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Obama does not understand soldiers
The Telegraph ^ | 12/9/2009 | James Corum

Posted on 12/09/2009 3:00:32 AM PST by markomalley

It is now clear that President Obama has no understanding at all of soldiers or of waging war. He made that clear in his speech on Afghanistan before the Corps of Cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point. It’s partly a generational thing: he was born at the end of the baby boom and was educated at a liberal Ivy League university. For these people, going to war is the most horrible idea one can contemplate.

Obama thought his opening promise to pull American forces out of Afghanistan would be wildly popular with the cadets. After all, it would have been brought an ovation from students of his generation at Columbia and Harvard. At both universities, the prevailing ideology was a reflexive anti-Americanism. Whatever happened in the world, America was at fault and every war was Vietnam, doomed to failure. One was far more likely to find hard-line Marxists in the Columbia or Harvard milieu than an officer cadet. Obama is unlikely even to have met someone training to join the armed forces during his formative university years.

(snip)

Back to the West Point speech. If Obama had known anyone in the military as a young man, he would know that the prospect of going to a war is not what scares a soldier most. The thing that really scares soldiers is being sent to a war and then not being allowed to win. At no time did Obama say that we were fighting in Afghanistan to attain victory. Instead, he offered a promise to pull out, coupled with a vague statement of intent. If he wanted to demoralise his audience, he could hardly have chosen a better way to go about it. As I say, he really doesn’t understand soldiers.

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: bloggersandpersonal

1 posted on 12/09/2009 3:00:32 AM PST by markomalley
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To: markomalley

Obama does not understand soldiers

Paging Captain Obvious!


2 posted on 12/09/2009 3:09:41 AM PST by Red in Blue PA (Obama, Hitler, Stalin: Who are 3 people nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.)
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To: Red in Blue PA
You can see it on their faces when they are forced into those photo ops.

*Forced* is a good word.

For the most part, the soldiers, airmen, seamen and marines have *forced* smiles when with BHO, mmm mmm MMMM!

It is so unnatural, and you would have to be as dumb as a bag of hammers not to see it and sense it. Oh well, 1 down, 3 long ones (years) to go.

3 posted on 12/09/2009 3:12:00 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo (State Dept: "North Korea broke 742 agreements with the USA. But trust us! THIS time its different!")
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To: markomalley

“The thing that really scares soldiers is being sent to a war and then not being allowed to win.”

Nails it. Thanks for posting.


4 posted on 12/09/2009 3:13:30 AM PST by tanuki (The only color of a leader that should matter is the color of his spine.)
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To: Red in Blue PA
Paging Captain Obvious!

Captain Obvious

5 posted on 12/09/2009 3:15:42 AM PST by verga (I am not an apologist, I just play one on Television)
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To: markomalley

I’ve tried without success to explain this to liberal acquaintances. I’ve even tried to use their jobs and lives as an example -
Think of being trained for a job then not being allowed to do that job. Think of doing your job but not being allowed to finish it.
They can’t see it, after all people get killed in war!


6 posted on 12/09/2009 3:18:49 AM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
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To: R. Scott
They can’t see it, after all people get killed in war!

And they don't think that there's anything worth dying for.

7 posted on 12/09/2009 3:22:30 AM PST by BlessedBeGod (New Wizard of Oz: Pelosi as the Wicked Witch of the West & Michelle as the Wicked Witch of the East.)
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To: markomalley

‘Obama does not understand soldiers...’

Not too surprising; in the past ten plus months in office, he’s made it abundantly clear he doesn’t understand much of anything, really.


8 posted on 12/09/2009 3:27:53 AM PST by Jack Hammer
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To: markomalley

I don’t think one can be too cynical concerning Obama’s motives. I think he does understand soldiers and destruction of the morale of the military is part of his plan to “transform” America. He is doing the same with the CIA, the American economy and any threat he sees to his grand plan. Why do we need an internal civilian security force as strong and well funded as the military? Someone has to do his dirty work.


9 posted on 12/09/2009 3:37:23 AM PST by trubolotta
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To: BlessedBeGod

No, and they don’t realize they can get killed no matter where they are.
One of my college courses was “On Death and Dying”. On the first day we were given a fill in the blank question: “I’d rather be dead than _________.” Only one person couldn’t answer, but it was an evening class composed mostly of GIs and cops. She was a young civilian.


10 posted on 12/09/2009 3:46:22 AM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
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To: Red in Blue PA

Obama understands them well. He hates them unless they are communist thugs.


11 posted on 12/09/2009 4:14:34 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (Support our troops, and vote out the RINO's!)
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To: markomalley
Obama does not understand soldiers

Oh, he understands enough. He knows they bleed. He just doesn't care

Where's Kayne? In rehab? I'll say it for him: "Obama doesn't care about patriotic people..."

12 posted on 12/09/2009 4:24:30 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Red in Blue PA

I think he does (or at least some of his scum does) and this was sone an purpose.


13 posted on 12/09/2009 4:39:18 AM PST by Ratman83
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To: markomalley

Find somebody that can read (a challenge today!) .. and somebody that can read out loud (even a greater challenge). Get rid of the drug habits, dirty clothes and drugs, and put the person in a clean suit. Then put him in front of a teleprompter and ask him to read, talk and look good. What have you got? Does the person have to “know” anything about soldiers, or government or small business? Nope, obviously not. Such a person knows only what he is told to know ... the rest is just an empty suit.


14 posted on 12/09/2009 5:32:25 AM PST by ThePatriotsFlag (http://www.thepatriotsflag.com - The Patriot's Flag)
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To: markomalley

No. He HATES them. Especially the White ones.


15 posted on 12/09/2009 6:21:23 AM PST by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spirito Sancto.)
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To: markomalley

The only thing Zero has actually demonstrated an understanding of is using Communist activism to destroy a country.


16 posted on 12/09/2009 11:40:54 AM PST by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves)
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