even after he was elected! In a case of reality copying fiction, Robert Redford, in the movie, "The Candidate," famously asked, "What do I do now?" after the fictional inexperienced but handsome Senator was elected. It must be so very disappointing and disillusioning to the candidate Obama's many impassioned supporters who believed that Mr. Obama would change the country for the better. Unfortunately, for many, the only change has been the little bit of change remaining in their pockets as a result of these record deficits, recession, and high joblessness rates!
Think back to the Johnson, "There is light at the end of the tunnel," Vietnam-era declarations, and the reasoning that kept so many Americans there for so many years, at such a high cost both in human terms as well as financially, only to get the same or even worse results than we probably could have had leaving years sooner. If we really try to defend sending MORE troops into Afghanistan, when our justification for having over 60,000 troops there now (before the increase)is questionable, then I maintain it is time for the American people to once again consider peaceful anti-war protests, so that no more American lives are lost in a questionable war! Shame on President Obama, who stated opposition to President Bush's troop increases (he called them surges as you might recall). You can be fairly sure that the President's speech this evening will NOT use the word surge. How would you feel if it was your loved one sent in harms way, and rumor has it being deployed during the Holiday season! How interesting and predictable is it that President Obama has selected West Point as the location for this "announcement."
The press has given more publicity to the White House imposters who "crashed" a White House dinner party. But how much confidence should it give Americans if this could be done this easily at the White House, many do NOT feel comfortable permitting our government to oversee very much! There is MORE security at airport security sites! There is plenty of blame to go around for this error, which fortunately ended without disaster. But for Congress to be giving this less attention than they previously gave to football helmets says quite a bit about the problems in our political system, and governance. Watch carefully as the Secret Service blames the White House staff, who will blame the caterers, who will blame the event planners, etc. They are ALL to fault!!!
Yet, the media has spent more time and effort about Tiger Wood's minor car crash, and personal life, than about other issues. Tiger's situation has been the lead stories on radio, television, magazines, newspapers, etc. Tiger Wood's damaged his Cadillac SUV, and perhaps his image. That truly should NOT impact anyone other than he and his family!
I hope that we Americans wake up to the situation in Afghanistan before we are mired in another foreign war that does nothing constructive, but injures, kills, and damages lives, while utilizing even more US dollars from an economy with already a 1.4 trillion dollar deficit! Revisionists on the right will say that it is undemocratic and unpatriotic to oppose our war efforts, as they blame others for our "failure" (yes, I said failure) in Vietnam! The US again needs to become a leader, but NOT by fighting wars, but by leading the world out of the recession and high unemployment! Isn't it about time that we consider ramifications and inevitable outcomes of our actions, and address the real priorities (economic issues)?

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