GOP Congressional candidate Andy Martin: “I stand with Trump.” Andy explains why

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ANDY MARTIN /2018        

Republican candidate for Congress

New Hampshire-

First Congressional District

           

                    www.AndyMartin2018.com

www.AndyMartin.com

www.FirstRespondersOnline.us

Headquarters:

E-mail:AndyNewHampshire@aol.com

P.O. Box 742

Manchester, NH 03105-0742

Tel. (603) 518-7310

Cell (917) 664-9329

Fax (866) 214-3210

Blogs:

www.AndyMartinforCongress.blogspot.com

www.AndyMartinforCongress.wordpress.com

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

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