11:52 am March 31, 2009, by Jay
Watching events out of Pakistan, I’ve grudgingly come to the conclusion that before Barack Obama’s first term is over, we will probably have American troops fighting on the ground in Pakistan in significant numbers. I’m putting together a piece, probably for Sunday, explaining why.
Just to be clear, I’m not advocating such a step and I do hope I’m proven wrong. But it seems to be where we are inexorably headed, given the apparent inability of Pakistan’s government to defend itself and its possession of nuclear weapons. That is a far more dangerous challenge than that posed by Iran, for example.
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126 comments Add your comment
I Report/ You Whine
March 31st, 2009
12:01 pm
Oh yeah, let’s square off against a 33,000,000 man army, there you go.
I told you the libs were dying to get rid of the United States, have I ever been wrong?
Talk about uniting all of the terrorists against us, geez.
Truth
March 31st, 2009
12:02 pm
You may be right, Jay. We cannot let those Muslim Terrorist get the nuclear weapons. This is the War on Terror!
The Voice
March 31st, 2009
12:05 pm
WOHA…..didn’t your boy promise to bring all the troops home? Oh wait…he is leaving 50,000 in Iraq and he has sent a total of 14,000 and now 7,000 to Afganistan. What happened…..DID HE LIE TO YOU?
George American
March 31st, 2009
12:06 pm
We will send the Pakies pack’n. Go America!
Cherokee
March 31st, 2009
12:12 pm
This again points out one of the tragedies of our misadventure in Iraq. We’ve spent billions and billions there, that should have been spent actually fighting terrorists, rather than pursuing pipe dreams in Iraq.
MChammer
March 31st, 2009
12:16 pm
The Bush Administration dropped the ball badly in Pakistan from day one. They absolutely refused to get tough with Musharaf long after it became obvious that he was not only allowing terrorist to inhabit his country, but was doing absolutely nothing to control rogue elements within his own military and intelligence services that were directly supporting them.. Bush/Cheney were more concerned with playing kissy face with Musharaf when they should have been stomping on him with both feet. Pakistan has been ground zero in the war on terror from day one. 4000+ dead in Iraq while Osama and the boys were living it up in Pakistan. Bush/Cheney tough on terror? LMAO! How many of these incompetent’s messes will the new administration have to clean up. Bush/Cheney will go down in history as the gang that couldn’t shoot straight on anything.
Copyleft
March 31st, 2009
12:31 pm
Wrong as usual, wingnuts. Obama promised to end the war in Iraq, which he’s doing. “Bring them home” is a vastly oversimplified, not to say simpleminded, misstatement of what he actually promised… and is now delivering.
Waiting now for the inevitable Corporal-style comment of “Whoa! Obama’s fighting terrorism! Betcha all those kooky appeasing liberals are ticked off at their savior now, since they never wanted to fight terrorism….”
It’s just so easy to skewer right-wing ignorance when they never bother to arm themselves with any facts in the first place.
Midori
March 31st, 2009
12:41 pm
I told you the libs were dying to get rid of the United States, have I ever been wrong?
with each and every post.
ByteMe
March 31st, 2009
12:50 pm
Whiner: Jay’s not saying we’re going to be attacking Pakistan, but fighting there. BIG difference.
I think it’ll be a fool’s errand; better to go in and destroy their nuclear capabilities before wasting time trying to tame the untamed frontier. Leave that for the locals to fight out, but let’s keep the danger level down for the rest of the world.
caz1158
March 31st, 2009
12:52 pm
Voice-No he did’nt lie,he got bad intellgence.
Mike
March 31st, 2009
12:55 pm
MChammer –
Can you be more specific on what you mean when you say that Bush “should have been stomping on Musharraf with both feet” and tell us if you have similar complaints about Obama not “stomping on Soomro” with both feet?
Or is the just the latest excuse for you to bash Bush?
Mike
March 31st, 2009
12:57 pm
caz1158 –
What bad intelligence are you talking about? Or is this just another empty zinger with no basis in reality?
ByteMe
March 31st, 2009
12:58 pm
I find it ironic that the rightwingnuts complained during election season that Obama would create a disaster in Iraq by shutting everything down quickly and leaving. Now that he’s winding things down as he said he would — over 16 or so months — they’re complaining because he’s not leaving fast enough.
Do wingnuts really do irony or just fall into it by mistake?
RB from Gwinnett
March 31st, 2009
12:58 pm
What happened to “all the world will love us” when Obama takes charge? You mean the same people who hated us and bombed us repeatedly during the Clinton administration still hate us even though Obama’s in office now? Gee, maybe if you have a shred of honest in you, you’ll realize Bush might not have been the cause of this hatred after all, hmmm?
I told you kookaid drinkers the troops wouldn’t be home a day sooner under Obama than if McCain had won and I was right. You’ve been had tools.
caz1158
March 31st, 2009
1:04 pm
Mike-A little humor,sort of like your attempt or lack of.
Midori
March 31st, 2009
1:06 pm
LOL!!
Like someone needs an “excuse” to bash Chimpolini!!
@@
March 31st, 2009
1:11 pm
Again, jay…..the difference here is that Obama is going in fully aware of what awaits.
Just wait until the terrorists pull a nuclear India into the fray.
American troops caught in the middle.
caz1158
March 31st, 2009
1:13 pm
RB-You will never get the SHEEP to admit they were wrong.Just think we only got 3 years and 6 months of complete incompetence. Wait, I can hear another Bush bash coming. Sorry SHEEP He’s gone now you’ll have to actually put blame in the correct area.
Bud Wiser
March 31st, 2009
1:16 pm
The Pakistanis already have nukes. Just pray they have the sense not to use them, although the disputed borderlands with India have cause great grief there already. Toss in an Obamaraid over the border, and hold your ears. (On a side note, that should be a relatively easy function for the PLOTUS; have you ever seen a front view of a Hummer with all of the doors open?)
fearless fosdick
March 31st, 2009
1:16 pm
I Report/ You Whine..You write ” Talk about uniting all of the terrorists against us, geez.”
Whine, I believe Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld already accomplised that feat!
Peadawg
March 31st, 2009
1:19 pm
Sending MORE troops overseas…even MORE change I DON’T believe in. Keep up the lies Obama!
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:20 pm
Didn’t you right wingers say that Obama didn’t have the gumption to fight terrorism. Now that Jay (not Obama) mention going to war you decry why we shouldn’t. We went to war with Iraq ASSUMING he had nuclear weapons and the BIG difference here is we know for a fact they they are there. The you dumb ape nuts, what do you propse he do? Wait until they fall in the wrongs then go in? Many of you have no clue and just parrot what your talking heads tell you to parrot. And the organ grinder best friend i guess you ought to know since your momma likes playing with organs huh?
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:23 pm
I Report/ You Whine you sound scared! when we picked on little Iraq you were all for playing the bully role. Now that we someone our size you shutter and run scared. True cowardice at its best. Espre De Corpe!!
caz1158
March 31st, 2009
1:23 pm
SHEEP-The Pompus,Arrogance responses that are put forth here is what creates so much hatred. Creative and meaningfull dialogue can not be achieved with the “We are smarter than ALL” attitude put forth. And the name calling then starts on both sides.
Taxpayer
March 31st, 2009
1:25 pm
Well, we cannot let India get pulled into this mess. It would put companies like Dish Network out of business. It would devastate our back office, message center, and help desk economy. We would be in total ruin. No one would be able to get an answer to the most simple of questions such as How do I replace the batteries in my remote?
mike
March 31st, 2009
1:25 pm
caz1158 –
Oh, so it was an empty zinger unrelated to reality.
Humor usually has a basis in reality. Otherwise it isn’t funny, as in your case.
mike
March 31st, 2009
1:28 pm
As usual, we see the Bookman blog crowd responding with their typical knee-jerk response: empty zingers, ad hominem attacks, name calling, etc. This is the standard Pavlovian response we can expect. Yawn.
mike
March 31st, 2009
1:30 pm
Taxpayer demonstrates that he is a graduate of the Joe Biden school of stereotyping. How progressive!
Peadawg
March 31st, 2009
1:30 pm
“Oh, so it was an empty zinger unrelated to reality.”
Kind of like that empty suit you call President, huh?
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:31 pm
Did Pakistan just get Nuclear power? Listen people as many of you should know you can make plans but they may not all go as planned. if we have to go the we have to go. Somethings are unavoidable and you asses act like the repubs in office have keep every promise made. Go sit in the corner for the next 3 years and 9 months and pout like a little school kid.
Peadawg
March 31st, 2009
1:34 pm
Gregg, that’s true…Republicans didn’t keep every promise. But, we didn’t put them on a pedestal and worship him like ya’ll do to Obama. We can admit when a Republican lies…but ya’ll think Obama, your Savior, is perfect. He’s not God, so stop acting like he is.
mike
March 31st, 2009
1:34 pm
caz1158 -
“SHEEP-The Pompus,Arrogance responses that are put forth here is what creates so much hatred. Creative and meaningfull dialogue can not be achieved with the “We are smarter than ALL” attitude put forth. And the name calling then starts on both sides.”
Well, some of us are smart enough to understand capitalization rules, singular/plural consistency, proper punctuation and other basic grammar
I like how you start your post with name-calling and end it complaining about name-calling. Do you find name calling acceptable? If so, why do complain about it? If not, why do you do it?
Feel free to respond with an empty zinger. That seems to be your standard response.
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:40 pm
Mike, I agree he is not and I do not agree with everything he is doing. However we have serious situation in which the majority of your conterparts assume will go away if he takes no action. He is damned if he does and damned if he don’t. Many of the poeple who write in these blogs would rather see Sarah Plain in office but yet can’t tell you anything she did before being annouced as the running mate of John McCain.
Taxpayer
March 31st, 2009
1:42 pm
What if all these nations had their own arsenal of A-bombs and H-bombs and Neutron bombs and all sorts of different missiles and planes with which to deliver them. Then what. I’m sure our ‘Intelligence’ Agencies have thought through many scenarios. I wonder what the outcomes of their scenarios are. Would a few bombs be enough to get people to stop. Would there be some fanatics out there that would keep on bombing until they just plain ran out of bombs. Would the planet be destroyed. What. Or, is all this just something to pass the time and keep us all pre-occupied.
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:43 pm
sorry my response was for Peadawg
Taxpayer
March 31st, 2009
1:45 pm
Some people just like to demonstrate their ignorance regarding our nation’s use of cheap labor in India. Then again, nothing new there.
G
March 31st, 2009
1:45 pm
I wholeheartedly support President Obama’s policy. While I revere Pakistan’s sovereignty as a nation, its feet must be held to the fire to ensure that it does not fund, support, or harbor terrorists on its soil and does everything in its power to eradicate these public enemies.
This is something George Hoover Bush should have done instead of going into Iraq.
And I absolutely love to hear President Obama say “Pakistan”.
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:47 pm
Taxpayer we can not for any reason let our guards done because that would be a mass suicide. We ave to let them know we are watching and mean business. With the whole world watching and waiting to follow our lead we have to be ready for anything. Obama may have promised to bring our troops home however the world may need them more. I hate wars as much as anyone after serving in Desert Storm and Freedom, however if they feel we will bend they will push until we can bend no more.
Taxpayer
March 31st, 2009
1:47 pm
We also need to try and keep the folks in Pakistan happy. If they get too upset and don’t concentrate on their work, we could end up with three-legged Levis and upside-down zippers and all sorts of just plain weird stuff.
Mike
March 31st, 2009
1:48 pm
Taxpayer -
Sure, because only smart people like you are so informed as to be aware that many jobs have gone overseas to India. LOL
Justify your bigoted comments however you want.
Mike
March 31st, 2009
1:51 pm
G –
You don’t seem to understand Jay’s post. Obama has made no public decision to deploy troops into Afghanistan, despite your clear desire for that action.
The current Obama policy is just a small escalation of Bush’s policy. Of course, if you can explain otherwise, I’d love to hear it.
Taxpayer
March 31st, 2009
1:51 pm
Gregg,
The problem is that we are doing nothing but delaying the inevitable. We are not changing the eventual fact that more and more countries are getting a nuclear arsenal. So, the obvious questions to ask are the ‘What next’ questions. It’s coming and no one is going to stop it.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 31st, 2009
1:53 pm
Jay,
Our efforts to eradicate Al Queda may be greatly enhanced but aside from maybe a commando raid on occassion I do not think we will have troops on the ground there. That will only happen if Al Queda takes over the Gov’t.
Bosch
March 31st, 2009
1:54 pm
I know this might be a dumb question/statement, but I don’t care –
I’ve always considered it strange that we seem to be the only country in the world that deems it necessary to commit thousands of troops and a bajillion dollars to fight this War on Terruh.
We are not the only country in the world to be the victim of a horrible terrorist attack.
Why is that?
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:54 pm
Taxpayer you convict them and not the rich executives that send the business to them. What are they supposed to say? No keep your jobs for your American workers. your bigotry is misguided. tell me do you put those Levis back on the shelf and only buy American made items? You talk about people who wants the very things we take for granted and do not spew you ignorant bigotry on the rich who get richer. Ignorance at it’s best, keep the minions mad at each other and we get richer.
Hillbilly Deluxe
March 31st, 2009
1:56 pm
As Jay says, hopefully it won’t come to that. All you can really do is go with the best plan you can, given the information that you have at the time. Most battle plans go out the window when the shooting starts because the enemy often doesn’t act as was anticipated. We just have to hope and pray our leaders make the right decisions.
Taxpayer
March 31st, 2009
1:56 pm
I am smart but I’m sure that other less smart persons can figure out where the jobs have gone by doing simple things such as look around, read, listen, ask questions. Then again, some people just cannot handle such tasks so they call other bloggers names such as ‘bigot’ just to try and hide from their own inadequacies. Well, it doesn’t work for them. Never has. Never will.
Gregg
March 31st, 2009
1:56 pm
Bosch I trully hate to disagree with you but that was not a dumb question!!!
Dave R
March 31st, 2009
1:57 pm
Watch out, folks! G is getting another tingly feeling running up her leg!
G
March 31st, 2009
1:59 pm
Now, just to inform the unintelligent among us, nowhere in my 1:45 do I mention Afghanistan. Nowhere in my post do I mention deploying troops.