UK SURGE FOR AFGHANISTAN

Telegraph: Reports that the UK is ready to send more soldiers to Afghanistan. It seems that PM Gordon Brown does not have the guts to say NO to Obama when it comes to sending more troops to Afghanistan. I don't have a lot of time for Harold Wilson the late Labour PM but at least he had the guts to say NO to LBJ. The problem is that Afghanistan cant be won, not won so the War is finished, Afghanistan is not like WW1 or WW2. The West will be in Afghanistan for years, its a just war, as in the the West was attacked on 9/11 in New York, but the military planning has failed in Afghanistan. The Terrorists are coming over the border attacking Western troops and then getting cover back in Pakistan. In the 2008 Campaign Obama stated he would attack the terrorists in the badlands of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, there is a problem, this could cause the government to fall. Also with the attacks in Mumbai the government of Pakistan has stated that it might send its troops from the border with Afghanistan to the border with India. Thus Obama so far has been quite sure footed in recent comments about what India should do about the terrorist attacks on its soil. The President - Elect has stated that nations have the right to protect it self but in this case did not go beyond that point. It can be postulated that the terrorists will try to cause havoc within the next few weeks, they want Pakistan and India to go to War. If this was to happen it would be disaster for the West. These two powers are nuclear armed, both Bush and Obama have to be the same page over the next weeks, they have to make sure that both Nations don't start a shooting war over the terrorist attack in India. If Afghanistan, Pakistan and India became failed states this would make the period between 2001 - 2008 look like happy hour, the West has to be on its guard.

Bush 43

The Times: Reports on how Bush 43 perceives his Legacy, his achievements and mistakes. Read of the Day. The Bush Legacy is many respects will be defined on how good or bad his successors are, if Obama is a weak President, if there is another terrorist attack while Obama is President and his answer is seen as weak then Bush 43 will look better looking back, if Obama is another Kennedy or Reagan then Bush will not look great, its matter of events. In recent poll by the BBC, the three favourite Presidents of the USA, drum roll please, 3) Kennedy 2) Reagan 1) Clinton. If you had asked the elite in 1980 if Reagan would over take Kennedy in such a poll they would have laughed. If Obama wants to be Reagan he has to get his Agenda through, also see the USA as Reagan often stated, a Shinning City on Hill.

The Obama Team on National Security

The Times: Bronwen Maddox writing in the paper of record states the following on the Obama National Security Team, " But in policies, not a million miles from the chastened and cautious Bush Administration of the past year. " The Obama National Security Team has won rave reviews from Republicans and Conservatives. The Liberal Left don't have a choice, they have to support Obama, there is no one else they can support if they want influence with the new Administration. It will be interesting to see how the Senate controlled by the Democrats move on with the confirmation process for Hillary Clinton, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee is Senator John Kerry, he wanted to be Secretary of State, he campaigned for the job, not the done thing in the Beltway. It will be interesting to see how he handles Hillary Clinton. Also will the Republicans go after the business deals of President Bill Clinton. I do feel sorry for Bill Clinton, he will have get a pass to change ties from the Obama Administration, how long before he he blows a casket and does or say something that is opposed to Obama. President Obama should think of giving him a job, how about US Ambassador to the Court of St James. That is a plum post by any standards but also would get him out of the country. The fun times are back folks, its Clinton Time.