Obama Speech On Afghanistan Prompts Reaction From GOP Presidential Candidates (PHOTOS)

President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday evening that the United States would begin the process of bringing home thousands of troops stationed in Afghanistan with the goal of pulling out 33,000 forces by the end of summer next year.

"Of course, huge challenges remain," Obama said in a prime-time televised address. "This is the beginning — but not the end — of our effort to wind down this war. We will have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we have made while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government."

The Associated Press notes that even with the drawdown, roughly 70,000 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan under the plan outlined by the president.

The 30,000-plus U.S. troops expected to return by summer of next year would come home just months prior to the 2012 presidential election.

Following the president's remarks on Wednesday night, three top tier GOP contenders -- former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman -- issued statements on the address. Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, a lesser known Republican hopeful, also responded.

Below, a slideshow highlighting reaction from the Republican presidential candidates. (Note: We will update this post with additional reaction as it is released.)

1 of 7

Mitt Romney

1 of 8

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the president's speech:

"We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we shouldn't adhere to an arbitrary timetable on the withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan. This decision should not be based on politics or economics. America's brave men and women in uniform have fought to achieve significant progress in Afghanistan, some having paid the ultimate price. I look forward to hearing the testimony of our military commanders in the days ahead."

What Climate Change Just Might Ruin

Supreme Court Justices

New House Members Of The 113th Congress

The Faces Of Military Sexual Assault

Least Environmental Senators

Which Women Might Run In 2016?

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the president's speech:

"We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we shouldn't adhere to an arbitrary timetable on the withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan. This decision should not be based on politics or economics. America's brave men and women in uniform have fought to achieve significant progress in Afghanistan, some having paid the ultimate price. I look forward to hearing the testimony of our military commanders in the days ahead."

comments(1906)

Total comments: 1906 | Post a Comment

1 of 8

Rate This Slide

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Surprising No Big Deal

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Most Interesting Reactions

loading...

Most Interesting Reactions

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[Josephine AcostaPasricha]

10:45 AM on 06/24/2011

Revealment and Unrevealment
Michel Foucault in his book, Power/Knowledge, 1980, says that Change may only happen with a new story telling through the means of communication. For there is a new self-representation.
This is palpable with story telling on Afghanistan.
I was in Afghanistan long before the Taliban overran the country, and bombed out the tall Buddha cave sculptures. I was fortunate to have visited and researched on it when it was still existing. But another result of that visit was also a paper on Women as Agents of Peace in Afghanistan.
Then, I saw the War Rugs of Afghanistan and noted how the story telling has changed from flowers to bombs, from bees to armored tanks, from green gardens turning to blood soaked cemeteries.
I still have to write a paper on how the Afghanistan Paradise of my youth, how Khandahar where I spent my honeymoon, how Kabul where you can see the snow capped mountains of Russia to the right, and the long winding clean river on the left, has turned into hell.
Now, US President Barack Obama has changed the discourse with his announcement of a steady withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan -- ten thousand troops at the end of 2011, 23,000 troops in the summer of 2012, so only a baseline of 68,000 troops will be left.
Indeed, discourse joins power and knowledge here. Let a New Normal begin.
Josephine AcostaPasricha, PhD

[Q45]

07:31 PM on 06/25/2011

Through your words, I could see the beautiful story telling rugs filled with flowers, the green gardens, the long winding clean river and the captivating view of the snow capped mountains of Russia, then the poignant part, and the pain of how and when it all changed. :( Yes, let a new normal begin... Surmising from your experiences, your paper will be a captivating A+ and as for your wedding, congratulations to you!

[Anoosh Hambarsumian]

02:43 AM on 06/24/2011

So interesting! The Republicans were the ones who put our soldiers in harms way in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now they are griping that the President is not bringing them home soon enough? How come the Republicans did not bring them home when they were in power!! They are so two-faced, it's not funny!!

[Susan Ward]

12:40 PM on 06/24/2011

I totally agree! Mitt Romney is way to smug. He is two faced - and phoney -
Do you think he has any idea what American's are going through and yes the Republicans have brought the US down all on there own. Times have changed war might have helped the economy in other generations. The country needs more then "what worked in the past". Our lives are not about power mined, controlling politicians. Congress's leader is a bully not a leader!

Obama is our President he is leading us in the right direction!

[wrascil]

03:26 PM on 06/24/2011

republicans are in power we took back the house from nancy and her clown circus, 6 years ago then senistor 0'bomber the war monger campaigned on bringing the troops home the day he was elected... its 4 years later and he keeps bombing country after country... but there are jobs for the un-employed.... in the ARMY.... so his depression is over

[Q45]

06:42 PM on 06/25/2011

4 years later? President Obama has only been in office 21/2 years.

[Oceras]

01:54 AM on 06/24/2011

Santorum: "but he does not emphasize the need for victory," said Senator Santorum.
What does victory mean to you, Ricky. You not only want to end Obama's presidency, you want to be President. You can't run a successful Presidency on negatives. It's the same with all Republicans with the jobs crisis. They can be negative all the time, but when it comes down to their own plan, the emperor has new clothes.

"Every American wants our brave men and women home safely, but we cannot let those who've given the last full measure die in vain by abandoning the gains we've made thus far."
This is a logical fallacy, tRickster. We owe nothing to the past because the past cannot benefit from present or future actions. The dead won't have any idea what we did or did not do.

"We must be squarely focused on succeeding in Afghanistan "
Which means? Which means? Which means?
How do you define it and how do you accomplish it. And no passing the buck to the military. You hope to be Commander in Chief. You would be the decider, tRicky.

[Oceras]

01:47 AM on 06/24/2011

Ron Paul: ""When candidate Obama was running for the presidency, he campaigned largely on bringing our troops home".
Pure political hyperbole. His campaign was not based "largely" on bringing our troops home. And, anyway, he has announced a plan to begin bringing our troops home. 30,000 may not be enough, but it's also not chump change. Paul, you just hope it will stick in some peoples' minds that withdrawal was his main campaign promise. Those people would be as ignorant as you.

Paul: "Too little. Too late." If it's too late, then there's no incentive to bring the troops home at all. If he were to become President, would he tell us it's 'too late to bring the troops home'. This rhetoric is nonsensical. Throw the pat of butter up and hope it sticks on the ceiling kind of high school lunchroom stuff.

And what is wrong with nation building? Do we not want Afghanistan to have the skills and resources to chart its own course in the world? If Afghanistanis can supply most of their own basic needs, won't they be less likely to look outside to make mischief? In my mind, nation building is far better than killing and maiming.

[Oceras]

01:38 AM on 06/24/2011

As for Cain: "President Obama's statement tonight is a stark reminder that while one might campaign in poetry, one must govern in prose." Hey, Cain! Osama bin Laden was found and killed under Obama's watch. How's that for prose?

Cain: "President Obama proposes an abrupt withdrawal of our troops"
30,000 troops by the end of *next* summer, leaving 70,000 troops in Afghanistan. Cain might check the OED for the definition of "abrupt".

Cain: "Sadly, I fear President Obama's decision could embolden our enemy and endanger our troops."
This is the rhetoric scaremongers use to have their way. Anyway, Cain, you haven't told us the right course to take. You've only launched off a few campaign duds.

[Oceras]

01:32 AM on 06/24/2011

Heck! I hate to say this. Oh, how I hate to say this. But, because I'm a fair person, I have to.
Gary Johnson is absolutely correct. He has joined the ranks of the Democrats who have been saying this before and after the killing of bin Laden. Does he know he's a Democrat?
Kudos to Johnson.

[Oceras]

01:28 AM on 06/24/2011

Pawlenty: "When America goes to war, America needs to win. We need to close out the war successfully. And what that means now is not nation building. What it means is to follow General Petraeus' advice and to get those security forces built up to the point where they can pick up the slack as we draw down. ..."

"Win", "close out the war successfully"! What does that mean? The goal was to rid the world of Osama bin Laden. Under the leadership of Barack Obama.
"What that means now is not nation building." It also doesn't mean eating Twinkies on top of the Eiffel Tower. And it doesn't mean that 4G is fully functional at the moment. We could go through an infinity of examples of "what-success-doesn't-means". Fact is Pawlenty, like the rest of the Republicans doesn't have a clue as to what success does mean.

[Oceras]

01:55 AM on 06/24/2011

Line should have read: Under the leadership of Barack Obama that goal was accomplished.

[Oceras]

01:22 AM on 06/24/2011

Huntsman: "Our troops have done everything we've asked them to. They've routed the Taliban, dismantled Al Qaeda, and facilitated democratic elections."

Routed the Taliban? So that's why we reporting on American troops pinned down in almost indefensible positions by, what's that name again?: the Taliban.
Dismantled Al Qaeda? How does a dismantled organization elect a new leader? And if they are permanently weakened, under whose administration did this happen.
Facilitated democratic elections? Democratic? Is that what he calls them?

[Oceras]

01:10 AM on 06/24/2011

"we shouldn't adhere to an arbitrary timetable on the withdrawal" Romney

Does Willard know of any logistical algorithm that can determine a non-arbitrary timetable? Line up ten military brass and chances are you will get a very wide range of advice concerning a reasonable timetable and numbers of troops to be withdrawn. Willard is just mouthing off trying to sound knowledgeable. He's a political punchline.

[Arcelio Martinez]

11:43 PM on 06/23/2011

the Republican comedy show continues

[ShelleyVan]

10:26 PM on 06/23/2011

As usual, it's so easy to be critical and self-serving when you're not the one in charge of making the hard decisions.

[Carmichael]

09:45 PM on 06/23/2011

I'm not one to criticize the president, but in this case I totally disagree with his stance on the war in Afghanistan. As a ex service man myself, I think he should have recommended a much larger draw down. There have been substantial evidence of the corruptions in Afghanistan - so what purpose do we serve being there "nation building", for how long? I support the complete withdrawal of all military personnel...We could use those billion of dollars in the USA considering the economical turmoil that is impacting the country. In the months ahead I hope he reconsiders.

[Donnie4488]

09:26 PM on 06/23/2011

Once again it is evident that,according to Republicans,anything Obama proposes is wrong.If he wants to win re-election,he's got to stop trying to pander to Republicans and members of the military-industrial complex.

[othel]

09:17 PM on 06/23/2011

Why is Santorum running? The guy lost his last election in his home state by 18 pts. The only words out of his mouth are anti-Obama. No anwers to problems. No solution suggestions. Nothing but anti-Obama rhetoric. Why is he running?

[sportster777]

06:50 PM on 06/23/2011

OBAMA doesn't do anything unless its for his benefit,,,like the 2012 election..he is such a phony..