More troops needed says McChrystal...

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Hmmmm, that's interesting because here is the latest article from MSNBC. Apparently this assessment was provided to Obama three weeks ago and it just leaked out on Monday. I guess the president has been too busy visiting all the 'acceptable' news talk shows and hanging out with Jay Leno to dedicate his attention to the request of this esteemed general.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32959957...ews-peoria_il/

Is that news source reputable enough?

okay, here is another:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ted;photovideo

[theHawk]

Chimpy McPresident suddenly finds himself in a bind! His campaign was all about getting out of the wrong war and building up and winning the Afghan war.

Is Chimpy willing lose the war in Afghanistan to appease his radical anti-war base?
He has a big decision to make, even CNN called him out and asked the question if he is going to lose the war or "man up" to win it.

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Oh, hey, MM thank you for the link in the Tea party post....it lead me to this article for yet another 'reputable source' for this thread. Good job bud, what a good helper you've turned out to be!!


I especially like this paragraph of the article:

Are we now to understand that he [Obama] made all those previous declarations and decisions without a strategy he was committed to? Prior to his recent statements, it seemed clear that the president and his advisers had adopted a strategy already—the counterinsurgency one—and that Gen. Stanley McChrystal was tapped precisely because he would implement that plan. The idea, to repeat, was to deploy forces sufficient to clear territory of Taliban threats, hold that territory, and build up the sinews of the country behind that.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...788385256.html

[maineman]

Hmmmm, that's interesting because here is the latest article from MSNBC. Apparently this assessment was provided to Obama three weeks ago and it just leaked out on Monday. I guess the president has been too busy visiting all the 'acceptable' news talk shows and hanging out with Jay Leno to dedicate his attention to the request of this esteemed general.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32959957...ews-peoria_il/

Is that news source reputable enough?

okay, here is another:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ted;photovideo

do you honestly think that he and Gates have not reviewed the request and have decided to wait before jumping? Where does ANYONE say that he does not listen to his generals and where does anyone say that he does not do so because of politics?

[theHawk]

do you honestly think that he and Gates have not reviewed the request and have decided to wait before jumping? Where does ANYONE say that he does not listen to his generals and where does anyone say that he does not do so because of politics?

Of course they have reviewed it. What has Obama done since then? Going on talk shows?

Hey how about make a decision as Commander-in-Chief?

So far he is voting "present".

[maineman]

Of course they have reviewed it. What has Obama done since then? Going on talk shows?

Hey how about make a decision as Commander-in-Chief?

So far he is voting "present".

and what if his secdef has advised him to hold off before committing more troops?

sometimes not precipitously making a decision is, itself, a better decision, don't you think?

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Did you read the article?

End of 1st paragraph and entire 2nd paragraph:

And a mere three weeks ago, he punctuated his commitments by proclaiming that Afghanistan is a "war of necessity," not one of choice. White House spokesmen reinforced this by promising that the president would "fully resource" the war.

Yet less than one week ago, Mr. Obama said the following about troop increases: "I'm going to take a very deliberate process in making those decisions. There is no immediate decision pending on resources, because one of the things that I'm absolutely clear about is you have to get the strategy right and then make a determination about resources." He repeated that on Sunday's talk shows.

then, 4th and 5th paragraphs:

Nothing significant has changed to account for the shift from Mr. Obama's confident policy proclamations to his temporizing statements of recent days. The president certainly understood before last week that the situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating. And he knew when he was inaugurated and when he first uttered his colorful "war of necessity" phrase that his party, and the public generally, were increasingly opposed to the war.

Americans are now confused and caught somewhere between remembering the president's insistence on Afghanistan's importance to U.S. security and rapidly rising pressure from his party to bring the troops home.

Do you really think that our troops over there in the bowels of hades have time for him to waffle and ponder and run the talk show circuit while he makes up his mind?

[maineman]

Did you read the article?

End of 1st paragraph and entire 2nd paragraph:


then, 4th and 5th paragraphs:


Do you really think that our troops over there in the bowels of hades have time for him to waffle and ponder and run the talk show circuit while he makes up his mind?

like I said, and you completely ignored: sometimes not precipitously making a decision is, itself, a better decision, don't you think?

[Trigg]

like I said, and you completely ignored: sometimes not precipitously making a decision is, itself, a better decision, don't you think?

This report was given to him THREE WEEKS AGO



I'm sure he wishes he was still a senator, then he could vote present and then skip home to wright another book.

Three weeks is a long time to make a decision. He needs to take a shit or get off the pot.

[Joyful HoneyBee]

McCrystal asked for this THREE WEEKS ago. If it hadn't leaked out we wouldn't know about this now...but the evidence remains that public perception was higher on Obama's agenda than dealing with the war. He said last July that he would devote adequate attention to this matter. What I have seen is a president so busy chatting it up with the 'friendly' news shows that he has set aside the importance of dealing with this situation.

Say what you like, but I find it incredibly disrespectful of our troops for him to be joking with Jay Leno about being 'black before the election' while our troops, black and white, are dying in ever increasing numbers in the bowels of hell.

I have the authority to say this with intense passion because I am the proud parent of an American soldier and I expect my president to serve me as honorably as our troops do!

[maineman]

McCrystal asked for this THREE WEEKS ago. If it hadn't leaked out we wouldn't know about this now...but the evidence remains that public perception was higher on Obama's agenda than dealing with the war. He said last July that he would devote adequate attention to this matter. What I have seen is a president so busy chatting it up with the 'friendly' news shows that he has set aside the importance of dealing with this situation.

Say what you like, but I find it incredibly disrespectful of our troops for him to be joking with Jay Leno about being 'black before the election' while our troops, black and white, are dying in ever increasing numbers in the bowels of hell.

I have the authority to say this with intense passion because I am the proud parent of an American soldier and I expect my president to serve me as honorably as our troops do!

what does that have to do with my point that avoiding a precipitous decision is, in many cases, a better decision?

And I have the authority to say that with intense passion because I SERVED our country for a quarter of a century and am now retired.

[maineman]

This report was given to him THREE WEEKS AGO



I'm sure he wishes he was still a senator, then he could vote present and then skip home to wright another book.

Three weeks is a long time to make a decision. He needs to take a shit or get off the pot.

and you think that taking more than 21 days to decide to send more americans into harm's way is too long? Have you ever been in the military, btw?

[Joyful HoneyBee]

Not personally, but I am very familiar with the 'hurry up and wait' posture. That should be the option of the military....not the option of the executive branch because by the time we hurry up and wait for the president to fiddle around and then it goes to congress, where they fiddle around, by the time the approval has come through, how many more soldiers will have died - how many more insurgents will have created how many more IED's. See, I don't believe the president has the luxury of mulling things over too long at a time where human lives are at stake.

[maineman]

Not personally, but I am very familiar with the 'hurry up and wait' posture. That should be the option of the military....not the option of the executive branch because by the time we hurry up and wait for the president to fiddle around and then it goes to congress, where they fiddle around, by the time the approval has come through, how many more soldiers will have died - how many more insurgents will have created how many more IED's. See, I don't believe the president has the luxury of mulling things over too long at a time where human lives are at stake.

I have no desire to rush my president into a precipitous decision. Why in the world would you? YOu have absolutely no idea how many variables and options he is considering.

In the Navy, we used to say, "If you want it bad, you'll get it bad".

[Joyful HoneyBee]

It is only getting worse over there for the troops already deployed. There is no reason for hesitating on this decision. It was supposed to have already been decided to follow the lead of the military advisers. They either need to jump in or jump out, but waffling only gives the insurgents more time and opportunity to do more harm.