It only took nine months for a single person to turn the greatest military might on the planet into an ineffectual cheerleading squad for the UN.

I think PEBO needs to read up on another war the US was in where we agreed to pull out as long as the enemy promised not to cross into South Vietnam after we have left. History shows that they lied and South Vietnam fell as well as Laos, Cambodia, Burma, etc.

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I think it’s interesting to keep the Taliban apart of the Afghan government. However, whatever decision Obama makes about troops, getting the American public to support his decision is going to be hard.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/afghanistan_a_policy_tug_of_war

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Focusing narrowly on just al Qaeda as the enemy ignores the larger picture of a global jihad network of terrorism at work, which includes involvement by their state-sponsors (such as Saddam’s Iraq).

Is Obama & Co really basing strategy on al Qaeda being a single organization instead of “the base” consisting of a network of terrorist groups that includes the Taliban? He’s asking “Who is our Adversary” and allowing that comment to be on record? bin Laden will be dead for sure, COD….laughter.

Let’s see, what else is in the news today:

He’s apparently got three options according to “a source familiar to the document” and I’m wondering if he’s got some of those Norwegians advising him.

The troop request that sits on the desks of the president and his national security team outlines three options, according to a source familiar with document. One path is not to send anymore troops to Afghanistan, considered a “high risk option.” The second is to send 40,000 troops, and the third calls for a major increase in troops, far more than 40,000.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, according to the source, recommends the “middle” option of 40,000 as the minimum number needed to have a chance of success in Afghanistan

The White House, however, is downplaying the troop numbers as the focus of the president’s deliberations. “The troop resource request has certainly come up,” a White House aide tells ABC News. “But the larger focus is strategy.”

And that focus is clearly shifting away from the Taliban in Afghanistan to al Qaeda in Pakistan. “The president has a different obligation than his commanders,” said the aide. “He needs to see this in a global context.”

The aide said that the focus must be on preventing attacks on the United States and its allies. He pointed to successes in going after al Qaeda in Pakistan, but also added that President Obama would not “tolerate the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, as was the case pre 9/11.”

Shifting the focus away from the Taliban could draw stark lines between the president and his combat-experienced military commanders. The military has linked al Qaeda and the Taliban as a dual enemy

roll eyes, shakes head.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-national-security-council-assess-troop-request/story?id=8782164

Official: Obama to Send Enough Troops to Keep Al Qaeda at Bay

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/08/obama-war-council-focuses-al-qaeda/

Cooperation Rises between Iran and Taliban
As Tensions with United States Escalate, Iran Supplying the Taliban with Money, Weapons to Fuel Fight

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/07/eveningnews/main5370148.shtml

last but not least:

American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains

The base is not, it has to be said, obviously downcast, and many troops do not share the chaplains’ assessment. The soldiers are, by nature and training, upbeat, driven by a strong sense of duty, and they do their jobs as best they can. Re-enlistment rates are surprisingly good for the 2-87, though poor for the 4-25. Several men approached by The Times, however, readily admitted that their morale had slumped.

“We’re lost — that’s how I feel. I’m not exactly sure why we’re here,” said Specialist Raquime Mercer, 20, whose closest friend was shot dead by a renegade Afghan policeman last Friday. “I need a clear-cut purpose if I’m going to get hurt out here or if I’m going to die.”

Sergeant Christopher Hughes, 37, from Detroit, has lost six colleagues and survived two roadside bombs. Asked if the mission was worthwhile, he replied: “If I knew exactly what the mission was, probably so, but I don’t.”
The only soldiers who thought it was going well “work in an office, not on the ground”. In his opinion “the whole country is going to s***”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6865359.ece

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The reason Obama kept returning to the question, “Who is our Adversary?” is that he hadn’t yet gotten the answer he wanted. He gave up holding out for his preferred answer of “Piglet” and settled for “Al Qaeda and no one but Al Qaeda”.

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[...] Atlas Shrugs,  The Long War Journal, Flopping Aces, Stop The ACLU, theblogprof, War in Context and Pajamas Media SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "White [...]

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Appeasement in our time!

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This is totally unacceptable and merely points out just how inexperienced (and arrogant) our dear leader really is. Hope we can hold out until 2012!

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*slaps palm on forehead*

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