The Scandal of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl and the Obama Administration - 2nd Term Blues

Guardian: Reports the following, " Some Republicans are portraying Bergdahl as disloyal, questioning the patriotism of his father and have claimed the president's decision to swap him for the five Taliban fighters – previously held at Guantánamo Bay – was an unlawful move that has endangered the lives of Americans. "

Lets Get Real:

After Libya one would have thought that the Oval would have been more careful when it comes to using foreign policy as a political tool, one can assume that those that were released will be back on the battlefield within a short period of time, the PR value to the Taliban will be great, it will show from their perspective that they have won, that the US like the USSR is on the way out of Afghanistan, forced out by the Taliban.    The truth and Afghanistan is never the final chapter, the US public is weary of the War, it seems to the US voter that the US has not gained from its presence, the Afghan Government is corrupt, the rights of women is under constant threat, the people want to be on the winning side.   Thus another poliitcal and foreign policy disaster for Obama. 

Another TRIAL for Sgt Bowe Bergdahl - 2nd Term Blues

BBC News: Reports the following, " The top-ranking US military officer has raised the possibility Sgt Bowe Bergdahl could be prosecuted if he abandoned his post before his capture. "

Lets Get Real:

The Obama Administration can hardly get Sgt Bowe Bergdahl released by the Taliban and then throw him back in to jail, they Oval would look foolish, the the Taliban would get a major victory, you deal with what you have, the Sgt might be last man you want in a foxhole with you but he is still part of the Army.    The Republicans will be after political blood, they see the Oval going around Congress again and using national security as a political tool.   At the end of the day you have to go with the decision, you have to trust that Oval took the decision for the right reasons, you have to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt. 

Obama's Iran - Contra Deal ?

BBC News: Reports " The main US political parties have clashed over the deal to swap five Guantanamo Bay detainees for a Taliban-held soldier, with Republicans warning it could put American lives at risk. "

Lets Get Real:

This blog has been thinking about this DEAL since the weekend, it did not rush to be critical of the deal, it does sound in part like Reagan's Iran deal in part, the White House has to make it clear that this was a one off, also it needs the CIA to keep an eye on the released Taliban.   The question that has been asked does this deal put a price on the heads of US soldiers still left in Afghanistan, the answer is YES, what if the Taliban take other US Soldiers as hostages, and demand the release of KSM.  This might open a box that comes back to bite the Oval in the backside, on the other hand if things go well in Afghanistan, that is a big hope the US after 2014 can leave with a majority of their troops and think the job has been well done and no one has bee left behind.   Hope and Afghanistan do not go together that often in history. 

Is the Oval losing the NYT ? - 2nd Term Blues

The New York Times: Has the following editorial comment on President Obama's major foreign policy speech at West Point, " The address did not match the hype, was largely uninspiring, lacked strategic sweep and is unlikely to quiet his detractors, on the right or the left. "

Lets Get Real: 

Is President Obama losing the liberal New York Times, YES/NO, the paper at the end of the day will always defend President Obama, the problem is that it can not defend both Obama and Hillary Clinton, something has to give, thus since Obama has only 2 years to go the NYT is moving its faith to Hillary in 2016.  The Oval will understand this move, political is a harsh business, your either in or out, and President Obama is heading for the door on January 20th 2017.   The liberal NYT wants to make sure that Hillary Clinton wins in 2016, thus any faults will be placed on the Oval, liberals do not want the political muck thrown by the Republicans to stick to Hillary, it is difficult as Hillary Clinton was Obama's first term Secretary of State, she has her own problems from the period, for followers of politics it will be interesting to see how the left moves, throwing Obama to his Republicans critics if need be to make sure its President Hillary Clinton on January 2oth 2017. 

The Vets Scandal - 2nd Term Blues

CNN - Politics: Reports " According to the sources, at least 40 American veterans died in Phoenix while waiting for care at the VA there. "

Lets Get Real:

This has become a major scandal for President Obama, and shown his weakness when it comes to management, the problems in the VA start before the Obama Presidency, but during the run for his 1st term as President, Obama stated on many occasions that looking after the Vets was a major concern for him, one assumes that the Campaign Staff did not think that this would come to bite them on the backside.   The fact that House and Senate Democrats are calling for heads to roll should make it easy for the Oval to sack people, but so far Obama has not moved, he must still be reading the IG report.   Lets be clear this blog is no fan of President Obama, but one has to be objective, the problems started well before he become President, he did not think it was this level of a disaster when he made numerous speeches on the subject.   The Oval hates to sack people, in that Obama has the same problem as Reagan.   The difference is that President Reagan had Nancy Reagan, in the end people were let go by President Reagan, the press dogs had the heads they wanted, who is that close to President Obama.   Every POTUS needs a Nancy Reagan or a Robert Kennedy, take the bark off during a crisis. 

Is the Chilcot Inquiry a WHITEWASH? - Iraq War

Guardian: Reports " Chilcot inquiry accused of whitewash over letters between Blair and Bush "

Lets Get Real:

The BBC/Guardian types will always be critical of Blair for Iraq, the will not be happy in less Blair is before the International Court, that is never going to happen, that what drives them crazy, there are lot of other policy and political judgements that Blair was wrong on, but not Iraq, the Iraq Regime was a threat to Western interests in the area, the fact that since the War the power of Iran has grown is down to the political decisions of those that followed Bush 43/Blair.    At the end of the day the UK has to be with Bush 43 when it came to the invasion of Iraq, the US is our closes ally, where the US goes we go, with Vietnam and Syria being the exception, the Syrian vote in the House of Commons was more a late reaction to Iraq.   Thus we see the start of the historical debate on Iraq. 

The Iraq Papers - The Iraq War

BBC News: Reports " Details of the "gist" of talks between Tony Blair and George Bush before the Iraq war are to be published, the UK's Chilcot inquiry says. "

Lets Get Real:

Thus finally we can close the file on the Iraq War, we shall see if Tony Blair gets any critical feedback to his role at the time, and others in the Government.   This blog supported the War and still does, in fact this blog supported keeping troops in Iraq, while opposing sending in more troops to Afghanistan.  At the end of the day Iraq is a kind of Democratic State, yes Al Qaeda has grown in influence, it will take time for the Iraqi Government to end the terrorist threat to the State.  The Iraqi Government has faced the growing terrorism threat from Syria, that is down to non action by President Obama, it seems from latest statements that POTUS wants to arm the secular rebels in Syria, lets see how that goes over time.  One can be highly critical of Blair for the post War planning for Iraq, but on the decision itself it was the right and moral decision, on that the Chilcot inquiry should not have a negative tone.