President Obama says his 'preference' would be not to hand off (Afghanistan) to the next president

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from The Swamp: http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/11/obama_history_will_bear_him_ou.html


November 18, 2009 10:25 AM

"WE are very close to a decision,'' Obama said of his prolonged deliberation over deploying additional troops to Afghanistan. " I will announce that decision certainly in the next several weeks... ''

"We do have a vital interest in making sure that al Qaeda cannot attack us and that they can't use Afghanistan as a safe haven,'' he said. " We have a vital interest in making sure that Afghanistan is sufficiently stable that they can't infect the entire region with violent extremism...

"I am very confident that when I announce the decision, the American people will have a lot of clarity about what we're doing, how we're going to succeed, how much this thing is going to cost, what kind of burden does this places on our young men and women in uniform, '' the president said, "and most importantly, what's the end game on this thing, which is something that, unless you impose that kind of discipline, could lead to a multi-year occupation.''

After more than eight years of war in Afghanistan, Obama was asked if he wants to see American troops come home from Afghanistan before the end of his presidency. "My preference would be not to hand off anything to the next president,'' he said. " One of the things I'd like is the next president to be able to come in and say, 'I've got a clean slate...'


article and video clip: http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/11/obama_history_will_bear_him_ou.html

[Skinner]

1. Now there's a crazy idea.

A president who actually takes responsibility for stuff.

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3. +1

[timeforpeace]

2. He always sounds good. Is that enough? "Next several weeks"? It's been several, several weeks. Yes,

the longer he takes, the more thought out, more intelligent the deliberations are, right? The troops in harm's way don't care, right?

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4. well

We don't know what he's actually looking at. Is it Karzai's inauguration? Is he waiting for some concrete moves from the most recent corruption squad there? Is he waiting for more troops to become available from the planned drawdown in Iraq?

NATO expects a decision from the president before their Dec. meeting. They've put off another conference on Afghanistan to assess the 'recent developments'. I'm confident that the president is using this time to make the best decision possible around whatever priorities he has. Nothing is going to happen overnight, even if he makes a decision today, so I'm not sure what concern for the troops there is in that interim other than whatever they've already been facing. I'm sure many there can appreciate that he's deliberating at all.

[GMA]

5. Right, I'm sure they don't mind.

One of our nephews just got back a week or so ago. One of our sons is waiting to find out if he's going (after one deployment in Iraq). And none of us family members minds either...

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. I think that was sarcasm.

:shrug:

[GMA]

7. I did know that. No, I really did. Absolutely. I knew. :)

n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Oops. Sorry.

:blush:

[GMA]

9. No problem--lol!

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10. kick

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11. .