Five US Troops were killed today in Afghanistan. How much longer are you willing for large numbers of troops to remain there?

Qualifying my 1-2 year answer...

There needs to be an aggressive plan established and executed. The heck with humanitarianism, this is war. We need to engage the enemy and take no prisoners. There should be no mountain ranges left if we do it correctly.

Pull out all the stops and GO!

Part of the plan needs to exclude media and politicians from the war zone.

sikovt: Ditto. Enough said.

That's the entire problem, "LARGE" is not there. We need more, go in and wipe them out and leave. This is turning into another Vietnam thanks to the "Commander in Chief".

Go to this link, www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=505775 and you will see that lawyers are now making the rules for our soldiers. They are not allowed to send in help when our soldiers are in trouble. We all know the taliban hide among the civilians, so the lawyers have decided that we should not shoot when cornered, in case there are civilians. I do not want to kill or harm civilians and I don't think our soldiers do either. But where they were getting some assistance from locals, they have now stopped. It is a free ticket for taliban to do what ever they want and our men and women are now in harms way, due to lawyers dictating how we fight a war. I say, if that is how our government wants to set the rules, bring our men and women home. They are true hero's fighting to protect us and this is how we treat them? Shame on all of you elected officials. No one has the courage to step up and protect our men and women, cowards.

AMEN, sikovit!

There must be civilian casualties in any war. Even if they were not civilians the Taliban would say they were because they know we are such wimps we'll back down. We'd rather let our own young men and women die than kill them! It's always an innocent wedding party that was killed...
Do you think the Taliban gives a d*** if civilians are killed? They don't care about their own people!

Our elected dictators have forgotten that we are supposed to be represented by civilians that represent us rather than dictate to us. It has gotten out of hand. We need more Tea Parties! We need to vote out every incumbant in office and push for term limits. People like Ted Kennedy should not be in office their entire lives. Did the man ever have a job? Has Mel Watt ever had a job? Are we sick of the lies? Broken promises?

I continue to ask WBT not to serve simply as a conduit for biased media reports from CBS and CNN, but rather to acknowledge the fact that we, the listeners, are knowledgeable as to when we're hearing the whole story and when we're hearing apparently purposefully lacking reports of our war efforts. When was the last time we heard a CBS or CNN report on WBT from Afghanistan on our troop's efforts in the combat zone...what missions have we been on...how successful have we been at killing Al Queida and Taliban forces....what estimates do we have on the number of enemy killed....what is the plan to win the war...the records of those actions are being kept and I would bet the "media" is getting a briefing daily at the Pentagon...but no, we're not hearing any of these details on WBT before 9:00am....we hear the constant drone of the number of our heroes who were killed the previous day that has the purposeful effect of giving a desired impression that this war is in vain...I would ask WBT again to report on the successful efforts of our fighting forces as well as the losses we take, rather than the current method they are using...it is one sided, biased, and we know it. And its really useless after you've spent months reporting in this method to again report on the misrepresentation you've created with poll results from CBS. Luckily, now we have an alternative for news before 9:00am...and that's America's Morning News on 1600 am...maybe they will tell the whole story.

Obama considers the TB forces here in the US (Tea Baggers) a greater threat!

I am tired of seeing American soldiers and resources spent in a country half way around the world. We have to be willing to recognize that enough is enough and get out of Afghanistan. This is Vietnam all over, and Obama is making the same mistake Johnson made. Get over your pride and get out while you can!

Kathy,
I assume you have no pride, if you want others to get over theirs!

Ask ONE soldier returning from A-stan, if they want to get over their pride!

Total annihilation of the idiots lair that took out WTC, and American lives would make it anything BUT another Vietnam. The media helped us fail in Vietnam, much the same as they are now!

Your comment is another reason women shouldn't leave the kitchen!

We need to keep our goal in mind: Prevent an attack on America. Is fighting a massive war in Afghanistan the best way to achieve that goal? I submit that we are more likely to achieve our goal if we focus on getting support in the region and put pressure on Pakistan to go after Al-Qaeda in the tribal areas. Going big and bold is always easy, but being smart and small is the better strategy in this region.

What? Kathy is saying Obama is making mistakes? How sacrilegious of her! Enough kidding Kathy, she does have a point though. As a Viet Nam veteran I have to agree that it is time to leave. It is time to leave if we are not going to fight a war. If we have to fight with restrictions that basically ties our hands behind our backs. I remember restrictions on us in Viet Nam that contributed to our soldiers being killed while allowing our enemies free access. This has to stop! Yes, the civilian government has the responsibility for the war, but the conduct of the war should be left to the military. If we are not going to fight to win, then we must leave. We should use all of our resources to kill, maim and demoralize the enemy!

A long protracted war is not tolerated by a Democracy. The people will not allow a war that drags on and on to last indefinitely while war casualties pile up. We have installed a corrupt government in Afghanistan just as we did in Viet Nam and are now paying the price. We failed the political side of the war with the inept leadership of Donald Rumsfield and now we are losing on the military side with the indecision of the current president and his liberal advisers.

In recent weeks four terror plots against our own homeland have been uncovered and arrests made. How many more are there that we do not know about? The Bush administration has failed to protect our borders and the Obama administration continues the same idiotic policies of open borders and illegal immigration. What is it going to take to awaken the people of the dangers on our own soil? How many American deaths will it take before our government has the courage to do what is necessary without regard to special interest groups such as La Raza and the Muslim American Society? We will not be attacked from the outside, but from within. Just look at the methods of operation that they are using in other parts of the world. It is not invading armies that they are using, but terrorist tactics, suicide bombers, and systematic killings of local leaders. Do I have all the answers? No! But it is quite obvious to me that our government doesn't either!

I bet these bleeding heart liberals would have called for a complete surrender after all the deaths on D Day. The way to win this war and get out is simple, keep the politicians out of it, do not set rules for our troops. If they are in danger let them shoot first and ask questions later. How many empires have failed in this region simply because they tried to nation build? This is becoming another Viet Nam simply because Washington tries to fight a collateral damage free war. Maybe Kathy is coming arround, she finally admits that her socialist in chief is making a mistake.

Get the job done and get out! We've been there long enough...end it.

Brother sikovit, you are BOLD indeed! I.M.Dem, I agree, big and bold is always easy and I am all in favor of things being easy. Kathy, whats for breakfast?

sikovit, pride is the worst of all deadly sins. Swallow it.

We went into Afghanistan using all of the weapons at our disposal short of going nuclear. Remember the "cookie cutter" bombs and the devastation they caused in the countryside? Now that was a pretty site! We went in with guns blazing and the Taliban took off running. Then, instead of trying to find a local leadership that would be tolerant if not friendly with the west we installed Karzai and his corrupt government. A weak leadership that could not unite the tribal regions of Afghanistan because we wanted a democracy. When do we realize that not all societies are capable of being ruled as democracies? Democratic forms of government in a feudal society only allows for the most powerful to seize power and legitimize a dictatorship. Look at Cuba, Palestinian Gaza, Iran and Venezuela among others. Now we want to fight a war while insuring that there are no civilian casualties even while putting our own soldiers are in danger. What are we thinking?

Pride: A reasonable or justifiable self-respect, delight or elation arising from some act, possession or relationship.

The worst of all deadly sins? I don't think so!

Kathy,
The deadly sin of pride references love of self, not Country. It also talks to one's inability to acknowledge the good work of others.

I am proud of my Country, and I acknowledge the good work of all US Soldiers fighting to defend this great Country,for my right to blab on this blog, for my family to live without fear of homeland terrorism.

Get back in the kitchen...take off your shoes, and if anyone should swallow...well enough said!

Senior citizen,
I salute you for your service and your great opinion posted above!

I am so glad to see others believe soldiers should fight a war not lawyers. Tara read that article from an "investors" magazine. An investor's magazine! Not CBS, CNN, WBT, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, Fox but an investors magazine. How sick is that? Our own media will not report anything contrary to the politicians. Yes, get out and vote! That will hurt them more than any thing else. And Tea Parties, what ever it takes to get our voices heard. Enough is enough, we are mad as **** and we aren't going to take it any more!!!!

Loafer, read the Bible, if that is a book of authority for you.

Al must think our soldiers are very angry. After all, they carry (and use!) bullets.

(For those who didn't catch it, reliable lefty loon Al decided record bullet sales were an indication of national "anger" earlier today.)

sikovit, your interpretation of pride is too narrow. Read some scholarly work on the seven deadly sins, and you will find that pride is at the root of the other six. I won't suggest any references for you, but I trust you can find several very quickly.

I vote leave now. I very much believe we should be hunting down Al Quida, but our commander and chief does not share the belief. He has moved the war on terror into the courts, thus trivializing this as just crime. Kennedy changed our laws to let American haters into our country by the millions, and there is no willingness to change that, so we have terrorists at their supporters here at home. We let detainee bombers go from Gitmo, and prosecute intellegence officers. Now when we capture somebody on the battlefield the first thing we do is to read them their rights. We are now unsuccessful in bomber interogations. We announce there is no victory in Afghanistan and we screw our Eastern European Allies who are helping us there thus alienating our allies and the Afghan Army. We adapt a policy of not firing back, calling in airstrikes or artillery supprt so our marines get caught in set up ambushes. You can't fight a war this way, so why waste our son's lives for a useless venture? This has become Obama's Viet Nam. I hate lack of resolve wars.

Kathy,
Focus on the subject of the poll... don't change the subject! You must work for the Observer...Distraction from relevance seems to ooze from your posts, always.

jdb, you must understand, Al listens to the liberal media, and absorbs the distorted biased views. Chris Matthews is the one equating bullet sales to hate, and now it is being repeated by every liberal outlet. There is a great deal of anger out there about irresponsible government, but the real reason for bullet sales is a great deal insecurity for our future. Most gun owners believe the Obama governement will very soon restrict their ability to own a gun and buy ammunition. There is good reason for this belief, and the way our constitution has been ignored and trashed, we are without protection of our rights. Also, I have heard over and over again by various people, ammo will be the wampum of the future when it's sale is outlawed and the dollar becomes hyperinflated.

Kathy and IM Dem,
I think you have failed to remember the other problem with the Taliban, and this has been reported in main stream media. They are attacking Pakistan.. Pakistan has nukes. The last thing we need is for these crazy lunatics to get hold of those things. We need to finish the fight and get home, but our great commander and chief is failing to read the reports that an actual general has given him suggesting more troops or failure. He is bending to the will of a congress who probably has 0 years in strategic battle planning. They've already tied the troops hands there by not allowing them to fire unless they are sure where the target is and that there are no civilians in the way. The Taliban knows this and is slowly and surely killing our troops using tactics that constantly keep civilians in the line of fire. The Democrats either need to pull the plug, let the Taliban take back over and get hold of the Pakistani nukes so they can cause even more devastation, or they need to finish the fight and give the generals the troop surge and other supplies needed to win the war. We are running out of AMMO over there thanks to congress refusing to fund resupplies. So tell me, what's your solution? Let the Taliban focus on getting the Pakistani nukes and save our troops lives. Or fight the good fight and free Afghanistan from the oppressive rule that the Taliban will drop on them, otherwise.

That first option sounds great doesn't it? Lets pretty much hand a group of extremists hell bent on destroying western culture a couple nukes so that we can save 1000 lives. How many do you think they'll kill with the first bomb? How about how many children will never grow up due to radiation poisoning? What about cancer in the surrounding areas.. Still sound like a good idea?

Kathy I'm sure that you reference the bible when it suits you and at the same time I would bet that you support abortions on demand and support the ban on religion in schools as well as the ban on displaying the ten commandments on public buildings.

I don't accept the premise of seven deadly sins, therefore it does not affect my values nor color my opinions. I don't quote the bible or the Koran nor any other religious text. My opinions are based on my experiences and my own thought processes and I am not led by the beliefs of others as you so obviously are.

jdb, I agree that the notion that we must be an angry nation because we are buying guns and bullets is plainly foolish. We are not buying those items because we are angry. We are buying them because we have come to the realization that the governments police force can no longer insure our safety. The justice system has continually sided with the criminals insuring that their rights not be violated without regard to the rights of the victims.

Soon we will be buying even more guns and bullets to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government. We are not advocating revolution, but protection. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a FREE State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Loafer, I am against abortions. I am also against a ban on religion in schools and against a ban on displaying religious artifacts on public property. I use the bible as a helpful tool to make me think, but I do not take it literally. Just like the US Constitution.

sikovit, you made the assumption I had no pride, so I just wanted to educate you and provide you with another perspective on pride. I had already answered the question in my first entry.

Everybody, I would like to make an annoucement: I would like to congratulate loafer for finally making kathy admit to not caring about the constitution. Of course, we all knew this as a truth but today she finally @#&$ed up by saying the following: "I use the bible as a helpful tool to make me think, but I do not take it literally. Just like the US Constitution."

Congrats Loafer!!

Will, it took no prodding or verbal trickery to get me to say that I do not take the US Constitution literally. I see it as a guide that is interpreted by the courts within the cultural context of a given time. As such, the US Constitution is a living document similar to how we are living beings. We constantly change our shape, size, look, feelings, actions and responses. Much of that change is in response to changes in our environment. Yet, we remain the same person our whole life. The US Constitution is no different. It will always be the US Constitution, but the environment within which it exists, the culture, constantly changes, and so the interpretation of what the document says has to change. When the cultural change is significant enough, we amend the Constitution, but generally we just rely on the US Supreme Court to tell us what the Constitution means.

Will, by the way, its"announcement", not "annoucement".

Kathy...
Distraction from relevance seems to ooze from your posts, always.

I digress thoughtfully, but not with you.

Kathy, If todays Americans knew their history better, they would realize how wise the Founding Fathers were, and that we depart from their principles of governance at our peril. Nevertheless, I think the founders themselves would agree with the left that times change, and so do constitutions. That is why they included a provision in the Constitutiom for amending it. WE must take caution however when corrupted polititions appoint activist judges that would disregard or reinterpret the constitution based on their own passions or beliefs instead of going through the amendment process. Take the second amendment for example, it should be clear to any rational and prudent person that it acknowledges the right of individuals to keep and bare arms whether we like it or not (I personally think its great). Our constitution is written in clear and simple language by very wise men who gave much consideration to our future and to say that it is "living breathing" should not mean that it can be changed at the point of a gun or by whim of judges and politicians. The constitution is the supreme law of our land so how can one not take it literally? The bible is a different story, I can't say that I believe that a virgin gave birth. So crucify me.