CNN - "Clinton: We don't intend to cut and run from Afghanistan"

[TomCADem]

Remember when the mainstream media was trying to spread rumors of Hillary Clinton being marginalized in the Obama administration? Hillary prominent role in forming the Afganistan strategy and President Obama's agreement to a surge that she supported demostrates that these rumors were untrue, and that Hillary and the President have been able to work together closely.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/04/afghanistan.clinton/index.html

Brussels, Belgium (CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected suggestions Friday that the Obama administration plans to abruptly cut and run from Afghanistan.

She emphasized that the transition to total Afghan power will be gradual and responsible.

"I want to make clear to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan that we're looking for a long-term partnership," said Clinton, speaking with CNN's John Roberts in a wide-ranging interview about U.S. policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan.

When President Obama announced sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, he said he intended "to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011" in a responsible transition that considers "conditions on the ground."

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. "Afghanization": Now there's new and improved ....

...one might even say 'transformational' .... concept that we can all really get behind.

[saigon68]

2. Seen this before

It sure worked good the last time </sarcasm>

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. In other words, we're ......

"Waist Deep In The Big Muddy "

Some people never learn. OK, Barack. You have an excuse: you were running around in shortpants. But Ms. Clinton!


Waist Deep In The Big Muddy :
It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was a member of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.
The captain told us to ford a river,
That's how it all begun.
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,
But the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place.
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him.
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over,
We heard a gurgling cry.
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been.
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!
< Waist Deep In The Big Muddy Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ >

[saigon68]

10. Ms Clinton was helping Old Billy DODGE THE DRAFT

In the days of my little "Cluster Fuck"

[spiritual_gunfighter]

4. I am having flashbacks! n/t

[G_j]

5. Do Obama Officials Know What his Afghanistan Plan Is?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/04-11

Published on Friday, December 4, 2009 by Salon.com

Do Obama Officials Know What his Afghanistan Plan Is?
by Glenn Greenwald

On the vital question of whether Obama is committed to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in July, 2011 -- or whether that's just an aspirational target subject to being moved -- the statements from key administration officials aren't merely in tension with one another, but are exact opposites:

Agence France-Press, yesterday:

President Barack Obama's administration said that a July 2011 target date to begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan was not set in stone. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and the top uniformed US military officer, Admiral Michael Mullen, sought to sell the new approach under fire from Obama's hawkish Republican foes.

During hours of questioning by two key committees, they made clear that his target date of starting a US troop withdrawal in 19 months' time -- a step some anti-escalation lawmakers, especially Democrats, had cheered -- could slip.

"I do not believe we have locked ourselves into leaving," said Clinton, who added the goal was "to signal very clearly to all audiences that the United States is not interested in occupying Afghanistan."

Gates said the extra troops Obama had ordered to Afghanistan would be in place in July 2010, that a December 2010 review of the war effort would shape the pace of the withdrawal, and that the target date could change.

CBS News, Wednesday:



I asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs if senators were incorrect calling the date a "target."

After the briefing, Gibbs went to the president for clarification. Gibbs then called me to his office to relate what the president said. The president told him it IS locked in -- there is no flexibility. Troops WILL start coming home in July 2011. Period. It's etched in stone. Gibbs said he even had the chisel.

What could possibly explain a contradiction this extreme with regard to a question so central to the policy Obama just announced? How can you have the Defense Secretary and the Secretary of State testifying in front of the Senate that the July, 2011 date is "not set in stone," that they "have not locked oursleves into leaving," and that "the target date could change," while the President is saying exactly the opposite: that "it IS locked in - there is no flexibility" and "it's etched in stone"?

Is it remotely possible that the months of extremely careful, cerebral, thoughtful deliberations produced complete ambiguity on this central point, or is it that Obama's plan is designed to be sufficiently ambiguous so that nobody knows what it actually entails and everyone can therefore be told that it means what they want it to mean? And which is worse?

[KG]

6. there is no 'plan'.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. So, now we have people dying for Hillary's ego gratification.

How very...political.

[Deja Q]

8. But are we cutting and running from America?

(okay, this response has nothing to do with Afghanistan but has more to do with an irrelevant tangent to the quote stated.)

[Amonester]

9. mmm... me wonders Who 'accused' who of wanting to 'cut 'n run' from...

... and for what reason, exactly?

(what is this constant repeating of retardlican's attacks modus operandi??) :shrug:

and which is which? 18 months or... NEVER (until we're bankrupt)

[tblue37]

11. The "cut and run" meme should be retired altogether. I am appalled whenever

a Democratic politician uses it.

[RufusTFirefly]

12. CNN put words in Clinton's mouth. She didn't use the phrase "cut and run."

I'm appalled by its use too. It comes straight from the right-wing playbook.
I've heard Secretary Clinton do some saber rattling in the past, but she did not use the phrase.
The CNN correspondent did. He should be ashamed of himself.
But, alas, I'm not at all surprised that he used it.
It's all part of the corporate media's job of manufacturing perception.

[Nikki Stone1]

13. Thank you for clarifying this. What words did Clinton use?

Thanks.

[RufusTFirefly]

15. Her words were more measured and diplomatic. Just as you might expect

"I want to make clear to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan that we're looking for a long-term partnership."

[Nikki Stone1]

16. "Long term partnership" does not equal "won't cut and run"

M$M does it again....

sigh.

[EFerrari]

20. I wonder if any people on the face of this planet

can possibly mistake what the United States means when they say they want a "partnership".

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

14. Me too!

:puke:

[reggie the dog]

17. cut and run is a bushism,

isn't it?

[EFerrari]

18. Um, Secretary Clinton, the people of Afghanistan want us out.

[upi402]

19. Clinton Republicans - no surprise. n/t