Friday, October 10, 2008

Almost Exactly Three Years Ago


this was Senator I-know-how-to-win-wars professional, military assessment of Afghanistan.


So, having succeeded today one might assume that the finishing touches are being put on the Third Annual Kabul Victory Parade, no?

No.

Via the NYT:


Grim Forecast for Afghanistan
By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON -- With security and economic conditions in Afghanistan already in dire straits, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that the situation there would probably only worsen next year.

“The trends across the board are not going in the right direction,” the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, told reporters. “And I would anticipate next year would be a tougher year.”

Admiral Mullen said Afghanistan was likely to continue what a new intelligence assessment calls “a downward spiral” barring rapid, major improvements to curb Afghanistan’s booming heroin trade, bolster district and tribal leaders to offset a weak central government in Kabul, breathe life into a flagging economy, and stem the flow of militants who are carrying out increasingly sophisticated attacks from safe havens in Pakistan.

Admiral Mullen struck a pessimistic note when asked about the likelihood of those badly needed changes falling into place. “Both the trends and the status specifically of where we are on those other things right now would indicate that the trends are going to continue,” he said.

The sobering forecast comes as a draft report by American intelligence agencies casts serious doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to stem the rise in the Taliban’s influence there, and as the Bush administration has initiated a major review of its Afghanistan policy.
...


Senator, your entire public service resume seems to read --

  1. POW
  2. Parlay POW into gummint job.
  3. Parlay POW into better gummint job.
  4. Use gummint job to help out buddy Chuck Keating.
  5. Spend three years apologizing for helping Chuck Keating fuck a lot of people out of their life's savings.
  6. Parlay POW and apologizing into media luuuuurving me.

    Short Term Goal: Parlay POW, media luuuuurving me and Avon Lady the Barbarian into White House.

-- so for the record, please remind us all again, which wars you have actually won?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

McCain is a useless fool.

I am concerned that Obama thinks he can create some kind of positive outcome in Afghanistan. That is not a winnable war, period, end of discussion. And with our nation in dire financial straits we ain't got the cash to continue that non-sense.

Anonymous said...

and don't forget that McSame knows how to get bin Laden....too bad he chooses not to tell the Pentagon

lostnacfgop said...

Every Dem candidate since Truman has been cast with the "Soft on . . ." albatross around his/her neck. The predictable reaction has been to run with international rhetoric that is slightly to the right of Attila the Hun . . . but forget about Saint Ronnie for a minute, that's why Dukakis jumped in the tank, that's why JFK ran so hawkishly in '60, that's why Hillary ran the 3 am ads. And, frankly, that's why Obama/Biden keep talking tough about Afghanistan.

D. said...

Gotta smile here.

The Blue Angels are rehearsing around San Francisco, making a great deal of noise, and it occurred to me: The Blue Angels would never have accepted McCain.

Really. Think about it.

Anonymous said...

Great articles! I hope Obama can win this election!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
tech98 said...

You'd think McThuselah would put 'Country First' and actually tell someone his superduper secret plan to get Bin Laden.

He's counting on Repigs being too ignorant to know Nixon pulled this same 'secret plan to win the war' election-year bullshit and had nothing.