For 1st time "the light at the end of the tunnel of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is suddenly visible"

[Pirate Smile]

In Declaring Drawdown, Obama Takes Back Control of Afghan War
For the first time in ten years, the light at the end of the tunnel of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is suddenly visible

By Michael Cohen
Jun 22 2011, 11:35 PM ET1

To understand the implications of President Obama's speech on Afghanistan this evening, perhaps the best place to start is not with what he said tonight in public, but what he allegedly said in private 18 months ago. Then, as he was making the decision to take the advice of his military and surge 30,000 troops to fight a war he had inherited, the President posed a leading question to his top general:

Inside the Oval Office, Obama asked Petraeus, "David, tell me now. I want you to be honest with me. You can do this in 18 months?"

"Sir, I'm confident we can train and hand over to the ANA in that time frame," Petraeus replied.

"Good. No problem," the president said. "If you can't do the things you say you can in 18 months, then no one is going to suggest we stay, right?"

"Yes, sir, in agreement," Petraeus said.

Tonight the bill on that promise came due. Reporter Bob Woodward's 2010 book-length account of the Obama administration's decision to escalate in Afghanistan shows Obama siding with Petraeus in 2009, but only ambivalently and conditionally, and in a way that suggested he was willing to give the counterinsurgency strategy a chance but was not convinced of its success. If there is one overriding takeaway from Obama's speech tonight, it is that the same President who 18 months ago was led by his generals into an escalation that he didn't appear to fully support has now taken back control of his policy in Afghanistan. Right now, that means leading U.S. strategy down the path of de-escalation. As Obama said, this not the end of the war in Afghanistan, but it's certainly the beginning of America's effort to "wind down the war."

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/06/in-declaring-drawdown-obama-takes-back-control-of-afghan-war/240897/

[dflprincess]

1. "Light at the end of the tunnel"? I first heard that song 40+ years ago.

Didn't believe it then; don't believe it now.

[slay]

5. Same here

SSDD.

[bulloney]

18. We'll still ultimately keep 70,000 troops in Afghanistan.

That's part of why our military budget is so bloated. We invade and occupy countries because of communism, al quaeda or whatever and we never leave. It just keeps accumulating. We're still occupying areas from WW II and the ensuing Cold War.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. Complete nonsense!

the merchants of death are not going to give up this cash cow without a fight. We will continue to spend Trillions of dollars over the next decade occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. I will bet that every soldier withdrawn will be replaced by a "contractor" of some sort at twice the pay.

[TheWraith]

3. Uh huh. And has that been the case in Iraq?

*crickets*

[ChrisBorg]

6. Or Kuwait

[ClarkUSA]

4. This withdrawal is the first of its kind since US & NATO entered Afghanistan nearly a decade ago.

It is a clear signal that the beginning of the end of the Afghanistan war has begun.

[Common Sense Party]

11. Or, a cynic would say, it's a clear sign that re-election campaign season has begun.

I don't know any such cynics, but I imagine that's what they might say.

[mkultra]

22. the cynics also say obama is all talk

despite having the highest number of fulfilled campaign promise in modern times.

[ClarkUSA]

23. Thank you.

:thumbsup:

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. K&R

:kick:

[GSLevel9]

8. US troop losses are at a 8 year high...

I call BULLSHIT.

[MissDeeds]

15. Agreed

Complete BS.

[Tx4obama]

9. Pulling out ONE THIRD of our Afghan troops is like Biden would say: A BIG F'ing DEAL :) n/t

[Zookeeper]

10. Call me cynical, but I think the military and defense contractors...

want the troops available to deploy to Libya, Syria or another Middle-East hotspot.

Peace is the enemy of profit to our military-industrial complex.

I have heard from a soldier, who has already served in Iraq and Afghanistan, that he was told he was not going back to either country and is being "saved" for someplace else.

[StarsInHerHair]

12. the whole point of the game is to keep people giving money & JUST BE PATIENT

http://www.amazon.com/Confidence-Game-Manager-Streets-Bloomberg/dp/0470648279 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_game http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/confidence-game_b_189269.html

as you can see this scam is being used not only in the money laundering operation in Iraq & Afghanistan, but also the Banksters & their bailouts......just wait a little longer & "things will turn out fine":sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: of course by going along they bleed you dry &/or bankrupt you/the country/etc

[Itchinjim]

13. "The President was clear in stating that the troop drawdown will "continue . . . at a steady pace"

and not be dependent on conditions on the ground".

Guess that's not good enough for some DUers

[bowens43]

14. bottom line

this unnecessary war continue for many years. After the draw down, 18 months from now we still have 70000 troops on the ground.

This is nothing. This is smoke and mirrors.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Is the OP even remotely aware of the historic irony of that phrase?

[Bluenorthwest]

17. Bad choice of phrase

Heard that one before somewhere....

[tekisui]

20. Turning a corner! The enemy is on the run!

[LiberalAndProud]

19. Thanks for this, Pirate Smile.

I would like to believe this truly predicts Obama's trajectory on the war in Afghanistan. If it isn't just a show for keeping a promise that isn't really being kept, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Meanwhile we joined a new war in Libya. That doesn't increase my confidence in Obama as a peacemaker.

[mdmc]

21. a stable pro west secular unified Afghanistan is now in reach

such utter bs,