If you were president, how long would it take you to end the war in Afghanistan?

[AnArmyVeteran]

And while you're at it, how long would it take you to close Gitmo and end DADT? Please be precise, as in years, months, weeks, days or minutes.

[hlthe2b]

1. practically? a lot longer than I would like...

I'm critical about all three, but with the exception, perhaps, of DADT, I'm not sure any can be reversed without putting some major steps/plans in place.

Let the flames begin. I'm certainly not happy these three issues continue...

[jonnyblitz]

3. there probably isn't a graceful way to exit and that's why we

should never start wars so easily to begin with. as a Vet this PISSES me off because it shows total disregard for the lives of the troops as if we were fodder and expendible for political expediency.

[hlthe2b]

8. yes...

sadly.. that IS the point.

[RKP5637]

15. I've always noticed those often that love war and wave flags have never

served and have never experienced first hand the horrors of war. George Bush comes to mind with his fake manly man gait and HIS wars. And here we are ten years later with this F'en mess and lives in danger, those dead and those maimed for the rest of their lives.

And I feel so sorry for those youth mislead into these wars with a sense of doing it for their country, and/or economic despair and the war profiteers toast to the hoards of money made off death.

[Voltaire]

2. As quickly as I could comandeer enough passenger jets

to get my people out. Leave the equipment and leave the guns, and let those people blow themselves away if they want. 2 weeks max, I would be flying flights nonstop to get my people out. There is no justification for either of those so-called wars and no excuses for them either.

Voltaire - A Navy Vet

[Wwagsthedog]

20. +1

[gateley]

4. I'm always the first to admit that although it seems so simple to us, the realities

are far different.

What I would like is more communication as to the status on these projects -- just reassurance that progress is being made.

[Cant trust em]

5. Smiple answers for complicated problems. nt

[JackRiddler]

18. More often the contrary: Complicated "answers" to avoid solving simple problems.

[Oregone]

6. I don't know how far away each person is from transport

And how many planes it would take to fly everyone and equipment out...


It would take me 5 minutes to issue the order to withdraw.


Would that be reckless? Sure. Is every minute they stay there reckless and endangering life? You bet your ass it is.

[Voltaire]

7. Yup

Because all this stuff about how complicated it would be is nonsense designed to keep us there. Give the order, leave your ammo, grab your shit, get to the LZ and get on that plane. Period. Kids are getting killed for a bunch of crap thought up by a bunch of chickenshits that have no intention of ever seeing a war zone or having any of their greedhead children see it either. End the war like yesterday, no more needless deaths and no more fucking excuses.

[DebbieCDC]

9. As quick as I could sign the orders - that fast.

[Catherina]

10. From announcement to completion, 6 months n/t

[Blue Owl]

11. cold fucking turkey

Our country is gaining NOTHING from this war.

[zipplewrath]

12. Fairly fast

Iraq, probably would have been about 9 months.

Afghanistan is a bit more complicated because it is really the Af/Pak region and I would have consolidated along the border in support of the Pakistan so that it couldn't be used as a haven/transfer point for Al Queada and the Taliban. They'd have to pick a country and stay there. But that consolidation would have been somewhere in the 3 to 6 month time frame.

DADT is "easy" in that I would have let the generals have all the time they wanted to figure out how to pacify the bigots, but the investigations and explusions would have ended immediately. And when congress overturned it anyway, they'da had a day to figure it out.

Gitmo is a bit harder, because they misjudged the opposition. I would have basically told Holder to figure out what kind of trials we could have held, and held them. Within a year everyone would have been stateside, even if in a federal prison awaiting the end of their trials. If congress got in the way, I'd probably have approached the courts to "allow" trials.

[Dulcinea]

13. In a perfect world...

...I'd end it in about 5 minutes. We need the money for jobs & health care at home.

Realistically, hard to say. But I like Voltaire's idea of leaving the guns, etc. there & getting our troops out.

[FrenchieCat]

14. This question is above my pay grade to answer.

I will be the first to admit,
that the level of knowledge that I have in reference to this,
is tiny....and is based only with what I want to see,
not necessarily what is actually happening.
I know that I didn't run for President precisely because
that is not a job that I think I am qualified to handle,
and so I'll be damned if I pretend to know the answers
to hard question that have no easy answers,
except for in the minds of those who are arrogantly so sure
they know, when the greater truth is that they really don't know....
not really.

[Scuba]

16. 5 minutes to issue the order, 30 days to get out.

[JackRiddler]

17. Gitmo and DADT? Same hour.

The DADT thing would kind of go lost as I'd be announcing an intent to close half the military bases and shift half the Pentagon budget to energy/transport infrastructure conversion, a disaster response force and a radical jobs program for teachers in the next US budget.

All Gitmo detainees get immediate review with an eye to releasing the vast majority who didn't do anything to countries willing to take them, with damages. There is no category of "enemy combatant," there are criminal defendants and POWs. Anyone kept would become a criminal defendant in a US jurisdiction. A prosecutor would be appointed to investigate all charges of torture starting with the legal architects.

Afghanistan, I'd convene a joint conference of all of the nations involved with an Afghan loya jirga to determine the terms under which the US gets out by the end of the year, and whether or what replaces them. The leaving would happen on deadline regardless of result. I would seek to assign the full budget for a year's worth of military occupation to a UN escrow account, payable as development grants in increments to the first Afghan government recognized as properly elected by international observers. Whatever comes out of it is likely as not to be better than the carnage we're committing and the mess we're creating by being there. Prosecutor appointed to investigate all charges of contractor abuses and of US financing/arming both sides in the conflict. Not to mention a lot of other things that need investigating, starting with the Cheney energy talks and the back-channel negotiations with the Taliban back in early 2001.

Any other questions? Would you like me to fix the Drug War for you?

[JuniperLea]

19. I don't have enough information to answer that...

And quite frankly, I don't think anyone at DU has that information either.

Extricating troops in a heated area is probably very tricky. Striking camps and stowing gear surely takes some time. Then there's the logistics of getting thousands of people on ships heading home.

I don't think it can happen very quickly, but I sure wish it could!

[SunsetDreams]

21. this +1

I wish we could be out tomorrow, but realistically, I know that can't happen.

[mdmc]

22. For Gitmo & DADT = ASAP / for cut and run = never

we should have never gone in.. now we pay until we are no longer a superpower..