Hagel and Kerry Mean Obama Is Ready to Leave Afghanistan -- Finally

[unhappycamper]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/hagel-and-kerry-mean-obam_b_2440346.html

Hagel and Kerry Mean Obama Is Ready to Leave Afghanistan -- Finally
Jon Soltz
Posted: 01/09/2013 11:34 am

As the Obama adminstration prepares to meet with Hamid Karzai at the White House on Friday, something significant is happening at the White House regarding Afghanistan, and it is good for American security and our troops.

Not coincidentally, it has to do with two combat veterans, with five purple hearts between them. John Kerry as Secretary of State, and Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense mark the clearest intention to date that President Obama believes there is nothing more we can do in Afghanistan, it is time to bring our troops home (leaving only a counter-terror force in the region), and that it is time to definitively shut down the neocons.

In Hagel and Kerry, he is bringing aboard one man who opposed the surge in Afghanistan, and has long called for a drawdown, and another who quickly realized the surge was not a success, and called for a shift in strategy.

"I disagreed with the President Obama -- his decision to surge in Afghanistan -- as I did with President Bush on the surge in Iraq," Hagel told the Financial Times in 2011. "Of course, no force in the world can stand the sophisticated power of American military. Nobody can stay on the field with you, but that's not the issue. That never was the question. The question is then, 'What happens next? Where is this going? What is the end game? Is this going to lead to a unified nation? Is this going to lead to a national resolution of national governance, of freedom for individuals? Is that what we're buying here?' That's the question."

[Bluenorthwest]

1. Of course Hagel voted in favor of the War in Iraq. Let us remember that 23 of his peers voted NO

Hagel along with his Republican cohort voted to invade Iraq because they thought there were WMDs. It was the single worst decision ever made in the Senate. 23 Senators made the right decision and voted no. 21 Democrats, 1 Republican of courage Lincoln Chaffee and 1 Independent.
Hagel voted Yes, Mr Bush Sir, please drop the bombs Sir.
It is sad that those who were wrong about Iraq were all rewarded and those who were right were forgotten.

[pinboy3niner]

2. Except it wasn't a vote for war

Many voted for the resolution just to put pressure on Saddam Hussein, never dreaming that Bush would actually launch an unjustified invasion.