A desperation move, given the economy and his poll numbers.
But it will work. This move will make Obama even harder to beat in 2012.
Considering my nephew just got there, this actually MIGHT be good news.
I have heard anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000. Guess we know tonight. If 30,000, that was the “temporary” surge numbers sent leaving how many 100,000?
I am part of the; we went to Afghanistan to get OBL. We got him. Bring troops home, suspend all immigration from the entire region - they have billions of our dollars and infrastructure it it time for them to make it themselves.
He is such an idiot he always leaks his boring speeches ahead.This will not appease his left wing (his only base) BTW.
Holy crap! That a lot bigger than the 5,000 number that was floating around.
Meaningless. Just like his commitment to close Club Gitmo.
I realize my thoughts may be at odds with others’ here, but I’ll post them anyway.
We might as well bring 30,000 back.
Or, 40,000.
Or, bring them ALL back.
The taliban are very patient. They will “lay in wait”, knowing that we can’t stay there forever, and that while we are there we will not take REAL steps to defeat Islam in that country.
By “real steps”, I mean:
- install a military government which will control all facets of the government, while we write them a new constitution (a la what McArthur did in Japan) that does things like:
- ban Islam as a religion
- close all mosques and madrassas
- essentially, do what Ann Coulter so plainly said in 2001.
Instead, we support a government that embraces Islam and may even “deal on the side” with the taliban.
Is this how we “win”?
Bring our guys back as soon as possible — not to do so is merely delaying the inevitable.
Or — conquer the damn place (and I do mean CONQUER it), Carthage-style.
Again my opinion only.
I realize yours may be very different...
- Just sayin’....
How about those who WON’T BE COMING HOME? Will the MSM report the cost in blood of Dear Leader’s ill-advised shenanigans? [Rhetorical question]
Will not help the Kenyan Dung heap,he has $4.00 Gas and 17-18% unemployment for starters.
Did we win?
Did we lose?
What was the goal? Have we met it?
What happens next?
I haven’t seen this on the posts either, but have we all forgotten Iraq? How many troops are coming home from Iraq too?
It is all about Afghanistan and we’ve dropped the ball as we are once again blinded by words that mean nothing.
He will withdraw 30,000 troops just like how he closed Gitmo and put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on trial in midtown Manhattan.
He may get 5000 or 7000 troops out by the end of the year.
The rest is just blathering promises to shore-up his grumpy leftist base.
Actually, I am happy to see such a large draw down.
The Arab Spring is putting our troops in very grave danger within the region.
We need to get them out of there...across the board.
Stopped clock.
Besides, this is a political move to satisfy his leftists. Let's see ... he has Bid Laden and is bringing the troops home. Get your eyes off the economy and on to HIM. Meanwhile, he's off with his buddies golfing and planning the next vacation...
Not going to happen. Judging from cynicism about military matters (particularly because Zero went into Libya unprovoked) they will have a wait-and-see attitude.
And I suspect violence will increase there, too, as the date comes closer. This will be a negative for Obama's re-election efforts.
This is INSANE!!!
They’re just talking about the group that’s there’s now!
THERE IS ANOTHER BRIGADE REPLACING THEM!!!
They say this every friggin’ time a brigade comes home from Iraq or Afghanistan.
There is no actual draw-down.
The current status of the TAPI pipeline in Afganistan, to be completed by 2016 if the Taliban permits, or the Taliban is defeated, has been one of the unreported central issues regarding US involvement in Afganistan. US is currently in talks with Taliban which are probably going nowhere. Kissinger was apparently involved in the conceptualizing of the pipeline in the early nineties.
Conceived of by Kissinger in the early nineties, the pipeline (Tadjikistan, Afganistan, Pakistan and India) has been central to Afgan US interests from the beginning along with other infrequently mentioned issues and goals by US media. Current status of pipeline, to conceivably be completed by 2016 if Taliban cooperates, has other current issues among the partners to be resolved. Designed to bypass Russian interests, GAZPROM is attempting to be involved.
Somehow, the Obama administration and the media fail to report on what the rest of the world knows about Afganistan and the US involvement there:
http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11397/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/711066.aspx
http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11707/
http://www.turkmenistangascongress.com/
http://www.rferl.org/content/feature/2248838.html
I did a search for TAPI in the Free Republic. There have been NO postings on this central gasline project so central to our involvement in Afganistan since the Clinton administration via Kissinger! As our troops move in and out of Afganistan for mysterious reasons, the central issues of the US, Russia, China all competing for influence and control of Central and SW Central Asia are almost never emphasized.
He could remove all the troops for all I care. I’m tired of even one dime of taxpayer dollars being used to support those Afghan barbarians.