Barack Obama’s Address on Afghanistan
1 12 2009I’m multitasking this afternoon, but I’ll be listening to the speech. Thought everyone might like a spot to discuss and blog it as it happens and afterward.
UPDATE: Here is Senator Mark Begich’s Statement
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich issued the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s address to the nation this evening on his proposed new strategy for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan:
“The American public needs no reminder of why the U.S. must have a military presence in Afghanistan right now – to eliminate the threat of al-Qaida launching more deadly attacks on our nation and our world. I have long supported this goal.
“Tonight the President laid out a well considered plan for defeating terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His plan is comprehensive, it calls on larger contributions by other nations with a stake in the region and it is designed to restore the confidence of the Afghan people in their government. I am heartened the President’s plan includes benchmarks for progress and most importantly, an exit strategy. I commend the President for thoroughly evaluating all his options and listening to the advice of his senior military and civilian leaders.
“Alaskans have a personal stake in Afghanistan because 4,000 of our Alaska-based service members are serving there in harm’s way today, with more Alaska soldiers to be deployed in the near future. As more young Americans are sent to the front lines, I’ll do everything within my power to make sure they have the resources, equipment and right strategy they need to get the job done.
“That starts tomorrow when Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief the Senate Armed Services Committee and answer questions from me and other senators.”
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 AM
I love Obama but we keep repeating the same scenario: Commit to a righteous cause; find ourselves losing; escalate our commitment to try and recoup our losses; refuse to leave because it would be a betrayal of those who have died or are mangled; escalate the commitment and the losses. Its the classic definition of insanity: keep on doing what doesn’t work. The unlearned lesson of Viet Nam: the only way out of the cycle is to bear the humiliation and the losses and LEAVE.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 PM
I respectfully disagree. No nation has the right to invade and occupy another nation unless that nation has committed an act of war against the occupier.
Helping Afganistan yes, but we are destroying that nation and slaughtering it people long past any rational justification.
The war we are fighting is one to protect an oil pipeline. It is not about national defense it is about Exxon’s profits.
In Iraq as many as 1M dead and 4 million refugees and probably much the same in Afganistan, with no end date set, only an if maybe when we see how its going date.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:56 PM
OMG like she honestly thinks he is listening to HER??? the woman is delusional!!!
NEW – Sarah Palin applauds Obama’s Afghan troop increase
NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Palin says she supports President Barack Obama’s decision to boost the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.
But she warns that his plan to send 30,000 additional troops may not be enough to achieve victory, and that talk of an exit date might encourage enemies to “wait us out” in the region.
Palin made the comments on her Facebook page hours after Obama delivered a speech Tuesday night on his new Afghanistan war plan.
The former GOP presidential nominee noted she had urged Obama to increase U.S. forces there three months ago. She said she was glad he had “mostly heeded” the advice.
Palin said she especially welcomed Obama’s decision since he had opposed President George W. Bush’s troop surge in Iraq in 2007.