The overseas contingency snags GITMO

For the first time since signing an executive order to close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, as he promised during the 2008 campaign, President Obama now admits his January 2010 deadline will not be met. The President would not set a new deadline, saying of the delay to close the facility he, “…knew this was going to be hard.” The President’s qualifier is not just “hard” by convenient definition, but rather, “technically hard.”

Technically hard? Try near impossible; the questions raised by critics were legitimate – where will the administration put 200+ detainees? Bermuda and Palau have already taken the first of those that have been cleared as non-combatants, the Chinese Uighurs, who dominated the 24/7 news cycle with video showing them lounging and frolicking in the island paradise.

Bob Schillerstrom, Chairman of the DuPage County Board, has requested Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to convene a Special Session of the General Assembly ASAP to deal with the many safety measures questions surrounding the prospective use of Thomson Correctional Center to incarcerate federal detainees now held at Guantanamo Bay.

The decision to close GITMO was made before Mr. Obama was sworn-in, a campaign promise he repeated. But ten months after issuing his executive order to shutter the facility, it remains open as there are real world consequences to campaign hyperbole turned on its head by reality. Mr. Obama practically guaranteed the American people he would restore the United States' standing in the world, yet has not been able to deliver. Not only are traditional American allies not actively giving assistance in the war efforts, they are quite hands-off when it comes to receiving GITMO detainees.

So the original question reposes itself, where will the US put GITMO prisoners once the facility is closed? A question the current administration won’t answer because it is unable to do so. Closing GITMO means the transfer of the detainees, plain-and-simple. And there aren’t any takers nearly a year later; as President Obama explained, "We are on a path and a process where I would anticipate that Guantanamo will be closed next year. I'm not going to set an exact date because a lot of this is also going to depend on cooperation from Congress."

With the midterm elections fast approaching and with all 435 House members up for reelection, that political landmine is best to sidestep, but sooner or later, the political and security realities will have to be dealt with.


-- Killswitch Politick

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Playing politics with Afghanistan

President Obama said last week that he isn’t waiting on more information on Afghanistan but being certain he has the best strategy before sending more troops and spending "billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer money."

Mr. Obama stated while in Tokyo last week, "Our goal here ultimately has to be for the Afghan people to be able to be in a position to provide their own security, and that the United States cannot be engaged in an open-ended commitment.”

The President has not committed to a request made publicly by General Stanley McChrystal three months ago for 40,000 and gives no certain indication of exactly what he intends to do, only saying, his decision “will be made soon” and that it will be “fully transparent so that the American people understand exactly what we're doing and why we're doing it and what it will entail."

Meanwhile, troop morale has fallen as a new Afghanistan survey found that "unit morale rates...were significantly lower than in 2005 or 2007". This, along with increasing political from both the left and right has been growing. President Obama has said, “I recognize that there have been critics of the process. They tend not to be folks who I think are directly involved in what's happening in Afghanistan. Those who are recognize the gravity of the situation and recognize the importance of us getting this right."

NATO has endorsed General McChrystal’s troop surge strategy and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged $5 billion in aid to Afghanistan which would replace Japan's more discordant program for aiding the war-torn country – a refueling mission for US forces, which will end in January. Critics said the mission violated Japan's pacifist Constitution as that country’s constitution prohibits the country from sending troops to combat.

Japan’s support, along with US allies is growing strained. Mr. Obama and other Bush administration critics have beat a steady drum of diplomacy, replacing President Bush’s cowboy way with sophistication. But instead of allying with action, other countries are happy to greet talk with lip service. We were told time and again that Bush’s rush and buckaroo were isolating countries that would otherwise be committed allies, and now with a decidedly different personality in the White House, his suave style is all that accompanies him out of talks.

General McChrystal’s request ought to be heeded by the man who fired his predecessor, it is time for the Commander and Chief to listen.

-- Killswitch Politick

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The battle peace talks just won’t fix

The Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip can now launch rockets capable of reaching the Israeli metropolitan area of Tel Aviv, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said at a Jerusalem briefing.

Israel’s population, according to the latest estimate is nearly 7.5 million, and at its narrowest point, is only about 13 miles wide; Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has repeatedly called for the destruction of the tiny nation state.

Tehran has sent signals for years in support of Hamas and Hizbullah; Israel remains the only true US ally in the region and America has long sought to stabilize and facilitate peace among the countries that surround the tiny nation-state.

“We know they have tried to, and have obtained missiles that reach 60 kilometers (37 miles),” says Ayalon, “Tel Aviv and its vicinity are now under the range of Hamas.”

Throughout Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Gaza, which ceased in January, the farthest rocket hit was nearly 25 miles into Israel, jeopardizing southern cities like Ashdod and Beersheba.

Since the three-week action, Hamas has been able to restock its stockpile of military gear and explosives as well as improve its rocket capability.

Hundreds of tons of weaponry, ten times the size of the Karine A shipment of 2002, were seized in a raid during the night by the Israeli navy, some 100 nautical miles west of Israel; the ship detained was sailing under an Antiguan flag.

Brigadier General Rani Ben-Yehuda, deputy commander of the Israeli navy said of the conveyance of such huge amounts of weapons, "…is done in order to create a balance of terror with Israel".

Defense officials said the 459 foot-long Francop, seized near Cyprus, was transporting arms sent by Iran and intended for Syria and Hizbullah. After several days of the Israeli military observing the ship, IDF Navy Seals boarded it in the middle of the night.

This incident is one among countless others in which Israel has had to invest self-reliance for self-preservation. It once again demonstrates that it cannot rest, lest it be overcome by foreign forces. Presidents Carter and Clinton held historical talks with leaders of both Israel and Palestine, but all for naught, as Israel is called to show restraint time and again, there will be no peace until the talking ends and victory is realized.

-- Killswitch Politick

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While Obama shrugs: turmoil in Honduras, Afghanistan, China

Honduras is on the threshold of closing stages a four-month political calamity after rival camps cut a deal that could return expelled President Manuel Zelaya to power and earn worldwide support for a November 29 election.

Caving under demands from U.S. diplomats, representatives for Zelaya (whom was toppled in a June 28 coup while the de-facto leader Roberto Micheletti supplanted him) reached an agreement to put an end to Central America's worst political tumult in two decades.

The deal, seen as a too-late diplomatic setback for U.S. President Barack Obama, leaves it up to the Honduran Congress to decide whether Zelaya can be returned to perform the last few months of his term – the very obstacle that caused previous talks to falter – a Congressional vote is expected in the near future, after the Supreme Court gives a non-binding opinion on the matter.

Meanwhile, Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah had already announced he would not boycott the formerly scheduled runoff against incumbent Hamid Karzai, after talks about how to determine the country's ongoing election predicament broke down.

Since that time, Abdullah has conceded and the government has declared Karzai the winner. Karzai replaced Burhanuddin Rabbani in 2001 and has had a tumultuous relationship with the United States and his country is teetering on the verge of civil war and a return to a lawless nation state, ruined by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The precariousness continues while General Stanley McChrystal awaits a decision for more troop requests.

At the same time, A U.S. Navy admiral articulated new trepidation last week over China's military buildup and insisted Beijing to be clearer about its intent.

Rear Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group, a key part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told reporters on a visit to the Chinese territory of Hong Kong that China's military growing at an "unprecedented rate". The U.S. wants to guarantee that increase doesn't subvert the rest of the region. Donegan cited China's expanded weaponry and his remarks repeated the apprehension of other U.S. military leaders who have alleged the growth in China's military spending — up nearly 15% in the 2009 budget — raises questions about how Beijing plans on deploying its new power.

These events are not new, nor are they easily fixed, yet while President Obama makes robo-calls to voters in New Jersey and stumps for health care reform, turmoil ensues around a world looking for leadership.

-- Killswitch Politick

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