General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow much did Jan Brewer's "surreal" undercover trip cost the taxpayers of AZ and the US?
I can think of no real reason why the governor of Arizona has any need to go to Afghanistan unless it is to bolster herself for a run for public office. Jan Brewer has nothing to add the war effort, she did nothing to bolster the troops, all that she did was cost the US taxpayers a whole heap of money so she could go sight seeing.
As Brewer screams for more cuts, as she dismantles democracy in her state, as they ignore votes of the people so their hand-picked religious zealots can achieve office, Brewer decided to go to Afghanistan.
Oh, wait... now it makes sense. She needed to see how it is done first hand so they get it right in their state.
1. Religious zealots all armed and ready to take over. Check.
2. Hard-lined Religious zealots taking over government and stopping voting, women's rights, education. Check.
Brewer wasn't checking on the war effort...she was seeing how fascists and zealots take over a country.
Now it all makes sense.....
Scuba
(53,475 posts)DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)Unless she is having an affair with Taliban leadership....
think
(11,641 posts)DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)Darly314
(23 posts)Perhaps a LONG rest is in order, YEARS in fact.......I want to know IF there was an unauthorized, INTENTIONAL touching, is this being reviewed by the State/District* attorney? There is no 'minimum' level for battery. Of course Dick "I had OTHER PRIORITIES than military service" Cheney shot a guy, and flew away..........
*Florida uses the term "State" Attorney, I do not know AZ legalese.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)She stopped in Washington to visit someone and then flew on to Afghanistan.
Just the cost of protecting her was probably half of what I make in a year...
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Lots of them.
hack89
(39,171 posts)like every other Governor has used when they flew to Iraq or Afghanistan.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)From the comments to the on-line article, Arizonans are not much liking her trip ... all except for the usual suspects that excused her cutting of education, medicaid and refusing to set up a healthcare exchange, (and spit fire, whenever President Obama leaves the Whitehouse), who are trying to spin this as a patriotic mission that all elected officials should take.
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)mention it.
RoxyNexus
(39 posts)A U.S. District Magistrate ruled Wednesday that the man suspected of setting off an explosive device outside of a federal office building in CasaGrande last week will remain in custody as both a danger and a flight risk.
Magistrate David K. Duncan scheduled a preliminary hearing next Tuesday for AbdullatifAlyAldosary, 47, in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.
Duncan also appointed an attorney for Aldosary, but said the lawyer will have to keep track of hours worked on the case in the event that the $20,000 Aldosary has in a bank account can cover his legal fees.
Aldosary is accused of detonating an unknown explosive device about 8:30 a.m. Friday outside the U.S. Social Security Administration Building at 501 N. Marshall St.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/free/20121205social-security-explosion-suspect-set-court.html
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Abnredleg
(670 posts)She is the head of the Arizona National Guard, as is the governor of Missouri who is making the trip along with her, and I would argue that she has an obligation to visit her troops deployed to Afghanistan. A quick Google search reveals that in the past years many governors, both Democrat and Republican, have visited their troops in places such as the Balkans, the Middle East and Southwest Asia so it is not an out of the ordinary thing for a governor to do . As to costs, there is a constant stream of aircraft flying to and from Afghanistan so I doubt there were much in the way of additional costs.
Not to say that there aren't political benefits to visiting the troops in a combat zone but it is hardly a "surreal" trip.
randome
(34,845 posts)She didn't keep it secret - the DOD kept it secret. Trips by politicians to war zones are typically quick in and out visits lasting a couple of hours with no advanced warning.
randome
(34,845 posts)OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)....why would she start now unless she had a political motive for doing so?
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)anybody when they're out of the state and called to active duty overseas. They're not "her troops" over there.
OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)I don't see what the big deal is - if we want our leaders to make informed decisions about wars and foreign then they need to venture outside the borders. Unless you expect them to take the military's word for what is going on.
atreides1
(16,079 posts)Now they have to be part of a dog and pony show, just so an outgoing politician can use them to pad her resume!
hack89
(39,171 posts)We would simply clean up a little extra and remind the troops not to say "fuck".
julian09
(1,435 posts)she should have taken sheriff Joe with her and stayed.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)I understand when they go out on trade/commerce trips and the like, but it's kind of silly that they would have anything to do with foreign war theatres. They can certainly visit the wounded and veterans when those folks come home. And edit to add: If Jan Brewer's doing it, you KNOW it's pointless.
hack89
(39,171 posts)then I do think they should visit. First of all because the governor is the state NG commander in chief and therefore has a responsibility to understand what they do and to see that his troops are being treated well. And secondly the voters expect the governor to care about their sons,daughters, fathers, mothers, etc - they trust local officials more than federal officials and they want to see their governor is involved.
I don't see what the big deal is - this has been happening forever and will continue as long as their are politicians.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)is Jan Brewer". If it was routine and all govs do it, why the sudden fuss? Obviously she (or her staff) means to call attention to it, to further her political ambitions. Other than that, the NG stops being the responsibility of state governors on active-duty deployments. I don't expect my governor to go to Afghanistan, I think he should concern himself with state business--if there's any concern over treatment of troops on active duty deployments, that's a Congressman/Senator and DoD issue. So we disagree.
hack89
(39,171 posts)Island Deac
(104 posts)Has made ANY sense from Arizona lately? Brewer? McCain? Cardinals?
Ptah
(33,032 posts)Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)In contrast, in my home state, whose postal abbreviation is often confused as being that of your state, we now have Republican Congressman representing all 4 districts, the first time that has happened since Reconstruction
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)You make mention of that and give no evidence, details, etc. I'm curious, are there any facts attached to this?
Occulus
(20,599 posts)It served no legitimate governmental purpose. They're not 'her' troops, she had nothing to add to the war effort, we have plenty of wounded soldiers here for her to exploit visit, etc., & etc.
Lots of legitimate questions, beginning with, why did she go?
hack89
(39,171 posts)when National Guard units from their state deploy.
Where have you been for last 10 years - there has been a steady stream of governors, Dem and Republican alike, visiting the war zone. It would be hard to find one who has not.
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)The OP states she used tax payer dollars for her trip, which is in fact true. The OP makes NO mention of defrauding. Interesting spin there from you.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)It is a non-partisan issue.
Then-Gov. Janet Napolitano made a similar unannounced trip to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007.
Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/mystery-solved-arizona-gov-jan-brewer-made-unannounced-visit-to-afghanistan#ixzz2EI1XMTIM
OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)it can be argued they have a moral obligation to visit their troops overseas. As a soldier I would expect it.
OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)....as a soldier, I would be a lot more concerned about coming back unharmed than the posturing of some politician who will never be in my foxhole and may never have served in the military.
hack89
(39,171 posts)that is why it happens. It is not a big deal.
OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)every unit I was with expected and enjoyed such visits.
And I think you don't understand the bond between a state and it's National Guard or Reserve units. It is unlike regular army troops - these are citizen soldiers that are not separate from and unknown by the public. In RI every time a NG unit leaves or comes back the Governor and many political leaders are there.
OldDem2012
(3,526 posts)...I saw the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs very close up for a period of about a week, and that was one time more than I ever saw a politician during my five years of active duty. Heck, I saw more French, Italian, and Spanish politicians overseas than I ever saw US politicians!
To be honest, I don't think you understand the extent to which politicians will resort to grandstanding on any issue, especially those involving the military. They don't give a crap about the troops, but they care a great deal about their public image.
I think we need to agree to disagree because you're not going to change my opinion on this subject and I'm not going to change yours.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)serving than Arizona.
I'm no fan of Jan Brewer but her visiting Afghanistan is typical of any US Governor.
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)plenty right here she could have exploited for her idiocy.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Holy crap.
Sid
hack89
(39,171 posts)since she had no valid reason to go either, I can only assume it was to learn from the Taliban in preparation for her job as head of the TSA.
Damn near every governor has made a trip to either Iraq or Afghanistan - especially when National Guard units from their state are deployed. Governor are the commander-in-chiefs of state NG units when not federalized - it can be argued they have a moral obligation to visit their troops overseas. T
stonecutter357
(12,697 posts)You seem concerned?
hack89
(39,171 posts)and is not a big deal.
I see people making a mountain out of a molehill because they don't like Jan Brewer. Why don't we see similar criticism when popular democrats do exactly the same thing?
Governor Nixon (D) of Missouri is either there or just completing a trip to visit the troops. This thread me thinks, is much ado about nothing.....
peace13
(11,076 posts)99Forever
(14,524 posts)That austerity stuff is for the little people, not high rollers like self-important govs. Do you doubt that it was possible that Brewer might have been able solve the problem of Afghanistan by visiting there on your dime?
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)to go to Afghanistan?
If I lived in Arizona, I would be crying foul so loud that Brewer would have to resign. What a waste of tax money. And even if she paid for it herself, doesn't she have better things to do?
Zorra
(27,670 posts)to pay for her travel expenses and accommodations on her little vacation in Afghanistan?
Is she an expert in military affairs, such as troop withdrawal? No, she is not.
What does this to for the people of the US, or the people of Arizona, who are also paying her incompetent ass while she is off on a useless spending spree.
And republicans would have us believe that they are interested in cutting government spending.
Considering this stupid little escapade, it is no wonder that Arizona is at the bottom, like 48th, in competency of all US state governments.
AZ Lib
(19 posts)Leather Lifts are expensive!!!
Walk away
(9,494 posts)that has ravaged her face. That sounds like republican science!