"Republicans Vow to Cancel Afghan Drawdown Date" By Jason Ditz

[YankeeLeft7x]

Republicans Vow to Cancel Afghan Drawdown Date

Keeping War Going a Top Priority, Insists Rep. McKeon

by Jason Ditz, November 03, 2010
Antiwar.com

“…..Flush with optimism after major victories in yesterday’s Congressional elections, House Republicans have promised one of their first orders of business is to attack President Obama’s July 2011 drawdown date in Afghanistan, despite the comparative handicap that the president already disavowed that date months ago….Rep. Buck McKeon (R – CA), seen as a virtual lock to head the House Armed Services Committee, says that the committee’s top priority will be to continue the war in Afghanistan. McKeon pledged to work directly with commander Gen. David Petraeus to commit more equipment and resources to the war effort….Upon taking office in 2009, President Obama quickly established Afghanistan as his war, dramatically and repeatedly escalating the US presence despite ever worsening conditions. It seems now that he will face challenges from Republicans looking to make it their war instead, and the race may be on to out-hawk one another on the war, despite poll data showing the war is increasingly unpopular among voters….An aide for Congressional Republicans also suggested that the party will be keeping a close eye on President Bush’s commitment to have troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011, a pledge which President Obama eventually endorsed (after abandoning campaign pledges to end the war at an earlier date). This has become a growing issue as the State Department, which is scrambling to assemble its own army to continue the war for years after 2011, has faced warnings it may not be up to the task….”

http://news.antiwar.com/2010/11/03/republicans-vow-to-target-already-disavowed-afghan-drawdown-date/

[phleshdef]

1. Oh man. Please, please, please let them be stupid enough to pick this fight.

[gkhouston]

3. Republicans: the grift that keeps on giving.

With gridlock, the President and Dems can be as anti-war as they like and appease a butt-load of Americans while the Republicans bow to their defense contractor masters. I pity the soldiers and civilians caught in the middle of this, though.

[Dawgs]

2. Not even two days after getting elected and they are already trying to extend the wars.

Americans really are stupid.

[Parker CA]

4. Geezus. These folks have no limit to their madness. Unreal.

[sakabatou]

5. "We're gonna stay there forever"

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. There's your mandate dumbshits! Perpetual Afghan War! n/t

[Sirveri]

7. Aww republicans... Balancing the budget by ignoring the most expensive thing in it...

No new taxes, but we're going to extend the war, and we won't cut any military funding or Social Security.

Are people really so fucking stupid that they honestly believe they can have their cake and eat it too.

Explains our countries ranking on math scores...

[mzmolly]

8. Good. Maybe some will stop insisting that Obama = Republicans

on this issue.

[Bitwit1234]

9. Excuse me folks...but does the HOUSE run the country

It seems to me that Nancy Pelosi did a damn good job of getting good bills passed but they went to die in the Senate. NOW no matter what the republicans want to do, if the Senate doesn't approve the bill FORGET IT. And if he Senate is dumb enough to enable the republican scum in the House they deserve to loose re-election. Of course we can overlook it but Obama still has the veto. And they do need 67 votes in the senate.

[Jester Messiah]

11. Yeah, the senate will remain stuck.

Between that and Obama's veto, I see two years of nothing much happening. If the repubs want to actually DO anything, they're going to have to compromise. I suspect they'll probably try to legislate things that they know will be blocked, and then try to use that in 2012 in the manner of "See? We TRIED, but they blocked the WILL of the AMERICAN PEOPLE!"

Funny how "the AMERICAN PEOPLE" generally means "old white republicans".

...I think I had a point coming into this post, but I seem to have lost it. Oh well.

[karynnj]

10. They can't - any more than we could force Bush to push his up

It is the President's prerogative to withdraw troops. They can pass a sense of the House or senate resolution - but they have no ability under the Constitution - that they have spoken of having re incessantly - to change the President's commanding of troops.

[scheming daemons]

12. This can give Obama a pivot-point to get on the good side of a 60-40 issue

60% of the public wants us out of Afghanistan.

The GOP's insistence on reducing the deficit can give Obama a pivot point to get himself on the "60" side of that equation.



There's an opportunity here if the President uses it.

[denimgirly]

13. Obama will likely Listen.

[stevenleser]

14. So they are already advocating for policies that will increase spending and increase the deficit

That didnt take long.