Two things: First, the speech was a huge STFU to the Bush defenders, especially the Torturer, of the "you guys have fucked this up and now I have to fix this" tone. Second, the defense of the Karzai government was about as thin as could be. The underlying message to the Afghan government was pretty much "get your shit together."
It should be clear to the world that we've gone from a president who was a semi-literate chickenhawk/wannabee cowboy to a president who knows he has a dirty job to finish off.
Too much hinges on Pakistan. If the Pakistani government keeps on covertly supporting the Taliban, which they have done all along, I don't see how this can end well.
Memorial Day
1 hour ago
Not only has Pakistan been aiding the various Taliban entities, but they have come out in their national dailies as opposing the escalation....for very good reason. Their operation in Waziristan has been unsuccessful, but more US troops in Afghanistan may further destabilize their nation.
ReplyDeleteDear Miss Fit:
ReplyDeleteI share your trepidation, but here is the root of the problem (18 paragraphs into the transcript):
"And the stakes are even higher within a nuclear-armed Pakistan, because we know that al Qaeda and other extremists seek nuclear weapons, and we have every reason to believe that they would use them."
We need to either stabilize Pakistan or melt it. And no one said any of this was going to be easy.
Best regards,
Frank