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Afghan Debate Spins out of Control
The debate over what President Barack Obama should do in Afghanistan has spun out of control, The Washington Post reported Sunday. As a candidate, Obama opposed the war, and now as president he is pinned between his stated opposition and his military aides who are asking for a troop increase to turn the war around. Perhaps most notably, for political watchers, is how the White House has turned into a leak machine, with word of each twist and turn in the debate over troop deployment dripping out to the press. The polls highlight the president's dilemma: According to the Post, 45 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the war and nearly the same number say the war is not worth fighting. But those who disapprove of Obama's handling of the war are likely to be Republicans while those who want out are Democrats. With lives at stake so too is the early perception of the Obama presidency.
Demsdisorder
I have a idea!!!! pull the troops out and nuke that rat hole.
keepakeeper43
Sick.
reasonable
That is not "a idea." That is typing random letters on the keyboard hoping they form a sentence. They do not.
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n--Y--cvillekidkscr14
Sick,twisted and down right scary.
briansays
He is trying not to piss off the liberals in the House whose votes he needs for the watered down healthcare bill
Nonplussed
That makes absolutely perfect sense. You are a genius.
winston1
Obama got involved in this war to make Bush's Iraq war look like the wrong war. He also wanted to look more manly than Hillary. Now President Aloof is stuck between a rock and a hard place, he has no idea what to do.
Demsdisorder
winston; i think the BO-man found a place for the hard thing in Asia when he was bending over all day long.
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n--Y--cvillekidNonplussed
"Obama got involved in this war."
Dear god you people are retarded.
Garvagh
winston1 - - I agree that Obama seems to lack an ability to think strategically, and this problem deeply afflicts Hillary Clinton. If Iran is doing its best to keep the Taliban at bay, why not praise Iran's efforts?
bwshook
We need to pull out the USA troops in Afghanistan; have our allies do the same; and end the war the way we did with WWII. Nuke them. Only then will the Afghans understand; maybe Pakistan will get the message about supporting the Taliban.
hfb1053
You know, there's a certain strange logic to your remark. WWII surely was ended by Truman dropping the A-bomb. Everyone just stopped dead in their tracks and the war ended. Could that really happen again? We were the only ones with that weaponry but we're not anymore. The whole world could conceivably come to an end.
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n--Y--maladaptedDemsdisorder
You would think a guy that a guy who could lay down a line of BS a mile long (with a prompter) could run a country?? i guess not.
Nonplussed
I can only laugh when you wackos actually make fun of Barack Obama for using a teleprompter. The amnesia is unreal.
Demsdisorder
nopulse. he isn't qualified to do this job and i think its showing don't you?
hfb1053
Here are Alinsky's 13 Rules:
1. Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. Never go outside the experience of your people. It may result in confusion, fear and retreat.
3. Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear and retreat.
4. Make the enemy live up to his/her own book of rules.
5. Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.
6. A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.
7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
8. Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
11. If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside.
12. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it.
Mal - I now see more clearly how you present your arguments and why. These rules are Orwellian politcalspeak and tell more about the person who uses these rules than the people they use them on.
Compared to Bush, Obama is a wonderful politician. However, I do think his lack of decisiveness in Afghanistan is a real problem. Obviously, he lacks experience but that's why he has his team of militarists to help. I have great respect for Robert Gates and hope that Obama will listen to him more. He needs to make a decision.
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n--Y--maladaptedNonplussed
The editors here frequently get the summaries wrong -- often very wrong. Considering the quality of the news and of the commenters, I actually have no idea why I keep coming back. I guess it's that old cliche about a bad car accident...
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n--Y--maladaptedhfb1053
Mal - There's very little doubt that the Dems won the election not only because of Obama but because of Bush. He mishandled things so badly that even previously solid Republicans voted Democratic. That's on Bush. And my experience is the Republican deniers saying that Bush is the past, we should deal with the now and the future is merely a way of distancing themselves and distracting others from the problems brought into this current administration. It's not a brand new day; all those problems came along.
I don't think Obama's communication skills were THE thing. It's the things he said that were THE thing. Just a tad racist of you to say he parroted MLK inflections. He is after all, half black and many, many blacks use that type of inflection. It's not particular to Obama.
If ever there was a lack of substance, you would have to choose Bush as King of the Hill and he could barely read the teleprompter. And while you may think it's a legitimate point of complaint so many of the fellow posters who use that remark only use it to run their mouth as other than that, they really don't have much to say.
Demsdisorder
I do love the pic of the BO-man in the article. looks like he has some pain in his backside from his trip to Asia. to much bending over i guess??
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n--Y--cvillekidDemsdisorder
I dont know why you keep talking about sex. we did have a wonderfull day here today thanks for asking.
DJM168
Obama the Liar has no clue what to do. Oppose the war - Support the war and pledge to win it but deny any and all resources required to actually win the damned thing. Flip-Flop, Flip-Flop... Meanwhile U.S. troops are dying and our inventory is being depleted. And for what? The absentee JUNIOR Kenyan Senator from Illinois is being exposed for what he truly is - a lying Snake Oil salesman that has no substance and cannot lead. That's because he is not qualified to sit in that chair in the Oval Office. Nor does He have any business being the Commanderin-Chief. Hell, we are not even out of Iraq yet! Pull the plug on this debacle and lets get the hell outta there so we can rest our guys, re-equip, retrain, build some more raptors and other things needed (187 F-22s is NOT going to get it done folks - Gates, what an idiot lapdog) and get ready for the Chinese. Because they are comin, whether you bleeding hearts want to admin it or not. Our country is in for the biggest test in its history, and the wrong guy is at the helm.
DJM168
My apologies, I meant to say "admit it"...
diamondgirl
Did you see saturday night live, the skit about Obama and the Chicoms?
Its on the front of DB watch it and you will die laughing
BunnyLee
Obama wouldn't have been elected if he'd acted wimpy where war is concerned. He needed a war to support so he picked Afghanistan. Bill Moyers had an interesting program Friday night; it consisted mostly of Pres. Johnson's actual conversations with politicians and generals in the mid 60s. 58,000 dead later, I wish Pres. Obama and all of Wash. would watch it.
P.S. TDB...Too bad you can't edit out the mean-spirited stuff I so often read. So many people lack a spouse to verbally abuse or a dog to kick I guess.
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n--Y--maladaptedDemsdisorder
truer word never spoken here..
hfb1053
He may be without experience but calling him without principle is not so. If you want to see no principle, let me refer you to Bush. He enriched himself as did Cheney with many off the record oil deals in Iraq.
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n--Y--maladaptedoaklynne
It's so cute when the conservative trolls use words like "principle" which they themselves so obviously lack.
oaklynne
mal, be honest now, everything you post is hyperbolic.
DJM168
Amen, Brother!
diamondgirl
hey Stalker, here is the post of Obama issuing the order to have his Peeps spend 500,000 to bash Palin this week. Chicago thug who is afraid of Palin..LOL
He is such a wimp
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/11/20/obama-organizing-group-palin-book- tour-dangerous/
BunnyLee
Okay...my point was NOT to knock Obama, Chicago, etc., etc., but to say that NO politician can get elected in this country -- the good ole USA -- if he/she comes across as anti-war.
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n--Y--maladaptedBunnyLee
President Johnson was willing as well. I just wish that America would say NO to murky-purposed wars. That would solve the problem once and for all. And I just wish we'd say YES to equal rights. (I'm convinced Obama also lied about opposing gay marriage to get elected.) But they ALL (politicians) have to lie... or look for another line of work. Maybe in the end, Barack won't let us down. I know, I just wish....
oaklynne
mal writes: "Obama will say ANYTHING to further his goals." Funny that's just exactly what I think of TDB conservative trolls. Try and deny it.
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n--Y--maladaptedoaklynne
mal, sorry, when it comes to ad hominem attacks, the conservatives hold the prize.
TaterSalad
How can anyone deny this one then?????
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#..
hfb1053
This video has taken some remarks and extrapolated snippets of remarks and made them look like something they are not. Are you that easily fooled?
DJM168
Yeah dude, keep on beliving that... HAHAHAHAHAHA!
jst4horses
I think we need to realize that daily the LAPD and LA Sheriff handle bigger problems than these tiny countries. We need to train special forces, ASK those who want help and if they do, train their special SWAT teams here in America, and let them go home and settle down their own countries. We need our own young people to stay home, increase our homeland bases, and our homeland training so IF we need help for disasters, or some kind of riot or drug war, we have them here, and God forbid, a real war is out there, they are here, trained, and on reserve to protect and defend America, not be sent out into forsaken areas no one wants anyway except the natural gas and oil barons who are using public funds for their own private welfare programs to get what they do not deserve.
If people have religious wars, find areas to section off and say, you stay here, and you stay there, or we are going to bomb Y;ALL, and that will be the end of it, One huge bombing raid, gone, done, and did.
ngrabowitz
I believe the accurate headline is that Dan Balz Has Determined The 'Afghan Debate' Has Spun Out of Control. And in the absence of clarity about what a controlled debate consists of, I think the more appropriate newsflash is that Dan Balz Can't Follow the Afghan Debate That He's Been Reading and Meta-Reporting About.
laughorcryagain
how obvious is this what a joke
bam has decided to send in more troops, he has to or else we lose so he keeps waiting for the polls to tell him its a good time to launch the decision
what a coward
W made the war a bigger priority than politics and the GOP paid the price. BUT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO
Bam is a political sleezeball
OldCrow
As a candidate, Obama DID NOT oppose the war!
Quite the opposite. He is unable to make a decision.
Dither, dither away.... time for another state dinner or date nite.
What a rookie.
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