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| Afghanistan |
| Anti-War Groups Compare Obama's Af-Pak Plan to Kennedy's Vietnam Escalation |
| 2009-03-27 |
| Peace Action, an anti-war coalition that has enlisted four Democratic and four GOP members of Congress in an effort to dissuade President Obama from sending more troops to Afghanistan, just invoked an ominous historical analogy to describe today's new White House war plan. I bet you thought he'd compare Obama to Bush. You'd be wrong. Kevin Martin, executive director of the anti-war alliance, said in a statement: "It's a shame President Obama believes he can pursue the same militaristic strategy as his predecessors and produce a different result. While President Obama has made some good statements on increasing diplomacy and economic aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the emphasis is clearly on military operations. John F. Kennedy was in a comparable situation when he was elected. He chose to escalate then as well, and the consequences of his decision left our country mired in an unwinnable war." Peace Action is organizing local protests against the escalation of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, starting in early April. This could be fun. Pass the popcorn. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Extra butter with that, Steve? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-27 23:01 |
| #6 I'm not part of an anti-war group and I've been making that same comparison for some time. One key difference though - Vietnam logistics were infinitely easier. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-03-27 22:15 |
| #5 That didn't take long. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-03-27 21:45 |
| #4 These anti-military nit-wits couldn’t conceptulize world diplomacy if their hemp togas depended on it. Anytime you see the word “Coalition” associated with these groups you can bet they’re getting their marching orders from the likes of MoveOn.org. It is pretty simple formula really. Admonish Obama but make sure you blame Bush. Then repeat the same talking points. 1). One only has to look at the examples of the British and Soviets to realize that America’s fate in Afghanistan will end similar to Vietnam. 2). America’s mere presence has turned the Afghan people against us and has only strengthend the Taliban. 3). Afghanistan can’t be won by the military alone. Therefore a diplomatic strategy must include a regional coalition that includes Iran and Pakistan. 4). Afghanistan is too remote for terrorists to train for sophisticated attacks anyway. 5). Leave it to the local tribes and Moderate Taliban for stability until a central government can take over. Time will tell if this is really Obama’s master plan. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-03-27 17:51 |
| #3 but but the chosen ONE wouldn't do anything bad |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-27 16:36 |
| #2 Hey! I thought Kennedy was one of the "good guys"? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-27 15:43 |
| #1 It seems to be taking some time for the anti-war mongers to realize that Obama is the enemy. Faster, please. Each group in the Democrats coalition need to reassert their own viewpoints. The election is past, the future is division. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-03-27 15:25 |