Obama considering pulling everyone out of Afghanistan

[Joe Biden 2020]

This is just coming across my face book news feed, so let me know if this is not new or is already being discussed (I don't check the International boards much).

http://kfor.com/2013/07/09/obama-considering-complete-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/

What do you think?  Is this a good idea by President Obama or is it a bad idea?  If it's a bad idea what would you do differently if you were in his position?

Personally, I like the idea, though I'm a little afraid of publicly announcing it.  I'm afraid that the Taliban will just wait for us to leave and then go to town.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

FINALLY

[Brittain33]

The Taliban is going to do whatever it wants, whenever. It's a hopeless cause for us.

[Old Man Svensson]

We lost both wars sometime around 2005. It's a long time coming.

[illegaloperation]

Of cause it's a good idea. We need to keep money inside our country.

[Blue3]

Keeping troops behind wouldn't make Afghanistan more stable, they'd only be a perpetual target.

It's time to do an Iraq here and bring them all home.

[The Free North]

Extremist sand rats are not worth our time and money and especially not worth our soldiers lives.


Maybe if we stopped overthrowing elected governments, we wouldnt be so hated

[barfbag]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

[Zioneer]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

Then your username is perfectly adequate.

Anyway, are you serious? We've been having very little success in Afghanistan, and outside Kabul, Karzai has little power. How is that a "great friend in the Middle East" (which Afghanistan is outside of, incidentally)?

Also, twas Nixon who stopped Vietnam, and Eisenhower who stopped Korea. Both Republicans, and both ended wars that a lot of people argued should still be fought.

[CatoMinor]

Obama ended Iraq, what 3 times? How many times do you think he will end the Afghanistan occupation?

[Cory]

Maybe if we stopped overthrowing elected governments, we wouldnt be so hated

What a simplistic thing to say.

[CatoMinor]

Maybe if we stopped overthrowing elected governments, we wouldnt be so hated

What a simplistic thing to say.

Ok, allow me add on for you.

*Maybe if the United States ceased in the removing of power of governments that we do not agree with via method of CIA backed coups/civil wars and full scale invasions, then perhaps the world would have a more favorable view of us.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

It's silly American exceptionalism to think that the situation would go better than it went for the British or Soviets.

[dead0man]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

Afghanistan was NEVER going to be a great friend in the middle east (partly because they aint in the middle east, but never mind that).  At best they would have been an expensive (in blood and coin) place to keep some dudes and birds in the region, but we can do that for cheaper in several other places.  Not to mention having dudes and birds everywhere is becoming less important every year.  It's time to leave, hell, it was time to leave 2 years ago.

I wish the Afghan people luck 'cause they're gonna need it.  On the other hand, I hope they give their next "master" hell, whether it be the PRC (or it's proxy in Pakistan) or the Persians....probably the PRC.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Maybe if we stopped overthrowing elected governments, we wouldnt be so hated

What a simplistic thing to say.

Wasn't 1973 the last time that happened?

[BluegrassBlueVote]

Extremist sand rats

Come on.

[Beet]

Apparently he leaked this as a bargaining chip because Karzai told him off during a teleconference last week or something. I wouldn't put too much stock in it.

[RedSLC]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

The main reason we went there in the first place was to strike back at Al-Qaeda and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. We have basically accomplished that task.

What do you propose we do now? Do you think the war should continue, with us spending more money and putting more troops in the line of fire? How much time is enough time?

Oh, and for the record, Romney promised to bring the troops home if elected, too.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Saddam had been dead for five years by the time the Iraq war ended, and OBL has been dead for two years.

[barfbag]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

The main reason we went there in the first place was to strike back at Al-Qaeda and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. We have basically accomplished that task.

What do you propose we do now? Do you think the war should continue, with us spending more money and putting more troops in the line of fire? How much time is enough time?

Oh, and for the record, Romney promised to bring the troops home if elected, too.

Yes but not before it's time. Romney never said he'd do it before it was time so it doesn't matter what he said. He also never said he wouldn't continue the war on terror which Obama refuses to mention. Bring them home from Afghanistan and then on to the next.

[RedSLC]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

The main reason we went there in the first place was to strike back at Al-Qaeda and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. We have basically accomplished that task.

What do you propose we do now? Do you think the war should continue, with us spending more money and putting more troops in the line of fire? How much time is enough time?

Oh, and for the record, Romney promised to bring the troops home if elected, too.

Yes but not before it's time. Romney never said he'd do it before it was time so it doesn't matter what he said. He also never said he wouldn't continue the war on terror which Obama refuses to mention. Bring them home from Afghanistan and then on to the next.

No, they both said that they would pull out the troops by 2014. How exactly is this before the right "time"? If we can't pull out now, when can we?

With regards to the latter statement, I think Obama has made a decent amount of progress towards ending the war on terror. We're out of Iraq now, so this just seems like the next natural step.

[Antonio the Sixth]

About time.

[Joe Biden 2020]

How wonderful! We spend 12 years helping to get rid of terror cells in Afghanistan and in one fell swoop, Obama brings us home before it's time. Well I hope we don't expect Afghanistan to be an ally now. They would've been a great friend in the Middle East, but not now. I hope Obama is happy he's created another staunch enemy for us to deal with. Now it's only a matter of time before terror strikes again. See what happens when Democrats run our country. Yet they have the nerve to sugar coat it with talking points like "bringing our men in uniform home." This makes me want to throw up.

The main reason we went there in the first place was to strike back at Al-Qaeda and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. We have basically accomplished that task.

What do you propose we do now? Do you think the war should continue, with us spending more money and putting more troops in the line of fire? How much time is enough time?

Oh, and for the record, Romney promised to bring the troops home if elected, too.

Yes but not before it's time. Romney never said he'd do it before it was time so it doesn't matter what he said. He also never said he wouldn't continue the war on terror which Obama refuses to mention. Bring them home from Afghanistan and then on to the next.

No, they both said that they would pull out the troops by 2014. How exactly is this before the right "time"? If we can't pull out now, when can we?

With regards to the latter statement, I think Obama has made a decent amount of progress towards ending the war on terror. We're out of Iraq now, so this just seems like the next natural step.

I'm still a little skeptical that we're completely out of Iraq.  You hear of uprisings every now and then that we have to see about.  I know the Iraq war is officially over, but I don't think we're completely finished with Iraq and probably won't be for years to come.  I can see Afghanistan being talked about in current events clear through the 2020 elections, or at least the 2018 mid terms.  There are just some things that take longer to completely wrap up.  We'll have our troops out by the end of 2014, but I don't think we'll be finished with them for a few more years.  I don't see Afghanistan or Iraq completely winding down until Syria ramps up and when that happens, Iraq is likely to reignite as it seems to be focusing along the Euphrates River.

[barfbag]

Romney wouldn't be as public about it and if needed would stay despite what he said on the campaign trail. Things are different after you become president. Hopefully, we're doing the right thing.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Maybe if we stopped overthrowing elected governments, we wouldnt be so hated

What a simplistic thing to say.

Wasn't 1973 the last time that happened?

Besides free elections, our support for Israel, placing troops in Saudi Arabia, and propping up dictators has hurt us. We have no strategic interest in the Middle East.