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White House Aides Said to Chafe at Slow Pace of Afghan Surge
New York Times ^ | January 8, 2010 | Elisabeth Bumiller and Helene Cooper

Posted on 01/09/2010 4:57:02 AM PST by reaganaut1

Senior White House advisers are frustrated by what they say is the Pentagon’s slow pace in deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and its inability to live up to an initial promise to have all of the forces in the country by next summer, senior administration officials said Friday.

Tensions over the deployment schedule have been growing in recent weeks between senior White House officials — among them Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Gen. James L. Jones, the national security adviser, and Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff — and top commanders, including Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the senior commander in Afghanistan.

A rapid deployment is central to President Obama’s strategy, to have a jolt of American forces pound the Taliban enough for Afghan security forces to take over the fight. Administration officials said that part of the White House frustration stemmed from the view that the longer the American military presence in Afghanistan continued, the more of a political liability it would become for Mr. Obama. But beyond the politics, the speeded up deployment — which Mr. Obama paired with a promise to begin troop withdrawals by July 2011 — is part of Mr. Obama’s so-called “bell curve” Afghanistan strategy, whereby American troops would increase their force in Afghanistan and step up attacks meant to quickly take out insurgents.

One administration official said that the White House believed that top Pentagon and military officials misled them by promising to deploy the 30,000 additional troops by the summer. General McChrystal and some of his top aides have privately expressed anger at that accusation, saying that they are being held responsible for a pace of deployments they never thought was realistic, the official said.

The officials declined to be identified because they were discussing internal administration disagreements.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; bhoafghanistan; mcchrystal; oef; oefsurge
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Obama took a long time to decide to send more troops to Afghanistan, but now his aides complain to the NYT that it's taking them too long to get there. If only Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel were running the Army /s. Undermining the generals and troops with anonymous leaks is not the way to fight a war.
1 posted on 01/09/2010 4:57:04 AM PST by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

More New York Slimes propoganda.


2 posted on 01/09/2010 5:00:05 AM PST by rae4palin (islam is of the devil)
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To: reaganaut1

It would appear the Son OBama is complaining that the generals aren’t killing the troops quick enough.


3 posted on 01/09/2010 5:00:15 AM PST by BilLies
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To: reaganaut1

Oh yeah, and the WH just in the past few weeks that terrorism is for real and that its not just some Bush/Cheney scheme.


4 posted on 01/09/2010 5:00:32 AM PST by KC_Conspirator
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To: reaganaut1

Obama took half a year to make a decision on deployment and now expects everyone else to do things instantaneously. Part of the arguemnt against Obama’s delay tactics were that the delays would put any deployment into the winter months.


5 posted on 01/09/2010 5:04:49 AM PST by School of Rational Thought (Most interesting man in the world.)
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To: reaganaut1

Here is the kicker.

Administration officials said that part of the White House frustration stemmed from the view that the longer the American military presence in Afghanistan continued, the more of a political liability it would become for Mr. Obama.


6 posted on 01/09/2010 5:07:52 AM PST by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: reaganaut1

After Bambi dawdles for a third of a year, its now the army’s fault that the brilliant commander’s orders are not instantly executed.


7 posted on 01/09/2010 5:08:06 AM PST by norwaypinesavage (Galileo: In science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of one individual)
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To: reaganaut1

I would think that at LEAST Jones knows and understands the concept of LOGISTICS. You don’t say ok- we want to send 30K troops and expect to have them there within a month.


8 posted on 01/09/2010 5:12:50 AM PST by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: norwaypinesavage
Hell, then why not have Momma Obama wiggle her nose. That should take care of it.
9 posted on 01/09/2010 5:13:19 AM PST by gov_bean_ counter (Sarah Palin - For such a time as this)
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To: reaganaut1

Is ther any group these obammy fools haven’t pissed on?
The C.I.A., former military, Christians, The Pentagon, Conservatives, ETc ETc.
I gots to believe eventually it will come back to bite them.


10 posted on 01/09/2010 5:16:17 AM PST by Joe Boucher (This marxist punk has got to go. (FUBO))
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To: reaganaut1

I hate to break it to this pack of strategic geniuses, but Afghanistan is not anywhere near ready to receive a rapid influx of 30,000 troops. It’s even more unprepared than Iraq was when The Surge went down. If 30,000 more were dumped in-theater RIGHT NOW, you would have entire BDEs sleeping out under the stars every night, digging slit trenches, and generally living a miserable existence.

If they think the war’s a political liability now, just try letting the troops fall into THAT sort of quality of life and let word get back to the States...


11 posted on 01/09/2010 5:18:00 AM PST by Future Snake Eater ("Get out of the boat and walk on the water with us!”--Sen. Joe Biden)
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To: SE Mom
It would seem that MOBing to Afghanistan and DEMOBing from Iraq (to the US) would be at cross purposes. There are just so many heavy transport aircraft available for these type missions. Obies screwing around on his decision has helped create the logistical nightmare. Iraq forces are working against a hard and fast approaching deadline that will require ever available resource to meet.
12 posted on 01/09/2010 5:21:39 AM PST by gov_bean_ counter (Sarah Palin - For such a time as this)
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To: Future Snake Eater
Correct FSE. They are already busting at the seams over there.
13 posted on 01/09/2010 5:23:27 AM PST by gov_bean_ counter (Sarah Palin - For such a time as this)
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To: Joe Boucher
Is ther any group these obammy fools haven’t pissed on? <

Muslims, Marxists, Mysoginists and Queers.

14 posted on 01/09/2010 5:23:32 AM PST by Lion Den Dan
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To: SE Mom
Based on everything I know from my son's 4 deployments it takes 6 months to do a work up for a deployment. You're right Jones should know better.

I would think that about one half of the 30M troops are somewhere in the six month window and will be there by June. But that leaves 10M to 15M that there is no logistics established in place to perform a work up. So some of the 30M won't get there before October if that.

15 posted on 01/09/2010 5:25:35 AM PST by Recon Dad ( USMC SSgt Patrick O - 3rd Afghanistan Deployment - Day 81)
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To: gov_bean_ counter

I’ve also been hearing horror stories of CROSSMOBing from Iraq to Afghanistan—bottom line there is no system in place and has had to be invented on the fly and it’s supposedly an excruciating process.


16 posted on 01/09/2010 5:27:03 AM PST by Future Snake Eater ("Get out of the boat and walk on the water with us!”--Sen. Joe Biden)
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To: reaganaut1


17 posted on 01/09/2010 5:29:35 AM PST by Chode (American Hedonist *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: gov_bean_ counter

Barbara Eden, she ain’t.


18 posted on 01/09/2010 5:38:28 AM PST by norwaypinesavage (Galileo: In science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of one individual)
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To: Lion Den Dan

I thought queers were mad at him for not scrapping don’t ask don’t tell?

Going down to about 26 here in S.E.Florida tonight which may not sound too bad to you up in the Dakotas but we aren’t prepped for this kind of stuff.
Now give us a 95 degree situation and we have it down.
How ya doing up there?


19 posted on 01/09/2010 5:43:42 AM PST by Joe Boucher (This marxist punk has got to go. (FUBO))
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To: Recon Dad

Bush 41 was able to send 500,000 troops into Saudi Arabia in under 6 months. I guess size really does matter. Too bad we cut the military so deep during the 90’s and didn’t increase troop sizes during Bush 43.


20 posted on 01/09/2010 5:53:25 AM PST by Tai_Chung
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