First Impressions on the Afghanistan Speech

[sleigh]

I wish Obama had been president in 2001 when we first entered into the war with Afghanistan. He gives us objectives and goals, with a timeline for accomplishment, and a (somewhat murky) definition of what 'victory' would look like. He ties in the global situation and the need to ensure the cooperation of Pakistan so that their country can't be used as a refuge. He doesn't confuse al-Qaeda with the Taliban, but understands that they're two different organizations.

Too bad Obama wasn't Commander-in-Chief back then. We might already be out of Afghanistan, and 'Taliban' might be a term for history lessons. If we'd done then what Obama is proposing to do now, if we hadn't been lied into invading Iraq rather than focusing on Afghanistan, things might be different.

But... I don't agree with this decision. As Obama has said in the past, you can't successfully pursue a war in the USA without the backing of the American people, and too many people are already against this. Nor do I think that the goals that he wants to achieve are possible without far more troops than he's sending in, and far more money that anyone is willing to spend with an economy that's already reeling. He won't have the support of the Republicans -- they've already made that abundantly clear -- nor will he have support from many Democrats.

I think this is a mistake. I hope that I'm wrong. I hope that this doesn't lead into the quagmire and the further loss of American lives for very little. But I don't support this.

I'm not convinced, Mr. President.

Comments

[galacticvoyeur.livejournal.com]

It's still all about the natural gas pipeline that has been in the works for 20 years or so. The company formerly known as Enron was and may still be a player, we have no way of knowing. They are still around, under a different name (and I personally believe Ken Lay is still alive, still involved, and the corpse they cremated was some bum of a similar size they found in an alley, but I digress... )

We have built a fine north-south road down the main valley along the pipeline's route, but the pipeline itself can never be built, and if built, can never be protected... unless we murder every man, woman, and child in that region. Tons of depleted uranium dust left littering the landscape? Genocide? Nah... not us... we're the good guys...

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

He just re-gave Bush's speech on the Surge.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

This morning I was listening to the numbers, thinking if we sent one quarter as many teachers of civilian capabilities as we are people to instruct them how to be police we'd be doing a much better service to their country (and ours, since our teachers would need to learn their languages and customs).

Even more than that, though, I think we should bring our people home.

That line from The Princess Bride was going through my head... "You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is 'never get involved in a land war in Asia'"

That includes Afghanistan.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

His rhetoric isn't really any different from Bush's (http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/12/01/afghanistan/index.html).

B

[ontology101.livejournal.com]

For a minute there I thought we were going to have a difference of opinion.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I do agree with both you and lollardfish that the rhetoric is eerily similar. Yet I think the (too few) differences are significant: there is a deadline attached -- though it remains to be seen how 'hard' that will be. I also notice that while Obama had the chance to set the deadline for success of this strategy somewhere after the 2012 elections, he didn't. By setting the deadline in 2011 before the presidential election, he's put his own feet to the fire and is in essence saying "Hey, if I don't deliver, you can call me on this one."

Does that make me think it might work? Nope. I still think this is a huge mistake.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Nah. I just think this kind of troop commitment and on-the-ground tactics would have been a better strategy in the wake of 9/11 than Bush's, especially if we also stayed out of Iraq.

But... at this time, in this situation, I think it's absolutely the wrong thing to do.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

To a (too) large degree, yep.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

That quote has resonated far too much in recent years, sadly.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

This (http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/afghan-war-gets-speech-it-deserves-by.html) and this (http://washingtonindependent.com/69301/obama-announces-30k-more-troops-for-afghanistan).

B

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

And this (http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/12/02/obama/index.html).

B