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| Afghanistan | |
| Obama to withdraw from Afghanistan in second term | |
| 2009-11-30 | |
| The United States would start withdrawing its thousands-strong troops from Afghanistan before 2013, well beyond what US President Barack Obama had promised. Briefing a group of US lawmakers on his battlefield assessment, General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that the drawdown would be attempted at "sometime before 2013," Reuters reported on Saturday. The military official was being questioned on his suggestion of boosting the roughly 68,000-strong US contingent by 40,000 auxiliary servicemen. The US forces are aided by nearly 42,000 international forces. Meanwhile, Obama is expected to present a new strategic outline, during a nationwide address on Tuesday, which he says would "finish the job" in Afghanistan. The new strategy could involve committing as much as 35,000 more troops to the Afghanistan-based contingents. Washington has also been pushing its Western allies to make generous troop contributions in an apparent attempt to satisfy the 40,000 benchmark. This is while, during his campaign trail, Obama had repeatedly promised to end the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and "bring home our soldiers" within 16 months of taking office.
Now the prospect of a more troop deployments has prompted notable domestic and international opposition. A CNN-commissioned poll recently showed that 49 percent of Americans objected to further troop deployments. Over eight years of US-led counterinsurgency operations have left many thousands of Afghan civilians as well as Nearly 800 American troops dead. Violence, meanwhile, has reached its high water mark despite the presence of some 110,000 forces, who invaded the country with the motto of "fighting terrorism" and bringing "peace and stability." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 What second term? I doubt he'll even finish his first term. More likely after 2010 he'll stamp his widdle feet in frustwation and quit just to show us who's in charge. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-11-30 21:05 |
| #13 Great letter by a man who understands this country. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-11-30 17:07 |
| #12 In case this seems too good to be true, I checked it on Snopes. Yup. It's real. Mr. Estes is real. The only fake here is Obama. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2009-11-30 16:42 |
| #11 Wow, Nobama just got bitch-slapped by a worthy man! |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2009-11-30 14:58 |
| #10 Received this in my mail from a trusted source,RJ This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body, he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now. He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president. Dear President Obama, My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country. One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man. So here goes. I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish. I can't figure out what country you are the president of. You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: " We're no longer a Christian nation" " America is arrogant" - (Your wife even announced to the world,"America is mean- spirited. " Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.) I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House. After 9/11 you said," America hasn't lived up to her ideals." Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom. I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected. Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man. Shape up and start acting like an American.. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves. And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists. One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of. You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president. You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle. Sincerely, Harold B. Estes When a 95 year old hero of the "the Greatest Generation" stands up and speaks out like this, I think we owe it to him to send his words to as many Americans as we can. Please pass it on. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-11-30 14:43 |
| #9 The REAL trick: getting elected to a second term. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-11-30 11:56 |
| #8 General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that the drawdown would be attempted at "sometime before 2013," But, but, but POTUS |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-11-30 07:59 |
| #7 He's got a secret plan |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-11-30 07:27 |
| #6 Obama's giving a speech on his big plans for Afghanistan tomorrow night. Oil your TV remote and be sure to load it with fresh batteries. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-11-30 06:41 |
| #5 A NEW POTUS BAMMER STIMULUS + BAILOUT can't start soon enuff for the Net. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-11-30 02:09 |
| #4 Compare iwd TOPIX > OBAMA'S AMBITIOUS ASIA STARETGY MAY BE THE START OF A NEW ["Obama"]DOCTRINE. ARTIC > "Obama Doctrine" = the US is a "PACIFIC NATION" + US must be able to project military and geopol force into PACIFIC [includ ASIA]. OBAMA DOCTRINE = NIXON-GUAM DOCTRINE = US ALLIES MUST INTENSIVELY "SHARE THE BURDEN"??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-11-30 02:08 |
| #3 .ir Isn't that Iran? Lotsa credibility here, fellas. |
| Posted by: logi_cal 2009-11-30 01:36 |
| #2 with Bambi, every promise -- every promise -- has an expiration date. Don't think of them as promises. They are really more like negotiating positions. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-11-30 01:07 |
| #1 Mighty damn arrogant to even think he's going to fool enough folks for another try. 2012 and OUT |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-11-30 00:04 |