Posted on 03/27/2009 6:31:24 AM PDT by Nutmeg08
Time running out on Afghanistan, US fears
White House concerned it only has a year to turn around Afghanistan and Pakistan before US public support wanes
* Simon Tisdall and Ewen MacAskill * guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 March 2009 20.17 GMT
A US counter-intelligence Marine and his translator meet with local villagers in Kirta, Afghanistan
A US counter-intelligence marine and his translator meet with local villagers in Kirta, Afghanistan Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
The Obama administration believes it has only a small window of opportunity, possibly just a year, to turn around the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan before US public support begins to erode, diplomatic and military officials say.
President Barack Obama briefed members of Congress yesterday before the unveiling of his new policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan today.
Among the proposals is a plan to send 4,000 more US troops to Afghanistan - in addition to the 17,000 combat troops he ordered last month - to train the Afghan army. Instead of creating a national army, they will focus instead on the more modest goal of trying to turn ragtag militia groups into forces capable of providing protection against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
More emphasis is to be given to civilian projects, with the US to double its civilian contingent in the country to 900 to provide help with agriculture projects, small businesses and setting up a rudimentary judicial service.
An official said yesterday that Obama's planners thought they had about 12 months to show measurable progress in Afghanistan before public support would wane and the policy turn into a Democratic-Republican political issue.
The planners fear the war could become an election issue as the mid-term Congressional elections in November next year draw near, and that Congress might be reluctant to fund the strategy.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
funny when bush said all this stuff about iraq it was all wrong but when Obama says it it’s all gonna be OK
what a load of BS !
EXACTLY!
Hey there...Kode PinK...WHERE ARE YOU???
Unbelievable! This isn't change - it's going to be a wholesale slaughter of Americans.
I will never stop supporting our Troops.
I will, however, continue pointing out any fallacies in B HO’s “contigency plans” for them.
Since he plans on sending in more Troops, along with doubling civilians, I will remind the liberals of all the calls of our Troops are over taxed and “broken,” so how is it they are now refreshed enough to follow this?
I will also point out similarities between any policy of his and Bush’s.
I want terrorism defeated, but B HO’s call for all this extra funding, including domestic policies, are a pipe dream bankrupting our country.
Then again, we can remind Rangel of his calls for reinstituting the draft.
B HO says the world must help out in Afghanistan. We’ll see how they respond to that.
More civilians in Afghanistan. Who protects them? I see a slaughter ahead. He hates his fellow Americans.
No, I will not stop supporting our brave troops.
Oh right! This is not Bush proposing this!
It's like animation on a Disney ride. Obamatronics.
What a joke. Stumbling over the lines on the prompter. Gates looks very concerned and hillary all bobble head. “Pokeston” “Tolybon” “more muslims killed”...UGH!!!
Oh sure. Make all the taxpayers "sacrifice" for the emperor Obomas goals - a few billion, trillion, gazillion, or whatever.
What's a trillion dollar spending spree here or there, anyway? On top of that, why not rebuild Pakistan's economy? Heck, rebuild the entire globes economy! Spread the wealth around.
The American tax slaves will continue to do as they're told - like they always do. Why worry?
*O*’s goal is to tie our troops hands even tighter.
“Yup, and Hill’s head bobbing is distracting!”
I was in a class a few weeks ago. The gal seated in front of me kept bobbing her head every time the instructor uttered a statement. That went on for two hours.
It was so distracting, I wanted to pull her hair and smack her head.
Liberal logic, Iraq Surge = Bad, Afgahn Surge = Good
The left LOATHS the military anyway. Right now, he's scrambling for a distraction (that the American people will get behind) to hide his total screw up on the economy and his massive Stalinist power grabs.
The totalitarian take over by the left is suppose to happen without the American people noticing. Once they notice, the movement gets sent back by generations. Oboma has exposed them by moving it forward too fast. The American people have noticed. Quick! Create a distraction! The American people aren't suppose to be noticing their loss of freedoms like this. They're resisting!
Send them more money, that's it, that will solve the problem, um huh.
Blow the infrastructure up, no problem, we will send you more money to rebuild.
What was the DEMS kept saying, something like "All that money being spent in BUSHs war, and we need things at home".
Shoe's on the other foot now, bomb the damn place, THEN start over.
I cannot think of a single policy of Obama’s that I support, but if he can stabilize Afghanistan the way that Bush stabilized Iraq I think that would be a good thing.
I’m not saying he’s doing the right thing, for the right reason, or that I am not having the wool pulled over my eyes somehow.
I look primarily at the policies being proposed more than who is proposing them, to decide what I think.
IF I end up agreeing with Obama on this, it will indeed be a first.
DITTO, it is a shame our service ment and women have to sserve under such a traitor in chief.
>Freepers are finally realizing that you can support the troops but not the mission.
Bull. What they are doing is supporting the troops, supporting the mission - that was in place for 8 years now - and totally condemming everything that the keyan does.
See the difference yet?
This dolt still said during the campaign he would not support the surge even knowing it succeeded. Now he has a surge in Afghanistan based on the same principles that he tried to vote down for Iraq. What a pud.
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