By Bob Steiner

We should feel honored learning this morning that our President was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Although his achievements in the “peace” arena have been minimal,  he has expended a lot of effort (and jet fuel in Air Force One) trying to lessen international tension and trying to bring hostile parties together.  That having been said, I believe we should take a look at some of his recent actions in the field of foreign policy.

For a person who campaigned as a peace advocate, his leadership style seems to really involve the military.  I was quite surprised last spring when he ordered an additional 21,000 American troops to Afghanistan.  Now he is considering deploying another 40,000 soldiers to that country.  As a retired U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst, I find this to be a  bad decision unless the reinforcements were taken as indicated below:

Federal Republic of Germany – 10,000 troops

France -10,000 troops

India – 10,000 troops

Afghanistan – 10,000 troops

I would further insist that the Karzai government implement an immediate draft of all males 17 to 25 years old, as a pre-condition to our remaining in that country.  I think that these people need to protect their own country.

Another factor that bothers me is the fact that we do not seem to be using the best weapons needed for the type terrain and enemy we are facing.   If we were really serious, I would think we would be employing Napalm bombs on Talaban concentrations and on the Poppy fields to bring the drug problem under control.  Napalm was quite successful in Vietnam. Just maybe,  a better mix of weapons, not more soldiers would be the answer?

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