[QUOTE](CNN) -- U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 if Afghans want them to, Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday.
President Barack Obama has announced plans to begin withdrawing some troops from Afghanistan this July, with all U.S. combat troops scheduled to be out of Afghanistan by 2014.
The United States does not intend "to govern or nation-build" as that "is the responsibility of the Afghan people and they are fully capable of it," Biden said Tuesday, according to a journalist traveling with him.
"We stand ready to help you in that effort ... after 2014," the vice president said.
Biden's comments Tuesday come a month after he told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the United States would be "totally out" of Afghanistan by 2014 "come hell or high water."
In November, at a conference in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen signed a long-term partnership agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai under which "NATO will stay as long as necessary to support Afghanistan until it can no longer become a safe haven for terrorism."
NATO and non-NATO nations with troops in Afghanistan agreed then that Afghan security forces would increasingly take the lead on security operations in Afghanistan beginning early this year.
In the interview with "Meet the Press," Biden drew comparisons to the U.S. military's presence in Iraq. He noted that the United States had followed through on an agreement with Iraq to withdraw combat troops from cities, then elsewhere. Simultaneous to the troop withdrawals, the U.S. helped strengthen Iraq's government and transferred more responsibility for security to Iraqi forces.
At the conference in Lisbon, Biden said, the United States told its allies that the United States would follow a similar path in Afghanistan.
"That's exactly what we did at the recent Lisbon conference, the NATO conference, where we said, 'We're starting this process, just like we did in Iraq,' " Biden said. "'We're starting it in July of 2011, and we're going to be totally out of there come hell or high water by 2014." [/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/01/11/afghanistan.biden/index.html[/url]
It's a start... Should have been done long ago.
The afghans don't want them to stay. America's government does.
oh no we're not.
Kind of ironic considering how a lot of people voted for Obama assuming war [sp]Apparently, only in Iraq[/sp] was going to end.
That was a clever play by Obama, I must say. "I think we should stop the war." .."In Iraq.'
Saying nothing about increasing the war effort in Afghanistan.
they been in afghanistan for like ever
[QUOTE=RoflKawpter;27350873]The afghans don't want them to stay. America's government does.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't be so sure about that. While there are many who would like to see America completely gone, lots of citizens (reportedly) are still scared that the Taliban could return if U.S. forces do not remain in Afghanistan until their own army is completely built up. I would have to agree with this sentiment, because it's either we wait 3 more years, or potentially waste the 10 years we've already been there.
But to be honest it would do them some good to have America backing them up I know people from Afghanistan that lived there during the mid 80's and 90's and recently have went back and claimed it is much better than living under the fear of the Taliban. I'm glad that that country has gotten back on it's feet.
Its easy to justify the war in Afghanistan by saying that we're bringing democracy to the country. If this is completely true.. Why Afghanistan? What about all the other shitholes run by ruthless tyrants?
Oh for fucks sake
[QUOTE=MovingSalad;27350968]Its easy to justify the war in Afghanistan by saying that we're bringing democracy to the country. If this is completely true.. Why Afghanistan? What about all the other shitholes run by ruthless tyrants?[/QUOTE]
Don't worry. They are next.
[QUOTE=MovingSalad;27350968]Its easy to justify the war in Afghanistan by saying that we're bringing democracy to the country. If this is completely true.. Why Afghanistan? What about all the other shitholes run by ruthless tyrants?[/QUOTE]
"They hit us first. So we're gonna force democracy on them. They did it to themselves!"
[editline]11th January 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Shadow Core;27351000]Don't worry. They are next.[/QUOTE]
For God's sake, I truly hope not. American needs to stop "spreading democracy" and focus more on home issues.
I like how 2 giant nations couldn't defeat Afghanistan/terrorists/whatever
[QUOTE=SilverHedgehog;27351040]I like how 2 giant nations couldn't defeat Afghanistan[/QUOTE]
We were never at war with Afghanistan. We were at war with the insurgent factions among Afghan.
[QUOTE=MovingSalad;27350968]Its easy to justify the war in Afghanistan by saying that we're bringing democracy to the country. If this is completely true.. Why Afghanistan? What about all the other shitholes run by ruthless tyrants?[/QUOTE]
Because Afghanistan has a fucking fuck load of oil, that's why.
[QUOTE=Ermac20;27350903]they been in afghanistan for like ever[/QUOTE]
Afghanistan is America's longest war, disregarding Vietnam.
I think we should withdraw earlier. Save us a few trillion dollars by not spending on a war effort.
[QUOTE=SilverHedgehog;27351040]I like how 2 giant nations couldn't defeat Afghanistan[/QUOTE]
They don't want to. You really think America would get their asses kicked by a bunch of silly cunts with rusted weapons? My fucking ass. They would've carpet bombed the entire place if they wanted to defeat Afghanistan.
[QUOTE=Shadow Core;27351069]We were never at war with Afghanistan. We were at war with the insurgent factions among Afghan.[/QUOTE]
The Taliban was the government of Afghanistan.
We are at war with the Taliban.
We were at war with Afghanistan.
It's de facto.
[editline]11th January 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=RayDark;27351105]They don't want to. You really think America would get their asses kicked by a bunch of silly cunts with rusted weapons? My fucking ass. They would've carpet bombed the entire place if they wanted to defeat Afghanistan.[/QUOTE]
Carpet Bombing isn't used anymore.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;27351111]The Taliban was the government of Afghanistan.
We are at war with the Taliban.
We were at war with Afghanistan.
It's de facto.
[editline]11th January 2011[/editline]
Carpet Bombing isn't used anymore.[/QUOTE]
It was to get the point across.
[QUOTE=SilverHedgehog;27351040]I like how 2 giant nations couldn't defeat Afghanistan[/QUOTE]
Not to mention, this is minor war participation this is America just using the Taliban to test new weapon technology, look what has come about in this war. The unmanned Drones have gotten much better and deadlier America uses these factions as test dummies for new weapon development.
[QUOTE=SilverHedgehog;27351040]I like how 2 giant nations couldn't defeat Afghanistan[/QUOTE]
To be fair, in the Soviet-Afghan War, the Afghans were fueled by American weapons and cash.
And in this new American-Afghan War, the Taliban and other militants are hiding in other nations such as northern Pakistan.
What do you mean couldn't defeat Afghanistan? The Taliban was running for the hills before we even got there, and any resistance was crushed instantaneously. The insurgency is all that is left, and we've been dealing with that quite well actually.
[QUOTE=Explosions;27351253]What do you mean couldn't defeat Afghanistan? The Taliban was running for the hills before we even got there, and any resistance was crushed instantaneously. The insurgency is all that is left, and we've been dealing with that quite well actually.[/QUOTE]
But not quite well enough to withdraw before 2014, let alone 2003...?
[QUOTE=MovingSalad;27350902]Kind of ironic considering how a lot of people voted for Obama assuming war [sp]Apparently, only in Iraq[/sp] was going to end.
That was a clever play by Obama, I must say. "I think we should stop the war." .."In Iraq.'
Saying nothing about increasing the war effort in Afghanistan.[/QUOTE]
Or the increased drone strikes on Pakistan that only ever seem to hit civilians.
I feel like we're creating more terrorists than the Taliban/al Qaeda combined, by destroying people's homes and lives and families. If you destroy a 16-year-old girl's entire immediate family, her home, and any opportunity to support herself, she's probably not going to mind earning money from terrorists or blowing herself up--I can't imagine dying would seem so bad once you have nothing, and it's a safe out for them under the laws of their religion.
And yet people still deny that occupation breeds hatred.
This is not a war perpetuated by religion. It's all Political..
[release]"We are soldiers who devote ourselves to arms not for the invasion of other countries, but for the defense of our own, not for the gratification of our private interests but for public security" - Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene[/release]
What happened to those days...?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;27351292]But not quite well enough to withdraw before 2014, let alone 2003...?[/QUOTE]
We are not staying there in order to defeat the insurgency. Our purpose of being there is to protect the new government and allow the Afghan army to train and develop.
[QUOTE=MovingSalad;27351324]This is not a war perpetuated by religion. It's all Political..[/QUOTE]
In some cases, like this, religion and politics get merged into one horrible gob of shit.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;27351338][release]"We are soldiers who devote ourselves to arms not for the invasion of other countries, but for the defense of our own, not for the gratification of our private interests but for public security" - Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene[/release]
What happened to those days...?[/QUOTE]
If only.
[QUOTE=MovingSalad;27350968]Its easy to justify the war in Afghanistan by saying that we're bringing democracy to the country. If this is completely true.. Why Afghanistan? What about all the other shitholes run by ruthless tyrants?[/QUOTE]
I can understand Afghans not understanding why we invaded their country, but really...? You don't know why the US and it's allies invaded them? They didn't do it for a laugh.
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