BloggeRhythms

Uncredentialed in foreign policy or affairs, I rarely address the subjects. The 6 month sanction-easing deal struck yesterday with Iran, however, stirred memories of the incumbent’s close relationship with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Junior of Chicago whose views on Israel were well-documented during the incumbent’s first presidential campaign. I mention the close ties of these men because, it’s quite possible the reverend’s influence might have borne significant weight in the incumbent’s decision-making process regarding Iran.

 

For example, here’s an excerpt from an article in the American Thinker from January 16, 2008 by Ed Lasky, titled “Barack Obama and Israel.”

 

Mr. Lasky writes: “Saul Alinsky, whose philosophy infused community organizing in Chicago, emphasized the importance of churches as a basis for organizing. There are literally hundreds of churches on the South Side of Chicago that Obama could have chosen from. He selected one that was headed by Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Junior. The anti-Israel rants of this minister have been well chronicled. Among the gems:

 

“The Israelis have illegally occupied Palestinian territories for almost 40 years now. It took a divestment campaign to wake the business community up concerning the South Africa issue. Divestment has now hit the table again as a strategy to wake the business community up and to wake Americans up concerning the injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism.”

 

Mr. Lasky’s article is quite long, but well-worth reading to gain perspective on factors likely affecting the thoughts behind the region-changing deal. So, here’s a link:  Archived-Articles- Barack Obama and Israel - American Thinker

 

Moving along to another place on the map, The Week by D.B. Grady includes some input regarding the costs of our efforts in Afghanistan, which he begins with: “After 12 years of war, you would think the war planners and defense contractors have the situation in Afghanistan well in hand. And they do, if the goal is wasteful spending on such a colossal scale that it makes Healthcare.gov look like Amazon.com.

 

There is one oversight mechanism in place in Afghanistan that has been enormously effective in uncovering egregious irresponsibility on the part of the Departments of State and Defense, as well as international aid offices and the Afghan National Army and government. The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is an independent body designed to peek around at the $96.57 billion dollars appropriated thus far to Afghanistan's reconstruction.

 

What have they discovered? To choose from only recent findings, the office reported last month that the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan — the group in charge of training and developing the Afghan security forces — couldn't account for $230 million in spare parts it had ordered. Meanwhile, another $130 million parts were ordered without anyone knowing if the parts were on-hand or not. As it turns out, the Afghan National Army isn't keeping accurate records of which parts it has in stock, and because the spigot in Washington blasts money as though it were through a fire hose, whenever they need a new part, they just order it and send you the bill.

 

In a different release, the SIGAR reported that in at least one case, you were paying $500/gallon for diesel fuel. (The market price cap for diesel in Afghanistan is $5/gallon.) You might be surprised to learn that Sayed Bilal Sadath Construction Company, the contractor who received the $300,000 overpayment, hasn't sent it back. And why would they? They were paid $200,000 for thermostats only worth $2,000, and nobody complained. But here's my favorite part. Sayed Bilal Sadath Construction Company received this money for a contract to build a small, 100-bed hospital in Gardez, Afghanistan — an unfinished hospital that is almost two years behind schedule. Don't worry about it, though. The Afghan government has warned that it might not be able to use the hospital anyway, as its operation and maintenance costs are five times more than the hospital it's supposed to replace.

 

On October 10, [Special Inspector General for Afghanistan] John Sopko sent an urgent letter to the Secretaries of Defense and State, as well as the administrator at U.S. Agency for International Development, asking for guidance and support in expanding oversight to the other 79 percent of Afghanistan. (In northern Afghanistan alone, there are ongoing infrastructure projects worth $72 million that lack oversight.) Sopko requested a response in 30 days. Forty-one days later, none of the three men have issued a response and have each asked for more time.”

 

So, here we have two glaring examples of government bias and mismanagement of incredible proportion. Yet, in spite of overwhelming evidence proving that centralization of power leads to the poorest of decision-making, surrounded by unbridled waste, government seeks even more money and control.

 

Which is why this week particularly reminds us of what John F. Kennedy might have meant when he intoned, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Because those of us who still have bank accounts left surely know the answer to that one by now: "Dear DC, our checks are in the mail."

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios