Not an exit strategy, but an end game that is spelled V-I-C-T-O-R-Y?
I’m watching Obama paint himself into a corner on this budget deal-government shut down, and believe there are simply some things that he cannot bring himself to do.
One is to cheer on the troops. Another is to root for the death, or even the defeat of Islamo-fascists. He just can’t bring himself to do it.
I keep expecting him to bring out a Navy mess cook to explain to Congress our end game in Libya. He is that disengaged. Just back from over two weeks of hard vacationing in Rio during Carnival, he’s worn out and wants another vacation just as soon as the government can shut down. And, I get the feeling Monday can’t come soon enough.
Back to Afghanistan. There’s an interesting site called iCasualties that covers both Afghanistan and Iraq. As you know I’ve been posting combat deaths in Afghanistan here (see UP’s For An Angel’s Kiss tab at the top of the page) but had neglected to do this for Iraq, where we’ve lost eight men this year. So from now on I’ll include our troops in Iraq – soldiers who are still being shot at, or did you not know that? Does Obama?
I suggest you go there and browse, for they report very interesting statistics. For instance, you can see a provincial map and see where the bulk of combat deaths occur.
iCasualites also keeps stats on the proportion of US total combat deaths to IED’s (about 60% for four solid years), which seems to be the weapon of choice of the Taliban.
A cursory glance shows that 700 of the total 1385 US casualties since 2001 (over half) have occurred on Obama’s watch. That’s from two wars, mind you, not one.
One might ask how we could so totally win in 2001-2002, and so totally get mired down since. I’m not a military guy, but there are plenty here, so I’m asking. But my boss, who’s an old Army JAG from Vietnam, simply says, “Rules of engagement. We can’t help but lose when he let the lawyer in the foxhole.”
Now political haymakers would already be lobbed at Mr Obama over these high death counts on his watch, only we on the right won’t do this, in part because we know these casualties are a result of a Surge which was pushed forth by President Bush, not Obama. And in part because we just don’t do anything that will destroy morale of the men in the field.
But we should be lobbing haymakers at the silence of the anti-war crowd who moaned every death in Iraq for over five years. Where are those hypocritical cretins?
But also look at charts and note that 2011 may be coming down. Are we turning a corner? There has been a downward trend through the winter at least, and if that trend holds through spring and summer, maybe a scent of victory can be in the air.
Only who will proclaim it?
We all know that Obama has no stomach for crowing about a trending American victory, or an Islamo-fascist defeat for that matter.
It might be nice, and this is merely a suggestion, mind you, if the subject were brought up by one or more of the 2012 GOP candidates, rather than hear about it from a lance corporal at Camp Lejeune in from of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Or Wikileaks.
