Gates: 'A few years' of combat in Afghanistan

[DEDixon 39]

Afghanistan, what a waste of time. Transforming a country that has very few educated people is next to impossible. It will take a generation to get Afghanistan stable and this is only if the ones growing up now are well educated. Well, we know the generation growing up now can't get a good education among the rock and rubble so probably more like 2 generations to get these people from either fighting someone else or fighting among themselves. Yeah, it seems that the extremist, when the external enemy no longer exists, they turn on each other unless they are ruled by a dictator.

When will it be okay to exit Afghanistan is the big question.

Is the USA under the anti-war President going to be in Afghanistan the whole term of the anti-war President?

Where is the outrageous among anti-war liberals? Everyday, this war becomes more Obama's war than Bush's war so I wonder when the anti-war President will exit the country of rocks and rubble?

Anyone think this war is just a way to keep our enemy from focusing on the mainland USA and even Europe? Keep the enemy busy offshore so they don't have the leisure to plan attacks against the USA and Europe?

What a total flipping waste of US resources.

Can anyone say "permanent US military bases in Afghanistan" with me... a chant? How long after we are there do bases are termed permanent?

Where are the anti-war liberals?

[peejay 327]

Where are the anti-war liberals?

Obama's sh*t don't stink. As long as he is driving the bus the silence will be deafening. Fair and balanced? You know better than that. Obama is nation building. Anyone else is a war monger.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Where are the anti-war liberals?

Obama's sh*t don't stink. As long as he is driving the bus the silence will be deafening. Fair and balanced? You know better than that. Obama is nation building. Anyone else is a war monger.

the liberal silence is deafening.

[HAL 9000 96]

Where are the anti-war liberals?

Obama's sh*t don't stink. As long as he is driving the bus the silence will be deafening. Fair and balanced? You know better than that. Obama is nation building. Anyone else is a war monger.

the liberal silence is deafening.

Drowned out by the health care nutjobs.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Where are the anti-war liberals?

Obama's sh*t don't stink. As long as he is driving the bus the silence will be deafening. Fair and balanced? You know better than that. Obama is nation building. Anyone else is a war monger.

the liberal silence is deafening.

Drowned out by the health care nutjobs.

is that the current topic in this thread?

[HAL 9000 96]

Where are the anti-war liberals?

Obama's sh*t don't stink. As long as he is driving the bus the silence will be deafening. Fair and balanced? You know better than that. Obama is nation building. Anyone else is a war monger.

the liberal silence is deafening.

Drowned out by the health care nutjobs.

is that the current topic in this thread?

[RDDIXON 0]

I wish when Pelosi went home just a little while ago for her break, she was met with anti-war protesters to remind her that in 2006, the dems won many elections by running on an anti-war platform.

She hasn't done anything to end any war, NOTHING!

[alienlovechild 75]

Afghanistan, what a waste of time. Transforming a country that has very few educated people is next to impossible. It will take a generation to get Afghanistan stable and this is only if the ones growing up now are well educated. Well, we know the generation growing up now can't get a good education among the rock and rubble so probably more like 2 generations to get these people from either fighting someone else or fighting among themselves. Yeah, it seems that the extremist, when the external enemy no longer exists, they turn on each other unless they are ruled by a dictator.

The Afghans are tough to beat because they have little to lose and fight because there's not much else to do.

There's a strong political reason behind this war because it's the "right war" that liberals could push for while slamming Bush for the war in Iraq. There's no real peace movement so there's no pressure on Obama from the left that wants all the goodies in government spending.

Despite all talk for 8 years that our allies weren't going help us more in Afghanistan because they didn't like Bush, the truth is it was an excuse for ISAF forces which haven't been that aggressive except for a couple of countries. There's been no bigger long-term commitment by our allies so all Obama's campaign speeches fell on deaf ears.

[DEDixon 39]

News headline on Yahoo reads "3 militants killed on the eve of Afghan election"

LOL, I wonder why they bother with such of headline. 3 killed, 498,324 to go!!!! Yeah, this war will be over soon.

WHERE ARE THE LIBERALS NOW THAT OBAMA HAS A WAR?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We broke it we bought it - simple as that really.

Regardless of the duplicity that got us into this position, the US has an ethical responsibility to stabilise those countries and repair the infrastructure that it has destroyed. If we weren't prepared to do that we should have never got involved in the first place.

Never really thought it would be possible for the US to pull out of either Iraq or Afghanistan overnight, regardless of how tired the general public are of paying for these wars.

Should be an object lesson of the need to think and ask questions before we start shooting - or at the very least be a bit better at scrutinising the people who want to run the country before we elect them into power and jump onto jingoistic band wagons.

Edited August 19, 2009 by Private Pike

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

News headline on Yahoo reads "3 militants killed on the eve of Afghan election"

LOL, I wonder why they bother with such of headline. 3 killed, 498,324 to go!!!! Yeah, this war will be over soon.

WHERE ARE THE LIBERALS NOW THAT OBAMA HAS A WAR?

I imagine its no longer a front page issue because people are more concerned with their own immediate interests - staying employed and making their mortgage payments in the middle of a recession.

[almaty 19]

Where are the anti-war liberals?

Obama's sh*t don't stink. As long as he is driving the bus the silence will be deafening. Fair and balanced? You know better than that. Obama is nation building. Anyone else is a war monger.

the liberal silence is deafening.

not by me..my son is in kandlhar today and hopefully, he come home okay..

obama plan is for me, wait to see if it works...it was obvious Bush plan did nothing in iraq,...

[Peikko 1,575]

Right.

Also, there should be a demand to proceed more closely to the Dutch model in Afghanistan if the west is serious about ending this.

There are a lot of articles daily on the conflict, just not from page 'popular' media.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Things have changed in Iraq at least - if you think back to that summer (2005 or 2006?) where Bush kept saying stay the course over and over while no change of direction emerged from the White House (a clear indication that they were at a loss for how to control the violence) - which ended up with them being effectively forced into action by approving the troop surge.

Obama was right to say that Bush had taken his eye off Afghanistan - they didn't deploy enough troops to bring about a conclusive victory in either theater.

[nowhereman 1]

I find it highly offensive and totally inaccurate to describe everyone who "slammed Bush for the war in Iraq" as clueless liberals. Something like 70% of Americans felt that going to war with Iraq was a mistake (and I'd make an educated guess & say that maybe 20% of Americans are liberals). That leaves approximately 50% of non-liberals who did not agree with President Bush in going to war in Iraq. These numbers are educated guesses but I guarantee they are pretty close to reality (within 5-10%).

Most of the individuals (including myself) who supported the war in Afghanistan but not Iraq did so because a credible link to terrorists was found with Afghanistan, but not Iraq (Cheney himself recently admitted that there was no link with Iraq).

Again the VJ right is stereotyping and labeling to get their point across... heavy on the rhetoric and light on the facts. If you guys want to be taken seriously please dial down the mindless rhetoric... not everyone who disagrees with you is a liberal or socialist. Even if they are all that means is that they are the direct opposite of the VJ right, which makes their views just as extreme as yours (just on the other end of the spectrum).