.
.
.
Tonight President Obama delivered a compelling 15 minute take on the events in Afghanistan and the subsequent planned withdrawal of 33,000 combat troop through 2012. Not exactly the beginning of a mass withdrawal, but the Republican response was typically an agitated non-partisan one. It was such a good message from the President that the negative response was tempered compared to most.
The President’s message was short, to the point and very direct. The Republicans just pulled up the plank and refused to admit that the President actually did a good job or even honorably so.
So what would have satisfied the Republican short side…..to stand up and take notice? Not much, right now the strategy seems to be to demean the President whether the Republicans agree with him or not. The phony withdraw….is not attractive. They didn’t even do that to Bill Clinton. But this is an election year and the Republicans refuse to offer up bones to the other side…..even if they do believe in what the President is saying.
We agree with both the Presidents remarks and the military strategy. Drawing down our forces in Afghanistan while keeping a strategic presence is surely our best course of action when you consider the upsurge in Taliban Attacks and the continued challenge of putting our troops in harms way – without any any long lasting tactical solutions. “Take and Hold”…doesn’t seem to be working and more than “Hearts and Minds” worked in Vietnam. The Predator Drones will be working over time.
Good luck Mr. President…..your remarks were clear to us out here in the hinterland, even if convincing the Republican oppostion with be a definite challenge. When asked by Wolf Blitzer…what he thought of the President’s speech….Republican Senator Lindsay Graham’s response was: “Well, not much!” Two weeks ago Graham called for exactly the same course of action. Go figure!
Another GOP closeted Homosexual, like Drier,Craig,Haggard and Cunningham.
If these blowhards could just come to gripw with themselves, maybe they would need to talk to the rest of us.
You have to wonder what their Dad’s did to them…..other than poor upbringing.
I loved the speech and thing it is the blueprint for the largest GOP landslide since Carter. Obama didn’t listen at all to his people “on the ground.” Obama ignored the cycles of the Afghani “fighting seasons” that must stand as the basis for strategy in that region. Finally, the dates were politically rather than strategy driven. I think Obama drove a stake through his own heart with this one.
Jesus Christ. Is THAT the view from behind the Looking Glass? The Republicans are gonna whoop ass on Obama because he’s leaving Afghanistan prematurely? Is that what they’re saying on WorldNetDaily and RedState today?
A couple facts that might not have filtered through to you:
The American people are OVERWHELMINGLY sick of this war and want out NOW. Those of us who don’t pay too much attention to details and numbers probably got the impression that Obama’s beginning a withdrawal, and are happy about that (especially after his getting Osama.) The rest of us are disappointed and frustrated by how slowly he’s doing it, and what a tiny withdrawal it is.
Number two: Maybe you didn’t notice, but the Republicans do NOT have a unified stance on this, in fact at least half of them are in favor of a much quicker withdrawal. Partly this is for good reasons, and partly it’s because the Commander-in-Chief is now a Democrat, as Mitch McConnell rashly admitted yesterday. Orange County’s own Dana Rohrabacher, Ed Royce, and John Campbell, recently joined Loretta Sanchez in demanding this war be over much sooner. The old-school hawks McCain and Lindsey Graham are practically on their own on this. But in your head, the GOP is still the endless war party? OK, let them go with that.
So.. I think this helps the President, but leaves a lot of his supporters very impatient and frustrated. Also, what drug are you taking, and can I try a little?
There’s another little detail, in the midst of staggering national debt, a sluggish economy and the cry for spending cuts, that the hawks conveniently leave aside;
The financial costs.
I love how I “say” things that I never actually say. The STRONG recommendation from the military leaders on the ground was to start the withdrawal at the end of this fighting season (October) and complete it by the end of the next fighting season (October 2012). In that way victories in the South would allow consolidation of troups to the East which is still not under Afghani control. Now we just have a big steaming mess similar to what we left behind in Iraq after the 1990 Persian Gulf war.
Vern, this is one that we will see play out over just a short 12-18 months and one of us will probably owe the other an “I told you so.”
The “leaders on the ground” got their way in Fall 2009…they got their surge. They had their chance. Enough. This time, the Commander-In-Chief, albeit slowly, get’s his way. And, as Vern points out, an overwhelming majority of Americans are thankful we’re beginning to pull out. If you think that war in Afghanistan with no end in sight in the midst of the summer of 2012 is a winning strategy for the GOP…well let’s just say it’s quite likely that support for that war will have eroded even further among voters.
Oh, and “victories” in the South? What is that anyway? Oh, we eject the Taliban from an area, they wait us out, we leave, and they return. All this talk of seasonal strategies is nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
There will be no “I told you so” moment with Vern because either way, at the end of this, there will be no “victory” in the classic sense. But then, “victory” in Afghanistan has never been defined. One man’s victory will be another man’s defeat.
*”Everyone is wearing bi-focals and we are seeing 20-20!” Butch & Sundance..
GW……a military tactician you are not. Unless of course you are willing to state your
Service, years of service and MOS.
The President is doing just fine…..thank you very much and no matter how many times Newt or Donald flip flop…or Sarah and Michelle……well, “their mouthwash….just ain’t cutting it!” Dirty Harry said that.
The Pakistani border is a sieve……which looks much like Kashmir on a Saturday night!
Too many Taliban, too many Pakistanis….not enough Afghans! Predators and Grim Reapers will do just fine from our folks in St. Louis!
Need your choice for the Republican President as well. Huntsman? Romney? Another Mormon…perhaps?