According to Bob Woodward"s "Obama's Wars," Obama wants to end it, but the top military are for it.

[Cal33]

Obama had always insisted on an exit strategy, and wanted no more than an 18-month engagement
in Afghanistan. He had always thought that there were more important priorities than the
war in Afghanistan. I sure hope Woodward is correct. But aren't the 18 months already up?

readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/55-55/3502-obamas-afghan-war-strategy-end-it

[madokie]

1. As the man said

he didn't expect the opposition would be this strong.
Neither did I but I did have a hunch that it would be.

[TBF]

2. Eisenhower was quite clear with his warning. nt

[stray cat]

3. Most all want to end it - but all answers are bad answers and there is disagreement

On which bad outcomes to choose

[Cal33]

9. "Most all want to end it," but not the Neocon corporatists and not the top military

people. They are pro war. The two are already close together enough. We all
know that military people mostly vote Republican (Gen. Wesley Clark is an exception).
One thing that separates them is that most of the military people are like the
old-timer Republicans, they're not crazy like the Neocons and Teabaggers. But this
line of difference is not that wide, and as I wrote in a post above, Obama probably
doesn't want to bring them any closer by giving too "harsh" orders to the military.
He has to do it slowly and gently.

This is only an opinion of mine, of course, but I think he has a pretty difficult
balancing act to do in order to carry out what he wants to do.

If the Neocons should win next month as well as in 2012, I think it's "Good-bye
Democracy and Hello Plutocracy" for us. As I said earlier, we are living in
dangerous times. Corporate America is trying to make sure that they alone have
all the political say, and the rest of us have only to obey. We're already
part-way there! Haven't you noticed?

[VMI Dem]

4. Now that is some strong leadership.

:eyes:

[Cal33]

5. I've thought for a long time that the real objective of the Neocons and the Corporatists

is to turn our democracy into a plutocracy altogether. And if the military were
to join them, things will really become bad. I'm engaging in a fantasy that
Obama is doing a balancing act in order to prevent the above from happening. We
are living in very interesting times, but also a very dangerous one. Don't you
think?

[leveymg]

6. Historically, Republics are comparatively short-lived.

Athenian Kingdoms - 2000 plus years; Athenian Classical Republic - 200 years; Foreign occupation, Petty Kingdoms - 1000 years plus; modern democracy - 100 years; modern dictatorships - 50 years

Roman Kingdoms - 1500 plus years; Roman Republic- 450 years; Roman Empire - 450 years; Foreign Occupation, Petty Kingdoms - 1000 years plus; modern democracy - 75 years; modern dictatorship - 20 years.

British Kingdoms - 2000 plus years; Modern Democratic Monarchy - 150 years

French Kingdoms (post Roman) - 1500 years; modern democracies - 180 years; foreign occupation, petty Kingdoms - 40 years

[Cal33]

10. Very true, but you are comparing the old days with the present

time, and there is a big difference. In the old days there were very few
republics, perhaps one or two in the entire world at any one time. Today,
many if not most of the nations of the world are republics.

[Scuba]

7. Out in 30 days...

...all military and contracted troops. Everyone but diplomatic and humanitarian workers.

Can that "bad ending" be any worse than any of the others??

[rug]

8. Who's the Commander-in-Chief?

[Gaedel]

11. That is the trap........

Obama gets tough with the military and says "Out right now". Military protests (publicly). Obama says "Out right now or else". We pull out right away. Afghanistan turns to crap. Military goes public, "we told him this was going to happen". Media says, "Democrats weak on national security and lost Afghanistan for us".

[Cal33]

12. What you say is a good possibility, if not probability. Furthermore, most

of the top military officers are already Republican, I don't think Obama would
want to push them any further to the right - into the arms of the Neocons.

[spanone]

13. i wonder how much any chief commands these days

i got a feeling when you get that job they sit you down and explain how it will work.

what you can fuck with and what you can't. and the consequences if you do.

cynical? i reckon

[Cal33]

14. Considering that Obama has had no experience with the military

at all, he probably had to learn from scratch. But, I understand he is a fast learner.
A president has to make the final decisions all the time in areas in which he has no
expertise. This is the norm for the position of president. Even an extremely
intelligent individual can know only so much. But a president has to make important
decisions in EVERY FIELD. So, it's incredibly important for him to choose good advisers.
There is sufficient cause for some cynicism, I suppose.