Obama Further Politicizes Troop Deployments With Announcement of Afghan Draw down

President Obama (Pic | boston.com)

As you should know by now, I’m totally opposed to the Afghan War and believe we should have brought our troops home a long time ago, but Obama’s recent decision to bring home 10,000 troops by years end and another 23,000 by the end of next summer is not just wrong, it’s downright irresponsible and an insult to the 100,000 men and women currently serving there. To quote the great military theorist Sun Tzu:

“Warfare is the greatest affair of the state, the basis of life and death, the Way to survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed.”

By pondered and analyzed, he certainly did not mean with political considerations in mind. The fighting season in Afghanistan ranges from Spring to the beginning of Fall, and yet the President wants to withdraw 23,000 troops in the midst of it. The danger that will pose to those who remain should be obvious, and just as obvious are the political calculations involved. Historically, September is the start of the campaign season and this troop draw down gives Obama the perfect tool to unite his anti-war base.

War is an all or nothing endeavor. For someone like Obama, with no military experience, to ignore the advice of his generals and make a purely political decision on troop withdrawals is insanity. If we are losing or have no hope of winning, we must withdraw. If we believe we can win, we should stay. Going halfway in either direction is a recipe for disaster. Again Sun Tzu has words of immense wisdom on this matter:

“Thus there are three ways by which an army is put into difficulty by a ruler: He does not know that the Three Armies should not advance, but instructs them to advance or does not know that the Three Armies should not withdraw and orders a retreat. This is termed ‘entangling the army.’ He does not understand the Three Armies’ military affairs, but directs them in the same way as his civil administration. Then the officers will become confused. He does not understand the Three Armies’ tactical balance of power, but undertakes responsibility for command. Then the officers will be doubtful. When the Three Armies are already confused and doubtful, the danger of the feudal lords taking advantage of the situation arises. This is referred to as ‘a disordered army drawing another on to victory’ “

Sadly, for America and for our soldiers in the Middle East, Obama meets all of these requirements and our politically calculated withdrawal will no doubt re-invigorate the Taliban (IE Feudal Lords) who will be granted a reprieve from the pressure of the surge just as the fighting season next year is beginning.  If Obama wants to pull out of Afghanistan he should have done so. If he wanted to see it through, he should have done that. The current strategy of going halfway in an attempt to placate his base is downright disgraceful.

Gates Unlikely To OK Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

I saw this one coming from a mile away. I never supported the repeal of DADT and for a very simple reason; it never made any sense. No one should be discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation, but at the same time, someone’s sexual escapades should not even be a topic of discussion. No one should ask, no one should tell, and if someone happens to find out you’re gay, you shouldn’t be disciplined for it.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Pic | theliberaloc.com)

There was a simple fix to this problem that didn’t require any waiting periods of certification; you simply amend the United States Code to say that under no circumstances will an individual be discharged from the United States Armed Forces on account of their sexual orientation. The issue would have died then and there. Why people in the LGBT community want to make it so that sexuality is an open issue in an organization whose primary purpose is the killing of other human beings is just beyond me. A simple change of tact could have solved this issue years ago, but alas, political concerns have yet again gotten in the way of good public policy.

Do you want to be able to serve regardless of your sexuality or do you want it to be something subject to inspection and regulation? The status quo is clearly unacceptable, but as a country we would be much better off leaving the “don’t ask, don’t tell” parts intact while making it impossible to discharge, discipline, or discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation.

Convention Officially Scheduled to Select GOP Nominee in 6th Senate District

AltDaily reported on this a whole week before the Pilot got around to it and I’m pretty proud of that. Now that it’s official, you can head over to the Norfolk Republican Party’s website to get more information and download the forms needed to register as a delegate. The 6th Senate District includes all of the Eastern Shore, most of Ocean View, and all of Larchmont, Ghent, West Ghent, and parts of downtown. For detailed map, see here.

We will be publishing multiple stories next week detailing the hijinx already going on in the campaign, including but not limited to accusations that one candidate is lying about his residency. If you’ve read any of my columns before, I think you can guess which one that is. So far the campaign in question has yet to respond for comment, which has thus far delayed the article going to press. If you are reading this Jason Miyares or Josh Clark, get back with me soon. I’d hate to say you had nothing to say on the matter.

Virginia Beach School Board and City Council Still At Odds Over Funding

The battle between a fiscally responsible school board and a fiscally irresponsible city council continues. For those who need a quick refresher on this conflict, it all boils down to this: the school board managed its resources more efficiently than council and now council wants to take those resources to fix their own budget problems. Members of both groups are meeting in private to hammer out the differences, but on the same day of the meeting, the school board passed a resolution calling for the meetings to be held in public. According to Board Member Carolyn Weems, “nobody is served if we don’t hold these conversations out in the open.”

5 Russian Nuclear Experts Working On Iranian Nuclear Plant Die Plane Crash

Why bomb Iran when you can just kill the scientists working on the project? This isn’t the first time and it won’t be a last. I guess it’s better than nuclear war…

Chinese Warships Spotted In Sea of Japan

Chinese Warships (Pic | wizbangblue.com)

China is inching ever closer to a closer to a true blue water Navy that could seriously challenge our supremacy in the region. There was no serious territorial infringement in this case, but they did enter Japan’s economic zone for a short period of time until they were issued a warning by the Japanese Coast Guard. Actions like these combined with China’s new anti-ship ballistic missile are going to restrict our freedom of movement in the area and lead to some tense situations in the very near future.

Three Marines Mugged By Un-Armed Men in St. Louis During Marine Week

How did this happen? Well authorities still aren’t exactly sure, but the mayor of the city and everyone else in the world is wondering how 3 Marines could have been outfought by a group of unarmed hoodlums. Were they too drunk to stand or did they follow orders not to fight unless their lives where threatened? I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they didn’t want to kill the guys by accident. What do you think?