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Afghan Trip Success! Obama, McChrystal and Eikenberry Agree "to continue working together"
Sunday, March 28, 2010 | Kristinn

Posted on 03/28/2010 4:55:39 PM PDT by kristinn

Usually, foreign trips by presidents result in agreements between governments. Today's lightning trip to Kabul by Barack Obama brought about an apparent ceasefire by feuding members of Obama's Afghan team: Obama, Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Amb. Karl Eikenberry.

Lynn Sweet, posted a White House press release of the transcript of a briefing on Obama's visit entitled, Press Gaggle by a Senior Administration Official, at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Speaking at Bagram Airfield, Senior Administration Official described a major diplomatic breakthrough by Obama. Unfortunately, it had to do with members of his own administration:

SENIOR ADMINSTRATION OFFICIAL: So obviously the President just came from a stop at the hospital. Before that he had a pretty quick meeting, about 15 minutes, maybe 20; check in with Ambassador Eikenberry and General McChrystal. After the speech to the troops -- General Jones was in there, as was General Lute; and Colonel Tien, John Tien, who is senior director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the NSC; and Rahm Emanuel.

And just an update on reading out where they all thought they were after the series of meetings they had today, particularly the meeting at the palace, which I think they agreed was a productive and useful meeting. And then obviously trying to set the stage for what comes next here, including their plans for continuing to stay in close touch.

So as Doug alluded earlier this afternoon, the President gets paper updates from each of those guys every Tuesday afternoon, from General McChrystal and Ambassador Eikenberry. So he's able to ask them a series of questions off those papers from just last week. And they just agreed to continue to work together.

Last November as Obama was contemplating a new strategy in Afghanistan, memos from Eikenberry opposing McChrystal's proposal for a troop surge in Afghanistan were leaked to the Washington Post.

No word yet whether Obama has been nominated for another Nobel Peace Prize.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; eikenberry; mcchrystal; obama

1 posted on 03/28/2010 4:55:39 PM PDT by kristinn
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To: kristinn

“Go Duke! Oh, um, uh, what did you say General?”


2 posted on 03/28/2010 4:58:43 PM PDT by library user
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To: kristinn

.
Where is the video of American soldiers cheering his surprise entrance?

/s


3 posted on 03/28/2010 5:02:26 PM PDT by Touch Not the Cat (Where is the light? Wonder if it's weeping somewhere...)
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To: kristinn
Obama, McChrystal and Eikenberry Agree "to continue working together"

Good idea.

4 posted on 03/28/2010 5:03:10 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Deathcare, a solution desperately looking for a problem.)
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To: kristinn

Good

I was hoping they wouldn’t start shooting each other.That would send the wrong signal to our allies.


5 posted on 03/28/2010 5:04:53 PM PDT by Del Rapier
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To: Del Rapier
No kidding! I've been worried sick they were going to issue a statement saying, "We've decided to quit working together".
6 posted on 03/28/2010 5:15:54 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: kristinn
Photobucket
7 posted on 03/28/2010 5:16:21 PM PDT by erman (A day without democrats is like a day without toilets backing up)
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To: kristinn
Is it me or is this one of the dumbest statements I have ever seen out of an Administration? So he went to Afghanistan so his Ambassador and McCrystal can quit feuding?
8 posted on 03/28/2010 5:19:32 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Mary Fallin - OK Gov/Rick Perry - TX Gov/Coburn/Rubio - Senate 2010 !)
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To: erman
This is like Solomon taking advice from Sponge Bob.

Good grief....

9 posted on 03/28/2010 5:19:57 PM PDT by Northern Yankee (Where Liberty dwells, there is my Country. - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: PhiKapMom
Is it me or is this one of the dumbest statements I have ever seen out of an Administration? So he went to Afghanistan so his Ambassador and McCrystal can quit feuding?

Embarrassing, isn't it? You'd think the idiot-in-charge would have at least read the job description before deciding to run for office.

10 posted on 03/28/2010 5:21:21 PM PDT by SCalGal (Friends don't let friends donate to H$U$ or PETA.)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
According to the LA Times account of the trip, the administration is still fighting over the policy:

A lengthy White House strategy review last year settled on a number of troops to send to Afghanistan this year, but it did not result in widespread agreement about McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy. Some administration officials would still prefer a strategy that focused more on hunting key Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders and de-emphasized the ground operations now being conducted.

11 posted on 03/28/2010 5:29:43 PM PDT by kristinn (A conspiracy of silence speaks louder than words.)
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To: PhiKapMom

It looks like that was one of the reasons for going. Amazing, isn’t it.


12 posted on 03/28/2010 5:32:59 PM PDT by kristinn (A conspiracy of silence speaks louder than words.)
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To: kristinn

Oh isn’t he wonderful!!!!!!

puke


13 posted on 03/28/2010 5:44:36 PM PDT by Carley (Are you better off than you were four trillion dollars ago?)
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To: kristinn

So, Senior Administration Official is an official byline
nowdays?

God, the continuing foulups of this lashup administration
are beyond belief.

Note: In the Marines, having your outfit called a “Lashup”
is one of the most demeaning terms you can hear, it
means you’re just held together by string, very bad!


14 posted on 03/28/2010 5:46:32 PM PDT 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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