Sunday, October 11, 2009

Thanks again, W!

MULLAH OMAR HAS STAGED 'ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE MILITARY COMEBACKS IN MODERN HISTORY':
A Dogged Taliban Chief Rebounds, Vexing U.S.
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: October 10, 2009
WASHINGTON — In late 2001, Mullah Muhammad Omar’s prospects seemed utterly bleak. The ill-educated, one-eyed leader of the Taliban had fled on a motorbike after his fighters were swiftly routed by the Americans invading Afghanistan.
...
Eight years later, Mullah Omar leads an insurgency that has gained steady ground in much of Afghanistan against much better equipped American and NATO forces. Far from a historical footnote, he represents a vexing security challenge for the Obama administration, one that has consumed the president’s advisers, divided Democrats and left many Americans frustrated.
Recall:
"THE PRESIDENT: They will try to hide, they will try to avoid the United States and our allies - but we're not going to let them. They run to the hills; they find holes to get in. And we will do whatever it takes to smoke them out and get them running, and we'll get them."
[President Urges Readiness and Patience, Remarks by the President, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft; Camp David; Thurmont, Maryland; 15 Sep 2001]
... and Mullah Omar's response:
[Mullah] Omar: I am considering two promises. One is the promise of God, the other is that of Bush. The promise of God is that my land is vast. If you start a journey on God's path, you can reside anywhere on this earth and will be protected... The promise of Bush is that there is no place on earth where you can hide that I cannot find you. We will see which one of these two promises is fulfilled."
[Mullah Omar - in his own words, The Guardian, Wednesday September 26 2001]
W: bluster and bravado.

Eight (8) years later: we're bogged down in Afghanistan.
The Taliban are resurgent.
We Rumsfelded the war.
Thanks a lot, W!

p.s. Free advice to all Dems in 2010 (DNC: are you writing this down?):
Run on W's record!

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