Biden as Vice-Pessimist

Filed in National by on October 14, 2009

Interesting article in the NY Times regarding Vice President Joe Biden’s role in the White House in regards to Afghanistan.

Mr. Biden does not favor abandoning Afghanistan, but his approach would reject the additional troops sought by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and leave the American force in Afghanistan roughly the same, 68,000 troops. Rather than emphasize protecting the Afghan population, he would accelerate training of Afghans to take over the fight while hunting Al Qaeda in Pakistan using drones and special forces. His view has caught on with many liberals in his party.

Biden goes further in his thinking that we are focusing on the wrong country. (Note, the debacle in Iraq is something our troops are paying for every day. The fact the Bush/Cheney took their eye off the ball is still a horrendous mistake.)

When Mr. Biden visited Afghanistan in January for a third time, he returned increasingly convinced that America’s national interest lay in Pakistan. With fewer than 100 Qaeda fighters left in Afghanistan, he reasoned, the nation was investing disproportionate resources in the wrong country.

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Comments (13)

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  1. Kilroy says:

    “but his approach would reject the additional troops sought by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and leave the American force in Afghanistan roughly the same, 68,000 troops”

    So Biden would just send more Prozac for the troops and say suck it up!

    “Westmoreland requested a further 200,000 troops to add to the existing 550,000. President Lyndon B. Johnson refused and in March, 1968, announced he was seeking peace talks with North Vietnam. Westmoreland was replaced by General Creighton W. Abrams in 1968.”

    Thank you for your service Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal. I wonder if Biden will seek peace talks with the terrorist?

  2. RICO says:

    In any other administration this would be viewed as a policy trial balloon.
    Here it is just the half-wit Biden blovating.
    Rahm must be thrilled that Joe slipped out of his muzzle again.

  3. delacrat says:

    Can’t finish the two wars we’ve got? Start a third !

    So reassuring to know we have such a foreign-policy moron, a heartbeat away from the president.

  4. Kilroy says:

    “Joe slipped out of his muzzle again.”

    That’s the part of Joe I love! But keep him away from the nuke button. Scarface Biden, say hello to my little friend!

    Hey Joe, why don’t you send Arne Ducan over there with his 4.5 Billion dollar stimulus package called Race to the Top. Perhaps he can simulate the terrorist into make peace. We’ll call it Race to the Desert.

  5. nemski says:

    Damn, with all the rightwing hatred of Obama, I forgot how hated Biden is by some in Delaware.

  6. Kilroy says:

    Comment by nemski
    “Damn, with all the rightwing hatred of Obama”

    What you talking about Willis? I voted for Obama and Biden. I think I have very right to criticize those I elected to office. I wonder, did Jason get a fair vote when booted off DL 🙂

  7. Harvey Firestein says:

    “Comment by delacrat on 14 October 2009 at 10:58 am:

    Can’t finish the two wars we’ve got? Start a third !

    So reassuring to know we have such a foreign-policy moron, a heartbeat away from the president.”

    Reminds me of when I hear those fat-fucks at the bar stating with all certainty that they could lead the Eagles better than McNabb.

    The silliness is thick.

  8. delacrat says:

    Harvey,

    I gather you’d prefer a victory in Pakistan, Iraq and everywhere over Single-Payer Healthcare.

    What’s up with that?

  9. Harvey Firestein says:

    false choice…why not both?

  10. delacrat says:

    Why not both ?? What’s good about killing people ?

  11. Well, Vice President Live Insurance Policy once again gives a reminder to patriotic Americans why they should pray Barack Obama makes it through his term of office in perfect health.

  12. RICO says:

    Troop funds diverted to pet projects; $20M for Ted Kennedy institute…

    http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/15/troop-funds-diverted-to-pet-projects/

    Among the 778 such projects, known as earmarks, packed into the bill: $25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

    While earmarks are hardly new in Washington, “in 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year,” said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer who worked on defense funding and oversight for both Republicans and Democrats. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information, an independent research organization.

    Money for the Kennedy Institute was inserted by Mr. Inouye and Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat.

    – $25 million inserted by Mr. Inouye for the Hawaii Federal Health Care Network.

    Mr. Inouye had a total of 35 earmarks worth more than $206 million in the final bill, and the ranking Republican on the committee, Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, sponsored 48 worth $216 million.

  13. John Manifold says:

    The “new WW2 museum?” Another lesson why not to trust Sun Myung Moon’s Washington Times. Maybe the editors were watching yesterday’s mass wedding.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/four-weddings-the-moonies-prefer-20000-1802837.html

    The World War II Museum opened in 2000. If that’s new, I have a new Chevy for sale.

    No funds were “diverted.” They were appropriated for these and other worthy projects. The Moonie Times ejaculates over a seed grant of $20 million for the Kennedy Institute, a civic education project. That equals 1 hour, 41 minute of the costs of our cakewalk in Iraq.