Troops In Afghanistan Is a Go!

After much debate the final decision of Afghanistan was made, and will be announced Tuesday night. During the speech President Obama will acknowledge his plan of the 35,000 troops, and a vow stating there will be no endless U.S. commitment. If all follows he believes to have a group of marines who will be in place by Christmas. Obama’s initial goal to is end the war as soon as possible. He wishes to guide the war in to the right direction to avoid passing the war to the next president.

In his broadcast on Tuesday, President Obama will outline the 92 day plan created at the U.S Military Academy at West Point. On Monday, Obama spend his time briefing international leaders of his plans and ideas The Prime mistier of Britain, Gordon brown announced he would send 500 more troops, totaling to 10,000 in Afghanistan. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced he has over 3,000 troops, and is willing to keep them there until it is necessary. Along with the additional troops from the U.S, there will be a new focus of training Afghan troops to expand the army to 134,000 by next fall.

I am glad president Obama has come to a firm decision about the situation in Afghanistan. On Tuesday night we will see if his well thought plan, is really as good as it sounds. The main focus of this plan seems to be speed. He wants to end the war as soon as he can, which is in the publics interests. One problem I see is the cost. The additional $35 billion cost must have some affect on the already massive federal deficit. The help in Afghanistan is greatly needed, but we have to remember our own problems at home.

Time is Near, and the Agrument is Weak

As President Barack Obama prepares to send in about 30,000 more troops in to Afghanistan, many allies try to gain more supporters. Many of his allies in congress stress America’s moral obligation to protect the Afghan people, from the Taliban. Obama’s current stand point on sending troops to Afghanistan is realism. He believes it is the realistic thing to do, and honestly it is. But many Americans do not realize the potential damage that would be done to Afghanistan, if left alone.

Supporters urge him to stress human rights to gain support for the unpopular war. Because of what people hear and see on the media, their perspective of the war is altered from the truth. The war in general is definitely negative, but the costs of leaving Afghanistan alone would be devastating. Even in Obama’s own domestic liberal base, many are against the war. But it is because of Obama’s argument of national security a homeland defense has left his side with no strong arguable point.

If ideas were changed to help the Afghan people, the perspective on the war would differ. The White House initially decided to focus on National security, but for the last three months have avoided the subject of Human rights, in order to prevent isolation in discussions. Now that the decision is close, the smartest thing would be to strengthen their argument. Obama needs to warn those who oppose his policy, that withdrawal would leave an “awful fate” to the Afgans. If Americans feel proud or safe for a policy they will strongly support it.

Richest Man in NYC Wins Third Term as Mayor.

The richest man in NYC , Michael Bloomberg won a third term as the Mayor of New York City on Tuesday. The billionaire had defeated his democratic opponent William Thompson 51 percent to 46 percent. Because Bloomberg was a man of great wealth and power, his campaign strategy of bombarding the people with campaign ads have worked successfully. The week before the election polls showed Bloomberg ahead by eighteen points, convincing critics the election was already won. The lead was nothing in comparison to Bloomberg’s victory in 2005 who pulled off a twenty point win.

It is estimated Bloomberg spent around $100 million on his campaign. Because the costs and funds of running as mayor are not federally funded, the money had come from his own pocket. This makes the billionaire’s campaign the most expensive self-financed campaign in U.S History. His opponent Thompson had used around a tenth of his cost. Thompson was favored in many black and Hispanic neighborhoods even winning by a 3 to 1 margin in some areas. Though Bloomberg did have an estimated $17.5 billion fortune and high approval ratings, because the condition of the Wall Street development, combined with his re-election, situations did not seem positive.

This story seems to further support the common political stereotype of whoever has the most money wins the election. Even with the acknowledgement of Bloomberg’s plead for longer terms in order to serve, he won. It is not surprising Thompson was in favor around the Black and Hispanic areas. The evidence of voting shows either they did not agree with his political ideas or just didn’t agree with, “the man”. Being able to fund a $100 million may seem virtually impossible for the majority of people, but for Bloomberg $100 million out of his 17.5 billion would seem very non influential to terms of his finances.

Obama encourages putting off Fort Hood Probe

President Obama during his eight-day trip in Asia had urged Congress to hold off any investigation until federal law enforcement and military authorities have completed their probes into the shootings at Fort Hood, a Texas Army post. The rampage shooting at Fort Hood had left 13 people dead. Nidal Malik Hasan, the man charged for the shooting spree last week, now faces additional charges and further investigation. Obama last week, after the shooting, called for an intelligence review of the shooting and Hasan. As president Obama returns from his trip, he now focuses on paying respects to the troops at the nation’s army post and at all costs avoid political stagecraft.

President Obama had reported, “The stakes are far too high”. If political controversy began over this subject, the whole thing would blow out of proportion. The risks are too dangerous. After ordering a full review of all intelligence related to Hasan, several members of Congress have asked for a full examination of what agencies knew about Hasan’s contacts with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen. After investigation, Congress found about twenty emails exchanged between Hasan and the cleric, in December 2008. However FBI does not see any connection of Hasan being a radical terrorist or being involved in any groups.

The shootings were indeed a tragedy for many families and friends throughout the country. But not many political figures have the same perspectives as those families. Many see the event as an opportunity to take matters in there own hands. I respect Obama’s decision to put of any investigation until probes have been completed. By encouraging the lawmakers to back off until the probes are completed, they will be able to continue the on going investigation and find every piece of information. By gathering all the information they will be able to act upon them.