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StumbleLETTER TO THE EDITOR:
U.S. should not leave Afghanistan until job is done
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.
Eric Stefik — in his Thursday letter to the editor in the Las Vegas Sun, headlined “History tells us to leave Afghanistan” — writes: “Have we somehow failed to learn from mistakes in our engagements in Vietnam and Iraq?”
I might point out that we entered both Vietnam and Iraq with faulty intelligence, to say the least.
Afghanistan was the home of al-Qaida (headed by Osama bin Laden), which attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, American embassies in Africa in 1998 and the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. The group also staged the worst terrorist attack ever, the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon at the cost of about 3,000 U.S. lives.
Departing from Afghanistan should not be an option — finishing what they started should be. I’m with President Barack Obama to “finish the job.”
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By all account Obama will announce a limited surge tonight.
A halve measure to "show" we are ther to win but really a ruse to leave the "GOOD" as soon as he can
This will just get more troops killed for no gain.
We should not be there for community organizing or nation building, but just be in the shadows doing our thing with as few people as possible.
Bush understood this hence his containment strategy of using Spooks and Drones to attack whenever and wherever the Taliban and Al-Qaida popped up.
The people are against the Obama escalation for one of two reason, either they are anti-war or they cannot support more troops in Afghanistan if Obama is commander in chief.
We have a weak administration with no stomach for defending America. Obama cannot even defend the Whitehouse from socialites and lobbyist.
Obama has failed his 3:00 am wakeup moment. Obama is dithering.
The job will NEVER BE DONE!.
The Afghan gov't is corrupt.
The people of Afghanistan don't want us there.
Who the hell is the US to think it can solve the worlds problems when we can't even solve our own at home.
WHY is it the US's problem to solve the world's problems as we sink further into debt and turmoil.
Why are we such a nation of war mongerers.
Lets just throw away 30 billion more we don't have while people don't have health insurance and are becoming homeless in droves.
Let's sacrifice thousands more American lives.
I was all for Obama. I really thought we would see change.
I now have to really admit to myself that ALL politicians are full of BS.
It's the nature of the human race to self destruct itself........
We should give Obama our support for he has decided to invest more men and money into Afghanistan.
hey future...
is there anything that our great president could have done that you would have approved of???
hee hee hee...
hoo hoo hoo...
haa haa haa...
This letter hits the mark.This is a war against
Radical Islamic jihad. Retreat here and face
these rotten devils on our own turf! Radical Islam is at war with America and the free world.
That's the reality, We have to confront and defeat it now.
hey houston...
excellent job of fear mongering...
you hit all the salient talking points...
give yourself a cookie...
There is an old saying in the country.
"You can enter a mule in the Kentucky Derby and it won't make it a race horse."
We can spend all the blood and money we want in Afghanistan and the results will be the same. Reminds me of the definition of insanity.
brtaylor and bob mcnamara were both right. Nam was a guaranteed loser; now barack is following the McNamara lead. Lots of kids getting blown up for votes. Back when it was for Shell Oil, things were just as dumb, and we sheeped ourselves into dominodumb.
Obama is showing courage.
We should support him in this effort.
He's showing us that even liberals kill for oil!
The Taliban and citizens of Afghanistan while trying to protect their country from occupying invaders are being slaughtered by our Drones and military.
During the mid 90's we sat down with the Taliban to discuss the building of two pipelines through their country and what it would cost the U.S. oil companies to have the Taliban protect the construction efforts. Condoleeza Rice, who at the time was on the Board of directors of Chevron Oil, spent time in Afghanistan trying to work a deal. The talks broke down when the oil cos. said that the Taliban were asking too much money.
Now the oil cos. will be able to start their project again with more troops on their way for protection. This move won't cost the oil companies a penny, as we the people are financing these occupations by paying our taxes. I've read that by 2013 we will have 400,000 troops in Afghanistan. So our government seems to believe that this so called occupation will go on indefinately with no end. Of course, how long will it take to build 2 pipelines and pump the natural gas and crude oil from the Caspian sea Region? Open your pocketbook and don't hold your breath.
I must agree with smokininkman. It is hard to imagine any good coming from the increased troop decision. Hopefully President Obama will be able to make some rational sense tonight in his speech as to why he has favored the troop surge over the total or gradual withdrawl from Afghanistan. He had better rush out this afternoon and print another trillion dollars of USA greenbacks.
I just saw that little weasel Karl Rove on "Today on NBC" criticizing the President.
What a smarmy rat he is.
Defeating the Taliban is going to take much, much more than military might. Just ask the Ruskies.
Now gmager... Remember name calling is beneath you.
And look... "Oh Canada" is back preaching to the U.S. Get you own country in shape before you preach to the U.S. Go back and read dingo's post.
Obama has finally made a decision on Afghanistan and we all should support his decision...
No LarryV YOU and YOUR ilk support his decision. I will support our troops in keeping them alive and bringing them home in one piece. Political and corporate greed is not a reason to occupy another nation and definately not a reason to have our soldiers and innocent civilians killed.
Politicians love war.
Washington loves war.
Rich people ( politicians ) make money off of war.
Lots of money
need I say more.................
say good night Gracie...
I love them arm chair war quarterbacks. has any of them been over there recently?
Actually I was in Ho Chi Min for a chance to check out my new grandson and the school we put up a few years back. Oh, you mean, Afghanistan? OOps. Not my war.
airweare can probably confirm this. As I understand it, the Vietnamese people like Americans and our way of life. They tried the Russians, but the Russians were too cheap and they could not relate to the Vietnamese people like the U.S. Soldiers.
I left Vietnam in 1967 and never went back. But quite a few of my fellow veterans have went back for vacations and they love it.
The power of the U.S. soldier is unending...
In typical fashion, Obama is offering half a loaf when the entire bakery is necessary. Its time to turn this mess over to the UN. Ha!
All of you armchair military experts should consider what happened to Alexander of Macedon when he attempted to subdue the wild Afghan tribes.
Mike, you mean pinching a half a loaf.
I see a field of pink blouses out there today...
Sometimes an Independent just can't win...
When I criticize Obama, I get stomped on by the Left.
When I support Obama, I get stomped on by the Left.
What's a person to do???
Si, es bud light estud!!1 thank GOD i speaka spanish.
Does this mean Obama can get another Peace Prize?
I am so conflicted
Sergio: you're a little far out there today...even for me.
mikegino : Hey don't knock Sergio today, at least he's not typing in all caps!
enviro: my problem is that I typically read everything he writes. I can't say the same for Birdie.
Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld let Bin Laden run free according to today's news.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/29/b...
Don't worry Stan, Obama will catch Bin Laden by July 2011.
I watched the Presidential debates last year. If you missed them, let me remind you that McCain promised he would "get Osama Bin Laden".
Not just talk. No weasel worded qualifications, no paring of language and no "maybe's". Just straight talk. McCain claimed that he positively knows how to get him and knows exactly what to do and precisely how to do it. John McCain would never have made such a clear, positive statement if it weren't true.
McCain is a Patriot, a war hero, so despite losing the election, I'm certain he has shared that knowledge with the Commander in Chief of our armed forces.
I believe that's why Obama has taken time to announce his Afghan strategy. He's been planning how, using McCain's inside information, to kill or capture Bin Laden with least loss of life.
StanG are you telling us politicians don't lie?
Thanks for the post Sergio, the false flag attacks we as a country have taken are there to scare the meek. Does any one think that the mercinaries we have helping our soldiers in the mideast are only over there helping our soldiers?
LarryV you asked what you should do? Take off your pink blouse if you don't feel good. Air out your brain.
Obama is about to go on the air tonight and commit political suicide by sending 30,000 more troops over there, in a major escalation of all the death and destruction our presence in that part of the world is causing. WTF? if 8 years over there hasn't given us the results we wanted what is sending more troops gonna do except kill more American solders and innocent civilians... SUX !!!
Senator Obama voted against war when he was in the Senate. He promised to get us out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now President Obama is sending more cannon fodder to Afghanistan.
Political suicide maybe, but he's breaking campaign promises and he's losing his base.
All of a sudden I don't believe he WAS born in a manger.
I wonder what those Nobel Peace Prize folks are thinking?
Lightning might strike me deader then "Global Warming," but I have to completely agree with Stan's last post.
And bless our troops who will be going in harms way and wish them a speedy return...
And he usually does...
Too much caffine...
first thing the us military should do over in afghah'stan is kick the snot out of karzai and his govt; make him know whose boss, i mean rough them up,torch their mansions and CIA drug profits. then tell the no good lazy general of the afghan military its SHOW time and light up the sky,lay waste to as much property until the barrels of the howitzers begin to melt; put the fear of muhammed in them and straighten them up. when the taliban sees the usa means business, they'll take a one way flight on kabul air out.
dipstick : Don't be a Dipstick!
Al-Qaeda was defeated in Iraq, like it or not. Even the iraqis helped throw them out.
Chasing the Taliban back into Pakistan for a few years is not going to change anything.
Looks like dipstick does not wear a pink blouse...
Hey Serg what about the Carlysle Corp. H.W.Bush and a member of the bin Laden family were on the board of directors. The Carlysle Group own many Corps. that are a part of the military industrial complex. James Baker was also a board member.
Just finishing watching the President's speech on Afghanistan. Thought he did a great job with a difficult situation.
The better job would have been for the prez to take that 30 billion and commit it to the recovery of our state...
Sergio: are you still in Costa Rica? My wife lived there for seven years and loved it.
Obama has the solution at hand. Send Acorn to Afghanistan. They'll get him the results he wants every time.
Sergio_the_false_prophet...
Are you of German ancestry, by chance?
.... boy from brazil?
This Obama's war now, he will either rise or fall with it...
sergio; we got enough problems with the resident idiots on c street; dont add the masons to the pile!!!!!