Obama Should Ask Bush About Afghanistan: Opinion

Slate Magazine:

President Obama came into office promising he wouldn't be captive to groupthink. He would test the assumptions of his advisers by seeking outside voices. As if to prove he meant it, he has already spoken to his predecessor at least once. He may want to do so again as he puzzles through what to do in Afghanistan.

Read the whole story: Slate Magazine

Comments

[dianhow]

GUYS
JUST ON BBC news site
Obama breaks with Bush's Afghan policy !!!
Great news Go Obama

[shespeaks]

This is a ridiculous article, but the Huffpo headline is appalling. Who's sitting in on the weekends...the Heritage Foundation's journalism intern?

[dianhow]

ARTICLE SAYS Obama ' may ' ask W - But How can the writer possibly know that ?

[bacaja]

Well, in the process, Bush should congratulate Obama on continuing policies that turned
the richest nation in the world into the most indebted nation in the world, with the worlds
worst health care and a continuing colapsing economy.

[dianhow]

bacaja time for another Reality check "Obama has had power 8 months - so he
did not create this mess. Please do not peddle the same old BS we heard for years . IT WAS the Reagan - Bush / W deregulation policy that made this MELTDOWN on possible
How ? That 1981 policy - in effect- LEGALIZED UNETHICAL DEALINGS ON WALL ST
ALONG WITH UNPARELLED GREED. THEY SOLD 'JUNK' SECURITIES' LABELLED AS
TRIPLE A TO UNSUSPECTING PEOPLE ALL OVER THE GLOBE.
YOU REPUBS HAVE TO POST ACTUAL FACTS-

[OswegoKayaker]

Why, because GWB did such an astounding job or because he totally botched it? In the latter case go ask the Russians -- they know all about defeat in that part of the world. Our CIA helped create the Taliban which crushed them.

SELIG S. HARRISON is director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy and a senior scholar of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, he predicted that the funding for this project was a huge mistake. Selig said, "The CIA made a historic mistake in encouraging Islamic groups from all over the world to come to Afghanistan." The US provided $3 billion for building up these Islamic groups, and it accepted Pakistan's demand that they should decide how this money should be spent." And now we are dealing with the consequences of not listening to people who actually know the places and the people. Just like we got rid of all so many of our translators who could actually speak the language and give us better intel because of DADT, we continue to go down a path without all the help we can get.

[dianhow]

Oswego This guy said Obama ' MAY ' ask Bush - not will ask
I do not buy that line at all

[lungfish]

He should ask him why he invaded Afghanistan to begin with. That was probably one of the stupidest moves of the last 100 years..

[dianhow]

Fish NOPE Iraq was the worst move. Iraq never attacked us- and even Cheney had to admit- Sadaam / Iraq had NO part in 9 / 11 . No mushroom cloud- NO smoking gun- NO weapons NO nothing- but loads of OIL . Bush family dynasty has had very ' close connections to - OPEC - Saudi Royal family and BUSh Sr gave safe haven to the tyrant- Shah of Iran That began Iraq 's hate for . AMerica. and When Obama ' criticized Amercia' overseas-
he was talking about OUR FOREIGN POLICY which has been a huge disaster for
50 + yrs. GOP twists that one too. as usual

[HowdyDoody]

He should also ask Bush about how to fix the economy, how to repair the environment, how to separate church and state, what's the best way to interrogate people, and, finally, how to fix our health care system.

While he's at it, he can congratulate Bush on what a great job he did in Iraq.

[dianhow]

Howdy
Read the whole piece
it does not say that Obama asked W about the AFghan war.
It said he ' MAY ' so its just conjecture

[dogman44]

The President would get better answers from a ventriloquists dummy. Stop talking
to shrub. He is a disgraced individual and has nothing more to say to us until he is on
the stand in the Hague. He certainly wasn't interested in Vietnam or the military when
he knew he had a rich boy's free pass to avoid fighting. As did most of the people in his
administration.

[yemaya]

The only he should ask Shrub is what happened to the Pet Goat

[HowdyDoody]

He not only got into the Nat'l Guard to avoid service in Viet Nam, he then nonchalantly decided to quit attending meetings after the people of the United States spent millions training him to be a pilot. He's more than a spoiled kid. He brought disaster on our nation, and he should be shunned by this country. Ditto for Cheney.

[duxguts]

Don't you mean he should as Cheney? He was in charge of foreign affairs and all that.

[OswegoKayaker]

You got that right. It was a Halliburton-sponsored war.

[dianhow]

Kayak Yep Halliburton - Black water made billions off wars - Much for work not even done.
They make Acorn look like childs play GOP has gunned for Acorn for yrs
Why " Acorn registered black - brown folks to vote OMG We can't have that
yes Acorn has some bad apples- what corp / organization doesn't ?
GOP CREED IS
PROFITS OVER PEOPLE YEAR AFTER YEAR

[FrozenNorthObserver]

actually seeing how much of the Bu*sh era philosophy O has adopted he should just put him on the payroll.

[bartonfink]

too easy. obama should ask him "what the f*ck were you thinking abandoning afghanistan before we were finished?"

something like that

[dianhow]

Barton YES THank You Thats it exactly
We have way too many low information posters on Huff Post. just as in the GOP .
Their propaganda worked really well

[doubtingdavid]

Given his vast military and foreign relations experience he should be asking everyone he can including Bush. Unfortunately we know he won't and isn't even listening to his own generals.

[Durango]

Given President Obama's obvious intelligence and good judgment he should make his own decision after having been advised by as man people as possible.

Which he is clearly doing.

Talking to Bush would do no good since he is the man responsible for the tragedy President Obama now has to clean up.

You can be assured he is listening to his Generals. Which does not mean he will do what they advise.

He is the President. The decisions are his responsibility, not the Generals.

And unlike the previous President he is not going to blame everyone else. He will accept the responsibility for his decisions.

The adults are back in charge.

[larry278]

Very true. Don't let W, Cheney, et al, including Secty Gates, near Pres Obama unless they are gagged, muzzled, in leg irons, hand cuffs & chained to strong restraint chairs. They lost the peace in Iraq & lost in Afghanistan. Pres Obama needs to remove all US forces from Iraq & Afghanistan at once or much sooner. The fact that Pres Obama bought Afghanistan & other crap from W doesn't mean that he has to use it or expect Americans to tolerate sending in more troops or spending another cent to pay for these foolish, lost causes, measures & programs. W & the Bushies are criminals. They aren't of any use save as wretched examples of obdurate stupidity, terminal hubris, criminal conduct, etc.
This group belong in holding cells till they are tried for & convicted of treason incident to war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide incident to US being involved in the so called Global War On Terror [really the USA's war of terror].

[dianhow]

Durango Another factual post Keep it going
So many ill informed folks- so little time

[beckpod1]

What...ask him if he can point it out on the map?
Just kidding...that was for Palin!

[Durango]

I agree. Absolutely. he should ask Bush what should be done in Afghanistan.

And then do the exact opposite.

What did they say on Seinfeld? "If everything you have done your entire life has been wrong, then the opposite should be right."

The Costanza Rule.

Give me a break. Have pundits run out of subjects to write about?

[yvonne61]

WHY?