Comments on: Optimism

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:36:00 +0000

I too fear for the troops, or anyone who, in the course of their duties, has to do a tough job on top of worrying if he's going to be retroactively punished for it. The witchhunt is just beginning, and it will involve low- as well as high-level people. I'm just disappointed Gates hasn't been stronger in fighting for the troops, whether in the release of the memos and photos, or in reacting to the DHS memos on vets suspected of being "right wing" recruits.

That said, RP, conservative philosophies are punitive? They merely begin from a realistic appraisal of what moves Man to act, and they build from there to balance individual freedom with society's needs. The utopian, coercive egalitarianism, imposed from on high, is on the left, not the right. But as BB says, it's not a party thing.

By: Rosemary

Rosemary — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts, Blue. As long as he leaves these well-qualified gentlemen alone to do their job WITHOUT THE FEAR OF PROSECUTION for their actions at a later date, then I will be alright. As it stands, however, I have never in my life seen anyone so arrogant as to want to try the administration that was before them as badly as this Obama does. It does not bode well with me. I am in fear for our troops as well. He’s going after them AGAIN…but if it is cool when he gets one thing right, then I’ll give him kudos for that. I just won’t be jumping up and down proclaiming that I was wrong in my assessment of the man…

By: WOTN

WOTN — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:56:00 +0000

I sure wish I could share your optimism but everytime I've looked under the bookcover of the "policies," the most I've found is lipservice.

It started when I learned that Obama disrespected Karzai while the former was still on the campaign trail.

It followed when I learned that he was trying to install a leader in Afghanistan to counterweigh him and that the administration was actively working against the elected leader of that ally.

It worsened when I looked at the White House page for the policy a few weeks back and found NONE.

I do *hope* you're right but I just don't see how he can formulate a winning strategy while hiding an $80+ billing dollar cut in defense budget, in transparency.

By: membrain

membrain — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Blue, if you're optimistic then I'm optimistic. The previous two articles outlining the rot in the officer corps was disheartening to say the least.

It took 5 years for Bush to brush aside those types of general officers who so fiercely opposed the very idea of COIN and embrace Petraeus and Kilcullen. Bush owned the surge. Petreaus prosecuted it.

If Obama starts from that position then there is room for optimism indeed.

By: David M

David M — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:45:00 +0000

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 04/24/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.

By: RPo

RPo — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Understood, but to defend my point: Republican and Democratic Parties have very different philosophies about the use of coercion and punishment to achieve changes to an individual's or a group's attitudes and behavior. Conservative philosophies tend towards punitiveness and the clarity of meaning implied by coercion. Liberal attitudes emphasize reform and systemic changes to obtain changes in behavior. And those attitudes make up a vital normative aspect of how each party characterizes itself to the American people.

it's just not a matter of being behind the times or forward-thinking, as many counter-insurgency tactics were developed decades if not a century ago.

By: Bill and Bob's Excellent Adventure

Bill and Bob's Excellent Adventure — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:36:00 +0000

It’s not about Democrat or Republican, and to make it about party affiliation is to miss the point entirely. It’s about who you listen to and the team you assemble. Don’t know if it’s so much by design or by accident, but this team stands a chance. Bush was failed by the dinosaurs that were in place. Those dinosaurs failed to listen to men like Kilcullen, Nagl and Petraeus, and they reaped commensurate results. These were men who won the meeting engagement and lost the rest of it until lucking into Petraeus in Iraq.

By: RPo

RPo — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Gives credence to my argument a few years ago that it took a Republican to have the cajones to take out the Taliban and Hussein, but it would take a Democratic President to rebuild each country successfully…