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US troops coming home? Obama to say on Wednesday

Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

IMO, the President's announcement should do among the following:

1. Lay out a path that leads to Afghanistan's formation of a stable, representative, and broadly-supported government that is widely-perceived among Afghanistan's peoples as legitimate by 2014 (when elections are supposed to be held). If Mr. Karzai could be persuaded or induced not to seek office in that election, the political development process could be facilitated. Political development will be crucial if Afghanistan is to have a sustainable government beyond 2014.

2. Such political development will also need to be coordinated with Afghanistan's neighbors so as to minimize interference should they believe their interests would be threatened e.g., from the rise of a power vacuum, etc.

3. Continue to train Afghanistan's security forces.

4. Troop levels and departures should be consistent with the security requirements of the above framework.

It should be noted that robust pursuit of political development toward an outcome that would be widely-backed by Afghanistan's peoples could erode domestic sources of support for destabilizing elements e.g., Al Qaeda. It could also help marginalize the Taliban.

Beyond 2014, a smaller U.S. force could remain to act as an enforcement mechanism for the political arrangement that would be created until some point in time where Afghanistan no longer needs such a mechanism. The U.S. and Afghanistan's neighbors could ill-afford to see the Taliban launch a fresh offensive and conquer Afghanistan in the wake of a complete U.S. withdrawal as happened in Vietnam in 1975.
 
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Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Obama did not listen to his Generals in 2009 and he is not listening now. Obama who has never served knows more than the generals.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Obama did not listen to his Generals in 2009 and he is not listening now. Obama who has never served knows more than the generals.

Maybe no, but he wouldn't be the first not to.

However, didn't he listen to them concerning the surge? You know, when the generals said we could do it and still not be successful, but do it anyway?
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Obama did not listen to his Generals in 2009 and he is not listening now. Obama who has never served knows more than the generals.

He's the Commander In Chief, not them. If the generals were meant to make such decisions, they'd be in charge.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Maybe no, but he wouldn't be the first not to.

However, didn't he listen to them concerning the surge? You know, when the generals said we could do it and still not be successful, but do it anyway?

No he gave them half of the amount of troops asked for
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

No he gave them half of the amount of troops asked for


If you ask me, he shouldn't have supported it at all. Have genrals always gotten everything they've asked for?
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

He's the Commander In Chief, not them. If the generals were meant to make such decisions, they'd be in charge.

Some one with no experience or knowledge should listen to the advisers that have made it a life long career
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

If you ask me, he shouldn't have supported it at all. Have genrals always gotten everything they've asked for?

What does Obama know about war or military? He should listen to the experts
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

What does Obama know about war or military? He should listen to the experts

WHy do you think we don't let generals make these decisions? If you know the answer to that, you will know why.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Some one with no experience or knowledge should listen to the advisers that have made it a life long career

Right, Obama has no knowledge. That's not a flawed statement at all.

Of course he should take their opinions into account, but there are other factors at work here (the budget, the will of the American people, the sustainability of a decade-long war, whether or not our goals have changed post-bin Laden, the movement of al Qaeda to other parts of the world) that need to be factored in as well. Again, if our founders wanted the generals to make these types of decisions, that would be how it works. It isn't.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

What does Obama know about war or military? He should listen to the experts

So you support sending more troops? Get a clear stance now.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

So you support sending more troops? Get a clear stance now.

No I support withdrawal as the war climate changes. Saying what you are pulling out to meet an election cycle shows the election is more important that winning the conflict.

I did not hear Obama mention winning tonight.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

seventy thousand combat troops in afghanistan a year and a half from now, his target date

which coincidentally is election eve

and that's his best case scenario

seeya at the polls, progressives
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

He's the Commander In Chief, not them. If the generals were meant to make such decisions, they'd be in charge.

obama is a pawn of the UN. he's not in charge of anything.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

obama is a pawn of the UN. he's not in charge of anything.

Man, we really need to make up our minds on this. Is the UN weak and worthless? Or is it controlling the world? better make up your minds!
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

How many decades before they won't wait any more?

it looks like we'll find out

be patient
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

The argument here w/troops in Afghanistan is the same argument that was used concerning troop withdrawals in Iraq - pull out too soon and you risk an resurgance of insurgances. But stay longer and not only do you risk upsetting the American public, but you give the impression you're doing what the locals claim you're doing - occupying their country, not liberating it.

The argument that the President isn't listening to his generals makes good political :spin: and it certainly gets those who oppose the President on any grounds riled up, but true is the surge did help improve security both among the population and along the boarders where most of the insurgents were fighting/causing the most trouble for American and coalition forces. As such, does it make sense to retain troop levels so high when they're really not needed especially when most of those who will be returning initially are support troops, not combat troops?

So, let's see if we have this straight...

Al Quaida is splintered; they're no longer concentrated in Afghanistan. They're now in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and other parts of the globe. Their numbers have been drastically reduced, their anti-American/anti-Muslim recruitment campaign has been debunked. Most of the Muslim world is now in chaos. The very thing the Saudi King worned fellow Muslims against is now happening - Muslim against Muslim - meaning that most of those who might have come into the fold of Al Quaida are now preoccupied elsewhere fighting civil wars.

We're complaining about "nation building" abroad not to mention spending hundreds of millions if not trillions helping other nations when we should be concentrating on our own. Yet, we have some in this thread insisting that we reduce spending and cut the deficit. One sure way of changing our budgetary outlook is to end these wars responsibily. So, what is the responsible way?

For certain, it is to reduce force numbers when possible as soon as practical. I'm sure Gen. Patreaus wanted troop levels to remain higher, but when you really take a look at the progress that has been made and is still being made in Afghanistan, as well as how things are globally, it makes sense to reduce troop levels if the Afghan government and our commanding Generals both agree that some of our troops on the ground can be swapped out using Afghan forces. According to the post-press conference reporting, the Afghan Army is over 300,000 strong. I'd say it's time they start making efforts to secure their own country.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

We've made gains very lately in Afghanistan. Taliban controlled area are on the border regions and if properly dealt with over the next year of having 70k forces there we should be good. Let's leave next year fully and not in 2014.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Man, we really need to make up our minds on this. Is the UN weak and worthless? Or is it controlling the world? better make up your minds!

i don't know who said the UN was weak, but it surely wasn't me. it COULD be weak if american dollars werent propping it up.
are you actualy trying to imply that this libyan coalition force isn't a UN directive?
 
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