Jun 23rd 2011 at 8:01 am in Afghanistan, Featured Story, Foreign Policy, Middle East, Obama, Soldiers Last night, President Obama addressed the nation in what was meant to be an informative outlook on the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He addressed the nation for approximately 13 minutes in which about half of that time rightly honored the men and women serving abroad. During his initial comments he allowed the world to realize how many, and when, troops will begin the withdrawal from the heavily influenced Pashtun Deobandi Islamic nation. He ended his speech with a nice cold glass of kool-aid–how many actually drank it?
Interestingly enough, President Obama found a way to slip in, during the second half of his speech, comments pertaining “clean energy,” Libya, and support of Revolutionaries. The latter half of his speech contributed to many full e-mail inboxes.
Amazingly, President Obama sounded pretty appealing to many inside the United States. The first part of his speech should have appeased those who oppose this war and those who simply would like to see the initial phase of troop withdrawals. It is likely that his speech also assisted some American voters in formulating ideas on how they should vote in the next Presidential election.
For those who follow and study President Obama, he may have seriously jeopardized his Presidency. During a time when the majority of Americans are simply tired of the war in Afghanistan, he found a way to show what many construe as his “true colors.” Virtually every person who e-mailed me in the past several hours whether they be pro or anti-Obama admitted that he started actually pretty well last night. However, those who utterly detest this President informed that yet immediately when he mentioned support of the revolutions taken place throughout the Middle East and North Africa, a “red flag” was observed—they claim that “he is a supporter of revolution.”
To continue with e-mail traffic, some persons have stated that President Obama surrounded himself at least since his college years around American revolutionaries such as Bill Ayers and many other activists. “The actions of those he has surrounded himself demonstrate an understanding of prominent revolutionaries like Che Guevara, Carlos Marighella, and the likes.” Could the President be setting the United States up for disaster–many claim that he is while others believe he is not.
For many months, politicians, media, and even our intelligence services have stated that we do not know who is in the mix initiating the civil wars taken place around the globe today. Last night, our President made it clear though that he has all intentions in supporting even those who could be intermixed with groups like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and or even Hamas—the very groups that vehemently despise the United States and the freedoms which we stand for.
Our military and intelligence agencies were appraised last night vocally, and such appraises are more than warranted. With these appraises, some remain in jeopardy due to this administration’s desire to continue investigating and prosecuting those who skillfully collected intelligence from detainees. Actions speak louder than words.
With continued investigations on our own protectors of this nation, the ongoing controversial activities of U.S. involvement in Libya, and now the withdrawal of surge forces in Afghanistan, one should wonder what is really going on within this administration. What directions are we headed as a nation? For many, it’s difficult keeping one’s cup half full today; for others, it’s apparent that kool-aid is the drink of choice.
Kerry Patton is the Co-Founder of the National Security Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization pending 501c (3) status. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of “Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies” and the children’s book “American Patriotism.” You can follow him on Facebook.
Big Peace
