Hamid Karzai - The Presidential Election - Barack Obama - John McCain - U.S. Economy

I have been making the rounds of the Sunday Talk Shows. NBC and ABC had Tim Geitner on and CBS' Face the Nation had the President on as well: (available at http://www.cbsnews.com).

As I listened to the Face The Nation Interview, I was glad that Bob Schieffer brought up Mexico. I have regarded Mexico as the soft underbelly that is indeed a major threat to the security of the United States. I did also find Meet the Press quite insightful in explaining in layman's terms how the plan is supposed to work. As I listened to all the shows, the central message I heard was that the Obama Adminstration views the strategies on both the economy and Afghanistan was on track. Time will only tell.

Despite the President's optimism on the Afghan Strategy being "properly resourced" , I continue to be concerned about Afghanistan. History has clearly shown that Afghanistan has been the graveyard of Empires. The wildcard in all of this is Karzai the fool. He has just been given a new lease of life by the Afghan Supreme Court. He will stay in office til the August election date. This will give him a built-in advantage to be elected President. Karzai has been in office for seven years. Why would anyone want to give a mandate for another four years? Why would the west support him? Is there that much void in Afghan Politics that he is the man? I don't think so.

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Hamid Karzai, Taliban, Al Qaeda, NATO, Inter-Faith Relationships, The Presidential Election, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, U.S. Economy, U.S. Government, Congress

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Our World This Week

March 29th 2009 07:46

: Quite Amazing!!!

I was witness to another busy and hectic week on the political front. There was of course the Budget the Obama Adminstration has sent up to the U.S. Congress. The U.S. Congress has started to write the legislation to get the process moving forward. It was also a week that saw the President throw the gauntlet down to the Republicans in the House to produce their own alternative. They did produce one. From the review so far, though, there are no numbers to back the so called roadmap they have proposed. I will be anxious to see what they have to say on this next week.

As I was witness to the debate, I was laughing at how the President seemed to be getting it from both sides. On the one hand, I saw the so-called right (or conservatives) in the country noting how the President was taking the country down the path to socialism and communism. I was really laughing when I read Dick Morris' comments and then visited his new YouTube Channel he had just laid out. On the other hand, I was also just as amazed and laughing at how the so-called left (or liberals) were keen to attack the President. Paul Krugman's admonition about the President's Public-Private Partnership as "cash for trash" was just one example. They are noting that the clintonites will help drive a centrist economic policy that will leave many out in the cold.

It seems as if there is at some sort of consesus that has emerged: The roadmap taken so far over the past thirty years has been the true road to nowhere. I was especially keen to have read Alan Greenspace's admission in the Financial Times that there were multiple failures in how the financial system was regulated. Alan Greenspan is not entirely a leftie and is as conservative and a free-marketer as it comes. What is especially troubling is when the so-called free marketers who seem to oppose any sort of regulation and embrace social darwinism seem to forget the admonition of Adam Smith himself, when he reminded the world that prudence should be the key factor in insuring that the markets remained as vibrant as ever. Prudence means caution and avoid too much excess. Whether this lesson is going to be learnt by all parties is still an open question.

As the U.S. and the world continues to deal with the Economic Winter of our times, there is of course the twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Obama announced his Afghanistan strategy on Friday. The President committed to a renewed focus on Afghanistan during the campaign. He has kept that promise. But, sustaining an Army is becoming problematic. Pakistan cannot be depended upon. I read with horror accounts of another attack on a NATO Supply Depot in Afghanistan. As I understand the strategy, The additional 4,000 troops are slated to train the Afghan Army. But, the problem I have with this strategy is simple: The world can't just simply shoot its' way to a resolution in Afghanistan. The reason Iraq worked was that many of the so-called insurgents were bought off by the United States. Such a strategy is slated to be tried in Afghanistan. The Republicans seem to be behind the President, though. I welcome that support. But, my profound reservations about the current policy in Afghanistan remains unchanged. It is ever more so as long as Karzai the fool sticks around.

The week that just ended disturbed me in more ways than one, though. Congresswoman Michelle Bachman of Minnesota was on the Sean Hannity Radio Show advocating Revolution. After initially reading about her rant, I wanted to see what she actually said. I did not find anything on her website. All I was able to find something on it on MSNBC's Countdown. It is clear to me that her stance is one to cater to a conservative base that likes to maintain a 21st Century Wild West Mentality regarding the free market, views that Global Warming has been manufactured by the so-called Extreme Left and in fact advocates doing nothing simply because it will just go away. Maybe this little video will at least give them a moment of pause:

On the political front, there is of course the race in New York's 20th, where Jim Tedisco seems to be losing. Dick Morris, in a recent column, declared this to be "the" race that would serve as a referendum on the plans by the Obama Adminstration. I am sure that if New York's 20th goes for Tedisco, the Republicans will have a field day. But, they seem to forget that it is a heavily Republican District. The real news is if it in fact it is retained by the Democrats. Let's see what happens!!!

I continue to yearn for a viable opposition that would foster genuine debate. I have written about Newt Gingrich's American Solutions Ideas that he has laid out. I realize he took a page away from his so-called Contract for America. When I wrote about in an earlier column, I noted that many of the ideas he talked about were incorporated in one fashion or another in the President's Budget Blueprint that came out a number of weeks ago. It is that blueprint that is working its' way through the Congress right now.

There are a few other interesting developments that I think is worth noting. I find the rise of a new entity called the Foreign Policy Initiative of interest. The founders of this new entity are some of the stars of the so-called Neo-Cons who were instrumental in pushing the country to the wars that seem to have no end. I also continue to assess the activities of David Frum. He is serving as an Editor at http://newmajority.com. I was especially impressed by how he repudiated Rush and his rhetoric. I also was quite impressed in how the website has a wide array of views reflected on its' site. Of all the conservative luminaries on the scene, I regard David Frum as the man to watch.

The week ahead will also be just as exciting. The G20 is going on in London and then Obama is about to go to Turkey for a visit and then onward to Mexico to deal with the War on Drugs. There is never a dull moment in our world.

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Hamid Karzai, Taliban, Al Qaeda, NATO, Turkey, United Kingdom, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, U.S. Economy, U.S. Government, Executive

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Worrisome Developments.....

October 25th 2008 12:46

: Can anyone do anything about it?

I can't help but be worried. As I continue to write about our world, I want to remain hopeful. But, the bad news continues coming in. The Dow lost over 300 points on Friday. As America continues to be in the midst of a Presidential Campaign, the world seems to be falling apart. BBC is reporting on a very disturbing development in Colombia threatens to undermine all that seems to have been achieved in the so-called war on drugs. A number of Army colonels have been sacked because they apparently kidnapped homeless men and then killed them to secure body counts and in turn promotions. Colombia was the same country, of course, that pulled off the release of Ingrid Betancourt and others using the emblems of the International commitee for the Red Cross. I view it as a bothersome development because it will undermine the very perilous nature of achievements made in the war on drugs that the world seems to be losing. Look at what is going on in Mexico. I regard Uribe as the ultimate teflon, though. I think he would muddle through as he has through other crisis.

The more worrisome development, though, is the killing of foreigners in the center of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Afghanistan is on fire. Karzai is useless and is a lost case. I am heartened by Joe Klein's comments on Time.com about Barack Obama's views. According to Klein, Barack Obama (and General Petreaus) are in favor of negotiations with the Taliban. I would be interested in any alternative anyone could offer. Right now, I see none

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