Washington (CNN) - Hours before he was set to address the nation on his new Afghanistan strategy, President Obama and members of his war council spent about an hour briefing senior members of Congress at a White House meeting that multiple sources described as businesslike and sobering.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who attended the meeting, said Obama laid out his plans to escalate the military mission before several lawmakers asked questions.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told CNN the president emphasized that in addition to sending some 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, he also has a "target for when this is coming to an end."
"The president believes that gives the Afghans enough time, and the Pakistanis enough time to take control of the situation," Durbin said.
Three GOP sources told CNN that Sen. John McCain used the meeting to directly challenge the president on his exit strategy.
The sources said that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell deferred to McCain, who questioned the concept of announcing now plans to begin withdrawing in July, 2011.
These sources said the president responded to McCain by promising that the withdrawal would be based on conditions on the ground.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn was one of the only members of the Democratic leadership in either chamber to tell CNN "I'm very supportive of it."
Even Durbin, one of the president's closest allies, told CNN he is withholding judgment. "The president took some time to reach his decision, I'm going to need some time to reach mine," Durbin said.
From CNN Politics
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Thanks to God I didn’t vote for Mc Cain (I am physical conservative )
Hey bad guys we are leaving a few months before the election that way I can say I tried to finish the war Bush started, and hopefully the bad guys will think if they just stop fighting for a few months before our election the big bad USA we retreat, surrender, and claim victory?
The republicans are ridiculous. This war has gone on for 9 years without a timeframe. With no end in sight when Bush was president. Enough already!
Just don't send McCain, he'll get over there and aid the taliban, much like he did for the enemy in vietnam. he'll jump on the radio and broadcast anti american sentiment and give out information about where the troops of the US are.
Don't believe it? Google "Songbird McCain". He was a war hero, to the VIETNAMESE! (He did more for the enemy then he did for us. He killed more AMERICANS then he did ENEMY). He's nothing less then a traitor.
Somebody please tell McCain that he is not a general and having serve in the military does not make him a war expert. The president have a lot of decorated generals around him that help formulate this strategy.
Thanks but no thanks to what ever he has to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes cnn Mccain would rather be there for 100 years. What a retard.
The role of a community organizer is to please all sides!
The role of President of the USA is to make the wise decision regardless of politics, and make sure it is national security which is served!
It seems to me the roles got somehow mixed up tonight!
McCain has been studying war, has been in contact with the military for many years, has visited Iraq and Afghanistan many times, has studied the surge, openly and strongly opposed failed strategies of G.W. Bush and torture, and has put the success of this country first! It will be important for the president to listen and take seriously opinions of Senator John McCain.
The election is over and it will be as useful to listen to past opponent like McCain just as well as listening to past opponents like J. Biden and H. Clinton. There is no Republican war and no Democratic war there is a war engaged by America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John proposed a 100 year commitment to Iraq, so I can see why he opposes a timeline in Afghanistan. I am sure intelligent military leaders ignore McSurge.
You might knowMcCain would speak up so he would get his name in the paper. He was a flyboy, not a general and I think somebody should tell him so.
Open end means dithering around. Obama has a goal.. Obama is goal oriented and that is one reason he is a winner. He sets a goal and keeps his eye on the ball. In 18 months if he is close to reaching his goal he will refine the time line to reach it. In 18 months if his goal is still far beyond reach.. we will not stay the course.. he will rethink the mission and what needs to be done based on conditions on the ground.
It took us along time to get here and it will take some doing to get us out. Everyone that makes comments are not in the position of the president so it is easy to critisize. It is always hind site to say what should have been done. As for the repos they have no plan about anything anyway.
No matter what John McCain wants war forever. He didnot want to leave Iraq. He is old school and those ideas donot work in the 21st century. John McCain cannot begin to think that deep and use his brain instead of emotions. John McCain is predictable as usual (bomb, bomb). The Taliban does not know him and it is not easy for them to read him. The President controls himself and his emotions. To the enemy, this is a dangerous man, for one cannot rile him into foolish, emotional actions.
It is just terrible that John McCain's wife's taxes will increase. No wonder John McCain is so upset. She is exclusive beer distributor for Arizona. Just makes me sad to think she will pay her fair share.
Give me a break. If McCain was President you would also be at war with Iran right now. Plus you would have led the world into another depression. President Obama certainly does not need to take any advice from John McCain.
Question to Senator McCain: Are you and fellow Republicans willing to show your support for our troops by supporting a surtax on the war?
I think the American public has a great deal of respect for their POW's, but realizes John McCain's political posturing is just show. He offers no valid solutions to problems, just wants to be a member of the "party of no." He was a major supporter of a deceitful move to invade Iraq, which allowed Afganistan to fall back into the hands of the Taliban. John McCain would be wise to run and hide in shame!
A never ending war is the GOP'S American Dream.
The first fifteen minutes of Obama's speech sounds like it could've been written by GWB, except the part where the USA surrenders in 2011. Obama wrote in that part himself.
I would have told that white haired white Republican to shut the xxxx up. Why does CNN make McCain relevant? McCain is a traitor.
30,000 more troops to Afghanistan is a wrong move. The Troops there now should be on their way home; not 2011 ! as for McCain it remains that he was a P.O.W.@ Hannoi Hilton; Gave up Flag and Colors in lieu of his skin. this guy shouln't even be in Congress. Too many Chiefs screwing the Indians all for the sake of power !
Somebody please tell McCain that he is not a general and having serve in the military does not make him a war expert. The president have a lot of decorated generals around him that help formulate this strategy.
macain wants to stay there 100years does he real,s he,ll be 172 years old when you get out
If Obama sticks to his timetable and achives whatever he wants to do , well and good. If it dosen't work as planned , not only he, the America and its allies are doing the costliest mistake of our time.
God bless the world.
One must question if McCain is fully recovered from his past time as a POW. He seems content on keeping our soldiers in a useless occupation mode rather than have a strategy that might result in our troops coming home.
Go home (or should I say homes) Mr. McCain and bother us no more.
Senator McCain needs to keep his mouth shut. He, George Bush and other Republicans had almost 8 years for this War and did nothing. Now the party of No has all the answers.
Easy to throw rocks from the sidelines. McCain repeatedly said in an interview after Obama's speech that the July 2011 date was arbitrary. This with him knowing full well from this meeting and Obama's speech that the date was proposed and dependant on consitions on the ground. typical politician = mccain.
Guess there is a reason why a vacuous airhead gets bigger crowds than him on the trail. . .
Durbin is going to reserve judgment. In other words, if it works he was for it all along. If it fails, well, he told you so.
So, now, the differences are so infinitesmal between Obama and McBush. The squabbles that they are having have nothing to do with the rising unemployment rate in the U.S. This is a collosal joke. Don't expect me to vote next time around.
Are the people opposed to a time line willing to support a war tax to pay for an open ended war?
Who in the heck does McCain think he is....God's gift? Challenge???? Get a grip old man and get over yourself already!!
McCain needs to zip it up. He lost the election. He is not the President. He is no longer in uniform and, even if he was, the President is Commander-in-Chief.
McCain tries to project the image of being a military commander. True, he did serve in the Navy. However, he was a Lieutenant (or possibly a Lieutenant Commander) when he was made a prisoner of war. Because of his time in captivity he was promoted to Captain. No doubt he earned the promotion based on the time served in captivity. But it is important to note that he was not promoted because of his expertise in military strategy. I doubt that he ever participated in drawing up a single war plan. He deserves our gratitude for his service, but there is nothing in that service that warrants the mantle of battlefield commander.
McCain comes off looking like a and old, white, disgruntled Republican like he truly is.
"The president took some time to reach his decision, I'm going to need some time to reach mine," Durbin said.
a.k.a. I don't really care what happens so long as I look good, so I'll wait to see what direction things are going in so I can be sure to be on the winning side.
Good or bad, at least this president HAS a strategy.
I respect McCain, but he is part of the problem.
McCain, the repeated abandoned bride of politics, still thinks he is relevant in military discussions. But he's out of date in too many ways to count. Perhaps he can go Maverick on us and get out of politics.
The YO YO Doctrine. Dither for months, put the troops in, pull the troops out. Why start July 2011? Because we will win by then? Not likely...gotta get out to smooth the ruffled feathers of the left wing nuts he'll need in 2012! The Obama YO YO Doctrine!
This is all about war, folks!
It is not a Sunday night movie. If the prez wants to set a time to pull out, let him do so and worry about more important things, like the entire survival of our country.
I am sure Obama will revise plans as they are necessary.
We really need to get rid of the old timers in Congress and get some new faces, minds, voices, and talents.
Shut up, John. President Obama has enough on his plate with the mess your party left him without you crawling all over him. I watched his speech tonight and I thought it was great, very to the point. He outlined his plan and an exit strategy – something that has not been addressed. If you want to do some good, why don't you say no the next time a member of your party wants to start a war. You are, after all, a member of the "Party of No". Make it count for something.
John McCain you selected Palin as your vice-President and we should trust your judgement. You got to be kidding.
"Three GOP sources told CNN that Sen. John McCain used the meeting to directly challenge the president on his exit strategy."
I wonder if McCain remembered to ask Bush the same question.
To end this "war" you have to cut off the head of the snake. To cut off the tail is useless, it only grows a new one. Quit messing around and get the job done. We all know who the bad guys are; Osama and Company. Cut off the head and you will achieve "the goal". Stop with the "velvet glove" routine. The people hiding Osama could care less about you and your family. Also, you can not fight a conventional war against guerilla warfare; that's why America lost in Vietnam. History teaches: You either learn from the past or you die from it. If Afghanistan becomes the next Vietnam, than all the Earth had better begin to focus on defense. To fail to get the people who started this fiasco, is to open all of the Earth to the Radicals, the Insurgents, the Nut-Cases, etc. Then the End-of-the World will seem like a blessing.
Respectfully, Sen. McCain looks very agitated, very angry, and very old in the photograph. His face is red, his jaws are clenched,and the vein behind his left ear is fully engorged.- an elderly man on the verge of losing his temper. A stark contrast to the President's demeanor. A stark reminder of a major reason behind last years election results.
Seems ironic to me that leading up to the announcement of the plan, these same individuals were quick with their judgements, suggestions, and demands of what the president should do. Now that they've heard the plan, they are slow and careful to see how the public reacts rather than thinking for themselves. What a bunch of limp turkeys......on both sides of the isle.
Forgot to mention that Clyburn seems to know well thought out strategy when he hears it.
At a time when we need to speak with one voice, we still have politicians who cannot do that. Their egos seem to supersede their willingness to work together and support the president. Nothing new there and it happens on both sides of the aisle. Come election day, each politician will be reelected because the constituent represented is not willing to believe that the change needs to occur in that district. How many times have we seen this? Those politicians with the greatest egos get reelected time and time again even though they are impediments to progress.
This is a chance for the Afghan people to regain control of their own country. We can help to do that but in the end the Afghan people must work together without foreign intervention. Our role is to help but not to occupy. Surely we have learned that lesson by now. I do think that the majority of the troops would like to see the Afghan people take the lead role in the country. They want to give the Afghan people the hope that they can forge their own destiny.
I
Senator I am so you did not win or we would be in afganistan for 100 years. The President is making the right decision in putting an exit date on this plan.
McCain and his views were rejected last November!
In a debate last fall, John McCain said he KNOWS where Bin Laden is/was - why's he holding out on the rest of us?
Both parties represent the Industrial Military Complex!!! This is where the stimulus money is going!!!
McCain wants to be co-president like his running mate they can't get over the fact that they lost the election. An exit strategy was best thing i've heard in the speech – fighting a war for 10-15 years is not something we should be bogged down in at this time. Karzai need to do more to take over the fight and not expect US to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely like McCain would like. Remember doing the campaign he said we could stay maybe 50 years. That is wrong headed.
Who listens to this old geezer?
Well, this just shows that Obama is more dedicated to the agenda of the CFR and all the rest of those corrupt politicians then he is the American people. This is a war for profit folks and we are the ones getting the shaft. Chinese and American corporations are totally in on it.
We let Bush sucker us into thinking that Osama bin Laden is the enemy...but no...the real enemy is anyone who's going to get in the way of corporate profit and that includes the Americans who are out there dying for our freedo...wait...our vanity.
Way to be a stand up man Obama. You're just another puppet. You have failed America today.
Didn't all of you Democraps say we needed to be in Afghanistan instead of Iraq. It just goes to show how weak Democrats are! Let's see if you guys continue to SUPPORT THE TROOPS!.
go away John McCain... you really have nothing to add to the intelligent conversation.
And still the Republicans criticize and the Democrats run for cover.
Where are all the AmeriCANs.
All I keep hearing from are the AmeriCAN'Ts!!
It's amazing how we've had both parties in charge of both houses in the last eight years, and neither have any leaders or answers. Just loud mouth critics who play to the crowds. It makes you wonder why we only let the richest in the country run for public office, and then let them tell us how we're supposed to be living our lives.
How do we let them call the shots
Let's face it – if Obama said drinking a glass of water was a good way to quench thirst Republicans would climb all over themselves to be the first to publicly announce how drinking a glass of water weakens the US and is a socialist plot anyway.
I guess Senator McCain forgot a very important lesson. Elections have consequences. He decided that it was more important to pander to the conservative base of the GOP (i.e. choose to have Sarah "I have no credible foreign policy experience" Palin as his running mate) than run as the same candidate that was able to appeal to moderates in 2000, and subsequently lost the election. As the "also ran candidate" you don't get to make foreign policy. That is the job of the President. This just goes to prove that John McCain is no longer the centrist that he was in 2000. He is 100% a part of the bitter GOP that wants to continue the failed policies of the Bush Administration - both foreign and domestic. Sad when our leaders don't have any new ideas.
John "flip flop" McCain to this day STILL DOESN'T have one clear answer to ANYTHING.
It's too bad McCain didn't ask the same questions of President Bush when he, with McCain's votes, sent our troops in harm's way in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Senator McCain is just a bitter old man who knows nothing about war, the economy, the true state the Ameircan people have to live every day, and takes every chance to criticize President Obama.
McCain is a loser and his thoughts are irrelevant and full of stuck-in-the-past failed policies.
McCain needs to support our nation since he was so involved in destroying it through Bush's fraudulent Iraq War and the running up of our astronomical deficit. Republicans destroyed this country and McCain was a huge part of that destruction.
McCain ran a dishonorable campaign full of racism, total lies, and condescending arrogance. He showed his total lack of good judgment in the choosing of the stupidiest lying extremist woman in America. His opinions are worthless. He should be ashamed of his behavior and poor judgment and hide from embarrassing himself more.
He should retire with his plastic drugged-out wife and stay out of the way of America's restoration and progress that does not involve old fools like McCain. He and his Party are totally out of sync with America.
I fear the domestic terrorism of the Republican Party and their crazies than any foreign threat. They should be on the FBI watch list for their hate speech, violent speech, and gun-carrying rallies that are racist and anti-government and anti-American. They have no ethics, no morals, and there is no line they won't cross. They are a real and present danger to our country.
I voted for McCain and still think he would've been a better president, but Obama has Afghanistan right. We want to get out of there as soon as possible, but most importantly we want to get the job done. A surge is exactly what we need to take out the terrorists, and hopefully we will have done that by 2011. I don't understand why people oppose Obama's call for more troops. Have we forgotten September 11th? All the bombing in Europe? And perhaps most importantly, how people in the Middle East are constantly suppressed by these terrorist groups?
Why did he win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Wartime liberals? Should be interesting.
Here's a challenge for McCain. You did not get elected. Sit down and shut up, unless you've got reassuring positive comments to make to the rightfully elected President. When the idiot from Texas was elected, you and your party wanted nothing but positive comments directed toward your parties President. So do the right thing, and realize you're not the Commander and Chief. Thank God..
Do you know the exact nature of how McCain challlenged Obama? Without that point (or points), we won't know what is going on and what problem McCain has with Obama's plan which is clearly more thought out than Bush. That last point isn't hard though.
The hypocrite that got elected to political office by portraying himself as the tortured war hero, only to go before the American people 40 years later to tell them admissions under torture in Gitmo is permissible and viable information IS critical towards President Obama?
Senator McCain's influence and creditability is shrinking like the shadows under a noon-day sun.
After overseas defense contractors poured millions into Senator McCains re-election, McCain being the duty bound puppet yanked defense contracts away from Boeing located in Washington State in favor of those same European contractors overseas.
Who cares what McCain thinks, spews, blows or yells about?
I found it very offensive to see that Dick Cheney was given talking right about the situation before Obama's speech. His party was voted out of office due to his and Bush's politicies. We had eight years of that , we do not have to listen to more. We the public know that the main media and TV stations are owned by Republican so they have a preference for Republicans. Let me tell you the American people are tired of it. We are not stupid. Please no more Cheney. Could care less to what he has to say.
Another thing our country does not have a balanced budget. How do the Republicans and people think we are going to get out of debit. No taxes. This is insanity and crazy thinking .Bush borrowing money from China. what was he thinking. As a US citzen I do not want to be paying money to China. Our nations needs all the prayers it can get it is going down hill. God bless America. It needs it.
Pwm i do not obamas war plan but i support him if macaine were president he would stay in af for ever
As a deeply concerned American, I am ready for our troops to return home and focus on protecting our country, while serving here. The enemy there, isn't recognizable and I fear that our troops are simply targets. We should develop secret agents on the ground, that look and speak like the enemy, and then use our power from the air, to destroy those places used as training camps. Please consider the harmful emotional toll, that the nature of this unconventional method of fighting, is having on our nations finest young warriors. They deserve our protection and concern Mr. President, this war should never have happened, not on the ground, it simply isn't fair and I pray each day that somehow, you will see the true path and follow it. Respectfully yours, Janet
Why didn't he challenge bush then we might not have had an unending war, a trillion upon trillion expenditures and the ruination of the America we know....Oh since the MSM post every little dingle dingle they can about the democrats they try to ramp it up and make republicans look good. They should be ashamed of themselves. It is their fault bush could the crap he did. They helped him.
Go in there – KICK ASH – and then get the hell out!! We MUST have an EXIT strategy or else we will be there FOREVER!!!
President Obama always said that he will not promise anything if he cannot fulfill it in his term. NOW, everybody is stating he's doing that in order to get reelected in 2012. In my opinion – I do believe that President Obama WILL NOT run in 2012....
The FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW!!! Remember?
Let's hope Obama knows what he is doing.
I believe that President Obama has thought this through as carefully as he could to come to the decision to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. This is something he would not rush into,as many Repub's wanted him to.
I respect McCain, but this is not on his plate. Let the President do what is necessary to secure USA .
I have finally come to understand that no matter what our President does their is always going to be those that will condem him for what ever he says or does.
He has done in 1 yr. then Bush/Cheney did in 8.
Need I say anymore.
I think we are making more progress now than ever before, Obama has a strategy, we have heard and the world have also heard. Now lets get back to work. On Maccain, he always feel bad all the time, besides, he told us during the campaign that he knows where OSAMA BIN LADIN is hiding, that he must get him, Please ur highness Maccain, get OSAMA Now..............................................and end this war
I am sick and tired of Republicans (period!)
After 8 years in Afghan. surely we have been training some of the Afghan military and police. It's not like they are starting from scratch. All the President is saying is that they will be training more. We do not know what the commanders on the ground have already put in place and are just waiting for the troops. I believe it will be fast and successful.
and di McCain challenge Bush on HIS exit strategy? NO? Thought not....
shut him up and send him packing...
The President has obviously sought the best advice he can and has thoughtfully made the best decision he can. I have confidence in him.
McCain – if you were as smart as you and Palin think you are,, than you would be president. Stating the objective and exit policy is a good thing for America. Using common sense as things progressed is an even smarter thing. Both of which is sounds like the President is doing.
Folks,I think it't time to support our president. I think he is a patriot and worthy to be the leader of our great and beloved country.
I believe that the problem with Americans is basically "acting on impulse". Obama's administration needs the support of all to succeed. If he fails American fail, if he succeed the glory goes to the nation, so why can't the citizens stop talking and start thinking. Noise making and unnecessary blame game will not fix the issues confronting the nation.
It is quite sad that the Republicans can't swallow their pride and accept Obama as their commander In chief, while the Democrats should relax their hold on party ideology and consider what is best for the nation.
HEYGUYS !! You are voted to serve the nation and not party interest.
By the way, Mr. McCain, have you ever fought in a war that we won? How would you know what it takes to win one???
Exit strategy? Really. A republican wants to know about an exit strategy.
Give me a big fat break! You never cared about such a thing when good ol' "W" was in office.
You're hypocracy is laughable and your insincerity a joke. Really? You're challenging the president about an exit strategy?
Well, what do you expect from a guy who has such good judgement he picked Palin as a running mate.
Why does anyone listen to McCain about anything? This is the man who thought, and still thinks, that the Iraq war was a good idea. We would never have heard of Sarah Palin except for McCain – the entire Palin phenomena is entirely his fault. As president he would have sat back, done nothing and watched the country fall into a depression.
The President cannot win this one. In Iraq, he (then a U.S. Senator) decried Bush for sending in the 'surge' and never supported it. Yet it worked. Now, he's faced with that same decision in AFG. So, with Obama sending in 30k, he has now been confronted with the fact that a 'surge' could work as effectively as it did in Iraq, which is what his commanding General requested sometime ago.
Those of you who want to crticize this President need to think for a moment, he is the President and he have to do whats he feel is right for this country so what we as Americans need to do is stand behind him like it or not and support our troops and Please PRAY for him, dont sit and criticize him and never pray for him; even right now im asking GOD to help him to continue lead this country in the right direction and protect him and his family and please LORD take care of our troops, home and away.
Senator McCain get over it you lost President Obama is the President and regardless of what he does the GOP will always be there with the knife in the back.
The last thing we need is input from the Republicans side of the aisle. That party had its chance for more than seven years and failed miserably in extinguishing al Qaeda and in locating bin Laden. No doubt Bush and Cheney's hasty and pointless invasion of Iraq reduced our intelligence forces in Afghanistan, likely leading up to Obama having to clean up the mess.
The Replicans showed they are inept when it comes to engaging in a war, and completing it. Now let's hope the Democrats have a better plan.
I like this, we have multiple brains working on a solution for a change.
John McCain is the same guy who picked Palin, the fickle quitter, to be his vice president and he has the nerve to challenge the president on his exit strategy?
While I'm glad that Obama plans to pull our troops out by a certain date, it seems as though the expectation for the plan is pretty low if the line was drawn that early. I'm glad Obama realizes the reality of the situation, but it bothers me that we're gonna sink so much money into a plan that the architects don't even expect to work. Actually, "bothers" is an understatement.
It is so great to see President Obama handling the Afghan situation with some smarts! Something American foreign politics has been missing for years. Such a complicated situation like Afghanistan cannot be solved with brute force, or with the old idea of “winning”. You win if you can help with the process of “nation building” and work together with all the many national and international groups that have a “hand” in this conflict. Hopefully the end will provide for the people in the area a future – if they are willing to take it into their hands! So massage to Mc Cain and GOP: Support the president because you had no ideas when it was YOUR war – or please, shut up!
Its amazing how mccain feels he is knowledgeable in this field. After 8 long years of NOTHING, tell mccain and cheney to go lie down just like the fallen soldiers they ignored.
If the president could get all warring factions to lay down arms and agree to a permanent ceasefire, these jokers would still have an issue with it. No war means no bucks in their pockets or their buddies in the war industries.
So what was the challenge? All this reporting is a mile wide, an inch deep.
Sen. John McCain never upfront questioned Baby Bush's policies in Afghanistan , did he ?
Both the Taliban and Al Qaeda know now that if they play rope a dope and absorb body blows for the next eighteen months they win. Period, end of story.
Obama and his War Council have more draft dodsger including GATES & BIDEN than veterans that would be Generl Jones.
this team of comedians should recuse themselves.
'i drank too much ice tea' that's the al gore statement.
McCain? Really? People defer to HIM? Look... the guy served bravely in Nam..and indured much suffereing (I still find it odd the McCain voted AGAINST a torture bill) but let's remember (or for those it don't know) ..
McCain finished at the BOTTOM of his class at Annapolis. That HARDLY makes him a sage in military affairs.
Obama was ABSOLUELY RIGHT in calling for an planned exit date! I guess McCain and "You-can't-draft-me-hell-no-I-won't-go" Cheney WANT another Viet Nam.
Some dummies would not be happy with the president if he laid golden eggs. I think he is doing a HELLUVA lot better than GWB. Fire Halliburton they have been screwing us for years.
Hmmm, I cannot imagine why Congressman Clyburn was so supportive of the President's strategy unlike other congressional leaders. What do he and the President have in common? It is truly disgraceful that Black politicians cannot muster the courage to disagree with the President Obama, especially considering their open disagreement with President Bush on the wars. With President Bush, it was "bring the troops home now". With President Obama, they say "I am very supportive of it." Sickening!
oh my... john mccain challenged obama's exit strategy.. maybe mccain should have considered challenging bush's strategy for entering into a war in iraq.. or bush's strategy for getting bin laden.. no, he was a rubber stamp for the republican administration.. so, who cares about his position now ?? it's completely disingenuous.. criticizing a democrat president, while you rolled over for a republican.
sorry mccain, you have NO credibility on this topic.. much like, well, EVERY other topic..
Please tell me how the strategy of having no strategy or exit strategy will work now when it obviously has not worked throughout the entire time we've been in Afghanistan and Iraq?
So from reading this...
Obama is saying one thing in public...
And another in private...
Flippity Flop???
Familiar isn't it...
What is it?
2011?
Or Conditions on the Ground?
You told America LIVE 2011...
You told Senior Members of Congress "Conditions on the Ground"...
This guy just loves to flip flop...
So when is the draft starting.
Obama spent ninety days trying to avoid stepping up to the plate and making the tough decision. He tried to save face by not giving McCrystal everything that was requested. That was an ill-advised political decision, most probably cooked up by Jarret, Axelrod, Gibbs, and other hanger-on's from his election campaign. The election is over. They should be sent back to Chicago, and replaced with seasoned professionals who can effectively govern.
What ever happen to " WE THE PEOPLE ? " Arent the American citizens supposed to be the ones in charge of the government ? The last time i can recall " WE THE PEOPLE " where the ones who elected these guys to work for US ! Not vise versa !
Havnt the American people lost enough lives yet ? I have to disagree with Obama and his choice to send more troops over there. Your talking about a nation who's history is nothing but fighting.
Our biggest problem in this nation is that our Government tends to stick its noses in other nations affairs when it is not needed ! We have enough problems here at home to deal with!
How about fighting the war here at home first by helping men and women get back to work? How about bringing production back to this country? How about asking AL Gore to find a better hobby to entertain himself with other than trying to con the american people into paying carbon taxes for a "GLOBAL WARMING HOAX" that doesnt and never did exist ?
How about we "AUDIT THE FED " right now and find out where hard working americans money has been invested ? How about finding cures for the many man made biological deseases that are killing our citizens ?
See, there are many thing the government that "WE THE PEOPLE" elected could be doing to better our own country than to be meddling in others business ! I think these questions are whats on many Americans minds these days.
" Its just bad that we let a few bad apples spoil the whole bushel ! "
God Bless whats left of this once great country !!!!!