Afghanistan War

Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W Bush Honor 9/11, While Donald Trump Is Making Money Off It!

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Today, the 20th Anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, is a day to mourn and memorialize the 2,977 victims of the Al Qaeda attack on America.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are attending all three sites to honor and show respect for what happened.

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are attending the ceremonies in New York City.

Former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush are attending ceremonies in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers of Flight 93 who brought the terrorist controlled plane down, preventing the intended attack on the US Capitol.

Former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton will be attending the ceremonies in New York City.

Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will be at home in Plains, Georgia, not involved in public events, and preserving their health as Carter nears 97 years of age on October 1, and Mrs. Carter has just passed age 94, perfectly understandable.

Vice President Kamala Harris and First Gentleman Douglas Emhoff are also attending ceremonies in Shanksville Pennsylvania, and later will join President Biden at the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump will avoid all three sites, and instead be in Hollywood, Florida to give commentary on boxing matches at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, making income off those who choose to pay $50 to gain access to his statements about the boxing matches, and joined by his son, Donald Trump Jr.

Trump did issue a statement praising the sacrifices of those who died twenty years ago, but felt a need to put in a criticism of President Biden over the withdrawal from Afghanistan, forgetting that Trump initiated the final withdrawal in a deal with the Taliban, scheduled for May 2021, delayed by Biden for a few months.

So the lies, deceit, hypocrisy, and lack of concern for unity of Donald Trump, and the desire to divide the nation after having engaged in treason and sedition on January 6, 2021, continues!

Joe Biden Explains The Absolute Truth About The Now Ended Afghanistan War!

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President Joe Biden, a very decent, humane, empathetic, compassionate man, told us yesterday in his speech to the nation the absolute truth about the end of the Afghanistan War, our longest war at 20 years.

Biden made clear we had lost 2,461 men and women, including 13 last Thursday; 20,561 wounded with many still disabled by physical injuries, and untold others by emotional and mental injuries; and had spent $2.3 trillion over 20 years, about $300 million for every day of the past 7,300 days since the war began. Also, 18 veterans a day on the average commit suicide, many of them due to their involvement in Afghanistan, or the even more heinous Iraq War!

We had two generations killed and wounded, and the money spent on the war could have been utilized to deal with poverty, discrimination, health care, education, infrastructure, the environment, and so much else.

So we need to spend $700 billion a year on defense spending?

Do we need to spend on all kinds of weapons that enrich politicians through bribes paid to promote production of them as part of the defense budget annually?

Do we need to have more than 800 military and naval bases in dozens of nations around the world, and lots of corruption going on in the process?

And of course, many wealthy industrialists and others became super wealthy and benefited financially from the war, most noticeably former Vice President Dick Cheney, who had connections with the corrupt organization, Halliburton, so no wonder that his daughter, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, would be super critical of the war that benefits her and her family members. And these are people who resist the thought of any payment of taxes personally or through their corporations, despite the massive tax cuts under George W. Bush and Donald Trump!

Magnificent Airlift Out Of Afghanistan: A Tribute To US Military And Presidential Leadership!

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The Airlift of US and Afghan loyalists, as well as those of other foreign nations which had been partners in the Afghanistan War, has ended, with about 125,000 civilians evacuated.

Sadly, not all Americans or Afghan loyalists could be evacuated in two weeks, but the accomplishment of 125,000 people is magnificent, and a tribute to US military and Presidential leadership.

There was no easy way out of a losing war, but America and its President, Joe Biden, can hold their head high, as they did everything humanly possible to save so many people.

And although the Taliban were our sworn enemy for a generation, they have cooperated in the exodus, and will need economic and diplomatic support to govern a nation of 14 ethnicities, and with Al Qaeda and ISIS-K as sworn enemies.

So it is hoped and likely that more Americans and Afghan loyalists will be able to leave Afghanistan, and we must all pray that is the reality in future weeks and months.

And we must welcome Afghan refugees with open arms, and not allow bigotry, including Islamophobia and xenophobia to prevent the integration of these loyalists into America, and give them the American “dream”, as generations of immigrants, escaping oppression, have found America to be a welcoming place, and have made a multitude of contributions!

The Loss Of Thirteen Young Military Personnel In Afghanistan A Great Human Tragedy!

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The loss of thirteen young military personnel in Afghanistan is a great human tragedy!

It is understood that when young men and women commit themselves to the military, that they put their lives in danger.

But after 20 years of war in Afghanistan, and about 2,400 killed, it is still a great shock to have thirteen military personnel helping to evacuate Americans and Afghan supporters, being slaughtered by a suicide bomber.

These young men and women are patriots, and watching the dignified return of the remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, with President Biden, his wife, and his Cabinet and military leaders present, to honor the fallen, is a very emotional moment.

This author and blogger feels as if he has lost people he knows, and all Americans should have the same sentiments!

It is also notable that the fallen include people of color and different religious heritages, and it reminds us of the sacrifices and patriotism of our diverse society, and we cannot allow white supremacists to promote hate and division!

We still live in a world of evil, with many enemies who wish to destroy democracy and peace, so the struggle against terrorism is not over!

Republicans Are Responsible For Afghanistan, NOT Joe Biden Nor Barack Obama!

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Republicans are trying to make “Political Hay” on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, blaming Joe Biden and Barack Obama, but the evidence shows that it is THEIR party that is responsible for the debacle!

It was George W. Bush who authorized the invasion of Afghanistan, pushed by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

It was Cheney and Rumsfeld who promoted taking attention off Afghanistan, by going to war with Iraq, which made the Afghanistan War a lost cause years ago.

It was Donald Trump, who made a deal with the Taliban to withdraw, and considered seriously inviting them to Camp David for a summit. This was the reason why National Security Adviser John Bolton was fired by Donald Trump in 2019!

It was constant Republican pressure in Congress, controlled in the House of Representatives in 2011 and after, and in the Senate after 2015, that prevented total withdrawal under Obama, although Joe Biden had been a clear dissenter on that issue.

It is now Republicans who are ready to abandon our Afghan allies, who helped US troops, as they promote Islamophobia, and have no concern about the danger to women and girls under Taliban rule.

One must realize that Republicans have been misogynists for a long time, and show little concern or regard for women’s rights!

End Of Afghanistan War Becoming Horrific Human Tragedy!

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America has been engaged in Afghanistan since September 11, and the sacrifice of life and treasure has been a horror!

2,448 American military personnel have died, and 20,000 have been wounded.

About 241,000 Afghans have died, with 71,000 being civilians.

America has spent many billions of dollars on a war that has lasted longer than any war in American history!

But now, as America is withdrawing, the Taliban, who harbored Al Qaeda, leading to September 11, are rampaging as they take over most of Afghanistan in rapid order, and are ready to slaughter anyone who cooperated and worked with the US and NATO forces!

The progress of women in the past 20 years is about to end, and many women being slaughtered or forced back into subjugation, as women’s rights are destroyed!

We must do everything humanly possible to help those who worked for the US and NATO forces, and try to save whatever women can be taken out of Afghanistan, but clearly, there will be many tragic stories and victims!

This is a time of tears and mourning, but America cannot, endlessly, sacrifice to build a nation state in Afghanistan, which helped to bring about the downfall of the Soviet Union in the 1980s!

On Memorial Day Weekend, Republicans Show Contempt For Preservation Of Democracy!

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Memorial Day weekend is a time for remembrance of the contributions of generations of Americans who sacrificed their lives to protect and preserve American democracy.

It is a time to give thanks to those who gave their lives for their country in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and other lesser conflicts in American history.

But now, the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan, has shown contempt for the concept of preservation of democracy, by refusing to back a bipartisan January 6 Commission to fully investigate the US Capitol Insurrection, which caused the death and injuries of scores of US Capitol Police.

The Republican Party has allowed itself to become part of the cancer of Donald Trump, which is destroying the party’s history and reputation.

No matter what, however, there will be full investigation and accountability for the horrid events of that day, including the threatened hanging of Vice President Mike Pence, and the murder of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and the dire threats to other Senators and Congressmen, who if not for the Capitol Police commitment, might have become victims as well!

The What Ifs Of Recent American History

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History short term and long term are affected by events that no one can predict.

There are so many “What Ifs” just in the past generation since 2000!

For example, if Al Gore had won the 2000 Presidential Election, it is debatable whether the September 11 attacks would have succeeded, and whether America would have gone to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, both engagements not fully ended, and causing the loss together of more than 7,000 American soldiers.

If the Democrats had been able to keep control of both houses of Congress in the last six years of the Barack Obama Presidency, so much more could have been accomplished in legislation, instead of by executive orders by President Barack Obama, and Obama might have been able to be as significant as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, who had massive margins in both houses of Congress throughout their time in office.

If Joe Biden had not lost his son, Beau Biden, in 2015, it is thought possible that he might have defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016, and might have defeated Donald Trump, saving America from the literal nightmare of the Trump Presidency in so many ways.

Finally, despite all of the horrors of the Trump Presidency, if it had not been for the COVID 19 Pandemic and the incompetent and uncaring handling of that crisis, it is possible to believe that Trump might have won reelection, and that would make the one term nightmare so many times worse!

60th Anniversary Of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address: One Of Three Greatest Farewell Addresses

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President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his Farewell Address to the nation sixty years ago today, and it reverberates through the ages, as we come upon the inauguration of a new President, on the heels of the nightmare of the absolutely worst Presidency in American history!

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address is rated as one of the greatest in American history, alongside George Washington in 1796 and Jimmy Carter in 1981.

Ike warned against the dangers of a military-industrial complex which would take us into overseas interventions and foreign wars that would undermine our nation.

Sadly, we have seen America engage in wars that have undermined our nation, specifically the escalation of the war in Vietnam, along with the decision to have a military presence in the Middle East as a result of the Persian Gulf War, and then, long drawn out wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

These interventions in the Middle East came after the Al Qaeda terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and America has been permanently changed as a result.

And now, we face a threat of domestic terrorism out of control, as Donald Trump leaves office, with the backing of these domestic terrorists as they attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which complicates the challenges facing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as they are inaugurated on January 20, 2021, three days from now!

Time For Mitch McConnell And Lindsey Graham To Be Retired By Voters!

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Two leading Republicans stand out above all who need to be retired by the voters in their states.

One is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is being opposed by Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, and first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps. In 20 years in the Marine Corps, McGrath flew 89 combat missions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. She graduated from the US Naval Academy, and has taught as an instructor there. She reached the level of Lieutenant Colonel in the military, and won many combat medals in the Iraq War and Afghanistan War. She is defined as a moderate centrist Democrat.

The other Senator who needs to be retired is Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is opposed by African American politician Jaime Harrison, who was the Chair of the state Democratic Party from 2013-2017, and is an Associate Chair of the Democratic National Committee. He graduated from Yale University and received his law degree from Georgetown University. He worked as a lobbyist and also for House Majority Whip James Clyburn.

Public opinion polls indicate a very close race in South Carolina, but in Kentucky, McConnell seems far ahead.

However, with the tumult over the Supreme Court vacancy, one can hope that at least one, if not both, of these despicable Republican leaders, could be ousted from their Senate seats, as this has happened before to others.

It seems clear that Democrats, independents, and those Republicans and conservatives who have condemned office holding Republicans for bowing to Donald Trump, just might be enough to affect change!