Barn Door Check
John Kerry, at the helm of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, determines the barn door’s open. New report finds the Bush admin bollixed it when they let bin Laden get away.
So, eight years later, what’s the point?
The horse is still out, and going forward, the vaguely hinted-at suggestion is that it’s important to stay focused on barn door open-closed operations.
NYT notes this comes as President Barack Obama prepares to boost the number of troops in Afghanistan. AP says the report is not just about goring that dead Bush ox, it also “could also be read as a cautionary note for those resisting an increased troop presence there now.”
Sounds very thoughtful, responsible on Kerry’s part, maybe even senatorial. And it’s a novel approach. Instead of just bashing Bush, using Bush to bash anti-war Dems who might be inclined to bash Obama. Obliquely. The weird part is that, while Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld were repeatedly whacked for going light both in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, neither news report indicates that Kerry is interested in whacking Obama, who after an exhaustive and lengthy period of review and revision, reportedly is getting ready to give his commander less than he asked for.* A quick glance at the 29-page report indicates it is entirely a rearview and doesn’t go so far as to suggest what Obama should be doing at all, beyond Kerry’s vague “hope that we can learn from the mistakes of the past.”
Which is always important. At the moment, the mistakes of the present and future are arguably of more pressing concern. Here’s a plan to avoid them:
Give your highly experienced field commanders what they ask for, a counterinsurgency plan to aimed at winning, rather than some fraction of a counterinsurgency plan aimed at exiting ASAP.
And get on with it.
Welcome, lefties! If you made it this far, then you may have learned your guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, or maybe can’t read, and definitely doesn’t know his history. But if you came here from there, you may have the same problem. Here’s a clue. The political decision to abandon Vietnam resulted in the deaths and enslavement of millions of people. Failure to capture bin Laden hasn’t had that effect yet, though looking at Afghanistan, and Iraq, as political problems that must be exited ASAP is a good start.
* There’s also no mention of the fact that, from Vietnam to Iraq, Kerry has a history of withdrawing his support for military operations the minute they go sour, which is probably just as critical today as it was in the past if the president is in fact relying on the chairman for support in Congress.
(Care to comment? Use the “contact” link to assure me you are a real human being interested in commenting on the topics at hand. Include your preferred screenname and temporary password. Lefty Kumbayah singers, moderate handwringers, meanspirited rightwingers all welcome. This is a free speech zone as long as you keep it clean and make an effort to be accurate.)
Topics: Afghanistan, Bush, Obama, al qaeda, history
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 7:54 am Comments (2) on Sunday, November 29, 2009
2 Responses to “Barn Door Check”
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November 29th, 2009 at 9:46 am
[...] Jules Crittenden discusses a new report about how Bin Laden got away [...]
November 29th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden: So, eight years later, what’s the point? [...]