[Peace-discuss] Feingold to Obama: Announce Withdrawal Timetable from Afghanistan

[C. G. Estabrook]

How seriously would we have taken a senator who said this about Vietnam 40 years 
ago?  By then (1969) Nixon and Kissinger themselves were saying that they were 
"discussing a flexible timetable so that people around the world can see when we 
are going to bring our troops out" -- as they did, four years later...

The "Nixon Doctrine" from that year was what Feingold is asking for now.  Then 
it meant to build up the S. Vietnamese army so that they could take over the 
defense of South Vietnam. The policy became known as "Vietnamization," which had 
much in common with the policies of the Kennedy administration (as Obama's does 
with Bush's).


Robert Naiman wrote:
> Feingold to Obama: Announce Withdrawal Timetable from Afghanistan
> David Chalian, ABC News, August 24, 2009 2:27 PM
> http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/feingold-to-obama-announce-withdrawal-timetable-from-afghanistan.html
> 
> The Obama administration has been keenly aware of discontent among
> many in its liberal base with regard to its Afghanistan policy and an
> expected request for additional troops following General McChrystal's
> upcoming assessment of the situation there.
> 
> That liberal base just got a high-profile voice to lead its charge.
> 
> Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, called on President Obama to announce a
> timetable for withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.  "This
> is a strategy that is not likely to succeed," Sen. Feingold said about
> the troop buildup in Afghanistan.
> 
> "After eight years, I am not convinced that pouring more and more
> troops into Afghanistan is a well thought out policy,"   said
> Feingold.  The liberal Democrat said he has expressed his reservations
> with President Obama, Admiral Mullen, and others inside the
> administration and he says he has "never been convinced they have a
> good answer."
> 
> "I think it is time we start discussing a flexible timetable so that
> people around the world can see when we are going to bring our troops
> out," said Feingold.  "Showing the people there and here that we have
> a sense about when it is time to leave is one of the best things we
> can do," he added.
> 
> Sen. Feingold didn't offer up a specific timetable for when he would
> like to see American troops out of Afghanistan.  The senator opposed
> the war in Iraq and eventually became a leading voice among Democrats
> in pushing the Bush administration to adopt a timetable for withdrawal
> from Iraq.
> 
> In an interview with the editorial board of The Post-Crescent in
> Appleton, WI this afternoon, Sen. Feingold highlighted that the three
> top terrorist targets originally in Afghanistan - Osama bin Laden,
> al-Zawahiri, and Mullah Omar - are now in Pakistan. "Aren't we helping
> to drive more extremists into Pakistan?," Feingold asked.  He went on
> to call Pakistan the home of the "witch's brew of every kind of
> nightmare."
> 
> Sen. Feingold pointed to Af-Pak Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's recent
> comments when asked about what success will look like in Afghanistan.
> "We'll know it when we see it," said Holbrooke. "That's not good
> enough for me," Feingold responded.
> 
> Feingold said that he believes the United States needs to maintain its
> ability to go after Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and continue operations
> there to "make sure we can do the most we can in the remaining time."
> 
> The Wisconsin Democrat is starting to be a bit of a liberal thorn in
> the President's (left) side and has some Democrats wondering if he may
> be plotting a 2012 primary challenge to Obama.
> [...]
> 
>