We voted to end the wars...

[Subdivisions]

So, when are they supposed to end?

[Richardo]

1. If you voted for President Obama, you voted for escalation in Afghanistan

That was a campaign promise he repeated - very plainly - many many times. Troop drawdown to commence June 2011. Based on the pace of the Iraq drawdown, you can figure two years to get all the troops out.

As for Iraq, the drawdown continues per the Status of Forces Agreement of 2008, to reach zero troops by December 31, 2011.

[Make7]

2. Perhaps he didn't vote for President Obama. ( n/t )

[Richardo]

4. Hence my qualifier.

[Subdivisions]

6. If you would pay attention, you would know for whom I voted. n/t

[saigon68]

3. And the killing goes on unabated in both places

It will soon be time to take to the streets again

[Subdivisions]

5. So, you voted for escalation in Afghanistan? n/t

[Richardo]

9. That was part of the package, agree with it or not.

I voted for him, so yes. I'm not surprised or gobsmacked or feeling betrayed because he's doing that he said he would.

Am I happy about it? No, but I'm not kidding myself that I was somehow 'voting to end the wars'.

[Subdivisions]

10. Well, the President doesn't vote on funding the war, Congress does. And we voted

for Congress to END THE WARS. And I would like to know when that is going to happen.

[ThatPoetGuy]

8. Indeed.

It continues to surprise me how many people thought they were voting for a liberal.

I voted for Obama in the election as a lesser evil, and also because I thought that maybe, just maybe, he could reintroduce civility into American discourse. Maybe, just maybe, he was right about reaching across the aisle.

He was wrong. Working with the Republicans has been an unmitigated disaster. I hope he realizes this and changes course.

[Subdivisions]

11. How does the President fund the wars? Did we not vote in a Dem majority

whose #1 task for which they were elected was to defund and stop the wars?

[frylock]

12. that is soooooooooooo 2006..

cmon now! embrace the war now that the dems own it. it's the sensible thing to do.

[Subdivisions]

13. They've had four years to get it done and yet here we are, still bankrupting

our nation to continue to enrich the MIC.

[dflprincess]

15. Remember, Subdivisions,

if you voted for Obama you are not allowed to disagree with a single, solitary thing he does. :sarcasm:

Of course, he also said he opposed insurance mandates. I don't know why, seeing as he went back on that, we can't expect him to change his mind about Afghanistan.

[JoePhilly]

18. Not why I voted for the Dems ....

I knew Obama would increase troops in Afghanistan. Understood that and I accepted it. McCain was ready to stay in Iraq for ever and invade Iran for grins.

I live in NC and I voted against Liddy Dole. Easy choice there.

And I voted for "Dems" across the board because, on total, I prefer their overall agenda to that of the GOP. The current GOP is nuts. And perhaps the single biggest issue is that they can not be allowed to have power ever again.

I'm not a one issue voter, never have been.

Here is a simplified version of how I think about it.

Let's take 10 or so key issues. Then, for each issue, you give the GOP and the Dems points that reflect your level of agreement with them. You do this for each issue, and then tabulate the results. When I do this, the Dems far exceed the GOP.

I also look to see if the GOP wins on ANY specific issue ... in the last 10 years, they have yet to win one. Now in 2010, its not even close.

[bvar22]

16. Obama WAS clear about his intentions in Afghanistan:

He stated he would increase troop strengths by 3 brigades (about 15,000 troops) to pursue Al Qaeda in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan.
THAT troop increase and mission WAS achieved early in 2008 with little controversy or protest from The Left..

However, Obama's "SURGE" of an additional 30,000 combat troops plus additional Mercenaries, and the expansion of the WAR MISSION to include targets inside Pakistan were NOT a part of Obama's campaign.

Obama himself acknowledges that his "Surge" goes over and above anything he "campaigned on" in his statement about the Wikileaks.

"But he (Obama) went on to say that the material, which catalogues a series of blunders, revealed the challenges that led him to announce late last year a change in strategy that involved sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan."

Those of you telling The Left that they "should have paid closer attention during the campaign", should have paid closer attention during the campaign.

[ThatPoetGuy]

17. I'm sorry, but I'm The Left

and I knew Obama was going to do the wrong thing in Afghanistan. Because I paid closer attention.

If, on one occasion, he committed to 15,000 troops, it doesn't change the fact that on many other occasions he gave no such numerical limit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08text-obama.html">"We will finish the job -- we will finish the job against Al Qaida in Afghanistan."

During the Democratic primaries, Obama clearly staked out a position to the right of the rest of our candidates, even Hillary. It made me want to weep when so many liberals convinced themselves he was one of us. He's not, he made it clear he's not, and I came to accept that.

[jobycom]

7. I would have.

That option wasn't offered me. The best we got was a promise to maybe bring the troops in Iraq home in 18 months under a "best-case" scenario, and a reminder that Iraq had never been a "best-case" scenario.

[FiveGoodMen]

14. We'll need a viable third party before we have any hope of ending the wars

Neither the Dems nor the pukes have any intention whatsoever of stopping the killing.

[flvegan]

19. I voted for Kucinich.

Still feel really good about it.

[scheming daemons]

20. Obama *IS* ending the Iraq war.... and he's doing exactly what he campaigned on in Afghanistan

As the other poster said... if you voted for Obama, you're getting EXACTLY what you voted for.


End the war in Iraq... check


Escalate the war in Afghanistan... check




You can disagree with these positions all you want... but it *IS* what he campaigned on. He didn't deceive you.

[L0oniX]

21. I voted for Obama knowing that he would continue the war but I don't agree with it.

It's the ol' lessor of 2 fucked up choices, and I agree with Gore Vidal in his continuing exclamations of both parties being under the same sociopathic controllers. I await the growth of the progressive party to the point where we will be bigger than the repukes and DLC, dino and centrist Dem's. Until then I will continue to vote Dem across the board.