The Petraeus Challenge – Ralph Peter, NYPost.com
Given the ridiculously restrictive rules of engagement, the fact that Afghanistan is a terrible place for a land war, a total lack of central government authority and that what little central government there is today in Afghanistan is completely corrupt and disliked by most of the population, the conditions there for America’s military are bad, to say the least. I have no doubt America’s military could perform any operation in Afghanistan given rules of engagement that allowed them to do so, but right now they aren’t even given a military mission, or the support needed to carryout the nation building exercise they have been asked to undertake. It is long passed time to withdraw America’s fighting men and women from Afghanistan and allow them to hunt al Qaeda elsewhere in the world. For the small contingent of al Qaeda still in Afghanistan Special Ops and drone attacks should be used. General Petraeus is left with too few forces, a battle plan that doesn’t allow him the leeway to be successful, and an administration in Washington that provides little in the way of ingenuity or leadership. Needless to say, the situation in Afghanistan is bad. That’s why Stanley McChrystal was so angry at the administration. – Dick Young
Immelt Hits Out at China and Obama – FT.com
GE’s Jeffrey Immelt, a member of the Business Roundtable, expresses harsh words for China and Barack Obama. According to the Financial Times article, “Mr Immelt also had harsh words for Barack Obama, US president, lamenting what he called a ‘terrible’ national mood and expressing concern that over-regulation in response to the global financial crisis would damp a ‘tepid’ US economic recovery. Business did not like the US president, and the president did not like business, he said, making a point of praising Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, for her defence of German industry.” – E.J. Smith
And Now, The Hard Part – Oliver North, Human Events
Oliver North points out that drone attacks are working and are mostly aided by small teams of intelligence gatherers. This approach is much preferred to having 100,000 troops in Afghanistan building schools, and not being allowed to shoot the enemy. Why are America’s politicians allowing this debacle to continue? Unfortunately President Obama claimed the Afghan war as his own during the campaign, and during his early days in the White House. He had an opportunity to pull out of the country and blew it. North claims to have seen evidence that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is selling weapons to Afghanistan’s Taliban. That is bad news indeed but not surprising. Afghanistan is surrounded by nations that don’t want America in the region, they will surely give aid to anyone trying to kill Americans there. – Dick Young
US Pushes Europe on Economic Growth – Euronews
President Obama’s naiveté about spending our way to prosperity and his obvious dislocation with the austerity measured desired by other leaders was made clear in Toronto at the G-20. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it best, “I don’t think you will again see leaders go out and make pledges that they don’t intend to keep or that they really haven’t thought about very thoroughly.” You could almost hear him say Mr. Obama. – E.J. Smith
Why Endorse McCain? – Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review
John McCain, along with his pal Lindsey Graham, are RINOs of the first order and certainly are not conservatives. Opportunistic is the best word to describe both, principled is a word that should never describe the two. Well fought primaries by conservatives that unseated both would be greater victories for conservatism by far than the defeat of Bob Bennett in Utah, who was more conservative than both, but still needed a new job. – Timothy Jones
Reconfirming John Roberts – Review & Outlook, The Wall Street Journal
Unsurprisingly Democrats did everything they could to turn the attention away from the total lack of experience of Elena Kagan. Kagan has never judged a case. One Democrat brought up the fact that this is the first Supreme Court in decades to not include any judges. That would be fine if the law were as simple as it were 50 years ago. Unfortunately since the reign of FDR, America has slipped into a deep pit of law and litigation. A specialist is needed to interpret case law fairly. The same argument was rightly used against Harriet Miers. – Timothy Jones
Hyper-Partisan Elena Kagan’s Road to the High Court – Gary Bauer, Human Events
The thin resume of Elena Kagan immediately qualifies her for the rejection or the withdrawal of her nomination. Her career as a political activist means she comes to the court too willing to judge in favor of her own desire, rather than according to the law. Her antagonism toward the second amendment should scare every conservative. The NRA is even more justified in hammering senators that vote to confirm Kagan than they were when they voted for the anti-gun Sonia Sotomayor. Every senator that votes for Kagan should resign due to a failure to protect the constitution they swore to uphold. – Dick Young
Fate of Obamacare in Hands of Judge – Benjamin Smithwick, Human Events
The powerful states’ rights movement is already working to strike down the unconstitutional Obamacare. Virginia has sued to stop Obamacare from forcing its citizens to buy insurance and has already passed a law saying that citizens can’t be forced to buy coverage. This battle now sits before a court and could conceivably lead to the overturning of Obamacare. – Dick Young
The Banality of Elena – George Neumayr, The American Spectator
George Neumayr calls Elena Kagan “a bit cocky and dishonest at times during the hearing.” Her slippery language is just part of the polish a long-time politico gets in Washington. Elena Kagan is a political operative, bound to the Democratic party, who will use the Supreme Court to legislate for the Party for the rest of her life if confirmed. If GOP senators aren’t considering filibustering Kagan, they should, or they should expect to be kicked out in the next election. – Dick Young
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