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General Campbell takes principled stand on Afghanistan

“Based on conditions on the ground, I do believe we have to provide our senior leadership options different from the current plan we are going with.” – Gen. John Campbell, Oct. 6, 2015

I have frequently been critical of President Obama’s “lead from behind” foreign policy and his decision to fulfill his campaign promise to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan regardless of advice he gets from the Pentagon.

imageGen. John Campbell (stripes.com)

Gen. John Campbell (stripes.com)

At the same time, I have been critical of those generals who salute and obey the orders of the commander-in-chief to protect their careers. My Sept. 25, post, “Our military on “hold” until January 2017,” was my most recent piece on this subject.

Yesterday, however, Gen. John Campbell, our top commander in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, that our long-standing plan for troop reductions there should be revised in favor of a larger U.S. presence. He referred to the changes on the ground  over the past two years, since the president last issued his plan for troop removals. Continue reading →

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Obama and his EPA continue to cause job losses

Over the past few weeks I have posted a number of pieces on the cost of the Obama-Biden administration’s energy policy to the American taxpayer in the increase of electricity rates and the loss of jobs.

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(Cartoon courtesy of americanenergyalliance,org)

Do you remember President Obama’s 2012 campaign promise that, if reelected, he would create one million new manufacturing jobs by the end of his second term? It looks like this will be another Obama unfulfilled promise as we have lost jobs over the past two months.

Now we learn that some four million jobs are at risk by the new EPA rules over the next 25 years, which Investor’s Business Daily says is “equal to putting every worker in Ohio out of work.” Continue reading →

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Hillary Clinton’s naivete. Part 2

In my Aug. 21, post, “Did Hillary Clinton’s naiveté unintentionally tip off Benghazi attackers?” you may recall my asking rhetorically, how did she carry out the normal day to day business of secretary of state not knowing what was and wasn’t classified, regardless if it was marked as such or not.

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(Cartoon courtesy of cleveland.com)

We now know that some 400 documents provided in the sporadic State Department dump were later classified. They contained information on the Iran nuclear discussions, spy satellites and drone strikes. Does anyone believe that Hillary Clinton had no idea these documents were classified? And as I stated in August, even her itinerary should have been considered classified.

“The Clinton team contends that these emails were not stamped classified until after the fact,” writes Kimberly Strassel in the Wall Street Journal, “But intelligence experts note many were ‘born’ classified – that is, the nature of the information required that they be handled as classified from the start.” My point, but better stated. Continue reading →

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Is Biden already running?

While watching the days of coverage of the Pope’s visit to the United States, I couldn’t help but think Joe Biden is an undeclared candidate for the Democrat presidential nomination.  He was everywhere,biden (gettyimages.co.uk) striking his familiar pose, pointing to someone in the audience.

I thought it would end when the Pope left for New York and Philadelphia, but, no, there he was again. … read more

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Remember the “outsider” who proved Obama wrong?

“The Cold War’s been over for 20 years.” – President Obama, 2012 Debate

That was President Obama’s snarky, arrogant response to Mitt Romney’s belief that Russia was the biggest geopolitical threat facing America. “When it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s …” he added.

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President Obama mocked Mitt Romney for his stance on Russia during the 2012 debates. ( museumofuncutfunk.com/AP Al Goldman)

Of course, we know that while warning Americans about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions to reassert his power, particularly over Ukraine, Romney did not dismiss the threat of Al Qaeda and Iran.

And remember when Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was mocked during the 2008 campaign when she said, “After the Russian army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama’s reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia’s Putin to invade Ukraine.”

“This is a far-fetched scenario,” wrote Blake Hounshell, then the editor of the elite Foreign Policy magazine, as he dismissed Palin’s statement as “strange.” Continue reading →

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The conservative frustration factor

In June 2014, Tea Party-backed Dave Brat soundly defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), 56-44. There were reports that it was “one of the most stunning losses in modern House politics,” indicating that the loss “upends the GOP hierarchy.”

Cantor was seen by many to be the successor to Speaker John Boehner when he decided to retire.

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(Graphic courtesy universalfreepress.com)

Currently, polls show that voters are favoring a group of ”outsiders” – Trump, Carson, Fiorina and Rubio – in the race for the Republican nomination for president. I include Rubio because he’s on his way out with a plan not to return to the Senate.

Finally, last week, Speaker Boehner calmly says he woke up and simply decided it was a good day to announce his retirement. Do you believe that? Continue reading →

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When are we going to say ‘no’ to café standards?

For years, I have written critical pieces about the government’s interference in automobile and truck manufacturing by introducing strict emission goals. And at the same time, I have been critical of the manufacturers for caving to the heavy hand of government.

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Cartoon courtesy of mtcave.blogspot.com.

The recent tests that caught VW cheating to meet U.S. emissions goals for nitrogen oxide shouldn’t surprise anyone, and if you think VW is the only manufacturer looking for ways to meet the emission standards, you’re dreaming. Keep in mind that emission goals are just part of their problem; manufacturers also need to produce a safe, well-performing car that the public can afford to purchase without a government subsidy. Continue reading →

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Our military on “hold” until January 2017

As someone who believes in a strong defense, over the past six years I have watched President Obama weaken our military and the reputation it has enjoyed globally for years.

Austin_Lloyd - Commander, US Central Command

U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III (defense.gov)

I recently witnessed an embarrassing testimony by Army Gen. Lloyd Austin before the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he said, “Despite some slow movement at the tactical level, we continue to make progress across the battlespace in support of the broader U.S. government strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIS.”

In view of information that reports out of General Austin’s U. S. Central Command were overstated to paint a rosier picture of its success in Iraq and Syria, the Senators weren’t pleased with his testimony. It was learned that analysts were told to revise their reports of U.S. air strike damage to support command assessments of mission success. They were also urged to state that the killing of certain ISIS leaders would diminish the organization and lead to its collapse. Continue reading →

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Walker takes the hint and bows out

In my Aug. 31 posting, “It’s time to bow out gracefully, guys,” I named six Republican candidates who should consider bowing out of the race because their message was simply not being heard. Scott Walker, who was showing well in Iowa at the time, wasn’t on my list, but he bowed out yesterday.

untitled(blogforarizona.net)

It’s time to get serious about the number in the GOP debates. (blogforarizona.net)

As a reminder, I said Gilmore, Pataki, Graham, Jindal, Santorum, Huckabee and Perry should leave the race. Perry did so on Sept. 11. Continue reading →

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No better time for the GOP to use the nuclear option

“Americans by a significant margin oppose Obama’s nuclear capitulation to Iran. The GOP is in the majority in both houses. Yet the Stupid Party still gets snookered.” – Investor’s Business Daily

 I know … I know … I was critical of Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) use of the nuclear option in the Senate when he was majority leader, and, yes, I was supportive of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decision to return “the world’s greatest deliberative body” to regular order.

20131201_iran(zerohedge.com)

(Editorial cartoon courtesy zerohedge.com)

The free world, however, is facing a serious juncture in the realm of foreign policy on the agreement with Iran, and nobody seems to be taking it seriously. Columnist Charles Krauthammer believes, “No international agreement in a generation matches this one in strategic significance and geopolitical gravity.” Continue reading →