Afghanistan Wednesday: Obama and Congress, Taliban and Public Support
Obama met with Congressional leaders yesterday and ruled out a sharp reduction in troop levels in Afghanistan. He was also hesitant about a large increase in troop levels. From the NY Times:
Meanwhile, the Taliban released a statement on their website asserting that they do not want to fight Western countries, but will continue to oppose foreign troops in Afghanistan. From Reuters:
This will be a challenging few weeks for the Obama Administration as they puzzle out what their next steps will be on Afghanistan. Looking to the public, a new poll suggests they have suport for the war, but not necessarily for a large increase in troop levels. From AFP:
Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Afghanistan War. US soldiers have been there for 8 years now, and there doesn't seem yet to be a clear exit. What do you think the next steps in Afghanistan are? Anyone out there in the military who's back from Afghanistan? Maybe you can shed a little light on the situation on the ground for us?
Leave your comment on Current News.
Also on the Afghanistan War:
- Keep updated on the War by joining the Afghanistan War group on Current News.
- Afghanistan's Presidential Election (Video)
Mr. Obama seemed to be searching for some sort of middle ground, saying he wanted to “dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan,” as White House officials later described his remarks.
Meanwhile, the Taliban released a statement on their website asserting that they do not want to fight Western countries, but will continue to oppose foreign troops in Afghanistan. From Reuters:
"We had and have no plan of harming countries of the world, including those in Europe ... our goal is the independence of the country and the building of an Islamic state," the Taliban said in a statement on the group's website www.shahamat.org.
"Still, if you (NATO and U.S. troops) want to colonize the country of proud and pious Afghans under the baseless pretext of a war on terror, then you should know that our patience will only increase and that we are ready for a long war."
This will be a challenging few weeks for the Obama Administration as they puzzle out what their next steps will be on Afghanistan. Looking to the public, a new poll suggests they have suport for the war, but not necessarily for a large increase in troop levels. From AFP:
Sixty-five percent of US voters "are willing to have American soldiers 'fight and possibly die' to eliminate the threat of terrorists operating from Afghanistan," according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Only 28 percent said otherwise.
Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Afghanistan War. US soldiers have been there for 8 years now, and there doesn't seem yet to be a clear exit. What do you think the next steps in Afghanistan are? Anyone out there in the military who's back from Afghanistan? Maybe you can shed a little light on the situation on the ground for us?
Leave your comment on Current News.
Also on the Afghanistan War:
- Keep updated on the War by joining the Afghanistan War group on Current News.
- Afghanistan's Presidential Election (Video)
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- Afghanistan News, news blog
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