Previous administrations to blame for current Afghan situation

To the Editor,

     In response to Mr. Donald Bohlken about the Biden Administration: Fiascos in the office of President have little to do with the person currently sitting in the office, but are largely the part of bad policy and lack of judgment on the part of previous administrations, many of which Mr. Bohlken approved of. Certainly not all administrations, but a good share of those Republican Presidents since the time of Reagan would fit that bill. Many of those Mr. Bohlken disagreed with (Democrats, of course) did nothing but pass the buck to the next administration, and for 19 years, we participated in an un-winnable war started by Bush II. Bush, I discovered, early on did the intelligent thing and pulled out of the Middle East before he was stuck in a quagmire. Bush II went charging in where angels feared to tread and is largely responsible for filling all those flag-draped coffins and the deaths of all those Afghans, along with all other complicit administrations, mostly Republican, who have been murdering foreign people’s wholesale for decades.

     Suddenly, when a Democrat acts to end their murderous little war, that has created all that nasty inflation Bohlken speaks of, and those people who don’t make it to be rescued, the President is destroying our country! The only reason Bohlken is concerned now is simply political and driven by racist tendencies to make those who disagree with them to blame for what they started and for Democrats to look bad for finally acting and doing what needed to be done.

     Control and power over the very people who make up the majority of this country is what this is all about, nothing more. Does Mr. Bohlken’s Senator Ernst spend time meeting with the locals in all 99 counties, or does she just spend time preaching to the choir of those who have donated to her campaign? Here in Jones County, she spent her time with the owners of Weber Stone, not in some open forum in Oxford Junction or Anamosa. These are the sort of people who defend going to war needlessly, allowing the vast majority of people they don’t even have time to talk with to do the fighting and dying for them. They are the ones who see to it the coffins are filled with the poor and those beneath them, while the underfunded VA hospitals are filled with causalities, none of which have a part of the military budget once they leave military service.

     A rising tide raises ships, not just the yachts of the billionaires. So, when the very rich are climbing the food chain, the very poor should also rise, and that means higher wages and better conditions for the effort they put forth, which made the money the wealthy are claiming as “theirs” and theirs alone!

     Using Fox News for your only source of information makes your argument sound particularly narrow and on the verge of propaganda. Using the Rasmussen Polls is particularly alarming as it is funded by Jack Posobiec, who has extensive ties to white supremacists and has a history of creating truly fake news that gets repeated on Fox News. Fox does this because it suits them in making Democrats look bad, and since news no longer must be truthful, they make great use of propaganda for good political effect. Poll accuracy is measured by the number of people who respond to the poll and the balance of who were asked. Their model is strongly focused on republicans and even a stopped clock; it can be right at least twice a day. To assume the Republicans have all the answers brings to mind what I learned in the military about the word “assume.” When you assume, you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.”

Steve Hanken

Monticello, Iowa