For Antiwar Protesters, the Cause Isn't Lost

 In today’s Washington Post we have the first of a series of news articles that we will see more and more in the coming months and perhaps years.  Obama’s decision to continue this war in Afghanistan has galvanized the hard Left in American politics.  And its a completely different Left than we expected.

Look at the picture in this article.  See the gray hair and the bald heads? This time out, the bulk of the protestors are grandparents.  Unlike Viet Nam era protestors, these people have lived most of their lives and they are not kids. This country now has big problems. We have grandparents taking to the street to protest a war. No one wins in a scenario like this.

Here is a quote from the article: "With public opinion polls showing a majority of Americans opposing the war, organizers wanted at least 1,000 people to march through downtown, risk arrest by creating a ruckus at the White House and draw President Obama across the manicured North Lawn to meet with them.

"The goal of this action is to hand-deliver a letter to Obama," Perry reminded the group. "We want a meeting to demand an end to this senseless violence."

Battle lines in American society have now been drawn deeper than since the Tet Offensive of 1968. 

It is a very, very rare day that you catch Tom Barnes so bamboozled that he is not sure what to say.  This is one of those days.  I will just let the story speak for itself.

In another rare piece of oddity for American culture, GOP pundit Michael Gerson chides the Republican Party for losing the Latino vote and being willing to do so.  The article is here. 

Gerson calls for a more inclusive GOP and a GOP that will court the Latino vote.  What the heck is going on today? 

First the Democratic President defies his own party on a major foreign policy issue and turns hard right and then Michael Gerson, the hard right columnist of the GOP calls for a more open Republican Party, citing a need to be more open to a more diverse population of potential Republicans.

I feel like Alice walking around Wonderland today.

If the Post or the New York Times runs an article today on Canada asking to enter the Union I will not be surprised.  Apparently it is going to be one of those days!

Ruth Marcus has a piece here concerning the GOP more or less gumming up the workings of government in order to slow down Obama’s train.  After today, they will not need to do this.  Trust me.  Things have changed.

In another bizarre story today, it seems that four U.S. security contractors in Iraq were detained and beaten by Iraqi military authorities in the past few days in the Green Zone of all places!  The story is here.  The U.S. military at one time was the ruling king of the Green Zone. That has now changed also.

In another story Christians in Kirkuk Iraq are leaving the area quickly.  They are being kidnapped for ransom and murdered in large numbers now.  The archbishop has petitioned the government for military protection of Christians. Fat chance your episocpal Excellency.  It just won’t happen.

And we now want to stay in this part of the world?  The President says that we have interests here that must be looked after at all costs. 

I just don’t see it.

Do you?

CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)