November 28, 2019
President Trump visits the troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving.
NYT: "President Trump paid an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to American troops here on Thursday and said that he had restarted peace negotiations with the Taliban less than three months after he scuttled talks with the group. 'The Taliban wants to make a deal, and we’re meeting with them,' Mr. Trump said here during a meeting with Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani. 'We’re going to stay until such time as we have a deal, or we have total victory, and they want to make a deal very badly,' said Mr. Trump... Mr. Trump made his first visit to Afghanistan under a shroud of secrecy, arriving in a darkened airplane just after 8:30 p.m. local time on a trip that the White House had concealed from his public schedule for security reasons."
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98 comments:
Which MSM is catering PLASTIC TURKEY?
Its like a LLR Chuck nightmare: Trump hanging out with conservative members of the military!
The 3 things LLR Chuck hates most:
Conservatives
Military members
Trump
What is the top-rated comment?
As I surfed by the broadcast of this event on my TV, I was told of the "troublesome" involvement by the president in the Gallagher event. Does Trump do anything that isn't "troublesome"? You'd have to think he was commander in chief or something.
When I was young the saying was that TV was geared for the 12 year old's mentality. New century, digital satellite transmission to High Def LED screen, and never truer.
"What is the top-rated comment?"
I had the same question and considered putting it in an addition to the post, but it was so ugly I passed it up. But since you asked, here:
"Yawn. Another presidential photo-op without any substance whatever. I wonder what the servicemen and servicewomen in Afghanistan think of their "commander-in-chief" the guy who just disemboweled the Uniform Code of Military Justice in order to genuflect before the right-wing media and think tanks?
"This president has no goals; no vision; no plans. He just shows up, dishes out turkey and potatoes, and gives a boring speech that includes this presidential gem: “The Taliban wants to make a deal — we’ll see if they make a deal. If they do, they do, and if they don’t they don’t. That’s fine.”
"The above is a distillation of this president's foreign policy initiatives, some kind of ornament--no matter how counterfeit--to the election cycle next year. I hope someone asks him about North Korea's latest missile tests. All over the world, other leaders and their citizens are laughing at us. They're probably referring to America as, ah, "turkeys.""
"... gives a boring speech that includes this presidential gem: “The Taliban wants to make a deal — we’ll see if they make a deal. If they do, they do, and if they don’t they don’t. That’s fine.”"
I think that's how you make a good deal — the art of the deal — right?
Wow, at least with me Drago waits until I comment. His obsession with Chuck appears to far exceed his obsession with me. Thanksgiving blessing?
Very good POTUS made the visit. Hope he's right about Taliban desire to negotiate, but after N Korea ....
Yeah.
No way Trump would pass this up. He loves the troops.
Respectfully, you think that comment is too ugly to repeat? To this blog commentariat?
It was milder in its expression of blind Trump hatred than I would have expected for the top-rated comment.
As an aside, this year has anyone attended Thanksgiving dinner and have to listen to an attendee spew that sort of bilge to everyone in general?
Trump doing what Presidents are supposed to do.
The hate is everything. Thanksgiving is racist and the left are all characters in the new Kurt Schlicter novel.
I'm concerned about our "noble allies" - whoever they are - they might get hurt if peace breaks out. Also, did Trump consider the effect on global warming by traveling 8,000 miles - Couldn't he have biked?
Personally, i think this is great. But did Trump clear this with President Vindman or Secretary of State Faith Hill?
>> Which MSM is catering PLASTIC TURKEY? <<
I believe the original was catered out of Perth, Australia. The company, when asked, said that there were no plastic turkeys.
Yeah flying 8.000 miles to visit the troops in a war zone. Yawn. Just another photo-op. Every President would do that. Except they didn't.
We lost more men under Obama in Afghanistan then any other President. We lost 1,700 men in that war 2009-2016. He visited the country twice in 2010. And 2 other times. That's it. Never during the Holidays. Once in May 2012, during the election year.
Bush - who started the war - went to Afghanistan twice in 8 years. Both times to visit the Afghan President.
Bush paid 4 visits to Iraq in six years. Including the famous thanksgiving trip in 2003.
readering: "Very good POTUS made the visit. Hope he's right about Taliban desire to negotiate, but after N Korea ...."
There are no N Korea negotiations alone. There is only the China negotiations with NK discussions subsumed within the China discussions.
Get a clue.
rcocean said...
Bush - who started the war
?! The Taliban started the war.
exactly, much like the response with pearl harbor began with the Doolittle raid, the land assault began with the Solomon isles,
https://thefederalist.com/2019/11/27/if-trump-designates-cartels-as-terrorist-groups-he-should-go-to-war-with-them/
now long term expeditions, began with the phillipine one in 1899, there were brief interludes in cuba, then Nicaragua, although Haiti was nearly as long at 18 years,
Looking for clue in POTUS pronouncements on his Kim negotiations. Not finding one. Now, about Pakistan's role in Afghan negotiations....
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness....
Mr Trump's Thanksgiving Day proclamation is not quite the exquisite work of political rhetoric that General Washington's is. But very few pay any attention in this age of decadence: imagine the hue and cry over Providence and responsibilities and duty and whatnot from the Left and the Right both if these acts were taken seriously.
Trump — indefatigable.
Can you imagine HILLARY! exerting herself thusly as President?
Heck, I was part of the Lyndon B Johnson expedition (USMC contingent) to make the Dominican Republic great for Resorts International and didn't even get a drumstick. Who do I call to complain...???
readering: "Very good POTUS made the visit. Hope he's right about Taliban desire to negotiate, but after N Korea ...."
For us ignorant deplorables please tell us again how the Great Obama solved both of those problems.....and now that Trump screwed it up as per your snark please tell us how Bernie or Warren or Quid Pro Joe is going to resolve those issues.
oh I forgot that, only remembered in that elmore leonard novel, cat chaser,
readering said...
Looking for clue in POTUS pronouncements on his Kim negotiations. Not finding one. Now, about Pakistan's role in Afghan negotiations....
But readering loved Obama.
The people who support democratics are not that stupid. They know Trump is cleaning up a ridiculous mess. They are just evil people who have no interest in honest reflection and only want power over their true enemies.
’...the guy who just disemboweled the Uniform Code of Military Justice in order to genuflect before the right-wing media and think tanks?’
No hyperbole there, which is nice.
I do recall how biden through his Sherpa on afghan and Iraq manners, peter galbraith, properly remunerated through Norwegian concession in Kurdistan, waged war on Karzai through proxy, circumvented mccrystal and Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy (which was gamed out by general Flynn)
The great Obama, whom I loved, did not get us out of Afghanistan. So not hopeful for Trump finding a palatable solution, it's true. Good that he didn't just quit, although I can see fair arguments for that.
Lewis Wetzel writes: ?! The Taliban started the war.
No, no, no. You must become woke, Herr Wetzel. You'll find living with that inconvenient something called "history" in your brain increasing difficult. You must try to be more like rcocean. Just repeat to yourself five times a day as you genuflect toward Mecca: 9/11 was just something somebody did — nothing specific done by nobody in particular to nobody in particular.
”rcocean said...
Bush - who started the war’
“?! The Taliban started the war.
No. Bush did when he invaded the country.
Before reading about his visit, I'd been thinking to myself that the President should spend every Thanksgiving with his deployed troops. Nice.
No the Taliban did when they killed 3,000 American civilians & refused to surrender the guilty actors. The war was overwhelmingly supported by the American people and their elected representatives.
See how I did that, Robert Cooke? I used this thing called "the power of reason." You should try it some time.
As an aside, this year has anyone attended Thanksgiving dinner and have to listen to an attendee spew that sort of bilge to everyone in general?
Nope. I told those types of people to fuck off long ago.
Life's too short to deal with assholes.
the war began with osamas declaration in 96, even after they bombed the embassies, we didn't acknowledge it as an act of war, even after the uss cole, it wasn't acknowledged, this is somewhat like the mahdi's attack on khartroum in 1884, taking out general Gordon, which wasn't fully responded to until Omdurman in 1898,
that was Winston Churchill's big debut, the malakand expedition was precursor the year before,
I once watched my dad and his brother, both Republicans, bitterly argue over the Vietnam War. During the Nixon administration. Only family holiday argument over politics I can recall. Maybe I repressed some where the stakes much lower.
Fuck you leftie asshats. Choke on the wishbone...
heh
https://twitter.com/Natsecjeff/status/1200135079516880899
As President, certainly. As Commander in Chief, sharing a meal and standing with his troops. Surely, a quid pro quo (e.g. democratic gerrymandering), and grounds for impeachment. Oh, and the turkey ran away with the stuffing and yams.
Cook still misses Comrade Stalin. He didn't start the war until Hitler invaded, the way it should be done.
Trump is cleaning up a ridiculous mess
Bush cleaned up Bush and Clinton's war but left etc. Trump will clean up Obama's greater Middle East War and etc. Well, many have tried, none have succeeded, good luck.
That's our President Trump!
Sure, readering.
We believe you.
Shirley,
"IJReview also reported on President Barack Obama's tradition of expressing his appreciation to the troops by telephone by attaching the tweet to the official Twitter of The White House"
Happy Thanksgiving Althouse/Meade/Commentariat!
Hell of a President.
Cook believes Truman started the war when he invaded Japan. What happens before invasion does not matter.
I noted last night how the Japanese high command, was aware of the manhattan project, having attempted a previous effort in the 40s,
Hell of a President.
Extraordinary fuel economy/productivity. A veritable Energizer bunny. He reminds me of my father, and my mother not far behind. Exceptional human beings.
’Happy Thanksgiving Althouse/Meade/Commentariat!’
My thanks, as well!! :)
Newsweek
Verified account @Newsweek
How is Trump spending Thanksgiving? Tweeting, golfing and more
8:15 AM - 28 Nov 2019
Trump was on the ground at Bagram Airfield when this tweet was published
newsweek is overpriced, at a dollar,
... and the ground troops loved him.
I once watched my dad and his brother, both Republicans, bitterly argue over the Vietnam War. During the Nixon administration. Only family holiday argument over politics I can recall. Maybe I repressed some where the stakes much lower.
In my Baby Boomer generation, arguments over the war were pretty intense because my parents generation defeated the Nazis. They did not understand why we were not gung ho to defeat the Communists in SE Asia.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
More to the point:
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/11/fired_navy_secretary_richard_spencer_manages_to_remind_us_why_trump_needed_to_get_rid_of_him.html?fbclid=IwAR0p6z0vEy5bQMKlP75j1kdff96x34-rB40PBNVqYvBq4Gzq-1BdR0rHtYA#.XeA8pC-INtA.facebook
so the navy wants to stay in Afghanistan, but punish the tip of the spear of it's war fighters, like cpo Gallagher, what signal does that send?
The press always makes a big deal about the trips being "unannounced." Of course, the White House is not going to announce in advance that the President is traveling to a war zone.
remember the kerfluffle around this time, two and a half years ago, about the immigration ban from countries like Afghanistan, which was based on criteria established in the 2016 omnibus bill,
Browndog
That represents an improvement! One year the press made a fuss that for the first time in ages the president didn’t visit troops. And of course there were already pictures of the visit. They just cannot help themselves.
remember the kerfluffle... about the immigration ban
Ah, yes, the straw clowns first showing, where anti-nativists, diversitists, and social justice-mongers beclowned themselves. A progression from their judge people... persons by their color, not their character. How dare you ban travel of 10, 20 max, percent of the Muslim population based on geographical, national, and community proximity to man-made conflicts.
going back to degaulle's anticolonialist twitch,
https://spectator.org/france-bombs-nato-again/
consider that this engagement has gone long as the trojan war, and nearly as far as odysseus journey back,
@Wilbur,
"As an aside, this year has anyone attended Thanksgiving dinner and have to listen to an attendee spew that sort of bilge to everyone in general?"
Unfortunately yes. My family is not local, and I'm estranged from them anyway. So I have Thankksgiving with a family I'm close to. There's one guy who spews all sorts of vitriol about Trump, and the rest of the family doesn't bother arguing with him. Things like, "To get a job in the Trump administration you have to hate brown people." That was a literal quote from today. I could have responded in a hundred ways, but I stayed silent. I was a guest, after all, and it's not my place. But it never ceases to amaze me how hate-filled and antagonistic liberals can be, even at times where it's so obviously inappropriate.
"Can you imagine HILLARY! exerting herself thusly as President?"
Not without plenty of water. But 'member how she "deplaned under sniper fire"? she's a brave Gal - that's for sure. Might have gone to Afghanistan and baked some cookies. Who knows.
For those who doubt Hillary's courage, just remember she let Trump stand behind her in a debate.
There used to be a commenter here who had their finger on the pulse of the military. A child in the Navy, I think. They would know the rank and files true feelings about President Trump's visit.
As regards the Taliban, we cannot trust them to abide by a peace deal. They cannot trust us either because it is only a matter of time before the back stabbing "we came, we saw, he died" Democrats cackle their way back into control..
MoveOn.org Ruins Thanksgiving by Issuing Talking Points to Teach Your Family about Impeachment
How creepy can the left get? Don't know how to think for yourself? Need some empty platitudes to flush at dinner? like "No one is above the law!" and "BRIBERY!" This is for you.
LeftwingCreepy.com gives you all your brain-dead talking points. Empty platitudes that will impress your dumb pals.
FullMoon,
I have a son retiring from the Army this year, another 3rd year ROTC. Most cadets, most JOs, are big Trump supporters and would welcome a CinC visit.
Visited many class tailgates last weekend before Navy beat SMU 35-28. Lots of pro-Trump bumper stickers and flags flying in the stadium parking lot. A number of the crowd expressed disgust at the flag officers playing anti-Trump politics.
Two of the primarily enlisted Navy Facebook groups I belong to have posted video from Trump's visit to the trolls, noting the enthusiastic reception he got that his predecessor didn't.
That enough pulse for you?
@ Gospace,
Sounds like a real world scenario, not quite like the ones our former commenter would provide.
Troops, not trolls. I hate automispelling and typing on my phone.
A President for America and all Americans.
Our positioned man: Trump 2020.
Don Surber: One of my very astute readers commented on his recent hospital visit. AMR wrote, "My wife suggested he went to Walter Reed to get his shots for going to Afghanistan."
"No the Taliban did when they killed 3,000 American civilians & refused to surrender the guilty actors. The war was overwhelmingly supported by the American people and their elected representatives."
The Taliban had nothing to do with 9/11. When we asked them to turn over bin Laden and his men, they asked for proof of bin Laden's complicity in 9/11, which is standard when submitting an extradition request. We refused to submit any such proof, and precipitously attacked Afghanistan, thereby starting our two decades of ruinous war in the Middle East. (The "guilty actors," btw, were mostly dead, and the men who planned and financed 9/11 were not even in Afghanistan, aside from bin Laden). Our attack was proposed as necessary to "get" bin Laden and his band. When they escaped Afghanistan, our purported purpose for being there ended, and we should have vacated.
That the majority of the American people and their representatives supported our invasion of Afghanistan does not have any bearing on whether we started the war, except insofar as it affirms that we did so.
There used to be a commenter here who had their finger on the pulse of the military. A child in the Navy, I think. They would know the rank and files true feelings about President Trump's visit.
That was Inga ! Nobody trusted her version of Navy opinion.
Weird.
Daddy gives his minions a reach around, high fives all around.
"When we asked them to turn over bin Laden and his men, they asked for proof of bin Laden's complicity in 9/11, which is standard when submitting an extradition request. We refused to submit any such proof, "
The Taliban were on to us. Everybody knew Bush did it.
WHAT A MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!!!
Im sorry!! It beats civil war!!
"My wife suggested he went to Walter Reed to get his shots for going to Afghanistan."
I don't know about that. Would he need to go to the hospital for vaccination? Seems like they could bring the shots to him.
N. Korea? What about it? Pyongyang is hoping for impeachment or a Democrat victory in 2020. Wait another year for a Democrat surrender. I'm sure that's part of the calculus of Beijing, too.
Howard: "Daddy gives his minions a reach around, high fives all around."
Is that really what you think about the troops in Afghanistan?
Hey, ga6 - I was part of DOMREP too! USS Casa Grande, LSD-13, with Marines and UDT aboard. I was Ship's Boatswain, as an ensign, of all things. Cruising the harbor in an LCVP with a loaded .45 (1911).
Trump's set for next visit. Melania would have gotten shots for Africa trip.
______ _&&&&&&&-------
The CDC and WHO recommend the following vaccinations for Afghanistan: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, rabies, anthrax, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza. Shot lasts 2 years.
I don't know about that. Would he need to go to the hospital for vaccination.
_____&&&&------
Why not if you want to subterfuge TDS addicts.
“As regards the Taliban, we cannot trust them to abide by a peace deal.”
I was only 12 at the time but, being an avid reader of current events, I knew with certainty that the North Vietnamese were not going to honor the sovereignty of South Vietnam and that “peace with honor” was just another way of saying just let us get clear of this shit and then you can have at it. No was surprised by the events of the two years that followed.
But if that’s what it takes to extricate yourself from an unresolvable quagmire, that’s what you do. The Taliban knows that once we leave we’re not coming back. So just let us get clear of this shit and then you can have at it. It is their country after all, and, frankly, I couldn’t care less about that shithole.
The Taliban had nothing to do with 9/11. When we asked them to turn over bin Laden and his men, they asked for proof of bin Laden's complicity in 9/11, which is standard when submitting an extradition request.
The proof was bin Laden’s own words, Cookie, you ignorant fool. He ever pretended he didn’t do it. The Taliban are evil personified, but that’s why you hunt for ways to support them.
That was Inga ! Nobody trusted her version of Navy opinion.
That only applies to US Navy opinion. The Soviet Navy or Iran? Sure. Spot on.
Narayanan @ 11:42
Probably why he was at the hospital last week.
Did Cookie think it was a law enforcement matter?
Seriously, how do people like Cookie make it through life without getting their teeth knocked out?
Remind me the times Obozo the Magnificent visited the troops?
"No. Bush did when he invaded the country."
By your reasoning, FDR started the war against Japan.
Rance Fasoldt:
We were flown in the first night with a crypto van and a SSB radio van, old school, old Corps; three NCOs and 12 men, six CW operators no Officers; resulted in being the only off island comm to the Norfolk for the first week..to be young again....
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