Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.) deplores the lack of institutional frameworks as more and more bail-outs are issued by the Obama administration. Capito believes that as a consequence, holding companies are not made responsible for bankruptcy. (0:21)
By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service
As Iraqi security has improved, the situation security in Afghanistan has become increasingly unstable. The Obama Administration recently pledged to increase the amount of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan by 30,000, but critics claim that the only way to improve Afghan security is by cultivating the security forces themselves, not by adding more American soldiers.
Today, the United States Institute for Peace stated some of their alternative policies because they believe that a surge will inevitably fail.
One of the main problems with the Afghan police force presently, according to Ali Jalali, the Interior Minister of Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, is that the public does not trust the police. He cited an example where Afghan police officers at a checkpoint were armed only with rocket-propelled grenades, which intimidated the public. “Police is not only to protect people, but also they are responsible to protect the population and the rule of law,” he said.
The Afghani police system established after 2001 was ineffective because the financial resources were not given, and their role as protectors of the law mixed with the need to stop insurgents, Jalali said, adding that when the army and police have common goals, neither institution does their job effectively.
“Police should fight crime,” Jalali said. He would like to see police divided into two groups – traditional police and paramilitary police. Traditional police would patrol the streets and enforce the rule of law, whereas paramilitary police would patrol the borders and aid in fighting terrorists, he said.
Afghan security forces also suffer from a lack of training. Karen Hall, the Afghanistan Police Program Manager for the U.S. State Department, said that 75 percent of the Afghan military is illiterate.
“How can a police officer function if they can not fill out a police report, if they can’t effectively communicate to prosecutors what crimes an individual committed,” said Hall.
The casualty rate for Afghan police is three times as high as the Afghan military. Hall believes that this is the direct result of ineffective training mixed with a dramatic lack of funding during the beginning of the war in 2002. Afghan security forces received less than $1 billion dollars from the U.S., from to 2002 to 2005, the Afghan military received more than $16 billion per year.
Both Jelali and Hall agreed that the only way for at true victory in Afghanistan is dependent on how well the Afghan security forces can patrol their own nation. But the coalition forces have only deemed 12 of the 40 districts in Afghanistan independent and safe, Hall said.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
>House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called congressional voting cards “the most dangerous credit card in the history of the world”, because then enable Congress and the president to engage in reckless spending. This was not Boehner’s first criticism of Obama, but his statement came on the 101st day of the Obama Administration, a time which Boehner has criticized as being pock marked with excessive borrowing, reckless spending and a massive growth in government.
Boehner said that Democrat’s “record on spending and debt is staggering, but our economy is growing weaker, and it’s not going to get any better by growing the size of the government here in Washington.”
Boehner believes that the Democratically controlled Congress has enabled and contributed to the recklessness, and thinks it is up to the Republicans to put a stop to it. Republicans must be “the party of better solutions” if they are going to stand up to the Democrats in Congress, Boehner said, adding that he hopes Democrats will be committed to a bipartisan policy approach..
Citing the elections of 2008, Boehner said “out brand has been tarnished”, but to help the party serve the American people, Republicans must stand up to the Obama Administration when disagreements arise, and to offer alternative solutions.
Leader Boehner applauded President Obama on his strategy towards Afghanistan and Iraq, but showed concern at Obama’s greater national security policy.
“The big question continues to be: what is the Administration’s overarching plan to fight terrorism? Judging from their recent decision to release 30 terrorist detainees with no plan on where to put them, it continues to beg the question,” referring to Obama’s closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center without knowing where the detainees will be sent.
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
At a discussion titled, “The Future of Northeast Asia’s Peace and Security: The Obama Administration’s Emerging Korea Policy,” Han Duk-soo, the Republic of Korea Ambassador to the U.S. addressed North Korea’s Sunday missile attack. He said that the six-party talks should be promoted and that it is at present the only alternative to the peaceful denuclearization of North Korea. (01:54)
American security is at risk. For years, the nation has been at the forefront of a war against a cunning enemies who have no boundaries–international terrorists.
However, the two agencies created to advert any threat, the older and more established National Security Council (NSC) and the newer Homeland Security Council (HSC), lack the proper coordination and communication needed to protect the American people. In an effort to stem this lack of communication, President Obama authorized a 60 day research group to discover the viability of merging these two agencies.
“The theory, the concepts, and the practice of national security are very well developed. Those dogmas and doctrines have a robustness that we do not yet have in Homeland Security,” said Philp J. Palin, the Senior Fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Preparedness. Palin said that integrating these two groups too soon would cause the “big brother” NSC to overshadow and control the smaller HSC.
“Its been an unrealized vision,” said Bruce Hoffman, Professor at the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University in regards to the HSC living up to its original mantra, which was to assess the risks the American people faced from a local level and brief the President on these threats.
Townshed expressed similar concerns about the lack of funds and experts in the HSC when she said “I need more [funds] and I need real particular expertise.” Without these two pivotal needs she feels that the HSC will always pale in comparison to the larger and better funded NSC.
“We remain a nation at war,” said Frances Fargos Townshed, Former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor, who elucidated the threat America faces every hour of every day.
John McCain (R-Ariz.) lends his support for the Obama administration and their newly strategy in Afghanistan, which includes troop increases and an increase in non-military aid (0:24).
On Thursday afternoon the baseball hit the batter as yet another Department Secretary took flight from the Obama administration. Soon-to-be Secretary of Commerce Judd Gregg, Republican Senator from New Hampshire, withdrew his name from consideration for the Cabinet position 10 days after having been nominated. This is President Obama’s second Commerce Secretary to go down in flames, following New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s withdrawal.
In a statement before the press conference, Gregg cited “irreconcilable differences” with the Obama administration in the Economic Recovery Plan and Census handling as the primary reasons for his withdrawal. At his press conference, however, Senator Gregg stated that the position was simply a “bridge too far” for him, and that the Census issue was only “a slight catalyzing issue; it was not a major issue”. Gregg would not elaborate further on the Census issue, and dodged any questions which would shed more light on it.
The Obama Administration has expressed downright confusion as this withdrawal, claiming that they were approached by Gregg, but the Senator himself has a completely different story. He said, “One of the nice things about this business is that everyone has a different recollection of what happened.” Gregg claimed that the Obama administration approached him for the position, and that he “made a mistake” by accepting the position hastily. He continued that holding a Cabinet position would interfere with how he really wants to approach issues. Gregg said that his confidence in President Obama’s Administration caused him to accept the position “without thinking through the implications” of his decision. (01:20)
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
by Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico and staff-Talk Radio News Service,
At a press conference House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) spoke on what the federal government is doing to deal with the economic crisis. Frank said that it is likely that a federal entity will be empowered to regulate systemic risk, and that this entity will very likely be the Federal Reserve. He said that the powers given to the Federal Reserve will be newly created powers of the federal government, and will not be taking powers from other organs of the federal government. Frank said that a “prohibition” on irresponsible subprime lending would be necessary, because if enough bad loans are made, it is “hard to protect yourself against them”. Frank continued that the government wants the institutions “To be safe and sound”, but that the goal is for lending to increase. He also said that the House is working closely with the Obama Administration, and that their aim is to coordinate Systemic Risk Regulation with allies in Europe and Asia.
Chairman Frank also spoke of other priorities of the House Financial Services Committee in the coming year, which included refocusing on debt relief and expanding consumer protection. Frank also said that the Federal government will take a more active role in building houses and keeping people in their homes.
When addressing the topic of America borrowing so much money from foreign countries, in particular China, Frank said that he is alright with these lending arrangements, because he doesn’t feel it gives those foreign governments undue influence on America. However, Frank said that spending is too high in some areas, particularly in defense spending that the country is engaging in.
