[T]his whole speech was just one extended exercise in flim-flammery.On the other hand, contradicting himself (as he did numerous times), the Iraq war was a mistake.[...]
"Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground."Just as we have done in Iraq – hundreds of thousands of deaths later. Why am I not feeling reassured?[...]
Those who were hoping for some real change in our rhetoric, if not our foreign policy, with Obama in the White House are no doubt sorely disappointed right now, because George W. Bush could just as easily have spoken these very same words – and, indeed, he did utter endless variations on this identical theme when justifying our actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet the truth of the matter is that there are barely one-hundred al-Qaeda fighters in the whole of Afghanistan – so what are we doing there?
Yes, the bad thing about the Iraq war wasn’t that it needlessly killed thousands – many thousands of Iraqis, and a far lesser number of Americans. Oh no: the really really bad thing about it was that it diverted attention and resources away from the battle Obama wanted to fight, the one in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That all happened in the bad old days of Republican rule, however, before the invention of "hope".[...]
This business about how the Taliban and al-Qaeda share the same cause because they both want to overthrow the government of Afghanistan is nonsense, pure and simple. Al-Qaeda’s “cause” is the destruction of the continental United States, and its tactics reflectsthis objective: that’s what the 9/11 attacks were all about. The Taliban, on the other hand, just wants to kick the US out of their country – period. They aren’t flying airliners into American skyscrapers – yet.
And don’t forget Pakistan.
"I make this decision because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[...]
”Our overarching goal remains the same: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future."
[...]
Will we be told, in July, 2011, that, yes, we’re beginning to withdraw from Afghanistan – as Obama announced in his speech – so that we can go to where the real action is – in Pakistan? I’d lay odds on it.
I won’t be betting the other side.
These excerpts are from a much longer Justin Raimondo post, parsing the speech and pointing out its many frailties and falsehoods. Please read it if you have time. It’s one of Justin’s best, in my opinion.
And if you want to see what he should have said, check out: A Tale of Two Speeches.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Regarding Obama's "Defining" Speech
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