November 21, 2009
What's Inside:
Obama’s hesitancy sends messages
Critics have decried slow decision-making
Critics have decried slow decision-making
by By ROBERT BURNS and BEN FELLER/Associated Press
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s drawn-out decision-making on Afghanistan is sending messages. To the Afghan government: Clean up your act. To the Pentagon: I’m no rubber stamp. To the American public: More troops can’t be the sole answer.
Obama has been accused by some Republicans of “dithering” about whether to send more troops and deepen U.S. involvement in an increasingly unpopular war.
The slow process also has left him open to critics who recall his pronouncement in March, after developing what he called a “stronger, smarter and comprehensive” Afghan war strategy, that the situation there was “increasingly perilous.” He ordered more troops to battle then, with little discernible result so far.
This time, he’s making it clear he won’t be rushed. Or pushed. And the way the messages he’s sending play out could help determine whether the war effort is sustainable in the long run.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Thursday that the president was nearing a final decision, and he referred to one of the central questions Obama and his advisers have wrestled with for weeks.
“How do we signal resolve and at the same time signal to the Afghans and the American people that this isn’t an open-ended commitment?”
At a White House war council meeting Wednesday, Obama rejected the four Afghan war options put before him and asked for revisions that combine the best elements of the proposals, Gates said. The changes could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and their time in the war zone.
Obama is not expected to decide the Afghan matter until after he returns from Asia late next week.
Meanwhile, Richard C. Holbrooke, Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, left late Wednesday for consultations with officials in Germany, France and Russia. State Department spokesman Ian C. Kelly said Holbrooke would then attend President Hamid Karzai’s inauguration in Kabul.
Obama is considering options that include adding 30,000 or more U.S. forces to take on the Taliban and associated insurgent groups in key areas of Afghanistan — and to buy time for the Afghan government’s inadequate and ill-equipped fighting forces to prepare to take over defense of their country. The other three options are ranges of troop increases, from a relatively small addition to the roughly 40,000 preferred by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, according to military and other officials.
Obama’s own words offer insight into how he’s pursuing his decision.
“I’ve been asking not only General McChrystal, but all of our commanders who are familiar with the situation, as well as our civilian folks on the ground, a lot of questions,” Obama said when describing his war review. “I want to make sure that we have tested all the assumptions we’re making before we send young men and women into harm’s way.”
Obama is out to show a methodical approach to wartime decision-making that incorporates, but is not wedded to, the advice of the military.
The White House has also sought to distance itself from the style of President George W. Bush, whom Obama officials had long accused of being unwilling to listen to dissent.
Although Obama’s review has been portrayed as mainly a debate about U.S. troop levels, the White House’s focus appears to be shifting toward the political side of the equation: Can the Afghan government become a credible partner or is it a source of weakness to be continually exploited by the Taliban insurgents?
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking to reporters in the Philippines, zeroed in on that Thursday.
“We’re looking to President Karzai, as he forms a new government, to take action that will demonstrate — not to the international community, but first and foremost to his own people — that his second term will respond to the needs that are so manifest,” Clinton said. “And I think that the corruption issue really goes to the heart of whether the people of Afghanistan feel that the government is on their side, is working for them.”
Central to any counterinsurgency fight is the struggle over the legitimacy of the government. One explanation for the resurgence of the Taliban over the past three years concerns the failings of the Afghan government, which the Taliban have managed to exploit by offering what many Afghans see as a viable alternative. That is why Obama has taken pains to push for greater non-military support for the mission — additional State Department personnel and more focus on developing Afghan agriculture and trade.
It’s also notable that while this deliberation has evolved, a president just 10 months on the job has gotten a much more direct look at the human cost of war, which has undoubtedly affected his thinking.
As for the increasingly anxious American people, Obama said in late September: “I understand the public’s weariness of this war, given that it comes on top of weariness about the war in Iraq.”
His response: “I would expect that the public would ask some very tough questions. That’s exactly what I’m doing, is asking some very tough questions.”
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What a Mistake you people made !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's great to have a man who has intestinal fortitude AND intelligence leading this nation.
"President Barack Obama’s drawn-out decision-making on Afghanistan" is just another glaring example of why he should not have been elected in the fist place! THERE ARE KIDS DYING OVER THERE and he doesn'know what to do! Worse, he doesn't care! He appoints people to lead who know what needs done and then doesn't listen to them.
Every day he fails to act brings more soldiers closer to death.
Orliandor, there is no excuse for you to be so madly in love with this guy at this point.
You have failed to learn anything about him and apparently love your MSNBC.
It's stomach-turning to see such a teenage crush displayed by what I've concluded is a younger than 40 white male.
As I see it he has two choices: Give them the help they need or bring them home!
LoD, you are so off on my demographic it is funny. BTW I get my news from the BBC. US news outlets don't offer actual news anymore. Hope your stomach feels better soon.
You forgot the main message he’s sending: He’s an indecisive moron.
I’m beginning to think that Orliandor and ginger are related.
The BBC??????????????
For the first three years I was living in Germany the only English speaking news I could get was the BBC. It was far left then and has deteriorated from there.
Based on a range of descriptions of the situation there, it seems that the decision to stay in Afghanistan, after kicking out Al-Quaida and Mullah Omar, was a bad one. Each day we stay compounds the error.
Obama is taking his time because he knows if he sends more troops, he upsets his liberal base. If he sends less troops he loses the rest of the moderates that are bailing on him in droves on his Obamacare debacle. It's not intestinal fortitude, it's indecisiveness. Instead of doing what is right, he wants to do what is popular. This is the difference between an intellectual and a true leader. I don't believe Obama has a set of principles that he holds to help make decisions. He sways with the winds of popular opinion and partisan politics. It's all about what makes him look good at that moment.
When Bush wanted the surge in Iraq, Obama and his ilk crowed about the lost war and demanded an immediate withdrawal. Bush was under incredible and heavy opposition from the Dems and even his own party. But, he trusted his advisors and held to his guns and we now see that the surge worked exactly the way it was supposed to and Iraq is much more stable and we are able to start bringing our troops home. Unless the Afghani's feel protected they cannot stand up to the Taliban, AQ and the Iranians. If we surged in Afghan and took back the country-side we could find Osama, route the terrorists and allow Karzai to bring hope back to his people. But, it will take the President to make that order and he is unwilling to do so out of fear of looking anything like his predecessor.
I weep for the soldiers overseas. They are fighting a war that their own Commander in Chief does not support. The weakness shown by their Commander is making them a target for emboldened terrorists that now realize that if they inflict high enough casualties on American soldiers we will not have the stomach to continue fighting. Look for increases in Allied deaths as our Commander in Chief dithers away their time fighting Fox News, forcing health reform down our throats and attending fund raisers for Democrats.
The message is I don't know what I am doing I've got to please my left wing anti war supporters so I'll just throw the troops under the bus while I play politics.
You uninformed media led idiots that put this fraud in the white house continue to prop up this community organizer by continuing to drink the Obama Hussien kool aid. Great watch as America and all of us lose.
How long will he take to decide what to do when our country is attacked again? Scary.
This guy can't even bring himself to recognize a terrorist act at Ft Hood, much less trying to win a war in Afghanistan. He just agreed to let Khalid Sheikh Muhammad be tried as a US citizen ! He is dithering and coddling the islamist killers that lust for our blood. Why ? Differentiating himself from Geo Bush for what reason ?
The guy is an amateur, almost laughable. Almost as funny as thinking the BBC is a place for news. That's the best one today. On the other hand, the News press reliance on the AP makes it look like just another sycophant leftist rag. It could stand outside the bathroom and cheer Obama for whatever he produces. Blind, deaf , and unable to smell.
I get an entirely different read on this. What I heard over a radio station, can't tell you what one, I was driving across Iowa listening to AM, was that he asked what is the timetable for withdrawal with the surge and what is it without? He asked them for an exit strategy either way and nobody had an answer. I come from a family deep in military service, Both grandfathers, my dad, one brother, several cousins (they wouldn't take me, bad eyes). My brother and cousins all agreed after coming home from the jungle that no war was worth fighting on foreign soil. I don't know that I agree completely with that statement but in my opinion it certainly merits some thought.
10377586, I can understand what you are saying. It SOUNDS like he is being thoughtful and trying to find the best of all options. The problem is that we are in a state of war in Afghanistan. He should have done this earlier this year before he sent more troops. He had no problem listening to his advisors back then, but now that he's getting slammed by his health care agenda, he's wavering. There is a reason he has military advisors. He should trust their judgement and give them what they need to fight this war. The exit strategy is to do whatever it takes to win the battle and then secure the peace and bring our troops home. He started down that road and now looks weak by flip-flopping so quickly.
LoD:
Actually Orliandor is a 54+ female.
the question is not who orliandor is or isn't. the question is do we trust our president. i am sure when he is informed on all that he ponders ,he will come up with the right decision. it may not be the one some you agree with , but it will be the one our president has made. a teenage crush? is that all you have to counter with? take your meds, if you take them in the morning you wont forget them. and as far as the bbc, they are not governed by left or right that i have seen, they say what they see. some who post here have their blinders on.
That was my second guess. Menopause can be tough.
No, I don't trust the president or anyone with a "R-" or "D-" in front of their name in print and for good reason.
In my 3 assumptions, 1 was correct (race). That's a 33% success rate.
How's B-HO's success rate on unemployment? Afghanistan? Professor Gates? Guantanamo Bay? Not to mention he said the Iraq strategy would never work.
Seems I've already got a better record than your idealogue.
Now THAT's laughable.
Donaldo when I can decipher what it is you're saying half the time I'll give you a response. I'm convinced you are asking me a question or two above but I just can't make it out.
LoD:
Be glad donaldo doesn’t appear to have been drinking yet today.
He’s really hard to understand then.
Obama the candidate "we will crush al quaeda"
obama the president "duhh...uhmm....let's talk more
To quote Lewis Black "Basically, the last eight years, I feel, the Republicans stood around farting and the Democrats went, 'Ooh, let me smell it."
0bama doesn't know what he is doing. Everyday he waits to make his decision our men and women are still in harms way taking fire and trying to do their job even under restrictive rules of engagement.
Here is a link to the comment I quoted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a5i-WZiomw&feature=related
I think someone with his LACK of military experience, and leadership needs to have someone ELSE make the decision,,, FOR him Like, his Generals, maybe HE needs to spend a week at the front, to SEE what is happening ! I bet after the first day, he would order 100,000 more troups to be there within 24 hours !!
I will STILL Pray for him.
I wonder how fast the troups would get there if HIS Daughters were in harms way ??
It's time to focus on our borders...The people of the world have existed just fine for thousands of years and quality of life is a priviledge that they need to fight for themselves, not Americans. Americans fought for our freedom and paid in blood, let others do the same.
oh well, some don't understand what i write. i really don't care what you do or don't understand. i don't drink alcohol, i cant. some do and can get away with it, not me! dale arch, when did you ever see me drink? you haven't, but then you read some things that are not there too. lod, you are a very scary fellow, anti-govt. . hate the world. you have your head so far up your rectum if you was to sneeze you would blow your brains out. did you understand any of what i wrote yet? thought so. love your fellow brother, he would love you back if you give him half a chance. stop reading hate in your life, it is mostly all made up by you. take a chill pill dude, the old ticker wont take much more of this stuff.
Don't take it too personally, donaldo. Mouth-breathers need to insult others to make themselves feel adequate.
“Don't take it too personally, donaldo. Mouth-breathers need to insult others to make themselves feel adequate.”
Typical liberal moron…not bright enough to see that she’s doing exactly what she’s bad mouthing others for doing.
Dale I was going to make the exact same comment but I remembered an old saying...
In a battle of wits I refuse to fight an unarmed opponent.
Here goes Donaldo again saying I make stuff up yet he has never ONCE been able to discredit anything I've said beyond, "you're making stuff up."
He trusts his government. If he were alive during the Revolution he'd be tarred and feathered daily.
The idea of not trusting your government is a good exercise for Americans as it was our distrust that helped fuel the American revolution. After which is became a fundamental philosophy so as to never let government get out of control again. After all, we had just fought invading troops on our own land and our fathers and brothers paid the ultimate price.
Since then the people have become lazy and the government, by inaction of the American people, grew all-powerful once again.
At this point the distrust is more than a philosophy, it's literal. They are liars and thieves. They take from us because they feel they deserve more than us. They legislate against us because they feel we are not worthy of liberty.
Don't worry, I'll stay consistent. After the next American revolution I will maintain a philosophical distrust of our newly formed government and I will encourage fellow patriots to do the same lest once again this machine spins out of control and is consumed by it's thirst for power.
I think the reason some people “trust” their government is their government promises to do everything for them, make all their decisions, give them money, etc. etc.
These are the most pathetic among us…the union people, government employees, some minorities, etc.
lod, you don't trust our government because you still feel the civil war isn't over yet. this is from your mouth. i have been told i can receive money from my government for my service in viet nam but i have more integrity than that.i have never asked for a hand out, i was a card carrying union man for 31 years, paid my dues and was never given a hand out . if you were never a union man or woman that is fine , but i don't see why you can be against them unless you were a owner of a company and were screwed out of a bid, if so, boo hoo. if you were to hire a union man instead of scabs you would fine a better grade of person that didn't always wine about his pay while smoked his cigarettes. i am a patriot for my government, never against it. lod , you are a wacko and dalearch is a card short of a deck. i am non union now, i work for a major player in town who happens to be non-union. i have no regrets and am receiving no hand outs. it helps to get a thumbs up from your freind doesent it?
“you would fine a better grade of person that didn't always wine about his pay while smoked his cigarettes.”
You mean someone with a dumb third graders command of the English language?
Prairie Village?
Is that supposed to be a threat?
If I'm so wacko - why is it so difficult for you to challenge any of the facts I've ever written and offered information on? Why do you not even attempt?
You engage me at nearly every opportunity, so you can't say you're just not going to bother with me; you do. You constantly engage me to tell me I'm wrong; but you never offer proof otherwise...
What gives?
"Always for my government and never against it."
And I'M the wacko??? Where's the tar...
I always thought Orliandor was just another idiot liberal.
Turns out to be quite the piece of trash.
C'mon guys (and gals)...please STOP with the insults! I read all your comments regularly and you all have very intelligent points at any given time...then you all start with the bickering and your points go right in the toilet. I enjoy reading your intelligent and deliberate comments. I don't enjoy the mudslinging. You all are beginning to sound like the very D- and R- people you criticize. Please stick to the stories at hand...when you do, people like me become informed. When you stray into insults, it reads like ego-fest 2009.
I hope our troops get the support they need. I just had a nephew who returned from his second tour in Afghan. He was in Iraq the first time. Another nephew served in Iraq also. What they have experienced under both presidents has nothing to do with politics. It's been about loyalty, honor and duty. More than anything, knowing the support they have from use here at home means more than anything!
I will say the they and their fellow soldiers are feeling a bit underappreciated by the politicians, which is very unfortunate since the biggest one is their "boss". Crappy management style for a corporation yields bsuiness failure, yet it is acceptable for our administration who holds hundreds of thousands of lives in their hands!
I'm with you, StJoeMom...but it has already happened, in Ft. Hood. Look how he's handling that. Scary!!!!
LoD:
You and I were both half right and half wrong about Orliandor.
It turns out that he is a 54+ male.
Notice I said “male” – not “man”.
If American taxpayers had to fund these many military activities as they happen there would be a lot more support for peace. What if your payroll taxes increased every time we spent more in Afganistan?
Support our troops, bring them home safe & soon!
Interesting how someone who has zero knowledge of military tactics, and how to successfully prosecute a military campaign is dithering over a decision, ignoring the concerns and recommendations of men who have TREMENDOUS knowledge in military tactics.
Obama has had 9 months to reach a conclusion on his strategy for the middle east......
The reality is that it came time to pull the trigger and with his wealth of executive experience he strolled up to the brink and teetered....and teetered....and teetered
And, I heard a rumor........Eric Holder is being seriously considered for Al Quida's "Man of the Year Award". No one has come close to advancing their program nearly as far as Holder who is providing them a New York Platform to make their case and will see that they have a totally unrestricted and unlimited legal budget to grind on the American system.