Posts about Obama Surrenders Afghanistan as of October 22, 2009

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday forcefully rejected criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans that President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan decision is taking too long. “What Vice President Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public,” Gibbs said.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to “do what it takes to win.” See the original post here: Cheney: Stop ‘dithering’ on Afghanistan

Robert Gibbs responded predictably to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s criticism that the Obama administration dithers on Afghanistan, answering with an attack on the Bush administration. (I know you’re shocked.) He offered no explanation about why the Obama administration is taking so long to reach a decision or why the military, our allies, and members of the president’s own party are wringing their hands about the president’s public angst.

October 22, 09 Posted by MP under Headlines. Tags:afghanistan, dick cheney, obama, robert gibbs, surge, troops Be the first to comment!

Published on October 22, 2009 by admin Today top stories about Obama Team Meets on Afghanistan Runoff. President has held consultations with US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, on efforts to prevent voter fraud in upcoming presidential election This is wegossips top stories about Obama Team Meets on Afghanistan Runoff feel free to come again here, with our latest news.Related postsYemeni Military Says Dozens Killed in Fighting With Rebels (0)Yemen, Rebels Accuse Each Other of Breaking

There’s been a lot of buzz around the blogosphere about Dick Cheney’s speech on Obama’s “dithering” approach to Afghanistan. Much of it centers on Cheney’s criticism of Obama’s Afghan policy (or lack thereof) itself. I’m interested in that. But I’m also intrigued by the dynamic between the two administrations. George Bush remains Presidentially silent on the matter.

It can’t be said often enough that the decisions the Obama administration is facing on Afghanistan are a direct result of the Bush administration’s exceedingly poor policymaking. I think very few people believed in the winter of 2001-2002 that we’d be sitting here in the fall of 2009 talking about what strategy shifts were necessary to prevent defeat in Afghanistan. The reason very few people believed that is that most people believed the Bush administration could win. Those of us who believed that were proven wrong.

White House nixes Cheney’s charges on Afghanistan WASHINGTON ? The White House on Thursday forcefully rejected criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans that President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan decision is taking too long. “What Vice President Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to [...]

After dialing back his attacks on President Obama’s foreign policy, former Vice President Dick Cheney says the administration has damaged U.S. ties with key allies, dangerously wavered in Afghanistan, undermined progress in Iraq and sabotaged the Bush administration’s national security legacy.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back Thursday at the latest criticism from Dick Cheney. (CNN) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back Thursday at the latest criticisms from Dick Cheney , and suggested the Bush administration did not send U.S. troops into foreign conflicts responsibly. “What Vice President Cheney calls ‘dithering,’ President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public,” Gibbs said.

Dave Weigel had an interesting post this morning about the problems a political movement runs into when it lets itself be led by charlatan media personalities : The Democrats are in worse political shape than they were a year ago because unemployment is at 9.8 percent, the war in Afghanistan has grown less popular, and the bailouts of struggling banks are seen as wastes of money that haven’t worked . Republicans benefit when they talk about this stuff. But Beck and the others don’t let them talk about this stuff.

By Matt Spetalnick An Afghan boy pushes his youngest brother on a wheelbarrow in a village in Charkh district, Logar province October 14, 2009. REUTERS/Nikola Solic WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Monday ruled out any consideration of a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as part of President Barack Obama’s sweeping strategy review of the increasingly unpopular war there. “We are not leaving Afghanistan.

Last night in a speech to the Center for Security Policy, Vice President Cheney attacked President Obama for “ dithering ” on whether to add more troops to Afghanistan. “[T]he success of our mission in Afghanistan is not only essential, it is entirely achievable with enough troops and enough political courage,” said Cheney. As ThinkProgress has pointed out, in 2008, the Bush administration rejected the request for 30,000 more troops from Gen. David D. McKiernan, then the top U.S. commander in Kabul.

If you haven’t read New York Times reporter David Rhode’s gripping tale of being kidnapped by the Taliban, do so . I’ve been reading it in the print edition for the past few days every morning. It’s incredibly well-written, and his story is simply amazing. Here’s one excerpt that is particularly relevant to the Obama administration’s internal policy debate on Afghanistan: Over those months, I came to a simple realization. After seven years of reporting in the region, I did not fully understand how extreme many of the Taliban had become.

Barack Obama’s war on Wall Street has claimed one significant casualty so far: the state of New York.  While the Pay Czar claws back bonuses and salaries from bailed-out investment firms, which was a condition of taking the TARP money (not exactly a voluntary act anyway), the big reduction means a big hit in New York state income revenues.  Governor David Paterson took the opportunity to slam Obama over the missing money, observes the New York, er, Observer:David Paterson, ever the friend of the White House, just attacked the Obama administration’s decision to restrict bonus pay with John Gambling on WOR.“That probably cost New York $1 billion,” Paterson said.

If what the White House and Obama supporters have been saying for two years is true, the weighty decision on Afghanistan’s troop strength is one that Obama shouldn’t have to make. From airy speeches in Berlin, to campaign rallies boasting that The One would renew “tattered” alliances abroad, to smug lectures about President Bush’s disrespectful treatment of our international friends and allies, President Obama was supposed to be the great uniter of the grand Western alliance, NATO’s savior.

No wonder people have given up looking for work.  They did everything they were supposed to, they got more education so they could get ahead and now their resumes are the first ones discarded by employers looking to hire.  Because they might leave for a better job when times get better.  Like that’s going to happen anytime in the near future. The overwhelming response astonished him. He asked Cheree Seawood, one of his current assistants, to go through the résumés and help pick out several to interview.

There goes the sore loser again. Opening his foul-mouth. Keep up the good form Cheney! http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/…ref=newssearch Quote: (CNN) - After a summer in which Dick Cheney dialed back his attacks on President Obama’s national security polices, the former vice president told a conservative gathering Wednesday that the Obama administration had damaged America’s relationship with key allies, dangerously wavered in Afghanistan, undermined progress in Iraq, and intentionally sabotaged the Bush administration’s national security legacy.

Politico : A day after former Vice President Cheney charged the Obama administration with “dithering” over its strategy for … … the war in Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs returned fire with guns blazing. “What Vice President Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform,” Gibbs said Thursday.

By LAURIE KELLMAN AP WASHINGTON – He’s not president, a Cabinet member or ambassador, but Sen. John Kerry has ascended to the unofficial role of President Barack Obama’s global adviser on key issues that could reshape the nation’s image around the world. Mediating Afghanistan’s presidential election vaulted Kerry from the already prominent chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee into the most exclusive circle around a new president who is juggling but has not resolved a variety of domestic and foreign policy matters.

October 22nd, 2009Our troops are fighting their asses off in Afghanistan, but the politicians are emptying their bladders in their diapers. So much so, that the NATO chief had to remind the members of that organization that victory in the war in Afghanistan is imperative;Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said some critics are starting to say that the cost of engagement in the eight-year war is too high, but he countered that “the cost of inaction would be far higher.”“Leaving Afghanistan behind would once again turn the country into a training ground for al-Qaida.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to “do what it takes to win.”

Gibbs: Afghan election won’t answer all questions WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama’s decision on Afghanistan strategy is coming within a few weeks and won’t necessarily wait for that country’s presidential election runoff on Nov. 7, his top spokesman said Thursday. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that Obama spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Kabul [...]

by JasonThis was a bare-knuckle speech that covered a wide range of national security issues, ethics, and a pointed condemnation of the Obama administration’s conduct to these matters. Cheney accused President Obama of putting politics and his name above important matters such as following through in Afghanistan, in which he said that Obama is “afraid to make a decision.” He also accused the Obama administration of intentionally undermining Iraq in its hurry to scrap any Bush policies.

Cheney received the Center for Security Policy’s Keeper of the Flame award Wednesday night . (CNN) - After a summer in which Dick Cheney dialed back his attacks on President Obama’s national security polices, the former vice president told a conservative gathering Wednesday that the Obama administration had damaged America’s relationship with key allies, dangerously wavered in Afghanistan, undermined progress in Iraq, and intentionally sabotaged the Bush administration’s national security legacy.

Please sign petition no matter where you live! This could happen in a community near you!    Submitted by: Marie Woods   STOP Gitmo Detainee Transfer to Michigan Petition - Car Alarm Protest Attached is a petition to stop the transfer of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (”Gitmo”) detainees to Michigan , please get this out to all your contacts ASAP. If these guys get here, the ACLU will get them visitation rights and then it will only be a matter of time before jihadists, already in the U.S., begin attacking Middle-schools to get the “rockstars” of terrorism released from Standish , Maximum prison.

Video here: Former US vice president Dick Cheney has delivered a stinging attack on the foreign policy of President Obama. Mr Cheney said the President was “dithering” and “waffling” on Afghanistan while American troops face constant danger. The former number two in the White House has criticised Mr Obama before, but these are his strongest words yet. It is convention that former presidents and vice presidents are not outspoken in their criticism of successors.

cadenon October 22, 2009—Leave a Comment The Chris­t­ian Sci­ence Mon­i­tor – Three wars in Islamic nations – Afghanistan, Pak­istan, and Iraq – now entan­gle Pres­i­dent Obama in ways that would try any Amer­i­can com­man­der in chief.By I&VSphere: Related Content  Link to this page  Link to this page Copy the code below to your web site.x Get Link­ToTh­is­Page from the Cre­ative Real Estate Invest­ing Guide.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC’S ‘TODAY SHOW’: So you think its appropriate for the White House to say what is and what is not a news organization? PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I think the American people are a lot more interested in what we’re doing to create jobs or how we’re handling the situation in Afghanistan. GUTHRIE: Fair enough, but your advisers raised this issue. OBAMA: Well no, the – I think that what our advisers simply said is, is that we are going to take media as it comes.

Harry Hamburg/Associated PressDuring a speech at the Center for Security Policy, the former vice president pilloried the Obama administration on a variety of issues.The Obama administration is dithering on a decision about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, former Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday night, and accused the White House of trying to shift the blame for its inaction on the Bush administration.In a wide-ranging speech, the former vice president pilloried the Obama

Yesterday, Vice President Cheney spoke at the Center for Security Policy, run by former Reagan official and prominent neoconservative Frank Gaffney . Cheney used the opportunity to aggressively attack President Obama, accusing him of “ giving in to the angry left ” and “dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.” He added that because Obama “seems afraid to make a decision” on whether to add more troops to Afghanistan, he should just emulate the Bush administration’s strategy since it was so successful: We should all be concerned as well with the direction of policy on Afghanistan.

From The Weekly Standard Blog – Bill Kristol: The following is the October 21st, 2009 response of former Vice-President Dick Cheney to the distortions coming out of the Obama administration and being aired by the State-Run media recently. (An excerpt from the speech) “Recently, President Obama’s advisors have decided that it’s easier to blame the Bush Administration than support our troops. This weekend they leveled a charge that cannot go unanswered.

Speaking at the Center for Security Policy “Keeper of the Flame” Dinner on Wednesday night, former Vice President Dick Cheney unleashed a scathing attack on the Obama administration’s foreign policy. Saying that President Obama’s strategic blunders have helped to embolden our enemies, Mr. Cheney accused the President of “dithering” and “waffling” on the war in Afghanistan as our troops come under constant danger, as well as acting in bad faith with our allies in Eastern Europe.

Or The Return of Reverend Jeremiah Wright By William A. Cook * Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass, c. 1818-1879. “There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.” (Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,” 1852) One hundred and forty seven years ago that charge was leveled at the United States by a former slave who judged America’s actions since its founding against the principles that this nation presented to the world as the basis for its existence: the rights of humans to self governance, to life, to liberty, and to happiness.

It was bad enough that Obama pitbulls Dunn,  Axelrod and Emanuel would go before the media and whine about Fox News not being a news organization. But the President? Why would any President act so small and get involved in something like this? Last night in an interview with NBC News, President Barack Hussein Obama refused to apologize for the attacks on Fox News and Freedom of the Press and in fact might have made matters worse.

After getting a softball question on Afghanistan, Obama personally slams Fox.Tags: Afghanistan, dumdass, fail, fox news, Media Bias, Obama, video, whine This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 am and is filed under Broken News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

By Max Boot , a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author, most recently, of War Made New: Technology, Warfare and the Course of History, 1500 to Today (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 22/10/09): “I hope people who say this war is unwinnable see stories like this. This is what winning in a counterinsurgency looks like.” Lt. Col. William F. McCollough, commander of the First Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, is walking me around the center of Nawa, a poor, rural district in southern Afghanistan’s strategically vital Helmand River Valley.

Telegraph.co.uk Rove: Obama Goes Wobbly on Afghanistan Wall Street Journal The president can sustain bipartisan support for the war if he demonstrates his personal commitment. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

by Brian McLaren10-22-2009 I am a loyal supporter of your presidency. I worked hard in the campaign and have never been as proud of my country as I was when we elected you.I’m writing to ask you to find another way ahead in Afghanistan. I wrote a similar letter to President Bush when he was preparing for war in Iraq.I believe now, as you and I both did then, that war is not the answer. Violence breeds violence, and as Dr. King said, you can murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder.

Korengal Outpost, Afghanistan The flexibility of our military is being put to the test in Afghanistan. The fight that the troops are in is transforming quickly because the enemy is adapting their tactics to try and exploit any weakness they can perceive in how our troops do their job. It took years to get the troops in Iraq the vehicles they needed when the insurgency there discovered that we were driving around in Humvees with doors made out of vinyl; will that be the case for badly needed small arms in Afghanistan?

by Johann Hari, The Independent/UK , Oct 21, 2009 Is Barack Obama about to drive his Presidency into a bloody ditch strewn with corpses? The President is expected any day now to announce his decision about the future of the war in Afghanistan. He knows US and British troops have now been stationed in the hell-mouth of Helmand longer than the First and Second World Wars combined – yet the mutterings from the marble halls of Washington DC suggest he may order a troop escalation.

Irony abounds. What $11 billion in US aid couldn’t do, some guys in pajamas with a handful of bombs manage. Pakistan is onside, fighting hard in South Waziristan. It’s dawn over Islamabad as the Pak Taliban’s bombing campaign has united Pakistan squarely against Islamic extremism, and moves the Paks to action. In fact, some guys in Waziristan aren’t just changing the dynamic in Pkaistan. They may, inadvertantly, be changing the entire GWOT dynamic.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of “ dithering ” over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan. Dithering you say Mr. Former V.P.? Better than being a blathering idiot. So let me get this straight. Terrorists attack the US. Your administration determines that it’s the Taliban that’s responsible. Your administration also determines they are operating out of bases in Afghanistan. Your administration then sends troops to Afghanistan, which like 99.99% of the country supported.

It is the wet dream of every kid who grew up playing Microsoft Flight Simulator . From the safety and comfort of Air Force bases in Nevada (read: your angsty teenage bedroom with the Kurt Cobain poster in the corner), grounded pilots bomb insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan using unmanned aerial vehicles, known more menacingly as Predator Drones. Gamers could not have come up with a more badass title. A covert CIA drone program focuses on Pakistan, a country riddled with Taliban fighters and terrorists but no US troops.

Paul Craig Roberts Infowars October 22, 2009 The US has every characteristic of a failed state. The US government’s current operating budget is dependent on foreign financing and money creation. Too politically weak to be able to advance its interests through diplomacy, the US relies on terrorism and military aggression. Too politically weak to be able to advance its interests through diplomacy, the US relies on terrorism and military aggression.

Oh Dear Lord, will this doofus NEVER stop talking? Blah blah Afghanistan, blah blah Afghanistan… Somebody PLEASE hit me with a ball-peen hammer! Oooh, if I push my fist against my lower lip like this, it hurts enough to keep me awake… Good to know… Didn’t this guy run for president and lose? Why do I have to give a fat crap what he says? Didn’t I win? I wanna be out there doin’ the hula hoop with Michelle on the lawn… Look, she’s having a great time.

admin 22 October 2009Bizzare and Offbeat No CommentFormer Vice President Dick Cheney has accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to “do what it takes to win.”

12 Reported Slain in BlastAn apparent US drone strike along the border between Pakistan’s North and South Waziristan Agencies has left at least 12 dead, including several children. A “Taliban leader” named Abu Musa al-Misri was reported slain in the strike, but rebels were quick to note that he was also reported slain in two other recent US drone strikes in the same area.Pakistani intelligence sources confirmed it was a drone strike, though some other sources speculated that it may have been a

I have friends — good friends — who are AGHAST at the Obama administration’s labeling of Fox News as “not a news organization.”  My friends are Fox News viewers.  Fox News says they AREN’T lying about Obama or his policies.  And that’s the end of the discussion as far as my friends are concerned. So, I suppose, none of this will matter to them. Examples of how Fox News not only lied about the Administration — but took ADVOCACY positions AGAINST the Administration.

THE WHITE HOUSE – Despite the President’s promise of a swift and decisive victory, Obama’s War on Fox News has developed all signs of an unwinnable quagmire, making the White House even more isolated in its unilateral attempts to crush the growing media insurgency. Ha, just a little humour for the day…Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Pentagon’s New Roadmap for War and PeaceThe President Unveils New Weapon in War on TerrorNo TitleU.S.

BRATISLAVA: Afghanistan is the most complex challenge that NATO has ever undertaken, but the alliance must remain engaged there to prevent the country turning back into an al-Qaida training ground , the organization’s top official said Thursday. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said some critics are starting to say that the cost of engagement in the 8-year-old war is too high, but he countered that “the cost of inaction would be far higher.” “Leaving Afghanistan behind would once again turn the country into a training ground for al-Qaida.

Commander In Chief Decision Watch: Day 53 On 8/30 General Stanley McChrystal submitted the comprehensive plan Obama ordered, to accomplish the Afghanistan mission Obama declared.  He and the troops continue to struggle, and continue to wait for their Commander in Chief to make a decision. Print - Email to a Friend - Share:

Wednesday night, former Vice President Dick Cheney took President Obama to the proverbial woodshed for his procrastination in making a decision on Afghanistan troop levels. It wasn’t pretty: Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission. President Obama has said he understands the stakes for America.

BRATISLAVA: Afghanistan is the most complex challenge that NATO has ever undertaken, but the alliance must remain engaged there to prevent the country turning back into an al-Qaida training ground , the organization’s top official said Thursday. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said some critics are starting to say that the cost of engagement in the 8-year-old war is too high, but he countered that “the cost of inaction would be far higher.” “Leaving Afghanistan behind would once again turn the country into a training ground for al-Qaida.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney tonight joins a chorus of critics who say President Barack Obama is taking way too long to decide whether to send another 40,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Cheney, no fan of any of the current administration’s foreign policy initiatives, prodded the White House to fulfill the president’s promise to give the U.S See more here: Time for Obama to act on Afghanistan – Cheney

For voters, the economy outpaces all other issues by a wide margin, according to a new Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll. As the nation struggles to climb out of a recession, 45 percent rated the economy as the most important issue in deciding their vote if the congressional election were held today, followed by 21 percent who said government spending, 20 percent who chose health care reform and 9 percent who said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just 4 percent ranked climate change as the top issue.

Cheney: Stop passing the buck, champ. We did our job–now it’s your turn.Tags: Afghanistan, Dick Cheney, fail, lies, Obama, whine This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 8:10 am and is filed under Broken News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Special Report OUR “ROPE-A-DOPE WAR” UNDER BUSH IS THE GOP TRYING PUT THE USA ON THE CANVAS? by Gordon Duff, Staff Writer This week, House Minority Leader Republican Steve Boehner demanded that President Obama send thousands more troops to Afghanistan immediately with no debate.  Majority Leader, Democrat Steny Honer reminder Boehner; “My Republican colleagues abandoned their focus on Afghanistan for seven years, seven years, and let it drift, and did not resource it properly, and did not succeed.  We were under-resourced in Iraq for at least five-and-a-half years.

Obama Compares Fox News to Talk Radio, Says He’s Not ’Losing Sleep’ Over Controversy Fox News President Obama spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday about his administration’s portrayal of Fox News as an illegitimate news organization — only to say he’s not “losing sleep” over the controversy. Obama, in an interview with NBC, at first attempted to deflect a question about the White House’s criticism of Fox News, saying “the American people are a lot more interested in what we’re doing to create jobs or how we’re handling the situation in Afghanistan.” The interviewer then pressed, noting that Obama’s advisers have targeted the network openly.

Guest Author: S. M. Naseem The challenges facing the Pakistani state, both domestic and external, continue to mount and periodically bring it to the brink of disaster. Whether by some miraculous intervention of Providence or through the rather delicate balance of forces that keep propping it back to a tenuous equilibrium, the ‘existentialist threat’ to the state, gets averted. However, each new equilibrium is not only more fragile but takes place at a lower level of existence and of the welfare of the people inhabiting it.

Good morning campers and left-wing sour-pussses, Item Number One : Just to get this out of the way, the criminal racket known has ACORN has been caught red-handed committing vote fraud in New York state ; but this will not stop it’s left-wing defenders from claiming that ACORN has never engaged in voter fraud. Also, there’s a new video of ACORN attempting to facilitate prostitution and tax fraud , yet again.

21 October, 2009 — Global ResearchThe New York Times, on October 17, published a page-one story by Scott Shane about the CIA’s defiance of a court order to release documents pertaining to the John F. Kennedy assassination, in its so-called Joannides file. George Joannides was the CIA case officer for a Cuban exile group that made headlines in 1963 by its public engagements with Lee Harvey Oswald, just a few weeks before Oswald allegedly killed Kennedy.

Prof. Peter Dale ScottGlobal ResearchThursday, Oct 22nd, 2009The New York Times, on October 17, published a page-one story by Scott Shane about the CIA’s defiance of a court order to release documents pertaining to the John F. Kennedy assassination, in its so-called Joannides file. George Joannides was the CIA case officer for a Cuban exile group that made headlines in 1963 by its public engagements with Lee Harvey Oswald, just a few weeks before Oswald allegedly killed Kennedy.

Source: RawStory Insurgents in Afghanistan are using heroin as a tactical weapon against US forces, hoping to emulate the drug problems that plagued US troops in Vietnam and Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s, says a new investigative report. In a report at the Daily Beast, author Gerald Posner cites “an internal US intelligence report” that “concluded [insurgents] are targeting American troops in an effort to undermine their effectiveness, while raising cash to pay for new recruits and weaponry.” The report brings up inevitable comparisons to the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s and the Soviet war in Afghanistan that ended two decades ago.

  If John Kerry had not gone to Kabul, it is possible that the Afghan picture would look very different. The Senator for Massachusetts huddled with Barack Obama back in Washington yesterday, telling reporters later that a decision on troop numbers before the election results were clear would lack “common sense”. It seem likely that his views will be taken seriously by Obama: details of the role he played in persuading President Hamid Karzai to accept a run-off vote began to emerge yesterday, and suggested that his influence was critical in the Americans getting the result they wanted.

Times Online Will the US send more troops to Afghanistan? Xinhua WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) — After recent criticism of US President Barack Obama’s perceived dithering on whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the White House said Wednesday that a decision may be near. … US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff Vote, Gates Says Bloomberg Obama: Troop Decision Possible Before Afghan Run-off Voice of America Gates says all eyes on Afghan runoff election The Associated Press Times Online Related posts: US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff Vote, Gates Says – NIMBRUNG.NET Times Online US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff…

by Johann Hari, The Independent/UK , Oct 21, 2009 Is Barack Obama about to drive his Presidency into a bloody ditch strewn with corpses? The President is expected any day now to announce his decision about the future of the war in Afghanistan. He knows US and British troops have now been stationed in the hell-mouth of Helmand longer than the First and Second World Wars combined – yet the mutterings from the marble halls of Washington DC suggest he may order a troop escalation.

Washington Times: Maintaining his stature as one of the most forecful defenders of the Bush Administration’s defense policies former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Obama of committing “libel” against CIA interrorgators in a wide-ranging address on foreign policy issues at the Center for Security Policy Wednesday evening. Mr. Cheney’s criticized the Obama White House for abandoning commitments to allies in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of the Russians, sacrificing American intelligence officials to satisfy the political left and neglecting to map out a clear foreign policy strategy, among other things.

BBC News Gates says moving ahead on Afghan troop policy Reuters SEOUL (Reuters) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he is moving ahead with his recommendation on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan and would first tell the president before a NATO defense ministers meeting this week. … Gates says all eyes on Afghan runoff election The Associated Press Obama: Troop Decision Possible Before Afghan Run-off Voice of America UN confident over Afghan run-off BBC News Times Online Related posts: US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff Vote, Gates Says – NIMBRUNG.NET Times Online US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff…

Lahore, Pakistan:- U.S. President Barack Obama said that he could reach a decision on his new war strategy for Afghanistan before the outcome of an Afghan election run-off. “It is entirely possible that we have a strategy formulated before a runoff is determined,” Obama told in an interview. But he added, somewhat cryptically, “We may not announce it.” He also said that we are going to take the time to get this right and we are not going to drag it out because there is a sense that the sooner we get a sound approach in place and personnel in place, the better off we’re going to be.

President Obama spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday about his administration’s portrayal of Fox News as an illegitimate news organization — only to say he’s not “losing sleep” over the controversy. Obama, in an interview with NBC, at first attempted to deflect a question about the White House’s criticism of Fox News, saying “the American people are a lot more interested in what we’re doing to create jobs or how we’re handling the situation in Afghanistan.” The interviewer then pressed, noting that Obama’s advisers have targeted the network openly.

Statement by President Barack Obama on Afghan Elections   I welcome President Karzai’s statement today accepting the Independent Electoral Commission’s certification of the August 20 election results, and agreeing to participate in a second round of the election. This is an important step forward in ensuring a credible process for the Afghan people which results in a government that reflects their will.     While this election could have remained unresolved to the detriment of the country,

Times Online US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff Vote, Gates Says Bloomberg Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — The US and its allies are “going to be clearly attentive” to ensuring that Afghanistan’s runoff election next month is as free and fair as possible, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

Times Online US ‘Attentive’ to Having Fair Afghan Runoff Vote, Gates Says Bloomberg Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — The US and its allies are “going to be clearly attentive” to ensuring that Afghanistan’s runoff election next month is as free and fair as possible, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. “Everybody has an interest … Gates says all eyes on Afghan runoff election The Associated Press Gates says moving ahead on Afghan troop decision Reuters Obama: Troop Decision Possible Before Afghan Run-off Voice of America BBC News Related posts: Gates says moving ahead on Afghan troop policy – NIMBRUNG.NET BBC News Gates says moving ahead on Afghan troop…

AP – NATO defense ministers will meet here Thursday to discuss the war in Afghanistan and the growing support for President Barack Obama’s plans for a new missile defense system in Europe. View original post here:  (AP)”> (AP)”>NATO to meet on Afghanistan, missile defense (AP)

Jack Cafferty asks “At what point should President Obama stop blaming the Bush administration?” : When it comes to Afghanistan, the Obama White House keeps pointing fingers at President Bush. Although the war is in its ninth year – they make it sound like things are back to square one. What an idiotic statement. Square one? Not even close. How about square -10. After “Enduring Freedom” went from a war to an international security operation, about seventy coalition soldiers were killed in the first year, a figure that decreased for the subsequent two years.

Terry Gross today examines the CIA’s secret drone program in which remotely controlled, unmanned planes target terror suspects in Pakistan and elsewhere. She interviewed Jane Mayer, a political journalist based in Washington, D.C. who wrote about the program in the October 26 issue of the New Yorker . Unlike the military’s publicly acknowledged drone program in Afghanistan and Iraq (above) — where pilots fly the drones out of Las Vegas — the CIA’s campaign doesn’t operate in support of U.S.

Voting Present Is Not an Option - Victor Davis Hanson - The Corner on National Review Online Not surprisingly, more common sense from VDH on what our President should be doing with regard to Afghanistan. (tags: Afghanistan nationalsecurity Obama politics terrorism ) Incredible Pictures Formed by Thousands of US Soldiers | WildAmmo.com “Astounding photographs taken by photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D.

Voice of America Cheney: Stop the ‘dithering’ as troops face danger The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to “do what it takes to win.” “Make no mistake.

Backdrop… The setting for my conversation with Richard Holbrooke, was Kati Marton’s book salon and wine reception at New American Foundation. Ironically, Josh Rogin had an exclusive interview with Richard Holbrooke several hours after I had a conversation with him, with the following from Rogin the exact same thing Holbrooke revealed in our casual conversation earlier in the evening. … He said he “has no interest” in the press stories discussing his lack of face time with the media , but took exception to one editorial in the New York Times, which wondered aloud about his status.

A viable war strategy. Only for some reason, he hasn’t said boo about that Bush legacy. Cheney at Fox : Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that the Bush administration had developed a new strategy on the war in Afghanistan before leaving office — a strategy that he said “bears a striking resemblance” to the one announced by President Obama in March. In a speech to the Center for Security Policy, Cheney said the Bush administration handed Obama’s transition team a policy review of the Afghan war conducted last fall to meet the new challenges posed by the Taliban.

BBC News Obama: Troop Decision Possible Before Afghan Run-off Voice of America US President Barack Obama says he may make a decision on a revised Afghan strategy before that country’s run-off presidential election on November 7. But Mr. Obama also says an announcement may wait until after the votes are in. …

“It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country, when we don’t even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we’re working with.’’ John Kerry I got a chuckle from the Wall Street Journal today. Karl Rove brings up Obama administration “wobbling” on Afghanistan. He throws a few jabs at the President, but it’s sissy stuff more for the sake of exercise than anything else.

But why do you make this assertion, Mr. Thin-Skinned President? Because Fox News is the lone opposition voice to your in-over-your-heads administration? How are you “handling the situation in Afghanistan,” exactly, Mr. Thin-Skinned President? Do elaborate.

Full post here. Feaver offers a timeline from March until October and suggests there is a potential lack of organization in the Obama administration: “In short, President Obama has been slowly veering off into a civil-military ditch of his own digging .” Regardless of when a decision is made, and whether or not the political right gets impatient, Obama doesn’t want to spoil relations with his military commanders.

ABC News UN confident over Afghan run-off BBC News The UN envoy to Afghanistan says the presidential election run-off will take place in two weeks, despite rumours of talks between the two candidates. Kai Eide told the BBC that people would vote under extremely difficult circumstances, … Obama: Troop Decision Possible Before Afghan Run-off Voice of America Karzai about face could salvage Afghanistan election Christian Science Monitor Changes needed to avoid repeat of Afghan vote fraud, says Abdullah Times Online Reuters Related posts: British Official Thinks Afghan Run-off Election Will Be Credible – NIMBRUNG.NET BBC News British Official Thinks Afghan Run-off Election Will…

Cheney: Stop the ‘dithering’ as troops face danger WASHINGTON ? Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to “do what it takes to win.” “Make no mistake. Signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and [...]

“The left may be pressuring President Obama to exit Afghanistan. But their heroes — from FDR to JFK –promoted U.S. involvement in more wars than all modern GOP presidents combined. Should President Barack Obama continue his escalation of the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it will be the liberal thing to do.

Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee released a chart comparing the number of jobs the White House projected that the massive, $787 billion American Recovery And Investment Act of 2009 would create (3.46 million) against the number of jobs lost in the seven months since the “stimulus” bill passed (2.7 million) - a net difference of 6.2 million jobs that never materialized or have vanished. Only one state out of 50 gained jobs – but the 1,800 jobs created in ND falls 78 percent short of the Obama administration’s projection of 8,000 jobs.

AP – The White House said Wednesday it’s “certainly possible” that President Barack Obama could announce before a scheduled new election in Afghanistan whether to send more troops into the U.S. war there The rest is here:  (AP)”> (AP)”>‘Possible’ Obama Afghan announcement before Nov. 7 (AP)

AFP – The White House said Wednesday that it was “possible” that President Barack Obama would decide whether to send thousands more US troops to Afghanistan before the runoff election on November 7. Originally posted here:  (AFP)”> (AFP)”>Obama troop decision ‘possible’ before Afghan election (AFP)

FOXNews UN confident over Afghan run-off BBC News The UN envoy to Afghanistan says the presidential election run-off will take place in two weeks, despite rumours of talks between the two candidates. Kai Eide told the BBC that people would vote under extremely difficult circumstances, … Karzai about face could salvage Afghanistan election Christian Science Monitor Changes needed to avoid repeat of Afghan vote fraud, says Abdullah Times Online Obama: Afghan troop decision possible before vote result

In a speech Wednesday night, former Vice President Dick Cheney is firing back at the Obama administration for alleging that they were starting from scratch in Afghanistan after they claim the Bush administration did little in planning for the Afghan war. Speaking to the Center for Security Policy, Cheney reveals that hardly starting from scratch, the Obama administration last March was in actuality basically copying and pasting the policy review of the Afghan war given to them by the Bush administration.

October 21st, 2009The Wall Street Journal recounts John Kerry’s weekend with Hamid Karzai and their five meetings resulting in Karzai capitulation to the idea of a run off election;According to one Western diplomat, the Afghan president was more comfortable dealing with Sen. Kerry than with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry or the administration’s special representative to the region, Richard Holbrooke. Mr. Holbrooke angered Mr. Karzai when he suggested shortly after the Aug.

Donald Douglas noted this article from Investor’s Business Daily: Americans, In Reversal, Now Back Afghan Troop Surge By Sean Higgins, Investor’s Business Daily As President Obama mulls the military’s request for a big troop build-up in Afghanistan, Americans have swung in favor of such a move, according to a new IBD/TIPP Poll. The survey of 927 adults found that a plurality of 48% favors sending more troops and resources to Afghanistan.

Middle East: Things Look Catastrophic but It Will Work Out, Why I’m Optimistic By Barry Rubin Every day dreadful things happen in the Middle East and in the echoes of that region—diplomacy, news coverage—in the West. Yet things are by no means as bad as they seem. Precisely because a lot of what happens simply doesn’t reflect reality, ultimately the material effect is minimized. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,” warned Edmund Burke.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged New Jersey to keep Democrat Jon Corzine as governor, calling him an honorable man who puts the people’s interests first. Some Other Articles You May Enjoy Barack Obama under fire from Democrats over Chicago Olympic trip (Daily Telegraph) Afghan bombs kill 12 including British soldier Obama to meet the pope in Italy Dolphins notebook: President Barack Obama honors Hispanics (The Palm Beach Post) President Barack Obama meets with

President Barack Obama says his family is like a lot of others — in which the men “need to be knocked across the head every once in a while” in order to see imbalances between the time moms and dads put into raising children. Some Other Articles You May Enjoy Barack Obama will make up own mind on Afghanistan: White House (The Times of India) GOP sources: Sen.

Senator John Kerry warned that a surge of troops in Afghanistan would have a destabalising affect on Pakistan. -File Photo Pakistan Pakistan urges Nato to seal Afghan border Pakistan urges Nato to seal Afghan border