Europes Opinion on Afghanistan

European Allies had a mixed response to President Obama’s announcement that the United States is going to send thirty thousand more troops to Afghanistan in the early part of 2010. In President Obama’s speech he reiterated that this is not just America’s war, and he asked for his European Allies to send more troops as well. In some European nations the war is extremely unpopular and it is questioned why the war is even being fought in the first place. In response to Obama’s speech France and Germany ruled out an immediate commitment to sending more troops. They say they are going to wait until an Afghanistan conference in London in late January before the make a decision. Other European nations have only offered to send a limited number of troops. The director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris said, “The war is badly perceived in Europe, contaminated by the Iraq war, the killing of civilians, the collateral damage, all of which has contributed to a widespread opposition to the Afghan war among Europeans.”

The support of the European Union is instrumental for the success of the war in Afghanistan. The United States needs support from European countries in order to succeed in Afghanistan. President Obama needs to keep reaching out to our European Allies asking them for support. Although the war in Afghanistan is unpopular among European civilians, they should know the Taliban has attacked Europe in the past and they will continue to do so while they have the resources to. President Obama understands the United States cannot and will not fight this war alone, so he is doing the right thing by asking for additional support

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/world/03reax.html?hp

Muslim Threats Increasing

With the threat of radical Muslims increasing, President Obama announced yesterday that he intends on sending thirty thousand more troops to Afghanistan in the early part of 2010. Also in President Obama’s speech he said that he plans on withdrawing troops in July of 2011. Immediately after this announcement Senators of both parties had questions and objections about President Obama’s plan. Senator John McCain supports Obama’s decision in sending more troops to Afghanistan, but he does not understand why Obama made a time frame on when to start sending the troops home. McCain doesn’t think it makes sense to dramatically increase the number of troops with a time frame to bring them home. Mr. McCain called the quick build-up and draw-down logically incoherent and he pressed Obama’s advisors about whether the president would withdraw the troops unconditionally.

I support President Obama in the decision he made to send more troops to Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan was coming to a point where he either needed to withdraw troops or send more troops to that region to stop in the insurgency of the Taliban. I also agree with Senator John McCain’s view of why President Obama set a time table for the troops to come home. I think by doing this it shows the American people, our allies and our enemies that we are only willing to sacrifice for the next year for our safety and freedom. The Taliban realize if they can fight off these troops for the next year and half then they will have won the war. This gives the Taliban more incentive because they know the U.S. is getting extremely tired of the war. I agree with Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, but I don’t agree on setting a time table for them to come. I think in a year from now, President Obama should look at the progress we have made with this increase of troops and make a rationale decision from there. The threat of Muslim radicals and Muslim culture is something to fear. Americans must continue to stay strong and show no side of weakness on the fight in the Middle East in order to keep America free and safe!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/world/asia/03policy.html?hp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2v5LZLc8U4

Marriage in NYC

The New York Senate is set to vote on the same-sex marriage bill today in New York. The Senate has been trying to delay the vote on this bill for the last few months, but today is the day the bill will be debated and voted on. Democrats have a one seat majority in the New York Senate which means they need some Republican support for the bill to pass. On Wednesday morning Senate Republicans believed that a few Republicans may vote to pass the bill, but they were unsure on exactly how many would vote yet. It seems the attitude of the entire Senate is to vote on the bill and get it over with because the bill has been delayed and postponed so many times. If the Senate votes to pass the bill, New York will be the sixth state to legalize or recognize same-sex marriage. Last month Maine became the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a referendum. Maine’s legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this year, but gay rights opponents gathered enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. Last year in California the State Supreme Court authorized same-sex marriage, but voters eventually overturned the law. At the moment it appears that the bill is going to pass, but we will have to wait until later in the day to see the outcome. If the bill does pass it will be a huge victory for gay rights activists.

It is essential for the morality of our nation to keep the sacred tradition of marriage between a man and a woman. I hope both sides will understand that they can compromise by giving civil partners better benefits to appease the gays while keeping marriage a heterosexual act to appease those who oppose.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/nyregion/03marriage.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/29/sotu.same.sex/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

Pastor Warren in the Spotlight

Pastor Rick Warren has been extremely popular throughout the month of November. He was interviewed in a Thanksgiving Special on the television show “Meet The Press.” When asked what is testing the Americans faith during the holiday season, Warren responds, “the economy, the war in Afghanistan, and the political divisions.” He is then asked on how Americans are suppose to give as it asks in the Bible during such times of economic crisis. Pastor Warren explains how Americans can give their time if they do not have money to give. He then discusses how donations for religious organization has been at an all time high during these times. He credits the Christian culture of raising its followers the blessings of giving. In a time of uncertainty, Pastor Warren helps Americans in the Orange County area and all over the nation stay positive. Warren uses his own experiences of struggling financially in his younger years as proof that times will prevail.

Warren was also quoted in an article from the Orange County Register, “Warren Says He Wasn’t Prop 8 Leader.” Warren is clearing up all rumors that he was involved in the campaign for or against prop 8. Warren states, “People on both sides tried to make me the campaign leader.’’ Warren wants people to understand that he sides with the Bible and has never altered his opinion on the matter. The article goes on to discuss Warrens relationship with the President of the United States and what actions he believes must be done to improve our current situation. The pastor says, “I personally believe that the number one thing we need to do is get people back to work – before health care or anything else.”

Rick Warren is right to worry about or job instability in America. With the unemployment rate increasing day by day, Warren makes an excellent point that we must “get people back to work.” I also think that Warren does a good responding to the question on Prop. 8. Pastor Warren has many gay friends and has done a great job letting people know that the sin is wrong, but you cannot hate the sinner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbxarOGDqOE

http://totalbuzz.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/29/warren-says-he-wasnt-prop-8-leader/26307/

The OC Register Reports

The Orange County Register reports the death of Dr. George Tiller in the article, “Anti-abortion crusaders jailed in Kansas doctor’s killing.” Dr. Tiller was killed by Scott Roeder, a man who justified his actions because of the late term abortions that Tiller committed throughout his life. Reporter, Roxana Hegeman is sensitive to the fact that a man has been killed however, she often quotes anti-abortionist who do not condemn the murder of Dr. Tiller. She begins the article by discussing Scott Roeder personal background and his pessimistic views on Dr. Tiller. She states how Roeder and others associated “Dr. George Tiller to the Nazi death-camp doctor Josef Mengele.” She then goes on to quote Regina Dinwiddle who proclaims about Dr. Tiller’s death, “I wouldn’t cry for him no more than I would if somebody dropped a rat and killed it.” Hegeman continues to quote another anti-abortionist source Dave Leach, who reports, “Definitely, he will be the hero to thousands of babies who will not be slain because Scott sacrificed everything for them.” Hegeman’s negative coverage in the article through means of anti-abortionist sources and a clever assortment of vocabulary expresses her own views on the death of Geroge Tiller.

Hegeman is right to give both sides of the story and explain to the public how this man who has been publicized as a hero being shot, did indeed commit murder to hundreds of unborn children. It is the media’s role to give both sides of a story and let audience make their opinion form hearing the facts. Hegeman does a great job reporting the tragedy of Dr. Tillers Death.

http://www.ocregister.com/search/?q=Dr.+George+Tiller&fistype=site

Where Do We Draw The Line?

President Obama announced he is going to use an executive order to advance research on stem cell research. When President Bush was in office he imposed strict limits on embryonic stem cell research. Obama says he is making his decision based on scientific facts and not ideology. President Obama is hoping that Congress will follow with a bipartisan legislation that would ease the existing legislations even more. Although President Obama is in favor of stem cell research, he is against human cloning and that is where he draws the line. In the article he says, “his administration will never open the door to cloning for human reproduction, it is dangerous, profoundly wrong and has no place in our society.”

I believe President Obama made the wrong decision by making an executive order to support stem cell research. Although he supports stem cell research I am glad to hear him say that he is completely against cloning humans. I do not support stem cell research because I believe it is unethical and it devalues human life. I believe that the embryo is already a human life and it deserves to be protected and not used for science. There is a fine line between stem cell research and cloning humans. I believe that once scientist can successfully use stem cell research to cure diseases that they wouldn’t stop there and would want to see if they could start cloning people. Also, I think scientist and researchers would never be satisfied with the amount of leftover embryos they could get to use and they would always want more.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html?scp=3&sq=stem%20cell%20research&st=Search

More Troops?

President Obama announced that he intends on sending thirty thousand more troops to Afghanistan in the early part of 2010. Obama also said that he plans on withdrawing troops out of Afghanistan in July of 2011. In his speech President Obama recognizes that the war in Afghanistan is not lost but it has gone backward the last couple of years. The mission in Afghanistan is to go after insurgents and gain control of key regions and population centers. In his speech he said, “We need to deny Al Qaeda a safe- haven, we must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government.” President Obama is sending 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan to protect America of Muslim extremists. Afghanistan and Pakistan is the epicenter of where Muslim extremists exist.

I believe President Obama made the correct decision in sending more troops into Afghanistan. We are currently losing the war in Afghanistan and more troops are necessary to ensure the safety of the American people. Although it is not an ideal situation because of all of the casualties in Afghanistan, I believe it is necessary. If the United States pulls troops out of Afghanistan it will make the U.S. extremely vulnerable to another attack similar to 9/11. The United States did not ask for this war, but it was brought upon us by the attacks of 9/11. President Obama is doing exactly what he needs to do to ensure the safety of the American people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/world/asia/02prexy.html?hp