Obama on Afghanistan: “Resolve unwavering”…to pull out in 18 months or something
The full transcript of President Obama’s long-delayed speech on Afghanistan is here. You can watch it in full here.
Bush-bashing? Check.
Noxious complaining about the cost of fighting a necessary war? Check.
Disingenuous denial that he dithered? Check.
“Let me be clear”s/”clear”s = 9.
Self-congratulations for sticking to Gitmo closure policy = 1.
Self-referential “As your Commander-in-Chief”s = 2.
References to global jihad = 0.
Charles Krauthammer tonight called the speech “strange,” “defensive,” “hedging,” and full of “uncertainty compounding uncertainty.”
Way to restore America’s standing in the world, eh?
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Pray for our troops tonight and every night. They need ‘em now more than every.
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Andrew Ferguson has a different take on the speech:
Obama is the first Democratic president in forty years to call for a significant deployment of American troops in the national security interest of his country. This is very big news. His predecessor, President Clinton, could give a stirring address dispatching bombers over Bosnia and be confident of the support of his fellow Democrats, because the show of power was purely humanitarian and had nothing to do with keeping us safe from our enemies. With great courage, Obama is trying something that hasn’t been tried within the living memory of most of the members of his party. He may even recall the era when liberal Democratic presidents — Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson — could lead a fight because it was in the interest of the country to fight.
This is a historical moment, and one we should be grateful for. It’s worth an extra twenty minutes of presidential gassing off. It’s even worth a lot of guff about beginning to pull the troops out by a date certain, no matter what. (I’ll believe it when I see it.) If this is what he needs to mollify his political supporters, let him talk and talk and talk.
Alas, Obama’s “gassing off” is not so much a matter of spouting “essential platitudes” as it is a down payment on future pandering to the Left that will not be in the national security interest of our country.
Paul Mirengoff is dead-on:
Earlier today I wondered whether President Obama’s speech about Afghanistan would sound more like a description of a war plan or a structured settlement of a legal dispute. What I heard tonight tilted decidedly in the latter direction. To be precise, the speech sounded to me like a slick lawyer trying to sell a dubious settlement to a skeptical client or, in this case, set of clients.
Consistent with slick salesmanship – as well as the president’s character – the speech was quite self-referential. Providing a potted history of our military efforts in the war on terrorism, Obama took shots at his predecessor and attempted to cast himself as the hero throughout. Thus, he patted himself on the back for opposing the war in Iraq, on which he blamed the current difficulties in Afghanistan.
Obama also patted himself on the back for bringing the war in Iraq to a “responsible end.” But he failed to mention the surge in Iraq, which was instrumental in turning the tide to the point that it became possible to speak of a responsible end.
The omission was odd inasmuch as Obama was pitching a similar surge in Afghanistan. This meant that the Iraq surge was more relevant to tonight’s speech than any other element of Obama’s potted history. Yet he was too partisan, and too embarrassed by his own opposition to the surge, to mention this vital decision.
It was therefore rank hypocrisy for Obama latter to decry the partisanship that has plagued the war on terrorism.
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Bonus emetic: Chris Matthews referring to West Point as the “enemy camp.” But we already knew which side he was on. Vid via Allahpundit:
That’s right. Matthews smeared the cadets for behaving properly and not showing overt political preferences for Obama. He wanted to see more “warmth” — e.g., twitching legs, tears of joy, and fainting a la the Obamedia.
Oh, and yes, MSNBC was still as monochromatic tonight as it is monodogmatic.
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If West Point is the “enemy camp,” what does Chris Matthews call Gitmo?
Here’s a clear-thinking cadet who was in the audience sending a clear message of unwavering resolve. Matthews won’t get a leg tingle, but he might wet his pants over it:
Several readers note the active service campaign ribbons and medals on the man’s chest and identify one of them as the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, showing he has been an Infantry Soldier under Combat. D. O’Brien writes: “The Cadet pictured in your piece on President Obama’s speech at West Point (December 1, 2009) is not a ‘traditional’ cadet. He is a former enlisted man – and an Infantryman who wears the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. This award is given only to Infantrymen who have participated in direct-fire engagements against the enemy.”
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Clueless, thy name is Obama.
The cadets acted with the decorum and honor that is expected of future leaders.
There is more honor contained in the discarded toe nail clippings of cadets than Matthews could ever dream of having.
What a disgrace. That is all.
Ditto. He is such a liar. And totally clueless. How can he be so smug.
Two of my kids are scheduled to go to Afghanistan next year.
Chris Matthews said that? OMG…He is a pathetic excuse for a human being.
I am on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean stuck with ONLY CNN for the news channel. These people are desperately propping up the Big O as brilliant, deliberate, nuanced, augh.
This guy is a bag of words. And that’s it.
Either fight to win doing whatever it takes, or get out now. What I heard Obama describe tonight is nothing more than a structured, drawn-out surrender. What exactly are our objectives? “Stop terrorism”? Elaborate please.
The enemy can now wait 18 months without fighting and we’ll be gone. Obama will claim that there is no longer any reason to stay. The enemy has clearly been defeated. It is immoral to waste American lives so pointlessly.
The only bright tonight is reading the reactions of the liberal boards.
They see he’s not handing out peace on earth, after all, and that’s just no way for a Messiah to act.
Somehow I don’t remember all the times President Bush bad-mouthed the previous Commander in Chief to the troops. I’m sure he did it, though.
/urp
I’m pretty sure Bush never bad-mouthed a previous C-I-C. It is so out of character for him to be bad-mouthing anyone who is not a terrorist or part of the axis of evil. After all, this is the man who saw into Putin’s soul.
Your employee , Allahpundit, thought it was just dandy.
MM: I love it when you get a bug like Chrissy under your heal and just crush him. He deserves everything we can give him. He should be forced to apologize to West Point and the cadets.
What I’m not seeing anyone point out is that he wants all the troops out IN TIME FOR HIS RE-ELECTION. The timeline is based soley on what matters most to this megalomaniac: HIMSELF. Not the troops, not the future victims of nuclear terror; just him. This man is disgusting.
I’m not inspired. Get in to win or get out NOW. Only two options. Period.
I didn’t watch the speech because I was out with the family. Did any one count how many I’s, My’s, or other references to his narcissitic self?
The moon god lovers like Jamaat ul Fuqra love this guy.
You all are much braver and nicer than I. I cannot stand even one second of that a$$-clown at the most powerful podium in the world. Just the football commercial where Drew Brees heaves a perfect pass in the direction of ol’ poo-brains leaves me with a foul taste in my mouth and a lingering urge to do something violent and destructive. He looks like a someone with brain damage being spoon-fed sugar in slow motion. It’s tragic. It’s categorically unpresidential, and liberals think he’s “enlightened”?
Down the road he’s planning on holding “cost reviews” to evaluate the addition of the extra troops he promised tonight. Does he think we’re somehow going to turn a profit on war? Of COURSE they won’t like the amount it costs, which will give him all the cover he needs before the Congressional mid-terms to pull back from this phantom 30,000 troops. I’ll go out on a very stout limb here and state, for the record, that I very much doubt we’ll ever seen an increase of 20,000 troops and support personnel. Our Lamb-in-Chief simply doesn’t have the stomach for this fight.
Of COURSE McCrystal’s press release (a general with a press release? Whiskey Tango Fubar?!?!) says he’s been given what he needs. He asked for 40,000 troops NINETY-freakin-days ago! He’ll be lucky to get those 3000 Marines by Christmas, and when he does, they won’t all be fighting troops. It’ll be 3000, including the support personnel, so the active grunt-on-the-ground count will be just that much lower. What a disgusting, pathetic weakling this man (I use that term loosely) has turned out to be!
Someone wake me up when the Big O finds his nuts, which I’m guessing won’t happen until sometime after Israel whacks the crap out of Iran. Oh then he’ll be FIRM and FORCEFUL as he cuts off US aid to Israel for doing what the US should be doing in the first place; taking the fight to Islamic Fundamentalists who wish for nothing more than the complete and utter destruction of all that we hold dear in the West.
I wish I could say I feel better now, but I don’t.
Greta Van Susteren led her show intro with Matthews’ “Death to America” anti-military diatribe.
Nailed it. The timeline crap is all about making himself look good in order to get re-elected.
The Obamination would kill millions if it made him look better.
mmm mmm mmm Lyndon Baines Obama
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is he thinking?
“Never have a Democrat on your flank.”
Oh, and Barry, pronouncing it “POCKiston” doesn’t make you sound erudite, it makes you sound like an over-educated pretentious douche.
FIFY
I re-sent having our military led by a fraudulent scammer like Barry Soetoro. It’s unjust and downright immoral allowing him to send more troops to die for his Jihad.
I’d love to see Chris Matthews be imbedded with a forward-deployed combat unit.
He should be tap dancing for IEDs.
Obama even tried to place the failure of his original Afghan policy from march on the shoulders of McCrystal:
If anyone ever needed proof that Obama is the Narciscist-in-Chief look no further than this portion of the speech:
That is just pathetic and sickening that Obama feels the need to stroke his ego by using the deaths of our servicemembers and the suffering of their families. This man has no shame.
Matthews wanted the cadets to bow before Barack Obama the way that Brian Williams did. Matthews wants the cadets to squeal in excitement and say “Oh you give me a thrill up my legs” the same way Matthews did when he interviewed Obama. He wants the cadets to say “You gave an extraordinary speech” the same way Charlie Gibson did after Obama’s race speech in Philadelphia.
If West Point cadets are the enemy, what does that make the Taliban? Let’s see, one wants to protect me. One wants to kill me. Gee, I didn’t realize it was that hard to distinguish between them.
Now tell us how you really feel, Chris. Is it just the military that’s the enemy or all right-leaning people in general?
Yeah, to Chris Matthews, America IS the enemy. What a PoS.
Ditto regarding Obama. How any self respecting American could have even a shred of respect for that man is unfathomable.
Yeah, a firsthand look. Why not go search for some IEDs or take point in a combat patrol before claiming first-hand knowledge? You may have witnessed some of the tragedies of the aftermath but have not experienced the emotional intensity that goes along with the sacrifice. How dare you insinuate you know what our troops go through! There is no doubt in my mind you would soil your Presidential undies the minute you heard a gunshot.
Your statements are about as bad as Hillary’s dodging sniper fire in Bosnia.
By the way, great war strategy…”We’re gonna quit in a year and a half”.
The place where his like-minded pals are being detained????.
For a Democrat government with no qualms about spending trillions for political payoffs to cry and whine about 30 billion to prosecute a war of “necessity” just highlights the liberal hypocrisy again, we’ve all come to know and despise.
Let me be clear, this was a boring, self-serving rant that was about as uncertain a call to war as you can get. We’re there for keeps…not to exceed 18 months or a bigger per-soldier cost, whichever comes first. They’re celebrating in “Tally-bon” land tonight.
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It was good to see the fine young men and women–of many diverse social, sexual, racial and ethnic backgrounds-in the Cadet Corp. A good looking group of Patriotic Americans all.
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They were looking and listening carefully as Comrade Obama (PBUH) laid out his plans for pulling out of Afghanistan in 18 months–if anyone can believe anything the Messiah promises.
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The cadets have had very good military history courses taught by real experts. They know that some of them will see action defending our country soon. And I could hear them thinking and wondering how the The One’s plans are going to work out.
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John Bibb
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I was driving home from work and listened to about 3 minutes of the drivel – right at the time TrueSoldier quoted. Good thing I wasn’t playing the I/me/mine drinking game; I’d be in a coma tonight.
Mr. Mom2Jack was accepted to West Point. Does Chrissy-boy know what it takes to even get accepted, much less make it through? Those men are the cream of the crop. They bring more honor and devotion to our country in one hour than Matthews has in his lifetime. The guy needs to GO. Luckily only about 50 people watching him on MSNBC heard the comments… perhaps he should go on Fox tomorrow to apologize.
Love those cadets!
Is Odumbo the last one in the room to know he’s the village Idiot?
From Mr. Obama’s speech,
Mr. Obama, the H**L you do. You did photo ops at Walter Reed and Dover. You had form letters printed (and probably machine signed) for the dead. Dead created by your inability to formulate or to let those wiser and more experienced, you know people who can actually lead and have a record of doing that and actually executing activities under their leadership.
Let me say this, people can say what they will about President George W. Bush and I can disagree about many of his policies. But you always knew where you stood vis-a-vis those policies. When it came to the cost of war. Mr. Bush didn’t do photo ops. He met privately with the families, he even met with Cindy Sheehan, not once shortly after the death of Casey Sheehan but a second time after she began to harass him over it. The only reason we know about it is that she told the press. He kept people’s private grief private and respected them and their loved ones. He listened and often granted the wishes if it was within his power of the loved ones of the men and women who lost their lives under his watch. He did it without fanfare and without photo-ops, or a need to brag about it. He tended to get choked up about the people who served under him as Commander in Chief. Even when he isn’t Commander-in-Chief any longer President Bush was there the day after the terrorist attack at Ft. Hood. He came there without a press retinue or PR people. He and his wife came. They offered their condolences, their prayers and did what they could to visit with, comfort and aid those whose loved ones had perished, the wounded and those who’d survived who also needed comfort and aid. President and Mrs. Bush did so quietly and as the son of a friend who was a survivor, “they were a class act.”
Contrast that with your own self-aggrandizing behaviors. The difference is this Mr. Obama. You will always be Mr. Obama and he will always be President Bush or Mr. President to many of us. He may never have served a day in combat. You may scoff at his National Guard experiences. But he has proven himself worthy of command and of the command of Soldiers of the United States of America. Mr. Obama you’ve so far proven the exact opposite.
My son expects that he will deploy to Afghanistan sometime after completing his training. He will serve there and I’m certain he will do so with honor and loyalty to his country, his family, and to the Constitution of the United States of America. Mr. Obama, do you even have a clue as to what that service and willingness to sacrifice his needs, his desires and perhaps his blood to its last full measure if need be means? Now how about the hundreds of thousands of young men and women who like him are doing much the same? Do you appreciate what their sacrifices, sacrifices you’ve never even made in token mean?
Perhaps these words might though I doubt it, “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” St. John should probably have included family and even nation and perhaps ‘his fellow man’ might have been appropos. Do you also have any recollection of hearing this, also from the book of John. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Are you a good shepherd Mr. Obama? What have you sacrificed for the men and women who serve at your “whim and will”? Did you sacrifice a gym workout to visit them in Landstuhl when you were candidate Obama? Did you visit them frequently but, quietly in Walter Reed without your press retinue so that you could speak quietly and undisturbed with them as President Bush did? If we looked at your guest list would we find the names of family members of those who died under your watch, like happened with President Bush? Will stories of acts like this come from other Soldiers rather than blared out by an adoring press?
I didn’t like President Bush’s politics. Not as Governor of Texas and not as President of the United States. But, I liked President Bush the man and the leader because of the many things he did and the way he did them. Even when he was being wrong headed about things he was wrong headed for the right reasons. So even today, I’d follow that man wherever and whenever he wants me. He understood what John meant in his gospel.
Take a lesson from President Bush, Mr. Obama and learn to be worthy of the power over lives you wield.
I (perhaps wisely) avoided Dear Leader’s “monumental, unprecedented” (and, did Shep Smith mention, “made in the same place George Washington once stood, oh, isn’t Obama much greater than George Washington…”) speech, but accidentally caught the replay hours later…let’s just say my fury at the sheer amounts of B.S. being thown about, with fake understanding (all the while not being moved enough to look away from the teleprompter until he utters his trademark “the status quo is not sustainable”) led to loved ones asking me to stop watching the rest, for fear of a heart attack, and I’m in my 20s.
My sickness and outrage/fury at his glib treatment of the situation, his attempt to act as if he hasn’t dithered and delayed in his response, is only rivaled (in my lifetime) by my fury at his glib treatment and half-hearted attempt at empathy after the terrorist attack on Ft. Hood.
Perhaps I missed the part of the speech where he began by giving a shout-out to his “moderate” buddies in the Toll-ee-bahn that he hopes to reach out to soon, recognizing them as every bit the mainstream political party Hamas and Hezbollah have proven themselves to be.
1) Somebody please check the inventory at the West Point Mint, and compare it to that before his Highness showed up.
2) I really hope that he didn’t get near the Post Cemetery. I’d hate to think this narcissist got anywhere near the remains of individuals (full disclosure: including COL K. Lindell, Class of Jan ’43, my father) who knew a h_ll of a lot more of the cost and pain of war – and sending troops out to do sh_tty high risk missions – than he ever will from his office.
Forgive me for failing to add previously, my prayers are with our men and women in uniform and their families for having the integrity and honor of the sort Dear Leader can only dream, who continue to put sacrifice and put their lives on the line every day and night.
And I do mean that. It made me sick just to listen to the parts of this speech I did. I cannot imagine having a a loved one serving under this “delayed surrender.”
YAWN …
Why bother watching Obama read his speech …
Senseless waste of time.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
Oh …
For a good laugh, check out this thread at DU!
MUAHAHAHAHA
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
The book the cadet is reading is a sad reminder that we have not yet killed Bin Laden (and, others).
Let me be clear, Obama has pussified the United States of America yet again! He sure sent the wrong message to the enemies of America. What a weak leader he is! God help us in our time of an incompetent leaderless nation!
As the man is President and the subject was the Afghan War with our people in harms way I did watch. I was not impressed but I did watch. I was going to watch Chris Matthews but decided to watch the paint dry. Scum such as the homoerotic Chrissy-boy have long considered the Services “the Enemy Camp”.
God Bless the The Long Gray Line, all our fighting men, their families and Damn the Leftist traitors to Hell.
—
Remember: If you must Feed the Trolls feed them to the alligators
Obama looked very small there, and his speech did no justice to the USMA. West Point has produced some incredible leaders, and what we saw last night was not leadership, but managed image. More of the same- the teleprompter eye ping pong, the rehashing of the obvious for false ethos, the swipes at his predecessor, the “let me be clear”… Only he was uncomfortable, because he wasn’t in a swooning crowd of liberals. Well, maybe some of them swooned but it looked like they were sleeping (from a good friend who attended West Point, those cadets have long days- to end it with an Obama speech…).
I watched it on CBS (wanted to see if Katie Couric would dance), and it was disgraceful then to see Bob Schieffer get down on his knees and- breathlessly say this was a “defining moment of this Presidency”.
I just don’t understand how these people can live with themselves.
I also read McChrystal’s reponse to ObaMao’s speech and did not hear the words VICTORY or WINNING. And McChrystal’s ROEs are particularly damning, if we are to win this war, e.g.:
• No night or surprise searches.
• Villagers have to be warned prior to searches.
• ANA or ANP must accompany U.S. units on searches.
• U.S. soldiers may not fire at the enemy unless the enemy is preparing to fire first.
• U.S. forces cannot engage the enemy if civilians are present.
• Only women can search women.
• Troops can fire at an insurgent if they catch him placing an IED but not if insurgents are walking away from an area where explosives have been laid.
I want not only for McChrystal to mention VICTORY and winng this war, I want him to delete these ROEs that have hamstrung our troops and placed them in harm’s way.
Sources:
http://www.captainsjournal.com/category/rules-of-engagement/
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032991.html
On December 2nd, 2009 at 7:04 am, fgmorley said:
Are those McChrystal’s ROEs or something he’s been forced to accept in order to get the 3/4s of the forces he asked for?
It sure doesn’t sound like the Stanley McChrystal I knew.
Yeah, thanks Bill Clinton.
I just told my wife (of 14 years as of today) that Chrissy called West Point the “enemy camp”.
She said, “Who is Chris Matthews?”
Gawd I love her!
PP is correct.
If I am the enemy I lay low for 18 months. The US leaves, I come out and take Afghanistan over, again. If I am an Afghan currently helping the US, I head for the hills now and hope the Taliban forget I was helping the US by the end of 18 months.
P.S. Son just started his third tour in Afghanistan yesterday. You go boy!
A caller on Bill Bennett’s show called it ‘the Hokey Pokey Speech’. How apropo.
Oppressed muslims yearning to breathe free ?
GAG !
Straw Man “Some people say this, and some people say that, but I’m the wise man in the middle” argument – CHECK!
Our dear reader sure has disdain for the American people who don’t want to be his chattel.
In military parlance he would be refered to as a mustang, they’re opinion often carries a little more weight than their contemporaries as we know they’ve roadmarched 20 miles in our boots before…..
Some interesting excerpts from the Hohey Pokey Speech.
“As President, I refuse to set goals that go beyond our responsibility, our means, or our interests. ”
“The absence of a time frame for transition would deny us any sense of urgency in working with the afghan government. ”
To those that oppose the exit clause in his ‘surge’ – “I Reject this course because it sets goals that are beyond what can be achieved at a reasonable cost, and what we need to achieve to secure our interests.”
B. Hussein Obama 1 December 2009
Does any of this apply to his actions so far?
@soap:
Happy anniversary, and God bless and keep your boy!
With ROEs like these why would anyone in their right mind want to throw more people in harm’s way? If the commander on the ground cannot control the ROEs, I guess he’s not really a commander on the ground. I’m wondering, along with Ralph Peters of the NYPost, how many 4-star generals are going to resign over this CinC’s idiotic conduct of this war. Please See http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/setting_up_our_military_to_fail_lBlTIHm69SM02Lly5JbNaO
If you knew him then perhaps you could tell us if he ‘s about VICTORY and WINNING. I haven’t heard him state that in his response to Obama’s speech.
On the bright side, Michael Moore and the Code Pinker Democrat Underground Kos Kids are bummed out today and having trantrums.
FINALLY…TOTUS spoke. And said nothing new.
Commander-in-chief? More like a NYT Editor-in-chief. This Administration and the Lame Stream Media could switch places at any given moment and nobody would notice a difference.
In other words…
The cadets don’t pee their pants when in the presence of He Who One.
To that cadet reading the Kill Bin Laden book
God bless you friend
You are the future
These two sound like Miranda rights are coming to the battlefield. It lookd like the JAG office will be busy filling for warrants in the Afghan courts before long.
These three things remind me of the Clinton error rules of engagement that were seen during Somalia. A few nights ago I watched Black Hawk Down with my older two sons (they are 10 and 11) They had asked me why it was that Bin Laden believed that he could beat America when we have the strongest military in the world with the best trained and equiped soldiers (both mentally and materially). I told them while we watch the movie feel free to ask questions and they did. They asked right from the beggining why it was that our soldiers in the Black Hawk that were overseeing the UN food delivery could not open fire on the Somalia terrorists that open fire on unarmed civilians. I told them that the rules of engagement said that the enemy had to fire at the soldiers for them to be able to fire back. My sons could not believe that our military was hamstrung in such a way that they could not even defend the innocent.
Congratulations! Mrs. Soap is a patient woman.
I hope your son stays safe.
Indeed to liberals, our military are the enemy. Matthews was all bent out of shape because the military sees right through this weak liberal in the WH, and knows that he doesn’t care an ounce about them. Thus 3 months to come to a decision to send 75% of what his commander on the ground asked him for. Thus all his hand wringing about the cost of a necessary war, but none about the cost of endless bailouts, billions in pork for his cronies, billions to buy votes just to get his health care bill debated,and a trillion for his socialized medicine plan.
God bless our troops.
Why don’t they just go ahead and paint targets on the troops and get it over with?
What all these half-hearted PC half-measures, we almost deserve to get terror-nuked at this point. What a lesson.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Obama is sending fewer troops than requested after waiting months to make the decision. He’s given a hard deadline for withdrawal, which just tells our enemy to sit in a cave and keep their powder dry for 18 months. Said deadline is coincidentally before the 2012 election, which allows him to look good to his base and hopefully Afghanistan won’t turn into Somalia before Nov 2012.
Does anybody really think Obama has the best interest of the Afghans and our troops in mind? All I see is self serving political calculation.
Much more important is ROE….Rules of Engagement….you could send 100,000 troops and if you tie their hands not much is going to get done. If you have to “Make Nice”…while your enemy is doing every thing to kill you….stay home. So the Afghan people see us…”making nice” for 18 months and then leaving them to the taliban….who will not “make nice”, who will butcher not only everyone who in any way supported the “nice” Americans, but their families as well…Well they can “Hope” that the taliban might overlook them? At least the brave commander in chief knows that Christy and the rest of his press will cover the carnage as a Great Victory for himself alone.
Hard to believe the A Charlie Brown Christmas was preempted for this drivel. The cadets that had to sit through that were definitely going above and beyond the call of duty. In the future his speeches should be scheduled for the middle of the night with an audience of Dem and MSM sycophants so as not to disturb the lives of ordinary Americans.
I always thought the objective of war was to impose your will on the other side. Nothing in the speech gave me any confidence of that objective or any other. Did I miss something?
That Obama is President is truly this country’s greatest embarrassment in it’s history.
TrueSoldier. YOu’ve got some smart boys there.
Soap: May your sons be safe and your wife continue to ignore what’s not worthy of her attention…(Matthews).
the poser in chief is the ultimate joke, that West Point cadets had to listen to this clueless clown is a crime. cinc indeed, zero you are out of your element, affirmative action will never prepare the unqualified to be the cinc.
“We will support efforts by the Afghan government to open the door to those Taliban who abandon violence and respect the human rights of their fellow citizens. ”
That’s the dumbest teleprompter I’ve ever heard.
<blockquote“The Cadet pictured in your piece on President Obama’s speech at West Point (December 1, 2009) is not a ‘traditional’ cadet. He is a former enlisted man – and an Infantryman who wears the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. This award is given only to Infantrymen who have participated in direct-fire engagements against the enemy.”
Heh, and he wasn’t paying attention to Barry. Give that man a Nobel Peace Prize.
If they’d web-enable TOTUS, Charlie Brown wouldn’t have to be postponed.
Good article by Ralph Peters in today’s N.Y. Post.
He quotes B. Hussein Obama, “We are committed to a partnership with Pakistan that is built on a foundation of mutual interests, mutual respect and mutual trust.”
Interesting that B. Hussein Obama should use the term “mutual respect”.
In my reading over roughly the last 20 years, I have very often come across muslims’ using that phrase “mutual respect”.
It almost seems that it is a muslim code phrase.
Of course, coming from muslims, that is pure taqiyya, pure BS.
To muslims, “mutual respect” means nothing more than “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is negotiable.”
That is not just another cadet in Michelle’s posting. That is the American Dream, incarnate.
Consider:
This man chose to serve in the US Army. We don’t know why. Maybe he came from limited means. Maybe he has a strong desire to serve his country. Maybe he has a lust for vengeance (like the book implies). Maybe any of 100 things, and likely a combination of quite a few.
So he enlisted, and he saw combat, and he is decorated. Some would say that all veterans are heroes, and you can debate that, but it’s hard to disagree that decorated combat veterans aren’t heroes. This man is a hero.
And this hero decided that he wanted the full American Dream, with homefries and bacon. He took the exam for West Point, he passed it, and now he’s living it.
His American Dream is hardly started. Where is this amazing person going? Is he looking to work his way to a 20+ year career, ending with stars on his shoulders? Will he parlay his drive and brains into a successful private career when his service is over?
I am not looking to deify this guy. He’s a soldier, and there aren’t many soldiers who are still “Boy Scouts.” I’m sure he is plenty rough around the edges.
But he is also the American Dream, live and in motion.
God bless and protect him, and all of the others like him.
Good post.
Thank you.
And yes indeed, please, God bless and protect him, and all the others like him.
He was talking about his poll numbers, ssnark.
Chrissie is dumber than a pile of rocks. He sees nothing wrong with having a phone chat with Al Qaeda yet views West Point cadets as “the enemy.” Why doesn’t he get a job with Al Jazeera then?
As for Obama’s crap speech, I can’t believe they pre-empted “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for THAT.
The blurbs I saw on the news had some great facial expressions (Obama) that I hope will find their way on to “Lie to Me”.
And somebody noticed he had the leadership skills to benefit from a West Point education. Excellent.
The link to the Yahoo pictures of the cadet reading the book shows another interesting picture of him.
He is smiling widely while holding up his book knowing that he was being photographed, and that the Reuters stooge who took the picture might have an apoplectic fit.
Good for him.
What? He just created or saved 30,000 jobs, and he did it at a much lower cost per job than his stimulus plan. I would have thought he would be thrilled about the cost. But I guess he hates to see any money go to the “enemy camp” when it could be going to his supporters to buy political favors.
I predict that our allies in Europe will base there own timeline for leaving Afganistan on Obama’s. They do not want to be there after the U.S. gets out. So they will plan to withdraw BEFORE we do. Then, even if Obama changes his mind and extends the deadline, we will be on our own.
Everyone else will be gone by the time Obama realizes his retreat from Afganistan is going to hurt his chances for re-election in 2012. Does he really think that his base is going to abandon him in 2012 if he doesn’t end the war? Who are they going to vote for — Sarah Palin?
By the time Obama decides to extend his 2011 deadline, all our partners will be gone. And they will not return. In fact, they will be spending the next year packing their bags instead of engaging the enemy. Then we will see who really has the “go it alone” strategy between Obama and Bush. Obama’s speech did nothing to help the troops in Afganistan or the war on terror.
One interesting note about a “timeline” (which I think is stupid) is that if the enemy wants to lie low for 18 months, then good. We can spend more time building the Afghan forces and perhaps the motivation of the terrorists will wane.
Hey Abdul, it’s time to fight again.
Aw, I got a real job in the last 18 months since I stopped being paid as a fighter. I have lost interest.
18 months off may allow some of the zealots to cool their heels and they may not come back as strong and the Afghan army will be even stronger.
Just a thought.
Never gonna happen.
The Afghan forces are themselves muslim; so, how dependable are they going to be against a muslim enemy?
Remember, the Afghan government wants islam to be the basis of the country’s laws (however they worded that statement).
And, muslims have been a scourge to the world for ~1400 years.
18 months will feel like less than a coffee break to them time-wise.
As long as less than the entire world is under sharia law, their motivation will never wane; the only thing that will stop them is superior military power, that will kill them, and kill them relentlessly- if necessary, every last lunatic jihadi – until they leave the rest of the world alone.
For a jihadi, being a fighter seems to be his real job – paid or not; either for loot now, or for martyrdom and 72 virgins later.
Will never happen.
See above.
Not gonna happen, either.
Again, see above.
Doesn’t matter how strong they are; they will always come back, at their strongest possible level, as much as they are allowed to by whatever force opposes them, after however much of their time they have to bide.
Will likely not be a factor.
One more time, see above.
Unfortunately Granite, I tend to agree with you , especially this part:
I saw nothing in Obamas speech that addressed the real issue at hand which you so easily described.
Its written in the Koran for Christs sake. Excuse the pun.
I suspect that the Europeans are less “committed” to this war because they’ve bent so backward to appease and cater to their Islamic populations far more than we have (so far) that the terrorist bulls-eye is on our backs, not theirs. Stolen Pakistan nukes will detonate in NYC and LA and Wash DC, but not London or Paris or Berlin.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
FIFY
After watching, listening and thinking about the speech at West Point, it occured to me who is being attacked.
It may from the moment be the taliban and AQ in Afhanistan. For the moment it was said to be.
However my gut tells me something differently.
The attack most obvious last night was on Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Montana, Maine and Nevada, where ever patriotic Americans are at. The attack was squarely leveled at anyone who loves freedom. The battle plan is designed to be a failure. Except in the sights of those doing the aiming.
This plan with its predetermined exit time is designed to demoralize patriotism. Do you want your son or daughter to be the last American killed in Afghanistan? Who does?
The overarching clarity of the plan is that it is designed to place enough Americans in sight of a hidden and armed fanatic enemy, just long enough to wear down those Americans who have the temerity to actually want to win. This battle plan is designed to defeat their spirit. And it might just work.
No army exists today that can defeat our military, so to aim at them directly is useless. Instead. Aim at the spirit that backs them. The familys that can be split apart by economic difficulties, political differences, sibling rivalry, whatever. Aim at that soft target, by exposing enough troops to ambush. Give them untenable Rules of Engagement.
The answer to this attack is simple. Take back Washington.
Vote out every democrat. In Washington and our local and state government.
The times we live in are too dangerous to trust to corrupt democrats. Our soldiers, sailors airmen and marines lives are at stake.
Is it just me or does everyone else always expect to hear a lie coming from Obama when I hear he utter the phrase: Let me be clear. It is like a bizzare version of Pinochio; instead of his nose growing he utters that phrase. Here are just a few examples:
(note Gen McCrystal has been calling for the troop increases since Aug. Not to mention earlier in his speech he said that he ordered additional troops into the theatre because they were requested).
Yet we have seen what is planned in both Obamacare and in Cap and Tax.
Sure, so explain the Mamogram edicts.
No need to say anything it speaks for itself.
On December 2nd, 2009 at 7:34 am, On-my-soap-box said:
Congratulations to you and your wife on your anniversary.
Thank your son from me for his service to the country. Three tours to the ‘stan and how many to OIF? I’d guess two or three there as well given the force and optempo.
I’ll add him to my prayers for all those who have placed their mortal bodies between those they love and the chaos of war.
On December 2nd, 2009 at 8:21 am, fgmorley said:
For the same reason I’d go back on active duty now if I could. We’ve been set up to lose this war. That much is certain and beyond question. Now, would you rather have a competent man doing what he can to secure a victory against the odds while on the downside avoiding a complete debacle. It’s the challenge of “We are the unwilling, led by the unqualified, to do the unecessary for the ungrateful. We’ve done so much, with so little for so long, we can now do almost anything with nothing.” This has been Gen. McChrystal’s challenge from Mr. Obama from the outset. Nothing new in this current scenario. There are two things at play here. Graduates of the “Q Course” at JFKSWC don’t quit ever. They may die trying but they don’t quit. Second, it’s a challenge to see if he can pull off the win with all the odds stacked against him. That’s another trait of an SF Soldier he’ll Charlie Mike and try to pull victory from the jaws of defeat so long as he’s breathing. Maybe they’re both really the same thing. Mental toughness and indefatigable spirit.
I read the article you posted by Mr. Peters of the NY Post. I try to avoid anything with the taint of New York on it except the NYSE.
I think Mr. Peters is on the money here.
The following are a few excerpts I particularly liked.
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This is absolutely true. But d*mn what a challenge it would be to pull it off and have him scrambling to wipe the egg off his face even if it’s in private.
I love that statement!!! A very good comparison if ever there was one. Saddam’s palaces bespoke of him being just as self centered and narcissistic as Mr. Obama. Although I think in a contest for self aggrandizement, narcissism with an incapacity for self actualization, Mr. Obama leaves Saddam Hussein as Miss Congeniality of that contest.
This emphasizes and expands on the first quote.
All unfortunately true about the subtext that he just sent each of them. I think the Cadet with the CIB, ARCOM and campaign ribbons was trying to send Mr. Obama a message that he should perhaps butt out and STFU. Along with the message that Mr. Obama wasn’t worth paying attention to.
I just hope that brave young Kay-det doesn’t get too many demerits and a reprimand in his MPRJ (or whatever its called now).
Too funny. Except that Obama really can’t figure that one out and that makes it sad. And they say Bush is the dumb one.
On December 2nd, 2009 at 10:41 pm, T-Bone said:
I think he knows it. I think he’s purposely setting us up to take a loss that will set the US military back almost 40 years to where it was in the mid 1970s. That loss and the attack I expect before 2012 will help give Mr. Obama the impetus he needs to build his Okhrana, his “civilian force as powerful and well trained as the military” He’ll sell it that the US needs them for internal security and he’ll use them like Stalin used the NKVD. I suspect his strategy will also include a re-election Gambit in 2012 based on the ‘bread and circuses’ he’s provided for the plebeian masses, his providing new and better security through the Committee for State Security (KGB translated) and elimination of the Bourgeois of society and collectivization of all production in the US under his State run ‘New Economic Plan’ known as GOSPLAN. He will of course win the election in 2012 by a landslide aided by ACORN and other ‘community organizers’ who will provide him with a 200 million vote super majority in the popular vote and a majority of the electoral votes since most of Congress will be guarded by the Committee for State Security since they are threatened by former military members and members of a radical minority known as ‘teabaggers’.
Like the road we’re headed down? Still think he’s stupid. He may be militarily ignorant but, he’s got the old Daley machine as his General Staff.
They know how to lay out political strategy and what he’s going to do in Afghanistan won’t be good for anyone but Obama.