Posted on 07/05/2010 9:43:15 AM PDT by maggief
Known for going against the party grain, Rep. Ron Paul has emerged as just about the only elected Republican sticking up for Michael Steele after the GOP chairman made controversial comments about Afghanistan last week.
The Texas Republican and former presidential candidate, who opposes the Afghanistan war, issued a statement congratulating Steele as hordes of Paul's colleagues condemned the chairman for calling Afghanistan a "war of Obama's choosing" and suggesting it was not winnable.
"He is absolutely right -- Afghanistan is now Obama's war," Paul said in a written statement. "During the 2008 campaign, Obama was out in front in insisting that more troops be sent to Afghanistan. Obama called for expanding the war even as he pretended to be a peace candidate.
"Michael Steele should not resign. Smart policies make smart politics. ... Michael Steele has it right and Republicans should stick by him," Paul said.
He urged Steele not to "back off" as he "speaks truth about this war."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It will be interesting to see what the Paulistas say since they were screaming loudest to dump Steele.
There’s a new” Maverick” in town!
They will find a way to justify it and also claim it isn’t a contradiction. Remember, these are the same people that say he’s opposed to pork even while acknowledging he gets the pork put in that he wants and gets others to vote it in for him while he personally votes against it.
Here you must be referring to Paul. Actually, (and I'm no Paulista by a long shot...) he's not being inconsistent. He says nothing in favor of the Afghan war. He's always spoken against the US being involved in Afghanistan and Iraq as well. He's merely agreeing with Steele's opinion that Obama 'owns' this war due to his earlier statements.
I too agree with that assessment, but want this war prosecuted to its fullest, unlike Ron Paul. We should fight to win, take the gloves off and kill every damn a$$hat Taliban/terrorist over there. But with Obama in charge, that will never happen.
As a Paulista let me say this. Steele may deserve to be fired for other reasons but not for the first sensible thing he has said. Also, do we really want to empower Liz Cheney Billy Kristol (who threatened to leave the GOP over Kosovo) as a kingmaker of the Republican Party?
I was responding to Deb’s comment.
I’m sorry, but you are not in a position to judge what is “sensible” when you continue to stand behind someone who enthusiastically gave his endorsement to someone who went overseas to solicit desertion on the part of U.S. soldiers, harrass military recruiters and block recruiting stations, among numerous other outrageous conduct.
I knew that. I was merely stating his position isn’t a contradiction as your analogy of his pork-barrel ways seems to imply. I agree that the Paulistas will do everything to talk around this.
I’m not sure what your point is about Liz Cheney, but I wouldn’t mind having her as a “kingmaker”. And I agree with Bill Kristol about 90% of the time. That’s pretty good.
Well....we disagree. Like it or not, a world-policing foreign policy can not bustained in an era of trillion dollar deficits.
The Soviets conducted their Afghan war like you suggest. By 1985, they had the Afghan resistance pretty much defeated. All it took was complete air superiority and the will to slaughter a million or so mostly innocent civilians.
All it took to reverse the Soviet victory was for Reagan to send muslim scum like osama bin laden modern weapons, especially Stinger missiles. When the Soviets lost total dominance of the air, wholesale slaughter of civilians was no longer enough to keep the resistance at bay.
You want the US to begin mass killing of the Afghan civilian population? Is subjugating a people who've done nothing to us that important? You want our soldiers forced to act as brutally as Nazis?
The nations longest war needs to end. 8-9 years after its start and the situation is exactly the same there now as it was at the beginning - "we" control the ground US/NATO soldiers are standing on, and nothing more.
An accurate assessment of the situation, IMO.
You apparently know how to write. Why not learn how to read? I said Taliban/terrorists. Got it?
You want our soldiers forced to act as brutally as Nazis?
Stop putting words in my mouth. You do it again, I'll call you a liar.
The nations longest war needs to end. 8-9 years after its start and the situation is exactly the same there now as it was at the beginning...
It didn't need to be this way had we conducted it properly from the beginning.
The day when American cannot run to the air of her allies, is the day the enemies of freedom run rampant.
If there’s one thing they have going for them it’s consistency. I don’t expect them to suddenly develop any warm feelings for Steele. With this statement he’s managed to set him self squarely at odds with almost every faction in the GOP. The party just cant go on with someone like that at the helm.
Got it!
I was responding to your "want this war prosecuted to its fullest" - when you prosecute a war to its fullest, i.e. fight to win, many civilians die. Look how many we're killing there now, despite idiotic ROEs, and we ain't coming anywhere close to winning.
Stop putting words in my mouth...
I didn't - it was a question to you, not a false quote attributed to you. Appropriate too... to prosecute the war to its fullest, a good start would be to emulate the tactics of the only army to ever defeat the Afghans (Red Army - 1979-1985). A major part of their strategy was to respond to aggression from resistance fighters with slaughter of civilians.
It didn't need to be this way had we conducted it properly from the beginning.
It was conducted properly, for the first couple of weeks anyway...
1. Identify the threat - Taliban gov't that knowingly allowed former US ally osama bin laden to plot 911 attacks.
2. Define objective - remove said Taliban gov't.
3. Accomplish objective - assault target with overwhelming force until target is defeated.
The only thing we've accomplished since then is to teach the Afghans we're no more invincible than the Soviets or the British were.
I wholeheartedly agree.
Ron Paul is embraced by Code Pink, for crying out loud.
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