Jon Fleischman Is Latest GOP Official To Criticize Afghan War

In a private email provided to the Huffington Post, a vice chairman of the California Republican Party questioned the value of continuing the 9-year war in Afghanistan in light of its heavy costs to American taxpayers.

Jon Fleischman, a political consultant and veteran GOP official in California, was writing in response to an op-ed calling on Michael Steele to resign as chairman of the Republican National Committee over his criticism of the war last week.

"For what it is worth, I'm an officer with the CA Republican Party and I can't figure out what we are achieving in Afghanistan, at least not for the economic cost to US Taxpayers," Fleischman wrote on Friday. "Since I am not particularly isolationist, it means my government is failing to communicate well."

It is the latest evidence that the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, which once garnered near-universal support from Republicans, has now become a source of ideological dissension at the highest ranks of the party.

Republican defenders of the war are still far more vocal. The condemnations of Michael Steele from his fellow party members have been frequent and furious (Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain joined the chorus on Sunday); some senior party activists and at least one member of Congress have demanded that he resign over his remarks.

"This was a war of Obama's choosing," Steele said at a videotaped fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday. "This is not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."

"[I]f he's such a student of history, has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan, alright, because everyone who's tried over a thousand years of history has failed," Steele continued.

Fleischman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Comments

[mrJJ]

03:08 PM on 07/06/2010

US taxpayers’ Afghan aid money buys rich Afghans’ Dubai villas

You already might have heard that it costs the United States $1 million for each solider per year in Afghanistan, to cover the cost of the soldiers' benefits, troop transports and other material. What you might not have heard is that your hard earned taxpayer dollars are also being used to buy well-connected Afghans posh villas in Dubai.

more: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0706/taxpayers-afghan-aid-money-paying-rich-afghans-dubai-villas/

[Yikes11]

01:50 PM on 07/06/2010

This could work to the advantage of the cave o crats. If this latest outburst of Steele's causes more Cons to vehemently oppose the war, then the MSM will report on it and the klanbaggers, DINO's, etc. will too. The more noise they make against the president, then he will be forced to make a decision. He will cave, as usual to the CONS and the troops can return home.

[MarsAmbassador]

10:59 PM on 07/05/2010

"vice chairman of the California Republican Party questioned the value of continuing the 9-year war in Afghanistan in light of its heavy costs to American taxpayers."

I agree. I've also often wondered what was 'conservative' about the trillions these so-called conservatives demand we spend on the military:
http://static.globalissues.org/i/military/09/country-distribution-2008.png

[zooperman]

10:13 PM on 07/05/2010

When Osama Bin Laden is captured or killed, everyone will stop wondering about what the war was all about - they will all start claiming they were all for the war and were instrumental in the "victory".

[axollot]

01:29 PM on 07/06/2010

Well it didnt happen with Saddam. Why do you think those against would suddenly be FOR it?

[ultrabop]

07:28 PM on 07/05/2010

Maybe if he shaved the mustache down to a pencil one, ala John Waters, then people would believe in him.

[Jazzcomedian]

06:53 PM on 07/05/2010

We're in Afghanistan? Since when? Is Bin Laden still there?

[ultrabop]

06:45 PM on 07/05/2010

What's with the mustache?

[SPZig]

06:02 PM on 07/05/2010

What kind of bizarro nonsense is this? 8 years of saying that it was our patriotic duty to sit back and support the president in a time of war (a war they fervently supported) and now that the tables have turned, the Republicans are against it?

I am very anti-war but this whole thing just reeks of more theatrics from the party of no. There is truly no limit to their doublethink.

[ultrabop]

07:29 PM on 07/05/2010

I believe it is actually traitorous.

[axollot]

01:34 PM on 07/06/2010

Indeed. The last administration did so much that would have been considered treason not that long ago.
These guys get away with it because they used their cronies to make it ambiguously legal and then only admit to "not remembering" when questioned.
Treason - the GOP have been traitorous - coming to a full crescendo since Reagan.

[Kiranitisme]

05:40 PM on 07/05/2010

Steele is 99% correct and the 1% wrong to blame Obama. It was Bush & GOP who invaded Afghanistan knowing fully well that Russians did the same in 1980, fought for 10 years and left with loss of men and money

Taliban is a Pakistani terror and jihadist group actively financed, trained and armed by the Government of Pakistan with US taxpayer dollars!

[alleycat32]

04:47 PM on 07/05/2010

If the GObP'ers think Steele is illrelevant than they should look in the mirror.

All Steele and did was say what a lot of Americans are thinking.

We need to get out of there and bring our men and women home. Enough already have been killed or hurt.

The lawmakers want to fight an unwinable war than they should step up to the plate and go over there an fight.

[Huffingbrownbag]

04:44 PM on 07/05/2010

President Ronald Reagan gives us a lesson from history we can use to leave Afghanistan: invade Grenada.

http://www.truth-out.org/1214093
Secretary of State and Gen. Alexander Haig and National Security Adviser Col. Robert McFarlane convinced President Ronald Reagan that the Marines should be sent to Lebanon in 1982 to bail out the Israelis who had unwisely invaded their neighbor. This deployment led to the deaths of more than 240 Marines.

President Reagan covered his retreat from Lebanon by invading Grenada, the first actual combat for US forces since Vietnam and the first such operation in this region since President Johnson unnecessarily ordered the Marines to the Dominican Republic. There was no real enemy in the Dominican Republic, and US forces in Grenada ended up in a confrontation with several hundred Cuban combat engineers who were building a landing strip.

[ultrabop]

06:47 PM on 07/05/2010

Why don't we invade Monteal? The food is pretty good up there. I once had a salad of lettuce leaves and garlic with olive oil. fabulous!

[Debbie338]

03:33 PM on 07/05/2010

I never imagined a time when I would agree with Michael Steele on something, but he's got it right on this one. What the hell are we doing there? The only person to ever "win" in Afghanistan was Gengis Khan, and that's because he killed the entire population and replaced it with his own people.

[Jimmy Medeiros]

02:18 PM on 07/05/2010

I think that President Obama should do what FDR did and jus t"imbrace the hate"! The Republicans must be very fearful of him and his abilities to hate him so much! Look at what a group of incompetents they've become. There isn't a single candidate in their party that could beat him in an election right now (with everything thats happened) .So I say just "imbrace the hate" and move forward. As I alwayslike to say to quote the immortal Spike Lee he should " just do the right thing".

[madHenry]

01:59 PM on 07/05/2010

Trying to finish a job that should have been finished seven years ago; some task.

[jhinds]

01:18 PM on 07/05/2010

As a hardened conservative I can see no reason to be there, none and agree with every word Michael Steele uttered. This is a war Odumbo went after because he shot his mouth off by stating the REAL has always been Afganistan. Well, American boys are dying to prove his point. Somebody needs to tell him the stakes are a bit higher than community organizing. By the way I know of no one in the Military that has any respect for the man.

[madHenry]

01:56 PM on 07/05/2010

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're funny. Enormously ignorant, but funny.

[madHenry]

01:58 PM on 07/05/2010

Since you know so many men and women in military service, tell us the branch of service and unit in which you served. You're just another loudmouthed lying teabagger who's spouting whatever crap you got in today's Teabaggee Chronicle.