SamSaid!

BIG PROBLEMS

     Oh, to be the President. When George Bush starts off the day, all kinds of big decisions confront him. While Saddam commands center stage, George still has to worry about Afghanistan and North Korea. I think the die is cast in terms of Iraq, and we will have to go get Saddam without strong UN support. No surprise here. At the same time, I am worried about Afghanistan. The provicial warlords are up to their old tricks in asserting local power and at the same time undercutting the Central Government. While we see the new central Government as the salvation of this country, the local chieftains see it as a limitation of their own power. For the most part, they haven't gone after US forces since we have the big bucks. But as the saying goes, “the natives are restless” and trouble is brewing.

     It is scary to think about how the Russians got bogged down in that desert swamp, and there is little doubt that the Afghanistan disaster had a lot to do with the collapse of the old USSR 10+ years ago. Now the Afghan Central Governement is asking for more help and a greater presence from the US. And this is happening in an environment where we aren't sure who is on what side. Maybe the Taliban is gone, or maybe they are just sleeping and waiting. It is conceded that Afghanistan will not stabilize and grow without our help  — big time. But how nice it would be to walk away with the confidence that our military efforts have been wortwhile. If we are losing ground in the program to strengthen and stabilize the new central Governbment, that is a bad omen indeed. If we go aftre the Iraqis, we sure don't need to deal with flare-ups in Afghanistan.

     And all of this while putting North Korea on the back burner. And their knuckle-headed leader may be the most dangerous of all. Very busy days for George W.