[nikos1121]

Trump campaigned that he would stay in Afghanistan.

Buchanan is another luke warm supporter of the first president in my life time who is truly a leader.

[newfreep]

With the East Coast liberals running the White House, to paraphrase Meredith Willson...

“It’s beginning to look a like obama everywhere we go”

[BJ1]

It would have been nice if the author had an alternative plan for total victory instead of just complaining.

Personally I would have preferred to toss the country to the Northern Alliance back in the day. They fought while we provided air support and made the Taliban run to the caves. We could have just provided some support service, like air support and materials and let them figure out how to forge a lasting peace. Who cares if they are SOBs, they would be our SOB.

[LS]

Nope. Shinin’ bright, Patsy. Shinin’ bright.

[Alberta's Child]

The new troops are to train the Afghan army to take over the war, to continue eradicating the terrorist elements like ISIS, and to prevent Kabul and other cities from falling to a Taliban now dominant in 40 percent of the country.

I'm not sure anyone believes this nonsense anymore. The U.S. will have a permanent military presence in Afghanistan for decades. The only question right now is whether it's engaged in ongoing armed conflict, or if it is there to oversee a pacified region like we're doing in Japan and South Korea.

[Seruzawa]

No. Because we don’t have an actual political empire.

[Qiviut]

Yet how can we defeat the Taliban with 13,000 troops when we failed to do so with the 100,000 Obama sent?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Key in that sentence: "Obama sent". I have read books by those who have fought in Afghanistan, one by a Navy Seal. Obama sent troops and then wouldn't let them kill anyone except under very narrow conditions. Observers were on patrol with the troops to make sure if they used their weapons that 'terrorists' had fired first or were seen with weapons. In one situation, two known terrorists were allowed to get away because no weapons were seen - they came back with a village of terrorists to engage the Americans. When you have to call a "WH General" (the likes of Rhodes, Jarrett, Rice, Omuslim) to get permission to kill the enemy, you won't "win" regardless of how many troops are in country.

[Parley Baer]

I have listened to Pat Buchanan on Hannity’s show. I would say that Pat’s expiration date has expired.

[trebb]

Pat is going all Glenn Beck these days. Trump is listening to his national security advisers and his Generals. The clean break so many want would let Iran and Pakistan install a terrorist regime again.

Blame Clinton/Bush/Obama fro the FUBAR situation that Trump has to deal with.