Its pretty pro forma to have your resignation ready when you get called 7,000 miles across the earth out of a warzone to face up to your mistake.
Chicago professor. And not a great scholar, either.
I have a friend who’s into counterinsurgency strategy. It’s a very hard and expensive way to fight a war. It’s long-term. You shouldn’t say “OK” to it without realizing that.
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Chicago professor. And not a great scholar, either.[/quote]
Yes, and this can’t be emphasized enough, IMO. He wasn’t even all that great a professor - he published zilch on the topic he is supposedly “expert” on.
W/r/t McChrystal, I think most of the derogatory comments came from anecdotes from his inner circle. It doesn’t matter - it’s not as though McChrystal is denying saying them - but there really was no substantive policy differences between the general and the president. It seemed to be all about the general (and his inner circle) thinking Obama and Biden to be world-class wimps and their appointees to be world-class morons.
Strong opinions, but ones needed to be held privately and not put on display to a hipster reporter from an antiwar magazine.
[quote]AlisaV wrote:
Chicago professor. And not a great scholar, either.
I have a friend who’s into counterinsurgency strategy. >>>[/quote]
Ya don’t say? I have one who’s a big LRRP fan =] How some people spend their weekends, I’ll tell ya.
Seriously though. Krauthammer’s very simple non sarcastic words from last night keep coming back to me. After going over the qualifications of a president/commander in chief he kinda frustratingly exclaims “he doesn’t know how to do this”? That might not be very profound, but it sure fits.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
Of course he didn’t understand what counter-insurgency meant. The Fucktard-in-Chief didn’t even know how to pronounce corpsman; how’s he supposed to understand counter-insurgency? He’s a Harvard professor who slid into the job via the Chicago Machine waterslide.[/quote]
You know, this has always been frightening to me. Without any exaggerated or partisan criticism, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to believe (prior to his election and now) that Obama is even remotely an adequate commander in chief. Not only do I think he suffers from a lack of aptitude (executive decision-making is not his forte, etc.), I think he has no interest in the job.
I never felt that way with previous Presidents. Certainly not either Bush, and not Clinton. I doubt I would feel this way with Hillary Clinton, who I would expect to take the role seriously (whether or not I agreed with a given decision). But I have very little confidence in Obama as a wartime commander. I expect his generals probably feel the same way (certainly McChrystal feels that way).
[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
<<< I think he has no interest in the job. >>>[/quote]
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he views military responsibilities as sorta like that nagging kid that keeps running up and yanking on his pants, babbling some inconsequential nonsense while he’s trying to have grown up conversations about his insanely aggressive legislative agenda. Aw man, not again, I got stuff to do,
Remember when BAM gave the go ahead for the seal snipers to blow away those pirates. That was pretty bad-ass. Good old days.
As an Obama fan I’ll admit that his military record has been less than ideal. Maybe he just realizes we have got to get the fuck out of afghanistan and is kind of non-committal and maybe thats totally reasonable. Maybe thats why McChrystal commited career suicide.
This kind of counter insurgency requires a functioning local government with lets say less than rampant corruption. Afghanistan is a fucking NARCO-STATE. Good luck with that.
Afghanistan is the geographic term for a collection of hundreds of un-afilliated tribes who view any outsider as an occupier fit only for death. Wherever the army goes, thats where the opposition is sure to be.
I heard an estimate today that nation building in afghanistan will take an additional 10 years at least. Fuck that. We cant afford that.
Total fucking quagmire.
It’s all just kind of depressing.
Look, I’ve always sympathized with Obama – I think I’d have the same failings in his place. They’re the kind of failings I understand. But they are failings. You get yourself a good job, and you could almost believe that you’re good enough, that you deserve this honor. But you don’t actually know what you’re doing; you just got lucky. So you have to brazen it out. I know the feeling – I’ve been there. But it’s not good for any of us when the president’s in that position.
Well…I’m a “half-full” kind of person, AlisaV…and a varacious student of History.
I guess I’ve seen too many “qualified” people in history fail miserably…and those counted out and considered “over-their-heads” rise to the occasion and become some of the greatest examples of determination and perseverance in History.
We’ll see. I’ll judge the sum-total of Obama’s Presidency when it’s over.
Mufasa
Then his Presidency would have been a failure.
Mufasa
[quote]pushharder wrote:
[quote]Eli B wrote:
As an Obama fan…Maybe he just realizes we have got to get the fuck out of afghanistan and is kind of non-committal and maybe thats totally reasonable…[/quote]
Yep, you’re a true blue believer alright…[i]“I Prez Bam do here pledge my noncommittal and think that’s totally reasonable. I have concluded this is best for our citizens and our brave soldiers and Marines in the field. You can count on me to continue to be a wishy-washy bastard and besides…you surely don’t think McCain woulda done any better, do you?”[/quote]
Non-committal or maybe cautious. Yeah fan maybe a strong word at this point now that the rose colored glasses have come off and I realize hes just a politician. I just think hes better than the last guy.
edit: What the fuck is with the italics. Shit is contagious.
[quote]Eli B wrote:
This kind of counter insurgency requires a functioning local government with lets say less than rampant corruption. Afghanistan is a fucking NARCO-STATE. Good luck with that.
[/quote]
Not for long.
See thread on mineral deposits/extractive resources.
China will have Afghanistan for supper.
[quote]Otep wrote:
[quote]Eli B wrote:
This kind of counter insurgency requires a functioning local government with lets say less than rampant corruption. Afghanistan is a fucking NARCO-STATE. Good luck with that.
[/quote]
Not for long.
See thread on mineral deposits/extractive resources.
China will have Afghanistan for supper.[/quote]
Maybe, if they want to. They do have the population and long term thinking to undertake a cultural assimilation strategy.
Geography is a serious obstacle though. They’d have to boat people in by the millions.
Sometimes it’s just easier to establish trade agreements.