There is no rational reason for us to be in Afghanistan. Our original goals were to end the government of the Taliban which had given Osama bin Laden a base from which he could launch worldwide terrorist attacks and commit his greatest horror and catastrophe: the blowing up of the World Trade Center towers in New York City and …
Ed Koch Commentary: Leaks and More Leaks By ED KOCH
Last year, Thomas A. Drake, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), was originally charged with a felony under the Espionage Act, a crime subject to a penalty of 35 years. His defense, in effect, was that he was a whistleblower. Recently, Drake was given a plea agreement of a misdemeanor with an agreement by the prosecution that …
Ed Koch Commentary – Libya: The Arab League Should Conduct the No-Fly Zone By Ed Koch
Many in the international community are pushing President Obama to authorize war against the regime of Libyan dictator, Muammar el-Qaddafi. I think to undertake a third war in the Middle East would be downright foolish. We are now bogged down with 50,000 American soldiers apparently permanently stationed in Iraq and about 100,000 troops apparently stationed for an indefinite period of …
Ed Koch Commentary: When Will We Really Leave Afghanistan, and Why Not Tomorrow? By Edward I. Koch
President Obama met with his NATO counterparts in Lisbon last week. According to the November 21 New York Times, they agreed “to the goal of a phased transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan government by the end of 2014, but NATO officials acknowledged that allied forces would remain in Afghanistan at least in a support role well beyond that …
Ed Koch Commentary: Everything that Can Go Wrong is Going Wrong in Afghanistan
Everything that can go wrong is going wrong in Afghanistan. The situation is so bad militarily that The New York Times reported on April 12th, "Taliban insurgents have such a strong grip on such a broad area – in particular the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul – that even with the anticipated arrival of an additional 30,000 …
Ed Koch Commentary: Let Us Get Out Of Afghanistan and Iraq, Now By Edward I. Koch
I have enormous respect for David Brooks, The New York Times columnist who always gets my attention and respect.Brooks’ column on Friday, March 27th, on Afghanistan made me think through the situation again. On reflection, however, I concluded that I am not persuaded by his argument that we should stay in Afghanistan. In fact, I think we should get out …