Obama: Taliban and al-Qaida must be stopped

[bottomtheweaver]

Source: AP

By BEN FELLER – 36 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has declared that the United States must "disrupt, defeat and dismantle" the al-Qaida terrorist organization and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Announcing plans for an increased American troop presence in Afghanistan, Obama also said that it's important for the American people to understand that Pakistan "needs our help" in going after terrorists.

He called the situation in Afghanistan "increasingly perilous." The administration has already approved sending 17,000 additional combat troops to Afghanistan and was ready to announce another 4,000 to go there.

Obama said that if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban or allows al Qaida to go unchallenged, "that country will be a base for terrorists who want to kill us."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i93Mc...

[bottomtheweaver]

On the bright side..

[acmavm]

23. **HEE HEE**

good one!

[dipsydoodle]

1. Doncha just get fed up

listening to worn out 78's.

[BeFree]

10. Well, the opposite of what he said is:

"We must help the Taliban become stronger and let Pakistan slip away."

Obama had to say what he said the way he said it because otherwise... well, you know.

[CJCRANE]

42. The difference is

that Obama will actually *do* something.

[ixion]

2. Apparently, Obama has now drank

the Kool-Aid®

It makes me very sad to see him shaking his fist at the shadows on the wall with the rest of the neobarbarians. It will accomplish nothing but to accelerate our decline.

Change...not so much.

[Odin2005]

19. You are nuts if you think the neo-cons have anything to do with this.

The Neo-Cons didn;t give a damn about AQ and the Taliban except for using them to scare people into going into Iraq. Obama is actually going to fix the problem.

[ixion]

24. And you are nuts if you belive there is a military 'fix' for al Queda and the Taliban

The don't call Afghanistan 'The Graveyard of Empire' for nothing. And from what I read in the OP, it may have well be Bush saying that.

I don't care if neo-cons are involved or not (although I'm sure they are to one degree or another). It's stupid to think you can 'win' a war on an abstract concept, such as terror.

[Odin2005]

37. The Taliban and AQ are abstract concepts?

Don't get me wrong, I an opposed to the concept of a "War on Terror" (I heard on neo-con idiot on the BBC last night blasting Obama for retiring the term, and then connected AQ with the Tamil Tigers and FARC ), I am not opposed to a war on AQ and the Taliban.

[Thothmes]

56. Just like LBJ fixed the Communist insurgency in Viet Nam.

[acmavm]

3. This is just PRICELESS!

CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE

CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN!!!!!

[FudaFuda]

4. sounds familiar. n/t

[Windy]

5. I agree with him completely. Al Q has always been a threat to this country

Bush and company never addressed that threat, but instead, used it to promote and institute their neo-con agenda of "democratizing the middle east" which caused unnecesary loss of life to the Iraqis and US troops. Anyone who doesn't think that AlQ isn't a threat to the world has their head in the sand. Now flame away!

[saigon68]

13. No flame just pity-- The religious war will go on for centuries

[Igel]

20. It already has, with minor breaks here and there.

The first war the US fought in after independence was billed by the other side as jihad; it was impossible to make peace with a Xian enemy, so conveniently the treaty said what was necessary--the US is not Xian.

The Caucacus battles in the early 1800s, as Russia increased its territory, was billed by the "freedom fighters" as religious in nature.

When the Ottomans lost a battle in the 1850s, the result was natural: A reprisal against the winning group. Not Russians, or even Europeans, but the Xians in Aleppo. Even from the Russian point of view the war was against the "infidel Turk".

The Armenian Genocide had an ethnic component to it, one that we focus on; it also had a religious component to it.

When the Albanians fought against the Serbs under Hitler, it was only partially ethnic: Much was also religious, something the Serbs didn't forget. Having the mufti of al-Aqsa involved in recruiting Arabs and Bosnians to fight for Hitler on the Eastern Front, and having him agitate for Bosnians to turn in Jews for Sobibor, wasn't exactly a program devoid of religious background.

[Deja Q]

33. True. OBL stopped concerning him, precisely 6 months to the day he said the opposite!

(9/13/01 - "I will stop at nothing to bring OBL to justice".
3/13/02 - "OBL no longer concerns me".
Google is our friend.)


Bush's issue with Iraq was about his personal nemesis, Saddam Hussein. Yes, it's great he's gone, but Saddam was peripheral at best.

[No Elephants]

47. Assuming Al Q is a threat to this country, who says you eliminate the threat by bombing

Afghanistan? Afghanistan does not equal Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda does not equal Afghanistan.

Osama is probably in Pakistan now and Al Qaeda can be trained anywhere, including South Carolina.

[peace_to_world]

74. Osama in Pakistan?

I think he is dead.There is no evidence for his presence in Pakistan.Obama said that he is quite aware of sentiments of people of Pakistan then he must realize that we want US out of our lands.At least we were better before their arrival.

I still can't get it "what is the change in policy".There would be same drone attacks in Pakistan an ally of America.He repeated the same words Bush used to say. Sadly US thrown for more ten years into a war nobody knows what it is for.

As for Afghanistan then I would say it is an unconquered land and will remain unconquered.

[nc4bo]

6. I must admit that my stomach turned when I heard him speak this.

We'll stay the course but not without a plan. I thought that was supposed to provide some comfort but it doesn't.

Could this be the beginning of another neverending war? God I hope not.

[LeFleur1]

7. When the People Want Change

When the people of Afghanistan want change from the Taliban they will fight for it. Until that time they will fight those who appear to be invading their country. Imposing our idea of the right way for their country most likely won't be successful.
I'm deeply disappointed in Obama about this. He vowed to 'stop the war'. Now it appears to be just a big lie to get votes.

As for AlQaeda...maybe we could try getting out of their country and not exerting influence there?
I don't know if it would work, but that was the big complaint from bin Laden in the beginning. Maybe it was a ruse and he wants to kill and maim for no reason at all. OR maybe it's what they want.

[AZ Criminal JD]

14. Exactly what country belongs to al Qaeda?

I have a feeling the people of whatever country you name would object.

[Odin2005]

21. Obama is getting us out of Iraq, which was a BS war based on lies.

Afghanistan is a legitimate war and the Taliban seeds to be destroyed.

[ixion]

25. I've got news for you...

there are more of them than there are of us.

The illegal invasion of Afghanistan and subsequent occupation is just as crappy as the one in Iraq.

And to think that you can eradicate religious extremism with violence is unenlightened, at best.

[Odin2005]

29. "Illegal" my rear end.

The Taliban's support of AQ gave us perfectly just cause to invade Afghanistan. Quit conflating Afghanistan with Iraq, the first is legitimate, the second was not.

"And to think that you can eradicate religious extremism with violence is unenlightened, at best."

You cannot have a rational discussion with fanatics who prefer shooting you over having a reasonable discussion with you.

[No Elephants]

48. And your proof that Taliban supported Al Qaeda's attack on the U.S. is???

[Odin2005]

49. They let AQ have training camps on Afghan soil, so that means the blood is indirectly on...

...their hands as well. If you let terrorists operate in your territory you are just as guilty as the terrorists themselves.

Of course I'll get some BS 9/11 Twoofer BS response with no basis in reality so this post will probably fall on deaf ears.

[No Elephants]

46. Afghanistan is a legitimate war? What did the government of Afghanistan do to us? And whatever it

may have done, it's gone now. We replaced it with our picks.

Well before that, we funded and armed Bin Laden because he was in Afghanistan, fighting the Russians and we liked that. Why would the Afghanis throw him out?

Do you really think the Afghanis knew he was having people fly into the Twin Towers? Is their intelligence and surveillance capability really that much better than ours?

You blame Afghanistan for 911? Why not Pakistan? Why not Saudi Arabia?

[Odin2005]

51. They supported AQ on their territory, that makes them guilty enough.

And in fact I do think Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are also gulty, but it was the Taliban regime that was most directly supporting AQ.

[fujiyama]

65. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia CREATED the Taliban

and many elements in both countries ACTIVELY support it. And the ideology that spawned Al Qaeda is nurtured by the Pakistani ISI. Zardari's government is obviously unwilling to do anything further, because he's losing a lot of popular support as it is (and ultimately his own goal is to just maintain power). Unfortunately the alternative Sharif, is possibly even more corrupt (I'm surprised that is possible) and is tied to radical generals and Jihadis....

We're no closer defeating this threat by just throwing more money at the ones that continue to support this. Obama's strategy really seems like more of the same - basically just a LOT more of it. He knows it's complex, but I really am not convinced that this surge will work - I would love to see the Taliban defeated, but it's too firmly entrenched in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

[brentspeak]

63. Are you aware that U.S. forces have now been fighting in Afghanistan

for over seven years? We retaliated against the Taliban, as we should have, but are no closer to quashing them than the Soviets were against the mujahideen.

What is your plan for defeating the Taliban? Take into consideration the fact that Afghans have a two-thousand-year history of perpetual warfare ingrained into their collective psyche.

[Tim01]

8. Wasn't he just talking about negotiations with these groups like last week?

I thought he just finished saying there were going to be negotiations with the moderates in these groups.
Am I mixed up on this?

[bottomtheweaver]

9. Where's the profit to Boeing, Raytheon and Halliburton in that?

Obama Announces Plans for More Funding for Afghan War
4,000 Additional Troops to Deploy

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 27, 2009; 10:19 AM

President Obama this morning announced a new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy that will require significantly higher levels of U.S. funding for both countries, with U.S. military expenses in Afghanistan alone increasing about 60 percent from the current toll of about $2 billion a month.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[antimatter98]

11. The Military Industrial Complex needs a war to remain employed.

Too bad Obama is not as worried about jobs for Americans at home.

[Tim01]

12. Obama announces intention to negotiate with the Taliban

http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/article/security...

Obama suggests that he may explore the possibility of negotiations with certain moderate elements of the Taliban.

[Tim01]

15. Did he just say that we are going into Pakistan? nt

[truebrit71]

41. Um...we're already there...

...Pakistan is on the verge of collapse and the end result of that will not be pretty...Religious lunatics with their hands on nukes, India next door will not hesitate to engage...and then it's all over bar the shouting...the planet's first nuclear war..

[Tim01]

44. Ok, fair enough but......

this sounds like the warm-up talk before we are told why we have to put troops on the ground in Pakistan as *advisers* or *peace keepers* or *security forces* or *support* or whatever.

[truebrit71]

45. It does have a familiar ring to it I must agree...I just don't se us getting very deep into Pakistan

...though...just the border areas next to Afghanistan..the fight for Islamabad will have to be fought by the Pakistani forces...against whom remains to be seen...

[peace_to_world]

76. I hope we will see a change too

and drag US out of our land.God help us to get rid of this imposed war.

I am very much confused about US intentions.

[Naipes]

16. Exterminate the Taliban

Without question, the Taliban must be stopped. I am in total agreement with the President. Iraq was nothing more than the Bush Family Feud, but the Taliban... they are a threat to the entire planet.

[dipsydoodle]

17. Hmm

[ixion]

27. The biggest threat to the entire planet is the US

not the Taliban. Let me be clear: I find the Taliban repulsive and inhuman, and am in now way, shape, or form condoning the way they treat people. However, to say that they are the largest threat to the planet is laughable.

[peace_to_world]

77. As far as I remember

Saddam was also a threat to US and same is now thought about Taliban.

I hope this time they would not say after killing millions in Afghanistan that it was a mistake.

[Odin2005]

18. I see the Naive Pacifist Isolationists are moaning and groaning.

Obama is merely doing what we should of done right after 9/11 instead of Dumb-Ass and his Neo-Con handlers starting a Mess in Mesopotamia.

[ixion]

28. And I see the war hawk apologists are... rationalizing

[Odin2005]

30. I see naive pacifists being naive.

[Individualist]

22. Silly me! I thought we were finished with be afraid, be very afraid.

Meet the new boss...

[Mari333]

26. anyone who backs another bullshit war should enlist

sign up or shut up.

[Odin2005]

31. Not this fallacious argument again.

[Mari333]

35. argue it away all you want

but either put up or shut up. said the same thing when Bush was touting his bullshit.
sorry kid, I dont follow der leaders in lockstep.

[Deja Q]

34. Or find other ways to assist.

Physical defects render me useless for physical combat, and I don't mean having an itchy butt or being addicted to pain killers while hosting a morning prattle radio show.

[AlphaCentauri]

60. Good point

[Deja Q]

32. Here's a thought: What if he's saying is actually... the truth?

[Odin2005]

36. The Naive Pacifists don;t like the truth, they prefer their imaginary world in which...

all war is simply the result of the Evil Corporatists and we can talk out way out of all our problems. To quote the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper...

"You cannot have a rational discussion with a man who prefers shooting at you to being convinced by you."

[Mari333]

38. yeah, you go kill those ragheads and keep the world safe

do it, of course, from the safety of your cubicle. and order a pizza. I hear there are some cool online games that dont show too much blood when you shoot people with your computer mouse. bang bang bang.

[Odin2005]

39. See, there's that fallacious BS again.

Not everyone is a kind of person who would be a good soldier (in my case it's psychiatric reasons, Asperger's Syndrome to be precise), or would make a better contribution to society in other areas, that doesn't mean that person should not be allowed to have an opinion on foreign policy. And just because I'm not fighting doesn't mean I don't have friends and relatives in the military.

And your insinuation that I'm a racist who likes "killing rag-heads" is so low that it's pathetic.

[Mari333]

40. what else is war? but killing

and yes, thats what you do over there..you kill or are killed. your warmongering posts remind me of what i heard the bush followers say when we invaded iraq. same thing. they followed their leader and you are following yours. no questions asked. lockstep.

[Deja Q]

67. Exactly. Indeed, to think of a parallel... Charles Manson.

He went around posing as a hippie, lured some people, and killed them. He wasn't working for a corporations, he was just an evil little piece of dung.


Great quote by Popper; that is the literal truth.

[Pastiche423]

43. New boss same as the old boss

Why. The. Fuck are we even there in the 1st place?

I've begun to hate the words, Hope and Change. He should have been truthful and run w/the slogan: SSDDD.

[Odin2005]

52. Doing what we should of done after 9/11 instead of going on a BS adventure in Iraq isn't change?

Yeah, I get it, you naive pacifists won't be happy until the US goes isolationist and disbands it's military because you guys think we can talk our way out of all out problems. Thank God Obama doesn't believe such utopian BS.

[Pastiche423]

53. Couldn't answer my question, eh?

Why are we bombing the shit out of Afghanistan? What was Afghanistan's crime?

[Odin2005]

54. The Taliban regime's crime was supporting an organization that attacked the US.

[Pastiche423]

55. And I am sure you are going to provide proof of that statement

right?

I really, really want to see that proof - along w/the rest of the world.

[Odin2005]

57. I don't have time for twoofer conspiracy theories.

[Pastiche423]

58. IOW, you ain't got shit!

Color me surprised.

[Odin2005]

59. The onus is on the ones rejecting self-evident facts out of pathological paranoia.

So come on, you first.

[Pastiche423]

62. What facts?

You've presented none, nada, zippo facts!

[cali]

66. sure. if you ignore all the crimes the Taliban committed in reality

educate yourself. it's so stupid to suggest that this was their crime that it's breathtaking. Particularly as the Talliban was condemned far before 9/11 or the Cole incident, by virtually every human right organization on the fucking planet. And they all detailed the very real crimes that the Taliban perpetrated.

[bottomtheweaver]

73. Let's see, they blew up a couple of large Buddhas, and..

and.. help me out here?

[MetaTrope]

50. This message brought to you by the Mainstream Media

Marginalizing progressive presidential candidates for half a century.

[AlphaCentauri]

61. How much will it cost?

to rebuild those countries

[nc4bo]

64. You can't put a price tag on freedoms. How dare you ask such a question!

[AlphaCentauri]

75. am I losing my financial freedom?

[MadHound]

68. Our fight with the Taliban and al Qaeda is a battle of ideas,

We are engaged in a fight to win the hearts and minds of the populace in the area. We're losing that battle because foolishly, like we've done before, we have brought a military force to a battle of ideas. Continuing to increase the military force isn't going to bring about victory, rather the contrary, it will bring about defeat after a long, protracted battle ala Vietnam.

We really need to learn from history and stop fighting the wrong battle with the wrong weapons.

[ohio2007]

72. see post #71. The subliminal message in the video will go over a few heads

but thats the way to spark what older Afghans still remember

[Ghost_of_Smedley]

69. Alernative Plan for President Obama

Mr.President: Why don`t you announce to the World that you are pulling all U.S.troops out of Muslim countries-as well as those from the 100+ other countries in which the U.S.is involved,covertly/overtly and that the U.S.will no longer wage a foreign policy,military or economic,on behalf of U.S.basedcorporations and the c riminals who run them.In this way,at little or no cost,we could eliminate the ROOT cause of"terrorism"directed against our country!Furthermore,we might be able to use this Horrific Waste of OUR resources in a constructive way, such as fixing our BROKENECONOMY!! DUH!! My late father,a physician and fellow veteran{WW2 and mine was`Nam],told me long ago, you can`t cure a disease by just treating symptoms;rather, you must get to the ROOT causeof said symptoms for genuine healing to take place.Still makes sense to me!!Lastly,let me remind you of a serious admonition from Karl Marx;"Capitalismplants the seeds of its own DESTRUCTION!"Personally,I have a problem with the fact that the "perpetraitors"are taking the rest of us DOWN with them.The only reason I can fathom, why you, a very bright gentleman,can`t see through and ACT on this SCAM is that these plutocrats own you.Please correct me if I`m wrong. Most sincerely,"Ghost of Smedley D.-'WAR is a RACKET' Butler,Maj.Gen.,U.S.M.C.

[ohio2007]

71. better idea

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8f7_1238240427

[freemarketer6]

70. A new neocon looking for war to spur the economy. Does he have

enough "political capital" left? The handlers are beginning to show their hands. Hey, Polish Dog, you were wrong again.