“Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser.  Americans play to win all the time.  That’s why Americans have never lost a war and will never lose a war.  Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.”        – Gen. George S. Patton, May 31, 1944.

Gen. George S. Patton (dayiii.tripod.com)

Oh my, if General Patton were alive today, he wouldn’t recognize today’s America.  Victory eluded us in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. This week President Obama told a gathering of Marines in Hawaii that the war in Afghanistan will come to a “responsible end.”

A “responsible end?”  What is that?  Whatever happened to winning?

In 2007 it was presidential candidate Obama who referred to the Afghan war as the “good war.”  “We did not finish the job against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.  We will wage the war that has to be won.”

President Obama told a Marine gathering in Hawaii that he was bringing the Afghanistan war to “a responsible end.” (abc30.com)

Since becoming president, the words, won, win, winning, victory and victorious never seem to get onto the teleprompter.  Instead, sentence bites like “finishing the fight,” “we will finish the job,” “getting the job done,” and “time to prevail” appear.

It was candidate Obama who spoke of the need for a stronger and sustained partnership between Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO, saying “We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president, I won’t.” Continue reading →