re: Advice for Obama

chuckhasker@yahoo.com — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:30:30 GMT

There is too much food for thought on these 3 articles Andrew and you should have broken them up into three seperate events, for I am going to need a few glasses of wine after sorting all this stuff out. However, (1) Josef Joffe article has food for thought. (2) Ali A. Allawi wrote from a grumbling and a frustrated I want it fixed now point of view. In one breath he writes, "If the new order fails to improve conditions soon, Iraqis may well turn once again to proverbial "men on horseback." then he writes "Troop levels should be rapidly drawn down." Have to have the toops if you don't want the horseback ridders coming for you with hoods in the night. Can't have it both ways. Allawi should be thankful that Democrary is working in his country, though it is limping along it is working, sometimes new ideas and ways of doing things takes time to get used too. He should also be thankful that he can say what he might today, because he is free. Under the old regime he would have been flogged or worse. And one final thing, Mr. Allawi I want to remind you that Obama is just a Senator not the President. At least not yet. You talked as if he was in your tone. (3) Ashraf Ghani, wow, was I impressed. I liked the idea of the Marshall plan it worked once before and it can work again, and the Afgan people do need to believe again. Obama if you become president you need to sit down with this guy and talk about Afganistan. In fact why don't you have a Senate hearing and call him as a witness while you are in charge. Now that's Change! Are you not the Chairman of the Comittee on Afganistan? Talk about shoring up your foreign policy credentials, it would be much better for you to have hearings on the matter than a photo opportunity. It would show that you are taking action now. Chuck Hasker