8:58:24 PM: There is a reason Afghanistan is referred to as the graveyard of foreign armies.
9:00:48 PM: Obama gettting ready to thread the needle on Afghan policy.
9:01:19 PM: Any Afghan policy that ignores the Pak military’s incubation of Islamists is destined for failure.
9:02:25 PM: Obama takes the stage at West Point. Here we go…
9:03:37 PM: Obama: “We did not ask for this fight.”
9:04:43 PM: Obama: “Al Qaeda…distorted and destroyed Islam…one of the world’s great religions.”
9:05:20 PM: Obama: Congressional approval to act against Al Qaeda is still in force today.
9:06:08 PM: Obama: We attacked Afghanistan after Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden.
9:06:59 PM: Obama: Iraq war pulled resources away from Afghanistan. We are now bringing Iraq war to a close.
9:07:44 PM: Obama building rationale – legal and otherwise – for escalating in Afghanistan.
9:08:18 PM: Obama: “Taliban maintains ‘common cause’ with Al Qaeda”
9:08:57 PM: Big mistake to conflate Taliban with Al Qaeda. That’s a recipe for a quagmire in Afghanistan.
9:10:19 PM: Obama makes weak argument for the current Afghan government. He says election marred by fraud but government is legitimate. WEAK.
9:11:13 PM: Obama: owe troops “a mission that is clearly defined”. Easier said than done.
9:12:24 PM: No serious person would fault Obama for taking his time making his decision. No need for him to defend deliberation time here. Ignore Cheney
9:14:03 PM: Is Obama LBJ or FDR? Still up in the air.
9:15:20 PM: Obama: “I am convinced our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” The most important line of the speech so far – crucial point.
9:16:49 PM: When Obama says “it is from here new attacks are being plotted”, he is referring to Afghanistan AND Pakistan. Nicely done.
9:17:49 PM: Obama: recently extremists were sent here from the “border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan” to commit new acts of terror.
9:18:44 PM: Obama speaking of “partners” in the region. He means Karzai and the Pak military. Both bad bets.
9:19:39 PM: Obama: goal is to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan”. Good goal, but perhaps, bad plan.
9:20:55 PM: Hmm: Obama says “to meet that goal, we will pursue the following objectives WITHIN Afghanistan”. What happened to Pakistan?
9:22:17 PM: Obama’s plan: 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to roll back Taliban and prop up Karzai. Doomed to failure.
9:23:57 PM: Flashback to Soviet withdrawal: Afghan prime minister and defence minister shell each other over skies in Kabul. I see a repeat whn US out.
9:24:52 PM: Hard to get support from Afghan people with food while there are boots on the ground killing civilians – however inadvertantly.
9:26:06 PM: The “cancer” in Pakistan is not limited to the “border regions”. Once again, American misdiagnosis of Pakistan. Same old, same old.
9:27:07 PM: Obama needs to study up on Pakistani military doctrine. Study 1971 and use of Islamist paramilitaries by Pak army. That has not changed.
9:28:05 PM: Obama says “there are a range of concerns” about Obama’s plan.
9:28:44 PM: Obama says Afghanistan is not Vietnam. He is right, but Afghanistan IS Afghanistan – and there lies the rub.
9:29:49 PM: Obama does not want to “muddle through” with current troop levels. Again, he is right. But, that again is not, and never has been, an option
9:30:36 PM: Obama rejects open-ended commitment. That is of course a good thing. But this is also why occupations are doomed in Afghanistan.
9:32:59 PM: The speech is winding down. It has been an extremely disappointing speech. In a sense, Obama punted. Disappointing.
9:35:03 PM: This is Obama trying to dig himself out of the mess GWB left him. It is not a long term strategy for South and Central Asia. Opp missed.
9:38:56 PM: Obama’s plan in a nutshell: prop up Karzai + prop up Pak army + insert 30,000 US troops = success. Plan ignores history and reality.
9:40:02 PM: Obama’s plan ignores root causes of instability in that region. Fails to excise al Qaeda from Afghanistan and stem unchecked Islamism in Pak
9:45:41 PM: Success vs al Qaeda required separating them from Taliban and creating rift between al Qaeda and their Afghan hosts. This plan does reverse.
9:51:07 PM: Closing thought on the Obama speech: The speech demonstrates a lack of vision. Clearly a product of decision by committee.
Nice work. Thanx. take care.
nice post. and wish you all the best
all the best obama.
Did he actually say al-qaeda destroyed Islam? Is Islam held to a higher standard that it can’t have a few bad apples? After all, Christianity has produced a few monsters and a few monstrous regimes.
All i can say is that, once and for all, peace should be the number 1 thing to think of.
Obama has great speeches but does he back it up?
Obama throughing some great speaches but does not look change any things
just old wine in new bottol
just old wine in new bottol
All I know is that I am eployed at a big Pharmaceutical company in Clayton NC and I endroce Barack Obama with all my heart. I invite all my friends and colleagues to vote for Obama in 2012!! I LOVE YOU OBAMA