Mr. President, are there ANY plans to end our two 'wars'?

[Philosoraptor]

People talk about our 8 year long wars as if they'll NEVER end, we're sending more and more worn out troops to these two theaters of war, and the troops themselves have no idea why they are even there.

How long Mr. President?

[Mari333]

1. INdeed, how much longer must these nightmares continue??

are we so lame that we must continue to save face? is our national macho ego so fragile that we cannot just admit that these occupations are evil mistakes? can we not get down on our proverbial knees in front of the world and say we are sorry? we killed over 1 million Iraqi people for Nothing, had our soldiers, over 5000 of them , killed for nothing, and killed many many more in afghanistan for nothing..for what? for multinational corporate contracts and profits
and we are not stopping...will I die in 20 yrs and these wars continue? is this what the USA is now, a poor country destined for economic destruction because we insist on neverending wars to fill the coffers of a few??
I hate what we have become. I hate what we now call ourselves, a military empire as our country crumbles around us.

[Philosoraptor]

2. Color me disappointed....

[timtom]

3. I'm not disappointed.

I expected this. I voted for the man, anyway, because the alternative would have been worse than disastrous.

Truth to tell, I really AM disappointed. I'm disappointed that America has come to this, that critical thinking has left the building, that "patriotism" becomes conflated with Christianity, that no one seems to remember exactly why we are there, that no one seems to be able to connect any dots.

Present company excepted, of course.

K&R for those who need to be reminded.

[Toots]

5. I voted for what I believed a Very Smart Man

I understood he thought Afghanistan was a justified occupation. I believed because of his intellect though that a realization would occur that America should offer domestic aid but get our soldiers out of there. I believed him when he said that dealing with Iraq he would "Beginning on Day One"... "One Brigade a Month". The thought is beginning to come to me that I may have misjudged the man..:shrug: time will tell..not much I can do but bitch and moan.

[Philosoraptor]

6. I voted for him too, I just don't hear a lot of 'war's end' talk.

All I hear is they're sending more troops and no one ever mentions an actual end to these two wars. bush always said, 'let's not have a disastrous premature pullout', or whatever, and MOST Democrats would like to see these wars end, what keeps it going?

[timeforpeace]

17. "worse than disastrous"? What could be worse than the escalation and lack of goals that is happening

now?

[timtom]

19. I can't imagine.

But, I still believe it could have been worse with McCain/Palin. I'm not even going to try and guess, because I'm superstitious. There are some things better left unsaid.

[stray cat]

4. I'm sure he never even thinks about it; let alone plan anything at all. He just plays golf

Of course they are making plans but it may not be to all DUers likings. :sarcasm:

[timtom]

8. And to whose liking do you suppose it might be?

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Yeah, God forbid they act according to the people's will

That would just be so wrong! And of course, you know nothing of the plans being made, so your snark is based on your delusions and nothing more.
Funny that you do not know the plans, but already support any plan for war being made. A dereliction of your duty as a citizen if you ask me.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. +1

Funny that you do not know the plans, but already support any plan for war being made. A dereliction of your duty as a citizen if you ask me. :thumbsup:

[KG]

7. as long as it's politically beneficial.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

9. Quite the opposite

The occupation of Iraq shall continue and the aggression in AfPak shall be increased.

2014 or Bust
The Pentagon's Building Boom in Afghanistan Indicates a Long War Ahead
By Nick Turse

In recent weeks, President Obama has been contemplating the future of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. He has also been touting the effects of his policies at home, reporting that this year's Recovery Act not only saved jobs, but also was "the largest investment in infrastructure since Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s." At the same time, another much less publicized U.S.-taxpayer-funded infrastructure boom has been underway. This one in Afghanistan.

While Washington has put modest funding into civilian projects in Afghanistan this year -- ranging from small-scale power plants to "public latrines" to a meat market -- the real construction boom is military in nature. The Pentagon has been funneling stimulus-sized sums of money to defense contractors to markedly boost its military infrastructure in that country.

In fiscal year 2009, for example, the civilian U.S. Agency for International Development awarded $20 million in contracts for work in Afghanistan, while the U.S. Army alone awarded $2.2 billion -- $834 million of it for construction projects. In fact, according to Walter Pincus of the Washington Post, the Pentagon has spent "roughly $2.7 billion on construction over the past three fiscal years" in that country and, "if its request is approved as part of the fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill, it would spend another $1.3 billion on more than 100 projects at 40 sites across the country, according to a Senate report on the legislation."

...

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175135/nick_turse_in_afghanistan_the_pentagon_digs_in

[HamdenRice]

11. "US undertaking largest withdrawal of troops and materiel since Vietnam"

I guess this doesn't count.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8701234&mesg_id=8701234

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/world/middleeast/09pullout.html?_r=2

Leaving Iraq Is a Feat That Requires an Army

By MARC SANTORA
Published: October 8, 2009

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — There is no more visible sign that America is putting the Iraq war behind it than the colossal operation to get its stuff out: 20,000 soldiers, nearly a sixth of the force here, assigned to a logistical effort aimed at dismantling some 300 bases and shipping out 1.5 million pieces of equipment, from tanks to coffee makers.

It is the largest movement of soldiers and matériel in more than four decades, the military said.

[Orsino]

13. +1

It can't be quickly enough to suit me, but this is the politically expedient way a president winds down a war: he calls it a strategic withdrawal. So far, he has avoided any significant right-wing shouts of "cut and run." He's been so subtle about it that entire threads full of DUers may have missed it.

I call it significant.

[Echo In Light]

12. Just long enough to keep vested interests fat, and until the next false flag to prompt it further

... onto the next big maneuver.

[butterfly77]

15. What happened?

Did the President just announce his plans for the wars?

[timeforpeace]

18. Of course not. He's just sending in more troops and escalating without comment.

[ncteechur]

21. He sent more troops to Iraq?? When? I missed that one. He has made his announcement about Afghan.?

Just checking.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. It's now a political CYA effort like Nixon's "Peace with honor".

[Octafish]

20. Money Trumps Peace

Every time.

To turn things around and away from the War Party -- the BFEE, President Obama needs solid support from Congress, the Courts and, most of all, We the People.

And he needs it now.

[Vidar]

22. K&R