U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson blasts Obama's war strategy in Afghanistan

[seafan]

The Orlando Sentinel reports:


December 2, 2009

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has stared down the Federal Reserve and taunted Republicans on the House floor for opposing health-care reforms, but now the outspoken Orlando Democrat is picking a policy fight with his own party's leader: He's blasting President Obama's basic war strategy in Afghanistan.

"Continuing the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq is a terrible mistake," Grayson said, after Obama told an audience of West Point cadets Tuesday night that he would deploy 30,000 more new troops in Afghanistan and begin pulling them out by July 2011.

Though Central Florida's congressional delegation largely backed the military buildup — most questioned only his timeline to pull out the new troops — Grayson called for an immediate withdrawal.

"We do not need to have troops 8,000 miles from our shore to keep us safe," Grayson said. "I hope the president will reconsider this decision."

.....

On Wednesday, Grayson said he wasn't worried about political flak for his position because he's sure a majority of his constituents in Orange, Lake, Marion and Osceola counties — and most of the country — are on his side.

"Most people in America are sick and tired of war," he said.

.....

Rep. Alan Grayson Quotes Sun Tzu: "No Nation Has Ever Benefited from a Protracted War"







There are a dwindling few in Congress who are unafraid to stand up for the people, for OUR lives, OUR health, OUR prosperity, OUR children, OUR future.


Alan Grayson, Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders still stand, unafraid.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Still the man!

:thumbsup:

[LakeSamish706]

2. I like this allot! n/t

[slipslidingaway]

3. And Eric Massa ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7133709&mesg_id=7133709

"I was so moved by what Rep. Massa (D-NY) said re: Afghanistan that I transcribed it from Tivo for DU ..."

[seafan]

6. Yes, thanks, slipslidingaway, for adding his name.

Rep. Massa is one of the good guys.


The past two days have been infinitely demoralizing.

[slipslidingaway]

12. You're welcome and yes they have been. n/t

[bvar22]

4. K&R for Grayson and others opposing this insane escalation!

Grayson WILL be joined by others from the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party!
Maxine Waters has already voiced her opposition.
I WILL be STANDING with them!
:patriot:

[dgibby]

5. When and if these guys ever start their own party, I'll be first in line.

They make more sense than all the rest of Congress put together. I'm impressed by their courage and fearlessness in speaking truth to power, regardless of political blowback.

[glitch]

7. +my entire family, which is huge and only a start. nt.

[cali]

17. will be joined? Many, many have spoken out- from Louise Slaughter

to Peter Welch.

[reggie the dog]

8. Yes, anti war Democrats

imagine that!

[seafan]

9. Grayson: 'The Constitution didn't contemplate a standing army, much less an army standing in Kabul.'

From Twitter, on December 1, 2009.

[chatnoir]

10. Awesome quote

:thumbsup:

[gateley]

11. Captain Cojones*

* Chris Matthews

[frylock]

13. knr

[QC]

14. Alan better watch out for the Hopemobile! n/t

[VMI Dem]

15. Make room under the bus.

[O is 44]

21. Why? I agree with Grayson but still support

the President just not this decision.

[ipaint]

16. He tells the truth, a rare thing in a politician.

"I think that the basic premise that we can alter afghan society is greatly flawed. Afghanistan is simply the part of Asia that was never occupied by the Russians or the English in the Great Game. It's not a country; it's not even a place. It's just an empty place on the map. It's terra incognita. People who live there are a welter of different tribes, different language groups, different religious beliefs.

All over the country you find different people who have nothing to do with each other except for the fact that we call them Afghans, and they don't even call themselves Afghans. They're Tajiks or they're Pashtuns, or they're Hazzaras or someone else. The things that hold them together are simply the things that we try to create artificially.

And the idea that we could transform that society or any other society through aid I think is entirely questionable. I've never seen it happen; probably never will happen. If you go to the Stan countries north of Afghanistan, and I've been to all of them; what you find is that the way that the Russians altered that society was by crushing it. Stalin killed half a million Muslims in Kazakhstan, in Turkmenistan, in Kyrgyzstan, in Uzbekistan.

He simply sliced off the head of that society in order to remake it in the image that he wanted. And I think that we would have to do no less if we wanted to remake Afghanistan in our image. We'd have to destroy it in order to save it, and I don't think the American people are ever going to do that to anybody. So I think that the underlining premise is simply wrong.

I've been to 175 countries all around the world including Afghanistan, including every country in that region, and what I've seen everywhere I go is that there are some commonalities everywhere you go. Everywhere you go people want to fall in love. It's an interesting thing. Everywhere you go, people love children. Everywhere, they love children. Everywhere you go, there's a taboo against violence. Every single place you go. And everywhere you go, people want to be left alone. And that's the best foreign policy of all. Just to leave people alone."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howie-klein/alan-grayson-on-afghanist_b_315087.html

[seafan]

18. Grayson: "... that's the best foreign policy of all. Just to leave people alone."

".....

I've been to 175 countries all around the world including Afghanistan, including every country in that region, and what I've seen everywhere I go is that there are some commonalities everywhere you go. Everywhere you go people want to fall in love. It's an interesting thing. Everywhere you go, people love children. Everywhere, they love children. Everywhere you go, there's a taboo against violence. Every single place you go. And everywhere you go, people want to be left alone. And that's the best foreign policy of all. Just to leave people alone." ---Rep. Alan Grayson, October 6, 2009

Thanks to ipaint for posting this link. I had not heard these Grayson comments.

[knightinwhitesatin]

19. Grayson under the bus

in 3....2......1

[AndrewP]

20. This is right on

[TheWebHead]

22. I can't stand this freshman publicity whore

... borrowing one of his ill advised words.