Sustainability and Politics: Senator Joe Manchin on Afghanistan: I Feel Very Much The Same Way, Well Said

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Senator Joe Manchin on Afghanistan: I Feel Very Much The Same Way, Well Said

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/06/23/sen_manchin_on_mccain_criticism_i_have_common_sense.html

Senator Joe Manchin: Let me just first say I have the utmost respect for Sen. McCain, the sacrifices that he has made, the service that he has given to our country. And he's right, I don't have the experience he's had. What I do have, like most West Virginians, is a little bit of common sense. And enough's enough.

And I've been around my state. I've been overseas twice. In 2006, I was there as governor to thank my troops, National Guard, for the job they were doing. I went back in 2011 as a United States senator. I did not see improvement. If anything, I saw deterioration.

I came to my own conclusion after I had listened to an awful lot of people. I've spoke to the generals and Eikenberry and all the people in charge, and I just came to the conclusion we can no longer continue to spend the billions -- we spent $443 billion to date, on track to spend another $485 [billion], and we've got to tell West Virginians and people around this great country that we can't help their road situation or their bridges or their water or sewer, their children or their seniors or anybody else. It's just not right.

What I'd really like to see is a clarity of the change of mission back to war on terror. I think we have proven you can't hide. However long it takes we'll find you. We've done that with bin Laden. And basically we have the greatest military fighting machine in the world, the greatest special ops people that you ever could imagine, and I've been able to witness that.

So I just think that we can do our job and say, 'Wherever you go…-- I think, by all accounts, I've heard you and Joe so many mornings talk about maybe we have 50 to 100 al-Qaida. That's what I've heard. We don't really know the troop strength or the strength of our enemy as far as Taliban. It could be anywhere from five to 30,000. And yet, as you saw the numbers that you posted, there are 100,000 Americans, billions of dollars in commitment.

Let's go back to the war on terror. Let's go wherever terrorism may be and the people that do us harm or wish to do us harm and go after them. Take care of America, rebuild America. We need to rebuild America, and I'm just concerned that we're getting -- just very, very concerned about the conditions of America right now and my West Virginians.

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I've been thinking some about the Winter Solstice, the Mayan end of the 30,000-year-cycle on 12/21/12.

What if in fact the world did end? Even though this probably will not happen, to live consciously it is honest for us to take a bit of an inventory.

Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?

Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.

Because somewhere along the line I realized I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet.
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)

Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.

But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)

Still we are finite on this ride.

It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.

For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.