Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Clinton, Obama, Afghanistan and YOU

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » National Security Donate to DU
 
Goodnevil Donating Member (260 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:04 AM
Original message
Clinton, Obama, Afghanistan and YOU
It seems that both of our primary candidates have been shifting their foreign policy focus to increasing our presence in Afghanistan while simultaneously reducing our presence in Iraq. Does anyone else think this is rather counterproductive as well as Bushian?

Ask the Russians, the Mongols, the British or the Ottomans how easy an opponent the average entrenched Afghan is!

Why are we shifting our foreign policy focus to the Afghan theater? Honest opinions required here, please - any strategic value to quelching the Taliban resistance?
Refresh | 0 Recommendations Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
politicaholic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:15 AM
Response to Original message
1. Government needs to be allowed to leave Kabul...
Right now there doesn't seem to be any say for the government to establish any type of control or rules to be democratic, theorcratic, or otherwise.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
gateley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:15 AM
Response to Original message
2. When it comes to foreign policy,
Edited on Tue May-06-08 11:22 AM by gateley
I always look to Biden for guidance.

He feels that Afghanistan is where we should be focused - where we ALWAYS should have been focused. We never should have turned away and gone into Iraq (as we all know). Now, Pakistan is experiencing unrest (another area Biden has always had on his radar), making it easier for Al Q to recruit and foment more unrest with the ultimate prize being nukes AND delivery systems in one convenient country.

Don't you think we SHOULD reduce our presence in Iraq? Biden asked for $150,000,000 for Afghanistan recently -- One Hundred And Fifty MILLION -- chump change -- and was told we didn't have the money, it's all going to Iraq. (And now, possibly to Iran, who knows?)

EDIT: Here's an interesting piece with Kerry and Biden talking about the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/26/biden-afghanistan-the-f_n_88547.html

EDIT again: Here's what Biden believes should be our plan for Afghanistan:

http://biden.senate.gov/issues/issue/?id=3293310d-b924-4f6f-ad1e-0e10ed218cb9


Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Goodnevil Donating Member (260 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:41 AM
Response to Reply #2
4. I do think we should reduce our presence in Iraq
but I'm not sure if the answer is to shift our troop strength to Afghanistan...seems like sort of a bait and switch shell game.

I'm in favor of sending a blackhawk special forces detachment to Pakistan and take bin laden out. We'll make a martyr out of him but the world will rally to us. Just a thought.

In my opinion, we need to cut our support to Israel, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and exctricate ourselves from the middle east.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
gateley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. I don't disagree with any of your statements.
I think the focus on Afghanistan IS to take out bin Laden and Al Q. And Biden isn't suggesting moving our troops en masse to that area -- he said a single brigade could do it. So, sending a force to Afghanistan and bringing our troops home from Iraq could be accomplished simultaneously.

And amen to extricating ourselves from the ME. But no, now this administration wants to add Iran to the mix. :grr:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Goodnevil Donating Member (260 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 12:01 PM
Response to Reply #5
6. Yah, but is Bin Laden in Afghanistan?
I thought that he was in Pakistan?
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
gateley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 12:09 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. I think he's believed to be in the area of the
Pakistan/Afghanistan boarder, which is a no-man's land. As Biden says, the "border" is just a line on a map -- not an official border crossing type set-up.


Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
reggie the dog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:18 AM
Response to Original message
3. I agree with you.
President Sarkozy recently sent more troops to Afghanistan. We will never win there. The Russians could not win, we will not win. We should get out of Afghanistan. The Taliban had nothing to do with 911. The young American who was put in jail as the "American Taliban" should be freed, after all the Taliban was our ALLY up until we invaded Afghanistan, early in September 2001 the US government gave millions if not billions in aid to them because they were so good at ridding Afghanistan of poppies. When the "American Taliban" joined up with them he was helping an ally. The Taliban were at war with 4 armed factions and let Al Quieda exist because Al Quieda never declared war against the Taliban, so they had a live and let live policy while the Taliban was busy fighting with the other factions. The Taliban never, to my knowledge, helped Bin Laden or anyone having to do with 9-11. We should have never fought against the Taliban AS THEY WERE OUR ALLY. We botched the effort to capture Bin Laden in Afghanistan and we should have never declared war on the Taliban as they could have helped us, but no, we just demonized the whole country and all their different ethnic groups.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
CRK7376 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-22-08 01:43 PM
Response to Original message
8. I don't have a problem with
Afghanistan. I've already served there. That's where OBL started this mess. I don't mind beefing up our presence there either, but I don't think that would help much. I definitely do not support what Shrub did sending us into Iraq.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sun Dec 22nd 2024, 03:54 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » National Security Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC