The Death of Geraldine Ferraro

This blog was sad to hear the news that Geraldine Ferraro the first woman to run on a National ticket has died. Politics on the national level is still a man’s world, to think that only in 1984 and 2008 have women been on the ticket as the VP nominee, in both cases they lost. In 1984 Geraldine Ferraro was on the ticket with former Carter VP Walter Mondale, the result was not the fault of having a woman on the ticket, the rest was that Reagan/Bush ticket won 49 States and 59% of the vote. A big win folks. To think that it took in till 2008 for a woman to have a serious chance of winning of one of the Parties nomination in the shape of Hillary Clinton. Also it was the Republicans that had a woman VP nominee. One has to respect Geraldine Ferraro for pushing that door open, it has allowed women to think that they can be President. The White House released the following from President Obama, “ Michelle and I were saddened to learn about the passing of Geraldine Ferraro. Geraldine will forever be remembered as a trailblazer who broke down barriers for women, and Americans of all backgrounds and walks of life. Whether it was as a public school teacher, assistant district attorney, Member of Congress, or candidate for Vice President, Geraldine fought to uphold America's founding ideals of equality, justice, and opportunity for all. And as our Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission, she stood up for those ideals around the world. Sasha and Malia will grow up in a more equal America because of the life Geraldine Ferraro chose to live. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, John Zaccaro, her children and grandchildren, and their entire family. ” Our thoughts are with the Ferraro family. 　

The Weekend in Libya

The weekend has seen fast moving developments in Libya folks, the rebels have taken Ajdabiya, Brega and Ras Lanf, the air campaign against the Gaddafi forces has been very effective, from the rolling news of BBC and SKY it seems that the rebels have not fired a shot in anger since moving in to Ajdabiya, the question that can be asked is Colonel Gaddafi wanting to lure the rebels to Tripoli, move the combat from the open desert to a urban location. In a urban location the rebels could not count on the support of the Allies, the Allies will not risk the deaths of innocent bystanders, thus it will be down to hand to hand combat on the streets of Tripoli. Of course this would not happen should the Mad Dog Colonel Gaddafi call it a day and leave for exile, or he gets taken out by someone in his regime. The War in Libya if things keep going well, and that’s a big IF, could end in days folks. A net positive for President Obama, NATO and the UN.

The White House on Syria

If not for Japan, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, the protests in Syria would be front page news, but with so many crisis's, the story at best gets second or third level coverage on the TV news, here is the White House angel on Syria by the Press Secretary Jay Carney, “ We strongly condemn the Syrian government’s attempts to repress and intimidate demonstrators, and we are calling for an immediate cease to the violence and killings of civilians at the hands of the Syrian security forces. It’s the same position we’ve taken throughout the region, and we condemn it strongly. We have obviously, as we always do, consulted with our allies in the region. And we urge upon the Syrian government that they pursue a non-violent path, that they pursue political dialogue, because the future of this region depends upon -- the stability and future of this region depends upon the decision by governments to listen to their people, to act on their legitimate aspirations, and to open up their systems so that the people of these countries can have a greater stake in the future of their country and their own futures. So we take the same position with Syria as we’ve taken with others. We also -- you know, we’re also deeply troubled by the arbitrary arrests of human rights activists in Syria, and we urge them to cease that practice, as well. ”. This is all the White House can do, its not going to use its military forces on Syria, even if the Oval was that mad it would drag in Iran a close ally of Syria. Thus expect hundred if not thousands of good Syrians to get killed by the hands of their own government. Its sad but there is nothing the West can do, so sorry to the protesting people of Syria.

Congress and POTUS = Libya

The US Congressional leadership had its face time with POTUS on Libya, its after the event but it should keep the House and Senate happy, the White House readout of the meeting is as follows, “ On March 25, President Obama briefed a bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress on the situation in Libya. The President and his team provided an update on accomplishments to date, including the full transfer of enforcement of the no-fly zone to NATO, and yesterday’s unanimous agreement among NATO allies to direct planning for NATO to assume command and control of the civilian protection component in accordance with UNSCR 1973. Following the briefing, the President answered multiple questions from the Members of Congress. The discussion lasted approximately one hour and took place in the White House Situation Room. ”. The agreed plan by NATO is for NATO countries to do the no fly zone, but for the Allies of the willing, the US, UK and France to bomb the Gaddafi tanks etc, thus the US is still the major player in this conflict whatever the Oval states. As stated this blog supports the action by POTUS, he has the authority as the Commander in Chief, he does not need the nod from Congress, even if they think he does due to the War Powers Act. The question is how does the Libyan War end, thus this my argument for a Max Strategy due to the fact that you win faster, otherwise a limited strategy will takes weeks if not moths, due to training of the rebels in the East. Does Obama still want Gaddafi in power in an election year or for the Libyan conflict to be still going on, Libya just might hand the Oval to the Republicans.

No Message from President Obama = Libya

Guardian: Has an interesting comment piece in the Guardian, as the Guardian is left wing, or liberal in US terms, this comment piece is interesting as it attacks POTUS for his lack of talking to the US voter about the recent US military action in Libya, the commentary as a very stinging end, “ But when you send soldiers off to fight, you have to tell the American people why. I'm just flabbergasted. ”. And folks this is from the left, this blog does not have a problem with POTUS taking action, it was late but he got there at the end, but when you send the US armed forces in to combat you have to get your face on the TV, in first years in office POTUS could not help himself but be on TV everyday, this is the time for a chat from the Oval Office. When Reagan sent in the US Armed Forces in to action in 1983 he didn’t bother with Congress, he had the authority and took action, and Reagan was lucky, when the US returned US citizens to the US, one of them kissed the floor, the Democrats just stopped. In 1984 Reagan won 49 States, and 525 Electoral votes, the highest ever, if Obama wants to re-election he needs as stated in this blog a better PR section of the White House, the elite liberal media will carry him but the US voter does not trust the liberal news media, thus POTUS needs to talk to them, he is behind the curve on this, and voters don’t vote on the academic curve.

RAF and Ajdabiya

Telegraph: Reports on the RAF strikes of Gaddafi Security Forces in the Eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiya. This is helping the rebels, but the real problem is with the urban fighting on the ground, what are the Allies going to do about the snipers and ground troops that Gaddafi has sent in to Ajdabiya and Misrata in the West of Libya. An Air War cant not remove Gaddafi, the Allies and in this case we are talking about the UK and France will have to plan for small scale boots on the ground operation, the Allies cant wait for the rebels in the East to form a proper Army, and to be quite frank this blog could care less what the Arab League thinks about such an operation, in less they will also give troops. In the past the US could have pushed Egypt to take action but that country has it own internal mess to deal with, thus the Allies cant wait forever for the rebels to win, they might not want boots on the ground but they might just have to swallow that harsh pill. This would be small scale operation, no long term occupation, in and out in military terms, get Gaddafi and leave the Libyans to decide their own future. The Allies, the UK and France should not count on POTUS, he is not a real War Leader, he is no JFK or Reagan.

Afghanistan Front News

MOD: Has released the names of the two UK Soldiers that died on Wednesday in Afghanistan, the Soldiers were “ Major Matthew James Collins and Lance Sergeant Mark Terence Burgan from 1st Battalion Irish Guards ”. Our thoughts are with the families of Major Collins and Lance Sergeant Burgan.