Fred Thompson: The War In Afghanistan Is Lost

Proof • November 20, 2009

I gotta admit, I disagree with Fred on this one:

“It really doesn’t matter how President Obama divides the Afghan baby, how he splits the difference between McChrystal and Biden. Because the war has been lost,” Thompson said on his radio show today. “I say this because of one sad and simple fact. The president does not have the will and determination to do what’s necessary to win it. His heart’s not in it, and never has been. The Taliban knows it. Al Qaeda knows it. Our allies know it. And the American people know it.
“Our enemies are now emboldened and our friends are discouraged. We cannot prevail if the American people are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary for an extended effort. The case has not been made to them to justify this effort. The case can only be made by the president. This president is unable or unwilling to make that case,” Thompson said.

I don’t think the war has to be lost. I think we could win. But winning would require a leader willing to commit to victory even if that commitment becomes politically unpopular.
Bush won in Iraq by sticking to his guns. But Obama isn’t a leader like Bush. Obama isn’t a leader at all. He’s a celebrity.
Of course, to be fair, you can’t entirely compare what was the situation in Iraq to the situation in Afghanistan. Though Iraq was ruled by a tyrant, that nation had an infrastructure. They had police forces and schools and a court system and all the makings of a civilized society. They just needed some rebuilding a representative government to run it.
In Afghanistan there really is none of that. I’ve heard troops refer to Afghanistan as “the rock pile,” and that’s probably more accurate than a lot of people would like to admit.
So rebuilding in Afghanistan is a much bigger challenge than rebuilding in Afghanistan was.
But I remain convinced we could do it. With the right leadership. And at one time I did think Obama could be that leader. He certainly campaigned tough on Afghanistan. But now that he’s in office, that leader he aspired to be isn’t in evidence.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array sayanything-203

Sarah Bin Laden???

An interesting if unintended mot! Those on the self-serving Left spend far more time and effort trying to destroy Sarah Palin, than you have ever spent opposing those who are sworn to destroy this country.

It explains why your views on both are met with derision by those of us who think.
sayanything-2

So, according to you, stupid f*ck, FDR and Truman lost WWII. What a lying a$$ed dumbf*ck.
sayanything-2

So you are going on record as supporting the destruction of America simply because you hate people. OK, whatever.
sayanything-2

Where is all your proof that Christians are using terrorism to force people to convert to Christianity, whiny lying c%nt?
sayanything-1714

Kenny,

Is the situation in Afghanistan a result of Bush giving it proper attention, yes or no? Go for it….explain it away…this ought to be good.
sayanything-2

sanni? Silly? Y’all aren’t going into a pun phase again, are ya!?!?!
Rusty Shackleford

Yes Sparkie, Obama does, as Fred clearly pointed out.
sayanything-1714

Sarah Bin Laden???
sayanything-42

We won in Iraq because folks like pussycat the soi dissant “jd” and “veteran” (who can’t accurately cite the UCMJ) don’t choose to serve in the all volunteer force.
sayanything-5371

Exactly, Mr. Graves. Obama is no leader and he hasn’t the will to win. He is a muslim at heart and that is where his sympathies lie. This should be patently obvious to the most casual political observer by now.
Robert Fisher

this writer is totally off the Rocker. Bush won in Iraq ? what kind of dream world are you living in ?
Bush needs to be dragged in fromt of the Hague and executed for War Crimes against an innocent Country.
sayanything-2

If we don’t fight it, it is lost. Barri is refusing to fight it. He is going to allow American soldiers to be thrown into a meatgrinder, doing his Johnson imitation, because dead Americans are his goal.
sayanything-342

Americans care about our soldiers. If Obama can’t manage leadership then we should pull out. His position in politics isn’t worth one soldiers life.
sayanything-2

We are already there stupid.

Where is all your proof that Christians are using terrorism to force people to convert to Christianity, whiny lying c%nt?
sayanything-2

You are already there. We will send you some more anti-intelligence salve so you can stay.

Where is all your proof that Christians are using terrorism to force people to convert to Christianity, whiny lying c%nt?
Pisces

the same place it says I have to buy car insurance just because I own a car and that coverage has to include “uninsured” coverage as well
sayanything-42

little[dead]dog throws the chickenhawk card.

How

Predictable

.
http://www.fairytalebaby.com/ jason wilder

The war was over before it started.
sayanything-9974

The military won’t lose the war, but a ditherer in chief and a Congress full of democraps could.

Got Freedom? – thank a vet.

God bless and protect the people wearing the uniform and serving the USA- anywhere in the world that people have freedom there are American soldiers to thank.
brenarlo

Randy-G… EXACTLY.
AKA WOOF

Send Fred to Afghanistan, he missed Vietnam
cause of tours in graduate schools.
sayanything-203

The question of winning the war in Afghanistan wouldn’t even be a question if those on the Left put half the effort and enthusiasm into defeating the Taliban and Islamist terrorism in general that they routinely put into defeating their perceived political foes here at home.

Those on the Left put far more effort into destroying Sarah Palin than they have ever put into destroying Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
sayanything-42

Leadership and Willpower…
sayanything-12

Hannitized:

But they will blame Obama’s analytical process of deciding what to d

Dithering and indecisiveness are not the same thing as a deliberative, analytic process.

Dude can’t make his mind up. That’s what’s happening, not some massive government-run study trying to do the equivalent of cure cancer.
sayanything-1714

The war would be more winnable if cheerleaders like Rob would enlist

His worthless patoot is not worth one soldiers life. He’s a better cheerleader than an actual player……..that’s why all he does is blog and bitch.
brenarlo

Well what constitutes winning? Getting Al Qaeda out? If that’s the case then we’ve already won. They’re all in Pakistan now. Wasn’t the point of this war to get rid of Al Qaeda? If so, then we need to leave. That’s how this war was sold to the public. Nation building is not something we can afford. WE ARE BROKE!

If winning means leaving a good democracy, then we’ve lost. If winning means getting their economy out of dumps and off opium, then we’ve lost. If winning means winning hearts and minds, then we’ve lost. Of course, those weren’t the intentions of the war… nor should they have been.

I don’t know what we’re trying to win. What in the heck are we trying to win?
brenarlo

Rob,

You still didn’t answer my questions… how many lives are you willing to sacrifice, how much money (that we don’t have) are you willing to spend, and how long are you willing to stay there?

Also, where is the Constitution does it give the US government the authority to nation build?
Brent

“Winning is exactly what happened in Iraq. A representative government capable of securing its own nation.”

Rob’s a utopian socialist after all. If he just says “we won in Iraq” enough times, he’ll convince himself of that which he can not define, defintely happened.

Hey, Rob, why don’t we build a worker’s paradise here in America while we’re at it? “I think we can. With the right leader.” LOL
sayanything-203

… there are several constitutional scholars who think this Gov run health care system plan is illegal… Or unconstitutional.

They are quite likely correct. The only analogous requirement that comes to my mind was the military draft under the Selective Service Act. Its hard to make a serious argument that requiring everyone to purchase health insurance is the moral equivalent of defending the nation in time of war.
sayanything-2

We are already there stupid.

Where is all your proof that Christians are using terrorism to force people to convert to Christianity, whiny lying c%nt?
brenarlo

But what does that mean?

It’s not our job or goal to make sure they have a representative government. Was that a goal listed in the authorizing legislation?

How long, how many deaths, and how much money are you willing to commit? We’re already broke. He already have thousands dead. Lord knows how many civilians have been killed. Would you stay there for 5 more years? 10? 25? Just how can we pay for that?

I’m not even exactly sure where in the Constitution it says we can spend money propping up corrupt governments in the Middle East.
sayanything-2

Mickey? They already are doing that. They have been using mass executions in the villages they take control of, and leave the bodies for coalition forces to bury when they pull out. They have also been using corpses to contaminate wells and cisterns, which coalition forces then have to clear. All the while blaming coalition forces for all their actions, and receiving free dispersal of their propaganda from “journalists”.

Bravo1, this is the pattern set in 1951 by leftists in the UN and member states’ governments. Democrats and other leftists support Muslim terrorists, excusing their murder of Muslim children and women as simply being part of their “culture” which we have no right to judge.
sayanything-2

Paulettes have always been reality detached.
sayanything-1714

But they will blame Obama’s analytical process of deciding what to do

Dithering and indecisiveness are not the same thing as a deliberative, analytic process.

Dude can’t make his mind up.

That is total cr@p Carrick, as Obama REJECTED the solutions offered him and asked them to go back and “do over”….same thing Cheney did with Iraqi intelligence.

That is not “dithering” in the least.

You guys are liars.
sayanything-3960

The war would be more winnable if cheerleaders like Rob would enlist
sayanything-203

Proof,

Its the digital equivalent of shouting. He thinks it makes what he says significant… rather than just plain silly.
sayanything-1714

Afghanistan went well because we used the Afghanis (Northern Alliance) to help lead us to the Taliban who were, at that time, easy to separate from the crowd. After Bush bailed on Afghanistan and did not invest infrastructure and providing for the Afghanis after the Taliban vacuum, they turned on us.

Bush’s failure led to the people turning their support back to the Taliban…because at least they provided for them. Then you have the added complications of drones dropping bombs and accidentally killing civilians.

Bush neglected Afghanistan, no matter what his cheerleader Kenny says.
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

I like the way you type in all caps, Heinie, when the lies you bleat are too weak to stand on their own two feet! It makes them much truer-er. /sarcasm
sayanything-1714

What is wrong with Rob’s infantile comparison of Bush and Obama is that Bush had Afghanistan….FOR EIGHT YEARS……..Bush ignored Afghanistan FOR EIGHT YEARS. This failure we are experiencing now is the result of that neglect…FOR EIGHT YEARS.

But they will blame Obama’s analytical process of deciding what to do, and maybe he deserves some criticism for taking so long. But make no mistake, the issues and challenges in Afghanistan we face right now are the result of Bush’s neglect.
sayanything-203

With Barack H. Obama as commander-in-chief, Fred’s probably correct.

Obama is little more than a self-serving parade horse. He is as inexperienced, ineffectual, and inept at defending this country and pursuing its enemies as he is at reinvigorating its economic growth and fostering long-term, meaningful job growth. Other than campaigning and giving speeches he really isn’t very good at anything, and without his trusty teleprompter…
sayanything-2407

So Rob, in what you posted, you don’t disagree with Fred then.

I gotta admit, I disagree with Fred on this one:

Fred is saying the President doesn’t have the leadership or will to want to win:

â€œI say this because of one sad and simple fact. The president does not have the will and determination to do whatâ€™s necessary to win it. His heartâ€™s not in it, and never has been. The Taliban knows it. Al Qaeda knows it. Our allies know it. And the American people know it.”

Then you go on to say…

I donâ€™t think the war has to be lost. I think we could win. But winning would require a leader willing to commit to victory even if that commitment becomes politically unpopular.

Bush won in Iraq by sticking to his guns. But Obama isnâ€™t a leader like Bush. Obama isnâ€™t a leader at all. Heâ€™s a celebrity.

So, in reality, you agree with Fred. If Obama doesn’t have the Leadership and Will necessary win this, then it is lost.
Hanni

What is ironic about the comment from some of our friends on the right, is they spent more time attacking Obama and the left at the highest point in our fight in the GWOT, that it is really a joke for you to talk about how after the “central front in the WOT” had been “won”…..right, I mean, according to you guys, Iraq was all that mattered and it was won well before the surge.

What a joke. Why don’t you try some intellectual honesty if you want to attempt to have an adult discussion on the issue?
sayanything-2

As for Osama, he is a dessicated corpse in a cave somewhere in western Pakistan, and entirely irrelevant.
lock’em’up

Lets go finish Vietnam, we can do it! Let’s Go!
sayanything-203

Dude can’t make his mind up. That’s what’s happening,

Carrick,

I disagree. I don’t think he has the experience, the knowledge, or the maturity of judgment to know what to decide or how. He would like to simply walk away, as the so-called “progressive” left would like him to do. But he has neither the stones nor the political capital to pull it off. And that’s why he dithering.
djer

And maybe Rob, you should stop relying on a military whose forces are on their 5th and 6th deployments. Why in the world should we be propping up a corrupt government that will never be a true democracy? You think the military can do this on their own. Bush ignored Afghanistan almost from the beginning especially when he decided to play cowboy in Iraq.

Then you decry when Obama is making sure that whatever he does in Afghanistan there is a strategy, something that Bush never thought about.

You think it is just so easy to shift the forces from Iraq to Afghanistan and do the same thing there. It is not the same thing at all. Please don’t be so simple about this. And please feel free to sign up and do your time.
sayanything-287

Correct Bat: I am so glad you are back commenting again!

I have been saying this for a long time, we need to get out unless we are committed to an absolute victory in bringing peace and a reasonable stability to Afghanistan,/u>. To win we need a resolve by POTUS to ignore the polls and media and push towards clear victory, we need the troops, the tools and a rational policy of engagement that accepts civilian casualties (collateral damage) because the enemy hides an fights from civilian areas. Then and only then should we stay, otherwise we will lose lives without purpose because we will eventually have to pull-out! I remember from my Vietnam days how that game is played at the costs of military lives.
sayanything-2

And yet more lies and sh*t spew from sanni. Why is no one surprised?
Pisces

So if something is so politically unpopular then it should be done according to the writer of this post, Rob. He wrote: “But winning would require a leader willing to commit to victory even if that commitment becomes politically unpopular.”

Sounds sort of like what he is doing with healthcare. So why do you tout the polls showing how unpopular healthcare is as a reason not to do it but not here, Rob?

Just wondering why the double standard.
AKA WOOF

Americans don’t care about Afghanistan .
The war is over, the fat lady if just waiting for
her cue.
Get used to it.
sayanything-2

Wow, y’all smacked sanni down but good, look at it spinning and lying, yet again. Too funny.

Bush caved to the political left, made Afghanistan a European commanded operation, and it has went steadily down hill ever since. Now sanni claims Bush was ignoring it. More lies and spin.
djer

Where was Fred on Afghanistan while he was running for office. I dare say he didn’t say one thing. I find it interesting that for 8 years Bush ignored the troops in Afghanistan while he was nationbuilding in Iraq. Now you all want to rush back in there and “WIN” what ever that means. Propping up a corrupt government, our troops are on their 5th and 6th tours and people like Rob who’ve never picked up a gun or put on a uniform want to WIN.

I’m glad he is taking his time and looking at all the options he has available. Fred oughta take a look at his own responsibility. It’s easy to talk on your radio show, Fred.
sayanything-2

It is a very simple question, which you can not answer. Hell. Go and cry to Rob that you are being picked on, you whiny, lying c$nt. Or, just provide proof of your claim.
sayanything-51

He’s a Hollywood type, isn’t he?
Why would anyone take his word for anything?
sayanything-342

Just like Vietnam. Democrat politicians lose the will to fight for a cause. After we pull out of Afghanistan the Taliban will begin cleansing, starting with women and children.
sayanything-42

Candidate Obama claimed Afghanistan was the right war…
sayanything-4808

Spoken like a true defeatist which is what every liberal is deep down. The leadership is merely more predatory and opportunistic than the foot soldiers like yourself.

It’s good that you’re getting in touch with being a loser. By all means continue to embrace that so you can finally begin the process of growing and maturing that mentally competent people undergo at the age of fifteen or sixteen.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

I think both you and brenarlo maybe need to brush up on your constitutional history a bit.

You can disagree with the policy, sure, but making some tortured constitutional argument to back up your politics doesn’t make any sense.

It’s like brenarlo constantly arguing that the authorizations for war in Afghanistan and Iraq were constitutional because Congress didn’t use the words “declare war.”

That’s such a silly, non-sensical argument. The constitution merely requires that Congress assent to war. It doesn’t say they have to use the words “declare war.”
spartacus

Bush ignored Afghanistan FOR EIGHT YEARS.

Didn’t Afghanistan become a NATO operation prior to Iraqi Freedom and go rather well until the French rotated into command?
sayanything-453

Onward to Pakistan, I say.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Rob’s a utopian socialist after all. If he just says “we won in Iraq” enough times, he’ll convince himself of that which he can not define, defintely happened.

Socialist? Really? Because I want people to have representative government?

We did win in Iraq. And the war was necessary.

This might shock you, Brent, but I support freedom and liberty for everyone. Including people who aren’t American. What’s more, I know (because I am a student of history and don’t ignore the parts that are inconvenient for what I want to believe) that promoting representative government in oppressed places int he world makes us safer.

Giving them liberty helps me keep my liberty secure.

You call me a socialist, and that’s a little sad. You know full well that I’m not, but you have to resort to water-muddying and name-calling because the facts on the ground in Iraq are awfully inconvenient for you.
sayanything-6955

It is in the constitution right next to where it says congress can force me to buy health insurance that includes paying for Mabel’s third abortion this year.
sayanything-1317

Same lie, different day.

That Obama is doing less that Bush on Afghanistan and is getting more praise shows what a partisan toady he is.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

You Ron Paul fan boys are worse than the Obama lovers. Honestly.
sayanything-6955

Or unconstitutional.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Not all actors are stupid. Just most of them.
sayanything-6955

Sorry Rob, but there are several constitutional scholars who think this Gov run health care system plan is illegal.
sayanything-453

Onward to Stupidstan!
sayanything-453

Onward to Iran, I say.
sayanything-81

He hates the troops.
sayanything-453

Onward to Goonistan…..
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Well when you’re an isolationist who thinks we can hide behind our borders and pretend like nobody will ever attack us then I guess it is pretty hard to understand.

Winning is exactly what happened in Iraq. A representative government capable of securing its own nation.
MarkSD

If you don’t give the commanders what they want, it’s hard to win. Remember “Bush lied, Americans died”? If think we could change Bush to Obama now.

No matter the outcome in Afghanistan, it will be Bush’s fault.
sayanything-1317

Because he went from DC to Hollywood and not vice versa.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

We have troops in Iraq who are doing more playing than fighting these days. Redeploy them to Iraq.

McChrystal and Petraeus think we can win.

Maybe you liberals should stop basing your foreign policy on whatever is convenient at the moment.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Was that a goal listed in the authorizing legislation?

What’s funny is that you’ve argued with me about whether or not that legislation was constitutional, and yet it’s pretty clear you’ve never actually bothered to read it.

You should do that some time. It’s not very long.

It’s not our job or goal to make sure they have a representative government.

Not our job, no, but it’s certainly in our interest to see the region from whence awful terrorist attacks such as 9/11 moderated. And representative government moderates.

History tells us this.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Not that your glue addled mind is capable of grasping subtelties, but there is a difference between making a statement you believe to be true (as Thompson has, though I disagree with him) and pulling a Harry Reid and make a statement like “the war is lost” with the intent to actually for that loss to happen.

But return to your juvenile grasp of the situation Sparkie. Its all I expect from you.
sayanything-81

When Democrats claim a war is unwinnable, they hate the troops. when Republicans say it, they are correct and the democrats still hate the troops.

AHA! I am begining to understand…

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Fred Thompson: The War In Afghanistan Is Lost

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