Debate and Current Events

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Comment by Matt Hambleton on December 14, 2009 at 9:37am

Obama himself, during his campaign said, ""The Afghan government needs to do more. But we have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan." And, " troop levels must increase in Afghanistan.
For at least a year now, I have called for two additional brigades, perhaps three."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/20/obama.afghanistan/
Petraeus begged for troops for months. This was his intelligence, yet he ignored it for so long.
Bush was called a war monger, yet he waited 18 months before invading Iraq. Do you not think he was privy to info others weren't? If yes, then why all the criticism when we can't know all the facts? It seems Obama's strategy differs very little from Bush with the exception he is not receiving the same level of criticism from the left.

Comment by Wade on December 13, 2009 at 2:36pm

Prez Obama was answering questions at an elementary school when a little girl asked, "Mr. President, a deer poops pellets, a cow poops patties and a horse poops piles but they all eat grass. Why is their poop so different?" Obama thought for a min, then admitted that he did not know. The little girl responded, "do you really think your qualified to be president if you don't know shit?"

Comment by Kate Kenney on December 11, 2009 at 3:54pm

He did campaign on Afghanistan, but why did it take so long to go?
So long? He has been in office for less than a year! He has the lives of thousands of soldiers in his hands! You think he should have just ignored the intelligence and not weighed his options and sent troops his first week in office?
Don't you think that as POTUS he is privy to info that he was NOT privy to as a Senator?
Warmonger means someone who is eager to go to war- Obama's deliberations and hesitations clearly show he was not eager to do this.

Comment by Matt Hambleton on December 11, 2009 at 12:08pm

He did campaign on Afghanistan, but why did it take so long to go? I thought he said he would not hesitate to deploy troops there.. he also said we should talk with and negotiate with the enemy, and 16 months after elected we would pull our troops.
That being said, I believe he is making the right move. the strategy worked in Iraq and it should work in Afghanistan, unless the troops deployed are not enough. It seems the Obama agrees with Bush afterall the criticism, he is now the war mongering, surge President; with the exception that Obama has a Nobel Peace Prize to back it up.

Comment by Dave Timpe on December 10, 2009 at 9:49pm

I respect what they're trying to do in Afghanistan. I'm not sure if it will succeed. The justification is good, the strategy is pretty well thought out, but it may need more troops than we can scrape up, and more patience than we can muster. It's also pretty much what he said he'd do on the campaign, but people had a tendency to hear what they wanted to hear.

The 2011 date is probably more aspirational than anything else. They'll at least withdraw some troops on that date, but the whole contingent won't leave until either the situation is deemed acceptable or public demand forces a pullout. The latter is very much a possibility.

Comment by Kate Kenney on December 10, 2009 at 6:42pm

No big surprise. I do like the fact that he didn't just blindly send troops on day 2 in the office. He took time to think about the recommendations and weigh the options and took flack from all sides about it.
See, I like that Obama does not please 100% (or even 60%) of any one group all of the time.
As for the actual war- not happy about it. I would like there to be ONE time in my life when this country does not have troops in danger somewhere or at war. Probably not gonna happen.

Comment by Laura (Gilmore) Craven on December 10, 2009 at 1:03pm

I guess I can't say I am a fan, but this isn't a shock. He did campaign on about refocusing on Afghanistan from Iraq.

Comment by Fred Guy on December 10, 2009 at 12:05pm

I think that he's trying to avoid getting the JFK treatment. The individuals that actually run this country would loss a fortune if that war were to end.

Comment by Matt Hambleton on December 10, 2009 at 11:54am

What does everyone think about Obama sending more troops to Afghanistan?

Comment by Kate Kenney on December 8, 2009 at 12:46pm

That's classic Laura. Classic.

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