UK Surge in Afghanistan ?

The Times: Reports that the Obama Administration has asked for the UK to send an extra four thousand troops to Afghanistan. This is the time for UK PM Gordon Brown to remind the President that people can say No. There is an idea if you say no to Obama that this will have a negative effect on your support in the polls, that is just the media being in the Obama bubble. I would almost guarantee if you asked the British voter if they think its a good idea to send an extra found thousand troops to Afghanistan the reply would be in the strong negative. The the same with taking in terrorists from the American base in Cuba, does the UK want the worse of the worse, those that could would get Europe to release them due to some clause in the Human Rights Act. Thus saying No to Obama just might be a voter getter, PM Gordon Brown has to go to the electorate next year, showing some independence of the USA would be good idea, and this is the perfect way, Afghanistan is a War without End, Obama might be naive, it does not make the UK naive to say NO Mr President.

Obama and Israel

Fox News: Reports that former Senator George Mitchell, Obama's Presidential Envoy is to visit the Middle East in attempt to cool the tensions in the area. I have my doubts that the President should place his political capital on this issue so early in his Administration, in the Reagan hundred days the first issue was the Economy. If you spend your political capital or pandering to the left, closing down Gitmo and non use of harsh treatment on terrorists, and on the Middle East, a President will find that his political capital goes to different areas, Obama was elected due to the Economy, Reagan had the best first term team since LBJ.

Old Hands, New Ideas ?

The New York Times: Reports on what expect form the new Obama Administration, how history might be a guide, how this did not work with in the first term of Bush 43. At the time it seemed there was a lot of Ford Administration officials in the new Administration, there was Dick Cheney as Vice President, he had been Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld in the Ford Administration, when Rumsfeld went on to become Secretary of Defense, Cheney became Chief of Staff to President Ford. At the time it looked like a jump backwards from Reagan to Ford. Of course history was different, Cheney and Rumsfeld made Reagan almost look Liberal. Thus only after the new team has dealt with their first International Crisis will we see are they going to follow the Clinton or the Jimmy Carter Path.

Obama and Afghanistan

New York Times: Reports on the Obama plan for a surge in Afghanistan, the negatives and positives of such a policy move by the new Administration. It could be argued this is a time for Obama to sit down and really think about Afghanistan, this could be his LBJ moment, just after the 1964 election LBJ could have gotten out of Vietnam but at the end of the day sent in the troops, this could be the chance for President Obama to think outside the box, the West cant win in Afghanistan, no outside power has ever had a good time in the place, from the UK to the USSR. What about using an old Imperial policy, make a deal with Pakistan to take over control of the badlands on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, place military bases in Pakistan on the border, and then send in the planes when there is a threat of a terrorists bases in Afghanistan. This would remove the need for massive troops in the region, special forces could be sent in Afghanistan when air power will not work, the rules would have to be free and easy as to what action they could take to prevent terrorists bases. They could not work with a lawyer on their back while in combat. Also it would have positive effects on the border, NATO troops could secure the border, clean house in the Tribal areas, send out search and destroy missions to find UBL. This is just an idea, when it comes to Afghanistan any new idea should at least be looked at by the Administration.

Big Mistake by President Obama

Telegraph: Reports that President Obama has rebuked Conservatives for listening to a Conservative Talk show host, Rush Limbaugh. This is a mistake by President Obama, he is President of the United States, he should have the loudest voice in the country. The rebukes shows that Limbaugh gets under his skin, this will tell the listeners when Obama is low in the polls and folks he will get there sooner or later that there is another voice out there that really annoys the President. I will guess the ratings for Mr Limbaugh will go up, advice to Mr Obama, your President of the United States, start running the government or you will be Jimmy Carter Mark 11, what next will Obama be checking who uses the White House Tennis Court.

Iran and the BOMBM?

The Times: Reports that Iran could be on the market to get its hands on more uranium. If Iran gets the bomb, this will push Israel to the brink, Israel will not allow Iran to become a nuclear power. This could place President Obama in a tight spot, if Israel hits Iran, Iran will hit USA targets in Iraq, thus Obama could say no to an attack by Israel but his only option would be for the USA to attack Iran. This would drive the American left bonkers!. Iran could define the Obama Presidency as much as Iraq defined Bush. The Western system has to use all means to prevent Iran becoming a nuclear power.

The Obama Paradox!

Courtesy of the White House: The President's Weekly Address.

The President's first weekly address is on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, in other words the bailout of the American Economy. In reading the text of the statement on the one hand it has the usual Liberal Pandering, the statements states the following, " That’s why this is not just a short-term program to boost employment. It’s one that will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. " In other words if your out of work now, you will have to wait while Obama panders to the left, these projects will take time and in the long will not make economy roar, building roads will make Liberals feel better but government spending in the long term will have a negative effect on the construction business, as it has been stated that the FDR New Deal had a negative effect on business and could have extended the Great Depression. The reason once the government pulls the plug on the money the market will be set in a mind set that will take years to get out off, that the Government is the engine of the economy, it never was and it will never be, never mind how much Liberals want to take over the economy. But we also in the statement that President Obama knows this in his heart of hearts but quite get there yet, simple reason the American people have given him a Liberal House and Senate, the system works in the USA when a President at least has one house that can tell him that he does not have the votes. That was the problem Bush 43 had, he had House and Senate in his pocket for most of his term, thus the problem later down the line. One can see this in the statement, the President states the following, " I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan. I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won’t just throw money at our problems - we’ll invest in what works. " If the economy goes in to Depression this year, if the government spending does not work and we are back not in to the Great Depression but in to the recession of 1982. A recent article by the Liberal New York Times suggested that 82 was worse so far, of course the Western Economy could get worse if these bailouts do not work, in that period Ronald Reagan had low approval ratings but still won a massive landslide in 1984. If the Obama poll rating go down will Obama be able to come back and win as Reagan and Clinton managed, that is the question, the Liberal Press will support him so far, they need to make money, they wont make money by being press agents for Obama.