Obama considers leaving no troops in Afghanistan

[UCmeNdc]

President Barack Obama would consider a plan for post-2014 Afghanistan that left no American troops in the country, a senior US official said Tuesday, as President Hamid Karzai headed to Washington.

Officials however stressed that Obama, mulling how fast to draw down US soldiers from the country, would not be guided by specific future troop levels, but would decide the fate of the American presence based on strategic needs.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/08/obama-considers-leaving-no-troops-in-afghanistan/

[libdem4life]

1. What was impossible for a first-term President, becomes possible when re-elected for a 2nd term.

[bluestateguy]

2. I bet we leave less than 1000

Enough to guard the embassy.

[former9thward]

23. We should not have any troops there.

Including guarding the embassy. We should not have embassies in countries where we need hundreds or thousands to guard it. If our officials are in danger and the host country can't be relied on to protect them then close the embassy down.

[Cha]

3. I hope it's the best, strategically speaking. So freaking

nice not to have any American troops there at all. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

[davidpdx]

4. Agreed

We have been stretched thin for so long that we need to rehabilitate our military and replace both manpower and machinery lost in the wars. That is going to take years.

[freshwest]

15. +1

[Hekate]

5. Good plan. Let's get our guys and gals OUT of there.

[progressoid]

6. Ooooh, maybe he'll get another Nobel Peace Prize.

[pediatricmedic]

11. He will gladly accept after ordering the latest drone strikes

[Demo_Chris]

7. The CINC needs to stop fucking talking and actually pull the troops out.

Bush started this insanity, but Obama has owned it for the last four years.

I know, it's no longer acceptable for a democrat to talk about the poor, or to oppose wars, but fuck that -- I've never been one of the cool kids anyway. THIS war has been Obama's for the last four years. Four YEARS added to the carnage. And for NOTHING. We have no plan to win, and we have no intention of winning. We are there for no purpose other than lining the pockets of the hyper-wealthy.

I believe that there are some things that NO ONE, Democrat or Republican, should EVER accept from their leaders. And if war without purpose doesn't rise to that level than we don't stand for anything.

[John2]

21. I'm in

your camp here. This has come down to one part of the American public against another. It is the elite part of America against the other part. We went into Afghanistan because the Taliban refused to turn over Bin Laden and because of harboring Al Qaeda training camps that plotted against us. The Bush Administration installed Karzai in power under the dequise of the Taliban were terrorizing Afghanistan.

If you look deeper though, the Taliban were extremist Islamists students from Pakistan and some of those Pashtun tribes within Afghanistan. Karzai's group was part of the many miltant tribes that were fighting to gain power within Afghanistan. Those groups that come mainly from native tribes fights for the highest bidder.

What we have done is empowered the groups fighting against the Taliban with more sophisticated weapons and money. These people already knew how to fight because they have been fighting for years in that country against each other. Karzai has over 300,00 mercenaries in his Army and he still is requesting the U.S. to keep him in power. He is nothing but just another installed dictator.

The British, U.S. Chinese and other corporate interests of the West have also move in to claim the mining resources of Afghanistan which Karzai dictates who benefits from getting contracts. It is another part of our Empire to benefit the wealthy and the military industrial complex. They want to leave troops in Afghanistan under the cloud of defending us. It is total bullshit! And especially when it comes to cutting our safety net to just defend their Empire!

[RudynJack]

8. We should have no troops there

bin Laden's dead. That was our purpose.

We should give easy exit to those who don't want to live under the Taliban. Patriate them here, or find homes elsewhere. Then let them destroy their own country.

Nobody can fix Afghanistan. It's a damned shame - from everything I've heard it was a beautiful country filled with beautiful people. But we can't fix it with the military, and economic sanctions won't work when their economy is based on illegal exports.

So get the people who want to leave out, and let the Taliban rule. We're never going to defeat them. Let's isolate them.

[John2]

22. Oh no don't patriate them here!

they will probably become citizens and vote to continue to warmonger. Let them fight for their own independence but I doubt that is what they really want. As far as I'm concern Karzai is nothing but an opportunist profitting off our fears of Islamist extremists invading the U.S. That is ridiculous in itself. I think they attacked us because of our ties with Israel. Nobody don't want to say it but I am. This is nothing but another religious Jihad.

[bvar22]

9. I FULLY SUPPORT President Obama in this endeavor,

and strongly encourage to follow through!

I have Obama's back 100% on removing Every Single American soldier & "armed military consultant" from Afghanistan.

I will lead the Victory Parade!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. Don't consider it, Mr. President! DO IT!!

[2Design]

12. only highly paid 6 figure contractors ?

[truth2power]

19. Nailed it! When Obama says, 'troops" it depends on wht your definition of troops is. eom

[mike dub]

13. I had to turn off PBS Newshour tonight while they were discussing this

They introduced the two live guests as "former Reagan advisor" so 'n so, and "an assistant U.S. secretary of defense from 2006". They didn't just come out and say, "and a former Bush administration assistant" sec def.

Truly WTF?! PBS can't even bring themselves to say the shrub's name now when they have a shill guest on who used to be in his administration. As if anyone forgot what a human turd shrub was/is, and along with him, every one of his shills.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

14. Sensible

We have drones

[grahamhgreen]

16. "Sir, those people have been fighting each other for 500 year before we got there, and

I imagine they'll be fighting for another 500 years after we leave." - An army officer I interviewed about his off the record assessment of the Afghanistan situation in 2009.

So, unless you think we should be there for another 500 years, its time to GTFO!

[Sunlei]

17. get the ground troops out, leave the contractors and use eyes in the sky to watch them.

[JohnnyB]

18. Y R WE STILL THERE

We have no business even being there so why has Obama not pulled our troops out? I would think he and Bush have enough blood on their hands already. Bring our troops home now.

[Bonobo]

20. "Consider?"

What right does the US have to even contemplate leaving a single troop there?