The President's Speech

Some of my readers already know that my computer was down for nearly four days.  Monday night I got back on line and within an hour of doing so I fell and hurt my back.  Blogging has not been possible during the interim.  Even though I am not very alert right now due to constant pain, I feel compelled to comment on the President's speech last night.


As I viewed the President delivering his long awaited speech I looked at the faces of those young plebes who were watching with full attention and wondered how many of them would die in an unwinnable war.  They looked so trusting and so very young.  They are among the finest of our young people and to think that some of their lives will end or be ruined in a mideaval county is appalling to me.


We cannot afford this war. The object, as stated by the president, is to dismantle Al Quaeda. It's a fool's errand. Al Quaeda is also in Somalia, and many other countries. Are we going to follow them wherever they are?    They will always be able to find a safe haven in another backward country and will continue to plot to kill as many Americans as they can.  I am sure there are cells in our country right now planning to wreak destruction.   Killing one man, Osama bin Laden, would never stop the fanatics either.


If the object of being in Afghanistan is to provide safety for the U. S. (As claimed by the President) some of the money would be far better spent securing the cargo that comes into our ports daily and to beef up our intelligence and share the information with the agencies responsible for security. 


Nation building should be the responsibility of the nation being helped and not ours.  Our own infrastructure is crumbling so why should we spend our wealth building roads in a backward country?  If it were possible to bring Afghanistan into the 21st Century it would take so many years and so much money we would bankrupt ourselves in the process.  


I have never been an isolationist.  It is a small world, after all.  Nonetheless, common sense must prevail as to how our aid is distributed to other countries.  I view Afghanistan as beyond help.  The government is corrupt and without the Afghan government's cooperation, it is a lost cause.


I am, however, concerned about nuclear weapons in Pakistan falling into the hands of the extremests.  I have no doubt that they would use them.    Our concentration should be on doing away with these terrible weapons world wide. 


George Santayana's familiar quote, "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it." was never more appropriate than now.   Afghanistan is becoming another Viet Nam.