Obama Said The U.S. Took Its "Eye Off The Ball" In Afghanistan

GOP ^ | February 28, 2008 | Staff

[yoe]

Obama Has Been Highly Critical Of The U.S. Operation In Afghanistan; Said "We Have Taken Our Eye Off The Ball":

Obama Said The U.S. Took Its "Eye Off The Ball" In Afghanistan. Obama: "We went into Iraq, a war that we should have never authorized and should not have been waged. ... It has ... allowed us to neglect the situation in Afghanistan. We know right now ... that al Qaeda is hiding in the hills between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And because we have taken our eye off the ball, they are stronger now than any time since 2001." (Sen. Barack Obama, AFL-CIO Democrat Presiden tial Candidate Forum, Chicago, IL, 8/7/07)

Obama: "Instead of consolidating the gains made by the Karzai government, we are backsliding towards chaos." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks To The Chicago Council On Global Affairs, Chicago, IL, 11/20/06)

Obama Said American Troops Were "Just Air-Raiding Villages And Killing Civilians." Obama: "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there." (Philip Elliott, "Obama Gets Warning From Friendly Voter," The Associated Press, 8/14/07)

But As Chairman Of The Subcommittee On European Affairs, Obama Has Failed To Hold Any Hearings On Afghanistan:

Obama Has Served As Chairman Of The Subcommittee On European Affairs From 2007 - 2008. (U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Website, www.senate.gov, Accessed 2/15/08)

[righttackle44]

The same guy who pushed the wrong button in the Illinois
state legislature is complaining that the U.S. military took it’s eye off the ball?

[McGruff]

American Troops Were "Just Air-Raiding Villages And Killing Civilians." in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan.

[Oliver Optic]

نحن الديمقراطيون اسأل أنت المشقّة، الجهاد إلى الدعم نحن في نا المعركة ضدّ الـ الجمهوري الكلاب

My feelings exactly.

[am452]

True but 911 was planned and implemeted from Aghanistan.

[Dems_R_Losers]

Lou Dobbs was ALL OVER this last night! He hammered Obama all through his show, first about this and then about his lame response to McCain’s comments on Al Qaeda in Iraq. Glad to see the GOP jumping on this. Can’t wait to see how many hearings McCain chaired while he was running in 1999 and 2000.

[Conscience of a Conservative]

Obama’s clearly wrong about Afghanistan, but this is a little bit misleading. He’s not the chair of any Afghanistan oversight committee (there is no such committee), but rather of the subcommittee on European affairs. The European subcommittee has only indirect jurisdiction over matters in Afghanistan (limited, essentially, to NATO’s involvement). The full Senate Foreign Relations committee has had many hearings on Afghanistan, as has the subcommittee (south and central asian affairs, or somesuch) with more direct jurisdiction over that area.

Attack Obama on his Iraq & Afghanistan policy, of course. But let’s not stretch too far, as I think this page does.

[Boblo]

Who does this nothing inexperienced twit think he is? This guy is really dangerous.

[RexBeach]

General Obama.

This guy is going to be a true pain in the neck.

Is there anything he doesn’t know?

God save us.

[ronnie raygun]

Barry, I hope you spoke to your wife about this first!

[HawaiianGecko]

"We know right now ... that al Qaeda is hiding in the hills between Afghanistan and Pakistan."
I'm sure this is not physically possible. They are either in Afghanistan or Pakistan as there's not a lot of real estate between them. And 'we have taken our eye off the ball' doesn't make a lot of sense either.  Isn't NATO running the show in Afghanistan? 

NATO’s role is a key part of the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year plan between the government of Afghanistan and the international community, which sets goals relating to the security, governance and economic development of the country.
http://www.nato.int/issues/afghanistan/index.html

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“I misspelled Hussain”
Thanks for the correction! I thought it was
Barrage Inwhosename Oblamo

[FFranco]

But today the central front in the War on Terror is in Iraq. We can’t allow Iraq to fall to Al Quaida, that’s one of the main reasons we went in.

Also, I believe Osama Bin Laden is either dead or out of action due to illness or injuries. That’s why we are not expending resources going after him.

[HawaiianGecko]

"But As Chairman Of The Subcommittee On European Affairs, Obama Has Failed To Hold Any Hearings On Afghanistan: "

Well, I'm not sure that if he actually held a hearing on Afghanistan that I wouldn't be poking fun at him for holding a hearing on an Asian country during a European Affairs meeting.

[Da Coyote]

He’s a clown, pure and simple. Better personality than the Hillabeast, but a vapid intellect. If one wants to name some sharp African Americans would would make brilliant leaders, why not try someone like Walter Williams, Condolesa Rice, etc? If he and Hillary are what our “best” law schools turn out, there’s something very rotten in Denmark.

[Tallguy]

Hussein’s been in the U.S. Senate what? three years...and all of a sudden he’s an “expert?”

Less if you deduct the time he's been on the road campaigning.

[RacerX1128]

uh right barack, keep talkin dude, keep talkin

---

Taliban commander in Helmand province killed by Afghan police
By Bill RoggioFebruary 28, 2008 10:34 AM

A British soldier at the Taliban heroin factory in Sapwan Kala. Photo from the British Defence Ministry. Click to view.

Afghan police have killed a top Taliban commander in Helmand province, the Afghan Interior Ministry reported. Mullah Sorkh Naqaibullah, a Taliban field commander in Helmand province, was killed along with 24 Taliban fighters after ambushing a police convoy in Marja. Naqaibullah is the fourth Taliban commander killed in Helmand province in the past week.

“Taliban insurgents opened fire on police patrol in Marja district on Wednesday, injuring one police constable. Policemen encountered, resultantly leaving 25 rebels including Mullah Naqibullah dead,” the Interior Ministry statement said.

Naqaibullah, who is also known as the “Red mullah”, commanded Taliban forces in the Gershk district and the surrounding regions. He received international attention on January 8 after the BBC featured him in a report on problems with Afghanistan’s prisons. Naqaibullah has bribed his way out of prison three times, paying $15,000 to secure his latest release.

NATO and Afghan forces have encountered success in northern Helmand province over the past month. Naqaibullah is the fourth high-level Taliban commander killed over the past week. On Feb. 21, Afghan forces killed Mullah Abdul Bari and 29 Taliban fighters during raids near the Musa Qala and Kajaki districts. On Feb. 22, British forces killed Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Matin and his sub-commander Mullah Karim Agha.

Since the Taliban lost Musa Qala in early December, NATO and Afghan forces have pressed the offensive in the northern Helmand River Valley. The Kajaki Dam in northern Helmand province has been a major reconstruction project, and the Afghan government hopes to restore the dam to provide energy for the region. The Taliban have used northern Helmand province as a base of operations to launch strikes into southern and western Afghanistan.

Afghan and NATO forces recently cleared the villages of Karez deh Baba and Kajaki. “Insurgents were using the villages to launch attacks on Musa Qala and the upper Sangin Valley,” Combined Joint Task Force - 82 reported. The Afghan Army “destroyed an extensive tunnel and cave system, insurgent command positions, weapons and ammunition caches as well as IED-making materials” during the operations. The Taliban responded by firing rockets at Karez deh Baba. Five civilians were killed in the attack. British Commandos also destroyed a heroin lab in the village of Sapwan Kala in the Upper Sangin Valley on Feb. 27.

[kellynla]

“Less if you deduct the time he’s been on the road campaigning.”

Which makes him an “expert” in “checking in” & “checking out” of motels & hotels and ordering from the window at MacD’s. LMAO

[Tallguy]

I think you about nailed it, Kelly.

[iopscusa]

I’m shocked that any true blue Freeper would use BO’s middle name, HUSSEIN, Sir John says that is not allowed!

[Ranger Drew]

OBAMA:

I could really support him if he wasn't an inexperienced, naive, lying, American-hating, gun-grabbing, crack-whore enabling, illegal alien embracing, dictator-loving, terrorist-hugging piece of democrat excrement. ...other than that, I really think he could do a good job. ...I especially like the "hope" and "change" stuff. ...gott'a love the ambiguity with this clown.