• Afghanistan,  Barack Obama

    President 2012: Obama Spikes the Ball in Afghanistan

    A pretty sad display by an American President.

    President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, the first anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.

    On his third trip to Afghanistan since taking office, Obama met with President Hamid Karzai and will make a televised address at 7:30 p.m. ET.

    Tuesday’s visit comes at a particularly delicate time in relations between the United States and Afghanistan, as plans to withdraw U.S.-led international forces proceed.

    The countries have been negotiating a strategic agreement that would outline the basis for U.S.-Afghan cooperation after most U.S. and allied troops withdraw in 2014. Obama and Karzai are expected to sign the agreement on Tuesday, according to the senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the flight.

    The Strategic Partnership Agreement provides a framework for the U.S.-Afghanistan partnership for the decade following the U.S. and allied troop withdrawal, the officials said on condition of not being identified.

    Specific levels of U.S. forces and funding are not set in the agreement and will be determined by the United States in consulation with alllies, the officials said.

    Noting the anniversary of the bin Laden mission, the officials called it a resonant day for the Afghan and American people.

    Mission accomplished, Mr. President?

    In other words, Obama ends the war in Afghanistan on Osama bin Laden’s death anniversary. Obama wins the war, before he loses it.

    All symbolism and NO substance.

    And, at what cost?

  • Afghanistan,  Buck McKeon,  CA-25

    CA-25: Rep Buck McKeon Proposes Afghanistan Surge

    I suppose Rep Buck McKeon will discuss his Afghanistan Surge proposal at this speech.

    With some calling for a rush to the exits in Afghanistan after two weeks of heightened violence, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is looking to add troops into the mix. The bill, should it gain traction, could force the U.S. to change its current drawdown plans.

    California’s Rep. Buck McKeon introduced a new bill that calls for U.S. military to guard U.S. entities, replacing the thousands of private security guards and Afghan nationals that are currently being used.

    In calling for the bill, McKeon notes increasing incidents of Afghan military attacking U.S. and NATO troops. Afghan soldiers and government workers have murdered six American troops since the news that U.S. troops accidentally burned some Qurans and religious material. In the last five years Afghan forces have attacked NATO troops nearly 200 times, killing at least 70 coalition troops and wounding more than 100. An Army report declassified last year found that American troops think Afghan forces are dangerous and unstable. And many Afghan soldiers and police “demonstrated a general loathing of US soldiers.”

    The bill does not specify the number of troops needed but a congressional aide told Security Clearance that the expectation would be that it would not need to be a one-for-one swap of U.S. troops for Afghanistan and private security guards because “American forces would be far more capable and efficient.”

    The legislation does allow that if the President does not want to add troops, he would have to certify that using Afghan nationals and private security contractors would provide a level of security equal to what would be provided by U.S. troops.

    The President will never allow Congressman McKeon to dictate to him on the Afghanistan issue. Nor, would Democrat Senate majority leader ever allow this bill come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate, even if it passed the House.

    So, what is the real reason for this bill?

    Dante Acosta.

    I will have a post up later on this military father, Dante ACosta, who will be running against Buck McKeon in the June primary election.

  • Afghanistan,  Barack Obama,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012

    President 2012: Michele Bachmann on Afghanistan = “Stay the Course”

    As President Obama announces Afghanistan tropp withdrawals, likely GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann takes a different approach. Here is her statement in an interview with The Weekly Standard.

    On Afghanistan, I firmly believe that we are at a point where we’ve got to stay the course, and we’ve got to finish the job. Reports coming out of Helmand right now are positive. … David Petraeus, who wrote the book on counterinsurgency and on the surge strategy, is successfully prosecuting the surge.

    Now, President Obama has not told the story the way President Bush did. President Bush did let the country know where we were at, and I give him a lot of credit because when he was getting all sorts of invective pointed against him, he stood against the world for what he knew to be right in dealing with terrorism. And perhaps no other would have stood the way that he did. I give him great credit for that.

    Now in Afghanistan, we are making great progress. We have to win southern Afghanistan, then we have to go on and win eastern Afghanistan. I believe that we will be victorious, and we’ll end it. I understand why people are frustrated. I completely understand. But I do trust General Petraeus in that effort and in what he is doing over there. And I think that they are doing what we need to do.

    This is a constrast to both President Obama and the GOP’s Mitt Romney. But, it is a safe policy position and what Obama’s general are recommending.

    However, American voters are tired of years of war (on the LEFT and RIGHT) and the massive costs associated with them, especially with Osama Bin Laden’s death.

    And, remember Obama’s troop withdrawals will be modest at best.

  • Afghanistan,  Harry Reid,  Iraq War

    Harry Reid: The Afghanistan War is LOST or Something Like That

    Nevada Senator and Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid proclaims the Iraq War is lost

    Not again! Harry Reid was already wrong about the Iraq War in the video above.

    Now, it is Obama’s turn in Afghanistan.

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed doubt in the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan Thursday, saying, “I’m not confident it’s going to work.”In an interview that aired Thursday on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” the five-term Nevada senator said, “The president has indicated as commander-in-chief he is going to start drawing down the forces this summer.”

    Reid also noted the $100 billion the country is spending, calling it a “huge amount of money” that the nation “cannot continue to keep dumping” into the Afghanistan war.

    Sharing his respect for Gen. David Petraeus, commander of coalition forces, Reid said, “I’ve talked to General Petraeus…and he thinks things are going well.”

    “I hope it’s going well,” he continued. “But the American people have a … very short attention span.”

    Yeah, but not so short a memory or attention span that we cannot remember that YOU were wrong before and ready to quit in Iraq.

    Dingy Harry should stick to waking up Vice President Biden when he takes a nap during “The One’s” speeches.