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House Democrats from the Bay Area line up against Obama's expected troop surge in Afghanistan
Mercury News ^ | 11/27/09 | Mike Zapler

Posted on 11/27/2009 12:50:08 PM PST by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON — As President Barack Obama prepares to announce his long-awaited decision on Afghanistan, many war-weary Democrats in Congress are holding their tongues, uneasy about the possibility of a troop surge but wanting to give Obama space to make a defining decision of his presidency.

San Jose's Mike Honda is not one of them.

"I would oppose it," said the soft-spoken, unassuming Democratic congressman, who has emerged as a leading voice of progressives in Congress who oppose a troop buildup in Afghanistan.

Though his position is consistent with his liberal bent on most issues, Honda does not relish standing in the way of the man he worked hard to get elected president.

And his dilemma points to a larger difficulty for Obama — resistance among Democrats to a long and increasingly unpopular war, and potentially his first major rift with his own party — should he decide to follow the advice of some top military commanders to send tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan. Such a buildup would cost billions of dollars that Congress must approve.

"It's not fun," Honda said of disagreeing with the president. "But trying to go in there with a traditional fighting force I don't think is going to work." The current situation, he added, is not unlike that of Vietnam in the 1960s, when the U.S. escalated a war that turned out to be unwinnable.

"If we learned anything from Vietnam, we didn't understand who we were fighting with," Honda said.

...

The White House is signaling that Obama has settled on sending up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in an attempt to root out al-Qaida and "dismantle and degrade the enemy." ..

But there are growing signs that a troop surge of that size will face serious skepticism in Congress. ..

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: 111th; afghanistan; bayarea; bhodod; california; housedemocrats; obama; oefsurge; wot
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1 posted on 11/27/2009 12:50:09 PM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

I want to bring all the troops home.

Obammy’s rules of engagement are a death sentence.


2 posted on 11/27/2009 12:51:31 PM PST by samtheman
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To: NormsRevenge

Guess Obummers in for a liberal spankin!


3 posted on 11/27/2009 12:52:52 PM PST by Yorktownpatriot
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To: NormsRevenge

Better to get them out if the administration is not committed to winning, and is shackling our guys with suffocating ROE.

Is there even one issue in which liberals are correct?


4 posted on 11/27/2009 12:54:14 PM PST by lurk
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Liberals all.. the bay area voting public is a haven for covens of dedicated socialists , some out and out marxists, working for and electing the same idiots that will eventually get more blown up here .. all the while forgetting the bill the victims will also be asked to pay for the cleanup fee.


5 posted on 11/27/2009 12:54:17 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. May yur bandwidth exceed your girth)
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To: NormsRevenge

Mike Honda is also the worst enemy for the unborn.


6 posted on 11/27/2009 12:56:33 PM PST by Huskrrrr
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To: NormsRevenge
San Jose's Mike Honda is not one of them. "I would oppose it," said the soft-spoken, unassuming Democratic congressman,

Yeah, send San Jose's policemen instead.

7 posted on 11/27/2009 12:57:53 PM PST by This_far (Mandatory insurance! I thought it was about health care?)
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To: NormsRevenge
Some anti war group is mailing out bumper stickers saying "War is not the Answer".

We need a mass produced bumper sticker saying "Appeasement is not the Answer".

8 posted on 11/27/2009 1:00:06 PM PST by rocksblues (Sarah and Joe, Real Americans!)
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To: NormsRevenge
" The current situation, he added, is not unlike that of Vietnam in the 1960s, when the U.S. escalated a war that turned out to be unwinnable.
"If we learned anything from Vietnam, we didn't understand who we were fighting with," Honda said.


No war is unwinnable. These idiots just manage to shackle our forces to the extent that we can only shoot at the enemy when they have color coded hats. Monday is blue day.
9 posted on 11/27/2009 1:05:45 PM PST by pennyfarmer (Your Socialist Beat our Liberal)
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To: NormsRevenge

“If we learned anything from Vietnam, we didn’t understand who we were fighting with,”

What a dumbass


10 posted on 11/27/2009 1:09:25 PM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: NormsRevenge
"I would oppose it," said the soft-spoken, unassuming Democratic congressman,

Wow. What a way to lay on extra helpings of bias. oooh...soft-spoken...ooooh...unassuming.... I get all goose-pimply over these subtle warm-fuzzies.

Contrast that with "...said the hard-as-nails, angry Republican congressman...

Pleez. These little piggies squeal at the cost of Toilet-stan, but Crap & Trade / DeathCare: "costs?" "what costs????"

11 posted on 11/27/2009 1:11:57 PM PST by kromike
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To: NormsRevenge
One of the RAT filthbags running to fill Teddy's seat (Teddy having gone on to a warmer place) is running ads promising to never,*ever* vote for more troops for the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld war of aggression.He ends the ad by saying something like..."vote for me...because there will always be Cheneys in this world".

Nauseating....and predictable.This *is* Massachusetts,after all.

12 posted on 11/27/2009 1:14:40 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Host The Beer Summit-->Win The Nobel Peace Prize!)
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To: samtheman

Sending 34,000 over 2 1/2 years is not an insurgency, it’s a trickle.


13 posted on 11/27/2009 1:26:36 PM PST by Freddd (CNN is not credible.)
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To: Freddd

You mean, “it’s not a surge, it’s a trickle”... right?


14 posted on 11/27/2009 1:32:27 PM PST by samtheman
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To: NormsRevenge

I like their solution to add a 5% Afghan war tax. To see the expression on Sean Penn’s face when he gets his paycheck with the war tax on it, priceless. At least, I would know that my tax was going to something worthwhile.


15 posted on 11/27/2009 1:42:45 PM PST by depressed in 06 (ZerOcare: Bureaucratic best practices equals death panels.)
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To: mylife

He is a Dumb @ss

“If we learned anything from Vietnam, we didn’t understand who we were fighting with,”

Same as now, Yellow bellied democrats, Responsible for more human deaths than any dictator in history


16 posted on 11/27/2009 2:25:32 PM PST by reefdiver ("Let His day's be few And another takes His office")
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To: mylife
“If we learned anything from Vietnam, we didn’t understand who we were fighting with,”

Honda has bad grammar, too.

17 posted on 11/27/2009 2:31:41 PM PST by CheneyChick (01/20/2013)
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To: reefdiver

Heyup. I lay the killing fields at their feet.


18 posted on 11/27/2009 2:36:52 PM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
...many war-weary Democrats in Congress are holding their tongues, uneasy about the possibility of a troop surge but wanting to give Obama space to make a defining decision of his presidency. San Jose's Mike Honda... "I would oppose it," ...Though his position is consistent with his liberal bent on most issues, Honda does not relish standing in the way of the man he worked hard to get elected president... "It's not fun," Honda said of disagreeing with the president. "But trying to go in there with a traditional fighting force I don't think is going to work." The current situation, he added, is not unlike that of Vietnam in the 1960s, when the U.S. escalated a war that turned out to be unwinnable. If we learned anything from Vietnam, we didn't understand who we were fighting with," Honda said.
WRONG! If we learned anything from Vietnam it was, don't let Democrats control the Senate, and definitely don't let them fight a war.
19 posted on 11/27/2009 3:44:43 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: mylife

Thank you, I tried to convince my stepdad before he died that not one American soldier lost Vietnam and that while they were there the people were safe. When we left the domino effect did happen look at Laos and Cambodia and Vietnam.. How many millions died because of the Libtard Treasoneous scum.. My blood is boiling.


20 posted on 11/27/2009 8:42:56 PM PST by crazydad
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