Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Currently the withdrawal date for American personnel is 2014. The Obama administration claims the war is going well with last December's surge of 30,000 troops, the use of predator drones and the further cooperation with Pakistan. Pakistani forces have been coordinating against the Taliban on their eastern front while the U.S., Afghan and NATO forces assault their western front. At the moment though it is difficult to see how successful the war is due to that Taliban forces traditionally do not fight during the winter. It is expected that Taliban resistance will harden during the spring and summer. But even in the winter the U.S. has not been overly successful. President Obama's strategy of "clear, hold, build" has not exited the "clear" stage. U.S. and NATO forces have had some success clearing Taliban areas but have not been able to hold them. Even though there has been an increased U.S. presence in the east and south of Afghanistan there has been a decline in the northern and western regions of the country. Last Thursday Obama remarked that the Afghan strategy is going according to plan and that the scheduled drawdown will begin in July, but troops on the ground believe the war is intensifying and only beginning. After nine years of combat the Taliban show no sign of ending their resistance. Their insurgents still actively fight U.S. and NATO forces along with persistently assassinating and targeting Afghan officials. The Afghan government cannot fill over a third of government positions due to the fear caused by the high mortality rate of their officials.
The Question then arises: Is Afghanistan worth fighting for? The cost of the Afghan War is about $7 billion a month. It costs a million dollars a year for one soldier to be in Afghanistan and Obama just added an additional 30,000 troops. After nine years of combat the debt accrued is more than I want to count. A total of 2,193 NATO soldiers have died during this conflict. 1,361 of those deaths were American and about 9,770 American military personnel have been wounded. When considering those few factors alone I do not believe the war is worth fighting anymore and 60% of Americans also agree with that conclusion. Originally the war was necessary to dismantle al Qaeda but according to senior U.S. intelligence officials there are around a 100 al Qaeda operatives currently in Afghanistan. The Taliban itself says al Qaeda has a very small role in this war. This war has become more about stopping the Taliban from retaking Afghanistan. And though no one wants to see that happen, it is not worth the price we are paying. How can the American people directly benefit from a democratic Afghanistan? It is a third world nation everyone had forgotten about after the Soviets abandoned their war with Afghan insurgents. It is time for the withdrawal of the majority of U.S. and NATO forces.

Senate Approves Bush-era Tax Cuts

In another blow to the Obama administration, the unemployment benefits and tax cut package proposed last week by the President were approved by the Senate. This measure includes many of the Bush-era tax cuts for middle and upper-class brackets, including controversial benefits for the top 2% of earners. The legislation is tied with a 13-month extension for unemployment benefits that would carry the unemployed until after the next holiday season.

This legislation represents a major compromise on the part of Senate democrats and President Obama. Part of his platform of change was founded on ending the previous adminstration's tax breaks to the rich. To fold on this issue demonstrates a willingness to cooperate but also highlights a major disappointment in Obama's domestic policy to date. Guantanamo is still open, we're still mismanaging our financial regulatory system, and tax cuts for the rich are being extended. Many of the central themes Obama spoke so passionately about have disinitegrated in the wake of the loss of the 'super-majority' and dwindling support for the formerly popular politician.

Sen. Harry Reid had this to say: "My Republicans colleagues would rather talk about the deficit than do anything to bring it down." In my opinion this should be viewed as a bipartisan effort and should be used to continue cooperation in the future. We've demonstarted over the past ten years partisan politics in our legislature leads to headaches and bitterness. Our public has less confidence in Congress today than in many points of history. If Congress fails to pass this package, taxes for the middle-class will go up on January 1st. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the answer.

Continuing Wealthy Tax Cuts

11/12/2010
A wave of panic hit liberals after White House Advisor David Axelrod stated the Obama administration was highly considering a temporary extension of all Bush's tax cuts. Mr. Axelrod was quoted saying "we have to deal with the world as we find it", meaning the White House does not plan to fight for the end of the wealthy tax cuts. Unlike the Democrats the Republicans show no sign of lessening their resistance to Obama's agenda. This extension would continue the tax cut for all families including those earning more than $250,000.
Even though the Democrats still maintain control of the House and Senate, the Obama administration is open to compromise with Republicans. This is a huge mistake. It seems President Obama is surrendering without a fight, even he repeatedly promised during his campaign to continue the tax cuts for the middle and lower classes but ed it for the wealthy. Obama in the past has been too willing to compromise with Republicans. During the creation of the health care bill Obama unnecessarily removed reforms in attempt to gain some Republican support which he never received and it appears again that he is already ready to capitulate. It should be apparent that no matter what Obama offers the Republicans will not play ball with the Obama administration or the Democratic party.
The trickle down theory proposed by Republicans has failed time and again and the majority of Americans do not approve of extending tax cuts to the wealthy. The tax cut for the wealthiest Americans would cost the U.S. government $700 billion over the next ten years, which is intolerable, especially at such a troubling economic times. Axelrod also said "I don't want to trade away security for the middle class in order to make that point", signifying once again the Democrats are unable to have the slightest resemblance of a backbone. The lower and middle classes need the tax cuts unlike the wealthy but the top percentage of American should give back to the country that has supported them.