Afghanistan, Time to Finish the Job

On Tuesday evening, President Obama set out on keeping one of his main promises, refocusing the United States' attention on Afghanistan.

In the face of vicious conservative critics who relentlessly screamed about the president taking his time on making a decision on the next move in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama kept his cool. At West Point, he laid out a plan for an additional 30,000 U.S. soldiers on the group in Afghanistan, in addition to several thousand more NATO ally troops. He also noted that depending on the situation like to handover control of the war torn country's security to Afghan forces, and begin withdrawal of troops in July 2011.

Here's my take:

The president has angered folks on either side of the aisle. Conservatives who have been praying for the president to fail, are actually willing to support him. But, they're shouting that he should not have set a date for a troop withdrawal...in other words don't have an exit strategy...like another country the U.S. is currently occupying. Scare tactics at their worst.

Liberals are upset with sending thousands of soldiers to Afghanistan to fight terrorist cells and the oppressive Taliban, both of which have reemerged in the country since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. They would rather focus on the domestic agenda.

In my mind, President Obama has made the right call. For the last six years, Afghanistan has been virtually ignored in the shadow of Iraq. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have come back along the boarder or Pakistan, and pose a greater threat. The addition of 30,000 troops will help dismantle and destroy the terrorist group's operations and force the Taliban out again. In 2001, U.S. forces accomplished these goals in a matter of months, and practically had Osama bin Laden in their grasps. But, the Bush administration took their eye off the ball.

Setting a timetable for the transfer of power and the withdrawal of troops is necessary. It signals to the people of the United States that the government is committed to ending the conflict. But more importantly, it sends a strong message to the people of Afghanistan that the United States is not an occupying power, and to the Afghan government that the country and its security will soon be its own responsibility.

It may be hard to realize it in the midst of an economic recovery, becommitting the country to Afghanistan is extremely important if we as a nation are truly determined to defeat Al-Qaeda. In the 1980s, when the United States helped the Afghans defeat the occupying Soviet Union, we made a major mistake. We did not follow through and help the Afghan people establish infrastructure and build their country. It left Afghanistan's government, but more importantly, its people vulnerable to Islamic extremism and anti-American sentiment.

After 8 long years of this war, and 6 years of little or no progress, it is time to finish the job.

Weapons at Obama Rallies

Heathcare reform is a touchy subject in the United States these days. But outside of events where the President of the United States is speaking in favor of heathcare reform, some opponents are packing heat.

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an opponent of President Obama's proposal had a handgun strapped to his leg. Today outside of the president's speech at the VFW convention in Arizona, 2 protesters were carrying automatic assault rifles. One of them was in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle and shouted anti-Obama rhetoric.

Sounds illegal, right? Wrong. Arizona is called an open-carry state, which means people are allowed to carry firearms in public as long as they are visible. So, these folks are being defended as just exercising their Second Amendment rights...

The Second Amendment to the Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Last time I checked, a couple of guys shouting about the president while holding assault rifles doesn't qualify as a militia, and it is far from being well regulated.

Guns and flaring tempers are a bad mix, especially when the first African-American president in the nation's history is the target of the outrage. NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED NEAR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WITH A LOADED FIREARM!

How about instead of exercising Second Amendment rights, the people opposed to President Obama's healthcare reform proposal try exercising some common sense?

Independence Day

Following the weekend marking the anniversary of the U.S.'s independence, another man has declared his own, Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy Cahill.  He has announced he is leaving the Democratic party, and is currently un-enrolled. Many are considering this to be the first step toward a run for governor.

This is a strong move from the Commonwealth's treasurer.  Not only does this separate himself from the more fiscally liberal Democrats on Beacon Hill, but it also means he won't have to take Deval Patrick one on one in a Democratic primary.

Yet, this potential candidacy could also spell disaster for the Dems' hopes of holding on to the governorship.  Cahill would likely take Democratic voters away from Patrick, dividing the party and possibly allowing a Republican back into the corner office.

Governor Patrick certainly has his work cut out for him in his 2010 re-election campaign.  He has failed to pass several key pieces of legislation, most importantly casino gambling, which he has been advocating for years now.  He has also proposed an increase in the gas tax, taxes on soda, candy and alcohol, and has raised the state's sales tax from 5% to 6.25% (effectively 7 cents per dollar).  All of these issues have left Patrick's approval ratings in shambles.  Seems like a perfect moment for Cahill to strike.

It is a lot to swallow for Bay Staters, but they may forget all about their governor's short comings (much to Mr. Cahill's dismay) when he rolls out some of his close, popular friends from Washington.  You know, like President Barack Obama.

Obama Gets It Right

The president recently traveled to Cairo to address the United States' relationship with the Islamic world.  I must say I think Mr. Obama's speech was outstanding.  His address followed a careful strategy.  It was inclusive to Muslims, pointed out that the main target of Islamic terrorists have been other Muslims, and he even quoted the Koran to drive his point of peace between the West and the Middle East home.  But, he also was strong in his defense of the war in Afghanistan and the right of the United States to defend itself.  He struck a careful balance, hopefully folks on both sides were listening.

No More Monkey Business

When I first saw the now famed money cartoon on the news I could not believe my eyes. My jaw quite literally dropped. It wasn't until later that I tried (unsuccessfully) to put it into the context of the recent chimpanzee attack in Connecticut.

This cartoon is so openly racist it is hard to understand how the editors at the New York Post failed to notice its blatant meaning. I know this tabloid isn't exactly the bed of journalistic integrity, but there must be at least some shred of journalistic judgment in that newsroom, right? It is comparing the first African-American President of the United States to a chimp! How can the racial meaning not come through almost immediately?!

The Post has since apologized for publishing the offensive piece. But in an editorial in the "newspaper" actually lashes out at media critics it says saw the cartoon as "an opportunity for payback." It goes on to refer to them as "opportunists" and flatly states that those people are due no apology.

It is sad to see that in a country that has broken down one of the largest racial barriers in its history with the election of President Obama can be reduced to such petty, childish, offensive, and disgustingly low levels.

Oui, nous pouvons!

I recently spoke with a friend via Facebook who is living and studying in France for the semester. She's been away for close to a month now. I asked her what it was like to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama from another country.

She said she felt something she hasn't felt for a while...pride in her country.

"I think I felt more emotional about it because I was in France...I am so proud to call Obama my president, I kind of feel like an ambassador of our new Obamified nation," she said.

She said in the days leading up to January 20th that Obama's face was plastered on almost every newspaper and magazine cover, and that she's hopeful the new president can improve our strained foreign relations with with France and the world.

"I didn't watch the inauguration speech itself with many French people, except for a few of my professors, and they seemed really amused by us. A bunch of us were crammed into the only office in the building that had working speakers so we could watch the live feed on CNN.com. I think the French were more interested in OUR interest in the speech than they were in the actual inauguration, but there is definitely a huge air of excitement about Obama here."

Based on my friend's account, it looks like Obama has the whole world saying "Yes We Can!" in just about every lanuguage there is.