March Comes in as a Lion Cub

March is the windiest month of the year. It is a time when the Irish in the US celebrate their escape from Ireland with a drunken fiesta; it is a time when the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was murdered by his own pals on the marble senate floor in Rome. Since then there has been a violent, gloomy foreboding associated with the Ides of March.

Last Thursday was a warm up for the stiff winds of March that are on the way – it was President Obama's health care summit at Blair House across from the White House that prompted the flow of brisk hot air. A whole day in camera was spent by Republican and Democratic congressmen and senators with the president repeating ad nauseam their loves and hates of healthcare reform.

My sense was that although the administration conceived forum was cheap political theater, President Obama won the day. You can ask yourself: So what?

The format showcased the president as earnest, trying to fix health care by legislation, whereas his Republican opponents wanted to solve problems with platitudes. The Republicans reenforced their image as running dogs of Big Pharma and Big Insurance. The only thing the Republicans could offer is interstate coverage and non-specific tort reform. This was in the face of a recent rise of healthcare costs in the past two weeks.

The Republicans, with Tea Baggers who love wars but hate taxes, operate in fantasy land. The Democrats simply lack spine to lead and are bugged by a surrender syndrome when the first shot is fired. Both parties are worn out, burnt out and bankrupt.

The military situation on both the Iraq and Afghan fronts appears grim. Instead of a definitive defeat of the enemy, the US military establishment gives us continued costly occupation and meaningless local corrupt elections as a substitute for withdrawal or victory.

In Iraq General Ordinero is already preparing the ground to extend the US occupation based on the future outcome of elections in which the Sunnis do not participate. These Sunni elements have been armed to the teeth by General Saveus Patraeus during the GWB surge and are prepared now to revolt when the US pulls its military finger out of the Iraq dike. General Patraeus on right-wing talk shows paints rosy scenarios as usual, but this time it is mainly in Yemen???

Afghanistan, both militarily and politically, is a disaster; as more money and troops is poured in, the worse the situation becomes. Karzai’s US supported regime has little popular support outside of Kabul and that is the way it has been for the past 8 years. CIA has had success killing and capturing Taliban and al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan; but, like broken dragon's teeth, they are quickly replaced with more radicalized people.

The US/NATO Forces in Afghanistan can not pull off a major military operation without killing non-combatants or suspected insurgents, whatever they are? Under these circumstances counter insurgency fails long term.

Training of Afghan police is in turmoil because the US wants to fire private mercenary DynCorp because it mismanaged 1.2 billion dollars in police training in Iraq. The corporation, deeply involved in Afghanistan, is reportedly suing USG to prevent termination of billion-dollar contracts. Stop the feeding of these inefficient politically connected mercenaries; look to US Army MPs with a CIA to do the the hopeless task. With this set up you still will not prevent small-time thievery, but you will stop the robber barons from stealing billions.

March coming in like a Lion is a metaphor for coming in with force and vigor. On 1 March the US won a record total of 37 medals at the Winter Olympics. Despite the fact it came in behind Canada and Germany in gold medals, it was still something important for our national pride. I will take a small lion cub over a lamb anytime as a sign of hope. Colonel Robert E Bartos USA Ret