More Delays in Afghan Troop Decision
[Guest post by DRJ]
The Obama Administration’s most recent excuse for not sending more troops to Afghanistan is that they need proof the Afghan government will be a good partner:
“In Sunday talk show interviews, [Obama Chief of Staff Rahm] Emanuel did not answer directly when asked whether Obama would wait for a final election outcome before deciding U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan. He repeatedly underlined doubts about the Kabul government as a reliable partner for the U.S.
“There’s not a security force, an army, the type of services that are important for the Afghans to become true partners,” Emanuel said. “It would be reckless to make a decision on U.S. troop level if, in fact, you haven’t done a thorough analysis of whether, in fact, there’s an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that the U.S. troops would create and become a true partner in governing.”
I doubt there are many governments in third world nations, let alone areas beset by repeated and long-term wars, that can meet that standard. As for Afghanistan, final election results could be postponed until the end of the year or even next Spring. More balloting is scheduled for November and if there is a runoff, it won’t take place until next Spring.
There is Democratic support for the Administration’s do-nothing-for-now plan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry believes Obama should wait until the election is finalized to make a troop decision, although Kerry apparently hasn’t signed on to leaving the Taliban alone:
“It would be very hard, I think, for the president to make a commitment to ‘X’ number of troops, whatever it might be, or to a new strategy, without knowing that all of the components of the strategy are indeed capable of being achieved,” Kerry said, adding that the political and civilian components must be assured.
“And I’m not yet convinced that we’re there,” he said.
On the specifics of U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, Kerry said he is convinced that narrowing the mission to a hunt for al-Qaida and other terrorists would be wrong. The counterterrorism effort must be part of a larger military mission that targets Taliban and other insurgent groups with conventional ground forces, he said.”
On the other hand, the Pentagon may believe the decision is coming sooner rather than later since it canceled the deployment to Iraq of the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. It’s been suggested the Brigade is being held for deployment to Afghanistan.
— DRJ
Senator John Theresa Heinz – Kerry; the worst congressional ex – military veteran evah.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/18/2009 @ 6:36 pmI thought this was the just war that Barcky was uniquely qualified to win due in no small part to his superior judgment and intellect, as well as his ability to get increased cooperation from our allies.
JD (a8f5e7) — 10/18/2009 @ 7:01 pmKnowing the mindset of people like Obama, the only emotion that will get them chomping at the bit to have the US military enter foreign soil is to initiate some kind of kum-bah-wah mission, to be a variation of a welfare or healthcare program. Or to fight against oppression or dastardly deeds associated with people of European descent against those of either European or non-European descent. IOW, “Blame America First!” Or “Blame the First World First!” Or “Blame Capitalism First!”
So if Obama and the Dems want to see Afghanistan collapse, or if they end up allowing it to collapse — and knowing it is a very touchy situation regardless (eg, rightist George Will is isolationist when it comes to the US and Afghanistan) — they should wear the albatross of that nation happily and proudly.
Mark (411533) — 10/18/2009 @ 7:18 pmBarack Obama’s dirty socialist knobslobbering media steps up to reassure us that we’re in good hands with good old super duper smart John Kerry.
Sending John Kerry to review a war is like sending Joe Biden to an am/pm after dark to get corn nuts and tasty beverages.
happyfeet (f62c43) — 10/18/2009 @ 7:20 pmThe Democrats will dither until it’s too late and then follow Murtha’s advice and deploy to Okinawa. There are no votes to be bought in Afghanistan, so why bother with it?
Ken Hahn (4218c6) — 10/18/2009 @ 7:52 pmComment #4 pretty much says it all.
JD (870a39) — 10/18/2009 @ 7:52 pmActually, hf’s comment #4 confused me. I don’t trust Kerry to review the war but I think sending Biden out for snacks is a good use of his time.
DRJ (f462b4) — 10/18/2009 @ 7:58 pmI think sending Biden out for snacks is a good use of his time.
Comment by DRJ — 10/18/2009 @ 7:58 pm
LOL
no one you know (1ebbb1) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:01 pmDon’t you remember Biden’s comments about 7/11’s ? The comments that would have been racist and culturally insensitive had a conservative said them …
JD (870a39) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:03 pmTo refresh our memory:
Dana (863a65) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:06 pm“In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”
Joe Biden, Vice President, U.S.A.
I just bet he doesn’t come back is all and you wait and you wait and you wait and no corn nuts and no tasty beverage and you just sort of sigh and say good ole not-a-joke Joe.
happyfeet (f62c43) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:21 pmI just bet he doesn’t come back is all and you wait and you wait and you wait and no corn nuts and no tasty beverage and you just sort of sigh and say good ole not-a-joke Joe.
Comment by happyfeet — 10/18/2009 @ 8:21 pm
no one you know (1ebbb1) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:27 pmShoot. Was laughing so hard it didn’t post right. Let’s try again w/ different words: happyfeet’s posts are pretty darn funny.
no one you know (1ebbb1) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:29 pmnot-a-joke Joe
Loved that Newsweek cover BTW. (or Time or whatever) That had to hurt.
no one you know (1ebbb1) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:31 pmNOYK, he brings the charm.
Dana (863a65) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:31 pmNewsweak’s latest cover is devoted to Slow Joe and why he’s not the clumsy-mouthed dimbulb he’s reputed to be. Another in the series of desperately contrarian pieces attempting to make people think Newsweak has something worthwhile to say.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:33 pmI did forget, JD. I remembered Dunkin’ Donuts but he said 7/11, too. And happyfeet, that’s a good point but I can live without cornnuts. It would be different if you’d sent him for peanut M&Ms or Fritos.
DRJ (f462b4) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:39 pmOr beef jerky. Or on Icee.
JD (cb9226) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:42 pmHow great of an impact will this surrender have on the soldiers over there? How long must they die while waiting until Senator Kerry is convinced “we’re there”. Just a horrible thing to do to these young men and women. I cannot imagine either General McChrystal’s frustration with politicians continuing to make excuses as they waffle about trying to avoid making the hard decisions.
I loved this,
After this impending debacle I never want to hear another American disparage the French as “surrender monkeys.” Why? Because we are on our way to becoming the simpering simian we love to diss.
Dana (863a65) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:55 pmIcees are great.
DRJ (f462b4) — 10/18/2009 @ 8:58 pmRight, the French fought eight years in the first Indochina war, and eight years in Algeria, which was not unlike Afghanistan, than again, that was a difference France, much like this is a different
bishop (4e0dda) — 10/18/2009 @ 9:09 pmAmerica. Parts of that interview, like the revelation that he briefed then Senator Obama on what questions to ask General Petraeus, and he can’t figure out why we spend thirty times as much in Afghanistan then Pakistan. But he was in the Situation Room picture flanking Gates, ‘we
really a dodged a bullet there’
Dear President Obama,
My 19-year-old nephew was deployed to Afghanistan last Thursday (10-15-09).
Please give him the support that he and his fellow soldiers need in order to properly execute their mission and return home to their families.
PLEASE!
Icy Truth (6fdd44) — 10/18/2009 @ 10:49 pmIcy, for a 19-year-old to have the gumption to make such a decision is admirable.
The Big O does not have the gumption to provide the necessary support for the mission. If he had even a little gumption, he’d go ahead and blame the Afghanis and pull out. But as it is, he’ll waffle and dither, and more young people will be injured and killed.
I like “simpering simian”. So it must be racist.
Nauseating.
jodetoad (059c35) — 10/18/2009 @ 11:23 pmThank you, jodetoad. Pvt O.J. Rosales is going full bore, balls out in the service of his country.
I only wish that his
Icy Truth (6fdd44) — 10/18/2009 @ 11:36 pmchimpanzee-in-feces[I denounce myself] commander-in-chief was willing to do the same.Re: #20 (Comment by DRJ)
Icees are great.
— Thank you. 😉
Icy Truth (6fdd44) — 10/18/2009 @ 11:40 pmIcy Truth,
Jane Goodall (0ea407) — 10/18/2009 @ 11:49 pmHow dare you so vilely insult the wonderful chimpanzees by comparing them to such a ridiculous excuse for a human being?
Brother Brad, I did denounce myself. 🙂
Icy Truth (6fdd44) — 10/18/2009 @ 11:59 pmAll right, Icy. But Ms. Goodall is still miffed, and requests a large donation to her eponymous foundation as recompense.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 10/19/2009 @ 12:05 amI would do that, but seeing as how it has become increasingly obvious that her charges are being tapped to make policy decisions for the current administration (something about a hundred of them in a room with typewriters, I believe), I feel that in all good conscience I must decline such a request — well-intentioned though it may be — at this time.
Icy Truth (6fdd44) — 10/19/2009 @ 12:13 amWouldn’t it be just great if it were revealed that Koko, the gorilla with a vocabulary of 2,000 human words, was the individual that selected “hope” & “change” as the slogans for the ’08 campaign?
Icy Truth (6fdd44) — 10/19/2009 @ 12:19 amHeard on NPR he’s going to agree to McCrystal’s request for 40K troops. What we really should be doing right now is working with the Pakistani army offensive and corraling these guys into one spot, then bombing the shit out of them.
JEA (9f9fc9) — 10/19/2009 @ 4:48 amMaking decisions is hard. Can’t Obama just give another speech and declare this whole Afghan war thing resolved?
Marie (02b253) — 10/19/2009 @ 6:25 amNow we’ll just wait until an unfortunate parent of a soldier killed in action in Afghanistan starts protesting the war, which the media will cover religiously 24/7.
(crickets chirping)
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/19/2009 @ 6:26 amThe government in Iraq was not stable and free of corruption when we implemented and succeeded with the surge.
This is a ridiculous position but one I would expect from Obama.
Obama’s own General says were are losing ground and could lose the war this year if he does not get the resources to implement the strategy that HE AND OBAMA LAID OUT IN MARCH.
Now all we get is stall tactics from the White House while it figures out how to surrender in Afghanistan with the least amount of political damage.
These pathetically ignorant positions of “The Taliban are not dangerous” and “we won’t fight unless the government is honest and stable” are totally inconsistent with Obama’s rhetoric over the last few years about how important it was to win “the central front in the war on terror”.
Obama repeatedly told us America would not be safe until the jihadist threat was eliminated
in this region.
Now that Obama is in charge…the enemy all of a sudden is not so dangerous and the government is to corrupt to deal with (would like to know when the Afghanistan government or our government for that matter was free of corruption).
Failure in Afghanistan will be catastrophic not just for America,but for the whole world and it will be on Obama’s watch.
Baxter Greene (af5030) — 10/19/2009 @ 7:22 amIt will be due to his lack of leadership,resolve,and ideological priorities that don’t involve National Defense.
The buck stops at the Presidents desk.
Blackhawk Down was the result of Les Aspin scotching reinforcements for the mission in Somalia…
AD - RtR/OS! (2f0f4a) — 10/19/2009 @ 8:32 amWill Bob Gates match him on the “Stupid Meter”?
Pakistan’s government could not meet the standards that Obama and Biden and Kerry are setting for Afghanistan. Personally, given the spinelessness of this bunch, I am ready to see us pull out and leave the Paks and Afghans to sort it out. Eventually, I fear, India and the next US administration may have to flatten Pakistan to solve this.
Mike K (2cf494) — 10/19/2009 @ 8:41 amThere is no charitable way to phrase this: president Obama is killing young Americans to further his political objectives. All experts, left, right and center, agree that the current policy and manning in Afghanistan will lead to defeat. Therefore, there are only two rational options for a Commander in Chief: end American involvement immediately and totally evacuate; or commit the resources necessary to win. There is no third way. However, the President does not want to commit the resources necesssary to win; he seems to feel it would detract political capital from his domestic agenda, and anger his leftist base. On the other hand, he does not wish to withdraw; he had repeatedly criticized the previous administration for not pursuing the Afghan war more vigorously, and fears appearing “weak” to the swing voters whose support is vital to his success. Therefore, he continues to make no decision; but that in itself is a decision, a decision that brave young Americans will die with no hope of victory to justify their deaths.
Ed Burke (b5d255) — 10/19/2009 @ 8:44 amEventually, I fear, India and the next US administration may have to flatten Pakistan to solve this.
I don’t think that India will wait if things continue to deteriorate at the level we’ve seen so far – lest we forget, India and Pakistan camethisclose to an “exchange” of nukes not that long ago, and that was when Pakistan was a relatively stable country.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/19/2009 @ 8:51 amFeh. The Indians know the Pakis have their hands full. They might be worried about nukes changing hands but they’re getting a breather from worrying about their relations with the current Pak regime.
If I thought for a minute that Obama was holding additional troops over the head of Karzai and his corrupt administration in order to force a runoff, I might support his dithering. If anybody has a single example of Obama playing it smart and tough like that, please enlighten me.
spongeworthy (c2e8fe) — 10/19/2009 @ 9:11 ampostponed until the end of the year or even next Spring…
…which would allow the Talis to hole up in their caves, sharpen their bayonets and test the wiring in their IEDs, tape a few more testimonial videos, and emerge in the Spring when the passes clear to renew their offensive.
Even odds whether, given the President’s dithering, Pahkeesthan or Ahfghawneestahn go first.
furious (71af32) — 10/19/2009 @ 9:17 amIf they’re holed-up in their caves, they present a unique testing opportunity for the new MOP’s.
AD - RtR/OS! (2f0f4a) — 10/19/2009 @ 9:20 am#32. Oh, the media’ll “cover” the unfortunate parent(s) alright, the way they “covered” Joe Wurzelbacher’s privacy, Sarah Palin’s trash and Hannah Giles’ father.
More like coyotes howling than crickets chirping.
furious (71af32) — 10/19/2009 @ 9:38 amNewsweak’s latest cover is devoted to Slow Joe and why he’s not the clumsy-mouthed dimbulb he’s reputed to be. Comment by Brother Bradley J. Fikes
I saw that cover on display the other day at a supermarket check-out stand and couldn’t help but snicker and roll my eyes. Can you imagine the staffers of that magazine trying to rationalize away the shortcomings of a conservative/Republican, including one who isn’t guilty of even a fraction of the bone-headedness of Biden (eg, Sarah Palin)?
If there is one good thing about the age of the Internet and the current major recession, it’s the greater possibility that crap like Newsweek will eventually keel over and close up shop.
Mark (411533) — 10/19/2009 @ 10:51 amSo we’re going to send out Joe for slurpees, or is that racist?
Rochf (ae9c58) — 10/19/2009 @ 11:05 amEleanor “Rodham” Clift works for
AD - RtR/OS! (2f0f4a) — 10/19/2009 @ 11:06 amNewspeakNewsweek!Do I have to say more?
I wouldn’t trust Joe to organize, or lead, a two-car funeral procession.
AD - RtR/OS! (2f0f4a) — 10/19/2009 @ 11:07 am#43–if it makes you feel better, the New York Times is laying off 100 in its newsroom (although I can’t believe they even call it a newsroom anymore). Can rags like Newsweek be far behind?
Rochf (ae9c58) — 10/19/2009 @ 1:01 pmMaybe this is why Obama doesn’t like India.
Perhaps more surprising is the Ayn Rand boom that is building in another mass democracy: India.
Not only do Indians perform more Google searches for Rand than citizens of any country in the world except the United States, but Penguin Books India has sold an impressive number of copies — as many as 50,000 of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead each since 2005, a number comparable to sales there by global best-seller John Grisham. And that’s not counting the ubiquitous pirated copies of her works that are hawked at rickety street stalls, sidewalk piles, and bus stations — an honor that Rand, a fierce defender of intellectual property rights, probably would not have appreciated.
As modern India continues to undergo seismic economic and cultural shifts, not to mention the current global recession, Rand is emerging as a touchstone for a new generation. For many Indians, she is a tonic of modernization, helping to inspire a break with India’s collectivist, socialist past. Rand’s mixture of capitalist boosterism and self-empowerment is an irresistible combination for a range of Indians, from think-tankers to corporate barons to pop stars.
What about a break with our future ?
Mike K (2cf494) — 10/19/2009 @ 1:07 pmMany analysts on that region of the world have been discussing the gradual shift in India away from their socialistic past, and why they could eventually become one of our most important allies in the world. India is quite worried about China’s defensive build – up, and their subs have made a habit of infiltrating their boundary waters over the past few years. Their joint military exercise with one of our carrier fleet groups not that long ago was a good sign, I think. But Obama may screw this one up as well, of course.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/19/2009 @ 2:08 pmIf India started going back to socialism, no doubt Obama would give them anything they wanted–he’s trying to buy off Sudan now, of all things.
Rochf (ae9c58) — 10/19/2009 @ 2:10 pm