Gates: July 2011 Not An Afghanistan ‘Exit Strategy,’ But A ‘Transition’
Appearing on This Week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the plan for Afghanistan is not properly called an exit strategy. “Well, first of all, I don’t consider this an exit strategy. And I try to avoid using that term. I think this is a transition,” said Gates. He further explained: “Well, from my standpoint, the decision in terms of when a district or a cluster of districts or a province is ready to be turned over to the Afghan security forces is a judgment that will be made by our commanders on the ground, not here in Washington.”
Feingold: Stopping Afghanistan Surge Will Be Difficult, ‘We’ll Do Whatever We Can’
Appearing on This Week, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) said he would do what he could to fight the Afghanistan troop surge. “And what’s going to happen here is that it’s probably going to be difficult to stop it now. We’ll do whatever we can,” said Feingold. “We’re already working with members of both parties in both houses to question whether this funding should be approved. We’re going to fight any attempts to use sort of accounting gimmicks to allow it to be funded. If there’s an attempt to have an emergency supplemental, I think that’s something we’re going to oppose, not only on the grounds of it being an unwise policy, but also being fiscally irresponsible.”
Hillary Clinton: ‘We’re Not Going To Just Aid And Abet Bad Behavior’ In Afghan Government
Appearing on Face The Nation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States will not support corruption in the Afghan government. “We’ve looked at every civilian assistance program and contract and we’ve said, ‘Look, we’re not going to just aid and abet bad behavior,” said Clinton. “Part of the challenge here is to begin to make the more difficult, complicated assessments that were not made before.”
Petraeus: ‘Success’ In Afghanistan Will Mean They Can Secure Their Population
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Gen. David Petraeus defined success in Afghanistan. “Well, we define success as — in Afghanistan, which has security forces that can see to the security of their population,” said Petraeus, “and then governmental structures, many of them traditional, to be sure, but governmental structures that can see to the needs of their population as well. And of course, that’s what we will endeavor to help the Afghans achieve, especially now with the additional resources that have been committed.”
Jones On Bin Laden: ‘We’re Going To Have To Get After That’
Appearing on State of the Union, National Security Adviser James Jones called for a greater effort to find Osama Bin Laden. “The best estimate is that [bin Laden] is somewhere in North Waziristan — sometimes on the Pakistani side of the border, sometimes on the Afghan side of the border,” said Jones, who also added: “And, we’re going to have to get after that to make sure that this very, very important symbol of what al Qaeda stands for is either once again on the run or captured or killed.”
Karzai Calls For Patience: ‘If It Takes Longer, Then They Must Be With Us’
Appearing on CNN, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for patience if his country were to end up not being ready to take control of its security in July 2011. “We will try our best as the Afghan people to do it the soonest possible,” Karzai said. “But the international community must have also the patience with us and the realization of the realities in Afghanistan. If it takes longer, then they must be with us.”
McCain: ‘The Rationale For War Is To Break The Enemy’s Will’
Appearing on Meet The Press, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticized President Obama’s plans to exit from Afghanistan after the upcoming surge. “Well, the rationale for war is to break the enemy’s will. That’s the whole rationale for war,” said McCain. “Do you break the enemy’s will by saying, ‘We’re going to be there,’ or send a message we’re going to be there for a year and a half or so and then we’re going to begin to leave, no matter what the circumstances are? Or do you tell them, ‘We’re going to win and we’re going to break your will, and then we’re going to leave?'”
McCain: ‘I’m Entertained’ Every Time People Attack Palin
Also during his Meet The Press appearance, Sen. John McCain praised his former running mate Sarah Palin — and heckled the people who attack her. “I think that Sarah Palin is a — has earned herself a very big place in the Republican political scene. I’m proud of her,” said McCain. “I am entertained every time I see these people attack her and attack her and attack her. She’s irrelevant, but they continue to attack her.”
