News
from:
ANDY MARTIN /2018
Republican candidate for Congress
First Congressional District
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
“I
stand with Trump” says New Hampshire GOP congressional candidate
Andy Martin
Andy,
who has extensive national security credentials, explains why he supports
President’s Trump’s policy on Afghanistan and why Trump is an effective
commander in chief
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(Manchester , NH )
(August 23, 2017 )
Dear Granite Stater:
I want to explain why
I stand with President Trump on his Afghanistan policy. You will have a choice of
candidates in the congressional primary next year. Most of them will “support”
the president, cautiously. But I stand with Trump. Here’s why.
1. Preliminary
observations about supporting Trump
I voted for Trump in
2016. If the election were rerun today I would vote for him again. Is Trump
perfect? Are you kidding? We had a choice of two candidates, Trump and Clinton.
Clinton was corrupt, secretive and manifested
contempt for the American people. Trump stood up to the mainstream media and
understood why America was failing. He was the only choice. I suspect Trump will be a
formidable campaigner again in 2018 during the midterm elections, and in 2020
if he runs for reelection. The media and liberals underestimated Trump in 2016.
They are still underestimating him.
2. My “on the
ground” experience
I am sure my primary
opponents will be decent and honorable people. I am not running to run them
down. But they simply don’t have my experience in Asia and the Middle
East . I will be the
only candidate who has been in Afghanistan , alone, working in the middle of a war
zone. When I talk with our military, they respect my knowledge and experience
in the region. (I have been going to the Middle East and
Asia for fifty years.)
3. America is not
an empire, but we experience the same challenges as an empire
Americans want to
bring out troops home. Trump did, and still does. So do I. But we are stuck in
a world where ungoverned areas such as Afghanistan pose a threat to our civilization. On September
11, 2011 I narrowly
averted being caught in the attacks on the World Trade Center . The killers were directed from Afghanistan . I am not sure we know today how many
extremists groups operate in Afghanistan . Pakistan, posing as an ally, is an enemy.
We face many of the same challenges as former empires, particularly with threats
from remote areas of the world. Ever since World War II America has repeatedly
tried to walk away from any global responsibilities, but we really can’t. We
rely on commerce and free navigation for our economic prosperity. If we simply
packed up and went home all around the world, our economy would falter and the
world would be in chaos. I want to limit our foreign commitments but I don’t
believe we can safely eliminate them.
4. Can Trump’s 12,000
- 15,000 troops succeed where Obama’s 100,000 troops did not?
The question has been
raised, “President Obama sent over 100,000 troops to Afghanistan , how can Trump ‘succeed’ with a fraction
of the force?” The answers are very straightforward. First, Trump’s limited
commitment of troops is based on an open-ended commitment. Obama announced his
withdrawal date when he announced the deployment of additional forces.
Secondly, Trump has defined the limited mission. Most importantly, Trump has
freed the military to defeat the enemy. Let me explain in greater detail.
5. President
Obama’s tactics and rules of engagement defeated his policies
To understand how
Obama tied the military’s hands, read the article in link #1 below. Our forces
were precluded from defeating the Taliban. Then read link #2: lawyers were
controlling military operations! Our fighting forces in the field were at the
mercy of lawyers in a back office. No one could win under those restrictions
and, not surprisingly, we didn’t. Trump is sending forces to Afghanistan to kill the enemy, not coddle them. Military
officers will make combat decisions, not lawyers. And so, yes, a smaller force
can be much more deadly when it is allowed to stalk and kill the enemy.
6. What about
Afghan corruption and infighting?
Afghan warlords are
defeating themselves and destroying their country, please see link #3. The
situation is a mess. But Trump has limited the mission. He said “no blank
check.” Do you think Trump is going to let the warlords continue to defeat our
efforts? He will yank the entire mission if the warlords continue with their
hijinks. Not only has he put our enemies on notice, he has warned our ally to
cut the crap.
7. Is Trump making
“crazy” decisions?
Liberals like to
pretend Trump is crazy. Their behavior is despicable. Trump can be difficult,
and often speaks out of turn, but he is a hands on leader who demands answers
before he makes decisions. Take a look at what the “failing” New York Times had
to see about how Trump supervised the evolution of his Afghanistan policy (please see link #4). Trump forced
his military advisers to justify their proposals for more troops in Afghanistan . Trump did not write a blank check to his
generals any more that he is writing a blank check to Afghanis.
8. Why Trump may be
a brilliant commander in chief
Trump may be the best
commander in chief in my lifetime. First, let me ask a question: why does America keep “losing” wars in the modern era?
Answer: communications satellites. Before Viet-Nam, communications between
battlefield commanders and Washington were fitful. During the Viet-Nam War,
communications satellites made it possible for live satellite conferences
between Washington and Saigon . As a
book on the topic (please see ink #5) makes clear, more communications capacity
led to more control of battlefield operations from the Pentagon and,
ultimately, the White House. The result was disastrous. White House staffers
became military managers, and combat effectiveness suffered. White House
supervision of the military reached its peak when a room full of high officials
watched live TV feed of the attack on Osama Bin Laden’s hideout. Trump is the
first president to put decision-making authority back in the Pentagon and back
on the battlefield.
While Trump has been
ridiculed by Democrats and the media for his January decision to delegate
authority back to military officers, his approach is brilliant for its
simplicity and acknowledgement that White House staffers are not better combat
managers than actual battlefield commanders. By letting the people fighting our
wars make decisions about how to fight them, and how to defeat the enemy, Trump
reversed a fifty-year trend of military micromanagement from the White House.
Trump’s approach is already showing results in Iraq and Syria .
9. Summing up
Trump can be
difficult, obviously, but he has assembled the best national security team
since World War II. They are making progress cleaning up the mess from eight
years of Obama incompetence and arrogance.
I stand with Trump.
When he is right he will have my 100% backing and when I believe he is wrong I
will loyally tell him so. I am the only GOP congressional candidate with the
national security experience to make a positive contribution on day one. If you
value judgment, experience and even wisdom, you can support my campaign with
the confidence I would be an effective congressman who could stand up to the
Democrats and work to Make America Great Again. No other Granite State GOP congressional candidate can make that claim.
Sincerely,
Andy
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LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not
just the underlined portion):
[1]
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-military-rules-of-engagement-in-afghanistan-questioned-1454349100
[2]
https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghan-war-rules-leave-u-s-troops-wondering-when-its-ok-to-shoot-1466435019
[3]
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/world/asia/in-afghanistan-a-destructive-game-of-thrones.html
[4]
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/world/asia/trump-afghanistan.html?
[5]
http://www.history.army.mil/catalog/pubs/91/91-12.html
New citations
after emailing:
ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO :
Andy Martin is a
legendary New Hampshire-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk
television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-eight
years of background in radio and television and with five decades of intelligence,
investigative and analytical experience in Washington , the USA and around the world, Andy provides
insight on politics, foreign policy and military matters. For a full bio, go
to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see
www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm
Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American
politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the
National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of
Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City
University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).
He is the author
of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the
Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the
Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com
and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.
Andy’s family
immigrated to Manchester , New
Hampshire over 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where
he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire ’s leading corruption fighter and
Republican Party reformer.
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Andy’s opinion columns are posted at ContrarianCommentary.com, ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com and ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]
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Andy Martin 2017 – All Rights Reserved