Barack Hussein Obama is many things, however a military genius he is not. The truth of the matter he is only in Afghanistan at this point to appear hawkish enough to keep the so called Moderate Democrats in his camp. His heart is not into this war, hence the McChrystal debacle. This political treatment of this war is getting American soldiers killed. The main beneficiary of this war is China, whose mines we are protecting.In a moment of truth, CIA director Leon Panetta admits the Afghan War is not going according to plan.
In an EXCLUSIVE interview on “This Week,” CIA Director Leon Panetta said that making progress in Afghanistan is both “harder” and going more slowly than anticipated.
“There are some serious problems” in Afghanistan, Panetta said. “We’re dealing with tribal societies. We’re dealing with a country that has problems with governance, problems with corruption, problems with narcotics trafficking, problems with a Taliban insurgency,” he said.
Read the rest: Afghanistan Progress ‘Slower’ Than Anticipated
Many things are not going according to the plan of the Progressive Movement. The Obama Boom was a lie, The Islamic World hates us, Democrats are facing a political debacle and Barack Hussein Obama’s popularity is down. The Afghan war is no different, Obama is fighting to score political points and not to win. Obama is no Alexander the great!
Tags: Leon Panetta
Is Panetta going to get taken to task for making Barry look bad, as happened with McChrystal? Or is this a trial balloon to decrease public expectations?
Barry The Great . . . a legend in his own
timemindWhat?! There was a plan?!
Poor Obama, he’s finding out that actually prosecuting a war is far more difficult than standing outside bitching about it.
FurryOldGuyJeans wrote:
My expectation was to be consistently underwhelmed, and that’s working out pretty well for me.
“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed”
What am I missing here; weren’t these the same problems that we’ve had since the very beginning?
. . . an “interesting” if not somewhat strange open letter has been posted by Pam Geller at her site. I’ll reserve my take; perhaps others might take a shot at analizing it.
This piece of shit stratigary will be held together with spit and string until after November, then all bets are off. My bet would be we start withdrawing after November. Kinda like declare victory and run. Run like there is no tomorrow. I just hope all the bodies come home. How’s that for a prediction?
@ MacDuff:
Pretty much, yeah.
Someone just sent Panetta a memo about it.
He wouldn’t know, otherwise. It’s not like he’s in charge of the CIA or something…
lobo91 wrote:
That is sarcasm I take?
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez described Israel on Saturday as a genocidal state that acted as an assassin for the United States, predicting the Middle East nation would one day be “put in its place.”
Someone should put a bullet between his eyes. Not shake his hand: Memo to Obama
@ Nevergiveup:
encouraging/
I really hate that phrase in connection with wars.
These people act like they’re talking about crime in Chicagp or something.
Yes, there’s violence involved in combat. At least there is if you’re doing it right…
World leaders “believe absolutely” that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday.
“Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,” Berlusconi told reporters following talks with other Group of Eight leaders north of Toronto.
Am missing something or did the G-8 just give Israel the OK? Because that is what it seems like they just did.
@ Nevergiveup:
Well, it depends on the meaning of “in charge,” I suupose, but yeah.
Panetta as CIA Director reminds me of the boss in the Dilbert comic strip.
The one they gave an Etch-a-Sketch to, in place of a laptop…
@ Nevergiveup:
The only reason Leon Panetta is in charge of the CIA is that even Zero could never have gotten Sandy Burglar past Congress. After all, he was such a genius at covert document stealing operations.
What plan? The only thing these savages understand is death. And that would be the death of males. A lot of them. We should have defoliated the hemp and poppies long ago. Strafed and bombed every Taliban compound. Rewritten their Constitution. Eliminate sharia. And killed everyone who objected. These fuckers declared war on us. We should have responded accordingly. Enough so that every Muslim country on earth would think twice about harboring terrorists that threatened American assets or people. Now we are babysitting crazed savages.
lobo91 wrote:
I think from listening to what you say here, you are getting a tad pessimistic about the direction this “War” is going like I am? I am going down to Parris Island for a few weeks. I am gong to be very curious if what kind of vibes I am going to pick up down there?
Carolina Girl wrote:
Yeah ya know I dislike Panetta but the sad Truth is he may be one of the best of a bad lot. Sad but true.
@ Nevergiveup:
Not necessarily. I think the events of the past week are actually positive, with regard to the future of the war.
My opinion may change once I get over there, of course.
@ pat:
. . . hard to argue wit dat
lobo91 wrote:
Are you definitely going?
@ Nevergiveup:
It would not shock me.
OK I am off for a chicom food run for the family- so later
@ Nevergiveup:
He’s the best we could of hope for from Obama.
@ Nevergiveup:
Panetta is probably the least-qualified person to ever hold that position in the agency’s history.
I’m pretty sure the only reason he was confirmed by the Senate is that most of them were scratching their heads through the whole process, thinking, “Leon Panetta? CIA Director? Seriously? Did they run out of ambassadorships to countries nobody’s heard of?”
@ Nevergiveup:
Get me an egg roll!
Nevergiveup wrote:
Don’t forget the roast duck.
@ Nevergiveup:
Assuming no bureaucratic SNAFUs, yeah.
The orders request is at my division headquarters now.
I’m supposed to be at Leavenworth for school on 27 September.
Nevergiveup wrote:
Diane Feinstein is on FNC saying that the withdrawl timeline is writ in stone and having such will not encourage the jihadis. Our leaving Afghanistan, in her thinking, will make the Taliban stop attacking and go for group hugs with Karzai while singing Kumbaiya.
Rodan wrote:
The fulfillment of low expectations, whee.
@ FurryOldGuyJeans:
Yup Obama has provided us with low expectations.
Rodan wrote:
This administration has delusions of competence.
Nevergiveup wrote:
As much as the public front is to condemn Israel for being “aggressive”, but in private world leaders would breathe a sigh of relief if the Iranians’ nuclear ambitions were “blowed up”.
lobo91 wrote:
You give them far too much credit, they have delusions of trifling adequacy. Competence would be a major stretch.
@ FurryOldGuyJeans:
I was feeling charitable.
@ lobo91:
I agree!
I guess Panetta hasn’t screwed things up too badly, so far.
There haven’t been mass resignations at CIA, and the building hasn’t burned down.
Yet.
MacDuff wrote:
What you are missing is that Bush is no longer in office, now Barry is CinC. What was the fault of that cowboy is now of grave concern for He Who Cares©.
lobo91 wrote:
It would be hard to top the wrecking ball mentality and attitude of his boss.
@ lobo91:
That would be because the CIA is filled with union workers and Federal Bureaucrats that have not done work for real work since Torricelli prohibited real spying and turned the agency over to academics.
Obama is living proof that anyone can become president… anyone. He’s also living proof of the danger in electing just anyone as president.
Were this had been a white guy, say, Sen. Fred Schwartz (D-Il) he would still be languishing in the Senate; assuming he was even elected Senator in the first place – he would never have been considered. No, Obama was a) a black guy, and b) had an exotic, Muslim sounding name. These two facts effectively insulated him from any media scrutiny, and gave everyone a nice warm feeling that they were “embraacing diversity”, regardless of the fact that he may well be the most unqualified individual to hold this office in modern times, if ever.
I opposed this guy from the beginning, the “messianic” overtones of his campaign made my skin crawl. But, when he was elected, I held out an open mind and said as much at the time.
Now, after 18 months, all if my worst fears have come to pass. We have a man in the Oval Office who is long on self esteem and etherial “vision”, and far to short on any abilites required by a POTUS.
Yes, we live in a country where anyone can be president, but maybe we should be more careful in electing just anyone president.
Panetta was probably the most incomprehensible choice they could have made for that job.
If he went on the CIA website and applied for a job, he wouldn’t even get an interview, because he has absolutely no relevant skills or experience.
I’m better qualified for the job than he is (and I don’t consider myself qualified for it, by any stretch of the imagination).
MacDuff wrote:
Being POTUS still is a Men Only Club thing.
Not that I am by any stretch suggesting we elect a woman just to elect a woman. Barry shows very well the folly of elevating someone based solely on affirmative action criteria.
lobo91 wrote:
Probably about 30-40% of the call ups in our unit are cancelled at the last moment
lobo91 wrote:
If you look at his appointment as a deliberate choice to destroy the CIA from within, Panetta makes a lot of sense. Too bad many of the people at Foggy Bottom have as loony a world view as does Barry and Panetta.
@ Nevergiveup:
This one won’t be cancelled. It’s a critical position that has to be filled.
My orders could be rejected for some reason, but somebody’s going.
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen met Sunday in Tel Aviv with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi. The guest from the US said that he always learns new things when in Israel, noting that he always tries to see threats and challenges from the Israeli angle.
He said that though certain matters are Israel’s interests, they are important also to the US in the region.
The two commanders held a one-on-one meeting as well as a broader meeting with senior officials from the General Staff in attendance, including the Navy commander and head of the IDF Planning Directorate.
Ashkenazi praised Adm. Mullen for his many visits to Israel, and noted that the two have already met dozens of times in the past. He added that the current meeting was fruitful thanking “Adm. Mullen in particular for promoting relations and cooperation between the armed forces under his leadership.”
Ashkenazi also noted that the personal relationship and organizational relationship between the two is exceptional and among the best ever between the countries. The chief of staff said, “I consider Adm. Mullen a friend and partner on every issue related to the security of the State of Israel.
Michael Oren told the Foreign Ministry that “relations with the Americans have undergone a tectonic split.”
It was published Sunday that Oren reported that US President Barack Obama is not motivated by emotions, past commitments, or a sense of friendship, but by cold, calculated interests. According to him, the US administration’s decision making process is linear, and it is very difficult to use leverage or pressure Obama “because it’s a one-man show and all decisions are made by him in a centralized fashion
lobo91 wrote:
Well keep us informed
@ Nevergiveup:
I pretty much expect it to be approved. I’ve been told that my division will approve it, and once it goes up from there, it’s going to people who don’t know me from any random person off the street. They would have no reason to reject it. It’s not like they can refuse to send anyone. If it’s not me, they’ll have to find someone else.
lobo91 wrote:
Well be careful. I’m only gonna be sweating my balls off in Parris Island.
FurryOldGuyJeans wrote:
Point taken; but give me an American woman with the stature, track record, and belief system of Margaret Thatcher, and I’d be in the streeets for her election.
My point is that Obama was an enigmatic figure that was accepted by the American public, based solely upon hollow rhetoric and illusion.
We should, at the very least, hold a prospective POTUS to the same standards that business holds a prospective CEO.
@ Nevergiveup:
I have no idea where in country I’m going, yet. I know who I’m going with, and when. And what I’ll be doing.
lobo91 wrote:
Well I know a Navy Nurse in Khandahar
@ MacDuff:
His color actually helps him. It add 10% to his approval. If his name was Fred Schwartz, he would be in the mid 30′s.
lobo91 wrote:
Godspeed Lobo; thank you for your service and I’m sure that all pray for your safe return.
@ Nevergiveup:
I won’t be in Kandahar, most likely. I’m going out to a brigade-level unit.
MacDuff wrote:
Which requires a media establishment that is skeptical and suspicious of any and all politicians, willing to do whatever it takes to find the skeletons in the closet; and an electorate more interested in what their voting choices mean to the country at large instead of being obsessed with pop culture.
lobo91 wrote:
Ah that’s right ya told me ya going to be at one of them high luxery FOBs
/
@ Nevergiveup:
Did you bring me an egg roll?
Rodan wrote:
Absolutely! It is an effective insulator and, at a number of levels, it is manifest racism, no?
I posted this the other night. It’s my job description for the tour:
Rodan wrote:
My wife is on a health kick,so no fried food. Believe when she is not around I load up on stuff like that.
@ lobo91:
Sounds like a fair amount of politics to me? Good luck. No matter where they send me, it’s always pretty much straight forward: Fix that tooth and try not to bitch about it.
FurryOldGuyJeans wrote:
Spot on. They didn’t coin the word “infotainment for nothing, did they? Obama’s not only a “Peter Principle” president, he may be our first “infotainment” president.
God help us.
@ Nevergiveup:
I have a NY Style Chinese place by me. When I leave my Mom’s later I will order some steam dumplings.
Panetta: Iran has uranium for 2 bombs
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
06/27/2010 19:45
CIA director doubts UN penalties will stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Didn’t Panetta get the memo that the UN is doing a bang up job? Hills and Obama seem to think so?
@ lobo91:
I’m glad we have you around for the summer! It’s an honor to have you around here.
Rodan wrote:
What does NY Style mean? They don’t talk to ya, only grunt?
@ Nevergiveup:
I’m used to playing sort of the “devil’s advocate” role in what I do now, so it’s not that much of a stretch for me.
I’m looking forward to the course, though. They’re working way outside of the box there. They pretty much build their own boxes.
@ Rodan:
Thank you.
@ MacDuff:
Barry was Peter Principled back when he was a state senator, voting Present most of the time. He was several steps above his highest level of incompetence when he was a US Senator, and now he defines a whole new paradigm with the Obama Principle, an UBER upgrade of the PP.
@ Nevergiveup:
NY Style means like a small cheap Chinese take out. Not the elaborate restaurants. I guess it’s a Florida thing they use to get Ex NYers like me.
@ Nevergiveup:
To give you an idea of how far away from conventional military thinking they are, this is one of the main books they study in the course.
@ lobo91:
In civilian speak. Consultant?
lobo91 wrote:
Sounds interesting. Remember take one and hit to right.
Poteen wrote:
Sort of, yeah.
That’s basically what I do in my current position, too.
Does anyone remember such accolades for General Petraeus as what is happening now. Almost like the liberals think Obama invented him and brought about his importance, when he was so important in Iraq..dimwit lying liberals. All because of their blind hatred for GWB.
@ Nevergiveup:
It’s actually a pretty interesting book if you’re a baseball fan.
I’m reading it now.
It’s about how the A’s GM applied some of the alternative measurements of baseball statistics that were being developed at the time (early 2000s) to figure out which players were actually better than the “conventional wisdom” showed, and then made trades to acquire them.
Grimcargo wrote:
Yeah they are rather hypocritical aren’t they.
Grimcargo wrote:
No, the main thing I remember is Hillary Clinton’s “willing suspension of disbelief” line.
For any of our New England members and friends:
Civilians are getting a chance to glimpse military life as Navy Week comes to Boston for the sixth consecutive year.
A full week of events starts Tuesday and lasts until July 5.
The week includes opportunities to visit Navy vessels, hear from top Navy officials and listen to Navy bands. In addition, active-duty sailors will participate in community service programs, including serving lunch to homeless veterans.
Festivities include Navy Night at Fenway Park, when Rear Adm. Mark Boensel will throw out the first pitch.
@ Grimcargo:
Yup he went from General Betray Us to a hero. Funny How the Progressives change things.
lobo91 wrote:
Holy shitte, to Quote Kirly quoting me, we are sooo fucking doomed….
Rodan wrote:
Moveon.org has already tried to shove that ad down the memory hole.
FNC actually mentions that at the end of the Petraeus bio special they ran this weekend.
@ doriangrey:
Why do you say that?
lobo91 wrote:
Does it make me evil if I hope that ad comes back and bites their ass completely off?
lobo91 wrote:
/ Teach the Afghans to hit a curve.
Hey, if it fucks with the Taliban, go with it.
@ doriangrey:
If it does, I guess I’m evil, too.
lobo91 wrote:
Lobo, have you come across any mention of this book:
“Three Cups of Tea” Mortenson,Greg ??
@ Poteen:
Not quite what they had in mind, but it could work.
The real reason they study that book is because it shows that “Because we’ve always done it that way” isn’t a good reason for continuing to follow failed strategies.
@ spinmore:
Yes, I have.
Haven’t had time to read it yet, though.
lobo91 wrote:
Well, let me put it to you like this. In my personal opinion, only a fool would think that you can apply sports strageties to a military situation and not get everyone under your command killed.
Ask yourself, would Sun Tzu have used that book as a stratigic guide? Personally, I do not think so…
lobo91 wrote:
But people do not forget. They especially won’t forget that one.Something deranged about liberals. They are willing to lose all their credibility to protect their biggest mistake and they will go down with the ship. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so infuriating.
@ doriangrey:
See my #91 above.
@ lobo91:
Yup it’s funny how the Progressives who used to call for defeat in Iraq now call for patience.
FurryOldGuyJeans wrote:
I would agree with you on that; he has been wholly ineffective in his every position, seemingly due to his lust for more power, throughout his career. Now he has arrived at the pinnacle and he is completely unprepared.
The “Peter Principle” was a landmark book, and throughout my career in business, I have seen it played out, time and again. I think (I could be wrong) that both of the authors are now dead, but I would like to think that they are somewhere, smiling in the knowledge that they nailed it more than 40 years ago.
@ lobo91:
If the Soviets had that read 25 yrs. ago, history may well have been very different.
@ Grimcargo:
It would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous for all of us.
None of that s***** makes any difference as long as our borders are open to any kind of terrorist that wants to enter. Whether by the Southern border or via flights. We are wide open. It’s futile for our military to over there dying whilst we over here being STUPID!(obama)
@ Poteen:
If we hadn’t armed the Afghans with stingers and other weapons, the Russians would of won.
lobo91 wrote:
. . . for me (and my limited perspective as a civilian who has never been to that part of the world) the book has at a minimum made me think and re-think my views on the whole ‘problem’ that We (the West in particular) are facing in that region. I don’t claim to have the answers. The book, however, has given me much to ponder on more then one front – funny how once in a long while something can do that.
@ doriangrey:
A tactical lesson most probably.
Sun Tzu couldn’t hit a slider.
@ Grimcargo:
Exactly Our Southern Flanks are open, we don’t go after people who overstay their visa and Canada is 3% Muzzie. It also doesn’t help our current Immigration policies favor Muslim Immigrants via the lottery system.
We will protect Afghan villages and Chines own mines, but not towns in Arizona. See a problem?
lobo91 wrote:
Foolish premise at best, in my opinion of course. Anyone who has studied Sun Tzu would never fall into the trap of thinking that because something has always worked in the pst that it will always work.
Once again, in my personal opinion, allowing anyone who has never been personally involved in situations that employ violence as conflict resolution should never be allowed to engage in devoloping stratigic solutions for military actions.
Rodan wrote:
It’s called treason for political advantage.
@ doriangrey:
Actually, I think he would have found it very interesting.
It’s not about sports strategies. It’s about challenging the conventional wisdom, and redefining the problem so that you can figure out a solution that works.
For example, the conventional wisdom in baseball is that, from a batter’s perspective, walks are bad. When a batter walks, they don’t even record it as an at bat. It just goes down the memory hole.
The reality is that walks are good, for a couple of reasons. First, it gets a runner on base with no possibility of being thrown out. Second, it causes the opposing pitcher to throw more pitches, which wears him down, thus giving an advantage to later batters (and possibly causing the other team to have to bring in a reliever).
Once the A’s figured that out, they started looking for players who drew an inordinate number of walks.
Rodan wrote:
Exactly, the Soviets tried the ‘kill em all strategy ‘ and it worked up until Reagan supplied the Stingers. The back-up plan was to quit and go home.
Grimcargo wrote:
The difference between the Iraq Petraeus and the new shiny Afghanistan Petraeus is Bush is no longer in office and Barry is.
Bush tasks Petraeus, bad and dumb mistake.
Barry tasks Petraeus, best military strategy since sliced bread.
Rodan wrote:
It’s Obama’s selected prosecution. Course GWB didn’t do any better with the border. Difference is,GWB was not a Chicago thug with muslim connections/muslim roots.
Poteen wrote:
Too bad actually that Russia didn’t win. We created monsters sometimes by using proxies. Saddam was our big monster because his ambitions went way beyond just being safe and at peace.
Nope he also change the Visa lottey to increase Muslim Immigration.
No but he had Saudi ties and loved Islam.
@ Grimcargo:
His ambition did him in.
@ doriangrey:
BTW, if you don’t understand how much of what happens in the military (just as in any other large, hierarchical organization) occurs because it’s always been done that way, you must not have spent much time in that sort of environment.
Rodan wrote:
Who appointed Petraeus to command in Iraq, and who appointed the General to command in Afghanistan.
What a difference a letter after a name makes.
The most interesting thing about McChrystal is that he’s Obama’s pick.
McChrystal voted for Obama. He is a political liberal. He is a social liberal. He hates conservative thought so much he banned Fox News from the television sets in his headquarters. He helped write the ROE (Rules of Engagement) that are endangering American lives and is one of the causes of our failure to succeed in Afghanistan.
The AP is once again trying to polish a turd, making incompetence look like a winning strategy:
CIA chief Panetta: US has driven back al-Qaida
Fritz Katz wrote:
Gen. McChrystal was doing exactly what Barry wanted him to do until the Gen. opened his mouth and made Barry look less than Messianic.
FurryOldGuyJeans wrote:
Personally, I never liked McChrystal; he accepted the RoEs without question and I think that those RoEs got a lot of our men killed and that opinion is shared by a lot of his soldiers. A Liberal general is just a contridiction in terms.
I think that Petraeus is a dramatic upgrade and has stature among his troops and among the American people. IMHO.
“Tha best-laid plans o’ mice and men aft glang astray”
Robert Burns
The only hope in if the McChrystal plan succeeds. The plan as I see it goes like this:
1) Get with Petraeus or plan with Petraeus so that when McChrystal gets fired and Petraeus is asked to step in he will know exactly what demands to make.
2) Allow a Rolling Stones reporter access to yourself and your staff knowing full well that even off the record comments won’t be kept off the record.
3) Candidly tell the reporter what the major obstacles to victory are; a clueless CIC, a timetable for withdrawal, and presidential and Afghan diplomatic staff, (Biden, Eikenberry, Holbrooke), not on board with the President’s policy and publicly sabotaging the strategy.
4) Get fired.
5) Petraeus, the only person who can almost seamlessly step in, agrees to if conditions are met, (see #3).
6) Obama publicly states that the withdrawal date is not set in stone and that “I welcome debate among my team, but I won’t tolerate division.” in an effort to shut Biden up.
7) Fire Eikenberry and Holbrooke.
All but #7 have gone according to plan but #7 is essential. Obama can’t fire another field general so if Petraeus demanded it it should happen.
spinmore wrote:
I read the open letter. Is Pam under a lot of stress? Muslim and conscience do not go together, they have no conscience.