WASHINGTON (CNN) - A slight majority of Americans think that the war in Afghanistan is turning into another Vietnam, according to a new national poll which also indicates that nearly six in 10 oppose sending more U.S. troops to the conflict.
Fifty-two percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say the eight year long conflict has turned into a situation like the U.S. faced in the Vietnam War, with 46 percent disagreeing.
According to the poll, 59 percent of people questioned opposed sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan with 39 percent in favor. Of the 59 percent opposed, 28 percent want Washington to withdraw all U.S troops, 21 percent are calling for a partial American pullout, and 8 percent say the number of troops should remain the same.
"Has Afghanistan turned into Barack Obama's Vietnam? Most Americans think so, and that may be one reason why they oppose sending more U.S. troops to that country," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Older Americans are most likely to see parallels between Afghanistan and Vietnam - possibly because they remember the Vietnam War, rather than reading about it in textbooks."
President Barack Obama and his top military, national security and foreign policy advisers are conducting an intensive strategic review of the U.S. military presence in the war-torn country. The president is weighing a suggestion by the top American military commander in Afghanistan to increase force levels by as many as 40,000 troops.
More than two-thirds of people polled say it's unlikely Afghanistan will have stable government in the next few years. And that was before Monday's release of a United Nations report alleging widespread fraud in the recent Afghanistan elections. According to the survey, around two-thirds also feel that its unlikely that without American assistance, the Afghan military and police will be able to keep their country safe and secure or prevent terrorists from using Afghanistan as a base of operations for planning attacks against the U.S.
The poll indicates that six in 10 Americans feel it's necessary to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States. And a similar number say the conflict in Afghanistan is part of the war against terrorism which began with the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
"That's probably the reason why Afghanistan is still more popular than the war in Iraq," Say Holland. "Many Americans make the connection between 9/11 and Afghanistan, and the public recognizes that there is little chance that the Afghan government can deal with terrorists on its own."
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, with 1,038 adult Americans questioned by telephone.
The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn
From CNN Politics
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I am NOT against sending more troops to Afghanistan. And this war is NOT like Vietnam. Al Quieda is a significant threat.
Actually worse than Viet Nam...No it is not like Viet Nam, except in the fact that the original objective was to get Bin Laden, "dead or alive" as per the previous President and his administration. We seem back to going more after the Taliban than Bin Laden and Al Quida as the focus shifted to Iraq and has never shifted back to the original objective. Terrorism has been a threat for centuries, it is just more sophisticated and newsworthy than in the past. If anyone can come up with a good solution to finally quelch any and all terrorism (not just Al Quida) they deserve the Noble Peace Prize.
It will be another Vietnam ... only that this one will not change no matter the outcome .. Afghanistan is not a country that change in 10 or 20 and much less 30 yrs ... Vietnam did change.
Obama needs to listen to those who are there and know what's going on in Afghanistan, NOT listen to Biden, Pelosi and all the other arm chair generals. He needs to take action now and quit this holding pattern of doing nothing. Guess this is what we get when we elect someone who votes "Present" instead of taking a stand. A leader Obama is NOT!
No, it is not like Vietnam. But, let's be honest with the mission as to why we are there. Is this COIN and nation-building or a hunt for OBL in a counter-terrorist mission or both? If it is COIN then let's set a policy for that. Let the American people know that we will be there for another 15 years and that this mission will haunt every presidency for years to come. Vietnam involved more COIN without as much of the nation-building aspect as we could have. Be warned though, that this decision to prolonge operations will make our President a one-term President.
This is not like Vietnam. Troops may be needed on the ground, but the strategy needs to be a counter-terrorism strategy rather than a anti-insurgency. This war needs to be conducted with Special Operations forces conducting counter-terrorism tactics in areas such as Yemen, Somalia & AfPak.
It will only be a Vietnam if the media chooses it to be.
Like it or not there are tens of thousands of young dedicated Americans in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban. Here is the only question that should be asked right now:
What can we do to support them?
Anything else is a distraction from the most important job. Right now Obama knows the answer is," More troops" and he is hesitating to make a decision. I'm glad they did not leave the surge in Iraq up to him.
it already has turned in to another vietnam we went into to this nightmare
without looking at the past that other countries dealt with and take a different approach to the war with goal this isn't army school this is thei real thing and good soldiers die your not in there to learn how to fight the war but to win it
How old are these people polled? Do they know anything about Vietnam personally? Or is this just a popular comparison?
The way obama is handling things over there, it will soon turn into something similar to Viet Nam. The man can't make a simple decision on whether to send in more troops for crying out loud!
This is Obamas war and he needs to start making some decisions and get off the Tax payer funded campaign trail. We hired him to run the country, not campaign.
With Obama's new generals in charge General Biden, Pelosi & Reid I am sure we will be safe. How many more soldiers are they willing to be killed before they come up with a answer? Waiting for new election results is just an excuse to do nothing.
Nice try CNN. Your polls are full of crap! Does anyone on the left remember 9/11? You were so busy bashing Bush the last 8 years you forgot who the enemy is. It isnt Vietnam, it has never been Vietnam, it will never be Vietnam. You weak leftist hippies who want to relive the 60s and now are in power in the Democrat party, have caused enough damage. Let my generation do what your generation never had the guts to do. Fight and finish fighting a war til we are victorious. I can think of no greater dishonor to us who have actually fought in Afghanistan for our country, than leaving before the job is done. That would make the sacrifises of your sons, daughters and my friends a waste. Thoswe like Obama who want to run before the job is done are disgraceful and not worthy to be considered Americans.
We need to end the Bush Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NO ONE WINS A WAR
Gen. McChrystal sends a 66 page memo back in August to President Obama requesting 40 thousands more troops, yet Obama ignores it. Gen. McChrystal is the man President Obama appointed to head up this war. A few weeks ago on 60 Minutes Gen. McChrystal was asked how many times he's spoken to The President since Obama became President. Gen. McChrystal answered "once". Guess this is how Obama supports our troops. Doesn't send them what they request and ignores them.
It is not VietNam but it will be if we don't decide what our objectives are and dedicate all the resources needed to accomplish that objective.
Right now we have brave troops fighting and dying and what is it for? Are we going to get Bin Laden and destroy Al Queda? Are we going to hurt the Taliban so much that they become a useless group of people with no means to accomplish anything? Wether it is more troops more tanks, more planes or wether it is fighting a different kind of war, we need to decide and commit to a course of action.
Obama is not being weak like some people think. If you had access to the same information he does you may not be making a hasty decision either. Standard military fare is to ask for more, whether you need it or not. We have to do this smart, not just hurl bodies in front of guns. We need an objective. Bush sent us over there without one and now we are paying for his lack of forethought.
Obama is clueless, which is dangerous. He is our worst mistake since Cater……yikes!
war is not the answer, the DEMS were elected in 06 to end...END the conflicts. hummmmmmm no end in sight !!!!
You can make general comparisons to both wars, which in general terms ,are somewhat similar. However, once you begin to examine the specifics, there are many, many differences. In the long term, I think the similarities are what will prove problematic to the current administration. The Soviet Union, with all its military might, conducted a brutal campaign, became mired in their own endless conflict there, and withdrew absent any real accomplishments. We failed to consider the fate of the French in Vietnam prior to becoming entangled in that conflict, apparently we have failed to consider the fate of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. It seems we are destined to repeat history. Is it due to arrogance, or ignorance, or both?
No but if the fool in charge does not have the spine to send more troops and releys instead on a fruit loop (Biden) and a Joan Rivers wannabe (Pelosi) it will become his WATERLOO. Too bad it will only cost more soldiers lives.
Shhhh, don't tell King Barack we are at war still. He's ignoring it.
After 8 years of stupidity in Afghanistan, I am glad to see the wingnuts say it is Obama's War. That means you morons should let him have the time to make the proper decision, so he can avoid the mistakes of the last resident of the white house.
No, most people do not really remember Vietnam. It was a totally different situation, and the war was fought for totally different reasons.
The two cannot be compared in that way.
Worse than Vietnam, President Obama's Waterloo, as he rapidly loses his liberal base...see my Treatise "Why are we in Afghanistan?" sent to Vice President Biden Monday 12th October ..
this question that those would like everyone to think is correct........hammered over,and over again.......like the REP like to do........does not make it a correct statement.
Sorry.................................wrong.
Al Quidea is NOT like Vietnam......
NOW.................start a new idea to harp on............................
Go ahead................GOP this is what you do............................
We of course, will not hear you.......but just in case some might........
WE WILL IGNORE YOU......................................
DID YOU EVER CLEAN UP YOUR "C-STREET" BOYS?
This war has similarities like Vietnam. The US got involved in Vietnam after the French were kicked out, and now the US is involved in Afganistan after the Russians left. IF the politicians would stay out of the conflict, unlike they did in Vietnam, then the military could go ahead and complete the mission and route out the Taliban.
Al Quieda is a major threat to America. On 9/11 they killed over 3000 of our citizens on our soil. I think that was more than was killed by Japan at Pearl Harbor in World War 11. We would be awfully foolish to forget that.We have not choice but to go after them in Afghanistan.
Obama has already increased the number of troops in Afghanistan by 20,000 in March. It is time for him to look at all options before we commit more soldiers to a corrupt government that may not be legitimate.
It will if we let idiots like OBUMMER, PELOSI, FRANK, SCHUMMER, KERRY, and REID manage the agenda.
Not 'becoming', already there!
Face it, folks. In 2006, the Democrats took control of Congress and started interfering in policy making. Political will is a greater variable than people realize. The greatest military in the world cannot win if the political will is not there to support it.
The Democrats don't support the military. Flashback to the late 60s and what happened when the U.S. lost its political will.
We need to get out and bring out troops home. The mission has been accomplished. Let those people take care of their own problems. The problem is in America where we need to put our attention.
Michael M, Phoenix AZ "If anyone can come up with a good solution to finally quelch any and all terrorism (not just Al Quida) they deserve a Noble Peace Prize."
Well Michael M. we are in luck because we have a Noble Peace Prize winner sitting in the White House right now. I imagine we will see all kinds of quelching going on. The terrorists probably had a meeting when President Obama received the award to decide whether or not to continue in their efforts.
Everything is Obama's fault. Are Americans so dumb that we can't even recall recent history ? We had eight years of fear and the blind leading the blind under Bush. Ever hear of the UNITED States of America?
The original reason for the war...to find Bin Laden... has long been forgotten. It is turning into another U.S. Nation Building exercise. It will become another Viet Nam, only more costly and more damaging to the U.S. Dragging this fiasco on ad-infinitum will destroy what little respect and credibility we have left.
This is IT, President Obama! Time to show the world you are NOT just another politcian and earn that Nobel Prize. NO MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN AND END THE WAR. Period. It's time to take a different route; a "change" in how we fight overseas campaigns.
Similarities of Vietnam and Afganistan are that it is a quagmire and not winnable with ground troops.
In war you must strike with a defined plan and hard. Bush did not do that. Turned his focus to Iraq...thus that strategy was lost. Created the quagmire we are in.
Difference of Vietnam and Afganistan is that Vietnam did not attack us.
So now the question is: Does America have the stomach to start over and do this right? Who are we attacking? Why are we attacking? What is our exit strategy? Is this a war that while we cannot win can we come out of positive?
Obama needs to do one of two things, send enough men to do the job, or bring all of our men home! Please don't get our finest killed two or three at a time.
These polls tick me off sometimes because they only deal with about a thousand to two thousand people...When are we going to enable a NATION WIDE EVERY HOUSEHOLD POLL...I bet if that ever was to happen you would see that MOST people disagree with these outragous actions and policy done by our government...
It already is another Vietnam as is Iraq! When will America stop and learn that wars of Choice are always doomed to fail? But then again, THIS is precisely what the Military Industrial Complex is Counting on for Ever-Higher Profits! Can anyone Spell Halliburton, Bechtel, Xe, Monsanto, GE, Boeing and countless others? Stop the Crapaganda! We are ON to You all. Like Thom Hartmann has said, "People tend to get upset when you kill their families..."Peace
Afghanistan is not Vietnam. We need as many troops as we can have over there to finish off the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Obama is doing the right thing by sending over more troops. Bush messed up big time with Afghanistan and should have never invaded Iraq. The bad guys are in Afghanistan people and we can beat them.
yeah, but John McCain endorses sending every American citizen to Afghanistan right now to fight and because he's a Republican and Republican's are obviously experts on war strategy (see Iraq, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Vietnam if you need any proof) then that is what I am for. Sissy Liberals!
We should all be more worried about the safety of our troops instead of the political ambitions in Washington. It is important to find the relevance of what Obama is actually doing, instead of jumping the gun and sending mass troops into Afghanistan, he is instead making sure he will produce the right choice. If you are to bash him for being too cautious, then you are bashing him for being 'too' heedful for what is in fact, the best choice. Not what you are trying to say? Well the next time you want to bring spite to what Obama is doing, make sure to remind yourself that he is acting for the better of the common good, not to satisfy your wellbeing that is based by a CNN poll. Get ahold of yourself.
Wasn't it just a year ago during the primaries that people were saying that more troops needed to be pulled out of Iraq and sent into Afghanistan where a "legitimate" threat was? Wasn't this said by the same people who are now crying saying we shouldn't be at war at all? Isn't that hypocrisy at its best?!?
Wow, It's amazing the level of ignorance out there, from folks that just use this as a way to hate our President. It's clear that no matter the decisions made about more troops, we're stuck. We could not nation build Afganistan if we wanted to...way too much cultural disparity and too many tribes. Were probably better off manning one base and drone the hell out of them. The Taliban or Al quieda can run over everything, and as they become more visible we bomb them.
Take from Iraq and give to Afghanistan, this way we are not sending more overall troops out.
Obama called this the right war during the campaign but now that his far left wing wants to pull out he is waffling on what to do next.
Without the troop commitent this will become worse than Vietnam, The North Vietnamese only wanted their country, they didn't want a base for international terror attacks.
this is worse than vietnam with no world trade center and the economy the way it is with people tired of this warand iraq and pakistan and terriorism
I served in the military, and I personally think they have to rethink everything over. George Bush acted because of 9/11 without thinking the possibilities of the war lasting a long time and now, Afghanistan. I personally think that if we eliminate the threat (i.e. Bin Laden) another one takes it's place. Why not fix the mistakes first before going to another mistake waiting to happen. We do not have enough funds to undergo another war. We are getting more and more into debt, that it might triple or even quadruple when Obama's term is finish. If we go into depression, then the terrorist or the enemy will win. Because America will be ruined. I think that is their motive, to insight us to war in order to go bankrupt...well that's my opinion.
I will support the president's decission to send in the necessary troops or even to withdraw. I will not support his INACTION!
The only comparision between Vietnam and Afghanistan is the paralleled incompetance of the polictal machines at work in Washington, D.C. If the United States were to have competent leadership (as we did during WWII) this war would have been over in 2003 and we'd be in the process for reconstruction. Who sends 35,000-45,000 troops to an ideological war? We should have sent 200,000 troops in 2001... WE WERE ATTACKED! Now it drags out because there are still ONLY 65,000 troops – many of which are not fighters, but support.
The way Obama is running HIS war it will become Vietnam. If the country had elected someone with experience, things would be handled by now. He is jetting off campaigning instead of doing what he was hired to do. Good thing he works for the government, he would have been fired long ago in the private sector.
Just once I would love to see a poll showing how much the American people actually know about Afghanistan, or Vietnam. Opinions are worthless without knowledge. Picking " a side" does nothing to help our country. It sickens me to read these comments knowing most people don't really care enough to learn anything.
It is another Vietnam. We supported a corrupt South Vietnamese government, didn't have the support of the common people, and lost 58,000 (est.) great Americans. We need to pack up, and bring the troops home to defend our way of life before we end up fighting in our own streets.
People who think of any of this stuff in terms of "are we safe" or "are they keeping us safe" are easily manipulated.
We continue to spend billions just to see it either gp to corrupt government workers or just wasted in the area. We lose our young men and women and make little difference.
Why not use the billions for development here at home and bring the young men and women home to safety? Why do we in America feel
our way is the only way??
We will never recoupe the money and lost lives spent on this war that was the idea from Washington and based on political issues?
no to cheatocracy. Bring them back.
It's already getting there. I'm curious though, what about the promise to get out of Iraq? Seems like the president is more interested in ripping on Foxnews then keeping up his campaign promises to get us out of Iraq. Funny how NOT ONE NETWORK focuses on the fact that there is no end in sight in Iraq. Not even the biased foxnews. Why is it being ignored? When Bush is president, we would hear about every death in Iraq and everyone would get enraged and want us out, now, not one news network even discusses Iraq. WHY ARE WE STILL THERE??? AND WHY ARE WE IN AFGHANISTAN???.......always some excuse to keep us there. Apparently the peace loving dems on love peace when a repub is president.
If you are comparing Afghanistan to Vietnam, then bring in the B-52s with some bunker buster bombs and drive them out of the mountain caves so we can get at them – if you want a war over there – then take it to them like its a war, bring them to their knees like we mean business, get it overwith and bring the troops home – until then we will be there for 20 – 30 years as was Russia.
Well in the words of George Armstrong Custer, "Let's win this war and get the hell out".
h Well, he died and we did not win Viet Nam so guess the politicians have us back in it again.
Maybe we should ask Bush to get us out of there since they attack a country w/o a reason. What the hevk are we doing in Iraq & Afganistan?
As a member of the military I feel that the do nothing UN should take full control of it. We have been there far to long and yes, it is turning into another Vietnam. As you can see by the election results and the resulting recount they are not ready to take control of their own Country. The rest of the world should finish the job. We are not the worlds Police Force.
ANY troops or intervention in Afghanistan is worse than Vietnam because we should know better by now, I cannot believe we are sending troops there. OUT OUT OUT. Let's stop policing the world and making a mess.
The war is bogus and illegal. We have no business there and should leave immediately. Apart from the fictional military threat there is a very real economic drain on the US that does more harm than good, unless of course you are a person who directly benefits from the financing of this conflict. The war in Afghanistan is good for business, but bad for America.
Well, last time I checked it was the democrats who took us into Vietnam and it was the democrats who then refused to provide adequate force to win. I am sure that BO intends to do the exact same thing in Afganistan. Why are we always engaged in "unwinnable" wars when the dems are in power?
Vietnam was a war fought for money grubbing companies that made military supplies. Afghanistan is a war to keep the terrorists at bay. Obummie better get a spine and recognize this.
This is a much bigger world threat than Viet Nam and the VC ever were.
This is another Failed policy of the Republican right. The focus should have stayed on Afghanistan to begin with. Anyone who thinks this is "Obama's" war is an idiot. Rush – stay off this website and eat some more Oxocontin.
Its simple, send over the man power needed to do the job and forget about getting re elected in 3 years. you cant win a political war.
Afghanistan is another Bush Disaster! Bush KNEW that Al-Qaeda was hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan........ but........ He attacked IRAQ. Spending TRILLIONS in IRAQ, virtually ignoring ....... Afghanistan!
Enter a new president, who immediately RAISES the Troop level in Afghanistan! And the GOP complain!
The British fought in Afghanistan for ........ 80 years. The Soviets for 10 years.
The U.S. has been at war in Afghanistan for EIGHT YEARS! What has changed?
The United States can not demand democracy nor fight for "freedom" in Afghanistan! Freedom and Democracy must be brought about the Afghan people who will either choose this path or not!
PRESIDENT OBAMA END THIS SENSELESS WAR, PLEASE!
If we just sent our A game in the first place this would already be over.
We are not being fair to our tropps by sending the bare minimum and being politically correct. There are no rules in a war. You do what it takes to win, period.
If we are not in it to win it we should end it.
The last time we had a president who lips before he thinks, we found ourselves in a war which shouldn't have been: No WMD.
Now tell me, how much has that silly haste cost our nation in terms of human lives and capital? How much has it cost the nations who supported our stupidity? how much has it cost a nation that didn't attack us (Iraq)?
Those are the questions. Now Obama can take all the time he wants, so long as in the end, he sets an agenda with definate goal, mission, vision and values attached to it, definate date, and he brings our troups home with a definately short dateline.
Afghanistan is rapidly becoming for the USA what it was for the USSR.
And that ain't good. Get out now.
Most of them work for both Taliban and Afghanistani Government so they are secured. The same in Viet Nam when I used to live there. Some of them work for USA and also work for Viet Cong, too. That why the Vietnamese war could not be t won by American.
I don't love wars the way Dick Cheney does, hated our unilateral invasion of Iraq, but Afgaistan is necessary. That is where the terrorists are. This is who we should have been fighting in the first place. There was no legitimate reason to go to Iraq, this is different. And no it is nothing like Viet Nam, but the media does love to stir up controversy.
I think we should pull out of Afghanistan, when the russians were there fighting the talibans we were against and now we are doing the same thing if it was wrong for them why it's right for us to do?
End this colonial war. Bring our kids home now! No more wars for profit.
It is wrong to even compare war in Afghnaistan with war in Vietnam because the Vietnamese were never terrorists, they just defended their country against the invaders, whereas Al Qieda and Taliban are terrorists of the worst kind. Therefore, victory and defeat in Afghanistan are only the figments of the poticians' imagination! The quicker we can get out of Afghanistan the quicker the victory will come to us. Just keep educating and trainingthe Afghans to help fight their own war and bring changel. Costs much less money to do that!
There are, indeed, many parallels between the situation in Afghanistan and Vietnam. Clueless politicians trying to micro-manage the military; no military strategy, let alone an exit strategy; a corrupt national government that can't relate to free market capitalism or to democratic ideals; no significant measurable results since the original intention was to take the war to the perpetrators of 9/11 and their friends and find and snuff Osama; no compelling National interest other than to prosecute some vague "war on terrorism"; an embedded press that's only interested in getting their stories on CNN; and now popular support going down the drain. Alexander the Great couldn't sort the place out, nor could the Brits, nor could the Soviets. And WE think WE can? For WHAT? This is just hubris! All we need to complete the study in history repeating itself is peace with dishonor - and a Nobel Peace Prize, with Oak Leaf Cluster. Afghanistan is not worth one more American life. Support the Afghanistination of the war, help Pakistan, and fly those predators snuffing bad guys for a long, long time - but otherwise, it's time to pull the plug on this one.
Wow
Most post do not have a clue! They read like most have not served in the U.S.Military
Afganistan and Vietnam have a lot of in common Vietnam was the fear of communist ruling the world and Afghanistan is about the fear of radical islam ruling the world.
Vietnam War started in 1946 when the French ousted the Viet Minh from power. Our involvement started in 1950 and ended in 1975
In the early 1960's the Kennedy adminstration advocated the use of special forces for counterinsurgency warfare.
Sound familiar
Remember! the price of OUR freedom is not free. It has cost the lives of many U.S. Military over the years.
We all should be supporting Our Soldiers that are serving there
It will be if they don't make some solid decisions soon, put the generals who know what they are doing in charge and let them go at it. Go in to win, destroy and get out.
in terms of loss of life, no vietnam
in terms of looking to be a stalmate, yes.
the soviets had a millitary that was just as poweful as the USA, and they were unable to succeed in the region. it's time to get out of that pit.
I thoroughly agree. We need to bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan!! Our troops need a respite and time home with their families and our country need to heal and restore!! We can't keep going over to fight other peoples battles(when most of the time they don't want us there to begin with!) and meanwhile our own country is going to peices!!! Bring our troops home and lets turn our nation back to God and we will see a HUGE improvement in this United States of America.
Afganistan was already BUSH'S Vietnam when he dumped it on Obama. Bush did not have the foresight to note that War in Afganistan was one reason for the fall of the USSR, they almost went bankrupt fighting there, and that was when Bush had Osama Bin Laden working for US!
This is not Obama's war, he is trying to make the best of a mess he was left with. This is a country ruled by warlords with a president but no central authority, yet a country that floods the world with opium so it must be dealt with. A cooperative approach involving even Russia may be needed to stop the Taliban and Al Qaeida before they fill even more power vacuumns in this country.
I don't think the general American populace should be asked questions like this since only approximately 1% of all americans serve in any of the armed forces. And the difference between this conflict and Vietnam is that we've learned to stand behind our troops even if the administration is wrong to send them. Always keep in mind that your men and women in uniform stand up to serve so the rest of our country will stay safe. They don't choose to go to war, they choose to protect the lives and freedoms of their loved ones. Maybe before taking part in a poll like this everyone should try serving in an armed conflict for a while and then see what they think.
More like another IRAQ (thank bush for that one). Just let the man do his job. We voted him in to office to run the country so let's back off and give him the time he needs to fix this mess that bush couldn't fix in 6 years.
Why does the media keep reffering to the Afgan war as Obama's? I do believe, Obama inherited this war from,... who was that again, oh yeah, it was Junior.
Has Afghanistan turned into Barack Obama's Vietnam?
If the media wants it to be...it will be! Just like health care reform is supposed to be his Waterloo! I woner what the Baloon Boy is up to today!
This war in Afghanistan is somewhat starting to look like another Vietnam in that the Obama administration wants it's cake and eat it too. Much like Vietnam, there is a half hearted effort by the administration to provide our men and women of the military what they need. The reason? They are afraid if things get worse even with an additional 40,000 soldiers, that it will hurt them politically. They are actually more worried about political points than the lives of our soldiers. On the flip side, the Afghans have but one interest and it is the same interest they"ve had for hundreds of years....money and the drugs they grow. The sooner Obama realizes Afghanistan's history is about Warlords and drugs, the sooner he'll realize you can't change their government or their inherent way of life. Look how long it took the Russians to realize they can't win in that environment.
Obama and company seem incapable of making any decision, and meanwhile our troops are dying because of their incompetence.
Let the generals run the war–Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the cut and run crowd know absolutely nothing about the mission or the military.
When we let politicians run the war, our soldiers die and the United States loses. Politicians and the media lost the war in Vietnam and it looks to me like politicians and the media will do it again in Afghanistan.
The consequence of losing in Afghanistan is bold terrorists and a certain catasrophic attack on the U.S.
Obama sickens me.
This may not be another Vietnam, but it is becoming a killing field for so many young people, when are we going to reach the the conclusion that we cannot change the moral and spiritual values of a soverign country. the russians learned the hard way by losing thousands of troops. We should remove the troops as quick as possible and let the afghanis resolve their own problems. How would you feel if another country decided to come and change the way you run your way of life.
Karzai is a fraud and more importantly a loser. No more U.S. troops should be sent, and we should be begin to plan our withdrawals. If Afghanis want to be free of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, let Afghanis start to do the heavy lifting.
If you do any extensive reading on Afghanistan, it is evident that the country consists of warring factions who will change their loyalties for tthe right price. With all of our technology, it is incredible that we have not taken out Obama. If our goal is a stable democratic government, forget it. We are wasting our money and our blood in this worthless country. We could spend the next 100 years chasing the bad guys but they will still be there.
Only if we let General Obama run the war as we did General Johnson ,General Mc Namara and General Nixon during Vietnam.If you figure on talking them to death forget it. Bring the B52's back and quit worrying about collateral damage just as the enemy does not worry about collateral damage.They use it as a weapon of war againest our soldiers in the name of their God. It will boil down to who makes whose country glow in the dark before this war is won.
The Russians spent 10 years there and finally pulled out. They couldn't get them under control, so that should tell us something. We're using different tactics though, so I thought maybe we'd succeed but it doesn't look good.
I am of the Vietnam generation. Remember the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington?? And amazingly, we are currently in an economic partnership with our former "enemy". How many more American children must die before we remove ourselves from this fiasco?
I don't care about the taliban, I don't care about Afghanistan. The taliban can not hurt us unless we send our people there and try and tell them how to live their lives. They can have the whole country in my opinion, let them march around and have parades... who cares?
Americans have become a nation of scared weaklings afraid something under the bed is gonna come out and get them.
Lets see - hundreds of billions spent, thousands maimed and killed, a corrupt and unsupported government, no end in sight, escalation of violence, a long history of defeating invaders. Sound just like Vietnam to me. If we think Afghanistan is a threat to us, wouldn't we be better off investing all that money on security at home rather than security there? After all, terrorist are all over the globe, not just Afghanistan.
1. What is the objective of the AF conflict?
2. How will we measure progress/lack of progress with respect to the objectives?
3. What is the exit criteria for success/failure?
These are the questions that need to be answered.
The problem is that Bush started something without a clue what the goal was and not enough troops. I am sure Bush would have reacted tothe surge request WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT, which is typical of how he conducted his presidency. Obama wants to make sure that what he does will be the right thing. Stop assuming his inaction is getting our troops killed – blame Bush for not staffing it correctly.
The war is only percieved as another Vietnam because of how the media presents it.
Life,money and time are getting no where and for those who disagree wih me on this, you are like fans who watch Hocky and I think you are enjoying watching these roops getting kill one by one.
If you read the history of the Veitnam War and talk to the men who where there you find one common element. The US Government at the time failed to support the troops and the effort. Many of the battles of Vietnam (including the Tet Offensive) ended in massive US victories. But the media and the Government continued to say the war was unwinable. Many troops also felt that their hands where tied with too many rules and too much high level control. Now so far the Afgan War has been different with the troops mostly being allowed to do their jobs, but if the Government starts putting too many restrictions on operations or starts pulling troops out, then be ready for Vietnam: Afgan Version. And be ready for open season on the Talaban taking control back.
If OBAMA wants to be able to impose his ideas, which get him elected, he must use his influence, if necessary ruthlessly, to get
both REID and PELOSI ousted from their congressional leadership positions and substitute them by strong, but moderate individuals able to reach to the DEm conservatives and the GOP.
It's called "brains" instead of muscle which I'm happy to see the Obama administration doing. There was no careful thinking done before sending our troops into harms way by not knowing what kind of Government if any Afghan has and who is the Government, are they al Qaeda or Taliban. These are questions that must be answered and I'm not a military person but a thinking person and figured this out long ago.
of course its another vietnam...and no one is listening. Dead American soldiers, their families and friends know it already...but the so called smart, in the know, in charge people, responsible for making the decisions, are NOT listening.
I would question the assertion that "older Americans" are likening Afghanistan to Viet Nam. Anyone who lived through that time and would take just a minute to think about it would realize that any similarities are superficial, including the motivation for going in the first place, the racial/socio-economic bias (read draft and college deferments) that sent a disproportionate number of poor and minority soldiers to Southeast Asia, and the religiously motivated nature of the current conflict.
It is black and white. Either get all in or all out. And it is a U N thing too. One cannot expect just the Americans to be there. Stability in Afghanistan is very important to many nations. The Taliban are fighting for control of the heroin trade. PERIOD !!! Unfortunately they also would provide a safe haven for Terrorists to train if they are successful in winning control of Afghanistan. This must not be allowed to happen. Sooo .. put more troops there and get down to the serious business of finishing this job A S A P. Where does the Taliban get the finances to keep going ? From the drug trade is where. Duhhh !!!! Sooo .. among other things take control of the marketing of the poppies. Pay the Afghanistan farmers NOT to produce. And at the same time get them to grow FOOD instead of poppies. They are not the ones who make the big money anyhow.
Anyone who thinks that our now eight year involvement in Afghanistan can be compared to our ten years of involvment in Viet Nam is engaging in hyperbolic politics, and not facts. Just take the 58,000 dead during the Viet Nam conflict, where most of the soldiers were reluctant draftees (and all male), compared to the light casualty list, the volunteer army with at least the illusion of sexual parity in partipation. In that time, every male of 18 years had to face the probability of being sent to fight and everyone knew at least a couple boys who died there, or later on from neglect and the wars effects on them, not to mention bearing the social condemnation that came with that service. IMO, Afghanistan is a publicity stunt, serving various vested interests, and in the comparison to the heart break of Viet Nam, just another insult to the dead and the vets who served there.
I wonder what the age(s) where of those people polled? I bet many have never serviced in the military and even few were actually around when we fought in Vietnam.
I am against sending more troops to other countries like Afgan,Japan,Korea,Soudi Arad,part of Eroupe and eles where.
what the hell we want from people around the world, we have our own problems to deal with.so many people here In u.s getting kill everyday, people are hungry and no where to go, rape, and no Job.
This "war", like Iraq or Vietnam is about sustaining what Eisenhower aptly labeled the "military industrial complex". Its outcome has no bearing on the future of our citizenry – lest those poor souls who become "Universal Soldiers" and volunteer to die for our lies.
This is not Viet Nam. We are not combating against Communist threats. We are combating against extremist threats. This was an inherited and unfinished "war" of sorts by George W. Bush. The intent was there but never completed. Obama is in the position of cleaning up yet another mess of the previous administration.
The media is not doing its job. Among other vital questions, it is failing to ask these vistal ones. There are about 42 countries in Afgans (primarily NATO) and this war is widely recognized as an international problem. Yet we are contributing over 48% of the troops and resources. Why cannot the burden be distributed equally especially among the 1st world countries like England, the USA, France, Italy, etc? If 40,000 additional troops are needed why cannot they come from the other countries and not the USA?
Reasons NOT the same:
1. Viet Nam was about cold-war politics and backing our proxies. Afghanistan is self-defense in that if we don't get Bib Laden and Company first they WILL be back to slit our throats again. (A substantial argument.)
2. Professional volunteer military.
Reasons they ARE the same:
1. Propping up governments that make you hold your nose.
2. Drugs, to a growing extent.
3. Time is not on our side.
I think it needs a surge-blanket that place and flush out Bin Laden and his lieutenants. Then, rapidly draw down. I do not think nation-building is a reasonable expectation there, although I hope we can leave them in a position from which THEY can build.
It's very possible for the Afghan War to become a Vietnam-like because don't know how to define "Victory" or "Sucess" and when to stop or de-escalate !!
We know from the eight Bush years and from the Russians that it is unsustainable. And we got a feeling that it is irresponsible to increase the cost to the deficit and spend tax payer money to pay for the logistics and salaries of 40,000 more troops for at least 2 to 5 more years.
So, yes, the polls are right, expect them to get higher from disapproval.
sorry for these troops for not undrestanding where they end-up going.
This war looks to be shaping up like Vietnam but it doesn't have to be. Yes, we will be there a long time. If this administration would get off the pot (both pots) and support our troops and conduct the war in a military fashion it will not turn into another Vietnam. Take the gloves off of our boys, quit letting congress run the war, and have some guts like every one of our servicemen and servicewoman have!! I am soooo tired of this administration trying to run this country without listening to experts in the fields where decisions need to be made. I feel Obama is voting "present" again with our nations fighting personnel on the line.
Afghanistan is where the attacks on the US stemmed from and this is where the perpetrators live and operate from. We can't count on a stable Afghani government in the long term for support nor can we count on the population to accept US aims in eliminating the threat. It is time we set the terms, the field of war, and conditions and got this job done. Now we are trying to fight on the terms established by the Taliban and Al Queda. They hide in and use the population to their advantage, it is guerilla warfare. We have the means, the technology, and all we need is the will and desire.
Get out of Afghanistan and redirect those resources to rebuilding our economy, or better yet, partially offsetting our huge budget deficit. We blew the chance to fulfill a simpler mission in Afghanistan when Bush incorrectly redirected resources to engage in the Iraq debacle. As Russia and others have shown, "solving" Afghanistan with a military presence is a money pit, a waste of young lives, and a futile proposition. Obama needs to make a strong stand here.
Vietnam was a political disaster but from a military point of view it was a draw.... politicians lost the war not the soldiers.. and the effects of that war have left america unwilling to finish a fight.. they didnt complain after 9-11..they knew it would drag on for years... leaving Afghanistan with the job half done will give the badguys room to breath and bring the fight back to our soil with more dedication than ever... if those peace tree huging hippys want to end it they should learn to shoot first... they might need to know in the future... but for now keep the fight overthere.. send the troops..untill we win send the troops... semper fi...and god bless america....
There is no way to stabilize afghanistan. The "government" is only effective in kabul, and not very effective even there. The rest of the country is the province of various "war lords" who fight for their own interests. How do you bring them together with a military? You don't. Can' be done. The only thing that we could possibly do is to occupy the country and stay there to prevent its use as a base for various groups. That is a 300K-troop army assignment.
The real goal is to keep the lid on Pakistan – much larger population and fanatics as well.
So, for the military it is at least a 2 or 3 decade project, probably longer. Good luck!
I'm not against sending in more troops to give support to the troops that are already over there. However, I think we need to bring the rest of our troops out of Iraq, lift the ban on don't ask don't tell and then determine how many troops they really need. If they don't handle this carefully it will turn into vietnam. A re-distribution of troops that are stationed in Europe should be considered also.
Either Obama trusts his generals in the field, or he defers to himself, Pelosi, Reid etal. I choose the generals and say give them what they want or get the heck out before more lives are lost for lack of support. The staus quo isn't working.
Is not going to be to Obama's interest to turn Afghanistan into a vietnam. Lets be reminded that Obama is holding a nobel peace prize, not for what he accomplished, which is nothing, but for they expect him to accomplish. I don't thing the nobel prize commitee made him a favor by giving him the award. He must be under too much pressure.
We must not let the Taliban take this country back over. Al Quida will be free to run bases and tranning facilitys again so they can come and attack us again. I dont understand what some of you people are thinking. No one wants war and no one wants to send their children into harms way but these troops are there because they felt and wanted to protect us. These tropps were not drafted, they signed up for this and they want to WIN what they started. We need to support them and give them what they need to do so. Odumbo needs to wake up and send our troops what they are asking for.
We really need to stop making this comparison. Every time we go to war, we ask the public if it is like Vietnam. Of course they're going to say it is; most people don't know anything about Vietnam and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They base it all on information they receive from television. In between commentary about Michael Jackson, David Letterman, and balloon boy, Americans are fed 30 second clips of very complex issues. You can't possibly understand they dynamics of Afghanistan in 3 minutes of news each day. Based on the public's level of understanding, these polls are useless.
Ok, I really think we need to put things into perspective here. Afghanistan is NOT another Vietnam and here's why. For 8 years, everything for the country was put on hold. The country languished with few troops, and no concerted effort to do anything while the previous administration focused on Iraq. When we have been in Afghanistan for as long as we were in Iraq AND we have been actually TRYING to do something instead of sitting on our hands like we have been, then and only then can you call it another Vietnam.
Ask anyone who served as a ground-pounding "grunt" in Vietnam. This is Viet Nam all over again. Only the terrain has changed. A corrupt government that does nothing for their people, the poor people in the countryside trying to stay alive between two warring factions, and borders across which the enemy can move for protection. We learn nothing from history. Bernard Fall, in his book "Street without Joy" warned us to learn from the French and stay out of Vietnam....we didn't and look where it got us. Now many Vietnam vets are wondering why we learned nothing from Vietnam. "Good Morning Afghanistan"!!!!
how is this another Vietnam other than it's a war that's been going on for nearly a decade. Casualties are extremely low compared to Vietnam, and there's no draft which was a huge issue during the Vietnam War. Additionally there are much higher stakes with the recent incursions into Pakistan (who I'm guessing many people forget posses nuclear weapons). People want to say, hey our original mission was to get OBL, that's all we should be doing and then get out, neglecting to acknowledge the severity of what would happen if Pakistan were to fall to the Taliban.
NOTHING LIKE VIETNAM! Not to mention a couple years ago that's all people said about the surge in Iraq was that it was another Vietnam. From a soldier who has been there on the ground and has met the Taliban and Al Qeada I can tell you it is not Vietnam and we are winning! What we needed years ago was less soldiers in Iraq and more in Afghanistan. The major issues we face there are weapons coming in from Iran and the tribal regions in Pakistan which are sanctuaries for Taliban and Al Qeada. We now watch and intercept weapons from Iran and I think we've finally got the Paki's to start ridding the frontier area of Taliban. We will win this but not if Washington ignores the generals like the politicians did in Vietnam. Politicians can't win a war let the generals and troops do it.
Yes, a very similar war shaping up as in Vietnam. I was there. Sending more troops into harm’s way is a very tough decision to make. The attitude should be all or nothing. If the Brass says they need more troops it is a military need and not political compromise as it turned into in Vietnam. If we go on with the war and do not send more troops for military needs, then I hope it is not one of your family loved ones who gets into a fire fight and looks around and there is no one behind them.
Sure the polls recognize that all it takes to make a Vietnam is a Democrat. I bet they are trying to find a McNamara clone to replace Gates.
No it will not be "another" Vietnam. Even the Russian Afgani war is not a good basis for this place. Honestly, Vietnam was divided into two factions. Afgan is run by the most murderous warlord with the biggest posse.
But if we forget the reason Afgan fell into chaos after we helped them beat the Russian was the fact we didn't help create a goverment we just washed our hands of it....
So have to do it right and that takes time.
Obama is doing fine... .... It is up to the peopel to figure out what they want to do and it is up to US and the rest of the chicken world to make sure that it is not a breeding ground for extremists....
Obama should read: "Lessons in Disaster" by Gordon
Goldstein. This is a no win situation. Afghan culture is
totally different from that of western nations. Obama
would do well to remove all personnel from harm's
way in all possible haste. Otherwise, it will be a
repeat of the Russian experience of a decade ago.
Before Obama agrees to send troops to Afghanistan, I hope he weighs all the possible outcome of the mission. Yes, Al Quieda is a threat. But after we eliminate Al Quieda, another one takes it's place, and then another, then another, By the time we're through, America will be in depression. Nobody will have anymore jobs. Mass histeria, civil unrest, maybe martial law will be passed. In short, they win. America is ruined. Why not contain the terrorist over there until we finish fixing the US. We have too much trouble over here before starting another conflict overseas. Fix the economy, the job market, the reputation stained by Bush to other countries, immigration, Nation's debt, Medicare, Social Security, Taxes, State Bankruptcy, Federal Regulations, Prison overload, Teacher's layoffs, homelessness, etc.,etc. You ever think about stuff like retirement when you get old. There won't be one because social security will be exhausted because of the war funds.
Comparing Afghanistan to Vietnam does not really make sense.
Vietnam was a "proxy war" between the USA and Communism.
Afghanistan is a mess – and if we just leave, maybe someone WAY WORSE than Bin Laden will walk out of there . . . with a couple of nuclear brief-cases, bound for major US cities. War is a terrible thing, but Dick Cheney and his 2-faced "criminal" Neo-con buddies lured the dim-witted into believing that war in Iraq was somehow far more critical than the Taliban problem. . . .funny how you never see Wolfowitz, "pushing" his putrid Iraq war these days.
The problem in Afghanistan is the corrupt regime installed and then ignored by the Bush Adminstration. It rests on warloads and toleration of poppy production, and stuffed ballot boxes. It is not clear how any number of American troops are going to "help" that kind of government win the hearts and minds of its people. It is unclear how anything can or will work under Karzai. This has been pretty clear for the past five years. The next problem is no matter how many troops the US sends to Afghanistan, even with a non-corrupt government there, little will be accomplished if Pakistan continues to support the Taliban in Afghanistan as a counterbalance to India. Another problem is that America invaded Afghanistan to get at Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden evidently moved years ago to our "ally" Pakistan, where until Obama nothing much was done to dislodge him. But putting more troops in Afghanistan is not going to dislodge Osama from Pakistan, at least in any way spelled out to me as a taxpayer.
It's Hypocri...CNN! With Another Poll, And Disinginuous Talking Point. The Self-Proclaimed Best Political Team On Television. The Only Question Is Anybody Surprised With Your Data?
Where were all you people during the Bush Administration?? Did you just regain your sight and hearing once Obama became President ??
Remember when Bush told reporters in one of his yearly news conferences, "I'm not concerned with bin Laden anymore"..Anybody??
Vietnam no, 9/11 and Al Quida yes, but on the other hand Obie loves these people. [Brothers in arms, destory Amarica just what Obama wants]
Without a draft this is no where close to being like the Vietnam War.The whole country has not participated in this conflict nor the Irag conflict.
Bush successfully hoodwinked the American public into equating Al-Qaeda with the Taliban. Most analysts believe the A-Q presence in Afghanistan is minimal to nonexistant. The fear that AF will again be used as a base for terrorists should be equal with the fear that any of two dozen other countries could also be used. It is time to leave the god-forsaken place – with the message that we reserve the right to carpet bomb any terrorists camps. Al Qaeda wants us to stay.
Bush already lost this war. Anything Obama does is an improvement. We may have to admit defeat, but the fault does not belong to Obama!
Surprising that more people can't see this but this is a no win situation. It won't matter if we send 40,000 more troops. We are dealing with something that we either take over the whole country or leave. Americans just don't understand the patience of these people. We deal in now, they deal in whenever. This is their country, we are the outside force trying to make a corrupt government legitimate in the eyes of the people that live there. What a joke. It is time for the American people to realize we can no longer secure our borders by invading other countries or force democracy in places that don't want democracy. Extremist Islamic forces are behind this insurgency. We are losing to many of our valued resourses ( our brave troops) on a place that is not worth the mountain that it is built on. Just ask the Russians.,
It is possible to be pro-troop and anti-war. I happen to be marrying an active duty soldier and have found that most soldiers oppose the war.
Its not like Vietnam, we should stay there until the job is done! We should have stayed in there and not of gone after Saddam, I blame bush for this whole thing!
The wars have nothing in common except for some guerilla tactics. We need more troops over there! Lets hit em hard now so we can bring our troops back!
People, what's wrong with you? Are you living in the Wild West, do you think that this problem can be resolved with "swift justice" by hangin'em high? We have already rushed into Iraq. This is NOT Obama's war even though it is now, and 2-3 weeks is not an eternity. This is the step that better be calculated well. I can't believe those who expect the President to just remove all the problems with some magic stick. Funny thing is that the same people will turn around in 3 months blaming President for making irrational decisions. Get real, enough action movie mentality already.
We've known where the 911 killers are for some time.
On the border of Pakistan.
Let's go kill them.
- But no more nation-building!
No more American soldiers needlessly sacrificed!
No more war for profit. (we wish)
What about some nation-building in our own country?
Let's please get a plan to thoughtfully, but expeditiously
GET THE HELL OUT THERE!
Total US deaths in Vietnam – 58,209
Total US deaths in Afghanistan – 756
This poll and article is insulting.
Yes, Afghanistan turn into another Vietnam. Yes for sure.
Because:
1. Afghanistan is exactly on the other side of the earth than USA, more than 10,000 miles away.
2. We are trying to control a country which is neighboring Russia.
3. Russia will always supply weapons to Taliban to Fight our Troops.
4. Imagine if Russia tried to control Mexico which is neighboring USA. We will probably make hell for Russia, by supplying weapons to Mexicans to fight Russians.
5. We must remember that we are not the World Police, responsible for Policing all the countries of the world.
6. We must remember that Terrorist don't attack us from other countries, they come inside USA and attack us. We need to stop infiltration of Terrorists, rather than going after them.
People – read about the history of Afghanistan. No one has EVER conquered that country and no one ever will. It is like Viet Nam? To make it more like Viet Nam, how about we bring the draft back and then draft both men AND women? That'll get the attention of millions of Americans and we can finally bring an end to this war. Stop wasting human lives (both American and Afghani) and use that money here in America. THEN, no more problems re: affording health care for everyone.
Yes, if the Democrats remain in charge.
Of course it is another Vietnam.
In fact, during the late '70's, the American intelligence agencies deliberately goaded the Soviet Union into invading Afghanistan and actually referred to it as the "Soviets' Vietnam". America knew that the terrain and the culture made it an unwinnable war and the perfect trap.
10 years later and trillion$ in debt, the Soviets withdrew and shortly thereafter the Soviet Union collapsed economically. Many economists actually attribute the economic collapse of the Soviet Union to the costs of the Afghanistan war – the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.
So, spout whatever pseudo-patriotic propaganda you prefer, a long running war in Afghanistan will only make Wall Street richer while Main Street Americans will pay dearly in both blood and treasure – just like the Soviets.
..
Afghanistan is not Vietnam. The people of Afghanistan need to take a larger role in fighting Al Qaeda. For all of those who want more troops deployed, sign up and go fight. We have been there for eight years and counting. The US military cannot continue operating in there indefinitely. How do you fight an enemy that is always hiding in the shadows and willing to kill themselves for their cause? We need a change in the way we fight there. The war on terrorism will not be won with bullets.
We can NEVER win a war on terrorism. There will always be terrorists and people who support them.
We trained the terrorists in Afghanistan during their war with the USSR, and now we are in the position of the russians. Why does our gov't insist on trying to nation build? They suck at it! They keep propping up weak corrupt governments who eventually turn on us and cause more problems. We should just get the hell out of there and when the taliban takes over, train terrorists to combat the taliban gov't. That would be easy since the Afghans hate anyone who tries to rule them because the are a collection of backward tribal peoples.
The only reason this is becoming another vietnam is cause bush screwed up whenhe invaded iraq. Sending 40,000 more US lives into afghanistan is not an easy decision. Obama is taking his time and making sure what they do is right for the long run not just right now. Look at iraq and "Mission accomplished". He has learned from some of the MANY MANY dare is ay infinite mistakes of the bush corporations 8 years in office
It is not VIetnam, it is Afganistan, and Afganistan has been a losing proposition for any country that has waged war there. We need to get out.
This won't be like Vietnam because we as a nation are going to listen to the military professionals and do whatever it takes to finish the job. Al-Quaeda attacked our homeland and the Taliban not only protected them but provided material support to them. I don't care if it takes one hundred years, they must not win.
No Afghanistan war is not like Vietnam. It has a specific purpose, that is to capture Osama bin Laden and the AlQueda terrorists who struck the first blow on the USA. It is only proper to retaliate and make sure they will not crop up again and create trouble anywhere. Unfortunately Afghanistan is where they are hiding and some in that country are providing a safe hideout to these terrorists. They are (the Taliban and warlords of Afghanistan who are sheltering the terrorists) also responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians because their fight tactics are cowardly. If the US retreats now the terrorists have won the war and we are left with so much money spent on the war and precious lives of US military lost. It is a shame.
Increasing troups calls as war mongering, war profiteering, republicans are demanding is the most stupid thing I have heard lastly from any politician: How can anyone be pushing the president to increase troups level when we are not even sure they would stay after the elections are decided in Afganistan?
It is supposed to be a foreign, democratic country despite its corruptions as JWBush declared it last time I checked. They just had elections and the results are not yet out. How then do we know if the new government would like to keep our troups send them out of their country?
This is a sovereign nation!!! We can't decide for them what they can and cannot do. Sure we invaded the country under the taliban. Are we still going to keep occupying the country if the "democratic government " asks us to leave?
I am 80 years young. Johnson and McNamara were running the show during the Vietnam era. We were told<<<<<if we leave Vietnam the Communists would rule the world. We left,,,,,nothing changed. Almost nothing, except America lost over 58,000 Americans. Hopefully at some point in time our leaders will realize,,,,,,Americans can NOT cure the ills of the rest of the world. Sadly America cannot take care of it's self anymore. We will be in debt to China until the end of time.. If China decides today that we should pay them what they are due,,,,,,,,China will own America. The stars and stripes would no longer fly over the white house. America CAN-NOT be the world's policeman.
Much like the Presidents who inherited Vietnam Obama inherited Afganistan.
We should either beef up our resources and go on to win, decisively and quickly or we should get out quickly.
Either way, make a decision and support it fully. We should have learned our lessons from Vietnam by now.
In order to suceed in Afghanistan, we need to stop advertising our military concerns and plans to the entire world. Remember WWII? Could you imagine what would have happened if we broadcasted our military strategies to Germany and Japan? We kept our mouths shut and did what we had to do to complete the mission.
Wouldn't it be great if the Taliban openly discussed their military planning and troop levels? But you will never see that happen. Stop advertising everything to the world!!
It is very much like Vietnam in that local troops to be trained are as recalcitrant as troops in Vietnam. They have no will to fight, unlike their Taliban counterparts. Who trains the Taliban??? It is all about the will!Once the Americans leave, the Taliban will again rule, much like the Viet Cong ruled Vietnam once we left. A Vietnam Combat veteran
How is this Obama's war? he inherited this mess from GWB who did not do what was needed and decided to instead of finishing the job here he wanted to prove that he could be better than his daddy and go after iraq...So to balme Obama for this mess is somewhat misplaced.
Obama is not a leader. He is a lawyer and therein lies the problem. As a lawyer he will continually analyze, argue, discuss and avoid anything that looks like a decision. Lawyers learn this tactic in "billing hours 101". Never reach a conclusion, keep discussing and that way your billing hours will remain high. Whatever happened to his position in March when he said he would destroy and dismantle Al Qaeda? I know he has to re-assess the strategy because he just found out the Karzi Government is corrupt. As a former military officer I suggest Obama either...lead, follow or get out of the way. He wanted the job, he got the job...now do the job.
Why can't we just get out of there and leave these people alone? They DO NOT WANT US THERE!!! There has been innocent civilians who have been killed or wounded because of OUR artillery! Homes have been destroyed and we have not sufficiently helped the people of Afghanistan to rebuild.....the money has been diverted to support our war efforts. Horrible! ...and we wonder why we are so disliked around the world!
YES, IT IS JUST LIKE VIETNAM! WHY DON'T WE LEARN?!
In Viet Nam we did not loss the war, we were not allowed to win. There is a difference here, In Afghanistan we need to win and get our service members home and save with their families and friends and the press needs to understand that simple idea. Reporters: forget about the Pulitzer Prize or your name in print, report the news for the news and not a pat on the back every time your story makes it into the main stream media papers and television news cast. When the media reports on the war bad of good it is called freedom of the press but when Americans use freedom of the press to stand up against the Obama, Pelosi and Reid administration policies on the war and other policies in general, these American are are called brown shirts and Nazi.
I came from Cambodia, a place part of VN war. US came to VN and Cambodia, and Loa ripped them apart and walked away, left millions of Cambodian people in the hand of Khmer Rouge.
Now US considering walk away from Afganistan? If US think about this situation, US should not come to any of these countries at the first place. US bomb, kill, and burn whole villages, turned stones upside down and walked away when US face tough condition. Is it considered a high moral and ethnical ground of conduct war, leaving behind millions of people who support US in the first place facing uncertain and risk their lives.
Only US not North VN nor Taliban can turn the situation into a very messy one. The blue, red and white color won't run only if US decides to do so.
US generals should bring our troops home and then resign before Obama can fire them. Obama has no clue what to do, and he is now looking for a scapegoat to throw under the bus and then he will announce his plans to bring the troops home. Don't you see? Obama will not fight Muslims because he is one and wants to be loved by them ahead of American citizens.
1. Hold and replace U. S. and U. N. troops as needed and give them the support and equipment they need.
2. Send in enough trainers to build up the Afghanistan Army
3. Bomb the living daylights out of the al-Quieda and Taliban wherever and whenever they surface, especially the mountain regions where they are holed up over the winter.
4. Cut off the supply routes
5. Change the restrictive rules of engagement to all out war when attacked or when the "targets' present themselves.
6. Explain this plan to the Afghanistan people and let them decide their fate. Kill or be killed by us or the enemy.
No more "putzing around"! This is war and we Americans need to realize it. Our young men and women are dying for us. Let's give their families our best efforts.
There is only one way to fight a war. TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our cowards in Washington are going to kill a lot more of our soldiers by trying to talk their way out of this.
Obama's calling for a cleaner election before he commits to the Afghan government. Too bad he doesn't ask the same in the case of Iran.
We could all just let Obama weigh the consequences and make an informed decision.
A good leader is not always one that makes quick, but rather informed decisions.
War is not a simple matter.
This war is nothing like Vietnam.
Thank goodness Obama will be making his decisions based on recommendations from military professionals and not the 52% who obviously have no recollection of what the Vietnam conflict was all about.
Absolutely ridiculous...
Don’t listen to what the American people want though, just like health care as well..
No Afghanistan is not at all like Vietnam. No jungles, No cold war. No north/south division. No enemy air force or anti-aircraft missiles. No international block supporting the enemy. The hard core Taliban and al queda need to be wiped out and deprived of home base territory. The state of Afghanistan needs two decades of flat out very careful undisguised nation building so that the whole place doesn't descend into chaos again. The days when Afghanistan could remain a semi governed patchwork of crude warlord dominated tribal fiefdoms has ended. We have no choice but to make sure that the place is ruled and somewhat civilized by the Afghan people themselves whether they like it or not. They're just going to have to step up to the job! September 11th made this all mandatory. That's just the way it is and no political shuffling around will change it.
Vietnam was a fluke and so is this war
i respect the troops greatly but not bush who sent them in the first place and now obama has to deal with bus's dumb mistakes
Anytime the politicians think they know better than the generals on the field how to fight a war then we will have problems. Also, I would like to point out that Obama can't relate to Vietnam as he was (1) too young; and (2) living in another country. Let the military fight this war and tell the politicians to do what they do best....taking bribes and funds from lobbyists and fighting amongst themselves.
Just like Vietnam, military could not cross DMZ in Vietnam and they can't go into Pakistan in Afgan. Hey you Hawks of the republican party. We allready invaded Iraq, had to in your opinion to get Saddam. Gee, we could have gotten him when Bush Sr. was in office. Let's invade Pakistan so we can get all the terrorists. War hawks are pathetic. They want to be bullies of the world.
It is never good to have a Democrat president running a war, but the people who attacked us on 9/11 were able to train freely and plan their attack from this country. We cannot allow that again. Obama knows this, but he also knows that everyone who would vote for him has forgotten 9/11 and believes that Americans who disagree with this administration are the terrorists, not the ones who took down the towers and attacked the Pentegon.
This WAR is already another Vietnam, why fight a war that can not be won. It's time we bring our troops home and start rebuilding the USA, let someone else fight this war. The people we put into office need to wake up.
YES MOST DEFINETLY – This from a veteran of thirty years and two tours in Vietnam. I listened and read what the American people had to say while we were facing death every day. Our forefathers would turn over in their graves for what cowards our country has turned into. We would have won the war in Vietnam in half the time we were there if for not the media, hippies and draftdodgers. Your falling into the same trap. NO SUPPORT, NOT ENOUGH SUPPORT, BLASPHEMING OUR SOLDIERS FOR BEING THERE. IF YOU'D ONLY OPEN YOUR EYES AND READ THE BIBLE THEN YOU'D KNOW. THE MUSLIMS ARE OUT TO DESTROY ALL INFIDELS. COME ON BABY BOOMERS GET SOME GUTS AND SAVE OUR TROOPS AND AMERICA NOW. DON'T TAKE ANY MORE 911s.
Wow, first vietnam, then afghanistan. Liberals stop at nothing to undermine the sacrifices of US armed forces.
We already have the new Vietnam, it's called Iraq. Where were all this people concerned about our troops dying in vain, when we got ourselves into illegal war? Now we are actually going after the people who are truly our enemies & we want to take them out of the fight. I guess the moral of this story, for the rest of the world to take, is that the American's will always try to do what's right, but only if it's easy!
I think President Obama needs to get back out on the campaign trail. Well, what else does this guy do? I thought he was elected to get us out of all these wars. It didn't work under Bush and it isn't working now. More troops will only lead to more useless deaths. Pull out now before it is too late. We wasted the chance of gettting Bin Laden. Mr. President make a decision and stick to it. Stop flipping a coin to see how your approval ratings will handle the decision. Be a President and not a Hollywood star.
What next? I bet Obama will join Linked In and Twitter and Tweet the US. His first set of Tweets: "I'm reading my daily brief and flipping a coin to decide if I make a decision or find a way to get back to the campaign trail." " I am so addicted to the rush just being on that campaign bus." "Need a new slogan for 2012 – The world won't end, but change is still in progress." "No, how about – I won't let the world end. I've still got work to do."
peace will never be achieved through violence
peace will only be achieved through understanding
why can't we get over war already?
In Vietnam we did not go into the neigboring country of Cambodia where the enemy was using it as a supply line. We are attacking the enemy in Pakistan. If we would have been more aggresive in the Vietnam war we could have won. You don't win wars by fighting with one hand tied behind your back and the media wanting you to give up and go home.
It seems that it already has.
Current President must DECIDE to go into Afghanistan and effectively with FULL-SUPPORT – "til the end" (unlike vietnam) and kick ass OR don't go there at all, with a clean break.
This "half-ass" dragging-on charade is costing AMERICA alot of money, not to mention, it makes us look even weaker. IF the majority of AMERICA has transformed into bunch of scaredyCat sissys, then even if we do go there, it will end badly, just like Vietnam.
We either UNITE into Full Committment OR Dont even start.
If some of these media people got a real job and stop sturrup trouble around the world it would better for everyone.
All we need to do is compare how long we were in Viet Nam with how long we've been in Afghanistan and how many U.S. deaths and how many U.S. dollars have been invested in either war.
Clearly, Afghanistan is *not* "another" Viet Nam. This kind of tired rhetoric is simply offensive and diminishes our memory of what a tragic event Viet Nam truly was.
SUPPORT THE TROOPS! They still need our support!
Some things never change and this "War" is one of them. The Brits and Italians are tired and China will never help. We are draining the life out of our own country by not meeting its citizens needs and providing them opportunity for a good job.
Who cares about another country when you can't put a decent meal on the table for your family and live the "American Dream". Most of them don't want us over there and are angry at us for already eliminating many of their loved ones "by accident".
They are now recruiting 7 and 12 year olds to be suicide bombers because we are there! There is always an excuse as to why "we just can't leave yet" but there are many reasons as to why we should.
the draft would divide our country with texas leading the way. us troops must be 500 thousand strong and only way to get those numbers is to inact the draft which will force black folks and muslims to decide.
Afghanistan is NOT similar to Vietnam. Folks who think that it is are too lazy to educate themselves and apparently feel quite comfortable being mindless, Media monkeys.
If by "another Vietnam" you mean a media machine who disagrees with the war and then litters the airwaves with stories of failings and shortcomings in an attempt to sway public opinion more in line with it's own, then yes this is another Vietnam. If you and your media cohorts decided to run more stories showing the successes our troops have accomplished, like the reporting of WWII, then I am sure you would see public opinion sway more in favor of it. But when has the media ever done it's job without prejudice or bias. Just keep taking your cues from Emanuel and Dunn. The ratings will speak for themselves.
It already is another Vietnam in terms of wanting to escalate the number of troops, monies spent and how it is affecting the countries surrounding it.
There are according to a recent M-I6 report about a thousand Al Quida in Afghanistan. They are disorganized and pose little threat to us. There is nothing to win in Afghanistan. Our military presence is doing a creditable job ( just as in Iraq) of creating more terrorists as we kill and maim.
Just as in Vietnam the generals will be asking for more troops for now and evermore. We cannot win there. Period! Ask the British and the Russians (and others).
Ben Laden, is, according to all, in Pakistan. Go get him there and leave the poor, long suffering Afghans alone.
This has already turned into America's Russian Vietnam. Let's just stage a big battle, declare victory and bring the troops home. You can then continue the fight intelligently, with technology and through proxies, you know: the way RR won the Cold War.
It is unconscionable that Obama is delaying a decision on troops for Afghanistan. If he remains true to form, he will coincidentally be ready to make that decision as soon as he has tallied the votes for his healthcare reform bill and won't have to be concerned about supporter backlash from that debacle. This war is nothing like Vietman and to compare them is wrong. No one likes war, and it is not surpising that this poll suggests most Americans are against it. However, this ememy will not quit and if we don't face them there, we will likely face them here and none of us want that.
This is not Obama's war, he's a puppet. It's a function of our military-industrial complex/economy/who driving this version of a country. This goes way beyond political parties. Follow the money.
This is not the same as Vietnam in the sense that we're fighting terrorists who directly threaten the security of the United States. However the outcome could end up the same if we fail to allow the military the resources to win a total victory. If we don't fight to win, then we should pull out sooner rather than later. That was the lesson of Vietnam at the cost of 50,000 American lives.
If Bush and the neocans hadn't shifted the focus away from Afghanistan and into the bogus war in Iraq, Afghanistan wouldn't be as disasterous as it is today!
We should withdraw all our brave soldiers from Iraq, and focus on getting rid off Bin Laden and Al Quida. Unfortunately, we have no choice, but to increase the number of soldiers we have in Afganistan to ensure that the terrorist don't find a safe heaven in Afganistan/Packistan.
Honestly, most people don't know how much a "Vietnam" Afghanistan has become. You need to look at the last 30 years of history in U.S. Afghan policies to really see that we set ourselves up for this. When you shove hundreds of Millions of Dollars at a 3rd world country and then suddenly cut off all funding once the Soviet Union withdraws you have created the perfect storm for another "Vietnam".
Maybe if the media would stop talking about only the bad things that go on, people would clue in and realise this is nothing like Vietnam. There are tons of good things happening in Afghanistan in terms of rebuilding schools/houses/etc, human rights (especially for woman) and general improvement of lifestyle. Oh just wait, the media doesn't get rating for feel good stories. Sorry I forgot about that.
If Bush had not gone into Iraq this war would be over now.
President Obama has to clean up this mess like all the other messes Bush made in his 8 yrs.
President Obama will do the right thing.
Even if he were to end the war tomorrow or have a job for everyone by next week the right would still not accept him as President. That is a fact the President and the real Democrats need to keep in mind when they vote on any bills. Mr president and Democrats just do what needs to be done anyway you can and stop hoping the Republicans will help.
I am an Afghan, and so I know a lot about Afghanistan and the mentallity of its people. Obama is very intelligent and accurate to go after Al Qaida, rather than the Taliban. Bush made a mistake and rather went after the Taliban (which is a local group, and means no threat to anyone outside Afghanistan). The Taliban are Afghans (especially Pashton) and if you want to solve anything with them with force, good luck, because it won't happen. The final conflict will be solved with Taliban negotiating with either Nato or the Afghan gov't.. Al Qaida on the other hand is different. They won't negotiate, because they dont' belong there anyway. If Obama wants to win this war, he should negotiate with the Taliban, a vast majority of whom are Pashtons, and give the Pashtons more say in the gov't. The Pashtons are the dominant ethnic group in the country, yet they hold very little power. That's where the Taliban is getting support. So work on that...
No foreign world power has ever invaded Afghanistan and successfully maintained control of it. Afghanistan is where empires go to die: Great Britain, Soviet Russia, and soon the United States if we continue operations there for too much longer.
IRAQ is the Vietnam !!!
Afghanistan is just another minor Bay of Pigs, Cuba-like incident.
We should not be in EITHER PLACE.
Get US out !!
Vietnam, not quite, when Israel hits Iran, Pakistan may fall it very well could escalate into the beginning of WW3. With our failed economy, consider what an attack on US soil would do, the death nail perhaps? I believe that if we don't fight there now the fight will be much worse and possibly here in the very near future.
Ike Eisenhower warned us that when Corporations and the military join hands the result is WAR , because WAR= CORPORATE PROFITS!
I love people who blame Obama for Afghanistan. Do you people remember it was Bush who messed the entire thing up from the get go, and then diverted resources away from Afghanistan to a senseless war in Iraq so as to pad his campaign contributors bottom lines?
Now Obama is exercising restraint as he gets all of the information together to make a logical informed decision, something the Bush adminstration did not do for 8 years straight, and people are attacking him for it? Gather information and make an informed decision. Thats the kind of government I want. Not one that goes off half cocked with no regard to potential ramifications on the world political scene like the previous adminsitration.
I am 66 yrs old... I remember Vietnam personally...... I have said from the beginning that this feels like another "Vietnam" When will we ever learn???? If we don't learn from the past....we are bound to "repeat it" How Sad.....
I think Pakistan learn their mistakes from last week terrorist attacks
Now the war is between Pakistan and terrorist
Pakistan must step up and fight the terrorists
The time for Pakistan to work with our military
Al- Qaida is world enemy
We have to stop blaming Obama and try to understand the real problems
Any fast decisions not good at all
Of course it's like Vietnam (I'm a 'Nam vet). How?
1. There is no clearly defined mission. Are we there to get bin Laden? destroy the Taliban? "bring democracy"? or just get our young men and women killed?
2. No matter who is in charge or what the mission is, they need more troops. Some day, somebody is going to recognize that this is what commanding generals do . . . they never think they have enough troops. Remember, they all studied George McClellan when at West Point.
3. We're fighting in an environment where the local populace despises us (with good reason; look at the number of Afghans we've killed). How can you expect to succeed?
4. We've failed to learn the lessons of history (where have we heard this before?) If Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, the British, the Russians and others have failed to subdue this medieval society, what in the world gives us the idea that we can?? What hubris!
I could go on, but what's the point?
It's obvious now that we supported the wrong side in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Soviet-backed communists were in favor of equal rights for women, better education – all the things we're supposedly fighting for now – while our "allies" were the ones wanting to keep the country backward in the name of religion. Good call, Ronnie.
IRAQ is the VIETNAM. Afghanistan is just a minor issue like Cuba once was.
Get US out of BOTH PLACES !!!
It's a very difficult situation, given the tribal nature of the Taliban and the harsh physical environment ... If we leave Afghanistan prematurely, Osama bin Laden will simply move back over from Pakistan and al Qaeda will reconstitute, stronger than ever.
And with Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal in a shaky position, the likelihood of al Qaeda gaining access to real WMDs is greater.
If Bush had supported the invasion of Afghanistan like he should have and truly gotten bin Laden "dead or alive," the problem would have been greatly reduced.
Yet another example of the arrogance and incompetence of the previous Administration.
Sending more troops to a basically tribal area will only increase
killing. Foreign assistance should only come in the area of helping the people determine what is best for them. The Taliban for all of its
"terror" will only increase in numbers when US military increases.
How about inviting them to the table? There must be a way. Also, this drug producing, selling and making the "big guys"rich in other countries drives the momentum and until Karzai is held accountable,little will change. Pakistan and India firgue in the equation and meanwhile our troops die.
President Obama is more of a leader than George W. Bush could ever dream of being. Why?
Because Obama is his own man; Bush was merely Cheney and Rove's puppet, following their idiotic, chickenhawk military strategy of not listening to their generals and thinking that invading two countries in the Middle East would be a cakewalk and oil bonanza for the oil companies.
Obama is not perfect, but at least he's got a brain between his ears!
Obama's people are attacking Bush for not sending enough troops? Obama is even worse than Bush. At least Bush could make the decision to send troops. Our men and women are fighting for their life while Obama makes his campaign rounds and completely unable to make a decison. Obama is a disgrace to troops but he tried to get the olympics.. SAD
Obama's War? How soon the republicans forget who got us into this mess. Obama is cleaning up Bush's legacy. Either get on board or shut up!
I hate to be right in this case but i predicted this and IRAQ combined would be a Vietnam in the sand and mountains instead of the jungle when it all started.
The reason is its a mess over there is not cause of Obama and his not making a decision. Its cause Bush invaded here to get to Al Queda and then moved into Iraq and has left Afghanistan off on its own for the last 7 years. he is the one that started it and could not finish it just like his entire presidency. Don't say this is Obama's war as he has to clean up the mess Bush and Dick left. God you people are morons. and yes he has to decide whether we send more people are needed there but thats not something that you just decide in an hour either people. just like you can't fix an economy that was broken in 8 yrs then say fit it yesterday.
Vietnam had rice paddies, rain and underground tunnels full of troops as we fought communists.
Afghanistan is mountainous with IED's and suicide bombers. The only items similar are the smell of death along with the manufacture and use of illicit drugs fighting Muslim extremists.
With that said what is the real difference between Nguyen van Thieu in Vietnam and Hamid Karzai of Afganistan?
It would be painful to leave Afghanistan to its feudal fate. But it would be even more painful to be forced out, five years and many body bags from now.
The longer we stay there, the worse it gets. People everywhere resist foreign occupation. Why can't the war party and their minions realize this? We could close ranks with most of the nations in the region including China, Iran, Russia, India and reduce the threat of terrorism using intelligence networks to reduce this threat. It's America's decision to garrison the globe with bases that is largely responsible for the antipathy that drives the likes of Bin Laden. There will be no Pax Americana, get over it. Not everyone wants Wal-Mart, MTV, Micky Mouse and Barbie.
Under Obama, yes. Why? Because, just as in Vietnam, the government is getting too involved with the logistics of how to prosecute the war. And they're taking forever to make any decisions. That is just like Vietnam was and that's why we lost. Only this time the Obama admin will try to blame it on Bush. What a joke!!!
Afghans are poor, impoverished people who don't have the technology or knowledge to fly planes. The Taliban condemned 9/11 yet they have become victims for no reason. The ordinary people of Afghanistan, like any country will fight off invasion and occupation. The people don't want to democracy. The majority are Muslims who want Islamic law. Everyone should live according to their life, culture, laws.
I'm simply thankful to have a Leader who thinks. From everything Gates says about Obama, I believe that what ever choice he makes will be a thought out one. Until the election results are worked out, it would be foolish to send in more troops before we know what/who will await them on the ground. There is no fear that this war will turn into another Viet Nam from me. LBJ was a Texas boy like GW. Obama is of a different make. Thank you God.
To those who are opposing Obama's willingness to send more troops, perhaps they should go talk to their recruiters. If most of these people put their money where their mouth is we would have the extra 40,000 troops to send. How many of them have slept in a tent for over a year, worked over 80 hours a week while humping a flak vest, rifle, ammo, water, etc, while worrying if their spouse is paying all the bills? Perhaps they wouldn't be so willing to send other peoples children to war if they went themselves.
When will our government leaders stop listening to the Warmongers (the Pentagon) as to what's best for America and let the peacemakers decided what's best for us as a nation ? Maybe Ameirca is the worlds biggest threat to Peace.
Bush went into two wars using an all volunteer military without inacting a draft. Why???? Because it would have been too politically unpopular. Now after stressing our volunteer forces for many years, a decision on how many more troops is it wise to send, deserves appropriate study. In addition, without an Iraq government, it would not serve any purpose to send more troops. Both of the Iraq Presidential candidates know they need more help and are motivated to move more quickly.
It will not as long as we regain the reason for being in Afganistan, that being to destroy bin laden, and the Taliban, not nation building. If we resort to nation building, then yes could be a no win situation. The Afgan people must deside their own future, the idea that we can export our form of government and our ideals is ignorant. So we need to define our military objectives, commit the forces to acheive those military objectives and then leave upon completion of those military objectives, if politicains have political objectives to meet, then they can go there and stay until they meet their political objectives, that is not the militarys job.
Yes.
1. The 'elected' government is irreversibly corrupt.
2. The vast majority of Americans do not support the war.
3. We do not have the money to pour down this sewer hole.
4. We are fighting a fanatical enemy that will outlast us.
Sound familiar?
Those of you who think this is an 'easy' decision are idiots. I hope our president takes the advice of his vice president. We will never 'win' in a part of the world that has been warring for centuries. And what does 'win' mean these days. Even if you build a democratic nation, it doesn't guarantee the people won't choose the Taliban, Hamas, or Hizbullah as their government! Limit our mission. Focus on the border with Pakistan. Focus on our troubles at home. And ignore the wacky fringe right who could care less about our country. They are the least patriotic of all!!
My son just got back from afghanistan and I'm so happy he got
home alive because my heart goes out to the families who have
lost a love one over there.If they need to send more troops over
there so be it. You can't even imagine what these young kids are
going through and the things they have seen that will probably
haunt them the rest of their lives.We need to show support for
all americans over there and hope they all come home safe.