I have been slightly taken aback by the almost eager way in which 'Dave' has indicated that when it comes to Afghanistan his attitude is best summarised by the Americanism 'we're outta here'! I can see that a new prime minister would not be eager to pick up the blame for the relentless casualty rates he inherited from his predecessor, plus, of course, the eye-watering expense at a time when the public purse is being zipped up, but even so, he has struck me as being positively eager to get out. Now I think I know the main reason why.
Bob Woodward, yes, that old truffle-hound, is publishing a book and, delicious irony, someone has leaked a copy to the NYT. In it, Woodward describes the shambles that is the Obama administration which resembles nothing more than a sack full of hissing, spitting, biting, scratching weasels! Obviously 'Our Man in Washington' has been reporting back on the White House shambles with its back-stabbing, double-dealing, incompetence and inability to take clear cut decisions and drive them through. According to Woodward/NYT, everyone involved is conducting personal as well as political feuds with others whilst the man at the top, whose instincts are to get the hell out but who does not want the ignominy of being a president who brought back a defeated American army, finally decides after months and months of shilly-shallying weighing carefully all the options to go for a sort of halfway house, a little bit of extra muscle, but only for a little while, and then ...? Er, well, we'll weigh all the options all over again!
Now, as regular readers will know, perhaps ad nauseum, there is no-one who exceeds my admiration for the Great Republic, but there are limits. We are spending blood and treasure in support of an ally so it behooves that ally to conduct the war with intellectual rigour and with a modicum of steadfast unity. I know that in all wars there are disagreements at the top level but these should be aired privately as between men of goodwill and honour conscious of the fact that their own soldiers, and those of their allies, are fighting and dying at their behest. The contemptible collection of second-raters fighting their private turf wars in and out of the White House is a disgrace. The likes of Axelrod and Emanuel deserve much of the blame because their Machiavellian manouvres in everything that takes place in the administration sets the whole tone. However, above this non-functioning shambles stands the one man who deserves all the invective that can be hurled against him. I hope no-one will ever again claim that such and such a politician deserves high office because he or she is an intellectual with a university education. Obama stands as proof positive that you can be educated up to your ears and still remain a gormless, inadequate weakling paralysed by indecision and unfit to run a parish council.
Sorry, America, I know it won't make that much difference to you militarily, but 'we're outta here' - and the quicker the better.
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