Oh How The Weak Have Fallen

My old buddy Eugene Robinson is like a dog without a bark. Eugene's drivel is once again embarrassing himself and the Washington Post. According to Robinson .... President Barack Obama is the one who must make the decision on how to proceed with the war in Afghanistan, not the generals. He further states that the generals should shut up and salute, and that's after he writes that he has enormous respect for the general's patriotism and service. He gives them the same respect that Senator "I worked hard for my position" Boxer gave to the general at a Senate hearing a few month ago.

General Stanley McChrystal the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan (according to Robinson) is entitled to his opinion about the best way to proceed going forward. According to Eugene, McChrystal (whose reputation and job is on the line, as are the precious human beings known as our military men and woman, to be as successful a commander as he can be) should be making his push for more troops to Obama candidly, in private.

Well Robinson... that's exactly what McChrystal did in August of this year. Now moving forward to September, nothing had been done. Obama's lack of leadership continues to surface as he barnstorms around the world criticizing out country, and not making the decisions that presidents are paid to do. Obama muttered those famous words to make himself appear to be tough when he was running for president to-wit: Afghanistan was a war of necessity. I agree Mr. President.

Ok, hello Barack! The call at 3 in the morning has come, why aren't you answering it?

Robinson continues to natter that what needs to be achieved in Afghanistan is a political question, and that we don't pay generals to do politics. He says "that's the job of the president and the Congress..." Ok Barack, and the Congress do you think the Taliban is going to wait for the big decision to be made by a man who in his entire life hasn't run a lemonade stand on the corner? And anyone who thinks politics can be separated from the military in a situation SUCH as this, is as naive as our impervious leader is on world affairs. Really though, what can we expect from someone who thinks there are 57 states in our USA?

Now finally, Robinson points out that it would be dereliction of duty for the president not to consider alternatives to the issue of sending more troops to the theatre known as Afghanistan. Hmmm!

Now Robinson shows his overall ignorance of the history lesson in Afghanistan vis-a-vis that the Russians placed huge numbers of troops into the area and got a failed result for dominance. That part of his idea is factual since they never defeated the locals, but exacted a pound of flesh that ruined the next generation of potentially able bodied men. Please explain to Eugene that we are not there in Afghanistan for dominance.

To compare 1980's warfare with modern day technologies is foolhardiness. Someone explain it to Robinson at the next latte guzzling. Calculating and calibrating the proper U.S.military presence is a high-stakes exercise Robinson.... one best performed by the professionals in the uniforms that bear the little stars on their shoulders, and not a community organizer, who is all too busy and preoccupied listening to the Chicago seven calling the shots from a scurrilous playbook.

Eugene, isn't it refreshing when a reporter asks a professional soldier a question with regards to the allocation of troops and gets an honest answer, one that comes quickly without pause, or a dozen UMMS followed by a carefully measured answer ala Barack Hussein Obama?

If privacy is what you want Robinson for the tet-a-tet between the allied commander and the president... I can live with it. Unfortunately, that's exactly what went down, but far be it for me to confuse you with the facts. What McChrystal didn't know then (August 2009) was that he was dealing with a greenhorn, one that couldn't make a decision if his life depended on it. Too bad the lives of our precious troops are the ones that are laying down their lives.

Bark on Robinson!