Posted on 11/23/2009 8:13:54 PM PST by kristinn
President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he's called "a war of necessity" in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy.
Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said.
The U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the issue publicly and because, one official said, the White House is incensed by leaks on its Afghanistan policy that didn't originate in the White House.
They said the commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, could arrive in Washington as early as Sunday to participate in the rollout of the new plan, including testifying before Congress toward the end of next week. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry also are expected to appear before congressional committees.
As it now stands, the plan calls for the deployment over a nine-month period beginning in March of three Army brigades from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., and a Marine brigade from Camp Lejeune, N.C., for as many as 23,000 additional combat and support troops.
In addition, a 7,000-strong division headquarters would be sent to take command of U.S.-led NATO forces in southern Afghanistan — to which the U.S. has long been committed — and 4,000 U.S. military trainers would be dispatched to help accelerate...
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
The Telegraph is reporting similar numbers.
3 months and he finally makes a decision. Does he want a cookie..Now he can go and have some more “Photo ops” with the Military that he “respects” so much
An exclusive bone is thrown to one state media outlet on the verge of bankruptcy.
yitbos
Three months of leaving our troops hanging, and then he doesn’t even give McChrystal what he needs. What a disgrace!
What about Rep Obey? He called for a war surtax to pay for any additional troops.
Sure he photo ops with live troops and dead ones too... He has no respect for our military .... none...
The U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and because, one official said, the White House is incensed by leaks on its Afghanistan policy that didn’t originate in the White House.
~~~~~~~~~
So they leak anyway .. ???? Jeesh ...!
There was already one false announcement that he’d decided, which the White House denied.
Democrat congressmen and senators have been saying that more troops will require more taxes, and that will certainly raise a lot of controversy.
Official announcement isn’t until December 1, if this isn’t repudiated.
And even if he does it, we still have the big question: What are the rules of engagement? Will these new troops be allowed to fight back if attacked? Will they have prompt air cover when they need it?
Wonder if he will tell McChrystal standing beside him is a great photo op!
And the stupid b***tard will have our guys fighting under rules of engagement requiring every trooper to call the f’ing White House before firing on the enemy.
Just gonna get more of our folks killed — for NOTHING.
He’s creating another Vietnam so the public will turn against the war, demand we pull out, the bad guys will recruit, regroup, resupply and be in our streets in a few years anyway.
Gee, why the rush Barry?
Obviously he was waiting for the Senate to vote on the initial round for healthcare. This way his base can be distracted.
He’s a scumbag.
They’re trying to lock him in to his decision before he gets wobbly again.
Is this the real thing, or another cowardly political trial balloon?
They could send 500,000 troops. If their rules of engagement tie our troops hands behind their backs, it won’t do a dammed bit of good. If they can’t fight to WIN, they should come home tomorrow.
We shall see...
Having scrutinized every piece of input from multiple sources, The Messiah, after much contemplation and meditation, as discerned the correct number of troops necessary for a successful mission.
yitbos
Another trial balloon.
He hates this country.
That’s rahm who leaks. He did under Clinton and he does now.
Armed, I'm sure, with wet spaghetti noodles. And rules of engagement that will allow the troops to use them at will...if every American within five miles has already been wiped out. If no civilians are within fifty miles, that is.
I laugh so I don't cry. My boy is almost certainly going to be among this number.
I'd like to see that figure - then subtract it from the 34,000 and we'll see how many MORE troops are actually going to be in country.
This is no surge.
He does not want to win this war. His sympathies are with the other side.
“If he were doing his job he would have known enough in August to decide within weeks after having the recommendation vetted.”
With typical messianic clarity of vision and purpose, the Hamster is deploying these additional troops just as the Afghan winter begins to sink its teeth into the country. This means these troops will basically not be able to operate until April or May of 2010, just in time for The One to withdraw them for being ineffective!
Had they been deployed in August or September, they could have fought for territory before the winter came, now we have nothing more than an empty gesture from the empty suit.
So it’s been three months since the troops were requested... they will not start to arrive until March and it will take nine months for half of what was requested to get there. It took this ahole this long for this kind of a plan??????
Old mantras die hard.
Except when it's time for a war on Sarah Palin and/or Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, I guess.
Cheers!
My nephew will be among the brigade from Camp LeJeune. I just hope the ditherer-in-chief lets them get there with enough time to prepare for the spring offensive, when the cockroaches come out of their caves en masse. God, please protect our troops.
Just imagine how safe our own country would be with 34,000 troops on the border.
...and tomorrow, the White House will deny the reports.
While more young Americans die as Obama fails to make the hard choices.
Must have got a sneak preview of Governor Palin's interview with Greta this evening...Mama Bear was pissed.
bttt
Perceptive. Let's see if Limbaugh picks up on it.
yitbos
And even if he does it, we still have the big question: What are the rules of engagement?
The ROE is to immediatally drop your weapon, throw your hands in the air, and start reading the “Miranda Rights”.
It was probably taxing too much of his willpower. Never underestimate liberal mind block.
President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he's called "a war of necessity" in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy.Gosh, almost as if the rumors so strenuously denied last week were exactly accurate. Okay, *now* it's bedtime. Everytime I think I'm out, they drag me back in... ;')
In addition to it being a day late and dollar short, his base is going to furious.
He’s a wobbly weasel to his core. God be
with our troops .. St. Michael, defend
them in battle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Behind Afghan War Debate, a Battle of Two Books Rages
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125487333320069331.html
###
Excerpt:
The struggle to set the future course of the Afghan war is becoming a battle of two books — both suddenly popular among White House and Pentagon brain trusts.
The two draw decidedly different lessons from the Vietnam War. The first book describes a White House in 1965 being marched into an escalating war by a military viewing the conflict too narrowly to see the perils ahead. President Barack Obama recently finished the book, according to administration officials, and Vice President Joe Biden is reading it now.
The second describes a different administration, in 1972, when a U.S. military that has finally figured out how to counter the insurgency is rejected by political leaders who bow to popular opinion and end the fight.
It has been recommended in multiple lists put out by military officers, including a former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, who passed it out to his subordinates.
The two books — “Lessons in Disaster,” on Mr. Obama’s nightstand, and “A Better War” on the shelves of military gurus — have become a framework for the debate over what will be one of the most important decisions of Mr. Obama’s presidency.
On Tuesday, in a White House meeting that went well over its allotted hour, Mr. Obama discussed the war with 31 members of Congress. Republican leaders, and some Democrats, pressed him to quickly accept the judgment of his commanders and send as many as 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But some Democrats asked if the war was winnable.
In Washington, books are flying off shelves. None of the major bookstores near the White House have the recently released paperback edition of “Lessons in Disaster” in stock, and one major shop in the Georgetown area, Barnes & Noble, said all its remaining copies were being held for buyers.
~~~~
Video - Washington bureau chief John Bussey discusses two new books with competing Afghanistan narrative on the News Hub.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125487333320069331.html#
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Influencing his arguments, I’m sure .. and since
he’s so ‘scholarly’ and so weak, he’s probably
been cowed even more ... damn him.
I had been saying that for the past 6 weeks. I may even have posted it on FR.
I told my wife he was going to make an decision AFTER the sentate takes its initial vote on Healthcare. He needed a distraction for the left while he increased troops in Afghanistan.
I’m quite surprised Limbaugh wasn’t in front of this one claiming this for weeks...which would have put Obama under pressure to make the decison BEFORE the vote. Which would have made the vote a lot more interesting as Obama’s polling would have gone down to the low 40’s for approval on Gallup.
This year or next?
Because, once a constipated impacted turd gets going, you can’t stop it.
Gee, why the rush Barry?
Must have got a sneak preview of Governor Palin’s interview with Greta this evening...Mama Bear was pissed.
Maybe he’ll supply them with cans of RAID since they’re not allowed to use their weapons.
Want a laugh?
March 12, 2008
“Obama says he will listen to generals about the war”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/839220,obamaweb031208.article
He shortchanges by 6,000. Obama, the great military genius, has determined after 4 months, that only 85% of the request is the appropriate number.
Oh, puh-leeeeze.
Liars!
I certainly wouldn’t want this guy as my personal physician. You go in with an arterial wound and he tells you to take an aspirin and he’ll get back to you in three months with his final recommendation.
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