The War on Terror and the Law

The New York Times: Reports on the legal minefield facing the Obama Administration when it comes to fighting the War on Terror. That is the problem for liberals, the don't see 9/11 as an Act of War, they see it as a legal matter, they consider terrorists like UBL and KSM to have the same rights as other defendants in the legal system. The problem that liberals face is the fact that it is a War, even the great FDR threw away the law books at the start of the World War Two, thus the decision by the US Government to intern those Americans of Japanese decent. It was illegal but if liberals had started to spout about the law they would have been tarred and feathered by the public. It was immoral and the wrong decision, but it was a War. One can see some extreme liberals wanting to prevent the US from using its drones to attack terrorists in the badlands of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the use of the drones is one of the legal problems for the Obama Administration. When it comes to the use of the drones to fire hellfire missiles you don't have to time to read to terrorists their rights, if you don't take action these terrorists will laugh in your face and strike Western interests around the world. Also the use of the drones by the CIA gets around the need to use assassination special forces to take out Al Qaeda terrorists, if these Special Forces had to do the job you would run in to the laws passed by the Congress in the 1970s to prevent hit jobs by the CIA. I guess the Congress has no problems with hellfire missiles that take out terrorists and their families but does have a problem if a target is taken out with a rifle. The above is why Liberals are never trusted with national security, Bush 43 took action, Obama's men read law books to win a war.

The White House and Israel

Politico: Reports on the policy disputes in the Obama White House when it comes to the the US policy towards Israel. In essence you have the Israeli Lobby that does not want to push Israel to a point that could force the Government to fall in Israel and on the other hand you have liberal elite who care more about Arab interests than the security of Israel. At the end of the day Israel can just say No to Obama, its their region, and as stated a few times in this blog the Israeli lobby has a powerful ally in Speaker Pelosi. The more Obama is seen as weak when it comes to Iran, the more reason that Israel has to say NO. As noted in previous post the Hill reported that Republicans and Democrats are coming together to place pressure on the Oval to get off the dime and take some tough action over the nuclear plans of Iran. It was not a great surprise that the Hill started the process, it occurred within a few days of the shabby treatment of the Israeli PM by the Obama White House. At the end of the day Obama can not afford to flush away his political capitol with a fight with Israel, the reason is simple folks, he will lose. One can postulate that Israel will just wait Obama out, after the 2010 Mid Term Elections and the Republicans take control of Congress the White House will have to pivot back to Israel or get rebuked by Congress, elections have consequences folks.

Afghanistan Front News

MOD: Has released the name of the British Soldier killed on Saturday in Afghanistan, the soldier was " Rifleman Daniel Holkham from 3rd Battalion The RIFLES, serving with 3 RIFLES Battle Group ". Our thoughts are with the family of Rifleman Holkham.

Obama Poll Rating, 46% - 46% Gallup

Gallup: Reports that the bump President Obama got from passing health care reform has gone, the President now stands at 46% job Approval and 46% Disapproval. Thus President Obama after getting health care reform passed now has to sell it again to the American people. The White House wanted to move on to jobs, jobs after HCR but to prevent the loss of the House and Senate in 2010 Mid Term Elections the President will have to sell HCR all over again to the voter. Thus while American voters wanted Obama to deal with getting Americans back to work he has spent a year and half on a subject low in the polls. The Oval got blue dog Democrats to vote for HCR with the idea that the US voter will support HCR after it passed, this has not worked, most polls show that a majority of US voters oppose HCR, RCP has an average of these polls and at present the RCP average is the following, 40.8% favour HCR, while 50.1% oppose. If these polls stay the same over the next few months the Oval might find that after November it has to deal with a Republican Congress, a Congress that will have the mandate to say NO to Obama.

Obama on Al Qaeda

The President after the success of health care reform and the new Treaty with Russia has moved to show that he is not just obsessed with domestic issues, thus his surprise trip to Afghanistan. The Speech one has to admit was vintage Obama, but that could be the problem later down the line. I think even President Obama's most loyal supporters would have to say that Afghanistan is now his War, the President stated the following on the threat from Al Qaeda, " Al Qaeda and their extremist allies are a threat to the people of Afghanistan and a threat to the people of America, but they’re also a threat to people all around the world, and that’s why we’re so proud to have our coalition partners here with us. Thank you very much for the great work that you do. We salute you and we honor you for all the sacrifices you make, and you are a true friend of the United States of America. Thank you very much...... And we also salute the members of the Afghan National Army who are fighting alongside all of you. They’re risking their lives to protect their country. And as I told President Karzai today, the United States is a partner but our intent is to make sure that the Afghans have the capacity to provide for their own security. That is core to our mission, and we are proud of the work that they are doing and the continuing increased capacity that we’re seeing out of Afghan national security forces. So thank you very much for the great work you’re doing to take responsibility for security here in your own country......We can’t forget why we’re here. We did not choose this war. This was not an act of America wanting to expand its influence; of us wanting to meddle in somebody else’s business. We were attacked viciously on 9/11. Thousands of our fellow countrymen and women were killed. And this is the region where the perpetrators of that crime, al Qaeda, still base their leadership. Plots against our homeland, plots against our allies, plots against the Afghan and Pakistani people are taking place as we speak right here. And if this region slides backwards, if the Taliban retakes this country and al Qaeda can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake. The Afghan people will lose their chance at progress and prosperity. And the world will be significantly less secure....And as long as I’m your Commander-in-Chief, I am not going to let that happen.... Our broad mission is clear: We are going to disrupt and dismantle, defeat and destroy al Qaeda and its extremist allies. That is our mission. And to accomplish that goal, our objectives here in Afghanistan are also clear: We’re going to deny al Qaeda safe haven. We’re going to reverse the Taliban’s momentum. We’re going to strengthen the capacity of Afghan security forces and the Afghan government so that they can begin taking responsibility and gain confidence of the Afghan people....... We’ve struck major blows against al Qaeda leadership as well as the Taliban’s. They are hunkered down. They’re worried about their own safety. It’s harder for them to move, it’s harder for them to train and to plot and to attack, and all of that makes America safer. And we are going to keep them on the run because that is what’s going to be required in order to assure that our families back home have the security that they need. That’s the work that you are doing...." Thus in 2011 will the President really be able to bring the troops home if Al Qaeda is still a threat to Afghanistan and the rest of the world. Have my doubts. It can be argued that Vietnam become LBJ's War after 1965, in that year the US Marines landed in South Vietnam to protect US planes, the rest is history folks, the War in Afghanistan is Obama's War due to the fact that he has chosen it, the question that has to be asked did Obama make a mistake, the Iraq War looks like a success now after the Bush 43 surge, elections have just finished and the political horse trading to form a new government are taking place in Iraq. An old Chicago hand like President Obama should be more active in Iraq, but one gets worried when Obama states the following, does recall the late LBJ years, the President stated the following in Afghanistan, " And here in Afghanistan you’ve gone on the offensive. And the American people back home are noticing. We have seen a huge increase in support in -- stateside, because people understand the kinds of sacrifices that you guys are making, and the clarity of mission that you’re bringing to bear. ". The US is split when it comes to the War in Afghanistan, the latest poll has a even approval to disapproval of the War. Its the kind of thing LBJ would say, when a President is economical with the truth he will lose the American voter. Lets hope the above remark was rhetoric not what Obama really has in desk draw. Lets hope for the sake of the US and the UK that Obama is right about Afghanistan, so far this year has been more bloody for the the US and UK than last year.