Liberals are, predictably, outraged that Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan. The thought of winning a war apparently infuriates them — and they wonder why we call them traitors. They always claim to be worried about the troops, they don’t want soldiers to die… but I wonder how many of them ever stopped a Marine or a soldier and asked them if they were willing to die for their country, if they wanted to fight in Afghanistan, and if they thought it was their duty. I can tell you that most of the men and women in the military would answer yes to all of the above. But of course, liberals won’t ask soldiers what they think about deploying, fighting, and dying. They don’t really care about the military. It’s all about their own, twisted selves more than anything else.

And with that, let’s dive into the liberal reaction to Obama’s speech, shall we? (As always when we’re dealing with liberal bloggers, caution for language.)

One DUmmy commenter brought out the draft line, always a popular one:

I have an 11 year old nephew. I’m afraid when he is 18 he will be drafted and sent to fight and die in fucking Afghanistan. If Obama is re-elected my nephew will be 18 when Obama leaves office. Obama has given no indication that he has learned the lessons of Vietnam. I have no reason to expect anything different.

I am SOOOOOOO hoping there is a viable Dem candidate to oppose Obama in the next primaries.

There’s no evidence that a draft is even being considered, but hey, don’t let that stop your paranoid delusions, right? Liberals need a reason to oppose this war, because nothing could ever possibly be worth fighting and dying for to them — and especially not protecting an awful country like the United States.

Chris Matthews actually called West Point the enemy camp. Yes, really:

Another DUmmy claimed that this was all a grand conspiracy cooked up by Cheney and McChrystal… or something.

Cheney accused us of “dithering” because he wanted Democrats to own this failure, he will now no longer have to take responsibility for Afghanistan. McChrystal tag-teamed him. The president capitulated. I see Drudge is already calling this “Obama’s war”, and no doubt the sycophantic media will fall close behind. It’s now our failure, not theirs.

Good job! Outmaneuvered by the right wing again. What a spectacular fucking failure.

There was the prerequisite “Afghanistan is the next Vietnam!!!!!!” anguish — just like the liberals were saying seven years ago about Iraq.

Why doesn’t he get it!

Why doesn’t he get that there is NO VICTORY to be “WON” in Afghanistan?

Afghanistan is this nation’s next Vietnam.

I am so disappointed, BUT it’s not the first time.

I do however believe that he is still head and shoulders above hillary clinton and the john mccain/sarah palin ticket.

But that seems little comfort at this point.

WTF Obama!!!!! Are you kidding me?

Democrat Russ Feingold isn’t happy:

I do not support the president’s decision to send additional troops to fight a war in Afghanistan that is no longer in our national security interest. It’s an expensive gamble to undertake armed nation-building on behalf of a corrupt government of questionable legitimacy. Sending more troops could further destabilize Afghanistan and, more importantly, Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state where al Qaeda is headquartered. While I appreciate that the president made clear we won’t be in Afghanistan forever, I am disappointed by his decision not to offer a timetable for ending our military presence there. I will work with members of both parties and both houses of Congress to push for a flexible timetable to reduce our troop levels in Afghanistan, as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat al Qaeda in the region and around the world.

Over at the HuffPo, Scott Kurashige is shocked and disappointed that Obama would do this… even while admitting that he knew that Obama was going to do this. I think the best part is where he admits that no one voted for Obama based on his policies.

[H]ere we find ourselves a year later confronting the promise of more war. War: that most dehumanizing and destructive act which threatens the annihilation of all that is beautiful in the world.

True, Obama did warn us during the campaign that he would focus our national defense on Afghanistan rather than Iraq. So this order should not come as a total surprise.

Still, it was never Obama’s policies that were most inspiring. Hillary’s policy proposals were not that different and some of them were even superior. What moved diverse millions of Americans in an unprecedented manner was Obama’s ability to channel the spirit of Dr. King and the progressive movements that have expanded our humanity.

… While Afghanistan is not Vietnam, the urgency for peace is even greater today. And yet protest is not enough. We need to overwhelm the White House with our love. The love that Dr. King called agape–the love for humanity that leads men and women to go to any length to create the beloved community.

We need to replace those currently surrounding the president–advisers whose job is to prepare for, plan, and wage war–with real peace experts, with women and men whose mission, purpose, training, and experience are devoted to understanding and implementing Dr. King’s vision of creative nonviolence.

In 2008, the “yes, we can” millions did something the pundits once deemed impossible. Hope triumphed over fear.

That battle was won, but the war rages on.

The Kossacks are out in full force against Obama too, but this post by a wannabe politician caught my eye.

It is wrong to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

… When we escalate an indefinite occupation of Afghanistan… when we send unmanned bombers into nuclear-armed Pakistan… when we construct cement fortresses in Iraq… we only engender hatred, create new enemies, and propel a dangerous narrative that we are at war with the entire Muslim world.

… In Congress, I would vote to end the war funding and, instead, combat the real enemy in Afghanistan:

Poverty.
According to the charity Oxfam, unemployment in Afghanistan hovers at 40%. Some 250,000 Afghans are refugees in their own country, another 3-milllion are exiled in Pakistan and Iran. Inside landlocked Afghanistan, hunger and disease threaten to ravage the country.

What should we do?

I would vote to partner with indigenous non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) to put people to work growing alternative crops: apples and apricots

Yes… if only Afghanis had more fruit and more money, then surely all terrorism would immediately cease.

There were arguments against supporting the troops as you protest them:

here’s the thing though. helping a soldier in a way they could immediately see and feel… how about orders to ship stateside tomorrow? think they’d see and feel that immediately?

i know a few soldiers, as i’m sure you do too. and the ones i know would all rather have the war be over tomorrow than chex mix.

i still donated 2 old phones through the “cell phones for soldiers” program. but maybe it was just to make myself feel good, right?

WARNING: THIS COMMENT MAY OR MAY NOT CONTAIN SARCASM.

One Kossack just could not understand why someone would enlist in wartime anyways:

It’s a sincere confusion. I am in a similar position, and have done work helping feed homeless veterans for a long time, but many were from draft era Viet Nam.

Why do people join the military during war times?

I’ve always wondered this.

Can others who have been in the military explain it to me, because I’ve always wondered but never really asked before, and it’s a slightly awkward question.

I’m trying to figure out how to support the troops while actively opposing this war, and to not in any way make the two mutually exclusive.

Please, if you’re reading this, and have joined the military during the past 8 years (when it’s been clear that we’ve been in a state of war), can you share your reasons for joining?

I’ve mainly only ever heard the oppositional viewpoints. Usually quite loudly, at that, and in strident tones.

I want to understand so I can know how to better support you.

My entire family are religious pacifists, so pretend I’m like a naive Quaker, or something to that effect…

I do have a few friends who signed up, but all in the mid-90’s now. One is in Afghanistan, and several are in Iraq. But I’m not sure any are Democrats. Just people I knew from high school.

Thank you for your insights. This is new terrain for me.

Gee, I don’t know… maybe some people actually believe in fighting for their country, defending our freedoms. Maybe some people actually want to bring justice to the animals of Al-Qaeda who unleashed the hell of 9-11 on us. That’s impossible for liberals to understand, though, isn’t it?

It’s funny. During the entire Bush presidency, Afghanistan was the forgotten war to liberals. They howled about Iraq, and they initially said that we needed to be focusing on Afghanistan because Osama bin Laden planned 9-11, and that’s where he was, and Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with it. Now, with the Iraq war won and the focus moving to Afghanistan, liberals are howling that we aren’t going to lose there now.

They just can’t stand to see us win. When they say Afghanistan will be another Vietnam, I think what they mean is that they want another Vietnam. I think liberals want us to be humiliated and for tens of thousands of our troops to die. Then they can all act smug and superior, as if they knew this would happen all along, can cry their crocodile tears for the military families, and try to press for “peace” in the future.