Olbermann on Afghanistan: Get out now

[IndianaGreen]

Olbermann on Afghanistan: Get out now

By prolonging the war, Afghanistan will turn into Vietnam

Mr. President, it now falls to you to be both former Republican Senator George Aiken and the man to whom he spoke, Lyndon Johnson. You must declare victory, and get out.

You should survey the dismal array of options in front of you — even the orders given out last night — sort them into the unacceptable, the unsuccessful, and the merely un-palatable, and then put your arm down on the table and wipe the entire assortment of them off your desk — off this nation's desk — and into the scrap heap of history.

Unless you are utterly convinced — willing to bet American lives on it — that the military understands the clock is running, and that the check is not blank, and that the Pentagon will go to sleep when you tell it to, even though the Pentagon is a bunch of perpetually 12-year old boys desperate to stay up as late as possible by any means necessary — get out now.

We are, at present, fighting, in no particular order, the Taliban; a series of sleazy political-slash-military adventurers, not the least of whom is this mountebank election-fixer Karzai, and what National Security Advisor Jones estimated in October was around eight dozen al-Qaida in the neighborhood.

But poll after poll, and anecdote after anecdote, of the reality of public opinion inside Afghanistan is that its residents believe we are fighting Afghanistan. That we, Sir, have become an occupying force. Yes: if we leave, Afghanistan certainly will have an occupying force, whether it's from Pakistan, or consisting of foreign fighters who will try to ally themselves with the Taliban.

Read more at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34209743/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/

[bigjohn16]

1. K&R

Another great one from Keith.

I have a feeling that we're going to get the old "When they stand up we'll stand down" line tomorrow.

[IndianaGreen]

2. It is Vietnamization with a turban!

There we go again!

[ProSense]

4. With a "turban"? n/t

[vaberella]

3. Yup and he also mentioned there's a supposed exit strategy we're waiting on confirmation.

Which means, if true, Obama is ending this sooner than some people predicted lke 2017.

[tekisui]

6. No timeline. Not based on conditions?

President Obama will outline his plans to send about 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, including how he intends to pull them out of the country and turn control over to Kabul in an address Tuesday night. The withdrawal will not be tied to the conditions on the ground, nor will it be as strict as the timeline now in place in Iraq.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/the-early-word-speech-prep/

[vaberella]

8. I thought we were talking about KO or are you picking and choosing now? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

9. The source was Jonathan Alter of Newsweek

[ProSense]

5. This is the interesting point:

Unless you are utterly convinced — willing to bet American lives on it — that the military understands the clock is running, and that the check is not blank, and that the Pentagon will go to sleep when you tell it to, even though the Pentagon is a bunch of perpetually 12-year old boys desperate to stay up as late as possible by any means necessary — get out now.

Obama needs to announce an exit strategy that makes sense.

[vaberella]

10. If only he could fire everyone at the Pentagon and rehire good people.

Apparently there are Cheney loyalists in that place.

[Sparkly]

11. I do agree with that!!!

No doubt about it.

[Sparkly]

7. I'd agree IF

... it's primarily a military strategy.

If it's part of a much broader, multi-national strategy focused on the POLITICAL situation in the region, and if troops are needed for a very precise, narrow reason within that strategy, then I'd think Keith's view is jumping to a familiar conclusion based on the BushCo fiasco in Iraq (which echoed the fiasco in Vietnam, but without the draft).

I'm just waiting to hear the entire plan and rationale.

[NYC_SKP]

12. Everyone can TRIPLE their understanding of Afghanistan in one easy lesson, Read this Post:

Unless you think you know better than this respected veteran DUer.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7113264

:patriot: