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Gorbachev Says Obama Should Start Afghan Withdrawal

Councilman

Councilman

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Gorbachev Says Obama Should Start Afghan Withdrawal (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

By Chris Burns and Patrick Donahue

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, drawing on his experience of military failure in Afghanistan in the 1980s, said the U.S. can’t win the conflict there and should begin pulling out its soldiers.

Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO forces are battling a Taliban-led insurgency, is too fragmented between clans to be controlled militarily, Gorbachev, 78, said in an interview today in Berlin. While he said President Barack Obama would be unlikely to take his advice, Gorbachev said he saw no chance of success even with more U.S. troops.

“I believe that there is no prospect of a military solution,” Gorbachev said in Russian through a translator. “What we need is the reconciliation of Afghan society -- and they should be preparing the ground for withdrawal rather than additional troops.”

Gorbachev, who became general secretary of the ruling Communist Party in 1985, at age 54, initiated a restructuring program known as perestroika that eventually led to the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. He spoke a day after he joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and current world leaders in the German capital to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.
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I believe based on what I know of our Nations History of becoming involved in wars and conflicts because of politicians decisions and those same politicians trying to limit the scope or manage the military operations Gorbachev could be right.
The Russians were in many ways much more ruthless than our troops tend to be, but they limited the scope of their occupation and the scope just as we had done in Vietnam and their war ended the same way.
Obama does not want to offend those with whom he is most closely aligned and most sympathetic of so there is no will to win and he said as much. When he said, He won't Use the Word “Victory” in Afghan “War”.
All that is required to win is the will and then get the politicians the hell out of the way.
To fail to win in the Afghan war we are going to face constant threats from Al Quaeda who found a home there. The gloves have to come off and total Victory become the goal or we need to become Fortress America and actually close and control our borders.
 
But the Russians didn't have Obama as President.
 
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zimmer said:
Difference is the Soviets were trying to overrun the country, we are trying to liberate it.

See, we left them alone after helping them get rid of the Soviet menace... and look what happened.

Stay the course, get the job done... even if it takes a generation or more of help.
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Plus weren't we helping Afghanistan fight the Soviets in that war? I don't know of a superpower aiding the Taliban.
 
phattonez said:
Plus weren't we helping Afghanistan fight the Soviets in that war? I don't know of a superpower aiding the Taliban.
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We did aid them with weapons. I believe the Taliban still had a few of our Stinger rockets.

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unfortunately, gorby is almost surely correct

afghanistan is literally unconquerable, he fears

after all, he commited up to 200,000 soviet soldiers for ten years in the mountains on the moon

with a WILL to win completely unknown in washington

and what did it get him---the collapse of his evil empire

that is, a defeat of epic proportions

the ussr's nam

while all we have in the person of our president, presently, is a perplexed poet

afghanistan will destroy this administration
 
zimmer said:
Difference is the Soviets were trying to overrun the country, we are trying to liberate it.
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That's a comfy distinction coming from the side that's on the offensive. To the Taliban, there is no such distinction.
 
Orius said:
That's a comfy distinction coming from the side that's on the offensive. To the Taliban, there is no such distinction.
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Greeted as liberators. Remember? :lol:
 
Orius said:
That's a comfy distinction coming from the side that's on the offensive. To the Taliban, there is no such distinction.
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Good. I want the terrorists to be the terrorized. Always looking over their shoulders for the next attack.
They asked for it the twisted f**ks.
Enjoy!

May they encounter massive losses due to consuming large quantities of lead and from colliding with high speed, drone delivered projectiles.

The more these freaks get whacked... the merrier.

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