First off -- Yes, I realize that our postings and updates have been pretty much non-existent this year... I apologize (as I'm sure Pete does too!). I will try to make more time to write for 2010!
Now, on to the post!
Today, the Senate is conducting a hearing in discussion of the President's war strategy in Afghanistan, which he outlined last night in a speech before West Point cadets and a national television audience.
You can "watch" updates of the hearings posted here by the Washington Post online.
It seems that most of the questioning by Republicans in the Senate, led mostly by John McCain, center around the idea of having a date set to begin withdrawing troops. McCain says it "makes no sense" to have a date to withdraw.
I guess I am just a bit puzzled by this line of reasoning. In any endeavor when we are setting goals for ourselves, don't we typically attach those goals to a target date by which time we would like to have those goals accomplished? Why then would we not want to attach our goals in a war to a date? The questioners seem fixated on this date... and keep trying to get the witnesses to downplay the significance of it... But, really, what is the big deal?
The way I see it, we have certain goals we want to see accomplished there. We set a date by which time we want to have those goals accomplished. IF we have reached those goals, we begin the withdrawal of our troops.
And even then, the plan calls for the START of withdrawal. Nowhere has it been said how long this drawback will take. In fact, Defense Secretary Gates even says elsewhere in the hearing that he suspects there will be a "continuing presence" of US troops which will stay there to help with training, etc (just not combat).
McCain contends that there can't be a both a date set for withdrawal AND having the withdrawal set to conditions on the ground.
I really don't see why not. Anybody care to explain why it isn't possible to have a deadline in mind as to WHEN these goals should be accomplished? Doesn't setting a timeframe create a sense of urgency to achieve those goals, rather than leaving them open-ended?
Apparently this just doesn't make sense to the Senate.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
A withdrawal date sould be somewhat like an unadvertised sale. If you know that your heart's desire is going to go on sale on January 1 of any given year, I am certain you wouldn't purchase it on December 31, you would wait until the "Advertised Sale" date. We can have a plan without broadcasting it to the entire planet.
I could agree with you on that, if we lived in an age when news didn't travel around the world at the speed of light.
How many times have decisions been made which were "secret" or "classified" yet we still hear about them due to an unidentified source leaking to the press.
We are GOING to know about it one way or the other. And just because we set a date and a plan doesn't mean that plan can't be changed or modified due to changing circumstances.
Post a Comment