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• "We should be in Afghanistan to win, not to set a timetable
for withdrawal", Sarah Palin's words clearly reflect her support
of President Obama's decision but at the same time signals her
frustration with the latter's hesitation in adopting a surge
strategy in the country.
• Palin is positive about winning in Afghanistan by motivating,
training and empowering the Afghan forces to 'build a stable
representative state able to defend itself.'
• She said that the United States should do everything possible
to turn the responsibility over to the Afghan government so that
the people can live there in peace without the interference of
America. This should be the 'ultimate goal' of the US on Afghan
soil.
• Palin reminds that the September 11 attacks were planned in
Afghanistan. Not making the US power felt in the country will
encourage Al Qaeda and the Taliban to impose their cruelty on the
people of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• America needs to be fully prepared to win, according to
Palin. She says that the whole world is watching the US, ready to
point a finger if America is not able to protect their interests
in Afghanistan.
• Palin was deeply disturbed by Obama's alleged comment that
troops in Afghanistan were "air raiding villages and killing
civilians."
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The Objectives
Romney believes that our continued presence should be decided by
the military’s top brass, cautions that we should not be making
similar commitments in the future. He also stressed that the bulk
of the responsibility lies with the Afghanis.
“I want those troops to come home based upon not politics,
not based upon economics, but instead based upon the conditions
on the ground determined by the generals … But I also think we
have learned that our troops should not go off and try to fight a
war of independence for another nation. Only the Afghanis can
win Afghanistan’s independence from the Taliban.”
13 June 2011, Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire.
Cost
Romney believes our policy in Afghanistan should not be based on
the economic costs alone.
“There will be some who argue it’s too expensive now,
we’ve got to bring the troops home right now, or others will
say, politically we need to make one decision or another … You
don’t make a decision about our involvement in a conflict based
on dollars and cents alone or certainly not with regards to
politics.”
14 June 2011, New York Times
Pakistan
AFP reported that Romney made a private visit to Afghanistan in
January 2010, and had a closed door meeting with President Hamid
Karzai. Karzai’s office subsequently released a statement on
January 10 that quoted Romney as saying, “ … the US is
well aware of terrorists' presence in Pakistan and its border
regions and this is a threat to Pakistan and Afghanistan … The
situation in Pakistan is an indicator that terrorists are not
only attacking Afghanistan but are causing lots of troubles for
Pakistan too”.
From here, it is clear that Romney views there are elements of
threat originating from Pakistan, but has not elaborated on this
statement since.
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