Blueprint for Defeat

Admiral Mike Mullen declared the situation in Afghanistan "serious and deteriorating", which should have been kept in close war council and not publicly disseminated where it demoralizes our forces and heartens the enemy. Even terrorists watch CNN, so they now know what they are doing is working and will boost recruitment and the Jihadis are bound to redouble their efforts. Accompany this unnecessary public disclosure with a tainted election, with our man Karzai, who only has control of Kabul, proclaiming victory, but his chief rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah arguing massive vote fraud-no democracy we are defending- just more shenanigans and lingering doubts. Have NATO allies, who have never wanted to be there, sustain the most casualties that they have suffered and now you risk their withdrawal from the country-if they can not do it on the cheap as they have been trying, it is much more likely that they turn tail than rile their European streets and have governments fall to votes of no confidence by actually boosting their commitment of troops in a way substantive enough to make a difference. Then undercut your covert operators by charging them with crimes so the current US administration can deflect some focus from the health care debate and do some score-settling with the previous administration. There is even talk of perjury charges against former Attorney General John Ashcroft because he simply misspoke and said he thought water boarding had been used "three times" when he presumably meant on three terrorists (the actual number I have heard reported now stands at five high-value terror suspects). Ultimately, rabid leftists right up to Attorney General Eric Holder might want to see previous President Bush brought into the dock the way former President Alberto Fujimori was prosecuted for his successful campaign against terror in Peru. These al Qaeda leaders were interrogated, not to coerce information for future prosecution or even for punishment, but to divine what attack plans were already in the pipeline, mega-attacks that were indeed ferreted out and prevented, saving hundreds if not thousands. These so-called "victims" of US brutality would gladly murder any American at any opportunity, in ways so heinous they almost defy description-suffice it to say the barbarians we were mean to have a proclivity to saw off heads of conscious prisoners with dull blades-not for any strategic or military purpose but to broadcast to intimidate the decent and for their own amusement. These apprehended murderers debase humanity and any information gleaned from them is worth sullying our hands a little if it saves one innocent life. Would you join the CIA now or work as its contractor knowing you could well be prosecuted later by your own government and that your family could well be placed in jeopardy by being outed? Then place openly gay troops and women in combat, as Obama is pushing, just to make sure the morale of the troops, now handcuffed by the most restrictive rules of engagement US forces have ever fought under, is sapped even more. So you have a struggle that we have the ability to win undermined by political machinations, cowardice of leadership, and lack of a will to pay the price for victory.