The 9th and last war council: We Hope!

Obama's Afghan Decision: Getting them there and getting them out!



The next step






Those in attendance included: Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Bill Gates, Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy.

Also Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General James E. Cartwright, USMC, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff , General David Petraeus, U.S. Central Command, General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Commander in Afghanistan (via videoconference), Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (via videoconference), Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (via videoconference).

Plus General James Jones, National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, and Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, Special Assistant to the President for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy To Include “Benchmarks” and “Off-Ramps,” Announcement Next Week

How can you possibly equate that stellar team of adviser’s led by President Obama the listener and thinker to the likes of Rummy, Cheney, Rove, and the sole unthinking decider G W Bush? That was the 9th and last dramatic war council prior to Obama’s decision expected to be announced on or around December 1st.

Head of Management and Budget Peter Orzak had a ring side seat because of the costs involved. At a cost of $1 million per year per soldier and a possible “temporary” increase of of some 30,000 soldiers we are not talking peanuts here and have heard rumors of a war tax, pay as you fight!

With a crew like that brain trusting on how to clean up Bush and Cheney’s mess and extricate us as I have faith they will, I am sick of the destructive ass Cheney saying Obama is unsure of himself and is dithering. If Cheney and Bush had done a tad of Dithering on Iraq we would not be in this position.

Cheney said he and Bush left Obama the foundation to build on and he is not building on it. No kidding! With 8 years of ignored crumbling foundation it must be rebuilt before we can build on it and extricate ourselves from the mess Bush and Cheney made. Everyone in the world knows that is the problem except for Cheney who was the war decider. Obama said that after 8 years of neglect and disregard in Afghanistan he will finish the job. Seems to me that was a swipe at Cheney and Bush for dithering.
It is important and telling that Obama’s first State dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India is the largest Democracy in the world. Without a doubt in their closed door meetings they were discussing India’s role in quelling the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As we discussed in the past, it is important to have India on board as we move forward on the war in Afghanistan. India’s partnership is as important as China’s as we move into the 21st century. India is not only in Afghanistan and Pakistan but in the creation of jobs here in America. Eradicating terrorism as we discussed is not only Pakistan and India but the entire world.

I have said many times in the past that war seems to be the driver of our economy as a way to survive into the future. That said it seems fighting terrorism is our future and along with new energy sources and green jobs will keep economies of the so called civilized world afloat in the future. That said, Obama can concentrate on putting America back to work and that is not his top priority!



James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com