Out of Afghanistan Starting in 2011
[Guest post by DRJ]
Senior Administration officials say President Obama will start pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan beginning in 2011:
“The White House is attempting to thread the needle here — setting a timetable to exert pressure on Afghanistan to accelerate troop training and government stability without setting a timetable alerting the enemy as to when US forces will leave.
“If the Taliban think they can wait this out, I think they are misjudging the president’s approach,” another official said. “It may be misinterpreted but the Taliban will do that at their own risk.”"
The Obama Administration is proving itself to be the risk averse party here, not the Taliban. Now the Taliban has nothing to lose but time.
– DRJ
Dirty little traitorous Kenyan buttboy!
Comment by nk (df76d4) — 12/1/2009 @ 3:38 pm
“If the Taliban think they can wait this out, I think they are misjudging the president’s approach,” another official said. “It may be misinterpreted but the Taliban will do that at their own risk”
I don’t think the Taliban are the ones misjudging. From what I’ve read, between the Afghan winter upon us now/soon and US logistics, it might be close to 2011 before we have the increase in troops anyway.
As discussed at Powerline, they should just come out and say, “Ya know, when I said that stuff about the Afghan war being important, it was just a way of cutting down the Bush administration. You all should have known I was against the war in Iraq before anyone else was against the war in Iraq, and I never changed, even after the surge was working.
“The only good war is a republican war, because we can protest it!”
Comment by MD in Philly (227f9c) — 12/1/2009 @ 3:48 pm
He’s not good for us. He’s not good for freedom. He’s not good for the future.
Comment by happyfeet (71f55e) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:00 pm
I’ll bet the Taliban are quaking in their sandals.
Comment by tmac (5559f7) — 12/1/2009 @ 4:15 pm
Radio Havana Cuba called it in October:
http://congressinterruptus.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/scuttlebutt/
Comment by bizjetmech (022d42) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:05 pm
When he says “let me be clear” he generally follows with a lie.
Comment by JD (9e41b2) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:11 pm
Obama will be very reluctant to get out in front of his base and, since they are all screaming for him to cut and run, his motivation will be, shall we say, less than adamantine.
The rules of engagement are what I am most worried about. That was what killed those Marines in Lebanon.
Comment by Mike K (2cf494) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:13 pm
He sure can read a Teleprompter.
Comment by JD (9e41b2) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:20 pm
He has the audacity to whine about trillions spent on war in a decade when he spent that much on graft with the “stimulus”. Good allah, he might as well bring them home now.
Comment by JD (9e41b2) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:28 pm
6.When he says “let me be clear” he generally follows with a lie.
Comment by JD — 12/1/2009 @ 5:11 pm
True, JD. The confusing thing is when he doesn’t say “let me be clear” there typically are lies following as well.
Perhaps “those words don’t mean what he thinks they mean”.
Comment by MD in Philly (227f9c) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:39 pm
Did you all see this from twitter:
jimgeraghty: Chris Matthews has lost his f***ing mind: “He went to the enemy camp tonight, to make the case.”
I’m beyond angry. I’m over in unreasonable rage-land. West Point is an enemy camp? ENEMY?
Comment by Vivian Louise (643333) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:50 pm
Here’s the Jim Geraghty link and quote Vivian Louise mentioned above:
I posted on it here.
Comment by DRJ (dee47d) — 12/1/2009 @ 5:53 pm
Assinine-
they are the “enemy that needs to be convinced”?
How about “they are the men and women” that Obama will send into battle that deserve his encouragement, loyalty, and truthfulness, even though he is not competant at any of them.
I wonder if Matthews will even realize what he said.
Who does Matthews think will be the ones to save his butt, should he ever go overseas, do some real journalism, and get kidnapped in the process? SEIU members??
Comment by MD in Philly (227f9c) — 12/1/2009 @ 6:06 pm
It’s important for the world to see that we lasted a year longer than the soviets!
But since our nation is already broke we can fall with the same grace as did the USSR.
I wonder what we will become:~
Comment by TC (0b9ca4) — 12/1/2009 @ 10:55 pm
Of course Chris considers West Point cadets, our best and brightest, and certainly quite brave to join these days, to be his enemy.
Why wouldn’t he? They are opposed to eachother in so many ways. Sworn enemies!
Comment by Dustin (cf255c) — 12/1/2009 @ 11:30 pm