The endless war brigade of BFF's John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman took a trip to Afghanistan this weekend and from there, all gave the bobble head shows some "EXCLUSIVE" interviews demanding that there be no deadlines for withdrawal in Afghanistan. And despite allegations of corruption Lindsey Graham says don't dare cut off any of the money we're sending over there. Since he thinks that's more important than unemployment benefits, maybe someone could ask him if that bribe aid money was paid for in the budget?
I feel like I'm having Iraq-redux syndrome every time I listen to these guys speak. Same tired bullshit, different country. Someone needs to ask them to explain just how we "win" an occupation.
McCain: Kandahar Is Key to Victory in Afghan War:
Sen. John McCain, who visited Afghanistan's largest city in the south on Monday with two other U.S. lawmakers, warned of tough fighting ahead and predicted that casualties would rise in the short-term.
"The Taliban know that Kandahar is the key to success or failure," McCain told a news conference at the airport in Kabul. "So what happens in this operation will have a great effect on the outcome of this conflict. But I am convinced we can succeed and will succeed, and Kandahar is obviously the key area. And if succeed there, we will succeed in the rest of this struggle." [...]
Lieberman said he understood that Obama wanted to use the July 2011 timetable to send the message that the U.S. would not be in Afghanistan forever. Still, he said he thought the president was wrong to set it. "We hear it everywhere we go here. They say they think we're leaving. We're not going to leave until we win." [...]
All three criticized New York Democratic Representative Nita Lowey, chairwoman of a key House panel that voted to cut off nearly $4 billion in civilian aid to Afghanistan pending an investigation into allegations that Afghan officials were blocking corruption probes and foreign aid was being pocketed.
Afghan officials have pushed back, saying she was wrong to suggest that government officials in Kabul had misused or pocketed donor funds, accurately pointing out that contractors and foreign capitals hold the pursestrings for the vast majority of international aid in the country.
Putting nearly $4 billion in civilian aid in doubt is self-defeating because it's impossible to defeat the Taliban until Afghanistan has more effective civilian institutions, Graham said.
"Congress needs to understand that statements like this at this point in time are ill-advised," Graham said. "People are making a decision who to side with. ... The money in question is just as important to the war effort in my view as additional troops."
