Rick Perry Calls For Afghanistan Withdrawal At GOP Tea Party Debate

Rick Perry has been relatively silent on foreign policy, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During the GOP debate Monday night, he said he believed that the U.S. should continue to have a "presence" in Afghanistan, but that it was time to start transitioning responsibility over to the Afghans.

"I agree with Gov. Huntsman when we talk about it's time to bring our young men and women home as soon -- and obviously as safely -- as we can," Perry said. "But it's really important for us to continue to have a presence there. I think the entire conversation about how do we deliver our aid to those countries -- and is it best spent with 100,000 military who have the target on their back in Afghanistan? I don't think so at this particular point in time."

"I think the best way for us to be able to impact that country is to make a transition to where that country's military is going to be taking care of their people," Perry continued. "Bring our young men and women home. And continue to help them build the infrastructure that we need, whether it's schools for young women like yourself or otherwise."

At last week's GOP debate in California, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman suggested it's time the country bring the remaining United States troops stationed in Afghanistan home.

"I think we've lost our confidence as a country," he explained. "I think we have had our innocence shattered. I think, ten years later, we look at the situation and we say, we have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. This is not about nation-building in Afghanistan. This is about nation-building at home."

Huntsman continued, "Our core is broken. We are weak. We have got to strengthen ourselves. I say we've got to bring those troops home."

Comments

[John Di Saia]

10:10 PM on 09/15/2011

Well this is how Obama got elected is it not?

[VolatorVentum]

10:58 PM on 09/13/2011

Hey Perry: Guess what we're doing RIGHT NOW?

[asiclilpup]

04:56 PM on 09/13/2011

Bottom line parry has as much foreign policy experience as.......... I do.

[freak4life]

05:03 PM on 09/13/2011

or as much as Barry had when he started ! but I would guess that Perry is a whole lot smarter than you are !

[Activist Annie]

05:40 AM on 09/15/2011

I'm willing to bet that you have MORE experience than Perry!

It's easier for anyone on the "outside" to criticize another's decision than to have the responsibility to make decisions.

BTW, just look at Perry's record, ALL of his record. It speaks for itself!

[John Di Saia]

10:11 PM on 09/15/2011

True. President Obama could say that now that he is in the White House. :)

[Nick Lahanas]

01:58 PM on 09/13/2011

The headline of this article is misleading.

[seawillow]

01:49 PM on 09/13/2011

The question is: What has to be done to prevent sociopaths, any sociopaths, from getting an a-bomb? If leaving Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya - anywhere - doesn't imperil this goal, we should leave.

[Teeninchee]

01:46 PM on 09/13/2011

In other words, Governor, let's keep doing what President Obama has put in place. Thank you very much.

But you know, that is not the Republican position, so who are you trying to fool?

[Bill M NY]

03:16 PM on 09/13/2011

So lets keep doing what Bush put in place.

This is not an attack on you, its just a PoV that I see people taking that is wrong in my opinion, which you may or may not share.

This is the issue as I see it. The Wars and Torture and Poor Policy just keeps going, yet there is no end to the warfare and meddling in these countries. Then we sit back and wonder why they attack us. They are freedom fighters at this point and we are the invading empire.

Obama keeps pushing them though. He sits back and watches the people bleed in Bahrain because we have a naval base there, yet he defends the Libyans. He threatens Iran yet doesn't say boo when Israel pushes into Palestinian lands. His administration is still locking up innocent people without charges and sending them to 'friendly' countries to be tortured.

Obama's defenders in the US though point to his 'not being Bush' or these 'new' draw down time tables. They are the same time tables Bush put in place. They are the same secret prisons that operated under Bush. Gitmo is still housing the same innocent people it did under Bush. This is nothing new, its an extension of the same failed policies only dictated to us by a man with a command of proper English.

[wca16]

01:38 PM on 09/13/2011

The article should be titled "Huntsman had the balls to speak the truth in saying we need to entirely withdraw because we have been there too long to the face of an obviously planted female from Afghanistan, then Perry agreed and added the women and children need schools."

He'll later agree with Ron Paul that Americas department of education needs to be cut.

He is nothing new, just a lifetime politician that says what people want to hear while keeping a "I'm the Shiznit look on his face".

[Willowset]

01:12 PM on 09/13/2011

Obviously Mr. Perry needs more information on policy in Afghanistan. We are already "in transition" there. The headline for this piece is somewhat misleading because Perry is no more in favor of speeding up our withdrawal than his fellow Republicans are.

[johnsonc20]

01:09 PM on 09/13/2011

This flanking motion by the Republicans may finally get Obama to listen to those who have been saying 'get the troops home!' Or not.

[omobob]

01:02 PM on 09/13/2011

Foreign Policy is an oblivious weakness for Go. Perry, as the best he can do is agree with John Huntsman, a politician who is much smarter than Perry. Of course, just about any politician is smarter. Perry’s biggest blunder is falling victim of his own distorted press.

[annpfnp]

12:50 PM on 09/13/2011

I so agree with Perry. Lets get outa there and work on America. If the eastern countries want to say that America lost the war with them, so what. I would rather lose that war than lose America. We are supposed to be a rich Christian country. Let's bring America back!! To hell with Aphganistan.

[GammaPoint]

12:42 PM on 09/13/2011

Oh wow, "let's bring the troops home as quickly as it is safe to do so" -- all politicians say meaningless statements like this. It always turns out that it's never "safe to do so".

[Willowset]

01:13 PM on 09/13/2011

Yes, it's meaningless. If you read this piece closely, Perry is speaking in favor of "transitioning," something we are already supposed to be doing.

[seanny53]

12:42 PM on 09/13/2011

Even the right wing is now forced to admit that the country no longer supports the wars. But Perry's as incoherent as ever:

Perry continued. "Bring our young men and women home. And continue to help them build the infrastructure that we need, whether it's schools for young women like yourself or otherwise."

Does he know that building public infrastructure requires public funds from, you know, evil taxation?

[Teeninchee]

12:39 PM on 09/13/2011

What are you bringing them home to, Gov'nor? Texas-style minimum-wage jobs or no job at all? The unemployment rate for vets is already higher than the civilian population--over 13% for Iraq and Afghanistan vets alone.)

Stop echoing President Obama and devise your own plan. Right we see that you really don't have one.

If it had been possible to just pack the troops up and put them on planes home, I believe this president would have done it. I believe he wanted to and still wants to. Unfortunately,even a president sometimes has to yield to the wisdom of military minds when it comes to troop movement. He can request and suggest, but the military still has to go through a readiness process for deploying and re-assigning troops.

Evidently you didn't ask your former buddy what exit plan he had in mind when he got us into these two wars. If you are just going to continue the plans of the current president--gradual withdrawal-- be honest and say "The current president has a gradual withdrawal underway. It seems to be working, so I'd go along with that and keep his withdrawal going."

What would be your incentive to bring them home more rapidly? Border patrol? Crowd control at home when the citizens realize you are serious about Social Security and Medicare changes and sending the country to the two classes of people that existed before the New Deal?

[Bill M NY]

03:19 PM on 09/13/2011

"If it had been possible to just pack the troops up and put them on planes home, I believe this president would have done it. I believe he wanted to and still wants to. "

I disagree. If he wanted that he would not be starting fights in Yemen and Pakistan.

[Teeninchee]

04:15 AM on 09/15/2011

You have a good point. Well I didn't say he wouldn't be starting fights elsewhere.... and I guess he didn't either. :(

[Kat Posing]

12:37 PM on 09/13/2011

OK, so the GOP is going from we're not gonna leave until we win the war to todays message from Perry saying "he believed that the U.S. should continue to have a "presence" in Afghanistan, but that it was time to start transitioning responsibility over to the Afghans"

Now, if I recall correctly, President Obama already said he was going to start withdrawing troops last June:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/22/obama-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal_n_882451.html

President Obama already said pretty much the same thing Perry is now saying. So, does this mean that Perry is AGREEING with President Obama? And so did Huntsman?

OOOOOOHHHH!!!!! Now either a couple of Republicans are in trouble, or they are going to go into the way-back machine and claim they said it first!

[Willowset]

01:14 PM on 09/13/2011

Too bad, but all these politicians say pretty much the same thing in regard to the wars.