Posted on 10/13/2009 1:31:41 PM PDT by kristinn
The Obama administration blamed President George W. Bush for 13,000 new support troops headed to Afghanistan, even though Bush has not been commander-in-chief for nearly ten months.
The Washington Post had a front page story this morning saying Barack Obama had authorized the troops in addition to the 21,000 increase in combat troops he ordered in March.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today, according to the AP, that President Bush, who left office 276 days ago, was to blame for the latest troop increase:
Later, spokesman Robert Gibbs rejected a published report that the president had authorized 13,000 additional troops that were now arriving in Afghanistan. He said those troops were part of a deployment ordered by the former Bush administration, but had not made their way to the Afghan theater by the time Obama became president. The Washington Post had reported those forces were authorized by Obama.
Earlier, The Post reported:
President Obama announced in March that he would be sending 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But in an unannounced move, the White House has also authorized -- and the Pentagon is deploying -- at least 13,000 troops beyond that number, according to defense officials.
The additional troops are primarily support forces, including engineers, medical personnel, intelligence experts and military police. Their deployment has received little mention by officials at the Pentagon and the White House, who have spoken more publicly about the combat troops who have been sent to Afghanistan.
The deployment of the support troops to Afghanistan brings the total increase approved by Obama to 34,000. The buildup has raised the number of U.S. troops deployed to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan above the peak during the Iraq "surge" that President George W. Bush ordered, officials said.
The deployment does not change the maximum number of service members expected to soon be in Afghanistan: 68,000, more than double the number there when Bush left office.
SNIP
Obama announced in a March 27 speech that he was approving 21,000 troops, and a White House spokesman said that the president did not approve any other increases before or after. Asked for more details on the troop authorizations, spokesman Tommy Vietor said the Pentagon was better suited to provide such "technical information."
Defense officials, however, acknowledge that the request for 21,000 troops has led to the authorization of more forces.
"The 21,000 are only combat forces, and when the combat forces go in, there are a certain amount of additional forces that are required," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who signs the deployment orders, had military officials identify last spring the entire scope of the increase and agreed that he would consult with Obama again if the Pentagon sought to go above that, Whitman said.
"Obama authorized the whole thing. The only thing you saw announced in a press release was the 21,000," said another defense official familiar with the troop-approval process.
The White House website does not yet have an official statement available to the public according to checks of its blog and press room pages.
Obama has established a pattern of blaming his predecessor for nearly any difficulty he has faced in office. His failure to accept a modicum of responsibility ten months in to office for a troop movement that his administration had to approve and support, no matter that it was initiated by President Bush, is pathetic. Especially because Obama retained Bush's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who carried out the orders of both presidents in deploying the 13,000 troops to Afghanistan.
Doesn’t want to pi$$ off his nutty base.
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And that nutty base will BELIEVE this nonsense from Gibbs, et al, and the Ministry of Propaganda.
“Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and gave him triumphal processions. … Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the ‘new, wonderful good society’ which shall now be Rome’s, interpreted to mean ‘more money, more ease, more security, more living fatly at the expense of the industrious.’” –Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)
I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, EVERYONE in this White House from that lying, conniving zero obama to the slugs trailing slime in the Rose Garden!
Sun rises in the east, Bush’s fault—same thing.
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Right - in the small minds of the kool aid drunkards - bammy is the messiah and bush is the devil - period. What?! You doubt? Off with your head!
“Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome”
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There’s more truth to this statement than we care to admit...we need to attack the twin evils among us - Apathy and Ignorance..
Go Tea Partiers! I was at a protest this past weekend - my 9th since 4/15 with 500 people - north of Seattle.
Let’s roll folks!
...and she's had those things grafted on!
Well...he might not have, but, plenty around here sure as hell have!
Just when you think -7bama has jumped a shark, he goes ahead and jumps a Whale.
Yea, where are the war protesting code pinkos these days? Giving 0bama and Hillary a free pass?
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No words...STINKIN’ HYPOCRITES comes sort of close though...
You must be kidding... these people in the WH are certifiable.
The Dems kept on blaming Hoover throughout the 1930`s for the continued downturn in the economy. Even when it was obvious FDR was to blame for the piss poor state of affairs.
This is an issue of military and national defense matters. Whining about having to make tough decisions was never something Bush43 engaged in.
Obama and the Dems are a bunch of cry babies.
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Argh! And by then it was too late. It’s distressing how history repeats itself - why? Because the people don’t learn their lessons...sometimes the lessons (as with socialism/communism) are PAINFULLY obvious.
Yes, cry babies is a good description. Infuriating and sickening also come to mind..
Sorry, FRiend, but BO doesn't WANT YOUR support. You're nothing but a racist, and probably a terrorist, because you oppose Obama on every thing else.
I swear that Code Stinko looks like a zombie.
As a possible future historian, I will strive to make sure that Barry goes down as one of the worst president’s in US history.
Counting down the days...
if 13k troops has everyone in a snit and trying to blame Bush...you sure as heck aren’t going to see the 40k needed there..
really, why pretend to be making a decision about sending more troops if 13k has you in wah wah wah Bush’s fault syndrome
As do I.
But BO sure tried to do this under the radar. Once it was spotted, His administration blames Bush?
I feel like I’m back in high school.
Get used to it America. Governor Jennifer Granholm still blames John Engler for the problems in Michigan and she only has one more year till we term limit her @%# out of here after 8 years of famine.
This is done specifically to remind the base (unions) of the past and get them back in the fold.
Get used to it America. Governor Jennifer Granholm still blames John Engler for the problems in Michigan and she only has one more year till we term limit her @%# out of here after 8 years of famine.
This is done specifically to remind the base (unions) of the past and get them back in the fold.
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