Obama, Incompetatnt Commandar in Chief

Obama, Incompetent Commander in Chief

Whose side is he on anyway? Ya all know who I am talking about, that Barack Obama guy. I cringe at the thought the that community activist is Commander and Chief.

I am not a combat vet, but I wore the uniform and cannot imagine the unnecessary stress our warriors must endure.

Shades of Vietnam: Spike in U.S. troop deaths tied to stricter rules of engagement

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The number of U.S. battlefield fatalities exceeded the rate at which troop strength

 surged in 2009 and 2010, prompting national security analysts to assert that coinciding stricter rules of engagement led to more deaths.

A connection between the sharp increase in American deaths and restrictive rules of engagement is difficult to confirm. More deaths surely stemmed from ramped-up counterterrorism raids and the Taliban’s response with more homemade bombs, the No. 1 killer of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

But it is clear that the rules of engagement, which restrain troops from firing in order to spare civilian casualties, cut back on airstrikes and artillery strikes — the types of support that protect troops during raids and ambushes.

“It is no accident nor a coincidence that from January 2009 to August of 2010, coinciding with the Obama/McChrystal radical change of the [rules of engagement], casualties more than doubled,” Mr. Simmons said. “The carnage will certainly continue as the already fragile and ineffective [rules] have been further weakened by the Obama administration as if they were playground rules.”

The September 2009 battle also stands as a stark example of the effects the restrictive rules of engagement had on troops under fire, fighting for their lives.

Former ArmyCapt. William Swenson, who last month pinned on the Medal of Honor, repeatedly called headquarters to request airstrikes but was denied for hours, as more than 150 Taliban fighters surrounded and attacked his position.

Mr. Swenson vented his frustration in an after-action investigation.

“It’s not JAG [military attorney] responsibility to interject to say, ‘Hey, we are concerned that you’re going to hit a building,’” he said. “I can tell you that I am concerned with saving as many lives as I can, not necessarily one. Unfortunately, this is combat. I can’t be perfect, but I can do what I feel what’s right at the time.”

He added: “I am not a politician. I am just the guy on the ground asking for that ammunition to be dropped because it’s going to save lives.”

Mr. Swenson recalled other instances in which the brigade command would not authorize airstrikes on targets he identified.

“I just get the craziest thing across the radio sometimes,” he said. “Just people second-guessing.”

Of 13 U.S. forces at Ganjgal, five were killed. The Afghan National Army lost eight soldiers.

Another soldier said in the same after-action report that there was a dwelling in Ganjgal used by the Taliban — including women — as a safe haven from which to fire rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. Yet the command would not target the building.

"Let’s focus on [rules of engagement] because there is no reason you can’t level a house if they are shooting from it,” the soldier said. “I’ve never heard of a rule that would not allow [you] to fire on a house. They always teach you that you always have the right to defend yourself. Let commanders on the ground make decisions. We are using lawyers to make tactical decisions.”

He added: “You have the right to stay alive or keep your guys alive. We failed them by not keeping them alive because we didn’t provide them what they need to come out alive.”

WASHINGTON TIMES

Sitting here, I am totally amazed that the American people praise, respect, honor our troops abroad, do not hold that Occupant in the White House responsible.

73% of U.S. Casualties - on Obama's Watch

I don't know what to make of this. Is it just bad luck or lack of attention?  I would think that after a while we'd get smarter as to how we conduct the war in Afghanistan and causalities would decrease.

There can be no doubt the military leaders have been aware of the increase in causalities and informed President Obama. So what if anything was done about it?

Apparently nothing.

The 12-Year War: 73% of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch 

CNSNews.com) - Twelve years ago today, nineteen al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four U.S.

commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

In the war that Congress authorized against al Qaeda only three days after that attack, the vast majority of the U.S. casualties have occurred in the last four and a half years during the presidency of Barack Obama.

In fact, according to the CNSNews.com database of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan, 73 percent of all U.S. Afghan War casualties have occurred

since Jan. 20, 2009 when Obama was inaugurated.

In total, 2,144 U.S. military personnel have given their lives fighting in and around Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

1,575 of the U.S. military personnel who have sacrificed their lives in this cause were killed during the presidency of Barack Obama.

That means 73 percent of the casualties in the Afghan War have happened on Barack Obama’s watch.

Under President George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2008, 569 U.S. military personnel were killed in and around Afghanistan fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.

FULL STORY - CNS News

Significant Taliban Attack

I really like the angle the report takes in pointing out the historic proportions of that attack, The significance was never widely reported. 


The U.S. Suffered Its Worst Airpower Loss Since Vietnam Last Week and No One Really Noticed

The Taliban attack on an air base in southern Afghanistan on Friday drew coverage for the way the insurgents cloaked themselves in U.S. army uniforms to gain a tactical advantage, but few have taken note of the historical proportions of the damage inflicted. John Gresham, at the Defense Media Network, has published a detailed account of the attack on Camp Bastion, in which two Marines were killed, six U.S. Marine Corps jet fighters were destroyed, and two more "significantly" damaged. Those facts were all carried in most reports, but if that just sounds like a typical damage report from a decade-long war, you're wrong. Gresham explains the devastating damage done to VMA-211, the name of the Marine Corps attack squadron that was most affected last week, noting that it is "arguably the worst day in [U.S. Marine Corps] aviation history since the Tet Offensive of 1968." Or you could go back even further. "The last time VMA-211 was combat ineffective was in December 1941, when the squadron was wiped out during the 13-day defense of Wake Island against the Japanese."



The Atlantic