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President Obama urgently looked for a way out of the war in Afghanistan last year, repeatedly pressing his top military advisers for an exit plan that they never gave him, according to secret meeting notes and documents cited in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward.
Frustrated with his military commanders for consistently offering only options that required significantly more troops, Obama finally crafted his own strategy, dictating a classified six-page "terms sheet" that sought to limit U.S. involvement, Woodward reports in "Obama's Wars," to be released on Monday.
Privately, he told Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to push his alternative strategy opposing a big troop buildup in meetings, and while Mr. Obama ultimately rejected it, he set a withdrawal timetable because, “I can’t lose the whole Democratic Party.”
Politics should play NO part in decisions of war, timetables, withdrawal.
This book will NOT engender confidence and trust from the American people. With his attitude, this looks to be obama's Vietnam.
He should just pull out now, saving lives that will be wasted while he worries about the politics.
During the Iraq War, Democrats ripped George W. Bush for supposedly not listening to his generals about sufficient troop commitments and strategic and tactical decisions in the field. Consider that when reading the Washington Post’s report from Bob Woodward’s inside look at the stewardship of Barack Obama in the Afghanistan war. Not only did Obama ignore the recommendations of his generals, he wound up writing his own war plan to spite them:
Disgusting. His own war policy based on political expediency. We see how well that decision is going in Afghanistan today.
I love Bob Woodward, he has saved this country once before as a young man, he tried to during Cheney Neocon Era, and I hope President Obama listens to him more than warmongers.
I love Bob Woodward, he has saved this country once before as a young man, he tried to during Cheney Neocon Era, and I hope President Obama listens to him more than warmongers.
In case you haven't noticed, due to your blind devotion, Obama listens only to Obama. As with his entire time in office, to him only he matters.
Disgusting. His own war policy based on political expediency. We see how well that decision is going in Afghanistan today.
It's no different than Nixon's "Peace With Honor" B.S. that saw us pushing helicopters off of aircraft carriers and into the ocean as we left Viet Nam.
Unless the United States is willing to double down in terms of troop involvement, and money chances are we aren't going to win in Afghanistan. The national will isn't there to support such a war. The rest of the world has gotten wise with how deal with the United States militarily. Simply send enough body bags home to get folks in an uproar and the country loses its will to stay the course. The President is just being pragmatic about the outcome and planning accordingly.
In case you haven't noticed, due to your blind devotion, Obama listens only to Obama. As with his entire time in office, to him only he matters.
Where did you get the "blind devotion" from? My pick was Dennis Kucinich.
I am simply relieved that Mccain is not in Oval Office! More wars is what you want?
In a democracy with civilian control of the military, politics MUST play not only a role in such things, but the DECISIVE role.
We as a free people dare not EVER leave warmaking to the general's or we'll exist in a state of perpetual war.
You are confusing civilian control by an elected politician, with making decisions on how to fight a war based on partisan political party politics (that is a lot of P), and hedging whether to win a war according to political polls and winning elections.
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