Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
‘This Is Not the End’: Top General Addresses Troops in Afghanistan
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Calls West Point the ‘Enemy Camp’
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Obama Feeling Heat from Both Sides of Aisle on Afghanistan
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Who Helped President Obama Reach His Decision on Afghanistan Strategy?
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Blunt Urges Decision on Afghanistan Troop Levels
Friday, November 20th, 2009| For Immediate Release | |
| November 20, 2009 |
(202) 225-6536 |
BLUNT URGES DECISION
ON AFGHANISTAN TROOP LEVELS
–“We fear this process has emboldened our enemies.” –
WASHINGTON, DC— Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt today urged President Obama to make a final decision about troop levels in Afghanistan. In a letter signed by fourteen Republican Members of Congress, including Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Blunt calls on the president to adopt General McChrystal’s recommendations and provide the forces and strategic direction necessary to fight and win.
In the letter, the Members write: “For over two months you have been engaged in a strategy review that has left the country, our military, and allies uncertain about your commitment to the war in Afghanistan and unsure about your will to do what it is necessary to win this conflict. Worse, we fear this process has emboldened our enemies.”
“While no one disputes that a Commander-in-Chief should deliberate before making decisions, particularly in matters involving life and death, we believe this review is having a detrimental impact on our efforts in Afghanistan,” the letter further reads. “While 68,000 U.S. forces are fighting on the battlefield, your strategy review in Washington has returned the country to the policy drift that undermined our efforts in Afghanistan for much of the war.”
“Mr. President, only you can put this conflict back on a path toward success in our mission to deny al-Qaeda and the Taliban safe haven in Afghanistan to plan and execute attacks on Americans. Our military forces want to know that their mission has the attention and support of the Commander-in-Chief. While you rightly speak of military sacrifice, we seldom hear you speak of success. We encourage you to make a spirited defense of your strategy. Absent your leadership and a public determination to win in Afghanistan we simply cannot succeed.
“Mr. President now is the time where the country needs your leadership. While our men and women in uniform are faithfully executing your mission in Afghanistan, they long for your voice to lead and guide the debate on the war here at home. Our military is the best fighting force in the world. Yet, it is the American will to win – not precision guided munitions – which is their most important weapon. As Commander-in-Chief you are responsible for ensuring this critical weapon is delivered,” the letter concludes.
President Obama rejects all Options on Afghanistan
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
WH: No Final Decision Has Been Made on Afghanistan Troop Increase
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Obama Says No Rush on Afghanistan. There Should Be.
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009By: Iain Martin
It was the worst day for American forces in Afghanistan in four years yesterday, with 14 lives lost, all in helicopter crashes.
Speaking during a visit to Naval Air Station Jacksonville on the same day, the president said: “While I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests, I also promise you this — and this is very important as we consider our next steps in Afghanistan: I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm’s way. I won’t risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary.”
His audience approved and for entirely understandable reasons. They are in uniform and may have to deal with the practical consequences when “armchair generals” and civilian hawks sitting at home demand they be sent into action. But while it sounds considered and eminently reasonable, I’m not sure that the “no rush” approach on the next stage of this campaign does anyone – the U.S. military, America’s allies such as Britain or the Afghan people – much good.
I do not mean to suggest that Monday’s tragic deaths would have been avoided if there were more forces on the ground. However, there is a sense that we – the West – are in limbo in the war against the Taliban. Great sacrifices are being made by our forces while our leaders cannot work out whether or not to commit fully to backing them in getting the job done.
The president appears to be hedging. He has recommendations on his desk from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his senior Afghan commander, that there should be a surge of 40,000 troops. But the suggestion is that he may listen instead to Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, who says McChrystal wants to go “too far, too fast.” In this way, the president may opt for half-measures, or a semisurge, so fearful is he of being sucked into a Vietnam scenario in the manner of LBJ.
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‘Disgusting’: Krauthammer Condemns Obama’s Blame Bush Routine
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
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