We Are Still At War

By Semperpapa

The current attitude among the media these days is one that practically ignores the events taking place in the distant land of Afghanistan, as if it is something remotely concerning the Nation.

In a recent poll conducted by CNN, only 37% of the people engaged expressed their support for the war with 52% stating that Afghanistan has turned into another Vietnam.
What this poll shows is that the MSM has been successful once again in doing the bidding of the Obama administration and slowly, patiently remove the war from the consciousness of the American people.

The only time the media actually addresses the fact that our country is still at war is when milestones are reached, as “today the war in Afghanistan becomes officially the longest war in US history” or to point out that this or that month has been the bloodiest since the beginning of the war.
Occasionally, some stories about returning Veterans or about some of our casualties make their way into newspapers or broadcasts, but on a normal basis the editorial call of the day is just plain ignorance.

And this is exactly what President Obama’s marching orders are for the elitist members of the press corps.

On all accounts, relegating the war to a much lower place in the consciousness of the American people has been the goal of the President since day one, as he tried to make good of his campaign promises of ending the war in Iraq and concentrating on the “good war” in Afghanistan.
The stunt of ending combat operations in Iraq in August 2010, was one that the leftist throngs welcomed greatly, purposely ignoring the actuality that while great hoopla had been made by the press to show the last combat brigade leaving Iraq, really the lives of those 50,000 troops still in country has not changed much. The names of the unit have been changed from “combat” to “support” or “logistics” or “training”, but the mission is still as dangerous as it was a year ago.

But Afghanistan is another issue altogether.
CNN reports that in the last year, the tempo has been increased substantially in the tempo of operations, clearly trying to portray the image that Obama is really serious about our involvement in that conflict.
But the reality is an all other question.
While the numbers of air strikes have increased, especially those conducted by Predators in Afghanistan and the lawless areas of Pakistan, and while the President authorized the additional 30,000 troops to be deployed, it is the baseline approach that raises my questions.

The surge in troops was only a percentage that then theater commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal had asked for. Moreover, Obama took his sweet time in authorizing the increase in troop level, obviously too busy flying to Denmark with Oprah Winfrey in the attempt to influence the Olympic committee to grant Chicago the games.
But the very worst impersonation of a Commander-in-Chief was the announcement, at the same time of the troops surge, of the scheduled date of the beginning of troop withdrawal in July 2011.

The war in Afghanistan is a major distraction for Obama. He is too focus on the re-dimensioning of America, to waste too much of his time on a pesky war in a far away land, especially a war that was started by his predecessor.

The success story remains accomplishing the task of guiding the American people to compare Afghanistan with Vietnam, a war that was won on the battlefield, but lost in Washington. Public opinion has been driven to look at Afghanistan as an unsuccessful endeavor, all in the attempt to further discredit the actions of former President Bush.
The plan is simple, really. By 2011 our troops will begin to be withdrawn, accomplishing “ending” the war by the time the 2012 Presidential Elections campaigning will be in full swing.
With no mention of victory, a term Obama does not believe in regarding our Military, the casualties suffered in Afghanistan will be rendered worthless in the name of political power.

It is understandable that the attention of the American people would be targeted at the economic disaster that the country is enduring, but the very act of ignoring our men and women in uniform on far battle fields is despicable. There are thousands of families who spend each day hoping to hear any communication form their deployed loved ones, and for these men and women and their families, the war is still on and remains the highest concern, regardless of what the media wants to portray

Just my thoughts!.