Official: Obama won't take any current war options

[TomCADem]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy — most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.

But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's thinking.

The president is considering options that include adding 30,000 or more U.S. forces to take on the Taliban in key areas of Afghanistan, and to buy time for the Afghan government's small and ill-equipped fighting forces to take over. The other three options on the table are ranges of troop increases, from a relatively small addition of forces to the roughly 40,000 that the top U.S. general in Afghanistan prefers, according to military and other officials.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_us_afghanistan

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According to some anonymous official, President Obama is asking for a time line, which is a neocon no-no. The macho thing to do is to commit troops without the foggiest notion of an exit strategy, which is why we are in Afganistan eight years after the invasion.

[Thrill]

1. Get out of there Mr. President

I think he knows thats the best option

[polichick]

2. +1

[kestrel91316]

20. +1

[liquid diamond]

26. Not that simple.

[David Zephyr]

3. Just say no, President Obama.

At least, he has hesitated.

[SusanaMontana41]

37. Keep dithering, Mr. President. It pisses off all the right people.

Just another reason why I am so glad President Obama is in the White House instead of the Beach Boy wannabe.

BTW, why isn't that evil fuck Dick Cheney in prison?

[David Zephyr]

64. I am hopeful from his "dithering". It means he knows he's being lied to.

I agree.

[Autumn]

4. Bring them home

now.

[barbtries]

5. cautiously seeing this

as a good thing. end the wars.

[xCrushx]

Good sign

Hopefully Obama doesn't give in and removes the troops completely. We've had enough meaningless war.

[NYC_SKP]

6. Big Kick an Rec... n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Rachael has the AP reporter on right now.... n/t

[ShortnFiery]

8. Triangulating = 30,000 = Make everyone angry over his LACK of clear leadership.

No, speeches don't count: Stepping up and making the HARD but MORALLY CORRECT decisions is what distinguishes a Great Leader from a Great Orator.

Do it now President Obama or this will be your undoing as a world leader.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar0A3H1uZlI

[lonestarnot]

12. What bullshit!

[rgbecker]

9. Out! Obama, Out! Home, done, finished, complete, forgeaboutit, over ,through, no more,

Make love not war, withdraw, de-escalate, re-deploy, uncommit, beg out, reconsider, Bring them home!

[Cha]

10. My President..

has his own options.

[lonestarnot]

11. Thank you Mr. President!

[BeFree]

13. Declare victory

....and back out slowly as the UN does what it can. With our support.

[bertman]

14. Option #5: OUT NOW!!

[CakeGrrl]

15. Did the AP ever refer to Bush's meetings as "war councils"?

I doubt it.

[UnderDem]

16. He's waking up. Smelling something other than coffee.

Ooh, that smell...the smell of death's around him. First the flag-draped caskets coming home, then Ft. Hood, and now a stroll through Arlington on Veteran's Day. The coverage has consistently illustrated the sobering effects of REAL death on a sensitive, relatively young and untested individual. Unlike many who have gone before, it's more than likely that President Obama's caring heart can still be reached by the image of so many people less than half his age being laid to rest at the feet of their grieving families, and for what? Six and a half years in Iraq, a longer time in Afghanistan as we squandered what fresh advantages we may have once had against al Qaeda. During the debates, Obama accurately stated that we had dropped the ball on Afghanistan. Yes, he would love to go in there and "finish the job," but judging from his recent responses to REAL DEATH, he is now wondering if any of it is worth it. I hope he decides it isn't.

[humbled_opinion]

28. Your post is the sad truth....

The issue is very deep indeed and brings tear to my eyes just digesting it.

We need a hero President Obama and you have a chance to be that hero.

[mopinko]

30. i think you have it a little backwards

i think those images have been put out there purposely so that teabag nation can see the real cost of their flag waving, screaming bullshit.

[jaysunb]

17. Maybe the trip to Dover is paying off.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. aren't US troops there to guard OIL pipelines?

why the hell else are we over there. all of the other arguments ring false.

[TomCADem]

32. Afganistan Has Oil?

I thought that Afganistan's main exports are rugs and poppies.

[C_Lawyer09]

62. Caspian oil reserves

Afghanistan doesn't have the tech or infrastructure to go after their oil. It used to be thought that the Caspian oil fields might hold 750 billion barrels, recently that has been debunked by many "experts". That oil needs lots of refining and will be hard and expensive to transport, unlike the oil in Africa which is very high grade, will be cheap to refine and inexpensive to ship.

[Hippo_Tron]

38. There is no oil in Afghanistan

[janet118]

44. Natural gas pipeline . . .

Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline

[fascisthunter]

59. oil pipeline

[lumpy]

60. A proposed pipeline through Afghanistan is what it is all about.

nt

[Odin2005]

19. It's refreshing to have a president with his own brain again!

[Barbara2423]

21. Bring the Troops Home-End the wars

[notadmblnd]

22. can the state of California really afford to send him on a big phot op?

what is he going to do for the troops?

[mvd]

23. I give President Obama credit

Definite change from the no-think warmongering of Bush. Let's hope this gets Obama closer to a full withdrawal.

[Mari333]

24. bring them home

now. all of them
get the hell out of that hellhole.

[lumpy]

61. Really. We survived getting the hell out of Vietnam. The

Russians survived getting the hell out of Afghanistan,and they are better off for it. Obama should take a clue from Gorbachev and listen to the bulk of Americans who realize the fallacy of staying in that country for naught. Get the hell out, Obama !

[FightingIrish]

25. Been there. Done that. Bring them home.

[PSPS]

27. I am growing fatigued hearing about the "war council." Why do we need a "war council?"

I guess the next step is to change the name of the Department of Defense back to what it used to be: The War Department.

[logosoco]

29. War is over if you want it

and I think deep down, President Obama does want it over.

[Hissyspit]

31. kick nt

[Joanie Baloney]

33. I think it's a sign the new sheriff is taking over

He looks good here:





-JB

[Oldtimeralso]

34. K & R and proud to be #44 for our CIC #44. n/t

[Mithreal]

35. The political capital from a strong HCR just isn't there

to announce the troop increases.

Today would have been an excellent day to announce ending the occupations but the opportunity is gone.

[usregimechange]

36. Obama to Pentagon hardliners: "I don't like any of your options."

[usregimechange]

39. Nice to have a President who can consider options

[Rosa Luxemburg]

40. Anyone remember the last Afghanistan war?

[elleng]

55. No, sorry. Where was that?

[earcandle]

41. Here is the gift of song for you and your lovely wife! For being so peaceful in your thoughts takes

love.

Haystack

A love song every good man and woman deserves!

Enjoy, my sweet President!
Thank you so much for losing your automaticity on this War topic.

[FarLeftFist]

42. Quagmire

[EFerrari]

43. Make them work, Mr. President. And remember Lincoln took his sweet time

with good results even if it frustrated lesser men.

[saracat]

45. This is a very good sign. And a major step forward for President Obama.

I will be very happy if he ends this conflict.

[elleng]

46. Obama Pushes For Changes In Afghan Strategy Options.

Source: nyt/reuters

AP story follows.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/11/11/news/news-us-...

[intaglio]

47. Please do not link to NYT without quotes

I, for one, will NOT register with a Murdoch rag.

The original story is from Reuters and can be found here http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A947D200...

also, under fair use you can copy and paste the 1st 3 paragraphs

President Barack Obama pushed his Afghan war council Wednesday for revisions in strategy options presented to him before he will go ahead with a final decision on boosting troop levels in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official said.

Facing increasing U.S. public skepticism over the eight-year-old war, Obama asked his top advisers to clarify how and when U.S. troops will shift security responsibility to the Afghan government, the administration official said.

The White House said Obama has yet to make up his mind on the proposals that have been put forth, and he is expected to continue deliberations during a nine-day trip to Asia starting Thursday. His press secretary has insisted a decision is still weeks away.

[elleng]

48. Suit yourself. No murdoch 'rag' cited here,

and link states story is from Reuters.

[tomm2thumbs]

49. thanks for your post - I LOVE the New York Times

[elleng]

54. You're welcome, tomm.

I used to love it, but infatuation has gone. Better scope than wapo, I think, tho.

[fasttense]

50. When did Murdoch buy the NYT?

I know he wanted to but I thought he never did.

He owns the New York Post and the Wall Street Urinal but I don't believe he's gotten his dirty pudgy hands on NYT....yet.

Then of course there is the Washington Times or Moonie Times run by a guy that claims to be Jesus Christ and who just loves those bushes.

[davidpdx]

51. Think you have the Times and the Post confused there

The Post is the Murdoch rag.

[intaglio]

52. Sorry folks, anger got me

I should make it clear

I will not register to read a news story and that applies double if it is a Murdoch rag, which the NYT is not.

[elleng]

53. Thanks for explaining!

[karynnj]

58. You are confusing the NYT and the NY Post - which could not be more different

[JoeyT]

56. I'm cautiously optimistic about this.

I'm glad to have a president representing me that's smart enough to consider multiple options, even if I do frequently disagree with his decisions. Even if I do disagree with what he decides, I can at least be confident he has a better reason than "Saddam tried to kill mah daddy! DUBYU EMM DEEEEES!". (Yeah, I know that was Iraq. It was still embarrassing as hell.)

[C_Lawyer09]

63. I don't disagree

With the notion of pulling the troops from both Iran and Afghanistan, but it does bother me that people are ignoring the actual U.S. policy crafted by Carter NSA Zbigniew Brzezinski that was a large reason "actually" behind our deployment to Iraq. Obviously it got sold to the American public under several different headings. Similarly, the real reason we are deeply enmeshed in Afghanistan is security of Pakistani nukes. I would suggest focus far less on Afghanistan and far more on Pakistan with far less troops.

[ShortnFiery]

57. More Kabuki Theater but in the end the MIC will get fed at least 30,000 more troops

to go Kill and Die for the corporate elite within the MIC.

I can't believe that people here still hold out hope for President Obama when he's approved the largest increase in Military Spending in our Nation's history.

We're being punked and American Crusade for Corporate America is still on track.