By MichaelJames

Mar 28, 2009 9:40am

Obama’s War

President Obama makes the policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan his own.

Our "World News with Charles Gibson" report:

- jpt

User Comments

I think that Mr. Obama’s most important war will not be with Afghanistan or Iran, it will be with himself. He’s evidently conflicted within himself, a hidden root to be surfaced only if all the dirt above it is digged away.

Posted by: young_voter | March 28, 2009, 10:05 am 10:05 am

This is the war we should have been fighting all along!
Thank you Obama. May those lost on 9/11 never be forgotten.

Posted by: insight | March 28, 2009, 10:13 am 10:13 am

“He not only knew in advance that the bonuses would be paid, he actually gave the go ahead to Treasury to ask Senator Dodd to insert the loophole that allowed them to be paid.Then, after the bonuses were paid and all hell broke loose, Obama expressed his phony public “outrage”.”
It’s baffling to me how NOTHING seems to stick.. People blinded by the
“flash”, and can’t see any further. Willing to ignore or make excuses for bad choices, and “twisting of the truth.”
Now he lies about war, his face is everywhere, our Stalin, our dictor!

Posted by: president liar | March 28, 2009, 10:21 am 10:21 am

Since 9/11, the Pakistani government has fleeced the U.S. government for billions in aid to fight such militants, while at the same time its intelligence arm is funding the same people, providing their arms, and even planning their attacks.
Thus, because money is fungible, the U.S. government is essentially using U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund its enemies on the battlefield. Of course, having enemies to fight – the Taliban and other militant groups – garners the U.S. Department of Defense more cash from Congress and the American people. Everyone seems to be happy with this bizarre arrangement, except maybe U.S. taxpayers and the families of U.S. soldiers and Afghans killed.

Posted by: our taxes wasted again | March 28, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am

“Insight” seems unaware that we have, indeed, been fighting this war all along. Six hundred and forty Americans have been killed in that war since 2002.
Even the left-wing Economist is beginning to harbor doubts about our new president:
“His performance has been weaker than those who endorsed his candidacy, including this newspaper, had hoped. Many of his strongest supporters—liberal columnists, prominent donors, Democratic Party stalwarts—have started to question him. As for those not so beholden, polls show that independent voters again prefer Republicans to Democrats, a startling reversal of fortune in just a few weeks. Mr Obama’s once-celestial approval ratings are about where George Bush’s were at this stage in his awful presidency. Despite his resounding electoral victory, his solid majorities in both chambers of Congress and the obvious goodwill of the bulk of the electorate, Mr Obama has seemed curiously feeble.”
Feeble.

Posted by: Fascist Hyena | March 28, 2009, 10:39 am 10:39 am

Bring out troops home. If you get Bin Laden it really will not matter. Some one else will fill the void. We don’t have the money for this nonsense.

Posted by: Huh | March 28, 2009, 10:41 am 10:41 am

He’s sending troops to afghanistan, they’re calling it “Obama’s War.” So the whole attack on Hillary Clinton for being “pro-war” was just a campaign tactic and ending the war was just an empty campaign promise. Nothing’s going to change.

Posted by: campaign lies mount | March 28, 2009, 10:47 am 10:47 am

Is this the most secretive president we have ever had? Why won’t he even release a copy of the original birth certificate on file in Hawaii? Why would he actually send lawyers into court to block the release? What could he be hiding?

Posted by: Terry | March 28, 2009, 10:54 am 10:54 am

He’s sending troops to afghanistan, they’re calling it “Obama’s War.” So the whole attack on Hillary Clinton for being “pro-war” was just a campaign tactic and ending the war was just an empty campaign promise. Nothing’s going to change.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
He campaigned against the Iraq War, he promised to escalate and focus on the war in Afghanistan. He promised to end the Iraq.
If you read you have already known this.

Posted by: Thinking | March 28, 2009, 11:51 am 11:51 am

It is premature to call Afghanistan ‘Obama’s War.’ Only time will tell. ……….

Posted by: Ohg Rea Tone | March 28, 2009, 12:00 pm 12:00 pm

Bring out troops home. If you get Bin Laden it really will not matter. Some one else will fill the void. We don’t have the money for this nonsense.
=======================================
Oh. Ok then. That solves that problem. Next.

Posted by: Thinking | March 28, 2009, 12:05 pm 12:05 pm

Seems the right-winger Biden is worried about a “quagmire.” (Hell, the oaf Wicker at the New York Times proclaimed it a quagmire more than six years ago.)
“But Vice President Joe Biden cautioned against sinking into a possible quagmire and questioned whether more far reaching plans could make it past Congress. He also influenced Obama with his on-the-ground reporting from a recent visit, where he warned that ‘if you asked 10 people on the ground what American objectives were, he would get 10 different answers.’”
Sounds very much like an administration in disarray…

Posted by: Fascist Hyena | March 28, 2009, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm

Obama: America’s worst nightmare comre true!

Posted by: dl | March 28, 2009, 12:11 pm 12:11 pm

“He campaigned against the Iraq War, he promised to escalate and focus on the war in Afghanistan. He promised to end the Iraq [war?].”
He campaigned against The Surge in Iraq, which was wildly successful and has handed him a victory in Iraq. Bush ended the Iraq war by winning it.

Posted by: Fascist Hyena | March 28, 2009, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm

jpt said: “Bush ended the Iraq war by winning it.”
But, Obama is perfectly capable of snatching defeat from the hands of victory.

Posted by: dl | March 28, 2009, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm

“Bush ended the Iraq war by winning it.”
Except that Bush lost the Iraq war by starting it.
4,000+ Americans dead, tens of thousands more maimed. Why?

Posted by: R Mutt | March 28, 2009, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm

John Mccain Stated during the Campaign He Knows how to Get Bin Laden! He Knows where He is. So Johnnie Mac should tell our President and Military dont ya Think?

Posted by: Angie In PA | March 28, 2009, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm

Here Is Bushes Smartness for you
He Starts a War with A country who had Nothing to do with 911 Who Had no WMDS!
He Fails to Get Bin Laden or Stop the Taliban they have only grown stronger
They Caputure Arabs Detain them In Gitmo they dont Know who Is Innocent or Guilty and Then when he decides to Let some Go the Idiot Releases the Real Terriost
Meanwhile 1000s Have Died and Billions have been Spent and We still Dont have the Person Who was Responsible For 911
So to Sum it up Bush was an IDIOT!

Posted by: Angie In PA | March 28, 2009, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm

Obama promised a crying mother who son was maimed in Iraq and another worried mother whose son was still in Iraq, that he feels their pain and that he will bring them home, as a candidate. Now elected he will bring one home to be buried and the other to be on reserved for Afghanistan.

Posted by: politico | March 28, 2009, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm

Obama used the same speech about Afghanistan, almost verbatim, as Bush did when we went into Iraq. Some irony there, huh? I am still waiting to see the change he promised.

Posted by: Fran | March 28, 2009, 1:33 pm 1:33 pm

The US is warmongering again. The US and the rest of NATO have no right to invade and massacre those defenseless afghanis and pakistanis.

Posted by: sean | March 28, 2009, 1:56 pm 1:56 pm

He campaigned against The Surge in Iraq, which was wildly successful and has handed him a victory in Iraq. Bush ended the Iraq war by winning it.
***************************************
I am sorry it was a war the was needlessly fought. One that was ineffectively without the proper level of troops.
To end a war that one started, and was not necessary is hardly an accomplishment. BTW we still have over 100,000 troops there so it isn’t over yet.

Posted by: Thinking | March 28, 2009, 2:24 pm 2:24 pm

“It’s baffling to me how NOTHING seems to stick.. People blinded by the
“flash” . . .” President Liar
President Liar, you’re right, but things are changing. I didn’t vote for Obama, but I know many people who did, and they now realize he truly is all style and no substance. People will wake up before the next election. Of course, there are the hard-core Obamabots who will NEVER admit they were wrong. Fortunately, there won’t be enough of them to make a difference in 2010 or 2012.

Posted by: Janet | March 28, 2009, 2:24 pm 2:24 pm

I remember begging my 24 yr old niece not to vote for Obama. Her 30 yr old husband did the same, as did her parents. We all urged her not to vote for Obama. She ignored all of us. When I was at her house last weekend, I asked her what she thinks of Obama now. Her response was “I don’t want to talk about it.” That told me all I need to know. I’m far less worried about Obama than I was. The Republicans can come in and undo most of what he’s doing to destroy the country.

Posted by: Janet | March 28, 2009, 2:30 pm 2:30 pm

He’s an empty suit!

Posted by: Joan | March 28, 2009, 2:32 pm 2:32 pm

JANET
The Republicans Have Caused Most of the Mess the President Is trying to Fix, so How can they Straighten it out when They caused It?Use your Brain

Posted by: Angie In PA | March 28, 2009, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm

Janet
Why Is Mccain not working with Our President and Military In Helping find Bin Laden Mccain said he Knew How to Get Him

Posted by: Angie In PA | March 28, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm

Barack Obama worked hard to help elect a man named Odinga in Kenya. Odinga wanted to impose sharia law, a system that denies most legal rights to women. Why would a man with two daughters not have a problem with a legal system that denies women equal protection?
Barack Obama doesn’t BELIEVE in anything. That’s why he can’t open his mouth without a teleprompter. He’s an empty suit, and the Obamabots who voted for him are now beginning to realize it. That’s why they are so shrill and venomous in their attacks on others. It’s tough to admit you were had.

Posted by: Janet | March 28, 2009, 2:55 pm 2:55 pm

“It’s tough to admit you were had.”
Some members of the celebrity “left” who pushed Der CHANGEling’s cult candidacy are finally beginning to peck at their shells, however.

Posted by: Pants on Fire | March 28, 2009, 3:10 pm 3:10 pm

A few days ago Barack Obama walked up to a podium to speak, looked straight into the teleprompter, and said, “We’d like to welcome President Obama . . . ”
This man is scary!!! Why can’t Obama speak off the cuff, even for a few minutes? Does he really need a script on every occasion? Surely he has some values/beliefs that are so ingrained that he doesn’t need a written script to express them. But maybe not . . .

Posted by: Janet | March 28, 2009, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm

Most Americans now believed their money is better protected by a well-worn mattress than a President.

Posted by: young_voter | March 28, 2009, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm

“Some members of the celebrity “left” who pushed Der CHANGEling’s cult candidacy are finally beginning to peck at their shells, however.” pants on fire.
Maybe they’re finally beginning to realize that more than half of their income is going to go to Barack Obama’s government so he can fund increased welfare, healthcare for illegal aliens, free money to people too stupid to understand the difference between a fixed rate mortgage and an adjustable mortgage, etc.
In other words, maybe they finally got it through their drug-addled brains that when Obama preached “share the wealth,” he really meant it. And that includes their wealth.

Posted by: Janet | March 28, 2009, 3:26 pm 3:26 pm

Obama’s administration will not be happy until every American is jobless, involved in a war, homless, dead, or hanging on to them for the only hope of life they might have.

Posted by: jack | March 28, 2009, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm

C’mon naysayers, it is fair to call it Obama’s war. He was against the Iraq war before he was for the Pakistan war. This is clearly his war, lock, stock and barrel. His arguments against the Iraq war included focusing on Afghanistan. Somewhere a state senator is preparing a speech against the Pakistan war, and will be probably running for President within the next three years. Where have we heard that story before?

Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | March 28, 2009, 3:30 pm 3:30 pm

We’ve elected Ted Baxter President
Posted by: TT | Mar 28, 2009 9:36:15 AM
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
More like Elmer Gantry.

Posted by: Molly | March 28, 2009, 3:32 pm 3:32 pm

He Starts a War with A country who had Nothing to do with 911 Who Had no WMDS!
Posted by Angie in PA
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There were WMD’s, no doubt. They had time to hide them…they are either buried in the desert or in Syria. Still capitalizing I see.

Posted by: Molly | March 28, 2009, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm

Obama has declared a war on Osama and so it is Obama versus Osama. Bush spent probably a trillion dollars since 911 to smoke Osama out of his hiding and failed and in the process several brave Americans and NATO troops lost their lives. Osama surfaces every now and then to poke his finger at the west. Is Obama going to waste another trillion of tax payer money to find Osama, dead or alive and is it worth it? If the US fails to improve the lives of the Afghan and Pakistani masses and to build a modern well fed civilized and humane society, the head of Osama will not be worth anything. If the victory over the minds is not the goal. So the Obama versus Osama battle should be for gaining the goodwill and gratitude of the people who will no longer resort to terrorism and threatening the world and hopefully isolate Osama in the wild west of Pakistan to contain his activity and shepherd around a few followers. To me that confinement will be victory for Obama and a permanent peace and money well spent. Getting the head of Osama will create a martyr out of a brutal contract serial killer and to quote the President of Egypt create 100s of Osamas.

Posted by: gjkotw01 | March 28, 2009, 4:04 pm 4:04 pm

Does anyone have a list of campaign promises that Obama the Socialist has kept? I can’t think of any important ones.

Posted by: dl | March 28, 2009, 4:18 pm 4:18 pm

You know Jake, it’s hard for a lot of us to be sympathetic for all the criticism from the left aimed at you when you take the title of your blog post directly from Friday’s GOP talking points memo.
Let me be clear: I am a strong Republican. I did not vote for Obama. But, I, like most true conservatives, am absolutely repulsed by Limbaugh and the far-right crazies. Limbaugh loves you because you recycle pathetic talking points instead of engaging in genuine journalism. Notice how many right-wing nutjobs have been active on your blog since Limbaugh started singing your praises? Is this really the way ABC news wants to go? It’s time to get rid of Tapper

Posted by: Alex | March 28, 2009, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm

The way to defeat the radical islamic militants is to match their determination and resolve.
I pray that Obama will “stay the course” in Afganistan, but I suspect that it wont be long before we see the liberal democrats in Congress forming a
“cut and run/surrender” caucus.
Most liberals dispise our military and
it is only out or “kool-aid” driven
loyalty to Obama that they are silence for the time being.

Posted by: Neville | March 28, 2009, 5:16 pm 5:16 pm

Obama’s historical epitaph:
“The Incredible Shrinking President
just up and blew away early in his
term. An empty suit was all that
remained.”
Dirty Harry had it right…”A man’s
gotta know his limitations”

Posted by: Trajan | March 28, 2009, 5:22 pm 5:22 pm

Obama is making statments that remind me of Bush. Perilous???
He wants war and is making a big ordeal out of Afganistan to warrant his need for power and attention…. NO MORE WAR!! Find another way Mr. know it all president (who is completely incompetent). He needs his entorage of “500″ to accompany him to Europe..because he doesn’t have a flipping clue what he is doing here or abroad.
He is a narcissist who is totally in love with himself He believes he is going on the world’s stage this week to act like a celebrity.. gain fame and fortune and make sure all his bodyguards are there to protect him. He wants to put himself on the map no matter what the cost to the American people.

Posted by: mjl | March 30, 2009, 9:25 am 9:25 am

Please EXPLAIN, why is Afganistan so much a more a moral war than Iraq. We have basically won in Iraq, democracy is becoming a reality. I know that Barraci Boy will want credit for this. But, why do we think war in Afganistan is so much more important. Any life lost of an American partriot is worth a thousand lost lives of Muslim terrorist!

Posted by: Ricky Ray | April 7, 2009, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm

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