Topic: Obama Pulls the Plug on Afghanistan

[Libertas]

If we are going to fight to lose, GTFO as soon as possible, sick of seeing our people die for nothing!  Obama can have the legacy of what happens after tied around his neck, he can blame Bush all he wants, I don't really care anymore...just get our people out of that shythole!

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/02/good-news-for-the-taliban-obama-asks-pentagon-for-complete-afghanistan-withdrawal-plan/

[Glock32]

It was a mistake to ever go in there in the first place, in the manner they did. Forget all this nation building crap. Frankly, it tasks our people with an impossible mission and they pay for it with their lives. I'm also tired of these things necessarily being inconclusive affairs, because it makes us look militarily incompetent. When conflict after conflict follows the same pattern of us withdrawing after years of whack-a-mole, it plays into that notion that we are a paper tiger without the stomach to win a fight. Militarily that is not true. Culturally and politically, I am afraid it is.

The political establishment is too eager to enter into conflicts, but too timid to actually win them once engaged. I'm sick of our guys paying the price for that incoherence.

[AlanS]

It was a mistake to ever go in there in the first place, in the manner they did. Forget all this nation building crap. Frankly, it tasks our people with an impossible mission and they pay for it with their lives. I'm also tired of these things necessarily being inconclusive affairs, because it makes us look militarily incompetent. When conflict after conflict follows the same pattern of us withdrawing after years of whack-a-mole, it plays into that notion that we are a paper tiger without the stomach to win a fight. Militarily that is not true. Culturally and politically, I am afraid it is.

The political establishment is too eager to enter into conflicts, but too timid to actually win them once engaged. I'm sick of our guys paying the price for that incoherence.

True story. If they'd let the military do what they're trained to (break shyt and kill people), the wars would end quickly.

[oldcoastie6468]

True story. If they'd let the military do what they're trained to (break shyt and kill people), the wars would end quickly.

So true. 100% true.

[Libertas]

True story. If they'd let the military do what they're trained to (break shyt and kill people), the wars would end quickly.

So true. 100% true.

That's been a problem since Korea.

But if they could not be fully unleashed, if they were going to fall short of total victory, then they should have left after the initial bombardment and not put boots on the ground, we should have turned around and left.  If the Tali get pissy again, bombard them some more if you want.  But we should not have ever committed boots on the ground if we had no intention of ever conducting total war and achieving total victory.

Same for Iraq, GW1 should have not pulled up short, GW2 was fine up until we decided to stay and nation-build.  If people wanted the latter they should have left that to regional powers to lead, being in-country and a constant reminder to crazies and wannabe-crazies that foreign interlopers are prancing about is just stupid.  If you are not interested in taking over the nation and seizing 100% of it and make it your terroritory, what the frack are you doing there?

[Glock32]

I knew we were off on the wrong foot when GWB's administration made a big deal about the humanitarian food air drops being "halal".

[Libertas]

Yeah.  Hate asskissing the Religion of Death, and seeking PR cred for it?      

[oldcoastie6468]

Why can't we pull the plug on The One?

[Libertas]

I'm not touching Reggie!