“Don't kid yourself. President Obama's decision to withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan before he stands for reelection is not driven by the United States' 'position of strength' in the war zone as much as it is by grim economic and political realities at home.” WarStatesHomeRealityKidsPoliticalPresidentDecisionUnitedUnited StatesEconomicPositionDrivenZoneAfghanistanPresident ObamaTroopsGrimWar ZonesReelection Author:Ron Fournier
“President Obama has said that our aspirations should be realistic. We are not going to turn one of the poorest countries in the world, that was plunged into 30 years of war, into an advanced, industrialized, Western-style democracy. What we want to achieve is Afghanistan's capacity to secure and govern itself.” WorldWantShouldYearsSaidWarCountryTurnsPresidentDemocracyAchieveStyleCapacityWesternSecureAspirationRealisticAfghanistanPresident ObamaPoorest Author:David Petraeus
“Not a good night for President Obama. He lost elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and he's not doing good in Afghanistan either.” NightLostPresidentElectionAfghanistanPresident ObamaJerseyDoing GoodVirginiaNew JerseyGood Night Author:Jay Leno
“After 9-11, the President had a historic opportunity to unite Americans and the world in common cause. Instead, by exploiting the politics of fear, instigating an optional war in Iraq before finishing a necessary war in Afghanistan and instituting policies on torture, detainees and domestic surveillance that fly in the face of our values and interests, President Bush divided Americans from each other and from the world.” WorldWarFacesValuesOpportunityCausesPresidentInterestCommonPolicyIraqTortureDividedAfghanistanHistoricPresident BushSurveillanceFinishingOptionalDetainees Author:Joe Biden
“I recommended to the president [George Bush] that our focus had to be on al-Qaida, the Taliban and Afghanistan. Those were the ones who attacked the United States of America on 9/11.” StatesAmericaPresidentUnitedUnited StatesFocusAlsAfghanistanUnited States Of AmericaTaliban Author:Colin Powell
“The president is being denounced for not taking the kind of pre-emptive action in Afghanistan that he has been so passionately denounced for taking in Iraq. Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.” IfsKindDoeHas BeensActionLiteraturePresidentIraqAfghanistan Author:Ferdinand Mount
“I applaud President Obamas decision to begin a partial withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan. However, I believe that we must go further and have a full withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops.” BelieveI BelievePresidentDecisionCombatAfghanistanPresident ObamaTroopsWithdrawal Author:Susan Bysiewicz
“I don't know anyone who is more admired and respected in the international community than President Karzai, for his strength, for his wisdom and for his courage to lead this country first in the defeat of the Taliban and now in rebuilding a democratic and unified Afghanistan. And I can tell you I am with foreign ministers and with heads of state all over the world. I sit in the councils of NATO. I sit with the EU. I sit with people all over the world and there is great admiration for your president and also for what the Afghan people are doing here.” PeopleKnowsWorldFirstsI CanCountryStatesPresidentCommunityDemocraticDefeatInternationalMinistersAdmirationAfghanistanCouncilTalibanNatoUnifiedInternational CommunityAfghanHead Of State Author:Condoleezza Rice
“The president made clear when he was a candidate for this office and when he took this office, that unfortunately prior to his taking office, because of the focus on Iraq, and the U.S. efforts there, that the original war, if you will, in Afghanistan had been neglected, the strategy there was unclear, and that it was not properly resourced.” IfsMadeWarPresidentEffortClearFocusOfficeOriginalsStrategyIraqCandidatesAfghanistanNeglectedUnclear Author:Jay Carney