The Afghan War and US Public Opinion - 2nd Term Blues

CNN - Politics: Reports on its new poll on the US view of the Afghan War, the article notes the following, " ..Support for the war in Afghanistan has dipped below 20%, according to a new national poll, making the country's longest military conflict arguably its most unpopular one as well. ".

Lets Get Real:

Well the US public has taken its time, this blog HAS NEVER supported the Afghan War, the UK has the bloody T - shirt from previous Afghan Wars at the time of the Empire, no one ever benefits from invading Afghanistan, a sharp and short attack yes, the US and UK should have left Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban and the displacement of Al Qaeda, instead it fell in to the trap of nation building, that has never worked, from the time of the British Empire in the 19th Century  to the USSR invasion in the 20th Century.    The Afghans hate it when they get invade, they can wait out any power, after the US and UK leave in December 2014 it can be expected than within six months the Taliban will be back at the door of the Capital.   The only worse option would be for the US to leave a small force in Afghanistan, they would become daily targets, we could see pictures of the US helicopters taking out the last US personnel, very much like Vietnam in 1975.   What ever the end it will be BAD, just depends how many US and UK personnel have to pay the price for a failed political policy. 

Bush 43/ Blair and the Iraq War

Guardian: Reports the following from the Chilcot inquiry in to the Iraq War, " Chilcot inquiry into Iraq war set to publish findings in new year..Tony Blair prepares for career-defining moment as Sir John Chilcot agrees compromise over George Bush letters ".

Lets Get Real:

On the whole this blog supports the release of the private communication between 10 Downing St and the Bush White House, to many people its to late, they have convicted former Labour PM Tony Blair of being a War Criminal, this blog supported the Iraq War and still does, only cowards run away from their own opinion.    Lets recall it was after 9/11, all the main intelligence networks thought Iraq had WMD, after 9/11 and the death of nearly three thousand the Bush Oval was going to take action over the perceived threat of Iraq, the Bush Oval did give Tony Blair the chance to back out, but to his credit former PM Blair stuck with  the President, it is easy to be friends when the issues do not matter, its tougher when its a matter of life and death. At the end of day the reason this blog supports the release of these private letters etc is to allow for a complete history of Iraq to be understood, to understand the good points and bad points.   Tony Blair thought he was doing the right thing, and who is to say he was wrong, looking back is easy, making the tough calls at the moment it is needed is harder, this blog takes it hat off to Mr Blair, he was a friend to have when your in a political bunker, he does not run away from his friends.   

Afghanistan Front News - Afghanistan Theatre

MOD: Reports that the UK Soldier killed on the 23rd of December in Afghanistan was " Captain Richard Holloway, of The Royal Engineers ".  Our thoughts are with the family of Captain Holloway. 

Lets Get Real:

How about a UK surge to support or withdrawing troops, the Taliban and Al - Qaeda are using the withdraw as a PR victory, to build up that idea they are using our troops as target practice, the UK should consider a limited surge to protect our troops and bases, also give support to the Afghanistan Government.   The War in Afghanistan is NOT a victory, our brave and heroic troops have been let down by their military and political masters, they deserved better, but they have done the best job they could have under their past and present leaders, lets support our troops, and buy them a drink if they are out, they have done the job we would never do, this blog would run away from a War in Afghanistan and Vietnam. 

The 2013 " Munich " unravels - Iran

Guardian: Reports the following from Iran, " Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says uranium enrichment is progressing ".

Lets Get Real:

The US Senate when it returns in to session could see this move a break of faith in the recent Geneva agreement, a combination of Democrats and Republicans could add further sanctions to present US sanctions, one can assume the Israeli Lobby will place pressure on those Senators up for re-election to support more sanctions, with the Oval's poll numbers in the toilet the Oval does not have the support on the Hill to prevent sanctions, the US Majority Leader Senator Reid will find it hard to stall such sanctions.   Tehran has made it clear that any new sanctions and the nuclear deal is OFF, well Tehran has broken the agreement, they are never going to give up the ability to become a nuclear armed power no matter what the rhetoric is, the Oval needs to learn that rhetoric is not reality, the Tehran Regime wants to be the major power in the region, thus only Israel and Iran would have the bomb, this would lead to a nuclear arms race in the region.   The oil rich States in the Middle East will seek to get the bomb as fast as possible, thus do not be surprise to see Israel take some action, it can not wait forever and it does not trust the US or Iran. 

Federal Judge Approves Bugging US Citizens

CNN - Politics: Reports the following from a Federal Court in New York, " A federal judge in New York ruled the NSA's bulk collection of data on nearly every phone call made in the United States was legal. ".

Lets Get Real:

Some sense out of the Courts at last, a New York Judge should understand the need for the NSA to bug everyone in the US and around the World, no wants another 9/11, this shows that there are some Judges who live in the real world, not the academic world.  The intelligence agencies need to keep a constant eye on the terrorist threat, thus the need to check the dots, the use of drones and then in special cases the use of US Special Forces to do the job.    When it comes to the War on Terror, on the whole this blog does not fault President Obama, his rhetoric sometimes gets ahead of reality, but you can fault most Presidents of that at sometime during their terms. 

Obama and Iraq - 2nd Term Blues

The New York Times: Reports the following from Iraq, " The United States is quietly rushing dozens of Hellfire missiles and low-tech surveillance drones to Iraq.. " due to the rebirth of Al Qaeda in Iraq after the US left under Obama in 2011. 

Lets Get Real: 

This is what happens when you leave foreign policy to VP Biden, the US should have gotten a deal to stay in Iraq after 2011, if they had they could have prevented Iran sending arms to Assad of Syria, thus the present violent civil war in Syria, the civil war in Syria has gone from a secular war to a religious lead War, and at its front is Al Qaeda franchise terror cells, the lack of leadership by the Oval in Syria and Egypt has allowed Russia to gain more influence in the Middle East, the allies of the US from Israel to Saudi Arabia do not trust the Obama Oval due to feckless leadership in the Middle East.  The Obama Oval might find that sometime during the next three years it has to send troops back in to Iraq, it can not allow Al Qaeda to take over both Iraq and Syria,  the US has paid far to heavy a price to allow Iraq to be taken over by a mortal enemy of the US.   Also lets get very real here, the Obama legacy would go down the toilet, he would make Jimmy Carter look good, that is not a good place to be when wanting a legacy.   When Bush 43 left office in 2009 the security in Iraq was stable, it was not perfect, what the Obama Administration did was allow its rhetoric to become reality for those in the White House.    What next will the Oval send to Iraq, the Gods of politics can be cruel, it would be a irony if Obama has to send troops back, would teach candidates to be careful what they say on the campaign trail, it can come back to bite you on the backside. 

The 2014 Mid Terms - 2nd Term Blues

CNN - Politics: Reports on its latest poll for the 2014 Mid Terms, the article notes the following, " Two months ago, Democrats held a 50%-42% advantage among registered voters.....the Democratic lead evaporated, and a CNN poll a month ago indicated the GOP holding a 49%-47% lead. The new survey, conducted in mid-December, indicates Republicans with a 49%-44% edge over the Democrats. ".

Lets Get Real: 

The Republicans have to keep ObamaCare at the centre of the debate, the Democrats and their liberal elite friends in the media will try to turn to social issues as to frighten women, they will appeal to the young to give Obama another chance, they will play the race card, they will say that the Republicans are stopping immigration reform.   The Republicans should not take the bait, the Democrats are in a hole of their own making with ObamaCare, more shoes will drop with the scheme, lets see how many people who enrolled in ObamaCare actually have cover on Jan 1.  Also the business health cover comes in to effect in 2014, how many employers will cut the hours of their workers as not have ObamaCare, how many will just drop employer cover and throw people in to ObamaCare.    Thus the Republicans have to keep to one talking point, the only issue is OBAMACARE.   The Republicans need to keep the House and retake the Senate, its Chicago hard ball politics, no prizes for coming second.