Former Vice President Dick Cheney tonight joins a chorus of critics who say President Barack Obama is taking way too long to decide whether to send another 40,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
Cheney, no fan of any of the current administration’s foreign policy initiatives, prodded the White House to fulfill the president’s promise to give the U.S. armed forces a clear mission in Afghanistan and to do it now.
“It’s time for President Obama to make good on his promise. The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger, ” Cheney said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Center for Security Policy, a Washington think-tank.
“Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission,” Cheney said.
Cheney also refuted what he said was a complaint by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel that “the Obama administration had to start from scratch to put together a strategy.”
“The new strategy they embraced in March, with a focus on counterinsurgency and an increase in the numbers of troops, bears a striking resemblance to the strategy we passed to them,” Cheney said.
“Now they seem to be pulling back and blaming others for their failure to implement the strategy they embraced. It’s time for President Obama to do what it takes to win a war he has repeatedly and rightly called a war of necessity,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Obama said he could reach a decision on a new strategy before the outcome of Afghanistan’s presidential run-off on Nov. 7 And he pushed back against critics who accuse him of vacillating.
“We are going to take the time to get this right,” Obama told MSNBC.
“We’re not going to drag it out because there is a sense that the sooner we get a sound approach in place and personnel in place, the better off we’re going to be. But we also want to make sure that we don’t put resources ahead of strategy.”
For more Reuters political coverage click here.
Photo credit:Reuters/Joshua Roberts (Cheney speaking on national security in May)
Trackback
27 comments so far
Previous | 2 | 1 | Next
Mr. Cheney, Have you no honor? I thought that when Bush stole the election back in ‘01 that at least he would have wisdom provided by you. I trusted you to guide the idiot in the proper ways…boy was I wrong and now you stand up there commenting on a man that is trying to undo the mess the you and your administration got us into. Please, step back you’ve done enough.
- Posted by maxine oishiObama will make no decision till after the November elections,the democrats are on the ropes in the 2 governors races,and he is worried that if is forced to send more troops his lefty loones will stay at home on election night sucking their thumbs.
- Posted by brian leeIMHO, it is a miracle that a Department of Homeland Security which has managed to include small children and legislators on its no-fly list HAS NOT included Cheney, Limbaugh or Beck. (Die-hard conservatives may attribute this to presidential ineptitude.
- Posted by Bob WaltonHEY THIS IS THE SAME GUY WHO SHOT HIS BUDDY WHILE HUNTING AND DID NOT REPORT IT!THIS IS THE SAME GUY THAT TORTURED PEOPLE (IN GITMO) THIS IS THE SAME GUY THAT HELPED HIS BOSS LOSE CONTROL OF HIS COMPANY WHY DO REPORTERS GIVE HIM AIRTIME ANYWAY HE HAS DONE ENOUGH W/ AMERICA HE SHOULD SAY I AM SORRY FOR BEING AN AWFUL vp
- Posted by LIFEINTHEOBXDear Mr. Cheney,
We barely hear two words from you for the eight years you were in office as the 2nd most powerful man in the free world. Now that you’re out, you can’t seem to shut up with your wholly negative criticism of the current administration, warranted or not.
Newsflash: You had your chance to do something positive. Instead, you were an integral part as to why this country’s in the position/state it currently is in - on the domestic homefront, as well as worldwide.
Gee, thanks.
Sincerely,
- Posted by CMSMiddle-Class America
Our children
Our children’s children
When does Dick Cheney leave the building - forever? Referring to “success in Iraq” and sitting on an approval rating that is below double-digits makes one wonder why the mainstream media still consider his musings worthy of the extensive coverage they’re awarded. Please pull the platform - and maybe then Mr. Cheney will finally disappear.
- Posted by RD LeckyDoes the former vice president want to make a run for president?
OH I almost forgot he is the knuckle head who got us there in the first place.
He needs to take a back seat in the mountains and do what he does best …
- Posted by Philippe