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Editoral Policy | Webeditorial
Newswire Archive                   Hidden

War in Afghanistan

This statement puzzled me as I wasn't aware of Obama failing in his duties as Commander-in-Chief in any significant way. Turns out that Gaffney was complaining about things like the

In December 2009, firedoglake.com made common cause with Grover Norquist by insisting on Rahm Emanuel’s resignation as the President’s Chief of Staff (Emanuel didn’t go anywhere until he voluntarily decided to run for Mayor of Chicago in October 2010), thereby setting a precedent for a left-right alliance.

Remember a few months ago when General Stanley McChrystal promised good governance was on its way to Marjah, Afghanistan, thanks to his totally awesome counterinsurgency (COIN) plan? His exact words were:

A blogger reports that he was pleasantly surprised at one aspect of President Obama's announcement that he was preparing to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. That aspect was what the President didn't say. The  President made no attempt to follow the example of the last President. Nowhere in Obama's speech was there any reference to trying to help the Afghan people. He presented the escalation of the war there as somethng that was in the strategic interests of the US. It was not presented as an attempt to help out any particular groups in that country, but as something that would benefit people here at home.

The newest escalation of war on the Afghan people resulted in a crowd of people taking the corner of 15th & Market on December 2 with signs, banners and umbrellas. 

Responding to President Obama's Tuesday night announcement to add 30,000 more troops to the 80,000 U.S. troops already in Aghanistan, close to a hundred demonstrators chanted and heard speakers denounce the government decision. 

"Jobs Not War" chants greeted pedestrians leaving the City Hall Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, as well as workers and shoppers on the way home, during the rain-dampened rush hour protest.
(Photos by Joe Piette)

Reading the Inky's Afghanistan reporter's take on the issue of President Obama's speech on troop escalation there, one particular phrase jumped out at me "If the United States pulls out of Afghanistan precipitously, without ensuring the security of the population..." [emphasis added]. What Rubin ignores is the option of gradual disengagement. This reminds me of people who defend George W. Bush's reaction to being told that the 9-11 attacks were underway and that Americans were burning and falling out of the World Trade Center towers at that very moment.

< http://www.truthout.org/1124093 > McChrystal Testing the Limits

Re: "Enough Afghan debate" by David Broder WaPo Nov 15

In going over the various options for Afghanistan, David Broder claims that President Obama has "stretched the internal debate to the breaking point." What? What is Broder talking about? What exactly is threatening to "break?" America has a bunch of crazy warmongers who want action NOW and the majority of the population that sees no point in staying any longer and feels that we should leave Afghanistan to those who live there.