« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Obama-McChrystal Gap Widens

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  October 21st, 2009 at 04:21 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

How many more soldiers will needlessly die before Obama makes up his mind on Afghan strategy.

President Obama’s announced decision this week to remain undecided on new troops in Afghanistan for weeks, or even months, rejects his top commander’s determination that without urgent reinforcements the war may be lost.

At yesterday’s White House press briefing, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs reconfirmed that President Obama had not decided when a decision on a possible troop surge for Afghanistan would be reached.  At issue was the forthcoming runoff election in which incumbent Hamid Karzai will compete again, after an earlier polling was apparently tainted by voting fraud.

“The UN, NATO, the US stand ready to assist the Afghans in conducting the second round,” Gibbs said.  He added, “Whether or not the president makes a decision before that I don’t think has been determined.

Tags: ,
Get Alerts

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • Ausonius

    That was the picture on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal.

    To have Scary Kerry whispering in your ear: Halloween is close, is it not?

    MAObama wants nothing to do with victory – as he said so – or even containment: the goal is to empower the downtrodden against the evil racist imperialist Americans.

    The strategy is to do nothing for as long as possible, and then declare the War On Terror over: it becomes an international police problem then, a la Clinton.

    Except that MAObama will do even less than Clinton.

  • http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

    Betray your country, Marry an airhead heiress, and become a huge expensive tool?

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/williamgainey billg

    this is now a POLITICAL ACTION and the POLITICIANS in CHARGE have no willingness or desire to WIN. THEREFORE, NOT ANOTHER DROP OF OUR PRECIOUS MILITARY MEMBERS’ BLOOD OR INTELLIGENT OFFICERS’ BLOOD SHOULD BE SHED IN THAT GOD FORSAKEN LAND! Our troops and intelligence folks need to come home. THE USA CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO BORROW MONEY FROM THE CHINESE OR OTHERS to finance a war which there is no political will nor desire to wink! We have larger and more important issues to tackle at home in the USA. The first of which is to restore the role of the Constitution as the governing document in this land and some “czar removal” and “red cleaning” in our governments! God Bless the USA.

  • Thomas_Hauber

    Obama appears to be more and more like Carter every day.

    God help us.

  • http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

    but I am not disagreeing, it is just awful. Carter is certainly the most worthless American leader ever.

  • johnt

    Cap & Trade, power, domestic control, crush perceivrd enimies & annoying free speech. War, national defense, America’s ultimate safety, that can wait, and wait, until we slither out of there.

    Trouble is, the terrorists will follow us. But liberal intellects don’t think that far ahead, if they think about it at all.

  • BlueLandRed

    but to say he was the worst ever is hard to take when he’s competing with candidates like James Buchanan allowed the country to side into a Civil War and the infamous Millard Fillmore.

    How about we just say that Carter was the worst President of the 20th Century?

  • bk

    After all, look, there are three things that we can say with confidence about what the government of Afghanistan will look like after this election. It’s going to be weak, it is going to be pro-American, and it’s going to be corrupt. That’s how it was yesterday, and that’s how it will be tomorrow.

    More or less corrupt and more or less weak, but that’s how it will be, and that’s how it was a year ago. So it’s not going to depend on the outcome of the election. That’s the card that we’re dealt in Afghanistan, and that’s going to be.

  • http://impudent.blognation.us/blog kyle8

    Thing is, Millard Fillmore and James Buchanan are far enough removed that we can only base our views on what historians have written and old records taken out of their milieu.

    But Carter, I can be sure of. His unique blend of radical politics, scolding puritanical attitude, narcissistic insistence on his own certitude, traitorous adulation of all left wing dictators and revolting anti-semitism are fresh in my mind.

  • Third Street

    Buchanan, one of the most worthless, ineffectual, incompetent leaders we ever had, just sat there as the Union dissolved and did nothing, that’s true. But at least he sat and did nothing because he considered himself constrained against taking action by the limits of his constitutional authority. There hasn’t been a Democrat in the last century who worried in the slightest about such things.

    Plus, Jews didn’t fall over dead everywhere Buchanan went, so he had that over the other Jimmeh, too.

  • anotherindyfilmguy

    on the basis the “O” has any intention whatsoever of winning that, or any war…
    Maybe the right question is:
    “How many Troops have to die before the O blames Bush for leaving him with an ‘non-winnable’ situation and pulling out of Afghanistan?”

    or maybe:

    “How many Troops have to die before the O decides ‘America is humiliated enough” and declares the war over and pulls out?”

    or maybe:
    “How many ‘right wing voters’ can be taken out by not reinforcing them properly?”

    Just a few thoughts…

  • http://www.theminorityreportblog.com/blog/loren_heal Socrates

    Meaning that he didn’t decide anything.

    That fellow was not the slightest bit ready to be President.

  • BlueLandRed

    Given the over all cost of the war and in hindsight, I’m not so sure that Bachanan’s strict interpretation of the Constitution should continued to be seen as a positive.

  • nessa

    Formalize the criteria for “Suckitude” and rate them all.

    What I wouldn’t give for an ineffectual, incompetent leader again.

  • Xasteius

    Unfortunately, they’ll probably end up in front of Fox News headquarters.

  • DavidS1787

    leave this mess to Obama and retire………. They don’t need Obama’s indecisivenes…….

    After all Obama Emanuel, Axelrod and Biden think they are the best generals ,so let them go to Afghanistan and fight .

  • DavidS1787

    many more soldiers will die needlessly. Also put how many days it has been since Obama received the McChrystal Report and make sure it is self updated until Obama Responds.

  • IJB

    He was every bit as bad as Carter.

    Filmore is not in the same league as the others.

  • DavidS1787

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    Here’s a good blog with a good chronology. Says the General’s report was delivered to Obama on August 31, 2009.

    http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/2009/10/05/bluntness-speaking-plainly-speech-on-afghanistan-from-gen-mcchrystal-angers-obama-white-house/

    This site has casualty figures for the coalition forces. It says the U.S. has suffered 40 fatalities in September and 30 so far in October. So, 70 Americans have died in Afghanistan during Teleprompter Boy’s dithering.

    http://www.icasualties.org/OEF/ByMonth.aspx

    Here’s what Wikipedia says about icasualties.org:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICasualties.org

    In honor of those Americans who fought and died, in my stead, for my rights, I am exercising my rights to be involved in the political process within the Republican Party as a precinct committeeman.

    And, this is worth watching again:

    Thank you.

    ColdWarrior
    www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com

  • DavidS1787

    because any General I remember that voiced an opinion was disciplined in some way publicly or in private.