To Obama Our Troops Are Mere ‘Expenditures’ In His Budget

November 12, 2009 Afghanistan, Military, Military Support & Patriotism, Obama View Comments

Like many others, I was disturbed by President Obama’s initial public statement about the Ft. Hood terrorist attack. You know, the one where the mention of that mass slaughter was preceded by a near 2-minute talk with a “shout out” to a group of Native Americans? Does he have that little regard for the soldiers who were slaughtered by an Islamic terrorist?

As I listened to him, I realized that what he was saying didn’t match…what he was saying. I think you know what I mean. It was the same measured tone with which he pretty much discusses anything, reading from the teleprompter or not. He shows no emotion, barely any inflection (unless he’s talking to an SEIU or ACORN crowd), and is just plain cold. I, for one, don’t buy the “soaring oratory” skills others ascribe to him. Anyway, back to my point.

Since he’s gotten the August assessment on Afghanistan from General McChrystal back in September, he has yet to make any other decision about what he’s going to act on, other than decide he wouldn’t decide for several more weeks. Why is he taking such a long time? His supporters are saying he’s being “thoughtful” and “thorough” about making that decision, but what about the guys on the ground now? They are the ones that need the backup! I guess he’s not too concerned about them, much less Gen. McChrystal’s request for 40,000 more troops. According to the assessment, McChrystal said “Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.” How much more dire of a warning could Obama have received.

Now today, even after his initial “benchmarks” including the election in Afghanistan, as well as much politicking back home about that monstrosity called a health-care bill, we hear that Obama is rejecting all current troop recommendations he’s received from his security team? He’s going to go back to square one? What the hell?

I have friends over there, and they’re getting really pissed off about this. They need help…they need boots on the ground so they can help secure the areas in which they operate, and train the Afghan troops and police so they can eventually handle it on their own.

After hearing an interview Obama did with Jake Tapper of ABC on Monday night, it struck me – I now know how he feels about our troops. He thinks of them as “expenditures.” Yes, think about that and let it sink in. He thinks of our troops as an asset that costs this country money. Money he doesn’t want to spend. What? Don’t believe me? I heard this clip on Rush’s show Tuesday, and Rush expressed his own outrage at it, but I didn’t put two and two together until this morning’s news about turning down all the proposed plans.

Here is a portion of the transcript of that interview. I want you to read and re-read Obama’s second point when answering Jake:

Jake Tapper says, “You are about to make a final decision about the new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. What variables play into your decision making that would cause you to not just take General McChrystal’s recommendation and implement it?”

OBAMA: These are not only eh, enormous burdens that we’re placing on our y-young men and women — and that’s the thing I think most about.

OBAMA: It’s also expensive.

OBAMA: Every thousand troops we spend that’s costing us a billion dollars. Uhh, i-if you send 40,000 troops you’re looking at maybe $50 billion per year above and beyond the costs that we’re already spending.

Are you kidding me? The “enormous burdens that we’re placing on our young men and women” is what he thinks about most? Does anybody believe this? My friends over in Afghanistan don’t believe him, and I damn sure don’t either. His real reason for not sending the troops is actually the cost. Our troops “cost” too much. Their safety “costs” too much. Our national security “costs” too much.

Mr. Obama, how much value do you ascribe to the troops that are already over there, and getting killed in record numbers? Do they have such little fiscal value to you that you won’t “spend” more “troops” (read = money) on them? Our guys are being ambushed, blown up by IEDs, and killed in raging gun battles, all the while you dither and ponder your political future. Obama, you have to know that a lot of Americans see and understand that you fear your political future over our troops, and we are beyond angry at this point. We, like the troops over there, are pissed off. Politics should never be your first order of concern when it comes to matters of our security or the support of our men and women who wear the uniform for this country. I used to think you merely had an abject disdain for them, but now it’s come to this: they’re just an “expenditure” which depletes money from your budget that you’d rather be spending on your Marxist agenda.

Mr. President, although you are the Commander in Chief of the most exceptional nation on this planet, that doesn’t mean you have to be an exceptional jackass. And yet that’s what we’re discovering you to be.

Check HotAir’s post of this for some excellent commentary.