January 20, 2008

Iraq – Bad, Afghanistan – Good.

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jim @ 12:24 pm

We all know the positions of the top three democrat presidential candidates (assuming John Edwards is not toast) on Iraq. They have made themselves very clear in their speeches, during debates and on their respective websites. Their position is surrender. It’s just a question of how fast.

Oddly enough, while they hate the war in Iraq they all claim support for the war in Afghanistan. Indeed, to one extent or another, they all have advocated increasing troop strength in Afghanistan.

In a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars last August, Senator Clinton said:

I have been one of those who from the beginning have said we never put enough troops into Afghanistan, and we should’ve stayed focused on wiping out the Taliban, and finding, killing, capturing Bin Laden and his chief lieutenants. Now we’re playing some catch up. But Afghanistan is critical, because it is in an arena where the Afghan people are real allies, their government is working hard, they are trying to build an independent, strong military, and we cannot let them fail.

See also here.

Senator Obama, in distinguishing his position on Iraq from his position on Afghanistan, has stated, “I thought our priority had to be finishing the fight in Afghanistan.” See also here.

John Edwards has urged sending additional Special Forces Units into Afghanistan.

Their position is consistent with that taken by Senator Kerry (i.e. more troops in Afghanistan) and Nancy Pelosi, who has called for “redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq so that we can focus more fully on the real War on Terror, which is in Afghanistan.”

Pardon my confusion here.

How does supporting the sending of more troops to Afghanistan square with the argument from those who oppose the war in Iraq that sending American troops into places like Iraq simply spawns new and nastier terrorists? Why wouldn’t sending more troops into Afghanistan have the same effect?

If routing out terrorists and killing them is a good thing in Afghanistan, why is it a bad thing in Iraq?

If the war in Afghanistan is the real war on terrorism, what is Iraq? A cocktail party?

Is there any doubt that if, heaven forbid, there is an increase in the number of American casualties in Afghanistan, these sunshine patriots will wave the white flag there as well? To ask the question is to answer it.

The thought that one of these people may become the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and the Leader of the Free World is downright frightening.

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