Obama is NOT Bush, or even Bush lite

[whosinpower]

And his strategy in Afghanistan is NOT a continuation of the Bush Doctrine.

How short our memories are. How quick we are to condemn. How mcfastfoodIwantitallright now of us.
You know one of the things I despise the very most of Bush, was that in the days, weeks and months that followed the September 11 attack - the world was united for a brief moment. Not just republicans and democrats, not just Americans - the ENTIRE FREAKING PLANET. Once. And Bush took that opportunity and utterly wasted it. The final treachery being the invasion of Iraq.

Was the correct thing to do was invade Afghanistan in the first place? I have wavered on this for as long as the war has been going on, being an antiwar sort of person. Afghanistan is a failed state. It has a 9th(?) century culture, no central government and a loosely knit tribal society. Desperation, poverty, illiteracy, civil wars, invasions, occupations have all made Afghanistan a ripe area from which terrorism can thrive. If you want proof, you only have to see the New York skyline.

So let me correct you all who think the Afghan war is a "Bush Doctrine." Bush never wanted to go into Afghanistan. He desperately tried to find a connection so that he could invade Iraq. The Iraq War, controlling its oil resources, IS THE BUSH DOCTRINE. He was forced to go into Afghanistan and wanted it quickly done so he could pursue his REAL agenda - Iraq. What resources can the US exploit from Afghanistan? We all know this. It is fact. To say that Obama is just continuing the Bush Doctrine is rubbish.

What happened at Tora Bora - THAT IS THE BUSH DOCTRINE.

I gonna git Osama Bin Laden - dead or alive....and six months later....I don't care at all about Osama Bin Laden. THAT IS THE BUSH DOCTRINE.

Obama seeks a way to leave Afghanistan as an area that is NOT ripe for terrorists to exploit. Bush could of cared less. Do I need to remind you all of the PDB - Al Quaeda determined to strike the United States? You all recall - the one he ignored. His focus, his eye was fixed on Iraq - the whole time.

I hate war. I really do. But you/we cannot just leave Afghanistan as it is. I believe the decision that Obama made is the responsible one - the one that accepts the consequences of increasing or decreasing the level of troops. It is, at the end of the day, not a continuation of the Bush doctrine, but an attempt to finish what Bush never really cared about.

[blm]

1. I do agree with you. Bush LIED and used Afghanistan as a cynical stepping stone.

Obama was stuck with no good choice, and, though I don't agree with his final decision, I do recognize that the choice he made and the emphasis on focus of Al Qaeda and human services for the Afghanis makes me more comfortable that it has a chance to succeed, and, so that withdrawal becomes more likely, too.

[Cha]

11. Thank you, blm..it's

heartwarming to see critical thinking around here.

And, it would be nice on tv too.

[FSogol]

2. k & r n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

3. This is why I can no longer listen to Rachel, Keith, Ed or anyone on the left

who makes this indiotic comparison. I am a liberal, but sometimes I think my liberal brothers and sisters are so short-sighted and blinded by emotion that critical thinking and analytical reasoning go out the door. We are faced with the daunting tasks that this administration confronts. We know nothing about what goes on behind closed doors or how governance takes place. While I don't agree with everything Obama does and have been disappointed in some of his actions, I'm willing to stand behind him and just put faith in the possibility that he knows what he's doing.

[Clio the Leo]

4. Ed's actually gotten a little bit better.

But, ultimately, they're all just trying to produce a TV show. Dont let them bother you.

[ginnyinWI]

5. has he stopped yelling yet?

I turned him off on his first day because of the yelling.

[Clio the Leo]

7. lol, no, he still yells.....

.... but he's not yelling AS much at the President.

(because now he's mad at Tiger lol)

[Parker CA]

6. "We know nothing about what goes on behind closed doors ..." Bingo!

[lxlxlxl]

8. agree...

+1 for you

[Kitsune]

9. The Bush Doctrine is not about being a conniving bastard, it's about redefining "war"

While there was certainly an entire other level of deceit going on regarding Tora Bora, the fact is that the Bush Doctrine merely states that war can be waged on the basis of a threat that does not yet exist and may never exist. The purpose of the Bush Doctrine is to eliminate the need for a casus belli.

By continuing the war in Afghanistan, as Obama said last night, to counter any potential future threat that Al-Qaeda may pose to the national security of the United States, he is endorsing the Bush Doctrine. This does not mean he is an ex-junkie son of a CIA spook, but it does mean that he too feels that his hands shouldn't be tied by something so prosaic as a reason to go to war.

[blm]

13. Yes, we know the TECHNICAL points to the Bush doctrine. But, it cannot go unsaid that Bush was LYING

about his goals in Afghanistan to gain cover for his invasion of Iraq.

And...Al Qaeda already attacked us and continue to attack other places in the world. Afghanistan was NOT a pre-emptive mission for the American people and most lawmakers.

I was against sending more troops, but, I will give Obama the 18months to succeed in his military mission focused more narrowly on Al Qaeda so that that withdrawal plan can finally be omplemented, knowing full well that BushInc set up Afghanistan to fail for the previous 8years so the fascists could HAVE perpetual war in that region.

[Prism]

10. Not Bush is not good enough

A Democratic politician should aspire to much more.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

12. There simply were no good options on the table. I'm 100% convinced of that.

No matter what he did, the opposite of that decision may have created a situation far worse. For now, I stand behind the president in hopes that he and his advisors know what they're doing. But compare him to the worst president and most corrupt administration in the history of this great republic is absolutely ludicrous!!!

[HopeOverFear]

14. can no longer rec, but will kick.