Top 10 Observations Offered About Afghanistan War Strategy Speech

Surging retreat is terrific. The Taliban are already on the cleaning staff at the embassy.

Yeah. Now where's the goddam birth certificate? Treason I tell ya, it's Treason.

I received this email from Vice President Biden this evening which I thought to share with you:


"Last night, President Obama laid out his plan to defend our national interest by refocusing our efforts on three clear goals: defeating al Qaeda, stabilizing Pakistan, and breaking the Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan.

To achieve these goals, the President has authorized the rapid deployment of 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan, with a firm commitment to begin bringing our troops home in 2011.

It's a clean break from the failed Afghanistan policy of the Bush administration, and a new, focused strategy that can succeed.

Please take a moment to watch the President's address to the nation and read more about his plan.


Our new strategy ends the era of blank checks for Afghanistan's leaders, facilitates a responsible transition to Afghan security forces, and begins bringing our troops home in 2011.

Please take a moment to listen to President Obama outline his plan -- and pass this along to anyone you know who wants to learn more


Thank you,

Vice President Joe Biden"

Travel in good company

"We will have to take away the tools of mass destruction."

--President Barack Obama, in his address at West Point regarding Afghanistan; image from

"We found the weapons of mass destruction."

--George W. Bush, May 29, 2003

Obama on Afghanistan: Great Speech, Smart Policies, Near-Impossible Charlie Brown, community.livejournal.com: "No matter how much the Obama Administration wants to pretend otherwise, their only realy [sic] option is to replicate the same strategy and tactics used by the Bush Administration during the so-called surge in Iraq. Counterinsurgency (or COIN as it's known inside the Beltway) -- meaning a combination of targeted attacks on the Taliban, public diplomacy, and massive development assistance -- is the only viable option at this point. The other major option -- counter-terrorism -- would have alienated the Afghanis and done little to actually stem the growth of the Taliban." Charles J. Brown is Senior Fellow and Washington Director at the Institute for International Law and Human Rights and the host of Undiplomatic, a blog on the intersection of foreign policy, politics, and pop culture.

US troops surge in Afghanistan only one component of strategy - Xiong Tong, Xinhua:‎

"Military force is only one component of the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, while other tools are also crucial, a Brookings expert on Afghanistan said on Tuesday. 'Other tools of statecraft, such as economic development, public diplomacy, strategic communications, and crucially the delivery of the necessary public goods -- public safety, rule of law, and economic conditions enabling job-generating development -- are critical,' Vanda Felbab-Brown told Xinhua." Image from

With Troop Pledge, New Demands on Afghans - Dexter Filkins, New York Times:

President Obama’s commitment Tuesday night to redouble America’s campaign in Afghanistan left unanswered what is perhaps the most decisive question of all: will the Afghans step up too? In the end, training Afghan soldiers and pressuring Afghan officials will succeed only if the American-led war has the support of ordinary Afghans themselves. And it’s among them — in the streets — that the war will ultimately be lost or won. Image from

The New York Times reports that "for those who still support the war," Obama "is sending more troops. For those against it, he is offering the assurance of the exit ramp." Underscoring the President's political difficulties on the issue, the AP notes that "new survey by the Gallup organization, released Tuesday, showed only 35 percent of Americans now approve of Obama's handling of the war; 55 percent disapprove." The withdrawal date issue was the brunt of most conservative criticism last night. On CBS, Sen. John McCain praised the President, who, McCain said, "made the right decision to have a properly resourced counterinsurgency strategy." But McCain added, "I don't agree with an arbitrary date for withdrawal." Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News that in President's Bush's speech on the Iraq surge "there was no talk of a timeline. There was no talk of withdrawal. There was only talk about success." Image from

President Obama's Escalations in Afghanistan Far Exceed Troop Increases Discussed in Campaign

Video: President Obama's latest escalation exceeds the increase contemplated in his campaign speeches by almost 20,000 troops. More »

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Hightower: What Is Obama Getting Us into in Afghanistan?

By Jim Hightower, Creators Syndicate. Posted December 2, 2009.

Cut the music, and let's all ponder what Barack Obama, Roberts Gates, Stanley McChrystal and Co. are getting us into ... and whether we really want to go there.

Why Obama’s Surge in Afghanistan?

By Shamus Cooke

Obama is compelled to tell the really big lie because the truth is too damning. If he remotely approached the real motives behind the war, the public would be pushed into total defiance — Obama’s new $660 billion military budget for 2010 would have caused mass demonstrations.  Continue

Obama's Misguided War Speech Shouldn't Be the Last Word on Afghanistan Presidents are not supposed to begin and end the discussion about war. With both parties divided over Afghanistan, it's time for Congress to debate the Obama's war plan.

The Afghanistan Parenthesis
by David Bromwich