‘Our Goal Is to Destroy al-Qaida’: Obama Gives Rousing Speech in Surprise Afghan Visit
- Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:26pm by
Mytheos Holt
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP/The Blaze) — On a swift, secretive trip to the war zone, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that after years of sacrifice the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan is winding down just as it has already ended in Iraq. “We can see the light of a new day,” he said on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death and in the midst of his own re-election campaign.
“Our goal is to destroy al-Qaida, and we are on a path to do exactly that,” Obama said in an unusual speech to America broadcast from an air base halfway around the world.
He spoke after signing an agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to cover the decade after the planned final withdrawal of U.S. combat troops in 2014. Obama said American forces will be involved in counter-terrorism and training of the Afghan military, “but we will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains.”
The president landed in Bagram in darkness, and his helicopter roared to Kabul for the meeting with Karzai, under close guard with only the outlines of the nearby mountains visible. Later, back at the base, he was surrounded by U.S. troops, shaking every hand. He ended his lightning visit with the speech delivered straight to the television camera — and the voters he was trying to reach back home.
Two armored troop carriers served as a backdrop, rather than the customary Oval Office tableau.
His Republican re-election foe, Mitt Romney, was in New York, where the destruction of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, set in motion the decisions that led to the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Romney accused Obama of politicizing the fleeting national unity that came with the death of bin Laden, the 9/11 terror mastermind.
At the air base, Obama said, “This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end. … With faith in each other, and our eyes fixed on the future, let us finish the work at hand and forge a just and lasting peace.”
Earlier, he delivered a similarly upbeat message to the troops. Noting their sacrifice, he said, “There’s a light on the horizon.”
It was Obama’s fourth trip to Afghanistan, his third as commander in chief. He was less than seven hours on the ground in all. He also visited troops at a hospital at the Bagram base, awarding 10 Purple Hearts.
According to the Pentagon, more than 1,800 American troops have been killed across more than a decade of war in Afghanistan.
Some 88,000 remain stationed there.
The wars here and in Iraq combined have cost almost $1.3 trillion. And recent polls show that up to 60 percent of Americans oppose the continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
In his speech to the nation, Obama said, “I recognize many Americans are tired of war.”
He said that last year, “we removed 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. After that, reductions will continue at a steady pace, with more of our troops coming home. And as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.”
Without mentioning the political campaign back home, Obama claimed that on his watch the fortunes of the terrorists have suffered mightily.
Over the past three years “the tide has turned. We broke the Taliban’s momentum. We’ve built strong Afghan security forces. We devastated al-Qaida’s leadership, taking out over 20 of their top 30 leaders,” he said.
“And one year ago, from a base here in Afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed Osama bin laden.”
In a reference to the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, he added, “As we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it is time to renew America … a united America of grit and resilience, where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown Manhattan, and we build our future as one people, as one nation.”
He spoke for less than 15 minutes, beginning at 4 a.m. in Afghanistan, 7:30 p.m. on the East Coast of the United States. Minutes later, Air Force One was on its way back to Washington.
Obama flew to the site of America’s longest war not only as commander in chief but also as an incumbent president in the early stages of a tough re-election campaign. Nor were the two roles completely distinct.
His presence was a reminder that since taking office in 2009, Obama has ended the war in Iraq and moved to create an orderly end for the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan.
In the political realm, he and Vice President Joe Biden have marked the one-year anniversary of bin Laden‘s death by questioning whether Republican challenge Romney would have ordered the daring raid that penetrated the terrorist leader’s Pakistan hide-out. Republicans are accusing the president of trying for political gain from the event, and Romney is insisting that he would indeed have ordered U.S. forces into action.
The deal signed with Karzai does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida. The terror group is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
Obama said the agreement was meant in part to pay tribute to the U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan since the war began. He also underlined his message to Afghans.
“With this agreement I am confident that the Afghan people will understand that the United States will stand by them,” he said.
Karzai said his countrymen “will never forget” the help of U.S. forces over the past decade. He said the partnership agreement shows the United States and Afghanistan will continue to fight terrorism together. The United States promises to seek money from Congress every year to support Afghanistan.
To the troops, he readily conceded continued hardship.
“I know the battle’s not yet over,” he said. “Some of your buddies are going to get injured. And some of your buddies may get killed. And there’s going to be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead.” He added that his administration is committed to ensuring that once the war is over, veterans will be given their due.
Officials have previously said as many as 20,000 U.S. troops may remain after the combat mission ends, but that still must still be negotiated.
The president’s Tuesday night address was coming exactly one year after special forces, on his order, began the raid that led to the killing of bin Laden in Pakistan.
Since then, ties between the United States and Afghanistan have been tested anew by the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. base and the massacre of 17 civilians, including children, allegedly by an American soldier.
Obama had gone twice before to Afghanistan as president, most recently in December 2010, and once to Iraq in 2009. All such trips, no matter how carefully planned, carry the weight and the risks of considerable security challenges. Just last month, the Taliban began near-simultaneous assaults on embassies, government buildings and NATO bases in Kabul.
Besides the U.S. troops in Afghanistan, there are 40,000 in coalition forces from other nations.
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Comments (149)
dsergent45
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:55pmI cannot believe that I just saw the sitting president of the United States get on national TV and say “…we must redouble our efforts to build a nation worthy of their sacrifice.” Mr. President do you not think that our country is worthy of the daily sacrifices our active military make each day? Do you not think that our country is worthy of the sacrifices our Veterans have made for over 200 years to protect our freedoms and our rights???? I think we do need to do something to prove that we are worthy of the sacrifices that they make each day… We need to Impeach you or at the very least we need to vote you out of office!!!
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:56pmeverybody in washington knows you win elections by “supporting the military” and keeping the nation at war
Report Post »ashestoashes
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:10pmTried to watch the video..it stated that it had concluded..so they can’t replay it?
Report Post »spirited
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:21pmHow true.
>audacity doesn’t begin to describe the arrogant, insulting, disrespectful, bamboozling… organizer.
Report Post »rawmilker
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:59pmHe may be thinking, keep our troops engaged 8K miles away and he’ll continue with his arming to the teeth of DHS & TSA, take total control under Martial Law and have no troops to resist the tyrant takeover. OR our troops are too far away, we’ll have to bring in UN blue hats or Russians to attempt to disarm us or quell the violence. This guy is a sneak & he’s up to no good!
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:08pmIf I recall, a military member cannot take part in political free speech (if you believe the panel that is discharging Marine Sergeant Stein, and I don’t); so why is it okay for the “President” to use the military to promote political speech and use them as props for his campaign? Besides, if you really think that taking our military into a foreign nation with the goal of eliminating a portion of their population defined by their hatred for us will ever work, then you are a lunatic. Our operations in Afghanistan will never end if we maintain the goal of eliminating a loose knit group of extremists that have no seat of power or chain of command. It just won’t ever happen. Just think, have we been able to rid OURSELVES of the black panters, kkk, arian nation, or any gang that you can think of? No! And those battles take place where we freaking live! Going to another nation to fix their problems won’t work, EVER!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:17pm“This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end. ”
The President is a mor_n.
AlQaeda is in several countries in North Africa. Several thousand are in Syria.
Seeing as ~ 7,000 are in Syria, there is no way that wiping out however many Al Qaeda in Afghanistan & Pakistan will end the war with Al Qaeda. To say so is just an idiot talking to other idiots.
There were experiments in bubonic plague a few years ago conducted in Algeria by Al Qaeda.
No this war is nowhere near over.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:50pmYup sure the war is over. We’ll leave & they will come here.
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/03/29/camp-jihad
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:54pmNope – can’t watch. I never want to hear or see Obama for the rest of my life. But…fyi, you might want to check out this from an alleged White House Insider about this – he’s been correct about other important things in the past. Check out that site for his info about Obama not being the one to make the call re OBL among other interesting info:
The Karzai regime was told to play nice and let the president have his moment. Karzai needs American money and at least some American military presence to ensure his own safety. If those two items are removed he either gets his ass out of Afghanistan or he’s dead within a month. He is hated by some rather powerful tribal forces who are far more hardcore with the Muslim jihad thing than he is. They see him as a propped up pro-Western World political ****…..
So when Obama’s trap opens up tonight as he addresses the nation and the world, just know that he forced Karzai to let him show up there. That meet up will only make Karzai that much more hated by certain groups in Afghanistan, and therefore that much more at risk when the Americans finally pull out for good, which I also hear Obama’s people want to happen about a month before the vote in November with a lot more “ain’t I just the best president ever” stuff to go along with it.
http://theulstermanreport.com/2012/05/01/white-house-insider-aint-i-just-the-best-president-ever/#comments
Report Post »texasbeta
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 12:57amI think we shame our country every day, particularly with comments and websites like this one. The pettiness and outright lies being slung during this Presidency have been ridiculous and brought disgrace. Lying about Iraq was shameful. The Patriot Act is shameful. Spying on your own citizens without warrant, and your citizens allowing it…shameful. The next President continuing it…shameful. Operations Fast and Furious…shameful. Its previous incarnation under the previous President which was the EXACT same thing, called Operation Wide Receiver…shameful. We are supposed to always strive to be better than we were yesterday, to acknowledge where we were wrong so we can grow and learn from it…to act like the adult country in the room. Instead….we get this like “Go Back to Kenya”, and denying his birth certificates. No, we have some work to do. We can’t even treat each other like adults, like citizens of the same country. Not good folks, not good.
Report Post »majasdad
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 3:16am@WALKABOUT
You’re the moron, Moron.
Your own words indicate the futility of having gone into Afghanistan in the first place. So how do you mean Obama is a moron for finally winding down operations there? Sounds pretty damn smart to me. He never said the war on Al Qaeda was over, just that the ridiculous, waste of American lives and money will soon be over.
Report Post »It’s about effing time too.
NCREPUB
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 6:32amSo true, but liberals just can’t handle the truth.
Report Post »http://youtu.be/UXoNE14U_zM
Walkabout
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 7:38ammajasdad
I would say you are the fool. I want to be out of Afghanistan, but i would not lie & call it victory. i would not lie & call it exiting with dignity.
The Honorable President Richard Nixon had America exit Vietnam with dignity. The Dishonorable American Congress stabbed our South Vietnam in the back. Vietnamization worked. The proof is the 1972 invasion of the South by the North was repulsed. The South had the cajones to fight & it was successful. In this foreign policy Richard Nixon was vindicated. In the 1975 invasion the Democrat Congress withdrew support. South Vietnam fell.
I do not ever see Karzai or a significant segment of Afghanis fighting hard. We should leave. Karzai is more worried about his families honor & hates the U.S. for calling his brother a crook who stole $ 1 billion than saving his country. No way we can win in that case. I repeat, he is not just mad we called his brother a thief & we closed the Kabul bank; it takes precedence over everything else.
The Russians are disgusted with our anti-drug efforts (Read Townhall.com) 90% of the opium coming Russia comes from Afghanistan. In that area we have their full support. We do nothing about drugs even though it provides the Taliban with over 1 billion dollars. 2 American soldiers were killed because they were investigating drug smuggling by the Afghan Airforce & getting too close. It had nothing to do with Korans.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 7:57ammajasdad
We need to get out. We need to get serious as a nation about the War against Islamicists.
We need to get rid of the MSM.
The fu_ker MSM talk about the Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan. Those are not wars. Those are theatres of operation. The MSM frames the debate. It was Iraq bad & Afghanistan good. Post Iraq it was Afghanistan bad. Only in the last year has the MSM piped up about the theatre of war that is the Somalia/Yemen region. That theatre of war is ran out Djibouti & has been the since 2001. Can you find a articles stating such. Sure, but it does not matter. What matters is how the the MSM shapes public opinion. The base in Djibouti really isn‘t on the public’s mind. That shows you the power of the MSM to shape the debate.
I have read the book “Charlie Wilson’s War” I read the book & didn’t see the Hollywood movie. I know who the U.S. funded in the 1980s. We did nit fund the Taliban or Usama. They are not our children.
I read the magazine “Outdoor”. In the late 1990s it had an article about a group of American mountain climbers who were kidnapped by the IMU (Uzbekistan) in Kirgizstan. Think about that.
No the war is nowhere near over. The public & the MSM does not even know we are at war.
How many people want to visit Egypt to visit antiquities? That was feasible last year. The places to visit a scenic area, a beach or see antiquities is decreasing. You can keep up the pretense of normality until visiting Europe becomes l
Report Post »johnjamison
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 8:05amThis is why Washington needs to go the way of the dinosuars……We’re broke and have been in that area over a decade nothing has changed if we leave today within 6 months it would be back to what it was before we went there.
Report Post »Pull out quit given away American tax dollars and go back to the business of defending our country not building other countries.
rfycom
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 8:05amNo baby doll what we need to do is realize our rise to greatness came through compromise and our return is and will only be through comprise. This president is not great. The last president was not great. It is when both sides work together that we win. Until that happens, drink plenty of beer and eat plenty of ribs.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 8:26amdo you think he ever studied world history?
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 9:35amWe’re for war after 9-11 are proven to be just that-indoctrinated good vs, evil war dancing in your heads].All manipulation as reality sets in and we’re talking with the taliban.All those americans died and were wounded in vain if you ask me.manipulated gulls!
Report Post »Dismayed Veteran
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 9:50amI know that my son will taste the bitterness of knowing you are a part of the best trained and equiped military on the earth and you don’t get to win. I don’t know if the troops still call WIA and KIA “wasted”. I heard it from my son the first time this past Sunday. He is a promising young field grade officer who wanted to make the Army his career. He is going to resign when the “war” is “over” in 2014. This is all so sad.
This president’s BS is unconscionable.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 10:46amYou know, if take him “at his word” as he said the other day referring to other politicians, then you have conclude that obango either doesn‘t have clue or he runs in circles as part of his ’policy’ to manipulate and confuse.
I had only a couple of “opportunities” to sit in an audience for dignitaries to use as a pawn for their own self aggrandizement while I was in the military, back in the day. But before we assembled, we were thoroughly briefed on decorum and procedure. And departures were to be met with command level disciplinary action.
Making a ‘speech’ in front of troops “IS” roughly the equivalent of playing in front of the best home crowd you could imagine, with cue cards.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 9:52pmhmm
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:49pmHa-ha! I tried to watch the video, and got Mary Poppins, Supercallafragilsticexpialidocious! (Forgive my spelling.) It, too, was ‘edited’ to make it suitable to it’s autistic audience! So fitting!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:05pmYes .. how fitting .. however I have Hannity on in the other room .. so I just heard part of it (gag me!) .. would SOMEONE please tell Obama .. that in the United States AMERICANS don’t say …
Pok e ston
ot
tol e bon
Of course if he were a REAL AMERICAN he would know that!
Report Post »doomytram
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:20pmOMG! I SO didn’t watch that speech. I So never watch any of his speeches.. EVAR! Idiot Box will Not do the body good. Oblamer, nobody cares about his lying dribble.
Report Post »rawmilker
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:54pmHe’s up to no good here, & its going to cost americans lives. We gotta keep an eye on this one….
Report Post »LoisLane1951
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:45pmWonder what it cost me for him to fly all the way over there to spike the football.
Report Post »JonSigMan
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 9:24amLast I read, it’s estimated at $300M in OUR tax dollars for him to go there, what a waste, he could have done that speech from the Oval Office, except that he needed the backdrop for his Campaign speech…wait, doesn’t that mean HE should be paying for the trip???? We must be idiots to allow this BS to continue.
Report Post »JonSigMan
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 9:27amTypo $300K, but it’s probably closer to M….:)
Report Post »cromag11b
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 3:03pmProbably less than putting a banner on an aircraft carrier and having it turn into the right camera light while a non-mission critical flight lands on the deck.
Report Post »Zcat
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:43pmNo audience — TOTUS only. Weasel Zippers
Where are the troops???
Report Post »rawmilker
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 1:43amexactly ZCAT!
Report Post »Carefreeflyer
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:33pmPresident Karzai is a Judas and will stab Obama in the back.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:24pmi’ll tell you guys a little secret….
60-70% of americans want to get out of afganistan. if you want to win the election and keep our freedoms, give ron paul a try
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:38pmron paul will never win. got to get behind romney or obama will never get out of office. time to face reality no matter how much everyone dislikes it
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:47pmprimary…………….is………….ongoing
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:46pmPrimary is OVER … Paul just hasn’t caught up yet … neither have his supporters.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:24pmsoybomb315
“i’ll tell you guys a little secret….” << Read soybean is a brain.
"60-70% of Americans want to get out of Afghanistan. " << Meaning that when Iraq was around, it was fashionable to say Afghanistan was the good war & Iraq was the bad war. Now that Iraq is over, it is ok for the media to drive poll #s on Iraq down.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:30pmPrior to 9/11 it was estimated that 20,000 Jihadis trained in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
—
We all know that large group of trainees would not have received or learned on their own additional stuff. They would have gone on to help Americans on vacation in South East Asia, Bali, the Phillipines & other locales. They would have worked very hard to install or keep installed governments tolerant of all citizens of all faiths in South East Asia & North Africa. – Soybean
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:11pmThat place will revert back to what it has been for centuries, a failed state living in the past. All they know and will ever know is violence and chaos.
Report Post »trueamerican40
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:29pmThen why are we there? I say leave and let them kill each other. It‘s a testament to their ’faith’ of hatred and violence. Even animals don’t kill senselessly. Let them rot!
Report Post »AyaTolla U
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:09pmObama was not in Afghanistan for this speech. A real CinC would have given his speech in front of the troops, not a camera. Just another prop.
Report Post »NHwinter
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:47pmExactly, he is getting as much out of killing bin Laden to prop his campaign up. Oh so tired of seeing him on TV.
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:47pmYea, like the time he ‘visited’ a nuclear power plant! Pictures of Calvert Cliffs NPP were shown while he was visiting an IBEW Local in Landover or Laurel, MD (I forget which), but the fellows in the hard hats (at their union hall, ha-ha) were fossil people, and the nuke-workers don’t get along with their fossil counterparts! The whole thing was a hoax by a neighborhood organizer who wouldn’t have the nerve to visit a running nuke plant! What a joke! And, the media played right along!
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:08pmAlthough President Obama has only served 39 months in office, 69 percent of the U.S. military fatalities in the more then 10-year-old war in Afghanistan have occurred on his watch.
Through April 30, the Defense Department had reported that 1,844 U.S. military personnel have been killed in and around Afghanistan while deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom, which was launched in October 2001 after al Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon.
According to CNSNews.com’s comprehensive database on Afghan war casualties, at least 1,275 of the 1,844 U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom have been killed since Jan. 20, 2009, when Barack Obama was inaugurated as president.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:41pmI read those disgusting statistics this morning. I was horrified. obama changed the rules of warfare and bound our soldiers hands. God bless the troops may they come home soon.
Report Post »mercenary4freedom
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:50pmROE’s are totally messed up with obama admin directing OEF. This man is a joke, a very bad joke. A foreign affirmative action community organizer representing the United States of America. A very dark era for the greatest nation in the history of the free world. No pun intended.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:56pmiraq and afganistan wars:
6,200 americans dead, 42,000 wounded, untold amount of psychological damage, $3 tillion dollars (expected)
to destroy al qaeda:
one month, almost no deaths
are you familiar with the law of diminishing returns?
Report Post »marcus_arealius
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:57pmWhere are the daily updates from the Media? Demokrat wars good, Republican wars bad. Food good, fire bad.. umgawwa wampum.
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:07pm@Soy….so AQ is ‘destroyed’…interesting statement.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:17pmal qaeda’s operational capacity was destroyed, yes. we still hunt down little rats here and there but they have nothing anymore
Report Post »disenlightened
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 7:53amDoes everybody remember how, when Bush was in office, the MSM would give us the daily death count in Iraq?…that stopped the day Tickles Obama took office.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 8:04amsoybomb315
al qaeda’s operational capacity was destroyed, yes. we still hunt down little rats here and there but they have nothing anymore
***
Uhmmm, ya sure.
People are still going to Pakistan & receiving training. They are turned around in 1 or 2 days instead of weeks, The Guardian or The Telegraph had the story. The recruits no longer meet with the leading figures. They meet with mid or low level figures. Intel officials say these new recruits are not hitting the radar for the most part.
Enough smaller actions like Fort Hood or the Arkansas recruiter shooting will have as much effect as 9111. Wake the FLuke up!
Report Post »PeachyinGA
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:02pmIt was nothing more than a campaign speech and a vacation scouting trip to take Michelle in the future.
Report Post »moonbat666
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 12:18amVacation in Afganistan? You have got to be kidding.
Report Post »FstEti
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:59pmBelieve it or not, I’m watching MSNBC with Chris Matthews, and even THEY are confused by this speech. Talk about a P.R.stunt gone badly. Basically, it sounds as if he just signed an agreement for U.S. troops to be under control of the Afghan military, possibly until 2024. Wow! That’s not going to play well with the Left or, for that matter, with anyone else. Don‘t know who’s running his reelection campaign but this, after the last few weeks of “the war on women”, the “dog on top of the car” story, telling the Catholic Church (and many other Christian and Jewish denominations) to go to hell regarding birth control, suing, and likely losing, the Arizona Illegal Immigration case, among other thins, well, the reelection just may be a landslide loss. I guess we’ll see shortly.
Report Post »trueamerican40
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:14pmOh, is that what IT said? I didn’t watch IT. 24 more months?! That’s it. We should pull out and let them murder each other. Whatever IT says, I am going to disagree to IT. BO and his Black Theology cult followers are doing their best to destroy America. Pull our brave soldiers out.
Report Post »FstEti
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:38pmI think you misread what I posted and what he said. He just committed assets (including U.S. military) until 2024! That’s twelve years from now. But what I heard him say was that our troops will be taking their orders from the Afghan military. If that’s true, given the number of Afghan military OFFICERS that have attacked U.S. troops, I can see the scenario of U.S. troops being ordered into an ambush. Of course, Obama will be making the rounds of T.V. appearances selling his latest book when that happens.
Report Post »readyfornov
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:45pmWhat’s strange is I read the article where Obama and Karzai signed the agreement for the US to stay in Afghanistan till 2024. Now when I went back to find that little tidbit it had been changed to we are going to stay pass 2014. I guess Obama‘s minions thought that liitle fact doesn’t sound as good as pass 2014.
Report Post »moonbat666
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 12:21amHahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Report Post »Logix440
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:58pmI predict during this speech there will be 4500 uses of the word “Uhh” and 6500 uses of the words “I” and “Me” by Mr.Uhhbama.
Report Post »timeout
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:12pmThis is the difference between Chicken Salad and Chicken Poop
Report Post »Chicken salad: President George W. Bush’s speech after the capture of Saddam Hussein:
“The success of yesterday’s mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq . The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forcesand I congratulate them!”
And chicken Poop:Ø’s speech after the killing of bin Laden:”And so shortly after taking office,I directed Leon Panetta, the Director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.Ø did not once acknowledge our brave men and women who fight for
Gary_K
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:57pmI cannot stand to watch this lying SOB anymore.
Report Post »LoisLane1951
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:47pmI switched over to an old Godzilla movie. Made more sense.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on May 2, 2012 at 9:34amThe idiot thinks that if al-Qaida is destoyed, the war is over? Can a POTUS really be that ill-informed? I don’t think so.
Report Post »trueamerican40
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:56pmOh. IT is speaking? I would rather watch Nat Geo Wild…when animals dispute, animals die…they have a higher IQ than mr. despot.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:53pmA speech for the sake of politcal maneuvering only; he is talking with the terrorists and saying we will remain while planning to bolt for the blue in two years; God may all the people of our land see the truth of the liar-in-chief Obama.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:34pmAny candidate who asserts he or she will be working to get our sons, daughters, etc. out of this anus of the world and who will stop sinking money into this abyss will go a long way to acquiring my vote. No “support role” from our troops; their soldiers, not social workers. We only need to know one thing about Afghanistan: Is it behaving towards us? If so, leave it the hell alone and let the Muslims fight over it; if not, unleash the drones.
Report Post »THIS PLACE DOES NOT MATTER save for its geographical features that have traditionally drawn bandits and then terrorists. Ain’t technology a b!+ch?
FstEti
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:41pmAgreed.
Report Post »Chromo200
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:50pmI don’t care what he says. I have no choice since he does what he wants and the Afgan gov’t takes our money and kicks us in the behind, kills our soldiers, and sissy congress won‘t do anything I wonder how much will Karzi donate to Obama’s campaign. My choice is I can change channels, and in Nov.. when I vote I pray Americans come to their senses and vote him and his crony senators out.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:49pmHey Mr.Tolly Bon won’t you promise to be nice and renounce violence? We’ve been there ten years and for what? We‘ve killed thousands of them and they’re not going to renounce violence ever,they outlasted the Soviets so why should we be any different?
I have the answer for total safety from terrorists,more laws yes more laws to restrict our civil liberties,you won‘t be any safer but you’ll ‘feel’ safer and that’s the objective here,make us ‘feel’ safer while simultaneously stripping us of our civil liberties
Barry say‘s we’ll be leaving but we‘ll be there forever and it’ll make us safer to.
Report Post »FstEti
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:47pmPull out ALL of our troops, then drop several small tactical nuclear missiles throughout the country while the President, whoever he/she might be, is making a speech to the world that this is our new international policy. Problem solved.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:48pmrepublicans campaigned so hard around the ‘commander in chief’ thing in 2004 and 2008….now it is coming back to haunt them.
you live by foreign policy – you die by foreign policy. there was a candidate in 2012 who believed the constitution was #1 and is immune to the political games played in washington
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:16pmKeep whipping that dead horse
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:27pmits the democrats who are whipping you – i’m just trying to help you realize that the republicans are crazy light
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:45pmJust spouting of more of his lies– is it possiable that he is the biggest lair of all the Presidents
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:52pmFDR and LBJ are still ahead due to their years of service, but obama is catching them fast
funny how three letter presidents are so progressive…JFK, FDR, LBJ. what is it with those democrats
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:11pmSOY They’re all vile progressive pigs the lot of them,LBJ and his ‘war’ on poverty‘ BS FDR and his ’new deal‘ ie worsening of the depression and the worst president we’ve ever had until the Marxist POS was installed in 08.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:42pm“Screw you, Pakistan!”
Report Post »That was my favorite line….
Stoic one
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:42pmI hope he stops speaking before 8est…my show comes on.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:52pmwhich one
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:42pmSoooo…riddle me this Barry, does the Taliban, who you want to work with, do they still subjugate woman and little girls?..if they do,which they do, that means you eat dog, kill birds with ‘wind power’, and encourage the subjugation of woman and girls…you are a monster and a failure.
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:40pmGlad to see the teleprompter made it to Afghanistan without any trouble.
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:35pmIs it just me or does it look like Obama is in front of a green/blue screen?
Report Post »Restored One
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:42pmI thought the same thing, but they made it look like he came out from between the trucks. I would like to see a bigger flag. It looks dwarfed behind his big fat head.
Report Post »Restored One
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:44pmWhat is with the references to “back in Chicago” we will do this and that? He mentioned Chicago twice. Is that a sign that even if he is ousted as the POTUS he is still gonna run this thing. I just thought that was weird.
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:58pm@RESTORED ONE
I think that he thinks he is somehow “keepin’ it real” when he mentions Chicago. Like he was raised on the mean streets of Southside. Truely pittiful.
Report Post »PeachyinGA
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 8:29pmHe also mentioned “HERE in Afghanistan” and “This Country” several times in the beginning of the speech. No other reason than to make sure in the soundbites and campaign snippets remind people how brave he was to go there personally (to celebrate the Day of Communism and cut secret deals with Karzi.) Special.
Report Post »MammalOne
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:32pm“we could have troops in Afghanistan 23 years after 9/11″
perfect. what’s another couple thousands lives and a few trillion dollars of taxpayer money?
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 7:53pmjust think of all the elections the democrats would win and all the defense contracts they would award…
Report Post »mercenary4freedom
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:48pmhe might not even be in Afghanisatn, it could be staged, all a big lie to make it look like he was there. Another big Hollywood East production.
If he has in fact committed our units to be there under Afghan control, thats not going to sit well with the guys on the ground. The greatest, most well trained forces in the world are going to be under command of criminal Karzai & Afghan generals? Holy SH* T!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:32pmsoybomb315
Just think we could leave Afghanistan & declare the war over.
You could take a well earned vacation to exotic Bali & be a recipient of Islamist love.
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