Obama Afghan Speech: U.S. Troop Withdrawals, Shift From Combat to Support Mission
- Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:41pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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You can read the full transcript of President Obama’s Afghanistan speech here.
WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — President Barack Obama says 10,000 troops will come home from Afghanistan by the end of this year as the U.S. mission shifts from combat to support after nearly 10 years of war.
The president said a total of 33,000 troops would be withdrawn by next summer, as he announced what he called “the beginning but not the end of our effort to wind down this war.”
Obama spoke from the White House East Room on Wednesday night to mark a milestone in a war he inherited and expanded with a surge of troops earlier in his administration. He says conditions are right now to start drawing it to a close. Watch the entire speech below, or continue reading:
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After the 33,000 troops are gone, about 70,000 will remain until the transition is complete in 2014.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
Pulling home more than 30,000 Americans he sent to war, President Barack Obama planned to announce Wednesday night that the “surge” forces he ordered into Afghanistan would be out by next summer, hastening the end of a conflict that has been more costly and deadly than ever imagined.
In an address to the nation, Obama was to say he is withdrawing 10,000 troops by the end of this year, and more than 20,000 in addition no later than September 2012, according to administration officials. That accounts for all of the extra forces he ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 to turn around a flailing war effort and help embattled Afghan forces prepare to lead their own country.
But that means almost 70,000 U.S. troops will remain in an unstable country, fighting in a war bound to see more Americans killed.
The announced drawdown, at a time when the public has turned decidedly against the war, will be complete just months before the president goes before voters in his bid for a second term. It remains unclear when Obama will bring home remaining forces, but the U.S. and NATO combat mission is not expected to end until December 2014 – and even then, a sizable and enduring U.S. contingent may remain in a different role.
Obama’s latest move is buttressed by the bold bottom line claimed by his security team: Afghanistan, training ground for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, is no longer a launching pad for exporting terrorism and hasn’t been for years. Yet the White House insists that it must maintain a strong fighting force in Afghanistan to keep the country from slipping back into a haven for al-Qaida terrorists.
Obama is under mounting political pressure to wind down the war, especially since Osama bin Laden, the man considered to be the face of it, is dead. U.S. forces found and killed the al-Qaida leader in Pakistan in May, a significant blow to an organization that nevertheless still threatens the United States.
At least 1,500 members of the U.S. military have died and 12,000 have been wounded since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. The financial cost of the war has passed $440 billion and is on the rise given the heavy troop commitment, jumping to $120 billion a year, twice the total of two years ago. Those costs have risen in importance as a divided U.S. government struggles to cut its budget deficits.
The decision to start withdrawing forces in July amounts to a pledge kept by Obama. Yet the scope and pace of the drawdown have been hotly debated. The military lobbied for a more modest troop reduction and Obama promised a significant one as support for the war by the country and Congress faded.
The initial withdrawal is expected to happen in two phases, with 5,000 troops coming home this summer and an additional 5,000 by the end of the year, a senior U.S. defense official said.
In total, Obama will announce the withdrawal of 33,000 troops. That’s the 30,000 he announced he was sending in an address in December 2009, plus an extra 3,000 he authorized Defense Secretary Robert Gates to employ to support the effort.
Still, the force will remain expanded on Obama’s watch. He approved 21,000 additional U.S. troops for Afghanistan shortly after taking office, bringing the total number there to 68,000. That’s the force level the U.S. will return to after the surge troops are brought home.
For Obama, the goal is to explain a stay-the-course moment of progress to the American people – the U.S. is not yet leaving Afghanistan – without the trappings of a major war address. He was speaking from the all-purpose East Room, not the Oval Office, and he was expected to speak for about 10 to 15 minutes, half the time he spent when he announced the troop surge almost 19 months ago.
Obama is arguing that the reinforcements he sent have accomplished their mission: eroding the capacity of Taliban insurgents and providing time and training for Afghanistan’s forces to take charge.
The United States remains in Afghanistan primarily to keep it from becoming a haven for al-Qaida, the terrorist network that based training operations there before launching the worst attacks on American soil on Sept. 11, 2001. Obama’s ultimate goal is to defeat al-Qaida.
Most Americans oppose the war in Afghanistan and are far more concerned about the teetering economic recovery at home. A new AP-GfK poll out Wednesday found that Obama’s approval rating on handling Afghanistan dipped to 52 percent, falling 13 points from its high of 65 percent in May just after the death of bin Laden.
Senior administration officials said Obama was fully aware as he made his decision that the public has grown weary of war after nearly a decade of fighting in Afghanistan. He also took into account the country’s other national security priorities, the burden U.S. troops have born during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the cost to American taxpayers.
Obama has also been facing increased pressure on Capitol Hill, even from conservative members of his own party and some Republicans, to significantly cut U.S. forces and shift the mission in Afghanistan.
“The country does not hold that level of strategic value for us, especially at a time when our nation is confronting a debt crisis and our armed forces are being strained by repeated combat deployments,” Sen. Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday
Military commanders favored a plan that would allow them to keep as many of the 30,000 surge troops in Afghanistan for as long as possible, ideally through the end of 2012. That timeline would have given them greater troop strength through two crucial fighting seasons.
The Afghan fighting season ramps up in late spring and can last into the fall.
The president reached his withdrawal decision a week after receiving a range of options from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan. Obama’s timeline was within the range of options Petraeus presented, but clearly the president wanted a faster withdrawal than some of the choices presented him.
In Afghanistan on Wednesday, the nation’s Defense Ministry said the NATO-trained military was ready to take responsibility for fighting Taliban insurgents and securing key parts of the country.
Many Afghans are eager to see the Americans leave, yet there are big risks for the government there.
“There will be some battles, there will be suicide attacks and bomb attacks,” acknowledged Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi. “But we in the Afghan forces are prepared to replace the foreign forces, and I’m confident the army has enough capacity and ability.”
Administration officials say the U.S. drawdown will continue after September 2012, though there are no specific plans yet for how and when. Some of those decisions could be made next spring, when world leaders will gather in Chicago for back-to-back NATO and G-8 summits.
U.S officials have been saying for several years that al-Qaida’s safe havens had shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan. While there has been some success in degrading the terror network in Pakistan, most notably with the killing last month of bin Laden, there are still deep concerns among U.S. officials about Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terrorism.
A reduction this year totaling 10,000 U.S. troops would be the rough equivalent of two brigades, which are the main building blocks of an Army division.
In the hours leading up to his speech to the nation Wednesday, Obama briefed congressional leaders and U.S. partners overseas about his withdrawal plans. He spoke to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, as well as leaders from key NATO countries: British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Obama also called NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Obama will visit troops Thursday at Fort Drum, the upstate New York Army post that is home to the 10th Mountain Division, one of the most frequently deployed divisions to Afghanistan.
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Comments (149)
Cleared Hot
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:22pmIt’s okay to support an uprising backed largely by the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, because it‘s Obama’s idea, but it’s time to withdraw from Afghanistan without a clear victory or plan for success. How do you get Afghan tribal leaders to join your cause, dedicate themselves to you, or put their villages on the list for possible destruction by the Taliban when you say you’re going to pull out and lay out a timeline to do so? Once again, the polls have spoken, and Obama IS NOT listening to his commanders in the field.
Report Post »Stopit
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:54pmAfter 10 years, if the Afgani don’t want freedom for themselves, who cares. Not me.
Report Post »If you are so concerned about the Taliban getting back in control, go over yourself.
Their sorry country is not worth one life of one of our military sons and daughters.
We need them at home!
welovetheUSA
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:22pmNo thanks……..not ever watching this president speak ever again, bring all our troops home, close all our bases down across the world, period.
Report Post »rettpr295
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:18pmNothing but a campaign speech. Can’t wait until 2012. What a sorry excuse for a president!!!
Report Post »freeweever
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:18pmA recession is when your neighbor losses his job, a depression is when you lose yours , and a recovery is when Obama losses his job.
Ronald Reagan, 1980 sub carter for obamanable guy
Report Post »Matlor
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:15pmHe don’t give a **** about our troops
Report Post »hogtrashhd
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:15pmsorry,, it hurt my ears just to hear him for a second.. this dude is a liar through and through.. he hates this country and white people..
Report Post »Galvanized
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:14pmTalk is cheap, and liars like to talk… just go away you cheap liar.
Report Post »Stopit
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:14pmI don’t remember any President ever being on TV and the news as much as this one.
Report Post »Disgusting too, knowing his socialistic financial treason.
Glenn is my hero
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:22pmHe’ll be on TV even MORE after the fraud election in 2012. He’ll be our dictator. Someone has got to stop him. Malcom X is his daddy—that’s why there is a coverup in his birth certificate. Malcom X was a muslim. Get ready to die by the sword unless we stop him.
Report Post »Non_Probate_Asset
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:24pmYou, then, have a very faulty memory.
Report Post »freeweever
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:13pmThe definition of a recession is when your neighbor losses his job ,a depression is when you lose your job, and the definition of recovery is when Obama losses his.
Ronald Reagan ,1980 sub Carter for obamanable man
Report Post »Frustrated
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:13pmI cant even watch this POS anymore, I think evil thoughts of him, such a piece of garbage!!!!! I hope he burns in hell and NO Obama, you do NOT speak for me.
Report Post »Matlor
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:12pmHe looks like Mohammed Atta who flew the plane into the WTC
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:26pmHe died believing in his heart of hearts that he did not start this. He was a mass murderer but so is the american military .He believed he was an independence fighter.may God have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace.He,like his comrades in arms was very brave.
Report Post »Teaparty-grammy
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 12:44am@ rose-ellen. who Posted, about Osama Bin Laden: “He died believing in his heart of hearts that he did not start this. He was a mass murderer but so is the american military .He believed he was an independence fighter.may God have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace.He,like his comrades in arms was very brave.”
And of course you were there, right inside his head–which is how you are able to tell us what he “thought”. I suppose you were right out there witht he Pakis dancing in the streets after 9/11. I take it back. You’re not just another liberal idiot/lemming following the “Eared One”. You are obviously some ******* Islamic Jihadist, an Arab, or both. (Same thing, actually). Maybe the immigration dept. should be checking YOUR passport!
So given that is obviously your heritage, here is a sentiment you will readily understand:
May the fleas of a thousand camels find your tent, a$$ hole.
Shalom
Report Post »FEDUPPAWPAW
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:12pmI WAS TOLD TODAY THAT MY HEALTHCARE PLAN AT WORK WAS TOO EXPENSIVE TO KEEP I WAS PAYING A GOOD BIT WITH HIGH DEDUCTABLES BUT NOW,THANK YOU MR OBAMA I HAVE TO GET INSURANCE ON MY OWN AND I WILL HAVE TO SPEND 2-3 TIMES AS MUCH.LET ME GUESS,HOUSE AND FOOD FOR MY LITTLE GIRL OR HEALTHCARE?that’s a rough one……….
Report Post »PATTY HENRY
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:35pmI’m sorry. That’s rough. I‘m afraid it’s only just begun.
Report Post »G
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:11pmMmm…another Pakistan then? He is trying to be firm with them..mmm…
I just cannot wrap my mind around the FOUR wars we are actually in. Another soon to be is Syria.
International action…Subservient to the UN again?..
Report Post »Teaparty-grammy
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 12:46amUh, no . . . that is pahka-stahn and the tahl-a-bahn
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:11pmObama is fluent the language of Lies & Deceit
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:16pmThe announcement of withdraw from Afghanistan is merley a ploy of words similar to his 2008 campaign committment to withdraw from Iraq. We continue to have a force in Iraq, the media says little about that. We will continue to have bases in Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan, just has we have had for years.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:02pmWhat kind of Nation “is” Obama building here at home?
Report Post »Cris1980
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:10pmNon intervention is what I want. Not isolationism.
Report Post »Cris1980
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:09pmI support the troops !! Bring them all Home!!!
Report Post »Stopit
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:34pmAmen! I’m fed up with these safe and secure warheads sending our young into harms way for no current, real, and essential national security reason.
Guess this helps stir more interests in the caliphate revolution for his buddies.
The other hawks are just uncaring old farts being paid off by defence contractors.
How in the world do all these congressmen end up millionaries.
Report Post »Glenn is my hero
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:03pmWhere’s my barf bag? I can’t take the dictator anymore! Malcom X is his daddy! Explains everything he does. Followin in his daddy’s footsteps.
Report Post »Guest2
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:03pmnot a “new threat” at all
Report Post »Cris1980
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:02pmHow is this a draw down. He sent in a surge and now he is taking those back. I do not get it. Probably going to send these troops to Lybia. Great article is http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/06/ron-paul-nothing-for-us-to-be-gained-by-leaving-troops-in-afghanistan.html, Ron Paul’s response.
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:01pmAt the time of this post, last one is ITS GONNA GETCHA at 7:50pm…..my comment is “Ditto” to all comments made.
Report Post »Guest2
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:00pmWho or what will he blame today for his own blunders?
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:50pmNo thanks, I just ate.
Report Post »Glenn is my hero
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:48pmI’m so sick of this dictator. IMPEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »Aaron in Polk County
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:15pmI like peaches.
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 11:27pmYou’re just angry that you got attacked when it was you who were doing the attacking with impunity till Osama came along and gave you a taste of your own medicine.You [like real nazis] wanted to dish it our but never have to take it-but those uppity arabs made you take it.Now you’re fighting among yourselves cause your government brainwashed you to want genocide then let you down[they're talking to the evil taliban].Gullible pawns!
Report Post »RN MOM
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:47pmThis should be a good one….. let’s listen as Obama reads a prepared speech from a teleprompter for at least 30 minutes and says absolutely nothing of substance.
Report Post »jedi.kep
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:59pmTHAT is exactly why I can’t stand watching this guy. He says absolutely nothing but dithers on forever. Obama should have been a used car salesman.
Report Post »RN MOM
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:06pm10,000 troops by the end of the year. 33,000 troops by this time next year. Isn’t that fewer troops that we sent in during the surge? and doesn’t that lead more than 70,000 troops still in there in June 2012?
Report Post »RN MOM
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:13pmHe likes to talk about our union… interesting choice of words. I even see a twinkle in his eye when he says “we must keep our union strong’…. Ughhh!
Report Post »streetrodder
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:23pmI wonder if its spelled Tal E Bon on the teliprompter?
Report Post »LOOKING_BOTH_WAYS
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:26pm//”" and doesn’t that lead more than 70,000 troops still in there in June 2012?”"
it sure dose and not only that, 70′000 is more then there was when he took office
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:20pm@ – RN MOM
“10,000 troops by the end of the year. 33,000 troops by this time next year. Isn’t that fewer troops that we sent in during the surge? and doesn’t that lead more than 70,000 troops still in there in June 2012?”
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
More or less – he’s basically pulling out the troops he sent over. “Technically” a withdrawl, but a bit thin in theory. And it’s not at all what a large percent of the country had in mind. The spin will be interesting.
As far as “talking” with terrorists…. they will have so much in common he probably won’t even need his teleprompter……nah, he’ll need it to keep all the “umhs..and errs..” & lame jokes out of the conversation.
Will they be invited to the White House? Will they get to speak to congress? If they do, I bet he won‘t give a speech to steal their thunder while they’re in the air. And I highly doubt he will instruct them to go back some 40 odd years and accept those boundaries? (did the Taliban even have land at that time or were they hiding out in caves then too?)
I bet he just bows and presents them with respectful gifts of state – certainly won‘t include ipods full of his speeches or DVD’s they can’t watch. And he’ll make a point of getting the date right….wouldn’t want to insult those terrorists.
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:20pmThe substance of the speech was that we’re going to work with the Taliban.If it comes to pass then Afghanistan was just another senseless war only this time the american grunts signed up for it.Gullable,easily led by the nose[even to murder others and risk being killed or maimed-not in actuality that much different then what we derride the "enemy" for being willing to give up for their"cause"].manipulated pawns.The Taliban ARE the people of Afghanistan and your media/government fed fantasies of genocide which made you want to sign up for war, will dissolve into an awareness that you were manipulated, as the government negotiates with the Taliban[who they now have to face up to the fact that it"s eihter negotiate or anililate the Afghan men women and children]your government will negotiate and you were all suckered by hate filled media fed fanasties! All live the ALL the Afghans who justly resist all invadors.
Report Post »justright
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:31pmI know that sickening feeling also, I’ve had it since he first came on the scene. I have no respect for the man, I cannot equate his name with the highest office in this great land. He and his wife have acted like a kid with a new toy. He won’t rest until he and his administration destroy this country. I only hope 2012 election gets here before it is entirely too late. With this news about the war be sure you WATCH THE OTHER HAND!!!!
Report Post »RN MOM
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 10:20pmRose- Whateva. Pull another attack on the US and we’ll be right the frig back, this time you’ll be a sheet of glass. Resist that!!!! Even the German’s had to learn the hard way- so I don’t expect much from you aryans
Report Post »Teaparty-grammy
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 12:27amJust another day in La-La land. He never DOES say anything of substance. But the idea of working with the Taliban (the people we are fighting in Afghanistan unless I’m mistaken?)\, now THAT is a nice touch, isn’t it? Like you can work with those people. You cannot work with them, you cannot negotiate with them–any more than you would with a mad dog, so the mere idea of trying to do so is beyond stupid, but then the Eared One regularly moves right past stupid to OUTRIGHT IDIOTIC.
I just hope and pray that he does not get a lot more of our troops killed while he is figuring out what he is doing. Does anybody know? Does HE??
Report Post »Teaparty-grammy
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 12:28amI am with a lot of people here. I have reached the point I can barely stand looking at the Eared One, much less LISTENING to him.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 9:37amAh so you prefer someone dressing up like he is a pilot and proclaiming mission accomplish 3 years before we realize Iraq was a lie and 8 years before we even begin to leave. So in your mind lies equal substance. Got it.
Report Post »RN MOM
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 7:15pmJROOK- You are referring to Bush, and he is a pilot, not “like a pilot”.
Report Post »miles from nowhere
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:45pmI am so sick of this guy you want to call a President I can not listen to this anti American Marxist anymore.
Report Post »Dont-hate-on-me-2
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:00pmjust seeing his face makes me almost puke, then when i hear him i vomite everywhere
Report Post »Lana40
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:08pmDid he just say “Working w/ the taliban’??? WTH?
Report Post »Aaron in Polk County
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:13pmBlah, blah, blah…
Report Post »SPOT_OF_TEA
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:14pmI’m sitting here with the TV turned down waiting for this fool to stop talking but he just keeps going and going
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:21pmThe United States of American has a higher priority of protecting the Afghan border from Pakistan than our own border with Mexican Catholic Extremist.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:33pmHow in the hell did this Nation elect this moron? We have some really stupid people in America and a lot of black guilt too…He has crashed our Nation, we soon will be able to rebuild it.
Report Post »PATTY HENRY
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:33pmLILY LIVERED, CHICKEN _, COWARDLY DOPE, LIAR, STINKING MUSLIM FREAK, ANTI-AMERICAN SLOB, COMMUNISTS, MARXIST, SOCIALIST, ARROGANT, OBNOXIOUS… but mainly: ANTI-AMERICAN CHICKEN _.
Report Post »Ronko
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:34pmLooks like Obama caused another Vietnam to occur. Bush is mostly to blame but Obama could’ve corrected the wrong. Instead the pomous moron is too concerned with getting relected then focusing on winning. It’s very simple you either go to war and destroy the Taliban, or we pull all of our troops out so that we don‘t waste anymore American Lives on a stupid war when no one’s going to win.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:37pmThank God for our wise president and his ability to draw down gracefully from the Afghan and Iraq theaters he inherited from the Chicken Hawk, Neoconservative, deficit dodging, Bush N Run Republicrats and Slaves O Zion .
Report Post »poorrichardsnews
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:44pmTroop drawdown? Obama still leaves TWICE as many troops in Afghanistan as when he took office! http://t.co/3xj3J9u
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:44pm@MONICNE – Pakistan is the problem. The only way to confront that is through Afghanistan. The president is as good as a used car sales man. Artificially increase the numbers, when the numbers reverse it gives the appearance of being favorable to you. Sucker.
Report Post »lovenfl3
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:51pmI am to the point where I can’t even stand to watch him anymore. We need guys like McCain to shut up and let the GOP candidates go after Obama. There has never been a more important election in my lifetime. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNaZeZBGD2c No more Mr. nice guy.
Report Post »streetrodder
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 8:59pmPatty Henry, You forgot Soros butt kisser. You need to stop beating around the bush and tell us how you really feel, LOL.
Report Post »kschmud
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:04pmI must apologize…I really tried to listen to this man. I keep trying to give him an chance to redeem himself… but it is no use. I do not trust a word that comes out of his mouth and when he refers to the founding of this country in his speeches…it makes me want to vomit.
Report Post »Deb C
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:18pmNow its up to the Afgani PEOPLE ( read regular folks )
Report Post »fastfacts
Posted on June 22, 2011 at 9:29pmObama is a big fat liar by saying that they are going after terrorists more than ever before: http://tiny.cc/8×221
Report Post »United we stand
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 12:55amThe World Bankers, British Royals, will not let the U.S. military rest until their plan is completed.
Report Post »NWO !
JRook
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 9:35amWe can‘t withdraw fast enough from a country we don’t belong in and a situation we created. Time to invest in the US.
Report Post »I support God's Israel!
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 9:57amThe president’s announcement that he will withdraw 33,000 (roughly a third) US troops from Afghanistan is an indicator of tremendous foreign policy decisions at the expense of American lives and national security. The US president’s decision may result in handing over Afghanistan to terrorists. Last week, reports surfaced that the president ignored the warnings of his military commanders that this announcement and the subsequent withdrawal would negatively impact operations in Afghanistan. Among the concerns were the emboldening of Taliban terrorists. According to CNSNews.com, in the three years since this president took office, 63% of the total deaths for the US military in Afghanistan have occurred.
Last week, White House spokesman Jay Carney danced all around the question of whether the US had entered direct peace talks with the Taliban. On CNN’s June 19 “State of the Union” show, Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed the US was talking peace to the Taliban. The Pakistan newspaper Dawn reported June 21 that “Mid-ranking US State Department and CIA officials have met Taliban representatives led by Tayyab Agha, a personal aide of Mullah Omar, at least thrice since January 2011 – once in Qatar and twice in Germany.” The White House, therefore, is not only in talks with terrorists, but has been holding such talks for half a year. It is amazing that the foreign press reports this, but not the American media. THIS PRESIDENT SHOULD BE IMPEACHED.
Report Post »I support God's Israel!
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 10:02amAlso:
From the White House on Tuesday, Carney made a startling statement that was again largely overlooked by the news media. He said, “Now, it is important to note that defeating the Taliban is not the objective here. Reversing the momentum of the Taliban is an objective, and we have had significant success in achieving that objective.” In announcing the war on terror September 20, 2001, President George W Bush made specific demands on the Taliban that if not met, meant the US would seek its total defeat. The current president without notice to the American people changed the objective, is suing for peace, at a time when Taliban terrorists are killing our sons and daughters at a record pace. This is a sign of weakness to Islam.
Carney then said, “I think it’s important to point out that this is an Afghan-led process, because this is not reconciliation between US forces or US personnel and the Taliban. It’s a reconciliation between Afghans, between the Afghan government representative of the people and the Afghan Taliban.” Last night the president addressed America from a White House hallway. He was not flanked by the American flag, neither the flag of the President. There was no flag. What is going on here? We are not there to defeat the Taliban; they are at war with Afghanis not America; we ask for peace when terrorist kill us in record numbers? Where is our solid ground? Proverbs 29:2 says, “when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” IMPEACH THIS ANTI-A
Report Post »American Soldier (Separated)
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 11:59amHow can shift away from combat? The only way to do that is to get the agreement of every fighter in Afghanistan. No matter what deals are made, or speeches made, there will be Afghans ready and willing to fight for their cause. Combat operations won‘t end until every single soldier is off Afghanistan’s soil….
Report Post »papapatriot
Posted on June 23, 2011 at 12:52pmAnother Democratic surrender.
Report Post »nptden
Posted on June 24, 2011 at 2:44amAfghanistan should never have been of strategic interest. El-queda can plan attacks anywhere. The ginned up excuse to prevent access to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is stupid. India would prevent that. When I see the waste of money, the outfitting and training of future enemies, it is insane how we get sucked in to giving away our store. It’s obvious Obama cares less about Iran getting the bomb. Bring our boys home, we are being set-up by a POTUS who is a socialist/ marxist, looking for his spot in the NWO.
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