Obama Faces a Tough Decision on Afghanistan

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Obama must think, not only once but twice.Its a tough decision, though he must face the concequence that he will make.

ralph_joseph 8:03PM January 27, 2010

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Sellhole of 10:43PM December 14, 2009

Obama will not be rushed deciding on troops for Afghanistan, which needs to be decided now. But he is rushing for approval of a health care bill that has not been totally written and is not to go in effect until 2011 or 2012. Is this change we can believe in?

balrwl of GA 9:48PM October 26, 2009

Obama will not be rushed deciding on troops for Afghanistan, which needs to be decided now. But he is rushing for approval of a health care bill that has not been totally written and is not to go in effect until 2011 or 2012. Is this change we can believe in?

albwlr of GA 9:42PM October 26, 2009

General McChrystal is in a tough spot and winter is coming on. The Commanders on the ground need a decision sooner rather than later. The military doesn't make policy, it enforces it. Obama thundered on about a more aggressive posture in Aghanistan during the primaries and that was politically motivated. Now the time lag in the decision process is obviously politically motivated as well. Comments about Obama "inheriting" Iraq are somewhat misguided in that the surge of US troops and the change of direction by the Sunnis accelerated the stand down of US forces. Obama's arrival in the Oval Office dove-tailed with this success on the ground and he should not attemkpt to take any credit for it. He had minimal participation with the end game in Iraq. We won't know what effect this war will have on the region for years to come. It would be comforting to know that we made the sacrifice for something other than to rid the country of Saddam and his two sociopathic offspring. I am one of a very few who served in both Vietnam and Iraq and there are stark differences between the two events. Nothing, however, can compare with Afghanistan. If McChrystal cannot get what he needs to accomplish the mission and protect his soldiers, then the US should start a staged withdrawal and begin transferring combat missions to the Afghans. The military successfully departed Vietnam with a huge national Vietnamese Army intact but the corruption of the goverment lost the War for us. If we're not serious, we need to get out.

Galasso of SC 6:33PM October 20, 2009

Pres. Obama stands between a rock and a hard place, he inherited a wrong war from George Bush which should emphasized on Afghanistan instead of Iraq, the military is tired of fighting asymmetrical warfare since the Vietnam debacle and he also pressured to attack Iran by certain special interests the question is do we have enough resources to fight 2 or 3 wars in the same region with the same type enemy? .
Most US combat divisions are safeguarding Iraqi oilfields and who will be deployed to support Gen. Mc. Chrystal recommendation? National Guards? it will be a disaster.
History have proven that Afghanistan is the Empire Graveyard no matter how many boots you put in there, the British and Russian have learned their lessons and are we next?
I understand Obama's dilemma his cautiousness is not sign of incompetence but wiseness because he don't want people picketing the White House chanting " hey hey Obama how many kids you kill today"

ssatmodjo of NY 12:26AM October 17, 2009

(contrary to the belief of the previous two posters) and he will do just fine in making a good decision. Wisdom, not "experience", is what is needed. Remember, General Custer had loads of "experience".

Muser of NM 3:19PM October 16, 2009

The President is unfit to lead...no experience, and has the wrong basic philosophy.
The wrong people are in office. Those people cannot prosecute a serious war, let alone our defense. Bring the troops home before any more are slaughtered.
If we want to win, the President needs to get some real help, Talk to John McCain.
Support General McChrystal. Do not Delay! Time is of the essence!

Vince Calhoun of GA 10:46PM October 15, 2009

The president is useless as a president. He, due to lack of experience, is scared to offend anyone, therefore, he can not make a decision. He wants to please everyone and that's simply impossible. The voters made a big mistake and,I think, most of them know that by now. Due to his incompetance as a commander in chief, our troops are in more danger. He and his top general don't even agree after he hand picked the guy to give him advice. Isn't that a laugh!
Obama should step aside, but the his second in command would make a bad decision, so where does that leave our troops. I wish the top general would step down and tell the president to pick someone who absolutely agrees with him and just pull out troops out. He says he isn't pulling the troops our, but if he wants to win, he has to send the troops. The general knows what he is talking about. No one else knows more than the general on the ground, including Gates! The whole situation is maddening. I am also a vet and I would fire anyone who doesn't go along with the top general, including Gates. I know the incompetant president needs to make the decision, but he can't. I would impeach him as soon as possible because he can't do his job. If that isn't enough reason, what is????

hankster6 of CA 5:42PM October 15, 2009