Offishul CinC Afghanistan Speech thread...

[Okla-homey]

:pop:

I'm rather impressed with the notion that but for his current role, he'd be wailing in the Senate with the other pantywaist bed wetters there to cut and run and spend the ooodles of moolah on social programs.

But, he's coming around. So that's good.

[JohnnyMack]

Can't wait to pay the taxes for this and then leave in three years. Whoo!!!

[lexsooner]

Contrary to what many say, Obama has up to this point acted more like a moderate centrist as POUS than anything else. He will probably be criticized by his party and the Republicans, but I believe he thinks he has made the right choice for our strategy in Afghanistan.

[JLEW1818]

here is what my liberal buddy says....

Barack Obama will announce that he is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan 9 days before he recieves the Nobel Peace Prize.

[SCOUT]

here is what my liberal buddy says....

Barack Obama will announce that he is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan 9 days before he recieves the Nobel Peace Prize.

To be fair, he won the prize long before he did anything :D

[picasso]

Contrary to what many say, Obama has up to this point acted more like a moderate centrist as POUS than anything else. He will probably be criticized by his party and the Republicans, but I believe he thinks he has made the right choice for our strategy in Afghanistan.

Moderate centrist?????? Based on what? I almost laughed.

[Okla-homey]

So, we're going to have a troop surge. Of course, the guy on the ground there wanted and recommended 40K troops, but the Prez is only sending 30K. I wonder WTF it took almost three months for the Man to decide to go with that?

[JohnnyMack]

So, when we leave in 4 years and turn the country over to the newly trained Afghan police and/or security forces, how exactly are they going to be paid? What infrastructure improvements are we going to see that will allow this nation to shrug off centuries of ineptitude and suddenly become a beacon for righteousness and virtue?

[Okla-homey]

So, when we leave in 4 years and turn the country over to the newly trained Afghan police and/or security forces, how exactly are they going to be paid? What infrastructure improvements are we going to see that will allow this nation to shrug off centuries of ineptitude and suddenly become a beacon for righteousness and virtue?

I have no idea. But, having spent a fair amount of time there, I can say the following. Those people love to fight. It's in their genes. They like to fight each other, and they like fighting outsiders even more. Working with the powers that be there is rather like playing MafiaWars. Hoping to turn that place into a liberal democracy governed by the rule of law is a taller order than trying to turn Oklahoma into a blue state.

Watching the speech, I sensed it was a sad night for this president because in his soul, he didn't believe his own speech. I sure didn't.

Remember this. As a rule of thumb, it costs a billion dollars a year to keep 1000 US troops deployed on a combat mission. That's a lot of money. And we aren't leaving in four years. We're stuck.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124520/Obama-Approval-Afghanistan-Trails-Issues.aspx

[1890MilesToNorman]

Remember how many boots we had on the ground when we routed them in about a month after 9/11?

Just checking

[Okla-homey]

Remember how many boots we had on the ground when we routed them in about a month after 9/11?

Just checking

We did that by bribing rival war lords into helping us versus the Talibanners who were bad for the war lord's business. I was there.

[1890MilesToNorman]

Yep, it was a special forces war with the full might of Navy and Air Force hardware and the Northern Alliance providing the ground muscle. Why wouldn't that work now?

Edited: And thank you for what you did Homey!!

[TUSooner]

Those people love to fight. It's in their genes. They like to fight each other, and they like fighting outsiders even more.... Hoping to turn that place into a liberal democracy governed by the rule of law is a taller order than trying to turn Oklahoma into a blue state.
This. ^^^
The best we can hope for, really, methinks, is to hurt the Taliban as much as possible in the short run and then try to hold together some kind of anti-Taliban alliance in the coutryside to keep them (mostly) down. To have and keep any allies over there, we'll likely have to keep our hands off their opium.
It's a no-win situation for outsiders, as it always has been.

[jaux]

I wonder what the families of the December 2011 casualties are going to think.

[OklahomaTuba]

Can't wait to pay the taxes for this and then leave in three years. Whoo!!!So now you're worried about Teleprompter Jesus's spending??

He spent twice that in October alone to create/save 5 or so jobs. He's probably spent that much on golf and flying around apologizing and bowing.

You Gotta love the fact he put an exact date at which we will surrender the country to the Taliban and AQ. Of course it's before his next election. Can't let a little thing like a WAR mess with his election efforts.

[OklahomaTuba]

The German's loved the Ditherer-in-Chief's speech almost as much as we did!!

In his speech on America's new Afghanistan strategy, Obama tried to speak to both places. It was two speeches in one. That is why it felt so false. Both dreamers and realists were left feeling distraught.

The American president doesn't need any opponents at the moment. He's already got himself.http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,664753,00.html

[Okla-homey]

This. ^^^
The best we can hope for, really, methinks, is to hurt the Taliban as much as possible in the short run and then try to hold together some kind of anti-Taliban alliance in the coutryside to keep them (mostly) down. To have and keep any allies over there, we'll likely have to keep our hands off their opium.
It's a no-win situation for outsiders, as it always has been.

I say we just bribe the right Jabba's like we did in 2001/02. It would be cheaper in both the long and short term.

(30,000 combat troops deployed x 4 years) $120 billion > req'd bribery money
And as an added bonus, far fewer US GI's get hurt.

[OklahomaTuba]

Will our soldiers be required to read all them taliban bastards their Miranda rights now?? Don't they deserve to be tried in a court of their peers in New York City as their brothers in AQ are to be tried???

[BermudaSooner]

I wonder where all of the Taliban are going on vacation for the next 18 months--that's what I'd do. Why fight now, when we know the US will be gone in 18 months and we can take over.

Bermuda took the Uighurs (Weegurs), maybe we'll take some Taliban for a vacation.

[StoopTroup]

I wonder where all of the Taliban are going on vacation for the next 18 months--that's what I'd do. Why fight now, when we know the US will be gone in 18 months and we can take over.

Bermuda took the Uighurs (Weegurs), maybe we'll take some Taliban for a vacation.

But they were all ready to jihad now....what will they do? Hooking up the leader to the dialysis machine is getting so old....

[OUMallen]

Lots of criticism on this thread...I'd like to see what you guys think is the best option?

[1890MilesToNorman]

Lots of criticism on this thread...I'd like to see what you guys think is the best option?

Change the rules of engagement and allow our fighting men and women to fight! They are hamstrung by the stupid political rules that they have to operate under.

[Sooner_Havok]

Stupid ****ing Geneva Convention. What kind of ****ing moron came up with that?

[1890MilesToNorman]

What an idiotic statement, who said anything about the Geneva Convention?

[Bourbon St Sooner]

I really don't get this whole build up for 18 months and leave namby pamby compromise ****. If we're going to fight the war, then let's fight it until it's done. Nobody believes the job will be done in 18 months, so why spend billions more dollars and more American blood to do a half *** job.

Either fight the war full bore or get the hell out! And I think I'm leaning toward the latter.

[JohnnyMack]

I really don't get this whole build up for 18 months and leave namby pamby compromise ****. If we're going to fight the war, then let's fight it until it's done. Nobody believes the job will be done in 18 months, so why spend billions more dollars and more American blood to do a half *** job.

Either fight the war full bore or get the hell out! And I think I'm leaning toward the latter.

I agree. Don't understand why we pulled back in 2002. Why the job wasn't finished then is beyond me.

[JLEW1818]

why no bombing?

[Scott D]

too many caves

[JLEW1818]

figured so..

It's impossible to eliminate terrorist

there is always going to be a crazy one, even after Osama

[Okla-homey]

I agree. Don't understand why we pulled back in 2002. Why the job wasn't finished then is beyond me.

This is just something to ponder, and I'm not revealing any state secrets or anything. Just suppose we did have OBL's head on a spike in '02. Now, had we announced that to the world, along with the photo op, wouldn't you think there would have been an irresistable hue and cry for us to un-arse Afghanistan?

Alternatively, just maybe, we don't want his head on a spike, in order to justify our continued presence in that region. Especialy the very important covert stuff the CIA is doing in the mountains of Pakistan.

I submit this also. We will never leave Iraq entirely. We fought too hard to establish airbases there which are strategically located to put us in a blocking position between Iran and Israel, or to sort-out Saudi if the day ever comes the fundmentalists decide the House of Saud needs to go.

[OklahomaTuba]

I agree. Don't understand why we pulled back in 2002. Why the job wasn't finished then is beyond me.What pull back are you talking about? We had twice the number of troops in A-stan in 2003 than we did in 2002.
http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2009/12/01/image5855123.gif

[JohnnyMack]

This is just something to ponder, and I'm not revealing any state secrets or anything. Just suppose we did have OBL's head on a spike in '02. Now, had we announced that to the world, along with the photo op, wouldn't you think there would have been an irresistable hue and cry for us to un-arse Afghanistan?

Alternatively, just maybe, we don't want his head on a spike, in order to justify our continued presence in that region. Especialy the very important covert stuff the CIA is doing in the mountains of Pakistan.

I submit this also. We will never leave Iraq entirely. We fought too hard to establish airbases there which are strategically located to put us in a blocking position between Iran and Israel, or to sort-out Saudi if the day ever comes the fundmentalists decide the House of Saud needs to go.

As long as we promote a foreign policy that involves the words, presence, bases and middle east I don't imagine much will change. Resources and more importantly lives will continue to be poured into an unwinnable scenario.

[Okla-homey]

As long as we promote a foreign policy that involves the words, presence, bases and middle east I don't imagine much will change. Resources and more importantly lives will continue to be poured into an unwinnable scenario.

JM,

I agree. It's a big shiite sandwich and we all have to take a bite. But until your car runs on household garbage like the Professor's DeLorean in "Back To The Future", we'll be pouring lives and national treasure into that region. We simply have no alternative.