With friends like these

Vulture

Well said, David! You are absolutely right. Short of peeing in a soldiers' water bottle Obama could not have sent clearer signals of his complete contempt for his own and out military efforts in general; and for the
mythical 'special relationship' with Britain in particular.

Every act and each omission of his first year in office - from his insulting kitchen meeting with Bruin to his equally demeaning gift of a box of supermarket DVDs to America's most slavishly loyal ally has spoken loud and clear of his disdain, indeed hatred of this country : probably born from his absentee Kenyan dad's memories of British colonial rule.

It is high time that we returned the compliment and looked after our own interests for once, starting by pulling out of Afghanistan pronto. The Obama Presidency is turning out to be even more disastrous than the gloomiest pessimists feared.

toco

Obama's dithering on Afghanistan does not augur well for the remainder of his Presidency-a leader needs to be decisive.He should have taken note from the supreme ditherer one Gordon Brown that indecision only leads to derision and ultimately defeat.

Nicholas

I am reluctant to comment on this because it is all too easy to be an armchair warrior and how many of us can really understand what is happening? However, in 1966 when the Vietnam War was still relatively early Americans were losing about 50 men killed there per week. In 1995 Robert McNamara said this about that war:-

"By the mid-1960's it was clear that political stability did not exist and was unlikely ever to be achieved. The South Vietnamese, even with our training, assistance and logistical support, were incapable of defending themselves. I deeply regret that I did not force a probing debate about whether it would ever be possible to forge a winning military effort on a foundation of political quicksand. It became clear then, and I believe it is clear today, that military force - especially when wielded by an outside power - cannot bring order in a country that cannot govern itself."

That war went on for another 9 years, to an increasingly pernicious and hostile opposition in the USA, and I think McNamara's assessment is relevant to the situation in Afghanistan. We are around 1966 there. It is apparent that modern politicians prefer arrogance to history.

On the other side of the coin wars cannot be won without resolve and a clear strategy. It seems that we have the worst of two worlds. A committment to a strategy of proven failure and a lack of resolve.

barnacle bill

Ainsworth is only using the standard NuLabor excuse -
"It started in America ..."

Austin Barry

Obama is what our American chums call a 'girly man'.

From Der Spiegel 23 Nov. 2009:

"Carter tried weakness and the world got tougher and tougher because the predators, the aggressors, the anti-Americans, the dictators, when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead," Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, recently said. And then he added: "This does look a lot like Jimmy Carter."

How soon before Obama is also terrorised by a rabbit?

Anthony

Trouble is that Ainsworth's own statements are hardly authoritative or his manner convincing - and when he uses 'mitigates' instead of 'militates' one listens even less wilingly.

salieri

Ainsworth meant "militated". At least Obama can speak English.

Keith D

Recent polls in the US indicate that while Mr Obamas popularity is not nosediving it has suffered greatly through his procrastination on this issue. He fails to grasp the problem of Islamic fundamentalism and the US now suffers from Nu Lab MC and PC . For instance the Fort Hood jihadist is not described as such in the US MSM. There is further dismay that the 911 suspects are to be tried in a civilian court in NY. If the objective in Afghanistan is to deny Al Qaeda sanctuary and access to Pakistani nukes then either adequate troops on the ground are required or withdrawal coupled with reliance on the Afghan and Pakistani governments. Both options require clear leadership from Mr Obama in his role as CIC and also diplomatically. Neither has yet been forthcoming and while I am no fan of Mr Ainsworth, if he is of the opinion this dithering is losing the war and costing lives, I agree with him.

Lady Amelia

why should the Americans' show respect to an ally who clearly has lost all self-respect?

Respect; you command it, you demand it, or you earn it. Where in the past year has there been a single action of any kind by Britain that has commended, demanded or earned respect?

We've given away our sovereignty, our power, our independence - why on earth should any country, especially one like America, show us any respect at all?

TrevorsDen

Not wholly with you here. Ainsworth is right, Obama has been fiddling for 3 months and the elections - where many British soldiers died - were corrupt. This has forced the country to question what we are doing.

The other significant factor is that many soldiers have died who need not have done because we went into action with unbalanced forces, ie not enough helicopters and have been terribly slow to re-equip with suitable vehicles. We are giving no indications that we have a clear intent to actually win.

We have been far too slow in changing from equipping ourselves for the war we might fight and the war we are actually fighting. Indeed the way some in the MoD are carrying on you would not think that we are at war.

Can we really be considering spending billions on aircraft carriers when what we really need are troop carrying helicopters and rifles that can fire further than 300m for an army in a land locked country.

From what is being mooted it seems that Obama has taken 3 months to come to a decision to commit 23,000 extra troops for 9 months, by which time they are expected to have won the war. This is not a resounding commitment.

Cuffleyburgers

Although Ainsworth is clearly a bumbler and really not the inspiring leader we would like to have in this role at his time, it is about time someone had the wit to speak out on this.

Obama is treating his relationship with the British government disgracefully, and will come to regret that.

Brown needs to make the point that without American commitment, the British effort cannot be sustained usefully, and so we will be planning to withdraw.

The point should be made first privately and then publicly - and then we should withdraw, stating that when a proper coalition is required to clear up the resulting mess we will of course be happy, as usual to form a part of it, on our own terms, the main one being a clear and achievable aim within a defined timescale.

The special relationship, such as it is, is only worth having when it brings mutual benefits. it has been principally an intelligence sharing relationship, and one of joint military actions and a fair degree of coordination between the forces permitting greater interoperability than with european armies.

The use of common kit should have been increased, instead it seems that we have increasingly embarked on expensive procurement exercises with our european so-called allies often designed to cock a snook at the US. This has generally resulted in paying more for less.

It is high time a proper defence review put us back on track to closer procurement cooperation with the US, but adopting a more standoffish approach to deployments.

I do not think we will see a Yo Cameron moment

Neil McEvoy

He's right about Obama, but it's unseemly whining. As a nominally independent country, we could shore up our position by committing more troops ourselves (assuming the government had the money, equipment and the soldiers) or withdraw altogether.

Dorothy Wilson

Whilst I do not disagree with the criticism of Obama, Ainsworth's words might carry more weight if he was doing a good job himself, which he patently is not.

The Masked Marvel

David Blackburn,

You've already exempted The Obamessiah from blame for any failure in Afghanistan when you say that the war is already considered by the public to be unwinnable. He's just triangulating His way towards complete withdrawal and surrender to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and all blame will be laid squarely on George Bush. We may agree that His procrastination is actually harming the troops in the field, but the mainstream media and everyone outside of Republican circles will forget all about that when the disengagement is announced.

In case anyone has forgotten, one of the key campaign issues for Candidate Obamessiah was that Iraq was the wrong war and Afghanistan was the right one that we must win. Of course, that was yet another part of the facade, and He has been waiting for the right opportunity to end all efforts in Afghanistan.

As the Labour Government, the Democrat-run Congress, the BBC, The New York Times, and the Washington Post have already settled on their exit strategy - this war is unwinnable, we won't risk our troops' lives if we don't have the right plan to support their efforts, etc. - they're just waiting for Him to figure out the right angle.

It's time to admit that this is not dithering, but a deliberate delay, potential for destruction be damned.

Draft Crunt

"Obama has mused and pontificated his way to failure."

I think that "Obama has procrastinated and pontificated his way to failure." is more apt

Same as Brown.........

JONNY

'All of those things have mitigated against our ability to show progress... '

When you said 'our ability' Bob.
Did you perchance mean yours?

Snowman

Nicholas @ 9.29:

So spot on that it beggars belief you’re not advising anyone up there. Or are you?

Snowman

Austin Barry @ 9.41:

The definition of Obama you offered few days back on another blog, and which I treasure and keep safely saved, should appear again in print. You have it? Please.

Marbury

"Slothful"? You think Obama hasn't arrived at an Afghan strategy because he's too lazy? Because he just can't be bothered? Well, it's a new one...

porkbelly

No question, Obama has little use for the Special Relationship, or indeed any alliance that precedes His Coming. But after years of bilious contempt for America spewing forth from Britain's commentariat (and public) can one really expect anything better? Surely the proud poodle can manage to stand independent of its former master?

Snowman

to declare a victory in Afghanistan surely depends on what our aims are. If memory serves, we went in to kick out al-Qaeda and their training camps. This has been accomplished. Since then, we’ve been told that our continued presence will aid seeding democracy, train this or the other agency of the State, rid the country of corruption, defeat the Taliban. None of this seem doable. In particular, we can never defeat the Taliban. These people, bound by a common idea of governance, live there. They have time, and can wait until we’re gone.

David’s right. Obama ain’t smart without a teleprompter. The tragedy is he may keep digging.