White House Expresses Remorse over troops killed in Afghanistan
EmailABC’s Jordyn Phelps reports:
As President Obama contemplates U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, the military operation in the country is facing increasing violence. Eight U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday.
October has been the most violent month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war began eight years ago. Today’s violence follows the deaths of 14 U.S. troops killed yesterday in a helicopter collision believed to have been caused by enemy fire. A total of 55 U.S. troops have been killed this month. Overall, 2009 has witnessed the highest number of U.S. and NATO troop deaths in Afghanistan since the war began.
The White House expressed its condolences to the families who have been affected by the increase in violence affecting U.S. forces.
"As always our prayers go out to those who have lost a loved one and for those who sacrificed so much to serve our country." White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, the President continues to consult with his advisers and military leaders in reaching a decision on his Afghanistan policy. The President plans to meet with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen on Friday, as he approaches making a final judgment.
"I think we're getting certainly toward the end of that [decision-making process]," Gibbs said.
While the President may be coming closer to making a decision, Gibbs qualified that the President will not rush.
"I think the President will take some time after these meetings to think through what he's heard, what we've all learned, and evaluate this process, both what's best for our country, what's best for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and for the region as a whole," Gibbs said.
Gibbs admits that he does not know when the President will make his final decision, but it is expected the announcement will come sometime in the next few weeks.
–Jordyn Phelps
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I am sorry for the families. I hope they have comfort from the pride of knowing their loved ones lived lives of importance to many.
I hope for wisdom from our leaders.
Posted by: MayBee | October 27, 2009, 6:00 pm 6:00 pm
No sweat, Barry, there is still time for another 9 holes of golf and an evening fundraiser. “Rahm the F-bomb” will cover for you.
Posted by: I'm Not a President, but I Play One on TV | October 27, 2009, 6:01 pm 6:01 pm
Bring them home, please. These efforts will not amount to any “pie in the sky” nation-building dream. We missed Osama so let’s stop wasting money that we don’t have.
Posted by: Huh | October 27, 2009, 6:17 pm 6:17 pm
Anyone for another round of 9 holes with our ditherer-in-chief?
Posted by: Looking for Sanit | October 27, 2009, 6:24 pm 6:24 pm
“Anyone for another round of 9 holes with our ditherer-in-chief?”
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Same old smear campaign from the right – conveniently overlooking it was Bush and Cheney who left Afghanistan on the back burner for 7 years while al qaeda and the taliban regrouped – and it was Obama who recently greatly increased troop strength.
The right have no common sense and no shame.
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 7:07 pm 7:07 pm
This is what Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of War, “The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.” Our brave young troops should not be neglected in a “war of necessity”.
Posted by: young_voter | October 27, 2009, 7:08 pm 7:08 pm
It took less than three weeks for Harry Truman to make the decision to drop the atomic bomb.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | October 27, 2009, 7:12 pm 7:12 pm
Perhaps the most indecisive President our nation has ever known.
Posted by: Politicoli | October 27, 2009, 7:15 pm 7:15 pm
President Obama held a meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his national security team yesterday morning.
Those who were expected to attend were: Vice President Biden (via videoconference from Ohio), Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, General James Jones, National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security and Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff.
The President plans to meet with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen on Friday regarding Afghanistan.
This is hardly ‘dithering’. You seem to hardly understand the process of proper decision making.
You also seem to have no idea of how long the logistical deployment of troops takes if you’re talking about tens of thousands of troops.
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 7:16 pm 7:16 pm
I don’t know how many more lives have to be lost for Obama to do what Truman did, why are our bombers sit idle here in Mo. good thing i’m not the one in charge, first i’d pull our troops then rearrange the mountains to rubble!!!
Posted by: gary | October 27, 2009, 7:17 pm 7:17 pm
julieterra, you sound just like our child in cheif. Blame the Bush admin. Guess what? Obama won the election a year ago, took office 9 months ago, six months ago anounced, with much fan fare, his new agenda for Afghanistan. This month, October 2009, has been the deadliest month since the war started. The deaths of our beloved just keeps getting higher under Obama not lower. This is his war, he ownes it. IT IS HIS! BUSH IS GONE. OBAMA OWNS AFGHANISTAN! I wish he, and you, would man up and realize it only makes you and him look petty and childish.
Posted by: whatsgoingonhere? | October 27, 2009, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
” first i’d pull our troops then rearrange the mountains to rubble!!!”
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You have no idea of the size of geography you’re referring to, nor the number of innocent people who would be killed.
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 7:21 pm 7:21 pm
“I don’t know how many more lives have to be lost for Obama to do what Truman did, why are our bombers sit idle here in Mo. good thing i’m not the one in charge, first i’d pull our troops then rearrange the mountains to rubble!!!”
You want to nuke the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan?
Seriously is the right wing really this insane?
Posted by: Ryan C | October 27, 2009, 7:30 pm 7:30 pm
” would man up and realize it only makes you and him look petty and childish.”
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No, it makes you look petty and childish to not be able to acknowledge Bush and Cheney ignored Afghanistan for 7 years allowing al qaeda and the taliban to regroup and strengthen themselves.
Once you understand that, you can understand why Obama faces trouble in Afghanistan – and why he drastically increased the number of troops there already – and why he is considering the worth of sending more troops.
Is Afghanistan ‘winnable’? Hard to say, the Soviet Union certainly were unable to win, so were many other ‘invaders’ through the centuries.
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 7:37 pm 7:37 pm
To put this in perspective, next week, Mr. Obama will be on a golf course while mothers are preparing to bury their sons and daughters.
Posted by: young_voter | October 27, 2009, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
“remorse” is an inappropriate and misleading word.
try reporting straight, Jake.
Posted by: nia | October 27, 2009, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
“To put this in perspective, next week, Mr. Obama will be on a golf course while mothers are preparing to bury their sons and daughters.”
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Same old cheap shots and smear tactics from the right – conveniently overlooking it was Bush and Cheney who left Afghanistan on the back burner for 7 years while al qaeda and the taliban regrouped – and it was Obama who recently greatly increased troop strength.
The right have no common sense and no shame.
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 8:10 pm 8:10 pm
“remorse” is an inappropriate and misleading word.
try reporting straight, Jake.
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I agree. Is it a lack of understanding of the implications of the word – or is it actually done on purpose?
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 8:18 pm 8:18 pm
“and it was Obama who recently greatly increased troop strength.”
Do you think Obama should increase troop strength?
Posted by: Sigmonde | October 27, 2009, 8:19 pm 8:19 pm
Knock off the festivities.
No salsa dancing, no WH parties, no golf, no campaign speeches about how tough he is until Obama makes a decision on Afghanistan.
He’s going to make a decision in a week or two.
Can he go that long without one of the above?
Obama doesn’t know what tough is–he should spend a day in Afghanistan.
Posted by: ollie | October 27, 2009, 8:21 pm 8:21 pm
Obama, Rahm, Gibbs, and the frat boys are having a blast.
Do they look like they’re losing sleep over Afghanistan.
Fun time in the White House.
One big party, one big road trip.
Either send more troops or get them out.
Posted by: hank | October 27, 2009, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm
The point to be made–and again, there are a few who are too dim to grasp it–is that the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was infinitely more momentous than the decision that has simply paralyzed the hapless Obama for many weeks now.
No one suggests any new or radical bombing campaign, and not a single person has suggested using nuclear weapons. All that is being suggested is that for crying out loud this feckless dope make a bloody decision!
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | October 27, 2009, 10:20 pm 10:20 pm
Obama likes being #1. There were 58,000 killed in Vietnam.. when the death toll reaches 58,001, Obama and the bootlickers can say they are #1.Until then, no decision will be made.
Posted by: mickey maoist | October 27, 2009, 10:31 pm 10:31 pm
good thing i’m not the one in charge, first i’d pull our troops then rearrange the mountains to rubble!!!
gary | Oct 27, 2009 7:17:34 PM
Yes, it is a good think you’re not in charge. Genocide of an entire people including women and children is entirely beneath the United States.
Posted by: jhw539 | October 27, 2009, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
“not a single person has suggested using nuclear weapons.”
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Oh yeah?
“I don’t know how many more lives have to be lost for Obama to do what Truman did”
Posted by: gary | Oct 27, 2009 7:17:34 PM
Are you really ignorant of ‘what Truman did’?
Posted by: julieterra | October 27, 2009, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm
Eight dead soldiers.. How many more soldiers needs to die before he decides? Isn’t it during the campaign he said that Afghan is the right war? What is your plan? I guess Obama lied because he does not have any plan.
Posted by: myna | October 28, 2009, 12:01 am 12:01 am
“Isn’t it during the campaign he said that Afghan is the right war? What is your plan? I guess Obama lied because he does not have any plan.”
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Nonsense. Obama authorized 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, after finding the situation a complete mess as left by Bush and Cheney.
“This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires,” Obama said in a written statement.
Now, additional troops (up to 80,000!) have been requested – and even with those numbers the General says that corruption in Afghanistan may make winning the was impossible.
Try to be honest with your lying.
Posted by: julieterra | October 28, 2009, 12:34 am 12:34 am
if & when
Posted by: mickey maoist
the 2 foundations of the republican cult,
always based on the most dire predictions possible to try and justify their ineptitude and failed policies
Posted by: Oh Yeah | October 28, 2009, 1:18 am 1:18 am
“Remorse”?
Do you mean THIS “remorse”:
Main Entry: re·morse
1 a : a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs (as injuries done to others) : SELF-REPROACH b : an attack of remorse
2 obsolete : sympathetic sorrow : COMPASSION
3 obsolete : a lessening or break in a process or action
4 obsolete : a solemn obligation
synonym see PENITENCE
Posted by: tanarg | October 28, 2009, 2:47 am 2:47 am
“Remorse”?
Do you mean THIS “remorse”:
Main Entry: re·morse
1 a : a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs (as injuries done to others) : SELF-REPROACH b : an attack of remorse
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Yes, these are the types of slanted words that affect the mind set of the reader. So when the main use of the word is guilt for past wrongs or injuries done to others; or an attack of self reproach, the reporter has either used the word without proper care – or has intentionally slanted the piece.
Neither explanation seems that flattering.
Posted by: julieterra | October 28, 2009, 4:02 am 4:02 am
OH MY GOD,
wHAT IS THE big deal WE NEED TO GIVE OUR president the baby some time to deal with more pressing issues like the “war” against ‘FOX’. We can’t expect him to fight his brothers in the muslim world after all…..after all those evil terrorist carry weapons!
Posted by: RD | October 28, 2009, 4:23 am 4:23 am
“OUR president the baby”
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As soon as you resort to juvenile name calling, you discredit the remainder of your post – which fortunately didn’t have much to offer anyway.
Posted by: julieterra | October 28, 2009, 5:24 am 5:24 am
Same old cheap shots and smear tactics from the right – conveniently overlooking it was Bush and Cheney who left Afghanistan on the back burner for 7 years while al qaeda and the taliban regrouped -julieterra | Oct 27, 2009 8:10:03 PM & julieterra | Oct 27, 2009 7:07:44 PM
—————-
Same old tactics by the die-hard left. Copying and pasting Blame Bush arguments.
Why not try being objective and admit that Obama announced his own strategy for Afghanistan back in March, and that now his dithering about whether or not to send the troops requested by HIS man on the ground might be showing Al Qaeda that this is the opportune time to play on public fatigue and weak governance?
I don’t know if we should be there or not. Everything I’ve heard about the Afghan government is that it’s corrupt and rotting from the inside. This would be difficult enough with the backing of a trusted government, let alone one whose elections are being questioned.
Regardless of the decision or outcome, it would be nice if our President would adopt a “Buck Stops Here” attitude instead of perpetually blaming Bush, Fox, and whomever else and getting us past partisan politics like he promised in his campaign.
Posted by: Jen B. | October 28, 2009, 5:31 am 5:31 am
Obama continues to evade his responsibilities.
Posted by: Rasputin3.14 | October 28, 2009, 6:29 am 6:29 am
The president has already claimed that this is a “war of necessity”, so how at this point could he not send in more troops? What did (does) he mean by “necessity”? Is it to capture Bin Laden? To shut down the Taliban? Al Qaeda? To promote democracy? There are terrorists all over the world, as we all know, we even have them right here in our own country.
Whether Bin Laden is there or not, I don’t know. But if Afghanistan and Pakistan are the havens for terrorists and drug trades, then seemingly, we would need more troops. However, to eradicate the entire problem we would seemingly need to have troops everywhere. He needs to clarify exactly what he means by “necessary”.
Posted by: Shoe | October 28, 2009, 7:22 am 7:22 am
Remember Libs:
You have the White House, filibuster-proof majorities in Congress, and an overwhelmingly accomodating press (except for that pesky little Fox outfit).
War is over, if Barry wants it.
Posted by: Appeasement Czar | October 28, 2009, 8:24 am 8:24 am
Gen. McChystal probably never thought he would have to deal with a Commander-in Chief that injects so much politics in trying to make military decisions. It almost looks like Obama is looking at the polls and seeing which way the wind is going to blow before he decides on his commander’s plea.
Wouldn’t surprise me if McChystal just throws his arms up and resigns.
Posted by: writewingnut | October 28, 2009, 8:58 am 8:58 am
Don’t look now, but Obama has failed John Kerry’s “Global Test.” The UN has just declared that Obama is “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there” in Afghanistan.
—US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN’s top investigator of such crimes said.
“The problem with the United States is that it is making an increased use of drones/Predators (which are) particularly prominently used now in relation to Pakistan and Afghanistan,” UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston told a press conference.
“My concern is that drones/Predators are being operated in a framework which may well violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” he said.—
Posted by: Appeasement Czar | October 28, 2009, 9:12 am 9:12 am
===for crying out loud this feckless dope make a bloody decision!===
Could be that making decisions is above his pay grade.
Posted by: Axey | October 28, 2009, 9:54 am 9:54 am
So, let’s see. As it turns out the latest WSJ/NBC poll shows that the public — those not in the fringe, at least– adamantly doesn’t want Obama to rush the extremely complex Afghanistan strategy decision. To wit–
“As you may know, the Obama administration has said it will not make a firm decision about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan until after that country’s upcoming runoff election when the president of Afghanistan will be determined and the political situation in that country is clearer. Do you support or oppose this decision?”
Support 58%
Oppose 37%
Meanwhile, rightwingers are helping Obama in some ways, since he will be sending more troops and the question seems to be how many and what is the end goal. Forty-seven percent now support a troop increase, up from last month and higher than the 43% who oppose it.
Posted by: Alyson | October 28, 2009, 10:02 am 10:02 am
Not just dithering but dawdling too! We are in Afghanistan ( The ‘good” war) to eliminate the government instability that allows terrorists to use it as a training ground. If their was a stable government we would not need to be there. The pathetic, weak and inept handling of this situation by this administration is horrifying.
Posted by: Kala | October 28, 2009, 10:41 am 10:41 am
Obama announced his own strategy for Afghanistan back in March,
this a perfect example of the rigid unsuccessful policy of the rightwing anti-Obama crowd
they can’t realize that conditions can change and require a newer analysis for a war plan.
one might imagine that after 8 years of failed republican war policies, they would learn a lesson or two
Posted by: Yo | October 28, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
one would imagine that after 8 years of failed policy and plan in 2 wars, republicans might be a little more humble in their discussion of current policy on Afghanistan…
and yet, this illustrates so clearly the republican mindset…. don’t plan, don’t support, get it wrong, don’t change… and claim victory, blame someone else for your failures after you leave office.
no small wonder why republicans were rejected by the american electorate
Posted by: Oh Yeah | October 28, 2009, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm
JORDYN PHELPS:
LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “TROOPER” (ONE) AND “TROOP” (A GROUP OF TROOPERS):
ABC’s Jordyn Phelps reports:
As President Obama contemplates U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, the military operation in the country is facing increasing violence. Eight U.S. troops [READ: TROOPERS] were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Posted by: S. G. Renquist | October 28, 2009, 4:46 pm 4:46 pm