"O-Bomb-A is really letting the people who voted him in down..."

I bet that you can only count on one hand those who voted for obama will look you in the eye and admit that they disagree with their saint!

It is the Whinning, self centered, it's all about me american people I am losing confidence with. We are Fat, Lazy, self centered, Pig headed, and not very well educated. WE have the leaders we have because we voted for them, left and right. Until we actually hold them all accountable nothing is ever going to change and that includes the constant bickering the left and right does every single day.

Rockkenny:

BINGO.

You got that right.

Term limits for Senate and Congress would help.

Vote against your incumbent on elections. (especially if they are a lifer)

Let them know they work for us.

I couldn't agree more. Obama is more concerned about rebuilding the Middle East than he is about rebuilding the country he is supposed to be governing.

I am pleased to know that I didn't vote for him but, also displeased that I'm stuck suffering the consequences of the people who divote him in.

This is a sad time for America!!

I voted for him and he isn't letting me down. I am confident that if my son dies in Afghanistan his lose will mean something to his CNC as well as to his family and nation. Yes, my son, my first born son, my heart and my joy and my pride is a USMC, what are you sacrificing for your nation. I believe Pres. Obama has thought this through long and hard. It is not an easy or comfortable decision for him. But he is doing what he thinks is best for our nation. What are you doing besides complaining and tearing down? If you're a Republican and this were McCain or Bush you'd be behind him 100%. If you're a Democrat, why have you deserted so quickly the man you elected; could you do a better job?

Almost anybody could do a better job. Obama is still campaigning not leading like he should. Is the biggest issue in our country being addressed? Unemployment is out of control.

it would be better to bring our service people home and spend the big bucks in usa on our boarders we could hire many usa workers to build boarder security

Obama is not just a leader, he is the leader America needs right now.

He will focus on helping this country when it comes close to re-election this guy only cares about the popularity, and being in power he has never shown that he cares about what is happening in the country he spends his time having parties and praising how the stimulus has saved jobs from being lost. One thing that this administration and the media does not report on is that once someones unemployment runs out they are no longer on the report for unemployed. So in actuality unemployment in this country is around 18% and we still have lost 1 million jobs in the past month oh we have moved forward by giving car companies that no one can buy cause we are all broke billions. Obama has lost my vote along with al the dems in washington, they are carrying out exactly what the bush administration was doing.

I dont know if any of you serve, but I do, regardless of anything, we are in the war and we need to finish what we started. What happened to an america where there is no defeat?? I still believe it and i believe in this country, I may not believe in all of the people who are running our country, but the freedoms we all enjoy is something that I am willing to fight, and even die for. We need more troops and finally after 3 months of wasting everyones time, and letting more troops die he has finally made a decision, thank you for the speedy decision to those who are overseas right now help is coming and will be there in the next year. To those of you who say we should pull out, I truly hope that none of your loved ones are injured or worse die when we get attacked on our soil again, which is what will happen if we quit now.

i completly agree with you

i think if we ended it now they would go on killing one another tomorrow but at least we won;t die anymore

and when they all kill one another we can steal their oil because we are after the oil, if anyone thinks we actually are their to save these people, that is a crock of @!$%#

The young are the ones really suffering??? You have got to be kidding! Aside from those in the military, most of the "young" are self-indulgent and have no idea about what it is like to truely suffer. Talk to those who have families and have lost their jobs, those who are older and are struggling to pay for health care on a fixed income, those who have lost their homes, military members and their families who don't know what the next day will bring, now THEY know about suffering!

I couldn't agree more!

"O-Bomb-A is really letting the people who voted him in down. I'm willing to give him time, but my patience is almost gone."

I mean with the Bush years you guys that voted that looser back in office, you can't wait two more years? President Obama is once again cleaning up the mess that Bush should of invested in the first place. Bush wanted to go to Iraq while being occupied with Afghanistan, but then you should have asked yourselves how could that be done? WTF!

Thank you Last Angelos. Congress and the pres appear to be more interested in kissing up to the world than fixing things here. As a small business manufacturing owner I am open to paying more taxes to fund social programs as long as those foreign imports that I compete againt get taxed as well. Fair trade vs. Free trade.

And Free Trade is never Free. Just ask the people that work for Wal-Mart. We need to start protecting our jobs and economy here. And we can save our world honor without financially fixing the other economies.

It is not the place of the Gov. to create jobs. They need to get their hands out of the small business's pockets.

Consider this: If the gov't created new jobs at $10/hr, then $20B would create 1M jobs. $100B=5M JOBS.

This logic is completely rediculous. Even if the Gov't had the $100B to pay new employees (note this assumes no cost to administer these jobs), do you really think the Gov't could fabricate 5 million jobs out of thin air. What you are really talking about is called WELFARE.

I can think of several better ways to spend that money, like ensuring national security by securing nations on the brink of collapse like Afganistan and Pakistan (OMG Pakistan!).

Our country is facing REAL issues, which require REAL solutions. This is not a time for idealism. Send the troops, rebuild Afganistan, think ahead to (gulp) Pakistan.

p.s. Who can live on $10.00 an hour anyway? Seriously...

I do not agree with this war, but we have to support our troups, country, and government. Obama is doing awesome and great. Bush (both of them) and the republicans got us into this mess, and all they want to do is criticize the person who is trying to clean up their mess. It is rediculous and shameful that people do not support our wonderful and amazing president. Obama is taking responsibility and taking action. Our troops need to be supported and that is what he is doing. Please get over the fact that Obama is president. There is a reason why he won.

You all cry too much, eat too much, spend too much and complain wayyyyy too much. This is not the U.S. Gov war, these wars are the result of all of our little greedy, oil hungry self centered ways. We want everything so then the Gov has no choice, but to calm your fears with war (for oil) and fighting terrorist even if it means putting us in debt by invading other countries. We are the ones that need to change (U.S. citizens) from there the Gov will change! Remember they are doing this for your fat, lazy, way too scared of everything AS*es. I face the facts and the truth. You should all shut up and change the way we have become. I am a true American by making others stop whinning and letting them see what they are. From there they change. Remember the young men in the past that did things with respect and honor, will they are now fat and lazy with no care of their actions. Pathetic. No other Country fears a scared, lazy boy nation.

Very glad to see you are finally waking up. I only hope it' not too late to turn this humongous mess back in the right direction.

40,000 troops whould have already been sent. O-bomb-a will pay a very heavy price for not adhering to his own general's advice.

This man has no more business being President of the United States of America than does Daffy Duck. In fact, Daffy would probably accomplish a whole lot more by spending a whole, whole, whole lot less.

i totaly agree, i wanted Obama to be Pres cause i thought he would want to deal with our own country befor supporting another. how can we hope to achieve this if we cant even hold oursevles up.

When he was elected, a photo of the multitud appeared in the 1st page of the Houston Chronicle, among the multitud it showed JESSE JACKSON AND OPHRA WINFREY, craying of jubily for the new KING. Wouldn't be nice to publish the very same photo, but now craying because tremendous dissapointment. Where are your promisses, don't you valuate us, the people that elected you?

Let me get this straight... We think there are people in Afghanistan that hate us and want to kill us.

So, our plan is to kill everyone who hates us? Why not just nuke the Middle East now. We up the level of war in Afghanistan the rest of the Middle East hates us more they move their bases/camps to Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, etc.

We can't win a war with a non-country, against an enemy that is mobile, and in fact we will create even more hatred.

I have consistently opposed these wars... Regardless of what leader is telling us we can win this odd battle.

I agree, he is letting me down too.

b-895731 - I appreciate all that your son and your family are sacrificing to be a part of our military. I did not vote for Obama and have not agreed with anything that he has said or done yet, but this I will support because the guys in the field - the generals, have requested it. The generals are the ones who know what is going on there and I trust that they know best, so I will support this action of the President's. I always vote for the best man for the job, no matter what the election is for, unfortunately in this last presidential election there was no one who fit that bill. I can only hope that Obama will get off his personal agenda of socializing America and destroying our economy and begin to act like a President who surrounds himself with people who do know what they are doing then listens to them and to the people. I hope that this war decision is a start in that direction. I'm very afraid that I may be hoping for too much though.

I wish the best for your son and all of the troops over seas.

I voted for Obama and he has been a disaster. Afghanistan cannot be won and we cannot spend our way out of the recession. We need healthcare reform but the plan in the senate is a gift to the insurance industry when what we need is single-payer not-for-profit system like they have in Europe and Canada.

I was hoping for significant change when I voted for a mainstream candidate for the first time in 12 years but the only thing that has changed is the name on the oval office door because the polices of the G.W.Bush administration are still in place.

Democrats and Republicans are two cheeks of the same ass.

I am the last person to defend Obama, but do you honestly think if we withdraw troops and come home or not get the job done, that these terrorists will leave us alone? We will probably be rebuilding the USA, but not the way your talking about. These people hate us, they hate peace, and they hate anyone who disagrees with "their" version of religion. They believe we are lower than dogs, and they think women are even lower than that. Get educated about what we are dealing with. If we don't stop it now, it will only get worse. This is coming from a guy who doesn't like him or his policies, or Pelosi, Reid, Boxer and any other of the communist left. But this time, he made the right decision.

Gotta keep the troops sharp for the upcoming war in Iran.

the government doe not create jobs.

the government workers are just maggots feeding at the tax payer trough looking forward to a disability retirement so that they do not pay taxes on their pension earnings.

adios,

ab

lancaster, prop8ifornia

push 1 for english grings

Yeah, after a whole year in office Obama should have cleaned up the entire s**t-storm created by Bush/Cheney over the previous 8 years. Gosh, what's he waiting for - what a slacker. It took 8 years to get down into this hole, it's gonna take a little longer than a year to get out. I honestly don't know what the best decision is regarding the "war". That's above my pay grade, and I dare say above most everyone's pay grade who posts on here. But the war on terror is a farce. That's like declaring war on jealousy, or sadness, or anger. Terror is extreme fear. Terrorists live to inflict fear upon their victims. You figure out a way to eradicate fear in the world and maybe Obama will hand his Nobel Peace Prize over to you.

BO is spending even more taxpayer dollars and then the talk of a war tax on the already overburdened American people. If Bo really wants to lead America he needs to lead the country into more jobs, more security not more debt. What has he really done to HELP the citizens of the United States of America the only change he has shown us is major debt. If I overspent my household account the way this man has overspent American tax dollars I would not have access to our checking account. Someone needs to hold this man responsible for the mess he is leading this country in and no it cannot all be blamed on the previous administration this man has no idea how to lead this country.

haters, enough is enough. all you questioning your president as a leader without genuine consideration need to question your credentials as Americans. you are NOT benefiting your country with mindless slander.

obama has not done that bad!

this is truth. i'm sorry if you're too small to handle it.

Obama.. a mainstream Politician? Man where have you been the last 11 months? Mars. gently put down the Kool -Aide, take a deep breathe, then go to the nearest Hospital

Bobby-563958- can you read? think.

Yeah, after a whole year in office Obama should have cleaned up the entire s**t-storm created by Bush/Cheney over the previous 8 years. Gosh, what's he waiting for - what a slacker. It took 8 years to get down into this hole, it's gonna take a little longer than a year to get out. I honestly don't know what the best decision is regarding the "war". That's above my pay grade, and I dare say above most everyone's pay grade who posts on here. But the war on terror is a farce. That's like declaring war on jealousy, or sadness, or anger. Terror is extreme fear. Terrorists live to inflict fear upon their victims. You figure out a way to eradicate fear in the world and maybe Obama will hand his Nobel Peace Prize over to you.

Look, I am a pacifist but, like most Americans, I was ready to bomb the crap outta Afghanistan after 9/11. But then Bush and Cheney decided to try a twofront war (didn't learn anything from Hilter in WWII) and to get Sadaam for Daddy Bush and deserted the battle for bin laden (who I hear was in our sights in 2002 but Bush refused to send the troops needed to get him, allowing him to slip into Pakistan). We have to try to finish what we started there. Of course, the GOP will condemn Obama for anything he does. It is hard cause I live in a military town where I see our airmen, soldiers, marines going to the war over and over again. And to people condemning Obama who voted for him----he ran on the fact that we left Afghanistan and didn't finish. I voted for Obama and I would look anyone in the eye and tell them I did and I still support him. He inherited a mess and has tried, against unprecedented antagonism, to do his best. Anyway, I voted maybe because I think time will tell what happens.

This is the great thing about this country. Half the people agree we should be in this war, full force. Then the other half cries in protest that we shouldn't be in the wars. It makes us a part of the war, but appear to not be in the war at the same time.

come on ethan1988! i fought in the persian gulf war back in 1990 and even then people like you were saying "no blood for oil". it's not about the oil, do you think that we would be paying over two and a half dollars a gallon if we had our mitts on the oil?

President Obama is letting this country down is an exuburant way. He made a lot of promises but is only focused on completing one. Health care reform. But even though he is focused on that subject he is doing it in a very poor way that is going to lead our great country straight into the worst economic slump we have ever seen. I agree with more troops in Afganastan but 30,000 that is a joke. It will take a whole lot more to stettle Afganastan. just ask the Russians how many they sent and still lost that war. Come on President Obama get serious and open your eyes so you can see the whole game instead of just you half of the chess board.

WorkerGuy,

There are tens of millions of people in this country being forced to live on $10/hr and LESS. Wake up, moron.

I voted for Obama. He has not followed through with any of his promises. When a tragedy hits your town the first people you would be concerned about and cater to their needs is your own family. Being a good person and an American you would then help your neighbors. Obama does not have his "family" (Americans) first. There should be no money or troops going over seas until we as a country are stable again. We need to stop asking our government for hand outs and start working hard like Americans should. We also need to understand that large corporations are killing the American dream. We don't have a recession problem, we have a large corporate greed problem. We dont have a health care problem, we have problems with insurance companies that are in it for the gold and not our health. How funny is it that congress done away with monopolies and yet they are abundant today. America is a country that leads by example...... NOT BY WAR!!!

The prez will do what he has to do to keep our soldiers and America safe! That's his Job, that's his responsibility! Pres. Obama does not make haphazard decisions. He is methodical, extremely intelligent, and will do what is best for our nation. Moreover, Pres Obama said during the campaign, he would withdraw our troops responsibly. I fully trust Pres Obama's decisions and back him 100%.

Spending $1 Trillion on stimulus = no jobs + congressional slush fund

We already won this war!!! WTF are we still spending billions and losing soldiers for??? Victory? ...You must define what victory means before you can be victorious. Let's just come home already!

Joe Tarner

How can one be forced to live on $10.00?

how about obama does what he promised before he was elected and pull our troops from afghanistan and concentrate on the u.s. Sending more troops and "gauranteeing" there removal in another 18 months is just another ploy. He is doing everything opposite of what he said he would do. He needs to concentrate on our own country because afghanistan is just draining our economy or whats left of it. Our country will not last much longer especially since afghanistan or iraq is not our concern. Who cares how much oil is there since we are getting over charged for gas anyways.

I am not surprised at the overwhelming amount of feed back of none support from people on this subject.I don't want to write a book here to bore all of you but you seem to forget what the United States stands for.

People from every country from around the world Migrated here in one form or another to build the greatest Nation that ever was. People from all over the world every color everyrace came here and we all got together to form a union of freedom for all. Even people from afghanistan came here to help create a Nation of freedom of religion, freedom to be the best that you can be and having the opprotunity to be able to dream a dreram and make it come true here in the United States.

When your country is in need of help we the people of the United States combined will go to that country and help fight for freedom because our fellow citizen comes from that country and if that country is being tormented by oppresion then we combined as the United States will go there and fight for that country to become free.

President Obama is trying I am sure to end this war, it's not a simple task. we Voted for Obama we need to stand behind him and show the world that we the people of the United States that are people from all over the world from every country in this world that we stand behind our president.

I wished President Obama would of said this... Fellow Citizens.... I president Obama president of the United States declare war on afghanistan.

I also wonder why the Chinese won't help us or why don't they take care of samalia while we do our jobs in the middle east, after all, apfghanistan is a neighbor of China.

Let Freedom ring around the world and may god bless the United States

I second the motion.Talking about TERRORIST. How easily do the dumbass's foreget 9, 11.

Lost Angeles: Do you really think you can completely fix 8 years of failed economic and international policies in 12 months? The president wants to use is additional 200 billion to create jobs (works programs) in the same manner that fixed the Great Depression. That wasnt even cured in 2 years then. If you take the total population of the US (137,212,107 as of June 2009) and divided up the 200 billion among every person, we would each receive around 650.00. The republicans want to put it towards the deficit. Funny how they didnt want to do that at the beginning of year 2000 when they were handed a surplus. Ohyea, they decided to give it to the American peole becuase it was ours to begin with right? Wait, didnt they ask for it back the next year??? Thats right, I forgot...I never recieved my 300.00 check but I sure remember having to pay an additonal 300.00 in 2001!!!!

This war was not the mistake. Iraq was. If we had not started the war in Iraq - maybe the Afghan war wold be over by now.

Marks, what makes you think that an all out war in Afghanistan would have solved any thing immediately after 9/11?

Because thats where the Taliban and Al Qaeda were. They admitted responsibility. We should have never left there for Iraq. We had two groups that were known to have caused the worst terrorist attack on American soil in our sights. Spud are you saying its our fault that we got attacked and going into Afghanistan was wrong?

any war is a mistake. we should just use our troops to secure our international borders and keep the terrorists out. the muslim people dont like us or want us in their counmtries. their governments are more corrupt than ours and you cant even tell who the enemy is. what is there to win.

all he is doing is fulfilling prophesy. ".... there will be wars and rumors of wars...". best be gettin ready.

I agree that war is a terrible thing. To say the least it is a vast waste of human, natural and monetary resources. Certainly something that 21st century humans should be beyond, but we are not. That said, terrorism is not something you can just ignore or turn the other cheek on. If someone is killing your family member and you kill the attacker that is called justifiable homicide here in the US. Terrorists, skin heads, racists, haters, etc are bent on killing. I, for one, will not sit by and watch. I will do what I can to prevent the loss of innocent life. Terrorism thrives on random acts of violence. I will continue to commit random acts of kindness but God help the man, woman or child who tries to kill or maim one of mine.

pull them out and then we can listen to you bitch when they are here for we did not finish what we should have. maybe if your family was killed you would have since enought to think different

About time Obama did the RIGHT THING! Too bad he still showed the cards in his hand for a timetable!

Honest Spud - based on what i read here... you are foking clueless.

"based on what i read here... you are foking clueless."

Basement Blogger alert. put on your undies, then read your statement again. Everyone, this is a classic left comment. says some words, that have no context or explaination. wasted breath. I bet you won 1 st grade debate class right?

If your going to post, post something, with, I dont know, a basic sentence of your argument for your " statement".

Bobby-563958 -

bla, bla, bla. what do you think you just accomplished? lol. do you feel better now? i know what i am and i have things hanging on the wall to prove it....

do you? have a nice night.

I agree, get the job done and get out. I abhor war but you can't just sit back and do nothing when you are being attacked (we are not privy to all to terrorist acts that have not been committed as a result of to the due diligence of our police forces and FBI agents). I do not presume that we can solve the world's ills but I sure would be happy to see a decrease in terrorism. Soooo many innocent people have died or been maimed for life.

Someone gets it! Bravo Bowe, he knows we need the surge before we can think about getting out. Glad to see some intelligence on here! Great job Bowe!

Only the educated people want them out... If all of these educated people live in Kabul, there are a lot of stupid people in Afghn. Lot's of stupid people that get to eat through the workings of the Taliban, learn to worship this leadership. Look at Venezuela! If they are allowed to take over this country, expect a lot of new soldiers who aren't educated to hate the US for the same reasons as the Taliban. The last thing we need is a strengthened arsenal of suicide bombers that are off our radar. It may be smart to send in more now to prevent what may come later.

Sean,
The Taliban are already setting up shop in Pakistan. So we send troops to Pakistan next? Then they'll set up in Waziristan, so then we send troops to Waziristan? Then they'll set up in Kyrgystan, and so forth! There is no way we can stop them; for every troop we send in to occupy and fight in THEIR country, destroying THEIR homes and villages, they recruit 10 more freedom fighters. Terrorists are a fact of life now; the only solution is to increase the security of our own borders exponentially and pay a LOT more attention to security within our own country and military bases, etc.

Lynda,

I'll admit that one of the biggest mistakes we've made is pushing the Taliban into a "nuclear" country. Unfortunately, this is the situation our President has inherited. What everyone would like (well, expect for big business benefiting from the war) is to pull the troops out. We can't just go and do that though and I'm looking foward to hearing all the reasons why Obama has come to that decision (if he in fact has). I think he's looking at attacking the root of the problem rather than taking a more passive defensive plan of "wait and see, then hope we can stop them when they attack." Maybe they are too big by then. Terrorism is part of life right now but we have taken a big bite out of their organizations. The key here is to strategically remove our troops in a way that will keep our country more safe in the future. If we can find a way in the mean time to "calm" them down and look at us differently, we can take everyone out and eliminate threat.

Thank You Lynda,

LTC(RET) U.S.ARMY

It seems like EVERYONE is forgetting that Obama was ELECTED into office at a time when we were already AT WAR. Things don't change immediately, and much deliberation has ensued over whether or not it's in our best interest to just pull the plug on the efforts our troops have made across seas. How can you people insult Obama in any way when this is a man who stepped into this administrative role after 8 years of Bush? You can't clean up 8 years of ridiculous ignorance and mistakes in 10 months. So, for Obama to REDIRECT our efforts across seas to a time and place of appropriate use of our armed forces, why would we fault him for that? 9/11 was never avenged. Does anyone recall Bush stating on national broacasts that he was no longer "worried about Osama bin Laden" ? Our troops were instead deployed to a war that was never supposed to be started, while what needed to be done was not.

Hey Linda how long you worked for the CIA at their Mid East Office?

We followed the Japanese and the Germans, why not these ass holes!

I think it is amazing that Obama is going to try and wrap this up within the next 18 months after Bush made nothing but mistake after mistake for 8 years. I guess it is hard for some people to understand that the president knows more than he is presenting to the public. Obviously he is ensuring our safety by helping Afghanistan gain solid ground and destroy the Taliban. As for people who are saying ridiculous things like "we need to get out and keep our military here to stop terrorists from getting in". What do you even mean? Racial/religious profiling? Are you serious? So, what? We are to say, "Hey you look Muslim, let's interrogate you?" How do you determine who is a terrorist? That is so insane. It makes perfect sense to get the military in Afghanistan trained and fully equipped to stop the Taliban and ensure our safety through maintaining a solid and productive relationship with the Afghan people. Why leave terrorists alone so they can plot and then make it to our boarder to kill our people when we can just stop them at the source?

I completely agree it is not our affair to govern the way other countires opperate but I can understand why we went over there, to send a message that when we(U.S.A) are attacked we will respond ...but I believe that message was said already and we need to pull out. Not to mention generals see much more then we as the people are able to be told or shown about what is really going on over there. I think 30,000 is fine if it helps our troops come home, its so easy for us to judge when none of us are over there to see and know whats really going on ...speculation is just that...speculation. And either way if Pres. Obama had of ended the war when he 1st came into office people would still complian ...so he is damned if he does and damned if he doesnt.And I also agree with Obi-450889 our government needs to change and they can start with free health insurance...why is the U.S left behind.

Wow, even when dealing with the subject of war you manage to get around to the "free" health insurance (I'm guessing you don't make much money, so for you it really will be free, those of us who actually work for a living will be paying for you to have your insurance). Never mind that our health care is some of, if not the, best in the world and actually quite affordable compared to what the socialist nations are paying for it.

Obama probably is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't... which is why he's trying not to do either. This speech was a joke. The security of the world depends on us beating the terrorists... so we're going to only have 18 months to do it?!? Yeah, that makes sense. I did enjoy his joke about how terrible it is that both wars have cost us about a trillion dollars combined, as if he cares about such a small amount of money. I mean, he spent a trillion dollars in the first six months of his presidency and has nothing to show for it, so obviously he was joking, right?

If we're going to fight a war, let's fight it in a way that lets us win. The problem with Bush and Obama is they just want to play nice with our enemies. Crush them with overwhelming force, then get our people out, but don't tell our enemies what day we're leaving, they'll just lay low and wait us out that way. Amazing how we go from a dumb Republican to a "smart" Democrat, but the policies just continue to be just as idiotic as ever.

No Sean, tonight this is now Obama's war. Can't blame it on Bush. Obama is the game. he took the snap tonight.

so no Bush bashing. Obama is now in charge of the war.

I noticed he said "close gitmo again. No problem, he can keep sending them to Eygpt black prisions where they do things to them we have never dreamed up yet.

You know Obama has been using the black prision in other countries don't you? It's true. So, doesn that make him like Bush? At least Bush admitted it.

Sorry man, this is Obama's war now. HE made his decision, and we all watched it on tv didnt we?

Obama . Commander in Chief. Bush, retired for 11 months.

Why would the Taliban suicide bomb us if we're not occupying thier country anymore?

Oh yeah, they hate our freedoms.

Teh R de ENmEs!

Missing the point here Bobby... I never said he wasn't in control. I said he inherited our current position and now HE needs to do what is necessary to secure a victory. It's his war now, well, unless he turns out to be right and we're out in 18 months. Then I'm sure you'll want to give the credit to Bush.

Obi wrote.."President Obama should stop being scared of attacks from the right."

I think that you better take another look. Wasn't it George Wills, a Conservative who said .."Get out"

Big question that no one has bothered to address: What does a win in Afghanistan look like? The same question was asked in Iraq and nobody could answer it. When anyone did ask, all you got was patriotic drivel and slogans.

Ed, for a starter, it means more Afghanistan people to be relocated in the U. S. Just as we are seeing more Iraqis in the U. S. . Just as we saw thousands (millions) of Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese, (not so many Germans) relocated in the U. S.

Escalating is the right move. It is a fact that 9/11 was perpatrated by al queda training in/out of Afghanistan w/support from the Taliban. They are the enemy. It is unfortunate that the bush/rumsfeld team wore america out with the frivolous war in Iraq, before this Afghan issue was addressed. Having served proudly in Desert Storm (w/1,000,000 Allied forces) and a tour in Iraq (2003), it is clear to me that we have yet to commit the resources needed to put an end to pacify that country. I understand we have become a country with leaders with no experiance in warfare and think the military is supposed to "sell" them (rumsfeld and the american public) on what the military needs. But that is not how we are constitutionally set up. If the army had not determined me to old, i would go over there and do it myself.- PS change the laws and i will be there in a heatbeat. It doesn't appear to me anyone else will do the right thing.

Ed, thank you for your service to our nation.

We should have dealt with Saddam back in desert storm. Unfortunately, we didn't and we let him make some backdoor deals with our allies to the point where none of them would stand with us a second time. I'm not totally convinced that the Iraq war was the right move, but Saddam was a monster who was supporting terrorists in Israel and killing his own people, that much I AM sure about. Had we dealt with him when we had the chance, the allies, and the support of the Iraqi people, we wouldn't be stuck there right now.

I agree that escalating is the right move here, I just think that it's happening later than it should have. Obama claims that McCrystal didn't want the troops until 2010, but I find it hard to believe that waiting as long as he did served any purpose whatsoever. If having those troops in 2010 is good, wouldn't having them 2 or 3 months earlier be better? Bush should have been doing this escalation a year or two ago rather than leaving it to Obama.

The one problem I see with this plan and any other is that I don't know if Afghanistan CAN be pacified. To say that the people are stuck in the middle ages would be an insult to the middle ages. There is literally no way they can govern themselves through democratic means. The fraud discovered in the last election was probably less than half of what actually went on. I hate to say it, but Afghanistan and Iraq actually NEED dictators of kings or something. No democratic nation has grown out of complete anarchy, there's always been a progression in the past. The people have to be the ones who strive for democracy, it can't be thrust on them. It sounds cold, but if they ready to get the ball rolling themselves, then they need to go back to what they are used to until they reach the point where they actually want to join the 21 century.

Obama admin is so paranoid, they scare each other in the WH hallways.

K in Indiana. He is the President, and i will respect the office, but this guy has been caught, on film, lying and lying and lying and lying. Film of it everywhere

Kind of makes him a liar in my book.

Yea,bethcat, like the majority of American, those "jerks".

WOW!!!! You are an idiot..you are the coward...

I am always amazed at the senseless venom that spews from people in these comments. I did not vote for Obama and I have many issues with his decisions and policies, but I am not willing to attack him personally. I think he is a thoughtful person who just happens to be wrong on a great number of issues. In my opinion, many of his decisions are going to hurt our country.

Even with that, I don't think he is a liar, rather, I think, like every other politician, he layed out what he wanted to do based on the information he had at the time. What he wanted to do then, he still wants to do, but now, he is entrenched in realities he did not fully understand looking in from the outside. That doesn't make him a liar, or stupid, just inexperienced in Presidential politics. Every President in our lifetimes has gone through the same thing.

I happen to come from a very different vantage point than the President on most every issue, but I do not see any other reasonable alternative but to try to do what he is now doing in Afghanistan. I think it's sad, I think success is very difficult to define, and I think that not sending in further support endangers the lives of the brave military men and women who are fighting there now. I want us out of there as soon as we can be, but leaving now would further destabilize the area and create an even bigger mess that could lead, in my humble opinion, to another 9/11 type situation.

Perhaps I'm wrong on this, perhaps the President's wrong as well, but only time will tell. All he can do is make the most educated and informed decision that he can make. I think we have to understand that we don't have the same information that he is looking at day in and day out in his security briefings. We only hear what the media wants us to hear to advance their agenda. (left leaning thought from CNN, MSNBC, etc and right leaning from FOX news, etc.)

Wow Ken...an actual well thought out and truthful statement...without all of the slander and misinformation that these sites are filled with...I voted for Obama and like so many of the silent majority - we're waiting, watching and supporting the guy that's making the tough decisions...With all of the problems that he inherited and all of the fires that were burning all around him when he stepped into the Oval office - I'm not surprised it's taking longer then even he wishes it would. I don't envy him and everything he's dealing with on an hourly basis...We are a VERY impatient nation (we invented fast food because we couldn't wait for someone at home to cook for us or couldn't cook it fast enough for ourselves!!!) and reading what people post all of the time makes it obvious everyone's impatient with our new leader...this is not a time for "fast food decisions"....we need a meal that's been planned and served when it's ready....

well said Jaz!

Bethcat, you're woefully ignorant. Pres Obama NEVER campaigned on ending the war in Afghanistan. To the contrary, in fact. He said Iraq was a mistake, he would end IT, and move the fight back to Afghanistan.

He campaigned on ending Iraq and finishing Afghanistan. He got Pakistan to go after the Taliban and is getting support from other countries. This will be a long and pain full war. If we leave with Ben-laden alive it's a mistake. He said getting Ben-laden would be the goal.

We couldn't agree more. Obama is a master at telling people what they want to hear and then doing what he wants. He is a huge disappoint to most, but not to us. We knew who he was...Until the American people demand that the government that governs best governs least then politics will be about money and power...Until we start following our constitution and paying attention to the philosophies of our founding fathers and Ron Paul we will get what we deserve....a president who isn't qualified for the job and a Speaker of the House, (Pelosi) who flies from DC to CA every week in a private 757 paid for by the tax payers. The gas alone is over 7 million dollars a years and she has the adacity to talk about going green...

Right, oh,oh,oh and Linda. People seem very confused about that. He is simply doing what he campaigned on, and I really admire him for that.

Well said, my friend. People do seem to forget he said he's not against war, just DUMB wars..he also said that the war in Afghanistan IS the war we should have been fighting all the time we were in Iraq trying to steal that country's oil under the directives of Tricky Dick Cheney.

pennie213... yeah, that's what we were trying to do, steal their oil. Sigh... the ignorance is so overwhelming it's hard to even know where to begin. I suppose the CIA is responsible for 9/11 also, right? Probably Tricky Dick Cheney wanted to free up some downtown real estate and needed to knock down some buildings to get the perfect site! Seriously, wake up. If we wanted to steal Iraq's oil, we could do it quite easily.

The problem with Afghanistan is that it is a war that we can't possibly win. There is literally no way. Half the people are stuck in the middle ages, the rest are even worse than that. There is little to no agriculture (except for drugs), no infrastructure, no real schools (and what few there are are either being attacked or abandoned because of the threat of terrorist attacks), and the people are either too scared or too apathetic to stand up for themselves against the Taliban. How are we supposed to win? Kill all the members of the Taliban? Another fundamentalist group will just take their place. Occupy the whole country and force them to upgrade to at least the 19th century? They'll resent us and we don't have the money or manpower to do it anyway.

Afghanistan is a lost war. Even if we kill all the guys we think are the bad guys now, we still won't get what we want. Iraq is winnable, but Obama's basically already declared that we're gone (never mind that that country will fall apart the moment we leave), Afghanistan was never winnable. The best we can hope for is a dictator who won't kill his people for fun and who will maybe let them exercise a little freedom of religion so long as that religion is Islam.

I think you are right that there needs to be non-military solutions. The only problem is, it's not our country. We can send troops and fight terrorists and maybe even twist the arm of Karzai to a certain extent. But in the end, we have no jurisdiction in their country. Short of claiming Afghanistan for ourselves and electing an American "governor" or Afghanistan (not that I'm recommending this at all) we really are not in a position to help with "non-military" means.

I am QUITE certain that he is thinking about and utilizing nonmilitary solutions as well.

We missed the boat on Afghanistan when the people in Washington didn't listen to Charlie Wilson. Had we built schools and assisted them with their infrastructure after the Russians left, any necessary cooperation for tracking down the 6'7" dialysis patient would have been readily available.

According to the recent reports from the Senate bin Laden was in the Tora Bora region in October of 2001 and we didn't put the boots on the ground to take care of business. Declassified intel also has suggested that previous to 9/11 there had been scout/sniper teams which had crosshairs on bin Laden but couldn't get a green light from Slick Willie's command group.

The plain and simple truth is that we have failed to respond in a decisive manner. The military request should have been treated before we became owners of GM.

Com'on guys. You can't win over mindless radicals with talk. Remember the Quran, Mohammed made it quite clear that all infidels must die. PERIOD!!!!! They could care less about feelings, right or wrong, political BSing, threats, niceties, bargaining, isolationism, more talk, more economic threats, etc. This is a waste of time. They simply want you DEAD because you are not a muslim, end of discussion. It's us or them, plain and simple, besides I'd look lousy in a Burka. They've been planning this for several hundred years, if you read the history of this maniacal group. They plan on infiltrating all the free countries until their numbers are unbeatable, and then we all implode. Get on your knees guys. You either face Mecca and worship Allah, or BOOM, a hole in the head or a knife slashes your throat. Lord, I can't get over the stupidity of people who think talk will end their quest for an Islamic world culture. They have already started the infiltration of all the free and not so free countries-------Great Britain, France, Phillipines, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, Africa, etc. Wake up, dummies, we are next---in fact we already have an enormous number of "cells" that are multiplying every day. Get them out of here. They are a danger to us all.

Bubby's bush was the one who let Ben-laden travel to Pakistan. Russian left Afghanistan 4 year before Clinton was president. We should have pump massive aid into the nation.

The sad fact is study history!! Americans trained Osama Bin Laden to fight Russia, now we are going to go in and train more Afghans to fight, what so they can turn on us as Bin Laden has? As for bringing the Afgahns to America my granddaughter now has a restraining order to protect her from her mother's Kurdish ex boyfriend who is stalking her in the United States, I am not saying that all of the people that we let come here from these countries will do this but we also have to remember that they grew up with a different mindset than we did. Instead of worrying about everybody elses backyard we need to watch our own, look at our economy how can we help others when we cannot straighten up our own problems!!

oh oh oh - Bush didn't "let" Bin-laden get into Pakistan, the country is a 252 THOUSAND square mile mountainous wasteland. You try and find one person in an area that size. Clinton, on the other hand, actually had several opportunities to take out Bin-laden... but I guess he was more worried about staining Monica's blue dress.

There is no "non-military" solution to this war. We try to build schools, but the terrorists threaten to cut off the heads of anyone who goes to them. We try to encourage them to use what little crop land they have to grow food, but opium pays better. We try to set up free elections, but their politicians are almost as corrupt as ours. More than that, we have NO money.

Did you all miss the fact that we owe the Chinese a Trillion dollars? In one year we spent more money than the cost of both of these wars combined! And the year isn't over yet! Frankly, if we're going to waste money building schools and roads and trying to have corruption free elections, let's waste that money here! Even better, let's actually have that money before we start wasting it. My grandkids are already paying for all of Obama and Bush's moronic moves and my children have only just entered elementary school.

The American troop surge was responsible for about 20% of the success in Iraq. The other 80% was a combination of the cease fire called by al-Sadr and the Sunnis laying down their weapons against Americans and beginning to fight the insurgents. These facts have were addressed and explained by Obama several times. You still don't get it do you? AND; OBAMA IS YOUR PRESIDENT AND HIS NAME IS CAPITOLIZED.

AND; OBAMA IS YOUR PRESIDENT AND HIS NAME IS CAPITOLIZED.

You do it your way! ...

You missed my point about criticizing Bush and now agreeing that he might have been right on the surge in Iraq!

That would be a big "NO", the so=called surge isn't what worked in Iraq. The Sunnis regretted their initial decision to help Al-Qaida and helped to throw them out. It took them them over a year of begging for us to finally get the help - a bit. Then we paid the Sunni, Shiite and insurgent leaders BILLIONS of dollars not to attack us, which helped bring out casualties down. THEN we restricted our troops to their bases, further holding casualties down.

If you're stupid enough to think violence is down in Iraq just because it's not American soldiers getting killed as much, then I suggest you listen to the real news, like the BBC (NOT FAUX News), and find out what the rest of the world already knows. Violence in Iraq is still rampant.

The "surge" did very little.

No the only thing that has worked in Iraq was putting everyone on the dole. We are paying them protection money.

Finally someone wrote something on here that's not ignorant or arrogant. Thank you. Reading some of these posts really makes me lose hope in our country's citizens!

you don't think much do you!!!

The guy's an idiot! Once you name a date for withdrawal, all the Taliban, etc. has to do is wait us out then move in. After pulling out, the idiot in chief wouldn't dare go back in so we're back to a 9/11 scenario. Declare victory, cut and run then wait for another city to get hit.

His response wasn't a reasoned analysis of the war, it was a reasoned analysis of how he could try to placate both the moderate and the left wing by sending in troops AND setting an end date.

I agree. No one likes a war. Our President is doing his best. God Bless our

military and bring them home safe to their families.

Notice, Obama didn't say we were there to win the war. What the hell kind of war is it that you are not in it to win? Ground troops???? Is he crazy? You can't win in the terrain of Afganistan. Sending in these troops is a sure way to failure. The hell with the ground. Send up our air power. Let's hit them from above where they have no power. All he's going to do is get more of our men killed, but maybe that's what he wants. He has already said to keep air power to a minimum, has cut our air defenses by millions, and he's the one who is putting our beloved troops in harms way. We have the finest air power in the world, and yet he is hampering our dominance any way he can. Gee, I wonder why. Remember what Bush Sr. did with the first gulf war? He destroyed Sadam's so-called magical army in less than 1 week. Those brave Iraqis were surrendering to the press. Had we only gone in on the ground, I doubt it would have been so easy. Wake up Obama, you're either with us or you're against us. Let's WIN this thing, save thousands of our troops lives, and then we can get out of there, with our heads held high. Bring on our fighter jets, our un armed drones, and wipe the Talaban off the face of the earth. Stop being a wimp and do it right. If Reagan were still in office, this thing would have ended long ago, with us the victor and few American lives lost. He's one president who had the temerity of a true fighter of rights, and the way to handle terrorists of any nation. We need a president who is tough, not this wishy-washy milk toast, whose only dream is to be famous and powerful by leading a nation of the defeated, into the promised land of a third world country existence.

We screwed up when the cowboy pulled troops out of Afghanistan and went after Saddam. Going into Iraq without completing the response to 9/11 was a grave mistake which will haunt us for some time to come.

Announcing a time table on this current troop surge may sound good up front, but I fear that Valhalla Phil may be right with his comments.

People can't read. Begin to pull out. The last administration was stupid. Sent troop with out proper armor. Got lots killed, many bought there own body armor, they even went on strike because travel in unarmored vehicles was so stupid. We had thousand of armor vehicle in storage but sent hummer instead because we did want it to look like a war. I would vote the shoot them all.

Nski - "Finally someone wrote something on here that's not ignorant or arrogant."

In other words, finally someone wrote something on here that I already agree with and therefore it isn't ignorant or arrogant. Ugh, the arrogance and ignorance of your statement is almost off the charts... and yet you are too ignorant to realize it. Sad.

Actually, if you looked at ANY of my other posts, you would see that it has nothing to do with what I agree or disagree with. Nothing asserted in the original post is even strong enough of an opinion to make what you wrote credible. Basically, you are looking to disagree with any rational thinking that stands to positively view Obama and the current administration, which is why you feel the need to comment about my arrogance and ignorance (neither of which you'd know anything about from the comment I wrote). I'm not even sure how to respond to the end of your comment because I'm not sure what exactly you're claiming I'm ignorant about. Which part of my comment illustrates that I'm uneducated, unaware, or uniformed? To finally make a statement that essentially says, "I don't 100% agree with what's going on, but I understand why it may be happening," IS NOT ignorant, or arrogant, which is where my comment came from.

Repair the Earth. Thank you. You are right on, the Bush surge was a bust with a good coverup. Unfortunately, President Obama has overrated the intelligence of the average American. We know so very little.

He's our commander and chief people. Quit wallowing around in the freedom that has come to you by way of Americans that back up our commander in chief. Get a life and start supporting the country that feeds your yapping jaws. Are you tha bored. Just think of the freedom you have to be able to call our CIC an idiot. Lot smarter than most of you idiots that have nothing better to do but call our CIC an idiot after all the sacrifices our men and women have endured as well as their families. Go to bed and dream about a perfect paradise. A lot of you (and you know who are) remind me of the type of mindless people that spit on our military after spending time in Vietnam whether they wanted to or not. People that lost their best friends in front of them and then come back to idiots like you.

It is spelled capitAlized you see the O in everything nowaday. I hear Obama and think O-sh-t

Amen!

Very well said. I'm a very proud American with a son and nephew on their way to war, and yes they are fighting for all of us. I am so sick of the anti-American attitudes from some of these people. This man is OUR president for the next three years and I will support him and put my trust in him as a very intelligent man. We need to respect the office of OUR president that was chosen democraticaly by the majority of Americans and quit acting like unpatriotic idiots, The GOP is a disgrace to patriotism at this point.

"The President didn't ask for these wars, he inherited them" That's a lie. He volunteered for the position while both wars were in full swing.

He absolutely asked for them and now their responsibility is squarely on his shoulders. I pray he doesn't pull a Clinton and trigger another 9/11 but, unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath.

"The President didn't ask for these wars, he inherited them" That's a lie. He volunteered for the position while both wars were in full swing.

Absolutely True!!!!!!! He wanted the job - he knew what he was getting into - stop blaming Bush.. Bush is gone - ya know G - O - N - E

What happens now is his responsibility.........let's hope the community organizer can get it right. Let's face it - he doesn't have any military experience, so we're working from his organizational skills. Hope it works!

The wars are almost 8 years old. Bush is to blame for year of mismanagement. At least this guy is fully engaged and trying to get other involved. He can't do any worse than Bush. WWII did take this long.

I say, Right on! And thanks for using proper english. It's a lot easier for me to consider the thoughts of a stranger when I see that they can spell and form a complete sentence ;)

I couldn't agree more! The President inherited the massive problems created by previous administrations and the citizens (we must accept blame for our role in the housing market and credit card debacles) of this fine country. He has been our leader for 10 months and we need to be a little patient as he continues to contemplate the issues based on fact not on gut instincts and determines the best course of action for our country. We need to support our Commander in Chief!

Brilliant? Brilliant? Mr. Telepromter brilliant? Not hardly!

UM Obama is just like Bush because every decision has been made without thought oh wait it was the dems in congress that passed most of the crap that has gone through in the bush era with obama voting with them also, so understand government and understand that in order for policy to get through it needs to go through all branches of gov and dems were in control during the bush era.

Yo, Ohio for Cheney, can you deliver a 40 minute speech w/o a script?! Can you write a 40 minute speech? Pres Obama writes most of his speeches (though they may be taylored by a speech writer). I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts your pastors (if he delivers a coherent message from the Bible) uses notes. I know my pastor does and he is not only a Bible scholar, he is a devout man of God. So I find your criticism pretty lame - not to mention passe.

Oh yes we got "change" that's for sure. Obama aka; "Mr Hollywood" needs to learn it's not all about HIM . Smoke & Mirrors people, that's ALL he's about.

A Muslim through & through, AMERICA IS A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY MR OBAMA !!

God please help us make it through four years of Hollywood in D.C.

Hey Mike, glad someone finally got it right. Obama is "Mr. Hollywood for sure.

God help us all!!!

Many came to American to get away from the evil of so call Christians. My ancestor are Jews and pagans. They became Quakers in America. The so called Christians reports of my ancestor activities are interesting reading.

Mike & Lena - IMHO, American is a country made up of many religious and some non-religious views - i.e., Jews, Muslims and Agnostics. They make up a pretty fair amount of us. In recent years I've grown distrustful of those people who wave a "Christian flag" in my face as much as I distrust politicians. The townhall meetings this summer are a prime example of that mentality. Listen to people who read and think before they speak rather than those who simply speak loudly and profanely.

another thing I heard him say is that we are fighting this war with 43 countries on our side, the same countries that were on our side when President Bush was in office and the liberals kept saying we were going it alone???

Kevin, we're talking about Afghanistan now, alright? Not Iraq.

Barbara, you are right on! President Bush gave us eight years without another terrorist attack on US soil. However, the Taliban is committed to destroying freedom as America knows it. Your recommendation that we use the Predator drones to seek and destroy is a good one. And I'd like to remind everyone of the "Charlie Wilson's War" scenario that recommended that we rebuild Afganistan after the Russians destroyed most of it. We should have built schools, hospitals, and communities where Afgan citizens could live in safety and freedom. If this had been accomplished, we wouldn't be fighting in Afganistan today!

The Taliban NEVER moved to or occupied Iraq. They were and still are in Afghanistan and became stronger there because the Bush administration took their eye of the ball and invaded Iraq based on lies, perpetuated by the neo-con right wingers and hawks who were looking for any excuse to establish regime change there; at any cost! And we as a country have paid and will continue to pay dearly for the misguided actions of the Bush administration. Al Quaeda and the Taliban never existed in Iraq before we invaded it. We are at war with Al Quaeda and the Taliban! Unfortunately, the Taliban ruled and Al Quaeda have been given refuge in the country of Afghanistan. As you rightly suggested, Barbara, we need to defeat those factions by any means necessary and then rebuild the country we are, in the process of war, helping to destroy. The Afghani people deserve our help and protection once our military has completed it's job. I only hope we as country have the resolve to fully complete the mission at hand.

I am sincerely glad to hear someone else mention 'Charlie Wilson's War', what a radical idea. Build some schools, some power plants, rebuild the communities and give them a chance. The Taliban fears most what the people would gain by becoming educated and literate; god forbid that women might occupy desks and join the literati. What a monumental screw-up and unfortunately it sounds like the tag-line for a tuna commercial but, "Sorry, Charlie". Maybe this time we'll get it right.

Why should we pay to rebuild Iraq don't they have oil!! As for Afghanistan do we really think we can win a war in that terrain, we don't know the mountains as the people who live there do. And what makes anyone think that we can go in and change in 8 years or 18 months what has the norm in these countries for centuries? I would like to have a peaceful world, as I am sure most would but come on we have people in our own country shooting their relatives at family get togethers and police in coffee shops, how about addressing our problems??