by Nick on July 29, 2008
Here are the top five reasons why I am voting for Barack Obama:
- The Economy - In 2009 the United States is projected to have a deficit of more than $480 BILLION. Our national debt is quickly climbing to $10 TRILLION. Republicans have run our economy into the ground with their irresponsible fiscal policies, and our children (and their children) will pay the price. It is no easy task to pay off $10 trillion dollars in debt. As if our nation’s cash flow problems weren’t enough to be concerned about, the American people aren’t doing so great these days either. With gas at $4 a gallon, and many foods at all time high prices, many American families are struggling to get by. Jobs are being lost, and not being replaced. Paul Krugman posted a graph of employment growth for each president back to Dwight Eisenhower. Notice the clear difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Republican Party has proven time and time again that they are not good stewards of the economy. It’s time to go with a Democrat.
- The Iraq War - The Iraq War was a mistake from day one. Saddam Hussein was a terrible human being, but he posed little threat to the United States. He had no weapons of mass destruction; he was surrounded by nations that despised him and would contain him (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran - not to mention the American patrolled no fly zones). Furthermore, Saddam had no role whatsoever in the planning, funding, or execution of the 9/11 attacks. Yes, the Iraqi people are better off without Saddam Hussein. But Iraq distracted us from the war we should have been fighting. It is still distracting us from the war we should be fighting. The Iraqi government and military can step up and take control of their nation. It’s time for the United States to withdraw and refocus it’s military efforts where they are most needed. Barack Obama supports withdrawal in 16 months so that we can do just that. Which of course brings me to reason 3.
- The War in Afghanistan - Obama recognizes that Afghanistan is the central front in the War on Terror. He advocates sending at least an additional two brigades to Afghanistan. We should have had these extra troops there in the first place. It is well documented that Osama bin Laden was in Tora Bora when we bombed it, but slipped out through the mountain passes. We did not have enough troops to adequately secure the area to assure his death or capture. This is a mistake that will not be made a second time if Barack Obama is president. On September 11th, 2001 Al Qaeda, on the orders of Osama bin Laden, attacked the United States and killed more than 3,000 people. in the 7 years since the Bush Administration has failed to capture or kill bin Laden. It’s clear that Republican priorities are flawed, but John McCain wants to continue those policies. Barack Obama will capture kill Osama bin Laden because his foreign policy will be focused on Afghanistan and dismantling terror networks, rather than foolish and costly preemptive wars.
- Health Care - The health care system in the United States is a mess. Despite spending far more on health care than any other industrialized nation, Americans often receive worse care. American life expectancy and infant mortality rates have fallen behind other modernized nations. A major part of the problem is that the lack of quality, affordable health care means that our system focuses on curing an illness rather than preventing it in the first place. Barack Obama has a health care plan that will give access to quality, affordable health care to every single American. John McCain does not. If your health is important to you, the choice in this election is clear.
- Energy - Our economy and our planet are both in peril and a major reason is our dependence on fossil fuels. Not only is this an economic and ecological problem, but it is also a national security problem. We cannot rely on foreign sources of energy and maintain our position as the worlds only superpower. John McCain’s solution is to drill offshore, drill in Alaska, and drill everywhere else we can put an oil well. But we can’t drill our way out of this problem. Barack Obama’s energy plan will guide our nation to energy independence with the use of clean, renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar.
by Nick on July 15, 2008
Posted By: Nick
Fascinating read over at The New Republic. Eli Lake writes that Obama’s foreign policy is likely to shape up to be more like Reagan than Carter. The article highlights the fact that Richard Clarke and Rand Beers are senior advisors to the Obama Campaign and are likely to hold important posts in an Obama administration. It also notes that:
Last November at a foreign policy forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Obama said there may be “40,000 hard-core jihadists with whom we can’t negotiate.” He went on. “Our job is to incapacitate them, to kill them.” In that spirit, he famously announced that he would strike terrorist bases in Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf ever refuses to move on actionable intelligence against Al Qaeda–a threat that earned him the chastisement of John McCain, among others.
While that situation drew heavy criticism from many directions (including the anti-war base), I firmly believe Obama was right. There’s no excuse for not protecting American national security interests. If that means Pakistan gets pissed off, well, so be it. We can’t sit around and wait for the next terrorist attack just because the Pakistani government isn’t cooperating.
by Nick on July 14, 2008
Posted By: Nick
Barack Obama writes his plan for Iraq in today’s NYTimes. I’m sure this is mostly in response to the criticism he recieved last week when he said he would visit Iraq and reevaluate after his trip. I think it’s clear he meant he was open to tweeking his plan here and there as required based on the reality of the situation, but never fundamentally mean that his position of ending the war would change. Of course his poor choice of words left him open to attack, so today he has clearly stated his position so as to avoid any confusion.
Here are some bits I especially like:
Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown.
But [the Bush/McCain plan] is not a strategy for success — it is a strategy for staying that runs contrary to the will of the Iraqi people, the American people and the security interests of the United States. That is why, on my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war.
As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan. We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there. I would not hold our military, our resources and our foreign policy hostage to a misguided desire to maintain permanent bases in Iraq.
I love it. He’s saying exactly what we should be doing. Get out of Iraq ASAP, and get more focused on Afghanistan.
by Nick on July 14, 2008
Posted By: Nick
On Sunday, Taliban militants in Afghanistan attacked a U.S./NATO military base. Nine American soldiers were killed, 15 NATO soldiers (likely Americans) were wounded, and 4 Afghani soldiers were wounded. That the Taliban has been able to regroup to the extent that it feels comfortable attacking a U.S. military base is extremely troublesome. That they managed to inflict the damage they did is even more troublesome. Things are not going well in Afghanistan.
I wrote about Afghanistan last week, and I’m sure I will continue to do so. The fact of the matter is, we have a foolish, shortsighted strategy in Afghanistan that is doing nothing to increase our national security. Iraq distracted us from what should have been our real focus: Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Now they have regrouped and we are beginning to pay the price.
We need more troops in Afghanistan, we need a new, aggressive military strategy, we need to convince Pakistan to take a more proactive stance against the Taliban; and we need these things now. If militants in Afghanistan (likely operating from inside Pakistan) are capable of launching such an attack on a U.S. military base, then what else can they do?
Six and a half years into the war in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is unacceptable. The failure of the Bush Administration to properly execute this war has real consequences that we are now beginning to see.
NYTimes Article
by Nick on July 11, 2008
Posted By: Nick
Little known fact: the United States is actually fighting TWO wars right now. There’s the one we all know about, in Iraq, and then there’s this whole other war in a place called Afghanistan. Amazing, huh?
Well, as it turns out, that other war isn’t going too well these days. The Taliban and Al Qaeda have regrouped in Pakistan and are causing all sorts of headaches for everyone in the region. The NYTimes thinks its about time that sodid something about this problem.
Both countries have a common and increasingly urgent interest in rolling back the power of Al Qaeda and the Taliban and working together to promote democracy and development in Pakistan. President Bush needs to persuade Pakistan’s leaders of that — and he needs to do it now, before Al Qaeda and the Taliban get any stronger.
For 6 years Bush has not done this. I’m sure nothing is going to change for his last 6 months in office. Hopefully the next president will actually do something useful.
