Arianna was a guest on MSNBC's Morning Joe today to discuss President Obama's speech last night explaining his plan to escalate the war in Afghanistan.
She debated Jane Mayer of the New Yorker about Obama's decision to order a surge of roughly 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Mayer argued that critics of Obama should realize there are no easy options on the table, and that advocates of withdrawal will not be held responsible the way that Obama will be if something goes wrong or there is another attack by al Qaida. Arianna countered that criticism of Obama's war escalation plans is coming from across the political spectrum, from Tom Friedman to Keith Olbermann to George Will, and is about what's in the best interests of the nation.
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Obama has announced plans to begin withdrawing troops in July 2011, but Arianna argued that the proposed drawdown means little since it is "contingent on conditions on the ground." Asked by host Joe Scarborough if she thought this was a continuation of George Bush and Dick Cheney's policies, she replied, "Absolutely."
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