“The question of whether the initial decision to invade Afghanistan was justifiable is completely distinct from whether it should have been made and, even more so, whether the occupation and war should continue.” Greenwald

Obama tied his hands on his options, in his mind, when he and his team came up with their campaign platform before he announced his run for the presidency. It was not primarily a national security decision. It was political because he wanted to establish his national security credentials. He had the advantage over all the other serious candidates of being against the Iraq War when the decision to support it was voted on in congress. He decided to attack Bush and his Democratic presidential competitors through showing his military toughness by saying we should not have diverted our attention with Iraq and should have successfully fought the war in Afghanistan. And further, if elected president, he would win in Afghanistan.

So now as president, he is very unlikely to consider Glenn's excellent point when deciding how to proceed today. Again in his political mind and with all the military advice he is receiving on how to successfully fight an insurgency, how does he admit he was wrong and we and our NATO allies must change course and follow the advice of Chuck Hagel. What's missing is exactly another point Glenn has made that those making the military decision as safe civilians in Washington rationalize away the human suffering and death.

Ignoring the human cost just surfaced again when our top military commander Gen. McChrystal has made the political decision of sending home support troops so he can have more trigger pulling troops. He did that to make any additional troop increase he wants from Obama to appear as small as possible. Obama, Clinton, Holbrooke have all said we must use our economic power to rebuild the lives of the Afghanistan people and here we are removing the troops who can rebuild schools and roads and dig wells so we can have more shooting killers.

War decisions should not be primarily based on politics. Politics explains why we are the imperial power Glenn outlined at the beginning of his outstanding post. Our interventions and war have not been based on national security. We greatly overreacted to 9/11 because our political decision makers for the first time in American history saw what war is really like when we are attacked from outside the US. (Please conspiracists lets not rehash the overworked discussion that has already taken place on GG's threads)

The psychological impact on US psyche unleashed demons that we will spend decades to overcome and caused millions to suffer grievously. Probably the only way we can stop misusing our military is to cut it down to a size where we would only be able to use it for humanitarian or real security threats. That is not politically feasible during our current economic crisis and the jobless recovery that will eventually follow.

Organizer David Swanson, founder among other things of the website AfterDowningStreet.org, was long in the forefront of those calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney -- and now for bringing them to trial. He gives the term "activist" a good name and he's a prodigious, energetic, thoughtful writer as well. If you're as struck by today's piece (in the link, see sig) as I was, you should consider giving his new book, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, published on this very day, a careful look. He's special. Tom Engelhardt of TomDispatch.com

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175109/david_swanson_the_more_things_change

Sam Donaldson Spars With Liz Cheney Over CIA Torture Investigation (video- see sig)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/30/sam-donaldson-spars-with_n_272257.html

Feinstein: Holder's Torture Probe Timing “Not Very Good (She feels it will interfere with her senate probe)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/30/feinstein-holders-torture_n_272183.html

McCain Whacks Cheney: Torture Violated Law And Helped The Terrorists (see sig)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/30/mccain-whacks-cheney-tort_n_272179.html

Dick Cheney And The Rule Of Law

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/08/30/dick-cheney-and-the-rule-of-law/

From the Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting website. (see sig)

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3890

Thanks for the clarification. Unlike the Repugs, I like being corrected when wrong.

While this is better than the usual Hiatt diatribe full of nonsense, it still commits the M$M's inhuman minimalization of heinous torture and murder of men, women and children most of whom were innocent. It also supports a two-tiered justice system that Glenn has decried for years. How the Beltway media can ignore a giant of their industry, Bill Moyers, who constantly speaks truth to power and continue their enabling of the power structure that is destroying America, shows the depth of the sickness of Washington and its corrupt manner of doing business.

Time for a Souter-O'Connor Commission

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082803159.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

They could have talked to ex-CIAers like Bob Baer and printed some facts and truth.

The CIA and Interrogations: A Bad Fit from the Start (see sig)

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1919406,00.html?xid=newsletter-daily