Now its Obama's war and no one else's

[ThomWV]

First off Obama needs to get rid of Gates, but beyond that as of today President Obama has taken full responsibility for Afghanistan, there is no one else to blame for us being there but his stubborn refusal to leave that illegitimate occupation and war.

[Catherina]

1. Rec'd. Still 0 but recommended. n/t

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Same here

[Catherina]

11. You really have to feel sorry for the unrec crowd. +3 now.

Unreccing it doesn't change the fact that it's Obama's war and it doesn't hide it very well either. :hi:

[inna]

32. +25 now

:hi:

[AnArmyVeteran]

19. There are probably more Al Qaeda in the US than in Afghanistan. Should we declare war on ourselves?

I'm willing to bet there are more Al Qaeda members in the US than in Afghanistan. According to intelligence there is almost zero Al Qaeda presence in Afghanistan. So why did President Obama say we are in Afghanistan to fight Al Qaeda when they aren't there? Since there are probably more Al Qaeda in the US shouldn't the president start sending drones around the United States to strike possible Al Qaeda targets?

Ridiculous yes, but so is the Afghanistan War which is the equivalent to swatting at mosquitos in a jungle. We could stay there for 5,000 years and there will still be 'insurgents' firing at our military and trying to kill them. If the US was occupied by any other country's military, people all over the US would be shooting at them too. President Obama needs to stop this madness now and stop perpetuating Bush's Wars.

[indepat]

22. Perpetuating any of junior's initiatives, policies, or actions will come back to bite one in the

ass as surely as the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. Moreover, retaining any junior's embedded ideologues in any government agency, be it Justice or Interior (MMS), for example, will just as surely come back to bite one in the ass, metaphorically speaking of course as always. :P

[AnArmyVeteran]

23. :) But I think there needs to be a lot of literal ass kicking...

And massive purging of any and all Bush leftovers in government. If it's bu$h it's bad.

[indepat]

36. Holistically, irrevocably, and ubiquitously bad, corrupt, illegal, immoral, inhumane,

you get the drip, but that's just my opinion and I was wrong once. :P

[Obamanaut]

24. We have declared war on ourselves. Look at the Gulf. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. It's Obama's Katrina Haitian Earthquake Blowout.

[JuniperLea]

9. Recession Bailout Healthcare...

.

[berni_mccoy]

28. Don't forget Warmongering Corporatist Bush-Nazi...

all of that and worse are used here on a regular basis.

[VMI Dem]

3. Been his since his surge.

[SammyWinstonJack]

40. +1. nt

[Abq_Sarah]

4. It's been his

Since he was inaugurated. That's part of being President.

[The Gunslinger]

5. That's what they'll say on the Fox channel tonight .

[LaydeeBug]

38. Oh, hunny PLEASE, they've been saying that on Fox Snews a week before election night '08. nt

[WeDidIt]

7. Funny, that's a bout the fifth time I've seen this statement on DU since 1/20/09

Odd.

[johnnie]

8. Heh n/t

[JuniperLea]

10. He took responsibility a long time ago...

Who did you think it belonged to since 1/20/09?

[NYC_SKP]

13. Yep.

I really don't see the utility in identifying when it became "his war", frankly.

President Obama takes full responsibility, he did when he that took the oath of office.

:patriot:

[JuniperLea]

18. Yep...

He did it with a very broad brush, and he hasn't backed down.

Nit-pickery is exhausting sometimes.

:patriot:

[KonaKane]

12. Sort of.

He is stuck with handling it now, but never forget who started it. More importantly, we cannot let the voters forget who started both of these idiotic exploits.

[mike_c]

14. it's been his ever since he dismissed opportunities to end it...

...in favor of imperialism as usual.

[spanone]

15. he did that when he took office and sent more troops

[FrenchieCat]

16. That's been the case for some time now.

What changed?

[G_j]

17. word

[Spazito]

20. Holy crap!

I have NEVER read that before on DU! Oh....wait a minute....it has been said all the time by some and for almost 18 months. I am glad you didn't use "Breaking News" as a header though, that might have been a tad over the top.

[Ignis]

21. It's interesting that no one's responded to your comment re: Gates.

[area51]

25. Yes.

Two illegal wars of choice, actually, and a never-ending money spigot for them, but no money for single-payer health care, infrastructure rebuilding, housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, fixing the too-low Medicare reimbursal fees, expanding Medicare, closing the donut hole, etc.

[SunnySong]

26. It's been Obama's war for a while now. nt

[Xenotime]

31. No. It's still his war.

[berni_mccoy]

27. Because Bush fucked it up for 8 years. Yep, it's Obama's responsibility to clean up the shitpile

left by Bush.

[amborin]

29. the military thinks it's unwinnable.....

[Radical Activist]

30. And your point?

Is there something productive to be gained by repeating this Fox News blame game?

[inna]

33. That's a pretty nasty comment, actually. You're falsely accusing the poster of repeating right-wing

talking points. Which is a totally absurd accusation, since clearly the point that the OP makes is left-wing/anti-war and the opposite of right-wing:

"First off Obama needs to get rid of Gates, but beyond that as of today President Obama has taken full responsibility for Afghanistan, there is no one else to blame for us being there but his stubborn refusal to leave that illegitimate occupation and war."

Why do you always attack posters with whom you disagree? Why not argue the point with which you disagree?

I'm just curious because I saw you do it several times. :shrug:

[Radical Activist]

34. I'm addressing the talking point.

I'm raising a legitimate and important issue. This is a Fox News talking point. That's an unquestionable fact. Why does Fox News repeat this? What agenda are they pursuing when they make that statement? Do we as progressives agree with that agenda? Does it help to end the war by spreading this meme?

I appreciate that the poster wants to end the war but I'm not sure spreading this meme contributes to that goal. It's good for venting frustration at Obama for continuing the war. I understand that.

Things associated with Bush are unpopular. Naming it Bush's mistake will probably build public sentiment for getting out faster and fixing the mistake. Pushing the idea that it's Obama's war helps end it sooner because....??

[Caliman73]

39. Respectfully disagree.

Though progressives remember that Bush started and compounded the mess, I think that many in the population have moved on to the next thing. Yes, Fox repeats this message to score political points plain and simple. I tend to give a poster on DU a little more credit until proven otherwise. The reality is that President Obama is responsible for defining our reason to be in Afghanistan and the appearance is that the same reason given by the Bush administration is being given by president Obama. Naming is Bush's mistake will fire up people who already despise Bush, but I think the average American understands the Bush is out of power and has no more control over how the war is conducted. The sooner Obama gets us out, the easier it will be to say, "President Obama got us out of Bush's mistake in Iraq and Afghanistan. If in 6 years we are still there, then that would mean that President Obama did not end the conflict. Vietnam is not Eisenhower's war or Kennedy's war despite them putting in troops and escalating the conflict. It is considered Johnson's war because of the decisions he made about its conduct, even though 4 presidents were involved in the conflict.

I agree with you that pinning blame on Obama about the war is like saying that Regan was responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both are inaccurate. The problem is that by continuing to blame Bush, we do not push Obama to make the changes needed to get out. If we are still in Afghanistan in 2014 with Obama in his second term, would it still be Bush's war?

[Martin Eden]

35. Sorry, NO

We would not still be in Afghanistan if GW Bush hadn't invaded and stayed for 7+ years without any coherent plan for securing the country or for exiting.

There are genuine national security issues at stake in Afghanistan:
1) A Taliban takeover could make it the base for more major terrorist attacks on our soil.
2) The shaky government of nuclear-armed Pakistan could be on even shakier ground with Taliban more fully able to support their militant brethren in the tribal border region that have been battling the Pakistani govt.

Obama campaigned on this being the "necessary" war, so don't be surprised that he has made an effort to turn the situation in Afghanistan around after years of bungling by Bush.

And if an immediate pullout is what you want, don't be at all surprised when the political fortunes of the Republican Party are revived after images of a triumphant Taliban marching through the streets of Kabul celebrating their victory by burning American flags are splashed incessantly across our TV screens.

Sadly, that scene may be inevitable. Afghanistan is very likely an unwinnable FUBAR, but make no mistake: it is that way because the administration of GW Bush really made it Fucked Up Beyond All Repair.

Considering the very real potential consequences of a Taliban victory, I don't blame President Obama for trying to accomplish what candidate Obama said was necessary. We will see what happens between now and July 2011. If significant progress isn't made with success and exit in sight, then he's got to make the case before the American people and our allies (who have contributed to this effort the whole time) that it is useless to continue pouring more blood and treasure down that hole.

Yeah, it's probably useless right now, but I think he had to try and I for one still blame Bush for making this FUBAR.

[glinda]

37. It is still Bush and Cheney's doing though.