When President Obama took office, the Taliban in Afghanistan were, to the extent any terrorist organization can be, defeated. Instead of ruling Afghanistan they were removed from its capital of Kabul and what passes for its other major cities. Free elections had been held for the first time in the country\’s history and the government had been selected by the people.
Now, 5 1/2 years and 1,600 military casualties later (that\’s three times the number of casualties under President Bush in 1 1/2 years less time), the taliban not only is resurgent, but a very good argument can be made that it is stronger now than the day Mr. Obama took office.
Here is the latest sign of its strength, as excerpted from Sophia Saifi, Holly Yan and Aliza Kassim\’s article at cnn.com. Please pay special attention to the paragraph I\’ve put in bold print.:
Sevenbodies have been recovered near acoldstorage facility at a Karachi airport Tuesday morning, more than aday after a deadly militant attack there left 29 others dead.
Therescue operation unfolded nearly a day after terrorists entered theairport from two places with a plan to destroy a group of parkedairplanes and “bring down our aviation industry,” accordingto the Pakistani government.
Bythe time the attack was over, officials said 29 people were dead,including 10 militants.Another24 people were injured, the military said.
ThePakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault on thecountry\’s largest and busiest airport.
Speakingfrom an undisclosed location, Pakistani Taliban commander AbdullahBahar said the attack was retaliation for the death of former chiefHakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Novemberin North Waziristan.
Baharwarned more attacks will follow.
“Aslong as we are breathing, our attacks will be continuing \’til the endof our lives,” he vowed.
It is true that President Obama “inherited” this war. But it is also true that, when he did, there were only about 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and the taliban were out of power and militarily defeated.
But after 5 1/2 years of Barack Obama at the helm, the same taliban is stronger than ever, has successfully branched out into Pakistan, and is obviously able to put together murderous attacks like the one you just read about – with no problem proudly proclaiming a) its responsibility for the attack and b) that the USA\’s actions – actions taken not by George Bush but by Barack Obama – was why the attack took place.
Now tell me: When do our wonderful “neutral” media start blaming President Obama for Afghanistan? How many years does he have to fail in that godforsaken country – as he has failed in virtually every other country in the world – before media talk about what an incredibly catastrophic foreign-policy President he has been?
Or is the party line still that this is somehow George Bush\’s fault? If so, please let him know the next time you see him walking his dog – which, if the dog is an Afghan Terrier, is about as close as he has been to a position of power over any Afghani since January 20, 2009.
