> Source:  Columnist Charles Krauthammer, C.C. CALLER-TIMES, 11-1-09

> Krauthammer’s  "Three Envelopes"  story comes not from Moscow but from
> British  20th C  political
> lore.  The  incoming PM finds three envelopes in the top drawer of the
> desk of the outgoing PM.
> The top envelope says "Open this at the start of your first crisis."
> The note inside says "Blame
> your predecessor ."  The second envelope says "Open me at the start of
> your second crisis."  The
> note inside reads "Reshuffle your cabinet."  The note in the third
> envelope says " Prepare three
> envelopes."  It’s the kind of  story  that applies only to a
> democracy.

> Joseph Stalin did not groom anyone for succession.  The most talented
> and popular members of
> the Politburo and the Party Central Committee  were eventually jailed,
> tortured and shot.
> Midlevel bureaucrats who showed promise and/or popularity were usually
> sentenced or posted to
> Siberia  where they died of  exposure or malnutrition.  The amusing
> British anecdote turns into a
> very stale joke when applied to a dictatorship.

> Obama is working with the advice in the first envelope because he is
> dealing with the worst recession
> since Herbert Hoover and the worst predecessor since Warren Harding.
> George Bush on the eve of
> 9/11 did not have a nation bled white by 8 years of war,  a currency
> stretched  by $60 trillion  in bogus
> commercial instruments, and a budget having a trillion dollar annual
> deficit.  The  political party that
> created these circumstances  started the blame game even before Obama
> opened that first envelope.

> There are two obvious constraints to what Obama can do in
> Afghanistan.  The first restraint is the
> lack of a  credible central government.  (Think  here about the
> landlord government we supported  in
> Viet Nam versus the peasant government of Ho Chi Minh.)  Hamid Karzai
> and his parliament is not
> Nouri Al Maliki and his National Assembly.   Without a strong central
> government in Iraq,  the
> Americans  had to build up local and provincial alliances and
> agreements.  The surge did not create
> that framework.  The Baker-Hamilton surge IMPLEMENTED groundwork that
> was already done by the
> USMC , General Petraeus and the State Department.

> Obama’s second restraint is the national economy itself.  The U.S. is
> the only major industrial power
> that operates without a  central bank and  a modern health delivery
> system.  Our biggest bank, the
> "Bank of America" ,  fills our press  with overseas capital movements,
> mergers, acquisitions,  record
> bonuses,  and  glowing  reports of major transactions.  This faux
> central bank does not flood our
> media  with  the news of  its investments and loans to our
> businesses,  our industries and our
> enterprises. We have poured billions upon billions into this one large
> bank and yet the government
> still has to act as the major  banker and investor  for our struggling
> economy.  We cannot borrow from
> Bank of America  in order to support 13,000 additional personnel in
> Afghanistan.  We have to go to
> the Bank of China and the Bank of Nippon.  Why ?  Because there is not
> yet a recovery from the
> devastation and the dysfunction caused by  eight years of GOP rule.

> If Krauthammer  wants to handicap the Afghan war,  he should keep in
> mind that we had to try three
> different generals in Iraq before the SecDef found Petraeus.
> McChrystal is not the last general who
> will command in Afghanistan.  If he cannot secure at least one
> province with  60,000 personnel,
> then the SecDef will find a general who can.  Granted there is a
> refugee influx issue and an IED
> network which may require 15,000 more troops ordered  before
> Christmas.  But securing all of Afghanistan is a mission that
> Krauthammer should  cede to the ace columnist of the New York Times.

> G:\winword7\mydocuments\opinion\Kraut3envelop.doc                  4
> XI 2009 CE

> .>Krauthammer versus Obama on Afghanistan

>     Krauthammer? isn't he the guy who doesn't know better than to dive head
> first into the shallow end of the pool?

> > I am guessing the Afghans are a race who love freedom more than
> > anything else, including the Quran.

> Well, except for the women,  Christians (there are actually a couple of
> Christian clans within one of the tribes) and anyone who just wants to
> be a peaceful trader and who won't pay protection to roaming bandits.

> Oh yes, not forgetting Hindus,  lawyers,  anyone who's the 'wrong kind'
> of Muslim (but that varies depending on the individual concerned)
> bankers,  people doing local civil improvements and the odd individual
> who disagrees with the local malik and doesn't have male relatives
> who'll carry a vendetta forwards.

> I've come around to the French view,  which is that it's mainly about
> women's rights,  and if they can sort female education and emancipation
> out the place will become a great deal more civilised.

> --
> William Black

> "Any number under six"

> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> single handed with a quarterstaff.

>> I am guessing the Afghans are a race who love freedom more than
>> anything else, including the Quran.

> Well, except for the women,  Christians (there are actually a couple of
> Christian clans within one of the tribes) and anyone who just wants to be
> a peaceful trader and who won't pay protection to roaming bandits.

> Oh yes, not forgetting Hindus,  lawyers,  anyone who's the 'wrong kind' of
> Muslim (but that varies depending on the individual concerned) bankers,
> people doing local civil improvements and the odd individual who disagrees
> with the local malik and doesn't have male relatives who'll carry a
> vendetta forwards.

> I've come around to the French view,  which is that it's mainly about
> women's rights,  and if they can sort female education and emancipation
> out the place will become a great deal more civilised.

>>> I am guessing the Afghans are a race who love freedom more than
>>> anything else, including the Quran.
>> Well, except for the women,  Christians (there are actually a couple of
>> Christian clans within one of the tribes) and anyone who just wants to be
>> a peaceful trader and who won't pay protection to roaming bandits.

>> Oh yes, not forgetting Hindus,  lawyers,  anyone who's the 'wrong kind' of
>> Muslim (but that varies depending on the individual concerned) bankers,
>> people doing local civil improvements and the odd individual who disagrees
>> with the local malik and doesn't have male relatives who'll carry a
>> vendetta forwards.

>> I've come around to the French view,  which is that it's mainly about
>> women's rights,  and if they can sort female education and emancipation
>> out the place will become a great deal more civilised.

> Female oppression has led to male repression all through the Middle east.
> . its a nasty cycle.

> We just had an incident in Phoenix where an Iraqi  immigrant murdered his
> daughter because she became westernized.
> he ran her over

> >>> I am guessing the Afghans are a race who love freedom more than
> >>> anything else, including the Quran.
> >> Well, except for the women,  Christians (there are actually a couple of
> >> Christian clans within one of the tribes) and anyone who just wants to be
> >> a peaceful trader and who won't pay protection to roaming bandits.

> >> Oh yes, not forgetting Hindus,  lawyers,  anyone who's the 'wrong kind' of
> >> Muslim (but that varies depending on the individual concerned) bankers,
> >> people doing local civil improvements and the odd individual who disagrees
> >> with the local malik and doesn't have male relatives who'll carry a
> >> vendetta forwards.

> >> I've come around to the French view,  which is that it's mainly about
> >> women's rights,  and if they can sort female education and emancipation
> >> out the place will become a great deal more civilised.

> > Female oppression has led to male repression all through the Middle east.
> > . its a nasty cycle.

> > We just had an incident in Phoenix where an Iraqi  immigrant murdered his
> > daughter because she became westernized.
> > he ran her over

> It happens,  we've got a nasty 'honour killing' case being dragged
> through the courts at the moment.

> --
> William Black

> "Any number under six"

> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> single handed with a quarterstaff.

>>>>> I am guessing the Afghans are a race who love freedom more than
>>>>> anything else, including the Quran.
>>>> Well, except for the women,  Christians (there are actually a
>>>> couple of Christian clans within one of the tribes) and anyone who
>>>> just wants to be a peaceful trader and who won't pay protection to
>>>> roaming bandits.

>>>> Oh yes, not forgetting Hindus,  lawyers,  anyone who's the 'wrong
>>>> kind' of Muslim (but that varies depending on the individual
>>>> concerned) bankers, people doing local civil improvements and the
>>>> odd individual who disagrees with the local malik and doesn't have
>>>> male relatives who'll carry a vendetta forwards.

>>>> I've come around to the French view,  which is that it's mainly
>>>> about women's rights,  and if they can sort female education and
>>>> emancipation out the place will become a great deal more civilised.

>>> Female oppression has led to male repression all through the Middle
>>> east. . its a nasty cycle.

>>> We just had an incident in Phoenix where an Iraqi  immigrant
>>> murdered his daughter because she became westernized.
>>> he ran her over

>> It happens,  we've got a nasty 'honour killing' case being dragged
>> through the courts at the moment.

>> --
>> William Black

>> "Any number under six"

>> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke
>> of Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could
>> beat single handed with a quarterstaff.

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Ray is talking about a case in Arizona.
> You must be talking about a case in the U.K.
> Is Major Nidal Hassan a Shiite ?  The U.S. is closing down 4 Shiite
> mosques and an associated Iranian-backed support group.

> It is going to be interesting to see how Obama
> and McChrystal use 30,000 more troops in
> Afghanistan.  This could put our economy in
> even more jeopardy.  A string of bases along the
> west Pak border would cost a logistical fortune.
> My guess is that they will coordinate closely
> with all Pak pincer movements on their side of
> the border.

> Cheers, David H

> Which, again, begs the question.  Isn't war supposed to be good for the
> economy???!!!

> (intesting times indeed)

> - nilita

> {snip}

> > Which, again, begs the question.  Isn't war supposed to be good for the
> > economy???!!!

> > (intesting times indeed)

> > - nilita

> Someone else's war is good for the economy, if you can get a contract.
> Your own war is good for reducing unemployment.

> Andrew Swallow

> > La N wrote:

> > {snip}

> > > Which, again, begs the question.  Isn't war supposed to be good for the
> > > economy???!!!

> > > (intesting times indeed)

> > > - nilita

> > Someone else's war is good for the economy, if you can get a contract.
> > Your own war is good for reducing unemployment.

> > Andrew Swallow

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> I am not clear on why the U.S. forces have low morale
> in Afghan provinces. Is this because of the Fort Hood
> killings ?  Just because I have probed the stresses on Major Nidal
> Hassan does not mean I am trying to
> mitigate the atrocity or his deeds. The New York Fourth Estate should
> be clear on my view that the
> Major is a traitor who has betrayed his oath as a
> military officer and who has committed the worst
> offense against the Heartland since Al Qaeda brought
> down the WTC.

> I have seen Corpus Christino military personnel hugging and crying
> outside the local Army recruiting
> office. I feel their pain. That's why I am curious about
> reports of low morale in the Afghan salient.

> Cheers, David H
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~