Obama to unveil plan to add troops in Afghanistan

Lyrics of "Song for the Dead" by Randy Newman:

Deep in the field
A lone soldier stands
With mud on his boot
And blood on his hands
They left him behind
To bury the dead
And to say a few words on behalf of the leadership

Pardon me boys
If I slip off my pack
And sit for awhile with you
I'd like to explain
Why you fine young men had to be blown apart
To defend this mudhole

Now our country boys
Though it's quite far away
Found itself jeopardized
Endangered, boys
By these very gooks
Who lie here beside you
Forever near
Forever

We'd like to express
Our deep admiration
For your courage under fire
And your willingness to die
For your country, boys
We won't forget
We won't forget

Different people have very different reactions to President Barack Obama. Those who listen to his rhetoric are often inspired, while those who follow what he actually does are often appalled.

Protest this!

the middle east is hopeless.

Billions and billions on defense, when our schools are broke. America is going down the toilet.

But you see......we need to send more troops over to Afghanistan so they can keep getting blown up......when they get blown up by an IED, that's another Humvee that can be manufactured to replace one that was destroyed by a bomb....that's another helmet that needs to be made to replace the ones lost due to combat casualties.......it's all about keeping those gubmint contractors happy, keeping that funding flowing, keeping the congressmen happy ( if their district includes a factory that makes military vehicles, uniforms, etc.) and the citizens as well. 10,000 or 100,000- it makes no difference. The more we send over, the more troops the Taliban will kill. How long has it been? 8 plus years? And we STILL haven't wiped them all out and declalred victory? History will judge Obama to be an incompetent Chicago "community organizer" who never had the qualifications to be president (Unless blowing hot air out of your ass and making it smell like perfume is the primary qualification needed.)

Sorry Barack, you can't vote "present" on this one.

Stop voting these liars and scumbags into office. Vote 3rd party.

And how many of you for this were against the socalled "surge" in Iraq? And are we out of there yet? No, and we won't be. And I will then also say this, should this drag on indefinitely because it expands into Pakistan I hope all the young men for it in this thread sign up to go there to fight for Obama. Any takers on that?

There you go Barack, put it off another week so you can be on prime time TV again. It's only our troops lives at stake.

All you people who are claiming that this is some kind of betrayal, how about posting one quote where candidate Obama said he was going to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan (not Iraq Leonidis)?

Here's an article where he says just the opposite:

"The central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was," said Obama, who has claimed combat brigades needed to battle the Taliban have been diverted to Iraq and vowed to take the fight to "Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

http://tinyurl.com/7ppgfg

So where's the betrayal exactly?

4 more years of bush w00t w00t. He didn't just inherit the problems, he's making them worse. **cues SNL clip.**
How about he brings the troops home? didn't he say he wants them home?
Our residing over there has allowed the once limited opiate production (limited by the taliban) to flourish because of improper limiting techniques. Taliban 1, US 0.
Impeach obama!

I'm not happy about a troop increase in Afghanistan either. But I didn't expect anything different. Obama said time and time again during the campaign that Afghanistan was vital to our national security and that it had been neglected because of Iraq. You can agree or disagree with that conclusion if you want, but to suggest that he's pulling some kind of bait and switch here is disingenuous. Anyone who expected some kind of blanket withdraw from Afghanistan simply wasn't paying attention during the election. And here's an idea, why not hear the man out? While I'd prefer no increase in the number of troops, I think an increase that comes with a clear plan to end the war is better than endless occupation under deteriorating conditions.

csmonut,

I recognize that you are a minority opinion (on this site and judging by polls across the states) and therefore are brave in posting your opinion.

I think we do need to talk about some of the good things that are happening in afganistan.

However, we need also to recognize how far we have to go and whether it's possible to accomplish it's almost unstated goals in afganistan.

We need to recognize that the elections were fraudulent and so we don't have democracy. We need to recognize that the Taliban didn't appear out of knowhere but were created by us in getting the Soviet's out. We need to be sensitive to the way we are arming war lords to keep some sort of peace, and to ask ourselves what kind of new Taliban are we creating that we can liberate Afghan's from tomorrow. We need to ask ourselves how bombing campaigns are affecting moderates, and about the subsequent rise in terrorism. We also need to recognize if their is no economy, and therefor no government budget how we can ever leave without the government being overrun by the war lords involved in the drug trade (or Karzai's brother who was on the CIA's payroll). We have created an inevitable war unless poppies can somehow become less profitable then other forms of business .

We also need to ask ourselves if our intentions historically have been benevelent and if they haven't been what reasons have we fought wars. Karzai's was involved in an oil pipleline project supported by the US prior to being elected. The US wants to reduce it's dependence on Russian pipelines.

I recognize that leaving is an ugly decision, but I think we have created a situation where there is no right answers, and the longer we are there the more enemies we are making.

Important note: An EXIT STRATEGY is included. Obama sent his advisers back to the drawing board multiple times so they could create benchmarks and a competent exit strategy. In addition, President Obama made clear to some of his advisers that the commitment is not open-ended. But of course we focus on troop #s, not the nitty gritty details. For instance, infrastructure building, humanitarian aid, a focus on protecting cities, and other tactics are included in the plan.

Alas, many will look at the tree, and not the forest.

PREZBHO take your time no rush troops are just dying because of your lack of experience.

At the risk of getting torn apart here, and I am not saying I am for war in any context, but .......
Afghanistan and the people are different from Iraq.
And while I am sure there are many that would wish us gone....schools have reopened, and women and children are now attending those schools. Music is once again allowed to be played, where it had not been heard for many seasons.
Markets are once again opened.
The army is being trained...and without the fear of secular terrorist bombings that Iraq has had so much trouble with.
It is not perfect, but we are there, whether those of us here like it or not.
I don't recall Obama saying he would recall all the troops and leave the Afghani people to fend for themselves now that their fragile infrastructure was torn to bits.
As for change, the US is experiencing some of that change. Health care is now being debated. More politicians are being prosecuted for wrong doings. People on both sides of all fences are speaking out. The racism that is so prevalent in this country, but hidden within political correctness, is being revealed for just what it is. So called Christians are also showing their true colors.
Change is taking place....but maybe not as fast as people need it to, or want it to. And maybe we won't like some of those changes, but...Change is the only constant. Nothing stays the same.

you don't go into a country and then just leave the people that stood up to assist you holding the bag unless your name is G Bush the first. Afghanistan is un-winnable for our Hollywood and Aircraft carrier sensibilities. said, a push in manpower and assistance for a 2 year period is honorable. The focus should be on assistance.

Oh yes, he did win the Nobel PEACE prize didn't he. For what again?

It was clear from the campaign that he supported an increased offensive in Afghanistan/Pakistan. If we seperate the language of change and hope from his centrist policy which he has always advocated, we would not be surprised about another increase in troops, while similarly not finding enough money in the budget for a second stimulus.

I know we hoped for change, but as long as we have a system that's funded by the rich and their corporate sponsors, our government will represent them and not the people. This should not be surprising. 9 out 10 persons elected in the states are the top fundraisers in their campaign. If we want a representative government we need full public financing of not only presidential campaigns, but campaigns for every government office. Elections are currently paid for by the rich, but if we tax it out of them rather then have them lobby with it, we may move towards a system of government that might someday be recognizably representative.

Obama is a _____________, (since current censors my comments now--I'll let you fill in the blank. But I will remember that next time I win a Nobel Peace Prize, the smartest thing to do is to double the number of troops that I sent before I won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Hopefully the "Thought Police" won't be chasing me after that comment.

looks like a pic from a video game like "Call of Duty" or "Modern Warfare."

How depressing. So much for change. I voted for that guy.

.. damn!...just another corporate puppet. what was i thinking. i guess all that talk about "change" got the best of me. now i just feel used.

He's so full of shit ! Obama's rhetoric is no different than Bush's. He's more eloquent, but he's saying the same damn things. Why do these MF'ers even bother to tell us what they're doing anymore, they just do whatever the hell they please without regard to what the populace wants or feels.

Win ? War is THE no win situation . This will bankrupt us , just like it did russia .

WIN? Are they delusional? And win what? Just another Bush. EIGHT YEARS they had to "win" and all they have done is kill innocent civilians, inflame them to hate us more, and of course instituted their corproate agenda which is the REAL reason why they aren't pulling out. What a betrayal.

Afghanistan will never be won. But I suppose the Afghan Navy has its fleet coming to Boston Harbor or San Francisco Bay. Yep, we gotta fight 'em over there or over here, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggghhhhhhhhhht!!! And WHO armed the Taliban to fight Russia?

Obama can't please the left or right. He just made a lot of promises he never intended on keeping, but wow doesn't he speak well!! I get jitters and this little tingle up the back of my leg everytime I hear him(lol). The annointed one better enjoy his 3 more yrs as pres. I just hope the democrats try to re-elect him. Nobody would show his senate record before the election but most now know he has no core principles to speak of other than to say whatever it takes to get power.

how does it feel to murder innocent women and children, democrats?

I voted for Obama, and I thoroughly oppose the wars, but I do have several friends in the military who've been to Iraq and Afghanistan and say that the only way to safely and responsibly leave is to have more troops.

I must say: This is surprising. From past speeches, I didn't think he'd go in this direction. I suppose we'll see...

So it seems as if the bogus war in Afghanistan gets paid and we get nothing in healthcare. Our priority's are so screwed up and it's obvious too me we are no longer in charge.

we elected a comunity organizer as president because he was pretty