Posted on 07/02/2010 12:57:13 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Party leader Michael Steele faced heavy criticism and calls for his resignation on Friday after blaming President Barack Obama for the Afghanistan war and suggesting it could not be won.
At a Republican fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday, Steele was videotaped while criticizing Obama's decision to bolster the Afghanistan war effort. The comments contradicted the stance of the party, which has consistently pushed for more troops and funding in Afghanistan.
"This was a war of Obama's choosing," said Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. "This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."
Steele also called the recent resignation of Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal "comical" and made fun of Obama for deciding to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
...
The United States invaded Afghanistan under Republican President George W. Bush in retaliation for the September 11, 2001, attacks by al Qaeda, whose leaders had taken refuge there.
The comments sparked a wave of criticism from Democrats and calls for Steele's resignation, led by prominent Republican conservative columnist Bill Kristol.
"Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not 'a war of Obama's choosing,'" Kristol said in a blog on the Weekly Standard magazine site. "It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama. Republicans have consistently supported the effort.
"There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan and they're certainly entitled to make their case. But one of them shouldn't be the chairman of the Republican Party."
Steele issued a statement trying to extricate himself from the controversy, saying Obama's shift in the U.S. military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan means "this is his strategy."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
THIS is the opportunity to dump this quisling!
DO IT NOW!
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, pictured on Capitol Hill in 2009, drew heavy fire Friday for confused comments in which he blamed the war in Afghanistan on President Barack Obama and seemed to label it a lost cause. (AFP/File/Saul Loeb)
Michael Steele, the Democrats’ favorite Republican.
JUST RESIGN ALREADY!
}:-)4
Man, Steele should be landing easy shots on the Dems. Not this $#!+.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
Steele will resign 30 days before the November elections, calling the RNC “RACIST” Obama will offer him a job.
Does he drink or what?
The RNC board members that thought this guy was good should also resign.
Imagine, racial disloyalty, in this day and age.
However, I think there is an underlying point to it being "Obama's War" in that Obama doesn't care if we win, in fact, he may not want us to win. He'll manage it in a way that loses US and Allied soldiers and hold on to it until he can decide, politically, that enough is enough.
He’s accurate in what he said. Bush was not prosecuting a full blown war in Afghanistan. He was in Iraq. Obama esclated it to a higher level of war than Bush had going.
Second, he is right that we should pull out of that war. Obama is fighting it like a sympathizer for our enemies - it is viet nam all over again. He is getting soldiers killed with his love of Muslims.
Krystal loves war a bit too much. He’s got a brainless knee jerk thing going on and he could care less about the troops. They are fodder to him.
I would agree with your analysis..
Ask the Russians about Afghanistan.. whether Obama wanted it or not, it is his baby now..
Steele may have overdone his remarks just a wee bit.
How about Sarah take over the RNC? RINOs still there probably wouldn’t allow it.
Wow. I thought I was the only one with that fear floating in the back of my mind.
Steele will resign 30 days before the November elections, calling the RNC “RACIST” Obama will offer him a job.
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I am convinced this year’s October surprise will be some kind of oh-so-predictable “gaff” from Steele.
That is why THIS is the opportunity to roll his too talkative head.
Does he drink or what?
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No. Nor is he stupid. This is why I conclude that he is a deliberate sabateur. These ‘episodes’ are so frequent and predictable that they must be deliberate.
A definite possibility, IMO.
Steele is, so far (IMO), the WORST RNC chair ever - surpassing even the dismal performance of Mel Martinez.
Why is it that politics attracts the lowest and dumbest quadrant of society??
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