Letter To A Classmate

I am a West Point graduate and a Vietnam Vet. I am also an avid support of Barack Obama for the Presidency.
I have been having on-going discussions with my classmates about this election. Some of these exchanges have become heated.
I am posting a letter that I sent to one of my close friends from those days. We have communicated little during the years since graduation and these online debates have reestablished our connections which now seem to be threatened. Below is my last attempt at explaining my positions. It is a heart felt plea, done as best I could. I thought that I would share it as it does capture my beliefs about the importance of this election.

(Name Removed):
I am really sorry you feel this way. I also am quite upset that anyone would even consider letting the Republicans back in after the last 8 years. This will be my last note to you on this issue so I will give it my best try. Afterwards I promise not to bother you again about this.

From a military and foreign policy stand point I think this president has been the worst disaster the nation has ever seen. We went from an out pouring of support around the world after 9/11 to being the pariah of the international community. We went from the most powerful and respected Armed Forces the world has ever seen to one whose force structure has been badly damaged and whose readiness is questionable for anything but a naval or air engagement! And for what? I wrote an editorial back in March which outlined the complexity of the conflict in Iraq. I stand by that. Gen. Petraeus bought the loyalty of the Sunni forces to end Al Qaeda operations and to balance the Shia militias. It worked very well from the highest casualty total in 2007 to the lowest in 2008. It has one fatal flaw. As soon as we are no longer there to be a buffer between the two parties it will fall apart. We are already seeing the Shia government issuing arrest warrants for some of the Sunni sheiks. The only way for this to be prevented is for us to maintain a permanent large scale presence in Iraq and dictate to the Iraqi(Shia dominated) Government. Why should we do this? There are only two reasons, first to have access to oil which doesn't seem to be working very well at the moment and two, to keep the Iraqi government from forging a pact with Iran. I personally do not find the Iranians to be the boogyman that the Bush Administration has sold to the American people. The Shia religion is not as radical towards the West as the Sunni Wahabi and their action arm, Al Qaeda. After all almost all the 9/11 perps were Sunni. Iran/Iraq is much more of a threat to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Dubai than to us. Our generation of Iranian military and technical people were trained by us. They are generally the Persian population and the more educated of the Iranian population. They no more want war with the US than you and I want to go to war with them. In fact before our Iraq invasion they actually helped us get a government in place in Afghanistan and moderates where gradually moving back to power. After Iraq the moderates were undercut. I fear the Chinese far more than I will ever fear the Iranians.

Economically Bush has destroyed our middle class. I was a small business owner for 4 years under Bush and couldn't make it happen. Combination of poor decisions on my part sure but also the advantages of big business over small business made it almost impossible to succeed. Not to mention the buying power of my principal market, middle class parents and teachers declined significantly during the Bush Administration. In addition the lack of regulation of financial institutions by the Administration lead to the collapse we are seeing in the housing market financial institutions. The national debt has doubled during this time as had the debt load of both corporations and individuals. People for the first time are now saying our children will not be better off than we are.

I actually think that Obama is facing one of the most difficult challenges of any president since Roosevelt and Lincoln. Iraq will descend into civil war and he will be blamed. The economy most likely is entering into a severe depression already but he will be blamed. And there is little he can do to stop either. So why do I favor him?
He does not have military experience but from everything I see shows that he listens carefully to his advisors and he picks good people, at least those I have seen. He has little government executive experience but he has executive experience in the area of organizing people that far surpasses any president we have had since Eisenhower. This campaign has shown this experience works. His character is excellent, he has a solid family and spiritual life and a wife who will keep him humble. He also has shown first in his state elected position and lately in Congress that he will reach across lines to build consensus. Giving up on drilling to get concessions on alternative energy being the latest. This is a bit different from just changing positions to get elected. An example is his "present" votes that the Republicans love to say shows no stomach or character. The truth is that a "present" vote is a no vote with explanations of why he might consider a yes. But the final and overriding reason I support him is that he has the young people with him; black, white, middle class and poor, educated and uneducated and these are the ones that are going to have to put this country back together. Rebuild the infrastructure, rebuild the military force structure, rebuild our foreign relations, and build a new energy infrastructure which will be robust enough that we will no longer have to engage in foreign adventures to secure our supplies.

Why not McCain? First he has, in spite of his claim to maverick status, followed the Republican line on most economic and international policies. He called for the invasion of Iraq even before Bush. He does not really have more military experience than I which is 9 years and 11 in Defense business. Yes, he had a severe physical and mental trial that he weathered with great dignity and fortitude. His Senate experience does not really set him apart as much as Biden's for that matter. The stories I have personally heard about his interaction with enlisted men does not make me think he is comfortable with those not in the management class and I do not get the feeling that he has a great amount of empathy for people around him. His choice of a totally unqualified running mate shows that the he has little regard for the best interest of the nation considering his age and physical condition. Palin is a sincere person with a strong spiritual and family life, I do not doubt but her experience is minimal. Even the governorship is of a state that has little in common with any state in the union. With a population smaller than a Chicago suburb, and a budget built around windfall profit taxes on oil. She also has been very opportunistic in switching her positions which shows that she is a fairly run of the mill politician.

So (Name Removed), this is why I am so passionate. I am sorry if I have offended you but I am trying to do the best thing I can think of to help my seven grandchildren have a decent life when I am gone. I am not very hopeful but I am trying. I read everything that is written here and on other USMA forums on the election to see if anyone can offer a different rationale but so far no one has. I hope we can remain friends. I feel like this is almost like the civil war when classmates were separated by their conscience and loyalties. Many were able to maintain there friendships during those trying times for our nation. I hope we can do likewise.

With great respect,
Chris Frandsen