A number of our own observations:
1. '' Strategy''?
2. The conflict is 'challenging' they say. Is that 'challenging' like the behaviour of the Manson gang was challenging? The Suez fiasco was challenging? North Korea is challenging? Yes I think we get it.
3.'We will continue to train Afghan soldiers'. Not these four.
4. The strategy is 'on track'. Not bad - 10 years to get on track and it's not even true:
I refuse to watch it. :-)
ReplyDeleteThey are just going through the motions in order to buy more time.
No one believes that there will be any significant draw down in 2011, or even 2014.
The E.U. must start pulling out first.
Having gone through the entire material - Obama's speech, the "review" itself, and Clinton and Gates' press conference - I can safely declare it a complete whitewash. There are also many lies being perpetrated by the Western media, such as U.s. strategy remains limited to al-Qaeda and forgoes nation-building. This is simply incorrect as I will explain in my own analysis.
ReplyDeleteAs for July 2011, Gates got exactly what he wanted in a "conditions-based withdrawal." Obama will also use the phrase to flip-flop on July 2011, a plan conceived before December 2009.
All in all a revolting day on the Hill.
James, I salute your stamina and strength of stomach (I'm avoiding the word 'indefatigability' that got George Galloway into trouble) to have read through it all. Like our friend RZ, my threshold for the spin gets lower and lower. It is indeed a whitewash and now that you have given it your official seal as such it's time for that old picture to come out again. Watch for it tonight.
ReplyDelete