Obama to Veterans: “America will not let you down”

I’d love to get excited about the flag flying at the capital, but we also flew the flag of China on their 40th anniversary at OUR Capitol.
I have very little faith that Mr. President believed anything he said in light of his lack of sincere regret for what happened at Ft. Hood.

@Jane
The blind ignorance of irrational Obama-haters is extraordinary.
The Chinese anniversary in question was the 60th, not 40th. The flag did NOT fly at the White House during that celebration, it flew on the Ellipse grounds across from the White House. And, finally, the flag of China last flew over the White House on April of 2006 to mark the state visit of their President to our nation during the Bush Administration, AS IT DOES FOR ALL FOREIGN LEADERS DURING STATE VISITS.

They already know the people wont let them down, its you Obama they worry about.

Most Americans would not let our troops down.
I guess Obama thinks letting troops sit in limbo for three months while he focuses on health care and other things–that doesn’t count as letting them down.

Dithering , waffling, and playing politics while our troops wait for support in Afghanistan does that count as a let down?
How about not keeping a promise made to the troops–a promise of clearly defined goals and the support needed to get the job done?

Americans wont let you down is correct. what about Obama, Polosi and her gang?

A major intelligence failure of the DNI,FBI and Pentagon…the President owes it to our troops to find out why an Army major has repeated contact with a known foreign jihadist and nothing is done about it before he causes the largest one-day casualty count in yrs.

Looking at all the Obama-haters posts here. I wonder if any of them bothered to ask military veterans how WE feel about Obama?
GWB got us into two wars with no clear end-objectives in sight. Claimed we’d “won” the first one (that we’re still fighting) just weeks after he started it and went off to start another one. He was in such a hurry he didn’t even bother to wait until the troops he committed had sufficient gear to fight. Their families were having to try to buy body-armor to send to their children overseas. And — all the while — kept talking about CUTTING veterans benefits.
Now all you Obama-haters want to pretend this is all Obama’s fault? You want to shake your fists at him because he’s waiting to decide on the best course of action here, with a firm end-point in mind, instead of just continuing to throw troops at the problem, willy-nilly, like we did in VietNam? (Do you even REMEMBER VietNam? I do!)

The yellow feathered man in the White House that cant say terrorist but can say racist at the drop of the hat. He can send out the secratary of state and the Attorney general to say we are soory to Muslims but say that an ISLAMIC man is a terrorist? What a dishonorable jerk.

President Obama claims we won’t let the veterans down, but we already have. The president needs to push for change because 260,000 veterans are homeless this year, as many as 35% of Iraqi war veterans will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, and 5.5 million vets are living on disability. As a veteran myself and someone who currently works in the prison system, it is my belief that the reentry to society is similar for veterans and offenders. It is funny how we will allow veterans to live on the street when we make sure offenders have a roof over their head and food to eat upon release. Our priorities are backwards. We need to do more to help the vets reenter society successfully by assisting them in any needs they may have. They fought for our freedom and deserve better. It is no wonder some of the vets end up in prison. What other choice did they have?

@Larry
“If Obama doesn’t call the murders at Ft Hood a terrorist attack then he is letting the military down.”
Really? I know that you aren’t used to a president who likes to have all the facts before him before making pronouncements, but the facts aren’t in yet. There is this pesky little thing called an investigation going on. It certainly seems more and more like it was terrorism but, for all we know, it could also be the actions of a crazy man who happened to be Muslim.
Using a specific word or phrase that you and the rest of the right-wing echo chamber says is needed to show how tough he is probably isn’t something that keeps this president up at night.

The President has said ‘words matter’, and he cannot being himself to say the word ‘terrorism’ or ‘islamic extremist’, even though we all know what it is.
He has a right to ignore it publicly for his own purposes, but it doesn’t make it go away.
He needs to come to grips publicly at some point and acknowledge this was in fact a terrorist attack, the govt failed to connect the dots (again) and we need to take steps within our military to prevent another one.

The speech writer in the WH is very good, but when
those words are spoken out loud, they seem hollow
promises with zero feeling. People can tell…

I’d like the President to be asked to explain his ideal ‘end game’ in Afghanistan.You’ll never hear him say the words ‘victory’, ‘win’, etc.
It seems he is relying on an Afghan central govt to take over and provide for the security of the entire country, then we go home (or during a ‘transition’ point).One reason he waited until the elections were ‘over’.
That is a big bet to make on a country that hasn’t does not have a stellar history of central govt control, not to mention the problem with Pakistan and the Taliban.
Prepare for us to be there for the next President.

Lets all understand what is really going on here. This president has lied time and time again regarding any promises he has made. First, he has never been in the service prior to president. Based on what he has done so far, he has no idea as to the magnitued of the job and what the military really means to this country. He has never asked himself will I give my life for my country. Its all show what this president is doing. Politics has gotten in the way too many times with this guy.

Obama’s loyalities aren’t with the US—he was raised a Communist. He’s quick to attack the US and police at the drop of a hat, and even quicker to defend terrorists and others out to do us harm.

I disagree with Obama on almost everything, and I used to think he was an intelligent man, but no more. You know anyone with a little education can read, but do they comprehend what they read? Seems that’s Obama’s problem, I had the same problem in the 3rd grade until my dad sat down and read with me…we all know Obama’s dad wasn’t around to help with anything…….

He’s a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
He’s as blind as he can be
He just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere man can you see at all
Lennon/McCartney

Stupid, Angry, child-like comments ….

Please don’t be so stupid. Bush started this war and I am realing to bet most of you have never servered in the military and never will send your sons or daugheters to into the military, but are quit to critize the President. Did you all are not learned from Bush as the Commander in Chief? War is not pretty and it has never been. When America is attack is quite different then invading another country as Iraq which had nothing to do with 9/11. Please send your sons and daughters off to war because I have servered in the military for 25 years and only the idots like you all make me sick. All talk and no action.

@jake: “He was able to rush to judgement (sic) when he said the police officer acted stupidly and later had to apologize by having him over for a beer party.”
The difference was he qualified it by stating he didn’t know the facts and that Chip Gates was a friend, but that he thought the Cambridge police acted stupidly by arresting a man in his own home after that man proved he lived there. Which… to reasonable people seems like an uncontroversial statement. It should be noted, by the “Obama is a racist crowd” that he also, in that same statement, said that the part that race played in the episode was unknown, but he did reference — rightly — the historic relationship between black Americans and the police.
His only problem was that white and black Americans have historically different experiences with the police, and white American refuse to acknowledge those differences… so it follows that the president must hate cops.

Really? I know that you aren’t used to a president who likes to have all the facts before him before making pronouncements,
Posted by: Chuck A. | Nov 11, 2009 2:27:40 PM
Like the statment the police acted stupidly.

Quite funny to read all of the comments about the President’s decision to SERIOUSLY consider the option of putting more troops in Afghanistan…LOL…especially, when they come from so many that are just, plain, flat-out, angry that the last elections didn’t turn out exactly as they wanted.
Let’s see… if you really think that the President should have made a quick decision on sending 40,000 more troops without analyzing the entire picture, you must be just as eager to continue approaching the Global War On Terror (GWOT) problem EXACTLY the same way that the Bush administration did in Iraq (“Oh, but I forget, there were no ‘terrorist’ in Iraq until after we got there”…LOL…at least none that were involved with 9-11).
Yep, sure enough…that “surge” strategy in Iraq worked! Just ask the 154 Iraqis that died in the 25 October bombing in Baghdad, or the 5 Iraqis killed and 34 wounded in the more recent market bombing in Hilla.
LOL…Yep, that Bush way of handling this GWOT thing “really” worked “superbly”… it’s very evident (LOL). After 6 years of being in Iraq, and almost $700 Billion of American taxpayer dollars, and the lives of 4,300+ great Americans…we’re still seeing weekly suicide bombings in Iraq.
Oh…and let’s not forget about the recent reports of the Blackwater “For Profit” enterprise paying off Iraqi government officials with $1 million of American taxpayer dollars to “quiet down” on the pressure they were applying to the U.S. government regarding the Blackwater killings of Iraqi civilians. Do all of you really not understand that that was your taxpayer dollars that paid that bribe to Iraqi officials? Probably not…I wouldn’t expect “right-whiners” to be able to think that deep.
LOL…bunch of fools.

“Actually, he sent 21,000 in after an agreement made with Bush and Patreus last year.”
ROFLMAO!
Right wingers are the most gullible people on the planet!

Obummer’s arrogance drops him another 2 points today in the polls… of course he let these troops down.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 30% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10 (see trends). Republicans have opened a six-point lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Chuck A… all I have to say is this quote from the bible:
“Forgive them father, they know not what they do.” …in the case of the right-whiners, you can add to this…”say”, “write”, and “think”…LOL…unless, of course, they saw it on “Beck”
…hehehehe.

@sandra: “This man hates the US as evidenced by his statements regarding all he ever does is apologize for America.”
You’re confused. It’s understandable. He is not apologizing for America. What he is apologizing for is the right-wing, war-mongering, chicken-hawk, neo-con version of America. The one that has been the face the U.S. presented to the world for the past 8 years. The bully… The cowboy… The lone wolf… The climate change denier… The liar… The torturer… The Imperial America.
Big difference, Sandra. Many of us who love America dearly recognize that we have a lot for which to apologize.

@Joeray: “As a Veteran myself I will never trust this so called President.He is all BS”
Well, there you go. Thank you for your service. As a Vet myself (U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard) I trust this president far more than the last one. This one is deeply thoughtful and strategic about the solemn duty — his duty, not the Generals — of sending men and women into the line of fire. No, “Bring it on!” from this president.
The array of military and political (Republican and Democratic) experts advising President Obama to take his time and get Afghanistan right is far more experienced, savvy and knowledgeable than the screeches that populate the right-wing noise machine berating him for not throwing bodies at the problem without a plan or strategy.
I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll trust the experts.

He said this line while referencing how Viet Nam veterans were treated when they returned home.
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When i drove across country in 2001-2002, I met homeless Vietnam vets – some living out of vans and doing the best they could with their amputations and their damaged psyches.
It’s no joke. “It’s never too late to thank a veteran.”

As a veteran and after serving my country for years to keep them safe, why should we as veterans have to pay for drivers, fishing or hunting license’s. should’nt those be a part of our benefits to be able to fish , hunt and drive at no cost to us. I don’t think that is asking for much, we should be able to enjoy being home after giving our lives to keep you safe. We earned it.

Chuck A…..well said. I couldn’t help but think while Senator Coburn of OK. was standing there in a photo shot with veterans..that he voted against healthcare access for injured veterans. This is how the republicans operates…uses these American Heros when it’s in THEIR interest. 14,000 Soldiers die each year from lack of healthcare, and scores of them are Homeless. This is how they have been treated for the last 8 years by an inept administration, that concoctioned a “make-believe” enemy for them to fight. Yet, at every opportunity to “use” them, they take. Wake up America

Joeray said: “As a Veteran myself I will never trust this so called President.”
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LOL… as 2-time veteran to Iraq (2003 to 2004 and 2008 to 2009)……and still serving…. I’m EXTREMELY ELATED that this President is taking his time to think about the overall strategy before just applying the “simplistic and brainless” method of the previous Commander-In-Chief (Bush), i.e., “just send more troops”. Oh yeah, Bush was the same guy that said, “mission accomplished” a little too soon also.
There is more to winning this war than just the military solution. Joeray, suggest you look up the acronym, “DIME”, in regards to National Strategy and Policy. To win in Afghanistan is going to take a new approach (as the 8 years we’ve been there have proven)…and the method of just feeding more soldiers/marines into the problem is not the sole solution.
Today, General Petraeus was asked this question: “Do you think this process has just taken too long?”
GENERAL PETRAEUS ANSWER: “Actually, I think the process has been very productive and very useful. I think there’s been a degree of discussion and debate, indeed, that has been excellent. There has been a refinement of objectives, there’s been discussion of various courses of action, there have been explanations and discussions about how the civilian component of this will complement what is done by the work of our military troops. All in all, I think this has been a very productive couple of months that we have spent on this.”
Thank God we have a “thinking” Commander-In-Chief now….Now, “THAT’S LEADERSHIP”!

tanarg Said: “what do you expect him to say publicly?”
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LOL….of course, some would be more apt to examine where this was said, and never even bother to look at the context of what was said.
Some key words from what GEN Petraeus said “may” help you to understand the difficulty of Afghanistan:
“A refinement of objectives”
“Various Courses of Action”
The “civilian component” (you don’t fix Afghanistan without the “nation building” effort, led by the State Department).
Too hard for you to comprehend?

I want to take this opportunity to thank all our Vets for having served our Great Nation. As a disabled Vet, I know how the American people care for our fighting men and women. I am not worried about the American People letting down our troops. But I do worry about Obama letting them down. He has proven over and over that he cares nothing for our troops. He refused to go to the Heros Ball because he thought it more important to attend a Hollywood ball with his supporters. OBAMA IS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO EVER MISS THE HEROS BALL! He loves making World Apology Tours, making America a laughing stock! He said the police acted “stupidly” when they arrested his Professor supporter but tells America not to “over react” to the Ft Hood Massacre that was clearly a Terrorist Act committed by a Muslim!
No, America will not let our troops down, but Obama has and will let them down!

He has proven over and over that he cares nothing for our troops.
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Are you talking about how (among other things) Obama’s administration has put in place the largest percent increase in the Veterans Administration budget in 30 years?