With President Obama continuing to stay the course and escalating the war, many more troops and Afghan civilians will die, we will spend untold billions more and the Taliban will recruit hundreds more new insurgents to fight those who occupy their country. Does this appear to be rational, in-depth thinking?
Here is what I think our president must do and do it very soon. He must free himself from the iron vice grip of the Pentagon and the military establishment and, at the risk of offending any element in America, take immediate steps to totally wind down our two wars and occupations; no delays, no vacillations, no thousands of troops left to maintain a permanent presence.
Defense Secretary Gates and General Patraeus must be given an ultimatum; either go along with a new plan to exit both those countries in an orderly set schedule or resign their posts. America can no longer be driven toward financial collapse because out military establishment is allowed to call the shots and do what they do best conduct costly wars. We can no longer allow the military to determine the destiny of America.
Many authors and observers of our current downward economic spiral have clearly shown how our emphasis on the military at the expense of our domestic needs is sucking the wealth out of America. Does Mr. Obama not see, does he not comprehend that these wars and this bloated military empire represent the major cause of our deteriorating economy and are directly inhibiting our ability to restore it?
President Obama came into office with monumental problems facing America and he had an unprecedented opportunity to achieve greatness by confronting and solving them through intelligent, rational logic and strategies. Forget about the Republican opposition and filibusters, I'm talking about the insanity of war. Anyone with a gigantic war machine can start a war but it takes courage and wisdom to know how to end one.
America has arrived at, unquestionably, the most critical time in its history. And the most critical issue that will determine the future fate of our nation can be found in just one word WAR. Here are the two choices we have: if our government continues to wage these senseless wars and the president and the Congress continue to allow the Pentagon to spend over $1 trillion annually for the so-called "defense of America", then there is no future for America. The current downward spiral will continue and escalate until the wealth of America is no more.
The second choice is that our government, led by President Obama, must finally come to the conclusion that the momentous cost of perpetual war and the Military-Industrial Complex is completely unsustainable and must be drastically reduced. Should this happen, and should our major concentration be shifted from war to restoring jobs and our economy, then there is a future for America, even though it will be a challenge.
At this critical juncture in our history, President Obama stands at a threshold that will establish his presidential legacy: either to become one of the greatest presidents in history for having the courage and conviction to face up to and overcome any obstacles standing in the way of ending America's obsession with war, and turning America in a new direction; or, secondly, he will go down in history as the biggest failure among U.S. presidents if he cannot summon up the strength and determination to do what he knows in his heart is the right thing for this nation and its people.
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