AND PAKISTAN, TOO - AT 1:57 P.M. ET:  The crisis in Pakistan continues.  American military men now add their voices to the alarm expressed by Hillary Clinton.  Reports say that Richard Holbrooke, our special representative for the region, is sending back alarming dispatches several times each day.  From The New York Times:

American officials have been expressing alarm about the widening areas of Pakistan coming under Taliban control this week, as hundreds of armed Taliban militants consolidated control of yet another Pakistani region. On Friday, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in the region, told members of a committee in the House of Representatives that extremists who have set up sanctuaries along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan are eroding security in Afghanistan and threaten "Pakistan’s very existence."

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also expressed concerns Friday about the deteriorating situation, which he said was in “constant, steady decline.”

“The situation there is definitely worse than it was two weeks ago. It just continues to spin off,” Admiral Mullen told reporters in southern Afghanistan, where he was touring following a visit to Pakistan Wednesday and Thursday.

COMMENT:  And what are we doing in America?  Why, we're deciding whether to investigate Bush-era officials for keeping the country safe. 

We sometimes forget what kind of a party the Democratic Party started becoming in the sixties.  Think Carter.  Think McGovern.  Think cutting off aid to our South Vietnamese allies.  Think indifference to crime.  Think destroying intelligence agencies. 

Harry Truman is turning over in his grave.  I'd love to hear the old blue-mouthed guy talk about his party today.

April 24, 2009