The View from Right Field

President Obama Is Going to Hiroshima – Of Course

So President Obama is going to Hiroshima.  Of course, he is.  Did anybody think he would leave office without going to Hiroshima?.  Ben Rhodes, the President’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, assures us that the President is not going to Hiroshima to apologize, or in Mr. Rhodes’ words:  “He will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II.  Instead, he will offer a forward-looking vision focused on our shared future.”  We will see when he actually goes there.

In the meantime, instead of restating what I have said in the past about our dropping the bomb on Japan, let me just link to those things I have previously posted:

• “Paul Tibbets and the Bomb” – November 10, 2007
• “VJ Day – 65 Years Ago” – August 15, 2010
• “Japan Tells President Obama That Apologizing in Hiroshima Is a ‘Non-Starter’” – October 15, 2011
• “V-J Day, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki” – August 8, 2015
• “V-J Day, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki - Part II” – September 1, 2015

Our Troops Are Fighting in Afghanistan Again. But They Are Confused As to What They Are Supposed to Be Doing – And What the Rules Are

The Pentagon issued a report in late April on the tragic bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on October 3 of last year.  The attack killed 42 doctors, medical staff, patients, and caretakers.  Clearly, mistakes were made, and the Pentagon has announced it is disciplining sixteen soldiers for those mistakes made.

But the report on the bombing, at least those portions that were not redacted for security reasons, identifies more problems than just with the bombing itself.  It makes clear that our troops in Afghanistan are not getting the guidance they need as to what they are supposed to be doing there and what rules they are supposed to be following.

Trump Begins to Swerve – To Pick Up Sanders’ Supporters?

Now that Donald Trump has locked up the Republican nomination for president, he is starting to swerve.  The news media is focusing mostly on the fact that he is setting up a national fundraising effort and that he is fine with a super PAC, called Great America PAC, raising money to support him in the fall.  This from the man who said, or at least implied, he was going to self-fund his campaign and who said he wasn’t in hock to big money donors, like other candidates.

In doing this, however, he is merely following the example of our current president.  In 2008, Barack Obama pledged he would accept public funding for the fall election, along with the associated limits on spending.  But then he realized he could raise so much money, if he skipped public financing, that he could swamp John McCain in the general election. So he did it.  And then he came up with this silly explanation that he was still doing public financing for his campaign – because it was the public that was contributing the money.

The “Steve Trachsel” at Hot Doug’s. But How Long Will It Take to Actually Get It?

In the bleachers at Wrigley Field, Hot Doug’s, an iconic Chicago hot dog stand, sells specialty hot dogs named after famous, and some not so famous, former Cubs players.  For example, last year there was the Pete LaCock.  And the Champ Summers, which has returned this year.

Now, Hot Doug’s is also serving the Steve Trachsel, which is “a tequila and black bean chicken sausage topped with jalapeño mustard and pico de gallo.”  Sounds interesting.  The only problem I suppose is how long it will take for it to be delivered to your plate.¹
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¹ For an explanation, see here.

“America Can’t Do Much About ISIS” – And Why

Stephen Biddle, a professor of political science and international relations at George Washington University, wrote in The Atlantic last month that there is not a lot we can do to defeat ISIS in the short run, or even medium run.  Let me quote from Professor Biddle’s article:

“The Islamic State threat is likely to persist, in one form or another, for a long time.  In the meantime, we’re going to be stuck with a policy that amounts to containment and damage limitation, whose shortcomings will frustrate many Americans. …

The real problem, however, runs much deeper than just the Islamic State.  The war in Iraq and Syria pits a host of groups against one another, many of whom are almost as dangerous to U.S. interests as the Islamic State, and many of whom seek the same status of jihadi vanguard against the West that ISIS now enjoys.  ISIS itself achieved this position at the expense of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, with whom it competes actively for recruits and resources.  Even if some U.S.-allied proxy succeeds in conquering the nominal Islamic State capital of Raqqa and pulling down the ISIS flag from its citadel, this is unlikely to end the war, stabilize Syria, or even remove the threat of jihadi terrorism against the United States from Syrian (or Iraqi) soil – it would just open the war to its next phase, in which Islamic State’s rivals compete for the status that group had enjoyed before them. …

The Depressing 2016 Political Season. Donald Trump, Bathrooms, and All.

The 2016 political season reminds me of how I used to feel about Phyllis Schlafly back in the 1970s when she was fighting the Equal Rights Amendment.  Whenever I listened to Mrs. Schlafly, I would strongly disagree with her and almost regretted that we were on the same side with respect to the ERA.¹  However, when I listened to her opponents, I almost liked her again.  And so it is with the 2016 political season.

I have already said that I will not vote for Donald Trump.²  As long as I continue to look at what Mr. Trump himself says, that will not change.  For example, I recently read his big foreign policy speech.  It just wasn’t that good.  Even for something that was supposed to be a serious speech, it was full contradictions and simplistic statements.³  Robert Gates said it well.

A Corollary to the Buckley Rule: Don’t Do Anything That Will Interfere With Your Ability to Stand Athwart History, Yelling Stop

Before Donald Trump’s win in yesterday’s Indiana primary, and Senator Cruz’s suspension of his candidacy, The Wall Street Journal wrote an editorial entitled “The Third-Party Temptation.”  The editorial made the good point that a third party effort for president, organized by Republicans opposed to Donald Trump, could wind up costing the Republicans the House of Representatives, in addition to the presidency and the Senate. 

Which brings me to suggest a corollary to William F. Buckley’s rule to vote for the most conservative electable candidate (or the rightwardmost viable candidate; in this case, much the same thing):  Don’t do anything that will interfere with your ability to “stand athwart history, yelling stop.”

The “Combat Boots on the Ground” in Syria that President Obama Promised We Would Never Have Are Apparently Helping

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. is increasing its airstrikes in Syria.  According to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, the increase is coming because the U.S. has increased the number of special operations people in Syria, which has increased the information we have to be able to conduct effective strikes.  More people equals more information equals more strikes and more effective strikes.  Given that President Obama promised to degrade and destroy ISIS in September of 2014, it’s nice that we are finally getting around to stepping up our airstrikes.  It’s too bad nobody thought of doing it earlier – or at least that nobody in charge thought of doing it earlier.