Obama Did Right by Firing McChrystal

You might think I am going to say that Gen. Stanley McChrystal deserved to be fired for badmouthing the President to a Rolling Stone reporter, because he undermined the chain of command, and because he was pushing his own policy and not that of the President of the United States. It all would be true.

That said, he deserved to be fired for one single act above all others:

"A general, his aides, and one reporter, stuck on a bus from Paris to Berlin, and drinking case after case of Bud Light Lime ..."

Yes, the dude drinks Bud Light Lime.

Would you follow a Bud Light Lime drinker into battle?
Should Afghan’s believe anything a Bud Light Lime drinker says?
Can you really trust the decision-making of a Bud Light Lime drinker?

The man was clearly unfit for duty. A Section 8 may be in order.

Read more...

Why are we still considering giving money to these guys?

The contractor in question is Blackwater, now called Xe Services. Let's look at their impressive resume:

Massacre 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

Shot the VP of Iraq's bodyguard

Shot and killed Akram Khalid Sa'ed Jasim and shot his 3 month old sister in the face and other various family members.

Shot Maulood Mohammed Shathir Husein at Baghdad University.

Shot Husam Hasan Jaber who was driving his taxi in Baghdad.

Almost beat Safeen Hameed Ahmed Qadir to death?

Murdered Khalis Kareem Ali Al Qaysi who was 65 who committed the crime of being in a car near a bunch of cold blooded Xe thugs.


There are other incidents and problems with them. I have no problem with contracting out certain services, especially if the contractors are doing a good job and saving taxpayer money. I just don't understand why we keep going back to a group like Blackwater/Xe.

I have not been much of a fan of Carl Levin, but I am glad that he is questioning this contract and calling for an investigation.

Read more...

The Option That Isn't Discussed

I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to throw out this piece by Glenn Greenwald on Afghanistan. I have heard talks of escalation and keeping the same strength, but the one thing that doesn't get much press is a withdrawal.

Every option is on the proverbial table except one: not fighting the war. And there's a widening gap between (a) public opinion (which sees Afghanistan as "turning into another Vietnam" and which opposes more troops, with 49% favoring a full or partial withdrawal) and (b) the virtual unanimity of establishment punditry which, as always, is cheerleading for the war. The only difference is that, with a Democratic President, there seems to be more Democratic and progressive support for this war (though there was, of course, plenty of that for Iraq, too).

As the article points out, there is a compelling reason to pull out, this statement from the Defense Science Board Task Force on what is making terrorism worse and exacerbating the problem:

American direct intervention in the Muslim world" -- through our "one sided support in favor of Israel"; support for Islamic tyrannies in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia; and, most of all, "the American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan

Give me a compelling reason to stay. I can see a few, but none that are worth the problems we are causing by staying.

Read more...