WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, said Sunday that, regardless of the political situation on the ground in Afghanistan, President Obama should give U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal the 40,000 additional American troops that McChrystal has reportedly requested.
In an interview that aired earlier on CNN's State of the Union, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the leading challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, called into question the ability of the Afghan government to partner with the United States if Karzai wins an upcoming run-off election as many senior Obama administration officials expect.
Asked about Abdullah's comments, Hatch told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, "I think it's taken too long," for Obama to make a decision about troop levels in Afghanistan.
"We have to worry about corruption but we also have to work with whoever is put in there," Hatch also said, making a reference to the unsettled political situation in Afghanistan caused by fraud in the country's presidential election last month.
"And whoever is put in there, you're going to find some corruption," the Utah Republican added. "The fact of the matter is I think we ought to rely on the hand-picked general, by President Obama, Gen. McChrystal, who said that we've got to have more troops."
Hatch added that he thought some of Obama's critics have been "hypercritical" in suggesting that the president was delaying a decision about Afghanistan until after two upcoming gubernatorial elections early next month in Virginia and New Jersey. Some political observers have suggested that the two races could be viewed as a referendum on Obama's presidency so far.
"I hope that's not the case," Hatch said of suggestions that Obama's drawn-out decisionmaking process on Afghanistan could be motivated by domestic political considerations.
But Hatch also said it was "a mistake to continue to not make this decision" given the advice the White House has reportedly received from McChrystal, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan.
Two Democratic senators were more generous towards Obama in their assessment of the situation in Afghanistan.
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio said he thought it was "frankly too early to tell" whether another Karzai term would lead to more corruption. Therefore, Brown said, Obama should continue to listen to his many advisers and make the Afghanistan troop level decision "in the most sobering way possible."
Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson said the U.S. relationship with the Afghan government "has to be a partnership. There's no question about it when we have that many American troops stationed there, fighting there, and, unfortunately, dying there." Nelson told King that he didn't think the capability of the Afghan government would be known until next month's run-off election.
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Isn't it more a question of support for our own troops and our own national decision to stop State supported terrorism than a question of support for Karzai as a specific leader?
This delay is incompetence in it's worst display. Considering the current administration's priorities, it has to be politically motivated.
...'we have to work with whoever is there....' Gawd, ZERO principles. This from the same intellectually barren mind of someone who would submit an amendment exempting US citizens that live in a state beginning with the letter 'U" from the 'evil' healthcare reform. seriously, have you no shame sir?
This is what happens when you have a boy doing a mans job. Cant vote present Owhiner.
so that people criticized him for escalating war so that we can win majority in congress.
Trust yourself, Mr. President, NOT the generals – and certainly not the Republicans who want your administration to fail so much they'd be happy to see us get bogged down in a war we can never win.
Good Morning John,
Let our president do his job we are talking about sanding our solderers in to arms way he need to take his time, I like the job that our President is doing I never Sean any President working so hard on all fronts , and to the Republican they need to stay away there are not helping the president at all, P.S I love Donna keep up the good work.
First, he will get the Nobel prize for the ego and image.
Then, the consideration of what is really needed will be dealt with!!!!
Do not disturb the "new world order" of decision making with your logic!
The "delay" is very much necessary in order to "finally" (after 7 long years) to come up with a "strategy" that will work.
To Annie S, your comment was completely ignorant. You said trust yourself, NOT the generals. ARE YOU KIDDING? Obama appointed him to lead the war there, you do know this right? Heaven forbid Obummer listens to someone who has been doing their job for 20+ years in the military, I wasn't aware of Obummers military service, oh wait thats right he has none. Republican or Democrat your comment was just plain stupid. It's ok though you're prob a liberal with no combat expierence at all, yet you know more than the Generals on the ground. I get it now
Oh yeah? If Orrin Hatch will volunteer his own family to go to Afganistan then we'll talk.
Yes ! Yes ! Yes ! Let's give General McKrystal all the troops he wants ! Let's also make the Bush-Cheney tax cuts for the wealthy permanent ! Let's continue to grow the economy through the wealthy and military-industrial complex . Let's also continue to blame President Obama and call him a socialist .
We've waited almost 8 years for a good plan for afghanistan, we can wait 2 more weeks.
Without taking out "the man that tried to kill my daddy" in Iraq, maybe we would already be done in afghanistan. But then Cheney/Bush, the warmongers, just had to do what they did with NO plans at all.
This is all so interesting. No offense to General McChrystal, but when he went into theater, he did not know how many more troops he needed than those already under his command. How many does he really need? Notice how many times this question has been asked in the last 7 or 8 years. I'm sure Sen Hatch will remember General Shinseki who recommended more and was ridiculed. Then we needed more for a surge (after Shinseki was summarily dismissed). How many do we really need you armchair quarterback hacks who criticize the president;s deliberate approach? Why don't some of you naysayers run for office to get it right? What's the magic number, and when, Senator? Moron values continued. Mercy.
hatch another fear/hate Republican. were was he when bush left afghanistan to fight Iraq. Obama is doing what bush and the republican should have done in 2002 which is stop and think about what you are going to do and try to get it right. If bush and the republican had done just a little thinking Iraq would not have happen and the war in Afghanistan would be over now.
Also we would have health care reform and good energy policy and even immigration by now if the republicans had done some thinking over the 8 yrs they were in power. Instead we have all the messes we have now and Obama is trying to get us out of by thinking it through.
I can think of about 50 potential warriors who just sitting around the Senate Chamber with their thumbs in their ears.
Orrin baby, these are not disposables, these are human beings. They have real lives with real familes and real hopes for the future. Of course they're going to tell you and Faux Gnus they WANT to be there. They're not stupid. They know if they don't sound like they're testosterone overloaded, they'll be walking point up a ravine on the Pak border.
What McChrystal and you have to stop doing is trying to jam people with a 12th century mindset into a 21st century mold. We cannot save everyone from themselves.
Just like Biden said about cheney.....WHO CARES WHAT HATCH SAYS. He is the colony of good old boy white men republican....who are so entrenched in "ruin the president" he lacks any kind of authenticity.
Robert the man your the ignorant one, Why. because for the last 8 years, your egg Hatchers ,strategy didn't work and the war is still on. As long as the US is still voting for the US PARTY OF BULLIES their enemies on this war will only be empowered so. why don't you shut your trap. Live this to INTELLIGENT PEOPLE to decide.
McChrystal reminds me of General Westmoreland, the head of command in the Vietnam War, who just kept asking President Johnson for more and more troops. What happened? More Vietnamese died and more American soldiers died and it accomplished nothing.
For those of you armchair generals out there – President Obama is doing the prudent strategy. You have to have a stable government to work with and the election results for who is Afghanistan's elected President are not in yet. The run off is next week. We will be wasting more our soldiers lives in the Bush wars if we don't have a partnership with the legitmately elected Afghan government and if we don't have buy-in and troops from our Allies to solve this Afghan problem, execute a strategy, and then get out.
We need to end these failed Bush wars with smart strategy plans and exit plans – not just war for war's sake like the Republicans love.
For all the money we have spent on the Bush wars in Iraq and Afghanistan we could have paid for healthcare for everyone, built brand new school in every city in America, and sent every child to college. War has consequences. Not only does it kill our soldiers but it bankrupts our nation and increases our deficit – exactly what President Obama is trying to fix – stopping these wars and investing the money in Americans.
Know your facts before you spew your ignorance and hate.
Answer a question that has as of yet to be answered by this or the last administration. What is the militray objective for victory in Afganistan? And then the Generals can tell you what is needed to provide acheivement of those objectives. It is time to get off the fence, weare not nation building, we are either going to kill our enemies or we are not. If we are not committed to destroying our enemies, then we have no purpose of throwing more into Afganistan, that in my opinion would be an error. So what must we do in Afganistan, a war that has been placed on a side burner? The total destruction of the Taliban and the captue and destruction og bin Laden. Who leads Afganistan is not an issue that is a matter of the Afgan people. As to those that are attacking the President, back off. Monday morning quarterbacks that have never worn the uniform are a dime a dozen. For those that say the President has never served, he is the Commander in Cheif of the US military, in my boat that means he is in service, thats where the buck stops. Incompetence is demonstrated by the longest war in American history, that at this time in history is no closer to completion than it was the day that President Bush ordered the military in, once again , What is the military objrctive that must be acheived?
the republican want the president to make mistake by hastly send the troop to afghanistan without due consideration,some of them are even saying they want him to fail.I am afraid to say most GOP don,t like america to succed on this afghan war
Indecision is how people die; three simple words can kill more troops than any enemy can. Those three words are “I don’t know”. We need leadership, someone who can make a decision and stand behind that decision without wavering, our troops are not stupid, they can see indecision in their chain of command, and they know that if their leadership is wavering their lives are on the line. We need someone to step up to the plate, and make this decision before more of our dedicated troops lose their lives in this conflict. This is not a game of chess where you can sit and stare at the board for hours, while the pieces remain still, it’s a moving target, decisions must be made, and the leadership needs to be strong so that our troops feel secure, and are motivated for the cause. If this current administration does not have what it takes, they should step down….. My two Cents…………
What! Do all these idiot Republicans now think THEY are the commander in Chief. Funny I don't recall any election where they won.
I am sorry to say, but some of you that are posting on these articles are too darn stupid to even have your own opinion, you do nothing but show the world the lack of education that exist in this country.
This is not about the last 8 years, and some of you dumb a$$ people need to start thinking about today, and quit making excuses for everything that is not right and needs good leadership today.
The fact is, Obama is right to be careful in making the decision to send my son into battle. I don't know if anyone who is pushing him to make a rushed decision has a child or children in the military, but we have 2 sons serving and we appreciate that Obama is NOT making rash decisions.
Oh, and by the way – Bush took # MONTHS to make the decision to send additional troops into Iraq for the surge operation after the additional troops were requested.
These Republicans have not learned anything – they would be quite happy for Obama to send troops, then blame him for making a rushed judgment.
Personally, I prefer my President to be careful with the lives of my children.
If our Presidents blindly followed everything their generals said, we would still be in Vietnam. It is the job of generals to win wars and they are going to request whatever they think is necessary to win the war. If a general came to the President and said, "we can't win this war", he should be fired immediately. It is the job of the President to decide if the cost is too great for the reward and if we should pursue a different course of action or not.
Who cares what Hatch thinks? Not me. And he spoke at my grad school graduation.
When Bush fired his commanders for disagreeing with Cheney and Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld, Hatch said he was completely correct. Now when Obama wants to actually review the recommendations (as Afghanistan heads into Winter and any build-up would be pointless), Hatch thinks he's wrong.
The only factor causing Hatch to oppose Obama is that the President is a Democrat.
Hatch must thinks by sending more troops into Afghan it will stop the killing and the Taliban, not so. It is clear the Taliban are on the borders of Pakistan and the Pakistan military is moving in on them with military force. I believe President Obama will submit more troops once the Taliban are forced out of Pakistan soil with no place to retreat other than Afghan and they will be destroyed.
I personally am very happy that this president is listening to all sides and developing a comprehensive strategy. In five short weeks my 18 year old son will leave for basic training to join the Marines. When all of his training is finished, his father and I want to know that wherever he is sent , the mission is clear, and he has the support he needs. This is not just "politics", but a matter and life and death for thousands of our armed services. We can have the best strategiy in the world, but if we can not trust the Afghan leaders, the strategy will not work! Let's leave the decisions to the ones who job it is to decide and the "politicians and analysts" need to stop speculating as if they know what will happen.
Right now we have American troops in harms way on the battlefield in Afghanistan. The President needs to support them 101%, or pull them all out. If Obama continues to dither, and not give the field commanders what they need, he is a failure and a disgrace as a Commander in Chief. Don't let this become another Vietnam where battlefield decisions are made based on political fallout or voter public opinion polls. Either fight the far to win it, or bring all our boys home Mr President
Vietnam Era Veteran
October 25th, 2009 12:11 pm ET
---Robert the man your the ignorant one, Why. because for the last 8 years, your egg Hatchers ,strategy didn't work and the war is still on. As long as the US is still voting for the US PARTY OF BULLIES their enemies on this war will only be empowered so. why don't you shut your trap. Live this to INTELLIGENT PEOPLE to decide.---
Ha ha ha ha, after reading that, by all means intelligent one, please lead the way.
Where were all these armchair warriors when Donald Rumsfeld was planning the Iraq invasion and completely ignoring the generals' request for a minimum of 400,000 troops?
First of all, we never should have gone into Iraq, but the least the Bush Administration could have done was listen to people who actually knew what they were talking about when planning the invasion.
Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz – all those doofuses avoided serving, have never seen a second of combat and yet had the arrogance to ignore the advice of our military leaders.
THAT is why Iraq and Afghanistan are such a mess: The Bush Administration and their freaking incompetent, arrogant, idiotic, egocentric CHICKEN HAWK decision-makers!!!
The Campaigner-in-Chief can't make up his mind and our soldiers are endangered by his inability to make the tough decision. This isn't bold leadership, it's incompetence.
I am amazed at the number of you that actually think that ANYONE would actually make a decision to put soldiers life at stake for political gain. Obama wanted Gen McChrystal in the role he is in for a reason. Now he doesn't seem to want to acton HIS guys recommendation.
There is a huge difference in between running a campaign and running a country. You actually have to make real decisions running a country. Obama is simply not up to the task!
Who is Hatch to warrant any coverage. The decision is extremely important and the analytical process takes time. The generals do not get to tell their commanders in the pentagon, the secretary of defense and joint chiefs and president what to do. McCain and other simpletons have come to take orders from "those in the field" and that is not smart...they see only one aspect of complex situations.
Take all the time you need Mr. Prez. I'm impressed with the careful deliberation.
I LOVE how the opposition is saying a fast decision would support troops. If you truely supported troops you'd only want them to go into a thoughtful situation. Where people, you know, actually care about their lives. I guess the last 8 years of reckless and irreponsible decisions and the killing of many american lives for the wrong reasons is what the cons call "strong leadership."
Hence, why they no longer run the country. America's smarter than that.
We have already seen the wisdom in delaying a troop decision until Karzai agreed to a run-off election. This matters of course, since the Afghan peoples' perception of a corrupt government is one of the major reasons for the recent Taliban successes.
But this is only an example of the bigger picture- which is that, here in the US, the civilian government is supposed to tell the military what to do, not the other way around. That is why President Truman fired General MacArthur, in I'd say that there is by now a good case for President Obama firing General McChrystal.
Generals should offer honest appraisals to Presidents, and Presidents should honestly consider that information. In private.
We need a commander in chief like Dick Cheney who will send our military into harms way without thinking.
Every day Obama drags his feet and does not make a decision regarding Afghanistan-it is placing our military men/women in increased danger. The increased troop levels increases the safety of those in our military who are in Afghanistan!!!
He needs to either give the Generals the 40,000 troops that they requested/need, or get all of our military members out of there NOW!!
Obama is just playing political games--not wanting to upset either side--as he is trying to shove that health care disaster down our throats.
The terrorists are well aware of everything that is going on right now regarding the Afghanistan issue--and soon, they will act upon the knowledge of knowing that our military is weak in Afghanistan due to not having enough troops.
Cut Obamba some slack, he doesn't know what to do. Dang!
Always we hear that we ought to "listen to the generals on the ground". Why? If Harry Truman had listened to Douglas MacArthur, who some think was among our best generals ever, about the conduct of the war in Korea, we would have have been at war with Communist China. Remember, it was MacArthur who advocated quite publicly that we invade across the Yalu River. That is why we have civilians in charge. It should never be assumed that the generals are correct just because they are generals.
The wind is blowing and the lips are flapping. What are you doing to help anything, Orin?
As usual, the answer is, "nothing". Shut up and get on board, or get off the bus!
For all those who believe they know how to handle a war, get up out of your armchairs and enlist. No one has a clue except the military leaders and their job is to do what they think is best. We don't really know what is real and what isn't real. Until there is a definite leader to work with all the president would do is send more troops in to die. Then all of you would go back in history and call it a war of vietnam. For eight years we were in the wrong war let's allow this president to at least come close to getting it right.
Good Lord! Liberals apparently still believe our generals and our soldiers "lost" the war in Vietnam. That war was lost by our media and our peacenik "friends" who so divided this country that we were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Then they partied while hundreds of thousands of innocent lives were taken by the "victors." And now, here we go again. Now we're making our young men and women fight a war where they must get permisson to fire on the enemy, permission often not granted until a couple of our own are killed or wounded. Our Commander in Chief fiddles while Rome burns. I once heard the term "fool" defined as someone who keeps on making the same mistake over and over. Well, here we go again.
Obama is putting the lives of soldiers in danger. He is playing a waiting game to get the far left members of his party onboard with his health care agenda and their votes for his plan and then after the waiting game is over he will announce the need to increase troop levels. All about placing politics ahead of the lives of American soldiers.
Obama just procrastinates and lies on everything, Just look what Obama has done in the feation of jobs, NOTHING.
Obama has made us less safe and all he does is LIE.
Yes, Mr Pres....think some more.. more...and more...you can take all the time you need...even if it take years...our lib friends/democrats can be trusted more that our military. Keep up the good work
How about Hatch going over thare and fighting if he's so gung ho about this useless, stupid, insane war. Or if he has kids or grandkids, lets send them over. All these politicians and warmongers are always so ready to send other peoples kids to go over and be slaughtered for NOTHING! Get out of Afghanistan and get out NOW! Quit uselessly spending billions that we so desperately need here in out own country.
The previous presidential office should have thought more before making a decision to go to war with Iraq.
"Ready – FIRE – Aim!"
The rethuglican way of killing Americans for two decades now. Atta boy there Hatch, that's the way to "protect" America.
The only thing that's killing more of us than war is the rethugs obstructionism to health care reform and a strong public option. The rethugs like that way better because it's killing 122 Americans a day that do not have health care resources – and they think it's mostly democrat voters.
Besides they get the up side of big bucks from the insurance companies every day they delay reform and big bucks from defencse contractors for keeping at least two wars going...
I am a big supporter of Pres Obama but he does seriously needs to either make a decision soon or explain why it is taking so long to decide.
The more he delays and says nothing, the more ammo it is to those that oppose him, and god knows they are being handed plenty of that each time such stories like Fox news being refused an interview comes out.
give the war industry the whole treasury, he means to say.
The opposition to Pres. Obama's decision to send more of us into harm's way are complete idiots. Here's the truth about it, you guys talk about sending 40,000 more troops like we don't have families and talk about us like some kind of never ending resource. Now the majority of us joined the military to serve our country and recieve benefits like health care, dental care, "burial" insurance, education, and all the things that most "Americans" don't have. I wish you guys would consider us and any fool who's in the military and responds to this and says you know what you signed up for; while that may be true, I'm proud to serve my country; but not proud of the people in it as they continue to practice poor judgement and want to throw my life in harm's way with no second thought. If you want 40,000 more troops get the people in your family to enlist and then vote to send them off; like most you don't care until it affects you directly! GOD bless and GOD bless real Americans in the greatest country on earth.
I hope CNN has the courage to post this
Obama has to wait to have someone type his decision on a teleprompter. I love how all his koolaid drinking followers dont understand how time is a factor here. Obama wastes hundreds of billions of dollars on a pork laden 'stimulus' that did NOTHING. And he made that decision over a weekend. Hes is quick in calling cops racist for daring t arrest his buddy. he is quick in every decision that actually needs time and planning to do. but a decision that actually requires speed...he takes his sweet time. Hes not planning anything except how to pin his next failure on the republicans and Bush
Maybe Orin Hatch should volunteer to be one of those 40,000. He might think twice before shooting his mouth off.
Of course, if Obama had immediately given the general all the troops he wanted, Hatch would be complaining about Obama's lack of deliberation and undue haste in making such an important decision. No matter what he does, short of resigning, nothing is going to please the party of "NO!"
Someone tell Orin the Bush/Cheney rule of storm in first and evaluate-never-is over. President Obama will make his decision not by being pressured from the GOP or Generals but by sound evaluation of the situation and real goals-quite refreshing-rather Commander-in-Chief like which we haven't seen in a very, very long time.
Yeah the GOP has definitely had great ideas for Afghan policy the past 8 years, of course it makes sense to listen to them for what to do now. Just do what the General Sez! Just do what he sez! It will all be all right!
GOP doofuses.
its Time the they soldiers comming home ,all the republicans want is War an more War , the the ones that cost all the nasty Parties this Summer .the are the most hatefull Party i ever seen .President Obama hasent got a mean Bone in him .he caers abaut People .all the republican caer abaut is them selves ,an power .an one more thing President Obama has more smart in his little Finger .then the republican have in there Head .all the know is how to hate ,no compassion.stupid A Cheeny an Busch got us in the Mess we in .an President Obama is working soooo hard to get us aut off Cheney an Busch mess.lets get rid of the Republican ,Party of do nothing .republicans acht like terroist.
I believe our Commander-In-Chief made it clear this week what his intentions were:
We are not sending more troops to Afghanistan now. Period.
I'm not surprised the Repblicans are crying about President Obama's serious deliberation. After all, they are the party of knee-jerk reactions. Somebody should tell Hatch that the lack of serious deliberation is the cause of this mess, not the other way around. What a nitwit!
Everytime you turned around during the Viet Nam conflict Gen Westmoreland kept asking for more troops...eventually it was over 500,000 and nothing was resolved in our favor. Plus we kept backing the wrong people in a very corrupt situation, just like Afganistan...Remember there is a former Union Oil Exec running Afganistan now...Karazi!
Pres. Obama doesn't know he's costing lives, He could have sent the troops and cleaned it up or if he chickens out he just has to pull out 40,000 more troops, pretty simple,
all you love to hate libs, seem to forgot, McChrystal was picked BY Obama...yet you keep blaming it all on "the last eight years" by that logic its one year of Jimmy Carter the 2nd and 7 years of Bush...
and funny how right after 9/11, no one had an issue with any of this!
For 7 years the GOP and their (p)resident ignored Afghanistan. Now that Obama is in the White House, they hypocritically scream about our troops. Hatch and his ilk are disgusting immoral opportunists.
President Obama said he did a thorough review of Afghanistanjust this past Spring. That is when he appointed Gen. McChrystal, announced a counter insurgency strategy and said this was a war of necessity.
I believe President Obama when he said he wants to consider Gen. McChrystal's request for more troops before making a decision.
However, if President Obama truly did do a thorough review this past Spring then it shouldn't take him this long to do an update. Not that much has materially changed.
Either he lied when he said he did a review last Spring or he has some other reason (domestic politics?) for delaying a decision.
This isn't the leadership we were promised.
Good luck , president Obama, i pray that God will guide you in taken a decision that will be in the best interest of both America, Afghanistan and the world at large ,as regards sending more troops to Afghanistan , because the world are waiting for your positive action on this sensitive issue
Thanks
Oadefabi
No more troops to Afghanistan!
Let the Afghanis start fighting.
Our troops shouldn't be over there dying to save that pathetic, little cheat Hamid Karzai, who doesn't even control the country outside of Kabul, and who could only hold onto the presidency by fraud.
There is a reason why Orrin Hatch and the Republicans are not making the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan: they lost the election. Part of the reason that they lost the election was that when they were in power, they sent the troops to Iraq, rather than Afghanistan, and we ended up with an unnecessary war (Iraq) and an unfinished war (Afghanistan). If the Republicans wouldn’t send the necessary troops to Afghanistan when they were in power, they have no right to complain now. Besides, did Bush listen to the Congress after the 2006 election when he started the surge in Iraq? No. He was the commander-in-chief. Who is the commander-in-chief now?
This has nothing to do with the political situation in Afghanistan. It's all about the political situation in the U.S. Obozo is pandering to the far left lunatics. And all the while puts our troops in greater danger. By the way, how many families of fallen solidiers has BO met with. I'd say zero.
@ThinkAgain, all you have done is rehash history. We are where we are, and the pretender we have as Commander-in-Chief can't just campaign his way out of making a decision. He's had 9 months to decide on a strategy. The strategy for WWII took a lot less time. US troops are dying at an increasing rate trying to implement Obama's strategy as set in March. Decide Pretender-in-Chief! Voting 'present' won't work this time.
I disagree with Hatch 100%...we should have NEVER gone to Afghanistan in the first place. The Soviets had over 100,000 troops there when they invaded Afghanistan...yet, they had to retreat and lost. There is NO way we can do the same. I am glad that Obama is listening to all sides.. THERE are many generals who thinks that more troops are NOT the answer. Geez whiz, Hatch... if you think you could do a better job, why don't you run for Presidency?
The only thing the right can ever say yes to is sending young under priviledged men into a blood bath of any war that we could easily win just by having the guts to blow cities off the face of the planet one by one with no ground troops needed. If we don't have the same level of commitment as our enemies (meaning women and children will die and we "can't" worry about it) then we should just sit at home and shut up! Finally, if these countries are such a threat to the world, then let the countries who are most vulnerable step up and send their troops in before the almighty "West" gets involved. We didn't join WWII until all was almost lost. Don't allow poor children to be aborted.... the right needs bodies to sacrifice in their next little blackwater adventure... Pigs!
McChrystal is not the only general or only military expert giving advise to the president. Hatch is just blowing off hot air.
Orrin Hatch should go hunting with Dick Cheney.
With respect to Orrin Hatch’s comments…
I sincerely hope that Bush/Cheney did not let Bin Laden get away from Torra Borra because it was key to their winning strategy for 2004 re-election. After all, Bin Laden did play a role by releasing his video message days before 2004 election. I hope Bush/Cheney did not prolong the Iraq War because, it their own words/beliefs, (a) Americans would not change commander during the war, and (b) it is never a good strategy to change horse during the race.
Politicians like Orrin Hatch are good at starting rumors and making accusations with statements like “it is hypercritical on part of people to suggest”, “I hope not, but…”
The problem with what the GOP wants the Prez to do is that McCrystal never said that adding more troops would lead to victory. This is one of the reasons why this decision is hard.
Typical republican. No concern given for the wounded or soldiers who have lost their lives due to lack of guidance, competence of the previous administration, which he fully supported.
Thank God we have a president who takes the time to consider all options, plans and advice.
Thank goodness we have a president who prefers diplomacy over war. If Mccain had been elected we would have bombed Iran by now.
The Bush administration and the republicans have cost our country billions upon billions of dollars with an unwarranted war, thousands of lives lost, and have the hypocrasy to pretend they have knowledge on what they so completely blew.
But what else can you expect from the party of NOthing.
Where was the pressure and outrage from the right when Dick and Bush didnt send more troops when the generals requested.And who reduced the troops in the first place. Republicans
Let Hatch run for President if he wants to run the country. He is an elected Rep of Utaq and only talks party line and so is not credible. Jus another from the party of no.
we should send more troops and get the war over with. bush had no choise but to invade iraq should i remined all of u these people killed millions of us citizens we deseve are revange on them. i say send all the genral needs to iraq and destroy everyting there
Generals will always ask for more troops. That's what they do. I'm sure there are many bashing on here that have never worn the uniforms of our Military, including War Monger Cheney, who bought his way out 5 times because he didn't want his butt shot but turns around and sends our sons and daughters into harms way.
The Afgan mess is like another Vietnam whereby there is no winner regardless if you send 40 thousand troops or 40 million. I'm glad we have someone who gets the facts and makes good decisions rather than blindly sent people into uncalled for wars.
Prolonging any war is money in the bank for the GOP and Their connections to the Defense Contractors.
We hastily sent in more troops to Vietnam at the request of the generals, look where that got us. What is interesting is that when the troops were requested for Vietnam all the current republicans were writing deferments and using acne as an excuse to get out of being drafted. Republicans are VERY eager to send someone else in harms way.
Mr. Hatch is just playing politics. The reality is that we need to know what sort of government we are defending in Afghanistan before we commit even more troops. Why? Because we need the support of the *American* people to do it. We will not be pleased with any American deaths to support a corrupt regime, and without public support, no war can be won.
The republicans also talk about fighting terrorism while they are becoming our countries most dangerous domestic terrorists.
This bundle is too good to pass by!
First of all, bco, you need to read your history. MacArthur was relieved for disobeying a direct order from the Commander in Chief. Every E1 in the military knows better than to disobey a lawful order. GEN McChrystal was ordered to Afghanistan to make and deliver an assessment to the President, which he did, and that included a request for additional troops. I am quite certain that the general is well aware of our (US) concept of civilian direction of military operations. He wouldn't have made it to his current billet without the understanding.
Unfortunately, President Obama is commiting one of the same errors that previous wartime presidents did, and that is lending more credence to political hacks and pollsters than those with a working knowledge of the situation on the ground. And trust me, those on the ground have an awareness that resolving this war will require both diplomatic and military effort.
Why isn't anyone thinking of the end game? If it is trying to make a westernized democracy out of this tribal country, then it is a fool's errand. Time to get out troops out, and now. That strategy worked well with Vietnam. Just put the troops guarding our borders, where we are more certain of systemic failure as a country than from any threat offshore.
The PAID GOP Bloggers are out in full force today. To bad there is not enough of you to win an election thou. OBAMA 2012
After spending 35 years in the military I can tell you one thing for sure,
NO GENERAL or ADMIRAL ever has enough men and material..They always want more and more...On more than one occasion I have heard a general say.....THIS IS WHERE THE PROMOTIONS ARE...You are not going to get promoted states side..HERE IS YOUR CHANCE,,
What is the end game of this? If it is installing a westernized democracy, then it is doomed to failure in this rockpile of tribal warriors. We need to pull our military and put them on our borders. Protect us from illegals, who are doing a great deal more to destroy this country than any threat from offshore could ever do.
We have no real need to be there. Tactically its a "no win" situation.
No more blood for oil. No more lives pointlessly lost.
It's time to worry about OUR borders.
Sen. Hatch has it correct. If our military leaders on the ground in Afghanistan say more troops....then we should not delay for any reason. How would you feel, if you are in Afghanistan and the news is indecisivenes on wether to send more help???
Ok, regardless of Obama wanting to stick to his guns and not send in troops, at least pull out the remaining troops, because if they don't have more troops, they who are there now are just going to die off. It's like sendingtroops into battle with shovels instead of guns. Who are we? The Russians in WW2?
Come on. If he came out and simply said, "I know we have obligations to uphold for not sending in more troops, but the fact is, is that they who are there now need our help while we organize an exit strategy...
So, my advice...send the troops, secure the situation, and get out like he promised, but don't just leave our guys in there without backup or a chance to make it out alive... SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!
Hey Hatch get on your horse and lead the charge – your troops will be made up of Cheney and Bush and other irregulars. Good Luck! Don't come back.
Did Hatch hear what Afghan president say he don’t need occupation
So we need a new strategy to destroy Al- Qaida let Obama take his own time
No more troops unless we have new plan
and what else would we expect from the party of no?
they are so hungry to scream "no" regardless of the situation that they spend NO time thinking.
one thing that is great about our commander in chief is that he actually thinks about his actions.
By not committing troops after that disgraceful, fraudulent election, the White House has forced the Karzai administration to take its medicine and submit to a fairer runoff.
Unfortunately, Karzai, who seems to be massively corrupt, will probably still win, if only due to name recognition, but this humiliation and setback should at least send a message that elections and laws matter.
The idea of just blithely rubberstamping an election fraud by pretending it's a case of business as usual, as Hatch apparently prefers, and throwing in a huge number of troops as though the fraud never happened, would have shocked the conscience.
Of course we were right to wait until this was set right. I hope we continue to wait until after the runoff–at least. This is the only real leverage we have to get the democratic process running more fairly and without fraud.
Send more troops or get out...one or the other
I think the president is very aware of the situation. He's one man, he can't fix the entire world's problems with the snap of his fingers. Maybe he's trying for a troop pullout when the General wants more troops, who knows?
Senator Orrin Hatch was part of the administration that sent us into the quagmire which was Iraq and now is in a hurry to send us into another mess. Thinking experts agree with the president and his intellegent and experienced staff that we should know what we are doing before we do it. Getting the facts and moving with knowledge can save us many young American lives and hopefully will give us a chance to bring this situation to a successful conclusion.. We, the public can sit here and tell them what we think{which isn't worth much} but we aren't the ones who have to put our lives on the line. Let the experts do what they have to do.
Hey Hatch
When you become president, you can make the presidential decisions
Until then stay in the back seat where you belong
Obama's doing the driving right now
I am a huge supporter of the Military, I have family members who serve, but I am also an even bigger supporter of Human Life. It is a difficult decision that Obama has to make, and either decision he makes, the lives of our troops are going to be sacrificed. What we need to do is back off a minute and think about what Obama is up against. Anybody, Republican or Democrat, should not take this lightly. I don't think he should rush into it, but I also think he does need to make a decision soon, which I think he is doing right now.
Just as you wouldn't rush someone to cook your food for fear that something undercooked may make you sick, you don't rush sending human lives into a battle that may not be worth it.
Given the fact that the Republicans mired us deep into another no-win military situation during the last administration, it's amazing to me that they can have the gaul to comment now. We finally have someone in the Oval Office making thoughtful decisions, and I think we need to support him.
Sen Hatch and his Republican supporters would be the first to complain if American money was lost to corruption in Afghanistan. He would also be the first to complain if there is an escalation in the number of troop deaths. The man should chill and let the president, Hillary, and the rest of the foreign affairs and military team do their job!
Obama should either put up or shut up. Either give the military the troops they need to fight that war, or get the H-E-double hockey sticks out of that country. And please, spare us the "I am more concerned about these troops than anyone" trash. I'm sorry. The only thing Obama seemingly worries about in the military is his photo ops. Same as Clinton and company. I gues the one thing we should be glad of, is that he hasn't marched the troops across the White House lawn yet.
Orin Hatch like so many other opposition party members is salivating at the thought of more bloodshed. Republicans live for war, that should tell you something right off the bat and the biggest proponents of militarism are typically the ones who have never served in the military. Enjoy your bloodshed Senator Hatch!
I didn't hear Hatch criticize the Bush administration when they abandoned Afghanistan and the search for Osama-bin-Laden for the ill-conceived war in OIL-RICH Iraq. Hatch and his Republican cohorts are so fast to place American troops in harms way when their families are shielded from military service. How many more American troops have to die or sustain life-long injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan before the shameless Republicans are satisfied. Remember, 9/11 happened on Bush's and Cheney's watch when good intelligence was available but ignored. I'm a Vietnam veteran so please don't question my patriotism or service to country. I bet the majority of congress and the people on this board who push for war
expansion have never faced combat and, therefore, have no clue what they're talking about.
That was the same response Bush got, prior to going into IRAQ!
War on Terrorism needs to break through false political lies.
Saudi Arabia is the Enemy not Afghans.
Opium isn't the enemy it's the terrorists.
Why fuel terrorism with a dysfunctional drug war?
Isn't there a medical solution to the drug problem?
Why have a civil war in America against drugs that only puts big money into cheap herbal extracts?
If it wasn't for the drug laws there wouldn't be any profit in drug dealing!
People complain that Obama takes too long to make a decision, but I prefer someone who thinks things through carefully and will not be hurried in decision-making. We are not yet a year into Obama's presidency. It took Harry Truman two years to get his feet on the ground after Roosevelt's death. It took Roosevelt some time to invent the New Deal. All of you who always know exactly what the president should do should run for president and show us how it is done.
We elected the guy. Let's give him a chance to develop meaningful responses to difficult problems. Let us remember that all of the smartest Republicans struggled with Afghanistan for 6 years trying to figure out what to do, and their efforts came to little. They ran the Taliban out of Kabul but that turbulent nation does not have much fertile soil from which democracy can grow. However, if we leave the Taliban (or some other gang of fundamentalists lunatics) will establish another theocracy there. So what do we do? Pour more and more men, money, and effort into that unfortunate nation? And for how long? A year? 5? 15? How many Americans should die there? 1,000? 5,000? 50,000?
The only thing that bothers me about Obama is that he wanted to be president. I am suspicious of the mental stability of anyone who wants that awful job.
How Very Disingenuous Of Senator Orrin Hatch To Say, He's Not Running Anything Except His Mouth.
You in the GOP can kiss off !! You have caused ALL of United States
problems over seas and now you want the Dems.to bail out your
sorry rear-ends.What a bunch of losers !! You make me ill Mr.Hatch !
It's easy to send troops to their death as long as their not your kids. We are in 2 wars we should not be in because of Bush and Cheney not asking the right questions and reushing in to things. I support Obama.
Nice to see all the arm chair military commanders praising the delay to send more troops. Wonder how many of you would think like this if you were on the ground in Afghanistan?
Obama appoints Gen. McChrystal to do a job and ignores the General. It's a sad day when The President of the United States feels he can drag his feet and not support our military. A very sad day indeed.
Why not line these hard headed idiots as Hatch up and send them to the front lines let them have their heads shot off or injured after all it was him and his croneys that started this war and only with their lies and more lies.
They continue with their religion but once the same babys reach 18 years old they want to round them all up and send them to the front lines at that point their lives or well being means nothing to these idiots warmongers all they are thinking about is not loosing their own seat.
It took 8 years to put the country where it ended so this 8 years is important to remember so how do you expect Obama to clean up an 8 year mess overnight?
Obama take your time you are our leader and doing a good job .
Can someone please locate a deserted island or planet where we can send Cheney and his fallowers?
Yeah, Orrin, just rush right in there with tens of thousands of troops with no strategy for using them effectively? No thanks, we've already done that once under YOUR President and that's exactly why Afghanistan has gone to hell in a handbasket...because Bush had no strategy for Afghanistan and couldn't be bothered with coming up with one because he was too busy declaring victory in Iraq, over and over and over again (and by the way, Sen. Hatch, we're still in Iraq too, thanks to your party being in charge of two wars and winning neither).
Ya go ahead and send more troops. We can see how much good it has done in Iraq.
why is it that the Republicans seem to love war and killing? I don't see what is wrong with not just jumping up and sending our already overworked troops into harms way once again. If the president were to do that and our death tolls start to climb, he'll get backlash from the left and a lot of his supporters and you can bet the GOP will do nothing to back him up on it. It's a no win situation for Obama at the moment but I prefer the no win to be with as few losses of American life as possible.
Well Sen. Hatch if your that sure of yourself then why dont you put on some war paint, grab a gun and go over there yourself. My God some of you poster are discusting. Are you armchair warmongering jerks that willing to throw more of our young men and women into the meat grinder without any clear paln other than to blow things up. This isn't the movies people and John Wayne died a long time ago.
I applaud Obama in speaking with ALL his top advisors in formulating a clear strategy on what we should be doing there in the first place. Remeber righties it was your Commander in Theif that took his eye off the ball in the first place.
Isn't it amazing that the one clamoring for more war are ones who never bothered to serve in the military. Is it because it is easy to be brave when someone else is dying? I wonder.
I am assuming that Orin Hatch is not Pro-Life. Please prez think cleary on whay really needs to be done and how exactly are we going to do it.
Maybe if we hadn't made a left turn into Iraq we wouldn't be in this situation. Nice try Hatch. All those senators who voted for Iraq (Hatch included) should be voted out. Including Dems who only voted for it because they were worried about getting re-elected.
When will people understand the situation in Afghanistan is more complicated than most common folks think!!. How long did it take the allied forces to kick out Iraq from Kuwait?. If you can answer that, then it will be easier to understand why the so called war in afghanistan has taken more than eight years!!
Only when Senator Hatch is willing to go the front lines himself in Afghanistan, or send a member of his family to the front lines, does he have any right to say others should be placed in harm's way for a directive that is hopelessly ambiguous in a region with a hopelessly corrupt government. Our sons and daughters are not your fodder, Senator Hatch. Nor are they the fodder of those who believe military might is always right. Simple solutions speak to a simple mind. Time to get smarter. As a military mom I fully support our troops – but, I cannot support a political decision to send more of them to become sitting ducks. How about you, Senator Hatch? Are you willing to send a grandson or daughter to be a sitting duck in Afghanistan?
Yeah! Rush right into it before you actually have a plan! That makes sense! Typical Republican halfwit! Funny how it wasn't a big deal for the past 7 years, but suddenly its a big deal now! Republican mindset = "When in doubt, blame it on the black guy"!
Debbie, you are so right!!!
It seems the RIGHT and GOP is more afraid of intelligent thought than of putting the military in harm’s way! (Easy, since they are not the ones standing in the line of fire!)
Ah, if they just had done some good and intense considerations of how and when and where, in this "war game"! And I have never heard of a military man that wanted fewer troops!
We can just be so glad; the President is an intelligent man with an excellent team. Trust him any time over Cheney or Rumsfeld. Ups, should not have mentioned Donald – not that he wakes up and starts talking too…..
Why are so many people trying to make this a partisan issue? If you have someone who knows about war and what it takes to win it makes sense to take his advice! Do you really want to turn your backs on Afghanistan and Pakistan? To walk away from bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban? That will allow the people who throw acid in the faces of schoolgirls to become heroes! It pains me to agree with Orrin Hatch, but let's do what it takes to get this taken care of!
I have been in combat and I believe President Obama is doing exactly what he should be doing before committing more troops. He is defining our mission, roles and objectives in Afghanistan, something we should have done years ago. It is interesting to hear Republicans now criticizing the president for taking too long to make a decision. President G.W. Bush took more than three months to make his decision on the Iraq surge yet no democrats criticised him for taking too long. It seems the conservatives have two sets of standards for how much time it should take for a president to make an important decision.
It is really sad to see former VP Cheney criticize President Obama for taking too long to send more troops into Afghanistan. For eight years the Bush administration virtually ignored Afghanistan while the Taliban regained strength do to our lack of commitment. Cheney has no credibility since he and President Bush did little to help our troops in Afghanistan while the newly elected President Obama acted quickly to send more troops to Afghanistan earlier this year.
Do You realize Mr. Hatch that if Bush didn't invade the "NO WMD WAR" in Iraq, that the war in Afghnistan would be over. The GOP just needs to SHUT UP!!!
After 7 years of not doing anything in Afghanistan, Republicans finally believe we should do something there!!! Shocking indeed.
haliburtion must phoned him about his stock going down
lets play army 101 if this doesn't work lets try something else and in the mean time our soldiers will suffer or lets have different opinions an maybe just maybe the out come will be good for our soldiers
Mr. Hatch: Don't you realize that OUR GREAT COUNTRY is BROKE??? Thanks GOP!!!
WE ARE BROKE BECAUSE OF WAR, DEREGULATION and the CROOKED GOP. PERIOD!!!
It's easy for these Senators to send in as many men and woman that they think we need.......most of them haven't spent one day in the military or fought on any battle ground........and most of them don't have any sons or daughters or grandsons and grandaughters that are fighting for this country.......so sure go ahead and send in more troops to be killed......as long as it isn't any of their precious relatives that are on the battle fields......they don't care how many die........republicans you suck........
Hey conservatives! You ignored Afghanistan for year after year, and now that it is probably too late, you are screaming for action.
Right. No hypocrisy there.
OK, fine! But tell me this, where will those troops come from, Sen. Hatch? The DOD says that they won't have enough troops to send what has been requested until early 2010. Over the past 8 years, our troops have been over exposed and over worked. My nephew just left for his 3rd tour of duty (2 in Iraq and now Afghanistan).
This is why President Obama is reviewing new strategies. A lot of young Republicans and Democrats are demanding more troops but I don't see them volunteering. We cannot sustain this.
These Generals are in Cahoots with the Warmongering GOP for a piece of the WAR PROFIT PIE.
They know, he knows that this war is not really about the general, it's not about winning because he can't explain what he understand by "to win". Nobody has ever won a war in Afghanistan, nobody and we are not going to be the first. The reason is simple, those so called talibans are part of the aghan population, it's rooted in their culture so ask an aghani to fight a taliban will jut depend to who ask this to.
We have been here for 9 years, what have we achieve after those years? How many civilians are DEATH? How many US casualties do we have? How much money are we WASTING there? What is the reason for us to be there? Were these guys involved in 9/11? Is this the place where we should be or Should we be on the border with Pakistan?
Ask any General in the army, any army if what they need first. The same response: MORE Troops. They are formatted just like that. Explain to us again what the Hell We are fighting in Afghanistan. How can we protect a whole country who does not have a Real Administration, A puppet corrupted President and tomorrow we will be seen as an Army of Occupation.
Please start sending back our troops from Irak
I love how all of these Republicans like to whine and hand-wring about "budget deficits" (you know, the ones THEY created with their insane spending spree during the Bush years, but would somehow, insanely, like to hang around Obama's neck) but they have absolutely NO problem pouring BILLIONS of dollars every week into piles of meaningless sand 6000 miles from here.
Enough war in Iraq and AFG, let's bring everyone home, stop wasting the money we're borrowing from Communist China to support it, and start taking care of our own people for once, you bunch of hypocrites.