Gibbs: Obama to Emphasize Exit Strategy
EmailABC News’ Jonathan Karl reports: The President may announce he's sending tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan, but in doing so, he'll emphasize how he'll eventually bring them home. "The president does not see this as an open ended engagement," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. "Our time there will be limited. And I think that is important for people to understand." The President will announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan in a prime time speech to the nation on Tuesday night delivered at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Senior administration officials say the President is likely to announce a deepening of the U.S. commitment that will include more than 30,000 additional troops. There are now approximately 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Gibbs would not say whether the President has made a final decision on sending more troops, but said that his review of U.S. Afghanistan policy has focused heavily on finding a way to eventually bringing an end to the U.S. military commitment. "Throughout this process the president has repeated pushed and prodded not simply for how are we going to get a certain number of troops in, but what is the strategy, what has to be implemented ultimately to get them out," Gibbs said. "We are in year nine of our efforts in Afghanistan," Gibbs added. "We are not going to be there another eight or nine years." Several top Democrats in Congress have raised concerns about the costs of sending more troops. As Democratic House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) recently told ABC News, "We ain't going to have no money for nothing if we pour it all into Afghanistan." Gibbs said the President shares those concerns and is keenly aware of the costs of sending more troops. "Look guys, it's a million dollars a troop per year – 10,000 troops is 10 billion dollars. That's in addition to what we already spend in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Gibbs said. "It's very, very, very expensive."
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Hang one of those red exit signs over a door frame Blazing Saddles style at the border and then have all our troops walk through it on their way home.
Posted by: Huh | November 25, 2009, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
The only exit strategy that will be effective, is the complete elimination of the Taliban, permanently, from the face of the planet.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | November 25, 2009, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
This is why you don’t rush decisions like this. It has to be thought out with all the options, from all sides.
Posted by: Gerald | November 25, 2009, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
The real thought went into how he was
going to pacify both sides of the debate.
I think he knew all along what he wanted
to do, just did not have the guts to
pull the trigger. The pressure is now
so great he has to do something.
Our spineless president. Aren’t we all
proud? After all the money that has gone
down the toilet, now they suddenly are
getting deficient smart.
Posted by: wis134 | November 25, 2009, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
This administrations efforts at publicly fence straddling every issue, meanwhile pursuing it’s own agenda is comic.
The only transparency is in the naked subterfuge and obfuscation.
Posted by: Que guevera? | November 25, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
That’s right you cannot rush these decisions. Pres. Obama is doing the right thing. And Bush/Cheney took 8 years and did nothing but get us in this mess to begin with!
Posted by: Barb | November 25, 2009, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm
Huh;
Hang one of those red exit signs over a door frame Blazing Saddles style at the border and then have all our troops walk through it on their way home.
—————————————-
Amen. Bush got us into a world of shite and should have sent in special ops into both Iraq and AfPak.
The current administration does not have the guts to do what is needed and we are looking at another Vietnam.
Obama should at least bring the troops home. There is no chance for success with the current crop of PC commanders that dominate the military, coupled with the ideological bent of this administration.
Bring them home and save us some money. The nation building exercise has failed for thousands of years in Afghanistan and will be no different now.
Posted by: Que guevera? | November 25, 2009, 2:48 pm 2:48 pm
Obama is such a welcome change … a President who listens and learns before making a decision, who leads with his head instead of his gut!
Posted by: sawrad | November 25, 2009, 2:48 pm 2:48 pm
We eagerly wait to hear of the exit strategy and the DATE the last American soldier will leave, nullifying his/her chances of dying in vain as did all the poor souls sent there to prop up a correct central government and drug lords. It will now become Pres. Obama’s war to lose as there is no chance of winning in a civil war we have no business being involved in with no oil there and the country being next to worthless. We elected Obama to end this nonsense; not add to it. War is not the answer!
Posted by: clever bob | November 25, 2009, 2:53 pm 2:53 pm
My above remark on Afghanistan should be amended to “corrupt central government”; not “correct central government”. My regrets.
Posted by: clever bob | November 25, 2009, 2:55 pm 2:55 pm
this unending war in the middle east sickens everyone, president obama included. at least he took a little time to study the facts, their context and the potential repercussions of various strategies. for all you impatient little armchair warriors out there, please do come up with a better strategy, for this and for the zillion other problems dumped on obama’s desk by the previous tenant (or should i say “illegal sublessee”?). i’d love to see what some of you Fulbright fellows dream up!
Posted by: moiraregis | November 25, 2009, 2:59 pm 2:59 pm
Its OK – We can muddle through.
Posted by: qyeteye | November 25, 2009, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
Obama takes a middle of the road stance!! WOW, who would’ve guessed…
Posted by: Art Texas | November 25, 2009, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
What they don’t tell you much about is that Pelosi and friends in Congress are putting together the “Share the Sacrifice Act” as a means for paying for this garbage.
In the “Share the Sacrifice Act”, they are setting up a blanket tax that will tax most Americans – yes – middle class too. I believe the proposal is for a 1% surtax on people earning UP TO $150,000!
Now why they are thinking about levying a tax on people for a war which the majority of Americans do not support is beyond me. Why they are expanding a war which the majority of Americans is beyond me.
Afghanistan is “un-winnable” and has been for centuries – we are the latest fools to try our hand at this and can see why we are failing miserably. We have not learned anything from the tragedy of the Vietnam war.
Give President Obama another year or so and he won’t even get a guest spot on the “stupid pet tricks” segment of the Letterman show. He will make George Bush look like a great leader. Most of all, we will all finally figure out how this man has totally pulled the wool over our eyes to get into the White House. He mocks us all with his arrogance and total disregard for public opinion.
Posted by: JonF | November 25, 2009, 3:26 pm 3:26 pm
Now we’re concerned about costs? If you are going to pull out Predident Obama, why send more troops now – wasn’t that the argument in Vietnam after the fact? You believe that you are still flying under Bush’s cover, so it’s not your problem. Look, the answer like everything else with this administration is tax the wealthy until there ain’t no wealthy no more. What song is that from?
Posted by: Ray Ozyjowski | November 25, 2009, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
Herod thought he could get rid of the so called terrorist Jesus so he killed all the children less than 2 years old. Did it help? You’re never going to get rid of all the terrorists. You’re only dreaming if you think you can. Get the troops back and spend the money shoring up the borders. Everything else is a waste of money.
Posted by: Krystal Kid | November 25, 2009, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
It was wrong to send living me to die for a foolish quest. If you don’t know how bad it hurts to be wounded, what it’s like to wake up with parts of your body blown away, to be so frightened as you watch guys you’ve lived with torn into junk and lie in front of you screaming while they die, then don’t root for the war scene. And sending even one more guy to justify the mistakes we’ve already made is the the worst thing any living person could do. These guys spend a year at a time with people shooting at them! That will drive any one crazy. Then they send them home for a year to rest up! What nonsence; they’re prime to go back and back. No wonder they all get PTSD.
Posted by: Matt | November 25, 2009, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
I won’t use any buzz words or call one side or the other names…
We need an agenda, one is that is realistic and one that focuses on keeping our son’s, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters as safe as possible.
Then we need to bring them home to the hero’s welcome they deserve and thank them for preventing 9/11 from happening again.
Posted by: Patrick | November 25, 2009, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm
Remember what happened to Russia in Afghanistan with our help and backing. Oh wait, those are the same people who is our enemy now. When the he_l we going to stop believing the government propaganda for profit and power? Bush, Obama, it doesn’t make a bit of difference. Their on the same team and its not the average American’s team. Time to wake up and smell the coffee. What is there to Win? What kind of ally could Afghanistan be other than help us grow poppies and milk goats.
Posted by: Tee | November 25, 2009, 3:40 pm 3:40 pm
To call this matter a farce is to insult farcical behavior. Instead of providing the country with a decisive plan, it appears that Obama will present an incoherent recipe for failure instead.
Obama should send additional troops only if he intends to win the war. But how can he win the war by emphasizing the conditions for retreat in advance.
Even after three months, it appears that Obama is still unable to resolve this inherent inconsistency. Hence, he floated the trial balloon of his proposed troop deployment. And, when it received a backlash from his liberal base, Gibbs now emphasizes the exit strategy more than troop deployment.
The result is a fatally incoherent war strategy – one that threatens to transform Afghanistan into a twenty-first century Viet Nam.
Posted by: E.Burke | November 25, 2009, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
took him long enough to listen to people who know how to fight a war. meanwhile it was the most deadly month in fighting in afghanistan while our president played politics with it.
Posted by: adam | November 25, 2009, 3:43 pm 3:43 pm
gerald:This is why you don’t rush decisions like this. It has to be thought out with all the options, from all sides.================================The spineless one did not make a decision before now so that the health care ponzi scheme could enter debate. While your on your knees worshiping the jr community organizer you may want to ask your self why the big rush on the ponzi health care? Could it be because it is not about health care at all but government take over of 1/6th of the American GDP? Closed door meetings do not invite discussion of the bill. Something is dreadfully wrong here! When are you sheeple going to wake up and see that your emperor has no clothes?
Posted by: Todd | November 25, 2009, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
I respect Obama’s thoughtfulness. That is how decision should be made. But his decision should not be influenced by the pressure of the left or right groups. He should pick a plan that he believes is the best option. This is the change that we believe in.
Posted by: indpendent_josh | November 25, 2009, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
Rick McDaniel – I do not believe there is a way to completely eliminate the Taliban. Maybe with Pakistan’s help but I still think madrassas will continue to churn out disaffected young people with a corrupted knowledge of Islam teaching hatred of the west. I never really understood the definition of success in Afghanistan. We cannot invade Pakistan where the problem originates. The government there is weak and the Pakistani army and ISI is infiltrated by both Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Posted by: Bob | November 25, 2009, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
The President isn’t going to bring home anybody, he’s the greatest liar there is! He and Israel are going after Iran too. What a big fat liar!
Posted by: Louie | November 25, 2009, 3:53 pm 3:53 pm
independet josh: respect Obama’s thoughtfulness. That is how decision should be made. But his decision should not be influenced by the pressure of the left or right groups. He should pick a plan that he believes is the best option. This is the change that we believe in.=======================Your kidding right? dumBO’s thoughtfulness was flying to Denmark with Opra to have egg thrown on his face while our troops were being killed. dumBO’s thoughtfulness was passing a porkulus in the middle og the night that no one read so that he could pay back the unions, and bankers for their votes. dumBO’s thoughtfulness has bankrupted our country yet while he is being so thoughtful he is still trying to find more ways to spend money we don’t have. Climategate.
Posted by: Todd | November 25, 2009, 3:58 pm 3:58 pm
Its not the number of troops, duh! Its deploying them where the terrorists are. The safe havens and operations HQ of Al-Qaeda is in Pakistan, not Afghanistan. That’s where you need troops deployed. No amount of troops in Afghanistan is going to solve the problem if you have a constant supply of fresh and well-trained terrorists coming from these safe havens in Pakistan.
Posted by: Globalguy | November 25, 2009, 3:58 pm 3:58 pm
Of all the varied skills possessed by our President, the ability to consistently resolve problems and create new, advantageous relationships by utilization of the process of negotiation is clearly the most prominent one. While not every member of his team is a skillful litigator, political strategist, or even a practitioner, everyone is a negotiator in both their professional and their private lives. The process of negotiation in our complex world is quite simply the engine of change and compromise that drives everything from the global economy to basic interpersonal relations at every level of every strata of human experience. Presidents are often considered the leading exponents of the art and science of consensus building, commonly referred to as negotiation, but they are far from the only group or profession that relies on the process. Nations, corporations, families, and a myriad of other organizations and individuals spend much of their professional and personal lives using universal bargaining principles to create equal opportunities and avoid problems. Without this process of give and take, chaos would soon envelop the world. However, it is not happening because Obama is our President. This why it takes him so much time to decide on the complex matter of Afghanistan.
Posted by: H1N1hysteria | November 25, 2009, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
Tee,
American bases is the strategy. Maybe policy experiments of the past 50 years have been realized, and we’ve decided to get off Muslim “holy land”.
And “Barb”, your history is warped
Posted by: jonec1200 | November 25, 2009, 4:02 pm 4:02 pm
Do not those who defended Bush to the death see ANY IRONY in their ridiculous Monday-morning quarterbacking of Obama’s thoughtful approach to this problem? Let me try to lay it out simply to the brain-challenged: IF BUSH had FINISHED the job instead of cutting-and-running from Afghanistan for 7 years, our boys would be back and we’d be safer for it. Anybody who supported the Bush/Cheney “strategy” who now has the stones to criticize ANYTHING redefines arrogance.
Posted by: Bucket of Cold Water | November 25, 2009, 4:13 pm 4:13 pm
I have ancestors on both parents side that fought in the American Revolution. I have ancestors that fought the Civil War. My family is from Bedford, VA, the home of the Bedford Boys and the D-DAY Memorial, and I lost 3 Great Uncles Storming the Beaches of Normandy. My Father was in the Korean War and I lost my Older Brother to Vietnam.
I myself, served in the 1st Bt, 8th Marines.
My son asked me the other day about serving his Country. I told him that I would never tell him what to do or what not to do. BUT, the way our Country is now.. IMHO he would be better off staying here and looking after his own family, because I am not sure there is anyone in this Country worth Fighting for, amymore.
Sorry, Our Government is screwing us, the left and the right. They don’t give a Rat’s rear for anyone except themselves and their next election. AND, we are so stupid that we keep putting the same crap back up there year after year after year.
WE have a Government being run by the RICH, and we think they know how we feel and what we need.
Posted by: ajax | November 25, 2009, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
E. Burke — “But how can he win the war by emphasizing the conditions for retreat in advance”.
Are you familiar with the Casper Weinberger/Colin Powell Doctrine? The centerpiece is always having an EXIT STRATEGY — ie, “emphasizing the conditions for retreat in advance”. I will go with General Powell on this one I think.
Posted by: Ryan | November 25, 2009, 4:36 pm 4:36 pm
Emphazising on an exit plan is just plain weak and dangerous because it tells our soldiers he is not behind them and does not want to win the war. This president is a disgrace to this country and is going to get more of our troops killed for what? Something he does not really believe in? If he was a real man he would just withdraw the troops now and spare anymore of them from dying. We can take the Taliban terrorist issue up when we have someone with a backbone running this country.
Posted by: Rick | November 25, 2009, 4:43 pm 4:43 pm
“The president does not see this as an open ended engagement,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. “Our time there will be limited. And I think that is important for people to understand.”
_________________________________________________
Our time there will be limited? Says who? How many times have we heard about the incredible harshness that Afghanistan holds both in it’s geography and it’s extremism? NO ONE, not even Obama himself can make a prediction as to our time there. Our troops, God bless them, are doing all they can do. And they are set on victory…meaning a total wipeout of the terror groups that threaten us all. Not just us, but the residents in Afghanistan who do not follow along like sheep.
It sickens me to see how Obama has taken this horrible situation and turned it into a political, media driven circus. His “decisions” have been slow to say the least, and in the meantime, the MSM has brought this country to a boiling point. Sometimes you wonder if certain people tolerate the extremists more than they do their fellow Americans.
Anyway, for Obama to come out after his months of indecisiveness and proclaim that HE intends to end this war is a joke. Unless we have the cooperation of our allies, money to fund the troops, and a country that’s together in our thought processes against these terrorists, there is no end.
Posted by: Shoe | November 25, 2009, 5:00 pm 5:00 pm
On Tuesday, Obama will vote PRESENT again! The master charlatan politician who has never made a decision claims he is going to make one. It was three months ago that General McChrystal asked for 40,000 troops, but Obama the genius he is, has used up all of the time to make essentially the same decision he would have made then, while demoralizing our troops in the battlefield.
Posted by: wizcat123 | November 25, 2009, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
Bucket of Cold Water — And those that tell us they have the strategy to win “America’s War” earlier this year and are now saying they have not decided on a strategy must be simple liars I guess? It’s so easy to hind sight this, but now we are trying to move forward. Obama has taken a very long time to make a decision during an ACTIVE TIME OF WAR. The decision he is making is right in line with what McChrystal assessed. Obama was told 3 months ago without more troops we will FAIL. If those simple facts hurt the Democratic party, I don’t care, but our President has to be able to make unpopular decisions without fear of not being reelcted later. How many of us knew over 2 months ago we weren’t pulling out of Afghanistan? I was fairly confident we were not leaving.
Posted by: lfrichar | November 25, 2009, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
Hell, I would have thought with all his talking before the election, that he would have had Osama’s head on a pole by now. What the crap happened with that?
Posted by: ajax | November 25, 2009, 5:02 pm 5:02 pm
Hey Hussein, Exit after you WIN!
Posted by: Scott T. | November 25, 2009, 5:33 pm 5:33 pm
The idea of emphasizing an ‘exit strategy’ over a “Complete and Overwhelming Victory” is extremely stupid and shows just how inept this adminstration is at the kind of strategy it takes to deal with this type of enemy…but then, Obama is completely beholden to Georgie Soros and his SS troops at MoreOn.org and the other Left Wingnut organizations, so troop strategy plays a distant second to liberal PR in this.
Posted by: Bill | November 25, 2009, 5:41 pm 5:41 pm
What Obama supporters call thinking it through are considered wish-washy, slow, indecisive to others. He spent an entire year or more blasting Bush for being slow yet what does he do when he comes into office? Does exactly the same thing
Posted by: 4rc | November 25, 2009, 6:22 pm 6:22 pm
Obama is not loyal to america…has caused the deaths of many of our service members………..has made it easier on terrorists to attack here…and is in general horrible for America. Impeach him.
Posted by: VeryPainfulTruth | November 25, 2009, 6:48 pm 6:48 pm
I have a suggestion to all: Why don’t we wait to see exactly what the President says when he does speak to the nation?
I myself do not approve of President Obama’s handling of Afghanistan. I wish he could have made a decision sooner. That does NOT mean I’m of the ‘do something…anything’ group.
It means I believe the CIC needs to be able to think fast, come to the right decision quickly, and act promptly. When fighting a war, one must be able to accumulate data, process it, and come to a decision quickly. It’s not like some corporate CEO deciding on the best market strategy for pete’s sake.
But, I am willing to wait to hear what HE says instead of listening to Mr. Smart-aleck Gibbs or all the other ‘experts’ busy grabbing for the spotlight.
Then, if I agree with the President’s decisions, I will be big enough to say so. If I don’t agree, I’ll feel free to express my displeasure then.
Posted by: malcat | November 25, 2009, 6:58 pm 6:58 pm
Let me get this straight?? Obama waits 13 weeks to make a decision after being asked to send 45,000 Troop re-inforcements by his hand picked Afghan General. Then Obama announces a December 1st Photo-op at West point to address the Nation that he will send more troops, but on Nov. 25th his Press Sec. is already telling the Press that on Dec. 1st Obama will emphasize the exit strategy of the troops that he has not even sent yet???? Is it just me or is anyone else concerned that The White House does not have a clue as to what they are doing?
Posted by: Yankee Trader | November 25, 2009, 8:24 pm 8:24 pm
Those who praise Obama should bear in mind that he has called Afghanistan “a war of necessity.”
As for his length strategy review that’s about over, it should also be noted that he announced a new commander and a new strategy back in March.
He’s entitled to change his mind, of course. But, he owes an honest explanation to the American people who pay the bills for whatever he decides to do.
Is Afghanistan still “a war of necessity” or not, and he is simply going to muddle through for a while?
Posted by: vrytix | November 25, 2009, 9:13 pm 9:13 pm
Obama listens and learns before making decisions?? yeah, depends what the issue is..Seems he is off to Copenhagen inspite of the new evidence from deep within the scientific community that global warming is a hoax.
Posted by: cindy | November 25, 2009, 9:16 pm 9:16 pm
If Obama was half as interested in winning as he is in bugging out we could still have a respectable showing in Afghanistan. Our weak coward like behavior is embarrassing and sad.
Posted by: rplat | November 25, 2009, 9:30 pm 9:30 pm
Obviously all of Obama’s terrorist friends will be listening very carefully to see when he plans to walk off the field!
Posted by: wizcat123 | November 25, 2009, 9:58 pm 9:58 pm
Barack H. Obama and Lyndon B. Johnson two Democrats with the same objectives let’s delay the outcome but let’s make sure we lose the war. What a couple of losers ….
Posted by: wizcat123 | November 25, 2009, 10:00 pm 10:00 pm
Matt, being a soldier is a brotherhood, you are given orders and you do your duty, you fight for freedom even if you have to sacrifice your own life … problem is in this war we don’t have a Commander in Chief ….
Posted by: wizcat123 | November 25, 2009, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
The SNL skits are getting better, however in the last one they blew it toward the end, instead of the Chinese guy bending down it should have been Obama bending down, we are the ones getting shafted!
Posted by: wizcat123 | November 25, 2009, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
If its true that he plans to finish the job I am behind hime 110%. Good luck with that Mr President. I hope he will toughen up on Iran as well. A nuclear middle east will be a disaster for everyone.
Posted by: ChicagoBob | November 25, 2009, 10:52 pm 10:52 pm
What happened to the campaign promise to bring the troops home? Another broken promsie, I’m not surprised by it either. One more American life is to much sacrifice for this God foresaken country where corruption runs rampant and agreements aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if they can take another innocent life and get some good ol’ U.S. dollars flowing.
Hypocrite Obama.
Posted by: wags101 | November 25, 2009, 10:54 pm 10:54 pm
“Look guys, it’s a million dollars a troop per year – 10,000 troops is 10 billion dollars. That’s in addition to what we already spend in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Gibbs said. “It’s very, very, very expensive.”
This doesnt wash. He is spending us into oblivion with his 787BILLION dollar bribe. That could run the war for 70 years. So this complaint is hollow.
Posted by: ChicagoBob | November 25, 2009, 10:55 pm 10:55 pm
Honestly I wonder what the exit goal is. Whats mission complete? I dont see that anywhere information do you?
Posted by: ChicagoBob | November 25, 2009, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
Russia destroys Afganistan and no one says anything about them reconstruting. The U.S. goes in there and we spend most our tax payer money reconstructing. I think the option is to ask the people what they want and tell them it is not until we defeat the enemy …THEN they will get what they want.
Posted by: George | November 26, 2009, 2:13 am 2:13 am
To me, the only rational explanation for starting and being involved in a war like that is to keep producing weapons. Remember, there is no money to be made when there is peace. Simple as that. That is why the peace loving hippies in the 60′s were despised by mainstream. Not just because of their hair and the way they dressed.
Posted by: Willy | November 26, 2009, 3:07 am 3:07 am
Sending American troops to Afghanistan for making full stop to anti democratic forces will be very tough operations.
Instead of sending further troops to this country, better to finish job of elimination of insurgency groups in Afghanistan may be a correct,logical decision.
Then , America can concentrate for Afghans welfare by many constructive ways.
Posted by: bngpatsy | November 26, 2009, 3:15 am 3:15 am
President Obama has shown amazing strenght of character and leadership by taking his time and the political heat to make a well-informed decision on Afghanistan. Despite the carping personal attacks of tea party trolls here and elsewhere and the whining of cry baby lefties, he has stood his ground to make the best choices for America and our troops who are fighting to protect us from the religious radicals who have taken over in that region. I applaud and commend our commander and chief for this display of real leadership.
Posted by: bob10001 | November 26, 2009, 3:20 am 3:20 am
how are we to believe $10 billion is a cause for concern when every other administration proposal calls for hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars in spending? that’s like buying a $50,000.00 car and quibbling over the cost of the floor mats. don’t get me wrong, i think afghanistan is an unwinnable quagmire and that we should be looking to get out as soon as practicable, but to hear this administration state that a few billion dollars over the next year or two is a central concern in the policy-making stage is absurd…in fact, it’s beyond absurd and betrays the height of disengenuousness.
Posted by: davidfrat21 | November 26, 2009, 7:37 am 7:37 am
Maybe Obama has been working on his own exit strategy that he will announce on Tuesday. We can only hope!
Posted by: TxBoB | November 26, 2009, 8:24 am 8:24 am
Reading all these comments has really helped me understand these issues from perspectives that never came to mind before.
Posted by: Victimized | November 26, 2009, 8:29 am 8:29 am
I think he is playing a dangerous game;
I am no economist, but I think that the USA is already way over-extended, and this could be the straw that finnally breaks the camels back so to speak. We are already in the red so far it will take years to get out, but it seems that no one is aware that there is a limit to how far you can go without the whole thing coming crashing down.
Posted by: Shawn Irwin | November 26, 2009, 9:09 am 9:09 am
Hope the president succeeds in his endeavors on this matter…hopefully an economy can be developed in this region considering there are no natural resources…trees with oranges and apples, irrigation and so forth…
Posted by: phantomniter | November 26, 2009, 9:09 am 9:09 am
Instead of taxing the rich to pay for this, start a draft whereby those with incomes over $250,000 have to send their kids first.
Posted by: rich | November 26, 2009, 9:22 am 9:22 am
He had all this time, since he became a candidate and knew he would have to face this question. I believe we can safely say that our President can not think on his feet and he surely is not quick.If one thinks about it, he has had over a year to think about our troops at war.
Posted by: James L. | November 26, 2009, 9:35 am 9:35 am
We need an exit strategy, and I applaud Obama on that accord. The Soviet Union tried to conquer Afghanistan. They even deployed more troops that we did. Look what happened. Remember too, that Reagan armed the mujadeen to fight the Soviets. The CIA built caves for them to hide out in. And now the mujadeen have become the Taliban.
The longer we stay in Afghanistan, the less popular we become. It’s time to start bringing our troops home.
And it’s also time to make the rich pay for the war. Rich kids do not fight in Afghanista; they go to college. The rich have slashed budgets of state colleges and universities so that the rich go to college and the poor die in Afghanistan and Iraq. These wars are just a cover-up for a plot of the rich to exterminate the poor. They rich have made a fantastic profit through bloated and fraudulent defense contracts. It’s time for them to return the money that they stole from US.
Posted by: William Joseph Miller | November 26, 2009, 10:52 am 10:52 am
In a war, you don’t explain your strategy to the enemy.
Why should the President have to publicly lay out the details of his strategy so that the other side need only turn on the TV to hear his plans? (This applies whether he is R or D.)
Consult with the generals and Congress, go in and finish it.
Posted by: Joe White | November 26, 2009, 11:17 am 11:17 am
OBama can’t make a decision since he doesn’t want to offend anyone.
This guy has zero credibility; lack of Gov’t service, went to Jeremy Wright’s church for 20 years (who preached Anti-America); wants socialism.
America was built on the backbone of hard work; not welfare and for free handouts. The Free Govt health plan will bankrupt this country, so you only get a breast examine at 50+ years old now. Wait until your older, they will only give you minimal care since you are near the end of your life…
Thanks For voting this guy in so blindly without doing your facts. The best thing though is Obama is a nice guy–
You are all fooled…. ha, ha, ha
Posted by: True American | November 26, 2009, 12:20 pm 12:20 pm
Obamacizing:
Emphasize the part of the plan that will have appeal to everyone despite the fact that there is no way Obama can deliver. Obama will promise to catch Bin Laden, turn the Taliban to our side, kill all terrorists, reform the government, guarantee free elections, rebuild schools, provide water/electricity to all and be out in 5 years. Never mind that this war is longterm, each item above is a challenge and success can only be measured by the relative reduction in attacks both locally and abroad. The speech will be neat and tidy but divorsed from the harsh reality.
It is no different from all the other promises Obama and Axelrod have trumpeted with the help of the MSM. Close Guantanemo, save the economy with HC reform, reduce the deficit by half, stimulate job creation and keep unemployment below 8% with pork barrel spending, garner worldwide cooperation by being naive and nice, save billions by ending the war in Iraq in 16 months. The guy has no credibility.
But he does throw a great party for his Hollywood friends! And thank God he has time to play golf 2 times a week and do a Christmas special with Oprah.
Are you kidding me?
Posted by: Gene-Fairfax, Va. | November 26, 2009, 1:28 pm 1:28 pm
Hello,
I as President after many months of polling plan to do what polling data has told me works best.
First, it is clear that in order to not look weak, I must send more troops to Afghanistan to fight and die in a war I do not believe in. Polls indicate that I can tolerate another 500 to 700 American soldiers being killed in Afghanistan irrespective of whatever they are doing there.
Second, I will need to begin bringing all troops out of Afghanistan in August of 2011. This will be great for my re-election campaign. I will have soldiers flying into airports all over the country. Maybe we can arrange a parade. Coverage of returning troops must include non-stop praise of me.
Third, even if the Taliban regains control of Afghanistan and the government collapses as we leave and women and children being slaughtered in the streets, I have already spoken to the media about not covering any of this.
All in all, I believe that we have come up with a comprehensive strategy to make me look both a little less weak and heroic going into 2012.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Carter II
Posted by: Angelo | November 27, 2009, 8:35 am 8:35 am
Yet another undeclared war gone wrong. When will We The People put an end to our run away Congress?
Posted by: Faurtz8 | November 27, 2009, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
This will be a huge mistake when he sends more troops. He is setting the US up for economnic collapse in a couple years since our country is maxed out on debt and has huge payments coming up. And he wants to waste MORE money when we can’t pay what we owe now? At least health care is for a good cause. This war is a complete waste. Obama’s mistake will be as disastrous as Bush’s was going into Iraq. Our country will see a level of pain not seen since the Great Depression when our economy collapses from debt and no foreign country will buy our treasury bills or finance our debt anymore and then capital will flee from the US. This is a very, very, stupid mistake he is about to make. And he knows better. I’m not sure why he has given away the farm to the banksters and now to the Pentagon. These pirates ALWAYS want more, more, more. They’ve trashed the country now and left our populace with NOTHING. This is a very stupid move Obama is about to make.
Posted by: allen_osuno | November 28, 2009, 6:08 am 6:08 am
After he commits the troops to a losing battle, Obama’s popularity rating will plummet way down to around where Bush’s was when Bush had made so many mistakes and refused to listen to the popular will. Now this president is refusing to listen. His liberal base is enraged and the conservatives already hate him. His popularity ratings will be in the toilet and he may get a revolt from liberal Congressmen, who may either pull the plug on funding or else pass a war tax. Obama is shrugging off the popular backlash at his own peril. He is about to duplicate the stupidity of George W. Bush. Kiss our economy good bye when he launches a new level of monetary waste.
Posted by: allen_osuno | November 28, 2009, 6:15 am 6:15 am
President Obama does handle things in thought through manner. I applaud that… thinking of American Soldiers being put at lifeending threat. Previous administrations were to quick to react to a culture that has more brutal troops than we could ever imagine! This war will never end in our time. I don’t think it ever will.
Posted by: Perryof63 | November 28, 2009, 5:12 pm 5:12 pm
The President fails to realize that all of the plans in the world must be flexible to changes on the ground. As in a football game the before game strategy must be thrown out or at least adjusted based on the opponent game plan and player match-up.
Posted by: tillyerkt | November 29, 2009, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm
I can’t believe this crap!!! 2920 days and counting – you know just think of what the greatest military might in the world can do in 1 day but hey after 8 years all Obama can come up with is send more troops…
Posted by: bill | December 2, 2009, 8:44 pm 8:44 pm