Obama Leaves Door Open to Long-Term U.S. Afghan Combat

[tekisui]

Source: Dissident Voice

(IPS) — President Barack Obama’s speech announcing that the 33,000 “surge” troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn by “summer” 2012 indicates that he has given priority to the interests of the military and the Pentagon over concerns by key officials in his administration over the impact of the war’s costs on domestic socio-economic needs.

And in a section of the speech that must be interpreted in the context of his past policy decisions on Iraq, Obama appeared to support the desire of Defence Secretary Robert Gates and General David Petraeus to keep a substantial number of combat troops in Afghanistan beyond the publicly announced “transition” in 2014.

Gates and Petraeus got most of what they wanted from Obama in regard to the withdrawal of the “surge” troops.

Petraeus had argued that he needed two more full “fighting seasons” with the bulk of the surge troops still remaining in the country to wear down the Taliban before the start of the “transition” in 2014, according to a report in The Guardian.

more: http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/06/obama-leaves-door-open-to-long-term-u-s-afghan-combat/

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Shameful!

We desperately need someone else in the White House.

[Vanje]

2. Disappointed

Fuck

[bvar22]

3. Light at the end of the tunnel...

Yadda...yadda....yadda....
Heard this one before.
It doesn't end well.

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Tunnels, Doors and Corners

Just leave.... damn it.

I'm really tired of these antiquated cliches

[madrchsod]

7. it ended well for walmart...

forced labor vietnamese sewn hana montana clothing line and other clothes.the children sewing the clothes are`t paid enough to buy a piece of their labor. the vietnamese labor is cheaper than china`s and they have worse working conditions.

[madrchsod]

5. hey! hey! lbj!...at least lbj had the sense not to run again.

but it was to late for lbj the war destroyed what little health he had left. it`s a shame his lifetime work on getting the civil rights acts and other social programs passed is over looked by his war on the people of vietnam.

remember nixon`s plan to get out of Vietnam...?

[G_j]

6. we have always been war with....

oh, never mind...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. He's given "priority" to his re-election campaign. A sop to the left and a wink to the right.

All in time for the election.

[bvar22]

11. He seems to be carefully tip-toeing down the middle,

...being very careful to duck ANY responsibility for actually LEADING or taking a STAND on anything.
The only difference lately is he has begun tossing barely discernable rhetoric crumbs to The Left (the old FDR/LBJ Middle)
in the form of vaguely stated positions carefully worded to not offend his big corporate backers.
I am beginning to have a very difficult time watching him on TV.
It is increasingly frustrating trying to divine his real intentions or where he actually stands on anything.

For Example:
In his last speech, did he say we are actually getting OUT of Afghanistan,
or did he promise that we would be there forever? :shrug:


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. IMO, he is dealing with Afghanistan, and the other wars, through the lens of the 2012 campaign.

His options are to (finally) admit that the wars are futile and get out.

To go all out to "win" the wars.

Or, to to neither and claim that the wars are still "necessary" and he is extricating us by Afghanization, Iraqization, Libyaization, Yemenization, Pakistanization, but it will take time. Thus, look like he isn't exactly losing the "necessary" wars until the election is over.

All of these wars have always been, and still are, about the PR of "doing something" and "looking tough". All have failed but, what the hell, as long as some of the people are fooled some of the time.....

[ej510]

We won't ever leave Afghanistan, and I mean. Never!

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

more at the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html

Our mission is to rob Afghanistan from its riches.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. WTG Obama.

:puke:

[Imagevision]

9. I thought the pipeline going through Afgan was already completed?!

[fascisthunter]

13. he won't get my vote

no way... I want him primaried...