Washington (CNN) — President Obama has informed several top diplomatic and military officials about his decision regarding new U.S. strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.
Obama called Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday to tell her about his decision, Gibbs said. The president later met in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, top U.S. Middle East military commander Gen. David Petraeus and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, among others.
Obama also informed his top military commander in Afghanistan — Gen. Stanley McChrystal — and Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to Kabul.
Obama gave orders to implement the new strategy during the Oval Office meeting, Gibbs said.
On Tuesday, Obama will travel to West Point, New York, to announce his decision on a request by McChrystal for up to 40,000 additional troops.
Obama is expected to send more than 30,000 U.S. troops and seek further troop commitments from NATO allies as part of a counterinsurgency strategy to wipe out al Qaeda elements and stabilize the country while training Afghan forces.
Gibbs said the president’s West Point speech will explain why the United States is involved in Afghanistan, the new American mission in the war-torn country and the process that led to Obama’s decision.
It should be an interesting speech.
I hope President Obama isn’t thinking that this will gain him any support from the war mongers on the right. It won’t.
Posted by Len on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 6:28 pm CT in General
If one is curious as to why the United States is rapidly failing as a nation, one need only check the priorities of our mainstream media.
I had the pleasure of watching The CBS Evening News this evening. Their lead story was about a pampered billionaire who threw a tantrum at oh-two-thirty in the morning and ran his 2009 Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor’s yard. Their second story was about four police officers who were gunned down execution-style as they sat in a coffee shop on a Sunday morning preparing to begin their shifts.
It is good to see that we have our priorities in order, isn’t it?
Posted by Len on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 2:53 pm CT in Humor, Politics
I am sure that you are by now aware of all the fuss being made about Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the couple who crashed the state dinner given by the Obamas in honor of the Indian prime minister this past Tuesday evening.
Nobody was actually ever in any danger, despite what the media would have you believe. These people passed through about a thousand times more security checks than you will ever pass through getting on an airplane. I am sure that a few people will lose their jobs over this, as well they should. Somebody was definitely slacking off. But there was no chance that these party crashers were going to harm anybody.
What I find difficult to believe is that she spent five hours in a salon to get her hair to look like that.
UPDATE: The Salahis are now trying to sell an interview to the television networks. The really sad thing is that some network (likely FOX) will pay them their asking price (reportedly in the half million dollar range).
Posted by Len on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 10:57 am CT in Politics
From the White House weblog:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Given the holiday, we are releasing the President’s weekly address today. In this video, President Obama calls to our attention the men and women in uniform who are away from home sacrificing time with family to protect our safety and freedom. He also talks about the progress of health care reform, the Recovery Act, and job creation to ensure that next Thanksgiving will be a brighter day.
Watch the video of the President’s address below or read the full text, as prepared for delivery, after the break.
Click below to listen to the audio only:
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Posted by Len on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 10:45 am CT in General
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the States. I hope y’all are able to spend some time with family, friends and loved ones — or at the very least someone you kind of like a little. If you’re lucky enough to feast out, take a few moments to remember those who aren’t so lucky.
Now, representing our right wing Republican friends…
Posted by Len on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 10:15 am CT in Politics, Republicans
If there is one thing the conservatives are very, very good at, it is revising history. We have all known that for some time and got further proof of it last night. George W. Bush’s last press secretary, Dana Perino, went on Sean Hannity’s show on FOX News and flatly stated that we did not have a terrorist attack on the United States during President Bush’s term. Not only did Mr. Hannity not correct her, he didn’t even blink when she said it. Watch the video…
“We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term.”
So there you have it, folks, straight from the mouths of the Bush administration and FOX News. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 did not happen. The conservatives have once again changed our history. Live with it.
(Oh, and our current president is a terrorist sympathizer. Live with that, too.)
Posted by Len on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 11:36 am CT in Politics, Republicans
There was a great piece on 60 Minutes last night…
It would be wonderful if we could have a serious discussion about this in this country, but it isn’t going to happen as long as the Republicans can get their base all worked up with screams and lies about death panels, rationed care, and pulling the plug on grandma.
Posted by Len on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 11:50 am CT in Humor, Politics
Saturday Night Live showed us last night exactly what will happen in 2012 if The Alaskan Joke is somehow elected to the presidency. (It will never happen, of course, but it’s good to have advance warning just in case.)
UPDATE: Also from last evening’s SNL, Al Gore explains to Seth Meyers how he is going to “out crazy” the crazy:
