Speaking of facts...

ABCNews reports that there are only 100 known Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/...

If this is true, and I am not certain that it is yet, then we have a problem.  Surely such a small number could be contained without more troops and couldn't justify 30,000 additional troops.

"One person, one vote" died at the hands of SCOTUS, January 21, 2010

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Wed Dec 02, 2009 at 16:34:16 PM CST

Look to Pakistan

The border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan - as well as the western frontier of that country - is a badland where people are free to come and go pretty much at will. I know that Barbara Boxer contends that there are 100 al Qaeda in Afghanistan. I don't know whether that is true or not, nor where she got that estimate. Plus, not everyone who is willing to kill us through terror acts here and abroad is al Qaeda. Ramzi Yousef wasn't, even though he took their money gladly.

The strategy that the president has outlined is multi-faceted. Whether it will work or not, I don't know. However, we do not need the perception over there that we are weak and easily defeated.

I was looking to see if the plan had three things: A rationale for why we are there, clear goals that would have to be met over time for us to stay, and an exit strategy. We got that.

It sure beats what we had with the previous administration.

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Wed Dec 02, 2009 at 16:56:18 PM CST

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BTW

Looking to Pakistan, we find some very disturbing things.  Did you know that contractors like Blackwater (Xe)apparently operate some of the drones?  The mix of military and contractors doing military work is frightening.  And it's got "potential international incident" written all over it.  The president said that he will increase contractors too.

There is new information about Blackwater's role, which I will write about in a blog.

I also will continue to call Xe Blackwater.  The name change was a clever way to deceive Americans into thinking it was some new company, not the old one still getting contracts.

"One person, one vote" died at the hands of SCOTUS, January 21, 2010

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by: KathyinBlacksburg @ Fri Dec 04, 2009 at 07:47:29 AM CST

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