President Barack Obama made no effort to conceal his irritation when his press corps used the first question of his maiden Far East trip to ask what was taking him so long on Afghanistan.

Jennifer Loven of The Associated Press had asked: “Can you explain to people watching and criticizing your deliberations what piece of information you’re still lacking to make that call.”

It looks as though Ms. Jennifer was giving Barry a chance to cover his own a**, but, it was a tough question, and, how freakin’ DARE she question Dear Leader?

“With respect to Afghanistan, Jennifer,” the president scolded, “I don’t think this is a matter of some datum of information that I’m waiting on. … Critics of the process … tend not to be folks who … 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.”

Gravity of the situation? Really?

The cool president’s heated response reflected second-guessing from the press and Pentagon about a process that has spanned eight formal meetings with his war cabinet, totaling about 20 hours.

Obama has spent a heck of a lot more time doing campaign stops since he was Coronated, but, not so much on actually running the country, and certainly not much on Afghanistan, as has now been reported by The Politico, and was stated by Robert Gibbs.

The White House has been deliberately portraying the process as thorough, emphasizing the opposing views the president has considered, as a way of positing a contrast with President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

If they thought the decision to invade Iraq was quick, something which went on for well over a year, I can’t imagine the amount of time they will dither on Afghanistan. We might get a decision on what Obama called a “war of necessity” sometime around September, 2012.

Meanwhile, many Democrats and the media are attempting to give Obama cover over the time he is taking with a new report about what a surge would cost. They aren’t worried about the massive costs of their Porkulus, their 2010 budget, their health system bills, nor the cap and tax, but, a war to take out Islamic terrorists? That they are worried about?

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove

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A BRAVE young Aussie warrior who went missing in action during the heat of battle has been found safe and well after spending a year in the Afghan desert.

Sabi, a black Australian Labrador, aged about four, is back home now on the Australian base at Tarin Kowt.

Sabi was rescued by an American serviceman who suspected she was not an enemy combatant, but a highly-trained hairy bomb sniffing digger.

It’s Lassie Come Home, Afghan-style.

The story is one I would like to excerpt the entire thing, but that is a no no in the blogosphere, so, definitely read the whole thing.

After a bath and some chow, Sabi is doing quite well, ready to play, and even got a chance for a quick meet and sniff with Aussie PM Kevin Rudd and US General McChrystal.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove

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President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

OK, he isn’t going to accept any plan provided to him. What is his plan? Does he have one? 10 months into his presidency, perhaps it is high time to formulate one? Then again, 10 months in, it is high time to formulate an actual plan to deal with the economy.

That stance comes in the midst of forceful reservations about a possible troop buildup from the U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, according to a second top administration official.

In strongly worded classified cables to Washington, Eikenberry said he had misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Shocker! He’s taking the advice of the guy who says he should just keep throwing over to first base to avoid throwing to the plate. Tough decisions are just not in his makeup. Unless they are on which American(s) to demean.

Uncle Jimbo writes

He has already had the advice of his entire military chain of command with a near unanimous call for reinforcements to move to the strategy that won in Iraq. We have watched as he has heard from the deep wisdom of Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel. We have seen him dither and quibble and show a completely ineffectual and uncommitted face to our enemies and the rest of the world. Now months after his hand-picked commander has told him the situation is bad and getting worse, our troops in the field fight and die without the support of their Commander in Chief. He sent 21,000 more brave men and women there and now they are flappin’ in the breeze. How can a squad leader look his men in the eyes and tell them to saddle up and head out on a patrol, perhaps to be the last to die for a cause their President no longer believes in?

If Obama is not going to put any more troops in Afghanistan, he needs to decide. Now.

Update: Some more interesting words to replace the use of a sarcastic “Decider in Chief.” Blogs For Victory: The Ditherer. Legal Insurrection: The Dawdler In Chief.

I still want to know what President Neophytes proposals are.

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CAIR came out with their excuse for Muslim shooter, Nadal Malik Hasan: he is heinous, and Islam condemns his actions. No comment from CAIR spokesman Nihad Awad that the murders may have been committed in the name of Allah. Awad didn’t mention that there is a name for murders committed in the name of Allah – and that name is jihad. CAIR, by the way, is an un-indicted co-conspirator in the war on terror.

This article, written by Cynthia Tucker, supports CAIR’s position. The CAIR press release is here.

While most Americans will no longer buy this, our courts will. While most Americans know that Islam is an ideology with a Koranic mission to eliminate infidels entirely, the government will not even begin to explore that truth. It is a fact that many Muslims who live their lives peacefully, know that others inside the “faith” are committing jihad, and they do nothing to stop it. It is also a fact, that to abolish jihad from the “faith” is to abandon Islam.

Cynthia Tucker says [it] is probably not a “teachable moment from this horror,” and she cautions that the Army must focus more on stress-plagued soldiers.

There were about 7 hours of teachable moments yesterday – for some, those hours will never end – those hours will be the defining moments in their lives. The Army was already investigating Hasan. Tell me what they could have done with him, without cries of discrimination? There is nothing they could do except:

(1) let him out of the Army after paying thousands for his education, and send the message that if you don’t want to go to a war zone, just let us know and we’ll fix it for you, or

(2) deny all promotions and try to keep him quiet in an environment where men and women know they will be on a battlefield fighting the same ideology that Major Hasan believed so intensely in.

How many centuries has this been going on and we still reject that Islam is anything but peaceful?

There has never been a time, anywhere in the world, that Islam was not the aggressor. No, not every Muslim is radical, but can anyone show me one instance, even within the Military, where Muslims personally want to put an end to Islam’s threat to infidels?

We do not know the details of each and every Muslim serving alongside our Military. That’s the problem. What are we asking Muslims to do when deployed to a war zone fighting the war on terror. We are asking Muslims to kill Muslims, knowing that their “faith” teachs that only Muslims can, and should, survive. I know many Muslims are serving this country, but, really, I ask again, will they tell you they want to put an end to Islam’s threat to infidels? Will they?

My predictions:

(1) If Hasan lives, he will go to prison. I’m hearing this afternoon that he is paralyzed, so if he lives he will not go to prison – and no, being paralyzed is not punishment enough.

(2) The soldiers at Ft. Hood will be blamed for harassing Hasan for his religious beliefs. “Stress” will be used to excuse Major Hasan’s actions.

(3) No one can answer how a solider is supposed to react to a man among them, saying that America is the aggressor in Iraq. There is no answer, because every right answer is discrimination.

(4) Most Americas will no longer support the Muslim cries of “discrimination,” but our leaders will. Our troops will continue to serve side-by-side with Muslim soldiers who do not believe in the war on terror and are not fully committed to eradicating jihad.

(5) Fort Hood will happen again, somewhere, in some way.

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Q What exactly has the President taken away from all these meetings that he’s had? This is the seventh one he’s had, today. If you could shed some light on what he’s — how he’s processing this, how he’s keeping this — what does he talk with his other advisors about after he comes out of these meetings? And ultimately, have you decided — and how will you have him explain this to the American people?

MR. GIBBS: Let me take the second one. We have not, in all honestly, had extensive conversations about that yet. I do believe, without getting into specifics, I think the President strongly believes that it’s important for the American people and for the international community to know his reasoning behind whatever decision he makes, and to clearly explain our goals and objectives in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, and the region as a whole.

So I anticipate that whatever form it ultimately takes, the President will use the occasion to explain some of that to the American people so that they understand his decision-making and his thought process.

In terms –

Q. A TV address or something, to the nation?

MR. GIBBS: Again, we haven’t gotten into broad specifics on that yet.

On the first part, Jeff, you know, look, I think — I don’t — I used to have it calculated, I should just go back and do it, the number of hours that he has spent in these meetings is probably now — well, at the end of today will probably be getting close to 20 direct hours of his time. The group — the principals that meet with the President additionally take time to get the material ready, and are prepared to answer questions for the President, probably at least twice as much of that of the President’s time the principals have spent.

He’s been president since January. Over 6,700 hours. And, as of October 20th, not even 20 hours spent discussing Afghanistan? Someone should ask Gibbs how many hours Obama has spent campaigning since his Coronation.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove

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Afghan election officials canceled a presidential runoff and proclaimed the reelection of President Hamid Karzai on Monday, a day after Karzai’s top challenger declared he would not take part in a second round of voting scheduled for Saturday because of a persistent risk of fraud.

(Election commission chairman Azizullah) Lodin said that after consulting legal experts, the seven-member commission had decided by consensus to cancel the runoff and declare Karzai the winner of a second five-year term.

Peppered with questions about how the commission reached its conclusion, Lodin said, “It’s like a wrestling match. If one wrestler refuses to wrestle, the referee raises the hand of the other and declares him the winner.”

So, what does Obama do now?

Sunday, senior White House aides said President Obama likely will take some more weeks to decide whether to send more troops to Afghanistan and to decide on the strategy to pursue against the Taliban and al Qaeda.

“I expect the president will make a decision within weeks. As you know, he has gone through a very rigorous process because the goal here is not just to make an arithmetic judgment about the number of troops, but to make sure that we have the right strategy to reach our goal,” Mr. Axelrod said.

In Obama Speak, that means it will be months before any decision is made. I doubt if they can hold off till the 2010 mid-terms, coming up with some plan that makes Democrats look good, but, my prediction is an announcement on some Friday in January when there is a really big snow storm across the country. Something quiet and buried.

With the White House’s reluctant embrace on Sunday of Hamid Karzai as the winner of Afghanistan’s suddenly moot presidential runoff, President Obama now faces a new complication: enabling a badly tarnished partner to regain enough legitimacy to help the United States find the way out of an eight-year-old war.

In other words, the Fish Wrap of Record is saying what we all know: Obama is looking for a way to cut and run. Progressives would love for him to do just that. They are already upset with Obama for failing to immediately pull all the troops out of Iraq. Instead, Obama has basically stuck with the Bush Plan.

In the early days of Mr. Obama’s presidency, he and his aides searched desperately for a plausible alternative to Mr. Karzai. They found none. Since the spring, there has been little doubt that Mr. Karzai would remain in the presidential palace after the election was over. The question was whether that vote would demonstrate that a desolate nation that has always been at the mercy of larger powers would show it could find its own way.

In fact, the Obama admin. treated Karzai poorly on multiple occasions.

So, what do they do now? Obama is learning that actually being The Man in charge is a far fry from being a great campaigner. He has done his level best to vote “Present” during his first 10 months as President, but, some decisions must be made. Timeliness is rather important. Surely, there must be tons of plans over at the Pentagon. FYI for Obama, that is that big building over in Arlington with all the folks in military uniforms. The subway can take you right there.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove

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They didn’t flat-out refuse Obama’s deal, but they might as well have. Could it be because Ahmadinejad has no respect for Obama?

Iran’s response Thursday to a proposed deal to transform its controversial nuclear material into fuel for a medical reactor is “inadequate,” a senior Western diplomat said, adding that it failed to address key United States and European concerns about Iran’s nuclear intentions.

Iran answered the proposal to temporarily move most of its enriched uranium to Russia and France to be further refined and shaped for use in a medical reactor after a delay of nearly a week and a flurry of contradictory signals.

The proposal would have depleted Iran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel below the threshold necessary for making a single nuclear bomb, possibly creating diplomatic breathing room for a broader agreement between Tehran and those worried about its atomic research program.

But according to the diplomat, Iran wants to send its uranium abroad in smaller batches over an undetermined stretch of time rather than the lump transfer by year’s end outlined under the proposal offered by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

Such a change would allow Iran to quickly replenish its stock.

Gee, I wonder why Iran wants to send its uranium in smaller batches then. Could it be because they have absolutely no intention of abandoning their nuclear program? While Ahmadinejad is shouting his cooperation from the rooftops for anyone to hear, it’s just an empty statement. His actions say something completely different, and it’s clear that he has no respect at all for Obama or the UN.

Of course, we were promised that the world would love us once again if we elected Obama. Obama would usher in “smart diplomacy” and he would be able to negotiate with terrorists other world leaders and everyone would be happy again. And this is our newer, smarter diplomacy? Iran and North Korea are both getting bolder and bolder, launching more and more test missiles, and getting further and further into nuclear weapons programs. Obama’s response is to launch a plan to remove our missile defense shields in eastern Europe and do nothing except ask Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Il to please stop. He talks a big game, but doing absolutely nothing to back up what he says. Why should Iran respect or fear him?

Theodore Roosevelt believed in speaking softly and carrying a big stick. With Obama, it’s speak loudly and carry a limp stick.

Hat Tip: Hot Air

Cross-posted from Cassy’s blog. Stop by for more original commentary or follow her on Twitter!

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A U.N. human rights investigator warned the United States Tuesday that its use of unmanned warplanes to carry out targeted executions may violate international law.

Philip Alston said that unless the Obama administration explains the legal basis for targeting particular individuals and the measures it is taking to comply with international humanitarian law which prohibits arbitrary executions, “it will increasingly be perceived as carrying out indiscriminate killings in violation of international law.”

Alston, the U.N. Human Rights Council’s investigator on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, raised the issue of U.S. Predator drones in a report to the General Assembly’s human rights committee and at a news conference afterwards, saying he has become increasingly concerned at the dramatic increase in their use, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan, since June.

We know how Progressives like Obama love kowtowing to folks at the UN (witness the allowing of human rights inspectors in our major cities regarding housing), so, what will Dear Leader do? This might give him the out it seems to desperately want, after all his campaign promises, without appearing weak (too late!) In fact, it might give him the out he probably wants to abandon the War on Terrorism, er, excuse me, Operation Overseas Contingency. The far left Progressives who form the base of the Democrat Party, and are, one could argue, the actual middle point for the Party, mostly want to abandon Afghanistan and the WoT, and have for a long time.

So, this is a test for the Bamster. Despite the reticence to commit to the troop surge in Afghanistan and renaming the WoT, as well as some pretty speeches, he has actually done a decent job, mostly out of the public eye. He escalated drone strikes not only in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan. He has stuck with the Bush plan to leave Iraq. He has kept rendition. Gitmo is nowhere close to being closed. Will he listen to the UN, or tell them to go fly a metal kite in a thunderstorm?

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I’ll adjust the headline quote to bring it up to date: “Ignoring The Need To Finish The Fight In Afghanistan”….

ZIP

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Hundreds of angry protesters in Afghanistan’s capital burned an effigy of President Obama on Sunday, acting on rumors that American troops had desecrated the Koran.

U.S. military officials emphatically denied that any copies of the Muslim holy book had been mishandled, and they accused the Taliban of spreading falsehoods to incite hatred against Western forces.

The protest — reminiscent of similar demonstrations in Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim world in recent years — showed how easily passions involving religious sensitivities can be stirred up even with a dearth of evidence.

More than likely, the rumors are a load of mule fritters, just like they have been so many times before, yet, I do not remember any in the media defending Bush to this extent. If memory serves, when Bush was president, the media took the side of the America haters and barely acknowledged, if acknowledged at all, that Muslims in areas like Afghanistan tend to be a bit, shall we say, excitable? It always seemed to be that Bush had done something mean. Now Obama is in charge, where is the blame from the media? (FYI, I do not blame Obama, he did nothing wrong, and, I do not like anyone burning Obama in effigy, regardless of what my opposition is to Obama’s agenda. You respect the office, if not the man.)

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