EQ 13: Iraq War = Bush = SOFA = Iraq Withdrawal

Dear Friends,

The Republicans are blaming President Obama for everything that is going wrong in the world for the most part without any actual basis, but blaming President Obama for the current state of Iraq is absurd.  It was President George W. Bush that pushed us into the Iraq war by lying to the American people.  By toppling Saddam Hussein without being prepared for the aftermath, President Bush allowed the centuries old sectarian hatreds and rivalries to come to the fore.  That very same President Bush negotiated and entered into the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government in November 2008 which required all United States troops to be out in three years.  The allies of President Bush now have the gall to blame President Obama for the current state of Iraq because he removed United States troops too quickly.

So the facts are all on the side of President Obama yet he refuses to call out the Republicans for their lies.  He should be making the facts clear to everybody that the Iraq War was President Bush's war, that President Bush lied to get us into it, that President Bush was unprepared for what would happen after we invaded, that President Bush is responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives lost and ruined, that President Bush set the timetable for withdrawal, that President Bush's policy was a total failure and his execution of that policy was inept and disastrous and that the United States cannot fix Iraq.

It is time for the United States to get out of Iraq.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

EQ 6: Obama + POW release = Right Decision = David Brooks?

Dear Friends,

I have been struggling to understand all the facts and issues surrounding the prisoner swap that lead to the release of Sgt. Bergdahl.  I am criticized for not praising President Obama when he does something good.  Any fair thinking, open minded, intelligent person must agree that President Obama's decision to swap the five prisoners at Guantanamo for Sgt. Bergdahl was the right decision.

I was actually surprised to read the title of David Brooks' column in The New York Times this morning which was "President Obama Was Right" (here).  I almost never agree with David Brooks and while I acknowledge that he is a smart person, he seems too willing to sacrifice his intellectual honesty to cater to conservatives.  Nevertheless, his column this morning was in my humble opinion an excellent one even though he did feel the need to take a couple of unnecessary shots at President Obama.  His last paragraph gives me great hope for America if we could only have the right wing agree with it.

Still, the president’s instincts were right. His sense of responsibility for a fellow countryman was correct. It’s not about one person; it’s about the principle of all-for-one-and-one-for-all, which is the basis of citizenship.

Sgt. Bergdahl is a member of the United States Army.  We should never send any American soldier in harms way if we are not willing to honor our commitment to bring that soldier home.  As David Brooks says we are a community, and Sgt. Bergdahl is a member of our community.  He is the son of members of our community.  He is a person, and we are his family.  If we could all feel that all people are our brothers and sisters, what a wonderful world we would live in.

I have been appalled at the hypocritical, unfair and Islamophobic comments by many Republican politicians and commentators.  Many Republican politicians were criticizing President Obama for not doing more to bring Sgt. Bergdahl back and now they are criticizing him for actually do what they wanted him to do.  It has been clear since President Obama became President that many Republicans will object to whatever he does.  The Affordable Care Act started as a Republican idea.  Cap and trade was a Republican idea.  President Obama's foreign policy is in many ways just a continuation of Bush policies.  The vehemence with which these Republicans object to President Obama's very existence cannot be accounted for simply by the fact that he is a democrat.  There is no doubt in my mind that much of their reaction stems from old white men (of which I am one) who are afraid that they are losing their privileges and control (I am not one of these) to the "others".

The attacks on Sgt. Bergdahl's father as looking like a Muslim because he grew a beard in solidarity with his son are inexcusable and racist and go against the family values that Republicans claim to espouse.

The demonizing of Sgt. Bergdahl is also hypocritical and blatantly unfair.  Senators McCain and Graham both knew about the circumstances leading up to Sgt. Bergdahl's capture (to the extent they are known) several years ago and argued that President Obama was not doing enough to bring him home.  Now they are convicting him of desertion without knowing all the facts, permitting due process or listening to what Sgt. Bergdahl has to say.  Nobody should be treated this way, particularly not a member of the United States Army and particularly not be two Senators who claim to support our troops.  What hypocrites  they are!!

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal