The Radical Hobson Twins

It’s been apparent for some time now that the only thing the Democrats and their mouthpiece media care about is getting Democrats elected. It became nauseatingly apparent during the Bush administration when they celebrated every fallen American soldier in Iraq with moments of silent laughter at the end of daily newscasts. Clearly, they wanted to show the war lost to make Bush (and Republicans) look bad. The economy too was reported to be worse than it was. Revisions upward never received due attention.

The strategy is now being continued. Clearly, every Republican idea for saving the economy, social security and Medicare is demonized by the Left - this, while these same people refuse to propose any remedies of their own. What seems obvious to most of us is that if nothing is done, these programs will default. By opposing every fix, Democrats are inviting bankruptcy on a national scale. Their answer is always ‘tax the rich’ which continues to have a certain popular appeal – never mind that, by raising taxes ever higher, talent and capital will flee off-shore, accelerating our march to fiscal Armageddon – never mind that our nation is already broke, and being kept afloat by smoke on mirrors and by every infinity we can find to define.

The thinking among Democrats continues to be that the end-all is simply to keep getting elected as to afford them a chance to continue feasting at the public troth. Most are unable to see beyond their elections. They don’t understand that, once in office, their job should just be beginning: to represent the people(’s will) and protect our nation.

Republicans - perennial losers - stand green with envy and awe of what the Dems are consistently able to do in their own behalf. Like hungry beggars, they slaver over the crumbs that the Dems leave out for the ones most likely to whore themselves out to traitorous causes.

Senators and Congressmen who get up and grandstand about cutting foreign aid and assistance to the poor are doing so simply to divert attention from their own excesses. The gravy train keeps rolling – certainly not for the genuine poor (who will always be exactly where they are, and who will always be poor; but) – to feather their own political nests.

Don’t look to fancy constructs of conspiracy. Don’t look to various ‘isms’ to explain it. Simply put, we are eating our own. NY-26 has introduced yet another arrow into the Democrat Party quiver. Democrats have discovered that the tea party now is their best friend. By injecting some fake, phony ‘tea party’ member into any election mix, their reservation at the beggar’s banquet is virtually guaranteed.

Reminds of all those so-called ‘democracy’ movements in the Middle East that are being hijacked by the MB. It looks like we’re down to choosing between identical Hobson twins.

Between radical ideology and radical greed, which one would you choose? For my money, I’d be content just to stay home and read about it in the paper the next morning.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Category Error: Attacking Norway for Pearl Harbor

Bahukutumbi Raman, in a recent dispatch labeled “PAK ARMY & ISI: DANGEROUS MIX OF HUMILIATION & DESPERATION”, warns that Pakistan may be planning to redeem itself by orchestrating a successful strike against India, especially in the contentious Kashmir region.

No doubt, Pakistan’s citizens are seriously concerned about the ability of their government and armed forces to protect them. No doubt there has been talk on the streets of intelligence failure at best or illicit collusion with the Americans at worst.

Yet, all this follows a familiar pattern. Most military incursions into sovereign territory for any reason are done in stealth. The inevitable questions and accusations follow. Did Roosevelt know about Pearl Harbor in advance? Did Bush know about 9/11? And in her column in yesterday’s Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick accuses Ehud Barak, Israel’s Defense Minister of failing to anticipate trouble along the country’s Syrian border on Nakba Day.

The truth is, no government can promise ironclad security to its citizens. A successful strategy, however, must involve the threat of consequences for anyone intending such a move. If Pakistan were to attack India in the wake of its so-called ‘humiliation’, such redemption would be short lived. For one thing, India had nothing to do with the bin Laden raid.

President Bush underwent a hell of tortures for his decision to attack Iraq in the wake of 9/11. His opponents constantly labeled it as “the wrong war”. In the end, rightly or wrongly, it proved to be his undoing.

My own sense of Pakistan’s leadership is that it is too mature to attack India as a direct consequence of the U.S. bin Laden raid. It has far better options: Turning its focus away from Washington to cooperating more with China is one. If India is attacked, it will not be because of anything that happened in Abbottabad.

I wish I had a similar degree of confidence in America’s foreign policy.

Soros' Collapsing Structures

It is astounding to me: Obama and leftist Democrats are now openly advocating bankruptcy. Just as they marched in lockstep to encourage military defeat in Iraq, they are now doing everything they can to steer our nation toward insolvency. To this purpose, they are willing to take and hold innumerable hostages. The military, old people, children – all are being used as pawns to insure that there is no agreement on the budget, thus forcing a government shutdown (to be summarily blamed on Republicans). The liberal media, instead of portraying this as a welcome respite from reckless government spending, proclaim this to be no less than Armageddon, continuing to do the best they can to let liberals get their way.

While some of us are falling for the ploy, there are indications that the majority of the American people are not. They expect to see at least some glimmer of fiscal reform, and they expect it to start today. They are fully vested in seeing that our nation continue along the path on which it had been (before Obama). To them insolvency is not an option. Yet, insolvency is precisely what Obama and his Democrats are striving to achieve. Stoking fears about the 800,000 (jobless) and Yellowstone closing are merely ancillary adjuncts to grab headlines in the short run. Down the road looms default when everything - including their sainted abortion clinics - shuts down; and that, they expect, will signal that the new (world) order has crawled out of Ahmedinejad’s well.

Nobody can be quite sure what happens next. We envision pure chaos on every front. In chaos there are no longer any rules. Existing contracts and bank accounts all turn to dust and are swept away by the random breeze. This is their goal. They are convinced they can survive even that. They believe that the old system can conveniently collapse into the new one, the structure for which already stands waiting. If you’ve ever been to a union or communist rally, that’s all you hear.

Unelected George Soros knows exactly what this new structure looks like as he is the architect of it. He sees a way forward, even if the rest of us don’t. We do not have any other options. Insolvency ends it. Hence, we feel that we must take steps to avoid it at all costs. Moderate Republicans in the House and Senate do not yet appreciate the danger. They are still willing to compromise. The Dems, on the other hand, are singularly committed. They can already smell the blood in the water. Total collapse is near... and they will have won. They, and their patron saint Soros, are confident that the new structure will be there to catch them – while sweeping away all the non-believers.

At first, there was chaos; and within it (by mere chance) there was an echo, which then opened up the possibility of reproducing something exactly like the first. Then came order and all the rest.

Tell me again that communism is not a religion.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Massacre At Mazar-i-Sharif: It’s A U.S. Pastor’s Fault

In order to bring back any semblance of sanity to our public and private affairs, our people have to be re-educated, all the way from basic math to an understanding of right and wrong. In the absence of any standard - which is where we are now - who is to pass judgment? For far too long we’ve been drifting. Every issue has become existential; a tug of war, pulling our nation apart. We have yet to learn that our near paralysis in responding to events stems from being so utterly disorganized; that the most organized – not the most powerful, not the most tolerant, not the kindest – invariably win the day. The storming of the UN (do-gooder) compound in the Afghan town of Mazar-i-Sharif earlier today drives this thought.

It’s hard to imagine any outrage building in the West over the burning of a Bible or an American flag. In fact, this would likely be applauded by untold numbers of our own. We even tolerate the daily shredding of our own Constitution. We tolerate gross incompetence in leadership. We tolerate insult. We tolerate the erosion of our living standards. We tolerate decline. We even tolerate the intolerant.

At this point we lose. We declare ourselves ‘good people’. Why? Because we are tolerant, of course. At the same time, we have no idea that ‘good’ actually means standing for something. Without any discernable standards to go by, who is to say? We are fruit, ripe for the picking. We will not defend ourselves because we have nothing to defend. A man robs us on the street and we say, “He probably needs it more than us.” And, once again, we fall for the ruse of equating tolerance with virtue.

Our enemies have noticed. They are advancing without feeling the need even to disguise themselves. The drama of vultures feasting on a corpse is unfolding right before our eyes. Despite our considerable arsenal of bombs - which is larger than all the bombs in the world combined - no one respects us.

It’s open season. Libya is not the arena to demonstrate our roar – like Iraq was, and (to a lesser extent) Afghanistan. In Libya we lose no matter who wins. Our immediate focus should be on Iran. Instead we ignore it.

The world wonders and waits, vying for position for the privilege of driving the final stake through America’s heart. At this point, it’s no contest. Anyone can do it. Buried up to our necks in our own justifications for our limitless tolerance, anyone can throw the stone that will put out the lights.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Second Coming

I remember back when a gallon of gas cost thirty cents; when there were pay phones and free road maps; when you could drop in on your doctor unannounced and the whole thing set you back less than ten dollars. I remember all that, and it just goes to show that things change. I remember a time when you could strap on a backpack and travel to Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan to enjoy the sights. I remember when Red China was still off limits to us, and Hong Kong was as close as you could get. And it just goes to show that some things get worse.

After yesterday’s presidential address I felt we had passed another milestone. Never have I heard so much malarkey being spouted from the mouth of the leader of a nation in a period of roughly 26 minutes.

He seemed uncomfortable in his own skin while speaking to the folks. Maybe it was because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be: in the Oval Office. Everything he said had been road-tested by his various apologists beforehand and then stitched together into an unruly quilt.

I was stunned. It was the first time I had actually witnessed unadulterated doublespeak.

What happened back in 2008 was not an election; it was a coup. Yesterday, our president looked lost and out of touch – would have felt much more comfortable among his UN buds. He did not want to give this speech; yet he had to, to maintain the pretense of representing a nation. Kaddafi seems much more convincing in this regard.

Obama echoed some past rhetorical abuses, saying how many lives were saved by this unilateral action. It brought to mind an earlier claim of ‘jobs saved’, implying that if it weren’t for him, nobody would now be working in this great country of ours.

Reminds of the film “Black Orpheus” (’59) in which the lead character gets up every morning and plays his guitar. He has convinced the town that if he were not to do it, the sun would not rise that day. After he dies, his young protégée takes up the task and the film ends.

We are left wondering what on earth we would do without BHO. How could we possibly keep rascals like Kaddafi in check? And even in this, he (Obama) displays a benevolent bent. He stops just short of giving the dictator the thumbs down. What compassion! What grace! What wisdom! …as transparent as any of these might be.
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Saif is not the elder. If he were to come to power, it would be enough for the American press to hail Obama as the second coming (again).

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Iraq vs. Libya

Sleepless in Chatham (NJ)

Obviously, not everyone agrees. There must then be more than one side to the story. Russia, China, India, et al were maneuvered into ‘agreeing’. They agreed by voting ‘present’ – which is a way of saying, “Do what you want, but we’ll have no part of it.”

Action involves risk. Risk must be balanced by benefit. For far too long American foreign policy has excluded any notion of ‘benefit’. It has been unbalanced. In Iraq we never insisted on payback. Its oil is now going to our rivals. As the chaos and killing there continues, we cannot even claim ‘victory’ on that front. Neither do we insist on Libya’s oil in exchange for our effort. And indeed, Libya’s oil is already spoken for and going to those who voted ‘present’.

You would think that Obama, of all people, would understand the benefits that accrue by voting ‘present’; that voting otherwise engenders risk which, in turn, invites loss. It has been my contention that Obama – whether by way of retribution or an affinity for victimhood - deliberately invites loss. Neither revenge nor national suicide are attractive to anyone but himself.

Saw the French film “Of Gods and Men” last night. As my friend and I settled ourselves outside afterwards to discuss the merits of the film, a woman approached us. She clearly had been disturbed by it. She said it was the worst film she had ever seen. She said it was good to have someone to talk it out with and hoped that she would not have bad dreams.

It was basically an anti-war film. In addition, it blamed the West. As such, it entered the realm of propaganda. Propaganda can never rise to the level of art. It targets those lacking any clear cut principles …and leaves them sleepless.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

'Check Engine' Light

For the first time I see U.S. oil dependence as a real existential threat. The perfect storm is raging while we are agonizing over Charlie Sheen. Oil prices alone will crush our economy. We can now appreciate the efforts of previous administrations designed to keep it all together. ‘Containment’ had become an intricate game that demanded increasingly complex solutions. Clearly, our present administration does not know how to play.

We went to war in Iraq in response to 9/11. It was not something we could avoid. Admittedly, we ran the risk of destabilizing the region. It did not destabilize. We actually were on the right track. The countries of the Middle East were reminded to mind their manners. They did - for a time. When it became clear that America was crumbling from within and that we would not be able to sustain the drive, they began to bolt. The election of Barack Hussein Obama confirmed to the world that we were finished.

Now, voters' remorse. We don’t even have it in us to criticize our president’s handling of the job. We’re just desperately hanging on till the next election cycle, watching as we circle the drain. Our fear that we won’t last that long is already palpable.

Russia and China will survive. It’s not that our past presidents were so much smarter or capable than Putin or Hu Jintao. But at the very least it was a more or less even match. Now, ‘the U.S. is out of the game’. We’ve left the stadium and taken our ball.

There is one attribute that elevates the leaders of China and Russia (and those of most other nations) to the status of players on the global gridiron: patriotism. Most leaders take pride in their countries. They may have different ways of expressing it; different approaches; different ideologies, etc. But, in almost every case, they do what they do to give their nations a chance to survive. Even Kim Yong-Il rattles his bones of a nation to fair advantage. There are only two notable exceptions: Iran and the U.S.

Iran is so locked into an eschatological vision, it pays no heed to possible consequences. This, while current U.S. leadership wildly pursues some utopian ideological throw-back to some unworkable drug-induced version of a coma. Both are so arrogant as to ignore any and all warning signals.

I’ve been driving for years with my ‘check engine’ light on. So far so good. I haven’t had problems. It’d be a bit different if I still had to ferry kids to and from soccer practice. Or, if I were running a country with over 300 million people in it.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Horse Trading

Anwar al-Maliki is the modest leader of a fledgling nation that is determined to survive. He does not aim to change the world. As such, he is out shopping for alliances.

Shopping for alliances is somewhat akin to horse trading. You hope to secure the strong horse. Tehran is the strong horse at the moment - not necessarily the good horse, or the kind horse, or the enlightened horse; but the one that can be reasonably expected to get the job done.

Tehran has an impressive resume. Of all the horses in the field, it is currently ahead of the pack. It will soon be able to claim a nuclear arsenal; already appears to have firm control of its political process; and enjoys an ever widening circle of influential friends that reaches to the very doorstep of universally despised America.

Iraq now finds itself in the position of Israel in the early years of its founding. Israel too bought the backing of the strong horse. It has served her well. Surrounded by openly hostile nations, Israel with the support of strong-horse America has been able to keep them all at bay and preserve its territorial integrity.

Things change. America is in decline. America hasn’t successfully prosecuted a serious challenge in some time. In fact, America seems to be locked in a life-and-death struggle with itself.

Neither Iraq or Israel can stand alone. At the moment, there is grave doubt if America will even come to Israel’s aid should the fur begin to fly. There is no question that Tehran is already licking its chops in anticipation of U.S. departure from Iraq. Iraq has to make peace with the strong horse. Iraq will do its bidding and in return it will be allowed to keep its name.

Should Israel fall - as seems more likely each day - regional accolades will accrue to Tehran. Iraq will be allowed to join in the celebration along with Turkey, Brazil among others. Like I said, Malaki has no intentions of changing the world.

When parents are (some would say) burdened with a handicapped child, they continue to love him and try to integrate him into the workings of normal society. Although they might not give him the keys to the car, they may give him a shovel and tell him to dig. Next, they might tell him to fill the hole up again. The child will be busy working and feeling good about himself. And mother might be granted a moment to rest. It’s called ‘make work’ and is commonly used in the army to forge character, strong bodies and discipline. The work itself is quite useless and adds little to the overall scheme of things.

This the is the level to which the office of the president has fallen in our nation. We obviously do not consider the job important enough to seriously consider background and qualifications. Maliki, on the other hand, is skilled. He has (as JB points out) the trappings of a statesman and an instinct for survival. He is doing what he thinks is best for his country at the moment. No doubt, as conditions change, he will change his stripes - again.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

China Laughing While U.S. Downgrades Military To Paintball

Why even bother to report it? (North Korea's continued provocations.) We no longer have a dog in the fight. We’ve shown quite unambiguously that we are no longer interested in fighting/winning. We seem to be intent on castrating our armed forces. We no longer see them as a blunt tool to support our now thoroughly compromised diplomacy; rather, we are in the process of re-shaping this once awesome tool to reflect some ‘less is more’ ideology with the vague expectation that the world will think this is great and follow our lead.

The damage this president has done to our military in his two years in office is astounding. First, he has ordered it to engage in a war without aiming to win. He has placed restrictions on our fighting men and women that make it difficult even to stay alive. Wikileaks enters into it at some level, as does the heroic repeal of ’don’t ask, don’t tell’.

I predict within less than a year, the military will be hard up for recruits and we may have to revert to something akin to the draft. The outlines of this are already apparent: amnesty for service. Until now, we have seen very few minorities among our fighting forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. This has to be pointed out because the Left has up until recently always falsely claimed that America only sends it minorities oversees and into harm’s way to fight it’s dirty wars. (They’ve since had to be content with complaining about the relatively high incarceration rate among certain minority communities.) All this will change.

Prisoners will now fight ‘clean’ wars. They will not be expected to win - only to stay alive while ordered to hand out food and bandages to the starving and wounded. Military missions oversees will likely evolve into setting up abortion and sex clinics, and (don’t forget) welfare offices, thus providing an ever escalating stream of entitlement clientele for liberals here at home to administer.

It is unlikely that China will go along with the program though, admittedly, they may laugh themselves silly and thus suffer some minor set-backs in their quest to take over the world.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

We Will Never Change Them

Polls suggest that Americans on the whole like the president. They just don’t like his policies. Why, then, do we really want to win in November? Answer: To send a message; to get Obama to change direction; to change his heart and mind. It’s the same reason we stayed in Iraq as long as we did. It’s the same reason we are in Afghanistan.

We need to accept the fact that there will always be enemies who want to hurt us. The extent to which racism exists within our own country must be acknowledged and dealt with reasonably. Ditto, anti-capitalism; anti-Americanism; poverty; ignorance; liberalism. All these reflect a minority view or condition. In a free society, this will never go away entirely. We are not obliged, however, to elect groups with such fringe concerns to high office and hope they will be satisfied and leave us alone.

They will continue to make noise and that noise (along with our own noise) is protected by our Constitution. The problem is, their noise is amplified by the media. It makes it seem that there are more of them than there are of us. Not true. We (the majority) own the country and it has worked tolerably well for us. No reason to change course now and become socialist, communist, Marxist or Islamic.

We have to accept that we will never change them. Trying to do so, will inevitably enrage them even more. But we need not play second fiddle to them either. We need not read their newspapers, buy their books or watch their films. We need not patronize their pundits. We can marginalize them just as they marginalize us. At the same time, we need not apologize for our own. We need not say ‘over the top’ to something that’s precisely on point.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Running Out The Clock

I don’t believe this president is ‘running out the clock’. Only someone who feels he’s on the ropes will try to run out the clock - the boxer who has lost all confidence that he can defeat his opponent with a single decisive blow. POTUS is not there yet. He still has two more years. He’s done a lot already, perhaps more (legislatively) than any other president in history.

He’s also put in place a mechanism that will make America bleed for years yet to come. He has had to give in a little from time to time - at least verbally - to throw the hounds off his trail. But he will continue to do just what he has set out to do.

Ahmadinejad works the same way, mouthing petty lies now and then as to give the Russians and others cover for continuing to honor their agreements with him - financial, technical and otherwise. We all know he’s lying through his teeth, but it’s enough to placate those who are desperate to believe in the essential goodness of evil men.

In the meantime, the clock is running unimpeded, allowing the Hitler of Iran to have his nuclear arsenal and Obama his re-making of America into a Marxist Utopia.

The reason Obama has lost his magic is because he knows that a growing number of people have become dead certain of what it is he is doing. With each apparent capitulation, his argument grows weaker in the face of what’s continues to happen.

Summers and others are gone because they too have figured it out. There’s no chance of Obama’s policies working. There’s no chance of better times returning without changing course - ...unless, of course, the president intends exactly what is happening.

The media focuses on Velma Hart as someone capable of articulating exactly what it is that has America‘s panties in a knot. She is a rabid supporter of the Obama fiction and even she has doubts.

No doubt, the media want’s Obama to change course. They can see that what this administration has put in place has not worked. Their distaste of Republicans trumps all, however. They will never support Republicans. They need Obama to change course; adopt Republican policies if need be. Even this they can handle, like counting Iraq as one of Obama’s foreign policy successes, or counting ‘jobs saved’ as his domestic triumph.

Unlike Obama, The New York Times is not necessarily unpatriotic. It is simply pro-Democrat. It defines their hopelessly entrenched tradition. They would rather go out of print than portray Obama for what he truly is. Like Obama, they will double down when push comes to shove, even while precariously perched on a knife’s edge.

I realize that, like any man of a single physical body, Obama's personality oscillates between infinite poles. I realize it is simplistic - moronic even - to ascribe a single motive to any living man. I draw my conclusions (wrongly perhaps) from what I see. America is waning under this president, whatever the reason. To deny this is no reflection on Obama, perhaps; but it is a fact. Neither will Obama’s eventual electoral defeat solve the problem. This hydra has many heads, many of which combine to define very an essence within every living American soul. Even the most virtuous among us is afflicted. And it is there that we must ultimately find the cure.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Iraqis Who Once Believed In US

Once we leave, Iraq will become a ward of Iran. The mullahs will keep Iraq unsettled; one, to embarrass the U.S.; and, two, to deny the population the space and tranquility to establish democratic systems. To jihadis, a successful Iraq is unacceptable. Iraq has already assumed the pariah status of Israel in the region.

Unlike Israel, secular Iraq has no roots. All pretense to the contrary, Iraq will become a killing fields. The life of every Iraqi who is said to have cooperated with the Americans will be in jeopardy.

In the short term, violence can be expected to increase steadily and, as JB says, for our remaining troops there the danger will escalate. POTUS will try to keep the American domestic scene riled up and unstable, so we won’t notice what’s happening elsewhere. He will say that he ended Bush’s war in Iraq - a war we should never have started. He will conveniently omit mention of 9/11 that triggered it. And that the whole exercise was a key part in an overall strategic plan to pacify the region, preserve the free flow of oil, and enhance Israel’s security by bookending Iran which had already become a menace. In any case, the WTC attacks could not go unanswered. Retaliation almost never scores precisely. Often, simply having retaliated must suffice.

As we now barely remember 9/11, the exercise seems wasted (especially since we failed to achieve our goals). This is not the fault of our military or of Bush. The Iraq initiative has been politicized from the start. It became a political football reflecting not so much the situation on the ground in the Middle East, but the political situation within our own country.

As far as Democrats were concerned, the sole object of the war was to make Bush look bad; so bad, in fact, that we now have our first half white, half black Muslim president. The war in Iraq was effectively over when Barack Hussein Obama was elected. We didn’t even fight to a draw. We lost outright. Now Iraq can be flushed down the toilet along with the American Constitution. And, as has already happened so many times around the world, Iraqis who once believed in us will now curse us to our graves. And we will have deserved it.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Last Course

Obama is not his own man. He clearly does not serve America; but some more potent power or idea. As such, he is content to rule against the will of the American people. Obama feels confident that he is riding a wave; that his handlers still have events well in hand. He does their bidding without regard to opinion polls. No doubt, he is being told that elections no longer matter.

POTUS is merely a front man - the pitchman; the public face - for policies that have been painstakingly constructed over the past several years - or decades even. He stands to claim credit for much more than incidental victory in Iraq (if indeed whatever results there can be termed ‘victory‘). He stands to claim credit for bringing no less than the once mighty United States of America to its knees. On his better days, Obama views this as striking a worthy blow for equality and retribution. His handlers simply see it as a raw power grab. No idealism here. The prize they’re after is seeing the American people enslaved - and the world without checks and balances.

It has become clear that New York Mayor Bloomberg too is not his own man. Here we are witnessing traditional mortal enemies working together for a common cause and against the American people. Bloomberg’s support of the proposed mosque within spitting distance of Ground Zero goes against all propriety and reason. Bloomberg is not a stupid man. Something far greater must be behind it. Follow the money? Perhaps. But it’s just as likely that we are in the last days. And Bloomberg sees the writing on the wall. As a Jewish American, he fully expects to be one of the last ones eaten.

Winners and Losers

I keep reading about fresh U.S. casualties in Afghanistan. The headline usually reads “worst month since…” And I can’t help but wonder what has gone wrong. The major news media used to make a big deal about U.S. casualties in Iraq. It was presented as a kind of game show countdown (or 'up'); some kind of doomsday clock. We were told it was Bush’s fault and that the war there was already lost and that any further action was meaningless - Bush’s war; not America’s war.

Now we’ve come full circle. The administration that got itself elected by promising to end Iraq and fight the ‘right’ war in Afghanistan now has exactly what it wanted. Still, the casualties continue to mount. It’s been a boon of sorts for Obama in that he can now claim victory in Iraq (which he has). But Afghanistan remains a daunting enterprise; first, because we don’t seem to know whom we’re fighting. According to the administration there are good Taliban and bad Taliban; there are corrupt politicians and despicable ones. And each and every one of them has turned against us.

The game there has become so skewed that we’ve been reduced to appealing for just one person to step forward and say, “Jolly good job, America! You can go home now and prosecute your soldiers for war crimes”; just one person we can manage to bring in front of cameras to attest to something good we may have inadvertently left behind: a school; a hospital; a charred poppy field; a woman left unscarred - anything at all that hasn’t immediately been erased in the time it takes to get an BBC news team to the site.

I wonder about the American families who have suffered the loss of dear ones in this wanton wasteland. I wonder if they understand how their personal loss advances America’s cause. I sure don’t.

These wars have been shamelessly politicized from the start to serve parochial political ends. As such, a great debate ensued between those who wanted us to win and those who wanted us to lose. That battle was decided right here in America when Obama came to power. While our first impulse to engage extreme elements within the Islamic tradition was proper - indeed unavoidable - since then, any thought about our actual mission there has been lost in the shuffle.

There have been winners and losers alright, but these have no longer anything to do with either Afghanistan or Iraq. Those people have been exploited for the purpose of bringing the Obama administration to power and subjugated Republicans. It is here that you find your winners and losers.

Tehran Won't Have to Lift a Finger

Even Israel’s ‘friends’ are now blaming Israel for what happened. It’s spirit broken, Israel is even blaming itself. The whole thing amounted to a huge victory for Israel’s enemies. It reminds us of how during the Iraq war every suicide attack – every death - was blamed on the U.S. At home, Democrats made sure that every American casualty accrued to Bush personally. The networks made it their business to keep a careful daily count. It is a tactic that makes it impossible for an enemy to lose.

In America, there were huge consequences. It is what brought Barack Hussein Obama - an avowed vocal critic of western values - to power. It inspired the re-write of history. It helped create a core of opposition to everything American within America itself.

In Israel, the tactic succeeds in isolating the country and making it into a pariah state. Israel is now primed for a huge military defeat. It can do nothing to help itself. Like a rat in a corner it can only bite a finger or two in anticipation of the final blow. Facts no longer matter. Nobody will ride to Israel’s rescue amidst the cheering of the bloodthirsty crowd.

Erdogan knows this. He is determined to save his nation. He will not allow himself to be caught on the losing side. His actions are designed to ingratiate himself to the Ummah. For far too long Ankara has been playing footsie with Europe to no avail. Turkey has watched both Europe and America fading in power and influence. He knows that the center of the western-style secular state has been hollowed out and cannot hold. In order for his own nation to survive, it became essential that it forge links with the strong men of the world. Currently, Tehran and Brasilia look strong.

For Turkey’s past association with the West to be forgiven, Ankara must bring something to the table. Israel is the scalp Turkey is hoping to deliver to Ahmadinejad, the Kurtz of the Middle East. Obama has been trying to do the same. As America’s influence continues to erode, you will see every nation comprising the Ummah and beyond coming forward to enthusiastically participate in this project. Tehran will not have to lift a finger.

They Don't Fear Elections

Markets, no matter what you think of them, are a sounding pole (or line) that measures future economic activity. The markets in and of themselves are not the problem. The problem is political volatility. Traders make money whether the markets go up or down. It is the movement of markets that generates money. Iraq's market reached its highest point just before America invaded. This was not a sign of confidence. It was a market in its death throes.

We all assume that the next election will solve everything for us. We eagerly await November. It is possible that the markets will rally in anticipation of a Republican sweep. This rally has the potential of being like a prisoner, having just been released after a long confinement, now standing in front of his house. He rushes across the lawn, his heart overflowing, eager to see his wife and kids. As he opens the door, he trips the wire that sets off the explosion that levels the house.

Inflation could be the charge, or social unrest, or a war. Too many fuses have already been lit; too many surprises converging dead ahead. I believe the only thing that's keeping us afloat today is our sluggish economy. There's not enough punch currently for the fireworks to proceed. Once it takes off, God help us!

These people will not give up. They’ve come too far. Isn’t it strange how they don’t seem to fear elections?

Poser

Every expectation, both domestically and internationally, has been turned on its head by this administration. Most of us have yet to realize this. We still insist on calling it failure (or incompetence) when ticking off accomplishments (or the lack thereof) since Barack Hussein Obama has been in office. Can we now say ‘DELIBERATE’?

Iraq is a throw-away for Obama. He’s looking to scoot under any pretext. The mission as he sees it – his mandate, if you wish – is to remake America. Even that is a euphemism, I’m afraid. He means to destroy us. He sees America as an unrepentant evil that must be erased from the earth.

On the Right, it has become fashionable to shout ‘SOCIALISM’ in the hope of stirring the comatose into exhibiting some spine arched in opposition. It's even worse than that. Socialism is the least of it. Other nations have and are surviving - whereas some can even be said to have prospered - under socialism. Read Alinsky again. Obama intends to destroy us. This means, every trace of what we have come to know as 'America' - gone. To do this, he has lit many fuses. Economic collapse is no longer unthinkable. Neither is Israel's demise. The specter of violence looms on our own shores, stoked by this administration and by the now state-controlled media. Obama wants no less than revolution - with all its bells and whistles.

Socialism to these people is merely a point of argument to keep us distracted and confused while discord about race, gender, income, political affiliation, etc. is sown. Obama has come to divide and destroy so that his name will go down in history as the greatest of tyrants the world has ever seen - to outshine even Mao, Stalin and Hitler. In this way he intends to win the respect of modern-day tyrants who have thus far dismissed him as a mere poser.

Elections Posponed Indefinitely

When we elected Obama, we put all our stones on the wrong side of the see-saw. Has there ever been a more flawed election as the one we have seen in Afghanistan? Is there any doubt that Iran will fill the void after we leave Iraq?

The question posed in the clip above is, “Can the U.S. stop from increasing its influence in Afghanistan?” Answer: No. Not if we don't have the desire to stop them. Or, “Can the U.S. work with Iran?” Answer: Yes, because it is becoming increasingly clear that Iran's path to power in the region is to take Israel out. This single achievement would give rise to a celebration the likes of which the world has never seen. It would elevate Tehran to the pinnacle of political power in the region (and beyond) and erase traditional rivalries, at least temporarily. The U.S. under Obama has already chosen sides. It will side with Iran.

Interesting is the timeframe within which all this can be expected to happen. As no one can be certain if Barack Hussein Obama will be elected to a second term, we can expect the conflagration sometime before 2012. As Israel has already figured out the game plan, it will have had time to mount an effective response. Even though, it knows it can’t win without American help, the war will likely be long and bloody - just the right opportunity for the American president to announce that we cannot risk having elections at this time.

Finding the Entrance

I must posit here that we have all collectively entered a kind of perpetual motion machine. There is literally no end to it. It has no hallowed purpose. There is only continued violence simply for violence’s sake. In order to address the problem, we must examine how we got here. And, then, walk ourselves painstakingly back and hope of finding the entrance.

The temptation for us is to accept that it has always been this way. But that would be wrong. I remember vacationing in Kashmir on a houseboat on Dal Lake back in the early 70’s. Friends of mine traveled through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq and reported having had a wonderful time. My senior year in high school, our class hosted two foreign exchange students – one from Germany and one from Afghanistan – both of whom became close friends. Something has changed in the meantime. It behooves us to define precisely what this is.

We might begin – as our president Obama has often suggested – that we confront all our enemies face to face in a room and ask them what it is they want. Islamists would say that they want all the unbelievers to abandon their 'evil' ways and submit to their concept of God. Communists would say they want a central governmental authority that would require everyone to submit to the dictates of a single all-powerful state. These in a nutshell are the demands of our enemies. The common bond between them is ‘submission’. Never mind (for now), that both these goals are unachievable and that, even if they were (achievable), all hell would soon break loose between whatever remains.

India has been declared an enemy by Pakistan only in the sense that Pakistani Islamists see her as having aligned herself with western values – democracy and capitalism. Both these concepts fall under the heading of ‘evil’ in the Islamic and communist lexicons. As both - the Islamic vision of the world as well as the communist vision - are in essence unattainable, the conflict must continue endlessly.

The pressure has been building on all parties to show results. The West is tired, and is quite prepared to submit in this, what has become a war of attrition. Obama’s election represents a capitulation to both communism and to Islam. However, a powerful backlash is presently building. The breach will come if and when Israel acts or falls. Expect all-out war. In war, reason stops. All that matters is survival.

How India ends up after all this depends on how the (I Ching) yarrow stalks happen to arrange themselves. America as she has been may disappear - or she may not. One thing is for certain, everyone will be greatly diminished. It’ll be the perfect time to start over.