Posted on 03/18/2012 7:47:55 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTONRepublican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum says the United States should either commit to winning the war in Afghanistan or "get out."
Santorum tells ABC's "This Week" that he agrees with rival Newt Gingrich that a commitment to "winning" means recognizing the U.S. will stay in Afghanistan "to finish the job."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
He’s voting “present” on that for now.
We won Afghanistan. It took longer than Iraq, but we won it. What we are doing now is not a war. Kill the enemy and either make it a colony, or leave.
Probably the same states Santorum would win. Just because he won the Minnesota primary, doesnt mean he will win their EV’s.
Conquest always dies of indigestion.
Would winning mean exterminating the world’s source of 90% of its heroin?
“FWIW, the Conquistadors did it in South America.”
They didn’t “convert” anybody. They conquered and destroyed a culture looking for gold. Also, many of those killed were by the Smallpox disease they brought with them.
Later, some probably genuienly believed. Like I said, you cannot make someone a “Christian” at the point of the sword. To be a genuine Christian you must have faith which cannot be forced.
What one can do is topple the Islamic monopoly held in those countries and create an environment where people are free and secure to believe (or not) what they chose to believe. In that kind of environment, I “believe”, Christianity will eventually fluorish and pacify the area.
....."Santorum, interviewed on ABC's "This Week," said that he agrees "in some respects" with Gingrich. "If the game plan is, were leaving, irrespective of whether were going to succeed or not, then why are we still there? Lets either commit to winning or lets get out," he said. But Santorum wouldnt say which of those options he would pick.
"If you commit to winning, you change the entire dynamic in the region," the former senator said. "That may not mean the heavy footprint that we have in Afghanistan right now." Santorum said he would "work with our experts in that area to see what troop complement we would need, and work with the Afghan government to make sure that we commit to them to be successful, at whatever, whatever that means, whatever thats necessary to accomplish."
....SNIP....
Romney used the word "failure" in describing the situation in Afghanistan, but the former Massachusetts governor gave a rambling response to host Bret Baier's repeated efforts to pin him down on whether he would speed up the U.S. pullout.
"The timing of withdrawal is going to be dependent upon what you hear from the conditions on the ground -- that you understand by speaking with commanders there, as well as, of course, the people in Afghanistan and their ability to maintain their sovereignty and to have the capacity, to have a military that can stand up to the challenges they face. The timetable, the guidelines, that continue to be into effect, unless, of course, there are changes in conditions that suggest a faster withdrawal. But recognize, that ultimately, the independence and the security of Afghanistan is going to have to be secured and maintained by the Afghans themselves. Were not going to stay there forever," Romney said."..... Romney, Santorum hedge on future U.S. role in Afghanistan
A good thing to remember.
:)
Consider what Bush said on Sep 20, 2001....
Sep 20, 2001- BUSH:...
"tonight, the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban:
- Deliver all the leaders of Al Qaida who hide in your land.
- Release all foreign nationals you have unjustly imprisoned.
- Protect foreigners in your country.
- Close every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan
- Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps
- The Taliban must act and act immediately.
- They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate.
June 15, 2004 - BUSH:
"Afghanistan is no longer a terrorist factory sending thousands of killers into the world."
At that point, we should have armed them to the teeth and provided them with strategic air support for their ground troops, and given them complete ownership of their ground war so that they could have negotiated their own settlement with Pakistan to contain the Taliban from Pakistan.
Exactly! I say get the hell out now! Don’t waste one more American life for those idiots over there. Let them fight their own battle.
Pakistan has the bomb (and kindly hosted bin Laden) and India has the bomb and there's tension there and then China and Russia side with Iran who is supplying Syria and ................it's a big impossible tangled up mess and Obama has left us looking like a bunch of indecisive nuts, whereby no one in their right mind would fear or trust us.
I certainly agree 100-%
We have the man who can beta Obama, but we cannot get the progressive members of the Republican party to vote for him.
Making Romney or Santorum our Candidate pretty much guarantees an Obama return, even though I would vote for Anyone but Obama.
If you haven’t read Timmerman’s “Shadow Warriors”, don’t wait another minute and get your hands on it. It proves that Bush was in charge of nothing concerning the WOT nor is Obama. If Bush had been allowed to do what he wanted, we would have not been “nation-building” - who wants America so entrenched in something that will never succeed and is clearly bankrupting us for generations to come.
Alas, this was the only point I agreed with Obama on — get our troops home. He didn’t do it any faster than W planned...just suckered a lot of people one more time.
Yup, I am ready to join Code Pink, but where are those wily commie girls any how??? Fomenting WW3 revolutions everywhere, but our MSM goons won’t cover it. Follow the money and the Power, and you will find the stench that tries to end America.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.