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Nickdfresh
07-02-2010, 07:56 PM
GOP chairman: Afghan 'war of Obama's choosing'
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 19 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Republican chairman Michael Steele drew criticism from within his own party Friday, including calls to resign, after saying the 9-year-old commitment of U.S. troops to Afghanistan was a mistaken "war of Obama's choosing."

As criticism swelled, Steele issued a statement stressing his support for U.S. troops, but he did not acknowledge his factual error about a war launched by former President George W. Bush in response for the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

For Democrats, looking at a difficult environment ahead of November's midterm elections, the gaffe was an opportunity to test their strategy of attacking the GOP with its members' own words.

Conservative Bill Kristol, writing for The Weekly Standard, was among the first to say Steele should resign.

"There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan, and they're certainly entitled to make their case," wrote Kristol, a consistent supporter of the Afghanistan war. "But one of them shouldn't be the chairman of the Republican Party."

In remarks captured Thursday on camera and posted online, Steele criticized President Barack Obama and his handling of the Afghan war and suggested the war cannot be won.

"If he's such a student of history, has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? All right? Because everyone who's tried, over a thousand years of history, has failed," Steele said. "And there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan."

Republican officials confirmed Steele made the comments at a Connecticut fundraiser, which was closed to the news media. The remarks, at odds with members of the Republican Party, were caught on camera and posted on the Internet.

"This was a war of Obama's choosing," Steele said. "This is not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."

The United States and allies overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban government after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. The war lagged as the United States shifted its focus to Iraq, but Obama shifted the focus to Afghanistan and planned to send 30,000 more troops to the country.

Looking to mitigate the political fallout, Steele issued a statement saying, "There is no question that America must win the war on terror. ... And, for the sake of the security of the free world, our country must give our troops the support necessary to win this war."

He said, "The stakes are too high for us to accept anything but success in Afghanistan."

Steele's comments came as Obama's new chief in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, arrived in the country Friday to take over the war. Obama last week dismissed his previous commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, because of disparaging remarks he and his aides made about administration officials in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Steele called the dismissal "very comical" but said it shows the frustration members of the military have with Obama.

Erick Erickson, the editor of the popular conservative website RedState.com and an opinion driver among younger Republicans, also called for Steele's ouster.

"Michael Steele must resign. He has lost all moral authority to lead the GOP," Erickson said.

RNC spokesman Doug Heye said in a statement that Steele "clearly supports our troops but believes that success of the war effort in Afghanistan requires the ongoing support of the American people. The responsibility for building and maintaining that strategy falls squarely on the shoulders of the president."

Democrats, who earlier in the week pounced when House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio compared Democrats' efforts at Wall Street overhaul to using a nuclear weapon to deal with an anthill, were clearly in campaign mode ahead of November, when voters will pick 37 governors, 36 senators and the entire 435-member U.S. House. Every time a conservative figure questioned Steele, Democratic operatives highlighted the division to reporters.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said it was "simply unconscionable that Michael Steele would undermine the morale of our troops when what they need is our support and encouragement. Michael Steele would do well to remember that we are not in Afghanistan by our own choosing, that we were attacked and that his words have consequences."

Steele has been prone to gaffes that have enraged congressional Republicans. In the last year, he predicted the GOP won't win House control this fall. He also drew GOP ire when he criticized fellow Republicans in a book that party leaders didn't know he was writing until it was published. His GOP critics were irked further when he told them to "get a life" and "shut up."

Earlier this year, his oversight of the RNC was called into question because of lavish spending, including money to entertain donors at a lesbian bondage club in Los Angeles. That incident led to the departure of a key Steele adviser, the party's finance chief and the top committee staffer.

Yahoo.com (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100702/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_republican_chairman_afghanistan)

ELVIS
07-03-2010, 12:11 PM
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:elvis:

HarrySchwartz
07-03-2010, 02:46 PM
PHILIP ELLIOTT is a pole smoker just like ELVIS is.

George Bush started this unnecessary war.

The BCE is responsible for this.

Log off the computer ELVIS and leave your basement you fucking dingbat. No one likes you here.

ELVIS
07-03-2010, 03:11 PM
Grow up and dump the silly alias, asswipe...

bueno bob
07-03-2010, 10:43 PM
Well, I find myself kinda half agreeing with Michael Steele. While it's certainly not "Obama's War" (as at least one or two previous administrations have had their hand in the Afghanistan cake), casual glimpse of history will reveal that nobody can bring a lasting, secure victory (i.e. U.S. controlled puppet government) to that type of environment. The land is just not designed to support it, the citizens aren't used to that sort of governmental control and have no use for it. You can't patrol it properly, you can't secure it properly...this is not rocket science...Michael Steele is not a genius for saying the obvious...

Should he resign over it? Meh. There are far worse things he could have said. Demanding his resignation over calling it a war of Obama's choosing is kinda stupid and reaching, IMO.

But I do agree that nobody likes Elvis. Well, other than Yngwie Malmsteen.

BigBadBrian
07-04-2010, 10:12 AM
PHILIP ELLIOTT is a pole smoker just like ELVIS is.

George Bush started this unnecessary war.

The BCE is responsible for this.

Log off the computer ELVIS and leave your basement you fucking dingbat. No one likes you here.

Shutup you dickwad troll. Elvis has legions of credibility beyond what you do. Like anyone else, I don't agree with him all of the time, but he's several notches up from you: you are one who obviously feels the need to hide behind an alias, Nick/Lounge/Bueno Boob.

BigBadBrian
07-04-2010, 10:14 AM
[B][SIZE="3"]
Conservative Bill Kristol, writing for The Weekly Standard, was among the first to say Steele should resign.

"There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan, and they're certainly entitled to make their case," wrote Kristol, a consistent supporter of the Afghanistan war. "But one of them shouldn't be the chairman of the Republican Party."[/I]

Agreed.

Of course, I felt he should have resigned when the night club/stripper thing came to light.

kwame k
07-04-2010, 12:50 PM
I guess the GOP is throwing shit out there to see what will stick come Nov's mid-terms. Americans have a memory like a gnat so it's not a stretch to think people will actually believe that Obama actually started the war in Afghanistan.

The Repukes are so far adrift that I wonder if they'll be able to come together as a cohesive party for the mid-terms. They have the golden opportunity to gain the majority but with zero leadership and the nonsense these morons are spewing...........they'll more than likely shoot themselves in the foot.

Nickdfresh
07-04-2010, 04:57 PM
I also agree with many of Steele's points. But calling it "Obama's War" is like he's had his head up his ass for the last decade...

bueno bob
07-05-2010, 04:10 PM
you are one who obviously feels the need to hide behind an alias, Nick/Lounge/Bueno Boob.

Ain't me. I don't have need of an alias to point out that you're a dumbfuck a few times a month.

Dumbfuck.