Say No To Obamastan

This blog does not do mania. It came late to Obama, and then only after the elimination of several better candidates: John Edwards on economic policy, Dennis Kucinich on economic policy and foreign policy, Mike Huckabee on economic policy (based on his record, not his rhetoric) and social policy, Ron Paul on social policy and foreign policy. None of those was perfect. But they were all far, far better than – heaven help us – John McCain or Hillary Clinton. And they were all better than Barack Obama.

Obama is very, very wrong about Afghanistan, and must be told so by British, other European, and other Old Commonwealth leaders. No more forces must be sent to that pointless, unwinnable conflict. Instead, those already there should be brought home forthwith, or else bring themselves home without further ado. Making the world anew at the barrel of a gun is not what they signed up for, not what they are paid for, not what they are sworn to do. Quite the reverse, in fact.

There are no “Taliban” distinct from the Pashtuns generally, and they have no desire to run anywhere beyond Afghanistan (or even only the Pashtun parts of Afghanistan) and the Pashtun parts of Pakistan. There is no “al-Qaeda” at all. Iran is not our enemy (and could not conceivably be allied to a Wahhabi, Salafi or Deobandi movement even if she were). Nor is Russia. And nor is Venezuela.

Our enemies are those who launched the attacks on 11th September 2001. They are busily buying up great swathes of our economies. They are in the Gulf. Above all, they are in Saudi Arabia.

But they are the paymasters of the Bushes.

And of the Clintons.