John Kerry’s War Strategy
[Guest post by DRJ]
Senator John Kerry says Gen. McChrystal’s Afghanistan strategy goes “too far, too fast:”
“Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the White House’s point man during last week’s tense talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, praised commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal but said his plan for adding troops in Afghanistan “goes too far, too fast.”
Kerry’s stance would aim for a modest increase in American forces, treading middle ground between Republicans who have said Obama would put soldiers and the country at risk by rejecting McChrystal’s larger request and anti-war Democrats who question whether the United States has already taken on too much in Afghanistan.
“Under the right circumstances, if we can be confident that military efforts can be sustained and built upon, then I would support the president should he decide to send some additional troops to regain the initiative,” Kerry said.”
It’s been 38 years since Kerry spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about claims of Vietnam War atrocities and now he chairs that Committee. His solution then was to withdraw from Vietnam. Kerry’s conditional increase does not sound like what the chair of President Obama’s March 2009 Afghanistan policy review thinks is needed to avoid a stalemate in Afghanistan:
“Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who chaired Obama’s previous policy review in March, said more troops are needed, though he didn’t know the right level.
“We need some kind of shock therapy,” he said. “If we stay where we are we are committing ourselves to a long-term stalemate.”
— DRJ
It says all you need to know that the little president man has enlisted one of the Senate’s preeminent cowardly idiots to take point on losing Afghanistan. We need to get the hell out of there now cause these ones are just gonna get people killed and also our impoverished loser nation has no business overseas anymore I don’t think. A year ago it was different but a trillion and a half dollar deficit and a third world health care scheme on the way means we’re not the stalwart little country we used to be.
Fail.
We are a nation of fail.
happyfeet (f62c43) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:01 pmThe little president man must think our troops are borderline retards if he expects them to buy that cowardly twaddle.
They deserve so much better than the little president man is giving them.
happyfeet (f62c43) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:14 pmThis imbecile wants to recreate the fiasco of Vietnam. Does it give him a vicarious thrill to repeat the mistakes of 40-45 years ago, inch-by-inch, step-by-step. Everyone knows that this is a recipe for disaster. Wasn’t it Norman Schwartzkopf who said he’d use ‘shock and awe’ in Iraq, which proved wildly successful. The fact that Kerry, the lyin’ blowhard that he is, has anything to say about military commitments is an obscenity.
sam (fa6f62) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:15 pmyay! Who is full of Win? It’s America, silly! In you stupid Taliban face we gawn agronomize you ass!
happyfeet (f62c43) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:20 pmSenator Theresa Heinz – Kerry is always to be trusted with his wise counsel, because everything he says is seared, seared into his memory. He also thinks that our soldiers only enlisted because they’re dumb, ignorant rednecks – so how could he have anything but their best interests at heart?
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:23 pmSen Horse Face and Smokin’ Joe Biden are out in front of this policy. Good Allah.
JD (7f75c9) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:30 pmUtterly shameful. I actually have tears upon reading this
Angelo (5df281) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:43 pmCognitive dissonance is the result of believing Kerry, Obama, and others like them want us to win.
Richard Aubrey (10e6a7) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:48 pmAt anything.
Feets – If those Afghani’s don’t want to get agronomized, we sent over all those lawyers to sue their asses, the American way!
daleyrocks (718861) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:51 pmbut said his plan for adding troops in Afghanistan “goes too far, too fast.” Heaven forbid, we might actually win this thing if we did that. When has horse face ever been right about anything, particularly militarily speaking?
Gazzer (3bd236) — 10/26/2009 @ 6:54 pmI wouldn’t let John Kerry plan my daughters Girl Scout meetings let alone a war strategy.
sob (ed32a0) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:00 pmAt one point, I did not think that these people could be more contemptible. I was wrong. Way wrong.
JD (7f75c9) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:01 pmRe: No 2 – The president also said he would, after they were committed, back up the troops he sent into harms way. Well what about backing up the troops who are in harms way? Thousands of US soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are facing a committed enemy who believe that if they kill enough of our servicemen and women we will give up and go home. Despite horrific losses the enemy knows that our weak point — our center of gravity, is the weak knee’d media and their constant wail for progress which to them is peace. Let’s keep this in prospective. The Viet Nam war (my war) had 58,000 + killed. To date less than 1,000 casualties (killed) in Afganistan. Seems the older I get the less sacrifice we as a liberty loving people are prepared to place on the altar of freedom. Make no mistake as a veteran and with 31 yrs of military service I am saddened by the loss of even one soldier but the reality of war is that we must be prepared to accept losses which , if given to accomplish a well defined mission, are unfortunately necessary. We will prevail and acheive victory. So who among you is prepared to sacrifice the lives and limbs of our soldiers without the belief that it will result in victory? Anyone, except Mr. Obama?
Paul S (8ce79d) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:02 pm#11 I wouldn’t allow John Kerry around my daughters, of which I have two
Angelo (5df281) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:03 pmPoltroons, cowards, liars and traitors.
Welcome to the Democratic Party “foreign policy” team.
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:03 pmDo they have Swift Boats in Afghanistan?
daleyrocks (718861) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:21 pmAll the little men and armchair warriors will soon come to realize this is a different kind of war and the old tired tactics of rushing in just won’t work. Remember fools rush in while wise men wait.
Paul Tall (8bbbaa) — 10/26/2009 @ 7:59 pmI like the stategy laid out by Senator Kerry and would hope that President Obama is considering this as part of his effort of finally getting the strategy right in Afghanistan.
Its interesting that all the little men here were not at all concerned about our troops in Afghanistan while former President Bush was still in office and continued to ignore Afghanistan. Hey little men,where was your concern then?
When Mr. Bush was president we took for granted that the aim of our mission in Afghanistan was victory. And we’d do it again.
happyfeet (f62c43) — 10/26/2009 @ 8:08 pmPaul Tall – What is your evidence that Bush ignored Afghanistan? A post on Media Matters or TPM? Do you have something specific?
daleyrocks (718861) — 10/26/2009 @ 8:22 pmPaul Tall is a sad pathetic little liar person.
JD (838009) — 10/26/2009 @ 8:29 pmPaul Tall:
I can’t speak for all the “little men” here.
But, I can ask: Don’t we have a Secretary of State? And why is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee doing her job?
So, why don’t the “big men” let a woman do her job?
Also, you seem to be fixated on “little men.” Maybe Dear Debby will come by to give some advice.
Ag80 (815bcd) — 10/26/2009 @ 8:50 pmPaul Tall
We little people weren’t worried because Bush was winning the far more strategically important war in Iraq. You remember Iraq, don’t you? It’s the country with oil; the country which al Qaeda announced would serve as the base for its new caliphate and which Obama wanted to concede to Al Qaeda and Iran.
And Bush didn’t refuse to decide on his commanders recommendations for two months. Obama even asked that they be held back for 4-6 weeks.
Please explain the war strategy of Kerry that you like so much it. Other than not winning too quickly I don’t see any strategy. Even the cherished Global Consensus on McChrystal’s plan, as expressed by Nato countries over the weekend, isn’t enough for Kerry? Why is that? Is he waiting for the approval of Castro and Chavez? Or some other excuse.
Terry Gain (4045b4) — 10/26/2009 @ 9:30 pmGuys, don’t let yourselves be trawled by the Tall troll …
Alasdair (205079) — 10/26/2009 @ 9:46 pmThere is no one in America who can be as incoherent and at the same time be so counterproductive as John Kerry. He is a master.
Ken Hahn (e0c17b) — 10/26/2009 @ 9:53 pmIf you don’t fight to win, what difference does it make? This half-hearted effort just gets more Amnerican soldiers killed, and emboldens the enemy. It’s a bullshit way of waging war, unless a stalemate is the objective.
President Mop (44bf37) — 10/27/2009 @ 12:53 amDon’t wait. Bomb them back to the 18th century. Oh, wait. They are already there. Then back to the 17th century. The Russians fought in Afghanistan for 10 years and finally had to leave with their tails between their legs. Is this our inept president’s goal?
Kerry is vermin to our military.
PatAZ (9d1bb3) — 10/27/2009 @ 9:05 am