It gives me no pleasure to publish this blog.  I and Michael Moore were both waiting for a last minute epiphany from President Obama before he took the podium at West Point.  I was hoping that by some miracle he would walk up and say…we are ending all this killing and fighting.  I know those of you who know me best are saying…she‘s breaking from the fold!  I only have my personal opinion.  Here it is, take what you like and leave the rest as the 12 step programs say:

• I want no more of this war. The killing, PTSD, the suicides, Fort Hood killings, and the debt is obscene. I do not know what to say to those who have lost family and friends in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do we continue to fight this battle and lose more lives and limbs because of the past sacrifices?  I know of no one to ask this and I wouldn’t if I did.
• I do know soldiers and young adults that are awaiting deployment or standing by for further orders.  I have nothing but respect and support for our troops.  I have a close family member who could be deployed. This is selfishly exactly why I want out.
• My husband estimates that each state in the union will need to send at least 600 service men and women.  There are estimates of as many as 13,000 new cases of PTSD with additional 8,000 or more traumatic brain injuries with this surge.  The cost is an extra $40 billion that we can ill afford. We haven’t even talked about the loss of Afghan life or of our allies.
• The most moving argument I have heard yet against this came from a Vietnam veteran speaking on CSPAN after the President’s speech last night.  He spoke of the horrors and cost of war from his own perspective.  He had served almost 40 years ago, but his voice betrayed how much those months still impact his life.

I have no long lens of history to look back on and see the possibilities of withdrawal on the region and the world.  My mother once told the peace-nik me back in the sixties that my father’s life was possibly spared because of the bombing of Japan.  I came home enraged after reading John Hersey’s Hiroshima in college.  She calmly explained that I most likely would have never been born if there had been no Nagasaki or Hiroshima bombings.  I will leave these musings on the historians.

I was pleased that there was no saber rattling and no macho pronouncements last night. Obama’s tone was calm, serious, and respectful. I have no issue with the venue.  I feel that the young men and women sitting there will bare much of the cost.  They are certainly not “the enemy” as Chris Matthews stupidly stated.  There are the victims of the war as are innocent civilians.  As a Christian, I cannot justify the thousands of deaths, even though the humanist me sometimes longs for vengeance, as with the recent Foot Hood shootings. 

My heart goes out the most to those in the Army and the Marine Corps the most because they have experienced the biggest loss of life and injuries.   A military wife I know commented that Obama has no idea what will be involved in deploying that many men, women, and equipment.  She feels let down because she thought he was going to end the war.  I am reminded that he never promised to end the war in Afghanistan.  He promised to end the Iraq war; the old/bad, Bush’s war. He inherited so many problems from the previous administration, but now war is part of Obama’s legacy.

I hope that the generals and advisors know what they are doing. Today’s Times News’ column by David Brooks provides some fascinating insights into COIN, a strategy outlined in General David Petraeus and Gen. James Amos book, the “Army/Marine Corps Field Manuel 3—24” about a new way to see conflicts in the Middle East. While the President doesn’t embrace all the components of this reshaped military thinking that focuses on providing security and services to make villagers loyal, some believe it will make the difference in winning this war.  General McChrystal, who was appointed to run the war effort in Afghanistan last winter, is one of the chief architects of COIN.

Brooks goes on to make the point that this new “hybrid strategy” will focus not on troop levels, but “how the war will be fought.”  Watching the 60 Minutes program on McChrystal ( http://www.youtube.com/user/DODvClips ) a few weeks ago revealed an amazingly disciplined man who directed special forces in Iraq. Some call him a hero and others demonize him. He obviously pulls no punches and created controversy by calling for major troop build-up recently while loudly criticizing the previous efforts before the {resident announced his decision.  Looking at the COIN strategy and Gen. McChrystal’s background it seems a little like sending in a pit bull to do a diplomat’s work.  Many on the left, including Daniel Ellsburg, the former US military Analyst who released the Pentagon Papers, feel that McChrystal’s “drones” and “death squads” in Afghanistan have simply contributed to the growth of an ultimately unassailable anti-US resistance, and that even “hundreds of thousands” of troops will not charge the outcome.

Every day since the West Point speech more “experts” come forward to give their opinions on the wisdom of revealing strategies and pull out dates.  Clinton announced today that 7,000 troops have been promised by NATO allied forces.  The done attacks increase in our new US Marine mission called “Cobra’s Anger” while we all wait to see what happens. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/04/us-marines-launch-large-o_n_380006.html

I have to agree with Dick Durbin who is one of Obama’s closest allies.  He recently told CNN that “The president took some time to reach his decision; I’m going to need some time to reach mine.” I have to agree.