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GlobalPost:
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John F. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he will hold far-ranging oversight hearings on the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
Rick Reyes, The New John Kerry: Afghanistan Vet Speaks Out Against ...
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He'll barely manage a whisper before he concedes. That's his strong suit.
Congresssional oversight is an important check on presidential power, even if the president is as capable as Obama, and Kerry is right to take a hard look.
Fortunately, Obama has set forth some concrete metrics by which to measure the success of his policy, including American efforts to train Afghan security forces (so that our troops can leave a stable nation behind), reducing attacks from insurgents, growing Afghanistan's economy, which includes reducing its dependence on exporting drugs.
For those who fear that this will be another Iraq, I think that everyone involved in implementing the Obama policy is doing everything possible to avoid this. To name one difference, in all of the interviews of US military leaders that I have seen, they are very aware that Afghanistan needs postwar reconstruction. This was almost completely ignored in Iraq. As for Vietnam, I just don't see Obama as LBJ or Nixon, stubbornly clinging to a failed policy. In the end, I am confident that he is enough of a pragmatist that he will not maintain an open-ended commitment if it shows no sign of success.
So I think Kerry will see the wisdom of letting Obama follow a policy that has a better chance of a peaceful, relatively democratic outcome than a quick US withdrawal would.
blah,blah,blah, bla, blah, blah, blah, blah
Thanks for nothing Mr Kerry
Thanks Kerrey.
About time Congress gets involved!
Stop this WAR for the skje of humanity!
I will have a hard look at Kerry's hairpiece.
I welcome this. We do need to take a hard look at whether it is worth staying in Afghanistan. Are we achieving our goals? Are those goals even achievable? Are we really having a positive impact, or driving more Afghanis to become hardliners/Taliban? Is it worth the cost in lives and money? Are there other ways besides through military power we could achieve our goals? What can we do to win the "hearts and mids" of the people so they turn against the Muslim fundamentalists? Is our current Afghan "surge" going to work? What are the results so far?
I'd even like to see some "out of the box" thinking. For example, is there another cash crop we could introduce to help the Afghan people make a living and feed their families (which would replace the opium fields, and could be sold in legal world markets, unlike opium).
It seems throughout history that Generals always fight the previous war. Are we fighting the Iraq War (in other words, just copying what worked in Iraq, which might not work in Afghanistan) in Afghanistan?
This is what Republicans should have been doing during the Bush years with both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Good brain storming!
I think that since this war is about US control of a n oil pipeline, it needs to control the proxy government of Karzi, whose brother controls MOST of the popy production which supplies 90% of world supply. True the Taliba, whose government the US obliterated does cobtrol some of the popies, Most is by the existing afghan Government Oligarchy. So.... perhaps Opium should be legalized. But that would cut into Afghan's near monopoly.
Note Karzi was an oil executive for UnoCal prior to his current pupet status.
No, the US should get the heck OUT, and not just troops, but mercenaries, et al.
Thanks.
Every day that goes by, I'm starting to agree with you that getting out of Afghanistan is the best course. I would only keep special forces there, which would keep up the hunt for Bin Laden and Al Qaeda operatives, and withdraw everything else. No more puppet regimes. No more supporting corrupt Karzai. A pipeline through Afghanistan is too easy of a target, and should be scrapped after a cost-benefit analysis.
Kerry's "hard look" should scare the pants off them.
"I voted for the $87 billion, before I voted against it"
Well if it isn't the Bonesman come out of the woodwork. Or the jungle. If it's Washington, it's probably woodwork.
With that face, a hard look is all he has. BTW, I think he should be Sec of State and Hillary VP, come 2012
We need to stop the Obama administration from terrorizing Afghan civilians with our military.
Oh Puleeeeeeze!
Oh Pleeeeeeze... US , Obama STOP the murder!
US out of Afghanistan!
US out of Pakistan!
Heck....
US out of Iraq, Honduras, ............!
US, your own people are getting poorer
amen this new war is full of crap
new war? its been going on since 2001. Dont you remember the "northern coalition" and all that Jazz?
We need to have an insight hearing as how you got a purple heart for having rice blown into your a s s.
Did you ever serve internet tough guy? Or do you just criticize other people who saw combat?
It is interesting that Kerry is suddenly taking a hard look at Afghanistan. This war has been ongoing for years and suddenly Kerry wants to take a hard look.
because we are actually trying to do something about it after 8 years.
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First Posted: 07- 9-09 02:40 PM | Updated: 07- 9-09 02:44 PM