Former Vice President Cheney has expressed his frustration with Obama’s indecisiveness on whether or not he will send thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan. Cheney has accused Obama of “dithering” on the decision, while the lives of thousands of our soldiers already serving there are at risk.
Cheney said in his speech last Wednesday night that Obama needs to do “what it takes to win” and that “signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our enemies.”
It didn’t take very long for the Democrat pig pile on Cheney to begin.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, retorted “What Vice President Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public. I think we’ve all seen what happens when somebody doesn’t take that responsibility seriously”.
Gibbs continued, “given the fact that an increase in troops sat on desks in this White House, including the Vice President’s, for more than 8 months, a resource request filled by President Obama in March.” (Gibbs was referring to the resource request filed by the previous top U.S. Commander, Gen. David McKiernan, to President Bush last year, which was partially granted by Obama this year).
Jack Reed (D-R.I.) chimed in that “Republicans have developed a troubling pattern of blaming President Obama for trying to fix all the problems that they created.”
(Way to contribute to the debate there, Jack. Yep, that comment sure was productive.)
“I think President Obama is entitled to take sufficient time to decide what our long-term role ought to be in Afghanistan” chimed in Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn). “I want him to take the time to get it right”.
Alright, now let me see if I have this straight…
Obama and his lackeys, who have been trying to push his “health care reform” through the Congress and down our throats as quickly as they can, without even allowing time for the Congress (or ourselves) to even read through the more than 1,500 pages of it, continuously gives dire warnings that we are “running out of time” against some invisible deadline.
Yet when it comes to sending aid and reinforcements to our troops, who are under constant threat every day of being shot at, or worse, blown up by either an IED or by some fanatic hell-bent on getting his 72 virgins, he should get to take “sufficient time to decide what our long-term role ought to be in Afghanistan”, as Alexander quoted.
Do I have this right? Am I in the ballpark here?
Are you serious?
President Obama has his priorities backwards.
You’re supposed to be taking your time and carefully analyzing your health care reform, not when you’re making the decision to send our troops the reinforcements they need. The health care reform will permanently affect the vast majority of our nation’s health care if it’s passed. We need to make sure that this is done right the first time, not ram it through just to see how it works. For that matter, we need to decide if this plan is even acceptable to begin with, not just focusing on how it’s going to be paid for. This is what we need to, as Alexander quoted, “take our time and get it right” on.
Shouldn’t this be part of Obama’s “solemn responsibility to the American public”?
On the other hand, with military matters, you need to be able to make decisions quickly. Every day counts. Every day, more troops’ lives are lost while the President ponders (or as Cheney would call it, “dithers” on) his decisions. These are clear and present dangers that the troops face. How we’re going to do long term health care is probably the last thing on their minds right now. They’re much more concerned with what’s going to happen in the short term; like if that guy over there wearing the heavy jacket really is chilly, or if he’s hiding something sinister under it.
I know what some of you liberals are thinking…
“We need to concentrate on what’s going on here, not fooling around overseas! I need my health care now!”
Let me assure you that here in the U.S., even the worst off among you are much better off than any of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We can take our time with the health care debate. Our troops don’t have that luxury.
Sources:
White House Rejects Cheney’s Afghanistan Criticism: Jennifer Loven and Ann Gearan, Associated Press Writers, 10/22/09