Will President Obama end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and and if so, when?

[torgos_pizza]

There is *NO* reason for the war in Iraq- I'd favor a pullout today-
WHEN will President Obama bring this disastrous occupation to a close?
While we are at it- will he shut down the concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay?

[ecstatic]

1. you came prepared! nt

[blondeatlast]

2. President-elect Obama seems to welcome ideas from a broad range of perspectives--so help him out.

What's your plan?

[WeDidIt]

3. LIAF

[stillcool]

4. Yesterday.

[Essene]

5. there is no such thing as "the war" so let's start by undoing the Bush rhetoric

There is a conflict still going with the taliban and alqaeda in afghanistan and on the pakistani border.

There were short invasions and extended occupations. AFGHANISTAN WAS JUSTIFIED... although blundered.

There is no "war" in either case at this point, and there never was a literal "war on terror." That was a political slogan.

We will be withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, as we've been asked. We will likely maintain support of Iraq, and anti-terrorist units.

In afghanista, we still have a long ways to go... and it wont be solved via military, but nor can NATO withdraw from there (and nor should we).

[Roland99]

6. It's happening now. You didn't get the memo?

[Sinistrous]

7. Unfortunately...

Herein lie sources of some of our future disappointments:

Iraq: Will end ASAP. However, expect some troups to remain as a "Military Assistance Group" (MAG).

Guantanamo: Will be shut down in the course of a general return to the rule of law.

Afganistan: Obama has stated frequently that he will continue execution of this conflict until al Queda, or at least its leaders, are neutralized. He may expand the conflict into Pakistan.

[elocs]

8. Shutting down Guantanamo is something that is within Obama's power to do immediately.

He may be limited in how quickly he could get out of Iraq depending upon if a treaty is signed that specifies how long Iraq wants our troops to stay there. Either way there is not going to be any bugout in Iraq, but a phased and orderly withdrawal over a number of months.

I know that President Obama wants to concentrate more on Afghanistan, but I hope he realizes that to zone in on that country and refuse to leave until there is a "win" is a mistake and a trap. History has shown us that Afghanistan is a country where superpowers go to be brought to their knees. President Obama needs to study and learn from history when it comes to Afghanistan. There needs to be a clear and specific goal that is defined for our being in that country along with a timeframe that is also narrowly defined.

The Afghanistan people are warriors and have been for centuries, either fighting off invading countries or fighting among each other. They are not strongly nationalistic, their loyalties being stronger to their tribes or region. Ultimately, if they are unwilling to fight for their own country, then it is not our task to do it for them.

[AtomTan]

9. It's not like he's keeping his agenda secret. It's laid out on the new website.

http://change.gov/agenda/iraq/