Obama Has Same Position on the Beginning of a Drawdown in Afghanistan

[jenmito]

today as he had yesterday as he had the day he ANNOUNCED the date. He ALWAYS said July 2011 would be the START of a drawdown, to start transferring power to the Afghans, and that the rate would be conditions-based. Despite all the hysteria going on, NOTHING HAS CHANGED in his position.

Check out this article from Dec. '09:

OSLO - President Barack Obama said Thursday that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, set to start in 19 months, will be gradual, and U.S. aid to that nation will last for years.

"We're not going to see some sharp cliff, some precipitous drawdown," Obama told reporters in Oslo, where he traveled to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

The president said he is sticking to his plan to start the drawdown in July 2011, but he signaled that the United States will help Afghanistan train its security forces and develop its economy for some time.
...
Obama said there should be no confusion about his intentions.

"Starting in July 2011 we will begin that transition, that transfer of responsibility," he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34364105/ns/politics-white_house/

[vaberella]

1. Why are those other threads still standing, it's a blatant misinformation.

Ugh...and to see the people posting in agreement. :(

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Andy823]

13. Also

I think some only come here to post things that are negative about the president and his goals. I know that I have read many posts here by the same posters since the president was elected that are "always" negative! Some are very obvious about their dislike, some prove to be right wing plants trying to cause problems, others may simply be those who's candidate did not win the nomination. The hard core right winders that come here usually don't last long, but I do think that there are some who have been here for some time, and are smart enough not to get banned, but still able to try and cause divisions, and sadly it works with some posters who go over to the "dark side"!

Now I have no problem with people who have disagreements with president Obama, I myself do not agree with everything he does, has done, or will do, but I know for a fact he is better that what we had, and better than what we would have had if McCain and the dimwit VP he selected would have won. I also know that even though things have not gone 100% the way I would have liked to see them go, the president has done a lot of good things since he took office. Sure there are things he has not done, "YET", but he still has time. He has done more good for this country in his short time in office than Bush did in his entire 8 years in office! The mess he was left was done to make sure the could not get many of his plans accomplished. The right knew they couldn't win, and they knew they had to leave things so bad that they could use it against him until 2012 to prevent him from getting the changes we need done! I think he has surprised them by doing so much and that's why they are so upset, that and the fact they don't have a clue as to what to do, and no leadership, except for the moron Limbaugh, who never really has a plan, just spreading the hate!

[dionysus]

14. right. and if you're a DU junkie and have read enough to get familiar with people, it's

often quite easy to tell if the criticism is genuine, or based off a grudge...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Meh. Three card monte doesn't work very well...

when the would be mark knows the score on both the dealer and the shill.

[arcadian]

16. And the usual suspects show up in this thread too.

Why am I not surprised? :rofl:

[jenmito]

20. Yup-here you are!

STILL with nothing to say to refute the fact that Obama did NOT change his position! :rofl:

[tekisui]

4. Yes he has. July 2011 has always been a date to start

a reduction. The beginning of the end of the surge. And, it has always been contingent-based. There was never a statement on the number to leave or the rate, only that some would at that date.

Listening to the Brits and Australians, we'll be there past 2015.

With Petreaus, and his likely changes to the rules of engagement, we're in for a long and increasingly deadlier fight.

[jenmito]

5. "With Petreaus, and his likely changes to the rules of engagement..."???

You're just making stuff up.

[tekisui]

7. I am not reporting it as fact. It is my opnion,

my guess that he will.

Jeez. I was agreeing with the OP.

ETA: Joe Klien is suggesting it here:

3. How to Deal with the McChrystal legacy? For the troops, the most controversial aspect of McChrystal's command wasn't his comments, but his rules of engagement--which were enacted in order to protect Afghan civilians, but which most troops considered an unwieldy straitjacket, preventing them not just from closing on the enemy but also, in some cases, from protecting themselves adequately. Petraeus also emphasized protecting the civilian population in Iraq, but he used a less restrictive set of rules of engagement. This will be a big intra-military question he'll have to answer: will he continue McChrystal's strict rules, or will he modify them?

Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/06/25/four-decisions-for-petraeus/?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0rt8NziZ9

[jenmito]

8. Joe Klein's opinion doesn't change the fact that Obama said nothing has changed

except the replacement of McChrystal with Petraeus.

[tekisui]

10. I never claimed he did.

Loosen up. I am in full agreement with the OP. Nothing has changed.

But, Gates has said and Mullen said that Petreaus will have the freedom to make needed changes, such as the rules of engagement.

http://www.stripes.com/blogs/stripes-central/stripes-central-1.8040/could-petraeus-dump-unpopular-combat-rules-1.108717

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen reiterated that point in a Pentagon press conference Thursday, but also noted that doesn’t mean everything will stay the same. Some of specific rules of engagement – when troops can return fire, where they can patrol, who they can detain – could see major changes in coming weeks.

“Any new commander, Gen. Petraeus included, will go in, assess his command and what it is going to take to achieve the mission and certainly has the flexibility to make changes that he thinks are necessary,” Mullen told reporters. “And so my expectation is, certainly that’s what (he) will do widely and make adjustments.”

That’s welcome news for troops in Afghanistan who’ve been quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) complaining about limitations they face in completing the mission there. Earlier this week troops at one base in Afghanistan celebrated McChrystal’s possible firing, citing the restrictions as too severe for their safety.

This change doesn't have to come from Obama, necessarily. He can still give the same directive and the flexibility to his general.

[SunsetDreams]

6. Absolutely K&R He hasn't changed n/t

[jenmito]

9. Why don't any of you unrec'ers say what you disagree with? Hmmm... n/t

[SunsetDreams]

11. lol no kidding

They are sneaky aren't they?

Edited to take out an adjective and a noun.

[jenmito]

12. They sure are...

but thanks for YOUR K&R. :hi:

[SunsetDreams]

15. ...

your welcome :hi:

[arcadian]

19. This post is in violation of the new rules.

[arcadian]

17. This thread is a continuation of another thread and is against the rules.

It's a call out

[jenmito]

18. Thanks for kicking my thread!

How you manage to post so much yet say so little is somethin' else. :rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. You're oddly selective about the rules.

Do you feel they do not apply to you?

[phleshdef]

26. "awww, yer in truuuuuuuble, I'm gonna tell!"

Basically sums up your attitude...

[SunsetDreams]

21. kick again

[jenmito]

23. Thanks again.

:hi:

[SunsetDreams]

25. you're welcome

:)

[jenmito]

24. kick to show facts

[BklnDem75]

27. K&R

Chess! Pure chess!

[DevonRex]

28. K&R for Obama saying the same thing he always said. Thanks for the facts. nt

[jenmito]

30. Thank YOU, DevonRex. n/t

[DevonRex]

31. Facts are important, as are the people who post them here.

:hi:

You're one of the people who strives to get the facts out and that's what differentiates DU from most of the other sites on the net. Facts. And reliance on facts is what differentiates us from Republicans. You did DU proud today.

[jenmito]

32. Awww, shucks...

Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from you. :hi:

[great white snark]

29. Afternoon kick for the truth.

:kick:

[rug]

33. And this is good news?

[jenmito]

34. Yes. Quite a few here claimed Obama changed his position by

backing down from this position.

[rug]

35. I don't care how long he had that position, it still sucks.

[jenmito]

37. Oh well. That's not the point of this thread.

[DCBob]

36. The angry left seems just a prone to spreading disinformation as the wacko righwingnuts.

sad.

[jenmito]

38. Yup-and they refuse to acknowledge the truth, even when put right in

their faces (in the form of threads).