Posted on 03/11/2012 5:34:53 PM PDT by tobyhill
President Barack Obama has a PR problem when it comes to Afghanistan, to say the least.
Once the must-fight war for America, the decade-long mission has spiraled into a series of U.S. missteps and violent outbreaks that have left few ardent political supporters. After NATO detained a U.S. soldier Sunday for allegedly killing sleeping Afghan villagers, Republicans and Democrats alike pointed to the stress on troops after years of fighting and reiterated calls to leave by the end of 2014 as promised, if not sooner.
"It's just not a good situation," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Our troops are under such tremendous pressure in Afghanistan. It's a war like no other war we've been involved in. ... We're moving out, as the president said. I think it's the right thing to do."
Likewise, many Republicans —who as a party fought against a quick exodus in Iraq and criticized Obama's 2008 presidential campaign promise to end the war — are now reluctant to embrace a continued commitment in Afghanistan.
"There's something profoundly wrong with the way we're approaching the whole region, and I think it's going to get substantially worse, not better," said GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. "I think that we're risking the lives of young men and women in a mission that may, frankly, not be doable."
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Remember Obama said this was the “good” war....
but only until it's not so good for his re-election prospects
Holy shiite.
When it really goes south he’ll blame Bush for getting the US in there in the first place. He’s just cleaning up Bush’s mess he’ll say.
I would like the MSM to ask Obama how pulling out of Iraq contained Iran?
What do you expect? He pays no mind to the military that KNOWS what is needed. As a military strategist, Obama is supremely INEPT!
I commend this soldier. Apparently at some point in his "killing spree" he was able to call in an airstrike.
I hate Obama, but we’re in a no-win situation in Afghanistan. The government is corrupt beyond imagining, and we are seen by most of the natives as the only thing propping up the corrupt. They don’t want democracy, they don’t want women’s rights, and they want nothing of what we’re trying to cram down their throats.
If anyone can tell me how you define “winning” in Afghanistan, I’d be glad to hear it. Because each day the dirt-eaters there grow more tired of our presence and more sympathetic to the Taliban (who are mostly Afghans, btw).
Until someone figures out what “winning” means and we can all agree on the path to it, the mission is doomed, and American men and women will be dying for no reason in particular.
And yes, I remember September 11th. However, that was a terrorist organization that is currently active and supported by many of our middle eastern “allies”. Not a whole lot of al Qaeda left in Afghanistan.
——I would like the MSM to ask Obama how pulling out of Iraq contained Iran?——
Wow, that asking a lot...for a journ’o’list today to actually ask a cogent relative question of their boy wonder....
One has to wonder even if they think in those terms....their template would get all out of whack...
Terminate all the mullahs (starting with Omar), raze all the mosques, burn all the korans, paint pictures of Mad Mo’ with the exploding turban at Bamyan and exit the country.
Anyone else believe this could have been a set up job!
“When it really goes south he’ll blame Bush...”
Well, Bush DID go in there trying to peddle western ideals to a culture and religion that are fundamentally opposed to those ideals, right? We were going to democratize Afghanistan so they’d never allow al Qaeda to shelter there.
Well, Islam is incompatible with democracy, and was on when Bush sent in the first troops.
But hey, I trusted Bush too and thought that he and his people knew what they were doing. They didn’t. That’s undeniable. The Afghans, and all muslims, want none of what we have to offer ideologically. Trying to force that down their throats does not make us any more endearing.
Face it, we effed up. We thought Islam was a harmless religion like all the others. Bush and his “experts” should have known better, and for that, I blame myself for trusting any politician, conservative or progressive.
He didn’t ‘lose’ them. He GAVE them away...to his peeps.
——including an AP photographer’s confirmation of burned bodies at the scene——
That caught my eye as well.....I think we are getting played here....
The killing spree story is either a cover for something else that went horribly wrong or a set up for some political play yet to be fully realized
I would put NOTHING past this administration.....
“Obama: U.S. Waged Afghan War Incorrectly for Years, Taliban Now Welcome”
It was only the "must-fight war" because it wasn't where George Bush was concentrating.
Once they didn't have George Bush in the White House, it became "We Gotta Get Outta This Place".
The Ultra-left is pissed at Obozo because he got involved in Libya, we are still in Afghanistan and he did NOT close Gitmo as promised. I think we should come up with a way to help Denny Kucinich mount a Third Party run for President, for the good folks on the far-left.
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