• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

US troops coming home? Obama to say on Wednesday

Swizz

Active member
Joined
Jun 6, 2011
Messages
351
Reaction score
162
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Liberal
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will announce the critical next steps in America's decade-long war in Afghanistan on Wednesday, outlining both a plan to start bringing thousands of U.S. troops home next month and a broader withdrawal blueprint aimed at giving Afghans control of their own security in 2014.
But even as Obama finalizes those plans, there are deep divisions in his administration, with military leaders favoring only a gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocating a significant decrease in the coming months.
Administration officials say Obama is still working through the details on how many troops will start leaving Afghanistan in July, his self-imposed deadline for beginning the drawdown. He is considering a range of options presented to him last week by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan..

US troops coming home? Obama to say on Wednesday - Yahoo! News

So what will he do?
- Insignificant drawdown so he doesn't break his promise? (say, 1-2,000 troops come home)
- Relatively significant start of a drawdown? (5-10,000)
- Huge withdrawal? (20,000 or more)
What SHOULD he do?

I tend to think it'll be somewhere mid-range, which seems about right to me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Marl my words this is a mistake Obama will live to regrei.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Marl my words this is a mistake Obama will live to regrei.

Danger Will Robinson! Opinion! Danger!

Every single thing this man does (perhaps even including breathing oxygen, which as we all know is Marxist in nature because every human upon the planet has free access to it, except perhaps inhabitants of Los Angeles :2razz:) is a mistake to you.

So excuse me for not taking you seriously on this one.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Marl my words this is a mistake Obama will live to regrei.

In what sense? Is withdrawing too many? Isn't withdrawing enough?
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Talking about it publicly is stupid.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Talking about it publicly is stupid.

How is that?
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Talking about it publicly is stupid.

Kinda like telling the world that you aren't interested in going after those who attacked our Country and then shifting the focus to fight a meaningless war? Leaving it for the next guy......

That kind of talking publicly?
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Looks more like a campaign stunt then policy to get votes for the upcoming election
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Kinda like telling the world that you aren't interested in going after those who attacked our Country and then shifting the focus to fight a meaningless war? Leaving it for the next guy......

That kind of talking publicly?

More like telling the enemy at what point to expect large troop movements and post abandonments.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Looks more like a campaign stunt then policy to get votes for the upcoming election

Or just following through with the promise he made in December of 2009 to begin withdrawal in July 2011?...

More like telling the enemy at what point to expect large troop movements and post abandonments.

As opposed to keeping the American people in the dark and pretending we are at war with Afghanistan forever and ever amen?
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Or just following through with the promise he made in December of 2009 to begin withdrawal in July 2011?...



As opposed to keeping the American people in the dark and pretending we are at war with Afghanistan forever and ever amen?

Letting our enemy know when we will leave is so smart.

It is more political for his campaign then it is a strategy by the military.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Or just following through with the promise he made in December of 2009 to begin withdrawal in July 2011?...



As opposed to keeping the American people in the dark and pretending we are at war with Afghanistan forever and ever amen?

We only need to be "kept in the dark" until our troops are safely removed and Afghan forces have been put in their place. Telling your enemy "we're taking 10,000 troops out of this region by December" doesn't protect our troops or the Afghan citizens. It merely points out the newest weak spot in the defense. Not smart.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

More like telling the enemy at what point to expect large troop movements and post abandonments.

Right, like telling those that attacked us...that we just aren't all that interested in them....we're going to go attack an unrelated country. Glad we agree!
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Right, like telling those that attacked us...that we just aren't all that interested in them....we're going to go attack an unrelated country. Glad we agree!

I'm pretty sure I know what you're referencing, and saying "I'm not that concerned with the thread posed by Osama Bin Laden at this time" doesn't really equate to saying, "Hey, we're leaving this area on this date, and we're taking 10,000 troops, too!"
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

I'm pretty sure I know what you're referencing, and saying "I'm not that concerned with the thread posed by Osama Bin Laden at this time" doesn't really equate to saying, "Hey, we're leaving this area on this date, and we're taking 10,000 troops, too!"

Well....that's pretty much what was being said...and what happened....and the results speak for themselves.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

there are about 100,000 americans fighting in afghanistan

press secty carney tells the corps today: the president has "not yet decided what to do"

"he's finalizing his decision, he's reviewing his options"

Obama to withdraw 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by end of 2012 - Jennifer Epstein and Glenn Thrush - POLITICO.com

that's odd, since he plans tomorrow nite to lay out before the world his strategy for the next two years

but the white house is leaking this morning that it's gonna pullout something on the order of 5000 now and 5000 more by the end of the year

with a promise of 30,000 total by the end of 2012

this would leave some 60,000 americans still in harms way a year and a half from now

this longest war in american history---now OBAMA'S WAR, since he ESCALATED it---is gonna go on forever

the us conference of mayors wrote a resolution this weekend urging the white house to pull out of this war, they want the 10 billion dollars per month spent on this side of the atlantic ocean and arabian sea

are you sure this guy knows what he's doing, what's our exit strategy?

us casualties in OBAMA'S WAR have increased 400% since he ESCALATED, 184 this year

iCasualties: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Casualties
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Well....that's pretty much what was being said...and what happened....and the results speak for themselves.

Your version of history is yours.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Letting our enemy know when we will leave is so smart.

It is more political for his campaign then it is a strategy by the military.

Such bull**** partisanship.

I can only imagine what you'd say if Obama did, indeed, decide not to tell us what the Afghanistan strategy was:
"I thought this president stood for transparency! Change you can believe in! He owes it to the American taxpayers who are funding this 10-year-old war, who don't even want to be there anymore, to tell us what our strategy is there!"

You're just going to take a dump on anything Obama decides to do. He promised to eventually get us out of Afghanistan in time; that's exactly what he's doing, and he's not keeping us in the dark about it. It's funny to see the right so confused about what their stance on Afghanistan should be...is it necessary to stay the course or do we need to get out? The answer: the opposite of whatever Obama chooses.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Such bull**** partisanship.

I can only imagine what you'd say if Obama did, indeed, decide not to tell us what the Afghanistan strategy was:
"I thought this president stood for transparency! Change you can believe in! He owes it to the American taxpayers who are funding this 10-year-old war, who don't even want to be there anymore, to tell us what our strategy is there!"

You're just going to take a dump on anything Obama decides to do. He promised to eventually get us out of Afghanistan in time; that's exactly what he's doing, and he's not keeping us in the dark about it. It's funny to see the right so confused about what their stance on Afghanistan should be...is it necessary to stay the course or do we need to get out? The answer: the opposite of whatever Obama chooses.

Pointing out the political expediency of the situation is in no way partisan. Our troops and innocent civilians are in danger with we prematurely announce or schedule for troop movements in a war zone. Nobody on the right that I know railed on Obama for being so tight lipped about Osama, so I'm not sure your transparency argument holds much water.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

If the military leaders are backing this draw down and feel its viable, then I'm happy its happening.

If this is being done for political reasons in ramp up to the 2012 election because a drawing down in Afghanistan would help Obama's chances and is not being done due to strategic military reasons or in accordance with the honest wishes of the majority of Generals, then it is a disappointing and disturbing bit of news.

Either way, I hope for success, but the answer to the above questions would change rather I have much faith in said hope or not.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

Pointing out the political expediency of the situation is in no way partisan. Our troops and innocent civilians are in danger with we prematurely announce or schedule for troop movements in a war zone. Nobody on the right that I know railed on Obama for being so tight lipped about Osama, so I'm not sure your transparency argument holds much water.

First of all, a top-secret mission to kill the most wanted man in the world is a much, much different thing from a withdrawal from a war that everyone is going to figure out anyway, even if the president does keep it secret. Secondly, there really, really isn't any consistency here. I wasn't hearing any bickering from the right when President Bush helped negotiate the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement in 2008 that gave exact dates of combat withdrawal, among other important future withdrawals. Unless you're willing to concede that that, too, was a terrible idea that put our troops in grave danger? And even still, I've yet to see any evidence, 2 and a half years later, that such an assertion will be correct.

If we've done our job with the Afghanistan War, which it seems we finally (under Obama) have accomplished, then it won't matter if they know we've withdrawn a month in advance or 6 months in advance or not until the day we leave. If the situation is really so fragile that a simple announcement of strategy is going to reverse the trajectory of the war, then we should not be leaving at all. And that is not what anyone, not even General Petraeus, is saying.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

june 7:

The hugely expensive U.S. attempt at nation-building in Afghanistan has had only limited success and may not survive an American withdrawal, according to the findings of a two-year congressional investigation to be released Wednesday.

The report, prepared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Democratic majority staff, comes as Congress and the American public have grown increasingly restive about the human and economic cost of the decade-long war and reflects growing concerns about Obama’s war strategy even among supporters within his party.

The report describes the use of aid money to stabilize areas the military has cleared of Taliban fighters — a key component of the administration’s counterinsurgency strategy — as a short-term fix that provides politically pleasing results. But it says that the enormous cash flows can overwhelm and distort local culture and economies, and that there is little evidence the positive results are sustainable.

Because oversight is scanty, the report says, the fund encourages corruption. Although the U.S. plan is for the Afghan government to eventually take over this and other programs, it has neither the management capacity nor the funds to do so.

The report also warns that the Afghan economy could slide into a depression with the inevitable decline of the foreign military and development spending that now provides 97 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Afghan nation-building programs not sustainable, report says - The Washington Post
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

If Obama holds true to form, he'll pull 10,000 out of Afghanistan, send half of them to Libya, and the other half to Iraq.
 
Re: President Obama To Announce Details of Afghanistan Strategy On Wednesday

First of all, a top-secret mission to kill the most wanted man in the world is a much, much different thing from a withdrawal from a war that everyone is going to figure out anyway, even if the president does keep it secret. Secondly, there really, really isn't any consistency here. I wasn't hearing any bickering from the right when President Bush helped negotiate the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement in 2008 that gave exact dates of combat withdrawal, among other important future withdrawals. Unless you're willing to concede that that, too, was a terrible idea that put our troops in grave danger? And even still, I've yet to see any evidence, 2 and a half years later, that such an assertion will be correct.

If we've done our job with the Afghanistan War, which it seems we finally (under Obama) have accomplished, then it won't matter if they know we've withdrawn a month in advance or 6 months in advance or not until the day we leave. If the situation is really so fragile that a simple announcement of strategy is going to reverse the trajectory of the war, then we should not be leaving at all. And that is not what anyone, not even General Petraeus, is saying.

I have always railed against making announcements regarding troop movement until after said movements have been accomplished. It does nothing to preserve the safety and protection of our troops or the civilians they are defending. Also, I never once stated or implied that the entire country would implode, but knowing how and when our troops are leaving puts them in distinct, obvious danger. Whether our enemies take advantage of the advanced warning or not, the fact remains that we do give them a distinct advantage when we parade around numbers, dates, and companies departing a war zone. It doesn't take a genius to realize it's bad form.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom