Crazies

In one sense I guess it’s good to know there are crazy people on both sides in this war thing. But crazy people on opposite ends of the rope don’t really give me comfort.
Case in point: Some Americans have gone crazy and are steadfastly declaring they’ll follow through with burning Qurans… despite a warning from General David Petraeus that such an act could generate more terrorists.
In Afghanistan, there are some Muslims acting like staunch Republicans and putting all the blame for the potential holy book burning on Barack Obama and all Americans.
Specifically, I’m referring to the parishioners of a Gainesville, Florida church led by Pastor Terry Jones. They plan to burn Qurans this Saturday, September 11. The brilliant action is meant to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These are the churchgoers who wear “Islam is the Devil” t-shirts.
Then there is the group of Afghans already protesting that protest by calling for the death of President Obama. According to one news report, an 18-year-old Afghan student summed it up Monday by declaring, “We know this is not just the decision of a church. It is the decision of the president and the entire United States.”
The crowd in Kabul, numbering as many as 500, chanted “Long live Islam” and “Death to America” as they listened to fiery speeches from members of parliament, provincial council deputies, and Islamic clerics who criticized the United States and demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

I’m with them in that last sense. Withdraw our troops from that country.
This longest war in America’s history is costing us, our kids and our grandkids their economic future. Bin Laden did it to Russia when the Russians tried to win a war in that country. Is he doing it to us?
Let the Afghans take care of themselves with the understanding that if they or the Taliban or whomever runs that country allows Al Qaeda or any other group plotting attacks against the United States to again have safe harbor there, the drones will come flying back in force.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We will not win anything in Afghanistan except a bigger debt. Republican Party chairman Michael Steele is right on this one. It has become Obama’s war, and land wars in Afghanistan don’t have a great track record. Vice President Joe Biden is right on this one. He questioned the wisdom of the current course and in the Oval Office argued for a limited mission in Afghanistan. The troops are heading the wrong way. I don’t know why Obama is escalating that war. Endless war benefits no one. There are better job programs to consider. That is crazy.
Deal with Pakistan and deal with Afghanistan but get our people out of the place where no one ever wins a war.
This year is already the bloodiest for American forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion, with at least 321 killed so far. Violence is increasing with the infusion of 30,000 additional U.S. troops that brings the total number of foreign forces in Afghanistan to more than 120,000.
Petraeus told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that Pastor Terry Jones’ September 11 stunt could ignite violence from Taliban forces already versed in harnessing American headlines as propaganda: “It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort,” Gen. Petraeus said in an interview with the Journal. “It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.”
And then, let’s bet that those Christian churchgoers will blame Obama when some Muslim kid blows himself up in Gainesville.
Did I mention that the name of the church is the Dove World Outreach Center? The dove is a symbol of peace; world outreach is a suggestion of peace. What do these people see when they look in the mirror?

Christians burning the Quran. Afghans blaming the leader of the free world. Put them in a room and let them eat each other.
In the meantime, let’s bring our soldiers and our money back home.