Jack & Jill Politics

Update From Jill: The White House is denying this report, FYI. From TPM:

The White House is forcefully denying reports that President Obama has settled on the number of troops to send to Afghanistan.

Several stories in recent days have suggested he has made a decision and cite specific troop levels.

Officials have dismissed those as inaccurate, but tonight the White House is sending out a rare statement from National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones:

“Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources.”

hat tip – DailyKos

From CBS.com

(CBS) Tonight, after months of conferences with top advisors, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for Afghanistan. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that the president will send a lot more troops and plans to keep a large force there, long term.

The president still has more meetings scheduled on Afghanistan, but informed sources tell CBS News he intends to give Gen. Stanley McChrystal most, if not all, the additional troops he is asking for.

McChrystal wanted 40,000 and the president has tentatively decided to send four combat brigades plus thousands more support troops. A senior officer says “that’s close to what [McChrystal] asked for.” All the president’s military advisers have recommended sending more troops.

I can’t say strong enough how much I believe this is a bad idea.

YES, we never should have left Afghanistan to go into IRAQ.

But, it was done. And, Afghanistan was left to rot for 7 years.

Even if we had gone into Afghanistan full force in 2001, I doubt we could have won.

Now, some 8 years later,no I don’t think we can ‘ win’. Afghanistan is unlike many other countries in that part of the world. They don’t have an educated middle class society. They are a series of tribes, led by tribal leaders. I believe it’s a mistake; we should bring our troops home. The window for ‘ victory’ is gone, and now, we’re throwing bad money after bad in a situation that can’t be won, even if he gave McCrystal everything he wanted. MAYBE McCrystal could have done something with a serious force in 2001, but now?

We need to be terrified about Pakistan.

Hasn’t anyone in the White House watched ‘ Charlie Wilson’s War’?

That hellhole of a country swallowed the Soviet Union, and we’ve already thrown away nearly 1 TRILLION in Iraq, and what do we have to show for it?

Bring the troops home.

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lamh32 posted this:

November 9, 2009
WH denies Afghan decision made, as tensions flare with Pentagon
Posted: November 9th, 2009 08:11 PM ET
From CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry

Washington (CNN) – White House National Security Adviser Retired Gen. Jim Jones issued a rare public statement Monday vehemently denying media reports suggesting President Obama has privately decided to send close to 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, as tensions between the White House and Pentagon appear to be flaring up over exactly what the president will announce.

“Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false,” Jones, who generally keeps a low public profile, said in a prepared statement Monday night. “He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources.”

The statement was issued shortly after CBS News’ veteran Pentagon Correspondent David Martin reported that Obama has “tentatively decided” to send four more combat brigades to Afghanistan and several thousand more support troops starting early next year. That would bring the total number of new troops to close to the 40,000 figure originally requested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Two other senior administration officials flatly told CNN that the CBS report and other similar speculation is false. The Associated Press reported Monday that Obama is “nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though not quite the 40,000 sought [by] his top general there.”

The two senior administration officials suggested the information is being leaked by Pentagon sources who are trying to box Obama in by setting public expectations that he will send close to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan as McChrystal requested.

“People at the Pentagon are trying to force a certain outcome,” one of the senior administration officials told CNN.

Both senior administration officials insisted Obama has not made any decision on troop levels in Afghanistan, noting the President has another meeting with his national security team on Wednesday to receive a final set of recommendations from the Pentagon brass. The senior officials said the president could not possibly make a decision on troop levels before even receiving the Pentagon’s final recommendations.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday it’s “doubtful” Obama will announce a troop decision before he leaves for a trip to Asia on Thursday. It’s considered unlikely Obama will make such an announcement during his trip to Asia, which is largely focused on economic matters and separate diplomatic issues like North Korea’s nuclear program.

Obama is scheduled to return from Asia on Friday November 20 after stops in Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea. Officials have suggested the President could announce a troop decision sometime shortly before or after Thanksgiving, though Gibbs has vaguely said the decision will be revealed in “coming weeks” so as not to be pinned down.