Written By tessler. On Sep 22. In Politics
This is worth repeating in light of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s receent assessment of the American situation in Afghanistan.
Back on September 1, 2009, Tessler called for the removal of our troops from Afghanistan “Pull Out of Afghanistan”
I made the assessment of that situation because I firmly believe that President Obama does not have the will, or motivation, to fight an enemy he no longer recognizes or even believes exists.
General McChrystal said this past week: “Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.” The Washington Post
A year ago, President Obama was claiming a full scale committment to a massive escalation in Afghanistan. On Sunday, September 20, 2009, during his “full Ginsburg”, he backed way, way away from that position and this headline, from AntiWar.com, says it all: “Obama: Afghan troops decision can wait. President says he won’t get ahead of himself in Afghanistan, will evaluate troops plan in time.”
So now what?
Will President Obama commit more troops?
Will he do nothing and leave our brave boys and girls there to die in a war he doesn’t believe in?
Or will he cut and run?
“Strategically, President Obama can’t pull out of the region, after all Afghanistan is the good war, but he also can’t really add additional troops (because the left will go nuts) so he’s likely to have opt for a slow bleed which is worst option of all in the long run.” Will Obama ‘Do a Rumsfeld’ In Afghanistan? by Kathleen Troia “K.T.” McFarland
A slow bleed? This is sad. This is humiliating to all Americans.
Fight the war like an American, Mr. President, or get the hell out.
President Obama is definitely stuck between a rock and a hard place.Damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.If we’re not committed to this war let’s get out now.People are getting war weary.
Conservatives don’t agree with Tessler because they believe in the war on terror. But so do I. Liberals/socialists don’t agree with Tessler because of the criticism leveled at Obama’s motives. But you cannot fight a “half-ass” war. Look what happened in Vietnam when we did that. We lost. We’re either “all in” or we’re not. And Obama’s not.
Progressives don’t agree with Tessler because they see how easy it is for him to be an armchair president and therefore have trouble taking anything he says seriously.
Obama has a dilemma . . he’s inherited two wars, at least one of which he wouldn’t have gotten into in the first place. But, at the same time he has to stay true to the goal to finish what we’ve started, without setting an indefinite timeline for withdrawal.
Chill, bro . . he’s gonna make a decision, just not on your timeline. He’s got people around him (Gates, for example) who were there when they first got into this mess, they’ll be able to advise him as to how to proceed and he’ll be able make an informed decision.
More reading for you… http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/obamas_fdr_moment.php