Jack, the Bush administration did not go into Afghanistan to eliminate Al Queda. ;-) They don't want Al Queda to be eliminated. They need them as a continual reason to be doing all this aggressive empire-building. They went into Afghanistan for the same basic reason the Soviets did: to create a client regime there which would cooperate fully with their future strategic plans, and that is also why they have gone into Iraq...to create a client regime there. They have one in Aghanistan now, but it's weak and it will, I think, meet the same ignominious end as Najibullah's regime did when the Soviets left. They have accomplished only a semi-client government in Iraq...and I don't think they'll ever succeed in making it fully cooperative with American aims.

It's not about Al Queda. It's not about WMDs. It's not about Osama or Saddam or Ahmadinejad. Its about empire-building, one nation at a time, through overthrowing existing regimes and replacing them with client regimes which are basically puppet governments. Now if you are running a country in this day and age (when empire-building is no longer seen as a "nice" or "proper" thing to do) and you want your people to like what their government is doing, well, you can't tell they you are engaging in aggressive empire-building! Certainly not. So you tell them that you are "protecting" them against dire threats from terrible foreign people, fanatics who have huge terrorist networks all over the place, WMDs, and other awful stuff that can never be found or eliminated. (And you follow aggressive policies which will inevitably result in bringing forth such people to quite an extent.)

By supposedly looking for the foreign threat that you either invented or provoked so that you can supposedly eliminate it you are enabled to send your armies and air forces wherever you want to in the world, always with an apparent justification. That's how it works. You kick the Third World dog repeatedly. The dog finally snaps at you. You then tell everyone, "That dog is a public danger. It has to be put down." and you send in the Marines. Read George Orwell's 1984 and pay particular attention to the parts about the mysterious and endless war overseas that just goes on and on.

Only my opinion, of course. But that's what this place is for, expressing our opinions.

Now, Obama may know these things. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows plenty of it, but if he does then he can't talk about it openly. If he did, it would lose him the election. People like Kucinich and Ron Paul have dared to talk plainly about what's really going on with America's foreign policy, which is grand imperialism and an illegal war of aggression, and it guaranteed that they would not end up running successfully for president. No politician can be open and honest about this stuff if he wants to become president.

So if Obama is smart, he will continue to say the kind of things he is saying, continue to talk tough on winning in Afghanistan, etc. Hell, that's what you have to do if you want to get elected. You have to act like we are "the good guys", and we're just protecting ourselves.

You cannot become leader of the Roman Empire by telling the Romans that Rome is a greedy, lying, hypocritical, corrupt, ruthless, conquering empire with the blood of millions on its hands, hungry for more plunder, universally hated and feared by all except the Romans, and that Rome cares nothing about robbing and dominating anyone within the reach of its long arm any time it wants to. Goodness, no! What you tell them is that Rome will remain strong and courageous under your leadership, strong enough to fend off any barbarians who dare approach its lands, and that wherever Rome goes in its search to better the lives of others it will bring enlightenment, prosperity, freedom, and justice.

Tell them what they want to hear if you wish to rule Rome. This applies not just in Rome, but in any nation.

Watch as Obama and McCain tie themselves up in knots telling people what they want to hear for the next few months.

Who would I vote for? Obama. I like his version of what I "want to hear" quite a bit better than I like McCain's. What do I expect to happen afterward? Oh...(shrug)...who knows? We'll have to wait and see about that.