Thanks for showing that you cannot backup your absurd accusations.

Whats the problem SuperDave, you can dish out criticism but can't take it yourself. If you REALLY wanted the US to succeed (ie: no save haven for al Qaeda) in Afghanistan then what difference would it make how long it takes Obama to make his decision?
"Make a decision and move on!" Simple as that is it? "Obama is voting "present" because he has no spine." Yes, I'm sure the fact Obama is taking time to make his decision has nothing to do with significance of the decision. The lives of American AND Allied soldiers hang in the balance but what do you care, just hurry up. If you're such a great military strategist, run, don't walk, out to Washington and offer your services. Pathetic describes a layman like you, not knowing ANY of the facts, feeling justified in criticizing Obama for being pragmatic. But hey, don't question the "know-it-all", SuperDave.
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"Idiot" originally referred to "layman, person lacking professional skill", "person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning".

Based on your comments I think you're the one having trouble with "ordinary reasoning". Once you post you're fair game. If you can't stand the scrutiny then don't post.

Panama: You said "DiGriz, vatoloco and SuperDave think we should let Al Qaeda and the Taliban get a free pass for attacking the US. They say the war in Afghanistan is a mistake. I disagree!" Thanks for telling me what I think. Back it up. I have never said this to anyone on this forum, but you are truly an idiot. Back it up, or shutup.

"I believe we had every right to go into Afghanistan and eliminate both Al Qaeda and the Taliban after what occurred on 9/11."
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Panama, keep in mind that many of the Taliban and Al Queda that we fought in 2001 are now dead or moved elsewhere, such as to Sudan or Pakistan. The ones we are dealing with now are the result of eight years of indoctrination in the madrassas by the mullahs. If there was a finite number of Taliban, it might be worth it to wipe them out for 9/11 or for fun. The problem is, they keep growing new ones...and they do this RELIGIOUSLY. They are not so much Taliban anymore, but Jihadi. This is a holy war to them, to repel the infidels that have invaded their region and seek to change their way of life. This is their "Red Dawn II." America never had a real "Red Dawn." To them, we are just another of a long string of "Red Dawns." Does the movie analogy help at all with perspective? How about this quote?:
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"Our Islamic Emirate had collapsed with less than 40 days of resistance - I couldn't accept that. Allah would let us rise again, I thought, because of all the blood we had spilled for Islam." -- Maulvi Abdul Reyman Akhundzada, Taliban Commander in 2001 (who ended up selling potatoes in Pakistan in 2003, but now commands Taliban again in Afghanistan)

Panama:

True, they gave safe-haven to Al Qaeda, which they now regret. They call those people "camels," by the way. They have no love for them anymore, and only tolerate them because they are Muslims. Other than that, they don't trust them any more than they trust us.
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I believe that we came over here to kick some serious behind in 2001, rather than just shoot a couple of cruise missles. The point was to destroy the training camps, and create an enviromnment that AQ could not work out of. We did that. They were killed, or they left. That should be it. It makes no sense to me to that we are spending billions of dollars and wasting our lives propping up a corrupt government that secretly hates us, but wants to squeeze as much money out of us as they can. They will NEVER have a central government and the national identity required to peacefully administer it to all the regions of Afghanistan. To do so, they would have to change from a tribal society which has lasted for thousands of years, and that is just not going to happen. The taliban are no different than any other political party on the map here. Their platform is merely religion. I see a commonality with the religious right in the U.S. Their intent is to force their form of government on the people for religious reasons. We are in their way, so they fight us. This is a civil war here, as it is in Pakistan with the same fellows. We did what we came to do. It is not our job as a nation to build a democracy or republic out of Afghanistsan because they harbored terrorists, or to help them fight a civil war. In the end, we will fail, and at what cost??? If I thought our efforts here would benefit the U.S. and make the world safer for my children, I'd be all for it. But it won't.
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Most of the Al Queda elements have actually left this region, and have moved their operations and training camps to Sudan. If we follow the same policy as we are currently following, then we should invade Sudan next. When will it end??
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We are wasting lives and money. There should be no deliberation, and those in power clearly see the parallels with Vietnam. President Obama should not pull an LBJ. We should say "thanks for your hospitality, we did what we came to do, and it's time to go on to better and less violent things if the terrorists will let us. If they don't, we'll be back, and we won't be nice next time."

correction: Obama would be criticized by the RIGHT, no matter when or what decision is made.

I thought the poetry was rather clever.
(Who said Horowitz was ever a journalist? This article is an opinion.)

The Afghanistan problem is more complicated than "leave" or "stay". The tough part is deciding how to accomplish either decision. Obama would be criticized by the left no matter when or what decision is made. Considering that we've been there for EIGHT+ YEARS, with no real progress, it's about time a President actually puts some thought into why we're there, and what the strategy should be. Personally, I think it's time to leave. The initial reasons for being there have passed, the perps long gone.

It's because of crap like this story that people hate poetry!!!

;~(

DiGriz, vatoloco and SuperDave think we should let Al Qaeda and the Taliban get a free pass for attacking the US. They say the war in Afghanistan is a mistake. I disagree! After all, those responsible for attacking this country were given safe haven and allowed to prosper in Afghanistan. I believe we had every right to go into Afghanistan and eliminate both Al Qaeda and the Taliban after what occurred on 9/11. But Bush, Cheney and Rumsfield decided Iraq was a larger threat (to cheap oil, not national security) and we spent all our time and resources fighting a war that had nothing to do with the attack of the US.
Now Obama and this administration is stuck trying to accomplish what Bush could not. Is it going to be easy? Of course not, if it was then Bush would have posed with his “mission accomplished” banner in Kabul. Instead Obama is trying to come up with a strategy of dealing with an enemy that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfield could not.
I encourage President Obama to take his time, the end result is much more important than the pace of his decisions. It would seem DiGriz, vatoloco and SuperDave have little capacity for deliberation and analysis or poignant commentary for that matter.

I wonder if Horrorwitless has any real talent he can fall back on.....? He sucks as a journalist - all he can write is stuff like this column, which is trash.

I also find it amusing (in a cynical way) that we are trying to get Karzai to sign another compact to reduce corruption, distribute power, etc. The first one signed back in 2006 didn't work, why do they think another one will?? A: No reason - something to do.

And, it's obvious that the reason Obama has been sitting on his hands regarding the question of whether or not to pull an LBJ in Afghanistan is because he wanted to see who he'd be dealing with after the now cancelled runnoff election..............like it matters. It doesn't matter - at all.
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We are supposed to learn from our mistakes, not repeat them. This Soviet invasion of this country was the Soviet's Vietnam, we are ignoring the lessons learned from ours, AND the Soviet's. At least Vietnam made sense to some. This effort here in Afghanistan is just insane. Unless you convert these people to Christianity, they will not participate in any attempt to govern them in any way other than they are accustomed to. The Soviets learned the hard way.......why do we have to try?? It makes no sense...

Digriz-Why do you think Obama is taking too much time to decide? Americans are dying at a faster now it seems. Get out now!

Karzai stole the election, which is why Abdullah said it wasn't worth fighting for it. It's all just a power grab, anyways. These guys only care about Kabul, and what they can get out of it. These people are opportunists. Just like the jerks building two dormitories here on Bagram. They couldn't finish the contract, which was worth 5 million. They get to keep the money. So the next contractor comes in - They are getting paid 20 million to finish the two buildings - so, two buildings that were worth 4-5 million are being built for 25 Million or so.......... Nice........

This column is pathetic. RH continues to top his previous drivel. Obama is voting "present" because he has no spine. Make a decision and move on!

V - That's right! They don't want to be rebuilt, and they don't even want their own central government - except for the tribal self-government they've had for thousands of years. What we are doing amounts to supporting Karzai with the forced institution of his government over a people that do not want it. We are, in effect, supporting his side in a Civil War!! He fights not only the Taliban, but tribes that want to be left alone, which join the Taliban against a common foe, including us! I don't think we should be 6800 miles away fighting in a civil war we have no real interest in. This country means nothing to us, unless there is a real demand for gourmet gravel - which is the only thing this country has to offer other than heroin/hashish.

Let Afghanistan self destruct and everyone just kill each other if they want. We can still hold our agressive position on terrorism without trying to rebuild a nation that does not want to be rebuilt. Enough is enough. The Muslims will never change thier way of thinking against the West.

Wow, yours was the only comment in this article and yet it was number 4 in the list of Popular Discussions. You really carry some weight DiGriz.

That was worth a lot more than 2 cents sir. I sure hope that Washington is hearing that message. Thanks for the input DiGriz. Be safe.

Once again, Horrorwitless needs to take a cheap shot at the prior administration. I'm surprised that he was able to get through high-school, let alone get a job at a newspaper....oh wait, I'm not surprised. He's a journalist......
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Rope - Tree - Journalist: Some assembly required.
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My two cents is that we don't need to wait. Do not send more troops over here to Afghanistan. It is accomplishing nothing, it's a waste of money, and worse yet - lives. Retrograde. Get us out of Afghanistan. They helped with 9/11, we kicked their rear ends as punishment, they got the point. They will never have an effective government in this country, no matter what we do, nor do they want us here to help if we are going to leave anyways, which we will.