MISTAKES – SOME HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOREVER

                                                               Some mistakes are forever -- Mann 2012

Some mistakes we make in life have everlasting negative consequences. Mistakes we make personally are our own. We are obligated to take responsibility for them and minimize their effects on others. But, some are made by our government and people who are supposed to be leaders. Their mistakes affect the masses, and they seldom take responsibility for them. For want of a more creative descriptor, I refer to these as “forever mistakes.” There are many “forever mistakes” by “leaders” but I want to focus on a few that affect our national condition now. These won't be discussed by those who control the message (the media) mainly because the mistakes don't fit their prejudiced and closed minds.

Carter and Iran:

President Carter's throwing the Shah of Iran under the bus in 1979, as he favored Ayatollah Khomeini, relegated 40 million Persians and more to radical oppressive governance. For those who want to deny he favored Khomeini, Carter and his UN Ambassador, Andrew Young, even referred to Khomeini as a “saint.” Moreover, it gave impetus for formation of Hezbollah, first to assure a Shia/Sharia government in Lebanon, but now Hezbollah is active in many parts of the world. Notably, they are now based in the “Triple Frontier” of South America with avowed intent to attack the United States “if anything happens to Iran.” Why this has been denied by leftist activists (why?) even though there are now 10s of thousands of references to the fact is inexplicable. Now, it's reported that Hezbollah is involved with the drug cartels in Mexico. Carter's mistake has been amplified and lives on in the unsettled conditions of the Middle East for decades.

For the non-thinking leftist in my town who is want to dispute this, ignore all fact and references, and accuse me of lying, let me assure you I understand this is not the only cause of mid-East problems. But, it is huge. It is, however, more definitive (and accurate) than the assertion of Ms. Carter some months ago in an interview that “I (she) think the problems are somehow because of something we do over there” (how immature and non-thinking) when asked about the Palestinian and other conflicts. Yes, Ms. Carter, much is due to what your husband did long ago. His mistake lives on.

Department of Education:

I wasn't thinking of other Carter “forever mistakes” when I decided to write this piece, but there are others. I won't elaborate now, but will mention two. Since formation of the Department of Education our expenditures per student have increased 2-fold to $12,000/year with negative results. Our graduates' ranking in UN standards have dropped from top 5 to 25^th and 26^th in math and science. It's unlikely that this problem can be corrected.

Ethanol-in-gasoline mandate:

This mandate to mix ethanol with petroleum fuel, reported in detail in another post, is a monumental mistake in judgment. It ignored facts and data and was decided on emotion and prejudices.

President Clinton's failure to take out bin Laden's Afghan camp when he could have:

General Ahmed Shah Massoud, Leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, was a friend of the United States. He identified the location of bin Laden's encampment and training area. It's reported, but not prominently, of course, in the American media, that he presented the location to President Clinton and NSA Head, Sandy Berger. For reasons, still inexplicable, Berger and Clinton did not attack the location offered by Massoud. Instead they lobbed rockets into a totally unrelated source.

It was reported in some news outlets, but not prominently in the US media to my knowledge, that Massoud once commented, “does anyone in the United States government have any honor left?”

Fast forward to 9/10/2001 and Massoud was assassinated by a person posing as a photographer. We all know what happened the next day. On 9/11/2001, NY was attacked by bin Laden's radicals, nearly 3,000 lives were lost immediately, other collateral losses have occurred and more will come. Even if peace could come to the mid-East and the rest of the world, the results of these mistakes will live on forever. I was especially disgusted to see and hear Bill Clinton praising President Obama on television recently for making a courageous decision to kill bin Laden.....as if he is one to be speaking out on the issue and grandstanding for Obama.

The Military's decision (who?) to use a few troops and rely on Afghans to stop bin Laden in Tora Bora:

It is hardly understandable why the military would not use all necessary force to take out bin Laden in Tora Bora and prevent his escape into Pakistan. I am not capable of analyzing this any further and can only call it a “forever mistake.”

President George H. W. Bush's and The UN's failure to take out Saddam Hussein in 1991:

Had Saddam Hussein been taken out during Desert Storm, which seemed very doable at the time, it is possible, even probable, that the long conflict in Iraq that is just now winding down would have been avoided. Who can know how the Iraqi government would have formed had Saddam been taken down at that time. We can only wonder. The best and most eloquent explanation of why Saddam wasn't removed was made by former British Prime Minister, John Major, who recounted how President Bush “polled” all allied government heads and had approval. But, The UN made the decision, and Bush abided by it – a mistake.

John McCain's refusal to define Barack Obama in the 2008 election:

It will never be known how much John McCain's refusal to define Barack Obama, including his associations, his far-left (even Marxist leanings), his sealed records that hold information Obama wants not to reveal, and more contributed to the election of Obama to the presidency of the United States. After four years in office, it is unlikely that this definition can be made effectively. This mistake makes it very difficult for the opposition candidate (Romney?) to define him now. All leaders must be defined, but Obama has escaped such scrutiny and continues to flout the issue.

If Barack Obama is reelected president in November 2012, it will be a “forever mistake.” I will write a stand-alone post on this with expectations of criticism from those who support him reflexively without ever analyzing his policies or holding him accountable for anti-American attitudes and actions. They love his wearing the “D” and his gift of speaking convincingly, even without substance.