As did I but of course you called those opinion.
let me ask you, did Obama fire his own hand picked commander in Afghanistan, yes or no?
Um, yes, but that doesn't make it a success or failure. Was the Civil War a failure because Lincoln fired McClellan? Firing his commander does not inherently make the strategy a success or failure, you're lumping them together for no apparent reason.
Did Obama tell the Taliban when he was going to leave Afghanistan, yes or no
No, he told the American people our strategy in Afghanistan. What, do you think he's going to withdraw troops secretly without telling anyone? :lamo If Obama had not given a withdrawal date, we still would have withdrawn eventually, so the Taliban still would've found out eventually. I see no evidence that the timing of Obama's announcement has been helpful or hurtful. Can you imagine if he had been vague about the details? "Obama owes the American people an explanation! Those are my tax dollars paying for this war!"
Did Obama give the commanders the number of troops they asked for when they proposed an Iraq type surge?
Yes. Commanders proposed several (4, I believe it was) scenarios of a surge for Obama to choose from. Obama chose one of those options (the second highest and third lowest # of troops, I believe), crafted by the commanders, and asked if it could work before making his final decision. They said it would.
Even if you were right, again, I see no proof that this inherently meant failure. But you were wrong, so it's irrelevant.
Did Obama take the commanders advice when they gave him options about the Afghanistan draw down and his announcement about troop withdrawal?
Not exactly sure of the range of options he was given. I have heard that Petraeus wanted a slower drawdown. But again, Obama is the Commander In Chief. If the commanders were meant to make the decisions, our government would simply allow them to circumvent the president. But that's not how it works. And AGAIN, I see no proof that this is going to be harmful. You are mistaking your opinion for concrete evidence. Give me concrete evidence he has failed in Afghanistan, not your opinion.
You call the Afghanistan strategy a success yet have pointed to none other than getting Bin Laden which has been the strategy for the past 10 years. What changed?
Getting bin Laden was not the only thing I pointed to at all (can you read?)...although it clearly is a huge accomplishment and an enormous blow to the stature of al Qaeda.
I have also mentioned:
-We have killed 20 of the top 30 al Qaeda operatives since Obama got into office
-We have upped the drone strikes, which have gained bipartisan recognition as having helped turn the tide and regain our momentum
-We have begun training Afghan forces so they can sustain the security of their government without us indefinitely staying there to hold their hands
-The influence of the Taliban is weaker than it was when Obama got into office
-The presence of al Qaeda is weaker in Afghanistan than it was when Obama got into office
So, um, plenty changed. Just because Bob Gates and Petraeus were still around, doesn't mean Obama didn't make major adjustments to strategy and provide large amounts of resources to make a greater degree of success possible.
So, again. PLEASE show me the evidence that the strategy has failed. You keep pointing to specific choices in Obama's strategy that you would have done differently, but you are failing to prove to us that you are correct, you're just expecting us to believe you without any evidence.
