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"The Democratic president and his top advisors have faced sharp Republican criticism since Obama announced on Tuesday that he would send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan but would begin bringing them home in 18 months.
Republican Senator John McCain supported the decision to boost troop levels to nearly 100,000 but denounced the July 2011 date as arbitrary and said it "sends exactly the wrong message." Senator Lindsey Graham, also a Republican, questioned whether extremists would see the date as a sign of weakness.
Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, national security adviser James Jones and General David Petraeus rejected those criticisms and defended the president's decision in interviews with Sunday morning news programs, saying the date would begin a transition to Afghan military control."
I really don't understand the uproar about the "date". In a conventional war, maybe, but this is a war against terrorists. The "date" was expressed to make it clear to the Afghans, it is time to get with the program. That expression has been needed there for quite a while. The elections and surrounding controversy I am sure complicated the matter. It was also made to assure the NATO allies that this war is not going to go on for any longer than needed. If the Afghans do not fulfill there obligations, I suspect the plan and approach to get rid of the terroists will change significantly. Those Senators and Representatives know full well what and why this was stated. They are just posturing and feigning their abhorance just for you. They always say things they think will give them political capital, that's all. It appears many of you fall for it, you always do.
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