The Chicago Connection
Success or failure following major decisions is usually the measure of whether a decision was either right or wrong, but what about decisions not yet made? Probably the best way to predict possible success or failure of a soon-to-be-made decision is to look behind the curtain at the advisors on each side of the issue about which the decision will be made.
The president is being advised from two distinct camps before he makes his decision on whether to add more troops to our Afghanistan war effort. He will accept either the guidance of war seasoned and highly respected generals (see below), or the guidance of his fellow Chicago full-time politicians (White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel and Senior White House Advisor, David Axelrod, neither of whom ever wore a military uniform), who are the prime advocates for the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, the members of which want us to stop spending money on things like necessary wars so we can spend more on social programs to attract more people to the democratic party. The Chicago pols are joined by one former military man, James Jones, who chose (some time ago, actually) to wear his politician’s hat, which was not suffering from non-use anyway, and one vice-president, Joe Biden, who has rescued Dan Quayle from the undeserved ridicule heaped upon him for misspelling potato many years ago. Biden makes Quayle look absolutely scholarly.
A president who is not particularly interested in victory, of course, would not be overly concerned when the general he put in charge in Afghanistan asserts that without an additional 40,000 troops our efforts “will likely result in failure.” This is what Obama said recently about our war in Afghanistan.
"I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur."
Our president’s statement, aside from displaying his ignorance of history (Emperor Hirohito did not sign the surrender documents and wasn’t even present on the USS Missouri when they were signed), must have shocked and disappointed our brave troops slogging their way through a godforsaken country seeking what they have always been trained to seek: VICTORY.
The president’s military leaders: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, Commander, U. S. Central Command General David Petraeus, and the top U. S. military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, all agree that without additional troops our efforts in Afghanistan will likely fail, but what do they know? They only share a total of 109 years in the active military service of our country, and have dedicated their lives to keeping us free. Two of them have advanced academic degrees (General Petraeus holds a PhD), but, all that aside, I doubt they will win the day with the president on their proposal to increase our Afghanistan troop strength. The president will more likely go with the recommendation of his Chicago advisors and that decision “will likely result in failure” as General McChrystal has warned. So, I would predict that his decision will be a Wrong Decision. He will, at most, achieve a one-sided compromise whereby he will send a much smaller number of troops to Afghanistan, because the Chicago politicians advocating for the radical Left Wing can’t come up empty; they always have to win something (except, apparently, wars).
So where was the president last week? He took off in Air Force One (the First Lady flew over on a separate jet, but please don’t ask about carbon footprints), for Copenhagen to lobby the International Olympic Committee to award the 2016 games to (where else?) Chicago. Old loyalties die hard, but at least we know where his loyalties lie. Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill was fond of saying: All politics is local, and Chicago is the ultimate manifestation of that dictum. When a large number of Chicago residents voiced deep concern about what the Olympic games will end up costing them, Chicago’s Mayor, and close political ally of Obama, Richard M. Daley, “pledged that the Games would not cost the taxpayers a dime.” Now we know where President Obama got that line.
What can we do about yet another deplorable situation facing us? My only recommendation at this point is to pray: “Pray without Ceasing.” Pray that American troops, the best of the best, are not abandoned as they were in Vietnam. Pray for all our combat troops around the world – especially those in Afghanistan - who risk their lives every day in far off lands to protect us from terrorist attacks here at home. If they lose this one, we all lose.
