Why can't people work together for the common good? Tom Friedman today partially explained why, entitled, "Politicians work more on getting re-elected than on trying to fix the country."
A typical example is on the debt-reduction talks. Republican leaders very publicly walked out (including Rep. Cantor to the left). I did warn you about this in my HuffPo on "The Simplest Solution for Our National Debt..." This is, sadly, all about politics, not solutions.
President Barack Obama, worked out an almost perfect compromise regarding escape from Afghanistan:
1. Chairman of Joint Chief of Staffs Mike Mullen wanted a less aggressive drawdown schedule, and so did next CIA Director, General David Petraus. Military leaders always want more (whether this has to do with manpower or equipment or the budget), while the grunts want to get out.
2. Republicans said this reduction at this time was unwise, while
3. Democrats called the cut too timid.
My view is to get out of the Middle East (86,000 in Iraq and 104,000 in Afghanistan) as fast as possible, and by the end of this year. In fact, we should bring all of our troops back:
Libya 8,500 (ah, leave them there for now)
Djibouti 3,500 (what, Djibouti??)
South Korea 28,500
Japan 32,800
Germany 54,000
Italy 10,000
UK 10,000
Qatar 8,000
Kuwait 10,500
and 35 other countries. Bring them all home. In 2005, the cost per military person was as high as $175,000. This all adds up to around $50 billion/year.
We have lost only one war: Vietnam. We have zero troops in that country. We won the Second World War 66 years ago. Why are we still in Germany, Japan...and Djibouti?
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The Dow Jones Industrials fell an additional 115 to 11,935, with world markets mixed. Gold sunk $22/toz to $1503, while the NYMEX is at $91/barrel, and the Brent Spot $106/barrel.
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Tropical Storm Meari working northward along the China coast will now, apparently, not reach hurricane strength.
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