Pre 9/11 Strategy

         President Obama is pursuing a strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan that has been labelled pre 9/11. President Clinton wanted to deal with the more moderate Taliban. It didn't work. Common sense would say "Let's not try that again," but that's just what we are going to do. So, our president is tacking a course that took us in a circle for seven years the first time. The same strategy seams to be in the works in Iran as we are hoping to bypass Ahmadinejab. We seem to be bypassing Afghan President Karzai and Israel. We are attempting to bypass the Constitution also. It's not simply a strategy, it's a scheme. Certainly, strategies can be changed but there is usually a diplomacy involved whereas in a political campaign, such as the one conducted this past fall, allies can be changed without the slightest concern for the scorned. Are we running foreign policy like a senatorial campaign, or presidential primary, or say a White House Travel Office? Hillary Clinton is a formidable adversary in a Democratic Convention but it will not translate into a war against terrorism. It's a sobering thought, to say the least, if indeed we are trying to schmooze our adversaries while stiffing our friends.