CNN

Iraq has a better chance at becoming a civilized nation than Afghanistan.!

Mike, what part of inherited don't you get? At this point, it is his mess to clean up. If he fails to do so, it will be his fault. Same as the economy. But make no mistake as to when it started, who started it or why it was started. I'll take a smart man with good intentions over an idiot with questionable intentions all day.

isn't this strategy like, sort of, that employed with the vietnam war? surely, there are lessons learned from the vietnam war and our loss as we evacuated (retreated) dramatically from south vietnam as the north vietnamese poured into south vietnam.

If Busch sent 4000 troops to Afgahnistan you people would still be talking about it. Take our men and women out of Iraq and send them to Afgahnistan – what a plan that is!!! Oh yes, and here comes the fear tatic – that is how Obama gets his way. Scare the hell out of everybody and they will cave. I support our men and women in the military no matter where they are – I do NOT support Obama's policies. Send our troops home and let them protect us right HERE IN AMERICA. The people that want to harm us are right here – 911 told us that. Four more years of this and we will be ruined.

Umm, Bush offered us about 3 different reasons for going into Iraq. It wasn't about Saddam until they couldn't find a terrorist or a WMD. that is why people wanted Bush arrested.

Bush spent a few billion a day in Iraq, only to find out that no bid contracts went to Haliburton and the like. And our troops weren't getting the facilities or the equipment needed. Is that not a travesty?

Look, you can defend you hero at the sake of Obama all you like, but you can't dispute the facts. At best, you can do your usual, which is bend them, distort them, hell out right ignore them.

Thanks Fair is Fair. It just drives me a bit nuts when everyone keeps saying that.

Americans once again demonstrate a complete lack of history, both long term and short term.

#9 Shooky: This is not Obama 'standing corrected'. This is exactly what he said he would do in the second debate with McCain. Did you listen to the debate? Have you forgotten his commitment to scale down Iraq and scale up Afghanistan? It was only five months ago.

#11 Vietnam Vet: Hannibal in Afghanistan? Is that when he crossed the Alps? That's a good chuckle. You may want to know that under the Kublai Khan in the 13th century, Afghanistan was a land of total religous freedom and free of crime. A woman could walk alone the entire length of the silk road without fear. But Hannibal never got within 2000 miles of the place.

Stop giving away money we do not have.
Is that going to be all you know how to do is give away money?
How about take care of the needs in our country first.
Why don't you stop campainging for 2012 and get down to some real work.
You were not elected to be a world traveler or a PR person.
Take this job serious before we loose this country

@ Vietnam Vet........... First, thank you for your service. I agree Iraq & Afghanistan are another.......... V-i-e-t-n-a-m.

Any suggestions on how to deal with the TWO wars??

I am dismayed this morning, what is the solution? Do we get out of Afghanistan? Allow the Taliban to take control again?

Perhaps what WE THE PEOPLE ought to do is start writing to the White House and.........PROTESTING IN THE STREETS .........AND SHOUTING BRING OUR TROOPS HOME!

MR. PRESIDENT, I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER DOLLAR SPENT ON A WAR WE CAN NOT WIN!

President Obama has a sticky situation. He inherited these wars that he did not start and Bush did not end. If he pulls all troops out, Obama is accused of "cut and run". If he adds more troops it is an "escalation". Well, what do you think the surge was? Nothing more than an escalation with a $5.00 name on it!

What can we do? It looks like stabalize the best we can then bring our troops home. We won't win there. These people have been fighting since the dawn of time. The Afghan rebels sent the Soviets home without a victory in the 1980's.

@ Mike in Fairfax,

Well said!

I've been trying to point the same thing out, but for some reason the CNN "moderators" keep deleting my opinion.

@ Sniffit March 27th, 2009 10:24 am ET

@ Typical White Person, who asked "Now where are all the liberals who were demanding we stop spending money on the Middle East when Bush was in office…"

YOu can mischaracterize our criticism of Bush all you want pal. We didn't want to be spending the money in IRAQ, because we knew that we should've been focusing solely on AFGHANISTAN.

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Let's see. Back in 2002 we had a war going on in Afghanistan which everyone supported. Now, just down the street, so to speak, is this country called Iraq that has a dictator who keeps insisting publically that he destroyed all his WMDs while denying the inspectors access to the sites to confirm or deny the public grandstanding. Terrorists are flowing all around the region with no one stopping them at the borders to see if they have weapons: biological, chemical, explosive, whatever.

Given the information we had at the time, the worst case scenario would have been this: Iraq supplies chemical and/or biological weapons to terrorists who then take them back to Afghanistan and use them on our soldiers.

You can argue with 20/20 hindsight that no WMDs were found, but when you have a guy playing the shell game with something as critical as that you have to err on the side of caution. Focusing solely on Afghanistan would have been working with blinders and not taking a regional approach to protecting our soldiers.

All Sadam had to do to avert the Iraq war was to let the inspectors into the sites to verify instead of playing hide and seek with those mysterious trucks. Period.

@John from LA – This was the hand he was dealt. He didn't start this war but unfortunately he has to finish it. I will say that until the war is over.

Why is it that if I strive to buy a home at auction, and I win that bid, I'm the winner and I get what I bought. If the home turns out to be full of problems, that's my mistake and I need to fix it. Yet, if someone runs for President of the United States of America, knowing full well what he is trying to do, he "inherited" all the problems and issues that go with it. Give me a break! Obama wanted this mess. He felt he was the best man to fix it. It's about time he quit constantly laying blame and whining about what he "inherited". You inherit something that is given or left to you, not something you seek out. He didn't inherit this mess, he asked for it and got it.

Eric in Texas == I can't understand what you are saying, it makes no sense at all.

Vietnam vet is right. We need to either have military of NATO, EU, CHINA, RUSSIA, United Nations, in there helping us or get out. If it is important for world safety, then the world needs to be doing it, not the USA.

this is change! take our troops out of Iraq and put them into afganistan. did congress authorize this or is this Bush's fault also?

People on word. If you were the Presdent and had troops over there fightin for what? How would you handle this situation. Everyone is done on this President, but I think he has done his homework and cal actually fix this mess. We are all judging him before we know if this will work. Train someone to take care of their own mess is what I thought the President said and we will come out at a certain amounty of time. People let's see the timeline it takes to train and get out instead of saying you are wrong. At least the President has a solid plan instead of Bush let's go and then we will see how it works.

It does not matter if you are blue or red the pols don't care if you are dead.
Not a bit of difference between 43 and 44. They take their marching orders from the MIC.

Eisenhower warned the American People in 1959. Nothing has changed and nothing will.

Not smart , not engaging just the way it is.

Let's see since 1959: Vietnam........etc,etc.

Has there been one year since that warning when a gun was not fired somewhere in the world by an American soldier?

I was hoping that we could end Iraq, concentrate all our efforts to find Bin Laden, then get out of the region. The reason we went there originally was to seek and destroy Bin Laden. That didn't happen, so we toppled Sadam Hussein, who had nothing to do with the reason we went to war. Now, I feel that it's quagmire, and will end without resolution. It's the perfect time for President Obama to put his signature on the results. He is listening to the commanders in the region and Sec. Gates, but he has to bear in mind that these are people whose careers and lives breathe military/war. Sometimes it's not the way you win, but how you end. This is that time, I believe.
But be that as if may, I still stand by my man, President Obama.

@ John in LA, who said "Concentrate on ONE thing-the ECONOMY-and stop trying to prove to your BOTS that you can multi-task-a very OVER USED word these days!"

That's simply not realistic. He cannot focus solely on the economy and leave Afghanistan alone until we have fully recovered from this recession. We watched Bush pull that tunnel-vision crap for 8 years and it landed us in the messes we're in right now. You seek succor in your denial tho...whatever helps you sleep at night.

@ Digger, who asked "You people keep stating you want Bush charged so why not obama?"

Inane. Obama is not lying to start a war in the wrong country, he's cleaning up a mess left by Bush, who did lie to start a war in teh wrong country, thereby leaving the war in the correct country to flounder. Obama is not wire-tapping the American public. Obama is not going to torture prisoners, nor does he intend to hold them indefinitely without representation or a trial solely because they are SUSPECTED of being terrorists. You people trying to make it seem like Obama is doing nothing different than what Bush did are completely and utterly ridiculous and nobody with half a brain in their head will believe your talking points...I tend to doubt that you even believe them they're so insipid.

@ Vietnam Veteran,

You, my friend, are a patriot and a hero.

Please know that there are millions and millions of Americans who owe a debt of gratitude to you. I am humbled to be in that group.

Brad, WA March 27th, 2009 10:13 am ET

This is smart but will piss off a lot of independants and republicans. But as a loyal democrat, I must admit spending is almost as bad as Bush. But we are spending on good things rather than spending just because we can like republicans always do.
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By every calculation, prior to this new money, Obama's deficit would be triple that of Bush.

Another 1.5 billion---if they don't want to help themselves then what is the point?--democracy has to occur "within"-–you can't import it nor can you buy it.

ran March 27th, 2009 9:51 am ET

Finally doing what should have been done instead of going to Iraq.This war could have been over with if our leaders were to have done what President Obama is doing now.
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ONE WORD....WRONG!

If we had went to war in Afghanistan initially all of the terrorists would have taken refuge in Iraq under the Hussein regime. They would have been hailed as heroes by him. So six one half dozen or another, you still would have had to invade Iraq. We should have been back in Iraq in 1993. According to the cease fire with Iraq after Gulf War I Saddam Hussein had to allow weapons inspectors in at any time. if he did not he would be forceably removed from power. That never happened because the United Nations was making a fortune both legally and under the table (Annan's son ran the oil for food program and was proven to have taken bribes and kickbacks) and they weren't pulling that cow from the field. The Clinton Administration would never go against the UN and that is why the issue was never pushed.

Bush invaded Iraq and we saw the capture and execution of one of the world's most heinous criminals. The country was for the war when it started but as usual Americans expect a microwave meal. Get us in and out in 1 year and nobody dies. That isn't practical. And all of you people who have never served one day for your country and sit here being arm chair military commanders are idiots. Leave this up to the people who know what they are doing. Obama is doing nothing different than Bush in terms of war. We are simply moving theaters.

@ Vietnam Vet-EXCELLENT POINTS MADE!!!-Too bad the Obamabots like Obama Mama-will FOREVER SAY THIS WAS THE HAND HE WAS DELT-How much longer can he use that one????? Here in LA he's getting the to be know for what our mayor has done for the past five years-Throw EVERYTHING at the wall and Hope that something will stick-BO-Concentrate on ONE thing-the ECONOMY-and stop trying to prove to your BOTS that you can multi-task-a very OVER USED word these days!

NO WAR EVER!!!!!

Remember Bots-It's OK to disagree with your President!

To Vietnam Veteran:

Vietnam didn't harbor terrorists who attacked our country. May I remind you that the current president had no choice. He inherited this war and the one in Iraq – a nation that did NOT attack us. Not only did Iraq not attack us but they did not harbor Al Qaeda, despite efforts by the previous administration to make such claims – one of what we now know were many false claims. At a cost of billions of dollars per month, that war is largely responsible for the financial mess we're in as well. The body bags have been coming home from both wars for quite some time now but the previous administration didn't allow them to be seen. When you start actually seeing them, it's because this president doesn't plan to hide the cost from us.

you know the defence industry doesn't care, republican administration, democratic administration, just make war somewhere, and if you don't do it, we'll send our operatives in to create a situation; and the poor hard working American people will foot the bill again; maybe this country does need a tea party..

Vietnam Veteran March 27th, 2009 10:09 am ET

How do you spell Afghanistan? V-I-E-T-N-A-M

When we fist started pouring troops into Vietnam, we call them advisors, trainers, and coordinators. 58,000 lost American lives later, we abruptly ran for our lives and evacuated Vietnam.

Nobody can win a military war in Afghanistan. Hannibal could not do it. Alexander the Great could not do it. The Mighty Russian Army with 100,000 troops and with easy land access into the country, could not do it after 10 long years of bloody fighting. The US will NEVER prevail. Our history in this country is atrocious.

The US aided with weapons, money, and training a great Muslim freedom fighter defeat the Russians, thereby launching him as a Muslim hero. His name – Osama Bin Laden.

The country's current President is corrupt and survives only because he lets the tribal war lords keep their lucrative heroin industry, the largest in the world. Those heroin profits flow to the Taliban, and ultimately to Al Quaeda.

Obama needs to read the historical tea leaves and get our 60,000 troops put (yes, 60,000 and counting). When the US body bags start to come home from Afghanistan, perhaps the Obamabots will begin to realize that this is a bad place for US troops to be waging war. The enemy is everywhere and nowhere in the war lord / Taliban / Heroin run territory
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Thank you for your service, and very well said!

Again, may I remind everyone that this has always been the plan. Obama is not anti-war, he's anti-war-in-Iraq. He thinks the Iraq war is wasteful (and he's right).

I think this is ridiculous to do now, with the economy as it is. The deficit is being run up. Sure, we knew this would happen when we elected him, but that doesn't make it a good thing. They're talking about an ever-increasing national debt, moving up exponentially until it hits 82 percent of GDP. We need to start cutting wasteful spending, and American overseas military ops that really have nothing to do with national security are as wasteful as you get.

Maybe Afghanistan is useful, since it might help us get Bin Laden. But the rest need to go. We're still occupying Germany, for crying out loud.

I want to see the liberal outrage when we receive reports of civilian deaths as a result of Mr. Obama's escalation of hostilities.

get out of this mess now , nothing but a sink hole of trouble and heart ache

@ Typical White Person, who asked "Now where are all the liberals who were demanding we stop spending money on the Middle East when Bush was in office…"

YOu can mischaracterize our criticism of Bush all you want pal. We didn't want to be spending the money in IRAQ, because we knew that we should've been focusing solely on AFGHANISTAN. Sure, some probably wanted us not to be involved in any war-like activities (there will always be that group), but most recognized that there was a distinction with a difference and were not arguing in general that we should not be in the Middle East. Either you don't understand the distinction or you're a liar for purposefully mischaracterizing the argument to set up a straw man to knock down. Choose one.

Well it looks like if and when this is over, obama and his people can be charged with war crimes. You people keep stating you want Bush charged so why not obama?

Vietnam Veteran- I can understand you pain, but this is a war that was created before Obama took office. Now what he is trying to do is put a timeline on the war so that we can keep track of how our money is spent helping them keep us safe also. Remember that we are in Iraq and Afghanistan training these people to defend themselves. Ben Laden is not in Iraq he is in Afghanistan and we are still sending and building in the wrong place. Shift the count to Afghanistan and lets see how long it will take to help them clean up their act so we can come home, but in Iraq Bush never put a timeline or seek to see how we were doing in help them fight their war.

Give the President some credit for doing his homework before he cam in office. Remember only 3 months with a lot of great pain and Bush had 8 years and we didn't have any gains.

Let's be fair to President Obama like you were to President Bush, both deserve some credit for trying to solve this mess.

I just watched the President's announcement and while I disagree with being at war with any nation, for the first time in a very long time, I got some understanding about the mission. Unfortunately we will be stuck in this particular war for a while but at least now our military can focus on the real enemy.

As for the money, it was already being spent in Iraq and kept out the previous adminstrations budget, falsely making our economy look more stable then it was.

It's overwhelming to watch everything that's going on. I can't even imagine what it's like to have all of these messes resting on one's shoulders. I pray for health and strength to all who are trying to help correct the multitude of issues we face.

@Vietnam Veteran, you may want to check your history books. Hannibal never got within 1000 miles of Afghanistan. Prior to our invasion, Afghanistan was used as a safe haven for the Taliban and Al Queda. heck they ran the country. So if we leave, your plan to stop it from happening again is what?

This is smart but will piss off a lot of independants and republicans. But as a loyal democrat, I must admit spending is almost as bad as Bush. But we are spending on good things rather than spending just because we can like republicans always do.

They need farmers, ag people who know how to develop their lands instead of grow popies. President Obama understands this! Amazing!! This should have been done 6 years ago instead of invading Iraq!! Thank you President Obama and your team. Sounds a little like "Peace Corps" prospects!! Love It!!! America can be a GOOD Nation again!!

How do you spell Afghanistan? V-I-E-T-N-A-M

When we fist started pouring troops into Vietnam, we call them advisors, trainers, and coordinators. 58,000 lost American lives later, we abruptly ran for our lives and evacuated Vietnam.

Nobody can win a military war in Afghanistan. Hannibal could not do it. Alexander the Great could not do it. The Mighty Russian Army with 100,000 troops and with easy land access into the country, could not do it after 10 long years of bloody fighting. The US will NEVER prevail. Our history in this country is atrocious.

The US aided with weapons, money, and training a great Muslim freedom fighter defeat the Russians, thereby launching him as a Muslim hero. His name – Osama Bin Laden.

The country's current President is corrupt and survives only because he lets the tribal war lords keep their lucrative heroin industry, the largest in the world. Those heroin profits flow to the Taliban, and ultimately to Al Quaeda.

Obama needs to read the historical tea leaves and get our 60,000 troops put (yes, 60,000 and counting). When the US body bags start to come home from Afghanistan, perhaps the Obamabots will begin to realize that this is a bad place for US troops to be waging war. The enemy is everywhere and nowhere in the war lord / Taliban / Heroin run territory

nichelle alexander March 27th, 2009 9:42 am ET

wasnt obama against war??/
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He sure was against war but he was dealt a hand with WAR in it.
Abruptly end the war in Afghanistan and we will be ducking for cover.

This is a good move, the troop surge was a good move in Iraq when Bush did it. I guess Obama stands corrected. It will be interesting to see how the 'end the wars regardless of outcome' crowd responds. They'll probably say they love the additional troop idea since if they disagree with Obama on anything their heads would explode.

But I guess I should stop referring to the war as a 'war' since the administration renamed 'The War on Terror' to 'The Overseas Contigency Operation' and renamed 'Terrorism' to 'Man-Caused Disasters'. As lame as it sounds, it's 100% fact. I guess the administration was afraid of hurting the terrorists feelings.

Finally doing what should have been done instead of going to Iraq.This war could have been over with if our leaders were to have done what President Obama is doing now.

Let's see...4,000 plus 17,000 equals 21,000 troops that Obama is sending to Afgahnistan, which is what the headline ought to read. Good to see that he can also find another 1.6 billion of our taxes to give away overseas, you should wonder how many jobs that money could have created here?

I just hope they establish clear bench marks and actually act on them if they're not being met, unlike Bush in Iraq, who just ignored missed bench marks. I hope this works.

he is senting money were? what about the USA there are some of us that are liveing on SS that gets less a month then Obama and the Washington big shots get in a day what about giveing us a break,

wasnt obama against war??/

This president throws our money at everything--this can not be our only solution,where does this administration think the money comes from ??

No more wars. No more foreign intervention.

"The president also will call on Congress to p@ss a bill that triples U.S. aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year over five years, the officials said."

Now where are all the liberals who were demanding we stop spending money on the Middle East when Bush was in office...

Here come the hypocrits calling this move by Obama as "smart" and "engaging"...